Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Really? Splatfest?”

“Yeah! It’ll be a fun team bonding exercise!” Agent Four slams the flyer for the upcoming Splatfest on the table. 

Finished with the weekly recon, the New Squidbeak Splatoon gathered around the makeshift camp on Site 1 to take a rest. What was supposed to be a short break turned into a lengthy conversation about future plans and events now that the world's fate was not in danger. Eventually, Splatfest became the current topic as the new themes were recently revealed. This got Agent Four and Callie fired up.

 “It’ll be a good time for us to relax, have some fun, and most of all: spend some time with the newest recruit, Neo!” Agent Four grabs the aforementioned agent in a side hug with a million-watt smile. 

“Agent titles, Agent Four.” Marie pauses writing mission reports from across the cheap, fold-up table. “Besides, we are all too busy. We have better things to worry about: like how Grizzco is still running. Or the fervent increase in Salmonid activity, bordering on concerning. We shouldn’t be distracting ourselves with frivolous activities such as Splatfest.” Marie gives a pointed look to both Agent Four and Callie. 

“Oh, come on, Marie! It’s only us here and we’re not even working anymore.” Agent Four dutifully ignores Marie’s request for agent protocol. “ Everyone here knows everyone’s identity by now, names and all. Even Neo told us their name when they met Louts and me.”

“Though I apparently wasn’t supposed to…” Neo timidly pipes up from the other side of the table, engaged in a Tableturf Battle with the Captain.

“Aw! It’s fine, Neo! Sunny is right, Marie and Citrus are just sticklers for rules.” Callie smirks as the Captain scowls slightly and Marie gives an indignant ‘I like to keep order is all’. “Following back to Marie’s second statement: I think participating in the Splatfest would be a blast! It’s been so long since all of us have been together like this. Besides, you’re part of the family now and why not celebrate that with some fun? Let’s see what you got!” 

“Oh, um…I don't know…I’m still kinda new to Turf War and all that. I don’t think you would want a rookie bringing you down,” Neo looks down at the end of their statement and fiddles with the hems of their sleeves. 

“Oh, nonsense!” Callie waves her hands casually, “It’s not ranked matches, the point of Splatfest is to choose a team and have fun!” Along with Sunny, Callie gives Neo her own encouraging smile.

Neo gives a shy, small smile back to both of them, “Well if you say so…I still have to think about it…”

“Well, I say no, only because I agree with Marie. We have better things to worry about than a two-day party.” Having thoroughly defeated Neo in Tableturf, with them gawking at their quick loss, Citrus crosses their arms and exudes their typical leaderly aura.

“All work and no fun like always…” Sunny sulks as she sinks into her chair.

“Always having work on the mind, that’s our Captain! Ever since day one!” Callie giggles as she begins putting away her portion of the reports.

“Callie, you aren’t even done…” Marie looks wearier and wearier as today’s work schedule seems to be slowly unraveling by the second, even giving up on using agent titles. 

“Marieeee…we are a shadow organization with a membership of less than 10 and have had 4 official ‘Events’ that were cause for concern. How important is this paperwork really? Highest in command is Citrus and I don’t even think they read most of what is reported!”

“Yeah, I don’t actually.” Citrus smirks as they begin a new Tableturf with Neo, “I mean, I get to it eventually. But it’s a lot of skimming through. I have to agree with Callie here, the Splatoon doesn’t really get a lot of action. Most of our time is spent patrolling and doing recon and even then we’ll take long pauses during those phases. The little Hairmeggadon was the only incident that endangered anything we’ve had in the last 5 years.”

Successfully stunlocking Neo with a game-changing card, Citrus leans back in their chair, “I just realized I kinda contradicted my original decision…sorry Marie, you’re the wrong one this time, we really don’t have much to worry about nor do for the time being.” Marie grumbles at this, “Though I still hold to my statement, I at least have better things to do than party, like training. You never know what could happen, you need to be always prepared.”

“Even when proven wrong, Citrus somehow still ties it back to working…” Callie softly drops her head on the table. “Well, what about you, Lotus? Are you going to let the no-fun-having losers win or are you gonna make this a tiebreaker?” 

Having been disengaged with the conversation, the pink octoling was helping Neo learn Tableturf strategy moves so they were more likely to win against Citrus, “Oh? Ah, well…I’m always fine with whatever…” Callie and Sunny simultaneously deflate, “Ah, but! It would be nice to participate in the Splatfest with everybody, it’ll be fun to hang out, we’ve all been so busy…and we haven’t had splatfests in 3 years, who knows when these batches of splatfests will end? I guess it would be good to participate whenever possible…”

“Hell yeah! That’s what I’m talking about, Lo! We should have fun now while it lasts, whether it be real-world danger or limited-time festival events,” Sunny grabs and swings Lotus’ arms side to side with a warm smile as Lotus gives her own delighted smile.

“Perfectly said, Lotus!” Callie leans back in her chair elated.

“I really am alone in this regard, huh?” Marie gives a dissatisfied look towards Site 6, “I hate being wrong but so be it. Still, this leaves to a tiebreaker on whether we shou-”

“I still haven’t decided yet…” A quiet voice calls out. 

At the end of the table sits Neo, looking down and fidgeting with their hands as all attention is now directed at them. A flustered blush appears as they cave under the pressure of multiple eyes. A few seconds pass by as they stay silent and continue fidgeting.

Callie gives a sympathetic look as she softly smiles, “Neo, sweetie? Is there something you want to tell us?”

Neo startles at their name being called, looking up in shock. They quickly look down again. They rapidly swipe their eyes up from their hands and down again from the faces of the other members as their mouth opens and then promptly closes. This goes on for a few more moments when finally, “I would…like to participate in the splatfest too. I mean, I’m still not confident in my abilities! But, um…it would be fun just to hang with you guys…”

“Aw, Neo!” Callie gets out of her seat and runs over to where the fidgeting inkling is sitting, pulling her into a crushing hug, “Did you not hear earlier? Who cares if you’re not an S+ master? All that matters is that we have fun! Oh, this is going to be a blast!” Neo’s timid smile shines through as they return the hug.

“You guys are sickeningly sweet…” Citrus grins as they put down their deck of cards, “Well if Team Happiness wants to play and managed to rope the rookie in then I guess I’m outnumbered. Sure I’ll bite, I’ll join. What about you, Marie? Last chaaaaance.” Citrus slightly teases Marie as she is still the only one to not join yet.

“I’m sorry but I still cannot agree to such frivolous activities, we may be a small organization but work still needs to be done. It’s good to document these sorts of things for information purposes and we shouldn’t slack off, even if the incident-to-year ratio allows us to relax a little…” Marie resumes her paperwork, trying to focus back on her previous task.

“Marie’s just afraid she’ll lose!” Sunny throws out a weak attempt at bait to get Marie to reconsider.

“Agent Four, did you really think that would work on me?” Marie gives a disapproving head nod and sighs wearily. 

“Yeah, Sunny.” Callie happily sways to and fro in her seat. “Marie’s too smart for simple provocations and taunts, she just knows that Team Fire has a high chance of winning this time!”

“Cal, not working.”

“Wow, she really is scared. I thought our fearless Marie would be up for the challenge…” Citrus leans back in their chair as they muse towards the sky, “That’s not the agent I met all those years ago…”

“Captain, not you too!” Marie throws Citrus a scandalized look, paperwork completely forgotten, “You surely can’t be joining in on this silliness!”

“Just seeing what’s in front of me and stating the facts. And what I see is an inkling who’s afraid of upholding her previous Splatfest win,” Citrus throws Callie a toothy grin, who gives her own humored one in return.

“You guys are unbelievable…” Marie slumps down.

“I didn’t know Ms. Marie could also be afraid. That makes me feel better…” Neo stares at Marie in relief

“Even Agent 3 believes it…you guys are infuriating. You know that, right?”

Lotus gives Marie a small, sympathetic smile, “There’s no harm in backing away from a hard challenge, Marie.”

“Agent 8! I would hope that you at least would back me up here!” Marie was sure the universe was playing one huge joke on her.

Lotus giggles as Callie and Sunny high-five. Behind Marie, Ex-Captain Cuttlefish strolls towards the table, having just finished his daily float-exercise, “What’s this I’m hearing? One of my granddaughters afraid of holding her ground. That’s unlike a Cuttlefish!”

“UNBELIEVABLE!”

An hour before the Splatfest officially started, the Splatoon was gathered around the voting booth. Standing in front of the real thing, everyone was perplexed on what to choose.

“Well, we know what Marie and Callie are choosing,” Citrus surveys the Splatfest tees the booth jellyfish is advertising, “What about you guys?”

“I’m choosing Team Fire! Only the best starters ever!” Sunny pumps her hands into the air as she grabs a Fire Tee, “Me and Callie are going to smoke the competition!”

“Yeah we are!” Calle and Sunny join hands while doing a little circle-hop dance.

“Hm. Lotus?” Citrus hovers near the Water tees.

“Grass for me, there’s just something about their designs that I think are so beautiful!” Lotus shuffles closer to the booth, “ What about you?”

“Water.” Citrus thanks the jellyfish as they accept the Water tee.

“Huuuuuuuh?” Callie exaggerates her movements as she notices Citrus’ splatfest choice, “This is a surprise! I would have pegged you and Marie to be representing the opposite teams.”

Citrus shrugs, “Water’s fucking cool.”

“I’ve been favoring grass types more lately.” Marie strides to the booth and receives her Grass tee, “To be honest, as long as Fire doesn’t win then it’s okay in my book.”

“Hmph! Hater!” Callie crosses her arms and feigns indignancy.

“Sorry Cal, but Fire will never reign on top.”

“As if! Fire is…”

As Callie and Marie continue to argue about the best Pokemon starter, the remaining Splatoon members turn to Neo.

“What about you, Neo? What are you choosing?” Lotus stands near the booth, ready to hand them the shirt of their chosen team.

“Ah, well… I never really cared for the typing of the starters. I like to pick what’s cool in each game. Fire’s pretty rad, I guess. And well, grass can be cool too…but, um…” Neo looks down and fidgets with their hands.

“But what? What’s on your mind?” Sunny quirks their head.

“Captain might be lonely…” 

A short lull passes over the group as Neo’s words register for everyone.

“Huh?” Sunny looks down in confusion at Neo’s statement.

Said inkling rubs their hands together rapidly, “Well…it’s what I said! Playing by yourself in Splatfest has to suck!”

“That’s it? You’re worried about the Captain?” Sunny’s surprise comes and goes as she glances towards Citrus, “Captain’s always been the edgy, mysterious loner! They’ll be fine!”

Citrus grumbles, “Don’t describe me like that…”

Lotus sets her hand on Neo's shoulder, “Don’t worry about it too much, Neo. Citrus has always done their own thing. I don’t think playing alone in Splatfest will matter that much to them.”

“Yeah.” Citrus shifts from foot to foot, “I haven’t really been interested in Splatfests in a long time. It won’t really affect me.”

“But I do worry…” Neo mumbles, “Nobody should be alone…” Neo falters  and pauses, “...when having fun, of course…” They end their statement lamely, the second half of the sentence sounding disjointed.

Citrus analyzes Neo for a few moments, the younger inkling squirming underneath the intense gaze, “...It’s fine, kid, you don’t gotta do that.”

“It’s ok! I want to hang out with the Captain! You won’t be alone and we’ll even have so much fun together!” Neo’s determination shines throughout their body, with them raising their head and clenching their fists tightly. 

“Aw, Neo…it’s nice of you to care about Citrus so earnestly. Goodness knows they need it sometimes!” Lotus lightly chuckles as Citrus crosses their arms and pouts.

“Lotus…” Citrus almost whines, “I’m not a child…I don't need a ‘splatfest companion’.”

Sunny puts both of her hands on Neo’s shoulders and does a hop-jump, “Captain! How cruel…you’re surely not just going to ignore our poor rookie’s request for friendship?” She gives Neo’s shoulders a small, heartfelt shake.

Citrus analyzes Neo for a few moments, staring at someone who clearly was new to the idea and experience of having close friends. The possibility that they didn’t have many or any people to go back to would explain why they helped Gramps so easily and also the fact they didn’t seem worried or in a rush to return back to the surface when in Alterna. The topic of loneliness must be a sensitive topic for them…

Neo stutters and mumbles out, “I-I mean, they don’t have to join me! Or, uh, I join them in this case? Either way, it’s fine! If the Captain wants their alone time then-

“Sure.”

Neo stops their rambling as they crane their head towards Citrus, who is sporting a soft smile, “I can see this means a lot to you, so we can be on the same team. Like Callie and Sunny said, this is supposed fun, right?” Their smile grows wider as Neo squeaks. 

“T-that’s not it at all! I just wanted to make sure you weren’t by yourself during the Splatfest…Sunny, don’t laugh!”

Sunny is chuckling as Citrus lightly punches her arm, “Don’t be like that, dumb dumb. You’re just as equally mushy as Neo.” Citrus then gives a small flick to Sunny’s head.

“Ow, hey. That may be true but I gotta tease them sometimes!. Who would’ve thought underneath all that was a sweet softie!” Sunny settles down as she wipes the tears from her eyes, “Don’t worry, Neo. I’m not making fun of you, just surprised with the stark contrast compared to with what I heard about you in Alterna! I guess that’s another thing that makes you the Captain’s little clone, putting up this confident and hero-like persona when you just have a heart of gold!”

At this observation, Citrus and Neo simultaneously pout.

“I’m AM cool…”

“Hmph.” Neo crosses their arms in embarrassment.

Lotus puts a hand on Neo’s shoulder, “If it makes you feel any better, Neo, it’s nice that you secretly care underneath your punkish exterior. It’s cute when Citrus’ grandiose veil of mystery becomes more and more obvious as you get to know them for the caring and loyal inkling they are!” Lotus gives a teasing smile to the squid in question.

“Lotus!”

“And it’s even more adorable when you do it too!” Lotus pinches Neo’s pinches affectionately.

“Lotishhh…” Neo whines as Lotus teases them.

Lotus giggles as Marie and Callie approach the group, “Ugh, sorry for that guys.” Marie sheepishly shuffles towards the voting booth, “Pokemon is a big thing in the Cuttlefish household…”

Callie grabs her Fire tee after Marie moves away, “Yeah, big Pokemon fans! With lots of opinions! We have this argument at least every season since the first Splatfest. Kinda our thing at this point.”

“No big deal, the turf battles start soon. I guess we go off and get ready then? I’m going to go rest and prepare myself before the matches start.” Lotus begins walking towards a quiet part of the city.

“Hm, yeah, that sounds good right about now. Wait up for me, Lotus.” Marie quickly shuffles to where Lotus is, both of them soon walking in tandem out of sight.

“Well, I guess me and Sunny will hit the training room. Gotta get warmed for the fight!” Callie slings a duffle bag with her Carbon Roller in it. Sunny’s Dualie Squelchers casually hang from her fingers, “Catch you guys on the flip side, alright?” 

Callie and Sunny run off towards the lobby, Neo sending them off with a big wave and Citrus a small nod. The Fire team duo’s laughter fades in the distance as the sounds of mini crowds and festival-going replace it. It’s relatively quiet as Neo and Citrus continue staring off.

“So…..” Neo twiddles their thumbs as they look off towards the jellyfish setting up the parade floats.

“Wanna grab something to eat?” Citrus strolls toward one of the food booths.

“Huh?” Neo jogs to catch up with Citrus’ pace.

“We’re gonna have fun right? I plan on going for at least 5 hours today, be warned.” They take out their wallet as they spot a good selection of foods, “We should have enough energy if we don’t wanna crash.”

“F-f-five hours!? Are you crazy!? How can someone even last that long!?” Neo’s startled face makes Citrus burst out laughing.

“Me and the rest of the Splatoon would go for longer actually. Back in Inkopolis, splatfests only lasted for 24 hours. So we had to do as much as possible as our bodies would allow. It’s nice in a way that Splatsville has 48-hour splatfests, gives us more time to earn super sea snails, yeah?” Citrus turns around to face Neo, “It’s good too, as agents we need to be able to have long-lasting staminas. Am I right, Agent 3?” Citrus gives off their standard commanding air as they suddenly seem taller and more confident. 

“A-a–of course, Captain!” Neo stands up impeccably straighter as they steel their face into something of extreme determination.

Citrus stares at them for a few moments before chuckling softly, “I’m just messing with you, kid. We don’t let work seep over into our downtime here in the Splatoon. If the downtime helps you in work then that’s just an added bonus. I’m especially not going to go hard on you, rookie. You’re only 14, gotta let you still be a kid at the end of the day.” Citrus gives Neo a heartfelt ruffle, making them have a particularly childish pout.

“I can handle it! I’m an agent now so I should try to improve myself as much as possible! I-”

“Nope.” Citrus turns back around to the food stall, assessing the different options.

“But I-”

“You’re the baby of the team now, you better be ready because you get special privileges for the next few years.” Citrus puts their wallet away, “What do you think you’re going to get?”

“Um…I’m not really sure. I haven’t seen some of these foods before…you choose for me.” Neo eyes the various sphere-shaped foods in wonder.

“Sure, you seem to be eyeing that takoyaki and dango pretty hard. We can have that then.” Citrus hands a 20-dollar bill to the jellyfish vendor, “3 boats of takoyaki: one extra fried, one extra bonito flakes, and one extra sauce plus 4 skewers of dango, half mitarashi half kinako.”

“Wh- hey!” Neo steps closer to the stall and takes out their own wallet. “That’s a lot of food you’re buying. At least let me pay for half!”

“Oh? Someone wants to split the bill?”

“Of course! You’re the captain so I should treat you to-”

“Well, if I’m the captain then the captain's orders say you’re not allowed to pay tonight.”  Citrus smirks down at Neo as they push the other’s wallet away, “Did you not hear me? As long as we’re together, I’m the one treating you.”

“But…I-”

“No ifs, ands, or buts. C’mon, kid, just let me do this.” Citrus’ smirk turns into something softer as they are handed the food by the vendor.

“Mm…okay. But at least let me help you carry this stuff!” Neo holds all 4 dango skewers between their fingers, shuffling off towards an empty bench.

Citrus laughs lightly, “Sure, kid, thanks.” They hold the three boats securely in their arms and make their way toward Neo.

Neo sits on the bench and then promptly gets up, “Uh, I just realized we should have some drinks. There’s a vending machine nearby.” Neo hands the skewers to Citrus after they set the takoyaki down, “What type of soda would you like?”

“Water. Unless you wanna have a possible stomach ache later?” 

“Ah, you’re right. Ok, two waters coming up!” Neo retrieves their wallet from their back pocket. As they go to pop it open, it’s suddenly whisked away from their hands and a green and orange one replaces its spot.

“Hey!” 

“I’m paying for the drinks tonight.” Citrus holds Neo’s wallet up in the air above their head.

“Come on, Captain! At least let me buy you something!” Neo makes a desperate yet failing attempt to jump up and grab their wallet from Citrus’ hands, who has a good foot and a half of height above the younger inkling.

“Oof, you’re so close but I don’t think you’ll get it. I guess you’ll have to use my card then…” Citrus occasionally brings the wallet closer to the ground and then swipes it back to the sky when Neo makes attempts to get it.

“Hmph, you’re unbelievable…”

“I think I’m funny actually.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Being bested simply by tallness alone, Neo grumbles as they make their way toward the vending machines with Citrus’ card.

With Neo far away enough, Citrus brings down their hand and tucks the wallet in their jacket pocket. “Works every time.”

Sitting back down on the bench, Citrus uses their free hand to swipe leaves and various trash off. Placing the takoyaki boats in the middle, they place napkins all around to create a makeshift eating space. Citrus stares at the dango in their hand, not really having a suitable place to put them down. Luckily Neo comes back with 4 bottles of water.

“I was going to buy 2 but then I thought over what you said and if we’re going to be going for awhile, we should drink water throughout the night. Y’know, so we don’t hurt ourselves. Also, sorry, the vending machine had some bad brands of water so I just went with the expensive ones. I know atleast those don’t taste like metal coins or stale air.” Neo places half of the bottles down next to Citrus’ feet.

“It’s fine, I told you, I don’t mind spending on you. Also good thinking, always good to stay hydrated.” Citrus cracks open one of the bottles and pauses, “Nice work, agent.” 

Neo beams at the praise.

Sitting down finally, Citrus hands Neo one of the kinako dango. “I’ll let you try this one first. It can be an acquired taste so let’s see how you like it.” 

“Hm, ok!” Eagerly taking the first bite, Neo chews a few times and then stops with a perplexed look on their face. Citrus waits with bated breath as Neo hums and continues chewing. As they finally swallow, they smile.

“That’s so good! It’s a weird taste but it reminds me of peanut butter!” Neo licks the excess dust off their fingers.

“It is weird for sure. But I’m glad you like it, Sunny wasn’t very fond–”

Before Citrus can finish their statement, Neo chomps the rest of dango off the stick out of Citrus’ hand, leaving them with a clean skewer. 

“...”

As Neo happily chews the rest of the dango, Citrus remembers just how feral the young inkling could be at times.

“I’m…glad you like it at least. But, uh…usually we hold our own skewers as we eat them.” 

“Sorry! It’s just so yummy!” That is the voice of someone who is indeed not actually sorry. 

Citrus shrugs and smiles warmheartedly, “Heh, it’s fine. Here, now for you to try the mitarashi dango. If you liked kinako then you’ll love this.”

Accepting the skewers from Citrus, Neo immediately stuffs every sphere into their mouth. Citrus holds a laugh in as Neo’s cheeks comically bulge. 

Taking a shorter assessment this time, Neo lights up, “ ‘Ease arh sho goo’ too!”

“Glad you like ‘em, kid.” Citrus finally bursts out laughing as Neo struggles to swallow down their food. “Here, take a drink of water.”

Neo cracks open their bottle of water and takes a giant gulp, finally clearing their mouth. “...That’s good.”

“Yeah?” Citrus chuckles lightly.

“I’ve never had anything like this! They’re totally different flavors than I’m used to!”

“Oh yeah, you spent a good chunk of time out in the desert, huh? Probably didn’t have a diverse palette of food?” Citrus sets the three takoyaki boats in their lap.

“Nope! This is all so new and exciting to me!”

“Well, let’s keep being exciting then, yeah? Here. You may like this the best.” Citrus hands the boat with extra sauce over.

“Oh, this is that takimaki food? I remember some of my scrapping buddies would talk about eating this when they had extra cash.”

“It’s takoyaki. And yeah, it’s gotten pretty popular, at least it was getting popular in Inkopolis. Glad to see it’s abundant here in Splatsville.” Citrus pops a takoyaki ball with extra bonito flakes into their mouth.

“Takoyaki…ok…are we sharing?”

“Of course we’re sharing, I just wanted you to try each before you decide which one you like best. Then you can have the whole boat to yourself.” Citrus eats another takoyaki ball, extra fried this time. “And we’ll share one boat together.”

“Hm…ok!” Taking the toothpick, Neo stuffs the extra sauce takoyaki ball into their mouth. After a few moments of chewing, they pluck an extra fried ball and extra bonito flakes ball and also pops those into their mouth too, mashing each together. 

“Wh–?”

Neo chews a few more times then swallows, “...I think I like extra bonito flakes the best. But they’re all so good!”

Citrus stares dumbfounded, “How did you differentiate each takoyaki ball? You ate them all together…”

“Back in the desert, we would usually eat the food together to save time. Also running from the authorities. But mostly to just decrease the time we weren’t finding valuable stuff. Guess I just got good at figuring out flavors.” Neo double-stuffs two more takoyaki into their mouth.

“Alright, worrying past circumstances…but I’m glad you got something positive out of the experience.”

Neo beams happily.

Citrus hands the extra bonito flakes boat to Neo, “Come on now, let’s finish the food before the battles start.” 

“Aye aye!” Neo devours their portion of food as Citrus laughs, eating every bite of dango and takoyaki before Citrus even finishes a skewer of dango.

“Wow, you must’ve been hungry.” Citrus nurses their water bottle as they pick up a toothpick with takoyaki attached.

“I think I’m addicted…” Neo swipes up the sauce and bonito flakes with their finger, seemingly savoring every bit they can.

Citrus laughs, “Well, later I can buy you some more.” They pop the takoyaki into their mouth.

Neo pauses their relishing, “Buy me more? Oh, no, that’s fine, really! I–”

“Nope.” Citrus suddenly stands up, “C’mon, let's get a move on, I can just eat while we walk to the lobby.”

“Hey, we’re not done yet! There’s no way you can keep spending money on me!” Neo scrambles off the bench, catching up with Citrus.

“Wow, you’re persistent. Why can’t you just let me buy things for you?” Citrus munches on the takoyaki as they pass by the various festive stores and restaurants.

They puff out their cheeks in soft irritation, “Because then how will I pay you back? If someone gives you something, you should give them something back in return, it’s only fair!” 

“Well, since you're my friend and everything, I'm doing this because I care about you. So no paybacks needed.” Finishing their food, Citrus tosses the trash into a nearby bin.

“Well even still, I can't accept it. I just wouldn’t feel right.”

“Well, captain’s orders: accept everything the captain buys you. Done and done.” Citrus smirks to the side of them at Neo.

“Captain! That’s not fair!” Neo is full-on pouting now.

“C’mon, kid, just let it happen. Let us, especially me, just do nice things for you, ok?” Citrus’ smirk softens into something more parently as they ruffle Neo’s head.

Neo lets out a small whine, “Fine…only because you guys are so insistent about it. You all worry too much!”

“We only care so much, fixed that for you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Neo rolls their eyes in good humor.

As they enter through the lobby doors, the pair makes their way to the battle room to wait for the upcoming battles. As they settle in the back on a sofa, the nearby TV shows a colorful intro.

“Oh! This is Deep Cut’s news intro! They’ll be announcing the Splatfest soon!” Neo sits up straighter in their seat as they glue their eyes towards the screen.

“Is that so…” Citrus follows Neo’s eyes.

To be frank, this is Citrus’ first time seeing the newest idols’ news show. They weren’t one for watching TV, not even having one in their apartment nor were they very hip when it came to new trends. Besides Sunny’s occasional knowledge, the rest of Splatoon wasn’t really interested in the newest trends either. Maybe their ages were showing. Or maybe how out of touch they could be with the ‘freshest’ thing.

“Listen up! It’s going down…Repping the Splatlands, we are DEEP CUT!” Shiver’s calm voice echoes throughout.

“Anarchy Splatfest! We’re live!” Fyre’s bombastic personality shines through the screen.

“Ay! (Here we go!)” Even Big Man’s excitement shows through.

“You lip-synch, we drip ink…”

“Ay, ay, ay! (Shiver, Fyre, and Big Man!)” Big Man flaps his fins around excitedly.

“The Pokemon-collab Splatfest is on now! What’s your partner Pokémon type?” Shiver gestures towards the TV. The three teams are showcased clearly.

Big Man waves his fins around, “Ay! (Go vote for your team at the pledge box in the square!)”

“The Splatfest Main event is underway, so let’s see the Splatfest Sneak Peek results” Shiver adds a dramatic flair to her sentence, flourishing her fan around.

“Which teams won? I gotta know!” Fyre’s eagerness spills out as she bounces in her sitting position.

“Now, which team got the most conch shells during the Splatfest Sneak Peak?” A dangerous glint shines in Shiver’s eyes as she wave her fan around, pointing it towards the TV with bated breath.

“Tsss-to-tsss-to-tsssh…”

“Ayayayayayaaay…”

Frye and Big Man both excitedly await the results on the screen.

“POW! HAHA!”

“AY!”

On the screen, the results show team Water having gained the most conch shells, just barely after team Grass. Citrus’ eyebrows perk up, delighted to know that their team at least had something to account for.

“Great work on the Splatfest Sneak Peek, everyone! But the real deal starts now!”

“Ay! (Good luck, everyone!)”

“Checkout the current Splatfest stages!”

After that, Citrus kind of tunes out. They heard everything they needed to, they weren’t very interested in what the stages were, trial by fire and all that. After the whole Alterna fiasco, Citrus thought of Deep Cut as wacky idiots. They were happy to at least see them as somewhat competent during their day jobs.

“They’re pretty cool.” Citrus leans back in the sofa.

“I guess.”

“What? Are they not?” Citrus smiles towards Neo.

“Celebrities lose their luster when they individually fight you to the death…”

Citrus barks out a quick laugh, “I guess so, I guess so…” Citrus spins their Splattershot, “So kid, ready to rock?”

“More ready than ever, Captain.”

“Ok…just one thing, is that the weapon you’re using?”

Neo holds the Tri-Stinger close to their chest, “Yeah, why?”

“Ah, not trying to underestimate your abilities…it’s just I heard that the Tri-Stinger has a high-skill floor. I want us to have a good time, yeah? You sure you don’t want a shooter instead?” Citrus lightly taps the Splattershot in their hands.

“Well…the Tri-Stinger is the only weapon I seem to be good at, so it’s what I use.” Neo fires off a few shots to showcase their skills.

“Ok, well, as long as you’re having fun then I see nothing wrong. Let’s go.”

The first day of the Splatfest went by normally. Most matches were regular close calls, some easy dominations for Citrus and Neo and some brutal stomps by the enemy teams. By the time the duo decided they had their fill for the first half, it was already half past 1 AM. Even after the last few matches consisting of Team Fire thoroughly beating them, Neo still seemed happy in the end, albeit very exhausted. Citrus was glad that they could have some type of fun.

“Feeling sleepy, inkball?” Citrus nudges the younger inkling, who sways occasionally and eyes droop every so often.

“Hm, yeah…I’m not used to going for so long…” At this statement, they start dozing off again.

Citrus laughs while pinching their cheek to keep them conscious, “Well, we’re done now. All that there is to do is go to our lockers. Come on.”

Climbing up a few flights, the duo makes their way towards Neo’s locker. After they fidget with their padlock code for a few seconds, Citrus makes their way back to the stairwell.

“Ok, kid, my locker is another dozen floors up. After we’re both done, meet in the lobby?” Citrus looks back to see Neo leaning inside their locker, with their head completely hidden. After a few moments, a muffled noise of affirmation can be heard. Citrus finds it a little adorable. “Haha, alright then, see you soon.”

After Citrus makes it up to their designated floor, they are only slightly out of breath, “Haah…doesn't hurt to exercise whenever possible…” Once they make it to their locker, they input their code: 0515 and finally get it open. Taking off the ink tank and putting away their Splattershot, Citrus takes a small breather to let their mind wander. 

For the most part, their locker was bare. Splatsville’s locker system was fun, even Citrus had to agree. The idea of having a place to store your items and weapons that you could also decorate grew on them. Although their decoration was still sparse from the few stickers they got from Lotus and Neo, the rest of the Splatoon made up for it with their own charm. 

Callie and Sunny’s personality shone through the most, the iconic magenta glitter covering almost every inch of space and Sunny’s band posters that she was willing to give up to ‘make the Captain’s locker look less depressed’, in her words. Luckily, Lotus and Marie decided to give some relief to Citrus, Lotus only giving them stylish graffiti stickers and Marie deciding to print a few pictures of the other members that Citrus could hang in their locker. The ones Citrus treasured the most were on their door, visible the moment someone opened the locker. The first one was the group celebration after the defeat of Grizz, including Deep Cut and dehydrated Craig Cuttlefish. Citrus and Neo weren’t included as the captain was worried trying to make sure a quickly collapsing inkling wasn’t hurt after their battle in space. 

The one that was Citrus’ personal favorite, something they would never reveal, was the photo Neo took of them together when they were finally healed and managed to sneak a picture of Citrus when they were unprepared on their Sea Cucumber phone. Citrus was so confused by the new type of phone that they didn’t even realize they were photographed until a few moments later. At the time, they told Neo off for taking pictures of others unprompted but when Marie gave them the glossy polaroid of the moment, Citrus grew a fondness for it (they pretended to reluctantly take it from Marie when shown the photo). 

Citrus will never tell a soul but this photo means the most to them. They don’t know how but Neo managed to wriggle into their heart. Maybe it was the fact the Neo reminded Citrus of a younger them, maybe it was the fact that Neo obviously had very few people who would care about where they were, maybe it was the fact that someone so young had to face against something so crazy that they weren’t prepared for when they only were trying to help an elderly man. Citrus has managed to become very protective of Neo without noticing but they’re sure they don't really care at this point.

“Ah…I’ve kinda been standing here for awhile. What’s gotten into me? Reminiscing like this…”

Deciding they spent enough time at their locker, Citrus grabs their jacket and makes their way down to the front lobby. It being past 2AM at this point, the entire area is devoid of any life barring the receptionist and two napping octolings. Neo is especially not seen.

“Guess they’re still getting changed…”

Citrus decides to wait on a nearby sofa as they text the rest of the group that they and Neo were done playing. 

[02:05] popcultureclueless: me and neo just got done with turf war for the day. now i'm just waiting for them to finish up.

[02:05] bringbackbombrush: “day” lol

[02:07] bossmarie: Me and Lotus finished a while ago. We both got tired quickly so we decided to eat some ramen while watching other battle going on.

[02:07] bringbackbombrush: WHAT

bringbackbombrush: YOU GOT FOOD WITHOUT ME??????

bringbackbombrush: HOW COULD YOU !!

[02:08] octolingshakespeare: sorry callie, i was very hungry and tired!

[02:08] bossmarie: We can get some more ramen tomorrow, Callie. Knowing Lotus, she’ll be craving more anyways.

[02:08] octolingshakespeare: hey

[02:09] luckiestagent4: thats tru

luckiestagent4: lotus would probably order ramen every week or so

luckiestagent4: i think she was obsessed

[02:09] octolingshakespeare: HEY

[02:09] popcultureclueless: ramen sounds good.

popuculteclueless: me and neo had some takoyaki and dango earlier.

[02:09] bringbackbombrush: no

bringbackbombrush: way

bringbackbombrush: why do you guys keep getting food without me :(

[02:09] popcultureclueless: sorry, i wanted to make sure neo wouldn’t starve later on.

popcultureclueless: and its very obvious the kid hasn't tried a lot of stuff before so i wanted to show them new stuff

[02:10] luckiestagent4: .

[02:10] bringbackbombrush: wow

[02:10] bossmarie: They're doing it again.

[02:10] octolingshakespeare: it’s actually amazing

[02:10] popcultureclueless: what????

pupcultureclueless: WHAT…

[02:11] bringbackbombrush: ever since Neo joined the team youve been….

[02:11] bossmarie: Parently.

[02:11] luckiestagent4: real mother hen vibes cap

[02:11] octolingshakespeare: its so cute!!!!

octolingshakespeare: we never get to see this side of citrus!

[02:12] popcultureclueless: huh

popcultureclueless: i

popcultureclueless: do not

popcultureclueless: do That

[02:12] bringbackbombrush: oh cmon!

bringbackbombrush: an hour after you met them you were making sure they werent overworking themselves

bringbackbombrush: they didnt even go through 3 kettles at the time!

[02:13] bossmarie: Weren’t you the one to tell Callie to give them power eggs when they were low?

[02:13] luckiestagent4: dt think we dont notice u buying them stuff they like, mx. “i don't buy unnecessary things”

[02:14] popcultureclueless: i

popcultureclueless: as captain its only right that i make sure all of my team is happy

[02:14] luckiestagent4: lol ok

[02:14] bossmarie: You bit me the first time we met and I was trying to patch your wounds!

[02:14] bringbackbombrush: you punched me when i tried to give you a hug and we knew each other for half a year at the time!

[02:14] luckiestagent4: i was ignored for the first 3 weeks…

[02:15] octolingshakespeare: well…citrus gave me an ipod when we first met!

[02:15] luckiestagent4: yeah thats only bc they had a disgustingly huge crush on u

Citrus slapped the phone against their forehead. They felt like glass, like an open book. Apparently they were very obvious in how much Neo meant to them. And on top of that, they were now getting embarrassed from left field. Their phone released a few more pings.

[02:18] luckiestagent4: anyways whats for dinner??

luckiestagent4: pretty sure all of us are 2 tired to actually make smthg and god i do not feel like standing in line

[02:18] octolingshakespeare: i have an idea

[02:18] luckiestagent4: if its ramen

luckiestagent4: no

luckiestagent4: save if for tomorrow!!!

[02:18] octolingshakespeare: …

octolingshakepaeare: :(

[02:19] bossmarie: Maybe sandwiches? Those are easy to make.

[02:19] luckiestagent4: maybe sandwiches she says

luckiestagent4: marie!

luckiestagent4: its splatfest!

luckiestagent4: times like these r when u r SUPPOSED 2 order out

[02:19] bringbackbombrush: yep yep!

[02:19] octolingshakespeare: yeah, we don't order out a lot. lets go wild!!!!!

[02:20] bossmarie: Sure…ok. What do you guys want to get then?

[02:20] luckiestagent4: cap!

[02:20] popcultureclueless: what

[02:20] luckiestagent4: what r u feeling for? whats ur great wisdom

[02:20] popcultureclueless: dont know don't care

[02:20] bringbackbombrush: ok well i want pizza! with extra cheese!

[02:21] luckiestagent4: ooooo that sounds v good rn

luckiestagent4: i want cheese stuffed crust

[02:21] bossmarie: sigh

bossmarie: Everybody will just get their own pizza then.

[02:21] octolingshakespeare: plain cheese please!

[02:21] bringbackbombrush: meat lovers delight!

[02:21] luckiestagent4: mushroom

[02:22] bossmarie: I didn't say I was ordering the pizzas.

[02:22] luckiestagent4: u r now!

[02:22] bossmarie: Great.

[02:22] octolingshakespeare: Citrus, what do you want?

[02:22] popcultureclueless: mm

popcultureclueless: i dont care really

popcultureclueless: not in the mood for pizza this month

popcultureclueless: ill just share with Neo with whatever they choose

[02:23] luckiestagent4: as long as their child is happy then cap will be fine w anything! <3

[02:23] bringbackbombrush: a true loving parent!

[02:23] popcultureclueless: shut it you two

[02:24] bringbackbombrush: hey btw wheres Neo???

bringbackbombrush: ive noticed they haven't been talking in the chat yet

[02:24] popcultureclueless: still waiting for them in the lobby

[02:24] bossmarie: It’s been a little while already, maybe check in and see if they’re good?

Noticing that it's been a couple of minutes already, Citrus looks up from their phone.

“Now I'm starting to get worried…” Citrus leaps from their seat and sprints towards the elevator. Their legs are too tired at this point to go up any more flights of stairs. They hastily push the up button and tap their foot impatiently as the lift descends multiple floors. When the doors finally open, they immediately press the level 33 button. With a lot of time to spend in a 5 square meter box, Citrus’ mind wanders.

“What could’ve happened to them? I only left them alone for about 15 minutes…argh! I should’ve taken them with me, it was obvious they were exhausted! Someone could’ve robbed them or been stalking them or even worse…What kind of captain am I if I can’t even-”

The elevator dings, signaling Citrus’ arrival to floor 33. They dash towards Neo’s side of the lockers.

“Neo?! Neooo?! Are you still here?! You’ve been taking…a long time…” Citrus slows down as they approach Neo’s locker. Laying in front is Neo, sleeping peacefully. They managed to fall asleep tying their shoes, Splatfest tee still on, and hair braid half undone. Citrus can’t help but feel endeared.

“Oh, kid…” Chuckling to themselves, Citrus completely undos their braid, ties the other shoe, and securely shuts their locker, making sure the padlock doesn’t budge. 

“Alright, let’s get you home. Guess you’re keeping the tee with you” Hoisting them up under their arms, Citrus manages to get a good hold on Neo's upper body. Releasing one arm, Citrus snakes under Neo’s legs, performing a somewhat comfortable bridal carry.

Making sure Neo was safe in their arms, Citrus made their way back to the elevator. 

It was very awkward trying to maneuver around Neo’s limp body. Citrus missed the down button 4 times before finally getting it right. Neo was tiny but god were they still big, they were a teenager after all. Citrus decided to just carry them on their back, at least then they could use their hands more effectively. 

Hearing the ding of the elevator, Citrus stepped on, making sure the inkling on their back was secure. Just lucky for them, there were other people on the lift. Citrus lightly huffed, not feeling up to socializing with other people in any capacity. Everyone in the small box led their eyes towards the pair, obviously surprised by the fact of a young teen sleeping on a young adult’s back. Citrus shuffled in and stayed near the doors, trying not to pay mind to the other passengers. Luckily, the main floor button was already lit up and Citrus didn’t have to bother with maneuvering with Neo on their back nor, dear god, ask someone to push it for them. 

An older pufferfish lady gestures towards Neo, smiling, “Is she your sister?” 

“Ah, something like that. They’re like family to me.” God, Citrus did not want to do this right now. They’re very bad at small talk.

“Oh, that’s good!” The pufferfish lady chuckles a bit, “My son is an octoling so I try to help him however I can since I can’t participate in Turf Wars myself. I want to make sure he has the same opportunities as other cephalopods. Got to support our young, you know?” 

“Heh…yeah, I guess.” Citrus chuckles with the older lady as they lean their cheek against Neo’s.

Floor 25 dings and the entire lift sans Citrus and Neo get off. As the pufferfish lady walks off, she turns back towards Citrus, “Whether or not you guys are related, you’re doing good to make sure they’re at least having fun while they're young!” 

After that, she scurries off into the distance. An octoling boy in grass green waves to her, a smile on his face. As the elevator doors close, the last Citrus can see is the pufferfish lady hugging her son to death. Some of her spikes accidentally come out and poke him but he seems to not mind as he only hugs her tighter. Citrus looks on with an unknown feeling in their chest.

“‘Support our young’…’I’m doing good’…I hope I am…” Citrus looks to their side at Neo’s sleeping face, hoping that the care they have for them is somehow transferred to the sleeping inkling. 

Stirring, Neo starts mumbling in their sleep, “flank…reposition…shark quickly…”

“Oh, yikes. Turfed so hard they’re dreaming about strategy in their sleep.” Citrus rubs the top of Neo’s head, hoping their dreams switch to something more relaxing.

The elevator dings once again, signaling that the duo reached the main floor. Stepping out, Citrus briskly walks towards the building doors. Luckily, they are automatic so Citrus can continue their jog to the outside. Once out, the pair is met with a somewhat chilly wind. Splatsville may have been in a desert but it was still November and it was more obvious during the dead of the night. Though that didn’t seem to deter most people as there were still large crowds gathering around. 

“Guess the late-shifters are taking the party for now.”

Arriving towards the group, Callie is the first to notice them.

“There you are! We’ve been waiting for you guys for 10 minutes!”

“Sorry…” Citrus readjusts their grip on Neo, “As you can see, Neo knocked out so I had to carry them here.”

“Why didn’t you just wake them up?” Marie questions as she pulls on her boots. 

“...Oh. Um…” Citrus flounders as they are lost for words.

“There goes that parent-mode again!” Sunny teases Citrus as Lotus giggles.

“Be nice, Sunny! Citrus can’t help it.” Lotus smirks at Citrus while the latter’s cheeks darken blue in embarrassment.

“Lotus…you’re supposed to be on my side here…” Citrus tugs their cap down over their face.

“Sorry! It’s just funny for you to act like this yet deny you aren’t basically Neo’s new guardian!” Lotus sticks out her tongue playfully as even Marie laughs.

“You guys are being silly…” Citrus still hasn’t removed their hat from the face nor looked back up at the group.

“Sure we are.” Callie sarcastically quips, “Alright, alright! Everyone’s here so lets decide our pizza orders so we can get them once we get back to Sunny’s place!”

“Ah, you guys go on ahead and start planning. I’m gonna wake Neo up so their sleep schedule isn’t totally fucked up.”

“Do you honestly hear yourself sometimes?” Sunny smacks her palm to her forehead. 

“What!?” Citrus cries out in exasperation.  

“Are you their Mom or something? They’re like, 14, they’re allowed to have a little bit of a fucked sleep schedule. It’s kinda how teenagers work anyways.”

Marie looks over at Sunny incredulously, “Sunny, you’re only 19. You’re still a teen too.”

“Details, details!” She waves her hands around, “Important thing is that Citrus is a total mother hen and they should just accept it for once!”

“Am not! I just care about my teammates’ well-beings!” Citrus' whole face is now the shade of their Splatfest tee.

“Come on, guys, you know that Citrus has a harder time with expressing themselves. They’ll get there eventually.” Lotus begins walking away.

“I’m so proud of them! They’ve come a long way from their young self!” Callie follows the octoling towards Sunny’s apartment, dragging Marie and Sunny along to start finally ordering.

Said green inkling, taking out her phone and opening the delivery app, scuttled after her cousin, “Hm. Time changes everything…even introverted, stoic, practically mute workaholics.”

“Not with Neo at least!” Sunny adds in unhelpfully for Citrus.

“I’m right here!” Citrus’ cries are ignored as the rest of the group continues walking on.

Sunny turns around, walking backwards, “We’ll be waiting for the adoption announcement, Cap.” Her grin is the last thing Citrus sees as she throws up peace signs, regrouping with the others.

Citrus felt like they were turned inside out. Was it Embarrass Citrus Day? What was everyone’s deal with teasing about them and Neo? Was it so crazy for them to care about the kid? “Fucking…smug ass…Agent 4…” 

Citrus takes a few moments to calm themselves down, trying to ignore the others’ comments about their supposedly doting nature towards Neo.

“Alright, Neo, it’s time to wake up.” Citrus sets Neo down on their feet and nudges their cheek, “C’mon, you can’t stay asleep, your circadian rhythm will go out of whack.”

Neo mumbles a bit, slowly opening their eyes, “Mmmm…Citrussss…” They languidly rub at their eyes, a prolonged yawn forcing its way out of their mouth.

Citrus just about melts at the sight, “Hi, sleepyhead. Have a good nap?”

“ Having . Then someone woke me up.” A grumpy pout makes its way on to the younger’s face.

Citrus chuckles, “Sorry, but it's for your own good. You’ll thank me later.”

Neo stretches their entire body, forcing out another yawn, “Fine…what’s happening?”

“C’mon, we’re ordering pizza. And everyone gets their own. We needed you awake so we could figure out your order. Let’s sober you up as we get back to the group and we can decide what to get.”

“Alright…”

The duo walks from the city center, Citrus periodically poking and prodding Neo’s cheek to keep them awake.

A few minutes before the halftime report, the group was sitting around a table piled high with food. Everyone decided to have lunch away from the noise and partying of the city center, wanting a bit of respite before another night of battling. Everyone opted for a big bowl of tonkotsu ramen, deciding a carb-heavy meal would be good for later. Callie and Lotus managed to go through 3 bowls each already.

“Callie, at least slow down a little. You’ll give yourself a stomach ache with all this salt you’re consuming.” Marie eats the remaining noodles in her bowl, still on her first one.

Callie puts extra shoyu eggs in her now fourth bowl of ramen, “I can’t, Mar! It’s too good! Whoever makes these bowls got me addicted!” She dives right in.

Lotus slams the porcelain bowl down on the wooden table, blowing off a big breath. One look at her bowl can see that it’s spotless, “I have to agree, I’ve never had ramen this good before. Shame it seems to only be available during splatfests.”

“Wow, she even drank all the broth…” Neo looked at Lotus in amazement, also still on their first bowl.

Citrus goes for the bowl of extra kamaboko, “Yeah, this is just normal Lotus. She really loves ramen. Maybe even more than me.” 

“I’d believe it!” Sunny herself decides to hog the hot plate of chashu.

“No!” Lotus is preparing her fourth bowl, this time with extra menma and green onion, “Ramen and Citrus hold the same place in my heart!” She pours a good amount of broth back into her bowl.

“Wow, I’m so honored.” Citrus deadpans as they absentmindedly snack on the kamaboko multifoils.

“Wouldn’t take it to heart.” Marie herself even grabs a second bowl. “I saw this girl in post-battle and hungry-for-ramen mode, the ramen love can't be understated.”

“You guys make it sound like I'm a crazy ramen lady…” Lotus pouts as she nevertheless starts going down on her fresh bowl.

Sunny happily adds more pork to her bowl than necessary, “Lo, I was your roommate for like 3 years. We’re only saying what we’re seeing.”

“Hmph.”

“Hey, look! Shiver’s float! Let’s wave!” Callie stands up on her chair, waving as big and wide as she can to get the Octoling’s attention. 

Said Octoling was currently dancing and singing, performing her individual solo just like her other band members. Luckily they all had their floats very close together, possibly preparing for the halftime report. It would make greeting way easier. 

Once Shiver was in view of the group, Callie yelled, “HI SHIVER! FRYE! BIG MAN! WE LOVE YOU!”

Shiver looked in their general direction, mostly likely going to give the typical wave to fans. But when she saw it was the Squidbeak Splatoon, she wore a rare smile and made a fan flourish that could easily be disguised as part of her routine. 

Big Man and Frye’s floats started coming closer as well. Seeing Shiver’s movements, they looked in the direction she was and perked up when they saw who it was. Big Man flapped his fins excitedly and Frye had entirely forgone performance etiquette, waving wildly back and loudly shouting, “What up, guys!”

Callie sat back down, giggling, “Frye’s so fun!”

Marie does a small, effortless wave towards Deep Cut, which makes them freak out even more, “Mm. Very silly indeed.”

Neo finally finishes their first and only bowl of ramen, “The halftime report will be starting soon!”

The entire group decides to settle themselves before announcement.

“Listen up! It’s going down…Repping the Splatlands, we are DEEP CUT!” Shiver’s calm voice reverberates through the mic.

“Anarchy Splatfest! We’re live!” Fyre’s voice is even louder than before.

“Ay! (Here we go!)” Big Man’s excitement is even more apparent as he has more room to shuffle about on his float. 

“You lip-synch, we drip ink…”

“Ay, ay, ay! (Shiver, Fyre, and Big Man!)”

“The Pokemon-collab Splatfest is still going! What’s your partner Pokémon type?” Shiver gestures towards the giant screen behind each of the three floats.

Big Man determinedly points his fins down at the voting booth, “Ay! (Go vote for your team at the pledge box in the square! If you haven’t already!)”

“Great splatting so far, everyone! Let’s check out the Halftime Report.”

“Go, SHIVER! Hit us with the results!” Fyre’s shout reaches across the entire city.

“It’s the moment of truth…but still anyone’s game. The team currently in first is…” Shiver adds a paused dramatic flair.

“Ay…(I’m too nervous…)”

“Tsss-to-tsss-to-tsssh…”

“Ayayayayayaaay…”

The entire table seems to be holding their breath, anticipation just humming through the air.

“POW! HAHA!”

“AY!”

On the screen, the results are close but show team Water with more than a 2% win difference. Team Grass is barely ahead of Fire, pushing them down to last place.

Callie slams her head down on the table as Sunny lets out a pitiful whine. Marie cackles at their pain while Lotus softly pumps his fist in happiness. Citrus gently ruffles Neo’s hair as they wear a sheepish smile.

“I can’t believe we’re not WINNING this thing yet!” Frye squirms as she sees her team’s already two losses so far.

“AAAY! (Great work, team! Stay focused, stay positive, and show ‘em who’s boss!)” Big Man is elated at how much his team is succeeding so far.

“Oh, it’s far from over. Are you even ready for the Tricolor Battle?!” Shiver smiles wildly as point towards the audience.

“Team Fyre is ready! Not that we answer to you…Hmph!”

“Checkout the current Splatfest stages!”

After that the group decides to tune out the rest of the announcement, a lull of silence wafting over the table.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Sunny grabs her head and shouts to the sky, “WE CAN’T BE LOSING!”

“I can’t lose a second time in a row…” Callie has continued laying her head down on the table, mumbling all the while.

“Wow, the halftime results really demoralized them…” Citrus deadpans as they give Callie soft pats on the back.

Marie only laughs harder, “Ah…I love being right! I may not be winning but Water is!”

“Marie, be a good sport!” Lotus chides, frowning at her ridicule.

“They’re already suffering, Marie, no need to rub the salt in.” Citrus was currently trying to pull Sunny’s hand away from face.

“Fine…I got my amusement anyway.” She goes back to mindlessly chewing her noodles.

Callie slides her head up the table, setting her chin down instead, “Can’t believe Water is going to win again…” She suddenly perks up fully, lifting her head, “Oh but this is good for Neo! Their first Splatfest and it’s going to be a W!” She clasps her hands together and does a little shuffle.

“Hm. You don’t know that. Grass could come in for the win or Fire could even be the underdog that catches everyone off guard.” Citrus leans back in their chair as they smirk, “Let’s not call the ball just yet.”

“Mm, yeah, the Captain’s right. It would be too early to say who’s going to win. Even if I would like us to be the winning team” Neo sets a soft grin.

“Oh, Neo!” Callie slaps both of her hands on the table, “Don’t be like that! You should have some faith! Besides, Citrus has been telling us how good you are! You’re definitely going to secure the win for Team Water!” She pumps her fist in the air.

Neo slightly flushes at the praise, “You’re just saying that…”

“You may be new to all this…” Marie’s flat voice pokes through, “But we all were watching you in Alterna. You already had a good amount of talent within you. Don’t discount yourself.” Marie playfully tosses an egg at Neo.

They catch it with their mouth, covering as they speak, “T-thank you, Ms. Marie…”

“Alright, are we ready to rock?” Citrus stretches, stacking their empty bowl on top of the others.

“More ready than ever! Me and Callie got some work to do, we have no place being last!” Sunny twirls her dualies, hopping foot to foot ready for action. “We have our honors to take back!”

“Yeah, no way can I accept being last! C’mon Sunny, we have some winning to do!” Callie lifts her roller on her shoulder, dashing off towards the lobby.

“Right behind you, Cal!” Sunny promptly follows her.

“They sure got fired up fast…” Citrus flops their arms down to their sides.

“Hm, guess they’re eager to start.” Marie finishes the last of her noodles, slurping them off with a satisfied smirk. “How are you feeling, Lotus? Ready to turf as well?”

Lotus is in the middle of wrapping up the leftover food, definitely preparing to take it home later, “I’m still digesting my food. Could we do a bit of training and drills first? Something to work off the food and prepare us better?”

“Sure, that sounds good. Here, let me help you wrap this up, looks like you have a lot of food to heat up later.”

“Yeah I do!” Lotus and Marie together pack the food up for later.

“Drills don’t sound too bad. How about it, kid?” Citrus languidly sets their Splattershot on their shoulder.

Neo promptly hops up from their seat, “No way! We got this! I don’t even need any practice!” Their confident smile shines through as they twirl their Tri-Stinger around.

“Haha, alright, alright. Let’s go then.”

The pair take off towards the lobby, Neo dashing ahead in excitement. 

This was hell. True hell. This was Neo's first Splatfest ever but they knew better: the defending team would wish they had chosen something different. Neo wasn’t dumb, they scoured Splatnet when the other splatfests were going on, the defending not only had to fight against the other two teams scrapping for a win but they also inevitably were the ones in last place once the Splatfest ended. Why did Big Man have to be so popular!? Yeah, he’s cool and all but this was not good for Neo! They would’ve thought ‘Third time’s the charm, Big Man can’t be the defending team again, right?’ 

How wrong they were.

Team Grass and Team Fire seemed to be empowered by the fact that they weren’t in first place.

Citrus and Neo must’ve gone through everything the other teams had to offer. It was staggering how many Team Fires wipes the duo encountered. Neo knew to not mess with Frye fans at any point. And Team Grass…they played dirty. From ninja squid flanking to unbeatable comps to the weighted unfavorability of the defending team, Neo was getting stressed.

After their 12th loss in a row, Neo was simmering. They balled up their fists, getting eerily quiet. They could feel hot tears pricking their eyes.

Citrus set down their Splattershot and slowly approached Neo, “Hey, inkball…you doing ok?”

“N-no…” They drop to the ground and curl up with their knees to their chest. “It’s all so frustrating…why does everyone seem to be better than me? It feels like I’m constantly being outclassed by a majority of the enemy teams…and this weapon doesn’t seem to be helping me! My arm is sore and while I can hit opponents, I can never seem to finish them off. I always get splatted before I realize what’s happening.” They massage their right arm as tears threaten to spill further. 

Citrus sits down next to them and gently takes the Tri-Stinger from their hands, “Ok, well…firstly: didn’t you yourself say you only started turfing a few weeks ago? Of course you’re not as good as the majority of other players! You just don’t have the experience yet, don’t let it get you down!” They give Neo a heartfelt head rub. This causes the younger inkling to slowly peek their eyes from under their arms.

“And secondly…” Citrus gives a sympathetic smile, “You’re kinda a one trick pony, you’re using this Tri-Stinger like, obsessively, I haven’t seen you use any other weapon before now that I think about it.” Neo looks away guiltily, “Hey! I’m not mad or lecturing you or anything! I’m just saying…you may have more fun if you use a weapon that’s easier on the hands and doesn't require a lot to master.” Citrus pulls Neo in a small side hug. “I just want you to go easy on yourself, ok?”

By now, Neo has completely uncurled themself and was now sitting limply on the floor. “Mm…ok…” They start fiddling with their fingers.

“Hmmm, something the matter?”

“I don’t really–ah, I’m not familiar with a lot of the weapons…”The hand fiddling turns into hand wringing.

“Hey, stop that.” Citrus takes Neo’s hands, separates them, and places them calmly in their lap. “No need to get so nervous about it, I know you’re still new to this. Though, weren't Alterna’s challenges a good taste tester for the different weapons?”

“I mean, yeah, but, I don't know. I got to try a lot of different things but I feel like it wasn’t enough…time, I guess I can say? Some of the missions were very quick and some weapons only showed up once the whole time and then of course the whole situation was…y’know.”

“It’s ok, kid. You don’t gotta explain the last point, I getcha.” Citrus rises to their feet, “Well, that’s fine. We all gotta start from somewhere anyways. I would say you could use something like a roller or the dualies but maybe we should start from square 1, make sure you learn properly. How do you feel about shooters?”

“They scare me.”

Citrus barks out into a laughing fit.

“Don't laugh!”

“I’m, hehehe…sorry, kid. It’s just–haha–you said it so seriously!”

“I am serious!”

Citrus laughs die down. “But why? Shooters are like one of the easiest classes you can learn.”

“I just don’t get them, ok!” Neo pouts but Citrus can tell it’s all in good fun.

“It’s ok, I’ll teach you. Since you’ll most likely be in Turf Wars, you should focus on painting as you learn. At least you can be of help to your team in that way. Probably also a weapon with some range on it, your chances of splatting the enemy increase that way. Hm, I would say the Splattershot Pro but the Angle Shooter doesn’t really help you if you're not one for chasing nor does it ink, hmmm…”

Citrus paces around as Neo gets up themself and joins them near the lobby doors.

“...Got it!” Citrus whips around and smiles at Neo, “Let’s start with the Splash-o-matic! High fire-rate, accurate aiming, and it comes with a burst bomb! It’ll force you to aim, ensures that your enemies are splatted when you do aim, and the burst bomb is perfect for instantaneous damage or as a health chipper. Once you get that down, let's see if you’re ready for the Flingza Roller and Slosher, ok?” Citrus jogs over to the lobby elevator going up to the lockers.  “Let’s get started, yeah?”

With a new sense of confidence, Neo follows after, “Alright, I got this!”

“I’m…dead tired.” Marie opted to lay on the floor, not having enough energy to even climb up on the couch.

“Why do we do this to ourselves?” Lotus is resting her head over the couch arm, eyes closed.

“Because it’s so fun.” Sunny is at the other side of the couch, slowly munching on her Chinese takeout lo mein. 

“At least it’s over with.” Callie stole the pleather chair all to herself with a large blanket draped over her, also stealing all of the shrimp-fried rice.

On a smaller blanket with two pillows rested Citrus and Neo. They were situated in front of the TV, Marinatrix playing in the background. Somewhere halfway through the first movie, Neo completely passed out. Citrus managed to stay awake though at this point in the night they were barely hanging on.

The entire team decided to once again crash at Sunny’s apartment since her place was the only one within walking distance of the lobby and once again they all decided to tire themselves out too much to go to another person’s place. Luckily, Sunny was more than fine with the circumstances. The reason they tired themselves out so was because they decided that for the last 7 hours of the Splatfest they would simply grind. Not for cash, not for gear EXP, but for the catalog points. Apparently unknown to the entire Splatoon besides Neo, catalogs were a thing and gave out some nice rewards for completing each level. Neo only decided to tell them this after the first day of the Splatfest. It never occurred to the young inkling that their older friends didn’t know about this Splatsville commodity.

Once hearing this, everyone was determined to finish the catalog, even if they had around 17 days to complete that, which would be notoriously hard. The rewards were worth it, even the Captain commenting that they ‘were pretty cool’. Even though they missed 2 entire months of possible point earning, that didn't stop them from spending the last hours of Splatfest playing as many games as possible. Yeah, they were tired, but everyone managed to get at least 25 levels off the whole thing. They would care about aching muscles and stiff backs in the morning. 

“How long until the results come in?” Citrus loudly yawns as they pause Marinatrix Reloaded.

“5 minutes…” Marie mumbles, still on the carpet. “Sunny, could you hand me the spring rolls?”

Sunny wordlessly tosses the crinkly bag down on Marie’s head, making her ‘oof’ softly, “Oh yeah, thanks a lot.” She sends a glare above her as she tears through greasy paper.

“You’re welcome!” Sunny discards her empty food container on the coffee table and promptly face plants into the couch pillows.

“Sunny! No! We haven't seen the results yet!” Lotus’ foot nudges her repetitively. 

“Noooo, Lotus, just tell me afterwards…” Sunny gets into a more comfortable position as she makes no move of getting up.

“No way! Our first Splatfest as a newly expanded team, we have to experience everything together! Even the boring results that come after we’re all tired. Come, come!” Lotus cradles Sunny in her lap, arms around her midsection making sure she stays upright and conscious, “There we go! No falling asleep on us now, missy!”

“Ughhh…Lotuuuus…” Sunny whines but makes no effort to move, in fact sinking deeper into Lotus’ chest.

“It’s ok. Once we hear the results, then I’ll personally take you back to your bed so you can sleep the night away!” Lotus snuggles into the crook of Sunny’s neck, making the shorter inkling grumble.

“Moving on to other things.” Callie pauses her eating to address Citrus, “How did Neo do?”

Citrus stares down at the inkling clinging tightly to them, who decided at the beginning of the movie marathon that they would rather watch while hugging the captain. They are still sound asleep, somehow not woken from the conversation of minutes past. 

“...Too hard on themselves. Only been turfing less than a month yet they expect to be good like other people.” Citrus languidly strokes the top of their head, “But they’re a good kid. Very eager to learn and it’s obvious that this is a new experience for them. They seemed to gawk at everything, especially the Tricolor battles.”

“I will admit–” Marie sits up from the ground and crawls next to the TV duo “--even I’m amazed at the Tricolor battles, city of anarchy living up to its title.”

“Yeah!” Callie jumps up in her chair, “It’s amazing how different the Splatlands are from Inkopolis! I kinda like it.”

Sunny pauses her scrolling on her phone to retrieve the TV remote, “Hey, the results are starting soon. Wake up Neo.”

Citrus jostles Neo’s shoulders, “Hey, wake up. The results are going to be revealed soon.”

“Mm…” Neo holds on tighter to Citrus’ chest, “Just a little longer…”

“You and Sunny are unbelievable…” Citrus pinches their cheeks endlessly, “Come on, just get up for a few minutes then you go be a sleepyhead with Sunny later.”

“Ow, ow, ouch! Ok, I’m up!” Neo reluctantly disengages from Citrus and sits up.

“Just in time, it’s starting!” Lotus has an excited warble to her voice as Deep Cut’s signature intro song plays.

“Listen up! It’s going down…Repping the Splatlands, we are DEEP CUT!” Shiver’s voice remains normal but anyone could see the tiredness in her eyes

“Anarchy Splatfest! We’re live!” Fyre’s movements are slow but she still manages to exude fun and excitement. 

“Ay! (Here we go!)” But oof, Big Man lets his exhaustion be the most apparent out of the three. Holding that TV may be the most he can do at the moment. 

“You lip-synch, we drip ink…”

“Ay, ay, ay! (Shiver, Fyre, and Big Man!)”

“Ay! Ay! (Breaking news! Hot off the press!)”

“Hm? What’s got you all flustered?” Shiver looks to side in curiosity, feigning ignorance.

“AY! (It’s the Splatfest results! Get hype!)”

“Don’t need to tell me twice! YEAHHH!” Frye pipes up just a bit.
 

“Alright! Here we go…”

“First up, the Splatfest Sneak Peak results! The team with the most conch shells was…”

What everyone already knew, team Water, the three hosts kept it moving.

“Wow, they crushed it!”

“Next up…which team got the most votes! Get on the bandwagon for…”

“Ay…ay…(C’mon…c’mon…)”

“Tsss-to-tsss-to-tsssh…”

“Ayayayayayaaay…”

The screen scrolls through the numbers for a few moments before finally…

“POW! HAHA!”

“AY!”

It’s revealed that team Water was the winner in this regard. Neo gives a tired but happy ‘yayyyy!”. Team Grass and Fire never had a chance in this regard. Callie slumps down in the leather chair, despair clearly written on her face. Marie is shocked, seeing how popular team Water was.

“No way!” Frye’s look of devastation is clear.

“Ay? Ay!” (What’s next? Tell meee!)”

“Time for a Clout check! Open and Pro results incoming!”

“All at once? Hold on–I need a moment to cool off before all this excitement…” Frye still hasn’t removed from the votes results.

“Bumb-budda-bumb-budda-bumb-budda…”

“Ayayayayayaaay…”

This time, the entire living room is waiting in anxiety at the results.

“BOOM!”

“AY!”

Once again, team Water takes both wins and this time Sunny groans in frustration.

“Are you serious!”

Citrus gives Neo a side hug and rustles them, chuckling all the while.

“Wheeeeeew!”

“AAAY!”

“And last but not least…the part you’ve been waiting for…”

“Final results, right? SPILL ‘EM!”

“Listen up! It’s going down…the overall Splatfest win goes to…”

“Ay! Ay…(Ack! I can’t take the suspense…)”

Forget the previous results, this time the room is eerily quiet. Anxious for the end, nobody dares move a muscle.

“BOOM!”

“POW! HAHA!”

And miraculously, team Water wins the entire Splatfest. The room erupts into loudness, differing emotions waving through.

“Neo! We did it!” Citrus is full on hugging now, the younger inkling too delirious to really do anything.

“Ay? Ay! Ay! (How about that? We won! Team Water wins!)”

“M-my team lost? How is this possible!?”

“No! I can’t believe Team Fire fizzled out…”

Ay. Ay! (I’m so proud of our teamwork. We came. We splashed. We conquered!)”

“I’ll take this opportunity to congratulate my team as well. Team Grass stood tall!”

“Well, you can’t say Team Fire didn’t bring the heat! We went out in a blaze of glory!”

“I hate to say it, but Team Water really earned the W.”

“Whoa. Water starts with W! So, uh…what Shiver said. I can’t top that.”

“Ay? (So are you all convinced? Are we all getting in the Team Water pool together?)”

“Ay? (What I mean is…we’re all picking the Water-type first partner pokemon, right?)”

“Big Man! I thought you were the Pokemon expert around here!”

“If we all choose the same type, it’ll be harder to complete the Pokedex!”

“Aaay! Ay. Ay! (You’re right! I let the water get to my head! Forget everything I said!”

After that, the news is ignored as chaos still reigns in the living room.

“FUCCCK!” Sunny has full-on slumped in Lotus’ lap, with the octoling sympathetically rubbing her back. 

Callie hasn’t moved since the votes section, “I’m never going to hear the last of this from Marie, am I?”

“Nope!’ Marie, although tiredly, does a little victory dance, “Grass may not have won but Water eventually did in the end! This is still a win in my book!”

Lotus bursts out laughing good-naturedly, “This is the most I’ve seen Marie both excited and active!”

Sunny lifts her head, “ARGH! MARIE! Don’t rub it in!”

“No way!” Marie continues dancing, making Callie throw one after another barrage of fortune cookies.

“Stop that! At least wait a couple of minutes before gloating!”

While the four of them are preoccupied, Citrus leans into Neo, “Good job, kid.”

“H-huh?” Neo rubs a bit of sleep from their eyes, “Why are you thanking me? I didn’t do anything…”

“Awww, nonsense!” THey give the younger one a playful noogie.

“Hey!”

“I meant for turfing as a newbie! You did so good out there, proud of ya.”

Neo flushes heavily under the praise, “Oh…thank you…”

“No prob.” Looking back, Citrus sees Sunny shuffling to her bedroom, “You can sleep now too, by the way.”

“ Finally. ” Neo dashes away, heading to the guest bedroom. Citrus laughs heavily at the inkling’s eagerness for well deserved sleep.