Right after the study session, both Ryuji and Makoto decided to let out some steam at the gym, just like her "student" suggested. After the two decided to get changed into their sporty gear, Ryuji being in a simple tank top with capri-like jogging pants and sneakers, he was still waiting in the middle of the ring for his training partner. And the wait was actually worth it, as he noticed Makoto coming out, dressed in a way that the blonde thug had ALWAYS felt attracted to: A black and blue sports bra hugging her chest very snuggly, white shorts that could go through as literal booty-pants and instead of wearing sneakers, she was half-barefoot, with foot guards protecting her entire foot region from calf to sole, accompanied by bandages wrapped around her hands and wrists.

The moment his eyes met with Makoto's sporty look, he could swear, if this was a cartoon, his jaw would drop at least 50 feet into the ground and he felt his cheeks reddening and him swallowing his own saliva. This was clearly the best Makoto has EVER looked in his eyes. It encapsulates all of her unique, feminine charms in her own way...

...but to not embarrass her, he pretended to not stare, by whistling innocently and crossing his arms, trying to act professional, avoiding eye contact with her, all the same, as she approached, equally as innocently wondering:

Makoto: "Hey, you OK? Are you ready for training?"

Ryuji: "Hell yes, ma'am! And judging by your looks... shall I take the honor of being your training dummy today? You look quite fired up, I can tell."

Makoto: "Yeah, well, helping you study is not as easy as it looks, y'know. I also have to calm down somehow, and even if I have to use some force. And considering you annoyed me a little, my apologies for being too upfront about this, but it's the truth, you being a dummy today works to my advantage. Please bear with me, I haven't done this in a while, ever since I went to college, so... expect this to mildly get rough."

But Ryuji being quite competitive if need be, he starts nodding with a smirk, saying:

Ryuji: "Oh really? Is that a fact? I annoyed you? Good. Then I suppose, you will have absolutely no problem wrecking my forearms, after a while of taking the hits. Go on. I am willing to see how hard you are able to hit me."

Makoto: "Be careful with what you wish for. You might really get hurt."

Ryuji: "Nah, I have suffered worse physical punishment... come on! Let's do this!"

Both got into position, with the blonde thug preparing his wrist foam protectors and there they stood, with Makoto warming up by repeatedly jumping up and down to make her legwork lighter, while also doing very quick gut punches, hitting the air as fast as she could, all the while letting out passionate groans to show us how ready she was for this.

Makoto: "The Aikido lessons shall start right after this... I simply didn't want to be falling behind my sister and stay in her shadows for so long, so decided to also get into some Muay Thai and what can I say? ...I am so ready."

She said so, with a light smirk, while doing leg stretching with the blonde troublemaker feeling really hyped. He has always held Makoto in high regard, ever since she joined the team effort, but now, she is showing her stuff, even OUTSIDE of the Metaverse. He couldn't possibly NOT be hyped to see how strong she really was.

Ryuji: "I know I may have said that I was pretty blown away by you, but this changes everything. Aikido and Muay Thai... go on then! Show me your stuff, Miss Student Council President."

Makoto: "Well then, here goes!"

She rushes in, immediately bombarding Ryuji's wrist protection intense and very precise strikes and with every hit feeling like taking a direct bomb blast, the thug just couldn't help but be impressed at Mako's raw martial arts talent. Her first blows were simple frontal punches, which were quite easy to see coming... but as soon as she did her Muay Thai styled ankle strikes, Ryuji became mildly concerned, as this one kick nearly busted the one guard on his right wrist.

Ryuji: "Awesome! Keep going! Let's bust these guards to pieces, baby!"

Makoto: "...please don't call me "baby", it embarrasses me."

Ryuji: "Oops, my bad. Anyway, where were we? Oh right! Come on!"

And as soon as the two regained focus, she went in again, this time, literally kicking the guards very roughly with Ryuji now actually having put some actual effort into his own means of defense, trying to maintain balance and stifling his posture to prevent immediate falling down and it did the trick... until Mako then charges at him like an enraged bull to do one final kick that literally now causes the guards to fall apart and Ryuji to drop to the side in a rolling motion.

Makoto: "Oh my god! Ryuji!"

She immediately rushes to him and kneels down to see if he was OK, as that one really sent him flying, greatly underestimating her own strength and she absolutely refused to cause any harm upon him, so she gently shook to check up.

Makoto: "Hey, Ryuji, you alright?"

And when he raises his head to give her a big thumbs up and a cheerful grin, she quickly calmed down and even more so once he said:

Ryuji: "That. Was. WICKED! That is how I want to see you attack from now! Exactly like that! Woo!"

She sighed, before offering him a hand with a small, concerned grimace.

Makoto: "You sure do possess a talent for giving me and everyone else grey hairs of concern for you... seriously, don't scare me like that."

Ryuji fell silent for a moment after her having dropped the line "possessing a talent for giving people grey hairs of concern for him"... before shrugging it off and cheerfully adding:

Ryuji: "No need to feel that way, I can take it. Besides, I am far more hyped to see you kicking THIS much ass, like, bro! That was awesome, seriously! I was right to never doubt you for one second."

He accepted the hand and both got up, warming up for the Aikido section. He comically added:

Ryuji: "Kind of funny, isn't it?"

Makoto: "What?"

Ryuji: "You were looking for a training partner, right? Or at least someone to help you "push your legs down" to assist in your workout. And it just so happens to be me. And I also happen to look like an ideal choice for a training dummy: A tall, buff and aggressive thug-looking guy like myself, who might as well be a Yakuza member. Isn't this ironic?"

She raised an eyebrow, not really understanding the implication at first...

Makoto: "But in what way, exactly...? I just chose you, because you are, objectively speaking, the one member in the team, capable of being a damage sponge and not folding immediately. So, how is this-"

...before then comically knocking her knuckle down onto her open palm and feeling like thunderstruck.

Makoto: "Wait- ohhh, hold up, you mean, because of the way you also happen to look, you believe I may be able to mentally prepare myself for my job, is that correct?"

Ryuji: "Right on the money."

But she began feeling mildly bad about this, as she didn't want him to have a false impression of her, personally. She shook her hands in a justifying fashion, not wanting to arouse any suspicion of her being always too quick to judge, just by the looks alone.

Makoto: "B-But please don't think for a second that I chose you ONLY because of that! You are fine the way you are, I don't want you to think of me as THAT type of person, alright? Please?"

Ryuji began chuckling, as he found her general sense of humility to be quite refreshing for himself and her reaction, quite cute to boot. However, he then began slipping into his usual self-irony attitude, trying to be chill, while also cracking jokes about himself.

Ryuji: "Aww, now you are making me blush. No, but really, it's fine, I am used to people sometimes being scared of me, the moment they see my face. Sometimes, when I get angry and I start glaring, I send all the children and moms around me running for their lives... because for some reason, some "god" decided to punish me, by giving me a nasty-looking mug, only rivaled by that of a common day gangster. I swear, sometimes, I have to wonder... do I really just have bad luck, or does some deity of a higher plane constantly jinx my life progress?"

But hearing this constant self-doubting and "comical" self-loathing, made Makoto quite annoyed, as she had to remind him of something...

Makoto: "Ryuji. Do we really have to chew on this again? I already told you, you shouldn't be so harsh on yourself. I realize you are not as fortunate as me or everyone else, but for the sake of all that is holy, cut it out. You weren't lucky, who cares? And I stand by what I say: Never judge someone by the looks first. This is something important that I learned, while studying law and the norms of being a police commissioner: Empathy should always be a Number 1 priority."

Ryuji: "You may say that now... but knowing how cops usually behave and I know EXACTLY what I am talking about... let's say, we never met before, and you stumble upon me doing something wrong... would you treat me the same way as your own word? ...Because if so, then to be honest, I'd prefer being arrested by you, rather than anyone else, if at all possible."

Hearing that made Makoto's eyes widen, as everything around her goes white and her heart began beating faster... that was possibly the sweetest thing one has ever told her, and considering it was work-related as well, this was far more impactful to her...

Makoto: "Well, uh, I- I really have no idea how to react to that... I better hope, this is not some simple-minded innuendo, is it?"

Ryuji: "...you do realize I am being serious here, right? When it comes to something like this, the joke stops being a joke to me."

Makoto: "Ryuji..."

But he then cleared his voice, as he wanted to not ruin the moment any further, so he pointed confidently at himself with his thumb, saying:

Ryuji: "Eh, whatever. Let's get on with it. My body is ready! Future police woman, you want to be the most competent law enforcement member out there, then you better get over yourself and start seeing me as a potential threat to your life. Only then will you truly be at your best. You know what I mean, don't you?"

Mako had to regain focus, as she saw Ryuji's resolve strengthening in a different way now. She shook her head and got into position, as she gently began speaking encouragingly.

Makoto: "Seriously, I really appreciate your concern for me, but you should be working on your self-esteem as well. You are too good at your job of infecting others around you with your enthusiasm. Don't waste this talent of yours."

Their bond was only deepening and the two could feel it...

Priestess & Chariot Arcana! Level up! Level 3!

Both continued training like mad people...

...until it was time to prepare for the way home and Ryuji could only stare, as he began feeling aroused, watching a really sweat-drenched Makoto drinking from her water bottle, taking a really large sip, with the sweat and water beads running down her throat and right down in-between her boobs... he reddened, before quickly regaining his composure and comically clearing his voice, while looking away, not wanting to cause any discomfort for her.

Later, after a short shower, both met again at the entrance with their bags on their backside, before Ryuji offered her a fist bump.

Ryuji: "It was so awesome to train with you, today. We have to do that again. If only my back wouldn't kill me so badly right now. Your throws are rough, man."

Makoto: "Don't overdo it. Don't bite off more than you can really chew. I would really hate myself, if you were to land in the hospital, because of my incompetence."

She surprisingly, very casually this time, returns the fistbump, without any hesitation and it left Ryuji comically stunned.

Ryuji: "That was quick this time... should I be concerned? Because I would hate to be a bad influence on you."

Makoto: "I-I, uh, I hope not..."

Both began laughing out loud, as they really began enjoying each other's awkward yet so pleasant company.

THE END