Once they take Midoriya back inside to rest in bed, All Might escorts her mother outside of the room. There isn't much he can do for the investigation; he knows that, but the least he can do is keep her company and keep her calm. Everyone else begins to discuss the game plan for Taka Nobita's capture.

"I say we just go and beat a confession out of him!" Bakugo starts, helpful as ever.

"That won't work." Rose retorts, quiet as ever.

"Why not?!"

"Because Taka would make it look like you attacked him for no reason."

Aizawa cuts in. "You're saying threats and torture don't work on him."

Rose nods.

"The only thing that'll work is a plan involving Samantha Gardener?"

She nods again.

"Then let's find the chick and hold her hostage!" Bakugo continues.

"That's not what a hero would do, Kacchan!" Midoriya scolds him.

"She's dead." Rose states bluntly.

They all pause except for Aizawa. "…She's been dead for two years."

"Wait…" Midoriya pieces things together. "So the girl he talked about, the one he said he wanted to be a hero for… But then he…"

"Yes. She was the first… I was probably the fourth or fifth." Everyone looks bitter and pained just thinking about it, just listening to Rose speak so matter-of-factly about it, as if it's normal.

"Well?!" Bakugo yells at her. "Why didn't you fight back or erase his memories or somethi—!"

"Kacchan!" It came out more harshly than even Midoriya expected. But she won't tolerate him making light of the matter anymore. It wasn't something you should ask about if you've never been through it.

"Bakugo-kun!" Uraraka yells at him. "Now's not the time to be insensitive!"

"Bakugo," Aizawa growls, losing his patience too, "Either add something seriously constructive or leave."

His glare promptly silences the blonde for a moment. He carefully thinks through his next words. "…Like I said, if you did something to his memories, wouldn't that work?"

Midoriya blinks. "…Come to think of it, being able to take memories and give them back at will is…"

"Fucking strong," Bakugo hisses with a hint of jealousy.

A little surprised by Bakugo's astute deduction, Uraraka chimes, "Y-You're right!"

Aizawa thought about it too. "…It is." They all stare at Rose.

"…Eh?" Rose is confused. "…Strong? …How?"

They all pause and stare at her. Then for a moment, it looks like Bakugo is going to blow a gasket, so before he can say anything, Aizawa asks her, "Is there a limit to how many memories you can take or give?"

"…I'm not sure. I've only taken a few."

"Can you give them to anyone, or only to the person you took them from?"

"I can give them to anyone, also to animals."

"That's super convenient." The gears are already turning in Midoriya's head. "Memories, giving and taking, Samantha Gardener, a confession. Maybe we could use Taka Nobita's memories of Samantha Gardener to get him to confess? Is it possible to take his memories of his crimes and give them to the police?" So much that her thoughts start to spill out like they sometimes do.

"It's possible." Rose breaks Midoriya's train of thought and makes her realize she was thinking out loud again. "But I wouldn't recommend it. The police would have to retain those memories for as long as they persecute Taka. And since memories alone can't be used as evidence, the police would only know the events as fact because they experienced it themselves. Also…"

Bakugo is surprised to see her talking so much all of the sudden, and he's still pissed that she could figure out all of that on her own but still never tried to stand up against the jerk. "…Let me guess. It comes with some kind of huge drawback, like… if you retain the memories, it means you feel what the original owner felt."

They all pause, then turn to her. She nods. After realizing that's an enormous drawback, not just for the people who receive the memories, but also for the owner of the quirk, they all come to the same frightening realization almost simultaneously.

Midoriya starts, "…Doesn't that mean… If you've been taking memories from his victims and holding onto them, then…"

Her gaze shifts down, partly in shame, partly in resignation. "…Yes. I remember everything."

Rose regrets saying it after looking up and seeing the pained looks on their faces for the umpteenth time. She doesn't want to cause anyone even a fraction of the pain she's been through. She doesn't want them to worry about her. It's useless anyway. She isn't worth it, and there's no way to stop Taka… At least, that's what she'd always believed.

"In any case," she continues in a serious attempt to dispel the looks on their faces, "I don't see how my quirk would be useful here. It's inconvenient. And I can't use it very well, not without hurting myself or someone else I don't mean to hurt." She grips her skirt. "Someone like me wouldn't be able to get Taka to confess anything. I… don't mean that much to him, and he knows I can't beat him. That's why he uses me. Just knowing his weakness isn't enough either. That's why I said it's impossible. Taka is-"

"On and on and on and ON!" Bakugo jumps up, knocking over his chair. "SHUT UP!"

"Kacchan!"

"Shut up! Shut up! All of you!" He walks around Aizawa, points at her, and jabs his finger into her forehead. "You…" his voice practically oozing fire, "Out of all the jerks I've met, you're the type I hate the most." He's fury incarnate, and everyone knows there's no stopping him now. "Even Deku, back when he was quirkless, always trying to stand up to me, always thinking he could beat me," he takes a deep, strained breath, "EVEN HE'S LESS ANNOYING THAN YOU!"

Woahhh, Midoriya, Aizawa, and Uraraka all think. That's… Wow…

"At some point, we all came to the same conclusion," he continues after catching his breath. "The culprit had a memory erasing quirk. He could attack people and then make them forget they were ever attacked in the first place. That's what we all thought, and no one wanted to admit that even if we figured out who the culprit was, there was no way to stop him! He could just take our memories and run off if he wanted to! But that's not what happened! That jerk can only extend his fingers or some shit, so he started using you 'cuz he knew your quirk was stronger!" Rose blinks at this, even as he digs his finger harder into her head. "I mean, what the fuck?! You can figure out how to use your quirk, but you can't use it when it counts?!"

"It's not that simple, Kacchan!" Midoriya interjects. "You don't know what it was like! You don't understand anything!" Tears are in her eyes.

"I know that she could beat him if she tried! Not single one of you! If you have even one brain cell! Not a single one of you thinks her quirk is weaker than his! So what are you pitying her for?!" He caught his breath again. "The only reason she keeps losing is 'cuz she beats herself up first before he even gets a chance." He turns to stomp away, stopping at the door. Then turning his head back to them, "If you come up with a plan, make sure it doesn't hinge on her. She'll ruin it before you even start."

He opens the door to see All Might trying to keep several, clearly peeved, nurses from entering the room. "Excuse me!" one of them starts at Bakugo, "But this is a hospital! How dare you scream in here!"

"SHUT UP!" he screams, silencing them. "I'm going home anyway!" And stomps past them. For a moment, they're all at a loss for what to do, but they follow him to make sure he won't cause any more trouble.

Woo! Finally 2/3 of the way through the first arc! Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "What the hell, man, this was supposed to be a BakuDeku story! Who the fuck are all these other people, and why do I have to wait 10 more chapters to see some actual BakuDeku?!" Well, I'm getting there, but Midoriya needs the development in this arc in order for the next one to make sense. For those of you enjoying it so far, thank you for making me feel like my life has purpose. T-T I promise you the next arc has way more BakuDeku. It's coming along really well. :D And hey, if you'd like to just finish this arc right now and wait patiently for the next one, there's always my secret stash (yet another shameless plug). :P