HOTD: A New Dawn

"Mai?" Tysone's brow furrowed. "What are you doing here?"

It wasn't as if he hadn't mentioned his business to her, but he had never invited her to try it out. He couldn't deny that it was a pleasant surprise—a public figure such as Mai could draw a lot of people to his establishment. 

His furrowed brow smoothed over, and his lips curved into an eager, flattering smile. 

He was about to take a step forward, in her direction, but he felt a delicate hand wrap around his wrist and tug him backward. It was such a slight and weak pull that he'd have ignored it were it not Saya who did it.

"Saya, what's wrong?" 

Saya said nothing. She merely looked away. 

Tysone was stumped. She had yet to release her hold on him, after all. 

Mai didn't have such problems. "I came here to show you my support, obviously." She said off-handedly. However, her eyes remained subtly glued on Saya. "Is this what kept you so occupied that it took you so long to reply to my texts?" 

Saya pulled Tysone's wrist again. 

'Is this one of those annoying scenes that my brother enjoyed watching so much? What a hassle.'

Tysone gently peeled Saya's hand off; it was easy. Then he turned towards Mai. "Didn't you know that there's a special discount for women who wear bunny outfits?" She was about to make a scandalized comment about how much of a pervert he was, but he quickly followed up. "Either way, I really appreciate your support. Since you're our first customer, I'll give you a discount anyway."

He winked at her, then turned towards the murmuring crowd. Such a great opportunity to promote his business further. He cleared his throat, licked his lips, and opened his mouth. Japanese easily flowed out, though it had all been rehearsed beforehand. 

"Everyone, welcome to the Rage Room - Unleash the Beast! The first of its kind in Tokonosu City and the entire world. A place where you can unleash the pent-up frustrations inside of you. Here, you have complete freedom in choosing whether or not you want to scream, throw stuff, or punch objects. You are under no obligation to keep it in. Don't worry; I assure you this is all legitimate. We're also equipped with an adequate security system, so don't hesitate." He smiled brightly. "In fact, even the well-known Mai Sakurajima came to personally try it out. So, who among you would like a taste of something special and explosive?"

Ah, gosh, that was so… weird. Tysone would have said cringe, but this was an anime verse, and nothing could be cringe there. Perhaps that's why his words had a harder punch than they'd otherwise have had in his original world. 

The crowd stirred and sounds of eagerness and agreement followed. 

"Now, Mai Sakurajima-sama. Please, come this way." Tysone waved his hand, in a 'this way' gesture. 

Mai, naturally, gave him the stink eye. In fact, even Saya gave him the stink eye. 

Tysone couldn't give a single flying fuck as long as the Rage Room's opening day was an absolute success. Mai's sudden visit basically guaranteed him that. The fact that it had completely slipped off his mind to invite her, yet she appeared nonetheless was a divine sign of sorts; not that he actually believed in that nonsense. 

And so, Tysone's Rage Room welcomed its first customer. They stopped briefly by the lobby for the payment, then a locker room where Mai would don protective gear. 

"Saya, could you please relocate the rest of the people outside into the lobby? Explain all the rules to them while you're at it."

Saya wasn't happy at being relegated to such a role, but she didn't voice it and simply nodded, retreating with a pouty face and her tiny fists clenched. Mai watched the younger girl's back with an imperceptible scowl on her face. "Who is she anyway?" She asked, off-handedly, as if it didn't matter.

"Ah, Saya is my business partner of course, you should have heard of her family. The Takagis are quite influential and prominent."

The mention of a powerful family brought a brief frown onto Mai's forehead. "Interesting choice of partnership."

Tysone paid it no mind, although he had no idea what this bit of banter was really about.

As they navigated through the corridor, she glanced at Tysone. "Isn't she a bit too young?"

"So that's what bothers you?" He arched an amused brow, which made the celebrity cross her arms. "Jealous?"

Mai's perfect control over her facial expression broke down briefly.

"Not at all." She quickly recovered, returning Tysone's look, daring him to press further, not that it ever stopped him from trying.

"Hmm..." He narrowed his eyes. "Then don't mind me if I patiently wait until she becomes legal." He laughed, intending it as a joke, but Mai didn't take it as such.

He didn't catch the odd twitch in her expression, either. Not that anyone could, with her protective helmet obscuring her face.

"As expected, you're a pervert."

Tysone decided to ignore that as he led her to a room. The white walls were washed out, with graffitis everywhere. "Here you go, Mai. Have a blast. This place is soundproofed, so feel free to yell out loud all of your kinky fantasies about me."

He immediately scurred away when Mai sharply turned towards him.

The door slammed shut.

She was alone.

And surrounded by many things that she could easily break.

But right now, what she wanted the most was for the floor to split, and to swallow Tysone whole.

She knew that the pesky bastard was watching her from some monitor in some secret surveillance room with his friend.

Mai scanned the room before resting her gaze on a long rack containing a wide selection of blunt weapons and sports equipment. She picked the basic baseball bat. A wry smile stretched across her face.

To be honest, her life stayed relatively the same ever since she met Tysone. Some people noticed her; some didn't. But it was this weird companionship she had with Tysone that she came to unexpectedly grow fond of. 

Seriously, he was so irritating, crass, narcissistic, and… and…

She sighed. 

He had a way with words as well. He played around a lot—but always had some piece of wisdom that seemed to fit whatever issue she had. He could be serious and a softie. She could never tell what bounced around that thick skull of his, but it was nice being around him. Sometimes a bit too nice. 

Who'd have thought he could write songs so well? 

And now this.

Mai looked around. It was something she had never thought of. A room where it was perfectly fine—and actively encouraged—to break stuff. Glass. Vases. Chairs and tables. And anything in-between. 

Too bad she couldn't break Tysone's face.

Or that one girl with him. She didn't even know why she suddenly flashed in her mind, but she did, and it kind of pissed her off. 

She felt a tick mark pop up on her forehead. And so she swung the bat. It swished through the air.

It hit the wooden chair with a crack.

The chair broke down. Wood splintered.

Another swing. And a glass vase was no more. The shattered fragments barreled all over the floor, cracking further when she stepped on them. All this destruction—what if that was Tysone, she imagined. That smug smirk. Those annoying black eyes. His smooth dark skin. All hers to destroy.

But just imagining his face as she decimated objects was never enough, not for Mai, and so she rampaged throughout the room. 

Her anger boiled up and transformed into the fuel which kept her going, swinging and smashing and yelling at nothing, punching and kicking and eventually whirling.

Everything became an outlet for her problems. Her relationship with her parents. Her career. Her adolescence syndrome. Constantly being ignored, forgotten. Trying so desperately to be normal, to fit in. 

Mai let herself go with reckless abandon. 

Even when she stumbled, she just kept destroying, again and again.

Until she ran out of breath, and her lips formed a sharp sneer. Her hair was in utter disarray, like she just woke up from her bed. But she felt clean.

Absolutely refreshed.

She cracked her neck from side to side, rubbing the muscles there.

Afterwards, she flung the bat on the wall, a look of unbidden content in her ice blue eyes. All around her were broken bits of furniture, glass, and metal. The scent of destruction. It was an unpleasant odor, to her own surprise, the sort of odor a construction worker would smell after a full day of work.

If Mai did have a maniacal laugh, she might have done it then.

"This will do."

When she exited, Tysone leaned on the wall opposite to the door, smiling brightly at her.

Mai regarded him dully.

"So? Was that good?"

"...it was like some weird and twisted form of therapy." She admitted.

He threw an arm around her. "Glad I could help." He smirked, almost mischievously, which caused her eyes to narrow. "Now, I hope you can help me."

Mai raised her brow, yet let him lean on her. His large hand rested on the small of her waist, pressing down softly but firmly. As a result, the two of them seemed closer.

Her heart rate spiked, but she didn't let anything show on her face.

"What?"

"If you enjoyed our Rage Room, could you throw in a good word for us on social media? If you do, I promise you'll have unlimited free access to our fine establishment!" He threw his arms up, smiling. "Isn't that the deal of a lifetime, Bunny Girl?"

She heaved a long sigh. "Sure."

Author Note: More chapters on [email protected]/LordCampione.[ *Special offer going on right now 50% 0ff till December 28* ]