Hello everyone! It's been a while! Sorry about the wait, it took me a while to figure out how I wanted this chapter (and Chapter 2 overall) to go, but I think I have a somewhat solid plan in mind now.

Good news first: all murder plans are officially figured out! Yay! So now the only thing that will make waits longer is my finding inspiration and time, haha!

Anyways, first things first: reviews! Now I know I don't comment on reviews as much on this story as I do other stories (if you're familiar with my fics) but I think this is an important milestone to document: we are almost at 100 reviews, y'all! I can't believe the reception this fic has gotten and I am so grateful that you all seem to enjoy it so much! Thank you all so much, truly! I'm honored!

Next up, SakuraIdol posted more fan art! I can't remember if these were done last time, but they've done formal wear and Fuwari now, I'm so very excited even if I'm promoting the art so late!

Alright, I think that's it for now. Welcome to Chapter 2 everyone!

Chapter 2 Daily Life: A Flower That Blooms in Adversity

Maria was in center stage, her body gracefully moving from one dance move to the next as Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker played from the orchestra. The spotlight never left her as she turned and leapt and held herself tall.

She made a bounding leap then as the music reached a crescendo, but as her slipper covered toes were about to touch the stage and soften her landing, the stage vanished.

Instead, Maria found herself floating in water. She opened her eyes, not struggling to breathe in the least, and found herself staring up at Michi.

He was beaming at her, waving excitedly as they floated higher and higher, a light behind him making him look like an angel. There were streaks of silver in his red hair and smile lines around his eyes, giving Michi the illusion of being older than he was.

Maria's heart ached and she reached out a hand towards him. Michi did the same, reaching a hand out towards her.

But before their fingertips could barely touch, Michi suddenly dissolved into bubbles that continued floating up towards the light.

"I…ru, w…ch….."

A woman's voice spoke through a sudden burst of static, barely audible. Her voice was familiar, but Maria couldn't place how.

The thought floated away just like the bubbles though, because in the next instance, Maria broke the surface and suddenly found herself in a field full of flowers. And right in front of her in the center of the field was Tori.

She was smiling gently, seeming freer now that she was in the fresh air, a burden lifted from her shoulders. Her hair wasn't nearly as long as Maria remembered, cut to just below her chin as it was tussled by the wind, making her appear almost older.

Maria's heart practically broke as she raced towards the painter, reaching out both hands desperately. Tori, too, reached out, waiting for Maria to clasp her hands.

But it was not to be, and just like Michi, Tori dissolved right before her hands touched Maria's. Unlike Michi, however, Tori dissolved into sunlight.

"G….Na…w…..ar…"

Another voice, this one a man and deeper than the woman's. And just like hers, it was familiar, but unplaceable, both in her memory and through the static.

At that moment, however, the sunlight shone onto Maria like a spotlight and like a cloud covering the sun, the thought she had was gone as she suddenly found herself falling through darkness.

She wanted to scream, but words were caught in her throat. She couldn't do anything but allow herself to fall continuously.

It felt as if she had been falling for hours, her body lax against her will, before she felt herself begin to slow down, little by little, as if she were a feather coming to rest on the ground.

Then suddenly, warm, familiar arms curled around Maria's waist. They weren't holding her exactly, they were supporting her, leaving her free to choose her path, whatever that may be.

She didn't know who they belonged to, but they were familiar and protective, and Maria felt safe.

She felt whole.

She smiled softly and blinked once, only to feel a weight in her right hand.

She raised it and saw an apple staring back at her. It was so shiny, she could see her reflection in it.

And in that moment, Maria was frozen, unable to move.

"Ma…re….wai….no! Not….!"

A different man's voice, but this one held some familiarity that she could place, even if she still had no name. It was this man who had screamed when she'd passed out.

And now, as the static began to overwhelm her sight, she felt the arms around her loosen at the same instance she let go of the apple.

The next thing she knew, she was falling, red roses and white chrysanthemums being the last thing she saw before her eyes fell shut.

Hibiki groaned as his eyes opened and he found himself staring at the cursed, too fucking bright blue wall of his room that was supposed to look like the sky above a duck pond of all the fucking things in the world.

Goddammit, of course the worst night he'd had since this whole fucking mess started was the only fucking time he'd managed to sleep. Just his shitty fucking luck.

With a groan, Hibiki heaved himself up and ran a hand through his hair, glaring at the absolutely ugly décor surrounding him before he forced himself to stand up and start getting ready for the day. Honestly, he really fucking hated this duck pond themed floor, the too damn bright blue walls with clouds painted on them, the brown duck emblems pasted on the walls and the absolutely fucking terrible swan bed he was forced to sleep in every single night. It was a nightmare.

The process of getting ready for the day, however, was also a nightmare and it didn't help that everywhere Hibiki looked, he could've sworn there was a flash of red in the corner of his eye, but he never saw it.

Maybe he was going crazy from grief…

Goddammit, it had only been four fucking days that he had spent with Michi. Four days.

How the hell could he be grieving over someone he'd known for four days?

But even as that thought crossed his mind, Hibiki remembered the look on Arisu's face when Tori had been pulled away.

God, this place made no sense whatso-fucking-ever. It was making Hibiki question his sanity more than he ever should be.

But then, this was just the world he lived in. And this world was all sorts of fucked up even before he ended up here.

Hibiki should know, he's listened to some of the worst situations this post-Tragedy world had had, the only lifeline the ones left in the remains have. He'd listened as loved ones would try everything to save the one they're calling him to help. He'd listened as people would call for themselves, struggling to live as he sent whatever emergency services he could.

He'd listened as people took their last breaths. And never once did he hang up.

His older brother, Hideaki, once told Hibiki it took a special kind of person to do what he did. After all, while Hideaki would never have been able to do Hibiki's job, just as Hibiki could never do his brother's.

It was simply the way life was, and the way it would always be.

His musings, however, were broken when his door suddenly slammed violently against the wall, loud enough that Hibiki would have to be dead to miss it.

"What the fuck?" he cried as he turned, only to see Arisu standing in his doorway, her face as white as bone.

She was saying something, but Hibiki couldn't read her lips quickly enough to even begin understanding what she was going on about.

"Fuck, shut up for a minute, Cards!" Hibiki snapped. Arisu, surprisingly, complied and he made his way over to his nightstand without further delay.

Resting there was the earpiece he always wore and as soon as Hibiki clipped it to his ear, everything became clearer. Sighing, he turned back to the game host.

"Alright, what the fuck is going on?" he asked, too damn tired for anymore bullshit. If this was a murder attempt, it was a pretty dumb one.

"You…you weren't answering the door," Arisu admitted, her voice soft as she looked down at the ground. Her fingers reached up, fiddling with the sun necklace she wore around her neck now. Tori's sun necklace. "I…I was worried something happened."

"I'm fine, Cards," Hibiki sighed, his own voice softening as he looked down at her. She looked so small, when usually she was bursting at the seams with her exuberance. Hibiki's heart ached, remembering that she was going through the same grief as he was. "I just couldn't hear you without this thing."

"Why?" Arisu questioned, looking up with a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

"I'm partially deaf," Hibiki admitted, figuring distracting her was better than nothing. "Got into an accident as a kid, lost some hearing thanks to it."

"Oh…I'm sorry," the game host winced in sympathy.

"Not your fucking fault," the dispatcher shrugged, used to this treatment by now. "Is there anything else you wanted?"

"Well, it's just…" Arisu trailed off, seemingly searching for words. Hibiki waited in silence, knowing she would answer eventually. "How…how do you…go forward after something like that?"

Ah, so it was a grief thing. Alright. Hibiki could work with that.

"I don't know," he sighed, feeling his own grief weighing heavily on his shoulders, no matter how he denied it. "Grief is complicated. And I ain't got all the answers. But I know Braids would want you to live. So that's all you gotta do."

"Michi-chan would want you to do the same thing," Arisu suddenly insisted, a small spark in her eyes as she met Hibiki's eyes head on. "He wouldn't want you to give up, but to escape with everyone else."

"Yeah…guess he would," Hibiki sighed. The grief was still chained tightly around his heart, clutching it with a death grip. He wondered how long it would be until it loosened, when breathing would become less of a chore.

"I…I want to live too, for Tori. Will…will you stay with me?" Arisu finally voiced her request.

Hibiki found himself taken aback, staring down at the game host in silence for several long moments.

But perhaps it wasn't as strange of a request as he thought it was. After all, they both shared a commonality now, after all.

And Hibiki couldn't deny that she reminded him of Michi, if only in her vibrancy.

Besides, in a world like this one, if you didn't have someone watching your back, you were as good as dead.

"Sure," he finally agreed. A simple statement, by anyone's measure.

But Arisu beamed up at him, as if he had given her the will to live itself. Her right hand clutched at her necklace, while her left reached out to pull on Hibiki's own hand.

"Come on, then. Let's go to breakfast," she smiled. She was still subdued compared to her usual vigor, but she was smiling.

Hibiki couldn't help the slight smile that crossed his own lips, even as he tried to turn it into a scowl.

Perhaps having Arisu watching his back would be a good thing.

As they made their way to the dining room, Hibiki could've sworn he'd seen red in the corner of his eye more than once. But he didn't turn towards it.

He made a promise. He would live, for Michi and for Arisu as well.

He would live, and he would escape this hell hole.

When Maria entered the dining room, the air was heavy with the awareness that they were missing two people.

Chia and Sayuri were both preparing breakfast, Ren and Jordan assisting the two girls in carrying everything from the kitchen to the dining room.

Arisu and Hibiki were both already seated, staying as close as they could.

Robin was quietly looking over his gloved fingers, seemingly scared to remove his gloves and see the skin underneath.

Yoshi was tensely sitting near Robin, with Chiasa at his side almost as a bodyguard or a shadow.

Akihito seemed to be trying to keep spirits elevated, flitting around to and fro, possibly stealing things as he went.

Fuwari looked unsure of where to sit, rocking back and forth on her heels as she looked at the chairs still not taken. Satou was sitting and quite obviously urging the indie filmmaker to join her.

Irusu was sitting at the table tersely, his arms crossed tightly as his nails dug into his arm.

Nat was the only person seemingly relaxed at the table, leaning back in their chair with their feet resting against the table. Rosamie was silently observing at their side as Yoshi continuously glared at the feet on the table, looking seconds away from correcting the historian.

Overall, Maria wasn't very surprised as she sat down in one of the free seats. Fuwari then sat next to her, avoiding Satou's hurt gaze as their breakfast was passed around.

The air was tense and heavy, from grief and shock and many other emotions Maria couldn't name.

She didn't dare add to the tension by giving voice to her nightmare. It was, after all, simply that.

A nightmare, nothing more and nothing less.

Silence hung over the table like a mist, seemingly light but undeniably there.

"How are you, Ari? Hibiki?" Fuwari carefully voiced, breaking the silence. The game host glanced up, a pained and obviously forced smile on her face.

"I'm…not great," she admitted. "But I'm still here."

"And we are all glad of that," Sayuri reassured as she made her way to the two's side, placing down plates for breakfast and then gently squeezing Arisu's shoulder. "I know neither Tori nor Michi-chan would want to see the two of you giving up."

"Of course not," Akihito agreed with a smile. "Michi-chan would be insisting we not give up and Tori would hold Ari's hand through the whole thing! Right, Maria?"

"Yeah…you're right, Akihito," Maria agreed, feeling her eyes burn with tears. A lump formed in her throat.

Because she could picture it exactly. She could just see Michi running up and down, his eyes wide and innocent as he encouraged all of them on, to keep going. She could see Tori sitting quietly, scared but never leaving Arisu's side, holding her hand through the fear and terror.

It was a good reminder and a bad one at the same time. Because while the message of hope was a good one, the hole where the two of them should have been was now even more obvious in its gaping size.

"Why would you include Tori?" Satou cut in, her brow furrowed as she stared at them all. "I mean, she was a murderer."

"Satou!" Fuwari gasped, her eyes wide in shock.

"What? I'm not wrong!" the executive producer argued. "It's not like any of us even knew her for that long anyway. Who cares what she would've done? She could've been planning to kill anyone of us, you never know. And like, this mourning is killing the vibe, you know?"

"Satou!" Ren scolded, his eyes narrowed as he glanced over at Arisu, who had practically folded in on herself. "Please, don't say such things. Tori was and still is our friend. And besides, you shouldn't speak ill of the dead."

Satou opened her mouth as if to argue once more.

"Shut it, Bubblegum," Hibiki snarled, startling everyone into silence once more. His arm was protectively wrapped around Arisu and she had buried her face into his shoulder, her hands clasped so tightly onto Tori's sun necklace that her knuckles were white.

"Hibiki's right…" Maria cautiously voiced, trying to defuse the situation as best as she could. "Let's…just eat breakfast, alright?"

"Y-yes!" Chia added, her eyes wide as she tried to help. "S-Sayuri and I did our best so…so that everyone would enjoy!"

"It looks d-delicious," Robin complimented as he took a bite. "It-it's better than t-the dried f-f-food I had in Antarctica."

"Oh, you have to tell me about that," Jordan smiled as he joined the glaciologist. "I haven't been anywhere outside of the US and now, well, here."

"S-sure!" Robin smiled, excitement sparking in his eyes.

"We can enjoy breakfast for now, but we will have to address where we go from here," Yoshi cut in, speaking for the first time all morning.

"I don't see why I have to be here! I am perfectly capable of enjoying my breakfast in my room!" Irusu sniffed pompously, moving to stand up and no doubt flee to his room once more.

"Sit down," Chiasa cut in, the words quite obviously a threat. Instantly, Irusu complied, a sheen of sweat glistening at his temple. "You can leave when this is over, I'm not tying you to that chair unless I have to."

"I have requested Chiasa assist me," Yoshi elaborated at the confused looks the rest of them were shooting the huntress, considering she hadn't been that involved with the previous breakfast meetings. "This felt too important to leave anyone out."

"Well, I agree," Sayuri hesitantly voiced. "But forcing people to stay feels a bit…"

"Tyrannical?" Nat grinned with shark like teeth, obviously enjoying the game they were playing now that some conflict was arising.

"Not the word I would have used," Maria winced as Yoshi's entire posture, somehow, grew even tenser.

"Curious." Rosamie mused, but didn't add any more, simply continuing to observe them all.

"Even still, Chief's right," Hibiki cut in roughly. "We gotta talk about shit."

"Thank you, Hibiki," Yoshi nodded, his posture relaxing the slightest bit.

"But let us eat first, don't want time to run away from us!" Akihito grinned, lifting up his hand to reveal the pocket watch he somehow stole from Yoshi.

The jeweler huffed, but simply took back his property. Maria thought it was kinda sad that they were all getting used to Akihito's stealing. Perhaps it was a way he showed affection?

Or he really was just a thief who couldn't help but steal.

Either way, the air of tenseness seemed to settle a bit as they all enjoyed their individual breakfasts, paying many compliments to both Chia and Sayuri for their hard work. Both the fire dancer and the singer blushed at the praise, too humble to be proud.

Once they finished, they all turned to Yoshi, who laid his hands on the table with a serious expression.

"To begin, as your leader, I take full responsibility for what occurred," he started. "It was my own nativity that led to this tragedy occurring. I intend to not let this occur again."

"How? Not like you can watch us twenty-four seven," Nat scoffed, their legs returned to the table. Using them as leverage, they pushed their chair back so it was balancing on two legs.

"That may be true, but that doesn't make it impossible to prevent another killing," Yoshi countered. "For example, we will more strictly keep to the nighttime rule of all being in our rooms at ten. Chiasa and I will check everyone's rooms to make sure everyone is where they ought to be."

"And if one of you doesn't return to your room?" Irusu demanded, clearly on edge.

"We will check each room together and be each other's alibi," Yoshi countered easily.

"And how do we know you won't team up and kill someone together? Huh?!" The acoustics engineer shouted.

"Because it would only benefit one of them," Rosamie stated clearly.

"She's right," Ren confirmed. "The rules make being an accomplice worthless."

"Well, I wouldn't say worthless, Fairy Godmother." Monokuma trilled as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing all the students to jump. "After all, who's to say the accomplice can't become a victim, puhuhuhu! It's happened before, ya know!"

"We're not interested in repeating your previous games," Chiasa stated, glaring down at the bear.

"Oh, I know that! That would be too boring!" Monokuma huffed. "It would be much more interesting if you went totally off script and surprised me! Though, nobody can surprise me. If they did, what kind of king would I be?"

"That doesn't make sense…" Arisu trailed off.

"He's saying to be in charge of the game, you have to be the chess master," Jordan explained. "So nothing can happen without him knowing it will happen."

"Bingo, Sir Dinadon!" Monokuma grinned as he pointed his scepter at Jordan.

"W-what if we surprise you by all surviving?" Robin questioned, his hands trembling.

"Ha! Good one, Kai!" Monokuma laughed. "You forget, this isn't the first Killing Game. They all end the same way, with everyone succumbing to killing eventually. Human nature is despair, don't you know! Otherwise, serial killers would've gone out of style ages ago! And I am quite fond of Jack the Ripper, myself. It would have been so sad had he not existed. Ooh, or Ted Bundy! He was a good one!"

"I think you're the most twisted person I've ever met," Maria whispered, feeling her hands tremble as she stared down at Monokuma.

"My, what an honor!" Monokuma bowed, clapping his paws happily. "Now then, onto the reason I have graced you all with my presence this fine morning!"

"Get to the fucking point, Reject-a-Bear," Hibiki snarled, his patience thinning with each passing moment.

"Did something unlock?" Fuwari gasped before she quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

"Correct, Nightingale!" Monokuma trilled before he suddenly slouched over, depressed. "Aww, I wanted to announce it for all to hear. What's the point of being king if I can't make a beary special royal proclamation?"

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" Fuwari cried out before she suddenly began to wheeze and cough out several times.

Sayuri and Maria were at her side in seconds, supporting her as Sayuri passed her a napkin. Fuwari's eyes, however, never left the bear, terrified of how he would react.

"Well…I suppose it's okay…" Monokuma trailed off before he brightened. "The second floor is now available, but make sure to dress warm!"

"Warm? What…do you mean?" Chia asked, confused.

Monokuma simply laughed, as if to say, 'try not to die!' before he vanished as quickly as he came.

An ominous air hung over the fourteen of them, but it was Akihito who broke it.

"Looks like we've got our next stop, eh?" he grinned, crossing his arms. Thankfully, it seemed nothing stolen was on his person…at least, nothing that he hadn't arrived with.

"Yes, we should prepare first though," Ren noted. "Perhaps we could borrow those coats from your Talent Room, Robin?"

"S-sure. I'll g-go get them right now," Robin nodded as he stood up, clearly ready to be out of the dining room.

"I can help," Yoshi offered as he joined the glaciologist.

"Me too," Jordan smiled.

Soon, Robin was joined by Yoshi, Jordan, Ren, Chiasa, Chia and Fuwari. Satou had seemed torn, but she declared she was going to wait by the stairs so she could be the first to welcome them back after they found the coats.

Irusu left as soon as he had the unofficial 'okay', probably to not be seen again for the rest of the day.

Everyone else seemed to agree on dispersing and meeting up again to explore the second floor.

Maria looked over them all once more and couldn't help but think of their two missing pieces. She hoped and prayed Tori and Michi were together, watching over them all.

And she also hoped that nobody else would meet their same fate here.

And there we are! Short chapter is short, but ah well.

Admittedly, I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter. The beginning was something I knew I wanted to do, but actually writing it was...difficult. I spent a lot of time just pulling up the doc and trying to finish those first two scenes. The dining room scene flowed pretty well, I wrote it all in one sitting, but again, not too sure if it's...good. Please be honest in what you think of it, I do want to improve after all.

In any case, we're finally in Chapter 2! The FTE poll is going to remain open until we finish the exploration chapters, which should take...two chapters? I think? We'll see. But feel free to keep voting! Right now, it looks like Arisu and Hibiki are in the lead, with Sayuri and Jordan right behind them! But that could change at any time, you never know.

Also, in case you didn't see, there are some Fun Facts on my tumblr! I also, with permission, shared some of SakuraIdol's art of Maria! Feel free to go check it out and show them some love on deviantart!

That's all I've got for now. Please leave a review to let me know what you think! Bye!