Hey guys! I'm back already, so time for the Bishoujo Fall Hardest series I owe you. I'll also try to shorten these little pre-story banters and… well, let's see what else I've learned from "Drink Up", ne?

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. If anything, Sailor Moon owns me. I also don't own Stacie Orrico or her song, "(There's Gotta Be) More To Life", which I think applies to Mina in some respects. Or Billie Piper's "Girlfriend". I know, a bit of a time warp, but you'll get why when you read it.

Finally, the longer summary I promised…

SUMMARY: Rei/Minako. Her last gig being a complete disaster, Minako has finally had enough of her manager's poor planning. She fires him, only to find that his replacement is none other than old best friend and secret love interest, Hino Rei. Predictably, Mina's emotional torrent drives her to distraction when she should be her most focused - her live performances are getting a bad reputation, her contract with her record company is expiring and she's falling out of the headlines. Aino Minako is old news. Her next gig - situated back in hometown Tokyo - is her last chance to redeem herself. With Rei's help, can she save her career? And will old wounds be healed or deepened?

Bishoujo Fall Hardest: The Gig

Chapter One: The Final Straw

Mina heard the familiar boom of the spotlights being switched on as she stood centre-stage, eyes closed to absorb the energy. From how loud and foreboding that sound was, she sometimes felt that it was the switch to the entire world. Maybe it was. The switch to her world, at least.

After minimal struggle, Aino Minako had hit stardom at the tender age of eighteen – at least that's what you would assume if you didn't know she was already revered manga and real life super hero Sailor V, as well as being one fifth of the Sailor Scouts. Given these past titles, 'tender' is also quite a misconception, for Mina was a hardened warrior even at fourteen.

It was a result of this tough-skinned alter ego that she had survived for seven wonderfully superficial years in such a ruthless industry; Minako had lost true innocence a long time ago, when a talking white cat had appeared to her and started a rant which was to last over two years, about a civilisation on the Moon and a binding to destiny.

Don't take this the wrong way - her sweet, catchy melodies weren't so much a lie, just only one side of the blonde-haired blue-eyed idol; the onstage angel who behind the curtain had fought to stay on top of the pile of wannabes and next big things with boundless success. Until now.

Cheers erupted through the stadium, prompting her to open her eyes. What she saw both filled her with the familiar thrill of an audience, and a newer feeling that she liked far less. Concern. Once again, there were empty seats – not enough for anyone accept Minako to notice, but the categorical perfectionist watched as the gaps seemed to swell before her.

This had happened far too frequently lately. It wasn't that she had turned into a total diva who thought that she was better than her audience gave her credit for. In fact, it was quite the reverse. She felt inadequate, a disappointment to the fan-base that had once been so huge.

This 'new' feeling was actually an incredibly old one renewed – deep-rooted, almost like being shot and never removing the bullet. She had felt inadequate before; she had seen those gaps before, but they hadn't been out there… they had been within her, a part of that intense feeling of being incomplete.

Admittedly, though, this time was different. This time, she was happy for anyone to fill the spaces in the arena. Back then, only one person could fill the void in her heart, a person she could and would never have. And the stupid thing was that, despite all she should have learned from it, she dealt with that emotion exactly the same now as she did all those years ago – she hid behind a captivating smile and told herself to cry, mainly because she was renowned for a tendency to do what she was specifically told not to.

She heard herself psyching up the crowd with panto tricks and mindless chitchat as she felt her mind drift back to that girl.

Hino Rei.

Keeping that stunning face and that long raven hair fixed in her mind, she began her first set, ignoring the notion that she had always known the answer to the questions in her song.

I've got it all but I feel so deprived

I go up, I come down, and I'm emptier inside

Tell me what is this thing that I feel like I'm missing

And why can't I let it go?

There's gotta be more to life

Than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me

'Cos the more that I'm

Tripping I'm thinking there must be more to life

Well it's life, but I'm sure

There's gotta be more than wanting more

I've got the time, and I'm wasting it slowly

Here in this moment I'm halfway out the door

Onto the next thing, I'm searching for something that's missing

There's gotta be more to life

Than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me

'Cos the more that I'm

Tripping I'm thinking there must be more to life

Well it's life, but I'm sure

There's gotta be more

I'm wanting more…

I'm always waiting on something other than this

Why am I feeling like there's something I missed…

Always… Always…

She listened to the feedback from the speakers and inwardly cringed when she realised that the acoustics were off. She knew she couldn't change pitch because she would sound off-key, and she could hardly stop the show. She tried to calculate a way out, and grudgingly resolved to finish the set before tackling the problem.

All this behind a smile.

Those fifteen minutes passed agonisingly slowly, but finally she thanked the audience for the first time that night and ducked off the platform, congeniality replaced with rage as she stalked determinedly through the shadows in search of the one person who should be able to give her an explanation.

"Goro!" she eventually found him, vodka in hand, grinning from ear to ear. He had obviously convinced himself that he was dripping with female admirers, when in fact they were Minako's third set backing dancers attempting with limited success to prop him up. She'd have used his surname like she usually did, but the rudeness of the informality was a kick (along with the fact that he always seemed to wince when she said it, which Minako assumed had something to do with his mother calling him this in exactly the same tone).

"'Sup, Aino?"

"What the hell is up with my acoustics? I thought we sorted that out this morning when we were setting up! Did you not give my notes to the technicians?"

"I figured they were already set."

"I told you, there was a stand-up act at four, so we'd have to give the settings for the gig to the sound guys! Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Eh," he swayed, and Mina's eye twitched, "the audience won't notice jack. They're still goin' crazy for ya, right?"

She glared. "Yamamoto, if I can hear it with eight God-damned speakers blaring at me, I don't even wanna imagine what the people at the back of the stadium are picking up."

She took out a black marker and a postcard-sized colour headshot of herself, of which she was always armed to the teeth. The curse of stardom. She turned the photo over and scrawled the details down on the back with an adulthood's worth of autograph practice.

She looked up at him irritably, yanking the vodka bottle from his hand. She kicked the glare up a notch as she rammed the picture against his chest.

"There. Now fix it!"

With that, she stormed off, swooping past a bottle of spring water and taking a quick swig before going back under the thick air of anticipation. It cleared the second she got back on the platform as the cheers fell upon her again. She noticed with a pang that it was slightly less enthusiastic that before.

"Hey again, guys," she breezed to her Californian audience. Between her time in England and her tours, she had become fluent in the language and liked to show it off to prove a point. Her opinions were very important to her, and she hated the idea of being given a script. Sure acting was something she wouldn't mind delving into, but not here. These people before her, they were real. The experience was raw, and she owed them the same level of frankness and individuality.

This attitude went down very well with her fans, and she appreciated how like-minded they could be to her. It gave her the confidence to know that whatever she felt was the right thing to do with her music, they would agree with.

She went through the same routine as before, trying to help them warm to her again while simultaneously teasing them by holding back the next song. Plus she needed to buy extra time to make sure the sound stuff was all figured out before she started up again.

Eventually, though, she had no choice but to sing.

Better to play a trump card. A classic will definitely win them back over.

Given this change of strategy, she needed to warn the crew that she was singing something different, so she started without a backing track…

Do you have a girlfriend?

She heard the audience rooting for her with even more zeal than at the opening act, and smiled genuinely this time. She held the mic out to her audience, encouraging them to sing along to her debut song, way back in '96. They responded obediently…

You're lookin' real cool

Can I have your number?

You don't have a thing to lose

She beamed, remembering suddenly her reputation. Of course she could salvage this, she was an idol, for Kami's sake.

Spoke too soon.

Do you ha-

The speakers shrieked and the audience let out a cry of outrage at the noise. Minako's stomach plummeted.

They've overcharged the amps. Something's gotta give…

And it did. It happened to be the worst thing that could possibly cut out on her.

Out went the spotlights.

'The switch to her world' was right. Her world had just ended.

Minako stood centre-stage in the darkness once again, listening to the anguish and jeers from her fans. Soon to be ex-fans.

Cry, Minako. Cry.

But for once she obeyed, allowing the tears to fall down her beautiful face.

It's over, isn't it?

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Hey guys, what do you think? I know, Rei hasn't appeared yet, but she will next chapter. Maybe. It's just Mina's the central character for this fic, so we need some details about her life now, and I'm trying not to sound totally clueless about the lifestyles of the famous and the rich, which in no way infringes upon the rights of a certain punk/pop band which released a single of a similar name...

Anyhow, R&R!