Dear Diary-chan, Again, it was him I first thought of this morning... Those bright green cat's eyes, that slightly strange smile that he rarely shows, that incredibly sexy voice that is SUCH a turn on... The girls would all think I'm nuts, because, after all, it's been a whole year and they're all over the boys, but STILL... Still I think that maybe, JUST MAYBE, I'll see him again. And maybe, even though he was kind of a jerk the couple times I was able to be alone with him, he'd think of me the way I thought of him. And maybe... Aw, who am I kidding? -Minako- ------------------ What Happens Next? By Kate B ------------------ Rays of warm, pure sunlight washed over her face as she laid back in the thick, green grass of summer. How long had it been since she'd seen a real summer, at home, when everything was perfect? Not since they'd come home. Not since they'd left those they'd loved. Not since she'd said goodbye to Mi-- "There you go again, Healer, just lounging around," chided a deep voice, and the silver-haired woman opened a single eye. It was green, sparkling almost golden in the sunlight, and was slanted just enough to give the woman a feline appearance. Before her was another woman, taller and more wise-looking, with thin-rimmed glasses and a...well- defined...forehead. Auburn tresses, free of their normal hairband, cascaded down her back and onto the grass. And she was smiling. Sailor Star Healer groaned and rolled onto her side, taking her face from the precious sunlight. She was suddenly very cold, even shivering, and it was an uneasy feeling. It reminded her of when that golden-haired maiden had finally lost sight of the three fleeting shooting stars... "Aw, come off it, Maker," she retorted coolly, closing said eye. "I was just trying to nap." She smiled slightly. "You should try a form of relaxation that DOESN'T involve a thick book." The auburn-haired Starlight rolled her eyes, settling into the grass beside her companion. In the distance was the elaborate, red-walled palace of their Princess, Kakyuu... The bright summer light glinted off the unique stone and cast a strange, surreal glare over the land, illuminating the hills and valleys of their vast planet. Just like that distant rural place, Earth. "You miss them, don't you?" she asked, glancing down at the silver-haired one. Healer was wearing a plain green-gray gown, not an uncommon occurrence, and she could see the smaller woman shiver involuntarily at the question. She smiled knowingly, reaching over to rest a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's been almost a year, Healer, and you should just realize that--" "Like you don't miss them too!" shot the other senshi, sitting up quickly and brushing the hand away. "Like you don't miss the reassuring smile of Sailor Moon or the gentle laughter of Sailor Mercury or--" Maker sighed and interjected, "--the awe-inspiring beauty of Sailor Venus." Her friend and companion looked suddenly hurt and surprised at the same time, and she resisted the urge to smirk. "It's all about Minako, isn't it?" The other turned her back, unwilling to respond. "You miss being called 'Yaten-kun' and you miss having someone to snap at and--" Turning unexpectedly on Sailor Star Maker, the smaller and most effeminate of the Sailor Starlights glowered at the bigger woman, her tiny cat's eyes glaring unforgivingly. "And don't you miss having someone other than me to torture?" she shot, irritated. "Doesn't Fighter miss his odango and don't you miss Ami?" She stood quickly, her small fists clenched tightly as she turned her back on the palace of Kakyuu. "Dammit, I even miss that jerk Haruka and her comments about all of being rotten! I just miss the Earth!" Then, without another word on the subject, she stomped a single foot and stormed off toward the castle, never so much as turning back to see what expression her friend wore. She didn't want to turn back. Or else Maker would have seen her tears. -- Diary, It's not that I love him, it's really not that. I could never really love him, not after how much he's hurt each of us separately, but... If he came back, and if I actually had to SEE him again, and if he were nice... Oh, Diary, if he even said one little 'gomen' under his breath, even that, THEN I could love him! However, I don't dare tell the others. Why? Because, well, you KNOW the girls... -- "Flying off to the moon again?" asked a sweet voice, catching her off guard. The young woman--she wasn't a girl anymore, she was a young woman, and she had the feminine wilds to prove it--jumped a mile into the air. Before the prying emerald eyes could even attempt to decode her jumbled kanji she was slamming the blue-covered Diary shut and shoving it under her pillow. Tsukino Usagi, the Princess of the Moon and future queen of the Earth, smirked questioningly, as though she'd just witnessed her friend tramping about with a strange boy. "Ne, Minako-chan, what's THAT?" she inquired sweetly, hands crossed in her lap. Fiddling with the hem of her nightgown, the other present blonde feigned as much innocence as she could, what with a bright red face and all. "What's what?" she managed to choke out, her blue eyes slowly shutting. "That thing you were writing in," supplied Kino Makoto, cocking her head to one side as she watched her friend's posterior land pointedly on the pillow. "You know... Blue cover, full of paper, sorta like a--" "Diary or something," smiled Hino Rei, also eyeing the said pillow. "Why were you so afraid we'd read what you were writing, Minako-chan?" Minako swallowed the lump that was building in her throat, slowly clenching and unclenching her fists. Already, she could feel her left eyebrow begin to twitch, and it wouldn't be long before... "Iie, Rei-chan, it's NOTHING," she assured the raven-haired one, stressing the last word with all her strength as she shot a meaningful look at the last girl, the one with the short-cropped blue hair. "Ne, Ami- chan, PLEASE remind the girls how very rude it is to pry into others personal lives." The navy eyes were focused on the pillow. "Onegai, Ami-chan?" Or rather, the little corner of blue that was peeking out from UNDER that same pillow. "AMI!" The genius of the bunch snapped back to animation, wearing a sweet 'who, me?' expression that declared complete and total innocence. "Ano, Minako-chan, what WERE you writing?" she asked softly, her face turning a bit red as she croaked out the words. "In all honesty, I'm a bit on the curious side..." And with those words, that quiet statement of approval, four girls pounced upon Aino Minako. -- "Don't you worry about her?" questioned Princess Kakyuu, watching a very angry Sailor Star Healer storm down the main corridor of her palace. Her companion, a young woman with black hair, dressed in the battle garb of a Sailor Starlight, raised an eyebrow. "Who?" she inquired, looking away from the large picture window and turning to her princess. "Healer?" Her only response was a silent nod from the red-haired ruler. With a shrug, Sailor Star Fighter leaned against the wall, dark cobalt eyes once again glancing out at the hills and valleys of their planet. Everything was a lush color of green, the grasses and trees seeming to dance and twirl in a soft summer breeze. She sighed slightly, a wistful smile crossing her lips. She could, after all, recall the similar, if less vibrant, beauty of a Tokyo summer... "I worry about all of us," she responded, eyes half-covered by heavy lids. "I worry that we'll never be able to go back to our old lives after what we went through..." She nodded toward the bright blue sky, in which a single bright pin-prick of a star could be seen. Even though it was midday, and the sun was shining with all its might, the single star still tore through the bright blue skyscape, a beacon of sorts. "...up there, I mean." Princess Kakyuu smiled slightly, but it was a sad, wistful smile. "She misses those girls, doesn't she?" Fighter just nodded. -- Diary-koishi, I could just cry! I could cry and cry until all my tears run out. I know it won't do me the least bit of good, but I could anyway! Today, Yaten-kun and the other Starlights left us to go back to their home. They took with them their beautiful message, their wonderful Princess, and mostly... And mostly my hopes and dreams. I never got a chance to tell him how much I loved him, dear Diary! I tried and tried and the words just never came out! Even Seiya had the bravery, the courage, or perhaps the fool-heartedness to tell Usagi-chan how he felt. And I... I ran tail-between-legs from my chance, and now I'm crying. The girls knew something was wrong right before I started home, and of course I told them I was fine. I couldn't very well tell them the truth! And now... I wish they would have taken me with them, Diary! -Minako- -- She grimaced and waited for the first verbal blows to rain upon her. After all, they'd flipped to that one, certain page, and... Usagi was the first to look up from the blue book, carefully chewing on her lower lip as she met the azure eyes of her friend with eyes of the roughly same color. No words were said, not even as the other girls all glanced up from the book and joined their princess in the slight staring contest. Rei, ever kind-hearted underneath all that fieriness, handed back the book, its cover still open to one tear-stained page. "Gomen ne, Minako," she whispered, hardly moving. "We never knew." -- D, They'll never know. I'll never be able to tell them. And it's been two days, and I still feel horrible. -M- -- She kicked the leg of her bed, the clunk of her foot against wood echoing through her private chambers. Why was it always her? Why was she always the one who felt all the pain and sorrow as the others just lounged about? Because she could, she chided herself, collapsing onto the thick mattresses of her canopy bed, almost crying...but not quite. Why? Why had she been cursed enough to fall in love while they had been trapped on Earth? Certainly, she was the weakest, the most timid of heart of the three of them. Or else she wouldn't have fallen so hard for someone she couldn't have... There was a rap at the door, light and in an ever-familiar pattern, and she found herself clenching green cat's eyes shut, not particularly wanting to see the face of her friend. They always picked the worst times... "Healer," came the low, almost-masculine voice of the first of the Three Lights through the door, "I know you probably want to be alone, but..." The pause as Fighter trailed off was almost painful. She growled slightly. "WHAT?" she snapped in annoyance, sitting up on her elbows and staring out window, instead of toward the doorway. A sigh. "Never mind..." grumbled the black-haired senshi from the other side of the door, and she could hear footfalls as they echoed down the hall. Leaning back into the billowy softness of her bed, Sailor Star Healer found herself wishing, not for the first time, that she had never gone to the Earth. -- Diary, After reading through some of my past entries, I'm starting to worry. After all, it's an obsession, isn't it? To worry about something that destiny did not ordain, to yearn to wander an unsure path... I find myself missing him--erm, HER--more and more each day. Yesterday, as we were all packing up to come home from the slumber party, I could hear the other girls talking about me. In hushed tones, of course, because they care to much to flat-out say it. Diary-koishi, I wish that Kou Yaten had never come to Tokyo. -Mina-chan- -- Alone. She walked alone. It was a cold day in Tokyo, cold and strangely wet, and she could feel her bones ache for reasons that she didn't quite fully understand. She felt heavy, heavy and disjointed, and her heart ached for what seemed to be no good reason. Her friends all had better things to do for the day, leaving her alone in the bitter chill of a Tokyo fall. Rei-chan's archery meet was today, she knew, and so the raven-haired miko would be armed with her bow and arrows for the remainder of the day. Mako-chan was planning on helping the middle school's baking club in their cook-off, and Ami-chan had tagged along to help with all the cakes and cookies they were going to make. And Usagi-chan... Mamoru was in for a few weeks, freed from college in America due to a holiday called "Thanksgiving," and she was spending the afternoon together with him. A tear rolled down a pale cheek, catching on a strand of bright blonde hair, and she let it dampen her tresses without regret. It was hard, so hard, sometimes, to know that the one person she loved was so far away. It wasn't anything like what she went through as she left England, faking her own death to make the man she loved forget about her.... Oh no, the one she loved knew she was alive and was probably watching, or at least yearning to watch, and that person was far, far away... A galaxy away, to be exact. -- WHY? WHY, SHIMATTA, WHY??? Why do I still love him? Or her? Or whatever! Why do I was yearn to be near him? Or her? Or whatever! Why do I still want to smell the sweet scent of his clothes? And touch the velvety strands of silver hair, or to taste those lips... But I've never tasted those lips, or touched those strands, but... But... I wanted to, Diary. -M- -- Her hands flew from the dresser to the bag frantically, quickly, stuffing various articles of clothing into the little canvas sack as swiftly as she can. Every few seconds a single, crystalline tear rolled quickly down one of her pale cheeks and splashed onto the carpeting or her clothing or the bag, but she ignored the complete despair long enough to continue shoving things into her little duffel. Silver tresses fell about her face in messy waves, partially covering bloodshot green eyes, and she pushed them away with a new desperation every time she moved from dresser to bag. Just a few more minutes, and then-- "I won't try to stop you," breathed a soft, high voice from the doorway, causing the woman to freeze in place. Tears came faster now as she stood motionless in the center of her rug, staring blearily at the floor, knowing who was there... She sniffled helplessly. The voice continued. "You know that I'd never stop you," that woman stated in a steady tone, footfalls thumping across the hardwood floor. "But I do want to know why you'd leave us." "Why?" shot the silver-haired one, tossing her head angrily as she glowered across her chambers at the redheaded princess in the doorway. "Why?" A throaty chuckle escaped her throat as she stared straight at the woman. "Because I don't want to live here when I could live with her!" Fists clenched around a familiar light-blue suit coat that she had worn only a year ago. "Because I'm in love with her!" Princess Kakyuu's lips curved into a small smile, pursed simply and sadly, her pink-red eyes focused through thick black lashes. "Good, Healer," she responded in an almost mystical tone as she turned her back to the senshi. "That's the answer I wanted to hear." And she was gone. -- Do you ever get a feeling that something big's going to happen? I've got this feeling, and I can't push it away! I've got this feeling that something incredible is about to happen, and surface, and I haven't the foggiest what it is! But I'm dying to find out what it is! All the time I was with him, or her, I neglected it. I really did. I was a pain, I was obnoxious, I hung all over her. Or him. I was nothing more than a really annoying fan, and I realize now that any chance I had was ruined by all that. And I can understand why he always treated me with so much disdain. I'm a shitty soldier. I'm a bad friend. I'm a blonde airhead who isn't worth her weight in all the tea in China. Or something like that. But does that stop me? No. Will it ever? No. I LOVE him. Or her. Or whatever. And this feeling... Diary, could you possibly believe she loves me to? -Minako- -- She remembered everything about the city. And why would she have forgotten? It hadn't been that long ago, had it? No, only a year... The longest year of her life, though, so it evened out in the end. Long hair, straight and molten silver, fell about her small form as she slowly strode down the sidewalk, breathing in familiar smells while green eyes surveyed shockingly familiar sights. Truthfully, it felt as though an eternity had already crept by in the twelve short months that she had been gone. Things that were once so mundane--lampposts, mailboxes, phone booths, and even the street itself--now seemed so distant, so new, so amazing. Her feet brought her past the police station she had once spent a day at as "Chief For a Day," and yet the building seemed more alien than ever before. It HAD been that long. Her thoughts led her to wander the streets, ambling past corners she'd never seen before, stopping to pause before the few small businesses and other places that had made a difference. The few locations that she'd spent some time at, time with the people she wanted most to be with at... And she found herself stopping in front of the Juuban High School building. -- Why? I ask myself that every day. Why? -M- -- She sighed, blue eyes glancing away from the kanji-covered green chalk board to finally rest on the large, green schoolyard that was proudly displayed through the window. Her attention span waned constantly, as her friends always reminded her, but today it was worse than usual. A sigh escaped pursed lips. She brushed blonde bangs away from her face. Yeah, worse than usual... Suddenly, a figure came into view through that same window. It was small, lithe figure, with long, sparkling tresses. A female form. With green cat's eyes... She blinked. Green cat's eyes? But, but that wasn't possible! A head tilted upward, toward the second story window, meeting the baby-blue gaze. Green cat's eyes... And, without a word to her teacher, Aino Minako launched out of her seat and thundered out of the classroom. -- But, in asking myself why, I realize that love isn't supposed to have reason. It's just love. And I do hate her. But, at the same time... I'm sorry that I didn't realize it was love sooner. -Minako- -- The time between the girl appearing in the building's front doorway and attaching herself to the silver-haired one's waist was a scant four seconds. Yaten Kou, known on her home planet as Sailor Star Healer, coughed and was thrown a bit off balance as the teenaged blonde glomped onto her. Golden-blonde tresses were blown about her by wind. A face nuzzled her shoulder. A sniffle sounded from somewhere in her shirt. She could do nothing more than carefully wrap her arms around the other body. "Yaten-kun!" sobbed the girl, still buried in her friend's loose, doubting embrace. "I'm so sorry about never telling you the truth! I'm sorry!" Those green cat-like eyes blinked uncertainly. Sorry...? Her hands rose, slowly and shakily, until she was able to reach down and touch the pale chin of the slightly smaller girl. The teen's reaction was immediate and she stood up taller, pulling her face away from the soft warmth of Yaten's chest, and blue eyes blinked up. That hand didn't leave the tiny, round, smooth chin as the other arm went to wrap itself more tightly around Minako, holding her close, fingers caressing one of her shoulders... "Sorry?" asked the silver-haired one in a whisper, her lips mere inches from the plump, pink lips of the one she had so missed. "Why in the world would you want to be--" "Because I love you!" interjected the blonde as quickly as she could, tears streaming down her face in tiny, salty rivulets. "Because I never got to tell you that...to tell you that I loved you before you left..." She sniffled, her enchanting baby blue eyes staring up into mysterious cat's eyes. "And... And I'm sorry..." Without warning, there were lips on hers. Soft, gentle, yet warm and caring lips, softly pressing against her own without any hint of being either forceful or demanding. The kiss lasted a brief second before the exotic silver-haired one pulled away, staring into those blue eyes, one hand lightly caressing the tear-streaked face before hers. "Minako-chan," Yaten whispered, a slight smile curving on her lips, "I have waited for those words to come from your mouth for as long as I have known you." A gasp came from the high-schooler as the ex-idol singer stared down at her. Beautiful... The blonde was so beautiful... "I just want to be with you, here, forever... Because I love you." A pause. A breeze cut through the still air, musing hair and ruffling the powder-blue suit and the Juuban uniform, but neither moved so much as an inch. There was silence. Finally, the small blonde gulped. "Then, Yaten-kun," she managed in a very weak voice, hardly able to move. "Then... What happens next?" The silver-haired woman laughed and brushed the last tear from the cheek of the girl she had so long worshipped--no, from the cheek of the girl she LOVED. "I don't know, Minako," she admitted softly, carefully, "but I'd like to kiss you again." Wordlessly, the blonde caught the thinner woman's lips in a strong, passionate kiss, her grip tightening around the powder blue suit. And the breeze blew again, going unnoticed by the new couple. -- And what happens next? That's a good question, and I wish I knew! What? Did you actually suppose that I know what's going to happen? Diary, my second koishi, the truth is that this next page, the next MOMENT, is a moment left unwritten. I KNEW something big was going to happen, I knew it! But I didn't ever know what it was! Fate, destiny... It's all the same in the eyes of one who's in love. Seriously. When you fall in love, and you know that THAT person is the one who you really want to be with, then that's that! It's fate, it's destiny, sure... Or is it just dumb luck? Whatever it is, you can't tell, but it FEELS like destiny. And maybe it is. I don't know what it is. And I don't care! Fate, destiny, miracles, love... You can hold it all in your hands when you meet that one special person. That one person that completely changes your life, for good AND bad, that person who revamps your entire opinion of yourself. Yaten, for example. And, well... Even if it IS fate, or destiny, tomorrow is still tomorrow, and someday is still someday, and it's still all a mystery. So, what happens next? Your guess is as good as mine! -Aino Minako- ---- Fin. ---- Author's Ramblings: I started this fic over two months ago, and it's gone through a lot of changes. I've always aspired to write a Minako/Yaten fic, because I really like Yaten, and they're the coolest should-be couple in SM. However, a lot of other things started going on in my life, they know who they are, and so I kind of put this on back burner. Then I randomly figured out how I wanted to end it and I did so. I hope you enjoyed. If anyone can find the sort of strange second meaning in the last diary entry... I have GOT to cut down on the allegories! And, note to Mark: To make it as short as possible, aishiteru. Motto, motto aishiteru. And thank you.