"Ah!! Oof!! Ugh!!""Stop hitting me!""I—I give up, Ran!! I give up—""..."
Inside the karate club, Shinichi immediately found himself flattened by Ran Mouri, completely unable to fight back. Despite his panicked pleas, promising to behave and asking for mercy, Ran wasn't about to let up. After all, it wasn't every day she got the chance to give Shinichi a proper beating.
"This is just the beginning! Why are you so eager to surrender?" she teased.
"Shinichi, isn't your dream to be a detective as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes?"
"Holmes knows Bartong-style combat and doesn't fear criminals—but you, Shinichi… you don't know anything. Face-to-face with a bad guy, you're just going to get hit."
"Do you want me to teach you some karate?"
"..."
Before Shinichi could answer, Ran seized the moment, landing a solid punch squarely on his face.
Thunk! Shinichi toppled onto the padded mat. Thankfully, he was wearing his helmet and gloves, so the damage was minimal—but the humiliation was total.
He glared at Ren Kuroda, who was calmly watching with a slight smile, feeling completely embarrassed.
"Shinichi, get up! Continue!" Ran called eagerly, clearly not finished yet. Thinking about all the times she'd been wronged by Shinichi over the years, she felt she could keep this up for another half hour.
"No, no, I give up!" Shinichi shook his head firmly. No way. No matter how much he trained, he wasn't a match for a natural talent like Ran! Besides… it's the 21st century. Who even trains in hand-to-hand combat anymore? Can't you just call the police?
Seeing her attempts to persuade him fail, Ran gave up and turned to Ren.
"Ren Kuroda, I'm counting on you!"
"Likewise, Ran," he replied politely.
With a simple bow, their training officially began.
Shinichi slid back to avoid getting hit and watched Ren with curiosity. Although he'd been at the kidnapping scene yesterday, the fight happened inside a van, so he hadn't seen much. All he knew was that Ren had knocked the two kidnappers out in just a few precise punches.
He couldn't help but wonder—who was stronger, Ren or Ran?
"I'm going in." Ran announced as she stepped forward, throwing a few probing punches. Seeing that Ren handled them effortlessly, she gained confidence to continue.
Her attacks came in a rapid sequence: front straight punch, followed by a rear hook punch, then a rear uppercut, followed by a front hook punch. She used quick variations to confuse her opponent and create openings.
But it was useless.
Ren Kuroda was no ordinary fighter—he was essentially on "overpowered" mode. With master-level combat skills, he easily deflected her attacks.
When he countered, he didn't bother with fancy combinations—just a mix of straight punches and side kicks. As the old saying goes, "In martial arts, speed conquers all." And Ren was fast.
He pounded relentlessly, leaving Ran struggling to defend herself.
Finally, he found an opening and landed a side kick that sent Ran crashing to the mat.
"Ah!" Ran let out a small cry as she hit the ground.
Shinichi clenched his fists instinctively, but when he saw Ran push herself back up, eyes blazing, he couldn't help but cheer:
"Ren! Again!!"
Watching them clash once more, Shinichi realized all his earlier worries were for nothing. But he couldn't hide his surprise—Ren was that strong. Even Ran, with seven years of uninterrupted training, was no match.
Which made him question…
Was Ren really just learning combat for the kidnapping plan?
Shinichi couldn't believe it. Ran had trained in karate since she was ten, and even with her natural talent, she'd needed seven years to reach this level.
If Ren had truly only trained for less than a month to prepare for a kidnapping… how could he surpass Ran so easily?
It defied belief. Human potential had limits—this was ridiculous.
"Ah… this feels amazing!"
After training, Ran was sore all over, but her face radiated satisfaction. She hadn't trained this intensely in a long time.
"You were getting beaten the whole time. How is this satisfying?" Shinichi asked, baffled, wondering if she had some strange kink.
"It means I still have room to improve!" Ran said happily. "Ever since my senior Tsukamoto left the club to focus on exams, I couldn't find anyone in the karate club who could really push me."
"But… even if Tsukamoto were here, she wouldn't be as strong as Ren."
Ran looked at Ren with a touch of admiration.
"Ran, before your tournament starts, I can be your sparring partner," Ren said. He considered her a friend and was happy to help however he could. This way, she could dominate the competition without needing Shinichi to prod her into unleashing her "inner universe."
"Really? Thank you so much, Ren!" Ran gushed, grateful.
"No problem," Ren replied with a smile, stopping at the street corner. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Ran waved, then she and Shinichi headed down another street.
After walking a bit, Shinichi finally spoke up.
"Ran… don't you think… there's something off about Ren?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ran asked, confused.
"Yesterday, he said he only learned combat for the plan to kidnap you," Shinichi said, voicing his doubts. "Even if he'd had that idea six months ago, he could only have trained for maybe half a year."
"But watching him just now… there's no way that was only six months of practice!"
Ran paused, then gasped. "You're right! And the way he fought… he feels even stronger than the coaches!"
She added, "But… everyone has their secrets. Ren hasn't done us any harm, so we don't need to pry."
"…Still, it's smart to stay cautious," Shinichi warned.
"You're way too sensitive, Shinichi," Ran laughed, brushing it off.
"Oh, by the way, are you coming again tomorrow?" she asked.
"Nope, no way," Shinichi shook his head decisively, rubbing his sore thigh and taking a deep breath. "I think Ran just kicked my leg into next week! I need some time to recover."
"Pfft! I was totally controlling my strength!" Ran said, noticing his excuse, huffing in mock indignation. "If I went full force, this is what it'd look like!"
She pretended to aim another kick at him.
Shinichi bolted immediately.
Ran wanted to chase him, but her sore muscles betrayed her. She could only call after him: "Alright, alright! I'm not kicking you! Come back!!"
"I don't believe you! I'm going home first… Bye, Ran! See you at school tomorrow!" he yelled, waving as he ran off decisively.