4Chapter 4: Stake Your Name
"Will the witness please state your name for the record?"
"You already know my name and it is already on the record, but I'll indulge you. My name is Dr. Raizo Kasshu," he said, crossing his arms and lifting his chin high. "And before you ask, I'll just cut to the chase myself: I am fifty-two, born and raised a citizen of Neo-Japan, husband to the late Dr. Mikino Kasshu, father of Kyoji Kasshu and Domon Kasshu...and yes, I created the machine you all came to know as the Dark Gundam alongside my wife and eldest son."
Everyone in the room stared, stunned. Whispers started up as Mr. Huang struggled and failed to give a quick response. The sheer level of vitriol in Dr. Kasshu's voice, the angry tension in his posture, and the simmering rage in his eyes weren't something a single person had anticipated. He knew it wasn't, and so he plunged on before Huang had a chance to recover.
"We completed our work on the Ultimate Gundam over a year ago. It was designed to interact harmoniously with bio-organic material, according to the dream my wife and I set out decades ago to accomplish, a goal to restore life and vitality to Planet Earth. At that time, the only other person who knew of our work in any great detail was my friend and fellow scientist, Dr. Neikan Mikamura." He halted for a beat, swallowing past the knot in his throat. It would do no good to dwell on treachery and loss right now. There had been a gross miscarriage of justice before, and by God, he wasn't going to stay silent about it! "He showed up in our laboratory the day of the Ultimate Gundam's completion, with Major Ulube and several members of the military, all armed and preparing to fire if we didn't give into their demands. I ordered Kyoji to escape in the Ultimate Gundam before it could be taken, but a physical altercation ensued. Officers seized my son and when he broke free to run for the cockpit, Major Ulube ordered him shot. My wife placed herself in the line of fire. Her death bought him enough time to escape with the gundam to Earth."
Now people were chattering in earnest, and the judge made no effort to immediately call for order, but was regarding him with a pensive frown that he was slowly turning towards the prosecution team. Mr. Huang was scrambling to formulate a response as his partner handed him a thick folder, and he riffled through its contents.
"Er, that, ah," he stammered. His attempt to find his voice caused the rest of the room to gradually quiet down, and finally he stopped flipping through the pages to look up with an uneasy expression. "It would appear some of these records tend to contra—"
"Yes, the records you have, if they are complete, doubtless contradict one another. My recommendation would be to double-check the transcript dates on both of the reports or statements, as well as the names of those who logged them," Raizo said dryly.
He watched several people collectively recoil in surprise, and for all that Huang tried to glare at him, it was dulled by the embarrassed flush that spread over his face.
"Er, I was getting to that," he muttered.
"Of course," Raizo said with a humorless nod. "Then you'll note the discrepancies between the original statement and the recently amended one, and that the original statement was signed off on by none other than both men you started are, as I recall, 'conveniently dead'. The newer ones naturally have many other signatures from reliable sources, and you might also note there are forged documents for a trial I was never actually given prior to being forced into a cryogenic coffin."
Conversations grew louder for a brief instant until the gavel tapped down lightly, and then things quieted once more as the judge leaned forward, keen interest in his gaze. "Those statements sound like something best seen by all of us. Tell me, are there additional copies of these records available to the court?"
A low headache started throbbing in Raizo's temples as he waited for the copies of the compiled records to be passed out and seen by all. Stress-induced or just a side effect of being annoyed, he couldn't tell. He could always lose his temper completely and go off on everyone; certainly the idea had occurred to him, but it was followed quickly by the sobering reminder that it wouldn't be worth the trouble it would cause.
Still, he was feeling more than a little passive-aggressive over everything, and that he had no intention of holding back on.
"Very well, Dr. Kasshu," the prosecutor said after considerable pause. "From what I'm reading here, the secondary report corroborates what you just said. And, as you also state, the details different from the content of the older report."
He said nothing to that.
"But here is where we ought to be looking," Huang went on, slapping a page in the folder only he could see. "In this statement and in the words you just spoke in this courtroom, you claim that you built the Dark Gundam for the purpose of 'restoring Planet Earth'. Tell us, doctor, going off of the devastation we saw your machine cause not only to the planet's surface but also to our colonies, what exactly did you intend to do with the Dark Gundam? Nothing we've ever seen documented since it became active is implied to be for the Earth's benefit." He turned and made a sweeping gesture around the courtroom, no doubt to garner more attention than he already had. "Ladies and gentlemen, I put it forth to you all that we should question the validity of Dr. Kasshu's claims. After all, despite his insistence as to the Dark Gundam's original intended purpose, it has done nothing but destroy cities and take lives."
People began to murmur in response as Huang stood with his arms stretched wide at the end of his miniature spiel, and Raizo half-wished somebody would throw something at the back of the man's head. A pipe dream, really. He cleared his throat and spoke up.
"As it happens, I'm given to understand that when my Ultimate Gundam crash-landed on the planet's surface, the impact caused its central computing system to malfunction and corrupted its coding. Of course," he went on a bit more frostily, "I wouldn't know for certain, given I was indisposed. Perhaps if I hadn't been frozen to keep silent and had had the opportunity to look over my creation as soon as possible, then coding corruption would have been caught and the issue rectified before it cost any lives."
Huang spun around, eyes wide, and jabbed a finger at him. "Aha, a very convenient and ready answer! Tell us, do you have any way to prove that monster's coding was actually corrupted by the impact, to prove you didn't build a super-weapon from the start?"
Raizo bristled, glaring with all the venom he could muster at the prosecution team. He had one card left to play for a shot at proving his family's innocence in this fiasco and exposing the truth, even if he hated the thought at what it would require to make it happen.
"You'll have to forgive my theory, as computer forensics is not one of my areas of expertise," he replied. "But based on what little I do know of what experts in that field are capable of, it stands to reason that if any of the gundam's parts were salvaged and seized as evidence after that final attack, then their erroneous coding can be compared against the data of the original code I built the Ultimate Gundam with."
"Perhaps in theory," Huang agreed a little too quickly, "but surely you've been made aware since your revival that all of the computers and files in your laboratory were also ransacked and destroyed."
"I find it rather bold of you to assume I wasn't awake and watching them ruin my life's work after they killed my wife and shot at my son, Mr. Huang," Raizo said in as pleasant a tone as he could manage. "That aside, a scientist worth his salt always keeps multiple back-ups of his work. It is a basic necessity."
"Which," Huang said, speaking over him, "your old friend Mikamura also likely anticipated, and undoubtedly told Ulube, which is likely the reason that the Kasshu home now stands as a half-ruined husk!"
"Undoubtedly so, but as I said, multiple copies of one's scientific work are always a necessity, and with the three great theoretical abilities I was working on for the Ultimate Gundam, then it was especially necessary to have back-up copies of our work. You said my home stands in ruin, that they likely ransacked it as well, supposedly in an effort to find any of our copies. Tell me, is the solarium intact?"
Tense silence swallowed the room before Huang wet his lips and stammered "Wh-what, sorry?"
"Is the solarium intact?" Raizo repeated. "My wife's solarium. Mikino had it added onto the house when our sons were both young. She often worked up there whenever she needed peace and quiet or time away from so many computer screens. Do the reports list the solarium as destroyed or intact?"
Now he could see realization dawning on several faces, including those of his son and his son's close friends. Papers shuffled in the quiet until the prosecution team at last spoke up and admitted they were unaware of the condition of the solarium, that it was not listed in any of the files.
"Very well. Your Honor?" Raizo turned and looked up at the judge, feeling a small measure of relief as he spoke. "If the appropriate authorities were to determine the state of my entire house, then I will give my full leave to a forensics team and any additional detectives to examine my wife's solarium for back-ups of our original work and coding to be used as additional evidence in these proceedings. I myself am willing to provide any possible assistance that may be required of me for such a task."
The judge folded his hands together and looked down at him, impressed despite himself it seemed.
"That's quite a risk you're willing to take, Dr. Kasshu."
"Believe me, Your Honor, I consider the risk worth it to prove the truth. My work being examined is worth it. I've waited over a year for the truth of my creation, of my wife's death, of my sons and their suffering, to be made known; my family deserves that much after everything we've been put through."
A heartbeat, then—
"Very well. It will undoubtedly take some time for the appropriate channels to be gone through, the search to be executed, and the evidence to be compared, but so be it. This tribunal will be postponed until such a time…"
He tuned the man out, merely waiting until he was dismissed from the stand to leave, his mind racing the entire time.
There was more than one motivating factor behind wanting the back-ups recovered, of course. While the need to see justice done and the truth revealed had been the primary thing he spoke of, the other was, as of currently, a very small sliver of hope he hadn't anticipated. The unexpected contact from Neo-Germany days ago had left him dumbstruck, but even so, he hadn't been able to stop contemplating the implications, the sheer enormity of what they had said to him.
He remained lost in his thoughts and theories to the point he wasn't sure where he was wandering, and only the sound of his name being called snapped him out of his head.
"Dr. Kasshu!"
"Dad!"
He stopped, looked up long enough to realize he didn't immediately know which part of the building he was in, and then turned to look behind him. Domon was jogging toward him with an entire entourage of his friends at his heels, and it was an effort not to shy away out of instinct. He loved his youngest son, but this was a nerve-wracking level of damage control that left Raizo ill at ease. Still, he tried to seem as open and attentive as possible as he acknowledged them.
"Dad, that was amazing! How'd you do that?" Domon asked the moment he was up close and personal.
"Do what, son?"
"The way you got everyone to listen to ya like that!" The one who spoke up was the tall American with wild hair whose name escaped Raizo at that moment. "You practically were running the entire thing!"
"You were certainly quite formidable on the stand," a fierce-looking woman in military attire and spectacles added. After a second he was able to place her, recalling she had introduced herself to him as Nastasha Zabigov shortly after he'd been revived from his cryogenic state. "I think you've just completely changed the course of this tribunal."
"That's the hope," Raizo murmured absently.
"Dr. Kasshu," another voice spoke up, and he watched as Rain edged her way closer. "Is there really more evidence that can be recovered?"
He gave a slight nod. "If there is any possibility that the house wasn't completely destroyed, then there should be more back-ups to find," he answered. He nearly added that Dr. Mikamura hadn't known all of his secrets despite their friendship, but bit back the words before they slipped out. The poor girl didn't need to hear that on top of everything that was happening.
"Dad, do you really think this will change everything?" Domon asked. It wasn't mocking or challenging, but a genuinely curious question. "Will the other copies of your work really help?"
He rubbed his chin in thought, not contemplating the thought but adjusting to his son. It was still such a shock to see Domon so tall, grown into a young man who could look him in the eye. He barely recognized any trace of the small, scabby-kneed, accident-prone little boy that had raced around the house with near-limitless energy. The scarred face, sharp chin and intense dark eyes could almost have belonged to a stranger, but even so, Raizo recognized his younger son.
Why then, did it feel like reconnecting with him would present such an insurmountable challenge, especially when Domon himself gave no indication of any distance between them?
"Again, that's the hope," he finally said. "It's doubtful whether or not this will completely alter the final outcome for Neo-Japan, of course. I imagine our country as a whole will still be expected to show some sort of recompense for what happened. But that's really the least of my concerns."
Surprise flitted across several faces.
"It—it isn't?" Domon asked. "Then what is?"
For the first time since his revival, Raizo Kasshu looked his youngest in the eye, meeting that intense gaze with his own fierce determination. When he spoke, his voice remained soft, but the bladed edge that lined his tone still came through.
"Our family," he said. "We have suffered enough heartache, and if nothing else, I hope to bring us some closure on this. I never intended for the work your mother and I did to cause such harm to anyone, especially not you and your brother." He glanced then to the rest of them in turn. "Or to any of you." His gaze stopped, resting at last on Rain. "And not to you either, Rain. I want to make certain that is known. The Ultimate Gundam was never built with the intent to harm. But without evidence of the original code or the planned tests we never had the opportunity to implement after completing it, then everyone—every nation—will be left to blindly cast aspersions about our family as a result. With proof, I hope to ease some of that. I imagine your newly-known status as leader of the newest Shuffle Alliance will insulate you from some of that, Domon, and I am willing to shoulder any blows to my own reputation. But...I don't want to see the impact of this sully the name of your mother. Her memory deserves far better than that."
"Yeah, and Kyoji too," Domon said, abruptly solemn.
"Yes," he agreed after a beat. "Kyoji too." He shut his eyes and continued to stroke his chin and beard as he thought, keeping his face as neutral as he could. "Is it really true that he crafted an android copy of himself from the...DG cells, and through it, joined up with you under the guise of fighting for Neo-Germany?"
He hadn't expected an immediate answer. He knew how terrible this heartbreak must still be for his son. Yet there was such a long pause after his words that he had to open his eyes and see what was happening. Shockingly, Domon was exchanging guarded, pained glances with his friends. The sight sent a brief spike of alarm through him, but then he recalled that these young fighters must all have encountered Kyoji—well, his android, anyway—under his pseudonym and eventually learned the truth as well. Regardless, he only relaxed when Rain spoke up to confirm, "Yes, he did."
Though he didn't miss her added whisper of, "And he died a hero, too."
"I see," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Then that also gives me hope."
"Dad, is everything alright?" Domon asked, tapping his fingers anxiously at his sides. "Have you been alright? No one's...no one's been bothering you over this, have they?"
Raizo looked from those nervously tapping fingers to his son's face, only for Domon to cast his gaze to the side rather than meeting his eyes. Perhaps he hadn't changed much since childhood after all; not feeling comfortable enough to look someone directly in the eye, tapping his fingers and other hand fidgeting, he had done those since a very young age. Of course, another trait that came hand-in-hand with that was Domon had always been more observant of things around him than anyone had really given him credit for. Raizo tensed. Was it somehow possible that his son had seen him talking to one of the representatives from Neo-Germany? He wanted to think they'd been far more cautious than to be seen by anyone, but that had always been in doubt.
"No," he finally answered. "No, I've not been bothered more than is legally required of me to be."
"Did you want to come with us?" the American asked, and Raizo began wracking his brains to see if he could place the correct name to the young man. "Some of us were going to find a place to go talk about everything that's happened up to now. Compare notes, y'know?"
He hesitated, uncertain. There was a chance he could glean more from them that could prove useful, but right now the most pressing concern he had was slipping away to contact Stefan Busch from Neo-Germany and arranging an escort to their colony's gundam hangar at the first viable opportunity.
"Hold on," the young man with long, flowing ginger hair stepped in between Domon and the American, giving the impression he was used to being the voice of reason in scenarios like this one. "I'm not sure if it's entirely wise for a larger group of us to be seen together. The Shuffle Alliance alone may not draw much attention as we're expected to be a separate unit unto ourselves, but we should probably be aware of how often we're seen with everyone in one place while matters are still under investigation. Otherwise, media hounds may start whispering about collusion, and that will only make this worse for all of us."
At that, Raizo turned away and started to hunt for the nearest exit. The word "collusion" left a bad taste in his mouth and set his gut churning. The last thing he needed right this second was too many suspicious looks or questions dogging him. There was too much at stake to lose.
"Dad?" Domon called before he'd taken more than a handful of strides. He paused to look back and offered them all a tired smile.
"Don't worry about me," he said, waving a hand. "Your friend has the right idea, and I'll be able to catch up with you later. For now, I believe I just need to rest. I'll be at my room at the Hyatt if you need me."
He didn't stop to see if any of them acknowledged him, but trekked on, following the hall to where it eventually opened into a large foyer before branching into two separate wings on either side or the larger atrium dead ahead. Dozens of people milled about here, and the foot traffic left him weaving in and out of the sea of bodies. Keeping his head low and pulling his jacket tighter about him, he made his way towards the main doors, praying nobody with a news camera spotted him.
Don't be paranoid, he said to himself. You'll give yourself away if you keep this up.
A hand touched his shoulder, making him start, and he spun to see Rain drawing back ever so slightly.
"Oh, s-sorry," she said apologetically. "I thought you might have heard me call the first two times."
He hadn't, and now was left to wonder if she'd followed him the entire way. The question though, was why? Was she worried for him, about him? Was she concerned over his relationship with Domon? Surely she wouldn't have followed him for a simple question or a casual chat. As he looked at her, regret, empathy and guilt warred in him.
"What's wrong, Rain?" he asked, not unkindly. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
She took a step back, eyes widening in surprise. Perhaps she hadn't expected the question and it flustered her.
"W-what? Oh, n-no. I'm sorry, Dr. Kasshu, please don't worry about me," she said quickly. "I know you mentioned wanting to go get some rest, and I don't want to keep you. But I had been thinking about everything you said up there, about the Da—the Ultimate Gundam...and I needed to know if it's possible for us to sit down sometime soon and talk more about, um…"
"About everything that's happened?" he suggested gently when her voice trailed off. "Yes, I think that at some point soon, that will prove not only necessary, but critical. As it stands, Rain, I may have need of your assistance in the very near future as well."
"You will?" she asked in surprise.
He gave a curt nod and leaned closer, dropping his voice low enough so they'd be less likely to be overheard. "There is a project that requires my attention and if it turns out to be what I hope it is, you'll be needed. However, I don't want anyone else knowing of it just yet, in the event it could turn out to be a false lead. Giving hope to anyone just to shatter it is too cruel. So please tell no one of this just yet, not even Domon."
"Not even—" she started to echo.
"Please, not even him," he said quickly. "Please Rain, can you do this for me?"
If there was any hesitation on her part, she didn't show it. "Yes, of course."
He sighed in relief, letting his shoulders sag.
"Thank you," he said, standing up tall again and slowly turning back towards the exit. "This means a lot to me. If it turns out you are needed, I'll be in touch."
She made no effort to stop him, but murmured a faint goodbye, and her footsteps vanished quickly among the sounds of the crowd as they parted ways. Raizo ducked his head again and moved as quickly as possible through the doors, hastening his stride and trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone as he took the marble steps down to the sidewalk and street below. He glanced up, caught a quick glimpse of a large crowd of newscasters and reporters clustered around the steps much further away, already hounding someone for details about the tribunal, and looked away again. He'd been intending to flag down a taxi—even on the Neo-American colony they seemed to be everywhere—but now with the chance that it could draw unwanted attention… He had no intention of being dogged by the press, and instead he kept walking, following the sidewalk away from the imposing building.
Inevitably his thoughts returned to both the contact from Neo-Germany, and to the tension he felt around his son and Rain as he walked. The former concern was more immediate; he needed to meet with them soon, to look into this discovery they spoke of. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up, but he couldn't help the low sense of excitement churning in him. On the opposite end of things, however, he was so uncertain of how to move forward with Domon once this mess of a tribunal was done with—to say nothing of how he needed at some point to offer Rain a formal apology for the loss of her father and all of the things she had suffered since Ulube put his plans in motion.
As he wandered, his footsteps slowing and eyes not truly taking in the scenery around him while he mulled over these thoughts, he became aware that something was suddenly moving in his periphery. Asphalt crunched under wheels that rolled slower and slower to keep pace with his stride. Raizo risked a glance and took in the sleek black car with tinted windows, noting the tiny flags on the hood. One of the windows started to roll down and he quickly glanced away.
"Aren't you taking a bit of a risk, walking around out in the open where you can get bothered by them again?" Stefan Busch's voice hissed out at him from within the vehicle. "They could spot you at any second."
"Not as big of a risk as you, driving next to me in the open with a clearly marked car," he answered in a low voice, still keeping his eyes on the sidewalk ahead.
"Will you get in the car?"
"I think you've gleaned enough about me from our previous talk to guess I'm a cautious man. How about you reconsider the way you want to say this to me?"
There came an exasperated sigh. "Look, we have things to discuss. May I offer you a ride so that we can do so?"
Raizo was about to answer when he heard shouts behind him. Fearing the worst, he glanced back over his shoulder.
The young Shuffle Alliance had exited the building through the front doors, and naturally the media was pouncing on it. Whether they had opted to walk right into the crowd of reporters intentionally or not, Raizo couldn't say, nor was he of the opinion that it was a very clever move. The boys would be bombarded with question after question, and who could say for sure if they would be wise about how they answered?
Still, he felt some relief he hadn't been spotted yet. The first day or two had been bad enough when exiting, and he could only imagine it would be infinitely worse for him whenever word got out about what happened today. Try as the United Colonies Federation might to keep the proceedings quiet until decent progress was had, Raizo was positive his actions and words today would find their way to the news outlets before long.
"Well?" Stefan prompted.
Raizo stopped stalling and stepped closer, opening the side door of the car and slipping into the backseat in a single fluid movement.
"Alright then," he said, shutting the door behind him. "Let's talk."
A/N: I did not anticipate writing this chapter the way I did; I only wanted a brief scene following Dr. Kasshu for the chapter, but evidently he had Things To Say, and sort of took over completely, wearing what I can only assume are some badass "Take no prisoners, take no bullshit" sunglasses.
For the record, it is interesting to note that in canon, despite how important his role in the story is even as a side character, Dr. Mikamura doesn't actually have a listed canon first name. There was a brief stretch of time where I was considering turning it into a running gag that he had a first name but nobody could ever remember what it was and everyone always would suggest a different name for him, but while the joke is humorous in theory, I knew I couldn't implement it in this particular story and be satisfied with what I was doing. Hence, I found a name for him that I personally like and will be sticking with from now on.
