((All credit for ideas and help with dialogue thus far goes to my best friend TheSaiyanJedi5!!))

((Akemi's POV))

I blinked as the light from the Gym surrounded me. There, I saw everyone. All of my classmates from the 78th class. I never thought I'd be back here, I thought. But...it's for the best... I looked up and nearly teared up at the sight of my friends' smiling faces. There's Makoto and Sayaka, I thought as I saw them together. Standing off to the side, I saw Kyoko staring into space like she usually did. She's just how I remember her...Mysterious as ever.... Many more familiar voices and faces flooded my memories. Hiro, with his electric-socket hair, Hina, with her friendly face and hyper attitude, Byakuya, looking as snide and jerky as usual, Celeste, with her Gothic fashion sense and her usual smile, despite the attitude underneath...

Suddenly, I was pulled out of my reminiscing by a familiar person pointing his finger in my face and yelling. "A-ha! Truant! We were told to meet here at 8 o'clock sharp!" I smiled. It was Taka. I couldn't be happier to be chewed out by him for being late than I was right now. I nodded, shaking the tears from my eyes. "U-Understood...I'll be on time next time," I said. Taka nodded. "See to it that you do," he said as he left. Taka...I missed you so much, I thought. I looked around at the other familiar faces...And there he was. Standing in the corner as he did the first time I saw him. The man I'd go through hell and back again to be with...Mondo Oowada. 

I walked up to him, knowing that I had to talk to him. "Mondo..." I said, fighting the urge to hold him on the spot. "Yeah? What?!" Mondo yelled, acting tough as usual. "I, umm...." I didn't know what to say. Did he always affect me like this before? Make me so nervous I could hardly speak? I sighed. "I-I'm sorry...I forgot what I was going to say," I said, bowing. Mondo growled angrily. "Then quit fucking staring at me!!!!" he yelled. I looked down, crying softly and walked away from him. Mondo never acted like this before... I thought. But I guess that's the price of returning to the past. Sometimes things change... I looked up at the Gym ceiling. Daiya...What do I do? Mondo won't believe me if I told him...How do I fix this?! Silence was all I got for an answer. 

I sighed and walked over to Chihiro. I remembered what he said before I left about him believing me no matter what.  I smiled and walked up to him. "Umm...Fujisaki, right?" I said, acting as if we'd just met. Chihiro looked at me, a nervous look on his face. "U-umm...Y-Yes..." I smiled. "It's okay," I assured him. " I was wondering if...You'd like to be friends." I extended my hand to him. "I'm Akemi Minako. The Ultimate Singer." Chihiro smiled and shook my hand. "Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer. It's nice to meet you, Akemi," he said. I smiled. "You too. Hey, Chihiro...After orientation, I need to talk to you about something. It's important." Chihiro nodded his head slightly. "O-Okay...I'll be there. Just let me know when and where." I nodded and turned to where Taka was. One down, two to go. Just keep your cool, Akemi, I thought. 

I walked over to Taka and bowed, smiling. "Good morning, Ishimaru," I said politely. Taka turned, smiled, and bowed as well. "Good morning to you as well," he said. I started to return to my normal position the same time Taka did and we wound up bumping our heads together. I giggled slightly. "You okay, Taka?" I asked. He smiled. "Ow...Affirmative. Nothing broken, no brain damage. I'm perfectly fine." 

I smiled. "It's good to meet you. I'm..." I was interrupted by Taka, who held his hand up and raised his eyebrow. "Do you know me? You've said my name, and I don't recall ever meeting you before," he said, frowning. I winced. Crap! I was supposed to gain his trust and then tell him that I know him! Way to go, Akemi...You managed to make the one person who trusts you more than anything suspicious of you! I thought, angry with myself. I quickly thought up a lie Taka would believe easily.

"I...I didn't know Taka was what you go by. I just saw your full name and thought Taka was easier to say than Ishimaru. And...I only knew your name...Because it read it online. You know, the message boards?"Taka nodded. "Yes, I know the message boards," he said. "Why?" I smiled. "As I said before...That's how I knew your name." Taka smiled brightly in his usual way. "Oh, well nice to meet you!" "You too. Oh! I'm Akemi Minako. The Ultimate Singer," I said, introducing myself. Taka smiled and did a butler-style bow. "Kiyotaka Ishimaru. The Ultimate Moral Compass. Or Ultimate Hall Monitor. Whichever you prefer," He said. "You may call me Taka." I smiled at him. He hasn't changed at all...He's just as funny, kind, and strict as ever, I thought. Now all that's left to do is...Find the courage to talk to Mondo. 

I walked up to Mondo again, trying to remember what I said that day to make him like me. I stared at him from afar for a while. He was standing in a far corner of the room, avoiding socializing with the others. I sighed and walked up to him. Please...Let this work! I thought. I smiled brightly and turned to Mondo. "Hey Mondo...You're the leader of the largest biker gang in Japan, right?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, I am. Why the fuck do you wanna know?" I closed my eyes. I'd forgotten just how brusque and rough Mondo was at times. But despite that, I kept my smile. "Then...You must enjoy riding with them, right?" I said. He smiled and closed his eyes, giving me his usual thumbs-up. "Hell yeah! Nothing better than riding a motorcycle! The wind in your hair!" "Don't I know it," I said, smiling more.

This caught Mondo's attention, just as I knew it would. "Y-You ride too?" he asked, his eyes wide with interest. I nodded. "My older brother would take me on rides all the time," I replied. For the first time since I'd seen him again, Mondo smiled. "Wow. Sounds like you had a helluva lot of fun!" he said. His smile then turned into a playful smirk. "I'd love to race your brother sometime!" I smiled again. But soon after, Monokuma appeared, interrupting our fun and happiness.

-After Monokuma appears-

I waited in my room patiently. I was waiting on three particular people. Earlier, I'd slipped notes under the doors of Chihiro, Mondo, and Taka. I gave Taka the earliest time, because I knew he'd be on time, no matter what. I waited and right when the clock struck 10, I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and smiled. Taka was right on time, as usual. I smiled and let him in my room. "I'm glad you came, Taka," I said. Taka sat on my bed. "Are we going to talk about a way out?" He asked. I shook my head and sighed heavily. "There is no escape..." Taka frowned. I could tell by looking at him that he didn't believe that. I decided that now would be a good time to tell him everything.

"And...I know what happens now," I said. Taka's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" I sighed. "I...I knew about the Killing Game...And Monokuma's graduation requirements..." Taka's eyes suddenly narrowed. "As in you're involved or something else?" he asked. I shook my head violently. "No, I'd never! It's just...!" "Complicated?" Taka finished.  I nodded. "In a way, yes..." I said. Taka nodded, urging me on. He was showing interest in what I'd said. "Then I say...Explain it as best as you can," he said. 

I sighed. Hopefully, he'll believe me. "I...I'm from...the future," I said. Taka's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "The future?" "Yes. A terrible future. One in which we all die," I replied. "Define 'we'," Taka said. "Chihiro, Mondo, me....You..." I said, adding the last part reluctantly. Taka frowned and looked down. "I...I die? How?" he asked. I shrugged. "I don't know how exactly. All I do know is that you were murdered. And there was a lot of blood," I replied. Taka looked back up at me, still frowning. "But now you told me. You're trying to save me from that fate. Am I right?" He said. I nodded slowly. "It's okay if you don't believe me...I wouldn't believe me either, if I were you..." 

Taka sighed. That was a sure sign that he was feeling VERY conflicted. "It all seems crazy, but somehow I want to trust it," he said. "But...That chance it isn't true..." He grabbed his head in frustration. "I'm not even sure what's fake and what's real!" I put a hand on his shoulder gently. "It's okay...Just...promise me you'll be careful," I said. Taka smiled in his usual way and nodded. "Very well! I shall make that promise! And I'll do my best to keep it!" he vowed. I smiled. "Thank you, Taka," I said as he walked to the door. He opened it, turned to me, and smiled before he returned to his room.

-Chihiro Fujisaki-

I smiled as Chihiro walked in. He looked at me, nervous, as he sat on my bed. I smiled. "Chihiro, it's okay," I assured him. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. I just want to talk." Chihiro quickly calmed down and sighed with relief. "Okay..."  he said. I sighed and explained what I told Taka to Chihiro. He thought about it for a little while and looked up at me. "I see...Wow," he said. "I'm trying to prevent that future. And...it's okay if you don't believe me or...if you want to avoid me...But I had to tell you...Because...we're friends!" I said, crying. 

Surprisingly, Chihiro shook his head. "No,no! I believe you! Depending on what we're going through, it makes sense," he said. "Y-You do?" I said, wiping my tears. He nodded. "I knew you would...Even if...Even if Taka and Mondo didn't. Because you told me you would," I said, smiling. Chihiro smiled in his usual way. "And you're here to change events.....to save us all, right?" he asked. I nodded. "Okay, that's good," Chihiro said. "But...I could really use your help," I said. "If there's any way possible you can help me, I'd really appreciate it." 

Chihiro nodded and gave me a closed-eye smile. "I'd be happy to help!" "Thanks, Chihiro," I said, smiling. "You're a true friend." "And you are too, Akemi. You're so kind and caring," Chihiro replied. I simply smiled brightly. "It's about time for Mondo to come. Chihiro...I need you to do me a favor. Find a way to access Alter Ego. If you can do that...we may find a way to escape." He nodded. "Right! I'll work on that right away!" he said, getting up and running out the door. "Just leave it to me, Akemi! I promise, I won't let you down!" 

I shut the door after he left. I know you won't, Chihiro, I thought. You've never let me down before... 

-Mondo Oowada-

I sighed and looked at the clock. Mondo was late to our meeting. Big surprise, I thought. He's always late. I waited patiently for Mondo to arrive. Ten minutes past the meeting time, he opened the door and walked in. I smiled. "I'm glad you came, Mondo," I said. Mondo scowled and scoffed, folding his arms impatiently. "Why do you want to meet me anyway?" he asked. I took a deep breath, let it out, and explained what I told Chihiro and Taka to him. "...And because of those motives, you kill Chihiro that night," I said. 

Mondo was silent for a few moments, then he laughed loudly. "Bullshit!!!" he said. I was angry. How dare he not believe me?! I was trying to save his life, and here he is, laughing in my face! "Why the hell would I lie about something like this?!" I asked. "I don't know anything about you! How in the hell could I trust you in the first place?!" He yelled angrily. "I wouldn't lie about this! Especially not to you!" I yelled, pointing at him angrily. My ring glinted in the light and Mondo's eyes bulged when he saw it. He jerked my arm toward him violently. "Where the hell did you get this?!" 

I whimpered in pain. "M-Mondo, you're hurting me..!" Mondo looked at me, fuming with rage. "I don't care!!! Where the fuck did you get this damn ring?! Answer me!!!" he yelled. I cried. "From you!!!" Mondo looked at me, confused. "Me?! I didn't give you anything!" I sobbed harder. "Y-You did, but...Because I decided to come back...You forgot me....and everything we'd been through..." Mondo raised his eyebrow. "Been through?" he asked calmly.  I sighed with relief on the inside. He was finally being calm and listening. "Everything I just told you...wasn't a lie," I explained calmly. 

"You mean...it's...r-real?" Mondo said, his eyes wide. I nodded. Mondo just stared at the floor, lost in thought. "I understand if you don't believe me," I said. "I..." Mondo said. Then he was silent again. It was then that I remembered the picture Daiya told me to keep. I pulled it from my pocket and held it out to him. "Mondo, I know it's hard...But think about what Daiya would want you to do," I said. Mondo took the picture from me and looked at it, understanding that it was true. "This was...Daiya's...You really are telling me the truth..." he said. He gently touched his brother's face on the photo. "Daiya..." He shut his eyes tightly and I saw the tears as they fell. 

I sat on the bed beside him and gently put my hand over his. I knew now was a perfect time to tell him what Daiya told me. "He doesn't blame you. I know you think your weakness killed Daiya, but...In truth, Daiya's strength and love for you...Saved your life..." I said. Mondo looked at me. "Strength...in love..." I could tell by the way he spoke that those words had weight to them. I touched his face gently. "Mondo...It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have possibly predicted what happened that day," I said gently. "It was an accident." Mondo blushed deeply at my touch. "I know....an accident." "It's okay. He's not mad. He...He loves you. More than anything..." I said reassuringly. 

Mondo nodded and wiped his tears away. "And you are...with the ring and everything...?" I knew what he meant. He was asking me if we were ever together. I nodded. "Yes. I fell in love with you before. But...You were executed and..." I trailed off, sobbing. Mondo hugged me close. I sobbed harder. "I don't...want it to happen again..." I said through my sobs. Mondo stroked my hair gently. "If you really are from the future and can prevent these events from happening...Then they won't. And I'll help you the best I can," Mondo said softly.

 I nodded and looked up at him. "I...I'm scared, Mondo," I said. Mondo put his hands on my shoulders, gripping them gently. "I am too...But you told me and things can be different from what happened before," he said. "And I know you can stop it from happening." I dried my eyes and told him the first killing that was soon to come. "Sayaka tries to kill Leon. And then...Leon defends himself and kills Sayaka. How can I prevent that?" I said, gripping my hair in frustration. "Maybe we talk to one or both of them?" Mondo suggested. I smiled and nodded. "That's a great idea, Mondo!" He blushed and rubbed the back of his head, laughing slightly. 

I thought for a moment. "Let's try talking to Leon first," I suggested. "Then we'll talk to Sayaka." He nodded and together we headed to Leon's room. Alright...If I can just convince Sayaka and Leon of what happens, I can prevent their deaths! I can do this! I thought as I walked to Leon's door and rang the doorbell.

To be continued..! 

Surviving Students:16