Sorui choked down a sob. He didn't understand why they were so cruel. I-it was a perfectly legal weapon, right?
But...it was a bucket.
A tear dripped down his face and landed in his bucket. No one had ever really been that mean to him before. Although, he never did have friends his age.
Is this what they're like?
The sounds of ink being fired alerted him to the battle. Sorui had crouched behind a wall near the depot. So close to his home, and yet, so far away. He wondered if he should go back to his mom. But his mom had worked so hard to get him the bucket...
"SLOSHER!" Sorui corrected himself loudly, then quickly covered his mouth with his hands. He paused, the sounds of battle went on behind him. He lowered his hands.
"I-it's...a Slosher." He whispered to himself. "Not a bucket."
"ARGH!"
Sorui jumped as orange ink flew past his hiding spot. He must be closer to the battlefield than he thought.
Timidly, he raised one hand, then another, then lifted his head over the wall. Sure enough, he was right behind the cyan-colored spawn point.
But...it didn't look right. Only the platform was cyan, the rest was surrounded by a gigantic puddle of bright, orange ink. Sorui stared, puzzled. A bubbling sound broke his trance.
With a high-pitched "EEP", he dove back behind the wall, pressed his ear to the bricks, and listened...
"Stupid worthless team...I know I can do this on my own, but they didn't need to up and abandon me!"
Sorui recognized the voice as the cyan Inkling. The one with the Splatling.
"RAAGH!"
The voice faded as it charged off.
Sorui paused...then his hands started to move. First, he grabbed his Slosher. He didn't know why he did it, but he began to creep around the wall. The girl's path had already been paved over, Sorui assumed it was by the Inkling with the roller that was over on the left.
He stepped over the orange ink, and onto the spawn. Concentrating, his green tentacles rippled into bright blue. He dove under to fill his ink tank. He hesistated before emerging; why was he doing this? They had been so mean to him. Especially the cyan girl. If anything he should have turned orange.
For a moment, he pictured dumping the cyan girl in orange ink. Repeatedly, in her smug face. If he had lips at the moment, he would have frowned. It didn't feel...right. It didn't feel like something he should do. He didn't understand it...
He emerged from the ink. Took a deep breath, and threw the ink in his Slosher.
The cyan ink flew in a large arc, and landed in a straight line.
"That felt good." He decided. He immersed himself in the ink, and emerged behind the Inkling with the roller. Sorui took a deep breath, and launched his ink twice in rapid succession.
The orange Inkling, who had been wearing a Camo Zip Hoodie and a pair of tinted sunglasses, let out a squeak of surprise before bursting.
"That felt good." He decided again. And began covering the area near the spawn.
The Inkling with the roller tried to enter the base 4 times. Each time, as he tried to climb the wall, Sorui threw his ink down on top of him.
Yutaka had noticed something was off the minute she spotted the roller Inkling on her left. Two shots on either side of her head snapped her back to the present, as she gazed at the two snipers, positioned on the ledges. Why was she so scared of two snipers?
Because if she tried to take one out, the other would take her out. That's why.
She growled. She charged her weapon, and leaped out from behind the wall, aiming at the Inkling on the right-hand ledge.
When the whistle sounded. She froze. Growled, raised, and lowered her weapon in frustration.
Judd the cat, a large, fluffy, bowtie-patterned cat, climbed his way down from the rusted tracks above them. Yutaka slumped in a puddle of cyan ink. She leaned on her Splatling, and sighed.
"Meow (What's wrong?)"
"Stupid team abandoned me...lost the match because of it."
"Mew (What do you mean?)"
"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? I lost!"
"Purrr (You won the match. 51.7% to 48.3%)"
"Huh?"
"Mew (You should thank your teammate fur his purrr-fect performance)"
"Team...mate?"
The ink began to dissolve. Sorui wandered into view.
Yutaka stared at him.
Sorui stared back. His hair already rippled back to its natural green.
"Purrrr (Sorui! Fur a fur-st purrformance, that was paw-some!)"
Sorui turned his gaze from the girl and towards the cat.
"T-thank you?"
"Meow (Here is your prize)"
"P-prize?"
"Mew (700 coins for the turf you inked. 500 coins for winning.)"
Sorui sputtered. "Tw..twelve...hundred..."
"Purrr (1200 coins total.)" Judd finished for him.
Judd handed Sorui a small bag.
"Meow (Congratulations on your fur-st win!)"