This is a prequel to 11037. If you have not read that fic, please read it after you finish this one.
The title comes from the song of the same name by Alan Walker.
Faded
Leon motionlessly sat, staring aimlessly into space, as Chihiro rapidly typed on his laptop, his gentle eyes glued to the screen, determined to gather as much information on current events as he could. The room was silent save for the soft tapping of keys and Chihiro occasionally humming quietly in concentration.
"...how long d'you reckon this'll last?" Leon inquired after a short while, becoming rather uneasy with the silence that coldly enveloped Chihiro's dorm.
"I don't know…" Chihiro responded, not taking his eyes off of the screen. "It'll have to last a long time, though… that's what usually happens with these things."
Leon leaned forward and cradled his head in his hands with a wistful sigh. "You've managed to get in contact with your dad, right?"
Chihiro nodded. "His network connection isn't very good, though, so we don't get to talk often…"
"Still, it's amazin' how you've both managed to salvage some kind of connection," Leon observed. "Especially considerin' most of Japan has no Internet access at all now."
"Yeah," Chihiro agreed.
It still saddened and disappointed Leon to this day that only his class had managed to be salvaged and kept inside Hope's Peak Academy, away from the terror and chaos the outside world had fallen victim to. It was relieving for him to know that he and his close friends - Chihiro, Taka and Mondo - were all safe and sound, and unlikely to die anytime soon. But there were still a lot of people he cared about who had been left out in the cold. His parents. His cousin, Kanon Nakajima. His friends from LL Academy. His boyfriend, Kazuichi Souda. They were all incredibly important people in his world still to this day, and he missed them all terribly. He would gladly take them all under shelter at Hope's Peak if Mr. Kirigiri allowed him to.
But as it stood, they were probably dead already.
He shook his head and focused on what Chihiro was doing on his small laptop. Surely Chihiro would be able to research what had happened to them? It seemed a little too much to ask, but he was sure that Chihiro would gladly comply. Maybe later, though - for now, his shorter friend was investigating the group that had devastated the world to begin with, known as Ultimate Despair.
Minutes passed by in complete silence. Chihiro worked best when there wasn't too much noise, and so Leon remained as silent as possible as he browsed the Internet, scavenging as much information as he could. He wasn't in the right mood or mindset to be disruptive to his productivity anyway, in a stark contrast to his classroom behaviour prior to the Tragedy.
Leon was only semi-conscious when Chihiro gently tugged at his sleeve in order to get his attention.
"Hmmph? What is it?" he asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, turning towards Chihiro.
"I've found a database that has identified some of the members of Ultimate Despair," Chihiro informed him. "Apparently there is a small group that has been going around and taking pictures of people they believe may be part of Ultimate Despair… I hope they don't get themselves hurt, or worse…"
"Okay," Leon responded. "So most of these members are students of Hope's Peak, yeah?"
Chihiro nodded. "Just as we've been told," he affirmed, turning back towards the screen of his laptop. "Some teachers are part of it too, though… why must the world be such a cruel place? Even Miss Yukizome is there!"
"Wait, what? Isn't that Kazu's homeroom teacher?"
"Yeah! And she's said to be one of the nicest teachers at school… why would she do this?"
"Lemme have a look," said Leon as he pulled the laptop towards him. Indeed, Chihiro had clicked on one of the images - specifically, one that depicted Chisa Yukizome herself, impaling a young man using a broom she'd found. He could hear Chihiro whimpering slightly beside him, and Leon felt as though he was going to vomit the meagre breakfast he'd eaten that morning. The man's blood spilling out onto the pavement, the manic look in Miss Yukizome's eyes as she joyfully killed this innocent human… he'd anticipated these horrors, but he hadn't expected such cheerful, kindly people such as Miss Yukizome to take part in the world's destruction. Was Kazuichi aware of this? He'd really admired Miss Yukizome, to the point where he'd confessed to Leon that she was almost like a second mother to him. If he knew that she had been killing innocents and drowning the world in despair…
He grimly scrolled through the rest of the photographs of the confirmed members of Ultimate Despair. His heart sank as he caught sight of students he'd recognised. Ibuki Mioda, one of Kazuichi's classmates, had appeared in several images, laughing at the corpses strewn around the ruins of Tokyo and strumming her electric guitar with a wicked grin on her face that was vastly unlike her usual cheerful personality, as well as dimly glowing red eyes. He'd only known Ibuki because she and his own classmate Sayaka, both being highly-skilled and popular musicians, had been in an intense rivalry over whose music was better, as well as who had the bigger fanbase. He was certain that Ibuki's fanbase had suffered a major decline, now that he knew what the heavy metal star was doing now.
The images also displayed Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu and Peko Pekoyama, and Leon felt a lump arise in his throat as he stared at the still shots of them single-handedly murdering an entire army who had been sent out to kill them. They bore the very same red eyes as Ibuki. Leon didn't know much about Peko besides the fact that she was close with Fuyuhiko, but he did know for sure that they had both been classmates of Kazuichi's as well. Worse still, Fuyuhiko had been Kazuichi's closest friend - aside from Leon - throughout his time at Hope's Peak.
"Damn, Kazu," he murmured to himself, absently twirling his goatee. "All your friends have gone psycho. 'S that what the world's come to?"
He continued scrolling through the horrifying images depicting several teenagers engaging in gruesome acts. Murder. Blackmail. Destruction. Never did Leon ever think that high school students - even those with such extraordinary talents - would be capable of bringing the world down with them like this. He was dismayed to see more of Kazuichi's classmates in the images, consumed with despair and a desire to share it with the world. He couldn't place their names or talents, but he had seen them the few times he'd passed Kazuichi's classroom.
"A lot of these students look like they're from the 77th class…" Chihiro noted beside him. "Wasn't your boyfriend Kazuichi in that class?"
"Yeah… oh, shit, I found Sonia," Leon muttered as he moved on to a new image.
"Oh no… you don't mean that princess Kazuichi really liked, r-right?"
"That's the one."
"You can't be serious!" Chirico edged closer to Leon as he squinted at the laptop screen, which plainly displayed Sonia Nevermind herself, donned in a long black dress and laughing maniacally. She was surrounded by several bleeding corpses that lay lifelessly on the ground around her, all boasting horrific injuries. Leon found that he'd rather not know how she'd managed to kill them all.
"What the fuck has caused them to be like this…?" Leon wondered aloud. "Sonia… I didn't think she of all people would be a killer or anything like that…"
"I-I don't know," Chihiro replied, shuddering a little. "But there's only one photo left… I hope it won't be anything too bad…"
After taking a moment to draw a deep intake of breath, Leon clicked on the right-hand arrow that would take him to the final image on the database. His heart sunk down to the pit of his stomach, and his eyes widened in horror and disbelief at what was now laid out in front of him. His mouth felt as though it had been filled with sandpaper, and his hands shook slightly.
"Leon!" Chihiro cried out, concerned. "Are you okay? Is something the-" He cut himself off as he turned his attention back to the laptop, and he gasped quietly, staring down at the ground, struggling to keep his tears at bay.
The final photo had been taken in a dark factory, filled with complex machinery that seemed to have been running perfectly despite the circumstances. In the center of the factory was a machine Leon instantly recognised - the "Pitch-Up", as Kazuichi had dubbed it. It was the best birthday present he'd ever received, and when he'd told Kazuichi of this, he'd seen the happiest expression on his boyfriend's face. The Pitch-Up served as a challenging, mechanical replacement for a human pitcher - it was perfect for baseball practice, and worked seamlessly. But there it was, in this dreary factory, being configured by none other than Kazuichi Souda himself.
But that wasn't all. Kazuichi was wearing an old, grimy yellow jumpsuit that looked as though it'd been a much brighter colour in brighter days. His dyed pink hair, typically hidden and kept tidy under a beanie or backwards cap, was unkempt and resembled a lion's mane. His razor-sharp teeth, typically not much of a threat due to his easygoing personality, glinted dangerously, as though he would happily use the Pitch-Up as a lethal weapon. His eyes gleamed with a faint red tint. But the worst part about this image was that standing beside him, smiling sweetly down at him and his creation, was none other than the leader of Ultimate Despair herself - Junko Enoshima.
"Seriously!?" Leon cried out, slamming his fist down against the table. "Are you fuckin' serious!? What were you thinking, Kazu!?" He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes firmly closed in order to prevent the tears from falling.
Chihiro glanced up at him sympathetically and placed a small hand on one of his shaking shoulders. "Um… would you like me to find out more about him?" he asked tentatively. "The database also includes some written observations and theories of the members of Ultimate Despair…"
"Go the fuck ahead," Leon choked, concealing his eyes with his arm.
"Okay." Chihiro took the laptop back from him, clicked out of the photograph, and scrolled down to the bottom of the page. "It says here that many of the members may have been influenced by drugs, brainwashing or similar means," he said. "You've noticed the glowing eyes, right? Apparently they don't show very well through the camera."
"I… guess that makes sense," Leon drawled. "There's no way Kazu would ever willingly do this shit… even if he was promised money in return…"
"The thing about Kazuichi, though, is that he is also believed to be one of Junko's most loyal followers…" Chihiro continued. "The owners of this database believe that Junko is planning something big, and Kazuichi's work for her will play a major role in it. We all need to be prepared for it, whatever it is… but I'm sure we'll be safe here."
"Right, because knowin' that your boyfriend is Junko's puppet and your other friends and family are probably dead is so reassurin'," Leon spat sarcastically as he furiously rubbed at his eyes.
"L-Leon…" Chihiro gazed up at him with concern. "I know things are really hard right now… but remember what Mr. Kirigiri told us? As long as we hope for the best… everything will turn out alright. We all need to be strong… and I've been trying my best to be strong, too. For all of us." He smiled softly as he said this.
"...I'll try to be strong, too," Leon eventually told him after a long silence. "But I can't make any promises. This is still so much for me to deal with…"
Chihiro beamed. He rose from his seat and wrapped his arms around Leon's larger frame, and Leon hugged back a little, smiling tearfully down at him.
"As long as we all have each other… we'll be okay," Chihiro soothed him. "And maybe soon this will all be over and we can go back home to our families."
'Y-yeah… Thanks, Chihiro." Leon grinned half-heartedly. "You're honestly a stronger person than I thought."
"R-really?"
"Yeah, really."
"That's such a kind thing to say… thank you so much!"
"You're welcome."
Chihiro was right. They needed to rely on hope to make it through the storm. Maybe, just maybe, they could somehow bring hope to Kazuichi and his classmates as well despite their crimes - but for now, they needed to focus on keeping themselves safe and sound.
Little did Leon know that he would die at the hands of Monokuma and the Pitch-Up with Kazuichi completely absent from his memory, and that Kazuichi would return to his normal self long after his death.