Author's Note: I really enjoy writing this story. And I really hope you all like it.

The story so far: Hannah has finished Sakura's costume and gotten in some practice with Allie and her Angel Lulu. Right before they were about to battle their time runs out. This may be good or bad seeing as how Hannah doesn't know how Lulu fights now. Who knows when Allie and Hannah will be able to battle? All will be revealed in the upcoming chapters of Against the Odds.

Disclaimer: I don't own Angelic Layer, or FFX or Naruto .

Sakura sat on the edge of the table, hand resting beside her. Hannah was busy cooking. "Lesee… Add four to five blueberries per pancake. Only four of five? Let's make it nine!" Hannah wasn't a very good cook, but she had about forty-five minutes to kill before she would go find a public tournament.

Instead of her normal T-shirt and jeans get-up Hannah decided to wear something a little less… grungy I guess would be the word for it. She wore a sleeveless orange shirt under a green spaghetti strap and cuffed jeans. This was all under the blue apron she wore to make breakfast.

"Eeks!" Hannah pulled the pan off the oven. Her burnt pancakes sizzled at her. "Maybe not so many blue berries next time…" She dropped the pancakes on her plates and plopped down to eat. She chewed it very fast and held her nose most of the time. "I've lost my appetite." Hannah said scraping off her plate. "Let's just head out."

With Sakura safely tucked away in her small red backpack Hannah trotted down the stairs towards the door. A small blue note was scotch taped onto the doorknob.

Squirt,

Hope you are successful in your stupid doll tournament. Dad won't be home till late so I'm in charge though. Don't miss curfew unless you want a swirlie.

-Lance

"I hate it when he calls me that." Hannah grumbled at the stupid nicknames her brother gave her. She re-stuck the note back to the door, semi-crumpled and trotted out.

It was a nice day, a little cloudy but a little colder than usual. It was almost summer so being a tad cold was nice once in awhile. The first place to look for a tournament would be over near Piffle Princess. If not she could just ask someone there anyway. "Maybe Allie will be there." She had the urge to get another look at Lulu.

Piffle Princess wasn't actually that far. It was only about half a mile, only fifteen minutes if she walked and ten if she decided to run. She decided to run. The sidewalks were clear, it seemed as if everyone had suddenly deserted the town. This was a good thing, less people staring and less people to dodge while running.

Piffle Princess was just around the corner. So was a whole lot of yelling. "Huh?" Hannah peeked around the corner; there was a large stage in the parking lot of Piffle princess. Lots of people cheering as two angels fought. From Hannah's position she could only see two dots on a layer. Then one dot was suddenly flung in one direction and landed with a sickening thud.

"VICTORY GOES TO ALLIE SULLIVAN AND ANGEL LULU!" The announcer applauded and so did the lulu fans, which was basically the whole crowd.

The blue and gray-eyed girl gasped. "Allie!" she darted towards the crowd but was unable to get through and was pushed back out into the open area of the parking lot. The only was she would be able to see Allie was if she went on stage, but by the time Hannah realized this, the Angel and Deus were gone.

With a sighed she glanced up at the stage, "Angelic Layer Public Tournament. Walk-ins welcome!" Read the sign. Perfect.

"And what are your names?" asked the announcer to a girl who was probably a walk-in. "Katie Reese. And Ariel." She said cheerfully pointing to the red haired Angel sitting upon her shoulder.

The announcer turned towards the crowd, "all right. We need a challenger for Ms. Reese here! Any challengers out there?" no one seemed to respond, "Anyone?"

"I will!" Hannah said running towards the stage. She jumped, almost crawled on, not noticing the stairs next to her.

Katie and the announcer smiled, "And what are your names?" he asked, Katie echoed.

Sakura was removed from her backpack and placed on her hand, "I'm Hannah Leonhart. This is Sakura." She smiled.

"The challenge has been issued! Angel Sakura versus Angel Ariel! Deuses take your places!" A roar of excitement swept through the crowd as Katie and Hannah put on the headset and unfolded the wings.

"Lets get ready to rumble!" The announcer yelled into his microphone. Hannah could not help but giggle. "Angels to the layer!" The pink haired angel fell in first doing a cartwheel off Hannah's hand and onto the layer. Sakura put one hand on her hip and shifted her weight to the left, with this cocky grin plastered to her face. There was no doubt that Hannah was completely confident in her angel.

Ariel fell in next, literally spinning of her Deus's hand. She had long red hair shocking blue eyes. Mostly she was dressed in purple fabrics from the waist up and green from the waist down. She returned the cocky look with one of her own, arms crossed over her chest and her headed cocked to the side.

"Angel Sakura, Angel Ariel." The announcer paused to heighten the suspense. "ANGELIC FIGHT!"

Quick Note: Sorry its short. I wanted to finish this whole chapter today, fight and all but I'm out of time. I'll put up the fight in the next chapter and upload it real soon!

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