Listen to Obaa-chan

Shit shit shit shit shit.

My mind raced through every curse word I knew as I stared at Gran Gran's smug face. The money I'd scraped together from countless shifts at KaiKool, every tip I'd hoarded, every extra hour I'd suffered through - all of it discovered because I was stupid enough to think under the futon was a good hiding spot.

Maybe she just found it by accident. Maybe she doesn't know what it's for.

"So," Gran Gran's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts, "what exactly were you planning to do with that money?"

I kept my eyes fixed on the floor, tracing the woven patterns in the tatami mat. One line, two lines - anything to avoid looking at her face. Should I lie? Come clean?

The Furnace Kaiju let out a low rumble, steam curling from its nostrils under the kotatsu. Even it seemed uncomfortable with the tension in the room.

I caught Sae's eye, desperately hoping for... something. Help? An escape route? Rhino as a distraction?

She met my panicked look with that steady gaze of hers. Then, almost imperceptibly, she nodded.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? 'Tell the truth'? 'I've got your back'? 'Your funeral'?

I weighed my options. Lie and risk Gran Gran finding out later, which would be infinitely worse. Or tell the truth and face the explosion now...

Fuck it.

"I... I was saving up to move to Tokyo," I forced out, each word feeling like pulling teeth. My hands twisted in my lap as I braced for the inevitable explosion.

Gran Gran lifted her tea cup with deliberate slowness. Then she took the loudest, most aggressive sip of tea I'd ever heard. She swirled the remaining tea, the liquid creating a mini-whirlpool in her cup.

"You think I didn't know?"

"Huh?"

"You think because Gran Gran old, I don't know how to use the internet? Pah! I see everything on computer machine! I already find your ridiculous social media account. Little Poop Official? What kind of garbage name is this? You think that's a good name?"

I sat there with my mouth hanging open. Gran Gran knew about the social media account? Gran Gran used social media? The same woman who still recorded her dramas on VHS tapes and refused to use her phone for a month after the Daimen incident because "cell signals attract kaiju?"

Even Sae looked slightly taken aback, though she was doing a better job hiding it than I was.

Gran Gran took one look at my face and scoffed. "You actually took me for an idiot? Who do you think raised your father? And look how he turned out."

"I can explain-"

"No explanations! You think I raised you to be some Tokyo party girl? No! Doctor! Lawyer! Engineer!"

I glanced at Little Shit for moral support, but he was too busy chewing on Gran Gran's slipper - probably saving me from being smacked with it in the process.

"The world is literally ending," I said, gesturing at the Furnace Kaiju casually drinking tea in our living room like it was perfectly normal. "Giant monsters pop out of doors. What's the point of studying?"

"Ah! You think this is bad? Back in my day, there was a communist revolution! No food! Bombs everywhere! Still went to school. Still studied. Look at me now!"

I fought the urge to point out that "now" meant living in a half-destroyed apartment with a kaiju for a houseguest. But I knew better - there was no winning this argument. Gran Gran's skull was thicker than the armor plating of Little Shit's parent.

And besides, this wasn't the first time we'd had this type of argument. Like the time I tried sneaking off two stations over to hang out with Kurumi. I thought I was so clever, but Gran Gran somehow tracked me down like the Terminator. She burst into the karaoke room mid-song, grabbed me by the ear, and lectured me the whole train ride home. The other passengers looked terrified.

"You listen to Obaa-chan. Tokyo full of bad influences. Bad boys. Bad kaiju. You stay here, study hard, and become a respectable doctor, lawyer, engineer."

The Furnace Kaiju's furnace let out a sympathetic wheeze, steam curling around my feet.

First my savings, now my dignity. If it weren't for the world ending in a year, I'd be stuck living under Gran Gran's iron fist until I qualified for a senior citizen's discount at KaiKool.

"Perhaps we could reach a compromise," Sae spoke up, her voice cutting through my spiral of self-pity.

Has the cavalry finally arrived?

"If Ryūka graduates high school, she can go to Tokyo."

My head snapped up so fast I almost got whiplash. What the hell is Sae pulling here?

"Graduate? Pah! A monkey can graduate! My granddaughter needs straight A's! All subjects! Then maybe - MAYBE - she can go."

"Deal," Sae agreed instantly.

"I will?" The words escaped my mouth before my brain caught up. Straight A's? Me? I could barely stay awake in class.

"Of course you will." Sae's voice had that same steady confidence she used when facing the bird kaiju from the school cafeteria. "We'll make sure of it."

Gran Gran's face lit up like she'd just won the lottery. "Good! Good! See? Young lady has sense!"

I shot Sae a look that I hoped conveyed 'what have you gotten me into?' but she just gave me that same tiny nod from earlier. Wonder-fucking-ful. Apparently my options were now 'study until my brain melts' or 'stay trapped in this boring kaiju-infested town forever.'

Gran Gran pushed herself up from the floor cushion, her joints creaking like our apartment's old pipes. "Ah! Time for dinner. You stay. Gran Gran get leftovers."

The moment she disappeared into the kitchen, I turned to Sae. "That was the shittest trade offer in the history of trade offers."

"You needed an out. Now you have one."

"Yeah, an out straight to an early grave."

"You're smarter than you give yourself credit for. And you won't be doing this alone. I meant what I said - we'll help you succeed."

I opened my mouth to argue, but something in her tone made me pause. She actually believed in me, didn't she? Ugh, why did that make it harder to stay mad?

A wet plop drew my attention. Little Shit had finally decided to release Gran Gran's slipper, now thoroughly coated in kaiju drool. The Furnace Kaiju rumbled what sounded like a laugh.

Gran Gran bustled back in, carrying containers wrapped in enough shrink wrap to mummify a small kaiju. My stomach dropped - I recognized that distinctive blue containers. Mackerel simmered in miso. Gran Gran's victory meal, the one she breaks out whenever she feels particularly smug about getting her way.

"Ah!" She pointed at the Furnace Kaiju. "You, space heater! Make yourself useful!"

Without waiting for a response, she peeled off the layers of wrap, then placed the containers right on top of the Furnace Kaiju's chest. Steam rose from its furnace, heating our dinner.

"Here! Eat, eat!" Gran Gran shoved bowls of steaming mackerel at Sae and me.

I stared down at my dinner, watching the fish eye stared back, probably judging my life choices just as hard as I was.

Ryuka_savings_tracker_v2.xlsx

Updated: [4/13/20XX]

--------------------------------------

Current savings | ¥392,041

Gran Gran declares eminent domain, citing "wall repairs" as justification| -¥373,834

Total available | ¥18,207

--------------------------------------

Tokyo penthouse cost | ¥50,000,000

REMAINING NEEDED | ¥49,981,793

Progress: 0.0364%