Chapter Five:

A Simp's Splatoon Training

After heading back to the hotel, Saiko, Mario and Meggy made sure everyone else wasn't hurt and that nothing too serious had happened to their belongings while the attack was happening. After checking on the well-being of their friends, Meggy made her phone call. And after that was settled, the band left the hotel and headed down to Inkopolis Plaza for some Splatoon fun.

Meggy already had her Splattershot along with plenty of Splat-Bombs, so she was pretty much equipped enough for a Turf War. Saiko, Shroomy and Whimpu, on the other hand, they were certainly going to need some Splatoon gear if they were going to do a Turf War.

In fact, getting them some gear wasn't much of a hassle. Saiko had experience with a hammer, so the ideal weapon for her would be a Splat-Roller, which was a favorite for Callie of the Squid Sisters.

Shroomy was good with firearms, having wielded guns during scouting and demon hunting activities, the ideal Splatoon weapon for him was a Splat-Charger. Whimpu, however, was new at the whole Splatoon thing and had never done a Turf War before.

Luckily, Meggy opted to give him some training. Before the whole band went into the Turf War lobby under Inkopolis Tower, they headed to the local weapon store so Meggy could get Saiko and Shroomy their needed weapons. While Saiko and Shroomy bought the Roller and Charger respectively, Meggy bought Whimpu a Splat-blaster and then took him to the training grounds.

"Just hold your weapon steadily and aim at the target." Meggy instructed the simp, setting up a rubber squid target, "A good aim is important if you're shooting at the enemy on the battlefield, unless you want to get shot."

"I hope I am holding this gun right." Whimpu said nervously, "But violence is never a good thing."

"You're holding the weapon correctly." The former Inkling assured him, "And Splatoon games aren't majorly violent."

Whimpu smiled. "Ah, right." He chuckled, "Rated E for Everyone, despite the violence with ink guns."

Meggy laughed. "It's a Splattershot, just shoot already."

The pink-haired musician nodded and held his Splat-blaster steadily, then he turned to focus on the targets and squeezed the trigger. A burst of orange ink shot forth from the barrel and streaked towards the practice targets, the first volley streaked through the air and made contact with what it was shot at, causing ink to splatter all over the fake squid target.

Watching this, Meggy gave Whimpu an encouraging thumbs up. The simp smiled somewhat confidently and fired off a couple more shots, hitting more practice targets. In seconds, orange ink was covering the grounds as Whimpu practiced his shooting skills while Meggy assisted.

After practicing with the piano for hours and mastering his keyboard skills for Saiko's band, Whimpu didn't feel too worried about learning new skills such as using a Splatoon-based weapon.

He and Meggy trained for a while, inking up the training grounds, splatting targets and crates while Meggy gave Whimpu a crash course in using Splat-bombs. Whimpu watched Meggy throw the triangle-shaped explosive at a target and watched as it exploded, spraying the target with orange ink as if someone had gone to town with a Splattershot.

"Now, you try." Meggy said to him.

"No problem, beanie girl." Whimpu replied.

'Looks like Axol's not the only guy to do that now.' The beanie-wearing Inkling-turned human thought, recalling every instance the manga artist had called her a 'fish girl' or a 'beanie human girl' while calling her friends other nicknames such as, in Mario's case, 'red tomato man'.

Whimpu held the Splat-Bomb in his hand, eying the targets. He moved his arm back, gripping the bomb as tight as he could, and then he shot his arm up and released his grip, throwing the Splat-bomb right towards the training targets. The bomb spun through the air and landed between two of the fake squids.

The Splat-bomb beeped and then it exploded, releasing its load of orange ink. Meggy gave Whimpu another thumbs up, impressed by his pitching skills.

"I may not have played ball, but I got a good arm." Whimpu remarked with a smile.

"Golly gee, that wasn't too bad, Whimpu."

Saiko and Shroomy were close by, watching Meggy assist Whimpu. They'd been present in the area for a short time and they had their weapons ready, but decided to wait until Meggy was done training Whimpu. Shroomy was impressed with how well the simp was doing, especially with that pitch of the Splat-bomb.

"You might make a good coach, Meggy." Saiko said with a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Saiko." Meggy replied, "But I've already got a job as a cop and in your band."

"Actually, I am inclined to agree with Saiko-chan." Whimpu told Meggy, "You are encouraging and good at helping people like me, especially with learning how to use Splatoon weapons for Turf War."

Meggy chuckled, "Are you saying I should train to become a sports coach?"

"You don't have to if you want to continue with being a policewoman." Shroomy remarked.

"Nobody said Meggy Spletzer, Splatfest Champion and police officer of the Mushroom Kingdom, had to be a sports coach." Saiko added.

"Okay, okay. Are we ready for a Turf battle or do you want to wait until later, go back to the hotel, or talk with the Squid Sisters and Off The Hook? We don't have all day and I was helping Whimpu with his skills because, well, can you imagine what would happen if we're playing Turf War and we had someone on our team who didn't have any training or know anything about Splatoon?"

The others nodded in agreement.

"Saiko, are you going to lead the team or should I lead the team in the battle?" Meggy then asked.

"Ya kidding?!" Saiko stood, twirling her Splat-roller like a hammer, "If anyone is going to lead this team, it's going to be the leader of this band, the number one pop star of the Mushroom Kingdom, Saiko Bichitaru! I may not have much Splatoon experience, but I know how to kick ass! Now, who's ready to play some Turf War?!"

Meggy pumped her fist and flashed Saiko a thumbs up, Shroomy whooped and Whimpu nodded. Then the four friends left the training grounds with Saiko leading the way. It was time for a Splatoon battle and, hopefully, there would be no trouble. Right?