Even if I don't get a lot of reviews for this (kinda disheartening, really), I've resolved to continue on with the second generation fic. Thanks for the constructive criticism. It helped me a lot. Okay. Here is chapter three. Here, more things will be cleared up. I understand that some of you reviewers think I should deviate from the character's predecessor's personalities and that the plotline should be as original as possible. Well, I'll try my best to keep it my own style.

Notice for Upcoming Characters~

Takamine Iris - ???

Kobayashi Hatoko

??? - means you'll find out about them in this chapter.

Information Nook~

* Takamine Iris (15 years old)

Her real name is Eris but she prefers Iris. She is very vain and has an egoistic side to her. The sweet side that she shows to the public is just ruse. The spotlights have shone on Iris ever since she started quite early on her acting career. Iris' best TV program to date is "Cat's Paw".

Recently, Iris has been having dilemmas. The ratings of her program are going down because of the ongoing AL Season, a reason for the young actress to dislike AL. The other problem is about the pressing matter of inadequate study hours. Her manager insists that she attend to her academic life.

Odd tidbit: She stopped going to school for a year and when she did, she was sent back to 2nd year in middle school.

*TEEN SERIES - "CAT'S PAW"
The teen actress, Takamine Iris, stars in this series wherein her character, Catherine Sommers, is a witch who can transform into a cream-colored cat. The title has a double meaning. Cat is the shortened name of the main character and at the same time points out the fact that she is also a cat.

* Irisnism - Iris' popularity reaches to the extent of inspiring her fans to imitate her mannerisms and get-ups.

oCast Meeto

Chapter 3

Encounters

If there was one fault to point out in Kobayashi Hatoko's work, that would be her absolute devotion to her job. True, any employer would be gratified in having such an employee. An overtime was nothing to the twenty-two year old former Deus. In fact, many of her colleagues, not to mention friends from college, thought that making her 'Employee/Student of the Year' was hardly an understatement.

Right now Hatoko was driving almost 60 kph, desperately hoping she would make it on time. Tamayo called her up earlier that day asking for a favor. Hatoko remembered her beginning with something like "Hatoko-chan, Hinako needs to be picked up in this school she's playing Angelic Layer at and I don't think I'll be able to come at the right time. Will you-"

"Say no more, Tamayo! I'll do it," Hatoko had immediately responded. As long as it had something to do with her dear niece, she would gladly take on anything. The twenty-two year old simply loved Hinako.

Baka. You should have been mindful of the time. Hinako would think that you're such an unreliable aunt! Hatoko's thoughts ran. She made a mental note to tone down on being a workaholic.

Hatoko recalled her brother remarking she was like an unstoppable working machine, while her sister chided her and said she would get old pretty quick if she went at that rate.

And to their comments, the younger woman would say, "Hai, hai, Kotarou, Tamayo."

Hatoko never did call Kotarou nor Tamayo, oniisan or oneesan. Her brother still complained about that habit of hers.

Going towards an intersection, traffic slowed down because of the red light. This was utterly unfavorable to the blue-haired woman. She impatiently tapped her finger on the wheel. Now there was no assurance that she would reach her destination on time.

Hatoko spent comfortless minutes pondering over random things such as: what to spend her next salary on, deciding on what presents to buy for Christmas Day since it was getting near, resolving to clear the growing trash in her apartment, paying the monthly dues to her tenant, remembering her commitments...

"Ugh," Hatoko grunted. She clenched her fists but checked herself as the traffic light signalled 'go' again. This time, she made sure that no red light would beat her. Hatoko drove like a madman. In case there ever was another person inside the car strapped up tight, he would be very frightened and panicky. If that person was Kotarou, he would ground an adult such as Hatoko. Oniichan was not a meddler, really. He was just concerned.

Hatoko imagined Kotarou that way. She made a grimace. Lucky for her she arrived at Megumare Gakkoo without getting a speeding ticket from an officer on duty.

The parking lot was mostly empty except for a few other vehicles. Hatoko parked beside a van. Alighting from the car, the former Deus rushed over to the entrance of the dome. Surely, she was panting very hard as she caught sight of an anchor woman she knew very well.

Hatoko stopped short to catch her breath. "Shouko..." she called out faintly to the anchor woman.

Asami Shouko, renowned newscaster, spun around. She greeted Hatoko warmly upon realizing who she was. "Hisashiburi. Here to watch your kawaii niece?"

"I could have, if I got here earlier. How did it go?"

"As usual, in a regulatory match between Chihiro-kun and Hina-chan - Hina-chan wins."

Hatoko slapped a hand to her forehead. "That hapless boy never did have good sense in jankenpon."

Shouko laughed. "Speaking of the hapless boy, here he comes with your niece."

Chihiro and Hinako, cradling their meta-angels, came on cue. Hinako brightened up when she saw her aunt. "Hatoko-obasan!" she cried out, running over to Hatoko. Chihiro was two steps behind.

"Konnichiwa, Hina-chan!" said Hatoko fondly, "your mom couldn't come so I'm here to pick you up instead."

"Is that so?"

She knew Hinako was just as affectionate of her as she was. It was Hatoko after all who taught Hinako about Angelic Layer. Teaching Hinako how to control her meta-angel, it brought them close to each other. Hatoko saw herself in the child's personality. The candor by which her niece had, reminded her of her own intense feelings for Angelic Layer.

Hatoko praised Hinako's mostly saffron-toned attire. "Oh, my niece is wearing such a cute outfit!"

Hinako peered up at the amethyst-haired woman with eagerness. "Hontoo? Ou-san said the same thing!"

"Of course! Right, Chihiro-kun?" Hatoko glanced meaningfully at Chihiro. She was aware of the eleven year old's crush on the ten year old.

Coloring a deep shade of red, Chihiro tensed up. "H-hai," he managed to utter.

Hatoko laughed. It was fun to tease kids, especially ones like Chihiro. The poor boy just did not know how to react in front of Hinako. Almost everyone who was involved in Angelic Layer - may they be onlookers, AL company staffs, deuses - could see through Chihiro. Hinako seemed to be the only one ignorant of what was happening around her. Or maybe not. Hatoko could not tell.

"Hatoko-obasan? Daijobu?" Hinako's voice suddenly popped into Hatoko's head, disrupting her train of thoughts.

Hatoko shook herself awake. "Yes," she murmured, looking distantly. Her azure eyes fell on a girl of about twelve, with amber tresses and jade irises. She was walking in their direction. There was something that made Hatoko bring her attention to the girl. It came to her that this child resembled someone she knew.

"You're...." Hatoko said, unable to finish.

Passing by Hatoko, the girl gazed at the former deus for a moment then turned her attention to the other persons. Everyone else looked at her too.

"Saya-oneesan," Hinako addressed her, " are you leaving now?"

"Ah," Saya answered somewhat tersely, bowing to the group. Saya approached Shouko. "Aunt Shouko, this Saturday - I am sure you know what important event there is on that day..."

"I get it," Shouko said, "arigatou, Saya-chan, for reminding me. Ran and I will meet you at your house on Saturday. Call Ran to let us know what time we'll be heading there so the two of us can come early."

"Wakkata." Saya bowed once more. Unexpectedly, she smiled a whimsical smile and told the two young deuses in front of her, " my uncle made a weird type of match but Minamoto-san and Kobayashi-san still did it."

Chihiro and Hinako were flustered at this statement.

"Goodbye, then." Saya continued on her way.

It was well after Saya was gone that Hatoko revealed her thoughts to the only other adult there. "Is she..."

Shouko nodded. "Mihara Saya, Oujirou's daughter."

"She's rather formal in manner," noted Hatoko.

"Saya takes after her father's quirks."

"Does she have an angel?"

"Nope. She does not do Angelic Layer. That's kind of odd, considering her family's background."

Hatoko fell silent. She was lost in thought about Mihara Saya. Misaki, your daughter is just like you....except that she got a bit of Oujirou's character. Yet, that smile was very much like Misaki. What's astounding is that this girl hasn't tried Angelic Layer at all.

Hinako pulled lightly on Hatoko's skirt. "Hatoko-obasan, what did Saya-oneesan mean?"

"That's Saya's indirect way of saying both of you did great," Shouko explained, smiling.

"Ack! I left my things inside my classroom. I have to get them!" Chihiro said, paying his respects to the three females first before dashing off abruptly.

"Wait, let me come with you!" Hinako hollered, stopping Chihiro.

Chihiro took on an expression of great surprise. "Eh?! Why do you want to come?"

"I want to see Chihiro-kun's school even if it's only for a short time!"

"Are you sure?" Chihiro was against going together with Hinako. He was not really sure if he could act like normal.

"Hai!" Hinako insisted. "We're coming, aren't we Mimosa?" The girl patted the angel who was sitting on her shoulder. It turned the corner of its lips up in a smile.

"What about your aunt?" Chihiro threw a desperate look at Hatoko.

Hatoko smiled generously. "Just don't take too long."

No! No! No! Chihiro's inner self struggled violently. He was going to falter after having seen, "I'll leave my niece in your hands," written all over Kobayashi Hatoko.

"Sa, iki-masu!" Hinako chirped energetically.

*****

Relief washed over the olive-haired deus when he saw that his classroom was empty. Chihiro wanted to avoid coming across fellow students at all costs. If he did come face-to-face with a few, he was prepared to bolt away as fast as he could - with Hinako in tow, of course. On second thought, that would not have been proper. Whatever was to come, he resolved that he would have to deal calmly with it.

Funny how I just said to myself that I would be calm as possible.

An obstruction stood there right in front of him. Simply put, Chihiro was wrong to even dream that no one would catch him with the Elan of the Layer. Eating one's words can taste really bad. Chihiro was not handling things well.

"Heh! It's Chihiro-kun and Hinako-chan!"

"See, I told you that they'd look good together!"

"What a lovely pair they'd make, don't you agree?"

"Aww, he's so cute when he blushes!"

"Hinako-chan's actually more kawaii up close!"

"Dominique looked suteki as always and Mimosa was her spunky self too!"

The onslaught was lurking just where Chihiro was not counting on it. A mob of students met the two in the corridor - all of them begging for autographs. Hinako faced the crowd with a cheerful disposition, while Chihiro did not. Public relations was a big issue for him. He never could act natural in front of so many people. The young deus stuttered and blushed effusively vis-à-vis the gathered mass. Nevertheless, Chihiro did sign a few autographs. A fangirl asked him to sign his name on a poster of Mimosa, which was definitely puzzling since Mimosa was Hinako's meta-angel.

Some fanatics requested Chihiro and Hinako to let the celebrities touch their meta-angels. At the two's approval, these fanatic were very ecstatic; Chihiro laughed uneasily; Hinako just smiled accomodatingly.

It took a while to satisfy the appetites of the Megumare students.

"We don't want to spoil your date, bye now! Thanks for the autograph! Chihinako's the best!" they would all tell the two.

A classmate of Chihiro's winked at him and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice going, Minamoto-san! I knew you would have the guts to ask Hinako-chan out on a date!" said this boy as he bade goodbye.

Chihiro felt the blood rise in his cheeks. "Ch-chigau yo..."

"Nani? Is there something wrong, Chihiro-kun?" Hinako had been scrutinizing Chihiro's face from the time the crowd had thinned out. The girl noticed that he was beet red; the boy had been murmuring incoherent words.

Chihiro snapped back to reality. He found the two of them alone in the corridor. "It's nothing. Hinako-san, we better head back to you aunt."

"Oh yeah."

The two walked back, with Chihiro lagging behind. The reason was that Chihiro was seriously racking his brain for a topic of conversation.

"There were a few teachers amongst those group of students, weren't there?" Hinako told Chihiro out of the blue.

"Huh? Uh-huh. The teacher's in this school are very supportive of anyone who plays AL. In fact, one of the senseis you saw earlier was my homeroom teacher. He approves of AL so much that he's willing to dedicate homeroom classes to talking about it."

Hinako giggled in a high-pitch. "And I thought my teachers were strange. Sugoi, Chihiro-kun. You deal with these kind of senseis."

"Iie. I think you're the one who's sugoi. You didn't freak out in front of that crowd. Also, even when your angel was Beserker Mimosa during the jankepon game, you were actually smiling."

"That's because okaasan said that I just have to be myself all the time, no matter what. It wouldn't be good if I trembled like a coward. It's the same with Mimosa" - Hinako tenderly hugged the meta-angel to her chest - "if I don't trust her with my heart, how can I be a deus worthy of her?"

Chihiro considered Hinako's words with the utmost reverence. He glanced at the little figure of a doll alight on his shoulder.

"Besides, I know that Chihiro-kun would never violate a jankenpon game," added Hinako as an afterthought.

"Hinako-san!"

*****

That afternoon, the sun's face was much less hotter, inducing many people to have just the right mood for walking on foot. The buzz of people was gradually dwindling. The traffic of cars was lighter compared to earlier in the day. It was in the morning when everyone, to be able to reach their designations on time, rode almost any kind of transportation. But it was in the afternoon that most people felt like strolling. Home sweet home could wait. It wasn't going anywhere.

That was just what Saya felt. This was what she wanted, minding her own business. The way to her house was usually an urbanized path. This time, Saya strayed away from the direct route to her house, taking the more scenic one. The girl ambled along a path with rows of tall trees. As she reach the part that would lead her to the nearest park, she noticed a crowd of people gathering. Curiously, Saya made her way to the spot. She could not see what the fuss was about but she could hear several girls screaming their heads off in an ear-shattering high pitch and hopping mad on their feet like bunnies.

Glancing around her, Saya searched the mass of people for someone she could speak to. She chose a male who was, at the least, sanely standing at a distance from the group of lunatic girls. He was a paunch thirty-something guy who had a face that seemed to have been unshaven for months. Saya realized that she could have found someone else more sensible-looking, but he would have to do. "Excuse me, mister. I just want to know what's going on," she said in a loud enough voice for the man to hear.

The paunch man faced her. "There's going to be a shooting out here for that TV series, "Cat's Paw". Everyone's waiting for the star of "Cat's Paw", Takamine Iris-chan!"

"Iris-chan....." The paunch man sighed and went into a dreamy state.

Saya moved as far away as she could from the person she thought was sensible but was actually just like the screaming and jumping schoolgirls. Right now, the schoolgirls were even more hyped than before. Two minivans followed by a black car had just stopped outside the vicinity of the park. A man in a coat got out from the front and opened the door to the back seat. A teenager emerged.

"Iris-chan!!!" clamored the crowd of people. They were, apparently, fans of the girl who appeared in front of them. The fanpeople immediately surrounded her, yet not as fast as the young star's bodyguards. The possés hindered anyone from getting a step closer to Iris.

Wanting to take a closer look, Saya stood on the tip of her toes and craned her neck above the heads of the gathered people. She saw, for herself, this Iris person. She was a dainty girl, characteristically adorned with glamour itself. Golden ringlets that reached up to her waists framed her angelic face. The actress wore sunglasses. When she removed them, twinkling magenta eyes revealed themselves. Rosy cheeks and cherry-red lips completed this wonderful product of beauty.

"So, she's that famous teen star, Iris. No wonder Ran adores her. Ran looks up to these types," Saya said to herself.

"Hiya, everyone!" Iris chirped in a melodious voice, accompanying the words with a ravishing smile that raised even more of a fuss. Everyone must have felt like they were in cloud nine, all but Saya.

Another black car that had unmercifully been noticed halted to a stop behind the already growing line of vehicles. In it stepped out two more teenagers. Saya suspected, from the increasing hubbub, that these two were Iris' co-stars. These two co-stars were obviously popular but not as popular as the actress who portrayed Catherine Sommers.

The exaggerated scene disgusted Saya. It was a mistake that she ever wanted to stroll around the park, she realized. And so turning about-face, she marched home, feeling her desire for sight-seeing being sapped away.

to be continued