"Purgatory"
By: Krys Bear
e-mail: krysstrife@hotmail.com

Rated: (R)

Note: This story depics two girls in love (Makoto and Minako). If you have a problem with that please evolve.

Disclaimer: The Sailor Moon characters are not mine. I'm just using them for my own romantic pleasure. I promise I'll put them back as soon as I'm done with them.

Purgatory - The realm between heaven and hell where the soul awaits judgement.

Part 1

The dreams still haunt me, only now, I'm living them while I'm awake as well as asleep. It's been a week since Minako walked out on me, leaving her cryptic words, and ever since, I've been plagued by a past I can not yet fully understand.

My name is Kino Makoto, and right now, I am a shadow of my former self.

I don't remember the last time I ate, and I've barely managed to sleep. It's like a floodgate has opened in my mind, and I can't control it. When it wants to wash the here and now me away, I'm swept up into a time and place I'd forgotten up until now. No matter what time of day, no matter where I am. So until this has run its course, I refuse to leave my apartment. I let my answering machine pick up my phone calls. I've closed all my blinds, and shut out any daylight that may come in. I have no need to know if its dawn or dusk until this is all over.

I'm a little bit concerned, this is like nothing that has happened to me before. I'm sure that it takes a lot out of the mind to reveal such vivid memories, but that's the mind. Physically, I feel as weak as a day old kitten as well. I don't like feeling this way, I pride myself on my strength. But I just can't seem to get a secure hold on myself. If only Ami was still here..

Ami!

Clumsily, I turned over and looked at the clock I keep on my bedside table. It was far too late to call her in Germany now. She has tests nearly every day, and couldn't afford to lose any of the sleep she had a chance to get. But if anyone could give me some insight into this, it would be her. Well, there was more than one way to get in touch someone these days.

For the first time in about twelve hours, I dragged myself out of bed and made my way over my computer. I opened my Eudora e-mail program, and searched through my address book. "Ami...Ami...come on, I know you're in here somewhere...Mizuno, Ami. There!" I double clicked her address, and rubbed my eyes. Then I composed a short e-mail.

Dear Ami,

Hey, how's it going in the land of chocolate? I'm sorry I haven't been in touch lately, but a lot's been going on back here. I'm a little messed up right now, in more ways than one, so I'm going to get right to the point. For the last week, I've had a complete memory overload. I know when you left, none of us had any real recollection of our existances in the Silver Millenium. Well, I'm suddenly remembering everything now, and I don't know how to stop it. I'm freaked out that I'm gonna zone off in public if I leave my house. Let me know if there's anything I can do.

Mako-chan.

Wincing, I clicked the send button. My hands were starting to shake on the mouse, and I knew I was in trouble again. Gritting my teeth, I pulled myself to my feet and made my way back to my futon. My vision was starting to blur. For a moment I didn't know if I would make it back in time before it happened again. But I must have, because the last coherent thought I can remember having was 'damn, I missed the pillow.'

There's noise downstairs, and although I can hear it, it really doesn't register. It's all fading into the back of my mind as I pull the slight woman before me into my arms. I lean down and kiss her neck, breathing in the sweet scent of her long blond hair as I do. I feel her pulse racing beneath my lips, and it sends a shiver through me. Swallowing hard, I manage to whisper a quiet 'I love you', before I claim her lips in a heated kiss. She wraps her slender arms around my neck, meeting me. It's the most intense kiss I've ever experienced in my life. When we finally break apart, her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are heavy lidded. I've never seen her look so entirely erotic before, and in that moment I knew the true meaning of the word lust.

Barely restraining myself, I met her gaze and hear myself ask a question that really doesn't need to be asked. 'Are you sure?' As much as I wanted her, I would never push her. I had to be positive that this was something she wanted as much as me.

Her lips curve in a sultry smile as she traces her fingertip along my jawline. In one smooth motion, she shrugs the thin straps of her silk gown off of her shoulders, and it glides to the floor. I need no further invitation.

Lack of circulation to my left arm brought me painfully back to conciousness. "Fuck." Groggily I sat up and shook it out. "The one time I was enjoying this goddam curse!" Scowling, I turned to check the time once again. Unbelievably, I'd been out for nearly five hours.

"I'm wasting my life away." I sighed and shook my head. At first I thought this would be over within a few days, at the most. But now I couldn't see an end in sight. It would be one thing if I could afford this forced vacation, but I couldn't. I had a restaurant to open. Investors to show paperwork to. Contracts to sign. A location to choose. Equipment to purchase.

And then, there was still Minako...

This couldn't go on. If I was going to pass out somewhere on the street, then so be it. With a strength born of determination, I threw my blankets aside and stepped out of bed. Angrily, I opened my blinds, blinking at the sudden brightness of a sun that has been foreign to me for days. It was time to live again. It was ten a.m. If I kept my act together, I could be showered and dressed like a productive human being within an hour.

I have a whole day ahead of me. Maybe, if I'm lucky, Minako will be a part of it.

Authors Notes: As you've probably noticed, Purgatory has a darker, more mature feel to it than my previous work. Also, it is told in Makoto's first person perspective. These two things throw it way off from it's predecessor, A Time and Place for Everything. But I have a good reason for this. A Time and Place for Everything dealt more in the past than the present. For the most part, it was dealing with Minako and Makoto as young children. And everyone knows life as a child is much different than life as an adult. In Purgatory, I'm bringing us back into the present, into the world of an adult. Therefore, I can't keep the fic lighthearted and innocent. Because at the age of nineteen, most of us just aren't like that anymore.

I understand how this may put some readers off, but the only advice I can give is do not read any more of this fic if it offends you in any way, or you just don't like the style of it. It's not going to change any time soon. For those of you who were hoping to find a more mature fic on M&M, I hope this fic will fit the bill. It's you I'm writing for this time.