Here's a first season fic for you. Hope you like it. Standard disclaimers apply. Aimee-chan Sailor_moon89@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/moonlit_eclipse/ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Numb By Aimee Part One The day was cold and without light. Winter winds blew steadily from the northwest, stripping trees of their foliage and driving a bitter chill into the bones of all who inhaled the frigid air. The gray sky was flat and low on the land. Mist like tears filled the air, laying a light sheet of moisture on the empty street corner that Chiba Mamoru came to a standstill at. His eyes were dim and gray, like the sky--empty and cold. His hands and face were numb, but his heart was far from deadened. How he wished his heart could not feel sensations at that moment, for it was bleeding with overpowering sentiment--with pain he did not understand. He felt alone. Empty. Friendless. Peerless. But he'd been so all his life. Why was the pain suddenly registering with such intensity? His head hung low as he gripped a nearby light-post for support, his weak grasp on reality slipping away bit by bit. Thunder rumbled lowly in the distance, echoing loudly his mind as he rested his forehead against the cold steel post. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Tsukino Usagi's hand stopped writing in mid sentence as she blinked unwittingly at the wall of her bedroom, her unblinking gray eyes not focused on what lay before them. She saw nothing but a thick haze. She felt...strange. Cold. Numb. Something was wrong. A labored breath eased out of her chest slowly as she brought a shaky hand to take up residence over her heart...but she felt nothing. Her hands were without sensation--deadened and useless. Her eyes clamped shut as the dull pain in her heart registered. The pain slowly began to crescendo. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Mamoru's jaw was clenched tight as he forced his eyes open. His vision swam endlessly before him. He saw nothing...felt nothing. Only pain...and numbness. But how could the two sensations co-exist? Somehow they did...somehow they found a way...and it was eating him alive. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The soft cry of alarm issued from Usagi's pale lips as her vision began to blur. Her unblinking eyes grew wider. What in God's name was the matter? What was the driving sense of alarm and helplessness that was screaming in her veins? 'An enemy, perhaps?' she wondered, a pale hand drifting to clutch the broach on her school uniform. 'No...it's something else...' *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The air outside on the wet streets of North Japan was cold and damp...almost as damp as the eyes of Mamoru...but not quite. He emptily gazed at the buildings around him, but he hardly saw them anymore. Still, somehow he made out the red, blinking words on a store front before him. A prescription drug store. Beer. Wine. Ice. Drugs. He stumbled inside, away from the cold street. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Usagi was running now. But what she was running from still remained a mystery to her. There was someone out there who needed her... needed something that she could give...something that his heart was pleading and screaming for. That something drove Usagi on, her legs pumping wildly...with purpose...towards...him. Whoever he was. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ He went straight for the alcohol aisle. Never mind the fact that he was only 19-years- old. The thought never occurred to him as his hands grasped a large bottle of whiskey. All he was thinking about was if it would be enough to kill the pain. The checkout person took one look at Mamoru's face and didn't bother to card him. Poor kid looked like he needed a drink. "Will that be all, sir?" she asked in a tired voice. Mamoru's eyes were fixed on a bottle of painkillers near the checkout counter. It was large. 200 pills inside. 500 mgs each. That should be enough. "I'll take these, too." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Streets shrouded in darkness and mist rushed by as Usagi tore down the wet streets. Her muscles burned, and her heart felt like it was about to explode. She didn't know where she was going...but at the same time, she did. If only he would wait for her... *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Mamoru calmly entered his apartment, leaving the keys in the door, not even bothering to shut it all the way. It didn't matter anyway. He could care less. He abandoned his overcoat at the foot of the doorway, kicking it to the side. He reached inside the bag greedily and took out the bottle of painkillers. The lid was off in seconds. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Don't do it..." she pleaded, sobbing quietly as she ran down the darkened streets. "Please..." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ He blinked unwittingly. What was that he heard? He gazed around his apartment, alarmed at the thought of anyone watching him...feeling ashamed of his weakness. But no one was there. Upon bringing his gaze back to the white bottle, filled with pills that could ease him away from his miserable life, he paused. Eyes closing so slowly, it pained him, Mamoru's shaky hands set down the bottle on the coffee table before him. Eyes still fixed on the container, he reached for the whiskey, seating himself upon the couch as he took a long drink. It did little to numb the pain. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Usagi willed the elevator to hurry, pacing back and forth with worry and anxiety she did not understand. "Fourth floor...fourth floor..." How did she *know* it was the fourth floor she had to go to? How?! The elevator came to a standstill, and Usagi practically squeezed her way through the doors before they could open completely. "Which door...?" she whispered through tears she didn't realize she was shedding. Eyes closed, she turned right, her hand coming to rest upon a partially open door. Willing her eyes to open, she gazed blankly at the tenant's name that was posted upon the door. Chiba Mamoru. Mamoru-san...? *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Mamoru lowered the whiskey bottle from his lips, swallowing painfully. Someone was there. He knew that she was coming to him, whoever she was. He could feel her. He turned, bringing dull, empty eyes to gaze at the door. There was something he wanted to ask her. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ She felt his eyes on her before she even saw him. Standing still in the doorway, she met his gaze...a gaze which scared the living daylights out of her. It gripped helplessly. She couldn't have looked away if she tried. His voice didn't so much as waiver as he spoke with quiet words that sent a feeling of complete dread through her veins. "You asked me not to do it. So give me one reason why I shouldn't." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ To be continued. E-mail good. Aimee like e-mail. ^_~ Sailor_moon89@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/moonlit_eclipse/