Just as the sun was beginning to crest over the horizon, Domon Kashuu finally returned to the abandoned underground bunker that he and the Shuffle Alliance had called home for the past years. As he walked through the tunnel he pulled the dark jacket over his shouder and held it with a finger over his back. It was cold down here, but for some reason, even though he was dressed in only a wet teeshirt and a damp pair of black jeans, the cold didn't even phase him. No. His mind was miles away. Shaking his head Domon walked past a cove toward the thick metal doors that would lead him into the actual bunker, but something caught his eye. Pausing, Domon curled his hands into fists and turned his head to the right. Someone was there.

"You can stop hiding now, I know you're there."

A lantern was lit and a female with bright blue hair stepped out of the darkness, heading straight for Domon with leisurely steps. Allenby Biazury tilted her head slightly and with her free hand, brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face. A coy smile spread across her features, thinking somewhere that Domon might actually be happy to see her.

"I never could fool you, Domon Kashuu."

"Allenby..."

Domon's guilt came to a peak as he watched Allenby make her way to his side. Immediately his thoughts went back to Rain, and the way she had so desperately kissed him. It was almost as though she just needed his touch. A physical addition to her dreams. Sighing inwardly, Domon looked toward his shoes. He could picture Rain not being with another man, and somewhere within him, he knew that she assumed the same of him... Why couldn't he have been stronger?

"Domon?"

Domon's eyes snapped up as he felt Allenby's hand come in contact with his bare arm.

"Huh?"

Allenby gave a little laugh, thinking nothing of his zoning out.

"I said, where did you go?"

"Out."

"I know that but whe-?"

"Get off my back, Allenby!"

Domon snatched his arm away from Allenby and walked briskly toward the entrance to the bunker, not bothering to wait for Allenby to catch up. He had too much to think of already, he didn't need to be interrogated too. Sighing heavily, he heard Allenby's rushed footsteps to catch up.

"Domon...what was that for?"

Slightly hurt by Domon's words, Allenby stood stunned for a second before she jogged to catch up. Their relationship was a hassle to define, so much so, that neither even tried to. Yet, for both, it meant something completely different. For Allenby it was usually bliss. She had Domon, physically at least. Her imagination could do the rest. For Domon it only sex, merely something to pass the time. He was never the seducer, he was merely the fool that allowed this woman to lure him to her bedroom, where she would ultimately have her way with his body. It was always only his body, for only one woman could possess his soul.

Again Domon's mind drifted back to the kiss that left his mind in total disarray. For that moment he felt whole. He felt alive. The fire that had lie dormant within his soul roared back to life with such gusto that even now, miles away from her, he swore he could still feel her heart beating in time to the rhythm of the blood rushing through his ears.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Allenby smiled softly and reached up to caress Domon's face. She really did love him, and now she had him all to herself. Did it truly matter that she was now confined to the darkness? If she had him, of course not. Tenderly, her fingertips traced his jaw and she took a step closer to him, arching her back so her chest just barely brushed against his. Purring softly, Allenby leaned upward, intending to place a soft kiss on his stern lips.

"No."

Domon pulled away quickly and watched as Allenby stumbled to keep her balance. He shook his head, and lifted his hand to his still damp locks.

"What-"

Allenby paused and sniffed the air slightly. Perfume?! That was not her perfume. For a second her eyes narrowed at the thought of Domon going to see another woman. How dare he! Crossing her arms, Allenby opened her mouth when a realization slapped her across the face as though it were a fist. The perfume, the way Domon was looking so lost. It was her...

"You saw her...didn't you? You saw Rain..."

"No. Yes. What does it matter anyway?!"

Giving a frustrated grunt and a tug at his hair, Domon stormed into the bunker, leaving the door open behind him. Why did she have to mention her name? Growling, Domon walked directly to one of the many concrete walls, and without a second thought, he slammed his fist into it. Closing his eyes to block out the sudden rush of pain that surged up his arm, Domon let his head fall forward until it was pressed against the cool concrete that he had just smashed his hand against.

All talking that had been going on in the main room came to a halt and the members of the Shuffle Alliance, Cecil, Shirley, Janet, Cath, Bunny and Nastasha looked up, their eyes focused on Domon.

"Bro...are you okay?"

Sai Sici was the first to speak up, slowly rising from the cushion he sat upon. They had all seen Allenby go outside to wait for Domon, so whatever happened they could assume that it probably had to do with her.

Slowly, Domon raised his emotion filled eyes to gaze at the room filled with his friends, giving them all a first hand view of his distraught state. Hesitantly, he shook his head and cradling his aching hand, made his way down the hall to his room silently.

Everyone stared after him. Even the ever stoic Argo Guliskii had a look of confusion about him. Slowly the state of shock that had enveloped the room began to wear off and all of its occupants looked to each other for answers.

"Any ideas what that was about?"

George de Sands had placed his book over his lap and glanced around the room waiting for any hypothesis as to why the King of Hearts had just thrown a tantrum, so to speak.

"I don't like this..."

Shirley shook her head once and turned back toward the hallway that Domon had just disappeared down. She opened her mouth to say something else but was abruptly stopped by Bunny slapping her across the arm, for at that moment, a very flustered Allenby entered the bunker.

The silence that had fallen over them all was as uncomfortable as sitting on thumb tacks. Closing the door behind her, Allenby paused a second to regain her composure before turning to face the eyes that she was sure were staring at her. Finally, Allenby tilted her head and ended the silence.

"Yeah, what?"

"Mm, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Domon coming in, punching a wall, and leaving, would you?"

Chibodee raised an eyebrow and focused his questioning eyes on Allenby. Something was going on, and obviously she knew what was going on. Slowly, he sat straight up from his lounging position and looked gravely serious.

"C'mon Allenby. Spill."

Allenby paused a moment and glanced around at all the expectant faces. What was she supposed to say? Even just the thought of Rain's return signaled the end of the imaginary world Allenby had created around herself. She was the filler. Nothing more then a temporary replacement. Sighing softly she spoke the reason for Domon's strange actions.

"He found her..."

Eyes turned to saucers and Janet managed to choke on her gum. Chibodee winced and instantly felt sorry for Rain. What the hell was Domon thinking just entering and leaving her life like that? Sighing heavily he only shook his head and fell back into his lounging position again, feeling absolutely no sympathy for Allenby.

"Huh? Her? I don't understand, Sai...Who?"

Cecil looked to Sai Sici with a look of pure confusion. She hadn't been around as long as the others, and she had no clue the struggle Domon had gone through to get Rain back, only to let her go again.

Sai opened his mouth to answer her question quietly, but Chibodee beat him to the punch.

"Why, Rain Mikamura, of course. The only person Domon's ever loved."

Without opening his eyes Chibodee answered the question coldly. Shaking his head, Chibodee pushed his hands through his hair roughly. Countless times had he tried to get one of the girls to talk to Allenby, tell her that she wasn't helping Domon, or herself by doing this. And countless times had the girls tried, but to no avail. Allenby was determined to have her way, and she was now going to have to lie in the bed she had made for herself.

George winced outwardly and turned toward Chibodee. He didn't have to be so harsh about it. All of them knew of Allenby and Domon's odd sort of relationship, and they were all against it, but none as strongly as Chibodee. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was there when Domon left.

"Chibodee..."

"No, don't you Chibodee me. She knew what she was getting into. I have no sympathy."

With those words, Chibodee stood and walked to his room alone. He wanted no part in the pity party that he was sure would ensue.

Shaking her head, Shirley excused herself and followed after Chibodee. Someone had to talk to him otherwise he'd brood for the rest of the day, and there was nothing that she found more annoying then a brooding Chibodee.

"He has a point, Sis."

Hesitantly Sai voiced his own opinion, carefully wording it so he didn't come off as cold as Chibodee did.

"You knew..."

Allenby clenched her teeth. Of course they were right. She had known all along that there was still the possibility of Rain coming back into the picture, but she had been too caught up in her own mirage to notice. That's right, she knew but she didn't want to accept it, and even now that it was right in her face, Allenby was still determined to win. Raising her furious eyes to all of the rooms occupants she pulled her lips into a sneer.

"Yeah, right. It's all my fault! That's it isn't it? It's 'poor Domon'. Did we forget he was the one that used me?!"

Allenby continue to lash out at everyone, her hands gesturing frenziedly. This was not all her fault, no. She was determined to feel no guilt. Convinced that she was the victim, Allenby stood tall, her fierce eyes daring anyone to disagree with her. And for a moment, no one did. But finally, the ever silent Nastasha voiced her own opinion with such a final tone that it left Allenby with absolutely nothing to say.

"Don't try to make yourself out to be the only victim, Allenby. It takes two to dance. You are just as guilty as the other. I have no sympathy for either of you."

The silence that followed was heavy enough to weigh even the strongest of Gundam's down. Slowly Allenby curled her hands into fists and turned away with a huff, burning from the slew of words Nastasha had just threw in her direction. Determined and convinced that she didn't need anyone on her side, Allenby turned toward the hall that led to Domon's room.

As the novel fell to the floor with a thud that broke the silence, George stood up and opened his mouth to call her back. This time it was Argo that stopped him.

"Let her go."

"What?! Domon will rip her to pieces! I know she's not right in all of this, but still!"

"No. Sometimes you don't learn the lesson until you have to face the consequences behind it."

Slowly George looked back to Argo, and he sank back into his seat. This day was not going to get any better...

~*~

Allenby stood outside of Domon's room trying to think of what she would say. As she lifted her hand to knock, the realization slapped her that not once had she ever been to Domon's room. Anytime they were together it was always in her room. Lightly, Allenby pressed her knuckles against the door. Inwardly, she really had no reason why she had bothered to come in the first place. She already knew all the answers to the questions her heart asked. What was she doing here...

"What is it?"

The voice barely came through the door. Allenby tilted her head slightly, all the anger she had built up spilling out until she could clearly focus on only the man behind the door.

"May I come in, Domon?"

"Whatever."

And as Allenby opened the door, she understood just why he couldn't bear to be here with her. On every piece of solid furniture there was a frame filled with a picture of none other then Rain. Some were old pictures, some were taken only hours after the defeat of the Devil Gundam. Slowly, Allenby walked to where Domon was sitting and peered over his shoulder. Sitting on the table was a white sheet of paper with a beautiful drawing.

"Did you do that?"

Domon didn't say a word but turned away from the picture. Slowly Allenby reached out to touch the paper but she hesitated when she noticed that the bottom was spotted with watermarks. Everything came together now. Why he would never look at her when they made love, why he accidentally whispered Rain's name in her ear, why he would never stay with her, and most of all she understood why he looked so lost when he went back to his quarters. She understood why he couldn't be in here with her, it was as though Rain were watching him. Sighing softly she understood why he was never hers, and why he would never be. Closing her tear stricken eyes, Allenby murmured an apology and backed out of the room, leaving Domon to cry alone as he always did.

Even as she rushed off to her own room, vision blurred by tears, under all the layers of pain, a sliver of jealous began to grow...




~*The heart of a woman will never be found in the arms of a man...*~










Rawr. Chapter two! Don't get happy now, chapters usually don't come out this fast, and prolly won't again . Phwee. Not too much to say here cept thank you very much for the reviews, and keep em coming! -squee-

Huh, I kinda felt sorry for Allenby in this one. My original goal was to make her go all uber jealous and try to kill them all MUWAHAHA...-coughs- sorry. But as I was writing, I just couldn't see her doing that.

Oh, Relena, I like the way you think ^_~ And that's all I'll say.
Anthony: Phwee! Did this chapter answer your question? The Shuffle Alliance members are all living in a bunker in Neo-Japan. They never got a chance to return home because the bounty was placed first. And of course their crews wouldn't let them go by themselves =p

Huh, I just noticed something .; This isn't what I said this chapter would be about XD Sorry. I just close my eyes and let my fingers do what they will. I can say that the next chapter will be what this one was also to be about. .; To prevent this from happening again, there will be no more previews XD Again, sorreh.

cLaRiFiCaTiOn: I haven't mentioned much about the government so I'll explain it now. The Trans-Nations government is like representatives from all the nations. At the head of it however, is a Neo-Hong Kong rep. He's like the chair since Neo-Hong Kong was the last in power. Normally people would go, "Wait, isn't Neo-Japan supposed to be in charge?" No. I mean Urebe (sp) did just try and take over the world with the Devil Gundam. Like anyone is going to trust Neo-Japan alone for a while...mm I think not .; So yea, I think that's all you'll need to know now. Any questions, feel free to ask^^

Disclaimer:

Trin: PIE O_O

Nina: Trin..focus..

Trin: But-but ...Mmm...pie.

Nina: -Turns around and starts scribbling something on a piece of paper-

Trin: ....PIE

Nina: -Sticks a post- it that says "She does not own G-Gundam =D" On Trin's shirt.-

Trin: D'oh...QUICK LOOK OVER THERE!

Nina: -looks-

Trin: -eats the post-it-