Author's Notes:

This is my first Minako centred non-crossover story. It takes place at the end of the Codename: Sailor V manga as a scene in-between the final battle and the final scene. It's what I imagine her thoughts were in that moment - once the silence set in.

I wrote this as a dedication to Naoko's first senshi since SMC will feature her heavily in the upcoming episode.

Hopefully, everyone enjoys this!

Thank you for reading. If you like this, please review and favorite.

Neo

Minako traced his lips with her fingers and took a step forward. His skin was cold like the Earth underneath her. Those blue eyes that once deduced everything about her were as empty as she felt inside.

Ace Kaitou, the man she loved, was dead. He was killed by her own hands because like he said, her mission, no matter how much she pretended to hate it, meant more to her than love. Love is a game. Men were things to be desired, and which could be played like a drum.

She didn't want to feel this pain. She'd sworn never to allow herself to be hurt like this again.. Her heart clenched and screamed, nagging her brain to register what she'd done. It cried out like a lost child and pleaded like a man about to lose everything.

Still, her brain had no time to listen. It was still trying to take in all of what happened. The brain needed to see everything as necessary and more than anything else, Minako needed her brain to stop rewinding everything. Looking back was no good!

Looking back gave her memories of long ago, a time she'd forgotten. Going back there, she remembered why it was necessary for Sailor V to be awakened.

"Princess Minako, are you okay?" Her white cat asked, his paw steps careful and his voice low.

"I'm not the princess you'd been looking for, am I?" She kept her eyes on the dead boy before her.

She didn't need to turn to know that he shook his head in denial of the fact.

"Minako-chan..."

Tears slipped from her eyes. Her hands reached out as if catch them and stop them, but no matter how hard she tried, it seemed that her heart won against the battle with her mind, and she felt herself choking up. Her shoulders shook and her lips trembled.

She couldn't help but feel selfish. As she looked around, she could see more than just the man she killed with her own bare hands, but the many others who were sacrificed in her own battle.

She could imagine the Senshi, the very friends she'd forgotten, fighting a losing battle in the kingdom she'd long mistaken as a strange nightmare.

"The battle isn't over; you know that."

Wiping her tears, Minako stood up and forced her brightest smile. It was fake and she knew Artemis knew that. She was sure she'd never truly smile again. Not as Sailor V. Not as Minako Aino. Like a clown, she put on her show. No matter that her pain and grief was real, it was something the world could never know, could never see. It didn't matter that her best friend could see her rehearsing each line with each facial expression she made. It didn't even matter if not a single person believed in her smile; she was going to keep it on.

Fear told her that if she ever stopped smiling then the reality of her actions and the world around her would suddenly become real. She'd rather live in a fictional world where she believed her smile was real than a world where getting up and living once more was a task beyond her soul.

Even so, she lifted the cat onto her shoulder and smiled. "I'm ready when you're ready!" She giggled.

Artemis nodded but didn't seem impressed by her acting. With a slight frown, he said, "Minako-chan, you'll smile again. I promise."

Minako tried to let out a big laugh that only came out as a whisper. "You're funny..." I'm alone and you know it.