Seeing The Sun

Chapter 1

A/N: Yes, already. Another Bakuten fic. After I just finished Reborn, too. My OC will only make the briefest of appearances in later chapters. No major role like Cy. Ah, Cy. I miss that bitch. Anyways, will also be making an alternative of Reborn, with Cy again. But for now it's undecided. This is an AU, remember that. It takes place in the present time. Does anyone seriously read this? I might have to check to see... hehe.

The sound of a motorcycle roaring down the street and sirens.

Meg walks down the street, going to school. It's early in the morning, but her school always did start at this time. This ridiculous time. She sighs. It's way too early to be up. And she didn't even get breakfast!

Of course, the only reason she didn't eat was because she was going to be late, but she's close to the school by now. She looks around. Japan is really different from New York, she notes. She still can't believe she moved here, even though it's been several years. She lives alone, in an apartment.

Tires screeching as the bike spins out of control.

She's very, very close to school. She yawns, making a mental note that if school starts early, then she should sleep earlier. As she walks on campus, she sees a pick-up truck in the parking lot. It's big, a sort of pale blue color. A black-haired woman and some of the school personnel are talking, discussing something. She decides that if it's worth knowing, she'll hear about it later and decides not to eavesdrop.

The sound of handcuffs being slipped on as a criminal is caught.

She walks into the building, but is immediately stopped by Yoko, one of the girls in her grade.

"Hey, Meg! Did you hear that there's a new student coming in today?" she says, excited.

"No," remarks the red-head. "Who are they?"

"Not sure, but lots of kids are saying they're going to be a trouble-maker."

"Why?"

Yoko grins. "You'll see."

The other girl runs off, leaving Meg confused. What the-? She decides not to dwell on it, walking into her first class. She's right on time as she sits down in her seat. The teacher walks in, seeming slightly on edge.

"Okay students," says the teacher, catching everyone's attention. "We'll be welcoming a new student today. Please welcome Jo Carpenter."

It's an American name, notes Meg. But judging by what the name is, she assumes it'll be a guy.

Ruby eyes glare from behind bars.

She's wrong.

Jo walks in, closely watched by two men who appear to be guards of a sort. One of the guards gives the teacher a slip of paper before walking out. But Meg's eyes are focused on Jo.

Jo looks strange, to say the least. (If she's being honest, she'll say the girl's kind of sexy). She has red eyes, and somehow Meg doesn't think contacts are involved. Her silver hair is short, falling over her right eyeas she glares at the ceiling. Then the teacher speaks up.

"Now class," she seems to be choosing her words carefully. "Jo is... recently out of prison."

Meg's eyes widen, but another look at Jo makes it seem right. Since there are no uniforms, people can wear what they want. Jo has a black tank-top with some sort of white cross on it. Along with that, she has tight, black pants, a spiked red belt and red boots. Slung over her back is her book-bag, and a red biker jacket. Around her neck is a worn yellow scarf. But more shocking are the tattoos that go from her left arm and onto her back and face, all in black ink.

Without saying a word to the teacher or taking any command, Jo heads over to an empty seat in the back, away form the window in a poorly-lit corner. Her eyes seemed to glow in the shade she sat in. Her jacket is thrown over her chair, her bag on the floor beside her. She watches the teacher with bored, red eyes.

The teacher nervously begins teaching and I take notes. I can see, from the corner of my eye, Jo just sitting there, not even making a move towards her bag that probably has a notebook in there. The teacher seems less nervous now, so she's not looking at Jo after every word.

Of course the new kid would be a criminal.

The last bell finally rings. Jo gets her biker jacket on, not zipping it up. She grabs her bag, walking out of the room. She heads to the parking lot, where her bike awaits. Smirking, she gets on it. It's silver, with red designs here and there. A beautiful bike.

She sees a few kids watching and decides to show off. She revs the motor before speeding off, faster than their cars could ever hope to go. She stops when she's more or less out of sight, taking a pack of cigarettes out of her bag. She's about to pop one into her mouth before someone grabs it from her.

"Dammit, Sei!" she yells, angry. "I haven't smoked in months!"

"Calm down, Jo." Sei throws the pack of cigarettes in an alley, making Jo clench her fists. The silver-haired girl scowls, looking at the black-haired woman with anger in her eyes. "I think that time in prison made you short-tempered."

"I'm always like this," snaps Jo, but she's more calm now. She takes out another pack of cigarettes, popping one in her mouth before the older woman can say anything. "Did you manage to convince them to let me go without a parole officer or anything?"
"It took some time, but yeah."

"Thanks."

Jo blows out a cloud of smoke before getting on her bike. "See you back home, Sei." She goes, fast down the street. Sei looks after her, shaking her head.

"She's crazy. Really, crazy."

She walks to her pick-up truck, getting in. In the passenger seat is her tech assistant, Amy. "Finally! C'mon, let's go home, I'm starving!"

"Okay, Amy." They drive to the apartment they share. It's a duplex, high class if it weren't for the neighborhood. When they moved there, they gave Jo the smaller bottom floor. Partly because Jo worked hard, and partly because her scary movies terrified Amy half to death.

Another intake of smoke, ruining her lungs one puff at a time.

"You know, that's a bad habit," says the other woman after gulping down another bottle.

"Says the alcoholic," snaps Jo. She puts out the cigar in her hand, unflinching. "You drink way too much."

"I don't care," remarks the woman, flicking her brown hair away from her face as she downs the liquid. "Here's your god-forsaken ammo."

She slides the bullets over to the silver-haired girl, throwing the now-empty bottle against the wall. She returns to her place behind the counter, humming along with the heavy metal that blasts through the speakers. Brown eyes look at Jo, telling her that she can get out now. Obviously, the weapons dealer isn't in the best mood. Meaning, she's that kind of drunk today.

Jo gives the dealer, who she's known for a while now, her signature goodbye: flipping the bird. As she walks out, she hears something crash against the door behind her and chuckles darkly to herself. The joys of pissing people of never ceases to make her laugh.

She gets on the bike, speeding down the alleyways this time. The streets can get crowded, and she doesn't feel like being evasive today. She eventually makes it back, seeing Amy and Sei already there. Dinner is pizza.

Jo takes a slice and goes down to her basement. Horror movies. Gun-polishing.

Not sleep.