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kisekinoenjiOOC Information
NAME: Kim/Iap
AGE: 32
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED: n/a
IC Information
CHARACTER NAME: Hatoko Kobayashi
AGE: 6 (birthdate 12-7-1991)
CANON: Angelic Layer (anime)
CANON POINT: End of the anime series
FAMILY TYPES:
APPEARANCE: Hatoko stands at the average height for a girl her age. She has light colored skin and violet eyes. Her hair is bluish or purplish black, and is long enough that it falls to just below her buttocks. Usually Hatoko wears the girls' uniform of the Eriol Academy, consisting of a white jacket and skirt. The collar and upturned cuffs of her jacket are red and trimmed with gold and the pleats of her skirt are also red. Affixed at the center of her collar is the emblem of the Eriol Academy: a three-pointed crown. A red beret sits on Hatoko's head.
PERSONALITY: Hatoko is very mature and intelligent for her age. She resents being treated like a little kid, even if she is one, insisting on doing things like walking to school by herself rather than having to go along with her brother. She's cheerful with a bit of a mischievous streak, especially when it comes to her older brother. She loves Kotaro dearly but she loves to tease him more. Her favored ammunition was his crush on Misaki as well as his apparent ineptness when it came to admitting his feelings to her. When Kotaro started dating Tamayo Kizaki Hatoko's favorite thing to do was interrupt them during intimate or almost-intimate moments.
She is a very hard worker when it comes to Angelic Layer and takes the game very seriously. She would often stay up late the night before a tournament battle watching recordings of past matches, taking notice of the weaknesses of any potential opponents. She tried to practice with Suzuka at Piffle Princess every day; if she had to miss a day of practice she claimed it would take three days to make up for it. Once Hatoko was able to convince a Piffle Princess clerk to open up the store for her on a day that it was normally closed. She can also be extremely stubborn when it comes to the game, such as when she refused to let being ill keep her from her duties as Misaki's second at nationals even though she had passed out in the arena.
Hatoko also cares about Angels; in her eyes they are more than just mere dolls. She made a sarong out of her own handkerchief for Hikaru after she and Misaki first met and was actually embarrassed by the fact that Misaki's Angel had no clothing yet. Whenever she goes out in public Hatoko takes Suzuka with her, whether it's to Piffle Princess or just to school.
Above everything else Hatoko believes that age and size don't matter in Angelic Layer as much as a Deus' heart and faith in their Angel. It's a philosophy that has carried her far in competition, yet at the same time caused her much grief. When she lost to Sai Hatoko blamed herself rather than her Angel, believing that she hadn't been a strong enough Deus for Suzuka. It won't be difficult or take long for Hatoko to apply this philosophy to the Digital World; she sees being a Chosen Child as similar to being a Deus, save that her Digimon partner is a sentient creature who can think for herself.
HISTORY: In 1993 a new game began taking Japan by storm, and it's name was Angelic Layer. Created by Ichiro Mihara and his team of computer programmers and researchers at Piffle Princess Enterprises, the premise of the game was fairly simple: players, who were called "Deuses", controlled custom designed dolls called "Angels" through mental control. Angels battled each other in a field called a "layer"; the first Angel to knock the other out of the layer or that sustained the least amount of damage at the end of a ten minute round was declared the winner. Tournament play went up to the national level where the reigning champion for three years running was the Deus known as "Shu" and her Angel, Athena.
Hatoko Kobayashi lived with her family in the Kanto region of Tokyo where her parents owned and operated a karate dojo. But while her older brother Kotaro seemed destined to carry on the family trade, Hatoko's one true passion was Angelic Layer. She got into the game at the age of four and it wasn't long before Hatoko and her Angel, named "Light Speed" Suzuka for the swiftness with which she finished her battles, were dominating their competition. By 1997, when she entered the Rabbit kindergarten class at Eriol Academy, Hatoko was the reigning Angelic Layer Champion for the Kanto region earning her the title "The Miracle Kindergartener".
One day in '97 while on her way to school Hatoko met Misaki Suzuhara, a twelve year-old who had just moved to Tokyo from Wakayama. She stopped to talk to the older girl when she noticed the unfinished Angel doll sticking out of her school bag. Feeling sorry for the naked Angel Hatoko used her handkerchief to fashion a sarong for her. The two girls were soon joined by Kotaro, who was in the same grade level at Eriol Academy as Misaki. After teasing her brother and Misaki about whether or not they were going to kiss each other, Hatoko returned Misaki's Angel and went merrily on her way.
That afternoon once school let out Hatoko dragged her brother and his friend Tamayo Kizaki to the local Piffle Princess so that she could get in some practice time with Suzuka. While waiting for a layer to open up Hatoko's attention was captured by a large crowd gathered around an occupied layer and she went to investigate. To her surprise one of the Deuses was Misaki, battling with her now-finished Angel Hikaru. Even though it was their first battle Misaki and Hikaru pulled off a victory, winning against an opponent who was older, bigger and more experienced. Hatoko walked away smiling; she couldn't wait for the day that she would face Misaki in the layer.
A couple of days later the Tokyo prefecture games were held, and Hatoko entered with Suzuka. She was pleased to see Misaki and her Angel Hikaru there and asked the rookie girl to sit with her. After giving a nervous Misaki a brief pep talk about believing in herself and in her Angel Hatoko's number was called, and she entered the arena. Hatoko's first match was up against an Angel named Nightingale; she and Suzuka stayed true to their track record, striking down Nightingale and depleting her damage points only seven seconds into the match. As she exited the arena Hatoko was met in the Deuses' lounge by Misaki, who gushed over Hatoko's skill. Hatoko thanked her and then reiterated what she had told Misaki before about believing in herself and Hikaru, and that size and age didn't matter in Angelic Layer.
Much to Hatoko's satisfaction Misaki went out and won her first match. But that approval soon turned to disappointment as Misaki used hit-and-run tactics in her second match to defeat an opponent who was bigger than Hikaru, and continued using those tactics to win more matches rather than relying on her confidence in herself and in her Angel. Hatoko's disappointment was so great that when Misaki won her eighth match in this manner, she left the arena in disgust. The next day after school Hatoko was joined by Misaki as she walked home, and although Misaki claimed that she believed in herself and in Hikaru Hatoko said that she didn't believe her. She declared that she didn't think Misaki would go any further in Anglic Layer, then headed for home.
At the arena the next day Hatoko met up with her brother, Misaki and Tamayo in the lobby and announced that she would be Misaki's opponent for her ninth battle. Several minutes later both Deuses took their places in the Arena. Hatoko knew she was in for a good match when Hikaru was able to hold her own against Suzuka within the first couple minutes of the match. The battle was fierce, going almost the full ten minutes. Towards the end Hatoko complimented Misaki on how fierce a fighter she was and told the older girl, "You must never lose to anyone other than me" before having Suzuka use her special "Rolling Thunder" move to finish Hikaru off. After the battle was over Hatoko approached a devastated Misaki. Examining Hikaru, Hatoko assured Misaki that her Angel would be all right. She then made Misaki promise her that the two of them would meet again at the Kanto regional tournament; the two girls hooked pinkies to seal the vow.
The area tournament came to an end with Hatoko and Suzuka qualifying for regionals. Hatoko was pleased to see that Misaki was keeping her promise by qualifying for regionals as well. Competition at the Kanto regionals was tougher, and one loss meant elimination from the tournament, but Hatako was glad to see that Misaki was still believing in herself and Hikaru. She felt certain that Misaki would be able to keep their promise to meet in battle at the regionals.
Unfortunately Hatoko was unable to watch Misaki's next match from the audience, as she was scheduled to do a television interview with Misaki's aunt Shouko. But Hatoko was unable to keep her attention on the interview, especially after learning the identity of Misaki's next opponent: Madoka Fujisaka, a Deus that had battled Hatoko once before and taken her loss to Suzuka quite badly. Fortunately Misaki and Hikaru were able to defeat Madoka and her Angel Mao, working through a strange glitch that at times interrupted Misaki's connection to Hikaru. Once she was assured of Misaki's victory Hatoko turned her attention back to the interview; to her surprise Shouko was also watching the battle, and Hatoko overheard her comment that if Misaki kept winning, "they" would meet up with each other even if they didn't want to.
With her win over Madoka, Misaki clinched a spot in the semi-finals. Hatoko went to see her in the Deuses' lounge and teased that she wasn't sure whether to congratulate or thank Misaki. She reminded Misaki of her prediction that they would meet in battle once more, even though they didn't know what the match-ups for the semi-finals would be.
Once the four semi-finalists were announced the tournament took a break over the weekend, in order to give the competitors a much-deserved break. Hatoko took advantage of the down-time to drag Kotaro on a shopping trip to Piffle Princess with her; while they were there they ran into Misaki who was running Hikaru through tests trying to see what her Angel's weakness was. Hatoko decided then and there that she needed to run Suzuka through a test as well. Her scores came out with A's across the board. When Misaki seemed disappointed with Hikaru's average scores Hatoko assured her that she and Hikaru had something special that couldn't be measured by scores.
Hatoko spent the rest of her weekend holed up in her room, reviewing tapes of past Angelic Layer battles and making sure that Suzuka was in top condition for the semi-finals. While she was aware that Kotaro had invited Misaki over to the family dojo, to show her some karate moves that Hikaru could utilize in the layer, Hatoko chose not to come out and join them.
After a weekend off the tournament resumed, with new twist: the layers that the four qualifiers would be battling on wouldn't be the usual flat layers, but new Environmental layers that simulated different terrains for better battle opportunities. For the first match-up Hatoko had to sit out as she watched Misaki battle against Kaede Saitou and her Angel, Blanche, quietly cheering Misaki on and hoping that their promise would be kept. To Hatoko's delight Misaki and Hikaru came out on top again.
The second match pitted Hatoko against Sai Jounouchi and her Angel Shirahime, on an Environmental Layer that mimicked the famous Death Valley. Sai and Shirahime were the only Deus and Angel combo that were evenly matched to Hatoko and Suzuka. After a minutes-long, tension-filled standoff both Angels attacked. The strength of the attack was enough to cause a small explosion that nearly blew both Angels off of the Layer. The audience waited to see which Angel had sustained the most damage and which one would be moving on to the next round. Finally one of the Angels managed to get to her feet.
It was Shirahime.
It was a major loss and Hatoko took it hard. Retrieving Suzuka she fled the arena and headed to the park where Misaki found her. At first Hatoko tried to keep a brave face, stating that she hadn't won because Suzuka's range hadn't reached as far as Shirahime's which was why she had taken more damage than the winning Angel. But she didn't blame Suzuka for the loss; it was her own fault, as she hadn't been a strong enough Deus. Breaking down into tears Hatoko apologized to Misaki for being the one to break their promise to meet at the regional finals. As she wept Hatoko asked Misaki to win in her place, to beat Sai and show everyone that what mattered most in Angelic Layer was heart, not size or age. Misaki promised that she would win.
With Misaki's promise to beat Sai, Hatoko returned to the Arena to watch the final round. She stood in the entryway that led to the Deus' Lounge, watching the proceedings alongside Kaede. Much to her dismay Kaede was not confident that Misaki could win as the chosen layer - the Dead Sea - exposed Hikaru's weak point: Hikaru was a lightweight Angel, while Shirahime was a heavyweight. Despite this Hatoko refused to give up her belief in Misaki and Hikaru.
Fortunately Hatoko found herself proven right when Misaki turned the match around, winning by using Shirahime's weight to her advantage and slamming her into the sea. Misaki was crowned the champion of the Kanto regionals, advancing her to the National Tournament. Satisfied that Misaki had won Hatoko turned her thoughts back to her own Angel Suzuka, repairing the damage from her battle with Shirahime and doing a general tune-up; so, she claimed, she could "be ready for the next time I fight Misaki".
With regional competition finished it was time to move on to the Nationals, where the rules would be very different. Instead of ten minute rounds, Angels would battle in three minute rounds, with one minute breaks in between, until one Angel layered out or lost all of its HP. All Deuses advancing to the Nationals were required to have a Second during the competition to give advice and help make repairs to the Angel during breaks between rounds. Hatoko prayed that Misaki would choose her to be her Second. When a small gathering of Misaki's friends at her aunt's house turned into a small party when more guests unexpectedly showed up Hatoko worried that Misaki would never ask, or worse that she would ask somebody else to be her Second. Fortunately Hatoko's fears turned out to be unfounded; Misaki asked her to be her Second while the two girls had a moment to be alone with no interruptions.
All too soon the National Tournament arrived, and Hatoko and Misaki headed to the arena. They saw many other Deuses there with their seconds, including Sai Jounouchi who had qualified as runner-up in the Kanto tournament. During the opening ceremony for the tournament the two girls caught a glimpse of Athena, the Angel of the current Angelic Layer Champion, as well as Athena's Deus Shu. Hatoko explained to Misaki how Shu was the Deus that all other Deuses admired, respected and aspired to be like. At Hatoko's suggestion the two girls watched the Champion's first match of the tournament and they were blown away by how quickly Athena defeated her opponent.
After watching Shu and Athena's first match, the pair took some time to blow off steam at the amusement park. Hatoko remarked that Athena had become stronger, and admitted to Misaki that she had lost to Athena in the national semi-finals the previous year. When she saw how happy Misaki was when talking about Athena Hatoko teased her friend about falling in love with the Champion's Angel and pretended to be jealous. Then for the first time Hatoko learned the story of how Misaki had gotten into Angelic Layer: coming off the train station in Tokyo from Wakayama, Misaki had seen Athena battling on the big screen TV and had been inspired to buy an Angel Egg and create Hikaru. While on the parachute ride Hatoko and Misaki made another promise with each other, that they would fight Athena in the final round of nationals, and sealed the promise by hooking pinkies.
It was a promise that was almost broken during their first match of the Nationals, when they went up against a Deus who was as sensitive about her height as Misaki was about her lack of it. It didn't help that an electrical storm during the match along with Angel Elain's special technique almost shorted out the layer beneath both competitors. But the technicians were able to get things working again, and the battle resumed resulting in victory for Misaki and Hatoko.
During Nationals a new Angel model was introduced and Hikaru was chosen as the Angel that would battle against it in an exhibition match. Hatoko hadn't been feeling well that whole day, but she said nothing about it because she didn't want to let Misaki down. No one found out until Hatoko suffered a dizzy spell and collapsed right before the exhibition match was to begin. Hatoko was quickly taken out of the Arena and the house physician was summoned. Despite the doctor's diagnosis of a fever Hatoko insisted that she could still be Misaki's second, saying she'd visit the doctor after Misaki's match. But her brother and friends convinced her to do otherwise. So while Misaki went on to compete, Hatoko was taken to the doctor by her brother.
Fortunately Hatoko's illness wasn't as serious as everyone had feared; the doctor diagnosed her with a simple summer cold. Kotaro offered to take Hatoko home but she told him to return to the Arena because she knew that he was worried about the game and Misaki. While Kotaro returned to the Arena via taxi Hatoko called their mother to come pick her up from the doctor's office. Once she was home Hatoko went straight to bed. After a brief nap Hatoko woke to find Misaki, Kotaro and Tamayo at her bedside, delivering the good news that Misaki and Hikaru had won the exhibition game with Ohjiro Mihara, the younger step-brother of Ichiro Mihara, standing in as her Second. To Hatoko's relief Misaki asked her to resume being her Second for the remainder of the tournament as soon as she was well again.
By the next week Hatoko had recovered from her cold, just in time to spend a day off at the beach with her friends to celebrate Misaki's advancing to the next round at Nationals. Fortunately it wasn't too crowded, and Hatoko commented to Misaki that it was the first time she'd ever had a "normal" vacation. While Tamayo and Misaki involved themselves in a one-on-one volleyball game Hatoko laid out to get some sun...and got in some digs at her brother. When Misaki came back from a shave ice run it was with the news that Ichiro Mihara was there with his brother Ohjiro and some other members of the Piffle Princess company, and that they'd been invited over for a barbecue with their group. The day was ended with a fireworks display courtesy of Mr. Ogata; the kids and Ichiro (or, as he told the kids to call him, Mr. Icchan) lit sparklers while Ogata went for the flashier firecrackers.
After their holiday at the sea it was time to get back to the serious work of Angelic Layer. Their first match when competition resumed was against Ohjiro and his Angel, Wizard. It was a tough fight as Hikaru couldn't get past Wizard's impenetrable force field. During the break after the first round Hatoko made minimal repairs to Hikaru; when Misaki seemed like she was losing confidence in her ability to win, Hatoko reminded her of their promise to battle Athena together. The next round began and Hatoko found herself blown away when Misaki uncovered the secret of Wizard's Magic Guard and was able to break through it. Once this obstacle was overcome it was only a matter of time before Hikaru won.
And with that victory, Misaki and Hatoko were going to the finals.
Before their first match of the finals began, Hatoko and Misaki watched the match between Sai and Shu, the Deus of Athena. It was a fierce battle, and not surprisingly Athena came out as the winner. After the battle had ended, Shu surprised everyone by removing her Angelic Layer headset and calling out to Misaki. But the real shocker for Hatoko came when Misaki stared out at the arena, at Shu, and called her "Mom". Without warning Ohjiro grabbed Misaki by the arm and dragged her out of the stadium, asking the others to wait where they were. When the pair didn't return after several minutes Hatoko bolted from the stadium herself and frantically searched the arena for Misaki. But she didn't find her. Hatoko stared out at the rain that had begun falling, upset that Misaki had broken their promise by running away.
After a little while Hatoko was found by Tamayo and Kotaro, who themselves had been found by Mr. Icchan. Icchan told Hatoko not to be angry at Misaki, that this was a moment seven years in the making and both Misaki and Shuu had a lot to work out between them, and that they'd both be back to the arena eventually. By the time the storm had ended and the sun came out Misaki and Shuu returned to the arena where they were greeted by Misaki's friends, Shuu's co-workers...and Mr. Icchan cosplaying as Athena (which was just a little disturbing). As soon as she saw Misaki Hatoko ran up to her, chastising the older girl for taking Hikaru out into the rain. But there was little time for explanations and apologies. There was still one last game to play.
After a quick diagnostic to see if Hikaru had suffered any ill effects from being out in the rain, Hatoko and Misaki prepared for their final match - against Misaki's mother and Athena. Before the match began and the two girls took their positions, Hatoko "rewarded" Misaki for keeping their promise...by giving her a kiss on the cheek. One last time the two girls joined pinkies to solidfy the promise that they would fight with all of their strength. The battle started out fierce, as Athena and Hikaru were evenly-matched, but slowly Athena began to gain the upper hand. Hatoko feared that they would be beaten, especially when Hikaru took a bad fall and didn't immediately rise...but then the fans began cheering for Hikaru to stand up, and she did. Then the most amazing thing happened: Hikaru sprouted wings. The fight continued, until an attack slammed both Angels into the layer. Hatoko and the rest of the audience waited to see which Angel would emerge from the dust. Finally, one did.
Hikaru.
Misaki had become the Angelic Layer Champion.
SAMPLES
FIRST PERSON:
THIRD PERSON:
NAME: Kim/Iap
AGE: 32
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED: n/a
IC Information
CHARACTER NAME: Hatoko Kobayashi
AGE: 6 (birthdate 12-7-1991)
CANON: Angelic Layer (anime)
CANON POINT: End of the anime series
FAMILY TYPES:
APPEARANCE: Hatoko stands at the average height for a girl her age. She has light colored skin and violet eyes. Her hair is bluish or purplish black, and is long enough that it falls to just below her buttocks. Usually Hatoko wears the girls' uniform of the Eriol Academy, consisting of a white jacket and skirt. The collar and upturned cuffs of her jacket are red and trimmed with gold and the pleats of her skirt are also red. Affixed at the center of her collar is the emblem of the Eriol Academy: a three-pointed crown. A red beret sits on Hatoko's head.
PERSONALITY: Hatoko is very mature and intelligent for her age. She resents being treated like a little kid, even if she is one, insisting on doing things like walking to school by herself rather than having to go along with her brother. She's cheerful with a bit of a mischievous streak, especially when it comes to her older brother. She loves Kotaro dearly but she loves to tease him more. Her favored ammunition was his crush on Misaki as well as his apparent ineptness when it came to admitting his feelings to her. When Kotaro started dating Tamayo Kizaki Hatoko's favorite thing to do was interrupt them during intimate or almost-intimate moments.
She is a very hard worker when it comes to Angelic Layer and takes the game very seriously. She would often stay up late the night before a tournament battle watching recordings of past matches, taking notice of the weaknesses of any potential opponents. She tried to practice with Suzuka at Piffle Princess every day; if she had to miss a day of practice she claimed it would take three days to make up for it. Once Hatoko was able to convince a Piffle Princess clerk to open up the store for her on a day that it was normally closed. She can also be extremely stubborn when it comes to the game, such as when she refused to let being ill keep her from her duties as Misaki's second at nationals even though she had passed out in the arena.
Hatoko also cares about Angels; in her eyes they are more than just mere dolls. She made a sarong out of her own handkerchief for Hikaru after she and Misaki first met and was actually embarrassed by the fact that Misaki's Angel had no clothing yet. Whenever she goes out in public Hatoko takes Suzuka with her, whether it's to Piffle Princess or just to school.
Above everything else Hatoko believes that age and size don't matter in Angelic Layer as much as a Deus' heart and faith in their Angel. It's a philosophy that has carried her far in competition, yet at the same time caused her much grief. When she lost to Sai Hatoko blamed herself rather than her Angel, believing that she hadn't been a strong enough Deus for Suzuka. It won't be difficult or take long for Hatoko to apply this philosophy to the Digital World; she sees being a Chosen Child as similar to being a Deus, save that her Digimon partner is a sentient creature who can think for herself.
HISTORY: In 1993 a new game began taking Japan by storm, and it's name was Angelic Layer. Created by Ichiro Mihara and his team of computer programmers and researchers at Piffle Princess Enterprises, the premise of the game was fairly simple: players, who were called "Deuses", controlled custom designed dolls called "Angels" through mental control. Angels battled each other in a field called a "layer"; the first Angel to knock the other out of the layer or that sustained the least amount of damage at the end of a ten minute round was declared the winner. Tournament play went up to the national level where the reigning champion for three years running was the Deus known as "Shu" and her Angel, Athena.
Hatoko Kobayashi lived with her family in the Kanto region of Tokyo where her parents owned and operated a karate dojo. But while her older brother Kotaro seemed destined to carry on the family trade, Hatoko's one true passion was Angelic Layer. She got into the game at the age of four and it wasn't long before Hatoko and her Angel, named "Light Speed" Suzuka for the swiftness with which she finished her battles, were dominating their competition. By 1997, when she entered the Rabbit kindergarten class at Eriol Academy, Hatoko was the reigning Angelic Layer Champion for the Kanto region earning her the title "The Miracle Kindergartener".
One day in '97 while on her way to school Hatoko met Misaki Suzuhara, a twelve year-old who had just moved to Tokyo from Wakayama. She stopped to talk to the older girl when she noticed the unfinished Angel doll sticking out of her school bag. Feeling sorry for the naked Angel Hatoko used her handkerchief to fashion a sarong for her. The two girls were soon joined by Kotaro, who was in the same grade level at Eriol Academy as Misaki. After teasing her brother and Misaki about whether or not they were going to kiss each other, Hatoko returned Misaki's Angel and went merrily on her way.
That afternoon once school let out Hatoko dragged her brother and his friend Tamayo Kizaki to the local Piffle Princess so that she could get in some practice time with Suzuka. While waiting for a layer to open up Hatoko's attention was captured by a large crowd gathered around an occupied layer and she went to investigate. To her surprise one of the Deuses was Misaki, battling with her now-finished Angel Hikaru. Even though it was their first battle Misaki and Hikaru pulled off a victory, winning against an opponent who was older, bigger and more experienced. Hatoko walked away smiling; she couldn't wait for the day that she would face Misaki in the layer.
A couple of days later the Tokyo prefecture games were held, and Hatoko entered with Suzuka. She was pleased to see Misaki and her Angel Hikaru there and asked the rookie girl to sit with her. After giving a nervous Misaki a brief pep talk about believing in herself and in her Angel Hatoko's number was called, and she entered the arena. Hatoko's first match was up against an Angel named Nightingale; she and Suzuka stayed true to their track record, striking down Nightingale and depleting her damage points only seven seconds into the match. As she exited the arena Hatoko was met in the Deuses' lounge by Misaki, who gushed over Hatoko's skill. Hatoko thanked her and then reiterated what she had told Misaki before about believing in herself and Hikaru, and that size and age didn't matter in Angelic Layer.
Much to Hatoko's satisfaction Misaki went out and won her first match. But that approval soon turned to disappointment as Misaki used hit-and-run tactics in her second match to defeat an opponent who was bigger than Hikaru, and continued using those tactics to win more matches rather than relying on her confidence in herself and in her Angel. Hatoko's disappointment was so great that when Misaki won her eighth match in this manner, she left the arena in disgust. The next day after school Hatoko was joined by Misaki as she walked home, and although Misaki claimed that she believed in herself and in Hikaru Hatoko said that she didn't believe her. She declared that she didn't think Misaki would go any further in Anglic Layer, then headed for home.
At the arena the next day Hatoko met up with her brother, Misaki and Tamayo in the lobby and announced that she would be Misaki's opponent for her ninth battle. Several minutes later both Deuses took their places in the Arena. Hatoko knew she was in for a good match when Hikaru was able to hold her own against Suzuka within the first couple minutes of the match. The battle was fierce, going almost the full ten minutes. Towards the end Hatoko complimented Misaki on how fierce a fighter she was and told the older girl, "You must never lose to anyone other than me" before having Suzuka use her special "Rolling Thunder" move to finish Hikaru off. After the battle was over Hatoko approached a devastated Misaki. Examining Hikaru, Hatoko assured Misaki that her Angel would be all right. She then made Misaki promise her that the two of them would meet again at the Kanto regional tournament; the two girls hooked pinkies to seal the vow.
The area tournament came to an end with Hatoko and Suzuka qualifying for regionals. Hatoko was pleased to see that Misaki was keeping her promise by qualifying for regionals as well. Competition at the Kanto regionals was tougher, and one loss meant elimination from the tournament, but Hatako was glad to see that Misaki was still believing in herself and Hikaru. She felt certain that Misaki would be able to keep their promise to meet in battle at the regionals.
Unfortunately Hatoko was unable to watch Misaki's next match from the audience, as she was scheduled to do a television interview with Misaki's aunt Shouko. But Hatoko was unable to keep her attention on the interview, especially after learning the identity of Misaki's next opponent: Madoka Fujisaka, a Deus that had battled Hatoko once before and taken her loss to Suzuka quite badly. Fortunately Misaki and Hikaru were able to defeat Madoka and her Angel Mao, working through a strange glitch that at times interrupted Misaki's connection to Hikaru. Once she was assured of Misaki's victory Hatoko turned her attention back to the interview; to her surprise Shouko was also watching the battle, and Hatoko overheard her comment that if Misaki kept winning, "they" would meet up with each other even if they didn't want to.
With her win over Madoka, Misaki clinched a spot in the semi-finals. Hatoko went to see her in the Deuses' lounge and teased that she wasn't sure whether to congratulate or thank Misaki. She reminded Misaki of her prediction that they would meet in battle once more, even though they didn't know what the match-ups for the semi-finals would be.
Once the four semi-finalists were announced the tournament took a break over the weekend, in order to give the competitors a much-deserved break. Hatoko took advantage of the down-time to drag Kotaro on a shopping trip to Piffle Princess with her; while they were there they ran into Misaki who was running Hikaru through tests trying to see what her Angel's weakness was. Hatoko decided then and there that she needed to run Suzuka through a test as well. Her scores came out with A's across the board. When Misaki seemed disappointed with Hikaru's average scores Hatoko assured her that she and Hikaru had something special that couldn't be measured by scores.
Hatoko spent the rest of her weekend holed up in her room, reviewing tapes of past Angelic Layer battles and making sure that Suzuka was in top condition for the semi-finals. While she was aware that Kotaro had invited Misaki over to the family dojo, to show her some karate moves that Hikaru could utilize in the layer, Hatoko chose not to come out and join them.
After a weekend off the tournament resumed, with new twist: the layers that the four qualifiers would be battling on wouldn't be the usual flat layers, but new Environmental layers that simulated different terrains for better battle opportunities. For the first match-up Hatoko had to sit out as she watched Misaki battle against Kaede Saitou and her Angel, Blanche, quietly cheering Misaki on and hoping that their promise would be kept. To Hatoko's delight Misaki and Hikaru came out on top again.
The second match pitted Hatoko against Sai Jounouchi and her Angel Shirahime, on an Environmental Layer that mimicked the famous Death Valley. Sai and Shirahime were the only Deus and Angel combo that were evenly matched to Hatoko and Suzuka. After a minutes-long, tension-filled standoff both Angels attacked. The strength of the attack was enough to cause a small explosion that nearly blew both Angels off of the Layer. The audience waited to see which Angel had sustained the most damage and which one would be moving on to the next round. Finally one of the Angels managed to get to her feet.
It was Shirahime.
It was a major loss and Hatoko took it hard. Retrieving Suzuka she fled the arena and headed to the park where Misaki found her. At first Hatoko tried to keep a brave face, stating that she hadn't won because Suzuka's range hadn't reached as far as Shirahime's which was why she had taken more damage than the winning Angel. But she didn't blame Suzuka for the loss; it was her own fault, as she hadn't been a strong enough Deus. Breaking down into tears Hatoko apologized to Misaki for being the one to break their promise to meet at the regional finals. As she wept Hatoko asked Misaki to win in her place, to beat Sai and show everyone that what mattered most in Angelic Layer was heart, not size or age. Misaki promised that she would win.
With Misaki's promise to beat Sai, Hatoko returned to the Arena to watch the final round. She stood in the entryway that led to the Deus' Lounge, watching the proceedings alongside Kaede. Much to her dismay Kaede was not confident that Misaki could win as the chosen layer - the Dead Sea - exposed Hikaru's weak point: Hikaru was a lightweight Angel, while Shirahime was a heavyweight. Despite this Hatoko refused to give up her belief in Misaki and Hikaru.
Fortunately Hatoko found herself proven right when Misaki turned the match around, winning by using Shirahime's weight to her advantage and slamming her into the sea. Misaki was crowned the champion of the Kanto regionals, advancing her to the National Tournament. Satisfied that Misaki had won Hatoko turned her thoughts back to her own Angel Suzuka, repairing the damage from her battle with Shirahime and doing a general tune-up; so, she claimed, she could "be ready for the next time I fight Misaki".
With regional competition finished it was time to move on to the Nationals, where the rules would be very different. Instead of ten minute rounds, Angels would battle in three minute rounds, with one minute breaks in between, until one Angel layered out or lost all of its HP. All Deuses advancing to the Nationals were required to have a Second during the competition to give advice and help make repairs to the Angel during breaks between rounds. Hatoko prayed that Misaki would choose her to be her Second. When a small gathering of Misaki's friends at her aunt's house turned into a small party when more guests unexpectedly showed up Hatoko worried that Misaki would never ask, or worse that she would ask somebody else to be her Second. Fortunately Hatoko's fears turned out to be unfounded; Misaki asked her to be her Second while the two girls had a moment to be alone with no interruptions.
All too soon the National Tournament arrived, and Hatoko and Misaki headed to the arena. They saw many other Deuses there with their seconds, including Sai Jounouchi who had qualified as runner-up in the Kanto tournament. During the opening ceremony for the tournament the two girls caught a glimpse of Athena, the Angel of the current Angelic Layer Champion, as well as Athena's Deus Shu. Hatoko explained to Misaki how Shu was the Deus that all other Deuses admired, respected and aspired to be like. At Hatoko's suggestion the two girls watched the Champion's first match of the tournament and they were blown away by how quickly Athena defeated her opponent.
After watching Shu and Athena's first match, the pair took some time to blow off steam at the amusement park. Hatoko remarked that Athena had become stronger, and admitted to Misaki that she had lost to Athena in the national semi-finals the previous year. When she saw how happy Misaki was when talking about Athena Hatoko teased her friend about falling in love with the Champion's Angel and pretended to be jealous. Then for the first time Hatoko learned the story of how Misaki had gotten into Angelic Layer: coming off the train station in Tokyo from Wakayama, Misaki had seen Athena battling on the big screen TV and had been inspired to buy an Angel Egg and create Hikaru. While on the parachute ride Hatoko and Misaki made another promise with each other, that they would fight Athena in the final round of nationals, and sealed the promise by hooking pinkies.
It was a promise that was almost broken during their first match of the Nationals, when they went up against a Deus who was as sensitive about her height as Misaki was about her lack of it. It didn't help that an electrical storm during the match along with Angel Elain's special technique almost shorted out the layer beneath both competitors. But the technicians were able to get things working again, and the battle resumed resulting in victory for Misaki and Hatoko.
During Nationals a new Angel model was introduced and Hikaru was chosen as the Angel that would battle against it in an exhibition match. Hatoko hadn't been feeling well that whole day, but she said nothing about it because she didn't want to let Misaki down. No one found out until Hatoko suffered a dizzy spell and collapsed right before the exhibition match was to begin. Hatoko was quickly taken out of the Arena and the house physician was summoned. Despite the doctor's diagnosis of a fever Hatoko insisted that she could still be Misaki's second, saying she'd visit the doctor after Misaki's match. But her brother and friends convinced her to do otherwise. So while Misaki went on to compete, Hatoko was taken to the doctor by her brother.
Fortunately Hatoko's illness wasn't as serious as everyone had feared; the doctor diagnosed her with a simple summer cold. Kotaro offered to take Hatoko home but she told him to return to the Arena because she knew that he was worried about the game and Misaki. While Kotaro returned to the Arena via taxi Hatoko called their mother to come pick her up from the doctor's office. Once she was home Hatoko went straight to bed. After a brief nap Hatoko woke to find Misaki, Kotaro and Tamayo at her bedside, delivering the good news that Misaki and Hikaru had won the exhibition game with Ohjiro Mihara, the younger step-brother of Ichiro Mihara, standing in as her Second. To Hatoko's relief Misaki asked her to resume being her Second for the remainder of the tournament as soon as she was well again.
By the next week Hatoko had recovered from her cold, just in time to spend a day off at the beach with her friends to celebrate Misaki's advancing to the next round at Nationals. Fortunately it wasn't too crowded, and Hatoko commented to Misaki that it was the first time she'd ever had a "normal" vacation. While Tamayo and Misaki involved themselves in a one-on-one volleyball game Hatoko laid out to get some sun...and got in some digs at her brother. When Misaki came back from a shave ice run it was with the news that Ichiro Mihara was there with his brother Ohjiro and some other members of the Piffle Princess company, and that they'd been invited over for a barbecue with their group. The day was ended with a fireworks display courtesy of Mr. Ogata; the kids and Ichiro (or, as he told the kids to call him, Mr. Icchan) lit sparklers while Ogata went for the flashier firecrackers.
After their holiday at the sea it was time to get back to the serious work of Angelic Layer. Their first match when competition resumed was against Ohjiro and his Angel, Wizard. It was a tough fight as Hikaru couldn't get past Wizard's impenetrable force field. During the break after the first round Hatoko made minimal repairs to Hikaru; when Misaki seemed like she was losing confidence in her ability to win, Hatoko reminded her of their promise to battle Athena together. The next round began and Hatoko found herself blown away when Misaki uncovered the secret of Wizard's Magic Guard and was able to break through it. Once this obstacle was overcome it was only a matter of time before Hikaru won.
And with that victory, Misaki and Hatoko were going to the finals.
Before their first match of the finals began, Hatoko and Misaki watched the match between Sai and Shu, the Deus of Athena. It was a fierce battle, and not surprisingly Athena came out as the winner. After the battle had ended, Shu surprised everyone by removing her Angelic Layer headset and calling out to Misaki. But the real shocker for Hatoko came when Misaki stared out at the arena, at Shu, and called her "Mom". Without warning Ohjiro grabbed Misaki by the arm and dragged her out of the stadium, asking the others to wait where they were. When the pair didn't return after several minutes Hatoko bolted from the stadium herself and frantically searched the arena for Misaki. But she didn't find her. Hatoko stared out at the rain that had begun falling, upset that Misaki had broken their promise by running away.
After a little while Hatoko was found by Tamayo and Kotaro, who themselves had been found by Mr. Icchan. Icchan told Hatoko not to be angry at Misaki, that this was a moment seven years in the making and both Misaki and Shuu had a lot to work out between them, and that they'd both be back to the arena eventually. By the time the storm had ended and the sun came out Misaki and Shuu returned to the arena where they were greeted by Misaki's friends, Shuu's co-workers...and Mr. Icchan cosplaying as Athena (which was just a little disturbing). As soon as she saw Misaki Hatoko ran up to her, chastising the older girl for taking Hikaru out into the rain. But there was little time for explanations and apologies. There was still one last game to play.
After a quick diagnostic to see if Hikaru had suffered any ill effects from being out in the rain, Hatoko and Misaki prepared for their final match - against Misaki's mother and Athena. Before the match began and the two girls took their positions, Hatoko "rewarded" Misaki for keeping their promise...by giving her a kiss on the cheek. One last time the two girls joined pinkies to solidfy the promise that they would fight with all of their strength. The battle started out fierce, as Athena and Hikaru were evenly-matched, but slowly Athena began to gain the upper hand. Hatoko feared that they would be beaten, especially when Hikaru took a bad fall and didn't immediately rise...but then the fans began cheering for Hikaru to stand up, and she did. Then the most amazing thing happened: Hikaru sprouted wings. The fight continued, until an attack slammed both Angels into the layer. Hatoko and the rest of the audience waited to see which Angel would emerge from the dust. Finally, one did.
Hikaru.
Misaki had become the Angelic Layer Champion.
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