// It starts with heart //
Hatoko went into her room and locked the door, cradling Suzuka in her arms. She had been strong, had tried her hardest, but Masaki-chan was stronger. Hatoko smiled. Misaki, the miracle rookie. She had deserved to win, and it had been a good fight. They had both fought with all of themselves, but Hikaru had somehow triumphed. Her heart had been stronger. Weren't Angels projections of their Deuses souls? A tear slid down the kindergartener's cheek.
"Why, Suzuka? Doshete? We practiced so hard, fought so hard, cared so much...but we still lost. I'm glad for her, I really am, but it still hurts. We've put so much time into our training. Yet Misaki-chan still won. I even looked forward to the match. She was a wonderful opponent. She deserved to get that. She deserved to win. But if she did, and if I lost because she's better, why does it hurt so much?"
// One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try//
Hatoko looked around her room. It was full of Angelic Layer. Posters covered the walls; pictures adorned the shelves next to trophies that she and Suzuka had won. They had trained hard, fought hard, and together they had earned a place for themselves. Had all that they achieved been shattered? By someone whom she regarded as a dear friend? Suddenly Hatoko could stand no more. She had to go somewhere, do something. Anything to get away from this pain, anything to let out what she felt.
Grabbing her coat, Hatoko left her home and wandered blindly through the streets until she figured that she should find out where she was so she could get home. Looking up she felt tears running down her face as she realized where her feet had taken her. A Piffle Princess Store. Once again Hatoko's traitorous feet took control. She walked in through the doors, took the escalator up to the Angelic Layer training rooms. As she neared the desk she heard some odd foreign music. It seemed to be filled with sorrow and regret, almost even anger. Reaching the counter she immediately asked for a practice room. The kind woman at the desk smiled gently at her and told her that all the rooms were full, but that Room 6 was open for a second person. The Deus inside had left a message saying that anyone was welcome. Hatoko grinned and walked to Room 6. Opening the door, she realized that this was where the music was coming from.
// I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter //
A girl a few years older that Kotarou-kun sat in the Deus' chair, controlling her Angel with the speed and grace of someone familiar with the game. The Angel was similar in looks to the Deus, with short hair and slight build. She danced upon the layer, perfectly in time to the music. The Deus had a sorrowed look upon her face, and as her Angel danced she sang along softly to the music. Deciding that it wasn't worth waiting, Hatoko sat in the second chair and put on the visor. Tossing Suzuka into the layer, Hatoko lost herself in the music and joined in with the other Deus in a dance of sorrow and regret. As the song came to a close the other Deus looked up and smiled, tears running down her cheeks.
"Konnichi wa. My name is Getsuei Kirika. This is my Angel, Mariel. You are?"
Hatoko smiled. "Kobayashi Hatoko. This is Suzuka. What was that music?"
"It's from America. My family moved here a few years ago, so I like music from Japan and North America. The group is called Linkin Park, and the song is 'In The End'. I use it when I'm sad and need to let it out. I picked up Angelic Layer a few years ago, and the two combined. I practice and I vent. It works well."
Kirika smiled at the kindergarten kid whom she had heard so much about and took off her visor. Walking over to the child's side, she knelt down.
"Hatoko-san, why are you so sad? You're crying today too. Not many people come join me when I have this music on. But you were drawn to it, weren't you? Why?"
"I lost. I lost a battle. It was with a good friend of mine...Suzuhara Misaki. We had a rematch, finally. And I lost. I've lost before, but this time it hurt so much. I don't even know why...but it seems like there's no reason to go on..."
// Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away //
Gathering the famous child into her arms, Kirika decided that there was no reason why she should not tell of her sorrows. Maybe it would help the girl...
"I'm sad today too. I told you my family moved here a few years ago. Well, a year after we arrived here, my mother died. In a car crash. Today is the anniversary of her death. Two years ago today, I lost one of the most important parts of my world." A tear fell from her stained face onto the younger girl's dress. "My mother loved two things. She loved to see me dance, and she loved Angelic Layer. She always came when I practiced; she even had her own Angel...Arilyn. She named her after a character in one of her favorite books. Do you want to see? I have her here."
Hatoko looked up, her eyes a little brighter. "Could I? If it doesn't bother you..." Kirika shook her head.
"No. I want to. I really want to." Going to her bag in the corner, Kirika took out a small golden bag, just the right size for an angel. Walking back over to where Hatoko stood, she opened the bag and slid her hand in. As the angel came out, Hatoko gasped. It was one of the most beautiful Angels she had ever seen. Wavy black hair flowed to the doll's shoulders, pulled back behind slightly pointed ears. The Angel wore a loose blue shirt and leather breeches. At her side was a sword. It was a perfect miniature, down to the real moonstone in its hilt.
"It's...amazing. I've never seen such a beautiful Angel. Did she ever use the sword?" Kirika smiled, forcing herself to answer Hatoko's questions. She needed to.
"Only with me. We trained together. We danced, and we battled. Mariel has a weapon also, but I haven't used it for the past two years. I haven't been able to."
// Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to watch you go //
Hatoko looked up, realizing that there was something that had to be done. Gently taking Arilyn from Kirika, she smiled and wiped her tears. "I think it might be time to take out your sword again. Would your mother have wanted Arilyn to live in that bag and never fight again? Would she be offended if we fought, if I was Arilyn's Deus, just this once?"
Kirika's eyes spilled over with tears. No one she had told, no one, had ever offered to do this. The one thing she had longed for, that she knew her mother would have wanted; she had never had the chance to do.
"Please? Mom would have loved it, I know. I'd love for you to be Arilyn's Deus. Thank you so much, Hatoko-san." The young girl shook her head.
"Kirika-chan, we are friends. Call me Hatoko-chan, please? Everyone else does." Kirika nodded and turned to her bag once again, drawing out a slim box. Flipping it open she took out a sword similar too Arilyn's, but set with a piece of a stone she had never before seen. Kirika saw Hatoko's confused gaze and guessed from what it stemmed.
"It's a stone called Labradorite. My great-great-grandfather made a number of pieces, and this was one of the stones he used. My grandmother received it from her mother who received it from great-great-grandpa as a gift, and she gave it to my mother who put it into the hilt of Mariel's sword for me. It's special to me, because it's a piece of my childhood, and it was shaped with love by my ancestor."
Hatoko nodded. It made sense. The box made sense too. Kirika-chan had been too sad to wear her sword. Things were changing, for both of them.
// You kept everything inside and even though I
tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory //
The two friends smiled at each other and sat down. Kirika tossed Mariel into the Layer, calling out her entry phrase in a strong voice.
"With song and sword, take your strength from the moon, Mariel! Angel, fall in!" Mariel flipped down onto the Layer and drew her sword, taking up a double-handed fighter's grip on her weapon. Hatoko smiled, then looked down at Arilyn.
"Kirika-chan, what's Arilyn's entry phrase?" Kirika glanced up, looking startled.
"Use your own. Find the phrase within your heart. Mom always used 'Solace in the moonlight, take the path of the harp, Arilyn! Angel, fall in!' But I think that in this case you should use your own. That phrase doesn't suit you." Kirika smiled. "Just use whatever you feel is right."
Hatoko looked down at the Angel cradled in her hands. Suddenly she knew what to say, as if someone had whispered it into her ear. "Arilyn, step forward into the light of truth and see that your mother lives on within you! Angel, fall in!" Arilyn flew into the Layer, landed facing Hatoko, and drew her sword as she pivoted to face Mariel. Hatoko looked up to see Kirika looking shocked. The look left the older girl's face after a moment and Mariel came rushing in. Arilyn danced aside and her sword rose up and to the side. Hatoko had never seen anyone use a sword, but the moves came to her as if someone was guiding her thoughts. Mariel countered each blow perfectly, and over time both Angels took some damage, neither winning over the other.
The Deuses were so absorbed in their battle that they didn't notice that a number of people heard their swords clashing and came into the room to watch. The group stood by silently, watching the teenager who wore a bright smile on a tear-stained face and the kindergartener who watched her Angel fight with a haunted look in her eyes, as if she didn't know how to do what she was doing.
Hatoko concentrated on the battle, letting the images that flowed into her mind flow into her borrowed Angel. It was as if she was watching the battle between Kirika and her mother, not guiding Arilyn herself. It was odd... She wasn't guiding Arilyn with any of her usual moves; it was a whole different set, one that Kirika seemed at ease with. It was as if Kirika's mother was guiding her, showing her the moves she should use, giving her an entry phrase that Kirika would understand and take to heart... Mentally shrugging aside her feelings, Hatoko continued to watch the battle, half-controlling Arilyn, half giving Kirika's mother the control.
Kirika smiled as she fought with Hatoko. The entry phrase that Hatoko had used fit the situation...and Arilyn's character. Then Hatoko had used the entrance move that her mother had always performed. A thought swirled through Kirika's mind. How did she know that entrance? And how does she know how to use a sword? In mom's style, too. It's freaky. Pushing aside all of her questions, Kirika's smile brightened. Her sword was in her hands again, the death of her mother accepted, and that was what mattered. That was all that mattered...
// I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know //
After some time, the Deuses looked up at each other, backing their Angels to opposite sides of the Layer. Kirika spoke first.
"Will we call it a draw, Hatoko-chan?" The younger girl nodded, and flipped Arilyn out of the Layer into her hands. Kirika did the same with Mariel, and came over.
"Mom and I were always fairly matched. We almost always called it a draw, unless she found a new move to try on me." Kirika reached over and drew Hatoko close. "Thank you, Hatoko-chan. Thank you."
The lyrics of the music she had danced to only a short while ago popped into Kirika's head as she held the young girl to her in a tight embrace...
// I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know //
"There's only one thing you should know..."
// I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter //
"It doesn't even matter...Because I've still got you with me."