Author's note*: Before reading this chapter, I cannot help but feel the need to warn you that this chapter may contain some very sensitive topics that may not be comfortable some viewers may want to avoid. I have not changed the rating to M since I feel like it does not have enough detailed material to warrant a rating change of that magnitude, but I still feel like I should warn you as I respect you all for taking the time to read my story.
Its 8 years ago on a cold winter day in shelleville, Mollusca. Saint Torino's orphanage is the setting with hard snow fall. The inside is all worn down with a mildew smell and dirty stones for walls, dust filling the air with the sound of loud chatter as the cold wind dances into the building. The mess hall is filled with young and colorful Cuttlefish waiting or their food, but there were two that didn't belong. Young Sky and Young Azule enter the mess hall, both of them covered in bruises with some swelling on their hands and arms and their clothes in complete filth.
The other Cuttlefish children burst into laughter as the two Inklings drag their feet in shame. Azule and Sky had been placed in the orphanage at the request of their mother before her disappearance in the war, probably knowing she wouldn't be coming back. Azule, whose 7 years old at this point in time, had no recollection of either his mother or father or his older siblings, who were also separated from them during the war, but sadly, since he cut them off from his memory, he had no idea how they looked, or at least he chose to forget how they looked. The utter despair of being placed in such a cold and dirty place, where he was hated by everyone, forced his young mind to enter a blank state where the only thing that mattered was seeing his sister happy. For Sky, hatred filled her heart, but not of the Cuttlefish, but of her mother instead. Sky had quite the close relationship with her mother and older sister, remembering the times they'd picked flowers in the lush green garden as Azule and her older brother would play sports with dad. The family photo they took before the war started was the only thing she had left to hang onto that fruitful past, but now the picture had since become worn out and torn at select sides, but even so, she still had the picture and looked at it every morning with prayer that one day her family would return to get them, and that one day she may confront her mother on why she place them in an orphanage and not a foster home, did she have no intention of ever returning for them?
Sky and Azule sat over in the furthest corner of the mess hall where they awaited their bullying session. It pained Sky that she couldn't fight back, since she spent a good 2 years of her life doing intense military workouts with her dad and mom. Unfortunately, if Sky ever threw one punch, she would get beaten a dozen times by the priest, and after that, who knows what could happen to her with that lecherous Cuttlefish on the prowl. Sky usually had to think for both Azule and herself, since Azule was the basic invalid at this point.
Sky's stomach growls, she holds her hand over her belly, trying to endure the hunger. But when she looked over at Azule, she could hear his belly rumble, seeing the tears in his eyes as he struggled to fight the hunger.
"Zule, do you think you can battle through this a little longer? You know if I get us food now, it'll be our only rations for the week…" reasoned Sky, praying that Azule can power through, but it was futile. Azule's head hit the table as his belly roared again, prompting Sky to quickly get him food.
Sky carries two bowls over of some cold chowder with a small roll of bread; the big bad bully known as Heath passed by them, slamming both of them to the floor and getting in Sky's face.
"Look here runt, you don't belong here. I suggest you go back home to your rich little mommy and daddy…oh? They're gone? Dead..? you're left here to become nothing but trash that'll be a useless whore in the future…" he said slapping Sky to the floor; the other children turn their heads, beginning to cheer as Heath gets on top of Sky, punching her in the face repeatedly until she got a nosebleed.
Sky's head bobs back and forth as she received each powerful blow, feeling the immediate impact tenfold as Heath's fist connects with her face. Heath continues to strike punishing blows as Azule's blank stare began to turn cold as he witnessed his sister getting beaten.
"Get…away…from her!" screamed Azule, punching Heath in the face with incredible force, sending Heath straight into a nearby table. What was unknown was these two Inklings weren't just anyone; they were the children of the most Iconic Inklings in the modern era, Agents 3 and 4; the same two parents that worked them to the bone to help unlock their hidden potential from such a young age and the same that led the 2nd Great Turf War.
Azule's eyes had murder written all over as he stood his ground, putting up his arms up to protect Sky. The infamous priest appears, showing his tongue at the two siblings with beady eyes. Azule's glare sharpened as the priest approached them, growling at him.
"I won't let you do anything to my sister again!" barked Azule with his vicious eyes still present.
"Oh please, young Azule, I am simply purifying your sister of the horrible sins that have been committed, think of what has happened to her as a holy act…"-lifting his hand-"Now, hand her over, she must pay for what you've done."
"No…" said Azule, picking her up and resting her on his shoulders, "You will never harm my sister again; no one in this building will try anything against us! From this day forward, all of you will pay!" screamed Azule.
The priest halted, realizing that this kid wasn't the same invalid as before. To the corner stood two other inklings, they had cobalt blue and orange tentacles and they both were inspired by Azule's courage.
Sky woke up later that day, not to the horrific sight of a sweaty priest guffawing as she cleaned herself up, not to the agony of bruises and cuts ripping into her skin from the whips and belts that the nuns used, but to the tears that fell upon her face from her little brother who was holding her tightly.
"Azule…What…?" she whispered groggily, unsure if it was all her imagination or just a dream to see such a rare sight.
"Sis, from this point forward…with all the strength I have…I'll protect you!" he said with what little strength he had.
At the same time, the Cobalt blue tentacle boy and Orange tentacle girl entered the room, taking a seat next to the siblings; they had quite the resemblance to a fellow pair that we know in the present.
"Hey…boy!" said the Cobalt one, taking out his sword, "I like you, you've got guts to stand up to the head honcho of this dump…from now on, how about we help each other? As long as I'm around, I'll make sure that no one will ever hurt you two. " proposed the boy.
Azule nodded yes, realizing it was a fellow Inkling. The Orange one sat next to Sky, gently playing with her hair. The mood that surrounded the four was a weak and helpless one; they were behind enemy territory and needed escape.
For the next few years, the four of them began a strong bond; although the Cobalt blue boy and Orange girl never told their name, they identified themselves as a samurai and martial artist. The four friends would venture around the orphanage, pulling off mischievous pranks, knowing that if they ever got busted, the samurai would unsheathe his sword to protect them. Soon, a fifth friend came, giving them more fun, although she didn't really appear to be Inkling, perhaps she was a Cuttlefish? Sadly, the fun for the five of them didn't last long though.
The night where everything would change began with the samurai and martial arts girl meeting up with Sky, Azule and a girl with big black rimmed nerdy glasses; she too, hadn't said her name, but chose to be called glasses.
"Everyone…we have an idea!" whispered the cobalt one with a candlelight in the hallway all the way at the end of the bed rooms.
"We've decided that we're going to run away from here! We'll survive on the streets instead! Who knows, maybe someone might take us in…" said the orange one, as the cobalt one yawned-looking out for anyone.
"But…there is a tight defense that surrounds this place, how will you escape?" asked the glasses girl.
"We'll sneak out from the rooftop, and then we'll jump over the gate from the roof closest to the street. Luckily, there's a nearby village we can escape to on our way to Inkopolis…" said the orange one enthusiastically; the others didn't seem on board though.
"I'm sorry, I can't… if I got caught, then I would be back in an uncomfortable position. Thanks to your help and Azule's, I don't have that disgusting priest chasing after me…I'd prefer to keep it that way." Said Sky, shuddering as she remembers the disgusting events; the orange and cobalt blue inklings look at each other.
"Then, we'll come back to rescue you all." Winked the blue one; the glasses one kept a little distance from every one now.
"Yes, once we've found help, we'll get you out of here." Said the orange one; the glasses one faded further away from them.
Azule noticed the glasses girl shrinking away from them. He grabs her hand, allowing her to feel his warm and soft hands comfort her frosty cold ones. "What's wrong?" he asked.
The glasses girl hesitated as the others also turned their attention to her. She looked away, as if ashamed. She never had revealed who she was, mainly because she feared that the others would hate her if she told them her identity.
Azule placed his hand on her shoulder, "you're a Cuttlefish, right? Does your mom work here?"
She looked at Azule, wide eyed at how accurate he was. "How did you know..?" she asked, shaking her head yes.
"I noticed how close you interacted with Sister Barbara…does she know that you hang out with us?" responded Azule; She hesitated to answer.
"Yes...she has ordered me to no longer talk with you all…"-she looked really bothered-"I'm going to be leaving tonight, this will be our last meeting, sadly." She said abruptly, wanting to cry; the others look puzzled by the news.
"Why?" asked Sky and the orange girl in sync.
"Because she doesn't want me to befriend you all…she said that we'll be moving pretty far away from here…"-taking out a map-"it's this place all the way on the bottom left, it's the tropical nation of Cephalodan."
"So far away!?" whined Sky, putting her hands on her face.
"Sadly so…I don't know if I'll ever see you guys again…but I'll pray that we all meet again." she takes one last look at them, having a prolonged gaze at Azule before sprinting off, never to be seen again.
"I guess we'll be on our way too…" said the Cobalt one; everyone exchanges a long embrace, unsure if they would ever see one another again.
As time passed by, the relationship between Azule and Sky grew stronger as they realized that in the end, they were always going to have each other's back. That was until the day Sky had to leave for Squid Academy High School. It was very anti climatic since she promised to return and retrieve Azule. But as she left the orphanage, ready to explore the big city that awaited her, Azule would be in for a rude awakening.
For the rest of his time alone at the orphanage, Azule became the victim of many unspeakable actions performed by both the nuns and the priest. He became scarred both physically and emotionally as he remained helpless with no one to turn to for help, spending his nights hiding in the closet, cold and alone with the only thing to replenish his health and happiness being his own tears. But one day, he finally snapped. After taking the same entrance exam to get into Squid Academy High School, Azule gave a sending off message to everyone at the orphanage. He stole all of their food supplies, and the money in the vault and finally, burnt the orphanage to a crisp while everyone was sleeping, making his escape late into the night. Only a week later would he reach his sister's location after searching it up on an illegal people search site, desperate to run into the arms of safety, desperate to escape such a filthy past, desperate to find a new path in life.
Azule hurries down the hallway as the painful memory returned in full force, he finally realized who he was, who he had become and what he would have to do. He remembered the terrible pasts that all of his friends had been through, realizing that somehow, he unconsciously became attracted the same sins as theirs. We're all the same he thought, sprouting a smirk as saw the back of Cobalt and Tangie.
