A/N: So here is the second chapter. It didn't turn out as long as I hoped but I liked how it came out. Enjoy.

The young woman stared out the window, her eyes slightly narrowed. Brown hair flowed down her shoulders all the way to her lower back. Her arm rested on the windowsill as she stared at a light drizzle of rain patter against the window. Her apartment was dark, having turned off all the lights a little while ago. It was late afternoon and for once she had nothing planned for the day. No interviews, no performances nothing to get her mind distracted on other things. She sighed.

"Mina," a white cat jumped down from the coach and walked to where the girl was sitting.

"Yes, Artemis?" she asked dully.

If the white cat could furrow its brow, it would be doing so right now. Blue eyes stared up at the young idol, a cat frown etched on its face. She had been like this since she got back to the small apartment. "Daijoubu?" he asked, jumping nimbly on the windowsill.

Brown eyes turned to look at the white feline and she forced a small smile. "I'm fine, really. I just have a lot going on, a lot on my mind." Her eyes turned back to the window Tokyo looked gloomy a down casted with the rain coming down softly; still people moved on with their lives. "I guess now I have time to think about it and it is finally sinking in that I have so much on my shoulders."

Artemis gave a small purr and nuzzled her hand gently, looking up worriedly at the young woman. "Everything will settle soon. Hang on by yourself a little longer."

Minako let out a dry laugh and stared down at the cat. "By myself a little longer? I've been on my own for so long, with being an idol and a senshi at the same time." She put her head in her hands and muttered weakly, "I want to think that I won't travel this path alone much longer. Seriously, though Artemis, I somehow doubt that."

The cat was about to say something when Minako stood up and walked over to her fridge. She plucked her schedule free from her magnet and started to examine it. She was free until a press conference tomorrow afternoon. She slowly moved her way to her hand book and flipped through it, staring down at the dates. "Say Artemis," she called over her shoulder, "The charity event I'm going to soon, have you got anything on it so far?"

Artemis followed her to the kitchen and shrugged. "No, I haven't." He looked up at her curiously; usually he wasn't the one she consulted when it came to her being an idol. He kept out of that side of her life, being more of guidance for her as a senshi. The feline had no idea why she brought the question up so suddenly.

"So you don't have a list of people involved? Who is going?" she placed her handbook back down and turned to her cat mentor. A hand ran through her hair and a serious expression marked her face. "I just have this strange feeling about it. I don't know why. I think something big will happen soon."

"You just said you thought you'll be left alone on duties for a while." His nose twitched irritably.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Why did you just ask about the list of people who were involved? You implied that the people involved in it were connected to the 'big thing' you think will happen."

Minako just rolled her eyes and stuck her day's schedule back in its place. "Yeah, OK." She gave the first honest grin she did all day. "You know me, having so much bouncing in my head, my thoughts just change around a lot."

Now it was Artemis' turn to roll his eyes. Still he was happy that her mood went up from what it was a few minutes ago.

Minako got a drink from the fridge, a lemon drink she picked up while coming home today. She walked over to her small couch before opening it. She popped it open and took a small sip, looking around the apartment. It was small despite the fact she could have gotten a bigger apartment with her money. It also wasn't in the area of Tokyo you'll except a celebrity. It was more in the single and small family apartments, from what she knew from her neighbors. That was a good thing for her because she liked her privacy. Besides her manager and a few other close friends nobody knew where she lived. A small cozy apartment which was fit for an ordinary college student- which she would be now if she hadn't hit it off as an idol after high school.

The truth was Aino Minako was far from an ordinary college student. Apart from being an idol, a life she quickly adapted to, she had the alias of Sailor V. After she got out of high school she got a good start to her singing career when she went to an audition a few months after living on her own. Her first few recordings were pretty much a failure- she had to convince everybody she really was something the third time she tried. Then she pulled from her inspiration and feelings that she didn't know she had. Everything else was pretty much set after that. Her first concert was a year after she started out.

It was the second concert she had when she met Artemis. She was returning home after it was over and noticed the white cat following her. She had no idea why the cat was so persistent on following her. She even tried to evade the white tomcat to find he still managed to follow her all the way home. It annoyed Minako deeply; she could avoid paparazzi and the press but couldn't avoid a stupid cat. When she got home it unnerved her but she let the cat in. He had not said anything the first night but still followed her the next day. She was about to turn around and storm at the cat on why on earth it following her when a youma attacked and she got her answer. Artemis gave her her transformation pen and she became Sailor V.

She had no idea who she was and why this was happening to her. She went home asking why it had to be her, how on earth she defeated that thing and saying she couldn't handle a secret life along with being an idol. Her perspective changed after that first night. She dreamed of her past life, no voices but flashing images and muffled sounds. She woke up with more knowledge then her dream revealed. It had all returned to her subconsciously. Over the next few weeks which became a couple years she remembered more and more, now she was just waiting for a chance to do something more than fight off the youma that were attacking. She wanted to find the others and even more she wanted to find the princess.

Minako took another sip of her drink, looking out her apartment window. The attacks have become more frequent and she was starting to get impatient. She could not do this alone. She wanted to believe she could manage by herself without the others and let them continue the normal lives they were living now. At times, staring at the ceiling, she wished she could go back to a normal life. She knew it was impossible so she just wished the peace of mind that normalcy brought to the others.

She let out a sigh and stood up. "Well I have nothing else to do for the day." She stretched and turned to Artemis. "I'm going to go work on my new song. I want to get it done by the charity event and I think I have some ideas on what I'm going to do." She grinned down at the cat and blew a kiss.

She walked to her bedroom and slipped in quietly, leaving the door open slightly so Artemis could come in. She sat down at her desk and grabbed a sheet of paper from her desk. On it was what she had already written down for her lyrics. She bit her tongue lightly as she read it silently to herself.

Your light always shine's through,

A single star shining in the darkness

Bright and full of hope,

You are the light of me.

She frowned and reached to grab her pen. Something wasn't right with the lyrics. It didn't really flow properly. She shook her head and put her head in her hands. She let her eyes close, taking in a deep breath letting it out slowly.

X_X

"Serenity where are you going?" a firm voiced asked the woman only a couple of meters away. The young princess turned around, one of her traditional pigtails hitting her face lightly. She gave a small smile and put an innocent look on her face. A small giggle escaped her lips.

"Oh, Venus- just out to the gardens I promise."

"You're going to see him again aren't you?" the senshi placed her hands stubbornly on her hips, staring the other girl down.

"Venus, its love- surely you understand?" Light brown eyes widened in a silent plea.

The senshi of love and beauty let out a small sigh. She could see how Serenity wanted to see Endymion. It just couldn't work out. She knew it was going to end in disaster. She didn't want to see her friend hurt, or worse. "I know Serenity, but you know how hard it is going to be for it to all work out. For you two to stay together?"

"Everything will work out Venus, I know it will. Trust me."

Venus looked over her friend with a gentle gaze. There was desperation in her princess' eyes but there was something else to. There was a strong passion and determination along with a love that can't be dampened. A warm smile graced her beautiful face and she took a step forward to Serenity. She hugged her tightly, whispering in her ear, "Go ahead and go see him, I can't stop you. But please Serenity, don't let your gentle heart be broken."

She pulled away and watched her friend give a grateful smile before leaving the courtyard. The lone solider stared after her a sad look in her eyes. She knew she couldn't stop her friend from loving the
Earth Prince. Love brought them together but it was likely fate would pull them apart. That fact broke her heart.

X_X

Minako opened her eyes again, the memory fading as quickly as she came. She knew her top goal was to deceive the enemy about the whereabouts of the princess as a decoy and then later find and protect her. She wished wherever she was in this world that she was safe and happy and didn't have to worry about the responsibilities and heartbreak of her past life.

"I'm being selfish wanting the others with me," she muttered under her breath. "They should be happy and enjoy themselves before the past comes back to haunt them." She sighed and looked down at her song, a forced small smile on her face. "I could do this on my own, and wish peace and sanity for the others for as long as they can have it."

She stored her work in progress song into the drawer. She stared out her bedroom window for a split second old memories and feelings going through her body. It was at times like this where she realized the full extent of the responsibility on her shoulders. It weighed her down more than she would like to admit. She yawned and stretched, turning to Artemis- staring up at her with soft blue eyes. She looked at the clock, noting she dozed off longer than she thought. "Well, I'm done for the night." She gave a cheerful smile to the cat but the white feline noticed the smile didn't reach her eyes or the rest of her. He sighed.

Minako walked to her wardrobe, picking her favorite pair of pajamas. She had a lot on her shoulders, yes, but there would be a time soon where she could share the burden with her old comrades and give them support as they gave hers. While she slipped into bed five minutes later she knew she was both looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.

A/N: A couple notes on this chapter. The lemon drink Minako got was a drink I remembered getting from a vending machine in Tokyo, the name escaping me at the minute. Also I wanted to do her song lyrics in Japanese but couldn't translate it properly. :[

More on Minako's past as a senshi and idol will come in later chapters. I wanted to do a brief overview in this chapter.