Chapter 2: One Step At a Time

A/N: A lot of thanks for the positive reaction to the first chapter.

"Look at you, so weak! So easy to rile up, just like Nana!" All for One said while standing over Torino's unconscious body, "You say that you will avenge your predecessor, yet you can't even save this old man!" All for One laughed at him maniacally.

"Shut up!" All Might shouted.

All for One continued to laugh, "Or what? You can't even stop me from killing him," All for One said while placing his foot on Torino and then prepared an attack.

All Might cursed and sprang towards All for One to stop him, "See, you are so easy to manipulate," the villain said before using the attack on All Might instead.

The attack tore through All Might's chest, spraying blood everywhere much to his horror.

In the real world, Yagi woke up with a gasp, breathing for air. He quickly scratched through his shirt to check his wound, but his chest was still intact; gory, but intact.

Yagi sighed and laid back down on the bed. The dream was so vivid and had seemed so real. It had felt exactly the same. Yagi turned to his bed to see it filled with blood he had coughed up in his sleep.

Sighing, he put the covers into the washing machine and started making his breakfast while he decided on what he should do.

His first task was to head back to the orphanage and try fixing it up himself. He didn't really trust anyone else to handle his money right now. His second task was to figure out where his money went, but that was where he was stumped.

Yagi wasn't sure how to find out where the money went. No one would pay any attention to him if he went as Yagi. Sure, he could go as All Might but he had promised Nedzu and Chiyo to not appear as All might for at least a month to ensure his injuries heal. Nedzu himself was too busy juggling his UA duties and covering up the All for One fight as well as covering for All Might's influence.

That only left Yagi with the option of going to Tsukauchi.

And so, once Yagi had finished his breakfast, he dressed in his best suit to make himself seem professional; he didn't want the people at the orphanage thinking he was a hobo again. He also took the ID card which stated he was All Might's employee, just in case and then set out.

On the way to the police station, Yagi was so engrossed in his plans to fix the orphanage, that he completely missed the increased number of villain fights going on. He completely forgot that his retirement as All Might would have caused shockwaves and attributed the fights to normal daily occurrences.

Once he had reached the police station, he realized how hectic things really were. The station was filled with villains and more of them were being brought in by other heroes.

"Shit," Yagi cursed, "I knew I shouldn't have retired!"

Yagi stared at the chaotic station for a while, his mood becoming worse as more villains were brought in. He was just about to leave to reconsider his retirement when Tsukauchi spotted him, "Hey!" his friend waved to catch his attention.

Yagi put on a shaky smile and waved back, "I should have left earlier…" He thought to himself as Tsukauchi squeezed through the crowd to meet his friend.

"How are you doing?" Tsukauchi asked with a warm smile.

"As well as I can be I suppose," Yagi replied offhandedly, his hand lying on his wound. Tsukauchi looked a bit sad, but nodded, "What brings you to the station? You're retired now, aren't you?"

"It can wait," Yagi laughed it off, "You have your hands full right now."

"There are other officers to take care of that," Tsukauchi said, "I'm not about to let you leave now that you saw the increase in villains. Knowing you, you will just go back to being All Might." He said pointedly.

Yagi scowled, "How could I not?" he whispered to Tsukauchi as he led him further from the people, "All this, it's happening because of me!"

"Let's face it, Yagi, you had to retire as All Might someday. Or do you plan to keep fighting till you die?"

"I… don't know," Yagi admitted, "All I know is how to be All Might! I have no clue on how to just live a normal life." Yagi complained, "And right now, I can still keep going; I can still save people who are within reach!"

"And then?" Tsukauchi asked, "And then what? There are two possibilities here: Either you keep going until you lose your powers or find a successor, or you die!" Tsukauchi said angrily.

"And let me break it down for you, if you are killed, your killer will be heralded as the new All for One; the symbol of evil, and no one will dare to fight him. Things will just fall back to the way they were. And if you lose your powers, then you no longer have the power to fight when needed. At least now, you can come out of retirement to fight a very strong villain if needed, but you can't do that if you waste yourself away and shorten your time! There are plenty of other heroes to catch the other villains, so stop thinking as if all the responsibility lies on your shoulders! You aren't the main character in a movie; you are human, just like me!"

Yagi didn't know how to respond to Tsukauchi's words. He knew without a doubt, his friend was right. But there was still just a nagging feeling that things could go wrong, "I won't come out of retirement… for now." Yagi promised.

"That's good enough for now," Tsukauchi smiled, "Anyway, what brought you here in the first place? I don't think you came for a lecture on your retirement." Tsukauchi laughed.

Yagi smiled, "No, no I didn't. Yesterday, after the announcement, I was kind of down in the dumps."

"Yeah, you were out of there immediately after the camera cut off. I was worried about you."

"Yeah, I just wanted some time to myself," Yagi admitted, "Anyway, I was just walking down the streets when I accidentally came across my old orphanage." Yagi stopped and clamped his fists in anger, "The orphanage is in shambles! It looks dirty and broken. But I swear, I sent so much money to them as All Might."

Tsukauchi frowned, "So you think the orphanage stole the money?"

Yagi shook his head, "I talked with the man, and he genuinely did not seem to have a clue about the money. If he knew about it, there should have been some sort of indication, but he was just mad at me ruining their sleep."

"I see. So, you think those in charge of distribution stole their money?" Tsukauchi asked.

"Yeah."

"And through whom did you give the money?"

"Well, mostly through the hero commission because they had a separate channel for the money heroes want to give to charity. Reduces public exposure, so most heroes don't use it. But they can't be that corrupt?" Yagi asked.

"Please, the hero commission is one of the most corrupt corporations there is."

"It is?" Yagi asked, sounding like an idiot.

Tsukauchi shook his head in exasperation, "Don't worry about it. It's too much for you to handle," he joked, "But I'll look into it. You got the receipts and checks right?"

Yagi nodded.

"Then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. It might take some time though," Tsukauchi commented looking at the mess of the police station.

Yagi smiled and nodded, "That's alright. I'll just focus on something else in the meantime."

"Oh? What is it?" Tsukauchi asked inquisitively.

"Since I can't be All Might anymore, I think I'll focus on fixing the orphanage myself. Definitely can't trust someone else with the money anymore," Yagi responded.

"Good to hear!" Tsukauchi said, happy with his friend's choice, "I have to go now. Meet you for dinner?"

Yagi nodded in reply as Naomasa ran back to the station to manage the chaos.

Yagi smiled and turned to walk to his orphanage. Tsukauchi's words were exactly what he needed to push back the doubt that being All Might was a necessity. He was lucky to have a friend like him.

Once Yagi reached the orphanage, he stared at it nervously. The building held both good and bad memories for him. But it still gave him nostalgic memories. He smiled as he remembered all the games, he had played with his friends there. They were all dead now due to the villain attacks that swarmed Japan at that time, but still, the memories were nice.

Anxiously, Yagi fixed his tie and walked up to the door, and knocked. He waited for a moment and the door opened with a creak, "What the- It's you again!" The man from last night shouted angrily.

Yagi remained unfazed and used a formal tone, "I apologize for my rude actions yesterday. It was unnecessary for me to intrude at such a late hour."

The man stared at Yagi who was clearly overcompensating at this point. He was still hesitant of this stranger but he looked much more professional now and decided to hear him out, "It's ok."

Yagi nodded and handed the man his ID card, "I work for All Might."

The man was surprised and checked the ID card, and checked it thoroughly for proof. It looked authentic. The man paled; he had called All Might's employee a hobo and had insulted All Might in front of his employee, "I am so sorry for the way I treated you yesterday!" The man apologized quickly.

"It's fine. I wouldn't let a stranger looking like me into an orphanage either!" Yagi said understandingly, "But now that we are acquainted, the reason I am here is that All Might had sent a lot of money here."

Realization dawned upon the man's face, "That's why you were angry last night."

"Yes," Yagi said sheepishly.

"While I am sorry that I had responded so harshly last night, it is true that no money has come here." The man said while frowning.

"I am aware. The people in charge were not very good," Yagi admitted with thinly veiled anger, "But anyway, All Might is now aware of the situation and is working closely with the police to arrest the people."

"I see. That is good to hear." The man said with relief, "But all that money would have been so useful to these kids. What a shame."

"You need not worry. That is why I am here!" Yagi smiled flashily.

"That looks way too much like what All Might would do." The man thought to himself but shrugged it off, "People tend to catch the weirdest habits off of others."

Yagi continued, "I would like to personally help the orphanage myself and be in charge of overseeing the project."

"I see! That is good news!" The man said, overjoyed, "Ah, come in, come in!"

Yagi smiled and entered. He was a bit disgusted that the man was so much nicer now that he was offering money but he ignored it. The well-being of the kids here was much more important.

"Speaking of, what is your name?" Yagi asked.

"The kids call me Yoshino. What about you?"

"You may call me Yagi-san."

Yoshino nodded and opened the door to what Yagi recognized as the common room, "Kids," Yoshino called, "I have a visitor from All Might for you!"

Instantly the kids, most of whom looked to be somewhere between 4 and 6, all swarmed Yagi, "All Might!?" They chorused together, "That's so cool!"

"So, All Might is going to help us?" Someone asked.

"Yes," Yagi replied with a smile.

"Whoa, is All Might going to come here?"

"Don't be stupid, he's busy fighting people!"

"No, he isn't. He retired remember?"

"What's that?"

"He won't be a hero any longer."

"Ehhh, why?"

"I dunno."

"Why is All Might re-uhh,"

"Retiring!"

"Yeah, that!" A kid asked Yagi.

Yagi laughed, "Ah, he's just very old. That's why. He needs some rest."

"Oh."

"But you'll help us, right?"

"Of course! That's why I'm here. I'll get this place back up to shape in no time!" Yagi promised.

"Yay! That's so nice of you!"

"Kids, say thanks to Yagi-san!" Yoshino reminded.

"Thank you, Yagi-san!" The kids all shouted with glee.

Yagi smiled at the scene. All the kids looking up at him with sparkly and hopeful eyes were so cute, even though the reasons behind it were sad. But it made Yagi so happy to receive such admiration from others as Yagi and not All Might.

"Hmph. As if someone as popular as All Might cares about us. This is just so his ratings increase or something." A purple-haired kid that looked to be either 5 or 6 commented in a scathing tone.

"Hitoshi! Apologize immediately!" Yoshino ordered, going red with anger.

"Why should I? It can't be a coincidence that All Might came swooping in just as he retired. It's all so that people see he can still be a hero." Hitoshi responded.

Yagi winced at the hurtful words, "It's not like that young man. I truly want to help you."

"Yeah, why? You have to have some sort of reason."

Yagi smiled, "Well you aren't wrong. I grew up here too you know. So, I want to help this place, and you guys!"

"You grew up here?" One of the kids asked slowly. Yagi nodded. "And you know All Might! That's so cool!" The kids yelled with sparkly eyes.

"It's nothing special."

"It is! Everyone keeps telling us that we'll all be villains because we are orphans." One of the kids said sadly.

"He probably just got in because he has a good quirk." One of the older kids said, siding with Hitoshi.

"I am quirkless, young man," Yagi said calmly.

There was silence and then it erupted again, "NO WAY! THAT'S SO COOL!"

Even Hitoshi was stunned that someone quirkless could have gotten such a good job. And he had to have power to be able to sway All Might. But Hitoshi still doubted Yagi actually was an orphan here, "If you really were an orphan here, why didn't you help us before?"

"I did try. All Might sent a lot of money here but some bad people stole it." Yagi explained grimly.

"Bad people?" A kid asked worryingly.

Yagi nodded but then put on a smile again so as to not worry them, "But don't worry, we'll catch them! In the meantime, I'll try my best to help you all!"

"Where would you like to start?" Yoshino asked Yagi.

"I think I'll just make a list of all the things that need to be done today and then I'll find contractors and everything to fix the stuff tomorrow," Yagi explained.

Yoshino nodded, "I'll assist you. Kids! Please don't get in Yagi-san's way."

Yagi smiled at the nodding kids. Suddenly his eyes landed on a very familiar bed and he started laughing, "That bed's still broken?"

The kids looked at him confused, "Still?" Hitoshi asked pointedly.

"Yeah, I'm the one who broke it!"

"No way!" Hitoshi exclaimed.

"Yup. I etched my name onto the side," Yagi pointed to a side of the bed.

Hitoshi checked and sure enough, 'Yagi Toshinori' was etched onto the wood of the bed.

"So, he was an orphan here." Hitoshi thought to himself. He turned and faced Yagi. Yagi smirked, seeing Hitoshi's eyes being more trusting, but that was only for a second as Hitoshi then yelled, "I have back pain because of you! Do you know how hard it is to sleep on that bed!?"

Yagi gulped, "Ah, don't worry! I'll buy you a new bed!"

"Aww, we don't get any beds?" The other kids pouted. Yagi crumbled under the pressure, "Of course you do! I'll buy new beds for all of you!"

"Yay!"

"Shall we start the assessment, Yagi-san?" Yoshino asked.

"Yes of course," Yagi replied.

But as he turned to leave, his sensitive ears heard Hitoshi muttering, "I'm still right. We are only being helped because he lived here. Any other orphanage and it would still be bad."

It took all of Yagi's will to not react as if he had just heard what Hitoshi said. But little did Hitoshi know; his words were the ones that would spark a new dawn.

A/N: Leave a review if you liked it. Much more to come in upcoming chapters.