AN: Because I haven't had a new idea in so long I couldn't deny the small one I did have, even if its a song fic. And because America never got to see the episode with Mina as Sailor V... Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Its nice to know someone is reading, especially when I've been absent for so long. inspiredthoughts@hotmail.com The lyrics come from Linkin Park, who I worhsip. Their new CD is wonderful, if too short! ;) **************************** Somehwere I Belong ***************************** *When this began I had nothing to say And I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me I was confused And I let it all out to find / that I'm Not the only person with these things in mind Inside of me But all the vacancy the words revealed Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel Nothing to lose Just stuck / hollow and alone And the fault is my own And the fault is my own* The words, the speeches, stuck in her throat so often in those final weeks. She was so tired of being a lone warrior, a soldier for Good, sacrificing what was left of her childhood to preserve a universe that had destroyed her so many times. She didn't remember her past lives or the burdens she had carried but the weight of responsibility was familiar to her. She fought Evil because it was her duty. Mina had lost much of her belief though; she wondered if she'd ever really care again. The only thing that kept her going was the promise of relief, of aid, of others to help share the pain of idealism. And if they didn't find the other Scouts soon, she was going to go mad. She was already slowly going insane. And if she wept into Artemis's fur at night, those rare nights she wasn't out, delivering speeches and conquering darkness, he watched the shadows grow on the walls and never commented on her muffled tears. *I want to heal I want to feel* She loved because love was pain, its beginning, its ending. She loved when it wasn't right to love. She loved who wasn't right to love. She loved to make herself feel real. She loved to feel, even if it WAS pain. It was still something. It was more than she had grown accustomed too. So she loved, the weary Senshi of Venus, and hated the weakness that drove her to it. *I want to let go of the pain I've held so long [Erase all the pain 'til it's gone] I want to heal I want to feel Like I'm close to something real I want to find something I've wanted all along Somewhere I belong* She was leaving her solitary existence. She had been alone for so long she wasn't sure how she would manage having others to depend upon. Mina was afraid for the first time in a very long time. She didn't like the feeling but, she liked feeling. She said goodbye to the man she had made herself love and moved her and Artemis to Japan. To Tokyo. To the women who were destined to share her Fate, even if it was simply pain and duty. *And I've got nothing to say I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face I was confused Looking everywhere / only to find that it's Not the way I had imagined it all in my mind So what am I What do I have but negativity 'Cause I cant justify the Way everyone is looking at me Nothing to lose Nothing to gain / hollow and alone And the fault is my own And the fault is my own* They weren't how she had expected them to be, though it was funny beecause Mina hadn't had any expectations at all. She didn't understand them and she was so used to understanding everything. She wanted to think Ami weak, but there was something in the coldness of Mercury's eyes that told her that, shy as she was, she wasn't someone to trifle with. Lita was distant, aloof, even with her open and loud personality. You could see the mask of Jupiter but never the truth of the surface. Of them all Mina felt the closest kinship with Rei. There was a seriousness, a sense of purpose that matched Mina's own in the responsible lilac eyes of Mars. Serena was an enigma that, that puzzled the golden haired warrior, leader, ruler. The warrior of the Moon was such a child with her tears and cries and complaints. Mina was always shorter with her than she meant to be, not because she disliked Serena, but because Mina had had to grow up so long ago. It was jealosy that drove Venus to cut the Moon down with barbed words that she never meant to say. Jealousy because Mina knew, without a doubt, that Serena never spent the night weeping into Luna's fur. In some ways she pitied the girl though, because she had to grow up so fast, so hard. It was difficult to leave childhood behind and to face the numbness, the pain. Mina knew that bitter lesson ALL too well. *I will never know Myself until I do this on my own And I will never feel Anything else until my wounds are healed I will never be Anything 'til I break away from me and I will break away I'll find myself today* Mina did not know the others long before she learned who they truly were to her. Until she learned who she really was. Sometimes it seemed like every puzzle in her life revolved around the Moon. Sometimes it seemed like the Moon held all her answers. She died with her friends, for duty, because the burdens she had carried for so long weighed her steps down so much it was impossible to run. If she had wanted to. If she had tried. She died with a smile, fighting what she had been born and bred and born again to fight. But she died with her friends. For her friends. It was so much easier to sacrifice when there was something worth bleeding for. When there was someone worth bleeding for. *I want to heal I want to feel like I'm Somewhere I belong* It was so much easier to be reborn when there were people, friends, worth living for. So much easier to face Fate again when she didn't have to do it alone. When she had girls willing to share her pain and to teach her happiness. She had been robbed of childhood, but quickly learned the equivalent of joy. Mina didn't remember her past lives or the burdens she had carried but the weight of responsibility was familiar to her. She was glad she didn't have to carry it alone anymore. Artemis purred at nights until she was lulled to sleep, unless they were out fighting, a satisfied smile curling her lips. Mina had finally found where it was that she truly belonged.