Chapter 11: The Next Match
Disclaimer: Never have, or will own Angelic Layer, sadly.
Hey guys! So sorry bout the little 'lapse', I was momentarily obsessed with other things. So. Next chapter now, eh?
Icchan brooded while watching the screen. Arisu was slowly pushing her sister's angel back with her balance-emphasized angel Alice. Mao was
simply guarding. However, Arisu was slowly being led into a trap. Mao waited until they were at the very brink of the icy snowcapped mountain they
were on to make his move. He brought his foot, up, stopping halfway as if to feint, but went through with the movement. Alice hurriedly blocked, and
Mao flipped over her. He quickly jumped to avoid the foot that was aimed at his head, and before the foot could get away again, he dropped down
onto it. Alice was trapped. He spun on the foot that was holding Alice and kicked her off of the mountain. She rammed right into the side of another
mountain and was still. The buzzer sounded; the battle had now taken 10 minutes. When the points were up, everyone saw that Alice had only 3 less
damage points less than her sister. The crowd cheered. Icchan watched.
"Ogata, I yearn for popcorn. With chili sauce. Now." Ogata rolled his eyes and scurried off.
Akiru was watching the match. It was his game next. He stood up when Mao was declared the winner. Tamayo smiled at him. "You'd better win!"
Akiru grinned back. He strode up to the egg shaped seat and was raised into the air. He didn't think he would ever get used to the strange sensation
no matter how many times he did it. Then his opponent was raised up. Instant silence fell. Akiru gaped. It was Misaki's mother.
She waved, recently having gotten much less shy. The announcer grinned sneakily.
"And here is the big surprise! The champion has decided to enter the Kanto Games!"
"Um, am I missing something?" Akiru thought to himself… "Champion?"
"Entry Angel!" Akiru tossed in Ichiro, still puzzled. Shuuko threw in a beautiful, intricate angel with cascades of yellow hair streaming down her back.
"ANGELIC… FIGHT!" Ichiro waited for Shuuko to make the first move. All of a sudden, she catapulted towards him. Ichiro guarded, but she
slithered between his legs in one fluid movement. He didn't even have time to turn around when she kicked him in the neck. He was thrown off the
huge rock he had been on. She threw herself high, high into the air and kneed him right in the midsection.
Akiru was sweating. This was way beyond anything he had experienced… He was being hit again and again… He had never been so outclassed.
Ichiro flew high into the air, hoping to avoid her, but she simply jumped after him. She was fast. Ichiro aimed a kick at her, but she caught it between
her own legs and somersaulted, letting go. Ichiro crashed to the ground, and saw her heading for a follow-up attack. He spun, barely catching her
with the tip of his boot. It was enough, however. She was a lightweight.
He tried to land a punch on her, but she leapt on his hand and kicked Ichiro's face, leaping over him and hitting him in the back. He tumbled, head
over heel, until coming to a full stop. Ichiro had about 2 percent damage left. Athena darted over to him and began jumping over him again and again.
He suddenly did a handstand and, as she landed, he let his feet fall back onto her hands. He leapt up and did a spin-kick into her chest. She hit the
ground, but Ichiro wasted no time. He tried to do a follow-up attack, but she did a strange little twist, and hit him squarely in the chest with both feet.
Ichiro sat down, hard, and was defeated.
Athena did a strange catapulting movement that sent her spinning back into Shuuko's hands. Akiru bent down and picked Ichiro sadly up from the
layer. However, he still had one loss left…
Akiru ate lunch, sad. Tamayo, Misaki, and Kotaro were trying to cheer him up, futilely. He sat there and stared at his food sadly. He trudged back
to the layer when his name was called, and he waved goodbye to his friends at section D.
"Wellllllllcome to the laaaaaast, fiiiiiiiinal battle of the TOURNAMENT! Well, correction, KANTO area tournament. ENTRY ANGEL!" The
announcer furiously indicated the layer.
Akiru tossed Ichiro into the layer, and his opponent threw hers in, yelling something Akiru couldn't quite catch. He observed the angel. She wore
red, yellow, and white. She looked very lightweight indeed, and fragile to a certain degree. He shook his head as the layer flickered into view. It was
an orchard in the winter, with apples, withered and sad-looking, hanging from the birch trees. Strange… There were snowdrifts everywhere, and a
waterfall was running down over a huge cliff that erupted on the opposite side of the layer. The deus could obviously see over the rock, however.
Ichiro, who was at the bottom of the cliff, clambered halfway up the cliff before remembering that he had rockets. He pressed the button and soared
up to the top. The angel was just standing there.
It was Hikaru.
Ichiro actually took a few steps backwards, Akiru was so surprised. He looked at the deus.
It was Misaki.
His brain shut down. Misaki, here? She must have been the deus all along. What would he do? She was amazing…
Hikaru charged. Ichiro sidestepped, and Hikaru grabbed his cape, swinging a full circle around him. She kicked him hard in the chin, and he
backflipped with it, reducing the damage caused.
Akiru's brain switched on again. Fans were rooting for him; he was in a huge arena. He couldn't make a fool of himself.
Not now.
Not ever.
Shedding his cloak, he tossed it to the ground. He turned to face Hikaru. He would fight.
Hikaru stood her ground as Ichiro rushed her. She took a hold of his hand and tripped him as he catapulted himself towards her. With grace, Hikaru
toed him in the face. He shot over the waterfall, his bronzed skin turning blue under the water.
Hikaru went over to the edge of the waterfall. She leapt over. Halfway down, she was grabbed by a hand sticking out of the waterfall! Ichiro had
found a loose root and swung Hikaru into the river, stepping on her back. He dropped to the ground with ease, as she slid down. The crowd
cheered.
"GO FOR IT! GO, AKIRU! GO, MISAKICHI!" Tamayo screeched.
Ichiro danced around Hikaru, evading her attacks. Her fists flew by his face. Then, suddenly, she feinted back and her head butted right into Ichiro's
stomach. He staggered back. She kicked his arm, punching his face viciously. Akiru winced as Ichiro's damage dropped below twenty percent. He
brought back Ichiro's foot and swung it so hard he flipped into the air as it missed. He changed direction, and plowed into the base of Hikaru's skull.
She fell to the ground, but wriggled right-side up and grabbed his foot. She twisted it and threw him high into the air, soaring up right beside him. She
punched him, hard. He fell, crunching through tree branches. He lay, battered, bruised on the ground. Once more, he touched the button on his hood.
The third one.
It was an ingrained hyper-mode, only a thousand times more powerful. Ichiro glowed white-hot. He rose up into the air. His sapphire eyes snapped
open. He did a spin kick right at Hikaru's face, darting under her and throwing her higher still. She descended. They darted over the ground with light
feet, weaving a pattern of armor and whirling short hair. He delivered a small kick to her midriff, and she ducked under it, throwing him over her
shoulder. Ichiro's points beeped the five percent mark as he crashed down.
He stood up, walked over to Hikaru, and punched her in the face. She had thought he would try a trick, and hadn't moved her face at all. She reeled
in shock, then roundhoused him into a tree. At one percent, he pressed the button one more time. He zoomed forward, hitting her with two small
horns that had sprouted out of his hair. His cloak soared down from above. The two flying engines hit Hikaru in the back, and he kicked her one last
time. She thumped him on the head, and he fell.
It was over.
As he removed the headset, retrieving Ichiro, he thought,
There's always next year.
He met Tamayo, Hatoko and Kotaro after the match. Ohjiro Mihara, one of Misaki's old friends, had come too.
He looked at Tamayo. Putting his arms around her, he kissed her, deeply and lovingly. Hatoko and Misaki looked away, embarrassed, and Kotaro
looked scandalized. I mean, it was in the middle of the stands!
Looking around at all his friends, Akiru realized that he hadn't actually lost. He had won… the game of love and friendship.
cries FIRST FIC EVER DONE! BOO-YAH! Come on now. Hit the little button. The blue one. Right there. That's right.
You little devil... glares at button fiercely Do as the arrow commands.
V
Ok, lame arrow. deal with it. You can do it!