Chapter 96: Stranded Part One

Eiji blushed but did not say anything as he began walking out of the collapsed house. Ai, smiled cheekily and walked out with a hop in her step. The rest of their trip back to the bunker was clear sailing. Ai stood in front of the house that she once lived in and felt memories surging through her head. She then lifted the trailer up over her head and began making her way up the hill. Eiji followed along behind her. After clearing out a space big enough to set the trailer down, Ai did not go to the bunker first but turned to walk towards her back yard. "Eiji, come with me for a bit."

Eiji nodded and followed after her. Ai stopped in front of four marked graves and sat down. She looked up at Eiji and patted the grass next to her. "This is Mai's and my parents' graves. They died when we got attacked by five, first type machina. I guess the training I gave them just wasn't enough..."

"I am sure you did what you could. I mean look at the girls back at the bunker. Those little ones are fighting machines." Eiji said as he put his arm around Ai and brought her into his embrace. Ai did not reject his affection since she knew he was trying to comfort her.

"Mmm… I did try. But it was still not enough. I wished I had had more time. If I did maybe they would be alive today. But sadly even in this new life, I could not keep them from dying. Eiji, I know what you want from me. But I do not think I will ever be able to give it to you. Love is not something I can commit to. It only brings more heartache. As it is, I still have Mai who I will protect over anyone else. She is the only family I have left." Ai pulled away from Eiji and looked him in the eye. "Even knowing that will you still follow me? Will you still be the same Eiji knowing I can never return the feelings you have for me?" 

Eiji did not know what spurred this sudden talk on this subject but he let out a sigh and grabbed Ai's hand. "If I say I am willing to devote myself knowing damn well you can never love me back, would you be willing to accept a fool like me? Ai, I know you only think about survival and that the past few days have just been you having fun and doing things for the first time because you find them interesting at this time. I do not mind. I am willing to enjoy the moment when the girl I like is willing to kiss me and hold my hand. I will never ask more from you unless you are willing to give it to me yourself. I know it is wrong to say but I am glad our world ended as it did or else I would never have met you. Ai, I like you for you so just keep being the Ai I see. Whether you just use me for your immediate curiosity or not, I do not care. I will follow you until you turn me away."

Ai looked at Eiji at a loss for words. She never expected to meet anyone like him who would be willing to be used knowing that his feelings will never be returned in kind. Ai turned her head away and looked at the gravestones in front of her. "Mom, Dad, I found a complete idiot who is willing to be my dog. Funny enough I do not mind his presence. With Mai also doing well I feel like our lives will be looking up as time goes on. I hope one day humanity will see a path to freedom and we will be able to come out of our holes and live free again. With no worry about our lives being on the line. Whether it takes one hundred years or not, as long as we can one day make it through these hard times and defeat the enemy at hand we will be able to rise once again. Auntie, Uncle, Mai is doing fine. She also has a little puppy following her around. Maybe one day those two will make little puppies passing on your genes. She is a smart girl. She has learned a lot about medicine. I promise I will protect Mai with my life. Until the day we both die at the same time Mai will survive." 

Ai stood up and stretched her arms before looking down at Eiji who was still sitting there. She reached her hand out to him to help him up. "Sad?"

"Noo… I feel more like you are lucky you can still talk to your parents like this. I don't even know where my father died." Eiji replied looking slightly gloomy as he took Ai's hand and stood up.

Ai wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. "When we finally get the time we will search, okay?"

Eiji smiled and hugged Ai and nodded his head. "Mmm. Thanks, Ai."

"Come on, the sky is starting to cloud over and it's green. It looks like we will be stuck here for a while. Hopefully not for too long..." Ai frowned seeing the green clouds. She hoped this was not a month long storm like the last.

"Even if it is for a long time, Mai, Yoshi, and the rest will be fine. You can count on Yoshi and Shogo to defend Mai no matter what happens. The only way she will end up hurt is if they die first." Eiji said reassuringly. Before he left he had made the two promise him to defend Mai with their lives.

"Mm, I know, I trust them." Ai said as she opened the hatch. A whiff of stale air came from below. "We will need to circulate the air. When we get down, I will show you where the pump is and it needs to be manually done. You go down first I need to seal the double hatch." 

The two made it down into the bunker, Ai sealed both hatches. She was surprised at how well it was holding up. There was no rust as of yet. Eiji looked around and saw nothing but a mess of dirty clothes. This included both regular clothes and Ai and Mai's undergarments. "Stop staring or I will tell Mai you were sniffing her dirty underwear"

"Ai are you trying to kill me!?"

***

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