A Collection of Short Stories (ft. a lot of osomatsu-san)

Turtle Shell (Maizono x Leon - Danganronpa)

Author's Note

Ah, memories. This one is the first oneshot I've done, and my best friend encouraged me to write it (I wouldn't have known the ship existed otherwise XD). To those who ship it (and those that might not), enjoy a tiny little karaoke scenario between the two.

~~~

"Alright then, Leon, it's your turn!"

The baseball jockey was so intent in watching the blue haired girl sing, he almost didn't realize the song had ended and almost fell out of his seat in surprise.

"M-Me? I don't sing!" his face reddens and he looks away.
The girl just laughs, still holding out the microphone to him.
"Leon! Everyone else already went!"

The man doesn't move an inch from his chair or even look at her. As a result, the singer yanks his arm with her other hand to the stage, despite him struggling desperately to sit back down and hide in his shell. He could already hear others from the group of friends hooting and cheering for the two, and reddens even more.

The two are now centered on the stage, and the girl faces Leon towards her, grabbing his shoulders tightly.
"Don't worry! It's really not too bad! Here, just look straight ahead, smile, and sing your heart out! I know you know this next song, and I'll be singing it with you, okay?" she stares reassuringly into his eyes.

"B-But Maizono, I can't sing! All I can do is baseball... I mean... you're way better than me for sure! I'll just end up embarrassing myself!" he stalls, even though he already knows it's too late to turn back.

Maizono turns to the crowd, responding with, "Just because I'm an idol doesn't necessarily mean I'm better than everyone. You saw the others sing, and they did a fantastic job! Besides, you sing in the shower all the time, you're not bad as you make yourself out to be."
She listens to me in the shower?! Leon thinks and was about to open his mouth to protest again, until the first few notes of the song start, and the room falls silent. Maizono was right, Leon immediately recognized the song, the romance duet that the two listened to all the time. Of course he knew that having a bright red face in front of everyone would only embarrass him more, but he really couldn't control as his face grew warmer. He heard a couple of "good luck"s and "you can do it"s from his friends, but they really didn't help.

"Follow my lead," Maizono whispers right before she starts singing the first few lines. Leon take a deep, shuddering breath and follow her advice, staring straight ahead at the opposite wall. When it was his turn to sing, he hesitated a little, but softly started, only missing a couple beats, and Maizono shoves the microphone in his face some more, amplifying his soft voice instantly. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted his group of friends, listening and smiling at him. And to make the situation even more awkward, the girl puts her arm around his shoulders comfortingly as he finishes up the line, looking over at her beaming face, and she nods and starts the next line. Leon can't help but smile back at her and stare ahead again.

"Now both of us," she whispers right before the music faded into the chorus of the song. So Leon softly sings with the girl again confidently, mainly because he thought his voice wouldn't stand out so much as Maizono's, but she stuck the microphone back in his face, making both voices audible.

Just stare straight ahead, keep going, don't pay any attention to anyone else, he tells himself as he closes his eyes, singing a little more confidently as someone from the audience near him gasps a little.
He eventually just got lost in the music, like he usually does when he sings to himself, so much he didn't even realize that they weren't singing the full version of the duet. When the beautiful voice next to him stops for a second, he opens his eyes to an audience of wide eyes, and he blushes deeply again. Maizono continues the song without the background music, and he eventually just started singing with her, eyes closed. The two sang through the rest of the song perfectly, and afterwards came loud applause from the audience. Maizono bows, and Leon copies, stiffly nodding his head. No reason to hide back in his shell now.