"I know you'll make the right decision."

His words taunted her, mocked her, as she made her way home. She felt like a dog with its tail between its legs, timid and uncertain of what to do. The obviously choice glared in her eyes, blindingly bright — turn him in. Give Mr. Aizawa over to the police and let them handle it from there. He wouldn't be able to hide all the evidence of his activities from them. There would be proof of where he was spending his nights and what he was doing in his free time.

But would they even believe her to begin investigating him? A hero moonlighting as Yakuza, it was beyond imagining — especially a teacher at UA. In his position he was above reproach, and if this went nowhere then it could sink any opportunity for her to become a hero. If word got out to agencies that she "falsely" accused a hero of being Yakuza — of all things, Yakuza — no agency would take the risk of hiring her. She might as well turn in her hero equipment now and go be an accountant or a realtor.

Momo hadn't changed after she left the club, but she'd taken off the high heels and begun carrying them after the first couple blocks walking to the train. It was insult to injury, walking back with a blister on the back of each of her heels. She wouldn't be running well tomorrow in class.

She suddenly paled — what was she going to do about school tomorrow? She was supposed to have the last day of her internship, and she'd essentially walked off the job. That would be a marvelous mar across her record even if she didn't turn Mr. Aizawa in. This entire night was one big moral dilemma that was going to ruin her future before she even had a chance. Her head hung and she chewed on her lip as she walked and mulled over what to do. Mr. Aizawa was doing a terrible thing, but she didn't know if it was worth the risk.

And he'd threatened her family. Would he actually follow through on that? Her father worked as support for a Pro Hero agency, and had even had a few years in the "big leagues" as a Pro Hero himself. It was a position that required the total trust of the community, and it all suddenly felt so very fragile to consider how many ways Mr. Aizawa — Danchou — could hurt her family. He could ruin her father's career somehow, which would devastate her entire family. He could do something to threaten their safety, and Momo had no way to watch over her mother and father at all times. Even if she could, it would guarantee nothing except that she would be a helpless spectator to it.

There was a knot of tension in the pit of her stomach. Unbelievably, to turn in Shouta Aizawa might be too high of risk. Could she live with herself if she kept his secret, though? How could she go on to become a Pro Hero if she made a conscious decision to protect a villain?

"—report coming in from Hosu City that the chaos there is finally under control. It took multiple teams of heroes to bring the fires there under control, and we've been informed that the Number Two Hero, Endeavor, was on-site to deal with the villain attack." Momo's steps slowed to a stop as she passed by a stand, its TV tuned to the news. The man behind the counter didn't look at her when she paused, his back to her to listen to the report as well. The commentator's face vanished, replaced by a photo of—

She sucked in a noisy breath, and the man glanced back for a split second. That was a Nomu — the same thing that had attacked them at U.S.J. Just remembering the U.S.J. incident wracked her with guilt and conflict; Mr. Aizawa had taken one hell of a beating protecting them. Didn't that count for anything? Shouldn't that matter and be weighed against his sins? She had no time to dwell on it. The news woman was back on screen.

"—also apprehended the hero killer, Stain. Rumor has it that three junior heroes — students from UA who were in Hosu City for internships — were present for the arrest, and may have been targets. All injuries from the encounter with the hero killer are fortunately being reported as minor."

When it was over the man behind the counter turned to her and asked if she was going to buy a magazine or not. She clumsily picked the nearest magazine off the stand and handed him the money, not even knowing what she'd taken, before continuing home. Her classmates had been in Hosu City and faced off against the Hero Killer? She couldn't even imagine. Who would it have been? She tried to remember where everyone had taken internships, but her mind was already racing with everything else that had transpired tonight to focus on details like that.

Her father was on the phone, pacing in the vestibule, when she came home. He met her eyes and gave her a smile, putting out an arm to wrap around her shoulder and give her a half-hug before continuing with his back-and-forth.

"Yes, I heard. Yamaguchi-gum and Sumiyoshi-kai are both sending people to Hosu," he continued on, and Momo's head swiveled to look at him in surprise. Those were the two largest Yakuza crime syndicates in Japan, she was familiar with their names. It only took her a moment to put two and two together. After all, she'd been the one to tell Ochaco and Mina about Yakuza's more charitable side.

"They have helped communities in times of need — like after the big earthquake a few years ago. The Yakuza clans helped with disaster relief, one family even provided a helicopter for use. Usually they're faster and more efficient than the police. And, typically, if you stay out of their way, then you have nothing to worry about."

If there had been a crisis in Hosu City, and it sounded like there had been, then it was doubtless that people were stepping up to help. Even the criminals. Momo's father reached out and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, before he finished his call and hung up.

"Did you hear about what happened in Hosu City?" he asked, and she nodded. "It won't take long to resolve."

"Are Yakuza really going out there to help?" she asked, looking up at him, and it was his turn to nod.

"And it's for the best if they do," her father said. His next words didn't sit well with her. They forced her to take a step back, for reasons she hadn't expected to, and dwell some more on the decision that lay ahead. "Sometimes they keep the order just as well as the Heroes. Sometimes, just sometimes, it takes both to keep a city civilized."