The city is lively on an overcast day with honking cars packing the streets and chattering people roaming the sidewalks and plazas. Hand in hand walking underneath the skyscrapers basking in the metropolis of Ravia are Cobalt and Tangie doing periodic stops at everything that catches Tangie's attention. Full of amazement and enthusiasm snapping pictures on her phone, Tangie dragged Cobalt around from place to place goggling at the various spots they come across. Amused by her energetic reactions to everything, Cobalt enjoyed seeing Tangie being lively and especially valued the moments they spent together like this doing what Tangie loved. Their adventures leading them to a lush garden full of exotic plants and wonderful architecture, the pair admired the fusion of colors within the portrait of green.
"So pretty!" Tangie squealed snapping yet another photo-this time of a garden. Creating a duplicate to play around with the filters and edit to send to the team group chat; "Darling, get in the picture with me for this next one!" she tugged on his sleeve with a joyous look.
Cobalt flashed a tiny smile in response to her request but shook his head in refusal,"I'm bad with pictures."
"Didn't ask! Now get in here!" she insisted with a beam so bright her eyes closed shut, the grip on her fingers getting noticeably stronger.
Cobalt's tiny smile faded realizing Tangie wouldn't let him get away with ominous giggle she let out, "I won't smile." he bluffed, hoping she'd give up.
"Still didn't ask." she said full of cheer, her bright face starting to carry a different type of warmth, one filled with the flames of hell if he dared to refuse once more.
A cold sweat runs down his face, "D-do I have to?"
"Mama Tokugawa wants a picture and I'm not leaving until we get one for her!" She maintains her innocent smile, though to Cobalt she resembled a demon now with how contrasting her aura is; unable to stall, he takes the camera and comes in close for the selfie while Tangie clings to his arm and presses her cheek against his. "Oh! We really look cute together!" she giggled looking at their reflection, noticing Cobalt's blush as he prepared to press the button for the snapshot.
"S-smile..!" the snapshot gets taken; fellow visitors in the garden found the pair to be adorable.
"Am I embarrassing you?" she teased with a nudge, finding his averting gaze amusing; the only time he ever acted like this was when they were alone and she found it refreshing.
Cobalt clears his throat, "O-of course not!"
Tangie playfully pokes him in the abdomen, "That didn't sound too impressive, and what are you? Some sort of robot soldier? What kind of voice was that!?" she asked, hooking his arm once more and bringing him in close.
Cobalt glances at her missing arm as she brought him closer; that lost arm was proof of her overwhelming affection. Her unyielding love. The way she was behaving so carefree despite all the pain she must be restraining made him feel a little guilty about everything since she sacrificed so much just to be together with him, and even now he still got flustered when she showed affection in public. He thought it shameful to be so bashful when he knew what she went through. "Hey, are you...having fun?"
"I'm together with you, aren't I?" she beamed.
That response. That smile. I always thought myself to be on the colder side but whenever I'm around you I always find that shell to melt like the snow in the coming spring. So sprightly and a radiant, I wish the tightness in my chest could equal that cosmic level of love you possess. Standing in silence as she smiled her usual sunny beam at him, he couldn't remove the seriousness from his faze as his soft crimson gaze met her tangerine eyes.
"Hm? Cobalt…?"
The urge to kiss her stronger than ever, Cobalt didn't even realized how out of it he looked as his confused girlfriend watched his slowly lean in.
"O-oh, I didn't think you wanted to that in public..."
"What do we have here?" a voice calls from behind the couple, interrupting their moment and snapping the couple back to reality; "Strange to run into you here, and pardon the intrusion…" Cobalt and Tangie turn around to find a trio of inklings dressed in casual wear with their hair tied up and wearing shades and masks, exuding an aura that seemed all too familiar despite being able to identify them directly. Cobalt immediately put up his guard once they glanced at Tangie's missing arm, prepared to clobber them if one of them spoke out about her missing limb. "Blue hair and crimson eyes with an intimidating aura like a warlord and a girl with orange hair and a smile so bright it could send someone blind. You must be Lord Tokugawa and his betrothed."
Cobalt furrows his brow and lifts his chin with suspicion, "Who might you be to address us as such?"
"Fellow countrymen." The leading inkling said taking off his shades followed by the others taking off their masks; right away Cobalt and Tangie recognized them, noticing they resembled the people they'd done plenty of scouting on.
"Smooth Samurai Shunpei! And you're…!" Tangie points at the silent inkling who simply bowed; "Silent Killer Kazuma, and you're...who are you?"
"Yuto! I'm Yuto!" Yuto shouts.
"Never heard of you." Tangie said with a blank expression cleaning out her ear after the boy's outburst, standing behind her Cobalt shield.
"Huh? I'm a good player on Toka! Sometimes I even start too!"
"Still not ringing any bells."
"At least pretend to know!"
Shunpei clears his throat, "What a pleasure to run into you all here of all places! Congratulations on making it to the knockout stage after an impressive performance in the group of death. Believe it or not, everyone is talking about it."
"I'd imagine." Cobalt spoke through his teeth, irritated at them showing up when they did and the gall they had to speak with such familiarity.
"What brings you all out here? Do you like gardens too?" Tangie asked innocently, though she felt a little upset herself about the timing of these strangers.
"Though not as beautiful as the gardens in our homeland, the gardens in Ravia have a sort of charm of their own. The vibrancy of the flowers, the sweet aroma of the grass, and the sturdy trees that cast a shade, it doesn't have that same zen as back home but I appreciate the feelings that can be brought out by visiting here."
Cobalt looked at him sideways, "Are you a fan of botany or something?"
"Not really, just a failed attempt and sounding poetic." he laughed, shrugging off the failed attempt to impressed the future lord.
"I don't really get it, but nice!" Tangie gave a thumbs up, hoping they could leave soon so she could pick things up with her man again.
"Still, I'm impressed with what you've accomplished in such a short span, Tokugawa-sama."
"No need for the honorifics, just call me Cobalt."
Shunpei looked surprised, "I guess the rumors are true that you are much different from the others. You really are a breath of fresh air for Ikayumu." he smiled warmly; Cobalt and Tangie sighed on inside, realizing these people weren't going to leave them alone any time soon since the captain didn't know how to read the mood.
"We haven't met before, have we?"
Shunpei shakes his head, "Never met, no. I only know of you because I watched the Tokugawa Selection. Once I learned you were part of Squid Academy, I wanted to meet you even more! You are the future beacon of Ikayumu who can restore the broken prefectures and emotionally unify us again."
Cobalt folds his arms, "I'm aware of my position." he uttered with a disdainful look, not appreciating Shunpei bringing up politics while they are away from the land.
Shunpei smirks with satisfaction at Cobalt's response, "Then are you also aware of the backlash you are facing from the many people? The various problems on the back burner, the possibility of the domains separating once again under their own rule? The news back home is airing all the grievances occurring while their most pivotal leader lives it up on the sidelines watching a tournament. There are talks about an age of chaos approaching with plenty of underground organizations and clans rearing their ugly heads in the wake of a new era, hoping to usurp the powers in control."
A vein sprouts on Cobalt's forehead immediately but he keeps a poker face; Tangie noticed Cobalt's aura changed completely and instictively she took over. "We probably shouldn't talk politics in a peaceful place like this." she forced a smile, hoping Shunpei would read the mood and quit provoking Cobalt.
"It's fine, I'm intrigued by what Shunpei has to say-do tell me more about what I don't already know."
"Cobalt." Tangie called in a serious tone, giving him a disapproving look and shake of the head; Cobalt holds his tongue after hearing the tone in her voice.
"Oh, my apologies! I didn't come off as rude, did I?" he asked in a sincere tone, truly oblivious that he was kicking a hornet's nest.
"You were very rude." Kazuma said plainly as if this were a regular occurrence.
"I thought the whole point of walking up to them was to become friends! Is the only thing you can do is make enemies?" Yuto added, flailing his arms.
Shunpei laughed it off, "That wasn't my intention, I'm actually a huge fan of yours!"
It didn't seem that way! Everyone shouted in their mind.
"What you accomplished during the selection with everyone watching was amazing, and though the older generation isn't sold on you just yet, know that the younger demographic is behind you completely. We respect you for all that you and others are doing." Yuto said holding up a fist.
"Compliments are appreciated but as of this moment, I'm a member of Squid Academy's team. If we aren't going to discuss the tournament nor our teams, there isn't much to talk about."
"Not to mention you all interrupted our date!" Tangie hissed, finally letting her fangs show for a moment tired of waiting for them to leave.
"Sorry for intruding." Kazuma spoke, bowing his head as an apology which got Tangie flustered since it looked to embarrassing doing such a gesture in a foreign land.
"I-it's fine! You can lift your head!" she ordered, hurrying him before any of the other people in the garden noticed.
The focused Yuto stares at the duo intently, "You all are members of Squid Academy, which means you'll be going up against Vulerby in the upcoming round. Are you prepared? They're pretty strong. Fourth ranked team."
Tangie flashes a confident smile, "We didn't come this far to get bounced out in the round of 64!"
"All of us know what Vulerby is capable of but we aren't scared of them nor of what they can do. Rather, they should be wary of what we can do and what we have accomplished already." Cobalt said in a calming tone, feeling relaxed now that the topic went away from something personal.
"Spoken like a true competitor…" another voice entered.
Shunpei, Kazuma, and Yuto recognized the voice immediately, and once they noticed he wasn't alone, they all wore surprised expressions at who accompanied him. Cobalt and Tangie also recognized the pair from their scouting reports they did earlier, mostly because they were fellow Ikayumans. Captain of the Nimaroshi 1st, Yuji Nada, and vice captain, Shinichi Nishida join the conversation. Another hotshot team from Ikayumu, it started to feel like the red string of fate wrapped around all of their fingers, as if it was destiny for them all to cross paths here at Nationals. A tournament where several teams from Ikayumu were representing their island nation, it was amazing that the three biggest acts associated with the country all met each other by coincidence: Cobalt and Tangie of the red-hot Squid Academy, Shunpei and Kazuma [with Yuto] of Toka, and Yuji and Shinichi of Nimaroshi 1st.
"Apologies for the intrusion, but we were drawn here by curiosity and lo and behold we find Natsudare-san antagonizing arguably the most important person of Ikayumu. Shame on you." Yuji elbowed Shunpei harshly, finding it disrespectful to treat the future lord the way he did.
"Nice to see you again, Kazuma."
"Likewise, Shinichi."
Tangie crossed her arm and looked at the pair with curosity, "On a first name basis? You all know each other like that?"
"Kazuma and I go way back to kindergarten, but unfortunately he moved some time in grade school and we never spoke again. Well, until we ran into each other during a tournament in middle school. We crossed paths in the quarter finals and learned of the schools we would be attending."
"Since I lived in Toyaka, it made sense to attend Toka." Kazuma said with a plain look towards Tangie.
"I had options, but Nimaroshi was the best choice considering what I wanted to do. Sure enough we ran into each other again at Nationals and the Grand Slams."
"We beat them in the round of 32 in our first year at Nationals." Kazuma added, almost as if taking a shot at Shinichi.
Shinichi forced a smile following Kazuma's jab, "And we returned fire the following year in one of the grand slams when we beat them in the semis."
"Talk about history." Tangie mumbled, noticing the static between the pair as they exchanged stares with one another.
Yuji chuckles, "So Natsudare-san and company will be facing off against Grove Tech in the knockouts huh? How are you feeling about it?"
"As good as we can considering we went unbeaten in the group stage against solid competition. I notice your side will be facing Olo Tech after finishing in the second spot. I admit I'm surprised your side lost twice!"
"The race is not for the swift nor is it for the strong-"
"But he who endures it." Cobalt finished, knowing a certain someone who would say something like that with the brightest of grins.
"Right. We're looking forward to facing Olo tech because of our potential opponent in the round following that one…"
The potential opponent Yuji Nada was referring to were the Kalebrough Inkstinct, who were facing Burste-Riota in their round of 64 match. Should Kalebrough advance they would face Nimaroshi in a loaded battle that would pit one of the tournament's more experienced rosters against the explosive sibling duo that nobody has found an answer to thus far. A team that went unbeaten in the group stage defeating a whopping four ranked teams including Crystal Coast and the Bluerings, Nimaroshi's work would've been cut out for them if they were an ordinary team. But led by Yuji Nada, Shinichi Nishida, and the other talents stacked on the roster, Nimaroshi stood a good chance of upsetting one of the favorites in the tournament. As for Toka, they played Grove Tech in the first round and would see either Cyqb or Bonread in the round of 32, but it was in the distant round of 16 that their true test would await them: Hugh-Napri. Though it was far from now, Shunpei and Kazuma knew they needed to prepare for that fateful day should it come to fruition, for the Hugh-Napri they saw this entire tournament looked far more terrifying than the previous iterations, including the team that won the tournament a couple years ago. After what felt like an eternity of listening to a conversation between the two captains exchanging information and thoughts, Cobalt and Tangie finally made their escape from them. Although surprised by the interruption that led to such a turn of events, they weren't shocked to see fellow competitors already thinking about the finals in serious consideration. Motivating in a way, they also felt a little disrespected by Yuji's confidence since there was a chance they might cross paths at some point in the tournament and he didn't hesitate to assure victory over them. Taking a silent walk through the noisy streets, Cobalt held Tangie's hand tightly while navigating through the maze. His sense of pride growing stronger after crossing paths with those players, Cobalt had a greater urge to want to get out there and fight but he already knew his place wasn't on the turf this time around-he had somewhere else he could fight the good fight. Tangie also felt motivated to help her team too, mostly because she saw how hard everyone worked firsthand and had that bias that nobody else in the world had the same determination as them.
Breaking the silence between them Tangie walks ahead and looks at Cobalt with a sharp resolve, "Let's flip this tournament upside down."
Cobalt's soft smile only appeared once she flashed him that beaming smile he loved more than anything, "Yeah…" he responds, walking beside her and using this moment as a chance to enjoy some time alone once more.
That same time elsewhere in the city, Janice is standing in a plaza dressed in a black and white satin jacket with a white Yermozani graphic tee she had tucked in some black jeans and black high tops, her shades resting on her head as she stood out from the crowd as a mean looking foreigner. Men and Women glanced at her with wonder as her appearance gave off a certain intimidation that made her unapproachable but unavoidable that there was a distinct beauty-though she might look scary, none of them could deny that she looked cool. Her attention glued to her phone for most of the time in anticipation of an incoming message, she would occasionally look around with anxiousness whenever her phone buzzed. Sneaking up behind her wearing a white sundress with black tights and some brown boots is a dastardly Kippy snickering mischievously behind her friend's back, poking her just once to startle her friend who nearly felt her heart jump out her chest.
"Did I keep you waiting? Oh, I like that satin jacket!" Kippy beamed while wearing her face mask with a straw hat to shade her from the blazing sun, examining Janice's black and white satin jacket; "If I didn't know any better I would've thought you to be a yakuza out of place!"
Janice gave a tired sigh as she tried to regain her composure, "As playful as ever…" she takes off her jacket and hands it to Kippy; "Put it on."
"Hm? Why?"
"People are staring." she averts her gaze.
"How sweet of you." Kippy giggled while putting on the jacket; "Well? How do I look? Almost like we're matching!"
"You look nice." Janice mumbled, her face getting redder; "Anyways, what's the move for today. I'm here like you wanted." The reason for her impatience stemmed from not knowing what to do in these types of moments since she rarely hung out with her friends outside of a group setting, and very rarely with other girls; with someone like Kippy around who grabbed everyone's attention so naturally, she felt a little self conscious.
Kippy went into a thinking pose and stared hard at the ground, "Since this is our first time on a date we should-"
"D-date!?" Janice's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, this is a date." Kippy responds without a clue to the reason behind Janice's outburst.
"Y-you do know what that means, right!?"
"Hm? Aren't dates when two people meet up together at a predetermined location to do something together?"
Janice cleared her throat-still blushing heavily, "Y-yeah technically speaking it is, but just phrase it better. We don't need anyone getting the wrong idea about us." she said, averting her eyes from Kippy again as she innocently looked at her without a thought to the mood; "Sorry you have to wear the jacket by the way, I know the outfit compliments your free spirit and I kind of robbed you of that."
"Don't apologize for that, I like the way the jacket compliments my outfit too and you did it because you were considerate. I appreciate that, though you should probably loosen up-you're being way too flustered around me." Kippy said with a smile, already away of the bashful nature Janice showed uncharacteristic to her usual temperament.
Janice couldn't even bother to contest her, "What are we going to do for today."
"Nothing in particular, just wanted to spend the day with you and learn more about the super cool delinquent looking captain of Yermozani!"
"Oi…"
"To figure out what to do, we'll let the wind blow us to our next destination so follow me!" Kippy rushed ahead with a charge, followed by Janice tailing her telling her to slow down.
Walking around the city for a bit taking in the scenery of the ever dynamic sight of Ravia, the pair found themselves stopping at several locations before taking an excessive pit stop at a little hobby shop on the corner of a busy street scavenging around for anything interesting to bring back home. Thanks to Kippy's bubbly personality and her polite demeanor, she made friends with the shop owner and got to collect a couple of rare finds to bring back with her as a nice gesture. Now resting on a bench before a fountain in the middle of a plaza, the pair were exhausted from all the constant walking though for Janice it was keeping up with the energetic Kippy more than anything that tired her out. She admired how Kippy could behave so carefree during a tournament like this, and spend time with her no-less. Seeing her wear such a radiant smile and be able to laugh like that when there is such an overwhelming burden on her shoulders as a breakout star that everyone was watching with so many people back home pinning their hopes on her, Janice could only marvel at the resolve of Kippy.
"How do you do it?" she asks, wearing a serious look while staring at Kippy as she examined the little statue she got from the shop owner that was secured in a transparent box.
"Do what?" A preoccupied Kippy asked shooting laser beams at the box with her tongue sticking out, looking for a way to open and get a closer look at the statue.
"The pressure. How are you holding up amidst all the pandemonium surrounding your participation in the tournament? You're only a first year and yet you're having a breakout debut on the biggest of stages. Everyone knows your name and shouts it out loud whenever you step on the turf, people on tv are already making songs about you and promoting you to be the next big star after the three seniors graduate. Must be great, huh?"
Kippy gradually stops fiddling with the box and looks over to Janice with glazed eyes, "To be honest, it's scary. It feels like I'm on an unstable boat in the middle of a vast ocean surrounded by a sea of gazes that sways me constantly with my performances being the only thing I can do to maintain stability until the waters calm."
A single drop of sweat dropped down Janice's face as she digested the words and vividly imagined what Kippy must be feeling, "Do you...ever feel like you might fall overboard? Maybe even drown."
"Always." Kippy answered swiftly, her tone almost chilling as her glazed eyes cast downwards.
"Damn..." Janice could only bite her lip, cursing herself for thinking that Kippy would be exempt from that feeling. Of course she had to be feeling the pressure of the tournament and the expectations placed on her, she's only a first year after all-not some super being.
"Constantly it's a battle with my mind to stay strong, but I always remind myself that I have Kappa with me. I have my seniors with me. I have my precious friends with me too." she said showing a glimmer of light in her eyes as she flashed a smile at Janice.
This girl… Janice blushed, "So? What's the plan for the round of 64? You goin' up against Burste-Riota, right?"
"Your dialect is leaking out again." Kippy giggled, adoring Janice's Yermozanian accent.
"''Cause I'm comfortable 'round you. I'll switch back if it's such a big deal."
"Don't, I like it!"
"So? Got a plan for them?"
"Mh-hm, Zepp and the coaches already did their scouting ahead of time since we were expecting to secure the group so we have an idea of how to face them. But the coaches warned us not to get inflated heads since these were the rounds where upsets could happen."
And she was right. In the national tournament, the highest probabilities for upsets usually occurred within the rounds of 64 and 32 and it was all due to a variety of factors that fused together to create the unfavorable outcome for favorites. Since the break between the group stage and the first round of the knockout offered considerable time for teams to plan for their next opponent, it wasn't uncommon for underdogs and lesser talented teams to tailor a strategy around the flaws and weaknesses of their goliath opponents, often needing a little bit of luck such as mental fatigue to play a part as well. As much as it was a physical battle, it was also a mental one and with the rise of surprise underdogs like Squid Academy and Squidops entering the knockouts, all the ranked teams were on high alert for their opponents in the next round including Janice and Yermozani, who were facing the unassuming Acropolis for their first knockout match.
"All should be well for the winner of the group of death since they are the team that hit their stride almost immediately and have looked every bit as dominant as the favorites, even knocking off Crystal Coast."
"Tee-hee, you're praising us when you should take pride in your progress as well, you won out your group as well and looked impressive the entire way."
"We ain't got a choice after seeing y'all step up and show off. We still got a blemish on our record with that one loss, so we ain't the same much as I hate to admit it."
"I don't know about that, though. I find it's better to get the jitters out early and sacrifice a game in the group stage where a loss can be afforded than lose in the knockouts where it spells the end of the season."
"As true as that is, the fact still remains that you are unbeaten after going up against some of the best teams in the tournament. Sure this next match will be a test of mental fortitude, but y'all can handle that."
"Keep praising me and I just might blush." Kippy teased, snuggling her box. "I hope we'll face each other in the tournament." she said with a shine in her eyes, studying Janice out the corner of her eyes.
"Yeah, I wanna rematch too." Janice lowered her chin to show a sharp gaze; "I'll repay you with interest!"
"I'll look forward to it!"
The rest of the day serving as a peaceful one for the pair thanks to Kippy calming down on her adventuring, it felt as though they finally got a chance to understand the other as genuine friends rather than as rivals. Learning a little more about the other and what kind of hobbies and interests they had, time soon got away from them as they had to return back to their respective places-almost forgetting their positions as opponents for rival teams. As they said goodbye to one another, they promised to meet each other once again-this time in the tournament.
