Reborn

Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, three reviews already. Well, one of them is exactly the same as the other (repeated), but at least it's not a flame. If there was a flamer... I would tell them to shut the fuck up. Anyways, thanks to my two reviewers, I appreciate the comments.

Sei peered through a gap between D'jango's massive metal fingers, searching for the gunslinger who had, in a way, just saved her life. Jo was crushed between a wall and a burning machine, though she only stayed in this position briefly. The wall collapsed, and the machine fell on top of Jo. Ruby eyes widened in pain, mouth open in a silent scream of agony. Jo stretched out her left arm, trying to pull herself out from under the heavy, burning metal. The machine sent out an electric current, shocking Jo before it was taken away by the force of the explosion, ripping off Jo's right arm and legs.

The explosion stopped, and Sei tried getting out from under D'jango. It proved to be quite difficult, seeing as D'jango was stuck there. Jo was lying on the ground, panting and bloody. Her now-missing body parts were nowhere in sight. Her scarf flew in the wind, getting caught on part of the wreckage. The gap between D'jangos fingers closed, leaving her in the darkness until Leo and Takane got her out.

"Don't fuck with me," said Jo. Her voice was calm, leveled and deadly. But Sei could hear the fear in it, behind it all. "If that happened, then what the fuck are these?" She gestured to her arm and legs. "They're here, and they're functional. I can move. I can walk." Jo was shaking now, barely containing her fear and shock.
"Jo," Meg got closer, touching Jo's forehead. "You're pale."

It was true. Jo's normally tanned skin was not a sickly pale, and there were dark bags under her eyes. She looked tired. Very tired. Sei saw a hint of blood showing through her bandages. But Jo was focused on her right arm, eyes wide.

"Jo, we have to replace those bandages, and you have to rest," commanded Sei.

Jo seemed to not be thinking as she followed them. Meg carefully peeled off the grayish white gauze, gasping when she saw the large cuts underneath. Sei got out a needle and thread, stitching her deepest cuts. Meg then re-bandaged them, wrapping the gauze securely around Jo's wounds. Once this was done, the red-eyed girl fell asleep, leaving the two other woman to clean up the bloody gauze.

"She was hurt really bad," said Meg. "But it's weird. She looked like she lost a lot of blood. I think you're right, and that really happened but... I wonder what the person who helped her did."

"We'll ask her when she wakes up," assured Sei. "I feel guilty, though. She got hurt by helping me, and I didn't stop her."

"If it was anyone else, they would be dead." Meg looked at the sleeping mercenary. "She's so strong. I've always admired her for that."

"She is strong," agreed Sei. "The stronger the opponents she faces are, the stronger she gets. It's... terrifying, really. I'm just glad she's on our side."

"Terrifying?" asked Meg, confused. "Jo's not terrifying."

"Her strength is unmatchable by anyone. She is genetically altered to be that way. But I think it's her determination that makes her strong. If she has a job, she'll always finish it. No matter how impossible it is. But if that power is there, straight in your face... if it's turned against you... I think the person has a fair chance of being scared to death."

"But... Jo's a nice person, really. She can be mean at times, sure, but it's only for the good of others." Meg looked towards Jo's peaceful sleeping face.

"Like how she K.O.'d you to keep you safe?"

They looked to see Takane standing in the door way. She was focused on Jo. "How is she?"

"She's alright, just sleeping," assured Meg.

"Good." Takane seemed relieved. "Y'know, when I first met her, I couldn't stand her. She pulled a joke on me, using her name and calling my mom fat. She made these smart-ass comments, and it may not bugged me so much normally. It was just the way she said it. She had an air to her like she didn't care about anything. She dished out insults with a type of nonchalance that made me want to slash her across the face. I tried, and she blocked it with a spoon. I was all angry, but she just had that same expression on her face. So I pushed my sword harder, and she kept the spoon there, not even flinching."

"Jo can be like that sometimes," admitted Meg. "But it's her charm, I guess. I met her back in America, when she recently lost her memory."

"How was she back then?" Takane was curious now.

"She hasn't changed, besides the fact that she's even stronger now than she was then. She had long hair... but it was cut off while she was fighting. Any closer and her head would probably be off."

"So Tokyo's always been fighting, huh..."

"Well... yeah. I don't think she's ever gone a month without it."

"What do you mean?"

Meg stopped talking, so Sei took it upon herself to explain everything to Takane. "Jo is a genetically altered, artificially born human. She was raised as a soldier, along with many others to be a genocide angel for Zero. She was raised fighting, so it's probably the most familiar thing to her."

Takane's expression was blank. "No wonder. When I met her, the first thing I noticed was that she wasn't normal- OW!" Meg had hit her on the head for that, and was glaring at her. "I don't mean it in a bad way! She just didn't seem to care about other things!" Meg looked down at this, seeing as she'd practically said that to Jo herself.

Suddenly, Jo shot up, hissing in pain. She was clutching her right arm, teeth grit in pain.

"Jo, what's wrong?" asked Meg, turning to the bed. She touched Jo's arm, but quickly pulled away. It had- had it just shocked her? "Jo, what's happening to your arm?"

"I think only one person really knows, and they're not here," snapped Jo. She was referring to the woman who'd helped her. "We have to go. I need answers. Let's go back to the ruins."

A/N: Well, that's done. Sorry the chapters are so short, but frankly I'm lazy. Hey, at least I'm writing a story. Usually I would've given up by now.