Megumi and Utaha clung to Makoto's left and right arms for dear life, completely oblivious to the way their chests compressed and shifted against him with every movement.
Meanwhile Ran, the strongest fighter of the three, pushed her speed to its absolute limit. Her fingertips closed on the bell at his waist, less than half a centimeter away.
"That all you've got?"
The words came out cold, almost bored.
His knee drove into Ran's stomach before she could blink.
"Ghk...!"
White foam sprayed from her lips as she flew backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming into a tree trunk ten meters away.
Megumi and Utaha's eyes went wide.
Makoto's expression didn't change. "What? You signed up to be ninja and you're scared of getting hit?"
He was, like Kazuma Sato, a firm believer in true gender equality. You threw a punch at him, he hit back. Didn't matter what you had between your legs.
Besides, taking a beating now was rehearsal. Sooner or later, the Reincarnation Game would almost certainly drop them into far more dangerous worlds. Were they expecting enemies to go easy on them because they were girls?
Reality tended to work the opposite way. Being a girl, and a pretty one at that, only makes certain enemies want to beat you into submission and drag you back to be their plaything.
Ran recovered quickly. In the Detective Conan world, she'd been second in fighting ability only to Makoto Kyogoku, and four years of ninja training had likely pushed her past even that threshold.
She wiped the foam from the corner of her mouth, growled under her breath, and charged again.
Megumi and Utaha still hung from his arms like human ornaments. Makoto met Ran's assault on one foot, dragging both passengers along.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Every blow landed solid. Ran threw everything she had, fists and feet together, while Makoto used a single leg.
It wasn't enough. She couldn't so much as graze the bell.
Every time he moved, though, the soft curves pressed against his arms shifted and rubbed in ways that were getting increasingly difficult to ignore.
Tomoya, watching from the stream bank, had gone green.
"Stop... please... quit rubbing against him..."
"Are you two just going to let her fight alone?"
Makoto kicked Ran back again and glanced at the girls latched onto either arm.
They snapped out of it. One hand stayed locked around his arm while the other started throwing wild little punches at his torso.
Objectively, both of them hit harder than any professional boxer in the real world. Against Makoto, it registered as kitten paws.
From Tomoya's perspective, it looked less like combat and more like flirting.
Ran was nearing her limit. Makoto swept her legs out from under her, then caught her midsection with his shin before she could face-plant, sparing her the indignity.
In the same motion, his hands twisted inward, giving the soft mounds pressing against him a light squeeze.
"Eek...!"
Megumi and Utaha flushed scarlet in unison.
"You... you pervert!" Utaha forgot entirely that the man in front of her had blood on his hands, the insult flying out on reflex.
"What was I supposed to do? Blast you off with Chakra? At this range, you want me to shatter your ribs?"
"You could've told us to let go!" Even Megumi, usually as expressive as a mannequin, was red-faced and protesting.
"Tch."
Makoto clicked his tongue.
"Fine, fine. My bad. So what do you want, payback? Go ahead, cop a feel." He lifted his shirt, revealing a set of abs that could've been chiseled from marble.
All three heads snapped away in perfect unison.
Makoto stared at them, deadpan.
Like you've never seen a guy's chest at the school swimming class.
Behind his glasses, Tomoya started crying tears of absolute misery.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
Clap, clap.
Makoto brought his hands together, dragging the girls' attention back. "You pass."
All three froze, embarrassment forgotten, staring at each other in confusion.
"But... Sensei, we didn't get the bell." Ran looked lost.
"I never expected you to. I was testing your potential."
Like a Gym Leader sparring with a rookie trainer. You didn't need to win. Show enough promise, and you walked out with the badge.
"Whose plan was that, by the way?"
Megumi answered. "I came up with the strategy. Utaha-senpai set up the kunai mechanisms. Ran was our main fighter."
Utaha shot her a sidelong look. "Megumi, we're not at Shuchiin Academy. We're teammates here. Drop the 'senpai.'"
Makoto looked the three of them over. "Everyone playing to their strengths? Good."
His tone dropped a shade darker. "But Utaha, Megumi. When you were clinging to me, you should've been using kunai, not fists. I told you to come at me with killing intent. You haven't seen how cruel this world can be, and the Reincarnation Game might send you somewhere even worse. Don't be naive hypocrites."
At the words "clinging to me," both girls went red all over again.
"Alright, head back. Training won't be this easy from here on out."
Makoto turned and started walking toward the village.
Utaha watched his retreating figure, and something flickered through her. He'd called her "Utaha" back there, not "Kasumigaoka." A small, unexpected ripple stirred in her chest.
"Sensei..."
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
He glanced back over his shoulder.
"If... if we were about to die, would you save us?"
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.
Makoto studied three upturned faces, then spoke.
"Probably."
Least I could do after copping a feel from them both.
Something shifted in Utaha's chest when she heard it. Megumi felt it too, a quiet, unnamed warmth passing through.
Ran was slower to react. After all, part of her heart still belonged to a certain high school detective. But even so, her impression of Makoto tilted, almost without her noticing.
"Let's go."
He turned and kept walking.
"Okay!"
Utaha's eyes curved into happy crescents.
A tiny, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of Megumi's mouth.
What am I supposed to do... Shinichi...
Ran trailed behind the group, her feelings tangling into something she couldn't name.
As for Tomoya Aki?
Nobody remembered he existed.