Fandom: Sailor Moon
Title: The Shine of an Idol
Author: Scarlet Girl
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Hints of Yaten Kou X Minako Aino.
Spoilers: Up to Sailor Stars.
Summary: Life as an idol is hard.
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me, or we would have at least three main pairings during fifth season!

A/N: This story takes place after the end of Sailor Stars. Minako's life as an idol is based on PGSM (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, the Sailor Moon Live-action) Minako; the songs C'est la Vie and Katagoshi ni Kinsei (Venus Over My Shoulder) are sung by Ayaka Komatsu, the actress which plays Minako. Arisa Mizuki is a famous singer which sings Kaze Mo Sora Mo Kitto, the ending theme of Sailor Stars.

I've written this story directly in English, without a beta. Any spelling or grammar mistake, please, warn me!

(December 9, 2008: And then I ask myself why I doesn't get any reviews, and why my fics isn't on YatenXMinako list... Language: Portuguese, and the fic is in English! T_T, Baka no Scarlet!)

(December 17, 2010: As FF(DOT!)Net has erased all my 'X' markings, I have to revise my stories again and put the markings back on place. I've fixed some mistakes I saw in the fic, too.)

The Shine of an Idol

"Five minutes, Minako-chan!"

Minako Aino looked away from the big poster of Arisa Mizuki she had on the wall of the dressing room to the manager on the door.

"Hai!", she said happily. "Hey, say thanks to Matsumoto-san for the make-up, OK?"

"Of course", smiled the manager. "Are you ready yet?"

"I need a few more minutes", said Minako, turning her eyes again to the poster of Arisa Mizuki. "I'm pretty anxious."

"Why?", asked the manager, entering the dressing room with a tender smile. "Look at you, Minako! You are the brightest star of Japan! Don't you remember the success of C'est la Vie? Among the top ten a week after the release!"

"I remember", Minako said with a smile, walking towards the mirror and examining her orange dress. "But it's my first show out of Tokyo, don't you remember? And I'll sing Katagoshi ni Kinsei live for the first time, and my friends are in the audience, this time."

"Oh, you talking about Usagi-chan-tachi (1), don't you?", the manager asked. "Don't worry, they are here to support you, not to criticize!"

"I know, but still… Can I have just a little more time? Just a little bit!"

"Well, as you wish, my dear. But only a minute! And don't worry, you're stunning tonight!"

"Arigato!"

When the manager got out, Minako looked to the mirror again, this time checking her red ribbon:

"Atsui kimochi wa c'est la vie… watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri…c'est la vie, anata to aishi tsudzuketai…(This warm feeling is c'est la vie/As long as I keep being me/C'est la vie, I want to keep on being in love with you) Gosh, I'm really nervous."

Looking again at the door, as if to make sure no one was watching her, she reached for the bag she'd brought and pulled something from it.

It was a white decorated photo frame. Smiling, she had to contain a sob at the sight of the photo, bringing it close to her chest, hugging it and closing her eyes.

"I really miss you", she whispered. "It's getting harder and harder, but… I'll keep going on. Thank you because you give me support. I wish… I wish I could see you again… I wish you could see me now."

"Mi-na-ko-chan!"

The manager was at the door again, and Minako hurriedly put the frame on the nearest table.

"Are you ready?"

"Now I am! Let's go?"

"Of course! How do we sing?"

"Atsui kimochi wa c'est la vie!", sang Minako joyfully, picking the arm the manager offered and heading to stage, the cheers of audience ringing in her ears.

The white photo frame was left in the table.

Inside it, there was a photo of two teenagers on high school age. One of them was Minako, grinning happily and wearing a strange green and orange outfit; the other was a guy with long silver hair tied on a ponytail and a shy smile on his lips, as if he was not sure he should be smiling, but could not suppress the urge of doing it. His left arm was wrapped around her shoulder and she was hugging him tight; over the photo, there was a phrase written in a flourished calligraphy.

"You were the one who shone the most. Congratulations, Yaten Kou."

(1) -tachi is a suffix that usually means 'and others', 'and the others'.

Song I've heard: Katagoshi ni Kinsei, by Ayaka Komatsu (as Minako Aino).

Thanks to: ANVIL, which disponibilized the English translation of the Codename: Sailor V manga!