The sound of a door clicking open woke me from the darkness that clouded my vision. As my eyes flickered open slowly — helping me to adjust to the blinding light of the illuminated room — a low voice sounded.

"Ah, so you're awake, huh? Took you long enough..." The foreign voice spoke harshly.

"Where...?" I started, getting cut-off almost instantly.

"You're in the Tokyo Detention House. Room two-hundred and three, to be exact."

I felt my ears perk up as I jumped to my feet rapidly — readying myself for an escape — only to collapse as soon as my feet came into contact with the floor. Groaning, my hand shot up to my head — comforting the place in which my head impacted with the ground.

"Dumb move, kid. Your body's still recovering from your 'family reunion' a couple of weeks ago, or have you forgotten what had happened already?"

As I repositioned myself to sit upright — propped up against the wall — I took in the appearance of the man in front of me. His hair was long and slovenly — resembling the color of a raven flying overhead in the dark of night — while his eyes were black and ominous, reminding me of a deep abyss.

Eraser Head.

"You were impaled...?" The disheveled-looking pro hero reminded me — pointing to the bandaging along my stomach. "You've been fading in and out of consciousness, acting delirious and feverous, for the past two weeks" The man explained. "Honestly, you could have died. You didn't have your tetanus shots up-to-date, so a rusty pipe — flying straight through your stomach at a hundred miles per hour — could have killed you. I guess villain-work doesn't come with a health-care plan."

"Dabi, Toga, Mr. Compress, Spinner, Twice... Are they... Okay?" I began again — worry and regret lacing my voice — as I noticed Eraser Head's expression soften for a moment. "I saw them coming last minute towards Izumi and I, and I... I just want to know what happened to them..."

"They got away — with exception to Twice." He spoke, walking towards the small desk that sat close to the door. "As soon as your so-called friends saw the heroes capture you, they ran away like cowards."

No, they didn't...

"Even the big guy." The man elaborated. "They left you."

No.

They didn't.

"So... What now? Why are you here?" I asked.

"You've built quite the reputation for yourself, kid..." Eraser Head replied. "24-hour surveillance. Guards aren't cutting it — as proven during one of your episodes over the past two weeks. So, pros have been patrolling outside your room, and it just so happens that I was on duty when you began stirring in your sleep." Eraser Head explained — pulling out a phone. "Now, I'm going to alert the warden that you've woken up, and we'll bring your attorney in."

This will be a headache.

I groaned in response as I banged my head against the wall repetitively — trying to either wake up from the nightmare I had been shoved inside or make my cause of death 'head trauma'.

"What are you doing?" Eraser Head asked me in a monotonic voice — without shifting his gaze from his cell phone. "You'll damage your brain."

"Not like I'll need it anyway..." I responded dryly. "A trial is pointless; you'll just be prolonging the inevitable. I'll be going away for life — if not receiving the death penalty — because we all know that I'm guilty of whatever crimes you people accuse me of."

"Patricide, Theft, Murder, Aggravated Assault, Kidnapping..." The man listed.

"Yeah, I did all that, now can we call it a day?"

"No, because that's not the way we do things." Eraser Head spoke with annoyance — causing me to roll my eyes. "Now, your attorney's on the way, she'll be representing you in this case. Do, you know how this works, or do I need to explain it to you?"

"No, I'm sure I'll manage. I've become pretty independent over the course of my life if you couldn't tell by now." I sighed in exasperation.

"Great. We'll also be resurrecting you." Eraser Head's voice rung out, catching me off guard. "Legally speaking."

Jesus Christ...

What a way to phrase that.

Not even five minutes later, a knock sounded from the other side of the door. As a result, Eraser Head rose to his feet and opened the door — revealing a tall woman with white hair and electric-blue eyes.

"Ah, Takada Mai, thank you for coming so quickly."

"Anything for my clients." The woman — I'd presume to reside under the name Takada — spoke with a smile.

"I'll be outside the door. Just scream if you need help." Eraser Head spoke eyeing me up and down as he exited through the door with a slam — leaving me alone with who I'd guess to be my attorney.

The woman looked to be in her early-to-late twenties or so, sporting snow-white hair and icy-blue eyes that reminded me of a frozen lake — with skate marks already set in.

"Now, shall we begin with your defense?"

It had been two weeks since the battle had occurred, it had been two weeks since Endeavour had lost his quirk, and it had been two weeks since Izuku had been taken into police custody. No one was allowed to see him — with an exception to the pro heroes that were in charge of guarding his cell; although, I had heard that Izuku had been badly hurt, which surprised me. He seemed strong; powerful; invincible.

It was classified information, but Mrs. Yagi had access to it — considering Izuku was her son, and she was a pro hero. She told us that he had an infection — from the pipe that Izumi had found lying around their battlefield. The pipe had also punctured Izuku's stomach and had damaged his respiratory system.

He went into cardiac arrest twice.

Mrs. Yagi said that if it weren't for Recovery Girl's treatments, he would have died.

It seemed messed up, in my opinion. While Izuku was fighting for his life in a pre-trial detention facility's med-bay, Izumi was being praised by the heroes for her bravery and success in defeating a villain that neither All Might nor Endeavour could match.

She could have killed Izuku.

I could only imagine how he'd feel — hearing that Izumi was once again being praised for beating him up, as she had been in the past. Although damaged, Izuku was still the same at heart. When I looked into his eyes during our battle with Nine on Nabu Island, I saw how hurt he was; how sad he was; how broken he was — as he cradled his friend's body in his arms. However, when I looked into his eyes as he fought Izumi, I could see nothing but rage and hatred.

The happy, hero-fanatic I had once known was locked inside a cage of hate and fury. It was shielding him from happiness. He would never be happy so long as he holds onto the torture, we put him through. He would never move on until he feels he's received his revenge — until he receives justice for what we did to him.

I knew what I needed to do, and I knew when I needed to do it.

For his sake.

I will make this right, Izuku...

The weeks pre-dating my criminal trial — allotting time for evidence gathering and processing — were absolute hell for me. I wasn't exactly trying to conceal my work, nor had I tried to hide my identity, so the evidence was stacked against me. I truly just wanted this nightmare to end; however, I still have motives and plans, so I don't necessarily want to die.

As I walked through the courtroom with my hands bound by quirk-dampening cuffs, I could feel eyes tracing my figure. Countless eyes. The eyes of my father's past friends; the eyes of pro heroes; the eyes of my mother and her friends.; the eyes of my sister and her friends — I felt eyes. Countless eyes.

I took my seat, next to Ms. Takada, as I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I hated when people stared at me — especially with looks of disgust. It made me feel small; It made me feel weak; It made me feel powerless, as I once was.

I wanted to shrink into the stiff, wooden chair I had been sitting on and disappear. I wanted to close my eyes and be off, running through alleyways with Tomura — tripping and falling over my untied shoe-laces because I refused to tie them again. I wanted to be with my friends, watching the news, and laughing as the NPD tried to understand how we graffitied the highest point of the Tokyo Tower. I wanted so much, yet so little at the same time.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, followed by a soft smile from the woman beside me as she stood to her feet and began her opening statement.

"Good afternoon." She began, greeting the three judges and six civilians formally. "From the ages of four to fourteen, Mr. Yagi was abused and neglected by his family. He was abused and neglected by his friends. He was abused and neglected by his peers, and he was abused and neglected by his teachers. All for one reason: He was born quirkless." She paused. "In a world filled with quirks — in a society of superpowers — he was ostracized and shunned for being among the twenty percent that lack power. Let that sink in, the defendant — as a four-year-old boy — was abused by all of those that surrounded him, solely for not possessing power."

Pathos.

"From being told to take his own life by his friends, to being told to give up on his dreams by his idol — his own father — Mr. Yagi was alone; sad; hurting. The defendant was unaware of the fact that his father was the All Might until he witnessed a conversation between both his father and his sister. The conversation was about hero work. Not even an hour after telling his son to give up on his dreams of helping people, All Might praised his daughter for her power and decided to train her."

I cringed as Ms. Takada spoke. I hated hearing how pitiful my life was before meeting Tomura. I hated hearing how weak I was. I hated my life story, and I hated the looks I got when my life story was told. I hated everything. I felt weak in front of the courtroom full of judges and people here due to the Saiban-in system. I felt weak in front of the people in the back of the courtroom — watching attentively. I felt weak in front of my past friends and family — who decided to watch and hear my side of the story. I felt weak.

"Being turned against by everyone he had ever known and, or, come to love in the duration of his life, the defendant snapped. He gave up. He ran away from home to the top of his school, and there he attempted to take his own life. Mr. Yagi was hurting, so when he woke up and saw the man known as Shigaraki Tomura sitting next to him in a dark room, speaking to him — not as an insect, or someone who deserved to be made feel like less-than, but as an equal — Mr. Yagi was happy. He fell in love with the feeling of someone being there for him, and when I say there, I mean he was right there — caring for Mr. Yagi as if he were family. That was something the defendant had never truly felt before — having a family."

My attorney had told me that with all of the evidence and all of the witnesses, this was an impossible case. I would be convicted for all that I had done, but Ms. Takada thought she could lessen the weight — considering I was a literal child. Rather than execution, she thought she could get me a life sentence with the possibility of parole — perhaps. We had a few ploys up our sleeves, one being duress or coercion: the act of being forced and, or, manipulated unlawfully into doing something against your better judgment. That was our first defense.

"He was held there — in the base of the League of Villains — and was forced into brutal training, which involved killing and other unlawful activities. He was threatened into brutal training, which involved killing and other unlawful activities. He was manipulated into believing the villains cared for him because he had never felt the warmth of having a loving family. He was manipulated into committing these villainous acts because of all the time he had spent being told that he wasn't good enough."

On the outside, I kept a straight face; however, on the inside, I was seething with rage. Ms. Takada was painting my late brother and friends as if they were evil. While they were technically villains by legal standards, they were the best people I had ever known. I wanted to stand up and scream at the top of my lungs, but I didn't want to ruin my chances of not having a needle in my arm once this was all over. It was annoying, though.

"Over the course of this trial, you will see evidence of violent and villainous acts the defendant has performed. You will see evidence of unlawful things the defendant has done. You won't see any evidence of abuse from the defendant's past — because it was all scrubbed; however, I want you to keep an open mind to how he lived his life — through constant pain and torture, and in loneliness and self-doubt. I hope that once you have seen all of the evidence, once you have looked at all of the evidence, that you will find Yagi Izuku not guilty of all charges under the defense of duress or coercion. Thank you for your attention." With her statement concluded, Ms. Takada walked back to her seat and sat next to me.

This was going to be a long day.

"The defendant was seen here, beheading our past Symbol of Peace — All Might. Is this not you on the screen?"

"Yeah, that's me, but..."

"Do you tell me this was not, in fact, an act of terrorism that you committed out of your own free will?"

"No, but..." Izuku attempted to reply but was cut off quickly.

"No. So, you admit that you did this out of your own free will?"

"Well, yes, but he-..."

"Yes. Mr. Yagi murdered his father — our Symbol — out of his own free will. He wasn't forced into anything." The prosecutor spoke harshly as he grilled Izuku. "No further questions."

The trial had been going on for almost a week, which was quite a long time considering it was obvious that Izuku was guilty of all charges. The evidence was quite literally on a giant screen in the courtroom — in 4K resolution.

Todoroki, Izumi, and I were all here for different reasons — or at least I was. I needed a good moment to act. I needed a good time with context. I needed a moment where we were all present. I needed a slot of time when things were chaotic enough that a person yelling wouldn't bother the trial, but would get my point across, nonetheless.

I should have done this two years ago.

I should have done this twelve years ago.

"Let me ask you something, Mr. Yagi. Why did you behead your father?" Izuku's attorney asked in an unnaturally calm voice under the circumstances of the question.

I knew what he would say. I knew what his answer would be without him even speaking, and I knew that it was now or never.

"He was one of the main causes for my 'death', so I thought I would repay the favor." Izuku laughed dryly. "Although he wasn't one of the bastards that tormented me my whole life, he ruined it, nonetheless. I just grew tired of watching him smile his smile filled with fear and deception, acting as if he were the perfect depiction of heroics. I grew tired of watching him fool society into believing in his empty promises and lies. I grew tired of watching him get away with my fucking murder!" He cried out — growing angrier and angrier with each word that flowed past his lips.

"You said 'one of the people', were there more than one?" Izuku's attorney asked, obviously knowing the answer.

"Yes..." Izuku started as I stood up.

I could feel all eyes fall on me as I abruptly stood from my seat, interrupting Izuku as he spoke. As I bored into his eyes, I could feel an understanding sprout between us because we both knew that this was the moment he had been fighting so desperately for.

This was it.

This was the moment that I would set everything right.

"It was me..." I spoke. "I told him to do it. I told him to jump, but I wasn't the only one. Yagi Izumi, Shoto Todoroki, and I were the ones to torment and harass Yagi Izuku for ten years. Yagi Izumi, Todoroki Shoto, and I were the ones to tell him to jump. Yagi Izumi, Todoroki Shoto, and I were the ones to create this monster. We did this, and we got away with it. Until now. We bullied him to the point of suicide, and we should be held accountable. Izuku, I'm sorry." I spoke, confessing to the crime the three of us had committed.

Izuku wore a look of shock — as did the others in the courtroom — as I spoke, but one look I'd never forget was the one that Izumi wore. Her face contorted in rage and despair. Her eyes glimmered with hatred and anger. Her face was pale, and tears collected in her eyes as she stood to her feet.

"You... Why would you do such a thing?" Izumi began — confusing me as tears streamed down her face. "How could you do such a thing to my brother?!"

What?

"Excuse me?! Me?!"

"Why would you tell him to do such a thing? And why would you try to bring me down with you for what you did?!"

"What I... You were just as bad as I was, if not worse!" I shouted. "Todoroki, back me up here..."

"Todoroki, back me up here..." Bakugou asked me with a shaky voice — doused in disbelief.

I also felt that we should finally pay for what we had done, and due to that, I wanted to step up and solidify Bakugou's words. Keyword being 'wanted'. I wanted to stand up and shout at the top of my lungs that we were the ones to blame, all of us; however, Izuku had spoken to me about this prior to his capture.

He was prepared for a situation parallel to this one. He was prepared with backup plans among backup plans. He was prepared for every case scenario. He was prepared for even the most random of possibilities, so he was prepared for one of us to attempt a confession — one that would bring all three of us to our knees.

Deny.

Deny.

Deny.

Izuku knew that Izumi would never feel even the slightest hint of remorse for what we had done, so he knew that she would never confess to any of the harassment and torture we had put him through. He also knew that I would never say anything — seeing as I was a part of the League now, and if I were to confess to what we had done, then I would no longer be of use to him, and I would become a liability. That would only lead to my early death.

Considering neither Izumi nor I would ever take responsibility for our crimes, Izuku knew that the only person left was Bakugou.

Izuku told me that if Bakugou ever tried confessing for what we had done — using all of our names — I was to deny everything. No matter what it took to weasel my way out of whatever situation I was in, I was instructed to lie. I was instructed not to get captured by the NPD, nor the heroes, and seeing that we were already stuck in a situation where my vote is deciding, I knew what I had to do.