2008 Tokyo City Games - Nazo vs. Yamada

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It had been a long tournament so far, but Nazo was still there. She'd gone home at one point to take a nap, but… That was beside the point. Sighing as she sat down, Nazo wondered who her next opponent was going to be, but was just a little too lazy to check the upcoming match list. The attendant would tell her in a matter of moments, anyway.

Yamada was always the biggest one in the waiting room, even some of the men were a full two heads below her. Rather than obsess about it like some of the girls had done when she was young, she took the high road and used it to her advantage, weight training and getting involved in a female wrestling league. Of course when nobody was looking she still had her feminine side, she loved dolls, and she loved fighting, so it seemed only natural that she had gotten involved with Angelic Layer when she did. Even if she wasn't the best contender in the world she still found other peoples dolls adorable, though she would never be caught dead coming out and saying it.

"Tsukikage Nazo, Yamada Toko, time for your match~" a perky attendant calls out, waving the two over. Blinking a few times in surprise at how fast the last match had ended, Nazo gets up and heads over to the attendant, not wanting to be late for her match and hold everyone up. She cradles Mukuro in her arms gently, trying not to worry about the upcoming match.

'Alright, not too fancy now, don't hold Vasques like some kind of doll, she's tough, just like me… Tough! But that doll over there is soooo adorable I just want to brush its… NO! TOUGH! TOUGH! I eat nails for breakfast! Nails and children!' Yamada's thoughts were everywhere just like the start of every match she had ever been in, as well like every match she had been in she had to psyche herself up. This was a common tactic as a wrestler too, though she didn't really have the distraction of having cute adorable dolls around her at all hours making her mind drift. As much as she had wanted to put Vasques in something pretty she had to remind herself that Angelic Layer was a competition just like a wrestling match and she needed to take it serious. After pumping herself up to a point where she could operate even with the distraction of an adorable angel she stood from her seat and lumbered over to the attendant. "Yamada Toko, present."

"All right you two, through the double doors. Tsukikage to the left, Yamada to the right~" the attendant instructed, being her perky self and trying desperately not to get creeped out by the two girls standing in front of her. Neither one was quite… normal.

Nazo nodded and, in the smallest attempt to get away from her much-taller opponent, began down the corridor she was assigned. She was going to have a tough time in this upcoming battle, she could tell already. Hopefully Mukuro wouldn't give her Deus /too/ much of a hard time about this… But you never know with people like Nazo and Mukuro.

Nodding silently, Yamada steeled herself again, having not gotten a look at the opponents angel she didn't really have to work hard to do so. She made her way down the hallway to just outside the entrance, she had done this enough times before to know the whole deal. Wait for the announcer to make his introductions of the two contestants then bring them out just like a wrestling match, they'd make their entrance, possibly make an exchange, then fall in to the layer with as much flourish as possible.

"Ahem!" The announcer clears his throat loudly as the applause winds down from the end of the last duel. "What a great duel! Now we've got another sensational one for you next!" The announcer, dressed in his usual bright purple suit and large, red bow-tie, gestures excitedly to the Layer, then to the two entrances for the Deuses. "In the east corner, we have the one, the only, the sometimes rather sleepy, Tsukikage Nazo and her Angel, Mukuro!" He pauses for a moment as the audience cheers Nazo's entry. "In the west corner, we have a power-house of this tournament, Yamada Toko and her Angel, Vasques! Will Mukuro be able to triumph over the crushing strength of Vasques? Will Vasques fall prey to Mukuro's mysterious power? Let's find out!"

Nazo wondered when people had begun calling Mukuro's power mysterious, though she had to agree with them. Even Nazo herself didn't know precisely what kind of power it was. The mahogany-haired girl walked calmly to her chair, holding Mukuro close. Her opponent and her Angel looked very, very tough, and Nazo was very worried. She'd had tough battles against opponents who were close in strength to her, so someone who was much stronger would probably cut Mukuro down like a sapling. Then again, perhaps a larger Angel would have trouble dodging… Mukuro was fairly small, so perhaps she could dodge a little more or have an easier time avoiding the hits… If Vasques wasn't very accurate, Mukuro might just survive for a while…

Walking out onto the arena floor, Yamada doesn't acknowledge the cheering crowd. A few members of the crowd actually seemed a little intimidated by her though, surely because of her intimidating stature. Yamada strides over to her chair, takes a seat, and then looks over to her opponent. Hey, her opponent's Angel was actually kind of cute and what a nice outfit…NO! Tough! Come on Yamada! Kick ass and take names! The girl puts her thumb to her chest and yells an introduction across the layer, "Yamada Toko!", then crosses her arms and nods.

"There you have it folks! These two girls are ready to rumble! Now let's see where they'll be fighting!!" The announcer repeatedly stabs his finger towards the Layer, and lights flash as the Layer starts to flicker between sceneries. Scenes of deserts, ruins, and even space appear, but the Layer soon settles on… "Stonehenge! Monument of the ancients, or something left by aliens? Regardless of who built it, I have feeling that it won't be standing much longer! Not between these two, strong contestants! Once again, it's time…ENTRY ANGEL!"

Nazo shrinks back a little at Yamada's intro, not making one in response. She waited patiently as her chair rose, then looked down at the arena. Stonehenge, eh? Not many places to hide, nothing to use as a projectile… This would be an issue. Especially if Vasques was strong enough to use parts of the stonehenge as projectiles against /her/… "Regardless," Nazo begins softly, then grows louder as she continues, "Let's do our best, Mukuro!" Throwing Mukuro down onto the layer, the Angel does a couple intricate flips to show off her dexterity, landing skillfully on one of the rectangular stone arches. Mukuro knew not who her opponent was yet, so she had an air of subtle confidence around her. Nazo knew that wouldn't last long, however…

Yamada lifts up her Angel, an incredibly buff female Angel with long, red hair. "Resistance is futile! Annihilate her! Vasques!" She tosses her Angel toward the Layer. Vasques lands on the Layer with an audible thud - her muscular mass making any landing quite an impact. The Angel stands considerably taller than her opponent, who she looks up and down. Vasques flexes (simultaneously showing off the anchor tattoo on her right bicep) to show that she is ready.

"It's that time you've all been waiting for folks! Tsukikage Nazo vs Yamada Toko! Mukuro vs Vasques!" As he calls out the names, the announcer points to each person/Angel in turn. "Who will be our victor!? Ready!?" He glances at the two Deuses to make sure, then nods. "Angelic….FAIT-OOOO!!!"

The first thing Mukuro did was not attack, but look up at her Deus in horror. "You expect me to fight /that/ thing?!" she seemed to say, though her lips never moved. Nazo smiled in half-apology, half-laughter at her Angel as the little doll began to fret. By the Angel's obvious searching for a projectile, it was clear Mukuro did /not/ want to get near Vasques.

The large Vasques grins as she sees her opponent start to fret already. Vasques would knock this Angel out in one blow if Mukuro didn't pay attention to her! She holds her thick arms up, then rushes forward! Neither Vasques nor her Deus were ones for a complicated battle strategy. 'Smash the opponent' had worked pretty well for them so far and they weren't going to change now! Vasques kicks out strongly toward Mukuro, aiming to hit the Angel right in the gut and send her flying!

Waving her arms a little, Mukuro dodges off the henge and goes running. Nazo laughed lightly as her Angel seemed to think, 'Bad day bad day bad day…!' Even if they went down, Nazo was already having fun. Knowing she had to attack at some point, Mukuro flips up onto the stonehenge Vasques is currently on and tries to kick her off, figuring if /she/ can't do damage, maybe an impact with the floor could. The Angel-Deus pair had no idea how strong Vasques was defensively, after all. But being that muscular, Nazo figures her opponent's Angel can take a hit and keep on going like nothing even happened. They'd come across many Angels like that in their history, but it had never stopped them from trying, now had it?

Not being a speedy type (clear to see just by looking at her), Vasques is not quick enough to dodge or get the greatest guard up fast enough; however, when the attack lands, Vasques seems to be completely unaffected! She looks down at looks at where she kicked, then at Mukuro, like 'Is that it?' Vasques draws back her fist, then punches straight toward Mukuro's jaw!

Mukuro throws her arm up and, with a surprising show of strength, catches the other Angel's fist! She's pushed back a ways, as countering such brute power is difficult for her, but regardless, the attack doesn't do what it was intended to. The orange-haired Angel, while still holding onto the fist, tries to throw a kick at Vasques' stomach. Of course, the opposing Angel's arm was awfully long, and Mukuro was dwarfed in comparison to her… She'd be lucky if she even grazed the other Angel.

Yamada bites her lip when Mukuro catches Vasques' fist. No one could be as tough as Vasques! No way! Yamada's confidence is slightly reassured as another of Mukuro's attacks bounces off Vasques. Vasques grabs Mukuro's arm, then tosses her down to the ground! She soon follows, jumping down aiming to slam her elbow right into Mukuro's chest!

"Ooooh! The dreaded elbow drop!" The announcer yells. "One of the most infamous wrestling moves! Quick Mukuro - dodge and do a shoot kick! Or an enzuigiri!" Was the announcer a pro wrestling fan?

Mukuro hits the ground, surprised at being thrown from the henge. But when a shadow falls over her as Vasques continues her attack, Mukuro rolls out of the way, just in time before Vasques wound up ramming herself into the layer, instead of her opponent. Mukuro stood quickly, not wanting to give Vasques too much time to recover from missing.

Off the layer, Nazo was calculating. The way Vasques moved, how quickly Mukuro could dodge, anything that would help. Not understanding the announcer's advice - she watched anime fighting, not real life (staged) battles - but remembering something the man mentioned much earlier before the match even started, Nazo advised her partner, "Let's see if we can't do something with this 'mysterious power' you've got, eh, Mukuro?" Immediately catching the drift, Mukuro charges her foot with energy and does a quick twirl, trying to ram the energized limb into Vasques' back! Hopefully such a large Angel wouldn't be able to move away quickly enough… But Vasques had already proved she could take a beating with no sweat. Would this attack even bother her? Only time would tell, and in a moment the world would know…!

The energy-charged foot, instead of smashing into Vasques' back, hits right into a prepared guard. Doesn't matter if Vasques wasn't quick - she knew wrestling and knew that a counterattack would be coming! The power behind the blow pushes Vasques back, despite the guard, and into one of the stone columns, but the Angel seems largely unbothered by it. Charging at Mukuro, Vasques drops her shoulder and tries to slam right into her opponent! This was either going to bowl over Mukuro…or break a lot of the stuff behind her.

In the audience, you hear a female voice shouting, "Go Mukuro! You can do it!"

Mukuro tries to dodge out of the way, but isn't quite quick enough and winds up getting pushed aside. Hard. Into a stonehenge. Nazo winces as Mukuro hits rock, but knows she has to tell her Angel to push forward or they'd never get anywhere. Pushing off the vertical rock behind her, Mukuro tries to hit Vasques with another kick while the momentum is still taking hold of the other Angel. Nazo figured they were too late starting the attack to do anything close to real damage, but it was better to try than sit around until the next devastating hit came along.

'Plink!' Mukuro's counterattack is too little, too late and leaves no visible damage on Vasques. "Come on Vasques! Kick her ass!" Yamada shouts as she shakes her fist toward the Layer. Her Angel responds by pushing Mukuro back between the two columns of one henge, then ramming one of the columns. The column is knocked out of the way despite its significant weight, and the top part of the henge falls toward Mukuro! Vasques looks happy with her display of strength.

Mukuro doesn't look up, but instead jumps way, way back away from the henge of rocks. Nazo could see the layer perfectly well, and knew Mukuro would have been crushed if she'd stayed there a moment longer. The Angel-Deus pair's tactic of hitting their opponent when she wasn't paying perfect attention didn't seem to be working, and for multiple reasons. Yamada had a great concentration on the match, and Vasques was just too tough 'n' buff to take damage from Mukuro's measly attacks. The cerulean-eyed Angel had to take a moment to catch her breath, and Nazo had to take a moment to formulate a new, or simply different, strategy. If the silver-eyed girl couldn't come up with a better plan soon, this match wasn't going to last much longer.

"And down comes part of Stonehenge! I fear for the sake of this structure, but at the same time…this battle is getting HOT! Yamada Tako's Vasques bullrushes Mukuro after having taken hit after hit, seemingly unaffected I might add, and manages to take down a column! Mukuro's speed is serving her well, allowing Tsukikage Nazo to guide her to safety! Will Mukuro be able to launch a successful counterattack before she's crushed by Vasques' might?!"

On the Layer, Vasques continues to chase Mukuro. "Come back here! Stop dodging!" Vasques leaps forward and pulls back her fist, then launches a fierce punch at Mukuro! If Mukuro dodged, it looked like a column behind her was going to bite the dust…

Mukuro, being her usual unpredictable self, doesn't dodge, but instead throws up an arm to block the attack. She's forced back into another column, but uses it to push off of and throw another kick at Vasques. "As you wish," Nazo mutters, her Angel staying silent. Mukuro never did talk for some reason; perhaps Nazo didn't know how to do so? Either way, Nazo hopes something will keep Vasques down… Perhaps not this attack, but maybe the next… Hopefully Mukuro wouldn't go down before that.

Yamada was biting her lip again and had her fists clenched. Vasques wasn't hitting hard enough! That wasn't acceptable! It was time to bring the pain! Vasques, in a surprising display of agility, dodges the kick. Vasques then holds up both her arms, flexes (for no other reason than to show off it seemed), then turns toward Mukuro. She lowers her head, then charges straight forward towards Mukuro like a bull! Whether she hits or not, the Angel just keeps on plowing forward, destroying everything in her path!

The announcer's jaw drops as he watches the destruction on the Layer, having only seen this kind of damage inflicted by one or two other angels. "I-I wouldn't want to be in the path of that! YEOWCH!"

Mukuro closes her eyes and dodges to the side, more of a sway than a forced dodge. Her image even seems to flicker a bit before she swirls quickly and throws a kick at Vasques' upper back, twirling gracefully and attempting to deliver another, energy coating her feet. Mukuro was still behind, even though she'd done a fair job of dodging and not getting hit too drastically just yet. However, it only meant she had to try harder. Nazo had to try harder. If the two could do better, perhaps they could pull of a surprise win, even if they /were/ extreme underdogs…

Vasques seems a little dizzy from Mukuro's attack and charges a little off to the side instead of straight at her target, just barely missing. As she passes by Mukuro, Mukuro unleashes another fierce attack….well, at least it would seem fierce were Vasques not built like a tank. Vasques is too caught up in her rampage to pay any mind to the attack, and it simply bounce off once again. The health meters on the screen indicated that Nazo and Mukuro /were/ doing damage, but only a little at a time. The Angel makes an abrupt about-face (after demolishing a good deal of Stonehenge) and tries to close in and kick Mukuro in the stomach. "I said stop dodging!"

Mukuro keeps a stern, unhappy face, while Nazo's unhappiness seems more sad. Whenever they seemed to use that energy, they seemed to miss… Perhaps it wasn't supposed to be used for attacking? Regardless, Mukuro swings to the side and swings a fist at Vasques' face, as if to say "I don't take orders from you." No energy use this time, just a physical swing; however, with nothing to back it but force, it likely wouldn't hit very hard…

In the audience, you hear a female voice shouting, "Nazo-chan! You can do it!"

Vasques throws up both her arms in a cross block and Mukuro's swing hits it to no avail. Mukuro shouldn't feel disappointed that she has had trouble damaging Vasques, becauses Vasques and Yamada were TOUGH! Yeah! Vasques, instead of attacking immediately after her block, retreats a few steps. Not because she was tired or hurt, no of course not! Just…just to give the other Angel a little breather! Right!

Nazo and her Angel are confused when Vasques backs off. The mammoth of an Angel seemed like she could just keep going and going and going without needing a break. Mukuro vanishes back into the stonehenge, trying to use the break to get away so she won't take another drastic hit too soon. However… The large stones might come crashing down on her again, perhaps it wasn't the safest place to go hide in…

"Come on Vasques! Get 'em!" Yamada yells at her Angel. Vasques nods in response, then examines the ruins of Stonehenge, trying to spot where Mukuro might have disappeared to. She grins, crouches down, then leaps high into the air - probably higher than one would assume she was able to go. Mukuro better be paying attention, or she'll be in for death from above!

Mukuro almost has an exclamation mark appear over her head, like Solid Snake would have. Jumping away as hard as she could, Mukuro barely manages to avoid Vasques' attack. Leaping up in the air to regain some ground, Mukuro lets gravity take over as she aims a kick towards Vasques' head, hoping the Angel's skull wasn't as sturdy as her chest. Not necessarily, but… Never stopped her from trying.

In the audience, you hear a female voice shouting, "Naaazo~ You have her right where you want her! Show her how strong you are!"

Vasques throws up a quick guard, looking for all the world like she had anticipated the counterattack. Surprisingly, however, Mukuro's attack breaks right through the guard and hits right on top of Vasques' head! The Angel sinks to her knees, apparently brought down from the blow. It almost looked like she had shut off, but the scoreboard read otherwise.

"What's this?! Miss Tsukikage's Mukuro has launched a brilliant counterattack, stunning Vasques! The burly Angel isn't getting up either! What's going on?!" The announcer seemed to be overdosing on excitement, gesturing wildly.

After a few seconds of staring at the Layer and waiting, Yamada yells across the Layer. "What are you waiting for?! Aren't you going to attack?"

Mukuro was confused. She could tell from how hard she hit that that attack should /not/ have floored her opponent like that. The rounds were plentiful, Vasques' stats were fine… Something wasn't right. Nazo leaned forward with a hand partially over her mouth, calculating, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. She'd heard Yamada tried to lure people into surprise attacks, but Mukuro had a tiny bit of confidence. A nagging feeling, but enough confidence to throw another kick at the Angel's head to try and knock the larger doll away from her to keep her away so she hopefully won't be able to counterattack quickly. Knowing Nazo and Mukuro's luck, this was precisely what the other Angel was waiting for…

The rumors were true - the notorious sneak attack of Yamada's was real! Mukuro's confidence was praise-worthy, but here attacking had been a mistake! Vasques quickly rises to her feet when Mukuro kicks, using one arm to block while she maneuvers around Mukuro. Slipping her arms under Mukuro's, Vasques takes her opponent in a tight hold! Vasques grins wide, then tilts back as she goes into a deadly suplex, aiming to smash Mukuro head-first into the Layer floor! "It's the legendary Sneaky Suplex! Can Mukuro survive?!" The announcer exclaims.

Mukuro, semi-surprised, takes the hit hard, but manages to maneuver out of the hold in time to live. Frightened - a feeling mostly stemming from her Deus - the Angel flits away to the top of one of the few standing henges, trying her best just to live. Nazo knew it was over now; nothing could save them. Nothing could take down Vasques. They just weren't strong enough. Still, the girl was sick of watching Mukuro just get pummled into the ground, and would rather have her run away to avoid damage, letting the rounds end the match. Nazo had no pride when it came to the layer battles; she didn't care if she seemed like a chicken. She couldn't bear to see Mukuro suffer, so the Angel kept her distance from her opponent.

Vasques stands and looks across the Layer toward Mukuro. "Come on! Fight to the finish!" Before the Angel can continue, she is interrupted: "Oh!! Amazing! Mukuro manages to escape just in time to avoid a KO! Does this remind anyone else of Deus Yamada Toko's fight with the Miracle Rookie!?" The announcer shouts. An unamused glare is directed towards him from Yamada, as she remembers how that ended. Not this time! Vasques runs toward Mukuro, swinging her arm forward in a strong punch.

Mukuro can't bring herself to dodge, and can only throw her arms up in an attempt to lessen the damage. The hit knocks her off the henge, however, and as she hits the ground hard she's temporarily stunned, unable to move. Nazo inhales shakily, knowing that this match wouldn't end like Yamada's match with Misaki… This time, Yamada would win. This time, Vasques would crush her opponent. Nazo sits back in her chair, focusing weakly while she knows there's nothing she can possibly do to come from behind.

Yamada feels a pang of sympathy as she sees Nazo. It always felt bad to know you couldn't win. That's why Yamada had worked so hard to become tough. Maybe she shouldn't keep trying to smash Mukuro…a layer-out could work just as well.

Vasques stalks after her opponent until she stands right in front of Mukuro. The smaller Angel looked winded. Exhausted even. Vasques lunges and attempts to grapple her opponent, then toss Mukuro flying out of the Layer toward Nazo!

Mukuro, in a last ditch effort to survive, tries to grab onto Vasques' handguards and hold on. She's too weak to pull it off, and is sent flying, scraping the ground all the way to the edge of the layer, leaving a grassless path in her wake. She stops just before she touches the layer boundary, however, and shakily gets to her feet. Mukuro looked weary and fragile, like one touch could make her fall apart. Nazo knew the match was over, whether Mukuro hit her opponent again or not. Vasques was nowhere near as tired as Mukuro, and was definately going to last the match. Gathering all her strength into her fist, Mukuro runs as fast as she can towards her opponent, forsaking everything for one last attack. It wouldn't be enough, she knew, but Nazo and Mukuro prided themselves on one thing; when the knew they were going to die, they went down fighting, no matter how pathetically. Ishida, Katsumi… She'd gone down fighting both of them, even though it had been clear she had no chance against either. Everything seemed like slow motion, but time kept moving, and wouldn't stop before the match was over. This was it, and that was the end.

Vasques and Yamada look a little impressed that Mukuro managed to hang on, then Yamada's expression turns serious and deadly. If Mukuro wanted to keep fighting, then she was going to get Vasques' toughest attack! Vasques runs toward Mukuro as Mukuro runs toward her, both ready to launch a final attack before time ran out!

Time slows as the two Angels close, even the announcer's loud cry of excitment ("oooOOHH!!!") seeming stretched out, until the moment when the first blow hits - Mukuro's blow! The punch sinks into Vasques' gut, causing a drastic drop in Vasques' health bar. Vasques, despite the damage, continues with her attack, grabbing onto Mukuro tightly, pulling back, and going into another suplex!

Helpless to do anything, Mukuro takes the full hit, and through her headset Nazo swears she could hear something in Mukuro crack. Letting a solitary tear fall, the silver-eyed girl watches as her Angel crumples weakly to the layer floor, looking broken and defeated, not all of her parts seeming to be bent in the right direction. The adolescent barely heard the buzzer announce the end of the match, two consumed with her own pessimistic thoughts. Pushing them aside as the chair slowly descended to the floor, Nazo told herself she had to smile and be brave just long enough to get out of the arena and to somewhere she could fix Mukuro. After this match, she'd definitely need it…

After the buzzer sounds and Yamada knows she's won, she allows herself to feel a bit of sympathy again for Nazo. Oh no! Mukuro looked like she was in a really bad state! Vasques gently picks up the smaller Angel from the floor and carries her over to, then hands her to, Nazo. After that, Vasques heads over to where her owner can collect her.

"And that's the match! A brilliant ending! Both Angels clashed, exchanging incredible blows! Let's hear it for our Deuses! Miss Yamada and Miss Tsukikage, everyone!" The crowd erupts in deafening cheers, members of the audience shouting both Deuses names. The fight had gone down to the wire and had gotten everyone excited! It was one of the best kinds of matches!

While the crowd is going crazy, Yamada grabs her Angel and walks over to where Nazo is, before the quiet girl can leave. Before saying anything, Yamada punches Nazo lightly in the arm. "Hey, no tears. Come on, they're here for you! Give 'em a wave!" Yamada offers a small, friendly grin to the other girl, then turns to the audience and raises an arm into the air for her victory (still had to be tough! No one could look at those muscles and not think she was, that's for sure). After that, and casting a stern look at Nazo to make the girl wave if Nazo hadn't already, Yamada pulls Nazo toward the exit. Hiding a blush, the girl mutters loudly (though not loud enough for anyone but Nazo to hear) "Come on you, we have to get that Angel fixed."

Nazo keeps her face hidden in her hair, clutching her broken doll to her chest and trying not to let any more tears fall. She doesn't wave to the crowd and resists a little as Yamada drags her along, but is much weaker than the other girl and doesn't feel like putting up much of a fight anyway. She just wants to get away from the arena as soon as she can, and if being dragged by the taller girl was the fastest way, so be it. Remembering the look of "What the heck are you thinking?!" Mukuro first gave her at the beginning of the match, Nazo smiles and laughs a little. As one of her favorite songs went, she hated the ending herself, but it started with an alright scene. Actually, the beginning of the match was rather funny… Hopefully in years to come Nazo would remember the beginning of it, and not the end. She'd only tell the first half either way, anyway.