Chapter 24:

One Hit Wonder

Adventures of Zeleon


Leon, now fully recovered after a full week of rest, was upright and set to get back into a consistent training regimen again. It's only been two and a half months, but he's improved at an impressive rate. Suffering tight losses to Varius and Maeva is nothing to be ashamed of for most anyone. But for Leon, it's simply not good enough, he feels he needs to break the glass ceiling above him still.

He went out back into the training area as Courtney ducked behind the wall leading to the back, before silently tailing him. As Leon stepped out he had the inkling that someone was behind him. His prediction was correct, as Courtney tackled him onto the ground after pouncing.

"Gah-! Why..why...WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Leon exclaimed as the pair crashed to the dirt ground, though he took the brunt of it being pinned under her.

"Come on~take pleasure in a girl glomping you!" She giggled as she leaned into him more, pressing her well endowed chest into his back.

"Eh-wait. How do you know what glomping means? That's Earth slang! Where'd you learn that?!" He squirmed trying to get out from under her to no avail as he pondered how she knew the word.

"Serena gave me access to the underground, so I've been studying your planet's words. By the way...I'm not a Katie! That's incredibly rude of you to say, so you're going to stay here and apologize!" She spoke with emphasis while pressing herself against him more.

"Fine...I'm sorry for calling you a demonically possessed creep." Leon responded half heartedly as he was trying to not focus on the fact she was pushed into him.

Courtney sighed, knowing that was likely the best she'd get out of him. She hopped back to her feet, reaching down to help him up. "Fiiine. Let me help you up."

Leon gave her a glare, as if waiting for another trap of hers. But he rolled onto his back and took her cold hand anyways; she pulled him to his feet and dusted him off, realizing that he was in his armor. "You were coming out here to practice so soon? Leon, you need to rest a bit more."

He shook his head as he put a bit of separation between them. "Every moment wasted is a bigger gap between me and the next person. In order for everything to come to fruition, I HAVE to become the Guardian. I have no room for error." Leon walked off onto the training field and began taking practice swings immediately.

Courtney felt a bit upset at how Leon just walked away from her. "What?! This is how he treats someone who is looking out for his well-being?" She tightened her fists and marched out in front of him.

He looked back at her with a dismissive gaze.

"Why are you being so persistent today? I have obvious reasoning for doing this." He lowered his blade, which was pointing at her because she moved in front of it.

"You are always trying to be tough all the time! I'm sorry that I'm more understanding of your limit than you are!" Her words were fiery, but Leon took his own interpretation.

"I'm trying to break those limits. Actually, since you're here, why don't you fight me without holding back? I might be crazy...actually I am...but, I can grow past this limit against someone who's close to limitless."

"What?! I'd seriously hurt you if I really tried Leon. I refuse." She stomped her foot as a point of emphasis, while crossing her arms under her chest.

"If I can't face you, I can't face Charlotte." Leon quickly retorted, which actually made her think for a moment before she walked back about ten paces. She pulled out her halberd from its space and looked him in the eyes, as hers blackened while she bore her fangs.

"Then face me Leon! I'll be happy to show you where you can't traverse!" Her voice had a growl to it, her frustrated emotions towards his constant lack of self care were at a fever pitch.

Leon smirked, pointing his blade at her. "My pleasure!"

He spoke confidently as he charged her, showing improvement in his burst speed closing the distance, making a quick slash causing them to collide with high impact.

Courtney held firm, not even being pushed back an inch. Her halberd pushed into Leon's blade more, making him lose ground as his feet shifted back in the dirt.

"Jesus! She's too strong!" Leon exclaimed to himself as he gritted his teeth, trying to push forward but failed to do anything. He released himself from the deadlock making another slash just to hold her for a moment while he jumped back with a soft pant.

Courtney hissed at him, slowly stepping towards him again. "Come on Leon, show me you can do something against me! You're proving yourself weak!"

Leon charged her again, but this time she showed no hesitation.

She smacked the blade right out of his hands with her weapon, before proceeding to jab his stomach with the blunt end, then jumped up and landed a knee strike flush with his jaw, then simply tossed him aside onto the ground with one hand.

"Quit, Leon." Her tone was colder than her body, as she stood over Leon with a blank stare from her still back eyes.

He scraped himself off the ground and grabbed his blade, charging at her again. With another short volley of attacks he was back to the ground again.

"You're too weak for me, now do yourself a favor and just give up, before I actually hurt you the next time."

Leon pulled himself back up to his feet yet again, getting his blade back in hand. "The time I stop trying, is the time I finally land a clean hit on you."

Courtney smirked before baring her fangs at him. "You can't keep up enough, with me holding back. If I really tried you wouldn't have an opportunity to react."

"I don't care. It'll happen. Even if it takes a while."

-

Two arduous months passed for Leon, every single morning he'd have another go at trying to land a hit. The repetition of such a ridiculous task made even Serena question the logic that was going through his mind.

Courtney did her best to try to break him from challenging her daily, but still, he pressed on. In spite of hearing the word weak more times than either him or Courtney could ever remember.

While everyone continued doubting him through this struggle, no one knew of the journal he kept. He made detailed notes of what he tried and how it failed, the positives, the times he surprised her, the times he was close, the improvements that he made from constantly having his back against the wall.

His movements improved, his attacking angles improved, everything improved because of his seeming lack of abandon for his own health and safety.

As a new day arrived, so did another challenge against Courtney.

She charged him first and reached him in a near split second.

He barely blocked the strike to come with his blade, as he ended up in a dreaded deadlock with her again. She leaned into him, as he was almost pushed down to a knee, but slipped out from it in time.

Her own momentum made her stumble as Leon made his move, she caught herself within half a step, but he cracked her in the back of the head with the hilt of his blade, before kicking her in the small of her back.

The moment almost felt like a dream sequence for Leon, though the dream came to an end right as Courtney spun around and gut checked him with her knee. He fell to the ground immediately in pain.

"Argh...couldn't let me just have a moment, could you,?"

"Heheh, my instincts kicked in. That's all." Her cheeky laugh made Leon believe otherwise but he held his hand out to her, and she gladly helped him to his feet. "Have you finally had your fill? Two long months of me kicking you around must've left you with some interesting marks."

"Yes...I'm finished. I did what I said I'd do. I know I can't defeat you...not anytime soon."

He sheathed his sword at his hip, patting her shoulder as he walked past her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I figured you're probably sick of me by now, besides, I gotta go see the doc again and I already know she's gonna be pissed." Leon chuckled a bit nervously, as Courtney sighed. She pulled him into a hug, with a warm smile covering her face.

"I'm not sick of you, I went through this because in some way you felt like it would help. And in a way, it made you improve, innovate, and test your might. But, you should see the doctor. I don't know how you're standing even now."

Leon smiled as she released him, he began walking but with a bit of a limp; noticing this, she got under his shoulder and helped him out.

"Just how hurt are you?"

"Enough to not know what the actual issue is."

"Idiot."

The main hospital was halfway across the city, they crossed through several streets and took some shortcuts before making it there. As they headed inside, the head doctor, Remoire Dracovny, saw Leon getting carried in and rolled her eyes.

She's an average height woman with cropped black hair, almond eyes, with a long white coat, black button up shirt underneath, and white long pants with black heels. She adjusted her black framed glasses, and her pink hair clip, the one thing with actual color, possibly for some individualism. Her voice was almost robotic in how cold she sounded when she spoke.

"What happened this time? You're limping about for the second time in a couple of months."

Leon looked at her with a nervous grin. "I trained with her for two months." He pointed to Courtney, causing Remoire to sigh heavily. She led the pair to a spare room. The interior was different from hospitals Leon was used to, rather than white, it was jet black giving it a bit of an ominous vibe but looked sleek at the same time.

As they entered the spare room, Remoire closed the door behind them, looking out making sure no one was nearby. "You're the vampire, yes? You don't even look like you breathe despite holding him up."

Leon got himself onto the bed in the room as Courtney looked at her with a soft smirk. "You're very observant. But yes, I'm the vampire Serena has likely spoken of."

Remoire nodded, as she went to Leon and began pressing her hands along his ribs, stomach, shoulders, legs. Just going along his frame, making him wince no matter where she pressed down. "What possessed you to push yourself against a vampire as strong as her?"

"Improvement at the fastest rate possible." Leon responded without hesitation as the doctor stood up straight again.

"Well, by your reactions your body isn't doing well. I'll need to run more tests, so miss Courtney, you may leave for now. If you wish to visit later just let me know."

Courtney nodded, and as she headed out she spoke in a sing-songy voice. "Don't worry Leon~I'll join you in that bed really soon!" Her voice carried with the natural echo, as she exited the room.

"That girl I swear…" Leon rubbed his forehead as Remoire cracked the first smile Leon ever saw out of her.

"You two are pretty close, aren't you? I remember having a boisterous friend like that when I was in school. No one ever believed it, but sometimes the recluses of the world need someone louder around us. I imagine you're not too much different." She pulled up a chair and sat, crossing her legs.

"Somewhat, I have my outbursts at times. Then again I'm not an adult." Leon smiled at her as she looked through some notes before speaking again.

"So, what exactly were you trying to accomplish by training with her? Were you trying to beat her somehow?"

The smile left her face as she took her job very seriously, the question made Leon sweat a few bullets.

"Ummm, landing a hit on her."

"Landing a hit? A singular hit?"

"Yes…."

Remoire leaned back in her chair and took the deepest breath possible, trying to keep herself calm. "Leon, this is the third time this year. The first wasn't on you, but last time and this time is on you. As a doctor, the punishment your body is taking is worse than most. As a person, I fear you are being far too rash. A 16 year old shouldn't be at a hospital this much unless they had a debilitating condition."

Leon was surprised. Despite how cold she'd always come off, she really cared about his well-being. "I didn't expect that out of you. You never give off that caring vibe that you're letting out right now."

Remoire smiled again. "A good doctor cares about their patients. I wanted this role, I worked for it my entire life. I care about my patients dearly, especially if they're a foolish kid who thinks they're invincible."

"Now that was….well. Somewhat truuue…."

"Just. Please be more careful. At least wait until the Tournament to go all out. I'll probably see most everyone after those matches. You included. Good luck in that by the way. I hope your crazy regimens pay off for you." She snickered softly.

"I hope so too."