Ito Ai: A New Dawn

The cicadas were chirping away as Ai and Mai walked down the street. Other teens in the same school uniforms as Ai were also making their way to school. Many of them were sneaking peeks at Ai who had a serious case of bed head and a messy dress style. "Ai they are looking at your strangely"

"Huh? So what? Mai let me tell you now, being clean and well dressed will not mean a damn thing in the next few months. I suggest you get used to it now." Ai stated bluntly. She wanted to warn Mai ahead of time about this matter so that she would not be stuck in her old ways when the time came.

"Oh… Then starting tomorrow I will learn to just let things be. Should... Should I stop taking showers?" Mai asked.

"You do not need to go that far yet, but one thing you need to know is that in the future, you will end up bathing with many people when you are able to with both men and women. Not to mention not even being able to bathe for months at a time. But don't worry, at first, you will feel shy, nervous and even sick at times but after a while, you will adjust and become numb to it all. Everyone will. Oh, one fair warning it is best not to fall in love in the future either… It could end up being a horrifying experience. Many innocent pretty girls fell for the schemes of handsome men." Ai was saying all this to let Mai know what was in store for her. When it came to matters of love in the future it would become a truly dangerous concept. Ai had watched as girls were lured in by handsome men dressed well giving them plenty of food and water only to be sold off to the highest bidder at an auction someplace as sex slaves.

Ai had heard from a few girls she was fighting alongside, that a few of their friends were lured in by these herders as they were called. Handsome men with meat on a stick, sweet words, and promises of a better life. When they agreed to follow, these girls were stuck with a strong aphrodisiac or knock out drug. If they were stuck with the aphrodisiac then it was one hundred percent that they would not have a good night. If it was the knock out drug they would wake up finding themselves stripped of their clothes and a number branded on to their skin, marking them as a slave.

You would think these things would not happen in a modern society but when the apocalypse happened it quickly turned into a common scene. There was no law. You made up your own law. That was how this world worked during that time.

Mai felt a shiver run down her spine. She knew without Ai's warnings that she might end up in that situation and without even realizing it she would have already had her bad end. "Ai thank you for warning me."

"Of course I would warn you! You are my best friend and my sister. If we were to ever get split up for some reason you would be able to survive on your own until the day we were able to meet up again. I will teach you everything I know so you can survive well. The most important thing for someone to learn during that time is trust no one. Not even me..." Ai had to say the last words because it may be true. If things really got out of hand she would only think of herself and no one else, not even her own parents. This was because the survival of the fittest was what allowed her to live for those ten years. This time around she planned to not join any groups who were fighting against the machina. Although it was safer to stay in a large group there were still scheming people who tried to do some nasty things. They of course were outright killed by the others but those who the acts were committed on were traumatized after that.

Mai was a bit scared due to Ai's words but she also understood that Ai would not say them if they were not needed. But what upset her the most was that Ai said to not trust her as well. Ai was her best friend and sister, there was no way she could not trust her. "Ai… No matter what until the day you use me as a shield to save yourself like you said you have done before. I will always put my trust in you. My life will be in your hands."

Forcing a smile Ai could only shake her head and stay silent. She knew that Mai did not understand her words at this time but she will later on.

The two walked in silence as they passed through the school gates. They entered the classroom and sat down. All the students in the class were staring at Ai due to her current style. Ai completely ignored them and laid her head down. She figured this was a good chance to catch up on an hour of sleep before the class change.

Ai had forgotten that the one who was the form teacher for this grade was Okura sensei and she was well known for disliking kids who tried to sleep in class. Ai had just fallen asleep when Okura sensei walked into the classroom. Okura sensei looked around the room and frowned seeing Ai laying her head down on her desk. Mai who was sitting across the room wanted to say something but by the time she had thought of why Okura sensei shouldn't wake Ai it was already too late.

"Ito-san! Ito-san! Wake up! You are now in class as a student you should not be sleeping but studying!" Okura Sensei was starting to get angry because Ai was not waking up even after yelling.

Deciding to shake Ai awake, Okura Sensei reached out to grab her but stopped when she heard someone from behind yelling at her. "Don't touch Ai!"

Mai stood up, her face pale. She did not know why but she felt that if Okura sensei tried to touch Ai while she was asleep it was akin to bringing down disaster upon herself. Of course, Okura sensei did not know Mai's thoughts and completely ignored the warning. "Nakano-san it would be best if you sat down and not get involved in this matter." After scolding Mai, Okura sensei turned her attention back to Ai and reached out and was just about to touch her shoulder when Ai's eyes opened wide and snatched Okura Sensei's wrist causing Okura Sensei to yell out in pain.

Killing intent was pouring out of Ai, her gaze that was as cold as ice glared at Okura sensei. This gaze alone was enough to cause Okura sensei a fright. Mai quickly ran forward and got in between the two. "Okura Sensei, I warned you not to touch her. Ai has an issue with people touching her when she is asleep."

After saying this, Mai placed her hand onto Ai's wrist and said in a soft comforting tone. "Ai, you are at school. Relax and release Okura sensei's wrist. It was her fault for touching you."

Ai's killing intent and cold gaze began to lessen as she slowly released Okura sensei's wrist. Okura sensei held her wrist that was throbbing with pain and quickly backed away from Ai. She now had a deep fear of this fourteen year old girl. Those eyes that Ai had looked at her with was as if she was looking deep into her soul and could see everything about her. She dared not to reprimand Ai for her actions just now and went back to the podium and began class.

Ai slowly came back to her senses and looked around the room. Anyone her eyes landed on quickly turned her head away. Ai shrugged and laid her head back down. Mai let out a sigh of relief and went back to her seat. Luckily she spoke up for Ai the first time and that her assumption was right! Ai was not someone you could touch when she was sleeping! She had come to this conclusion after hearing the stories of Ai's past. To survive at such a young age one had to be a light sleeper and sense when someone was about to touch them. Usually, this kind of situation always turns out badly for the one doing the touching!

The class went by quickly and it was finally time for class change. Ai brought Mai to the back of the school and boosted her up over the wall. Ai was able to agilely climb the wall without any issues. The two had empty school bags with them which confused Mai. She did not know why Ai had her bring her school bag when they were not really going to be using it. But she quickly found out soon and almost regretted agreeing to this training Ai was going to put her through.

"Alright fill your bag up with rocks. I want to see it completely full. When I check it you will strap it to your back, we will then set out towards our destination. During our entire training session and digging session today we will both be wearing these bags. Except for when we are doing sit-ups."Ai knew this would be hard for Mai at first and herself. But it was necessary to help build up more strength.

Mai's face paled as she reluctantly began filling her bag up with rocks. When they were done Mai felt like she was being stepped on by an elephant the entire walk towards the forest. By the time they made it there, they were both dripping in sweat. Ai was no different, she was suffering just as much. Actually, if it was not for Mai being next to her, suffering along with her, she might have already given up.

Once they arrived under the same tree, where they had met the previous day, Ai decided to have a small break before continuing their training. "Five minute break then we'll begin with push-ups. We will continue to do them for one hour. You may take a break in between sets. We will start off slow with five pushups until we get used to the extra weight on our bodies. After push-ups, we will do sit-ups, where we will then take the bags off our back. This will also last an hour. Then we will do two hours of fighting training with the bags on our back before heading to my house, having lunch, and then beginning work of digging out the bunker."

"Ai let me ask, were you a demon in your past life? Why is it that you have come up with this devilish training!?" Mai complained but still rose to her feet to get herself ready.

"Whether I am a demon or not, is something I don't know. All I know is that in order for both of us to survive the first onslaught of the apocalypse we will need to suffer now. All of this will help us later on. So work hard and I promise you will at least not die before the Machina show up. The first type Machina are quick and vicious. Their two front legs can rip a person's body to shreds. You will need to be able to fend them off since they can be easily killed with blunt weapons but it takes skill to do this. Mai, you said you believe in me, so stick with it I will not lead you astray, I promise you this."