The Greatest Japanese Hero
Disclaimer:
Danganronpa is owned by Spike Chunsoft and Lerche
The Greatest American Hero is owned by Stephen J. Cannell
First off, many thanks to those who reviewed this fic, I really appreciated it and this gave me inspiration to work on the next chapter and here Celes' life is in peril as the mafia hit men are determined to finish off Celes as their contractual obligation stated as they failed due to Naegi's interference and they intend not to let up as they wanted to finish their assignment ASAP and collect their fee.
And once again Kyoko Kirigiri gets mixed in as an unexpected situation puts her, Naegi and Celes in a situation where their lives are at stake as their attackers are going to ambush them at a certain place...
Thus...the Celestia Ludenberg arc continues...
At the police station, about 30 minutes after the gunfire incident that struck the condominium where Celestia Ludenberg is currently staying, the scene shows Kirigiri explaining to the interrogators about what happened while answering some persistent queries about Celes as they suspect that Celes did something that triggered the incident though Kirigiri was able to rebut them by claiming that she and Celes have no idea why her condo unit was riddled with bullets while Naegi was at the restroom secretly removing the red suit and puts on his casual attire before coming out.
"...and that's what happened..."
"But why would the suspects fire bullets at the unit you are staying...? It makes no sense if this is just a random attack...I bet you're connected in some way..."
"I wish I have an answer...but that's the only theory I can come up with..."
"I'm afraid you and Ms. Ludenberg would have to stay here...we wish to question you further..."
"It appears that you are making an unjust assumption that we are connected to the gunmen...we are the victims here and you want to make it appear that were are accomplices..."
"Part of the investigation..."
"We will cooperate...but you'd have to let us go..."
"Not on my watch..."
By then Fuhito Kirigiri came after receiving a text message from his granddaughter and there he managed to convince the police interrogators to let the three teens go and they obliged as they were seemingly satisfied with the answers they got, and the three academy students left with Fuhito suggesting to Celes that she would have to stay at the Kirigiri house for now in which the Gambler reluctantly accepted and the car drove off as Fuhito decided to have Naegi stay over as well knowing that Naegi can be "reliable" for a reason.
-x-
Not far, Bonnie and Clyde have seen Celes taking a ride at Fuhito's car and secretly followed them and there they discovered that Celes is staying over at Kirigiri's house, and with this information in their grasps, the two assassins can decided to stay at a hidden area and observe her movements from hereon so that once they find out what her schedules are, they can make plans on assassinating her without giving themselves away, and once they dispose of her, they can collect the bounty that their clients promised to give to them.
Believe It Or Not by Joey Scarbury
(Opening Song from The Greatest American Hero)
Look at what's happened to me,
I can't believe it myself;
Suddenly I'm up on top of the world,
Should've been somebody else.
Believe it or not,
I'm walkin' on air,
I never thought I could feel so free;
Flyin' away on a wing and a pray'r,
Who could it be?
Believe it or not, it's just me.
Just like the light of new day,
It hit me from out of the blue;
Breakin' me out of the spell I was in,
Makin' all of my wishes come true.
Believe it or not,
I'm walkin' on air,
I never thought I could feel so free;
Flyin' away on a wing and a pray'r,
Who could it be?
Believe it or not, it's just me.
Ch. 21: Gyanburā no Hogo
Several days later...
The scene shows that Celes arrived at the gates of Hope's Peak Academy, and is still in high spirits despite what happened to her, and Kirigiri is eyeing her as she suspects that Celes may be the key to what happened a few days ago and sensed that the incident that struck Celes' condo unit was not a coincidence, and knowing her title as the Gambler, the Detective believed that Celes may have unknowingly provoked someone that warrants the attempt on the Gambler's life. Nevertheless, Celes, Kirigiri and Naegi continued to discuss about their school project and soon their project started with 15% of it being completed, and while no one else is around, Kirigiri then began asking Celes and there the Gambler sighed as Kirigiri is somewhat persistent yet sharp.
"Celes-san..."
"Yes, Kirigiri...?"
"About what happened at your condo unit..."
"What about it?"
"I believe that there is some connection to you..."
"I have no idea what you're implying..."
"You know what I mean...the bullets that rained you unit is meant for you..."
"Really...?"
As Naegi is listening at the two girls talking, he is approached by Maizono and there the two friends greeted and a friendly conversation took place, but later on she began asking him a "serious question" about where he was at that certain date, and when Naegi asks why, he began to get a bit nervous when told about her queries.
"Eh?"
"Yes, Naegi-kun...a few nights ago...I saw someone...he is wearing a red pajama-like suit...with a cape..."
"..."
"And he seemed to resemble you though he was wearing a bellboy's hat..."
"Um..."
"Is that guy...you...?"
"Um..."
"Naegi-kun...?"
Naegi's heart beats a little faster when told that a few nights ago, she was at a condominium lobby with her dad and her would-be stepmother when she caught a glimpse of a teenager wearing a bellboy cap and a red suit with a cape and told him that the person resembled Naegi amid rumors that the person is a possible mental case and Naegi managed to come up with an alibi stating that he was with Kirigiri and Celes at that time, and though Maizono seemed to be suspicious, Kirigiri came and supported his claim and Maizono is now free of doubt and thanked him for answering and left to go to her classmates to work on their school project.
As Celes left to go to the restroom, Kirigiri and Naegi are alone, and there she smacked Naegi on the head which the Luckster was baffled at her sudden actions as she was rather upset with what she just heard about his conversation with Maizono.
KA-BLAG!
"OW!"
"You idiot!"
"Me?"
"Who else?"
"Why did you hit me?"
"It's because of your carelessness!"
"What did I do?"
"Explain to me what heard just now...!"
Kirigiri demanded an explanation from Naegi about why Maizono suspected him of being the one wearing the red suit, and when told, she berated Naegi for being careless but he defended himself as as stated that he still has no control over the suit's powers and that he had to evade the hail of bullets or otherwise he would have gotten himself killed, but their argument was interrupted when Celes came and there she asks them what was wrong and the two teens had to change the subject so as not to arouse suspicion, and by the the rest of Class 78 came and the class is about to have another subject lesson as a teacher arrived.
-x-
As the hours passed, the day ended and classes were dismissed, and Naegi is getting ready to leave, but then he noticed that Maizono is glancing at him and he sweat-dropped as he sensed that she is suspecting him of being the "guy in the red suit" she saw at the condominium, and he hoped that she stop suspecting him, and by then Hagakure came and offered Maizono a free fortune reading, though she kindly declined and when the Fortune Teller noticed Maizono's silence, he asks her why and there she told him about what she encountered at the condominium, and this in turn attracted the attention of Asahina and Ohwada in regards to the "guy in the red suit".
"You saw the "guy in the red suit", Maizono-chan?"
"Wait a minute...the same guy my mom and I saw several weeks back...?"
"Huh...? Why, Asahina-san and Hagakure-kun?"
"It's the same description that I saw..."
"Me too..."
"I see..."
"Where did you see him, Maizono-chan?"
"And which place...?"
Naegi flinched and sweat-dropped as he feared that they too might suspect him since they too have seen him wearing the red suit and flying, and still he couldn't help but worry that they might suspect him since Maizono told the others that the person she saw bears a resemblance to Naegi and Ohwada approached Naegi and glanced at him from head to toe, yet he is unsure because he also failed to notice his face after seeing only the body and not the person's face.
"Oi...Naegi..."
"Y-yes...?"
"Hmm..."
"W-what is it...?"
"You sure looked like the UFO my biker gang and I saw way back..."
"maybe you mistook me for someone else...it can't be me..."
"Hmm..."
"..."
By then Kirigiri came and grabbed Naegi by his hood and dragged him out of the classroom and Celes followed, as she too is intrigued about the "guy in the red suit" and yet all she can worry for now is finishing their school project. As they arrived at the school gate, the trio are greeted by Fuhito and said that the three teens will be spending the night at the Kirigiri house under the pretense of doing the school project, and while Naegi and Celes accepted, Kirigiri asked her grandfather about why doing this and Fuhito stated that there's a chance that the assassins might be waiting at Celes' condominium and make another attempt at shooting their target, which he suggested would be Celes herself, and said that with Naegi wearing the red suit, he might capture the assassins if the opportunity presents itself.
"Are you sure about this, grandfather?"
"Yes."
"But..."
"With Naegi-kun wearing the red suit...he'll be able to catch those hit men this time..."
"Hmm...although you do have a point...but..."
"You need not worry about me..."
"Are you sure...?"
"Of course..."
Although she is against the idea, she was persuaded to go along with the idea and she boarded the car as Fuhito drives the car and leaves Hope's Peak Academy, and as the car is cruising, Bonnie and Clyde were stealthily following them as they spotted their prey, and are assuming that they are heading back to Celes' condominium, in which they intend to shoot her there from the opposite condo like the way they positioned themselves previously, but to their surprise they realized that the car Fuhito is driving is heading towards another direction.
"Hey, Clyde..."
"Huh?"
"They're heading to another direction..."
"Looks like it, Bonnie..."
"What now?"
"We follow them...and once we find out where they are staying...we'll take her down from there..."
"Okay..."
"Good..."
By 16:00, the car arrived and there the three teenagers got off and went inside the house where Kirigiri and her grandfather live, and as Fuhito went inside the house as well, the two hit men surveyed the area and believed that they can pull off their caper and get away, and are positioning themselves nearby and are now awaiting their prey to come out and then shoot her down once in sight, and when they succeeded in shooting her to death, they will make a quick escape and report to their clients of their mission.
-x-
A few minutes later, the scene shifts inside the bathroom of the Kirigiri house where Naegi is seen putting on the red suit, and though he didn't like the idea, he was compelled to do so because of what happened a few days ago, and he is worried that Celes might suspect something if the Gambler were to see him dressed in the suit. As Naegi is about to put on the cape, the red suit's power is activated and Naegi gets a holographic image appearing in front of the mirror and "saw" Al Capone and John Dillinger, and there Naegi can "hear" what the two mafia members are discussing about how the hit men are doing in their assignment of killing Celes.
"...okay, Bonnie...here's the drill..."
"Okay..."
"When that Celes-bitch comes out of that house...shoot her with everything you got..."
"Got it..."
"If she hides inside that house...riddle it with a lot of ammo..."
"Now that's more like it..."
"If she doesn't come out...we blast it with an RPG...that'll kill her along with the occupants..."
"Love the idea. Clyde..."
Naegi realized that the attack on the condominium the other night was indeed an assassination attempt and Celes was the target, and he hurriedly puts on the bathrobe, where Celes just opened the door, and blinked her eyes seeing the red suit he is wearing and giggled, seeing that Naegi is wearing what she perceives as the "silliest pajamas" she has ever seen, and commented to Naegi about it even though Naegi is a bit worried about his secret being exposed and tries to change the topic though Celes seemed to be enjoying making comments on Naegi's "red suit".
"Oh...sorry..."
"Ah...it's...um..."
"Nice pajamas...though you could have chose a better color..."
"Oh..that...ha-ha-ha...my mom bought it for me..."
"I see...but that was the silliest I've ever seen..."
"Ah-ha-ha-ha...thanks..."
"I'll come back later..."
"O-okay..."
At Celes left, Naegi hurriedly ties the bet on his bathrobe and tries to concentrate in using the red suit's power to summon the image he saw just now, but nothing happened, and realizing that the assassins are just outside, Naegi left the bathroom and looked around, and saw Fuhito preparing tea and asks him where Kirigiri and Celes are, and the elderly man replied that the two girls are outside, but then Fuhito noticed the apprehension in the teen in which he asks him what's wrong, but Naegi hurriedly went outside and saw the two girls having a mild chat and he went there and saw the two hit men are getting ready to fire their guns, much to Naegi's shock.
"Kirigir-san! Celes-san!"
"Huh?"
"Naegi-kun...?"
Without a moment to spare, Naegi grabbed Celes and pushed her inside the house just as Bonnie and Clyde opened fire using their sub-machine guns and as Celes was pushed inside, Fuhito took the Gambler and led her towards a basement area as Kirigiri is being pinned at a corner of the terrace of the house due to a barrage of bullets, and moments later a stray bullet came and grazed her left wrist and Naegi realizes that she is in danger so he looked around, and seeing that there is no one around at the moment, as well as Celes was already inside the house, he removed the bathing robe and jumped at the front yard, and both Bonnie and Clyde stared wide-eyed at what they just saw.
"What the...?"
"It's him! The one from the other night!"
"What kind of get-up is he wearing?"
"Who cares? Shoot that son of a bitch down and shoot the damn house!"
"Okay!"
"Better hurry or the cops will come down shooting at us!"
"Got it!"
"Open fire!"
The two hit men aimed their guns at Naegi and opened fire, but the teen used his arms to cover his head and the bullets hit his body and arms yet the bullets dented and fell to the ground, and Bonnie stared wide-eyed in dismay and apprehension seeing that the bullets couldn't scratch her target and decided to bolt out of the scene and boarded the van and began to speed away, leaving Clyde behind as he kept on firing his machine gun though Naegi used his arms to shield himself from the bullets and ran towards Clyde and grabbed him by his collar and threw him towards a grass lot, then proceeded to go after the van.
As Clyde gets up, he attempted to shoot Naegi from behind but Kirigiri came and did a back chop on Clyde's nape, knocking him down and was soon disarmed and restrained, and there she took him towards Fuhito's car where Fuhito came out and told his granddaughter to go inside and treat her wounds while he boarded the car to go after Naegi, seeing that he might need some help in case he is seen by unwanted prying eyes, which she nodded as the last thing she wanted to see is Naegi getting dragged back to the mental hospital.
-x-
At the streets leading to the highway, Bonnie was driving the van and is speeding away when Naegi, who is now running instead of flying, caught up with her and told her to stop the van, and Bonnie was surprised to see him running next to the van as she glanced at the van's speedometer which registered as 80 mph, and she stepped on the pedal to increase the speed of the van, and managed to get a bit farther, but Naegi ran faster and caught up with her and Bonnie stared wide-eyed, as she noticed that the speedometer registered at 100 mph and yet Naegi is already next to her.
"STOP!"
"What the...?"
"STOP THE VAN!"
"EEEEKKK! What are you?"
"STOP THE VAN!"
"Leave me alone!"
"I SAID STOP!"
"Get lost, you brat!"
After refusing to heed his words, Naegi grabbed the van by its door and used his feet to cause a brake effect and the van was forcibly stopped until its wheels gave in, damaging the vehicle and rendered it useless to drive, and he grabbed Bonnie by her collar and lifted her against the side of the van, pinning her and held her there until Fuhito's car came where Fuhito is driving with the tied-up Clyde sitting behind the passenger seat and told Naegi to put her down, in which he did and Fuhito placed the handcuffs on Bonnie and puts her inside the car right next to Clyde.
As Naegi is relieved that the hit men are collared, he told Fuhito what he discovered, and hearing that sirens from the police cars are approaching, the elderly detective told Naegi to get going, and though Naegi suggested in using the van, Fuhito said that the van is busted and that it will be needed as evidence and told Naegi to FLY, and the Luckster was less than willing to do it, but Fuhito's gentle prodding persuaded Naegi to do as told, so he ran a few steps and jumped, and flew to the air, and though he managed to stay airborne, he quickly lost control and ended up landing on a passing dump truck despite his efforts to steer clear from the oncoming vehicle.
"WWWWAAAHHHH! GGGYYYAAAHHH! AAAIIIEEE!"
After Naegi landed inside the compartment of the dump truck, Fuhito sighed as he glanced at the two hit men, who are staring wide-eyed, and their jaws wide open at what they just saw, and they were in utter shock at the realization that a mere boy in a red suit and a cape have foiled their assassination attempt on Celestia Ludenberg. They were too speechless to react or respond, and there Fuhito spoke to the two and offered them some advice.
"Um...I do have an advice to you two..."
"..."
"..."
"If you're smart...you'd forget what you just saw...in which I already did..."
"..."
"..."
"Of course...that is up to you..."
"..."
"..."
Despite Fuhito's advice, the two hit men remained speechless and are sweat-dropping at the events, and soon the police arrived and are surprised to see Fuhito in person, having heard of him and his reputation as a famous detective. There Fuhito told the police officers of what happened and they believed him after seeing the evidence that the elderly detective showed, and as they checked the van, they saw more of the ammunition and they took Bonnie and Clyde and placed them inside the police car and left the scene while a tow truck is summoned to haul the broken van.
Fuhito then went back to the house where an ambulance is parked and a pair of paramedics is giving Kirigiri some first aid while Celes looks on though she appeared to be unfazed of what has happened though it is now obvious that she was the main target and there Fuhito whispered to his granddaughter about what Naegi told him, and Kirigiri is now sure that Celes did something to tick off some people who are connected to gambling, and it seems that Celes may be unaware of what her actions did to the people she may have unknowingly crossed path with.
"Naegi told me bout the situation..."
"Really...?"
"Yes, Kyoko...and perhaps ms. Ludenberg may hold the key in getting the answers..."
"Only if she is willing to answer...if she is aware of what is happening to her..."
"You and Naegi need to make your move...I believe there is someone behind the attacks...and you need to get ahead of the assailants before they manage to kill your classmate..."
"I see..."
"You need to get a move on..."
"I will, grandfather..."
To Be Continued...
Looks like Celes was aved again...thanks to Naegi...but this is far from over as he and Kirigiri are still in the process of finding out who send the hit men to kill Celes...and it'll be just a matter of time before they get the break they need in pinning down the masterminds.
Luckily, Celes did not suspect Naegi about the red suit's power, thinking he is simply wearing a "silly pajama", and this helped him keep his secret a...secret...
Preview:
The next chapter will conclude the Celestia Ludenberg arc, in which the Naegi and Kirigiri digs deeper in their investigation that would get them in a tussle with some mobsters...