There is the hurried sounds of talking as children and adults move towards layers, making challenges, and starting battles. There certainly isn't a great deal of organization in this tournament, but the free-for-all atmosphere keeps things exciting. Among those already at layers, is Aogiri Mikage, the White Storm. A white badge hangs from the right side of her chest, showing her as one of the guest duelists. She raises a hand, showing that she's available for challenge, and uses the other to brush a few strands of white hair behind her ear. Afterwards, she glances down at her angel and smiles slightly, "Let's give it our best shot, Rei. It'll feel good to get back into things.

So, the time for the tournament has arrived. Tomoe had not gotten as much practice in as she'd intended - she'd been preoccupied. But, she was sure to thoroughly prepare over the course of the previous night and this morning - Chimera was ready, and so was she. She wasn't among the very first to claim an opponent, but it didn't take her long to pick one out. She'd already decided to challenge one of the guests first and, if she wasn't mistaken, she just noticed the 'White Storm,' as she was called. At least, the woman at the layer looked like the White Storm was described - and with a description like that, Tomoe rather doubted that she was mistaken.

Tomoe approaches Mikage as soon as she raises her hand. The girl's hair is obscurring her face, making it rather difficult to see her expression, but she gives the woman a slight bow. "Challenge?" Chimera is held in one of Tomoe's hands, resting partially over her wrist and arm, with his forelimbs dangling over her fingers.

It comes as a bit of a surprise as a challenge comes the moment her arm is raised. Blinking, Mikage squints and turns her gaze towards Tomoe, pushing her glasses up on her nose slightly. She doesn't say anything right away, as if confirming with her eyes what her ears had heard. Her arm lowers slowly, finally settling at her side as a small smile curves her lips upwards. "Un." She bows her head slightly, and then introduces herself with a polite tone to her voice. "Aogiri Mikage-desu. Yoroshiku onagaishimasu." Then, she aims a hand towards her angel, sitting on the inactive edge of the layer as if resting. "This is my angel, Rei. I hope we can have a good match." Only after the formalities are over does she raise her head to look at the other girl. Her introductions make it clear that she is the so-called 'White Storm', but there is at least one other duelist who has a similar description. Miki reaches a hand down towards the layer, swiping her pink angel card through one side, causing the layer to activate and notate her as the duelist on the east corner.

Tomoe remains quiet and still as Mikage introduces herself, confirming the girl's assumption. There were very few duelists whom she'd gone through any bother to investigate, but given Mikage's fame, the White Storm had certainly been mentioned in her research. This would be a good experience. "Inugata Tomoe." She lifts that arm that Chimera is lounged over, bringing the little beastie to better view. "Chimera." Tomoe's introductions are a bit abrupt, but they serve their purpose. Those formalities finished, she takes a seat opposite her opponent, setting things up on her end. She's rather careful in the placement of the headset - that curtain of black and white hair is pulled away only long enough to set the visor in place. Ready now, Tomoe looks over to Mikage with a slight nod.

As Tomoe introduces herself, Mikage nods her head, submitting the name and the angel's name to memory. She had somewhat of a photographic memory, so it's likely that once she knows someone, she won't easily forget them. She reaches for her own headset, seeming to be a custom make. The blue visor is slipped over her head, her hand reaching back to extend the black wing-like transmitters. She gives one final bow before sitting herself within the opposite egg-shaped chair, lifting her angel from her seat on the layer.

Taking a deep breath, Mikage seems to focus her mind towards the battle about to begin. The layer seems to respond to both duelists having their headsets on, sorting through the sceneries quickly, flickering between each one before finally settling on a beautiful field of roses that extends as far as the eye can see. Closing her eyes, Mikage holds her angel out on her forearm. "Spirits of wind and water, soul of the binding storm, will of the earth, heart of my heart. Be my wings... Rei! Fallin!" She draws her arm back and then snaps it quickly, sending the small angel tumbling towards the layer. It takes barely a split second before the angel passes through that invisible barrier, flaring to life. Her eyes flash white for a moment as her wings flare out, catching the air beneath her as the bat-like appendages force her upwards. Two sweeps of those great wings bring her to a soft landing as her talons touch down onto the soft earth of the layer. Slowly, her wings fold back onto her shoulders, caping there as she flexes her legs, tail twitching. It seems almost as if she were checking the status of each system one by one. Then, her eyes pale back into their greenish tone, looking across the layer expectantly.

Tomoe watches Rei's fallin quietly. She says nothing more to her opponent, just shifting Chimera to a better position for the toss. "It's gargoyle flesh tonight. Chimera, fall in." With a flick of her wrist, the beast is thrown towards the layer. As he passes through the layer barrier, Chimera's single wing spreads just slightly, turning the monstrosity to face Rei even before he lands. The landing is only slightly slowed - Chimera still lands hard, his forefeet beating into the roses moments before his hindfeet. He crouches slightly, muscles tensing. All three heads are held somewhat low, all six dull red eyes leveled against the gargoyle. That tri-split tail sways slowly from side to side, and the wing is arches outwards, giving the beast a terribly lop-sided appearance. A low, rumbling growl can be heard, echoing within Chimera's massive chest..

There is a small sign of amusement on the older girl's face, perhaps because of the opposite's idea of a fall-in. Still, she relaxes back into her chair as she glances upwards, waiting for the buzzer to sound. Rei, however, seems a bit more ill at ease. She isn't quite sure what this creature is or what kind of tricks it may hold. Her tail twitches irritatedly, crouching slightly onto all fours as she returns her own rumbling growl, almost a challenge to one as beastial as herself. And then, as the tone sounds to signal the start of the match, Mikage's eyes lock on the layer, and Rei begins a slow, circling motion. She does not rush into an attack, but instead waits for the first attack to come to her. "Fight well." These are the last words of Mikage on the issue it seems, as her voice dies away, leaving only the sound of the wind across the open layer.
Tomoe merely nods, splitting her attention between the layer and her opponent. As Rei begins to circle, so does Chimera. He moves in a low, stalking manner, his wing pulled in close and all three heads turned towards the gargoyle. The growl trails off, and the soil softens the sounds of Chimera's footfalls. If the roses were much taller, it would be a rather decent stalk - like some hideous, misshapen lion hidden in the tall savanah grass. However, the beast is large, and the roses merely obscure his feet and legs. He simply moves in that slow, wide circle, watching Rei, studying her like a predator studies its prey.

Predator versus predator, Rei narrows her eyes as her own moves seem to mirror those of the beast across from her. But the time for such things ends quickly. One cannot expect to win a match simply by circling, unless one hopes to make thier opponent dizzy. Slowly, Rei raises a hand to the side of her head, flicking a switch which extends the long horns from her forehead. It gives her a slightly more demonic look, but her motions seem to take on those of a bull preparing to charge. Her talons dig into the ground, kicking up earth behind her as she prepares. Anyone who has seen a matador can probably figure out what comes next. Harnessing her speed, Rei charges forward, lowering her head and aiming to skewer one of Chimera's heads on her long, pointed horns.

Chimera's circling does not stop even as Rei charges him. The beast's side is presented - an easy hit. Too easy. The gargoyle's horns slip almost effortlessly through Chimera's mane and the fleshy matterial beneath it, and a sharp popping noise can be heard. And then, suddenly, a jet of sticky black goo shoots out from the fresh wound - a twisted mockery of blood, perhaps. But it's not merely aesthetic - the thick fluid hisses and sizzles in the air, and steams as it makes contact with anything solid. It's corrosive, capable of eatting into bone, skin, tissue, cloth and armor - as well as burning away the fragile little flowers between the angels.
Chimera wastes no time following the attack. The stag head bellows, emiting a thick cloud of breath that hovers around its muzzle, then the head swigs sharply over. That massive rack of antlers is sent swooping back and down towards Rei's form, the sharp prongs almost glistening in the air.

As she sweeps past Chimera with her horns, Rei's armored shoulder gets covered in the strange liquid. Certainly she isn't expecting such a thing, and hisses as it begins to melt through the metal and down onto the flesh below. She draws her arm back quickly, trying to minimize the damage and put some space between herself and this strange, three-headed opponent. Of course, when his quick attack follows, she has no choice but to cross her arms infront of her chest and take the brunt of the force on the remaining metal of her pauldron.

Thrown back slightly by the force of the blow, her foot-talons sink into the ground, digging furrows where they pass. But even as this is done to her, she seems to concentrate on what is needed to retaliate. A glowing force seems to well up around her hands, causing her hair to stand on end. It balls around her talon with whisping flashes of ice and snow. Like a focused blizzard, as she lashes her talons at the air, blades of ice sweep across the ground in four streams, aimed at cutting into the Chimera's legs.

The frigid blades cut easily into Chimera's legs, biting through fur, feathers, scales and flesh. Little icicles cling to strings of flesh and fur that are left in the wake of the attack, but Chimera's stance barely wavers. That single, great wing shoots out, striking downward to help force the beast's sudden turn to face the gargoyle. There's another low growl, and Chimera rushes forward, drawing back that tattered left forefoot, then swinging it sharply forward - the massive, bird-like talons are sent towards Rei's torso.

Where the bird-like talons seek to rip her flesh, Rei's skin turns as hard as rock. A slate gray color passes over her skin as it deflects much of the force of the blow, making it seem like there had been no attack at all. Slowed by such a technique, the gargoyle gives a small snarl, showing her white teeth. She steps backwards, continuing the sequence of powerful energy attacks with yet another. This time, wind begins to swirl around her, focusing in her hands once more. With a roar, she lets the blades fly towards Chimera, each of them taking a different direction as they lash towards the grotesque angel, making them hard to dodge, and harder to respond against.

Talons clash against stone, and Chimera hops back. As the gargoyle snarls, the monstrosity crouches, muscles rippling and tensing. At the last minute of the attack, Chimera's wing shoots out, beating powerfully down, and the beast leaps upwards and over Rei's head. It's a surprising show of speed and agility - not something he's likely to pull off again. In the midst of the jump, Chimera snaps his split tail downward, aiming those tips - especially the hard horned tip - directly towards the gargoyle's face. Whether or not it actually hits, the beast comes to a hard land some distance behind Rei, beating his wing once more to swerve around. The turn kicks up a sizable cloud of dirt and roses, and Chimera comes to a stop facing his opponent.

A glowing aura of green flashes over Rei's body as the horned wing of Chimera comes towards her. The power seems to well up through her, causing her eyes to flare and her body to move with super-powered speed. She may not be the fastest of angels, but there are times when her speed is truly surprising. Rei flips out of the way of the attack, forcing herself to land roughly in the roses, legs crouched beneath her. There is barely a breath between her landing and reaction, racing forward with her claws sending roses streaming behind her as she moves. It almost seems as if she were foolish enough to try to punch the three-headed angel, but it seems she has something different in mind. Rather than a punch, a long blade extends from her arm, closing the distance between herself and Chimera in a split second, seeking to lop one of the heads off at the neck.

Rei charges, and Chimera . . . barely moves. At the last moment, he springs upward, rearing on those mismatched hind legs. The motion displaces the gargoyle's attack slightly - the blade cuts somewhat below the wide-set neckline, slicing deeply through mane and chest. Yet Chimera continues to rear - practically driving the blade even deeper. Oddly enough, the strike seems to help stabilize Chimera's rear. The two outter heads pull back, emiting a twisted cacophany of roar, hiss and bellow, while the central head merely snarls. The avian talon is drawn back again, and the beast lunges further into the arm-blade before swiping those talons towards Rei's face yet again.

There is not enough time between withdrawing her blade with an audible *snap* and the attacks that come down towards her face. Even with her quite formidable defenses, Rei is still quite vulnerable around her face, and the blow scratches wide gashes in her skin, showing some of the angel parts beneath. There is a bit of red liquid, as if the deus had tried to synthesize the effect of blood. Of course, as she is still quite close to her opponent, this gives Rei an opportunity to attack at close range. As her hands go up towards her face, seemingly to check on the damage, they flick the horns up once more, her body crouching as she tries to push herself upwards, aiming her horns towards the beast's chest and torso.

Suddenly, Rei's horns are jabbed deeply into Chimera's chest, parting that thick, tangled fur and thick layer of insulating 'flesh' with ease. A few wires are torn loose, and the resulting gash reveals the metalic gleam of several inner mechanisms. The beast roars - a loud, almost ear-piercing sound - but the fight is not over yet. There's a momentary weakness, then Chimera pressed downward, suddenly forcing his massive weght down upon the gargoyle. It seems he's attempting to crush her.

And it seems as if the weight of the massive beast will come down and crush Rei. She gives a creel, as if calling out for someone, something to come to her aid. In the moment when it seems as if the blow will surely strike her, a blur races out from beneath the roses, grabbing on to the gargoyle, and whisking her away from danger. Slowly, the form of Kamui, the catboy angel flickers as he sets Rei down slightly away from Chimera. He reaches out to touch Rei gently on the chest, over her heart, and then flickers once more out of existance, as if he were a ghost. Rei sighs somewhat, her savior having disappeared once more into the strange realms of the layer from which he came. But that doesn't stop her from trying to force that last little bit of damage out of her bestial opponent. She swings her long tail out towards his hind legs, trying to catch them and trip them up.

His prey torn away at just the last minute, Chimera growls - a low, rumbling noise. The sound is slightly shuttered, as though something has damaged the vocal mechanism, and Chimera looks, overall, quite weak. The tail attack lands solidly, and Chimera staggers . . . but the fight isn't over yet. Holding on by sheer force of will, Chimera presses forward - a vicious lunge, much more fierce than something hanging on to the thread of life should be able to deliver. There's a broken hissing noise from deep in the central throat, then that massive maw yawns wide, closing in to deliver a savage bite. The two outter heads hold back, perhaps a bit slowed by all the damage.

When the bite comes down, Rei isn't there to accept the damage. No, even at this point in the battle, Rei still has a bit of spark left in her. It is at least enough for her to get out of the way with a rolling motion. One arm draws backwards, the long blade extending once more as a warning of what is to come. She steps forward and swings the long blade in an arc, slicing from top to bottom across the savage angel's exterior. Certainly he is quite a bit harder to kill than any opponent she'd faced in recent days, and there is just as much risk in staying so close to an angel with such powerful attacks.

The blade cuts deeply into Chimera's back, opening up yet another deep gash. Surely, that would bring the beast down . . . yet still, Chimera stands, stubbornly refusing to die. There are some some more odd noises from within the beast's throats - all three of them, this time. They're hissing, whirring, and popping, and the mouths are left agape like some kind of pathetic, silent roar. Tomoe frowns, and shakes her head slightly. Giving up on whatever was attempted, Chimera lunges forward again. The two outter heads lean out, as if to flank Rei, reducing her avenues of escape. The central maw yawns open once more, baring those massive, savage teeth, and there is another attempt at a bite.

With all the heads coming at her at once, Rei has little chance of escaping their wrath. She does her best to use her natural defenses, but the bite scrapes off a good amount of the flesh from her arm, leaving the wires and understructure exposed. There is a popping sound from beneath it, and a whirr as the motors respond. Still, it seems as if Rei is not going to allow any additional damage to her arm. Instead, she clutches it close to her body, and snarls warningly at the beast. What happens next is a quick spin of her body. Her wings come first, trying to strike all three heads at once, followed by the sweeping arc of her tail. Her goal, of course, is to use the force of her spin and the force of the blow to either knock the monster's remaining health to zero, or knock him out of the layer. Either is good.

The force of the spinning blow snaps all three heads sharply to the side, and Chimera is pushed some small distance through the roses. It's not enough to shove him off the layer - the combination of his weight and the brace of his feet in the soil and foliage is enough to prevent that. But that last hold he grasped to life is ripped away, violently. Chimera convulses, as if severing the the life force infused within him a short burst of power. Three heads strike against the soil, twisting and twitching, and all for legs kick and claw at nothing. The tripple split tail lashes viciously, cutting into the soil and through the flowers, hacking many of them off at the stem and causing a large cloud of dirt and petals to rise around the beast. It's almost like a little floral tomb. Kinda poetic, in a rather disturbed way. And then, finally, the meter displaying Chimera's life drains that last little bit, and the beast grows still.

*BZZZZ* A computerized voice above the layer announces the winner. 'Rei Win!' A few people who have been watching nearby clap for both angels, realizing that this match was quite a close one, especially against one of the guest duelists. Mikage simply smiles slightly as she lets out a sigh. "Amazing." She whispers, and then repeats the word again at a slightly louder tone. She looks across the layer towards Tomoe, "Your angel is truly amazing. I've never faced one that was quite so powerful." Rei just sits down among the roses, trying to catch her breath and looking quite beaten up form this escapade. Some of her circuitry flashes, but most of it seems in tact. Slowly, Miki removes her headset, her angel's head falling forward.

As she reaches to collect her angel, carefully drawing the gargoyle towards her with her pale fingers, the older girl bows her head greatfully towards her opponent. "Thank you for the match. Your Chimera is quite a challenge. I'm sure he'll do well in the rest of the tournament."

Tomoe seems to ignore the mutters and applause of the observers. She prefered not to think of them. Instead, she nods a bit deeply - perhaps a small pass for a bow? - to Mikage, then carefully slips off her headset, once again very careful to prevent any but the briefest glimpse of her face. "Good match. Thank you." Tomoe rises from her seat, reaching over the layer to pluck up the badly battered Chimera, and looking him over carefully. "Much was learned." Her voice is quite, her tone rather neutral. She offers a small bow to Mikage, then walks away, looking for someplace suitable to see to some much needed repairs and maintenance.