Title: No turning back
Author: Ree
Theme: Setsuna (Joseph Campbell Quote)
Genre: General
Version: PGSM (probably already spoiled- nothing really big or main plot)
Rating: G

Setsuna and her friends all belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I just asked them very nicely if they wanted to play. They agreed, and quietly snuck out without Takeuchi-sensei's knowledge.

No turning back

Setsuna walked into her office. 'Something feels strange.' Dropping her bag onto her desk, she turned on the computer, and went to pull the top sheet off the desk calender. Staring at the date, she picked up the calender for a better look. 'What happened? Did the Moon Princess set time that far back?' Putting the calender back down, she sat down at the computer. Opening her My Documents folder, she saw all the work and preparation for the meeting with Mr. Ijiwa was gone. Looking around, she saw none of the outfits she had designed for the show. 'I haven't even created them yet.' She stared at the date on the calender once again, trying to figure out what she was doing "yesterday".

"Setsuna-san! Your back." Setsuna shifted so she could see Akemi peering into her office. Akemi continued once she saw that she had Setsuna's attention. "I thought you were going to be on vacation until tomorrow."

'That is where I am supposed to be. Oh, well. I can't remember if I really came back early last time or not.' Smiling at her friend, she gave a casual shrug. "I just couldn't keep away. Too many ideas running through my head."

Akemi giggled. "Su-u-re. You just heard that we have a chance for Mr. Ijiwa's company, The Fashion Girls, to fund the next fashion show."

'That's why all those files were missing. I haven't done them yet. I haven't even been selected to prepare the presentation. We haven't even been told it is a competition between three small design firms.'

Trying not to let any of her thoughts seep into her tone, she teased back. "Well, I couldn't let everyone else have all the fun, now could I?"

Setsuna closed the door to her office. Everyone had been so happy today, but she knew it would last about three more days. Then they would find out the rest of The Fashion Girls stipulations. Then everyone was going to become depressed. Finally, Akemi will pull them out of the doldrums, and they would start preparing.

As she walked to the bus stop, she glanced around the courtyard, looking for ghosts. 'Of course there are none. There weren't any this early on anyway. And it shouldn't happen again. The future is changing. I need to remember that, and try to forget what I know happened last time.'

While waiting on the bus, she felt an aching loss as the Gates pulled at her. She had managed to ignore it most of the day, but she suspected it was going to get worse when she reached her apartment. 'The only way I'm going to get over this is to work my way through the pain. I don't want watch everyone else's lives pass me by while I stand guard. I want to live my life. I want my friends and my family. It's so lonely there.'

The ache continued to strengthen over the next couple of days. She watched as her friends went through the pain of finding out about the competition, and knew she couldn't tell them what to expect. When she saw the news, she felt bad that she couldn't tell anyone what was going to happen. The burden of knowing the future was wearing. Finally she gave in. She would go fulfill her duty. It was time to go back.

'But I can't leave quite yet. I have to arrange everything just in case I need to visit again.'

The next morning Setsuna did the hardest thing, she resigned. Akemi stared at her, obviously trying not to show how much she was hurt.

Looking down at the letter of resignation in her hands, Akemi felt compelled to ask. "Why Setsuna-chan? Did you get another position?"

Setsuna almost took the letter back. They had been together since high school. This company was both of their dreams. For the past five years they had worked really hard to make it work. This past year, Akemi-chan had taken over as the head, while she kept doing what she loved, designing. She laid her hand on her best friend's arm. " No, I'm not going to compete against you, Akemi-chan. I'm moving out of Japan. I know this is all the sudden, but ..."

Akemi looked up at her. "You would never give up a chance to travel. That was your other dream." She glanced back down at the letter. "I'll accept this, but only as resignation of a permanent member. You can still send in random designs if you wish. And you can still be a silent partner in the business." She raised her hopeful eyes to Setsuna's.

Setsuna accepted the compromise. "Okay, but I can't promise when I will be able to contact you. Or even if I will be able to send you random designs."

Nodding her head, Akemi gave her a hug. "Take care, and at least send me a postcard." Setsuna hugged her back, and hoped she would have a chance to.

After that it was easy. She set up her accounts so she could access them any where in the world, terminated the lease on her apartment, and sold most of her possession. Anything she really wanted to keep, she left with Akemi.

Finally, all was ready to leave her old life. Standing on the shore of Tokyo bay, she transformed into Sailor Pluto. Then, she followed the pull she had been feeling for the past two weeks. It was time to start her new life.