Special thanks to James Nutley for his C&C.
Special thanks to Kimberly Lim and Thom Youngblood for encouraging me.
Special thanks to Chris Bowen for introducing me to DBZ.
Extra-special thanks to Oren Laskin for getting me into Sailormoon and
letting me keep my Sailor-V website on his server.
Extra-extra-special thanks to those readers of "A Lesson in Love" who
understand that I need to get this story out before I do chapter 15.

Hope this works better for everyone...

--------------------------------

This is... oddly... A Sailormoon and Dragonball Z story... sorta.

If you like my writing at all, please give this story a chance-- even if you
DESPISE both Sailormoon and Dragonball Z.

This is going to probably turn into a major lemon around.... part III. Just
thought I would warn you. You will probably be able to read the "Beginnings"
and parts I, II, and IV and still get a complete story if you want to skip
part III.

This story is almost completely about Aino Minako, so, although it is
TECHNICALLY a Sailormoon fic, it isn't really. It's a crossover too.... sorta.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Some background [READ ME READ ME READ ME]

        This story takes place BEFORE Sailormoon Stars, somewhere between
Sailormoon SuperS and Stars. The timeline from Dragonball Z doesn't really
matter because it is all explained later on.
Some information about Aino Minako:
        Aino Minako is the Japanese name of Sailor Venus (Mina in American
Sailor Moon). For those of you who haven't seen every single Japanese
Sailormoon episode or read the manga, I figure I should explain a few things.
        First of all... Before there was ever a Sailormoon series there was
a manga series called "Code Name: Sailor-V" (see
http://mizuno.res.cmu.edu/~marisa/sv.html ) which was all about a
thirteen-year-old Aino Minako and the cat Artemis who helped her become the
beautiful soldier for justice, Sailor-V. When the author of Sailor-V was
approached to have her manga made into anime, they asked her if she could
possibly expand the storyline a bit. The expansion of the Sailor-V series
became "Bishojo Senshi Sailormoon."
        Aino Minako was moved from Sailor-V into the role of Sailor Venus,
the last of the inner-senshi to be found in the Sailormoon manga (and
anime.) In the Sailormoon MANGA, Sailor Venus was at first thought to be the
moon-princess because she had a crescent moon on her forehead when she
transformed into Sailor-V (and, at first, when she transformed into Sailor
Venus). It was later discovered, of course, that Usagi was actually the moon
princess. However, and this point is VERY VERY vague in the anime, it turned
out that Sailor Venus was actually the LEADER of the Sailor Senshi, which is
why she has a different transforming pen than the other inner-senshi and why
she has a guardian cat of her own. As I said, this point is really not so
obvious in the anime at first, though it seems to have suddenly resurfaced
in Sailor Stars. In the (5th?) episode of Sailor Stars, Sailor Venus rescues
Sailor Pluto, who tells her to just go and leave her. Venus retorts to Pluto
something like, "Don't you tell me what to do! I am the leader!" As I said,
the point isn't really emphasized in the anime, but perhaps it will become
important in Stars. *shrug* who knows.
        OK. BECAUSE Sailor Venus was important as her own character PRIOR to
Sailormoon, she tends to get quite a few "solo" episodes in both the anime
and manga. I can think of at least three in the first series-- her first
appearance, the hair-parlor, and the "Sailor-V" episode, "Nurse Minako" and
a couple others in Sailormoon R, the two volleyball episodes in Sailormoon S
and the one where she falls for Haruka (thinking she is a guy) and one more
I think..., (haven't seen much Super S), and I have seen one Aino Minako
story in Sailor Stars but I don't know the title. There are a couple
parallel stories in the manga too.
        For you poor people who can only see the DIC episodes of Sailor Moon
;_; I can only say that they treated Minako like CRAP!!! They cut out EVERY
reference to her being Sailor-V, and they took out the whole episode about
Sailor-V in the first series of Sailormoon. I guess it was too violent for
them or something. I dunno. Basically they made her into an idiot. Sigh. The
story that they cut can be summed up like this: Minako goes off to study in
England and fights there as Sailor-V. She meets up with a handsome guy named
Alan and falls in love. Later she meets Katerina-oneesama, who is an agent
of a crime-fighting organization called Interpol. Alan, Minako, and Katerina
do lots of stuff together as friends, and Mina completely misses that Alan
had fallen in love with Katerina. Katerina (of course) never noticed that
Minako liked Alan (yeah right). Anyway, Minako faked her own death when she
found out that Alan was actually in love with her friend, and took off for
Japan. There is more to the story, but that is all you really need to know
to get the gist of MY story--- go watch the episode ^_^ At the end of the
episode, Minako finally gives up on Alan because she can't come between him
and Katerina.
        USUALLY the episodes with Minako as the focus are about Mina running
off, getting depressed, etc. She seems to be more prone to depression than
any of the other senshi, and doesn't always seem to be quite comfortable
with the others. Usagi once said of her, "Minako is more mature than any of
us..."
        But of course she doesn't ACT mature most of the time. Why?
        Well, this story is an exploration of her character.
        If you don't like depression, angst, sex, and convoluted endings- go
read something else. ^_^

Here is what I have written so far, please tell me what you think....


misachan
--------------------------------------

A Love to Last For All Time
A Sailormoon/DBZ Fic in Four Parts
By Marisa Price

*Beginnings*	

	Minako stretched and sighed, flipping her hair back over the arm of the
couch. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, twirling one loop of
hair with her index finger. She re-crossed her legs and caused the cat (who had
been so contentedly asleep at her feet) to jump awake.
	"Mina....." Artemis growled.
	Minako heard the growl and looked down at him. She saw his glare and
rolled her eyes as she replied, "What? Just because you are napping, I can't
move my feet? It IS my couch."
	Artemis blinked at her for a moment. He finally grumbled under his 
breath and stood up, and then, turning his back on her, he jumped over to an 
adjacent chair. As usual, Artemis tried to give a grand demonstration of the 
traditionally fluid grace of the cat as he leapt; and (also as usual) he failed
miserably.
	Minako giggled as one of Artemis's legs slipped mid-landing and he 
suddenly found himself face-to-face with the upholstery. To say the least, the
slip completely ruined the effect of dignity he had been trying to achieve.
	Artemis scrambled to hold onto the chair (and the shambles of his 
dignity) with his claws, and (eventually) managed to pull himself back up. Once
he finally stood solidly on the beige armchair, he flicked his tail twice with
frustration and sat down, his back still facing Minako. He refused to meet her
laughing gaze as he sank down fully on the soft material, tucking his paws 
beneath him. After he felt properly settled he looked back over his shoulder
and threw a disparaging glance at the still-giggling girl, and then closed his
eyes again.
	Minako shrugged off Artemis' attitude. It was, after all, nothing new,
and she knew that he wasn't REALLY offended by her giggling. They had been
together a long time, almost four years in this life... And many times that in
the previous one. Their personalities were different, but they had come to
respect and understand one another... As well as to depend on each other.
There was no one else on this small blue earth who understood her quite as well
as this white cat; he was not only her ever-present companion through the 
passing years and lives, but also, undeniably, her greatest friend.
	She sighed and tried to kick herself out of the reflective funk she
seemed to suddenly have fallen into. She reached out to grab her soda off the
table and then took a long drink, finishing it off, and set it back down on the
table with a slam.
	Artemis said dryly, one eye opened partway, "Couldn't you be just a tiny
bit more ladylike, Mina? Or, at least, a bit more respectful of others?"
	"Oh, sorry. Thought you had gone back to sleep," she replied, sticking
her tongue out at him.
	Artemis growled at her, "Exactly why you should have been trying to be
quiet."
	"Oh, Artemis, give it up, OK? I don't need this today," Minako said,
sitting up and stretching her arms out over her head before allowing them to
fall
back loosely to her sides.
	"Well, you figure we finally get the chance to have some quiet time to
ourselves, and all you do is act restless," Artemis complained, watching her
stand up and go over to fiddle with a can of fish food. She finally got it
open and then wrinkled her nose at the smell.
	The small goldfish she had won at the last festival swam lazily about in
a medium-sized bowl. Usagi had given her the tiny aquarium for her seventeenth
birthday, upset that Minako had been keeping "the poor fishy" in a pint jar.
It wasn't a particularly spectacular tank, but Usagi had carefully picked
out pretty blue stones and small pieces of jet black glass for the gravel. To
finish the effect she had made (all by herself) a small lopsided ceramic castle
to sit as a centerpiece.
	Minako sprinkled some of the golden-brown flakes on the skin of the water
and watched as the bright orange fish suddenly appeared from inside the
castle. It
clumsily waddled up to the surface and began to eat greedily.
	"Minako? Are you even listening to me?" Artemis said after a few minutes
had passed and she still hadn't answered him. He opened both eyes and looked
at her
while she gazed down at the little fish.
	"Hmmm?" Minako said, turning to look at him, her shining hair following her
like a cloud of sunshine. She was a portrait of light-- but, as she turned
to look at him, Artemis saw that the brightness was shadowed by the darkness
within her eyes.
	"Mina-chan? What's wrong?" Artemis asked, standing up on his chair and 
looking at her pensively.
	Minako sighed and turned back to stare at the goldfish. She finally said,
"I'm sorry, Artemis. I didn't mean to ignore you. What were you saying? That
I'm restless? I guess you're right."
	She replaced the lid on the jar of fish food and finally turned around
to flop down on the couch again and she stared blankly at Artemis. Her hair fell
in gold waves about her shoulders as she shrugged forward, her elbows resting on
her knees. She sighed and reached out a hand to fiddle with the empty soda can.
	Minako finally said in a barely audible voice, "It's just... It's just
that I am still so LONELY, Artemis.... Even after meeting up with all the other
senshi."
	"Mina...." He said sympathetically, and hopped back over on to the couch
to rub his chin against her arm. She swept him up in her arms for a moment,
holding him tightly to her. Finally she relaxed and set him back down next
to her.
	She leaned back and looked down at the carpet, wondering how to explain
all the emotions which filled her. Her gaze trailed back to the room, suddenly
falling again on the aquarium.
	Inspiration filled her and she shrugged at the fish bowl, saying, "I feel
like that goldfish sometimes, Artemis. All golden and pretty to look at, but 
trapped inside of little glass bowl and separated from the world outside by the
very substance that I need to live."
	Artemis looked confused, so she continued, "I already know my future as
well as I know my past, and I just feel like I am going to be swimming in
circles
forever, trapped by the fate that someone else has decided for me."
	Artemis was surprised at the depth of her introspection, and even more
amazed that she hadn't mixed her metaphors or slipped into one of her
traditional faux cliches. This, more than anything, made Artemis concerned.
Concerned about this lovely girl who had dedicated her life to helping others.
	He said, cautiously, "Mina-chan... You shouldn't feel like that.... You
aren't trapped! Remember, Pluto once told us that the future is not necessarily
permanent. And... Even if it is... Unlike that fish you aren't ALONE. You have
all of us-- Luna and Diana and I, all of the senshi, and Usagi to love you and
to be with you..."
	Minako laughed and reached out to gently stroke the soft fur on Artemis's
forehead. The glitter of tears welled up in her eyes, but she did her best to
fight them down and managed to say, "Yes. I have the senshi. I have you. But...
those loves are different than the kind of love I want, the kind of love I am
looking for. I want someone who loves me more than anything else in the
universe, someone who is as much a part of me as I am of them... I want a
love like you have with Luna, as Usagi has with Mamorou-san..."
	Artemis looked at her blankly for a moment before saying, "But...
Mina-chan... Why don't you think that you will find that sort of love
someday? You are still very young, and, being the reincarnation of a being
from the Silver Millennium, you know that your life will be very long. You
still have time to find that love you are seeking...."
	"Artemis, think about it!" Minako said sternly, "That's what I meant
before by my fate sealing me inside! I ALREADY KNOW what my future is, and we
saw the future in Crystal Tokyo there was no sign that I had ever found anyone
to love. I know that a thousand years from now, no... Even more than that! That
I will STILL be alone. How long am I going to have to wait? Forever, probably.
And who could I find anyway? I know that until Neo-Queen Serenity reforms the
world that everyone I see around me would just grow old and die while I
stay young. How could I love someone knowing that?"
	She laughed bitterly for a moment, and Artemis stiffened, wondering at
the despair he felt in her, saying, "But... You only saw a glimpse of the 
future, Mina. How do you know that there wasn't someone there for you?"
	She looked down at her hands and said quietly, "I just know, Artemis. 
I know that it's going to be forever just as it always has been... We senshi
protecting our Princess, our Queen, our friend. Protecting HER love and HER 
life and HER dreams, at the cost of our own."
	Artemis hissed and was going to begin a rebuttal when she suddenly
continued, wiping at a tear that had strayed down her cheek.
	"Don't get me wrong, Artemis! I don't really mind that, you know. I
love Usagi and I would protect her always. I love this planet and I WANT to
have the honor of being one to protect it. But... I have always been so ALONE.
Even with the others I am always lonely... none of them really understand me.
They all think I am a silly, simpering idiot."
	"That could be because of the way that you act..." Artemis said dryly,
and then regretted it as soon as he saw her pained gaze and the new tears
flowing from her eyes.
	"So what?" She asked him. "So what if I act like an idiot? It's because
all of a sudden I'm not on my own anymore. They want me to be a leader, THE
leader, and out of the blue I am supposed to know everything and be everything
that everyone wants me to be!!"
	"Minako-chan..."
	"I'm not good at it, Artemis! I know I am this reincarnation of Venus
from the past and that I am supposed to be the leader of the senshi. I try my
best when I need to... I try to lead as well as I can. But... I'm not very
good at it! I haven't been doing it my whole life like the original Venus
had been, and I have a lot to learn," she cried.
	Artemis raised one of his paws up and placed it over her mouth,
quieting her for a moment.
	He said in the brief breath of silence, "Mina-chan. You CAN be a
good leader! I have -seen- you be a good leader. You just need to stop this
immature act that you have so carefully developed. Before you met the other
senshi you were a lot more... dignified. Why have you changed so much?! I
-know- that you aren't really like that, I have seen you act like the
intelligent, rational, conscientious person you can be. So... Why do you 
act like you do around the other senshi?"
	Minako sighed as Artemis' paw fell away from her lips, and she 
reached a clenched hand up to wipe furiously at the tears that stained her 
cheeks. She said in a muffled voice, "I.... I'm just SHY, Artemis. As crazy 
as that sounds. Maybe it's because I feel so DOMINATED by the way that Rei 
and Usagi and Mako-chan and Ami-chan act. I mean, Rei is always in control,
and she has her special powers of perception. Usagi is always happy, even 
in the worst of times, and her love and joy fills us all with happiness when
we need it. Mako-chan is so strong and so powerful and she is someone who
fights first and would defend you to her last breath. And Ami-chan... she is
so brilliant. What am -I- compared to them? I'm -NOTHING-."
	Artemis looking at her, shocked. He finally managed to get out, 
"MINAKO! How can you say that? How -CAN- you? There are many things about you
that make you very important to ALL of us."
	"Like what?" she asked bitterly. "What can I do, Artemis?  The only
things I am good at are volleyball and looking pretty. Both of which I've 
had to set aside. I'm not a volleyball star anymore, and, although I look 
good and all still, I had to give up on modeling and singing and all the 
other stuff which I used to enjoy so much." She paused and looked at the 
speechless Artemis and then said flatly:
	"No wonder no guys like me, what is there to like? I haven't been 
the same since Alan left me for Katerina anyway."
	"Don't be a fool, Minako," Artemis finally said.
	"But I am a fool already, Artemis. I am the fool of the senshi. I 
gave up on everything that I cared about to become a defender of what OTHER
people care about. I'm just a soldier now... not a individual..." she turned
away from him, her slender frame racked with small sobs.
	"Minako, you can still be yourself... You are STILL Aino Minako, and
we all love you for YOU! YOU being the person that makes us all laugh and 
smile..." Artemis began.
	"...laugh and smile?" Minako cut in. "Yeah, too bad the laughing is
usually directed AT me."
	"Mina..."
	"You know what I would give to have someone who truly loved me, 
Artemis? Someone who loved me like Mamorou loves Usagi?" she asked him, her 
tears slowing, and she wiped her dripping chin on her sleeve.
	"MINA...."
	"I don't care if it only happens for an instant... but to just KNOW 
that I had been loved liked that... Even for a whisper of time... Would make 
living worth it for me.... Make it seem like there was some REASON to keep on 
with things even though I might never be able to be anything other than a
soldier," she reached out to Artemis with her pleading eyes, and, even more
persuasively, with the pleading of her soul.
	"Do you understand, Artemis? If I knew that someone loved me like that,
somewhere, I wouldn't be so lonely..." she finally said when he didn't answer.
	Artemis nuzzled her arm again and, looking up into her deep blue eyes,
he said, "Mina-chan... You don't understand what you are wishing for. Imagine
if you found the love of your life, and he loved you in return, and then you
just had to turn around and leave him behind in order to be a sailorsenshi.
Can you imagine the loneliness you would feel once you had FOUND the love you
were looking for, but had to give it up? It would be a choice between giving
up on him or giving up on the senshi... and I don't think you would ever give
up on the senshi. You know your duty to them, you have already lived and died
for each other. So it would have to be him... And yet, once you let him go,
you would always know 'what might have been' was still out there, and it would
make you even lonelier."
	"I.... I don't know, Artemis... I never quite thought of it like that,"
she admitted quietly.
	He prudently didn't say anything as she worked it all out in her head.
	After a while she said, "I don't know, Artemis. I just don't know. I...
know I need someone... but every man I have ever fallen for has let me down
or fallen in love with someone else...  Especially Alan..."
	"I know you loved Alan, Mina-chan, but he didn't love you back..." 
Artemis said softly.
	"I know, " said Minako, her face clouding, "But he sure made it seem
like he did. You don't know even half of the story...."
	Artemis put his paws on her leg and stared up at her with serious eyes.
He finally said, gently, "I know more than you think I know, Mina..."
	She laughed bitterly and said, "Well, then you should know why my life
is the mess it is, and why I try so hard to hide it all behind a mask of
sunshine and happiness. I know I can't escape being senshi... I AM senshi, it's
in my veins, the very air that I breathe. It traps me like water contains that
poor pretty goldfish in that small glass bowl. I guess I should probably just
resign myself to the fact and get it over with. There isn't ever going to be 
any 'ai'* for 'Ai'no Minako."
	"MINA!" Artemis said yet again as she stood up.
	"Forget it, Artemis. Just leave me alone for awhile, OK? Why don't you
go visit Luna?" her words were acidic, and, before he could respond, she turned
to walk quickly out of the room.
	Artemis heard her footsteps storming down the hallway and then a click
as her door opened. A second later it slammed shut and then there was the
audible noise of the lock being fastened.
	And then there was silence.
	
-------------------------------------------------
* This is my feeble attempt at a linguistic pun. "Ai" means "Love" in
Japanese. The author of Sailormoon was careful to make all the names of the
senshi reflect their planets and powers... The "Ai" in Aino Minako is
supposed to represent Venus, who was the goddess of love in Greek
(Aphrodite) and Roman (Venus) mythology. Aino Minako can be something like
"Ai no Minna" or something like "Love of Everyone" 
----------------------------------------------------------



*Part I: Unexpected Visitors*

....coming soon....



Marisa Price
marisa@tendo-dojo.ranma.net (FFML messages)
mdp102@york.ac.uk (Personal/Business Mail)
http://www.york.ac.uk/~mdp102/