As the teens' eyes adjusted to the light, they expected to find unbearable carnage. Instead, Sakura was hugging a small, older woman dressed in a formal yukata. Taki stepped over the obvious elephant in the room - a nine-foot-tall monster with an arrow through its eye. It was still twitching. He noted the Kyudo bow in the older woman's grip. Now that was a weapon.

"The thing tried to wreck my shop." She fussed over her granddaughter, noting the alien blood on her school uniform. "You shouldn't have come, Sakura. It's too dangerous. And why are you wearing American football equipment?"

"Oh granny. You know we have to do what we can to help." She ignored the question about the shoulder pads.

"The best way to help would be to hide. Then you could survive and eventually get married."

Sakura blushed. Her eyes immediately flew to Taki before she sheepishly looked away. "I... I don't think I can do that, Grandma. This is too important"

"Well, the least I can do is allow you all to use my shop as a resting point. here: have some roasted chestnuts." The elderly shopkeeper bustled about the shop, eager to share the local specialty with them. Taki took a handful. The nuts were still warm and smelled delicious. His stomach growled and he realized just how hungry he had been for the last hour. without another word he crammed as many nuts as he could into his mouth, savoring the butter flavor as he gobbled them up.

"I'm glad you like them," the old woman smiled and shuffled into her back room to make tea.

"Sakura, your grandma's kinda awesome," Benzo said, his mouth full of chestnuts.

"She's pretty great - she started this shop when she was in her twenties. Akarui Item Shop. I always thought it was weird to call it that, but I guess we do sell items."

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"And her archery skills are...impressive," Natsuki nodded sincerely. "Did she happen to pass that along to you by any chance?" She popped a chestnut into her mouth.

Natsuki blushed again. "Weeeeell, she did maybe show me how to shoot a few times when I was a kid. But I'm nowhere as good as her..."

"Fresh tea for you kids," Grandma Akarui had returned with a tray of teacakes, cups, and a pot of tea. You need to keep warm in this weather. The group was suddenly aware of the draft from the broken door. Taki and Benzo nodded to each other.

"Granny," Benzo stood up, " do you have a hammer and some nails? Maybe some spare boards?"

Half an hour later, the shop was much cozier for all of them, the swinging door now boarded up so that most of the cold couldn't seep through. More importantly, it wasn't a gaping hole in the building for monsters to come in through uninvited.

"Thank you, young man. I can see why you're Sakura's friends, all of you. Such good kids." Grandma Akarui patted him on the head. "Now have some more tea."

They sat and basked in the warmth of a lone space heater in the back room, letting the events of the day wash over them.

"I'm so glad you are all okay," the old woman said. "I could hear them, thumping around in the streets. I think they're hunting people. And the sounds when they catch them...it's terrible."

Suddenly, Taki felt lightheaded. His tea slipped from his hand and clattered onto the tatami matt. The voice.

They are coming for you. Converging on your location. Defend the shop.

The team exchanged glances. They had all heard it. As if on cue, scratching noises began go emanate from the roof and back wall. Something was trying to get in.

Everyone jumped to their feet. Weapons in hand, the teens filed back into the main room of the store and grouped up by the door.

"We have to be ready for anything. No hesitation - got it?" Natsuki said.

Taki nodded, his resolve galvanized by the meal and the warmth of the room. "We'll protect this shop. You can count on it, Granny."

Grandma Akarui smiled. "Before I forget - take this." She handed Sakura another Kyudo bow and a quiver of arrows. it was a little shorter, made for a child.

"My old bow!" Sakura beamed. "Thanks Granny, I'll use this well."

"Take care of yourselves. Do your best!" Sakura's grandma waved from the storefront as C-Team moved back into the street.

It was time to fight some monsters.