*There is a scene in here that might not be suitable for children or anyone younger; Reason I haven't changed the rating is that it is only a scene and doesn't generate enough material worthy to change the entire rating(In my opinion, at least), therefore, I feel I should let you know beforehand. If you are in any way uncomfortable with mild suggestive material then I suggest waiting until the next chapter. It isn't anything major or very detailed, but I know it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Thanks for your continued support and enjoy!
Both teams race out the gates and the clock begins-five minutes of fierce play from two of some of the top teams in the country; Squidops had their black ink while the Elites sported yellow ink this time. Sky zooms out the spawn, inking everywhere before the others could even leave; it was scary since Sky was a sniper, but she was playing as if she was a shooter. The audience roared with excitement, enjoying the talented individual that was before them. Sky inks up a wall and swims up, gaining the height advantage; her teammates spread out to take the perimeter of the entire west of the map. Sky scopes in, closing one eye and tracking the movements of her swimming opponents. Time slows down around her, fading to black and white as she looks through her scope; her breathing becomes lighter, her eyes sharpen, then dilate upon seeing her prey-hand on the trigger ready to pull. Just come a little bit closer…she thought, completely in her element, her predatory side appearing.
Carbon and Ciel sensed the dangerous presence of the Midnight Sky that awaited them should they continue their path, both pulled back going in the opposite direction; Kuro and Nachtia decided to continue moving on, believing they could draw Sky's attention and create an opening for an attack. Siot's interest grew as he studied Sky's form, observing the very assassin known for accurately killing foes in one shot on the battlefield. Intrigued and to himself in a faint tone, "My, to think the infamous Midnight Sky could show her true colors in a measly rank battle at local hub; seems like that fool really got under her skin."
Aaron and Austin blazed into the splat zone expecting to see their opponents meet them evenly, but to their surprise, no enemy was on the point; Early in the match it was their point to capture. The countdown clock began as the duo secured the zone, staying in the zone awaiting the eventual attackers. Over in the easternmost part of the map by some scattered platforms, Pearl struggles to handle the double team of Kuro and Nachtia, who decided to ambush her in hopes of achieving advantage. She inks each surface, maneuvering around in squid form to avoid being splatted, knowing the more she can keep them busy, the better.
But suddenly Kuro cuts off one of her platforms, reading her obvious tactic and inks the only area she could possibly be; he hears two ticks, knowing a third shot would splat her. "Bullseye" Sky said as her finger pulls the trigger; the Yellow ink shot out like a rocket, landing a headshot on Nachtia, which forced Kuro to pull back since he couldn't spot where the shot came from. Pearl used this chance to turn the tables and reclaim the turf that she'd lost; the crowd went berserk.
"Ohhhhh!? Did you see that? Sky managed land a headshot from that range!" said one guy mesmerized.
"Impressive! No wonder she's among the top players in the country!" said another acknowledging her talent.
"She's scary whenever she plays serious!" a third man said with excitement.
Siot analyzed the match, deducting everything in his head. Known for being a vicious opponent whenever she decides to play serious, Sky is without a doubt in my mind the best charger user I've ever seen. Her range of talent is so versatile that I believe she could defeat the best charger user in the continent. Her speed, although not as fast as that girl that won at the festival, is still among the fastest around…-he looks at the score, seeing the Elites were now at a 62-100 lead and showing no signs of letting go of that lead; he looks at the stats that were displayed, seeing Sky lead the way for both Splats and turf inked-surprisingly-…and combining that speed with her skills as the sniper only makes it more difficult to counter her. Her quick thinking and ability to operate on the attack even though he role is more for spacing the map only goes to show just how dangerous she is if left alone. The problem that Squidops faces now isn't necessarily that they've allowed a charger user to splat them twelve times when only two minutes have passed, failing to answer back and at the same time fail to successfully attack the point and capture it…what they've done-no, what their foolish leader has done, is awaken a slumbering monster. I've only had few opportunities to catch a glimpse of Sky's performances; she always played solid, but she never was one who'd steal the show, she played just good enough to help her team secure victories…but I noticed, that whenever she played in the bigger name games: Winter tournament, Spring invitational, Continental Nat's, and the Grand tournament…-he kept his sights on her, watching her eliminate Ciel and Kuro-whenever she's in any of these events, she shows a different side, one that I believe is unstoppable. Truly, she might be the most talented player to not use their potential. It's a shame that the only way she'll show her raw power is when someone gets personal.
At this point, the Elites were at 48 and still in control of the splat zone-at this rate a knockout was very possible, and the crowd was beginning to get antsy with the time winding down-only 3 minutes were left in the match and Squidops had yet to capture the point once; the Elites were playing like their names suggested-elite, but it was Sky who controlled the match, appearing everywhere in virtually no time-unfathomable. Aaron smirked as he saw his girlfriend take the spotlight, and for once, he didn't try to hold her on the leash that he usually did whenever she went berserk and took over the match, for he knew, unlike normal circumstances, this match was personal.
You crossed the line, Carbon. You never should've went the route you did…-Aaron dives into the ink and swims around the enemy splash wall that got put up- "I'll take you down myself!" he yelled, returning to inkling form-inking at Carbon; Carbon sensed Aaron's presence, dodging most of the ink. Aaron goes on the offensive, closing in on Carbon; rarely did Aaron ever play this aggressive, but this was the right time to bare his fangs. Aaron glances over in Sky's direction, seeing her already in position-ready to take down Carbon. Aaron smiled, seeing the ruthless glare in Sky's eyes from such distance-she's locked in…
SPLAT! The audience goes insane! She did it, managing a clean sweep on everyone from Squidops without getting splatted even once; something quite rare for anyone to do in general. Sky now had up to 14 total splats, 0 times splatted, and a total of 1209 turf inked-worthy of Player of the Match by a long shot.
"Holy squid! That's number fourteen!? She got Nachtia four times, Ciel five times, Kuro four times, and now she even splatted the captain himself. She's a monster!" one guy cheered.
"Can anyone stop her if she plays like this in the Winter tournament?" another said, wondering how long she could keep up such intensity.
"Are you kidding? She'll be no match for the Ika bros of Special forces and Beacon Hills…" a smug guy said.
"But those two performed poorly in the Prelims!" one guy replied.
"I can't wait to see what Sky will do against Princess Magenta…aren't they best friends?" one guy inquired.
"We already saw them face off, wouldn't mind seeing a rematch of that!" another buzzed; the match was near the point of no return as the Elites solidly held control of the point with the score now at 24-100 with 2:17 left on the clock. Squidops didn't give up though, they kept their heads high as they relentlessly attacked at the heavily guarded point, ignoring Sky after realizing the best course of action was to just focus on the point. BIG mistake! Sky punishes them, with quadruple splat as all four approached the zone. The formation the Elites were in was a 3:1 formation with Aaron, Austin and Pearl serving as the front lines with Sky being their support-except Sky was the one landing all the lethal blows.
"Dammit!" Carbon shouted, swimming desperately to the point, knowing what the result would be.
Another splat, but this time by Aaron-shutting down the captains last gasp attempt for a capture of the point; the other three had already begun to play half-heartedly, knowing the result. The whistle blew, and the score was displayed: KNOCKOUT-Elites victory. As soon as that text came up, several things took place; first, the audience buzzed with questions about how Squidops could take such a huge hit so close to the tournament, and the other, was how defeated Carbon looked. He sat on the ground, lost in his thoughts, still coming to grips with the monster he awakened. Sky approached him like a predator approaches their pray, her gun over her shoulders and her chin down, her eyes-ravenous; she crouches down next to him.
Sky stares at him directly-leaning in, "I'll make you croak…"-getting up, going on with her life; Carbon felt rattled by her words, for, although she may not have meant them, her murderous presence, accompanied by her terrifying glare, made it feel all too real. Never had Carbon met such an imposing person; in many cases, though she was well known as Agent 3's daughter, one thing she definitely had from her mother was her intimidation.
After the exhausting exhibition, Sky and the other elites decided to spend the day relaxing at Sky's apartment, knowing their efforts didn't go to waste; the Winter tournament was quickly approaching, and the time spent would ultimately influence the match right out the gate. Pacing, that was the term that every team whose competed in an event like that had to understand. Too much practice and too little practice weren't going to do it, and performing too hard was also an unwise idea.
Austin and Pearl decided to take their leave since it was getting late, Sky decided to clean up the dishes, and Aaron was happy to finally have some alone time with her. Sky's cleaning the dishes one by one, until she feels someone come behind her and hold her; she blushes, knowing what Aaron's intentions were.
"You're waiting until I'm finished…"-she smiled while grabbing another dish to scrub; Aaron grabbed her by the hips, bringing her close.
"We haven't had an opportunity like this in long time…" Aaron said in a soft yet dominant tone; Sky gave a little seductive laugh, teasing Aaron.
"I guess I wouldn't mind, especially after hearing your country side again…"-she set down the dish and turned around- "You never show that side of you…'-resting her hand on his face, gently feeling his warmth.
"He really pissed me off…but, I'm glad you taught him a lesson."
Sky got beady eyed, one hand reaching lower, and another reaching around his neck; "I think you need a lesson too..."
They kiss for a moment, then Aaron pulls away, then lifting her up and carrying her to her room; he locks the door behind them. There's a couple giggles here and there before it got silent as the sound of their bodies touch the bed, and then suddenly they both say three words before continuing their lover's mission- "I love you."
Over in Meiju, Azule and Cobalt were training in a dojo while waiting for Hanazami to make her return from her meetings; Azule and Cobalt were sparring furiously, both releasing tension that they'd built up. Cobalt had been feeling stressed over the last two days after learning the shocking news that his mother was alive, and coming to see him; Azule also was feeling some sort of frustration, learning that yet another figure knew his mother, yet wished to not share the details. Cobalt rolls away from Azule's high jump kick, grabbing his wooden blade to catch Azule napping; a swift strike about to connect, Azule catches the blade with one hand!
Azule smirks, "I expected you to somehow come back with a sword…"
Cobalt grinned, "You know me too well captain…" he said in the same dignified yet struggling tone.
Azule pushes him away, getting in fighting stance; Cobalt did too, pointing in Azule's direction. Cobalt studied Azule's fighting stance, "Captain…"-he called respectfully- "your strength, how did you achieve it? I've never encountered someone with raw power like you…"
Azule smiled, "and I've never met anyone like you! That Seishun Powa thingy you told me yesterday was incredible; to think such a power could be achieved like that…"
They both gazed at one another, their heartbeats in sync, both their bodies wanting to move on instinct, yet for some reason, they both couldn't manage to move. Azule's breathing got heavier, and so did Cobalt's-their eyes turn sharp, and the sweat that'd been dripping from their bodies had now evaporated; "It seems you two surely are getting into it…" a voice said from the distance, when they looked, it was Hanazami having a smoke from her kiseru pipe, watching them.
"H-Hanazami sensei…!?" Cobalt bowed, embarrassed to have allowed his teacher to see that side of him; Azule laughed at Cobalt.
"I guess today is a good day to do this since you'll be leaving soon. So, have a seat…"
They stop their sparring, taking a seat before her. She takes another smoke from her pipe; the smell was strong, burning both of their nostrils. She closed the door behind them, making the room dimly lit and she shed her kimono; Azule and Cobalt blushed, expecting something that'd make a boy their age faint, but under that kimono, she'd been wearing bandage that wrapped around her cleavage also showing the tattoos that cover the left side of her body.
"S-sensei…"-Cobalt blushed, wanting to avert his eyes, for he respected her too much to harbor such temporary desires.
"Get those thoughts out of your heads, both of you. I'm not into men, and I'm certainly not into little boys…"-she said toughly, expecting them to be serious- "you both possess incredible talent, but you must be mindful of how you use such power. In this world, there countless individuals who have the same strengths as you, but use it for the wrong things; don't ever succumb to those kinds of people…"
Azule thought about Spyke the moment she said that, wondering if what he did was the right thing by accepting to help him. Azule knew he was a bad influence, yet his guilty conscience made him go against his logic. Hanazami peered at Cobalt, aware of his entry into the selection, and then to Azule, knowing he was the only one that was aware. She looked at them both, and then dismissed them.
As both take their exit, Hanazami stopped them again. "I'll be seeing you both soon, so take care."
That next morning before the crack of dawn, Azule and Cobalt were on the first train back home-beating even the heavy traffic of commuters. On the train ride back, Azule realized that they had missed multiple days' worth of school work, to which Azule began freaking out. Cobalt calmed him down, reassuring him that the principal would allow them to bypass it for just this once. As the duo look out the window, feeling the room become cold, they remembered what the experience they gained back at Meiju; Azule didn't regret tagging long, and Cobalt was thankful to learn the information that he did. A new image entered their minds however, when they saw snow falling; in the city of Inkopolis, and anywhere nearby, it was snowing and blanketed with snow. They take out their phones, seeing messages from everyone; they were so busy in Meiju they didn't have any time to respond.
Our first winter…they thought as they gazed out the window, looking at each other-giving one another a fist bump.
