Disclaimer: Angelic Layer is the creation of CLAMP. Any non-canon characters belong to me. Got that? ;o)
Dedicated to Firebird/Shutsumon and Phoenix from CCU, who never did get back to his AL fic :o) This is for you, guys.
Anyone who figures out which anime I got ideas from for the new character in this chapter gets a cookie or doughnut.
Angelic Layer Neo: Tokyo
Chapter 6: Searching For a Happy Place
by HA
Naturally, there was talk at Eriol Academy the next day. Whenever Misaki walked into a room, everyone stopped talking loudly and began whispering among themselves while giving her an occasional look. Some students offered their condolences and hoped she would be back next season.
"It's really unfair," Tamayo said as she and Misaki exited the school with Koutarou.
"That's the twentieth time you've said that today," Koutarou said.
Tamayo spun around to face him. "Well, it is!" she said, causing him to jump back. "Just because the other countries are afraid of Hikaru..."
"We don't know that for sure."
"It's the only reason that makes sense."
"You sound like everyone else!"
As her two friends argued--with Koutarou keeping a good distance away from Tamayo--Misaki thought about what she could do now she was no longer allowed to compete this season. Training Tora and his friends came to mind--they needed the help, especially Hikari. She didn't seem too into Angelic Layer, but if she wanted to play, Misaki would help her control Ririka better. Tora needed to learn how to not depend so much on Zero's Impact Light weapons; she agreed with Sai that depending too much on weapons could turn into a liability--the fight with Deathpincer told her that. As for Basho, she didn't see any problems, although she would have to watch him in a Fight. Yes, all of them needed more experience in the Layer. It'd be a good thing for them to do more Angelic Fights. Well, with regular Deuses--she didn't want them to fight any DG members. At least, she didn't want them to fight them at their current level. She knew she couldn't force them to avoid DG, but at least she could prepare them for when a DG member made them fight. Aside from helping them fight DG, she wanted to help them ready for the Kanto tournament. She knew it would be tough, and...
She sighed. It still hurt. Not playing this season...it did seem unfair. Shouko said so, and so did her mother, although she voiced her opinion on the matter while hiding behind the couch with a red face. Yes, she would be at the festival, and yes, she did promise Arisu she would fight her in the Layer, but it wouldn't be the same as an official tournament. She enjoyed her run last season; she met new friends, and she had hoped to meet more this season, especially the international Deuses, but now...
"Suzuhara!"
Misaki jumped in place. Clutching her chest, she looked for the speaker and saw several boys standing before her. All of them were dressed like street punks and were looking towards a boy with bleached hair standing in the middle. He towered over them all. He wore a slightly tattered blue longcoat with the collar up and geta on his bare feet, and a pair of pointed shades hid his eyes.
He pointed to Misaki. "Hey, are you Suzuhara, the Angelic Layer champion?"
"Hey!" Tamayo stomped to Misaki's side. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
A boy with a green mohawk and pierced nose sneered at her. "Hey, don't talk to Boss Kamiya like that, little girl!"
"Yeah, show some respect!" a bald boy said.
Koutarou raised an eyebrow. "Boss...Kamiya?"
The boy jabbed his thumb towards his chest and grinned widely. "That's me, Boss Kamiya, leader of Kamiya-dan."
"Yeah!" the other boys cried out, pumping their fists skyward.
Tamayo stared at them. "And that would be...?"
Still grinning, Boss Kamiya rubbed his square jaw. "Why, we're going to take Angelic Layer by storm."
"Come again?"
Boss Kamiya placed his hands on his hips and laughed. "Me and my boys are gonna dominate the Kanto tournament, and from there, we'll be the top Deuses in Japan!"
"So...you're a gang of...Deuses?" Koutarou said.
"That's right!" Green mohawk said.
"Boss Kamiya will be the top Japanese Deus!" Baldy said.
"So how did a bunch of tough guys get into Angelic Layer?" Tamayo asked.
The boys looked amongst themselves, then looked at their leader. Boss Kamiya spoke loudly. "Why, isn't it obvious?"
"I don't understand," Misaki said.
Boss Kamiya balled his big hand into a fist and grinned. "We became Deuses for one goal, and only one goal." He turned to his underlings. "Tell me why we joined Angelic Layer."
"To find our happy place!" came the response.
Misaki blinked. "Happy place?"
"And what else?"
"To meet cute girls!"
Misaki stared at them. "Naa?"
"Say what?" Tamayo said.
"At first, we were reluctant," Boss Kamiya said. "I mean, only girls play Angelic Layer. Well, there are boy players, but not many boys, and I'm not sure if we could call that Mihara guy a boy, much less a man."
Tamayo snarled. "What was that?" Her hands balled into fists at her side.
"But then they started releasing stuff that made Angels more manly, and then we saw our chance to get into the game." Boss Kamiya pumped his fist into the air. "We'll show everyone that Angels and Deuses can be manly! The cute girls will come to us, won't they, guys?"
"That's right, boss!"
"And why's that?"
"Because we're manly men!"
"Right! Not like that Wizard guy, and what's up with that Mihara--"
A foot to the face courtesy of Tamayo kept him from finishing, and he crashed to the pavement.
Misaki gasped. "Tamayo-chan!"
"You want some more?" she yelled to the fallen gang leader, her face as red as a tomato and steam coming out of her ears.
"Hey!"
The punks marched forward, their fists at the ready. Misaki noticed they were trembling.
"You can't do that to our boss!" they said, keeping their distance from Tamayo.
"Stand down!"
Boss Kamiya rose to his feet rubbing his jaw and cheeks. "Heh, you got a nice kick there." He cracked his neck left and right, then sniffed the air.
Green mohawk stepped up to him. "Boss, you all right?"
"Yeah, I can smell good." Boss Kamiya inhaled deeply, then pointed to Misaki with a big grin crossing his face. "Anyway, Suzuhara, I challenge you to an Angelic Fight!"
"Yeah!" Kamiya-dan pumped their fists into the air in unison.
Tamayo blinked. "You've got to be kidding me." She turned to Koutarou. "You boys can be so silly sometimes."
"Hey!" Boss Kamiya stomped towards Misaki and towered over her. "Are you all right? Didn't you hear me? I said--"
Tamayo rushed towards the gang leader and took him down with a clothesline. Before he could recover, she sat on his back, seized his arm, and bent it towards an unnatural direction. Boss Kamiya screamed in pain and started slapping the pavement while he kicked in vain.
"Boss!" Kamiya-dan said in unison, not moving from their spot.
"If you want to get to Misakichi, you've got to get past me!" Tamayo said through clenched teeth as she pulled harder.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" Waterfall tears flowed from the gang leader's eyes and over his cheeks as he continued to tap out.
"She's a demon!" Kamiya-dan trembled in unison. "A demon from Hell!"
"Um, Tamayo-chan?" Misaki pointed to Boss Kamiya. "Can you please let go of him?"
"Huh?" Tamayo looked up, still bending Boss Kamiya's arm back as far as she could. "You want me to let him go?"
Misaki nodded. "I'm willing to have an Angelic Fight with him."
"If you say so." Tamayo let go and walked away from her victim.
Kamiya-dan rushed forward to their leader. "Boss?" Baldy said, tapping him on the shoulder.
Boss Kamiya gasped for breath and jumped to his feet. He opened his mouth to speak, but then coughed and beat his chest. After a few deep breaths, he spoke. "I know a place where we can fight."
Minutes later, Misaki found herself along with Koutarou and Tamayo following Kamiya and his gang. Tamayo leaned in to whisper into Misaki's ear. "Why'd you accept his challenge? He could be a DG member."
"Hey!" Kamiya turned around, stomping his geta-clad foot against the pavement. "I'm not a member of that gang of thugs!" His hand tightened into a fist.
"Gang of thugs?" Tamayo raised an eyebrow at him. "Look who's talking."
"Boss Kamiya would never join a group like that!" Green mohawk said.
"Yeah," Baldy said. "Boss Kamiya has standards. He'd never join Demon's Game."
After Koutarou managed to calm everyone down, they continued walking. "Well, it's not like I have anything else to do besides homework," Misaki whispered back. "I can still earn points for my Angel Card, right?"
They found themselves at the shop where Misaki had fought Tora. People began backing away from the Layer as Boss Kamiya and his group gathered around it. Misaki took Hikaru and her headset out of her bag.
"Suzuhara-senpai!"
Misaki turned around to see Tora, Basho, and Hikari running towards her. Both boys bent over and caught their breath.
"Thank goodness we've caught up with you," Tora said, gasping for air.
"You've been following us?" Koutarou asked.
"Yeah," Basho said.
"And how long have you been following us?" Tamayo asked.
"Since Eriol Academy," Hikari said. "We were about to see you, but then these guys"--she jabbed a thumb towards Kamiya-dan--"had you follow them."
"What's going on, senpai?" Tora asked, now standing straight.
"She's going to fight him in the Layer." Koutarou pointed to Boss Kamiya.
Hikari blinked, then adjusted her glasses. "Kamiya?"
Tora stared at the gang leader. "Kamiya?"
"You know him?" Tamayo asked.
"I wouldn't say I know him, but I've seen him in our neighborhood," Hikari said.
"Yeah, sometimes the neighbors call the police to chase him and his gang away," Basho said.
"So he's bad news?" Koutarou asked.
"No!" Tora said.
"Not really," Hikari said. "For one thing, they just loiter."
"Loiter?" Misaki said.
"Yeah, they just wander around." Hikari rubbed her chin. "Although, come to think of it, I haven't seen them around for quite a while."
"They're not bad people, senpai," Tora said. "In fact, they're cool."
"Come again?" Basho and Hikari said.
Before Misaki could say anything, Boss Kamiya shouted to her. "Hey, Suzuhara, are we gonna fight or what?"
Misaki turned to face her opponent across the Layer. Sporting the Angelic Layer headset, he held an armored Angel in his hands. It wore a coat like his, although it was red instead of blue, and a cap adorned its head. A transparent visor covered its eyes, and its forearms sported a gauntlet each.
"I'm ready," she said as she put on her headset.
Boss Kamiya pumped his fist in the air. "All right, let's do this!" He threw his Angel into the Layer at the same time as Misaki. "Drill your way to victory! Akaban, fall in!"
Hikaru nearly lost her balance; the Layer shook a little when Akaban landed on his feet. Misaki recalled the first Fight she watched--Athena versus the stronger, muscular Angel. She studied Akaban. He wasn't bulky, but his frame suggested that he was a Power-Type. It wasn't going to be easy to knock him out of the Layer. She didn't notice any weapon ports, but then, new Angels did have the option to have an Impact Light generator installed.
"Spiral Knuckle!" Boss Kamiya yelled loudly while shaking his fist.
Hikaru jumped to the side to avoid Akaban charging forward with his fist out. An Impact Light drill glowed around it, its spinning making a rapid whirling sound. Akaban ended up near the edge of the Layer. Hikaru aimed a kick to his back, and he hopped a little forward while Hikaru fell to the ground. The display above the Layer showed both Angels suffering a little pip of damage.
"Nice kick," Boss Kamiya said as Akaban turned around. "Here's mine. Spiral Kick!"
Hikaru barely dodged the incoming Impact Light drill kick; its edge brushed against her, and a chunk of energy vanished from her damage meter. Misaki gasped.
"She lost that much from that?" Tamayo said.
Boss Kamiya laughed, his hands on his hips. "Behold the power of Akaban! Even blocking won't save your Angel!"
"You go, boss!" Kamiya-dan said.
"Spiral Knuckle!"
Akaban charged forward with another Impact light drill fist. Hikaru jumped into the air, but the drillbit struck her in the chest, throwing her back. Misaki winced as Hikaru crashed onto the Layer. The display showed that Hikaru's damage meter was cut down to one-third.
"Not good," Koutarou said.
Hikaru got up as Akaban ran towards her.
"Spiral Knuckle!" Boss Kamiya said.
Hikaru blocked the incoming punch with her arms. The impact sent her skidding back towards the edge of the Layer. Hardly anything was left in her damage meter.
"This is bad," Hikari said.
"All right, boss!" Kamiya-dan said.
"Oh shut up!" Tamayo said.
Kamiya-dan fell silent.
"Heh." Boss Kamiya grinned. "It's still not over yet, boys. Gotta knock her out or knock her down." He rubbed his chin. "Still gonna be good no matter how it ends, right, Suzuhara?"
Misaki smiled back. "Right."
"All right! Time to finish this!" Boss Kamiya pointed skyward. "Akaban, Spiral Breaker!"
Akaban raised his arm, and a giant Impact Light drill shot out. It spun rapidly in place.
"Whoa! That's big!" Tora said.
"Tell me something I don't know," Basho said.
"Misakichi, do something!" Tamayo said.
"Gotta beat you with my full power, Suzuhara." Boss Kamiya turned to his gang. "Why must I do that?"
"Because you're a man, boss!" came the reply.
"Damn right." Boss Kamiya turned to Misaki. "You can give up now if you want to. No Angel's beaten Akaban's Spiral Breaker before."
"That's right, boss! It's an unbeatable technique!"
"Shut up!" Tamayo said.
Kamiya-dan did so.
Boss Kamiya cleared his throat. "Suzuhara, the odds are against you. If Akaban's Spiral Breaker connects with Hikaru in her current condition, she'll lose. I don't like it when people give up, but it's okay to give up when you're going to lose for sure."
Misaki fixed a stare at her opponent. "I'm not giving up."
"You're not?"
She shook her head. "I'm not giving up."
Boss Kamiya laughed. "I like you, Suzuhara. Gotta admire your gutsiness."
"Th-Th-Thank you," Misaki said.
"Okay, if you've got something left, now's the time to do it." Boss Kamiya looked at his Angel. "All right, Akaban, finish this. Go!"
Akaban charged towards Hikaru, his Spiral Breaker spinning before him. The whirling of the giant drill filled the air.
Misaki focused on what she would do next. She steeled herself as the Spiral Breaker got closer. Just as its tip was close to Hikaru, she made her move.
Now!
Hikaru jumped over the charging Angel as high as she could, then took aim. Everyone ooohed and aaahed at the sight of the glowing pink ball between Hikaru's hands.
"Huh?" Boss Kamiya said. "Oh no!"
Hikaru unleashed the Soul of Light just as Akaban turned around. As she landed on the opposite side of the Layer, the attack impacted with the Spiral Breaker, causing it to erupt into a powerful explosion. Akaban flew off the Layer and into Misaki's hands.
"Layer Out! Hikaru wins!" a boy said, raising his hand.
The spectators cheered. "All right, senpai!" Tora said.
Kamiya-dan stared at Hikaru. "The boss lost!" Some of them were crying despite themselves, their tears running down their cheeks before they turned around and wiped their faces as fast as they could.
Misaki staggered under the weight of Tamayo's arm wrapped around her. "You did it, Misakichi!" She grinned at her friend.
Misaki smiled back, and the spectators started gathering around her, all of them praising her performance. However, she peeked past them and saw Boss Kamiya walking towards her with Hikaru in his arms. The crowd parted so he could get through.
"Oh!" Misaki held Akaban out to his Deus. "Here."
Boss Kamiya stared at her. After a while, he handed over Hikaru and took Akaban into his arms.
"Akaban's very powerful," Misaki said. "You could've won."
Boss Kamiya laughed loudly, which caused some people, including Misaki, to jump back. "You are the best Deus in the world!" He slapped her on the back, causing her to stumble forward a little. "You may be little, but you have a big strong heart."
"Hey, don't make fun of Misakichi!" Tamayo marched forward, her fists at the ready.
Kamiya-dan hid behind their leader. "No no no, the boss isn't making fun of her," Green mohawk said.
"I'm not," Boss Kamiya said. He flexed a bicep. "You may have a short stature, but your heart...it's big, very big." He laughed again. "I knew I was in for a tough fight, but I had to know how powerful you were, Suzuhara."
Misaki gasped as Boss Kamiya went down on his knees with his hands clasped together. "Um, you don't have to..."
"Whoa." Tora stepped forward. "I've never seen Kamiya do that before."
"You are the stronger of us," Boss Kamiya said with his head down. "I want to be a stronger Deus. Please make me your disciple."
Kamiya-dan got to their knees behind their leader. "Us too, Suzuhara!"
Misaki stared at the gang members. "Naaaa?"
"Here we go again," Koutarou said.
"This is delicious!" Boss Kamiya said after he swallowed a big bite of burger.
Hikari sighed. "Maybe you should keep it down."
Misaki looked around from the booth they occupied. The other customers in the Amor Burger Stop were staring at them. She laughed nervously as Boss Kamiya sucked his soda through a straw making a loud slurping sound.
"Man, I've never had such a good burger," the gang leader said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Much better food here than at the Angel Cafes."
Misaki looked at the pile of paper wrappers in front of Boss Kamiya. "Um, you didn't have to pay for everything. I could've done it."
Boss Kamiya shook his head and raised his head. "Suzuhara, it's my treat. Don't worry about it."
"I'm amazed you have money to pay for all this food," Tamayo said, giving the gang leader a glare from beside Misaki.
"Oh, I've been working a few odd jobs here and there."
Tora raised an eyebrow. "Jobs? You?"
"Yeah. Had to earn the money to buy our Angels somehow. Pretty pricy stuff."
"I have to agree," Basho said.
"Guess that explains why we haven't seen you guys around lately," Hikari said.
"Yeah, the boss and us've been working hard," Green mohawk said from the nearby table.
"It was tough, but we earned the money," Baldy said.
"Ah, to earn your own money..." Boss Kamiya grinned. "It's a good feeling." He bit into his burger again. "Delicious!"
Kaida and a skinny man approached the booth. His ears were big and wide. "Um, sir, I'll have to ask you to keep it down," he said in a quiet voice.
Boss Kamiya rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that."
"Who's the guy with the big ears?" Tamayo asked.
"That's Saruta, the manager," Tora said. "He runs the place for my uncle, and he's a real stickler for the rules."
Kaida frowned. "Kamiya."
Boss Kamiya waved to her, his cheeks turning red. "Hiya, Kaida-san. It's been a while."
Kaida rolled her eyes. "It hasn't been long enough."
Basho looked from Kaida to the gang leader. "You two know each other?"
"Before this guy dropped out, we used to be in the same high school class," Kaida said, pointing to the gang leader.
"I never was good at book learning," Boss Kamiya said. "The streets were better teachers."
Kaida shook her head. "And just when I thought you were improving when it came to picking friends, Tora-chan."
"Stop calling me that!" Tora said, his cheeks red.
Saruta moved his open hands up and down. "Please keep it down."
Basho pointed at Tora. "You never said your sister and Kamiya dated!"
"Excuse me!" Kaida's cheeks were a brilliant crimson. "We never dated!"
Saruta groaned. "Please, everyone..."
"Oh, come on, Kaida-san." Boss Kamiya smiled at her. "You know you were attracted to me when we were still in high school."
The sound of Kaida's open palm making contact against Boss Kamiya's cheek echoed throughout the Amor Burger Stop. Saruta watched as Kaida stomped off with steam shooting out of her ears.
"Boss!" Kamiya-dan said from their table.
Boss Kamiya rubbed the spot, his mouth curled into a little smile. "She still likes me."
"Like heck she does!" Basho said.
"People..." Saruta said, rubbing his temples.
"Now now, what's going on?" Tora's uncle appeared at the booth, towering over everyone. "Saruta-kun, what's the problem?"
Saruta sighed. "This young man keeps making noise, sir." He pointed to Boss Kamiya.
"Oh?" Tora's uncle raised an eyebrow at the gang leader. "Ah, Kamiya-san, it's been a while."
Boss Kamiya laughed nervously under his breath. "Um, hello, Hibiki-san."
"Good afternoon, Hibiki-san," Kamiya-dan said from their table, all of them trembling.
Boss Kamiya shook as he spoke. "So this is your restaurant?"
Tora's uncle nodded. "Opened it earlier this year. It was in the news."
"Um, you know I don't pay attention to the news, ojisan."
"Maybe you should start." Tora's uncle looked from the gang leader to his followers. "So you're now into Angelic Layer, huh?"
"Yes, sir."
"I doubt your parents would give you the money for an Angel." Tora's uncle looked at Akaban, who was sitting next to his Deus's pile of crumpled trash.
"They didn't. I earned the money on my own."
"Ah. You never did go back to school."
"Streets taught me what I need to know."
"Hmmmmm..." Tora's uncle rubbed his chin. "You're not working right now?"
"Nothing's turned up, no."
"This is getting interesting," Koutarou whispered to Misaki, who nodded her head.
"Hmmmm..." Tora's uncle looked down at Boss Kamiya. "So that was you expressing your love for our burgers loudly a while ago?"
"Um, yes." Boss Kamiya gripped the edge of the table.
"Sir, if he does it again, I swear I'll kick out him and his gang," Saruta said, jabbing his thumb towards Boss Kamiya's followers.
"Now now, let's not be too harsh." Tora's uncle turned to Boss Kamiya. "So you find my burgers to be delicious?"
"Yes, yes I do."
"Hmmmm..." Tora's uncle tapped his chin, then folded his arms behind his back. "Saruta-kun, walk with me."
Saruta stood at attention. "Y-Y-Yes, sir."
"What's going on?" Tamayo whispered to everyone as the two men walked away, engaged in conversation.
Tora and his friends shrugged. Basho glared at Boss Kamiya, his hand alternating between open and fist-closed.
Misaki bit into a fry and sighed. She propped her head up with her hand and chewed slowly.
"Hey hey, why the sad look there?" Boss Kamiya asked. "You were the winner, after all."
"Well..." Koutarou searched for the words. "It's just that..."
"Misakichi can't be in the Angelic Layer tournaments anymore!" Tamayo said, slamming his fist into the table. Everyone else jumped in place. Kamiya-dan shivered and grabbed the edge of their table.
"It's only for this season, though," Koutarou said.
"It's still unfair, though," Tora said.
Boss Kamiya nodded. "I see. Why can't you play anymore, Suzuhara?"
Misaki recounted the meeting with Commissioner Ayukawa. After she was finished, Boss Kamiya broke into waterfall tears.
"Boss, you're crying!" Kamiya-dan said.
The gang leader sniffled and wiped his eyes and cheeks with the back of his hand. "It's all right. They're manly tears, and it's okay to shed manly tears, especially for others." He composed himself. "So they took away your happy place."
Misaki blinked. "Happy place?"
"Something that brings you ultimate joy, where you're accepted for who you are," Boss Kamiya said. "It's something you keep searching for all your life." He sighed. "Still searching for mine."
"You are?"
"Yeah." Boss Kamiya sighed again. "I know people see me as a punk with no future because I dropped out of high school, and I want to prove them wrong." He chewed on a fry, and his hand closed into a fist. "I want to show them that I can be somebody through hard work."
"Me too," Tora said. "I want to work hard so I can be the best Deus in Japan."
"Get in line," Basho said with a smile.
Boss Kamiya laughed. "I like you guys!" He grinned at Misaki. "From this point on, you're my boss, Suzuhara."
"Naaaa?"
"Hey you guys!" he said to his men. "From now on, Suzuhara's our boss, got it?"
"Got it!" Kamiya-dan said, pumping their fists into the air. "We're at your command, Boss Suzuhara!"
Misaki sweatdropped. "Um..."
"Heh, looks like you've got a lot of guys after you, Misakichi!" Tamayo grinned at her friend, then looked sideways towards Koutarou. "Looks like more competition for you."
"Hey!" Koutarou's face went red.
Kamiya laughed again. "We'll help you reach your happy place, Boss. You won't be sad any more."
"That's right," Tora said. "We'll fight on your behalf this season."
"We'll kick everyone else's butt, including DG's," Basho said.
Hikari shook her head and groaned. "Don't get overconfident."
"For Boss Suzuhara's sake, we'll fight!" Kamiya stood up and pumped his fist upward.
"Yeah!" The gang members followed their leader's example.
Misaki looked around her. Tora and his friends were smiling. Kamiya was grinning widely, and so were his friends.
"Ahem."
Tora's uncle appeared next to Kamiya. He rested his hand on his shoulder.
"I need to talk with you, Kamiya-san," he said.
Kamiya shook a little. "You do?"
"Now come along."
Misaki stared wide-eyed as Tora's uncle lifted Kamiya from his seat. He eased him onto the floor feet-first.
"Um, am I in trouble?" Kamiya asked.
"Oh no." Tora's uncle pushed him forward lightly, which almost sent Kamiya flying into the wall had he not dug in his feet. "I'd like to see your friends as well."
Kamiya-dan shot out of their seats in unison. "Yes, sir!"
As Kamiya and his friends followed Tora's uncle, Misaki looked around her, pausing to study her friends, old and new. All of them thanks to Angelic Layer. She watched as Tora and his friends talked about Kamiya and how their Angels would do in the current season. She could sense their enthusiasm, remembering how she felt when she first got into Angelic Layer. Yes, she couldn't participate in any official tournaments, but she could help her friends. Help them find their happy places. She could do that much, at least.
She felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face Koutarou.
"I'm amazed at your special ability," he said.
She felt her cheeks warm up. "My...special ability?"
He nodded. "You can make friends with anyone."
Then Tamayo elbowed the side of his head, and he fell into Misaki's lap.
"Naaaaa!" Misaki almost jumped out of her seat "Ooooo...trying to get some kissyface time with Misakichi, huh?" Tamayo said.
Koutarou groaned, then pulled his head off Misaki's lap. His face sported the same shade of red on a stop sign.
"It's gonna be an interesting season, huh, senpai?" Tora asked, grinning.
Misaki beamed. "Oh, it will be."
At a table near the center of the restaurant, the girl stirred her soda with her straw, watching as it brushed past the shrinking ice cubes floating over the clear, bubbly liquid. She turned her head towards Misaki's table, where everyone was talking about Angelic Layer. With a gloved hand, she brushed a few strands of blond hair out of the way of her sunglasses.
"Well," she said, letting her mouth curl into a smile. "Things are getting...interesting."
She sipped some soda through her straw while glancing occasionally at the Angel seated before her.
