Damn Fans (Juno)

"It's not about self control." Cicilia responded harshly, blocking out the rest of the woman's statement, unknowingly proving her correct. "...And you're hardly a stranger either. I've met people like you... You're not even the first coward to blackmail me into a fight... People like you are afraid of others saying 'no' so you hold something over their heads to make sure they agree. No... I suppose it wouldn't hurt the pride of someone so callow, someone who can make easy justifications so long as you win in the end."

The boxer scowled as Juno continued to poke her in all the right (or wrong) places, stating how she LOVED seeing the German squirm, especially given her treatment back in the gym. She would've been surprised if she hadn't had 2 people in her life that pulled this level of crap before... Efrida being one because everything in her life that went wrong always came back to her and the second being Margaux who, indeed, had practically done this same thing. In fact, this entire interaction seemed to be a more convoluted copy of that entire event, what with Juno going full stalker mode and openly threatening Sayumi! If only all the power in this store were to black out at once... Juno would lie broken in six seconds... The Juggernaut could feel Juno's negative Karma flowing through her, giving the boxer the drive she needed to put her down once and for all! If the boxer had any problems... It was that she made enemies of those that can and would go out of their way to attack her weakspots... Cowards, yes. Pathetic, most certainly. Fucking effective, no denial of that fact. Cicilia was confident that Sayumi could defend herself, that she was strong in her own right but these were HER enemies... She would NOT send them to her if she could stop them here...

That's what she believed she was doing, stopping them... Not enabling in the least.

"Ah, so your pride is wounded after all?" Cicilia noted, catching onto Juno's change of tone regarding their last encounter. "So it only takes a crowd and a loss to do it, huh? Not threatening someone's loved ones? Very well. I'll give you the fight you want."

The German was visibly relieved when Juno retracted her stupid threat. At least she was smart enough to get out of the way between a bear and her mate.

"Listen, Juno." Cicilia sighed heavily, extracting her hand from her pocket and running her fingers through her hair. "Just give me a date and a time and I'll be there. I hate you... but I WILL fight you."

“How can someone who uses the word callow correctly in a sentence be such an addlepated, thick-headed, whiny little excuse for a girl? I’m not your mother, Cicilia. I’m not going to play nice with you just because, and I don’t understand why you don’t get that. As you have said, I am not the first to blackmail you, yet here you stand here acting as if this has never happened to you before…”

Juno reached down, quickly grabbing the cake mix that rested in Cicilia’s basket and pulling away, using it to make a point.

“Life is not always about baking cake’s and sitting next to loved ones. People can be and will be mean to get ahead, and the fact I have to explain this to a woman who call’s herself “The juggernaut” is more than a little irritating.” Juno’s small heated moment finally seemed to pass, the nurse tossing the cake mix back in the basket. “So please, spare me from your “holier than thou” point of view.”

It was only then that Juno noticed the pair had drawn quite a crowd of curious eyes. The two of them had grown fairly heated throughout their exchange, Cicilia’s rising voice and Juno’s venomous tone causing many people to stop and listen in on their conversation. What could make two women sound so hateful towards each other in the middle of a grocery store? The whole thing was too inconvenient. Juno really wanted her mask right then and there, hating the dull looks on everyone’s face…

“We will do a match later. Something like…two days? That should be enough time to prepare.” The nurse seemed to be talking to herself more than the boxer across from her, her icy gaze going from item to item on the shelf, “You will get the details soon… I‘m sure you will have no objection for whatever time my people choose.”

The stares of everyone was starting to get to the nurse.  The expression on her face was not so much discomfort, but disgust. Her ego was once again showing itself in her actions, the woman clearly thinking herself above those around her. Even with a hated enemy in front of her, the constant, grimy stares, sickly breathing of the moronic masses were making Juno want to puke. She had had enough of this place.

Finally, the nurse turned around and began to walk away, somewhat quickly.

“Don’t be late. I tend to wander when I’m bored, and who knows who I might run into on the way.”

"Callow," Cicilia responded the instant Juno judged her choice of words. "...means childish. Immature. Foolish in their inexperience. Someone like you, who's pride isn't wounded by striking someone at their weakest point fits that description perfectly, Juno. You are not strong because you have no code... that only makes you weaker." Cicilia's jaw clenched as the blue-haired nurse expressed her frustration about how the german didn't get why she didn't understand her hostility, that she should, in fact know what's up considering this wasn't her first blackmail. Cicilia nodded slowly... the motion slowly mutating into a shake of her head.

"The first person blackmailed me to join her gang." She responded flatly, her free hand moving up slowly to gently touch the scar that had been cut down her eye. "She tried to kill me because I refused. I have marks on my body, my girlfriend under fire and I have a family who wishes me gone. Do not speak to me like I don't know what it's like you foolish little twit!" She couldn't keep her trap shut anymore... No matter how much it would've been better if she had.

"It could be!" She hissed, leaning in, getting right up in Juno's face, jamming a finger into her chest. "All it would take is for people like you to fuck right off! I have someone who cares about me... Who actually cares if I come home every day and it's something YOU are threatening because... what... I humiliated you in a fight? You don't know what true humiliation is or what it's like to have your world broken... Don't even act like we're on the same level Juno... I AM 'holier than thou'... And you know what? Be careful not to choke on your fucking foot, you freak... Playing the moral superior only makes you look like a fucking idiot."

With those words... it seemed their heated exchange was complete, Juno simply dumping the mix back in Cicilia's cart, musing that she would get get the information she needed soon... two days time. That suited her fine... Gave her enough time to go home... and tend to her girlfriend.

Cicilia had barely noticed the surrounding patrons of the store had been watching, listening in on their conversation, the gossip-eaters they were... And that seemed to make Juno uncomfortable.... Cicilia smirked cruelly at that, recognizing a weakness of hers...

Oh... so she hates being seen at a disadvantage, hmmm? He mused quietly, logging it in her mental book... Not something for her to exploit... just to enjoy watching. Juno quickly began walking away, tossing a half-hearted goodbye to the juggernaut over her shoulder, reminding her to not be late bonded with a vague/notsovague threat.

"...I'm going to kill her..." Cicilia whispered under her breath as she headed down the opposite end of the isle, pushing through the spectators who had yet to disperse.

The next day, a letter would appear in Cicilia’s mail box. It held no return address, no stamp, nothing that most letters should have. The only thing that separated it from all of the other mail was its color. The letter was incased in a baby blue envelope that smelled faintly of antiseptic, its corners folded neatly and with care, like a machine had been specifically programmed to fold this very letter.

The note inside was courteous, but short, itself reading:

(Address withheld)

Dear Ms. Cicilia De’Reignhardt,

Our records indicate that you are due for an appointment for a routine examination by tomorrow, 12:30 AM.

Your medical well being is important to us, and we would like you to visit us at the AFW building, ring 205. Our helpful staff will be waiting there to perform the operation.

If you are unable to keep your appointment, we would appreciate advanced notice so that we may cancel your appointment, and fit other patients in your place.

We are interested in your neglect and hope to see you soon. If you have any questions, please contact (Name and address withheld) or call (number withheld)

Sincerely,

Nurse Juno Sawyer

The letter was curt yet courteous, and upon first glance could look like at actual doctor reminder. The whole thing was typed and seemed to come in a format that could easily be used. Of course, it meant something completely different to the woman it was intended for.

Another veiled threat with a double meaning, something that was seemingly common for the sadistic nurse, who seemed to love hiding behind technicalities.

The date had been set, the die cast...

--

The next day Juno would be sitting in the locker room, putting the finishing touches on the video that she had created specifically for tonight. The glacier that was Juno’s plane of thought passively wondered if the German would actually arrive tonight. Sure, Cicilia said she would fight, that she hated Juno and a number of other things, but she could always surprise the nurse, decide the biggest insult she could give her was not playing the nurses game at all and staying home.

What an interesting thought to have…I suppose we will see in a few moments, won’t we?

It was quite early in the morning when Cicilia had woken up, a nightmare rousing her from a rather restful and... uh... "well deserved" slumber *wink-wink*. Her sanguine eyes fluttered open, spying the still sleeping face of her beautiful girlfriend still deep in dreamland before her, their arms wrapped tightly around one another atop the bed-sheets. The german smiled at this gorgeous sight, leaning in to genly press her lips against her partner's forehead before beginning to carefully untangle herself. Most mornings she would've quickly fallen back to sleep, soothed by the smell of her partner, the sight of her sleeping features, the gentle, steady beat of her heart but today just wasn't one of those days...

The nightmare she had... one of Sayumi on an operating table, smiling up at a saw slowly descending upon her... That wasn't anything she wished to go back too. Once she was free of her lover's grasp, she would pause, watching her rest a hand reaching out to gently brush the lavender strands of hair out of her face, craving to see more of it... God, she wished she could just lie down with her and sleep... She wished this was just a normal day...

Sighing heavily, the boxer quietly left the bedroom, letting out a heavy yawn as she mused what she'd actually DO this early up... She wasn't hungry yet so no breakfast... She didn't want to wake her girlfriend with the shower noise... Screw it... Let's see if the bills came early today... She knew her landlord better than he knew himself... She was gonna catch him one of these days trying to get cash from them early after raising the damn rent all those times!

"...Heh..." She snickered at her own ability to rile herself up so early in the morning, as she stepped down to the lower floors of the apartment to the mail-boxes. She opened up her own and found that... Only one letter rested in there: A blue envelope, carefully folded with the tact of a machine with no information on the back nor a stamp... unusual... Was someone playing a prank...? Did anyone she know ACTUALLY LIKE practical jokes...? Cicilia instantly thought of Sayumi but... she was knocked out up there. It would've made her happy to see her try something like that, she mused as the boxer climbed the steps back up to her apartment. Such an act would've displayed that she had started to heal...

Back inside her apartment, the juggernaut flopped out on the couch and began to tear at the letter, ripping open the mouth of the envelope with as much disrespect as one can show towards an inanimate object before tossing it away... revealing only a neatly typed letter.

...As her eyes flashed over each character, her curious grin dropped like an anchor. Her lips parted in an outraged snarl as she quickly SHREDDED the paper in her hands, discarding the pieces to the wind to be vacuumed to dust later! She let out a soft groan, bringing her hands up to cover her face as she leaned back against the coach cushions.

"...I hate..." She whispered, her fingers digging into her forehead. "I hate.... I fucking hate this..."

________________________________________

The next day... or should it be, the next Midnight, the german arrived at the appointed location RIGHT on schedule after giving Sayumi the BEST night of which she was capable... It was her way of saying sorry without saying it.... and without her partner knowing what she was trying to say at all. The boxer went into her locker-room with a dark cloud the size of tokyo glowering over her head, the German practically ripping open her locker to retrieve her outfit... Was Juno in there with her? she did not know... All she knew was that she was going to make her PAY for what she did to get her here...

And never.

Let it.

Stop.

Juno had just left the video booth, dropping off her finished video. The one that had taken her the past two days to film and edit. To be truthful, Juno was more than a bit nervous about the whole thing. Would it be appropriate? What if it did not get the reaction she so desperately wanted? What if the ignorant masses did not understand it? The constant nagging questions swirled in her mind before a cold, clear voice that sounded like her cut through it all, blowing away all the doubt she had before. It held every answer to every question she could think of, and it only needed one sentence to do so.

She will understand it, and that is all that matters.

With no more doubts in her mind, all that remained was a burning excitement that made the nurse smile under her mask. The match would begin shortly, and she would be the first to enter. The Nurse would be needed by the entrance, and she could not be late to her own fight, that was simply unprofessional.

Oh, but what Juno would not give to get a peek at how her hated enemy planned on entering this fight. Hopefully, Juno would force her to change her plans.

An AFW employee signaled that her entrance was about to start, Juno’s normally cold eyes were now watching and waiting in excitement to see how the new changes would work out in the public eye.

--

The crowd was numerous, but still much smaller than most AFW fights. Admittedly, this was a rushed match, with one of the contenders not even being that big of a name, and the other being a boxer in a wrestling league. It was surprising how many seats seemed to be filled with such short notice, and while the stadium still seemed to be half empty, numerous conversations and their echoes made it noisy enough that it was difficult to hear one think.

Slowly, very, very slowly the stadium lights began to dim. The crowd seemed to notice, and then began to simmer down, quieting as the lights continued to dim, but even after the whole stadium was silent, the lights continued to dim. It got darker and darker, and as the blackness was swallowing up the entire room only one light remained. Strangely, it was not pointed at the entrance were a competitor was supposed to walk in, but instead it was pointed slightly above it. The steady white beam was the only thing to focus on, the still, quiet room anxious to see things get started.

The first thing to happen was so subtle many audience members did not even realize it was happening to them at first. A noise, like the sound of a clock ticking away in cotton, was slowly growing over the crowd. At first many did not hear it, or simply thought they were hearing things,

But the noise grew louder.

Then, more people began to hear it. The steady, yet soft ‘thump, thump,thump’ lightly beating into their confused ear drums.

Still, the noise grew louder.

The cold white beam continued to shine against the wall, almost all of the audience now heard the steady, rising noise. Some where concerned, but said nothing, other figured it was part of the show. Steadily, the noise increased its pace,

Yet still, the noise grew louder.

The noise had begun to reach its peak, its steady beat no longer like that of a clock, but instead like that of a panicked animal, erratically thumping primal fear emitting from the noise. It was like the noise was being chased by some faceless fiend, that in a few moments would be upon the noise, seize it up, and take it away in a terrifying fashion of predatory instincts.

The noise seemed to panic

Just as it seemed like the steady thumping could go no faster, it stopped. The beam of white light had changed slightly, revealing itself not to be a light, but a projector. The moment the steady beating stopped, a picture appeared on the wall above the entrance.

It was of Cicilia, the boxer set to fight in this very match. The picture looked as if it was a personal one, the German wearing her hoodie rather than fighting gear, a look of genuine happiness across her face. The photo seemed high quality, capturing the German’s unscarred beauty masterfully, the sun catching her lovely black hair as she seemed to gaze off into the distance, almost as if looking forwards to a happy future.

Something did not seem right however…

It became evident why in the next moment. The projector ‘clicked’, sending the room in complete darkness for a split second before switching to another photo.  It was the same photo as before, but zoomed out slightly, Cicilia’ss still smiling face now accompanied by her shoulders… as well as the left shoulder of someone else. Another ‘click’ of the projector, and the audience could see more of this mysterious should, and the arm connected to it. Judging by how the two were sitting, it looked as if Cicilia’s hand was intertwined with the mysterious persons, but it was impossible to tell with certainty, as the mysterious persons hand was brutally, violently crossed out. A black X and circle crossed and covered the persons hand completely, so as to not even see what was underneath.

Another ‘click’ from the projector revealed the persons face, or what was left of it. Similar to the persons hand, their face was completely scribbled over, with no one being able to discern who what the person could possibly look like underneath all of that ink. The person was essentially a set of clothes, cuddling next to the boxer, whom seemed completely happy. The only thing that stood out about the pair of clothes was its slightly visible hair.

Lavender was a strange hair color to have.

In an instant, the projector went dark, sending the entire stadium into darkness. A cold, hellish music began to erupt from the speakers. It was as if something had overtaken the technology, causing the emotionless devices to shriek in pain as the music burned a disturbing note into the audience.

Slowly, a light ringing came from the music, and the projector returned. This time, it was a video that was plying in the light. The audience had no choice but to look as the video played, slow angelic chanting playing all the while.

The video was of poor quality, extremely reminiscent of old time video recorders. There was no color, only black, white and grey were there to distinguish what was happening. A person appeared to be standing with their back turned in the corner of a room that looked oddly old fashioned. Lowly, the camera seemed to pan closer and closer to the person, the length of the hair implying the person was female

The woman’s hair cut might seem familiar to the German…

The music continued to play, happy little ‘dings’ played over sorrowful angelic moans. Slowly, the woman turned, revealing her lovely features, yet the audience reeled back in surprise anyway.

The girl’s eyes were gone. They were not ripped out, nor anything as brutal, there were just two swirling clouds above where her eyes should be. The girl in the videos mouth was similar, a circular black cloud hovering where the girl’s lips should have been. A black liquid seemed to be running down her chin, dripping onto the white clothes she wore…

The girl reacted to the camera, seemingly backing into the corner, as if trying to escape and quickly hiding her face. She fell to her knees, turning away and silently sobbing. The only audio was the chilling music that seemed to continuously play.

Only then did the Sadistic Nurse enter, but no one noticed her. They were all far too enraptured with the sick performance playing out before them on the wall. Juno did not seem to mind, simply walking down the ramp and climbing in the ramp with ease, slightly bobbing her head to the music.

Finally, the music and video cut off, the lights slowly returning back to normal. There in the center of the ring was Juno, wearing a doctors lab coat, bent over in a deep bow, like a musician that had just finished their magnum opus. There was no applause, no cheers, nothing, just the hidden grin of the woman who orchestrated the whole thing.

With her wrestling outfit on, the juggernaut made her way to her end of the ring, waiting... somewhat impatiently for Juno to get over to the ring so SHE, in turn, could as well... She wanted this fight to be over as soon as possible... Sayumi hated it when she was alone, especially in the dark... She had aimed to be home before she woke up, to greet her with a smile once she had. She had expected this to be a by-the-numbers fight, something clean and simple that would be over in a manner of minutes... How little Cicilia understood how far Juno would go to wedge her spindly, warped fingers under her skin...

The German blinked, confused as the sound of a heartbeat began to pulse throughout the stadium, her expression matching those of the audience members... A beat that grew louder... faster with each passing second! Cicilia felt her own increase in time as the magnitude of each pulse took control of the heart in her chest, banging in her ears like a base drum being battered beside her head! She flinched, hand's shooting up to her ears in discomfort and RIGHT as she thought she would go MAD.... nothing... The heart had stopped... Cicilia tilted her head as she slowly lowered her hands, a light now emanating out from across the arena, projecting something onto her screen, something she couldn't quite see without stepping out to see for herself. Too curious to even THINK about ignoring it, the German stepped out from the gate that led to the interior of the arena, stepping a bit down the ramp to get a better look...

She froze, her expression one of horror...

...How...? She hissed, her body beginning to quake as she saw a picture of herself up there, smiling like the day she'd first kissed Sayumi... It wasn't a fake... These were not actors. She could tell because Cicilia KNEW herself and what she looked like to tell that these events had happened and were photographed! When... Who... What... The German's heart was beating even faster than the noise that had been blasted over the stadium, her head already starting to feel light... Fear completely dominated her senses as she stared wide-eyed at the subtle horror show that was being displayed before her... that continued on despite the German's most sincere wishes it would not...

The slides kept rolling, this time zooming out a tad to display her shoulder... and that of another. There was only one who that could be... She prayed that time would freeze, that she could find the strength to turn away and walk out but she couldn't... she was trapped... Her will had completely left her, leaving only her horrified mind and a useless body...

*click* Zoom and panned down again, Cicilia's hand embracing a mysterious person's the other's hand brutally scribbled out...

*click* A face, scribbled out much like her hand, the lavender hair and the dress being the only things recognizable... Cicilia wanted to die... Tears freely flowed down the boxer's cheeks as her chest beat with the sharp agony of terror. Not a word needed to be said, not a threat needed to be made... Everything that was needed to rip into her was there... And there was still more to come...

*click* A warped video, low quality as if filmed by one of the first camcorders. A twisted ditty warmed by the slow whine of the tune played over an image... a.... a... Cicilia couldn't even think... register the image... Sayumi with black holes for eyes... Her mouth was the same, a black fluid dripping down from within The hair and her dress made it obvious who she was... No-one else had that color... nobody had that design... Her breath seized in her throat as she watched her lover.... her girlfriend... her only family scramble away in fear, her body wracked with sobs drowned out by the twisted ditty. Cicilia watched... watched until it was all over and the lights returned... her tears dripping from the tip of her chin...

She didn't move for what seemed like several seconds. Long after the projection had faded, Cicilia was still staring up at the screen, their images still playing behind her eyes... It was only when her own song began to play did she snap out of her trance... It was one she had chosen for this fight... It wasn't enough now.

The boxer turned slowly to face the ring, her movements robotic and slow, her head downcast, face hidden among her loose hair as she made her way up to the ropes. Her

If I could kill you, I would... the lyrics echoed in her mind as she slipped under the ropes. ...But it's frowned upon in all 50 states... Having said that...

Slowly, she raised her head, eyes meeting... They were not Cicilia's eyes. No, they... they weren't even human. Something else... What was seen within them was nothing so refined as hatred... so luxurious as rage.

Burn...

She walked right up to Juno, not a word spoken, her only leash being the *ding* of the bell. She stared into Juno, the abyss the doctor had so brazenly matched...

In...

For a moment, it seemed the world was frozen…

The music had died down, the video had stopped playing, and the lights had returned to normal, but still no one moved. It was if everyone was in a trance, to nervous to speak of what they just witnessed, lest they cement the images in their memories, causing them to relive such a strange yet terrible experience. Friends that were once betting on how cute the fighters would be stared awkwardly at the floor, those who were laughing and joking playfully now stared in silence. This was a place meant to entertain, to enjoy competition and feuds few could find anywhere else, but now the mood was somber, almost fearful…

Nobody could unsee the girl’s black eye’s, the image strategically shot to burn into the retinas of those who stared too long at the disturbed sight.

Luckily, one of the staff members must have shaken off the effects of the video, as Cicilia’s music began to play. The cheery rock music was a welcomed change to Juno’s cold melody, but it did little to improve the mood of the crowd. Some of the bigger wrestling fans tried to restart some of the crowd’s energy, clapping to the beat of the song and cheering for Cicilia as she exited down the ramp. They quickly stopped as Cicilia approached the ring slowly, almost alien. She hung her head low, her long black hair obscuring any facial expression she could have had at that point in time.

It was not until she entered the ring that the German raised her head, looking to meet with the nurse that stood so callously in the center of the ring. The camera was able to get a good shot, and the woman who entered the ring looked nothing like that of the happy girl in the photo. Her eyes… there was only indescribable hate, the boxer giving off such an incredible aura that it seemed to spike as much fear as the previous video did in the audience. She approached the Nurse, neither of them speaking. Despite being the same height, Cicilia looked as if she was looking down on Juno, whom appeared to be the only one immune to the fierce, inhuman gaze the threatened to blast a hole right through her on the spot. All Juno seemed to do was stare back at the boxer, her eyes as cold and empty as a black hole, sucking up Cicilia’s anger and fear greedily while providing nothing of her own.

It became clear to anyone watching that these two seemed to have a history and were extremely opposed to one another. It was as if they planned to hate each other, even their outfits had a similar design, yet a wildly different color scheme.

Finally, the Nurse turned on her heel and walked towards her corner, smiling after seeing a faint tear streak Cicilia had failed to rub off. Her video worked. The reviews were in, and she was happy with what they had to say, or in this case, not say. With a quick motion, she shed her lab coat, revealing the tight one piece she so often wore to her fights. No one dared to interrupt the murderous atmosphere the two fighters were giving off.

A juggernaut, a word meant for an unstoppable destructive force, standing there seemingly to protect someone she cared about while the Nurse, a position meant to help cure patients of their illness, seemed to threaten her foe in a physiologically terrifying way. Whatever the view point, it was clear that this was no longer a fight between two trained competitors.

Ding, Ding!!!

This was two women about to kill one another.

Cicilia backed into her corner at the same time Juno turned her back to head to her own, the German's heavy anvil gaze never leaving her target. She was going to rip her apart... Bit by bloody bit until the floor was shining in a dark, sticky red. Juno was nothing but an animal to be caught and slaughtered, her only use coming to effectiveness after she was dead. Margaux had hurt her, ruined her flawless beauty forever, not that she couldn't live with that. She wasn't the vain sort in any respect.

But NOBODY... NO-FUCKING-BODY hurts or threatens her girl! Sayumi was the only person who ever cared enough to spend time with her on a regular basis, let alone LOVE her! Cicilia was convinced she was the only pure soul in this twisted fucking ring and anybody who would DARE film something so horrible... They would never make it out... Juno had just asked to be tortured and then killed by what she'd done today. If there was something good about her at all, it was that she was DAMN persuasive. Humanity as a whole shunned the euthanasia of others but the monster in the nurse uniform was no human...

No mercy.

*DING, DING*

Cicilia came out of her corner like a force of nature, rushing down Juno as fast as her hate-summoned adrenaline could fuel her! The boxer's hand shot out like the claw of a machine, aiming to latch onto Juno's throat and begin throttling it! In succession, the German didn't stop pushing, driving back the foolish nurse into her corner where the hell of her own making would manifest:

Spoiler:

\

Should her initial opening connect as planned, The boxer would cock back her free, open hand, each finger curling inward into the fist that would crush her skull... repeatedly. The only valid catharsis for what Juno had done and now she would feel it too as it smashed her face into a red, doughy paste.

Before the second bell had even finished ringing, Cicilia came forth with the speed and fury of an erupting volcano. It seemed the German could not take waiting even one more split second before making the woman across from her pay for everything she had done to her, both professionally and in private. In front of her was The Nurse, the one who first introduced herself to the German by viscously dislocating her gym partners shoulder, who filmed a sadistic video all about absolute peril and suffering. Before her also stood Juno, the woman who had seemingly stalked her the past few months, somehow acquiring personal photos, ambushing Cicilia at a grocery store and threatening Sayumi, someone who had done nothing to her, simply in order to trap her into this very fight.

Juno and the Nurse were one and the same, yet each one had done horrendous things to the boxer. It seemed she no longer even classified as human in the burning juggernauts eyes. She was the monster in the closet, the man in black, the threat that was at its worst when it was unknown, hiding unseen. But Juno was there, out in the open, no laws to stop from choking her, no rules to stop from bleeding her, only morals could stop these fighters from ripping apart their opponent’s husks.

And the monster that stood like a frozen glacier, with eyes that seemed like dolls eyes had proven time and time again that she had no morals. Blood WOULD be spilt in that ring, whose and how much remained to be seen.

Juno had enough time to blink before Cicilia was already halfway across the ring, crossing the distance in three strides or less. She was faster than Juno had ever seen her, madder than she could have imagined, and the hand that was extending looked like it was made of solid steel. The sight alone could have made trained professionals quiver, abandon their fortitude and submit on the spot, yet the Nurse stared back with only the desire to inflict suffering upon the woman and all she held dear.

No matter how strong, fast, or determined Cicilia was, her strikes meant nothing if they did not hit their intended target, and Juno had no intention of being grabbed by something so… predictable.

As fast as Cicilia was, Juno matched her speed. Ripping through the air, it was as if Juno simply disappeared from where she stood, only Cicilia able to completely track the monster in the shadows. Faster and Faster she approached, like a lemming ready to jump off a ledge, it was as if Juno was begging to be snatched up in the bear trap that was surly the German’s grip. Instead, the Nurse ducked below it, casting a side glance from the dead eye’s that only Cicilia could see. In that moment, the glance delivered a clear, bone chilling message that so few ever truly experience…

Suffer.

She ducked past the German. Slipped right under her arm, a thread of her blue hair licking the back of the hand that would have crushed her windpipe…

Bleed.

As elegant as a ballerina, Juno spun around to face Cicilia’s back. Time would seem to slow, at least in the Nurse’s point of view. What was an arm lashing out like a snake looked to her like a motherly extension, a caring hand reaching out towards the black locks that still flowed freely in the air. The gloved hands came closer, closer…

DIE.

If Cicilia had yet to recover, Juno would grab onto her raven hair, using both the boxer’s and her own momentum to give it one violent tug, either pulling the boxer off her feet or ripping the strands right out of the scalp.