Rating: PG-13

Sailor Moon: Stories of Life


Makoto


	It had been five years. Five long years since Galaxia had been 
defeated. The supernatural evil occurrences had stopped. 
	
	And the Sailor Senshi were no more.
	
	After Galaxia's defeat, the Senshi had drifted apart. Now all were 
living their own lives. Makoto sighed "And what a life I'm living." She was 
probably the worst off of the group. After high school, she hadn't gone to 
college. Now, at the age of 21, life felt like hell.
	
	Usagi was in the university now. Her grades had improved over the
years but she hadn't changed a lot other than that. Makoto wasn't seeing
much of her these days. She and Mamoru had gotten engaged six months ago. 
They were going to get married after Usagi graduated. Mamoru now had a 
steady job and could support them both. And if Papa Kenji wasn't pleased 
with that, well...
	
	Ami had gone to Germany after high school, studying to become a 
doctor as had always been her ambition. It had been three years since Makoto 
had last seen her, and Ami had lost contact with them. She had called only 
once, about a year after she had left. Ami wasn't happy. She liked studying 
and all, but the loneliness was getting to her. She couldn't write either. 
"Sorry Makoto, just so busy, and well, I just can't find time I hope you 
don't mind..."
	
	"Oh it's okay." Even though I would kill for just one word to show
that somebody remembered me, it's okay. 
	
	Rei hadn't gone to university. Instead, she was taking care of the
temple as had been her grandpa's last wish. Chad was still living with her,
and they did have a relationship, but it wasn't serious. Rei didn't want to
have any responsibilities towards Chad. He played along. So one night, they
would sleep together, and the next, Rei would be out dancing with another 
guy while Chad would take home one of his numerous admirers. Lead guitarist 
to the famous nightclub singer Rei Hino was bound to have some, after all. 
They lived a dirty life. Chad and Rei each had slept with at least twenty 
different people. It didn't matter to either of them. They were happy with 
their lives. Rei was still friends with Usagi. "At least she sees her more 
often than me," Makoto thought.
	
	Minako had taken up modeling and was going to college at the same 
time. She, Usagi and Rei were usually together now. Tokyo was excited anew 
with the reappearence of Sailor V, fighting drug dealers, robbers and 
murderers all over the city. Those still existed. Chaos had been stopped. 
People were still the same. Tokyo was far from the utopia they had seen 
years ago, in Crystal Tokyo. Mako snorted. "This place is gonna become 
Crystal Tokyo, what with all these slums around? Yeah right."
	
	Makoto herself was having trouble with her life. With no parents to
support her, she couldn't afford college. Her attempt to open a restaurant
had failed because she couldn't find enough money. Life sucked. Now she was 
working in a hotel while trying to save enough to have her own restaurant. 
Her only blessings were that the apartment she lived in was hers and the 
second-hand car Minako, Rei and Usagi had gotten her as a joint birthday 
present, back in the days when they were still close friends.
	
	And then there were the outer senshi. Hotaru was in high school; and 
while not thrilled at the prospect (this was, after all, her second time), 
she seemed happy enough to be able to live with her father again. Makoto
didn't see her often. The palor of her face was gone, but Hotaru was still 
the same girl that she had met six years ago.
	
	Setsuna had left soon after the Sailor Starlights to stand guard 
again over the timeline. Her duty hadn't ended. "It must be terrible."
	
	Haruka and Michiru- Oh damn. She still thought of them together. It 
was never "Haruka is", it was always "Haruka and Michiru are." Or rather, 
were. Because Haruka had....
	
	Haruka had died. There. It was getting easier every time. She was 
going to race in her first national event. They had all gone to see her, so 
proud,so excited. She had been doing so well in the first few rounds. Then 
the car skidded and crashed into the side of the track. Doctors had reported 
it had been sudden, no pain. Didn't matter. Haruka could have endured it. A 
single tear made its way down Makoto's cheek. They had been the two toughest 
senshi, but Haruka was clearly a better fighter; so Makoto had asked if she 
could give her some tips. The countless training sessions, very early in the 
morning when no one was awake; with no one to witness them apart from Luna. 
	
	Makoto didn't know anything about Luna these days. Usagi was safe and 
happy. That was good. Luna had fulfilled her mission. She still stayed at 
the Tsukino's, jumping on every chance to scold Usagi, and on a more serious 
tone, just watch over her and be a friend to her; as she had always been. 
Sometimes the Lunar cat would take off at night and come to visit her, just 
see how she was doing. Maybe she did that to the others too. Makoto wouldn't 
know. She suspected that Luna spent a few of these nights with Artemis. The 
two were each other's greatest comfort after Haruka's death. Makoto 
remembered the funeral. They had all been there. Even Ami had come. And 
Setsuna. Now that she thought of it, Setsuna had been at the race too, 
looking very sad. Had she known? Probably.
	
	Following Haruka's death, Michiru had fallen into depression and run
away. They had found her two days later in a particularly bad part of town,
drunk and delirious. She had recovered quickly and thrown herself into her
music and painting with vigor. Makoto marveled at her creativity. Michiru 
had become a famous violonist in two years. Articles appeared in the 
newspapers about the lovely young Japanese violonist who had played at 
Carnegie Hall.
	
	"God, I'm nostalgic today." She wished she could go back to the old
days, when the biggest worry of her life had been finding a boyfriend. Now 
she had to work for money, because the rich uncle that had supported her 
since her parents passed away had died two years ago. She murmured a prayer 
for the kind-hearted man. Her friends weren't there for her anymore. And then 
there were the times when she had still had parents. "Oh Mama, Papa, why did 
you have to leave me so early?" But there was also another past, memories of 
Jupiter: Playing in a Jovian forest full of the oak trees she had liked so 
much. Oak was the only terran tree that could stand the poisonous gassy 
atmosphere. Humans could live all over the planet as the atmosphere had 
been adjusted for them at the beginning of the Silver Millenium, nobody knew 
how. Then, one day, she had had to leave the rich forests and the colorful 
sky (made so by the swirling gas clouds) for a place where everything was a 
silvery blue and where it was always dark, because the rays of the sun 
couldn't penetrate the magical atmosphere maintained by the Silver Crystal. 
The Moon was hundreds of times smaller than her home planet, and almost half 
of it was covered by Mare Serenitas, the Sea of Serenity. She had longed for 
the great wide plains and the vast forests, so abundant with life. In the 
palace, people thought they were living an utopia, and the area around the 
palace had been developed as well, but just a few miles away, some people 
were struggling to live. Most of the ordinary people were fishermen. The 
fish were exported to crowded planets like Jupiter. The Moon didn't have 
much in the way of foodstuffs, only a few exotic fruits and vegetables. 
Cereals couldn't be cultivated because the soil wasn't suitable. A typical 
Lunar meal consisted of fish, a salad and fruit. She had been very surprised 
to find out that Serenity had never eaten bread in her life.
	
	A sign from her stomach broke the long train of thought. She was 
hungry.
	
	Getting up from the old couch, she made her way to the small kitchen. Damn.
There was nothing in the fridge. She didn't feel like going out and shopping,
she didn't have enough money anyway. "I'm gonna starve until I get my 
paycheck.What do I do now?" Absently moving around the kitchen she spotted 
her old lunchbox, the one that Usagi had found pretty the day they had met. 
"Hey, maybe I could go over to Usagi's, she's bound to offer me something to 
eat." The selfishness of the thought scared her, but she got in her car and 
was on the road in five minutes.
	
	It was a beautiful night, but the skyscrapers made it difficult to
notice anything. Then Makoto turned the car onto a wide, empty road, and the
beauty of the scene made her gasp. There weren't many buildings near the 
road, and the end of it wasn't visible from where she was. The white light 
from the street lamps eerily lit up the street. A beam of moonlight fell onto 
a dark space between two lamp posts. The snow that had started a few hours 
ago was beginning to accumulate on the road, a beautiful contrast to the 
blackish gray of the asphalt. All thoughts of hunger and Usagi forgotten, 
Makoto stopped the car and got out. She stood for a few moments, the snow 
cold on her face, before she noticed the boy, watching her warily from 
behind a tree. He looked about twelve years old. "Come on up, I won't hurt 
you." He advanced, still wary. When he came close enough for her to be able 
to see clearly, Makoto was startled by his resemblance to Ken. 
	
	Ken. She hadn't seen him much after that terrible day at the park
where Freddy had dumped her. "Oh Freddy," she thought. She had liked him so
much, even after he had raped her. Or maybe it hadn't been a rape. She had
given in to him because he was stronger and could hurt her. "And I thought he
liked me. Then he just threw me away like a rag!" Makoto had told the story 
to Usagi on her insistence, when they were fifteen. Usagi had been horrified, 
andboth Mamoru and Rei had been very angry with her. She still remembered 
Mamoru's words: "How could you tell her such a thing? She was so innocent! 
You-you- do you know what she does? She comes up to me and asks... asks... 
oh you bitch!" Why was he mad at me? It's not as if it was my fault! She 
asked me to tell her!
	
	Makoto turned her attention back to the boy. He was skinny, but also
looked tough. Strong. Come to think of it, he looked a bit like her too. Not
physically, but the expression on his face: Wary, tired, angry, yet afraid.
She had had the same expression before she became a senshi, and she had it 
nowadays too.
 	
	"What's your name?" Makoto noticed his clothes. Jeans, tattered 
running shoes, and a big jacket that probably couldn't keep the cold away 
from his body. His hair was uncombed, messy brown bangs falling onto his 
forehead, nearly covering his brown eyes.	
	
	"What do you care?"
	
	"Just askin'. You don't have to tell it to me if you don't want to."
	
	No answer. 
	
	"Where do you live?" The snow was falling onto his head, slowly 
soaking his hair. She was partially shielded from it by the braod branches of 
a tree, but if he stood out there for too long he was gonna get sick. 
	
	"Are you hungry?" Probably wouldn't answer that either.
	
	"I am." Maybe he would talk now.
	
	"Me too." At last. She was starting to feel more at ease. He reminded
her of her old self so much. Trying to look tough so that people wouldn't 
bully you. Avoiding to talk, to admit weakness or give away something they 
could use against you. She knew it all. Makoto didn't know why she was trying 
to get this homeless kid to talk, but she remembered a time when an old lady 
had given her some food out of pity. It had made her feel warm inside. Her 
rich uncle had sent her money each month, but it was never enough. Either you 
work, or you beg, or you steal. It's not a good life buddy, believe me, I 
know. She ended the mental conversation and looked at him again. Kindness was 
not going to work. She had to act like she was in the same situation as him.
	
	"Didn't have no food left, so I was gonna drive over to a buddy of 
mine and pray to god she'd gimme something. But I think I lost my way." 
She took out a couple of bills. "Do you have money?" He nodded his head and 
produced a couple of bills. Not much. But combined with what she had, maybe 
they could buy something.
	
	"Let's go split a burger?"
	
	"Why?"
	
	"What?"
	
	"Why do you wanna eat with me?" Blunt. Not that either of them cared.
	
	'I don't. I'm just hungry," Mako answered. It was a lie, but he 
seemed to believe it. Turning around, he walked into a narrow alley she 
hadn't seen before. Suddenly, the beauty of the other road was replaced by 
an ugly sight. The snow here had already turned to slush. Old buildings with 
their paint chipped and windows broken lined both sides of the alley. 
Through a partially open door she saw a couple making out. A man slumped 
against a house, a bottle in his hand. The shrill voice of a woman shrieked 
something at another.
	
	"Is this where you live?" The boy nodded and indicated a small 
building to their left. It looked like a warehouse. 
	
	"Can I enter?" Shrug. If you wish. All she could see in the darkness
was a couple of blankets and a backpack. Mako shuddered.
	
	"Let's go. I'm starving."
	
	The boy led her towards the end of the alley. Makoto spotted a woman
that leaned against a doorway. She'd put her age about thirty five. All her
clothing consisted of a minidress and a thin jacket. She was shivering in the
cold. The boy waved at her and she gave him a sad smile. Her eyes lingered on
Makoto for a second but then a man that seemed very out of place in the dirty
alley approached her. Makoto watched them talk briefly and then leave, the 
man dirtily eyeing the woman's body.
	
	The boy stopped in front of an all-night place. As they entered, the 
fat man at the counter addressed her companion.
	
	"Hey kid. Bad weather, eh?" The boy seemed to know him. Makoto took 
out the few bills left in her pocket and tossed them onto the counter. Adding 
on his own money, the boy asked for two burgers and a big glass of Coke. 
Makoto took her dinner and headed over to a booth. He hesitated for a moment, 
then joined her. They ate silently. Makoto wanted to talk with the boy, but 
he probably wouldn't answer any of her questions. He ate slowly, and chewed a 
bite for a long time, as if the food would last longer that way.
	
	"How old are you?"
	
	"Twelve." Younger than she had been. 
	
	"I'm twenty one." Silence.
	
	"I don't have any parents either." Involuntarily, his head jerked up,
and she could practically see him scolding himself for showing interest.
	
	"They died in a plane crash. I was eleven." His hand trembled when he
lifted his eyes to look at her and she could see his fear as he asked his
question.
	
	"Does it still hurt?"
	
	"Yep. Sorry kiddo. What happened to yours?"
	
	"Papa ran out on us. Some jerks beat Mom to death." Makoto gasped in
disbelief, then quickly changed the subject.
	
	"Did you go to school?"
	
	"Four years. It's no use, anyway." Makoto thought he was right. This
boy knew how to read or not, what difference did it make? Whoever said power
comes from knowledge had a loose screw. A quick glance at her watch told her
it was 1:30 AM. "Oh no! I have to go to work tomorrow!" Outloud, she said:
	
	"Hey kiddo, I really should be heading back."
	
	"I haven't finished yet." He didn't want her to leave, but he would
rather starve than show it. 
	
	"I'll see you around maybe." With that, she turned to leave. It took 
her a while to find her way back to her car. As she came out of the first 
alley he had led her into, she found herself faced yet again with the wide 
road, still just as beautiful. It was as if the alley was a passageway from 
the rich part of town to the poor. As if she had walked from one world into a 
totally different one. Makoto wondered what was at the end of the road, for 
it wasn't visible from where she stood, all she could see was the black 
stretching on and on. 
	
	The weather was getting colder. Makoto shivered and pulled her 
leather jacket close around her body. She let down her ponytail to cover her 
ears. Her hair had gotten longer over the years, so she had abandoned the 
high ponytail and settled for tying it at her neck. Now, the soft locks 
surrounded her face, blowing in the wind and occasionally blocking her view. 
Glancing back one last time to the street, Makoto got back in the car and 
started driving home.

			*   *   *   *   *

Author's Notes: (Hey, that sounds so professional!)
This was a weird one. I don't know how I came up with it, and I know 
that it's not very good. I'm craving criticism, so please mail me at 
breaker@technologist.com and tell me what you think.

One more thing. I know Ken's Japanese name, I just don't like it.