The school entrance read: "Harmony is Victory" walking past the huge gates, getting a lovely view of the gigantic campus.
The first building appears to be about 4 stories high, at least from the outside. Autumn Cherry trees decorate the sidewalks and fields, blooming in beauty for the students to marvel walking down the trail. A huge squid fountain sits in the middle with some benches, and down the pathway behind the building sit another nine buildings with a track and field next to one of them. A decision to walk together, Sky informs him on every building. It turns out the building they're approaching is the main building where most of the first years have their classes, along with a few classes for the upperclassmen as well as the cafeteria, auditorium and mostly everything else; the faculty lounges were also here along with some of the popular club rooms. Three of the buildings were designated for one of the grades more so than the others and then the other four were the living spaces for the students. Azule and Sky enter the main building along with the crowd of other students, and upon entering, saw the halls packed with upperclassmen at different tables trying to recruit new members for their clubs just in time for the orientation occurring in just a bit. Right away Azule notices quite a surprise as plenty of people walk up to his sister and greet them, even hearing whispers from some of the upperclassmen about her being the queen of the school.
Azule turned to Sky, "It's as if you're royalty here."
"Stop flattering me you little devil, I don't deserve your kind words…" she said hiding her face dramatically like an actor in a classic drama."I guess they like my last name..."
Azule passes by looking at the clubs trying to recruit but can't seem to find what he's looking for, "You told me one time that this school does turf wars…I don't see any clubs here talking about those." he said tugging at her sleeve.
Sky looks at Azule's confused face and laughs a bit, "Well that's a very specific club activity you're looking for. Don't worry, you'll learn about it from the principal at the opening ceremony since that's our premier sport. Be patient, okay? You can join a team then…" she said, doing her best to contain her laughter, finding his naivety adorable; on the inside, she knew Azule would probably call it quits once he realizes just how big of a spectacle it is at Squid Academy. Azule felt comfortable with her answer and rolls along with it, figuring it made no sense to doubt her. Sky walked over to a counter and grabbed a bunch of papers, handing some to Azule after sorting them out on her way back, "OK! I got some info regarding all the clubs here that set up booths and the one's that didn't set up. You can also check out the other different things that are going on here; Your opening ceremony will be in an hour, so use that time wisely. It'll get busy after that with finding classes and everything, and-" just then, she hears a group call her name and her face lights up; "I'll be on my way since mine is starting in a couple minutes…" she gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek like a mother, "Stay out of trouble, hear me?"
Azule nods and decides to walk and check out the clubs of the upperclassmen. There were an absurd amount of clubs! Nearly any kind of activity imaginable had a club, from "Tea club" to "Cloud Watcher club". Azule looked at the paper that showed all the clubs and activities and decided to surf them out too, Azule continued walking while reading the papers when someone suddenly bumped into him.
"Hey! Watch where you're walking!" yelled the boy, shaking his fist angrily glaring at Azule; Azule hadn't realized that he bumped into the boy.
"I'm sorry" he apologized, only to be met with hostility from the boy; he had Forest Green tentacles that were tied in a ponytail with a camouflage head tie and wore the exact same uniform, But with white slip-ons instead. Azule looked at the boy's tie, and saw that it was also red. "Are you a first year too?" looking at the boy's tie. He was met with the boy's Dark green eyes, pierce right through him; Azule stood in silence with his eyes locked on the angry boy, unsure of what next to do. After a long minute, the boy storms by Azule even angrier than before.
The boy turns around, "Bump into me again and I'll send you to the bottom of the ocean." he said walking off in anger. Azule's pupils dilate registering his hostility as threat.
"Looks like you ran into Todd…" voice comments behind him, startling Azule.
"His name is Todd..." Azule said looking in the direction of the angry inkling walking away, turning around afterwards to see a guy with Reddish Orange tentacles greet him with a friendly smile.
"Judging by your tie, you must be a first year, yes?" the guy examines, wearing a green tie to denote that he was a second year student; He wore glasses and wore a black and red knitted cap that hanged back a bit.
"My name is Parker, of Kidvel." he said in a boastful tone; Azule didn't know what a kidvel was, it was the first time he ever heard that.
"What's a Kidvel?" asked Azule, completely lost; the second year was pleased that he could educate a first year right on the first day of school.
"Well, before I begin, I must ask…are you familiar with turf wars?" Parker said with an unsettling grin and raise of the eyebrows.
Azule nodded his head enthusiastically once he recognized that it the sport that made his heart race with excitement earlier, "Most certainly! Looks fun!"
Parker laughed to himself-amused with Azule's innocence, "Kidvel is a club that participates in turf Wars here at school, currently we're ranked 2nd after last year's standings." He said taking off his glasses to clean; Azule was astounded by the news of turf wars really being a sport at the school, and running into one of the top players in the school.
A light bulb went off in Azule's head, "Can I join your team?"
The second year shook his head, "Sorry, but my team is already at 4 players and I'm not the captain, you'd end up being a reserve... But don't worry, if you want, you can form a team of your own." The speaker sounded and called for all second years to enter the auditorium. "We'll continue this at lunch; meet me on the rooftop of this building...oh and what's your name by the way?" He said in a hurry.
"It's Azule…Azule Royale."
"Royale! Alright, see you on the rooftop later!" He shouted saluting him off before disappearing into a crowd of first years students still finding their way around.
Alone with a hallway filled with first years, Azule decides to check out some of the other buildings and see how they looked. Azule walks around the main building some more and is just about to exit going out into the yard when he spots a girl out the corner of his eye that immediately caught his attention; she had Pastel Green tentacles that were braided together with the braid going over her left shoulder, glossy Emerald green eyes, and a smile that could infatuate any boy. Azule immediately became thought it was love at first sight, wanting to go over and introduce himself. She appeared to be a second year since she had a green tie on, on her phone listening to music when one of her friends came over and pointed to the auditorium; she was late for the ceremony, to which she made haste to reach the auditorium. A boy sneaked up behind him as he continued to gaze at her with a newfound crush in mind as she walked off. The boy wore square black rimmed sting rays glasses and had Race yellow tentacles which goes well with his pleasant aura, seeming quite friendly from his warm expression.
"I see you have the hots for Pastelle…" the boy said after sneaking behind him.
"Yeah, she's breathtaking…I've never seen such a girl like her before!" Azule visualized how she must be as a person.
"Well, you should probably give up; she's one of the prettiest girls in the school! I'm also very sure that she's one of the top 5 best turf war players on campus, and I hear she's super popular and might even has a boyfriend already!"
Azule looks at him sideways with a concerned look,"How do you know?"
The boy clicks his tongue and shakes his head, "Doesn't she already sound out of your league?" Azule crouches down near a wall and begins sulking.
The boy laughed, "Hey, you're a comical one aren't you?" chuckling at his new friend; "My name is Reice, I'm looking to join a club here that will do turf wars. But sadly all the third year's and second year's clubs are full. I heard that I could make my own club, but I don't really think I could be a leader." looking outside at the amazing architecture; "From what I heard from some of the seniors here, this school happened to be a top contender in turf wars many years back, but now they're like a fallen power since many of the top players don't go here anymore…" He inspects Azule and after closely keeping eye contact, a huge grin sprouts."You wouldn't happen to know anybody would you?" he asked, rubbing his hands together like a meal was prepared before him.
"No, but I am thinking about forming my own club. If you want, you can join my club…" Azule pitched hoping to grab his first teammate. Reice looks at him with a skeptical smile and raises of his right eyebrow sizing the inkling.
"Well, looks like I finally found some luck! You're starting your own club, eh? Do you mind if I add someone to our team? She might also be interested in joining the club...I think she'd be a really good addition."
"Sure, I'd like to meet them." Responded Azule happily.
The speaker over the intercom came on, "All first years, please report to the auditorium…" it echoed and in an instant, all the first years packed their way into the auditorium, indistinct chatter fills the massive room as the duo enter the huge room. Azule and Reice swim through the crowd to get inside, and after infiltrating, they realize the auditorium is huge! The size of the interior rivaled that of a basketball arena. The upperclassmen were all sitting in the higher seats up above; Azule spotted sky with her friends and waved to her-even calling her name so that she could spot him in the crowd of first years, and she waved back-then whispering something to her friends. Reice stayed glued to his phone texting someone, more than likely it was probably the friend he was talking about earlier. He got a reply from her and then quickly grabs Azule's arm and dashes down the lane as space opens up. Reice finds the girl and shuffles Azule through the aisle of seats to get to her, wedging Azule between them.
Reice and the girl exchanged a nice smile and hello to each other, with the girl following up and asking him what took him so long. Azule observed her features closely as she continued her conversation with Reice, noticing her bright long tentacles of a Salmon hue with gold tinges at the end of her all wrapped up in a gold bow on the left side of her head with some studio headphones hanging around her neck; her eyes, a vibrant pink with a calmness similar to Azule's sister threw him off a little. He didn't know what to do in this situation since he never made that many friends back at the orphanage-not that he could remember any of them at least, and it felt awkward as is since he just met Reice and was already being introduced to yet another person.
Sky was right…people sure are friendly at this school. But, what's up with all the pretty girls I'm seeing!?
The pretty girl stares at Azule aware of his gaze, "My name's Sally, nice to meet you..." breaking the ice and shaking his hand. Her hand's so soft! He thought as they made contact.
"L-likewise, my name is Azule...and I'm looking to start a club here!" Embarrassed and avoiding eye contact with her after getting caught; she is so pretty! Why is it that she reminds me of Sky in some way…? He thought.
"Yeah, Reice told me earlier when he texted me. Are you good at turf wars?"
Azule shook his head, "I don't really know since I've never actually played, but after I watched this game on TV-er, the Inkopolis Cup-I was inspired by the two teams that were playing that I wanted to play this sport."
"Did it make your heart race?" she asked, intrigued by the origin of his decision.
Azule grabbed his chest as he recalled the feeling, "Most definitely! I didn't get to see who won the match since my older sister changed the channel."
"So you've never ever played in a turf war and want to compete because you saw two teams play on TV…" she turns her attention to Reice, who was studying some girl far down the row who had purple tentacles "Quite a team captain we'll have Reice…"
"Heh, what can I say? I like him. I think he'll become someone very special. Think about it, he's never played the sport and yet he wants to start his own team…if that doesn't make you want to come along for the wild ride in store, then I don't know what will." He said in a matter of factually tone, convincing Sally; Azule was still there, so he heard everything.
"Well Azule, looks like you can bump the club member count to three. After Reice's convincing statement, I can't see any reason why I shouldn'tjoin."
"Wait...Are you two seriously going to join my team?" he said, looking down at his lap and actually realizing what was happening. "Would you really join my team despite my inexperience? It wouldn't bother you to have an inferior captain?"
Reice and Sally looked at Azule, tilting their heads in the same direction-"of course we would, we'd love to teach you ourselves. It'll be fun getting to see your growth from our first match."
Azule couldn't hide his joy as he tried to contain a beaming smile, looking at both of them and having confidence in what he'd have to do from now on as the captain of the team. "I'll make you guys proud! Just watch me!"
"Sure!" they say in sync with vibrant smiles.
The chatter in the auditorium silences as a tall, rather young and slender adult inkling walks up onto the stage; he has a classic black dress suit on with a medium complexion and Black tentacles that were slicked back. He approaches the podium and fixes the microphone looking at all the students while doing so. "My name is Derrick Telfin and I'm the Principal of Squid Academy High School…" he scopes out the first years all wide eyed; "I see many new faces that each tell their own story, each with some form of expression waiting to be unlocked…I hope that the time you spend here will allow you to truly discover who you are and who you want to be." The room is still silent as he clears his throat; "Before I begin discussing the expectations for you all at this school and the many other announcements, I want to start off by getting right down to the driving force of our school spirit: turf wars." the audience of third years and second years roared with excitement, everyone at the school loved turf wars since it was the premier sport for Inklings; Azule paid extra close attention to what was about to be said since he really only saw his focus lie in turf wars. "As it currently is, we are near a cap space of 16 clubs registered for the Rank Wars competition here at school, at 15; we are looking for one more club to join to have a full roster of teams for the upcoming competition. The upperclassmen spoke to me over the summer and requested that this year we have two clubs this year be led by first years, at an attempt to increase our school involvement from the first years since recent data has shown that lack of first year involvement has become apparent and for that, we want to encourage your involvement. We have many first years that have signed up and joined many of the bigger clubs here that will be contenders to win the competition, but we also have our first team of all first years, they'll be led by a wonderful first year that entered our school as the 4th ranked junior high player in turf wars…Would that person please stand up so that we may praise you on your past accomplishments and potentially your future performances as well?" everyone looked around to find out who this gifted first year was, and then someone stood up-a familiar face for Azule, and one he definitely didn't expect to see. A roaring applause filled the auditorium for Todd, the gifted first year.
Azule's happy expression disappeared as the threat that Todd made echoes in his head, "What's so special about him?" gritting his teeth and clenching his first with a glare as he watched everyone give praise to Todd.
"Didn't you hear what the principal said just now? He's the 4th highest ranked incoming first year in all of Inkland, That's some pretty high accolades he's got already; given the fact that barely any top prospects go here anymore, the principal has to do his best to make sure that he doesn't try to transfer away." Sally said trying relax Azule, who was looking like he was about to rip the papers he had in his hand by the way he was clutching them.
"Yeah, I guess he's also here for the Rank Wars competition." Reice added, chuckling at Azule's sudden anger right afterwards.
"Rank Wars competition…What's that?" Azule asked.
"It's an inner competition here at the school between 16 clubs that will compete…I hear the winner gets to go to the fall preliminaries in November." Reice informed, holding up a finger.
"Oh…so what do the winners get?" Azule asked curiously.
"I'm not very sure, but my guess would be that the winner will represent the school at one of the bigger competitions in the country in the Fall and Winter."
Principal Telfin continues, "Any more information regarding the Rank Wars competition will be discussed at a later time; I simply want to raise your interest in the sport." He fixes his posture; "Now, is there a first year who'd like to form the final club to participate in this year's Turf wars? If so I would like for you to come up here and tell us a little about yourself as well as why you want to form the 16th club; think of it as the message to the student body of what you'll accomplish with your team."
Azule thought about it for a second as the auditorium stood silent with no student having the courage to stand up. "Send a message, huh?" he said under his breath as he recalled Todd's mean words; Azule raises his hand with determination in his eyes, catching the attention of the other students who began to whisper.
"who is he?"
"He sure has the guts to do this in front of everyone on the first day."
Azule walks down the aisle and marches up to the podium to stand before the thousands of students that were all watching him; Sky was impressed with her little brother's sudden courage, as well as many of the other third and second years-sensing that this boy might be a different cut from the usual bunch.
Azule places both hands on the podium and leans into the mic as composed as imaginable, "My Name is Azule…Azule Royale, I'm a first year here, and I have my older sister here in attendance and her name is Sky Royale…" he said pointing to her in the upper levels with many students beginning to chatter after this, shocked to learn that the famous Sky Royale, the queen bee of the school, had a little brother. "As to the reason for wanting to captain a club here, it's a simple reason. I fell in love with turf wars. I love the high rush it gives me just from watching, and though I'm a novice, I guarantee this: I'll be better than any of you people. I'll beat every single one of you losers at your own game and take this school to the next level." shock fills the room as no one expected this boy to say such a thing in front of everyone, especially on the first day; "All of you are inferior, so just watch me..." his arrogance grows as the adrenaline rush continues in the face of a wave of booing filling the auditorium. He spots Todd and points to him,"I'll bury you to the bottom of the ocean first! I predict that with my team, we'll completely dominate the Rank Wars and represent the school and get to rub it in your face." Todd looks absolutely enraged by Azule's comment but, Azule wouldn't stop at just Todd; "I also don't plan on losing to my upperclassmen either, so prepare your old and decrepit bodies for the beat down you'll receive, that includes you, Big sis." he confidently looks at Sky, who now had a huge grin on her darkened face bursting her soda can after hearing the absolute disrespect from her little brother. "From this day onward, you can think of me as public enemy #1; I don't want any fake people in my club, nor do I want any of you to support us either…so if you're booing me now, continue to voice that displeasure louder and louder. I'll still come out on top." Stepping back from the podium to hear the sea of booing from the audience.
Is this boy insane!? What mad child says something like that on the first day of school? Principal Telfin thought examining his character, This…this boy is exactly what we need at this school, for the competition, and definitely for the national team…his boldness is something I haven't seen since Agent 3!
Azule smiles arrogantly stepping down the steps and continues hearing the yelling of displeasure from the entire student body; on the first day of school, this boy already made himself an enemy of the entire school. The entire student body continues to boo him as he strolls up the aisle and takes a seat down next to Reice and Sally. The duo were very surprised with Azule's sudden change of character, having thought him to be some awkward kid, but clearly he was unpredictable.
"Talk about guts! You've really made an enemy out of everyone in school." Sally patted Azule on the back.
"I hope you know we'll need one more member to actually have a chance at being a winning club, and I don't think that was the right move to pull. We might not attract anyone onto our team." Reice said shaking his head with mild disappointment; the girl that he was staring at earlier gazed at Azule from a distance, hiding behind the chair she sat in; Azule could feel her gaze and exchanged eye contact with her, smiling and waving.
Azule returned his attention to his two new friends, "I don't care if we have to enter in on 3-on-4 handicaps; I want my club to be of people that are truly genuine and will care about each other as a team From what I saw when I went up there, there aren't a lot of those in this school. They aren't team minded as much as they are selfish, and I don't know much but I do know that the key to winning is synergy. If we're winning, it'll be as a team. I've stated my declaration of war to scare away everyone else." he responds with confidence.
"Well, I guess you're special for sure…" Sally shrugged, closing her eyes and laughing to herself, 3-on-4 handicaps? This kid's really the loose cannon.
Principal Telfin quieted the uproar and restored order in the continued on with the opening ceremony and discussed the rest of the points on his agenda, but while he continued, all the attention focused on Azule as they all directed their evil glares toward Azule, the most hated kid in school. After the orientation, Azule, Reice and Sally all walked together over to the second building where the first year classes were and found themselves in the same homeroom when they saw theiur names on the bulletin board out in the hallway. The trio walked into the Classroom and immediately Azule was met with vicious glares from nearly all the students in the classroom; one girl though, had her head buried in her book.
"Good morning!" he said in a cheerful tone ignoring all the angry stares, pissing the other students off even more as one guy had to be held back by his fellow classmates.
Todd, who was also in the class, sat in the 2nd row near the wall, and in an angry tone, " You miserable trash, you've got some nerve running your mouth the way you did."
Azule's pleasant smile quickly disappears, replaced with a cold glare at Todd that leaves him and everyone else unsettled. The two stare each other down like two gunslingers about to have a quick draw and some of the other students kids were whispering who they thought would win in a fight. The Purple girl from earlier was also in the class, and she sat in the back buried in her book, uninterested in the tense moment. The bell rang and everyone looked for a place to sit before their teacher walked in, since more than likely where they sat would be their permanent seat. Azule and Reice chose to sit in the back of the classroom near the window, and Sally, sat right in front of Reice, who sat to the right of Azule; Azule sat behind the girl with the Purple tentacles, who was panicking silently since she had the most hated kids sitting right by her and she was trying to avoid them. Azule observed her from behind, seeing her Purple tentacles tied up in a bun, and also looked on the ground and saw the set of heavy-looking books. He taps on her shoulder, and she turns around, startled; Azule's heart skips a beat as he saw her face, her cute round face that had a lovely pair of purple glasses furthering her beauty as it showcased her dark violet eyes. Azule had already been exposed to three pretty girls in one day, but this girl by far may have been the prettiest-or at least tied with Pastelle.
"Hi, my name's Azule! What's your name?" he beamed; she looks away with shyness.
"Violet…" she whispers, hastily looking forward to pay attention.
"I noticed you earlier in the auditorium...I guess you saw me on stage, huh?" he laughs, hoping to lighten the mood.
She nods her head, "I agree with what you said there, but that was a little too extreme."
"Say, have you ever played in turf wars?"
She shakes her head, "I'd like to try it."
A light goes off in Azule's head, "Would you like to join my team? We need another member and it could be fun."
Violet hesitates to give an answer, she looks around at the classroom to see if anyone is listening in to their conversation; Sally and Reice are the only ones listening, but Violet isn't bothered by them since she figured that they must be the ones Azule referred to in his declaration. "I'm not sure, wouldn't joining your team be the same as becoming a villain in this school?"
Azule winked and then smiled, "Isn't it fun to be the baddies though? The four of us becoming the ultimate underdogs and winning the whole competition as the villains of the school, sounds amazing, doesn't it?"
She thought about it for a second, seeing the enthusiasm on Sally and Reice's face who were encouraging her to join. She nods her head only after looking in Reice's direction, "Sure, I'll join your team."
The teacher enters the classroom with a briefcase and stern expression on his face. He looked different from any of the Inklings ever seen, with his very colorful pearlescent tentacles-the main trait of Cuttlefish-his thick mustache and his scary stare; some kids in the classroom mumbled about him being a Cuttlefish and really examined his every move as he did the same with his students, passing off as a very unpleasant person. "Morning class, my name is C.T.L Monroe, and welcome to your homeroom class: Advanced Literature. This is a rigorous course that will focus on the study of classic literature and on some forms of art as well." He announced in a very robotic tone; the class stood silent as the teacher noticed that two seats were empty and happened to be right before Sally and Violet. He look at his roster and did a role call on the students and found out that the two kids who were absent.
"So Tangie Citra and Cobalt Tokugawa…they chose the wrong time to be absent." He cursed under his breath right afterwards and then mumbled; "but those last names seem oddly familiar."
He continued with his announcements and gave an introduction into what the kids would be doing and what was expected of them. He notified them that each class was an hour long and that the school days were only until an hour after noon time for only four days of the week since Inklings didn't value education as much as they do their sports. According to him, lunch was right after fourth period; the rest of class was spent in silence as he instructed no one to make any sounds until the bell rang to dismiss them. Once the bell rang, all the students darted out the classroom free from his totalitarian rule.
Azule asked the others to compare their classes to see where everyone would be for the rest of the day; three of them had third and fourth period together, only homeroom was the class that all four of them shared together. Azule took a look at his classes, seeing that he had Algebra for second period, Advanced Government & Economics for third period, Advanced Chemistry for fourth period, Engineering for fifth period, Gaming Design for sixth period, and P.E. for Seventh period.
"Your classes are crazy!" Sally awed after looking at Azule's schedule, "You have to be really smart to take all these classes, just how high did you score on the entrance exam?"
"High enough I guess…" Azule rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh.
"But nearly all of your classes are honors or advanced…" Reice added; "Well, I guess you'll be fine."
"Hey, do you guys want to meet up for lunch on the roof? I have to meet somebody there…" Azule suggested which they all agreed, seeing as their first moment to hang out in school.
Azule found his second period to be much better than the homeroom with a much livelier classroom than his previous period-also making friends with some of the delinquents of the school. The third and fourth periods were just as enjoyable as his second period, which was being together with some of his friends. Lunch time rolled around and Azule, Reice, Sally and Violet all met up in the main hallway of the second building and walked over to the first building and got their lunch, heading up the staircase to the roof and opening the door to find Parker sitting on a nearby bench eating his bean burrito. The rooftop had an excellent view of Inkopolis, showing the lovely skyline of the busy city with the cool blue overcast in the distance.
"Ah, so you've come! And you've also brought friends with you!" Parker hops up with his burrito in hand to shake the other's hands before wrapping an arm around Azule "Seems your little declaration of war has earned you some critics already!" he takes a bite into his own burrito; "You should have heard the second and third years in the upper levels in class, they all were consumed with rage when you said that and they didn't have very kind words about you either... especially when you called out your sister! Everyone looked ready to kill. You know you just stepped into a dungeon with that little outburst."
Azule looks lost for a moment, and then he started laughing, "Angry at me too?"
Parker cleared his throat, "On the contrary, I'm impressed. Last year was pretty boring, but with you around, things might get interesting. But more importantly, you know who your sister is right?" his tone changed in all seriousness, feeling as though Azule didn't know exactly what he got himself into.
"No…" Azule responded with not the slightest clue and just shrugging his shoulders.
Parker does a facepalm and sighs, "Your sister is the starlet around here and one of the top 3 best players in our school at number 2; she's also nationally and internationally ranked within the top 10 players right now. Your sister is a one of a kind specialist in the snipe game, and not to mention she's absolutely stunning!" he said clasping his hands together romanticizing about her; "She's as rare as they come!" Just at that very moment, Sky entered the rooftop with her squad; a faint wind blew as Sky-along with her team-stared down Azule's new team. Parker announced their arrival like a ring announcer would, stating some personal facts about them much to their annoyance.
Sky crossed her arms and had a smug look, "Aren't you a hundred years too young to be calling your big sister out on the first day of school?"
Azule also crossed his arms and return the smug look lifting the brim of his hat up, "Can't handle your little brother shaking things up?"
Both siblings eye's sparkle as they continued their smug stare off, both beginning to laugh and eventually hug it out; it seemed pretty heartwarming to Azule's friends that his relationship with Sky was at such a playful level. Sky suddenly grabs Azule by the ears and squeezed them, and then stretched his face out "You got some nerve pulling that off you little brat!"
After a couple minutes of Azule tapping out after his sister put him in a headlock, Sky introduced herself to Azule's friends after already leaving a strong first impression. Parker continued to fawn over her until he saw the mean glare from one of the members of Sky's team and stopped; the glaring boy turned his attention to Azule, approaching him. A tall boy stood before Azule with an imposing aura, and everything about him seemed to be too serious. He had Purplish-Blue tentacles with a permanent glare, didn't seem like he was too fond of playful attitude. "Hey underclassmen, know your place. Don't expect us to go easy on you just because you're Sky's little bro, I'll crush you myself if we ever meet in the Rank Wars." he peers at Azule with a hunter's look.
"Aaroonnnnnn, stop trying to intimidate them. It's fun to have a rowdy captain in the Rank Wars anyways, it got boring last season when we only had one decent challenge." Sky held his hand to calm him down; "Seeing that you two are going to be the best of friends, this is Aaron, he's the team captain of the Elites...and my boyfriend."
Aaron continued to glare at Azule, and Azule returned that same glare upon hearing his title as both the team captain and boyfriend. Azule observed the other two members of the Elites, seeing that they didn't look like any scrubs either with their intimidating auras.
"So you're the captain? I guess I'll send a direct message to you since I can get it right out of the way…" Azule gets in his face, "I'll take your throne."
Aaron felt the fighting spirit of the boy before him, seeing the ferocity in the boy's eyes. Azule saw the calm storm in Aaron's eyes; it felt like a preview of what was to come between the best player in the school and the biggest enemy in the school.
Aaron closed his eyes, "Azule, do you really think you can beat us? Do you really think you stand a chance? We're the best team in the ENTIRE school, not even Kidvel can beat us. We're at the top of the mountain here at Squid Academy and you're starting right from the bottom…will you be able to catch our shadow?" mocking Parker; Azule thought for a second as he looked at the ground.
"If I didn't think I could, I would have never said what I said in front of everybody…" with a strong resolve in his eyes, he doesn't blink; "My team will win the Rank Wars."
Aaron understood his resolve and concluded with a hungry grin, "I'll be looking forward to playing you then, better strengthen your team, you'll need it if you're gonna beat us." walking off with Sky and the other members, Sky waves goodbye as she wouldn't see Azule after school because he'll be staying in a dorm from now on.
"We should all hang out with each other after school on Thursday…" Azule propses, hoping to shift the mood from that little encounter.
"That's a good idea for you guys…it's good for team chemistry to build up. In turf wars, chemistry is what will win you games more than anything; you can have the strongest team in the world and still lose because you don't have the chemistry" agreed Parker, rubbing his tummy after the delicious burrito "Did you get your dorms yet?" he asked with one eye open, giving a large belch.
"Yeah, Reice and I got the same dorms and so did Sally and Violet coincidentally. It feels like we're in some sort of show or something." he answered holding out his key to the dorm room.
"Well that's good and all…but Azule; you know why I called you up here, right?"
"Does it have to do with turf wars…? I know you were talking about it this morning."
"Yes, it's imperative that you know how things work around here for the turf wars, so listen newbie..." he takes out some glasses and a lab coat with a white board; "Turf wars are the pride and joy of sports in the nation of Inkopolis and on the entire continent perhaps. The calendar year for competitions here start in September, which is the Rank Wars; we're the only school that actively does ranked wars since most prefer to structure the club around 4 members and the rest as simple reserves. The Rank Wars season is mid September to mid October with two league matches in the same week and then an 8 team elimination playoff to decide the winner. The winner goes on to represent us at the autumn preliminaries in November and then if they win the final or place high, they go to the Winter Championship in December." he concluded.
"Who's the defending Rank Wars champion?" Sally asked, also interested.
Parker looked reluctant to share, "The Elites…they've won all the Rank Wars competitions in the last two years."
"Sky's team? How good are they really?"
"They're overwhelming to compete against. I remember the two times we competed against them in the finals."
"Two times…? But aren't you a second year? How could you possibly face them in two finals?" Sally asked with a questioned expression.
"Because there are a total of two Rank Wars, one in the fall and one in the early spring; For the past two Rank Wars that Kidvel has competed in…" he clenched his fist with visible frustration in recalling them; "We've lost to them in the finals! Each time we faced them, we saw defeat whether in the regular season or the playoffs."
"Wow…so they've swept the competition before?"
"It's more than two titles…"his face went pale as the memories of the multiple defeats in the finals came rushing back to him; "they've won four in a row! They haven't lost a Rank Wars championship ever!"
Sally and the others are puzzled, unaware of the incredible strength that the Elites possessed. Azule could see Parker's determination to get to the finals and get revenge on them, "So then let us meet each other in the finals this time." Azule said holding out his fist for a fist bump, unfazed by the amazing feats of Elites.
Parker was delighted with Azule's optimism, "I'll look forward to seeing you there, too."
