A/N: thanks for the reviews and I will say I had some trouble with planning this chapter a bit, but after the bouncing the idea off of some authors I know I decided to go with it. I won't say any more to avoid spoilers. If by some chance anyone is offended by anything I do in the chapter I apologize as it's not intentional and I was struggling to keep it within the M rating…you'll see what I mean…enjoy.

02/11/18: chapter 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 6

Exposure

Lelouch stirred to the sound of the bell chime followed by the pre-recording of Monokuma appearing on the monitor hanging in his room.

"Good morning, everyone! It is now seven a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine. Get ready to greet another beautiful day!"

The former prince's body felt tired, but he had work to do. He went about his regular morning routine of getting ready for the day, but before leaving for the dining hall, Lelouch went to all of the locations to collect the tape recorders he planted in hidden areas the night before. Before going to the library last night, Lelouch grabbed some spare tape recorders from the Multimedia Room. Despite having proven how useful they were, no one had taken any more of them, which Lelouch was thankful for as he found another use for them that would be essential to his plan.

He ate his breakfast in his room eating from one of the canned foods he brought from the kitchen, but at the same time, Lelouch was playing one of the tape recorders fast forwarding until he heard some dialog and listened to it. Given where he had placed these tape recorders there was mostly silence, so he didn't have much dialog to search through while some recorders had nothing at all but some background noise.

Two pieces of dialog on two recorders caught his attention, which brought a smile to his face. However, the third portion of dialog from a third recorder and noise brought more information than he wanted and something else that unsettled him.

In the end, there were some very concerning sounds that something had happened, which made Lelouch recognize that he needed to get to the dining hall now because he knew something had happened last night. He arrived late as usual since the word was getting around; he pushed a dresser to block off his door at night as part of an extra means of protection if not slightly paranoid. He deposited his use utensils in the kitchen and dumped the used can and water bottle before sitting down at one of the tables in the cafeteria hall.

No one seemed to notice or care about his presence, but that suited Lelouch just fine, however, he was concerned about how he would handle what was coming without tipping his hand to reveal his plans. On the other hand, this would give him more time to finalize some details, but at the same time, he was deeply concerned.

There is still time, but in the meantime, I have to play up the innocent party. It's doubtful I would be named the culprit, but trying to steer events will not be easy.

Lelouch had another drink of water from a sealed water bottle, but as expected, and he suspected this would happen, the video monitors turned on displaying Monokuma's face after the familiar bell tone echoed through the room.

"Attention all players, a certain dormitory room has been unlocked for investigation purposes. I encourage all of you to investigate it." Monokuma spoke before the monitor displayed only static before going dark again.

Lelouch began scanning the room as did the others trying to take a quick headcount of everyone who was present, so it wasn't long to determine the one missing whose room was likely unlocked.

Gao Hài…

"It seems another murder has taken place," Bradley said calmly, but his smile was unsettling.

"Already," Haiji exclaimed as his expression was between panic and frustration, "it's been barely forty-eight hours since the last one and not even twenty-four hours from the attempt that happened yesterday."

"Those events probably drove someone else to murder to escape before the said person got killed themselves." Mrs. Stadtfeld pointed out logically.

"Wouldn't have made a difference since I am sure it was only a matter of time before Monokuma used something else to drive someone to murder," Kewell said agreeing with the woman.

"We need to get the hell out of here!" Yuuma Utsugi said as she started shaking while holding her shoulders.

"Did you forget as long as we have these," Kusakabe said while holding up his arm with his bracelet, "we can't go anywhere without these killing us!"

Lelouch quietly observed, but this gave his mind some time to plan and work to steer events in his favor which would be critical to his own plan.

Eventually, everyone left to begin checking the dormitory rooms one by one, but they all suspected Gao Hài was likely the room Monokuma wanted them to investigate, so they started with his living quarters first. Unsurprisingly the door was unlocked so when they opened it they were still shocked by the scene within even as they braced themselves for what had most likely had taken place. Lying on his bed was the ambassador whose open eyes indicated that he was dead, but the lack of blood was a visible sign that whatever killed him was likely through suffocation. This was reinforced by the state of the bed, but that only raised more questions.

"What the hell happened to him?" Haiji called out when everyone saw the state of Gao Hài's body, which prompted a particular announcement to begin playing following familiar bell sound.

"A body has been discovered," Monokuma announced as his visage appeared on one of the nearby monitors, "after some time a trial shall be held between the survivors after allowing an opportunity to investigate the murder."

Everyone was confused, but Lelouch knew what happened. His challenge was to make everyone see that and reach that same conclusion without revealing how he knew about it.

A notification was heard from their electronic devices indicating they had just received the Monokuma file providing information on the murder. Lelouch brought out the small device and began reviewing the information available to them.

"Name: Gao Hài, estimated time of death is around four a.m. The primary cause of death was suffocation. No other injuries or foreign substances detected."

"Yet looking at the bed, he must've fought back?" Kewell muttered as Lelouch stepped closer to the bed, but Bradley was looking at it differently.

"It's strange he would've let someone in because he should have realized the potential folly in such a foolish action."

"But according to the file he had no other injuries, so was there really a struggle?" Lelouch commented although he knew what had transpired.

"Yes, if a struggle had taken place, why the room between the door and the bed is untouched, and he had no bruises or scratches on him."

"His robes look loose," Kusakabe noted, "Compared to the last time I saw him these robes look loosely held together. As they are now, they could probably fall off of him. Could that be a sign of a struggle?"

"No otherwise, these robes shouldn't have been torn apart. It looks like someone struggled with clothes as if someone was trying to cover up something, but why?" Lelouch said, looking genuinely as confused as possible. "Covering up an injury can't be the reason?"

Bradley was suspicious, but not of Lelouch, so he began examining the body before noticing something as he started checking around the torso looking for something the killer might have hidden.

"A High Eunuch is supposed to be without his equipment I am right?" Bradley said, realizing what had truly transpired and it explained the condition of the bed including why the High Eunuch had been dressed up despite it must've been difficult. "I think we narrowed down our suspects to a woman."

"What makes you say that?" Kewell asked.

"This," Bradley replied before stripping Gao Hài of his robes revealing a surprising fact. "To become a High Eunuch you have to be castrated, so why has this one been able to skip out on that step?"

"Impossible, High Eunuchs were formed from high-ranking civil servants," Lelouch began before explaining, "Originally they began as advisors to the Emperor or Empress of the Chinese Federation, but in the last decade they have gained more power and influence. When a new High Eunuch is appointed, they must be castrated to prevent them from having children so they wouldn't be tempted to seize power and start a dynasty with a member of the royal family."

"I heard they were more reliable than other scholarly and military officials in the past within the federation, but in the last decade, their influence and power has corrupted them obviously. When they inducted Gao Hài as a new High Eunuch, they must have somehow arranged or faked his castration as part of some kind of plan."

"Oh, I see," Bradley said with a sinister smile, "the current Empress is a young girl. She is a bit young, but I have a feeling once she was older Gao Hài might've been part of a plan for the High Eunuchs to gain complete power by creating a royal line they could control directly."

"How could they keep such a secret?" Lelouch said, but he knew that if anyone had found out about something like this the former prince was sure this wouldn't have gone over well with others within the Chinese Federation.

"Perhaps that was the real reason he was sent to Area 11?" Bradley said with a thoughtful expression on his face before he continued. "Send him far away from anyone who opposed the High Eunuchs and near people loyal to you allowing them to know the secret. It's no secret to even the Emperor that the people and even members within their own government have been growing increasingly dissatisfied with the increasing power and influence the High Eunuchs have amassed reducing the current Empress to a figurehead ruler."

"I see, and if the Empress bore a child, then questions would begin flying about who the father was? No one would likely suspect the High Eunuchs, and if they wanted to…no," Lelouch said before correcting himself at the end, "They would use it to frame and implicate the Empress's strongest supporter and use it against their enemies. Then they would have a bloodline claim to the throne through Gao Hài, and they wouldn't need to publicly reveal it. They could even arrange for the Empress to die during the confusion and scandal to silence any lingering opposition, allowing them to raise the heir apparent however they want."

"That could very well be their plan, but still it would be hazardous for him to seek the company of a woman even if you are in a different country as the ambassador," Kewell said in agreement, but the only part that seemed questionable was why Gao Hài would risk exposure like this.

"The High Eunuchs have been amassing more power and wealth for themselves. It's possible Gao Hài might be getting too greedy and overconfident that he could keep his own secret safe," Kusakabe added although it came from a member of the JLF no one argued which was due to the fact his logical was reasonable, so there was no reason for an argument against it.

"Yes, a claim would be difficult to prove without some serious and concrete evidence," Lelouch said in agreement before deciding to inspect the surveillance camera in the room. "The rules prohibit us from destroying them, but I wonder…"

Pulling a chair closer, Lelouch climbed onto the chair to examine the camera before discovering a piece of tape left on top of the camera itself.

"Before whatever encounter had taken place last night they made sure to cover the camera with likely a piece of paper or plastic with paper in it."

"But shouldn't blocking the cameras have incurred Monokuma's wrath?" Kewell asked, prompting an appearance from the two-tone bear in question.

"Well, someone here is using their head," Monokuma said, surprising the group as they noticed Monokuma was present in the room with them. "Normally I would punish them, but I had a hidden camera in here still recording so I still saw everything."

"I see, so was the hidden camera installed because you knew about Gao Hài's secret?" Lelouch asked with his arms folded over his chest after he climbed down from the chair. "I assume it was the secret you were blackmailing him for right?"

Monokuma titled his head to one side for a moment before answering, "Maybe, but since you did figure it out I'll tell you Gao Hài and his killer got really personal last night upupupu!"

"So our killer would have to be Yuuma or Mrs. Stadtfeld?" Kusakabe pointed out, but Kewell seemed doubtful a woman of nobility would sleep with the ambassador of the Chinese Federation.

"I can't imagine the wife of Lord Stadtfeld would be involved in an affair with a foreign ambassador."

"Hard to imagine the widow of a former dentist and the mother of a popular child star would be as well." Kusakabe countered.

"You both have a fair point," Haiji said joining the conversation. "The only to figure out which of them committed the murder would be to determine who Gao Hài would've met and could've had a secret affair with."

"I agree," Lelouch said before a possible argument could break out. "We could spend all day going back and forth on this, and we would still be at square one."

No one tried to argue the point further.

"Then we'll need further evidence before we can prove our suspicions," Lelouch said, glancing at the doorway while looking for signs of Mrs. Stadtfeld or Yuuma. Lelouch saw no sign of them, which only raised questions if one of them was guilty.

"Well, perhaps there might be a way to possibly prove the mother of the child star could be more of a suspect than Lady Stadtfeld." Black King offered as he walked into the room.

"How so?" Lelouch asked as the others in his company seemed interested as well.

"I am sure you gentlemen know how difficult it is for a non-Britannian actress to find employment even if they were successful?" The obese Britannian gangster began with a dark smile as Lelouch felt uneasiness in his stomach as the unpleasant realization dawned on him where this discussion was heading.

Thinking about it further, he felt sick to his stomach while anger began to surge within.

"I know even among Britannian audiences her daughter has been surprisingly popular. On the other hand, producers don't typically work with non-Britannians no matter how popular they might be," Kewell noted. His statement was correct, although the movie and television industry of Britannia did employ non-Britannians as extras and to increase the accuracy of a movie based off of historical events that happened in a different part of the world.

But rarely did one ever become a star since Britannian actors usually wore heavy makeup, a mask or used computer effects to alter themselves to look more like the local populace if the movie was being filmed and based off events in another country for the sake of being accurate. Even though Lelouch had heard Kotoko Utsugi, because his little sister liked the shows she was in, he didn't think much about her success.

Or maybe a part of him unconsciously knew the truth.

At that moment another unpleasant thought came to mind that sent a chill down Lelouch's spine.

D-don't tell me her own mother…

"To ensure her daughter's success, her own mother prostituted her daughter to producers where she was repeatedly raped by them." The Black King explained before adding with a sadistic smile, "Her own mother even went as far as prostituting herself alongside her daughter as a mother and daughter set."

The revelation that someone would put a young girl through that caused Lelouch's stomach to twist and turn in more ways than one. The horrors he had seen during the war between Japan and Britannia had hardened him, but there were still some things that could sicken Lelouch. What he had just learned was one of those things, but unfortunately for the Black King any possible reluctance, he might've had was all but evaporated.

As unpleasant that revelation is you have to focus on the task before you. Lelouch mentally reminded himself as he did have a job ahead of him that needed his full attention.

Lelouch focused on looking for evidence as he knew he would need to prove who killed Gao Hai, although they knew it was likely a woman they still needed to narrow it down.

Even though a part of him wouldn't have any problems condemning Yuuma to her death, Lelouch wasn't convinced she was the one who did it. Even though he knew who did it, Lelouch couldn't see how she and Gao Hai could've had a late night rendezvous.

Given his secret, it's obvious Gao Hài wouldn't have slept with any woman, but someone who knew the value of keeping secrets and would have a lot to lose if their relationship was found out.

The murder had to be someone Gao Hài knew before the Killing Game, but the more Lelouch thought about it he wasn't convinced Yuuma was the murder. This presented a problem though as far as Lelouch was concerned; he feared that he wouldn't find any evidence to tip the trial in his favor, although he continued to search for clues just to be sure.

Unless I find something, I might have to create a slip of the tongue situation to create an opening.

The former prince left no stone unturned and began checking the bed including underneath the bed itself for any clues.

I know who did it, but…

Even though he found it, unlike Yuuma could've known the ambassador of the Chinese Federation there was a question then how could Mrs. Stadtfeld know Gao Hài. She did have a higher chance of meeting him more so than the wife of both a dentist and the mother of a famous child star. Lelouch knew infidelity wasn't uncommon among members of the nobility. The lords and male members of noble households had done so more often the case of a woman cheating on her husband of noble status was rare because they had much more to lose. Especially if they accidentally sired a child with someone else other than their husband since it would give them a way to divorce their current wife easily without consequences.

No one would've suspected Gao Hài of sleeping with the wife of a noble, but wouldn't the risk of him getting her pregnant could've been a problem?

Something wasn't adding up, and Lelouch was confident that could be the key for the trial that led ahead. Even though Lelouch assumed if Mrs. Stadtfeld was having an affair with Gao Hài then shouldn't have someone being suspicious of her regardless if she took precautions to prevent an accidental pregnancy since that would've seen her stripped of her status and cast out from both her family and the Stadtfeld Family.

I know someone of Mrs. Stadtfeld status cheating on her husband isn't anything new, but why would she have an affair with Gao Hài, a foreigner, and an ambassador? Couldn't it have been a one night stand?

Lelouch knew relationships between a Britannian of noble birth and a non-Britannian was looked down upon and was a guaranteed way to lose their status. The only exception to this was if the non-Britannian was a person of high social standing or a member of royalty from another country. Thinking about it more carefully Lelouch remembered something he overheard from Miss Lohmeyer before she was murdered gave the young man an idea.

There might be something I could use, but that will be a risky gamble.

As Lelouch continued the search for clues, he was quietly observed by Junko, who was delighted with this latest turn of events. Even though there was an apparent lack of despair from the players, but Junko credited that problem to a lack of connection between them. Since giving the people she had collected hostility and distrust was to be expected, but at the same time if they died horribly it wouldn't provide enough despair.

Junko made a note of this along with other observations on how to improve the next Killing Game she was planning in the future.

On a side note, she was pleased to hear from Mukuro that Tsumugi was going a perfect job of cosplaying as her thanks to the colored contacts and voice changer, she was using that made her into the ideal body double. No one could tell the difference between them, which gave Junko more time to observe and host the current killing game.

I got to thank Hope's Peak Academy for having a lax attendance system.

Unlike most school attending class wasn't mandatory at Hope's Peak Academy. The only thing students were required to do was hone their talent and take an exam. As long as they don't fall below average, they will continue to remain enrolled at the school, but if a student fails the exam, they would be dismissed from the school.

Thanks to the rule regarding attendance it easier for Tsumugi to set time aside to impersonate Junko.

A big toothy grin spread across Junko's face as she was fully aware of the fact that Lelouch knew who it was as well as she did, but unlike Lelouch, she knew how and why Gao Hài had entered into a secret relationship with his killer. She was very curious to watch how Lelouch would handle the trial ahead of the group.

As she waited Junko was already preparing the video she would broadcast to Britannia and the Chinese Federation. At the same time, she made sure to include footage of the killer and Gao Hài enjoying some passionate lovemaking she got off of the hidden camera. Of course, that wasn't the only proof she had planned on presenting to the people to reveal Gao Hài was only a High Eunuch in name only. All she needed was the video of the class trial, and if things go according to Lelouch's plan, then she would just need to add the execution video of his killer.

This will be a real political bomb in more ways than one, and I can't wait to drop it.

Following what appeared to be fruitless searching Lelouch couldn't help, but admit that Gao Hai's killer had done a thorough job in cleaning the crime scene as there were almost no other clues.

Well…almost…

He found a clue, but Lelouch wasn't confident it would be enough. However, it was better than anything else right now since he didn't see any else that could be helpful. Of course, the lack of evidence did open up another possibility.

It wasn't long before a familiar chime rang through the air.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

On the nearest monitor, Lelouch saw Monokuma's visage appear.

"Erm, so ah…I am getting tired of waiting. Why don't we just plunge right in? It's the moment you have all been waiting for the trial! You all remember where to meet right? It's the red door on the first floor." Monokuma announced before chuckling, "I'll see you all soon."

Lelouch was among the first to arrive at the elevator, and one by one everyone else showed up, but before he had come to the trial room, he did bring along the tape recorder containing the evidence that would prove who the murder was without a doubt. He had hoped it wouldn't come to it, but he couldn't afford to die here, so he brought it as a worst-case scenario contingency plan.

The elevator ride down to the trial room was silent, but upon arrival, they noticed the décor of the room had been changed. The walls had been replaced with pink wallpaper and had cartoon-style shapes imprinted on them while the ceiling had a chandelier with golden bears holding a light bulb on the walls around the room. The monitors and everything else regarding the room were still the same as last time except the new portraits of everyone who was dead filling their former place in the trial room.

Once everyone was in position the trial began.

"Now for a quick refresher," Monokuma began, "Your votes at the end will determine your fate. If you vote correctly and identify who killed Gao Hài, then you'll live, and I'll punish the blackened. However, if you vote incorrectly I'll punish everyone, but the blackened. Then he or she will win the game and will get to walk out of here."

"Right," Kewell said, taking the lead, "let's get started. I suggest we begin by discussing the exact method of how Gao Hài was killed."

"I think it's obvious, but it is a good starting point." The Black King commented.

"I agree, and it would be good for everyone who didn't examine the crime scene with us," Lelouch said in agreement. "We know about the state of the bed and Gao Hai that his killer was a woman who engaged in some…" the former prince began before taking a moment to choose his words carefully, "sexual intercourse. This was likely done to get the victim to lower his guard and exhausted from their evening together left him dangerously vulnerable where the killer smothered him with a pillow."

"That is consistent with the cause of death," Kewell said in agreement as no one saw any reason to dispute what Lelouch revealed. "Even so I can't imagine Gao Hài allowing any woman to sleep with him since he would've had a lot to lose if word of his secret got out."

"I concur with that as well," Bradley said, before adding, "Whoever killed him must be someone who was having a secret affair with the ambassador that no one knew about before this game began."

"The limited evidence and everything that happened reinforces that," Lelouch commented in agreement before he added something else for everyone to consider, "but somehow I suspect Gao Hài might've been planning to murder his own lover to cover both his secret and to provide a means for him to escape the game. Since its only obvious one person will get to leave here alive, I became suspicious and did a search around his room finding this."

Lelouch drew a brown bottle from his pocket with a white label bearing Monokuma's emblem with two bones crossed over each other below it.

"This came from the chemical lab and from the label and what I had learned it is a special poison Monokuma provided that is so potent that once consumed death is virtually instant," Lelouch explained before Kusakabe realized something.

"Did he plan on poisoning her?"

"Yes, I think it's more likely that Gao Hài had planned on killing his own lover because being a High Eunuch it would've provided a potentially good alibi for him. Unfortunately, it seems his lover had the same idea, but her method was more direct. She likely suspected that Gao Hài had intended to kill her. He likely had poisoned the champagne bottle or whatever drink he had brought for them to share," Lelouch explained while lightly shaking the bottle trying to reveal that half of its contents had been used. "We can assume his killer disposed of the drinks, but if Gao Hai's plan succeeded all he would've needed to do is take her body back to her room using her own key and then walk away. Not a full proof plan, but deducing him as the killer would've been difficult."

"So what does that detail tell us?" Haiji asked sounding almost impatient.

"It means if they were so willing to kill one another. Then that tells us that the relationship between our killer and Gao Hài clearly wasn't one of love, but convenience with each of them to benefit in some way. The killer is the one who would've benefited most from her relationship with Gao Hài." Lelouch explained.

"But wouldn't Yuuma be the likely candidate? We know her husband was working with the Britannians to catch those providing funds and weapons to the resistance groups?" Mrs. Stadtfeld said pointing the finger at the Japanese woman who seemed shocked.

"I…I never slept with that man before!"

"I highly doubt Yuuma, and Gao Hài had any kind of relationship," Lelouch said sharply, "although I wouldn't doubt the possibility of it happening despite information the Black King shared with us earlier. However, I don't see how Yuuma and Gao Hài having an affair would've benefited either of them. In fact, considering something I remembered before Miss Lohmeyer was killed, I think the relationship with benefits was merely one benefit of your relationship with Gao Hài…isn't that right Lady Stadtfeld."

"What?!" Mrs. Stadtfeld exclaimed as Lelouch saw the anger on her face.

"You are the wife of one of Area 11's most prominent nobles who possessed considerable influence, although I doubt he would've had you sleep with a diplomat I wonder what you were planning. Given the international shipping and transport businesses he controls which included the Chinese Federation through the Far East Exchange Center." Lelouch explained having been familiar with each of Area 11's noble families, more specifically those who stood closer to the top above all of the minor ones, so it shouldn't surprise anyone he would know about the Stadtfeld Family especially since he planned to one day bring Britannia to its knees. "I imagine your family must've been profiting well already so I can't see much reason for your affair with Gao Hài unless perhaps were seeking more power and influence for yourself or were you arranging for your daughter to be married off."

Lelouch's efforts to provoke Mrs. Stadtfeld's anger seemed to be working as he continued to stir her hatred, although it was a risky gamble it was Lelouch's only chance to expose her. What she did afterward would determine the way this trial would go, and he prayed he wouldn't have to resort to using the tape recorder.

The tape had a reordering, which was the absolute proof that Mrs. Stadtfeld had murdered Gao Hài.

"Your daughter is quite lovely, so I assume you are looking to benefit from such a marriage!"

"THAT GIRL ISN'T MINE!" Mrs. Stadtfeld roared as her anger hit its peak just as Lelouch was hoping. "The only reason that pathetic excuse of a husband married me was so that he could fool everyone into thinking she was my daughter and hide the fact she is half-blood and the daughter of that fifthly eleven whore he keeps around as a maid!"

"I see so this means you can't have children," Lelouch said as he continued to push the woman's buttons. He knew among noble families that if a daughter were incapable of bearing children, they would be cast out upon discovery. After all, if a noble had a daughter incapable of having children, then she would be worthless to the family since they couldn't marry her off to further their own status. It was cruel, yes, but that was how Britannia was for a country built on the ideals of Social Darwinism. "Something like that would be problematic for a daughter from a noble household, although as a benefit you could have an affair with anyone who wanted without fear of ever getting caught."

"Don't call me a whore brat…I do what I must to get ahead."

"Is that why you were aquatinted with Miss Lohmeyer, and I assume she knew about your secret? I found it odd she would entrust you with her secret activities like that unless you were somehow involved in them yourself. You've must have been meeting Gao Hài under the pretense of meeting with the ambassador on your husband's behalf. I don't know what the deal was, but Britannia possessing knowledge of Gao Hài despite his title not being a Eunuch would've been an instrumental piece of blackmail material. In exchange, you would've obtained a higher title among the nobility right?"

"So what if that was the deal? I told you I would do anything to get ahead even if it meant killing that sleazy bastard. He wanted to cut a deal with Britannia and revealed his secret to me to protect his own pathetic hide in the event the other High Eunuchs wanted to scapegoat him."

"Thank you very much," Lelouch said with a smile, "I rest my case."

Mrs. Stadtfeld looked confused for a moment before she realized to her horror her fatal mistake.

Bradley was applauding Lelouch while laughing at Mrs. Stadtfeld's misfortune. "Well done, you were hoping for that. You gave her the shovel to dig her own grave."

"You were trying to draw a slip of the tongue from the killer by provoking her anger like that," Haiji noted with a grin.

"She was my target from the start as there was no one else who could've benefited from a relationship with Gao Hài," Lelouch explained. "I highly doubt Yuuma would've benefited even if furthering her daughter's career was the goal, but ambassadors don't have a say in the entertainment industry in Britannia, and the Chinese Federation doesn't allow any shows except worldwide news broadcasts and announcements from being shown within their territory."

"That is true and with no other women left among us that narrowed the list of potential suspects way down," Kewell said, agreeing that Mrs. Stadtfeld was the killer based on the evidence coupled with the unknowing confession he got out of her.

"She might've pulled it off if there were other women to cast suspicion on, but as the young man said no one else would've benefited between the two who remained," Kusuabke noted as he was in agreement.

"Well, that was disappointingly short," Monokuma said with a bored expression, "but I guess you fucked up…literally."

"I think we're done," Lelouch said as he crossed both arms over his chest.

"Ditto so why don't we start everyone's favorite voting time?"

Everyone cast their vote except for Mrs. Stadtfeld who was still in shock from having unknowingly exposed herself as Gao Hai's killer. However, it was still a majority vote that rules and more than enough had voted for Mrs. Stadtfeld to be revealed as the killer.

A selection everyone unsurprisingly was correct about.

"YAHOO!" Monokuma cheered, "that's right, the wife of Lord Stadtfeld who couldn't bear a child was the killer. You guys are on a roll!"

"This could've ended differently if you allowed Gao Hài to kill you, but really killing him sooner would've given you others to hide behind." Bradley mocked with a dark smile.

"I…I…" Mrs. Stadtfeld said as her shaky words indicated she was on the verge of a complete breakdown. "I refuse to die like this…I…refuse…"

"Your career as a man-eater was very short lived wasn't it, but you got caught, so it's everyone's favorite time. So why don't we give it everything we got…IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

At last the blonde haired woman cried out in terror as Monokuma's pedestal was raised before him, allowing the two-tone bear to hit the button with his signature hammer prompting the familiar words on the monitors coupled with a Monokuma sprite began dragging away a sprite of Mrs. Stadtfeld at the same time those words appeared.

GAME OVER

Lady Stadtfeld has been found guilty

Time for the punishment!

A trap door opened up below her feet before Mrs. Stadtfeld fell through the curving slide to the execution that awaited her. She landed in what appeared to be an ordinary living room of a house with white wallpaper, a dresser, a coffee table, and sofa. The appearance of the room was more suitable for being a television show set seen on those family sitcoms, which was likely the intent.

Execution: Highway to Hell

Suddenly the sound of a chainsaw revving up could be heard before Monokuma began cutting his way through the door wearing a white hockey mask. When Mrs. Stadtfeld caught sight of the chainsaw-wielding Monokuma, she bolted for the nearest exit, leaving the house to see she was inside some kind of housing community. Just like the house, it was also based on a television show set, so it was fake if one took a close enough look at the houses. It was contained within some kind of indoor studio, but beyond that, no one could tell if this was all part of an underground facility or something else.

The only thing that seemed real was an old sports car with a white and black color identical to Monokuma parked in the driveway. Eager for a chance to escape Mrs. Stadtfeld jumped into the car where she found the keys in the ignition. Just as Monokuma hurried out the door with a chainsaw in hand, the blonde haired woman turned on the engine before driving off down the street of the neighborhood set looking for a way out. She followed the road until it crossed a large-scale television show set on a highway with various cameras mounted around the highway as well as catwalks for cameramen to record high-speed chase scenes.

She was driving down the road, but suddenly the car accelerated over hundred miles an hour, and it was still climbing. Mrs. Stadtfeld tried to slow the vehicle down but found to her horror as the blood drained from her face that she no longer possessed any control over the car. On one of the catwalks overlooking the highway, the blonde haired woman saw Monokuma sitting there working a small handheld remote control and next to him was a monitor providing him with live dash camera footage from the car. Even though getting out of the car would surely kill her Mrs. Stadtfeld attempted to bail out of the car but found that the doors wouldn't unlock either.

Monokuma began laughing as he started to steer the car into various cardboard cutouts of people and vehicles around the road, but the car didn't slow down but only slightly when Monokuma crashed into something or made a quick change of direction towards an object. After they were through the obstacles, the car continued to accelerate reaching speeds of one hundred and eighty miles an hour, but Mrs. Stadtfeld began screaming when she saw the end of the highway.

Pushing a button on the remote control Monokuma triggered a set of rockets built into the back of the speeding car that had been concealed. The vehicle experienced a sudden jump in speed before hitting a small ramp at the end of the highway propelling the speeding car into the air. The car flew through the air about twenty feet before the vehicle tipped forward with a screaming Mrs. Stadtfeld right before it hit the ground front first followed up by flipping over three times, breaking off parts of the crashing vehicle as it did while the rockets were still firing. It came to a halt after flipping over six more times, leaving the car misshapen and wholly wrecked with the roof crushed and the front end almost completely broken apart.

Monokuma, on the other hand, was clearly disappointed the car didn't reach the other side of the jump where painted on the wall at the other end was a bullseye.

With a disappointed sigh, Monokuma pushed another switch on the remote causing a bomb planted within the car to explode engulfing it in a giant fireball. If the crash didn't kill Mrs. Stadtfeld initially, then the explosive finished her off.

Back in the courtroom as soon as the execution was over Monokuma reappeared laughing like manic.

"When you live the high life, not caring about who you run down to enjoy that ride, even more, you'll only crash and burn in the end!"

As Monokuma continued to indulge itself in jubilant laughter Lelouch took around in the room at who was left; Haiji, Bradley, Kewell, Kusakabe, the Black King, and Yuuma including himself.

Including me, that counts seven of us left…a lucky, but for us an unlucky number. Bradley will make a move now at this point since he now has fewer people he would need to deceive.

Meanwhile, Junko, on the other hand, was already putting the final touches on the video she was going to broadcast to Area 11, the rest of Britannia and by extension the Chinese Federation. Of course, as a toothy grin appeared on her face the broadcast wasn't the only thing she had planned.

Two hours later as it was early afternoon just outside the Toyko Concession Park, where a concert was taking place a group of people had gathered, including some media news crews who were recording the event live and broadcasting across Area 11. Among those in attendance was a young teenager with dark red hair styled into a bobbed-cut, green eyes and a pale complexion with light freckles across her cheeks. Her uniform was the standard Hope's Peak Academy for female students, but she wore black knee-length socks with matching shoes.

Aside from holding her favorite SLR camera, Mahiru Koizumi was taking photos of the concert and people who were clearly enjoying themselves, but she wasn't alone as another girl stood with her.

Identical to the uniform Mahiru wore, the girl accompanying her wore her school uniform differently as she included a brown vest with her dress shirt. She also wore a pair of black thighs that reached past her knees, a brown hairband with a black four-leaf clover, and brown loafers. Sonia Nevermind was a tall, young woman with long blonde hair, pale skin, and green eyes. All in all, no one would think at first glance that she was attending Hope's Peak Academy as a foreign exchange student with the title of Ultimate Princess and the heir to the Kingdom of Novoselic.

"Not quite as big as the advertisements made it out to be, but still I am so excited to be at my first music concert…" Sonia exclaimed with a bright expression. Due to her somewhat sheltered upbringing, Sonia hadn't experienced much beyond what was expected of her, so she traveled to Japan to experience more of the world. Even though the concert itself wasn't quite as big, it still had an estimated one hundred attendances and not counting the reporters and the television network crews.

"I think it's important for people to enjoy themselves than an event being a huge gathering. Besides, with so many people it would feel kinda cramped for some?" Mahiru pointed out while looking for an excellent opportunity for another photo.

"I suppose, but…"

Suddenly, what was a happy event was ruined when a corpse tied to a rope was dropped from the building directly behind the stage with a harness and rigging system in place to perfectly dangle the body over the stage while being suspended six feet in the air above the stage. The rigging system could be seen from the tenth floor of the building behind them, and the Ultimate Despair members who had dumped the body from above were already gone.

Gao Hài's naked corpse was hung on display for all to see including the remains of his face paint that remained, but his face was unmistakable even without the face paint markings worn by High Eunuchs. Mahiru tried to focus on the face of the corpse because for the apparent reason she didn't want to look at a dead man's unmentionables, but she wanted to confirm who it was and soon it was evident which group had hung the body up for display like this.

The concert's monitor flickered out, and soon the visage of Monokuma appeared.

"For those of you attending the clarity concert outside the Medort Corporate Office Building I am so sorry for ruining your lame concert, but I thought it was the perfect place to show you all a secret Gao Hài has been hiding." Monokuma explained as a live video feed displaying Gao Hài's corpse was hanging above the stage. "Upupupu, but tell me if he is supposed to be a High Eunuch then why is he still equipped? I mean that is a serious oversight don't you all think? Or maybe it was intentional like his fellow High Eunuchs had some plan to knock up the Empress with an heir they could raise from scratch. I wonder what they were thinking, but if you think I am not telling the truth, I got more proof."

On the monitor a photo of Mrs. Stadtfeld and Gao Hài in a rather intimate embrace clearing doing something that should've been impossible for a High Eunuch.

"That's right; the wife of Lord Stadtfeld has been getting some from the High Eunuch in exchange for helping her climb that ladder of success especially since she was incapable of having children. Not to mention she got some good blackmail material for the Britannian Government." Monokuma said in a very mocking tone before asking with one hand raised to an ear. "What's that she isn't able to have children so how do they have a daughter?"

"It's not important, but it's obvious the girl had a different mother. I mean, let's face it Lord Stadtfeld just can't keep it in his pants so I wouldn't be surprised if he knocked up his own maid and she was the mother." The two-tone bear said before letting out another signature sadistic laugh as a website address was being flashed along the bottom of the screen. "Anyway, if you guys want the full video of their last night together before Lady Stadtfeld killed him by smothering him with a pillow you can find it online. Hell, it has probably gone viral by now so you should be able to find it easily."

A photo of Gao Hài being smoldered to death by a pillow held by Mrs. Stadtfeld was shown before suddenly the game over screen from the recent trial appeared.

"Now I can assure the Chinese Federation his killer has been punished since the remaining players managed to figure out what happened thanks in part to discovering his secret and narrowing down who it was since there were only two women left at the time. To be fair Gao Hài was planning on killing her with poison, but unfortunately for him, she got the drop on him first."

Now footage of Mrs. Stadtfeld's execution began playing.

"But she was always living life in the fast lane, so she finally crashed and burned!"

Once the execution had played Monokuma addressed a stunned and terrified Area 11.

"Seven players left and the Knight of Eleven is still hanging in there, but right now it's anyone's game!"

With a final laugh the broadcast ended, leaving behind a stunned Britannia, but in the Chinese Federation reactions were far different despite apparent attempts at denial. Unfortunately, Monokuma was through in making sure Gao Hài's secret would be out to the point that making any effort to deny it would only make things worse.

With a big smile on her face Junko was eagerly watching both the social message boards explode with news of what just happened and the view count of the video she had posted anonymously online had already reached five million views, and it was still climbing like to hit twenty million in the next hour. Even, Junko knew another killing would happen soon, although she liked how some of them were terrified, the lack of despair from them was very disappointing.

I'll just have to make up for it in the next one.

Around the same time inside his room, Lelouch was sitting in his chair drinking a soft drink. The former prince was strangely quiet, but after minutes of careful contemplation had passed Lelouch turned to the security camera.

"Monokuma…I want a word with you!"

A few seconds later Monokuma appeared.

"Speak, and he shall appear!" Monokuma exclaimed joyfully at his summons.

"I have a question for you."

Monokuma Theater:

Monokuma was standing before a long table filled with various exotic foods while a white cloth napkin was draped over its left arm while wearing a red bow tie.

"So after seven chapters we got seven people left, although it didn't start until around chapter two but who cares. You guys just want to get to the good part right, so consider this Monokuma Theater a mere appetizer or hors D'oeuvre."

The two-tone bear gestured to the various plates of food laid out.

"Instead, why not think of me as a sauce, subtle yet persuasive," Monokuma said before adding more to his statement. "No meal of hope, friendship or youth is complete with my presence to add an exquisite tang of despair that lingers in your mouth for days."

With a bow to the reader, Monokuma concluded by saying.

"So come dine with me… it's all on the house. It's not like you have a choice anyway upupupu!"

A/N:

Survivors Remaining: 07

Alright, this was a tough one, especially coming up with the execution for Kallen's stepmother. I thought about a trivial based one after a suggestion I got, but it seemed too similar to the first one. So I thought I try something a little different, so I hope it still captures what is suitable for her and her lifestyle and yet makes for a proper end for her.

But now we enter the final phase of the Prototype Killing Game, although it seems shorter than I had initially planned it's time for the last trial to begin next chapter. Bradley will make his move now that the number of people who could sentence him to death has decreased enough, but he needs a moment of opportunity still to avoid any murder being pegged on him. Let's face it given his reputation he knows he could easily be considered a suspect, but since Bradley has refrained from killing, he might have an excellent case to work with.

The poll I have on my profile page is still going, but I hope I can end it soon because there is another poll I need to put up. I have a clear first, second and third placeholder, but I need some tiebreakers for the first. The poll is to help me consider with the idea that if I do plan on killing any characters (regardless if they are Danganronpa characters or Code Geass characters since casualties are inevitable with this kind of set up.) to see who might be dearly missed more than others.

Those who lose the poll doesn't mean their deaths are inevitable either. The story will be the deciding factor for that one. I just need to know if I should consider avoiding it or take as a sign that I should handle it with particular caution to it if that makes sense.

Anyway, enough with the author notes I am working on the next chapter, and I am looking forward to your reviews, and I hope you'll love the next chapter.