4A/N: I should hope that by now I shouldn't have to do the disclaimer song and dance, but just because I've been on this site since lord-knows-when, I don't own any of G Gundam; it belongs to Sunrise. You have my embrace-your-inner-dork (aka my partner in crime) to thank for spurring me on for writing this. Takes place after the end of the anime, kind of throws the middle finger at the canon ending by going into rarepair, the general sort of drama I like to delve into. Take note that character speech patterns are based off of the presentation in the English dub, which is what I watched and know best.
Chapter 1: Cold Reality
All was as it should be.
After all, the Dark Gundam had been defeated. Major Ulube Ishikawa's plots had been thwarted and humanity had proved once again they could rally together to preserve one another and their shared home. The newest Shuffle Alliance had brought honor to their sacred crests, Dr. Raizo Kasshu had been released from imprisonment with all charges dropped, And Domon…
The thought made Rain glow.
Domon loved her. He had said the words himself. He loved her! And now, finally, after all they had been through together in the past year, they were truly together at last. Their love had even saved the universe from the threat of the Dark Gundam.
All was as it should be… wasn't it?
My father gave his life for the chance it could help save me.
The reality of collateral damage set in unexpectedly. Broken glass crunched beneath shoes as Rain walked alongside Domon and the rest of the Shuffle Alliance, eyes sweeping over the devastation the Dark Gundam had wrought on Neo-Japan's colony. Allenby of Neo-Sweden brought up the rear and several paces ahead, Mr. Karato was entrenched in heavy discussion with other government representatives concerning the damage control and steep scrutinization Neo-Japan now faced in the aftermath of Ulube's actions. A large concern encompassed the fact that Neo-Japan would be in the hot seat in a week's time; a world military tribunal was being worked out, rumored to take place in a court in Neo-America due to a need for seating capacity.
Someone made the uncomfortably loud remark that this was a no-brainer due to all the co-conspiring guilty parties behind this mess being deceased. Rain heard this, but it took a moment for the words to sink in. Her father had been among the number involved in the conspiracy to misuse the Dark Gundam. The Shuffle Alliance had even told her Dr. Mikamura had pushed himself to get away after Ulube shot him, dying as he released Dr. Kasshu's cryogenic pod in an effort to aid them, begging for them to save his daughter.
He gave up his life to help them… to try to save me.
Rain's throat constricted and her eyes stung as her legs shook uncontrollably.
"Hey, Rain," Allenby spoke up, the first to notice. "You okay?"
Rain already couldn't move another step and at Allenby's question, the others around her halted. She trembled, crumpling to her knees and hitting the ground as the tears started to fall from her eyes.
"Rain?!" Domon exclaimed, startled. "What's wrong?"
She felt cold. Her trembling did nothing to drive away the sensation as her heart contracted painfully. Her tears cut hot tracks down the sides of her cheeks as a sob built in her chest. Her father was dead. She would never see him, not ever again. She took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together, but it only made her release the sob she was holding in and she fell apart.
"Rain!" Domon squatted down next to her, a hesitant hand reaching out to curl over her shoulder. The others chorused her name as she inhaled jerkily, struggling with more sobs.
"M-my father…" she whimpered. "H-he's g-g… My father is dead… He's dead and I'm never going to see him again."
A melancholy heaviness settled over them as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed harder. The hand on her shoulder gave her a squeeze and moments passed before a smaller set of arms corded with muscle wrapped around her in a concerned hug.
"Sis…" Sai's voice murmured worriedly. He offered no further comment but clung tightly as she wept.
We saved the world… so why does it feel like it's falling apart all around me?
"Rain, I'm sorry," Domon's voice said, halting and uneasy as he tried to comfort her. He had never been good with emotional empathy through words. "There was nothing we could do. Your father sacrificed himself to give us a chance to win."
From a cold, clinical standpoint, she knew that. Her father had made a noble, selfless decision of his own accord and no one could have swayed him from it. In the end, his body had been lost during the firefight and that couldn't be helped. And yet there was still some part of Rain, some remnant of a little girl sobbing from heartbreak inside her, someone who wanted to angrily snap that they could have done something!
"I am sorry, Miss Mikamura," Commissioner— no, Prime Minister Karato's voice intervened. "But I actually meant to ask you something concerning that matter specifically."
Sniffling, she looked up at him and wiped her eyes. Rain's interaction with the former commissioner had always been minimal; their paths rarely crossed. Her father had had mixed feelings about Karato, but the man had shown surprising concern for the citizens of the Neo-Japan colony during the Dark Gundam's attack. Ultimately he was a good person, if a little ambitious, and had won the approval of the Shuffle Alliance. He regarded her now with an uncomfortable, sad expression and adjusted the front of his coat before continuing.
"I realize this isn't an ideal time to make this request of you," he began, swallowing nervously. "But I humbly ask that you join us at the military tribunal for Neo-Japan, as a witness to speak on our behalf."
They wanted her on the witness stand? Somewhere in the back of of her mind, Rain knew the technicality of what that entailed, but at that moment her brain just refused to process anything. She was slowly sinking into the bottom of a dark well as the world turned more and more gray, drenched in the cold mist of grief.
"Whoa, wait, hold on!" another voice interjected behind her. Neo-America's fighter, Chibodee Crockett sounded as though he was getting fired up. "You can't just ask her that!"
Thank you, Chibodee, her thoughts supplied gloomily. But it doesn't really matter.
"Really, have you no sensitivity?" Neo-France's young knight, George de Sand spoke up. "This young lady has already gone through much and she's had no time to recover. Just asking her so bluntly to join in the trial proceedings is the height of rudeness!"
"Yeah, leave Sis alone!" Sai snapped, glaring up at the older man. "She's still hurting!"
She didn't look up to see, but Rain could imagine Karato was probably shifting uneasily. She continued to stare down at her hands resting limply in her lap, without really seeing them. A part of her was missing, gone forever. What was she supposed to do?
"Forgive me for interrupting just to play the devil's advocate," another familiar voice chimed in. "But I'm afraid Mr. Karato has a point. Even if he didn't ask her now, it is very likely Ms. Mikamura would be summoned to the witness stand regardless."
Vaguely Rain recognized the speaker as Neo-Russia's Nastasha Zabigov and wondered when in the world she had joined their little procession. Then again, Nastasha's fate and Argo Gulskii's had been thrown in together for some years now. It could hardly be considered surprising that wherever Argo went, Nastasha wouldn't be far behind.
"She's absolutely right," Karato admitted. "I would be very shocked if you didn't receive a court order. I know you went through a lot but it's precisely because of that you'll be considered a key witness to those events. So, please… I know it's a lot to ask of anyone, but please consider taking the stand for the sake of our colony and our country." He glanced in Domon's direction briefly, as if to heavily hint that he too needed to attend the tribunal. Rain took his words in, hoping that it would give her something to focus on, but she continued to feel hollow and utterly empty. However, some part of her knew it would do no good to ignore the new prime minister's request. Sooner or later it was almost guaranteed she would end up in that courtroom.
"Y-yes… alright," she finally murmured, staring off at nothing. Sai Saici gave a start and gave her shoulders a squeeze.
"No, Sis, you don't have to do this," he tried to protest, shaking his head. "You've already gone through enough!"
"I agree," George spoke up. "Unless you receive an official court summons—"
"I think she should do it."
An instant hush fell around them. Everyone's eyes shifted to Domon Kasshu with varying expressions of stunned shock. At this even Rain glanced up, blinking in surprise. Had… Domon…? Had Domon really just said that? He looked her in the eyes and gave a slow nod. Her spirit sank, if it was possible, even lower than before. She had hoped that Domon at least, out of everyone, would be indignant and outraged on her behalf. His initial silence had been admittedly odd, but she never would have expected him to agree with what Karato was saying.
"Domon?" she asked, not entirely sure why he was being so calm and pliant for once.
"I think Rain should go on the stand as a witness," he said, loud enough for all to hear. "Neo-Japan is going to need someone for that anyway, so we might as well cooperate and get it over with sooner than later, right?"
His sudden support seemed to throw everyone off-kilter.
"Well, er, yes," Karato stuttered, "I can't promise the process will necessarily be a speedy one, though. Any sort of trial can take weeks, even months to resolve. Ms. Mikamura may be called to the stand more than once before all is said and done."
Rain turned to look at everyone around her, hoping someone might try to talk Domon out of this. To some degree, she even hoped he might be discouraged from the decision due to the uncertain time frame; he wasn't exactly known for his great patience when it was put to the test, after all. But no, he didn't appear ready to argue over the matter.
"I'm sure Rain doesn't mind," he declared boldly. He looked at her again and gave a tiny nod. "It's for the greater good for everyone, right? Besides, don't you always say it's better to rip off a bandage faster than slower?"
I've never said anything like that to him directly, she thought. At least not that I recall. But is everyone really okay with this? Am I really okay with this?
Truthfully she wasn't sure. Worst still, the fact he had a point fueled her sense of uncertainty. But she was so tired; she felt so tired already and so overwhelmed by the loss of her father. She didn't see a lot of point in really arguing over it all.
"Yeah," she murmured. "I guess you're right."
There were soft, uneasy exhales all around her.
"Rain," Allenby asked hesitantly. "Are you really sure?"
"If it needs to be done, then it needs to be done," she answered the younger girl, her voice dull and quiet. "I'll go as a witness."
Karato nodded as if this settled the matter and inclined his head respectfully. "Then we shall send an escort promptly to shuttle you to the proceedings in the Neo-American colony. The tribunal is set to begin in three days' time. And, er… thank you, Ms. Mikamura."
Rain made a non-committal noise and looked away, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. The officials resumed their marching ahead, leaving them all behind temporarily. A heavy pause prefaced a worried outburst, again from Allenby, to Rain's half-hearted surprise.
"Are you guys kidding me?! If you let her go in as a witness, couldn't they decide to put her on trial for what happened?!"
"Not necessarily, no," Nastasha spoke up for a second time. "When the original United States of America first instituted the use of military tribunals to interrogate enemy soldiers in a trial setting, they explicitly made certain civilians wouldn't be tried in these sorts of proceedings."
"Are you sure that's not changed since then, mademoiselle?" George inquired.
There was a moment of hesitancy before Nastasha answered. "Well naturally, we have no absolute guarantee—"
"I'll look into it," Chibodee interrupted. "Hey, it has to do with my home country, right? The gals and I'll figure out if there's anything to worry about. Just leave it all to me!"
Rain twisted around to look up at him. All grins and confidence, Chibodee had thumped his fist to his chest, his green eyes bright and eager. Rain attempted to smile up at him, but the effort was monumental and in the end she didn't believe she had done more than twitch her mouth briefly. Still, his desire to help was touching.
"Are you sure, Chibodee?" she asked.
"You bet, Rain! We'll make sure they don't try to pull anything over on ya!" he vowed.
This time she did manage a tiny, if brief, smile. "Thank you," she said, before shakily getting to her feet.
"Rain?" Domon asked, reaching out to support her by the elbow. "Are you alright?"
What a loaded question. She was far from alright, but it served no purpose to argue with Domon about it in that moment. Still, even the newly-appointed prime minister could tell she was upset, and lying would serve even less purpose than arguing. If anything, she was completely overwhelmed and exhausted by all of this.
"I'm— I'm really tired," she admitted truthfully. "Please, if we could find someplace where I can lay down and rest—"
Domon gave a nod and put an arm around her shoulders. "Sure," he said at once, before glancing back. "I'll catch up with you all in a while."
Rain looked back at her friends, feeling even more overwhelmed by the collective sympathy she saw in their expressions. She just caught Sai and Allenby exchanging concerned looks as she glanced away and struggled to keep walking on legs that threatened to give out at any second. She needed rest.
What was more, she needed time to grieve, and— she swallowed roughly, fighting a guilty twinge— she wasn't sure she wanted to do that in Domon's presence.
