Okay! Time for me to apologize profusely. *Gets on hands and knees and begs for forgiveness. *

I know, I know, I've taken waaaaayyyy too long to update. I got busy with school again, and I also lost my inspiration. Well, the good news is, I'm back, and I have plans to continue this story, and maybe even start another one (or two!). I'll also hopefully write plenty of oneshots. Anyway, happy reading!

The only noise that could be heard was the door slamming much too loudly for the overbearing tension that hung over everyone, putting an end to the stony silence that had overtaken everyone on the way back to the house. They began speaking all at once.

"Mina.."

"I think we.."

"So can we just…"

"So…"

"Hey, guys…"

They all stopped and looked at each other, small smiles playing on their lips despite the mood. Mina gave a small sigh before speaking up,

"Guys, I know that most of you are confused… especially you guys," she addressed the Stars, " I know I haven't been very open about anything and that you are worried, " she sighed again, "Thank you, I need your support. It's time to talk about this." She looked at Artemis, who nodded, looking proud.

"Okay, so, completely respecting your decision, can we start with who Kaitou Ace is?" Yaten asked, earning a few glares for being brash, but Mina looked at him, thanking him with her eyes for not dragging the awkward out.

"Adonis," was her quick reply. A look of understanding dawned on the lights faces.

"Oh." Was all Yaten could say, but Mina smiled at them, silently telling them that it was fine.

"Mina…. Is it okay, I mean can we…" Rei started but cut herself off, not knowing how to ask her question. Mina gave a small chuckle.

"I just said we were talking about this didn't I?" She said. Rei smiled, glad that Minako seemed fine with this conversation.

After standing still for a moment, Mina sighed, yet again.

"It was before I'd met any of the other senshi…. Ace was famous…. I was drawn in. We had begun working together… it was my chance to make it big!" She looked down, sadness clear in her voice.

Seiya, who had been standing near her, couldn't help but make a small motion to offer her his hand. He was relieved when she took it. No one seemed to notice, except Kakyuu, who looked thoughtful.

"We got close… too close," She continued painfully, "I was completely charmed by him. I couldn't even recognize the possibility of of Beryl playing a role in our romance. I truly believed he loved me-" She croaked at the end, effectively cutting off her speech.

Seiya unconsciously gave her hand a small squeeze, giving her the courage to continue.

"When I finally realized the truth, I was crushed, I didn't know what to do… So I went to him. We talked for a while.. but I was unable to convince him to betray Baryl. Her influence on him was too strong." She paused for a while. contemplating her next words. " I believed he was truly in love with me. I thought I knew him. Eventually, we couldn't talk anymore. We fought." A few intakes of breath were heard, but no one interrupted.

Finally Mina looked up, her gaze was fire. "It shouldn't be possible for him to be here," she said. Many weary looks were shared before Kakyuu finally asked the question, dreading the answer,

"Why?"

The room was dead silent for a few moments before Mina answered,

"The cliff broke. I grabbed his hand. but-" she drew in a shaky breath. Seiya tightened his hold on her hand, " but he refused to let me save him. I watched him fall to his death, " she laughed darkly, a sound that didn't suit Mina at all, "His last words are my worst memory."

"... His last words?" Taiki asked shortly, knowing that she would just want to get this over with.

She looked up with a bitter smile, "He cursed me. I will never have my love fully returned." There was a few small gasps.

"..That can't be true! There's no way he could have made a curse like that!" Usagi exclaimed, breaking her uncharacteristic silence.

"It's held true so far." Mina said offhandedly. Usagi quieted again, remembering Mina's many tries at love….. and how she ended up hurt every time.

"No….." Ami said, devastated for her friend.

"Then maybe it's a good thing he's here." Seiya said finally.

"What?" Motoki fumed, standing up. Seiya leveled his gaze at him,

"If he's here, we can surely reverse the curse."

Motoki's eyes softened and he cringed, "I'm sorry…."

Seiya shook his head, saying there was no need to apologize.

Usagi suddenly clapped her hands together. "Okay! You're absolutely right, Seiya! Let's teach that Ace of duds a lesson!" She said punching her fists through the air.

Mako took Mina's hand, dragging her to the kitchen. Seiya immediately let go of her hand, as to not draw attention to it.

"We're gonna go make some cookies!" Mako said. Mina smiled and followed her more willingly.

Mamoru looked at the time, past 11.

"We've got a few more bedrooms and plenty of sleeping bags and blankets. You can all stay the night… if you want"

Kakyuu smiled and put her hand on Mamoru's arm. "Thank you, that would be perfect."

Yaten felt a wave of jealousy, even knowing Mamoru's relationship with Usagi. He clenched his jaw until he had control of his emotions.

Mina softly climbed out of her bed and landed on the floor lightly. She neared the door as she checked to make sure that she had not awakened Rei or Mako, who were currently sharing her bed with her. She turned her back and left the room quietly.

When she heard the door click behind her, she gave a sigh of relief. It had been a long night for her, and while she was relieved they finally knew the events that had transpired, she was terrified of how they might treat her in the morning.

Would they be overly nice to her because of pity? Would they think she was weak? Would they be angry and think that she was over reacting? Hopefully, nothing would change, and they would not look at her differently.

When she turned the hall into the kitchen, she was surprised to bump into somebody. She stumbled backwards and prepared to scream before she realized that it was Yaten standing before her, not some common burglar. He laughed, clearly following her train of thoughts through her facial expressions.

She smiled suddenly, "It's nice that you can laugh so easily this time." She whispered. He looked at her for a few moments before smiling again,

"Yeah. I've always wanted to apologize for how I treated you back then. Looking back now, Minako, you're "Distractions" as I called them, were the only reason I was able to stay sane." He said honestly. She was shocked,

"No….No! You have no reason to apologize! I can see clearly that you were only such a, um, well, you know," She stuttered out,

"Pain in the ass? Dick face? Total dipshit?" He provided playfully,

"Well, not that bad, but you get the point," she chuckled, " The only reason you were that way is because you were so worried about Kakyuu." She said. He looked down and blushed,

"Ah….. yes." He conceded.

"Hey, Yaten….." Mina said, unsurely.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Are you, maybe, in love with Kakyuu?" She asked quickly.

He sputtered and burned bright red and began to deny it when he saw her eyes and knew that he could always trust her. He sighed,

"Yes. Totally and completely." He sounded so defeated.

"You say it like it's a bad thing." She phrased it as a statement, but he got the question.

"Well, no," he began, "It's just…. I don't think she will ever feel the same and, well, that really sucks." Mina nodded.

"Believe me, I understand. You never know though, I honestly think that she likes you a lt more than you know." Mina argued. He raised an eyebrow,

"really?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah!" She whispered furiously, looking at the clock that read 3:56.

"We should probably get headed back to bed," Yaten said, also looking at the clock.

Mina nodded in agreement. They headed back to their rooms but before Mina could open her door, Yaten grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey, Thanks for explaining everything today. I know it was hard. It made everyone feel much better." He said, before leaving her alone again.

She opened her door and paced back to her bed. She climbed in and closed her eyes, somehow feeling much better about what would happen the next day.

Let me know what you think! Am I taking it too fast? Too slow? Did anything surprise you? Are you happy with the way that I am developing the Mina/Yaten friendship and the Mina/Seiya relationship? Did you see the Yaten/Kakyuu fees coming? (Yes I shamelessly hint dropped for them)