The previous match had ended a few moments ago, and the participants had cleared the arena which was now being prepared. Keiichi was sitting leaned back on one of the many chairs in the room, his head tilted back and gaze cast towards the ceiling. He hadn't been paying much attention to the previous match even though he probably should have been, and his thoughts were lingering on the fight to come. Saneko had been doing pretty good in the tournament, though he was fairly sure he could manage to edge a win out over her. The question was though, would he have the heart to do it? He took a deep breath and let it out in the form of a sigh as he continued pondering the subject.

Saneko had been watching the previous match. It really was just so much fun to watch the angels playing together on the layer - almost as much fun as watching Akui herself. And, now, Akui's turn was next! And she'd get to play with Zankoku! Giggling excitedly, Saneko burst into the waiting room, then dashed straight at Keiichi, smiling quite happily. "Aniki-chama!" She threw herself at him. He would have to either catch her, move out of the way, or be run into . . . again.

Keiichi blinked as his head lolled to the side to peer at Saneko as she burst into the room, calling out her nickname for him. His eyes widened slightly as she made a beeline for him, apparently intent on colliding. Thinking quickly he managed to shift his position and sit up enough to catch her before she managed to run into him, and chuckled. "Whoa there Neko-chan, you could hurt someone if you're not careful about where you're going."

Saneko giggles. "You're too fast, nyo. I knew you'd catch me!" She smiled, quite brightly, then hopped back and bounced a few times. "Zanko-chan and Aki-chan get to play next! Isn't that great?" Another bounce, this time with a little squeak. After giggling again, she retrieved Akui from her bag, and hugged the little zombie with a little spin. "We're gonna have so much fun, nyo!"

Keiichi can't help but to chuckle again as he pushes himself to his feet, "Yes, that's right. Zankoku and Akui get to play next." He offered a friendly smile and moved a hand to pat her lightly on the head. "It should be a lot of fun, I agree." He shifted a bit and moved his other hand to cover a small yawn before his eyes settled upon the exit out to the arena. One of the attendants was making their way towards the pair it looked like, most likely to tell them it was time to go out.

Saneko bounces, giggling again. "Aki-chan's been wanting to play with Zanko-chan again, nyo." She nodded, emphatically. She's stopped bouncing for the moment, although her smile is still just as bright and energetic as ever. "Only, this time, he needs to play for really real." Another nod. "We can't learn a whole lot otherwise, nyo." With another little squeak, that smile suddenly got even brighter, those cheerful big eyes momentarily closing.

Keiichi laughs lightly and offers a nod Saneko's way, "Of course, we won't hold back this time I promise." Well that decided it didn't it? He'd have to not hold back, otherwise she might be disappointed and no one wanted that, especially Keiichi. The attendant paused near the two, and interjected, "Excuse me, we're ready to begin the next round. Please follow me." With that the attendant made their way back towards the hallway exit that leads towards the layer. Keiichi nodded again and stretched his arms out over his head. "I guess it's time to play Neko-chan, let's go." He then moved to follow along, bracing and mentally preparing himself for the lights and crowd that were about to be encountered.

Saneko doesn't move for a moment, watching Keiichi with a little grin before taking off after him. As per usual, she didn't give him enough time - she dashed right past him, coming to a hopping stop a few feet in front of him and turning to him with another bounce. "Well, c'mon, Aniki-chama!" Another bounce, another giggle, and she rushes off happily, excitedly into the lights.

Keiichi shakes his head and waves her on as she bolts away, "I have no idea how she manages to have so much energy." He continued on his slow pace, emerging into the light and cacaphonous noise of the crowd outside.

The crowd has died down slightly during the intermission between the tournament matches. Some people mull about talking, getting refreshments, or placing bets on the coming matches. All of this comes to an end when the lights come up on the layer again. "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats as we begin the next match!" There is a moment of music blaring through the speakers and most people go take their seats as the announcer is lowered in his chair towards the layers. Cheers go up from the crowd as a spotlight swings down towards the Eastern edge of the arena floor. "East corner: Misaka Keiichi with his angel: Zankoku!" Applause rings out through the arena, even as a second spotline moves over towards the Western arena hallway. "Misaka Saneko with her angel: Akui." Another round of cheers comes as both are announced. "Deuses, take your seats!"

Keiichi makes his way out and closes his eyes while lifting an arm to block out the light. He was getting better at ignoring the crowds at least, and he managed to drown them out. He looked over towards Saneko and smiled, "Good luck, Neko-chan." He then made his way towards his awaiting chair, and settled into it before lifting the headset and settling it on his head. He flicked the power on and nodded to himself as he prepared for the call to fallin and the battlefield to be revealed.

Saneko waves energetically to the crowds as she bounces out from the passageway, then holds Akui up so the little zombie to see the people, too (or not - it's dark in the stands, but Saneko chooses to ignore that fact). Giggling, she hops into the chair designated as her, squirming a bit to take in as much of the crowd and lights and cheering as possible before she has to actually concentrate on the match. Finally, she puts the headset on fiddles with it a minute before getting it properly adjusted and turned on. Then, with that same huge smile, she waves over to Keiichi and calls out. "Alright, Aniki-chama! Let's have lots and lots of fun!"

People like to take their angels to bed with them, but this is taking it a bit far - what did they expect us to do, dress up our angels in pyjamas? The whole layer is a large, soft, swan down pillow. A cute pink in color too. Just standing on it, an angel sinks halfway down... and apparently, lying on a pillow has a benefical effect of some sort. At least, when your opponent doesn't bother your sleep.

The announcer waits for the crowd to quiet down a bit before continuing on, and with a flourish of a motion his hand was now pointing towards the layer. "Now where will our two competitors fight it out today?" he calls, and the sceneries on the layer begin shifting through the various options, and finally after a moment it halts on a large ping pillowy surface. "It looks like they'll be on the Pillow this time around, it should be an interesting match!" With that he shifts in his chair and calls out, "Now, angel, fall-in!"

Keiichi can't help but lift the palm of his hand into his face and shake his head. This scenery was totally not fitting, but there was naught to be done about it he supposed. Following that he let out a sigh, at least it managed to keep him from noticing the crowds. He then lifted Zankoku up and tossed him towards the layer while calling after, "Reach beyond the bounds of death and fight with everything you have, Zankoku!"

Zankoku spiraled his way past the barrier, his form becoming enshrouded in dark electrical tendrils of energy. "Angel, fall-in!" and down he went towards the layer's surface, landing heavily upon the soft pillowy surface below, wobbling a little off balance from it. Both fists were holding him up while croucned on one knee, and slowly the zombie's eyes opened with a brilliant flash of red. Steady and slow he rose to his feet as those dark tendrils of energy seeped into his form, no longer visible. Normally the zombie stood slightly hunched over, but the layer scenery was quite unsteady and he seemed to be in continuous motion so as not to leer too far to one side or the other.

Saneko giggles and tosses Akui towards the layer, calling out "Death cant keep you! Dance for us, Akui!" The little zombie gives a slight twitch as she descends toward the layer, but does not move much, otherwise, falling lightly to plush, fluffy, comfy-looking layer surface. Just before contact, the zombie shifts, landing in a soft crouch and sinking into the pillow surface a little. Saneko smiles as the geisha slowly rises into a standing position, a surge of dark energy materializing around that skeletal right hand and flowing over her kimono. As the energy reaches Akuis narrow feet, it spreads out over the pillow surface a little, giving her something at least remotely sturdy to stand on. Once erect, the zombie lifts her head and opens her eyes, revealing a dull red glow. Then, she moves her right arm out while bringing the left towards her chest, and gives a low, elegant bow in Zankokus direction..

The announcer nods and smiles after both angel's make their way into the layer, and it looked like things were ready to get rolling. "And without further ado, Angelic Fight-o!" With that last call the crowd erupts into their cacaphonous cheer, attempting to prod the two dueses on to begin the match already! My weren't they impatient?

On the layer, Zankoku continues to shift about from foot to foot trying to get stable, and finally levels his eyes towards Akui. He noted the oddity going on around her feet, and tilts his head slightly having not thought to use the energy in that fashion before. So it was that he focused and the dark energy danced around his feet and seeped into the pillowy surface, hardening it somewhat for a more stable platform. Happy with the results, that strange little grin of his appeared and he looked towards her. It was then that he decided to use another tactic of her's, and an arm extended out before him hand facing palm up and fingers extended outwards before lifting them and lowering them in a beckoning motion. It appeared he was going to let the lady go first, even in death there were manners to consider right?

On the layer, Akui rises from her bow as Zankoku copies her fabric-hardening technique. When he beckons her forth, the glow in her eyes brightens momentarily. For a moment, it seems as though she won't move, either, but then, with a flourish is her right arm, she takes a step forward. The energies on the pillow surface advance slightly ahead of her, giving her a decent, if not reliable surface. It will do. Snapping her right arm back, she suddenly begins a serious advance. She's faster than the dead should be, and half-way to the other zombie, she takes a few extra steps, twirling with a slight crouch. The motion sends both sleeves circling around her, the right moving in a higher arc than the left. But she's not close enough, yet. Another step, then two, and she slings both arms back. As soon as the sleeves fly behind her, she snaps her right arm forward, then brings it back with another spin. In response, the weight of the sleeve is sent in a fast, high arc to Zankoku's head.

On the layer, Zankoku tilts his head from one side to the other as Akui moves in a dance-like spinning fashion. It appeared that she'd gotten better with her movements, though he anticipated the attack well enough. Both sleeves connected with a flash of black energy several inches from his head, and bounced away harmlessly. The male-zombie's eyes flashed in response, and he closed in the gap as the sleeves bounced away from him. Dark energy crackled around his hand and formed into a small blade which was lashed out in a straight on punch for Akui's abdomen. It wasn't graceful, but it was quick enough.

As soon as her attack bounced away, Akui continued her spin, raising her left hand high above her head and bringing that skeletal hand to her chest - a motion that surrounded her in a swirling cage of energy-infused silk, leaving Zankoku's attack to slide past twirling fabric instead of flesh. The geisha zombie managed to keep a glowing red gaze on him the entire time, despite her spinning and, as soon as his attack had passed her torso, she came to a sudden stop - spreading those narrow feet slightly and letting the energies under her feet fade slightly. Sinking a bit and twisting the pillow surface with her stop, Akui brought her left arm suddenly down, then back. Continuing the momentum of the spin and directed by the movements of the zombie's arm, the sleeve plummetted into a sharp, curving dive towards the other zombie's back.

On the layer, Zankoku perhaps had a sixth sense about him, or maybe he just knew that she'd go for the opening his back presented once he'd passed by. Whatever the case he hopped forward just as the weight began to make contact with his back, the movement taking a lot of the force away from the blow. The jump resulted in a flip of sorts and a tumble along the pillow's soft surface before rolling back up to his feet and spinning around to face his opponent. He simply grinned there, eyes flashing red for a moment. He would await her again it seemed.

Her face ever an emotionless mask, Akui watches as Zankoku moves with her attack and out of its way. She lets the sleeve fall naturally at her side, her left arm held at a low angle. With a slow rotation of her right wrist, the dark energy shrouding her bones flows out from the skeletal fingers, materializing into a large folding fan. Lifting the fan to her face, those glowing crimson eyes gaze over it's edge towards her grinning foe. She canted her head slightly, looking as demure as a zombie can.

On the layer, Zankoku shifted in his stance, pacing off to the side a bit as Akui stood her ground. His grin never changed the whole time, and he began walking towards the other zombie slowly. That pace picked up though, and as he rushed in towards her he shifted down and to the left side with a twisting spin kick towards where her knee might be. Whether it hit or missed he would be rolling along the pillowy ground before coming back up to his feet a little ways behind her.

As Zankoku begins to approach her, Akui's left hand began to twirl slightly, cupping the silk of her sleeve in her fingers and drawing the sleeve up, shortening it. She merely watches as his approach turns into a run, turning just as his kick began to brush against silk. While the other zombie's strike felt reasonably solid, most of the resistance came from the energies within Akui's kimono, and he was soon rolling past. However, the moment he was flush beside her, the geisha lifted her left arm, then snapped it down towards him, releasing her grip on the silk with a small burst of black energy and sending the weight after his rolling form. As for her right hand, it still held the fan before her face, never moving, the glow of her eyes steady.

On the layer, Zankoku managed to be facing towards the weight as it came in, and clutched it to slow down the impact. He rolled up to his feet and pulled hard on the fabric to try and bring the other angel in, dark energy charging down his leg and into his foot. He moved in at her as well, and aimed the charged kick square at her, hoping to knock her off balance a bit at least.

On the layer, Akui cants her head to the other side as Zankoku grabs her sleeve, then twirls her hand to grab it, as well. As the other zombie rushes towards her, she gives a sudden pull to the sleeve, then slings it in a backwards motion, hastening his approach all the more. The moment he draws near with that frightening attack, she reaches out her skeletal hand, the black fan dissipated as the darkness flows back over her fingers. She just manages to catch his cheek, bony fingers passing lightly over the dead, bandaged flesh just before she gives a sudden, sharp turn takes several dainty steps away, snatching weight of her sleeve out of his grasp at just the right moment.

On the layer, Zankoku blinks, and halts his movements for a moment as Akui makes good her escape and his grin fades slowly. It seemed he was taken off-guard by her movements, but recovers quickly and re-strengthens the pillowy surface below him. He moves in quickly again, that dark energy snaking its way along his arm and coalescing into an orb within the palm of his hand. That grin of his returned as he spun in low and coming up from the low ground he attempts to palm strike the dark energy into Akui's chest, but at the last moment something interesting happens, the energy inverses and shifts into a bright white. Well of course Zankoku knew negative energy wasn't the best thing to use against another zombie, so he found a way to reverse the flow.

On the layer, Akui continues to watch Zankoku, the glow in her eyes dimming, then brightening quite a bit as the large fan reappears in her skeletal hand. As the other zombie begins to move, she snaps her left arm straight up. As the weight is lifted into the air, she brings her hand back down to catch the weight in the air, turning her torso slightly, then waiting until just before Zankoku reaches her. At that moment, she throws the weight of her left sleeve sharply downward - not towards Zankoku, but at the pillow surface just before him. The weight hits the plushy downy softness hard, making the unsteady surface quite a bit worse - even Akui is forced to be light on her feet after her own maneuver, but she steadies herself with just a few dainty steps. As soon as her own footing is secured, the geisha zombie throws her fan at Zankoku. The energies are still dark - she hasn't figured out to reverse the flow - but the fan was as sturdy and solid as steel, at least for now.

On the layer, Zankoku is indeed knocked off balance by her tactic, and stumbles off to the side before rolling and coming up on his feet again focusing energies into the pillowy surface. His own eyes flashed red for a brief moment and dark energies swirled around his arm reinforcing it as it came up to deflect the fan attack, though a small tear did appear on his arm from the force of the blow. Not wasting a moment he closed the distance yet again, sending in a series of quick strikes at Akui's form while that dark energy swirled around his hands. He was looking for a weak spot, the weak spot to strike at her vital circuitry and interrupt the flow of power. A technique learned from the Jade Ninja as it were.

Darkness shrouded Akui almost completely as Zankoku's rampage set in. He managed to hit much silk through the negative shield, but the geisha's pale flesh remained safe and whole beneath the embrace of the energies. It seemed as though his attack would fail - until he struck hard and true against bone, shattering the fell connections that held bone against bone in the absence of flesh. Several small carpals slender phalanges fall, bouncing lighting into the cushioned surface below as the darkness surrounding Akui begins to fade away. Akui takes several sharp, sudden steps back, her eyes growing very dim as the energies begin to flow again. Tendrils are sent out over the pillow surface, covering the lost bones in blackness before fading away, leaving nothing behind. Akui holds her hand close to her chest, covering it with her flesh-covered hands as the missing bones begin to re-materialize, back in place.

On the layer, Zankoku settled into an offensive stance as Akui retreated, his grin remaining as the damage had been done. He bought himself a moment, but he would use it to attack again. He closed in once more spinning around in form to snap a kick up past her head, snapping back with quite a bit of force to bring the heel back towards her head. To the casual observer it was a simple hook kick, with a little more twist to it.

As the bones continue to resecure themselves in their proper place, Akui's eyes glow quite brightly, taking on a burning crimson shade. She takes a step back as Zankoku rushes at her, black energies spilling over the re-attaching bones and seething wildly over the silk of her kimono. She raised her left arm with the step, then snapped it back, forward, then up again just in time to catch the other zombie's kick. The sleeve snapped around with the movements, picking up speed and momentum. Once the bones were resecured, she brought her right hand to the silk, giving it a sharp twist to redirect the weight towards Zankoku's neck.

On the layer, Zankoku shifts slightly as dark energies flow around and along his foot, this time instead of hardening the soft pillowyness below, it drew out in several directions and tore through the surface. This caused several of the down feathers inside to poof out, and in turn the male zombie fell into the hole to escape her attack. It wasn't as good as dirt or sand, but it worked well enough right? He popped out of the pillow's bowels a little ways away and took up a defensive stance there.

On the layer, Akui cants her head, watching where Zankoku dove into the pillow, then turns her gaze back towards him as he re-emerges. Saneko gives the tiniest hint of a squeak as fluffly little feathers flutter down around the zombie and stick to his bandages. It's more than a little difficult to keep her concentration, and Akui does falter slightly as her deus does her best to hold back the giggles. Akui appears to be open for attack, although Saneko's eyes never did stray from the fluffy layer surface.

On the layer, Zankoku having escaped the wrath of Akui, moved back in for another round of attacks. This time though he darted around to the side of the other zombie, dark energies pooling about in his arm once more, and focusing in his hands. That energy laden fist came sailing around towards Akui's lower back, where a kidney would be on a living person really, and there it was intended to hit with quite a bit of force.

Distracted by adorable feather-y zombie-ness as she was, Saneko still managed to pay attention, and even forced herself to focus once more. On the layer, Akui took a step back, then a light step forward, lifting her right hand above her head and her left arm out parallel before her. The motions began to flow into a slow dance, making her a bit more difficult to land the intended attack. Zankoku's strike did hit more or less accurately against the geisha's torso, but rolled off before the worst of the damage could be inflicted. With the hit, Akui's right arm moved sharply back, forward, then up, sending the weight towards Zankoku's side.

On the layer, Zankoku showing what might be considered a bit of elegance actually twisted into a spin to just avoid the weighted sleeve, continuing the spinning motion along the sleeve and coming in towards her once more. As the spin came to a stop he was standing right before Akui, grinning at her a bit and lifting the palm of his hand towards her chin. He was trying to knock her back and away again. He'd managed to spin away the feathers at this point as well, thankfully.

Zankoku's blow hits true, knocking Akui's head back with a snapping of teeth meeting teeth. Still, she shows no expression, and tendrils of black energy creep over the pale flesh of her face. Her sleeve never came to a stop. Twirling her arm in a circular motion, she brings the sleeve in closer, her motions uninterrupted by the strike. In a wide arcing motion of her arm, the geisha looses the sleeve. A combination of momentum and dark energies direct the weight right back to the other zombie.

On the layer, Zankoku feels the attack coming in again, and doesn't appear to move at all. At the last moment though he rolled to the side, the weight brushing along his from with a little force and coming around to smack the weight with a bit of force towards Akui's form, using her own weighted sleeve against her hopefully. His little grin remained all the while.

In the midst of the attack, Akui moved her left arm backwards. twirling the sleeve to shorten it. As Zankoku throws her sleeve back at her, the geisha moves her right arm forward to catch the weight. At the weight strikes bony arm and rolls over and forcefully into her chest, she throws her left arm upwards, then suddenly forward, sending that weight towards Zankoku. Timing her motions with those of the sleeve, Akui brings her left arm back, snapping the sleeve so that it would, ideally, strike and return too quickly to be grabbed.

On the layer, Zankoku hopped back after her recovery and lifted his arms to block the incoming attack as best he could, though it still stung a bit. Those red eyes flashed and he continued to grin, holding that defensive posture. He made no further movements towards her though, and edged his way over by the edge of the pillowy layer. He decided he wanted to end the fight over there, if he could. In the meantime he'd think about how to do just that, though when he reached position he beckoned her towards him as he had done in the beginning of this fight.

On the layer, Akui drops the weight held against her chest, and lowers both arms to the side, bowing her head. She twitches a few times, then crouches slightly, drawing her arms outward and upward. Rising again, she does another slow spin, keeping her head bowed as she begins a familiar slow dance. It's not as even as it was before - she was rather damaged, after all - but it still flows in a somewhat erratic, graceful display. In the midst of the dance, large folding fans materialize - one in each hand - and she picks up speed, finally leveling that red gaze at her grinning foe. With a few more spins, she throws one fan towards Zankoku's chest, then follows through by throwing the other right behind it. As the seething fans fly towards the other zombie, the geisha gives another few twirls, then stops in another crouch, her head up and her eyes glowing more brightly, watching Zankoku's every move.

On the layer, Zankoku wanted to finish this by tossing her off the layer, but it seemed that wasn't going to be possible. Still, it wouldn't do to end it without being somewhat showy right? That being the case, he took to a spin of his own to dart out of the path of both fans, however his hands grasped the base of each in turn while spinning before he came to a stop. He stood there for a moment, fanning himself with one and tapping the other one closed lightly against his hip. He remained that way for a moment, before shifting into another spin of sorts ducking low he tossed one her way, and continuing into another spin he come up and tossed the other. Both dark energy fans came streaming back her way, one low and one high, luckily for him he could manage the dark energy without hurting himself too horribly much.

On the layer, Akui does not move again, her dance having come to an end. The fans hit true, dissipating and seeping back into her form the moment after the impact. Her head fell into a bowed position as the glow in her eyes died out. Then, the geisha slumped forwards, collapsing into the fluffy surface before her as the energies that flow throughout her slowly fade away.

On the layer, Zankoku stood straight after the attack, and peered over towards Akui as she fell down to the pillowy soft ground. His grin slipped away slowly as he realized their little game was up and that his time on the layer was over once again. The zombie walked slowly towards his fallen foe, staring for a long moment before he offered a small nod of respect, she was after all like him fundamentally and she put up a good fight. Though it was the first time he'd ever shown respect to a fallen opponent really, that could just be a little bit of Keiichi coming through though. He then turned and walked towards the edge of the layer to await deactivation and being picked up.

The familiar buzzer sound of an ending match resounded through the arena, and the announcer finally came back in to call out, "Zankoku win!" His hands moved in a floursing motion towards the layer. "It was a long hard fought battle, at some points a dance perhaps. In the end however, Akui just couldn't keep up and brother won out over sister!" They weren't brother and sister really, but it seemed everyone was under this misconception for some reason and apparently it rubbed off on the announcer as well.

As soon as the dark energies faded away entirely, Saneko's concentration was broken. Apparently, the only way to get her to sit still was to put Akui on the layer or wait for the girl to fall asleep. Saneko bounced a bit in her chair, giggling and clapping her hands. "That was so great, Aniki-chama!" She had to wait for the chair to move over the layer to pluck Akui up from the center. She looked over the zombie carefully, then smiled brightly. As soon as the chair had moved over proper ground, she bounced out of it and ran over to wait for Keiichi, bouncing a little.

Keiichi's chair made its way down towards the layer where he retrieved Zankoku from the pillowed surface. After he was recovered the pillow faded away and the familiar white flat layer appeared. The chair then moved about and lowered to the ground where Keiichi hopped out after removing the headset and setting it aside. A bright smile was offered Saneko's way, "That was a good job Neko-chan~ You did really well, much better than I'd thought." He extended a hand to lightly pat at her shoulder.

Saneko giggles, then sticks her tongue out at him. "You were supposed to play for real, though." She looks down at Akui, straightening her somewhat tattered kimono a little. Then, she giggles, and suddenly hugs him from pretty much out of no where. "I had lots and lots of fun, though!" She flashes that bright smile, closing her eyes for a moment.

Keiichi smiles down to Saneko and returns the hug while chuckling lightly. "I did play for real, Akui is tougher than I'd thought is all. You're pretty good at this." He moves to detatch her from the hug, but reaches a hand down in offering to hold it before turning towards the exit. "We should probably head back to the waiting room, so we don't hold up the next match Neko-chan."

Saneko giggles and nods. "Okay, Aniki-chama!" She takes his hand, then takes off, trying to keep her pace at a normal walk, but still moving quite a bit faster than Keiichi is accustomed to.

Keiichi seems to be dragged off the arena floor by the girl, though he chuckles to himself. And into the exit they went, disappearing from the vast crowds that he'd managed to forget about and didn't even seem to notice in the end.