Cicilia De'Reignhardt vs. Suzy Q - Punching Up

Carmen Rodriguez had been here before. She’d been in the arena before a big match. She’d come out to her music, making her way through the crowd, getting hyped up as she absorbed the atmosphere. It was magic, it was electric, it was the sort of feel that a boxer lived for, and no matter how long she lived or where she went, she would never truly shake it off.

Only this time, she wasn’t the woman in the robe, shadow boxing with every step. She was the one with a towel over her shoulder and an ice bucket in her hand, trailing close behind. She was the second, and her charge her boxer, was Suzy Q, her protege.

”Yeah, bitches! Game time!”

Carmen tried her best to repress a smile as the younger - much younger - boxer bounced about about before her, more than eager to get this underway. It was hardly her first boxing match, they’d taken part in smaller matches before across Japan. But it was her first televised match, and her first in the growing AFW subdivision: Momentum.

”You need to calm down.” She came up behind Suzy with a waning smile nearly getting smacked in the face by a ponytail as she neared. ”It’s just a match, don’t let the hype sweep you away.”

Suzy threw a teasing wink at the nearest camera as she passed by, showing where her mind was at the moment. ”Yeah, I know, but it’s worldwide. Can’t be mad if I want to strut a little, right?”

Carmen just rolled her eyes as Suzy, confident as ever, made her way into the ring and kept on playing to the crowd. She was confident, never a bad trait for a boxer to have, and she had every right to be proud - she’d improve by leaps and bounds over the past year, showing vast improvements. Carmen just hoped she wasn’t too confident. Especially with what was coming through those curtains next...

Where Suzy Q was flaunting herself at practically every angle... Cicilia was the exact opposite. Her face was like stone as she stepped out into the arena with her harsh metal theme cutting through the air. Her sanguine eyes neither flicked towards the various cameras following her nor did she appeal to the "fans" surrounding her side... perhaps because not a single one of them cheered as she came out. No, as the German stepped out into the light, black hair tied back, hands tucked away in light blue gloves, the crowd JEERED and BOO'ED her appearance as if it were the devil itself that appeared before them all!

...And she hated them for it...

Well, perhaps that was too strong a word... After all, she did not expect these people to understand who she was truly... This was her new character now thanks to Kaylee and apparently her Face-status was destroyed as far as the audience was concerned. Just when she had been getting used to being liked... she was back to being hated. What an utter, if predictable, twist. The Juggernaut analyzed who appeared to be her opponent jumping around and smiling for all to see... coming to the conclusion that she was nothing less than a skill-less showboated. It was like there wasn't a serious bone in her body the way she appealed to EVERYTHING around her! It was as if she were a black-hole of attention... and that was nothing less than frustrating to the Juggernaut!

The woman behind her, though...? She looked familiar somehow... She KNEW they never met before, but that face... Where the hell did she see it before...?

Bah. Cicilia shook her head and slipped into the ring, nobody there to support her from her corner. She did not need a supporter nor did she desire one. She could do this by herself... just like she took care of everything else.

Without a word of greeting or even a gesture of acknowledgement, Cicilia moved to her corner, the German continuing to analyze her opponent in secret. It wasn't something she usually did... but her therapist AND doctor both BEGGED her to stop rushing in like some sort of runaway train and take CARE of herself for once... It'd be hard to look them in the eye on her next visit if she didn't take their advice...

This all brought back a few memories to Carmen, though not the pleasant ones that most would’ve guessed. As she looked about, she could see the crowd in full revolt, hissing at Suzy’s opponent like she was the devil incarnate, chanting things that would likely have the people up in the production booth working overtime to get all the censors in.

An ugly crowd. It reminded Carmen of the brief time that she’d been on the receiving end of this kind of hate, back when she’d been getting a little too full of herself a couple years ago. That being said, they hadn’t been this vitriolic even at the worst, hadn’t been so heated in their jeers. It just made her all the more curious about the woman in the ring.

Cicilia D’ Reignhardt.

Carmen tried to avoid all the Twitter drama and social media news, but it was hard to avoid in this woman’s case. Bad news seemed to follow her around like flies about stink, never going away, and it had given her a surly reputation. There were even a few petitions to get her fired - by whiny little manbabies on the internet, not worth anything, but still. Not the best look.

And she didn’t seem to care. Not about the crowd, not about the jeering. She was focused, locked into the match, which was a little distressing, seeing as Carmen’s own student.

”I know this isn’t your usual style, but start slow with this one, okay?” Carmen gave Suzy a quick warning, not wanting too much concern to get into her head, but not wanting her to go in stupid, either. ”Try and get a feel for her, all right? Suss things out.”

Suzy groaned, but slipped in her mouth guard, nodding her agreement. Carmen slipped back down to the floor as the bell rang, and sure enough, Suzy followed her instruction - for now. She moved towards Cicilia, fists raised in an orthodox stance, nothing too fancy, and didn’t throw out anything to kick this off, even as she moved into attack range. Closer, closer...

Cicilia did her best to fortify her mental resolve against the scathing, ugly cries from the crowd, her expression hardening over and over again as she blocked them out one by one. She hated herself for falling into Kaylee's little trap... She HATED that she didn't have enough self-control to lock herself down and just let that match be a match... No matter how easy it would be to blame that empty-headed IDIOT BLONDE for what she had done... it was truly her fault for playing into her hands... and now she was paying for it... paying for it with one bloody bite into her reputation at a time.

...Cicilia slipped in her mouth-guard as the ref called them to the center of the ring, the German's sanguine eyes burning hotly at her opponent as they moved to the middle. Suzy, her opponent apparently, didn't seem to be taking this too overly seriously. Look at her, rolling her eyes, the way she had walked in her all happy and bubbly and eager... She probably thought this was going to be some easy stomp, wasn't she...? The mere thought of this girl not taking Cicilia as the threat she was...

"....Rrrgh...."

Stop it, Cicilia. Focus on the damn fight. Shut down this damn anger and FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE.

Raising her fists, The German slipped into her signature right-handed orthadox, advancing on Suzy with no hesitation! While her opponent inched in bit by bit, The Juggernaut devoured distance like it was food of her plate! One solid step at a time did Cicilia close in... INSTANTLY SWIPING at Suzy's head the moment she got into attack-range! A blistering HOOK SLICED the air towards the woman's temple before her other arm came up in an IMPALING uppercut, her light blue gloves like cracks of lighting SPLITTING the space between them with ugly, brutal cracks of power!

That’s right, play it safe. Get a good feel for your opponent. Don’t be too hasty, try patience, and wait for-

”Uh-oh.”

Carmen and Suzy’s eyes both widened in unisen as Cicilia came charging in quick and hard, storming across the ring at full throttle. Not that it wasn’t a viable strategy, but it was a bit odd to see, especially at this level of competition, and in a match where there wasn’t any personal animosity that she was aware of. In came a hook, one that sliced through the air - thankfully, Suzy recalled her training and reflexes took over, letting her duck low and let the decapitating strike cut the air.

The follow-up was a different matter, though. Suzy saw it coming, was able to get her arm into position in time to block it, but the impact was still enough to knock her guard apart and send her flying a step back, awing the audience in the process.

Concern growing on Suzy’s face, she threw a quick jab at Cicilia’s face and jumped to the side, making some distance between them. Regrouping, reassessing, rethinking her approach.

She didn't care what was the standard here. She never did. Cicilia fought in a way that wasn't dishonorable or cheap... and if it worked, she employed it readily. Clearly, Suzy didn't do her research into her opponent this day, a small flicker of a smile flashing across the German's lips as she spotted the surprise flashing across Carmen's lips! It was like she'd just spotted a bullet flying at her... and in her case, the fist flying at her head might as well have been one! Nevertheless, she had enough of her faculties to THROW herself DOWN, the German's scythe-of-a-fist claiming nothing but air as the woman slipped out of the way!

...However, she wasn't quite prepared for the follow, an uppercut RIPPING at her stomach with a HUGE amount of her strength poured into it!... And Carmen would suffer for holding her ground. If she was hit, the woman might've just fallen over and blacked out right there (or at least, that was the intent), but now she had to deal with the fact that her arms took the FULL brunt of the attack instead! The impact sound of the boxer's glove SMASHING against Suzy's forearms were sickening, a SMACK of leather against flesh like a pop-gun going off next to the ear of everyone in the stadium! Suzy wouldn't be able to hold her ground against the juggernaut, her arms being THROWN wide as they gave way to Cicilia's awesome power!

...And speaking of giving way...

Suzy fell back a step as the stability of her placement also gave out, the woman firing of a quick jab as the boxer honed in after her! Her punch connected pretty solidly, the glove *POPPING* Cicilia right in the nose... but such a weak little jab wouldn't slow the boxer down at all! Hell, it didn't even leave more than a small little scuff along the German's bridge, Cicilia shifting her charge to follow Suzy as she backed up more and more!

"Run or stand your ground. It's all the same to me." Cicilia muttered under her breath as she chased down Suzy! "One way or another, you're going down."

Oooooooooh, boy.

Suzy’s jab hit, but that didn’t say much. A bug would’ve made more of an impact on a windshield. While she was never the hardest striker in the gym, she could usually get some decent power behind her blows, enough to make her opponent’s flinch, at the bare minimum - but that was definitely not the case here. If anything Cicilia seemed to speed up after that attack, like she was even more determined to close the gap. Not a good sign.

Fine. Fine. This wasn’t a brawl, this was a boxing match, and it wouldn’t solely come down to pure power. There was a matter of talent to consider, here, and Suzy was more than confident in her own.

Sticking to her footwork, she did her best to stay one step ahead of the charging bull in front of her, nimbly moving back, staying away with deft taps along the floor, always ahead, always away. When it looked like her back was getting too close to the ropes, she switched up and jolted towards her opponent, throwing out a hard one-two combination - a jab and a straight, both aimed at the face, with Suzy strafing away the instant after they made contact.

Carmen nodded from the sidelines, seeing the approach and agreeing with it. ”That’s right, Suzy! Keep it moving!”

Ah, here we were again with this stupid little game. It was like a elephant trying to trample a weasel, a steam-roller chasing after a person on a bike. If there was one thing she hated about boxing... it was that her foes kept running AWAY, only to dash in to get in a meaningless punch or two! Cicilia's attention couldn't help but turn on the... vaguely familiar woman cheering on her worthless bee-of-an-opponent, encouraging her to RUN FOR HER LIFE like anything would get done...

Damn these women... damn them for making her chase Suzy like an idiot...

Just like all the speedy little annoyances Cicilia had ever fought, Suzy LURCHED at her every so often, throwing out a quick pair of punches before dancing away and continuing her little retreat! The first combination hit with absolutely no resistance, Suzy's jab and straight striking Cicilia HARD in the jaw both times! Cicilia's face jerked only the slightest bit as those blows connected, Suzy's fists striking something akin to a metal infrastructure more than a bone-structure, the German simply too tough to be stalled by such uncommitted blows! Sure, her hits left scuffs upon Cicilia's almost ghastly pale white skin, perhaps even an ache... but stun or slow her...? No. Sooner or later she would have to stand her ground... and when she chose her spot of defeat, Cicilia would eagerly send her to it.

Cicilia's toughness was one of her greatest Attributes. Much like the Borg she nerded over ever since discovering them on TV, Cicilia adapted with each blow she took, analyzing strategies and patterns to predict future attacks. Again Cicilia pursued Suzy, leading her to the ropes and JUST as she was throwing out her quick blows, Cicilia DUCKED to the side and lashed out with a SAVAGE hook at the woman's ribs, the momentum of her duck only adding into the horrifying power Cicilia commanded! If her blow connected, the German would RIP her fist up along the woman's body, cranking her wrist up so that her fist SLAMMED into her jaw in an equally vengeful uppercut, the boxer's punches RIPPING the air around her gloves to shreds!

At first, things ‘looked good. Very good. In fact.

Suzy’s strategy seemed to be working out well enough. Yes, Cicilia was the bigger, stronger boxer, but it wouldn’t matter if she couldn’t land a hit. The pace was in her favor, and if she could keep that up? She’d wear Cicilia down and take it. No problem.

If. If, if, if.

Carmen looked on a few more of her jabs landing, one of them hitting Cicilia flush on the face. Suzy’s footwork was on point today, showing off the fruits of her training. All she had to do was stay mobile, make Cicilia work to keep up with her, avoid taking big hits…

...big hits like that one.

It was a hook, but one hell of one, launched like a cannon from Cicilia’s arm. It hit Suzy’s side and deformed her body on impact, making her drop right away, and that would’ve been bad enough - until she landed an uppercut on Suzy’s chin to go along with it. When it rained, it poured.

Carmen’s pupil flew off the mat and came down hard on her back, landing in a heap in the center ring, a muddled mess. The crowd erupted, shocked by the sudden switch, and the referee immediately moved in to start a count. ”Neutral corner!”

Suzy fell apart like a poorly made architectual model, collapsing under her own weight with just a pair of mighty blows! Cicilia watched as the body of her opponent contorted and almost guaranteed a fall... but one swift uppercut to the jaw as gravity DRUG her down all but assured her collapse. It was disappointing for sure... The fast, weak types seemed to be the kind of fighters that populated the AFW and it was no wonder. It was a winning strategy in both boxing and wrestling. Being fast enough to out manuver LARGE opponents with strength just enough to whittle down their armor, having the awareness to toy with the frustrated minds of opponents locked within the fortresses of their own bodies...

...But then, if they're caught by even one mighty blow... that was the end of them. POOF! To a fine, red dust. And Cicilia was good at landing those.

To the point, however, it had been SOME time since Cicilia had a match that she could truly sink her teeth into, a fight where she could truly hammer into her foe and trade blow after blow, truly whittling down her stamina and forcing her to fight harder, not smarter. She wanted someone who could match her in EVERY way, someone who wouldn't just run from her when she stomped forward like the dinosaur she was...

...But where could she find such a woman?

At the Referee's command, Cicilia lowered her arms and, with a frustrated huff, walked over to the farthest corner and leaned against it. She crossed her gloved arms across her chest, her heavy sanguine gaze falling upon Suzy like an anvil upon an unsuspecting cartoon.

"Two hits and she already bit it, huh? That's shameful." She muttered to herself sharply. How the hell was she supposed to gleam any satisfaction out of a win like THIS!? Regardless of the German's arrogant assumptions of her victory, the ref would check over Suzy before beginning the 10 count.

ONE!

TWO!