Chapter 1: I'm Going to be a Rockstar, You Hear Me?!

"Listen Yaki, you're good, you're just not...that good. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be hiring you for another show this week."

Yaki's heart sank. "But...but I brought in a bunch of people to tonight's show, right? C'mon, I did really well today! I killed it!"

Bisk sighed, refusing to meet her light blue eyes as he started putting away banners and advertisement fliers. The shop, normally just for shoes, had been transformed for their new promotion, sporting a brand new stage, microphone, and speakers, along with streamers and balloons all happily advertising the new product. Now, the banners were being pulled down, one by one, and stuffed into boxes to be tossed aside or recycled, forgotten and unneeded now that the special event was over with. Looking at his shop was easy. Looking at her desperate face was hard. "Please don't make me the bad guy here, Yaki. I'm just doing what I have to for my business."

"But I help your business," Yaki said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "My music brings people into your store!" And she believed it, too. Yaki was a spunky little thing, green tentacles and hair piled up into a loose pun in the back of her head, with just a few longer strands stretching down to touch her shoulders in the front. Her bangs were always getting in the way, and more than once she'd just taken a pair of scissors to them in a huff. Complete with a set of freckles, the small inkling was four feet of pure fury.

"For a while, it did," Bisk admitted. "But then you started hitting wrong notes. And getting off key. Then people started leaving my store. On top of that, you chose songs that were just really loud, and had long guitar solos. And you don't know how to play the guitar that well. I'm sorry Yaki, but I've already had a few other bands ask to be in the next promotion, and I've said yes." Bisk finally met her eyes, saw her shoulders start to sag.

They'd worked together for about a month now, her singing during promotions he was running, big sales that he was trying to draw people in for, or even just outside of his shop, singing and badly playing her guitar in an attempt to bring people inside. He'd done it because she was good, she certainly didn't have a bad voice, and he thought she had a lot of potential. She certainly had a lot of passion. But maybe it just wasn't enough, it certainly wasn't bringing in the amount of people he'd hoped it would. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Yaki, I-"

"It's okay," Yaki said, catching him off guard. She looked up at him with a big smile. "I've been thinkin' I need to move on to someplace else anyway! Someplace a bit bigger than a small shop like this. I mean, this place is great, and I love the shoes you sell, but I gotta move on to bigger and better things, you know? So you've done me a favor!"

Bisk paused, but then grinned back at her. "Well, that works out then. I'll help you pack up the rest of your stuff!"

They made quick work of it, all the while, Yaki was chatting, laughing, and smiling, thanking him for all he'd done so far but insisting that she was needing to move on anyway, how she'd had someone else ask her for a show but she hadn't taken it to be nice to Bisk, all kinds of stuff to fill the silence, until finally, Yaki's stuff was all packed up into her red suitcase, ready to go, and she left with a wave. Bisk let out a sigh of relief once she was gone, but was also a bit sad.

The kid had thick skin, he'd give her that.

She made it to the alleyway before shouting in a huff, stomping her feet. "Ahhhh what does he know?! I'm not off-key! It's not my fault I don't know how to play the guitar very well! Or...or any instrument, actually. But I'm learning dangit! It's not fair for him to just drop me like that!" she frowned, turning and kicking the dumpster on the corner. This, as it turned out, was not a good idea, as dumpsters are very sturdy things, and Yaki's shoes were very soft. She yelped and gripped her foot, hopping up and down. "Ow, ow, OW! Stupid trash, stupid Bisk, stupid promotion, stupid, stupid, STUPID!" She stomped her good foot back onto the ground with a scowl, grabbing her suitcase and whipping out of the alleyway. Her thoughts were a blur of motion, all arguing and yelling at her, making her shake a bit, so she took a few moments to calm down, to count to ten, to get her thoughts together. Or something to that affect anyway.

She'd made a bit of pocket change from the show at the very least. Not as much as she was hoping, she just got a bit of the commissions from the money that Bisk brought in. And he was right, she hadn't brought in as many customers as either of them had hoped. She sighed, cooling off a bit as she walked. She looked around at the other squid kids, and even some octolings now and then, laughing and lounging at tables and cafes, absorbed in their own little worlds. Some were cleaning the ink off of them from turf wars or ranked battles, while others were trying on new clothes or eating snacks and sweets. Maybe she'd go do a battle or two herself to cool down later. She wasn't great, but she had a lot of fun with her giant paintbrush or dual splatties.

She couldn't help but smile. She did love Inkopolis, even if it wasn't perfect, even if it was hard to make a living and even harder to achieve your dreams. Especially if your dreams were of becoming a singer like Callie and Marie, or Pearl and Marina. Music was an enormous part of their culture, it was everywhere! The stage lay in the center of town, a popular tourist attraction and often popping spot for Splatfests and concerts. There were dancing games and speakers around every corner. It was as much a part of the culture as ink was, it was just everywhere! It brought people together, no matter how different they were.

And yeah, if Yaki was honest, most of her wanted it for the press. She wanted to be famous. She wanted to have her name up in lights, her face on posters and big screens, she wanted people clamoring over each other, calling her name as she stood atop that famous stage, singing as if her life depended on it, reaching the hearts of people across the city. She wanted to feel the beat of drums in her blood, let it swallow her up, give her own voice up as an offering for cheering crowds.

But she wasn't the only one with this dream. After all, it was a big part of the culture. Things were competitive, and unless you were the best, you didn't make it far. Being great was one thing, but being unforgettable was something else entirely. Inkopolis supported only the best.

She sighed again, leaning against a building wall and frowning. She looked down at her suitcase, covered in stickers of Pearl and Marina, D3ADfish, all kinds of artists she loved.

Could she really be like them one day? Was this a futile dream? She'd had this dream as long as she could remember. It's all she'd ever wanted. She rose a hand to her chest, tightening it into a fist to keep it from shaking.

Yaki lifted up her head. She certainly wasn't going to be giving up that easily! She'd just have to find somewhere else to put on a show! Of course, she may have lied a bit when she told Bisk she had other shows lined up...but she didn't want him to feel bad. Or to know that she wasn't as successful as she made herself out to be.

However, she had a hunch there might be one person who would be willing to hire her on as entertainment to bring people in. She wasn't giving up just yet.

"You? Sing? Here?" a gruff voice asked, always hidden behind a metal screen. "Pffft...bahahahaha!"

Yaki puffed out her cheeks. "H-hey, it's not funny! I'm serious, let me sing at Grizco! I can bring people in to work!"

"Yeah, or scare them all away!" he retorted. "Listen, kid, you want to make money, you work for me. What the heck do you need all that singin' stuff for? I pay you good, don't I?"

"W-well yeah, but-"

"Askin' for more, asking for me to set aside my precious time to let you sing and perform? You're a one-man band, kid, you don't even have any accompaniment! That just looks bad."

"You could play my backup music from speakers," Yaki said desperately. "Please Mr. Grizz, I'm begging you, please let me perform!"

He sighed. She wished that she could see his face. She wanted to know if he was biting back a smile, laughing at her from behind the screen, or if he was deep in thought, considering his options, maybe letting her play in front of his shop.

She admitted that it was a lot to ask. The shop was in the back alley, squeezed between the stage and the larger shopping district, practically covered in shadows and hidden out of sight. Most people didn't head back this way unless they were coming to work, which is what Mr. Grizz provided. He never seemed to sell anything, which was weird since he really did pay his employees pretty decently. Most of the workers, like Yaki herself, had just learned not to question it or look a gift horse in the mouth. But the place always smelled a bit too much like seaweed and trash for her liking.

Still, it paid the bills when her singing didn't.

Which...was often.

"Alright kid, I'll make you a deal. You work three salmon shifts for me, completely free, and I'll let you sing to your heart's content outside my shop. Deal? I'll even set up some speakers and a little stage or something. But you better work your butt off, got it?"

"Yes, yes! Thank you Mr. Grizz, I won't let you down!" Yaki said happily, already running over to the corner of the shop to change out of her plain hoodie and skirt and into her work uniform.

"Hey! I ain't done."

Yaki paused.

"You gotta find some real accompaniment, you hear me? I ain't got the sound equipment to broadcast music other than your own voice, so you better find you some people who can play," he called out.

Yaki gulped, but then turned and offered her best wide smile. "Of course Mr. Grizz! I've got loads of band friends who've been practically begging me to let them play with me! Heh, just you watch, I'll find someone to accompany me singing in no time!"

"Taki pleeeeeease," Yaki begged, getting down on her knees in front of her brother. "Please please please come play for me with Mr. Grizz..."

Taki groaned, running a hand through his dark green hair, still a bit wet after his last Clam Blitz. Taki was a few years older than Yaki, and owned the apartment she was currently crashing at with him, though she did pay rent. Most of the time. His dark green hair was always spiked up, away from his face, though a few strands managed to escape now and then. "Yaki...I told you, I don't do that stuff anymore. I don't like playing the drums. Besides, you're not going to get a very good sound with just drums and your voice. That'll sound odd."

"Taki, I only need one other person for Mr. Grizz to let me sing in front of his shop," she begged. "Please, please give me this chance..."

"Yaki, I just can't, okay? I gave up on the drums a long time ago. Besides, since when are you performing for Mr. Grizz? I thought Bisk was letting you sing for him?" Taki asked, standing up from the couch to walk away from her and open a can of soda. Yaki trailed after him, about a foot shorter than he was in comparison. Her brother, Taki, the athletic one in the family, the star Clam Blitz player with a rank others only dreamed of. He and his team always topped the charts, and more often than not, he spent his days and nights practicing for the next match. Usually, Yaki had the apartment to herself.

Yaki pouted and stomped her foot. "C'mon Taki, please just do this one thing for me! Please, I never ask you for anything!"

Taki paused, midway through taking a drink, and looked over at her. He raised an eyebrow, and Yaki looked away.

"Okay...so I ask for a lot," she said sheepishly. "I just...I just really want this to work..."

Taki groaned and put his drink down. He looked down at his little sister and put his hands on her shoulder. "Listen, Yaki, I love you, but this isn't the first time you've asked me to do stuff like this. Remember Sheldon's gig four months ago? You had a drummer but they bailed at the last second, and what did I do?"

She looked down. "You...you left your Clam Blitz game early to come play for me..."

"Yup, and how about that sing-off two years ago, where the winner got to open for Pearl and Marina?" he asked. "And you lost your CD minutes before you went on?"

"You showed up and played for me," she said, getting even quieter. "But...but this time is different, I have a really good feeling about this one, I just..." she trailed off when she met her brother's eyes. Or, rather, when she noticed that he wasn't meeting hers anymore. Like he couldn't bring himself to tell her what he really thought.

"Yaki...maybe...maybe it's time that you...give this thing up, you know?"

She froze, her bottom lip quivering.

"I know it's hard to admit, but maybe you just don't really have what it takes. You've been doing this for years now, and you've, what, released one album? And sold less than a hundred copies? We were giving them away at one point, Yaki. Maybe it's time to give this pipe dream up, and move onto something else," he said. Was he being gentle enough? Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up just yet. He'd been wanting to have this talk with her for a while, try to convince her that maybe this wasn't the right path for her to take, but it was hard. It was hard when she so clearly lived and breathed music, singing, wanted this so badly, but just didn't have what it took. This wasn't how he had wanted to tell her, he'd wanted it to be a bit more easy, when they had a bit more time to themselves, where he could listen to what she really wanted and try to find a compromise to her dream, to gently let her down into reality. Not...not like this.

"That's not fair," Yaki whispered. Her bottom lip shook more, and she bit it. "You...you got to achieve your dream...why can't I have mine?"

Taki winced, glancing over at the Clam Blitz awards stacked carefully on cabinets and mounted to the walls.

Ouch.

"Yaki, I-"

"Forget it," Yaki said, pushing him away. She marched away from him, sniffing and pulling her hood over her head. "I'll show you," she said angrily, and opened the door, slamming it shut behind her a moment later, hard enough that picture frames rattled on walls.

Taki sank back onto the couch, resting his head in his hands. Him and his big mouth.

Yaki sniffled, biting her bottom lip. She hated it when she cried. It made her feel weak, and she hated feeling weak. Small. Unwanted. Like promotional posters packed away after a long day. Glamorous and sparkly for a day, drawing in attention and crowds, only to be shut away, out of sight out of mind.

Geez, here she was comparing herself to fliers. That was just sad. Yaki pulled her knees up close to her chest and buried her face in them.

This sucked. All she wanted to do was sing. Why did that have to be so hard? Why was nobody giving her a chance?

No. That wasn't true, and that's part of why it sucked so much. Plenty of people had given her a chance, like Bisk. But when given the chance, even when doing her absolute best, it wasn't good enough. That was the worst part, having the opportunities, being able to do what she loved, and having her best not be enough. Why couldn't she be enough? It wasn't fair. She cared about this just as much as anybody else, so how come she couldn't just make it? How come she wasn't good enough? She'd trained, she'd hired voice coaches and talent agents, hell, she'd even signed up for a day-long music training camp run by Pearl and Marina. Even still, she was falling short.

Yaki took off her headphones. She'd worked so hard for this pair. Limited edition, Callie and Marie headphones. They locked in sound and audio like a dream. She'd made her own alterations, making the light glow a bright gold on the underside, like her ears were the sun or bright glowing bulbs, putting her big logo on the side, a smiley face with it's tongue sticking out and winking.

Stupid. Childish.

Yaki stood and chucked her headphones into the water with a shout. It flew out just a few feet, she never said she was very athletic, and then hit the water with a soft "plop." It floated for a moment, and then sunk, the soft golden glow disappearing beneath the green, murky water. She watched it disappear, her bottom lip quivering, before she ran out into the water.

"Wait! Wait, come back, I take it back!" she shouted through her tears, wafting up to her waist. This was as far out into the water as she'd been before, and going too much farther was dangerous. Not only was the water just plain disgusting, carrying all kinds of filth and trash, but the undercurrents could get dangerous, sweeping people away and dragging the under the flow. She watched the glowing headphones sink deeper, their shine almost disappearing. She lingered a moment longer, looking around for someone to help or something to use, anything, but she was alone out here.

Steeling her courage, Yaki took a deep breath and plunged her head under the water to look for them. She flailed around wildly under the water for them, brushing up against something slimy and something sharp, but nothing that felt like her precious headphones. She lifted her head back above the water, taking another deep breath and trying to see where they had disappeared too. Nothing. Their glow had dipped below the surface, and she wasn't going to be able to find them unless she opened her eyes underwater.

Which she really, really, didn't want to do.

All kinds of excuses of why she should turn back floated in her mind. She could get another pair if she wanted. She didn't need them anymore anyway if she wasn't going to sing. They were probably ruined by now.

But she kept looking, kept swimming farther away from the shore. She needed to find them. They were more than just headphones. Seeing their glow sink beneath the surface, casually drifting out of view. She couldn't stand the thought of them sinking down to the ocean floor, catching on seaweed or debris and lingering there, never to be seen again, covered with dirt and sand as the years went by, and maybe one day resurfacing as a gross, broken mess, then carelessly tossed aside with the trash.

No. She just couldn't let that happen.

Yaki took another deep breath and plunged her head underwater, opening her eyes to look for the glow. The water stung, but there, just a few feet ahead, she saw the familiar glow. Thank goodness she'd used water-proof covering for the lights. She had worn them to a few turf wars before, and hadn't wanted them to be ruined by the ink, so naturally, she'd protected them. This sludgy mess of water was another thing, but for now, their glow still proudly illuminated their place.

But it was deep. Way deeper than she had ever gone, deeper than her feet could touch. She'd have to dive down to catch them, and she didn't really know how to swim that well. But how hard could diving be, right? She'd just dive down and resurface, then swim to shore. Right. Okay. She could do this. One. Two. Three!

Yaki kicked off the ground, frantically swimming toward her headphones. The deeper she got, the more the light from above the water dimmed and the light from her headphones beckoned. She almost lost her nerve, but the headphones were sinking so deep that she knew that if she were to resurface now, they'd be lost forever, she'd never find them. She pushed herself forward, kicking her legs and feeling her socks and shoes soak in the water. Gross. She couldn't think of that now, and just kept diving down, down. She was close now, she could almost reach out and touch them-

A huge burst of water, a current just underneath the surface, swept the headphones out from under her fingertips. She reached out, managed to just barely grab the strap and pull them close to her, but the current grabbed her as well, knocking her to the side and dragging her head-over-heels. Her lungs were burning and the force of the water made her cough and instinctively suck in more water. She gagged, her eyes and lungs burning as she struggled to reach the surface. But the current dragged her back under, catching her by her feet and sweeping her away. She was starting to panic now, flailing wildly with her one free arm, still clutching her precious headphones with her other hand. She knew she should have dropped them and swam back to the surface, that her life was more valuable than a pair of headphones, but right now, they were her lifeline, and she refused to abandon them after coming this far.

The water she'd sucked in tasted terrible, and struggle as she might, she couldn't hold her breath any longer. She tried to grab onto something, anything, a rock, a branch, a pole, something to pull her out of the water and the current to safety.

But instead, something grabbed her. Something had grabbed her and was kicking away from the current, pulling her away from the water and dragging her back to the surface. She let herself go limp, knowing that if by some miracle, someone had come to save her, had seen her drowning, that struggling would only endanger them both.

When they both broke the water's surface, Yaki sucked in gulpfuls of air, coughing up all manner of gross, greenly liquid from the water below. She dragged herself onto the beach, flopping onto the sand with a relieved sigh. "Oh thank goodness...I thought I was done fooooor..." she whined. She weakly rolled over, turning to look at her savior. "Thank you so much for...for..."

Yaki's eyes widened. Her mouth dropped open into an "O," and she felt herself freeze.

His slightly greenish skin was much different from her own, his red hair or fins or whatever they were stood up in a small mohawk, framing the center of his head. Dark spots covered his skin, and his hands were finned slightly, like they were webbed. His golden eyes stared unblinking at her from the water, narrowed, glaring right at the glowing headphones she had in her hands. They turned away from the headphones to stare at her instead, and Yaki felt herself stutter for words.

"You...you're a..."

He growled, something deep and guttural, showing off rows of pointed teeth that made Yaki gulp and crawl backwards a bit.

"A...a salmonid kid?!"

Hey all! First time at writing something for the Splatoon fandom, so all criticism on that front really is appreciated, I want to learn and grow to be a better writer!

Chapters will update fairly regularly, but I'm also working on one other Fanfiction simultaneously, so patience is appreciated.

Stay fresh!