"Angelic Layer fans! Are you ready? Its time to announce the Deus' of the National Tournament!!!" The crowd went wild as the room darkened. "These 6 Deus fought hard in their own tournaments, and each one deserves to go home with the win! But only one will leave victorious. Here are your finalists!!!! First, Deus: Shimata Maria, Angel: Tsubaki!"
A single light turned one, shining on a girl with purplish-black hair. She smiled, and waved at the crowd.
"Second, Deus: Jounouchi Sai, Angel: Shirahime!" Another light turned on, shining on a tall girl with short brown hair. Her face remained expressionless, despite the cheers she was getting from the crowd. "Third, Deus: Saitou Kaede, Angel: Buranshe!" A third light turned on above a girl with braided brown hair and glasses. She smiled at the already roaring crowd. "Fourth, Deus: Suzuhara Misaki, Angel: Hikaru!"
Another light turned on above a girl with very short brown hair. She waved at the crowd. "Fifth, Deus: Haiiro Kazan, Angel: Taki!" A fifth light turned on, shining on a medium sized girl with short, red hair, half of it worn up in two small, pigtails (Think Sakura from Car Captor Sakura). "And last, but not least, Deus: Kiriyou Kajuu, Angel: Sakuraryu!!"
A last light turned on, revealing a girl with long, light brown hair, worn up on a bun. Misaki gasped at the mention of Kajuu's name. 'I…I beat her in the regionals…so why is she here?' Kajuu turned her head towards Misaki, and smiled.
*_*_*
"Chief Icchan! Aren't you going to stop her?" Oogata cried in surprise.
"Who?"
"Kiriyou Kajuu! She lost her last match! She shouldn't be in the Nationals!"
"Do you think I'm stupid? Kiriyou is smarter than some. She entered another tournament in a different region."
"B-but isn't that against the rules?" Oogata was confused.
"If it was, do you think I'd be so calm about it?" Icchan smiled as he looked back at the screen.
"I-"
"Just watch." Icchan cut Oogata off.
"Okay…" Oogata reluctantly returned his attention to the screen as well.
*_*_*
"Our first match up of the day will be Angel Sakuraryu in the East Corner against Angel Tsubaki in the West Corner!" Kajuu and Maria's chairs moved forward. "Now, time for the Layer to be revealed!!! Our Angels today will be fighting on…THIS!" The Layer transformed into a flat, desert wasteland. Dust kicked up everywhere.
"A desert?" Kajuu survey the Layer surface with surprise. She looked across the Layer at her opponent, Maria. She looked equally surprised.
"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.
"My only partner, the World's Strongest, Tsubaki!" Maria tossed her Angel into the Layer. "Angel, fall-in!" Tsubaki did four flips in the air, and landed on her knees. She stood up, and waited for the match to begin.
"Angelic Fight!"
Tsubaki immediately charged at Sakuraryu. Tsubaki jumped into the air, stuck her leg out and went plummeting towards the Layer. 'Who's taller!?' Kajuu thought desperately as Tsubaki came closer. 'Oh well! Go for it!' Just before Tsubaki could hit Sakura, Sakura turned her back to Tsubaki, thrust her hands back, and as her legs swung over, she put extra force behind it, and kicked Tsubaki square in the jaw. Tsubaki went flying into the air, and out of the Layer.
"Layer out! Sakuraryu wins! In a matter of seconds, Sakuraryu takes the victory!" Everyone cheered as Kajuu was lowered to the Layer. Maria walked over to where Tsubaki lay.
"We lost again…just like two years ago…"
"I hope you become better by our next fight." Kajuu smiled as she held out her hand. "Why don't you come practice with me sometime? I have my own practice Layer at home."
"Sounds like fun!" Maria shook hands as she smiled. The two turned and walked their separate ways.
*_*_*
Kajuu walked to the café, got some food, and sat down at a table in front of the TV. Highlights from her match were showing. There wasn't too much to show, so they quickly cut to the Layer.
"Our next match up is against two veteran soldiers! Here they are! In the East Corner, Angel Shirahime!!" The crowd erupted into shouts of "Sai-sama!" Sai remained expressionless again as her seat moved forward. "And in the West Corner, Angel Buranshe!!"
"My opponent is Kaede?" Sai said in surprise.
"Looks like we get to meet in the Layer, Sai-san." Kaede smiled.
"The Layer for this match is…a sewer!" The crowd got quiet as the Layer was revealed. It was covered in slime, and a river of dirty water ran through it. "Well then! Angels to the Layer!!"
"Make it rain silver snow! Go forth, Shirahime!" Sai threw Shirahime into the Layer. "Angel, fall-in!" Shirahime fell into the Layer, and landed on one of the sides of the river. She had to slid one of her feet back to stable herself.
"Buranshe! All is the way you think it!" Kaede lifted the hand Buranshe stood on, sending her flying into the Layer. "Angel, fall-in!" Buranshe opened her eyes, and landed softly on the opposite side of the river.
"Angelic Fight!"
The two Angels stood where they were. Neither could move. One false move, and either Angel could end up losing. The time ran down, and with exactly 7 minutes left, both Angels charged. At the same time, they kicked at each other. Both went flying backwards. Shirahime went sliding across the slime on the Layer as Buranshe went flying into the air. After a little, Buranshe went slamming into the ground. She slid a little, and lay there, motionless.
Shirahime still went sliding, even though all the impact from Buranshe's blow was gone, Shirahime couldn't stop sliding. She began trying to grab at the ground, trying to stop herself. But it was too late. Shirahime slid right off the Layer.
"W-what its this! Shirahime has fallen out of the Layer! If Buranshe can stand, then the match is hers!" The whole stadium waited in anticipation. Kaede was concentrating harder than ever. 'Buranshe! Please! Do you want to continue? Can you keep going? Please, let me know!!' Then, Buranshe's hand began to twitch. 'That's it!' Buranshe sat up, but quickly fell back over herself. She sat there for a moment, and then, she lifted herself, and stood up.
"She did it!!! Layer out! Buranshe wins!!" After the match was called, Buranshe quickly fell back down to her knees.
*_*_*
"Thank you, Buranshe." Kaede whispered as she walked away. Sai got out of her seat, and bent down to pick up Shirahime. She took a long look at her Angel, then turned on her heel, and walked away.
*_*_*
"Kaede won!" Kajuu exclaimed with her mouth full of cake. Misaki, Tamayo, and Kotaru sat at a table not too far away from Kajuu.
"Misakichi, I thought you beat her!" Tamayo said, looking at Kajuu.
"She did," Kotaru answered, "but Kajuu went to a different region, and entered there."
"Geez Kotaru-chan, you make it sound so simple! Why don't I understand?" Tamayo said, getting ready to pull a move on Kotaru.
"Apparently its not against the Angelic Layer Tournament rules…" Misaki thought out loud as she unwrapped a piece of candy.
*_*_*
Kajuu ran from her seat as fast as she could. 'They're gonna call us soon! We have to get to the waiting room!' As soon as she opened the door, a lady walked into the room.
"Kiriyou Kajuu, I presume?"
"Yep!"
"Come this way."
*_*_*
"The winners from Block A will be fighting each other on this Layer!" The smoke revealed a Layer covered in trees.
"A forest…" Kajuu whispered from her seat.
"And here are your Deus' and their Angels! In the East Corner, Deus: Saitou Kaede, Angel: Buranshe!" The light turned on above Kaede's seat. Buranshe had been fully healed, and Kaede was wearing her famous smile. The seat moved forward as the announcer continued. "In the West Corner, Deus: Kiriyou Kajuu, Angel: Sakuraryu!" The light turned on above Kajuu, and her seat moved forward.
"Good luck!" Kaede called as she smiled at Kajuu. Kajuu smiled back.
"You too!" She looked down at Sakuraryu. "Lets win this time."
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
Wow!! Longer than I planned!!! Ok, after I finish this tournament, I'm going to work on some of my other fics. But don't worry; I'll have the second year up later this summer! Thankies to all reviewers!!! Oh, and if you've never seen the anime, Tsubaki and Shimata Maria are from the anime ^.~ I don't own them either!
3Mugen3