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Tako should be happy—really, she should. Everything was going well for her. She was only one promotion away from reaching the coveted Wasabi Unit, lived in one of the nicer domes, and had a general who wasn’t absolutely horrible. Yet.
“If I have to spend one more second standing guard, I think I might snap,” Tako bemoaned, her claws tapping on her Octoshot. Her restlessness traveled through her body as she tapped her metal-plated combat boots against the floor. The sound didn’t travel far; the false Saltspray Rig wasn’t nearly big enough to echo much.
“We can’t complain. The general ordered us to be on guard. We must always follow our duties, without fail,” The soldier stationed with her replied in a monotone manner.
Tako rolled her eyes, happy to have the cover of her goggles. This chick wasn’t helping either. She was new, so Tako couldn’t fully blame her for her lifeless demeanor, but would it kill her to at least try to hold a conversation? So many of her comrades were flat as metal sheets—it was grating. She sighed, trying to remind herself that the youngster was excited and had only recently been promoted due to Tako’s previous partner’s encounter with… the Agents.
Every Octarian knows about the Inkling menace; the story about those foul brutes stealing their Zapfish was told to every Octoling from birth. Those Inklings were all violent savages who knew only barbarity and used that nature to chase the Octarians to the domes almost a hundred years ago. Nowadays, the Inklings don’t even have the decency to send an army. Now they just send a few Inklings, as if this were some joke.
While the first pair, one clad in pink and the other in green, could hardly pass their frontlines, these new agents were a different story. This new enemy was a monstrous and terrifying beast. She was stronger than any of their troops could handle. Rumors said that she had kept the jaws of the Octomaw open without breaking a sweat. She was fast, outrunning all of the Octocommander’s bullets even at full charge and defeating him in a single sprint. She was even more horrific than the Inkings in their stories.
An alarm blared through the earpiece in their goggles, and both Octolings quickly stood to attention.
Well, speak of the devilfish.
“The inkling menace is rapidly approaching our Zapfish! We are the last line of defense! Stop them at all costs!” The general’s voice roared over their earpiece, and in response, the army of Octolings superjumped towards the incoming agents.
Tako too readied herself to jump before being suddenly knocked off her feet. She couldn’t even formulate a response; her partner launched herself away alongside the others, “I’m more deserving of being in the Wasabi Unit! That promotion is mine!”
Tako, in response, could only sigh in annoyance as she stood back up, brushing off her armor. She looked up and saw no one else jumping into battle; it seemed like it was too late. “Glad my team will always have my back,” she spat sarcastically.
She hardly had a break before a sudden thump behind let her know of her partner’s return. She snarled and turned around, ready to lay into her, only to be met with the face of an Inkling. Tako jumped back before realizing… this wasn’t the monster.
Oh, right, there are two of them.
Everyone was so distracted by the terrifying Inkling that they never bothered to mention her scrawny underling. It was no wonder, comparatively, this smaller Inkling seemingly posed no threat. Many speculated that whatever powerful Inkling ordered the agents around had sent her to lure the Octarians into a false sense of security; others said she was simply sent in as fodder. No matter the reasoning, she was still an agent, a threat to be neutralized.
“Alright, let's make this quick,” Tako said, brandishing her Octoshot and pointing it at the scrawny creature. But the smaller cephalopod hardly reacted, only lifting her brows in surprise.
“What? Never seen someone so strong before? I know, it’s difficult being in the presence of such greatne-”
Bam!
In the blink of an eye, Tako’s weapon had gone from her hand to teetering near the edge of the platform, covered in enemy ink. Her hands, however, were spotless.
“Wha- What…”
The Inkling’s expression hadn’t changed, only having raised her weapon. She just kept staring at Tako with massive red eyes. It was like the Inkling could see through her goggles, like she could see the fear growing underneath.
She’s going to kill me. This isn’t like practice. I need my shot.
Her body moved before her mind; survival instincts took control, and she ran desperately for her Octoshot. She didn’t even make it a meter away before she was tackled to the ground.
Despite how small the Inkling was, she managed to easily take down the Octoling and pin her to the ground. Tako could feel her heart racing. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was those razor-sharp Inkling fangs. This was the end. “Please, don’t! I’ll do whatever you want! Just please don’t kill me!”
Why waste my breath? She doesn’t understand a word I’m saying.
The Inkling's expression finally changed, her face contorted in confusion, “Kill you? I do not do that!”
Tako opened her eyes, “What… you’re not- Wait! You speak Octarian?”
The Inkling nodded, “A little. I understand, though! But I promise I do not hurt! Get Zapfish, then leave!”
“Oh,” Tako let out a sigh. “Wait, then why attack me?”
“Weapon,” the Inkling chirped.
“Oh, right.” Tako looked over at her weapon. It was too far out of reach, and she would never win a battle of strength, so… “Well, let’s start over then. My name is Tako, and I promise not to attack you if you let me up.”
“Hmm… okay, Tako!” The Inkling didn’t think twice before jumping off of Tako, finally letting the Octoling get a better view of her. She had two curly orange tentacles, pulled back into a ponytail using a small squid-shaped clip. Worryingly, the Inkling looked very skinny, but despite that, she had massive red eyes that were clearly full of curiosity and excitement.
She’s… kinda pretty…. What am I thinking?! She’s my enemy for crying out loud?
“Your tentacles move. Is that normal?” The Inkling pointed to Tako’s bright red tendrils, which were swishing around in distress.
“Oh, uh, no! I’m just thinking about something.” Tako tried to comb down her tentacles, but they had a mind of their own. “They’re honestly really big and unwieldy. But they’re required to look like this in the army. Don’t have much of a choice.”
Suddenly, the Inkling moved closer to her. She walked strangely, almost like she wasn’t used to walking on her legs.
Even still, Tako held her hands up in surrender, “Woah, hey! I said I won’t hurt you! Let’s not start getting violent!”
“Violent? I am going to put your tentacles up! Here,” the squid tossed her weapon behind her and let her tentacles loose to use the clip.
“Oh!” Tako lowered her hands as the squid sat down behind her and started to sing.
“Ya weni marei mirekyarahire. Juri yu mirekerason.”
Now that Tako had calmed down, she felt her voice finally bubble up. She couldn’t believe she was this close to an Inkling. She had never been in such proximity to her mortal enemy. And as the Inkling tied the obnoxious tendrils into a suitable braid, she happily answered every question Tako asked.
“What do you do? Where you’re from, I mean.”
“Oh well, we dance and sing. We have fun! We play turf war to make friends.”
“That song you’re singing, what is it called? Do you all sing it?”
“Yes. It is the Calamari Inkantation. All of us know it by heart.”
“Are all of the Inklings like you? You’re very different from everything we’ve been taught.”
She quickly shook her head, “No! I am very different. I raised myself. Alone. I am still alone. Many people think I am… strange.”
“Oh…” Tako couldn’t help the frown that marked her face. Isn’t she the Inklings’ hero? How could they make her fight their war and then outcast her? She was so nice and quick to trust her, even if they were supposed to be enemies. “Well, I think you’re really cool.”
For the first time that day, the Inkling smiled. A big, toothy grin that showed all her strange Inkling teeth. Her fangs didn’t look scary anymore. It’s a shame that smile was fleeting, it dimmed just as the dome’s lights did.
”The Zapfish. The Zapfish! I completely forgot I was supposed to-“
“Tako, hide,” the Inkling whispered.
Tako didn’t even get to say goodbye before her new friend took off running. She was about to chase after her before she noticed the reason for the Inkling’s warning. A massive, hulking squid covered in the ink of her comrades stepped out; in her hands was the struggling body of the Zapfish.
The monster.
Her friend ran up to the monster, only to trip and fall, landing onto the monster’s arm. But she didn’t get a second to catch herself before the monster forcefully pushed her away, along with the Zapfish. The little lightning fish seemed to calm down in her friend’s grasp, even the tiny creature understanding her friend wasn’t the threat.
The monster then started to speak, and even though Tako didn’t fully understand what she was saying, she very clearly heard ‘Octarian… eliminated… all of them?’
The monster wants all of us dead. But I’m still alive, unless she gives me away.
But she didn’t; her friend nodded. The monster seemed satisfied and began walking towards the entrance, her scrawny accomplice in tow. The little Inkling took one last look back, her smile wiped clean, before escaping through the kettle.
Tako could only watch on, willing every fiber in her not to take off after them. “I didn’t even get your name.”
“We’re gonna be going up some steps, do you need some help getting up, Sakura?”
“No, Miss Callie. Thank you, though.”
The agent sighed as, even though she had declined help, she was still guided by her brother. Agents 1 and —right, they’re not at work— Callie and Marie were ahead, acting like bodyguards. As much as she appreciated their kindness and concern, it was getting to be a bit grating. She knew she had to rest, the scary nurse shark told her so, but she was the hero of Inkopolis for crying out loud! Just because she had a few injuries didn’t suddenly make her porcelain.
Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts as they stopped in front of a door. Looks to be the entrance of some sort of office building. “So, Gramps wants us to meet with a new agent and those new hosts. Off the Hook? I think that’s what they call themselves. Oh, Sakura, the doorway is a bit raised. Watch your step.”
“Yes, Miss Marie,” Sakura sighed as the two older women held the door open for her while her brother gently guided her inside.
As expected, waiting for them in the confines of a non-green, green room were the two idols she had come to know very well from their continuing news segments, Off the Hook. But aside from the color-coordinated duo, there was one other presence, an Octoling.
Sakura’s brother, Pacificus, quickly stood in front of her, “An Octoling soldier? Are we forgetting what they did to Sakura? What is it doing here?”
That was it, that was the final straw. “Alright, I’ve had enough! I am not a baby, and- and you’re being so mean to our new friend. I’m going to say hi.”
Sakura practically stomped over to the other cephalopod, but was quickly met with the reality that she was currently half blind with the bandage around her head. She ran knee-first into a far too short coffee table and found herself imminently plummeting towards the ground. Or rather, that would have been the case if someone hadn’t caught her.
“You’re really clumsy, you know that?” The Octoling soldier chuckled as she steadied the Inkling in her arms.
“Nuh uh! It’s just… hard to see.” Sakura pouted but still smiled up gratefully at the purple Octopus. Even as she steadied herself, the Octoling took care to make sure she didn’t fall over again. “Thank you, new friend. I’m Sakura!”
“It’s nice to meet you, my name is Tako! I’m really excited to-”
“Wait… Tako!?” Sakura suddenly tried to hug the Octoling, but she did not reciprocate. She looked more confused than anything.
“I’m sorry. I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“I definitely remember your pretty tentacles! I put them up in a ponytail after all. Even gave you my clip!”
Tako’s face lit up at the mention of the clip. She reached into the little pouch around her waist. Surrounded by strange-looking erasers, there was the clip, a bit worn but still there. She held it up and looked the Inkling in the eyes, the one that wasn’t covered by a bandage—big, red, and curious.
“Oh my cod, it is you.”
“I can’t believe you’re here! I’ve always wondered what had happened to you!” Once again, Sakura tried for a hug, and this time, the Octoling happily let her. “I never stopped thinking about you.”
“That’s so sweet. We can finally spend some time together, yeah? And this time, no weapons.”
“Yeah! Absolutely! I can show you all the freshest places! Oh! There’s this store that sells really pretty earrings. Would you like those? And-” Sakura noticed the Octoling had gone quiet. “Am I talking too much?”
“No! Not at all.” Tako smiled, “It’s a lot to take in, but I’d love to experience it with you, Sakura.”
“Isn’t the sunset beautiful, Tako?”
The Octoling looked up from eating her finger sandwich to look at her Inkling companion. They had just finished another day of turfing, and the two decided to take the rest of the day off and have a little picnic at the top of Moray Towers. The place was surprisingly empty save for the two of them.
“Yeah, it's beautiful. Just like the day I got to the surface.”
But it’s not nearly as beautiful as you.
It’d been a long time since the two had reunited, and while they had changed drastically, one thing had stayed the same: she was infatuated with Sakura. Tako’s change was minimal; she was no longer confined to a tight Octarian uniform and could wear loose clothing, and her tentacles were a comfortable length now, too. Conversely, Sakura looked completely different. The once scrawny squid had grown into a beautiful Inkling. All of her had softened up, from her body to her face to her tentacle. Even now that she had only one tentacle, she still had those radiant red eyes. Their brightness seemed to rival the setting sun itself.
Tako had tried to lie to herself for a while, to say she wasn’t attracted to an Inkling. But she could no longer lie to herself; she loved Sakura. Anyone from the domes would have looked at her with disappointment or disgust, but she was free now. She could love whoever she wanted. Marina always said, ‘There’s no time like the present.’
“Sakura!”
“Yes, Tako?” Sakura looked up from her donut. She still had a little bit of frosting on her cheek.
Tako felt her cheeks flush, but steadied herself. “I- I-… I like you!”
Sakura paused, but simply smiled, “I like you too!”
“No, ugh. Sakura, I really like you.”
“I really like you too, Tako!”
“Ugh! No. That’s not what I mean.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Sakura… Can I please kiss you?”
Sakura’s face suddenly lit up in understanding, before she started giggling. “Yes, Tako. Of course you can.”
The Octoling's smile gleamed, and she quickly scooched over so she was pressed against the Inkling. She leaned in, wrapping her arms around the woman to bring herself up to her face.
Even her lips are soft.
Apparently, she was leaning against her too much, as Sakura suddenly fell onto her back, with Tako now pinning her to the ground–but all it did was make the two laugh. Some things never change. After what felt like a lifetime, but in reality was mere seconds, they separated, and Sakura’s eyes were glowing brighter than ever.
“Woah. So… I guess we’re girlfriends now, huh?”
“Girlfriends… yeah. I’d really like that.”
That sounds perfect.
