Aspirin and Ice Cream (For Cicilia)

It was another day in the gym for Hayasui, starting with a rigorous warm-up at the training mats and moving from there. A punching bag, a speed bag, the weight-lifting gear, and one of the staff trainers served as stops along her trek through another day of fitness, with occasional breaks to stretch under the cooling winds of overhead fans. She still didn't have any matches yet, but that was no excuse not to keep in shape, not to mention she needed to clear her head a bit. Getting back to AFW and slotting her training schedule in with everything else that was going on was hectic enough, but now Hayasui found herself swapping bits and pieces of her schedule around too. A fixed schedule would make her predictable, easy to follow, and she couldn't shake the feeling she was being followed lately. Passing glances, the non-existent weight of someone paying closer attention than usual, she felt like her senses had been dialed up sometimes. Another side-effect of that grueling training regimen back home, or something else?

Either way, whatever it was didn't seem hostile. May just be her family keeping a closer eye for all she knew. Not that she'd blame them, what with the stories she'd been hearing lately. It wasn't like she'd been slacking on her training, even if she realized she really didn't look it, but still, their paranoia might have its place here.

But that was more than she felt like thinking about right now, and indeed more than she could think about, lost in the flow of her exercise regimen as she practically flowed quietly from one set of equipment to another. Like a ghost of gains, perhaps. Or maybe a body-building ninja.

Cicilia needed some time alone, a need that struck her surprisingly... Often times, all she needed to improve her mood was just seeing Sayumi, her beautiful, smiling face with a grin so contagious it couldn't help but infect her own... But today... she just needed something to herself... Something was bothering her and for once she couldn't figure out what. Most of the time, it was obvious, a bad day, a stupid argument that the German wasn't ready to apologize for yet, a nightmare that stuck in her head and wouldn't leave... It wasn't really often the boxer was angry over... seemingly nothing... And so, this was why she headed to the AFW gym, the only place around that would outright welcome her there... almost as if she were their mascot or something.

Standing before a nice, fresh, apparently unused bag, the boxer began slowly working up to her full striking power, taking her time with lighter jabs and crosses, lunging in on occasion for a smaller, quicker uppercut, focusing on faster combinations. The motions were odd, the feeling of the air running down her arms felt... invasive... Similar to how one might feel naked without wearing a particular type of clothing, Cicilia too felt exposed... when she wasn't beating something with her full strength 100% of the time...

Instead of utterly obliterating this piece of gear, Cicilia only lightly tenderized it, the German working on her speed and endurance, her arms a blur as they peppered across her target! She could be fast when she wanted to be, akin to a sloth forced to sprint along the forest floor. She just... needed to feel something else... before her frayed nerves began to chafe and break...

Finishing up with a trainer holding pads, Hayasui sat down at the edge of the practice ring, a bottle in hand as she looked around taking the occasional sip as she did. The sound of light jabs was the first thing that caught her attention, senses that felt like they'd been on overdrive since the training started homing in on the sound. Curious, Hayasui hopped off the ring apron and went through some quick cooldown stretches before heading over for the source of the sound.

Hayasui walked among the punching bags, her steps barely audible. She wasn't sure why they were that way these days, only that it had happened during her latest break from AFW, during her uncle's training, and that she hadn't noticed until her movements were practically silent and seemingly even her presence, judging by the frequency with which she accidentally spooked people these days. What she found was a curious sight, a dark-haired foreigner beating on a punching bag, peppering it with light strikes despite the impressive muscles decorating her arms. The scars were more concerning though. Hayasui glanced at her own arms, where there should've been plenty of scars of her own from her training, little more left of them but lines of lighter skin so thin they couldn't be seen under casual observation. The woman had notably more, some of them messier than others, and a concerning number across her face, now that she looked.

To her credit, the woman certainly did a good job of appearing normal. Hayasui was sure she would've bought it herself if she hadn't actively been looking for signs telling a different story, but they were there for the barest instants. Not enough to tell what was wrong, or even to be certain that something was, but it was enough to pique her curiosity.

Moving around through the field of punching bags to approach the woman from the from, Hayasui drew closer, clearing her throat at a safe distance to try to avoid alarming the boxer too much.

"Heya," she piped up with a smile and a wave, "I'm Hayasui. There don't seem to be a lot of familiar faces around here, so I figured I'd say hi."

Cici was unable to keep her mind on her training as she beat into the punching bag, her thoughts constantly shifting to darker places... After all, how could they not...? It felt like she was surrounded by evil on all sides! Organized crime from three different factions clawing at her, each one of them interested in seeing her squirm... Interested in making her death-of-a-thousand-cuts last as long as they could possibly make it. And the worst part...? They could kill her. Oh, Cicilia could take down a few... but each individual group could end her if they desired. Knives, bats, guns even... very little in the way of arms would be outside of the reach of such monsters and that meant the German only lived because THEY were paying for it. She was on THEIR dime essentially! No say on her life... no say on what she can do... The only power she had over herself was the ability to defend the one she loved... as superficial as it seemed.

Cicilia wasn't stupid. She might've been mad, she might lose control of herself almost regularly... but she wasn't an idiot. She knew that she was at the mercy of those monsters, that every fight she ever fought with them amounted to nothing more than a circus act. A play! Nothing with real purpose or meaning. She wasn't WINNING whenever she won... She was just fulfilling her role in the script they had laid out. Cicilia wins because they want her too... All it would take was a single choice stab, a single bullet... a hard enough blow with a bludgeon and she'd be down like anyone else... She just wasn't immortal like how she portrayed herself to be in all her fights... She WASN'T unstoppable... and that realization made the proverbial chain around her throat feel all-the-tighter.

With each one of these thoughts, the German's punches struck harder, her blows more savage, plunging into the canvas of the punching bag with more... permanent results. her lips curled into a snarl, her hair began to stand on end, her eyes flashing with the frustration of her no-win war of attrition...

*AHEM!*

Cicilia froze mid-punch as a softer, smoother voice touched her ears, a voice... she did not expect! W-was Sayumi here...? She didn't see her like this, did she!? Cicilia's eyes widened with worry the boxer pulling back her fist to her chest, holding it there as she stared at the punching bag... She... She didn't want Sayumi to see her stressing this much, to see her so angry... and lost... Sayumi seeing her in the hospital once was bad enough... Sayumi knowing about her scars was worse... but her knowing that there was a lasting effect...? That she was hurting still after the damage had healed...? ...She couldn't bare it.

Slowly, Cicilia would turn... knowing this was one battle she couldn't fight.... coming face to face with....

...Not Sayumi.

A dark-haired girl stood before Cicilia, her eyes curious, her features soft, greeted her with a smile and a wave... a gesture the German had yet to experience since... well... she got here.

"Uh... hi." She responded, her expression falling into one of suspicion, her eyes narrowing and lips curling downward into a frown. Hayasui, as she called herself, seemed to anticipate Cicilia's next question by explaining her presence here, remarking how she just wanted to say 'hi' to all the strangers she could find today! That remark forced the German to tilt her head... confused... almost put-off by this oddly friendly honesty!

"....Okay....?" Cicilia responded, shifting her feet uncomfortably. "...So... What now?" She didn't believe that was it. There was no way this was a simple hi-bye exchange! Nobody did that anymore!.... Certainly not with her! So... there had to be a step two, right...?

Hayasui had to resist the urge to wince as the woman looked at her with a frown and clear suspicion. To her relief, however, the suspicion gave way to confusion, at least a little. Possibly enough to make things work here, maybe find out what was eating at the boxer.

"Ah, well...there aren't really many other people here, so...how are you?" Hayasui at last asked, eyes flitting over the woman. She didn't miss the additional scars that caught her eye now that she was closer, or the woman's impressive musculature, but most of her attention was focused on her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" she asked after a moment, genuine concern peeking out under everything else on her face.

Okay, this was already stupid. Cicilia stared at the smaller woman, blinking slowly in utter disorientation as this random stranger simply explained that there wasn't many other people to bother. She couldn't believe it... That was it...? Nothing else? Nothing interesting to say? Not a compliment, not an icebreaker...? Not even a threat!?She, out of the few people here... was chosen out of her number simply being called...

"H...How am I...?" Cicilia repeated, stunned. Nobody had ever really asked her that question before... besides her girlfriend of course and she couldn't rightly tell HER. It completely took the boxer by surprise! How.... How even WAS she? Did Cicilia even know? Burying all the corpses in her mind to the point of it being a graveyard made her forget what she actually buried... Damage she didn't or couldn't deal with, emotional strife she had forgotten to attend to, physical trauma that struck her far deeper than just on the surface-level of her body...

Fear... Utter terror...

Is everything okay?

"...I... I don't know..." Cicilia responded honestly, too taken aback by Hayasui's unusual nature to hide behind her wall of suspicion! "I... don't think I've been... 'okay'.... In a long, long time..."

The raven-haired girl felt a little relief as she saw the suspicion seem to fade. Granted, it seemed to be replaced by confusion and disorientation at this point, but she'd take what she could get at this point. Of greater concern, though, was the woman's answer. The blunt honesty was welcome progress, but the implications of someone who looked this tough having these kinds of troubles drew a bit of a wince from the martial artist.

"Ah, that's...I'm sorry," Hayasui glanced down for a moment before looking back up, "So what's been eating at you? There's a decent mochi place nearby if you'd rather be somewhere less...open. My treat."

Ah, there was that feeling again. Something prickling at the back of her neck, like she was being watched. She understood the need for security, but sometimes Hayasui couldn't help feeling a little frustrated by it.

Perhaps it had been Cicilia's shock that forced this confession out of her. Perhaps it had been the fact that Hayasui had been bold enough to even ASK someone like Cicilia if there was something wrong... Or perhaps this had been eating at her so much, that she was literally fighting with herself in an effort to keep it all inside. Whatever the reason for her confession... it was out in the open now... and she couldn't take it back. The smaller girl seemed almost as surprised as Cicilia was that she'd confessed so readily, the German wide-eyed, blushing at the realization, her expression slowly falling back down into an angry, annoyed grumbling. All she wanted was to be left alone... She was sure she could take care of herself if she was just left to her own devices... It never came to her. Perhaps that was a sign. Perhaps that meant she wasn't MEANT to do this alone... Cicilia looked the girl over, her sanguine eye cold, analytical... She looked like she meant what she said... no obvious signs of malicious intent. Damn it...

If things kept going this way, Sayumi was going to find out on her own and things were going to get bad... She could feel it... Maybe... if he talked to this girl... It'd be easier to talk to her girlfriend! Ironic, yes. Strange and backwards, she knew... but she couldn't make her lover worry about her... she couldn't BARE IT... but one day, she'd have to... One day she'd have to take the initiative there... Since Hayasui was here and knew... She might as well keep the confessions coming.

"My job... People... Family... A lot of things." Cicilia responded slowly... unable to come up with more accurate description... yet. The smaller girl offered icecream... but that place was likely to be smaller and more compact than here... not a place Cicilia wanted to go to discuss her own personal problems... At least here, the muscle-heads around her were so into their workouts, they wouldn't notice the German's vulnerability.

"... Not really." She responded, shaking her head at the suggestion of icecream. "I just... need time... I need..." Cicilia growled frustrated with herself, an expression of pain and anger upon her face...