Seeing the Sun
Chapter 5
A/N: I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL SOMEONE! Not really. Don't hold this against me. But I was working on this chapter earlier. I was in the middle of a MegxJo moment when my computer crashed. So now I'm stuck rewriting something.
Meg cringed, hearing Jo's angry screams through the walls of the police station. She was loud. Apparently, the police had deemed Jo suspicious, probably because of her criminal record. But Jo, having done the right thing for once, was furious. Sounds of struggle were heard, along with Jo shouting curses and:
"Give me my guns, give me my bike, and let me go!"
Guns? She had guns? Well, Jo did seem the type. After all, she was a pretty violent person, and she'd grown up in that neighborhood. But wow. She had guns. From the sound of it, though, she had a permit. Those are hard to get.
A police-woman walks in, looking at her with violet eyes. "You know Jo?"
"Yeah," Meg glances at her, wary. "How do you know her?"
"We could call her a regular visitor," jokes the woman. "Takane Katsu, by the way. Care to tell me the whole story? From what I've been hearin', they think Jo killed the guy."
"She didn't," snaps the red-head, suddenly angry. "Why does everyone think she did it? She helped me. Don't mix it up. I saw the guy get murdered, Jo took care of the murderer, and saved me."
"Alright, I'll go get her out of here, then." Takane walks into the interrogation room, only to see a rather odd situation. Jo is standing on her chair, one knee on the table as she leans over, grabbing the officer by the collar with one hand and about to punch him with the other. The man, too, looks like he's about to smack her in the face. While Jo has a bloody nose, the man just looks... disfigured.
"Hey, now. Break it up."
Meg is as they walk out. Of course, Jo is too, but she's naturally taciturn so it's nothing unusual. When they reach the bike, Meg finally speaks up.
"I'm sorry, Jo."
"What are you sorry about?" Jo looks slightly confused. "I just wanted to fight, is all. And by the way," she looks away from Meg, hiding her face. "I told you to call me if you needed me to beat the shit out of somebody."
Meg can tell that through all that, the real message is that Jo wanted to help her. So she goes up to the older girl and hugs her. Jo hesitates before awkwardly returning the hug. Then she picks Meg up, placing her on the bike.
"I can tell you need a ride," she says, grinning. "So hold on."
Meg sleeps, nuzzling into something hard and warm. Blanketing her is a heavy leathery object, seeming to be almost molded into a shape. Not her shape, but the shape of something else. There's an intoxicating smell of cigarettes, fire, and hot sauce. Not the destructive kind of fire; the soft fire of a candle. The smell itself is warm. She tightens her grip unconsciously, hearing a small grunt of near-annoyance.
Her eyes open, and she sees that she's lying with her head on Jo's abs, arms wrapped around the girl's stomach. Jo looks half-awake, eyes closed but not completely relaxed. Her leather jacket is laid out on top of Meg, keeping her warm. Jo is leaning back as she sits on the couch, but Meg is lying down.
Though the situation is actually kind of nice, she can't really remember how it ended up like this. Oh, that's right. She had asked Jo to stay for the night, seeing as it was late. Then she'd had a nightmare, and unconsciously walked over to Jo, who'd comforted her (strangely well) and they'd gone to sleep. Jo still had her right arm protectively wrapped around Meg's shoulders, holding the red-head close as she slept.
Meg's gaze shifted to the girl's left arm, looking at the markings. They didn't look like an average tattoo, she noted. None of the classic designs. It looked like something you might absently sketch. She reached out, carefully brushing her fingers on the black design. She gasps. Unlike her other arm, which is pleasantly cool, her left arm is feverishly warm, almost burning.
"Damn," she hears Jo mutter, teeth gritting. Meg quickly tries pulling her hand away, only for the silver-haired girl to grab her wrist in an unnaturally warm iron grip. Evidently, it's out of instinct. As Jo's eyes open, she slowly lets go, muttering a quick apology. "Sorry, Meg. It just stings sometimes, that's all."
"Is it infected?"
"No," Jo picks up her jacket, slipping it on. "It's a scar."
Sei sighs in relief as Jo walks up the stairs, barging into the apartment with a cloud of smoke. The younger girl immediately throws her weighted jacket off, letting it fall to the ground with a muted thud as the door slams behind her. She hisses in annoyance, running to the sink and spraying water on her tattoo.
Her older sister grabs her arm, observing it. Around the markings the skin is slightly red with fever as her skin grows hotter by the second. With calm, practiced movements she takes out a bottle of pills, giving her the medicine. Jo takes it, feeling the heat ease up. Sei carefully pokes at the marks, feeling the heat go back to it's usual temperature (it was still too warm, but for the scar it was a normal thing).
"Don't touch me," snaps Jo, jerking her arm away. She seems out of it, her crimson eyes unfocused as she holds on to the edges of the sink, glaring at nothing. She's thinking. About her past.
Sei doesn't know Jo's past before she met Amy, and she doesn't ask. But that doesn't mean she's not curious.
"Jo," says a small, child-like voice. "I had a nightmare."
"It's fine," replies a younger Jo, smiling slightly as she pushes her long hair aside. "Come on. We can watch some movies. Just sit here, Ma-"
"Dammit it!" Jo punches the wall, angry. "No more memories. I don't want to remember that!"
As she stands there, head leaning against the wall as she tries composing herself, Amy walks down the stairs, into the dim basement where Jo is. The small girl has a worried expression on her face as she looks at Jo. "Are you okay?"
The gunslinger stares at her for a second with guarded eyes before her expression softens. She ruffles Amy's brown hair, smirking a little. "Of course I'm okay," she states, looking down at her sister. "I'm Jo."
Amy smiles a wide smile at the older girl before announcing that they have work. Jo walks over to the closet where her gear is, only to see a long, black jacket, black shorts, and a now-red mask. She looks at Sei, questioning.
"If you keep using your normal clothes, the police might see you and arrest you. And since you've killed so many," Sei looks away. "They might let you go this time."
Jo grunts, going to change. When she gets out, she's skims the folder and walks out the door, onto D'jango. Taking on a group, it looks like. She smirks. As she roars down the street, her tattoos heat up in the anticipation of a fight. Not in the bad way, though. The normal way.
Sei looks out the window as Jo goes down the street, a worried expression on her face. Jo tends to rush into missions, especially group fights. She'll have to take out a hundred of people that are guarding files of great importance to the syndicate. Not the safest thing.
"Why do you look so worried, Sei?" asks Amy, happily spinning around in her computer chair. "She'll be okay. She's Jo!"
Sei chuckles at this, but doesn't relax completely. "Yes, she's Jo, but remember: Jo also says she's only not okay if she's dead. And Jo can be reckless, Amy. She's not invincible. She's a normal human being, just like you and me."
"But... she's Jo."
Sei shakes her head. "No. Right now, she's the angel of death."
Jo looks around, taking the files and putting them in her jacket. Ninety nine. The last one is on the floor, shivering in fear as she puts her guns in their holsters and stares at him. She raises a fist, bringing it back only to hear the all too familiar sound of handcuffs locking around her wrist.
"You have the right to remain silent," she hears a familiar voice say. Takane stand behind her, tightening the cuffs to the point of pain. "Though I don't think you'll be going to court."
Jo turns her head towards her, the mask blocking her whole face. Her hood is up, hiding her hair. She feels power coursing through her left arm, where she's locked up, and smirks. In her modified, beastly voice, she laughs. "I won't be going anywhere with you." She knows her markings are glowing red, and with raw power breaks the chain of the handcuffs as fire travels up her arm. "Welcome to hell."
Takane's mouth is hanging open in shock and her eyes are wide with disbelief. "You monster!" She swings her sword at Jo, but the girl grabs it. Blood leaks from her palm, the pain being forgotten in the (literal) heat of battle. The steel blackens and melts before Jo lets it go, arm falling to her side.
"See you later, Takane."
She jumps onto a wall, climbing it expertly as the police-woman watches in shock. She looks at her ruined sword, and growls as she watches as the well-known criminal makes her escape. She then looks at the bodies that are all on the ground. She looks to the one that Jo was about to assault before she came, and sees that the body is charred, burned beyond recognition.
The angel of death strikes again.
A/N: Finally! Sorry for the delay. Next chapter will be about Jo's past, but only how she met Amy and Sei. Starting RIGHT AFTER the important parts of her past (involving what she doesn't want to remember). Excited to write it. Review!... please.