L'union Fait la Force

And that was how things ended. With a whimper and the clashing of steel beneath dying flesh. One final crack against the hip bone and it was over. The juggernaut laid still and lifeless in the muck and humidity.

They slowly backed away, knowing what needed to be done. The Triplets recovered their weaponry and stood astride one another close to the wall, a couple inspecting their instruments, another reaching for his cigarettes. The man with the brass knuckles, evidently calmer after letting out some aggression, knelt down a few feet away, pulling out his necklace and reciting his mantra once again with it tightly in his grasp. The pickpocket walked away, wiping the blood from his eye with a free hand and praying the wench wasn’t disease-ridden.

The man with the switchblade, however, had just managed to rise to wobbly feet. He brought a hand to his slacken jaw, finding it difficult to keep closed, touching the skin before pulling back to see the red coating his fingertips. A fierce scowl overtook his face. He snatched the knife from the ground and clutched it tightly as he stumbled over to the German. No one spared him an eye save for one. He was always like this. The blade glided over her face, danced across her eyes as his brain scrambled for the best place to begin.

Quite a looker, this one. He could see past the brushes of blood and bruises. Sharp features, full lips. A testament to her rough demeanor that she was willing to risk it all in the squared circle. He brought the edge further down, tapping her chin and stopping at the crook underneath. He held the knife close to her neck, touching the skin as it rose and fell against its tip with her steady breathing. He poked. Prodded. Experimented. What was the best way to cut this froggy open? One long slash across? A couple of thrusts through the larynx? Perhaps an incision down the center, leaving her to gargle on her own vitality?

No. Too quick. Much too quick.

Grumbling to himself, he brought it away and instead traveling lower, bringing himself to her side. Forcing her sleeve up, he’d press her arm against the wet pavement as the cold, cutting-edge gently ran across her wrist. Beads of red welled up from underneath the knife’s edge as he dragged it across the skin. With a quick yank to the side, a streak of blood followed the tip of the blade as it flashed to his side. A stream of crimson ran down the juggernaut’s wrist, adding to the puddle of filth at her arm.

Bleed out. Fade into the dark. Forgotten by everyone. Fucking stupid bitch.

Something metal knocked him on the back of his scalp. He turned to see the pickpocket with his pipe, moving to brandish it back across his shoulder. With a look back to the German and a quick grunt, he removed himself. The pickpocket stepped forward, tossing the pipe to the side onto a heap of garbage and looking down at the pugilist once again. This time, however, his view would be obstructed. A waller - her wallet - would be in his hands by the time he looked down, his attention solely dedicated to the leather flaps as he flipped it open and reached his hand inside. In one quick motion, his fingertips grasped every single bill of yen and removed it from the wallet, bringing them closer into this grasp and clutching them tightly into his fingertips. Sparing only a quick glance to the paltry, immediate sum of their labors, he would look back down to Cicilia and throw the wallet carelessly down in front of her.

He looked back up to the rest of them, turning around on the spot and tucking his hands into his pockets as he whistled once more, taking the lead towards the exit. With only one of the Triplets sparing a glance towards the broken warrior at their feet, they followed the pickpocket around the corner. Their footsteps slick footsteps against the damp pavement and puddles were the last sounds to fill the alleyway, slowly fading as the group disappeared into the crowd of pedestrians. Only a few onlookers spared a glance into the darkness of the alleyway, ultimately moving on to return home to their loved ones and the comfort of their own homes, absent the lingering curse of rain in the air.

The last few days had been exhausting. Dealing with her usual routine coupled with taking care of Cicilia was time consuming. While she was more than happy to care for her girlfriend, the circumstances surrounding it were a sore subject, one that seemed to keep repeating itself, though this time had been worse. As usual, Cicilia came home hurt and did little in the way of explaining why or how it came to be.

While she had never confronted Cicilia about it, the boxer's gym escapades were a bit of an unspoken secret. She would leave to go train, and come back far worse than how she left... which really undermined the whole process of self improvement. Since they tended to use the same gym, often together, it had only been a matter of time before she had found out about the notoriety of the Juggernaut taking on anyone and everyone in knock-down drag-out brawls. It hadn't become a point of contention, yet, but it was slowly getting there. For as much trust as she placed in Cicilia, was she getting as much back? She had kept this all to herself in the hopes that Cicilia would come clean with her about it... but it still hadn't happened.

For now, all of that was on the back-burner. Cicilia's recent injuries had taken her out of activity in general. No matches, no waitress work, she was under official house arrest as far as Sayumi was concerned. She had made a real effort to try to ease her girlfriend’s time confined to the apartment. Watching movies, playing video games, sharing meals together... little things they didn't always have time for. She had gone easy on the snuggling though, not wanting to cause the boxer any undue pain. Nights were especially difficult, with Cicilia tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable position. It wound up keeping them both up and ensured Sayumi didn't get much sleep. Whether she had meant to or not, Sayumi had been making up for it by taking small naps throughout the day.

Sayumi’s fingers pawed at the couch cushions, blindly searching for her partner to hold on to, only finding a pillow in her place. Hugging it close, she smiled at first seemingly not understanding the difference in her dreamy haze. One eye slowly opened, lending itself to the slight downward curl of her lips into a frown. “You aren't Cicilia…” She  eyed the cartoonish plush pillow shaped like a fat cat in her arms. Even in her waking stupor, the differences between her girlfriend and a pillow were clear to her… now anyway, thankfully. She gave the pillow a shove over the edge of the couch. “Begone beast… Cicilia?” She called out, dragging herself upright to sit straight.

With a loud yawn, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The apartment was quiet. “Cicilia?” She smacked her lips together, furrowing her brow at the barren taste in her mouth. Her eyes cast themselves back down to the pillow she had tossed aside, reaching down to pick it back up and stare into its beady little stitched eyes. “Sorry Sgt. Meowser. I didn't mean it.”  After a small hug, she sat the cat pillow back against the arm of the couch and pushed herself up.

It was late afternoon, she wasn't sure how long she had been asleep for, perhaps a few hours? Sayumi hadn't been watching the clock when she nodded off. She went through the motions of restarting her morning routine, brushing her teeth especially to feel nice and fresh again. She happened on Cicilia’s note along the way to grab an apple from the kitchen counter. While she wasn't happy the girl left the house still injured, the thoughtful note and the little heart made her willing to let it slide. A little walk outside of the apartment would do her good anyway. She would only be gone a few minutes according to the note.

5:34PM Sayumi: For when you get this. <3XOXOXO<3
5:36PM Sayumi: Get your phone yet?
5:37PM Sayumi: How about now?
5:39PM Sayumi: Now?
5:43PM Sayumi: Hey, you okay?
5:48PM Sayumi: Did you hit the store on your way home?
5:50PM Sayumi: This is way more than a few minutes.
5:50PM Sayumi: This is like a million minutes.
5:50PM Sayumi: I should know. I am good at math.
5:53PM Sayumi: Hey.
5:55PM Sayumi: Are you mad at me?
5:59PM Sayumi: Cicilia please text me back.

It had been well over a half an hour since she had found the note. She wasn't sure when Cicilia had written it, but she had begun to worry. The more she thought on her texts not being answered, the sillier it seemed. How many days had it been since Cicilia had been stuck in the apartment? If wasn't unreasonable to assume her phone could have been dead by the time she’d retrieved it. Brushing back a curtain with her fingers, she peered out the window with a lingering sense of guilt over assuming the worst. Droplets were collecting on the glass. Maybe Cicilia had been delayed because of the weather and ducked in someplace to wait out the storm.

She couldn't help but still be worried, it was just too deeply ingrained in her nature. There were doubts, though, that were playing with her thoughts. Cicilia was stubborn enough to trudge home in a hurricane. So why wasn't she back yet? She contemplated going out to look for her, but every time she looked at the darkened sky she pushed it back with a poor excuse not to. What if they missed one another and Cicilia got back when she was gone? Maybe this was all for a surprise and meeting up with her on the way home would ruin it? What if Cicilia was already right outside the door...

She was never good with going out in weather like this or at night alone. Her anxiety played cruel tricks, made her mind race with paranoia of looming threats around every corner. But this wasn't just about her… this was about Cicilia. What if something went wrong and she needed help? Swallowing her fear, she decided to take the journey in hopes of meeting Cicilia half way. After donning one of Cicilia's hoodies and tossing on a pair of jeans she was dressed for adventure. After one last check of her phone to be certain there wasn't any messages, she made her way over to the note Cicilia left to scribble her own addition.

If you get home and I am not here, call me immediately.
Please.
~Sayumi

Normally she would have dressed it up a bit more, but she was in a hurry so dotting the “I” in her name with a heart was all she did to add her personal flavor. Scooping up her umbrella from beside the door, she headed out of the apartment. It was coming down pretty hard just past the awning, she checked her phone one last time before thrusting her rain shield up into the downpour, letting it snap up and out to provide her cover. Big and red with black speckles along the face and a green border. Viewed from above it looked like a side view of a watermelon that got split in half, a bright contrast to the drab and gloomy afternoon. She clutched her shield from the rain close, making her way towards the only place she knew Cicilia would have gone.

On a nice day, she would have jogged the route and made decent time. Today, she was taking the long, slow road, walking the distance huddled up from the rain. It was a curious thing, Cicilia claiming to return in a few minutes. Even if she had sprinted the way there and back, Sayumi wasn't certain it was even possible to make it in that sort of time. The thought of that made her frown, the boxer really needed to take it easy so she could actually recover. No hard workouts, no fighting, just forced rest and relaxation under threat of getting no kisses… which oddly enough had worked, up until today.

She hadn't been walking for long when the storm began to break leaving everything with a rain slicked sheen. A faint drizzle remained, enough to warrant keeping her umbrella raised. Along the way she ducked into a few restaurants the two of them ordered from and a couple of stores they frequented hoping to find her girlfriend weathering out the storm. She received no such luck, though one cashier she had become friendly with was certain they had seen Cicilia walk by earlier when he had been on break. At least she was on the right track.

While the sun may have been covered by the clouds, that small breadcrumb had been enough to brighten her back up. She slowed her pace, peering through a large glass window at the various candies and snacks on display, considering picking one or two up for when she finally found Cicilia. Her attention was momentarily drawn away as two teenagers ran by her, nearly bowling her over in their haste. The one who hadn't bumped into her shouted an apology back as they vanished behind the corner. She shot the two a look, huffing softly. Where were they hurrying off to, in the rain as well? She had a mom moment, wanting to tell them to slow down and be careful… it had forced a faint blush to rise in her cheeks suddenly, feeling far older than she was.

With a shake of her head she made her way after the two who happened to be traveling in the same direction she had been going. Before she had even rounded the corner the flashing red lights dancing over the wet pavement caught her attention. Familiar, but in the moment they seemed out of place. An ambulance was pulled up next to two buildings and NPA cars. She couldn't recall the last time she had ever seen an police car pulled over to the side of the road that wasn't there as part of a traffic stop. Sayumi tilted her head in slight confusion, moving to the back of a large crowd forming near the scene being waved back by police. The two teenagers were here, with a larger group of three others trying to take pictures with their phones. She could hear murmurs in the crowd, which all painted different stories about what this was about. An attack? A robbery? Attempted suicide?

Sayumi lifted up on her tiptoes, having issues seeing past the crowd, her umbrella intermingling with various black ones of nearby members of the crowd. A sudden pit was growing in her stomach as her sense of curiosity gave way to fear. Cicilia… was it her? She moved along the back of the gathering, trying to get a better look. There was nothing really to be see until the crowd shifted again. They were wheeling someone out of the alley. Paramedics and police, everyone was in her way. Who was on the stretcher… she could swear she saw hair, black hair, Cicilia’s hair? There was blood. They had tried to cover whoever was on the stretcher up, but it was plain to see the blanket they were wrapped in was stained with it.

Drawing in a shaky inhale she swallowed hard. Her fingers fumbled around her pocket, fishing out her phone. Eyes shifting between the officials wheeling the stretcher and her hands scrolled through her contacts. Her fingers were trembling when she finally managed to tap Cicilia's name from the list. Slowly she brought the phone to her ear, walking along the back of the horde to keep her eyes on the happenings. “Pick up, please pick up…” It was ringing. That was good. It meant the phone wasn't dead.

After the first few rings on her end she heard a familiar tune. Cicilia’s ringtone. Her attention snapped to the stretcher as they had finished loading their passenger inside, closing the door behind them. It wasn’t coming from the ambulance. She breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. Thanks goodness. But her girlfriend was here, in the crowd?

“Cicilia?” She squeezed her way through the crowd, holding her umbrella high above the others as she tried to find where the ringtone was coming from. “Answer your phone silly goose.” She whispered, eyes drifting over the various people around her. It was coming closer, was she trying to sneak up on her, really? Here of all places. As she cleared the front of the crowd she was stopped by an NPA officer who held a hand up, waving her off. Was Cicilia on the other side of the crowd? It sounded so…

The music passed by her, an NPA officer had it, in a labeled bag. It was cracked… spattered with blood.

"...No."

“No… no no… no no no…” Sayumi’s umbrella slipped from her hands, bouncing off the pavement. She clutched her phone to her chest as her breathing quickened, she was hyperventilating. The NPA officer that stood before her gave her a look, asking if she was alright. The lavender hair girl burst past the police officer, immediately two others got in her way, holding her back. “I know her, I know her! She doesn't speak Japanese!” In the moment it seemed important, authentic.

Tears streamed down her face, soaking her cheeks far more than the lingering pitter-patter of rain. She threw her weight forward, trying to struggle past to the ambulance but making no progress as she screamed. “She needs me! I need to go with her! Stop, please! She needs me!” The ambulance doors closed, a NPA officer gave the back a solid knock with his fist to let them know they were clear to go. They were pulling away. She wasn't with them… she needed to be with them. More officers hurried over, trying to calm her. Their words went through her. She couldn't hear anything.

“You don't understand, I know her! She needs me! Please! Please… please…” Her knees gave out , collapsing to the ground as one of the officers holding her back knelt with her, trying to keep her from hurting herself. She leaned up against him, weakly pounding a fist to his chest as she cried. "Please, she needs me... I... I need her."

---

Sayumi had been sitting in the hospital waiting room for hours that felt like days. Once the NPA officers had managed to settle her down to a degree, she explained the situation, took her statement, and actually gave her a ride to the hospital Cicilia had been taken to. For awhile, one had actually stayed with her so she wouldn't be alone. That was awhile ago though. Aside from one nurse who continued to check up on her, nice enough to get her water and tissues, she had been left to her own devices. Thoughts tearing her up in side, wondering how she could have somehow prevented this.

She had no details, of what happened to Cicilia, or her condition. They refused to give her any medical updates, as being someone's girlfriend didn't hold much legal weight. Not a family member or a spouse? Sorry. She would have to wait until Cicilia was cleared for visitors, and who knew how long that would be... if she ever was... "Stop... please." She slumped in her chair,dragging her forearm across her eyes as she pleaded with herself to try and stay positive. Cicilia was the strongest woman she knew, if anyone could pull through the worst of things, it would be her. She leaned her head back, staring up at the ceiling as she listened to the dull hum from behind the nurse desk.

---

She had fallen asleep at some point, though it hadn't been long. Two, maybe three hours? Red eyed from the lack of sleep and crying, she looked miserable and unkempt. The officer from the other day had actually woken her up. He brought her some breakfast from a fast food restaurant and a coffee... but the real welcome gift was company. He had done most of the talking, letting her listen quietly and eat as he told her small tidbits about his family, asked her about her own. It made her miss home, simpler times, easier times. It was strange just chatting with him... For the longest time she had an aversion to the police due to past experiences. While his visit was short lived, it was a welcome one.

---

"I love you too. Bye..." Sayumi tapped her phone, hanging up with her parents. She had spoken to her mother at great length for well over an hour and trying to keep the fact Cicilia was her girlfriend from them was equally as difficult as it was painful. In another room in this place Cicilia may have been fighting for her life, and she couldn't bring herself to tell her parents about how much this woman meant to her. They had both been supportive, even offering to come out and visit her for as long as she needed... she had to decline. It would have been impossible to host them in the apartment she shared... unless it was hers now.

Stop...

She had been making quite a few calls to pass the time and connect with those who might have been worrying about her. It was a welcome distraction, but also a means to somehow prevent what happened to Cicilia from befalling her. Her contacts mostly boiled down to mostly just her mother, father, a few friends from back home, and her manager Mariah. She had an interview scheduled tomorrow and was certain she was going to have to postpone it. She couldn't even think about wrestling right now, or anything else for that matter. Mariah had offered to take care of that and just about anything else.

She had let Mariah know what little she knew. Cicilia was hurt, it seemed bad, but they would keep her updated. She was going to need a ride to and from the hospital for the unforeseeable future since it was far too long of a walk. It felt terrible to drop all of this on the woman, even more so with how kind and supportive she was being about it all. It wasn't often they met up in person, not after their little double date, but Sayumi called her fairly frequently. A good friend peppered with a bit of motherly influence, both things she appreciated.

---

Her phone had run out of battery hours ago leaving her to pour over the same used magazines and stare as the clock endlessly. She knew Cicilia was okay though, that was all that mattered. A nurse had informed her that her "friend" was resting comfortably now, which had her understandably concerned over how bad it must have been. It had, by the clock, been over an entire day since they first arrived at the hospital. They finally asked her to confirm a few things about her girlfriend. Name, date of birth, questions about her family. She wasn't sure if they were vetting her to be able to visit or actually were in need of confirming these things. Either way, she had mentioned offhandedly that Cicilia wouldn't have wanted her family informed about all of this, to which she didn't receive a response. If the boxer had been hurt, really hurt, they may have notified her family. She prayed they hadn't, for the boxer's sake.

Finally she was allowed to see her. Not for long, visiting hours were nearly up. Sayumi had ducked into a bathroom, trying to straighten herself up and look presentable... happy. Supportive. They had let her know Cicilia was resting. The way they mentioned it sounded like drugs were involved. When she finally was escorted to the room, she could understand why. While most of her girlfriend was tucked beneath the sheets, the rest of her was bandaged up leaving very little of her uncovered. She stood in the doorway feeling her resolve crumble all over again, wires and tubes were everywhere. The faint beat of a machine monitoring her girlfriend's vitals, putting her entire existence on a table to be charted and measured.

"Hey..." Sayumi gently closed the door behind her, slowly making her way to Cicilia's bedside. The woman looked so peaceful in slumber, even as broken and battered as she appeared. Her eyes swelled a bit again as she sniffed back sobs, dragging a chair over to seat herself beside her lover. She reached out, wanting so desperately to lace their fingers together but... there was a monitoring device on one of her fingers, her forearms were heavily wrapped as well... maybe even in a cast, she couldn't tell. She softly laid her fingers over top of the back of her hand, stroking them gently over her skin.

"I don't know what to say..." She confessed softly to the motionless body of the woman she loved. "I keep thinking... What if I hadn't been asleep, or if I had gone out looking for you sooner... would you be here? Would I be here too?" She gently traced a finger down along one of Cicilia's digits. "I'm just... really happy you're okay." She swallowed hard, sniffing loudly. Sayumi brought her palm to her face, scrubbing at her eyes.

"This is all so much... I don't know what to do Cicilia." The attack, the medical bills that were sure to follow from this, their rent... There was no telling how long Cicilia would be out of commission... or if she would ever be able to recover. She still didn't know the full extent of her girlfriend’s injuries and was far too scared to look at the bedside chart.

"It's okay though... I'll visit, every day. Even if you aren't awake okay? I'll be here... and be thinking about you." Sayumi inched her chair closer, gingerly holding Cicilia's hand between both of hers. "You'll get better and we can go to another fair... tons of them. There are always a lot of them in the summer. The music is always so loud, and the food is great... We can even get matching yukata. You'll love it, I know it." She choked back a sob. "Just come back to me. Please... I need you." She had thought it so often, had the word thrown at her in an endless barrage. Had she ever said it before, out loud? Sayumi leaned down, lightly kissing the back of Cicilia's hand.

"I love you."