Miorine Rembran stared at nothing in particular as she leaned against the railing overlooking the courtyard of Asticassia. Her mind was filled with the same haunting thoughts that had become all too familiar recently. Her stomach felt as if someone had dropped a ball of lead inside it, dragging her mood down into its dark center, poisoning her feelings in the process.

She glanced at her notebook, hoping to see a notification from her assistant, only to be faced with a blank screen and her reflection in it. Her normally fair skin was sunken, the skin under her eyes bruised a dark purple from lack of sleep. Her silver hair was in disarray, sticking up in odd places while being ruffled in others. Simply put, she looked like a mess.

She knew why this was, of course, couldn't delude herself if she tried. The haunting sounds of her actions bounced around her head constantly, tormenting her every waking, and sleeping, moment.

…I said I'd stay at her side forever!...

…That's why…This time…

…Please, choose me too!...

….Ms Miorine! I'm sorry, A-Aerial stopped moving all of the sudden…

…Guel! Duel me again!...

…I promise! I-I won't lose this time! Please!...

Miorine grimaced, just barely holding back from slamming her hands over her ears in an attempt to drown out the voice of her sins. What she and Guel had done…No, what she had done to Suletta filled her stomach with guilt and send her mind spinning with grief. The anguished voice of the sweet Mercurian girl she had come to love constantly sounded out in her head, the sight of her face twisted in confused anguish appearing at the forefront of her mind.

She had to constantly remind herself exactly why she had done what she did. Remind herself that it was all for Suletta's sake and not her own that she broke the girl's heart the way she did. It was the only way she could even start to live with herself.

If she kept telling herself that, then one day the weight of her actions would lessen. Hopefully…

"HEY! SPACIAN!"

Miorine turned at the familiar voice, wincing internally as she caught sight of an angry pink-haired Earthian stomping toward her. She should have expected this.

She turned her eyes towards the other girl, keeping her composure as best she could with the turmoil settling deep inside of her, "What do you want Chuchu? Shouldn't you be with the rest of Earth House?"

With Suletta?

Chuatury "Chuchu" Panlunch ignored her question, continuing to stomp toward her angrily. As she neared, a bit of fear crept up the heiress's spine. She herself had never really been a target of the Earthian girl's anger, mostly by virtue of never being around her for that long before she created GUND-ARM, but now that she had, she could see why most people found the girl intimidating despite her short stature.

Chuchu's face was set in an enraged scowl as she reached Miorine, pink eyes flashing with a deep anger and before Miorine had a chance to repeat her questions, the Earthian had reached her. With strength belying her size, the angry girl grabbed the front of Miorine's uniform and pushed her backwards, practically slamming her against the wall behind her and holding her there.

She got into her face, pink-eyes glaring into silver with a sense of lividness rarely seen from even Chuchu, "What the HELL is wrong with you!? HUH? Do you get off on breaking sweet girl's hearts or somethin'!?"

Ah, so that was it. Miorine should have expected this but in all honesty, she had been hoping to be gone from Asticassia long before now, but unfortunately in seemed there was a delay in transport. She had actually been waiting for the notification that her transport was ready before Chuchu arrived.

She found it odd that Chuchu of all people was the one to approach her. She had been expecting Nika given the girl's growing friendship with Suletta, but she supposed that when someone in Earth House was hurt, Chuchu was usually the first one up-in-arms about it. It was actually a good portion of the reason that Miorine had avoided Earth House like the plague. Well, apart from the obvious other thing…

Miorine drew upon the indifferent mask that she had been wearing practically all of her life, "Let go of me Chuchu. We may be friends, but I'm still technically your boss, I could fire you for what you're doing right now.

Chuchu gave her a sharp smirk, more full of anger than any sort of mirth, "Not anymore princess, Nika helped me sign my letter of resignation this morning. It should be coming across your inbox any time today. I'm no longer a part of GUND-ARM so I can do whatever I want."

In all likelihood it already had. Miorine had long since turned off her notifications as her inbox was filled with the congratulations and angry rants of the students around Asticassia after Suletta's duel. That, as well as the numerous tearful emails she had gotten from the girl herself, wondering what she did wrong and what she could do to fix it, had quickly begun to turn Miorine's stomach to the point that she couldn't bear it.

"And friends?" Chuchu scoffed, "Like I'd be friends with you after what you did to Suletta."

Miorine frowned, "She'll get over it. I'm leaving Asticassia for a while as I take care of some stuff for the company. Without me here, it won't hurt as much." It was cold of her to say, but it was something she had been repeating to herself for days, the only way could make the pit in her stomach lessen even slightly.

That only seemed to make Chuchu even angrier, her eyes widening with rage at Miorine's words, "You think it's that easy idiot!?" She snarled, "She loves you! And she hoped you felt the same! Were you even listening to the broadcast during the duel with Guel!? The duel she didn't even want to do in the first place!? The one you insisted she do!?"

"She wanted a life with you! Straight up asked you to choose her of your own free will! You could have had something anyone else here could only dream of!"

"But no!" Chuchu practically shouted into her face, grip tightening on the front of her now wrinkled uniform "You had to go and embarrass her in front of the whole damn school! You know how they are, how Suletta is! She has enough problems here without you flinging her literal fucking marriage proposal in her face in front of the entire student body!"

Miorine averted her gaze, keeping her voice level, "What we had was nothing more than a business transaction. Suletta knew that. It's not my fault she got carried away."

Chuchu's eyes widened in disbelief, "Carried away!? You act like she was the only one acting that way! I overheard that conversation the two of you had before that shit on Plant Quetta. Was all that talk about finally being happy just a lie?"

She heard that? Miorine had thought her little moment with Suletta had been just the two of them. If she had known Chuchu was listening… Well, more than likely nothing would have changed. Suletta needed cheering up, needed to know that Miorine cared about her. Was happy with her.

If only she wasn't forced to undo all of that just a few weeks later…

Miorine opened her mouth to speak, but the Earthian wasn't done, "If you stopped feeling that way, if you wanted to break off the proposal that badly, you could have just told her! You know how nice she is! She would do anything for you, even if it hurt her!"

Miorine knew that. She knew exactly how kind and self-sacrificing Suletta Mercury was. That was the entire reason she had to get her away from Prospera, from the Aerial. Miorine didn't know exactly what that woman had planned for her and the Gundam, but she had already shown how manipulative she was when it came to her daughter.

"Instead, you publicly humiliated her, ran off with Guel of all people and not only that, but you took her Gundam away from her! You know she thought of that thing like it was family!" Chuchu spit at her, "I don't think you could have hurt her more if you tried!"

That had been the entire point. As cruel as it was, Miorine needed to make sure that Suletta wouldn't try to follow her when she left Asticassia. Needed to make sure that the redhead stayed far away from Prospera and the Gundam that was all but destined to kill her.

If she had to hurt Suletta in order to keep her safe, then that was what she would do. Was what she had done.

"Here's what's going to happen,'' Chuchu growled as she tightened her grip in Miorine's uniform, pulling her off the wall, "You are going to come with me, and you are going to apologize to her!" the girl snarled, "And you'll be explaining what the hell you were thinking while you're at it! You owe us that much!"

Chuchu's angry expression softened ever-so slightly, lips turning down in a solemn frown, "She's not eating you know?" She said softly and Miorine's stomach dropped, "She hasn't come out of her room since the duel, just laying in bed calling her mom over and over and crying when she doesn't get an answer. Even Nika can't get her out."

Miorine's heart clenched at that. She knew Prospera had told her that she'd leave Suletta alone, but she didn't think that the woman was cruel enough to completely cut off any contact with the daughter who loved her so much.

Normally, she'd be happy that Suletta was well and truly free from her mother's manipulative clutches, but considering everything that had happened and the results, she couldn't find it in her to muster any cheer.

"She'll be fine." Miorine said stoically, doing her best to hide her turmoil, "She can handle a little heartbreak. She'll be back to her usual self in a few days."

She had to believe Suletta would be okay. Had to believe that the girl would get over her heartache and bounce back to being the happy girl she had fallen in love with. She had no other choice.

Bleakly, she wondered if getting her heart ripped out was on Suletta's bucket list. Maybe then Miorine could say she'd done something good for her.

Miorine's thoughts were cut off by a sudden pain in the right side of her face. She fell to the ground as Chuchu's ceased holding her up, cradling her now aching cheek as she looked up in bewilderment.

Said girl was currently glaring down at her with an expression of visible disgust, rubbing the knuckles of her right hand as she stepped away from Miorine's pained form, practically shaking with anger "You really don't care about her at all, huh?"

Miorine's mouth twisted angrily, "I do." She stated shortly, wincing at the pain in her jaw. That was definitely going to bruise.

"You've sure got a funny way of showing it." Chuchu spat, "A cute, sincere Mercurian girl practically throws herself at you, duels for your safety, and grows your damn tomatoes while you aren't here, and you repay her by ripping her heart out in front of thousands of people. You're a masterclass in caring aren't you?"

Miorine's careful facade nearly came undone, anger bubbling in her stomach at the girl's words.

"You don't know anything." She hissed out, silver eyes flashing with anger at the insinuation.

Chuchu took another step back, clearly finished arguing with her, "Tch. Sure, whatever you say. But you know what? That's fine. Since you couldn't seem to give less of a shit about Suletta," Wrong. She was wrong. "Then I'll take her."

…What.

Miorine's eyes widened as she whipped her head to face the pompom-headed girl, finding her looking away from her with a serious expression on her face. Her heart clenched at the girl's proclamation and she scrambled to stand on shaky legs, all of her previous composure lost

"What are you talking about?" She demanded. Chuchu turned back to her, glaring angrily as she shoved her hands into her pockets.

"Like I said, since you're so determined to stomp on Suletta's heart, I'll take her. You don't deserve the feelings she has for you." She stated bluntly, "I'll take care of her where you didn't, pick up the pieces you and her shitty mother left. It's the least I could do for her."

Miorine couldn't believe what she was hearing, ears picking up the hidden words Chuchu wasn't saying outright, "Y-you like her? Since when?"

Chuchu shrugged, "Dunno, a while now I guess." She gave a fond smile that clearly wasn't directed at the girl she had laid out, "She's got a way of worming her way into your heart."

Miorine knew that better than anyone. While she was falling for Suletta between the duels and long talks in the greenhouse, it seemed everyone around her was as well. Guel, Elan, and now even Chuchu, everyone wanted a piece of the Mercurian girl. Just a few days ago Miorine wouldn't have worried about any of them. It was not a few days ago.

Chuchu's normally hard gaze softened as she got lost in thought, "Just a few months ago, I hated all you Spacians like nothing else. I hated the way you all looked down on me just because I was born on earth, like I was some sort of second class citizen just because I happened to take my first breath in the atmosphere of humanity's home planet."

She smiled lightly, "Then Suletta came along. With her goofy smile and the weird way she hides behind people so much smaller than her. Her happy-go-lucky attitude and the way she treats everyone like they're her best friend, even that freaking list of hers. It's all just so…sincere, like nothing could possibly be hiding behind that earnest grin and those soft eyes."

"She showed me that not all Spacians are alike. Not all of them were self-righteous assholes who looked down their noses at the rest of us. And she didn't even know what she was doing! She's just that nice."

Her grin sharpened as she thought of a specific memory, "And best of all, when it comes down to it, she's got her friend's backs. Like she did at Plant Quetta when she went to fight those terrorists. Or like she did for me in that hallway when those Spacians turds got the jump on me."

Miorine remembered that. It had been only a few days after Chuchu had gotten into a fistfight with those two upperclassmen for sabotaging her and Suletta's tests, Chuchu had taken a detour to her next class through some lesser known hallways, and a group of girls had been waiting for her.

It was pure luck that Miorine had been taking the same route to her greenhouse, Suletta following along behind her like always. They had come across Chuchu curled up on the ground as the girls delivered kicks to her unguarded head and back.

It was one of the only times Miorine had ever seen Suletta truly angry. The tall girl's face had twisted into an honestly scary expression as she saw what was happening, her normally hunched back straightening as she rose to her full height. The Mercurian had strode forth with such confidence that the girls who had been harassing Chuchu didn't even attempt to stop her, just stepping to the side as she knelt down to help the pink-haired girl to her feet.

The last time Miorine had seen Suletta even close to that angry, was when she had taken the girl's student notebook to steal Aerial, and even that had nothing on what she saw that day.

There had been no physical altercation, not that Miorine honestly thought Suletta had it in her, and the girls had beat a hasty retreat. Suletta had asked if Chuchu was ok and she responded an affirmative. And that was that.

While nothing had technically come of it, Chuchu actually wanting them to keep quiet about the whole ordeal, Miorine had noticed that the girl had seemingly gained a much higher opinion of Suletta after that, gaining a closeness to the tall girl akin to Nika or even Miorine herself.

She supposed it only made sense that even a girl like Chuchu would catch feelings for Suletta after being rescued like that.

"I think that's where it started." Chuchu confirmed as Miorine returned to the present.

Chuchu suddenly smirked, looking back down at the speechless heiress, "She isn't bad looking either. Never thought I'd have a thing for tall Mercurian girls, but apparently I was wrong. And the way she pilots that Gundam of hers is just awesome. She could show me a thing or two." She laughed.

No. No this wasn't right. Suletta was hers. The dorky Mercurian girl who was so shy yet outgoing, making friends as easily as Miorine's father made enemies.

Except…she wasn't was she? Not anymore at least. Miorine had given up her claim to the girl's heart the moment she made that deal with Prospera. She and Suletta weren't even engaged anymore. And considering her birthday was today and Aerial had been taken from the Mercurian (Something Miorine knew would hurt her but she did it anyway. For her sake, always for her sake.), Suletta couldn't even duel for her hand anymore.

If she even wanted to after what Miorine did to her.

Chuchu was a good person. A bit rough around the edges sure, but she always had her friend's backs in whatever situation they came into. And with the way she had spoken about Suletta, mirroring many of the things Miorine herself loved about the redhead, the heiress knew she wasn't planning to simply play with the girl, to break her heart. Not like she did…

And as much as it hurt to imagine the sunny Mercurian girl with someone else, as much as her heart sank and her stomach churned at the thought of that shy smile being directed at someone else, Miorine knew that it was probably for the best. WIth everything she was trying to do to protect the girl, she wouldn't be able to stay and help her heart heal. Not when she was the one to cause the damage in the first place.

"Chuchu, you…" She trailed off, silver eyes downcast as she avoided the other girl's gaze, "Just…Take care of her please? Don't hurt her."

Chuchu snorted in derision, "I'm not you princess. I don't plan to hurt her. Hell, if anything she's probably gonna come running back to you the moment she feels better. Probably get her mind all twisted into thinking it's her fault somehow. She's naive like that."

Silver eyes widened, "Then why…"

"Because I love her." The Earthian stated simply. There wasn't an ounce of doubt in her words, as expected from the straightforward girl, "I love her and I can't stand seeing her hurt like this. So I'm going to do what I can to fix her. And if she chooses me when it's over then great, fantastic, happy ending for Chuchu. If not…" She shrugged again, slim shoulders moving up and down in a nonchalant manner, "I've already had to deal with watching her be infatuated with someone else. I can handle it until we graduate at least. It's not the end of the world."

"Chuchu…"

Chuchu was normally the type to wear her heart on her sleeve, bare for anyone to see while the girl herself couldn't care less what they thought of her. To hear that she had been hiding something like this…

The girl turned around, shoes scuffing the pavement as she began to make her way back to the Earth House dorms, "I better get going. I've got a lot of work to do if I wanna undo the damage you did and I can see trying to talk sense into you is a lost cause."

She looked back for a second, giving Miorine one last glare, "Don't think about coming around any time soon. You had your chance to fix things. If Suletta wants to forgive you, then fine, but it's gonna be on her terms. Not yours."

"Go have fun playing politics with your fiance. I'll take care of Suletta."

And with that final proclamation, the pink-haired girl turned and walked away, leaving Miorine to her thoughts.

The two she had been holding back slipped silently down her cheeks as she turned away from the girl's departure. With every sound of her shoes hitting the pavement, Miorine felt Suletta slip further and further away.

She swallowed roughly as she watched the girl leave, wanting nothing more than to follow after her back to the dorms where she knew Suletta was waiting.

She swallows the desire however, as her notebook pinged with the call notification that she had been waiting on before the whole confrontation had started.

She answered the call, keeping her voice carefully level, "Hello?"

"Miss Rembran, your transport is ready. Mister Jeturk is already on board and awaiting your arrival."

Miorine wiped her face, sniffing silently as she endeavored to keep her voice as normal as possible, "That's… good. That's good, inform him I am on my way. I should be there in a few minutes. Tell the pilot to prepare the engines. I want to leave as soon as possible."

"Understood madam."

As the line went dead, Miorine took a moment to clean her face of tears, doing her best to look presentable for the walk to the shuttle docks.

After a few moments though, she gave it up as a bad job and decided to just deal with it. Classes had started by now anyway, nobody should be on her way there anyway.

She placed her notebook into her pocket as she began making her way to the shuttle dock, shoving down her turmoil with each step.

Suletta would be fine. She had an entire House's worth of friends to take care of her now. She didn't need Prospera, or the Aerial, or even Miorine.

She'd be fine…She had Nika and Chuchu, she'd be fine.

Miorine took a deep breath as she reached the elevator that would take her down to the shuttle. She placed her notebook in the admissions terminal, verifying her identity and stepping into the elevator that would take her to the shuttle away from Asticassia.

Away from Suletta.

'Goodbye. My Mercurian Bumpkin.'

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