Our story starts quite similarly to the one you're familiar with. Ayase gets dumped by her boyfriend who she went out with because he looked like Ken Takakura, when she suddenly finds herself standing up for a boy with glasses who is relentlessly bullied by his classmates. He then goes on a rant about his obsession with aliens, and Ayase is having none of it. Where our stories differ however is Ken never goes down into the aforementioned tunnel to prove ghosts don't exist. At least, not by himself.
Too stubborn to consider the existence of aliens, Ayase refuses to go to Ken's location and decides she will do anything to prove to him that ghost's exist.
"Ghost's really do exist, idiot", she says. "Oh really?! Prove it then!" Ken responds. The argument between the two was a lot more heightened and escalated than the one you've seen, as the two refuse to back down from their viewpoint. Ayase finally takes a deep breath, taking a break from her agitated state to explain her idea. Crossing her arms, she says, "There's a tunnel ways away from here. Rumor has it, a powerful ghost thrives there. If you're really not scared, then you'll come and see for yourself." Ken frowns. "Oh I get it! So you don't want to come to my alien place, but now you're asking me to come to your ghost place! You're a hypocrite!" Ayase becomes agitated again. "Hey! At least ghosts live on Earth! No one is going to believe something from another planet exists!" She then calms herself down again. "You're only dodging it because you're a scaredy cat. You're scared of ghosts, and you're scared I might be right and there's actually one in the tunnel."
In embarrassment, Ken blushes. "Wha- hey! I'm not scared. And a scaredy cat is a very immature way to put it!"
"Well if you don't want to go, what else am I supposed to think?"
Thinking for a moment, Ken adjusts his glasses before looking down and coming to a conclusion. "Fine…I'll come with you."
"Great. We can ride the train there and walk after school.", Ayase reaches out to shake Takakura's hand who begrudgingly accepts it.
The bell of the last period of the day rang loudly through the halls, and without ever knowing it, simultaneously, in two different classrooms, both Ken and Ayase sprung from their seats. Two two crashed down different stairwells heading towards Ayase's locker where they had planned to meet. Ayase was there first. She leaned against her locker and stared at the stairwell, waiting for Ken to meet her.
"I guess he chickened out", she said to herself. She turned around to head out the front doors when she stopped in her tracks to turn towards the sound of shoes quickly hitting the stairwell. Ken comes down the stairs and rushes to greet her.
"Hello Ms-uhh…we haven't shared names yet have we?", he said sheepishly.
Ayase raises her eyebrows in shock. "No, I guess we haven't. I'm Momo Ayase. Call me Ayase."
"Alright Ms. Ayase!" Ken says confidently.
"Uhh it's just Ayas-"
He cuts her off. "Well Ms. Ayase. My name is Ken. Ken Takakura."
Suddenly, Ayase feels a pit growing deep in her gut and her face begins to feel warm. "Wha-what! That is NOT your name!", she takes it out on the boy.
"Wait, what do you mean?" Ken says, scratching his neck, clearly befuddled.
"You're a total liar!", she yells even louder this time. Students in the area begin to look in their direction, but only Ken notices, making him feel embarrassed. "SHHH, quiet down! You're making a scene." He then stomps his foot on the ground. "And that's my real name! I don't know what your problem is."
"Yeah dude, I'm not calling you that. I'm calling you Okarun, take it or leave it." She says, a little agitated.
Ken looks at her like she has gone insane. "Uhh…ok, but that is my name"
Ayase sighs and then turns toward the entrance of the school. "Well we should probably head out then. We don't want to miss the train."
The two tread down to the station from school, and awkwardly sit next to each other in silence as they wait for a train to stop in front of them. Both of them felt a fresh bit of relief when one finally arrived, only to then be trapped in the same situation as they sat in silence on the train. Finally, the train reached their destination and Ayase gestured over to Okarun…or Ken to get off. They then overlooked a very wooded and desolate area of the region, buildings visibly in more decay than they were near their school. Ayase breaks the silence. "Come on. Follow me." The sun was starting to fall down, leaving a very beautiful sky, but also a very frightful future for Ken as he felt a shiver run down his spine. "Do you think we should be out here this late?", he asked. "Ghosts only come out at night.", Ayase calmly explains.
Soon, the pair reach the entrance of the tunnel. Without much hesitation, Ayase marches in with Ken sheepishly following behind. Ken stops for just a moment to reach in his backpack for a flashlight, as the sunlight failed to reach the depths of the tunnel. "Do you always have that on you?", Ayase says after noticing Ken turning it on. "You never know when you might need one. I'm surprised people don't carry one!", he responds. Thinking to herself, Ayase wonders, how often is this guy looking through dark spaces? Regardless, she was never scared of the dark, but she was grateful for the light. They wouldn't have been able to see anything if he hadn't brought it. The two go deeper and deeper into the tunnel, and Ken looks back towards the entrance, clearly nervous. "Don't look back there. You'll only make yourself want to leave more.", Ayase says to him. Ken takes a big gulp, when suddenly his flashlight starts to flicker.
"No way! I changed the batteries this morning!", he says as he hits the bottom of the tool with the palm of his hand. He then shivers and grabs both his shoulders, hugging himself, causing him to drop his flashlight. "And why did it suddenly get so cold?"
"My Grandma warned me about this. If you suddenly feel a drop in temperature and lights stop working, it's probably a ghost." Ayase cleverly remarks. Ken doesn't seem to be very pleased to hear this. "Ghosts aren't real! And why are you saying this so casually? Do you WANT to see one?"
Ayase gives Ken a "duh of course" look. "Umm…yeah? Isn't that why we're here?"
Suddenly they hear a gutteral cackle from the shadows. Footsteps slap against the dirt floor, coming closer and closer with every step. Ken hurriedly grabs his flashlight from the floor pointing it in the direction of the noise. A skimpy figure with a hard red face, big googly yellow eyes and white frizzy hair is revealed. "Let me suckle your peen." She says as she stares at Ken. "I-it's Turbo Granny!", Ayase shouts. "A…wha-who?!", Ken exclaims. Suddenly the figure jumps on the wall and sprints towards the two.
"Run!", Ayase yells. She and Ken immediately start hitting the floor as hard and fast as they can, running back the way they had come. "See! I told you ghosts were real!", Ayase smiles. "Seriously! How can you smile at a time like this! Is proving me wrong that important when we're about to die!", Ken screams.
As they run, the entrance appears to get further and further away from them. Turbo Granny runs up the roof and lunges for Ken.
"AHH! Why is she after me?!", Ken screams.
Turbo Granny licks her lips and opens her mouth. "I want your peen boy!" Ken yelps and starts to run even faster. "You can't have it!", he says as tears form in his eyes. Turbo Granny hits the floor and jumps at Ken, who looks back. His life begins to flash before his eyes as the ghost outpaces him. Suddenly Ayase jumps in front of the ghost with a stick she had found on the ground. "Leave him alone you hag!", she yells, swinging the stick toward her. Turbo granny swiftly dodges it, and uses the wall to propel herself towards Ken who is still running. "No! Okarun, watch out!", Ayase exclaims.
However, right before Granny was able to grab Ken with her dirty claws, Ken quickly floats back towards Ayase, who has her hand reached towards him. Ken screams as he flies through the air before fainting.
"What the?! How did you do that little girl!", Turbo Granny, now angry and confused screams. "Don't know, don't care. What's important now is kicking your ass!", Ayase confidently tells her. She charges up a powerful kick and makes the surrounding rocks and pebbles fly around her. Despite the ghost's attempt to catch Ayase's leg, her foot hits her square in the face hard. As if that wasn't enough, all the rocks Ayase had controlled all combined into one boulder, flying straight into Turbo Granny, which had smashed her into the wall. "Brats!", she screams, spitting a piece of rock out that had gotten in her mouth.
Ayase lifts up her palm towards the ghost and pebbles float around her, aimed directly at her, "Give it up Turbo Granny! If you let us leave peacefully, we won't have to fight anymore!" Turbo Granny positions herself in a track runner position. "You may be a strong brat. But you'll have to catch me first!" She sprints around the tunnel at a speed so fast, she looks like nothing but a blur. After running around Ayase for a while, she manages to sneak behind her and lunges. "I don't even want his peen anymore! With your power, I could be unstoppable!" Ayase gasps as Turbo Granny enters her body. Her body begins to twitch and her face slowly begins to be covered by the face of Turbo Granny. "I've got you now!" Turbo Granny relishes in her happiness as she slowly takes over Ayase's body. Ayase grunts and attempts to resist. "This is taking a little longer than usual. You have quite a strong will", Turbo Granny praises the girl.
As Ayase begins to slowly be taken over by the ghost, losing her sense of self, she has a memory of something her Grandma had spoken to her a few years back. She was in her room when she came out to see her grandmother sitting in their living room. "Ayase…did you know that some ghosts have the power to possess humans?", she speaks to her granddaughter while keeping her eyes on the TV. Ayase, almost ready to roll her eyes, responds. "Yes grandma. You've told me this a million times already." Her grandmother lets out an agitated tch. "Listen up. I never told you the ways you can stop a ghost from completely taking over you. There are only a few ways to do it. Your first option, is to kill yourself." Ayase looks at her grandmother in confusion. Her grandma sees this and clarifies. "Sorry my bad. That's your last option. If you die while a ghost possesses you, the ghost will also die, so a ghost will do anything to keep your body alive if it wants to stay in you for any reason. You could also exorcise it, but that's old fashioned. And have you watched any horror movies? Exorcism never works half the time. Are you listening?" Ayase nods her head.
Her grandmother turns back towards the TV. "Just making sure. Finally, you can take control of the ghost."
"Control?" Ayase asks?
"Yes. When ghosts take over a human, they take a big risk because no matter who possesses who first, the dominant soul will always take over. Some people are strong enough to entrap a ghost in their body, allowing them to not only gain back control of their body, but also tap into the power of the ghost. With the power ghosts who seek humans possess however, you usually need some pretty neat powers to do something like that though. I couldn't see you doing anything like that in the near future."
"Hey you hag!" Ayase yells.
Back in the tunnel, Ayase awakens from her memory. "Thank you grandma" she whispers to herself. She reaches out her hand, using her psychic powers on none other than herself. She grabs the aura of Turbo Granny and confines it as her face begins to turn back to normal.
"Wha-what are you doing!" Turbo Granny screeches.
"Locking you up forever", Ayase explains.
"No! You wouldn't. You can't do this! This is my power!"
"And this is MY body. My rules", Ayase gives one last push before she completely absorbs Turbo granny, restoring her appearance to normal. Much to her dismay, she can still hear the voice of Turbo granny next to her ear. She looks on her shoulder and sees a small red worm-like figure peeking out of her soldier. "Hey! I'm talking to you, you brat!" Turbo granny in her new measly form exclaims. Ayase slyly smiles. "Awww. You're kind of cute like that."
Ken groans as he sits up, dusting his clothes off after having laid on the ground. "What happened?"
"You're awake. You"ve missed a lot. Not only did I prove to you that ghosts are real, but I have psychic powers." Ayase says.
"What! Psychic powers? Show me!" Ken smiles and excitedly waits.
Ayase lifts up her hands. "Sure thing." She picks up a few rocks and smashes them against a wall.
"Oh. That's it?", Ken asks. Ayase winces. "You jerk! What do you mean that's it! I just moved rocks with my mind!" Ken adjusts his glasses. "Yeah but, when you said psychic, I was expecting more than moving pebbles. What about pyrokinesis? Mind control? Can't you like…read minds?" Ayase growls, "You're lucky I don't use my mind to throw you into a wall!"
Ayase and Ken walk out of the tunnel to a pitch black sky filled with stars. "So Ms. Ayase. What happened to Turbo Granny?" Ken asked. Ayase sighs. "Come on out." The small worm that is Turbo Granny sprouted from Ayase's shoulder. "Right here pipsqueak!" Ken, looking surprised, points to Ayase's shoulder. He covers his mouth trying to hold in a laugh. "THAT'S Turbo granny?! But she's so small!" Turbo granny gives the boy the evilest evil eye that ever eviled. "You're one to talk! You barely have anything down there!"
Ken's face quickly becomes red, and Ayase looks at him awkwardly. "Ho-hey! How do you know what I have down there anyways? That's none of your business!" Ken says in a hurry. Ayase giggles, making Ken even more red. After Ayase settles down, she then breaks the bad news to Ken. "Umm…well, I should probably head home now. We have school tomorrow after all." The statement made Ken wake up from a trance of excitement he had been in since he first encountered the ghost in the tunnel. To think after an experience like that, the two were supposed to just go home and go to school the next day. It was his first time for a lot of things that night, experiences most people will never have. However, what Ken mostly had his mind on was that in a way, he had actually hung out with Ms. Ayase! Sure, the circumstances were…peculiar, but studies show that people who go through traumatic experiences together often end up in very great friendships afterwards, even strangers. And what would happen after this? Would they go back to being strangers after this? Ken didn't know.
"Umm…are you going home too?" Ayase asks. It was then that Ken realized this whole time he had been thinking about the endless possibilities of his and Ms. Ayase's possible friendship, he had left her in complete silence. "Oh, um yeah. I-I'll see you later.", he waves and turns around to head towards the station. Crap. He meant to just leave and tell her to have a good night, but he accidentally said see you later. Now, Ms. Ayase probably thinks he wants to hang out again, and that just comes off as desperate. He turns back around. "Uh..sorry, I meant to just say have a good night."
Ayase, confused, tilts her head. "Why are you apologizing?"
Ken rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry…I-I'm an awkward guy."
Ayase feels a rush of emotions surge through her body and her face reddens. "What! Don't say that!" She exclaims in a frustrated tone. "Why?" Ken reasonably asks. Ayase sighs. "Just don't, ok?" She turns around to tread to her house and stomps down the road for a second before stopping dead in her tracks. "S-see you tomorrow, Okarun."
Ken felt a wave of something, but he wasn't able to identify it. Perhaps this is exactly what he had been wanting to hear. But why did it matter so much? It was clear that he needed some time to process what he just hear- wait…did Ms. Ayase just say she would see him tomorrow? Does that mean she still wants to talk to him? But there are quite simply so many improbabilities with that. Ken had assumed that Ayase had only wanted to prove ghosts exist to him, and once she had, which she did, she would win and they wouldn't have to talk about it anymore. But Ken has always liked debates. Sure he didn't believe in ghosts before, but having the opportunity to explain to someone why he didn't was enjoyable. And he still hasn't been able to prove aliens exist to her, so maybe…
"Hey. You proved ghosts exist. Maybe sometime I can prove to you aliens exist. Then we'll be even. I know a place where there were a lot of sightings." , he said. Ayase turns back around to look at him. "Sounds good. You can spare me the details for tomorrow." She waves and walks down the road. Ken smiles. "See you tomorrow!"
As Ayase waddles home, tired from the long day, we can look inside of her…mind, and see none other than Turbo granny, concocting a plan for herself.
"So, I can't escape this body and I can't use my powers to take control of it. But, I can read her mind. I'm no fool…this brat has a crush on the other brat! All I need is a few seconds and I can steal the boy's balls. Then, I can transfer myself over to him, and I should have no trouble taking complete control over his weak insignificant body. Then, I'll teach this girl a lesson! The only issue with my genius plan…in order for me to transfer directly from one body to another, I need genital to genital contact! Luckily for me, that boy looks easy to manipulate, and the girl is already head over heels for him!" Turbo granny cackles. "I just have to find a way to get them to sleep together."
Turbo granny then sits inside the mind of Ayase in awkward silence. This is an incredibly stupid plan, but she has no other options . Snarling, she continues. "Never, in my centuries of living have I ever been so humiliated in my life!"