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 the story gets deeper and deeper as Naegi is called in to action as he is becoming the next target of the baseball assault now that Kuwata has been taken out, but he would soon find out what connection the baseball murders and the upcoming game have in common...
The Leon Kuwata arc continues...
At the scene of the crime, Takaki Ishimaru was among those who responded after getting a call from a concerned citizen about Kuwata's belongings found, which has blood stains covered and his ID was also found and bloodied, and Takaki became concerned about this especially when he recalled the last incident where a baseball player was found murdered and stuffed at the compartment of his car, and his baseball team eventually lose their match, and now Takaki is starting to feel the pressure as attacks on popular baseball personalities are starting to become more than just random picks.
"Geez...we haven't gotten a clue and now another baseball star's been attacked...!"
One of the people who saw the scene was a reporter, and with her was a cameraman, and seeing this was instant scoop, and so she told her cameraman to get to work as she is now about to report live about the latest incident which Leon Kuwata was attacked and abducted, and in a minute she went live and the news would soon spread to social media and the baseball sports industry, and despite Takaki's efforts to try to issue a gag order in order to keep people from panicking, it was too late as many people soon learn the gist of the situation at hand.
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. 30:Yakyū no Machibuse
Several minutes later, Naegi and Komaru are watching TV, and there the two siblings got into a light argument regarding her elder brother joining a baseball team and mentioned that Kuwata is there too, and she wondered if Naegi would ever get his turn to "shine" though he reiterated that he is only a reserve member and doubts that he would get the chance to play, though he secretly whined at lying to Komaru that he is doing this as part of an undercover investigation with Kirigiri, and there Komaru began teasing her elder brother.
"I bet onii-chan has a reason..."
"Like what?"
"Showing off to Maizono-san..."
"Eh?"
"I bet you're doing this to impress her..."
"I'm not!"
"Really...?"
"Really!"
However, a newsflash appeared on TV, and the report shows that Kuwata's belongings are found on an alley, with bloodstains and a discarded shoe and ID, and the reporter stated that Kuwata is possibly attacked and abducted, and Naegi is taken by surprise by this and became worried that the reported attackers of the recently murdered baseball players may have gotten to Kuwata. He is becoming worried and is bracing himself for any emergencies and he is sure that Kirigiri may have learned about this as well.
He wondered what awaits him as the current development is spiraling all over the media, and by then his cellphone rang and he answered it, where the caller turns out to be Kanon, and her tone was a serious one which is full of worry, and he braces himself as the conversation took place and the topic is centered around the now-missing Kuwata.
"Naegi!"
"Kanon-san? Um..."
"You heard the news, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
"The situation has changed! We'll be needing you right away!"
"Me...?"
"Yeah! We're going to have an emergency meeting...and your attendance is a must!"
"..."
Kanon told Naegi that the latest incident caused her to have the upcoming match due this weekend to be postponed and an emergency meeting will take place instead, and she told him that a very important discussion will be held and his attendance is a must while the police will conduct an search and rescue on Kuwata, and Naegi can tell that she was emotionally shaken about Kuwata becoming the latest victim and he slowly deduced that he is likely the next victim of the assault on baseball players now that Kuwata was "taken out".
By then, Naegi's mom came and saw the news and started to persuade her son not to get involved with the baseball team for now fearing that he might become the latest victim, but Naegi used his optimism aura to assure his mom that he will be alright, though she is still worried that with Kuwata becoming the latest victim, she is worried for her son's well-being and tries to dissuade him while Komaru watches the two exchanging words.
"But mom..."
"No buts...you're not going!"
"But..."
"I'm worried...another baseball player's been mugged...and you could be next!"
"It's fine...I'm just a reserve player..."
"Even so...!"
"If they're going to make me sit this one out...then I'll do it..but for now I'll just attend..."
"But..."
"Trust me, mom..."
By then Naegi's dad arrived and told his family that they are going to have dinner, and the attention and topic have been diverted and Naegi sighed as he is spared and hoped that his mom wouldn't bring up the subject about the latest news and he knew that Kirigiri is counting on his help in solving the latest mystery while worried about Kuwata's safety as he wondered who would want to attack him and how would Kirigiri assist him in solving this case and what would he expect from this point on now that Naegi is beginning to realize that he may be the next target of the assault on baseball players.
Later in the night, the scene shifts to a phone booth where the two men who were following Kuwata are talking to someone on the phone, and the caller is congratulating the two men for a job well-done, elated to hear that Kuwata was mauled and went missing, and instructed the two men to focus on Naegi, and make sure he is taken out of the game so that Kuwata's baseball team would lose the match, and the two men acknowledge the order given to them by their employer.
"Well done!"
"Er..."
"I'm glad you pulled it off!"
"Y-yes..."
"I'll pay you well! Now your next assignment...target Makoto Naegi!"
"Er...yes..."
"Good...now go get that brat!"
"Okay..."
After a few more instructions, the two men closes the line and are leaving the phone booth, and the two men are rather bothered that their intended target, Kuwata, went missing and that someone else beat them to their job, but they were nevertheless pleased, as their employer thinks that they did the job and will be paid well even though they were not the ones who beat Kuwata, but goon # 2 asks Goon # 1 is this is a good idea lying to their boss about the incident regarding Kuwata.
"You sure it's okay?"
"Well...he wouldn't listen to me...so I guess it's okay..."
"What if...?"
"Kuwata's gone...he left blood at the scene...and he hasn't been shown on TV...so it's safe to say that we'l be having an easy time..."
"..."
"Let's go and find this Naegi kid..."
"Okay..."
"Good."
After a few discussions, the two men decided to stick with their ideas and are now focused on targeting Naegi next, hoping that they would do an easy job seeing how much of a wimp the Luckster is.
-x-
The next day, Naegi went to Hope's Peak Academy, and as he is still wondering what to do next after Kuwata went missing, he is greeted by his classmates, some of them were concerned after watching the news about the fate of Kuwata and they ask him if he still intend to participate in the upcoming baseball game, worried that he might become the next victim after learning about the recent incidents involving at least three baseball players.
"Naegi!"
"Naegi-kun!"
"We're worried about you!"
"Oi...maybe you should lie low for now..."
"Yeah...Kuwata's missing...you could be the next target..."
"Naegi-kun...I'm really worried about you..."
"Yeah...why not tell your manager to cancel the game until the culprits are caught...?"
"She's right!"
As Naegi assured his classmates that he would be okay, Kirigiri was staring at him and she appeared to be thinking of something but then the teacher came and announced that classes is about to start, but then a fellow teacher came and asks the teacher out for a few words, and during this, Maizono came and talked to Naegi, telling him her concern about the recent events up to last night's news about Kuwata, in which Naegi assured to her that he will be okay and nothing bad would happen to him.
"Naegi-kun..."
"Maizono-san..."
"I'm worried..."
"Don't worry..."
"But.."
"I'll be fine...trust me..."
"O-okay..."
"I'll be alright...I promise..."
By then the teacher came back and both Naegi and Maizono went back to their seats as classes are about to commence, and as classes are in session, Naegi couldn't help but get distracted as he wondered what will happen to Kuwata and wondered if he is being held hostage or if he is kidnapped and then held for ransom, and Naegi is tempted to talk to Kirigiri and ask her if she has any idea about where this situation would lead to, but for now he has to focus on what he has right now.
-x-
Much later, the scene shows that Naegi and Kirigiri are leaving Hope's Peak Academy, and Naegi is glancing at Kirigiri, and she can sense that something is bothering him, but she maintained her stoic appearance and there Naegi decided to ask her if she is aware that Kuwata was abducted, and she confirmed it, but then she told him to focus what lies ahead of him and said that he should focus on the case at hand, but Naegi stood still as he is starting to get real worried, realizing that he would be the next victim, and a debate took place in which he questions if joining Kuwata's baseball team due to Kirigiri's undercover investigation is a good idea or not.
"But..."
"Are you getting cold feet, Naegi-kun...?"
"Kirigiri-san!"
"..."
"How can you stay calm after what happened to Kuwata-kun?!"
"If I panic like you...then we wouldn't get anywhere...and you forget that you're wearing the RED SUIT...which provides you protection...and with that...and once I get clues...we'll be able to solve this case..."
"..."
"Good...you've calmed down..."
By then a car arrived and parked in front of them, and the person showed up, revealing to be Kanon and she told Naegi and Kirigiri to hop in as they are heading to the baseball stadium where an emergency meeting would took place and among the discussion would be whether to push through with the game or not, and whether to see if Naegi would take Kuwata's place in the upcoming game and there Naegi and Kirigiri asks her if the meeting is right now, which she confirms.
"You two...get in!"
"Um..."
"Are we having an emergency meeting?"
"Yes...and that's where we'll decide whether to cancel the game or not..."
"But..."
"You looked calm after what happened last night..."
"I'm not calm...I'm panicking...Leon's gone...and the team's fate is at stake! Now hop in and we'll get going!"
"..."
"..."
Left with no choice, Naegi and Kirigiri decided to join Kanon as they boarded the limousine and they head for the baseball stadium so they can discuss what steps they would take now that Kuwata is missing and the chances of him being found before the game are likely slim, and Naegi is silent seeing that the baseball team are now pinning their hopes on him, though his optimism seemed to help him get past the crisis he is facing right now. As the limousine left, the scene shows that Sayaka Maizono is standing there watching he vehicle leave, and she wondered what is going to happen to Naegi, as she is worried about the situation that is now public knowledge to the people.
-x-
About 30 minutes later, the scene shifts to the stadium's locker room, where Kanon, Nekomaru, Kirigiri, Naegi, and Kuwata's baseball team are assembled and they are locked in a debate as to whether they would push through with the game or not, which is due in a few days from now, and Kanon is starting to become determined to win the match and stated that Naegi is going to be among the starting players, though Nekomaru insisted that Naegi needs to be put on "reserve" claiming that the other players deserve the chance to shine, which resulted in a bickering and Kirigiri observes the argument between the two.
"What? I disapprove! You can't let an unknown in the starting position!"
"Why not?"
"We got the players with us! They have what it takes!"
"And you're saying that Naegi is not good enough?"
"Well..."
"Then I say naegi is in the starting players...and that's final!"
"You can't...!"
"I can!"
Naegi sweat-dropped at the scene and wondered if he should interject or not, but the climax of the argument reached its stretch as Kanon reiterated that Naegi should be there at the upcoming game, and Nekomaru seemed to have concede in the argument and agreed to Kanon's argument and said that if the game should push through then he won't argue further and allows Naegi to be there, but said that he would observe the game first before sending Naegi in.
After the aforementioned parties came to an agreement, Kirigiri then approached Kanon as she wanted to talk to her in private, which she agrees, and seeing that he has nothing else to do, Naegi decided to go home and get some rest...and thinking, as he wanted to sort things out mentally after beng dragged into becoming a reserve member of Kuwata's baseball team, then all of the sudden Kuwata was abducted and now he becomes the "secret weapon" of the team which he wanted to think things over, as becoming the "secret weapon" is due to him wearing the red suit.
However, as Naegi is leaving, a pair of eyes is seen glaring at Naegi, and a voice can be heard, contacting someone and instructed the caller to take the initiative and bring down the Luckster...for good before the upcoming match arrives.
-x-
Much later, the time now is 17:00, and the scene shifts to the neighborhood where the Naegi residence is shown, and there you can see Naegi arriving after taking a bus, and he is exhausted from the situation he went through and is taking a mental note to call Kirigiri and ask her what the plans are now that the "die" has been cast and he is now being groomed as the baseball team's secret weapon, and he was not pleased with the events that played in the past few days until now.
"Seriously...is the RED SUIT really worth the trouble...?"
As he is about to enter his house, a car suddenly showed up, which revealed that the occupants were the men who followed Naegi, and they were wearing ski masks and they pin down Naegi, one holding a gun and the other strangling him, and there the two men gave he Luckster a choice which they hoped that he would choose wisely.
"Makoto Naegi..."
"UUURRGGGHH...!"
"You surely know about what happened to Leon Kuwata..."
"UURRGGHHH...!"
"Then for your sake...run away...don't attend the game..."
"UUURRGGHH..!"
"Or else you'll regret it..."
"..."
"Got it?"
After hearing that Naegi wouldn't budge as he demanded why they are doing this to him, the two masked goons took out their guns and opened fire, shooting him, and Naegi tripped and the goons think that they shot him dead and that's where they decided to hop on their car and sped off, where they failed to notice that Sayaka Maizono happened to be on the scene, and she was shocked to see the two men shot Naegi, and as she is about to rush to his side, she blinked her eyes as Naegi stood up and remove his clothes, revealing that he was wearing the red suit and black cape, then ran off to chase after the car that left, leaving Maizono confused.
"Naegi-kun...?"
To Be Continued...
Looks like Naegi's been through a lot...and now he is now a target as the goons cornered him...and luck is about to go to his side...
Preview:
The Leon Kuwata concludes...as the mastermind is about to be exposed...and the fate of Kuwata as well...
See you next week...
Reviews and comments are welcomed...
:)