Power Fantasy

by Scottie Futch

  Saeko, as a character in the series, had certain personality traits that made it a bad idea for her to lead, but she was confident and an excellent fighter. Beyond that, in the anime she was something akin to the cool big sister of the group. She bemoaned the darkness inside of her that set her apart from others, but she did not unleash it on the innocent. Also, her weird parody existence here under the incredibly creative name ‘Saiko’ made him almost desperately wonder if there would be a certain bath time and cooking segment later in this strange new life that he now led.

  Jade? In the show her name was Rei. She never really showed any potential for such things as leadership. She spent most of her time being passive aggressive and possessive of someone she had thrown away. Scott didn’t dislike her in general, but he had coined the term ‘Survival Thot’ due to his thoughts on her. She was the kind of girl who would cling shamelessly to someone, even a guy whom she tossed aside for his best friend, just to survive. Nothing wrong with that really, people who wanted to live would invariably try different tactics, but that sort of attitude did not make for the rise of a proper leader.

  In the background there was another girl, one who scowled though she remained quite pretty in spite of it. Unless he missed his guess, she was this weird place’s version of Saya Takagi. She was the genius who would scream constantly, often while reasserting her genius, even though she was the one who discovered that the zombies were attracted by sound. A pink-haired twintail genius with daddy issues and a grating voice, her expositional ravings were useful for world-building in the series, but she rarely fought directly even with a firearm present. He did not actually dislike the character in the anime, but she was practically a parody of an anime teenage genius stereotype even before he had awakened in this place.

  “Did you take care of it…?” asked Saiko.

  “I gave them a minute, but yes. Took care of a few that were drawn here by that drill, and all the screaming along the way, too.” Scott nodded to her then glanced at the fatty. That had to be the parody of Kohta Hirano, if this world worked in that way.

  Kohta was that sort of character, a military otaku. In America he would be called a gun nut. Other than some emotional issues due to being bullied, he could have probably been the leader of the cast. Without him, everyone else would have died. Yet, it was obvious that he served that most ancient of tropes. He was the expert fatty sniper who would keep the leading man alive but couldn’t possibly steal his women or the spotlight. Essentially, he was a beta male with a gun who was safe to be around while the main male lead safely dealt with relationship drama and did the cool looking things that made anime panties drop.

  “You took care of them? What does that mean?” asked Tosh. His grip on the bat tightened further and his knuckles whitened.

  Scott quirked his eyebrow. While he did not recall ever being so cold about the idea of taking a life, human or otherwise, he also did not feel like explaining himself to people who could be a fever dream. “They turned. I set them free.”

  “That’s sick…” said Tosh.

  “You didn’t kill a single zombie on your way here? Not even one?” asked Scott coldly.

  It was still early in the series. From what he was hearing, it almost seemed like Tosh was projecting his own sense of guilt onto him. Of course, he should not know that sort of thing. So, he decided to feign a lack of knowledge. There was no way to know the truth about all of this at the moment, and he did not want to risk whatever survival advantage he had.

  “That’s different! There was no choice!” snapped Tosh.

  “Can we not…” asked Jade. She clutched at Tosh’s arm for a second. “Can we not fight like this!”

  “I’m not the one causing problems,” replied Scott.

  “The hell you aren’t!” snapped Tosh.

  Scott looked to Saiko. “Is it my deodorant? Why do angry dudes want to start shit with me today when I don’t even know them?”

  She snickered and tried to hide her smile. Tosh glowered darkly for a moment.

  “Stop being a hypocrite and let me in,” said Scott. “This is doing nothing but attracting attention we don’t need.”

  “No!” said Tosh. “It’s not safe to let someone like that in here. What if he decides to set us free, too?”

  The crowd murmured a bit, though Saiko and Summer kept quiet. They did not know him, but they had seen how he reacted earlier. He did not attack anyone until he was attacked, but he also did not hold back when the fight started.

  Scott, on the other hand, wondered why Tosh was acting this way. He should be happy to find any help in saving his own skin and keeping Jade alive.

  “So, you’ve been chosen to become the god emperor of the staff room?” asked Scott. “Everyone got together and decided you were in charge because of your amazing ability to kill zombies with a bat?”

  “What was that?” snarled Tosh. He raised his bat and stepped toward Scott. “Fuck you! It’s not safe to let you in here!”

  “Strange,” said Scott. “Here I am speaking in a calm and collected manner, but the angry hypocrite waving the bat around is screaming about how I’m the one who’s unhinged and will endanger us all.”

  That statement led to a shouting match. Rather Tosh shouted and Scott coolly replied to his words. For the life of him, Scott could not comprehend why Tosh was acting this way. It was like his existence was somehow a threat to the guy.

  Absurdly, a thought came to mind. Were Tosh’s harem senses tingling? Did the MC of the series sense a certain possibility on a subconscious level? Did his soul cry out to him in the depths of his heart? Do not let this man inside. He will steal your thunder and your girls.

  By that line of reasoning, Tosh’s apocalypse harem and main character status was being threatened by the arrival of a male cast member who wouldn’t be happy to simply give him back-up while he did things that made himself look cool.

  Admittedly, Scott had no desire to be anyone else’s supporting cast member while they built an apocalypse harem. He didn’t know if he could, or even would, build one of his own. Even so, he could not get the idea out of his head. Was Tosh being like this just because Scott’s arrival on the scene would turn the original MC into just another guy?

  That last thought resonated in Scott’s mind a bit as they argued. Takashi in the show, had seemed mostly interested in surviving and keeping the group alive. There was one thing, though. The way the entire series started involved him basically running down to the classroom to drag off Rei, whether she wanted to go or not. He barely explained anything, and when she rightly demanded answers, he slapped the taste out of her mouth.

  Jade, Tosh, and Hisashi. Though, the latter was named Sushi here for some reason. They were part of a love triangle. Jade and Tosh were childhood friends and more. Yet, in the show something happened that caused her to repeat her grade in school. Takashi demanded answers. Rei could not tell him because of the circumstances. He did not support her, and her heart turned to Hisashi.

  His thoughts ping-ponging back and forth between those names became annoying. So, he decided to think of them all by their names in this world. Despite the strong similarities, this place was not the show he knew. He could not rely on his knowledge of the anime. It would be best to focus on reality, rather than his recollection of one of his favorite fantasies.

  Instead of seeing his faults, Tosh basically became a surly he-bitch who skipped class and licked his wounds. It could be inferred that he blamed Jade for being disloyal even though he basically ignored her feelings after a traumatic experience.

  It had played out like a gag when it happened here, but the main protagonist’s so-called best friend had been completely ignored until he popped up from his seat to ask Tosh what he was doing. Tosh didn’t give a damn about anyone else. He wanted what he wanted. However, he also performed reckless actions based on what he wanted to do. In the end, it was always about him. What did Tosh want? Nothing else mattered.

  Scott understood that thought
process at least. His own thoughts did not see that factor as positive or negative in a civilization ending crisis. There was probably nothing wrong with that sort of thinking in an apocalypse, and because of the plot Tosh ended up helping the group more than harming it. Yet, he had done nothing at this point that could be seen as more than the selfish actions of a basic bitch. A fuckboi, if you will. He had cucked Sushi in front of everyone and didn’t bother to alert anyone with any ability to stem the tidal wave of death that was about to crash down. He saw it all as it first started happening. Hell. It could even be said that instead of acting to stop it from becoming worse Tosh chose to give everyone in the school the middle finger and let them die if it meant that he could get his girl back.

  True, it was unlikely that he could have done anything about the rest of the school. Yet, he had not bothered to try. Even Scott tried to get people to evacuate once he realized what was going on. Despite his declaration they acted like he was a nut. So, he could not entirely fault Tosh for hauling ass with the girl he thought of as his woman.

  Yet, the hero of the tale remained a manipulative bossy little turd. Most of the time in the show he seemed like an ordinary guy, but at times the bossy turd buried in his soul would rise up. He received a heart-to-heart moment with Saiko, promised he would stand by her and accept her. Even convinced her that she should live for him if nothing else, and then upon returning to the rest of the group his internal dialogue revealed that he had accepted her because he wanted her to keep him alive. The implication being that he did not accept her strange desires and inner darkness at all and was using her for his own ends.

  Scott stopped mid-sentence. He was torn from his verbal sparring and reverie by the sound of a grating voice.

  “Shut up, both of you!” snapped Not-Saya. Stalking towards the door her twintails streamed behind her. “You’re making too much noise.”

  “This guy!” snarled Tosh.

  “You know what? If you folks don’t want to add someone else to your little survival party who can fight and won’t hesitate to protect those around him because of the shrieking of a bossy little turd, that’s fine,” said Scott. “Toss me a set of keys. I’ll go find a car, and good luck to you.”

  “Wait… I’ll come with you,” said Summer. “I’ve already found the keys to the bus… So…”

  “Me too,” said Saiko.

  “We need to stay together!” groused Tosh.

  “Then get out of the way and stop throwing a tantrum,” said Scott coolly.

  “You leave! They should stay with us,” growled Tosh.

  Once again, Scott could not help but notice the exaggeration. The Tosh of this world seemed to also be a parody of the character he resembled. He could not believe that the original character would be this petty, at least not openly. At this point he should want all the help that he could get. Was his projection really that strong? Did what happened with Jade and Sushi really cause his insistence that someone like Scott not enter the room?

  No. There was something wrong here. This made no sense. Zombies were not attacking despite the noise. No matter what anyone said, Scott was not entering the room. It was as though the entire scenario was stuck in a loop.

  Suddenly, Scott realized what must have been happening. This world was a twisted take on an anime, but he personally had access to game mechanics. This scenario, could it be a blocked route? Was he not able to enter due to having chosen to stay behind earlier? Tosh did not go off like this until he heard that Scott remained behind to take care of people in a sense similar to a mob boss.

  “Then we are at an impasse,” said Scott. “Unlike you, I refuse to throw people away to get what I want. So, I won’t force my way inside.”

  “The fuck did you just say to me!” snapped Tosh.

  Scott snorted at him. “Whatever guilt you feel for throwing everyone in this school under the bus so you could run off with your ex-girlfriend, don’t put that shit on me. Douche.”

  Tosh broke out of the press of bodies and tried to grab Scott. While he had the strength of a proper main character, Tosh lacked the combat skills to make use of that strength.

  Scott, while not exactly a warrior did recently receive an upgrade to his fighting potential. When Tosh attempted to grab him, he slipped sideways and deflected him with the handle of his brush axe. Forced to the side, Tosh immediately felt Scott’s foot slam into his backside. He was sent sprawling.

  “Tosh!” cried Jade. She had been quiet for the most part during the argument. Now that her life support had literally gotten his ass kicked, she rushed forward with her makeshift spear, a weapon apparently made from a mop handle.

  Saiko stepped in and deflected her attack. “Let this play out. Scott could have killed him but didn’t.”

  “You son of a bitch!” snapped Tosh. Heedless of the danger he was in, he scrambled back to his feet and rushed toward Scott once more.

  Scott relied on his weapon mastery once again. He slid to the side and spun around in place at the last moment and struck from behind. He slammed the handle of his blade squarely into the groin of the enraged former protagonist.

  Tosh cried out and fell to the ground in a fetal position. “Fuck!” he squealed in a high-pitched falsetto. His breaths came in shudders and squeaks as he tried to fight through the pain of his shattered dreams.

  “Let me go!” snapped Jade.

  “Yeah. Let her go. If she wants to comfort the guy who got her boyfriend killed and abandoned the entire school for his own ends, go ahead,” said Scott.

  “Fuck you!” seethed Tosh through clenched teeth.

  “Uhm. What is he talking about,” asked Summer, “I heard him say something similar earlier…”

  “Yeah,” said Fake-Kohta. He raised his nail gun with trembling hands and pointed it toward Scott. “What’s going on.”

  Scott shrugged. “I think you were in that classroom. Weren’t you?”

  “Wait,” said Fake-Kohta, “You mean when he came in to get Mitsubishi?”

  “Yes. He said that he saw a teacher get killed,” said Scott. Though he silently heard the word ‘Mitsubishi’ flopping around inside his head. Was the girl really named Jade Mitsubishi?

  “It was like a few minutes later before that emergency alert was broadcasted,” said Scott. “So, he knew before it was all going to go down but decided to go cuck that Sushi guy instead of trying to do something that might have prevented all of this.”

  “There were probably a ton of them in the school by then,” snarked Not-Saya.

  Scott snorted at her. “If that were true, it would have been noticed long before he was able to get done with his little drama in the classroom.”

  Fake-Kohta’s eyes widened. “That…”

  “Stop saying things like that!” snapped Jade. “You’re just trying to start trouble!”

  “I literally did nothing but get shrieked at by this guy for the crime of not wanting a bunch of terrified girls to walk the earth snacking on the living,” said Scott. “Why do you cling so tightly to this guy, anyway? What happened to your boyfriend?”

  Jade glared at him, tears welling up in her eyes. “How dare you!”

  “Three of you left that classroom. Two of you are here,” said Scott. “Convenient that he saw all this going down before anyone, and instead of warning someone who might have been able to lock the doors to the school or something, he went to get you despite the fact that you have a boyfriend.”

  Tosh groaned loudly and then screamed out, “Fuck you!” once more. “Sushi was my friend!”

  “Now the guy he cucked happens to be dead, and you have no one to turn to but this guy.” Scott gestured to Tosh with his brush axe. “I’m willing to believe it’s all a coincidence. Hell, it probably is a coincidence given how hard it is to keep yourself alive right now.”

  Scott narrowed his eyes. “But I will be damned if I let someone who pulled a stunt like that berate me like I’m the one under suspicion.”

  “Asshole!” screamed Jade.


  “Is your boyfriend’s corpse even cold?” asked Scott. “Is he wandering around in search of you?”

  “Dammit!” cried Jade. She shook her head then gripped her spear tightly in her hands. “What business is it of yours?”

  “That thing on the floor made it my business,” said Scott. “All he had to do was not be a douche.”

  “Just stop it!” exclaimed Not-Saya. “Tosh isn’t like that!”

  Scott glanced toward the twintailed genius. He already knew the answer, but he chose to ask anyway. “Who is he to you, that you would know him that way?”

  “We grew up together! We’ve been friends all our lives,” announce Not-Saya righteously.

  “Strange. I don’t recall your dear friend trying to drag you out of the room,” said Scott. He snorted and pressed onward, “The dead were rising up to feast on the living, and he didn’t even bother to give a fuck about you despite the fact that you were in the same room.”

  “How dare you!” shouted Not-Saya.

  “He had the perfect opportunity to try and get out with you as well, but he didn’t even so much as look at you,” said Scott. “Hell, I at least tried to tell you all to run. You looked at me like I had lost my damned mind.”

  Scott snorted derisively. “Yet, here we are. I tried to warn you and I am treated as a danger, while the guy who didn’t give a shit if you got eaten alive caused a scene that will probably get us all eaten alive due to his shouting.”

  “How dare—” seethed Not-Saya loudly. However, her words died on her lips. She continued to scowl angrily, but it was obvious that his words shook her.

  “Why do you say these hateful things,” asked Jade tearfully. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “Again… I’m somehow the bad guy here? I’m not the one who started this shit,” said Scott. He offered her a look. “I’m just some guy who wants to live. Any guilt or innocence you two feel about what happened is your business.”