Author's Note
Hello there! I am back with the next chapter in 'New to the Splatoon'. So I know it isn't exactly two weeks since my last upload, but I did say "give or take", sooo... Either way, If I don't upload in a day or two of my stated deadline, then I either had something come up, and had to postpone it, or I own the Splatoon IP and will be making this story canon ;-) Also, If you look at the past chapters, especially the first one, they have been updated, in order to better flow with the story, as I go on, and the end of the story becomes clearer and more defined (no major changes, just things to make it flow better, or better to read). Alright, last note (for now), This chapter is a long one, something that will become more and more prevalent as the story goes, for narrative purposes (though I will still upload shorter chapters here or there). Either way, I truly hope you enjoy it!
(In case you didn't know, Nintendo owns Splatoon and I don't. Though, maybe I should see Miyamoto about that, hmmm ;-P).
Chapter 7: Breaking In the Turf
The building itself stunned 8, almost stopping her dead in her tracks. She saw it from a distance earlier in the day and when she first arrived at Inkopolis, but one was at night,and both were from a distance, as they went to the shops through streets that avoided Inkopolis Square. Now that she was approaching it, it's bright billboards, glass doors, and overall size was truly nothing she could've imagined before. She smiled to herself as she and 3 slowed their pace entering the building, her new home just kept leaving her in awe. They soon entered the building, and while 8 wasn't as dumbstruck by the building's interior, she still admired how it looked, and kept turning her head to soak it all in. There was an elevator in the back for access for the upper levels of the building, and a door off and to the right in the back of the room. The lobby she and 3 were standing in was large, with several screens lining the wall with different games and matches, with an extra large screen straight across the front door, playing Inkopolis News. On either side of the door, were leather couches that formed a C shape, so as to allow any newly formed team to sit and talk to each other. So both inkling and octoling sat down on an empty couch next to each other, 8 feeling the leather and playing with the cushion and armrest to work out it's structure and 3 looking at the big screen to see what stages were available today. And there they sat, absorbed in their own worlds waiting for other team members, which wasn't long.
Their first teammate was inkling girl with the telltale long tentacles on each side of her head, which were green in color and dangled by her hips. She wore blue tinted sunglasses, a red and white Gamer Jersey, black shorts, blue and yellow Musselforge flip flops, and carried a yellow handled but dry roller. She approached the two, who both turned their heads to see the approaching inking. 8 started to feel uncomfortable and shy, curling her body up slightly, head dropping, much to 3's dismay. However, this new inkling didn't seem to notice, and excited sat down next the octoling. She smiled brightly, revealing one of her two beak points on her upper jaw was chipped, which caused 8 to straighten up with an inquisitive look. She seemed to take notice, which caused her to giggle as she started to introduce herself, "Hi, I'm Susie, Nice to meet you two!" The rush of words caught both agents off guard, as Susie kept going, "I know what you're both thinking 'What happened to your beak?' Well, I earned on my first game of tower control when I kinda sorta tripped off a platform. Don't worry, I was fine, and now not only have I never tripped since then, I have this awesome chip. It kinda gives me personality." 3 was still a little shocked her words were so clear talking so fast, when he saw the green tentacled girl turn to 8, making him prepare in case anything started. "I really like you're bandana!" 8 straightened up a little hearing this compliment, and shyly replied, "Th-thanks," but the new inkling just kept talking. "They work really well with your tentacles, speaking of which, how'd you get them that way, mine can't doing anything, not that I care, I like the way they are." 8's shyness started to dissipate the more she listened to Susie's disarming, outgoing attitude. See messed with one of her tentacles by her face with her tan fingers, "Umm… I don't really do anything, they always look like this." 3 noticed his friends increasing boldness, and while he was glad she felt more comfortable, but he was still partly suspicious of Susie, especially with that question. Did she notice she only had four tentacles? And if she did, what was she going to do, and would she tell anyone. else if she knew? Susie looked at 3, "I like you're splattershot, did you get it from Ammo Knights?" 3's mind snapped back, and away from his thoughts,"Uh, yeah, though I've added some mods to it." Susie nodded, "That's pretty cool," she quickly turned to 8, I mean yours is cool too, I'm sure Sheldon worked really hard on it." 8 responded before 3 could figure out how to handle that question for her. "Well, I didn't get it from Sheldon." 8 was in fact wondering who Sheldon is when Susie once again continued, "Well it's still really cool, gotta love inkgenuity. Anyway, what you doing in turf war, I just come to meet new inklings, like you guys," She added, smiled brightly as she finished. At this point Susie's forthcomingness had made 8 all but forget her uneasy feeling earlier, and miss the inkling confusion again as the octoling explained it was her first time. This was fortunate for 3 since she would've said something about it at that point, and now 3's worries were at least, temporarily, laid to rest. 3 relaxed even more when he saw who their fourth partner would be.
He sat down next to 3 with a grin on his face seeing the two agents. 3 and 8 waving happily at the new inkling with 3 being the first to speak, "Hey! It's good to see you!" Agent 4 sat down, wearing his Squidbeak outfit that Marie gave him upon his recruitment. "It's nice to see you guys too," he looked over to Susie, 'And you are?" Susie took this in stride with her characteristic smile, "I'm Susie and it's nice to meet you!" The inkling quickly adjusted her sunglasses, and gave a rapid look around her. "Well, we have a full team, so I guess we just need to know where we're going." Almost on cue, a jellyfish wearing a pink t-shirt with Pearl and Marina on it, walks up to the couch, handing a sheet of paper to 4, who took and read it aloud. "Sturgeon Shipyard huh? Well, I guess we should go." Susie threw a fist in the air, "Sweet, that's one of my favorites!" The group got up and walked across the white tiled floor to the door that was off the right nd to the back. They went through the door, where a bus driven by a tired looking urchin with a dark shirt and jeans was waiting to take them to the stage.
In the short bus, Susie and 8 sat next to each other with the former dominating the conversation with the octoling giving short responses, while examining the urchin, and observing his behavior and mood out of curiosity. Meanwhile 3 and 4 sat across from them, talking with 3 letting 4 know what was on his mind. 4 scratched his orange tentacles, "Well you know it's going to come out sooner or later, I mean Marina told me and the Sisters that she might tell everyone about her being an octoling, and at that point, it will only be a matter of time." 3 slightly shook his head and gave the green eyed inkling a concerned look, "I know, but for the time being I just need your help to keep anyone from finding out at leastu for now until I can figure something out." 4 sat quietly for a moment, and then sighed, "I'll help." His mouth twitched in a slight smile before he continued, "So what do we need to do?"
In all honesty, 3 wasn't really sure how to do it, just that he had to keep Susie and whoever would take his place when he left from figuring out 8's identity, and as he just realized not ask her her name, lest that consume her thoughts and worries. Nonetheless, he did know what he to avoid and shared it with his friend. "Alright, well, we have to keep Susie, the other team, and whoever takes my place from seeing her change into her octopus form, or notice she only has four tentacles" 4 interrupted, "Wait, you're not sticking around?" "No, I need to do a few Salmon Runs for something, long story, don't ask. I'm just going to stick around for a match so she knows what she's doing and doesn't feel awkward." 4 decided not to ask then, "Ok, so how do we do that?" 3 was quiet for a bit, as he really had to think on how he was going to do that, when he had an idea, or at least part of one. Either way it was going to work. "I got it! So when we start, we have to put 8 on the far side of the starting point, with one of us next to her so they don't see her start out in her octopus form. Then throughout the match we just either stand between her and a teammate when she dives into the ink so they don't notice, and just distract the other team so they don't end up paying attention." 4 nodded slightly, rubbing the back of his neck, "And what about when we're not in the middle of a match?" This caused 3 to ponder, his eyebrows furrowed. 4 was right, it would be harder to keep anyone from noticing if they weren't in the middle of a match shooting each other full of ink. But soon enough he had an answer, though one he considered less reliable than his last one. "Well, if anyone starts saying anything that sounds like they're wondering about her, if anyone calls her an inkling outright, or start to ask for her name, then we're going to have to cause a distraction, or at least change the subject." "Wait, what do you mean 'call her an inkling?' Isn't that a good thing?" 3 rubbed the back of his neck, "other people have already confused 8 for an inkling, and I had to guess, she'll probably correct the next person who mistakes her identity. And that brings me to the final thing, DON'T TELL 8. If she knows that we're worried, she might feel bad about being an octoling, and based on what she's been through (he remembered the stories she told him of certain tests and constantly being splattered for failing them) she should have to feel that way". 4 sighed, he wasn't so sure about keeping it a secret from 8, especially since it is about her. However he also understood 3's side of the argument, and would be lying if he also wasn't concerned about what could go wrong. So the orange tentacled inkling sat there debating with himself in silence for a few moments with 3 looking at him. Then 4 inhaled sharply, "Ok, I won't tell 8." 3 gave nod, "Thanks 4." 4's mouth changed into smiled, "No problem, I mean, we agents gotta stick together right!?" The blue tentacled agent glanced over at 8, apparently still talking to Susie. Seeing her enjoying herself, he couldn't help but smirk as he looked back at 4 and determinedly tell him, "Right."
While the two inkling agents were having this conversation, Susie was still talking to Agent 8, who had lost interest in the moody urchin driving the bus, and was mindlessly. Playing with one of the two tentacles on the back of her head. Then Susie asked something that snapped the octoling back to attention. "So what's your friend like?" 8 looked at her not sure she really heard the question, "Hmm?" The octoling looked over at 3 and 4, who seemed to be having an important conversation based on their reactions and movements, though they were speaking to soft for her to hear. 8 pointed at the two, "You mean…" Susie nodded her head in the direction of the blue tentacled inkling, "The guy you were with when I came in, he hasn't really said much, at least not to me." 8 looked back at Susie to continue this conversation, "Well he's really nice, he's been a great friend great friend since I've been here." The inkling gave her a questioning look, "Oh! I didn't know." This caught 8 off guard, causing her to start feeling concerned, though not for long. "Then let me welcome to Inkopolis! It must be so cool moving from out of town into the big city. So is this your first turf war?" The Squidbeak agent had a warm feeling, being welcomed to her new home, "Yep!" Susie suddenly got really excited, "Well then we better get you a good start and win it!" This caused 8 to chuckle as she once again addressed the original question, "Thanks! But yeah, he's a great friend." Susie's face then slowly morphed into one of thoughtfulness and she began to speak in a more serious and slower tone., "So are you and him, you know…?" The octoling raised a pink eyebrow with an inquisitive look in her eyes, "What?" Susie couldn't believe she could be so oblivious, "You know! together?" 8 never really had a situation like or about this, so she still didn't quite get it,"Like, living together?" It was the inkling girl's exasperated groan and expression that let her finally realize what she was proposing. "Oh!" Agent 8's face turned a bright and deep shade of red."N-no, he and I are just, um, friends." It was clear from Susie's expression she wasn't convinced, and that was very true. Just then the inkling saw something out of the corner of her vision, and she subtly turned a little more to see it better without being obvious. Agent 4 gestured toward where they were sitting. Then 3 looked in the same direction, his gaze landing on 8. Susie saw the blue tentacled inkling smirk and close his eyes with a glad air about him and turn to face his friend. The inkling looked at 8 again, who was still hot in the face. Her green tentacles swayed as she shook her head smiling a little mischievously. "I don't think so, I think he likes you!" 8's eyes widened and her pupils quickly contracted, as she somehow blushed even more and cleared her throat, "No, we're just friends," then she reaffirmed in a barely audible,yet curious voice as she relented a little,"Really?" Susie now had a pleased look on her face as she replied confidently. "I think so, just like I think you like him." 8 looked at the floor and brushed a pink tentacle that swayed in front of her face. She never really thought about it, attraction or love. She may not have been able to pick up on subtleties of emotions very well, or even control her own (as she embarrassingly remembered that very morning), but even with her amnesia, she wasn't oblivious. She knew what these emotions were, everyone did. But with everything that had been happening, those specific feelings just sort of slipped by her, but now she dwelled heavily on them. 3 was a great friend, but did he like her in a different way as well? Susie herself said she THOUGHT he liked her, which made her wonder why? Since he knew the Squid Sisters, Off the Hook, and probably several other inklings, what reason would he have to fall for her. And since she was an octoling and he was an inkling, how would it even work? She wasn't even she sure liked him in more than a friendly way either, though if she wasn't why was she blushing when Susie stated her observations, why'd she blush when Susie accused her of liking him back? And why was she worrying about it so much if she only saw him as friend? She was surprised at how deep she was thinking about this, could this be proof she wanted to be more than friends? This was starting to get dizzyingily too confusing. Something that is quite common when anyone thinks of such feelings, especially in their youth.
Susie was starting to get antsy as 8 remained in her thoughts, unsure if she accidentally pushed too far, or brought up a very touchy subject, or something, and was going to feel awkward for the rest of the day because of her. Then she noticed where the bus was, and used it as a chance to move away from the potentially touchy subject. "Oh hey! We're here!" 8 heard her go back to her quicker and more hyper voice. She took a deep breath and shifted those thoughts to the back of her mind, though they joined the growing list of other thoughts quietly buzzing around her head, louder than the others. 8 softly smiled as she looked up at the green tentacled inkling. "Good, let's go!" This made the inkling relax as she and everyone else stood up. Everyone gave each other a determined smile as they walked off the vehicle, girls first, and got ready to ink.
They walked up to a gate where they could see their spawning point for the match. A formal, yet tired voice was suddenly heard to their right, "Greetings everyone, just letting you all know that you will be purple and the other team will yellow." and everyone turned to face the origin of this voice. The inklings all smiled in an amused way, while 8 gasped so softly no one heard it, and stood still as her brain went spinning. Talking to them was a cat with black and white patternings on it's fur. But 8 recognized the markings and knew it wasn't just any cat, it was Judd. She remembered the memcake she had stored in her gear that was in the shape of the feline. She couldn't believe he was right in front of her, if anything she couldn't believe he was an actual, furry cat. However Judd just kept talking, not noticing the starstruck octoling and continued in a less formal manner. "Just between you and me, I bet some tuna chips that you guys would win, so don't prove me wrong to little Judd. Good luck!" He finished with a wink, before walking off to a tower that overlooked the entire arena. Agent 8 was still reeling from the surprising appearance of the feline, when she felt a nudge on her left shoulder and heard a curious cough. She looked to see the source of the action. It was 3, who was looking her straight in the eye. His eyes darted up to look at her tentacles, and then moved to focus on the others heads. I noticed his shift in gaze and followed it, unaware of what he was trying to say when she noticed something different about the two 3 was looking at. Their tentacles were now a deep shade of purple. Then 8 noticed the inkling's normally blue tentacles blend into the same violet color as he closed his eyes in concentration. She let out a quick "oh," as she pieced it quickly together, and changed her tentacles to that same color and shade for the time being, something that would allow her, and her fellow teammates to temporarily utilize the purple ink without getting splatted or any other potential problems from happening. She had to utilize this occasionally in the depths, though it pleased her to no end that now she was doing it on her own free will. Soon, she opened her eyes and saw one of the two tentacles that swung by her ears now a dark violet. She looked back at 3 who was giving her a friendly smirk, as he lead her onto the spawn point, where the others were waiting.
They all walked through a specialized door, which checked the limiter on their weapons to ensure, they were restricted to a single, specifically chosen ultimate ability in their gear and weapons. After they all passed through the gates, they walked over the the circular platform that acted as their starting point for the whole game, and watched the purple ink pulsating inside it. Soon they were all standing on it ,with Susie and 8 on the far side of the group, and agents 3 and 4 between them. They quickly changed into their squid and octo forms, filling up their ink tanks/packs on their back, changing back when they were done. At this point, 8 was practically bursting with anticipation, and wasn't she how long she could wait, which fortunately wasn't long. Soon, a large screen overlooking their battlefield, brightly flashed to life, as Judd and his white and grey clone, Lil' Judd where standing there, each with a flag. The two raised their flags, "Ready? Go!" and the two swung their flags down strongly, and the speakers around the arena began to blare with a song from the Chirpy Chips, starting the four were off, as they ran off towards the middle of the arena, covering the floor with purple ink.
8 was ran straight ahead, going faster than the inklings, shooting up the floor as she ran, and enjoyed seeing the purple ink spraying the air around her. The energy was building with each shot of the weapon as she rounded a corner and quickly looked at the screen. It flashed away from the shot of where both feline judges were standing earlier, and showed an aerial view of the shipyard, while showing the yellow and purple overtake the map. She looked straight ahead again, and veered right. Based on the map, there was a large area of yellow, that didn't appear to have any activity around it, appearing to be easy pickings. She covered a nearby wall in ink, and quickly swam up it to gain the height advantage as she closed in on her target. Soon, the octoling arrived and dropped down to the floor as she began to cover up the enemies ink with her own. This didn't go unnoticed, and soon a yellow tentacled opponent wearing a black mask, yellow t-shirt, camo cap and wielding two red squelchers approached to deal with her. Fortunately the octoling noticed the approaching inkling, and her adrenaline really kicked in. She lobbied an autobomb near to his location, hoping it would distract him as she began to fire on the enemy. However, the inkling lured the bomb, as it waddled towards him and tricked it into prematurely exploding, ending the distraction and focusing on 8. Blurs of purple and yellow flew in all directions, as Agent 8 and this other inkling circled each other, jumping and running. One of ink blasts flew past Agent 3, who noticed the activity on the map, and came over to help and maybe find were 8 went to. So when the Squidbeak agent noticed the ink flying, he turned and saw the yellow tentacled inkling engaging one of his teammates, though he couldn't tell way,he picked up the pace, his weapon at the ready. However, by the time he was in close enough range, it was over. The masked inkling had subtly splattered a wall during their engagement, and moved close enough to jump into the ink, swimming up the wall, and leap off it, diving towards the spray of purple ink in front of him, firing his dualies. This was the moment, he was no longer dodging, so she had her chance. They were both starting to be covered in opposing ink as their aims steadied on each other. However, one of the yellow inkling's shots missed and 8 splatted her opponent. She looked at the inky copy of gear laying on the ground and noticed a little inkling blob making his way back to their starting point to have another go. She looked up panting, her adrenaline at its highest point, and saw 3, staring at her, beaming brightly as he realized it was his octoling friend, now that there was no enemy blocking his view. 3 gave her a confident look and yelled, "Booyah!" 4 and Susie, weren't faroff, and while 4 was in the middle of his own skirmish, they both responded with the same cheer, knowing it probably meant something good. Hearing her team cheer her first splat in turf war, smiled proudly, a twinkle in her eye. She jumped in the air, a tan fist clenched and raised, "Booyah!"
The moment of celebration was cut short as a splat bomb landed at their feet. 3 jumped away before it exploded, sending yellow ink in all directions. While he escaped, he couldn't find 8. That was at least until he noticed a waves among some purple ink moving across the floor, towards the direction of where the bomb was thrown from. 3 followed close behind. He spotted the inkling with shorter tentacles, wearing a black cap, and glasses was perched on a platform holding her yellow charger, aimed on the octoling's movement in the ink. The inkling agent knew that 8 had noticed, and was going to engage her, changing out of her octo form. He had to do something before the enemy noticed her octopus shaped figure changing into her normal he fired his own weapon, even though she was out of range. His ink landed just short of the sniper, whose sights shifted to 3, just as 8 emerged from the ink. 3 kept firing as he ran around the platform, getting a few hits in, and but more importantly, keeping her attention on him. A goal which possibly worked a little too well, as the marksman fully charged her weapon, exhaled and then fired, splatting the agent in one shot. 3 saw nothing but black for a few seconds, as he made his way back to his starting point. Once he made it to his spawn point, he switched to squid form, quickly swimming through his team's purple ink to see if his friend still need help. He soon arrived to the platform, and looked up, where he saw his friend had taken the position of her defeated enemy and firing in the distance He smirked to himself, he wasn't surprised she beat the previous resident of that spot, there was reason she was on the Squidbeak Splatoon. A lightly tan hand swiped the sweat on his brow as he noticed that Susie was in a bit of trouble,and he activated his Stingray to help her.
The game went on, with purple ink dominating the shipyard, and everyone starting to feel pretty confident, at least until they had little over a minute left, and the music shifted to let everyone know it. The yellow tentacled team seemed to regroup and reorganize, making a comeback and pushing the purple ink back to the middle area. Here, the game seemed to stalemate, as neither team really gained any ground, and the arena remained split fifty-fifty. However, the clock kept ticking, and they were running out of time. 8 was arriving at the spawn point, having been hit by an enemy using a splatling gun. As she was getting her bearings when her ink in her ink pack started to bubble and glow. This caused her tentacles to react as well, using their bioluminescence to glow a vibrant violet, showing her Splashdown was ready. She then had an idea. Using the starting platform as a launch pad, she shot herself in the air,where she headed toward 3. The inkling agent was taking cover behind a metal box, pinned by two inklings who had decided to improve their chances against him together. He was starting to get covered in yellow ink when he saw the air around him slightly turn purple, before there was a large explosion of ink as 8 crashed down. They looked at each other, giving each other an affirmative nod as they joined 4 and Susie against the other two enemies in the remaining seconds. The speakers blared, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Game!" Their weapons were disabled as everyone stopped, and began to make their way back to their starting points and off the arena. Soon, both teams were waiting outside the gates of their respective spawn points, asa jellyfish in a black and white long sleeved shirt, went around the shipyard, closing it off temporarily using yellow caution tape with the word 'game' in black. Both teams waited anxiously for the results, which wasn't long. The large screen overshadowing the match stage once again flared to life, as it showed Judd, and Lil' Judd over a bar. The bar filled up to about the quarter of the way on each side,one purple and one pink, and both teams held their breaths. After what seemed like hours, the bar filled up completely as judd hoisted a flag, and his younger counterpart flew back in surprise. The difference wasn't very noticeable, but undeniable, the bar had been filled up to fifty-seven percent in purple, meaning they covered that amount of the shipyard, winning the game.
The Squidbeak agents and Susie shouted happily upon realizing they won. 4 rested his weapon on his shoulder, brushing against his orange tentacles as he closed his eyes and smiled to himself at how well the team did. Susie spun around, moving fast with the the built up momentum from spinning with her roller as she slowed down, grinning, flashing her chipped beak as her tentacles swung to the side as she slowed down. 3 fist pumped, and stood confidently with a smirk on his face. And the octoling couldn't believe it leaping in the air, lifting both arms in the air, one holding on to her octoshot, and the other wide open, as she squealed with joy, "Yes!" and smiled brightly. However, she stumbled a bit as she landed, and lost her balance, throwing her arms out for balance. She managed to stabilize herself as she slowed the waving of her arms, and straightened up, and her face grew flushed. She had moved towards 3 when she stumbled for balance, and he came over to see if she was ok. Now that she stood up straight, she was awkwardly very close to her inkling roommate, standing eye to eye. They looked into each others eyes, one starting to get lost in her amber eyes, and she into his crystal blue ones. They then noticed Susie looking at them, and both giggled sheepishly as they stepped back, their cheeks still glowing warmly, much to Susie's silent amusement. 4 walked up to the two along with susie, as she said, "We won guys!," she looked at 8, "Not bad for your first turf war!" 3's blushing faded (as did 8's) as 4 gave her a smirk, and 3 rested a hand on her shoulder, grinning proudly with an encouraging look.
Soon the bus came back to pick them up. They got on the bus, their tentacles regressing to their original colors. This time, 3 and 8 sitting together, and 4 and Susie side by side. As his tentacles once again took on their natural blue color, he took the opportunity to let his octoling friend know he was going to run some errands while she could keep playing with 4 and Susie,but adamant he would come back for her at the end of the day when they were done.. At first, she became nervous about not having her friend with her, but steadily grew more confident as she thought about how well she did, and still had 4 and Susie to stick with, so that when they arrived at Deca Tower to drop 3 off and pick up his replacement she lost any sign of her previous shyness. As the inkling got off the bus, he turned to his teammates and more specifically 8, "See you guys when I'm done!" They all waved back saying goodbye, as he headed off for Grizzco's.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. 3 saw who would be replacing his spot on the team as he left, a darker skinned guy with teal tentacles, a leather jacket, jeans, and a blue and black beanie, carrying two squelchers. 3 couldn't tell much about him, but as everyone on the bus soon found out, he was a pretty reserved fellow, and seemed slightly off put, when Susie sat next to him, and began to talk to him in her usual rapid fire way, much to 4 and 8's slight amusement as they saw the two in the seats behind them. He was good with his dualies however, which was proven during their matches for the rest of the day. 8 enjoyed the turf wars, losing a few, but her team staying on top for most of them. 3 on the other hand, was working his suckers off, collecting salmon eggs and fighting back the mutated fish. By the time he was done, he had gone on five back to back runs, almost coming short in the last two. But, as tired and sweaty as he was, he now had enough money to cover the cost of an new toaster oven. and he went off to buy it. 4 and 8 were outside talking about the turf wars of that day as they stood outside the tower, waiting on 3, since it was getting late and they closed the tower and matches for the rest of the day, and 4 offered to stay and keep the octoling company after Susie and the other inkling left the group (though Susie insisted on seeing her around). 8 didn't mind, as she enjoyed seeing the city once again as the day ended and night began, and 4 happened to be good at holding a conversation. They were in fact in the middle of a conversation on potential strategies when 3 approached the two, carrying a toaster oven identical to the one he used to have (though shinier, and not nearly as fried). As the oldest of the three approached his friends, he noticed how much they were enjoying themselves, and at first it gladened him to see his friends enjoying themselves. But the more he got closer, the more his thinking changed. They were really focused on their conversation, and didn't seem to notice him approach, and 3 could hear 8 laughing at what was apparently a funny joke as she doubled over laughing, before straightening up again, giggling. Normally he wouldn't mind seeing two of his friends together, and if it was Marina and 8 or 4 and Marie or something, maybe he wouldn't mind. However, something about 4 and 8 getting on together by themselves rubbed him the wrong way. So he continued walking towards the pair, hiding these feelings as he greeted them both warmly. "Hey guys!"
The two looked over to 3, and smiled, waving as they greeted him. The blue tentacled boy, was soon next his fellow agents, and he instinctively positioned himself next to 8, his body slightly in front of hers, his arms crossed. 4 turned his attention to 3, noticing the oven he put on the ground, "So, I guess you got everything done?" 3 seemed to glare at 4, giving him a curt, "Yeah." 4 was off put by this tone, but then 8 spoke up, "So where'd you go?" The blue tentacled agent turned to face the octoling, his voice suddenly warmer, and his gaze softened, "Well I just went over to Grizzco's, so I could get this," gesturing over to the toaster oven he put on the ground. 8 had an inquisitive look on her face, "Wait, you went on a Salmon Run?" 3 nodded his head, "Yeah?" She tapped her foot almost impatiently as she told 3, "I've always wanted to go on a Salmon Run!, It's one of the few things I remember I wanted to do," as she drifted off a little thinking of the few memcakes she had among her gear at 3's apartment, eventually coming back to the conversation, though a little more reserved. 4 spoke up, drawing the attention of the two, "Well, maybe next time." 3's gaze hardened again and his passive aggressive tone came up as he faced 4, "Yeah, next time." At this point 4 was starting to get frustrated, why was 3 acting this way to him, when they were fine earlier that day. He was going to say something about, when he noticed 3's almost protective stance, gaze as it darted to 8, and then back at him. 4 relaxed, almost smirking as he pieced it together. He had seen other inklings in the square act this way, and even he himself felt this way at first when he saw how well 3 got along with the Squid Sisters when he first met him. He took a step back, which seemed to put 3 at ease a little.
8 soon got everyone's attention, "Hey 3, your shirt's wet, did you go swimming or something?" The inkling sheepishly smiled in return realizing how sweaty he had gotten, "Um, No, that's from uh, working at Grizzco's all day." 8's face was concerned, "You must be pretty tired then, we should get home. I mean, I wouldn't mind a rest either." as she rubbed a sore spot on her shoulder, enjoying the thought of soon being able to rest her sore, tired body, even if she still had some energy left. 3 concured, as he was indeed exhausted, and didn't know how much longer he could go before he started to feel too groggy. 8 started in the direction of the apartment, "See you 4! It was great turfing with you." The green eyed inkling waved, "No problem, see you later." She kept walking, leaving both inklings out of her ear range and 3 feeling embarrassed as he realized how he instinctively acted. 4 beat him to his apology, "Don't worry, it's fine, everyone feels that way about someone." he finished with a quick, sly smile and wink. 3 remained silent, with a contemplative air around him, and unsure of what he meant by that last bit. He looked his fellow agent in the eye, and his head bobbed a little in understanding and thanks, "See you soon 4," and as he turned and started to walk towards the pink tentacled girl, he stopped, and turned around, "And thanks for your help." The orange tentacled inkling grinned, and waved, "No problem, Squidbeaks always watch out for each other." 3 smiled back as they both turned away from each other walking in opposite directions. 3 soon caught up with the octoling, as they made their way out of Inkopolis Square. After a bit of walking, 8 started to feel a wave of sleepiness wash over her as she yawned. She felt a little silly at how loudly she yawned, and watched the ground, as her cheeks took on s soft red tone. He saw the look on her face, when he instinctively also yawned embarrassingly loud as an aftereffect of her original yawn. This caused 8 to giggle softly, a warm and pleasant sound to 3. He chuckled in response, which erased any embarrassment the octoling had before hearing his, admittedly charming laugh. The couple continued walking back, having enjoyed their day on the town.
(Author's Note)
(Well, there it is, I finally wrote a battle scene for this story, something I may need to do in the future. ;-P Just so you know, the next chapter should be up in about two weeks again, but remember, it may be off by a few days. Either way, I'll see you next chapter, Veemo, Woomy, and Ngyes!)