Hello everyone! It's been a while, sorry for taking so long! Just couldn't find the time to write, plus I needed a bit to iron out this chapter's ideas more. But! It's done, at last, and I'm proud!

Side note, I also have permission to tell you all that SakuraIdol created more fan art, this time of Ren! I'm very excited to share this all with you, at last, because I think he looks great! Thank you again, SakuraIdol, you're really talented and I'm honored you want to do art for this little story of mine!

Now, this chapter! It's longer than usual, the longest one yet, but I had a lot of ground to cover. We've got two more FTEs this time (and a reference to the one FTE that I could not do since we had a five way tie for the FTEs this time) and a group activity! There's also a lot of dialogue I'm proud of in this chapter, courtesy of my friend Amy47101 helping me out with it!

Also lots of new songs on my writing playlist! Including Skillet songs, This Is War, like that, if you guys are at all interested in what I'm thinking of when I'm writing this fic.

Not much else to say...enjoy!

When Maria came to, it felt as if static was fading from her ears and she barely suppressed a sigh as the ceiling of her slowly becoming familiar room greeted her.

"Oh! You're awake!" Sayuri gasped in relief, drawing Maria's eyes from the ceiling to the singer sitting beside her. "Thank goodness, I was getting worried."

"You're too much of a fucking worry wort, Cinder." Hibiki suddenly came into view, his scowl something fierce. Even so, his touch was gentle as he reached out and took Maria's wrist in his grasp, laying two fingers against her pulse point.

"It's not my fault that I thought Monokuma would be lying!" Sayuri protested, a furrow developing between her eyebrows as she glared at the dispatcher.

"The fucking Build-a-Bear Reject ain't the type to lie about bullshit like this." Hibiki shook his head. "I think that first sadistic as hell game proves that. Your pulse is solid, by the way, Snow."

"Thanks…what happened?" Maria questioned as she slowly pushed herself up, Sayuri reaching out to help her do so.

"Well…" Sayuri trailed off with a wince before she began to explain.

"Maria!" Sayuri screamed as she watched the ballet dancer collapse on the floor, Robin and Chia staring at her in shock.

Before she knew what she was doing, the singer was running and kneeling at the ballet dancer's side, supporting her head carefully.

"You better start explaining how you've done this!" Yoshi demanded, glaring at the bear.

"It's a curse, Oedipus Rex! Everyone is cursed!" Monokuma declared, quite proudly. "With each day a murder isn't committed, two others will fall victim to the curse! When someone dies, your curse will be broken! Didn't I just mention that? Geez, for being Oedipus Rex, you sure aren't very good at listening! Puhuhu!"

"What the hell do you mean 'two'?" Nat demanded, their eyes blazing. "Three people were affected just now!"

"Oh, that. Yeah. Snow White wasn't supposed to faint like that." Monokuma mused. "Beary interesting that she should fall to sleep now of all times…"

"So you're…you're saying she'll wake up, Master Monokuma?" Chia asked. She was still near Robin, supporting his hands as the two still knelt at Maria's side.

"Well…here's hoping. This story would be no fun if our Snow White fell into her eternal sleep now." The bear shook his head. "Especially with her prince unaware."

"You're a real scum bag, you know that?" Jordan glared, trembling with the force of his anger.

"Puhuhuhu! Why, thank you, Sir Dinadon! Now, it is officially nighttime and time for me to sleep! Rest well, my Court of Despair!" Monokuma laughed as he hopped down from the throne and marched out like the king he assumed himself to be.

"What do we do now…?" Tori whispered, her voice shaking. She was refusing to look at Arisu, when Sayuri glanced over at her.

"We need to take care of Arisu, Robin and Maria, they are our priority." Yoshi designated, returning to the leader of the group he was easily. "If the rest of you are willing, here's what we can do…"

"You set up a rotation schedule?" Maria repeated, her eyebrows raising in surprise.

"That was the plan at least…" Sayuri trailed off, a rather sheepish expression forming on her gentle features.

"Yeah, until everything got all fucked up." Hibiki sighed in an exaggerated fashion. He honestly looked like he was three seconds away from falling asleep and yet too awake at the same time.

"How?" The ballet dancer asked. "I mean, Yoshi's pretty organized, it shouldn't have been too hard."

"Well…" The singer trailed off.

"Don't even get started, Shortstack." The dispatcher glared, crossing his arms. "First Braids refused to leave Cards' side, which Cards fucking encouraged. Then Jungle Gym got it into his head that he should keep the two of them company and they've been apparently playing with cards and stuffed fucking dolphins all night. Then Bubblegum decided we should all binge watch some goddamn anime she made that she found a copy of somehow until Sweater Vest noped the fuck out with Doc and never came back. And let's not forget fucking Wise Guy switching places with Gloomy and running out like hell was fucking at his heels."

"Uh…"

"Yeah…" Sayuri smiled with a sheepish shrug. "I think Irusu is hiding in his room again, Jordan has been trying to talk to him when he isn't on rotation. Yoshi's also been a bit put off by his schedule not working out. But most everyone else has been doing really well!"

"We're like herding a bunch of fucking cats, it ain't ever gonna work, Cinder." Hibiki scoffed, reaching up to fiddle with his earpiece.

"How positive of you." Maria drawled sarcastically as she swung her legs to the side of her bed. "I'm guessing it's around morning then?"

"You just missed the morning announcement." Sayuri confirmed, before she stood up and moved out of the way so she could support Maria over to the wardrobe, with Hibiki watching the two of them through narrowed, tired eyes. "Are you up to going to breakfast then? The two of us could probably bring you something if you're not up to it."

"No, I'm fine, Sayuri. I promise." Maria tried to smile as she pulled out a clean replica of her uniform. "Besides, I'd rather not spend more time in this room then I absolutely have to."

"You and me both, Snow." Hibiki snorted. "You ever slept in the middle of a fucking duck pond? Horrible."

"Oh dear, that does sound awful." Sayuri gasped, turning towards the dispatcher with wide, bluebell eyes. "Are you able to sleep at night then?"

"Enough. Dispatchers work odd hours, so I'm used to being up until fuck o'clock in the morning." Hibiki shrugged.

"I think my sister would kill me if I came home that late and woke her." Maria winced.

"Try waking a cat." Hibiki snorted.

"Oh, you have a cat? I have a dog!" Sayuri's eyes started sparkling before she abruptly turned towards Maria and winced. "Oh, I'm so sorry, we're keeping you from changing! We'll just be outside and walk you to breakfast when you're done."

"You don't have to." Maria shook her head. "I don't want you two to be yelled at for being late just for me."

"It's no trouble, we're friends after all." Sayuri smiled before she reached out and gently squeezed Maria's hand. The touch was so soft and reassuring that Maria almost wanted to sob.

Someone like Sayuri didn't deserve to be in this terrible game, not like Maria did.

"Just don't take ten years, Shortstack, or Chief may die from the stress." Hibiki smirked, which left Maria swallowing back her instinctive tears and nodding.

"Right."

With one more smile from the singer, Maria was left to change in peace and prepare herself for another day in this special brand of hell.

Michi was practically vibrating in the dining room as he told Arisu all about his home, describing the beach he lived on in as much detail as he possibly could so that the game host could imagine it, even if she could never see it.

As soon as he finished his story, Arisu launched into a story of her own, describing a game that she and her caretaker, Wakana, had created when the two of them had been left alone while her parents were working. She used the same amount of detail that Michi used, which left him vibrating even more in excitement.

"That sounds so fun, Ari-chan! I think my nee-chans and Sokudo would really like that game! I'd love to learn it so we can all play!" Michi beamed.

"I'd be really happy to teach you, Player Michi-chan!" Arisu grinned, her cloudy eyes lighting up despite not actually seeing Michi at all. "Do you want to play too, Tori? Huh? Huh?"

"You…want me to play?" Tori asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Of course! Tori-chan's our friend too, we all have to play together!" Michi insisted, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout.

"But-" Tori started to say.

"Tori-chaaaaaaaaan! Promise you'll play with us! Please! We just want to spend all day with you like we did last night! Wasn't it fun? It was fun, right, Ari-chan?" Michi looked from one girl to the other.

"I had fun, your games are fun to mix with mine, Michi-chan." Arisu smiled before she reached out towards Tori, who was on her right and in front of Michi. Her aim was a bit off, but Michi noticed that the painter didn't move to grasp her hand, only bit her lip as she stared down at it.

So Michi gently reached out and pushed Arisu's hand further along the table until she touched Tori's. The game host's shoulders seemed to relax and Michi felt himself perk up.

He did good!

He really liked Tori and Arisu, along with everyone else in this strange, horrible, but very cool castle. Arisu had some of the best games he'd ever played and he couldn't wait to share them with Sokudo, Shizuka-neechan and Natsumi-neechan. And Tori was really fun when she played too, even if she was quiet.

Everyone else was also really nice, especially Hibiki and Chiasa. Michi loved spending time with them, they listened to him talk about Sokudo and all his other fish friends as much as he wanted to talk about them! And when he asked them about their talents, they were really nice and told him a lot of stories too!

Speaking of, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the dining room doors opened and Hibiki walked in, alongside Sayuri and Maria.

"Hibiki-chan!" Michi beamed as he shot up and ran over to his closest friend. As soon as he was close enough, the marine biologist grabbed Hibiki in a hug, using his height to his advantage to wrap around the dispatcher as tightly as he could. Not even Sokudo, for all his speed, could escape Michi's hugs!

"Holy shit, Dolphins, chill! I wasn't gone for that long!" Hibiki tried to sound surly, but he still wrapped his arms around the marine biologist to make sure he didn't fall.

Honestly, Hibiki was such a softy!

"Still, you weren't here to play games with us, but now you can!" Michi grinned as he pulled back and stared down into Hibiki's eyes.

"Takemichi, we have a meeting to go over first." Yoshi cut in, causing Michi to pout even as Hibiki rolled his eyes and dragged him back over to his seat across from Tori and Arisu. "Now then, first, it is good to see you awake, Maria."

"Thank you, I'm sorry for worrying you." Maria winced.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault!" Fuwari insisted with a nice smile.

"Thought you'd fallen into your eternal sleep for a second there." Nat snorted derisively.

"Her vital signs were consistent and within normal range, it was highly unlikely she'd die." Rosamie shook her head.

"In any case!" Yoshi cleared his throat, drawing attention back to him. He was really good at talking, if you asked Michi, but he was also very serious. Maybe too serious. Could a dolphin help cheer him up? Maybe Michi would bring him to his Talent Room later… "We now just need Irusu to start our meeting. Where is he?"

"He's refusing to come out of his room." Jordan sighed. "I tried everything, but he wouldn't come out like Nima did. So I had to ask Chiasa."

"Chiasa?" Maria repeated, looking surprised a second before the dining room doors burst open and Michi let out a cheer as Chiasa marched in, pulling a screaming Irusu behind her.

"Unhand me this instant, you brute! I refuse to eat with slobs who have no concept of breakfast etiquette!" The acoustics engineer shrieked, practically foaming at the mouth until Chiasa finally released him by dumping him in a chair.

"You will stay here until we are done. Understood?" The huntress demanded.

Irusu cowered under her glare, even as he attempted to glare back at her in return.

"Go Chiasa-chan!" Michi cheered, trying to break the tense atmosphere by encouraging his friend.

It seemed to work, as everyone looked at him instead.

Yoshi cleared his throat again.

"In any case, now that we are all here, we should begin." The jeweler stated.

"You mean…about the motive?" Chia questioned, her eyes darting from Yoshi to the two who had already been effected by the motive, Arisu and Robin. While Arisu's effect was obvious, Robin was wearing his gloves again and moving his hands very slowly. Hibiki had said it was because his hands hurt to move, so Michi had tried to be careful when he had briefly been on rotation with Robin, before he joined Tori and Arisu permanently. Even now, Robin was moving slowly and looked a little in pain.

Michi's heart hurt, he didn't want Robin or Arisu to be hurt. He didn't want anyone to be hurt.

"That is correct, Chia. We have already seen how this motive can physically disable us." Yoshi nodded in confirmation.

"You can't mean you think we're all physically disabled in reality, can you?" Ren's brow furrowed.

"We can't rule the possibility out." The jeweler said.

"Oh please, like we'd all be disabled. I certainly doubt I am." Nat scoffed, crossing their arms with a glare in Yoshi's direction, clearly offended by the insinuation.

"But how would you know otherwise, Nat?" Maria pointed out. "Our memories are missing, we have no idea what has happened in the past however many years it's been. It could've been anything."

"All of this is utter insanity! I refuse to be a part of any more of this drivel!" Irusu screeched, shooting up to his feet. He hadn't even touched the breakfast set out before him.

"Sit down." Chiasa stated. Her voice was quiet and her eyes were narrow, but Irusu sat down again almost instantly, probably scared the huntress would grab him again.

Michi giggled, earning himself a glare.

"You keep quiet, you inelegant piece of slob!" The acoustic engineer snapped, his almost black eyes looking like the bottom most depths of the ocean, contrasting greatly with his reddened face.

Michi's lips parted in a gasp and he could feel the beginnings of tears burning in the back of his eyes.

"Now, Irusu, there's no need to be rude!" Akihito scolded as he slammed his hand on the table, dramatically drawing all eyes to him.

Michi's eyes widened as he stared at the track and field star.

"You're sparkling like sea glass!" He cried out, his tears vanishing in an instance.

And he was. Akihito was wearing all sorts of jewelry that he previously hadn't been and it caught the light just right, making him as beautiful as the sea glass that he always gave his mom and sisters for their birthdays, with his diving and swimming instructors help.

And Michi didn't even mind that Akihito had somehow swiped his own shell necklace to do so! It was just so pretty, sparkling right next to Tori's sun necklace. There were also two clips in Akihito's hair, both white and Michi was pretty sure they were Irusu's white clip and Maria's chrysanthemum clip. A phoenix shaped brooch was clipped to the front of his shirt, with a gold pocket watch hanging near it as the chain rested across his shoulders. White fingerless gloves covered Akihito's hands, somehow not disturbing the ruby ring he still wore on his right ring finger.

For a moment, all was silent as everyone stared at the track and field star blatantly flaunting his thefts right before them all.

Then Irusu broke it.

"You disgusting thief! Return my hair clip to me at once!" He demanded, already reaching to snatch the clip back himself.

Michi just giggled as the others began to take back their own jewelry, some looking more put out than others, while he waited for his turn. Akihito winked cheekily at him as he returned the shell necklace, the same moment he passed Tori her own necklace.

"Stop taking my necklace." Tori muttered angrily under her breath as she fixed her sun necklace around her neck again.

"You might want to get that chain replaced, Tori. The clip's looking pretty old." Akihito commented as he ran a hand through his hair.

"You're not one to talk when you keep stealing our stuff, Akihito-kun." Maria glared at the thief.

"I really don't mean to do it! I just have an appreciation of jewels!" The track and field star held up his hands innocently.

"Oh…thank you." Chia blushed lightly as she laid a hand against her returned brooch.

"That does not mean you should continue to steal our items." Yoshi huffed as he returned his pocket watch to where it belonged in his pocket. "I'd inform Police Commissioner Mikami of your indiscretions were we in Tokyo, but as we are not, it can't be helped."

"You'd be giving him a death sentence with that man." Hibiki muttered darkly under his breath, drawing Michi's eyes. His friend was glaring down at the table with his fists clenched tightly.

"Hibiki-chan…?" Michi whispered, trying not to draw any more attention to his friend than he already had.

Hibiki briefly met Michi's eyes, before he looked back down with a glare.

"None of your fucking business, Jungle Gym." He muttered and Michi's heart ached at the change in nickname. Sure, he'd mostly been called 'Jungle Gym' by Hibiki since they woke up here, but…being called 'Dolphins' earlier had made Michi feel warm all over. Like Hibiki was letting him closer than others by personalizing his nickname. But now…now he was back to being 'Jungle Gym' and it felt like a wall had slammed into place.

"Hey!" Arisu's voice cheerily broke the otherwise aimless chatter that had filled the dining room. "I think that we need to show Monokuma that he can't force us to kill by fearing what will happen to us! So why don't we all play together in one of our Talent Rooms? Oooh, Tori, we could all use your paints and-"

"No, no, I…I don't want to use that paint." Tori shook her head. "I don't think it's safe, is all."

"A perfectly valid concern." Ren gently smiled at the painter, causing her tense shoulders to relax the slightest bit.

"My room is also unqualified for this kind of activity." Chiasa interjected before she fell silent once again.

"Aw, I wanted to see Chiasa-chan's room." Michi pouted.

"It'll be okay, Michi-chan." Jordan smiled. "There'll be other chances to see Chiasa's room."

"Yay! You're right, Jordan-chan!" Michi beamed. From the corner of his eye, he watched as both Jordan and Chiasa herself seemed to lose tension in their shoulders at his words.

"Well…um, if you don't mind…we can use my room?" Robin quietly offered. "We could play in the snow and, um, ice skate?"

"Oh! I haven't been ice skating in a long time." Sayuri smiled.

"Oooh, I'm great at ice skating, we should totally do that!" Satou agreed, her eyes shining as she clamped one hand on Fuwari's elbow and the other on Ren's.

"I'm in! I wanna ice skate! And play in the snow!" Michi chimed in, turning his puppy dog eyes to as many people as he could, turning to Hibiki last.

Hibiki glanced at him for a second before he cracked.

"Fucking…fine, I'll ice skate." He huffed.

"Yay!" Michi cheered.

"I'm not going in the cold, hell no." Nat shook their head.

"I believe I saw some winter jackets in Robin's talent room earlier, correct?" Rosamie cut in, raising an eyebrow at the glaciologist in curiosity.

"Y-yeah, there are." Robin confirmed.

"Then we'll be nice and…and warm. I'd like to try." Chia smiled sweetly.

"M-me too." Fuwari nodded.

"I refuse to be a part of this nonsense!" Irusu snapped, killing the slowly lightening mood. When he stood up again, Chiasa made no move to stop him. "Now if you have all ceased your incessant chatting, I am returning to my room where it is safe!"

Without another word, he fled the room as if someone were chasing him.

"Well, sucks to be him. Who else is ready to skate?" Akihito grinned at them all.

Michi eagerly raised his hand and his smile only grew as, one by one, his sixteen remaining classmates all agreed.

"I suppose it is better for us all to stay in a group for now." Yoshi declared as he gazed at them all. "Very well, then we shall gather in Robin's Talent Room and spend the day together once Robin declares the room to be ready. We shall meet in a couple hours. For now, we shall each go our separate ways. Agreed?"

And Michi led the entire room in the resulting cheer, beaming even brighter as he found smiles on even Hibiki, Chiasa, Tori and Yoshi's faces.

This was going to be the best day ever!

Once the breakfast meeting had finished up, Maria had tried to follow Nat in order to talk to them.

Key word being 'try', because faster than the ballet dancer could blink, the historian vanished from the dining room as if they had never been there to begin with.

Maria even tried to find Nat, but to no avail. It was as if the historian had never been there to begin with, which was ridiculous considering they were all trapped here.

But Maria had to concede defeat when she found herself peeking into the armory, the last place she wanted to look, and sighed to find it empty, excluding the rows upon rows of medieval weapons along the walls, from swords to axes to knives to bows and arrows, and the various suits of armor, all of which included helmets shaped like Monokuma's face.

The sight of the Monokuma helmets sent a shiver down Maria's spine that was so cold, she almost didn't feel herself slam the door shut with the numbness it left in its wake. But she vaguely noticed the door shake in its frame before she stepped back away from it, vowing to never enter the room again.

"Whoa, you look like you've seen a ghost!"

Jumping, Maria whirled around only to find Akihito standing behind her.

"Akihito-kun! Don't scare me like that!" Maria glared at the boy, her eyes quickly darting over his body to find any stolen artifacts as a precaution. Thankfully, he seemed clean this time.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to do that." Akihito grinned, raising his hands innocently as he stepped closer to her. When he lowered his arms, however, only one fell to his side. The other planted itself on the wall next to Maria's head, partly blocking her path, yet still giving her an out to leave if she so chose. It reminded her of the first time they met, when he leaned into her space and she pushed him back with a single finger.

Maria didn't move this time.

"Yes?" She questioned instead, raising a skeptical eyebrow. She could already feel the cold and the memories slipping away as the track and field star let a flirtatious smile cross his lips. It almost felt as if they slipped back in time, before this terrible death game and the secrets of this castle hung over them.

"I'm just wondering if I can convince you to come to the ballroom with me?" He prodded, his voice somehow becoming even smoother than it normally was. "I think you'll like the reward you receive if you agree."

"Oh, really? And what might that be?" Maria drawled, sarcasm dancing across her tone as easily as she danced across a stage.

"Some exciting stories from my past. Trust me, I have plenty to tell!" Akihito grinned brightly, the flirtations slipping away to friendly earnestness with ease.

"Or you're looking to brag about your exploits as a thief." Maria rolled her eyes, causing Akihito to gasp dramatically, his free hand flying up to lay over his heart. He didn't remove his other arm from where it was planted against the wall. "But alright, I suppose spending time with you is better than doing nothing while Robin gets his Talent Room set up."

"That's the spirit!" Akihito grinned and finally shifted his arm from the wall to wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her towards the ballroom easily.

Once they passed the doors to the ballroom, Maria pulled away from Akihito's grasp and began to go through her warm-up stretches, watching the track and field star do the same in the corner of her eye.

"So you've got stories you want to tell?" She questioned as she straightened her spine from where she had bent over to plant her hands flat against the floor. Akihito glanced up from where he sat on the floor, stretching his hands out to touch his own toes, as Maria sat beside him, her legs forming a butterfly stretch easily.

"Plenty. Though I'll start at the beginning, a story for a story?" Akihito grinned at her brightly.

Maria couldn't stop herself from smiling back, even if only slightly. His excitement was genuinely infectious, it seemed.

"Sounds fair, though I suspect a catch." She prodded.

"I would never!"

"Uh huh. So what's your first story then?"

"Well, it's about my friend Ganru, of course!" Akihito beamed. "He found me when I was four and took me in, said he was a genie that would grant as many wishes as I wanted! He looked at me, a kid who could barely string basic Japanese together, and taught me everything I needed to survive the streets! He taught me to speak and write Japanese, mathematics and other basic skills before we got to the really good stuff."

"You mean your kleptomania?" Maria asked, finding herself genuinely curious where this was going. And how a young Akihito had even ended up on the streets in the first place.

"Yep, Ganru taught me everything I know!" Akihito smiled proudly. "You couldn't get by on the streets without it. It wasn't easy though, Ganru had to bail me out a lot at first 'til I caught on."

A far away look entered Akihito's eyes and Maria felt her own soften.

"He sounds like he really cares about you." She said softly.

"He does. He's the best friend and genie I could ever ask for." Akihito insisted. By now, their stretches had shifted to the two of them standing, preparing to run or dance, if they so chose. "He always told me that I should only steal what I need to survive. He didn't like when I stole for fun or the challenge of it all."

"Ahh, something we have in common." Maria snapped her fingers, causing Akihito to laugh slightly.

"That's true. But I got really good at running thanks to all that." Akihito smiled. "Sometimes I even ran just for the fun of it, showing off for Ganru and everything. He always encouraged me, made me feel like I could fly."

"He sounds like a good man, Akihito-kun." The ballet dancer smiled softly, reaching out to gently lay a hand on the track and field star's arm. "My mom is like that too. She was the one who first got me interested in ballet, when I was a kid. Though I'm pretty sure all my twirling made her think I was going to fall and hit my head at some point."

"Oh? So even the graceful Maria Kikumoto was once as clumsy as the rest of us?" Akihito teased, causing Maria's soft touch to turn into a playful punch.

"Shut up!" Maria grinned. "Anyway, my mom was actually the one who got me my first audition. I probably wouldn't have been able to dance in the Russian Ballet Company ever without that."

"What was the audition for?" The track and field star asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Don't laugh." The ballet dancer warned with narrowed eyes before she continued. "I was an angel in The Nutcracker."

Akihito gasped dramatically, widening his eyes in comical shock and awe.

"Shush, I was six, and at least I wasn't a mouse!" Maria cried, which caused Akihito to start laughing. "Okay, okay, that's enough! Don't need you laughing at me even more."

"Aw, come on, Maria! I was enjoying getting to know you!" The track and field star protested.

"Maybe next time you'll avoid laughing so you can learn more." The ballet dancer snarked before placing her hands on her hips. "Now, are you going to show me how fast you are or was this all for show?"

If possible, Akihito's smile widened even further and Maria couldn't stop herself from returning it.

Maybe, she thought as the two of them began to do laps around the ballroom, Akihito already outpacing her, yet still being good natured about it, this aggravating boy is someone I can be friends with after all. Maybe…

When Maria was finished with her run with Akihito, the two split off as the track and field star decided to go pester Ren while the ballet dancer went to the kitchen for some water.

Once entering, she was surprised to find Jordan leaning against the gleaming counters.

"Hello." She called out, in order to not startle the drag artist.

"Oh, hi Maria." Jordan smiled slightly, sliding to the side in order to leave room for her to stand beside him. "You look tired, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I've just finished running with Akihito-kun. It's admittedly not a…work out I'm used to." Maria smiled slightly, stumbling over her words and trying desperately to not wince.

Jordan, however, only smiled.

"I understand. I'd probably be the same, trading voguing for running." The drag artist admitted, his words a bit shaky towards the end, which left Maria's shoulders relaxing a bit.

"What is that? Vo-gou-ing?" The ballet dancer repeated, tilting her head in curiosity.

"It's a dance style we drag artists use." Jordan explained, his eyes sparking with excitement and passion. "To put it basically, it's dancing that looks like a model on a catwalk. It can be tricky at first, but it's really fun once you get the hang of it!" Suddenly, Jordan's eyes widened and he looked down sheepishly. "Sorry, you…probably don't want to hear about that."

"Why wouldn't I? It sounds really cool." Maria furrowed her brow as she observed the boy. He was gazing at her out of the corner of his eye. "I've never heard of voguing before and it's obviously something you're passionate about. I'd love to see it sometime."

"I'm just…used to hiding my talent, I guess. Bad habit." Jordan shrugged, even as his own shoulders untensed.

"I think I understand." Maria nodded slowly. "My family has it's own secrets that we hide from the rest of the world. I…don't share them too often. I'm not even sure if I could say it out loud."

"It's exactly like that." Jordan agreed, reaching out a gentle hand to lay against Maria's. "But maybe, someday, we'll be able to share our secrets with the world at large and be proud of them."

"I dunno…maybe…" Maria shrugged hesitantly, trying to smile. "Say, what do you say you and I have a dance off sometime? I show you my ballet, you show me your voguing? I'd love to see it in person, if you don't mind!"

"I think we can work out a plan." Jordan smiled, excitement starting to spark in his eyes. "I might need a day to prepare, but I'd love to see your skill level. We could invite Chia too, see her own fire dancing."

"Oh! I almost forgot, she did want to see other dance styles when we first met! It's been so busy, I completely forgot!" Maria gasped, her eyes widening. "We should make a day of it, the three of us, having fun and dancing."

"That sounds great." Jordan grinned. "We'd have to find some music for all of us or see if the servants would cooperate."

"And try to find the supplies Chia would need for her fire." Maria mused. "Maybe there's some hidden in her room…?"

The two continued discussing the logistics of their plan before they went out to try and find the fire dancer in question.

"Oh, I…I'd love to!" Chia gasped with wide, excited eyes once they told her their idea. "And…and I'd love to see you two in your elements, of…of course!"

"Then it's settled." Jordan clapped his hands together. "Tomorrow, the three of us will have a dance exhibition."

Maria beamed at Chia, holding out a hand for a high five, which the fire dancer gingerly gave.

"But…but for now, we should get ready…for Robin's showcase of his Talent Room, I-I mean." Chia reminded the two.

"Ah, right, it's almost time." Jordan mused, glancing at the nearest clock. "I was going to see if I could convince Irusu to join us. Do you two mind…?"

"No, go on." Maria shook her head with a smile. "We'll see you when we meet up."

"Y-yes!" Chia nodded in agreement, a matching smile on her own face.

Jordan returned their smiles easily, looking more at ease than he had when he'd been in the kitchen by himself, causing Maria's heart to relax. With a final wave, the three went their separate ways for their final preparations for their planned time in Robin's Talent Room.

And Maria found she didn't mind these few minutes to herself as she returned to her room, knowing she'd be meeting up with friends in a few short minutes.

As Maria entered the cold wintery haven that was Robin's Talent Room, she was grateful for the blue fur lined coat that was instantly passed to her by an excitable Robin.

It was almost impossible to tell his hands had been burned terribly just the night before. Maria was glad.

Once she put the coat on, Chia excitedly led her to the wall of ice skates, which Maria wasn't sure had been there before or if she had simply failed to notice them, before she returned to helping Robin welcome everyone in, one by one.

"Hey, Sugar Plum Princess!" Satou beamed as she wobbled over on her skates, Fuwari helping support her. "Don't I look adorable in this coat? And Fae too, of course!"

"S-Satou…!" Fuwari blushed fiercely, probably a combination of the cold and her embarrassment.

"The colors do suit you both, yes." Maria smiled, causing the executive producer to squeal happily.

"Come along, we mustn't loiter here." Yoshi urged the three girls on as he finished tying his own skates and stood up. "The others must also put on their skates and we must be careful of all the glass littering the floor."

"Oh, right…I-I almost forgot about that." Fuwari looked down sheepishly.

"That's quite alright, Fuwari. It is my duty to be observant to keep you all safe, after all." Yoshi reassured her with a small smile. Fuwari seemed to relax a bit at the words.

"You heard 'em, Fae! C'mon, let's go!" Satou tugged the indie filmmaker along. "Fairy Boy! Come skate with us!"

"I'm right behind you both!" Ren called out in response, before he held out both of his hands, one to escort Jordan and one to escort a blank faced Rosamie. Nat, standing right behind the three, scoffed before marching over to join Chiasa off to the side.

Maria couldn't help the laugh to escape her lips as she gingerly stepped onto the ice, carefully finding her balance before pushing off against the wall.

"You're good at this." Sayuri commented as she came to an elegant stop beside her.

"Ballet is an exercise that helps with ice skating, so it's not too difficult." Maria shrugged modestly. "You're doing well, as well."

"Thank you." Sayuri's cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment. She then glanced at the rest of the room and a smile grew on her face. "Everyone looks like they're having fun."

Maria looked up then and noticed everyone she missed before. It seemed that Irusu had not been convinced by Jordan to come, so that meant there were seventeen of them.

Michi was happily, though shakily, skating alongside Hibiki and Chia, swinging both of them around only to barely manage to stop them all from falling. The three of them were laughing, or smiling slightly in Hibiki's case, and it seemed they found a rhythm they liked.

Near them at the wall was Arisu and Tori, with the painter gingerly using the wall to support both herself and the game host from falling. From this distance, Maria was pretty sure Tori wasn't wearing her sun necklace, probably due to Akihito's words about the clasp and the painter being worried about the necklace being lost if it fell off. Robin, who typically was skating around the whole rink faster than the others, was routinely checking on the two of them to make sure they were okay. The action, however, didn't look pushy, simply like he was making sure they were okay without intruding.

Ren was brightly skating with Satou and Fuwari before carefully spinning each girl towards Jordan, who just as carefully returned the favor, to the girls' delight. Rosamie was leaning against the wall near them, observing, but not joining in officially.

Akihito was bobbing around the whole room, attempting to pry into both Chiasa and Nat, though both shut him down, Chiasa by silence and Nat by clearly scathing remarks. When he caught Maria's eye, the track and field star winked before he skated towards Ren, Satou, Fuwari, Jordan and Rosamie and swept Jordan into an impromptu dance, causing the drag artist to laugh in surprise before going along with it.

And finally, Yoshi was observing them all, occasionally scolding Akihito and Michi for their mischievousness until Arisu yelled out to him to play a game with her, which involved him helping guide both her and Tori towards the center of the ice. The jeweler only complied because, in his own words, it was his duty to make sure no other injuries befell the group if he could help it.

"Yeah…yeah, they do." Maria smiled, trying to hold onto this small hope, that something good could stay with them.

"Come on, let's join them." Sayuri smiled, leading the way towards the center of the ice. Maria wasn't too far behind her, observing the singer before her with the same tentative hope as the rest of the group inspired in her.

That hope lasted for an hour.

Then Sayuri fell to the ice with a scream.

Rosamie reacted first, Hibiki not far behind her.

"Everyone back up!" Yoshi ordered, already pushing both Arisu and Tori back towards the wall gently. "Rosamie, Hibiki, what's wrong with her?"

"I-is she okay?" Robin asked, fear and guilt clouding his voice. Maria moved over and squeezed his hand gently, trying to reassure him even as fear clouded her own mind.

"Her pulse is erratic, but otherwise her vitals seem normal." Rosamie announced.

"M-m-my leg…!" Sayuri gasped, tears falling from her eyes.

"We've got you, we're gonna take the skates off now." Hibiki said, holding Sayuri's hand and allowing her to squeeze it as Rosamie moved towards the singer's skates, undoing the laces gently.

The sight that greeted them when both skates were removed was horrific.

Sayuri's right foot was black and blue all over, looking more dead than alive from her toes up to cover her whole foot, going higher and higher until it couldn't be seen anymore, due to her dress.

Maria had the horrible feeling that the discoloration covered Sayuri's entire leg.

"What's happened? Can we do anything?" Ren asked, his eyes wide and frantic, yet he made sure to stay back and out of the way. His hands were shaking and his skin was pale.

Fuwari was choking on her own breath, clutching onto Akihito for support while Satou huddled behind both Ren and Akihito both.

Arisu looked lost and Tori was even paler than she had been the last time this happened.

Nat and Chiasa had both approached the rink.

"Her leg looks like it needs to be cut off." Chiasa observed and Maria did not want to know how she knew that, what her hunting had included that she could tell so at a glance.

"Does…does this mean…in reality…" Chia looked around frantically, clutching her coat in tight fingers.

"If Monokuma is telling the truth, her leg would be amputated in reality." Rosamie confirmed.

"Is Sayuri-chan gonna die?" Michi gasped, tears filling his own eyes.

"No, no, we can't think like that." Jordan shook his head, pushing his way over to grasp Michi and Chia's shoulders. "Monokuma wants us to kill each other, so Sayuri should be okay."

"That's looking highly fucking debatable, ya know." Nat drawled, even as their brow also furrowed in concern.

"I think we should disperse for the evening." Yoshi slowly decreed as he tried to figure out a course of action. "Rosamie and Hibiki, if you're willing, you can help Sayuri adjust to her new situation. The rest of us are on hand whenever you need a break, or I can set up a rotational schedule again."

"No, no! That's not necessary!" Satou cut in, before she smiled. "I'd be happy to help, but it's probably for the best that Lily has the same people watching over her, you know?"

"Then I'll stay with her!" Maria burst out. "She's my friend and stayed with me, so I'll help her."

"Great, now that we got that sorted, Snow, come with us." Hibiki instructed as he and Rosamie carefully lifted Sayuri, who was still quietly sobbing in pain.

With a nod, and a squeeze to Robin's still shaking, delicate hand, Maria followed them, ready to stay up all night if it meant Sayuri would be okay.

Maria was exhausted the next day, but she smiled for Sayuri as much as she could, acting as the singer's human stand in crutch as they slowly hobbled to the dining hall the next morning for breakfast. Sayuri was pretty quiet, obviously still in pain and shock.

They were basically the last people, barring a few stragglers that Maria had no doubt would show up. Or a few, at least.

Unsurprisingly, Irusu deigned not to join them once more. Yoshi, clearly, was planning to march out and force the acoustic engineer to do so when Hibiki spoke up.

"Where's Dolphins?" He muttered a bit into breakfast, his coffee cradled between his hands.

"You don't know?" Maria, sitting across from him, asked. Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth. That was unusual, considering Michi had latched onto Hibiki almost as soon as the two met, despite the dispatcher's mutterings and complaints.

"I was with you for most of the fucking night, Snow. Then I was in my room when you kicked me out." Hibiki rolled his eyes. His eyes darted over to Sayuri briefly before returning to Maria herself.

"Right, sorry…" Maria winced, looking away. That was insensitive of her to say, though she stood by the fact that Hibiki needed sleep. He looked even more tired than she had this morning.

"So nobody knows where Michi-chan is?" Ren asked, concerned.

Nobody said a word.

"We need to find him." Chiasa stated firmly, already standing up.

"I'm going with you, Hood." Hibiki insisted, joining her.

"We should split up to search for him." Yoshi cut in, standing up and crossing his arms behind his back firmly. "Sayuri, we shall leave you here with another for security purposes."

"I'll stay." Ren volunteered, earning a slightly grateful smile from the still tired singer.

"Very well. The rest of us fifteen will split into five groups of three each." Yoshi continued before he deliberately divided them up.

Maria ended up with Chiasa and Hibiki, which was all she had time to note.

They just needed to go. Now.

With a glance, the three of them made their way towards Michi's Talent Room, the one place where they would no doubt find him cooing over his dolphins and fish, having lost track of time and never going to bed.

That's all it was.

It had to be.

Hibiki led the way to the Talent Room, silent, but the tension and nervousness was obvious in all three of them as he opened the door.

Michi was in the room, alright.

He was floating upside down in the giant tank in the center of the room, his hands floating above his head and his red hair flowing like the water around him. The water around him was red, redder than his hair, with the poisonous fish swimming around him and all sorts of props and shattered glass surrounding him. His expression was peaceful.

He looked like a mermaid.

Dread filled Maria at the sight. She barely resisted the urge to throw up, even as an all too familiar numbness, one she thought she would never feel again five years ago, wrapped around her like an unwanted friend.

The dread only became even worse when a bell went off.

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the court trial will begin!" Monokuma announced.

Static rang in her ears.

Takemichi Goro, the Ultimate Marine Biologist, was dead.