Author Notes:

First of all... I'm sure some of you have heard about this whole nasty business with Concrete Tenshi-san and her fic November Rain. She's taken it down so you can't really compare it, but the scene she used for the 'bucket' incident seemed like a pared down version of the same 2-3 page scene in Cold Love Twisted Love, now she's apologized for it and I'm waiting for the full story from her before I take another step... If you want the whole story you can visit my blog www.smcrossover.motime.com and in case you're a regular site visitor and wandering where the site went www.smcrossover.us ^^;; And this might sound a bit odd but I'd like it if a few of you wrote a note or two to make me feel a bit better. Even a 'you're doing great, don't give up' type thing... cause honestly I was pretty close to leaving the SMcrossover fandom after reading some of Concrete Tenshi-san's reviews. They were *very* disheartening to me and I was pretty close to slipping into one of those... 'no update for a year cause I'm depressed' type modes.... you don't have to if you don't want to, but it would be nice to hear that my work is appreciated, thank you.... Now back to your usual author notes

Wow... it's nearly been a year since the last update! I'm so sorry! *bows deeply* you can thank Tenshi no Nozomi-mouto for the update of this. She bribed me ^^ so I happily gave in. I've wanted to get to this part for awhile... I'm sure many of you are going to want to stone me for this chapter but I figure someone like Takatori won't be quite as crass as he's usually shown. He's a great politician; so remember his moves in this chapter are in my opinion, well calculated to get exactly what he wants.

Raye-chan: You've never seen Weiss? O.o such a tragedy... though honestly it's not exactly the best done anime. I adore it for its characters but honestly the animation isn't always top notch and the plot doesn't always make *perfect* sense. As for Cold Love Twisted Love.... I still need to finish the last chapter for that. Inspiration
kind of dried up at the end. I'll try to work on it.

Gackt Camui: Glad you like it so far. Your writing is also *very* good. As for the coupling... Well that won't be revealed quite yet. For all you guys know I might make it Takatori/Usa *snickers*

ArikaMorance: Err... I'm afraid I didn't meet your deadline. I just didn't sit down and write this when I had all the time in the world... Blame videogames. They're usually the culprit.

Anali: A pimp? O.o hmm... you know that could probably be turned into an interesting story ^^;; could you imagine him selling off the poor senshi? .... Considering who we're talking about for the right price I can almost guarantee Schu would do that^^;

Mae: Well Crawford doesn't have many lines if any in this chapter... But who knows, maybe later your baby will get some attention from Usagi as well... that's granted she survives long enough to run into him again.

Last note... You people *really* love Schuldich don't you? Despite him being unusually cruel and vindictive ^^;; just something I wanted to comment on... I mean I adore him too but it's still odd how he's basically an anti-hero and most are cheering for him. Btw small note that Dreamfairy-mouto has recently brought to my attention... Schuldich has BLUE eyes not green.... I was as stunned as all of you must be. Enjoy the chapter minna.

***

Chapter Ten: Deliver Me from Deception

The name rang in her mind like the peal of a set of wedding bells. Takatori Reiji, the man who her late husband had been trying to prosecute for some unknown reason; the man that she knew in her heart was responsible for the death of her beloved Mamo-chan. Thoughts of Schuldich, Yohji, Omi, Ken, and even Aya left her mind as a foreign emotion seemed to simmer to life inside of her mind. Her tiny fists clenched and with effort she forced herself to calm down enough. This was going to be her chance to revenge Mamoru... and she'd do whatever it took to make it succeed.

"Chiba-san, are you ready?" the voice was soft but had an impersonal edge to it as if the speaker was merely leaving a message on an answering machine. Though the person rapped softly on the door, they didn't bother to open it to see if she had tried to escape.

"Just a second," she straightened her new clothes the best she could and scoured the room for something to use as a weapon. Half of the room was taken up by the giant bed, and the other half seemed to be assorted junk strewn across the floor. If this was Schuldich's room, he wasn't very tidy. It kind of reminded her of her own room back when she was a kid... just with a much bigger bed. There wasn't a single thing she could find to use. It was frustrating. Though now that she thought about it... It was doubtful she'd be able to hide anything in the getup she was forced to wear.

The dress looked average enough. A pale blue strapless silk dress that traveled to just above her knees... and that wasn't too bad. What irritated her was that the back of the dress was mainly open to any element, the only thing holding the dress together and not letting it fall and humiliate her was a tiny cord that was smaller than the tip of her fingertip. Though the cord *seemed* to be holding, she didn't trust it. It was so delicate that she was sure it would become unraveled and the top of the dress would fall down. She wouldn't be able to deal with such a horrible event...

The theme for the meeting seemed to be simple. Instead of high heels or anything of the sort she had a pair of soft slippers that reminded her of a ballet she had once been dragged to by the girls. Silk straps crisscrossed up her ankle and stopped mid-calf on each leg. She wasn't even given any jewelry. She had had her doubts about Takatori before, Aya's comments on the man's *taste* in women seemed shaded over now that she was observing her entire outfit in a handy mirror nearby. She wasn't ready for this...

"Chiba-san," this time the door did open and a boy around Omi's size entered. "Chiba-san, we have to get going now." He didn't even seem to notice her outfit as he waited for her to follow him. "Please don't try anything foolish," he cautioned his voice slightly rising above the soft calm. "You won't get away with it."

Usagi nodded and tried to stop her hands from shaking. Was she scared? She didn't feel scared... Maybe it was excitement? But no, that didn't seem to feel right either. The only thing she really felt was nervousness, but why was she nervous? She couldn't harm this monster, and she knew she didn't want to have anything to do with him. Was Schuldich involved?

Crawford eyed the young woman carefully as she ascended the steps that would lead to Takatori's private dinner he had arranged. As he gazed at her his eyes grew unfocused for a split second and he nodded. She wouldn't be able to harm his client in the immediate future. He didn't talk or even acknowledge the two as she struggled to fight her nerves. He had other things to do than tend to a frightened woman. He had to have a conversation with another member of his team; one that was
losing sight of their goal.

**

Yohji paced the length of their mission room like a caged tiger. His fury knew no bounds and he had called Aya every name in the book. It was his fault that his little blonde tenshi hadn't returned with them. For all he knew she could have been used and thrown away before even reaching Takatori. It had been a selfish and stupid decision. One that he wasn't about to let Aya forget.

"Yohji-kun, you're not helping," Omi scolded his normally calm voice raised in anger. "We're all responsible for Usagi-san. If Schwarz has her..." his words trailed off as he remembered the tiniest smirk on Prodigy's face. Why would Schwarz want Usagi except to kill her? It hurt him to think such things because he considered her a friend. He didn't even want to think of her as dead... but he was prepared to accept the truth. It was likely that wherever she was, she was dead.

Aya ignored both his team members as he focused on what had happened. Not only had Takatori slipped from his grip once again, but Usagi had also been captured. Takatori had just been given what he wanted; the girl would probably be tortured to death as they tried to squeeze her for questioning. For some reason Schwarz knew about their plans. Why else had the team been there to stop them? There was one of two possible reasons for it, one was that Oracle had a vision and had sent
his team to stop the plan... or Usagi herself was in on it all. Now that she wasn't around to confuse and befuddle him he was beginning to realize the hold she had mysteriously gained with half of the team. Who's to say that she wasn't a spy?

"So, what are we going to do?" Ken could feel the thick tension between his companions and tried his best to dissipate it. "If they only meant to hurt or kill Usagi-san, they wouldn't have sent Prodigy or whoever else they sent. They would have done their deed there... but they captured her which means wherever she is, she's still alive." He paused to let that sink in. "But we have our missions to fulfill... We can't just try to storm the enemy's fortress unprepared."

Omi had been startled that Ken thought Usagi still alive. It made him happy to know that he wasn't the only one harboring hope. "Ken-kun's right. We don't even know where she is. The only thing we can do right now is continue filling out our missions and keep our eyes open for any clues to her where a bouts... Remember, Usagi-san is Sailormoon... I think she'll be okay until we find a way to her."

Yohji scowled at how willing they all were to just leave his tenshi in the clutches of demons. "What if you're wrong?" he demanded his voice tight as his fist clenched and found the bite of his familiar wire. "What if they're torturing her for information on her deceased husband? What if even now she's dying?" he didn't want to lose anymore women he had connected with. Losing Asuka had nearly killed him, he didn't want to even think about what it would be like if he found Usagi's body marred with scars and wounds.

"We have no choice," Aya quelled Yohji's upcoming argument with a glare and he turned to address the rest of his team. "We'll continue doing what we've done before she came here. Takatori is too greedy to kill her quickly. We all know his particular tastes... Once we find Takatori, we'll find her."

**

Usagi fidgeted as she was shown to a table laden with foods. She could hardly believe her eyes since most of what s he saw she knew was quite expensive. And there were quite a few things that she didn't know what they were. Considering that Takatori didn't seem to be around she couldn't resist the temptation and gingerly plucked at the various dishes, getting a little taste of each.

"I hope you're enjoying your meal, Chiba-san, or would you prefer Tsukino-san?" Takatori let his eyes rake over the young woman's figure. She wasn't quite what he was expecting, but she was still interesting enough for his tastes. "It's good to finally meet you... you're quite an elusive young lady."

Usagi winced and tried to drop her gaze from his penetrating one. He hadn't been what she expected. From some unknown source she gathered her courage and forced herself to meet his eyes. "Why did you kill my husband?" her voice trembled as if she was close to tears and she hated herself for not being stronger.

"I don't understand your question, Chiba-san. You see I'm not responsible for the unfortunate incident of your husband's death. I believe my enemies marked and destroyed him because he was working for me." He paused to smile at her as he noticed the shock and confusion cloud her sapphire eyes. He'd have to arrange for similar jewelry to match if she was to become what he wanted. "I have all of my men working to find out who killed your husband." He smiled at her as he pulled out a long manila envelope. "I wanted to speak to you because Mamoru-kun left with me his will."

"What?" Usagi was reeling. Was he lying? But he didn't look like he was lying.... But why was he acting as if her precious Mamoru was on his side, even acting as if he was a friend? It didn't make sense. She wished Rei-chan was around, the young woman would be able to discern if the man before her was lying or not with one look.

"I understand that you were unaware of all of this. Mamoru-kun was instructed to inform you that he was testifying against me. It was all a precaution in case eager ears were listening. In fact Mamoru-kun was one of my most trusted employees and I considered him a friend." The shock on her face was evident. It was time to nail a final blow to his case and have her switch completely to his side. "Perhaps I should let you talk to Mamoru-kun's assistant? I believe you know her..."

The rest of his words seemed to be drowned out by the rapid beating of Usagi's heart. What was going on here? Was all she had been through a lie? But it would explain why her precious senshi were on his side... They wouldn't work for evil.... did that mean that the young men she had stayed with were the bad ones?

"Usagi-chan, it's nice to see you again," Ami Mizuno smiled softly at the stunned blonde. It was good to see her Princess safe and sound... at least for now. She let the slim woman put her arms around her in a hug and returned it as hard as she could. She had missed her best friend... "The others work here as well. Takatori-sama treats us very well and we all have excellent jobs... We're really helping people, Usagi-chan."

"Thank you, Ami-chan, could you please allow us a few moments alone to speak about some important issues? After we're done I'll send her along to the rest of your group and you can all get reacquainted." He waited until Ami was completely out of the room before he smiled at the wide-eyed shocked girl. "Now, Usagi-chan, you don't mind if I call you that, correct?" at her silence he smirked. His plan was working better than he had expected. "I expect that you want to read this will... It details a few personal items that Mamoru-kun was adamant about what would happen to you if anything should happen to him. I have some issues to attend to so please, take your time in reading it. If you have any questions just ask one of the servants outside this room to find me."

As the sound of the man leaving seemed to reverberate outside the room; Usagi sat in the cold metal chair and stared straight ahead. The supposed will of Mamoru was in her hands and her fingers nervously played with the edges. What was she going to find? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she once again tried to summon strength. Her hate and anger had flowed out of her as her certainty with his connection to her husband's death faded. Slowly her fingers slid open the envelope and she pulled out the paper within. A soft sob escaped her as her eyes darted to the bottom where she saw her beloved Mamo-chan's signature in his own distinctive handwriting.

Tears instantly welled up and she blinked them away to focus on what his last wishes were. As her eyes scoured the lines she turned a combination of pale and a cherry red. This was what Mamo-chan wanted her to do? It couldn't be true... Why would her beloved husband want to leave her in the care of another man? Why would he want her to not only live with, but be a bride to his boss? It didn't make sense... And though it was all in his writing she couldn't help but feel something was wrong with all of this. If everything she was seeing and had heard here was true... did that mean that Weiss were the ones responsible for Mamoru's death? But... even as she thought that she couldn't help but remember the kisses she had shared with three of the members. It hadn't been anything like the soul consuming kisses of Schuldich but they had all left their marks on her heart. How could she possibly believe that they were all toying with her? It didn't make sense at all...

Frustrated she laid her head on her arms and sobbed. She wasn't aware of the pair of eyes watching her every movement. The eyes that knew well the words she had read and had been recently chastised for interfering with the group's plans. But even with everyone against him he wasn't about to let go of that little bird quite so soon. When all was said and done, no matter what condition she would be in when it happened... She was going to be his.