A/N: Dreadfully, terribly sorry for the long wait-very long. I just loss my writing mojo- I guess you could call in that, or a slump would probably be better. It's just been like that since I put the last chapter. It's kind of going away now, but I still don't feel like writing. I do want to put up more chapters, but it has been so hard. But oh well. I'm going to write, and even as I'm typing now I feel some of it getting better. Maybe I just lost the fun of it for a while- who can ever really know the reason.
On a different note I'll try not to make this chapter so long. Some time will pass though. Not very much though, maybe a week or two. If you're wondering about Aya's true personality you'll just have to read this chapter. If you read the last chapter closely you can find out something about Aya, if you haven't already figured it out. The final thing is at the matches Brooke will find a new friend, a boy. To say this now they will never have anything serious together, even though I'm making him cute and so nice.
So enjoy My Tennis Angel chapter 6!
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Brooke panicked and stood up even with Aya. Besides the fact that she was startled, she was also scared-remembering their battle. Even though people said she was generous and nice Brooke didn't know is she could believe them after the battle. But she did also give Brooke and Aimee the cards, so she couldn't be that bad. Then Brooke realized she was staring, but Aya didn't seem to mind a bit.
"Oh, hey Aya-chan." her voice faltering, sitting back down on the bench focusing hard on the sandbox directly in front of her. She twisted the bottom of her shorts nervously as Aya sat down next to her.
"How you doing? Do you think its hotter today? I think so, but people keep saying that it's actually colder. What do you think?" Aya asked cheerfully. She sucked on an ice pop that Brooke hadn't seen.
"I think it could be the shirt you're wearing." Brooke replied softly. Aya was wearing a dark violet shirt that was thicker than normal.
"You know dark colors hold in heat, so you have that plus your own body heat and that's why you're warm." Brooke told her, seeing Aya's face was the tiniest bit red.
"I know."
"You know? Then why did you ask me? You could get overheated and get heatstroke or something."
"Nah." Aya smiling. She took off the sweater to reveal a white tank top, "I asked you because I wanted to see how perceptive you were. You did good, glad you noticed too. It was getting really hot." she took another slurp of her pop, trying to stop it from melting.
"It was pretty obvious y'know." Brooke replied, putting all of her sewing items back into her traveling sewing bag and dressed Kura back up into the casual outfit. Aya didn't say anything until she was done.
"You did well the other day, with the match we did." Brooke twitched a little bit, hardly even noticeable. She was hoping Aya wouldn't bring it up, but she figured it was inevitable. She sighed and stared at the sky.
"Not really, I still lost." She told her depressingly. Aya laughed and Brooke got mad, but when she saw Brooke's expression she stopped and blushed.
"Sorry, but you actually did really well. Remember that boy whose angel smashed into you after I threw her? He couldn't even lay a finger on my clone. You actually got to me even if it just made the situation worse for you."
"Okay then. But why were you so different during the match? You seemed almost evil to a point." Once again Aya laughed, leaving Brooke even more confused.
"It's a mind trick. I pretend to act so mean during the match to scare them, then I be nice to them out of the match so they get so confused about me. I think I got to you because I saw your expression when we met a couple minutes ago, and how you acted nervous. To clear it up I'm really like this normally. Don't know why I'm telling you, maybe because I saw the determination in you that I felt when I first started. We're alike you know."
"Ya think?" Brooke answered, surprised some. Aya nodded and took out Shizuko, who looked much nicer now. Also in casual clothes she was wearing a tank like Aya's, blue camo skirt, her gold rings, and white sneaks.
"I could tell the fighting styles were similar and once you get trained up you'll be a really good opponent. It only took you a day to fly, took me a couple days and people thought that was quick. You have good potential and stubborn determination, lots of stubborn."
"I'm not that stubborn." Brooke retorted defensively.
"Well you are stubborn from when I was watching you practice to when we were fighting. But you seem to be quite balanced out, nice strong personality." She swung her feet knocking over Brooke's bag with her uniform.
"Oh, sorry!" Aya apologized. She squatted down and put the uniform back into the bag, but not without looking at it first.
"It's my new school uniform. I just got it today, I imagined it to be much worse, and I never really liked the idea of uniforms." Brooke told her as she leaned down to pick the bag up. She put it next to her sewing bag so it wouldn't fall again.
"That's the school uniform for Nayoko Yasu, isn't it?" Aya asked, the tone of her voice changing. It had more of a serious note in it.
"Yeah, why?" Brooke asked.
"Is there something wrong with the school?" Brooke thought to herself. Maybe it was Aya's rival school, or something bad happened there that affected her.
"That's my school! We'll be classmate! I'm so happy!" Aya remarked shaking Brooke's hand vigorously. Brooke was somewhat shocked at the sudden outburst, but thought it was hilarious. But after Aya continued to shake her hand it began to get weird.
"Um..." Brooke laughed out nervously. Aya let go of her hand and went into a scary ecstatic mode.
"Oh! This will be so great! We'll have classes together and you will already know me so you won't be so nervous! I can introduce you to all my friends and show you around the school. I can tell you who all the best teachers are and who to avoid! There's this one bad kid, his name is Toshi. He's in eleventh grade and really mean, but I heard a rumor that he was moving, I hope it's true because in fourth grade he-." She stopped as a car horn honked loudly behind them. It was Brooke's mom, she signaled her hand to get Brooke into the car.
"Oh sorry, I have to go Aya-chan. I'll see you later." Brooke gave her a nice smile and slung both bags over her shoulder, grateful they weren't that bulky. She ran over to the playground and took Cobey by the hand and walked him back to the car. But before they could get to it Aya tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a slip of paper.
"It's my e-mail address. Write yours on here." she said, almost asking in a way. Brooke gladly took the paper and wrote her e-mail address. She handed it back to Aya who smiled. Brooke slipped Aya's e-mail address into her pocket. She strapped Cobey into his child seat and buckled herself in. As they began to move Brooke gave Aya one last friendly wave, Aya waved back. She then walked away in the opposite direction.
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"Made a friend?" Brooke's mom asked.
"Yes. Aimee get a job?" Brooke asked. Aimee was dozing in the front seat with her seat laid back a bit and her sunglasses on to block out the sun.
"Yes. They had a long interview that's why it took us so long. Sorry about that." Her mom apologized.
"Don't worry. Where's her job at?"
"I think she wants to tell you that. Wait till we get home, she's been tired the whole time"
"She's been sleepy the past two days."
"I think the time change is finally getting to her. She wasn't so affected when we first got here, but now she's getting the full effects of it." her mom explained.
"That makes sense. Whenever we went somewhere she was always the last to feel the effects of the time change and elevation." They were quiet for the rest of the ride. Cobey fell asleep quickly and Brooke entertained herself by braiding and unbraiding Kura's hair. It wasn't that long of ride but the day had worn them out. Brooke's fingers were sore from all the sewing so she rubbed each of them gently. Her back also had a sharp pain from sitting on the hard bench so long; even though she stretched the pain didn't go away.
They turned up their road and were almost to their house when Aimee woke up. She sleepily picked up some papers from on the floor and put the seat up. As her mom finished parking in their driveway Aimee got out, grabbed her bag that held her uniforms, and sped into the house. As Brooke took Cobey out and got inside the house she saw Aimee just disappear into her room. She didn't actually see her, but heard the door close. She didn't mind but knew she just wanted to sleep.
Brooke ran up to her room and put away her sewing things. She folded up all of her shirts, socks, and sweaters and put them in her dresser. She hung the skirts in her closest and put the hair ribbon, headband, and choker on the accessory compartment near the back of the closest. Last she laid Kura on her pillow and quickly walked back downstairs. Her mom was busy fixing lunch and Cobey was playing with his connecting blocks on the floor. Maple was sleeping again, resting peacefully on her dog bed. Brooke checked her watch- 1:36, a little earlier than she had thought.
Bored and not knowing what to do she wandered into the kitchen for no reason. When she spotted her tennis trophy on the newly installed trophy she knew what she wanted to do.
"Hey mom? Is there a public tennis court I can ride my bike too? There's nothing else to do." She asked. She wasn't exactly sure her mom would let her go out right after they had gotten home, but whenever her family got back from doing something Brooke always got bored. When you do something for a while and then go do absolutely nothing it can happen.
"Yes there is. If you down the hill and turn right there's a court just a couple minutes away. You can go if you'd like just eat a sandwich first and take my cell phone. Be back in a couple of hours alright?" she handed Brooke a fluffernutter sandwich and Brooke hurriedly ate it. She ran back upstairs trying to make as little noise as possible so as to not wake Aimee up. She changed into her tennis clothes and put shorts on underneath so when she was riding the skirt could fly up and she would still be covered. Her racket was leaning against her closet and she took it and twirled it in her hand. She didn't know if the gave out balls there so she put some in her backpack along with a water bottle, sweat towel, the cell phone, bug spray, and a few other things. Lastly she tied her hair up in a high ponytail and put her sports headband on.
She checked over her things to make sure she had them all, which she did. Brooke wheeled her bike out of the garage and started down the hill. She had to keep the brake on some or else she would go too fast and lose control. Brooke felt the wind whipping across her face and blow her hair back. She found the curves a little difficult when she rode at this speed, but after the first couple ones she had the hang of it. Brooke stopped at the stop sign and looked for any cars. Even though she saw none Brooke made the right turn signal and turned. Brooke wondered how far away it was to the courts.
It actually wasn't that far away. Brooke had to ride for a minute or two before she got there. She liked the ride there, there was a bike path that looked new with no bumps or cracks, was nice and wide, and perfectly shaded. She had passed a few people with tennis rackets also who must've been heading home.
Brooke locked her bike on the bike rack and took her racket off the handlebar. The courts were large, there were about ten courts and six back boards. Surrounding the courts was a large fence with netting going up even higher so the balls wouldn't fly out.
"That's what we needed back at my old court." Brooke thought as she entered the court. There were a few people by themselves and what looked like a class. Brooke went to an empty court with a backboard because she didn't have a partner. She took a close look around the inside perimeter and found a huge basket filled with tennis balls. As Brooke went over to get some she read the sign on it.
"Tennis balls supplied for the public to use. PLEASE put back and do not lose. If you damage any please replace them. Ordered by the T.T.C.W."
Brooke had no idea who the T.T.C.W were but took a couple of the balls, set her book bag down on a bench by her court was stretched before she began to play. As she stretched Brooke felt herself a little tighter than normal, mostly caused by the fact she hadn't played in a couple of weeks. Brooke rolled up and got the first ball.
She started herself out slow, just to get herself warmed up. She missed the ball a couple of times and had to go after it, but she regained her innate tennis skills quickly. Soon she was whizzing the balls to the backboard as fast she had done before her long break. Brooke could feel some of the other players watching her as their balls only went half as fast. The class even stopped for a minute to watch her. She felt a little uneasy with the attention, but kept hitting the ball strong. Eventually the class went back to working, but they along with the other people glanced at her from time to time.
Finally she got too tired and missed the ball. It went whizzing past her and hit the net behind her. As Brooke walked over to retrieve it her legs felt like jelly. Exhausted, she sat down on the bench and leaned against the fence. Sweat trickled down her face so she took out the washcloth she had remembered to bring with her. She poured some of her ice cold water on it and gently dabbed her face. She began to cool down and could move without feeling overheated.
Checking her watch she saw it was just a little after two. Brooke had plenty of time before she had to go back. She knew she wasn't allowed to go anywhere else, so she decided to rest up and play some more instead of just heading home. She searched through her bag and found her white wrist guards. She had forgotten to put them on so she did now. She looked up at the sky, day dreaming while she continued to rest. Brooke was just about to get up when she noticed another girl walking over to her.
She looked to be a little older than Brooke, but she could've been tall for her age. Brooke thought her hair was red at first, but it was a strawberry blonde and the light had made it look red. She was still too far away to see what colors her eyes were, but she carried a black racket. She seemed very sporty with her purple sport shorts, long red t-shirt pulled off to the side with a ponytail holder, her hair up like Brooke's, and a purple sport headband. All in all she seemed very nice and full of energy.
Brooke waited silently as the girl came up to her. They stared at each other for a brief moment before the girl spoke up.
"Hi, my name's Arumi Okanochi. I was watching you play before and I was wondering if you'd like to play a game with me?" she asked politely. Brooke took a quick look behind Arumi and saw some other girls sitting on a bench directly in front of hers. They must've been Arumi's friends and were watching to see what would happen.
"So?" Arumi asked in the brief pause.
"Wha?"
"Do you want to play a single's match with me?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure." Brooke said eagerly standing up. It would be nice to play a real match instead of just hitting a ball back and forth.
"Yay! Thanks, my friend Haruko-chan can referee for us. Wait, do you want to meet my friends first?" she asked suddenly. Brooke hesitated, and then found no harm in it.
"Sure why not?" she said. Arumi took Brooke's hand and pulled her over to her small group of friends. They stood up and smiled at Brooke, who smiled back.
"This is Shika-chan, Haruko-chan, Nara-chan, Akina-chan, and Misako-chan." Arumi introduced them one by one. They all seemed pleasant and friendly, so Brooke didn't feel too uncomfortable.
"Haruko-chan will you referee for us?" Arumi asked.
"Sure." Haruko said. She had light brown hair with streaks of pink here and there. They weren't really that bright, but it made her stand out a bit more. Haruko took a whistle out of her bag and quickly placed it around her neck. Arumi gave Brooke a thumbs up and they took their side of the court.
"Let's warm up a little first." Arumi suggested, Brooke nodded and did her standard warm up exercises. Haruko took her place on the court and was about to start the game when Arumi stopped her.
"Oh sorry. I forgot to ask your name." she said. Brooke realized she was right, Arumi had even introduced all of her friends but she had forgotten to introduce herself. She took a moment and thought about what to say
"It's Brooke Miyoko. Just moved here from Europe." She told them. Tell them a little bit about her she figured. They didn't seem to really notice anything about her being from Europe, Arumi just nodded to Haruko.
"Alrighty then, Haruko-chan you can start now." Haruko nodded back. She blew her whistle and Arumi who had the ball served.
"Love serving Love." Arumi started
She served it nice and clean right to Brooke's court and somewhere around the middle. Brooke's muscles immediately sprang into action and she hit it perfectly with a forehand. She sent it opposite of Arumi and she had to sprint to make it in time. She barely made it back over the net with a messy backhand. It was a hard hit for Brooke though, because it was so short. She had to stretch far in order to get it back over, but she did.
After that Arumi seemed to hit it with no problem. She wasn't as fast as Brooke or as good of a hitter, but she was keeping right up and neither had missed it yet. Soon they started to get tired though, Arumi began to struggle more and finally over hit it. The tennis ball bounced way out of bounds and Brooke had to run all the way to the fence to go get it. She used the inside of her foot and the racket to pick it up without bending over, and then ran back to the court. It was her turn to serve now.
Brooke called out the score and tossed the ball for a perfect serve. Arumi could barely hit it because it was a couple inches shy of the line. With her backhand Brooke sent it to Arumi's dues court. After that they went back into a rhythm, neither of them missed or sent the tennis ball out. Brooke could see Arumi was getting tired though, she was obviously not up to the standards Brooke was. Then once again she sent it out again, but only by a little this time. Haruko had to decide for a moment before she called it out. Brooke was just working up a sweat, but Arumi was panting and her face was dripping with sweat.
"We'll call it a time-out for a couple minutes." Brooke called over to Haruko. Arumi probably couldn't even hit it back being as tired as she was. Arumi gave a look of relief and went back to her bench with Haruko following. Brooke sat back down on her bench and wiped her forehead with the washcloth again. After taking a long swig of water Brooke watched her friends talking and trying to cool Arumi off as fast as they could. She wondered how much time she should give her.
"A couple more minutes. She looks wasted." Brooke thought as she wrung her washcloth and rubbed it over her arms and her calves so those muscles wouldn't get overworked. She could feel her muscles tensing up so stretched her arms once more. During mid-stretch she spotted Arumi standing back up and walking onto the court. She was somewhat far away but she could tell the look of surprise on her friends' faces.
She thought Arumi should wait a while more but reluctantly got up. She was going to set up but she Arumi hadn't stopped walking. Brooke saw she wanted to talk. They met at the net at the same time.
"Something wrong?" Brooke asked.
"I'm going to forfeit the game. You're so much more skilled than I am and I can't keep up. I'll make myself overheated and I really hate losing, I'm a bad loser. Plus if we play the whole match like this it'll make me get home late. So I figured I'll leave so I can rest. Then when I improve I'll challenge you again. Is that okay?" Arumi asked, sounding sort of depressed.
"Oh no. That's fine." She looked down at her watch. A lot of time had passed without her knowing-it was now 4:24, "Actually I just realized I have to leave now if I want to be back home in time too. So it all works out, I guess I should thank you for reminding me to check the time. And I look forward to our next match, because you do have a lot of talent." Brooke told her encouragingly.
"Not really, I would have lost if I had kept on playing." Arumi replied, shaking her head.
"Hey, I'm almost at the professional level. Some people I've played can't even hit the ball back once. To keep up with me for so long means you have to have the talent." Brooke retorted happily. Then she just realized that was what Aya had basically said to her earlier. Now that she was seeing it from Aya's perspective she could see how right she was.
"You're almost at the professional level! Wow, no wonder you're so good. I've only been playing a couple years." Arumi gawked.
"Yeah I guess I am good. But I have to leave now so will I see you guys around here another time Arumi-chan?" Brooke asked knowing she had to leave soon.
"Definitely. We're here all the time, mostly around this time now."
"Okay, cool. So I'll see you soon then." Brooke said turning around to go get her stuff. Arumi walked back over to her friends and explained what happened. Brooke took her wrist guards off and left the area. Brooke unlocked her bike, kicked up the kickstand, and peddled back home. She enjoyed the breeze and the thought of making new friends. Her happy thoughts were interrupted though when she got to her street. It had been easy coming down, but she hadn't thought about going up. The hill was kind of steep, and her house was sort of far up. Plus her book bag was beginning to feel heavy and she was exhausted. She groaned loudly, reluctantly moving forward.
"I can't believe I didn't remember the hill." Brooke complained, getting off her bike as the hill got too steep. She lifted up the handlebars and bounced the front wheel to show her frustration. She knew she had till 5 to get back home, and wondered how long the murderous trek would be.
"Couldn't be more than 15 minutes." She pondered. After checking her watch again it was now 4:40. That would give her a few minutes either way as long as she didn't stop to rest. As Brooke continued on she had to open her mouth to get enough air in her lungs. Her legs muscles were burning and the hot sun made her sweat some. Now she wished she hadn't dried out her washcloth and drunk all of her water.
Her house seemed like heaven when she finally wheeled her bike back into the garage. Her watch told her it was 4:52. So it was about a 13 minutes walk without breaks. Maple was the only one to greet her as Brooke entered the house. Everyone else was resting before dinner. She let Maple into her room as Brooke went into her bathroom to get some cold water on her face. It felt so good to have the crisp cold water trickle down her face. She went back into her room and got some clothes, then changed in the bathroom.
Brooke took a book from her desk and picked Kura up gently, then flopped on her bed. She propped the pillow up and patted her hand on the bed. Maple got the signal and jumped up next to Brooke. Maple curled up and rested. Brooke opened the page where her bookmark was, and then something caught her eye. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before.
It was a brand new plasma TV connected into the wall. It was the perfect distance away and just at the right height. There was a sticky note on the screen, so Brooke pulled it off and read it.
Dear Brooke,
This is your early birthday present. Your dad and I knew how much you really wanted one, and we had some money left over so we got it for you. I've seen how much you love this Angelic layer so I ordered the Angelic Layer channel, this is what the preview says:
Angelic Layer fans! You love to watch tournaments live and get pumped up with the crowd and intense battles. But the times you can't get tickets or just can't make it to them, now you can watch all tournaments on ALV-Angelic Layer Viewing! It broadcasts all national and local tournaments, along with Angelic Layer news and special bulletins! Call your local TV supporter if you want ALV!
That's what it says anyway. I thought you would enjoy it. We also got Aimee a hi-tech laptop for her birthday. SHHHHH-don't tell.
Love Mom and Dad
"That's so COOL!" Brooke shouted out, alarming Maple who raised her head in surprise.
"Sorry Maple." Brooke apologized and stuck the note to her backboard. There was a little cubby for the remote so Brooke took it out and turned on the TV. She scrolled through her many channels and found the Angelic Layer channel. It was some news about a local Angelic Layer tournament winner who beat a tough angel from the national tournament a year ago.
"That's right. I wonder when the national tournament will start?" Brooke asked to herself out loud. The news section ended and for a moment Brooke was staring at a blank screen. Then a separate news bulletin came up-from Brooke's area. It was about the local matches she had asked Aimee about earlier. It basically just said the when, where, and why; all of which was on the pamphlet Brooke had gotten. Only two more days to go until Brooke could play Angelic Layer again.
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Brooke walked into the school yard, seeing the completely transformed grass. Extension cords were everywhere, covered so no one could trip and unplug them. People were standing about, waiting for the matches to starts. There were about 7 smaller layers with plain metal fold-up chairs around each one. Brooke examined the one closest to her and saw a score keeping system built into the side.
Brooke got so excited she twirled around, her skirt swishing around her knees. Brooke had decided to wear her uniform today-to show people she went to this school. Aimee and her mom had protested, but Brooke's stubbornness came through for her. As she continued to wear it she liked it more and more.
As she wandered inside she caught sight of Aya. They had talked a bunch of times through e-mails and had become closer knit over the past couple of days. Aimee had a hard time keeping up with Brooke as she ran over to Aya. Aya noticed Brooke just as Brooke got up to her. She was apparently talking to another girl who gave her a quick friendly smile and waved and left. Aya turned to face Brooke and clapped her hands in excitement.
"You're here! I'm so happy, and I see you wore your uniform-as did I!" Aya twirled around, the uniform looking adorable on her.
"It was actually good you wore your uniform. Whenever there's something going on like this the students who go wear their uniforms. You'll see them as you search around." Aya informed her. She gave a side glance over to Aimee and smiled. Suddenly a loud screech came over the speakers. A man had tapped the microphone and had caused the noise. As people stopped groaning he began.
"Welcome to Nayoko Yasu's second annual Angelic Layer competition. I'll briefly go over the rules before we start. First you come and sign up on this piece of paper over here. When your turn comes you'll be stationed at a layer. There you will meet another Deus and the two of you will face off. You can lose, but only twice. Once you lose a second time you are therefore disqualified. When it gets to that point the two top players will face off for first place. All basic Angelic Layer rules apply. Give us one more minute to continue setting up, and then you can sign up." At that he turned off the mike and went over to another bunch of adults who were around the sign-up sheet.
"How far do you think you'll get?" Brooke asked Aya.
"I'll win like last year." She replied, half-serious and half-sarcastic.
"You won last year?" Brooke wondered in awe. But she found this much more difficult now. If Aya was competing and she had to face her again. Yeah, she would lose. The man then came back on the mike.
"Sign ups are now open." He announced. People pushed and shoved to be the first to sign up. Aimee, Brooke, and Aya couldn't help but be shoved over to the flimsy piece of paper. Even though the line seemed long they got low numbers. Brooke 13, Aya 14, and Aimee 16, Aimee had been forced behind one other girl as they headed towards the line.
"Let's see. There are seven layers and two can fit at each layer. So numbers one through fourteen will go. And that just happens to be us, how lucky." Aya calculated in her head, not that it was impressive, it was a pretty easy problem.
"Sorry Aimee. Guess you'll have to wait a minute." Brooke apologetically to her sister.
"It's alright. I'd rather scope out the competition before I play. I think the people going next have a better chance of winning."
"You're too optimistic." Brooke said as Aya shushed her, the man giving out the pairs. Brooke listened closely for her, hoping not to get paired off with Aya right on the bat.
"Numbers 7 and 13. Satoko Takaharu and Brooke Miyoko. Angels Amare and Kura. Layer four. Numbers 10 and 14. Seito Kimahoshi and Aya Uotoni. Angels Kohana and Shizuko. Layer eight. Those are the last pairings, everyone who is currently fighting please move to their layer now." Brooke and Aya gave Aimee one last wave before they walked into the ring of people and then separated as they had to find their layers. Brooke found hers quickly, not too far from where she was. Satoko wasn't there yet, so Brooke took a seat and waited. Another person walked up to her, with a nameplate that read "Judge". Brooke figured they had to have people watching each fight to ensure everything was legit and there was no cheating.
Satoko appeared a brief second layer. She was a plain girl with medium black hair and auburn eyes. She was a little chubby but seemed rather friendly.
"Satoko Takaharu." She introduced herself.
"Brooke Miyoko." Brooke replied. Satoko sat down and put on the headset, Brooke followed her lead. The judge pushed a button and the layer started up.
"Angelic Fight." The judge said unenthusiastically, as if he would have rather been somewhere else. He hadn't even given them time to put their angels in the layer. Brooke hastily put Kura in the layer, her eyes flying wide open. Satoko did the same thing with her angel. Amare had bubblegum pink hair, held out of her face with white heart clips. She wore a cute pink dress with a wide edge that had to be supported with wires to hold it up. She matched her outfit with white stockings that had pink hearts, and pink slippers with a red heart on each. She held a white staff in her hand that had a single pink heart on the top. Not surprisingly her eyes were a light pink.
Amare was tall but very slim, confusing Brooke on what type of angel she was. She couldn't hesitate though as Amare charged at Kura. She crouched down and tried to knock Kura over with a leg sweep. Kura avoided it by doing a backflip and spreading her wings. She zoomed over to Amare and picked her up by her wrists. Satoko seemed dumbfounded as to what to do. Kura rose as high as she could go, swung Amare around, and sent her plummeting to the ground.
Amare raised the staff above her head and began to spin it madly. It became one big blur as she slowed down and landed safely on the ground. Brooke was surprised that angels could do that, and realized Satoko and Amare must be stronger than they looked. Knowing that wouldn't work again Kura landed back down on the layer, taking out her racket. This time she charged Amare, holding the racket like a bat. Kura let out as yell as she ran.
Amare dodged thinking Kura was going to hit her with the racket. But at the last second Kura dropped the racket and skidding down on the ground trapped Amare's feet with her own legs. Caught off guard Amare fell over at Kura leaped at the chance. Before Amare could even move Kura stood up, grabbed one of Amare's wrist and ankle, spun her around, and sent her flying out of the layer. It looked like it worked until suddenly Amare stopped flying sideways and fell straight down. She landed on her back but was still in the layer.
"What? That should have sent her out!" Kura complained loudly. Amare shakily stood up and picked up the staff she had dropped. The two angels then charged at one another. Amare threw a punch, Kura jumped over her head. With her feet on Amare's shoulders she grabbed her head and did a flip. This time Amare was too close to the edge of the layer, and Kura's flip sent her flying out. The judge blew a whistle and Brooke giggle happily. Kura ran over to her ecstatically and gave her a thumbs up.
"Good job." Brooke encouraged her.
"Right on." Satoko took off her head set and gathered the fallen Amare.
"Is she alright?" Brooke asked. Satoko inspected her angel with relief.
"She'll be fine. Just a little dirt, no real damage." She brushed off the little speck of dirt and then bent over to pick up the fallen staff, "That was a good battle, you're very strong."
"You think so? You seemed very strong yourself. The way you saved Amare-chan from being smashed into the ground and stopped her from being sent out of the layer. That was really amazing."
"Thanks. It was all due to a little magnet in the heart of the staff. It can react with the layer's magnetic field and I can do all sorts of cool stuff." The judge then gave a small cough and the two stopped talking.
"Satoko can move onto layer number one and Brooke stays here." his dull voice squeezing the excitement out of Brooke.
"Well I hope you do good." Satoko told her.
"Same to you."
"Thanks." Satoko said before she left.
"Wait here for your next opponent." The judge instructed. Brooke was tempted to say otherwise but sat back down and waited. She saw that other people were still battling, or waiting for their next opponent like she was. Brooke also heard a couple whistles as others finished their battles. Brooke spotted her next opponent easily because he turned out to be the winner of the layer closest to hers.
He didn't introduce himself but just sat down and placed his angel in the layer. The judge muttered to himself and found the Deus info.
"Let's see. Deus Shin Iku and Angel Nanako." Shin gave Nanako a slight toss and she landed gracefully in the layer. Like Shizuko she was a dragon angel, but the styles between the two angels were totally different. Nanako was wearing a black Japanese dress with a gold dragon circling around the dress. Her pale red hair was in a bun with her bangs curled. She wielded a thin but long sword with a gold dragon around the handle piece. Kura looked at her with an indifferent glance, as if the fierce dragon look didn't faze her or make her feel inferior.
"Angelic Fight." The judge said again. Nanako held the sword in front of her and jumped high and far into the air. She was falling right on top of Kura, who dodged as Nanako almost landed. She wasn't able to dodge the attack completely as hard as she tried. Nanako plunged the sword into the ground and used it to throw herself and hit Kura with a sideways kick. She moved gracefully and was able to stand back up, but Kura was sent sliding far on the ground. It was almost a layer out but friction finally slowed Kura down.
Nanako wasted no time attacking before she jump-kicked and planted her foot hard into Kura's stomach. Kura let out of a cry of pain, but grabbed Nanako's foot. Nanako seemed to be completely unaffected. She went into a handstand and pulled Kura up with her. Turning on her hands she went quicker and quicker. Soon Kura and Nanako had a whirlwind around them. Then Kura lost her grip and was sent out of the layer, almost a foot away. Brooke closed her eyes in defeat and winced when the judge's whistle blew. The whole sequence had barely even taken up a minute.
Not even looking at Shin, Brooke dejectedly picked up Kura and checked for damage. Mostly she was just dirty, especially the shirt which was white. There was also a little tear on the left sleeve. The judge looked at something and pointed to a layer.
"Layer 5." Shin didn't even look at Brooke as she walked away. Brooke became depressed as she walked over to the next layer. A few seconds after she got there the match ended. A boy her age with black hair and his black angel won. The new judge said the loser's next layer and she left. The boy stood up and shook Brooke's hand.
"Jacques Aubair."
"Brooke Miyoko." Sitting down, she made sure she was careful when she put Kura in the layer. She still wasn't sure if the fall had done any internal damage. Kura was doing fine so far though, she could move and her voice function was still working.
"A little beat up there huh?" Jacques asked, this time Brooke noticing his French accent.
"I guess. It was that Shin person over there who beat me." She added with a depressing note, motioning her head over to where Shin was.
"He didn't even talk to me, let alone look at me."
"Are you from Europe?" Jacques asked out of the blue.
"Actually yeah. My family moved here from Britain a couple weeks ago. How'd you know?"
"Well besides your first name which isn't Japanese, you don't look completely Japanese, and you still have kind of an English accent when you talk. Being from Europe myself it was a little easier to spot."
"Okay sorry there kids. Took me a little longer to get the information in. You can start now." The new judge interrupted. This time she was female and was a lot nicer than the last judge. When Brooke put on her headset the judge yelled out "Angelic Fight."
Jacques's angel was tiny and looked fast on her feet. Her long black hair covered up her eyes. Brooke looked but couldn't find a bit of color on that angel. Black crop, robe and boots, and a gray with matching gray pompoms at the end of the robe sleeves.
This time Brooke was desperate to make the first move. Using her wings again she flew close to the ground and fast, reaching out for the angel's ankles.
"Wait! Stop, stop!" The judge yelled out suddenly. Brooke panicked and crashed Kura into the ground. Another cry of pain came from the tiny angel, but she was still unharmed. Both Brooke and Jacques looked at the judge like she was nuts.
"So, so sorry. Um I forgot to say the angel's name. Our policy, sorry about this. Angel Nightshade and Angel Kura. Er-you can continue now." her voice drifted off and she turned away, embarrassed.
Kura had to back away now. The trick she was going to pull, ruined. She charged again, still wanting to make the first move. Nightshade stood there, supposedly looking at Kura, not moving an inch. When she got close enough Kura threw out a punch, Nightshade jumping over her head and to the other side. Kura tried and back kick but she missed by a mile.
Nightshade caught her leg and bent it in a position no leg should bend. Brooke found a way to use it to her advantage. Kura was able to quickly turn somewhat around and knock Nightshade over with her other foot. Kura was released and was back on the offensive. She grabbed Nightshade's ankles and threw her into the air. Finally using her racket she gave the ball a short but powerful hit and it went flying up towards the falling black angel.
As it flew the ball had a growth of white light around it. It hit its mark and Nightshade's stats dropped incredibly.
"That's what happens when you mess with us." Kura bragged as she collected her ball and the black angel crashed into the ground. Nightshade didn't move at first, laying in her crash position.
"Too hurt to get up? C'mon it wasn't that bad." Kura spoke to Nightshade. Nightshade began to move again, standing up and stumbling around.
"That's better. Never back down."
When Nightshade found her footing she stood stiff like a soldier and her hands were in a clap position. The area around her grew dark and formed a cocoon around her. The cocoon grew darker until it was pitch black and swarming.
"What the freak is that?" Kura said, backing up as it got bigger with every passing moment. Brooke looked over to the monitor, and found Nightshade's stats going back up. It was almost to full when the cocoon started to shrink and dissolve into the air. Now Nightshade was fully healed and looked stronger than ever.
"This is what happens when you mess with us." Nightshade said, the first time Brooke heard her voice. She had assumed she didn't have a voice. She found her speed had increased also as she was soon right on top of Kura. Turns out she hid a katana under her robe and began to slash at Kura with it. Kura tried to block with her racket, but the strings just got broken. It took Brooke a while to realize Nightshade was slowly getting Kura close to the edge. Then she became furious, Kura reacting to her feelings.
Tired of being pushed she snatched the Katana away and began attacking Nightshade with her own weapon. She got a couple tears in Nightshade's robe before she gave up and threw the katana away. The two resorted to fist fighting. When Kura landed a punch in Nightshade's stomach Brooke saw that she took more damage than normal. With every hit her stats seemed to lower more and more every time. With a final punch to the face Kura was victorious.
The judge's whistle was blown. Jacques sighed disconsolately, and took Nightshade and her katana out of the layer.
"Sorry about the robe. I went a little crazy there." Brooke apologized.
"No prob. Nothing a few stitches won't take care of. I'll have lots of time to finish it now anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"This was my second loss. I faced off with Shin in my first battle and lost miserably."
"Ahh, that's disappointing. Are you sad you lost so soon? That thing you did seemed pretty powerful."
"I think I'm alright. And the nightshade I did. That's where my little night angel got her name. It raises her stats and speed but with every hit she takes more damage every time. But it balances everything out, can come handy it some tight spots."
"Oh, I guess it does sound useful." The judge then gave a small cough, signaling Jacques had to go. Jacques stood up with a smile and bowed to Brooke.
"Pleasure to meet a lady of your caliber." Then he took her hand and gave her a quick kiss on her hand.
"Such a gentleman." Brooke said before laughing. Jacques laughed with her until Brooke's next opponent came up. Her gave her another bow and then left, leaving Brooke to finish giggling by herself.
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Brooke watched merrily as Aya kicked her opponent right out of the layer. Like Aya had predicted she won once again. Her opponent was Shin, and Brooke was glad to see he got his butt kicked the way he acted to rudely to her before. Brooke had done pretty well after Jacques had left. But then she finally got paired up with Aya and lost again. Aya didn't give her any slack now that they were friends, but Brooke couldn't care. Once she had lost she met back up with Jacques and the talked some more. Aimee found them, she had lost a little after Jacques had.
Aya came bouncing up to them with a trophy and a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She looked tired and flushed, but she couldn't have been happier.
"Congrats girl!" Brooke gave her a hug.
"Thanks." Then Aya spotted Jacques.
"Hey Jacques-kun. How'd you turn out?"
"Pretty bad actually. Lost to this little lady right here."
"Really? Good job Brooke-chan."
"Whoa, wait stop. You know each other?" Brooke said, holding out her hands to stop the confusing conversation.
"Yes. Jacques-kun and I have been best buds since he moved here last year. And you're out best friend too now."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Don't you think we'd make great best buds. It'll be so nice to have girl best friend. No offense Jacques-kun but it'll be nice to be able to be act like girly girl with someone."
"You mean to talk about boys and clothes, and do each other's hair. That sounds like a jolly old fun time." Jacques replied, making Brooke, Aya, and Aimee burst out laughing.
"You're a riot." Brooke said when she settled down enough to breath.
"He's never dull, and he's cute."
"Thank you, thank you." Jacques bowed over again and again to an imaginary audience.
"Hey guys sorry to break up you're fun fest but Brooke and I have to leave now." Aimee said out.
"Alright then. I guess we'll see you two later then."
"Oh wait Aya-chan?"
"Yes Brooke-chan?"
"When does the first trimester start?"
"Trimester?"
"Yes. Don't most Japanese schools use trimesters?"
"That's correct. But our school has adapted to the American's semesters. Ninth grade also goes into high school." Brooke was stunned. She thought she would have to adapt to trimesters and had tried to learn the times of a trimesters as best as she could. She also believed she would be in middle school for a whole nother year.
"Aren't there optional classes though? How am I supposed- sorry Aimee, WE supposed to sign up for those?"
"Well I'm guessing they'll call you guys in to figure that out any day now." Jacques said.
"I hope you're right."
"C'mon Brooke. You can figure that out later. We have to go help mom with dinner now."
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Brooke hustled around her house trying to get everything ready. It was the day before school started and she was trying to make sure she had everything together. As Jacques said Brooke and Aimee were called into the high school and chose their classes and optionals. Brooke had decided to take newspaper, which the school gave out once a month, and Spanish as an extra language since she already knew English. That also gave her one study hall to relax and get her homework done.
That night she couldn't fall asleep, every kind of feeling stirring inside her. Excitement, nervousness, joy, depression, ecstatic, blissful, tenseness, uneasiness, and anticipation of the next day. It was past 10 when she finally drifted off into a deep sleep.
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A/N: Well I tried. That was even longer than last chapter. I tried not to make it so long but it just happened that way. I had to cut another part short again, this time the competition. If I went to describe every match that I wanted to, it would have added over another ten pages. I knew it was crazy so I took a lot of stuff out.
If you didn't figure out the thing about Aya here it is-Aya's mom is the Vice Principal of the high school-Mrs. Uotoni. There it was, not to leave you wondering if you couldn't figure it out.
Next chapter-first day of school and registration for the nationals! They're starting, it's like finally! By this time most of the characters have finished their first match or so, I'm taking it really slow though, or it could just be me thinking that. Look forward to it and give this story and good review. Thanks a bundles. :)