Minako walked through the cold city of Tokyo one night amidst a crowd of jovial people. It was only a few days before Christmas; the streets were covered in a blanket of snow and everyone was feeling the holiday spirit. She was heading to Makoto's apartment to meet with the others, and although the temperature was quickly dropping, she couldn't help but feel warmness in her. She looked around at all of the people, laughing and smiling while they enjoyed time with friends and family. Little kids excitedly pulled their parents along for them to hurry so they could see Santa at the Juuban Shopping Center. She gave a smile at it all; something about Christmas seemed to bring out the best and brightest of everyone.
She focused her attention back on the buildings ahead to turn down the street she needed to go.
"A lot of people ask me this one question over and over: How are you always so cheerful and energetic? Well, I suppose that's a good question. I mean, after all, I'm constantly battling the enemy and risking my life, sometimes almost losing it."
She arrived in the main district of the city and stopped to look up at the huge Christmas tree set up in the center. It glowed so radiantly and the beautiful decorations it was adorned with made the very air around it feel magical. She gave a smile to it as well.
"Most people assume that a life like that would weigh you down and cause you to have a complete change of character. The truth you ask? They're both right and wrong."
She decided to take a quick detour and headed down a path she was very familiar with.
"It's knowing how quick things can change and knowing that not all things last forever."
She stopped in front of her old school, Shiba, and walked up to the closed gate. She looked around her and quickly climbed up it, jumping down on to the other side. She gave a giggle and stuck her tongue out in embarrassment, "Yeah, I know I probably shouldn't do this. But just this once!"
She made her way around the grounds, recalling the memories that happened in each and every place. She stopped in front of the gym class doors and peered inside; not a thing had changed since she left.
"This was exactly where I first met Artemis. At the time I thought he was just a regular cat that got in my way, an annoying pest really." She pictured their first encounter, which involved her landing on him whilst she was performing a somersault; it gave her a little chuckle, "Sorry about that, Artemis."
She went around to the backside of the building. "But he wasn't. Artemis awoke me, the real me, and I began my true duty as a Soldier of Justice. And my first real battle…"
She arrived in the school's garden, "…Took place right here. Against my first love, Higashi-Senpai. When I saw…When I saw who he really was…I had no choice…" she felt a little choked up remembering it all, but forced herself to go on, "I kind of feel like a part of me was killed with him. When I watched him fade away into ashes, right in front of me, it made me truly realize how quickly something can be snatched away from you."
"Anyway…" She shook her head to snap out of her trance, "That's in the past now…"
Deciding it was time for her to leave, she hopped over the gate again and made it back on the path she needed to be. "My point? Live life to the fullest and never look back. Treat each and every day, no matter how boring it may be, as a special gift. Treat your friends nicely, too and look past the little arguments and disagreements you've had with each other. Realize how truly blessed you are to have them in your life by letting them know how much they mean to you. Peace is rarer than you think and as humans, we often forget that."
She had finally made it the apartment complex and gave one more smile, "So that's why I always put my best foot forward, stopping for nothing. I don't know when the next enemy will show up or how much will need to be sacrificed for it, but when it does come…I want to have no regrets."
"That…" she walked into the building and the doors closed behind her, "Is the secret of Aino Minako."