Anonymous reviews:
ika tako gamer: Here's the answers to your questions:
1. Sometimes, she does. But for the most part, she's a reserved person. She doesn't want to get in trouble for anything, and she doesn't want her friends mad at her, either.
2. Not usually; Bonnie and Alexis aren't particularly close. They do battle from time-to-time, though.
3. They are! Even Perry is, even though he brushed it off at first in the last Yuri chapter.
4. Favorite foods? I'm one of the worst people you could ask this question, considering my own food choices, but here are your answers: Roy's is chocolate-covered cake balls. Octavia's is spicy curry. Yuri's is fish stew. Geneva's is vegetable stir fry. Alexis's is tempura. Bonnie's is ramen (not the cheap kind). Inigo's is sashimi. Perry's is fruit parfait.
5. The Halloween chapter is its own story! While it was written last year, it takes place in October 2018 ME, which is right now in the story. You can find it on my profile.
Now, for the story.
Inigo's PoV
Sitting on the bed in his room, Inigo had his earbuds plugged into his ears, listening to a song and humming along. Gentle sunlight filtered in through the window, the beams shining down on his body. As the music droned on in his ears, he silently went over the plans he had for later today.
Immediately after school today, he planned to go to Flatflage to buy a last-minute Halloween costume. He didn't tend to procrastinate, but trick-or-treating and costume contests were the last thing on his mind right now. Afterwards, he planned to go on a date with Naomi. He had a fancy restaurant picked out for her, one that was sure to impress her. From the prices, it was costly, but it would be worth it in the end.
The song came to an end, and he set down the phone on his bed, taking out his earbuds. He looked down at himself. The t-shirt he wore to bed had a giant brown stain on it, originating from some tea he was drinking last night. He rose from his bed, taking off the shirt. He examined it for a few moments before tossing it into his laundry basket. He would deal with it later. Or his mom would. Whoever got to it first.
He changed into a navy sailor suit and some shorts, fixed his hair, and went downstairs to eat breakfast. His mom had left for work already, leaving only his dad at home. He was nowhere to be seen, though, with the only sign of his presence being his car keys on the kitchen counter. Wherever he was, Inigo didn't want to bother him. He proceeded to pour himself a bowl a cereal and sat down at the dining table to eat it.
Just as he finished his bowl of cereal, he heard the door creak open. He left the bowl in the sink and walked over to the door to see the newcomer. Unsurprisingly, he found his dad, taking off the bomber jacket he was wearing and putting it on the coat rack. A grey headband circled around his forehead and temples, sitting just above his ears.
"Ah!" he gasped, surprised at his son's sudden presence. "You're awake!"
"Yeah," he confirmed. "I am."
"Well... Did you eat?" he then asked.
"Yeah," the boy replied once again. "Cereal," he added.
"I'm not surprised," he commented. Inigo stepped out of the way to let his father pass, and now the middle-aged inkling stepped into the living room, moving the coffee table out of the way so that he could do some stretches. He looked over at his dad and smiled. Despite his job not relating to fitness whatsoever, he was determined to be in-shape as long as possible. He could see himself doing that too ten years from now, provided that he had the time for it.
Now was not the time to think about the future, however. He still had to brush his teeth and get ready for school. He strolled over to the bathroom to complete his morning ritual so that he could get to school. About fifteen minutes later, he was back in the living room, gripping the handles of his backpack. He said goodbye to his dad, and the man said goodbye back, standing up and rubbing his back. Inigo proceeded to disappear, stepping out into the world.
He drove to school, parking in the designated area for students. The good thing about driving was that he could wake up later and still make it to school on time, now that he didn't have to rely on the bus. He did wake up earlier from time to time, but that wasn't the case today. The parking lot was packed, and school was just about to start. The warning bell rang as soon as he entered, and in a panic, he started walking as fast as he could, determined to reach his class on time. There was no way he was getting in trouble today!
The day slowly marched on, and once it was time for lunch, he whooped as soon as he entered the hallway from his last class. Finally, he had time to talk to his friends today. He immediately traveled to the cafeteria, buying some food and sitting down at the table the Rainbow Squids usually gathered around.
Unfortunately, sitting down with the rest of the Rainbow Squids meant dealing with Geneva. The green-haired girl sat on the opposite end of the table, ignoring him as she ate her lunch. Bonnie tapped her shoulder, and she looked over at the beige-skinned inkling as she showed her something on her phone. Amused, she smiled before returning to her lunch.
"Now that everyone's here..." Octavia started, approaching the table with her lunch box. She sat down and set it on the table, putting her hands together. "Y'all know what day it is!"
"Your birthday!" Yuri exclaimed.
Inigo's eyes briefly went wide at the revelation, but he quickly tried to hide his shock, not wanting Via to notice. He forgot it was her birthday! He was so caught up in Halloween costumes and his date that he forgot his friend's birthday! He uttered a curse, biting his tongue.
"Yep," the wavy-haired girl affirmed. "I'm 18 now. Which means I can do so many more things now. Like get a tattoo!"
"Why would you want a tattoo?" Bonnie puzzled. "Doesn't that hurt?"
"Well, yeah, but it'll make me look fresh," she replied.
"Maybe just get a bunch of washable ones just to be safe," Geneva suggested.
"Alright, alright," she conceded. "That is a big decision, after all." She leaned forward, putting her hands under her chin. "So, what about b-day gifts? Got any for me?"
"You didn't say to bring them to school," Roy grumbled. Shaking his head, in a friendlier tone, he continued, "Mine's still at home. I'll bring it to you in the square."
"Yeah..." Inigo spoke up, thankful that the red-haired inkling had come up with an excuse he could use. As he spoke, Geneva crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Mine's...at home, too. You'll get it later."
Via glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. "Uh huh... You left it at home. We'll see about that."
"Unlike them, I brought my gift to school," Perry announced, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out a glasses case with the Splash Mob logo on the top and handed them over to Via. "Open it," he instructed.
She lifted the top of the case, revealing a pair of circular sunglasses with white frames. She raised then so that the lenses reflected the ceiling's lights, her eyes wide with awe. She put them on, blinking. A few moments later, Yuri started to chuckle, garnering a few chuckles from the other boys too. If he had to be honest, they looked a little ridiculous on her.
"...What?" she perplexed. "What's so funny?" Before anyone could answer, she pulled out her phone and opened the camera app. Immediately, she gasped, and scowling, she took off the shades. "Hey! Not funny!"
The purple-haired inkling still donned a goofy grin, despite Via's scolding. "There's another thing in that case."
"I swear, if it's..." She pulled out a piece of paper from the case, and her expression slackened upon reading it. "...A coupon for the Galleria?"
"Happy birthday," he declared.
"Thanks," she said. She narrowed her eyes. "But you're still getting payback for those shades."
"With that out of the way..." Yuri started, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a sizeable, yet swelling, gift bag and passed it over to the bronze-skinned girl. "Happy birthday!"
She pulled out its contents to reveal a FA-01 Reversed jacket. "A Forge jacket?" she remarked. She took off the jacket she was wearing and put the new one over her red shirt. She stood up, showing the jacket off. "How do I look?"
"Great!" Yuri replied. "It's very fitting!"
"As for my gift..." Bonnie frowned, scratching her head. "It's a weapon, so I can't bring it to school." She perked up. "So... I'll bring it to the square! Like Roy and Inigo are doing."
"A weapon?" Via took off the bomber jacket and replaced it with her previous jacket. "What weapon could it possibly be...?" she mused.
"It's a surprise," she reminded her. "I'm not gonna spoiler it for you."
"Of course you wouldn't," she chuckled. She sat back down. "So, Geneva." She looked over at the green-haired girl. "You got any gifts?"
"...I forgot," she confessed, lowering her head. "I'm sorry. I've been so caught up with secret stuff that your birthday was the last thing on my mind."
"At least you're honest 'bout it," Via commented. She patted her on the back. "You can just go buy one and bring it to me later."
She nodded. "Thanks."
"Well, since that's all..." Roy spoke up. "Let's eat!"
At his command, everyone started to dig in, eating away. As Inigo ate an apple, his indigo eyes drifted over to Octavia. Would she react the same way if he came clean? Remembering her remark, he decided against it. He sighed as he reached the core of the apple, setting it down so he could continue on with his lunch. Well, that was a problem for later.
Immediately after the final bell rang and the students were dismissed for the day, Inigo ran to his car, climbing into it and starting it up. Looking in the mirror of the car, he detected Roy running up to him, calling his name.
"Hey, Inigo!" he called. "Why the rush?"
He gulped. He definitely would take his last-minute Halloween shopping as a sign that he had forgotten about Octavia's birthday. "I got a date with Naomi," he called back. At least that part was true. "I don't wanna be late!"
"A date?" He stopped. "Well... Have fun."
"Thanks." Roy stepped out of the way so that Inigo could pull out of his parking spot. As he drove by, the red-haired boy started to wave, and the indigo-haired boy waved back. Soon enough, he was out of the parking lot, and now he drove down the streets of Inkopolis, going to his next destination—Flatflage. Despite all the traffic, he managed to arrive at the store swiftly, and he pulled into its parking lot upon his arrival, climbing out of the car. He ran into the store, spooky music blasting from the speakers outside.
Flatflage wasn't anything special, with a sign in the shape of a flatfish plastered above the entrance. Various signs covered the doors, and he stepped inside to be met with a rather bland store with orange-and-black striped walls. Near the entrance, various graffiti was drawn on the walls, though whoever ran the store obviously didn't really mind the graffiti, seeing as it hadn't been removed. He proceeded to meander through the large crowd and travel over to the adult costumes area, which was thankfully less packed than the other sections of the store.
He started to browse the aisles, looking for something he could wear. The first thing that caught his interest were shark costumes. He grabbed a package off the shelf and examined it. The cover of the package depicted two inklings in bright blue shark costumes, baring their teeth and curling their fingers as if they were claws. With how ridiculous it looked, he decided against it and put it back on the shelf. He found another costume, this one depicting a Judd-themed nekomata. Though the costume seemed high-quality on the cover, examining its contents made it seem misleading. The tails looked rather flimsy, and the stitching on the costume was visible. He put it back on the shelf, deciding to look elsewhere.
In another aisle, he found some more monster-related costumes. The most populous costumes were werewolf and vampire costumes, with each taking up half an aisle. Looking behind him, he saw some other costumes of various kinds, mostly of other monsters. He returned his attention to the most prominent costumes, examining them. And as he examined them, his mind began to drift over to the Vampire vs. Werewolf Splatfest last year. Everything was much simpler back then. No Vigilante stuff, no secret agent stuff, it was just him and his friends hanging out.
He wished he could return to those days. But nothing was the same anymore. He had changed. Geneva had changed. Heck, even the other Rainbow Squids had changed.
And now with the animosity that had risen between him and Geneva, everyone had to pay the price.
His hands hovered over a vampire costume. He took it off the shelf and examined it. The package came with everything you needed to be a vampire—a dress shirt, dress pants, fake fangs, white make-up, and a cape. He put it under his shoulder, now having made a decision. He had his costume, and now he could go home.
He was barely out of the aisle when he remembered that he had to buy a present for Octavia, too. He sighed and re-entered the aisle he was in, examining the other side of it. Figuring that she wouldn't like any of the monster costumes, he proceeded to the next aisle, this one containing knight and wizard costumes. There was even a Fresh Fish costume at the end of the aisle, too.
That wizard costume can work. He grabbed one off the shelf and examined the cover. It seemed very new, depicting an octoling girl that resembled Eight on the cover of it. The costume, dubbed the Enchanted set, itself consisted of a black witch's hat tipped in pink, a black robe with glitter on the bottom of it, and pointed black boots. It seemed quite high-quality, too! Nodding, he exited the aisle, making his way over to the check-out. He paid for the two costumes and exited the store, beginning to drive to Inkopolis Square. He was certain that Octavia and the others would be there by now.
Once he arrived at the nearby parking lot, he parked his car and grabbed the wizard costume out of the plastic bag he had been given to put both things he bought inside. He exited the car and started to run towards the square, the Deca Tower rising high into the sky in the distance. Soon enough, he spotted the entrance to Grizzco's, the sign flashing above the gates. Some inklings were hanging out, one spraying graffiti on a brick wall. Hugging the package, he walked past them, entering the main street. He strode past the Crust Bucket, where the Rainbow Squids were sitting. Thankfully, he noticed that Geneva wasn't among them.
"Inigo!" Roy gasped, lifting his head upon his arrival. "I thought you had a date!"
The indigo-haired boy took a deep breath. He had been prepared for this. "I told her that I had to bring Via's gift over to her," he lied. "So, here I am."
The bronze-skinned inkling smirked. "Looks like you weren't lying after all," she remarked. She stood up and walked over to him. "So, whatcha got?"
He handed over the wizard costume. "The Enchanted set," he informed. "Enjoy."
"The Enchanted set, huh..." She examined the packaging. "Looks like a Halloween costume."
"Well, Halloween or not, I reckon you can still wear it into battle," he pointed out.
"Yeah!" she agreed. "I've seen a girl wear this once in a ranked battle. It looked superfresh!" Before Inigo could say anything back to her, she started to skip off to the Deca Tower. "I'm gonna try this on. Be back in a sec!"
He sighed and turned to the others. "What else did she get?" he inquired.
"I bought her gift cards," Roy answered. "She was a little disappointed, but hey, I didn't know what else to get her."
"This." Bonnie lifted a package off the ground and displayed it to Inigo. It was a Kensa Octobrush.
"A brand-new weapon!" Yuri added. "The Kensa Octobrush! You can't even buy it at Ammo Knights yet!"
"Before you ask, it's approved for battle," Alexis interjected. "So she won't get in trouble if she starts rushing in with that brush."
"My mom got it early," the blue-haired inkling explained. "She had no use for it, so she gave it to me, but I didn't want it, so I gave it to Via." She smiled. "Simple, right?"
"Clever," Inigo simply muttered.
"As for my gift, she won't get it until tonight," the short-haired inkling then pointed out. "My mom's making a chocolate cake! And my dad's going to be home, too!" She wiped her mouth clean of drool. "Oh, it's going to be so good!"
Glad to see she's still cheerful, he noted silently. ...When she's not thinking about agent stuff, that is.
Someone made a whistling noise, and he turned around to see Octavia, decked out in the wizard costume. The tip of the hat had turned orange to match her ink color. She did a pose, bringing her hand up to her face and putting the other hand on her hip.
"Wow!" Bonnie enthused. "You look fresh!"
"I know, right?" she bubbled. "I should take that brush and charge into battle wearing this!"
Inigo started to clap his hands. "I'm glad you like it," he started, "but I better get going."
"Yeah, yeah, your date," she snarked. "Don't want to keep her waiting, do you?"
"Not at all," he answered. He started walking away, turning around so that he was now walking backwards. "Bye, squids," he called, saluting goodbye.
"Bye!" everyone called back.
The fair-skinned inkling turned around, only to immediately trip. Before he could fall completely to the ground, blue tentacles wrapped around him, holding him up. He stared into the asphalt, in disbelief that he was suspended in midair. The tentacles lowered him to the ground before retreating, and he looked towards the source. A large jellyfish stared at him with unblinking eyes, though he could feel their annoyance boring into him. He apologized and ran off, back towards the parking lot. As soon as he arrived at his car, he climbed inside and drove back home.
No one was inside when he arrived, the lights dark as he stepped inside the living room. He would expect his mom to be home by now, but he supposed that wasn't the case. He walked upstairs, back to his room. He had a sharp, black suit hanging up on the back of his door, and he proceeded to change into it, discarding his previous attire into his laundry basket. Afterwards, he walked over to the bathroom so that he could change his hairstyle.
Staring into the mirror, he adjusted his bowtie, and then he took out his hair tie, letting the tentacles tied up fall down to his shoulders. He pushed those tentacles back over his head, the white underside showing, vaguely mimicking the slicked back hairstyle popular with squids his age. He pinned the tentacles in place, and he gave one last look at himself. Yes, this should be good. He walked over to the kitchen, grabbed some mints, and traveled back out to his car, making sure that he had his keys and wallet before driving off.
He glanced over at the clock. He had accomplished everything he wanted to, with thirty minutes to spare! But, of course, he could never be too early to his date. He didn't want to keep Naomi waiting, after all. The drive to his chosen restaurant, Puffugu, took twenty minutes, leaving him ten minutes to sit in his car, waiting for Naomi to arrive. During that time, he stared out towards the restaurant, its black exterior standing out against the other buildings present in this area.
The sign, which depicted a pufferfish, hanging above the entrance of the restaurant was orange and neon, only just starting to light as the sun started to set. The workers outside worked meticulously to keep it clean, making it seem presentable to anyone who wished to dine there. He even spotted a worker cleaning graffiti off of the wall, much to his disappointment. It did just seem boring otherwise, but the food made up for it.
He dined here once when he was in elementary school, back when his grandfather was still alive. Even though it had been over a decade since then, the mouthwatering taste of the salmon it served still persisted in his mouth. He was excited to dine here once again, and maybe he could get a taste of that delicious dish once again.
After ten minutes had passed, he climbed out of the car, walking over to the entrance of Puffugu. He leaned against a black beam, surveying the parking lot to see if Naomi had arrived. Some of the employees gave rude looks at him, but he ignored them. What mattered was that Naomi could see him.
Five minutes passed, then ten. Where is she? He pulled out his phone, looking to see if he had gotten a message from Naomi. Nothing. He texted her where she was at and put it away. Her absence did seem odd. Usually, she was right on time for any dates they went out on.
At last, fifteen minutes after they were supposed to enter the fancy restaurant, he spotted an olive-skinned inkling with yellow-green hair, walking towards him. Keeping himself from leaping out at her, he waited with his back against the beam, indigo eyes following her. Her hair was down, and she wore a squid hairclip, a white, sleeveless jumpsuit, and black flats.
"You look beautiful," he whispered, grabbing her hands.
"Thanks," she said, her expression neutral. Normally, she would be smiling. He raised an eyebrow at her behavior. Was something wrong?
"Let's go inside," he instructed, the two locking arms as they entered the building. The waiter inside was a lobster wearing a suit like Inigo's, his carapace structured in a way to make it seem like he had a mustache on his face.
"Welcome to Puffugu," he greeted, his voice smooth. "How many are with you today?"
"Just two," Naomi replied.
The lobster nodded and pulled out two menus, grasping them in his pincers. "Follow me."
The waiter led them to a booth by the window, the cushions orange and red. The two inklings sat down on opposite sides of the table, staring into each other's eyes.
The lobster placed the menus in front of them and bowed. "Someone will be with you shortly." With that, he walked away, leaving the two alone.
Naomi started reading through the menu. "Wow," she remarked. "This is a really high-end place. Must cost a fortune!"
"I wanted something special for today," he replied. "Speaking of..." He lifted his head. "Why were you late today?"
"I, uh..." She started scratching the back of her head. "Traffic," she answered. "Yeah, traffic."
He raised an eyebrow. She wasn't exactly a good liar, unlike some other people he knew. But, he pushed it to the back of his mind, replacing it with thoughts of how pretty she looked tonight. No matter what was going on in his life, all his troubles melted away upon the sight of her. He couldn't imagine himself with anyone else, not even Geneva.
The olive-skinned girl let out a sigh as she went through the menu. "I'm too young to drink a lot of these," she mused. She leaned back in her seat. "The kid's menu is always so much better. Chocolate milk is da bomb!"
"I don't think this place even serves chocolate milk," he pointed out. "Probably just regular milk."
She groaned. "Regular milk isn't fun. It tastes weird without something to back it up."
"Yeah, I get that," he admitted. He examined the menu himself. "At least they have tea."
"Yeah... Still wish there was chocolate milk, though."
"Greetings," a feminine voice interrupted. They looked over at the newcomer, a spider crab wearing a waitress outfit. Several rhinestones were embedded into her pincers. "My name is Polly, and I'll be serving you today. To start off, what would you like to drink?"
"I'd like some green tea," he requested.
"Me too," Naomi concurred.
The spider crab nodded, writing their order down. "I'll be back," she announced before walking away from their table.
"She looked real sparkly," the inkling girl commented. "Maybe I should put some on my hands."
"I think that would get in the way when you're battling," Inigo pointed out. "What about your cheeks? Those squids with the devil horns put the rhinestones it comes with on their cheeks, don't they?"
"My cheeks?" After his words sunk in, she gave an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah! It'll look like I have freckles!"
"That's the spirit," he declared, pumping a fist. "We could both put rhinestones on our cheeks, and then we'll be out in Blackbelly Skatepark or something, spreading ink everywhere with our rollers."
"Sounds fun," she remarked.
The two continued talking until Polly arrived once more with their drinks, handing the cups of green tea over them. Naomi took a sip of it, nose crinkling. She set it down and looked over at the waitress.
"Do you need more time to decide?" she asked them. They both nodded, and the spider crab nodded back. "Well, I'll be back shortly." With that, she scurried away once more.
Inigo started to flip through the menu, immediately looking in the fish section of the menu. It was there his eyes laid on the most gorgeous dish of sashimi he had ever seen. His eyes drifted over to listing of the ingredients of the dish. Thinly-cut salmon topped with various spices and served with soy sauce. Leafy vegetables and slices of lemon decorated the dish. He put a finger on the picture, his stomach growling with hunger.
"That one," he declared. "I want that one."
"What?" Naomi puzzled. He lifted the menu and turned it around, pointing to the sashimi. Her eyes went wide as well upon sight of the dish, mouth falling open ever-so-slightly. She shook her head and returned her attention to the menu.
"I'm getting this shrimp fried rice," she declared, showing him a picture of the dish in question. "It looks tasty!" She set the menu down, sighing. "Maybe I should get an appetizer." She started to tap her fingers on the table, and soon enough, she looked up. "Oh! I'll order some soup!"
"Soup... Not a bad idea," Inigo noted. He turned the pages of the menu over to the soup section. "I'll order some too."
The waitress returned, now carrying a notepad. "It sounds like you two are ready to order," she observed.
"Yes," Inigo confirmed.
"Then, what would you like?"
"I'll have some miso soup to start off," Naomi requested. "After that, some shrimp fried rice with a side of your signature salad."
"OK..." Polly wrote this information down before turning to the fair-skinned boy. "And you, sir?"
"Salmon sashimi," he ordered, "with a side of miso soup."
"Interesting, interesting," she noted. She removed the menus from the table and placed them under her arm. "Well, I'll be back with your soup, young lady," she announced. As she walked away, she called, "Tell me if you need anything." With that, the spider crab was gone.
The inklings turned their attention to one another once more. "I really don't like this tea," Naomi commented. "Just tastes like weird water."
He shrugged. "That's fancy restaurants for you."
"Try it for yourself."
Following her instructions, he tasted the green tea. He did notice that it was more mild than usual, but it wasn't bad or anything. Just...different from what he was used to. Nonetheless, he continued drinking it, with Naomi staring at him with wide eyes.
"Y-You like it?!" she cried out in surprise.
"Yeah," he affirmed. "It's not as bad as you say."
"Well, then you can have my drink." Naomi pushed the cup towards him. "I don't want it."
"You sure? You could wash down any weird tastes with that."
"I'm positive."
He sighed. "Alright..." He set the cup off to the side, continuing to drink his own cup of tea. And now, he waited. An awkward silence settled in between them, Naomi looking off to the side as she fidgeted with her fingers. They met each other's glances briefly before she looked away once again.
At last, he decided to break this silence. "What's wrong?"
"It's...nothing," she replied. "I'll tell you after we're done here."
Inigo stared at her. It's nothing. I'll tell you after we're done here. Her words started repeating in his head over and over again as an unfamiliar fear began to creep up to the surface. He gripped his head, worry etching his features.
She can't possibly mean... He dismissed those thoughts. Get your head out of there, Inigo, he told himself. She's not going to break up with you. There's no way she would.
A few minutes later, the waitress arrived once more, handing Naomi her soup. She walked away again, leaving the inkling girl to eat it rather quickly, though she was careful not to get any on her clothes.
"Mmm..." she murmured. "This is so good! I could eat it all day!"
"That's Puffugu for you," he remarked. "Some of the best seafood around. And other dishes, too."
"I should go here again some time," she noted. "When I have the money, of course."
He frowned. "Yeah..."
They continued sitting in silence, Naomi chowing down on her soup. As soon as she finished, she set it off to the side, using a napkin to clean her face. Now, they awaited their main dishes. Inigo's stomach continued to growl the more he thought about it. He couldn't wait to sink his teeth into that mouthwatering salmon!
Some minutes later, the spider crab arrived once more, carrying the dishes on a cart. She stopped in front of the two inklings' table, setting their respective dishes down in front of him. Inigo grabbed a fork and knife and immediately started to eat the sashimi, not bothering to thank the waitress. Naomi did, though, and with that, Polly bowed and pushed the cart along, leaving them alone once more.
Flavor blasted in his mouth, and for a moment, he thought he would be overwhelmed by the taste of the sashimi. This was so good! It was even better than he remembered! Though, to be fair, it was different salmon dish he ate, but they were still excellent nonetheless. Puffugu deserved the price tag, that's for sure. He glanced over at Naomi. She ate the rice at a slower pace than she did with the soup, but she still seemed to be enjoying it. She occasionally switched over to the salad to take some bites of it, but for the most part, she stuck to eating the rice until she finished it.
As soon as Inigo finished the sashimi, he began to rub his stomach. He was stuffed. He didn't know how much of the soup he could even eat, but he did decide to slurp down on it. He didn't want the amazing soup to go to waste, after all. He was halfway down with it before his body started to scream with pain, overwhelmed with how much food he had eaten. He groaned, pushing the soup over to Naomi.
"You can have it," he informed her. "I'm full."
"I'm full, too," she pointed out, frowning. "As much as I want to, I don't know how much of that I can handle."
He bit his tongue, distracting himself from his stomachache. "Let's just wait for the bill."
"Right."
Noticing how they had finished, Polly arrived once more. "Here's the bill," she announced, setting it down on the table. "You done with your dishes?" They both nodded. The spider crab called someone else's name, and a sea anemone arrived, also wearing a waitress's outfit. They picked up the dishes off the table, leaving them with only the bill. "I'll be back," she told them, then walking off with the sea anemone.
Inigo grabbed the bill and examined it, his jaw dropping to the floor as soon as he saw the price tag. 73,500G! He could buy a few Dynamo Rollers with that kind of money! He was glad that he knew the general price range beforehand, or else he would be making Naomi go broke, too. He pulled out his wallet and placed the required amount of cash on the bill. Polly arrived a few moments later and took the cash and pocketed it. She pulled out a device and printed out a receipt, giving it to Inigo.
"Thank you for dining at Puffugu," she said, bowing. "We hope to see you again." With that, she was gone, and the two inklings were free to leave. They rose from their seats, grabbing each other's hands and walking out of the building.
The sky was most definitely orange now, with tinges of purple as dusk arrived. His hand slipped away from Naomi's. It was time for them to depart, as their date had come to an end.
"So, what do you think?" he asked her. "It was amazing, right?"
"Yes, but..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and looking up into Inigo's own eyes. "I have something to tell you."
Once again, his fear returned. "What?" he asked, brows knitted with concern.
She took another deep breath, and then she spoke that dreaded sentence.
"I'm breaking up with you."
At that moment, whatever level-headedness Inigo was keeping shattered. His worst fear had come true once again. Once again, his girlfriend had broken up with him. He stared at her, unable to speak as he processed her words.
"I'm sorry," she started, "but I'm not in love with you anymore." She turned away from him, lowering her head. "In the end, it turned out to be just an infatuation." She looked over her shoulder. "I figured I should tell you now before things reached Wyatt levels of me not wanting to leave."
He found his words again, stepping out towards her. "B-But-"
"Goodbye, Inigo," she called as she departed. "Don't try to change my mind. I've made my choice."
And with that, Naomi was gone.
She was gone. She was really gone.
He didn't exit his shock until he saw something drip to the ground, leaving a dark mark in the asphalt. He felt his cheeks to find them wet, slick with tears. He heaved out a laugh, though it sounded more like a sob. When he was the Vigilante, he didn't care who broke up with him. Why would he care now?
His laughing stopped as he remembered that he was no longer the Vigilante. He couldn't just walk up to someone and flirt with them so that they would fall in love with him because he abandoned that lifestyle. Never again would he try to follow Tiffany's advice, or any other shady people's advice. He would only follow his friend's and his own.
He stumbled back into the car, where he rested his head into the steering wheel, now full-out crying. And just like he hoped, no one noticed him crying. He figured it was better that way.
A/N: Apologies that this is a little late again. Poor Inigo... I have been planning for him to eventually break up with Naomi ever since they got together, but writing this was still sad. I do like how this chapter came out, so I hope you guys like this chapter, too. The title of this chapter makes sense, now, I hope. Well, see you next week. Branchwing, out!