C'est La Vie:
Minako Aino looked at herself in the mirror. Her brown hair was down like normal. She was wearing black pants and a black tank top. Over the tank top she wore a thin white sweater. "Minako!" Her manger called over to her. "You're on in five minutes."
Minako looked at her manger and nodded. She then took the water bottle in front of her and popped the top off. In her hand was a painkiller. All day she had had a really bad headache. She didn't tell her manger because she didn't want him to cancel the concert and she didn't want to disappoint her fans. The put the painkiller in her mouth and took a large gulp of water.
From an opening in her black purse on the counter a small white head poked out. It was the head of a stuffed cat. Mind you this stuffed cat was not an ordinary stuffed animal. "Minako," The stuffed cat began to say. "Is something wrong?"
The brunette placed the water bottle down and looked at the stuffed cat. "I'm fine Artemis. Why?" She asked as she straightened her clothes in front of the mirror.
Artemis looked down. "It's just that I noticed you're taking a lot of painkillers lately. I just wanna make sure you're alright."
Minako smiled at the stuffed cat. He was always worrying about her. "I'm fine." She told him as she walked over to the spot that she would come on stage from.
From her spot she could see the audience. She smiled as she looked out at her fans. Less than a year ago she was singing in the shower now she was performing for crowds of hundreds, no thousands of people. Pain shot through her head. For some reason the painkillers weren't working.
In a matter of moments her manager would be going out there to introduce her. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples while she waited to here her name.
"Here she is live everyone, Minako Aino!"
When she heard the crowd cheer her name Minako took in a deep breath. She stood there for a moment before walking out on stage. She met her manager halfway through and thanked him for introducing her.
When she reached the microphone stand in the center of the stage she looked out into the audience. Everyone out there looked a bit blurry. She forced a smile on her face. "I'd like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. I'm really grateful that you all support me." She greeted the audience in a cheerful voice. "I'd like to start the concert off with a song I know everyone loves."
She bowed her head and waited for the music to come on. When she heard the familiar melody she lifted her head and began to sing.
"Stirred by impulses that there's nothing I can do
That has begun for me now, feelings searching for you
Just like predictable movies and books are boring
When life is a little bit off, it might be more fun
This warm feeling is C'est la vie
As long as I am me
C'est la vie, I want to keep on being in love with you
Running through the place where this moment lives
Right in front of me"
As she sang her most popular song she started to do the chorography that went with the song. As she danced along and sang she began to get very, very dizzy. She lifted her hand to cultch her head. Before she knew it she was lying on the stage. Everything then went black.
What seemed like moments later to her Minako found herself staring at a very plain white ceiling. She pushed herself up and looked around. Her manager was at the door talking to someone. "Excuse me," She began as she pushed the covers away. "What's going on?"
"Ah! Minako!" Her manager exclaimed when he saw that Minako was awake. "The doctor won't tell me what's wrong?"
"Doctors?" The pop star asked confused. When she looked around the room she found that she was in a room at the hospital.
Minako was about to ask her manger what happened at the concert when the door opened and the doctor came in. "Doctor, what's going on?" She asked in a demanding tone. She wanted someone to tell her what she was doing in the hospital.
The doctor looked at the clip bored in his hand. "Well Aino-san," The doctor began. "You fainted during your concert. When you were brought here we did an MRI to see why you fainted." The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry to say this, but we found a brain tumor."
Minako's eyes widened and her heart stopped beating. She had a brain tumor? Is that why she had been having so many headaches lately? She glanced over to her black purse that was sitting on the chair. How would Artemis take this?
She looked back over to the doctor and saw her manager asking him a bunch of questions. "Can it be removed?"
The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. It has gotten to big for us to remove it." The doctor informed them. "If we found it a month or two ago then we could remove it, but not anymore. I'm afraid that Aino-san has only six months to live with out treatment. With treatment she would live for a year longer."
With that the doctor left the room leaving Minako and her manager alone. "Well, we can't let the press get a hold of this. If they EVER find out then it could be the end of both of us." Her manager dramatically said as he plopped down in the chair.
Minako looked at her manager and smirked. He was always acting dramatic no matter how serious the situation was. "Manager, if you don't mind, I want to be alone to gather my thoughts."
"Of course." Her manager said as he got up and left the room.
As soon as the door shut, Minako threw back the covers of the bed. Standing up she walked over to her purse and opened it. Artemis poked his head out. "Artemis-" She began, but was cut off by the stuffed cat.
"I know." He said as he looked down at the ground. He had heard the doctors tell her that she had a brain tumor and was going to die soon. For a moment Minako thought the cat was going to cry. "What are you going to do?"
Minako let out a big sigh as she sat down in a separate chair. "C'est La Vie." She told Artemis. "I'm going to be who I truly am until the very end."
A single tear fell down the brunettes' face as she looked out the window of the hospital. She wanted to be herself until the very last second of her life. Even though she knew the rest of her life was going to be short she still wanted to be J-pop star Aino Minako by day and protector of Earth Sailor V by night. For that's who she truly was.
AN: All right, a little over a year ago I was watching PGSM, the act where Minako dies, and I was inspired to write a one-shot about her finding about her illness. I wrote what I thought her illness was because it goes unnamed in the series. If I had an OoCness I'm sorry.
Princess Cornelia