This was the day. He had finally built enough courage to say what he has been meaning to say for a month.
The sun was bleeding out behind the rooftops when Ken decided he couldn't keep it inside anymore.
They were standing outside the convenience store, plastic bags rustling, the kind of quiet between them that used to feel comfortable. Now it just felt tight.
Momo was talking about a movie. Something funny. He wasn't listening.
His heart was pounding so loud it drowned her out.
"Momo."
She looked up, smiling. "Yeah?"
"I… love you."
He hadn't meant for it to come out like that so blunt, so small. But there it was. Hanging between them like a mistake.
For three seconds, the world stopped.
Then Momo's expression shifted. Not shock. Not anger. Just that soft, apologetic look that felt like someone closing a door gently in your face.
Okarun… you're amazing. You really are. But…"
Her voice trembled. "I don't feel that way. I'm sorry."
The sound of the city blurred cars, voices, everything fading until it was just the wind moving the wrappers at their feet.
Ken forced a laugh. "Right. Figures."
He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes burning. "Don't worry. It's not a big deal."
"Ken!!!"
"Really, Momo. I'm fine."
He smiled, and it felt like swallowing glass.
Then he turned away before she could see him fall apart.
---
He walked until the streets turned to dirt and the noise of people became the hiss of crickets.
Every step felt like a lie.
His phone buzzed her name flashing again and again. Are you okay? Please answer.
He switched it off.
He didn't want to be found.
Not by her, not by anyone.
Rain started to fall not hard, just enough to sting his skin. The world blurred at the edges, neon lights stretching into streaks of color. He thought about the System, the one he'd rejected when it asked him to set everything in motion.
He could've had power. He could've rewritten this entire world. But he'd said no because Momo's happiness mattered more than his own story.
And what did that get him?
Nothing. Not even a reason to stay.
He laughed once, sharp and hollow.
It echoed off the empty road like a ghost laughing back.
---
By midnight, he reached the forest. The path was half-buried in mist, the kind of place people whispered about and never visited twice.
Somewhere deep inside was a cave a place of curses, old spirits, the kind of nightmare that didn't end at sunrise.
Perfect. Just what he wanted.
He stepped inside.
Cold air wrapped around him instantly, thick and wet. The walls glistened with moisture; the ceiling dripped like the cave itself was breathing.
He stumbled forward until the light from outside disappeared completely.
> "You're here, aren't you?" he shouted. "The ghost that kills people?"
No answer. Just the sound of water and his own heartbeat.
> "Then do it!" His voice cracked. "Come on! I'm right here!"
Still nothing.
He slammed his fists against the rock until his knuckles split.
> "You take everyone else so take me too! Please!"
His words broke into sobs.
"It's your fault! It's all your fault! You made this world so unfair! You"
He stopped, gasping. Even he didn't know who he was blaming the System, fate, God, himself.
Something moved behind him.
A dry laugh scraped through the darkness.
"You came all this way… just to die?"
Ken spun around. A figure stepped out of the black small, bent, with hair like cobwebs and eyes that glowed faintly blue. Her grin stretched impossibly wide, filled with teeth that weren't teeth anymore.
Turbo Granny.
He'd found her. Or maybe she'd been waiting.
"You don't even flinch," she said, voice echoing. "Most humans scream by now."
He wiped his face with the back of his hand, smearing blood and tears together.
"Just do it," he whispered. "Kill me."
"Why?"Granny asked.
"Because I can't take it anymore!" he shouted, voice breaking. "I gave up everything, and it still wasn't enough! I don't want another day of this—this pretending!"
His knees gave out. He fell forward, hands pressed to the cold ground, sobbing like a child.
Turbo Granny tilted her head. She'd seen terror, greed, cruelty but never this. Never a soul that wanted death without hatred.
"You're not afraid of me," she murmured. "You're already empty."
She crouched beside him, bones creaking, the stench of old incense and decay thick around her. For a long time she just watched him cry. Then, slowly, she reached out one clawed hand resting lightly on his shoulder.
"You poor little fool," she said softly. "Death won't fix you. It'll just make you quiet."
"That's all I Fucking want."
"No. You want someone to hear you."
He looked up, eyes red and hollow. She smiled not cruelly this time, but almost gently.
"You'll stay here," she said. "If the world has no place for you, make this one yours. I'll teach you how not to break every time it hurts."
Ken didn't answer. He didn't have the strength. He just sat there, shaking, while the old ghost settled beside him.
The cave was silent again two broken things breathing the same air.
And for the first time in her cursed eternity, Turbo Granny spared a life.
Not out of mercy.... but because she saw herself in the boy who came to die.
Outside, the rain started again, gentle and endless, as if the world itself was mourning quietly for both of them.
---
WARNING ⚠️
Hello Author here this story will mainly focus the phscological point of view of depressed ken.
While there is ALSO Romance and potentially Harem.
This will also have some action as despite not meeting aliens they will still fight spirits.l think so
Don't expect much as l only watch the anime🤗