I published the chapter today instead of after tomorrow as I'll be busy then and the next week, so better publish early.

Early Morning,

Mamoru sat in his office, watching intently the news that showed what had recently happened. A huge fire started in a Skyscraper in Beika, engulfing the 39th and 40th floors.

And then, the Savage King Megazord arrived, flying with its wings and raising both his hands wide open near the window, as the Rangers appeared in their respective lights, morphed, on its hands, before breaking the window and entering the burning building.

The news helicopter filmed as the people trapped inside the two floors ran to stand on both palms of the Megazord, with each Ranger holding one or two injured people who couldn't escape.

The Megazord opened its mouth as if taking a deep breath, absorbing all the fire and heat in the two floors before flying down to the ground, placing his palms on the ground, near the ambulances.

The people got off its palms while the Rangers helped the injured ones, with everyone cheering for the Rangers. Once everyone was off its hand, the Megazord flew back up and raised its serpent hand, shooting a jet stream of water at the two floors, to cool them down and prevent them from starting a fire again, and passed the stream at the floors beneath and above them, to prevent the heat from starting a fire there too.

Mamoru scoffed at how the news reporter described the Rangers as heroes, "Yeah... How many terrorist groups appeared saying they do this for the poor or a certain religion while killing and terrorising innocents.".

"Only I see their truth... Only I know from firsthand experience what people with strange powers like them will do.", Mamoru growled, recalling the face of his wife in his head, and recalling how she died, at the hands of someone with powers.

Later this evening,

"I see.", Subaru said as he placed a book he had finished reading back into the bookshelf in the library.

"That's why I need to be there for Ran, and in case someone from that school tries to do something.", Masumi explained from where she stood in the room. She'd told her brother everything about Ran's uncle, how he died, and how the Iron Fist's rival the Black Eagle Claw Academy's instructor was involved. Masumi stopped talking once she heard the library door open behind her. She glanced behind her to see Shukichi walking in with her brother's FBI colleague.

"Shu-Subaru-san..", Jodie Starling corrected herself immediately with a smile once she saw Masumi, who looked at her dryly.

"It's alright, Jodie. Masumi knows who I am.", Subaru said.

"You told her?", Jodie asked surprised.

"I figured it out.", Masumi smirked, "Tell Agent Camel to lower his voice when talking in a cafe.", She winked teasingly before she headed towards the door, ignoring Jodie's surprised look.

"Masumi! That wasn't nice!", Shukichi scolded.

"Meh. Not my problem.", Masumi shrugged as Shukichi closed the door behind them, leaving Jodie and Subaru alone in the library.

"What was that about?", Jodie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing, that was Masumi just being herself.", Subaru said, "She's probably a bit tense for Ran's tournament.".

"Ran has a tournament coming up?", Jodie asked curiously.

"A tournament involving martial arts schools, and it seems that Ran's rival school wants to tear her down.", Subaru said mysteriously. Masumi telling him was understandable, him being now a Section 12 Captain, but it wasn't his problem nor his position to tell Jodie the whole truth.

"I see...", Jodie trailed off before she sighed, "I... came here to check on you... But I suppose you're okay, since your siblings now know who you are, no more lies.".

"Maybe... but not all the truth is out...", Subaru said as he walked towards Jodie, "Sometimes, one finds himself unable to tell the truth.".

He was standing very close to Jodie, their faces inches away from each other, and he opened his eyes, for Jodie to see the hidden meaning behind his words, but she wasn't going to do something based on her feelings and regret it, Shuichi was the one who pushed her away so he had to be the one to prove to her that he truly loves her.

"I don't exactly understand what you mean.", Jodie lied as she stood calmly against him, contrary to her fast-beating heart.

"Jodie...", Subaru sighed tiredly, hoping she would've understood and made things easier for him since he didn't know how to word his feelings and apology.

"When you know exactly what you want to tell me Shuu, call me. But don't call me when you're clueless like this, until then, I'll be working on our mission.", Jodie said sternly before she left the room, leaving Subaru alone in the library.

Jodie walked into the halls and saw Masumi leaning on the walls with a smirk, "You should've slapped him, maybe it would've made him speak up.".

Jodie smirked slightly, understanding that Masumi eavesdropped and was supporting her in her decision.

"What makes me sure that won't make things worse?", Jodie asked rhetorically.

"Good point, Shuu-nii is unexpected after all.", Masumi laughed.

"I best get going now, can't delay my work after all. See you later.", Jodie said with a friendly smile.

Once Masumi knew that Jodie was out of the house, she went upstairs to see her mother there.

"I know you eavesdropped on them too, what do you think of her?", Masumi asked her mother curiously.

"I really don't know what she sees in him, but she's got a personality, I have to say.", Mary said making Masumi sweatdrop.

'Guess that's what happens when a son and a mother share the same cold personality...', She thought.

The next night was the night of the tournament; Full Contact Martial Arts School Tournament, or FMAST for short. It was held in Beika City in a three-storied beige building; the third floor being for the schools to prepare, the second for medical staff, and the first was where the matches would be played.

Ran and Makoto stood in front of the building's door. Both were wearing Karate Gi with a white sleeveless shirt underneath, the Gi had on their chest an emblem of a gray-colored clenched fist.

"This is it huh?", Ran mumbled.

"We've done our best in training, we can win this.", Makoto assured Ran, who nodded with a smile at his words.

"We've put ourselves through vigorous training so we can win, you know!", Hina cried as she crossed her arms confidently, a wide smile on her face.

Ran and Makoto turned around to see Hina and Tsukamoto Kazumi with Masaki, the three of them wearing the same clothes, alongside other 6 teens of their age from the same academy, all boys.

"It's been a while since I kicked someone's ass, anyways.", Kazumi stretched a bit.

"Yo! Ran!". Ran turned around to see Shinichi (the one who called her) with the other Rangers, Static disguised as Daichi, Akira, Ryu, Daisuke, Sonoko, Kazuha, and Nina.

"Everyone! You came early!", Ran smiled widely.

"Did you honestly think we would arrive later for your tournament?", Daisuke raised an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you managed to convince your strict mother.", Kaito told Daisuke.

"Eh, no danger is present for her to be overprotective.", Daisuke added.

"Wonder why she is overprotective of you.", Kazumi asked curiously with a faint blush. She had a crush on Daisuke for two years but said nothing about it because she believed a genius like him wouldn't be interested in a tomboy like her.

"Dead father, lonely child, you know.", He shrugged.

"I called your parents by the way.", Nina told Ran, raising an eyebrow at Ran's frown before moving closer and whispering in Ran's ear, "They might be targeted, so I told them you're just hanging out with friends, and I had some agents guard them.".

"Good... Because they've been trying to prevent me from attending any school tournament since Hikaru died... They would've just got in my way...", Ran scoffed, "That's if they didn't go at each other's throats.".

"Whatever let's just get going, I can't wait to fight!", Kazumi smirked.

"By the way, Agasa-Hakase wanted to come with the kids but didn't because he knew it was risky and dangerous.", Shinichi whispered to her.

"Good. If it were up to me, I would've had Sonoko, Daisuke, and Kazuha not come, but they've been following the news of the tournament.", Ran nodded before Sonoko threw her arm around her shoulders.

"Come on! I can't wait to see you breaking everyone's noses in this tournament!", Sonoko cheered loudly.

"Sonoko...".

Everyone walked in the hallways, with Makoto, Ran, Hina, and Kazumi greeting any other competitor who would say hi or come to talk to them, as many martial artists of their age idolized them.

"They are sure popular around Japan.", Saguru noted.

"Iron Fist Academy, since opening 12 years ago, has been winning the FMAST and other tournaments, until 5 years ago when Kyogoku, Kazumi, Ran, and Hina joined, they've been winning any Martial Arts or Karate tournaments in the country.", Daisuke explained, "So among Martial Artists, they are indeed known and popular, and idolized by many.".

"Idolized?", they heard someone scoff.

Tension filled the halls, as Mifune smirked and walked towards the group, his students behind him, wearing black sleeveless Gi, all boys.

"If people idolize them, then they want to be failures for sure.", Mifune continued.

"It's him, the bastard who killed Hikaru-san.", Sonoko glared at him hatefully, having also been told by Ran two years ago what happened. The other Rangers with Ryu and Daisuke shared the same look.

Kazumi looked bored, Hina was glaring like her brother, Masaki looked indifferent, while Nina and Ran had cold facial expressions.

"Well, well, if it isn't Kanto's Champion.", Mifune taunted Ran.

Ran said nothing for a second before she replied, "If it isn't the jackass who gets beaten up with his school of jackasses every year by us.".

The Black Eagle Claw students were sharing their master's smirks until they heard Ran's words, and now they shared looks of anger.

"Go back to the kitchen, bitch!", One of them cried angrily.

"Someone still lives in the BC era.", Masumi mocked.

"You mean when female warriors existed and some women at one point ruled kingdoms, like Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Cleopatra.", Sonoko added to the mockery.

"Say why do you look down on women, did Mommy leave Daddy for someone else and now you hate anything female?", Ryu added with a smirk.

"I think he hates her because she doesn't love him, after all, who would love someone like him?", Daisuke continued.

"Who are those, your circus group?", Mifune said, slightly annoyed at his students being mocked by people he saw as lesser than him and his students.

"My best friends and family, who are more than capable of kicking your asses!", Ran said confidently.

Mifune narrowed his eyes at her before he looked at the other six students of Masaki, he knew those six were strong, strong enough to have defeated some of his students before, so he knew he was going to lose, so he had to do something about it.

"We shall see about that.", Mifune simply said before he turned around to leave, his students glaring at the group before following their martial arts teacher.

"He hasn't changed at all, still a jackass.", Masaki commented once the Black Eagle Claw Academy team was away.

"Hina! Hina!". Everyone looked at each other confused, especially Hina, once they heard someone calling her name, but they couldn't see where he was.

Suddenly, Daisuke and Masumi evaded out of the way just as a boy tripped and nearly fell face-first on the ground, had Hina not held him by the collar of his shirt.

"Oh God! Are you okay?", Hina asked worriedly as she helped the boy stand properly before she looked at his face and recognized him, "Eisuke!?".

"Hina!", Eisuke cried happily as he hugged her.

Ran looked at Eisuke surprised before she felt a deadly aura near her. She slowly looked behind her to see not only Makoto but also Shinichi, glaring at Eisuke intensely.

'Get your hands off my sister...', Makoto thought.

'If he is after Ran again...', Shinichi thought.

"What are you doing here?", Hina asked happily as she broke the hug with Eisuke, neither of them noticing the boys glaring at them.

"I came to support you as your friend! I told you I'd do so during your tournament in America!", Eisuke smiled.

"Shinichi and Makoto look like they're gonna burn him alive.", Saguru noted.

"Well, He's huggin Kyogoku's sister... And dat boy said he wanted ta tell Ran he likes her an' take her ta America wid him, Kudo den revealed himself ta him an told him no.", Heiji explained to the Rangers.

"So... a murder is gonna happen now?", Kaito joked.

"I guess we should prepare the graves then.", Masumi snickered.

"Hinata.", Hina winced at her brother's tone. She and Eisuke looked at him and Shinichi, with the boy shivering in fear once he saw their looks and the murderous aura around them.

"Who is he?", Makoto asked.

"T-this is the boy I met during my studying in America and during the tournaments there! Hondou Eisuke!", Hina quickly explained before she said fearfully, "Please don't kill him...".

"Wait, you like Hina?", The aura disappeared from around Shinichi as he asked hopefully.

"Y-Yeah! I-I like her! She's the first girl to find me interesting for being a tech nerd and not think I'm a wimp! So, I came to support her!", Eisuke quickly explained, hiding behind Hina, afraid of Makoto.

"Eisuke...", Hina blushed at his words.

Sonoko blinked a few times, 'Eisuke has a girl that likes him? A fighter by all means? Weird...'.

She then grabbed Makoto's arm, snapping him out of his anger once he looked at her.

"Come on, Makoto! You have a tournament to compete in!", She said as she pushed him forward, winking at Hina in support.

"Come on, before I get a headache from all of this.", Masaki said as she rubbed her temple.

The crowds consisted of the other martial arts schools that didn't compete but came to watch, the families of some of the competitors who were able to attend, and any martial arts fan out there.

The Rangers with Daisuke, Ryu, Kazuha, Sonoko, and Eisuke sat in the front row seats, with Shinichi stuck next to Eisuke much to his annoyance.

Nina preferred to stand behind, near the exit doors for the crowd, to monitor everything from her place.

At the right of the room, were five judges sitting on a white table, with the golden cup placed across them on the table in the middle. An announcer was standing next to the table with a microphone.

A screen was present above and behind the judges. This screen would randomly choose in each round, the school/academy that will be facing each other at first, then will be choosing the competitors to face each other, and will be showing the points.

To win, one must either send his opponent out of the ring, or mat in that case or knock the opponent out.

No one was surprised by who entered the finals, at Square A, Black Eagle Claw Academy brutally reached the final match, breaking all opponents' bones that stood against them, while the Iron Fist Academy at Square B, defeated their opponents without breaking any of their bones and reached the final match.

So, the time had come for the fateful match; Black Eagle Claw Academy vs Iron Fist Academy.

Fortunately, Ran hadn't entered any match as she wasn't chosen, unlike her nine other teammates, so she still had her full strength.

The screen then displayed the first two opponents, and before the Black Eagle Academy's student could even move, the one from the Iron Fist Academy forfeited, giving a point to the other Academy.

And if this wasn't bad enough, it happened with the three other boys, giving the Black Eagle Academy a total of 4 points, and they needed one to win.

"Time out!", Masaki called pausing the matchmaking, before she looked at the six terrified boys.

"What's going on here? Since when do you guys forfeit?!", Masaki nearly cried in disbelief at the students, who remained silent, looking anywhere but at her eyes.

"You guys are the second best after those four... Why are you so scared of facing them?! You've personally won in the past years against their students!", Masaki cried, "I called a time-out because I saw the looks on the other two's eyes that said they were gonna do the same! What's going on?!".

"Who threatened you?", Ran asked coldly, making the boys look at her in disbelief before one of them spoke up.

"M-M-Mifune said he has thugs waiting outside for our parents... and if we fight... he'll kill them... we never meant to do this... we are sorry...", The boy said before he and the other five bowed in apology to their teammates and instructors.

"I didn't think he'd go so low...", Masaki growled, feeling outraged that her students were being threatened, even if they weren't the top ones, they were still her students, like her children.

Ran glanced towards Mifune to see him smirking evilly before she looked up at her family and friends and started using sign language.

Everyone, even Mifune, was confused because Ran wasn't using Japanese Sign Language.

"That bastard!", Shinichi cursed in Japanese while Masumi and Saguru cursed in English, Nina simply narrowing her eyes. Everyone turned to them confused.

"He threatened the boys, if they fight, the thugs he has waiting outside will kill them.", Saguru explained making everyone look at her in disbelief.

"How did ya know?", Kazuha asked surprised.

"Ran signed using British Sign Language, and I can understand it.", Saguru explained.

"She probably did dat sa dat bastard an' his allies don' understand.", Heiji guessed.

"Yeah, it's known that Ran knows some Chinese and Korean next to English and German as spoken languages, and only Japanese Sign Language... When did she learn British Sign Language?", Kaito said.

"I did, I started teaching her and Sonoko a while ago in case anything happened.", Masumi said.

"I suck at it though, I still haven't learned it properly...", Sonoko commented.

Shinichi then looked up where Nina was standing, and she nodded at him, confirming that she got the message, and pulled out her phone.

"Wow, Ran is very smart to have learned it that fast.", Eisuke commented, irking Shinichi who looked at him with a dangerous smile.

"Yeah... MY GIRLFRIEND is very smart...", He stressed making Eisuke very terrified of him now.

"Why is Ryu going down there?", Sonoko said, bringing everyone's attention to Ryu. He had left the crowds while they were talking and headed to stand with Ran, Kazumi, Hina, and Makoto.

Masaki told the referee something, and then he told the judges, who nodded. The referee then told the announcer who nodded and spoke into the microphone.

"Due to unfortunate circumstances, Nobito and Takata will be unable to fight, so the only members now present in the Iron Academy are Kyogoku Makoto and his sister, Wada-I mean Kyogoku Hinata (Masaki had glared at him), Tsukamoto Kazumi, Mouri Ran, and... Kazama Ryuuga!".

"NANI?!", The Rangers with Sonoko, Kazuha, and Daisuke cried while Nina looked bewildered.

Ryu smirked as he removed his jacket, revealing a white sleeveless shirt with the school's emblem on it. He turned to a confused Ran and said, "I had a feeling Mifune would do something like this, so I asked Masaki-san to sign me up as a student, in case it did happen. I thought the word sorry for what I told you won't be enough, but helping you win and bring that bastard in will.".

"Ryu...", Ran felt touched by Ryu's action as she smiled at him and hugged him, "Arigatou!".

Mifune narrowed his eyes, feeling that he was going to lose that tournament, so he pulled out his phone and called someone.

He then said, "Take down Mouri and Kisaki now, and as soon as the tournament is over, get in and kill everyone related to the Iron Fist Academy.".

The matchmaking started again, and it chose the next competitors:

Jito Hiroshi V Kazama Ryuuga

Ryu confidently climbed the two stairs before standing on the mat. His opponent was a bald muscular guy twice his height with a tan complexion and black eyes.

Jito smirked once he saw how he was towering over Ryu, "I'm gonna send you back crying to your mommy.".

Ryu raised an eyebrow, "That's assuming I don't send you to the ICU first, correct?".

Jito glared at Ryu just as the referee said, "Hajime!".

Jito cried as he charged like a bull toward Ryu and sent a punch down at him. Ryu evaded the punch sideways before sending one of his own into the teen's abdominal muscles, but Jito didn't even flinch.

"Is that all you've-", Jito was about to mock Ryu until the latter sent with his other hand a harder punch, causing Jito to grunt.

"You're facing a Street Fighter, which means my fists are gonna make you feel like hell.", Ryu smirked before he sent a barrage of punches into Jito's abdominal muscles.

Jito cried in pain before he fell on one knee, and Ryu took the chance, and continued his assault on the latter's chest and face, using them as a punching bag.

"Woah! Didn' know yar friend was dat strong!", Kazuha noted once they saw the bruises forming on Jito's face and the blood starting to pour from his forehead.

"When he isn't competing in motorbike racing or at school, he spends his time fighting with thugs on the street.", Sonoko replied with a shrug.

Jito cried angrily as he stood at once and Ryu jumped backward, standing ready for Jito's attack.

"You son of a bitch!", Jito cried angrily as he charged again towards Ryu, who jumped high, evading Jito, and landed behind him.

"Ole!", Ryu cried with a smirk, making Jito even more furious.

Jito turned around to face Ryu, only to see him running towards him before Ryu jumped high, his knee slamming into Jito's nose, breaking it, and causing blood to pour from it.

Jito walked a few steps back, feeling dizzy, before Ryu performed a roundhouse kick, hitting him in the face, and knocking him out as he fell on the ground.

The referee went to check on Jito, and saw that he was knocked out. He motioned for the medical team to take him as he announced, "Winner, Kazama Ryuuga!".

Nina did her best not to cheer loudly before she looked up at where she hid her camera in the corner of the room, before smiling down at her brother, feeling proud of him.

His friends above were cheering loudly and clapping, especially Daisuke and Shinichi.

Ryu walked back to his team with a smug grin on his face.

"So, fighting bullies and thugs proved useful after all.", Kazumi snorted, knowing how her schoolmate would act.

"Better than your Karate Club Training.", Ryu smirked at Kazumi, who rolled her eyes in response.

The matchmaking started again, and the next competitors were chosen:

Misugi Kazou V Tsukamoto Kazumi

"Let me show you the results of the Karate Club training.", Kazumi told Ryu before she went up to the mat. Across her was a short boy, the same height as her, lean and toned, with spiky hair and blue eyes.

"I don't see why they let you compete when you are no longer Kanto's champion.", Misugi mocked.

"I don't see why they let you compete when you haven't even hit puberty yet.", Kazumi snorted making Misugi growl at her as both stood in a fighting stance.

"Hajime!".

Kazumi was the one who charged first and sent a punch towards Misugi, but he dodged it before sending his own towards her stomach, and Kazumi caught it with her other hand.

Kazumi then pulled back her hands before performing a roundhouse kick to hit him in the face. Misugi moved his face to the side to avoid the kick, but Kazumi smirked as she moved her feet backward, bending her leg, to hit him in his face, surprising him.

She then performed a reverse roundhouse kick, hitting him again in the face, before she jumped and performed a reverse roundhouse kick in his chest, sending him a few steps backward.

"Why is the Black Eagle Claw Academy competing again? Because all I saw were just rookies.", Sonoko scoffed.

"Actually, I see dat dey do have potential. But dey focus on der anger an' on dirty moves more.", Kazuha explained from a martial artist's point of view.

"Ya got a good eye, Zuha.", Heiji complimented making her slightly blush.

"I'm not a good Aikido champion for just winnin'!", She replied.

Misugi then blocked Kazumi's punch and dodged the other before he slammed his fist hard into Kazumi's chest, causing her to grunt.

Misugi smirked at his successful hit, so he performed a roundhouse kick. Kazumi dodged and placed all four limbs on the ground before using her right leg, to kick Misugi right under the belt.

The boy howled in pain as he covered the area while Kazumi stood up smirking, as the crowd all winced in pain.

Kazumi then raised her leg and slammed it on top of Misugi's head, knocking him out down to the ground.

The referee went to check on Misugi and called the medical team again to take him before he announced, "Winner; Tsukamoto Kazumi!".

"Was it really necessary to hit him there, Kazumi-san?", Makoto asked as Kazumi returned to her team.

"It's not illegal, Mako.", Masaki smirked slightly making her son look at her.

The matchmaking started again, and the next competitors were shown on the screen:

Jito Satoshi V Kyogoku Hinata

Hina walked confidently onto the mat, smiling once she heard Eisuke's cheering the loudest in the crowd, but she put on a serious face once she saw her opponent approaching. He was Ryu's opponent's twin, so he shared a similar appearance and physique, except he had bowl-cut styled black hair.

"Hajime!".

Hina stood in a defensive stance, waiting first for her opponent to strike, and Satoshi did charge at her and send a kick, that she blocked before she sent her own.

Satoshi smirked as he caught her fist before he pulled her off the ground from it and threw her across the mat, surprising everyone with his strength.

"Hina!", Makoto cried feeling worried for his younger sister while Masaki narrowed her eyes, putting on a cold face to hide her worry.

Hina immediately jumped back up, but Satoshi had arrived already in front of her, grabbed Hina by her waist, and started squeezing.

Hina winced in pain as she tried to free herself, but Satoshi increased the tightness of his hold, hurting her even further, she could feel her back burning from pain, and she knew he wasn't going to stop until he broke it.

"Hina! The nose!", Eisuke cried in English as he jumped off his seat, making everyone else in the crowd look at him bewildered while the Rangers with Daisuke, Kazuha, and Sonoko were more concerned about Hina.

Hina glanced at Eisuke before she glared down at Satoshi who was smirking bloodthirstily at her. And with all her strength, Hina head-butted him right in the nose.

Satoshi cried in pain as he let go of Hina, his nose pouring blood.

Hina angrily charged at Satoshi, jumped, wrapped her legs around his neck, and flipped, pulling Satoshi with her and his back slammed down onto the ground, Hina above him, and she started punching him rapidly and angrily in the face until she knocked him out, his face bleeding from everywhere.

Hina let go of him as the referee went to check on Satoshi, before calling the medical team as he announced, "Winner; Kyogoku Hinata!".

Hina limped as she walked down the mat slightly, Masaki rushing before Makoto to help her stand as she led her back to where the team was standing.

"Are you okay?", Masaki asked worriedly.

"Y-Yeah, my back slightly hurts though...", Hina said as her mother helped her sit down on the team's bench.

"Weird, he seemed much stronger than the others suddenly... I don't recall him being that strong in previous tournaments.", Kazumi said as Ran glanced at where the Black Eagle Claw academy was sitting and saw a tray with glasses of water present in front of them.

She saw one of them taking a pill then grabbing a glass of water and drinking.

"I know Mifune is rich and everything, but I didn't think he'd be rich enough for his team to take anabolic steroids in front of everyone without trouble.", Ran said making everyone look at the Black Eagle Claw Academy surprised.

"They must've started doing so after I won, which is why Hina was taken off guard by their sudden strength boost.", Ryu explained before he looked at the girl, "You've done better than what I often saw you do in Ran's previous tournaments, great job!".

Hina smiled at Ryu's compliment, "Arigatou, Kazama-kun!".

The matchmaking started again, and the next competitors were chosen:

Tachibana Ryo V Kyogoku Makoto

The team looked at Makoto, who had been silent since Hina returned, and they noticed the cold angry look on his face, staring at Mifune.

"Mako?", Hina asked worriedly.

"He helped kill Hikaru-san, who was one of my instructors and meant so much to my friend and parents. He threatened six of our team to kill their parents if they competed, and now he is normally using steroids and one of his students hurt my sister.", Makoto listed all the reasons for his anger.

He slowly walked towards the mat as he said, "I'll make them know that those steroids won't help them in anything against me.".

Makoto's opponent shared the same physique but was slightly taller. He had a light complexion with shoulder-length hair and black eyes.

"Hajime!".

"So, did baby Hina cry to her mommy and oni-chan?", Tachibana mocked.

Makoto said nothing.

"Too bad there isn't a real man to help her, like your father... oh wait! He died trying to protect a wimp like you!", Tachibana said loud enough for everyone to hear before he started laughing.

"Makoto-san! Kick his ass!", Sonoko cried loudly, feeling angry at Tachibana's words.

"I'll destroy your 400 unbeaten record-", Tachibana had started charging towards Makoto and sent a punch, but Makoto dodged it before he sent one with all his might in his stomach, interrupting Tachibana.

The punch sent Tachibana flying out of the mat in the direction of Mifune. The latter's eyes widened as he jumped out of the way, causing Tachibana to slam into the wall, before he fell on the team's bench, next to his shocked teammates.

The room went silent in awe and disbelief at Makoto's raw strength.

The referee went to check on Tachibana, to see him knocked out, and asked for the medical team to come as he announced, "Winner; Kyogoku Makoto!".

The crowd went wild at how Makoto defeated his opponent and at how he ended this match fast, Sonoko being the loudest of course.

"I really should try to avoid being on his bad side even as Kid.", Kaito mumbled as he glanced at Sonoko, who would get him on Makoto's bad side with her love for Kid.

Makoto returned to his team, with Hina immediately jumping to hug him as she cried happily, "Mako, that was awesome!".

"I didn't expect any less of you, son!", Masaki patted Makoto on the back proudly.

The cheering for Makoto however was interrupted when the matchmaking started again, and the new opponents were chosen.

Ishizaki Ozora V Mouri Ran

The crowd went immediately dead silent from the intensity of the match, for Ishizaki was his academy's best fighter, and now both academies were tied four points to four points, so whoever wins, will win the cup for his academy.

Kogoro stared at Dan who was standing across from him with a smile, "So Ran is facing Mifune's academy now...".

"Indeed.", Dan nodded.

"And he sent some men to abduct me and others to abduct Eri... and you want me to let them do so and you'll be following in case anything happened, same with Eri and that Orionson guy...".

"And my guys can take him and his thugs down there, and we can prove then that he was involved, and your daughter wasn't crazy.", Dan nodded.

Kogoro sighed as he rubbed his temples, "If only Ran talked to me...".

"She refuses to discuss the case with you and Eri, since you both play in front of her that the case is closed and nothing can be done.", Dan pointed out as he walked towards the window of the Agency.

"What do you want me to tell her? That the whole point of the attack two years ago was abducting her not just killing Hikaru?", Kogoro grumbled.

Dan then saw a car parked in front of the agency, with a man leaving it while holding a gun.

"They're here! You know what to do!", Dan said before he hid inside the agency's bathroom just as the man kicked the door open and pointed the gun at Kogoro.

"What the hell?!", Kogoro pretended to be shocked.

"Come with me, or else I'll blow your brains.", The man threatened.

Kogoro got up with his hands above his head and left the agency, the man placing the gun at the back of his head.

Once Dan heard no sound in the room, he left the bathroom and looked from the window, and saw the car dashing away.

"Now to wait for Kogoro there.", Dan said as he teleported in white light.

Eri didn't look at the door once she heard it open and said, "Back already, Kuriyama-san.".

"Not really.". She looked up once she heard a male voice answer. She raised an eyebrow at the stranger walking towards her with a friendly smile on his face.

"Hello, Kisaki-san.", Kaiden said friendly, "My name is Kaiden Orionson, I'm your daughter's martial arts instructor.".

"Really?", Eri said slightly suspicious, knowing that Ran had slacked in her training and would only train with Masaki, so what made things change so suddenly?

"And she's competing against the Black Eagle Claw Academy right now.", Kaiden's friendly smile was the absolute opposite of Eri's pale face now.

"W-What?! How?! Why didn't she tell me?!", Eri immediately stood up as she demanded to know.

"She knew you'd stop her. Listen, Kisaki-san. I know everything about what happened two years ago and now I, Masaki-san, and Dan-san from Interpol are planning a trap for Mifune at the tournament. He'd sent men to abduct you now, so I need you to go calmly with them. They'll need you alive, so nothing will happen, and I'll be following.", Kaiden explained.

Eri looked at the man. She was suspicious of him and his connection to Ran, but also this ordeal involved Ran's safety, and capturing one of the men who killed her eldest brother, so she had no choice but to trust him.

"Alright then.", Eri nodded. Kaiden then heard footsteps and stood beside the door, just as the door slammed open, hiding him, and a man walked in with a gun pointed toward Eri.

Eri calmly raised her hands above her head as the man motioned for her to come and leave the room with him, "Do as I say, or you'll find yourself six feet below the ground!".

Eri rolled her eyes as she followed the man calmly, leaving her office. Kaiden smirked slightly once he heard them moving further away before he teleported in white light.

"Hajime!"

Both fighters charged at each other at once, and both would send punches and kicks at the other, but they'd end up being blocked or dodged skillfully.

The crowd went wild as if they were in a gladiator match, cheering as loudly as they could for both fighters.

Ishizaki smirked as he performed a fake kick, before sending a real one towards Ran's face, but the latter who was known for being capable of reading body movements well and analyzing the fighter's fighting pattern, saw through his trick and blocked the kick.

Ran then ducked to avoid a reverse roundhouse kick before attempting to trip Ishizaki, but he jumped, escaping her foot.

Ran then performed a roundhouse kick from her place, hitting Ishizaki in the chest, surprising him, before she stood up, ran towards Ishizaki, jumped, and kneed him right in the nose, sending him a few steps backward, almost causing him to leave the ring and lose.

Ishizaki shook his head, to snap himself out of his dizziness, but when he looked up, Ran had stood at the other end of the mat before running toward him then she jumped and hit him hard in the face with a flying kick.

Ishizaki was sent flying out of the mat, and he landed hard on his back, knocked out, as his nose bled.

Ran landed on the mat, remarkably close to the edge that if she wasn't careful, she was going to lose. The referee went to check on Ishizaki and called for the medical team as he announced.

"Winner; Mouri Ran!".

"1st Place and winner of FMAST is... the Iron Fist Academy!", The announcer cried.

The Rangers with Sonoko, Kazuha, Eisuke, Daisuke, Akira, and Daichi cheered louder than anyone in the crowds as they got up to leave the stands and join the celebration.

The Iron Fist Academy students were cheering before they went up to Ran, Hina embracing the latter tightly while Masaki ruffled her hair proudly. The head judge handed the cup to Misaki, who raised it high with a wide smile, increasing the sound of the cheers from the crowd.

The celebration was cut short when the sound of gunfire was heard, and people started to scream and run out of the room in fear.

Masaki handed the cup to the other six students and asked them to leave the building immediately and call for the police and an ambulance.

It didn't take long for the competing room to be empty but for Mifune, his students, the Rangers, Nina, Sonoko, Hina, Eisuke, Kazumi, Kazuha, Akira, Daichi, Daisuke, and Ryu.

A few men walked in holding guns and machetes in their hands with some of them standing around Mifune, who was smirking towards Ran.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it?", He said, and Ran immediately understood what he meant.

"Admitting to being one of the men who killed my uncle immediately huh?", Ran said with her eyes narrowed.

"Well, I best make you rest from thinking so much about that before I take you to the boss and your parents.", Mifune said before he snapped his fingers.

Two men walked in holding Eri and Kogoro, with a guns pointed to their heads.

Everyone's eyes widened in fear and disbelief.

"OKAASAN! OTOUSAN!", Ran cried in fear.

"Ran, don't worry, we are okay.", Eri tried to reassure her daughter, despite feeling worried.

"S-Sensei, what is going on?", One of Mifune's students asked him worried, "I know we used to prefer playing dirty and hard, but not like this, this is going too far.".

The other students' eyes widened once Mifune punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, his mouth bleeding.

"You will do as I say and please. I'm the only one who agreed to train you while other schools refused since you had no talent whatsoever! You owe me! And if you don't do as I say seriously, I'll kill you and your parents, you hear me?!", Mifune threatened angrily.

The students looked at Mifune in disbelief and horror. They used to look up to him for accepting them and training them unlike other martial artists, but it turns out he could care less about them. He was nothing but a criminal who was ready to do anything for the sake of himself.

"I helped kill Kisaki Hikaru easily, think I will hesitate to do so with you?", Mifune continued his threat as the other students helped their teammate up.

Mifune then smirked up towards Kogoro and Eri, "But everyone never believed little Ran who kept insisting it was me, saying she was crazy and had PTSD, even her parents.".

If looks could kill, then Kogoro and Eri's glare would've killed Mifune a thousand times as he was standing.

Suddenly, the man holding Eri hostage received a strong hit on the back of his head, and then the man holding Kogoro hostage received the same hit. It left them disoriented for seconds, enough for both Kogoro and Eri to perform a Judo throw, grabbing them and flipping them over their shoulders on the ground.

"What the?!", Mifune cried in disbelief at the person who helped Eri and Kogoro escape.

"Are you gonna kill me too Mifune? Because I'm Ran's current instructor now.", Kaiden glared down at the man.

Before Mifune could order the gun-armed men to shoot at everyone from his anger, he heard gunshots from other people. He watched in disbelief as his men who were holding guns were killed by gunshots towards their heads or chests.

He looked ahead to see Nina who was holding her gun with a smirk, "Police.".

Dan entered from the doors above with a smirk as he swung his gun around his fingers, followed by Jodie.

"Interpol.", He said.

"FBI.", Jodie said.

"Next time you decide to mess with Ran, just remember that she has the law enforcement itself caring about her.", Shinichi smirked, being the least surprised one by this, followed by Masumi.

Masumi looked at Jodie who had reached the group with Dan and smiled at her, the latter nodding in return.

"Jodie-san, wait!", Masumi called, stopping Jodie from leaving.

"What is it?", Jodie asked.

Masumi then told Jodie everything about Ran, her uncle, and how Mifune was involved.

"We, as Ran's friends, think he will be doing something tomorrow, maybe even try to kill her.", Masumi said, "We can't exactly tell the police since they think she's crazy, well, according to Ran, not Megure-keibu, but the higher-ups may stop him, so we asked those we know in Interpol and Police to help and-".

"Wait, Interpol?", Jodie asked surprised.

"Shinichi's godfather.", Masumi explained, "I'd appreciate it if you could help us, and so will Ran. Shu-nii wouldn't be able to attend and-.".

"Say no more, I'll be there in case anything happens. I see Ran as my little sister, so I'll be there by her side.", Jodie nodded with a smile.

Masumi smiled thankfully at her as she pulled out her phone and texted Shinichi.

We got Jodie Starling on our side tomorrow too.

"Thanks for admitting that you killed Hikaru-san, because I recorded it and now, I can say happily, you're under arrest, all of you.", Nina said with a teasing smile.

Once she spoke, Jodie looked at her and her eyes widened in disbelief.

'V-Vermouth?! No! Masumi said they had someone from the police... but why does she look so much like Vermouth?!', She thought.

"You all planned this...", Mifune guessed.

"Well, it was all his plan.", Dan said pointing at Shinichi who was glaring at Mifune.

"I swore to bring you in today for killing Hikaru-san and what you did to Ran and her parents indirectly. And now that you're caught red-handed with threats and dealing with thugs, with more than 10 people as witnesses, even the higher-ups at the police can't open their mouths.", Shinichi said, not noticing the admiring and thankful look Ran was giving him.

Mifune literally let out smoke from his ears and nose in anger before he cried at his students and the remaining men with machetes.

"KILL THEM ALL!".

The students, out of fear of themselves and their families being killed rushed with the thugs towards the group, with other thugs rushing towards Eri, Kogoro, and Kaiden upstairs.

Ran charged before jumping high, evading all the thugs and landing in front of Mifune, and both stood in a fighting stance, eyeing each other angrily.

"So, I guess this will be a fistfight after all.", Daisuke yawned.

"Sonoko-san, stay behind me.", Makoto ordered and Sonoko didn't even argue as she hid behind him.

"Eisuke, behind me!", Hina cried.

"Y-Yes Ma'am!", Eisuke said as he hid behind Hina.

"It's been a while since I fought someone.", Akira cracked his knuckles.

"Same here, bro!", Daichi cracked his knuckles too.

"Let's end this!", Ryu cried as a fight started in every corner of the room.

Akira & Daichi,

"Everybody was kung fu fighting!", Daichi cheered as he jumped remarkably high, causing two thugs to bump face-first into each other, as they were charging towards Daichi from both sides.

Daichi knelt and took the machetes of the knocked-out men. He looked at the thugs who were staring at him quizzically, what would a 12-year-old kid do with two blades?

"HAAAAAA!", Daichi let out a crazy battle cry as he charged toward the men, swinging the machetes like a maniac.

The men let out a cry of fear, as Daichi looked like a psycho who was let loose and given a weapon. They ran away from the disguised robot, the latter following behind.

Akira dodged one machete and slammed the thug holding it right in the nose, breaking it, and knocking him out. He then slammed his right foot into the stomach of one, causing him to nearly vomit before he fell face-first knocked out.

Akira then saw the men running away from his brother and sweatdropped, before letting out a heavy sigh. He glanced around to see no one was looking before he created a small yellow energy ball and threw it at the men.

It hit the man in the middle, before ricocheting into his fellow criminals until it knocked them all out, and then disappeared.

"No fair Akira! I was having so much fun with this!", Daichi pouted making Akira roll his eyes.

"You need to go to a therapist.", was all that Akira said.

Jodie & Nina,

Jodie smirked slightly as she avoided every single blade attack from a thug before she kneed him in the groin, causing him to let go of his weapon before she sent a chop strike to the back of his head, knocking him out.

Jodie then roundhouse kicked another charging towards in the neck hard, knocking him out, before she slammed the back of her gun into another one, knocking him too out.

One of them charged towards her and managed to grab her by her neck, but Jodie coldly shot him in the chest killing him.

"Come on boys!", Nina said in English as she stood with a seductive smirk, urging them with her finger to come at her.

Four of the men against her were confused while three suddenly became awestruck, their eyes devouring her whole figure and their mouthwatering, like rabid animals.

"Syndicate, solo, poor, rich, you criminals are all the same,", Nina started as she twirled her gun before she swiftly fired at the three men, the bullets piercing through their heads and murdering them.

The four looked at the three in horror before they looked back at Nina who continued, "Just filth, which should be removed.".

Nina yawned just as she shot the other four thugs in the head murdering them all. "As much as I would've liked fighting, I only fight with those worthy enough.", She said.

Jodie raised an eyebrow in suspicion at Nina's attitude. Her overconfidence, her femme fatale. If Ran trusted her then she was supposed to be a good guy, but her ease to kill bad people and her attitude...

She was an enigma to her.

Dan & Masaki,

"Can't I have a day of peace with no paperwork or mission reports or anything?", Dan complained before he elbowed a man that was charging towards him from behind. The man hunched over, and Dan elbowed him in the back of his neck, knocking him out.

"I still really don't understand how you became Vice Chief and temporarily Chief with your lazy attitude.", Masaki said as she sent a one-inch punch into a man's gut, sending him flying into three of his fellow thugs and knocking them out.

Masaki then jumped, spun, and sent a hard kick into the face of the three thugs who were charging towards her from behind.

She then grabbed a machete that she found on the ground and blocked one man's blade.

Dan caught the wrist of a thug charging towards him, took the blade from him, and said, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to use sharp objects?".

He then slammed the back of the hand of the machete into the thug's throat, making him cough before Dan hit him with an uppercut knocking him out.

Dan then saw Masaki dueling with three men using the blade until he spotted more arriving to gang up on her. With a cold look in his eyes, Dan twirled his gun before he emptied the magazine into the chests of all the men around Masaki and him, killing him all.

Masaki's eyes widened in surprise at how quickly and easily Dan killed the men, and at his marksmanship, one of the men was remarkably close to her that he could've harmed her, but he had easily aimed the bullet at the man.

Dan, seeing Masaki's surprised look, smirked, "I wasn't codenamed Space Cowboy for nothing.".

Kogoro, Eri, & Kaiden,

Kogoro pushed Eri behind him and caught one thug's arm before he could attack with the machete, kneed him under the belt, and head-butt him before throwing him down the stairs.

Eri turned around once she felt someone behind her, and a thug had raised his machete to attack her, but Kaiden dashed, appeared in front of her, and with the palms of his hands, he caught the blade between both.

Eri then took the chance and kneed the man under the belt, causing him to yelp as the weapon fell from his hand and he kneeled over before she slammed both her hands on the back of his head knocking him out.

Eri then noticed that the group headed towards them was all knocked out and looked at Kogoro who said, "I only knocked out two.".

Eri looked surprised before she turned to Kaiden who started slightly stretching, "Yes, I knocked out the other men, they were rookies, so it was easy.".

"Still, that was kind of fast.", Eri said feeling suspicious.

"I've spent my whole life as a martial artist, so for me, it was very simple.", Kaiden smiled friendly at both, "And now I'm passing down my experience and knowledge to your daughter and her friends.".

Kaiden then had a serious facial expression as he said, "Speaking of Ran, she admires you both and looks highly up to you, and all she wants of you is to pay attention to her, not fight each other, and help her be a better person.".

Kaiden knew Ran wasn't a talkative person, but at one training session, she'd complained to them about her parents, and their attitude, and expressed her desire for them to genuinely care about her, with Shinichi, Kaito, and Masumi adding the times they saw her parents being immature.

Kaiden wasn't one to interfere in issues that didn't concern him, but he was one to give a piece of advice to help the situation from afar.

"She told you that?", Kogoro asked with a faint voice.

"Only once, but I didn't miss the signs of parent neglect on her.".

Makoto & Sonoko,

"Look Kyogoku, just surrender and it will all be over for us, okay?", The Black Eagle Claw student said, "If you leave quietly and say nothing about what happened, you and your girl will live.".

"You want me to not stand by Ran's side?", Makoto asked seriously with a raised eyebrow.

"She's not related to you! So, there is no need for this!", He argued.

"Ran has been my friend and martial arts classmate since we were 7 and 8 years old. You expect me to abandon her now?", Makoto asked rhetorically before glancing for a second at Sonoko behind him, 'And in the future, Ran will be sister-in-law, literally.'.

Makoto then had a quick flashback to when he was nine years old, training with his father.

Hideoyashi and Makoto sat on the ground, panting from their heavy training.

"You're improving fast, Mako!", Hideoyashi said proudly, "And you are getting stronger!".

"Ah, I'll win lots of tournaments with my strength.", Makoto said determinedly.

Hideoyashi looked at Makoto seriously as he said, "Mako, winning tournaments is great and important to a true martial artist... but you know what is better?".

"What?", Makoto asked curiously.

Hideoyashi smiled warmly, "Protecting your loved ones and innocent people with your strength.".

"Really? Then I'm gonna get stronger to protect Kaasan, Hina, and my friends!", Makoto jumped up on his feet as he exclaimed, making Hideoyashi laugh at his son's spirit.

"That's my son!".

Makoto narrowed his eyes once the student charged towards him, he caught his fist before he head-butted the student, causing him to cry in pain as Makoto let go of his fist.

The thugs let out a battle cry as they charged with their weapons towards Makoto, who narrowed his eyes dangerously towards them. Sonoko slowly walked backward away from Makoto, giving him space to fight the thugs.

She felt her leg hit something, so she looked down to see a machete on the ground next to its former owner, who was knocked out from one of the fights happening now.

Makoto easily ducked, evading a blade, before he grabbed the man's wrist, twisted it, and broke it, making the man cry in pain as he let go of the blade before Makoto hit him with a one-inch punch in the stomach, sending him into two other thugs who were charging towards Makoto, knocking the three to the ground.

Makoto turned around and stood ready to attack the man that was behind him, raising the machete to swing it towards Makoto.

Makoto, however, was surprised to see him fall knocked out on the ground. His eyes widened when he saw who was responsible for knocking him out from behind.

"Sonoko-san?", He said once he saw Sonoko holding the machete, having slammed its back into the back of the man's head.

"I wanted to help.", She explained. Makoto then ran towards her, and pushed her aside, before slamming his fist into the throat of a man who was charging towards her from behind, just as the man's blade slashed at Makoto's chest.

Sonoko's eyes widened once she turned around. She swore she saw no blood or Makoto's skin once a diagonal cut in his clothes was made, but iron, iron that changed back to his skin once Makoto hit the guy. The man started choking and Sonoko then took the chance and slammed the back of the machete on the man's head hard, knocking him out.

"That was... something...", Sonoko panted, feeling the adrenaline from the fight as she threw the weapon to the ground. "I see why you martial artists love fighting and combat so much.", She said.

"You did well for someone who doesn't know how to fight.", Makoto complimented Sonoko as he placed his hand on her shoulder making her blush.

"R-Really? Arigatou!", Sonoko exclaimed hugging Makoto, making him now blush.

"S-Sonoko-san!".

'Was I imagining things? No... It was real, but how could Makoto-san do such thing?', Sonoko wondered.

Hina & Eisuke,

Eisuke watched as Hina easily dealt with the thugs. She would first strike their hand with her fists, before kicking them hard with her feet. She'd done so with two thugs before one tried to swing his blade sideways.

Hina fell into a leg-split form before tripping the thug, causing him to fall on the ground, then slammed her fist into his face, knocking him out.

Eisuke then felt someone moving behind him, so he jumped out of the way, avoiding a machete attack at the last moment. He grabbed a machete he found on the ground and pointed it at the thug.

"Come on kid!", He spat at Eisuke.

Eisuke gulped and put on a serious face, wanting to do something useful. He charged towards the man with a battle cry before he tripped from his legs and slammed the back of the machete by accident hard on the man's head as he fell. The man cried in pain as Eisuke landed on the ground, and Eisuke quickly took the chance and slammed both his fists under the man's belt, knocking him out of heavy pain as he fell onto the ground.

Hina frowned once she saw her last opponent was a student from the Black Eagle Claw Academy. He walked slowly towards her before suddenly, Eisuke jumped on the teen's back, wrapping his hands around the teen's eyes.

"Now Hina!", He cried. Hina took the chance and ran towards the teen before she jumped. Eisuke let go of him and rolled out of the way just as Hina slammed both her feet into the teen's face, knocking him out.

Eisuke looked awestruck at Hina as she landed gracefully on both feet. Hina then ran towards him and helped him stand, "Eisuke-kun, you were amazing!".

"R-Really?!", Eisuke asked in disbelief, as this was the first time he was told he was amazing.

"Yes! You defeated a criminal and helped me beat a martial artist when you have no fighting experience, you are amazing!", Hina insisted as she hugged Eisuke tightly.

Eisuke blushed as he returned the hug, "You're the real amazing one Hina-chan!".

Daisuke & Kazumi,

Kazumi battle cried as she charged and performed a spear move into one of the men, before pushing him towards two more men and knocking them all to the ground. She adjusted herself before she sent a heavy punch to each one, knocking them out.

Daisuke easily dodged the men, his hands in his pockets, a smile on his face. Kazumi stood up and looked at Daisuke surprised, she knew he was a Shogi genius with an athletic build, but from his moves, she could tell he was a professional in martial arts.

"DIE!", One thug cried as he swung his sword at Daisuke who smirked, before kicking the man in his heel, causing him to fall face first on the ground, before slamming his leg on his head.

"I'm not just a Shogi Player, I'm also a Taekwondo professional.", He said as he kept his leg raised. He glanced behind him once he saw the men charging towards him.

"Actually...", He started before he stood on his hands, spinning his legs swiftly, kicking them all in the face before pushing himself to jump and slam both his feet at the last one who hadn't received the kicks like his fellow thugs.

"I know every kicking style. I can't ruin my hands, I need them for Shogi.", Daisuke shrugged, his smile becoming more confident.

Kazumi was in awe. Daisuke's technique was truly a mix of every kicking style and technique ever known, and it didn't look like he knew self-defense or advanced level, he was a master.

Kazumi was so occupied looking at Daisuke that she didn't feel the man that was creeping up on her.

Daisuke, however, saw him. His eyes widened before he charged towards Kazumi, raising his fist, and Kazumi's eyes widened once she saw blue lines appearing on Daisuke's arm before it became metallic, and slammed it behind Kazumi into the man's face, sending him flying away, and knocking him out.

"W-What...", Kazumi mumbled as she saw Daisuke's hand returning to normal before the blue lines disappeared.

"I shouldn't have exposed myself like this...", Daisuke sighed heavily before he looked at Kazumi with a warm smile, "Would you please not tell anyone? I was born with these weird powers, and I'd appreciate it if no one knew, I don't want to end up being a lab rat.".

All that Kazumi could do was simply nod.

Ryu & Masumi,

"Hey, isn't that guy the one who told Ran to go back to the kitchen.", Ryu recognized the student that stood against them with a group of thugs.

"I'm still at my opinion.", He growled.

Masumi raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Why don't I show you what girls can do then when they know how to fight?".

"I personally don't mind that, I'll handle the clowns, but just don't kill him.", Ryu smirked making Masumi smirk.

"He's lucky he isn't a criminal or else he would've been dead.", Masumi said, making the student growl before he charged toward her.

Masumi caught his fist before finger jabbing him in the eye, causing him to be blind temporarily as he cried in pain. Masumi was careful though, to not pop his eye nor give him a bruise, just render him blind for minutes, as she knew he was being forced. Masumi then stood in a Wing Chun style before she sent a barrage of fists in every single area in his upper and lower torso. She slammed her fist in his face, causing him to become dizzy before she grabbed him from his shirt and slammed him on his back on the ground.

She then knelt and sent one last punch, knocking the teen out.

"I'm not just any girl, I'm Kanto's champion rival.", Masumi smirked proudly.

Ryu dodged a man's blade before grabbing him from his shirt and head-butted him before drop-kicking him in the chest, knocking him out. Ryu jumped back up and slammed his fist under the belt of a thug who was charging towards him, causing him to fall on the ground while holding the area, whining in pain.

Ryu then sent a kick into the last man's right ribs, causing him to fall on his knee. Ryu then ran and stood behind him, before holding the man in a chokehold, causing the man to drop his weapon and try to remove Ryu's hands, feeling the air leave his lungs.

Ryu kept his hold until he saw the man becoming light-headed. He then let go of him, pushed him to the ground, and slammed his foot on the back of his head, knocking him out.

Heiji & Saguru & Kazuha,

"Hakuba! Keep an eye on Kazuha, I'll-".

"HUH?! DO I LOOK LIKE A FIVE-YEAR-OLD TA YA?!", Kazuha interrupted Heiji just as a man approached her from behind.

"KAZUHA LOOK-", Heiji was interrupted by Kazuha catching the man's wrist, twisting his arm, before flipping him onto the ground.

Another man charged towards her, and swung his blade, but she dodged it before she slammed her fist right into his nose, breaking it, before flipping him and throwing him on the ground too.

Saguru looked at Kazuha surprised before he deadpanned at the awestruck Heiji, "Why did you want me to keep an eye on her again?".

Heiji sighed heavily, "Never mind.". He knelt and grabbed the machetes of the men Kazuha knocked out and handed one to Saguru.

"Wanna put yar swordsmanship ta test?", Heiji smirked.

Saguru smirked back, "You know it.".

Kazuha turned around and raised an eyebrow. Heiji and Saguru were blocking the attacks of the remaining men around them; Heiji's style was like a Samurai and Kendo practitioner while Saguru leaned more towards fencing and medieval knights.

Both were easily blocking the attacks, before slamming the back of the blade into the men's necks, to knock them out.

What Kazuha found suspicious was how Heiji and Saguru were coordinated, as if reading each other's minds, as if they had fought before. According to what Heiji had told her; he had hated Saguru during their first meeting but they're now friends after meeting during a few cases.

'Didn' know dat few cases can make ya know how to fight together? What are ya hidin' from me Heiji?', Kazuha thought in suspicion just as Heiji and Saguru, together, slammed the back of the blade into the neck of the last thug, knocking him out.

"How many did ya knock out?", Heiji asked.

"4, you?", Saguru asked.

"4.".

"Huh, it's a tie then I suppose.".

Shinichi & Kaito,

"So why did we end up with two martial artists, not random thugs?", Kaito asked annoyed.

"Because we're the only group who has all involved members not an expert in fighting.", Shinichi grumbled.

The student charged at Kaito, who simply backflipped away as he said, "Hey cousin, how about we do this old style? No martial arts or self-defense?".

"What do you mean?", Shinichi asked confused as he ducked the punches that were being sent towards him from the other student.

Kaito was jumping and flipping around, evading the student's attack as he said, "Alter Ego style!".

Shinichi slowly smirked as he understood Kaito's words, "Then let's do this, 1412.". He raised his shirt to show his soccer belt before kneeling and activating his electric shoes, as Agasa made him a version for his adult self.

"Right back at ya, Tantei-kun!", Kaito smirked as he pulled out a stack of cards, playing with them in his hands as the student eyed him.

The student charged towards him and Kaito simply threw the cards in the student's face, confusing him as the cards were too many and he couldn't see anything. Once the cards fell on the ground, the student's eyes widened once he could no longer see Kaito.

The student turned around and his eyes widened once he saw Kaito standing behind the second student and throwing a small bomb at him that exploded into a metallic net. The second student fell on the ground as the net held him in place, just Shinichi formed a soccer ball before kicking it towards the first student.

The first student was hit by the ball in the face, knocking him out as he fell to the ground. Shinichi smirked as Kaito walked to stand next to him.

"Man, I love it when we team up.", Kaito said as he placed both his hands on the back of his head.

"Holmes' Apprentice and Lupin's apprentice, an unstoppable duo.", Shinichi said as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Ran vs Mifune,

Out of her anger, Ran charged first at Mifune and sent a barrage of punches toward him, but the latter was smirking as he dodged every single punch, before sending one of his own, right in her nose.

It was so strong that Ran bled from her nose and was slightly caught off guard, giving Mifune the chance to pull out of his pocket a small bag and empty it in his hand.

Ran regained her composure and charged towards Mifune, ready to attack and block at the same time, but Mifune caught her off guard when he threw at her what was in the bag, sand.

Ran was completely caught off guard as she found herself blinded by the sand and tried to use her hands to clean her eyes, but Mifune charged towards her and sent a barrage of punches at her face, chest, and stomach.

He then sent a sidekick to her side, sending her flying into the wall. Ran's back slammed hard into the wall, but Mifune didn't give her a chance to rest as he grabbed her from her hair.

"You may have trained with different instructors,", he started as he punched her in the face, "But I faced all of your instructors and know their fighting style, and I have years of experience!"

He punched her harder in the ribs, a twisted smile appearing on his face once he heard her ribs crack and her screaming in pain.

"RAN!", His smile grew wider once he heard Masaki, Shinichi, Kogoro, and Eri cry her name.

"I've waited years to do this to you... I've imagined myself doing it every single time you'd win and celebrate with Hikaru...", Mifune hissed with hatred before he slammed Ran's head into the wall, cracking the wall.

"I was getting into debt and trouble because I had no money anymore, and I couldn't earn well since your stupid Iron Fist academy came... We were number one, the school I founded on my own was number one... until you came...", He growled as he grabbed her from her hair again and slammed her into the ground, "Then Sake came, and told me about finishing Kisaki. And imagine my shock when I found out that man was also an NPA SB agent... So, I helped Sake, and he made me filthy rich...".

'SAKE?! The Black Organization was involved in this?!', The Rangers thought in shock and disbelief while Nina, Jodie, and Dan narrowed their eyes.

Ran coughed blood as she tried to get up, but Mifune placed his foot on her stomach muscles, pushing her back down. Her right eye was bruised, her forehead was bleeding profusely, and she had a busted lip.

"Sake had asked me to bring you and your parents to him alive... until then, I'll enjoy toying with you!", Mifune cried bloodthirstily as he raised his foot to stomp on Ran, but she took the chance and tripped him with a low kick at his other leg, causing him to fall.

Ran ignored her pain and stood ready in a fighting stance, her vision slightly recovered, enough for her to be able to see Mifune's figure. She knew from the hits she took that Mifune had also taken steroids and added to the fact that she and Makoto were wearing bracelets hidden under their Gi, to prevent her Ranger powers from helping, that was why she felt so much pain now.

"You're wrong.", Ran said as Mifune jumped back up.

"You know how Masaki Sensei, Hideo Sensei, and Hikaru Sensei fight indeed, but who told you those were my only instructors?", She asked.

Mifune snorted before he charged swiftly at Ran. She narrowed her eyes, reading his movements, before she ducked, avoiding a hook, and sent her palm slamming into Mifune's stomach.

He grunted in pain and spat blood, feeling the impact of the hit deep inside his body. Ran hit him again with the other palm, making the man groan in pain before he growled and grabbed her by her neck.

But Ran finger jabbed him in the eye, causing him to cry in pain and he let go of her.

"I learned the palm technique from Kaiden Sensei and the finger jab from my best friend, Masumi.", Ran explained before she jumped, and performed a spinning cartwheel kick on Mifune's forehead, causing a cut to open and him to bleed profusely, before she jumped, flipped backward, and kicked him, sending him a few steps back.

"I learnt the cartwheel and bicycle kicks from Kazumi Senpai and Nina-Oneechan.", Ran added just as Mifune regained his stance and sent an Eagle claw attack with his hand at Ran.

She caught his wrist, and twisted it, stopping him in his tracks, before she gave him an uppercut in the chin, causing him to bleed from there.

"I learned this from Kazuha-chan.", She added as she let go of his wrist before slamming both her hands, chop style, into Mifune's neck hard, "And this one is from Daisuke.".

Mifune tried to grab her, but she fell into a split-leg stance before punching him under the belt causing him to cry like a girl.

"And this is Dan-san and Ryu's trademark move.", Ran smirked, feeling much more confident as she stood up before jumping, spinning, and kicking him in the face with her right leg followed by the second.

And then she punched him hard in the stomach, causing him to cry again as he coughed blood, the punch would've sent him flying away hadn't Ran caught his wrist.

"And I guess you already know Hikaru's double kick and the Kyogoku's family One Inch Punch but let me show you something my father taught me!", She cried as she flipped him over her back, slamming him on the ground.

"You didn't see that coming, did you?", Ran smirked at Mifune who was glaring at her as he groaned in pain, unable to move anymore.

"Go ahead then... Kill me... Or did Kisaki mean nothing to you?", Mifune taunted, despite his pain.

Ran narrowed her eyes, "If I ever had to kill, it would be self-defense or to protect someone, and as a last option, not a first... But I'm not like you... to kill just because I want to... Besides, you still must answer for all the other crimes you've done.".

At that moment, the police arrived and stormed into the building.

Declaring Ran as the winner.

Ran watched as Mifune was taken by the police into their car. He glared at her and her parents hatefully before the officer pushed him inside the car. Several police cars were present, some officers were questioning the bystanders, the crowds, and the six other Iron Fist students. Other police cars were taking the living thugs and the Black Eagle Claw Academy to continue investigations in the station.

Ambulances were there to take the dead bodies and treat the people who were hurt during the crowd escape, they had already finished treating Ran who had bandages around her face and eyes.

"Bastard.", Kogoro spat as the car that Mifune was in drove off.

"At least he is now where he belongs.", Eri said coldly before she looked at Ran, who refused to look at her and Kogoro.

"Go ahead, yell at me, scold me, then have a go at each others' throats on who was responsible-", Ran was interrupted by Eri embracing her tightly, Kogoro joining in.

"You scared us... we were terrified while you were fighting... I thought I was going to lose you this time...", Eri's body started to tremble as she did her best not to let her tears fall, but a few managed to escape.

"Ran... I can't say much about what Hikaru and I were investigating... but all I can tell you is that those who Mifune worked with, wanted to abduct you too... that's why we wanted to keep you away from this case as much as possible.", Kogoro explained, "We knew you were telling the truth... but we couldn't investigate publicly you know.".

Ran's eyes widened. For the past two years, she thought her parents could care less about Hikaru when they wouldn't do anything about the case, but they were only trying to protect her from the others working behind the scenes who wanted to abduct her.

Her parents didn't think she was crazy. They've always believed her.

"Ran... I'm so sorry about slapping you that day.", Eri finally apologized for that.

"I-I-It's alright...", Ran sniffed before she started crying as she embraced her parents with the same tightness, feeling some closure concerning her trouble with her parents after Hikaru's death.

The others stood watching with a friendly smile, happy for Ran.

Shinichi was happy for Ran, but he had a serious facial expression. If the man Mifune helped and who killed Hikaru was nicknamed Sake, then that means he was one of them.

Of the Black Organization. The Black Organization was targeting his girlfriend long before he got her involved in this.

"I don't think she was involved just because of her uncle.", Masumi told Shinichi, sharing his thoughts.

"Yeah... I think they wanted her for herself...", Shinichi nodded, "We can discuss that with the others later.".

"Yo, Akira.". Akira looked curiously at Ryu, who was looking anywhere but at the guy's face.

"Sorry about what I said about you, I-".

"It's alright. Kazama-kun. Static told me everything, and as much as I was angry at first, I'm glad you did what you did.", Akira said with a friendly smile making Ryu raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Really?", He asked.

"Yeah, now Hidemi and I have a proper relationship with no lies and secrets.", Akira nodded, "And I kind of understand your situation, but if you'd like my opinion, you're already different than your parents, your own kind of person, from what Shinichi and Ran had told me about you.".

"Really? Thanks man!", Ryu laughed as he rubbed the back of his head.

Jodie, on the other hand, was busy glancing at Shinichi, noting the similarity between him and Conan, like twins without glasses. She'd always hear Conan say Shinichi-niichan helped him, but Shinichi nearly acted like Conan.

Could it be possible that they were one?

Jodie then looked at Masumi before glancing at Ryu, Heiji, Saguru, Makoto, and Kaito.

'When Mifune said Saké, they seemed surprised, as if they knew what being codenamed by such name means... as if they knew about the Black Organization... Who are they? Especially since the second man in the Interpol trusts them', She thought before she looked at Nina who was busy texting someone.

'And that woman... I know she's not a Police Officer ...', She thought just as Nina looked at her.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer.", Nina smiled slightly, telling Jodie indirectly that she felt her staring.

"Are you sure we haven't met before?", Jodie insisted.

"Met before...", Nina said slowly before she shrugged as she said in American English, "Well, that's a secret...".

Jodie's eyes widened as Nina smirked at her and continued in the same language, "A secret makes a woman, woman.".

'The body language... the appearance... please don't tell me she'll turn out to be Vermouth after all!', Jodie thought in anger as she said as calmly as possible, "Who told you that?".

"Got it from my favorite actress and idol, Sharon Vineyard.", Nina said.

The conversation was interrupted by Sonoko crying joyfully, "There will be a Kid heist a week from now!".

"A week from now?! That's the time of my moto race!", Ryu cried in disbelief just as the Mouri family joined the group again.

Sonoko read from her phone with a wide smile on her face, "It says here the cup that will be handed to the winner has the Cursed Phantom Jewel embedded in it, so Kid left a heist notice to the race organizer and told him he'll be after it!".

The Rangers with Ryu and Nina slowly glanced at Kaito, who looked so innocent with a wide smile on his face.

"What?", He asked innocently.

Kogoro and Eri then bowed as Eri said, "We can't thank you enough for helping Ran in this.".

"We're her friends, we'd do anything for her.", Makoto said.

"I couldn't have said it better!", Akira nodded.

"She was my student back at Teitan, so...", Jodie shrugged with a smile.

"She's my girl.", Shinichi said with a wide smile, causing Kogoro to stand properly, and glare at him, before grabbing him from his shirt.

"AND JUST WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME MISTER?!", He cried angrily.

"I'm curious to know too...", Eisuke trailed off, recalling that the last time he saw Shinichi he was still Conan, so how and when did he get his body back?

Eisuke then felt a deadly aura near him, and his eyes widened once he saw Masumi evilly smirking towards him, "I know you know... and if you know what's best for yourself, keep your mouth shut unless Kudou decides something else...".

"H-hai.".

"Like I said, a big case, and I told Ran everything, we had a fight, and we confessed.", Shinichi said, a confident smile on his face despite being afraid of Kogoro.

"YOU DID WHAT?!", Kogoro cried in shock.

"Why is he so surprised? Didn't he already know it was bound to happen?", Ryu asked confused.

"Father's jealousy. It also happens with the mother and son, Kaasan doesn't like the idea of me having a girlfriend, thinking she'll steal all what I have.", Daisuke chuckled, oblivious to Kazumi's curious looks to him.

"Touchan almost shot Takaaki when he found out he took me out to dinner.", Nina snickered while Dan rolled his eyes.

"I did nothing wrong.", He scoffed.

"Cut it out Kogoro.", Eri said as she pulled Kogoro's hand off Shinichi, "He's not a bad kid, and if Ran likes him, then it's settled.".

"He's not good enough for Ran!", Kogoro huffed.

"No man is good enough for Ran in your mind.", Sonoko deadpanned.

"Exactly!".

Kazumi watched the group's different interactions, the family, the friends, and their talks about parental love. She then looked away to avoid showing looks of jealousy as she thought, 'Wish I knew what you all were talking about... but my parents sold me to a human trafficking group while I was four years old.'.

She then glared at the police cars present with hate, before receiving a phone call and once she saw the caller's name, she said, "I gotta go now, my parents are calling!".

She started running away, waving with her hand at the group once she heard them say 'bye', not noticing the suspicious look Daisuke gave her.

'If she truly does have parents, then why was she looking at everyone with such jealousy, as if she doesn't? and she eyed the police with so much hate...', He wondered.

Once Kazumi was sure she was away and alone, she answered the phone.

"They got Mifune and some of the men with his thugs. Ran had her friends with Kazama Dan from Interpol, also her parents arrived with her new martial arts instructor.".

"As I expected... Mifune failed... and you did nothing...".

"Did you want me to expose myself?!".

"Is that the main reason, or have you gotten attached to the daughter of the policeman? Have you forgotten who sold you and who saved you?!".

Kazumi looked away with a hard facial expression, "No, I haven't, Sake.".

"Good... Did anything interesting happen back there, a potential young recruit perhaps?".

Kazumi immediately remembered what she'd seen Daisuke do and remained silent for a few seconds before answering, "No.".

"Fine... A Kid heist is coming up, I need you to be there to check out the Kid Task Force and Kid Killer, see if they are worth recruiting, and if things get tough, kill them. But don't expose yourself, we still need you around Mouri.".

"Alright, Sake.".

"Focus on your mission and your real family, the ones who saved you... Bailey.".

Tsukamoto Kazumi, the Black Organization agent codenamed Bailey, replied in a cold tone.

"Yes, Father...".

The next morning,

Ran was standing across Hikaru's grave, wearing all black.

"Hey, Ojisan... We won yesterday against the Black Eagle Claw Academy...", Ran smiled, "He did his dirty methods as usual, but we still won, and we made a plan to arrest him and it worked, of course I fought him head-on and he nearly wiped the floor with me, but I showed him who's boss as you'd say. Okaasan and Otousan didn't come here because they're at the Police headquarters, following the investigations with Megure-Keibu and the others.".

Ran then became solemn, "I wish you were there to see it... I mean, I already do know you're watching from that time during the illusion... but I wish you were here physically.".

"You know... when everyone called me crazy back then, I thought it was best to always put on a smile, be positive, never show my true emotions to anyone... that I was alone and had only the Kazama family, Shinichi, Daisuke, and Sonoko...".

Ran then smiled widely as she glanced behind her, to where her friends were waiting.

"I really don't see what's so cool about Holmes.", Kaito said.

"Best detective ever, but you wouldn't understand, since you like Lupin.", Shinichi added.

"I add my voice to Kudo's.", Saguru nodded.

"I still think Ellery Queen's mysteries are better.", Heiji shrugged.

"As much as I like Holmes, I prefer reading Agatha Christie, especially Poirot stories.", Masumi said as she adjusted her fedora.

"Detective Geeks.", Kazuha and Sonoko chorused annoyed.

"I'm not really into reading novels.", Makoto rubbed the back of his head.

"I can recommend you some of the good ones.", Daisuke offered.

"Reading is boring, even Touchan thinks so.", Ryu yawned.

"Then how does he know all the content of famous classic literature?", Shinichi asked confused.

"Oh, He preferred having Kaachan read to him. He said that he loved hearing her wonderful voice, and she had a talent for acting, so he felt it was like hearing an audiobook.", Ryu explained.

Ran turned back to Hikaru's grave as she said, "I'd like to tell you that I've made more friends, some of them are waiting for me now, and others, like Akira, Static, Akemi-chan, and Shiho-chan aren't here.".

"But we aren't just friends. Even if we won't say it aloud, we all know deep down, we are a family.".

Notes:

READ THE FOLLOWING IT'S IMPORTANT.

I took this hiatus for important reasons:
1. College Summer Courses and Training, Medical Caravan Training, so I needed to readjust my calendar and schedules, especially for the future.
2. Planning and outlining all possible ideas that I'll write on Notion.
3. Writing drafts for Neo Savages so I don't fall behind during publishing or feel pressured... which I didn't exactly do because my courses and activities took all of my time, and I had a few health issues to deal with.

And now that I explained my status, I'll explain everything I want you to know related to my fanfics:
1. To know how I do or get sneak peaks or see the images I create and edit for my fics, find me on tumblr (same name, but here's the link
2. If I use an anime character as an OC with his personality and backstory or without; it's because I got attached to the character or love it, or just fit in appearance with my OC, because there will be many OCs later, especially the villains (since Gosho apparently doesn't like the BO...).
3. Power Rangers Neo Savages main ideas, ocs, events, and everything related to it, has been fully planned and completed, so now I'm just writing and beta reading it.
4. Due to my recent health issue, and how it made me realize I was stressing myself in writing my fanfics, not just my real life duties, I won't be able to publish weekly, especially since the chapters will be long.
5. Here is my new schedule:
a. Power Rangers Neo Savages (my focus now): 1 Chapter every 2 weeks. If I don't publish then, then it will be published on the first of the next month, as it means something came up, or the chapter was too long, and I didn't finish it yet. Sorry everyone.
b. DCMK One Shots: No specific time. But minimum, one every month.
c. The Eleventh Striker: 2 Books (Eleventh Striker & Eleventh Striker's Return), 2 Chapters on the first of every month, until Neo Savages is finished.
d. Bakugan Battle Vanguard: 5 Books (Bakugan Battle Vanguard, New Vestroia, Gundalian Invaders, Mechtanium Surge, Raven Kingdom) 2 Chapters on the fifteenth of every month, until the Eleventh Striker duo-logy are finished.