Warning: Munkii has been known to cause toothaches. This will be the last update in this story for four days or so, I will be leaving (finally) for my summer vacation. (Isogashii! Isogashii! ... Hima ... Isogashii!). I expect lots of readers... or else! Readers makes Munkii happy! Wait... hmm... Me don't know if you read or not... Hmm... (Listens to Angelic Layer Album) .o.o.o.o.o.o.o. Angelic Deus "When in doubt you are suffocating your heart. Let it breathe." unknown source .o.o.o.o.o.o.o. Hatoko walked into the large building alone, save for the dolls in each hand. She had brought Suzuka and Misaki-chan with her. Several pairs of eyes were already on her, recognition in their face. She had been the second for the current champion of Angelic Layer for two years now, and her name warranted great respect from the Angelic Layer community. "Kobayashi-san, I have your layer reservation over there. Please follow me." said an attendant, leading the child to a layer into the corner. "Thank you," Hatoko replied, sitting down at the layer and setting her angels on the edge. Immediately a group assembled around her. "Where is Misaki-sama?" They asked, seemingly all at the same time. "She is not available today, however, I received specific instructions from her to come up with an analysis for this prototype angel. It was named Misaki-chan after her." Hatoko explained, matter-of-factly. "May I try, Kobayashi-san." One asked hesitantly, and Hatoko nodded. "While Misaki is unavailable to play with me, I wouldn't mind teaching you a few things." Hatoko replied, setting the control headset on her head and switching it on. She removed Suzuka from the layer and rested the well-known angel on her lap. "Okay, Misaki-chan, can you hear me?" Hatoko thought, and the angel stood, faced her, and nodded. "As I thought, you can still receive messages from the headset." "Umm... Are you ready?" asked the opponent cautiously. Hatoko nodded. "Do your best. You are fighting against an angel much more powerful then Suzuka." A bystander signaled the start of the fight, and Misaki took charge. Hatoko leaned back in her chair and watched. Misaki-chan dashed to the middle of the layer in a split second. The enemy angel, named Kuu, raced into the middle as well, arm raised, prepared to strike. Misaki-chan dodged it. The angel struck again, and again. Misaki-chan, under the expert control of the champion danced through each attack flawlessly. Hatoko's opponent's face contorted into several weird shapes as the match progressed. "Arg, stay still!" the teenager called, but to no avail, Misaki-chan rolled over the sweeping kick. Another couple minutes passed, and Misaki-chan decided to end it. The enemy did a running jump kick, and Misaki-chan deftly caught the opposing angel's foot in her hold. She twisted around and let the momentum in the enemy fly the angel off the layer, into the lap of the stunned Deus. "Chiyo-chan, remember that you must use a greater variety of attacks, while you did not manage to hit Misaki-chan, you only used three different attacks." Hatoko explained, and the girl in front of her nodded. "I will remember that, Kobayashi-san." Chiyo replied nervously, setting the headset down on the chair and leaving the seat open for the next challenger. "I also want to add... That angel is beautiful. It reminds me of Hikaru and Athena." "It hides more secrets, and if any wish to see them, they must land a hit on Misaki-chan." Hatoko replied, only to receive a response from Jounouchi Sai, who had been watching the competition closely. Kaede was at her side of course. "I wish to challenge this angel, Hatoko-chan." Sai offered, sitting down at the chair that Chiyo had just left. A large gathering of people had surrounded the table now, with many recognizable faces amongst the aspiring ones. The fact that Sai and Kaede were there watching surprised Hatoko, and she wondered just how much of an inside connection they had with Angelic Layer Co. "Sai-san, how much do you already know about this angel?" Hatoko asked, gazing at Sai intently. "I have heard many things. I know the truth behind it. I admire you and Misaki-sama for your dedication." Sai responded, and many people looked at the two Deuses quizzically, but asked nothing. "Then you realize your chances of hitting it are next to nothing." Hatoko warned, and Sai nodded. "Then this is merely practice." Sai responded, throwing her angel onto the layer. "Misaki-chan, hold nothing back." Hatoko thought, and the angel nodded, turning around to face the highly respected Shirahime. "Fight with your heart, this is your fight, not mine." "Fighto!" Kaede called, waving her hand down to start the match. Shirahime charged at Misaki-chan. Misaki-chan easily dodged the resulting kick, twisting around in the blink of an eye to land a counter-kick on Shirahime. Sai showed no emotion on her face, and continued to bat at the elusive angel, however Misaki-chan moved so smoothly, it was hard to tell she moved without a pattern. Sai had trouble predicting the angel's next move every time, and found herself beginning to take decent amounts of damage from Misaki-chan's counters. It was several minutes before Shirahime landed a blow, and it was a light one at that, as Misaki-chan pulled back to ease to damage off. "As promised," Hatoko replied to this, and Misaki-chan jumped high off of the layer's surface. A flash of light filled the layer, and after it had passed, Misaki-chan's wings were flapping in the air. Excitement stirred in the crowd of onlookers. Shirahime looked up in awe at the display, along with Sai. "The Angel of the Sea has become unstoppable now." Sai commented, and Kaede nodded slightly. Shirahime could not deal well with angels that could fly, and even though Shirahime still had much of her health left, a flying attack could send the heavy angel off the layer by sheer force. But this did not happen. "Misaki, why aren't you striking?" Hatoko thought, and the shining angel soon showed her why. A mysteriously patterned sphere enveloped Misaki-chan, and two shafts of light extended like infinitely long batons from her hands, burning the air in the layer and creating great ripples in the sides of the energy field. "No way..." Kaede started as she recognized the pattern, "The skill Angelic Layer Co. said was not possible, but rumor has circulated the Internet for some time..." "Total Energy Control, it has many forms, but this is one of the more recognized." Sai responded. Hatoko gazed at the beautiful display, almost forgetting she was supposed to be pretending to control the angel. The beams moved swiftly, and with deadly precision, cut through Shirahime in two fell strokes. The angel dropped to the layer in defeat, to a senseless, wordless crowd. The beams disappeared, and Misaki-chan glided to the surface, picking the fallen angel up. Misaki walked to the edge of the layer that Sai sat at, and handed the angel back to her. "Misaki-sama." Sai whispered, surprised at the sudden defeat. "It would take an army to stop this angel. It is more powerful then anything Angelic Layer has ever seen. Athena and Hikaru are barely a match for this one." The crowd of onlookers seemingly forgot to cheer on Hatoko and Sai, staring at the glorious angel as it danced around on the layer. "But, this is truly her..." Sai finished. "Hatoko-chan, mind if I ask you a question in private?" Sai asked, and Hatoko shook her head. Taking their angels, they made their way out of the building, Kaede following at the side of Sai, of course. "Kobayashi-san, umm... May we use this layer while you are gone?" asked one of the Deuses, and Hatoko nodded smiling as she stepped onto the escalator. A few minutes later, Hatoko was sitting with Sai and Kaede on a park bench. "Hatoko-chan... We have been talking about what happened to Misaki-sama these last few days..." Sai started hesitantly. Hatoko listened quietly. "It... It has left an impression on us." "What was that?" Hatoko asked softly. "Well, me and... and..." Sai began, finding herself unable to finish. "Sai and I decided to take our relationship a step further a few days before the incident occurred. We were informed about it the day after it happened, and it struck us in that moment how easily life was destroyed. We had taken each other's company for granted for such a long time..." Kaede said as Sai looked at her hands in her lap. "Love is wonderful, isn't it, Sai-san, Kaede-san?" Hatoko asked quietly. They nodded their heads in unison. "It is that feeling that you must protect and cherish." "You would know... At least, for a little bit, you knew... What it was like to be alone." Kaede replied. "Yes. It felt like all happiness in the world had vanished. Vanished so completely that every last good memory had been twisted into a painful one." "I know what you mean, Hatoko-chan," Sai replied. "I felt like that for sometime. I cried so much, I thought I was losing my mind." "Your sister?" Hatoko asked. Sai nodded. "But I felt it again... Again... When I heard Misaki-sama had been murdered..." Sai looked away, hiding the glimmer of a tear in her eye. "She means so much to so many people. She has affected so many people, given them hope that no matter who they were, they could do something. But, selfishly I must say, Misaki-sama has given the most hope to me." Hatoko looked at Sai, absorbing the words as if Sai was giving a piece of Misaki to her. Kaede, who sat on the other side of Hatoko, looked at Sai as well. "After my sister passed away, I forgot how to share love. It was as if my love died with her. I grew depressed soon after, with only Kaede at my side. She kept me going, but I could never regrasp that lost emotion. I only wanted to see my sister's face again, to hold her close to me and tell her I loved her." Sai lowered her head into her hands. "But I couldn't and my heart shut tight, not wanting to lose someone so special again. "My pain grew with each passing day, and Angelic Layer was my only escape. I forced the memories into the back of my mind and concentrated on Angelic Layer for years, advancing together with Kaede. It was only till a few days ago it worked. The emotion finally caught up to me, and the picture of her on my desk tore me to pieces that night. I called Kaede." Sai looked up, several tears running to her chin. "Kaede, the angel she really is, was at my door in an instant. She let herself in, and made her way to my room. I told myself I would never cry again, but that night, I cried those years out. All the years of loneliness, and loss. Kaede made me change into nightclothes, and put me to bed. Without thinking, I asked her to stay with me that night quite suddenly, and she said she would, without a moment of hesitation. "She held me that night like a mother would hold a child, and it hit me that Kaede was waiting for this moment for a very long time. There were more tears, and realizations, but I'm sure you already know all about it." Hatoko was wiping away her own tears now, remembering when she discovered with Misaki their special relationship. "You have something wonderful," Hatoko replied, and Sai smiled a small smile. "Now I remember how it feels to have someone special, and, I also realized, Misaki-sama is special to me too. She is what thousands of people strive to be, who thousands look up to. I am fortunate enough to know you two, and I don't want to pass up this opportunity to help. Me and Kaede want to help Misaki-sama live once more." Hatoko looked into Sai's eyes, and saw that she wasn't about to give up on her decision. "I'll talk to Icchan-san and Shuuko-san, I would love for both of you to come, but it is not entirely my decision. Also, here, seeing we are alone." Hatoko handed Sai her Misaki-chan angel. Sai took it gently. Misaki-chan stood up in Sai's palm and looked at her face. "Misaki-sama," Sai began. "Come... With Us... You Will..." Misaki whispered, and Sai listened silently. Kaede flinched at the sound of Misaki's voice, only to recover herself and move closer to Hatoko to hear it better. "You love... Greater asset... there is not." The sea blue angel spread her wings, to the older girls' delight, and flew over to Kaede, landing softly on her lap. "Kaede-san... Knew very long... Her love... Proof... Of strong soul... Strong heart." Misaki said softly, and Kaede smiled down at the angel. "Hatoko-chan... Show them... What true strength of heart... Truly is..." Hatoko undid the clasp on the chain around her neck, and pulling the glowing pendant out from under two layers of clothing, held the shining object up for Sai and Kaede, who watched intently. The warm light washed over them, and Sai now scooted closer to Hatoko to get a better look. Hatoko could barely fidget now, but she hardly noticed. "This is Misaki's soul, all I have of Misaki right now. Misaki is trying to say that love, when strong enough, is more important and more valuable then anything else. True love is immortal. Misaki refused to leave me, and now, while not whole, her soul rests next to my heart every moment of everyday." Hatoko explained. "So this is her soul... Beautiful, isn't it, Sai?" Kaede said, and Sai nodded. "I want her to be whole again. I want to hold her and tell her thank you. Her dedication to Angelic Layer, and to her mother, and to Hatoko-chan... it inspired me to chase Sai this long. Not to mention, Misaki-sama was killed... And she is still here with Hatoko-chan. It is a great feat." Hatoko looked at the ground now. Sai and Kaede turned to look at her. "There is something you must know before we allow you to go. Fate has presented us with mysterious powers, but it has also taken away some of our liberties. Misaki can die from loneliness, forever. We must not fail to discover the truth behind these dreams, and all things else, or Misaki may never return." Hatoko explained, raising her hand palm up. It filled with water. "We won't fail you, Misaki-sama, and Hatoko-chan." promised Sai as she dipped her fingers into the cool water in Hatoko's hand. .o.o.o.o.o.o.o. Author's Notes: Well, that's it for now. As I said earlier, I won't be updating for four or five days, possibly a week. It all depends on my ability to write while on my trip. Ja ne! Revised August 7th, 2004 .o. Munkii
Back to Lost in Dreams Index - Back to Angelic Layer Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction