Really enjoyed all the news of E3, and glad to be back to writing. Been a while that I had time to do this so apologies if I haven't done regular uploads the last few months. As always, thank you for your patience and I do hope you enjoy this chapter and what lies ahead!


Friday morning for the students of Squid Academy starts with the sun piercing rays through the windows of the rooms at the hotel, awaking many of the students buried under the snuggly warmth of their blankets with an equal warmth from the illuminating beams. Chaperones woke up the students still asleep and gathered them along with the others for breakfast, in what seemed like an invasion of Squid Academy as students packed the dining hall. Squidcom sat together at their own table but were joined by the company of Bianca, Brittany, Friya, the Elites, and Kidvel to make a super table; Todd and the Sealions passed by to wish them a good morning though Todd still kept a stubborn front with Azule. After breakfast was over, the teachers and administrators gathered all students out in the lobby and highlighted plans for the day to go on a tour and visit Giande's hottest destinations from their modern sky tower that was one of the tallest in the country to the more traditional side filled with a rich history in their shrines and to the countryside in the smaller villages. The students gathered in their groups and headed onto charter buses provided for them by a local service, getting a chance to pass through the streets and head to the city center of Giande. Right away they saw plenty of preparations for what looked like a festival, to which Principal Telfin explained that a street festival was taking place today. As they continued past a streak of office buildings and restaurants, Azule grew curious about why Principal Telfin chose to be their chaperone when the homeroom teachers were the ones overseeing the groups. When he asked him, the principal responded with a wink that it was to keep an eye on them after earning an infamous track record for getting into trouble seamlessly, to which Azule didn't know whether to laugh or for feel guilt. Even so, Principal Telfin assured him that he and his group were still allowed to go and participate in the same activities as the others but that anything they do would be monitored by him to a certain degree, so they had to avoid getting into any trouble.

"But to make it fair, I'll let you have more freedom since you have to carry the heaviest of baggage. It's favoritism, but you earned it." He winks

"Really? Is our curfew the same as well?" Azule pressed, hoping to get a favorable answer; he answered yes, but added that he expected them to always turn way before curfew. Any later and he'd go out looking for them, which Azule knew wasn't a good idea. He might be the principal of the school, but he was an overseer of the Elites and Kidvel as well as Sky and Pastelle's duties as an Agent-who knew what type of skills he had.

It was a 35 minute ride but felt like 5 minutes from the way everyone was enjoying themselves talking among one another excitingly. Once they arrive and step off the buses, they're greeted to the early afternoon weather with gusty winds and a balance of a slight chill with some mild warmth overhead. The air feels thin, the breeze howling as the students take the time to begin their exploration of Giande starting at a plaza home to several notable destinations with the shrine at the far end being the highlight. Groups link up to head in together while their chaperones give a tour preparing to quiz them along the way. Bianca, who overheard Azule and Telfin's conversation earlier smiled from ear to ear with a devilishly and quickly rounded up everyone from breakfast to gather along as a group. Statues, monuments, murals, and plenty more, everyone took pictures at every opportunity, awing at the history behind some of the monuments there. After completing the shrine, Bianca tugs on Azule's shirt and asks him what he plans to do next now that the groups are free to disperse; in her arms is Aaron, whom she dragged along with the rest of the Elites following. Since there was still plenty of time left in the day, she figured now would be a good time to truly explore the area rather than play it safe and stick with the other groups.

"There's a nice mall nearby so I'm planning to go with Friya, Brittany and Jory there." Violet said with a tiny but visible smile, welcoming anyone else to join her; Chlora, Cannola, and Ollie took her up on that offer since there were several stores at the mall that had accessories and other goods that couldn't be found back home.

Bianca's focus shifted to the others, "What about you all?"

Reice puffed out his chest, "I'm going to check out the street festival they're doing downtown. I hear it's only for today."

Bianca latched onto that idea in heartbeat, defaulting Aaron and Apollo to join, then recruiting Kidvel to tag along as well. Only Pastelle declined to go to the festival, preferring to visit the destinations that Fuchsia's group had in mind instead. The checkpoint established by the chaperones to round up everyone and return to the hotel was at 6 in the evening, giving the students a half dozen hours of time to explore the nearby vicinity of Giande. Everyone was expected to move in a group and to be responsible and return to their post necessary. Since all of them were wearing Squid Academy shirts, they were representing the school, so none wanted to give a bad reputation ahead of the Spring Invitational. While everyone was happy to split off and explore Giande, Azule didn't share that same excitement. The events from the other day concerning his family still weighed heavy on his mind along with the tension of the upcoming tournament.

Fuchsia sneaks up behind him and flick his neck, "Azule!" she shouted playfully, giggling as he covers his neck with a blush.

"Don't do that!"

"You wouldn't respond when I called your name so I figured that was the best move. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." She said in a calm tone, reassuring him with a smile that it was all with good intentions; His defensive posture loosened once he met her relaxed eyes, finding a strange feeling of attachment whenever they had moments like this where they could behave like close friends, but for some reason with possibility of something more. Whether it was simply great friendship or a budding friendship, he wasn't sure. What he did know was that Fuchsia was a person he wanted to keep close in his heart at all times. He learned from his mistakes with Violet, and even though they're still good friends, unconsciously he can tell that their friendship took severe damage. He didn't want the same to happen this time around. Not because she's best friends with his ex, nor was it because he was afraid of failure-he just didn't want to ruin another good friendship by rushing into anything."We're planning to do a movie later tonight with the others. Bianca just sent me a text saying there's a big opening happening downtown and to meet there in a few hours. By the time we finish the movie it'll be time to return to Principal Telfin." she adds looking to see how he'll respond. Azule's mind goes blank for a moment as he admired her beauty up close, finding her unsuspecting nature adorable until she flicks him on the forehead; "Stop spacing out! Sheesh, you're our captain and you're this out of it? We're doomed at this rate!" she joked.

"Sounds like a plan right, Azule?" Austin offered, splitting his sandwich with Pearl after she refused to take a bite from his side complaining that she doesn't do indirect kisses.

"Yeah…" Azule nods, self conscious of keeping focused; Pastelle giggled a little bit as she watched the group in front of her.

The destination for this group was to visit a large area known for having a huge art exhibit, planetarium, and research facility for conducting several different forms of research at the same time. At first the group stuck together to tour the art exhibit and view the many different works of art from paintings to sculptures, finding a comparison to the Museum D'Alfonsino for it's wide layout and section of open space for certain statues and murals. Afterwards the team decided to split up and view the many different researches open to the public on the tour, finding interest in some of the discoveries that were looking to be made; they planned to link up afterwards for the show at the planetarium before finishing their day and waiting for the evening. An educational experience for the crew, the stars, and constellations above proved to be thrilling as everyone got see just how expansive the universe is and that though they there is so much happening in the world simultaneously, the scale pales in comparison to space and what lies beyond their grasp. Azule sits up and excuses himself, explaining that he needed to get some fresh air-leaving the group behind. With each step he takes, he's reminded of the weight on his shoulders as finally the situation he's been put in becomes a reality. He's about to play in his first ever tournament outside of the Rank Wars and as a representative of Squid Academy-carrying the weights of a thousand students on his shoulders. At the same time, the nation is in a crisis at on the brink of war and disaster and he'll be at the forefront to stop that from happening, all so while braving a bad heart that could fail him at any moment.

"Th-this is...overwhelming…" he whispers taking a seat on the bench at a park; so engrossed in his thoughts, Azule didn't even realize that he left the facilities and strolled as far as the park a few miles away. That presentation of the stars put his life into perspective as he realized that he wasn't the only one shouldering heavy expectations and that they came in many different forms for everyone. What seems like a monumental deal for him could simply mean nothing to someone else, that much he summarized as he listened to the gasps and commentary of those nearby, including Fuchsia, who muttered under her breath above her love for the starry sky and the nostalgia of home-unaware that it was actually her making an attempt to have a conversation since the two of them sat on the end of the row. "Is this what Aaron went through?" he whispered gently placing his hand on his chest trying to control his nervous breathing, understanding a little of what the previous captain of Squid Academy's representatives had to go through in his first appearance at a major competition. Deeper and deeper, he felt like he was sinking an abyss of his thoughts-swallowed by the crushing pressure he could no longer block unconsciously.

"Sounds like you could use company after all…"

"Ah! Fuchsia!" Azule nearly jumped out of his skin; hanging out right behind him on the bench with her arms cushioning her head while she hunches over staring at him plainly is none other than the octoling. He'd tries to recover from his mini heart attack all the while her concern gaze focuses on him. "H-how much did you hear?" Azule presses his chest, trying to control his breathing.

She gives a weak smile, "I heard enough?"

Azule's heart sinks in response to that face. He gives a weak smile and looks down to his clenched fists, releasing with a calm breath. "Want to go for a walk? I doubt I can stay still now."

"Sure." she cheerfully responds circling around the bench to meet him.

He forces himself up with a grunt and does a stretch-Fuchsia adds that they probably shouldn't bother returning to the planetarium since the show is probably over and they'd get lost in a sea of traffic. Instead she offered that they should grab a bite somewhere close by and notify the others to meet them there, to which he agrees. A peaceful stroll, the conversations made were as light hearted as possible as the pair did their hardest to stay safe in their topics. Subtle glance made at one another, they both found the situation amusing that they were walking together to get food-especially like they were a couple, which made them both chuckle a bit at the thought of the possibility.

Azule narrows his eyes a little with a warm grin raising his eyebrows, "What's so funny?"

"Other than your face, the way you can switch gears so quickly. A moment ago you were startled to the brink of no return and now you're back to wrestling some inner turmoil deep within the machinations of your mind."

"What? Strange sense of humor you have there."

"I don't mean it in that way, obviously. It's just-earlier you seemed really out of it, and that had me worried. Despite shouldering whatever it is that's on your mind you're still carrying that same glow I know so well. I'm a little relieved."

"Ehhhh?" he responded in a low tone with a tease; "You're worried about me?"

Fuchsia nods, "Of course I would since you're the captain. You shouldn't shoulder problems all on your own. You have us…"

Oh, so that's what she meant His eyes are filled with disappointment but they quickly turn to gratification of having a friend like her who looked past the emotions he was experiencing right now. Little did he know he wasn't alone, for at this very moment she felt her heart beating out her chest like a drum.

Why the heck did I just say that!? She screamed in her head, realizing afterwards that she should've worded that differently-the image of Violet in her head cheering her on to push through and take the initiative.

"Say, Fuchsia…"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of me."

Fuchsia's face flushed immediately once she let the question sink in. HUH? "U-uh...what?"

"Y-you know-like, am I worthy?"

"W-worthy?" "Worthy of what?" Is he going to say it? Is he going to say what I think he is?

"Of being the captain. I mean, I feel like I'm not fulfilling my role right now. I failed the others when I went into a coma and missed the first rank wars, I failed when I was unable to bring Cobalt back, losing him and Tangie as well. I failed to carry my weight and had Sally hold all the responsibilities to the point she overworked herself and missed this opportunity. We're about to go into uncharted water against opponents we've never faced before carrying the expectations of the entire school on our shoulders. Everyone's counting on us...family, friends, even strangers who just placed their hope in us. So why...why am I still the captain?"

Azule, what the hell! She thought to herself, upset that at this point in the campaign her captain was still harboring doubts and blaming himself. However she felt sympathetic to him since she could only imagine how it must feel to be in his shoes with the burdens he carries, only to tackle more outside of his personal life and some that bleed into it. Her glance at him reaffirmed that indeed, his thoughts were cloudy. "If it wasn't for you, none of us would be together. Take pride in your accomplishments. When you were in a coma, we believed you would come back and we strengthened our resolve to fight as hard as we could until you returned. We followed you into a dangerous scenario to protect our own team members and we were victorious-they stayed behind because there were bigger priorities of their concerns rather than just sitting on the sidelines cheering us on, they had the opportunity to fight on the turf in their own battles." she smiles with recollection of those events, understanding she too would fight for her people if she were in a position; "Sally never blames you for her misfortune-it could've happened to anyone. More so, now than ever is when we need you at your strongest, Azule-you're our guiding light, our beacon of victory."

Azule blushes-having to look away unable to meet her serious gaze, "That's a little too much…"

Fuchsia giggles at his embarassment, "I wouldn't say it if I didn't feel that way. Plus, you did ask me a question, so I gave you a sincere answer. Or were you looking for me to fuel your melancholy?"

"No, no. I appreciate that…" he can smile again with reassurance that he wasn't alone in this pressure, that he had loyal comrades to fight alongside with; "I'll do my absolute best to lead this team to victory." he said punching his chest.

Fuchsia gives a sigh after that since she'd been holding back her nervousness the entire time she was talking, but now she felt better-knowing she put him at ease. "Oh! Check it out!" Fuchsia rushes over to the window of the store and peers inside; "Let's stop here! We can wait for the others here."

"Uh, a gaming shop?"

"I've come to appreciate the novelties of local shops such as this-is all." she said trying to hide her expectations of him agreeing to tag along; Azule gives in shrugging his shoulders figuring he might as well since she made such an effort to cheer him up.

The two enter the shop and discover that the outside is just an illusion-the place is way bigger with stairs at the far end leading to what would seem to be another floor with assorted products as well, at least based on how regular patrons ventured up the stairs. It's quiet but not dead as every aisle had one person occupying a space searching through titles of games, viewing collectibles and trying out some of the new systems on display. The sharp smell of plastic, metal, and old paper were just as strong as the clanking cash register met when they entered the shop. Greeted by the clerk, he notified them of what each aisle contained and that the upstairs floor contained a vast collection of books and comics for purchase. Fuchsia felt at home once she spots the digital aisle where the gadgets she found the greatest interest in await-quickly taking Azule by the arm and hurrying over there zipping past the other lanes without caution.

"Hey!" A girl calls from one of the lanes they passed; "Do I know you from somewhere?" Fuchsia and Azule halt just before they're about to reach their aisle and take a peek behind to see who called them, believing it was possibly a mistake. But once Fuchsia took a glimpse at Azule and saw his face drop she became suspicious. The girl's eyes illuminated once she identified them, "It is you! Imagine running into you here of all places!" she chirped with an engaged aura to Azule, her green tentacles swishing as she nods her head playfully;"It's great to see someone I know. I'm a little nervous to be at a grand place like Giande that I couldn't help but retreat to a sanctuary I belong!"

Fuchsia's on her guard as she analyzes the inkling from her swishing short green tentacles and her white surgical mask covering face but leaving her enchanting eyes to view to her outfit of a sweatshirt with a tiny logo of a fighting silver squid. At first, Fuchsia was bewildered by the thought that some random girl knew Azule but quickly she put aside her suspicions to instead identify this girl. For some reason, something felt familiar about her. She goes into a thinkers pose and studies the girl even further, but the girl catches on from her intent staring.

"W-where's my manners? My name is Kippy Moreno." she said with a slight blush and widening eyes as she focuses on Fuchsia; "Pardon me, but you are incredibly beautiful! You're an Octo aren't you!"

Flustered by her sudden compliment and exposure of her species, Fuchsia's defense easily disappeared as she turns pale with terror. She looks left and right to make sure no one heard Kippy but saw that nobody reacted despite being within range to hear which mean that they probably didn't care about her race. She calms down in that second after seeing no one approach them in question she felt the need to confirm her thoughts now that Kippy was clearly looking for a conversation, "I'm Fuchsia…" she responds masking a fiery aura now that she realized this girl might have a head start on her based on how she kept shifting her gaze to a stone faced Azule who looked as though his mind was in another reality. "Kippy Moreno sounds familiar. Are you the one who plays for Kalebrough Inkstinct?" she said in a serious tone looking to confirm her thoughts and possibly gather some useful information about her and her team while she's alone. Kippy confirms this with a clueless expression stating that she's their ace player which makes Fuchsia sport a devilish grin with all the possibilities of the information she can extract entering her mind.

Kippy rests her hands on her hips and props her shoulders, "Well, what are you two up to? Are you on a date?"

Simultaneously, the pair both felt the caps of their heads burst into the air followed by a blast of steam as their faces flush with blank stares complete with an empty smile trying to process her implication. She went and said it! Was the general consensus in the minds of everyone eavesdropping who grew an interest in seeing how this obvious love triangle would play out; even the clerk kept one ear open as he scrolled through his phone.

"A d-d-date!?" Azule gasped leaning back; "W-we're not! We're just waiting for our friends!" Fuchsia's brows furrow accompanying a perplexed look in reaction to Azule's response. To her, it felt as though Azule's animated refusal was a little too excessive-as if the idea of them being a couple was revolting from the way he made his denial.

"Ehhhh?" Kippy leaned forward with an unconvinced grin raising her eyebrows afterwards and folding her arms leaning into Azule's space; "Waiting for friends?"

"Yeah. We kind of got separated from them so we thought to wait here and hope they pass this way. We're only friends, right Fuchsia?"

Kippy looked pleased to hear that but Fuchsia felt betrayed. Just a few moments ago the pair were sharing great synergy and having a heart to heart moment, and now, as soon as another girl shows up, he's back to normal. Even if it wasn't that big of a deal from another's perspective, to Fuchsia, that prior conversation meant something of great progress-only to be sliced in half by this encounter. "Right." she responds with great resentment in her tone and manner but with enough conviction that Kippy felt satisfied to drop that topic.

Azule tightens his cap trying to hide his face from Fuchsia with awareness that he probably did a stupid thing in pushing that on her, "Say Kippy, why do you always wear a facemask?"

Kippy didn't answer.

"She doesn't like to talk about it." a commanding voice answered from their left belonging to an inkling with a downwards stare as he kept his chin raised high with a broad stance; "I take it you must the captain of Squidcom." It was Zepp, the captain of the Inkstinct accompanied by his trusty teammate, Virgil; "Pleasure to make your acquaintance…" he adds shifting his gaze to Fuchsia, giving her a serious gaze like that of a warrior assessing their enemy on a neutral field.

A tense moment between the two captains, very few words were exchanged afterwards as if the two were preparing to draw their guns and have a shootout. After a few moments of the dead silence that had everyone in the building keeping an eye on the pair, Kippy moderated by making small talk with Fuchsia in hopes to get Azule to entertain a conversation. Just then, the final member of the Inkstinct shows up at the entrance. He was looking for the trio and quickly brushed past Azule and Fuchsia to update his team when he stopped part way to meet the eyes of Azule, immediately scowling as he recognized him and glanced at his sister before taking a protective stance to guard her from Azule. He's just about to drop a nasty remark about him that matches his gaze when he takes a glance at Azule's partner, softening his slanted eyebrow and even introduced himself; Kippy and the Inkstinct recognized right away that Kappa never removed his scowling face unless he was infatuated. He snaps out of it swiftly to avoid making it obvious and instead continues with what he had to say previously, explaining that he'd won a raffle up the road and his prize was a reservation for two people at a high end restaurant that was opening around this time and that he didn't want to waste them. He didn't want to carry his sister along and he didn't feel comfortable with eating at such an establishment with a fellow guy for masculinity, so he was out of options. Just then, a curious idea popped in his head but immediately he scrapped it. Zepp on the other hand, entertained that idea.

Kappa has a reservation for lunch for two at a fine establishment and though briefly, he's been acting different ever since he saw this girl. She seems to be on her guard about Kippy for some reason, which I'm guessing is jealousy.. probably from Kippy's familiarity with her friend? I overheard earlier that Kippy confirmed their relationship as just friends, so in that case… A cruel idea that he formulated just from a few seconds, Zepp already thought of a way to disrupt the psyche of Squidcom's captain; after all, he is an opponent of his-it had to be done. "Maybe Fuchsia here would be interested in accompanying you. You wouldn't mind that, right? Since you and your captain are just friends?"

Everyone gives a stunned look as Fuchsia gets flustered for a moment before calming down and taking a long glance at Azule-then agreeing while locking her stare on him; Azule turns pale with shock at her willingness to go. Kappa looked pale also, but with the life of him sucked out him from overjoy. Without another moment's hesitation, Kappa and Fuchsia excused themselves since the reservation was very soon. Before leaving, Zepp made sure to give him one last look of what he expects to be accomplished on the date, to which Kappa nodded wholeheartedly of what must be done; A light shines in Kippy's eyes as she watches her brother exit the building and quickly she grabs Azule by the arm to show him around the place, followed by the other two who followed further behind to study Azule's reaction, and if he would recover from that shock or would he fold. After a while, Zepp and Virgil got involved in Kippy's talk once she started to cling onto Azule too much. During this time he only wondered why? Why she chose to accept, and why she gave him such an ominous glance before accepting-a glance he'd never seen from her, one that was a mixture of scorn and disappointment with little regret. A haunting image he couldn't erase, he spent the rest of that time thinking to himself how we was supposed to explain her absence to the others when they arrived.

"Hey Azule!" Kosami waved followed along by the others after what seemed like an eternity had they met up. "I got a text from Fuchsia that you guys were here, but I don't see...her...with...you?"-looks clueless for a moment-"Is she inside the store?" she pointed with suspicion.

The festive streets echo the joy of the people marching through the clustered sea of shops and tents set up all around the strip. A sea of tents, chiming bells, chattering merchants, and the aroma of delicious food are just a few of the scenes at the festival. Together Reice and the others explore the wonders of the Giandean Festival treating themselves to the local cuisine and live events as several musical acts are performing at the different parts of venue throughout the day, with the final one performed at the center to close it out. From little games to the season souvenirs, patrons made it a mission to attend one of the biggest street festivals in the country; They overheard that this was a major festival but only now did they know why. Since the spring is the optimal time to visit the Giande just when their winter has concluded, many tourists made it their mission to visit the beautiful area before the summer where the true tourism would kick in-as such generating quite the traffic in the spring. This festival happens to be one of the oldest traditions in Inkopolis with a history similar to the popular Splat Fests.

"So good~!" Taylor sung taking another bite into her crepe and munching with euphoria in every taste. "To think Giande would be the place I'd find the perfect crepe!"

"This looks good!" Parker salivated taking a bite into his own after watching Taylor devour hers. The two of them sat together on a bench taking a rest after the hour long walking they did; Nelson was with them as the one who bought the crepes and wanted to see the look on their faces when they tried it for the first time. Since he used to visit the area a lot when he was younger, it felt like another home.

"Want me to get you another one, Taylor?" Nelson asks hopefully after seeing how delighted she is.

A few feet away from them were the others who were split off doing their own thing while waiting for Kidvel to catch their breath. Aaron and Austin were captivated by the street performers nearby while Apollo was at one of the stands viewing some of the items on sale. Reice and Bianca were parallel to him at a stall helping Reice pick out souvenirs for his little sisters, stubbornly disagreeing with some of Bianca's picks in some earrings and bracelets for them in preference for a charm to put on their book bags instead.

"How unsightly…" a pompous voice called from behind the pair.

Indeed it is for Reice and Bianca who turn around to see none other than the once claimed Hero of Inkopolis-Jin Ika of the Special Forces. Dressed in the Spring Festa attire accompanied by his juniors of 18, 12, and Kary, who are equally un-optimistic with this coincidental encounter after hearing the stories about Squid Academy and their questionable actions. There's an awkward silence between the two parties as Reice gives a long stare at the golden inkling. It felt like a moment before two gunslingers were about to draw as neither Jin or Reice blinked with a heavy air encapsulating them; even the others felt uncomfortable watching the staredown between the two, all so while the mask of the festival occurs around them.

"Who are you?" Reice said plainly with an unimpressed look.

"What!?" Jin shouted in shock.

Bianca erupts with laughter unable to control herself once she saw Jin's bewildered expression. Even Jin's own teammates couldn't resist cracking a smile either at the thought that their arrogant leader got knocked down a few pegs by a fellow rival. "Oh Reice, this is why I love you." she joked, without realizing he was still paying attention.

"What?"

"About you." she cleared her throat, returning to a serious presence to cover the slip up.

Reice crossed his arms with a scowl sizing up the Special Forces captain-aware of his status and history, "I heard Special Forces has a stacked team, so why the first years again?"

Jin sneered before taking off his sunglasses to intimidate Reice further with his superior glare, "As the captain of the best team in the country, duty falls on me to lead my precious juniors to success. At this invitational, I'll turn them from innocent cubs into terrifying beasts."

"So why a festival? Shouldn't you be busy locked away in some dark room watching tapes of all the teams previous games to study them?"

"I would but my juniors here wanted to attend this festival and dragged me along for team bonding." Jin glared at his juniors comically while they averted his glare innocently.

"Wow, even a jerk like you is trying to change..." Apollo said entering the conversation with a bag in his hand; "It's as if you've forgotten what you did in winter."

Jin shrinks once he recognizes Apollo; Kary steps in, "That's in the past. Jin already endured enough punish-"

"My sincerest apologies for that day…" Jin spoke solemnly raising a hand; "My actions that day are still something I regret. I never should've done it. I deeply apologize for the harm caused and I deserve the hatred displayed to me."

Kary's puzzled expression wasn't the only one as both 18 and 12 wore similar stunned reactions to their captain's apology. A rare sight to behold in seeing the such a different side of their boastful captain. Apollo didn't react in any form and instead approached the captain with a sharpness in his step, clenching his fists and neared him. "Liar." he whispered viciously as though he was just moments from punching him in the face.

Jin gives a sly grin reading Apollo's face and leans back, "Am I...?" he raises one eyebrow and shows his teeth; "I'm not the one who beat her in the finals after all. You're targeting the wrong Ika, don't you think? She recovered from her injuries and even made a close run in the final, so why are you so hung up about me when she won that war."

Apollo narrows his eyes with a mixture of bewilderment and disgust; Reice was so upset his face muscles default to a scary smile to contain his anger, but from the veins starting to protrude from his arms and face, he too was close to his limit of tolerance. "I'll slap that golden smirk off your face if you don't high tail it out of here."

Jin puts his hands in his pocket and furrows his brows, "Got a backbone now, huh? I hope you know your demon captain isn't here to back you up and trying to look cool for your lady friend is getting you nowhere."

"There won't be any violence occurring at this festival..." Parker said with Nelson and Taylor following right behind; "This is a place for people to enjoy themselves. Jin, return to enjoying your time with your teammates and leave us be, Reice, violence isn't the way. The best way to shut him up is to beat him where it matters."

Jin laughs afterwards and excuses himself, leading his team along with him. Parker warns Reice that violence at this stage right before the tournament will mean suspension for him, to which Reice understands very well he can't burden his team for a handicap or possible disqualification due to his hotheaded behavior. An attempt to change the sour mood brought by Jin's appearance, Parker encouraged them to continue exploring the festival until the meetup time for the movie. While they continue onward walking through the streets of the festival, the pair of Fuchsia and Kappa were on their way to the restaurant for lunch. Luckily for them, the place wasn't far so they could walk there and still be on time for the reservation; the communication between them is minimal as they focused on making it to the restaurant first.

Even if we aren't facing them right away, we could meet them in the finals. So, it'd be best to disrupt the focus of the team by hitting them below the belt...honestly, Captain Zepp, you can be ruthless sometimes… He thought glancing over at Fuchsia-her focused gaze straight ahead left his cheeks burning red. It should be considered a crime how amazing she looks! She's way out of my league... He thought happily, overjoyed as they entered the restaurant. A high end eatery with a dress code, Kappa had to explain the conditions of why he and his date weren't dressed accordingly because of his sudden predicament of the raffle, to which there was an understanding and the pair were waited to a table. Throughout the lunch, Fuchsia entertained as much of Kappa's conversations as she could and made sure to return fire by asking as many personal questions as possible. From his personal upbringing to his time at the Inkstinct, she did her best to pretend to show an interest in him which looked like it was working from how he continued to engage with her. After their meals were brought out and they dined to a conclusion, they pushed aside their plates to continue their discussion.

"I must admit, I'm surprised you accepted this. After all, I'm a stranger and your team's possible opponent." Kappa said with a laugh in between, disguising his suspicion as he knew the other objective aside from scoring a relationship with Fuchsia was to squeeze some information out of her. Right now was his chance to test whether she was sharp enough to tell his intentions or if she was clueless to a point he could blatantly fire away.

Fuchsia returned a laugh and tilted her head to the side with a warm look, "That's only if we meet in the finals, though." she laughs a little, her face dropping a little as she gave thought to her reason for accepting; "I was a little upset at first and just wanted to prove a point, but I'd say after a nice lunch like this and getting to know you, you're pretty cool."

"Prove a point, huh? I'm guessing something happened between you and your boyfriend?"

Fuchsia's smile didn't disappear but the warmth vanished immediately, "He's not my boyfriend."

"A-ah sorry. I didn't mean to overstep-"

"You're not overstepping. It's cute that you see us as a couple but we're not, and he seems to have a problem with the idea that we are."

"Oh I get it. Sort of like a revenge thing, right?"

"Yeah. I'm not against this or anything-you're a great guy and I'd like to be friends with you but…" she crosses her arms with a slight blush and a pout; "That idiot stole my heart first."

Kappa gives a pained smile, "He's a lucky guy…"

It's an awkward moment that settles with the odd silence, both parties struggling to transition to another topic now that the main reason was uncovered. Kappa takes up his glass to take a gulp and Fuchsia sets her plate aside, ready to continue. "I guess that misunderstanding is cleared up now." she jokes, reaching for more substance on Kappa's end, but Kappa for some reason doesn't bite. Instead his gaze is downwards at the table, which his hands clasped in his lap. His head jerks upward and he lifts a finger, retracting with a painful nod-still soaking in his rejection.

"You're aware of what my original intentions were, don't you?" he said with a serious look, expecting her instant reply; Fuchsia's eyes relax knowing that finally they were coming to this topic.

She crosses her arms with a scowl, "I'm surprised it took this look for us to get here. Obvious from the start that your captain was looking to use me as a source for information about my team. That somehow you'd charm me well enough for me to slip up and spill details like I'm some airhead. Sound about right?"

Kappa rubs the back of his head grimacing a bit, "Yeah…at first it was. Well, to be clear, I know it's messed up, but my captain felt it would be a great opportunity to take advantage of you and wring out any secrets and useful information about your team in the case that we run into each other in the finals. Sorry if it seems like I was trying to use you because that wasn't my personal intentions. Really, I was hoping for this to just be a regular date." he knew there wasn't any point in trying to save face based on her judgmental glare, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to stop. He wanted to prove to her that he at least meant no harm to her. For the first time, he met a girl he was willing to go this far for. "I regret it having to be this way. You're a great person to hold a conversation with, and I've really enjoyed spending this little time with you."

Fuchsia's glowing lips wrinkle upwards with a relaxed gaze. She kept her arms crossed by now had her index finger tapping her arm as though she was thinking of what to do next now that Kappa came clean about his team's plan. She lifts her finger to her lips and winks, "We'll keep this between us." she said with a tease, delighting Kappa who could tell how genuine her comment is; their lunch ended nicely afterwards with both going off in their own direction, though Kappa offered to walk her back he was denied once again strictly because Fuchsia didn't want any further attention drawn to her. She knew at this point that Azule covered for her and the last thing she'd want to do is ruin that by returning with someone else, especially a rival.

That evening, Fuchsia meets up with the rest, bombarded by questions from Kosami and the others about where she went off to. Though she did her best not to reveal too much where she had gone, she could feel the betrayal she gave to Azule based on how he didn't so much as acknowledge her presence when she returned. As such, they sat on opposite sides of the group when they went to watch the movie; several times, the fellow members of Squidcom tried to pry into their captain's feelings but he entertained none, leaving everything up to their interpretation.