Before this chapter starts, I'd like to let you guys know that I uploaded a story based on the CPU Deku chapters. It's an expanded take on the CPU Deku idea, and it's going to be very different than CPU Deku. CPU Deku will get more parts in the future, but A Little Faith is going to be its own thing. Check it out if you're interested.

Deku is an Ace Attorney. Mina is on trial!

Ace Attorney Deku

Mina couldn't believe what was happening. Years spent both training to become a hero and building up her career as a sidekick, and now that she was finally ready to go solo? Disaster. Tragic disaster!

She was being accused of murder! Murder and bank robbery! The police had arrived on her doorstep that morning and arrested her on the spot! She'd demanded to talk to Detective Tsukaichi at once. He could prove her innocence for sure.

But of course, by sheer coincidence, the good detective was on holiday! Two weeks in the Bahamas, dragged there by his sister to make sure he doesn't die of overwork. Of all the rotten luck!

There was a bright spot, however. None of her friends and ex-classmates believed a word of it. Several had visited her to give their support. The one that stuck out most to her was Yaomomo, who promised to pay for the best lawyer that money could buy. Who, by Momo's standards, probably had a solid diamond briefcase and gold plated tie.

So here she was, sitting in the detention centre, meeting her best hope for getting out of spending the next few decades chilling in Tartarus with All for One and Shigaraki and the like!

When she saw the man, she had to admit she was disappointed. He looked so plain! With his messy green hair and that abomination of a tie, he barely looked capable of dressing himself, nevermind defending someone in court.

Not that she could talk. She hadn't even brushed her hair this morning. Not that she could have.

"Wow, I can't believe I get to meet Pinky herself!" The man said, his eyes sparkling with awe. Now normally, she'd have been flattered that he recognised an unranked hero like herself. She might have even teased him about it. But even someone as cheerful as Mina couldn't bring herself to liven it up.

"Uh...you're my attorney?" She couldn't have kept the skepticism out of her voice if she'd tried, so she didn't bother. "I mean, always nice to meet a fan…"

The man blushed, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile. Damn, he was actually kinda cute. "A-Ah, right, sorry about that! I'm a bit of a fan of heroes."

"You should be used to it by now, Deku! Besides, you're a hero, too!"

Mina blinked and looked at the girl next to him. She wore an elementary school uniform, and had long white hair, red eyes, a horn on top of her head. A new horn buddy! Wait, hang on... "Um, what's with the kid?" Then she blinked. "Wait, you're a hero?"

Deku scratched his head again, before coughing into a fist. "Right. Um, this is Eri. She's kind of my assistant." Eri smiled and waved, and Mina, finding herself cheered up a bit at the cute sight, waved back. "And yes, I am technically a hero. I'm the Ace Attorney Hero, Deku, but to my clients my name is Midoriya Izuku."

Mina leant back in her seat. "Ace Attorney Hero? What, you're a hero and a lawyer?"

Midoriya nodded. "Yes. I'm a lawyer who has a hero license, which allows me to use my quirk in the courtroom. It's proved to be very helpful for my career."

Mina blinked. "Um, is that allowed?"

"There's a precedent with Detective Tsukaichi," Midoriya said, shrugging. "He's used his quirk in court many times to catch liars."

"So, do you have a lie detector quirk, as well?"

Midoriya shook his head. "No, not quite. But what my quirk is isn't important. I've looked at the crime scene already, and it's not looking great for you, is it?"

"I hope she didn't see anything gruesome," Mina said, looking at Eri. If this mess she'd gotten into had traumatised a kid…

Eri shrugged. "Eh, I'd seen worse before even meeting Deku."

Mina stared.

"Yes, well, anyway," Midoriya pulled at his collar, further messing up his tie. The motion brought her gaze to her clavicle, and she saw a hint of the definition beneath. Damn it, this is no time to get horny, Mina!

Heh, horny.

"The victim was heavily deformed by acid burns," Midoriya said, looking at a file he pulled out of his - bog standard - leather briefcase. "Tests have confirmed that they were caused by the same acid that your quirk creates. By all accounts, it's pretty conclusive evidence."

"Like heck it is!" Mina shouted, watching through the glass as Midoriya flinched back in his seat. "I don't care what your little folder says, I didn't do it!"

"W-Woah, wait, I believe you!" Midoriya said, holding up his hands.

Mina blinked. "Y-You do?"

He nodded. "Absolutely! There's no way that Pinky could ever kill someone, right? Besides," he reached into his briefcase and pulled something out, "I think this piece of evidence proves that it wasn't you."

Mina gasped, and tried reaching for it before remembering the glass. "My hairbrush!" And it was her hairbrush! Bright pink - gotta stick to the theme - with strands of pink hair stuck in the bristles. "I was freaking out this morning because I couldn't find it!"

"I thought so," Midoriya said, putting it back in his briefcase. "I believe that this hairbrush is the decisive evidence that will clear your name."

"Eh!? How is a hairbrush gonna prove my innocence?" Mina was baffled! What was this guy on?

"Don't be too shocked," Eri said. "One time, Deku cross-examined a hamster, and it helped him prove that his client was innocent, and he caught the real killer in the process! A hairbrush is nothing by comparison."

...Whatever these two were on, Mina wanted some.

"So...how exactly does my hairbrush prove anything?"

Midoriya shook his head. "Sorry, but I'd rather leave you in the dark for now," he said, raising a hand when she went to protest. "I know that it's sort of cruel of me to do so, but if your reaction in the courtroom is anything less than genuine, that could work against you. The less that the prosecution and judge think that you've fed me some story, or vice versa, the better."

Mina frowned. She didn't like it, not one bit, but what choice did she have. "Fine, but you better pull through, Mister Ace Attorney! My life is in your hands."

"Don't worry, Pinky!" Eri said, smiling up at her. "Deku's never lost a case yet."

The day of the trial. Mina was super nervous, but she figured she had every right to be. If she was found guilty then she was up for the chopping block! Or rather, the rope, as Japan was oh so much more civilized than that. Less mess.

The media presence outside had been immense. Ever since the issues with the Leage of Villains and the Paranormal Liberation Front (equally stupid names for scarily dangerous people) hero society had faced many hardships in form of the media looking to tear them down. Mina could still remember the press conference after Bakugo had been kidnapped.

No wonder Aizawa hated the media.

The idea that a hero had committed murder was enough to make the reporters cream their pants. She'd had dozens of microphones shoved into her face on the way in. They say that no publicity is bad publicity. Mina really hoped that was true, because this seemed pretty fucking bad to her.

The trial started with the judge banging his gavel. "Court is now in session for the trial of Ms. Ashido Mina, also known as the hero sidekick, Pinky."

Midoriya stood at his podium. He looked more put together than yesterday. His tie actually looked presentable. And standing next to him was little Eri, looking adorably serious. "The defense is ready, Your Honour."

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honour," the lawyer opposite Midoriya said. He was a weasley looking man with a thin frame and balding quite unfortunately. The comb over really didn't help at all.

"Very well, your opening statement, please, Mr Itachi."

The prosecution coughed into his hand. "Thank you, Your Honour. The defendant, Ms. Ashido Mina, was at the scene of the crime. The prosecution has evidence that she committed this murder...and we have a witness who saw her do it, The prosecution has no reason to doubt this to be true."

"I see, Thank you, Mr. Itachi. Let's begin, then. You may call your first witness."

"First and last, Your Honour, because I believe that there need be no more said than what this man has to offer. The prosecution calls Monoma Neito to the stand."

It took everything Mina had to not groan aloud. She could already see where this was going.

"Witness," Mr Itachi said, "please state your name and profession to the court."

On the witness stand stood the self proclaimed rival of Class A of UA High, Monoma Neito. Even all these years later, the man's hate boner for his ex-schoolmates was as raging as ever.

"Of course. My name is Monoma Neito. I am a sidekick to the pro hero Copycat. I go by the name Phantom Thief while on duty."

"A phantom thief!" the Judge yelped, standing up in his chair. "Bailiff! Arrest this man immediately! I will not stand for some fancy-smancy career criminal being within my courtroom!"

"W-Wait, Your Honour!" Mr. Itachi said, sweating bullets. "Mr. Monoma isn't a thief! Phantom Thief is merely his hero name, Your Honour."

"Oh," the Judge said, sitting back down. "Well, young man, that's a rather misleading hero name. Perhaps you should choose something else."

The whole exchange had Mina holding back mad giggles. She doubted it would do her any favours to start laughing at her own murder trial.

"With respect, Your Honour," Monoma said, his brow twitching slightly, "my hero name has yet to cause an issue, aside from now, that is. Also, I believe that it reflects my quirk well."

"Oh? And what is your quirk?"

"Your Honour," Mr. Itachi said, raising a hand, "I don't believe that Mr Monoma's quirk is relevant to this case."

"Hmm?" the Judge blinked, then coughed into a hand. "Oh, yes, of course, forgive me. Very well, witness, please tell the court what you saw."

"Of course, Your Honour," Monoma simpered. "I was in the area on the night of the crime. I heard a blood curdling scream from the alleyway, so I, as any good hero would, rushed to the scene. However I was too late. I was horrified to see the state of the civilian that had caught Pinky in the act. So horrified was I that Pinky managed to escape the scene of her crime. It was after I pulled myself back together that I noticed the melted hole in the wall of the bank. I called the police to let them know what happened."

"Hmm, I see," the Judge hummed, stroking his beard. "That sounds pretty conclusive to me. Well, I don't see any need to continue this case."

Wait, what!? Mina gaped at the man. What part of that was conclusive? It was all bullshit, for one!

"E-Erm, Your Honour," Midoriya said, holding up a hand. "I-I still need to cross-examine the witness…"

"Oh, yes, quite right," the Judge coughed into his hand. "Very well, Mr. Midoriya, you are now free to begin your cross-examination."

Mina slumped, holding a hand to her heart.

"Thank you, Your Honour," Midoriya said, turning to Monoma. "If you could go over your statement again, Mr. Monoma."

"If I must," Monoma sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "I was in the area on the night of the crime-"

"HOLD IT!" Mina and Monoma jumped as Midoriya yelled, pointing at Monoma. "You were in the area on the night of the crime? Why? Phantom Thief's patrol schedule is nowhere near the area of the bank."

Monoma blinked, leaning back a little. "Well, ever since high school I've known that a certain group of heroes haven't been up to standards. A certain Class A. I like to check up on their patrol routes in my free time to make sure their patrols aren't lacking.."

"Mr Monoma is a very dedicated hero, Mr. Midoriya," Mr. Itachi said, raising an eyebrow, "something I thought you would be aware of, from how much you seem to know about his hero persona."

"Hmm, I don't see anything wrong there," the Judge said. "Please, continue Mr Monoma."

"I heard a blood curdling scream from the alleyway, so I, as any good hero would, rushed to the scene. However I was too late."

"HOLD IT!" Monoma flinched again, a hand going to his chest. "By 'too late', what do you mean?"

"Well, I was getting to that part," Monoma said, brow twitching.

"Perhaps Mr. Midoriya could learn some patience," Mr. Itachi said, shaking his head.

"I agree. Please refrain from blurting out at random, Mr. Midoriya."

Midoriya rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"Anyway: I was horrified to see the state of the civilian that had caught Pinky in the act. So horrified was I that Pinky managed to escape the scene of her crime."

"HOLD IT!" Midoriya said, ignoring Monoma's glare. "What state was this?"

"The picture of the victim is in the court record," Mr. Itachi said, adjusting his glasses. "You can see it there whenever you wish."

"Hmm, and how do you know that it was Pinky that did it?" Midoriya said, not even looking.

"Well, it was obvious. His face was melted off! Just like the hole in the wall."

"Hole in the wall?"

"Well: It was after I pulled myself back together that I noticed the melted hole in the wall of the bank. I called the police to let them know what happened."

"HOLD IT!" Midoriya raised a brow. "You could tell from the state of the victim and the state of the wall that it was Pinky's quirk that did it? Did you even catch sight of Pinky that night?"

"Well, obviously. I might not have exactly seen her, but I'm familiar with the effects of her quirk. We did go to school together, after all."

"So you didn't actually see her on that night? Why didn't you say so?"

The Judge hummed. "Yes, I believe that should have been in your statement, Mr. Monoma. Please adjust your statement accordingly."

"Of course, Your Honour, forgive my error," Monoma said, bowing. "I noticed the melted hole in the wall of the bank, which helped me realise that it was in fact Pinky who was the culprit."

"TAKE THAT!" Midoriya slammed his hands on his podium and pointed at Monoma. "Just because the hole and the victim's face were melted, it doesn't mean that it was Pinky's quirk that did it. There are other acid and melting based quirks registered, so that alone doesn't prove anything."

"There's some logic to that," the Judge said, nodding. "So far nothing I have heard confirms that it was indeed Pinky's quirk that caused the damage."

"But there is proof, Your Honour," Mr. Itachi said, pushing his glasses up and smirking. "I would like to present two new pieces of evidence to the court. First is the test results of the leftover acid on the scene. It is identical to records of the acid produced by Pinky, down to the chemical makeup."

"Very well," the Judge nodded. "The court accepts this as evidence."

"And second, is the most decisive piece of evidence in this entire case: a strand of the defendant's hair!"

The crowd in the courtroom erupted with noise, and Mina gaped. How the heck could her hair have been there!?"

"ORDER! ORDER!" The Judge slammed his gavel down twice, and everyone quieted down. "This is vital evidence indeed! The court welcomes this piece of evidence. And, quite frankly, I think I've heard all I need to hear. The defendant has no alibi, and their DNA is at the scene. It is my decision that the defendant is to be found gui—"

"HOLD IT!"

Mina's heart sat in her throat. She had almost been convicted of murder! She really, really hoped Midoriya had something.

"Your Honour, before you sentence the defendant, may I request that Mr. Monoma adjusts his statement to include the hair?"

"Hmm?"

"OBJECTION!" Mr. Itachi screeched. "Mr. Midoriya is merely trying to drag out this farce of a trial!"

"If it proves that my client is innocent, then I will drag this trial out for as long as I can!" Midoriya said, with a complete lack of shame. "Or perhaps Mr. Itachi doesn't wish for my quirk to have a chance of resolving this issue."

Mr. Itachi flinched, sweat beading all over his face.

Mina blinked. His quirk?

"Hmm, you believe that this one change to the statement will activate your quirk, Mr. Midoriya?" the Judge said, looking down at Midoriya from his raised seat.

"I do, Your Honour."

"Very well. Mr. Monoma, please adjust your statement accordingly."

Monoma sighed, which sounded more like a growl. "Very well. "I was in the area on the night of the crime. I heard a blood curdling scream from the alleyway, so I, as any good hero would, rushed to the scene. However I was too late. I was horrified to see the state of the civilian that had caught Pinky in the act. So horrified was I that Pinky managed to escape the scene of her crime. I noticed the melted hole in the wall of the bank, which helped me realise that it was in fact Pinky who was the culprit. The strand of hair that was at the crime scene is the definitive proof that she was there—"

"OBJECTION!" Midoriya slammed his hands on his podium twice in quick succession. "The hair proves nothing of the sort!"

"What!?" Monoma and Mr. Itachi said in confused unison.

The crowd muttered up a storm again, until the Judge slammed his gavel.

"ORDER! ORDER! Mr. Midoriya! I hope you have some evidence that backs up your claim, or else I'll be forced to both declare your client guilty, and have you written up for wasting the courts time!"

"Do I have evidence?" Midoriya said, shaking his head. He chuckled. "TAKE THAT!" He slammed an object on his podium.

"A-A hairbrush?" Mr. Itachi said. A bead of sweat appeared on Monoma's forehead.

"Indeed. I found this hairbrush at the scene of the crime in a nearby dumpster. If one was to look at the bristles, you can see various strands of pink hair. I can guarantee that if this hair was to be examined it would be an exact match to Miss Ashido's, and to the hair found at the scene of the crime."

"OBJECTION!" Mr. Itachi screamed, glasses almost falling off his face. "What nonsense! You expect me to believe that the defendant took her hairbrush with her to the scene of the crime!?"

Midoriya shook his head. "Of course not, that would be absurd."

"Then what exactly are you suggesting, Mr. Midoriya?" the Judge asked, a deep furrow in his bushy grey eyebrows.

"What I am suggesting, Your Honour, is that someone took Miss Ashido's hairbrush in order to frame her for bank robbery!"

"OBJECTION!" Mr. Itachi cut in. "Hairbrush or no hairbrush, there's still evidence of Miss Ashido's quirk having been used. No matter what you might think that hairbrush tells you, it has nothing to do with this case!"

"OBJECTION! It has everything to do with this case! It proves that not only was Miss Ashido not at the scene, but it also explains why traces of the acid her quirk creates was found."

"Truly?" the Judge said, blinking. His brow raised. "I must admit, Mr. Midoriya, I'm not sure what you mean."

"Mr. Midoriya is clearly trying to obfuscate the situation, Your Honour," Mr. Itachi said, pushing up his glasses. "After all, why else would the hairbrush be there if not due to the fact that Miss Ashido brought it with her?"

"Didn't you yourself say that Miss Ashido bringing her hairbrush to the scene of the crime was unbelievable?" Midoriya said, raising a brow.

"Erk!" Mr. Itachi flinched. "E-Even so, what is this hairbrush supposed to prove?"

"Well, to answer that, I would like to request Mr. Monoma to add his opinion of the hairbrush to his statement."

"Hah?" Monoma raised a brow. "Why on earth would I need to do that? How long is this farce of a trial going to go on for?"

"Mr. Monoma, would you please humour Mr. Midoriya?" the Judge said, leaning forward in his seat.

Monoma sighed. "Very well, Your Honour, as you wish. As far as I am concerned, the hairbrush has absolutely nothing to do with this trial—"

"HOLD IT!" Midoriya crossed his arms. "Are you sure about that, Mr. Monoma. Or should I say, Phantom Thief?"

"Of course," Monoma said, a sneer pulling at his lips.

"Mr. Midoriya, I must ask you to please get to the point," the Judge said, sitting up straight and staring seriously at Midoriya. "This is your final chance, Mr. Midoriya. Do you have anything that points to a contradiction in Mr. Monoma's words."

Midoriya closed his eyes, then thrust his finger at Monoma. "TAKE THAT! I do indeed, Your Honour. You asked Mr. Monoma earlier what his quirk was, yes?"

"I did indeed, but surely this doesn't have anything to do with the trial?"

The Judge said that, but Mina was starting to realise something. Because she, like Monoma with her own, was familiar with his quirk.

"It has everything to do with it, Your Honour. The sidekick Phantom Thief's quirk is called Copy! It allows Mr. Monoma to copy someone else's quirk through physical contact. Including, Your Honour, by touching a lock of someone's hair!"

"Grk!" Monoma flinched.

"Hrk!" Mr. Itachi's jaw dropped, and his glasses flew off his face. "N-NO!"

"Now, Mr. Monoma!" Midoriya said. His body was encased in a red aura, and for the final time, he pointed at Monoma. The red aura flew from his body and hit Monoma's, making the man gasp. "The activation conditions of my quirk, Contradiction, have occurred! I've caught you in three contradictions, and you are now forced to tell us the truth of what happened that night!"

Mina gaped. That was his quirk? Talk about conditional!

Monoma's eyes flashed red, and after slumping in place he revealed his whole plan. In order to frame Mina for bank robbery, he stole her hairbrush to use the hair on it to copy her quirk to break into a bank on her patrol route and steal from it. However, during the act, another bank robber just so happened to try and rob the same bank.

The other robber was scared off by the masked stranger flinging acid at a wall, but as he tried to run he tribbed on some rubbish and smacked his head on a dumpster. Monoma tried to revive him, but he was dead on impact.

Panicking, Monoma decided to deface the corpse with Acid to try and hide what happened. Monoma admitted that part of him also wanted to make use of the tragedy to frame Mina for something even worse.

Then, he dumped the hairbrush in the same dumpster the man hit his head on, then he called the Police after destroying the balaclava he wore to cover his face.

"Hmm," the Judge closed his eyes. "Today has been a strange trial indeed. Mr. Itachi, what has happened to Mr. Monoma."

"Er, well,, Your Honour," a sweaty Mr. Itachi said, fingering his glasses. "He has been taken to prison, and is now awaiting trial for destruction of property, manslaughter, and for attempting to frame Ms. Ashido for both."

"And once again, Mr. Midoriya, you have revealed the truth of the matter," the Judge nodded at Midoriya.

"All in a day's work, Your Honour."

"Indeed. In any case; this court finds the defendant, Miss Mina Ashido... NOT GUILTY."

"Yes!" Mina cheered, throwing her arms in the air.

"That is all. The court is adjourned."

"MIDORIYA!"

"Miss Ashi-OOF!"

Mina tightened her grip around the man's chest, jumping up and down. "That was amazing! Thank you so much!"

"Congratulations, Pinky!" Era cheered, beaming up at Mina.

"Thanks, little horn buddy!" Mina let go of Midoriya and ruffled Era's hair. She turned back to Midoriya, grinning madly. "Man, you had that in the bag from the beginning, huh? And your quirk sure is weird. I mean, I'm glad and all, but it's still weird!"

Midoriya rubbed the back of his head. "W-Well, it can be a little strange, but I don't think i really needed it for that one. Mr. Monoma really shot himself in the foot by leaving the hairbrush at the scene of the crime."

Mina's face scrunched up. "Eurgh, he probably broke into my house to get that. I don't even want to think what else he did while looking for it. I'm not even sure I want it back now. I'm not really all that shocked, though. Monoma has always been a total creepazoid for as long as I've known him."

Midoriya sighed. "It's a shame. Copy is such a cool quirk, to think he'd misuse it like that."

"You must be kind of bummed out, huh? Hero nerd like you, having to put a hero away?" Mina said. She wasn't at all upset that Monoma went to prison for all this, but she still felt a bit bad for Midoriya.

"Well, maybe a little, but I think Pinky is a much greater hero," Midoriya said, looking her dead in the eye with zero shame.

Mina grinned, her cheeks warming up. "Well, I think Deku is a pretty great hero too." Before she could second guess herself— not that she was prone to such a thing in the first place— Mina leant in and kissed him on the cheek.

Said cheek burst into crimson, with the other one not far behind. "I-Er-Um-Eh?!"

Mina and Eri giggled. Mina winked at him. "So, Midoriya, what do you say? You and me, friday evening, dinner?"

Midoriya spluttered.

Eri giggled. "Deku is an awesome lawyer and hero, but he's awful with girls!"

"Well," Mina winked at him again. "Maybe I can teach him a thing or two."