Three Rules ~ Leon Kuwata (1/?)
AN: I’m finally making a whole fanfic! I have no idea how many parts this’ll be. But this is set in the canon universe, maybe sometime later I’ll make a happier fic set in a non!despair AU
I never had any ultimate talent, and I'd never attended Hope's Peak either, but I still felt I could have somehow prevented the inevitable. I'd made friends with lots of students who went there, like a nice girl named Chihiro who attended my creative writing class, and another boy named Gundam who I'd met while volunteering at the animal shelter. I'd met both of their friends, even managing to sneak conversation with people as they left school grounds while waiting outside for one or the other.
Meeting them was both the worst and best things that have ever happened to me. Chihiro was a kind girl I grew attached to very quickly, my introduction to her friends resulting in me meeting my boyfriend, Leon Kuwata. We didn't get along at first, until I'd gotten comfortable in the group and Leon got to know the louder and much more humorous side of me hidden behind my timid first impression. He'd eventually asked to get ice cream after school one day.
Gundam I'd met nearly a year and a half later. We'd also not gotten along at first. I was quick to shut out his longwinded words, smiling and nodding absentmindedly when he started conversations. Seeing how he treated the animals was what opened my mind. His eyes melted like butter, smile soft and friendly. It was then Gundam and I exchanged numbers, and I'd began hanging out with him outside of volunteering with a mixture of our own friends.
I really did hit it off with Junko the couple of times we'd met. I admired her photoshoots majorly, being awestruck when I saw her in person. Junko claimed to like my makeup, and from that, I'd decided we'd bonded.
Knowing Gundam and all his classmates, knowing Junko as well, is what hurts the most. I'm trying to reassure myself, looking down at my phone as it rings and goes to voicemail, that he’s okay. The disaster outside will be tended to and Leon is safe and hiding out somewhere, waiting for me to find him.
I know this isn't true. It doesn't stop me from reassuring myself, though. I can't remember what street I'm on, they all look the same. People are running, things have already been destroyed, and robots are roaming about.
Receiving a call makes a grin come to my face, breathing ragged as I press the phone to my ear. "Leon!" I wheeze, tears running down my cheeks. "I-Oh my Gods, are you okay? Where are you?"
"I'm okay," There's rustling in the background, but it's nothing compared to the shrieking and honking of cars on my end. "You remember that park, right? The one where someone stole one of the swings, with that really shitty basketball court."
"Yeah," I breath out, "On my way. Stay with me,"
Leon breaths in and out steadily, and I can't tell who he's trying to calm down more, me or himself. "Is there anyone with you?" He pauses, continuing when I don't respond. "Do you know how your family is?"
"My parents aren't answering their phones," I tell him briefly, turning a corner. I see a familiar restaurant, knowing the next turn to the park is just up ahead. "I tried going home-" I gasp for air, "-Road's blocked."
There's more rustling, and I consider maybe he's pacing. "My parents weren't fucking picking up either," Leon's voice is obviously frustrated, steadily rising in volume. "My cousin, Kanon, picked up, though. She said she needs to go fucking check on her dad, can you believe her? She's fucking crazy,”
I shriek as a robot barrels towards me. I drop to my knees, crawling rapidly away. Rising to my feet as fast as I can, I sprint to where I see the park. I even see Leon, his red hair sticking out against the greenery. He's standing against the foliage of the trees surrounding the park, pacing back and forth as he twirls a baseball bat in his hand idly. This is a change of scenery, rather peaceful, and I deduct the robots must have not managed to reach here as of yet.
"Here!" I scream into my phone, waving one of my hands in the air.
He looks up, dropping his phone from his hand in the process as he matches my pace towards me. I know he isn't running towards me, rather at the machine that follows behind me. Leon raises his bat above his head, leaping at the robot. Straddling it, Leon bashes it until I can see sparks.
The robot is still being smashed to smithereens long after it's stopped moving and it's only laying on the ground. I watch as I catch my breath. Just seeing Leon in person, despite him being covered in grunge with a blooming bruise on his cheek and blood running somewhere in his scalp. Even looking this worn down, chest heaving and eyes wide with rage, I'm able to admire him. My family is gone, I know that already. I have no one left besides Leon, and I'm grateful he's alive and by my side.
When Leon rises, his breathing is rapid and his shirt is sticking to his abdomen. He turns to me in a daze, pulling me into a delicate hug. Leon touches me like I'm glass, but my grip is like iron when I throw my arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. We stand like this for a long time, both of us crying in absolute relief.
"I thought I lost you," Leon speaks quietly, voice deep as he tries to ensure it won't break. "You screamed-You..."
"I'm okay," I say rapidly, "We're okay. We're doing great."
Leon nods silently, pulling me closer if that were somehow possible. "The school," He croaks out, "There's a gate. We can go there, maybe it'll help. Naegi, you know him, the small one. It was his idea to go back to the school, board it up and hide out until things settle."
"Oh Gods," Comes out my raspy response, shaking my head lightly. "Poor Chihiro, she must be losing their mind right about now." Leon is silent, only stroking my back slowly in reassurance.
"Let's get going," He tells me firmly, pulling us apart and holding my biceps firmly, looking into my eyes with a gaze that matches his rough tone. "The longer we stay out here, the longer we're in danger. Once we get in the school, we can lounge around and do whatever we want, okay?"
My nod is delayed, but it does come. With it, relief floods into Leon's pale eyes. We're both unable to speak as we turn, overlooking the wreckage before us with dread. I follow behind my boyfriend obediently, albeit much slower than he would have liked, but we're still moving forwards whether I want to or not.
It's a shame that I see many recognizable faces as I move along. The woman whose input I asked for when I was buying a dress not too long ago, which was now probably burned and covered under the debris of my house. My shoulder is brushed as a waitress comes barreling past me, sobs wracking her body. I remember she served me pizza three days ago, she let me leave even though I was a whole four dollars short, paying for the shortage herself with a blinding grin.
While Leon and I make short and steady progress, he avoids fights with relative ease. The robots are focused on uncovering the debris, attempting to find survivors which are hanging onto their last frayed threads of life, ready to be snuffed out in an instant. Survivors rush past the robots easily while they're distracted.
Once the academy is in view, it feels like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. We near the closed gate, and when we finally reach it, I half expect it to swing open invitingly. Instead, it stays in place, and I stare at it rather dumbly. "Here, up on my shoulders," Leon tells me, though I only blink back at him. "We're climbing it."
It takes a while for me to process that, but eventually I nod silently. I suddenly feel stupid. People are out there, fires surrounding them, on the brink of death, yet here I am. Intimidated at the idea of climbing a damn fence.
There's a bit of a struggle, and I can practically hear Leon's legs quaking as I stand up, but we press on. I make it to the top, and throw myself to the other side. I land unceremoniously on the ground, though make it to my feet swiftly, face glowing crimson. After checking if I was okay, Leon scales the fence with ease.
Within only a couple seconds, he's by my side, landing on his feet and grinning back at me. After he slings an arm over my shoulder, I hear his heavy breathing and deduct he most certainly rushed in order to show off. My blush deepens.
Inside the school, the familiar faces make my spirits lift abruptly and welcomingly. "Mondo, I haven't seen you in forever!" I boast, running over to the biker. His spirits aren't as high as mine, but he sends me a forced smile, giving a nod in Leon's direction. Greetings to everyone else ensues afterwards, and Chihiro and I decide to stay glued at the hip. Leon is hesitant, but him, Mondo, and Sakura head off to tend to harder labour.
“Maybe we should get you some clothes,” Chihiro suggests. Upon my confused look, she adds on. “We have a lot of supplies. We portioned them out right before Leon left to get you. Everyone else brought a bit of their own things, so I guess you can have a uniform or some gym clothes.”
I smile, relieved and tired. “Thank you so much,” I wish I could express how much I meant those words. That I could transfer my feelings to Chihiro, that they didn’t feel so empty. “What else is there to do?”
We begin walking, Chihiro leading the way. “We’re just making sure everything’s boarded up. We’ve got most of the windows, now we’re doing the doors.” I nod along. Chihiro’s large eyes are void of tears, I wonder if they’ve cried too much to have any left. “Here it is.”
Shelves are stacked neatly with supplies in this room. I spot gym uniforms immediately, as well as several other spare articles of clothing. Besides what we came here for, there’s many other useful things, like snacks, tools, and much more.
Chihiro turns her back as I change into track pants and a white tank top. They hand me a towel and wet it with a nearby water bottle, and they help me wipe soot and dirt off my skin.
Celeste enters as we do this. “You look terrible,” She states bluntly.
Her and I have gotten along rather well, and I do like her, but that doesn’t stop me from snapping. “Thanks, I didn’t notice,” I put as much venom into the short words as possible. “You’re a real help.”
Celeste pauses, holding a small hammer. She puts it down, walking over slowly. Celeste takes a towel of her own, wets it, and begins cleaning my face.
“Have you talked to the principle yet?” She asks, “He made us record videos before we started doing all these... renovations.”
I take in a breath, knowing I’m on the verge of using Celeste as a verbal punching bag. Instead I smile, toothy and forced. “No,” Her raised eyebrows tells me she knows how irritated I am. “I just got here. I really just want to change and get everything done as soon as possible.” Internally I don’t want to do anything, but I know I have to do my part. My feet hurt and the side of my stomach is cramped.
Chihiro reads me well, and I’m reminded of how I wear my feelings so obviously on my sleeve. “Let’s go see the principle,” She tells me, smiling wide. She takes a pair of leggings and a white t-shirt off the shelf handing it to me. “Right after you change. Everything should be done after that.”
Relief floods through me. I take the clothes wordlessly, the two of them turning as I change. Once I’m done, Celeste says her farewells and is off to wherever that hammer of hers is needed.
I can’t say I’ve been in the halls of Hope’s Peak very often. I’ve been to a talent show in support of Leon. I remember telling him I wasn’t going, then seeing the ecstasy flare into his pale eyes as he caught my gaze. I wish such happy memories couldn’t be overrided, but they are, by much more profound feelings of sadness, fear, and despair.
Chihiro and I eventually come up to the door of what must be the principle’s office. I never really thought anything of the video I recorded that day. It was a no brainer for me. Hope’s Peak was safe, with most of the people I cared about close by. I thought we’d escaped tragedy, but it’s very obvious that I was very wrong.
