Shinde

Chapter.. uh...

A/N: Sorry, been behind on my stories. My attention span is equivalent to that of a mentally retarded goldfish, and they have a short memory to begin with. I meant to write this a lot sooner, but, well... yeah. Sorry to people who actually waited for this. You know who you are.

Sure, lying down by the curb of the street wasn't comfortable for humans, but it would do for the demon who did so now. One eye open in case specific demon hunters tried getting smart, she rests in the grime. She's never needed sleep, so she never slept. Simple as that.

Rain starts to fall, gentle at first but quickly picking up speed. Soon it's heavily raining, and it feels good to Jo. She closes her eyes, feeling some of the dirt and, uh.. other substances (she honestly didn't know what it was) wash off. She decides to get up, at least part-way. Soon, she's sitting upright on the curb.

Jo looks out of place on the streets, in the slums as she is. She looks like a character straight out of a fairytale, and the thought makes her smirk. Some fairy-tale, to have a demon looking for world annihilation.

A dark breeze seems to surge from within her, eliminating the rest of the filth that had gathered anywhere on her. This is one of those moments when she's thankful for her powers. It's not long before she's soaked, though, since the rain insists on falling. She's enjoying it, for the moment, until it stops.

She still sees it falling, but it's not hitting her. She then notices that it's grown slightly darker around her, and that there is a presence next to her. A familiar person. She wakes up all of her senses, having dulled them so she was able to sleep (hard to find peace and quiet with super-great hearing). She smirks when she sees Meg, standing next to her under the umbrella.

"Do you deliberately hunt me down, or do we meet by chance?" asks Jo, raising a thin eyebrow at the redhead. Meg blushes.

"I have to admit, the only 'chance' is that I find you remarkably quick," replies Meg. "But you're always around this area. Why would that be?"

Jo thinks about that. "I think it's the large number of criminals here. I'm picking them off." It could also be because this is around where Meg is, she thinks, but she won't admit that. She still doesn't know who she can trust. Meg seems fine so far, actually great for a human.

"Workaholic," she hears Meg mutter. She chuckles at this; so killing is work now, was it? After a few moments of comfortable silence, Meg says something else. "You know, the rain alone could be reason enough to spare the world."

"Oh? I'm not sure I quite believe that," murmurs Jo, recalling something from her ancient past. She nearly relives the pain as she recalls the red being washed away by the water falling from the sky. "Rain was there when my arm was cut off, but I wasn't all that grateful for it."

"Your arm was cut off?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"For a crime I didn't commit."

"I see." Meg was still trying to figure Jo out, but it wasn't easy with her brief, cryptic answers. "Okay, I'm lying. I don't get it. You were framed?'

"Not exactly."

"I'm not learning anything from this conversation, just so you know."

"I'm not planning on letting you learn anything yet, Meg."

Meg may never admit it, but she feels kind of guilty. She can see that talking about this pains Jo- she can tell by the way Jo's eyes look when she talks about it. By the way she strokes the chain that holds the armor together with her one human hand. By the shadow that seems to fall over her. Rather than admit to thinking about this, she merely mutters one thing:

"Well, at least you're honest about it."

Jo laughs. It's a nice sound, even if the undertone to it sends shivers down her spine. She can't focus on the quiet noise for long, though, as the sun peeks through the clouds. The rain comes to a sudden halt, and Meg grins. It's almost like Jo's laughing made it stop. The weather is pleasant now, so she suddenly gets an idea.

"Wait here," she orders Jo.

Confused, Jo watches Meg walk off. She shrugs, deciding to obey the orders for the moment. She feels cleaner now, and her hair is still wet. The sun reflecting off the silver of her long hair, which casts a shadow over her eyes that the crimson color penetrates. She watches, interest lighting in her eyes as she sees a squirrel looking for food.

She cautiously approaches the animal, kneeling down and stares at it, head cocked to the side. It stares back, holding out the lone nut it has as if offering it. She shakes her head, cautiously reaching out to pet the squirrel. It's out of mere curiosity that she does it, but she finds herself smiling slightly. She's only so cautious because she doesn't want to hurt the animal, who seems to lean into her touch. It's ears perk up as it hears a noise (Jo knows because she hears it too) and runs off.

Jo turns to see Meg approaching, two sorts of cones in her hands. The two of them seem overdressed for the warm day of spring, but Jo doesn't give a damn and Meg was expecting it to rain longer. She holds out one of the cones to Jo, who takes it and seems to contemplate it, not seeming to know what to do with it.

"Jo, you eat it," explains Meg, laughing slightly as she practically stuffs her mouth with the creamy substance. "It's good. Trust me."

Jo takes a bite, surprised at how cold it is. It's sweet, though. She could do without the cold, so she decides to warm it up. As her hand heats up, she's surprised to see it melting. Cautiously, she sips at what now is a liquid. It's a noticeable improvement.

"Woah, Jo, how'd your ice cream melt so fast?"

"It was cold, so I heated it up," says Jo as if it's common sense.

"It's supposed to be cold, Jo. That's why it's called ice cream."

"I like it better melted," mumbles Jo, sipping more of the sweet liquid. She knows that she has to drink it fast, since the cone seems to be weakening. Finishing it, she's about to throw it away when Meg stops her, chuckling slighty.

"Jo, you can eat the cone. Just letting you know."

Curious, Jo takes a bite. It's crunchy, but still sweet. Her teeth break it a bit too easily, though, so it's nearly shattered by the time she's taken two bites of it. The crumbs fall to the floor, and she silently hopes that some animal will find it.

"So what'd you think?" asks Meg, wondering what her demonic friend thought of the frozen treat.

Jo seems to think about that for a little bit. "It was good, and certainly new. I've never had that before. It's sort of... unique. And sweet."

"Hard to believe that was your first time having that." Meg looks over the trail they're on in the middle of a deserted park. "Want to go for a walk?"

Jo, too, looks at the trail, and then nods. The two walk through the trees as animals feast on the crumbs Jo had left behind.

A/N: Sorry that it's short. I've been reading, drawing, and working on original stories lately. This was half-finished for a good amount of time though. :P