Chapter 29: Tears Part Two

Ai's tears flowed like raindrops during a heavy downpour. She did everything she could to try to prepare her mother for what was to come. There was no time to train her on how to fight against the machina properly. After a moment of silence, Ai got up and collected all of Shizune's body parts and put them together before doing the same to Yasuhide. She then dragged the bodies to the side of the road before following the trail of blood from the scene to see if she could find Kazumi and her father. 

She did not get too far when she found Kasumi's body in the same conditions as the others. She did not stop right away because she saw the last broken machina on the ground causing her to quickly look around. When she saw the second trail of blood that led into a bunch of bushes Ai quickly dashed through. 

"Dad!?" Ai yelled out before going dead quiet to see if she could hear any signs of life. After not hearing anything she yelled out again: "Dad!"

"Ai..." A muffled voice could be heard coming not too far away. 

"Dad!" She ran as fast as she could following the trail of blood but stopped dead in her tracks when she found her father leaning up against a pile of rubble that used to be someone's house. Seji was lying there on the ground, his stomach split wide open, and his intestines were hanging out. 

"Ai… Everyone is dead… Is Mai?" Seji asked in gasping breaths. 

"Dad, don't talk… Mai is fine… I will stay here with you." Ai said as she sat down next to her father and pulled him into her arms. She hugged him tightly, not caring for the blood that was drenching her clothes. She rocked and forth as she began to sing a song. This song was what was sung in the future for those who had died or were about to die. 

"You may be passing on~."

"You may be leaving me behind~"

"But now at least you can be free for this hell~"

"Death is the start of..."

"A..."

"New beginning~"

"Your endless struggle will now come to an end. The life of those who live on will always remember~ You~"

"You may be passing on~."

"You may be leaving me behind~"

"But you will always live on in my memory~"

Tears welled up in both Ai's and Seji's eyes. Listening to his daughter sing such a sad song while rocking him back and forth. He felt sad yet content. His daughter was strong, much stronger than him. He was sad that he would not be able to see her grow up but at least he knew with her abilities she would live on and survive in this fucked up world.

Forcing out his last breath, Seji looked up at Ai and forced a smile as he said: "Ai, your father is passing on, live well… I will look after you from the other side… My baby girl, dad loves you… I am a bit tired… I will sleep now..." 

As his words fell Seji's body went slack, the last of his tears rolled down his cheek and his eyes slowly closed. Ai's tears rolled down her face as she held her father in her arms. She pushed her face into his neck as she rocked back and forth. Ai stayed in the position for almost a half-hour until she finally got a hold of her emotions. "Dad, I will live strong. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you from dying in this life either. But I promise I will stay alive, I will see what this fucking shit hole of a world has to throw at me."

Ai gently laid her father down and got up off the ground. She then knelt down and scooped up her father's innards, placing them back where they belonged. As she finished she heard the sounds of multiple footsteps. She quickly grabbed the metal pole lying next to her and stood up. 

"Oh? What do we have here? Such a small girl. That must have been your father huh? I saw the dead robots on the ground. Since you are all alone, why not come with us? We will make sure you are fed well and have a roof over your head." A middle aged man who was well overweight said. His company, a bulky man that stood behind him, let out a laugh.

Ai glared at him and pointed her metal pole at the man. "Can you fuck off? Otherwise, I do not mind helping you fuck off to the spirit world."

Both men looked at Ai stunned in place. The killing intent exuding off her body was not something a girl her age should have. But the overweight middle aged man quickly came back to his senses as he said: "Little bitch don't waste my goodwill. Otherwise, I do not mind teaching you a hard lesson of life right here!"

"Really?" Ai said one word before dashing forward and with a strong thrust. She thrust out in an arch with the metal pole in her hand stabbing it directly in the underside of the overweight middle aged man's jaw and out the top of his head. She used her foot and pushed off the man's body pulling the pole back out before pushing the body towards the other man while thrusting the metal pole out again, stabbing it into the neck of the bulky man. The bulky man looked at Ai in disbelief. He never thought he would die at the hands of some little girl.

Ai looked at the man that was dying from blood loss and smiled as she said: "See what happens when you don't fuck off when I tell you to?"