The war had ended. The battle was won. Minako didn't know if she'd gone to hell and back again, if she'd been ripped out of heaven, or if there truly was nothing on the other side. She'd died twice, and she could never remember what lay beyond when she awoke, like a dream you knew you had but you couldn't grasp the details ten seconds after waking.

She hung back, watching as her friends began to cluster together in their own mini-supports groups. The Outers hung together, as always. Usagi clung to Mamoru with the desperation of a child, little Chibi-Chibi still squashed between them. Rei remained near, contented by her proximity to the princess. Makoto and Ami stood with their heads together, whispering words of comfort that for them would not be hollow. And predictably, Seiya and Taiki stayed close to Kakyuu, thankful to have been given this third chance after thwarting the second.

Not so predictably, Yaten had wandered off on his own. Minako watched as he stumbled away from the main group, swaying and tripping over his own feet, until he finally sank to the ground as if his knees could no longer support him.

Alone and not wanting to be alone, Minako followed. She crouched beside him, balancing on the balls of her feet. She rested her arms akimbo across her knees and tilted her head to the side. She did not ask if he was all right; she knew better than to ask anything at all.

"You're not dead."

She wrinkled her nose at his tone. "Don't sound so excited about it."

He shuddered; she'd never seen him show weakness like that before. Something twisted near her ribs. "Sorry. I just... When you were gone, when all of you were gone, I thought you were... gone."

She didn't know whether to be sympathetic to his shock or shocked herself that he was bordering on polite. "You get used to it," she said, lying to him more than to herself.

"Is that why you... did that?" He swallowed. "Because you knew she'd bring you back?"

Minako felt completely out of her depth. She knew how to deal with vulnerability in Usagi and the others - even Rei, rare as that occasion was. She had know idea how to help Yaten. He was showing her his underbelly; if he didn't look so tragic (in fact if the whole situation weren't so tragic) she'd look for a way to turn this to her advantage.

She readjusted her position so that she sat next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees. "No. I did it because you're my friend and you didn't deserve to die."

He seemed ready to collapse in on himself, to implode like a star. "But you knew--"

"No, I didn't," Minako said. "I didn't know we'd win. Galaxia was a whole different baseball bat than Beryl. I won't lie. I hoped she would. I hoped she'd have the strength to bring us back and to bring herself back again. Even if it meant forgetting her and the past three years, even if it meant forgetting you, I wanted to live." She exhaled sharply, blowing her bangs upward. "I guess that's selfish."

"Hell it is," Yaten muttered. "It's human. It's sensible."

She grinned wryly. "I knew you'd understand."

He nodded, but he didn't return her smile. He wasn't sarcastic or superior. He didn't even correct the saying she'd botched on purpose just to bait him.

She had no idea what to do.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm just no good at giving relief."

He shook his head. "It's fine. I'll be fine. Later." He closed his eyes as if weights were hanging from his lashes. "Much later."

Minako began to reach forward, began to touch him, but drew back. "Do you want me to get Princess Kakyuu? Seiya or Taiki?"

"No." He responded so quickly she jumped. "Don't leave. Stay here."

"All right," she murmured softly. "I won't."

At a loss, Minako scooched closer to him and laid her head against his arm. Then she reached forward and grasped his hand. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, fingers entwined, searching for their relief.