Either way, Laz was glad they were getting along.

As the week went by, Laz didn't see much of Vivi or the little guy and he just thought they had a lot to do. In truth, although Vivi was doing stuff with Tyr, it wasn't to the point where she couldn't be home with Laz. It was actually that she was avoiding him. She never knew how, but Laz always had a sense of when she was hiding something. Most of the time he was as dense as a rock, but when it came to her, he seemed to have a six sense. Therefore, to avoid a situation where she would have to lie to him about meeting with Kennedy and Malene, she was just out and about instead.

For Laz's part, the week went by like normal. He trained in fighting techniques with Dee and runes with Reggie, practicing different group tactics and plans. Most of the time, he would act like the enemy while Dee, Leona and Reggie all fought him as a team. After the events in the cave, Leona was more of Laz's match than she had been before, but only to the degree of training with her body. Laz was still a lot tougher than her, but she was able to use her advantage in agility to make up for it. There was even a practice round when Ruby had dropped by to play, allowing the match to be 4 vs. 1. Although Laz still came out on top, it wasn't in such an exaggerated way.

It could have been expected, but Dee and Reggie were amazed by abilities Leona and Ruby ended up showing. Although it was their first time meeting Ruby and seeing her abilities, they had trained together with big sis Leona several times before this. Comparing that to now was like comparing two completely different people.

With Reggie using his runes to boost the entire party, Dee would charge Laz at the front and do everything she could to stop his movements as much as possible while Ruby and Leona hara.s.sed Laz from the sides. The reason Laz ended up having so much trouble during this sparring session was because he had to be noticeably more gentle when dealing with Dee than he did when dealing with Ruby and Leona and this was something they took full advantage of. Ruby loved the agility boost she got from Reggie as it allowed her to move like the flowing wind, striking Laz quickly and retreating before he could respond. Leona was far more viscous though and would jump in range, strike several times to draw his attention before changing directions. Due to this, he would then have to switch to Dee or Ruby which would give Leona time to prepare her attacking again.

The most interesting part to note about the sparing was it was done without them using their normal abilities and instead just fighting with the strength of their bodies. If Leona had brought out her claws, Laz would have had far more than just bruises to worry about while his black flames would probably kill everyone there. To top it all off, because Dee and Reggie still weren't use to using their inner energy without the use of their special ability, Laz had to resist using strong moves like his Dragon Fist or other such attacks, leaving him to deal with several sets of arms and legs using only his pair.

But that was ok.

For Dee and Reggie, it gave them the chance to experience real life combat. For Ruby and Leona, it gave them a chance to get used to their own strengthen bodies. The worst thing that can happen to someone who gets stronger is not knowing how to use their own strength. Although Laz had to hold back most of the time, the sparing allowed him to better control his strength as well, allowing him to be much more precise.

As they finished, Ruby ended up having to leave quickly since she had some work to do for Black Rose. Dee and Reggie ended up making excuses as well, although Laz had some idea that they were doing this to give him and Leona alone time together. Although Laz was right, he didn't know that it also gave them alone time from the otherwise overbearing Leona.

As they stood there alone with the warm, soft summer breeze caressing their skin, Laz could help but take the time to soak in the last remnants of the setting sun. Leona stood by his side, also enjoying the moment while holding his hand. As soon as the sun disappeared though, she backed away from Laz and put some distance between them.

Due to the practice involving other people, Laz had worn a pair of shorts although he had left his upper body bare, showing not only his pale white skin but also the tattoo that stood out in stark contrast to his skin. Leona had also just worn a sports bra and tight fitting shorts to allow her a full range of movement. As they stood there facing each other, they both ended up smiling. Leona quickly started to fix her hair, tying it back into a tight pony tail. Laz didn't do anything, other than watch her.

"Same as last time?" Laz asked while looking at her prepare herself.

"Of course," Leona answered back.

"You think you can win this time?" Laz asked a bit playfully.

"I think that I will make it very difficult for you either way," Leona responded back, just as playfully. Before Laz could respond back, Leona attacked while circulating her energy. Her claws grew out while her eyes took on their feline quality. At the same time, her light brown skin became covered in very fine and almost unnoticeable dark fur. She attack as though facing a mortal enemy, not the man she cared for deeply.

Laz didn't stay idle and let her attack either. He circulated his energy as well, allowing the subtle black flames to cover his body while his pale white skin became even whiter and looking as though it was glowing underneath the dark sky. His normally fist size tattoo also went through changes, with the branches of the black and dead looking tree expanded out, covering the upper portion of his chest and arms with black lines almost resembling a tribal style marking. His eyes changed as well, turning from their deep blue into the blood red that he only displayed when his blood boiled and his energy raged.

It might have taken a moment to described all of the changes that took place, but it actually only took around a breath of time to happen.

He met Leona's attack by raising his arms, causing her claws to sc.r.a.pe his forearms, but also stopper her momentum. He then lashed out with a kick while drawing back the black flames. Although they were his most powerful ability, they were only something he used towards enemies so there was no need for them now.

Leona effortlessly avoided the kick and struck back, flinging her knee at Laz's head, which he stopped with his palms. Leona dropped down before he had a chance to steady himself and swept his feet with a kick, causing Laz to start to fall. Before he hit the ground, he slapped out his palms, hitting the dirt floor and flipping himself over, just in time to meet Leona's claw swipe at his chest. He barely avoided by jumping backwards, but she continued to press.

Back and forth the fight went, last almost two hours. Leona and Laz jumping back and forth, striking and retreating while laying waste to the area around them. Whether it was Leona's claws tearing apart trees or slas.h.i.+ng rocks or Laz's sheer strength smas.h.i.+ng craters in the ground, nothing was spared. The simple fact that they both showed only bruising or small cuts was a testament to how able they were getting. Laz had already had a lot of experience but this was teaching him how to control himself more since he was trying to only injure Leona lightly. As Laz had discovered, it was easy to just explode out and destroy everything in your path. It was much harder to only use the minimal amount of force to get the job done. But doing so was essential to lasting a long time in a fight.

The real benefits were all taken by Leona since she could go all out as hard as possible to try to injure Laz with out having to hold back. Of course, she did take some caution when it came to things like attacking his manhood. She didn't want any accidents to occur.

As they fought on though, Leona was getting tired as was Laz. He might not have been fighting all out, but he used a lot more energy just trying to learn how to use less energy. Just when Laz felt that it was time to finish up and collect his reward, his slightly dulled senses meant that he failed to notice the broken stone and cracked ground behind him while stepping back to avoid another one of Leona's strikes. His foot failed to find footing and he started to tumble. Before he could correct himself to regain his balance, Leona had pounced at him in a full body tackle, causing Laz to hit the ground back first. Since it was simple dirt and stone chips he hit, it didn't hurt his tough skin, but he couldn't help but feel a blow to his pride.

Leona, who had been stuck in fight mode, seemed to have noticed what had happened and threw her arms up into the air while still on top of Laz.

"h.e.l.l YES! HA, I BEAT YOU!!!"

Laz could only smile and nod his head, knowing that he had lost and accepted it. It wasn't a shameful thing to lose to someone you care about and in fact, Laz was amazed by her progress. She was advancing at an astounding rate and he couldn't help but feel happy for her.

"Yes yes, you won."

"You know what that means?"

"Yes, I know..."

"Yes?"

"AHH... Yes my G.o.ddess. This little one understands..."

"Good, now lay out a blanket." Leona pointed to the one piece of unbroken land and ordered Laz to lay a blanket out there to which Laz grabbed one out of his pouch and put it down. Although Leona watched this happen, she didn't ask. Actually, he and Ruby had noticed for some time that he had something weird that let him store tons of stuff, but since he didn't bring it up, they didn't ask.

Walking over, Leona slipped her sports bra off before removing her tight fitted shorts, letting the slightly cooler air of the night wash over her before laying down on her stomach. Laz just stood there and watched as she freed her joyous mounds and tempting, hairless bottom lips with a smile on his face.

"Come then and rub these feet. They have been quite sore lately." Leona had put on an air of royalty as she spoke although she barely contained her laughing.

"Yes my G.o.ddess." Laz responded, acting as serious as possible. He knelt down and slowly started to rub and kneed her feet, using a slight bit of sense to pin point the locations of most distress and work them loose. As he worked, Leona couldn't help but let out a moan of pure pleasure at his actions.

This whole thing had started when Leona had injured her foot while training the first day of the week. Although normal sorts of cuts and bruising heal quickly, things like muscle pain would be a lot harder to get rid of. As such, when she mention it to Laz, he quickly took off her shoe and began to go to work, quickly relieving her of her pain. Due to his abilities and his sense, there was no way he could not fix the problem. After the pure pleasure that was this, Leona decided to try starting a game with Laz where when they fought, if she could knock him down, he would give her a full body ma.s.sage. Laz happily agreed, saying that the reverse was true as well. If she didn't knock him down, then she would have to give him a full body ma.s.sage. Of course, he didn't actually lose after that for a few days straight.

But today, thanks to the group fighting with Ruby and him training on his control, he had made a mistake. It was a pity because for several days prior to this, it was him laying down naked while Leona worked over his body. But, since that had happened, now it was his turn to do his part. As far as the conversation went, that was something that Leona had done for fun that now Laz was doing in return, essentially, role playing.

"Ahh... slower you animal. Make sure to get the heels... ooooooohhh..... just like that...." Of course, the entire time the normally icy and quiet Leona was getting ma.s.sage, she was also doing things to tempt Laz as well, such as occasionally playing with her nipples or even rubbing herself. It seemed that the cold and slightly shy Leona that had tried to attack Laz and warn him to stay away from her family was no where in sight, instead replaced by this rather spirited and seductive Leona. What Laz didn't know was that the only reason Leona could act like this was because she felt secure enough around Laz to just be herself in any way she wanted to. She had never felt like this before.

All Laz knew as he slowly worked her calf while watching her occasionally finger herself was that he was in for a long night.