The walk home was nice. Jo could tell Meg was in a good mood because the redhead was humming and gliding along the sidewalk like she didn't have a care in the world. Jo also felt herself in a good mood, but unlike Meg she didn't have a way to openly express it, so she just walked quietly alongside Meg, who was almost skipping to some unheard beat. "Jo, this was really fun." Meg smiling brightly at her and blushing a little made a grab for her hand. "We should really do this again sometime." Meg with that luminous smile still gracing her eyes and mouth was now squeezing her hand and cuddling up to her. "How about..." The redhead paused for a quick breath and her eyes anxiously snapped shut for one second, like someone had fired a gun at her and she was closing her eyes against her oncoming death. "How about we go to the movies something later on in the week...or we could do something else, anything else. We could go to an amusement park." Meg let go another breath and the girl's grip in her hand felt clammy, like she was sweating. She turned to her quickly, and then she added, as if none of the things previously said mattered anymore, "Or whatever..." Meg left the comment hang in the air, the expression on her face no longer one of jubilance, but of worry, which Jo thought was kind of strange. What had Meg to be worried about? She didn't want to go to an amusement park. Those were always crowded, and the last time she'd went to one, it had gone up in flames and she'd had to do battle with a gigantic...squid...octopus...tentacle beast...thing, that had ended up making a mess of Django and had curtailed her to waxing duty the following Saturday. That hadn't been much fun for her, but thinking back on that day, it hadn't all been a tragic mess. She'd been given the chance to confess to Meg the reasons she was so gung ho for battle, the exact reason why she jumped into combat so willingly, so blithely without a second thought to what may await her. Meg had looked shocked to hear that she was the reason, and Jo wasn't sure if she had done a good thing by telling Meg about her motivations. Well, not until Meg had rested her head on her shoulder and said she was happy to hear that. She'd been satisfied to hear those words from Meg, to know that Meg appreciated her efforts, that she liked having someone she could depend on, and someone who wouldn't abandon her when things turned rough. Amusement parks though, plainly put she didn't want to go. She did, however, wanted another date. Meg was staring at her hopefully, her big, bright, teary, blue eyes unblinking and glittering at her with enough emotion to shame a pack of abandoned puppies and kittens in one go. Jo didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like...she didn't know how to put it, like she had messed up on a mission, really messed up bad. She didn't know what to say to Meg, so she said the first thing that came to her, "I don't want to go to an amusement park." The look in Meg's eyes that had made Jo feel strange--and not good--intensified to the point where Jo had to turn away. This obviously wasn't going too good for her. "You don't want to go?" Meg's voice got really tiny and Jo not knowing why, felt like someone had hit her in the gut. Jo thought that this wasn't the way Meg should be reacting, especially since Jo did want to go on that second date. Why were they misunderstanding each other? Maybe she wasn't being clear. "I do want to go." The sparkle in Meg's tear-gleamed eyes suddenly vanished, blotted out like a star in the night, and the redhead was now giving her a questioning look. "So you do want to go to the amusement park?" Jo in return gave her a baffled look because that's not what she had said. "No." Meg's hand was now on her hips and the confused expression was slowly mutating into irritation. "Jo, make up your mind. I thought we got over that whole mixed messages crap." Mixed what? Jo couldn't help but scratch her head at this turn of events, and if there was one thing she hated it was being thrown for a loop. She understood that she didn't have the best track record at figuring people out, if anything she was pretty lousy at it. She could figure out a battle situation without blinking an eye, but she just didn't have enough...what had Amy said...she didn't have enough commonsense to figure out people, especially the people that mattered. She thought that maybe it was because her memories were lost to her, buried under the beach sand and water of NYC, or maybe even further into her past, a place where she couldn't even glimpse. She just couldn't fully grasp the concept of emotions, other people's emotions of happiness, and fear, and sadness... She could understand happiness because those were often shown in the way someone walked, or someone smiled, or in the way they treated others. Fear she could see in others, but it was lost to her because she didn't understand what those people had to fear. Every time a bullet was shot her way, every time Django was in the heat of battle, she felt alive and...satisfied. Maybe, that's why she couldn't be afraid, because her happiness lay in the fact that she was protecting Meg every time she picked up her gun. Every time she was shot at and put in danger. And the word sadness was only a word to her without an ounce of understanding or recognition. She knew she lacked things, basic things that people needed in order to be...people, and she knew, intrinsically that those empty shells within her, were exactly what made her so adept at handling a gun, and taking on missions. They were coming closer to the trailer, all they had to do now was turn the corner and it would be in sight. Meg's pace was picking up and she was walking past her, not even bothering to hide her anger and hurt. "Meg, is something wrong?" They were now in front of the trailer and Meg whirling on her like a tornado, began to yell, "Obviously Jo! So if you'll excuse me." She rudely shook her head, her long ponytail snapping like a cobra in the air as she made her way past Jo. Jo however wasn't ready to concede defeat, or confusion, and grabbing the shorter girl by the wrist she stopped her. "I haven't done anything wrong. Why are you being like this?" Meg was now fitfully attempting to remove her captured wrist from her fingers and Jo not ready to see the back of the door tightened her grip. Meg winced and then shutting her eyes, she ripped her hand away, and in a voice full of hurt and anger she said, "It's because you don't want to go on a date with me. That's why Jo. I'm sorry if I can't act normal. It's just how I feel. I'm not like you, Jo, no one is, we can't all have fun being alone, eating, and sleeping, and breathing, and touching loneliness..." Meg was crying and Jo felt the overwhelming emotion that didn't have a name well up inside of her like an overflowing glass of water. She also felt a little irritated because Meg was completely misunderstanding her again. "I never said I didn't want to go on another date." Meg, who was still crying quite loudly and messily had suddenly, as her words dawned on her stopped. "Wha?" She was now trying to wipe her eyes dry without messing up her mascara and eyeliner and in the process failing miserably. "Jo?" Her voice sounded cracked and she was still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes as she turned her clear, bright eyes on her. "I don't want to go to an amusement park, but I do want another...date." Meg's eyes were wide with surprise, and the girl not completely conscience of what she was doing, came up to her and hugged her tightly. "Really? You want to"-she pointed at herself-"With me?" What was wrong with Meg? Why was she sounding so surprised? There obviously wasn't anyone else in the vicinity that would warrant this type of confusion over who she had asked on a date. Meg was the only person around. She didn't need to point to herself. "Yes." She didn't have anything else to say. Meg didn't seem to have anything to say either and it was then that Jo noticed that the redhead was much closer than she had remembered, and steadily as seconds passed, growing closer. Lips touched her mouth, like a butterfly delicately landing on the skin there, and she could suddenly smell Meg. The sweet perfume and the lipstick smudged over her lips. It smelled like apples. The pressure on her mouth was firmer, the kiss no longer trembling and fluttering like that captured butterfly, but now a definite presence. She breathed in without meaning to and Meg suddenly leaned into her, her mouth warm, softer than anything Jo had ever felt, and moving. Harder. There was the moist press of something on her bottom lip and Jo feeling heated, like she had just run through a burning building, or fought a long battle, put her hands on both of Meg's shoulder to steady herself. The pressure on her mouth was pushing, and Jo was completely baffled at this disorienting sensation that Meg was giving her. She'd seen it done of course, in movies that she'd watched. The ones where men would save women and a kiss would ensue. Meg watched those kind of movies too, except Jo's differed in that both man and woman after the kiss had ended would both be dead, preferably mutilated by monsters, or psychopathic killers. That's what they got for turning their backs on an enemy with a ten-foot spear. Jo had closed her eyes at first, but now remembering the images of mutilating monsters and psychopathic killers, who seemed to like to sneak up on unsuspecting couples opened her eyes wide and peeked around her. She couldn't focus though, she couldn't even breathe properly and if it was even possible, Meg's mouth had gotten even softer. Jo, who hadn't been doing anything but letting Meg kiss her, closed her eyes again and thought that if she had to suffocate and die from lack of oxygen, then this was one hell of a way to go. Meg slipped away from her then, and Jo could feel her breath and touch shift slightly back, her warm hands now lingering by her hands. Slowly opening her eyes, Meg came into view, her face flushed and smiling. She beamed at her and Jo in the mean time was trying to wrap her brain around what had just happened. That had been... She looked at Meg and then down at their hands, their fingers skimming along the backs of each other's hands and Jo exploring the remaining warmth of the kiss by way of her fingertips against her lips and her tongue in one sweep. The taste of it was still lingering, the scent of apples, so strong and warm that she could taste it in the scent. She could taste it on her mouth, from the traces of lipstick that had smudged over the corners of her mouth and bottom lip. She was still entranced, even when Amy burst through the trailer door and started talking, "Finally, you guys came back. I thought you'd died out there or something." She exasperatedly threw her hands up in the air and then looking back and forth between the pair noticed the strange wave of quietness that had descended. "What's wrong with you two, you look like you seen a ghost, or Kyouhei naked." She snickered at that, and then she was coming down the stairs to take a closer look. Amy also noticed that upon her entrance, Meg hadn't predictably yelled at her to get lost. Something had to be up. Jo was looking kind of dazed and her mouth, what the hell...? Had dark burgundy smudges on it...she looked at Meg and seeing that her lipstick was smeared, a blush still rising over the bridge of her nose and the two of them rather close... Damn, it didn't take a genius to figure out what the hell was going on here--even if she was one--A blind monkey could deduce by all the sloppy evidence that these two had obviously been... "Ohhhhh, someone got luckyyyyy! I'm gonna tell Sei." Before Meg could even say anything, and Jo could rightly come out of her coma-like state, Amy was up the stairs and closing the door behind her. What the... Oh crap! "Amy, you nosy midget, get back here before I use those expensive cables in your room to choke you to death. You brat!" And before Meg could even help herself, she was up the stairs as well and noisily clambering after the smallest member of their group. Jo was still standing there dumbfounded and touching her mouth. She could hear loud shouting from inside, the clash of something breaking and the screams of Kyouhei as he most likely was caught up in the crosshairs of whatever atrocities was going on inside. She stood out there in the cool wind of the night, the moon cutting an arc against the sky and stars, and for the entire world, looking like a leaf adrift on an easy stream journeying toward the conclusion of a waterfall. The noises inside were still in full swing and when she heard a wince-inducing shriek from Kyouhei, Jo thought she was about ready for some alone time. Walking around the back of the massive trailer, where Django was being stored, Jo climbed the ladder to get to the roof. She made herself comfortable, lying on her back and watching the stars blink and twitter in the impartial sky that held them in place. It was nice to be up here, but Jo thought she would have much rather Meg with her, right at this moment. She had actually wanted to make some arrangements for their date, but Meg had run off so quickly and she had not been too collected at the time to stop her. It could be that all of this was a blessing in disguise. Maybe she could think much more rationally about where she would like to go for this...date that she had been promised. But where? On the edge of her peripheral, Jo could see something glow iridescently, it bobbed twice, up and down, before steadying itself enough to cross her. A firefly? Here? In crowded, smoggy, neon-dizzy Tokyo? The radiance now seen from the front and not smeared with the glare of the lamplight and the corner of her eye was now a soft leaf color. Jo holding up her hand found the small bulb of glowing light gradually decreasing from a beryl color and then deepening back to emerald shades. It circled her finger twice, before hovering away to destinations unknown. Jo shook her head at the resemblance it had to the fireflies from the world she had been trapped in, and suddenly her mind was flashing with images of the lone samurai and the fight that had taken place on that moon lit lake. He was pretty awesome, considering he didn't carry around guns, and proper equipment to carry out a fight. That had deserved true respect, both his blade, his craftsmanship of his skill and the man, silent and honorable. She had surely never run across such a person as him, and something within her had been affected. She had turned curious and asked him many questions, wanted to learn things, his pain, his past, his future... It was weird for her to take such an interest in someone and she suspected it had partially something to do with the way she had entered the world, and her strange behavior previous. She had learned to forget that incident because if there was one thing she had learned upon becoming this mercenary of justice, it had been to wipe your mind clean of distractions that didn't have anything to do with the here and now, even that strange person that had commanded that cybot. They were nothing but a hindrance if not forgotten. That samurai though...and those swords had been very interesting, and she had wondered, ever since, in the secret back of her mind, if it would be ever possible to see a place, an era like that again. It had gnawed at her for the night that she had returned. She had felt so at peace in that place, so at home, and she wondered for a funny second if she had been born in the wrong era... What would it be like to be a samurai? What would it be like if she wielded a katana instead of the Desert Eagles? She was curious and that was something that she rarely ever felt toward anything, but she didn't think anything was wrong with a bit of curiosity, after all curiosity had killed the cat, not the gun toting angel. Which got her to thinking, maybe Meg's date and her curiosity could both be sated in one go. Maybe if she got Meg to agree they could go somewhere that involved...Samurais. Hmm...that would take some thought; maybe she should ask Sei where she could take Meg on a date. Jo sitting up made her way down from the roof and to the front door. She entered the living room to find it empty and quiet, Jo assumed everyone had retired to her quarters for the night and so it wouldn't be too much trouble to sneak into Sei's room unnoticed and ask the woman some questions in private. Sei's room wasn't that far from the cockpit and sneaking down the corridor, she knocked on the door and asked the woman if she could come in. Sei was gracious and let her in, but not without a knowing smile and look that spoke volumes of what she already knew of why this afternoon's shouting fest took place. "So what can I do for you Jo?" Sei was sitting on her bed, already out of her work clothes and into silk pajamas. "I need some advice." Jo instead of looking at Sei was busy glancing around the room in order to get a better picture of their enigmatic boss. There were books scattered everywhere, and hanging on the walls were exotic Chinese tapestries, the largest one painted with the majestic symbol of the Bai-Lan organization, the black and golden dragon. There were also scrolls and a large Chinese Broadsword secured firmly to the wall. Jo looking at the sword thought maybe she had made the right choice in coming to the older woman. Sei, as if reading her mind, or more accurately reading her line of sight, asked her if it had anything to do with her sword collection. Jo didn't feel like beating around the bush so she just came right out and said it. "Where do you think I should take Meg on a date?" That had surely gotten a reaction from the silent woman. She started, "It flatters me that you would come to me for this Jo, but I believe your judgment would be best...since you are indeed the one taking Meg out. I don't know Meg as well as you do." Jo shook her head at her, "That not it...I have an idea on what I'd like to do." Sei nodded her head for her to go on, "I want to check out a battlefield." Out of all the reactions she had been expecting out of the older woman, confusion hadn't been one of them, maybe because she believed Sei to be a very competent source of information. "Jo," Sei blinked at the younger girl and then took a deep breath, "I don't know how to tell you this, but you should be the last person to inquiry about this sort of thing. I mean..." Sei blinked dumbly at her some more, "Just last week we came from a battlefield...and I'll excuse myself if I'm sounding presumptuous, but I don't think Meg will like that kind of date. Not when it's her line of work." Jo staring at the older woman strangely turned her attention back to the Chinese sword hanging on the wall. "Not anything in Tokyo...or anywhere near here." Sei could tell that her younger friend was trying very hard to explain herself and so giving her the full attention she deserved, she sat up straighter. "Have you ever seen a battlefield where..." she stopped and then one side of her mouth twitched up, not in a smirk, but something more thoughtful, "there are no guns, or people shooting each other in the back. A respectable battlefield...something with..." Sei nodded her head; she now understood where Jo's thoughts were, "With swords. I see, Jo," Jo turned to her and she smiled at the younger girl, "That alternate dimension that you had been thrown into, would you like to visit someplace like that?" When Jo had explained what kind of place she had been trapped in some weeks ago, Sei couldn't help but feel that the girl held a certain fondness for the place. Back then, it had struck her as odd, Jo was so apathetic toward everything, and when she had talked about this place, that had sounded like it had come right out of a Musashi era motion picture with an inflected tone--and not her usual dry voice--it had made her and everyone else sitting at the table raise some questioning eyebrows. Now that she thought about it, it did make sense for Jo to take a liking to such a place. It was quiet, remote, meditative, honorable, and had battles that actually had challenged her. Sei, very much remembering the detailed depiction the rest of them had gotten on the quiet, lone swordsman who had drawn his sword at lighting speeds. "Jo, I could think of several places that would fit that description, but the one that comes to mind immediately would be Sekigahara." "Sekigahara?" Sei had to remember that just last year, Jo had come from New York and she wasn't so affluent in Japanese history. "Just think of it as the battlefield of all battlefields..." Sei didn't know any other way how to simplify it, without having to go through the complex war history of the Japanese people, that would surely have Jo at the end of her explanation pulling her guns on her. She just had to keep it short and sweet. Jo nodded her head, and Sei for good measure added, "It's in the Gifu prefecture...by the Alps Mountains, so if your expedition to the ultimate battlefield isn't satisfying," Jo didn't look too thrilled about that assumption as Sei noticed, so she quickly added, "Of course I doubt that, but just in case, they have one of the most famous hot spring towns in all of Japan. Meg will love it." "Which one?" Jo looked conflicted now, "The hot springs or the battlefield?" Sei avoiding Jo's direct stare, coughed in her palm, "Anyway, I've been thinking that we all need a vacation, and Gifu sounds perfect. I, of course will have to borrow more funds from my grandfather, but I don't think he will mind too much, considering you saved the organization face during the Black Lotus' coup." Jo shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly, and Sei could tell that the girl was still trying to figure out if Meg would like the idea. "Okay." Jo got up and walking toward the door without even a backwards glance was out the door and making her way to her room. Sei looked at the door for a couple of seconds, before she shook her head and switched off the lights to go to sleep. A/N: I had to write this weird chapter, sorry if it made some of you go WTF, but I had to. In response to the episodes where Jo gets stuck in that other world, because it was so weird how she was so talkative and interested in the place. Jo seems soooo apathetic and that can't be the case, she must like something other than watching badly produced horror flicks. The girl has layers to her and I thought this chapter would shed some light on that. I thought Jo would maybe like to visit a place like that in her time. I also have this secret wish to see Jo in a hakama and hoppi coat, Rurouni Kenshin style. I mean, c'mon she looks great in athletic ware, she looks badass in cowboy pants. Who wouldn't want to see Jo in a Samurai get-up? Oh yeah, and the timeline for this fic is also kind of weird, I obviously place it some weeks after the run in with Maria, although Jo doesn't know anything about her here, because that's a whole different story that I don't think I have the mental capacity to write about that.
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