Inigo's PoV

The inkling with the ponytail put the wheel of the Carbon Roller to the ground, shaking his head. On the screen in front of him was the horribly unbalanced map of his latest match. Two of the inklings on Inigo's team had disappeared suddenly, leaving him and an inkling with a side cut named Roman alone against four enemy inklings. The map was covered in orange, with only a small portion of deep blue on his side of the map.

"If only those two squids weren't cowards," Roman muttered under his breath, sweat pooling from his pale face. Like Inigo, he used a roller, but his was the Flingza Roller. "We could have won if they were there."

"Well…" The indigo-eyed inkling lifted his head. "It's having fun that counts." He gave a smile, though his teammate was not impressed.

"I'm leaving." The pale-skinned inkling walked out of the room they were in, dragging his roller right behind him. Inigo figured he should do the same, thus following him into the lobby. Soon, he lost him amongst the crowd, but the fair-skinned inkling had other plans in mind. He stored his Carbon Roller back in the room the Rainbow Squids rented out and left the Deca Tower.

Where now? he asked himself, taking out the band holding his hair in place. Two medium-length tentacles fell over his shoulders, and he put the hair band on his wrist. He didn't plan to do anything else today. He had done turf wars and ranked battles since this morning, and even that became boring after a little while. He soon found his feet walking towards the direction of his house. Home, I guess.

He continued walking, and walking, and walking, until he stopped. He lifted his head to see an apartment complex, not his own townhouse. However, this building was the one Geneva resided in ever since she moved to Inkopolis. Remembering this sent a pang of sadness throughout Inigo's body. She left the Rainbow Squids for a vacation over a month ago. Yet, it has felt like an eternity.

The inkling picked a flower from the garden sitting outside the complex. The daffodil was a nice yellow color, the petals of it fanning out to highlight the bell-like center. His indigo eyes fell onto the entrance, as if it were compelling him to come inside. He acted on this instinct and slipped into the building. The receptionist stared at him with bored eyes as he walked to the elevators. Inigo pressed a button, and quickly did the doors slide open. He went inside, and as soon as they closed, he took the moment of isolation to change his ink back to his usual indigo color.

When he stepped into the hallway, he started walking towards the direction of Geneva's apartment. The beige walls and the dark doors made everything feel like an old photograph to him… except he was a burst of color in the sepia. He continued walking until he got to her apartment. He slid the daffodil into the mail slot and turned around to leave when he heard the door open behind him.

In the doorway stood an inkling of Yuri's height with leafy-green hair tied into a ponytail and eyes the same green color. He wore only a white robe lined with yellow, and in between his fair fingers were some letters and the daffodil. Asher.

"Inigo Sable?" the man marveled. "I haven't seen you in quite a while."

"Same," the other inkling echoed. "Though, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you went on vacation with Geneva."

Asher shook his head. "Her mentor—y'know, for her electrician job—only gave her the one ticket. I think it was just the two of them that went on the vacation."

"Really?" I thought it was a family vacation.

The older inkling nodded. "It's kinda weird, because she barely told me anything about it. Has she told you anything?" Inigo shook his head in response. "Cod, this just makes it even weirder," he muttered. He turned around and started to head deeper into the apartment. "You can come stay with me for a little bit, if you don't mind," Asher offered, looking over his shoulder at the indigo-haired inkling.

"Sure." He stepped into the apartment and slipped off his silver shoes. "I don't have any other plans, anyways."

Asher slumped onto the couch and pulled up a coffee table, resting his feet on it. "Come join me," he said, patting the cushion next to him.

"Okay." The couch the two now sat on was light grey and was pushed up against the wall. A television was sitting on a table up against the opposite wall, and on it was a soap opera. "Didn't know you watched these," Inigo commented, pointing to the screen.

"There's so much drama!" the green-haired inkling enthused. "You see, earlier in the episode, Monica caught her boyfriend cheating on her. And now, she's utterly betrayed." The TV displayed a female inkling screaming at a male one. "Oh! I think she's breaking up with him now!" he exclaimed, now sitting up straight.

"Can't I change the channel?"

"Not now! This is the most exciting part!"

The fair-skinned inkling sighed and leaned back into the soft back of the couch. This was going to be a long day, for sure.

Once the credits started to roll on the screen, Inigo felt a remote fall into his lap. He looked up at Asher, who was giving a gentle smile. Finally. He sat up and started surfing through the channels on the TV. He stopped at a channel displaying a turf war tournament.

"So… what brings you here?" the older inkling asked, the daffodil still resting in his hand.

"I don't know, to be honest," the younger inkling admitted. "I was just walking, when I found myself outside the complex. Then I saw that flower you're holding. So, I picked it and brought it here." He frowned. "I know your sister isn't here right now, but… I just keep thinking about her. More so than any of my other friends."

"I think we're all thinking about her," Asher remarked. "I don't know about you, but I'm worried. Worried that she might get hurt."

"Do you know when she'll get back?" Inigo asked. The green-haired inkling shook his head. "I hate how she's being so vague with all of this." You're her brother; I'm her ex-boyfriend; we should be the people that she trusts most in all of Inkopolis, he added silently.

"Me too," the other inkling agreed. "She usually isn't this secretive."

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Inigo started to mess around with it. He found himself scrolling through his contacts and stopped over Geneva's name. His shaky thumb hovered over the text displaying it. One touch and a variety of options would pop it. He bit his tongue, trying to distract himself from the memories of their break-up. With a gentle touch, he pressed Geneva's name, and three main options came up—call, text, and video chat. He glanced next to him to see Asher, leaning in to see what he was doing.

"I've tried calling her, texting her…" he commented, "but she never answers."

"She might answer me," Inigo argued.

The green-haired inkling shook his head. "If she won't answer me, then I doubt she'll answer you."

"At least let me try."

"Oh, alright. Go for video chat."

Inigo pressed the video chat button, and the screen went black, save for a recording of him on the corner of the screen. The phone started to ring. It continued to ring, yet still, no one picked up. After a minute, the screen returned to the contacts. The indigo-haired inkling cursed and threw his phone onto the coffee table. Why won't she answer?

"Told ya," Asher said.

Inigo did not answer, picking up his phone and stuffing it back into his pocket. He started twirling one of his loose tentacles around his fingers, staring down at the floor. Even with the exciting battle going on in the background, he was not too interested in it. He could not understand Geneva's silence.

"…Thanks for letting me stay," he muttered, getting up for the couch and adverting the green-haired inkling's gaze. He started walking towards the door.

"…You want tea?" the older inkling asked. "Or coffee?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Inigo slipped his shoes back on.

"…Well, I guess this is where we say goodbye." Asher walked over to the entrance, still holding the daffodil meant for Geneva. "I'll give this flower to her when she gets back…if it hasn't wilted away by then."

The indigo-haired inkling leaned against the wall, still frowning. "Bye." Without saying another word, Inigo left the apartment and started his descent down the building. A short time later, he emerged from it and started running down the street. His destination was now his home, where he could rest. His parents were still working, he believed, so he could rest in peace. There, he could think.

It felt as if not much time has passed at all when he arrived. He got out the key to the townhouse and opened the door, rushing inside to slam it shut. He ran upstairs to his room, where he launched himself onto the bed. He dug his face into the pillow, letting out a muffled groan. He lifted his head and saw a photo he had framed, sitting on his nightstand. He grabbed it and looked at it. It was a picture of himself and Geneva at Wahoo World last year. They both had huge smiles on their faces, and they were decorated with the various merchandise available at the amusement park. Cotton candy, one blue and one pink, could be found in their free hands.

What happy times they were.

His hands started to shake again, and his face fell into the pillow. He felt something wet fall down his face, so he lifted his head a little bit and wiped his eyes. Tears. At least no one was here to see him cry. What would they think of him then? The level-headed Inigo, crying over something so trivial? It was something hard to fathom. The memories of his breakup with Geneva then started to flood into his mind.

"Inigo," said a familiar voice. They were in the middle of Inkopolis Plaza, walking towards Inkopolis Tower. Even when activity in the area was dying, inklings still visited from time to time. At that moment, the boy turned around to see green eyes staring into his indigo ones. "Can I talk to you?"

"What about?" he asked.

Geneva's eyes started to advert his gaze. "…Something important."

Being vague again, huh? Inigo thought. He always teased her on how she always played hard-to-get. She acted like she hated it, but it her true thoughts were obvious through the blush that would spread across her cheeks. "Alright."

The two inklings walked down to an abandoned alleyway littered with super sea snail shells. Spike had moved out of here not too long ago, and without his presence, it has felt odd being here ever since. Luckily, no one comes here anymore, except for the occasional oblivious guy. Inigo leaned against the wall, putting a hand on the cement. His eyes peaked with curiosity on what they were going to talk about.

"Okay, now to what I want to talk about," the green-haired girl started. "Look, I've been thinking long and hard about this, so please, don't take this personally."

"Thinking about what?"

"Well… things haven't been going so great lately," Geneva admitted. "When's the last time we laughed together? When's the last time we had quality time together?"

She had valid points. The last time they really enjoyed themselves was months ago, though it didn't feel like very long. It had been a terribly long time since he'd last heard her laugh, despite all his efforts. Her job had become increasingly demanding, to the point where even he did not see her all that often anymore. "What are you getting at?"

The shorter inkling gulped and confessed, "I-I'm breaking up with you."

Only five words had been said, yet it felt like the world was about to crash and burn. "Breaking up with me?!" he immediately blurted out. He could not believe it. "We could work on it! Things can get better!" He couldn't lose her! He thought everything was going perfectly!

"It's not you, Inigo, it's me," stated Geneva. "I fell in love with you, but I've fallen out of it now." She frowned. "I don't think things can get better. It never will." The inkling wearing a beanie lowered her head, a shadow falling over her eyes. "You aren't meant to be with me." She turned around and started to walk out of the alley.

"W-We can still be friends," he cried, voice cracking. "R-Right?" Tears started to fall down his face. Stop crying, he told himself, to no avail.

"Of course." She turned around, giving a half-hearted smile. "You'll always be my friend. But friends are as far as we will ever get."

Now, Geneva truly left the alleyway, leaving Inigo alone. The fair-skinned inkling fell to his knees, covering his face. No one could see him cry now, no one could hear him sob now. He truly was heartbroken. The love of his life was gone, and now he only had one question:

Why?

The pillow was now drenched in all the tears Inigo had cried until he ran dry of them. He sat up and saw the picture taken at Wahoo World. It had fallen over from the shifting weight, and now he picked it up again. Though his eyes stung, he could still make out the smiles on their faces. Now, this picture had been on his nightstand for too long. He opened his closet and pulled a cardboard box out of it. Inside were other photos of him, including baby pictures and pictures of his costumes from past Halloweens. He dug through them until he got to the very bottom, where he stuffed the one he was holding inside. Quickly, he closed it and pushed it back into the closet before slamming it shut.

He leaned against the closet door and pulled out his phone. A text from Yuri popped up on the screen, asking if he wanted to do a few Splat Zones matches today. He replied no and put it away. He was in no state to do anything else today. Not after the disaster at Geneva's apartment.

Inigo soon walked downstairs and started to make some tea. Once he finished, he held a cup of it in his hands, and then he heard the door unlock. Turning to face it, he saw his mother enter the room.

"Inigo?" she marveled.

He managed to muster a smile. "Hey, Mom."

"It's nice to see you, but I thought you'd be out doing turf wars."

"I was, but I'm just not in the mood today."

"Is something wrong?"

Inigo shook his head. "No, everything's fine." Except it wasn't.

A/N: Hey there! This chapter is just a little later than usual, since I was having issues submitting it. It seemed to be fixed after I tried again after sending a message to support, but I still have no idea what happened there. Anyways, this chapter is a little sad in my opinion, but I hope you enjoyed it! The next two weeks will be a little weird, since I'm going on vacation! I will still have my laptop with me, but we're leaving and coming back next Sunday and the following Sunday respectively, so I probably won't be able to post at my normal time. So, the next chapters will be posted on the next two Mondays. Since the next two chapters go hand-in-hand, there will probably be three chapters in two weeks! With that out of the way, Branchwing, out!