Disclaimer: Me no.

Chapter 14

"I love Relena more than anything. I love Relena more than anything. I love R-" He jumped as a female voice joined his and whirled around to see Usagi leaning against the doorframe of his hotel room, smiling half sadly, half smugly.

She stood up and walked to him, arms crossed still. "Okay, so we've established that you love Relena more than anything. What's next, Hiiro?"

He stared at her as if not comprehending. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to realize that the more often you say 'I love Relena more than anything', the more uncertain your voice becomes."

He glared and spat out the first phrase that came to his mind. "I love Relena more than anything."

Usagi sighed defeatedly. "Yes, I know." She paused to glance out the window at a lavender-gray sky. "Do you then, Hiiro, find it perfidious that Minako even thinks to replace her?"

His blue-gray eyes narrowed. "Why should I tell you?"

Usagi shrugged sarcastically. "Perhaps because I care about Minako? Perhaps because I respect Miss Relena? Perhaps because, as incredible as it is, I care about you?"

Hiiro scowled. "Perhaps you should care about yourself a bit more and mind your own business." He looked away from her blank expression and quickly muttered a short, "Sorry."

"Apology accepted. But would Minako say the same when you apologize to her for leading her on? Loving Relena as much as you do, how is it even possible to consider Minako?"

He looked faintly uncomfortable and his eyes skittered briefly to the open door behind her. "I'm not leading her on. I do love Relena. But Relena … has changed…"

Usagi frowned. "Everything changes, Hiiro. Would you stop loving the Earth simply because autumn changed into winter?"

He glared at her. "That is a very tenuous assertion, Miss Usagi. Relena hasn't just changed from autumn to winter … Relena has changed from white to black."

"Oh? So then you can tell me that you no longer love her? You can tell me that at the same time, you harbor no feelings for Minako?"

He took a deep breath and turned away from her. "I still love Relena. So much that it hurts to wake knowing where she is, how she's doing. But Minako…" he turned around to face her again, "I don't feel anything towards her. I'm just searching for the right words to say to her."

She suppressed a smile. He watched her uneasily, as prey would watch a potential predator. "So, Hiiro, what do you plan to do about the situation then?"

He closed his eyes briefly. "I'll think of something."

Usagi shot him a small smirk. "Let's hope your plan is better than your lying." The door closed gently behind her before he could utter a single word.

…………………

"Stand up straight!" she demanded. Minako took a deep breath. She had never seen Usagi in this demanding, manipulative, over-anxious mother mood. It was like a nightmare. Except worse.

Breathing slowly, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and bit her lower lip worriedly, glancing briefly at Hiiro who had distanced himself from the "Relena"-prepping session and was staring bleakly at a blank wall. No doubt calculating his next move. Minako felt a wave of relief that Hiiro was on their side in the war … in anything, for that matter.

"I feel like passing out," she muttered. Usagi looked faintly startled.

"And I thought models always exuded confidence."

Minako sighed and shot her a tired look, leaning against the wall. Behind that wall was the conference room. Behind that wall, the air was thick, confining, humid with tension and fear and mistrust. Behind that wall, she was no longer Minako, innocent bystander, but Relena Darlian, the world's most adept diplomat and the ESUN's beacon of peace.

Relena could be the world's savior. She could be the healing angel, the resurrection. If they would only let her.

And Minako would be forever lost to obscurity.

But that was life. Or at least her life.

She looked up and saw Usagi eyeing her concernedly. "Minako … don't worry. Just pretend everybody in there is an absolute fan of yours that admire you beyond words."

"That wouldn't be far from the truth. For Relena, that is."

Minako's face fell at Hiiro's addendum. Usagi shot him a scathing look. He glanced away.

"Why aren't Wufei and the others here yet?" Usagi asked quietly as Minako collected herself.

Hiiro glanced at her briefly. "Mechanical difficulties. They should arrive by this evening."

Usagi nodded mutedly. "I see."

Minako grabbed Usagi's hands and shot her a desperate look. "I can't act like that. I can't do this. I-"

Hiiro stood up and glanced at his watch. "It's time."

Usagi squeezed her hand briefly and smiled. "Try your best. And stay on guard." With that, the door opened and Relena Darlian stepped in. Minako Aino was left outside to mourn.

…………………

She had expected to be greeted with smiles or nods of acknowledgment like she had the night of Miss Relena's return to the political arena. Instead, she was met with blank stares and uneasy glances as if the people in the room didn't dare to look at her for too long for fear of scarring.

There had been quiet chatter before she had entered but the instant she stepped in, it was as if the tape had broken, as if the CD had cracked. There was horrifying, mind-numbing silence. She swallowed and fixed a steady gaze on Colonel Une. The imposing woman stared back, her glasses glinting in the cold light of the conference room.

Finally, a man she identified as the ESUN Chief of Staff cleared his throat. The taut thread up until then seemed to snap at that moment. He stood up and reached over the long table to shake her hand. She smiled restrainedly.

The handshake wasn't even tepid; it was outright freezing, as if nothing more than a mere, accidental brushing of icy fingertips.

"Miss Relena. It's a pleasure to have you here with us today," he offered boomingly. Nobody seemed to agree, not even him. "If you would please take a seat?"

She sat. "Please continue whatever discussion you were having before my arrival." She offered a brief smile. Nobody met her eyes.

Lady Une cleared her throat and stood up again. "Now that Miss Relena is here, we will commence this summit that will span today and tomorrow. This is a very critical meeting, ladies and gentlemen, and I expect all of you to behave with the utmost civility and gravity." She looked faintly surprised at Minako's raised hand and hesitantly nodded to her.

She stood up, steadying herself by leaning against the table covertly. "Ladies and gentlemen … about the last meeting I attended in Dallas…"

That struck a nerve. That struck several thousand nerves. A number of people jumped, one woman stared at her and looked away, crying, the rest bowed their heads in sorrow.

"I understand that right now I seem like the most suspicious thing alive. Miss Mizuno killed Mr. President and Mr. Yui killed Miss Mizuno in order to defend me. But I understand that it seems equally likely that I had killed Mr. President due to conspiracy and then Miss Mizuno due to secrecy. But I assure you … if you know anything about me, about Relena Darlian, you will have no doubt in your minds that I would not and will never attempt to kill anybody."

Utter silence. For a moment, Minako wondered if she had gone deaf. But her heart pounded like thunder in her ears. And the silence seemed to be too substantial to be deafness. She wanted to step out of the room. To breathe again. To see Hiiro again. To see Usagi smile at her again.

How many rooms just like this one had Miss Relena tolerated? How many people had she met smiled beguilingly at her but in their minds were drowning her in acid, slicing her wrists, wringing her neck? She felt a stab of pity and grief for Relena. Her life was not glamorous like the news portrayed it. Her life was a masquerade where every person behind every mask had ulterior motives and would stop at nothing to extinguish Earth's beacon of peace.

And in that lifelong masquerade of maliciously glittering pearls and diamonds, of gorgeous people hiding equally gorgeous lies, Relena Darlian had found Hiiro.

And in Hiiro's life, Relena had been that glittering pearl, that iridescent diamond, that damsel in distress under sheets of iron and steel.

They were perfect. They were quintessential. They made her heart break.

Minako excused herself quickly before the searing tears could fall.

…………………

Hiiro watched unsmilingly as Minako closed the door quietly behind her, wiping her eyes quickly, and Usagi jumped up and hugged her. He watched as Minako allowed herself to cry for five seconds before gulping her tears away and blinking her eyes dry. He watched as Usagi reapplied her makeup and made Minako laugh before pushing her back into the room jocularly.

They were amazing. As amazing as Relena. Only in different ways.

Hiiro had been trying to place that feeling he had felt the night before for almost the whole morning. He sighed to himself and looked askance at Usagi. She sat in the bench outside of the conference room, her head propped up by her arm, breathing gently, quietly. Peacefully.

He was sure that under that peace, there was war and turmoil and angst. It was as if she was with Minako in spirit, experiencing that suffocating room in essence.

The night before, when he had returned from his grocery shopping, bringing back cheap Chinese food and watered down soda because those were the only things he could find quickly in this foreign colony, Minako and Usagi had been waiting for him, each on her own balcony, amazing and absolute, basked in the light of the room behind them. And they had stood there. And smiled at him, calling his name like beauteous angels, waving at him as if seeing him back safely made that evening a joyful blessing.

At that moment, he had wanted nothing more than to cry. And laugh. And wave back as if he were equally naïve, equally joyful.

But he had simply stood there, staring up at them, numb with awe, hot tears pricking the corners of his eyes before being cooled and frozen by the ice of his intellect.

Was it relief?

Relief had never made him want to cry.

It was … a sense of belonging. It was like the first time Relena had touched his hand and brought it to her forehead.

It was love.

…………………

Oh my goodness. Save me. I'm turning into a sap. ;-; Noooooooooooooo. ::sigh:: But umm…angst again. xD; I'm worried that it's getting old. Lol. Is it? O.o; I look at it and realize that I keep returning to five or six key words … xD; It's horrible. It's stagnation. xD; But well. I didn't want to write dialogue. I'll be leaving on Monday to a place where I'll [unless I'm super lucky] have no access to a computer. And I hate writing things out by hand. They hinder something … I dunno. And it's slow and tiring. xD; Obsolete. --; But … yes. Lol. So at least I fulfilled this promise, ne? :D That I'd update CMH before I leave. :3 It's short but it works. :D Again, not adding much to the plot. xD; Hopefully something will happen in the next two chapters. And then something very … drastic will happen around chapter 18. Yes, that's my dropping hints. :3 Thanks bunches for reading! Yours, Angel.

UsagiAsiaMaxwell: Lol the characters … it seems the more I write about Hiiro's love for Relena, the more I love Relena. xD; This must be a disease. --; But yes … lol I think I have an ideal picture of her in my head … like my idealistic picture of Usagi … instead of what they actually were. Or maybe not. O.o; I'm babbling. Excuse my growing senility. xD; But don't force yourself to do the parody if it pains you. Lol. :3 I can live without it. If only barely. xD;

Jewels14: Yes. Sap. The food of life. :3 But … lol. I don't think I would ever kill off a character in such an "uncool" way. xD; It defies the rules of conduct around here. xD;

KutieBunnie: Lol. Usagi isn't in love yet. But … heh heh. :3 I haven't decided whether it'll be soon or much later on. O.o; But it'll come out with a bang no matter what. :D And that "letter" [I tried to hint at this without saying it outright xD] was actually an envelope of Relena's pictures from newspapers/magazines/personal albums that Hiiro kept. Awww. ::sniffle:: Lol.

Black Aura-Sama: Lol. Like I said … falling off the balcony = very uncool way to die = not happening in any non-parody I do. xD; And obsessed!Hiiro seemed more like confused!Hiiro now. --; Or maybe whiney!Hiiro. Lol. Please tell me if any of these people ever get annoying. xD; It'll save me a lot of grief in the long run. :3 Quatre and co will probably appear next chapter. :3 Unless I have a breakthrough and add a whole new element to the plot … which has happened before. :D

LiLSeReNiTiE: Lol … no, not M/H yet. Actually [hinthint] it'll stay U/H/M for the entire fic. Or most of it at least. But the bit that is not U/H/M … isn't necessarily the end. ::ahem:: I wonder if I just gave away a lot. Lol. If I'm not overestimating you guys, then I just did. xD; But just to throw that out there … :3

Ashika: More strangeness! :D Anytime I write sap is strange.

Queen luvBunny: I haven't picked yet. :3 I have the plot written out … but I haven't picked yet. ::ahem:: Lol. That was a hint. --; So uhh … lol. Sappiness. It's still present. xD;

Confusedsoul: Thank you! O.O;;; ::is speechless:: Lol. Yes … poor Hiiro … ::pets:: xD; But this suffering of his … is fun to write about. xD; ::ahem:: Yes … poor Hiiro. xD;

Tenshi-Chikyuu: Thankyouthankyou! Lol … I was feeling so awkward in the beginning of the last chapter … but I'm extremely happy that it moved you … though I can't even begin to imagine how. xD; Methinks it's more your ability to be moved than my ability to write. xD; As for the error in that chapter … I've known about it for awhile [after somebody pointed it out xD] but … I'm extraordinarily lazy. Lol. So it'd be a miracle if I corrected it before the year is over. xD;

Aphrodite's Scribe: Yay! I'm so happy an M/H supporter doesn't hate Usagi. :3 ::bows to your greatness:: Lol. Please don't ever change. Lol. xD;

Queen Zephora Yami: :3 Thank you! Here's more! :DDD

Tenshi-Kaikou: ;-; No pro-d days … since … since a long time ago. Feels like an eternity. xD; Good luck with your play! Though I'm probably too late again. xD; And remember … Usagi was also inexperienced, young, and small [SHORT! lol] when she became Sailor Moon. xD; And now look at her. O.o; All grown up and … impersonating Relena Darlian! xD;

AznxAngel: Lol … I was just trying to capture the "enthusiast" state of mind. xD; But if it seems profound … then by all means, yes. Lol. xD; Yes. Sappiness. More Minako-ness this chapter. :3

Archangel006: Updated! :3