Title: A Kiss In The Dark
Author: Princess Destiny
Email: In Profile
URL: destinysgateway DOT com
Couple: Usagi And Mamoru
Rating: M 15+
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama/Action/Adventure/UST
Summary: 'One Hour Challenge' #657: Response Fanfic. Eleven years ago, Mamoru's father married Usagi's mother. It's now almost Usagi's sixteenth birthday and she has to juggle her secret life as Sailor Moon, on top of school and a job at Motoki's shop. Her life is turned even more upside down when she begins to suspect the masked hero she is falling in love with is actually her awful step-brother!
Couple: Usagi And Mamoru
Chapters: 10/?
Status: Unfinished
Year Completed: N/A

Comments: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that it's been so many months since I wrote for this Fanfic. I had the flu for many months, then caught bronchitis, which I'm still recovering from. I'm not at my best at the moment, but I've been dying to write for this story, so I did so. This has been with my editor for a week, so it was actually already written and I was just waiting for it to come back so I could post it.

Don't be too surprised with how the storyline goes in this Chapter and the next, it is an important plot twist, which will reflect on the Chiba family and map out how the rest of the Fanfic will flow. If all goes well, I'll have another Chapter out in two days. Just a reminder, that all the events in the previous Nine Chapters have happened over only a twenty-four hour period. This was to let you know how Usagi and Mamoru's lives flowed and those around them, but now I will be going more in depth into relationships and situations.

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Hugs,
Princess Destiny

A KISS IN THE DARK

By Princess Destiny

Chapter Ten

Working at the Crown Arcade was as busy as ever, and Usagi found that she had no time to think about things, such as her step-brother being her crush, or even how much her arm might be hurting. Revenge for Mamoru misdemeanours-her poor Sailor Moon stickers!-could be thought of later also.

"Order five is up, Usagi!" Motoki called out to the blonde girl and his sister, Unazuki. Both girls were waitress' at his business and things looked brighter with Usagi around.

He had kept a careful eye on her all that morning, thanks to a quick call from Mamoru, letting him know that the small blonde was injured on her arm. "Unazuki, you get that one." Her brother called out, changing his mind. The tray was really too heavy, and Mamoru would kill him if Usagi hurt herself worse. It was still unclear just what had happened, or how bad it was.

His best friend was certainly taking his role as older brother seriously, that was for sure. Threatening Motoki bodily harm if he so much as let his step-sister lift a heavy object! Honestly.

"Eh?" The Senshi of the moon said, hands hovering over the tray. She blinked in confusion, then suspicion as Unazuki grinned and took the order. Something strange was going on here. Motoki and Unazuki had stopped Usagi from doing certain things that morning. "Did that jerk call up after I told him not to?!" She glared at Motoki from under her golden lashes, looking for anything in his face that could betray him.

Motoki grinned cheekily back at her and went back to wiping down the bench.

Huh! As if that wasn't suspicious behaviour, she didn't know what was. Her step-brother was so dead when she got her hands on him.

"Stop with the glaring and go and have a break," He paused. "Odango."

Usagi stopped dead with her apron half off. She stared at Motoki incredulously. "Excuse me?!" She almost shouted, disbelief in her eyes. Now Motoki was doing it too?

"Umm...Mamoru wasn't around, so I'm filling in for him," The blonde man shrugged and turned his back on her to get to the next order. As if turning was not a suicidal movement after calling Usagi her hated pet name. She absolutely loathed that name about her beloved hair, and he knew it. Mamoru was the only one who was ever allowed to get away with it. Motoki winced and waited for the expected retaliation.

It came in the form of a balled-up menu, bonking the back of his head and bouncing off onto the floor.

"Keep your comments to yourself!" The Senshi of the moon huffed in annoyance, then turned and flounced towards the door.

As she reached the doors, a commotion outside caught her attention. An elderly lady wrestling weakly with an assailant trying to steal her bag! "Motoki! Help!" Usagi shouted, bolting out of the doors almost before they had opened. The robber darted off into the crowd as Motoki joined them.

But then a familiar person raced by them, legs eating up the space between them and the assailant. Usagi had a few moments to recognise her step-brother, his face creased in fury, bearing down on the hapless robber as if he was going to beat him into a pulp. "Oh dear," She whispered, knowing Mamoru's 'justice' expression when she saw it. And given that he was Tuxedo Kamen, he couldn't possibly have seen such a thing happen and not do anything.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Motoki asked the elderly woman, taking her arm in a comforting manner. He glanced at Usagi. "Er-was that Mamoru I saw? He was so fast, I wasn't sure." He blinked in surprise. "He isn't going after that guy, is he?" He shook his head in amazement. His best friend sure was the superhero type!

"It was Mamoru." Usagi confirmed, biting her lip in vexation. She was concerned about the poor woman, but she really wanted to go after that woman also. "Did he hurt you?" She asked anxiously, helping the old lady to a nearby seat.

"He stole my bag," The old woman said dazedly, looking in the direction the man had fled. "Everything I owned was in there."

"I'll get you some water and call the police," Motoki said soothingly, turning to go back inside. "Usagi you-"

But Usagi had had enough. She was Sailor Moon, for god sakes! She couldn't just sit there like she was a normal person. Okay, so the man wasn't from the Dark Kingdom, but he had whatever was going to him. "Oooh, you creep!" The small blonde girl yelled, waving her fist about. Her eyes flashed wrathfully. "Motoki, I'm going after him. Hold down the fort!"

"No, Usagi-" Motoki tried again, but his waitress was already gone, long legs flashing as she bolted after the robber. "Oh shit, Mamoru is going to kill me." He said weakly, sinking down on a seat beside the old lady.

"What an enthusiastic young woman." The old lady said wonderingly, calming down somewhat.

The tall blonde man muttered under his breath darkly. "That's a nice way to put it."

The afternoon was not going as planned, and that was for sure. So much for his quiet visit to the Arcade for a nice hot coffee. And to check on his sister of course, to see if her wound was doing okay. He had been unable to stop himself from running after the assailant after seeing him steal her bag. Usagi's anxious face had burnt into his mind as he flashed past her, and he felt a new anger flood him. Someone had upset Usagi! The robber was really going to get the stuffing pounded out of him for that one.

"You're not getting away!" Mamoru grunted under his breath, legs eating up the cement of the sidewalk. People saw him coming like a steam-train after the fleeing robber, and swiftly got out of his way. If this guy thought he was getting away, he had another thing coming.

To his credit, the robber looked rather panicked to see the dark-haired upperclassman behind him, bearing down relentlessly.

Suddenly, there was someone running next to him. Mamoru turned his head in surprise to see a shock of long blonde hair, long legs...and an apron flapping madly in the wind. "Odango?!" He gasped out, as much in surprise, as out of breath from the rush to catch the man who had robbed the old lady.

Usagi's head turned his way quickly, then faced forward again, least she trip over something and really, really hurt herself. "Fancy meeting you here, brother," she said cheekily, putting on a little more speed as the tall, lanky man who had snatched the purse came in sight. He had spotted her and her step-brother pursuing him, and was repeatedly glancing over his shoulder. With a very satisfyingly fearful expression on his face.

"This isn't a game, you air-head!" Mamoru roared at her, grabbing for her arm. She dodged easily out of his way, and grinned. "I'm going to tan your hide for this, you know." The dark-haired man threatened. Visions of her bent over his knee flashed into his head, and he quickly had to suppress the horrifying feeling of satisfaction and more that had filled him. She was his step-sister for crying out loud! Okay, so she wasn't technically related to him, but they had been brought up close with the same parents...

Ugh! What was wrong with him lately?

"I'm going in!" The blonde told him, sounding very authoritative, and very experienced. Like she went into battle with someone all the time. It stumped Mamoru for a moment, and he could only watch in some awe as Usagi made an impressive flying-leap onto the robber's back, bringing him down hard to the ground.

"God damn it, Odango!" Her step-brother snarled, rushing towards them both, protective instincts rearing up. The man was trying to throw Usagi off of his back, arms flailing behind him and face eating cement. One of his hands smacked her in her face, and she flinched back, losing her hold. Mamoru saw red! How dare someone hit his sister?!

With a roar of rage, his full weight went crashing onto the man, smashing him back onto the ground. "How dare you hit a young girl? Bastard!" All his experience with Tuxedo Kamen went out the door right then, anger clouding his senses. Speeches, and none-violent solutions to a fight be damned! This wasn't a battle with a youma, and he wasn't wearing his cloak right then.

He knelt back and hauled the startled robber to his feet, then spun him around to land a hard punch at his jaw. The man staggered back, blood dribbling down his chin. "She's my sister!" Mamoru snarled, grabbing the man's shoulders, then kneeing him in the stomach. He finished it all off with a satisfying crunch, as his fist met the man's nose and felled him to the ground once more.

"Mamoru! Mamoru!" Usagi shrieked, jumping onto his back and winding her arms about his neck to hold him back. "He's down! He's down!" She howled urgently. She was somehow both horrified at her step-brother's violence in coming to her aid, as well as completely thrilled that he would do this for her. His almost homicidal rage at her defence was more than a little flattering, after all.

...What a little savage she was turning out to be! But oh damn, the robber was looking completely beat up between her and Mamoru's attentions, and this would so not look good to the police.

She was Sailor Moon wasn't she? And he was Tuxedo Kamen. Weren't they supposed to stop violence from happening to the citizens...not beat them to a bloody pulp? Who was supposed to be protecting the people of this world from the superhero's wrath?! "Good lord, which one of us is supposed to be the sensible one?!" She moaned into Mamoru's ear, still clinging to him like a limpet.

And in this situation, wasn't he supposed to be concentrating on the robber, not the sensation of Usagi's long legs wrapped about his waist from the back, her soft chest pressed against...and her breath in his ear! "Get off! Get the hell off, Odango!" Her step-brother said frantically, wiggling his shoulders until she slid off of him. Instant relief assaulted his senses, and he felt like sinking to the ground. This was so, so very wrong, this situation!

"You're acting very grumpy," The blonde mumbled, wondering why they couldn't meet each other's eyes. To say that having been glomped to her step-brother was pleasant was a big understatement! No, no, this wasn't a good idea to be thinking...

"What's going on here?" A man's voice demanded.

Usagi and Mamoru's head swung that way to see two uniformed police officers at the edge of a large crowd circling the brawling three. Arrested for disorderly behaviour was not something that would look good on a school record. The blonde moaned under her breath, feeling mortified. Here she was, a superhero, caught beating up a guy in a public place. Mamoru, also a superhero, had been caught smacking around a guy...oh, and not to mention, his step-sister leaping onto his back and shrieking like a banshee.

Just when had a crowd gathered, anyway? Mamoru glared around at everyone, knowing that the story would never be straight with all of them giving different versions of events.

A young guy pointed at Usagi. "Well, this chick jumped onto this guy's back and was trying to strangle him."

"No, no, I think she was trying to stop him." Another person disagreed.

"He was beating up this poor man," An old lady said in a quavering voice, pointing to the unconscious robber.

"I was so totally impressed with how far this girl leapt! Like superman, man," A teenage girl squealed, giving Usagi a thumbs-up sign of approval. "He went down like a sack of sh-"

Her friend quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. "It was cool." She confirmed with a grin.

"And who is this?" The first policeman demanded, kneeling by the comatose robber. He felt for a pulse and then reached for the small radio attached to his shoulder.

The second policeman approached Usagi and Mamoru. "Young lady, you're bleeding quite heavily," He said quietly, taking her arm. A long steam of blood was slowly trickling down past her elbow.

Her step-brother swiftly nudged the policeman out of the way. "It's from yesterday," He said, rolling up her sleeve, which was now stained bright red. The bandage was revealed, soaked through. "She fell over and cut herself pretty deep."

"I'm fine!" The small blonde girl said, waving her free hand about in a unconcerned manner. She winced at the movement. Until that moment, lost in the er-battle with the robber, she had completely ignored her wound of yesterday. Her blue eyes glanced at the soiled bandage about her arm. "Oh...I am bleeding a lot." Usagi said in surprise.

"I think you better take her to the hospital. I will accompany you, and you can give me your account of what happened here,"

"Oh!" The Senshi of the Moon exclaimed, pointing at the unconscious robber. "He has a purse! He robbed an old lady a few blocks down."

The first officer carefully rolled the robber onto his back, revealing the flattened bag underneath. In the scuffle, it had been forgotten. "Ah, here we go. So this man took an elderly lady's purse?"

The crowd watched avidly, glancing from Usagi and Mamoru, to the man on the ground, to the police, and back again.

"So he stole a bag! Did you need to beat him up?" Someone shouted from the crowd.

"But he hit this girl in the face and her brother defended her. I heard him say she was his sister." Another person shouted back.

"All right, all right. Some more officers will be here soon, please don't leave until we get your statements." The first policeman said, getting to his feet. He glanced at his partner. "An ambulance unit is on the way, if you want to wait to get this young lady's arm looked at."

"We'll handle it!" Usagi and Mamoru said firmly at the same time. They stared at each other in astonishment, then nodded.

"I'll take her back to work and treat her there with the first aid kit," Mamoru said to the two policeman. "You can come along and we'll let you know what happened. The elderly lady will probably have reported this by now."

"Motoki is with her," Usagi said, smiling slightly. "We saw everything from inside the Arcade, and then I came after the guy."

"Remind me to strangle you later, Odango," Her step-brother said pleasantly, a hard look in his blue eyes. He took her by the uninjured arm and they and the officer began to walk back to Motoki's place.

Usagi shivered at the look, knowing she was going to get an earful when they got home. And then when their parents found out, she was going to get another earful, then be grounded for a year. "Being a superhero isn't all fun and games," She muttered balefully. Her Senshi were not going to be happy either that she put herself in danger like that. Even if Mamoru had been there, it still remained that she had reopened a wound, been hit in the face, and now were probably going to be arrested for assault.

Sailor Moon arrested! Was the world coming to an end?! Usagi couldn't believe this was happening. She twisted her hands together anxiously, wondering what was going through her step-brother's head. If the glare in his deep blue eyes was any indication, he was furious with the whole deal and probably really embarrassed too. But with his warmth close by, she was feeling rather comforted, all the same.

Oh god, he was Tuxedo Kamen, and he was going to be arrested! The humiliation was just crippling. No longer would he be able to face Sailor Moon in battle without remembering his criminal record. Mamoru's glare deepened. And what would happen on Monday when school found out? Were Usagi and he destined to be social pariahs? At least they still had each other to hang out with...

The policeman glanced at them both, then the protective hand Mamoru had placed at the base of his step-sister's back as they walked. "Don't worry you two," He said in a kindly manner. "If things happened the way you said, then this should be cleared up in no time."

Not entirely... The two siblings thought silently, giving each other a significant look, coupled with a grimace. Mom and dad are going to have our head, no matter what happens!

To Be Continued...

Write me if you liked! Comments are adored and much appreciated.

The next Chapter will be out in a couple of days. I tried to figure out what would happen if Usagi and Mamoru's rescues were ever to go wrong, and what the law and their family would do in reaction.

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Hugs,
Princess Destiny