**I ask that you read this disclaimer before proceeding. This piece is a spoiler for the first DanganRonpa game. (i.e. first victim, first murderer, mastermind identity) It also includes a few of my headcanons about what went down in the first murder. There’s also a tiny, miniscule bit of bubblegum rock near the end. There is obviously death as well.**
GUILTY.
Leon couldn’t believe it.
Everything had been going well. Sure, guilt had been eating at him ever since the body-discovery announcement and he was nervous, - Who wouldn’t be? - But everyone had suspected Naegi, seeing as apparently Sayaka had lead Leon to Naegi’s room instead of her own. That back-stabbing bitch. Yeah, Leon felt sorry for the kid, but no one had even suspected him… until Naegi and Kirigiri pointed out the three crucial clues to his downfall.
One. The accuracy of his throw of the crystal ball to the switch of the furnace. His team would’ve been proud of him for that one.
Two. Sayaka’s dying message. Who would’ve thought she had time… He thought he killed her on impact. Guess he really did screw up in not double checking everything.
Three. The toolset. He had to admit, Naegi did a good job deducing that.
As soon as Naegi had pointed out that Leon’s was the only toolset used, that was it. There was only one word for it.
Despair. Complete and utter despair.
His blood ran cold. His heart stopped. He felt as though the floor from underneath his feet had been removed. Leon had never felt true despair before and was surprised at how terrifying it was. It felt as though he was in a free fall into a dark pit from which… he would never get the chance to escape from. There was no more light at the end of the tunnel. No chance… No life. There was only one thing he felt he could do at that moment.
He screamed. He yelled. He cried.
Every tear was for a moment he would never get the chance to achieve. Never falling in love, never performing at his first gig, never impressing that girl, never seeing his mom again, never playing baseball again… His heart ripped in two and sunk to the bottom of his stomach. He screamed and begged for his life. For another chance, but he knew better.
The gleam in the bear’s eyes was proof enough that no begging would save him.
He looked around to his classmates as they voted for him and sank to the floor in tears as the vote came out unanimous. The bear began ranting about something Leon didn’t care to hear. He had heard a few of his classmates whisper quietly, “Why, Kuwata-kun? Why did you do it?” They weren’t really expecting an answer, so he didn’t give it to them. It was, however, self-defense.
Leon had been bugging Sayaka to give him some tips on how to make it into the music business ever since he recognized her in the entrance hall. She had ignored him and brushed him off. Imagine how excited he was when she finally wrote him a note telling him to meet her in her room! This was it! His big break! …Not so much. When she started swinging at him with that kitchen knife, he had realized what was going on. He was actually stupid enough to fall for her shit. He grabbed the nearest thing he could find to defend himself – a replica sword. She swung at an opening, shaving some hair off his goatee. Damn. He managed to hit her wrist hard enough where she dropped the knife. He grabbed it before she could, as she ran into the bathroom. He tried to open the door, to talk to her. She wasn’t listening and the door was locked. This wasn’t good. He had to try to talk to her, to calm her down, or she may try this again with someone else. He ran back to his room to retrieve his toolset. Once he returned. he managed to pop the handle off the main door to open it. He held the knife so she wouldn’t try to run past him and snatch it. As he entered the room, she lunged at him and he instinctively put his hands up when… He felt wetness splatter his hands. Leon looked down to see the knife lodged in Sayaka’s abdomen. “Shit! Sayaka!” She sputtered some blood from her mouth, a small bit dribbling down her chin, before hitting the back wall of the shower. Panic set in, as Leon tried to figure out how to clean this up. He exited the bathroom, looking at his bloodied hands. He quickly glanced around the room before seeing some of his hair on the floor. “They’ll totally know it’s me.” He grabbed the roller and quickly cleaned the floor, in case he missed anything. He dashed to the furnace room to try to burn the evidence, but it was blocked off. Instead, he ran to the laundry room to try to wash off his clothes. And that’s when he saw it…. Hagakure’s crystal ball.
Leon looked up to his classmates, tears staining his face. Finally his eyes rested on Sayaka’s portrait as a cold metal collar latched itself around his neck. He reached out, hoping to grasp his podium at least but just as his fingers grazed the smooth wood, he was yanked back down a hallway. He managed to get his fingers in between the metal and his neck just enough so he could breathe a bit, but it didn’t last long. He found himself lasted to a pole in what seemed to be… A batting cage? You’ve got to be shitting me. A pitching machine popped up and was loaded with balls and was pointed straight at him.
All blood drained from him body as he realized what was about to happen. As the first ball hit him, he knew he was in for a wild ride. As ball after ball after ball was shot at him at break-neck speeds, he could feel everything. Feel the skin bruising, vessels breaking, bones shattering, organs rupturing… he even felt his piercings get ripped out at one point. But it all blended into a flurry of blinding pain and blood. He lost consciousness at one point but woke again to see a man and a woman walking towards him. He could just barely tell who they were through his eye that wasn’t completely swollen shut, Junko Enoshima was one of them. He groaned at seeing her, the mastermind.
“Well, well, well. What a surprise! Mr. Baseball Star is still kicking. Not for long though… Tell me Leon. How does it feel, the despair of knowing you’ll die within a matter of minutes?” she sneered at him. The man behind her walked to stand next to her. He was shaking slightly, with tears running down his face but a twisted grin plastered across his face. Leon couldn’t help but feel as though he recognized the bright pink h….