Author's note: Don't freak out! I didn't forget about where you belong! I just got a plot bunny for this one at work during a day shift so I wrote this! It took me over a week due to work & mommy duties but it's here! Enjoy!
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The Game Changer
Chapter One: A star is torn
Minako sighed as she closed the cover on her iPad & put it on her nightstand. She had been checking her business email before bed & the record company wants her to squeeze in nine promotional appearances before her new album comes out. As if she wasn't busy enough already! She just finished recording the album a week ago & they're pushing for an early release to capitalize on the summer season.
Her mother warned her that being in the entertainment industry was hard work & tiring but she didn't know how lonely it was! After leaving thousands of fans screaming your name, you come home to an empty house & dead silence. Well…it was better than her mother's incessant yelling. Her mother stopped working when Minako was born but she seemed to hate being a housewife. She always said her husband never made enough money to live the lifestyle she wanted. Getting 10% of her daughter's earnings as her manager seemed to lift her spirits greatly. Minako felt badly for her father. Although he was happy for his daughter's success, he refused to spend any of the money his daughter offered him & keeps working as a salaryman in an office. Traveling takes them away from home often & she hated being away from him for so long in London. She doesn't see her dad as much as she'd like. Minako swore to herself that when he dad retires, she will treat him like a king & he'll want for nothing. Knowing his retirement fund wont have a lot, she secretly adds to it through her personal funds.
Since the age of majority in Japan is 20, her mother wants to make sure she had enough time to be a kid & go to school Being a Sailor Scout falls in that priority list too (though obviously her mother doesn't know about the latter). Even with moving to London for recording & working on Sailor V, Minako still went to a regular school. Hopefully her mom cash convince them to condense the promo appearances with her concert tour later in the summer so she can stay in school longer. The tutor is nice & all but Mina misses her friends & playing on the volleyball team. At one point, she was team captain until she was dropped from missing too many games. Her teammates couldn't emulate her signature move, so they suffered a brutal loss. Now it's the new season & she was anxious to try out again & get a shot at making it to nationals. Chances for that now are probably slim to none. Minako barely has time for a private life & Scout duties, how could she manage a team?
Hearing her phone chime, she unlocks it & checks the text from her mother. It's official, she starts touring Europe next week. Letting out an angry moan, she throws her phone across the room into the pile of plushes she collects accidentally startling Artemis. Usually she's apologetic but right now, the anger churning in her mind causes her to not notice what she did. Crossing the room to her closet, she pulls out a few suitcases & begins packing her clothes.
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Because the label is looking to reach out to other markets, they wanted the promo tour to go to Europe & America. The senior members think Minako can recreate BoA's success. At 11 years ole, BoA was discovered at a South Korean talent search, spent two years in dance & vocal training while learning Japanese & English. When she made her debut at 13, she was an instant success worldwide since her debut coincided with the early days of the internet. She was well known in America for almost a decade before she released an official English CD. Now she also sings in Mandarin Chinese & has movie offers.
BoA is a fellow talent Minako vehemently admires but to do all that she does required time & patience she feels she doesn't have anymore. As much as Mina loved this life, she loves her friends, the Scouts & her free time. No matter what she picks, half of her heart will break. Quitting her duties as Sailor Venus & not seeing the Scouts wasn't even an option but she didn't want to lose her school friends either! For a while, Minako wished she could go back to her early days of just print modeling & promo appearances because those were only a few times a week & rarely required long trips away from home. Ever since one of the label mates heard her singing while waiting for a modeling audition, she's been recording & touring. It was beginning to burn her out. At 16, she felt older & out of touch with her peers & bored with her life.
Looking out her window, she saw the clouds break apart to show the moon rising & a deep sapphire blue sky dotted with stars. Her past life was busy but not nearly as suffocating & she adored her mother & father. They nurtured Minako's musical talents but didn't force her into performances or keep her from what truly made her happy; sports. If she could turn back time & be Princess of Venus again, she would in a heartbeat but that's impossible now. Seeing a star fall from the sky in the distance, she only had one simple wish.
"If someone could make this life complete instead of splitting me down the middle, I'd be so grateful…I cant do it all alone…"
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Oh by the way, Have you guys seen Sailor Moon Crystal yet? I gotta admit I wasn't crazy about it. I thought they hyped up the show & it didn't deliver anything new. I'm gonna keep watching to see how it turns out though. I did enjoy feeling like a kid again watching it with my son though. He loved it & I love the theme song, Moon Pride! ^^