Chapter 2

Some time had passed since that day. They all managed to escape. As Monokuma said, the world was indeed filled with despair. There was chaos and destruction everywhere. The resemblence to Monokuma could be seen almost everywhere you looked. It was a horrible sight. They were however, dedicated, to restoring hope in the world. They strongly believed that hope would overcome despair. Mukuro had told them how their memories had been wiped, and how there might be a way to restore them. Pressing Makoto's escape button didn't worked. They all tried. So now, they were once more in the building of Hope's Peak Academy, searching every inch they could. Mukuro explained how the process had been created by the late Yasuke Matsuda, the former ultimate neurologist. They had been searching the school for hours, until finally, a beacon of hope shone through the dark.

"I..I think I found it!" Everyone turned their heads to look at Chihiro Fujisaki, who was holding up a bundle of paper that looked old and worn. there was mistaking the signature of yasuke Matsuda up top. The others quickly gathered around as Mukuro gently took the notes, looking them over. She gave a small smile and nodded.

"Yes...This is it...I...I'm confident with these notes we can restore your memories...It's the least i can do after I..." Mukuro fell silent as she turned her sad gaze to the floor. Makoto gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Mukuro it's ok...No one blames you anymore...Look at everything you've done for us. You evfen stayed to help us get all of our memories back."

"Our memories back? You already got yours back! Lucky..." The voice belonged to Leon Kuwata, who was leaning back against the wall, with Sayaka beside him. Sayaka had told him how she had been planning to kill him to escape. At first, Leon was angry. He felt betrayed, and hurt. but after thinking about it, he understood. Sayaka just wanted to save her group. Leon just so happened to be an easy target. They had made up quickly, and now they were even dating. The comfort of the other helped them both to maintain hope, and smile in this despair-induced world. Makoto looked back at them and smiled.

"Right...Your memories, everyone...Sorry about that..." The lucky student rubbed the back of his neck. he watched Leon and Sayaka for a moment more, until a memory came to him.

Leon walked into classroom 1-A, with a blush on his face. Makoto had been sitting with Kyoko and Mukuro, talking with the two girls, when the baseball star entered. Mondo was messing around with Taka, teasing the ultimate moral compass playfully. Celeste was too busy taunting Hifumi by pulling his hamster-like cheeks, while Sayaka sat on the window ledge behind them, laughing. When she saw her boyfriend walked in she beamed ahappy, excited smile and jumped down, running over to grab his hands in hers.

"There you are, Leon! Huh? Why is your jacket dirty? I thought you said you hated getting dirty?" The redhead reached a hand behind his neck, giving a weakly innocent smile.

"Oh, sorry! I was uh...at the junkyard..." This caught everyone's attention. Leon was known for being a bit of a clean freak. Ok, a BIG clean freak. So seeing Leon with dirt on his jacket was shocking.

"The junkyard? What's a dude like you doing there?" Mondo chimed in, releasing Taka from a headlock. Leon looked away quickly.

"I was just...you know, hanging out with my friend! He was upset..."

"Oh, you mean Kazuichi, don't you?" Chihiro asked. He had his laptop open on his desk.

"Souda? The ultimate mechanic? Makes sense..But still, the junkyard? Must've been big if you went to a place full of dirt..." Sayaka tilted her head. Then, as if just noticing the red on his face, she gasped.

"Leon are ok? Your face is red! Do you have a fever?" that only made his blush worsen.

"No, I'm fine! I barely ever get sick anyway!"

"It stands to reason then that the reason your face is red is because you hold feelings for Souda, am i right?" Celeste had chimed in, with a small, mischievious smile on her face. Leon was taken aback and stepped back.

"W-What?! No way, Come on..! This is me we're talking about! Leon Kuwata, the ultimate chick magnet? Duh!" He made a face, pointing a finger to the side of his head to emphasize the 'duh'.

"Leon..." His eyes blinked, turning back to Sayaka.

"Yeah, babe? What is it?"

"...It's ok...It's perfectly natural, you know.."

"Whoa dude...You mean Leon is...?" A balled up piece of paper quickly smacked into the face of Hiro, hard.

"S-Shut up..! I'm not...! I..." The attention of his classmates staring at him made him begin sweating nervously. He hated being sweaty.

"Damn it...! Ok, ok! Fine! Yes, I like Kazuichi, ok?! We...We hooked up, alright? I-It just happened! Honest! I...I think I..."

"love him? It's surprising, I'll admit...But..I want you to be happy...Even if it's not with me...Everyone deserves to be happy, Leon..." Sayaka gave him a warm, genuine smile. He looked at her for a moment before pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you, Sayaka...You'll always be my favorite girl. We can stilll be friends, right?" Sayaka giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Of course! we'll always be friends...!"

Snapping back to the present, Makoto's eyes widened.

"Leon, does the name...Kazuichi Souda sound familiar...?" The baseball star tilted his head, furrowng his brows in confusion.

"No, why?"

"Well...I think he was your...boyfriend..."

"...WHAT?!"