I don't think I even need the warning anymore. You guys know about it. Disclaimer: I don't own Dangan Ronpa.

Chapter 3: Celestia Ludenberg

Mondo had just finished explaining what had happened between him and Chihiro the night before Toko's death. "And I wound up getting so mad I just reached for the nearest thing I could. But before I could start swinging, I heard Leon's voice and... Well, you know what happened after that." "Mondo swore me to secrecy in the nurse's office," Leon said, "That was around the time Toko came to check in on us. I guess she must have overheard the tail end of our discussion." Kyoko put a hand to her chin. "She had been writing everything she experienced while at this school in her journal, perhaps hoping to gain material for her next novel."

"Right," Byakuya said, "But then she wound up swapping with Genocide Jack. She mentioned that she would change whenever she fainted or sneezed. She had been trying to guard herself against it but... Well..." Mondo began tearing up. "I should have been watching Chihiro... If I had been there, he never would have had to kill someone just to save himself... For a few short hours..." Sayaka then looked over to Mukuro. "Well, well, someone's glowing." Mukuro blushed as she tried to avert her gaze from Sayaka. "I... Don't know what you're implying."

"It's fine," Sayaka said, "I don't mind sharing. You're a friend after all." She then gave a knowing smile. "He was totally amazing though, right?" Mukuro blushed even harder, causing Sayaka to giggle. "I knew it, you totally did it with Makoto. Guess that makes us sisters. Though I don't know that we'll have much to talk about, me being an idol and you being a mercenary." Mukuro scowled. "Hey, I like girly things too! Didn't you notice how comfortable I was wearing one of Junko's outfits?" That little outburst caused everyone in the room to start laughing, relieving a lot of tension in the room.

As the third floor opened up and the students started exploring, Leon sighed. "Makoto's getting all the action in this place. I was hoping I'd have a shot at Sayaka." Mondo smiled. "Dude, the only time you would have had a shot at her was on the night Hiro was killed. She passed him a note to try and lure him into a trap, only to back out after the note was sent thanks to Makoto. Now what if that note had been given to you instead? Worse still, what if Sayaka still decided to go through with it?" Leon stopped and shuddered at the implications.

In addition to the usual empty classrooms with the same metal plates over all the windows, the third floor had a rec room, art room, and physics lab. "Man," Makoto said, "Hifumi would have loved this art room. Too bad he had to do something stupid." Inside the physics lab was a giant machine that supposedly supplied the entire school with fresh oxygen. "Is the school really so sealed off we'd need a machine like this?," Kiyotaka wondered aloud. "Got me, bro," Mondo said, "Physics was never my strong suit."

Later that day Monokuma announced his next incentive. Several stacks of cash fell on top of the podium he was standing on. "Here you go, ten billion yen to the student who graduates. Offer's open to any who are interested." Leon scoffed. "As if a successful baseball player like myself needs that kinda cheese." "Indeed," Byakuya said, "Even if I was to consider something so petty as killing for money, the amount is short a few thousand zeros." One by one all the students walked out of the gym. "Guess Monokuma didn't think this motive through," Sayaka said, "We may be able to get through this one without a murder."

"Speaking of," Aoi said, "The night after the last trial, I was crying myself to sleep and decided to grab some donuts from the storeroom to help cheer me up. Then I saw this eerie glow from the bath. When I took a look, I saw what looked like Chihiro's ghost." The students all gathered in the bath to check for themselves. Soon enough, Makoto noticed one of the lockers was open. Inside was a laptop, which Makoto recognized as being from the library. When Kyoko booted it up, a digital rendition of Chihiro's head popped. 'Good morning, Master.' The figure then looked shocked and said, 'Oh, you're not Master. Who are you people?'

Kyoko walked up to the laptop and typed in, 'What are you?' 'Oh,' the avatar said, 'My name is Alter Ego. I was created by my Master, Chihiro Fujisaki, to decrypt all the files on this laptop. It's a lot harder than you'd think, so I think they must have something to do with this school.' "Wow," Sayaka said, "So Chihiro created this AI program all on his own?" Kyoko nodded. "I'm not surprised. He was the Ultimate Programmer, after all." Makoto put a hand to his chin. "That laptop was broken when we first found it. I guess Chihiro must have fixed it up, hence the reason why he had his tools with him when Genocide Jack came after him."

"But why hide it here of all places?," Aoi asked. Mondo took a quick look around. "Hold on... There's no security cameras in this room." "Yes," Kyoko said, "I noticed that as well. This is a blind spot in the mastermind's security, making it ideal for hiding things one wouldn't want to be seen. Seems even in death, Chihiro left us a ray of hope." 'By the way,' Alter Ego said, 'I haven't Master for a while now. Do any of you know where he is?' Kyoko thought a bit about how to answer, then simply typed out, 'He was killed.' She decided not to mention that he had killed Toko.

Regardless, the revelation of his "Master's" death seemed to sadden Alter Ego. 'He always did suspect he wouldn't last long in this situation.' The students now had Alter Ego to help them figure out the mysterious mastermind's plans. Later that day in the cafeteria, Makoto decided to bring Celeste her usual tea. When she sipped it, her eyes lit up. "My, my. This is perfectly brewed. Very well done, Makoto." Makoto sheepishly smiled as he rubbed the back of his head. "It seems like things are definitely looking up for us, huh? What with our new friend Alter Ego."

Celeste gave a sad frown. "You all seem to treat it like it's a living person, but it's really just an artificial intelligence." Makoto chuckled. "An artificial intelligence made by the Ultimate Programmer. Who knows? With his help, we may just find our way out of here. Preferably without any more killing." He turned to Celeste. "I know you said we should simply adapt to our new living conditions, but I seem to recall you saying you had plans for the outside. Are you really so willing to just give them all up like that?" Celeste looked at Makoto, and suddenly felt very transparent.

A few days later, Kyoko noticed Alter Ego was missing. "Who could have taken him?," Aoi said, "Did the mastermind find out and grab him themself?" "Impossible," Kyoko said, "Alter Ego would have screamed if anyone he didn't know approached him. And with my door open, I would have heard it easily." Byakuya adjusted his glasses. "Then we must consider a difficult possibility. That one of us is a traitor for the mastermind." The others looked at him in confusion. "Don't act so surprised. It was obvious the mastermind would need someone on the inside to make sure the game moved along smoothly. We'd better be on our guard."

"I'm concerned everyone's gonna suspect me," Mukuro said to Sayaka, "After all, I was pretending to be someone else with no explanation." "I wouldn't worry too much," Celeste said as she came over, "You being the mole would be far too obvious. Even Byakuya thinks so." Sayaka nodded as she placed a reassuring hand on Mukuro's shoulder. Mukuro smiled, but then quickly turned serious. "Did you guys hear that?" Celeste and Sayaka turned alert, and sure enough there was a sound like someone running. The three of them hurried in the direction of the noise, which led them to the physics room on the third floor.

Meanwhile in the cafeteria, the rest of students were enjoying lunch while Kiyotaka came back in. "Hey," Aoi said, "Where's Leon?" As if on cue, the body discovery announcement came on. Shortly thereafter, Mukuro came bursting into the cafeteria. "Everyone! In the physics lab!" The group followed her up to the lab. Celeste was right outside the door. Inside, Sayaka was leaning against the giant oxygen machine crying. It didn't take long for the others to see why. Leon was on the floor not too far from where Sayaka stood, lying face-down in a pool of his own blood.

"I'm getting surprised left and right here," Monokuma said as he popped up, "But at the least the game is going along at a good clip, so I won't complain. This is the third murder so far, and just like before, one of you guys went and killed Leon Kuwata. Here's your next file. Good luck you guys." Makoto sighed as he looked over the file. "Another murder. When is this insanity going to end?" "At least," Byakuya said, "When there are only three people left. At that point the body discovery announcements will be useless. I suppose the mastermind could keep this going until only one person is left standing, but who really knows?"

Mukuro explained that she and the other girls were at the entrance when she had heard what sounded like a shattering noise, which first alerted her that something was wrong. When Sayaka and Celeste heard the running sounds, they followed them to the third floor where they started looking around. The physics lab was the first place they searched and that's where they found Leon. The announcement came in immediately after that. A quick examination of Leon's body revealed a few oddities. There was a superficial wound on the right side of his head, in addition to the more fatal wound on the left side. The right side was blunt force trauma, but the left side seemed to be sharp force trauma. Yet there was no sign as to what could have cut him.

On the side of the oxygen machine was a smear of blood, likely Leon's. In addition, his already broken left arm had been dislocated at the shoulder. There was also evidence of blood on his right knuckles, like he had been in a fight. Seeing the furnace gate unlocked again, Makoto checked it out. Once again, there was evidence of it being used, only this time it was more glaring, since there a distinct shoulder tassel left behind. "No way...," he muttered, but he decided to wait until the trial to reveal this piece of evidence. "Did you find something?," Kyoko said. Makoto nodded. "I think it may point directly to a suspect, but I want to wait until the trial to be sure." "Good thought," Kyoko said, "Speaking of, we'd better get going."

"This trial should get very interesting," Monokuma said, "I wonder if you guys can keep this winning streak up." "First off," Kiyotaka said, "We should try to prove or disprove Mukuro, Sayaka, and Celeste's testimony. They are the ones to first discover the body, but under suspicious circumstances. Remember the situation in the last trial." Kyoko put a hand to her chin. "There's no need to worry about that. The body discovery announcement went off when all three of them discovered Leon's corpse. Besides..." She turned to Kiyotaka. "I don't think any of them could have killed Leon in the manner his killed in."

"What manner would that be?," Sakura asked. "With their bare hands," Makoto said, "It seems obvious from the state of the crime scene. Kyoko, you're thinking the superficial wound on the right side of Leon's head is from a fist, right?" Kyoko smiled. "So, you noticed it as well. We can infer from the fact that Leon has obvious defense markings that he got in a fight with his killer. Example, the blood on the knuckles of his good hand." "We know he had to have gotten killed when his head slammed against the oxygen machine," Celeste said, "Could that occur from just punching him on the side of the head?"

"Ordinarily, no," Sakura said, "In that situation, a human will instinctively try to stop themselves by holding their arms out. However, with the state of Leon's left arm..." Makoto nodded. "There was little chance he'd be able to save himself. But someone would have to be pretty strong to hit him with enough force to send him reeling into the machine hard enough to cause significant injury. I doubt Sayaka or Celeste have that amount of strength." "What about Mukuro?," Kiyotaka asked. Mukuro scoffed. "I may know a thing or two about fisticuffs, however..." She brought out her combat knife. "Why resort to that when I always have this on hand?"

Aoi nodded. "The fact that Mukuro keeps her combat knife on hand is common knowledge. Other than her, the only people who could punch Leon hard enough are Sakura, Mondo, and you Taka." Kiyotaka scoffed. "As if I would kill someone. That would go against my title of the Ultimate Moral Compass." "Then how do you explain this?," Makoto said, and he brought out the shoulder tassel, "I found this in the furnace, and it matches your uniform." Byakuya adjusted his glasses. "So the furnace was used again. Come to think of it, Taka was the one in charge of furnace duty this week."

Kiyotaka suddenly became very nervous. "Bro...," Mondo said, "Don't tell me you..." "Of... Of course not!," Kiyotaka said, "I am the Ultimate Moral Compass! My purpose is to guide others on the right path! To kill another goes against everything I am!" "You may not have killed intentionally," Kyoko said, "But you did try to cover up evidence. Mukuro mentioned hearing a shattering sound. And hidden in the blood on the oxygen machine, was a light bulb socket. But there was no evidence of glass in Leon's head." Sayaka covered her mouth. "If there was supposed to be a light bulb there... The amount of shattered glass would have been more than enough."

Kyoko nodded. "When Makoto mentioned the furnace was used, I did my own search. And I found something he missed." She held up what looked like the metal end of a bulb. "The three girls who discovered the body were standing at the entrance to the school, according to Mukuro. Even at the rate they were running, it would have taken some time to reach the physics lab. Given the normal rate at which sound travels, and taking into account hallways and how close the footsteps they heard would have to be for all three girls to hear them, I'd say there's little chance they would have run into anyone on the way to the physics lab."

"Maybe they did," Aoi said, "But too far from the physics lab for it to be suspicious." Mukuro's eyes lit up. "Actually, we did see Taka on the way down. He simply said he was coming back from a quick pool game in the rec room. He looked like all the color had drained from his face." Kiyotaka was really starting to sweat now, making Mondo really worried. "A good amount of blood had been lost," Byakuya said, "Meaning a decent amount of time had passed. The rest of us were all in the cafeteria, and since we can take Mukuro's testimony as fact, that leaves only two people on the third floor, where both the rec room and the physics lab are located."

Monokuma started chuckling. "It looks like you guys have come to a conclusion. So let's get to the voting. Remember, all of you must vote... No exceptions." The votes were quickly tallied, and sure enough the usual fanfare and confetti came out of nowhere. "Three in a row! Three in a row!," Monokuma said, "You guys are good! It was indeed Kiyotaka Ishimaru who killed Leon Kuwata!" "Bro...," Mondo said, "Why...?" Kiyotaka started breaking down in tears. "I never intended to kill him. I was simply confronting him about how he betrayed you and Chihiro. Next thing I remember we're getting in a fight, and before I know it, he's lying on the floor dying."

"I will admit it was an accident," Monokuma said, "Not that it matters. But the removal of evidence was deliberate." "I think I see," Celeste said, "He suddenly realized he had a chance to escape, and get the money that was promised as a reward." Kiyotaka closed his eyes, which did little to hold back the tears. "My family's been in debt every since my grandfather was removed as Prime Minister of Japan. When I realized I had accidentally killed Leon, my next thought was that I had an opportunity to get enough money to get us out of it."

"Shame really," Monokuma said, "But now it's time for the big moment! Punishment time! And I have special one set up just for the Ultimate Moral Compass." He hit his big red button, dragging Kiyotaka into the execution chamber. Kiyotaka found himself being driven down a street. All around were various signs declaring him the new Prime Minister. After a bit, Monokuma showed up in nearby building, dressed in a black tuxedo and carrying a sniper rifle. Taking aim, Monokuma fired, shooting Kiyotaka right through the heart. Kiyotaka could only chuckle weakly at the irony of his situation as his sight started to fade.

"I feel bad for Mondo," Makoto said as he and Celeste were in her room. She had invited him there for a special reason. "First Mondo loses his brother," Makoto continued, "And now Chihiro, Leon, and Taka, his best friends, have been killed. And we still don't know what happened to Alter Ego." Celeste sighed. "I took him. I've already told Kyoko. He's still in the bath. He was hidden there for a reason, after all." Makoto was a little surprised. "But why?" Celeste closed her eyes. "At first I was considering doing it as part of a murder plot, but then I realized the only people desperate enough to want him back were either dead or untrusting of me."

She sat down on the bed next to Makoto. "So instead, I decided to simply hide him somewhere new. Like Byakuya, I suspect there may be a mole in our group secretly working for the mastermind. And if that's the case, then they were there when we found Alter Ego." She looked at Makoto, and he could see the sadness in her eyes. "You were right," Celeste said, "I want to get out of here more than anyone. I thought that killing someone was the only way, but when I look at you, I see a better way. A way that doesn't put my life at risk." She smiled and moved to kiss him. "I'm going all in with you. And somehow I know it's a sure bet."

Makoto smiled and pressed his lips against Celeste's. She didn't resist, but rather opened her mouth to suck his tongue in. They spent a few minutes making out before separating for air. Celeste then stood up and began to undo her blouse. "I've already placed you at rank B. But now, I think it's about time you became a rank A." She removed her blouse and skirt a laid down on the bed. "That's how much I really care about you." Makoto smiled, removed his own shirt and pants, and gently started stroking Celeste's pussy. Celeste gave a satisfied moan. "That's incredible. It's easy to see how Sayaka and Mukuro were so satisfied with you."

Makoto smiled as he began to lick her between her legs, the shock of pleasure causing Celeste to arc her back. "You get wet easily," Makoto said, wiping his mouth. Celeste gave a mischievous smirk. "I've always been extremely sensitive." She held her legs open. "This is my first time, so be gentle." Makoto nodded as he carefully entered Celeste. With how wet she was, he was able to slide in easily. Celeste gave a slight shriek when her hymen was broken, but other than that it didn't hurt to bad. "Amazing," Celeste said, "It fits so well."

Makoto chuckled and leaned over to Celeste. "This is were the good part comes in." Celeste wrapped her arms around Makoto's back as he began to move inside her. The next few hours filled Celeste's mind with pure pleasure as Makoto plowed her again and again. "This is so amazing," she said, "It feels so good." Makoto pulled her into a sitting position and kissed her again as she came close to the high point. As the two came together, Celeste kept kissing her new lover, making the orgasm even better. They collapsed in the bed as Makoto dragged the cover them. "Makoto," Celeste said, "I'd like you to know my real name." Makoto nodded. "Taeko," Celeste said, "Taeko Yasuhiro. Please promise you'll keep it a secret." Makoto kissed her forehead. "From everyone."

"Well," the mastermind said, "Almost everyone." She then saw her mole enter the room. "You always seem to get off on watching his sexual exploits," they said. The mastermind smirked. "And what if I do? It's too bad I'll never get to enjoy him myself, but I'm the kind of woman who likes to keep her chastity." She offered the mole some tea. "Things are going a little different from what I expected," the mastermind said, "But it's still very exciting, so I won't complain. What about Chihiro's little program?" The mole shook their head. "There's no sign of it. I think someone in the group knows where it is, but I do not." The mastermind sighed. "Oh well. It's gonna be a problem, but there's little I can do about it."

To be continued...

Read and review guys. I love reviews.