A/N: Well, thanks to the great feedback last chapter I went ahead and completed the next chapter of this story, and I did change the poll on my profile from who should die to who should survive instead with some details in the author note at the end of the chapter.

Without further delay, let's begin…

2/11/18: edited and cleaned up.

"Dialog from a flashback and the person reading something in their mind"

Thoughts (unless used to emphasize a word in a sentence)

Chapter 4

Death of a Scheming Politician

Lelouch conducted an inspection of Alicia's living quarters after walking inside. The room had been clearly ransacked by what clearly indicated a violent struggle that had broken out. However, since you can't enter a player's personal quarters by picking the lock due to their electronic reinforcement the only way in would've been the victim letting her killer in. As he tried to imagine the chain of events that happened, including when the victim opened the door, but with all of the slash marks on the wall, it was oblivious a violent confrontation that took place.

There are too many slashes to have been caused by one person with some blood spatter, Lelouch before a thought came to mind. There is little reason to believe the killer designed the scene to look like a fight broke out unless the victim was armed.

Deciding to search the room for clues Lelouch checked the oblivious places and then narrow it down. He knelt down by the bed deciding to check underneath it for anything if possible importance like a dropped object or another knife which Lelouch was hoping for, which would confirm the marks on the wall was the result of a conflict involving blades between the victim and the killer.

The Monokuma File on Alicia Lohmeyer lent more credence to that possibility.

"The victim's name is Alicia Lohmeyer, and her body was found inside of her room with the time of death is estimated at 1:25 am. The cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the chest and stomach with her throat slit. There were also cuts on the fingers of the right hand with a cut along the left arm." Lelouch thought, recalling the details of the file, so if his theory about a fight taking place here is correct, then there should be another weapon since the murder weapon was embedded in Alicia's body in her stomach.

Whoever killed her must've hated her a great deal to have viciously attacked her, Lelouch thought, but he did consider the possibility it could've been staged that way. The confrontation aside Lelouch recalled the confrontation between Mrs. Stadtfeld and her that happened not too long ago.

As Lelouch checked under the bed, he found something he didn't expect.

What is a flat-cart doing under this bed?

Grabbing one end of the long rectangle-shaped cart, while finding the handles that could be attached to -the flat-cart to move it, which was long enough to place an adult-sized body on it. Lelouch brought out the cart, enough of it to scrutinize it, but it added more to the mystery, but it did lead to a possibility of how the killer got into Alicia's room.

"Why is there a cart under her bed?" Gao Hài inquired noticing the cart Lelouch found.

"Good question and I am beginning to piece together what had likely happened. The killer had to get into her room somehow." Lelouch commented as this prompted Kusakabe who, despite not caring that a Britannian had died, but was merely investigating to ensure he didn't get executed in the upcoming trial decided to check the closet.

"I think I see where the boy is going with his theory because I think it's very unusual for a politician to keep a mop, a nearly empty gallon of bleach and two empty buckets."

Despite not trusting one another and being clear enemies the two men were temporary putting aside their animosity for a short time as they all knew full well they could die if they did not identify the killer. It surprised Lelouch, but he was glad they weren't at each other's throats. Kewell and Bradley were even more significant concerns, especially since Kewell was part of the Purist Faction who looked down on non-Britannians with greater disdain than others.

Lelouch could only hope that uneasy unspoken cease-fire agreement would hold.

"Our rooms didn't have any cleaning supplies in the closet," Kewell said prompting Bradley to smile.

"Isn't it obvious? The woman was planning on killing whoever she invited to her room. She was going to use those supplies to clean up the crime scene and then use that cart to move the body elsewhere. It was a perilous plan which could've easily backfired through."

"It's rather obvious that is what exactly happened here." The Chinese man said as it was clear now that Alicia Lohmeyer was planning on killing her guest, but it was apparent that whoever she had invited had turned the tables.

Lelouch got back up to his feet, "The cuts on her hand suggest that her killer had likely come with a knife on their own and fought back, although I haven't found a second knife the evidence so far seems to confirm to be what likely happened."

"The question is who did she invite?" Bradley offered as he seemed amused by the events that had clearly unfolded here.

"Well, given she was planning to kill we can rule out those with military training. More than likely her target was someone she could lure to her room and easily kill." Lelouch suggested deciding to search the desk but noticed a notepad on the desk. One of the pages had been ripped from its prompting an idea to come to mind. Grabbing a pencil from one of the drawers Lelouch began rubbing the tip across the page and saw the imprint of the last note written beginning to appear. "And this clue confirms that she lured someone here."

"Ah, you rubbed the pencil to reveal the indented writing of the previous page." Gao Hài said impressed by Lelouch's ingenuity.

There is something we must talk about, and something must be done before our secrets get revealed, so come to my room tonight after one. Your wife should be asleep by then.

"So our killer was a male and is married," Kewell said as this narrowed down the possible suspects to one person since there was only one person counted among them whose wife was also included in this game.

"It sounds like Arata Utsugi could be our murder," Bradley commented with a cruel smile.

"It can't be that easy," Lelouch thought as this was coming together too easily. "Given the argument, they had a short time ago I almost suspected Mrs. Stadtfeld as our killer, although that would've been too obvious as well."

"True and given the fact that our lives are on the line I don't blame you for wanting to be certain beyond doubt to determine who the killer is." Gao Hài said sharing Lelouch's concerns and doubts.

"If Arata Utsugi is our culprit, we should confirm this fact while we still have time," Kewell advised.

"I concur," Lelouch said as he had an uneasy feeling about all this as it seemed too straightforward.

Leaving the room, Lelouch, Bradley, Gao Hài, Kusakabe and Kewell began searching for Arata Utsugi intending to determine if he was the killer. The rest had apparently gone off on their own or were pursuing their own investigation course, but Lelouch felt a little uneasy not only about the case but about Bradley whom he was fully aware of the man's reputation. Rumors and information Lelouch found described him as a violent and confrontational man, but so far he had been surprisingly cooperative which Lelouch assumed was likely due to a form of self-control knowing that one slip up could cost him his own life.

I can only guess that he must be plotting to kill someone but is waiting for a better opportunity before he makes an attempt. As skilled as he is with knives he would have to realize that using a knife as a murder weapon could run the risk of the killing being pinned on him. Lelouch thought, knowing that Bradley, according to a magazine article that revealed some information about the Knights of the Round he had read, was a champion knife thrower and highly skilled with the use of knives in combat becoming his weapon of choice when outside of a Knightmare Frame. If he commits murder, it wouldn't be with a knife.

Further, while grateful for the lack of hostility between the two, but surprised by it, Lelouch was also feeling very wary of Kusakabe and Kewell. Although he wasn't familiar with Kewell other than knowing he was a member of the Purist Faction the JLF member he had learned about from some newspaper articles and magazines that held a story about a terrorist incident involving the JLF.

Josui Kusakabe was one of the group's more extreme members as he was the type more than willing to take civilians hostage and execute them without a second thought. Lelouch had heard about an incident in Osaka where he was responsible for the deaths of over two dozen civilians with a bombing at a mall that was holding a special event for members of the military.

So why aren't they at one another's throats more? Is there something I missed? Lelouch thought because he found their cooperation rather strange given Kusakabe's reputation.

Lelouch made a mental note to keep an eye on those two.

A short time later the group arrived at the shared room for the married couple with Kusakabe knocking on the door. It took a few moments, but after a second knock, the door opened, and a woman in her late thirties opened the door. She had damp waist-length pink hair suggesting she had been in the shower, which Lelouch made a mental note of.

An odd time for a shower, especially since someone got murdered, although I know some like the relaxing feel of hot water and steam…

She must haven't finished before they arrived as she was dressed back in her regular clothes that consisted of a long-sleeve dress shirt, a black skirt with matching high-heels wearing black stockings. Yuuma Utsugi must have just finished getting dressed and hadn't had a chance to dry her hair yet before knocking on her door.

"Can I help you?"

"We're looking for your husband. Is he here?" Kusakabe asked.

"I haven't seen him since we discovered that woman's body. He followed me back to my room and then he left when I decided to take a shower." Yuuma answered, but as they spoke Lelouch silently observed the exchange while studying Yuuma as he couldn't help but notice something was off. For now, Lelouch kept his suspicions to himself for the time being.

After that Yuuma closed the door and an announcement was declared by Monokuma.

"Attention all players another body has been found. I repeat another body has been found in the Garbage Room. Oh boy, we got ourselves a good pace going, so I'll give you guys some extra time before the trial to investigate the new body."

No one said a word as Lelouch and the others hurried to the body to find Haiji Towa, the Black King and Hojo Shingetsu who was dressed in a white suit with oval-shaped glasses, long black hair tied into a ponytail with blue eyes. It wasn't long before Yuuma joined the gathering before covering her mouth in shock at the sight of her husband's corpse. Arata Utsugi was wearing a white button-up shirt with short-sleeves and black dress pants. He had slick back black hair and a fair skin complexion. He laid face down in a pool of his own blood, but the worrying part of this discovery was that it happened not too long ago since he was seen this morning in the cafeteria and with everyone else when the body was found.

"Did anyone hear him scream?" Kewell demanded calmly looking to the three who had found the body, which had triggered the announcement.

"No, we didn't hear anything, but I suppose someone could've run the garbage compactor to create some noise to drown it out." The Black King replied with a shrug of indifference.

Why not dispose of the body? Lelouch thought while inspecting the dead body on the floor as he was looking for any indication of a struggle. One reason the killer didn't want to risk attempting to dispose of the body was likely because the risk of discovery was too high, but another reason could be that the killer didn't have the strength to lift a full-grown adult into the disposal chute. Possibly a combination of both, but Lelouch didn't notice any signs to suggest a struggle had taken place. Furthermore, he discovered a knife by the corpse and seeing how the blade was chipped it was entirely possible this was the second knife he had tried to find in Alicia's room.

The only way to know for sure was to check the inventory of the knives they have in the kitchen since the notebook they possessed, provided a full list of all of the tools and items kept in the kitchen which Lelouch believed Monokuma included for investigative purposes.

Nothing seems to have been disturbed, Lelouch thought, glancing around the room, seeing that the cabinets and racks for brooms and mops were undisturbed for the most part. Then inspecting the body one more time, Lelouch noticed something before getting up to check the Monokuma File on the newly deceased.

"The victim's name is Arata Utsugi, and his body was found in the garbage room. Time of death was around 12:25 pm with the cause of death being the victim's throat being slit open. No other injuries to report."

Now that is unusual, the former prince thought as the lack of any other injuries hinted that Arata died without a fight, which meant whoever killed him was someone he was close enough to be around. Still, even as he was attacked, he should've been able to cry out for help.

Lelouch could only deduce that during the attack that the killer must've had somehow silenced Arata before killing him, which only supported the idea it was someone close to him.

A piece of cloth must've been used to prevent him from crying out, but if that is the case, then the murder should've been covered in blood.

However, another possibility came to mind, but Lelouch put that thought aside for now.

The former prince glanced at the garbage disposal suspecting that whatever clothing the killer was wearing must've been disposed of since leaving the garbage room with blood on them was too risky, but the more he considered the facts, the more he was sure of who had committed the murders. He proceeded to search around the bin since it was likely the killer didn't want to linger to run the risk of being caught with the body. But when he examined around the base of the incinerator, suspecting if the murder had evidence to dispose of like clothing it would've made more sense to dump it there, that was on the opposite side of the room Lelouch discovered something, a scalpel.

This seems strangely out of place.

Upon discovery of the medical knife, Lelouch pocketed the blade for now and made his way to the infirmary to do some investigating there. No one was inside, but Lelouch began searching for anything that might have been taken while checking the inventory the room had to see if anything was missing. It took Lelouch ten minutes to complete his search and investigation, and he noticed two things, one the supply cabinet was missing a scalpel and second a stitching kit for treating deep cuts was missing.

So the killer was injured in the struggle with the victim late last night, so the killer came here to treat himself since the infirmary isn't locked down at night. Lelouch thought, concluding the next step of what happened next, but realizing the killer had suffered an injury that needed stitches a thought came to mind.

I seeso that explains it, but that means whoever the killer is must have some medical knowledge.

Realizing that Lelouch needed more information he needed to know what Alicia Lohmeyer did for the Britannian Government and he knew who to ask.

First, there is someone else I need to ask a question.

Looking for a security camera, Lelouch spoke.

"Monokuma you and I need to have a word because I have a question regarding nighttime conditions."

"Ye who asks shall receive," Monokuma said appearing out of nowhere behind Lelouch. "So what do you want to know?"

"During the nighttime hours are the lights in the hallways turned off?" Lelouch inquired.

"Some of them because the electric bill for this place can get expensive, but the emergency lights are turned on. They don't provide a whole lot of light, but enough to avoid walking into a wall or something and the nameplates on the doors have an LED lamp above them."

The dark conditions of the hallway do create opportunities for an ambush.

"I see, so even in the dark you can tell whose room is what without checking the digital handbook," Lelouch asked before another thought came to mind.

"So was that it? You dragged me from my office for that?"

"It was an important clue for my investigation, and you know I don't dare wander the halls at night."

"Just because you are so weak I wouldn't worry too much about someone killing you." Monokuma pointed out. "Because even if someone killed you, the real problem would be how they could pin it on someone else so they can get away with it."

That is true, Lelouch didn't deny the logic behind that reasoning, although he could be killed since he was an easy target, thankfully Lelouch didn't go around announcing about his lack of endurance and physical strength so he might be safe as long as no one noticed that point.

Of course, as long as he didn't provide a potential killer the means of pinning the responsibility for his demise onto someone else since that would be the key to winning the killing game.

The best way to win is to pin it on someone else, but you have to craft a convincing story with evidence that no one could deny to convince the others to convict the wrong person.

"Is that why you called me out here?!"

"Yes and your answer was a big help."

Minutes after he finished questioning the host of the game Lelouch made his way into the kitchen where he found Mrs. Stadtfeld shakily drinking some tea. It was clear she was frightened about something, but he was sure of one thing. He didn't think she was responsible for Alicia's death as their argument before her demise put her at risk of being considered a suspect.

"Mrs. Stadtfeld," Lelouch said as politely as he could, "I want to ask you about Miss Lohmeyer. I assume you two were aquatinted."

"I AM NOT THE KILLER IF THAT IS…"

"I know that!" Lelouch shot back silencing her. "However, I do have my suspicions to who killed her, but I need to know what she did so I can establish a possible link. A note she wrote asking for Arata to meet her, so I need to know what their relationship was."

"WHAT?!" Mrs. Stadtfeld said, sounding genuinely shocked which Lelouch noted, "But if you think she was involved in a relationship with some Eleven then you are dead wrong."

"I am not convinced of that," Lelouch replied calmly, "but I feel the possible answer to why they were killed lies in the exact nature of their relationship since obviously both of them had secrets worth killing for."

The older woman hesitated, but ultimately she relented.

Meanwhile, watching everything unfold from the control room Junko was eager to begin the trial, but since another murder had occurred, she had to give them some extra time to investigate the new corpse. It was a little annoying for another death to happen before the first trial, but Junko was pleased with the pacing the game was now moving at. She had expected one murder, but two were both unexpected and very pleasing to the young woman.

Junko wasn't alone in her observation of the game's progression.

Standing behind her observing the game with reluctance was a tall young man who was the same age as Junko. He was Japanese with a slender and slightly lean figure with long black messy hair, pale blue eyes and a pale skin complexion. His face before what was recognized as his signature apathetic gaze and his expression were more emphasized with his distinct, heavy-looking eyebrows that are usually furrowed. His choice of clothing consists of a dirty white dress shirt that was half-tucked in with a sloppily worn black tie adorned with red decals. The rest consists of black trousers, a belt, and bathroom slippers.

"Is he the one you have taken such an interest in?" Yasuke Matsuda inquired.

"Yep, that is Lelouch Lamperouge, but better known as Lelouch vi Britannia the presumed dead son of the famous Marianne the Flash," Junko explained which caused a shocked Yasuke to nearly begin choking on some crackers he had been eating.

"A…" Yasuke said, but he had to clear his throat first before, "a Britannian Prince?"

"Yep… I met him during that time Mukuro, and I had to survive the war between Japan and Britannia seven years ago."

"And he is the reason you chose to enroll at Ashford Academy?"

"Yes, but we both know why I had to leave Hope's Peak Academy."

Yasuke sighed in annoyance as he perfectly knew the reason and he had hoped Junko obtain information on some highly classified projects Hope's Peak Academy was working on. Ever since their relationship with the Emperor through the Future Foundation and the growth of the school's faculties it gained more funding and independence from the local government and authorities of Area 11. This allowed Hope's Peak Academy to conduct some morally questionable experiments with the Reserve Course Students being solely allowed to attend school in a separate building to obtain extra funding for their works.

Information regarding the Neo World Program, which Yasuke was part of its development, and two secret projects he tried to help Junko get information on. The other two projects that proved the most elusive to obtain information on are called the Izuru Kamukura Project and a secretively joint project with the Viceroy dubbed Code-R.

His involvement and level of trust the higher-ups at Hope's Peak Academy and the Future Foundation was thanks to his title and skill of being the Ultimate Neurologist. His expertise and knowledge in neurology were second to none in the world as he could affect the human brain in so many various ways that he could extract information, alter memories or even input data in one form or another. To achieve his title, Yasuke was naturally highly knowledgeable in many fields of medical specialties that complimented his talent or was necessary for it.

None of them knew of course that he was a spy for Junko and indirectly a member of Ultimate Despair, but this was because they were childhood friends going as far as kindergarten.

"This is going to be interesting, although the odds I have figured for him say he has a 98.4% chance of being killed. On the other hand, Lelouch has proven me wrong in the past before and has always managed to beat me no matter the game I challenged him to."

Yasuke was surprised by this since he knew about Junko's true talent being the Ultimate Analyst, "he beat you. You're supposed to have superhuman intelligence and the ability to predict and foresee various outcomes easily."

"Well, I guess Lelouch is more intelligent than I am, but I suppose he has a very keen mind for strategy so I guess the talent scouts of Hope's Peak must be slipping!" Junko said with a hint of admiration towards Lelouch before mocking Hope's Peak academy with her tone change before laughing at how the school that sought to gather the most talented of people to attend could miss someone like Lelouch.

"Is that why you have included him in this," Yasuke said reluctantly to call pushing people to murder each other game. Although Junko was aware of his reluctance and his dislike of the game she had created she ignored his concerns.

"Yep…it's a chance for him to prove if he is still worth my interest."

"I see…"

Yasuke seemed hurt by the interest Junko was showing Lelouch, but as far as Junko was concerned, it was Yasuke's fault for failing to be attractive to her. They were close as children, and their closeness grew after Yasuke's mother died while he was still a child, but after the war that saw Japan become Area 11 they had slowly begun drifting apart. Had it not been for Junko's meeting with Lelouch, she and Yasuke might've become lovers, but her curiosity and interest in Lelouch unknowingly prevented such feelings from developing. This was also because Junko was manipulating him despite their bound as one of Junko's oldest friends as it gave her the means to make him more dependent on her especially after his mother died. She did consider pursuing a more intimate relationship with Yasuke if only to possibly betray him by beginning a close relationship with Lelouch to drive him to despair.

Perhaps fortunately for Yasuke, his friend decided against that for reasons known only to Junko, but little did Yasuke realize Junko was setting the stage for another game. This wouldn't be a Killing Game but a competition to see which man was worth becoming Junko's lover and the two men who compete for her would be Lelouch and Yasuke.

I'll set the stage, and I'll everything else take care of itself…provided you survive my little game, Lelouch.

Shortly after Lelouch finished questioning Mrs. Stadtfeld, he was about to search for Arata's wife to ask her until an announcement was sent out as a familiar bell tone echoed through the halls.

"Attention all players," Monokuma called out, "How do I put this… I am kinda tired of waiting so why don't we get started? The time has come for the long-awaited trial!" The bear announced happily before adding, "Please allow me to direct you to the proper location for proceedings and remember participation is mandatory. Just head for the red doors on the 1st floor, an icon for it has appeared on her map… I'll see you all soon."

Lelouch was annoyed he didn't have time to question the widow of the victim, but with the information, he got from Mrs. Stadtfeld he had a good idea what happened and who killed who.

It didn't take long for everyone to gather in the hallway leading to the courtroom where the debate to decide their fates would be held. Some were understandably reluctant as some were slow to arrive all things considered, but everyone knew that now attending would likely mean a death sentence. Once everyone reached the red double doors, they opened automatically to reveal a large elevator that had enough room for everyone to board. Lelouch was among the last to get on the elevator before it automatically began descending to where the courtroom was likely at.

Everyone was strangely quiet but left the air thick with tension.

Two minutes later and the elevator came to a stop before opening to reveal a circular chamber where fourteen podiums were arranged in a circle in the center of the room while opposite of the elevator was an elevated throne identical to the one Monokuma had used during his broadcasted executions. On the walls surrounding them were large monitors displaying Monokuma's visage. Another oddity was a picture of the deceased Souta Daimon attached to the top of a signpost where he would've stood during the trial had he been still alive. There were similar portraits of Arata and Alicia at the podiums where they would've been standing if they weren't dead. The room had red wallpaper, and old-fashion light fixtures on the walls with gold trimmed archways with red curtains hung up covering what was possibly other passageways leading out.

"Nyohoho," Monokuma laughed as he suddenly appeared sitting on the front with one leg crossed over the other, "You're finally here! So what do you think, doesn't it feel like a feel courtroom you see on those Hollywood sets?"

"Not even close!" The Black King muttered in annoyance at the bear.

"Whatever," the insidious bear dismissed with a casual hand-gesture, "I would like everyone to find your assigned position so we can get this show started."

"I have a question before we get started?" Lelouch inquired before pointing to the portraits of those who were dead, "why the pictures?"

"I would feel terrible if they were left out just because they died, which I am sure Yuuma would appreciate that her husband could be with her in spirit, in the trial to find out who killed him," Monokuma answered while obviously faking sympathy. "Anyway, enough questions, let's begin the trial. Begin your opening argument."

"I would like to begin by first discussing the first murder victim Alicia Lohmeyer," Kewell Soresi began, "we know she was killed late last night after she summoned who we believe is Arata Utsugi based on evidence of a note that had been written before the murder."

"But then we found Arata dead in the garbage room," Kusakabe pointed out, "killed sometime after the woman's body was discovered."

"Yes, and the only other person it could've been is the now-widow of the victim!" Gao Hài added with a confident smirk. "The note was intended for her husband, and she must've seen it!"

Yuuma was horrified that she was being accused.

"Then you murdered your own husband in the garbage room worried he might blame you for the murder?"

"Hold on!" Lelouch said intervening, "I don't think Yuuma is the murder, although the evidence we found in the room seem to suggest this I believe we are too hasty in passing judgment. If she was the murder, then she did a very sloppy job planning, especially when the risk of her being caught was too high."

"So what are you suggesting Britannian?" Haiji Towa said with a glare.

"This murder is being too easily solved for my liking, especially when there were certain inconsistencies we haven't taken into account." Lelouch explained before beginning to further elaborate, "for instance the slash marks in the room and the splatter of blood near the door and close to the bed where the largest amount could be seen, but it didn't connect to the body."

"How do we know it's not from the victim herself?"

The question came from the last named female of their group, another Japanese woman with long blonde hair and a slim figure wearing black pants with a matching apron with a light blue shirt with blue eyes and a fair skin complexion. Her name was Minoru Kemuri and judging from the stains on her apron she was an artist of some kind or worked a profession related to it.

"A good question, but consider the injuries Alicia herself suffered beside the fatal wound that ended her life." Lelouch pointed out holding up his digital notebook, "she had cuts on her left hand specifically the fingers and a deep slash across her arm which we can tell from this that she and the killer must have gotten close enough to one enough. Judging by the fierceness of the struggle between, here is what I think happened."

Lelouch took a deep breath as he began going through the chain of events that ended Miss Lohmeyer.

"We knew last night that Miss Lohmeyer intended to summon Mrs. Utsugi's late husband to meet in her room. However, I suspect someone else had gotten wind of the meeting between them and showed up in Arata's place after tricking Miss Lohmeyer into delivering the note to the wrong room." Lelouch said surprising the gathered survivors.

"How is that possible?" Kusakabe began as he was just as shocked as everyone else.

"The nameplates on our doors are removable; although we could've quickly referenced our map on our digital notebook using an electronic device in a darkened hallway during curfew could've alerted someone to their presence." The young man had to stop to take a deep breath, "There are small lights placed throughout the hallways are left on during the night, but they are not bright enough to illuminate the hallways as they do during the day. Furthermore, I would like to mention there are LED lights over the nameplates of our rooms illuminating them at all times."

"You lock yourself in your room every night since this game began so how do you know this?" Mrs. Stadtfeld inquired.

"I asked Monokuma about it after I summoned him by speaking to a security camera to get his attention."

"That's right," Monokuma said, confirming the meeting did happen. "It was a weird question, but as the host, if a player has a question I have to answer as long as it's nothing that is classified."

"But why was that important?" Kewell asked while Bradley was strangely quiet.

"Because Alicia Lohmeyer was expecting a man to visit her, but the darkened hallways would've made identifying the visitor difficult, so if Yuuma then Miss Lohmeyer would've noticed a woman," Lelouch said with confidence before he included another fact for the others to consider. "In fact, judging by the slashes and signs of conflict near the door, I say she assumed the person she let in was Arata but quickly realized her fatal error leading to the struggle in the room that began after the door was closed."

"How did the wrong person even know to show up?" Gao Hài asked this time as he brought one hand to his chin as a sign of him contemplating the evidence Lelouch was presenting.

"Because our killer swapped the nameplates of their rooms to ensure she would deliver the invite to their room instead. I imagine after the deed was done the killer switched them back, but this meant that the killer knew of the meeting was likely to happen because the shared secret between Miss Lohmeyer and Mr. Utsugi was a danger to the killer as well because he was part of it."

"WHAT!" Kusakabe exclaimed as Haiji Towa was just as shocked as he was along with most of the room.

"I spoke with Mrs. Stadtfeld about it, and I pieced together something quite interesting," Lelouch explained before proceeding to discuss what he had learned. "Officially Miss Lohmeyer was the official who acted as a liaison between the Britannian Government Administration and the NAC."

Lelouch knew that the NAC was a confederation of the wealthiest and most powerful families amongst the former Japanese, tasked by the Area 11 colonial administration with the oversight and government of Elevens living outside the Britannian concessions.

"However, secretly she was a deputy director of intelligence for the Viceroy who was tasked with discovering the identity of terrorist collaborators."

"Collaborators?" Yuuma said, sounding genuinely surprised, although Lelouch wasn't convinced that she was in the dark about it, he allowed it to slide for now.

"Publicly the NAC has given their blessing to and willingly collaborate with the government administration of Area 11. However, I am almost certain that some members if not all of them are likely using their positions to provide intelligence and funding to Area 11's various resistance groups and terrorist cells, whichever you prefer, including the JLF. After all none of these groups could obtain their weapons and supplies for free, so I wouldn't be surprised if such were the case which is something I am sure the higher-ups in the government bureau likely suspect."

Kusakabe wanted to disprove such a claim; however, he was curious where this was going because it was clear there was a traitor who was intending to expose those within the NAC who supported the JLF and wanted some names.

"I see where this is going. Mr. Utsugi was some kind of spy to obtain evidence of any collaboration between the NAC and resistance groups like mines."

"The plan was actually a little more ambitious than that." The former prince explained with a smirk on his face. "Even if they got proof of the NAC's involvement with Japan's resistance groups it wouldn't be enough. The truth was that Miss Lohmeyer wasn't just after the identities of NAC collaborators; she wanted to know who they bought their weapons from and how they provided them to the various resistance groups."

"How would my husband fit into this he is just a dentist?"

"A dentist who is highly respected and skilled enough that he has some clients who are close to key members of the NAC as either bodyguards and assistants as well as the higher up members themselves. Has anyone heard about how the Britannian Army delivered a massive invasion of the Middle Eastern Federation recently wiping out several of their military bases quickly?"

"Ah, I see," Bradley said, realizing what Lelouch was hinting at, "The Britannian Military had abducted certain members of the Middle Eastern Federation's military leaders and some of their political leaders. Well, abduction is probably too strong of a word since they managed to capture them and without their knowledge implanted special transmitters into their teeth, allowing the Britannian Army to spy on the leadership of the Middle Eastern Federation. Thus, they were quickly able to hinder any attempts to call to their allies the EU for help and thwart their military efforts more brutally knowing every plan they were devising."

"Then the Britannians were going to do the same thing, then?" Kusakabe said with a stunned expression on his face that Arata Utsugi was being tasked to implant these transmitters on Britannia's behalf to turn his patients into unknowing spies to learn who were the collaborators among the NACs leaders.

"You are correct, but there was a problem," Lelouch answered with a smile as he was clearly on a roll. "In the past, the Britannians had knocked out their prisoners and implanted the transmitters. Doing so through a rather public dental office while the target would be awake and aware would present a problem. Putting him into a state of unconscious would've raised some questions, so someone else was needed to create special anesthesia that would not only numb a patient, but that could leave them unaware of what was happening."

"Basically a chemical that could leave a victim unaware of events happening, but they would shrug it off as nothing unusual. That doesn't seem to be possible to create." Kewell asked, but Lelouch was ready for that.

"That is true, but for someone with the title of Ultimate Chemist creating such a concoction wouldn't be a problem, isn't that right Dr. Hojo Shingetsu."

"ME!" Hojo exclaimed in shock, but he began sweating as Lelouch was narrowing him down as the actual murder.

"I had wondered if Miss Lohmeyer considered the possibility of being killed, so she trusted Mrs. Stadtfeld with some information about you and her plan." Lelouch began to explain. "Sharing something like that was risky, yet she was likely confident enough that if she staged the murder of Mr. Utsugi to look like his wife had done the deed because she knew that Mr. Utsugi was an unfaithful husband."

Mrs. Utsugi didn't seem surprised by this revelation, but more shockingly, she didn't seem bothered by it.

"As per her position she had gathered some secrets about him to use as blackmail material, should the need arise, but she had learned that Mr. Utsugi was in a relationship with his own assistant. In fact, I am more certain that she purposely shared this information to help her plan and convince us that Mrs. Utsugi was the killer. She was the manager for her daughter's acting career and if word got out that her husband working with the government to find those funding the resistance groups it would've been disastrous if such information got out."

Mrs. Utsugi was stunned, but no one was more shocked by Hojo, who was showing signs of worry.

"You stand accused eleven so what do you say in your defense?" Bradley said mockingly.

"It's an amusing theory for a child to come up with, but how do you plan to prove that I am the one who killed them."

"Actually, I was hoping you would ask," Lelouch answered as a sinister smile began to form on his face. "Take off those latex gloves you are wearing along with your shirt."

"Huh!"

"Our killer was injured last night attacking Miss Lohmeyer, and you wanted her dead quite badly seeing how she was going to throw you under the bus," Lelouch said as he continued his verbal assault backing the older man into a corner. "You sat at the table that was close to Miss Lohmeyer and Mrs. Stadtfeld in the cafeteria when they had their brief argument before the murder that was how you realized what she was planning, so you seized the opportunity."

"Yeah, I recall that as well, and he seemed very interested in what they were talking about," Kusakabe said in agreement.

"Even though he is a teacher of Hope's Peak Academy Elementary Division he is a chemist who works part-time with the higher grade divisions as a chemistry teacher. Considering you specialize with medical chemicals with considerable knowledge in key medical fields, he is more than capable of tending to some injuries from a knife wound. It's also these skills that allowed you to train your best student the Ultimate Pharmacist correct?" Lelouch asked before Gao Hài joined the verbal assault on the chemist.

"In fact, you had used the cleaning equipment Miss Lohmeyer had set aside to clean up the scene of the murder by cleaning up the blood you had likely left in the hallway when you went to the infirmary to tend to your injuries." The ambassador said remembering the cleaning supplies the first victim had set aside for her own use. "You had to use the buckets of water she had prepared because the water is shut off during the curfew hours."

"I admit I initially suspected Mrs. Utsugi being the killer, but when I saw that her hands showed no injury, I realized then someone else was setting her up." The former prince said holding up his hand as an example. "Furthermore, you used a scalpel to kill her husband when you lured him to the garbage room, so you murdered him since at the time you knew he was the only one who could've revealed your involvement since his wife didn't know about the arrangement involving you.

"But that is just…no it's not…" Hojo said as he was losing ground in the argument.

The young man didn't stop and kept the pressure on. "A blade like that would've been easier to hide than a kitchen knife, allowing you to catch him off guard when you slashed open his throat in a way that kept him from crying out leaving him to choke to death on his own blood. The scalpel I found by the incinerator when you tried to quickly destroy the evidence after you realized you couldn't dump the body because of your injury from the previous night."

"Take off your shirt eleven and let us see that wound," Kewell said as everyone in the room was convinced of the chemist's crime.

"Let me finish by saying that I found a kit that had been used containing everything you would need to stitch a wound used in the infirmary. I guess you weren't expecting anyone to look there were you, so there is no doubt you are the killer!" Lelouch said in triumph as he delivered the final blow.

Hojo Shingetsu went pale with sweat dripping down his forehead as he horrifying to realize that Lelouch has concerned him in what quickly became a one-sided debate slaughter, especially as he put forth critical pieces of evidence that turned the tide of the debate. Upon seeing everyone convinced of Dr. Shingetsu's crime, Monokuma began laughing jubilantly.

"Puhuhu, well done, it seems your arguments have come to a close, so it's time to begin the nerve-racking voting time."

Almost everyone was silent, save for the sound of the doctor's trembling.

"So go ahead and pull the level in front of you, but will your choice be the right one or the dreadfully wrong one."

On the monitors mounted upon the walls, a computer-generated animation of a slot machine displaying Monokuma's visage at the top began rolling until the results landed on three Chibi style faces of Dr. Shingetsu. The result had gold coins spilling out with flowers appearing next to it along with the sound of cheering.

"WELL DONE!" Monokuma exclaimed. "That's right Hojo Shingetsu was the blackened who murdered Alicia Lohmeyer and killed Arata Utsugi. Eat your heart out Professor Plum."

"You might have gotten away with it if you had surprised Miss Lohmeyer before she could fight back," Lelouch explained. "Those cuts and that stab wound she must've delivered on to you...I guess your shoulder doomed you."

Hojo grinned, "Heh, I didn't think there was someone so intelligent amongst us. I had always tried to make my son into a brilliant young man."

"Like I said the lack of injuries on Mrs. Utsugi led me to realize the deception you tried to set up. If you had managed to kill your first target before she realized the danger and escaped unscathed, then things might have ended differently." Lelouch pointed out. "Questioning Mrs. Stadtfeld led me to realize you were the only one who could've known what she might have done to keep your secret."

"I suppose, but there is one thing I'll correct you on since my fate is sealed," Hojo said before fixing Lelouch a cold stare. "My involvement with them wasn't my secret. My secret was experimenting on my son and then helping other parents with similar experiments."

Lelouch considered his words for a few moments before realizing what he was implying. "Are you talking about developing and using some kind of performance enhancement drugs?"

Hojo nodded in confirmation before explaining, "Yes and I studied and tested them on my son to create the ultimate prodigy and to test the limits of how far a child's mental capabilities could be pushed. If pushed far enough those limits could be exceeded, but if not the data I collected was helpful insight. My son is such a disappointment."

If there was any sympathy or any possible guilt, Lelouch might have felt for condemning Dr. Shingetsu to death evaporated. What Lelouch found more troubling was the lack of reaction or even outrage from almost no one else but Kusakabe.

I guess even one of the JLF's most extreme leaders has some standards.

Bradley's indifference was hardly surprising, and neither was it from the Britannian side, but it was from the Japanese among the gathering whom Lelouch was shocked by. It was quite troubling which begged the question if any of them were likely worse parents than Hojo was.

"I heard enough of this so why don't we move on," Lelouch said with a cold voice.

"Gladly," Monokuma cried out sounding as excited as a child getting a puppy for Christmas.

"Please, Monokuma I could be useful to you."

"Let me think….uh….NO!" Monokuma snapped back before putting the soon to be dead chemist and teacher of Hope's Peak Academy in his place. "You played the game, and you got caught, so you know what happens. So why don't we give it everything we got...its PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Hojo knew his demise was inevitable as his last effort to somehow offer his services to the bear was his only way out, but he should have known better. He didn't bother screaming, but he did attempt to escape, but there was no way out of the room open to him. As he tried in vain to flee a familiar pedestal was raised before Monokuma as he drew forth his hammer to hit the button before him.

At the moment he did the screens displayed a black screen with red background and coloring show a 2D Chibi sprite of Hojo.

Game Over

Hojo Shingetsu has been found guilty!

Time for his punishment!

During the text, a 2D sprite of Monokuma walked by before grabbing the doctor by the hair and dragging him away.

A second later one of the curtains opened, revealing a dark passageway before a wire with a metal collar shot out to seize the chemist by his neck. Once the collar was locked onto his neck, the chemist was violently dragged down the darkened hallway as an "Occupied" light shined above the doorway. At the end of the hall, Hojo was strapped to a chair right before various drugs were being pumped into him causing his body to begin bulking up.

Monokuma appeared moments later on a television screen hanging overhead.

"You got a chance to make it out of here, but you need to escape before I finish my performance." Monokuma explained before the camera pulled away to reveal that he was wearing a black tuxedo. He then walked over to a giant grand piano before climbing up to take his seat.

Trivia Murder Course Execution

As the restraints on the chair, Hojo was released after his body was pumped full of various performance enhancement drugs the two-tone bear began his performance by playing Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor by Franz Liszt.

"Make it through the course, but don't forget if you get an answer wrong, you'll lose time and watch your HP too." Monokuma explained as he began playing with an HP bar appearing on the bottom of the screen.

Hojo didn't fully grasp what the bear meant, but he didn't care since it said he had a chance to survive and he was going to take it.

Hojo entered the double doors before him and found himself inside a small room with a metal door leading out. The room was painted white with a bright circular lamp on the ceiling and a monitor on one side of the room with three holes in the wall large enough for an arm to fit through while each one had a small LED display positioned above each hole.

A sensor in the room detected his presence as the large monitor activated revealing Monokuma dressed as a game show host wearing a light blue suit with a red tie standing behind a black podium.

"Pick your subject to receive your first question."

The screen changed showing five boxes Hojo could choose from World History, Famous Bears, Famous Places, Entertainment, Arts, and Literature.

Hojo chose Arts and Literature.

"How many paintings did Van Gogh sell during his lifetime?" Monokuma asked on the screen as three possible answers were lit up on the wall behind him. "Pick your answer and reach inside for the key, but be careful if you pick the wrong answer."

The first hole had the number one lit up while the second had fifteen and the last hole had thirty displayed over it.

Considering his choice carefully Hojo reached into the hole with the number one displayed above it, but after a moment of feeling the interior of the small compartment, he managed to find a key that allowed him to unlock the door and proceed into the next room. The next room was identical to the first, but this time it was painted red.

"Now pick the subject of your next question," the pre-recording of Monokuma asked before the same subject choices as seen in the previous room were displayed.

This time Hojo chose World History.

"In what EU country did this volcanic eruption that happened in 2013 A.T.B which caused chaos for millions of travelers?"

Three possible answers like before were displayed each individual hole in the wall from left to right; Italy, Iceland, and Spain.

The chemist chose Iceland, which luckily for him was the correct answer allowing him to find the next key.

"Well, nicely done, you got two questions right so far, but now we begin the real game where you got to dodge deadly traps so stay on your toes now Puhuhu!" The recording of Monokuma said, mocking Hojo as he entered the next room which was a hallway, but he found himself under attack by iron nails being fired at him. Thanks to the performance enhancement drugs he wasn't injured as he dodged the first wave, but the second wave grazed him while the third tore through some of his clothing leaving some light cuts in the process.

For the next eight minutes Hojo went from room to room answering questions, but he was forced to evade deadly traps along the way which left his clothing torn, and he had light and medium size cuts across his limbs and upper torso, but he had roughly a minute left before the song was over. His injuries were enough where he was leaving a small trail of blood wherever he went as a sign of how much damage he had sustained.

"You are almost there, and this is the last room before the final trek to freedom!" The recording of Monokuma answered as there was one question left to be answered, which belonged to the Famous Bears category. "Alright, final question and here it is…which bear enjoys watching your despair?"

Hojo's choices were Winnie the Pooh, Freddy Fazbear, and Monokuma.

His mind and body were weakened from the performance enhancement drugs wearing off while his injuries he sustained caused his vision to become hazy, but pushing his worn down body forward Hojo reached into the last hole to retrieve what would be the final key. Unfortunately, the answers got switched at the last second as Hojo put his hand in and as tired as he was, he didn't notice it until it was too late as a large blade sliced his arm off.

Hojo recoiled from the wall screaming at everything right before his elbow had been cut clean off, but the final door opened.

"You picked that fake mechanical bear over me…how dare you," Monokuma cursed even through Hoko didn't know that the bear had rigged it, "but you still got twenty seconds to escape."

Even though he was bleeding quite severely, Hojo hurried out of the room where he discovered to his horror that to escape, he had to climb out of rope ladder twenty feet to what appeared to be a hatch at the top before the song ended. Despite lacking an arm, Hojo hurried to climb up the latter using his last arm to grasp the ladder while using his legs to move him up the ladder. Sadly, his movements were too slow, but when the song had seven seconds left with Hojo at least up five feet the ground below him slid open to reveal a large pit filled with syringe-style giant spikes lining the bottom of the hole.

At the same time upon the second reached seven seconds left the hatch at the top was revealed to be faked as the music suddenly stopped, and the rope ladder was shown to be attached to the piano that Monokuma had been playing. Hojo could only scream as he fell into the spikes below and mere seconds after landing on them he was crushed by the piano.

In the room above Monokuma played, using a child size piano, the last notes finishing the song before bowing to the camera to thunderous applause.

The execution was over as everyone had watched the whole thing in stunned silence, but it wasn't long before that silence was broken and Monokuma reappeared.

"YAHOOOOOOO!" Monokuma cheered before hugging himself, "A KILLER PERFORMANCE! Oh the adrenaline is rushing through me, and that was a wonderful way to test the limits of our minds and bodies, but I guess Hojo got that last question wrong costing him some HP and he couldn't escape in time… too bad."

"HP… you meant blood from the beginning, obviously," Lelouch said. He still didn't care that Hojo had died, but the manner in which he died was a chilling reminder to him and everyone else of the fates that awaited them if a killer failed to get away with it or if a killer did get away with it.

"Yep, but don't worry the next executions will not be as drawn out as this one was."

With the trial over everyone was allowed to leave while Junko was already putting together another video to broadcast to Area 11 to announce who had died so far. To keep everyone's identities, safe Junko would modify some aspects of the courtroom and replace the others with animated bear avatars and some new voices to disguise the others from the public.

Ten are left, so who will die next? Junko thought with a sinister smile.

Monokuma Theater:

Monokuma was dressed in his tuxedo sitting before another piano playing another tune on it before turning around.

"So how did you guys like my performance?" Monokuma asked before showing his paws. "I mean not bad for a bear with paws which can play the piano right. I mean, check this out… one hand."

Monokuma began playing the song again with one hand and yet he was still successfully able to play Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 despite it being impossible.

"Now no hands!"

The bear leaped onto the piano and began dancing on the keys.

"Oh, don't look like that it's not like I rigged it somehow….scout's honor!" Monokuma replied with a thumbs up gesture.

A/N:

Players Remaining: 10

Well, the first murder and it has been solved due to a severe mistake made by the killer early on, although halfway through this it felt a little one-sided, it is the first mystery, so maybe it should be fine as is. I did consider having Arata's wife be the killer for this one, but I realized that would be too easy. Still, I think for my first murder mystery of the story I think I did decent, or I would like to hope so, but I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say. Hopefully, later on, I can do something a little more shocking and surprising for a good murder mystery.

However Lelouch might've put himself into a perilous position because of how capable he proved to be during the trial, but either he has made himself valuable to get rid of (at this point), or he might have painted a big target on his back.

In this chapter we had Yasuke introduced, so for those not familiar with his character who appeared in Danganronpa/Zero he (in canon) who was Junko's childhood friend and eventual lover becoming her accomplice later before…well, I won't finish that. However as a change and to set the stage for specific events down the line Yasuke and Junko didn't become lovers this time due to Junko's growing interest in Lelouch. But Yasuke did has strong feelings for Junko and at some point might end up being pushed to "compete" for Junko with either realizing it. The winner in Junko's eyes would prove to be the one who would be the "better boyfriend" not to mention it would leave the loser in despair, so it's a win-win for her depending on how events play out.

As Junko said she would set the stage, and they would do the rest allowing her to keep her hands clean.

Also, I have put up a new version of my curiosity poll which I changed to who should survive the story instead of who deserves to get the ax on my profile. You can vote up to 23 choices, but you don't have to vote up to that many characters just whoever you think should survive. I did exclude some main characters since they are likely to survive anyway…or not depending on what might favor the story better.

For the execution, it was difficult finding a song that would fit it best as I wrote it, but of course, making into something that would be ironic for a man who cruelly pushed his own child to his breaking point. And then punish him with various cruel methods if he showed signs of slowing or falling asleep that usually involved knives to test how much he could endure. I decide to expand on it a little by making him a chemist who created performance enhancement drugs which he used on his son and soon sold to others to fund his research, which was how the Britannian Government became aware of his skills to recruit them for their plan.

Trying to make it match with the song especially as it was ending was difficult.

So that aside I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I am contemplating other combinations of different pairings between Code Geass and Danganronpa characters I might try if the conditions are right.

Thank you in advance for your reviews, and they are much appreciated since the feedback for the last chapter was so good I decided to put out another chapter.