Okay,
I'm back. Sorry its been so long before I updated. But
life's hectic, you know? Anyway, I feel pressured to
write a new chapter. No one has been updating their fics
lately, you guys are obviously freaked out by Apollo in
the last chapter, and inspiration and ideas have given
me the motivation to write (A friend of mine said I
should write this after I finish college, but I doubt
you reviewers would wait 5 years for a new chapter
^^;;). I've reformatted all the chapters in HTML and
took out a scene in chapter two. So, its time for some
action!
CHAPTER 7:
Last Chance, First Victory
-------------------------
The Angel's voice sung sweetly, gently in the darkness. "Sayoko-sama, can you hear me?"
His Deus uncurled from her huddled figure. "Apollo.." Sayoko sighed, reaching out to touch the glowing angel. Apollo hovered down and clasped his hands with hers. "Please, Sayoko-sama, stop searching for my past. It will only cause you pain."
"Demo, Apollo! I just want to know more about you. Is it true then? Are you really..." She glanced at the Angel with worried, trembling eyes, "Are you one of the legendary ArchAngels?"
The Angel's warm face clouded with a hidden pain. His fingers slipped from Sayoko's grasp. "I don't know."
"You don't know? How? Don't you want to know more about yourself--- matte! Apollo!" Apollo began to drift away, receding back into the surrounding darkness. Sayoko jumped up, but it was too late. The Angel was now a faint glow in the distant void.
"Do not force me to remember things long forgotten," his voice echoed around her. "I will stop you if you do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sayoko blinked out of sleep. In her bedroom,
morning rays streamed through white ruffled curtains.
Apollo sat on her dresser, basking in the bright
sunlight. He stared at his Deus intensely, as if he had
done so for the entire night. Sayoko rose out of bed and
smiled.
"Ne, you never stay where I put you," she laughed, hugging him warmly. The Angel wasn't so cheerful; in fact, he looked just as distressed as he did in her dream. She set the angel down and looked at her calender. Today is the day.
For three days straight, Sayoko and Apollo had trained to the fullest, working day and night for today. Today was her second battle in the Regional Tournament's First Round. Today was her last chance to win.
I can't lose now, not after so much has happened, Sayoko thought as she fixed on her glasses and padded across the carpet to her closet. If I do, I'll let everyone down. Akiko, Tamomo, Papa... even Apollo. And I can't let Suzuhara get away with what she did. She spread her clothes across her bed. A crisp white blouse with yellow collar and cuffs, yellow skirt, white thigh high stockings with yellow shoes. She thought it would look cute to color coordinate with her Angel. Sayoko turned around with a wide grin.
"Apollo," she called, catching his attention. She flipped him a thumbs-up. "We Are Gonna Win!" She cheered in English, winking. Apollo smiled back, hiding his confusion. He didn't know what to do. His very first fight with Cathleen made him discover fighting talents he never knew he had. But unleashing this ability had frightened Sayoko. Knowing this, Apollo made sure not to use any special abilities in her fight with Misaki, to allow Sayoko to fight on her own. Yet that match ended in disaster. Now he was uncertain. Should he win the match for her, and risk terrifying her once again? Or should she fight using her own skill?
He watched his Deus hum a joyful tune as she skipped out into the hallway. He could feel the desire to win in her tone, her cheerful steps. Apollo now realized what to do. Sayoko wanted to win. He was going to help her. He would make sure she would win this fight, no matter what.
--------------------
Ogata peered sheepishly through the thick shrubs. From his hiding place, he watched Sayoko leave her house and head toward the Piffle Princess Mall. He glanced at his boss.
"Ne, Chief?" Ogata asked, voice muffled from his branches. Icchan glared at him with incredibly annoyed eyes. "What?!" he hissed.
"Ano.. that is girl you want?"
"AHOU! Of course she is! Now come, she's leaving! Do you have the bag?"
"Hai.. demo.."
"Shaddup, Ogata! Or do you like parading around in women's lingerie?"
Ogata fervently shook his branches. "No, please Chief, no more punishment!"
"Then let's go!" Icchan hobbled out of the shadows and into the street. Ogata sighed, but followed Icchan's lead. The two of them shuffled out the large thicket and trailed an unsuspecting Sayoko .
Apollo's ears twitched. Something was sneaking up from behind them, he could hear it. He poked Sayoko's ear. "Eh?" she asked, turning around. There, in the middle of the street, were two suspicious looking trees, each with a conveniently placed pair of holes. One of the trees had a huge bag sticking on a branch, and it was shaking as if nervous. Sayoko raised an eyebrow.
"Strange.." she murmured and continued on her way. Something cracked behind her, and she twisted around. Now the trees were much nearer, and the tree with the bag was right behind her, holding the bag with two branches above her head. If she didn't know any better, she'd think those branches were arms.
Sayoko shrugged it off and went ahead. "Now!" someone shouted. The bag came down, cloaking her in darkness and whisking her away to some unknown location. Sayoko screamed wildly as she bobbed and tossed around in the bag, then was dumped onto a cold marble floor. She bolted to her feet. Nothing looked familiar. She was in a small room, filled with Angelic Layer equipment and a Layer in the center. On the walls hung portraits of famous Angels such as Athena, The Wizard, and of course Hikaru. Near the doors were the same two trees that had abducted her. Sayoko took a step back.
"Who are you! What do you want!" She cried. One tree removed his leafy head, revealing Ogata's nervous face. "Sayoko-san, please calm down. Chief has some interest--"
"Get away from me, you perv!" She flung her shoe at Ogata's head, clunking him and sending him flying. The other tree looked amused.
"Neee.. you're nothing like Misaki-chan. This should be fun." The talking tree giggled insanely. "Omura Sayoko, don't you know who I am?" Sayoko glared fearfully, holding up her other shoe. "No!"
"Heh heh heh.. I am the brilliant, the astounding, the genius scientist..." he whisked off his costume with one hand. "Ichiro Mihara! Inventor Of Angels and creator of Angelic Layer! And you, Sayoko, will be my new prodi-- ITAI!!" Sayoko's shoe slammed into Icchan's face. The young girl grabbed onto a nearby chair.
"Liar! You're not Ichiro Mihara! My Papa works for him! He said Ichiro-san is the smartest, most sophisticated scientist he's ever met. Ichiro-san couldn't be some ugly, weird pedophile like you!"
Icchan ducked past the flying chair and pointed to a huge portrait of himself on the door, with the caption Head of Angelic Layer International: Ichiro Mihara underneath. Sayoko released the keyboard she was about to fling.
"..Oh....you really are Ichiro Mihara!"
"Hai." Icchan rose to his feet and swiped dust off his lab suit. "And I have chosen you to be my new student."
"Um.. if you're Ichiro-san, whose he?" Sayoko pointed to the unconscious Ogata.
"Him? He's nobody. Put this on." He handed her a headset, then picked up Apollo from the floor and placed him in the Layer. "This is an excellent time to test your motions. Now dance." He switched on a CD player from his side.
Sayoko slipped on the headset. "Huh?"
"Dance. Dance! Do like this." He shot his hand in the air. "And this." He raised his left leg to his right knee. "Now twiiiiiirrrrrlll. Twirrrrllll. Yes, that's it. Sppppiiiiiinnnnn!"
A confused Sayoko imitated his actions. She spun on her leg and whirled.
"Yes!...Wait. No! Not you, the doll!" Icchan shouted, but Sayoko didn't hear him. But Apollo did. The Angel examined her moves carefully, and began to dance. He copied every hop, every jump Sayoko made, and did it in perfect synchronism. The black-haired scientist narrowed his eyes curiously.
His learning program must be in effect, he grinned secretly. This should be interesting.
For a whole hour, Icchan instructed Sayoko on moves, strategies, and exercises to strengthen her abilities. After rigorous training, Sayoko flipped off her headset, wiping off beads of sweat. "Icchan, what time is it?"
"Only 1:45."
Her eyes bulged out in fear. "Oh my gosh! My match! You made me late!"
--------------------
The thick crowd was swelling with tension. Haruguchi Hiromi, with her Angel Hurricane, sat impatiently at the empty Layer. "It's already been 15 minutes. The girl's obviously not coming."
The referee nodded and raise her hand. "The winner, by forfeit, is Angel Hurricane, Deus--"
"With the glory of the gods," a breathless voice screamed from the crowd. "Let your wings take flight. Win, Apollo!"
In a flash of light, Apollo flew across the room and fell into the Layer. He straightened his body and twirled gracefully down, then slowed briefly as his left foot touched the surface. The Angel's costume was a flourish of golden and silver. His golden overcoat was splashed silver embroidery, just like his ankle length golden boots. A sleeveless sun-colored shirt stopped just above his belly button, hidden beneath the three buttons of his coat. Pure white pants finished the attire, with a trademark 'A' on the belt. Apollo immediately went to a combat stance. No one noticed the Angel was moving with a Deus.
Sayoko popped out from the surprised crowd, sweating and out of breath. "Gomen... gomen nasai.." She huffed as she placed her head set on and flopped into her seat. Hiromi merely raised an eyebrow.
"Left Hook!" Hiromi punched the air. "Right Cross!" A blow to the ceiling. "Grab victory with the Iron Fist, Hurricane!"
Hurricane was tossed into the Layer and pounded the ground beneath her. Stocky, muscular, and tall, Hurricane had an uncanny resemblance to her Deus. Only Hurricane had golden brown skin and stark green mohawk, while Hiromi's was merely tanned with pink hair. Hurricane launched into a series of powerful blows, then aimed her boxing gloves at Apollo, tightening her pose.
"Angel Fight!" the referee exclaimed. Apollo bolted at Hurricane, who felt no inclination to move. He struck her head first with his boot. But it had no effect. He spun around and punch her stomach. Nothing. Hurricane smirked, stepped forward, and slammed her elbow into his chest, flinging him to the edges of the Layer. Apollo flipped up and charged again, leaping into a fury of blurry kicks and strikes. Hurricane didn't bother dodge. She took hit by hit with little damage, then knocked Apollo under his chin into the air. He soared over her and crashed on the other side of the Layer. With only two hits, the boxer Hurricane had weakened Apollo's life meter to nearly half.
"We have them, Hurricane. Now do it," Hiromi snickered. The brown skinned Hurricane tiptoed to her feet, whipped around, and twirled herself into her signature move, the Hurricane Rage. The small tornado zigzagged across the Layer, the Angel's fists a blur of red. Sayoko bit her lip. Hurricane must be a heavyweight, powertype. Only that could explain why Apollo's moves had no effect. Apollo's only advantage was his speed. But could she use it?
The familiar scroll of symbols scramble over Sayoko's headpiece. No, not now! she fretted, glancing at Apollo. His eyes were flashing from green to blood red, and a dark, murderous smirk slowly crossed the Angel's face. Sayoko had to end this match fast, before Apollo's demonic persona set in.
Her mind reverted back to Icchan's dance training. After all the spinning, she remembered feeling disoriented and losing her balance. Then she thought of the battle, how Hurricane's punches were mighty, but sluggish, and how she never used her legs during the fight. The pieces came together. I got it!
The twirling Hurricane zipped swiftly toward Apollo. He inched his way to the Layer's brink, then knelled down. Just when Hurricane's fists neared to punching distance, Apollo thrust his feet between her legs. Hurricane tripped, spiraling out of control. The golden-haired Angel jumped up and struck a crushing kick to Hurricane's legs, her weak point, hurling her out of the Layer.
"Layer out! Apollo Wins!"
Sayoko remained eerily still for a few moments, before bursting into a fit of delirious laughs and cheers. "I WON!! I WON!! Did you see me, Icchan!? I won!! Icchan? Icchan?"
The scientist was nowhere to be found. Sayoko returned to the Layer, met Apollo's gentle emerald eyes. He was holding up his thumb, and mouthed proudly "We are Gonna Win!" with a coy wink. The Deus returned the gesture enthusiastically.
Yeah, we're going to win. We're going to win all our battles, and we won't stop until we met Suzuhara in the Championships.This is only... our First Victory.
Last Chance, First Victory
-------------------------
The Angel's voice sung sweetly, gently in the darkness. "Sayoko-sama, can you hear me?"
His Deus uncurled from her huddled figure. "Apollo.." Sayoko sighed, reaching out to touch the glowing angel. Apollo hovered down and clasped his hands with hers. "Please, Sayoko-sama, stop searching for my past. It will only cause you pain."
"Demo, Apollo! I just want to know more about you. Is it true then? Are you really..." She glanced at the Angel with worried, trembling eyes, "Are you one of the legendary ArchAngels?"
The Angel's warm face clouded with a hidden pain. His fingers slipped from Sayoko's grasp. "I don't know."
"You don't know? How? Don't you want to know more about yourself--- matte! Apollo!" Apollo began to drift away, receding back into the surrounding darkness. Sayoko jumped up, but it was too late. The Angel was now a faint glow in the distant void.
"Do not force me to remember things long forgotten," his voice echoed around her. "I will stop you if you do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ne, you never stay where I put you," she laughed, hugging him warmly. The Angel wasn't so cheerful; in fact, he looked just as distressed as he did in her dream. She set the angel down and looked at her calender. Today is the day.
For three days straight, Sayoko and Apollo had trained to the fullest, working day and night for today. Today was her second battle in the Regional Tournament's First Round. Today was her last chance to win.
I can't lose now, not after so much has happened, Sayoko thought as she fixed on her glasses and padded across the carpet to her closet. If I do, I'll let everyone down. Akiko, Tamomo, Papa... even Apollo. And I can't let Suzuhara get away with what she did. She spread her clothes across her bed. A crisp white blouse with yellow collar and cuffs, yellow skirt, white thigh high stockings with yellow shoes. She thought it would look cute to color coordinate with her Angel. Sayoko turned around with a wide grin.
"Apollo," she called, catching his attention. She flipped him a thumbs-up. "We Are Gonna Win!" She cheered in English, winking. Apollo smiled back, hiding his confusion. He didn't know what to do. His very first fight with Cathleen made him discover fighting talents he never knew he had. But unleashing this ability had frightened Sayoko. Knowing this, Apollo made sure not to use any special abilities in her fight with Misaki, to allow Sayoko to fight on her own. Yet that match ended in disaster. Now he was uncertain. Should he win the match for her, and risk terrifying her once again? Or should she fight using her own skill?
He watched his Deus hum a joyful tune as she skipped out into the hallway. He could feel the desire to win in her tone, her cheerful steps. Apollo now realized what to do. Sayoko wanted to win. He was going to help her. He would make sure she would win this fight, no matter what.
--------------------
Ogata peered sheepishly through the thick shrubs. From his hiding place, he watched Sayoko leave her house and head toward the Piffle Princess Mall. He glanced at his boss.
"Ne, Chief?" Ogata asked, voice muffled from his branches. Icchan glared at him with incredibly annoyed eyes. "What?!" he hissed.
"Ano.. that is girl you want?"
"AHOU! Of course she is! Now come, she's leaving! Do you have the bag?"
"Hai.. demo.."
"Shaddup, Ogata! Or do you like parading around in women's lingerie?"
Ogata fervently shook his branches. "No, please Chief, no more punishment!"
"Then let's go!" Icchan hobbled out of the shadows and into the street. Ogata sighed, but followed Icchan's lead. The two of them shuffled out the large thicket and trailed an unsuspecting Sayoko .
Apollo's ears twitched. Something was sneaking up from behind them, he could hear it. He poked Sayoko's ear. "Eh?" she asked, turning around. There, in the middle of the street, were two suspicious looking trees, each with a conveniently placed pair of holes. One of the trees had a huge bag sticking on a branch, and it was shaking as if nervous. Sayoko raised an eyebrow.
"Strange.." she murmured and continued on her way. Something cracked behind her, and she twisted around. Now the trees were much nearer, and the tree with the bag was right behind her, holding the bag with two branches above her head. If she didn't know any better, she'd think those branches were arms.
Sayoko shrugged it off and went ahead. "Now!" someone shouted. The bag came down, cloaking her in darkness and whisking her away to some unknown location. Sayoko screamed wildly as she bobbed and tossed around in the bag, then was dumped onto a cold marble floor. She bolted to her feet. Nothing looked familiar. She was in a small room, filled with Angelic Layer equipment and a Layer in the center. On the walls hung portraits of famous Angels such as Athena, The Wizard, and of course Hikaru. Near the doors were the same two trees that had abducted her. Sayoko took a step back.
"Who are you! What do you want!" She cried. One tree removed his leafy head, revealing Ogata's nervous face. "Sayoko-san, please calm down. Chief has some interest--"
"Get away from me, you perv!" She flung her shoe at Ogata's head, clunking him and sending him flying. The other tree looked amused.
"Neee.. you're nothing like Misaki-chan. This should be fun." The talking tree giggled insanely. "Omura Sayoko, don't you know who I am?" Sayoko glared fearfully, holding up her other shoe. "No!"
"Heh heh heh.. I am the brilliant, the astounding, the genius scientist..." he whisked off his costume with one hand. "Ichiro Mihara! Inventor Of Angels and creator of Angelic Layer! And you, Sayoko, will be my new prodi-- ITAI!!" Sayoko's shoe slammed into Icchan's face. The young girl grabbed onto a nearby chair.
"Liar! You're not Ichiro Mihara! My Papa works for him! He said Ichiro-san is the smartest, most sophisticated scientist he's ever met. Ichiro-san couldn't be some ugly, weird pedophile like you!"
Icchan ducked past the flying chair and pointed to a huge portrait of himself on the door, with the caption Head of Angelic Layer International: Ichiro Mihara underneath. Sayoko released the keyboard she was about to fling.
"..Oh....you really are Ichiro Mihara!"
"Hai." Icchan rose to his feet and swiped dust off his lab suit. "And I have chosen you to be my new student."
"Um.. if you're Ichiro-san, whose he?" Sayoko pointed to the unconscious Ogata.
"Him? He's nobody. Put this on." He handed her a headset, then picked up Apollo from the floor and placed him in the Layer. "This is an excellent time to test your motions. Now dance." He switched on a CD player from his side.
Sayoko slipped on the headset. "Huh?"
"Dance. Dance! Do like this." He shot his hand in the air. "And this." He raised his left leg to his right knee. "Now twiiiiiirrrrrlll. Twirrrrllll. Yes, that's it. Sppppiiiiiinnnnn!"
A confused Sayoko imitated his actions. She spun on her leg and whirled.
"Yes!...Wait. No! Not you, the doll!" Icchan shouted, but Sayoko didn't hear him. But Apollo did. The Angel examined her moves carefully, and began to dance. He copied every hop, every jump Sayoko made, and did it in perfect synchronism. The black-haired scientist narrowed his eyes curiously.
His learning program must be in effect, he grinned secretly. This should be interesting.
For a whole hour, Icchan instructed Sayoko on moves, strategies, and exercises to strengthen her abilities. After rigorous training, Sayoko flipped off her headset, wiping off beads of sweat. "Icchan, what time is it?"
"Only 1:45."
Her eyes bulged out in fear. "Oh my gosh! My match! You made me late!"
--------------------
The thick crowd was swelling with tension. Haruguchi Hiromi, with her Angel Hurricane, sat impatiently at the empty Layer. "It's already been 15 minutes. The girl's obviously not coming."
The referee nodded and raise her hand. "The winner, by forfeit, is Angel Hurricane, Deus--"
"With the glory of the gods," a breathless voice screamed from the crowd. "Let your wings take flight. Win, Apollo!"
In a flash of light, Apollo flew across the room and fell into the Layer. He straightened his body and twirled gracefully down, then slowed briefly as his left foot touched the surface. The Angel's costume was a flourish of golden and silver. His golden overcoat was splashed silver embroidery, just like his ankle length golden boots. A sleeveless sun-colored shirt stopped just above his belly button, hidden beneath the three buttons of his coat. Pure white pants finished the attire, with a trademark 'A' on the belt. Apollo immediately went to a combat stance. No one noticed the Angel was moving with a Deus.
Sayoko popped out from the surprised crowd, sweating and out of breath. "Gomen... gomen nasai.." She huffed as she placed her head set on and flopped into her seat. Hiromi merely raised an eyebrow.
"Left Hook!" Hiromi punched the air. "Right Cross!" A blow to the ceiling. "Grab victory with the Iron Fist, Hurricane!"
Hurricane was tossed into the Layer and pounded the ground beneath her. Stocky, muscular, and tall, Hurricane had an uncanny resemblance to her Deus. Only Hurricane had golden brown skin and stark green mohawk, while Hiromi's was merely tanned with pink hair. Hurricane launched into a series of powerful blows, then aimed her boxing gloves at Apollo, tightening her pose.
"Angel Fight!" the referee exclaimed. Apollo bolted at Hurricane, who felt no inclination to move. He struck her head first with his boot. But it had no effect. He spun around and punch her stomach. Nothing. Hurricane smirked, stepped forward, and slammed her elbow into his chest, flinging him to the edges of the Layer. Apollo flipped up and charged again, leaping into a fury of blurry kicks and strikes. Hurricane didn't bother dodge. She took hit by hit with little damage, then knocked Apollo under his chin into the air. He soared over her and crashed on the other side of the Layer. With only two hits, the boxer Hurricane had weakened Apollo's life meter to nearly half.
"We have them, Hurricane. Now do it," Hiromi snickered. The brown skinned Hurricane tiptoed to her feet, whipped around, and twirled herself into her signature move, the Hurricane Rage. The small tornado zigzagged across the Layer, the Angel's fists a blur of red. Sayoko bit her lip. Hurricane must be a heavyweight, powertype. Only that could explain why Apollo's moves had no effect. Apollo's only advantage was his speed. But could she use it?
The familiar scroll of symbols scramble over Sayoko's headpiece. No, not now! she fretted, glancing at Apollo. His eyes were flashing from green to blood red, and a dark, murderous smirk slowly crossed the Angel's face. Sayoko had to end this match fast, before Apollo's demonic persona set in.
Her mind reverted back to Icchan's dance training. After all the spinning, she remembered feeling disoriented and losing her balance. Then she thought of the battle, how Hurricane's punches were mighty, but sluggish, and how she never used her legs during the fight. The pieces came together. I got it!
The twirling Hurricane zipped swiftly toward Apollo. He inched his way to the Layer's brink, then knelled down. Just when Hurricane's fists neared to punching distance, Apollo thrust his feet between her legs. Hurricane tripped, spiraling out of control. The golden-haired Angel jumped up and struck a crushing kick to Hurricane's legs, her weak point, hurling her out of the Layer.
"Layer out! Apollo Wins!"
Sayoko remained eerily still for a few moments, before bursting into a fit of delirious laughs and cheers. "I WON!! I WON!! Did you see me, Icchan!? I won!! Icchan? Icchan?"
The scientist was nowhere to be found. Sayoko returned to the Layer, met Apollo's gentle emerald eyes. He was holding up his thumb, and mouthed proudly "We are Gonna Win!" with a coy wink. The Deus returned the gesture enthusiastically.
Yeah, we're going to win. We're going to win all our battles, and we won't stop until we met Suzuhara in the Championships.This is only... our First Victory.