Splatoon: Unnamed [AU]

Chapter Ten

The rest of the day was uneventful. Rain had been left to stew in his own bitterness. His thoughts swirled in his head, he couldn't stop pondering the mysteries that had been left at his feet. Why were Eight and Captain Three keeping secrets from him? Who was Pluto's new "partner" and what were they working on? It all left him stumped.

At around 2:00, Rain was notified that Eight's mission had been successful, but he hadn't received any other details about it. What had they fought? Who had they saved? Did they have any difficulties? Ugh! Why didn't anyone ever answer his questions? He felt like he wasn't good enough. Perhaps he would just let Eight finish this mission, considering they were so much better than he was. Then, he wouldn't get on Three's nerves or have to be saved because he couldn't rescue himself. He hid away in his apartment, inside his room. He spent the day in bed pitying himself for his inability. Rain assumed Captain Three would be watching Riot for the night, so he went out to eat fast food for dinner.

The next morning, he'd planned to stay home and watch a few movies. He didn't want to be a burden on the rest of the mission, they were better off without him anyways. Rain had been in only a shirt and shorts, and he had gotten his streaming service ready to watch some of his favorite movies. When he got the text from Eight, he was sitting in front of the microwave watching his extra buttery popcorn pop. He felt a buzz in his short's pocket, and he took out his phone.

He saw the text message from Eight, "Hey, where are you? Izzy wants us to go on a mission together." Rain didn't really know how to respond exactly. He thought they wouldn't notice him gone, but here Eight was, questioning where he was as if he was actually important. There was this little hope inside him that they cared enough to include him, but he quickly squashed it down with the thought of how mad Captain Three would be with him for being late. He could see her disappointed expression already. Her angry, stormy eyes. Her scowl.. Rain tried to erase the familiar image from his mind. He took his popcorn out of the microwave and began to eat it. Rain guessed he was going to have to go today after all. He turned off his TV and set the remote on the coffee table. Rain shoveled popcorn into his mouth, finishing it quickly and throwing the empty, buttery bag away so he could go get ready. Rain went into his room and put on a cleaner shirt, some deodorant and perfume to mask whatever stink he had. He grabbed his raincoat and put it on, then moved on to his shoes. He put on his shoes in the front room while sitting on the couch. Rain left his phone in the apartment, not wanting it to get lost or broken while he was out there. Rain made his way out the door, and began to head towards Minnow's Cay.

When he got there, everyone was ready and waiting. Eight was scrolling through their phone, sitting in a lime green chair, and Captain Three was leaning against the hut. The Grizzco Industries boat was beside the slab that Minnow's Cay rested upon. Grizz and Riot were nowhere in sight, though one would be safe to assume they were on the boat. Rain noticed Eight looked a little nervous, but didn't bring it up.

Captain Three stood when she saw Rain approach, "Where were you?" She asked in a surprisingly non-angry tone. She crossed her arms, but didn't look him in the eyes.

Rain looked down at the ground nervously, "I uh.. Overslept." He lied.

Captain Three sighed, "Alright, it's better to be late than to not show up at all." Three said. Rain felt a little flutter in his chest, did that mean she thought of him as important? He quickly squashed that thought down. Captain Three motioned to the boat, "We're going out on another rescue mission, this is our second to last crew we need to save." She stated, "Today, I thought you and Eight could work together. From what Riot has told us, we're going pretty deep into salmonid territory and you two need to have each other's backs." Captain Three explained. Eight looked up from their phone and waved at him from where they were sitting.