Title: A Kiss In The Dark
Author: Princess Destiny
Email: In Profile
URL: destinysgateway DOT com
Couple: Usagi And Mamoru
Rating: M 15+
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: 5/?
Status: Unfinished
Year Completed: N/A

Comments: Hi everyone! Here is Chapter Five. I've been laid up in bed for the last week with a terrible migraine, so I couldn't come onto the computer at all. I'll try to only leave a gap of two-three days for Chapters from now on. :) My ideas in this Chapter was to have some sort of side-effect for Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen when they transform. I'm also working on the bond that has him sense whenever she is in danger.

This is my Weekly Challenge Response for the 'One Hour Challenges' Mailing List! I've tried to write a Fanfic before where Usagi and Mamoru were step-siblings, but it wasn't well received. But umm, this idea grabbed a hold of me and wouldn't let go, so despite the bad feedback I might get, I'm writing this plot! So there! My idea was to have the two in a world where everything is exactly the same as it is in the Anime, but that their parents married when they were kids. They were brought up together and still have that acute dislike between them, but it's from long familiarity. Oh, and before anyone asks, it's perfectly okay to have a relationship with a step-brother, since they are not technically related. I don't want to hear any negative comments on this, okay? LOL.

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Princess Destiny

A KISS IN THE DARK

By Princess Destiny

Chapter Five

"In your dreams, jerk." Usagi retorted, rolling her eyes. She knelt down by his side and opened the cupboard under the sink. "Ah, this should help. It's for scrubbing your skin, but it will work okay." She held it up for his inspection.

"Sure, that will do," Mamoru shrugged casually, then sat back in the chair and closed his eyes. If she so much as yanked his hair, he was going to give her such a revenge, her head would spin! It was his turn to get her back after all...and okay, her taking out the dye pretty much covered one of the revenges he was going to get back at her for. Her hands would be stained for a week maybe?

Which reminded him! He glared down at his own hands, which were no longer white, but brown. Another side effect of rubbing the tainted shampoo into his hair.

"Are you ready?" The blonde said brightly, squirting some body wash onto the scrubber.

"You do the hair and I'll try and get my hands clean," Mamoru said dryly, leaning forwards and turning the tap on. He felt his step-sister begin to scrub away at his hair as he lathered his hands and tried to get the brown stain from his fingers.

After about fifteen minutes, his hands were back to normal, but Usagi was still struggling valiantly with his hair.

"Can you lean over the sink and we'll rinse?" The blonde girl asked him, gesturing with filthy brown hands. When her brother obligingly bent down, she turned on the tap with warm water and began to run her hands through the silky strands of his hair. Mamoru's hair really was soft, she noticed with surprise. But then, she hadn't touched it since they were children.

"How does it look?" Mamoru said suspiciously after the water switched off.

"See for yourself. I think we'll be here another hour at least," Usagi yawned and smiled at the sight of her usually cool step-brother in a state of dishevelment, his hair spiky and streaked with blonde and brown.

"Damn, it's hardly out." He said in disgust, leaning back into the chair again. "Keep going, Odango."

"Don't call me that, jerk," Usagi said automatically, hands and scrubber diving into his locks again.

Mamoru crossed his arms and decided to count all the tiles in the room while he waited.

Another half an hour and two rinses more had Mamoru's hair at a light brown. It was still several shades off of his usual raven-haired hue.

To the handsome man's astonishment and respect, his step-sister hadn't given up, or even complained about having to stand and work for that long. Sometimes Usagi showed a remarkable inner strength and it wasn't the first time he wondered where she got it from.

"Hey, Usagi?" Mamoru said slowly, as the day played through his head again.

"Yeah?" The blonde said, tongue sticking out of her side of her mouth. She was concentrating on scrubbing the dye out as well as she could. Damn, but it was a gruelling task and the idiot wasn't helping at all. Thank god she was a natural blonde... She paused, something occurring to her. Just how the heck was she a blonde girl anyway? It wasn't that common in japan and her mother had blue hair.

"Just how high can you jump?" The dark-haired man asked curiously, eyes meeting hers in the mirror.

"What a weird question," Usagi muttered, shaking her head. "I have no idea."

He frowned at her answer. If she wasn't a good jumper, then how was he supposed to figure out how she got over that fence? Mamoru had seen her leap over it, after all. "Have you ever tried out for high-jump?" He pressed.

The Senshi of the Moon yanked on his hair and rolled her eyes. "No, brother, I haven't. You've seen how klutzy I am, can you imagine me and sports?"

"That's true," He glared at her for pulling his hair, but let it go. Okay, so she had a point there, so was rotten at sports. Mostly because she was so ungraceful. Baring her hundred-yard dash for school when she was late. Being Tuxedo Kamen, he had increased strength and speed, so he was able to keep up. But now, he really wondered if there was something odd about his step-sister.

Usagi's hands froze in his hair as a horrifying thought came to her mind. Had Mamoru seen her jump over the school fence that morning?! "Why do you ask?" She queried hesitantly.

Mamoru crossed his arms and leant back into her, his shoulders against her chest. She stiffened, then relaxed and he smirked. He wasn't above using his little sister as a comfortable seat. She was nice and soft after all!

Thank you for asking to lean on me, you jerk! The blonde thought darkly, glaring down at his now light-brown hair. "One of these days you're going to push me too hard and I'm going to do something terrible to you." Usagi threatened.

Abruptly, a searing pain crashed into her skull and she groaned loudly, clutching at her head with both hands. The scrubber fell to the ground unnoticed. "Oh god, not another one."

"Sure, you are," Mamoru drawled, grinning at her reflection unrepentantly. He leaned back onto her chest again, where it was comfortable. Well, there was no real explanation for the feat he had seen that morning. Maybe... Nah, perhaps he had just been seeing things?

His eyes caught her movement as she grabbed at her head for no reason. "Are you okay?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine-" She began, but was cut off as a beeping noise filled the silence.

Mamoru straightened in surprise and Usagi groaned under her breath.

"What is that noise?" The handsome man demanded, turning his head to stare up at her. "Usagi, is that a beeper?" He said incredulously.

Usagi shoved him off of her chest and backed away nervously. "A beeper? No-umm yes, that's right. I have a beeper. For people to call me on." She babbled, blue eyes apprehensive. She looked at him for a long moment, eyes going to his hair, and then she was pushing past his form to wash up at the basin.

The blonde scrubbed at the side of her face, where her hands had touched, then at her hands with a hurried brutality to her poor skin that had her step-brother's eyebrows hitting their hairline.

"Is it that urgent? It's probably one of your friends." Mamoru frowned at her reddened skin, then up at her urgent expression. What on earth?

"They don't use the beeper unless it's urgent, idiot." Usagi snapped, whirling towards the door and unlocking it. She hesitated, looking over her shoulder at him. Sometimes, she really wished that she could tell her brother about the Dark Kingdom and share her fears. But...he would never understand, or believe her words. They had been so close when she was younger, so the fact that she could not tell him about her alternate lifestyle, well, it really hurt sometimes.

"Hey, where are you going? My hair isn't done!" Mamoru growled, getting to his feet.

"I have to call back whoever is beeping me," The blonde said reasonably, turning to open the door. She quickly moved into the hall as her step-brother came towards her, his brows drawn into a frown.

"Usagi-hey!"

The Senshi of the Moon bolted down the hallway, then the stairs, heading for the phone near the front door. She passed her parents on the couch, who gave her a confused look. "Gotta use the phone!" She called out, and kept going. In the relative silence of the front hall, the blonde girl crouched protectively over the phone, then summoned her communicator. When it dropped into her hand, she hit the flashing symbol for Jupiter while picking up the phone handset and holding it to her ear to make it look like she was talking that way.

"Girl, there you are!" Jupiter's voice came over the small device clearly. "We have trouble in the business district, you'd better get over here."

"Right, no problem." Usagi nodded at her, then switched the device off. She hung up the phone and stared into space for a long moment. Damn, the Dark Kingdom was attacking again. They had attacked only a couple of days ago too... She winced again as the headache flared, and then put the communicator back into her sub-space pocket before someone could see it.

Ikuko wandered into the hall, eyes curious. Her daughter looked as if she was a thousand miles away. "Usagi, is everything alright?" She asked gently.

The blonde's eyes sharpened, then she gave a quick nod and turned towards the front door. "I know it's getting late, but Rei is sick and I need to get over there." She said over her shoulder.

Her mother gave a small gasp. "Is she okay? You didn't say anything earlier, dear."

Usagi felt a twinge of guilt, but managed a wan smile over her shoulder as she opened the front door. The sun had already gone down, but being a Friday, the shopping and business districts would still be busy. "I think she got food poisoning or something; Makoto said she's throwing up heaps," She backed out the door and mostly closed it. "I don't know if I'll be back till late, so please don't worry!"

And then she was gone, and Ikuko was left staring in bewilderment at the door.

"Usagi, I don't know what's going on with you girls-but please be careful." The blue-haired woman whispered, a hand going to her throat. She had always had a sixth-sense about danger where her daughter was concerned. Sometimes when Usagi went out, everything felt normal, but other times, like now, Ikuko had a terrible feeling that something was wrong.

"Mom, where did Usagi go?" Mamoru said, coming towards her with a towel over his head. He wiped at his head nonchalantly, trying to indicate that he had just left the shower and was drying his now. When in actuality, he was trying to hide his hair.

"You were in the shower a long time, Mamoru," Ikuko grinned at him, then layed a hand on his arm affectionately. "Usagi-she had to go to Rei's. She's very sick."

Dark brows rose in surprise. "Rei is ill? That must be why Usagi got a beeper message." He mused, turning that one over in his head. So, the Odango had managed to escape from doing the rest of his hair. But if her best friend was ill, it couldn't be helped.

Suddenly, a familiar pain overcame him and he doubled over, gasping. "Oh damn," He said incredulously. Sailor Moon was in danger!

"Mamoru, are you okay?" Ikuko grabbed his arm and stared into his pained eyes. "You don't look so good." Was it another headache? How strange that both her son and daughter had started to come down with those over the last few months. She wondered briefly if they had an allergy or something. Contrary to what her children both thought, she did actually notice when something was wrong, despite how well they both tried to cover it all.

"I have a headache. A really bad one," Her son groaned at her, hand clamped to the left side of his face. Why did being summoned to the super-heroine's side always have to hurt like the devil? He really did feel like someone was stabbing a thousand needles into it!

"Come on, I'll help you lay down. You have an early night." The blue-haired woman told him firmly. She hesitated. "You know, I think Usagi had a headache too? How strange."

"She did?" Mamoru said, slightly surprised. His step-sister did sometimes suffer from headaches, and weirdly, they seemed to come almost at the same time as his.

Ikuko helped her son to his room and turned the light off. She then crept from the room, leaving him to recover. Poor Mamoru, he got these headaches quite regularly...

Ten minutes later, Tuxedo Kamen arrived at the scene of the battle. His head was still killing him, and he was having trouble seeing out of his right eye. The headaches usually lasted until he transformed back into Mamoru, and then they gradually began to go down to a tolerable level. This was another reason he hated having to battle the Dark Kingdom and he never could tell if it was Sailor Moon herself who gave this pain to him because she was in danger, or because of the need to transform into his alternate identity was the problem.

Who knew, it could have been the presence of the Dark Kingdom itself that was the culprit!

Sailor Moon noticed the moment her cloaked hero arrived on the scene, even though he was keeping to the safety of a light-pole. She saw a gloved hand go to his head and knew he had a headache again. As her own skull felt like a thousand hammers were pounding on it, she knew how he was feeling. "I feel for you, big guy," she muttered under her breath, looking back at the Youma.

The blonde wasn't sure why Tuxedo Kamen got headaches, but hers came whenever she transformed. No, that wasn't quite right. They came whenever a Youma attacked... The pain had generally come on before the Youma had even been spotted, like she could tell as as soon as it entered their world.

Usagi had tried to explain this once to the other Senshi, but they had looked at her as if she was a loony. Some day, she was going to prove them wrong!

The Youma was currently throwing about blazing discs of blue light, which had all the sharpness of a razorblade. The Senshi had been spending all their time dodging these attacks, as getting in one of their own had been near impossible.

"Sailor Moon, watch out!" Mars called out frantically, running towards her best friend, who had a dazed expression on her face. Damn it, why did Usagi choose now to space out?!

Tuxedo Kamen spotted the barrage of deadly discs flying at the young girl and he cursed under his breath. He saw Sailor Moon blink and come out of a daze in time to see her danger, but she moved too slowly. Using his amazing speed, he flew off of the light-pole and down to her rescue, snatching her from the path of death just seconds before she was decapitated.

The blonde girl gasped into a warm muscled chest as she was practically snatched from the ground. One minute she had seen death approaching and the next, her vision was full of black velvet, arms cushioning her firmly to Tuxedo Kamen's chest. She couldn't say anything for a long moment, an overwhelming relief filling her. She was so happy to see him that her headache faded a little. But then, she had noticed that when in contact with the mysterious hero, the pain did subside somewhat.

He was simultaneously relieved, furious and feeling a lessoning in pain that almost made him kiss the girl in his arms. Tuxedo Kamen had noted that the pain in his head lessoned whenever he held her. He was also very pleased that he was able to save her life in time. She clutched at him like he was her lifeline, even after her feet were back on the ground.

"Sailor Moon, you airhead!" Mars bellowed over the distance between them. "Be more careful!"

"I'm getting too old for this," Sailor Moon moaned under her breath. She felt a chuckle under her ear and realised that she was still clinging to the man in the tuxedo. "Oh!" She gasped, letting him go and stepping back. His arms fell away from her and they looked into each other's eyes.

"You're welcome for me saving your life," Tuxedo Kamen drawled, giving her a rather ironic look. It was his job to see her safe...or something like that. However, the feelings he had for her had nothing to do with his hero's job description. But the upperclassman would ponder over this fact once the battle was over and he was in the silence of his own room.

"Er-thank you, Tuxedo Kamen. Again." The blonde said shyly, looking away. Damn it, why was she always like some love-struck calf whenever he was near?! Couldn't she ever act cool and elegant or something?

"Duck!" Sailor Mercury yelped out, seeing that the two were too wrapped in each other to even notice the next barrage coming towards them.

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen did dodge the blue discs, but his hat was clipped and went flying.

Tuxedo Kamen stood there, a little stunned. That had been really close! And then he remembered the colour of his hair and curses filled the air.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion then.

The hero dove for his hat, trying to get it on before Sailor Moon could see what his step-sister had done to his lovely dark hair.

Sailor Moon turned with a worried look to see if he was okay. Her blue eyes met his as he straightened with hat in hand, but then she was distracted by the locks of hair falling onto his face.

Instead of the usual dark hair she was accustomed to, she saw brown. Light brown. His...hair was...brown.

A vision flashed into Sailor Moon's mind of only half an hour ago, when she was doing the third rinse of her step-brother's hair. His outrage that she was leaving him to answer her beeper, when his hair was not back to it's original colour.

And coincidentally, now that she thought about it, Tuxedo Kamen had always had the same lovely shade of blue-black hair as Mamoru's.

No...it couldn't be...

To Be Continued...

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

It's six in the morning and I finished this up at five AM when I couldn't sleep because of the migraine. I hope to write the next Chapter this afternoon, so you can look forward to the next part in a day or so.

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Hugs,
Princess Destiny