Mai sat him on a plush stool in front of the vanity. She began gathering her supplies: a comb, a pair of scissors, a spray bottle.
"You better not mess it up." Tysone grumbled, though he made no move to leave.
"Just shut up and sit still." She commanded, spritzing his hair with cool water. "It's a miracle you can even see through this curtain of hair. How do you fight without it getting in your eyes?"
"Talent." He smirked, meeting her gaze in the mirror.
She rolled her eyes, but a small smile played on her lips. She began to comb through his hair, wetting each section until it was neatly divided. With a precise hand, she grabbed her shears, carefully trimming the hair above his ears, then around the temples, finally thinning out his sideburns.
Tysone looked at himself in the mirror before his eyes flicked up to Mai. "Can you do a low fade?"
"What?" Her expression was blank.
Tysone clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Never mind."
"Quit moving!" Mai placed a hand on the top of his head, applying just enough pressure to make him freeze in place.
She combed his hair again, styling it differently this time.
"Gimme dreads then."
"Dreads?" She gave him a deadpan look.
"Yeah. Dreadlocks."
Mai sighed. "Listen, just sit there and let me work. Trust me, you're in capable, professional hands." She gave his hair another spritz with the spray bottle, picking up her shears once again.
With careful strokes, she lined the blades along the hair around his left ear, removing a sliver of length with each pass. After a minute, she repeated the action with his right. Then she carefully shortened the mop on the crown.
Next, Mai raked her comb through the longer layers above his forehead, snipping them almost down to the roots. Tysone hadn't realized how thick and voluminous it had been.
She ran her fingers along his scalp, assessing what was still too long and what would look better cropped. "I've hard from Saya that you're planning to venture into the industrial district for resources and to secure more cores."
"The risk will be worth it. Our baby truck needs better parts if we want to keep traveling." He said, almost purring at the treatment. "And we need to find a way to scan cores. Figure out their usage. Before distributing them randomly. After all, just going by their color alone isn't going to cut it. Maybe."
She stopped cutting, just for a second, only for him to catch her slight frown in the mirror. "Be careful, Tysone. Who knows how many evolved are still there."
"Aw, worried about me, sweetheart?" He shot back, flashing a teasing grin.
Her eyebrow twitched, and it looked like she had a snarky reply at the tip of her tongue. Then seemingly exhaled out all of that snarkiness. "Well, yes, you're an idiot, and reckless. Who knows what dumb shit you're planning to do in the future."
"Hey, hey. I resent that, despite the truth." He pouted a little. "Trust me, I got this. We can't isolate ourselves... taking risks mean better survival and better odds. The city has lots of resources we can use to upgrade our stronghold."
"I'll trust you with this one... you've been doing good thus far." She conceded.
"Hm." Tysone sniffed. "I deserve a reward for being good, don't I?"
Mai's head snapped right next to his face, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. The scissors in her hands clacked threateningly, making snip snip sounds. The actress tilted her head, almost eerily. "Really now, a reward? I will snip your dick off so you'll stop lusting over girls."
Tysone frowned. "My dick is evolved too, Miss Bunny. No mere scissors can hurt it."
Her eyebrows raised. "Really now..."
Tysone gulped at the mischievous gleam in her eyes. He decided that it would be best to drop the topic. For the sake of his balls.
He shrugged. "Maybe. Anyways, don't worry. We'll do hit and runs, swift and quick." This time it was Tysone's turn to sigh, and the sound of it seemed so weird to Mai, who had always seen her boyfriend as fearless. "Last time we been there, we really, really came close to our end. I can only imagine what else lurks there now that some time has passed. We've evolved. We've grown stronger, but, no doubt, so did they. Faster than us."
"... If the things were to get dangerous, retreat." She advised, after a brief silence.
Tysone made a face and nodded. "Don't worry, I ain't about to let my team go through unnecessary harm."
Mai listened silently as she spritzed and snipped the last few pesky hairs. Then, with a razor, she shaped the edges to an impeccable clean and even fade. Tysone watched in mild interest; she was not one of his trusted barbers, sure, but she was not half bad. Good enough to be surprising considering she was a celebrity of sorts, but not impressive enough that he'd dab her up.
She pulled away, watching in satisfaction. "What do you think?"
Tysone checked himself thoroughly. His hair had been the least of his concerns, honestly, but it was relaxing enough. Not to mention seeing Mai fuss over him was always a welcome bonus. Even now, she looked at him expectantly through her reflection.
"Really good." He said, standing up. "Can I do your hair now?"
Mai hissed. "Shut up. You don't even know how to handle haircare and beauty supplies, so it's no use."
He frowned. "Bummer."
She stood there, not looking him in the eye. Tysone always found it highly intriguing how inexplicably fascinating these girls were. These anime babes with their slim curves and large eyes. Even after so much time passed since he was thrown into this universe, he still whistled under his breath each time they entered a room.
They were all so peculiar in his eyes, perhaps exacerbated by the fact that they were not supposed to be real, yet here he was, getting a haircut from one of them.
"Mai?"
"What?"
"I love you."
A perfectly delivered aishiteru. His Japanese was enough to make even Saya nod in approval.
In a rare display, the blush on her cheeks extended to the tips of her ears.
"Idiot..." She muttered. "Don't say stuff like that. You have to mean it."
Tysone huffed as he pinched her cheek and made his way out.
He actually meant it.
…
The preparations to raid the industrial district were underway. Their truck needed to be ready. Their weapons too. Everything needed to be checked, and double-checked. Because anything less than that might prove fatal. In regards to their weapons, they were getting increasingly rustier with use. Now they faced stronger foes, so obviously, better tools of destruction and murder were a must.
Tysone's halberd was getting chipped. He didn't know how many uses of it he had left. The mansion was stocked full with weapons, but he feared that they would—if they were not already—losing effectiveness against evolved zombies.
Which meant that this raid was not a choice. The supply run had to be a success. Ores. Ammo. Cores. Food. Anything to up their survivability.
Because, at any given point, a horde might descend on their mansion. It didn't even have to be a horde. A swarm was still deadly to their group. Not even mentioning that whatever the evolved versions of the things were. They knew, from personal experience, that these things are relentless and insatiable, always in the pursuit to gorge themselves upon any living, breathing beings in their line of sight.
There was a lot resting on Tysone's shoulders. The mantle of leadership was a heavy one, but as he said to Mai, he wasn't about to let his group fall into danger. It helped that he was surrounded by highly competent people.
And so, for the next week, Tysone and Saeko trained everyone until their muscles throbbed, until Rei and Takashi were spitting blood. Until sweat, and even sometimes, their own blood, flew across grass. There wasn't a whole lot he could do to help Kohta, whose talent shone only with the touch of a gun. And in regard to the noncombatant group, well... he felt bad putting them through grueling workouts, but it had to be done.
Survival depended on it.
From running marathons around the mansion every morning, to night training on honing their shooting and combat techniques, and even some serious conditioning via heavy lifting, no one had been safe.
If Rei and Shizuka hadn't stopped him, even little Alice wouldn't have avoided Tysone's version of childcare.
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.