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Leon didn't know what to expect, honestly, when Komaru - Makoto's little sister - had managed to report in stating that the Ultimate Despair had finally gathered in Towa city. All of them. Including… him. Naturally, Naegi’s division was dispatched immediately to apprehend and take them into custody. This included Leon, who couldn’t be more nervous as the helicopter made its way over the dark and cold ocean below.
“Nervous, Kuwata?”
“Hm?” A question had roused him out of his minor trance. He turned to look at Togami, who was busy fiddling with his specialized megaphone. “Oh, uh, yeah… kinda.”
The blonde smirked. “It’s not as horrible as the soldiers made it seem. I wouldn’t have guessed the Leon Kuwata to be afraid of a city full of crazed children and maniacal robot bears.”
“Ugh. I don’t need your snark, asshole. It’s…” Leon toyed with the dial on his own weapon before continuing. “It’s the upperclassmen, I’m worried about.” He dared a glance at the silver ring on his right thumb, the worn and tarnished metal glinting dully in the faint light of the rising sun from outside.
Togami caught the glance and shook his head. “Focus on the mission, Leon. There’s more than our lives at stake here.”
“I know, I know…” A wicked little smile played across the redhead’s features as he looked up at the former heir. “Your girlfriend is there, too~”
He had just enough time to laugh before a very heavy, and very expensive, piece of equipment came flying at his head.
“Alright! Remember! Seize and capture. No killing or violently harming the subjects! We need them alive, and properly functioning.” Naegi’s voice could just barely be heard over the whirring helicopter blades chopping through the air like knives. “Asahina, Kirigiri, and I will go to the other side of the island and try to herd them inward as we go. Once you have successfully tranquilized your targets, bring them to the designated spot. Good luck!”
The helicopter was off into the air, and Leon was leading his little team of troops into the already decrepit city as Togami and Hagakure went their own separate ways as well. Just stepping over bodies and around abandoned cars, Leon could feel the despair rolling in waves throughout the city. He knew it all too well. Images of a cackling Junko Enoshima flashed in his mind. Shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts, he pressed onward.
The city was eerie. Aside from the occasional Monokuma charging at them, it seemed deserted. Granted, since joining the Future Foundation, Leon had seen many deserted cities outside of the designated safe zone for those who survived the onslaught of despair. But Towa was different. If you paid attention, you could hear faint footsteps retreating and soft rustle of fabric almost like the wind. If it weren’t for the few Monokuma Children he caught sight of, he thought he might be going crazy.
“Well boys,” Leon muttered, rubbing the back of his head, already tired of this gloomy skeleton of a city, “Let’s head towards the nearest naturey… spot or whatever. First on our list is Tanaka-senpai, and if I know him, he’ll be looking towards tending to his animals after the trip here.”
“How do we know they aren’t all together?” One of the rookies piped in.
Leon spared a glance his way before smiling and pointing to the rooftop of a near-by apartment complex. A flash of light could be seen going off before a faint flash of red and then nothing. “That was Koizumi-senpai. She must have heard the chopper. If she heard it, everyone else did. And if everyone else did, they would figure it be best not to remain in the same spot for too long, never mind all being together.”
“Woah… How’d you see that?” Another guy questioned, still squinting at the roof.
The redhead smiled, brushing his bangs away from his forehead, and tapped his temple near his right eye. “I’m far-sighted. Needed real good eyesight for baseball, too. Keeping an eye on the ball and the area it could travel without going out of bounds when pitching. It’s actually real useful.” He turned back to the road, beginning to head towards a different high-rise. Maybe they could spot a near-by park or something…
”Sucks for close-up stuff, though.” He added, “I need glasses just to do paperwork or read a damn grocery list.”
After three days, and successfully neutralizing and capturing both Tanaka and Hanamura, Leon’s team only had one more Ultimate Despair founding member on his list. He had been putting this one off the whole time.
Hanamura had let slip the exact location of this one, in an attempt to make Leon lose his cool so the former Ultimate Chef could escape. It almost worked. Thank god one of the other men had the sense to cover the door leading from the kitchen to the main dining room where Chef of Despair was holed up.
Kuwata’s squad was down to only 5 men, including himself, as opposed to the starting 8.
“Alright boys…” Leon turned to face them. The remaining guys were nervous, as they should be. Leon was nervous himself, no entirely for the same reasons. “Our last subject is… very, very dangerous, to say the least. It’s Kazuichi Souda…” Leon’s voice cracked. He blamed it on his dry throat, and the fact that a few men paled slightly at the reveal of their final target didn’t help. “That’s right. He was, basically, Junko’s right hand in the School Life of Mutual Killing.” He ran a shaking hand through his messy, fading red locks. “He created the executions, the ideas all his own, and he’s responsible for the Monokuma design. So when we go in there, we will have to be especially careful. He could have trapped the whole place, for all we know… and he most likely did. So stay sharp. Don’t pull out the guns until I say. He’s, uh… He’s sensitive.”
Without giving time for questions or second-thoughts, Leon walked right ahead down the stairway into the abandoned subway station, now claimed by his previous lover.
They walked in silence before jumping down from the platform onto the cold and dark train tracks, the only sounds being faint echoes from their footsteps, sounding like gunshots in the suffocating darkness.
Why the hell Naegi gave me Kazuichi, I’ll never know. Maybe he’s secretly trying to take out his rage on me or something. Or maybe a test? Oh shit. I swear to god, if Togami had something to do with-
Leon’s train of thought was interrupted by his second grabbing his shoulder and yanking him onto his ass. He hissed in pain, glaring daggers up at the older man who merely pointed silently. He looked and noted the giant as fuck metal beam buried into the ground where Leon had been standing. Leon could only blink like an idiot before mouthing a silent apology and “Thank you” to him. He received a silent nod and a hand up before they continued on.
After another 50 yards or so, they came upon a large stadium/arena type area. Kuwata recognized it from the reports that Komaru had filed. It was completely in shambles, though. The bench seats were falling apart, the atrium was collapsed, a subway train car was wedged into the far wall of the actual area floor, and large sheets of metal and beams and various odds and ends were strewn about.
Leon nodded to his troupe. He’s definitely here.
His suspicion was confirmed not 1 minute later as machine gun fire began to rip through the area. Leon and his second dove behind the closest thing they could. An old SUV, missing its wheels and passenger side door. Ironic.
The redhead glanced over to see that most survived, one young man, probably a year younger than Leon, had suffered the full-on brunt of the assault. His body was barely recognizable. Leon could feel his brows knit together. He knew Souda had committed cold-blooded murder before, but he’d never seen it. Now that he had, he really wished Naegi gave this assignment to someone else.
The area went silent as the gunfire ceased, followed by several clicks and a string of curses. Out of ammo. Or the gun stuck. Either way, the machine gun was out of commission. The Future Foundation men slowly rose from their hiding spot, hands hovering to pull out their guns, ready to tranquilize. Leon waited as Souda yelled at the men, death threats and crazed words being spat at them.
When he had enough, Leon stepped out from behind the SUV, tossing his own gun to the nearest soldier who holstered it. “Wow, Kazuichi. Never thought I’d see the day when you began the threats first.” Leon chuckled, as he ran a hand through his hair. Only then did he finally look up and see what happened to his darling Souda.
Despite the obvious malice and shock in his black eyes, those infamous sharp teeth were bared in a scowl that was borderline animalistic. Dark circles surrounded and hollowed out his eyes. His hair was long and in desperate need of a wash. The roots had grown out, the black beginning to return, but a good portion remaining pink. His signature yellow jumpsuit had darkened, large dirt and grease stains littering here and there, and was tied around his waist, showing off an equally dirty and ripped tank top covering a pale and scarred torso. There were blood spots on the tank top as well. The heavy work gloves that were covering his hands were almost worn through at the fingertips and palms. He also sported, Leon noticed, a black lip ring and matching black barbell in his right eyebrow. The Mechanic of Despair’s chest was heaving as though he was having difficulty breathing.
Leon dared take a step forward, his hands up, showing he meant no ill-will. “Awh, c’mon, Soda Pop. No ‘How are you? I missed you.’” He had hoped that maybe even a bit of humor might penetrate that thick aura of anger, rage, malice, and hurt that surrounded and engulfed the person he loved most. “Because I missed you…”
An eye twitch. “Leon… Why the hell are you here…”
“Well to get you, of course.” Leon was cautiously making his way to the man, who was standing in the doorway to the ravaged train car. “I… Owe you a date, after all.” He smiled at the man before him, hoping beyond hope it would do something.
“You sure as fuck didn’t seem like you wanted to make good on that, a few years back. Do you remember Leon?” Those cold black eyes narrowed into daggers boring straight into Leon’s heart, “That day you ended it, and I fell into your classmate, Junko’s, hands?”
How could he forget?
When Leon and Souda had started dating, Leon was hesitant at first. Who wouldn’t? First relationship with the same sex. It’s scary! But after a week or two, Leon got used to it. He acted his usual self, like with past relationships. He was always taking Souda out on dates and hugging him, and holding his hand, and kissing him as much as he was comfortable with. And Souda was fine with it! Until… one day something changed. Souda got more and more uncomfortable with the PDA. He was constantly talking about Sonia again and it really hurt Leon. When Leon asked about it, obviously, he didn’t get an answer. But when Souda came to school with a black eye and sore ribs, Leon could only guess. Souda was worried about his dad finding out about Souda dating another boy. Which was understandable. Leon’s old man didn’t give him a single glance the following three months after coming out he was bi to his parents. So, naturally, Leon was supportive. But Souda constantly grew more and more distant, always talking about Sonia, and denying Leon even when they were in private. Leon was in love with Souda and he knew that Souda loved him but he just… couldn’t take it anymore. So that night after an excruciatingly long session of “Sonia-san and I blah blah blah”…
Leon cringed remembering the stroke of lightning across Souda’s face and watching his heart die. He grit his teeth together at remembering his own heart shattering into millions of pieces. In fact, Leon never really recovered.
“…Of course I do, Kazuichi...” He stared hard at the ground.
“And yet you stand here in front of me as if nothing has changed.” There was anger in his voice and hurt. Leon didn’t have to look up to know the mechanic was shaking.
“I… I trust you…” Leon murmured.
“You… TRUST ME?!” His voice echoed through the arena as shouts from Leon’s men and rushed footsteps rapidly approached. Leon didn’t have time to re-act as he felt a cold pain in his lower left hip. Kazuichi was right in his face, a hand plunging a knife deep into Leon’s skin. “I trusted you, Red. Don’t trust me.” He began pulling the knife out, but slashed a fairly deep gash all across Leon’s chest, reaching up to his right shoulder.
All he could see was a splash of red land across Souda’s grinning features as he fell into a pair of strong arms and a cold black unconsciousness.
“How long have they been under?”
“About 2 days so far, if you want to see.”
Leon was currently in a wheelchair situated next to the cold pod containing the near comatose Souda, who was submerged in the New World program.
After Souda attacked Leon, who passed out from shock, the men tackled Souda, tranquilizing him, and hurried Leon to the landing site, where they called for the emergency helicopter. He was unconscious for about 3 days after the surgery to stop the bleeding.
Naegi wheeled his friend to one of the monitors in the adjacent room and switched the view to one of the bedroom cameras. It showed a Kazuichi who looked like he did in high school. Bright pink hair hidden under a black beanie, near-blinding yellow jumpsuit clean and ready for work, a small song being hummed as he worked on the engine they provided him in his room, a cherry coke resting on the nightstand.
Leon gently touched the screen. “…He won’t remember me… Will he?”
“Probably not.” Naegi replied grimly. “But, uh, hey! You never know! This is still fairly experimental. He may remember you after he graduates!”
Leon forced a small smile as he looked at Naegi. “Always the optimist.”
“I have to be.” Naegi replied, smiling a genuine smile at the baseball player.
“Yeah…” Leon looked back at the screen. “Well… See ya when you get back, Soda Pop… I’ll be here.”