14017 July 21st

Inkopolis, Inkopolis Square

Inkopolis square, a place that is popular with the youth these days, some inklings are playing their own games and some of them are doing something… Adult?

Inklings have different cuts and different fashion as they're partially 'unique' in their own styles.

On the LED billboard is showing a short and pale inkling along with a dark skinned octoling as they're reporting a missing Great Zapfish as well as one of the Squid Sisters, Callie.

The inkling and the octoling are known as 'Off the Hook' as they're taking the role after the former idols "Squid Sisters.'

An amber bob cut inkling girl named Mirai appeared in a white vest that shows a picture of a red squid that says 'booyah!' and she's also in black tight shorts under her pink skirt.

Mirai also sports a bandage covering her right arm as something must've happened to her.

"Cool!~" Mirai gasps with awe as she witnesses what Inkopolis is like in real life.

Reading the map, Mirai is checking out where to sign in for the turf war as she's looking closer to see if it's the right place to go.

"Hmm… They say the lobby is straight ahead, so is it okay for me to sign in?"

She then stops as she can see a suspicious looking inkling staring at her as if she knows her.

"Hm? Who is that? Yo!" Mirai calls as the familiar one turns away, causing Mirai to go louder. "HEY! Don't ignore me! Who are you!?"

Out of curiosity, Mirai went through a crowd of inklings as she's about to follow a white and green squid woman.

"Excuse me! Sorry! Coming through!"

After she went through, an inkling boy in a black beanie, that covers his eyebrows and nearly his eyes, turned towards Mirai without any expression.

"Hm?"

"Uh… Sorry!" Mirai bows as she apologises.

"Don't be. I'm not disturbed." The inkling boy sighed and turned towards her by leaning on a rail. "I see you saw her."

"Who?"

"Hotaru."

"Never heard… I thought she was the famous Marie."

"Then you got the wrong inkling." Said the inkling boy.

She can see him in grey trousers and a black and yellow jacket fully closed, leading him to be covered in summer.

"Aren't you hot in that?" Mirai asks by pointing at the inkling boy.

"When I feel like it. So, why are you here?" The inkling boy asked.

"Oh! I heard my brother was in Inkopolis and he hasn't been back for a couple of years." Mirai answered.

"Your brother?"

"Yeah. He may be timid, but I'm sure he's brave enough to fight back in the turf war!"

The inkling boy grunts after hearing the inkling she described as her brother.

"I see."

"So… You're not gonna attack me?" Mirai is curious to know if a scary looking inkling acts harmless.

"I will if you don't leave." The inkling boy sighs as he glares at her.

"Alright. Alright. Geez, take a chill pill, mister." Mirai leaves as she's avoiding getting herself beaten up.

Then…

"See ya!" Mirai shouts.

"Huh? Oi!" The inkling boy exclaims while chasing her.

Instantly morphing into a squid and falling into a manhole, Mirai had left without anyone noticing as the inkling boy did the same to catch her.

Both amber and white inkling squids are vanishing as some people are busy chatting and a few showcasing their weapons.


Octo Canyon, Tentakeel Outpost

In a canyon, a small octo frontline base consists of a group of octarians hiding and defending themselves from any intruders.

Standing in front of the buildings under the blue sky, an inkling woman, who has white and green tentacle hair and wears a kimono, is watching many and turns away from a horde without a word to say except she mutters, "Octarians… What on earth are you up to now?"

After she went back behind the stone hole and before she went into Cuttlefish's Cabin, a splashing noise has caught her attention as it appears to be an amber inkling girl.

"Hm?"

"Y- You're that hag who ignored me!" Mirai exclaims while pointing at an inkling woman.

"Hag!?" The inkling woman chokes.

Another splash happens as an inkling boy is dashing towards Mirai.

Mirai then dodges and then makes a run for it until she is caught by the waist.

"I got you!"

"Hey! Put me down or I'll report you for sexual harassment!" Mirai yelled.

"What!? Look, I would never do that and also you're trying to enter there without my permission!" The inkling boy snaps.

The inkling woman clears her throat as the inkling boy drops her and then grabs her by her vest top.

"So I see you've arrived, young… lady." The inkling woman grits her teeth as she'll never forget being called a hag earlier.

So much for first impressions.

"Ehehe! Sorry!" Mirai giggles as she nervously scratches her head.

"Haah… I could assume you're the one who was capable of coming over here. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Atarime Hotaru, I ran the unpopular 'Callie fan club,' stay fresh!" Introducing herself, Hotaru is doing a stay fresh pose which is poorly done.

"What?" Mirai tilts her head in confusion.

"Basically, Hotaru missed the Squid Sisters ever since they left each other and she voted for Callie at the Splatfest which is the reason why she created a fan club. It was a flop…" The inkling boy sighs.

"Oh… Well, I can join the fan club if you want."

"Huh? Y- You mean it?" Hotaru gasps.

"Yeah. Only because my big bro wanted to vote for Callie at the Splatfest." Mirai shrugs her shoulders.

"Interesting. What's your brother like?" Hotaru asked.

"He's shy, yet caring. He also wanted to give some money to support me, but he hadn't come back for years."

"And what's his name so I can get his number?"

"It's Daigo." Mirai answers by handing out her phone.

"Daig-!?" Hotaru tenses up after hearing his name which freaked her out.

Her mind is screaming as she witnessed the little sister of the one who worked there.

"S- Sure… I got his number."

Even the inkling boy is sweating bullets while staying calm.

"H- Hotaru, we should tell her the truth." The inkling boy hisses.

"If we do that then all shell's break loose, and things won't end well. Let's keep it a secret." Hotaru hissed.

"Alright. Also I voted for Marie, remember."

"Yeah you did. Now we need to get this girl on the frontlines."

"Alright."

Finally, both inklings are standing in front of Mirai as they're nodding to each other.

"Well, Mirai, your brother used to work here with us." Said Hotaru.

"Really!?" Mirai gasped with excitement.

"Yes. Considering he fought bravely against the threat, maybe we sh-"

"When do I sign up!?" Mirai asked.

"Squit…" Hotaru groans, knowing how it'll end badly. "Fine… I'll have you assigned as Agent 4. Just sign here and you're a part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon."

"Cool!" Mirai then signs up as she finally gets to join in where her brother worked.

Hotaru is regretting that decision as she needed an inkling to face the octarians.

5 minutes later, Mirai dresses up in a black sports bra and shorts that has the side design colour coded to her ink that is currently amber.

After that she puts on a yellow high visibility coat as she's now prepared for her first mission.

"Hmph! It's time for me to save the world!" Mirai, who is now Agent 4, calls as she's ready.

"Well yes, but actually no. The Great Zapfish is taken by the octarians and I want you to fend off against them, considering that I'm a busy woman." Said Hotaru.

"And I'll keep an eye on you if you do anything stupid." The inkling boy said as he changed into his high visibility coat while barely looking different. "We're addressing each other as agents apart from Hotaru. She's taking over as Captain while the Captain himself comes back."

"That's right. He's Agent 3.4 whereas you're Agent 4. I want both of you to do your best.

"Sure! I'll make you proud, Hotaru, Agent 3.4!" Agent 4 pulls a grin while accepting her role.

After that she was given a gun that resembles a FN P90 submachine gun that is called 'Hero Shot.'

"Ooh!~"

"Then it settled, let us begin, four." Agent 3.4 starts to move forward as Agent 4 salutes and follows.

"Yes, sir!"

Afterwards, both inklings left as Hotaru sighs and sits by a caged ant and a photo of her and 2 inkling girls as one of them is her cousin and the other, who has a hippie tentacle haircut, is a legal daughter.

Sighing again, Hotaru is on her phone as she's calling.

[Yo!] An inkling girl's sharp voice called.

"It's me. I found an inkling." Hotaru said.

[For eel!? Hell yeah! Now, it's time for plan B.]

[Plan B?] An octoling girl's soft voice asked.

[Yeah. Meet us at the location where I marked.]

Hotaru is glancing at the world map as a circle is placed near Inkopolis.

"Okay. I'll make sure to get us prepared. I need Sheldon after all."

[Good! Later, hoe!] The inkling's voice bid farewell.

After being hung up on, Hotaru then looks from a distance as she can see Agent 3.4 returning with a zapfish on his arm.

"That was quick. Wait, where's Agent 4?"

"She's right over there." Agent 3.4 is pointing at Agent 4 who was screaming and running from a bunch of Octochoppers while they're firing together like machine guns.

"Oh dear…" Hotaru places her fingers to her temples as she found someone more inferior to a certain inkling who was dumber than her and yet was capable of shooting them down.

"I DIDN'T REALISE KARATE CHOPPING THEM MAKES THEM ANGRY! IT SHOULD'VE KNOCKED THEM OUT!" Agent 4 yelled while running away.

"You got a Hero Shot! Just use them!" Hotaru called.

"I am, but these guys kept dodging them!"

Well that went pear-shaped fast as Hotaru groaned.

Her brother isn't going to like what he sees in his sister.

The budget is down, the inkling count has dropped and there's no reliable agent to back up their failures and Agent 3.4 refuses to take over and succeed.

To Hotaru, it's hopeless.

Then Agent 3.4 holds out his new model of a Hero Charger, which looks noticeably different to the previous model, and then zooms towards Agent 4 by firing his Hero Charger at a bunch of Octochoppers.

SPLAT!

A quick finish as Agent 4 pants out of exhaustion.

"Thanks, Agent 3.4, you're a lifesaver…"

"Honestly, you really need to learn your tactics. Also, they're not inklings from the turf war and they improve their defences after what happened a few years ago." Said Agent 3.4.

"What happened?" Agent 4 asked.

"Well… We won and the octarians are pissed that we got the Great Zapfish back and then this happened. Also Agent 3.4 is too lazy to bring it back." Hotaru answered.

"Come on… I'd rather someone do it but me. I only follow orders to get paid." Agent 3.4 complained.

"Yeah, well your payment is due next month!"

"Tch! I knew you'd say that…" Agent 3.4 mutters.

A few moments later, Hotaru, Agent 3.4 and Agent 4 are sitting together on a small table as they're starting a plan of action.

"So basically, you don't use a Splattershot?" Hotaru asked.

"Not really. I'm not good at using submachine guns." Agent 4 answers out of honesty.

"And why is your right arm covered in bandages?"

Agent 4 can tell why as she unwraps the bandage by revealing her secret.

Hotaru and Agent 3.4 have witnessed an amber squid with an arm that is made from octrarians' magenta ink as if it's a curse.

"Since when?" Hotaru asked.

"Well, a couple of years ago it happened. I lost my arm by an octoling, but another one just saved my life. She even removed her own arm to let it grow back, used a seaweed to stick it on my arm and now I was saved, even though it hurts." Agent 4 explained.

"An octoling saving an inkling's life? That sounds a bit surreal."

"I'm pretty sure a certain octoling is doing this for the greater good." Agent 3.4 is thinking about what the purpose this octoling had.

"Can you swim under a similar ink as your own?" Hotaru asks another question.

"Of course I can. It doesn't hurt when I swim. At least I'm invisible." Agent 4 proudly answers the question.

After Qs and As, Hotaru finally wrapped some fresh bandages on Agent 4 's right arm as it's fully covered.

"There."

"Thanks, Hotaru!"

"Now. Our plan is to visit Sheldon at the Ammo Knights in Inkopolis. Maybe there's a weapon of your choice before we start our mission." Hotaru points out at Inkopolis Square's store which was run by a certain horseshoe crab.

"Wait. But Agent 3.4 owned a Splat Charger, what about you?"

"First of all, it's a Hero Charger, and second, my weapon is 'Hero Charger 0,' one of the old models that still works." Hotaru releases her weapon 'Hero Charger ZER0' while showing the difference between Agent 3.4's and hers.

"Cool!~ I wonder what my hero weapon is, considering that I suck at using a Splattershot." Said Agent 4.

"Like I said, we're going to the Ammo Knights. Agent 3.4, guard the cabin." Hotaru orders.

"Fine. Make sure it's a weapon she's capable of using. We already lost countless inklings for years, including the survivor." Agent 3.4 called.

Hotaru halts after remembering the last time she heard of a certain survivor who hasn't returned in a while.

The survivor's attitude is just like Agent 4 except it's the mindset of a literal child under the age of 6.

Luckily, Mirai is 14 which is almost 2 years younger than a certain survivor and that said survivor was 13 by the time they first met and was recently 16.

Lowering her head, Hotaru can feel the chills up her back as both her cousin and her adopted daughter are missing for a long time, and nobody reported the latter.

"What's wrong, Hotaru?" Mirai asks after changing back to her usual clothes.

"Nothing! Let's go." Hotaru shakes her head horizontally as well as trying to forget about it.

Finally, both inkling girls are diving through a hole in squid forms, leading Agent 3.4 sitting alone and watching many octarians guarding the frontline outpost.

The speaker beeps as Agent 3.4 presses it.

"Who is it?"

[It's me.] A familiar voice called.

"Where are you exactly? Hotaru is worried sick about you."

An inkling girl's voice chuckles. [It's okay. I'm still on an operation in some dark world. Be careful of those sanitised, they're far worse than the usual enemies.]

"Hm? You mean…" Agent 3.4 hops up after hearing what the voice said to him.

[Some of them are outside and here I am finding the source. 3.4, the octarians are not what you guys made them out to be.]

"I'm aware of that. I bet 60% of them are indoctrinated by DJ Octavio, and I thought he gave up." Agent 3.4 sighed.

[Well, he better make more songs because I have a soft spot for Octavio's beats.] A voice giggles.

"You sure do enjoy them just like the Squid Sisters. What is your opinion on Off the Hook?"

[Hm? Oh. They have some catchy songs. If they release some CDs, I'll listen to them on my missions.] A voice answered.

Agent 3.4 turns around and looks at the hole where Mirai and Hotaru vanished from.

"We got a new recruit."

[Oh boy…] A voice groans as another recruit is putting a life on the line.

"I know. But this time, it's Daigo's little sister."

A voice remained silent as she whispered, [Dai…]

"Shocking, I know."

[When I see her… I'm handing over a souvenir…] A voice sounds solemn as if she remembers the event from the past.

"Do it. See ya."

[Yeah. See ya around, 3.4.]

Beep.

Finally, Agent 3.4 stands up and marches towards the outpost after being warned about the sanitised octarians.

"Why… Whatever you are, did you take the Great Zapfish?"

Readies his Hero Charger, Agent 3.4 is going straight towards the road towards the bunker as he dashes forward.

Even if they move on, memories of the past always haunt them, even before the battle.