Kagami found herself back on Vytal all those years ago. The taste of dirt filled her mouth, leaving a bitter and grainy texture behind, as she laid face down on the ground. Her own tears left wet spots where they dripped onto the dry dirt. Her back was burning as the sun beat down above her. Sweat mixing in with the fresh wounds and causing them to sting even more. Bright red blood slowly dripped down her sides, wrapping underneath her body and soaking into her shirt. She let out a whimper, her hands digging into the ground under her. Dirt building up underneath her nails. Everything hurt. Her mind was clouded. She couldn't get up. And she felt broken and defeated. If standing up against those who did wrong led to this, was it really worth the fight? Was it worth all the struggle and pain?
"Get. Off. Her!" Cheyenne shouted as she brought her rifle around the former soldier's neck and jerked him away from her friend. Still out of breath, she stumbled around as she kept her hold on him.
Growling, Cin glared back at her. Planting his feet into a steady position, he drove his left elbow back as hard as he could. Once again knocking the wind out of her.
The Faunus stumbled back again, falling to her knees as she coughed and struggled to breathe. With her chest rapidly rising and falling, she slowly looked up at him. Her eyes widening as he towered above her. Gulping, she shifted back and slowly began to scoot away from him. Fear consuming her. Her entire team was down. And she knew she was next.
"Oh, what's the problem?" He flashed a toothy grin as he regained his original composer. Adjusting the collar of his shirt, he crouched down in front of her. "You're terrified, aren't you?" His grin grew wide. "You should be." He held out his hand, his fingers brushing across her deer antlers before his hand trailed down and he gripped her chin. "You should be. Nothing is more terrifying than the fear of pain." He snarled as his eyes flickered.
Letting out a small whimper, Cheyenne turned her head away from him. She then clenched her jaw, every muscle in her body suddenly contracted. "Ah... hah..." She let out, her body slowly falling to the side as she slowly curled up. Every part of her body began to tremble and jerk as she lost control of her muscles. Weakly crying out, she closed both her eyes and grew quiet as tears began to trail down her cheeks.
Satisfied, Cin stood up and turned around on his heels. "Pathetic." He spat back at her before setting his eyes on Kagami. Walking over, he didn't so much as hesitate as he reached down with his left hand and grabbed her collar. He kept walking, pulling her up along with him. "You've been too quiet. Is it the shock from forgotten pain? Here. Why don't I remind you better!" He roared while slamming her back into the side of a building.
She cried out, her head falling between her shoulders as her hair shrouded her face. Quietly, she let out small whimpers as her shoulders bounced slightly. Agonizing pain coursing through her body.
He let out a chuckle, smiling wide at her cries. "I don't think that was enough. Let me help more." He brought her towards him before driving her back into the wall again. Then again. And again. She screamed each time, the concrete behind her cracking a little with each strike. Finally, she fell limp. Her body was loosely hanging in his grasp.
He blinked a few times, raising an eyebrow at her. "You're kidding, right?" He waited for her to respond only to get nothing back. He stared for a moment longer before scoffing and letting go. Her body collapsed onto the ground. "Just as weak as you were all those years ago." He reached down, grabbing her sword and pulling it from its sheath. "You don't deserve this."
Twirling the weapon around in his left hand, he smiled to himself in the reflection. "I've missed these." Looking over, he eyed the redhead who was slowly shifting around and trying to get up. "Heh." He began to slowly walk over. Both his arms hanging down at his sides. The tip of Kagami's sword grinding softly against the ground. "Oh you're trying, aren't you? You really are." He stopped, standing above her.
Looking up, Kris glared with blurry vision. Each time she put pressure on a part of her body, the stinging would increase dramatically. Each time she shifted. Each time she tried to push herself up. Her skin was burning. She went to curse at him, only to clench her jaw and stay quiet.
He smirked, raising the weapon up above her right leg. "Don't worry. You'll forget about the fake pain soon. Now comes the real part. My favorite part." He slowly licked his lips while gripping the sword with both hands.
"...hey...!" Elise weakly shouted from behind him. Laying on her back, her air compressed rifle was tucked under her right shoulder. Trembling, she fired a dart before falling onto her back coughing. Her gun clattering on the ground beside her. She didn't have it in her to move anymore. Each of her bones ached like never before. She couldn't fight it anymore. It was too much. All she could do at this point was count on her friends. What strength they had left at least.
As a burst of ice encased his right shoulder, Cin stumbled back and away while dropping the sword he held. He groaned heavily and grimaced as he reached up to break the ice off him.
Hearing the commotion, Kagami slowly shifted around. Her body curled up in the fetal position as her ears quietly rang. This was her doing. She brought her friends here. She underestimated Cin. She was the reason the people she cared around were on the ground in pain. Grief washed over her followed by a wave of fear. The terrifying fear of what would happen next while at this man's mercy.
In the back of her mind, a voice seemed to quietly whisper through the ringing in her ears. "Get up. Kagami, you have to get up!" Inhaling slowly, she halfway opened her eyes while staring through her hair. Watching the former soldier stumbled back, she slowly scraped her fingers across the ground as she balled her right hand into a fist. Exhaling, she slowly pushed herself up. Her arms were shaky as the pain in her back seemed to migrate through her whole body.
"Damn you." Cin spat as he tossed the chunk of ice onto the ground. Rotating his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes at the brunet who shot him. "Fine. We can have fun first." He started to step towards her. "Being brave is only going to get you killed faster in this world." Hearing the sound of soft footsteps, he blinked once while looking over with raised eyebrows. A fist colliding with his face and sending him back.
Standing with her right arm outstretched, Kagami took several deep breaths. Each time she did, her shoulders rose and fell. Her spin was arched slightly as she clearly struggled to keep upright. Lifting her head, she clenched her jaw glared through her blurry vision. Tears were streaming down her face. "You're still such an asshole!" She lunged forward before throwing a flurry of punches. Each of her blows hit his arms as he blocked. "I was hoping you'd be different! That you would regret what you did!" Baring her teeth, she managed to break through his defense and land a few blows against his chest. Slowly she chipped away at his aura. "You're not the same! But you're so much worse! You're honestly a horrible person!" She went to strike with her left hand, only for him to catch it. Still fighting against the pain, her retaliation was poor as he grabbed ahold of her neck with his left hand.
Growling, he dug his fingers deep into her flesh while pushing her back. His own breathing was shaky and uneasy. Chuckling weakly, he managed to flash a smile. "See... there's that fire that little girl had..." He pushed her up against a building once again. "I should have done more to teach you respect back then..."
"And I..." With shaky hands, she reached up and gripped his forearm as tight as she could. "...should have kicked you more..." Her voice started to grow quiet as she felt her tears sliding down her face.
He scoffed, leaning in close as he braced his right hand beside her head. "Let's see how boldly you talk when your veins feel like boiling water is coursing through them." Showing his teeth as he grinned, darkness flickered in his eyes.
Her tea green eyes widened quickly as her shoulders slowly fell. Her eyes began to water even more as she was let go. Falling to her knees, she wrapped her arms over her chest in an x and leaned forward. Her forehead pressing onto the ground. She let out a scream of pain. Her scream cracked as she trailed off. While the traumatizing pain in her back faded, it was replaced with one much worse. Each time she felt her heart beat, a pulsing and burning wave rushed through her body. And with her adrenaline already so high... it wasn't pleasant for her.
Cin let out a low and amused laugh as he slowly stepped around her. A smile formed as she whimpered quietly. "That's it, kid!" He held out his arms for emphasis. His breathing was heavy. "We're done here! I've won! After all these years... I've won! You and all your friends are down!" He pointed towards himself while slightly stumbling. "You... you're the reason I was discharged. You're the reason my wife left me. You took everything from me." He reached down, grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her up. His smile grew as he heard her cry out. "My job. My friends. My family. All of it!"
Fighting back tears, the jadette gritted her teeth as she glared up. Her entire body was shaking as she fought against the agonizing state her body was in. "...and you...gave me mine..." She struggled with her words while reaching up to grab his arm. Bracing her feet, she pulled herself up. She gave off a weak but battle driven war cry, driving her shin between his legs.
The drunk man heavily grunted, letting go of her as he stumbled back. "F-Fu..." He gritted his teeth, lowering his head as he closed his eyes. He could barely breathe, let alone speak.
Barely able to stand, Kagami swayed a bit. Breathing through her teeth, she stumbled towards him. She pulled her right arm back before sending it straight into his chest and knocking the breath from his lungs. Bringing her left arm around, she drove a hook straight into his side. Fighting against every nerve in her body that told her to stop, she let out another war cry while raising her foot. Kicking his chest, she sent him flying back into a wall. His aura shattered and broke as he fell onto his chest with a low groan. Seeing him trying to get up, she stumbled over. Taking a deep breath, she raised her foot and brought it down against his head. A small crack echoing as he fell limp. Blood dripped from his nose as his head rolled to the side with closed eyes.
She stared for a moment, the pain leaving her body as a numbness took over. She groaned, taking several steps back. She slowly inhaled before falling back. Her body hitting the ground with a sharp thud. Her right arm resting over her chest as her left was out to her side. She coughed several times as her vision began to blur more than just from her tears. She took several long and deep breaths, her chest rising and falling. Her consciousness was drifting despite how much she fought against it. Between the dulling of her senses, she caught a glimpse of a faint pink outline. As quickly as it came, it disappeared. She groaned loudly, her right hand shifting as she suddenly felt her sword in her grasp. Exhaling, she held tightly onto it as everything faded to black.