Life's Lessons
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Kristin Renee Taylor

 Epilogue -

Minako walked through the snow, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. The air was warm; the faint stirrings of spring wafted on the breeze, stroked her hair and face as intimatly as a lover.

Earth's long winter was finally ending.

The realization made her smile.

Climbing, she finally gained the top of the hill and, from that vantage, looked down at the village spread out through the valley. Several score flat-topped stone huts dotted the valley floor, enduring despite the snow. No people were visible, she could hear no voices at this distance, but from several of the huts tendrils of smoke rose into the sky from fires burning within.

She stared down for a long time, unfeeling of the brisk air. She had spent years looking for this very place and now, finally faced with the end of her journey, she suddenly wasn't sure of herself. Was she doing the right thing?

"I wonder…" she asked the breeze, "Will she even remember me?"

"You will never find out standing here," a soft voice answered.

"That's true." She closed her eyes. "But, I'm not the woman I once was."

"Are any of us?"

Minako opened her eyes, and turned to look at Super Sailor Pluto. "What if she doesn't remember?"

The Time Staff held loosely in her right hand, Pluto regarded the village below. A faint smile tugged at the edges of the eldest Senshi's lips. "Does it really matter, Venus?" Pluto's hair hung undisturbed; the wind that brushed Minako didn't touch the other woman. "We are who we are, and it's too late now to wish we were otherwise."

Minako sighed. "I guess you're right."

The faint smile became a smirk. "I'm always right. I'm Sailor Pluto, remember?"

Minako snorted and started to retort, but the movement below stopped her.

A dog had appeared from one of the houses closest to the hill where Minako stood, and a girl, no older than four, bounded after it, silver hair flying behind her as she chased the mutt. A woman watched them from the entrance to the house, amuesment plain on her face. Even at this distance, Minako could see she was pregnant.

Watching her, Minako smiled. "Princess," she breathed, and realized that Pluto was gone.

Alarm spread across the woman's face and she looked around, stepping out of the doorway and into the open air. Instantly, the wind caught her twin blonde ponytails and set them flying. Then she looked up, and the alarm vanished, replaced by surprise and shock. Her mouth moved soundlessly, but Minako saw her form two distinct syllables.

Grinning, Minako ran down the hill towards her princess.

Legal Stuff:

I don't own any of the Sailor Senshi. Er… the Descendants. Or is it the Avatars..? Whatever. I only own the original characters.

This has been a production of Blueberry Enterprises.
www.geocities.com/sailorfalcon/