Secrets
A/N Please R&R!
Minako slammed the ball into the net once again. Over and over again she threw the ball high into the air and spiked it so hard that the walls were starting to shake in the gymnasium.

She raised her hand high into the air and prepared to hit it again when a strong hand clasped around her wrist and pulled her arm back to her side.

"Do you always take your confusion out on inanimate objects?" asked a voice which Minako was not expecting to hear.

"How do you know I'm confused?" she demanded defensively.

"I know a lot about you." said Corin as she stepped to where she was facing Minako.

Minako stared at the beautiful girl as if trying to figure her out. She looked into Corin's eyes and noticed that this time, they were vibrant and full of energy. Minako took a step back, almost frightened.

"Minako-chan, what's wrong? Why are you scared of me?" asked Corin as her eyes sharpened and sliced into Minako.

"Your eyes hold secrets and memories that aren't happy. Memories full of hate and sadness. Who are you?"

Corin's eyes turned black again and sad. "All in good time Mina. All too soon you will know who I really am." with that, she walked away leaving Minako even more confused than she had been.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I have called you two here because I am worried about one of our friends" said Setsuna to Michiru and Haruka.

"It's Minako-chan isn't it?" inquired Haruka. Setsuna nodded before continueing, "She is putting off on telling the Inners about her situation. She hasn't even told Luna. Every since Artemis died she has been so distant from us. I think it's time we told Luna and maybe even the other senshi. She can't survive on her own for too much longer."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Minako sat paced the floor in her small apartment. Somehow that girl always made her more confused than ever.

Suddenly Minako gasped for air as her windpipe closed. 'Not again. Please anything but this...' pleaded Minako silently.

She slid to the floor and blacked out until all she knew was the terror that was inside of her.

*Flashback*

Minako walked into her room and stared in horror at what she saw. There he was, her beloved Artemis, lying in shreds of flesh on the floor. Minako grabbed him and pulled him into her arms and then blacked out.

Her parents found her about 3 hours later, and rushed her to the emergency room. The doctors said she would be fine, and had probably just suffered mild shock. She would get over the death of her cat. If only they knew how much more of a cat Artemis was.

Ever since Artemis had died, Mina had seen no reason to go on with her life. She started doing other things to help her get over her loss. Even sex with men who she knew didn't love her more than they loved the dirt that is on the ground. That was what had started her arguement with her parents.

They had caught coming home late one night after she was with a man that her parents had told her to never see and her fahter, telling her taht she was worthless, started to hit her. Minako had had enough and just left. She was now living in her "boyfriend"'s shity apartment.

*End Flashback*

Minako sat huddled in a small ball on the floor gasping for air. Images of Artemis dead flashed through her mind and wouldn't leave. She could feel her father beating her. She could see her friends turning they're backs on her because of what she had become.

Finally after about 15 minutes of the torture, her body calmed itself and she drifted into a deep but restless sleep.

She was sleeping in a ball on the floor when Makoma came in. He took one look at the pathetic heap on the floor and mild annoyance entered his head. He wasn't sure what it was about the girl that made him want to help her. She wasn't anything special, just another whore. Maybe it was a guilty conscience. Maybe it was something else. All he really cared about right now was that she get off of the floor and into a chair or her cot.

He bent down and shook her roughly. She didn't wake up. She had been like this before, but when he asked her about it she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. Not that he could blame her. He was always such a jerk to her and he knew it. He didn't want her to think that he liked her.

He picked her up gently and laid her on the cot that had been officially named hers for as long as she was there with him.

"Ai Minako. You have put quite a cramp in my lifestyle. How would I explain you when I bring girls home? You should be glad that you are so sweet and angelic or you might be living on the streets." he said to her as she slept.

'She really is an angel' he thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Corin sat next to Minako in class the next afternoon. Seeing Minako's tired and grim face, she hastily scribbled a note to her.

Mina,
Meet me at the doors of the apartment complex just a block from the Juuban Mall. I need to talk to you.

Minako read the note that had been passed to her desk and looked up to see who it was from. Corin nodded at her.

'What could she want? Hasn't she confused me enough already?' thought Minako sleepily. Her head slowly dropped to her desk and she slept soundly.

When the bell rang, Corin woke her up. "Come on" she said.

Minako followed Corin to her car and got in after Corin motioned her too. Once Mina had buckled her seatbelt, Corin sped away.

"Minako I need to know what's wrong." Corin stated.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired Corin." Minako said nervously.

"Mina-chan don't give me that. I know a lot about you. For instance, I think I know why you are suffering. That cat that died, he was more significant than anyone thought wasn't he?" she asked.

Mina had a sharp intake of breath. "How do you know about Artemis?" she asked cooly.

"Wasn't he?" she asked, this time more forcefully.

Minako sighed. "Yes. He was my best friend and my planet guardian." she said choking back a sob.

"Minako, you're pain is because your soul, the soul of your planet, is no longer protected. I wanna help you through this. I want to be there for you, Mina-koi."

Minako blushed at the new nickname and looked up at Corin. "How do you know all this?"

"Because Artemis sent me here to help you. I am a daughter of his and he knew you needed someone so he sent me. I am here for you Minako, and I always will be."

"I...Thanks. It's kinda hard to swallow right now, but something inside of me tells me to believe you. But I kinda need a place to live. I can't stand living with a guy that I know doesn't want me around."

"Of course. You're going to come live with me. Think of all the fun we could have. My soul is a reincarnation of Artemis's first daughter, but I'm still a normal teenager. Well, about as normal as you and your friends..." she said as she laughed. Mina noted that her laugh sounded like pure music. "Just take me to the apartment complex about two miles east of here so I can get my things." said Minako.

Corin drove Mina to her appartment and waited in the car for Mina to get her suitcase before Makoma came home.

She got in the car and they headed towards Corin's apartment building.

'Maybe things are starting to look up." thought Minako.
A/N Please tell me what ya think!