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Chapter 05: New York City

After leaving the group in the Med Ward, Minako promptly went back to her room, determined to get away from prying eyes, questions, judgments and sympathies. She wanted nothing more than to get away... She knew very well that she was being irrational, but she just wanted to get away. it was always easier to run and replace the pain with something run. It was certainly better than facing the torturous anguish, be it alone or with someone else. It was easier... And she would rather things be easy now. They should have been simple now... But they were not.

And she just didn't want to deal with it.

So she went back to her room, promptly locking the door behind her. Not even Yahara or Artemis would be a comfort at that point... Minako stopped crying immediately and picked up the phone, calling the head of one of the modeling agencies she worked for, Lisa Chang. She had offered Minako a job in Ireland a few weeks before, saying that the company had requested her specifically. Minako had turned it down then but at this point even work would be less stressful than living in that palace... So she had called Lisa and thankfully the job was still open. She took it, dancing around any inquiries into her health and general well being, saying that she would be by to pick up the plane tickets in about an hour. The process of getting to Ireland was to take a Shuttle down to Crystal Tokyo and then hop on a plane there.

Minako had never understood the logic behind it, but she didn't question it only because she felt there must be some obvious reason that she was missing.

Upon hanging up the phone, the knocks at the doors came... Predictably, it was Yahara and Artemis, asking to be let in. She remained silent for awhile, hoping that perhaps they would give up and leave or figure that she had gone somewhere other than her room. But then Usagi had joined them in asking for her to come to the door, and something about trying to deceive the three most important people in her life made her uneasy... So she opened the door and allowed them in.

They had of course begun with asking her how she was doing, and Minako said she was fine even though she clearly was not. But that was just the thing one said when asked the question... No one actually expected you to answer it truthfully, right?

Well, they were obviously the exception because they kept pressing her. Minako could not hold up under all that pressure, though in actuality it was slight, and snapped at them, letting the Ireland plans slip. Once it was out, she told them she was leaving, she was going alone, and that was that.

Of course this started off a chain reaction of arguments, poor rationalizations, discontented sighs, and a plethora of other things. But what it basically came down to was that no one was going to allow the blonde to go alone. And after some protest, Minako finally realized that her wishes would not be respected out of necessity and she agreed to allow some people to come along, but not all. She then told Usagi that she was going to swing by New York to pick up the tickets, so she should figure out how many people were going so that they could let the model company know how many they were paying for. Usagi readily agreed, saying that she would bring Mamoru and Lady Serenity along. They had not had a chance to talk for awhile.

Usagi left, promising to be at the Shuttle Bay on time. Then of course Minako was left alone with Artemis and Yahara, who both insisted on coming to Ireland, which she had expected. She mentally added their tickets on to the steadily growing list, and asked if they were coming to New York as well. Artemis insisted upon it, and though Yahara tried to be as convicted, he was not... He was too tired to be. Minako made him stay behind and get some must needed sleep.

They'd both been losing sleep. Minako was constantly being awoken by nightmares. Yahara was staying awake because it was very hard to sleep next to a person having such violent dreams... Not that he wanted to anyway.

Afterwards, Minako and Artemis walked down to the Shuttle Bay, discussing anything that was not dire or important along the way. It was good for her. Upon arriving, Minako sent the operator away, not giving any reasons for doing so that made any sense to Artemis, but he knew better than to press her. After a few more minutes, Usagi and Mamoru arrived in a disguise... And after a brief case of mistaken identity, all they had to do was wait for Lady Serenity and Diana, who arrived a few minutes later. Then they headed for New York, Artemis watching the controls (ignoring Endymion's queries over whether or not this was such a good idea).

On the flight down, Minako remained silent while the royal family chatted away, feeling like an intruder on a private moment between them. Yet she did not feel awkward, quite accustomed to this feeling over the years. The family did not get a chance to be together much, and often times quality time was hastily scheduled and done doing a plethora of other things at once with the other Senshi. So they had all quickly learned to except this feeling of not belonging and allowing their own thoughts to wander...

Minako refused to let herself think. She didn't want to think.

Upon arrival, Minako sent Endymion, Diana, and Lady Serenity off shopping (giving the pink princess a card that would give her a fifty percent discount on every purchase... ah the wonders of being a model) and Usagi and Artemis would stay with her. Now, Artemis had been there a few times before and he knew what to expect, but she didn't generally talk about the less than glamorous things about her job in front of the others. So when Minako gave her queen the vaguest description about what do to possible...

"If anyone offers you anything don't take it and if you see anything that looks illegal, you didn't see it, got it?"

The other woman could not help but be a little nervous.

The modeling agency was located in a less than upscale part of the city of New York and the building wasn't too pretty either. While most of the other agencies Minako worked for made a lot more money and were therefore a lot nicer than this one, she did a lot of her work here as a personal favor to Lisa, who had done her a number of favors in the past as well. And after stopping Usagi from buying some decidedly unhappy substances from a dealer and saving her from the clutches of a drunk woman (both of whom were employed at the agency), they headed upstairs to see Lisa, Minako's boss. They happened to walk in on her and her boyfriend, who was not know for his fidelity, doing their own version of quality time in her office, but things soon went back to business when he left. Minako explained the situation, being as vague on the details as possible. She picked up her two tickets (as Lisa had assumed that Yahara would come regardless) and then told how she would need tickets for Usagi, Lady Serenity, Ami, Greg, Angela. Endymion had declined to leave as he felt at least one of them should remain behind.

Then they left and that was that...

So they thought.

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