Leo only acknowledged PinkLotus's presence after Luke had practically hauled him to the manor's entrance and placed him a few feet away from her.
Brushing the dust off, he stood up, casting a brief, disinterested glance in her direction where he barely opened his eyes as his apathy towards her shined as sharp as a blade.
"Leo, I'm here to challenge you for a spar! Please, give me my rematch, I—"
"No."
PinkLotus began speaking, however, before she could finish her sentence, Leo cut her off with a cold, dismissive "No," leaving PinkLotus visibly flustered and angry.
"Why won't you fight me? You've been dodging me for weeks! What, are you so scared of me that you can't even pick up your weapon? Have you lost your balls?" she taunted, her voice laced with frustration as she tried to bait him into a fight. But it was futile.
"Yes, I'm afraid to fight you," Leo replied flatly, "now please, go back."
*Stomp*
*Stomp*
*Stomp*
PinkLotus stomped her feet in fury, cheeks puffing as Leo's casual admission of defeat left her without the satisfaction she sought.
She didn't want mere words; she wanted to face him at his best and prove herself by beating him, however, his indifferent, ego-less reply only stoked her frustration.
"Why won't you fight me? Wouldn't it be good practice for you too?" she questioned, as she almost pulled at her own hair in exasperation, unable to fathom the reason behind Leo's lack of enthusiasm.
She was a battle fanatic, eager to fight at every opportunity, but Leo was different. He had no interest in pointless fights, especially not with a fierce swordswoman whose unrestrained attacks could easily be fatal, however, PinkLotus could not understand this.
*Sigh*
"Look," Leo said, letting out a deep sigh, "there's nothing for me to gain by fighting you, and I'm not running a charity. My time is valuable, so if you want some of it, you'll have to offer something of equal worth."
"What's the price for a spar? Name it," PinkLotus replied, her confidence unwavering.
After a moment's thought, Leo responded, "The price is a call to war. You must join me on a battlefield of my choice and help secure victory for my forces. Also, if you lose—and you will—you can't challenge me again for a year. That's my price, so think carefully before you accept."
The time for a major war within the game world was fast approaching, and Leo knew that PinkLotus could be a powerful asset on any battlefield he chose.
Seizing the opportunity, he decided to secure her support in exchange for a spar, while also setting conditions to ensure that, after his inevitable victory, she wouldn't challenge him again for another year.
It was a win-win situation for him, and when PinkLotus eagerly accepted his offer, Leo barely managed to suppress a smile.
"I accept! I've trained hard over the past few months, and I'm confident I'll be able to kick your butt!" she declared, drawing her training sword, as Leo only shook his head slightly in response.
He walked back into the manor to retrieve his training daggers, and after returning outside, pointed one of them at her in silent readiness.
"Just so you know woman, I'm an assassin, I fight to kill, not to spar" Leo said, as PinkLotus made the most ugly face at his comments.
For her, this spar was near sacred. It was a fight between two of the best fighters in the world, however, Leo always somehow found a way to underplay it's significance.
"Yap, yap, yap…. I wonder how your girlfriend even likes you?" PinkLotus said, as she stuck her tongue out towards Leo in protest.
"My girlfriend is a proper woman. Non-Violent, loving and supportive. She's not a sword maniac like you. I don't want to get personal here, but tell me, have you ever had a boyfriend in the past?" Leo asked, as his taunt made PinkLotus's left eye flutter with anger.
"MEN throw themselves at my feet begging to be my boyfriends…." She said, as Leo wagged his finger at this response.
"But the question is, have you ever had one? It's a simple yes or no question…" Leo said, as Pinklotus began to stomp her feet once more in anger.
"No, but it's not because I can't get one…." She said, as Leo gave her the most evil satisfied smile in response.
"Exactly woman, you've never had a boyfriend before…. And although it may be shocking to you, it's not shocking to me at all that you haven't had one.
Come on now, which sane man wants to date a rude sword freak like you? Perhaps you should introspect and realize that maybe it's not the men. Maybe it's you who is the problem" Leo said, as he hit PinkLotus right where it hurt.
In her entire life, no man except for Leo had ever talked to her this way, hence when pressed into a corner, PinkLotus stuttered and failed to find a way out.
"You, you, you… you" she said, pointing her finger towards Leo in anger, as Leo simply nodded his head and replied in the most pandering voice ever.
"Yes, me, me, me, me…. I, have a girlfriend. You've met her. She's a real person. I'm normal. You're not" Leo said in a way that even a child could understand, as PinkLotus found her entire face flush red.
"Enough talk, let's fight now" she said, clutching her sword hard, as she grit her teeth and looked towards Leo with the most furious eyes ever.
Smiling, Leo took his battle stance as well, as he knew that he had got PinkLotus right where he wanted her to be.
She was an excellent fighter and Leo wanted to mess with her head before the fight began, which was why he purposefully brought up this topic.
He of course knew that with her beauty and charm, PinkLotus could date any man she wanted, however, he presented a different story before her, only to mess with her head.
And it worked too, as in her rage, PinkLotus seemed to have abandoned the strategy of defense and seemed ready to rush in and fight, as soon as the fight began, which was exactly what Leo wanted.