A new day is brought as Squidcom continue their road to the top of the local boards with Reice, Violet, and Jory beginning their major run. Tower Control was the focus for the time at which the trio would be competing after Jory worked his level high enough for the eligibility to compete in ranked. Starting with Reice, he took this chance to bolster his skills with rollers and solidify his specialty at being "that guy" who uses the rollers a certain way, mastering the techniques hiding in the ink and patiently waiting to grab his kill while also maintaining his objective of delivering the tower. Where Reice spends his couple of hours on Tower Control mastering the roller class, Violet and Jory took differing approaches. Violet expanded her arsenal and branched out different charger weapons, picking up an interest in the splatling class of weapons-precisely the ballpoint weapon. Trashing her opponents while riding the tower to victory, Violet focused on her mobility with charger weapons and built an immunity to the feeling of terror that came with leaving herself open for a splat by the enemy when they entered a range unfavorable for her to land a splat, mastering the formula of always firing when the moment was necessary, she honed in her ability of opponent prediction and was able to fire with pinpoint accuracy that she could nearly guarantee a splat or at least help assist in one. Jory turned heads with his unique hairstyle of a mohawk tentacle that came down the center-a style that many whispering inklings nearby said they'd never seen in their lifetime but heard had existed in the retro modern era of their parents when they were at their age. A jack of all trades, Jory easily leveled up and caused mayhem for his opponents in the ranked mode as he made quick disposal of his early rank and quickly rose up to the A rank in only a few hours! Creating a mini fan base thanks to his revealing outfit that showed his abs and belly buttons, he unconsciously exerted a flamboyant and fabulous air about him that attracted boys and girls alike as his smooth, yet ominous gaze pierced their heart as he cluelessly marched forward on the battlefield.

"H-hey, who is that?" One boy whispered to his friend while tugging on their shirt to get their attention quickly as he motioned his head in a certain direction.

A beautiful woman wearing an unzipped olive-green fur hoodie with a designer white tee under, black capri pants, and white shoes makes her way through the popular hotspot while catching the eyes of many boys and girls nearby who were stunned by her beauty, not to mention she was a mature adult, which was rare to see in places like Inkopolis Square where kids dominated the hub and where young adults were present but rarely anyone older than the age of 23. Wearing designer shades and a beret, she walks casually with her hands in her jacket pockets with her short pink hair bobbing with step she took. Looking from left to right, she hears the whispers from the people around her as she advances deeper into the popular hub, spotting Azule who was on his way to meeting up with his friends after having done a ton of matches to get his rank to A+. Azule halts as he senses the familiar presence, immediately looking in the direction where the woman was approaching. He waves to her with a beaming smile, "Hiya Lunaaaa!" he called out with a widened mouth filled with Jubilance; Luna nodded and came over, the whispers around her turning to disbelief as she walked over to Azule. Many of the guys started to grind their teeth once they recognized who the lady was approaching, seeing her hold up her hand to greet Azule with an emotionless expression. Although she wasn't smiling and looked stiff, Azule still kept his friendly nature as outgoing as possible-even greeting her with a joke. Luna seemed to look more detached than usual, but Azule couldn't help but wonder what'd make her come all the way to a hub for young people? Did she have something so important that she just had to tell him? Seeing that there was dead silence between them as she came to him, he rubbed the back of his neck while laughing awkwardly before adjusting his cap.

"May I ask why you're here, Luna?" Azule asked, slightly unsure of how to talk to Luna since she was still his mentor but now had a comfortable relationship where casual conversation could be done. Though he felt a sense of familiarity with her, it still seemed like there was an awkward air between them.

"I came to see you." Luna said in her usual emotionless tone, her face looked as stern as usual as well.

Azule smiled again as he noticed her outfit, "I-I see your style is just as fresh as the trends…"

Luna shrugged off the compliment, "I've been doing this longer than you can imagine." she said as she played with her short hair. Azule was mindful not to stare too much at her, but he couldn't help but draw the comparison. Although she had short pink hair, the familiarity about her, and then her face...she seemed too much like his mother that he saw back in the winter. Though she already denied it, Azule couldn't help but feel like this was the same woman. His determination was strong, but this wasn't the time to ask, especially in front of all these people. Taking her hand, Azule led her somewhere; Luna isn't fazed, but she is a tad bit surprised by how sudden he went into action. "Where are you taking me, young one?"

Azule looked back with a smile, "I'm taking you to meet my friends!"

Luna stopped, "No…"

"Hm? Why not?"

Luna fidgeted, "I shouldn't. I'm not-great with people."

Azule was lost for a moment before remembering what happened just a moment ago with the large crowd of people who seemed awestruck by her appearance. In Azule's mind, Luna was too uncomfortable about her physical appearance. Laughing to himself at the fact that even the most aloof of people like Luna still had something that made them normal, he reassured her that everything would be fine. At one of the cafes underground in the mall by the underground sub sat the team of Squidcom recovering from a hectic experience in the ranks. Regardless, Reice, Violet, and Sally managed to make it into S and S+ ranks after battling their way there for the entire day while Azule struggled to just get to S. Waiting for their captain to return, Squidcom sat patiently and discussed their performance and the many improvements they felt could be made for when they had to do their league battle run. In their eyes, their climb to the top allowed them to see the flaws in their performances upon reflection. Sally played too aggressively for someone who didn't have a weapon fit for diving into the frontlines alone, Reice didn't maximize his potential as an "annoying" roller and preferred to be towards the rear, Violet's presence was so unimpactful that often she'd be overlooked despite being a lethal sniper who never misses a shot. As they all looked for ways to better themselves, Jory spots Azule coming with a rather busty woman dressed in fresh gear, and immediately Violet and Fuchsia's ears twitched as they heard him call out the team.

"Guys! I brought a very important person to meet you!" He said with a single enthusiastic clap. Squidcom's reaction was varied from Reice's immediate greeting of the pink haired beauty, to Violet and Fuchsia's suspicion filled greeting, to Kosami and Jory's shy nod, and Sally's carefree salute for a greeting. Azule turned to Luna and pushed the brim of his cap with his thumb to show his face better, "This is Squidcom, my team-no, my family."

"I see, so these are the friends you always talk about. Reice, Sally, Violet, Fuchsia, Kosami, and Jory...Interesting. I never expected to see you befriend octolings, Azule." Luna said plainly as she looked at each of the members, removing her designer shades and letting them hang from her shirt, she looks at each of them with a relaxed smile. "Thanks for looking after my student, I appreciate it." she said.

"Oh uh…" Sally got flustered for a moment in response to her comment and her surprising reaction.

"Student!?" The others sounded with huge surprise in their shocked filled tones.

"Yuppers, this is the wonderful lady teaching me. I've gone to her training every day after school and I went to a few sessions before leaving for Osuma.

Reice shook his head with understanding, "Ah, so you've been her student for a few weeks."

"A-amazing…" Fuchsia marveled as she took a gander at the beauty before her with a hint of jealousy on her face as she sized up the grown woman's figure.

Violet avoids eye contact with a slight blush, "You're...only his teacher, right? Student and Teacher...right?"

Luna was caught off guard by the strange question, but immediately picked up on the situation at hand with Azule and the trio of girls. Luna identified with just a simple glance that Violet was the girl with feelings for Azule who wouldn't show them directly for whatever the reason may be, and Fuchsia was the one who openly made it clear that she only has eyes for him but for some odd reason her student didn't acknowledge it. Moreover, she noticed there was already a misconception between the two girls and their view of who she was, and immediately she waved her hand with denial.

"We don't have that type of relationship, no no no no not at all!" she responded with a cold sweat.

"Hm?"

"A-anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you ma'am!" Jory said with enthusiasm as he beamed a smile and waved to her.

Good to see that despite the differences between us, he doesn't see me as simply a Squid. Maybe coexistence can truly occur like it did back then…

Though the conversation remained light and swift, everyone seemed very satisfied with getting to know more about Azule's teacher in the same way they were excited to share more about themselves with her. Interested in learning more about her, Sally and Jory asked her about why she chose to teach Azule, to which she replied simply that she knew his mother and felt a responsibility to help train him and unlock the potential that she saw, to which everyone's curiosity was peaked.

"Azule's mother?" Jory asked with wonder, never having learned about Agent 3.

"You know Agent 3!?" Sally asked with surprise at her answer, and she wasn't the only one as Reice, Violet, Kosami, and Fuchsia all had a serious interest in Luna's relationship with the legendary icon.

"What is she like?" Kosami asked with a hint of nervousness, having an interest in Azule's history since she'd known him from her youth back at the orphanage.

Luna didn't bat an eye at her question and answered immediately, satisfying everyone's curiosity by telling stories about Agent 3 from the point of view of Luna. Hours went by as the storyteller herself entertained the group of young adolescents, and before she knew it, evening approached. The yawning group of first year high schoolers made it know well that they were fatigued, and with a smile, she advises them to get some rest. Taking her offer and thanking her for the wonderful conversation, the students make their exit and leave the student and master alone to discuss things on their own.

"Everything all set?" Luna asked as she looked back at the careful Azule who was checking all his pockets to make sure he didn't forget anything; the duo was making their exit from the underground mall and came up to the surface of the inkopolis square to see the place was mostly empty aside from the closing shops such as crusty Sean's food truck and many of the other street vendors and shops that extended past the gate that led to the main strip of the square.

The nighttime setting takes place as the duo look up to the moonlight with the backdrop of the lively city off in the distance before them, the dark navy-blue hue accompanied by the yellow light that helps a color on the blank spaces of buildings not yet covered by graffiti. Azule hums a catchy tune aloud as he walks beside his mentor, his face as bubbly as ever after having a wonderful day; when he got home though, he'd have to prepare his back for tomorrow at school and get on the right program and preparations for the next month was going to be an exhausting task. Lune looks down at her jubilant student from the corner of her eyes and slowly does her lips curls upward with radiance, satisfied to spend time with Azule and get to know the people that he surrounded himself with. As a proud mother, she was relieved to know that her son was doing just fine, but at the same time deep in the back of her head, she knew had to protect this comfortable lifestyle that her son lived, and it was there that Azule's instincts kicked in. As Luna's mind further ventured onto the lofty tasks awaiting her in the future, Azule felt her concern. With one swift glance, the dulled eyes of his mentor piqued his interest yet again as that same burning question incinerated his train of thought.

Leaving the square and venturing to the city, Luna takes out her phone to call a taxi after remembering that Azule had class tomorrow, but Azule stops her and explains that he'd rather enjoy the scenic walk with her. A few moments later, the nightlife of inkopolis takes hold as the duo detour through some popular streets as they make their way to Azule's dorm. Waiting at a crosswalk, Azule picks his moment to finally speak the issue on his mind while waiting for their signal to walk.

"Luna, I know we've discussed this already but…" he looks down at his feet and puts his hands in his pocket; Luna looks over with question for his response. Azule looks up, "When you were talking about my mother earlier with my friends, I felt this weird feeling, a strange familiarity that I can't describe."-his arms go up in the air with frustration as he struggles to put his thoughts into words, shrugging his shoulders- "Agh, I don't know! I mean, it feels like you're her! Like, I know you made it clear you aren't my mother but…"-he looks to her with determination in his cerulean blue eyes that sparkled with hope- "you remind me so much of her…"

The child who shared a special connection to his mother…

"Maybe it goes back to the fact that I'm a close friend of your mother. I knew her since we were children and I always adored her, and in many ways, I wanted to be like her at times. What you're seeing is probably an extension of that." she said knowing very well that the this lie she was leading was one that'd make her deceased comrade roll in her grave if she knew that her dear friend was lying to her own son and impersonating her for the sake of avoiding the truth.

Azule's eyebrows lower with disappointment in her response as he comes to grips that no matter how much he hoped for the miracle to come true, he might never see his mother again. Keeping his mouth shut for the rest of the walk, he kept his broken wish to himself as his mentor guided him home through the dark night. As they arrive at the dorm, Azule takes one last look at Luna before entering his dorm-almost reluctant to say goodbye to her. As she turns around to make her leave, Azule makes one last comment before closing the door to avoid her response.

"Even though you aren't my mother, you're the closest person I've met that resembles her."

Luna looks back with surprise, seeing the door close shut. A smirk appears on her face as she shows the motherly side of her that she had to hide the entire time.