Fall of a Goddess, Faith Restored

Part 2

An Angelic Layer Fanfic

By D. Cooper

daijin26@hotmail.com

Kotarou was just coming out of the kitchen when Hatoko returned home. He was still chewing the last bite of food from the snack he just finished.

"Konnichiwa, Hatoko-chan." Kotarou greeted his sister.

"Oh, umm…konnichiwa, oniisan," replied Hatoko, barely audible to her brother since she was looking down at the floor.

Kotarou knew at that moment that something was wrong with Hatoko. She never walked around with her head down. Hatoko was always full of pride due to her higher than normal level of maturity for a five year old and her reputation that she had earned in Angelic Layer.

As Hatoko climbed the stairs, Kotarou could see his sister's face and what he saw shocked him more than he could imagine. For upon the face of Hatoko was the expression of deep sadness.

Kotarou had never seen his sister so depressed before. He became terribly worried and quickly followed upstairs. When upstairs, Kotarou walked towards Hatoko's room. The door was slightly open. He knocked on the door lightly but it was enough to cause the door to open wider.

Kotarou was all set to apologize for accidentally invading Hatoko's privacy until he saw something he would never believe. Hatoko was putting Suzuka back in her Angel Egg from which she was "born".

The older Kobayashi stood in mute shock. Hatoko heard the door open and quickly turned to see her brother.

"Oniisan!" cried Hatoko.

Kotarou snapped out of his shock to confront his sister. "Hatoko-chan, what are you doing with Suzuka?"

The look of anger on Hatoko's face changed back into one of sadness at the mention of her Angel. "What does it look like? I'm putting her back where she belongs."

Kotarou did not understand what Hatoko was talking about. "What are you talking about. Suzuka is your Angel! She belongs with you!"

"NO SHE DOESN'T!" screamed Hatoko.

Kotarou could not believe that Hatoko just yelled at him like that. He knew that there had to be something much more serious, much deeper, to affect his sibling like this.

Hatoko just realized that she yelled at her own brother. Her anger at herself got the better of her. "Gomen nasai, oniisan! I didn't mean to yell at you! It's just…"

Kotarou knelt down to his sister and gently caressed her cheek. "It's okay, imouto-chan. It's all right. Just talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Hatoko kept silent. She did not want to talk about it. She just looked away from her brother.

Kotarou raised an eyebrow. "Is this about you losing to Jounouchi Sai in the semi-finals?"

Hatoko shuddered at the mention of her name. "No! It's more than that! You would not understand!"

Kotarou was getting impatient. "Just tell me!"

Hatoko looked at her brother with eyes that threatened to stab him like daggers. "It's too personal. Do not ask me again! Forget about it!"

"How can you ask me to just forget about it? What kind of brother would I be then? I love you, Hatoko-chan! I just want to help you."

Hatoko softened a little at Kotarou's genuine sympathy for her. She smiled a bit for him. "Arigato, oniisan. I appreciate your concern for me. I really do. But this is something you cannot help me with. I must deal with it alone. Please understand."

"All right. I'll respect that." Kotarou conceded. "But why give up Suzuka? She's everything to you. You two have been through so much together! Whatever's going on, it can't be worth abandoning Suzuka. It can't be."

Hatoko walked over to her window and looked at the sunset in the horizon as afternoon drew to a close. With her back still facing him, she turned her head to Kotarou.

"I'm quitting Angelic Layer." Hatoko said with finality.

"WHAT! What do you mean you're quitting? You love Angelic Layer! You can't!"

"I've made my decision. In six months when registration begins for next year's Angelic Layer tournament, I'm removing Suzuka and myself from the roster."

Kotarou tried desperately to change his sister's mind. "But…"

Hatoko turned quickly to face Kotarou, the sudden move startled him, interrupting what he was going to say.

"Do not waste your breath, oniisan. I've made up my mind on this." Hatoko said. She turned back to face the window again. "Now please, I want to be alone."

Kotarou knew how stubborn Hatoko was. There was no convincing her to change her mind on this. But he could not just stand there and do nothing. For the moment, however, Kotarou had to give up. As he left the room, Kotarou noticed Suzuka, still inside the Angel Egg, on the floor.

He picked up the Angel Egg and looked at Suzuka. For the life of him, Kotarou could swear that Suzuka looked sad. It was if she knew that her Deus was abandoning her. Kotarou knew that Suzuka was sad. For you see, he knew that a part of Hatoko was within Suzuka.

Technically, the Angel was a highly sophisticated doll that was controlled by brainwaves of the owner, the Deus which were sent by a special headset that transferred the Deus' brainwaves to the Angel. That was all it was to everyone that simply watched Angelic Layer battles.

To the Deus, however, the Angel was so much more. The Angel came as nothing more than a small metal human figure with no hair, clothes or skin, and was encased in the Angel Egg. The Deus programmed the parameters of the Angel themselves. Each Angel made individual because the Deus put their own personalities inside the Angel. From everything to the hair, clothes, height and look of the Angel, it was entirely up to the Deus. The Angel was very much like the Deus' child.

The Angel was truly a part of the Deus.

Suzuka was a part of Hatoko and she did not want to be without her Deus.

Kotarou put Suzuka back down on the floor and turned to Hatoko. "You're making a mistake."

"Please, leave me." Hatoko said.

Kotarou turned to leave Hatoko alone. As he closed the door behind him, Hatoko remained facing the window as silent tears swept down her face once more. As Kotarou went back downstairs, he felt a seething pain in his heart. It truly hurt him to see his sister like this. Broken and defeated. By something that she would not tell him.

But, Kotarou would not give up on Hatoko. He realized that there was only one person that he knew of that could help him save Hatoko from herself. He knew Hatoko would probably hate him for what he was going to do, but Kotarou knew this was for the best.

Kotarou went to the phone and picked up the receiver. Then, he dialed the number of Hatoko's last hope. The phone rang on the other end and he heard the click of the receiving phone indicating that it has been picked up.

The voice of Hatoko's savoir answered. "Moshi! Suzuhara Misaki here!"

Kotarou's heart nearly leaped from his chest. He was so lucky that Misaki was home. He became frantic. "Oh, Suzuhara! I'm so glad you're home! I need your help!"

Misaki could not believe that Kotarou was so hysterical. "Kotarou-chan! Kotarou-chan! Hold on! Calm down! Take it easy."

Kotarou started to calm himself. "Sorry, Suzuhara. It's just that something terrible has just happened."

Misaki could already figure that out from the way Kotarou was on the phone when she first picked up. Something had to be dreadfully wrong.

"Okay, tell me what happened." Misaki said.

"It's Hatoko-chan!"

Misaki went wide-eyed. No wonder Kotarou was so upset! "Na! Ha…Hatoko-chan? I haven't seen her for some time! What's happened to her?"

Kotarou sighed deeply before responding. "You're not going to believe this."

The suspense was killing Misaki. She was clutching the phone desperately.

"Tell me! What's wrong with Hatoko-chan?" Misaki said, her voice filled with worry.

"She's quitting! She's leaving Angelic Layer!"

Misaki felt as if a bolt of lightening struck right at her heart. "Masa ka?"

The shock was too much for Misaki to say anything more.

To be continued…