Title: A Kiss In The Dark
Author: Princess Destiny
Email: In Profile
Author's Homepage: destinysgateway DOT com
Rating: M 15+
Summary: 'One Hour Challenge' #1 and 657 Combined: 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!
Genre: Romance/UST/Comedy/Adventure/Action/Angst
Couple: Usagi/Mamoru
Category: SMTK
Chapters: 13/?
Status: Unfinished
Year Completed: N/A
Size: 260 KB
Comments: Hi everyone! Wow, I can see this Fanfic stretching way out into the future. O.o It's not even a quarter done with. Eeep!
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A KISS IN THE DARK
By Princess Destiny
Chapter Thirteen
A ladder, oh my god. Was there one? Usagi and Mamoru's minds were amazingly alike in their thinking, although neither knew it.
Had he passed a ladder on the way up? The dark-haired man frantically went over what he had seen as he leapt past on his way to the roof. No, no, yes! "I came up the ladder of course," He calmly shrugged at Makoto as if she had asked a stupid question.
The breath whooshed out of Usagi's chest and she fell onto her back in relief, the binoculars falling out of her hand. Oh, thank god. Mamoru had noticed something he could have climbed up on! Her blue eyes gave him a berating look, which confused him. "That's right, he doesn't know that I know." She murmured under her breath, quickly changing her stare to a welcoming one. "Er-how good to see you, brother." She said tentatively.
"Oh?" Mamoru said in disbelief. "I catch you two ogling me in the most insane manner I've ever seen, and you say you're happy to see me?" His arms crossed. "Forgive me if I sound like I don't believe you." He drawled. As his sister spluttered over that one, face indignant, he bent over to pick up the spying instrument. "Where on earth did you get these anyway?"
"I kept them for just the right occasion," The Senshi of Jupiter grinned impudently at him. "There was this guy once that looked like my old boyfriend-"
Since Makoto always said that about guys, the two siblings payed no attention.
Mamoru sat down in front of Usagi, grinning at her in a delighted manner. Oh, he had her good now. To her credit, she looked very nervous under his penetrating stare. "So, little sister, would you mind explaining in more detail?"
"You already got me twice today, you moron!" The blonde growled at him from between her clenched teeth. She gestured at her nose, which she was sure was going to be peeling very soon. "Not only did you leave my door open, so I couldn't sleep, now I'm really burnt."
"I'll admit willingly to the first one, but this second one is all your fault, Odango," He informed her with a mischievous smile. His blue eyes glinted at her from under lowered lashes. This was just too good to be true. Mamoru had caught her red-handed, and she didn't even have a come-back. "Don't tell me you did this to try and find a way to get back at me?" Mamoru's eyes rolled skywards. This was blonde, even for her! "Surely you could have come up with something more...sane?"
"I still stand firmly by my story of bird-watching." Usagi retorted, looking away. Oh great, her step-brother had joined them and didn't look like he was moving any time soon. "Go away." She made shooing motions with her hands. "You're scaring off the pigeons." She couldn't help glancing about to see if there actually were any white and grey birds perching on the roof somewhere. Not a one, damn it.
Wait, were pigeons even native to japan? Should she have said another type of bird?
"Give it up!" Both Makoto said Mamoru said in exasperation.
"I will if you vacate the premises," His step-sister crossed her arms and looked mulish. She stared at him hard when he ignored her and picked up a can of drink, she glared. "And don't eat our snacks!"
"I have a school pass to use the library," Mamoru said mildly, eyes amused. "Do you have a permit from the wildlife association?"
The Senshi of Jupiter threw up her hands and started to mutter under her breath. "I have nothing to do with this conversation, which is obviously in no way normal. You two are loons!"
The dark-haired man's gaze absently travelled over Usagi's white dress up to the bandage clearly wrapped about her upper arm. It was stained with a little blood, but what concerned him was the water-stains where the blood had changed to pink from being wet. His accusing eyes went to her shiny hair. "You cleaned your hair!" He said, voice threateningly, hand almost crushing the can he held.
Usagi jumped slightly at the tone, and she looked at him with guilt. "I forgot. Makoto came over to help me," She said helplessly, shrugging. Could she help that she had completely forgotten about her wound, when she had received so many before? The blonde had lost count of the times she had lay on a roof bleeding everywhere, and come home to patch it up. Strangely, her mother had said nothing about the bandages and other objects disappearing from the medical kit. She had merely replaced them without a word...
"You have a bad injury that won't stop bleeding and you got it wet after I went to all the trouble of wrapping it for you this morning?" He couldn't keep the anger from his tone, or the way his eyes blazed into hers. "Of all the selfish-" He broke off abruptly.
"Mamoru," His step-sister said hesitantly, reaching for his shoulder. But he avoided her hand and got to his feet, face furious.
"That's the last time I help you, you spoilt little brat!" Mamoru said, lips coming together in a tight line. She was so irresponsible. He didn't know why he tried when she obviously didn't even care about a serious wound to her arm. Didn't she realise that it was bad for her health? What if she passed out from blood-loss again? He ran a hand over his eyes. "I can't be around you right now, or I might strangle you!" He growled.
The two girls watched with open mouths as the dark-haired man turned on his heel and stalked over to the edge of the roof. He looked down for a few moments searchingly, then moved along the roof to the far right and swung his leg over the side. His blazing eyes were the last thing they saw before he disappeared from sight, descending to the ground.
Usagi got up and hurried over the the side of the building, her heart in her mouth. What if the idiot was so distracted that he fell? He couldn't fly in front of Makoto and her, after all. But her step-brother made it to the ground safe and walked away stiffly, fury in every line of his body.
Makoto slurped noisily from her can of soft drink, green eyes thoughtful as they followed Mamoru across the school yard. He was obviously going back to study. "Wow, I've never seen him that angry before," The girl noted, turning to stare at her friend. "How did he know you were hurt anyway?"
"I umm-" The Senshi of the Moon looked furtively at her arm, then at her friend. She sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you guys how bad my injury was, but I sort of fainted."
"Usagi!" The brunette looked genuinely shocked. "How could you have hidden from us how bad you were?"
Usagi shrugged helplessly, guilt in her blue eyes. She bit her lip before answering. "We get hurt all the time, so I thought this one was no different." She looked at Makoto appealingly. "You aren't going to leave too, are you?"
The Senshi of Jupiter stared hard at the blonde before answering. "No, but you better tell me next time, or else." She groaned. "Rei is going to kill you though."
"Not if you don't tell her!" The blonde exclaimed, leaning towards the brunette. "I'm hungry and the stake-out was a bust." She paused, wincing at the amount of money it would take to bribe Makoto. "My shout."
"Damn right it is," Makoto said darkly, turning to gather their food from the roof. She put the binoculars into the bag also before they left. The two of them looked searching all over the yard, and at all the windows before leaping down. If anyone saw them, they would have a lot of explaining to do!
Usagi's eyes closed for a moment when they reached the ground. Now that Mamoru was mad at her, she had to abandon her revenge, and their game. He would hit the roof in fury if she tried to do something to him. And if he looked in a mirror or a reflection, his hair would be an added gripe! No, she could get him back now, instead she would have to go looking for a present to pacify him.
And it was her birthday coming up soon, not his!
"Makoto, what do guys like?" The blonde asked as they headed out of the school grounds.
The Senshi gaped and then broke out laughing. She clapped a hand over her mouth and eyed the little blonde as if she were a maniac. "Usagi, I think you're old enough to know what guys are after," She gasped out, trying to stop her mirth.
Usagi scowled at her. "I mean, what sort of presents?" She elaborated. When Makoto stared at her still, with raised brows, she stomped a foot. "Make up presents! And they call me a blonde," She said resentfully. "My step-brother isn't talking to me, so I have to get a bribe."
"We could find him a nice girl," Makoto mused, green eyes thoughtful. "Although, I barely see him around girls, so I don't know if he would prefer..." She trailed off suggestively.
The blonde girl gaped at her in disbelief. "Makoto!" She almost howled in outrage. "My brother is not gay!" Some people stopped to stare and she flushed. "He likes girls." She insisted stubbornly. Okay, so she had never seen him interested in females, but she knew he wasn't into guys. Not the way Tuxedo Kamen looked at Sailor Moon's legs! Her hero was not gay, and she felt her protective instincts rearing up when Makoto didn't believe her words.
"Okay, okay," The brunette held up her hands in surrender. "I'd really like to see him with a girl to make sure though." She muttered, ignoring the elbow that connected with her ribs. "Rei likes your brother, how about we set them up?" She suggested lightly.
Rei? Her beloved brother with that harpy?! Usagi saw red for a moment, visions of her best friend and her step-brother laughing and talking together. Kissing... Her hand practically crushed the bag she saw holding. "M-Mamoru and Rei?" She stammered out, so furious that the words almost didn't come out of her mouth.
"Woah, you have a brother complex!" Makoto said in astonishment, staring at her friend. Oh, how funny! But then again, if her brother was that drop-dead gorgeous, she would probably be all possessive too.
"I do not have a brother complex!" Usagi exploded, rounding on her friend. She waved her free arm about, longing to thump something. It was her wounded arm, and she ended up bent over it protectively, wincing. "Ouch, ouch. You're a pain in the butt, Makoto. I swear, you and Rei cook up these conversations beforehand just to see how I react!" She moaned out, dropping the bag the other hand was holding and clapping it over her wound.
The Senshi of the Moon winced too, knowing it was partly true. She and Rei lived to tease Usagi. But they thought of her as a sister, so it didn't count! "Okay, we're near the Arcade, let's go see if Motoki has something we can use." Makoto said gently. She picked up the bag and put a supportive hand under Usagi's arm.
"What if Mamoru skipped out and went for a fortifying coffee?" Usagi said desperately, coming to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. She just couldn't face him when he was this angry.
"Then we can bandage him too," Makoto said with a straight face. Was it her, or was the blonde sounding a lot more intelligent lately? Big words were coming out of her mouth that sounded more like something Ami would say. Then again, they were all almost sixteen, so the airheadedness of their Leader was bound to wear off sometime.
Usagi burst into laughter, the mood lightened by her friend's antics. Her friends were really too good to her. "Okay, let's go." She nodded.
If she had known what was lying ahead, she wouldn't have been so happy.
"I'm going to kill her!" Mamoru said harshly, banging a fist on the table. His coffee cup leapt up and spilled half of it's contents. Sure enough, when he had stormed off from the two younger girls, he had quietly collected his books and bag and left for a java fix.
Motoki had greeted him, smile fading when he saw his friend's angry expression. He had quickly gone to get a coffee, then left his best pal to brood on his own.
"Pssst!"
The blonde man glanced about him in confusion, trying to find the person who was trying to get his attention. When no one in the fairly crowded Arcade looked at him, he walked over the the right side of the counter and peered over the edge. Two sets of wide eyes greeted him. "What are you guys doing?" Motoki didn't know whether to be amused, or curious, as he took in the sight of his part-time waitress and her friend hunched down behind the counter. They appeared to be hiding from the rest of the Arcade.
"We're hiding!" Makoto hissed, looking exasperated. Wasn't that quite obvious?
"From Mamoru!" Usagi elaborated, peeking out towards the seats a couple of meters away. At this side of the counter, they weren't visible to the general public.
"Oh," Motoki said, getting a clue. "He's still angry." He added, leaning against the counter.
The blonde Senshi moaned under her breath and looked contrite. "I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident."
"Mamoru told me that you got your injury wet," Her boss said accusingly, eyes going over her pink and white bandage with disapproval. "He's going to be a doctor some day, so you should do what he tells you."
"I need an advance." Usagi blurted out, looking at him beseechingly. As she gave him the 'puppy dog' look that melted all males hearts, she heard Makoto snicker. Elbowing her friend in the ribs, she continued to stare at Motoki.
He stared back at her with a blank expression.
"Oh, come on!" The blonde girl said, frowning. "It's for a good cause."
When his brows merely rose in a silent expression that clearly said 'you've got to be kidding me', she glared at him. "You want me to part with my hard earned cash, and you don't want to explain?" He said finally, glaring back.
"It's for a present!" Usagi almost wailed. She clapped a hand over her mouth instantly, but knew it was too late.
"Did I hear my sister?" Mamoru's voice said suspiciously, heading closer.
"Crap, crap!" The two girls swore. They quickly crawled under the half-door that bared the general public from behind the counter, and scuttled behind the bench the coffee percolator, crockery and other kitchen utensils was on.
"Is Usagi here?" The dark-haired man demanded, looking about the Arcade. His blue eyes went over the counter, and he leant over the top to see if she was hiding behind the counter. When he saw nothing, he walked around the other side of the count and glanced down the side. A glance at Motoki's innocent expression only made him more suspicious. "What are you hiding? You know I'm angry at her." He glared at his friend, "Do you know where she is, or not?"
Motoki cleared his throat, an almost blissful expression crossing his face before he began to say. "I'm possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that I undeniably do or do not know where she shouldn't probably be. If that indeed wasn't where she isn't!" Having said that word for word, he looked very pleased with himself.
Mamoru was not impressed. "I've seen Shrek 3 too, you know," He said ominously, scrutinizing the kitchen area again for a hint of blonde hair. There were several places Usagi could be hiding. And given how furious at her he was, he couldn't entirely blame her. "Where is the nitwit blonde that I have the misfortune of being related to?" He snapped, losing his patience.
She was there! He knew she was! But the dark-haired man would be damned if he would jump the counter and search.
"Damn, you know how long that too me to memorise?" His best friend scowled at him unhappily. "It drove Reika utterly insane, but I did it finally!" Motoki pointed a finger at his best pal. "And I had to wait for the perfect opportunity to use it. You just had to go spoil my fun."
"I'll never buy any coffee here again if you don't tell me!" The hero of Tokyo threatened, batting the hand away from his face.
"Good, then I'll have some left to give my other paying customers." Motoki retorted, also crossing his arms. At first he had just been protecting Usagi, as any good employer would do, but now he was doing it out of sheer annoyance. Mamoru just had to act so arrogant!
"Usagi!" Mamoru bellowed, eyes blazing around the back of the shop. He was sure she was there, he could almost sense her. After a few moments of silence, he growled under his breath. "Fine, I'm going home. I have a career ahead of me to plan." He said almost calmly. "Unlike Odango Atama's, who'll end up working at the Mall."
Usagi muffled her mouth quickly, before she could giggle. Did her step-brother seriously think her working at the Mall she loved with all her favourite things was a bad future?!
"Was that supposed to be an insult?" Motoki stage-whispered, knowing that Usagi and Makoto had heard. An insulted look was directed his way, before Mamoru went back to his table and collected his things. He then strode towards the exit, head held high. But his expression was dark and scary-looking.
"He's gone," The blonde man said after a few minutes. He peered out the window just to make sure, then turned towards his kitchen. The two girls came out of hiding. "Mind telling me why I just alienated my best buddy?" Motoki demanded, eyes narrowing on them.
"I'm going to buy him a present, because he's really angry at me," Usagi said cheerfully, ignoring his glare. The perfect gift suddenly popped into her head and she grinned in delight. "I'll need that advance." She hinted, holding out her hand.
Motoki gave her an unimpressed look. Then he sighed and went to the register to take out some cash.
"You thought of what to get him?" The Senshi of Jupiter said with interest. "It isn't a guy-umm, I mean a girl, is it?" She altered her words hastily before Usagi could kill her.
"Nope," Nothing could stop the Odango's gloating expression. Not even Makoto's continued suspicions regarding Mamoru's sexual preferences! "I have the perfect present in mind."
When she told them two her idea, they gaped at her in astonishment.
To Be Continued...
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Princess Destiny