The scent of garlic rice lingered in the air, mixing with the soft hiss of stir-fried vegetables cooling on chipped porcelain. Inside a modest apartment lit by warm kitchen light, Akino sat across from his mom, a bowl of food between his fingers and exhaustion in his eyes.
He was seventeen, thin, with dark blue hair that hadn't been trimmed in weeks, and a part-time job that barely paid enough to keep his phone data active. His uniform shirt was wrinkled. His socks didn't match. His expression, somewhere between "barely alive" and "resigned," made him look older than he was.
"Akino!" his mom called, setting the last plate on the table. "It's time to eat. Come down here."
"Yes, Mom! I'm coming!"
He shuffled into the kitchen, sat, and dug in without a word. The clatter of spoons and plates echoed softly, familiar and comforting.
"You sure you have enough time to eat?" she asked, watching him shovel down eggs like the clock was a ticking bomb.
"Yeah. Work's just a 15-minute walk," he mumbled, mouth full. "Besides, I already know I'll be mopping the whole night anyway."
She laughed, eyes crinkling. "That's fine. Hard work builds character."
Akino looked up with a crooked grin. "If that's the case, I should be the main character in my own tragic anime by now."
"Well," she chuckled, "as long as it's not the kind where the mom dies in episode one."
Akino paused mid-bite. The joke hung awkwardly in the air. He gave a soft, nervous chuckle.
"Mom... Don't joke like that."
A beat of silence passed between them.
"You've grown up so fast," she said softly.
"Mom..."
"I'm just saying. I'm proud of you. You're juggling a part-time job, school—"
"—and being falsely accused of slacking off every day," Akino cut in, standing up in mock defiance.
His mom laughed again. "If you're not a slacker, then why are you wearing two different socks?"
Akino looked down. Damn. She was right.
"Ugh—bye!" he groaned.
"Don't forget to buy eggs on your way home!" she called out.
"Yeah, yeahhh."
"And be safe! Love you!"
"Love you too," he said over his shoulder.
Golden Hour
The sky glowed orange as Akino walked past old buildings and sizzling street food stalls. Grease smoke clung to the air. The world felt alive — noisy, ordinary, predictable.
"Yo! Minimum wage slave!" a voice called out across the street.
Ryo. His best friend. His co-worker. His emotional support idiot.
Clocking in beside him was more ritual than necessity at this point.
"Clocking in early, huh?" Ryo asked, jogging up to him.
"Yeah. Same lifestyle every day," Akino replied, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pockets.
"Man, after this shift, we're hitting that bar across the highway. I need to forget the world."
"You know I'm still seventeen, right?"
Ryo smirked. "Right, right. Milk for you. Got it."
"You're just one year older than me, dumbass."
"And yet so much more mature."
Akino gave him a side-eye. "Right."
Work Shift
The evening bled into night in a series of monotonous motions.
Akino mopped aisles, restocked snacks, helped an old woman with canned goods, smiled at a kid buying candy, and argued with a chip shelf that refused to stay straight.
Between breaks, he'd throw sarcastic jabs at Ryo, who gave as good as he got. The hours crawled, but the rhythm was comforting in its own dull way.
At 9:55 PM, he glanced up at the clock.
"Five more minutes."
But as they were about to end their shift. The door SLAMMED open with a bang.
Two masked men burst in — one waving a pistol, the other gripping a baseball bat.
"DOWN! NOW!" the man with the gun barked.
Akino and Ryo froze.
"EMPTY THE REGISTER!" screamed the second. "GIVE US ALL THE MONEY!"
"C-crap! Okay! Okay!" Ryo stammered, rushing to the till with trembling hands.
Akino followed, heart hammering. The gunman towered over them like a shadow.
"MOVE IT!"
Ryo fumbled, shoving bills into a black gym bag.
"MOVE FASTER! YOU WANNA DIE?!"
The bat smashed into the counter with a violent CRACK. Akino flinched hard.
"I-I'm going as fast as I can!" Ryo whimpered.
Then — the faint sound of sirens.
"Shit!" the bat wielder hissed. "Someone's coming!"
"I hear a siren! I think it's the police!"
"GRAB IT! GO!"
They fled with only part of the cash, the door slamming behind them.
Silence.
Akino and Ryo stood still, shaking.
"Was that… the cops?" Akino asked.
Ryo crept toward the door and peeked out. "I think… no. It's just an ambulance."
Akino let out a slow breath. "Of course it is…"
Aftermath
They sat on a bench outside the store, still dazed.
"I thought we were gonna die," Akino said quietly.
"I thought so too," Ryo muttered. "I even leaked my pants."
Akino turned. "Wait—what?"
"I panicked. Let out the weakest fart of my life. My body just gave up, man."
Akino tried not to laugh.
"That's not all. I saw the flashing lights and thought, 'Finally! Cops!' — but no. Freakin' ambulance."
"Could've been worse."
"Worse!? We got robbed. I disgraced myself. And our 'hero' was on their way to help someone who tripped in the shower."
"You're the worst lucky charm alive."
"The universe plays dice. And I rolled fart."
"Right. Of course."
"No seriously! I get it bad. Failed math. No prom date. Now this! I swear, if the world ends, it'll probably start right in front of me!"
Akino chuckled. "You're dramatic."
"Dramatic? I'm cursed!"
Beat of Silence.
"Honestly, I was scared back there," Ryo said.
"Yeah… me too."
Ryo cracked open two beer cans.
"You want one?"
Akino hesitated. "...Yeah. Screw it. Just this once."
He took a sip. The can trembled in his hand. It slipped from his grip, clattering to the ground.
"Whoa. What's wrong?" Ryo asked.
Akino's eyes widened. "L-look…"
They both turned upward.
Above them, a glowing comet streaked across the sky — unnaturally close, with fire trailing like a celestial sword.
"That's not a shooting star…" Ryo murmured.
Akino's gut twisted. "...Something's wrong."
Then — the comet exploded mid-air.
A brilliant detonation tore the heavens apart.
A blast of fire. A wall of sound. A wave of light and destruction.
KRRRBOOOOMMMM!!!
They dove behind a car as a fiery shockwave swept through the city. Dust, glass, paper — everything airborne.
Chunks of the comet broke off, some glowing like molten metal.
Ryo clutched his head. "It exploded in midair. That's good, right?!"
"I-I think so…"
Until—
A chunk crashed into the convenience store roof behind them. CRAAAAASH!!
The shockwave knocked them off their feet. Akino slammed into a wall. Pain seared through his arm.
A hot sting. He looked down.
A glowing shard of comet debris had embedded itself in his forearm. Black liquid — inky — was seeping into his veins.
"Man! You okay!? You're bleeding!" Ryo ran over.
"I'm fine…It's just a scratch." Akino said through gritted teeth.
Then — another explosion happened near them.
A distant KABOOMMMM!.
Akino's heart dropped. He recognized the direction.
His apartment.
"Wait…" he muttered. "That explosion… That came from—!"
"Was that where your apartment is!?"
"I have to go!"
"Me too! My family's that way!"
They ran.
No goodbyes. Just pure instinct.
Akino raced through chaos — people screaming, streets cracking, cars overturned. Buildings collapsed around him like sandcastles.
"Please be okay, Mom."
He reached his street. Flames rose like dying gods. The apartment building he called home… torn open like a box of paper.
"Mom!? MOM!!!"
No answer.
He climbed through rubble, coughing through smoke.
Then — he saw her.
Or rather, he saw him.
A pale-skinned, red-eyed figure. Tall. Inhuman. Veins glowing. A Demon Lord in human form, standing amidst the wreckage.
And in his hand… was his mother, lifting Akino's mother by the neck, limp and lifeless.
The monster turned, slowly, locking eyes with Akino.
For a moment, the world went silent.
"...No… no… MOM!!"
Something snapped inside him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MOM!?"
Akino charged, tears in his eyes, fists clenched.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!!"
He almost reached the Demon Lord—
"NO!!" Ryo tackled him from the side, lifting him off the ground.
"LET ME GO!!"
"SHE'S GONE!! YOU'LL DIE TOO!!"
They run — fast, desperate, broken — both crying, both coughing through smoke and ash.
The Demon Lord didn't follow.
He just watched.
Ryo pulled him, staggering.
"We're not strong enough… not yet…"
(sobbing, shouting)
"MOOOOOM!!!"
Akino screamed into the night as the city burned.