Saneko stands in front of the monitor, watching the layer that Akui will be fighting on in just a short while. She giggles, and bounces a bit, holding the little zombie geisha angel closely to her chest.

'Wow, so many people...' Kisato thought as she pushed open the door and placing her pass in her satchel. She wandered around, looking for the match times. She saw a chart which was partially changed by matches that already been completed. 'By this, I'm next...' Her eyes wandered over to a monitor which shown the layer which was soon to be used by her and her opponent. "H-hey, do you know when exactly the next match starts?" she asked the girl who was also looking at the monitor with a pretty happy face.

Saneko giggles and spins around to face the one addressing her. "In just a minute or two! I'm so excited!" She smiles brightly and bounces, giggling again. "It's gonna be so great, nyo! The layer's so big and there's so many people!" She bounces again.

Keiichi had already left the waiting room to make his way to the arena area to watch the next match. It was easier to see out there anyway.

Her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked down at the energetic girl. "You wouldn't happen to be the next Deus to go out there would you?" she asked, shifting the strap to her satchel so it wasn't digging into her shoulder. "Misaka Saneko?" She wasn't expecting to go up a child. "I'm Takahashi Kisato," she finally said, shaking her thoughts clear and bowing slightly.

A smile crept onto Kisato's face as looked down at her opponent. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try," she replied, tilting her head slightly. She started to hear the crowd roar in anticipation and sighed. "Well, you read for this?" she asked, calming her hand from shaking too much out of nervousness.

Saneko bounces and nods emphatically. "Oh, yes, I'm ready! I can't wait!" She bounces again, and squeaks in excitement, spinning around. Then, she looks down to the angel in her hand. "You're ready, too, aren't you Aki-chan? Do your best and make Zanko-chan proud, nyo!"

She glanced down to her Angel and moved a few strands out of its face. 'Alright, Hisakata,' she thought, smiling. 'This is our first broadcast ever, so you're just as nervous as I am, probably, but that shouldn't stop us.' She looked to Saneko-chan and nodded. "Well, here we go..." she said, giving one last sigh as she stepped towards the door to the arena.

Saneko giggles at the older girl's words, then rushes off toward the arena, herself.

##
They brave their way through the winding corridor and emerge on the arena before the thousands and thousands of viewers.
##

Announcer: Welcome ladies and gentlemen for another exciting round of angelic layer! Please wait as the contestends come out of the waitingrooms and allow me to introduce you!

Announcer: In the East corner! Misaka Saneko! With her angel, Akui!
Announcer: And in the western corner, Takahashi Kisato! With her angel, Hisakata!

Announcer: Give them a warm welcome to the Tokyo City Tournament!

The crowd suddenly seems to break into an applause as the two Deuses make their way out of the gates and towards their seats.

Saneko bounces out into the open area and pauses to look around, giggling. She tries to make out some faces, but the lighting doesn't allow it, so she energetically waves the the entire stands. Then, she bounds over to her egg-like seat and hops in, looking around with curiosity as the crane lifts her up.

In the audience, you hear a male voice shouting, "shouts out, "Go Neko-chan!""

Kisato shot glances towards the audience as the butterflies in her stomach grew bigger 'Well, no going back,' she thought as she moved to her seat. She lifted the helmet up and sat down right as it started to lift her up to the same level as her opponent.

Saneko smiles brightly and adjusts her headset. She seems to have a little trouble with it at first, but eventually gets it right. Giggling, Saneko waves at Kisato and calls out "Good luck, Takahashi-san!"

The headset seemed to fit perfectly over Kisato's head. the visor had a few fingerprints on it, probably from the last contender that used it. She heard Saneko call out to her, and she turned to her with a smile. "Same to you, Misaka-chan!" she called back, wiping the visor clean. The few moments seemed to drag on as she concentrated on pretending the crowd wasn't here.

Announcer: And here we go ladies and gentlemen! Deuses! Layer... fallin!

As the man with the weird shades and the funky yellow hair speaks the layer that had been once so still and dark, springs to life, suddenly lighting up in an aura of white light. The crowd goes wild as this happends and are most likely not even going to hear the fallin-phrases. But who cares about that if you are already in the spotlights and anyone can hear it in the recording?

In the audience, you hear a male voice shouting, "Ganbaro! Kisato-san!"
The audience roars along with the people who are shouting out!

Saneko giggles and tosses Akui towards the layer, shouting out "Death can't keep you; go out and fight, Akui!" The little zombie geisha does not react when she passes through the scenery 'wall,' and falls limp through the verdent branches and vines and into the shadow of the jungle floor like a rag-doll. Saneko speaks to her, not nearly as loudly. "Up, Aki-chan! Stand up!" And, with that, the geisha's form twitches, the lurches upward. Slowly and stiffly, she straightens her form to stand erect. Lifting her head, her eyes open, glowing pools of bright red no longer hidden behind eyelids. At the same time, black energy comes into being around her skeletal right hand and sends dark tendrils both down her weighed sleeve and up her arm and over her kimono. Lifting that right hand to the side, she bows, deeply and graciously.

Kisato pressed the button on her headset, powering up the modules and electronics as the wings extended. She nodded her head as she pushed Hisakata over the edge of the elevated chair. As she pierced the barrier, her eyes came to life and started to somersault through the air. The Angel grabbed a branch and swung on it before she jumped to another branch. "Alright, Hisa, let's get this going," Kisato said as Hisakata pushed off a limb and spun in the air backwards, landing across from Akui with her feet spread apart and her palm smashed into the foliage of the jungle. "Time for our moment to shine, so let's make it a good one!" As she said that, Hisakata rose and placed her hands in front of her body, as if ready for any action..

Announcer: Alright folks! Are you ready!? Angeeeeeliiiic~ !!!!...
The crowd suddenly becomes even more loud than previously.
Announcer: Fight!
The screen suddenly shows the statistics on both angels... it has begun!

On the layer, Akui rises from the bow, and levels those glowing red eyes on Hisakata. Then, she shifts her position, stepping back on her left foot, then moves her left arm up, back, then suddenly forward, snapping it back at the last minute as a flash of black energy coarses through the silk of the long, weighted sleeve. In response, the sleeve pops back, then forward, flying directly towards Hisakata's chest. A simple, direct attack opens it, it would appear.

On the layer, Hisakata brought her arms up at the last second to block the strange blow, sliding back in the dirt from the force behind it. She sprung back into action faster than normal started jumping against the base of the trees and pushing off of them to the next tree. She slid a bit and swung a punch that clearly wasn't meant to hit the target, and brought her foot around and aimed the heel to the other Angel's left shoulder.

On the layer, Akui moves only slightly with the attack, shifting her shoulders a bit with the feinted blow, then stepping back on the opposite foot and tilting that shoulder back as Hisakata's foot grazes against the lowered collar of the kimono and leathery, pale flesh. The subtle movement flowed evenly into slight crouch, tilted to the side away from the kick. At the same time, as the weighted sleeve begins slows to a stop from her last attack, she grasps the part of the sleeve near her hand and tugs it back, to the side, then sharply up and down. As flashes of black energy continue to race through the silk, the weight of the sleeve darts back towards Hisakata's side.

On the layer, Hisakata dove under Akui's sleeve, digging into the dirt with her boots. She rolled back a bit as she recovered from dodging. 'Let's try something, Hisa,' Kisato thought as the Angel pushed off her feet and rushed out at her target. When she was in range, she knelt down and launched an open palm upward towards Akui's chin, hoping to either knock the Angel in the air, or pushing it back.

On the layer, Akui steps back nonchalantly, her expression ever blank and the intensity of the red glow of her eyes perfectly steady. The sleeve still grasped lightly in her hand, she snaps it around loosely, the weight in the sleeve making a threatening round arc, drawing close to Hisakata's side but not quite contacting. At the same time, a black-shrouded skeletal fist is thrust directly towards the spunky little angel's face.

On the layer, Hisakata tensed her body up a bit as she brought her hands up to block the attack. She hopped back a bit out of Akui's path and tried to reassess herself, bringing her hands back in front of her again. 'Okay, that didn't work out like I had hoped...' Kisato thought, thinking of what to do as Hisakata stood still. 'Let's see what else this Angel is capable of,' she thought to her Angel, eyeing her opponent to see any certain weakpoints she might've overlooked.

On the layer, Hisakata dropped her hands to her sides as she hung her head down. 'Alright, Hisa, let's try this...' she thought, smiling slightly. Suddenly, Hisakata bolted back, then pushed her feet off the ground and into the base of a nearby tree. Hisakata smiled a bit, then blasted at a blinding speed to the nearest tree. She repeated this several times, as if she was the pinball between bumpers. 'Now!' Kisato thought, jerking herself forward slightly. Hisakata bolted towards Akui from with an outward fist, skidding the tips of her boots against the ground.

On the layer, Akui watches as Hisakata bounces around between trees, then directly at her. The blank expression on the zombie's face never changes, but her eyes do shift to a slightly brighter shade of red. As the bouncy angel comes flying at her, Akui does two things - she shifts her weight while tilting her torso, so that Hisakata's fist will slide almost harmlessly over her chest, and she flings her right hand back, sharply down, then suddenly in a slanted upwards direction. In reaction, the sleeve is sent flying towards Hisakata's head just as her fist scrapes across the Geisha's undead flesh.

On the layer, Hisakata pushed off the ground with her feet, launching her out of the sleeve's range. 'That was close!' Kisato thought, giving a sigh of relief. 'I can't really get in close enough to do anything, but there's gotta be something we can do! Her stance, attacking, even way of moving hides her weakness more than I thought.' Hisakata stayed in a crouched position, her right hand firmly placed on the forest floor. These trees were friendly thus far, fortunately, but to even get close to hitting Akui, Hisakata needed to find out more about this Angel.

As the Hisakata darts out of the way, Akui pulls her arm back, bringing her sleeve back to her side. She watches the other angel for a moment, then slings back her left arm, sending her sleeve behind her. The glow in her eyes dim and she takes a step forward on her right foot, then darts directly at the other angel. She stops abruptly short just before reaching a standard arm-range and snaps her left hand across her chest and over her right shoulder, sending the weighted sleeve once more directly as Hisakata's head.

On the layer, Hisakata pushed off the ground with her hands, letting Akui's sleeve glide by her back easily. 'Now, while she's vulnerable!' Kisato thought as Hisakata landed. She rose with a spin and outstretched an arm, aiming it to smack under Akui's left shoulder at the base of the torso. 'Hopefully this will knock her back some,' Kisato thought, grabbing the arm rest of her chair tightly.

On the layer, Akui steps back out of the way with just a few steps of her narrow feet, watching as Hisakata strikes at the air. Her eyes dim slightly, and her right hand raises up to her face as black energy sparks and slithers around those skeletal fingers. Then, she flicks her wrist . . . and the energy spread out away from her bony fingertips, then solidifies into the form of a large folding fan. Akui holds the seething black fan in front of her face, the glow from her eyes brightening a bit as she peeks over the edge of the energy-wrought fan at her opponent.

'What is with this Angel?' Kisato asked herself as she watched how it created a fan with the energy it's been coursing out. Hisakata slowly came to a stop from the spin, then hopped a few times away from Akui. 'Hisakata, this is going to be more than what we thought we would be up against.' Both Angel and Deus locked eyes for a second before Hisakata jumped into the trees. 'Wait her out,' Kisato thought to herself as if she was talking to her Angel. 'She's up to something, and we gotta see what.'

Saneko has barely moved during the entire fight, but has simply sat still (still!) watching Akui with a small smile on her face. The crimson gaze of the zombie geisha remains steady on the other angel. As Hisakata jumps into the trees of the surrounding jungle, Akui makes a small fanning motion with the materializes fan, then draws her hand away from her face and back behind her. Twirling her wrist slightly to change the angle of the fan, the geisha's eyes darken once more. And then, with a sudden twist of her torso and thrust of her arm, she threw the seething fan at Hisakata, aiming squarely for the other angel's neck.

On the layer, Hisakata tensed her body again as the fan smacked into her arms as she pulled them up. 'She's going after main points, I see...' she thought as a bead of sweat dropped down. 'Well, time to retaliate, Hisa!' As if on cue, the Angel jumped down and grabbed a hold of the branch. She swung on it for three revolutions, then let go at the point where she flew at Akui, aiming a foot straight at the torso of the geisha Angel.

The fan dissipated into a nothingness after it stuck Hisakata's arms. When the angel jumps down to attack, Akui steps lightly to the side, completely out of the way of the other angel's kick. At the same time, another fan materializes in that skeletal hand. Show no emotion on her face, the zombie snaps the new fan shut and makes a slight beckoning gesture with it. It would appear that she's going to let Hisakata jump around a little more.

On the layer, Hisakata jumped back towards Akui as soon as her feet hit the ground. 'Leave no time to think, Hisa!' Kisato shouted to herself as Hisakata pulled her left hand back. As she neared Akui, she threw her right fist forward aimlessly, then swung the left hand around, hoping to shatter the jaw of the zombie-like geisha.

As Hisakata closed in, Akui flicked her wrist, making the fan snap back open. Then, she brought the fan in to block, stopping the other angel's attacking fist without falling for the clumsy feint. As Hisakata's fist struck the fan, it burst into sparks of black energy - just as Akui drew her left arm back, then suddenly out to the side, then the front, then abruptly back, sending her left sleeve in a wide arc that was heading square into the side of Hisakata's head.

On the layer, Hisakata bent backwards as the sleeve passed over her hair. 'That was closer than expected...' Kisato thought as she sighed a breath of relief. Hisakata hopped a few meters away from Akui, glaring with all the ferocity she could. 'Hisakata, let's see the next move they're gonna throw at us, and see what happens.' Hisakata seemed to nod as she stood up straight, looking at the odd Angel across from her.

On the layer, Akui watches the other angel run away again, meeting that angry glare with emotionless, glowing read eyes. More black energy materialized around her skeletal hand - it seemed to seep out of the bones. Then, tendrils of it spread out over the geisha's kimono and the zombie's form. However, Akui did not move. She stood as still as only the unliving can stand, staring at Hisakata through the eyes of the dead.

"Well, here goes nothing..." she finally muttered as Hisakata moved forward. She didn't run at full speed for some reason, as if she was becoming sluggish in some way. She pulled her hand down to her side as she moved a bit closer. Suddenly, the arm shot upward, aiming the knuckles right at the edge of the jawline and the neck. 'Come on, hit!' Kisato thought, grasping the arms of her chair again.

On the layer, Akui stepped daintily to the side, watching Hisakata's fist cut through empty air once again. Her eyes glowed brighter for a moment, then dimmed to a low red glow as a tendril of black energy snaked from the collar of the kimono, over her chest, then up her neck and across her cheek, disappearing behind a loose lock of thin black hair. The zombie just stands there, awaiting Hisakata's next attack.

Once more, the zombie simply stepped back and to the side, leaving the air in Hisakata's field of attack quite empty. More dark energy spreads over her kimono, much of it settling in the sleeves, pooling itself around the weights. And yet, Akui still does not attack, but just watches Hisakata with glowing red eyes.

On the layer, Hisakata cut the wind with her last attack and hopped back from the Angel. 'Why won't she attack?' Kisato asked herself, boggling over why Akui hasn't moved for a while. "Hisakata, one more time..." she muttered as Hisakata moved forward a bit. She launched a straight kick forward at the knees of Akui, hoping to knock her down somehow.

At that strike, Akui finally moves. She steps back several steps and holds her right arm out and up, clutching the silken sleeve with skeletal fingers as a rush of blackness infuses the fabric. She arcs her shoulders back slightly as her eyes suddenly glow much more brightly. Then, she jerks her arm quickly back before slinging it foreward again, releasing her grin on the fabric of the sleeve at just the last minute. Sparking with that seething, creeping black energy, the weighted sleeve flies directly at Hisakata's upper chest.

On the layer, Hisakata launched herself away from what could've probably been the final blow of the match. "We're not done yet, Hisakata!" Kisato finally said as she started to grin. Hisakata hopped up onto a branch, then launched herself up over the canopy. She came to a stop and then let gravity take her small body back down towards Akui. A green glow came from Hisakata's feet as she started to spin sideways. She brought one heel around hoping to smash it into the geisha's temple, and kept the momentum to bring the other foot around to cripple the left arm.

As Hisakata dodges the sleeve and takes to the air, Akui pulls her arm quickly and fluidly back, then sharply down for a moment before raising it into a horizontal defense above her head. As Hisakata's foot sharply strikes the arm, the zombie's left arm goes up, slender fingers curling around the darkened silk of the quickly moving sleeve. A twist of that left wrist send the weight of the sleeve sharply around and right at Hisakata's gut.

Announcer: "We're running right down to the wire, and there's not much time left. What will happen in these last few seconds I wonder?"

On the layer, Hisakata slammed her body down into the dirt to dodge the attack, and felt the sleeve glide over her hair. 'There's the opening!' she thought, grinning. She nodded as Hisakata rolled backward, then stood up. Hisakata seemed to have a smile on as she brought her left heel around at waist height, hoping to slam the heel into the ribs of Akui.

As Hisakata ducks out of the way of the swirling sleeve, Akui swings back her left arm and pulls down her right, then twirls the right in aseemingly erractic motion. The left sleeve is also sent spinning, in a graceful twirl of silk that leaves a faint trail of electric black energy. Then, Akui begins to twirling, as well, making it quite impossible for the spunky little angel's hit to strike quite true. Instead, that kick grazed off of a tangle of arm and sleeve as Akui took her chaotic spin back a step before apparently collasping down. Once the swirl of silk, energy, and zombified flesh can to a stop, the eye of the other angel, her deus, and the spectators could finally focus on the dead geisha's form. She crouched a short distance from Hisakata, her head bowed and her arms held out to the side, the long, heavy sleeves spread around her and one slender knee just barely poking through the folds of the kimono. Then, Akui snapped her head upwards again, the glow in her eyes suddenly shining much more brightly before fading back down to a duller gleam.

The Announcer chimes in as the buzzer goes off, "Well folks! It looks like time has run out for our angels. It's been a long, tough, drawn out battle for our two competitors, and both angels are still standing! In the end Hisakata took the lesser amoung of damage however, and as a result, Hisakata wins!" The crowd's cheers grew louder, though they had been cheering the whole time of course as it looks like they were given quite a good show.

Finally Kisato planted her feet on solid ground as she moved toward Hisakata. "You did great!" she exclaimed as she held her Angel in both of her arms. Her eyes moved towards Saneko and gave a slight bow. "That was a great match, probably one of my hardest ever," she said, smiling at her. "Hopefully you and I can meet off the layer sometime, Misaka-chan."

For the first time since the match begain, Saneko finally moved. She giggled, and bounced in her seat slightly as Akui stepped gracefully over to the edge fo the layer. Before the egg-shaped chair fully descended, Saneko had her headpiece off and was bounding over to the layer, where she tenderly lifted the little zombie up. "That's my Aki-chan! You're already getting so graceful, nyo!" Then, she turns her attention to Kisato, and darts over to her. "That was really really fun, Takahashi-san! Hisakata is really just as strong as she is cute, nyo!" She giggles and bounces. "I had a great time, thank you so much! And congratulations!" She bounces and giggles again.

She could only snicker at Saneko's untapped hypernicity. "You two aren't that bad either," she said, smiling. Her cell phone started to beep out loud from her satchel. By the looks of it, she seemed to have gotten a few calls while she was in the match. "Well, it's getting late, so I guess I'll catch you and Aki-chan later!" she said, giving a petite grin as she bowed again. "Ja ne, Misaka-chan!"

Saneko giggles a bit more, bouncing a little and nodding to Kisato. "Bai-bai, Takahashi-san! Then, she looks around at the crowd, giving them all a big wave before hugging Akui tightly to her chest and darting through the passageway towards the waiting room.