♤ Leon's Challenge ♤

Chapter 3 - An Effort To Adjust

Leon sighed as he ate his breakfast at the table. His nose still hurt from a few days ago, but some painkillers from the cabinet he took last night were beginning to make somewhat of a difference. But one thing that was still noticeable was the stares he was getting from both his mom, and Dwayne.

"Leon," His mom would say, "What happened to your face? It's all bruised!"

"It's fine.. I might have gotten into a little accident on the first day. But I'm alright." Leon replied, trying to be as casual as possible. He really wasn't in the mood to stir up anything this morning, or at any other time.

"An accident? Dear, it looks like someone beat on you! Are you lying to me?" Kathleen pried, in an attempt to get some sort of truth out of him. Leon would slide his plate forward, and stand up from the table. "No, mum, nobody tried to beat on me. I slipped and fell on the pavement, okay? I'll be fine." He said, grabbing his bag and heading for the door. "I'll see you in a bit." Leon would say once more, leaving the house.

♤ ♤ ♤

Leon would walk up onto the school property, making his way towards where the courtyard was. He hadn't looked through this particular area before, and it seemed very similar to the courtyard he had seen at his old school back in Cambridge. He would stare for a few more seconds until a voice caught his attention.

"Hey! Leo! How was your morning?"

Gima and Kita walked up to him, both smiling and somehow full of energy. "It was.. average, I guess." Leon replied, as Gima laughed and reached into his bag. "Want some Toppo? They're pretty popular around here. And they can fill you up!" He said, shaking the box. "Thank you, but sorry. Not really wanting to eat much right now." Leon replied, before the sounds of a commotion began to come from behind him. "What the.."

Leon could see a group of maybe 12 people in the courtyard, yelling and whooping for some odd reason. This odd reason would be then explained by the two girls who were both on the ground. Leon recognized the Ramune girl from before, and.. Maki Masuyo.

"Hey, slut! I bet you don't know what it feels like to have your skin be torn off by solid concrete!" Said Ramune, as she held Maki closely down onto the sidewalk, using her right hand to plaster her face to it. "In fact.. I love seeing you in pain.. it kinda makes me feel hot.." She would say tenderly, taking her other hand and feeling up the back of the other girl's leg. Many of the guys in the group hollered and cheered wildly, as Leon would push his way through the crowd. "Hey, get the hell off of her!"

Ramune would stop, and turn her head stiffly to Leon, a grin coming onto her face. "Hey, it's you again! Like the nosejob I gave ya?" She taunted, which caused the group to laugh. Leon didn't even want to snap back with an insult, and simply ran forward and pushed the taller girl away from Maki. Ramune stumbled slightly, smirking and tensing up her muscles. "Oh, so you've got a little fight now, huh?" She said, Leon standing still and glaring at her. "That's just wonderful.. but I have an infinite amount of nothing to get to.. so I'm not even gonna fuck around." She would add, before taking her leg and slamming it into Leon's gut.

"Oof!"

He was instantly sent to the floor, much to the crowd's amusement. They all continued laughing and walked away, as Ramune snickered and looked down at Leon. "If you're into the rough stuff, make sure to ask for my number. Sayonara!" She said, running off. Gima and Kita ran over to Leon, helping him up from the ground. "Jeez, are you okay? Not very many people can survive kicks like that from Ramune, and moreso get up." Gima said.