A Mobile Fighter God Gundam fanfic by Maria.
Rating: PG-13.
Couple: Domon/Rain.
Originally written for: 30 Kisses LJ comm.
Warning: SPOILER-TASTIC!
People like to think they're invincible. They need to believe such a thing. Life is uncertain, it comes and goes, and at times it brings you down - so, you like to think you can go against all odds and fight with all of your strength, to win against what Lady Luck and Fate brings you.
But none will remain undefeated. Losing is a part of victory; its flipside, its darker side, whatever.
He knows it well, since he has lost so many things. Starting from his own life as a normal school boy, which he gave away when he and his Master left to the Guyana Highlands to train and live as martial artists. Then, after ten years, he came back home to see the family and friends he left behind... and found the household in tatters, his mother dead, his father frozen, and their honor stained by his brother. Or so, he believed; he was given all the reasons to think so by the ones in charge, after all.
And so, he and Rain went to Earth to start their journey, armed practically only with the Shining Gundam and their own wills. He didn't allow her to get closer to him, yes; partly because that would make him unfocused in his desire for revenge and the truth, and partly because if she got too involved with him... she would most likely perish. She wasn't a fighter, he thought; she wouldn't be able to face it all with a straight face, he thought, and so he had to push her away as much as he could.
And yet, that mask was close to fall much sooner than he thought. He did freak out real bad when she tried to stop the fight in Neo-Canada between Argo and Andrew Graham, and was this close to throw everything away to make sure Rain would be spared and safe. And when they met Saette... well, he did question more than her loyalty, but he kinda questioned his own faith in her. Because he almost thought she would leave him for the man she once was in love with. How ironic - he was supposed to be the strong one in the partnership, yet he felt almost helpless when faced with something so uncertain.
But he didn't have much time to think about their strange relationship. Soon the days in Shinjuku came - and he lost even more precious things. His faith in Master Asia was shattered by his Master himself, his friends from the Shuffle Alliance were this close to fall too, and the Devil Gundam rose from the shadows to almost wipe the floor with them. Deep down, Domon still believed that Kyouji couldn't be the one playing them like violins... but there he was, sneering at him, mocking him. And Domon was just about to break down - he would've given in if not for the ones who believed in him, sacrificed themselves for him, and pointed out his flaws so he could conquer and defeat them.
He knew he wasn't a Super Man. But on the other hand, he thought he could use his anger and pain in his benefit. How foolish that was, too... clearing his thoughts, letting go, those were the keys to the peace of mind that would allow him to unleash all of his potential and use the Super Mode. And he got it only in the last minutes thanks to Schwarz, to the fight with his Master, and... yes, to her. She was there too, maybe not always in person, but in mind and soul as proved by how she could transfer the data from the wrecked Shining Gundam to the new God Gundam.
Domon felt Rain closer to him than ever, back then. But in the days that came, he tried to push Rain away from him again. And also, there was Allenby - wasn't she more similar to him, in some senses? She also had her life stolen from her, being an orphan forced to fight by her Government who made her a sort of puppet doll destined to be their key to win the Gundam Fight. He thought she could be the one, since she could take care of herself physically...
But spirited and tough as she was, Allenby couldn't really fill the void. She had her own problems, and there was Wong who wanted her to be the newest Seitai Unit for the Devil Gundam. That whole deal practically blew any chances they had - and almost screwed the one he had with Rain, since he cracked from the pressure on him and practically kicked her out of the team. And after he did so, in the upcoming duel with Schwarz he was practically unable to function without Rain, until she told him that she only had eyes for him. Now that was something he wasn't expecting to hear from her, after all they went through and all the things he said to her.
And they kept on fighting, not exactly side-by-side, but always with each other in their minds. He came to learn the truth, eventually, through the ordeal in Rantao Island. Kyouji never was evil and even then he had to pay with his life; the Master was actually more desperate than cruel, and he also had to pay the highest price... and that the ones behind his family's ruin were the ones he trusted. One of them, Rain's father. And so, she chose to leave him when they finally had a chance to be together and re-start all over, to walk a new road towards the place they could call "home"...
But then, his friends (and even Allenby herself) made the point clear. He didn't need an excuse or a reason to see her and fight for what they had. It was simple...
He loved her. He didn't always do it, but through their journey, he subtly and slowly learnt how to love. He needed her; she was his anchor and the one who helped him to keep himself sane in the thorn-filled road that he chose to walk, feet bleeding and clothes all torn.
... And right now, he's searching for the Devil Gundam that has seized her as its new Seitai Unit. His friends of the Shuffle Domain have already cleared the path as much as they could, allowing him to go inside the Japanese Colony where his final enemy lies, with Rain trapped in its cockpit.
Mental images of her fill his mind as he dashes into the place. The time they met, when the Mikamura family moved in the house next to his. The times he defended her from bullies, only to be nursed by her after the fight. The brief kiss on the lips that he stole from her as a nine-year-old, only to get rewarded with a slap. Their meeting in front of Domon's mother's grave. The months they spent together...
"Rain, please, be strong, hold on until I'm there...", he murmurs, his fists clenched. "You saved my heart. I'll save your whole self".