The streets of Inkopolis were always bustling with excitement, and today was no different. Inklings, octolings, jellyfish and even some more rare critters like shrimps and urchins crowded every corner of the streets.
There was a sweet spot - a period in the morning when the streets were less crowded while a good amount had already open. There were entire forums and websites dedicated to this period, although someone who had been living in Inkopolis for some time could almost perceive it as a sixth sense.
"Okay! We finished getting your documents ready last week, and now you're technically a citizen of Inkopolis." Kama handed to Fen a plastic bag containing a multitude of papers, cards, and a sheet of paper explaining what each thing was used for - something Sal had suggested since someone had given him the same when he moved to Inkopolis himself. "But! You might live here, but that doesn't mean you live here yet. We made a shopping list full of stuff you'll need to adapt well in Inkopolis. Sal, the list."
Sal nodded, closing the several social media apps that were open in his phone and pulling out the text document he and Kama had written the night prior. "First thing's a phone."
"Phone it is! I know just the place." And with that, they headed out to a nearby MakoMart, walking inside the almost maze-like complex until they had reached the electronics section. Passing through multiple videogame and televisions specific areas, they found themselves in front of a display that contained a variety of different smartphones and related accessories. "Chose whatever you like, Fen. I can pay for it."
"Are you sure? I don't want to leech all your money in the very first store we go to..." Fen fidgeted with his thumbs.
"It's no big deal. His family is like, the richest in Calamari County. He likes to remind us about it every time money becomes the subject." Sal teased, looking at some wireless headphones. "Just don't let it get to your head. Sometimes things that are expensive are worse."
Fen nodded and started looking through the phones. A few minutes later, he pointed at the device he wanted: A simple black rectangular model with a relatively big screen and pretty much all the essential features a teenager would need. Kama called one of the store attendants to get the phone for him, and soon enough Fen had himself a brand new Clamsung Galaxy.
"Should we stop to let him learn how to use it?" Sal asked. His right ear was now adorned by a single-piece headphone, which he had already connected to his own cellphone via Bluetooth.
"Nah, he's a grown squid... Octopus, he's a grown octopus. Besides, I've heard that the octolings have these crazy high-tech machines at their place, so this should be an easy task for him." Kama tipped the especially kind attended and walked out of the store besides the two. "Just like, hold his hand so he doesn't bump into people while he's getting the hang of it. I mean, if that's fine with you two."
"Fine by me." Fen muttered, already deeply engrossed in the dozens of applications that came pre-installed with the device. Sal gently grasped his free hand. Both of their fingers should have a certain roughness to them due to the frequent handling of equipment such as weapons, but Fen's hand was actually really smooth. Sal didn't want to do too much without the boy's permission, but he really felt like giving that soft and warm hand a few squeezes. He had good self-control, though.
The touchscreen was new to Fen, but he knew how to operate pretty much everything else. He had already gotten the basics down by the time they had arrived at their next stop, which was a youthful looking general clothing shop. This one wasn't like the ones in Inkopolis Plaza or Inkopolis Square, in which all clothes had to follow guidelines so that they could be featured in televised Turf War or ranked events. Many of the pieces had ungodly color combinations and some were even kind of revealing.
Sal and Kama had wandered off to search for clothing together, leaving Fen to choose whatever outfit he desired without being judged. In the end, he had gotten himself a black and white hoodie, a pair of black sweatshorts and some stylish looking black checkered sneakers. Sal also had a bag of clothing with him, but Fen didn't feel like asking him what he bought since it looked like Kama was already teasing him enough for it. Kama once again paid for Fen's purchases and they went back to the streets.
"Whew, that was fast." Kama smiled. "Sal, what's next?"
"Sheldon and Turf War recon. It's also written here, "snacks whenever you feel like it". Can we have them now or–"
"Woah, wait wait wait." Fen gulped, waving his arms around erratically. "I… I don't want to be a part of any war, I don't…"
Both of the Inkling boys stared at each other, before Kama let out a small laugh. "Oh no, it's not war! Well, there's guns and war stuff but it's a sport! It's just for fun, just like the tests you did back at the Deepsea Metro."
"Ohhh." Fen nodded understandingly. He wouldn't have called the tests fun, but he understood what Kama was trying to say. "Well, I'd be happy to try that after eating, in that case."
"That's the spirit! It's my favorite activity around here, so I hope you can get into it too. But let's eat something first." Kama looked around, finding a nice and not too expensive café near their current location.
Sal ordered a single cup of black coffee, while Kama got himself a large slice of strawberry cake. Fen was struggling a little to read through the slang dish names in the menu, but he eventually settled for a "Golden Experience Requiem" – which turned out to be just orange juice with some bits of chocolate floating in the glass.
"Hey, can I ask you something? It might sound a little rude, but I don't mean harm."
Sal shifted his gaze from the phone to Fen. "Sure, what is it?"
"Why do you never smile?" Fen took another sip of his drink, almost choking as a piece of chocolate slipped into his mouth involuntarily.
Sal didn't answer vocally at first. Instead, he simply grinned at Fen, who was surprised to see a full mouth of razor sharp teeth instead of the one or two fangs most other inklings possessed. "I don't like them."
"Ah, I think you look pretty cute." Fen gave him a small smile, making the faintest blush appear on Sal's face.
"Hey, me too! We have something else in common now." Kama gave a small chuckle. "My turn to asks questions. What's that thing on your ear, Fen?"
Fen took out the ornament in question, a golden ball with a skewer going through the middle that was previously tucked on his left ear.
"I don't know exactly, to be honest. But it's special." Fen shrugged. "I found it after I got all the memcakes at the Deepsea Metro. It made my memories come back when I put it on."
"Oh, so that was it? That's so cool! Can you tell us a bit about your past? Like what kind of classes did you take at school?"
"Hm… Heavy weapon maneuvers, long ranged combat two, advanced reconnaissance… My best subject was splat charger warfare!" Fen smiled, but it soon turned to a frown as he watched the others' confused expressions. "…Is this not how inkling schools work?"
"Well… We do have some classes about combat in physical education, but it's just the basics. We have stuff like… Math, history, geography… My favorite was fashion! Although I wasn't very good at designing outfits." Kama chuckled embarrassedly, scratching the back of his neck. "Did you like it?"
"Eh?" Fen was caught a bit off guard by the question, so he took some time to ponder before answering. "I mean… I didn't like the overly military atmosphere very much, but… I kind of liked the classes themselves? I hope this doesn't make me sound like a bad person…"
"Ah, not at all! People take combat classes as extracurricular activities here in Inkopolis. For turf war of course, not actual war. That's how I met Sal!" He smiled, patting Sal's back. "Care to tell the story?"
"I'm afraid that's going to have to wait. My new glasses got ready and I have to go over there to pick them up." Sal took his credit card out of his pocket and walked over to the counter to pay for his meal.
"Aw, do you really have to do it now?" Kama pouted.
"Yeah, I have some stuff I need to do after getting them anyways. Don't worry about it, I'll be back at the plaza in the late afternoon. I need to get back home early so I have a good night of sleep for the big match tomorrow." After paying, he headed over to their table and gave a quick kiss on Kama's forehead.
"Oh, that's tomorrow? Sorry, I totally forgot about it. But I'll be there of course! I'll even take Fen so he can cheer for you too." Kama waved at his boyfriend. "See you later then! I'll try not to get too touchy with him, but I can't promise anything."
"Neither can I. Your boyfriend's really cute." Fen teased, smirking.
"See you two." Sal gave Fen a friendly wave, but a small glare at Kama. He still wasn't totally over what happened the other day. He then proceeded to walk out of the café.
The optometrist's office wasn't too far away from the Square, but he preferred to take the train towards it instead of going by foot. He took his phone out and put some music on, then remembered he had forgotten something.
[Guest] Bottom_Leader has joined the chatroom.
Yo who's this?
Bottom_Leader Oh.
[Guest] Bottom_Leader changed their name to Sal.
DJ_Hyperfresh Pffft.
Sal Don't mention it.
Oh hey! You're that hipster dude from the secret agent club right?
DJ_Hyperfresh Pearlie!
Sal Indeed.
Sal I am just here to remind Marina that I will be coming over to her house soon.
Sal In about an hour and a half to be precise.
DJ_Hyperfresh Oh right! I remember now. I kinda forgot about it so I didn't have time to tidy up the house, hope you don't mind. ;;
Sal It's fine.
Wait if you're going over at Marina's then why didn't you just DM her?
Sal I remembered you saying you're jealous and decided to let you know I'm going as well.
Sal It would have been a not so pleasant situation if you suddenly arrived at Marina's home and saw me there, wouldn't it?
Oh yeah you're right.
Thanks for the heads-up! Going to the recording room for a while. Though I'll be back at the first sight of pictures being sent so don't do anything too naughty!
[Webmaster] has left the chatroom.
DJ_Hyperfresh Don't mind her! (/へ\*)
Sal I am going to pretend I did not read that.
DJ_Hyperfresh Thank you.
DJ_Hyperfresh So… Anything else you want to discuss before the actual meeting?
Sal Not really.
Sal See you there.
[Guest] Sal has left the chatroom.
Sal closed the application just in time as the train arrived at the station. He quickly got up and headed towards the optometrist building, adjusting his current glasses. They were from his childhood – which didn't hold a lot of good memories – so he avoided wearing them unless absolutely necessary. Or in case Kama called him cute enough times while considering it. Otherwise, he'd just have settled for the contacts he used while playing turf war.
There was a small line at the office, but he didn't mind the wait all that much. He was going to browse through social media for some more time, but a familiar voice coming from the small TV in the corner of the room made him turn his focus towards it.
"Thank you so much for electing me, everyone. Squids, Octopi... Let's just all live together like a great family."
Oh, him. Sal glared hard at the television, with so much will that the channel went off the air for 0.00001 seconds. Other people in the line seemed to be watching the broadcast as well, but none with an expression angrier than his own.
The man had a humanoid figure, sporting arms, legs, hands and feet. Although from his neck up, his body was replaced by that of a catfish (not to be confused with its nearest cousin, the Zapfish). His big lips had a goofy smile adorning them, and he twirled his whiskers with his left index finger in a carefree manner. He was the epitome of friendliness from a first glance, and everyone else at the line was confused as to why Sal was trying to smite the man's televised image with invisible eye lasers.
A text snapped Sal out of his glaring.
Lin_G Yo your buddy's on channel 5
Sal Bad morning to you too.
Sal If we lose against the Acrodolphins I am blaming this specific message.
Lin_G What kinda lame name is that dude?
Lin_G Also chill he only confiscated your weapon once and it was in S rank
Lin_G And you kinda deserved it for going ham at those kids in a sponsored match
Lin_G He's got some pretty interesting proposals as a president
[Friend] Sal changed their name to Bottom_Leader.
Bottom_Leader Suddenly I can't read.
Bottom_Leader Don't be late tomorrow.
Sal locked his phone right on time as his name was called by the inkling at the counter. He simply went up to the counter, informed his business and got his repaired glasses. He immediately put them on, placing the ugly and old square glasses back into the backpack he was carrying. With no need to talk to anyone else in there, he walked back towards the train station and headed further north towards another part of Inkopolis.
If one didn't know about Inkopolis pop culture, they would think Coral Complex was just another regular set of middle-high class apartments. But it was a well known fact among natives that the place was like the second home to many famous figures who couldn't afford or didn't feel like staying at their luxurious homes for whatever reason. And even though the place was known for hosting the residences of many stars, there wasn't any amount of fans rounding the buildings and trying to take pictures at all costs. Even though the secret got out even before the building had even been finished, people still respected the place as if it was just another regular location.
Sal checked the apartment number from his phone and rang the intercom. A camera placed next to the entrance recognized his face and let him in soon enough. The buildings didn't have elevators, but luckily there were just two sets of stairs between the entrance and Marina's apartment. Sal checked the residence number one last time before knocking on the door.
"Coming! Let me find the keys." Marina's excitable voice was heard coming from inside. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal her smiling face. She wasn't wearing her usual TV outfit, but instead a white crop top coupled with pastel green capris and a white bandana. She didn't have any headphones on, so it was possible to see her ears – rounded, just like Fen's. "Hey Sal! My schedule is a bit tight today, so we only have about an hour or so. Come in!"
"Not a problem." He nodded, making his way into her home. The decoration was just what one would expect from a recently purchased apartment: basic plain colored furniture, loads of cushions, large windows and the constant smell of the past. Marina had put her own twist into it, however. A lot of the furniture was made or patched with recycled metals and materials, some even looking entirely hand-made. There were keyboards and other musical instruments scattered around the house in a rather neat fashion. There were also a multitude of framed pictures of her and Pearl on top of every surface imaginable.
Sal watched as Marina sat on the couch, and decided to take a seat on the recliner on the opposite side of the living room. He took his backpack off his back and placed it on the ground, taking out a white notebook with a multitude of crayon doodles on the cover (and a curious empty space on the middle), as well as a pencil.
"So… You wanted me to tell you a little about octarian culture, right?" Marina placed her hands on her lap."
"Basically. I still don't talk a lot with Fen, and I thought getting to know his background better might help a little." Sal's gaze alternated between his notebook and Marina. "You can skip the questions that make you uncomfortable. I admittedly don't know a lot about the culture myself as most of the information available to me has been either slightly biased or outright anti-octoling propaganda. Don't miss any details, if possible."
"Alright! Um, where to start…" Marina raised a neon-green fingertip to her cheek, looking around the room as she pondered.
"Well, I guess the main thing you have to know is that our culture has become very… Military focused on the past years? I don't know exactly how to put it." She pouted slightly. "So… It's not uncommon for us to throw around honorifics and titles at people who are older or rugged-looking, you know? Also, most octolings have a strong sense of cooperativeness because of that."
"Interesting." Sal wrote down something on his notebook. "That reminds me… Octavio, why is his title "DJ" instead of something like major or commander?"
"Well… You know, the octarians have been trying to incorporate inkling culture into their own. You could say it's just another way to be popular with the teens." She let out a small laugh.
"Ah, I see. What about music? Only two bands I know are Turquoise October and… Well, Octavio."
"It's… Not really a big part of the culture, to be honest. It's even outright forbidden in some parts of the country. You know, because of the fear that someone might make something with a similar effect to the Calamari Inkantation." Marina nodded to herself. "You know… Last time I saw, Turquoise October had been placed in jail. They were going to be sheared right before I left…"
"Oh." Sal's tone became uncharacteristically sad for a moment. "Sheared?"
"Well… How do I explain this…" Marina bit her lip, looking at the ground. "There's a machine that… When you place octoling tentacles in it, it… Well, makes new octolings out of them. I guess you could call it cloning in a way? It was already a thing before the machine was invented, as a natural mechanism to counteract low fertility rates. But now it's used as an execution method since… Well, no one really survives having all of their tentacles cut off."
"Wow." Sal was reluctant as to whether or not to write that down, but he did anyways. "Was… Is Fen one of these clones? Kama showed me some pictures of them when you were riding the helicopter, and he looked like he was wearing some sort of… Tag or something of the sorts."
"I'd guess so." Marina nodded. "Remember when he said he hadn't been named yet? That's because… Octolings born that way don't really receive a name until they achieve something like a combat victory or a new invention."
Sal nodded. The two of them continued discussing for the remaining hour of free time Marina had. Sal had about three pages worth of information by the time he walked out of her apartment. The conversation ended up being more about octarian history than cultural information, but it had been useful nonetheless.
It was already evening by the time his train reached Inkopolis Square. He was unsure whether to call Kama or to try to look for them around the square, until something caught his attention. A large amount of people was gathered in front of the Deca Tower – larger than the usual lines for turf wars and other battle modes. Upon closer inspection, it was possible to notice that they were all looking at one of the screens on the tower. The main one, in fact. Sal carefully made his way to the front of the crowd, bypassing some of the taller people so he could look at the screen himself.
He was deeply and utterly angered disgusted by what he saw.
A/N: Dun dun dun!
The school part was inspired by a tumblr post! I don't know if I can put links on fanfics, but their tumblr name is le-hibou. If you want the exact source, check out the link on the end notes of the story in my ao3 (link to that should be in my profile).
Also, part 5 confirmed.
