Great Turf War

Day 4

After the Inklings got their silver badges, they stepped into the empty room with another door present. Shio decided to open the door this time for the others. The three others left without much thought. Shio then decided to take a look.

It was a whole buffet. There were two sections of food. Inkling-style food had a little floating squid on top of the section, while the Octoling-style food had a floating octopus on top. The Octoling-style food section was a bit smaller. Shio heard that quite a number of Inklings liked the Octoling-style food, so the octoling rebel Shigiri didn't have the entire section to himself. There were also many other Inklings in the place, most with bronze badges, and some with silver badges.

Wow, there's a lot of people. Shio thought. The sound of Inklings chattering and running about made Shio feel like he could fit in. The background music was great too, creating a comfortable atmosphere.

"C'mon Shio. Let's go sit with our friends," Marie said. She and Shio searched for Callie and Sairento. After shoving through some Inklings, they found the two with a table of four. The two both had silver badges and were having fun talking with each other.

"Hey, guys!" Shio greeted.

"Well, if it isn't our boy Shio," Sairento welcomed jokingly.

"Who else could pass all three trials so effortlessly?" Shio followed suit. Marie quickly joined in on the fun.

"Who else almost died to a bo-"
"No."

They laughed, their joy merging with the crowd's. Even ruthless killers like Marie grinned. Suddenly, Shio noticed Sairento's Silver Hero Set had a strikingly different design than his own. As a matter of fact, his Hero Set was different from everyone else's. In the spot where his Silver Insignia was displayed, silver lines burst forth from all directions, like the rays of the sun. The lines were cut off in a way that it looked like you were viewing a distant star. Not to mention, the exaggerated cuffs of Sairento's Hero Jacket were lined with silver. One could never have time to notice all of the immaculate details of Sairento's drip.

"Dang Sairento, have you been stargazing?" Shio inquired. Sairento immediately knew what he meant.

"Why, of course! You haven't?"

"Yeah, that's why I don't have cool clothes."

At this point, Callie graciously explained, "Sairento's been at it again. Somehow he makes the flashiest clothing without compromising utility."

"How do you do it?" Shio questioned.

"Passion. Makes people do incredible things," Sairento said wisely.

"He probably lives in the clothing store," Marie joked.

"That's right," Sairento shot back a sarcastic reply. He followed up with, "I must say, you are quite the astute charger."

"Mhm," Marie had sadly reverted back to her kill-everything-that-moves state, but Shio was used to it. Sairento cleared his throat.

"Now then, a wise man once said: 'We are going to starve.' "

Callie looked at him funny. "Eh? I don't recall anything of the sort."
Sairento looked her dead in the eye and said, "We are going to starve."

"True that, I'm gonna steal all of the pizza," Shio the opportunist announced.

"Not so fast, old man," Callie challenged.

"Aw hell nah," Sairento sobbed.

The evening was delightful. The four shared stories and dreams. When the sky faded into oranges and purples, Shio had something on his mind.

"Guys, do you think we should have a team name?"

"Sure, what's the name though?" Sairento asked cautiously.

"Hmm. How about... The Squidbeak Splatoon!"

"Excellent. We're going to beat Melody in a rap battle."

"Pfft, my mom would absolutely flame you guys," Callie declared.

"Darn. Any ideas, Shio?"

Shio thought for a moment.

"Dunno. Guess Melody is gonna have to watch her door at night."

Sairento chuckled. Callie had that tired look on her face that said, "I'm going to kill you guys in 2-3 buisiness days."

Marie piped up. "With the approval of my grandpa, we could actually become an official team."

"Looks like Marie's gonna have to carry us," Sairento seemed smug about not having to do any work.

"Looks like Sairento's gonna be our main slayer," Marie seemed smug about not having to do any work. Of course, that was a terrible idea. Sairento liked to sit back and rain splatling bullets upon helpless foes.

Abruptly, a familiar voice boomed from the loudspeakers.

"Yo yo yo! It's gettin' late! Y'all better start going to your assigned dorms before I make you sleep in the parkour stage! Oh, and I forgot to mention that your room number is conveniently in your pockets. Thank me later!"

Shio reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that stated:

105

Sairento showed off his paper, which said 104. Callie and Marie raised theirs, which read 106 and 107 respectively.

"Seems we're all together, huh?" Shio remarked.

"Yeah, I guess we got some luck. Anyways, see y'all! Let's do our best!" Sairento responded.

"Hah! I bet on the first day you won't get a single kill!" Callie exclaimed.

"Hey, don't underestimate my splatling! You'll probably only get killed because of my great clothing!" Sairento exclaimed.

"I can't get enough of this," Marie replied snarkly. The four went to their respective dorms, with a team name and resolve, the first day of the Inkling Army would get ready for the debut of the Squidbeak Splatoon!