Chapter 1: Welcome to Monument Weapons

*Beep**Beep**Be-

*Click*

The alarm was silenced as a hand moved away from it and rested across a face, covering one of its eyes. A fan spun quietly above the bed as the man laying down felt the air brush against his arms, shivering and bringing them under his blankets. He reached over and grabbed his phone, bringing it up to his face before suddenly blocking his eyes at the light from the screen temporarily blinded him. The locked phone displayed little information on it.

5:30AM

WEATHER

Rainy

He sighed as he sat up in bed, half awake.

"A rainy *yawn* day?" He shivered yet again as he wrapped his upper body in a blanket and looked at his window. The sun had yet to rise fully but the dimness of the light was evidence enough of the unfortunate circumstances of the day ahead.

"Damnit, a customer was supposed to get their order today…" He talked to himself out loud as he sat on the edge of his bed and looked around his room. It was sparse, only having the bare necessities to live. A dresser with the drawers spilling with sloppily folded clothes. The bed he was sitting on. A closet with some dress clothing and a computer for bookkeeping for his business. It wasn't much, but it was home.

As the man stood up, the blankets wrapped around him fell and revealed an average person with not much to talk about. His short dark brown hair was messy, but he never bothered taking care of it. An old friend always chastised him about his haircut but with his line of work, keeping it shorter was easier to manage. His brown eyes darted around as they adjusted to the minimal light as he walked over to a lightswitch and flipped it on.

"Ah." He blocked his eyes as the lights came on revealing the mess that was his room. Dirty clothes laid on the floor near a basket full of clean ones he had yet to fold. Walking towards the clean clothing, he blinked as his eyes adjusted and leaned down to grab a pair of jeans from the basket.

"Maybe I'll get some coffee today," He looked out the window. The rain had already started, though it was light at the moment.

"Definitely gonna need it." He continued searching for clothing and eventually found the shirt he was looking for. Slipping it on, he dragged himself towards his bed and grabbed his phone.

5:45AM

As slow a riser as ever, Kaden.

He sighed and pocketed his phone as he went back to looking for socks to wear. Upon finding them, he grabbed his keys and exited the small apartment. He walked down the stairs, passing through his shop. Even closed, the smell of lead and gunpowder drifted through the air. The racks of weaponry jingled slightly as he walked past them, their chassis polished and ready for use. Reaching the door, he opened it and looked outside. The rain hadn't really begun so maybe a quick coffee run wouldn't get in the way of his day, right?

Shrugging, he closed and locked the door behind him and walked down the street towards the nearby coffee shop, a place called the Lapin House.

—-

The shop was as quiet as ever, even moreso because of the weather that day. As Kaden opened the door, he was greeted by the soft chime of a bell as the owner of the shop looked towards the door.

"Good morning, uh, Kaden was it?" She looked like she strained to remember his name.

"Yup, mornin'" Kaden walked up to the counter, the slouch in his posture being straightened to appear more friendly.

"What would you like?" She gave a customer service smile that most people would fall for at a glance.

"Just a latte, no art please."

"Okay, that will be 300 credits." She punched in his order to the register.

As he rummaged into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and then dug into it for his card.

"Here." He held the card out for her.

"Thank you. Your order will be done shortly. Feel free to take a seat." She rang him up and handed his card back to him. Taking it back, he went over to a booth and sat down as he waited for his order.

This small cafe was a local coffee shop. Apparently, the previous owner moved to Planeptune and left the building here to decay. Years later someone bought it out and renovated it, making it brand new and drawing a few coffee hounds to the joint. The place was mostly a place to get coffee and relax for a while, but the atmosphere of the building was far from that. A dress attire that would make waiters at even the most high-end restaurants blush. The employees dawned button-ups and ties and sundresses like no other business. It was a unique feeling that kept Kaden coming back, even if his visits to it were always brief.

It helped that the coffee was very good as well. As Kaden received it, he checked the time yet again on his phone.

6:15AM

He still had time to spare. Drinking the coffee, he began walking home to his shop and just watching people on their morning routines. He'd only recently opened his shop or rather taken it over from the previous owner. The man who owned it had been his mentor and he didn't want to forsake his legacy by just letting the shop close down. On the plus side, running the shop also came with having the apartment right above it, meaning that Kaden could close up and then just retire upstairs for the evening.

As he approached the front of the shop, he saw the name hung on the wall in signage.

"Monument Weapons"

It was a simple name, but for Kaden it was nostalgic for all the time he had spent in the shop in his time working there and now owning it. For him, it was a dream come true. Weaponry had always been one of his interests and being allowed to work on them all day was just icing on the cake. And, he could continue to research his only real interest when it came to guns. The integration of magic with them.