Chapter 91: On The Road Again Part Three

"No, I will talk. I have a feeling we'll be together for a long time, so it is a good thing for you to know. But keep it a secret for now. The only other person who knows is Mai." Ai said with a smile. She stopped moving forward and sat down on the hood of a car and patted the spot next to her. Eiji hopped up on the car as well sitting right next to Ai. Although there was plenty of room for him to sit further away he chose to sit right next to her which Ai did not complain. Even with their shoulders touching she brought one knee up to her chest and rested her chin on it.

Eiji stayed quiet and waited for Ai to speak. "You see, Mentally I am twenty four years old. Soon to be twenty five, Physically as you can see I am almost fifteen. I once lived in this hell for ten years. From the age of fourteen until the age of twenty four when I died to a new type machina that used some kind of beam weapon to turn me into dust. I know this may be hard to understand but it is true. When I came to, I even doubted my own memories until I verified it enough for me to take it as everything I went through for ten years was real. Only then did I stop going to school and built a bunker secretly in my basement with Mai. So what do you think, am I crazy or what?" 

Ai said as she tilted her head sideways laying the side of it down on her knee and smiled at Eiji. Eiji did not know what came over him but he leaned in and kissed those smiling lips causing Ai to freeze. Her eyes opened wide as she felt his lips on hers. She was not sure what she should do. She didn't know if she should push him away or what. This was her first kiss in her two lives! But what surprised her, even more, was when Eiji parted his lips and began probing her lips with his tongue. She unconsciously parted her lips giving him access and like this, the two kissed for what seemed like forever.

When they finally parted lips Eiji quickly lowered his head. "I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself..."

Ai's cheeks were slightly blushed but did not say anything as she fell into thought. She touched her lips and after a few minutes, she finally looked at Eiji. "It's fine. It just surprised me, is all. Was that your answer to my question?"

"In a way. A lot of it had to do with how cute you looked and my mind going blank. But what You said I believe one hundred percent. It explains so much." Eiji answered, his eyes were closed as he was bracing for the worse.

"Haha! Eiji what are you doing?" Ai found his actions quite amusing.

"I am waiting for my punishment!" Eiji said seriously, causing Ai to laugh harder.

"I will not hit you. To be honest I liked it. I never kissed anyone before and it surprised me at first but I wouldn't have kissed you back if I did not like it. Mmm… yeah, we can do it again some time. But for now, let's get going." Ai said as she jumped off the hood of the car. Eiji didn't see it but her cheeks were flushed red. 

Eiji was not sure if he should jump for joy or what, but he got away with kissing the girl he liked, didn't get hit for it, and she even said they could do it again some time! He felt like he should start praying to the apocalypse gods for giving him such a happy life. 

As Eiji was pumping his fists in the air, Ai was giggling away at his antics. But as she walked forward she knew she had to seal her heart. Messing around like this was fine but she could not fall for Eiji. She did not want to deal with the pain of losing a loved one again. She already had Mai she had to care for. She would stake her life to keep Mai alive but right now if she had to choose between the two she would always choose Mai. Mai was her sister and the last family member she had left. She would not even give Eiji a second glance if Mai was in danger. But she still felt that Eiji's company was not so bad. He was a great friend but she could only keep it at that.

As they progressed Ai finally found one of the marked cars that had water in it. "Here drink up!"

Eiji took the bottle of water and downed it. They had traveled quite a bit of distance already without a break and even though the breeze was cool, the sun beating down on the cars and pavement was making the road an oven. "Ai how much further?"

"We should arrive by tomorrow afternoon. But for tonight we will need to check for a house to sleep in. Since we are getting off at the next exit. So be prepared for anything." Ai warned.

"Yeah, I will. I am more worried about our way back. If people see us hauling this trailer they will think something is up. So they will end up either following us or wait for us to return with the goods before trying to rob us." Eiji knew their greatest enemy once they entered the towns and cities was not the machina but humans.

"When that happens, run and find an advantage point. They will think you ran away and come out of hiding. Once they get close… Hehehe..." An evil smile formed on Ai's lips. "I wonder if I can make a head explode with a single punch..." 

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