Breaking Light

Chapter Two: Janna

The evening dusk was approaching and it was getting incredibly chilly. Downtown was starting to fill up with people starting their weekends. An older teen named Janna was walking by herself, her eyes trained on something. Another teen boy her age was a few feet in front of her smoking the last of his cigarette. She had been following him since school was out for the day.

His name was Yasuo and Janna has fancied him for quite a while. She knew she shouldn't considering the rumors about him. Yasuo was a troublemaker… or at least trouble knew how to find him. Still, she was attracted to his rugged handsomeness and cool vibes. He was a loner just like her. Janna didn't know how to talk to him and that's why she was following him. He never seemed to notice her but she was used to that. He never noticed her in school so why would that change outside of school.

Janna kept about seven feet behind him, enough to not smell his cigarette smoke but close enough to be considered comfortable. She knew exactly where he was headed since he went there about everyday. Yasuo, with a training wooden sword at his side, was headed to his dojo. It was a traditional Ionian training dojo, its lessons ranged from blade wielding, to kung-fu, to meditation. He was training to use a katana and from what Janna has witnessed he was rather good. His wooden sword swept through the air like a soft breeze. No sound just force. Janna assumed he was taking up this hobby to protect himself from the trouble always seeming to find him.

Yasuo flicked his cigarette butt on the concrete before stomping out the last of the burning tip. He pulled a new one from his pocket as he took his usual shortcut through an alleyway. Janna felt suddenly uneasy. As Yasuo clicked his lighter for a flame, a few figures came from out of the shadows. Three older boys stepped in Yasuo's path and Janna hid behind a nearby dumpster. The Ionian teen sighed as he put his unlit cigarette behind his ear.

"What do you idiots want now?" He asked, his voice dull and uninterested.

"We just wanted to check up on our old friend, Yasuo." Explained the one in the middle. He seemed to be the leader as the other two kept behind him. By the look of their aggressive stance, they seemed to be up to no good. "Haven't seen ya in a while. Not since what happened to—"

"Get out of my way, losers." Yasuo rolled his eyes as he tried to step passed them. The leader bumped into him, not letting Yasuo step around him.

"Hey! I wasn't finished talking to you yet! I consider that a bit rude." He snarled as he shoved Yasuo back. His two thugs behind started to close in on him and Janna began to panic.

Should she run out to the street for help or should she intervene herself? She didn't know how she would be able to assist but she needed to do something. What could a teen girl do against three thugs? As she debated on what to do, Janna felt something fall on to her shoulder. The purple-haired teen glanced over and saw a small white animal looking back at her. It was a cross between a cat and a fox and it had a short horn growing from it's forehead. Janna gasped as it cuddled up to her before jumping to her hand. Her school uniform had transformed into purple and white dress with long stockings. Stars accented her hair and her boots. The mysterious animal transformed into a long staff and she suddenly felt powerful.

Janna looked back over at Yasuo and she saw him pulling the wooden sword from his waist. Now alarmed, the three thugs lunged for him. The lilac-haired girl jumped out from her hiding place and she swung her staff. A glittering orb surrounded Yasuo, protecting him. The three teen boys gasped while Yasuo stood over them. He stuck his cigarette back in his mouth as he glared down at them.

"Need a girl to fight your battles, Yas? What would Yone think?" The leader of the gang spat.

"Girl?" Yasuo mumbled as he glanced over his shoulder. His brown eyes spotted Janna standing behind him. He didn't recognize her but he felt like he knew her. As he kept his focus on her, one of the thugs crept up behind him holding a short knife.

"Yasuo, look out!" Janna shouted as she ran in front of him. She used herself to separate him from the three other teens and she held her staff above her head. A strong typhoon blew around her, blasting the enemies back. Trash and glitter flew around the tight alleyway and the three thugs slid across the pavement. As the winds died down, they got to their feet and backed away from Janna.

"Don't think this is over, Yasuo! We'll get you and your girlfriend too!" The leader warned before they disappeared into the dark alley. Janna watched them until they were out of sight. Then… it dawned on her on what just happened. A cat from the sky gave her powers and the first time she interacts with Yasuo is by saving him from a gang fight. A bright red blush washed over her as she slowly looked back. Yasuo had this thick brow cocked up at her with his cigarette between his teeth.

"Uh," He started. "Thank you?" His eyes narrowed at her. Janna felt her knees shaking and Yasuo tilted his head slightly, "You seem familiar. Have we met before?"

"No! Bye!" Janna said before bolting off. Her heels clicked down the sidewalk as she ran as fast as she could.

"Hey, wait!" She heard him call after her.

The teen girl's staff returned back to it's animal form as she kept running down the street. It flew ahead, glancing back every now and then. Janna suspected that it wanted her to follow. Her blue eyes caught the horned animal floating into a different alley. When she turned the corner, she ducked behind a few trash cans. She saw Yasuo stop on the sidewalk, trying to catch his breath. After a moment, he continued to try and find her.

Janna sighed as she got back to her feet. The magical animal landed on her shoulder and nuzzled up to her. Cautiously, she stroked its fur. To her surprise, it purred before hovering around her.

"What are you?"

Lux didn't know where she was headed but this is where she saw one of the stars fly off too. It couldn't be that hard to find a giant, glowing purple star. She looked down at the GPS she had on her cell phone and she saw that she was in the middle of downtown. The pink-haired girl glanced up and noticed someone she recognized from school. Janna, a senior she had in her honor's literature class. What could she be doing all alone downtown?

Just then Janna turned into a alleyway. Lux saw that she was following a boy. A sly smirk appeared on her face. Was Janna meeting secretly with her true love in an alley? It was just like her favorite romance movies. Lux chuckled to herself as she crept towards where the older girl had disappeared. She glanced around her surroundings, noting that there weren't a lot of people walking around anymore. The pink-haired girl checked the time on her phone. It was almost seven o'clock.

"Oh, mom isn't going to happy if I'm late for din—"

Suddenly, a quick flash of glitter zipped passed Lux's head and into the alleyway, blowing her hair back. She recognized the purple trail— it was the star she saw before. Lux fixed her ponytails before she glanced around the corner, seeing Janna with a mysterious fluffy animal. Just then, it used familiar magic to turn Janna's clothes into something similar to Lux's skirt and boots. However, instead of a baton like her own, the fluffy animal turned into a long staff.

Lux watched the older teen run off to the boy she was following. She didn't even realize he was being jumped by some thugs. Janna steps in front of him and raised her staff over her head. A monstrous typhoon blew the goons away and knocked Lux onto the sidewalk. Trash flew into the street and Lux had to dodge a trashcan before it fell on her. She got up from the ground, her butt aching from the sudden impact. Before she knew it, Janna was running out of the alley and down the street. Lux blinked, wondering if she should call out to her. Then, the boy in the alley followed soon after. He shouted for her and that is when Lux decided to move.

She saw the older boy stop to catch his breath before he kept running. They both lost Janna. Lux sighed— there goes finding the rest of the shooting stars. The pink-haired girl heard rustling in a different alley and she turned. She spotted Janna standing up from behind a few trash cans. Janna and the mysterious magical animal looked at each other momentarily.

"What are you?" She asked it when it cuddled up to her.

"It's a star." Lux answered. Her voice scared both the older teen and the star animal. It hid in Janna's long, lilac hair. "Uh, hi, Janna. You probably don't recognize me but I'm Lux."

"Yes, we're in first period together."

"Ha, yeah." Lux looked up at the magical animal poking out of her long locks. "I bet you're wondering how I know what your little friend is… and why I'm dressed like you. It's kind of a confusing story that I don't fully understand myself."

"Anything is better than nothing, Lux." The older teen reassured her.

"So, a woman from the sky begged for help and threw magic at five random people?" Janna asked Lux as they walked down the same road she was following Yasuo on. She had mentioned that she had parked her car and offered Lux a ride home. Lux agreed because she wanted to explain to Janna on what happened within the last two hours and if she couldn't make sense of it. She also needed a ride home before her mom sends out a missing persons squad to look for her.

"I don't think is was random. Your little guardian seemed to fly right to you." The pink-haired girl explained as she walked beside her new friend. Janna pulled her car keys from her bag and clicked on the black key ring. A white car a few feet away beeped as the doors unlocked. "I think it needs a name. It does seem to possess the powers of wind."

"How about Zephyr?" Janna suggested as she opened her driver's side door. The star animal purred in delight. "I'll take that as a yes. What was your power, Lux?"

"Light, surprisingly." The younger teen sat beside Janna in the passenger seat. She adjusted her seat belt while the purple-haired girl threw a few loose items, like a book and a hairbrush, in the backseat.

"I don't think it's that surprising. You're a bright girl. Guess these star people take things literally." Janna shrugged, "What else do you know about these stars?"

"Well, nothing other than there are three more of us we have to find. A red, blue, and green star." Lux thought, trying to remember where she saw those fly off to.

"We might have to wait until tomorrow to start searching together. I need to get home."

Janna drove by a familiar dojo and she started to slow down. Inside the window, she spotted Yasuo swinging his wooden sword into a training dummy. He was dripping with sweat and shirtless. Lux noticed that her new friend was blushing a deep red. Janna stepped on the gas when Yasuo glanced in their direction. Lux had to hold on to her seat and Zephyr nearly flew into the backseat with the speed Janna went in.

"I don't think it's my place to ask but... who is that?"

"Yasuo." Janna sighed, "I've had this major crush on him since freshman year. It's so pathetic, I know." Janna groaned as she turned onto the freeway, "He hasn't noticed me until tonight. He asked if he knew me. I got scared and ran... He chased me. It's all a blur."

"That's adorable!" Lux giggled, "I wish I had a cute little crush."

"You mean there's no guys at all? No one has noticed a girl as pretty as you?"

"The only boy to ever give me the slightest bit of attention is Kayn Shieda... Thad big, dumb jerk!"

"Oh, yeah. I know Kayn. He was in my biology class a few years ago." Janna nodded, "He isn't as dumb as he looks but he's got a giant mouth. Wouldn't keep quiet if he got an answer right. Never seen him interact with girls, however."

"Maybe he like guys."

Janna and Lux both glanced at each other before giving a loud laugh.

"Or... he likes you?"

"I hope not. I'd rather have him knock over all my books than have him flirt with me." Lux said, disgusted.

Janna kept her eyes on the road, following Lux's directions to her house when she gave them. The pink-haired girl looked up at the darkening sky, wondering if what Janna said could be true. If Kayn did like her, it made a lot of sense. He went out of his way to make her say miserable. She assumed it was because he was a senior and she was a junior in his class. However, she couldn't worry about that now. She had to keep her mind on following these other "sisters". Lux couldn't say why, but she felt a sudden anxiousness when she thought about it, like she had a deadline.

Lux and Janna has to find these other stars fast before something bad happens...

Notes: Yeah, Janna/Yasuo is pairing two! We probably won't see pairing three for a few chapters depending on how long these chapters will get. I hope you'll keep reading!

Reviews are appreciated!

See you next chapter!