Please enjoy this!!!!
Hiroko.
Yes?
You are no longer the DarkAngel. You are free now. Free to be happy. Free to be you.
Yes. Freedom is good. Being happy is nice too.
I'm happy for you.
Yes, thank you.
Tamayo grinned as Hiroko flew into the layer. Three years as champion had been a nightmare. TV cameras and newspapers galore. Now, however, she was facing someone in the final battle whom she had faith in to put up a good fight. If she happened to beat him, then she'd probably go live in a hole for the rest of her life. (A/N: Kinda like Saddam Hussein, eh?) Masao flew into the layer right then, a little more awkwardly than usual, she noticed, but didn't really care. If Koutarou was fumbling, that was his problem. But then again, if he was fumbling, Tamayo might win...
The announcer called for the fight to begin and Masao leapt at Hiroko, who danced gracefully out of the way, causing Masao to fall flat on his face. The crowd laughed, but Masao got right up and attacked again, this time, tripping Hiroko as she tried to get away. Hiroko kicked out at him, sending him spinning across the layer. Tamayo lost track of the battle about five minutes in and let Hiroko take over. She knew it wasn't totally fair, but if you can't focus, it's very hard to do a good job. Koutarou saw Tamayo zone out and made Masao create a loud bang with a small electric attack to jerk her out of her stupor. Tamayo came alive and took over again. From there on in, the battle was pretty much a blur, to both the deuses and the audience. Before any of them knew it, Masao was lying at the edge of the layer, out cold, and Hiroko was looking in disgust down at him, poking him gently with her foot, hoping he'd get up and steal the championship title from her. When the announcer declared that Hiroko had won, she scowled at the crowd, but took her bows all the same.
Then, Masao came back to life, scaring the heck out of Tamayo. Koutarou looked across at her and smiled, his cheeks flushing pink. Tamayo looked at him, a question mark written all over her face.
"I - I may have lost this battle," he began, turning an even brighter shade of pink, "but - but there is another battle I think I'll win more easily."
"Oh?"
Just then, the crowd began to laugh. Tamayo looked down at the layer and snorted, earning herself a sharp glare from her angel.
In the center of the layer, Masao was down on one knee, clasping one of Hiroko's hands tightly, while she tried in vain to pull away. Masao had the most imploring look on his face that Tamayo had ever seen. She looked up at Koutarou in confusion.
"T-Tamayo-chan, will you - will you marry me?"
She sat rigid in shock for several minutes.
"Er-" Obviously the announcer was very confused as well.
Suddenly, the layer changed to a field of roses with little heart balloons floating here and there. Tamayo began to giggle and then looked pointedly down at the layer.
Koutarou followed her eyes and smiled. Hiroko had her arms locked very tightly around Masao and was squeezing him very passionately. So passionately, in fact, that he was almost turning blue. Then, she kissed him soundly and let him go. The angel fell over, dazed and lay there for a moment before getting up and shakily handing Hiroko a box. Tamayo's angel flew up to where she sat and presented the box with the lid open. Inside the box, on the red silk lining, lay a ring. It wasn't anything fancy, just a silver and gold band, but right then, it was worth all the money in the world.
Tamayo took the ring and slid it onto her finger, admiring the way it sparkled in the light. She smiled across at Koutarou and then began to lower her chair until it reached the ground. Koutarou did the same, and they slid onto the ground at the same time. Koutarou began walking around the layer, toward where Tamayo was. Tamayo ran to him and hugged him, much in the same way that Hiroko had hugged Masao.
The stadium erupted into cheers. The newly engaged couple blushed, but waved enthusiastically at the crowd.
Misaki giggled as she watched the whole thing take place. She glanced up at Ohjiro, who sat beside her.
"I hope you don't do that to me," she said matter-of-factly.
"Who said we're gonna get married?"
"Oh, puh-lease. I saw you buying a ring."
"And who says it's for you?"
"If it isn't, boy, are you in trouble mister."
"Well, I was saving this for tomorrow night, when we're gonna go out, but since you brought it up," got out of his chair and knelt beside hers, "Misaki-chan, will you marry me?"
She grinned and hugged him.
"No."
"What?"
"I'm kidding."
"Oh."
An 'awwww' broke out from the section around them. Misaki grinned at them and then disappeared under her chair.
The four friends sat at a table in a small restaurant in downtown Tokyo. Originally, it would have just been Ohjiro and Misaki, but considering the events of the previous day, plans had changed. Tamayo and Misaki chattered non-stop to each other while the men looked on in amazement, trying to figure out how exactly women talked ten times faster than either of them could even hope to speak.
Their four angels sat on the centerpiece quietly. But who knows if they were speaking to one another in a way none of us humans could comprehend. Hiroko and Masao held hands and smiled at one another.
The End
There you have it. It's over. I hope you enjoyed it. I don't think I'm gonna write another Angelic Layer fanfic for awhile because I have about six or seven other stories I want to get done and those are gonna be very long. So please check out my other stories, and if you don't like Inuyasha or Gundam Wing, I have a story called Misfit High up on www.animespiral.com. Bye!!!
