The calm before the storm: The first encounter

Hyacinth screamed in agony as her arm was crushed underneath the German’s foot. Her body was bloodied and broken and she knew this fight was over before it even started. Her head lulled back a little as she was lifted and all she could do was laugh, blood pouring out of one corner of her mouth while that green liquid dribbled down from the other, ”You’ll what? Kill me? It doesn’t matter how many times you strike me down because she’ll just send more. The thing is, I’m prepared to sacrifice my life for her, can you say the same about your precious Sayumi? What about her? All alone with no one to hold her at night. What happens when you don’t come home one day and she goes looking for you? Hmm?” she coughed up more blood, ”I may be defeated, but as long as she lives, you’ll never be say.” she smiled a wide and sadistic smile as she began to giggle again, her blood splattered over the walls and mats and all she was doing now was laughing. Someone who lost this much blood should have been dead and yet here she was, ”Do what you must.” was the last thing she said as she stared up at Cicilia

"Oh, shut the fuck up with YOUR CRAP!" Cicilia roared, cutting off Hyacinth's speech the MOMENT she mentioned her girlfriend! At this point, the fact that people knew that she and Sayumi were a number didn't surprise her so much anymore. After thinking about it and talking it over with her therapist, she realized that they haven't exactly been... reserved or un-obvious with their affections. What mattered was WHO dared speak her pure and precious name... Insanity seems to love to spread where it wasn't, to spread it's corruption to those completely void of it's presence. Cicilia wouldn't dare let that name touch the lips of those who would seek to use it against her...

...and as such, Hyacinth would soon find her airway cut off, the boxer's hand having CLOSED around her throat! Her fingers would dig in against muscle, nails digging into her skin JUST enough not to draw blood! The sheer pressure threatened to crush the woman's breathing aparatus like it were some kind of straw! The Juggernaut's face closed in towards her defeated attacker's, her sanguine eyes nothing but an inferno that seemed to BURN with merely a look! Her emotions BURNED with such intensity, one could practically feel it's heat bite and gnaw wherever Cicilia touched Hyacinth, leaving marks behind not unlike that of intense flames themselves!

"Do you really want to know how far I'll go...?" The Juggernaut whispered, her voice as quiet as a crackling bonfire... as harsh as a rusted blade upon a chalk-board! "Do you really want to see what I'll do... to make sure monsters like you will stay away...?" Her fingers tensed, as if about to CRUSH Hyacinth's windpipe... but letting up just before the force could truly set in!

"...I'm not afraid of you. I'm not afraid of your 'master.' If police won't put you in a box... then I WILL! Understand...?" Cicilia stared deeply into the woman's soul, her gaze like forks IMPALING her attacker's soul from multiple points at once!

Hyacinth grinned and grabbed at the arms that were wrapped around her throat, ”I’m not afraid to die for my mistress...but I find it funny...that you haven’t asked the...question everyone asks...” she gasped softly as her breaths became more and more labored, ”You still haven’t asked...who sent me...” she gripped her arms and dug her nails in a bit as she squeezed harder and her face changed into a grimace, but as Cici loosened her grip, Hyacinth would begin taking in big gulps of air, ”As if it would even matter, it seems comical you don’t even know who I am.” she said weakly, ”I’m just scared of what she’ll do to me when she learns that I lied to her about being able to beat you...or the fact that I was defeated by you in combat at all.” she lulled her head back and sighed softly, ”It would be better to die than to disappoint my mistress so please, take my life.” she looked back up at her with those cold blue eyes, almost pleading with her to put her down for good. She slowly rose to her knees and looked into Cicilia’s sanguine eyes. The woman’s cold stare didn’t seem to shake Hyacinth, nor did her words. Her blood was all over and all she had to show for it was a little bruise on Cicilia’s jaw. It was an embarrassment she would not force on her mistress, she wouldn’t allow her dishonor to carry over to her with the knowledge of this defeat. All she did was look up at her, almost feeling at peace knowing that she was sacrificing herself for the sake of Juno. She needed to protect her mistress, no matter the cost. Even if her mistress cared nothing of what happened to her, as she found out from conversations she overheard with Juno and the others back at the hideout, she was more than ready to give her life willingly to protect Juno, ”I’m ready when you are, show me that this wasn’t all talk. Give me the honor of a warriors death.” she said, her eyes never leaving Cicilia as she waited for her response, ”Just try not to get anymore of my blood on the rugs.”

Somehow, even with her windpipe pressed closed, Hyacinth managed to force enough air out of her face to continue her little evil rant, remarking how it was SO much better to die in service of her "master" than to live on a failure. She spoke like she had some kind of honor, like there was an attribute within her with value that would, unfortunately, be lost one way or another this day! How utterly idiotic. Cicilia couldn't even process how stupid this woman was... How utterly deluded. Firstly, she had an idea who this girl belonged to. She didn't need to ask. Who was the one always following her around? Who was the one who had sworn vengeance against her time and time again, who threatened her girlfriend at every meeting? Margaux had all but disappeared in the previous weeks... and nobody who she'd garnered a less than positive relationship at the gym held enough animosity to try something like this!

Juno had to be the one behind it all...

Who else could it BE!?

Without a word, the Juggernaut pulled her arms away, pausing as if she were considering something... before her hand RIPPED up into Hyacinth's stomach in a MERCILESS uppercut, the blow possessing enough power to virtually displace every organ in her entire body! Cicilia would GRIND her fist into her stomach, letting her knuckles bite and tear at her belly before letting her fall to the floor in a broken heap... Oh, she could end her... she really, REALLY could... In fact, she had to justify it to herself NOT to! She was a better person... Sayumi could never love her if she went through with it, She had already won... There were REASONS to hold herself back... the problem was justifying them... and the only one that kept flashing in her mind... as a look of horror from her lover when she looked at her....

Hyacinth Just knelt there and waited before suddenly all the air in her lungs was pushed out and her eyes widened. More of her blood dribbled down from the corner of her mouth before she fell forward, groaning as Cicilia’s fist grinned into her belly. She leaned against the arm before it was pulled away and she fell to her hands and knees as a thick trickle of blood dribbled from her lips and formed a small pool on the floor. Suddenly her body began to violently spasm and she began to throw up a bright green substance. Her body trembling before she finally fell over and stared up at the ceiling, her eye color was different though. It seemed as if they had changed right then and there from an ice blue back to emerald green and she held her head, ”Wha...what happened...where am I?” she groaned softly and slowly got back to her hands and knees, ”Why does it feel like I just got steamrolled by a tank?” she slowly got to her feet and staggered a bit before looking up and frowning, ”Wha...wait I know you...” she said before collapsing onto the wall, using it to hold her broken body up.

Cicilia must've hurt her more than she'd thought... Not only was she vomiting more green-crap, but she seemed to lose all sense of context as Hyacinth lay curled up on the floor! The German only stared silently, her sanguine eyes flashing dangerously as the woman below her slowly started to come back to her senses! Internally, the Juggernaut knew not what to think about this. Her voice changed from the sadistic, twisted musings of a psycho... to a wounded, fearful muttering of someone bewildered, Hyacinth's body language also seemed to change from proud-to-serve to... completely disoriented. She doubted that she actually gave this girl brain-damage... She wasn't her fucking sister, after all... But something had to have changed inside... there was NO way that someone could just shift this fast and so cleanly!

"Remember attacking me?" Cicilia hissed, taking a small step back in case this was some kind of trick! "Remember pledging to hurt both me and my girlfriend....? Remember how you said you weren't afraid of dying...?"

She didn't lighten up one bit when it came to this woman, even if she wasn't grinding her face into the floor with her boot. Her expression was still like that of granite: immovable, harsh and flat, her eyes burning suspiciously as the woman seemed to be questioning the very nature of her existence down here!

"...Do you know who I am...?" She inquired. "Speak."

Hyacinth stared at the woman, her words terrifying her as she took a step back, "I...I remember some things, but...I don't remember anything that happened after I entered this gym...I only know that I've been a huge fan or yours and I remember my match against Juno." she looked down at the puddle of neon green serum on the mat, pointing to it, "And how she injected that stuff into me...But I don't remember threatening you, or your girlfriend, but if I did I apologize. I wasn't in control of myself, I was under some sort of spell...forced to serve Juno against my will." her words stuttered and she trembled at the sight of the woman before the pain in her arm hit and she nearly screamed in agony, "Why is my arm broken!" she screamed and dropped to her knees, holding her shattered arm and she began to cry a little, "W...what happened to me..." Hyacinth screamed in pain and held her arm closer.

A HUGE fan...? Well, woop-tee-doo! That just made everything better, didn't it? Cicilia's eyes narrowed as she glared down upon the wounded woman, giving her NO information that she could use... Well... One bit. Cicilia was right in thinking that Juno had been involved somehow but what was TRULY important... Was that she was using drugs to do it! She injected this person with something and it stood to reason that it was some kind of psychotic that made her act like... this...

"...She's been using drugs on people and Rhein doesn't know about this...?" Cicilia mused, her eyes flicking off to the side. And if Rhein doesn't know about this... She can't do anything to stop it... How could she POSSIBLY stop it even if she did!? Juno was probably already protected at this point by whoever was giving her the stuff she needed to make this crap! Druggers don't like their stuff being traced back to them if movies were any indication so Rhein probably was only going to be able to get the aid of the incompetent police...

...

Whatever they could do!

Cicilia was broken out of her thought process my Hyacinth SCREAMING in pain! Quick to react, Cicilia flicked on her phone and called for an ambulance... lest the woman's arm become a much BIGGER threat to her health than it already was.

"...You attacked me. And I beat you. I called for an ambulance and they should be here soon. Look... I don't know what to tell them other than what happened. No, I won't press charges." The German huffed, unsure if she should go to this girl's aid... or hang back...

Hyacinth shook her head, ”N...No, I’ll just tell them I fell off a machine and you came to help me, it might just draw suspension and much unneeded attention. Meet me at this address after we talk to the ambulance drivers and I’ll tell you everything I remember.” she used her free hand to grab a piece of paper that had fallen during the fight and looked around for a pen. Once she found it, she wrote down her address and then turned to grab her wallet from a compartment in her boot, pulling out her wallet and withdrawing a couple hundred dollar bills that added up to the amount of $1200, ”Take this, to cover any damages I might have caused to you. It’s from my last fight, but I owe you something for what I did.” she grit her teeth, hiding the pain she was in as she held the money out to Cicilia, ”If you need any more for any medical bills, I’ll cover everything.”

It could not be understate the whirlwind of emotions flashing through the German's mind at this point in time. Her anger had not yet died and still burned the air around her as the girl she had just been threatened by begged and offered her money! She held out about a eleven hundred Euros worth of currency before her, stating that it would be ALL for all the medical expenses Cicilia might need... The Sanguine-eyed boxer tilted her head slightly, perplexed that with only a mere mark upon her face, this woman thought to try and give her cash...? For meds...? It'd probably be gone in the morning and yet here Hyacinth was, seemingly bribing the Juggernaut into leaving her alone!

...And despite her pride... the German couldn't help but stop and stare at the bills being offered... She might not even use it for bandages or whatever... but there were other uses for money... With this in hand, she wouldn't have to spend any on her apartment for, like, two whole months and she could simply store her checks away for some kind of gift to her sweetheart! She knew Sayumi wasn't all for the material things... but that didn't mean she couldn't take her somewhere beautiful, somewhere far and away from any of their issues... where it was just them... and nothing else. For a moment, she could feel the compulsions tug at her arm to just take the money, take it and walk away....

...No. Cicilia could be a lot of things... but not that... whatever THAT was.

She reached out, instead taking the small piece of paper Hyacinth offered that held a sloppily scrabbled address to... a familiar coffee shop... Go figure. It was the only one within a reasonable distance.

"Look, I don't want your money." Cicilia grumbled, still not taking her eyes off Hyacinth, suspicious. "...This is the chance I'm giving you, do you understand? You will not do this again... or you will regret it." Leaving no terms uncertain, the German walked out the way she had come, slipping her hands deep inside her sleeves... and then into her hoodie pockets... She... She needed someone to talk to about this... Perhaps her therapist would take her early today....