Battle Phase 1-28: The Deal with People, and Their Potential

"Eh... I did not know that Misaki had only one friend..." Miharu noted after Saemi told who she was (and after the introductions).

"You see, Misaki here was very timid and shy back in our school, so she could not make friends that easily, so I came to her. And she was a really good friend. And my, you have changed, from shy and timid to courageous and strong..."

"Thanks Saemi..." Misaki thanked her childhood friend. "I know that our classmates have also changed as well..."

"But one of us had not changed at all... and your suspicions about her were correct..." Saemi noted.

"Who?" Misaki asked.

"Naru Saga... our class' top student... and she's here..."

"What's the deal with this Naru? And why?" Miharu asked.

"Since Misaki came to our school, Naru had always hated her..." Saemi began her "report" "She was the weakest in our class- I suppose that she's the same in yours..."

"Eh... sort of..." Miharu puffed, remembering one gym class- Misaki had slipped off the pommel horse three times. Misaki pouted at that.

"Well then..." Saemi continued "not only did Naru hated her for her weakness but she also feared your potential... what you can be... and now that you are what she feared- a strong, confident and successful champion, she's here to place her point on you... watch out and she may strike you underhanded."

"Do you mean?" Misaki wondered.

"You're right, she's also a Deus, like you- actually, after you won the championships, she rushed to the shop in the city and made her angel, Mizuki..." Saemi continued.

"Plain... and... simple... rivalry..." Miharu puffed "I hate that..."

"Well, that's all my time here... Naru is expecting me at the hotel... bye!" Saemi went off, leaving the two behind.

"What did I do to her to consider me as her rival!" Misaki asked, irritated. "For starters, I don't even know her that well!"

"Plain and simple jealousy, she's just jealous at what you can do... go show her who you really are, not the shy and timid Misaki Suzuhara of the past, but the strong and confident Misaki Suzuhara that you really are... in front of me- the Deus that with her angel, makes the word impossible- impossible..."

"And you are not alone..." another voice came in. it was Maria, who was listening earlier. "A lot of people are with you on this..."

"Maria... Miharu..." Misaki's negative face turned into cheer. "Thanks..."

"Say there, can any of you people help me on something? I need to practice with my angel so I can be an effective assistant..."

"If Tsubaki needs a training partner, I'll be happy to help" Miharu answered "by the way, I'm Miharu..."

"Thanks Miharu... Misaki?"

"Um! Let's go train at Miharu's place!" Misaki replied.

"Eh! Why my place?"

Later at Miharu's place, (with Kotaro, Yukinari and his twin Yukina, Ryou Misaki and his little sister- Ace's real owner and Maria's little brother) Ai was programming the layer for a simulated battle- 4 on 4. It made Maria nervous; particularly that she was the weakest in the group.

"Adjustments completed..." Ai concluded "I've done some minor changes in the field setup- as prescribed by Mrs. Hoshikawa herself. The field will be placed in the pool area, because this is the first time the party battle program will be used- there is simply not enough space in that very layer table for 8 angels..." Ai pointed to the covered pool and the table itself, and also taking out three more angel visors. She then wore one and took out 4 angels. "Now, would the participants wear their visors?" the green-haired custodian then asked.

Yukina, Yukinari and Misaki were the ones who naturally had stepped forward. Maria on the other hand, reluctantly wore her visor after some prodding on Misaki's part.

"I did not know that you have an angel..." Yukinari noted his twin's actions.

"Eh... you'll be surprised at how she looks..." Yukina replied, taking out her angel.

"Ahem... Angels Advance!" Kotaro cut in, after Ai gave him a sign, and tips on how to announce the team battles (singles entry are called by the opening line "Angel Entry". Team or party battles are called by the line "Angels Advance"- new system under testing.).

"Me first... Divine warriors, go forth and vanquish thy enemy! Nike, Aki, Hammetz, Seize... go forward!" Ai called, releasing her 4 angels into the layer "Angels... Advance!" (And yes, the same Nike that Shinji used and the same Aki that Miharu first controlled. Hammetz and Seize belonged to Ai's other friends, Mako and Pao.)

"My turn..." Yukinari called "Go, servant of the celestial, Ten Star warrior, Aizen Teppa! Angel, Descend!"

Teppa landed safely. To begin with, the Aizens are speed types (as I will show in the next sentences). He wore a green sleeveless jacket with a large zipper and pants to match. His scarf was his unique feature- his actual weapon. The scarf can mould itself on his hand to become the body of his trademark air cannon or shape itself to be the blade of his sword. Low framed glasses accented his deep blue eyes.

"Hikaru, you are my light and soul, may your angelic wings spread wide and guide us to victory... Go touch the sky, Hikaru! Angel, Descend!" Misaki then made her entry. Then it was Yukina's turn.

"Most faithful divine servant, follow in the words of the holiest angel! Go forward, Ten Star warrior, Aizen Yukina!" Yukina called, releasing her angel.

"Aizen Yukina! But how did you manage to be in the stars?" Yukinari asked.

"Simple, since Hinata moved to another school, I simply took her place- and to remind you, I'm also an honor student like the rest of the stars..." Yukina answered, making reference to Miharu.

"I don't mind..." Miharu replied before Yukinari could answer "and it's a justifiable reason..."

Yukina landed okay. Like Teppa, she was a speed type, with almost the same dress code (like the twin that she was)- except for the fact that she wore pink, no glasses and a hip "scarf" (belt or whatever) instead- though she had a tongfa baton holder similar in configuration as Rushina's- and the same number of batons, 2. Maria was still nervous.

"Here goes... You are not alone; for you are my faithful friend, go forward, Tsubaki!"

Nervous Maria released her angel in the layer. Tsubaki had changed a bit, with the addition of a holster on her back, carrying a benign-looking chain mace (a mace that has a chain link as its business end, as opposed to other maces- which are spiky balls or anything that is in your imagination).

"Party battle set..." Kotaro called, receiving nods from both sides- A (Misaki and Co.) and B (Ai's Army). "Angelic Fight!"

Ai's team took up the offense, with Nike and Aki in front. Hammetz (or Metz in short call) pulled out her crossbow while Seize took up a praying pose. And the front's target- Tsubaki. All of a sudden, the already quick Aki and Nike shimmered a bit, and then sped up even more, passing Teppa, Yukina and Hikaru.

"Maria, look out!" Misaki called as Hikaru dashed to place herself between Tsubaki and her foes. But she was stopped by Metz's keen shooting.

Tsubaki can only dodge the rapid attacks Ai's angels were making. And it began to rattle the already nervous Maria. Teppa and Yukina took up the task of attacking the front while Hikaru began to charge at the sniper and the still unmoved Seize. As Hikaru began to attack Metz, Seize began to shimmer slightly then... bang! (The sound of metal on metal)

"What the!" Misaki alarmed as her punch towards Metz was blocked- by a barrier.

"Support skills... that is one new tree in the skills an angel can do..." Ai replied as Misaki and the others looked at Seize- one of her hands was extended, towards Metz- a ball of light enveloping on her hand a sign of some new skill.

Seize began to pray, with the angels on her team beginning to have a faint aura. Then, the three attacked, confusing all. Tsubaki and her Deus were much more confused- not because that she was being attacked (she was not being attacked at all) but because she could not do a thing while her team mates took the beating. Her breathing became shallow as her thoughts went wild, making Tsubaki fall on her knees. Nike took the advantage and began to attack, but Hikaru managed to block it- at the expense of her being hit by crossbow bolts (fortunately no pain- just a normal non-tournament layer).

"They are taking the beating- to protect me... because I'm the weakest... I'm such a bad person, protecting me at their expense..." Maria began to cry, spirit weakened.

"You are not alone Maria..." Misaki began to speak "We're here protecting you because; you're a friend to us... and we don't want you to be hurt as well"

"I'm a friend... a friend... friend..." Maria began to repeat the words- then realized something as her life flashed her by. "She's right... I am her friend. I was never alone, for my brother and my angel were there... I got it now- on why papa and mama named me Maria- after the Virgin Mary. I was named that way because my friends will depend on me sometime or another... for the Virgin Mary was also helpful- a saint..."

"Giving up?" Ai asked, seeing the battle as "one-sided" (on her favor, thru her POV at least).

"Misaki... everyone... stop protecting me..." Maria suddenly spoke, shocking her teammates. "I now know the true value of my name... for Maria- the Virgin Mary is a saint- a servant of god. And as god's servant, she must serve the people... and the people I'm going to serve are my friends... and I'm going to be a saint to aid and protect them!"

At those words, Tsubaki stood up and began to glow a bright white. As soon as it cleared, she had completely changed- transfigured in a sense. Her clothing had changed from green to holy white, while her undergarments from black to divine pink. Near her neck, there was a cross pendant (Brooch or whatever you like) and her face had changed as well- the heart mark on her head had changed into a diamond and her earrings from stars to crosses. All were amazed at the transformation.

"Finally, her heart had connected with her angel... good" Ai praised the girl.

Then Tsubaki took the same praying stance as Seize took. She then closed her eyes and began to pray. Then, Maria issued a command as her angel opened her eyes.

"Agility up!"

At that instant, the angels on Maria's team had their speed increased- like what Seize did to her team earlier. Then, as A team charged, Maria again issued another command.

"Blessing!"

And again A team's angels had their attack (and –speed), defense, accuracy and the other parameters that were unaffected by the agility increase were improved. Hikaru was hurt, so Maria issued yet another command. And if your guess is right, that's what she did- she healed her friend's injured angel. Ai had witnessed enough.

"I surrender..." she spoke, removing her visor and hence, her control over her angels. "You have done well, not only for this test, but in your qualification as a second- to you Ms. Shibata... forgive me for my treatment- if ever that was rude..."

Later, after Ai left to report, Misaki had found Maria at the same place she was earlier- the layer field. She was looking at the "new" Tsubaki.

"Misaki... thanks for reminding me" Maria spoke "that I have friends... I promise that I'll be a good second to whoever chooses me..."

"It was nothing, you can be my second anytime..." Misaki cheered as she helped Maria out of her chair.

Now, block A was almost complete, with Misaki Suzuhara fighting Naru Saga for slot A-3, while Rachel Sato competing with another hopeful for slot A-1. In block B, If Miharu wins the next match against Saga's hopeful, she'll be facing a contender for slot B-2- either her cousin Reimi or the hopeful from Okayama. A bit of crystal-balling from some fans have predicted the owner of slot B-1: Miyuki Kawada. (with her dark knight angel's sword techniques, who would stand a chance?) Also predicted was the owner of slot B-3 for the championship battle: Sai Junoichi. (She had been there before, so why not again?) In block C, again the crystal-ballers were at it, with Sasaki and Kobayashi taking the first and third slots, respectively- as a prediction. In block D however, fan numbers were the basis, with the Block D pop survey showing Rika Seto- Ringo's Sister and Lady T- RKA Tamayo Kisaki (Misaki and the others still don't know about her true identity- after all this time) tied for the top slot in the poll.

Meanwhile, at the airport, one Deus had again returned to watch the Japan championships, with a few friends.

"Saint, if this is not good, we'll keel (kill or whatever) you!" the oldest of the group puffed in the in-game lingo- apparently stressed from jet lag- even though the flight was for a few short hours.

"Rest assured, Mr. Momo..." the saint replied, calling him by his avatar's name "like I said, you would really like to fight these people I'm going to show you..."

"But Chris..." The oldest female in the group asked him, in his (X's) real name "are you sure of what you said?"

"Rest worry-free... Mr. Suzuhara had assured of it... or should I say, the guardian of life had assured of it..."

"Well then..." the team leader then spoke "let's see what we're up against in the international stage... but, is the admission free?"

"Knock it off Nick! Of course, it's free!"

Meanwhile, in Hilo, Hawaii, another champion watched the Japan tournaments- via one of the many Japanese channels available in the islands. (Because the islands have a substantial Japanese population- mainly centered at centers like Honolulu and Oahu.)

"We can stand a chance against them, am I right, Kuro-chan?"