Chapter Six:

Turf War With A Surprise


Saiko and her band made their way down to the Plaza, their Splat-weapons ready and well-polished. A couple of Inklings exiting a shop waved to the quartet as they passed by and Saiko waved back, so did Meggy, Whimpu and Shroomy. She spotted a green-haired Inkling boy waving to her and nearly thought of Alex, then she shifted her focus before her cheeks could flush red again.

Now wasn't the time to think of that handsome squid, she didn't want Meggy to make remarks about her having a boyfriend again, like she had back at the hotel before they were attacked.

Without a second of daytime to waste, the band headed to the Turf War Lobby under Inkopolis Tower. Saiko saw Inkopolis' feline Turf War mascot and judge, Judd the Cat, in his resting spot, standing straight with his yellow eyes open. And, just standing next to him, was his clone and co-judge; Li'l Judd.

"Meow. Mrow." Judd said to the band, waving a paw in a sweet manner.

"Hey, Judd. It's been a while." Meggy smiled at the cat.

"Li'l Judd looks so sweet!" Saiko exclaimed, looking at the mini cat standing next to the cat that may have been his father.

"Meow." Judd said.

"Judd says he wouldn't mind if you held him." Meggy told the anime girl.

Saiko put aside her Turf weapon, commented on Li'l Judd's cuteness in Japanese, and picked up the little feline with slight tears of joy in her eyes. Cats were so precious, how could she have forgotten her affection for the little fuzz-balls? It felt like ages since she last held or fed a cat, maybe too long. Li'l Judd put his paws on Saiko's arms and looked at her with a smile, she could hear him purring softly.

Judd watched Saiko hold his clone, smiling with warmth and happiness, while a small tear rolled down his face. Like all beings, cats are capable of showing emotion, such as happiness, as indicated by their purrs. And yes, cats can cry sometimes, you probably just don't see a lot of them shedding tears.

Both Saiko and the Judds heard a click and turned to see Meggy taking a picture of them together with her phone. Saiko wiped some tears from her eyes and smiled as Li'l Judd waved. Judd jumped up on the anime rock-star's back, leaned over her shoulders, and smiled his best cat smile as Meggy snapped another photo.

"Golly gee." Shroomy quipped, "Ya'll gotta love these felines."

"Judd and his clone will tell you the outcome and the victor of the Turf War at the end of each match that happens." Meggy said, looking at Whimpu more so than Saiko and Shroomy, giving the simp a little more of a Splatoon-related need-to-know.

"Yes, I will note that." Whimpu said, bringing out a notebook to take down a note in.

"Okay, Team Saiko!" Saiko set down Li'l Judd and picked her Splat-roller back up, "No more stalling, it's time to kick some asses and paint some turf! There's no way we're gonna lose, because we trained so damn hard for this and we are masters of delivering serious ass-whooping! Now let's get out there and show 'em whose the boss!"

"Game on!" Shroomy pumped his fist.

"Heck yeah!" Meggy whooped, "Let's do it to it."

Brimming with confidence, the team entered the Turf War Lobby with Saiko leading the way and the doors closed as electronic humming and Splatoon music filled the room. The humming intensified and, seconds later, a colorful light flashed and the band was warped to the selected Turf War stage.


Starfish Mainstage.

It looked incredible and there was so much to take in. The Inkling concert grounds may have been the most famous of locations in Inkopolis, potentially serving as one of the city's tourist attractions and why wouldn't anyone want to see the place with it's massive stage, booths and music platforms. But when it wasn't being used for musical performances, it was used for Turf Wars.

Just after she'd materialized on the Spawning Pad upon the platform overlooking the grounds of the place, Saiko took it in, nearly imagining her and the band performing a concert in this location. If it weren't for the fact their concert was going to be taking place in the Plaza, she would have expected this to be the site of her band's show.

'Focus.'

She gripped the handle of her roller as Meggy appeared next to her with Shroomy and Whimpu beside her. They stared across the arena, ready for battle, and watched as another Spawning Pad glowed upon another platform and a pair of green-haired Inklings appeared.

A large screen above Saiko and her group flashed, showing Saiko's iconic skull symbol along with her team's name: Saiko Squad.

'Now, that is badass.' Saiko thought with a confident smile, she could get used to her team being called 'Saiko Squad' or, maybe, 'Pink Skulls'. The name her group was being called suited them just fine at the moment.

Feet away from them, another screen activated above the Inkling turf team opposing Saiko's band, showing a green can of beans in a wave of greenish colors. The name popped up seconds later and Saiko tried to figure out what the words meant until Meggy, who knew Inkish well, read them aloud for her, Shroomy and Whimpu to understand;

"Team Green Beenies."

'Our opponent is Team Green Beenies, eh?' Saiko thought with a smirk, taking a second to process this information, 'We'll see how long they can hold in those beans they've been eating... if I can focus, stay in the game, and try not to think of him so much.'

Her hand grasped the handle of her Roller and she took deep, steady breaths as her mind repeated the one word that helped one's concentration and confidence; 'Focus.'

Tari had said it to Mario, a lot of other people had said that. Nobody had to say it to her, only her subconscious mind. Saiko stared across the arena at the Green Beenies, ready for battle with her mind set to the task. She took slow and steady breaths, breathing from her diaphragm and out her nostrils and mouth.

For a short time, Saiko stared intensely at the team of green Inklings across the field, staring at their leader; a green-haired Inkling boy wearing a mask that concealed his face, red sweater, gray gloves and black pants.

Judd and Li'l Judd made their appearance in the Starfish Mainstage, stepping onto the edge of a nearby platform overlooking the area, with flags in hand. The big cat raised the orange flag and the little cat raised the blue flag, raising them high, and the whistle blew, sounding across the concert grounds.

It was go time!

Nobody had to lay down the rules, they were simple; A timer would be set and whomever inked the most turf by the end would be victorious.

Loudspeakers whined to life and Splatattack began playing, sounding across the Starfish Mainstage and setting the tone for the battle ahead. Saiko and her team stepped off the spawning pad, running down the ramp into the grounds of the Mainstage, with their weapons ready, and they could see their foes charging the second they left their platform.

Saiko brought down her Roller and pink-colored ink lathered the ground as the anime girl went rolling, her weapon pressed on the ground and spinning like the blades of a fan.

Meggy leaped onto a platform with her arms moving, her fingers pressed on the trigger, and ink the color of her friend's hair exploded from the barrel of her Splattershot, spraying a good portion of the concert grounds and almost hitting Whimpu as he was inking the turf close by.

"Honestly, my hair doesn't need another shade of pink." The simp remarked.

"I'm okay!" Shroomy cried from a distance away, "My scouting hat just has a smudge of ink, nothin' that a li'l wipe can't handle!"

A green blob of ink streaked past Saiko and she ducked, Matrix style, then she stood straight and held up her Roller, facing her opponent. A long-tentacled green Inkling girl in battle armor and a mask stared at the anime girl with piercing purple eyes, holding a Splat-blaster that reminded Saiko of a weapon once wielded by an old acquaintance long ago.

The Inkling girl fired another shot and Saiko leaped into the air, raising her weapon above her head, and maneuvered herself around the Green Beenie player. The squid girl looked up at Saiko, eyes filled with shock as she stared into the musician's crazed purple eyes, knowing what was about to happen.

BWOOSH! A pink-covered roller struck the Inkling and her green-colored spirit floated away, heading to the Green Beenie's spawning area. Saiko lathered the spot in pink, then she took off across the field again, running past a stage while leaving a trail of ink in her wake as if she were laying out a carpet during a massive public event.

Green ink shots whizzed around her and Saiko evaded them all, ducking and flipping with the grace of a dancer. She looked back, seeing Meggy bring out her Ink Boi, and glimpsed her diving into a puddle of pink-colored ink to avoid being splatted by a green Inkling boy wearing goggles.

'She knows what she's doing.' Saiko thought, 'And those inventions were damn useful during the previous Splatfest when she and the others put 'em to use.'

The attractive anime guitarist ran towards the stage on the other side of the grounds, gripping the handle of her roller and covering more ground with as much pink as possible. Then she came face-to-face with the Green Beenie's leader as he held a green-colored standard Splattershot in one hand and a Splat-bomb in the other.

She stared at him intensely and the Beenie leader started at her back. While she couldn't see his face behind that mask, she could tell he was quite composed for someone who was about to get splatted by her.

The mysterious Beenie leader threw the bomb and Saiko brought up her roller hard, sending it flying until it was, as the saying went, 'out of the park.' The Inkling opened fire with his weapon and she leaped into the air, gracefully avoiding the first volley of ink fire in one backflip. And then, she ran up and kicked the Splattershot out of the squid's hand, leaving him near defenseless.

A manic grin etched itself unto Saiko's face. "Sayonara!" She said and brought down the roller, flattening the Inkling boy and sending his soul back to his team's Spawning Pad, leaving a small green ink puddle behind with his mask and clothes.

"LITTLE HAND HERE, SAIKO! I'M-I'M IN QUITE THE PICKLE HERE!"

She looked up, seeing Shroomy atop a nearby stage locked in battle with an Inkling boy with a buzz-cut wearing a green T-shirt, dark-green pants and lime-colored shades.

"Hang on, Shroomy!" The anime girl hollered.

Adrenaline surged through every inch of her and Saiko leaped onto a platform overlooking the spot where she'd splatted the Green Beenies' leader, then she leaped over the edge with an insane level of athletic agility compared to Mario and landed on the next stage before leaping to the very stage where Shroomy was struggling against his Inkling opponent.

Saiko swung her Roller as she would do so with her hammer and knocked over the Inkling, sending him crashing into the ground, right in the middle of a patch of Saiko's ink. The squid boy exploded, leaving a smudge of green, and his soul flew back to the Spawning Pad to reform.

"Gee, thanks, Saiko." Shroomy smiled, "I thought I was gonna have to bring out the other guy."

"We don't need to, the Inklings aren't demons, and we don't need an axe-crazy demon hunting mushroom." Saiko said to the happy scout with a smile, "Now let's kick more ass and ink more turf!"

Shroomy whooped and squeezed the trigger of his Splat-Charger, splatting the side of a platform in pink. He maneuvered around the surrounding area, shooting ink in every direction and spraying a good enough portion of the Mainstage in pink with Saiko doing the same.

Both musicians leaped off the platform and dashed across the arena grounds, joining back up with Meggy and Whimpu respectively as they both circled around the Starfish Mainstage, splatting Inklings up and down while covering as much turf as possible.

Meggy and Saiko teamed up and the girls went to town, Shroomy partnered with Whimpu and provided cover fire for their leader and their friend whenever the enemy team tried to get the jump on them. Saiko batted a Green Beenie member in a camo jacket and Meggy splatted him before splatting a booth next to one of the sound stages.

A few minutes later, the whistle sounded, signalling the end of the game. Time was up.

Saiko and her band joined up on the stage overlooking the arena, which was covered in large patches of pink with a couple of green spots, courtesy of the Green Beenies, here and there. The opposing team stood on the right of the stage, a few feet from Saiko and her group.

Judd stepped forward with Li'l Judd, both determining the results of the game. Saiko pumped her fists and Meggy kept her calm. Judd meowed, looking at both teams, then he brought up the pink flag and Li'l Judd fell over. A victory for Saiko Squad!

"YES! WE GOT THIS!" Meggy whooped.

"Nice work there, team!" Saiko flashed a thumbs-up and a friendly smile.

"We are aces of Splatoon." Whimpu said confidently.

"I sure didn't get my shootin' badge for nothin'." Shroomy remarked.

Every member of the Green Beenies groaned with slight disappointment, all except for their leader, who looked at Saiko calmly. And then, he walked up to her and took the anime girl's hand as if to shake it, much to the surprise of his team.

"Not bad, girl."

Saiko felt her heart pound and she looked at the masked Inkling with a hint of surprise. He'd been... quiet... during the match and hearing his voice now, it was sounding almost familiar. And then, he moved his hands up to remove his mask and Saiko's heart thumped, her cheeks flushing, as she looked into the true face of the Green Beenie's leader.

"Alex?"

The brown-skinned Inkling smiled and kissed Saiko's hand, "Looks like it wasn't long before we met again." Alex said, "And, wouldn't you believe it, you can't say there's no such thing as fate. It's no accident that the next time we see each other was in a Turf War. As for my team here, they're... not my team, actually. I was doin' a friend a favor."

"You're not the real leader of the Green Beenies?" Meggy asked.

"He's a substitute leader." The armored Green Beenie female team member explained, "Our real leader got sick, but Alex was nice enough to volunteer and we still had our match."

Saiko looked into the green-haired Inkling boy's eyes, mesmerized, stunned and entranced all at once, her face was flushing again after she'd tried so hard not to focus on her crush on him. Alex looked at her with a dreamy smile and said, "And I will admit, you hammered me pretty good."

She was speechless, struggling to form words. And then, Meggy giggled and photographed the moment happening between the two team leaders. Saiko started to blush even harder, knowing that Meggy was enjoying this, and she noticed that Shroomy was smiling at her while Whimpu was looking away. The anime girl then looked at Alex and asked, "W-Would you like to get a coffee?"

As the Green Beenies giggled, Alex, their substitute leader, grinned at Saiko and shook her hand, accepting her invitation.