"A middle-aged woman was found dead on the outskirts of the city, her husband suffered minor injuries and the police are waiting to question him, it is suspected that it was a personal grudge against the family that caused the perpetrator to take action, the case is on-going."

"Deku arrived on the scene but was unable to save them, it was revealed that the wife had died from a heart attack and the police have yet to identify the suspect, the police believe this is a case of domestic violence that took an innocent life, the scene at the location confirmed there was a struggle and are looking into the matter."

"There is an ongoing search for [Y/N] [L/N] who went missing this year, it is confirmed that she is connected to this case and could likely be the culprit, the people who knew of her say she was a reserved person who quit her job all of a sudden and has since been declared missing."

"Earlier today, the pro-hero Deku filed a case against Ground Zero on grounds of harassment and bullying, currently we do not have sufficient information on the matter, the court meeting is arranged for tomorrow, till then keep watching.'

It was big news for everyone to hear that morning, Cameron was the first one to hear about it while entering the station with his usual coffee, it was the talk of the town and he kept hearing about it nonstop, he knew something was wrong with that Pro-hero, if only he got to investigate him further, maybe he could get some answers.

"Are you going to be present for tomorrow's meeting? You know that blonde dude who almost choked you has got himself in quite the predicament!" Tate exclaimed standing beside the lost man and looking up at the television, "You look focused."

"Rookie, shut up, it is too early for you to be yelling in my ear and I haven't even had my coffee," Cameron replied with a bitter facade and ignored the young man's previous statement, which caused Tate to raise his eyebrows.

"Moody today, are we? Come on, the media is hiding a lot of things from the public, this Pro-hero has some influence coming from the top, figures, probably why our investigation was shut down." Tate was eager to discuss with his senior, watching him with puppy eyes as Cameron sighed and took a sip of his coffee.

Staring up at him, he said, "Yeah, I have to be there since there are hidden allegations of kidnapping and some drug usage."

"Man, Deku really about to drag him through the mud or what? I heard his middle school days with him were rough, and he got bullied a lot. So I wouldn't blame the guy."

"Come on, it's not that simple," Cameron muttered, taking another sip of his coffee and sighing at the clueless young man, "You think he's doing this for a simple reason after so many years when he could have done it much earlier?"

"Maybe he has the patience of a saint and a golden heart." Tate mused, chuckling to himself.

"Rookie, I'd be worried about you having any criminal cases to solve when you are this dumb." Cameron began walking away from the entrance, already having done with Tate's shenanigans, "That's why I'm here to learn from you." and he followed him much to his dismay.

"Something is off, I think it has something to do with the case we were working on, moreover since we didn't get to question his fiance, this might be our best chance to learn some new information."

"Oh, thinking like a fox... I kinda like the idea."

"So you better keep your mouth shut, let's meet tomorrow before the court meeting."

---

Izuku tightened his tie and looked at himself in the mirror, he hadn't slept much but it was better than nothing he reassured himself, it had only been two days since everything happened, and he couldn't keep quiet anymore, so he either went big or let his friend down.

With limited evidence, it would be hard to win the case but he has to do something.

He has her father's statement and the mystery death of her mother which could be enough to get him jailed if they could prove their theory, and prove him guilty but he suspects it could be ruled out if he and his team weren't careful enough.

He relaxed his muscles and walked to the entrance, spying on one of her shoes and remembering her sitting alone by the screen, and smiling when he came back from work. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

He won't fail her again.

He met with Kacchan first after arriving at the scene with a bunch of cameras waiting for them, flashes blinding their eyes and questions thrown in to confuse them, they shared a brief eye contact as Bakugo walked through the steps and into the courtroom.

Izuku watched him and was quickly snapped out of it by the reporters asking him why he had filed a case against his colleague, of course, he just smiled and waved, briskly moving them and heading straight towards the entrance.

He was relieved to be inside after the commotion, he never thought he would have to speak up in court, and this marked his second time, he felt his palms sweat but he quickly wiped them off, he observed the room and found his childhood friend sitting with his arms crossed and glaring at the walls.

He didn't feel the need to greet him, so he quietly sat down and waited for the hearing to begin.

"Hey!! Look-" Izuku turned his face to the men standing far behind him, only to be met with a strange sight. A middle-aged man clasping shut his son's mouth, though Izuku wasn't sure if they were related but it looked like they were.

Cameron had barely managed to tune out the Tate's impulsive ravings, he smiled at the Pro-hero and slightly bent his head, and Izuku returned the gesture.

"I would appreciate it if you do not leak any information while we are, understand?" Tate just huffed and nodded.

Soon, the judges and prosecutors arrived, and the hearing began, the courtroom was lacking in witnesses he noted, a few officials, and a selected number of journalists. He was certain this was a precaution to make sure things didn't spread and ruin their names.

"Good morning, counsel, are we here to discuss the recent allegations of kidnapping, bullying, harassment, and drug usage, against Mr. Katsuki Bakugo?"

"Yes, your honor."

The judge began, "Please state your names and your defendants."

"I am Miri Suzuki, I'll be speaking on behalf of my client Izuku Midoriya against Katsuki Bakugou." He quickly stood up with his lawyer and carefully heeded every word. He was nervous.

"I'm Mikor Misu I'll be speaking on behalf of my client Katsuki Bakugou against Izuku Midoriya, this case was issued on 2 April against my client on grounds of harassment and allegations of Kidnapping."

"Proceed." The judge stated.

Mikor nodded.

"Mr. Bakugou was regarded as a prodigy during his middle school days and this led to a superiority complex between the two, I will prove this case is nothing but a jealous impulsive action, and that my client is innocent until proven guilty."

"What's the reason behind these allegations?" The judge stated and Izuku knew it was his turn to change the stakes, his lawyer quickly got up and replied, "This involves a missing person, your honor, a woman who goes by the name '[Y/N] [L/N]' and my client knew of her. He believes that Mr. Bakugo is the culprit behind her disappearance, and has harassed her on numerous occasions. This is not a jealousy case."

"Is there evidence for this?" The judge asked.

Cameron quickly jotted down the name in his notepad, carefully eyeing the blonde from behind as the situation darkened, "We do not have evidence currently, but we have a witness who can testify. I would like to call [F/N] Whitelock as my witness to the stage, your honor."

"Permission granted."

Mikor carefully monitored the scene and took a quick peek at Izuku.

Izuku watched her dad walk up to the platform, tired and having spared no time for grief to cope with the situation everyone could see it on his face sadness, the face of a man who had lost his family. To some extent, he was worried about her dad's health, and truly if they could spare some time for him to heal, he would but everything had to happen now or else... He would never get the chance.

"Permission to question the witness your honor." Mikor had wasted no time in standing up and gave them no chance to speak up first.

"Granted." Mikor stepped out of his section and walked towards [F/N] with a stiff frown.

"Is [Y/N] your daughter?" Mikor asked and he watched her dad simply stay put before answering, "Yes, she is my daughter."

"Isn't it strange that a stranger reported the missing of your daughter before you did? And claims that your daughter had been bullied and harassed."

Izuku knew that winning this case and declaring Katsuki innocent was Mikor's uttermost priority so it didn't come as a surprise when he started his statement devaluing his witness.

"[Y/N] didn't want revenge or whatever you call it, she had forgiven the boy is what you could say. Me and my family had decided to move overseas a long time ago, and [Y/N] had to finish her contract before taking off, so she was going to be alone for almost a year." Her dad continued, keeping a straight face and saying everything he knew with a strong tone.

"When she canceled her flight all of a sudden and didn't bother to tell us until much later, she told us he had taken control of everything, her cards, her passport, her accounts, drugged her, basically your client was going to trap my daughter. He made her call us and make it seem as though nothing was wrong."

"And you fell for it?" it was a thinly veiled mock and making it seem like a question made [F/N] furrow his eyebrow and scowl.

"We came back for her, and that bastard killed my wife!! He forced himself into my house and took away my daughter again!"

"We found no such evidence that proves that he killed your wife, how would he even enter your property in the first place?"

"You people are hiding everything!! That bastard has my daughter locked up somewhere!"

"Order!!" The judge had earned everyone's attention and glared, "Is there any evidence to prove that?"

"[Y/N] is still missing. But if we can gather a search warrant we can and we will find her." Miri quickly got up and continued, "My client was the last one who saw her."

"Was Miss [Y/N]'s disappearance reported to the authorities then?" Mikor questioned, and Miri glared at the man, "Yes."

"Then why haven't we found her yet? She could have taken off all on her own. You're not proving anything against my client."

"That's because the report was never accepted by the police, I would wager there was something that influenced them, so yes, this kidnapping was out of the radar, and nothing was found that would have caused suspicion."

"Then, how are you so sure that Mr. Bakugo is behind [Y/N] disappearance?" Mikor fired back and for a second Izuku forgot to think, he hoped he could share the burden with Miri, but this wasn't the place where he could speak up whenever, and after she had told him to not overshare anything, he could only observe.

"Because Mr. Bakugo loved her."

Mikor looked taken aback by her bold statement but chuckled and grinned, "You aren't making sense. That's not how love works."

"Which is exactly why I would like to call Mr. Bakugo to the stage. Your honor, I would like to question the suspect."

"You may."

Katsuki looked unbothered as he faced Miri, standing tall and proud inside the platform and keeping a neutral posture, "Did you know [Y/N]?"

"Yeah. We studied in the same school." it was a cold answer, no lightness present in his tone even at the mention of someone he deeply cared for.

"What was your relationship with her like? Were you on good terms?"

"We were classmates, I guess I had a thing for her in the past, as her dad mentioned, she forgave me..."

"Do you no longer harbor feelings for [Y/N]?" Miri saw him hesitating just for a split second but it was enough for her. "No, I don't."

"When was the last time you saw her?" it was a trick question, and although he was tempted to say something along the lines of 'in my bed' it would not end well for him.

"At a restaurant a couple of months back."

"Right, so you were stalking her or maybe you were just passing by?" Miri was being sarcastic and all Katsuki could do was furrow his eyebrows.

"It was a reunion party with colleagues and she just happened to be there."

"Liar!!! You saw her when you took her away from us!" [Y/N]'s dad leaped up from his seat and yelled, "He's lying!!" the bleak atmosphere had been sliced through by her dad's frantic shouts, and all eyes fell on him.

"Order!! Remain seated Mr. [F/N]."

Izuku knew if Katsuki didn't fight back now, he would lose the case and potentially his entire career, he had to lie now and they had to prove he was lying. However, that's where they were lacking, there just wasn't enough evidence. Not that they could use at least, and anything she left behind at his place could turn the table on them instead.

Miri turned back to Katsuki and smiled, "Since you are on good terms, why don't you help us find your classmate? That is if you have nothing to hide."

Katsuki showed no interest in her statement.

It's been long, how are you?
Honestly, I couldn't finish this chapter after losing my pet, it still hurts to think he was alive when I wrote this. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, I'll be back with more. Thank you so much for your patience.