Training (Agent 38 M/M Splatoon)

Chapter 1

"You ready to go?" A lime-green-tentacled squid bobbed his head around to look down at his octopus friend, who was currently tying up his Punk Blacks.

Agent 8 gave a slight nod and smiled, standing up to follow the Inkling out of the doorway.

Both he and Agent 3 knew that he was incredibly skilled in practically every weapon class one could imagine, far exceeding the skill threshold for your average squid or octopus. It was quite remarkable. However, the newly recruited agent saw no reason not to play along when Agent 3 told him that he had some "Turf War tricks" he wanted to share with him. The green squid always had something new up his sleeve, but Agent 8 was just as quick on his toes to keep up. The two had come to develop a playful cat-and-mouse-like relationship amongst themselves during their short time together, but of course felt a connection to each other on a much deeper level than that. No one could do much to keep them apart ever since the day their worlds collided in the underground.

As exceptionally skilled of an agent as he was, though, adapting to the social norms of Inkling culture did prove to be a bit of a challenge for Agent 8. Even though he was more than confident in his abilities to wield a weapon properly, he was sure there were more things that he could get to know about playing with them casually.

Luckily, both of his peer agents seemed to be more than happy to aid him in getting used to his new environment. Agent 3 had actually invited Agent 4 along with them to hang out so they could practice a bit and play Turf War together later, but he told him that he had to do something with Marie and that they shouldn't wait up on him. They decided it was best to just head on alone and maybe meet up with him in the Square around lunch time if he was free by then.

Agent 3 pulled out his apartment key from his pocket and locked the door behind him and Agent 8.

"Alright then, let's go!"

~

Despite the two agents arriving at Inkopolis Square before the sun had barely even grazed the sky, they found that the area was already beginning to stir with the opening buzz of activity. The Battle Lobby became available to players at 8 AM each morning (save for the once-a-month Splatfests where it was an open party all night long), giving early-bird train-riding squids enough time to arrive and perhaps grab some breakfast with their friends before the lobbies began to quickly fill. Currently, it was 7:29. The crisp morning air and the aroma of a nearby café pleasantly filled Agent 8's nose, and he happily sighed as he felt the morning sun beaming down on his skin. It was a lovely day.

"Geeeeez," Agent 3 sighed, putting his arms up behind his head and stretching as he did so. "Seriously?! I thought we'd be able to get in before it was crowded if we left early enough! I didn't even see that many people on the train on our way here."

Agent 8 laughed. He always knew that the Square was a heavy point of interest for Inklings, but he still found it fascinating how so many were willing to travel here even at this hour of the day. He curiously watched as a small group of Inkling girls gathered around one of the shop windows, presumably wanting to be the first to get their tentacles on the most stylish new gear once the stores opened for the day. "I guess it can't be helped."

"You're right... Should've known better," Agent 3 shrugged. "Ah, well. Let's at least hope that the testing areas aren't too crowded. C'mon!" Agent 3 grabbed the octopus' hand, quickly leading him towards the direction of Sheldon's weapon shop. Although all of the battle-related stores opened for business at 7:30 in the morning, the testing grounds behind Sheldon's shop were accessible 24 hours a day for the convenience of all the particularly ambitious cephalopods out there.

They made their way up to the large building behind the shop, relived to see that only a few others were there upon arrival. One squid seemed to be practicing her quick superjump technique in one of the large facility's various sectors, while another Inkling boy was working on his dualie-dodge aim with some mobile test dummies.