Hello, everyone! Just a quick explanation for last chapter: last week was World Suicide Prevention Week, and I don't think a lot of people understand how serious of an issue it is, especially if the cause was bullying, abuse, or rape. Some people don't think they have a way out, and instead of putting them down, others should be finding a way to help. Maybe instead of health teachers telling us how we're going to die from drugs all of the time, they should teach us to be compassionate towards others, because we don't know what they're going through. Just a thought...
Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and reviews are appreciated!
Tatsumi woke to the sounds of his dorm members getting ready for school... aka utter chaos.
He realized Freddy was still sleeping and decided to wake him up before things got ugly. As the two walked into the kitchen, they observed Mine and Chelsea fighting over the cereal box while Leone did her best to keep Lubbock from following her upstairs to get dressed. (What was meant by "did her best" was that she punched him down the stairs.) Najenda conversed with Akame as she cooked breakfast sausage for the non-cereal eaters, and Bulat was doing sit-ups on the couch, leaving Sam, already dressed, to sit on the floor as she watched the TV.
"Morning!" the girl greeted as Tatsumi and Freddy entered the living room.
"Morning, Sam," Freddy replied, rubbing his eyes. "What're you watching?"
"We went to the same middle school, were in the same classes, and you don't know?" Tatsumi took a glance at the TV and immediately recognized the movie. "You like Frozen?" he asked.
"'Like' is an understatement," informed Freddy. "It was literally almost all she talked about last year."
"Excuse me if Elsa is beautiful and Anna is a good character," Sam muttered.
"Breakfast is ready," Akame announced to everyone in the living room. Immediately, the boys rushed in to the kitchen; Sam followed only after pausing the movie so she could resume watching later. (despite seeing it about 100 times).
Now somewhat awake, Tatsumi noticed that Akame had her long hair tied into a ponytail, and she was wearing one of those aprons with the cheesy sayings on them. Despite this, along with her unchanging, emotionless expression, he still thought that she looked sort of nice.
While they ate, Sam and Freddy shared their schedules (which were pretty much the same, except that Sam was taking Algebra I honors and Freddy was taking Geometry honors) and asked about their teachers. "Be careful, Sam," Akame warned. "I had algebra last year. The teacher is a demon from hell."
"Oh… that's great," Sam replied sarcastically. She nervously looked at her sausage.
"Hey, don't worry about it!" Leone assured her, patting her head. "You're a member of Night Raid, after all! You can handle anything!" Sam smiled and thanked her.
"Hey, has anyone else noticed Sheele isn't here?" asked Tatsumi, realizing that he wanted to ask the purple-haired girl about the incident with Akame.
"Eh, she usually sleeps in," Najenda explained casually.
"In that case…" Akame began. She took the sausage that she set aside for Sheele and ate it herself. Tatsumi, Freddy, and Sam could only stare in disbelief.
"And that usually happens, too," added Mine with an evil grin. "It's just like they say: when you snooze, you lose."
"Right on cue!" exclaimed Chelsea as Sheele, along with a dressed Leone, came downstairs. Sheele yawned, rubbed her eyes and surveyed the empty plates. "Where's mine?" she asked.
"Right here, duh!" Mine answered.
"No, I meant my breakfast." Everyone just gazed at her sympathetically. Sheele sighed. "I really should start setting my alarm," she muttered.
"Thanks for walking with me to class, Akame," Sam said politely as she arrived at her Algebra classroom.
"You're welcome," replied Akame. "I have to show Tatsumi and Freddy to Geometry, anyway." The boys wished their friend luck. Tatsumi then leaned in and whispered to Sam, "Don't pay attention to what Akame said. I'm sure Ms. Gale isn't really a demon from hell."
"Are you positive?" asked Sam, pointing to someone at the front of the room. There was what Tatsumi assumed was a woman, with fire surrounding her head as she glared at everyone, her arms folded. The brown-haired boy nearly wet himself. Crap! I thought Akame was trying to scare us, but she wasn't kidding! He thought. He wished Sam good luck again and hurried to join Akame and Freddy on the way to Geometry.
"So… our Geometry teacher isn't a demon from hell, is she?" Freddy asked timidly.
"No, she's actually pretty nice," Mine answered, joining from behind and scaring Tatsumi.
"And just where were you?!" demanded Tatsumi.
"It's none of your business!" After whacking her new dorm member on the head, the pink-haired girl immediately turned to Akame and whispered, "Sheele and I ran into the Jaegers again."
While Akame's expression had never changed at all, Tatsumi clearly noticed that she was even more serious than usual. As Freddy had said, she had a darkness around her. "They didn't hurt either of you, did they?" she asked, almost deadly serious.
"No, but as laid-back as Sheele is, she's starting to get pissed," Mine answered, clenching her fists. "And frankly, so am I!"
As the group approached the Geometry classroom, Tatsumi and Freddy were relieved to see that their teacher was a normal young woman who greeted her students with a smile. "Go in," Akame told the boys. "I'll-"
"Thank GOD you are normal!" the boys exclaimed, already hugging their teacher and patting her on the head affectionately.
"Never mind." The red-eyed girl turned to Mine. "I don't want to start any problems with them," she informed. "Not like last year."
"But you of all people-!" Mine began to argue before Akame's glare silenced her. The pink-haired girl folded her arms in defeat. "Fine," she gave in, displaying an indignant attitude. "Run away from your problems and see where it gets you."
As Mine took her seat, she looked toward Akame, still standing in the doorway and clutching her arm. Mine sighed. I didn't mean to upset her, she thought guiltily. But I want her to face her problems so she can finally...
Akame took her seat, the freshman introduced themselves, and class started.
At lunch, all the members of Night Raid congregated to talk about their day. Sam and Freddy were enjoying their classes, despite the fact that their AP World History teacher had a split personality, and ran into some nice freshman who they grew fond of. There was one girl Jamie, who made cookies for her Biology honors class (all freshman), and a trio of boys that they both knew from middle school that, together with Freddy, made up the "Core Four." There was also an Asian girl that had been close with Sam last year, Joji, who was very smart and kind but also introverted.
"Do you think it's a good idea to introduce her to you guys?" asked Sam as she ate one of Jamie's cookies.
"Who?" was Sheele's reply, for she had spaced out the entire time.
"My friend, Joji. Since you guys are my friends, I want to introduce her to all of you."
"I don't see why not," Najenda replied.
"Great! More people I need to talk to!" Mine exclaimed sarcastically.
"Maybe we could invite some of your other new friends, too," suggested Leone.
"Uh-uh! Four newbs is enough on my plate!"
"Lighten up, Mine," Lubbock told his friend, putting an arm around her shoulder. Mine, knowing where his hand would wind up, slapped it away without hesitation.
"So, how has your day been going, Akame?" Sam inquired, trying to include her in the conversation.
"Good," the red-eyed girl replied in between bites of meat.
"Is it alright if I ask if that meat is on steroids? I mean, it's HUGE!"
"Well, since the AP Academy tortures people mentally and, on very small occasion, physically, they compensate for it by having favorite foods large in size."
"Makes sense."
"Hey, what's this?" asked Tatsumi, pointing to a paper under Akame's arm.
"It's a song in Japanese I had to learn over the break," answered Akame. "I have to sing it next period in Japanese class."
"I have an idea," Najenda spoke up. "Why don't we all sing a line and sing the chorus together to help Akame get ready?" Everyone reluctantly agreed.
The song was called "Skyreach," sung originally by Sora Amamiya. Akame sang the first line, Tatsumi the second, Mine third, and so on. Najenda, Chelsea, Sam and Freddy sang the first line of the chorus together (there wasn't enough lines or everyone), and all of Night Raid continued to sing the song.
However, no one realized how loud they were being. When they were finished, everyone in the cafeteria stared at them in dead silence. Finally, a bold freshman South American boy called out, "I don't know what you guys were saying, but it got me pumped!"
The rest of the cafeteria cheered in agreement. Mine stuck her tongue out at her audience, Akame blushed and lowered her head, and everyone else laughed.