Inkblot [A Splatoon2 Fanfic]

Chapter Twelve

Samudra was probably one of the most popular restaurants in Inkopolis. It was always lit up with bright lanterns and flooded with the scent of five star meals; all you could hear inside was the music from the band on stage and the excited cheers of guests as the chefs did wonders with the meals they made. However, it was this specific restaurant, out of the entire chain in Inkopolis, Conway owned; a birthday present from Mother and Father dearest, as he called it.

    Tres still remembered that one fateful night when he first brought Hachi here. After a Turf War, the Octoling came running to him saying a nice Inkling had personally invited them to his restaurant. At first Tres was intrigued, but upon finding out it was Conway who invited them, he had doubts. Tres was aware of Conway, how he was the spoiled rich son of two wealthy Inklings, but that night was when they actually met face to face; when an actual rivalry began. After spending a whole night watching Conway flirt with Hachi and demand the chefs serve him all the best foods, Tres vowed to never go near this damn restaurant again.

    And now, he found himself approaching it, hands in his pockets and rage on his face. When he entered he glared at the familiar sight of all the happy, loud, people. He didn't want to be here long.

    "Hello, and welcome, to Samudra! Are you alone or will the rest of your party be arriving shortly?" A pretty young Jelly girl greeted him.

    "I need to speak with Conway Samudra, is he here?" Tres said.

    "Who is wishing to speak with him?"

    Tres knew he'd regret saying what he was about to say, and sucked in a breath before speaking.

    "Tres Alon. Tell Conway it's about his... lover Hachi Umiko. It's very urgent."

    The Jelly girl gave a solemn nod then turned to quickly get the attention of a waiter that was walking by. They exchanged a few words, then she faced Tres again.

    "Mr. Samudra is in his office, you may go see him now!" She pointed in the direction of the office.

    Tres went toward a desolate hallway in the back of the restaurant. It was quieter here, which was probably a good thing. Approaching a door that had Conway's name on it on a gold plate, Tres wasted no time pushing it open. The office was dark, lit only with some dim, red lights and on three of walls were fancy portraits of Inklings in the Samudra family; the extra wall had baseball trophies, bats, and mittens along with a couple baseballs.

Conway was at his desk, and before him sat two girls in rather tight dresses that showed off too much. One was an Anemone and the other was an Urchinite; Tres remembered only Cephalopods could get sick, so he knew those girls were ok.

"Tres," Conway smirked toward him. "I'm guessing my precious baby spilled our secret~?"

All Tres wanted to do was pin that sorry son of a bitch to the ground and beat him to death for what he did, but no, not now. Not yet at least...

"I need to talk to you alone..." He said.

Conway gave a smug grin and waved a hand toward the two girls.

"Go ahead and take 5, ladies. We'll resume this in a moment~"

Tres watched as the girls gave playful grins and get off the desk before leaving the room. Once they were gone, Conway got up from behind the desk, stretching his arms over his head.

"What are ya gonna do now, Traci~? Beat me up?"

  The only thing Tres could focus on was the black tips on Conway's hair. There were so many different things he wanted to say right now, but he could only muster up the courage to say one:

"Who else have you touched...?"

"What, you trying to make sure I'm not sleeping with any of your other friends?"

"I'm not playing a fucking game, Conway! Who all have you touched in the last two days?!"

"That's none of your business, now is it?"

Tres had enough. He angrily ran at Conway and pushed him against a wall, gripping his shoulders so tight that, if he had bones they would break.

"Listen here, you bastard!" He yelled. "You're infected with a potentially fatal disease that is highly contagious! All you have to fucking do is touch another Inkling or Octoling and then they're infected too! So you tell me right fucking now if you've touched anyone else!!"

    "What the fuck are you saying?! Insane bitch, I'll call security right now!"

    Tres tightened his grip.

    "I know you've felt hotter than usual. I know you're always tired. And I know for a damn fact you've noticed your skin and hair turning black!"

    Conway didn't say anything that time.

    "You know there is something wrong with you... and I can tell you now it's something really fucking bad..." Tres spoke softer. "But I know someone that can cure you... all that I ask is that you stay the fuck away from Hachi and never fucking touch him again..."

    Conway still said nothing. Then that god damn grin appeared on his face again.

    "Alright, I'll play your stupid game... if I'm really sick with a fatal disease, where'd I get it from?"

Tres's grip loosened as Conway laughed.

"It was Hachi wasn't it? That's why he made you pick him up that day, huh?"

Tres slowly let go of Conway and took a few steps back.

"How rich is that! You keep talking about how he means so much to you, and you let him get infected with something fatal?" Conway mocked him. "I wouldn't be surprised if he hated you for this! I bet if I went to him right now... he'd run straight into my arms begging me to save him from you—!"

Tres punched Conway hard in the stomach and, in seconds he was on his knees vomiting black ink. All the boiling rage that Tres had been bottling up until now poured out and he ripped one of the baseball bats from the wall and held it up above Conway's head.

He slowly looked up at Tres, rubbing ink from his mouth.

"So what...?" He gasped. "What kinda position do you think you'll be in if you kill me here, huh...?"

As pissed as Tres was, he knew Conway was right. They were the only two people in here, if Tres were to kill Conway he'd be found out; there were even people that could confirm that he was alone in the office with Conway. Tres slowly put the bat down and stared at Conway vacantly.

"I'm going to pretend you suddenly got sick... then I'm running out there and telling someone that you need an ambulance... when they take you, they'll give you a cure that will make you better... all I need is for you to not touch any Cephalopods and play along..."

"What makes you think I'm gonna do this?"

Tres turned away and returned the bat to its place on the wall.

"When you know the right people, you learn the right things..." He looked back at Conway. "And I know the last thing you want is for everyone to know what you do to little kids around Inkopolis..."

Conway frowned, Tres felt success. The other boy clicked his tongue and sat on his knees.

"Fine then..."

Just as Tres was about to leave, Conway called his name.

"Tres? If Hachi had this too, then what are you doing about him?"

Tres gave a simple, fake smile.

"Got it covered,"