Tainted Love

by abyssal chaos

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Prologue

A woman was perched on the lowest branch of a tree, hidden by the foliage. Her eyes shifted through the people in the busy streets below. A laughing couple walked by, and her face twisted into a sneer. She watched as they walked toward a nearby crowded restaurant. Eyes still fixed on the couple, she slipped silently out of the tree and walked, unseen, into the back alley behind the building.

~*~

A woman and her fiancé sat at a table, faces lighted by the flickering candles. She looked nervously around at the extravagant décor, then at the flowing French script on the menu, and couldn't help but feel a bit faint. Her companion, as if he felt her discomfort, looked up and smiled a slow, dazzling smile and reached across the table for her hand. The woman smiled back and took his hand, marveling at how handsome he looked in the flickering light.

The romantic moment was broken by a low cough. Looking up, she saw a waitress, patiently waiting for their orders, although looking a bit disgusted by their public displays of affection. Her pale blonde hair was pulled up into a loose bun, and her icy blue eyes, though hard to see in the dim light, seemed to flash with an unreadable emotion. Her full pink lips complemented well with her pale, flawless skin, and even with the modest uniform, anyone could tell that this girl had a figure to kill for.

To the woman, it seemed, for a moment, that her fiancé's eyes were drawn away from her and were fixed solely on the blonde goddess before them. His lips parted slightly in shock and his eyes visibly widened. The woman pursed her lips and glared at him furiously. She turned her glare on the waitress, but her gaze faltered as she returned her glare two-fold.

The waitress ignored the looks the drooling man and the jealous woman were giving her. Smiling politely, though it looked somewhat faked, she spoke in her soft, silky voice.

"Good evening, monsieur, mademoiselle. I hope I didn't intrude on anything; may I ask for your orders?"

The man, finally snapping out of his silence after a hard kick from his fiancee, replied.

"Just a bottle of wine for now. Something light- not too robust, moderately achoholic. White merlot, I think. I've heard that it's quite enjoyable. We haven't decided on our orders yet."

Smiling politely once more, the waitress nodded and disappeared behind the doors to the kitchen.

~*~

The waitress placed two crystal glasses and an ice-filled silver wine cooler onto the tray. Taking out a bottle of white merlot, she carefully uncorked it, breathing in the sweet, berry scent. She took out a small vial from her pocket, carefully tipping a few clear drops into the cups and dumping the rest of the contents into the bottle. After returning the vial to her pocket and putting the bottle of merlot into the cooler, she set a small plate stacked with wine biscuits onto the tray. Lifting the tray easily, she walked back into the dining room.

Setting the heavy tray onto the table, she was aware of the way the man was looking at her. Looking up, she met the gaze of the woman. She was glaring at her again. The 'waitress' smiled. Well, why not have some fun? Looking back at the man, she winked and blew him a kiss before walking away, swinging her hips. She was well aware of the lustful stare of the man and the burning gaze of the woman on her back. Smirking, the woman walked back into the kitchen. Soon the real fun would begin.

~*~

An hour later, the 'waitress' dragged the unconscious couple into the back alley. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she scowled at the couple. They had taken a whole hour to consume enough of the drug to pass out. During that hour, they had become more and more drunk; while the wine only contained 12% alcohol, the drug had a considerably larger amount. They had permanently ruined the reputation of the restaurant with their endless off-tune singing and bickering. Sighing, she turned and dragged another body out from the shadows; this one was a girl of about twenty, dressed in only a black teddy. After all, the waitress uniform had to come from somewhere. Closing her eyes, the impostor concentrated on her next destination, a dark aura surrounding her, before she and the three bodies disappeared…

~*~

…only to reappear in a hotel room across the street. Working quickly, she pulled out a pair of black gloves from her pocket and quickly grabbed the girl and the man, dragging them to the bed. Then, without even a change in expression, she stripped the remaining clothes off of the girl and the man and positioned them in a very compromising position. After partially covering them with a sheet, she turned to the woman lying motionless on the floor. Smirking, she walked across the room to a small bag on the dresser. Pulling out a small but deadly looking gun, she pulled the woman to her feet and placed it in her hand. Holding the gun carefully, she aimed and shot two times. She then let the woman drop painfully to the floor and slipped into the shadows.

The woman groaned, and opened her eyes. She gasped as she saw the still smoking gun in her hands, and looked up slowly, dreading what she might see. She let out an ear-piercing shriek, seeing the body of her lover and another woman twisted in the sheets, drenched in blood. The gun clattered to the floor.

"You killed them. You killed them in cold blood, in a fit of jealously, in rage that your love had betrayed you. And now you must pay the price of your revenge."

The hysterical woman looked up, turning her head to the source of the cold, unforgiving voice. Through her eyes, she saw not the waitress that had served her and her fiancee only an hour ago, but a dark angel, an angel of death, waiting to take her on her wings to the embrace of her dead lover – if he was not already in the embrace of another. The burning, hauntingly familiar gaze of the 'angel' penetrated her body and tore at her soul. She felt herself loosing her grip on her sanity.

Her eyes clouded and became blank, as if she was in a trance. Her eyes strayed to the gun on the floor. She hesitated before reaching for the weapon, shuddering at the feel of the cool metal against her skin. "Now you must pay the price of revenge," the angel repeated softly, eyes glittering. The woman slowly lifted the gun to her head. One last shot was heard, then all was still.

The blonde death-angel smirked down at the still body. Lowering herself to the floor, she placed her hands over the dying body. A green glow spread from her hands and seeped into the woman. Her startled eyes flew open, even as her lifeblood poured out of her head wound and stained the white carpet. Her gaze sought her attacker's cold blue eyes, and she gasped in recognition. Her mouth opened, and she whispered one word, emerald-green eyes betraying her confusion: "Usagi-chan…"

'Usagi' faltered for a moment before her eyes hardened. The glow surrounding them intensified, and the woman screamed in pain. She stiffened, then went limp. A glittering green crystal was cupped in Usagi's hands. Her face twisted into a sick smile, and the crystal disappeared.

The sounds of yelling and fists pounding on the locked door could be heard. 'Ah,' she thought smugly, 'so the officials are here. Just as I planned.' Looking one more time at the dead woman, the dark aura surrounded her once more as she concentrated on her new destination. One last thought echoed through her mind before she disappeared.

"Have fun in hell, Mako-chan…"

~*~

Author Notes: Okay, I know that was unexpected, but there IS a reason I've turned Usagi into a psychopath killer. It'll be explained in the next few chapters. And to all you inner senshi fans out there, I don't have anything against them; killing them off is essential to the plot. I'll appreciate reviews; no flames, please.