There seems to be a bit of a lull between matches, the layer being cleaned up an wiped down after a particularly messy match in which a few overzealous audience members decided to throw their popcorn at the winning angel, who had taken a cheap shot at a youngster's angel while he wasn't paying attention. On the monitor, people are just starting to move back towards their seats.

The pale form of Mikage seems to be watching those seats quite intently, as if she were looking for something specifically, her nose just a few inches from the screen. Those who knew her as the 'White Storm' would be quite surprised to know that their 'hero' was legally blind, and surely would think such a thing impossible. She seems to sigh and step backwards, twirling her angel's tail around one finger. Miki certainly doesn't look like a well-known star of the layer, engaged to a semi-famous businessman. No, she just looks like a late-teenager, with the same sort of nerves one would expect of anyone having to go out infront of thousands of people.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please return to your seats as we prepare for our next match!" The voice of the announcer blares, causing Miki to nearly jump out of her skin. With a shake of the head, she seems almost too amused by her own reaction. "Just like last time, Rei. No matter how I'm feeling, this is your fight. I won't let you down."

Having retrieved some iced tea from the vending machine outside, Asayama finally returns to the waiting room and slumps down in one of the chairs. He really was starting to feel old with all these youngsters running around. With a sigh, he unscrews the cap on the plastic pet bottle and takes a sip of the tea. On a day like this, when the heat was blazing through the stadium and his nerves were especially taught due to having to duel in front of hundreds of people, the refreshing tea was something of a blessing. His first few matches had actually gone pretty well, though he had faced off against only one familiar face amongst a slew of people he didn't recognise.

Having dipped his head to drink the tea, a few strands of hair fell over his eyes. The hair obstructs his view for just a moment and he reaches up to brush it away and tidy it back behind his ears. As he does so, he catches sight of the pale girl standing near the large monitor that now merely showed the people milling around in thier seats. Ah, a familiar face! He'd been working at the Piffle Princess for quite some time now and hadn't really seen Mikage around there at all. It was a shame, he quite enjoyed talking to her as it was a breath of fresh air compared to talking to most of the staff at the Piffle. He stands up quickly, carrying the bottle up with him as he softly walks over to where the girl now stands.

It's not that Asayama ever sneaks up on people intentionally, he just has an odd habit of moving quietly and blending in. He has no idea whether she's even noticed his presence or not, but he steps over to stand beside her anyway and then turns to her, the corners of his mouth tightening into a slight smile. Before the words leave his lips, he folds his arms behind his back and gives the young woman a slight nod. The bow causes his glasses to slip a little bit down his nose, and he's quick to free a hand to adjust them.

"Ah, Aogiri-san." He begins with his grin broadening imperceptably. "It's nice to see you again. You didn't happen to catch who the next match-ups are did you? I was outside getting myself a drink..."

While it isn't terribly hard to sneak up on someone who can't really see you coming, Mikage's other senses have become a bit more attune. So, while she picks up on someone approaching, the soft sound of their footsteps, and the smell of their clothes, it takes her a few seconds to connect the dots and figure out just who it. And in the time it takes for her mind to do it's calculations, Asayama has already come into view. So, she doesn't seem surprised, although her head does tilt slightly to the side with an inquizitive look.

"Un. Asayama-san. Konnichiwa." She greets politely enough, bowing her head slightly as she turns to glance at the monitor for a moment longer. What -was- she looking for, anyways? Well, regardless, she seems to not find it for a second time, and just looks at the countdown timer for the next match. "Oh, you don't know." She seems to catch a little smile that breaks through the somewhat nervous expression that had been carried on her face up until now. "Icchan-sama has us fighting this next round."

She pauses for a moment, as if she were giving time for that idea to sink in. "I think there's more interest in your research than you know." Nodding, Mikage takes a half-step backwards from the monitor, trying to look around Asayama and down towards the entrance hallway. "I suppose, they figure that since you're studying layer phenomina, you might as well get an upclose and personal look at some of the best out there. At least I think so..." Afterall, Miki does have some pride in her angel, and her own skill as a deus.

However, even as Mikage says this, the announcer seems to start up again. "Alright ladies and gentlemen. Let me remind you that there is no throwing of food stuffs inside the layer arena and such actions will make you subject to removal from the stands. And now... let's continue with another thrilling game of Angelic Layer!" A woman comes walking down the hallway, coughs quietly to interrupt. "Would Aogiri Mikage and Asayama Kentaro please make their way to the layer floor?"

"So....that's how it is...." Asayama says flatly giving the girl a slight nod once again. Even though he'd just been drinking some of that iced tea, his throat had alread gone dry again with this news. For him to get to fight Mikage this soom in the tournament.....Icchan was clearly up to something. He didn't know which part of his research it was in particular that his boss was interested in, but he'd just have to do his best to observe the way Mikage fought and worked with the layer. He raises his eyebrows a little, even from the perspective of his position as a programmer he's more than a little excited to be able to fight someone who's so important on the layer circuit directly. In order to hide this excitement, and to regain his compose, he chuckles softly, raising a hand to his mouth to cover the smile.

"Well, this should be interesting. I suppose that wishing you luck would be perhaps slightly presumptuous Aogiri-san but for the sake of courtesy I don't think it's entirely unwarrented.....good luck." He coughs a little in an attempt to return his face to a somber expression and, as Mikage looks past him, he turns a little as well to see what she's looking at. "I'm sure that this match will be very....informative. I've been looking forward to seeing your skills, it's just a shame that I can't access the data on the layer directly while we duel."

It is at this point that the woman interrupts the two of them, and Asayama turns towards her, arching an eyebrow slightly and giving a quiet grunt of acknowledgement. He's been over this before, having already fought a few matches. Running a hand back through his hair nervously, he begins to remove his coat with his free hand. It's hot out there in the centre of that stadium and wearing a coat really wouldn't do. He leaves the gloves on though, they weren't thick enough to absorb much heat and his hands were already rather sweaty. He didn't want to get any of that on the angel. Slinging the coat over his shoulder, he gives both Mikage and the woman one final nod before making to walk past her.

"Well then, Aogiri-san, shall we?"

Mikage raises an eyebrow towards Asayama as he gives her his own strange form of a 'good luck' and she nods her head without much of a verbal response. It seems she had already picked up on the motion from the woman in the hallway. She takes a deep breath and begins to walk, following behind Asayama as they had out into the light and sould of the Arena.

"East-o Corner! Our own local games champion, Aogiri Mikage and her angel, Rei!" A cheer goes up, followed by a group of boys waving a flag and singing 'Hey Micky you're so fine' from the stands. "And West-o Corner! A researcher from Angelic Layer Inc. It's Asayama Kentaro and his gun-totting angel, Gunslinger!" Another cheer goes up, including one from a little boy nearby who sets off a cap-gun. Aww, Gunslinger has fan-boys.

As the sides are announced, Mikage looks over towards Asayama once more, and then bows her head. "Fight well, Asayama-san. Let's have fun?" She offers, and gives a faint smile before heading towards her egg-shaped chair on the East side of the arena. It only takes a moment for her to settle herself, give a small wave to the audience, and then recline in wait for the start of the match.

As Asayama steps out into the arena, he is once again blinded by the lights from overhead and defeaned by the screaming and yelling of the people in the stalls. He steps forwards, heading towards the centre where both the chairs are. In all the din, it's hard for him to hear Mikage talk, and so it takes him a moment to realise that he's being spoken to. Turning back so that he can see the girl, he remarks that slight smile of his. "Fun? Of course, of course. That's also something the chief would have intended, don't you think?" With that said, he turns away again and resumes his slow procession to the dues chair.

For all his staltwart appearance, duelling in front of all these people is really a nerve wracking experience for the man. He gets the impression that one one wrong move and the whole crowd might jump on top of him. Speak out of turn, do something wrong and things could go badly, badly wrong. So all his movements and motions are thought out and precise, if one were to see what was going on in his head right now, they'd probably think he was overthinking everything.

Finally, after what seemed to him like he was walking through hell, he arrives at the dues' chair. He gives the audience a stiff bow and a smile, and is greeted with a loud cheer for both participants. This seems to relax him slightly, and he steps backwards to sit down, crossing his legs. The smile remains on his lips but the frown is one of a man in deep thought. Draping his coat over the armrest of the chair whilst leaving the pocket upturned so that he can easily grasp his angel, he casts a final glance at the announcer, pushing his glasses up his nose and into his frown for effect.

"Let's see what layer our duelists will be playing on today!" The announcer calls out, seeming overly excited as he nearly falls out of his floating chair in the process. A series of layers flash past, showing some previously played on, some not. It finally stops on an image of a giant hamster wheel, seeming to be suspended in space. "Ooooh. Hamsta-wheel-o!" The announcer calls out in broken English. "How will our two duelists handle this unique playing environment! We'll find out. Deuses, fall-in!"

Mikage is no better than Asayama when it comes to nerves infront of all of these people, but she has one small advantage... she can't really see them. So, as she slips on her helmet, and her point of view goes to the layer level, she is at least somewhat immune to the pressures of all the faces staring from the crowd. She reaches a hand up and extends the gray, gargoyle looking wings of her headset, and then stands, with Rei balanced on the palm of her hand. "Powers of wind and water, spirit of my heart, will of my soul. When all is lost, be my wings, Rei!"

With a motion of her arm, Mikage sends the angel careening towards the layer. It almost seems as if Rei might bounce right off the metal and fall into the abyss beyond, but at the last moment, her head lifts, her eyes glow, and her claws take hold of one of the rungs, twirling the wheel as she climbs up through the rails to stand in the center. She raises her wings, flapping them slightly to bring the wheel to a stop once more, and then looks towards the opposite end of the ring... awaiting her opponent.

Blinking as the hamster wheel forms on the layer, rising out of the white surface like a minature ferris wheel, Asayama tears his gaze away from the crowd and looks towards the coat to his left. Rummaging around in the upturned pocket for a second, he pulls out the red cloth wrapped form of Gunslinger. Although, Asayama himself wouldn't really call it ceremony, it does at least look that way as he slowly unwraps the little angel and then holds it up for a moment so that the audience can see it. This is met with more cheers from Gunslinger's fans. Asayama closes his eyes for a moment, calming himself, and then looks up, his brow furrowed. In one swift motion he reaches over and lifts up the dues' visor, placing it on his head and pressing a button to extend the wings.

Now the time has come to throw Gunslinger into the layer, he thought he did pretty well last time but it had been mentioned to him that he ought to say his angels name at the end of whatever he said. No problem, even someone as skittish as he was about a crowd this big could do that, right? So he stands, holding his angel aloft once again as he does and then speaks, just loud enough to be heard over the crowd. As Mikage spoke and indeed as Asayama speaks now, a momentary quiet comes over the crowd in order to hear what the dues has to say.

"Hmph..." Asayama begins. "...alright, warrior of the western world, show these people your power, Gunslinger!"

And with that the crowd erupts into cheering once again as Asayama tosses his angel at the layer like a knife. The little figure arcs high and then comes down upon the layer. As he enters the holographic field surrounding it, the link between the angel and dues is established and Gunslinger's eyes come alive. It takes him a few moments to realise that he's falling through the air, and he rights himself. If he keeps going like this, he'll fall right past the hamster wheel and off into oblivion. No way is he going to let the match end this early. Little blue sparks spiral around the angel has he generates his first weapon, they come together forming shapes out of practically nothing until they form....a laser cannon. Though the cowboy doesn't aim the weapon at his opponent, instead he aims it away from the wheel and fires. The beam itself doesn't provide any momentum, but the violence with which the beam explodes from the barrel adjusts Gunslinger's tragectory slightly and he's able to grab hold of a rung, slipping through it to put himself inside the wheel.

The announcer and audience go wild as the cowboy lands. The announcer quickly brings the microphone to his lips and calls out. "Our two participants have safely landed on the wheel! But how long can they stay there for!? Reeeeeady!? Angelllllic Faaaaai~to!" The weapon he was using to get to the wheel disperses and reforms the moment he hits solid (or perhaps not so solid) ground, and he quickly brings his arms in front of himself to form another one just as he begins to jog to keep up with the wheel. Much smaller than the previous weapon, this one looks a little bit like a grenade launcher, if said weapon only carried one grenade. Not wanting to give his opponent any time to compose herself, he fires this new weapon at the other angel and a shell erupts from the barrel with a 'kthunk' noise. It doesn't get far through it's tragectory though, as half way through it explodes into a ball of fire and blinding light!

Unlike some of the other angels in the touranment, Rei is not familiar with Gunslinger and doesn't seem to know what to expect. Thus, she tenses the moment that he touches down onto the wheel. So, the moment the strange weapon appears, and it seems that the gargoyle is the immediate target... she charges forward. Whatever this odd thing is, she'll face it head on! So, when the granade, or whatever it is, comes at her, she strikes at it with her closed fist, giving a growl. However... the impact causes the shell to explode, blinding her with a flash of light and fire. As much as she manages to repell some of the attack back towards her opponent, her hand is left singed and her optics not responding.

Shaking her head like a beast that just had sand tossed in it's eyes, Rei backs up, nearly falling onto her rear as she tries to keep her balance without the use of her vision. However... as Mikage has lived most of her life without the grace of vision, she manages to right her angel and get her back into a standing position. However, the two don't seem to press the attack. Instead, the gargoyle just turns her armored shoulder towards Gunslinger, and rubs at her eyes with the other, taking the moment to try and regain her vision, and re-evaluate her plans.

Gunslinger doesn't particularly want to let up on this angel, it would be....unwise. Regardless, when some of the fire from his flare was turned back on him, it sent him reeling. He hadn't expected that, and it was all he could do to back up against the revolving wheel and try not to take the brunt of the damage. By the time the smoke settles though, he's already back on his feet. He'd had to tip his hat in order to shield his eyes from the flare, but at least that left him unblinded and ready to go.

He grabs onto the rung behind him and allows it to lift him up with it. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to get back down when he reached the top, but the layer was there, so why not go with it? As the he allows the wheel to take him to its apex, he pulls himself upwards and climbs on top, this allows him to get a better view of the layer and his opponent but it's a very dangerous position. He tosses the now empty flare gun away and it explodes into a shower of sparks. These very sparks turn in the air, swirling up once again and curling around Gunslingers hands to form a new weapon. This time it's....another grenade launcher? No, this is a bit different, it looks a little more futuristic. Gunslinger wastes no time in firing it, but aims it nowhere near Rei. A tiny, holographic steel ball explodes from the end of the weapon, and sails off into the distance. The surprising thing is that it then comes back. The ball looked to have simply turned around, and was now changing it's heading and following Rei by itself as Gunslinger continues to jog atop the hamster wheel.

As soon as her vision as cleared, Rei is forced to look around for where her opponent has gotten off to. She blinks, a bit surprized that he is now ontop of the hamster wheel instead of within it. Even more surprised, is the fact that he is somehow able to summon up a new weapon. Tilting her head, Rei churrs under her breath, a sound of warning. When the magnetic shot comes towards her, she follows it with her eyes, and jumps at the last minute, flipping over the ball, which lodges itself firmly into one of the rungs of the wheel, causing a huge dent. The ball wiggles for a moment, as if fighting against being stuck, and then goes still once more. Rei, landing on her feet and giving a bit of a puff of air from the effort, hisses at the ball before turning her attention once more at Gunslinger.

The gargoyle's hand flexes... a look of concentration and challenge on her face. Then, she gives another of those huffing sounds, as if saying 'you think that was bright... try this!' She flattens herself against the wheel until it spins to the point where she's directly underneath Gunslinger. She holds her armored wrist with the opposite hand, charging energy within. Then, when he is directly in her sights, she lets the flare of energy loose. There is a huge flash of light that probably is enough to give some of the audience stars in their vision, and then a wave of sonic energy that roars like thunder, causing the bars of the wheel to shake.

Energy Blast! Gunslinger picks up the pace as Rei approaches, trying to outrun both his opponent and the wheel. It's no use though, he's far too slow for that kind of thing, and when she arrives below him he begins trying to reload his weapon. It's not long before Rei is charging up a blast of her own, and the cowboy has nowhere to go at all. Expect....off the side of the wheel. It doesn't take him a lot of effort to simply stop jogging and dive, the only thing to worry about really is the pit below, which suddenly begins to loom ever closer as he falls.

He turns his weapon around so that the barrel is facing him and then throws his arms out, using the weapon as a hook so that he can climb back up onto the wheel. It's a difficult move for him to make, but somehow he manages, and soon he's standing back on the wheel again. This must be so much easier for Rei, since she has wings and doesn't have to care about that damn wheel. Nonetheless, Gunslinger has to keep jogging so that his legs aren't taken out from underneath him. He knows that the other angel is going to come around again soon, and he only has mere seconds to plan before that happens, he really, really hopes he can come up with some kind of strategy as the cards are heavily stacked against him.

As Rei moves along with the motion of the wheel, she watches Gunslinger's struggle to stay on the wheel itself. Yes, her wings had some advantages, but they were for gliding really, not for full-on flight. However... as few people knew that, it tended to work to her advantage. When the angel lands once more, Rei narrows her eyes and seems to level herself against the wheel, running on all-fours with her tail splayed out behind her. As she picks up speed, closing the distance between the two... there is an audible *click*. Long horns extend from the gargoyle's headset, threatening to spear Gunslinger... right in the behind.

There's absolutely nothing Gunslinger can think to do to get out of the way of the charging figure of Rei, after all, he's on the bottom run of the wheel, he can't very well dive off this time around, and no defence he can muster could possibly be put together fast enough to guard his back. So he stumbles slightly and is speared right through the back, Rei's charge carries him along a little way towards the other side of the wheel. He manages to push himself away, but it's really not without significant damage. He falls backwards and lies on the wheel, letting it carry him along for a little bit. Of course, in the fall, his hat falls from his head, but he manages to grab it just before it floats off into the pit below.

Once he gains some distance, he unsteadily gets back to his feet, this is made more difficult, of course, but the spinning wheel that threatens to carry him away. The grenade launcher he was using before vanished the moment he was hit, exploding into particles. Of course, this just means that the cowboy can create a new weapon and try it out. He cups his hands together, still walking slowly with the wheel and maintaining his balance. The particles gather and form his next weapon.....ah, the audience has seen this one before. It's the very weapon he used to get onto the wheel in the first place, the laser cannon!

Perhaps he hasn't thought this through, but even the holographic wheel can't really stand up to the cannon. When he fires it, he sweeps it across the layer towards his opponent, a brilliant beam of blue light. When this beam touches the wheel, it cuts into it. There's a creaking sound and that part of the mechanism starts to buckle even as the beam continues on it's path towards Rei. If he keeps going, Gunslinger will cut the wheel in half, and that would mean that the two angels would be dancing around on half a wheel!

Cutting the only standing surface in half?! What in bloody-blue-blazes is Gunslinger thinking!? Rei boggles as she watches the lazer come rushing towards her. It seems as if she has nowhere to go, and no way to dodge or defend herself from such a thing. "You can do it." The words come not from the angel, but the deus who is on her feet, trying to summon up the sheer heart to reach her angel. "You can stop him, Rei!" Mikage calls once more, her voice echoing with the shouts of some of those who are also trying to cheer the little gargoyle on. There is a flicker, as if the gargoyle were channeling that emotion into some physical form. Then, it seems to take shape around the gargoyle's body... a glowing, sheer energy armor that seems to not only stop the laser's path, but dissipate all of it's damage. It even seems to hault it for a moment, as the two energies battle for control.

She doesn't seem very happy with her opponent's attempts at trying to cut through the layer. She gives one firm stamp of a foot onto the rung below her, and then growls. The energy around her seems to change from that of armor... into a glowing aura that seems to lick at the air like flames. Her arms extend in either direction, as the aura seems to whip around, collecting air beneath it which forms into two whirling circles of wind. One after the other, the two rings are set loose, each one whipping in an arching pattern towards Gunslinger, trying to catch him in between.

Gunslinger reels both from the lurching of the wheel and from Rei stopping the laser. He's further out of balance by Rei's attack. Unlike before when he'd done his best to avoid things, Gunslinger simply charges forwards, there's nowhere to go and it seems like everything he does just bounces off the gargoyle, so it's time to try for one last shot. He jumps through the wind, which cuts away at him as he goes, slicing up his coat and sending his hat flying off his head and into the pit below. When he lands on the other side, he's sliced up, and his hair waves wildly in the last vestiges of the wind. He takes a few more steps forwards, though there is a slight shake to his step.

Even though, he's taken so much damage, Gunslinger is also doing his best. Without the ability to speak, he can't voice this in words, but he keeps going. Finally, standing in front of Rei and greeting her with a a frown and a deadly glare. He knows he can't win....but he'll be damned if he doesn't at least try.

He sweeps his tattered coat to the side to generate one last weapon, and his hand shakes as he tries to hold on to it as it forms. A simple shotgun, nothing too spectacular, but at the very least it might be able to do a little damage in the one in a million chance it hits. He pushes himself forwards and brings up an arm, steadying the weapon upon it and aiming it at the other angel. Then he fires, and tiny holographic pellets erupt from the barrel of the weapon and speed thier way towards Rei.

Panting, Rei slowly comes down from the emotional high that was fueling her previous fireworks on the layer. It takes a lot of concentration to maintain such things, and it causes Mikage to sit back into her chair as well, looking as if she had just run a one-hundred meter dash (as if such things were possible). Luckily, though, the two don't seem as if they are struggling quite as much as they did in the match against Tomoe and Chimera. However, when the gun-pellets come rushing at her, Rei seems caught off-guard. She studders for a moment, seeming as if she might just take the hit against her armored shoulder, but then changes her mind. The angel leaps upwards, scrambles, flaps her wings, and finally manages to grab on to the top of the wheel. Safe... for now.

Having only just managed to avoid the attack, Rei pulls herself up on to the top of the wheel, crouching slightly as she churs a series of strange sounds down and Gunslinger that probably are the gargoyle equivalent to being yelled at by one's mother. Still, she reaches one hand down through the bars and extends it, focusing energy once more in her palm. This time, however... it forms into a ball of energy, with little bolts of blue and red lightning flashing around the edges. Every now and again, the lightning arcs and seems to zap her on the hand... that can't be comfortable. However, it seems that this bit of pain allows her to challenge more energy into the attack than one would think possible. So... when the blast is let loose, it may just be the surprise that sends Gunslinger's life bar down to zero.

Bringing his arms up infront of himself as the blast erupts towards him, Gunslinger doesn't seem to be able to move anywhere at all. Yet, the very blue sparks that he's been using to generate his weapons coil in front of him in defence. They form a few small balls around the angel. These things have a futuristic appearance and a shiny chrome surface. As the wave of energy approaches, lines of light appear between the balls forming a sort of box around Gunslinger. This shield of energy deflects the bulk of the attack, but breaks just before the attack ends. The balls scatter and go flying in all directions, leaving the gunfighter standing there, still torn up but not much more so than before and still walking with the wheel.

Glaring at Rei, he points a finger at her. Just then, the very same balls that were protecting him a moment before fly back into view, heading straight for the Gargoyle. On thier own, they don't look like much, but there's eight of them. As they get near, they each fire a smaller lazer at the finged figure as Gunslinger tries to compose himself and conserve his remaining strength, moving with the layer. Should Rei move, these tiny balls will give chase and keep firing at her until she expires....or Gunslinger does. At the moment the latter is looking quite likely, given how hard it is for him to even keep himself on the wheel.

As the strange balls of energy come rushing towards her, Rei seems to treat this like one of the training exercises at the Piffle Princess. Unfortunately, none of those were quite this fast, or quite this many, but she manages to rally her defenses and rather than letting herself get hit, she strikes back. Kicks, punches, snaps of her tail... one by one, the little lasers are extinguished, although she does miss one... which zaps her on the rear end. "EEAOWW!" The angel cries out, clutching her butt as she turns and scowls, hissing at the strange object. As tries to sooth the burnt spot on her previously prestine posterior, she takes out the last of the offending balls by slashing at it with her claw.

Rei turns, not looking particularly happy as her eyes level at Gunslinger. That was that. He had harmed her butt, and now he was going to pay! She slips something from inside her armor, making a motion as if she were performing some magic spell on the layer itself. Then, she crouches... and dives off the layer head-first. Horns extended, it seems she intends on ramming into Gunslinger and driving him off the wheel and into the abyss. But... won't she be taken out as well? It almost seems that way, until one notices that it wasn't a magic spell she was casting, but a thin piece of rope now tied to the top of the wheel as her safety net.

Too exhausted to move or summon anymore weapons, Gunslinger is pretty much a sitting duck. He turns to face Rei as she sweeps down, he tries to think of something, anything that will help him....but there's nothing left, he doesn't have anymore tricks up his sleeve. The two angels collide and fall from the wheel but the buzzer had already sounded before they even left it. Images flash across Asayama's helm, indicating that his angel has ceased operation. The crowd goes silent for a moment before erupting into cheers for Mikage.....for the "White Storm". They begin to chant that moniker over and over.

Even the announcer goes wild, waving his arms around and barking into the microphone. "Gunslinger is too damaged to continue! And the winner is once agaaaaaaaain......Aogiri Mikage!" Asayama glances up at the announcer as he utters these words and then back down at Mikage. Such a world of difference between the two of them, he'd never even felt it this much. He shakes his head and then stands slowly, removing the visor. Rubbing his chin a little, he steps forwards.

"Excellent." He remarks, bowing once again to his opponent. "Your ability to utilise the layer is every bit as intruiging as I had hoped....and your duelling skills are exceptional, as expected." He quietens down, now really isn't the time to discuss this with her, much as he'd like to. He steps a little closer to the layer. Now that the mist that was at the bottom of the wheel has cleared and the wheel itself has disappeared, the tall man can easily see his angel lying face down, the little hat only a short distance away. "Hmm, he ponders for a moment, looks like I'm going to have some work to do on this before the next match...." He picks up both the angel and the hat and wraps them up in the red cloth again, tucking them into the pocket of his coat and then slinging it over his shoulder. He decides that it would be somewhat courteous to walk with Mikage back to the waiting room if that's where she's going. He doesn't wait too long though, the crowd are already baying for thier next match.

BOING. BO-ING. Boing. Rei bounces on the little rope as if she had just went bungie jumping. Of course, she doesn't look terribly comfortable hanging by the rope. Luckily, it only lasts until the buzzer sounds and the image of the layer disappears. Then she face-plants down onto the layer with an audible 'Ooof'. Mikage, on the other hand, can only help but wince and laugh a little at her angel, shaking her head. "Baka." She murmurs, and stands up, taking the headset off. She gives a small, shy wave to the crowd, although she still looks quite nervous infront of all of them. As the egg-shaped chair lowers to the layer, she reaches to take Rei by the rope, untieing the little angel before setting her in the crook of her arm. "You did great." She whispers, barely audible over the crowd.

When Asayama, speaks, however, her attention shifts towards him, nodding her head a little and managing a small smile. "I wish I could have shown you more, but there wasn't enough time." Which, of course, is encouragement for Asayama and his angel to survive long enough to see some of the other tricks this pair happens to have. Of course, he could also just watch from the stands, but it's not exactly the same thing. "Come on, let's get out of here. It's a little loud." Of course, little is an understatement. As the two head off towards the waiting room, the crowds cheer as the announcer begins to announce the start of the next match.