Hello again everyone, I'm back! Apologies for the wait, but I just finished some school work, which means I finally had time (and the mental capacity) to write! So I'm back here at last!

First off, before I say anything else, I want to say thank you to Sakura Idol for making fan art of Maria, which is now the cover for this fic! It's so beautiful everyone, please go check out SakuraIdol on Deviant Art and give them lots of love, because they deserve it, they're really really talented! I've been wanting to scream about this art for days, so I'm very glad to finally tell you all about it!

Okay, moving on to this chapter! This chapter is on the shorter side again, but it has two Free Time Events plus some extra scenes! I really really like how this chapter came out, so I hope you guys do too!

Also, side note: I was listening to songs from Banana Fish when writing this chapter and I think they've been added to this story's playlist. Take that however you want, but I can say it's not just because I love Banana Fish despite how it broke my heart.

Okay, that's everything now. Enjoy!

When Tori entered the gallery, the first thing she did was gasp and rush forward towards the velvet ropes blocking her from the artwork, pushing past Yoshi and Maria without a care.

She was just about to climb over the ropes when a hand closed around her wrist, feeling more like a shackle then a human hand. Turning, the painter was startled to meet the completely masked face of a servant who she had not previously seen. Had they been there the whole time? She had no way to answer that.

What she could do, however, was make requests.

"I just want to inspect the art, please…" Tori said, her voice starting off strong with her passion for art only to fizzle out at the end.

The servant didn't say a word, only tilting their head, as if they were listening to something…or someone.

Then, after what felt like a small eternity of Tori just staring at the servant with her heart pounding in her throat, the shackle like grasp left her wrist and the servant gave a single nod. The motion was almost…robotic in its stiffness.

"Thank you." Tori bowed hurriedly before she rushed past the velvet ropes to inspect the painting.

The painting of Monokuma that had not been there the last time she'd entered this room only yesterday.

And that meant that, as the resident painter of this strange class and castle she had found herself in, Tori had to inspect this painting.

"Fuck this, I bet they're hiding some treasure or some kind of escape behind these things." Nat groaned behind Tori, briefly distracting her from her inspection.

Was that true? Had the servant attempted to stop her from approaching because there was something hidden behind the frames? But why would they then agree to her inspecting the painting at all? Did they or the mastermind think she wouldn't be able to tell if there was a hidden compartment or exit behind the art?

Tori's head spun frantically and she found herself questioning if she was right or if she should just let someone else have a look instead.

"Tori should be able to tell!" Arisu encouraged, her voice washing over Tori and bringing calm to her frantic mind.

It was something Tori couldn't even begin to understand, this effect the game host had on her. Most people like her and Michi aggravated Tori, who preferred the quiet and being alone. But with these people, with Arisu specifically, Tori felt…at peace, she supposed.

But that was strange and she didn't understand it, so she didn't focus on it.

Instead, she let Arisu's words settle in her mind and then returned to her work, examining every aspect of the painting before her that she could.

The gold frame…Monokuma dressed as a king standing on a throne…riches at his feet…a red, red rose in his free paw, held towards the sky…and the strokes of the painting itself…

"Okay…" Tori nodded before she stepped back and crossed over the velvet rope again. "I…don't think there's a secret passage behind these portraits."

"And why do you think that?" Yoshi questioned, his voice curious yet respectful, cutting off the clearly scathing comment Nat was preparing behind their lips, an irritated glare in their eyes as they eyed the paintings.

"The frames aren't thick enough." Tori explained. "The frame would need to be thicker in order to hide a door behind it, but these aren't so they can't be secret passages. But…these portraits are still odd. The strokes the paintbrush are…miniscule. Like they aren't even real or the artist was…more talented than me."

"But there was no paint here yesterday." Maria pointed out, to which Tori nodded in agreement. "So either the white in the other portraits is just a sheet or someone painted overnight."

"But the paint is completely dry, it wouldn't be this perfect if it was done last night." Tori protested.

"You can't be suggesting there's another explanation." Chiasa's eyes were narrow and disbelieving.

"Like…m-magic?" Chia gasped, her eyes wide in opposition to the huntress.

"But magic…doesn't exist…" Robin quietly protested, looking small near the wall.

"Never say never, eh, Tori?" Akihito grinned where he leaned against Maria, who looked as if she were acting as a leash to keep his fingers from relieving anything else from the class.

"I-I don't know…it just doesn't make sense." Tori looked away, feeling shyness burn in her chest again.

"Well, I think it's pretty amazing that you can tell us so much just by looking at the portrait." Ren smiled, stepping closer to lay a hand on Tori's shoulder. She flinched in surprise for the briefest moment before she forced herself to relax and accept the touch.

"Yes! It was a spectacular move!" Arisu beamed as she jumped into Tori's line of sight, her hands enthusiastically grasping Tori's own.

The painter felt her cheeks burn and she looked down, hoping her hair would hide the obvious pink her pale skin gave away.

"You have certainly provided more information then we previously had. Thank you, Tori." Yoshi bowed gratefully before he winced, reaching up to rub his forehead.

"A-are you okay?" Fuwari questioned, her eyes big with worry.

"Just a headache, I will be fine." The jeweler shook off her concern.

"So does this mean the rest of the paintings are of us?" Michi asked, his eyes wide with excitement. "I wanna see mine! I hope it has a dolphin!"

"I wouldn't…" Nima said quietly.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we want to see portraits of ourselves?" Satou scoffed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and placed that same hand on a cocked out hip.

"Think about what it means and who's holding us captive here." Nima stated.

"So they fill in when we bite the fucking dust, is that it?" Hibiki raised an eyebrow, reaching up to adjust his earpiece as he turned to face the acoustic engineer, who only shrugged in response.

"Then we don't need to worry, because nobody is going to kill." Sayuri insisted.

"In any case, that is the extent of our business here." Yoshi announced, drawing the entire room's attention. "I would also like to institute new rules as your leader, in order to prevent any future deaths. I have already mentioned my idea for all of us to meet every morning at breakfast. Along with this, I would like to add a rule that states none of us leave our rooms once nighttime begins. Does anyone object to these addendums to the rules?"

Not a single person protested, though it was clear to Tori's eyes that some of them looked put off. Nat, specifically, looked annoyed, but remained quiet where they stood beside the silent, yet curious looking Rosamie.

"Excellent. Then I would like to say our business for the day is complete, everyone is free to spend their time however they wish." Yoshi nodded before he turned and left the gallery, rubbing at his forehead all the while.

"I'm a bit worried about him…" Jordan trailed off.

"It's alright." Nima shook his head, reaching out as if to hold the drag artist back from following the jeweler before his arm dropped halfway there. Jordan, however, stopped and looked back curiously.

"Did Yoshi get headaches often before?" He questioned.

Nima looked away, clearly unable to answer. But even so, it was obvious that he wasn't worried about Yoshi's headache in the least bit.

Tori wasn't sure if that was good or not…

But her attention was dragged away by Arisu, who pulled at her hands.

"C'mon, Tori! Let's go play another game now that we have some free time! Oh! Or you could paint! Who knows! Let's get going!" The game host beamed.

"O-okay…" Tori stuttered, but she followed Arisu's lead regardless and ignoring everyone else they left behind. And under her breast, her heart fluttered.

When everyone dispersed to do their own thing, Maria found herself simply…heading back to her room. And as soon as she closed the door, she collapsed against it, her mind whirling with all the possibilities of just what was going on here.

There was…a lot. And they hadn't even been given the first motive yet.

But it was coming, Maria knew it was. There hadn't been a killing game organized by Monokuma without a motive and she doubted there ever would be.

The only question remaining is what would it be and she had no answer to that, no more than she knew who the mastermind was and just why they were doing this.

But it was as these thoughts settled in her mind that Maria realized something.

Their group had no plans for the rest of the day, leaving them all with free time until nighttime.

The ballet dancer barely suppressed a groan. She hated free time, hated it. She was a dancer and dancers never sat still.

Besides…staying still, dancing around something she didn't want to see…that only led to tragedy. She couldn't go through that again. Not again.

So Maria took in a deep, deep breath and left her room behind, determined to find someone to spend time with, hopefully productively.

"Ah, Maria!"

The ballet dancer startled as she turned only to find Ren walking towards her, giving her a sense of déjà vu.

"Hello, Ren." Maria smiled. "Are you busy right now?"

"Not at all. In fact, I was wondering if you would like to spend some time together? I did offer to help you with your Japanese, after all." Ren winked at her flirtatiously.

"Oh, yes, I'd like that. Thank you." Maria nodded in agreement before she followed behind Ren to find a place to work on her language.

They ended up sitting in the courtyard under the sun and going over all sorts of phrases in Japanese and their Russian equivalents. It was fun and Ren was a really good teacher, easily able to match Maria's own father, who had taught her the language originally.

"You're really good at this." Maria commented when they took a break.

"Thanks, you're not too bad for a foreigner." Ren smiled. "Your dad is Japanese, yes? Is he the one who taught you?"

"Yes, he did." Maria confirmed. "Papa and Mama were very firm in making sure my sister and I knew both of our cultures."

"How interesting." The matchmaker mused. "I think I'm starting to get a clearer picture about you, then."

"Me?" The ballet dancer blinked.

"Yes, to matchmake you, of course. If you don't mind, that is." Ren's smile softened as he subtly asked for her permission.

"You're free to try." Maria chuckled. "But I'm going to warn you, I'm pretty difficult to pair, considering I'm demisexual."

"Ah, I knew it!" Ren grinned. "Considering your reactions to both mine and Akihito's flirting, I knew you were probably demi, if not ace. How perfect, our class really is so varied!"

"You're also…?"

"I'm pansexual." The matchmaker winked. "So I can happily kiss anyone, milady."

"You're so weird." Maria couldn't stop herself from laughing, causing Ren to smile. "How long have you been doing this, anyway?"

"Well…that's a long story. I started when I was a kid, I was just good at predicting who my classmates would end up dating and made a career out of it." Ren shrugged carefreely, but…the motion felt practiced to Maria's eyes.

How strange…

"Well, then I look forward to any romantic entanglements you imagine for our class." Maria said aloud, carefully enunciating the more difficult words so she used the correct characters.

Ren smiled at her in encouragement.

"Then why don't you start by telling me about your ideal date, Milady?" He asked.

"Not much to tell, I've only dated one person." She shrugged. "My best friend, Dima, asked me out while we were doing The Nutcracker years ago. It didn't work out, but they're still my best friend. Our first date, we went dancing and it was not ballet."

"Ooooh, fascinating." Ren's eyes sparkled. "So is going out dancing your ideal first date?"

"Maybe, I don't really think about dating much." Maria shrugged again. "I just wanted to spend time with Dima and didn't mind kissing them. They're my childhood best friend, we practically grew up together, but it didn't feel like they were my sibling. Not after I was there for them when they came out as nonbinary or they were there for me when…some stuff happened." She turned away, avoiding the matchmaker's gaze as the memories came back like they always did, an ever present ghost of guilt, regret and fear. So much fear. She pushed them back. "Anyways, we started dating a bit after the Tragedy ended, but called it off a half a year ago. We're still close, I love Dima after all, just not that way."

"That's sweet, I'm glad you two are still such close friends." Ren smiled. "Well, I can tell one of the things you like is dancing, what else do you like? And your dislikes too, of course, if you don't mind."

"Quite interested in this, aren't you?" Maria teased, causing Ren to shrug almost sheepishly. "Well, I like books, which isn't too unique. I also like these sweets my mama makes, family recipes."

"Ooh, I see." The matchmaker cooed.

"Do you like sweets?" The ballet dancer asked, curious.

"Now, now, we're here to matchmake you, dear Maria." Ren shook his head. "Can I ask about your dislikes then?"

"Damn, you're into this." Maria whispered under her breath, feeling her Japanese slide into Russian against her tongue. "I definitely don't like the quiet, free time at all, or people tricking me. You still want to keep going, lover boy?" She raised a teasing eyebrow, just to see what he said.

"I see. I think I'm starting to get a better picture of you now, Maria." Ren mused.

"I think I could say the same about you." The ballet dancer agreed. She narrowed her eyes, however, when she spoke up next. "Though don't think I didn't notice you dodging my personal questions, Matchmaker-san."

"I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about." The matchmaker blinked innocently, before he blinked down at his watch. "Ah, my apologies, I promised Jordan I'd go over makeup techniques with him. Do you still need any help from me?"

"I don't want to hold you up. I'll see you later, okay?" Maria smiled. Ren smiled in agreement before he stood from the fountain they sat on and ran back towards the castle to meet up with the drag artist, leaving the ballet dancer behind to ponder their encounter.

Ren was good at masking his feelings, but he wasn't perfect. His tells were small, but they were there. There was a lot more to his matchmaking career than conveniently figuring out he was good at it through matching his classmates.

…

And Maria had to admit, she was curious as to who Ren would match her with.

…but now she was left with free time again and goddammit, she could not sit here by herself.

With a sigh, Maria pushed herself to her feet and, on a whim, headed towards the gallery.

Once inside, she was surprised to find Rosamie standing by herself, staring up at the blank portraits hanging beside the Monokuma one.

"Rosamie? You're by yourself?" Maria called out, curious. Ever since the ball, she'd rarely seen the midwife separated from Nat's side, despite Rosamie's reticent personality and Nat's more volatile personality.

"Nat is off exploring and wished to be left alone. I agreed to their request." Rosamie stated simply before once again falling silent as she gazed silently at Maria.

"Oh, I see…" The ballet dancer trailed off, feeling a bit awkward, but really, really not wanting to be left alone. "Do…you want to talk for a bit?"

"…I am not opposed, if you do not mind my speaking my mind." The midwife stated.

Which…just threw Maria off again. What did she want to say?

…

Well, in for a ruble…

"Sure, of course." Maria smiled slightly.

"It's simply that observing this portrait has reminded me of the nature of knowledge and how we know the world around us truly exists." Rosamie mused aloud. "Could it be that Locke was correct in his theory of empiricism, in that everything we know is gained through our experiences with our senses? Or perhaps Descartes is correct and what we know is based entirely on the fact that we think of it? In that case, it's possible that everything we believe we know is actually a simulation, in that nothing is truly real at all."

It was…

It was a lot.

Maria couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around what Rosamie was getting at, it was just so…much bigger than anything she had ever considered before.

And yet…

"I honestly don't know." Maria shrugged helplessly. "I mean, in a game like this, who can even say if we're even in reality anymore? But…I don't think this is something any of us would just imagine. So maybe…the answer is in the middle?"

"The middle…what an intriguing supposition you've made, Maria." Rosamie hummed, her eyes sparkling with intrigue. "You're similar to Nat in that way. Giving philosophical suggestions I could never begin to consider."

"I'll take that as a compliment." The ballet dancer chuckled. "I've been meaning to ask, do you always think in such big concepts?"

"Indeed I do." Rosamie nodded. "The bigger picture of the world and its ideas fascinates me, it always has. It's rather off-putting for my peers, but I do not mind."

"That sounds lonely. I suppose I can relate, being a foreigner in a foreign country." Maria mused.

"I believe I have encountered similar treatment since I immigrated here as a child." The midwife stated without a trace of emotion.

"You mentioned that, yes, I remember." The ballet dancer nodded. "I can't imagine what that must've been like, growing up in a country you weren't born in. I think I'm as impressed by your courage as I am by my papa's."

"You flatter me, Maria." For the briefest moment, it almost looked like Rosamie was going to smile.

Almost.

And Maria found herself relaxing as the two of them engaged in further philosophical conversation, finding the topic oddly stimulating for how rare she visited it.

It was almost nighttime when a bell rang and Maria instinctively turned towards the nearest TV in her room, scowling as the screen began to turn on and Monokuma appeared, sitting on a throne, dressed in his kingly attire with a scepter in one hand and a beautiful gold goblet with rubies lining the sides.

She wanted to smash that goblet on principle along.

"Hear ye! Hear ye!" Monokuma declared. "Before we have the nighttime announcement, I would like all members of the court to gather in the ballroom for a special declaration! Please arrive promptly and without delay! Puhuhuhu!"

The screen turned off and Maria growled under her breath.

But even still, she made her way to the ballroom, silently, feeling as if she were going to explode the moment she laid her eyes on that goddamn bear.

The only consolation to being the last one to walk in the ballroom was that she wouldn't have to wait long at all.

"D-do you think this is…" Robin trailed off nervously, his eyes darting around and his hands trembling in fear.

"It's most definitely the motive." Chiasa stated, her words like an arrow shot from her bow.

The more quiet members of their class flinched in fear. Maria was trembling, but from fear or anger, she had no idea.

"Whatever this motive shall be, we must be strong." Yoshi stated firmly, looking much better than he had earlier that day. "We will not give into the mastermind's schemes, we will not kill. We must present a united front if we are to all escape together." He stood in firm opposition to the fear Chiasa's words had laid across them all and the huntress eyed him.

"You're really good at encouraging us, Yoshi…" Fuwari complimented quietly.

"It was nothing a leader should be unable to do. It is my duty to make sure all of you stay safe. That includes physically, of course." The jeweler nodded, letting the smallest smile cross his lips.

"And yet we're here…" Nima sighed from where he stood by himself, his voice quiet. Sayuri must've also heard him, because Maria could see her glancing at the acoustic engineer before she shared a concerned look with Maria herself. All the ballet dancer could do was shrug.

That was the moment the trumpets blared and suddenly, when Maria turned towards the doors, there were a pair of servants lifting horns up-and when had they shown up there?-before the doors opened and Monokuma marched in and claimed the throne for himself.

"Good evening, my lovely court!" Monokuma trilled as he greeted them. "It is finally time for the true beginning you have all been waiting for! I have come to decree the first motive of the game!"

"Oh, our first motive! Maybe I could borrow it!" Akihito grinned, winking at Maria as he did so. There was something about him though…he looked almost scared. But of course, who wouldn't be scared in this game?

"How fascinating! I wonder what it'll be!" Satou gasped, her eyes wide, yet the motion was obviously not genuine in Maria's eyes.

"Your presentation as a game host is lacking." Arisu grumbled in contrast, her eyes narrow and angry.

"No matter what you do, we ain't doing shit for you, you fucking Build-A-Bear Reject." Hibiki scowled darkly.

"Well, too bad everyone, because here we go!" Monokuma howled as he waved his scepter in an arc. "King Monokuma is proud to present the very first motive of the Fairy Tale Killing Game!"

For a moment, everything was silent and it seemed as if nothing had happened.

Then a voice broke the silence.

"Ugh, geez, you're a worse host than I thought. Turning off the lights? Really? So lame."

Slowly, everyone turned to look at Arisu.

"A-Ari?" Tori stuttered, her eyes wide as she stared at the game host. "W-what are you t-talking about?"

"The lights? They're off?" Arisu pointed out, as if it were obvious and she turned to face Tori.

The lights were not off.

And Arisu was turned so Tori saw her profile, staring at Ren instead.

"No…" Maria whispered, her eyes wide.

"You can't be serious…" Jordan added, his words slurring in his shock and his Japanese less precise.

"Doc!" Hibiki shouted as he ran over.

"Yes, I'm coming." Rosamie confirmed, following at a more sedate pace, her face seemingly curious.

"Fuck no…this shit isn't possible…" Nat's features were twisted, as if they had no idea how to react.

"W-what happened to A-Ari?" Chia stuttered as she gracefully stumbled back towards Robin, who instinctively stepped forward to catch her elbow.

"Is Ari gonna be okay? Does she need a friend to cuddle with? Dolphins are the best cuddle partners, I can go get one right now!" Michi moved to run out, only to be caught by Chiasa, who shook her head at him silently. Thankfully, he listened and stepped beside the huntress silently.

"What the fucking hell did you do?!" Hibiki shouted as he whirled on Monokuma.

"Hibiki, I don't think yelling will help Arisu right now." Ren tried to hold the dispatcher back.

"Wait…what's going on…?" Arisu asked, fear entering her voice for the first time since she'd claimed the lights had been turned off.

Tori was trembling violently at her side, her skin so pale she looked like a ghost. Rosamie was humming in curiosity as she examined the game host's eyes.

"Oh, did I not mention?" Monokuma laughed. "It looks like reality has started creeping into our fairy tale world, how tragic. And the only way to stop the merge, someone has to die. And for every day nobody dies, another part of reality shall enter our fairy tale."

Just then, the bell for nighttime rang and Robin fell to his knees, gasping in undeniable pain.

"Robin!" Chia gasped as she fell to her knees beside him. Maria was running before she even thought of it.

"What happened?!" She cried, kneeling beside the fire dancer and glaciologist. Her heart was pounding, fear racing through her veins.

"My…my gloves…" Robin gasped.

"You mean these?" Akihito questioned, raising his hands, revealing he had, somehow, stolen the gloves off Robin's hands. His voice, however, was flat and concerned.

"Akihito-kun, now is not the-!" Maria started to yell only to hear Chia scream and she whipped her head around and laid her eyes on Robin's hands.

They were scarred, horribly, horribly scarred, as if he had placed them over a fire and left them there to specifically burn.

It was a horrific sight.

"Oh, did I forget to mention? Reality is so much more despairing than our world of fairy tales." Monokuma beamed at them all. "Puhuhu…puhuhuhuhu~!"

"You…monster…!" Maria snarled, glaring up at Monokuma an instant before a horrible, splitting headache erupted behind her skull and she fell to the ground with a gasp.

"Ma…ch…! Hol…on…! No…!"

The unfamiliar voice rang through her mind, choppy and filled with static, a single instance before her world was nothing, nothing except for the blissful darkness of sleep.

Then nothing.

...

:)

Lol, okay, that's the chapter, yep! Was anyone surprised? I had a lot of fun once I figured out how I wanted that last scene to go, and it all just flowed from there. Hopefully everyone is still in character, seriously if anyone feels out of character, please let me know so I can correct my portrayal!

Also, fun fact, rubles are the currency of Russia, so I just changed the expression 'in for a penny' to 'in for a ruble'. Hopefully that made sense.

And I hope you all like my first motive! Any guesses as to who else will be seeing reality merging with the fairy tale? Feel free to guess away, I love seeing you guys write your thoughts out! Even if that does mean all 18 of my characters look sus by the end, haha!

Once again, please go give SakuraIdol the love they deserve, they did a fantastic job! And that's it for now! The next chapter will have the final two FTEs and probably a group event? I'm working on it, so we'll see what I come up with! I'll see you all again when I can and I hope you enjoyed! Bye for now!