The day of the tournament finally arrived.
"After more than half a year of training, it's finally here—the big day!" Ran Mouri exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the packed arena. Her excitement was contagious.
"Ran! You've got this—go show them what you can do!" Sonoko cheered, waving both hands.
"Sonoko, it's only the start," Shinichi Kudo said coolly, hands in his pockets. "Save the cheering for when she reaches the finals. It's way too early to get worked up now."
"True," Ren Kuroda agreed with a faint smile. "Let's wait until she makes it to the finals before we start yelling encouragement."
"Fine, then I'll make it to the finals first!" Ran said confidently.
After saying goodbye, she joined the long line of competitors heading into the venue.
"Alright, Ren! Let's grab seats before they fill up!" Sonoko said brightly, taking his hand without hesitation and leading him toward the audience stands. They found a good spot and sat down.
"I wonder how long until it actually starts…" Sonoko muttered, fiddling with her hair.
"It's just the preliminaries anyway. Nothing worth seeing. Ran's going to crush everyone all the way to the top," Ren replied. He only cared about the finals, to be honest—he wouldn't even be here if Ran and Sonoko hadn't insisted he come along.
"Yeah, that's true." Sonoko nodded. She had full faith in Ran's skill.
"Hey, Sonoko," Ren asked after a pause, "do you ever join tennis tournaments yourself? Want me to give you some extra training too?"
The truth was, he'd been spending most of his after-school time helping Ran prepare, and hardly any with Sonoko. The thought that she might feel left out hadn't escaped him.
Sonoko's eyes lit up at his offer. "I only play tennis to stay in shape, not for tournaments," she said, but her voice warmed at the thought. It felt nice that he'd even considered it.
Ren relaxed. "In that case, how about I take you to Dorabika Amusement Park this weekend instead?"
"Yay! That sounds awesome!" Sonoko cheered, clapping her hands.
"Huh? This weekend?" Shinichi suddenly spoke up from beside them. "What a coincidence—I was planning to take Ran to Dorabika too. Why don't we all go together?"
"Eh? Seriously? That's too much of a coincidence," Sonoko said, her grin turning mischievous. "Wouldn't that interrupt your date?"
"It's not a date!" Shinichi said quickly, shaking his head. "We're just going to hang out!"
Sonoko stared at him, deadpan. "…Seriously, Shinichi. You really don't get it, do you?"
"Huh? Get what?" he asked, genuinely confused, his wide eyes perfectly sincere.
Sonoko wanted so badly to say Ran likes you, you clueless idiot! but bit her tongue at the last second. Confessions were personal things—Ran deserved to say it herself.
And besides, what if Shinichi didn't like Ran back? She didn't want to be the one who ruined their friendship. Even if that chance was small, it wasn't zero.
"Forget it. It's nothing," she sighed.
She'd originally wanted to avoid overlapping their plans with Ran and Shinichi's, but then remembered Shinichi's habit of ditching Ran mid-date to chase cases.
Sonoko folded her arms and declared, "Fine! Let's all go together then. The more the merrier!"
As they chatted, the preliminaries ended. Ran, unsurprisingly, swept through her matches and advanced to the top 100.
The next day, she sliced her way through again, making it to the final eight.
By the third day, it was time for the championship.
That morning, as Ren sat in the audience, he noticed a familiar yet strikingly different face in the crowd—Ran's mother, Eri Kisaki.
"You must be the Ren Kuroda Ran's been talking about?" Eri said coolly. Dressed in a sharp purple business suit with black-framed glasses, she carried the composed elegance—and faint danger—of someone used to commanding a courtroom.
Ren caught the faint hostility in her eyes and couldn't quite figure out why. As far as he knew, this was their first meeting.
Still, he nodded politely. "Yes, ma'am."
Eri adjusted her glasses, her voice flat. "Quite the 'young hero,' aren't you? Haven't even graduated high school, and already drinking with adults."
Ah. So that's where this was coming from.
Ran must've complained to her mother about the time Ren had a drink with Kogoro Mouri.
In Eri's eyes, he was just another delinquent teen hanging around bad influences.
Not that she was wrong, exactly. He wasn't what you'd call a model citizen.
"You're seventeen, right? Still three years under the legal drinking age," she pressed, her words carrying the firm pressure of a seasoned lawyer. "Don't your parents have a problem with that?"
Ren's expression went completely blank. "They died in a car crash last month."
"…Oh."
The single word froze her. For a long second, Eri just stared, completely thrown off guard.
That face, Ren thought with inner satisfaction. Perfect.
"I'll be going, then," he said simply, turning to leave without another word.
"W-wait!" Eri blurted out, reaching as if to stop him—but he kept walking, not slowing down once.
His retreating back made her chest tighten with guilt.
"What… what did I just say?" she whispered, stunned at herself. The more she replayed her words, the worse she felt.
She'd jumped to conclusions without knowing a thing about his situation, judged him unfairly, and spoken carelessly.
Now she regretted it—deeply.
Just then, Kogoro Mouri arrived, looking around. "Huh? Where'd that Kuroda kid go? He was just here."
Eri didn't dare admit she'd driven him off. She lowered her head and stared at the floor, feeling like a child caught doing something wrong.
"Hmm, maybe he went to the restroom," Kogoro muttered, half to himself. After a moment's thought, he decided to sit beside her.
If Ran saw her parents sitting apart, it might distract her during the match—and if that cost Ran the title, he'd be the one to blame.
Still, sitting there quietly was awkward, so he started talking. "Hey, Eri, when Ren comes back, try to be a little nicer, okay? That kid gave up his afternoon to help Ran train, you know."
"Not to mention," he added with a sigh, "he took her to watch a karate tournament last week just to calm her nerves. Honestly, makes me feel kinda ashamed as a dad. He's more thoughtful than I am."
Eri said nothing.
But Kogoro didn't realize that his words only made her guilt deepen further.