Notes : Mild SM Stars Spoilers, NT, Toei, Kodansha owns 'em, this is but a short 
flight of fancy, a will-o-the-wisp in the SM fanfic world...but all pleasures in 
this life are fleeting. 


Letter From Minako




A leader. 

No one had ever called me that before.

I'll never forget the moment you did, or the way it made me feel. All that time, 
when I struggled by myself, with myself, I never imagined that I'd be part of a 
group. Much less the leader. And then you told me I was...a leader. Such a 
simple phrase, really, but it made me feel so special.

Until you said that, I hadn't realized *how* utterly unspecial I had been 
feeling. How silly is that? I mean, I'm obviously special. But Usagi, she's the 
Princess, and Rei, Rei loves her so much, and so intensely, it never occurs to 
Usagi to lean on anyone else. Makoto is the strongest of us - by alot, and Ami, 
well, she is practically a poster child for the word "genius."

I know, I have the experience. I know that, and so do the others, but its not 
like anyone ever says that to me. "Minako, you've been doing this the longest - 
what do you think?" 

And until you said that to me, I never realized how much it bothered me. No, 
that's not right, how much I *let* it bother me. Because, of course, you were 
right. And I knew it.

At that moment something important happened. I stepped out from the shadow of 
the others and allowed my true power to show. Which, obviously, was the point. 
Don't think I missed that. You don't do anything without a reason, and we *all* 
know that. Your mysterious nature is practically legend among the rest of us, 
you know...but we all know that when you do or say something, there's a reason. 
And we do our damndest to understand that reason.

You shouted at me to escape and leave you behind, and I tried to honor that 
order too. But I realized that if Rank Hath Its Privileges (I bet no one knows I 
know what *that means!) then as a leader, I had responsibilities too. And 
although Haruka is the leader of the Outers and Usagi's the Princess, and you're 
the oldest and most experienced of us, in that one second I knew...I knew what 
being a leader meant. It means that the responsibility for the safety of those 
around you falls onto your shoulders and no one, not even your closest friends 
and teammates can every take that burden away. So I turned around and saved you. 
And I don't regret it, not for one second.

So thank you, Setsuna, for setting me free. For calling me a leader.


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