Hello everyone! I know I said it might be a while before I updated again, but...I DID end up starting the night I posted the class roster and...couldn't stop. Haha, I was too excited it seems. Plus once I have a clear plot, writing is pretty fast, and I've been outlining this chapter for days now. Plus, I've been listening to music for this story while writing. I can't tell you most of it, but I can tell you I've been listening to Dead or Lie from DR3 and Yuri! On Ice (piano), the latter specifically acting as Maria's leitmotif, if that tells you anything.

So! Welcome to the first BIG chapter for Happily Never After! Here, we explore Maria, several OCs and part of the Palace of Despair (though the kids don't know that yet). For the record, I actually looked up a castle layout for the model of the palace, then adjusted it as I pleased. Hopefully, the logistics make sense.

And in case anyone's wondering, OCs in this chapter are simply introduced where I feel they fit best, not in the order they were submitted or anything.

But yes, now you finally get to officially meet half of our cast (including Maria in all her fleshed out glory). Please enjoy!

When Maria entered the hallway, she found herself standing in a corridor with doors as far as she could see when she turned both left and right. She just noticed that the corridor was pretty bare and also lacking in windows, when she spotted someone further down the hallway.

"Excuse me?" She called out, wincing slightly as she heard the slight accent slip past her lips, giving away her foreign status with just one phrase.

The boy she called out to, however, didn't bring attention to her Japanese. Instead, he looked towards her with wide eyes and ran towards her eagerly.

"Ah, thank goodness! It's such a relief to finally find someone! I was beginning to worry nobody else was in these rooms, despite the name plates." The boy smiled as he huffed a bit for breath, though he barely looked winded.

Maria smiled up at him as she processed the quickly spoken Japanese, using the time to examine the boy more closely.

The boy was tall, almost an entire foot taller than Maria herself, with shoulder length black hair, which he swore a star shaped hair pin in, and dark blue eyes. He was dressed simply, in a light blue button down under a soft white cardigan, dark skinny jeans and polished black boots with a small heel, as well as white fingerless gloves, a silver watch and a necklace with a platinum mouse charm. His left ear was pierced with two small silver hoops and Maria was pretty sure he was wearing makeup, silver eyeshadow at the least as well as eyeliner and mascara.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm being rude, aren't I?" The boy said, drawing Maria back from her observation.

"No! No, sorry. I'm just…slow in processing my Japanese." Maria admitted. "I was born and raised in Russia, so my Japanese is…rusty, I suppose." She winced at the word choice. God, she wished she were better at this, her vocabulary was so limited!

"Ah, I see! I've learned a lot of languages, actually, so I can help you if you'd like!" The boy offered. "And for someone who comes from another country, I must say, your Japanese is much better than you might think. You'll be a master of the language in no time." The boy winked at her as he said this.

"Thank you." Maria smiled, offering a slight bow, hoping she was remembering her father's culture lessons correctly. No need to offend this perfectly nice boy when she just met him. "My name is Maria Kikumoto, by the way. You can call me Maria. I'm the Ultimate Ballet Dancer, which is why I'm in Japan at all."

"Ah, that makes sense. I did read that Hope's Peak was expanding its search for Ultimates after…" The boy trailed off as both he and Maria winced. "Oh, my apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ren Sato, though you may know me better as the Ultimate Matchmaker."

Ren Sato

Ultimate Matchmaker

"It's nice to meet you, uh, Sato-kun?" Maria smiled uncertainly. They looked about the same age, so…that was right, yes?

"You can call me Ren, Maria. But yes, that was the right honorific." Ren smiled at her, reaching a hand out to squeeze her shoulder. "Did you just wake up as well?"

"Oh, yes. I just stepped outside of my room, actually." Maria nodded, gesturing to the door she had just exited. As she turned towards said door, her eyes widened a bit.

The door had a plaque which showed a pixelized version of herself, identical to the profile she'd found on the tablet as well. But under the plaque was the words Snow White in a fancy cursive script.

"So you have the Snow White room then? I noticed every room has a fairy tale of some sort under the plaques." Ren nodded, removing his hand from her shoulder, only to cross his arms as he leaned casually into her side. "My room was the Fairy Godmother room, and I noticed a bunch of others as well."

"I see…I wonder why that is." Maria furrowed her brows. "I don't remember anything about a place like this in the letter they sent me. What is this place, anyway?"

"I'd say it was a castle, but that's not possible." Ren said, though when Maria looked at him, his eyes were wide and his fingers were trembling, even as he grasped his cardigan's sleeve.

"I'm sure there's a good explanation." Maria tried to smile reassuringly, reaching up to squeeze the matchmaker's shoulder. Ren relaxed at the touch and sent her a smile, which had a rather flirtatious edge to it, though she wasn't sure if it was sincere or not. Dima had always enjoyed flirting with her too, but they were just Maria's friend and both of them understood that. "Well, in any case, we should probably see what the rest of this place looks like. Does the corridor end down there?" She pointed towards where Ren had emerged, where she assumed his own room was.

"Yes, so anything else would be that way." Ren confirmed with a smile before he offered her an arm. "Shall we, milady?" He winked.

"Don't get your hopes up, Matchmaker-kun. I'm pretty hard to flirt with." Maria blew a fake kiss at him, even as she accepted his arm. Ren laughed, sounding the most relaxed he had since they'd met.

"Well then, perhaps I'll find a true love for you yet." He grinned before he began to lead her down the hallway.

As they walked further down the corridor, Maria made sure to note the names on the doors they passed. She spotted the Little Mermaid, the Nightingale, Little Red Riding Hood and Aladdin amongst the many rooms. She had to assume they were for the sixteen other people, not including herself and Ren.

They reached the end of the hallway, however, and froze.

Before them was a pair of bright red velvet doors, which didn't look like they belonged in the otherwise rather medieval décor surrounding them.

A shiver ran down Maria's spine and she felt Ren's grip on her arm tighten as well.

"Let's…move on." Maria suggested, to which Ren nodded quickly in agreement.

Specifically turning away from the rather ominous doors, Maria took the chance to examine the hall they found themselves in and gasped.

The main hall, because that's what it had to be, was huge. It had a beautiful, maroon colored rug and large stained glass windows, letting some sunlight in the otherwise dreary space. There were also vases of flowers on columns throughout the hall and tall candelabras, giving it an almost mystical feeling.

Honestly, it reminded Maria of sets she'd danced in, especially for Swan Lake.

You know…except for the camera and TV on the walls. Which really ruined the whole ambience, if you asked her. But whatever.

There was also a girl in the hall, admiring one of the vases of flowers. She stood tall and her hands folded behind her back.

Her skin was bronze and her hair was short, cropped and black. When Maria stepped closer, she noticed that the girl was wearing a white sleeveless top, a black knee length pencil skirt, black pumps, thin rimmed glasses and a rather stylish silver wristwatch. When the ballet dancer and matchmaker stopped near her, the girl turned sharply, revealing dark brown, almost black, eyes and angular features that Maria had no doubt many found attractive.

The girl's expression was also rather cold.

"Hello." She greeted them simply. Her voice was simple, with a slightly cold edge. And despite her rather foreign appearance, her Japanese was smooth and accent free.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met?" Ren said, stepping forward with a fluttering of his eyes. "My name is Ren Sato and I'm the Ultimate Matchmaker. I'm sure you've heard of me?"

"Indeed." The girl said, her eyes leaving Ren instantly and settling on Maria with a cold intensity, startling her a bit.

"Um, my name is Maria Kikumoto, I'm the Ultimate Ballet Dancer." She introduced, feeling a bit off step.

"I see." The girl stated, her eyes examining Maria and then Ren. The silence hung almost awkwardly in the air, to the point that Maria was beginning to consider just asking the girl her name, when she finally spoke up again. "I suppose you want to know my name. I am Rosamie de Vera, the Ultimate Midwife."

Rosamie de Vera

Ultimate Midwife

"A midwife? So you help…mothers deliver babies?" Maria stumbled, sending Ren a look, to which he nodded to reassure her.

"Correct." Rosamie nodded. She then fell silent, simply…staring at the two of them. Maria shared a look with Ren, unsure how to proceed.

"So Rosamie, have you seen anyone else?" Ren questioned, a flirty smile crossing his lips, even as he leaned into Maria's side. She squeezed his arm, hoping the reassurance helped.

"Indeed. I have seen others in the courtyard beyond those doors. There is also a dining hall and kitchen further down." Rosamie answered.

"Oh, thank you!" Maria smiled. "Also, just out of curiosity, are you also a foreign exchange student?"

"No. I was born and raised in Japan, my parents are Filipino." The midwife stated, as if she were listing facts. Which, really, she was.

"Ah, I see! I'm half Japanese myself, but I grew up in Russia." Maria smiled, hoping to get a smile out of the girl.

Unfortunately, Rosamie simply nodded and turned away, going back to studying the flowers.

O….kaaaaaay. Maria trailed off, sending an awkward smile towards Ren.

"Would you like to continue exploring together or split up?" The matchmaker asked with a kind smile.

"I'd like to check out the kitchen and dining room. If you'd rather go outside, I think I will be alright." Maria smiled, before she let it twist into a smirk. "After all, I can't just hog the Ultimate Matchmaker to myself, that would just be unfair to everyone else here!"

Ren let out a surprised laugh before he reached out and pulled Maria into a loose hug. The ballet dancer startled slightly but returned the casual affection easily enough. He really was similar to Dima…she missed them so much, her heart ached.

"I'll see you later, I promised to help with your Japanese after all." Ren winked, pulling away and taking her hand in his own. With a question in his eyes, the matchmaker raised an eyebrow. Smiling indulgently, Maria nodded, allowing him to kiss her knuckles.

"Have fun, alright?" The ballet dancer smiled as her fingers slipped through his. With a casual wave, she turned back towards the ominous red doors before taking a sharp left, turning down the unexplored hallway.

The first thing she noticed when she turned the corner was a staircase.

Feeling curious, Maria began to make her way towards the stairs. Why hadn't Rosamie mentioned these stairs when she mentioned the kitchen and dining room?

"Get the fuck back!"

Maria stumbled backwards instinctively just as thorns of all things suddenly sprung out of the floor, covering the stairs like a barrier.

"What the hell…?" She whispered, her voice reflexively slipping into Russian instead of Japanese.

"Were you trying to get yourself fucking killed?!" A boy shouted and Maria turned, her eyes sharp with a glare.

"Excuse me for not thinking of possible thorns appearing out of nowhere!" She snapped.

"Yeah, whatever." The boy scoffed, crossing his arms.

Maria huffed, crossing her own arms in turn, even as she took a moment to look the boy over.

He was tall and lanky, with dark brown, short, messy hair, the only exception being his bangs being dyed bright red, and coral colored eyes with rather noticeable eyebags under his eyes. He wore a salmon colored dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a vest that was brown on the top half and black on the bottom, with a star shaped emblem with an 'M' near his heart, black pants, black shoes and a belt with a radio attached to his hip. He also wore a mint green striped black arm warmer on his left arm that reached all the way up to his shirt, showing no skin on that arm, a black fingerless glove on his right hand, a microphone earpiece in his right ear and two simple piercings above his right eyebrow.

He also looked utterly exhausted and irritated with Maria, probably for being an idiot in his eyes.

Maria…wasn't good with disliking people, or snapping at people who, despite how terrible they may look, were just trying to help. So…she wilted.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, looking down as she bowed, praying it was the correct movement. "Thank you for stopping me, I appreciate your help. My name is Maria Kikumoto, I am the Ultimate Ballet Dancer."

"Yeah, whatever." The boy repeated, though this time he looked resigned instead of irritated. "Just didn't want to fucking deal with an injured person already."

"You help injured people?" Maria questioned, curious as she straightened up.

"Sometimes." The boy shrugged before sighing, rubbing his neck with a free hand and blowing his bangs out of his face. "Name's Hibiki Yato. I'm the Ultimate Dispatcher. And next time, try not to be so fucking dumb, Shortstack."

Hibiki Yato

Ultimate Dispatcher

"Not like I did it on purpose." Maria grumbled in Russian when her mind finally translated the nickname. "Wait-what was that nickname?"

"Just a nickname, no big fucking deal." Hibiki grunted. "Did you just wake up or something?"

"Well I-I…" Maria stuttered, feeling her face turn red. "S-so what?"

"Nothing, just seemed like you had no fucking clue where to go." Hibiki shrugged before gesturing behind them. "Dining room's there, kitchen's next door. Have at it." The dispatcher then began to walk down the hallway, back towards the rooms.

"Wait!" Maria cried out, causing Hibiki to pause and turn back with a tired look of curiosity. "Thank you, for stopping me. I hope we get along."

Hibiki stared at her for a moment before he let out a single huff, sending his bangs flying up again.

"See you, Shortstack." He waved lazily before continuing on to the rooms.

Maria stared after him for a moment before she groaned, running a hand through her hair as she looked down at the floor.

"Good going, Masha, good going…" She muttered in Russian. She took one minute to be irritated at herself for even letting that conversation go so wildly. God, Sasha would laugh her butt off if she saw her now. Or at least…Maria thought her little sister would react like that.

Shaking the morose thoughts from her mind, she pushed her hair away with a deep, cleansing breath, before she made her way towards the dining hall.

When she entered, she found another breathtaking room. The floor was wood and polished to a shine, with a dark, royal purple rug in the center. On the rug was an elegant table, long enough to probably fit eighteen people, if Maria's assumption about the number of people here was correct, and above it was an equally elegant chandelier, the lights twinkling over the wood. There were also other smaller tables off to the side, though it was obvious they were more decoration than anything else. And, like the main hall, there were cameras and TVs on the walls.

There were also three other people in the dining hall, two girls and a boy. The girls were talking, rather excitedly in fact, so Maria turned to the boy, not wanting to be rude.

The boy had even darker skin than Rosamie, with hazel eyes and black hair, which was cut to a buzzcut. He was completely clean shaven and even taller than Ren had been. He wore a white t-shirt under a red and white letterman jacket, which Maria could just read 'Atlanta Hawks' on, dark red jeans, black basketball shoes and white rimmed aviators in a pocket of his jacket. He also wore a silver plated watch, a pair of earbuds around his neck and white framed Oakley sunglasses.

"Hi." Maria smiled as she approached the boy. "My name is Maria Kikumoto, I'm the Ultimate Ballet Dancer. Can I ask your name?"

"Okay, introductions." The boy muttered in English of all things, before he looked up at Maria and spoke in slightly accented Japanese. "Well, I'm Jordan Franklin. I'm not fully open about it, but I'm the Ultimate Drag Artist. Just don't go too personal on the questions, okay? Great."

Jordan Franklin

Ultimate Drag Artist

"Oh, I see." Maria smiled, her eyes widening in surprise. "I've never heard of a talent like that, it sounds quite unique." Jordan looked away, coughing almost awkwardly into his fist. Feeling as if she needed to step carefully, the ballet dancer asked, "You aren't from Japan, are you? May I ask where you're from?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm from America, Atlanta, Georgia to be specific." Jordan answered, lifting his jacket to show it off. "You aren't from here, either are you?"

"No." Maria smiled, slipping into accented English. Admittedly, she still had a heavy accent, but she could speak and understand the language well enough. "I'm from Russia, though I am half-Japanese."

"Wow, that wasn't too bad." Jordan smiled, slipping into English himself before his brow furrowed and he consciously switched back to Japanese. "I don't know about you, but this place is creepy."

"I suppose so…hopefully this is just…an entrance ceremony?" Maria tried to smile, but it felt forced. Those red doors and thorns had her on edge.

"You don't really believe that." Jordan narrowed his eyes at her.

"That obvious?" Maria winced. Jordan snorted, but he smiled at her anyway.

"Still, gotta admire the aesthetic. And the price tag." The drag artist mused. "Can you imagine who could be able to afford something like this?"

"I couldn't." The ballet dancer shook her head. "Have you seen this whole place yet?"

"As much as I can." Jordan nodded, taking out his tablet and showing her his map. It was completely filled out. Curious, Maria took out her own tablet and opened the same app, revealing an incomplete map that seemed to track where she had already been.

"Well, that's creepy." Maria winced, causing Jordan to laugh a bit in agreement.

"You better keep exploring then. I'm going to go check my room again, see what's there." Jordan waved a bit.

"Alright, I'll see you around then, Jordan." Maria smiled, waving at him.

"Later." Jordan said in English before he left the dining hall.

That just left Maria with the two girls, who were still talking near the center of the room. Feeling as if she were interrupting, she cautiously approached the two, clearing her throat when she got closer.

"Oh, look! Another girl!" One of the two girls cried out as she turned towards Maria with wide sparkling eyes. She had light bubblegum pink hair, which was cut into a bob, and bright blue eyes that reminded Maria of Ren's. She wore a horizontally Breton striped top under a white suit jacket, a navy pleated skirt, white socks, matching white sneakers, a white beret, baby pink colored glasses, a white leather strapped watch and a white messenger bag with charms that Maria was pretty sure was Hello Kitty. "Fae and I were just talking about how amazing our talents would be together, and really, this place has the perfect aesthetic for us to work our magic with. Do you know the owners by any chance? Nobody else here seems to!"

"Uh…" Maria trailed off, her eyes widening as she tried to process all the words that just passed over her. She was beginning to think Japanese would never be easy… "Sorry, I don't. I just woke up here a little while ago. I'm Maria Kikumoto, the Ultimate Ballet Dancer."

"Oh, I'm sorry-" The second girl started to apologize.

"Well, hey there! I'm Satou Mike. Yeah, I might be that Mike you've heard about, but trust me, I'm as sweet as they say, promise." The first girl, Satou, smiled with a wink, pressing a finger into her cheek, which admittedly did give her a cute first impression.

…

Too bad Maria didn't know who she was at all.

"I'm sorry…I don't know who you are…may I ask your talent?" The ballet dancer hesitantly voiced.

"Wha…? You mean…you've never heard of 'Is it wrong for the Tachyon Knight Tasuku to want to save the world?'?Never seen a single episode?" Satou gaped before her face twisted into a rather sympathetic expression. "Oh you poor Sugar Plum Princess…did your parents not let you watch it?"

"Um…no. I, um, am not from Japan actually." Maria admitted, reaching up to nervously twist a strand of dark black hair around her finger. Considering she took after her father more than her mother in appearance, she didn't look as much of a foreigner as she could've.

But that didn't make admitting she was a foreigner any easier.

"Oh! Are you…possibly from Russia?" The still unnamed girl questioned, her quiet voice soothing Maria in a way she hadn't known she'd needed. But she appreciated it all the same and smiled at the girl.

"Yes, I am. How did you know?" She asked, curious.

"Well…if you hadn't heard of Satou's show, that means you were probably from either Russia or China." The girl explained, tugging at the cuffs at her wrist.

"It's all subjective, but Russia and China don't market my show." Satou nodded, cracking her knuckles as she spoke.

"I see. So you're…" Maria trailed off.

"The Ultimate Executive Producer, of course! This place must have a copy of my show somewhere, and I'm sure you'll love it!" Satou beamed as she performed a theatrical bow.

Satou Mike

Ultimate Executive Producer

"And this!" Satou declared as she straightened up and pulled the other girl around the shoulders so she leaned into the executive producer's side. "Is my brand new partner, Fae!"

"Satou!" The girl cried out in shock, only to start coughing soon afterwards.

"Are you okay?" Maria cried, worried as the girl straightened up, her breath still coming in short puffs.

"Don't mind me." The girl shook her head before another cough wracked her body. "Sorry I have, um…I'm just a little under the weather…you don't need to worry about me too much."

"Well, personally, I think you should tell us if you're not feeling well." Satou said, her brow furrowed in worry.

"I agree with Satou." Maria nodded in agreement, briefly glancing at the executive producer to make sure the usage of her name was alright, thankfully getting a sweet nod in return.

"Thank you, but really, I'm fine." The girl smiled, looking bashful. Now that Maria was really looking at her, she noticed her shoulder length, layered, wavy, light caramel brown hair, which was messy in the front and had two curly strands framing her heart shaped face, and round hazel eyes. She wore a navy blue knee length box pleated skirted dress, which was patterned with tiny white flowers and green leaves, and fitted with short, navy blue puff sleeves, a white ribbon belt around her waist, a white collar with curved cloud shaped ends around the neckline, gray socks and black Mary Janes with heels. She also wore a white bow cravat with a black nightingale brooch in the center around her neck, a bright pink and white flower crown with black leaves on top of her head, which had ribbon ties on each end, a dark blue tulle ruffle wrist cuff around her right wrist and a cute flower bracelet around her left wrist.

Honestly, in Maria's opinion, she was adorable.

"Oh right, I should introduce myself. Sorry, my name is Fuwari Motozawa, I'm the Ultimate Indie Filmmaker. I made that one animated short, 'Nesting Egg' if you're unsure, hehe." The girl, Fuwari, smiled sweetly.

Fuwari Motozawa

Ultimate Indie Filmmaker

"Oh, I did see that! Some of the younger ballet dancers mentioned seeing it on MeTube!" Maria smiled. "My papa was a big fan, he made me and my little sister watch it in Japanese as part of our lessons."

"Oh! Wow…thank you." Fuwari smiled, her cheeks tinted rosy with embarrassment.

"And this is why I said we should team up!" Satou cut in, excited, as she hugged Fuwari tightly. "A filmmaker like you and an executive producer like me? We'd take the world by storm!"

"I'd like that." Fuwari smiled, her eyes shining happily. "I think my team would really like you, Satou."

"Oh, stop it." Satou smiled humbly. "Now then, what do you say we look for some more great places to film here, eh, Fae?"

"But what about Maria?" Fuwari asked, turning her innocent eyes towards the ballet dancer.

"I was going to check out the kitchen next. You two have fun. I'll catch up with you later?" Maria offered.

"Totally! See you around, Sugar Plum Princess!" Satou grinned brightly.

"Bye, Maria!" Fuwari waved before she followed the executive producer out of the dining hall.

Maria took another moment to admire the beautiful dining room before she turned back towards the doors to the corridor and made her way to the kitchen next door. Considering this was a castle of some sort, she wasn't surprised the kitchen and dining room weren't connected, even though it seemed like a hassle in her own opinion.

When she opened the door to the kitchen, however, she gasped.

The room before her was sleek and modern, with only the best utensils she could remember seeing in her life. Had the castle been remodeled then? But why only this room?

"If you're impressed by this, you should see the rest of the place." A boy's voice, smooth and soothing to listen to, suddenly spoke right next to the ballet dancer.

Unfortunately, Maria was not in a position where she would be expecting to hear a sudden voice speak up, no matter how smooth it was.

"Waaah!" She cried out as she instinctively stumbled forward.

However, she never hit the ground.

Instead, strong, tanned arms wrapped around her waist and she found herself pulled back against a similarly muscular chest.

Turning her head to see just who was both her provoker and her rescuer.

Her blue eyes instantly met eyes that were the color of milk chocolate. The boy who held her also had shoulder length, shiny, wavy black hair and a mischievous smile. He wore a dark purple tank top under a fully unzipped red and white track jacket, white cargo pants, beat up dark purple running shoes, a gold wristwatch, a ruby ring on his right ring finger and a gold chain around his neck. He also had several gold piercings in his ears.

He continued to smile at her, as if he expected her to suddenly swoon.

Fat chance of that.

"And what do you think you're doing?" She demanded, raising a single eyebrow. It was an expression she often saw her mother wear.

The boy's smile, however, widened and he didn't look thrown off in the least.

"Hey there! Maria, is it? Nice to meet you, my name is Akihito Ban and I am the super-fast Ultimate Track and Field Star! You should race me sometime!" The boy, Akihito, declared brightly.

Akihito Ban

Ultimate Track and Field Star

"I don't remember giving you my name, Ban-kun." Maria quipped, just to be contradictory, pushing him back so she could stand on her own. As soon as she was free, she turned towards the track and field star with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

"Sorry, I just happened to hear your name mentioned in the courtyard before I came here." Akihito grinned, raising his hands up harmlessly. "But I have to say, you are pretty cute. Say, why don't we hang out sometime? I'd love the chance to get to know you better…" As he trailed off, his lashes lowered over his eyes in a move Maria was sure typically made the girls swoon. He even went the extra step, placing one arm on the preparation table behind her and leaning into her space.

"How about instead you learn some lessons in personal space?" Maria smiled sweetly before it fell and her eyes narrowed. Purposefully, she reached out to lay a single finger on Akihito's chest and pushed him back. "I don't appreciate people in my space without my permission, Ban-kun."

"Aww, and I thought we'd be such good friends!" Akihito exaggeratedly bemoaned, laying a hand on his forehead.

A hand…that was now adorned with a dark red bracelet. A familiar dark red bracelet, that wasn't a bracelet at all

"Wha-give that back right now!" The ballet dancer cried.

"Huh? Give what back?" Akihito played dumb. The nerve!

"My choker, give it back right now!" Maria demanded. Akihito looked from her neck to his wrist and back again, as if he couldn't believe it. "Akihito-kun!"

"Hey, you used my name!" Akihito beamed as he finally removed the choker and held it out to her, which Maria instantly snapped out of his grasp. "C'mon, don't be so mad! It's just an old habit, alright? Look, I gave it back!"

"Only after I used your first name." Maria grumbled, glaring at him. "My little sister gave me this before I left Russia!"

"Ah…I see." Akihito nodded, though he didn't look that remorseful even as he rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes never left Maria's. "My bad, Maria. But really, life is too short to spend it so boringly. C'mon, let's have fun!"

"With that kind of introduction, I'm surprised you aren't the Ultimate Thief." Maria snapped, crossing her arms before her eyes widened. "Wait, what did you mean by an old habit?"

"Heh, well, I am a pretty famous street rat, I'll have you know!" Akihito declared, almost proudly. "As much as you are a famous ballet dancer!"

"Yeah, cause both of those are things worthy of pride." Maria drawled sarcastically, which only caused the boy's grin to widen.

Before he could answer, however, the kitchen doors suddenly burst open, giving Maria an opening to escape as a girl walked in.

The girl had waist length, honey brown hair with bangs which were parted off center towards the right and gentle bluebell eyes. She wore a light blue dress with a light pink floral pattern and three quarter length sleeves that reached just below her knees, light blue ballet flats, a light pink flower hair clip on the right side of her bangs and a silver locket.

As soon as she entered, her eyes found the two others in the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just going to get water for everyone in the courtyard." The girl said. She gave off a rather refined aura and Maria relaxed as she left Akihito's aggravating side to meet this girl's.

"Wow, Sayuri, that sure is nice of you." Akihito grinned at her, stepping closer to the girl only for Maria's elbow to jab him in the stomach and stop his advance.

"Don't even think about it, you sneaky thief." She admonished, raising a challenging eyebrow.

"But Mariaaaaa, her necklace is pure silver! Also, I'm not a thief. I'm a kleptomaniac." Akihito grinned, throwing an arm around the ballet dancer's shoulders and pulling her close.

"There's a difference?" Maria deadpanned.

"Huge!" The track and field star insisted.

"Would you like some help with that water?" The ballet dancer changed the subject, turning back to the girl.

"Well, if you'd like to, I wouldn't protest the help." The girl smiled. "Oh, my name is Sayuri Hoshina. I hope that we can get along."

"It's nice to meet you, Sayuri. May I ask what your talent is?" Maria asked, curious.

"My mistake. I'm known as the Ultimate Singer. And what about yourself?" Sayuri smiled gently.

Sayuri Hoshina

Ultimate Singer

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Maria Kikumoto. I'm the Ultimate Ballet Dancer." Maria smiled.

"I thought I recognized you!" Sayuri beamed as she began to take out glasses and a couple of trays to carry them all, before heading towards the sink to fill them with water. "You're from the Russian Ballet Company, correct? My cousin, Ryosuke, and I were very excited when the first ballet was aired on TV to celebrate the reopening!"

"Ah, yes." Maria smiled sadly, remembering that day. "We were the first company to put on a ballet since the Tragedy ended, they wanted to let the whole world see it. To give them hope."

"It certainly gave me some hope, and I hope many others as well." Sayuri smiled.

"Thank you." Maria smiled, her cheeks tinted red with embarrassment.

"Wow, Maria, you really are famous!" Akihito grinned. "Of course, you are too, Sayuri."

"That's the nature of Ultimates, isn't it?" Sayuri smiled, rather humble. "I'm just doing what I love, after all. As are we all, I imagine. I'm simply a singer who got lucky."

"I think there was more luck then that." Akihito shrugged. "I mean, they even went to different countries to find Ultimates, and it's been five years since the Tragedy."

"Yeah…recovery is hard after all." Maria smiled weakly before she cleared her throat and picked up one of the two trays the singer had placed glasses of water on. "Now, shall we go meet the rest of our classmates?"

"Let's." Sayuri smiled, picking up her own tray and leading the way out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, let's go see the rest of this motley crew!" Akihito grinned, winking at Maria, to which she rolled her eyes. "Lots of treasures to find!"

"I'm not helping you, Akihito-kun." Maria deadpanned, causing the track and field star to laugh and the singer to giggle at the two's antics as the three made their way to the courtyard, and the rest of their classmates.

And there we are!

Surprise! This story is set in the main universe! Just to be clear, HNA is set five years post DR3, the end of the Tragedy, and these guys are the fifth class to enter Makoto's Hope's Peak. I have no idea how long it's been since DR1 or DR2, I cannot for the life of me find any kind of sensical timeline, so if anyone does know, please explain it to me so I don't mess up any ages or have people know info they shouldn't know for the age they would've been (such as Maria possibly watching DR1, or if she would've been too young to remember it. Unlikely considering the timeline I set up, but still).

So creators, if there are any specific Tragedy related events you want me to know about your OCs, please let me know. Also, if any personalities weren't correct, please let me know so I can nail these characters.

Next order of business, Free Time Events! So you all know this is my first DR SYOC, meaning I'm not sure what the precedent for FTEs are. This means I'm leaving what I do up to all of you! Would you rather I give FTEs to all surviving students (so 17 events in Chapter 1) or set up a poll so that only two students get FTEs per chapter, similar to the games? It's up to all of you what I do in the end!

That's it for business. What do you guys think of our cast so far? What relationships that I've shown are you excited to see flourish? I'm excited to see everyone's thoughts, since we finally hit the real first chapter of this story. I'll be taking the rest of the night off from writing, but who knows when I'll get back to writing the rest of the intros? I could quite possibly end up starting tomorrow, haha!

I hope you're all as excited as I am! Let me know what you think in a review! Bye for now!