Finally it was time for the last match of the tournament and Ishida was PUMPED! He comes into the waiting room as the previous battle was finishing up, looking to all the world like he had an IV of caffeine not even five minutes previous. He glances about the room, taking stock of who's there at the moment and taking a wild guess at who he would be battling judging on who already battled and who he had already battled. It doesn't actually get him very far since he's a little to hyper to concentrate right now.

Entering the waiting room once again, Nazo sighs. The crowd was giving her far more attention than she had ever wanted, and she wasn't sure she liked it, or if she'd be able to go back to living the quiet life she'd grown used to. Probably the most disturbing thing she'd seen, however, was the sign asking her to marry someone. She'd later found out it was a girl who thought that she (Nazo) was a guy. Darned if /that/ didn't make things weird. Taking a seat to rest her shaking legs (she'd run to the stadium for fear of being late, and she doesn't have the best stamina in the world), Nazo glances around the waiting room, looking for... Oh, what was his name again? Nobaru... Noru... Nobuharu Ishida, that was it. Not that she'd actually really recognize him on sight, but so far she hadn't had much trouble running into her opponents. Figuring Fate had it in for her again, she guessed her next - and final - opponent was the obviously caffinated boy trying to, assumably, find his match partner.

"It's the last day, and there's only a few matches to go, fans. Are you missing it already? Well, we're not about to give you time to worry about that - there's another exciting matchup for you to enjoy. So, let's get comfortable (and I hope you went to the toilet already) let's see who we've got!" The announcer blares across the microphone, cutting through the gentle rumble of conversation during breaks that contrasts with the noise of battle the rest of the time.

"In the East Corner..." he begins, raising his voice even further, "we have the deus Tsikikage Nazo, having won a few battles so far in the tournament, she and her angel are going well for a rookie, and she's been getting stronger as time goes on. Her multiskilled angel Mukuro focuses on speed over power, and likes to play a defensive battle."
"In the West Corner! We have deus Nobuharu Ishida, also a rookie, and also holding his own amongst the mix of veterans and rookies, someone to be watching out for next year." The announcer pauses, takes a breath for the first time since he started, and then continues, "His angel Hiroto, conversely to the defensive angel Mukuro, favours power over speed, and should put up a good offensive battle."

The young in the center of the room visibly calms down as the sound of the announcer starts coming through the speakers. He nods a little bit, reaching into his pocket and pulling the angel out. "Looks like it's our turn. One more chance to fly and show them what we're made of." He looks up, glancing about the room and nodding once. "If there's a Tsukikage Nazo in the building, it's time to dance."

"Never been fond of dancing, but I suppose I'll humor you," Nazo says in her normal tone of voice, something painfully soft that the teachers hated her for. The waiting room was relatively quiet, though, so Ishida shouldn't have much trouble actually hearing her, for now. Shifting Mukuro to rest entirely in her left arm, Nazo stands and gently shoves her right hand into her pocket, walking a little closer to her soon-to-be opponent. "You must be Nobuharu-san," naturally, "correct? I asked the layer attendant already; you're to take the left turn, I'm to take the right. We'd best get moving, because I doubt the audience will be very happy if we make them wait much longer."

Ishida nods a little bit and gestures towards the pathways laying beyond. "After you then. We can't keep the fans waiting, after all." He waits for her to pass before going his own way, walking at a casual pace to make sure she's the first of the two to exit out into the stadium. "This should be a fun battle indeed," he says, looking down at the angel in hand. "Let's show them what we're made of."

"Now that we're all familiar with who the upcoming deuses are, let's see them!" The announcer calls out to the stadium "Come on in, Tsukikage Nazo, Nobuharu Ishida!"
Nodding to Ishida as she passes, Nazo steels herself for the roar she knew was coming. It was a miracle the girl hadn't gone deaf by now. How could people honestly do this all the time? Pushing the door open once she reaches it, Nazo lowers her head to keep anyone from seeing the nervousness in her eyes. She doesn't have to lower it much; her bangs do most of the work. Yet again doing her best to seem apathetic, she knew that if she could just get to the layer, she'd feel better. Actually getting to the layer seemed to be the hardest and most unnerving part of the matches, and she was never quite prepared for it.

From the sound of things it's pretty safe to assume that the other girl made her way out onto the layer, so Ishida speeds up his pace a little bit, moving so that he won't come out all that far behind her. Stepping out into the lights, like usual, makes him stop and adjust for a second before continuing up to his seat. He sits down, taking the visor and slipping it on casually. He waves to the crowd a little bit, soaking up all the attention he could before turning his attention to the layer and waiting. It always made him perform better when he knew people were watching.

As the crowd cheers and applauds, the announcer sweeps his arm out to the layer. Now, lets see the stage of our duel today! Various images of different scenery flicker on the layer, images of space, burning magma from the iron works, and a field of roses, then it finally settles on a large hamster wheel, almost comical in nature. The ginormous wheel is suspended above a large mist-covered chasm. Oooh, look at that! Weve got an unusual one for you all today! Meet the Wheel! Spinning, spinning, spinning around and keeping our duelists stuck running! Well, its certainly better than falling off!! Now, Deus The announcer pauses dramatically, glances at both contestants, then grabs his microphone and yells into it ENTRY ANGELS!

Ishida takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second before looking back up at the layer. He lifts Hiroto above his head, starting to chant out his fallin. "Look to the sky, ride the wind. The breeze carries all on it's way to a new day. Spread your wings and prove that the wind is more than just a breeze and blow down all in your path! Hiroto!" He throws his angel towards the layer, watching as it breaks through the barrier. Hiroto springs to life, flipping once and drifting down towards the layer. He lands lightly on the top of the hamster wheel, looking up towards the other deus and saluting. "Ready and waiting for you. Let's soar."

Nazo didn't like the look of this layer. If Mukuro really had to keep running, this would cause problems. The Angel didn't have the best stamina in the world, much like her deus. She had to make sure she didn't imagine the little Angel /too/ much like herself this match, or she'd run out of steam quickly. "Come on, Mukuro. One last time, let's show them what you can do!" Nazo shouts, slightly louder than normal. She may finally be getting into the hearing range of normal human ears! But probably not in this deafening crowd. Tossing Mukuro feet first, the Angel is ready to start running as soon as she hits the layer, though it won't be called for until the match actually starts. While the Angel gets ready to run, Nazo thinks of all the possible ways for her to keep from running, or save herself if she falls. A lot of thinking would be required in this match, it appeared... At least there was no hat to be distracted by, though it did sadden the deus that she couldn't pursue her favorite past-time..

The wheel rocks back and forth slightly, stopping when it hit where the wheel locks, so not spinning yet. "Nazo and Mukuro, Ishida and Hiroto....whose got the determination it takes to win? Let's find out! Deus' ready? " The announcer takes a quick look at both Deus's, seeing they are, then puts his hand in the air "It's time for...ANGELIC FAIT-OOOO!!" and swings it down toward the layer.

With that, the wheel begins to spin, slow at first but starting to pick up speed.
Hiroto is moving as soon as the timer starts ticking, he leaps from the top of the wheel grabbing the edge and accelerating the, his feet finding the outer edge to grind. "Can you keep up with the wheel?" he asks, grinning happily. If his opponent manages to stay standing, he'll try a jumping kick to the face. If the opponent falls over he'll take a jumping kick to the back. Doesn't really matter which attack he uses, either one works in the grand scheme of things.

Mukuro managed to stay standing, but not after Hiroto kicked her. Falling, she manages to grab and keep hold of the wheel, hanging on for a full revolution and then using the momentum to leap up and come down hard, aiming for Hiroto's head. That wasn't a very weak first hit, which left the deus worried about the future of the match. But it was too early to make assumptions, so she just watches, waits, and reacts. That's all she can do, besides stave off anxiety with sugar disks. Honestly, she's probably the only deus in the entire tournament that's been so insistant about eating sugar and removing hats and the like during matches. What an odd girl.

Hiro gets kicked in the head much the same way he did to Mukuko only moments before. He stumbles a little bit, starting to fall out of the wheel partially thanks to the increased speed, but he grabs on to the wheel, doing much like the other angel did, only climbing around so he was on top of the wheel instead. He keeps pace, staying generally in the same place on the top of the wheel, planning his next move.

Nazo was really starting to hate this layer. There was /absolutely/ no means of a projectile weapon. Unless... No, that was too risky to try. She hadn't gotten around to practicing the move at all, and didn't want to risk it quite yet. Instead of the attack the deus thought of, Mukuro grabs hold of the wheel again, coming up to the top and twisting around to get to Hiroto. She makes it appear as though she's moving in to kick him again, but the real attack comes in the form of a punch aimed at his chest. Perhaps this would turn into a fight of who could stay on top of the wheel the longest...? Nazo was known for coming up with weird reasons for continuing a duel, after all.

Well it looks like it's going to take a bit for Hiro to get use to this place. He tries to move, but it doesn't work so well and he ends up getting hit by the punch anyway. He stumbles a little nearly tripping and falling, but managing to keep his balance just barely. He keeps moving, trying to think of a way to turn this around in his favor.

CARD: You draw a single card from your d deck. It's a Cross Block (CBLK).
CARD: You now have 4 left in your d deck.
LAYER: Hiroto dodges! 1 DP spent, 5 DP remaining.
ANGEL: Dodge pool updated, 5 remaining.
CARD: Nazo draws a single card from her m Layer Card Deck. Nazo has 3 left in her m deck.

Landing back on the wheel, Mukuro manages to keep running and not fall off. Using a little extra boost of strength, she pushes forward on the wheel and comes in for a kick aimed at the male Angel's stomach. The Angel was being oddly quiet, and Nazo wasn't going to let it have time to recuperate, if she had anything to say about it. It was rare she got a break and a free shot in a duel, so she took advantages of the ones she saw. The sooner this match was over, the better, anyway; she doubted either Angel would be able to last in an extended battle on this particular layer.

Hiroto had the time to prepare he needed, leaping a very short distance into the air he brings both his legs up, letting the attack hit harmlessly, mostly, against them. No sooner do his feet touch down than he's jumping again, this time towards the opposing angel to try and plant a foot into her face. Whatever works, neh?

The parry caught Mukuro off guard, and as a result she lost her balance. Losing her balance caused her to avoid the majority of the attack sent by Hiroto, however; said attack just grazing the side of her face. Had she been human, it would have stung, though. Getting up quickly, Mukuro puts a lot of strength into a kick to try and knock the male Angel down, but with momentum going against her, it would be painfully easy to dodge. Well, c'est la vie; she was going to try, anyway.

Hiro wasn't going to sit around and get pummeled if he could help it. He moves quickly, dropping down and grabbing the wheel, riding it a full rotation around. When it started nearing the top again he kicked off, trying to body check the other angel and, hopefully, knock them completely off the wheel. Nothing wrong with wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking it was, unfortunately for Hiroto and Ishida. Mukuro ducks and grabs hold of the wheel, simply letting the layer itself take her out of Hiroto's range. Coming up behind him again once the wheel brings her back, she continues to use the trajectory to fly at him with a kick. She stays close to the wheel, however, so that should she miss she won't go flying off the layer. Her deus was smart enough to think of things like that, though dumb enough to overlook about twenty other possibilities that could make this match go in a favor not of her own...

Hiroto whirls about, knowing exactly what's coming next. And luckily because of that he's able to get a solid block up despite the crazy whirling of the wheel. What he does next is probably about what can be expected, maybe. He leaps off the wheel, grabbing on just long enough to end up inside it. He locks a foot between the bars, ridding it around back to the top. Once he gets to the top he puts his plan into action. A swift release of power and he kicks out with his free foot, sending a small blade of air up, cutting two of the bars on the wheel as the blade reaches out towards the other angel's legs.

"Round and round and round we go, where stop...nobody knows!" The announcer shouts "This duel seems to be a circular exchange of blows, but how long can the Angels last on top of this madly turning stage?"

Ouch, that looked like it would hurt. Good thing Mukuro was still in motion from the kick, or that would've hit her. As it was, it took a vast amount of effort to dodge that blade of air (and she does this only narrowly), and then try and stay /on/ the field. The little Angel manages to grab hold of one of the bars just below the cut ones and hang on long enough to twist inside. As she twists inside, she aims a kick at Hiroto, who wasn't terribly far away. Perhaps being /inside/ the wheel was safer than /outside/; it left fewer chances of falling off the layer, though if you missed hanging on, you were doomed.

Hiroto takes the hit square, not putting up any sort of guard. Wether this was by choice or not is unseen, but he doesn't waste a moment trying to bring around a counter attack. He releases his foot from it's captivity, using the broken bars as sort of a spring board to fling himself in a kick towards the other angel.

"Ooh...this battle is getting vicious as Hiroto begins to use his specialized roller blades! They seem quite capable of doing damage! Will our stage last the battle?!" The announcer calls out

Woah! That was /not/ a pleasant looking attack. This round seemed to be all about using momentum to one's advantage, which is exactly what Mukuro does now. To avoid the attack, she uses the remaining momentum from her kick to send her body to the back of the wheel, holding on to the bars to keep herself from flying through and off the layer. Nazo feels her Angel's stamina running low, and realizes that even though she's hardly been hurt, all this running was tiring her out. She, most likely, wouldn't be able to dodge anymore. The question is, how is she going to defend properly on a constantly moving surface?

As tiring as this place is, the moment you stop moving is the moment it all comes crashing down on you. That's what happens in Ishida's experience anyway. Hiro keeps moving, closing in once again and grabbing hold of one of the bars, swinging his feet up to catch the other angel under the chin. The attack was faster than some of the previous, but from the look of it also lacking in some of the strength.

With the wheel turning, it was hard to dodge, but the layer itself seemed to help. The movement of the wheel, ever increasing, changed the target on Mukuro from her chin to her shoulder. It did damage, but not as much as it was intended to. While he was close, Mukuro raises her leg up and tries to kick Hiroto in the stomach, trying to force him away from her. The male Angel was obviously stronger than she was, so keeping distance as much as possible was a good idea.

The announcer and crowd lean forward, almost simulatenously, as the Angels come forward and clash again inside the wheel. "This is it folks! Now it's getting down and dirt, close and personal! Who will emerge from the ring, and who will spin out? Only time will tell!"

Hiro slips out of the way of the kick, jumping about a little and otherwise making a very hard to hit target in general. He leaps around, once again riding the wheel to the top and staying up there, his eyes on the other opponent. "This has been a very interesting battle so far. I hope it stays this entertaining."

"Drat..." Nazo mutters. She thought that was going to work so well, too. He'd been so close... Oh well, no time to waste mourning lost chances. She had a fight to finish.

Back on the layer, Mukuro gave up on dodging. It was getting to be too much of a hassle, and she wanted to focus on /hitting/ the darn Angel for a change. Unlike her deus, it appears Mukuro is easily annoyed. Waiting for the Angel to come around again, Mukuro jumps and sends a kick his way, trying desperately to do some more damage. This match had to end /soon/, or it wouldn't be going in her favor much longer.

Hiroto was expecting this attack to come, so when it did he had himself ready. A well placed kick to disrupt the kick put an end to her attack, and then a leap and spin and it was his turn. He brings his foot up and around in a wide arc, the blade of wind he had flung at her before returning to try for a second round. He looked like he was in the battle for real now, no more figuring out how the layer worked or any of that, just beat down.

This time, the attack did some serious damage. Mukuro could predict the what, when, and where of the blow, but that didn't mean she could move in time. She dodged to one side, but not in time to avoid the attack completely. Taking heavy damage to one of her arms, Mukuro grabs hold of a bar with the other, and waits until she's above Hiroto to drop down and aim a punch straight for him. Without the use of her dominant arm, however, it wasn't as strong as she wanted - or needed - it to be. Nazo by now has sensed a shift in advantage, and what seemed to be a surefire win earlier on in the match would most likely turn out in a close lose on her part. Well, Fate had allowed Nazo her fun, and now it was time to pay up. This far in the tournament, Nazo was used to this feeling. While she dreaded it, it no longer bothered her. She was just (still) depressed that there was nothing to try and knock off of the Angel. It made matches such a bore, you know?

Hiroto isn't doing quite as well as the other angel thinks, but he's doing his best to hide it by keeping on the move and out of reach of the other angel as best as possible, only closing into attack. It's worked decently well, but the fact that he has taken a lot of damage shows that he might lose. Though it is still possible to get a win, it's going to take a lot to pull through.

Backing off a little, Mukuro pauses to take a breather. She's not usually one for constant battle, much less constant movement, and this layer is really tiring her out. She waits for just a little while, though her lack of stamina is starting to show on her health bar, which has Nazo worried...

This battle is wearing on a lot longer than Hiroto wanted, and it's starting to to get really tiring. He moves back into the offense, trying to get as much health out of her as he can, and hopefully get it before she can manage to get his. This will be a close match either way, and no one can say this wasn't an even battle. What he ends up throwing Mukuro's way could be described as little more then a basic kick most people would see in martial arts. Nothing fancy or show offish, sure signs that he was getting tired.

Mukuro draws her arms up in front of her to block, and yet the impact still forces her back and does some damage. Her defenses seem to be deteriorating in the same way her stamina was. "Now or never," Nazo says, not explaining to anyone quite what that means. On the layer, Mukuro, while still moving to keep from falling off the wheel, draws her right hand back and semi-'covers' it with her left hand, a small sphere of purple-pink /something/ appearing between the two. Those who were watching her duel with Yuji may vaguely remember what comes next. Thrusting out her right arm at the Angel, a large, much more controlled than the last time she tried the technique blast of energy of some sort shoots out at Hiroto, hopefully overtaking the Angel and forcing him right off the layer. Nazo wonders how exactly Mukuro managed to pull that off a second time and get better at it with no practice between the two tries, and begins wondering if the technique will eventually become the one she uses in a pinch, instead of that fancy kick move. Only time would tell, she supposed, and for now it was time to see if the outcome of the match had been decided.

Hiroto brings his foot up quickly, catching the bolt of energy on his skate. He whirls around quickly, making the motors in the skates run for a bit before sending that energy blast right back at the other angel. The one thing that most people never expect when going into battle against him, the ability to redirect, copy, or otherwise you the foe's own attacks against them. Let's hope it works as planned.

It's true, that was the one thing Nazo and her angel were /not/ expecting. Sighing sadly, Nazo looks away as her Angel is forced off the layer by her own attack. She never /could/ get a knockout. She'd been right again about the turning point of the match. It had been silly to hope. Fate never allowed her a true win, she should've known that by now. But she's a dreamer, and dreamers have no choice but to dream. You live for the fight when it's all that you've got. Continuing to look at her lap, Nazo waits patiently for the announcer to declare that, once again, the novelist had lost. That's where she belonged; writing novels. Perhaps it was time to give up this whole Angel business and focus on what she truly wanted to accomplish in life...

The buzzer sounds the end of the match and the wheel slows to a halt, leaving a very battered Hiroto as the one left standing. The announcer brings the microphone up speaking a little louder than he would normally to make his voice carry clear over the roar of the crowd. "We have a winner! Hiroto manages to squeak through with a win by using Mukuro's own attack against her. What a great battle. Let's hear it for the deus and their angels." The crowd somehow manages to get even louder than they did before, cheering and clapping for them both.

Ishida stands waving to the crowd for a moment before moving over to the layer and retrieving his angel. He looks over at Nazo and nods, grinning a little bit. "I thought you had me there for a while. That was a really close battle, and you're a good player. I hope to see you again sometime. I'm looking forward to a possible rematch with you someday." He gives one last quick wave to the crowd and then starts heading off to the waiting rooms, angel in hand and looking for damage as he walks.

Sliding her own visor off, Nazo gently picks up Mukuro. Looking down at the fallen Angel sadly, she apologized to it; this would probably be the poor thing's final battle. She walks back to the waiting room, smiling sadly and holding back her tears. Once in the waiting room, she is approached by a layer attendant and a TV news reporter (with her cameraman, of course). "Excuse me, Miss Tsukikage?" the reporter starts. "I'm Hatashi Noriko from channel 2. We've been asking tournament contestants how the thrill of being in a tournament is. Can we get your opinion on your latest match?"

As the microphone is held towards her, Nazo says something quite odd just loudly enough for the microphone to pick up. "I hate the ending, myself, but it started with an alright scene." Walking away after saying this (and leaving a confused reporter behind), Nazo continues to sing softly as she heads home to finish writing the battle scene where one of her favorite characters was supposedly 'killed'. "It was the roar of the crowd that gave me heartache to sing. It was a lie when they smiled, and said you won't feel a thing..."