A specific thanks to Chrissie-chan! You're such a great person ^.~ Oh, and cliffhangers are fun for the authors because they what's going to happen and the readers don't.
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The crowd was going wild as the Layer surface was revealed. Misaki and Kajuu waited in anticipation for the announcer to begin the match.
"Our Layer for this match is…" As the announcer waited, the Layer covered with steam. When it cleared, the announcer yelled "…the sky! That right! Our Angels not only have to deal with staying on the clouds, but they also must deal with high-powered winds! And since both our Angels are lightweight, how will they manage?"
"Good luck!" Kajuu smiled. Misaki smiled back. 'I remember when she just started…she hasn't changed a bit…'
"Angels to the Layer!"
"Sakuraryu! Use the force of the Layer to topple this foe!" Kajuu tossed Sakuraryu into the Layer. "Angel, fall-in!" With her eyes closed, Sakura did a split and thrust her left had downwards. She seemed to stay suspended for a second or two. Then, she moved the same hand upward, and she plummeted towards the Layer at an amazing speed. She landed with one knee out, kneeling, and the other leg tucked under her body. Her left hand was in front, and her right had at her side, making a fist. As soon as she hit the ground, her purple eyes shot open. She gracefully stood up, and waited.
"The wings of an Angel! Please guide me and Hikaru!" As Misaki tossed Hikaru into the Layer, she did the now-famous entry. "Angel, fall-in!" Hikaru landed on a cloud directly across from Sakuraryu. The wind blew and both Hikaru and Sakuraryu stumbled a little to the side.
"Angelic FIGHT!!!"
Hikaru immediately charged at Sakuraryu. She jumped from the cloud she was standing on to the one where Sakura stood. Hikaru threw punches at Sakura, all of which missed. Sakura kicked at Hikaru's face, but barely missed. Sakuraryu jumped sideways into the air, taking into account the wind. She folded her leg under herself, sticking out her knee. Hikaru backed up to the edge of the cloud, and put her hands up to guard her face. Sakura's punched up at Hikaru's arms, removing the guard, then smashed into Hikaru's stomach with her knee.
"Hikaru!" Misaki exclaimed. She quickly regained herself, and Hikaru did a back flip onto a cloud behind the two Angels. The two stood, staring at each other. The wind was blowing harder than before. Hikaru ran again, and jumped back onto the cloud where Sakuraryu stood. 'Spin kick!' Sakura turned her back to Hikaru, then thrust her leg out, and spun around. The attack missed Hikaru, and Sakura was left with her leg out, and no guard up. Hikaru took advantage of this, and punched Sakura's face, then did a small jump into the air, and kicked Sakura dead on in the stomach.
'Fudge! Sakura! Get up!' Sakura lay on the ground, stunned for a moment. Hikaru ran at her, and launched a punch at her face. Sakura put both her hands, palms up, in front of her face. She grabbed Hikaru's hands, and thrust both her legs up, and used them to grab Hikaru around the stomach. Sakura then threw Hikaru over her head. Hikaru got caught in the wind, which caused her to go to the side of a cloud, a miss it entirely.
"Hikaru!" Again Misaki shouted as Hikaru began to fall. Suddenly a huge gust of wind blew Hikaru right above a cloud. She did a set of moves once the wind stopped blowing so strongly, and ended up on a cloud near Sakuraryu. This time Sakura charged at Hikaru, and jumped onto the cloud where she stood. Both Angels paused for a moment. 'Time's running out! Hikaru has less damage than Sakuraryu does and, at this rate, I'll loose if time runs out! Let's go, Sakuraryu.' Sakura began to charge, as did Hikaru. Before they hit each other, they both jumped into the air. As they went towards each other, both threw a punch. Hikaru went flying backwards, but Sakuraryu went plummeting towards the Layer. She barely hit the edge of a cloud, and fell, lifeless, onto a cloud below her.
"Sakuraryu!!" Kajuu threw off her visor.
"Hikaru, wins!" The crowd erupted as Misaki waved. Both Deus' seats were lowered so that they could pick up their Angels. They then were lowered out of the Layer. Misaki immediately ran over to Kajuu, who had her head lowered, and was holding Sakuraryu up to her chest.
"Is she ok?" Misaki asked urgently. As Kajuu lifted her head, Misaki could see tears forming in her eyes.
"Yeah, she'll be fine." Kajuu forced a smile. She then turned around, and walked away.
*_*_*
"YOU WERE AWESOME MISAKICHI!!!" Tamayo ran up to Misaki with Kotaru following close behind
"Hey guys! I can't talk for long, my next match is coming up soon." Misaki smiled.
"C'mon, we're gonna miss Hatoko's fight." Kotaru said.
"Ok! Let's go to the café. I'll buy everyone lunch." Misaki motioned for the other two to follow her.
*_*_*
Kajuu sat on a bench outside. She had her head down, and was still holding Kajuu up to her chest. Tears fell slowly from her eyes and onto her Angel. She tightened her grip on Sakuraryu as she tried to speak.
"I…I'm sorry." She managed. "It's my fault…I blew it…I'm the one you need…and I let you down. And you got hurt! I'm such a horrible Deus…"
"You know, losing is never a good feeling." Kajuu's head snapped up as she heard another voice.
"Kaede…" Kajuu wiped her face. "I must sound really stupid to you…"
"Not at all." Kaede smiled. "I've had my share of loses. No matter how many times you loose, you still get the same feeling. I know that no one can comfort you, even if they've shared the same experience. Losing is a lonely feeling."
"I know…I just need to cry it off. But I always feel stupid when I cry. I know I shouldn't…Hey! Wait! I thought you had a match!"
"Oh, that. It's over." Kaede smiled.
"Who won?
"I did."
"Congrats! But I wanted to fight you…" Kajuu's tears had slowed down.
"Maybe you can next year!" Kaede always looked on the bright side.
"Thanks Kaede. You always know just what to say…" Kajuu looked down at Sakuraryu, who was wet with tears. She carefully brushed a hand over the small Angel. "We'll 'em next year, Sakuraryu." Kajuu said as another round of tears began flowing down her soft cheeks.