Haru Nakashima appeared out of nowhere, calling out, "Ren, I finally found you…"
Ren Takeda sighed inwardly, cursing Haru's timing.
Seeing the situation, Haru waved his hands. "Ah, sorry! I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back later."
"Hold it," Ren said quickly, "since you're here, let me introduce you two. Yumi, this is Haru Nakashima, a friend of mine who's someone strange and is part of the media club. Haru, this is Yumi Fuyuzora, a transfer student in our class and… my childhood girlfriend."
"Stop making up stories!" they both shouted at Ren, embarrassed.
Haru adjusted. "I'm Haru Nakashima, Ren's friend and the media club's intel guy. If you need any info, I'm your guy."
Yumi nodded, smiling shyly. "Hello, Haru-san. I'm Yumi Fuyuzora, and I'd like to join the gymnastics club if there is one. Let's be friends."
"Sure, we're friends now!" Haru grinned.
Yumi beamed, "Yay, now I have two friends."
Ren watched her smile and couldn't help but smile back. "There's a gymnastics club, and they've even won championships."
"Really? That's great!" Yumi's eyes sparkled.
Ren turned back to Haru, teasing, "Don't act like you can find any info when you couldn't handle a simple request of mine."
Haru groaned. "It's not that I can't find it, it's that your standards are way too high, man."
Yumi tilted her head. "What are you two talking about? And Ren, you haven't told me which club you're joining."
"I haven't joined one yet," Ren admitted, "but I'm thinking of joining the botanical club."
"The botanical club? Why that?" Yumi asked curiously.
Ren shrugged, looking out at the sky. "Because one day, I want to have a big house with a beautiful garden where all my wives and kids can play together. Is it bad to think about family, Yumi?"
Yumi's face turned so red it looked like someone had splashed paint on her, leaving her speechless. Haru, watching from the side, cleared his throat.
"Cough, cough. Let me explain why I'm here, Yumi. Ren wants to learn martial arts, but he's stubborn. He'll only learn from someone stronger than him, and I've been trying to find such a teacher.
But every fighter I bring, this guy beats them all. Today, I came to tell him I can't find anyone stronger."
Yumi blinked. "Why does it have to be someone stronger? Isn't martial arts about learning regardless?"
Ren looked serious. "I made a promise, and to keep it, I need someone stronger to teach me. Otherwise, I won't take the training seriously."
"Y-You don't need to say that out loud!" Yumi stuttered, hiding her red face.
"What promise?" Haru asked, suspicious.
"It's nothing!" Yumi quickly said, then turned to Ren, "Do you really want to be strong that badly?"
Ren's eyes firmed. "Yeah. Only the strong can protect the people they care about and face unexpected challenges."
Yumi's eyes softened, and after a moment, she said, "I know a place where you can truly learn martial arts and become strong, but the training there is dangerous."
Ren stood, gripping Yumi's shoulders, excitement shining in his eyes. "Where is it, Yumi? If it's dangerous, it means they're strong enough to make me stronger than ever."
Seeing his determination, Yumi felt relieved, glad Ren wasn't the type to back down. "I'll draw you a map."
After school, Yumi handed Ren a small folded map. "It's called the Muteki Dojo."
"I'll remember that," Ren said, nodding.
"I need to buy vegetables, so I'll head home early." With that, Yumi opened the second-floor window and leaped out easily. Ren wasn't worried; he knew she could handle the jump.
Ren opened the map but was immediately confused by the scribbles and unclear markings. Sighing, he walked over to Haru.
"Hey, Haru, can you figure this map out?"
Haru peered at it, scratching his head. "It looks like some military code."
"No, it's the map to Muteki Dojo that Yumi gave me."
"I can't read this, but now that I have the name, I can track it down."
"Perfect," Ren said, heading home to change and grab his training uniform.
At home, he changed clothes, spoke briefly with his little sister, Hana, and got a call from Haru with the dojo's address. He grabbed his gi, waved goodbye to his mom and sister, and sprinted toward the dojo.
"Mom, doesn't Ren seem happier today?" Hana asked.
"Yes," their mother replied, smiling. "It seems he's found something he truly wants to do."
Meanwhile, Ren arrived at the large wooden gates of Muteki Dojo. Holding his training uniform in one hand, he pushed the gate open with the other, using just enough strength to move the heavy door.
A deep voice called out from within, "Those arms of yours show some real strength, young man..."