Disclaimer: I do not own Dangan Ronpa.
The first time they interact is for a small group project their first week at Hope's Peak Academy. Jun is wholly set on pairing up with Mukuro and having aforementioned older brother do all the work, but his plan is foiled abruptly when the teacher starts assigning partners and – what do you know – Mukuro ends up being sent off with the Idol and Jun is left to wallow for a bit before his name is called out, swiftly followed by his partner's-
Naegi Makoto.
Good Luck, he remembers, the one Mukuro likes. He straightens in his seat at the thought, waits for the teacher to finish pairing up the rest of the students before instructing them to begin, and forcibly ejects Mukuro from his seat at his left to flash the skittish Makoto a debonair smile and beckon her to quickly come over and speak to him.
She does, nervously, flashes a twitchy smile at Mukuro as she passes him and Jun watches, curious and amused and disgusted all in one as his older twin brother nods stiffly, his entire posture on edge, and awkwardly makes his way over to the patient Idol on the other side of the room.
Mukuro's really pathetic, Jun decides for what is not and will never be the first time in his life, but he doesn't show any outward sign of the thought as he smiles charmingly up at Makoto before she sits down in Mukuro's seat and he's more or less at eye-level with her. Mukuro's really pathetic and has poor taste, Jun decides as he looks over the petite girl. She's not bad on the eyes, not at all, but she's no beauty queen. Perhaps she'd settle around cute in a really dull way, what with the only thing that really attracts Jun's attention being that dumb little cowlick of hers because other than that she's as plain and boring as a high school girl can get – tiny in all forms with medium-length brown hair and green eyes.
It's disappointing, but Jun is used to being disappointed by his brother (and his tastes) so he grins and bares too many teeth at the small girl and chats away about things completely unrelated to the project until the teacher stalks over and scolds him and Makoto hurriedly apologizes for the both of them (despite the fact she had tried to direct his attention back to their work and therefore wasn't at fault herself) before floundering for her notebook only to realize she left it back at her desk and that the Gang Leader is settled there now and she doesn't have the guts to go over and bother him – especially with how murderous he looks thanks to being paired up with the loudmouth Baseball Player.
Jun grows even more disappointed at her meek nature, but he's amused by her flustered state nonetheless and that's enough for him to offer her a piece of paper from his own notebook. Her cheeks burn a deep shade of pink, but she accepts the paper with a soft thanks and starts scribbling something down and Jun is honestly pondering dozing off or pestering their nearby neighbors (the Gambler and Programmer), but is stopped when Makoto shuffles in the chair and scoots it over closer to him.
"Enoshima-kun?" she asks, voice soft and girlish and unmemorable in every single way. "It's your turn..."
Jun starts, not having expected her to place a role upon him, but then he guesses she can be pushy when it comes to work...that or her boldness has something to do with the way the teacher is looking at them in furious appraisal.
Either way, Jun takes a peek at what she's scribbled down and finds a short list of trivia on her. Simple things like that she has a younger brother and what club she was in back in middle school – things of no true consequence...yet. He doesn't really understand what the assignment was about due to how he had been shamelessly ignoring the instructions prior to being partnered up, but he decides to go with it and slides the paper in front of himself to begin scribbling down useless trivia.
When he finishes and slides the paper back he asks what the assignment is about, feigns sheepishness all the while as Makoto looks at him in alarm and listens with overly enthusiastic gratefulness as she explains it's an ice breaker type of assignment – something to present before the class and set into motion a friendly, bonding atmosphere.
Jun tilts his head and brushes back his hair, rests his chin on the palm of his hand and looks over at Makoto, who squirms under his gaze, and flashes her a toothy grin. "But isn't that kinda unfair?" he asks, eyelids half-lidded as he stares down the fidgeting brunette.
She meets his gaze cautiously and he can't tell if she's just the nervous sort or easily embarrassed, but she's not as bad off as the Programmer so he brushes his thoughts aside for later analysis and continues, "I mean, information about some of us is probably posted all over in magazines or on the Internet, right? So wouldn't that conflict with the point of this by giving those in the know the advantage?"
Makoto breaks their gaze and looks down at her lap and in that instance Jun thinks he's won even though he never started playing and he's devastated. This goes beyond disappointment and he can't even get despair from this – that's how bad off it is.
However, he's pleasantly surprised when Makoto raises her gaze back up, meets his eyes with a bit more assertion than she possessed just seconds prior and says, "I don't think so – that it would conflict, I mean."
"Why?" Jun asks immediately thereafter, only somewhat aghast that he fell in pace with the boring girl so quickly.
"Well," she starts, "It's different hearing it from your own classmates, don't you think? Even if the information in magazines or on the Internet or wherever is true, it's different having your classmate say it in front of you personally, don't you think? And it's not like just because someone may know a lot about someone else they'll stop listening to them or something..."
The end breaks off a little, hesitant yet still firm, and Jun would applaud her for that had he not been internally recoiling at what she said. They're different, think different, and she is everything he is against – this naivety and optimism isn't something he enjoys, but it perks his interest in the boring girl and he pushes down the disgust rolling in his belly and offers her a smile, scoots his seat uncomfortably close to hers to the point their knees bump and Makoto draws back swiftly, hands clenching her skirt tight in her lap as Jun leans ever closer until their knees are touching again and he's grinning down at her like she's some sort of treat.
"Really," he says, voice airy and cheerful and enough to make Makoto stop looking ready to bolt from the room. She's still tensed though, and he has to admit perhaps she's not as naïve as he thought her to be.
...Ah, he has something he wants to try out...
He leans in a little more and gradually the wariness in Makoto increases and he wonders how far can I go? and lets his grin grow wider the more the lucky girl shifts in her seat until it looks like she'll literally fall off from moving so much-
But she doesn't, because suddenly there's a hand on her shoulder and a arm separating her from Jun and the blond doesn't need to look up to see who it is.
"Bro!" he cheerfully offers, raising a hand to casually wave at his impassive brother.
Mukuro merely nods and releases his hold on Makoto's shoulder once he's positive she isn't going to jump out of her skin in shock of his silent appearance (being a Soldier has its perks when it comes to being stealthy) and she hurriedly stands, nearly knocks over the chair in the process, and murmurs something under her breath at the two brothers before jerkily rushing to her own seat – apparently she'd rather take her chances with the Gang Leader than stay with Jun, and he would pout had Mukuro not settled back in his seat neatly, icy gaze locked on the paper – the assignment – Makoto had failed to take with her.
Jun snatches it up quickly and cradles it to his chest.
"You can't see it," he says childishly. "You'll just have to get information on Naegi-chan a different way!"
Mukuro makes no comment or sign of having a care, but he does speak up, "You made her uncomfortable."
It's not accusatory or even scolding, just a plain fact that makes Jun pout and slouch in his seat. "So?" he shoots back. "It's not my fault. She just said something really interesting..."
His older brother steadies himself to attention in what would be a discreet manner to anyone else, but Jun can easily pick out the ridges of his body and the sharper look in his eyes and he vaguely wonders what his brother would do to keep Naegi Makoto safe.
"Well, it's nothing you'd care to know," Jun dismisses blatantly, scooting himself a distance away and shoving the paper in his brother's direction. He stretches as far back as he can and thinks he catches a glimpse of a nervous Makoto taking her seat back from a red-faced Gang Leader before he straightens himself and looks back at Mukuro who is scanning the list passively.
"...She likes bears." Mukuro says monotonously.
Jun flashes his older brother a toothy grin that comes off as more malicious than intended. "So do I!" he cheers. "We're a good match, aren't we?"
Mukuro responds by flipping the paper over and Jun huffs, calls him rude and proceeds to wait for the rest of his classmates to finish with their own papers before he's once again with Makoto by his side for their presentation.
They get some questions and claps before moving along back to their seats, but not without Jun first flashing her another one of his grins – peace sign included, and Makoto shudders unknowingly before rushing back to her seat and Mukuro nearly rolls his eyes at the victorious look his younger brother wears for the entire day.
Author's Note: A really silly little thing I suddenly had the urge to write. Some light shenanigans is good for practice on their characters, right?