Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
The Second Story

AN: So I was talking Sailor Moon with my friend Midnight, and we were bitching about the general lack of PGSM outers fic. So we decided to write one. Enjoy.

When one is speaking Japanese, there is a tendency to trail off when one is uncertain or about to say something rude or negative that might be offensive to the listener. While I usually hate using '...' in stories, as there's so many other ways to express that particular part of speech, I've decided to include it simply because it actually makes sense to have them there. So don't mind them, there's a reason for them.

Tokyo, Summer, Present Day

For the first time in her life, Tsukino Usagi did not wait for the domestic release of Aino Minako's latest album. There was a six month advertising campaign going strong in Japan before the actual album was released and Usagi was sick of waiting for the new material. She bit the bullet one day and logged into Mamoru's computer and ordered it off of an English website, finally happy that she'd convinced herself to do fix the problem that she'd been complaining about since she'd first heard from the singer herself about the delayed release.

Mamoru was quiet when she said that she'd ordered the CD and listened to it with her when she first got it, gathered around the karaoke machine at the crown with Makoto and a rather embarrassed-looking Ami. Rei was busy and wouldn't come, but Usagi had told her that she simply had to hear the album at some point, for it was one of Minako's best. Rei's response was to shrug and say that Minako would probably send her a copy of it as soon as it came out in Japan and she had no real qualms with waiting, unlike some people.

Usagi didn't understand how Rei could still have the emotional range of a tea kettle, but while she'd opened up with some things, it was far better to simply leave all mention of Aino Minako outside of conversation if you wanted to really talk to Rei. Mentioning the idol, as always, made her clam up and get standoffish.

Usagi thought that it was rather adorable, really. They were such good friends to each other, but they would never, ever admit it.

After everyone had parted , Usagi pulled out her cell phone and flipped through her contacts until she found the correct number. She had to be careful with that number, for she knew that she could get into a lot of trouble if anyone found out that she had the personal cell phone number of Aino Minako herself, despite it being listed in her phone, as it was with all of the former senshi, as 'Venus'. Rei had programmed the number into the phone so long ago now that Usagi had simply grown accustomed to it being like that. She felt no need to change it, even if they were no longer senshi. She hit the 'send' button after a moment's consideration and waited as the call connected. Minako was in Japan somewhere, she knew, so she would not have to worry about speaking English to anyone. She smiled and waited.

"Hello?" A tired-sounding voice said in English. There was a brief moment of panic where Usagi thought that she might have dialed the wrong number, but then she realized, as she always did, that it was Minako who had answered the phone.

"Minako-chan!" Usagi said happily, "It's Usagi!" She wasn't shouting, so much as talking excitedly; for she knew that Minako's work schedule was nothing to frown at and that the idol was most likely exhausted. She'd been in Japan for promotions of the new album for the past two weeks, but so far, none of them had gotten to see her, because of the hectic nature of the idol's appearance schedule.

"Usagi-chan," Minako's tone turned suddenly happy and much more awake than it had been when she answered. Usagi wondered just how much happiness she'd had in the past few months since they'd last seen her at Christmas. "How are you?"

"We're all good here," Usagi nodded into the phone. "We just got your new album; I ordered it from Europe when I heard that there was a release delay..."

Minako laughed. "I thought that you might, and I was going to send you a copy, but my manager caught me as I was doing it and yelled at me." She paused for a minute, "Did you like it? I tried something a little different."

Usagi frowned slightly, for normally Aino Minako's manager was the least of their problems when it came to friendship, mostly because the man had no spine to speak of. She cradled the phone to her ear, "Yes, very much, Minako-chan." She sighed quietly, "Your music always brings back memories for me."

The new album was a compilation with a British classical violinist named Michiru Kaiou, if Ami's translation of the CD booklet was to believed, and it was so far the first step away from straight-up pop for Minako. Usagi thought that the album was very good, but she liked the 'classic' Aino Minako songs, like 'C'est la Vie' more than the content of this CD, the presence of someone else on the album seemed to make the very sound of the music sound very different.

The music was haunting, love songs that Usagi would have recognized anywhere. These were songs from the past life, they had to be, for there was no way that something completely new would sound so familiar to her otherwise.

Minako's tone turned sharp, "Good memories or bad ones?" There was a bit of guilt in her voice, and Usagi found herself tripping over her words to try and right that fact. She could never make the idol feel bad; the way that Rei seemed to have an uncanny knack for doing, and it was just in poor taste.

"Oh, good memories, Minako-chan!" She said hurriedly, laughing nervously. "Really good ones of dances and masked balls, I liked them a lot."

Minako's smile could be heard in her tone. "That's what I was intending, Princess," she said cryptically.

"Don't call me that, that's all in the past now." Usagi said quietly. It could stay in the past for all she cared, really. She wanted nothing to do with the fact that all of her friends, even now, she guessed, would lay down their lives without a second thought for her. She didn't like being that important or that powerful. She was just Usagi, just a normal girl. She didn't' need to be a princess.

"Have you heard from the others?" Minako asked, her tone curious. Usagi guessed that she was just changing the subject, and for that, she was grateful.

"Yeah. They were all here with me earlier, well, except for Rei, but Rei never comes to these things any more..." Usagi trailed off, knowing that out of their entire circle of friends, Rei was the one that Minako cared about the most. "We're getting together later in the week for dinner at my house, Mamoru's got something going on, so it looks to be a girl's night. You're more than welcome to come if you're free."

"I'll check my schedule, Usagi, but it sounds like something I wouldn't miss for the world."

They talked for a few minutes about inconsequential things, and soon afterwards hung up with each other. Usagi tucked her phone into her pocket and stretched before grabbing her purse and heading up and out of their 'secret base'. The lights clicked off behind her and she did not notice the pale glow of an envelope appearing on the table.