Toyomiko finally figures angels aren’t just a video game.
Current IC time is: Tue Jun 18 17:00:11 2002 - Day
Near Layer 1, Angelic Layer Training Center — Piffle Princess
The large and spacious hall is lit brightly with sunlight coming through the glass wall that overlooks the street. On the floor, four Layers are arranged in a long curve, with two chairs beside each - and most are busy and full of action, as Angels fight and onlookers cheer. You are standing within viewing distance of Layer number 1.
By the far wall of the hall corner, a counter with a terminal stands right below the railing of the upper floor, and a smiling attendant rents out the layers.*
Eileen
This boyish-looking young girl is seemingly a paradox. On the one hand, she will surely catch attention, even if she doesn’t want to. It’s pretty clear she’s not Japanese, with her English facial features, her light, cream-toned complexion, and her gold flecked, dark green-gray eyes. Her clothing, is also atypical, although probably more accepted in Japan than it is where she came from. She appears to be cosplaying as an anime character. She’s currently wearing a black turtleneck made of a thick fabric. It’s cut fairly loosely, and it’s taken on the grayish hue of clothing that’s been through the wash several times. It’s also a bit frayed around the cuffs. Her turtleneck is tucked into her stonewashed jeans, which are nearly white, with occasional streaks of light light blue. Along all the seams, the ‘original’ color before stonewashing can be barely seen, a nice, deep dark blue common to 501s. However, her demeanor is very shy. Just watching her body language for a while results in a list of crossed arms, folded hands, and shy smiles. For all her outfit does to attract attention, her outfit also hides her body’s profile well, concealing all but her average weight and height from the casual observer. She wears no discernable makeup, which makes it even harder to distinguish her gender, but the ponytail is a giveaway. While her hair looks short from the front, it is in fact gathered in the back into a long and thick braided ponytail that reaches down to her ankles.
Toyomiko
Long luxurious black curls spill down this young lady’s back almost to her waist, lovingly styled in wide, sweeping ringlets in the back, and shorter curlier ringlets at her bangs, an occasional strand left almost artfully loose to swirl of it’s own accord amidst the more organized curls. Framed amidst this ocean of hair is a classically oriental heart shaped face, flawlessly pale skin and almondine eyes colored a deep purple, a tiny pert nose and thin lipped mouth. Her figure is trim and fit, standing just a bit taller than the average girl her age, adding a bit of gamine grace to her lines, as do the feminine curves finally starting to fill in just so.
She wears the uniform of an Eriol Gakuen high school student, a white and blue sailor fuku complete with scarf and alternately blue and white colored pleated skirt. A tacky medal clipped on one breast and large blue cuffs add an almost militaristic feel to the uniform, from the Napoleon era, let us say. She has tailored her skirt so it falls about a little more than midway between thighs and knees, just long enough to not be obscene, but short enough to draw the occasional glance from the right sort of person. White baby doll shoes and baggy blue stockings which come to about midcalf round out the uniform.
She wears expensive adornments for a firstyear highschool student. About her neck is a golden chain, a rather nice looking pocketwatch hanging on the end of it, engraved with her name in delicate looking kanji. Constantly held near her hand by a strap about her wrist is a rather pristine looking Canon Optura 200MC Digital Camcorder, the standby light almost constantly blinking, unless she is holding it up to film something. Which she seems to do a lot of.
Eileen wanders into the Layer pit from upstairs, wearing a simple turtleneck and jeans combo, her bangs flared out dramatically over her left eye. Her ponytail sways heavily behind her, and she carries with her a bottle of water and an angel with glowing golden hair and heavy looking metal cylinders.
“Oo~ho~ho~ya!” Toyomiko cackles to herself, drawing the occasional strange look from people who actually haven’t gotten used to it, but most just ignore her. Not that it seems to faze her in the least. Purple eyes spot the gaijin coming down the stairs, and she actually leaves her post, camcorder in hand, approaching the brunette. “Aaaa.. Amerika~cha~n, you play with dolls too, nee?”
Eileen looks up and blinks twice, almost as if she were waking up from a nap. “….a-ano…a…hai…i-guess-you-could-put-it-that-way…..?” She gives Rika’s rival an uncertain look. “…a-ano…toyomimi-san?” she says, obviously trying to remember what the leggy girl’s name is.
Purple eyes flash, and the dark haired rival throws her head back and laughs, a hand daintily covering her mouth. “Ooo~HO~HO~YA! To~yo~mi~ko de~suyo, Amerikacha~n..” she corrects, grinning almost devilishly. “I can see Rikacha~n has corrupted my beautiful name already.. but no matter. It is a petty triumph, and the true victory shall be mine!”
Eileen winces a little…drat, wrong one. She sighs a little, then places her hand behind her head and rubs the back of her neck a little while saying, “…a-ano..gomen…rika seems to use them so interchangably, so i get them mixed up in my head….” She bows and says, “…ano, gomen nasai.” She straigtens, and says, “…ano…demo…patterson airin desu,” to gently correct the laughing girl in front of her.
Toyomiko waves a hand almost dismissively to the apology. “Heiki yo, Amerikacha~n~..” And she follows it up with another little laugh. ‘ooo~ho~ho~ya~’. Yep. She definitealy doesn’t get it. She pauses then, and actually remembers to bow back, more of a curtsey, and then wonders. “Are you going to play with your doll.. nee? I must learn this sport so that I can defeat Rikacha~n..” ..and who better to spy on than her friend! Purple eyes flash deviously, and she chuckles to herself. Such genuis!
Eileen nods softly, and decides to drop the attempt with a small sigh. “…a-ano, hai… …i have to practice every day or sentaku will lose her ability to fight well!” Ah, so this is a daily ritual for the girl. “…demo…beat rika? …so des ka! this must be about yanagiba-san still…demo…rika’s angel is very good…ano…i don’t think you can beat her if you’re still learning…”
“Mochiron desu yo! I will not Rikacha~n beat me, even in something as silly as this!” Toyomiko assumes the position, shoulders squared, ready to throw her head back and laugh, when something else Eileen says catches her attention. “Heeeeeh.. Yanagiba-sempai, doko doko?” She whips her head left and right, camcorder raised and poised and ready to capture such a wonderful image on film for her collection. But… he’s.. not.. there. …! of course! Purple eyes flash threateningly, and she turns back to Eileen, scowling. “He’s with RIKA, isn’t he… Amerikacha~n?! Moooou.. how did she learn of his return before I did!” She mutters to herself, pacing around in circles and making plans, most of which seem to involve Rika, house, and breaking things. Ooof. Stirred up the hornet’s nest..
Eileen blinks again at Toyomiko, her reaction to the girl with the video camera’s reaction being to take a step back. “…a-ano…iie. i saw a picture of him in rika’s room. i don’t think he’s back…” She tries to switch the subject back. “……ne…toyomiko-san…the angels aren’t dolls though…they’re much more than that…you should treat yours like a family member, or a lover, or a dear friend…”
Toyomiko is rudely snapped out of her plans by this admission, looking up, quite openly dissapointed, “He’s not?!” she crosses her arms over her chest and pouts, scraping a foot on the floor. “Mooo~u~. I would have stolen him away for sure… too..” She pouts for a little while longer, before looking back up, blinking at the comment, and then ‘ooo~ho~ho~ya’ing. “Very noble, Amerikacha~n! Demo… Asuka is a tool, a tool I shall use to humiliate Maeki Rika once and for all!” She literally gets all sparkly eyed, making this declaration. So we know what comes next. ‘OO~HO~HO~YA!’
Eileen winces a little again, and sweatdrops besides. “…gomen, toyomiko-san…demo…that’s a bad way of looking at your angel…ano…you need to treat them with love and respect…” She hugs her own angel a little closer to her chest, feeling sympathy.
Purple eyes flash, looking towards the golden haired angel, and Toyomiko’s voice is almost sly. “Asuka shall have my respect.. Amerikacha~n.” Dramatic pause. “When she helps me defeat Rika!” Wait for it. “Oooo~ho~ho~HO~YA!” Another pause, and then she leans forward a little, purple eyes flashing, all but whispering. “Do you know her angel’s secret, Amerikacha~n?” Come on, betray your friend! All the cool kids are doing it!
Eileen nods firmly, and straightens up a bit. And takes a breath. Such disrespect for an angel! Shyness is forgotten in the hopes that maybe Toyomiko might be stopped before she abuses her angel. “…Hai!” Then she takes another breath, and says, “Love! You can’t win at Angelic Layer without loving your angel!”
“Ai?” The dark haired rival blinkblinks, clearly looking confused. “Neeee.. Amerikacha~n.” She peers at the doll, and then at the gaijin. And she thought New Yorkers made no sense! “It’s a… doll, Amerikacha~n. And it’s just a game, nee?” Toyomiko definitealy doesn’t get it. Then again, she hasn’t even put her doll on the layer yet. So how could she possibly know.
Eileen shakes her head, it didn’t get through. sigh She tries again, more quietly. “….ne…toyomimi..ko…mi…-san…” she blushes at her stumble, and hopes she has the right one this time. “..ano…do you just read the instructions? gomen…but you should really pay attention to what happens on the layer…it’s not just a game…they’re not just dolls…”
“Instructions, for playing with a doll? Ooo~ho~ho~ho~ya!” Hand yet again daintily covers her mouth, finding the whole concept utterly amusing. Yes, Toyomiko very much doesn’t get it. “So what do the instructions say about playing with dolls, Amerikachaaa~n?” She continues chuckling darkly at the mere thought.
Eileen giggles a little despite herself, then winces a little again, as she realizes Rika’s rival might interpret that as laughing at her. Which she was, unfortunately. Eileen blushes a little more, then says softly, “…a-ano…gomen…i don’t think you’re going to be winning against rika….”
“Ooo~ho~HO!” It’s rude to point, but Toyomiko does just that, a slender finger pointing almost accusingly at Eileen and her golden haired angel. “Taking her side, neeee.. Amerikacha~n? I am stronger than you think. -I-, Fukyou Toyomiko, am descended of a famous kabuki actress, and I will not lose to that crazy redheaded freak! You have chosen the LOSING side, Amerika!” …
Eileen blinks at this. “…ano…hai, i’m taking her side…because she has feelings for her angel. her angel isn’t a ‘tool’, which is such a sad fate…! ano…have you even looked at people playing at the layer before…?”
“Feelings? For a toy? Maaa! Such sentimentism… Rikacha~n has weakened, she will be even easier to defeat now! Ooo~ho~ho~ya!” Purple eyes flash, then blinkblink, Toyomiko answering the question quite honestly. “Mochiro~n, Amerikacha~n, I have been observing their tactics for the last few days..” Their… tactics.
Eileen sighs softly…what to do…to resign an angel to such a fate as what Toyomimi has in store is so cruel! She thinks about it for a moment…”…ne, toyomimi-san. you can watch all you like, but i bet you can’t even make your angel move right…let alone hover like mine can, or fly like the miracle rookie can…”
“Oooo~ho~ho~ho~YA!” Toyomiko throws her head back yet again, purple eyes flashing triumphantly. “Asuka will learn and become strong, Amerikacha~n, and with my skill and grace will be more than a match for anyone who relies on mere miracles to win their battles! The only true way to win is..” Dramatic Pause. “GUTS!” ..it just doesn’t translate well into English. See ‘Zanshin’.
Eileen smiles a little, and starts to wander away from Toyomiko towards the Layer. Hey! Toyomiko’s losing her chance to find out about Rika! When Eileen makes it to the Layer, she sets Sentaku down upon it in a standing position, and puts her bottle down beside the chair. She takes a quick glance over her shoulder after a few moments, then takes the visor up.
Right in the middle of Toyomiko’s dramatic pose! She has to look around to figure out where Eileen went while she was posing, but when she figures it out, she follows after, standing by the side of the layer and peering into it, occasionally chuckling darkly to herself. ‘ooo~ho~ho~ya’. Well, she’s got the whole annoying thing down pat.
Eileen smiles a little to herself, but keeps her head lowered as she slips on the visor, then taps the side. frap The feather-like antennae extend on both sides like wings unfurling. On the Layer, Sentaku opens her eyes slowly, and stretches one arm up high while she uses her other hand to cover her yawning mouth.
“Oooh~ho~ho~….” Blink. Funny, all this time she’s spent spying on the layers, and even taping them, and she never really made the connection between the headset things and the actual dolls. She must have though people were playing video games, or something! She leans down, peeeeeering at the little animate angel. …who’s the gaijin here? Toyomiko literally looks like she’s never seen this before.
Sentaku straightens up, and waves towards Toyomiko, then goes into a couple leg stretches, which are pretty interesting for her to do, considering those huge red cylinders on her legs. “Ne, Sentaku…” comes Eileen’s confident voice, “let’s test the turbines out again, ok?” The angel, who’s hair is now snapping and sparking with electricity, looks over at Eileen, and gives her a smirk, then a nod. “Hai.” says the little person with the metallic female voice.
Toyomiko is NEVER quiet, but she watches in rapt silent attention as the angel goes through her stretches, raising that camcorder to her eye, capturing it all for later analysis. She straightens up after a moment though, sidling over to Eileen, lowering her voice to a whisper and putting a hand over her mouth, so Sentaku can’t hear. “Neeee.. Amerikacha~n, it’s the government, isn’t it? The government did all of this.. didn’t they? That’s why Rikacha~n is so interested in it..” ‘Saa Turoruto!’ Rika was close! But Toyomiko has figured out the secret now!
The sky darkens as the sun disappears behind the buildings. The burning hues of the disappearing daylight reflect from windows.
Eileen giggles a little. “…ano…actually, Angelic Layer, Inc. is just a corporation.” tick-ftick-tick-klick Four points on Sentaku’s leg cylinders slide out a bit. Then they begin spinning. Turbines. Little archs of electricity soon swirl around the angel. “…the government tried to get the technology from Angelic Layer I heard, but they weren’t successful.” Suddenly, electricity flares all around the angel, and her loose clothing swirls around in the breeze kicked up by the flowing electrons….hey! Sentaku’s feet are hovering above the ‘ground’, archs of electricity passing along the soles of her tabi-booted feet, and into the Layer’s glowing surface.
Toyomiko genuinely looks impressed, clearly, she thought the angels were just what she said they were….. dolls. But even so, at Eileen so obviously naive(from her point of view) response, she throws her head back, laughing again. “Oooo~ho~ho~ya! That is what they would like you to think.. Amerikacha~n. The road to ‘Saa Turoruto’ is filled with tricks.” The scrutinizes the angels again, purple eyes flashing. “Clearly I underestimated these dolls… I will have to research this some more.”
Eileen giggles a little, then whistles the first bars of the X-Files theme. She can’t help it. “Saa turoruto is out there, ne Toyomiko-san?” Sentaku glides a few laps around the Layer, then touches back down, panting a bit, hands resting on her knees. That maneuver still takes a bit out of her. After the leg cylinders revert back to their normal form, Eileen calls out “Ano…good work, Sentaku! Come on over!” She extends her hands, and Sentaku rushes over, leaping as she nears the boundaries of the glowing table. She clears the gap between the Layer and Eileen, and lands in her deus’s arms, to be hugged happily. “Ariga~to, Sentaku! That was great!” Eileen slips off the visor, and offers it to Toyomiko.
“Eeee.. Amerikacha~n, and I will be the first to find it! Ooo~ho~ho~ya!” Despite having spent a year in America, Toyomiko completely missed the X-Files, apparently. She watches the angel fly around, who would have thought these things were capable of that! As the headset is handed to her, she takes it, and flips it over carefully in her hands, inspecting it, camcorder roving over it. “Oooo~ho~ho~ya.. only the government could make such a thing!” She announces suddenly, flipping it closes and handing it back to Eileen. “I must go research this… but I SHALL RETURN, Amerikacha~n!” And just like that, with a flash of purple eyes, POOF! She’s gone!
