HOTD: A New Dawn

Mai considered his words.

"Let me contact some people first. I have the general idea of what you want. If I see some possibilities, I'll give you a call." She stated simply.

"Thank you."

"..."

Mai went quiet. She stared at Tysone's back, which was so much wider than she remembered. Not much changed with him. He was taller, perhaps a bit more muscular. A lot more muscular, actually. But he kind of always has been. Definitely stronger.

"You really are acting differently." She noted quietly.

"...?" Tysone perked up. "In what way?"

"Dunno, harder to tell, I suppose." Mai said with an uncertain smile. "Like something has changed, or maybe shifted, and now your focus isn't with us anymore, but on some greater purpose."

"A shift would require a previous point of comparison to notice."

Mai chuckled. "Alright, well... we don't have that, I'm afraid." She said a bit sheepishly.

He hummed. "Well, nothing's changed. Really." Tysone said lightly. "Everything's still on the road of the usual progress I laid out."

"Then something outside of this room." She seemed determined to figure something out. "You've gotten taller. Wider shoulders. Longer legs." She tried guessing the difference, as if trying to identify a pattern. "Learned how to shoot, how to fight. You're spending so much more time in your place."

This time, Tysone turned to take a better look of the young woman on his bed. She was puzzling something out, and he didn't want her to dig too deep—not out of fear she'd find something, but that she would uncover more questions, and possibly a hint towards what was truly coming.

"Might just be my imagination." She concluded with a frown.

"..."

Tysone decided to smile a bit, to loosen up the tension. "Still, I'm surprised you've been paying so much attention to me, Mai. You know this isn't healthy for your career, don't you?"

"Not like that, you pervert!" She glared at him. "Seriously."

He waved a hand, dismissing the topic altogether. "So, any news at school?"

At the sudden mention of school, she adopted a pondering look. "Well, there's been a strange situation, to be honest."

Tysone frowned. "What kind of situation?"

"We have a transfer student. A girl, quite cute, but odd." Mai elaborated, her foot swinging up and down. 

"..."

He didn't say anything, but his interested look urged her to continue.

"Her name's Miku Yuuki. I think she was originally from Fujimi Academy, the same school as Saya, which is why I took an interest in her, but that girl turns out to be some k-kind of pervert, like you."

'...Huh?' Tysone raised his eyebrows slightly.

Miku is now at Mai's school?

But Mai wasn't finished. "Yes. At first she seemed quite chill, but I've been hearing rumors about her these past few days. She seems to have attracted a bunch of horny guys for whatever reasons." She sighed, shaking her head. "Guess she was kicked out of her old school. The school probably tried to be discreet, but the rumor spread." She rubbed the back of her head. "Or something like that." She concluded.

"And you believe those rumors?" He inquired with a half-smile.

Mai thought about his question. She twisted the ring around her finger as she pondered, a thoughtful pout on her face. "No, I suppose not."

"I did talk to the girl some time ago." He said, suddenly.

And for whatever reason, Mai was immediately on guard. Even if she didn't whole-heartedly believe the rumors going on about Miku, Mai clearly didn't think too highly of the girl either. And it didn't sit quite well with her that Tysone potentially had some close encounter with a rumored evil temptress.

"Did she try to tempt you...?" Mai questioned.

"Pretty sure her favorite ice cream is chocolate chip cookies and cream." He replied nonchalantly. "My second favorite as well, actually."

She flushed in embarrassment, realizing how stupid her question was.

"But that was after she tried to seduce me." Tysone amended.

"W-What?"

He chuckled. "Wait, there's more to that. Well, It's not a lie that she tried to seduce me, but hey, it's quite normal that a cute lady would in the first place, don't you think? I'm tall, dark, handsome, and an entrepreneur. Pretty hot combo. But that's not why the girl's into me." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"..."

Mai frowned. She opened her mouth, likely to call him a pervert, but—

"She's like you, I think." Tysone said, calmly. Mai paused. "The syndrome." He elaborated. 

"Wait…"

"I haven't confirmed it yet. I didn't interact much with her, but it's plausible she's affected by it. In your case, it was isolation that made you invisible. Miku… well, I think she's dealing with something else entirely."

Mai narrowed her eyes. "And what exactly do you think that is?"

Tysone leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as his gaze drifted toward the ceiling. He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "You've seen how rumors can shape reality, right? People believe something long enough, and suddenly, it starts to become true. The more they talk, the more it spreads. It's like wildfire."

Mai blinked, pondering. "So, you think… the rumors around Miku are causing her syndrome to manifest?"

"Exactly." Tysone glanced at her, his expression more serious than before. "If people see her as a seductress, if that perception keeps snowballing, she might start losing control over how others view her. It's dangerous."

Mai shifted uncomfortably, arms crossing defensively. "It's not like she's helping the situation. If anything, she leans into it. Some girls love the attention."

"Maybe." Tysone allowed. "Or maybe it's the only way she knows how to cope. If you can't fight the rumors, why not own them?" He concluded with a shrug. "Then again, I may be completely wrong and she's actually a hoe, but I didn't get that impression from her—well not that much. She's obsessive and somewhat of a pervert, and for all I know, it could be a cry for help. Hard to say."

"If she really has the syndrome, are you going to help her?"

Tysone went silent for a moment. Would he?

Would he benefit from helping her?

If he did help her, it wouldn't be out of kindness. Besides, he didn't even know how to approach the problem. With Mai, it was easier since he had enough foreknowledge to draw from, but Miku was a new player. How to counter the effects? 

Have people spread rumors that she's actually not a slut? 

Hmm. 

"You're thinking about it, aren't you? Who'd have thought that deep down you're still capable of doing things without an ulterior motive."

"You're making me sound like some sort of opportunistic sociopath."

She giggled. "Are you saying you aren't?"

"There is nothing in my actions that could have justified this impression of me." Tysone protested.

"So..." Mai tilted her head. "What are you going to do about her?"

"What am I going to do about her, eh?"

Tysone put a fist to his chin. He didn't want to get involved with Miku, but perhaps he could make good use of her. Hadn't he been looking for trustworthy allies? Miku didn't really fit the mold, but having someone he could count on in the upcoming events of the next 'story arc' would be preferable.

He'd interact a bit more with the girl and gauge her sincerity.

After that, depending on the outcome...

He would decide whether he should invest time and energy into her or not.

That wasn't the important question, though.

If he got his own hands dirty in an attempt to clean hers, should he also scrub the dirt out of the rest of her life? How much would her trust be worth?

"I guess I wouldn't mind offering some insight into the matter. I'll keep my distance for now, but do me a favor and keep an eye out for her. I want you to be the judge for me, Mai. Is she worth the trouble or nah?"

Mai studied him for a few seconds before she nodded.

"I guess, okay..." She trailed off, still a little hesitant, but far less so than before.

And a decision was made. Perhaps the next chapter's conflict would have to be improvised, since canon seemed to take a huge turn here. He sincerely hoped that the zombies would be normal, at least. And that nothing outlandish would show up in their place.

But... if there's one thing Tysone learned in his stay in this bizarre anime world, it's that shit happens. No plan survives first contact with reality.

"But seriously, what the heck. You're tasking me so many things to do, since when did I become your maid?" Mai huffed.

Tysone walked past her and to the nearby sofa, smirking. "I did no such thing. We're friends." He said, falling into the seat with a relieved sigh. "That's why you should give me a hand. Aren't friends supposed to support each other?"

"...B-But! I..." Mai struggled for a comeback.

"You know what, you should drop those last few concerns and become my maid already, seriously. Imagine my sexy, fine self in a suit and you in one of those old Japanese style maid uniforms. Maybe with some bunny ears, to keep your ass in character."

"You..." Mai seemed to have difficulty finding a proper word in the English vocabulary. She settled with a: "Pervert! Shameless bastard! Absolutely shameless and arrogant!"

Author's Note:

If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support