The announcer has called for the Layer Phantom and his opponent, Akaki Miina! "A fantastic-o battle-u! Neko-mimi versus usagi-mimi! Who shall win!? We shall see!" The lights are trained on the hallway, and as the first duelist comes out, half of them begin to track his movements. A black cape, flaring slightly as a determined stride carries a masked young man out into the arena, dares not to waver too far from its owner. Crimson lenses make the Layer Phantom truly look like a ghost of some sorts... a ghost who is waving at the crowds however! The audience's cheers grow louder as one of their favorite deusses takes the stage, and does not die down even when this young man arrives at his seat and waves his cape about in order to look as dramatic as possible.

Akaki Miina's entrance isn't nearly as dramatic, though it's consistent with nearly every other entry she's made out into the arena. Excited, she walks very quickly toward the layer, barely able to keep from running there instead. She's been playing long enough now that there are very few angels she and Usagi haven't met...and she remembers Kamui as being fun to play with. Tournament or no, she's going to be playing just the same. She climbs up into her chair, angel held in her lap as she pulls on her visor.

The Layer Phantom is already wearing his visors... its his mask. He calmly takes a moment to connect it while gazing upon Miina as the hydraulic system lifts those seats up into the air. He seems to be quite relaxed, and a playful little smirk sits on his face. "Let's do our best, Akaki-chan?" His arms cross to his chest, but that kind laugh take away of any air that may appear as threatening.

"In the East Corner, we have the Layer Phantom, Oi Ranmaru and his catlike angel Kamui. This angel is known for his speed, grace and unpredictable behaviour - also for his unusual connection to the angel Rei and her deus." The announcer points to the opposite seat, "And in the West Corner, we have Akaki Miina and her cute bunny angel Chibi Usagi-tan, known for her bouncy movements and her bouncy personality, but don't forget that the carrot she wields is not part of a healthy balanced diet!".

On the layer, pixels twist and coalesce momentarily into different shapes, showing several scenes, grassy fields, metal factories, and the murky sea bed, then the layer settles onto its chosen form - "It's Quicksand! Not good for the nimble angels on the layer today - this certainly will make this speed match a little less slow than usual - who will be able to keep their angels head above the depths, keep them from sinking to their doom!" The announcer bellows out in forboding tones, then he says, pointing his free hand at the layer forcefully "And finally, it's time ... Entry Angel!"

The little girl nods happily at her opponent, then turns to look up at the announcer as he speaks. Her gaze then goes to the layer as it shifts from one thing to another, and her eyes widen a little as she sees what it finally changes into. Usagi-tan has never had a match on this particular scenery, but Miina's seen others play here before. She raises her angel up above her head, grinning as she calls out. "Alright, Chibi Usagi-tan! Let's show 'em how we play!" Such a simple phrase, but it sums up her reason for being here fairly accurately. She launches the bunny through the barrier, trying to get her to land a little more softly than usual...after all, sinking way down into the sand before the buzzer even signal the start of the match wouldn't be a good thing.

"Oh boy." Ranmaru mutters under his breath as he sees the layer take shape. He knew full well how horrible this layer was, and what it spelled for him. But, he still had to try his best. After all, this was a tournament. And against a rather unpredictable opponent like Miina, he never knew what was coming. While giving Miina a quick look, the masked man reaches underneath his cloak. There is some movement as he seeks to grab hold of Kamui: an action invisible to everyone other than that younger girl.

His fingers find what he is looking for and wrap around the lithe body of the lithe body of his angel, holding on to it in a most gentle manner. "Illuminate the darkness with your bonded soul!" He suddenly calls out as his cloak is thrown to the side and Kamui suddenly gets flung towards the layer. "Kamui, show us your light! Fallin!" The black feline angel darts forth...

It goes head first, touching the bright light of the layer. The feline immediatly forces itself to open it's crimson red eyes, the rest of it's body following quite quickly. It's fur ruffles violently due to the speed it had been thrown at! Its limbs seem to twitch for a moment before explosively coming to live. Stretching out completely before making a beautiful double flip forth, finished by landing perfectly on both knees and one fist, it's other arm set before it's face. It's tail lashes violently for a moment before the angel actually seemed to 'bother' to get up and take some paces back to his own side of the layer.

Kamui's head cocks slightly to the left, it's lips reveiling one tooth, allowing for the angel to give quite the smug look. But this look was not directed at any opposing angel. Instead, it was directed at Miina. Its eyes illuminated with that red hue, it was almost demonic: if not, at least feral. "I am ready." Ranmaru chants... as his angel suddenly begins to jump around like a bunny, making a 'NYA!' sound every bounce, as if saying 'boing'...

Even before the match really gets under way, Usagi-tan has already discovered a problem. Her beloved weapon is much too heavy for this layer...but she's already found that if she abandons it she's at a major disadvantage. Nearly all of her tactics depend on that carrot for both offense and defense...how is she going to pull this off? Seeming already to be fighting the layer more than her opponent, Usagi-tan begins to leap around the layer in a circle, trying to stay in the air as much as possible.

Ranmaru however, has a slight advantage on this layer. And that is that he knows what tactic would have the highest chance of getting him a win in this case. And that was to go full onto the attack and hope for the best. A bit of luck would really help too. So the moment the announcer shouts out, and the buzzer goes off, his black armored little feline darts straight towards Miina's angel in big sand-spraying leaps that take him to her quite fast and without standing still he begins to throw massive kicks and punches going straigth for her shoulders. He's trying his best not to attack anything too vital, as the feline is quite well able to enjoy the attractiveness of a bunnygirl... and does not want to ruin things too much. However, one could easily think differently as his claws are out and the kicks seem to be aimed at causing her to fall over straight into the quicksand!

Even if he does have an advantage, Usagi-tan isn't going to just give in so easily. As he comes sailing toward her, the bunny dashes to the side, kicking up even more of the sand than he did. From the side, she leaps up high into the air. On this layer, a downstrike is a very risky thing...on the one hand, if it hits Kamui he'll be pushed down into the sand...but if she misses, her own momentum will make her fall into it instead. Even so...what choice does she have? Usagi-tan twists around in the air to face Kamui, swinging her weapon down at his head as she descends toward him.

BOOOONG! The carrot hits right onto Kamui's head as it comes down! The feline ends up landing face-first into the quicksand and begins to slowly sink down. It appears for a moment as if the feline is unconcious? "Ah! He has been hit! Kamui has been hit this early on in the game, and seems to be down for the count!" The announcer shouts, as the crowd goes 'ooooooooh!' and 'aaaaaaaaaah!'. Ranmaru however does not comment on it, something he would if he believed to truly be in trouble. All he mutters is an, "Okay, Kamui. Enough playing around. Get serious, we don't want to lose so soon into the battle now do we?" The male angel suddenly jumps up from the sand, raising a mound of sand with him, and from the air he attempts to throw a simple kick for Usagi-tan's feet! Yes, he is intending to step on her foot!

The little rabbit leaps back a little way after her strike connects, knowing that Kamui wouldn't be knocked out so easily. She can't stand still and put up her guard, however, because that would just make her sink into the accursed sand. All of this bouncing will get tiring very quickly, even for the bunny, and not being able to brace as well as she'd like isn't helpful either. She jumps to the side once again as Kamui kicks at her, but doesn't manage to keep him from connecting. Rather than striking back this time, however, she dashes off to the side to try and think things over a little better.

The feline, having struct true to his target, ends up watching Usagi-tan run away from him. "Nya!" He points at her, almost as if /accussing/ her of this running away behavior, and then turns around! His tail goes up, his butt joins gets aimed at her... and the feline turns his head towards her. He uses one of his fingers to 'pull down' the holographic skin beneath his eyes, and even sticks out a huge holographic tongue, making fun of the little cotton-tailed opponent. "Nyaaa!" Kamui taunts... until he finally notices that standing still is not a good idea. He looks down at the sand as he has already gotten in knee-deep and quickly begins to bounce around, trying to ensure he won't sink in. This bouncing takes him all the way to Usagi as he suddenly jumps towards her, trying to grab a hold of her like a scared cat trying to find a high place to stick to.

Usagi-tan doesn't really have any idea of just what Kamui might be trying to do, aside from mauling her again...so of course she's going to react as if that's what he's doing. She takes a small hop backwards, then grips swings her weapon at him hard as he flies toward her, as though trying to smack an incoming pitch with a baseball bat. Will it be a strike? A home run? Or is he a foul ball?

Its neither! The feline slips along the carrot as if a wind had settled around it, and pushed the Feline smoothly around it. So smoothly, that one would expect Kamui to be covered in lube or something. He just slides past, while a green aura covers him and through him that carot and Miina's angel as well. It is only for a very short moment, but that short moment of 'strange' contact is enough to affect the bunnygirl. The moment that green glow has disappeared from Kamui, however, a blue one replaces it. It envelops the little feline completely, wrapping around him and focussing most of its beautiful color at his claws. Then, at that always dazzling speed of his, he jumps right at Miina, trying to push against her chest with one claw while using his other arm to ram forwards, hoping to damage her at the same time with a nasty scratch.

Well, that more or less seals it. Usagi-tan isn't able to move at all fast enough to get out of the way, or even to get her weapon in between the two of them to guard. She falls back into the sand, taking a moment then to get back to her feet. She looks at her weapon, sighs, and then tosses it some distance away into the sand. It's just too much of a hindrance here. Now unburdened, she seems able to move much more easily across the sand. Her furred feet barely sink at all, and she charges much more easily after Kamui, launching a quick kick at his gut.

Usagi-tan doesn't seem to think that his little hop is even an attack, and doesn't try to stop him. Instead, she waits until he takes off again and leaps after him. She doesn't have his flat-out running speed, but she can certainly keep up in a battle of jumping. From up high, she drops down toward him once again, trying to catch him with an elbow drop from the sky. Without her weapon, she doesn't really have much weight to throw around...but she's still got the strength she uses to wield it.

Usagi-tan doesn't seem to think that his little hop is even an attack, and doesn't try to stop him. Instead, she waits until he takes off again and leaps after him. She doesn't have his flat-out running speed, but she can certainly keep up in a battle of jumping. From up high, she drops down toward him once again, trying to catch him with an elbow drop from the sky. Without her weapon, she doesn't really have much weight to throw around...but she's still got the strength she uses to wield it.

The little feline for a moment looks like it is about to dodge the heeldrop. However, one of its feet get stuck in the sand and ends up getting a faulty start. Kamui falls over. With the bunnygirl's heel incoming, the feline crouches into a little ball and puts its hands over its head, preparing for impact! Then, with a loud 'bang', Usagi-tan hits! A gigantic wave of sand is pushed up and ripples outwards along the layer. "Ah! It looks like it hit!" The announcer goes as Kamui's lifebar begins to blink a little.

However, when the sand settles, Kamui is standing up, right besides Rei. The gargoyle angel has one wing strongly places in the way of Usagi-tan's attack, while holding her mate with both of her arms in a protective fashion. Her eyes are lit up and throw a little angry glare at Miina's angel for a moment, before nodding at her in recognition and shifting her attention to her black catboy. The feline returns the gaze with a loving one, and for a moment the two exchange a kiss... and while they kiss, the gargoyle begins to fade again, disappearing from Kamui's arm. Her body fleets away like a white misty storm, into the skies.

Kamui, back in action now, quickly gets into an offensive stance. The ground beneath him seems to be glowing and he does not seem to be having any problem with the quicksand trying to drag him down at the moment. However, by the way he was standing, it was not hard to tell that the feline was tired. "Nyaaa..." It huffs and puffs before it suddenly plants its both hands to the ground and seems to prepare for an attack. With this little energy left, it might not be as fantastic as it could be... but here goes nothing! "Kamui, Rolling Thunder!" The Layer Phantom calls out. "There it is again, ladies and gentlemen! The attack that devastated Ito-kun and his angel Yuki, and almost defeated Misaka-kun and his angel Zankoku! Its Hatako's signature move, the Rolling thunder-da!"

A bright white light surrounds the feline for a moment as he is still close enough to Miina's angel, as he suddenly shoots out his leg in a graceful and deadly sweep, aimed at smashing his opponent's angel! "Nyaaa!" The feline calls a battlecry as he performs it... but of course, for people who know Angelic Layer well enough, would see that this attack was just a mimic. It lacked the true speed, accuracy and pure power of the real thing. However, that did not make it any less dangerous!

Whether Usagi-tan can tell the difference between Suzuka and Kamui's kicks or not seems irrelevant. No matter who's kicking or just how they're doing it, she's not going to just stand still and take it. The bunny jumps quickly back, though with much obvious effort. She skids in the sand as she lands some distance away, panting a little from the exertion of getting out of the way so abruptly. It takes her a long moment to recover a little, and she keeps her eyes on the feline the entire time. Eventually, she charges back across at him, running over the top of the sand rather than leaping from point to point. As she closes in on him, she launches into a flying kick aimed at his chest. She might not have the added weight of her weapon, but she's able to build up a lot more speed without it. Maybe the speed will help to counterbalance the loss.

The flying kick just barely misses Kamui, who seems to be dizzy due to the attack he just performed. He wobbles a little from the left to the right before shaking his head wildly. This wobbling had gotten him out of the way, but as tired as the feline was now... he still had some fight left in him! He throws up his fists and quickly flails straight at his opponent, claws stretched out. His intentions were to grab a hold of her chest or anything else... for all he knew he'd grab that little cottenball tail of hers, in order to syphon out some energy. After all, Ranmaru had enough realization by now to control this power and have it work.

Unfortunately for Kamui, Usagi-tan doesn't seem to have enough energy left to take. He manages to get a hold on one of her arms, but aside from making it twist a little oddly there isn't really any effect at all. She had already been at just about the breaking point, however, and so that little twist seems like it might have been all he needed to do. The little bunny's life meter drops down to nothing, but only for an instant. Like it had so many times before, the bar flickers a little before going up higher than it had been a moment ago. She turns to look at him while he still holds that arm, her eyes fiery and her grin suddenly malicious rather than impish and cheerful. She quickly reaches out to try and grab both of his wrists if she's able. Provided she actually gets a hold, she'll begin to quickly spin about in a tight circle, sending sand flying as the centrifugal force also raises Kamui up off the ground, just like parents sometimes do with their young children. This time, however, she'll try and let go once she's got up enough speed to send him flying right out of the layer.

"NYAAAAAAAAAAA~haaaaaaaaaa~HAAAAAAAAAAA~haaaaaaaa~HAAAAA~!" Holding on for dear life, Kamui is still grabbing Usagi-tan's arms! While she spins around like an idiot, the feline keeps on holding on until... he finally lets go. However... he does not fly away. Quite the opposite, he just seems to float there, right in the midst of the sandstorm which Miina's angel is throwing up. A beautiful set of wings portrude from his back, one black feathered, one white, glowing with a blue aura. The feline? He just impishly smiles at the bunnygirl and lands back on his feet right at her side. "Hehe." Ranmaru brings the back of his right hand to his lips and chuckles softly. This had occurred once previously, had it not? During a tournament quite similar to this? The feline waits patiently for Miina's angel to be done twirling around and begins to extend his arms so that he can catch her when she finally has run out of energy. Leave it to Ranmaru to realize when his opponent has run out of the spirit to fight on. "Nya!" Like a little gentleman, indeed Kamui waits to catch that bunnygirl in his arms.

Gradually, Usagi-tan's spinning slows. Her life bar flashes once again, this time finally dropping down to the nothing it should have showed earlier. She trips over her own feet, unable to keep picking them up enough to keep going, and her eyes close as she falls into the waiting Kamui's arms.

In her chair, Miina blinks a little as she watches, her heart pounding. Part of her wishes that Usagi had succeeding in launching Kamui out of the layer, but she knows that the bunny's final attack had been due to the strange glitch that even Asayama couldn't explain. At least she hadn't torn him apart...she's never gone nutsy like that without her weapon before.

"And that's it! It's over! Kamui wins!" The announcer fires off excitable sentences one after another, "What a close match, Chibi Usagi-tan very nearly got Kamui at the last moment - but what exactly happened at the end ... I'm not quite sure. Some applause for the deuses, the Layer Phantom -- Oi Ranmaru, and Akaki Miina!" The audience gives loud applause and cheering, and some fans yell out in appreciation.

As Kamui catches the bunnygirl, he slowly goes through his knees as the layer deactivates. He places her down carefully onto the ground before raising a hand to show that he had won... before he flops right on top of her because the layer had deactivated. "Hehe." Ranmaru chuckles as he watches his angel lay there and quickly retrieves his own angel from the lapine angel. "That was a good battle. You nearly got me there." He winks at the younger girl and nods his head in appreciation of her skills as a deus. "I hope we will get to battle again some day." And with that the seat begins to lower itself towards the ground to let this winner do his waving to the crowds before he disappears into the waitingroom.

The younger girl grins up at him as she climbs out of her own chair, picking up both angel and weapon. "I'm sure we will. I think we're getting better, so maybe next time we'll even be able to beat Kamui!" She looks over her angel for only a moment, then seems to realize that she's still wearing the visor. Good thing she hadn't moved too far from the layer! She quickly pulls it off and puts it down on the seat of the chair, then waves happily at the crowd before heading back down the walkway toward the waiting room.