Chapter Text
The training room is silent.
Only the sharp, dry bursts of ink fire from Team X’s weapons echo against the walls.
Vintage doesn’t need an audience.
He doesn’t need motivation.
He doesn’t need a team.
Shoot.
Reload.
Shoot again.
Perfect precision. «Worthy of someone Rank X», Vintage thinks.
His phone vibrates.
He doesn’t look at it.
He shoots again. Reloads.
Shoots again.
It vibrates once more.
He frowns.
“How annoying.”
He sets his weapon down with a controlled metallic sound. He walks toward his jacket—unhurried, but not slow enough to seem uninterested.
He grabs his phone and turns on the screen.
A notification. A message from Skull.
He stays still a second longer than necessary.
He exhales, then opens it.
«Happy Valentine’s Day.
If you’re not busy…
I’d like to take you out.
Only if you want to.»
The Inkling blinks, reading the message again.
“A date…?” he murmurs, barely moving his lips.
His expression doesn’t change.
But he doesn’t put the phone away either.
“Ridiculous.”
He locks the screen and places the phone on a small nearby table.
Then he goes back to pick up his weapon and resume training.
He aims. Fires—
Misses.
The ink veers off by a fraction of a second.
Pure silence.
He stares at the mark on the wall as if it had personally insulted him.
His phone vibrates again.
It’s not another message.
He just forgot to read it directly from the chat.
Even so, he sets his weapon down again and picks up his phone.
He reads the message for the third time.
«Only if you want to.»
That part irritates him.
Not because it’s pushy.
But because it isn’t.
Skull isn’t pressuring him.
He isn’t challenging him.
He’s… waiting.
The red-eyed Inkling clenches his jaw.
“As if I have time for sentimental games.”
He opens the chat.
Types:
«I’m not interested.»
He stares at the sentence.
Deletes it.
Types something else:
«I have training.»
Deletes that too.
Vintage looks at his own reflection in the screen.
“Tch.”
He closes the chat without replying.
But he doesn’t mute it.
He doesn’t delete it.
He leaves the phone face down.
Crosses his arms.
“It’s just Skull. That’s all…” he mutters to himself.
Skull, serious in battle.
Skull, focused.
Skull, looking satisfied after eating too many sweets.
Hachi once said Vintage seemed empty.
Skull would never say that to him.
«Skull looked at him like…»
He shakes his head, tugging at his shirt.
“Irrelevant.”
The phone vibrates again.
Vintage flips it over immediately.
It’s not Skull.
It’s a promotion from Crab-N-Go.
The disappointment is so quick he doesn’t even care how much he’d save buying a spicy combo meal for one.
He stares at Skull’s open chat again.
Sighs.
Types:
«What time?»
He stares at the unsent message.
This time, his frown deepens.
“Tch… How troublesome.”
He looks up at the ceiling, trying to think of something—anything—but it’s useless.
An alarm signals a short break.
He turns it off, frustrated, then calls the rest of his team over.
When they arrive, they sit around the area—not too close, but not far from Vintage either.
Vintage stays quiet.
Quieter than usual.
Red Sole notices immediately.
“Vintage~? You’re acting weird.”
“Don’t say stupid things.”
Double Egg, meanwhile, leans against the wall with his arms crossed behind his head.
“He’s been weird since he checked his phone like three times in a row.”
A heavy silence falls. Everyone stares at Vintage.
“You were watching?” Vintage asks.
“It’s hard not to when the great leader of Team X looks nervous.”
Omega lifts her gaze slightly.
She says nothing.
But she's clearly listening.
Red Sole smirks.
“Was it a confession? For Valentine’s Day… maybe?”
Vintage tightens his grip on his splatling.
“Focus on training,” he replies.
“Oh… So it was a confession,” says the girl with twin-tails.
“It was nothing,” he insists.
Double Egg steps a little closer before speaking again.
“Who was it? Someone trying to rank up with you?”
Vintage slowly lifts his head.
“If someone thinks a date will improve their level, they’re more trash than I thought.”
Red Sole laughs.
“So IT IS a date.”
Vintage goes silent.
That confirms everything for the team.
Double Egg lets out a teasing whistle.
“Who? Someone from Blue Team? Team Emperor?”
“Skull.” he answers dryly.
Omega blinks, surprised.
“From S4?” Red Sole asks.
Double Egg hums thoughtfully.
“Huh. Didn’t expect that.”
Vintage grows more irritated at their reactions.
“It doesn’t mean anything. It was just an absurd invitation.”
“And what did you reply?” Red asks.
A brief pause.
“Nothing relevant.”
Double Egg grins mischievously.
“So you didn’t reject him.”
The silence turns heavy for a few seconds.
“Are you going to keep wasting time or train?”
Omega nods and is the first to leave, taking her Splatling with her.
Red Sole laughs again.
“Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Mr. Cold Heart.”
“𝗚𝗢.” Vintage repeats, more irritated this time.
The other two start moving. Vintage barely stands, staring at his weapon.
Double Egg walks—
then stops halfway.
He glances back at him.
“Hey.”
Vintage doesn’t look at him.
“What do you want?”
Double lowers his tone, more direct now.
“Don’t treat him like he’s trying to take advantage of you.”
“What are you implying?”
“Skull isn’t like that.
If he invited you… it’s not because of your rank. It’s because he sees you differently.”
“I don’t need anyone to see me differently.”
Double Egg shrugs.
“Sure. But maybe you need to see it differently.”
“Don’t confuse weakness with perspective.”
“Don’t confuse pride with emptiness.”
Vintage’s eyes widen slightly.
Surprised.
Almost… ashamed of himself.
Double grabs his dualies and leaves the room.
Vintage stays alone.
The sound of gunfire fills the room again.
He picks up his phone and opens the chat once more.
«What time?»
Without thinking, he sends it.
He grips his phone a little tighter, biting his lip in faint frustration.
«Empty.»
Hachi had said that once.
Skull never looked at him like that.
He shakes his head again and grabs his weapon.
He walks back into the training area.
But this time, he isn’t thinking about hitting the target.
He’s thinking about whether he should go.
Meanwhile, Skull is sitting on a bench.
In front of him is a ridiculously large sundae.
Eight flavors.
Extra syrup.
Marshmallows and cherries.
He hasn’t taken a single bite.
Aloha appears behind him, practically singing.
“Skull! Meditating about life… or love?” he asks, laughing.
Skull looks at him.
“Aloha.”
“What’s wrong? You’re not eating. That’s serious.” The pink-haired Inkling sounds genuinely concerned.
The purple-haired one lowers his gaze to his ice cream.
“I have… a question.”
Aloha dramatically clutches his chest.
“A CONFESSION?!”
“…No.
How… do you… go on a… date?”
Aloha freezes—then screams.
“A DAAAAAATE!?!?!?!”
From a distance, the other two missing members approach.
“Who screamed?” Army asks.
“What a racket…” Mask adds.
The Octoling frowns.
“Explain.”
Skull speaks the same as always—monotone.
“I invited someone… for Valentine’s Day.”
Aloha jumps in excitement, shaking Mask.
“ROMANCE! ROMANCE IN S4!”
Army crosses his arms.
“Improvising without strategy is a terrible decision—”
“He.. H-hey.. get off.. me!” Mask snaps, shoving Aloha away before continuing. “Who’s the... unfortunate victim…?”
“Vintage.” Skull replies without expression.
They all stare at him, stunned.
“Oh..” the pink-haired one murmurs.
“The X Rank guy?”
“At least that’s more interesting than talking about Aloha’s hair…”
Skull nods.
“He accepted.”
“Wow. You’re going on a date with that iceberg.”
The orange-haired Octoling pulls out a small notebook.
“Good. We need to plan this properly.”
“…Plan?” Skull asks.
The other doesn’t hesitate to dictate.
“Mandatory punctuality.
Straight posture.
Controlled eye contact.
Neutral topics.
Avoid talking about defeats.”
“Don’t be pathetic,” the cyan-haired one adds.
“Pathetic?” the leader repeats.
Mask sighs, slightly annoyed.
“…Don’t try too hard. Don’t be so intense— hyuk.”
Aloha interrupts loudly.
“No! He has to! Sunset walk, sharing food, deep gazes~!”
Army smacks his notebook against his palm.
“None of that!”
“It’s Valentine’s Day!”
“It’s a strategic interaction!”
“Hyuk.
It’s just a date,” Mask mutters.
They all start arguing at once.
Aloha criticizes Army’s rigidity.
Army calls Aloha a “party animal.”
Mask declares they’re all irritating.
The purple-haired Inkling sighs and pulls out his phone, starting to take his own notes.
«Arrive early.
Don’t forget to pay.
Don’t get lost.
Don’t act pathetic.
Share ice cream. (Ask first…?)»
The Octoling notices.
“Skull. Are you listening?”
“Yes…” He pauses for a moment. “What do I do if… he gets upset?”
“Kill yourse—”
Aloha cuts him off.
“Vintage 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 looks upset. That doesn’t mean he 𝘪𝘴.”
“Ugh…” Mask speaks again. “If he used to invite you to train, it’s because he doesn’t hate you.”
Army adds,
“And if he accepted, it means he evaluated the proposal as favorable.”
Skull lowers his gaze to the sundae.
“I don’t want him to think that… I’m challenging him.”
Aloha places a hand on his back.
“Then don’t challenge him. Just… walk with him.”
The purple-haired Inkling finally picks up his spoon and tastes the ice cream.
“It’s sweet.”
“That’s the point, smartass.” the cyan-haired one replies dryly.
“I want… the date… to be like that.”
Army blinks.
“Sweet?”
Aloha smiles, completely charmed.
“That’s adorable!”
Army clears his throat and places a hand on Skull’s shoulder.
“Remember: proper posture.”
Mask frowns.
“I’ll do my best,” the purple-haired Inkling says.
And while S4 goes back to arguing about nonsense…
Skull sends a short message.
“4pm works for me.”
And for the first time in the scene—
He smiles.