Midoriya raises her head and does her best to wipe the tears from her face. "Mr. Aizawa," He's been listening quietly the whole time, not sure how to react to all of this news at once. Taka Nobita is the culprit? And not just that. Apparently there are more victims than just Midoriya, including Rose Omoda herself. "Please let her go. Rose Omoda isn't the culprit. She's an unwilling accomplice. The real culprit is Taka Nobita, and he forced her to erase the memories of girls he's molested."

They all nearly gasp. Inko Midoriya stares at her daughter, realizing exactly what that means. "Izuku!" She hugs her child and starts to cry in earnest. "Oh… Izuku!"

The teen simply kneels there with the same frustrated look. Then she feels a hand on her head. It's All Might's, his other hand clenched tight into a fist. "I'm so sorry, kid," he chokes out. All Might had been the first to warn her, to tell her the cold, hard truth that she would be seen differently as a girl. But this is too much, he thought. No one deserved this, least of all Midoriya kid.

Aizawa understands that if so many people give testimony on a single culprit, and that if some of those people are his own students, whom he trusts, the culprit is undoubtedly guilty in his eyes. Indeed, logically, there is no room for doubt… However, as an adult, it's his job to face a hard reality: testimony alone will not be enough in court, not without some form of proof. And in the presence of two who had been hurt so mercilessly by the culprit, Aizawa finds it hard to ask them if they have any.

But Midoriya speaks again before anyone else has to. "No, I don't blame you, All Might. I don't blame anyone except Taka Nobita." The last thing she wants is to become exactly what he said she would, a person who despises heroes because they couldn't save her in time. Still, Midoriya isn't sure what to do with all this anger. The only thing she can think of is catching Taka Nobita to make sure he can never hurt another girl again, but even if the school goes and apprehends him right now, he'll be able to lie and get away with it. Because they have no proof. That's another reason why he hasn't been caught. But if they can find some proof somehow…

"Omoda-senpai… I'm sorry. You've already done so much, but… I need your help just a little more."

Rose blinks at him. Midoriya-kun needs her help? Her of all people? But she can't do anything! Nobody can do anything against Taka.

"We need proof. Is there anything you can tell us or show us that we could use? Anything he might've overlooked?"

Rose had asked herself that more than once over the years. But there was nothing. Taka left no trace behind. That's why he valued Rose so much too. He could just attack, erase the evidence, and never look back. One of his greatest strengths isn't just that he's talented or intelligent. He's efficient… and determined. He's determined to prove that heroes can never beat him, that they're useless, as they go around pretending to save everyone. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that after Samantha, that became his reason for living.

Samantha… Rose remembers something. She remembers how for the past 2 years, even as Taka was merciless towards most women, including Rose, there was one girl he seemed to gaze softly at. That girl had been buried in a nearby cemetery, and once a year, Taka would visit her with a bouquet of roses and sunflowers, sit down, and talk to her as if she were alive. Rose only knew this because she'd followed him once without him knowing. The first time he'd gone off by himself without telling Rose where he was going, she brushed it off, but when it happened the following year on the exact same date, she couldn't resist.

She still remembers that day vividly. It was June, and the middle of the rainy season, but Taka had forgotten his umbrella… Or maybe he purposely didn't bring it. As he approached the grave with his bouquet, they could hear thunder in the distance. Rose had remembered her umbrella but didn't open it out of fear Taka would see her. After handing over the flowers, he sat down and started to talk. Rose could barely hear him, but she could swear he was talking about school, about friends he'd made, his hero training, anything but the girls he'd attacked. Rose could swear he looked… happy.

Then it started to rain. He ignored it and continued to talk, even as his clothes started to sag from all the water. Then it started to pour. The thunder got louder. Even Rose wasn't totally protected as she stood under a nearby tree, watching him. He tried to continue his conversation. Slowly, he hunched his back more and more. Eventually, it was clear he wasn't talking anymore. He was screaming. The pouring rain and the thunder drowning him out, he sobbed, ran his fingers through his sopping wet hair, cradled his face in his hands. And Rose watched him.

Clearly Taka wouldn't want this, she thought, but as his sobbing fit grew more intense, she found herself pulled towards him. His tortured screams came through more clearly with each step, and he didn't even notice when she was finally right next to him.

She opened her umbrella and held it over him. He stopped screaming suddenly and slowly looked up at her. In his hysteria, it took him a moment to fully recognize her. When he realized what she was doing, and saw the faint look of pity in her eyes, he slowly stood up. Then angrily snatched the umbrella out of her hand and kicked her to the ground.

She splashed down but didn't seem angry about it. She just stared back up at him, as blankly as always. Once again, his eyes were cold, like knives made only for cutting her up and making a meal out of her. But no one, no one meal could ever satisfy the emptiness inside of him. She knew that firsthand.

He turned and trudged away, and that day she learned, nothing could ever fill the hole that Samantha Gardner had left in him. No one could ever be the light she was to him. The person he had loved all his life, with her death, had cast him into darkness. And Rose finally understood why he pulled others into that darkness with him. If he didn't… he'd be lonely there.

Of course, Rose had no forgiveness for him regardless. Any ounce of Stockholm Syndrome she'd had was long gone at that point, replaced by the emptiness that always masked any emotions she didn't want. She still has trouble understanding why she took pity on him that day, on the person who had never shown any mercy to her or to any of his victims. Even now, she doesn't assist him out of pity but simply because she has no choice.

…But if Izuku Midoriya wants to defeat him, and if there's anything she can do to help, then nothing, not pity, not fear, will stop her from trying. Just this once, she'll try, not because she hopes to win, but because she hopes Midoriya-kun will win.

Everyone is waiting with bated breath for her answer, for some form of proof against Taka Nobita. However, "No… There's nothing. He never leaves behind evidence. That's why he has me." Midoriya mentally kicks herself for asking. "But… he does have a weakness." They stare in anticipation. "Just one weakness."

"That's okay!" Midoriya blurts. "Just one is enough! If we can use it, maybe… maybe we can even get him to confess!"

A recorded confession is almost guaranteed send him to jail.

"You jerk…" Bakugo growls. "If you knew something like that, why didn't you just say so from the beginning?!"

"…I didn't really think of it as a weakness until now. It was the only thing I could think of."

"Wh-What is it?" Uraraka blurts.

"…Samantha Gardener."

Aizawa remembers that name. Samantha Gardener wasn't one of his students, but he'd heard about her from Present Mic and occasionally watched her in action. She was very promising, bright and optimistic (if not a little wild), and drew people towards her. She didn't always do well in academics, but with a quirk that made her sprout plant life from her body, she excelled at hero training and had an obvious, deep hatred towards villains, and loved to show off while she beat them.

Present Mic was proud of her… which was what made her suicide all the more shocking. According to Mic, she'd started to falter in the months before it happened. He could tell something was wrong and tried to talk to her but to no avail. He'd guessed that she was too proud to talk about it. Whatever happened had completely shaken her, and Mic was understandably shaken too when her parents called and told him that she'd poisoned herself to death with a plant she'd sprouted from her own quirk. If Taka Nobita is somehow connected to that…

"So that's what happened…" Aizawa also looks bitter. Offenders like these always have more than one victim before they're caught. It's different with bank robberies, with murder. Only geniuses or those working in a group can evade the police for very long with those kinds of crimes. They'd be famous, and every hero and police officer would be dead set on catching them, staking their careers on them.

…But molestation happened every day… and often in plain sight. Aizawa didn't like to think about it, because there seemed to be no good solution everyone could agree on, but he hated that part of their society for making light of what is logically a crime, just like robbery, just like assault, just like murder. And he hated how you didn't have to be a genius to get away with it, to have even more victims than someone committing assault. Their society encouraged criminals to believe they could get away with it by not doing anything about it. And now the proof is finally coming to the surface.

He clutches Rose's shoulder. "Tsukauchi-san… Let Rose Omoda go and give her to the school. You're free to question her, but I won't allow her arrest." Tsukauchi can see he's deathly serious. "She's a victim, and from now on she'll be assisting us in the capture and conviction of Taka Nobita."

Midoriya brightens. "Sensei…!"

Rose Omoda looks up at him. Then at the police officers as they all look to each other and give Aizawa an approving nod, removing the cuffs from Rose's wrist.

The sun is only just starting to set, and Rose realizes that she lived through another day…

That she's never felt more alive.