Dark as Night - prelude
By Birdysj
Standard Disclaimer applies. I do not, have not and will not ever own anything
that even remotely has to do with Sailor Moon. You all know who does, so we'll
leave it at that.
birdysj@bolt.com


	There was a definite chill in the air tonight, Makoto thought as she pulled her
jacket closer to her. It was typical weather for the beginning of April, and for
being about 3:30 in the morning. She had just gotten off work at the bar where
she had been tending bar for about the last three years.  She was, by now use to
the late nights. As she walked past the storefronts and alleyways she looked up
to the brilliant night sky. It amazed her that the pollution of Tokyo had not
clouded over the multitudes of stars.  The night sky and the ideas of outer
space that it held always reminded her of the girls. As she searched the sky she
became reminiscent of her past and how she had grown so far apart from her
friends whom she had once held so dear to her. So dear that she had died for
them, a few times.
	First there was Ami. Dear sweet, smart Ami who dreamed of becoming a great
doctor. Well, she had gotten her wish, and now was working around the clock at
Tokyo General as the emergency pediatric surgeon. Last Makoto had heard, Ami had
become a work-a-holic who shied away from outsiders. She had been so shy in
school, apparently it had only gotten worse. She now shunned all opportunity for
a social life, totally dedicating herself to her job and working herself ragged
in the process.
	Then came Rei. The priestess had been always described as mysterious, but ever
since the death of her grandfather about four years ago, she had become a
recluse. She never left the temple and rarely allowed visitors in. The girls had
stopped trying to visit her about a year after the death. She would not
communicate with them, just remained shut in her own silent world. Now children
would walk by the temple and whisper about the witch that lives at the top of
the hill with her birds.
	Next was Minako. She had always had stars in her eyes and dreamed on becoming
famous. Well, she had gotten her wish but didn't realize the flip side to that
coin until is was too late. Under the pressure of various influences, she had
succumbed to the dark world of anorexia and drugs, cocaine specifically, if
Makoto recalled correctly.  'My sister', she thought to herself. The model and
fledgling actress would soon be dead before she ever got her big break.
	Finally, there was their princess, Usagi. The girl had all her dreams come
true. She and Mamoru had married last June. Makoto had not been invited. Usagi
would have been mortified for her to show up at the wedding flying high or even
worse, coming down.  But as for the Chiba's, their little world was perfect.
Chibi-usa would probably be coming soon and then the big, wonderful world of
Crystal Tokyo. Makoto could hardly wait. Then they could officially kick her off
the Sailor Team. Not that there had been a team in the last five years or so.
	Everyone had let their circumstances take control of them, but not her. Oh, no.
She was responsible for every choice in her life. Most of them had been
mistakes, but it was too late to think of that now. She must suffer her
punishment. Punishment for who she was, where she worked, what she drank, smoked
and all the people who had crossed her path. The punishment for being born,
maybe. The punishment for being alive definitely.
	'Where did we go wrong?' thought Makoto to her self as she climbed the stairs
to her loft. 'Not that it matters, they don't need me and I don't need them. I'm
fine by myself.'
	From the archway that outlined the door, a large black crow flew into the
night, startling Makoto. She watched it fly away in to the dark city. Something
sparked in her memory but before she could grasp it, it was gone and the pain of
her life was back.
As she entered the warehouse loft she had called an apartment for the past four
years, she need something to easy the pain, to make all the bad memories go
away.
	She tightened the belt around her arm as the powder heated in the spoon over
the candle. A painful look darted across her face as the needle plunged into her
vein. Then everything went black. She had peace.


Author's notes: Real quick, most of the drug using scenes are coming from what
I've learned by reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh.