Broken [(Tododeku)Complete]

Memories

       I hate sleeping. I have never had the drams people talk about, where they fall in love, or win the lottery, or anything like that. All my dreams are nightmares. Or memories. Those are the worst. They are so vivid it feels as bbn if the past is repeating itself. Tonight is no different.

  *Five years prior*
     
            I'm walking home when I see police cars surrounding my house. I pick up the pace, reaching the driveway as my father is pulled out of the house. 'Is he being arrested?' My question is answered when I see the handcuffs. I stay back. If they see me, I don't know what they'll do. Just as they go to put my father into the cruiser, his eyes find mine. "You better do what your supposed to. Every night." I know exactly what he means. He has told me before. If anything happens and he isnt here one night to dish out my punishment, I have to do it myself. The cops turn to see who he was talking to but I have already ducked into the alley beside our house. I wait a few hours and finally the last of the officers leave. I make my way inside the house. Then it hits me. 'He's gone! He cant hurt me anymore!' I've never had this feeling before. It's almost like relief, but stronger. I feel... free. I go to my room and set my things down. I go make dinner and force myself to eat. He's not going to find out. He's gone for good. I fall asleep with a smile on my face for the first time ever.

2 Days later

   I sit in the kitchen, doing my homework when I hear the front door open. I could have sworn I locked it.... oh no. My heart freezes in my chest. He walks through the door. My father is home. He looks at me with a smirk. "Have you been doing what I told you?" He knows the answer. He grabs me by the back of my neck and drags me to Mom's room. And he begins my punishment.

   I jerk upright in the bed. Shoto, who was shaking my shoulder, jumps back a bit. I feel a cool substance on my cheecks and realize I'm crying. "Izuku, what's wrong? Talk to me!" I look at him. His voice is soft but there is obvious worry in his tone. Something inside me snaps. I break down and tell him why I did what I did last night. Why I hurt myself. I tell him about the memory. He holds me, whispering sweet nothing gs in my ear until I fall asleep. He doesnt leave my side.

The Day of the Trial
  
    I  wake up to a morning like the ones I've gotten used to over the past month. Shoto asleep beside me, light coming through the windows, birds singing outside. Except today's different. Today is my father's trial. I wake Sho, and he instantly realizes. He dresses in silence, knowing I need time to think. Then we head to the courthouse. There are reporters outside, because by now everyone has heard of what he did to me. It's crazy how much happier I've been since that day. The scars on my back haven't even fully healed. Seems kinda crazy. The reporters spot me and rush over, bombarding me with questions. Shoto guards me and gets me inside the building with a little effort. Shoto's sister, Fuyumi, is my lawyer- she graduated law school a few years ago and now has her own firm- and she waves us over to our seats. We sit in the front row, seeing as I have been called to testify. I'm terrified. I dont even want to see this man. After about 15 minutes the trial begins and my father is brought out. He glares at me, trying to lunge out of the guards' hold. I flinch. The guards manage to get him in the seats across the way from me. I can feel his eyes burning into me. The judge goes through the list of charges against my father, attempted murder, assault, child abuse, child negligence, and drug use, just to name a few. Soon enough I'm brought up to the witness stand. My father's lawyer- a nicely dressed, dark haired man named Kurogiri- approaches. I swear on oath to answer the questions honestly, and then it begins. "Mr. Midoriya, your mother died very young didn't she? Right after your birth, correct?" "Yes" I answer shakily. "And would you say that your father is mentally stable?" "That depends on the context." I reply. "Oh? Do explain." "My father is a bit unstable, but not crazy. He knew what he was doing. He was fully aware of the torture he was putting me through and it just didnt bother him. So I believe he was mentally stable." I say honestly. I know what they are trying to do. Like every other time someone commits a crime like this, they blame insanity, and get sent to a mental hospital for a few years. But my father isn't insane. And he deserves prison. "Did you ever... provoke him?" He asks. "If simply existing is provoking. He never needed a reason." I can see the lawyer starting to lose hope. He asks a few more questions, but I answer them easily. Then its Fuyumi's turn. "Mr. Midoriya, your father is an alcoholic, correct?" "Yes." "Was he always under the influence when he hurt you?" "No, there were multiple times he was sober when he beat me." "How often did he harm you?" "Daily." "What was the normal routine for you?" Go to school, come home, cook, let him eat, he would give me just enough food to make a couple bites, clean, and then go to my mother's old room for my beating." "What did he normally do to you?" "Kicks, punches, anything he could do with bare hands." "So what made this time so bad?" "It was the anniversary of my mother's death. Also my birthday." "What did he do?" I take a deep breath to calm myself. "He tied me down, cut me wherever he could with a small kitchen knife, hit me with a mallet, then his fists, and finally he... burned me." "Can you elaborate please?" I nod. "He took a long metal rod, held it over a flame till it glowed red, and then repeatedly slammed it down on my back." "Permission to approach, your honor?" Fuyumi asks. "Granted." He replies. She comes to me first. She hands me pictures taken at the hospital of my injuries. "Are these, in fact, your injuries?" Fuyumi inquires. "Yes." I agree. She hands them to the judge. "That is all, your honor." He convenes and we wait in the hall for an answer. We wait barely an hour before the judge reaches a decision. Life in prison, no chance of bail. I cry tears of joy the whole way home.

1172 words