Game of Mass Destruction (COMPLETE AND AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK)

♕Day One - Part I: Happy Surprise Tours♕

"You must remember, my dear lady, the most important rule of any successful illusion: First, the people must want to believe in it."

― Libba Bray

Just play along. Pretend you haven't got a clue what's going on! Once you're at the airport, find the silver bus that says Happy Surprise Tours. Don't worry, if you can't find them, they'll find you."

Her mother's words had burned inside Yuzuko's brain. Game of Mass Destruction was a crazy show. People believed that the game was a hoax and that all the family stories were nothing more than fake news. She knew it was real, and the fact she was nominated just solidified the fact. Sweat poured from her forehead, swerving her shoulders to get through to her suitcases.

"Sakura?" Yuzuko noticed her girlfriend was leaning towards one side. It was the first flight that the two of them had taken outside of Asia. London was their number one choice for a honeymoon, but the dream had been corrupted.

"Oh!" Sakura straightened herself up. Her long hair slapped Yuzuko's face. "I'm fine, just jet-lagged. Plus, looking at that wretched woman's face makes me want to puke."

The wretched woman was non-other than Sia Bucks. Her grandfather told her bedtime stories as a child. Sia was the wicked witch in every single story. Yuzuko would fight online trolls daily, although Sakura urged her to just report them and move on. With no father figure in her life, her grandfather was her rock.  

In the airport she could see how her grandfather's work had influenced the world; people were checking in and out with their phones, rings, watches, even fingerprints. His iconic jog plastered on advertisements. Although older generations claimed he stole the routine from a footballer called Peter Crouch. 

Drones carried advertisements for Game of Mass Destruction. Posters of Sia Bucks plastered all over the walls. Every half mile had fans of the show fighting against protesters with the police struggling to maintain the peace.

Yuzuko was about to walk past it until she heard a familiar voice.

"Will they ever shut up about Game of Mass Destruction?" She couldn't mistake that loud voice for anyone other than Todd Patrick, the British gym junkie from one of the game servers. 

"Hey!" Sakura said, taking selfies behind the Union Jack flag. "Those guys sound familiar. I think that's Todd and Bobby."

"From the Choco Donuts group chat?" Yuzuko asked.

"Let's go and see them."

Yuzuko and Sakura approached the two men who appeared to be having a general banter. Todd was looking over at Bobby, who had his head stuck in his console. "Are you still playing that stupid Chocolate Donut game?"

"I thought you liked that game!" Yuzuko interrupted them. Sakura lept up and surprised Todd by covering his eyes.

Yuzuko could only see Todd's back but could tell from the upbeat voice that he was glad to see them. "Sakura! Yuzuko! What are you guys doing here."

"We're on a trip to the UK."

Bobby looked up at Todd when Sakura opened his eyes. Taking no notice of the bustle. "For the record Todd, I think the story behind it is a masterpiece. It's so addicting. Got pretty much all the merchandise for it." He smiled at Yuzuko and Sakura. "It's good to see you two as well."

"You mean in that pink room?" Todd mentioned. Yuzuko remembered the room Bobby saved for his daughter from pictures. "You really do need to get out more."