Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa or Miraculous Ladybug. They belong to Spike Chunsoft and Thomas Astruc respectively. I only own the OC characters.

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Adrien used the elevator ride to the trial room as a chance to ruminate over what they had uncovered. It was made plainly obvious that Nino may likely be their killer, but that didn't sit right with him. Some things just aren't adding up.

"Fancy seeing you here!" Monokuma exclaimed excitedly. "But of course, that's not surprising! So," he leaned back in his throne lazily, "go at it, turds! Figure out who the killer is and vote them guilty!"

"As if we need to," Alix spat from her usual place in the courtroom. Her eyes glared accusingly at Nino.

"I'm tellin' ya, it wasn't me! I was hangin' it up in snoozeville in a locker this whole time, remember?" Nino seemed genuinely aggravated that he was being referred to as the killer. I have to figure out how he's innocent in all this.

"There is no use denying it," Kagami countered. She held up the papers from earlier. "These items found on your person suggest how you moved the bodies out of sight of everyone else." Her stance was confident and unwavering, but something clicked in Adrien's mind as he continued to stare at the crude drawings. "There is no doubt that you premeditated this and acted accordingly."

"Hold on a minute, Kagami." The Japanese girl glanced over to him briefly before nodding, giving him the chance to speak. "I've seen what Nino's handwriting looks like. And that," he said, pointing towards the so-called "evidence" with dramatic flair, "looks nothing like it. Therefore, he couldn't have planned this."

"This handwriting could have been forged," Kagami tried to reason. "He most likely changed his handwriting style so he could turn suspicion away from himself."

"But if you flip it the other way around," Adrien shot back, "this could've all been drawn up by the killer and planted on Nino in order to frame him." His emerald eyes narrowed in determination. "I'm willing to bet that's more likely."

"Unwise words," Kagami remarked, "but I'll concede with your explanation."

"Oh, really?" Nino jumped for joy on his platform, pressing his hands together in that universal gesture for giving gratitude. "Thanks, Adrien, bro, I really owe you one!"

"There's more," Marinette suddenly spoke up, startling Adrien. "When searching the bodies, Maddie and I found this scrap of paper in Myléne's hand." She lifted the said scrap up for everyone to see. "The rest, however, was stuffed into Max's... unmentionables."

"Woah!" Marc exclaimed. "You went that far? Who does that?" Marinette looked pained, and Adrien could feel the second-hand embarrassment. "Trust me, it's the last thing I would've done, but Maddie insisted we investigate thoroughly."

"We have a better chance at survival if we leave no stone unturned," was all the unknown Ultimate said. Alya chuckled under her breath. "At least one of us here has balls." Everyone bristled, but somehow the tea kettle didn't explode.

"Anyway," Marinette continued, "I can most certainly conclude that this was the same note that Nino received. Therefore, it was hidden where nobody would think to find it."

"Hold on," Luka halted, holding up his hands. "If what you're saying is true, then that means..."

"Max was the killer's accomplice," Adrien finished, drawing gasps from the crowd. "There's more evidence that suggests that as well." He looked each and every single one of his classmates in the eye. "Markov was never missing in the first place. That was a lie that Max told us so that we would all split up."

"But why?" Juleka murmured. Maddie cast a furtive side-eye. "So that he could assist with the killer's dirty work." Everyone stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate. "We first found Max in the nurse's office. It mysteriously moved on its own, impossible for a dead body. Unless..." Her blue eyes were piercing. "He wasn't dead at all."

Resounding gasps. "Are you saying he was faking it?" Alix ventured, following through with the brunette's implication. "But that's impossible." The said brunette raised her eyebrows at Kagami, hip cocked to the side. "How so?" she questioned. "The body discovery announcement, for one," Kagami returned, leaning forward. "It occurred right after we found Max in the nurse's office."

"That's true," Maddie acknowledged. "However, that isn't to say that it was for that specific body." She held up a finger. "Timing, in this case, was everything."

"So, Monokuma cut corners so that he wouldn't reveal to the other students that there was a real dead body somewhere in the school, and no one had found it yet." Monokuma, who had somehow magicked a heaping plate of pancakes doused in honey to chow down on, looked offended. "I do not cut corners, young lady!" he blurted. He pointed his loaded fork at the fencing champion. "One, I repeat, one announcement per corpse. Those are the rules!"

"Okay, Max was alive, I get that," Nathaniel admitted, rubbing his head. "Instead, that I don't. He was covered in blood, remember?"

"The nurse's office is supplied with refrigerated blood bags, presumably for transfusions." Alya pushed up her glasses. "Having been left alone, Max would've had full access."

"Plus," Maddie added on, "there was no obvious fatal wound anywhere on Max's body when he was found in the nurse's office, so I incorrectly assumed that the blood was from a blow to the head." She glanced off to the side. "However, when we found him in the science class's storage room, there was considerable injury to his neck."

"Because of that," Adrien continued, "this is what I believe happened. Max and the killer teamed up for this murder, and once Max had successfully moved Myléne's body after she was lured to an untimely death, he was double-crossed."

"Woah, seriously?" Nino said in disturbed awe. "Talk about Noir."

"Indeed," Alya agreed reluctantly. "However, this brings us to a dead end. Now, the only suspect is whoever doesn't have a suitable alibi at the time of the murders. Which would still include Nino."

"Not this again," the said DJ whined.

"Marinette was missing for a sizable chunk of that time we were searching too, right?" Juleka offered.

"Hold up, you guys!" Adrien protested. "Marinette didn't do this, she was the one who found Markov."

"In a place that was completely overlooked by the rest of us, which further cements that Max was in alliance with the killer." Maddie tossed her hair to the side. "He had programmed Markov not to take any orders from anyone other than him."

"Come to think of it, you were pretty suspicious too, Maddie." Alix narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "You were bouncing all over the place. Smells fishy, especially that you still don't know what your Ultimate talent is."

Maddie snorted. "If you suspect me based solely on that, then we truly are all doomed." She fixed Alix with a cold stare. "I was with Adrien when he first discovered Myléne's body in the art room, in case you've forgotten. You saw me there yourself, when Max's 'body' had moved. If I were the killer, I would've had to accompany him while he moved Myléne's body so that I could kill him later." The brunette used air quotes on the word "body." Alix grimaced, recognizing that she was right.

"Based off of that, though, that could be any one of us," Luka stated. Maddie inclined her head at that, acknowledging that his point was true. "So what, our gooses are cooked?" Nino lamented, clutching at his head. "We're all just going to die here?"

"All but one of us," Alya reminded him. Dread settled in as the class realized they were at a loss. Adrien had to think of something quickly, or the murderer would win. There must have been something he missed. Go back, he told himself. Analyze everything from the beginning. Try to find any discrepancies. The killer had to have messed up somewhere.

"This is awful. Despicable. Are we just going to be picked off one by one until there's no one left? Just like they were."

"It is alright. I am not injured. I tried fending them off this time, to mixed results as you can see. I at least managed to scare them off."

He didn't want to believe it, but there was no doubt in his mind. Adrien's eyes slid over to his right, towards the girl with a fencing foil in its case strapped to her back. "Kagami," he said, drawing her attention to him, "I know that you had just been attacked for the second time, and you were recovering, so I understand if there are any details that you missed. But you said that you took out your foil to defend yourself with, right?"

"That is correct," Kagami affirmed. "My efforts were indicated by the fact that it was laying on the ground." She used a hand to push back her hair from her face. "Whoever attacked me was frightened by the sight of it, so they pushed me out of the way to flee. It was knocked from my grasp."

"So, you took your foil out of its case, right?" Kagami's eyes narrowed, wondering where he was going with this, but choosing to stay silent. "We were all in a panic, so this might not be relevant. But when we found you after having been attacked, it's distinctly clear in my memory that the case on your back was still closed."

Silence descended on the room, all eyes on the fencing champion. "Now that I think about it," Marinette muttered out loud, "Adrien's right. It was closed."

"Y-Yeah, me too." Alix's voice seemed distant, as if she were speaking from the end of a long tunnel.

To everyone's shock, Kagami giggled to herself, a quick change from her unreadable expression when she was accused. When she looked out at the class, her face held a rueful smirk, something Adrien had never seen from her before. "What is this half-assed attempt to pin the blame on me, using weak, circumstantial evidence at that?" Everyone seemed put off by the use of the swear, uncharacteristic for the usually emotionally collected girl. She ignored them, however, still casting her narrowed, condescending gaze at the young model. "Adrien, I expected better from you."

"That's not all," he interrupted, plowing forward as everything began to click in his head. "The wounds on the neck suggested that a precise, clean, and quick blow was dealt, hitting the most vital area." Despite Kagami's off-putting aura, Adrien didn't back down. "The Monokuma File didn't list a cause of death, but the killing blow definitely looked like it was the work of a blade. A thin, razor-sharp blade that requires precision to handle. The kind of precision that you have." He stared her down, sealing the deal. "The kind of blade that would resemble a very real fencing sword."

"You stupid pig!" Kagami screeched, exploding into a tirade that the others didn't fathom that she possessed. "How can you be so fucking dense?! Nino is the killer, not me!"

"You had to provide a distraction for Max to move Myléne's body, so you swapped out your fake foil with an authentic sword." Adrien forged ahead in the midst of Kagami's rampage. "Judging by the wounds on the victims, I'd say it had to be a rapier." The blond locked in his stance. "I'm sorry, Kagami, you almost pulled off the perfect crime, but it's over now."

"Over?! You think it's over, huh?!" Kagami dramatically clenched her right hand into a fist, her visage containing nothing but seething wrath. "Where's your proof, you bastard?! I advise you that you don't make accusations based on worthless assumptions!"

"Then open your case right now and show us." That halted Kagami in her tracks, flinching at Adrien's demand. "Show us right now that you're not the killer. Amidst all the confusion from the bodies being moved, you couldn't have switched out the swords again unnoticed. I bet you still have it on you as we speak." The blond leaned forward, his explanation coming to a close. "If you open it and show us, and it turns out to be the murder weapon, then that explains it all. Refusing to will be the same."

Kagami's entire posture relaxed, her stare unwavering. "You're hesitating," Adrien pointed out. "Didn't you tell me once that you never hesitate?" At this, the girl smiled, a genuine one at that. "How ironic," she said wistfully. "The Yata no Kagami is meant to be a symbol of truth and wisdom. And I have disgraced its name by deceiving you all."

Adrien was taken aback. This was much easier than he thought it would be. "So, that's a confession, right?" Her honey-colored eyes landed on him then, the action making his skin crawl subtly. "That's right," she admitted. "I killed them both."

"But why?!" Alix shouted angrily. "What happened to adapting to our environment and keeping the peace?"

"That was all bullshit!" Kagami cried. "I'd do anything to get out of this miserable cell that is a school! Absolutely anything!" Her fluctuating wrath reminded Adrien of a dragon, her breath fiery and stinking of brimstone. "I'll do it all again if I have to; if it's the only way to get what I deserve, I'll do anything!"

"How did you get Max to go along with your elaborate scheme?" Alya questioned. "He hardly strikes me as the type who would be easily deceived."

Kagami's posture relaxed again. "That is true, he wasn't so easy to manipulate. But I convinced him that someone wanted to download all of Markov's personal data so that they could hoard all his features to themselves. And I convinced him that this person was Myléne."

"So, Max made it seem like Markov was missing as a cover to take out Myléne," Alix growled. "And when that was accomplished, you turned on him."

"The fool fell for it hook, line, and sinker," Kagami confirmed. "It truly is such a shame. My goal was tantalizingly within my reach, yet I still fell short of the mark. Well played, Adrien, well played." The boy was speechless at Kagami's single, slow applause. It wasn't mocking, however. It was resignation.

"Hey, why are you so calm?!" Nathaniel called out. "Don't you realize you're about to die?"

"Yes, I am well aware," Kagami stated. She knew that everyone was wondering, so she launched straight into her monologue. "My mother is a very strict woman. I have to abide by her rules at all times. How to stand, how to look, how to eat, how to interact with others; it was draining and suffocating." The girl shot a glance towards Adrien after that statement. He didn't have time to wonder what that was about before she moved on. "I want nothing more than to be free from her grasp. Unfortunately, I am tied to her money. And she will not allow me to get a job, claiming that my studies are more important." Her expression was disdainful, shrouded in menacing shadow. "I know better; I know that it's to make sure I never escape her.

"However, more recently, that dream was more likely to become a reality than ever before." Kagami held her usual default pose, standing straight and tall with her hands folded in front of her. "Monokuma revealed his lifetime-long cash prize, and I thought 'Finally. This is my ticket to getting out from under my mother's thumb for good.'" Her head inclined, resigned. "So, like a fool, I played the game and lost. Tragic, but expected." She lifted her head, gazing out at the other students. "I have lost, and the penalty is death. It would be dishonorable to try to flee from my own fate."

"Kagami..." Adrien didn't know what to say. The Japanese girl cast him an expression full of respect. "Out of anyone to lose to, however, I'm glad it was you, Adrien." She closed her eyes. "I can go to my execution without any regret; I've cast my lot into dueling a formidable opponent such as you, and I am glad to pay the price." She walked forward, stepping off her platform to cross to the other side of the room. It was a surprise to all, the party in question, when she stopped in front of Marinette, sticking out her hand. "You are a formidable opponent as well, Marinette. I wish you the best of luck." The blunette glanced between Kagami and her offered hand in confusion for a moment before egregiously returning the gesture. The fencing champion used her other hand to drop something in Marinette's, closing her hand around it. "May good fortune come to you and to everyone you care about."

"Ding ding ding! Time's up, ladies and gentlemen. Time to cast in your votes!" Adrien did not feel satisfied even as he voted for Kagami as the killer. The pixelated slot machine spun, coming to a rest on Kagami. Coins spilled from the compartment. "Right again! Man, you guys are on a roll. Nyeh nyeh nyeh!" Monokuma waved his arms around in a dramatic fashion. "Indeed, our killer is none other than Kagami Tsurugi!"

"No need for the theatrics, Monokuma," Kagami called out to the bear, voice steady and serious. "I am more than ready for what is to come."

"Oh, is that so?" The stuffed toy traced circles on one of the armrests, drawing out the phrase. "Fine by me. Punishment time, here we come!"

Kagami returned to her platform, turning around to face them all once more. She bowed respectfully towards them, a final send-off. "Farewell to you all," she said, straightening. "Perhaps, if I am reborn, we will all meet again. And if that day comes, let's all be friends this time."

The gavel slammed down on the button, displaying the animation of Monokuma dragging Kagami offscreen:

Kagami has been found guilty!

Time for the punishment!

Kagami fell into the pit that yawned open beneath her, content in her impending destiny. Suddenly, the scene was well-illuminated, revealing the girl standing in a clearing surrounded by cherry blossom trees, the soft, pink petals drifting lazily in the wind. In front of her, the fencing champion faced a full-length mirror.

Kagami Tsurugi's Execution: The Legend of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi

Status: Executed

Kagami simply stared at her own reflection for awhile, as if entranced. Then, the reflection changed, like all of Kagami's features had melted away while the real girl stayed intact. The gray humanoid figure opened its eyes, their glow trapping her in its light. Slowly, it stepped out of the mirror, clutching a rapier in its hand. The mirror shattered behind it, the shards themselves crumbling into dust.

The Ultimate Fencing Champion withdrew her own, very real rapier out of its case, the tip of the blade still stained with Mylne's and Max's blood. So I was right, Adrien thought. Kagami settled into her stance, and the duel began.

To put it simply, the battle was extremely one-sided. But Kagami's faceless opponent never went for the killing blow; instead, it only struck her with small wounds, creating enough that the girl's blood was dripping freely to the green grass below. This was meant to be drawn out and painful, death from blood loss by a million puncture wounds. It was rather sick to watch.

Suddenly, the fencer fell to one knee, unable to continue. It seemed that she had been defeated. The featureless humanoid strutted up to the girl, raising its weapon above its head to cleave her head cleanly from her shoulders. To its astonishment, Kagami suddenly rushed forward, thrusting her blade through its torso. It dissipated in a cloud of mist. The battered girl collapsed to her knees, panting heavily, her body littered with small cuts, her clothes hanging on by mere threads. Perhaps, she had escaped her execution after all?

From out of nowhere, several rapiers shot at her like missiles, spearing her from all directions. Blood spurted from every entry and exit wound, the amount that spilled out her mouth dribbling down her chin like a river. Before she toppled over, near-transparent strings wrapped around her wrists, snapping them up. Her body was dangled in the air, as if to show it off, or to present to scavenging carrion. Either way, the class, who had been watching this whole time, felt the same sort of heart-wrenching despair Kagami was most likely feeling as her chance to survive was snatched away from her. It probably wasn't even real to begin with.

The execution left a bitter taste in their mouths, solemnly returning to the school above. But before Adrien could escape to the dorms to mope, Marinette caught up with him. "Adrien, there's something I have to tell you." Markov was hovering obediently over her shoulder. "I wasn't actually looking for Markov."

"Huh?" The blond tilted his head to the side. "Then what were you doing?" The girl leaned in to whisper to him, so that no one could hear. "I was searching the boiler room for any indication of where Monokuma pops out from. I found something interesting, but it was useless to me. Until now." The fashion designer uncurled her hand, revealing the item that Kagami had dropped into it earlier. Adrien furrowed his brow at it. "What is it?"

A few clicks and beeps from Markov. "It appears to be a floppy disc. Analyzing." A wall of digital light scanned the piece of hardware in Marinette's hand. A resounding ding indicated that he was done. "There is some kind of de-encrypting software on it. Did my creator make this? How did Kagami find it?" The teens ignored his musings after hearing "de-encrypting software," staring at each other with dawning realization, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing. They rushed to the principal's office, the robot chugging after them with his propeller.

They arrived at the principal's office, breathing heavily from their sprint. Marinette immediately approached the monitor, inserting the floppy disk into the slot on the PC Tower. The screen flashed some programs being run until a panel popped up reading: "Access Granted." Adrien could hardly believe it. How had Kagami come across this technology that would help them bypass this computer's login? He pondered this as the desktop loaded up. However, instead of files and other icons like he expected, a list of numbers was strung across the screen. "What's this supposed to be?" he wondered, glancing over at Marinette, who, to his surprise, looked more like something had dawned on her. "This is it," she muttered. "This must have been what I was missing."

With no time to waste, the blunette aggressively turned towards Adrien, holding him in an intent gaze. He knew that this was the look she donned whenever she took initiative of the situation. He was beginning to suspect that she was an outstanding strategist, on par with Kagami if not more so. "Adrien," she said, and she had his undivided attention. "Near the wall to the very left of the boiler room, there's a trapdoor that's locked with an electronic number pad." She glanced over at the numbers again. "Go there and enter this password," she instructed. "Tell me what you find once you open it."

And so, Adrien descended into the boiler room, branching off left like Marinette had told him to do. Sure enough, by feeling around in the darkness, there was a trapdoor with a blinking electronic number pad. "Amazing, Marinette," he breathed. "Here goes nothing." He tentatively pressed the sequence from the computer into the number pad, mentally crossing his fingers behind his back. Please work, please work.

A beep, and the light turned green. To Adrien's utter astonishment, the trapdoor clicked open, hissing as it released its airtight seal. A set of stairs leading downward greeted him on the other side. Throwing caution to the wind, the boy descended even deeper down into the depths of the school. What lay at the bottom of this? He hoped it was something that could shed some light on their situation.

The staircase opened up into a small room packed wall to wall with monitors. "Woah," Adrien murmured, scanning the numerous screens. "Is this where Monokuma watches us?" In the center of the room, a rolling chair was situated at a control station. Gathered in a loose pile on the floor next to the chair was a stack of files. I bet these have something in them. He launched at the pile, too entranced in his discovery to notice the shadow creeping up behind him.

A heavy thud and everything went black.

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He came to an indeterminate amount of time later, his head throbbing from the blow he received. He blinked, trying to clear his vision. "What... was that?" he groaned. Looking around, he concluded that he was still in the same room he had found beneath the trapdoor. His gaze raked over the control station and his heart leapt into his throat. "No, don't tell me..." He dragged himself over to a particular spot next to the rolling chair. "It's all... gone?"

Indeed, the files he had discovered earlier were now missing. In fact, any other sort of material evidence had vanished as well. All that was left were the monitors, the control station, and the rolling chair.

Damn it! This was my chance to learn something, and I blew it! I should've known something like this was going to happen! With another heavy groan, Adrien hauled himself to his feet, the world around him spinning as he did so. I hope I don't have a concussion, he mused ruefully to himself. He was aware that he had made himself a complete disappointment. He didn't look forward to informing Marinette of what had happened in the morning, knowing she had worked so hard to find all this in the first place. He dragged himself to bed, drifting off into a restless sleep.

Chapter 3: End

Students Remaining: 10

To Be Continued

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Author's Note: Not surprising. In an actual killing game, I always thought Kagami would kill somebody. Not that it's in her nature to kill, that's just the sort of vibe she gives off. If this were normal circumstances, she would be as amiable as she usually would towards everyone around her. And I know that Kagami was acting a lot like Celeste in this, but like I said before, this is gonna happen throughout the story. With that being said, while Celeste and Kagami have a lot of similarities, they are different. For example, both are calm, cool, and collected, but Celeste is more relaxed and loose in that regard while Kagami is very stiff and poised. If they ever met, I wouldn't say they would be friends exactly, but they could definitely have some interesting conversations.

I actually looked up what Kagami's name means and the Yata no Kagami is a mirror that reflects truth and wisdom; kind of odd to me but one of Kagami's akumatized personas was called "Truth." The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is the name of a powerful sword from an ancient Japanese legend, which also makes sense because Kagami is good at fencing and loves doing it.

So much to do, so little time.

Praise is appreciated and constructive criticism is encouraged.

See you next time!

-The_Mayflower