The Next Step

Here is the special scene I mentioned in the last chapter. Sorry for the shortness, but it's important nonetheless. Enjoy!

P.S. I quoted my favorite quote from my favorite book from my favorite author in this chapter, and it fits extraordinarily well.

Izuku walked Uraraka home after the rain let up, despite her insistence that she would be fine. Izuku refused to give in, going to the point of walking ahead of her in the direction that he knew her house was.

Izuku wanted to walk her back for more than one reason. Not only did it feel like a thing a friend would do, but Izuku also wanted to spend more time with Uraraka. She was his friend, and somehow had a knack for making him feel better. Every time he was around her, he just felt a little more at ease than he typically did.

Not only that, but he made a decision. He was going to act on the advice Uraraka had given him. He was going to search out help for the problems he'd been facing. If she was right about anything, it was the fact that this was the sort of thing Izuku couldn't tackle alone. He couldn't just shove his problems under the rug, expecting to deal with them himself anymore.

As to why that pertained to walking Uraraka home, well, Izuku knew from experience that her apartment was on the way to the one he knew he had to go to. So, Izuku dropped Uraraka off at her apartment, and instead of heading towards the train station to go back home, he walked the opposite direction.

Toshinori lounged back in his recliner, once again thankful for the small amount of freetime he got. Maybe he could finally catch up on that show he had wanted to before, up until when Midoriya interrupted him with the urgent call two days previous.

Toshinori laid back, sinking into the soft cushion of the chair as much as possible and lifting up the remote to unpause the TV. The show was a rather unique detective show starring a sociopathic main character and his war-veteran sidekick. It was a British show, so the words were all in english, contrary to most of the shows that aired in Japan. Toshinori was originally from America, though, so watching a show in his native language was a relief for once.

Somewhere in the apartment Lucario was relaxing as well, probably on the computer in the study room. Milotic was curled up in the a corner like an overgrown snake, enjoying irs time out of the pokeball. Braviary was currently out of the house, exploring the skies.

Overall, it was a peaceful ordeal. The first time in a very long time Toshinori had gotten to really sit down and take a break. All that was left was for Toshinori to-

Ding dong! The doorbell chimed.

"Really?" Toshinori groaned, pulling the handle on the recliner to get out of his comfy palace. He hobbled over to the door, reaching for the handle. He was expecting it to be some door to door salesman that didn't read the 'No Soliciting' sign on his door. At least he didn't have to worry about them knowing who Toshinori really was.

He pulled the handle, and the door swung open to reveal…

"All Might!" Midoriya's voice came out, loud as normal, drawing the attention of everyone on the street. Toshinori coughed in surprise, spitting up a little blood in the process. Of all the things he expected to see at his door, Izuku Midoriya was not very high on the list.

"Midoriya, my boy, what are you doing here?" Toshinori said softly, not wanting to draw attention, "You know what, hold on that. Get inside for now." Toshinori ushered Midoriya inside the small little apartment, shutting the door behind him.

Izuku sat on All Might's sofa, nervously sipping his green tea the man had made him. All Might was currently moving around in his kitchen, putting away the materials he had used to make the tea. All Might eventually stopped the clamoring around and came around the sofa, taking the seat across the coffee table from Izuku.

"Don't take this as me being unhappy to see you," All Might started, "But what are you doing at my apartment?" All Might raised an eyebrow. Izuku scratched at his hair nervously, shying away from the older man's gaze.

"I, umm, I got some advice from a good friend that I wanted to follow up on." Izuku said. He was about to start a conversation he didn't want to have, yet he knew he needed to have.

"Was it young Uraraka?" That question came out of left field. Of all the things Izuku expected to hear out of his mentor's mouth, that was not of them. All Might continued, "I've noticed you two are rather close friends."

Izuku felt his face go hot. He probably looked like a strawberry between how pink his face probably was and his green hair on top of his head. Izuku frantically waved his hands in front of him.

"T-That's not it! I swear!" All Might just leaned back in his chair, booming with laughter louder than a man that looked like he did should. Even though he was in his powered down form, he still held the voice that his muscular form had.

"Don't worry, my boy, I am just trying to break the tension. You look really strung up."

Izuku's expression darkened slightly. "Yeah…about that." All Might stayed silent for a few moments, and the air seemed to get heavier, slightly weighing down on the two of them as the elephant in the room went unaddressed.

"Are the events of the last few days still bugging you?" Izuku gulped, nodding softly. All Might gave him the look as if to prompt Izuku to begin speaking when he was ready.

Izuku thought about what he was going to say over and over inside his head, wanting to make how he vocalized. He wanted to make everything he'd been struggling with recently obvious in one simple sentence.

Yet, when Izuku opened his mouth to speak, something completely different came out.

"How do you do it?" His voice was soft, barely audible. He managed to keep the shaking out of it, though it took a lot of effort.

"I'm sorry?" All Might leaned in a little closer.

"How do you do it? How do you save everyone?" All Might heard that time. He leaned back in his chair again, sipping on his tea. Izuku was barely keeping himself together at this point.

"I don't."

Izuku's head snapped up from where it had been, eyes lingering on his tea cup. He was now looking at All Might in confusion.

"I don't. I can't save everyone." All Might said.

"What do you mean you don't? You're All Might!" Izuku protested.

"And even I'm not perfect. There have been people I can't save, Midoriya my boy."

"B-but then how-? How do you do it?" Izuku stuttered. He was flabbergasted by the entire situation.

"Do what?"
Izuku took a deep breath. "Every time I close my eyes, I see Eri jumping out of my arms. Every time I get a spare moment, I think about what they could be doing to her and how It's all my fault. How do you not-"

"Who ever said I don't?" All Might cut Izuku off again, surprising him once more. Izuku was to the point where he couldn't even form a coherent sentence. All of his self pity was being completely ignored as his attention was sucked up by All Might's words.

"Sometimes when I go to sleep at night, I'm kept up by scenes like those. I've been a hero for years, so there's years worth of people that I haven't been able to save. A man crushed by a falling building I couldn't get to in time. A woman mugged in an alleyway. So many people that I can remember distinctly."

"How do you-" All Might raised a finger, cutting Izuku off once again.

"I'm getting there." Izuku shyed back, looking sheepish, "Every time that happens, I remind myself of a few words. A few words that have carried me my entire life. Every time I see those images in my head, I think about these words and instead of setting me back, those memories push me forwards." All Might paused. The emotion in his voice was accumulating, he was starting to seem even more intense.

"Those words were, 'The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step'" All Might paused for effect, letting the words sink in.

"It's always the next step, Midoriya my boy. You can't change the past, no matter how hard you want to. You can't go back to that alleyway and change what you did, so you shouldn't linger on the things you could have done, and think about the things you can do." All Might put his mug down on the coffee table, tea splashing out of it. He stood up out of his chair.

"It's about the next step. You close your eyes and you see that little girl? Make a promise to her that you will be there to save her. Don't think I could have. Just take the next step. When you get put down by those memories, stand up straighter than ever and sat I'll do better next time." All Might transformed into his muscular form, pointing at Izuku with a massive tree trunk of an arm.

"Take the next step, my boy. Pick yourself and do better." All Might transformed back to his skinny form and sat back down on the chair. He used a napkin to wipe up the spilled tea.

Izuku was speechless. The words that had come out of All Might's mout just then, Izuku knew, deep down, that those were the words he needed to hear. He felt the tears brimming at his eyes.

"Thank you, All Might. I'll try my best!" All Might shook his head.

"Do not try. Take the step." Izuku stared into his mentor's eyes, and he saw two prominent emotions reflected back at him. Passion and...something else. Pride. Izuku steeled himself, jumping to his feet.

For the first time in a while, outside of his time with Uraraka, he smiled. A genuine, determined smile.

"I'm going to take the next step."

Izuku finished his tea and talked over a few more things with All Might, though none of them were as serious as the thing just discussed.

When It was finally time for Izuku to leave, he waved goodbye to All Might and his pokemon, taking the step to the door. He opened it and across the street he saw a dark alleyway.

When he closed his eyes, he could see Eri, small and afraid, holding the hand of the man with the bird mask. When he opened his eyes, they weren't there.

I'm going to save you. No matter what it takes.

Izuku took the step out of All Might's apartment.