Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Happy Go Lucky Ducky (and Phish)
Phish walked around Inkopolis, taking in the sights and sounds of the developing city. As pessimistic as he was about the actions in the war, he couldn't deny that the city was looking to be quite the hot spot for Inklings, already he could see kids crowding the dusty streets. Phish might've enjoyed the energetic yet tranquil environment. Maybe, if Pirah wasn't constantly pulling at his clothes. Phish grit his teeth, Pirah strangling him slightly each time she pulled on his undone tie.
"Why do you wear a tie if you keep it so messy all the time?" Pirah questioned, tugging at his accessory.
Phish slapped her hand away, glaring daggers at her. "None of your business."
"Ooh, I get it!" Pirah giggled, slapping her knee comically. "'Business', like work and stuff! Good one!" Pirah gushed, only annoying Phish more.
"Look, you apologized to me and returned my last name, that's cool, alright? Now just stop being so irritating so that I can find some food for you." Phish growled, trudging ahead.
"Stop talking? Pfff. That's freakin' lame, dude." Pirah groaned, sliding underneath his legs in squid form. "I'm just trying to liven up the walk!"
"Yeah, well, I've had enough of your 'livening up'." Phish muttered.
"I kinda doubt it!" Pirah said, emerging under Phish's legs in Inkling form, startling and embarrassing Phish. "I think you like having me around!"
"No, I don't!" Phish growled. "I just feel sorry for you."
"Come on, you can't deny my charms." Pirah joked, hugging Phish by the back.
"Gah!" Phish growled, hopping out of Pirah's reach using his blue squid form. "Will you quit it? Look, I'll buy you food, but that's it. Then you can go hop back to whatever gutter you crawled out of."
Pirah suddenly stopped, sinking to the ground. "Oh…"
Phish froze, then turned around. "Okay, s-sorry, didn't mean it like that, but-"
Phish frowned. Pirah wasn't behind him. Phish glanced around the city, looking for her, spotting Pirah lying down in the still developed roads. Phish rolled his eyes, walking over to her.
"Pirah, what are you doing?" Phish asked, hand by his side.
"Waiting for the eleven o'clock…" Pirah said shakily.
"These roads aren't even stable enough to have cars yet!" Phish shouted, then raised his hands to his temples, groaning. "Alright, fine, I'm sorry again, I didn't mean it like that. I'll get you anything you want, just please get out of the street."
Pirah perked up, switching into squid form and latching onto Phish's neck, staring up at him. "Promise?"
Phish deadpanned, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. "I can't believe I'm dealing with one, if not the most immature woman in the universe."
Phish rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine, I'll buy you anything you want, within reason, as long as you stop trying to krill yourself."
Pirah's hazel eyes lit up. "Yaaayyy!" She cheered, switching back to Inkling form; she began dancing around in celebration, then paused in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean by 'krill myself'?"
Phish's eyes narrowed. Was she really that daft? Phish raised an index finger as if to explain, when he was interrupted by the honking of a horn. The two turned to the right, where a bus was being driven through the road.
"Eleven o'clock bus is here. You gettin' on?" A disgruntled flounder in a bus driver's outfit spoke through a microphone, his voice echoing out towards the two.
"No thanks, I think I'll skip this time!" Pirah said, waving him off.
The flounder nodded, then backed out of the street, driving off elsewhere with a few fumes of smoke blasting off into their faces. Phish stared at where the bus was with a blank expression on his face. Pirah looked at him, then took her Black Arrowbands off, wiping the lenses.
"So," Pirah began, readjusting her glasses on her face. "Where we going?"
Phish sighed. "Wherever you want to."
Phish poked at his catfish burger curiously. Pirah was gladly gobbling fries and her own burger across from him, the two sitting in a small burger joint where employees were watching the two from the kitchen, the business day too slow for them to do anything else apparently, one particular female watching from the counter, hands on her cheeks, extremely invested in their dining affairs. Phish on the other hand was silently pondering how much food an Inkling was capable of stuffing in her gut. Pirah momentarily ceased stuffing her mouth for a moment, blinked, then nudged the food on Phish's side. Phish shook his head, sighed, pushing the food over to Pirah, who gladly began chomping down on them.
"You know if you eat too much that quickly, one of your hearts is gonna have an attack." Phish pointed out in a hardly caring tone.
Pirah ignored Phish, literally chomping down slowly as if to draw it out to annoy Phish, only causing Phish to sigh more. Phish turned to the employees who were "hard at work" staring at Pirah's immeasurable appetite, Phish shrugging. They smiled reassuringly, all of them turning back to Pirah. The table was entirely clean save for a few empty bags and napkins, with a satisfied Pirah patting her stomach, the only indication of her feeding frenzy on the innocent meal were ketchup stains on her glasses. Everyone stared at her in silence.
"...Huh? What's wrong?" Pirah asked.
"...Nothing, you just have something on your glasses." Phish pointed out.
Pirah blinked, taking off her Black Arrowbands, wiped them off, then stood up and turned to the employees gawking from behind the counter.
"Thanks for the food!" Pirah called. "Come on Phish!"
Pirah hummed to herself as she left the building, leaving Phish at the table. Phish sighed, stood up, reaching into his shorts pockets. He pulled out a sizable amount of coins, stacking them on the table, then waved the employees off with a curt nod as to say "thank you for putting up with us", following Pirah outside. Pirah was seen stretching her arms, giving a content sigh as she leaned against a traffic light post.
"Thanks for buying me food, Phish! I really appreciate it!" Pirah smiled.
"That makes one of us. Alright, I bought you food, so go hop off and do...whatever you do." Phish said, walking off.
Phish sighed, semi-relieved that escapade was over, when he felt something latch onto his back. Phish turned his head, where Pirah was attached to him like a backpack, wrapping her tentacles around his arms.
"What? I gave you food." Phish said.
"Yeah. Now it's my turn to return the favor somehow, since you gave me two meals." Pirah told him.
Phish frowned, his eyebrows lowering. "You can do me a favor by going home."
Pirah shook her head, shifting back into Inkling form. "What kind of a friend would that make me? I'm going to follow you around until I successfully make you happy!"
Phish groaned. "I already told you, just go home and I'll BE happy!"
Pirah frowned. "Why are you so pessimistic about everything?"
Because of character writing.
The two Inklings stared at the sky in response to the reply.
"Huh?" Pirah tilted her head.
Nothing, nevermind. Go ahead and keep bugging Phish some more.
"Oh, okay!" Pirah grinned.
"Screw you voice." Phish growled.
I'd say, "at least take me out to dinner first", but it seems you and Pirah already have that taken care of.
Phish scoffed, looking away. "I'm sure you of all people would've realized our incompatibility."
"And I think you're just being grumpy." Pirah said, poking Phish on the nose. "That's all I see, a big grumpy face."
Phish rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine, you want to follow me around all day and waste your time? Be my guest, Pirah."
Pirah smiled. "Okay!"
Phish began walking away, Pirah following a few inches (a few more centimeters behind if you prefer the Metric system :3) behind closely. Phish cocked an eyebrow, breaking into a light jog. Pirah did the same. Phish began sprinting as fast as he could, dashing around buildings and sidewalks, Pirah still close on his tentacles. After five minutes of pointless chases, Phish slowed down, leaning on the side of a building. Pirah met up with him, leaning besides him.
"That was fun." Pirah commented.
"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" Phish uttered hopelessly.
"I told you, not until I repay the debt." Pirah reminded him.
"...Well, then I suppose I might have something you can do." Phish sighed.
After a momentary Super Jump, the two found themselves back at Phish's house, standing underneath the Pirah-sized hole in the ceiling. Pirah was now garbed with a handyman's tool belt around her waist.
"You're going to help me fix the hole in the ceiling you made." Phish told her.
Pirah frowned. "Dang it."
"Hey, I thought you said you wanted to help." Phish told her.
"I did, but only for fun stuff!" Pirah replied.
"Oh, then if it isn't to your liking, you can leave, no skin off my back." Phish told her in a matter-of-factly tone.
Pirah pouted. "No fair! This was supposed to be us hanging out! Get to know each other, you know?"
Phish sighed, shaking his head. "That's the thing, I don't want to make friends. Help me with this, then we're done."
Pirah crossed her arms, pouting harder. "You're no fun, you know that?"
"And you're annoying, guess we're both out of luck." Phish snarked.
"Meh meh meh meh meh!" Pirah mocked him quietly.
Phish began walking upstairs, up onto the flat roof, where he had various planks, tools, a bucket of paste and a bucket filled with tan paint. Phish looked down through the hole, where Pirah was standing. He began lowering the bucket into the hole towards her, Pirah's eyes lighting up for a second.
"Are we going to paint something?!" Pirah asked excitably.
"Yeah. You're going to help me paint the roof chunk." Phish told her.
Pirah's face switched to that of complete bewilderment. "How did you singlehandedly turn something we live for into something boring?"
"We don't 'live' for shooting paint, Pirah." Phish told her, Pirah rolling her eyes.
"What about the tower they're building? That could be fun." Pirah said, picking up the bucket.
Phish frowned, handing down a small paintbrush. "I think it's a waste of time."
Pirah picked up the paintbrush, then dipped it in the paint can. "Also, why do you choose boring colors? Why do you like being so boring?"
"It's better than getting shot in the war." Phish muttered.
"Huh?" Pirah hummed curiously.
"Nothing, just get ready to paint the ceiling." Phish answered.
Pirah sighed, then nodded slowly. Phish reached for a sizable wooden plank, taking a brush from the side, dipping it into the bucket of white paste. He coated the plank from the sides, then placed it inside the hole carefully. As soon as he did so, the sound of a bucket clattering from below with the added sound of rapid intense swishing caught his attention.
"..." Phish's eyebrows lowered.
Slowly, Phish retreated inside the house, peeking his head through the trapdoor. The entire house was coated in blue, Pirah, sitting on Phish's bed with a paintbrush in her hands.
"...I don't even own any blue paint." Phish growled, his eye twitching.
"...You can uh...swim around your house now?" Pirah offered.
Phish spent the rest of the afternoon chasing Pirah up and down the hills brandishing a paintbrush like a knife.
After a while, Phish lost Pirah somewhere in a thicket. Deciding that it would be stupid to draw the chase out longer than that, Phish decided to walk back home, twigs and leaves stuck to his clothes. He trudged back home, flung the door open, and landed on the blue surface below. Or at least he thought it was blue. Phish opened one eye carefully, noticing that Pirah was there, covered in blue, splotches of blue being wiped off the wall with a sponge. Phish stared at her in disbelief. Pirah turned back, then froze, dropping the sponge.
"How…?" Phish began.
"I um...Super Jumped while you were untangling yourself from all those branches." Pirah said, twiddling her fingers.
"Did you...clean this up?" Phish asked uncertainly, looking at the sponge in particular.
Pirah nodded. "Sorry, I should've waited for you."
"What? No, this is- This is fine." Phish said, getting up to his feet.
"...I'm really sorry Phish. I guess the only thing I can do right is annoy you. W-When I'm done, I'll leave." Pirah said.
Phish stared at Pirah, then looked away guiltily. "...You have an extra sponge?"
Pirah turned back, confused. Phish reached his hand out, looking away.
"This is my house, I'll help clean. D-Do you want my help or not?" Phish asked.
Pirah gawked at Phish, then nodded. After about a half hour later of near endless scrubbing, Phish and Pirah were finished, the house looking spotless. They turned to each other, Phish holding one of his arms sheepishly.
"...Thanks. You can go now." Phish told her.
Pirah nodded solemnly, then began walking off out of the house. As soon as she reached the door, she turned back, where Phish stood, looking down at the floor. Pirah smiled, then snuck over to him, hugging him tightly. Phish grunted, his eyes going wide.
"What's going on?" Phish asked.
"Giving you a hug, silly." Pirah said, snuggling into his shoulder. "I'm sorry again, I feel like I was more of a burden than a help…"
"..." Phish glanced away.
"I'll be sure to try harder to make you happy next time though! I won't stop until I've repaid the favor in full, you got that?" Pirah said, looking at Phish.
Phish stared back, then nodded. Pirah beamed, hugging Phish tighter.
"Alright! Next time I'll be sure to do just that! Bye Phish!" Pirah said, breaking the hug and running out the door.
Phish watched her leave, walking outside of the house and watching Pirah switch into squid form, leaping off into the evening sky, leaning back on his house as he watched the blue squid fly off.
"...Bye." Phish muttered.
Splin and Sharq rearranged their beds, checking underneath and shifting the covers occasionally. Maria watched from her bed, the television on in the background, Tele-Cube and Ann-Gel watching them intently, the alarm clock slowly ticking away the time.
"What are you two doing?" Maria asked, lying on the mattress, facing the two.
"A bit of spring cleaning." Splin answered.
"Yep! You never know when those bedbugs might strike, you know." Sharq told Maria, who simply smiled in response.
"Sharq, would you mind giving me a hand with this?" Splin asked, attempting to pull his bed back.
Sharq nodded, the two brothers gripping the frame and pulling, dragging the bed away from the wall. Sharq then stopped suddenly, something catching the older brother's eye from where the bed was originally stationed.
"Sharq, what's wrong?" Splin asked.
"Has that blue splotch always been there?" Sharq asked in turn.
Splin followed his brother's gaze. Sure enough, a dry blue paint splotch that looked like it was dripping into the ground was there. The two brothers stared at the dried up out of place paint job, glancing at each other.
"Guess Mom and Dad must've glazed over a spot!" Sharq joked.
Splin grinned. "Heh, maybe they did."
The two continued adjusting their beds, eventually pushing Splin's bed back up against the wall, covering the blue portion of the wall almost entirely.
AN: Another Phish and Pirah chapter for all your parental origin needs. That's another chapter down.
I'm kinda at a lost for words at this point, except when talking about reviews of course. :P Thanks RMVHXtreme and Dread Angel for reviewing! I suppose the side characters are piling up at this point, Xtreme, I'm going to have to look into that. Glad someone spotted that reference, Dread, didn't know you had a shiny Charizard, lucky duck.
I'm plum out of ideas for the time being, so I suppose a goodbye will have to suffice for now, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, off to play some Awesomenauts! See ya!