As you can see, I've changed the title of the bonus chapter because decimals apparently don't work when naming chapters. Please remind me never to do that again... and thank you to AnimationDeath for pointing that out.

Also thank you to Luna, the only one who voted for which song to use in this chapter. Although maybe I can squeeze in "Rain" later on... and to everyone else, enjoy! Dedicated to JojiMC, whose Sweet 16 was last month!

"What... the heck... is this?" Tatsumi asked in response to being assaulted by a high-pitched female singer as soon as he walked into his dorm.

"It's a song called Konna Sekai Shiritakunakatta," Sam replied, shrugging. "It's on the playlist I told Akame to use."

"Well, did you tell her to blast it so everyone in the dorm could be deaf?"

"I said to do whatever made her comfortable."

Leone walked out of the girl's room, sighing. "I have to do my homework in here," she told Sam and Tatsumi. "I can't concentrate." She tunred specifically to the freshman and added, "You've created a monster."

"Frankenstein was a monster, but he was a nice monster," Sam noted in response.

"Good point." It was the day after the freshmen's carols. Tatsumi and the girls started their homework. Halfway through a sentence, Leone realized something. She looked up and asked her friends, "Has Akame talked about death recently?"

Tatsumi bit his lip, knowing why she'd asked. "No, not that I know of..." he answered in a depressed tone.

"I don't think so, either," added Sam. "Why?"

Leone looked over at Tatsumi. "You and Freddy know, but Sam doesn't?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey, Lubbock said it to the guys, and she didn't ask!" Tatsumi explained defensively. He turned to Sam, who was expecting answers, and he gave her one. "Last year, Akame... tried to kill herself."

The freshman's blue eyes widened, and she suddenly began to feel sick to her stomach. "Oh..." was all that she could get out. Sam remembered the first day of school: saying good-bye to her parents after the tour, and then getting horribly lost. She remembered coming by that river, where she bumped into a girl about her height, with long black hair and blank red eyes. She remembered the girl's smile when she joked around in the dorm, when she passed her first test, and then the day she realized what that smile meant, It's okay. If I'm okay, then you will be too.

"Uh... Sam?" Leone addressed, shaking her friend. "Hey, I know it's a mouthful... but you can't pull a Naruto and flashback for the entire chapter."

"S-sorry," Sam apologized. "I'm just a little..."

"I know; you love her. And so does everyone here... which is why we're calling a meeting!"

Leone agreed to distract Akame by taking her out to dinner that night, while the rest of Night Raid congregated. "We are all here to discuss the well-being of our member," Najenda announced. "Earlier, Leone expressed concern because the last time someone dropped out of AP Academy was also the last time Akame tried to commit suicide." She took a cigarette and prepared to light it. "Anything to add?"

"Yeah... I tried to comfort her," Tatsumi told the dorm leader. "I promised her that I wouldn't drop out, and that we'd graduate together." The statement made everyone in the dorm cheer.

"That was very manly of you," Bulat complimented, slapping him on the back a little TOO hard. "I'm proud."

"Thanks," Tatsumi grinned. "And don't worry; I intend to keep that promise." (He added this part to reassure Sam, who gave a grateful nod.)

"Yeah, but I don't think that's going to be enough to keep her from trying to kill herself," Mine inputted.

"You're just saying that to ruin the moment, aren't you?"

"No, she has a point," Freddy spoke up, defending his friend. "You gave her hope, but let's just say something happens where you have to drop out. What then? That hope gets crushed."

"Which brings us back to the simple question: what do we do?" Najenda asked.

"All of us just need to keep an eye on her," suggested Lubbock. "At least one member of Night Raid is in all of her classes, right?"

"Not cooking."

"I could change my elective," Sam offered. "I'll probably burn down the school, but it'll be worth it if it means helping Akame."

"Okay, then. You'll ask tomorrow. Meeting adjourned."

It turns out, the meeting should not have been adjourned so quickly. As soon as she walked in the next day, Sam asked through gritted teeth, "Can I kick over something expensive?"

"No," replied Tatsumi tentatively. "Why?"

"BECAUSE OUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR SUCKS!"

"Here, here!" Mine agreed. "Oh, and you can kick over the boys' dresser. I'm sure they won't mind."

"Yes, we would!" the boys shouted. So, instead of kicking things down, Sam concentrated her anger into doing her algebra assignment, which surprisingly made her do better than she did when actually trying to think about the problems.

Tatsumi let out an awkward whistle. Besides when he'd upset Akame, he'd never seen Sam this pissed off. Mine sat down next to the freshman and, turning her head away, put a hand on her shoulder. "So... do you want to talk about whatever happened?" the pink-haired girl asked awkwardly. Sam responded by leaning her head onto Mine and telling her the story:

"I went to see the guidance counselor to change my elective, and she asked if I was sure, since I was doing well. I said yes. Then she asked why, and I said I was concerned for my friend's well-being in another class. So she goes, 'You can only change your elective for a legitimate reason, not to be with a friend.' And I responded, 'I want to legitimately keep a friend from legitimately trying to kill herself. Legitimate enough?' And you know how she responds? She gives me this stupid thing!"

Sam slammed a pamphlet on the table titled Let's Talk About Suicide. "I don't need an Oz-ing pamphlet!" she continued to rant. "And before you ask, I did try to read it to see if there was anything helpful. But it just tells you about depression and signs that a friend will show if they want to... you know... it doesn't actually say how to prevent it!"

"This is exactly what's wrong with our society," agreed Lubbock, who had read through the pamphlet. "They try to pass something off like depression as something that can be solved with 'using your words' and 'individualism'. So... according to this, if I tell Akame not to kill herself because it's bad for her, she won't do it? That's bull crap to the highest degree!"

"Agreed," added Freddy. He put a hand on his fellow freshman, who was blinking back tears "I... never want to see her think she has no way out," Sam began. "When I first met her, she just stared at me with her blank red eyes. But Freddy pointed something out: there was a darkness there. So whenever she smiled... I took it as if she was saying, 'If I can make it, you can, too.' She fought that darkness off every day..."

Tatsumi suddenly smiled in understanding. "You don't want to see her upset... because you don't like seeing her in that darkness," he added. "And because when she smiles, it seems like there's no darkness in the world at all."

Sam nodded. "Exactly," she smiled back.

"Well then... if you guys care so much, it's good that I had a backup plan," Chelsea stated, entering the room. Mine glared at her while still trying to be somewhat comforting to Sam. "I know a boy in cooking," the orange-haired girl continued. "His name is Susanoo. I talked to him, and he agreed to keep a close eye on Akame for us."

Everyone cheered. Sam smiled. Akame was going to be okay, and if she ever felt like she didn't have a way out, her friends would be there to say otherwise.

So that's it! Also, does anyone know any of the character's birthdays? (I know the official guide isn't translated yet, but does anyone have an idea?) I would like to possibly use them for plot points and/or relationship development.