"A new morning means a new look!" I called as Reine made breakfast, "Don't forget!" she muttered some half-hearted response and I slapped my forehead in exasperation. What was there in Reine's head? She didn't care about Turf wars, she didn't care about fashion, she didn't seem to care about anything!

"Let's go," she smiled as we finished breakfast. "I can see you're eager to get going." Just my luck. She's only having enthusiasm since I have enthusiasm. I have to infuse the excitement within her before I let her out into the world, or she's going to find herself utterly creamed by the trends and she'll never wear anything fresher than a basic tee...

"C'mon, cool kid, this way!" I directed, trying my hardest to get her to the shops faster. The faster we get there, the faster I can help her not look like an idiot.

"We'll start at, uh, Shrimp Kicks! Why not!" I decided, practically dragging her inside. She muttered something under her breath, but followed me into the shop obediently.

All around were different styles and kinds of shoes. At the forefront of the store were some one-star gears that she thankfully ignored, and the second star gear section didn't make her flinch, either. Three-star it was - if Crusty Sean would even let us buy stuff that high-quality.

"Hey, Squiddos!" he called from a desk in the back. "Up early, are we? I just opened the shop!"

"Yeah, but Reine here needs a makeover and fast, before sh- uh, he looses his reputation!" I saved myself quickly, hoping the shrimp didn't notice anything.

Sean looked over from a small box with a pair of shoes in them and glanced at Reine before doing a double take.

"Hey, aren't you that skateboarder who been making the news recently? What can I do for ya?" he turned, still holding the box, and Reine paused, thinking what to say.

"I... would like something that you think will be popular with the skateboarding crowd. I haven't been keeping up with the trends as much as I should have." she admitted, and Sean handed her the box immediately. Inside were some Limited Edition Lo-tops from Zekko, and she seemed satisfied with those.

I didn't even have a chance to pay before Reine was in and out of the store. She quickly decided to put on her new shoes, ripping of the unnecessary tags and bits. They looked pretty sweet, and I almost wanted to get some myself. Good enough for me, good enough for fresh kids, I guess, so we moved on to Jelly Fresh, the shirt store.

A really snazzy Jellyfish was at the counter, and he was shocked when someone came in at eight in the morning. Again - before nine was unheard of. He turned to serve us, and recognizing Reine, he quickly showed my friend to the fanciest shirts and sweats.

"This sweatie very fresh, Rei. Main ability Defense up, three slots, all squids wanting!" He pitched, pointing to a pink retro sweat. I reminded myself that Reine did not seem to like pink at all, and she seemed disinterested by the design of Judd on the front. She walked over to a corner of the store where they had some low-stock items, and found a tee which she seemed to have her heart set on.

"White Anchor Tee, some like, some no like," Jelonzo explained. "Squidforce not freshest brand, but Ninja Squid very good ability." Reine smiled, and seeing Jelonzo's conviction that he had convinced her to buy something more expensive, she quickly purchased the discounted item.

"I must say, the White Anchor tee does match your Lo-Tops." I whispered, as stray inklings began flowing into the plaza. We were headed for my least favourite store, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

Cooler Heads held bad memories for me, and not just because Moe was there to be a jerk. Sometime between the period when I started playing and I began to catch on to what was popular, Annie began to act coolly to me, and I could barely get in to buy anything. I had to get practically everything from Spyke, and that was not really where I wanted to go for stuff. No telling what he'd do if I ended up with not enough money, and his stuff is pricey.

Reine walked in confidently, and I felt obliged to hang back. I was still not feeling confident about hanging around.

"LOSER ALERT!" Moe cried as the two of us walked in. Annie murmured something under her breath as I walked in, but quickly shut up once Reine walked in. I recalled she was a skateboarding fan, and soon she was all over him.

"We-welcome to cooler heads.. And Stuff.. Can I help you...?" She asked. This was the shy charm that overrode the common sense of many a squid, and won her the attentions of many unwanted eyes. At least Moe helped reduce those.

Reine stared at the lot of hats which went from floor to ceiling. She was taken aback by the numbers, and soon she found herself asking Annie. I was peeved to see how graciously she acted, even when Moe was being a jerk to Reine. Annie seemed to like her a million times more than me, and I had no idea why. Weird.

After purchasing a hat from Annie, Reine asked her a quick question that I didn't quite catch. Annie seemed taken aback, then apologized constantly, and whispered something back.

"COME TO PROTECT YER BUDDY, EH? GET OUT!" Moe called, but Annie had had enough. She pulled Moe out of her hair and put him in a bowl of sorts, where he cowered for the rest of the day silently. I knew this because it was in the news. Moe never leaves Annie's hair coral. Ever.

"What did Moe mean back there?" I inquired, hoping to get some insight on what had happened between Annie and Reine.

"I asked Annie why she was acting so coolly towards you, and Moe got angry. I guess anyone could, but he can get pretty harsh." She kept walking, but I wasn't satisfied.

"What'd she say, then?" I asked, rubbing my hands together. "I'm tired of having to visit back alleys to get hats."

"That's it, actually," Reine replied, adjusting her jungle hat. "It seems that Annie has something of a- ok, a huge crush on this guy you get ahts from, and she convinced herself that you were stealing him from her," she explained, and my jaw dropped. Annie? Like, in love with Spyke the Snail Addict? What had the world come to?

Regardless, I felt that Reine was pretty much set for a while, so I pulled her over to explain what we needed to do.

"Firstly, we need to get to level 10 so we can start ranked battles," I told her, eager to begin. She stared awkwardly at me, but said nothing.

"Once Iko recovers, I want us to make a Squid Squad. Like a set team for ranked battles. Anyways, you're going to help me at least get it started, so I need you to be level 10 ASAP so that we can get started right as soon as Iko can fight with us." I looked at her, and she merely nodded.

"Who'd be the fourth member?" she asked.

"Terrance," I said, smiling. "It would be perfect. My Roller, Iko's charger, Terrance's blaster, and your..." I trailed off, then gasped. I can't believe this. I forgot to have Reine get a new weapon.

I dragged her urgently to Sheldon, calling for him to get some of his most popular shooters ready. He complied before we were in the door.

"A new weapon for my friend here, yeah?" he asked, pointing to Reine. I nodded. "Whatever she chooses, just as long as it isn't a splattershot. I can't have her being stuc with the Jr all her life." Reine looked at all the weapons closely before setting out three shooter classes.

"Interesting," Sheldon said, looking at the sets. An N-Zap 89, an Aerospray RG, and a Custom Dual Squelcher lay on the table.

"The only one you can buy right now at your skill level is the N-Zap, Rei-" While I'd talked, however, Reine had bought a Custom Dual within the blink of an eye. Sheldon saluted as we left. I put two and two together.

"So, you're going to tell me that you're level eighteen and you haven't bought a new weapon or new clothes until today." I asked, serious. I thought I knew my answer. I didn't.

"I'm level 32 right now," she said, making my jaw drop. "I liked the splattershot Jr, but if you say I need a new weapon, I may as well..." she seemed a little miffed, but regardless, I was glad I at least got her to buy some fresh clothes and weapons. If I didn't, she'd have probably maxed out with her basic stuff...

"Well, for today we should probably practice," I said, waving a new carbon roller. "we're going to need skill if we're going to get anywhere. And I need level 10." I added, before shooting off.

How embarrassing. I wasn't even level 8 and the friend I was ordering around was already level 32? I wondered how Donver was doing by now. Probably level 11 or something. Bummer. It doesn't help happiness when everyone around you is better than you. I practiced until sunset, making my way through battle after battle, and by the end I was level 20. Thank Squid. At least I wasn't going to embarrass myself so much anymore.

I came home to the smell of some delicious plankton soup, and we ate in silence. Once I was done, I noticed that Reine was already washing the dishes. Was she always this fast?

"I like that weapon you got me," she said idly, as she scrubbed the remains of our dinner off my crockery. "I got used to it pretty quick. I just need to stop myself thinking of it as a shooter, and I'll be good to go. How about you?"

"My Carbon Roller is working wonders, but I forgot I didn't oneshot people by running over them a few times. Regardless, I'm level 20 now," I stated proudly, and a wicked grin spread across Reine's face.

"Just you wait," she replied, her face suddenly breaking my nerves. "Level 34 takes much more time than level 20. You still have a ways to go." I shuddered. Since when was a non-inkling teaching me about turf wars?

Reine remained silent for the rest of the week while we practiced. After about a few days of the same food, I decided to approach her.

"I saw Donver today," she mused, changing the subject before we began to speak. "He seems to be struggling with something." Ok. This was more interesting.

"I... think there's something more to him than we're seeing." She went back to washing the same dish four about an hour. I had never seen her this dazed before. Perhaps something was bugging her.

"If you're wondering, he's always been a real jerk," I said, hoping to snap her out of la-la land. It did, but not in the way I was expecting.

"He was going under Inkopolis," she murmured. "Octo Valley. Who knows what he'd doing down there." She shivered, and I could only imagine what she was thinking.

That night, I couldn't sleep, and deciding it wasn't worth trying, I opened my window, only to see proof of what Reine had claimed. I saw Donver's hulking form change to something smaller, and he quickly disappeared into a grate at the corner of Inkopolis Tower.

This is getting weird.