"You still haven't done anything with your armor?" Ahsoka asked as she and the rest of her friends walked into the 1-H Lab to find Izuku staring at his armor as it sat on the stand he used to store it. Several of the other Support Students were working on other projects but otherwise the lab was decently empty. It had been Rex who had gotten Izuku his own workspace; technically it had been Power Loader, after talking with Anakin, who had been asked by Rex to see if he could help give Izuku a place to maintain his armor that was also secure. Ahsoka hadn't come there a lot but from what she knew Izuku did quite often.

Izuku held up his finger before going back to speaking into the small recording device Rex had gotten him, allowing him to record his mumbles so he could reference them later on.

"Why is this the first time we've been here?" Ochaco asked, idly reaching up and rubbing her shoulder. Ahsoka hadn't gotten all the details but something had happened during her internship that had led to her rubbing the shoulder. She wanted to ask but also didn't, because she understood that sometimes people had secrets that they wanted to keep. "It feels like we should have been down here far sooner."

"Hero students never come down to see support," one of the students who had a quirk that made their hair into copper wiring said. They idly reached up and plucked one of the stands off their head, moving back to the device they were working on and soddering the wire into place.

"That is just foolish!" Inasa declared. "Soon you will be working with us to protect our society! We should be forming bonds with you all right now!" He quickly ran up the copper-haired student and said, "Do you not agree?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that after you help me with this…" His tone was utterly sarcastic, making it clear to all that he didn't expect an ounce of help from Inasa.

That was his fatal mistake.

"But of course! I should support you so you can support me! Now, what can I do?"

Ahsoka hid her smirk as Inasa began to assist the student with their work, the poor 1-H guy unsure of what he should do in the face of such helpfulness. "Honestly, it probably wouldn't hurt to help them out," she reasoned. "Then they would have time to join our study group… I mean, they have finals too."

"Oh, are we having a study group?" Mei said, suddenly popping up next to Momo. "Where we braid each other's hair and play spin the bottle and practice kissing?"

"…that's… not what a study group does," Ochaco said while Momo was blushing beat red.

"What do they do then?" Mei asked.

"They… study?"

"I like my way better." She patted Momo on the shoulder, causing the tall teen to blush even harder.

"Okay, sorry about that," Izuku said with a smile as he turned back to focus on them. "So… what's up?"

"We were coming to get you for our study session but now I'm curious about this," Ahsoka said, gesturing at his armor. "Why is it still shiny?"

Izuku ducked his head, running his fingers through his hair. "Well, I have a lot of the add ons completed, if that's what you are wondering about. Upgraded the helmet and the hud, new pouches and other storage pieces so I can have extra charge cells as well as medical supplies… got the grapple system working better so there is less risk of me jerking my body about…"

"Izuku?" Ahsoka said, knowing if she didn't speak up he would begin rambling all over again, his mind a whirl of new ideas. "Shiny?"

"Right," he said, shaking his head. "I… okay, so it's a big deal, okay, to paint your armor. It's a right of passage. And sure, Rex told me that sometimes troopers will change what they do, altering the paint designs and all that but… I want to do this right. It's a big deal, me doing this. I am the first new trooper he's had go from Shiny to full Trooper. I want to make sure I do right by him."

It was Tenya that spoke up. "I can understand that. You want to make sure that you don't disrespect him by rushing it."

"Exactly!" Izuku looked back to his armor. "The problem is getting the design right. I keep thinking about it but nothing… I don't want to just copy Rex but I also want to make sure that it looks real unique and memorable."

Ahsoka looked over at a table where Izuku had inked over a dozen different variations of his armor. Different splashes of blue over the mask, along the breastplate, upon the limbs. Sometimes blocky and square, others swirling and curves. Sometimes the blue was used sparingly while other times nearly the entire thing was blue with only a few patches of white to be found. Symmetry in a few but others had one side or the other done up completely different.

The add ons pretty much remained the same though, Ahsoka noticed. The helmet designed for long range viewing, which would help with the sniper role that Izuku was developing. A skirt similar to Rex's but the shoulder pads were different and there were a series of pouches that ran along his chest. The armor on his hands thinner but his legs thicker, as was the padding near his elbows; most likely for when he had to lie on the hard ground and prepare his shots. A pack that would easily hold his sniper rifle, which she saw per his notes could actually fold up rather small and then be snapped into ready position within moments. A set of handheld blasters on his hips and built in blades on the back of his hands that could slide out.

"These are all really good, Izuku!" Momo declared. "Of course, considering the help you gave me with my costume…"

"Now I wish I had asked you to help with mine," Ochaco stated. "I think I went too cute, which I guess is okay for a Rescue Hero but still…"

"I must admit these all look really good," Tenya said.

Mei nodded. "Oh yeah, he's had lot of neat ideas. Sango keeps bugging him to go to the business classes and talk with them… they get into design work and the like, more than you'd expect but hey, marketing, and talk with them too. Too many heroes don't understand how to blend things properly." The others looked at her and she rolled her eyes. "Sure, I like making big booms but I also want my babies to look amazing while they do it. I'd love them even if they were ugly as Ugo The Ugly Hero-"

"There… there isn't a hero named Ugo the Ugly Hero… is there?" Ahsoka asked Tenya who didn't answer.

"-but you want your babies to be their best. To be the most popular. Not just because they get the job done but they look amazing while doing it." She gestured at Izuku. "You have a good eye for that. Same with costume design. Bet you can also come up with a ton of merchandising things that will sell-"

"I will talk to them when I finish with this," Izuku said with a bashful smile. "Does no good if they ask to see my work and I show them things I'm not happy with." He shook his head in frustration. "The problem is I don't know what the issue is. None of these are… clicking, you know?" He gestured at the designs. "I keep trying to rework them, try new things, but none of them feel right. Its just… its missing something you know? It just needs one last tweak and it will all come together but I can't figure it out." He sighed, shaking his head. "But I can work on it tomorrow."

"We have finals in a few days though," Ochaco reminded him. "And we'll need to be in our hero outfits. You need to get this finalized so support can make sure its ready-"

"Rex and I will finish my armor," Izuku assured her. "Don't worry, it will be ready." He glanced at the design sheets once more.

"I know the problem," Ahsoka stated as she looked at the pictures.

"What?" Izuku said, stunned, before suddenly rushing over to her. "What is it? What am I missing?"

"The color," she replied.

"Huh?"

"The color. Its 501st Blue, right?" Actually she knew it was exactly that; she had seen enough of it during her few months with them, before coming to Earth, that she could identify it from 50 yards out easily. But she waited for Izuku to nod before she tapped one drawing with the back of her hand. "You aren't in the 501st though."

"…but those are Rex's colors."

"They are… but he didn't bring the 501st with him, Izuku. They are back… well, they aren't here. You are the first trooper in a new squadron, so it is up to you to select new colors for yourself."

"But… I…"

She smiled though, shaking her head. "When you join a squad you adopt their colors. But when you make a new squadron you create something new. To make you stand out."

Izuku looked utterly lost at that. "I just-"

And Shoto, who had been hanging back and not saying a word during the entire trip to the Support Lab, who Ahsoka had honestly thought wasn't even paying attention and had only come along because Ochaco had asked him to, suddenly blurted out. "Favorite color?"

"Forest green," Izuku stated.

"There you go!" Ahsoka declared. "Change the colors of these to forest green and one will pop right out."

"I don't think its that easy…" Izuku said, trailing off. But after a moment he began to mumble to himself and then he was practically diving for the colored pens that were kept in a snap open plastic box, pulling out a black one and a green one and setting to work. The others watched as he quickly began to sketch out a crude design, not at all as detailed as the other work he had made before. In fact it was rather sketchy in spots, with lines not fully meeting each other in areas and sometimes multiple lines running together. But as he began to fill in the green details Ahsoka and the rest of their group all crowded around… and so did the support students that were in the room, all craning their necks to see what he was coming up with.

Finally, after about 10 minutes, Izuku stopped and pressed his thumb and forefingers against his right hand, massaging it as he looked at the piece.

"I think… we have a winner," Ahsoka declared with a grin.

~MC~MC~MC~

Mirai was glad that his old credentials still worked at Might Tower, allowing him to breeze right through. And the facial recognition system must also still have him in its database because it did nothing to halt him as he made his way through the lobby, nodding politely to the receptionist at the counter who was already dealing with a line of people that wanted to drop off presents for All Might. It was a common thing for Yagi, to the point that there were signs posted up explaining to everyone what would and wouldn't be accepted.

Cards? Accepted but they would be screened for mysterious powders and the like.

Hand made gifts? X-rayed but also accepted (and Yagi truly loved those)

Food? Absolutely not but the sign did suggest donating them to homeless shelters which was… new.

That actually made Mirai pause. The sign was new and there was a lot more information on it than he had expected. Suggestions on programs and groups that would love donations made that were connected to All Might. An entire paragraph on how grateful All Might was for their gifts but explaining that he would be even more grateful if one helped their neighbors. It was stuff that he had never seen when he had been working with Yagi and it made him wonder just when-

"Are you okay, sir?" a woman asked. She was a bit short but oddly held herself in a way that made her feel taller, so that Mirai felt that even though he was looking down at her he was actually the lesser of the two. She was dressed a nice business suit, her hair done up in a bun, and she had a briefcase clasped in her hand.

'Not one of the workers I've met before,' Mirai thought as he tried to place the face and came up with nothing. 'Though based on her age she probably is just out of school.'Out loud he said, "I was just looking at the sign… I don't remember it from the last time I was here."

"Ah, that was a recent change," the woman said. "Mr. Yagi and I decided that it was a waste to throw away all the food that was brought to All Might by his fans… but we also couldn't donate it without risking that it would be poisoned or the like. So this is to try and convince people to donate it themselves. Many of the store bought gifts are of course sold off to help fund our after school projects and Adult Development Classes but the food is harder."

That startled Mirai, not that he showed it. "After school projects? And Adult Development Classes?"

The woman smiled. "Also new additions that I brought on when I began working here." She held out her hand. "Skywalker Padme, Government Liaison. Or… I was." She gave a helpless little shrug. "I'm supposed to be in charge of the Might Association's interactions with the hero commission, government, and other official groups but my job has evolved. I still do that but I am also in charge of our outreach programs that All Might and Star Might have set up."

"I had… heard a bit of that. Rehabilitating villains-"

Skywalker though shook her head. "I don't like calling them villains, especially since nearly all of them haven't been arrested when they come into our programs. They were merely people that society has let down that we work to help. Get them their high school degrees, set them up in non-discriminating housing, get them the counseling they need…"

"But they still break the law," Mirai pointed out. "That is how you become aware of them."

"Yes and no," she said. "Yes, some do break the law and we work with them. But others have sought us out when they've heard of the work we are doing. Of course we are also working with already established groups… that is speeding things along, you understand. We don't need to build everything up, we just use what is already there."

"But is it wise to do that?" Mirai asked. "What if a villain uses your good will to get benefits that will aid them? Or commit a crime and tarnish All Might's name?"

"What if an asteroid crashes into the earth and destroys the planet? With if the moon splits in half? What if the poles suddenly switch polarization?" She stared at him, her smile now gone as she looked at him not as someone curious about her work but instead an enemy that needed to be taken down. "What Ifs are not excuses for refusing to do the right thing and try and help others."

Mirai adjusted his glasses. "I simply think the risks outweigh the reward."

"Then you believe in the Escalation Conundrum."

"…that is different," Mirai said.

"Is it?"

The Escalation Conundrum was a theory that had been bandied about for the last 25 or so years, waxing and waning in popularity amongst heroics scholars. It had popped up roughly 8 years into All Might's career, died down at year later, came back another few years, died down, risen up when Endeavor had begun to climb the rankings, dropped down again…

It stated that the act of stopping a villain often times was more harmful to society than the villain themselves. That the dramatic chases through the city, the ground shaking battles, the assaults on hideouts… all caused more damage, risked lives, and cost more money than simply letting the villain go.

"Of course not," Mirai stated. "While of course there is no need to go with a full frontal assault against someone that is jaywalking crime must be dealt with. Otherwise they will escalate things themselves."

"And if one is able to nip things in the bud, to keep someone from falling into a life of crime… is that not better?"

"I do not like the idea that one is rewarded for doing a bad thing."

That caused Skywalker to shoot him a cool stare. "You've never dealt with Gran then."

THAT caused Mirai to pause. "I… are you saying that you got him-"

"To assist with the programs? Yes." Skywalker smiled. "He is hard but fair. And to be clear we aren't giving people free money to do with what they want. We monitor them, we have assignments for them, and if they fail to complete them they risk being drummed out of the program. And as they continue on they earn greater rewards."

Mirai shook his head. "I still think it is asking for trouble but I suppose I am not the one running the program, now am I?"

"No, you aren't," she said as she moved to the elevator, Mirai following after her. "What floor?" Mirai though took out his worn id card and slid it across the reader, allowing him access to Yagi's office. That made Skywalker raise an eyebrow before she did the same, showing she had the right to get to his office too. "I wasn't aware Toshi had any appointments today."

"Yagi and I interacted often when I worked with All Might. I wished to check up on him." It would do no good to say he wished to meet All Might; that was the surest way to get Skywalker to begin asking questions he didn't want to answer.

"Well, I hope you are quick because we are a touch busy," she said, much to his irritation.

"He'll make time for me."

They rode in silence for several long seconds before the elevator opened… and Mirai blinked in surprise.

The office was as he remembered it. Grand and beautiful but also comforting. Mirai had always had problems getting work done in it because he felt like he should be curling up with a good book rather than tapping away at a keyboard.

No, what was different was the man that was currently sitting at a desk (not All Might's desk… Yagi was careful never to sit at that desk unless it was for a photo shoot and honestly Mirai wondered if it ever got used properly) going over some forms.

Mirai's friend looked… healthy.

Oh, he wasn't anywhere near what he had looked like before his injury. His face was still gaunt and his frame far too thin. But he was no longer skeletal. His eyes were sunk into his skull and his cheeks deep hollows. He was wearing a properly tailored suit for once… Yagi had taken to wearing baggy clothing after his injury so he could hide how injured he was… and while thinner than he had been he didn't look like he was about to snap in half. And there was an energy about him too and it didn't come from his quirk at all. He was regaining his vitality. Drip by drip but it was returning.

"I can't make heads or tails sometimes of these request forms from the merchandising groups," Yagi complained, not looking up. "What child is going to spend 53,000 yen on an All Might figure? It can only move its head and that's just side to side!"

Skywalker chuckled. "They are for adults, Yagi, not children."

"I don't see why an adult would want one either. At least have the arms move…" He shrugged and signed off on the form. "The Lego sets are coming along nicely though."

"I'll look over them in a bit. We have a guest."

Yagi looked up and he smiled, which was a relief to Mirai. He had been worried how his old friend would react to him. "Mirai. Good to see you." He got up and Mirai again was struck by how healthy Yagi was. Before him rising up from a seat took a lot of time and effort, with him hiding the pain he was feeling when he did it. But he rose smoothly and shook Mirai's hand, grasp firm if perhaps not as strong as it had once been. "Sorry for the clutter… I'm trying to get everything taken care of by the end of the week. I suppose Gran called you to help out? It would be appreciated though I know you are busy."

"No, I haven't talked to him." Mirai said.

"Then… why are you here?" Yagi asked even as Skywalker moved to get some tea. "Not that I mind you being here, of course. I have been meaning to reach out to you… I know we didn't part on the best of terms but I still hold you as a friend and I am ashamed I didn't come to you sooner-"

"It is fine," Mirai said, even though he had longed to hear Yagi say those words. But their old feud was why he was there and he was hopefully now that maybe, just maybe, Yagi would listen to reason. The Star Might situation HAD to be handled. He needed to know about this woman, this supposed daughter of All Might, and how she had convinced Yagi to give up his quirk to her. 'And then convince him to get the quirk to a proper heir,' he thought as Skywalker walked up, handing him a cup of tea before giving Yagi a glass. He was about to warn her that Yagi couldn't have such things… only for Yagi to pull out a pouch of some kind, tear open the top, and take a long pull from it before sipping his tea.

Mirai stared in open shock.

"Yes, I eat now," Yagi said with a smile. "Though hopefully I will be moving on to better things in a few months."

"I don't… a few months?"

"That's what we are preparing for, though I suppose you don't know since Gran didn't talk to you." Yagi moved towards some backless couches that were set up near the small waterfall in the corner of the room, settled down with Skywalker sitting across from him, Mirai taking a seat closer to him. "Mirai… I'm getting my stomach replaced."

He nearly dropped his tea.

"Yagi, you could have built up to that a touch more," Skywalker said with a bemused smile.

"I'm sorry… you are getting your stomach replaced?" Mirai asked, hating how dumb he sounded just repeating what he had been told. "I don't… how?' He thought he would have heard if someone had such a quirk available to them. It would have been national news. 'Unless it's the Hero Commission,' he thought to himself darkly. 'Oh… please tell me you haven't agreed to do their bidding.'

Suddenly pieces began to fall into place. The appearance of 'All Might's Daughter' and him passing over his quirk… and now suddenly getting a new stomach from a quirk user the Hero Commission controlled? Of course… they had long accepted Yagi as the Symbol of Peace but hadn't been pleased that he wasn't controllable. His views often aligned with their own but he wasn't under their thumb. He could still act of his own devices. It was why Hawks (and yes, Mirai knew the man was tied closely to the commission though he still hadn't found out how he had ended up in such a situation) was quickly rising in the ranks. 'But perhaps they have decided that Hawks isn't a proper Number 1. So they decided to convince Yagi to give up his quirk to this Star Might, their puppet and pawn, in exchange for his stomach back. How utterly-'

"Oh no, not a quirk!" Yagi said with a laugh, cutting off Mirai's worries. "It is an artificial stomach."

"An… artificial stomach?" Mirai asked, befuddled by that. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"It is a new creation," Yagi said. "Built by Sir Steel and Power Loader. Principal Nedzu also had a hand in it… paw?" Yagi frowned at that, scratching his chin. "I mean, it is a paw but he uses it like a hand…"

Mirai considered that. 'Nedzu is no fan of the Hero Commission. And Power Loader has no interest in rising in the ranks. So I suppose it is safe. But Sir Steel… Sir Steel…' He racked his brain before remembering where he'd heard of the man before. "He was in Hosu, wasn't he?"

"He was," Skywalker said. "It was one of his first major hero fights. Normally he prefers working on his devices but he does step in from time to time."

It clicked in Mirai's head. "Skywalker… Skywalker Anakin."

"My husband," Skywalker stated. "I actually introduced the two of them."

Yagi nodded. "That's why we are trying to get all this work done. The operation will be on Thursday and I will be in bed for the next two weeks. I am NOT looking forward to that." He chuckled. "But I am looking forward to my first hamburger in years."

"AFTER you get through the recovery time," Skywalker told him gently but firmly. "Anakin was very firm on that."

"Of course, Padme. But even Jell-O will be a treat at this point." He paused. "Then the hamburger."

"We all agreed that we'll take you out for whatever burger you want. And once you are used to it we'll try some… other places."

"That sell hamburgers," Yagi said with a stubborn smile.

Mirai though was thinking about other things. "Yagi… might we talk privately?"

Yagi blinked at that before suddenly saying, "oh! Oh! How foolish of me!" He smiled. "Padme knows."

"…what?"

"All Might and all that," Skywalker said. "I know. One For All… all of it."

Mirai stared at his friend in shock and horror.

But Yagi held up a hand, his face growing stern. "Do not lecture me, Mirai. Her husband had to know in order to properly develop my new stomach, along with the other repairs he wishes to do. How could he properly fit something for me without knowing of my quirk? And Padme deserved to know for all the help she has done."

"Who… who else?" he managed to get out, stricten by the thought of the most important secret being known to more people.

"Anakin's brother, the hero Negotiator," Skywalker said. "And our friend Rex, the hero Dualshot."

'Two heroes,' Mirai thought. 'Its better than civilians but I don't like that ANYONE else knows. Its bad enough the Detective does. I know Recovery Girl was informed, as she treated him, and Nedzu, if he wasn't already told has figured it out. But why those two?'

"So anything you wish to say to me you can also say to Padme," Yagi commented.

Mirai looked at the woman before finally nodding. "I suppose if she already knows then she can perhaps help me talk some sense into you." That made them both frown. "Yagi, you are the Symbol of Peace. Our society has been built upon your shoulders and you do not get the credit you deserve for all you have done for us. We will never be able to repay you for all you have done and when it is time for you to retire you deserve to have all you desire and more.

"But while I understand this opportunity that is being dangled before you is tantalizing… you still have much to do. Yes, you have given up your quirk to this… woman…"

"Mirai," Yagi said, his tone a warning to tread carefully.

"…but you still have the embers of it, clearly. Are still able to do so much good. Perhaps, if you told me that she was only holding it until you recovered and then you would take it back that would be different, as having you fully repaired and whole would be wonderful and buy you many more years-"

The image of his friend dying flashed in his mind.

Mirai pushed it away.

"-but even if you have settled on her… replacing you-" Skywalker quirked an eyebrow at that and Mirai realized he must have let more bitterness than he meant to show to leak into his words, "-you still are All Might for a short while. Do not waste the last embers of One For All in a hospital bed. Wait until it has gone out-" 'And you have given it to a proper heir,' he thought, "-before doing this. Even a week lost…"

But Yagi shook his head. "Mirai… you do not understand."

"I know that it has been difficult, your injuries, but-"

"Mirai," Yagi said, cutting him off. "The surgery… I can not go into my All Might form again after it."

The world stopped dead.

"…what?"

"It would put too much strain on the stomach. In fact it has been putting too much strain on my other organs. It is why I was coughing up so much blood."

"What… what are you saying?"

Yagi smiled sadly.

"This week… will be the final days of All Might."