Ito Ai: A New Dawn

[Sorry for the lateness of this release! Enjoy!]

To be safe Ai pulled her pistol back before poking it through again but this time she got no vibration. Gritting her teeth, Ai put away her pistol then stretched out her hand, and only when it touched the machina did she let out a sigh of relief. But at the same time, a smile spread across her lips. "It seems I gained something really good this time!" 

She not only gained a barrier to repel bullets, she also gained a fully intact type two machina. "If I upgrade the body armor on this and feed it the code I wrote for the turrets then this will work out well. I can have a machina guard dog. I just need to find out what is creating the barrier and if I can replicate that with the copied code then maybe I can build a bigger version." 

So many ideas began to flow through Ai's head that she couldn't help but get excited. But in order to begin anything, she would need to move this machina back to base and she also needed to go help, Mai. " I will just cover you with some brush to keep you out of sight my little birthday present!"

After camouflaging the machine, Ai took off in the direction that Mai should be in. She was sure she had heard a few shots fired earlier that were not from the two men she had killed. As she ran through the woods she suddenly heard Mai shout out "No! Get off me!" 

Ai's eyes suddenly became red with anger as she rushed forward. What she saw was Mai stripped down to her underwear, her weapon was tossed to the side, and a man was pressing her down to the ground. "What the fuck do you think you are doing!" Ai did not hesitate to rush forward and kick the man to the ground before pushing the muzzle of her gun into his mouth. "Fucking pieces of shit like you don't deserve to live!" 

*Bang!* 

Blood, flesh, and bits of brain went everywhere even splashing onto Ai's face. Her eyes were cold as she looked at the now headless man She didn't stop there either. She lowered her weapon to the man's crotch and fired two more shots. She then turned to Mai who was in tears curled up into a ball. This was one of the things she did not want Mai to have to deal with. Seeing her best friend, her sister, the only family she had left in this fucked up world going through such an experience really made her heart hurt. She too had to deal with such things. But she had hoped and even prayed that Mai would get by in this life without such a thing happening to her. 

She knelt down and brought Mai into her arms as she softly said: "I'm sorry I was late. It will be okay. I am here for you. Luckily he did not get to do any more than he did." 

Mai burst into tears as she hugged Ai tightly. It took almost ten minutes for her to finally calm down. When she did she did not let go of Ai but she did sobbingly explain to her what had happened. "Ai, I screwed up. I lost sight of him and he had made his way around me. I was knocked out for a few minutes and when I woke I was already stripped of all my clothes besides my underwear. It was at that time that I screamed and you came running over. If you had not shown up I am sure he would have..." 

Ai, did not let Mai finish her words as she pressed her finger to her lips. She put on a gentle smile and said: "Take this as a lesson. Never let your guard down even for a second. If an enemy is in front of you, never look away. Come let's get your clothes on. We have to finish our job here and bring back something good." Ai stood up and went to gather Mai's clothes for her before stopping and saying, "Tonight we will sleep together, as well as the next few days. In case you have any nightmares." 

Ai knew that although Mai seemed okay right now, she would have nightmares when she goes to sleep for the next few nights. She had gone through the same thing multiple times and the nightmares she had scared her awake. That feeling of helplessness, the feeling of being forced against your will imprints into one's mind. Unlike Ai who had to go through all of that alone. Mai had her. Ai wanted to stay by her side to help her through this period of time until she can sleep without having nightmares.

Mai looked up at Ai the tears brimming in her eyes and nodded. "Thank you, Ai..." Ai had told her about her past. Everything that had happened to her the things she had to deal with as she grew up. Now that she had suffered one of the things Ai had in her past life, the thought of going through that all alone scared her. 

" Why say thank you? Are we not family? As a family, we should support each other no matter what happens. But I must apologize for being late and letting you suffer such a thing." Ai handed Mai her clothes and helped her up. "Get dressed I will need you to keep watch while I set up turrets." looking at her friend who still had tears in her eyes she sighed and said: "I have also decided to release one of those men. I need help bringing something back and even though I hate to say it I need someone who has strength. You can stay at the base. I am sure you do not want to be around guys right now." 

"No, it's fine. I will come. More than anything I do not trust a guy being alone with you. Just in case... " Mai replied.

Ai turned and looked at Mai who was trying to be strong and smiled. "Don't push yourself too hard." 

***

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