Life Prospects

"Huh, they've actually made something for themselves..." Saya mutter as she surveys things.

"Ooooh, this looks like the levels in Streetfighter!" Megumin says while looking between the buildings as if she were in a theme park.

Tiffania nods, "It's amazing that people can build these things without magic."

"Eh, I think I preferred it when it was covered in zombies." Michael adds with folded arms.

Saya sniffs, "Only because you 'Powerup' every time you kill one. For the rest of us it's a living nightmare."

"I don't know, I feel like a zombie apocalypse might've been a good thing for this world. No corrupt politicians, no armies strong-arming innocent people, no idiots with no basic survival skills or self-preservation... The world has returned to that dangerous part of history where you'd have to fight off a big ass bear with nothing but a bow and a knife."

"I don't completely disagree, but evil people are still around... Unless you don't think the rich, famous, and influential haven't holed themselves up in a bunker somewhere? Once the zombies rot away they'll be back, and back for good this time... Everyone else will become Serfs that live only to serve them."

Michael shrugs, "Probably, but we'll just have to return every decade or so to personally deal with it... Having a private world to do as I like sounds pretty good to me."

"Yes, very selfless of you." Saya drawls before shaking her head, "Shall we go find the others then? See if they're still alive?"

Michael smirks, "You're worried about your cuck-friend, aren't you?"

"No! I'm worried that they'd have gotten Kohta killed with their antics!"

"Right."

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The peculiarly dressed group make their way around the business district and eventually stumble into some people wielding spears, machetes, and axes. Each was fully covered in thick makeshift-leather clothing and had gas masks concealing their faces.

"Hold! Who are you!? And why are you in our territory!?"

"Huh, you'd think they'd remember us... It's only been like, a year or something right?..." Michael wonders aloud.

Saya shrugs, "They probably have more important things to worry about, like zombies maybe?"

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Listen or you'll end up with your brain spilling out on the road!"

"That's a good one actually... Brains, zombies eat brains, very thematic." Michael nods in satisfaction at them, only angering them further.

"Stop annoying them already... We're here to meet Takashi, Rei, Kohta, and Shizuka." Saya says before addressing the scavengers who pause upon hearing that.

"Er, like, all at once or one at a time? Takashi Komuro and Kohta Hirano lead different survivor groups... I don't know who the others are except Rei, who's Takashi's woman..."

"Different groups? What're those idiots doing now..." Saya mutters while pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Who owns all this shit?" Michael asks, gesturing to the business district.

"That's Takashi territory."

"Could you take us to him?"

"Er, we're kinda in the middle of scoutin-"

"Beans." Michael interrupts, tossing a couple tins of beans he'd retrieved from his inventory.

"DEAL!"

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Michael and the others walk into a finely furnished room that looks distinctly different from the harsh mangled exterior that everything else in the apocalyptic world had. Expensive carpets, beautiful hardwood furniture, working electronics, and ever a jukebox on the corner playing a chipper tune...

Over on one of the fancy couches sat a bearded more muscled Takashi with a more mature-looking Rei resting her head on his lap.

"Hmph, I'm surprised you don't have a harem of girls at your feet like Jabba the Hutt." Saya snarks.

"S-Saya!?" Takashi happily exclaims, accidentally knocking Rei's head away as he stands. Worse, she scowls as he goes to wrap the pinkette in a hug, only for him to be denied as Saya holds up a hand.

"Stop right there Cuckashi. I'm not interested in getting between whatever you and Rei have got going on..." she states.

He lets out a huff despite still smiling, "Can you get past the 'Cuck' thing already? I already got enough of it from Kohta... How about we talk about what you've been up to since you left? Those robes look... Magical..." he awkwardly comments.

"I thought you and Kohta weren't friendly anymore?" Saya inquires, ignoring his blatant attempt at flirting... Rei had also noticed it and was glaring daggers into Takashi's back.

Takashi's smile fades as he slumps slightly, "Kohta has... Changed..."

"Changed how?"

...

Takashi reaches over to a drawer and pulls out a photo, showing it to the group.

There, they see the 'changes'... Instead of the fat otaku-looking Kohta they all remember, they see a large shirtless teen with big muscles, an evil grin, and many straps of ammo covering him. That combined with the red bandana he wore made him look like Asian Rambo...

"Wow, Fatty lost weight..." Saya says, shocked at the radical changes the guntaku had gone through.

"Fatty got stacked." Michael adds, sincerely surprised that he'd changed so much... He shouldn't really be though, in a zombie apocalypse there were some benefits to losing weight and becoming the embodiment of 'Alpha as fuck'.

"Yeah, that's what every else thought, then he got it in his head that he could tell everyone what to do and think... Really, he's gone crazy!"

"Uh huh... What's he done that's 'crazy'?" Michael asks, not trusting Takashi's version of things in the slightest.

"He's joined up with the Takagi estate and started working as a commander of sorts... They go around the area killing both people and zombies. Seriously, if you run into him-... Er, well, do what you want I guess?" he says, realising who he was talking to.... "Just don't trust his word, he's not sane anymore..."

"So if we wanted to talk to him we'd have to go to the Takagi estate then...?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright."