Delinquent and Fox - Intense training!

Ryuji and Yumiko chose ham and cheese pasta for dinner, buying a double-size serving because they would train all night. 

"Ryuji! Food this late at night is hell for a woman!" Yumiko pouted. Yet her hand didn't stop shovelling the pasta into her mouth. Akari and Ryo were quiet and eating their meals.

Their smiles showed how pleased they were with the chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, and carrots.

"Hehe, that's true! However, our mana makes them burn faster, Yumi!" Akari spoke with a rare, passionate voice as Ryuji swore her eyes became stars.

"Oh? Really!?" Yumiko seemed to become baited by this as her tail danced behind her chair, causing a gust.

'This woman is so simple. She must have spent her time dieting in the past. Mother was the same...'

Ryuji tried his best not to think the words old when looking at her, but his lips curled into a natural smile, and he enjoyed the meal with his group.

"Did you like your new knife? Ryo?" 

The special knife chosen by Yumiko and himself allowed even Ryo to fight in the lowest levels of the dungeon, and this was despite being a non-combat class. 

At the least, protect his own life.

Akari also felt grateful for her gift.

The armour would help her survive and she felt the feelings of Ryuji and Yumiko when feeling how well made it was with her weaving skill and its ability to identify clothes and armour's attributes.

When Ryo wielded the [Chef's Deadly Cleaver + 2], it was a huge cleaver almost 40cm in size, with a 10cm handle and dragon engorgement along the handle and blade.

Akari's [Lightweight Scale Armour + 1] looked beautiful. It felt like something from a fairy world with sparkling turquoise and emerald shades. 

She could wear it as armour or something beneath clothes because it has its inner padded cloth.

****

Not long after the meal, Akari and Ryo left to sleep.

Unlike Yumiko and Ryuji, who gained correction to their stamina and bodies thanks to his class and her ring imitating his class, they couldn't survive on less than four hours of sleep at night.

So the pair came to train, Yumiko in her new gauntlets and greaves and Ryuji in his bronze armour and black leggings.

"Yumi, are you ready to fight?" 

"Of course," she nodded, showing no hesitation as the two headed toward the training field where they normally ran during the daytime, not at night. Torches lit the stone causeway and passages, with the occasional knight guarding the wall or important doors.

They arrived at the field, the darkness of the night falling over them, the wind chilling the sweat from their warm bodies.

"..."

"What's wrong, Ryu?"

"It's just nice to see at night, so quiet."

"You are right! Everything feels so calm."

Ryuji pulled out his iron axe, the tip cleanly sharpened and cared for. The moment he returned, he practised the tips Simon had given him about weapon care because axes differed from his Japanese swords in the previous world.

"..." Yumiko followed suit, extending her claws, the moonlight making them sparkle, the cold air rising with each punch.

"Okay, let's train. Don't hold back. I know you're much stronger now, Yumiko!"

"Hah!" her ears stood tall as she spun on her heels.

Yumiko attacked first with a violent spinning kick with explosive power and speed that rocketed towards his chest, using her left leg to attack him. A loud clang sounded, the blade from her boots colliding with his axe with bright sparks before he pushed against her.

"Heavy!" he gasped, holding his axe against her foot, the recoil shaking him from head to toe. 'It's like being hit by a steel rod!'

"Wow," he chuckled, "My bones hurt from your kick, but don't expect me to be so passive."

The next moment, his body tensed, a red aura surrounding his body and axe as he swiped at her chest, twisting away from her left leg and stepping into her range.

She flipped backwards, landing on her hands and avoiding his axe before Ryuji backed off.

'I need to follow up, or she will recover!' he thought before lowering his body and pushing off the ground with both legs, leaping towards her with a powerful chop, the red light following his axe.

Yumiko watched his movements; instead of dodging, she twisted her hips and lunged forward to meet him, her eyes focused on his blade as she thrust her fists forward in a rapid flurry of four strikes.

"!?" Ryuji's eyes narrowed; the incoming strikes were dangerously close to his exposed face, but the same applied to him.

'Impact!'

Their bodies slammed together, the wind carrying the dust as the pair stumbled in opposite directions, rolling on the ground before recovering and locking eyes again.

"Ahahaha!"

Yumiko held her belly, her laughter resounding across the training ground. "Ryu, you're too strong. Even with my speed, I can't win."

"You too!"

"No, I mean it... since you gave me this ring!" Yumiko held up her left hand, twirling it around. "I can see things better, learn martial arts faster... you dodged my sneak attack and avoided heavy damage, too!"

The sound of liquid dripping sounded as Ryuji wiped his cheek bitterly. The moment blades extended from her new gauntlets. He almost took severe damage. But his instincts warned him, helping him dodge!

'A punch was probably the only way she could test its capabilities at such close range.'

"Well, I lost this time. Let's fight again."

Yumiko didn't wait, attacking again; the two fought for almost three hours, their bodies glistening from the sweat caused by the heat from their bodies and the coldness of the night.

Ryuji's stamina seemed endless as he held her by the waist, helping her walk, and shouldered his enormous axe.

When he knew of her hidden weapons, he would adapt even faster than Yumiko. Their battles became more violent and active until she ended up being choked by him while her legs wrapped around his arm as if to break it.

"Ryuji, carry me?" Yumiko whined like a child, her tired body weak as she collapsed in his arms, unable to walk from exhaustion.

"Sure." Ryuji was sweating, but not nearly as much as her. He lifted and carried her like a princess as the two walked under the moonlight together.

'Her growth is much faster than I thought,' Ryuji sighed joyfully.

'However... she struggles with her form and dealing with sudden attacks. Maybe it will take more time and actual battles, not just training?'

"Mmmm, Ryu~ hehe." Yumiko soon fell asleep after he carried her, but Ryuji's mind filled with thoughts as he came to their door and unlocked it.

She was asleep when he closed the door and carefully laid her on the bed before washing in the bathroom.

When he returned, she was already naked, wearing only her ring as she slept with her stomach in the air. Her nose seemed to be blocked as she snored louder today.

"Sigh."

He shook his head and saw her naked body spread out on the bed. Ryuji wasn't some lustful pervert with no tact. Her body was attractive and made him aroused. He was a young man in his prime. Yet now wasn't the time.

Instead, he covered her body with the blankets and laid down beside her.

'I need to rest. My body and muscles are screaming. In the future, she might just give me a run for my money. It's a shame I don't plan to slack off, and will become even stronger.'

Ryuji's muscles hurt because he worked out before coming to bed, doubling his usual routine for certain exercises and focused on improvement for the first time in years. 

It reminded him of how he had trained harder to beat his mother. Before he climbed into bed, his eyes looked at Yumiko's beautiful face. 

"I feel nostalgic, and motivated for the first time since she died... Thank you, Yumiko."