Chapter 11

A week had passed since graduation. The students wanted to mourn class 77-B, but there was no time for it...The world was horrified when seemingly out of nowhere, all of the reserve course students suddenly committed suicide. All 2,357 of them. it was The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History... But the nightmare didn't end there...The academy became a target, as did the students. The headmaster, Jin Kirigiri, sheltered class 78 within it's walls. One by one, he met with each of them, asking them if they could live in the academy for the rest of their lives. Each student had answered yes, they could. Soon, the world fell into, chaos, destruction, and despair. Upon the headmasters request, class 78 willingly began to block off all the windows, shielding them with thick sheets of metal. Other students removed the main entrance, installing a massive vault door instead. Soon, Hope's Peak Academy was an impenetrable stronghold, designed to protect the ultimate students, in hopes that with them, hope could live on. Then one day, the headmaster vanished. The students were left alone, terrified and confused. Leon Kuwata sat on the floor by chihiro, watching as he went through his laptop. they had learned that all the despair in the world was all thanks to an organization called Ultimate Despair. A massive group of people dedicated to spreading despair and destruction. chihiro was currently researching the the group, when some images caught his eye. He let out a frightened gasp, staring in disbelief.

"Leon...you may want to look at this..." Leon raised a brow and leaned over to look at the screen. his breath caught in his throat as he stared in horror. There were photos of the group spreading chaos. One photo was undoubtedly fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Anyone would recognize the ultimate yakuza anywhere. There was almost the unmistakable Sonia Nevermind, standing regally before some army. Other photos included Peko Pekoyama, Teruteru Hanamura, Nagito Komaeda, Hyoko Saionji, Ibuki Mioda, Gundham Tanaka, Miharu Koizumi, Akane Owari, Nekomaru Nidai, who had also trained him long ago in baseball, Mikan Tsumiki, The ultimate imposter... Leon couldn't believe his eyes. Class 77-B was alive! But...from the look of the photos...It was as if they had become evil. That was obvious. Several of the photos depicted murder. He scanned through the photos, until one last photo caught his eye. He hurriedly clicked it and felt as if his heart had stopped. There, standing in a factory, overlooking the conctruction of a massive robot that looked far too familiar to Leon, with hair wild and free, sporting a yellow jumpsuit...
Was Kazuichi Souda.

"Kazu...No...No, why?!" Tears burst forth again, the sound of a giggle broke through his sobbing. he looked up to see Junko Enoshima, standing there with Mukuro Ikusaba. A fire suddenly ignited in his heart and he shot to his feet, grabbing junko by the shoulders. His face reddened and he squeezed her soulders, baring his teeth angrily. Junko just tilted her head innocently. She shook her head at Mukuro, and the ultimate soldier stepped back.

"What's the matter, Leon?"

"You...This is all your fault, isn't it?! YOU BITCH! YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING! YOU...You destroyed class 77-B...! You brainwashed them! You...You ruined Kazu's life...!" Junko only laughed.

"There now, Leon...Don't worry, I've taken great care of that mechanic boyfriend of yours...In fact he's my favorite tool out of everyone in Ultimate Despair! Oh the things he's built for me... They'll bring such despair...! I can barely contain myself! But i don't love them nearly as much as I love you all..After all you're my classmates...! I want you to feel the joys of despair!" Leon swung back his fist, but it was quickly grabbed by Mondo, who had heard the commotion.

"Dude, have you lost your fucking mind?! You can't hit a chick!"

"Let go, Mondo! This BITCH is the one who's responsible for all the fucked up shit in the world...! Class 77-B is ALIVE! She fucking brainwashed them into murderous psychopaths! She took Kazu!" He screamed. Mondo had to fight to hold him back. Soon, all the other students had come as well. Makoto and Kyoko watched in shock. Hifumi was shaking, Toko was tremblng nervously, hiding behind a stoic Byakuya. Hina stood back with Sakura, who was watching the scene intently. Celeste just stood back, watching with curiousity. Taka looked like he was ready to intervene and break up the fight. Sayaka watched Leon fearfully. She had never seen him so angry. None of them had. Hiro was in the back, watching with fear in his eyes. all the while, Junko showed no fear.

"Don't worry...Soon, none of you will even remember your time here! You'll forget anything that ever happened...You classes, your friendships, lessons...your romances...It's gonna be soooo despairful!" Leon lost his anger when he heard Junko.

"What do you mean...we're gonna forget? There's no way I could ever forget any of this! Especially not Kazu!"

"Poor Leon Kuwata...You won't have a choice! Mukuro!" Mukuro had vanished in the commotion. As the students turned around to look for her, the scenery before them suddenly swirled, blurring. Then, everything went black...

"Now then! Since you so magnificently revealed the identify of the killer during the class trial..." The black and white bear grinned from his seat.

"...the blackened, Leon Kuwata, will receive his punishment!" Panic set into Leon's face. How did things to get this?! One day, he was entering Hope's Peak Academy for the first time...Then, they all woke up in this demented killing game. he didn't want to kill Sayaka...He just felt like he had no choice! She tried to kill him! It was either kill or be killed! he was afriad if he didn't kill her, then she would come back and kill him. And that thought terrified him. They had just held a horrible class trial, and Makoto Naegi exposed him as the culprit for the murder of Sayaka Maizono. The corner of his nervous smile twitched upwards. sweat formed all over his face as he stared at the bear, Monokuma, fearfully. He knew what Monokuma said next would terrify him.

"P-Punishment? You mean...e-execution? W-Wait a second! I didn't have a choice! I HAD to kill her! Y-Yeah, that's it! I was just protecting myself in the heat of the moment! It was self-defense!"

"How, exactly, was it self-defense? When you forced your way into the bathroom, did you or did you not use your very own toolkit? After she'd shut herself in the bathroom, you went out of your way to head back to your own room, then you came all the way back, broke into the bathroom, and killed her. Am I wrong? You had any number of chances to stop what you were doing. But you chose not to. Is it not because you had an unclouded intent to commit murder?" He looked over at Celestia Ludenburg. Terror gripped him. His eyes bulged as his body trembled.

"N-No! That's not...!"

"Stop it... I've had enough of this." Both Leon and Celestia turned as Makoto spoke up. Celestia replied first.

"Oh? Are you sure? You were closer to her than anyone, were you not? He killed your precious Sayaka. Do you understand?"

"I can't say Leon is solely to blame. Of course, I don't plan on blaming Sayaka, either. Because... Because the one to blame...is him!" Makoto pointed an angry, accusing finger at Monokuma. The bear appeared to be surprised.

"S'waaah!?"

"If it weren't for you, this never would have happened to Sayaka, OR Leon! We shouldn't be fighting each other... We should be fighting against the one who put us in this situation! The mastermind!"

"Uh-oh! Did you awaken to your sense of justice!? Well it just so happens that there's nothing more unethical than an unwavering sense of justice. After all, it's people with that sort of mentality that perpetuate war all over the world. Is that the kind of justice that's awakened within you!?"

"Just...shut up!"

"Okay, well, anyway. More importantly...! Let's hurry up and get to what everyone's been waiting for! The punishment!" Just hearing the word punishment filled Leon with a fresh wave of terror. He felt as though his kness would give out on him any moment.

"I'm begging you...! Please, don't do this!" tears poured down as his cheeks, eyes widen with the fear of death.

"No more begging! No more excuses! You must pay the penalty for breaking the rules! Society demands it!"

"S-Stop, please...!"

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star!"

"No no no no no no no!"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Leon was in tears now. He clutched his red hair tightly, yanking it as he shook. He looked around at the others, giving them all pleading looks. Most of them looked at him sadly, fighting back their own tears. They didn't feel like Leon deserve to die. They could understand it wasn't his fault. The one to blame was Monokuma, not Leon. They watched in horror, helpless to save him as a metal collar suddenly snapped shut around his neck. Leon paled reaching for the others before a chain yanked him at high speeds through the basement halls, dragging him across the floor. He was yanked through some double doors , feeling his back smack into a metal pole. he tugged at the collar around his neck, until metal cuffs locked around his ankles and waist, pinning him bent up arms to his chest. He stared in horror as a machine emerged. It was an automatic pitcher, but far bigger than most. His eyes widened. It felt as though he had seen this machine before. Tears spilled as a memory surfaced in his mind. He was in a dorm room, with a male sporting pink hair. The male said it was some surprise for him, and that he had agreed to make it because it was for him. His heart ached as memories flowed into his head. He remembered friendships, despair, romance...

"K...Kaz...u...For...Forgive me...I...love you...Kazu..." he looked over out of the batting cage at Chihiro and Mondo. More tears fell. That's right...They were his best friends...he even dated Sayaka once...

Why couldn't these memories come sooner?! I would've never killed Sayaka, no matter what! now...I'm gonna die...

"I'm sorry, everyone...I'm sorry I forgot our friendships...Mondo, Chihiro...My best friends...Forgive me, please..." Mondo and chihiro's eyes widened. they turned to look at eachother.

"What's he talking about?"

"I...I have no idea..." Leon wept as Monokuma popped up, wielding a baseball bat and a sadistic grin. Suddenly, a few baseballs hit him, moving slowly.

Huh...? Hey..Maybe I'll survive this after-!

His thoughts were cut short as suddenly, a barrage of baseballs slammed into every part of his body. He could feel them pound into his, breaking bones and drawing out blood before too long. Everyone watched in horror as hundreds of baseballs slammed into him. Then, when he thought it was over, he opened his eyes, only to see baseballs flying straight for his face. His eyes widened.

"KAZUICHI SOUDA!" He screamed just before the baseballs hit him, bashing his skull in.

Everyone was terrified. They watched as the machine stopped, asnd the cuffs holding Leon retracted. The body of Leon kuwata dangled from the pole, lifeless, beaten, bloody and bruised as the 1,000 baseballs lie around him, covered in his blood...
_

Giggling echoed in the Monokuma control room as Junko Enoshima watched the execution in delight.

"There's nothing more despairing than getting back all of your memories right before you die...Oh the despair he must've felt...I'm soooo jealous!"

Elsewhere, within a factory, kazuichi souda watched the screen overhead. He had been watching the killing game. Seeing Leon Kuwata on there broke his heart. He knew Leon would never kill anyone. This all junko's fault. If she hadn't taken his memories, Leon would've never killed Sayaka. The hardest part was watching the execution. he could hear Leon's every word. his eyes widened, spilling tears when he heard Leon say his name. His heart clenched with heartbreak when he recognized the machine.

This...Is what I built it for...?! Oh god no...! Why?! Leon, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm the one who should be begging for forgiveness...My machine...I...I killed you...!

The mechanic fell to his knees, balling his fists up tightly as he sobbed. The horror of being responsible for his boyfriend's death... So much despair...He wanted to hate it, but he couldn't bring himself yo. all he could do was love it, and find excitement in it. Then, to his horror, he laughed. He laughed as he sobbed, echoing throughout the factory.
Afterall, he was Ultimate Despair now...

And these...were his despairful memories...