Tsubame: Ok, everybody. I just want to make something clear because you might be thinking that my writing is pointless. My writing style is all about having fun! I write whatever I enjoy writing and what I think people will enjoy reading. I don't think I do fanservice though, do I? Some people might find my style peculiar.

I really appreciate honesty, so if there is anything you need to tell me I'd love to hear it.

Thank you for reviewing everyone. Celle666, NaraOccult, shinta, Kagally, KaGaRi, seiha, psychoanalyst, Panny-Son-Briefs, Cagalli Athha-Zala 143, kogasgal27, animemistress419, Cagalli Y. Zala, Genny-chan, moi, Black Metalmark, kunaiving death angel, Kkornelia, Rayar, Eternally Asuka, Tama-chi, JusT LooKing ArounD, neji447, artec, SacredBlade, Cari-Akira, kenshinlover2002, T-T prinSESS, IYGU, Athyra, The Angels' Princess, Kazumi Kairi or Kairi-chan, x emyli, PINKSISA, The Jackle, GSD, daisukiasu'n'caga, Garowyn, ChildO'God, Kitty-Kat90013820, cloudy thoughts and Kandida

Thank you garowyn for editing again. It must be bothersome for you to do this. I really appreciate it. I luv yah, Nadia:)

Dedicated to: PINKSISA. Belated Happy Birthday. This is still not my gift though. I couldn't fit your character in this chapter. -sigh- I might have it done by Christmas though. I hope. So sorry!

Warning: Some characters in this chapter may be OOC. You have been warned. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed Destiny and Gundam Seed. They are property of Sunrise…or was it Bandai? I can't really remember. All I know is that they don't belong to me. Thank you….

"Double Identities"

By Tsubame Ongaku

Beta-read and edited by: Garowyn

Summary: Athrun is engaged to Orb's perfect princess, Cagalli Yula Attha. He obediently accepts his fate but one day he met a fiery beauty named, Eulla. She is everything the princess is not but why does he still find himself falling in love with her?
A/N: If it is in italic, that is a flashback… hehhehhee….

Chapter 8: The Great Switcheroo

Kira's point-of-view of that morning…

Lacus was just watering her roses while humming her song, Mizu no Akashi. Kira sat on the table and chair set for him in the pavilion. Somehow, Lacus felt at peace knowing that Kira was there. She saw him glance towards her. She threw him a dazzling smile and watched as his cheeks turned into deep shade of pink.

She giggled before turning her attention back to her roses. Her little Haros bounced about herjoining her little concert. There were almost too many for her to move about. There was Mr. Pink, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Green and how could she forget Mr. Yellow?

Kira felt shy around Lacus for some reason. He'd liked her since her very first concert in Orb many years ago. He read the report emailed to him in his laptop. It was from Kisakaand it just told him that Cagalli was doing fine and keeping out of trouble. Kira was happy to hear that. He could work on this case without worries now…

Suddenly, something hit him. It felt like something was squeezing the blood out of his heart. He frowned. He knew that something wasn't right. This had only happened once before. That was when Cagalli ran away from her bodyguards again.

He quickly got up from his seat and proceeded to go inside the Clyne home. "Miss Lacus, I need to use your phone for a while."

Lacus smiled. "No problem, Kira. But what is the matter?" She couldn't understand the worried look he had on his face. "Is there something wrong in the report?"

Kira shook his head. "Actually, no. According to the report, everything is just dandy in Orbbut…" He sighed, deeply. "I had that feeling again. Maybe it is a twin thingbut I can feel when there is something wrong with Cagalli." He took Lacus's small hands in his and placed them to his heart. "And…right now, I can feel that there is something wrong."

Lacus stared up at him and nodded. "Let's go insidethen."

Once inside, Kira called Kisaka immediately. The bodyguard answered after three rings. "Hello?"

"Kisaka, this is Kira." Kira thought he heard the man hold his breath for a second but ignored it. "This is concerning the report you sent me. Are you sure it is accurate?"

"Why do you ask, Master Kira?" Kisaka answered, calmly. Kira turned it into a confirmation that he had just imagined the holding of breath earlier. "Miss Cagalli is safely tucked in her room. I assure you…"

"Kisaka, don't lie to me," Kira warned, his voice becoming dangerously low and angry. "I can feel that something is wrong. If anything happens to my sister while I'm gone, I'm going to hold you fully responsible."

Lacus watched him talked, worriedly. Kira sounded very angry. She touched his arm and whispered, "Kira?"

Kira took her hand in his. Though his face showed much anger, the way he patted her hands gently said otherwise.

"Master Kira, look at the television if you don't believe me," Kisaka told him. "She had a breakfast event with Lady Chandler earlierand it is being featured right now."

Kira turned on the television and, sure enough, his blonde sister was dressed in her pink sundress in the Chandler patio. She was wearing pink, strangely, and what more strange was the mask covering her face.

"Kisaka, she's wearing pink?" Kira drawled. "And…what is with the mask?"

"The princess caught a cold." He coughed. "Well, I have to leave now, Master Kira. I have a meeting. Is there anything more you want to know?"

"No," he replied, not taking his eyes off the television. "I'm sorry for accusing you like that, Kisaka."

Kisaka laughed. "Don't worry. We have everything under control."

Kira put the receiver back in its cradle and frowned, deeply. He could feel that something wasn't right. He returned his gaze back to the girl on the television. For some reason, his twin's eyes had changed. They were not defiant and aristocratic. Instead, they were playful and innocent…

Was he seeing things?

Kisaka hung up the phone and gave a sigh of relief as he leaned back tiredly on his chair. A lovely blonde stood beside him, looking at him expectantly.

"What did he say, Kisaka-san?" she whispered. "He sounded angry."

He nodded. "He is. I never knew that he'd be able to tell she's gone this early, Stellar." He patted her on the head. "But you did good today. It is a good thing that he didn't know about a cousin that looks almost exactly like his sister..."

She smiled sweetly and nodded. "But will Cagalli-chan be back soon?" She patted her hair. "Stellar would like to go back being Stellar."

"She'll be back when she's good and ready," he told her, drumming his hands on his oak desk. "And honestly, that is what bothers me. Who knows when she'll be ready..."

Cagalli yawned and stretched her arms up. She smiled contently as she stared at the ceiling for a little while longer. It was Day 2 of her escape and all felt good. Nicol wanted to go with her to the new Aquarium. She had planned to go alone but somehow the boy managed to sweet-talk her to letting him come.

At first Cagalli thought that there was no harm in taking him, so she agreed. She didn't know that by letting him come she was going to have to bring the whole gang. Meaning, Dearka, Yzak, Miguel, Rusty, and the person she least needed to see…Athrun Zala. It was dangerous to be around him, especially if he recognized her.

She checked into a cheap motel as soon as the ZAFT boys were done dragging her around the city. After an exhausting day, they wanted to invite her to staying at the palace. They were quite surprised when she declined.

She just laughed at their faces and told them, "Thanks but no thanks. I've had enough of security and palaces for the time being."

She yawned again and turned towards the clock. It was still on seven in the morning and Nicol said they were going to come over at nine; that gave her about two hours to get ready. She smiled at how sweet the boy was.

She had plenty of time. She took out her toothbrush from her satchel and went into the bathroom. Cagalli was always conscious about her teeth. She had braces when she was younger and she didn't want to go through that experience again. It was more horrifying for her than any battle she'd ever seen or participated in.

She turned on the television because she wanted to know what her cousin was up to.

The first thing she saw was clips of "Princess Cagalli" visiting the orphans in the city hospital, signing autographs for soldiers, giving public speeches and standing by her father's side during conferences.

Every morning, the television station dedicated about ten minutes of airtime to update the people of her latest escapades. She hated that show but it did come in handy now.

"Did you hear the latest, Paul?" the pretty female host asked her co-host.

"What is that, Sidney?" the co-host replied.

"For the opening of the new Aquarium, the board invited Princess Cagalli Yula Athha for the ribbon-cutting ceremony!"

He scratched his head. "But what is so special about that, Sidney? Our little princess had been invited to many ribbon-cutting ceremonies before."

"This one is special!" she squealed as she squeezed her co-host's arm. "This is the first time ever that we'll be able to see Orb's royal couple together in public!" The girl pretended to feel faint, then sighed. "The Princess had invited her Prince with her to the ceremony. Isn't that swee---"

Cagalli didn't listen to the rest. In the middle of brushing her teeth, she grabbed her cell phone and dialed Nicol's number. Nicol answered the phone, his voice still sounded a little groggy like he had just woken up. "He…llo. Nicol Amarfi…"

"Nicol, it's me, Eulla."

He was up in a second. "Miss Eulla! What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect you to call so early."

"I'm so sorry for waking you,but I was just wondering…is Mr. Zala coming with us this morning?"

Nicol fought to keep himself from yawning. It wasn't nice to yawn on a lady and he didn't like the thought of yawning on a girl that he really liked. "I don't think s…I heard that he was going with his fiancée this morning. But I guess we'll still see him, though, since they are also going to the aquarium."

Cagalli gulped. This was bad. "Thank you, Nicol. I'll see all of you in a couple of hours."

"Bye bye, Miss Eulla!"

She hung up. She had a big problem and now she had no idea she should do. What in the world was Kisaka thinking? How could he let Athrun go near her when that "her"was not her! What if he saw something wrong? What if he asked questions that Stellar couldn't answer?

Usually when Stellar substituted for her, she didn't come in contact with anybody except Kisaka and a few guards. Why did they let Athrun in? Her bodyguard was crazy. What if Kira found out?

She groaned, tiredly. She had no choice then. She was going to have to go to the aquarium, get past the guards somehow and execute plan: Switcheroo. She and Stellar had only used it during emergencies before. Right now, this counted as an emergency.

Looking at the clock, she had two more hours to do all this. That didn't give her much time. She had to move. She grabbed a towel and rushed towards the shower.

The water had better be warm…

The thing that Cagalli missed most about being a princess was probably the advantage of getting a nice warm bath whenever she wished it.

Cagalli wrinkled her nose. She never thought that she'd ever see the day she'd actually miss being a princess. If she was right, at any moment Stellar was going to escape to the garden at any minute.

It wasn't that hard to sneak back into the Mansion actually. Since there was going to be an occasion later, anybody could just come and go as they pleasebut with the right ID. In Cagalli's case, the right fake ID can get her there.

As scheduled, minutes later, a blonde head so much like hers ran out to the garden. She looked around inconspicuously. Stellar was taught since childhood to trust her instincts if she was being followed like Cagalli. Stellar's instincts were incredible, but…the fact that she's a coordinator might have helped.

"Stellar, over here," Cagalli hissed. Stellar spotted her crouched behind the rosebush. Stellar stifled a giggle from escaping from her lips. She thought that the pained look on Cagalli's face was entertaining. It made her wonder how long she had been crouched like that.

"Hime-sama, Stellar got your message." One reason why Stellar never spoke when she pretended to be her was that Stellar tended to address herself in the third person. If anyone heard that, it would give her away. There was no explanation why she did it,though. "What can Stellar do to help Hime-sama?"

Cagalli grinned and hugged her cousin impulsively. She always found it funny that she was always so formal with her. She ruffled her hair and grinned. "Yes, Stellar. I need your help in something."

At first glance, the two girls could pass as twins. But when you take a closer look though, you will be able to differentiate them through their eyes. Stellar had eyes of pure innocence. They were the eyes of a child and you couldn't really blame her because she had the heart of a child. She loved pretty dresses, dancing and most especially the ocean.

Once in a while, when Cagalli wasn't busy, the two of them, with Shinn and another bodyguard on tow, would escape to the beach. It didn't happen very often, but it was a stress-reliever for the busy princess. Cagalli had no time to think of that, though. If her plan was going to work, the two of them had to move fast. She knew that she could trust Stellar to cooperate.

Stellar might be naïve, but she could also be sly when she needed to be. And in this case, it was needed.

"Where's Shinn? How did you give him the slip?" Cagalli asked, impressed. It took a lot to outsmart Shinn Asuka, especially when he felt that he was doing his job. Cagalli thought he was just a pain in the neck. Whenever they were ten feet of each other, they would always fight. "And please call me Cagalli. You know I hate it when you're so formal with me."

Stellar bit her lip nervously. "Actually…"

"You've got to be kidding if you'd think I'd let her outsmart me."

Cagalli didn't need to turn around to know that Shinn was behind her. She'd heard that annoying voice enough times to have it implanted in her brain. "Nice to see you again, Asuka." She tried not to grind her teeth in annoyance. "But who invited you to this party?"

The raven-haired bodyguard smirked. He head his arms crossed as he leaned against the tree a few feet away from them. Cagalli was very tempted to wipe that smirk from his face with a good beating, but even she knew that she had no chance against him. "I invited myself, Princess. You don't mind, do you?"

She sighed in defeat. Shinn was an idiot, but he wouldn't betray her. "If you insist in joining in, you just better remain quiet." She turned to her cousin. "Stellar, this Athrun Zala is no idiot, I tell you. He is very sharp and this is what we're going to do…"

"This plan had better not be stupid," Shinn mumbled.

"Eulla-chan!" Dearka screamed, as he burst into the room. "We're here!"

Dearka had somehow talked the others into arriving an hour early to surprise Eulla. At first they declined since Eulla was not Athrun and it wasn't nice to give a girl a wakeup call. Not to mention the part where she'd probably kill them.

"It is not a wakeup call if she's already awake," he pointed out. "Nicol talked to her earlier."

The others had put up a good fight, but somehow Dearka won. They had no choice but to follow him.

"Eulla-chan, sorry for this monkey's intrusion, but…" Nicol started to apologize for Dearka. He looked up at his sempai. Dearka had a look of surprise. "Dearka, what is wrong?" He looked around the room and realized it was empty. "Huh? Where's Eulla-chan?"

Yzak, Rusty, and Miguel were right behind them. They barged into the room with them.

Yzak was annoyed. "There you have it! We act all nice and how does she repay us?"

Rusty shook his head. "Relax, Joule. She must have gone jogging somewhere or something. There is no need to just jump into conclusions." He punched the annoyed person playfully. "Don't tell me you miss her already."

Yzak blushed and punched the redhead right on the nose. "Did you say something?"

Rusty touched his bloody nose and chuckled nervously. "No… not a thing, Joule." Then he smirked. "We all know that you're crazy about Shiho-chan anyway."

Yzak was about to start his attack again, but then they could suddenly hear someone running in the corridors.

The blonde Eulla appeared and saw them scrambling around her room. "What are you guys doing here?" She saw Rusty's nose and gasped. "Rusty, who did this?" She took a tissue from the side table and began wiping away the blood. "Nicol hand me the first-aid kit inside the cabinet.

Obediently, he did. "Eulla-chan, you're not ready!" Nicol pointed at her muddy running shoes, sweaty shirt and dirty pants. "Where have you been anyway? You look like you've been running."

Her eyes grew wide, but then she smiled. She was forcing herself to smile…and all of them could tell. "I've been running my morning exercise."

She was nervous. They could understand why. Rusty stared down at the smiling face of the person treating his injured nose. Eulla was kinda pretty in her own way. He suddenly blushed. What was he thinking?

"We can't let you go to the Aquarium dressed like that!" Dearka exclaimed. "Girls on a date with five handsome men should dress more feminine and dainty and…"

"Do you want to die early, Elsman?" she growled.

Dearka yelped and hid behind Yzak. The silver-haired soldier just rolled his eyes and ignored him. Instead, turning his attention to Eulla. "But seriously, Eulla. You can't be thinking of going in that. It is disgraceful!"

She shook her head furiously. "No way. Please don't treat me like a doll again."

But they were already going through her luggage. There wasn't much in it. But Cagalli was relieved that she had packed her underwear in a separate bag and was now tucked away in the back of the hotel closet.

"Who told you guys to just go through my stuff!" she screamed, blushing. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Ah! Eulla-chan has a sundress!" Nicol exclaimed, holding up a pretty blue and white sundress. "It is so cute! Wear this, Eulla-chan!"

"A sundress? Let me see! Let me see!"

Before she knew it, the five boys were gathered around the sundress. Cagalli's sweat dropped. They seem more excited than she did. Were these guys alright?

After a while, Dearka groaned. "Looking through her luggage is so boring. I mean, where's the underwear?"

After a second, Dearka found himself flying to the wall. "Hey!" he was going to complain, but then saw the warning in her face, he gulped instead. The Eulla-chick's angry face was scarier than a whole fleet of mobile suits.

"Do you have something to say, Elsman?"

"Nnnn…no."

"Good."

Nicol then began shoving Cagalli towards the bathroom, insisting that she change into the pretty sundress. "Go in and change and we'll wait here. Or do you want me to stay and help you?" But the others grabbed him by the collar and gave him the look that said, "don't even-think-about-it."

Cagalli was too dense to understand the implication. She just shook her head and said that she could handle it. She closed the door to change, while the others gathered around Nicol, warning him again about using his "cuteness" factor on girls again.

Inside, Cagalli twirled around looking at herself in the mirror. The dress was Stellar's, she could tell, and how it got into her luggage was a mystery. She had been in a rush with packing, so maybe she packed it by accident. She wrinkled her nose. She now looked like Stellar.

Except maybe for the hair and eye color; they could be twins. She sighed tiredly. How she hated wearing dresses. When she escaped, she had promised herself that she wouldn't wear a dress. But she also knew that they wouldn't keep quiet until they had things their way. She wished that she could wear the suit she bought yesterday, but Dearka spilled wine on it and now it was in the drycleaners.

"Hey, Hibiki! Aren't you ready yet!"

"I'm coming out!" She grumbled. How she hated wearing dresses. She didn't care how many times she'd said it, but it was true. They were nuisances to her. She never really cared about looking feminine. But she was always doing it to please her father and her people. She opened the door with a sour look on her face. "There! Are you dummies happy?"

"Cute, Eulla-chan!" Nicol exclaimed, as he took her hands and began jumping up and down. "So cute! Let's go see the dolphins together, ne?"

Cagalli giggled at how adorable Nicol was and nodded. "Yeah!"

"By the way, where is Zala?" Yzak asked, finally realizing that they were one member short.

"Huh? You didn't know? Didn't I tell you?" Dearka asked, while squeezing Eulla's air supply out of her. Eulla was trying in vain to push him away. She hated the Coordinator's unnatural strength in times like this. "I thought for sure I did."

"Let go of me, you perverted monkey!" And I bet you can guess who said this.

Nicol was trying his best trying to help Eulla by prying Dearka's hands away. "Athrun went ahead to the aquarium to meet with his fiancé. She's going to cut the ribbon for the opening." He smiled sweetly at Eulla. "You really do look like her, Miss Eulla."

"I'm flattered that—" she jabbed Dearka's gut. "That you think that I'm good enough to look like royalty."

Dearka fell back, clutching his stomach. "Eulla-chan, that hurt!"

She ignored him and snorted. Instead went back to talking with Nicol. "Now that I'm dressed, shouldn't we get going? I wanna take a good look at this princess that you're always talking about." She didn't tell them one thing though, "And I have a rendezvous with Stellar too. I hope this scheme works. If it doesn't I'm blaming Shinn."

"Eulla-chan! Can I tie a bow on your hair?"

As Eulla, the princess could slip in and out of any crowd without attracting too much attention. It felt wonderful to a person whose moves had been watched since she learned how to walk. She could mingle with her people without the pressures of doing something of their disapproval.

She was just an ordinary girl enjoying a day with five handsome ZAFT soldiers…okay…maybe it wasn't so ordinary. But she was having a lot of fun. Before they went to the opening, the boys wanted to take her with them sightseeing. The boys had different things to drag her to.

Nicol took her shopping in every music store they passed. Miguel wanted to shop in an armory store, but unfortunately they had minors with them. Rusty wanted to go to the arcade and gun down space aliens from the Andromeda galaxy. Dearka wanted to go bowling…and Yzak?

Well, Yzak just wanted to go home.

She never really told them that she was a natural. She had just let them assume that she was a coordinator too. She felt guilty about it. She didn't like the thought of lying to her friends. But she saw Yzak's reaction to Naturals and maybe it was just not the right time to tell them.

Nicol finally looked at the big clock in the mall. He sighed and began to get the other's attention. "Hey, guys! It is almost time for the ribbon cutting ceremony. If we leave now, we might just make it."

Eulla gasped. She had to be there early or else the plan would be ruined. "How much time do we have left?"

"Thirty minutes? More or less…" He shrugged. "Plenty of time…"

"Can you get me there in ten minutes?" she exclaimed, grabbing him by the collar. She had looked so desperate that poor Nicol couldn't possibly say no.

He smiled, warmly and nodded. He grabbed her hand and ran straight for the exit. "Come on, you guys! I'm driving."

The group shivered. The last time Nicol said that he'd drive, they landed in the hospital for three days. He must be crazy to believe that they'd get in the car with him at the wheel. Nicol was a pro with mobile suits, but he drove even worse than a racecar driver did. On the road, he was a demon.

"Don't worry! I've been practicing," he assured them. He pouted, looking quite disappointed. "I've practiced and practiced. Don't you have faith in me?"

"He looks too pitiful," they thought in unison.

Dearka sighed and nodded. Yzak and the rest followed. They might regret this, but it was so hard to say no to him like that. Too bad little Nicol knew ittoo. "Great!" he said, pulling on Eulla's arm. "We'll meet you guys in the parking lot."

"Miss Eulla, I hope you like roller coasters!" Dearka shouted. "We're going to be in for one."

Eulla didn't understand what he was talking about. Nicol looked capable enough. But somehow she had a bad feeling about this.

Athrun got out of his car and glanced at his watch. It was still a bit early. He knew that his team had not arrived yet. Knowing them, they were probably still touring the city and dragging poor Eulla with them. They were never on time for these functions, anyway.

He had really wanted to go with them, too,but when he received the invitation, he jumped at the chance to see her again. With her schedule, he knew it was almost impossible to get another chance as this anytime soon.

It was still a half-hour early. He wondered if the princess was already around. Athrun was definitely surprised receiving the invitation. This was going to be the first time that they're ever going to be seen as a couple. It felt too early. They had announced their engagement only days ago.

And Eulla-chan…

Athrun froze, remembering the name. His face suddenly changed to the color of a tomato. How could he have for gotten that he kissed a girl that wasn't his fiancée!?

She did look a lot like her…but still how could he already cheat on her only days after being engaged? He must be crazy! He never really though that he had preference to blondes. So why did he suddenly have two blondes in his hands?

A man came down the aquarium stairs to greet him. He was big, dark skinned, and seemed to have Indian or Arabian ethnicity. "Master Athrun?"

He nodded and extended a hand to him. He recognized him as the man who announced the engagement at the ball. Athrun was told that Kisaka was the princess's ex-personal bodyguard before Kira took over. "I am Athrun Zala."

The man accepted the hand and introduced himself. "I am Kisaka, Miss Athha's temporary substitute bodyguard. I assume that we met at the ball."

Athrun nodded. He wondered why Kisaka was already here. It didn't look like that Miss Cagalli was here yet. What was the bodyguard doing here so early? "Is there something I can help you with, sir?"

"Please call me Kisaka. There is no need to be so formal." Kisaka wasn't sure what he thought of this guy. When he had first heard that he was to be Cagalli's fiancé, he had his doubts. He certainly hated her previous fiancé, Yuuna Roma Seiran.

But when Kira told him that he trusted this Athrun Zala, he had let his suspicions down a bit. Kisaka always trusted his master Kira's judge of character. Kisaka was surprised, though, that when Kira was called away, he did not pass the responsibility of guarding Miss Cagalli to himself. Instead, Kira had given it to her fiancé. It shocked Kisaka that he could actually trust someone that muchespecially with his sister.

Cagalli was all he had left in the world, so Kira didn't just trust anybody with her safety. A lot of reasons why he had declined most of his meetings outside Orb was because he didn't trust her safety with her guards. He insisted on guarding her himself.

It wasn't until later that he began to loosen up and went to the meetings. But it was never longer than a week. After that, Kira came running home. This was the first time that Kira took a case so long and far away from his sister since he met her a year ago.

"Has she arrived yet?" Athrun asked, following Kisaka up the tall steps.

"Not yetbut she will be here soon enough."

Athrun took a peek at his watch again, she had to be coming any minute. She wasn't thinking of being late, was she?

"So, you know the plan, right?" Cagalli whispered as she and Stellar came out of the bushes. They had switched clothes. Stellar was now wearing the blue sundress while Cagalli wore the pale green Orb Ceremonial dress. Cagalli hated wearing this because it meant wearing her heavy tiara again.

Normally it would be her father doing these kinds of functions but lately he'd been too busy to go anywhere. He didn't even have the time to accompany her anywhere anymore. It made her sad, but at the same time drove her mad. That meant more tea parties and dress parties to go to.

Stellar giggled and twirled, loving the freedom the dress gave. She hated the formal treatment of the people in her cousin's circle. "Yes, Hime-sama. I'm actually surprised that you decided to wear this dress, Hime-sama. It isn't like you to wear something like this."

Cagalli groaned. "It wasn't like I was given much of a choice. That stupid monkey made me." She had separated herself from the team earlier. They had gone to see Athrun about their job. They had told her to stay put, but unfortunately they forgot that Cagalli listened to no one.

She had met up with Stellar just outside the gate of the aquarium. They had hid themselves in some trees and began the switch while Shinn stayed in the open and kept watch for intruders.

"We meet here after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, she whispered. "Then we make the switch again. I'll be home tomorrow afternoon. Don't worry." Before she retreated to the waiting limousine, she told Shinn. "Guard her with your life."

His eyes became serious and nodded. She got herself in the car where the driver was waiting. The driver was surprised with the sudden pit stop.

"Where is Mr. Asuka, Miss Athha?" He watched her curiously. "And why aren't you wearing a mask anymore? Aren't you sick?"

She shrugged and smiled in a way she knew that would make him melt and forget his questions. "I'm fine, but I'm going to be late. We have to move quickly," she giggled prettily. It made her sick, but it worked wonders. "They can't have the ceremony without me."

"You're right, Your Highness, he agreed quickly. His face was turning red, although he was happy to see this adorable side of her.

Cagalli sighed with relief. At least this part was over. She just hoped everything else will go just as smoothly. But somehow she really doubted that.

Whenever Stellar and her used this plan, something always went wrong. She didn't even want to remember how many times she got Stellar into trouble because of this. She hoped Shinn was enough to keep her out of trouble.

She had fooled thousands before with this trick.

But she knew very well that Athrun Zala was no fool to be trifled with. He was not going to be an easy guy to fool. She was confident with her acting but still she could tell that this guy was going to be the biggest challenge of her life. She remembered how observant he was and how he knew that she was a proper lady.

The guy was sharp.

"Why didn't I pick that idiot, Yuuna, when I still had the chance?"

Tsubame: Well, this is going to be my last update for a while since school is back. I don't know when the next update will be but even I hope it is soon. I wanna finish this story so bad! But my muses are avoiding me.

I think it is for doing such a bad job in updating since they were gone. –sigh- how sad.