Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Cold Love Twisted Love ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Author Notes: Was inspired for this while reviewing Purr-chan's WK/SM Schu/Usagi ficlet, so she gets full credit for being my inspiration for this idea. I plan for this story to twist and turn a bit, so when you think you've got it figured out, it could twist on you and leave you scratching your head. As for pairings… I'm not going to say, just know that it's a rare triangle.

Unlike most of my works this will be rated R, since I'm dealing with some insane people, and pretty dark subject matter, it will gradually earn its rating. In any case, enjoy.

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Cold Love, Twisted Love

The cool night air brought the gentle fragrance, of the dozens of flowers lined up perfectly, to her nose. She inhaled the sweet aroma that only this place could bring and let her natural fear of this place subside with each step forward she took. An untended flower was almost crushed under her foot, but she managed to stop in time and pick up the fragile symbol of caring and devotion. Despite her search she wasn't able to find the place where the flower came from, so she carefully added it to her own bundle of flowers and continued her tread.

She stopped by an old elm tree whose leaves were branched out protectively over the precious land beneath its boughs. The young woman stopped here and knelt down as she offered a sad sweet smile to a single land marker. It wasn't the most eye catching, or even most kept, but with this small gravestone she was able to remember a life before her current one. A life where everything was so much simpler, or so she had thought at the time.

For the two people residing in the ground beneath she gently placed two pots of pansies by the tree's sturdy roots, so that the flowers wouldn't go rolling down the hill or end up like the stray flower she had brought. With a soft smile she paired both the daisy she had brought, and the orphan one, and laid them side by side as she tied them to a balloon. These flowers reminded her of her sweet best friend. Her first best friend, anyway. As for the other person of her memories…

A lone tear trickled down her cheek as unbidden memories came to her. It would be too shallow to call him her first crush. He was more to her than that. He was her inspiration, her joy, her enthusiasm for life. He made her smile and brightened her day. It was a shame that before the accident, she had never told him just what he had meant to her. Of course that had all changed after that one tragedy…

She had never been told what exactly had happened, only that her father was changing job positions and they were moving to Juuban. She had never found out just what had happened to the two that didn't lie in the cold cool ground beneath her feet, but the only way she had been able to continue on with life was to think of them as dearly departed dead. Nothing had ever hurt her so much, but as callous as it felt, with the move and the focus of both a new school and an entirely new life… She hadn't had time to grieve. She had moved on by putting them both out of her thoughts and memories and convincing herself none of it had happened.

That she had never played barber with her friend and had gotten into a ton of trouble when both sets of parents saw just what their kids had managed to do to each other. That she had never been there to cheer as both her friend and her first love played game after game of baseball, soccer, and even once, the odd American sport; football. And of course, the first time she had ever felt tragedy.

The tears were trailing down her cheeks now, immeasurable in number. She felt so hideous to be returning now after all this time. She had dearly wanted to return, multiple times, but with the combination of her life and duties, she never had the time nor energy. In fact the only reason she was here now was because she had skipped out on having a meeting with her friends and had spent the day traveling back to her home town. It had taken her until nightfall to find this place. She owed them at least their last respects, and for the other two… She owed them a good-bye.

Absentmindedly she fiddled with the golden band on her finger. She was going to marry her new love soon. Her sweet prince… She felt like a traitor not telling him of her entire past. Of not telling him about the first one that caught her heart and had never let it go. It was true, she was still in love with someone that had been dead for years now. But with her fiancee… It wasn't that she she didn't love him, she did, but it wasn't as vivid of a love, wasn't as breathtaking. Her heart never stopped with a simple smile from him. No, it was a different kind of love, and she was happy with it.

How would he had reacted to knowing that she was going to get married? It had taken awhile, even with her best friend's help, to get him to even begin to accept her joining them on simple excursions, let alone actually going out and having fun together. He had always kept a part of himself roped off from others. That wasn't to say he was cold, far from it, he doted on her best friend, his kid sister, and as she remembered now, she realized she had also been added under his protective wing. She could dimly remember all the fights he had gotten in keeping the two of them safe. But still, he had never seemed to show any romantic inclination towards her. To her it seemed that he treated her like another sister. She had been happy with just that, just being near him had been enough.

So the question in her mind remained, would he have been wary and protective? Or just maybe would he have shown traces of jealousy? She almost laughed cynically at that thought. Only her imagination could come up with a scenario quite like that. Realistically, he'd probably check her fiancee out, make sure that he could honestly care for her, and then wash his hands of it.

The thought she probably meant so little depressed her and she lay her head down on the cold hard stone marker. It hadn't been fair that they'd both been taken away from her so quickly. Either one of them would have been bad enough, but both of them? She hadn't even been able to attend the funeral for their parents because of the haste to move. Why had her father decided that being a photographer was a better job than an assistant of the bank? It didn't make sense, but she had been a bit too young to complain. Besides, it had happened long ago and she doubted her parents remembered. They had banned her from ever coming here, and though she wasn't sure of the reason why, she had obeyed until now. The anniversary of the incident…

Slowly she got to her feet and straightened her outfit. She'd have to hurry home or she wouldn't make it back in time before the others started worrying about her. Telling her friends about her past wouldn't help anyone, so she wasn't about to do it. Besides, it would probably only hurt them knowing that she had another love before her fiancee. She would continue to let them believe it, they needed to believe it. Just like she needed to believe her first love was dead and gone.

An owl hooted softly above her and she glanced up to see the wise old bird watching her. A shiver ran down her back and she took a step backwards. She knew owls couldn't hurt you, but the eyes… They weren't a pretty sight when everything else around you was nearing pitch black. She lifted a hand in farewell to the rows of silent markers for the dead, and turned to leave the cemetery. At this rate she was going to miss the bus that would take her back home, and considering that she really didn't know anyone from around this area, that would be a bad thing.

She was way too absorbed in her thoughts to realize she was being followed. Entirely too focused on reliving memories to realize that there was someone behind her, and too completely involved in trying to stop her tears to notice the hand that grabbed hers.

Startled blue eyes snapped up to meet an emotionless golden one. It was too dark for her to make out anything else and she tried to shrug the stranger off. Perhaps they were lost? But why hadn't she heard them come into the cemetery? "Are you visiting someone as well?" She glanced back at the grave that she had tried to tidy up and noticed the single golden orb glance briefly at the worn words.

Fueled by the idea that this strange person was focused on the names of the grave, she snatched her hand out of his grasp and decided to make a run for it. If it had been some sort of accident, or a lost visitor, surely they would have spoke up, right? Besides, if she was wrong and being a silly worry wart they could have some tea afterwards. If she remembered right there was a great café she has passed on the way here...

As she realized she wasn't hearing anyone's footsteps but her own she stopped and looked around. Despite that everything was only lit by the pale light of the moon, she could discern that whoever the odd person had been was gone. Maybe she had been imagining things, maybe she had caught herself on a statue that had a golden trinket wrapped around it. That had to have been it, there was no such things as ghosts.

Regardless of her reassuring mantra, the young woman hurried on her way and managed to exit the dark cemetery. She was just breathing a sigh of relief when she noticed someone watching her. She swallowed nervously and managed a brief smile to the well-dressed business man.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here all alone?" Warm brown eyes took in her slightly ruffled appearance."Ah, I see… You're one of them." An odd unknown emotion seemed to appear in the stranger's eyes and she took an uncertain step backwards. "Don't worry, I can help you out. Just follow me to somewhere a bit more private and we'll get you taken care of, and then we'll both be on our way, ne?"

She was confused at the offer but nodded He didn't look dangerous, perhaps he could help her get to the bus stop in time? She followed him off of the main street and onto a smaller less-lit one .As he stopped at an alleyway she shifted uncertainly and took a step backwards. "Are you sure this is the way to the bus stop?"

The man was pulling a billfold from his pants and paused to glance back at the girl. "Bus stop?" He rifled through and pulled out a few crisp notes. "These should pay for that, but first, we should conclude out business, ne?" He suggested as he shrugged out of his jacket.

Frightened now, she let the bills float to the ground and took another step backwards. Surely this guy wasn't suggesting… She shuddered at the thought and started to take another step backwards when she bumped into something.

Her heart starting to pound she glanced over her shoulder and almost screamed. This new stranger had a collection of vicious and horrible scars decorating his face, and if that wasn't enough he was wearing an eye patch on his left eye. She could only hope it was for looks and that he hadn't actually lost an eye. He was frightening!

While the girl had been distracted the businessman had recognized trouble when he saw it, and had left the scene. Personal safety was vastly more important than a few moments of pleasure. That guy wasn't a simple bully from some pompous gang, no, he was far more dangerous than that. His eye clearly relayed that message to all those that could read it. He was deadly. Sighing with faint frustration, the man counted his losses as he hurried to the first open store he could find. Anywhere was safer than back there.

"Thank you so much," she whispered as the full horrors of what might have befell her were realized. She started to say more when she realized he had a single golden eye. A golden eye that was locked on her. She felt fear grip her insides and she whimpered softly as her fingers rooted around her jacket for a familiar compact.

Wordlessly, the silver-haired stranger lifted up a small round object and slightly smiled, the action almost seeming twisted, as her eyes caught sight of it. Without speaking he dropped it into the girl's hands. As she opened her mouth to thank him he pulled out a long wicked knife with one hand, and grabbed her by the throat with the other. She felt the cold steel blade at the curve of her throat and whimpered softly as she was led away from the alley.

As she was forced to turn her back to him she never noticed the handle side of the knife crash into her head, leaving her to briefly see stars before turning her vision completely black. Still without speaking the man picked up the unconscious strange girl and slung her over his back. He wasn't one to put a lot of thought into matters, but he had noticed something peculiar about the gravestone she had been visiting, something that could bring him a lot of pleasure later on when he reported it. Something that would make his day.

A fleck of drool landed on the unconscious girl as she was packed into a small car, with little more care than if she was a giant package, as his eye shone with excitement. Killing the girl would have been his first choice, but his orders were to only do minimal damage, only enough to kidnap her. He had never expected that the job could bring joy and excitement.

Just like the uncontrollable excitement he had felt when she had been sobbing against that cold stone, he was starting to feel it again when he imagined the rewards he would receive. Maybe he'd get a chance to play with the bunny later for doing such a good job, and if not her, perhaps he'd get a chance to use his blades on someone else. Someone not important to the mission. Someone that would make it…fun.