More Priceless than Gold - Emperor x Reader

The Tour

"S-sure! Just let me get my shoes!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<3rd Person POV>

Ember waited as (Y/N) put on her shoes and grabbed her phone and keys. "Ready to go?" (Y/N) checked one last time to make sure she had everything she needed, and replied with a determined "Yep!" Ember held the door open for the new girl. After securely locking it, the duo made their way down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. A few minutes passed without them saying much. "Is there anything particular that you want to do when we get there?" Ember asked after a little. (Y/N) seemed to be preoccupied with her bangs. "(Y/N)?-" "Oh, sorry Ember. Did you say something?" Ember giggled at this. "Looks like the first thing you might wanna do is get a new hairstyle." (Y/N) felt a bit embarrassed at this comment. "Yeah, these bangs keep bothering me...they tickle my forehead a lot!" The other inkling looked up. "Well you're in luck, the hair salon is just around the corner."

The two girls walked into the hair salon, which was relatively empty. The newer inkling hesitated. "It doesn't cost much, does it?" Ember tried to stifle her laughter. After she regained her composure, she tried to reassure (Y/N) and told her it doesn't cost anything. (Y/N) stared at her, dumbfounded. "You're joking." This time Ember couldn't hold back. She burst into loud laughter and tears. The ruckus caused some of the jellyfish in the salon to stare. "No I'm not!" she managed to say between giggles. "Alright," said Ember after she had calmed down. "Let's get you a new hairstyle."

(to make it easier on you guys I chose a new hairstyle at random, and you guys already know this character doesn't want bangs. conveniently the hairstyle I picked out was the "wave" one...but you guys can fantasize. it's called an "x reader" fanfic for a reason-
okay I'll shut up now)

<Your POV>

Ember and I walked out of the salon a few minutes later. "Look at you now! You're getting off to a good start here in IS," she said to me. I felt my now exposed forehead. The cool air felt weird against it, yet refreshing. My hand then trailed over to my newly stylized hair, which was neatly swept to the left of my face. "Thanks!" I smiled at Ember. She put her hand on my shoulder. "That was only the beginning. Now let's head on over to the main attraction!"

It wasn't long before we both arrived in the square. Ember led me towards the middle where I could see everything at once. The first thing I noticed is that I was standing in the middle of two white arrows painted onto the asphalt. Heh, clever, I thought. Ember started to tell me where everything was. "To your left is the Galleria. It's where you go to buy gear and weapons, but you have to level up a bit first." She pointed to the right. "Over here you have the Shoal. It's just a chill place where you can hang out with other peeps you meet." Ember looked up. "And finally we have Deca Tower, the main hub for battles." I gazed up at it. There was so much to take in.

Suddenly I heard a record scratching, and the biggest screen on the tower switched to a display with a logo. Soon after, the logo shrunk into the top left corner and an inkling-octoling duo appeared on screen.
"Y'all know what time it is!"
"It's Off the Hook, coming to you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!"

"Off the Hook?" I inquired. Ember looked at me. "Right...you're new here. They're the latest pop idol group! The inkling's name is Pearl, and the octoling is Marina." Pearl. Marina. Their ink colors vaguely reminded me of the Squid Sisters.
"Check it! Here are the current Regular Battle Stages!"
Marina used the turntable to transition the slides on the TV. The two stages for Turf War were Moray Towers and Sturgeon Shipyard. My older brother had told me about all the stages there were back in Inkopolis Plaza. I recognized Moray Towers, but not Sturgeon Shipyard. It must be a new stage, so I want to try it as soon as possible.

Ember seemed to have read my thoughts, because after the news was over, she asked "Feel up for a turf war on Sturgeon Shipyard?" I agreed of course. "Thing is...I left my Splattershot Jr. in my roo-" Ember cut me off. "Oh that's no problem at all! Stay here for a sec." I stayed put while Ember ran into what looked like the weapon shop. Soon enough, she came back with a Splattershot Jr. in her hands. She handed it to me. "I persuaded Sheldon into lending me a rental just this once. I would've asked for a different weapon, but I'll let you figure out what you're most comfortable with later on." I looked at the weapon, then back at her. "Thank you so much again Ember!" She chuckled. "Don't mention it!"

We walked into Deca Tower and queued in for a battle on Sturgeon Shipyard. While we were waiting for more people to show up, I asked Ember what level she was. She sheepishly confessed that she was only level 17. I was shocked, but I wasn't in the place to judge.

As she awkwardly laughed, I noticed a hooded inkling walk in and queue for the same battle we were in. I couldn't see their eyes, but I saw light reflecting off...an ear cuff? They seemed to notice me staring and responded by shifting their hood. I heard Ember mutter something under her breath. Something along the lines of "...can't be him..." I looked at her and she seemed to be examining the hooded inkling from a distance. "Is something wrong, Ember?" I asked worriedly. She shook her head as if she was waking up and gave me a smile. "No everything's fine! I just thought I recognized that person." She gestured towards the hooded inkling. Their mere presence was intimidating. The blue coat they were wearing made them even more mysterious. I shook it off and pretended it was nothing.

Before I knew it, we were at Sturgeon Shipyard. Ember gave me the basic rundown of how the map behaved. Certain platforms would move and expose areas out of bounds. The map also had box-like terrain, so one needed to be aware of their surroundings. I tried to recall the battle strategies I learned from watching battles on TV. They would definitely come in handy.

The match was starting. Ember and I were on the same team, and our ink color was pink. We were up against a green team. As we rose from our spawn point, all of us had to shake our heads to get the excess ink off. While doing so, I caught sight of the hooded inkling from before. They were on our team, which made me tense up a little. But as they shook their head, their hood slipped off a little. It was indeed a male, and I caught sight of his golden eyes. Judd told both teams to be ready. We would be heading out any minute now, but I couldn't stop staring at this boy's eyes. Ember followed my gaze. Once she saw, her mouth dropped open. The inkling noticed and quickly put his hood back on. "W-wait! Aren't yo-"
"GO!"

A/N: heheheeehh leaving you all at a cliffhanger...anyway it's almost 1 am I should be sleeping k thx bai-