Seeing the Sun
Chapter 5
A/N: Damn, even though I updated Reincarnated just yesterday (or was it earlier today?) it feels like I'm neglecting it. But nevertheless, here's chapter 5. Enjoy! Wait... Oh damn, spelled Takane's last name wrong. SHIT! It's not "Katus" it's "Katsu"! DAMN IT ALL!
Jo wakes up, eyes wide as she breathes hard. Her back is stiff from sleeping on her couch, and even though it's the first time she's actually slept in a long time she has dark bags under her eyes, making them seem brighter than they are. Sleeping with nightmares, for her, is a lot less fulfilling than not sleeping at all.
She checks her phone, seeing that it's Saturday. That means a day off. She groans. A day off means no fighting. No fighting means no entertainment. No entertainment means boredom. And boredom means she'll end up going into that state again. And she hates that state.
She goes upstairs, fully aware that it's four in the morning and Sei and Amy aren't awake yet. Her footsteps are naturally quiet as she makes her way into their kitchen, moving to the fridge. She knows that if she doesn't make some for Amy and Sei, the latter will get mad at her, so she cooks some for all of them. She puts some on a plate for herself, instantly drowning them in hot sauce as she leaves the rest in the pan.
She's already fully dressed and showered when Sei wakes up. The older woman reheats the eggs before looking at her younger sister, frowning.
"You really have to sleep more," she comments.
"I can't," says Jo. Though it doesn't look like it, she's not really tired. She does, however, think that sleep will help. A little bit. But not much.
When you think about it, Jo leads a very unhealthy lifestyle. She smokes at least a pack of cigarettes a day, she barely sleeps, she fights constantly, is constantly looking for trouble and finds joy in angering people. Even so, she's the healthiest person Sei knows. Contradictory, yes. But true.
Meg wakes up, looking at the clock. 6 in the morning? She thinks to herself. It's too early for this. Putting a pillow over her head, she groans, trying to fall back asleep. Sadly, she can't, and ends up lying there for a few minutes before mustering her strength and going to get breakfast. She thinks back to her talk with Jo, how the silver-haired girl had awkwardly tried to comfort her, and chuckled.
Jo was a mysterious person, no doubt about it. She really had to ask her how, or why, she got those tattoos. It looked like it would have hurt, considering the extent to which it covered her body. But Jo never really acknowledged it, as if it'd been there so long that she was just that used to it by now.
Meg eats her cereal fast. Not because she's in a hurry, but because she's hungry. Once she does this, she decides to go outside. She's on a hunt for something to do, and she won't give up too easily. Even so, she finds herself getting lost in thought as she walks aimlessly around town.
After a while, she hears the all-too-familiar sound of something racing down the street, followed by the screech of tires as the silver bike barely misses her and comes to a stop. Jo looks at her, seemingly a little annoyed.
"Meg, get out of the middle of the street!" yells the delinquent, irritated.
Meg jumps at hearing this, and rushes to the sidewalk. Jo sighs, taking out a cigarette. "I swear, kid, you're accident prone. I mean, seriously, open your eyes."
Jo blows out another cloud of smoke, a mischievous gleam appearing in her eyes. "You got somewhere to be? I could give you another ride."
Meg's sapphire eyes widen. "Oh, god no. You drive like a maniac." She shakes her head, sighing. "You honestly make no sense, you know?" She looks into Jo's eyes. Those strange eyes... they still seemed to be hiding something.
"If I made sense," her red eyes become so intense that Meg nearly looks away, "then everyone would be in a hell of a lot more trouble. Oh, and by the way," she hands Meg a slip of paper. "Call me if you're in trouble. Because hey, I'm easily bored and you seem to be danger prone." With that, the older girl rides off, leaving Meg to look at the slip of paper. Jo's phone number.
She tucks it in her jean pocket, smirking a bit.
When Jo gets bored, it never ends well for whoever is in the building at the time.
She throws the drunk's bottle to the floor, lighting a cigarette as she watches the glass scatter across the pavement He glares at her, angered. She shrugs as the alcohol drains into the gutter, an evil grin making it's way onto her lips as his angry look becomes more heated. She's daring him to challenge her.
"You need to get a life," she comments. "Wasting all your money won't get you money or success. It'll get you dead."
He aims a punch at her, which she stops. She twists his arm into a painful position, snickering as he whines. "What are you, fifteen?" she snaps. "You shouldn't even be drinking until you're old enough to understand the trouble it'll get you int, kid."
She let's go of his arm, and he tries to kick her. She dodges easily, a bored expression on her face. "I'm trying to help you out here." She puts the cigarette out on his shoulder, flicking it aside. "Go to wherever it is you can fucking call home."
She walks away, back to her bike. When she gets to it, some guy is attempting in vain to jack it. Quickly, Jo grabs his arm and throws him to the alley wall. "What are you trying to do to my bike?" She steps on his head. "Well? Answer!" He just sits there, scared. Jo gives up on trying to coax a reaction out of him, merely kicking his face in before returning to D'jango.
As she rides through town, she stops at the weapon store. She leans her bike against the front wall before walking in. Inside, her weapons dealer is talking with someone. Jo looks at her with that bored, stoic expression before she finally recognizes her. The officer from before. Takane Katsu (A/N: Again, I say, not Katus).
"What are you doing here, officer?"
The violet-eyes woman turns to her. "I should be askin' you. If you got a weapon, you best have a permit."
"Right here," Jo takes out her gun permit, smirking when Takane angrily nods in confirmation that it's valid. "So what business you got here? She doesn't look like she's looking to sell you anything."
The dealer is sitting back in her chair with a pissed off expression on her face, downing another bottle of beer as her brown eyes fix an angry gaze on the officer. Jo knows the woman well enough to know that A) she does not like Takane and B) she has a massive hangover.
"Police business," snaps Takane. Jo laughs at both Takane's and the dealer's anger, succeeding in making the both of them even angrier. Both brunettes look ready to (attempt to) smack Jo across the face when Takane's phone goes off. "I gotta take this."
Jo exits the store, riding into the night. She stops for a short while, looking at the moon. To her, moonlight is the only good light. Or candle-light. Or the dull glow of the end of her cigarette. She stares at it from the dark alley she stands in before she hears noises.
A gunshot and a familiar scream.
She immediately rides towards it, using every shortcut she knows. When she gets there, she quickly takes in the scene. An angry man with a gun, a dead body, and a terrified Meg. That's all she needs to know. She punches the man's nose, hearing a satisfying crack as he falls back, cursing. Then she aims a kick at him as he dodges, hitting the wall. There's a large hole where she hit it and bricks fall onto the man, knocking him down. He looks at her, shocked.
Jo grabs the gun, which fell out of his hands and points it at him, watching him carefully as she walks back to where Meg is. She's about to say something to the red-head when headlights illuminate the dark alleyway. They hear the sirens as the cops get out of their cars.
"Hands where I can see them."
A/N: Oh, cliffy! Fortunately for you, I already have the next chapter mapped out in my head... mostly. Stay tuned! :P