Smash Ultimate is WILD and I'm hyped for it even though I'll probably be dead because of finals, but is anyone else psyched for it? Also, if I on't upload weekly please understand that there's been plenty of family and other personal things happening so it can be difficult to upload at times but rest assured that I'll finish this story. As always, thanks for reading, I appreciate the reviews and mini discussions I can hold with you all through them, and of course, have a great week :D


Thursday, a day closer to the weekend yet still far enough to be considered a boring day filled with little excitement, contrary to the beliefs of Azule, Fuchsia, and Jory, who're spending their first off day by doing a grand tour of Inkopolis and enjoying the warmth of the rare sunny day in the late winter accompanied by a cool breeze. With Jory being relatively new to Inkopolis, Fuchsia wanted to show him around the country and enjoy some of the hotspots of town, especially the locations used for maps in the competitions. At the peak of the day as the trio browse through a boutique shop, Azule remembered how it all started. How he got dragged into this. It all started early that morning with the knock of a door…

"Hm…? O-oh! Fuchsia and Jory! Wh-what are you guys doing here!?" a shocked Azule stuttered by the surprise visit of a girl at his place so early in the morning. To his surprise, the pair were dressed up rather nicely with Fuchsia wearing red octoglasses, a white Annaki drive tee that exposed her right shoulder a bit, a skirt with black tights that extended from below, and black aracno boots by the same brand; he noticed that she had a brighter glow about her, though he couldn't quite put a finger on the specifics. Taking a look at the octo boy Jory, he wore a black ear cuff on his left ear, had on retro specs and dressed in a Annaki Polpo-Pic tee and charcoal jeans shorts and black seahorses for kicks. Impressed, Azule couldn't help but give them compliments.

"Morning, Azule. We stopped by to ask if you'd like to come with us. I'm taking Jory sightseeing around Inkopolis and was hoping for another person to tag along."

Azule scratched his cheek, "This is sudden. How come you didn't text me beforehand?" he yawned, still in sleep mode as his eyes kept half-shut.

"I did." Fuchsia smiled darkly with cruciform veins showing up under the darkness of her forehead with a scary aura forming; Jory got spooked.

"D-did you now…?" Azule stuttered as he felt the faint hint of a scary octoling; looking at his phone, he saw he had 20 new messages and 4 missed calls. Azule cracked a weak smile as he realized his fault. "C-come on in…" he insisted.

While Azule went back to his room to get dressed, Fuchsia and Jory let themselves in, making sure to keep the volume to a minimum since they weren't sure if Todd was home. Azule came back out with a pair of suede marine lace-ups in one hand and was already dressed in a matching zekko jade coat that was buttoned up and his signature cap already on. Quickly he raced to the kitchen to make some tea and asked if they wanted any, to which they accepted.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" he asked calmly yet full of energy.

Fuchsia took out her phone and looked at her list, "I want to take Jory around the area and show him many of the popular spots of the city and the towns nearby."

"Hmm. That's a lot of fare if you don't have the student pass that takes the proximal routes around here for the subway."

"A-actually…"

"Hm?"

"I don't have a student pass…"

"EH!?"

"That's why...I was hoping to get one today before we began the sightseeing."

Azule's was bewildered by Fuchsia's sudden task. Luckily, it was quick to get a student pass that allowed certain routes throughout the subway to not need a fee thanks to transit for students being far enough. Azule had one and used it to commute to the city to buy clothes and sometimes select groceries if there wasn't anything in town. Fuchsia gave a "Tee-hee" expression as she did a pose and Azule immediately looked disgruntled, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms with a sigh.

After having gotten her student pass at the local subway station, the trio made their journey to downtown Inkopolis and began their tour of Inkopolis by exiting the endless jungle of the main station of the plaza square in downtown, taking the walkway to see all the shops, arcades, and restaurants that packed along the strip. From the movies to back alleyways that led to hidden gyms and other stores, downtown had it all. But after getting the whiff of carbon exhaust, crowded people, and multitudes of sounds of every direction, Jory felt overwhelmed by it all, which led to a concerned Azule and Fuchsia to take him to a less busy area. The goal for the day was to visit as many popular spots as possible, but the general theme was to visit the locations of the maps seen in turf wars when they weren't in use since a rumor had been going around that the upcoming Rank War would be using the maps seen in turf wars and other competitions. A good time to enjoy the scenery while also recon the map and setup schemes.

"Since most of the locations are in the city outside of the residential living areas on the outskirts, we can aim there first. This means the spots available to visit based on the maps available that aren't showing on the rotation are The Reef, Inkblot Art Academy, Humpback Pump Track, Musselforge Fitness, Goby Arena, and Wahoo World." Fuschia said as she led the way.

Both boys jump in her face with a starry shine, "Wahoo World!?"

Fuchsia nodded, "But I wanted to save there for last since I heard it was amazing to go to at night."

"Well then, I can't disagree with that. Tonight, it is." A gratified Azule said with a catlike smile.

"I wonder how Wahoo World is like…" Jory thought aloud.

"No point in thinking too much about it since we'll be going tonight."

"So… uh, Fuchsia...about the places you wanted to visit, um...uh…"

"What's up?"

Azule's thumbs flick as he goes through Splatnet, "Musselforge Fitness and Humpback Pump Track, those two places are a no-go…"

"What about that shipyard or the dome?"

Azule continues to flick his thumb on his phone screen, "Hm. We can't really visit Sturgeon Shipyard and Kelp Dome since they're about to be in use and we're pretty far away from those places in terms of transportation."

"Blah! That sucks."

Jory lifted his finger, "Let's start at The Reef. It's a shopping district, right? I need to expand my wardrobe and would love to pick up some stuff. It also is the closest location being in the city, which we're on our way to-anyhow."

Fuchsia smirked, "Expanding your wardrobe, huh?"

Jory grinned with a tilt of the head, "There is this cute boy who gave me his number in my third period."

For some reason they already seem like siblings Azule thought as he watched the duo go into a discussion.

"Well that settles it, onward to The Reef!" Fuchsia announced with a starry shine in her eye as she led the way after finishing her talk with Jory.

Some odd minutes go by and the trio arrive at the popular hotspot, seeing many inklings in their age group roaming the area. Jory is melting with raw enthusiasm as he scopes out every boutique shop, looking at the finest brands of clothing from each store with a keen eye for quality while Fuchsia made sure to keep an eye on the price, so he didn't get swindled by any tricky salespeople who had a way with words. Azule took a gander at the urban area surrounding him and enjoyed the streetwear of his fellow inklings, but after sitting down at a park bench and noticing the gazes from some oncoming "inklings" he noticed something different. The way they walked, their hairstyle, even their facial expressions… these weren't inklings, were they? Feeling a strong gaze behind him, Azule turned around sharply to see a boy chilling right behind him with a glaze in his eyes. Azule didn't react other than face the boy and study his features better; for some reason, the boy looked more like an octoling than an inkling.

The boy turned his bored face towards Azule and quickly his face went red, "S-s-s-s-sorry!" he bowed with a huge puff of steam shooting from his face; Azule smiled and shook his head.

Making a gesture with his hand, Azule called him over to sit down. "I'm guessing you're a selectively shy person, yeah?"

He denied it, "I was just surprised I was in your personal bubble like that. I've just been so tired lately that I can't tell left from right."

"Hmmm..." Azule studied the boy closer and confirmed that he was definitely an octoling since he had the same eye structure with black markings, and even his tone sounded polished like Jory.

The boy blushed, "Y-you don't have to stare…"

"O-oh! Sorry, no, it's just that you look like someone I know and I was trying to figure out who that person was."

The boy laughed, "Well, that's a first!"

Not too much went by before the two were having a full-on conversation. The boy's name was Takashi and he was from another nation-though Azule knew quite well where he was from-and was visiting Inkopolis since his friends were staying here for a few weeks. After the introduction, Azule gave Takashi the rundown of many popular places nearby that he could visit, but before the two could continue their conversation, time got away from them.

"Ah, I gotta go…" he said as he looked at his phone, seeing a message come in; even the phone looked different.

"O-oh, I'll see you around, then." Azule said as he waved the darting octoling goodbye; though Takashi didn't admit it, it was clear that he was an octoling. This got Azule to start thinking deeply. If octolings-specifically males-are banned from the surface, and octolings must stay over in Octo Valley, then what is he doing in the heart of Inkopolis? That's supposed to be illegal. Fuchsia was able to get by because she's royalty and Jory is an extension of that, but Takashi? As far as Azule knew, there were only three royals in the Octavio family. So, why did he see an octoling? As continued pondering the possibilities on the bench, another group of girls walk by him-giggling as they turn away from him. Noticing a pair of girls that caught his attention, Azule noticed another duo. Octoling girls! "What are they doing on the surface? This doesn't make sense...unless they're blending in with crowd. I mean, inklings aren't very sharp thinkers, I'm an example of that. However, we are in a progressive society...maybe they're aiding octolings?"

Azule didn't have too much time left to think as a panting Jory and Fuchsia return to him, with both hunched over holding their knees as if they escaped from somewhere; before Azuel could answer, directions were given.

"We need to clear it!" Fuchsia ordered as she jumped on Azule's back and told him to run.

The trio make a break for it and sprint nearly a mile from the store before finding themselves to be at a safe distance. After setting down Fuchsia, and letting Jory catch his breath, Azule wanted to know what happened, but the octoling pair wouldn't give him a clue, stalling him and saying they'd tell him later so they could resume their day. Putting that behind them, they continued their adventure throughout Inkopolis. They stopped at the Inkblot Art Academy to take pictures of the various art done by many of the students there, passing through the exhibit located on campus, and even got to pass by a few classes in session; Jory fell in love with the campus and it's metropolis location as well as the life of the campus, which contained various personalities of every kind, from the melodramatic self-loathing artist, to the eccentric over the top archetype, he met them all in his encounters through the campus as people showed him their work. Afterwards, the trio went mini golfing where Fuchsia crushed them, and stopped at an arcade where Azule shined. Not even 3 in the afternoon and they were already doing so much in a day. During the day, they made even more activities in mind to do when everyone was together, from visiting the beach and possible boarding the famous Manta Maria, to relaxing at Port Mackerel, and even a potential test of courage, or a camping trip at Triggerfish; Fuchsia even mumbled about a crazy hiking trip through the mountains of Fugu.

While the trio were exploring the city and its nearby towns, Kosami spent her day on her bunk bed surfing the net on her laptop. Her glasses reflected the light on her screen with her left hand maneuvering the mouse that laid on a little textbook to her left. Opened on her screen were multiple tabs displayed in a special browser that seemed to operate off a VPN. Pausing for a moment as she tied her hair into a messy ponytail before giving a lazy sigh, she returned to her mission: digging information about Ixia. Kosami and Fuchsia were supposed to spend the day researching as much information on Ixia as possible, but after learning from Azule about Fuchsia inviting him out and receiving an apology from Fuchsia about not letting her know and lying, Kosami took to doing as much work as possible to let Fuchsia feel at ease, even wishing her good luck on her attempt with Azule.

"There's more to them after all…" Kosami said under her breath, cognizant of her slumbering roommates; her brightness and volume had been lowered to accommodate them.

Searching high and low, Kosami dug up articles that had done reports on Ixia, searched through multiple forums, and even did a little digging for hashtags. No doubt Ixia was trending as of late, but as she continued to search around for her first hint, she noticed a recurring pattern about Ixia. Ixia claimed to be doing their hacks in the name of justice to exploit the flaws of the system by the committee, but that was from many years ago. Nowadays, they were doing large scale cyber-attacks other than just sports, and based on the rumors she read online, they were sinking their teeth into the underground world as well, setting up partnerships with mobs and syndicates of the like. According to one user on Twochan, a popular web forum known for posting anything with anonymity, and a post by a user that caught her eye once she saw the logo of the web group. A long message filled with emoji and grammatical and punctuation errors, it's body paragraph contained the most important details.

"In the mist is the list, the list with the heads at our wish. Collection day will arrive to those who fall on the wrong side of judgement-their soul to perish."

Kosami whispered that line over and over as she tried to figure out what was meant from it among the pile of rubbish written down in the rest of the message. At first glance, it appeared like an amateur's attempt to write down a prophetic message about things to come with the essential tone being a warning; In the mist must've meant the place they were hiding, whereas the "list" were the targets that they were seeking to kill based on the "heads at our wish" part. Collection day meant it was to occur on a certain day, that must've meant some sort of importance… but what? Could it also have meant the day they collected the bodies when they increased the death toll? Something else entirely? Who was on the wrong side? The government? The populace? Other nations? The more Kosami tried to elaborate on what this message read, the more confused she got. Shaking her head, she clicked on the user's name to check his history and found that he'd posted the same message in multiple sub-forums. While browsing those sub-forums, she found even more clues to the whereabouts of Ixia, taking the risk to continue her search.

While Kosami was beginning her crackdown on finding out who Ixia was, she wasn't the only member of Squidcom who sniffed around to find these cyber goons as a certain reserved purple beauty made her way through town, making a turn into a restaurant that had a heavy theme based on Inkaly, the country over to the west that was known for having borders shaped like a boot; Inkaly was none other than the homeland of Violet and her family's ancestors. Entering the restaurant, she takes a seat over by the kitchen-passing by the old statues based on her culture while listening to some old music from the motherland play live. The baby-blue walls that illuminates with white lights have their own story as the national flag of the Inkaly is displayed in corners of the establishment: the tri colors of red, white, and green, with a kraken on the front made it clear that this was an establishment proud of its roots despite being in another nation. Much like Violet's family, many of the inhabitants of Inkopolis were immigrants from other nations such as Inkaly. Some immigrants settled for certain areas like Beacon Hills and Arowana, while others preferred the urban life of downtown in the capital city of Inkopolis themselves.

The smell of dough captures the nostrils of the mafiosa she brings hers arms up to her chin and rests her head in her bridged hands, her eyes turning sharp as she waited for someone to come; looking into space, Violet unknowingly showed her other side-her vicious side as a sniper that she'd only show on the turf. Naturally, people nearby could feel her presence of bloodlust, and thus only a few of the workers wanted to come nearby her. A large and round fellow approaches her dressed in the same outfits as the waiter; a stocky fellow, he had fat around his face that made him look puffy like a panda but had a caring smile like the buddha. He had a notepad in his hand as he looked down at the patient Violet who waited for her person to arrive.

"Posso iniziare con qualcosa da bere, signora?" he asked with a thick Inkalian accent.

Violet shook her head, "No grazie, sto aspettando qualcuno." Violet said as she politely refused his offer to take her order on something to drink; the waiter smiled, but he didn't leave, instead interested in having a conversation with the intimidating first year high schooler.

"I see you're fluent in Inkalian. Not many your age can even understand it and have heritage there."

Violet nodded but kept a straight face, "My parents made sure I was immersed in my heritage as much as possible. You're an Inkalian?"

The waiter shook his head with a chuckle, "Well, this is an Inkalian restaurant… but no, much like you, I'm an immigrant. I was born and raised over in Southern Loligo and found work all the way over here."

"South Loligo, huh? That's far..."

Loligo was a huge town over in the southeastern part of Inkopolis not too far from the coast. A popular town known for its industrial boom and huge middle-class boom, it was a town on the rise but still not too popular as a tourist destination due to being mostly a town built up from the bottom by its immigrants, especially the Inkalians. Violet knew as much while she was doing her studies in her Inkopolis geography class.

"It's far, yes, but I had leave there. Something was calling me to come to the city, but I have no clue what. Maybe it was the allure of the skyscraper to the melting pot of different citizens that call this place home, or maybe it was the food!" he laughed as he rubbed his belly.

"Violet?" a man called out from the front of the store as he entered through the door; Violet immediately looked in that direction and spotted the man that called out as none other than her uncle, Mario, the person she contacted and set this meeting with.

The waiter smiled as he gestured to the man that the person he was looking for was where he stood, and as he watched the man come closer, the waiter looked at Violet and smiled, "Looks like I kept you entertained long enough for someone to come by."

"Thanks for lending your time, I appreciate it." Violet said as she gave a heavy nod that looked as though she was bowing.

Mario arrived a moment later and took a seat; the waiter greeted him and then asked if he wanted anything to drink, "I'll have a Rossini, grazie."

"I'll take a Mango Lassi."

"Mmm. I'll have your drinks out in a bit..." the waiter said as he made his exit over to where the bar was to craft the drinks for the duo.

"I was stunned when you reached out to me the other day and came as soon as possible. Is something the matter?" he asked with concern.

Violet shook her head, "I just have things I wanted to know that were linked to home."

"Hmmm. Before you continue, I need to ask...how is that boy doing?"

"Boy…?"

"The Galloway boy. Reese? Royce?"

"Reice. He's...doing fine, I guess. Why you ask."

Mario folded his arms, "Nothing out of the ordinary. I just remembered that his family and ours are comrades again and was wondering if he was doing fine."

"Oh."

Mario leaned forward, "Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Violet looks around for a moment and then looks down at the table, "Have you heard of a group known as Ixia?" she said in a hush tone to avoid catching any eavesdroppers as she lifts her eyes onto Mario.

Mario didn't react in any unnecessary way, realizing that Violet's question had a ton of weight to it. "Ixia...guessing from you calling me out here and going as far as to hold a meeting at a place like here… are they trouble?"

"Infatti." she responded with a nod, her eyes sharp like a sniper ready to pull the trigger; she was vigilant about this situation as her natural instincts warned her that this Ixia group would be a threat unlike the others she's faced thus far.

"Devo coinvolgere la famiglia?" Mario asked with an equal intensity in his eyes, concerned about the daughter of the don and asking her if she needed her family's help in the matter.

"No, leave them out. It's just information I need, so don't let my parents know we had this meeting. Who knows that they'll do with their overprotective selves."

Mario chuckled, "Santiago and Nina have only one daughter, don't fault them for worrying about you."

Violet gave a tiny smile, "I know."

"But still, Ixia...I can't say I've heard of the-" Mario stops as he thinks for a moment as their drinks get handed to them, preferring to not spill anything while the waiter was near. The waiter asks what they'd like to eat, and after taking their order, he leaves them be until their food comes back.

"Now, where were we?" Mario asked as he lost his train of thought.

"Ixia…" Violet responded.

"Ah, yes. Who are they?"

Violet explained everything she knew so far about Ixia and the situation that involved them. Hearing everything from Violet put Mario at an uneasy feeling as he thought down the road while making reflections of his own. A hacker group who'd been known for terrorizing the good name of turf wars and sports behind the scenes for years had begun digging into the dark side of the world and could be plotting something monumental. At first, it'd appear dumb for Ixia to try anything during the rank wars since it's only a sporting event, until the realization came that this event would be nationally televised for the entire world to see. It made sense from there, using a platform where the whole nation would be tuned in to unveil their plans of cyberterrorism, and worse, begin that same plan. As Violet pointed this out, Mario couldn't help but break in a cold sweat, with fear for what the future might hold. If this Ixia group was an enemy of the Inkopolis government, they'd be picking the perfect time to target a country who had no leader.

"Understand?" Violet as she stared at her bewildered uncle, who had streams of thoughts coursing through his mind as he tried to put everything together. "Ixia is worrisome, but I have my hands full since I'm competing in the rank wars, so here…" Violet takes out her phone and slide it over to him.

Mario looks down at her smartphone and saw a pair of numbers, "Fuchsia…? Kosami…? Fuchsia...that's the octo girl?"

Violet nodded, "I want you to do some digging around the streets and relay that information to them. We're planning to find these guys."

Mario smirked, "You're Santiago and Nina's child...I shoulda seen this coming."

Violet's gaze returns to ehr phone, her mind on her team and their determination to win the rank wars. Nobody was going to stop them, not even some online hacker group. As the silence between them grew, their food came out. It was best to discuss this later, after all. As the uncle and his niece dine together, evening came like a calm wave.

"The park closes in a couple hours, so unfortunately we might not be able to do everything like we planned earlier in the day…" Fuchsia said as she led the trio through the entrance after admission; they took longer to get to Wahoo World than they imagined, but nonetheless they made it.

A massive amusement park located on the boardwalk, multitudes of attractions of many kinds leave the park resembling a forest of entertainment as the shops and vendors scattered over and about resemble the trees while the gigantic rides like the Ferris wheel, drop tower, and roller coasters felt like monuments that shot to the heavens. The many squids and jellyfish that walked around seemed like the life of this forest, contributing to the friendly aura and enthusiasm that radiates throughout the park. The speakers dance to the bass boost as lively music blasts through the park, and the palm trees add to the coastal ambiance. Red, pink, green, blue, yellow, brown, and of course, blue, dominate the color palette at the trio cast their gaze at the illuminating signs on some of the shops. The blinding light of the carousel, the colorful tents pitched up everywhere, and even a juggling jellyfish, there were so many things to do that the trio had trouble finding a place to start.

Only having a couple hours to have as much fun as possible before the park closed, Azule and Jory raced to the roller coaster like two little children and left Fuchsia behind. Knowing this would happen, Fuchsia took this chance to gather her thoughts and reflect on her time with Squidcom, the bonds she built, and her future. It was on that sunny day during the festival in Octo Valley that Fuchsia felt the change in her life begin with the acceptance of an innocent blue inkling inviting her to become part of his "family" and become a member of Squidcom. Being there since basically the beginning, cheering for Squidcom during the Rank Wars, playing her part in fighting against Kida and the Black Urchins, spending her fall festival with Squidcom and having an awakening in her feelings for Azule, helping stop another street war in Beacon Hills between the Sororia family and the Galloway family, and of course, playing her part to help reunite Tangie with Cobalt and also help Azule get closure in killing the prime minister. If there was any word to describe the feeling she had of her heart getting heavy as though about to sink, it was gratitude. She felt so thankful to have met Azule, to have met such wonderful people she'd call her friends and make memories-good and bad. Being the only octoling for the longest time in the group, it now felt as though she'd grown through her experiences enough that she could welcome her new role easily and guide Jory and be a good role model. But as she thought of her little brother, she also thought of her beloved captain, immediately blushing furiously at the thought of his radiant smile and closed eyes with a bright complexion that'd make anybody feel better. Holding her hands on her cheeks, her shoulders did a sway as she smirked with flushed cheeks.

"This is hopeless." she sighed as she dropped her head with shame at the thoughts in her head. Even though she liked Azule quite a lot, she had guilt towards him breaking up with her best friend and felt that she might've been the cause of it. Fuchsia had always thought of her love triangle along the lines of Azule liking Violet and Violet liking Azule, but she just happened to like Azule more than Violet. Selfish, but still caring for her friend, Fuchsia was happy he was single now and had her chance, but still felt bad that Violet was practically out of the rival category since Violet made her intentions clear that she wasn't going to have lingering feelings. "I can't do that to Violet. It'd make things awkward for the team, too. Ugh! Why did I have to fall for him of all people?"

"Violet...is that the purple one who keeps to herself?" a familiar voice asked as Fuchsia kept her eyes closed, refusing to open them as she self-loathes herself under her breath.

"Yeah, she's my best frie-" Fuchsia recognizes the voice immediately as she feels the park bench she sat on occupy another.

"Best friend, huh? Love can do that sometimes… it'll make you irrational, and even make you go against all values just for the sake of obtaining it." the inkling dressed in pink said as they flashed a smile with golden eyes that'd charm anybody.

"Callie!?"

"Hey!" she responded casually, with a salute.

"Wh-what are you doing here!?"

"Hm? Isn't it obvious? I'm giving you love advice!"

Callie's chirpy nature made Fuchsia smile immediately after receiving a surprise encounter, "Having some love trouble?"

"Well…"

"C'mon, tell me!"

Fuchsia explained her feelings of Azule to Callie, who had a satisfied cat face the entire time. "Meow I see!" she said while imitating a cat, "Your feelings stem from the fact that he's the first inkling to treat you kindly without seeing you as an octoling. Him being an inkling and you being an octoling makes the situation strained because of the differing race and because he used to date your best friend who happened to break up with him in order for you to have your chance. Quite a sticky one this is…"

"Tell me about it…" Fuchsia sighs.

Callie ponders on an answer as a glum Fuchsia looks down at the stone ground below, feeling despair with the situation being bleak for her. However, Callie's response was positive as her head turned red with steam puffing, remembering her youth when she had drama and romance. Serving as an anchor of support, Callie gave the octoling princess words of encouragement and sparked a flame that'd stoke her fire.

"The first step is always the hardest, but take it knowing that the second one will be easier. Don't think negative, only positive. If you know you're ready, then go for it." Callie smiled.

With that advice given, she got to her feet and encouraged Fuchsia to follow her heart and make the decision she felt was best. Following Callie's advice, Fuchsia set off in search of the boys; since then, Azule and Jory had marched around the park doing everything but the Ferris wheel from the drop tower to the carousel, even getting into the groove of trying wacky meals and visiting many of the vendors. From east to west, Fuchsia travels in search of the boys but finds nothing but inklings and jellyfish having a jolly time, while she gets nothing but flashbacks of the time she spent with Azule; similar to how one saw their life flash before their eyes, this felt as though she was having a flash of her love before it died, whether by his hands or of fate. After spending most of their time separated thanks to Fuchsia having to search everywhere for the boys, they finally met up as the park was getting ready to close. Bumping into each other at the same tent, it was there that the worried Fuchsia let the boys have a piece of her mind as she scolded them. Azule and Jory had jubilant smiles knowing that Fuchsia wasn't upset. After blowing off her steam, Azule offered to take Fuchsia with him and Jory on the last ride before the park closed: the Ferris wheel. Fuchsia accepted, but Jory opted not to go, preferring not to go and let the two go alone.

"I've got some stuff I still need to do, so I'll meet you guys at the entrance when the park closes." he said quickly before making an exit before can say anything else.

After Jory decides to skip out on Azule and Fuchsia riding the Ferris wheel, it was just the two of them together as they waited in line to get on before the park would close. The entire time while they waited, there was no conversation between the two as they let the background noise of amusement park play between them. Though he couldn't notice since he was busy waiting to board the Ferris wheel, Fuchsia had spaced out while gazing at him from behind, focusing on the scar under his eye. In the eyes of Fuchsia, Azule was still the same as always. Giving a snicker, she catches Azule's attention, who asks what's so funny.

"Nothing." she smiled.

Sitting in the Ferris wheel together after Fuchsia's insistence on sharing the same seat, they gaze out to their right at the gentle ocean backdrop with the boardwalk and moon. Azule was captivated by the sight, but Fuchsia was captivated by the sight of him. As they slowly rise to the peak, Fuchsia decided to follow Callie's advice, to follow her own heart. Live without any regrets.

"Tonight, looks incredible, doesn't it?" Fuchsia said softly as she places her right hand on her chest, feeling its rapid rate as she tried to calm herself.

Azule nods while still looking outside, "It's calming. The gentle breeze from outside spurred by the calm ocean, the luminescent glow of the moon and the sight of everyone on the boardwalk enjoying themselves. This is nice, I have to say."

Little did Fuchsia know that the reason why Azule hadn't turned to face her was because he was blushing furiously about the situation at hand. Being alone with a girl wouldn't usually faze him, but with someone like Fuchsia who was alluring to all the senses, was the last kind of girl he'd want to be alone with. Taking a huge gulp as though it was his last, Azule breathes nasally and calms himself, feeling his body get hot as the scent of Fuchsia perfume entangles him. Feeling the delicate brush of her shoulders against his arm, Azule felt every nerve in his body shiver before calming down thanks to the relaxed sensation that replaced pleasure.

"Tonight really does look lovely. Reminds me of the starry nights I'd see back home when I'd lay out in the backyard looking for constellations."

Azule smirked, "Stargazer Fuchsia, sounds like the name of something fancy."

Fuchsia smiled, "I might be fancy, but you're one of a kind."

Azule smirked faded and turned to curiosity, "How am I one of a kind?"

Fuchsia blushed and thought for a moment. Studying his features, she couldn't help but focus on the scar under his left eye. With a growing smile she found the answer to his question, "I've never met anyone with the kind of courage and stubbornness that you possess… or maybe you're just an idiot?" she laughed.

Azule grinned, "I'm glad me being a idiot was enough to make you laugh. Seeing you laugh and smile is pretty wholesome."

That response caught Fuchsia off guard as she felt her head swelling with each pump of the heart. There he went again saying something like that that'd make her heart flutter. If she ever had any wavering feelings about her feelings for Azule, they were now a distant memory. As she takes another look at a joking Azule, Fuchsia couldn't help it. See saw her future in his eyes. She wanted to be with him.

"I'm thankful for you being an idiot." she said with conviction; Azule laughed a little, unsure of what she really meant by that, clueless like a lost dog. "It's because you're an idiot that I'm here. You always know the right things to say despite being an idiot, whether to cheer someone up or motivate them. You look super cool when you get serious and scary when you get angry, and whenever you're around, I always feel like I can be invincible-er, maybe not invincible but, I can feel at ease knowing that you're there and will always look out for us."

Azule appreciated where she was coming from, "Of course, that's my role as the captain. I have to look out for my precious teammates. You guys mean the world to me."

"You mean the world to me, Azule." Fuchsia said bluntly with that same conviction; Azule blushed, unaccustomed to her being so upfront.

"T-thanks...you mean the world to me, as we-"

"No, Azule…"-Fuchsia leans closer to him and once again locks her gaze upon him; Azule's feeling the hairs on his skin raise as Fuchsia enters his bubble- "I don't mean it that way."

"H-huh?" Azule sounded sheepishly as he leaned back a bit; they reach the peak of the ride, and Fuchsia looks over. It felt like time was slowing down just for this moment to be soaked in. Azule could see every close detail of Fuchsia and found himself enamored by the sweet fragrance of her hair as she kept her gaze on him, as if to keep him frozen in place.

Azule couldn't muster another response and just looked around, trying to avoid seeing her directly. Fuchsia sighs with awareness that this really wasn't the time and place to do this. After all, Azule had just gone through a breakup with her best friend and probably had no intentions of starting another relationship, especially with somebody so close. Realizing how awkward it'll get if this continued, Fuchsia shifts the subject back to the view outside and quickly Azule follows-thankful that she caught on. For the rest of the ride on the Ferris wheel, the duo held light hearted conversation to pass the time by as they recovered from their hearts nearly bursting from their chests. Being treated to a pleasant night sight, it nearly distracted them from the reminder that fun days like this were numbered as the Rank Wars came ever so closer. The Rank War is almost here...