The rain had not stopped for days. It was unusual, yet, in a way it was calming. Pandemonium had struck in the Realm of Angels. Icchan now worked twenty hour shifts, paperwork, mostly complaints created mountains on his desk. Ogota also worked long hours, glad to be free of the usual punishments he received for being thirty seconds late. He never thought Icchan would run out of energy, yet he continually found himself shaking his boss to wake him up because he was drooling on some paperwork.
Angelic Layer, one of the most popular games in America at the moment, a big rival to games like Ever Quest. It started in Japan, but when sales there began to decline Mihara launched Angelic Layer International. It was an instant hit, and weeks later they started the two Nationals tournaments for America. Hannah Leonhart, a spunky thirteen year old at the time won the tournament that was held near the East Coast. Lina Paiya, a martial arts master won West Coast. The two battled before, the pink haired Angel that belonged to Hannah won.
It's been about two years since the release of Angelic Layer Int. Another Nationals tournament had already been held, Hannah won for East Coast again; though she hadn't heard from Lina. A few weeks ago a new system for Angelic Layer was released. It was a computer program that was supposed to make Angels stronger, faster, and more balanced. It was first released in California. As soon as it had started it was stopped.
Someone had betrayed Mihara, and put a virus on the disks. Though for about a week no one knew about the virus. When they plugged their Angels, who were in their scanners, into the computers they had been condemned to death.
It started with one Angel, it was relatively new, belonging to a strong Deus. In the middle of the battle the Angel's purple eyes changed to black. After that it became completely lifeless, it's system just shut down. The Angel repair experts were baffled; the Angel's insides had melted! They believed the Angel became over heated and just began to melt. The Angel was never repaired.
Soon the repair shop was flooded with confused Deus whose Angel's had also 'overheated'. Until that fateful day… Every Deus in California woke up to realize their Angel's had shut down too. Even the ones who weren't plugged in to their owner's PC. Every computer in the state had been shut off for many weeks until their e-mails were erased. They thought this would be the solution to the problem.
Weeks later they received news that the virus had spread to Nevada, then to Oregan. Washington, Idaho, Utah; it was insane. Finally they shut all computers off. It took another couple of weeks but they had successfully erased all e-mails. Everyone thought that the virus was gone for good, and everyone relaxed.
It's too bad though… because they were wrong.
Leonhart Residence. 6:40 am
"Uhh… wah! I'm gonna be LATE-!" Hananh practically screamed leaping out of bed. Everything HAD to be perfect for today. It was her first day of high school! Hannah had been accepted to one of the best school's in Virginia, she used the money she had earned from winning Angelic Layer tournaments to pay for her tuition.
Quickly putting on her uniform and grabbing her backpack and a strange doll on her desk she barreled down the stairs. Almost on cue a piece of toast popped out of the toaster, while stampeding by she grabbed it. She glanced at her older brother, "Are you supposed to be at college now or something-?" stopping for a second to ask.
Lance momentarily looked up from behind the newspaper, "No. Aren't you going to be late-?" Lance was Hannah's older brother, it would be his third year of college soon, he had come home to visit though, and to annoy his sister.
This brought her back to her first problem. "Eeks!" she rushed the door, "Love ya guys bye!" with that said she was gone.
"Oh wait Hannah-! You're manager…" Amy Leonhart, Hannah's mom ran in a little too late, she half sighed, "-wanted you to look at another script… I swear that girl is always stressed out over something. Whether it's another role or being five minutes late for school."
"That's Hananh for ya…" he shrugged, returning to the article he had been reading before his little sister barreled in,
Hannah Leonhart, what to say about her-? For one thing she's always at least two minutes late for everything like school, meeting friends, another scene. Oh! You're wondering about 'scenes'. Well… she's also an actress, though she usually only films during weekends, summer vacation and spring break. Her parents had refused to pull her out of school. Hannah has already starred in a biography about when she started playing Angelic Layer and from then until she won the Nationals almost two years ago.
As for her Angel, well they look nothing alike. Hannah has long, straight, light brown almost blonde hair. Her eyes are strange, one is blue the other is light gray. Her Angel though has emerald green eyes and bright pink hair that hangs past her shoulders. The ends of her hair are a bit split though; during a battle an Angel had sliced a bit of her hair off. (A/N: Kudos to all who remember that)
Sakura, Hannah's Angel, wears a black sleeveless shirt with a white sleeveless shirt underneath. The back of her shirt is decorated with two white Angel wings while the front holds a pink star design, the same color as her hair. Around her neck is a black choker with a small pink star; and on her arms are two long black gloves with a pink star on top of each hand and purple fingers. There are also two metallic purple bands wrapped tightly around her upper arms with a pink star design also. Her short match her shirt, black with a slightly larger pair of white underneath. Sakura's black boots go up to mid thigh to almost reach her shorts, from the ankle down the black changes to white. Also on each ankle is a large pink star design. The final piece would be her Angel cord, brown goggles with a pink star on each lens and a pink star on a cord dangling off the buckle.
After going many battles without being defeated Sakura earned her title as the: 'Star Angel' or the 'Shooting Star Angel' or when she was working her way up the ranks in the Nationals she was the 'Rising Star'. There are many other nicknames for her that involve the words Star and Angel. Hannah believes Sakura is guided by her own star, that's kinda why she went crazy with the pink stars designs.
Since small weapons are now allowed for certain battles now. And since Sakura was based off a ninja in one of Hannah's favorite manga; she carries around several shuriken and small kunai blades in a little black pouch that is barely noticeable as it hangs off her shorts.
"I'm sorry!" she cried bursting into the room, some of the girls from her old class clapped.
"Wow Hannah! That's a new record from the gate to the classroom. The teacher isn't here yet so you're safe." One girl Hannah recognized at Lizzie said.
"Phew…" she sighed in relief but jumped when there was a voice behind her.
"You're safe, but just barely." Mr. Armstrong smirked as he walked in behind her after Lizzie's comment.
As the girl sat down people immediately swarmed around her, "Hey Hannah! I saw you're movie, it was so sad!" "Even my dad cried!" "Can you get me an audition-?" "Is it really cool being a movie star-?" "I saw the previews for you're next movie!" Those were some of the only things she was able to pick out over the babble.
"Alright break it up! Time for class!" Armstrong whacked a ruler on his desk and immediately all the students returned to their seats. Hannah looked a little stunned.
Orientation took longer than she expected, she glanced at her watch, noticing it was almost one o' clock-! At least there weren't any real classes, though that probably wouldn't last long. Checking her schedule she noticed it was time for lunch, then P.E. and then school was over, leaving her with a good hour of layer practice before going home and making dinner.
Lunch was always something she had looked forward too in Jr. High; but that was all about to change. Stepping into the lunchroom she didn't see any open seats. None of the kids who had mobbed her earlier were there either. A few of her friends that had transferred with her stepped up next to Hannah, looking equally desperate for a seat.
So the four girls found themselves sitting in the upstairs in the deserted bathroom. Supposedly this bathroom was haunted, though it was their first day and they didn't know.
"So Han. I heard that your next movie is coming out soon-?" One girl said, Hannah recognized her as Anna. She seemed a little hurt that the only thing people talked about around her was movies. She would much prefer to talk about Angelic Layer, "Can ya tell us what it's about-?"
"…" Hannah paused, but she didn't want to come off as rude so she gave in, "Well… it's like an anime, well the plot is sorta along the lines of a typical anime anyways. It's a modern fantasy where six babies are injected with DNA after they were kidnapped. But then the cops found all the scientists and arrested them, except for one called the 'Witch Doctor'. Then they skip ahead fourteen years where one girl, that's me, transforms into a thief during the night. A boy, transforms into something like a superhero that's bent on stopping me. And so on and so forth…" She kinda went way into detail.
The other three girls looked amazed, and a bit excited. "When's the premier-?" A red haired girl, Chelsea, asked.
"Friday."
"What-! But we haven't seen any commercials for it yet!"
"We have commercials all over different stations, just not MTV." (A/N: 8D Burn.)
"… Oh…" her friends said in unison, all sighing.
"So… will you guys come watch my next Angelic Layer tournament-?"
"…" they paused again, Hannah took a wild guess and thought they forgot about the whole reason she did get a role in a movie. "Oh! Sure! I almost forgot about Sakura! Sorry…" the third girl said quickly, her name was Rita.
"S'okay." Hannah replied taking another bite of her salad, "So you're coming right-?"
"Yeah."
"Sure."
"'Kay!"
RIIING!
The halls were crowded with people dragging their feet towards the gym. Apparently everyone in Sonomi High hated P.E.
Save excited lil' Hannah that is. She dodged past people, half skipping half jogging to the gym. The teacher, Ms. Robbins, praised her for being the first on there and for being the only one on time. Everyone else showed up five minutes later, grumbling.
Since it was the first day Ms. Robbins ran through the rules, schedule, and finally she came to roll call. Maybe it was just bad luck but as soon as her name escaped the gym teacher's mouth Hannah once again was mobbed by a swarm of screaming fans. It took several dodge balls to get them all off, and a couple of senior boys. Hannah shuddered and looked shocked again.
"Moving on…"
Her streak of bad luck continued when she stepped out of the school building that afternoon. The fans screeched and tackled her, this time there weren't any dodge balls to help her. "Can't breathe…"
Though moments later she felt the weight of all the fans being lifted off. She looked up, it was the six senior guys that had saved her in P.E. Scrambling to her feet she smoothened out her uniform skirt and thanked them.
"Zack told us to make sure ya didn't get hurt by the geeks." One said in a Jersey accent.
"You know my Zackey-wac- I mean you know Zack-?" she blushed a litte; Zack was a tall Asian boy that she knew from the nationals tournament. He was also her boyfriend…
"He's our little cousin." Another one said, "Though he doesn't go to school here."
Now that they mentioned it, the six of them did look a little bit like Zack. All of them had dark brown or jet black hair and dark amber eyes. She chuckled nervously, "Well… tell Zack I said 'hi'!" and with that the girl turned and ran off. No sooner had she done so she slammed into a dark figure, knocking both of them to the ground.
"M'so sorry- Zack!" before the figure could even get up she embraced him ina bear hug.
"Hi- Hannah." He replied back, "How's yer' first day-?"
"Oh…" suddenly she felt a little sad, "It was okay." She returned her arms to her side so Zack could breath. "Hey! Are ya coming to the tournament tomorrow?"
"Yep. I'm competing. I'll totally kick your butt his time!" he grinned putting his index finger on her forehead like big brothers do.
Hannah shook her head, "Nu uh! I'm gonna win again for sure! M'the favorite to win."
Zack and Hannah already battled against each other in the Nationals tournament. Zack's Angel was named Sasuke, a raven haired Angel also based off and ninja like Sakura. Sakura had a bit of trouble beating Sasuke, but in the end she won.
"Ya mean like in a horse race-?"
"No!" she spat back playfully.
The Asian boy sighed in defeat, still grinning, "You're still my favorite…"
"Aweee-! Zackie that was so cheesy!" she hugged him again, "But it made my day!"
"Ladies and germs-! Boys and girls! Welcome to Element Stadium! Washington D.C.'s official Angelic Layer Stadium!" the stadium itself was new, sponsored by BAM and Element, skateboarding companies. "Today we are pleased to announce that our own Angelic Layer Champ will be appearing in this tournament!"
The crowd roared in excitement, Hannah's name had been taken out of the phamplet just for a surprise. The Piffle Princess Company hope that this would encourage more people to come to Element Stadium after this tournament. As if they didn't pack enough people in.
Suddenly the lights began to dim, and one blinding spotlight over the layer turned on. A hush fell over the crowd, but excitement hung in the air. A very deep, smooth voice came over the intercom, which made some of the girls melt. "This is an Egg… Filled with… a Dream.
"This is…" he didn't even have to finish because the crowd ended his sentence by screaming, "Angelic Layer!" in unison while the promo Angel, who was modeled after Hikaru, burst from the egg.
After he managed to calm the audience down the announcer cued the computer to start randomizing names, "Our first battle will be between… Deus Hannah and Angel Sakura versus…" everyone held their breaths, waiting for the second name, "Deus Zack and Angel Sasuke!" the audience roared again when the two figures stepped into the arena.
Before they sat down Hannah and Zack approached each other, "May the best man or woman win." He said calmly holding out his hand.
"Don't worry, I will." Hannah grinned and shook his hand. Zack whispered some smart alec remark back before they both went to their seats.
"Angels to the layer!" the announcer called as the crowd became excited.
"Let the power of your own star guide you to victory," she half whispered, "Fall in Sakura!"
The pink haired Angel gracefully touched down, bending her knees in, putting her right hand on one knee and making a peace sign with the other. The auburn haired girl stifled a giggle, she had always wanted to try Kuro-chan's 'V' pose.
We interrupt this fan fic to bring you an author's note!
Sakura and Sasuke were both in the Nationals, and as some of ya know from the last chapter of ATO Saku and Sasu received voice boxes. Kinda like Kurokoneko has a voice, so they have their own personalities and can talk by themselves when they're on the layer.
And without further ado, we return to Living for the Moment!
Sasuke dropped in, landing gently, but immediately he crossed his arms over his chest and wore his usual scowl, "Hello Sakura…"
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura grinned, looking a bit like a fan girl at the moment. The announcer let her talk before starting the battle, "I won't go easy on you Sasuke-kun!" she said in her soft voice, looking overjoyed.
"'Tch." Sasuke spat back (AN: He's a bit rude but he does care deeply for Sakura. Ah… Angel love…)
Sasuke had jet-black hair, spiky, and coal colored eyes to match. His battle costume ws pretty simple, black t-shirt with a red circle on the back, arm wrappings that went up to his shoulder so they were a bit covered over by his sleeves. Long white shorts that go down to about his knees, leg wrappings like his arm wrappings and black boots that go just past his ankles. Finally, Sasuke's Angel cord is a black cloth headband with a long white cord that hangs down and a red tip.
'Sasuke-kun' was built with an emphasis on speed while Sakura is primarily balance but has some speed. He has the ability to disappear but he's got no defense whatsoever.
"Ready then? Angelic Fight!" the announcer began the battle, which got the crowd roaring again. The layer today would be flat, since there were some newbies battling today.
As usual Sasu-kun made the first move. He disappeared and for a few moments was nowhere to be found. Sakura did not seem the least bit worried. She shifted her weight to her right leg, crossing her arms over her chest and yawning.
Heartbeats later the raven haired Angel appeared behind her. It was strange because the ickle little balance Angel didn't seem the least bit worried that he could easily knock her out of the later. Sasuke prepared to attacked, but in a split second he found himself unbalanced on the layer a second later.
Sakura's eyes were closed and her right arm was raised in the air, apparently she had just punched him really hard very quickly, "I thought you would be prepared for one of my Ikkyou no jutsu attacks Sasuke-kun!" she giggled looking cocky and happy at the same time.
But neither Sasuke nor Zack, or anybody in the audience was paying attention to her at the moment. Everybody's attention was turned towards the ceiling-? The light fixture holding up the overhead lights had begun to swing.
There was an audible creak and a screw popped out of somewhere, landing just before Sakura who paid no mind. Time slowed down, as it usually seemed to when bad things happened. Zack panicked, as did Hannah, they had no time to reach their Angels and save them, they would have to make their Angels run or be crushed by the light. The two Deus would be safe from their distance; I cannot say the same for Sasuke and Sakura.
But with everyone screaming they lost control of their Angels, Sakura was like a deer in the headlights on the layer. Sasuke seemed to have some control but struggled to move.
They say Angels are guided by their Deus's heart, so its no wonder why Sasuke did what he did.
"Sakura-!" he howled over all the noise as the light began to fall. He leapt forward just in time to latch one arm around her shoulders. But when he was out of time. They didn't make it out of danger. At least Sasuke didn't.
Everything from the waist down lay crushed under the large metal light. A broken shard of glass had lodged it self in Sakura's throat, right above her choker, she'd been protected by Sasuke when he half pushed half sheltered her out and from the danger.
By now Zack and Hannah sat in utter shock and horror, they'd stopped controlling their Angels so they had started acting from their Deus's hearts. Sakura gazed down at Sasuke with a look of disbelief, she tried to speak, but her voice box was now destroyed by the glass shard. Sasuke turned weakly to look up at her; he smiled for once before he shuddered. His steel gray eyes suddenly because dark and lifeless, and his torso slumped onto the layer.
Apparently the computers were still registering the damage, not knowing that the match didn't count and would never be continued again, for the screen read: Winner: Angel Sakura and Deus Hannah.
But Hannah didn't feel like a winner at all.
A/N: Ohohoho… starting off with a bit of drama. (pats Hannah on head) Too bad this is only the beginning of her streak of bad luck.
Hannah: WHAT! I hate you (tries to kick Sora)
Ve1vet: (dodges) Well I can only tell you that things go from bad to worse from here. I really did like Sasu-kun and Zack-kun, but looking back on it I said, yanno, I could really throw in some drama if they go bye-bye. But trust me you'll see the odd squad again (Sasuke: "HEY!") Well… one of the odd squad. Hohoho… spoiler (smirk) And for those who haven't read ATO ya don't; have to go back and read it, though I wouldn't mind a few more reviews (hint hint nudge nudge cough cough) but anyways… I hope for this to be my fanfiction masterpiece. But I said that about 'Yin Yang Angels' and look what happened to it. I was so upset that only Motoko-chan was my only reader, it was my masterpiece (sob). Anyways, Black Imps from Honeydukes to everyone who reviews (Hohoho… Harry Potter )