A disclaimer: The views in this story do not match those of the author, and furthermore, he apparently doesn't own Code Geass or Danganronpa.
A/N: Well this chapter was a little more challenging to make, and I wanted to avoid a rehash of Shinjuku Ghetto, so I am trying something new which I hope will go over well. This should allow me to not have to go through writing up events that happened in canon, but there will be some changes seen at the beginning of the chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it.
Initially, I was going to do it all in one chapter, but I thought it was best to break the chapter up into two so here we go.
2/13/18: 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 8
Junko's Best Day Ever
Mukuro Ikusaba watched the television with a worried expression, but the reason for her worry. It wasn't because of the news report of escalating riots and civil war in the Chinese Federation, the Stadtfeld Family coming under political fire for the scandal Lord Stadtfeld's wife was involved in and that his only daughter was a half-blood, but worry revolved around her sister and Lelouch.
It had been four days since Lelouch had won her younger sister's killing game, a feat that impressed Mukuro, but more than anything she was glad he had survived. She knew what had happened, but a cunning manipulator he was Lelouch fooled everyone about his Killing Game involvement and lied that he had seen the new campus Hope's Peak Academy was being built in the Britannian Homeland on an island off the west coast.
Only Junko and Mukuro were aware of what really happened, but of course, they made sure not to hint that to Lelouch.
Mukuro knew that Lelouch was likely trying to find a way to deal with Milly's mother, but at the same time devise a method of using the money he had won without drawing any attention to the wealth he now had. By now she knew Lelouch had successfully checked most of it to see it was counterfeit, but she knew the money Junko had given Lelouch was real. All of it was acquired from the banks Ultimate Despair had robbed across Area 11 to both bolster their funds and to prepare the prize money as one of the motives.
Today Junko was accompanying Lelouch to a chess game to help bail out a noble he knew, but more accurate to say this was an elderly noble whom Lelouch had bailed out of trouble when engaged in a game of chess he couldn't win so he owed him a few favors. However a complication arose when neither of them returned to school when lunch was over, and Mukuro got a call from Junko explaining what was going on and that she needed Mukuro to dispatch the Warriors of Hope.
"We're kinda caught up in a mass slaughter of the whole Shinjuku Ghetto, but this is a perfect chance for the Warriors of Hope to get some real combat experience."
No matter how carefree and laidback Junko sounded Mukuro was horrified both her sister and the boy she was secretly in love with was in grave danger.
Thankfully, her concerns were laid to rest when, after eight o'clock the door opened, and Junko Enoshima entered the shared dorm of the Despair Sisters with a blank expression on her face. As quickly as she came, Junko closed the door before…
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssss…!" Junko cried out gleefully as the floodgates flew open as the Ultimate Despair was in a state of pure ecstasy, but at the same time, she was perversely aroused as well. Mukuro suspected this was based on the bright shade of pink on Junko's cheeks and how she was drooling with the biggest smile she had ever seen on Junko's face. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, so many flavors and so much despair in one day!"
Mukuro stayed quiet, she was staring at her sister with wide eyes, but she didn't dare do anything that could ruin her sister's good mood.
The older of the despair sisters continued observing her sister in shock before she jumped onto her bed before clutching a pillow and rolling around like a little girl who was the happiest person on Earth as she hugged said cushion.
"Oh, Lelouch you were so magnificent," Junko exclaimed as she held the pillow treating it like a miniature version of Lelouch. "Not only did you show me what you can do, but so much despair and you even showed me a few rare ones!"
The display went on for five minutes before Junko finally noticed Mukuro was in the room who adopted a curious expression as she was very curious about what happened that made her sister experience so much joy that it actually frightened the hardened Ultimate Soldier. Junko finally regained her composure, but she had a big toothy grin on her face. Using some paper and some colored markers the blonde haired woman made some pictures before turning to Mukuro.
"So I guess you want to know what happened," Junko asked, prompting Mukuro to nod, "but since I am in a good mood I'll tell you!"
Junko began retelling what had happened today to Mukuro using crude colored drawings with the first one showing Lelouch and her riding on Rivalz's bike with the former prince driving and Junko in the sidecar.
"It all began when we went to a chess game where Lelouch was asked to replace that old geezer; he usually helps out in exchange for some favors."
It was about midday when Lelouch and Junko arrived at the building where the chess game was taking place. After parking the bike, the two proceeded inside as Junko was following Lelouch to check on him to see if he might've, even though it was unlikely, suspected anything that could expose her identity as the one behind Monokuma.
Upon exiting the elevator, the two walked through a pair of double doors where they opened to reveal a generous room where a chess game was in progress with four men in black suits standing guard around the room. At the center of the room was an old man with a nearly bald head with some gray hair still left around the base of his scalp, and he wore a pair of glasses over his blue eyes. He wore a white dress shirt with a black vest and a matching tie and pants.
His opponent, using the white chess pieces, was different from the opponents who frequent this place. He was Japanese, but that wasn't all that stood out about him. His dark brown hair was styled in a very extravagant spiky hairstyle with massive dreadlocks. His attire added to the oddity of the twenty-year-old man as he wore three layers of shirts, the top one being an old green uniform jacket, the second one being a ruffled white shirt, and his third layer is a small yellow short-sleeve shirt. Completing his attire, he wore a brown haramaki and uses a yellow rope as his belt with brown sandals on his feet.
"Oh, thank goodness you are here!" The older man exclaimed happily at Lelouch's arrival, "is everything going well at school."
As the man literally leaped for joy at Lelouch's arrival hurrying to greet him, but Lelouch focused his eyes on his opponent. He was surprised that it wasn't a nobleman, but he didn't look like anyone that would justify him coming down to replace the old man, Mr. Vendeur, although Lelouch did need to recall that he was a terrible chess player.
"You are not the usual noble I am asked to challenge," Lelouch said, raising an eyebrow, wondering how this guy was giving Mr. Vendeur such difficulty.
"That's because I am the Ultimate Clairvoyant, Yasuhiro Hagakure, pleased to me ya!"
The man's laid-back nature was different from the arrogance Lelouch was familiar with, but still, Lelouch was dumbfounded as to how someone like him could be a competent chess player.
"Are you a student of Hope's Peak Academy?" Junko inquired; although like Lelouch, she was doubtful about whatever chess skill Yasuhiro had.
"He is," the reply came from a man sitting at the small bar in the corner of the private room, "he starts class with the new 78th class at the end of the week."
The man seated at the bear was strangely relaxed, but this was likely because he was borderline drunk. He was wearing a white tuxedo with a green undershirt and a black vest, with a blue and grayish tie. Atop of his ragged medium-length blonde hair, he wore a white hat with a black decoration going around the circumference near the flap. He also has blue eyes and a pencil-thin mustache and goatee.
"Oh, I know this guy," Junko said, recognizing him, "He's Kohichi Kizakura one of Hope's Peak Academy's scouts, but he works part-time as a homeroom teacher."
"And I remember you Miss Enoshima, but I am no longer a homeroom teacher, so I am a talent scout full time," Kohichi said before downing another shot of whiskey.
"I am sure your drinking habits had something to do with that." Junko pointed out.
Kohichi laughed it off, only because it was right, but he pointed to Lelouch.
"So you are Lelouch Lamperouge huh. A lovely Miss Ludenberg spoke quite highly of you when I was evaluating her for Hope's Peak Academy for enrollment as a student."
"You mean Celestia?" The former prince asked prompting Kohichi to nod his head in confirmation before he downed another shot of whiskey.
Celestia Ludenberg was a famous gambler but was primarily encountered in many underground gambling rings who was almost a legend in her own right for winning virtually any game where gambling was involved from poker to even dangerous tournaments with incredibly high stakes like Russian Roulette. The only person who also stood a chance against her and had beaten her on occasion was Lelouch.
When it came to chess or games that relied on strategy, Lelouch was virtually unstoppable, but Celestia had managed to win against Lelouch a few times if just barely. Even so, her number of losses to Lelouch was MUCH higher than her victories against him, so she had tried to challenge him to card games. He was capable at poker but found that he was remarkably good at other card games like Bullshit and Asshole.
Beyond that, they were on friendly terms as Lelouch considered the only person in the gambling world of Area 11 capable of challenging him.
"She spoke very highly of you when I asked her if there was anyone who had ever bested her."
"I am not surprised about that, but that explains why you are here isn't it, to see me in action."
"Yep!"
"I should warn you I can see the future so I know every move you'll make and if you lose you can to pay up!" Yasuhiro bragged with the usual arrogant confidence, but Junko looked down at the chess board and found that the old man before Lelouch's arrival had left his chess pieces and the game as a whole in a VERY sorry state. For anyone, the chances of winning were less than three percent, but for Lelouch, the odds were much higher.
"I give this game around five minutes, maybe less," Junko replied, having determined how this game will end.
"Ending in a complete victory for me!" The fortune-teller exclaimed, followed by a laugh.
"No…that is how long Lelouch should need to mop the floor with you," Junko replied with a confident smile. "So I suggest that YOU should be ready to pay up!"
"Lelouch won, obviously," Mukuro asked, interrupting Junko for a brief moment.
"Of course idiot, but what is important right now is my talk with Kohichi!"
Junko didn't need to watch the chess match because the result was a foregone conclusion. Instead, she was engaged in a conversation with Kohichi as she sat on one of the stools at the bar facing him.
"So to think I would find the Ultimate Fashionista here of all places," Kohichi said before casting a glance at Lelouch. "Be honest is Lelouch the reason you and sister left Hope's Peak Academy in a sudden departure that made headlines?"
The blonde haired woman considered answering or not before finally, "Maybe because the academy was mind-numbingly boring."
"An interesting choice of words," Kohichi said before drinking more whiskey, this time from the bottle, before putting it down. "The school hasn't found anyone to fill your former titles so if Lelouch were to enroll would you consider coming back?"
"If he goes, then we go with him is what you want to hear?"
The older man took another sip before answering, "I am sure the headmaster and the committee would be happy to have you two back along with a new talented student."
Besides the headmaster, the day-to-day operations and enrollment decisions are overseen by the Steering Committee. Before Japan became Area 11, the committee held the real power in Hope's Peak Academy having sometimes overruled administration decisions and even enrolled students of their own choice. At first glance, most assume them to be wealthy businessmen, but the truth is that they are researchers who were determined to cultivate and research talent. In fact, Hope's Peak Academy doubled as a research facility that specializes in the study of different skills so it could be determined how to best cultivate and enrich those skills.
Or so they claimed publicly at least.
"I am sure they would be."
After that Junko and Kohichi heard what sounded like a girl screaming before realizing it came from Yasuhiro. The older high school student broke down into tears as Lelouch grinned triumphantly as he achieved checkmate after a one-sided slaughter.
"Wow," Junko said before checking the nearest clock, "you ripped him apart a LOT faster than I was expecting."
"I guess your ability to read the future isn't as impressive as you claim," Lelouch replied, but on the one hand felt insulted because he was hoping for a good challenge. Instead who he had just beaten had the skill level of a young child confusing checkers for chess.
How the hell did he, Lelouch thought, glancing at the older noble, have such a hard time with this...idiot?
Lelouch decided against thinking about it too much since it would've hurt his brain more thinking about it. It didn't help matters that Yasuhiro was crying and wailing like a spoiled child who just lost everything.
"Now that I won you should just pay me."
"Uh well...uh, I can't," Yasuhiro managed in-between sobs. "I need that money to save myself from the Kuzuryu Clan."
Lelouch was almost scared to ask, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"What the hell did you do?"
Back before Japan became Area 11 the former prince had heard about the infamous Kuzuryu Clan, Japan's most influential Yakuza family with over thirty thousand members. Even after Japan became Area 11 and other Yakuza gangs fell to the occupational government the Kuzuryu Clan remained. Its power and influence have never waned, which some suspect was thanks in part to having strong ties with Britannian crime families and syndicates as it did with others around the world.
"Well," Yasuhiro began, "I had an appointment come in, the youngest daughter of the Kuzuryu Clan's current head, and maybe I pressured her to pull out her entire life savings."
Lelouch was utterly dumbfounded including Junko and Kohichi whose higher brain functions suffered a complete shut down upon hearing that.
"You ripped off the daughter of the leader of Area 11's most dangerous crime family?" Lelouch asked, trying to comprehend how this idiot was still alive.
The former prince had heard some stories about the youngest daughter of the Kuzuryu Clan current leader. She had attended the reserve course of Hope's Peak Academy until last year a student tried to murder her, but luckily her father had someone keeping an eye on her, so they intervened according to some of the rumors he heard.
The student was swiftly arrested and executed by the Britannian authorities since the grounds of the school were under the direct jurisdiction of the homeland and by extension the Emperor, so any crimes that happen are dealt with far more severely.
Junko was the first to recover and quickly sent off a text message she typed behind her back so one could see it.
"Why not just pay them back the money?" Kohichi inquired.
"I spent all of it to build a huge collection of OOPArts."
"Out-of-place-artifacts?" Kohichi said having heard the term before.
"Yeah the stuff they find in ancient civilizations, but with no explanation how it could've gotten there. Like the crystal skulls, the golden airplanes of Colombia, the Baghdad Battery, those Nazca geoglyphs, just to name a few." Yashiro explained before pulling out a crystal ball.
"Don't tell me that is one as well," Lelouch asked, knowing he wouldn't like the answer.
"This unbreakable crystal ball was found in the city of Atlantis said to grant its possessor great power include the chance to dominate the world, having been by the likes of Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and others." Yasuhiro said with pride, "I spent a one million for it."
If this had a world ruled by the physics of loony cartoons, this is where Lelouch's jaw would've dropped to crash through the floor comically.
"How the hell did you get that kind of money?" Lelouch asked as his eyebrow began violently twitching.
"I charged people twenty-five thousand a reading."
And people actually PAID for it!?
Lelouch was too shocked by the revelation to think correctly as his mind was trying in vain to comprehend how such an idiot earned that much money.
"Why don't you just sell some of your crap, then problem solved." Junko pointed out.
"Are you crazy, I would never sell my collection. I had to do a lot of online shopping and even some browsing through the black market for some of it." Yasuhiro snapped back getting defensive.
"Then how the hell are you having so much trouble paying off the Kuzuryu Clan?" Lelouch asked, his voice growing, with his tone of voice indicating he was close to losing his temper.
"Look could you give me some money or sell me some of your organs? Or sell me your identity!" The so-called Ultimate Clairvoyant said with his hands clasped together begging.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Lelouch roar as the display finally led to Lelouch losing his temper.
"How the hell were you even born? The title Ultimate Idiot is more fitting." Junko said as couldn't understand how someone like him.
"He...was held back for four years." Kohichi reluctantly pointed out. "But his predictions are correct thirty percent of the time."
"That isn't helping his case." The blonde haired teen replied.
At that moment the men in the black suits seized Yasuhiro by the shoulder before hauling him out of the room as the Ultimate Clairvoyant continued to beg and plead until he was dragged onto the elevator to be kicked out of the building.
"How did that idiot even get in here?" Junko demanded before looking to the elderly nobleman who merely hung his head down in shame.
"Well, how about I give Mr. Lamperouge a shot," Kohichi said before leaving behind the bottle of whiskey to assume the seat Yasuhiro had been in until moments ago. "If you want a challenge then I can provide it because a scout for the academy has to test every potential student."
Lelouch was doubtful, although Kohichi wasn't wholly drunk Lelouch saw signs that Kohichi was mildly intoxicated, as he asked.
"I am not convinced, but I would be willing to do a rain check until you are sober."
"I think I might surprise you kid."
Meanwhile, outside in the back alley behind the building was Yasuhiro after he was not so kindly booted from the building. He was busy dusting himself off before another group of men in black suits arrived on the scene.
They were not gentle by any means when they seized Yasuhiro, who panicked upon realizing who the men were with when he noticed a pin on the lapel on the suit of one of the men.
The men were members of the Kuzuryu Clan.
"Look, I'll have the money; please just me some more time."
The men from the Kuzuryu Clan ignored him as they dragged away a sobbing Yasuhiro before forcing him into the back of a waiting black car with tinted windows.
Yasuhiro would never realize that Junko had secretly sent a text message to Monaca asking if she would inform the Kuzuryu Clan that Yasuhiro was here, so upon receiving word they likely dispatched those in the general area to be ready to intercept and capture him.
Back inside Lelouch and Kohichi engaged in a chess match, but unlike the game between Lelouch and Yasuhiro, the former prince was facing a capable challenger despite his oblivious drinking problem.
"For someone who went through a whole bottle of whiskey since I'll have been here you are playing an impressive game," Lelouch commented as he moved another piece.
"I am many things," Kohichi began as he moved his piece. "Even though I was hardly cut out to be a teacher, I have proven to be very good at spotting talented students."
It also seems your intuition and intellect are not diminished no matter how much you had to drink it seems. Lelouch before he moved his knight.
The game continued, although each player made their move as soon as their turn came it was becoming clear that Lelouch had all but claimed victory. Even through Kohichi was putting forth a good effort in stopping Lelouch and retaliating, but the former prince had already planned more than twenty moves ahead. It was just a question how long Kohichi would last before Lelouch had him in checkmate.
"Mind answering something for me?" The older man replied, "Why did you move the king first? You did the same thing with your match involving Yasuhiro."
"If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"
"A motto to live by?"
"You could say that," Lelouch answered.
"So would you be interested in attending Hope's Peak Academy?"
Lelouch considered that, although he wouldn't be close to Nunnally as he would prefer the campus of Hope's Peak was located in the middle of Tokyo so he wouldn't be too far away.
However, Lelouch saw an opportunity to investigate Hope's Peak Academy to determine if it had any kind of secret projects the school was conducting for Britannia suspecting something of that nature was happening given all of the privileges the Empire has given the academy that struck Lelouch as odd. It would perhaps even allow Lelouch to find and recruit talented individuals for his rebellion against Britannia.
The only problem that could arise would be opposition from the Ashford Family.
"I would be interested in attending, but I have a disabled younger sister attending middle school at Ashford Academy so would it be possible for me to commute to school every day?"
"Of course, there is no rule saying you have to live in the dorms."
"Any chance Mukuro and I could be in the same class as Lelouch?" Junko asked.
"That's not my call, but I'll ask the headmaster about it."
"It will be nice to be in a class with some familiar faces," Lelouch commented with a smile before declaring, "checkmate."
"Well, then congratulations and welcome to Hope's Peak Ultimate Strategist."
A short time later Junko and Lelouch were on the way back to Ashford Academy after the latter had been given the proper forms he would need to finish the registration process, although the background check concerned him. Lelouch would just need to ensure there would be no holes in his background that could lead to Hope's Peak Academy from discovering any information that could lead to his true identity being discovered.
Still, the fact that attendance wasn't mandatory would open up Lelouch's schedule enabling him to have more time for himself instead of being caught up in the dull life of a high school student.
Only the matter of the Ashford Family blocking my admittance would be a problem, but.
Lelouch was still concerned about Milly's mother, and even if the Ashford Family agreed to let him go to Hope's Peak Academy, he didn't feel comfortable with leaving Nunnally at Ashford Academy unless Elena Ashford was dealt with.
"Uh," Junko said nonchalantly as she looking over her shoulder, "Lelouch you might want to focus on the road because we got a big truck coming up behind us!"
"WHAT," Lelouch responded in surprise as he looked over his shoulder to see a truck coming up on them fast.
The trunk honked its horn before turning off the highway and heading straight into an abandoned construction site, but the truck was traveling too fast when it drove onto the dirt surrounding the construction site. The driver lost control and prowled into the unfinished building coming to a complete halt.
Lelouch pulled the bike over to the side of the road to check out the crash.
"Now that wasn't our fault by any means," Junko said after climbing out of the sidecar.
"Of course not," the former prince replied, but something from the crash caught his eye, "but what was that?"
He saw it only briefly, but if he had to describe it, Lelouch would call it some kind of glittering light. No one had seemed to have seen it, especially as a crowd had already begun to gather. His curiosity turned to irritation as the people who had gathered were more interested in gawking at the crash and placing blame than actually doing something about it.
Putting the helmet, he had been wearing into the sidecar Lelouch rushed off to go investigate the crash to check if the driver was alright.
"Really," the young woman was clearly annoyed, "you are doing that Good Samarian crap again? One of these days it's going to land you in trouble."
Junko didn't want to wait so she followed after Lelouch because she reasoned that the sooner Lelouch finished the sooner they could head back to the academy. Lelouch arrived first but found that he couldn't reach the cab of the truck because the impact of the crash caused some steel beams and some sheets of metal to fall down around it. His only option would be to use the ladder on the trailer it was hauling to reach the cab to check if the driver was alright.
"Are you alright!" Lelouch called out once more, even though his previous attempts failed to be heard, before climbing up the ladder.
"Maybe you call 911 already? The driver is probably out cold," Junko said as she climbed up the ladder following Lelouch.
"Still I better make sure, and the 911 operator will probably want information on the driver's condition," Lelouch said as he stood on the roof noticing an open hatch in the top of the trailer. Junko climbed up onto the roof and began looking down the opening as well.
Strangely, at that moment Lelouch heard a voice echo in his mind.
"It's you…finally, I have found—"
What was that?
Lelouch wasn't given much time to ponder on it as the truck suddenly reserved backward before turning to speed off. This caused both Junko and Lelouch to fall into the trailer with the latter hitting the ground first and Junko landing on top of him. For a brief moment, Junko blushed as she landed on top of Lelouch who was just as surprised as she was, but the two teens quickly recovered from falling in a rather compromising position.
"You know I just knew that Good Samaritan act of yours would get you in trouble," Junko commented before getting up and then offering a hand to Lelouch.
"Give it a rest," Lelouch replied before accepting said hand, allowing Junko to pull him back up to his feet, "it's not like we're in that much trouble."
Either it was fate or because of Lelouch's words a pair of soldiers, in presumably VTOL gunships, could be heard on loudspeakers built into their craft shouting demands at the speeding truck.
"Stop the vehicle!"
"Stop the vehicle and surrender then you might just get the chance to defend yourself in court. If you don't stop and surrender!" The soldier shouted before firing his gunship's machine gun at the truck hitting the road behind it. "Then we'll shoot to kill!"
Junko merely shot Lelouch a look with both arms folded across her chest.
"Not a word," Lelouch said before quickly changing the subject, "but we'll make it out of this."
"Obviously climbing up to the top of the trailer will either result in us getting shot, and jumping off will just get us killed too," Junko said, laying out their options which were far too limited for any of them to really work.
"I know that, but," Lelouch was about to say, but heard the sound of the door leading into the driver's cab unlocking prompting both teens to hide behind a giant machine near the cab of the truck.
They silently hid and observed a young redhead girl, with spiked up red hair and blue eyes, who appeared to be the same age as Junko and Lelouch walk out before proceeding to remove a light blue coat she had been wearing revealing a much more revealing outfit underneath. She wore a brown vest-shorts combination with a red sleeveless turtleneck top that left her midriff exposed. She wore a redhead began, long red leg warmers, black shoes and white coverings on her arms that were not attached to her current outfit.
"Can you enter the subway via the Azabu Route?"
"Kallen, why don't we use it here?" The driver of the truck called out.
"Because that would mean a bloodbath," Kallen Kozuki replied sharply before boarding what Junko and Lelouch realized to be the cockpit of a Glasgow Knightmare Frame kneeling down in a powered down position. The two remained quiet until the Glasgow launched as it began attacking the gunships pursuing the truck before the rear doors of the trailer the vehicle was hauling closed once the red painted machine departed.
"Isn't that Kallen Stadtfeld?" Junko said, recognizing the young woman.
"Yeah, I knew I recognized her from somewhere. She seems so different," Lelouch said in agreement as the two had seen Kallen Stadtfeld in passing, so neither of them knew her personally. Kallen had a reputation around Ashford Academy for being a sickly young woman who is unable to take part in sports or any physical activity. Her weak state has also resulted in her being out of school for extended periods because of sickness or something related to it.
"I guess this lends credence to the truth that she is a half-blood because I don't think any daughter of a Britannian Noble would've thrown in their lot with a resistance cell so easily given the high-life they could live."
"True," Lelouch replied in agreement before adding, "but I am sure she has other reasons, and there is also the possibility she is being hitched to someone she doesn't like. Even though I think she probably favors the Japanese side of her family more than her Britannian one, or just enough to push her into joining a resistance cell."
As Lelouch and Junko worked to escape without getting killed a detachment of the garrison in the Tokyo Settlement was being mobilized to find and destroy their hideout. It might've seemed like overkill to some to deploy a detachment of the city's garrison, consisting of around sixty Sutherlands, the royal guard, numerous tank and armored vehicles, including helicopter gunships to a ghetto holding the base of a small ragtag resistance group.
However, considering the precarious position, Clovis la Britannia was in due to his failings in recent weeks some saw these actions as the soon-to-be former Viceroy not taking any chances. Those much closer to the truth of the matter would offer a different reason that has actually left Clovis in a state of panic, but there was someone else who saw an opportunity.
"Ah ha."
The man who saw an opportunity was in his late twenties wearing a white lab coat with a high collar with black pants and matching shoes wearing glasses. He had light blue hair with matching blue eyes, although how casual and laid back he was hiding his determination for his creation to see some real combat.
"What are you doing?"
The man who asked was the number two of Area 11 and Clovis's right-hand man in every sense.
General Bartley Asprius was a heavy if not slightly overweight with a balding head with a small pencil mustache on his face. He had a light brown skin tone that matched well with the color of his attire. He wore a monocle over one of his blue eyes. He wore a gray military uniform with a matching cape that had a red interior with black boots.
"I am just looking at a man who blundered that's all." Lloyd Asplund answered before addressing his glasses. "I mean terrorists just came in and stole whatever you and Prince Clovis were working on. Recovering it is simple, but let them escape, then you can follow them to mop up the rest of them."
Watching the exchange between them was a young woman in her early twenties with medium length blue hair and light blue eyes, wearing an orange military uniform with a skirt and a black tie and a white dress shirt. Stand next to her was a teenager of seventeen with a small, lithe stature and doll-like appearance. She possessed short, light brown, layered hair and hazel eyes. The girl was dressed in a girls' winter school uniform set, featuring a long-sleeved dark green jacket, a white shirt with a large Peter Pan collar. The rest of the outfit was secured with a thin dark ribbon and suspenders. The last of the girl's attire consisted of a box-pleated brown mid-thigh length brown skirt, knee-high black socks, and white Mary Jane's with ribbons on them.
Lloyd suddenly turned around to his assistant Cecile Croomy.
"Congratulations your reasoning was spot on."
"Oh," Cecile began modestly, "I thought it was strange that's all."
"Ok that's enough," Bartley began having grown impatient and annoyed with Lloyd, "what does the Special Corps want out of this?"
"I am saying that I want to merely assist with the cleanup."
"To assist?"
"Correct, because its data I want," Lloyd replied.
"Excuse me, but what did the terrorists steal anyway?" Cecile inquired curiously about the nature of the object the terrorists had taken.
Bartley was noticeably hesitant, but he relented, "Chemical Weapons, in other words, poison gas."
"I see, so we'll meet you there," Lloyd said as if the matter of terrorists obtaining poison gas had any real meaning.
As Lloyd began to walk away followed by Cecile and the youngest of the group following them spoke up because the teen had some grave concerns about the poison gas.
"Is it true the terrorists have poison gas then won't we," Chihiro Fujisaki said worriedly if the gas were used it would kill hundreds if not possibly thousands depending on where it was released.
"Don't worry about that Chihiro I am sure that story about poison gas is a lie, but it doesn't matter since it isn't our business. We'll finally have a chance to deploy the Lancelot." Lloyd answered; although he knew better to poke his nose around in what members of royalty did he knew a cover-up when he saw one. "All we need is a pilot."
The interior of the trailer had grown dark, which Lelouch and Junko credited to the fact the truck was now traveling along the old subway lines heading for the ghetto. The lack of cell phone reception also confirmed this, but where exactly the damaged vehicle was driving to was unknown. Unknown to Lelouch the cell phone Junko had was still working as the latter had sent off a text message when Lelouch distracted to Monaca telling her to dispatch the Warriors of Hope.
Junko deduced they were heading for the Shinjuku Ghetto before entering the subway tunnel, so she sent the text that included both her location and instructions.
Suddenly the entire truck shook as it hit something.
"An accident?"
"Probably since a lot of these subway tunnels are falling apart," Junko commented.
The two teens were unaware of the fact that the wounded driver of the truck, who had injured by enemy Sutherland in passing, had crashed the vehicle into a hole in the road. It was lucky that the vehicle did not fall into the hole, but it wasn't going anywhere. The driver was too weak from his wounds to leave, so he hit a switch in the driver's cabin to open the side door of the trailer.
Junko and Lelouch hid in the back of the truck waiting to see if anyone was boarding the stuck vehicle.
"This looks like our chance to escape," Lelouch said carefully moving towards the open door trying to peer outside to see if anyone was there. "It's clear…let's go before..."
As Lelouch stood in the doorway, a Britannian soldier suddenly came flying through the air delivering a swift spin kick knocking Lelouch to the ground. Junko was already scrambling to find a weapon. Lelouch was quickly overpowered and pinned to the ground by the soldier as the former prince struggled in vain against his attacker.
"That's enough mindless murder!" The soldier snapped as his gas mask dropped from his mouth.
"Wait I am not." The former prince struggled to say, but the soldier interrupted him.
"Trying to use poison gas," the soldier said before snapping, "DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!"
"GET OFF OF ME!" Lelouch roared before managing to use one of his legs to kick his attacker, but he merely jumped away allowing Lelouch to get back up to his feet.
"I am not here by choice," the former prince said before standing up fully again, "and if that's poison gas then it was made in Britannia wasn't it?"
The soldier seemed shocked at the revelation, but as Junko prepared to leap out and attack hoping to land a lucky hit, Lelouch pushed his verbal advantage stepping out of the shadows of the trailer's interior and into the light.
"Mindless murder," the former prince snapped back before adding as his anger reached its peak, "then why don't you just obliterate Britannia?!"
Following a tense silence, the soldier began removing his helmet as he said, "Lelouch."
The soldier took off his helmet to reveal an older Suzaku Kururugi.
"It's me, Suzaku."
Lelouch was understandably surprised since this was indeed the last place where you would meet a friend, and even Junko was surprised by this turn of events causing her to step out from behind the poison gas container holding a lead pipe she had managed to find.
"Well, this is the last place we never would've thought we see you at."
"Junko!" Suzaku said, who was just as equally surprised to see not only another old friend but the fact that one of Area 11's most famous fashion model in the most unlikely place no one would've expected.
"You became a Britannian Soldier?" Lelouch asking the most obvious question as Junko joined Lelouch.
"Yeah, but what about you? Did you become…"
Lelouch quickly interrupted him, but his tone indicated that he was angry with Suzaku for assuming he was with the terrorists, "You better not be implying I-"
The trio was interrupted with a sparking sound could be heard from the presumed to be poison gas capsule as various locked on the sphere-like device became undone prompting Suzaku to tackle Lelouch to the ground putting his gas mask over the former prince's face. Instead of poison gas, the capsule opened revealing a young woman, roughly around their age, to be inside. She was tied and bound by the straps of her white Britannian Prisoner suit that was designed after a straightjacket. Beyond that, she had long green hair, yellow eyes, and fair skin.
"That's not poison gas," Suzaku said before he was verbally attacked by an apparently annoyed Junko.
"Well no shit-Sherlock," Junko snapped, "and why did you save Lelouch over me. I mean I am the beautiful woman so shouldn't the solider have saved me you asshole!"
"Huh," Suzaku could only say realizing and understanding why Junko was upset as the latter looked ready to be on the verge of tears.
"You were faking it of course," Mukuro commented back in real-time interrupting the story briefly.
"Hell yeah, but I would be lying if I didn't say it is fucking fun to screw with Suzaku," Junko answered while briefly adopting her own alternate personality she made based on that a foul-mouth punk.
"I am sorry Junko, but I only had one mask so…"
"So you wanted to save the guy over the girl." Junko said before she began crying, "I didn't think you were into that kind of thing."
"What do you mean?" The Japanese teenager asked, but at the same time, a part of him felt like he was going to regret asking that.
Thankfully Lelouch intervened.
"Can we FOCUS?!" Lelouch snapped interrupting them after getting back to his feet to examine the girl who had just been freed. "Tell me the truth Suzaku! Poison gas, this girl?"
"Hey, it's what they told us in the briefing," Suzaku said before picking up the girl to remove her from the capsule and then with some help from Lelouch managed to lay her on the ground outside of the truck to tend to her. After her initial release the girl was conscious, but only briefly before passing out.
"Well, that's a bad sign!" Junko said as her mood quickly shifted back to normal. "I guess somebody has a secret."
Realization dawned on Lelouch as he was already helping Suzaku undo the bindings of the straightjacket as the latter had already loosened the restraints on her legs. He rested the girl's head down on the ground gently, after releasing the bindings around her mouth that were covered by the high collar of the suit she was dressed in.
"Damn it," Lelouch cursed, "we need to leave now."
Unfortunately, it was too late as a series of lights lit up shinning on the damaged truck.
"Stinking Monkey!"
Before the spotlights that had been set up to illuminate the tunnel was a group consisting of heavily armed soldiers, but unlike Suzaku, they were not grunts or low ranking soldiers. Their red uniforms indicated they were members of the royal guard who reported directly to the Viceroy. Their leader, who had dark blue eyes and light blue eyes with a small scar under his eye, was the leader and Suzaku's superior.
"Being an Honorary Britannian will not excuse you."
"But," Suzaku said, scrambling to his superior's side, "I thought this was poison gas."
"How dare you question orders?!"
Junko and Lelouch already realized where this was going, although Suzaku likely wanted to believe otherwise, there was no doubt they were going to be killed for whatever secret the Viceroy wished to be covered up. However, both knew if they tried to run they would just get gunned down.
"However, in light of your accomplishments, I am going to be lenient," the Royal Guard captain said before offering Suzaku a handgun, "Private Kururugi take this and execute the terrorists."
Suzaku was horrified as he protested, "Sir, he isn't a terrorist. He's a civilian who just got mixed up in this."
"Insubordinate," The older man had begun to say something else, but he caught himself before calming down. "That's an order. Didn't you swear your life and fealty to Britannia?"
"Yes, but I can't."
Suzaku turned to Lelouch, but Junko knew what was about to happen.
"I can't shoot a civilian, so I can't follow your orders."
"Very well," The royal guard captain replied casually before shooting Suzaku in the back.
"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried out.
"Suzaku was killed," a surprised Mukuro inquired.
"Yeah," Junko began, but this time she adopted another created personality of her being extremely depressed and gloomy with dark bags under eyes with her eyes seemingly gazed over. She also had multicolored mushrooms on top of her head. "I mean we all just met again after seven years just to see him get shot in the back. We lost an old friend today; oh the despair Lelouch must've felt. Even I never experienced it, so it was some new and sweet."
Suddenly Junko's personality shifted again reverting back to her base personality as the mushrooms flew off her head after a popping sound was heard.
"Anyway, after Mr. Blind Optimist got sent to his maker those royal guards were about to gun us down before," Junko was explaining while drawing the next picture. Once the drawing was done, she showed it to Mukuro displaying what Junko explained next in a crudely drawn cartoon fashion. "So in a stroke of good luck for us I guess the driver was still alive, so he blew up the truck to deny the royal guard that capsule thing they took."
The picture showed Junko, Lelouch and the girl running away as the truck exploded knocking the guards back.
"We managed to lose them in the tunnels and escape, but soon we had a new problem."
Junko drew a new picture, but this time it showed Junko, Lelouch, and the girl underground while above giant Sutherlands and huge explosions tore apart Shinjuku Ghetto.
"I guess Clovis started freaking out, so he ordered the entire ghetto to be leveled along with everyone else living there."
After the mysterious girl tripped, falling to the ground the group came to a stop in the middle of an old underground shopping center located near one of the abandoned subway stations Lelouch leaned against a wall, placing one hand on his forehead.
"What the hell are you?!" Lelouch demanded of the green haired girl while his voice could barely contain his rage and grief over Suzaku's death. "All of this chaos is your fault, isn't it? They even…killed Suzaku."
Junko smiled, but she was careful not to let Lelouch or the mysterious girl notice it.
A short time later the trio found stairs leading back up to above ground. Lelouch cautiously went first while keeping low to the ground as he risked much to take a look around to see if the warehouse the stairs lead up was empty.
The sound of gunfire answered that question.
Lelouch quickly retreated into the stairwell before hearing the voice of the man who shot Suzaku.
"Report," the captain demanded as he and the rest of the men following under his command stood before a dozen corpses of civilians who had been gunned down.
"We found nothing here except for Elevens sir," one of the royal guards reported.
"Are you sure? This is where the exit should've been?"
"Yes, sir, it matches up with our map of the old city."
The sound of a child crying was heard before the child was forever silenced with gunfire from one of the royal guards.
Lelouch, Junko, and the girl didn't make a sound, but as the Royal Guard was about to leave.
*RING RING*
"Lelouch's cell phone went off," Junko said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Damn that Shirley, but it's more of Lelouch's fault for overlooking something like that."
"Then the Royal Guards caught all of you?"
"Yeah, and once they grabbed us, we got shoved against a wall to be executed," Junko said as a blush appeared on her cheeks. "Although the despair during that moment as the feeling of facing what should've been our inevitable demise was wonderful. I think it got soured by the fact that this was a lame way for me to go."
"Yet how did both of you survive?"
Junko changed personalities again, but this time in one instance her pigtails became one thick ponytail before putting on a pair of glasses. She acted as intellectual with an air of clinical sophistication about her.
"How that happened was because something happened that defied all logic and was far beyond anything I could've predicted."
With literally their backs to the wall Junko stood behind Lelouch while the green haired girl was being held at gunpoint by two members of the royal guard.
"What an appropriate location for a terrorist to meet his end." The leader of the royal guards mocked.
"You scum," Lelouch snapped back defiantly, but no matter what he knew he didn't have a way out.
"Still, you did well for a student, but that's to be expected. You're a Britannian. Unfortunately, my clever young friend, you have no future." The leader said leveling a handgun at Lelouch, "At least you'll die alongside a pretty girl."
Suddenly, as the captain fired the gun, the green haired girl broke free to shield him crying out. "he mustn't die!"
The girl was hit in the head, killing her instantly before her body crumbled at Lelouch's feet.
"You shot her!" Lelouch called out kneeling down before her corpse.
"Our orders were to bring her back alive if possible." The captain was visibly annoyed with happened but changed his tune after a moment. "Oh well, nothing can be done about it now. We'll tell our superiors that the Royal Guard found the terrorist hideout and killed them all. Regrettably, the female hostage had already been tortured to death. What do you think schoolboy?"
Even though the despair of facing death had an appeal to Junko, how it came about and the fact it was an unspectacular ending to it all did sour it a little.
Yet in the corner of her eye, Junko saw something that should've been impossible. The girl who had been shot moments ago seized one of Lelouch's hands as the despair of his impending death was setting in.
What the hell?!
In the moment that followed Junko felt a cold chill run up her spine. However, it wasn't coming from the men with their guns aimed at her.
It was coming from Lelouch who had become unsettlingly calm.
Lelouch rose back up to his feet a moment later with one hand over his left eye and a sudden change in attitude that left Junko wondering if the threat of death caused him to go crazy.
"Say, how should a Britannian who detests his own country live his life?"
The guard captain was ready to shoot Lelouch when he asked, "Are you some kind of radical? Huh?"
That was when the Britannian Office noticed something different.
"What's wrong? Why not shoot? Your opponent is just a schoolboy. Or have you finally realized;" Lelouch removed his hand from his eye, revealing a red light glowing there, "the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!"
"What's happening here?!"
"I, Lelouch vi Britannia," Lelouch said as he extended his left arm forward before sweeping it to the side as he said, "command you! Now, all of you…DIE!"
What Junko witnessed next would leave her utterly speechless as she saw the leader of the royal guard begin laughing madly as he and his men were overcome by Lelouch's new power.
"Happily, Your Highness!"
Every member of the royal guard placed their pistols to their necks before their leader commanded.
"Fire!"
In that instant, every Royal Guardsman died instantly as they all fell to the ground with their faces carrying frozen smile as Lelouch's order compelled them to end their own lives. Even Lelouch was in shock as if he wasn't expecting that, as he looked upon the dead royal guards before him.
Junko, who had witnessed it all before her eyes couldn't comprehend what just happened. This was something the Ultimate Analyst couldn't understand nor find a clear answer to the apparently supernatural phenomenon she witnessed.
That girl did something, but how was she still alive long enough to do that?
"Don't worry Junko," Lelouch said sounding rather calm considering what he had just done, although it was just as much of a surprise for him as well, but he had collected himself and was already thinking about the possibilities his new power gave him. "This is just a turning point in my life, and now I have what I need to push up my timetable much sooner than I had planned."
"What the hell happened?"
Lelouch paused for a moment as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face, "To be honest I am not entirely sure nor do I know how to best describe what this power…this Geass she gave me is or why she gave it to me. She said in exchange for it I have to grant her one wish, but I don't know what it is."
Before the discussion could go further, a Sutherland came crashing through the warehouse. The pilot was quick to notice the corpses of the Britannian Royal Guards before seeing Lelouch and Junko.
"What happened here boy, and what is a Britannian student like you doing here?" The female pilot of the Sutherland demanded through an external speaker mounted on her machine.
Lelouch didn't respond at first, but this only made the pilot of the Sutherland impatient.
"Are you deaf, answer or I'll," the woman snapped before firing her Sutherland's assault rifle at Lelouch putting holes into the wall above his head.
Lelouch attempted to use his Geass power, "I order you to come out!"
"Who the hell are you, thinking you can order me around?"
Of course, it only works with eye contact.
The former prince held up his hands in a fake surrender while gesturing for Junko to do the same, "My name is Alan Spacer, my father is a duke. My I.D. is in my breast pocket; after you confirm who I am, I'll request your protection for myself and my companion."
A few moments of silence passed, but both Lelouch and Junko knew that no Britannian pilot would risk killing a child of nobility since the risks of execution depending on how well connected the noble family in question was. The cockpit hatch of the Sutherland opened before a young woman with mocha skin tone wearing a somewhat revealing purple and gold trim pilot suit that left her forearms and thighs exposed with long black gloves and matching boots. She had yellow eyes and long silver hair tied into a ponytail.
She leveled a gun at Lelouch as she disembarked the Knightmare Frame.
"Hands in the air, I'll pull out your I.D." Villetta Nu commanded, but the moment she began to approach Lelouch cast his Geass on her.
"Now then hand over your Knightmare Frame to me along with your gun, but then you'll forget about ever seeing me and my companion afterward," Lelouch commanded right before his Geass took effect snaring Villetta under its power.
"Understood," Villetta began as she handed her gun towards Lelouch, "the code is XG21G2D4."
"Got it, let's go Junko."
"After Lelouch and I got into that woman's Knightmare Frame and took off, but now we had to work out a way to escape," Junko said pausing from her story to draw another series of pictures for Mukuro.
"That was when you called me right?"
"Yep and Lelouch did confirm that with traffic restrictions in place the military was trying to control how much information about what was going on could get out. They were limited to whatever troops they brought and couldn't call in reinforcements without too many questions being asked," Junko answered before showing a picture of a train full of Knightmare Frames being delivered to crudely drawn characters meant to be the local resistance cell.
Pulling the picture away from view Junko readied another one.
"With a game plan in mind, Lelouch with a little help from yours truly began stealing Sutherlands from other pilots we were able to lure out. Then with a little unwilling help, we loaded them into a train and set it on a course to be met by the local resistance cell." The Ultimate Despair explained before forgetting to add, "Oh did I forget we took out another Sutherland chasing the red Glasgow? He must've been quite surprised when we nailed his ass."
Junko showed a picture of a Sutherland being hit by slash harkens that were fired from the machine Lelouch was using while hiding in a building overlooking the train tracks.
"We took out the guy's partner before disabling him, but the pilot bailed before the one-armed red Glasgow piloted by Kallen could get him."
Mukuro remembered something, and so she suspected that when Lelouch was gathering Sutherlands for them, the Ultimate Soldier realized something.
"Junko, did you and Lelouch remove the IFFs (identification, friend or foe) from the Sutherlands you stole? Did you leave one for Monaca?"
A devilish toothy grin appeared on Junko's face.
"That is the first intelligent thing I have ever heard you say, but yes you are right. I left one in a place for Monaca to find it after I sent off a text message with some instructions along with it."
True to Junko's word one of the IFF transponders that she helped Lelouch remove from the Sutherlands was hidden in an old mailbox outside one of the subway tunnels with its location sent via text message to Monaca. Instead of her or one of her friends retrieving it a Monokuma robot, a taller and more combat ready, tore into the mailbox to recover it before making its way back underground before anyone could see it as it delivers the device to the robot's creator.
Hidden within one of the subway tunnels two trucks carrying two Knightmare Frames, per vehicle, were parked near a van with a mobile command center set up in the back while equipped with power transmitters and information receiving equipment. An extendable antenna was being extended up through an open manhole to allow for a more precise transmission of data.
Inside the cockpit of their Knightmare Frames, while Monaca sat inside the van while the area outside was being patrolled and protected by Monokuma robots, mass-produced models that acted autonomously following orders giving to them by their creator, the Warriors of Hope were preparing to launch for their first maiden battle. Even though it seemed reckless to send them out with only a few days of training, but their drive to master their new machines pushed them into dedicating much of their time training.
Monaca was confident they would do well, especially with the neural interface support system greatly simplifying operation of their respective Knightmare Frame.
"A child's ears are?!" Masaru Daimon began before the other Warriors of Hope, including Monaca, replied joyfully.
"Wonderful ears!"
"A child's eyes are?!"
"Adorable eyes!"
"A child's mouth is?!"
"A great big mouth!"
"Why is it so big?!"
"To gobble up the demons!" The group shouted together as one.
"Its game time everyone," Monaca began before Nagisa, Masaru, Jataro, and Kotoko saw on a monitor located in the upper corner of their cockpit a score reading zero. "The rules of the game are simple. Foot soldiers are worth ten points each. Tanks, Flying Aircraft and Armored Vehicles are worth twenty points each, but Knightmare Frames are worth one hundred points. The one with the most points will win."
"Before we begin," Nagisa said while sitting in the cockpit of his machine, "Monaca, why don't you tell them about the special instructions Big Sis Junko gave us."
"Good call Nagisa," The green haired girl began as she sat in her command center that had various monitors and computers lining the walls while Monaca herself sat before a large computer. "Thanks to this IFF transmitter that one of my Mister Monokumas retrieved we know where all of the demons are located, but as a special rule Knightmare Frames that don't have an IFF are not to be attacked otherwise they are a negative one hundred points. Of course, if they attack you first then you can kill them."
"We're protecting Big Sis too right?" Kotoko asked.
"Yes and I marked her location on the map, but we are not to help her unless she is in trouble," Monaca answered.
"If Big Sis is in trouble then me," Masaru said with a big smile, "As the Hero and leader of the Warriors of Hope shall save her."
"Don't get cocky Masaru, we're still new at this so don't get carried away." Nagisa, the Sage of the group, scolded being the voice of reason among the group.
"I wonder how the people will burn when I rain my missiles on them or will the people hit by Masaru's drills be reduced to hamburger?" Jataro, the proclaimed priest of the group, said trying to begin an unpleasant conversation for no reason at all, but he was ignored for the most part.
"Now is not the time to talk about gross stuff," Kotoko snapped, the fighter of the group, "it's time to we show Big Sis Junko we have what it takes to be true warriors of hope."
"Yes," Monaca said with a smile that would promise cake and cookies, but there was a darker reason for her smile, "we have suffered under the demons and today is the day we strike back. So show the demons no mercy and no matter what protect Big Sis Junko!"
"Why are we sitting around," Masaru shouted, "let's go and kill us some demons!"
Their modified and custom Gloucester units hurried down the tunnel heading for the nearest exit while Monaca remained behind with the Monokuma robots as her own company, which suited the young girl just fine.
After making sure her communicator to the Warriors of Hope machines were turned off Monaca mused to herself, "If you don't make it I'll just find some replacements and build better machines, but I hope you'll make it long enough for Big Sis Junko to survive."
Monokuma Theater:
Monokuma appeared sitting upon his throne as his pedestal rose up as the two-tone bear readied his hammer.
"Today is a special episode of Monokuma Theater because the creator of this story decided to do something special and moments like these will come along at certain points in the story where YOU the reader shall decide the fate of a character."
The bear began laughing his signature sadistic laugh.
"No trials just a simple yes for the death sentence or no he or she gets to live. Who could it be, but this time the chapter up for the chopping block is one Yasuhiro Hagakure the so-called Ultimate Clairvoyant."
Monokuma began polishing his hammer.
"So come on don't keep me waiting, go to the author's profile page and cast your vote to decide if Yasuhiro gets to live or die since that is part of the charm about this series right? You get to vote on the fate of a character, but unlike the game, the process isn't fully tied to the story so the writer can be very flexible regardless of the results."
A/N:
As Monokuma said, there is a poll going on my profile to decide the fate of a character because either the Ultimate Clairvoyant is going to get executed, or he'll be spared, but he'll be out of the picture for a bit until he is needed.
Other characters might end up in the poll, but don't assume I'll feature characters no one would miss and/or they dislike a lot. It's whoever might end up facing the chopping block that could be avoided or not.
The poll will stay up until I update one of my other stories or put out another chapter, and/or I get more than 50 votes.
I thought I try this idea out as an experiment and do it as something special you the reader can take part in.
Anyway, I hope my attempt at doing something different with Shinjuku Ghetto works out a little better, and the next chapter will feature Suzaku against the Warriors of Hope. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I thank you all for your support and feedback so far.