Seeing the Sun

Chapter FUCK YOU

Of course, since Meg was there, something was bound to happen.

It was when they were about two blocks away from the a fore mentioned girl's house when the two of them were promptly pulled into an alley. Meg panicked, but Jo glared and Kannibal went beserk on one of them. Jo elbowed the guys stomach, grinning. As soon as she was free, she kicked the other guy in the groin, full-strength. Jo grabbed one of their heads, slamming their face into the wall.

"Don't fuck with me," she said, sadistic glint forming in her eyes. She pulls his head back, repeatedly smashing his face in until he's unconscious. Then she looks at the one who got Meg, who is currently attempting to not lose his nuts. "And you stay the fuck away from Meg."

When she says that, she's angry. This is the first time Meg has ever seen her lose her temper for anything, or at least this seriously. Wait, no. She saw her angry when that murderer was there. But this is worse, because he actually grabbed her. Kannibal seems to know the extent of Jo's anger, as he abandons his current chew-toy to growl menacingly at the man.

Jo takes out her gun, and aims it for his already-damaged "sensitive" spot.

"Jo, wait!" Meg reaches for Jo's left arm, which she quickly jerks away.

"Don't touch that arm." Jo's demeanor changes as soon as she starts talking to Meg, her tone becoming relatively kind. "It'll burn you. It'll burn because I'm angry."

"Just don't shoot, Jo."

"Why not?"

Jo's voice isn't hostile when she says that. It's a question. Then it hits her:

Jo doesn't know any reason why killing is bad.

"Because you'll go to prison again, Jo. Just walk away- look, this pansy probably already shit his pants, Jo, let's just go."

Jo closes her eyes, lowering her gun. She's never lowered her gun without firing before. Meg, bless her heart, is making her question everything she knows. The markings still burn as she puts the gun in the holster, delivering a swift kick to the man's jaw to knock him out.

"Seriously, Jo?"

"He touched you."

They walk in silence, Jo's eyes still closed. She's never gotten that mad without using her ability, never had to stop it from happening. It's difficult. But Meg said no. And if she loses it now, Meg will be hurt.

"Hey, Jo?"

"What?" Jo's thinking about something, she can tell.

"Do you like fighting?"

Jo stops, seeming to consider her answer for a bit. An image flashes in her mind; younger her, only about ten, holding a gun, aiming like a pro. Her eyes darken.

"Yes and no."

"Huh?"

"I like fighting," she admits. "But I hate death."

"What do you mean?"

"The pain you get in a fight- either from wearing yourself out or getting hurt- and the adrenaline, is a good equalizer for feeling nothing." Jo seems far away now, as if she's distancing herself, in her mind. Like she was that first day. Like she was to the other people at school. "I'll admit to being a bit of a sadist, though. If you've ever been in a situation where you're powerless, it feels a lot better to be the one in charge of the fight. But maybe that's just me."

Meg doesn't talk. But Jo seems so far away that she has to grab her and bring her back.

"You're changing me, Meg."

"How so?"

"First of all, I'm getting way too soft. Had it been anyone else with me, those guys in the alley would be dead. In a gruesome way, too. I wouldn't have let them live for shit. Probably would've burned them, too. Just to teach the fucks a lesson. I was almost going to set that bastard's nuts on fire as I shot him, but you stopped me and made me just... go back. That was the hardest thing I've ever done."

"Jo, would you ever hurt me?"

"Never. I would never hurt you, Meg." She sighs, seeming to get weaker. "I'm tired, Meg. That took a lot of work."

They get to Meg's house, walking in. Jo sits on the couch, exhausted. Meg sits next to her, and suddenly Jo falls over, head falling onto Meg's lap.

"Goodnight, Jo."

Half-asleep, Jo says it. "Love you, Meg."

Meg wakes up, blue eyes seeing Jo's face. Kannibal is sleeping in a corner, and thankfully nothing's wrecked. She vaguely remembers being in a similar position before. Jo's jacket is slung over the arm of the couch, and Meg can make out several old scars on her exposed skin. Even on her neck. She flinches when she sees the bad ones, wondering how long Jo has been tearing herself up like this.

Jo, who loves her.

She realized, the other night, that she loved Jo too. Basically, the feeling was mutual.

Softly, so as not to wake the sleeping girl, Meg runs her fingers through Jo's short silver hair. She continues, almost as if she's petting her. She feels Jo stir, and she stops.

Jo takes her hand when she does, opening her eyes. "I've been awake for a while," notes Jo. She traces the lines on the palm of Meg's hand, the contact making the red-head blush. Smiling in that way of hers, she pulls Meg's face towards hers.

It's a soft kiss, surprisingly gentle considering who it is. Though it is at a bit of an awkward angle, it's the most amazing thing in the world to Meg. She can feel Jo's hand on the back of her neck, unnaturally warm against her skin. After about a minute, it stops.

"I had to do it," admits Jo. "I couldn't not do it." She gets that playful smirk. "And you loved it."

Meg doesn't deny that.

School. Damn it all. School.

Jo, of course, isn't there yet, though they are in an assembly. The principal is saying some sort of weird thing that anyone would already know. It's another boring rant on behavior, probably influenced by the girl who isn't even here at the present time.

Speak of the devil, a certain someone crashes through the door, falling on the ground. She gets up, pissed off. All attention is on her as she gets up, wiping off her jacket.

"Son of a bitch," she calls, mocking them. "Scared already?"

A crowd of guys walk in, all bigger than her and seemingly good in a fight. Good, but not the best. One of them tries throwing a punch, but she easily dodges it, grabbing his leg and flipping him over. The others all rush her at once, and she jumps above them, landing on top of the biggest one and smashing his face in. Meg sees a flash of silver.

One of them has a knife.

"Someone call the police!" she hears the principal call, but the man with the weapon is already slashing Jo.

"Get the fuck off, you bastard!" yells the gunslinger, throwing him off. There's a long, deep cut on the right side of her face, and a few long but shallow ones on her neck. She grabs him by the head, only for yet another inconvenience.

"Break it up!" orders Takane, sub-consciously slicing at Jo's right arm.

Her sword goes deep, probably hitting the bone or at least coming close. Jo's crimson eyes watch as blood leaks from the wound, her gaze then sliding over to Takane. There is no pain in her eyes. Just a great deal of anger.

"I'm being attacked by criminals and the police now, huh?" she gets the sword out of her arm, throwing down the man who had assaulted her. "These guys know my reputation and thought that by taking me down they would get half as much respect as I did. So they started attempting to beat the shit out of me when I was outside of school. If you're gonna arrest anyone, arrest them. I was acting in self-defense."

Meg makes her way over to Jo, brushing aside the terrified-looking police-woman. "Jo, let's go get you some bandages."

Jo smirks, and her and Meg are about to walk out when Takane speaks.

"What the hell?" Jo turns, meeting her violet gaze. "I cut you, and I cut you deep. But you're not even showing any pain. It ain't natural." She points her sword at Jo. "What the hell are you?"

"Someone who's way too used to pain," snaps the silver-haired girl. "Shit, I thought you were smarter. You don't have to show pain to feel pain. Now I gotta go before I bleed out. Come on, Meg."

They walk out, leaving Takane to look at the stain that Jo left on her sword.

"What happened, Jo?" asks Sei upon seeing her back so soon after she left. She sees cut on her face. "That's gonna leave a scar. You should bandage those."

"I'm on it." Jo walks over to the cover, finding the bandages. She takes them out before she takes off her jacket. The deep, gruesome cut that she got from Takane didn't come out clean, since Jo's main objective was knocking out the guy. Jo looks at it before splashing some water on it.

"How did this happen?"

"A gang of thugs and a police officer," remarks Jo. "The chief's daughter has a sword, after all."

"They really have to learn." It's Amy, walking into the kitchen. "Jo always wins."

Jo looks down, at her markings. "Yeah." There's a sadness in her eyes. "I guess I do, now."

Before they know it, Jo's bandaged. Except for her neck. As she wraps the clean white gauze around her neck, around her scar, she grimaces, just a bit. For the first time, probably because the material feels harsh on the black surface.

"Done." She puts away the bandages, and takes out the medication. "Forgot to take it this morning."

Meg can see the look that Sei gives Jo, telling her that she knows for a fact that she did take it. "Jo, it's getting worse, isn't it?" She puts a hand on Jo's head, but Jo recoils back. "You have a fever, Jo."

"I'll be fine," snaps Jo. "Just ask Katsumi for more medicine. I'll be fine."

Meg can't shake the feeling that Jo is trying to convince herself.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys. Had a lot to do. :P Finished this on a 6-hour car ride, so it'll be up later than it was ready. Sorry about that. :P I tried making it a decent size, just for you. And they kissed! FINALLY! The lack of Kannibal makes me a bit sad, though. :P