Hello and welcome to the final chapter of the story! I'm so sorry this was a week or so late, but I've been super busy with life and stuff! But here it is, the conclusion to this little story of mine. Thank you so much to all of you for reading this, I really hope you've enjoyed it! A big, final thank you to everyone who's favourited, followed or reviewed the story, it means a lot to me! Now, I hope you enjoy this final chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Splatoon, Splatoon 2 or the Octo expansion.
*A few days later, mid-morning…*
"… Why?" Katsuo asked with a faint blush as he looked at Eight's ponytail. Part of him wondered how it was possible for her to get even cuter, whilst the rest of him just appreciated it.
"Because I figured you'd like it." She said as she beamed at him.
"R-Really?" He asked, eyes darting down to meet hers.
"Yes. So? What'cha think?" The octoling asked, her ponytail swaying as she cutely tilted her head.
"I-It looks good… and… cute…" Katsuo stated honestly, the blush on his cheeks growing in intensity and warming his face up.
"Really? Thanks Kats!" His crush cheerfully replied, her already broad smile somehow getting a bit wider. A tinge of red was on her cheeks, but he didn't notice.
For the last day or so, Eight had been calling him 'Kats'. The sudden change had surprised the inkling, especially since previously it had been only his family who'd called him that. However, he'd soon gotten used to, and grown to like, the nickname. The two had gotten closer over the past few days, albeit he'd yet to muster the courage to cross that final hurdle and ask her to be his girlfriend, but he was working towards it.
Kinda.
On a small side note, he still needed a nickname for her though, and that was proving a bit hard to come up with. Mainly due to his lack of imagination, and the fact that her name was already quite short.
Currently though, his focus was on something else. Specifically, the issue of asking her to be his girlfriend. He had a plan on how he'd do it.
Well, sort of.
"So Eight…" Katsuo started, nervously rocking back and forth on his feet.
"Yeah?"
"You uh… wanna go uh… ha- "
Whatever he'd planned to say was cut-off by his phone suddenly buzzing loudly in his pocket. Moments later Eight's buzzed as well, and they both took them out to check what they'd been sent.
It was a message From Callie. Katsuo's read as:
"Hey Four! Marie and I are planning to spend the day hanging out around Inkopolis. Wanna join us?"
Katsuo blinked and stared at the message. But as he opened his mouth to speak, Eight unintentionally cut him off.
"Callie just asked me if I'd like to hang out with her and Marie today." She said before she looked up at Katsuo and frowned at the look on his face.
"She asked me too." He said. He had to do a double take when he thought he saw an annoyed pout flash across her face for a moment. He blinked once as he looked at her, a small frown on his face.
"Eight?" He asked, confused.
"Yeah?" She replied, flashing him a smile.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concern in his voice. She nodded.
"I'm fine." She said, giving another smile. Katsuo contemplated this for a few moments before he dismissed it. Probably isn't anything.
"Okay… Wanna join 'em? Sounds like it could be fun!" Katsuo said with a grin. Eight looked at him before she turned her attention to her phone. Katsuo blinked again when he thought he saw an annoyed pout flash across her face again.
"I'd prefer if it was just you and me…" She muttered, almost sounding annoyed.
"Eight?" Katsuo asked with a frown, leaning forwards slightly. There it was again…
"Nothing!" Eight said quickly, flashing Katsuo a smile. "And sure! Sounds great to me!" She said cheerfully. They both sent a quick "Sure thing!" reply. Moments later they got more info.
"Meet us in the square in about half-an-hour! We'll be by the Crust Bucket." Read the messages. Katsuo sent a quick "We'll be there!" In reply whilst Eight just put her phone away, a small, annoyed pout on her face.
"Something wrong?" Katsuo asked, frowning at the look on her face.
"No I'm fine!" She said quickly, smiling at him, her pout instantly disappearing. Katsuo's frown didn't immediately go away.
"Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yep!" She said with a nod. She glanced at the lobby. "I feel like a bit of Turf War whilst we wait. Sound good to you?" She asked. I'll ask her later… maybe… or even during Turf wars. Maybe it isn't anything…
"Sure!" He said, dismissing the thought for later and the two jumped into battles.
"Hey guys!" Katsuo said cheerfully as he and Eight walked towards them. He waved to Callie and Marie who were standing next to the Crust Bucket. Marie was in the middle of a chat with Crusty Sean whilst Callie was idly looking around. The moment her eyes landed on Katsuo, she grinned.
"Hey guys!" She said cheerfully, rushing up to the pair. She stopped a short distance away from Katsuo and grinned at him. Katsuo didn't notice how Eight gently pressed her shoulder against his as Callie leaned forwards slightly and looked between the pair. "You two look like you just got off battling. Did you have fun?"
"Yeah!" Katsuo said with a nod and a smile. "Just a bit of Turf War. Tried out chargers today, didn't do too well." Callie's eyes instantly lit up at the mention of chargers.
"Marie's great with chargers, you could ask her for some advice!" She said cheerfully. "Oh, if you ever wanna try out Rollers, let me know and I'll help if I can!" Callie punctuated the end of her sentence with another grin, something which made Katsuo's smile grow even more. Neither he nor Callie noticed the annoyed pout on Eight's face.
"If I ever decide to get serious about learning them I'll ask Marie for advice." He said.
"Or you could ask me." Eight suddenly butted in. "I'm pretty good with chargers, I can give you some tips." She said, leaning a bit more into Katsuo. This time however, he noticed it and he felt his face heat up slightly as his hand brushed against hers and confusion built up in his mind over her behaviour. Marie, by this stage, had finished her chat with Crusty Sean and had turned her attention to the group. The moment her eyes landed on Eight and Katsuo however, a smirk immediately spread across her face.
"Hey you two." She said as she walked up next to Callie. Her focus shifted to Eight for a moment and when the Octoling's eyes met hers, Marie's smirk somehow grew even more. "We were thinking of just having a wander around at first, maybe stop off at a few shops here and there or head to a mall. Then maybe pay a visit to Wahoo world later to just have fun on the rides."
"I'm not going on the Dead Drop again." Callie said firmly. "Or the Rollercoaster. Or the Ferris Wheel. Or-"
"I know, I know." Marie said with a chuckle. "You get motion sickness and hate heights. There's still a ton of stuff for you to do you know."
As the Squid sisters had a brief chat about their past experiences on the rides at the World, Katsuo just watched with a smile on his face. He was unaware of the pouting Eight next to him.
"Anyway…" Marie said, cutting off her chat with Callie in favour of getting the day going. "Let's get going!"
"Yeah!" Callie and Katsuo said in unison.
"Yeah!" Eight said with less enthusiasm than the others. Marie immediately noticed this and just smirked again as the group headed off to enjoy their day in Inkopolis.
I don't mind hanging out with Callie and Marie but… I'd rather it just be me and Kats… at least today…
Eight looked at Katsuo, who was currently intensely focused on the arcade game he was playing. Callie was standing next to him watching him play and, in Eight's opinion, was a bit too close.
I know he likes me and doesn't have the faintest interest in Callie, but I'd prefer him… not to be so close to… her. Her pout came back.
"You're pulling that face nearly every time you look at him." Marie said. "Has something happened?" She asked. Any possibility that she genuinely didn't know what was going on was eliminated by the fact she was smirking as she asked that question.
"No." Eight replied. "It's just, I had a plan for today."
"Oh?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, what's stopping you from changing the plan?" Marie asked. Eight looked at Marie and was about to speak when realization dawned on her. She closed her mouth and a small smile spread across her face as she looked back at Katsuo.
Good point…
"!" Katsuo's eyes darted downwards as he felt something soft wrap itself firmly around his hand as he walked away from the arcade. His eyes widened, and his face exploded into a blush the moment he saw that Eight was holding his hand.
He looked up to see that she was looking at him with a neutral expression. After a moment, she smiled and squeezed his hand gently for a moment, a warm blush on her cheeks. His face turned an even darker shade of red in response, but he managed a smile and squeezed her hand back.
I guess I'll do it today then. Both of them thought at the same time.
Katsuo had been holding Eight's hand for the better part of an afternoon, and it was without a doubt the best afternoon of his life so far.
Right now though, his thoughts were elsewhere.
Katsuo let out a shaky breath as he gripped the railing in front of him. He looked out across the edge of the pier over the water as he tried to control his shaking legs.
"T-That was… something…" He said. Fresh off the Dead Drop and riding an adrenaline fuelled high, he was trying to calm down.
"You okay?" Eight asked as she walked up next to him and placed her hands on the railing as well. Her left one was right next to Katsuo's right hand. A look of excitement was on her face, but she'd obviously handled the ride better, since unlike Katsuo, she wasn't shaking at all.
"Y-Yeah I'm fine just… gotta ya know… calm down… that was… definitely something…" He spared her a glance. "Heh… wish I was handling it as well as you are…" He said cheerfully which made Eight giggle softly.
"You're doing fine." She said with a smile, sliding her left hand along the rail until it was holding Katsuo's. A blush spread across the boy's cheeks again but he smiled. "I've had my fair share of excitement. At least now none of it's inherently dangerous." She added. A question popped up in Katsuo's mind.
"You're talking about that Metro right?" He asked. Eight seemed to pause for a moment before she nodded and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah. Some of the test chambers down there were… intense to say the least. Not to mention the part where I had to escape." She looked down at the rail, her smile fading slightly.
"I've wondered this ever since we met… how did you become Agent 8? Do we have an Agent 5,6 and 7 I've never heard about?" Katsuo asked. Eight shook her head.
"I got the number Eight because The Captain thought it'd be a bit much to repeat my subject number every time he talked to me." She explained.
"Subject number?" Katsuo asked with a frown. I probably should've asked about this sooner… since it seems like such a big deal. Eight looked at him.
"Oh right. You don't know about Kamabo, Co. Or what the underground really was. I guess I'll start from when I found the Captain…"
And so Eight regaled Katsuo with the tale of her time in the DeepSea Metro. He listened with rapt attention, interested and eager to learn about this mysterious place. He occasionally stopped her story to ask a question or two, but he kept them brief, as he was more interested in hearing more of the story. Shock, surprise, amusement, anger and even horror were among the emotions that passed across his face as Eight told him her story.
"Wow…" Was all Katsuo could manage upon the completion of Eight's story. A myriad of emotions were bouncing about in his head as he processed what he'd just been told. But above all else, Katsuo felt a strange sense of… humility. I saved Callie and the Great Zapfish… whilst she saved everything… He just looked at her and the somewhat blank expression on her face.
"Yeah…" Her gaze turned to the railing in front of her.
"You're incredible Eight." He said with a smile. The Octoling turned to look at him with slightly widened eyes. "You're the most incredible person I know." She looked at him for a moment before she gently squeezed his hand again and smiled.
"Thank you Katsuo." She said sincerely. "For everything." He blinked and frowned.
"Whaddya mean?" He asked, only to be more confused when Eight giggled.
"For showing me around Inkopolis and helping me get a hang of how things worked here. And before you say, 'I didn't do that great a job' or something similar, I think you did a great job." Her smile grew slightly. "I couldn't've asked for a better guide." She gave his hand another squeeze.
"I…" Katsuo was briefly dumbfounded as to how to reply, but a response soon came to mind. "It's not a problem Eight." He said after a few moments of thinking. "Anything for you." The boy added with a smile. Eight's smile grew more.
"Thank you." She said.
Katsuo just gazed into Eight's eyes in silence as she gazed back, neither of them having, or needing, to say anything else. Then, slowly, they started slowly leaning towards each other. They both felt their faces gradually get warmer as the other's face drew closer with each passing second. Katsuo could feel his hearts pounding in his ears as his brain went into overtime, all his attention and focus on the dazzling blue eyes of the Octoling in front of him. A part of him was on the verge of panicking, worried that he was about to screw up his first kiss in an incredibly embarrassing way. Her cheeks slowly turned red as her face drew closer and Katsuo's eyes darted from her lips to her eyes repeatedly as the distance narrowed to mere inches.
Katsuo's face was burning and he barely dared to breath as Eight drew closer. Their noses brushed against each other and both their blushes grew even more. Eight's eyes darted downwards for a moment before snapping up to look into Katsuo's eyes again. There they hovered, less than an inch or so apart with cheeks as red as tomatoes, their hearts pounding in their ears. The two were barely breathing, only short breaths escaping either of their lips.
It was almost like an invisible force was holding the two in place, denying either of them the right to close that final, tiny gap. But then, almost like the mysterious force that had been restraining them had suddenly let them free, they closed the gap and their lips finally met. Almost on reflex, they both closed their eyes as they stood there, lips locked together in a simple, but passionate, kiss. Katsuo unconsciously removed his arms from the railing and wrapped them around Eight, who in turn did the same. They pulled each other closer as they stood there, thoughts of anything but each-other practically non-existent.
After what felt like an eternity in each other's arms, they finally broke the kiss and silently looked into each other's eyes. A small smile crept onto Katsuo's bright red face which drew a smile from Eight, her face just as red as his.
"That…" Katsuo started. Eight giggled and just rested her forehead against his.
"Well…" She said, not entirely sure what exactly to say. "That was a first." Katsuo chuckled.
"Yeah it was..." The two stood there in silence for a bit longer. "So… Eight…"
"Yeah?"
"This is… probably kinda silly to ask but… we're… a couple now… right?" He asked. Eight pulled her head back and stared at him for a moment before she giggled.
"Of course we are, you doofus." She said playfully, resting her forehead against his again. "Unless you didn't see that kiss as asking me out…" She asked with a playful smirk.
"No I did!" Katsuo quickly shot back, his face heating up even more. Eight giggled at his reaction.
"Good to know." She glanced towards the main area of Wahoo World. "We should probably go find Callie and Marie… they might be worried about us." She looked back at him.
"Yeah…" He then smiled at her. "We've still got most of the day to enjoy, so why don't we make the best of it?" She nodded.
"Yeah!" The two unwrapped themselves from each other but before they moved off to find the Squid Sisters, Katsuo slid his hand into Eight's and gripped it firmly. With smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts, the couple wandered off, the only thoughts on their mind's were ones of each other and the joy to come in the days ahead.
The end.
And that is it! That's the chapter and the story complete! One final massive thank you to all of you for reading this story, and I seriously hope you enjoyed it! Thanks again to all the followers, favouriteres (I know it's not an actual word) and reviewers, you guys are awesome! And so are you, reading this right now! Now if you're wondering if I'll write more, I hope you'll be pleased to hear I am! Well, at least planning to, but not for a while. I have a few story ideas kicking around that I'm gonna get around to doing. But for now, goodbye, and I hope you have a wonderful day and I hope to see you again on my next story!
