More Priceless than Gold - Emperor x Reader

The Setback

"Emperor...I'll be seeing you soon enough."

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

<3rd Person POV>

The Square King Cup was underway. Emperor was comfortably watching the matches from his throne, but he was particularly interested in (Y/N)'s team. It was pretty much smooth sailing for them. Their teamwork was amazing, and their strategies were well coordinated. (Y/N) didn't come across as a newbie at this point. With her trusty (F/W), she didn't lose sight of her goal. Her movements were swift, and her reflexes sharp. But even she has her limits, which is where her teammates come in. They do an excellent job of watching each other's backs.

But of course, the team's primary focus was to have fun. And that's exactly what they did. For the most part...

<Your POV>

The team and I were blasting our way through the tournament. The other teams put up quite a challenge, but I guess our synergy is just through the roof. Alright alright, no need to get cocky...

Before we knew it, we were in the quarterfinal matches. Our team was in the third bracket, so we had a bit of time to take a break. But we ultimately decided to head over to the shooting range to make sure we didn't lose our drive. After popping a couple of the dummies, I stepped aside for the others to practice. I pulled out my phone to watch the livestream of the battles taking place. Ian came over and started to polish his E-Liter while simultaneously watching the stream with me.

Soon enough, Emperor's team was on the field. I called Ember and Levi over so they could watch it with us. We all tried to analyze each team member's movements so we would know what to expect. Ian's E-Liter had one extremely shiny spot from him wiping it too much. He was so focused on the battle that he didn't bother to polish his weapon correctly, which amused me.

The monarch team seems unstoppable. The way they ink turf gives me chills...but it doesn't even come close to the chills that Emperor himself gives me.

What-

I mentally facepalmed. I really need to stop thinking of him that way. I don't want anything that could possibly distract me from the tourney. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt someone tap my shoulder. "(Y/N)? We're about to leave. We're up next, remember?" Ember stuck a hand out to help me up. I grabbed it and stood up. "Right. This is our last match for today, but hopefully not the last match of the tourney for us." Everyone laughed, and even Levi chuckled.

(timeskip brought to you by Emperor's side glare)

The stage was Camp Triggerfish. Everyone on the sidelines listened as the host introduced the teams and how the stage worked. "These campgrounds have narrow walkways with plentiful amounts of water underneath! But there are also many high vantage points where you can easily seize control! After enough time passes, the gates will be lowered to grant easier access to the platforms near each spawn!"

Everyone popped out of the spawn point and readied themselves for the cue to go.

"GO!"

We all headed in different directions, but Ian followed me so he could reach a good vantage point. I helped ink a path to the wall and continued forward. After a minute had passed, I realized that one of our opponents was heading towards the platform near our spawn, so I took it upon myself to intercept them.

I activated the ink rail and moved closer to them. They spotted me and tried to splat me while I was still on the ink rail, so I had to move unpredictably. Their weapon of choice was the Custom Jet Squelcher, meaning that they could use range to their advantage. I ran in a zig-zag pattern to avoid being hit for the most part, but the burst bombs they threw posed yet another challenge.

They tried to escape by running up the grate path that led to the platform, so I chased them. Our duel lasted for a pretty long while, but eventually I emerged victorious. The gates were starting to close. I ran over to the edge of the platform to jump down, but I tripped in the process.

"waAH- EEUGH." I landed on my back and became dazed from the impact. I laid there for a few seconds...

Then I felt extreme pain on my foot. Like a huge vice was clamping down on it. I lifted my head to see what was causing it and...

The gate had closed on my foot.

Luckily the gate didn't completely meet the ground, but it was still close enough to crush me. I screamed in agony. Levi had just respawned and saw where I was. His eyes widened and he ran over to me. Tears spilled out of my eyes as the pain coursed through my leg.

"Turn into a squid, (Y/N)! TURN INTO A SQUID!!" Levi yelled at me. I did so, and he eased me out from under the gate. Even as a squid, the gate still crushed me somewhat. He gently laid me in the corner beneath our spawn point and told me, "Just stay here until the end of the match, okay? We'll manage." Then he ran off without giving me a chance to protest. I sighed and turned back into a kid.

Part of me wanted to examine my foot and part of me says to be patient. I seriously hope I didn't embarrass myself. There were some stray spots of enemy ink near where I was, so I picked up my weapon and covered as much as I could without standing.

As soon as the match ended, I turned back into a squid. We ended up winning, albeit by a small amount, which saddened me a little. Levi led the others to where I was and told them what happened. Ian and Ember didn't say anything because they probably knew I was in too much pain to speak.

Ember carried me (still as a squid) out of Deca Tower, with Ian and Levi close behind. Semi-finals and finals were to take place the next day, so we were pretty much done. Ember put me in her lap and she carefully examined my tentacle/leg. I winced whenever she moved it too much.

"It looks very serious," she said. "We might have to go see the doctor. There's bruises all over the one area where it got crushed." Ember and I suddenly felt a shadow fall on us. We all looked up to see who it was. (Guess who?) It was none other than the monarch himself.

"I saw everything on stream. Let me see." Emperor gestured for me to turn into a kid and sit properly. As I did, he knelt down and held my foot gently. After a few moments, he stood back up. "It should be better in time for semis tomorrow, but it won't be completely healed by then. So take it easy for the rest of tonight." Emperor smiled calmly.

I felt my face start to heat up again. I looked away slightly and said "T-thank you, Emperor." I silently cursed myself for stuttering. He seemed amused at my embarrassment since he chuckled. "No problem, dear. You have a lot of skill. It'd be a shame if you wouldn't be able to put that to use tomorrow." With this, Emperor turned around and sauntered off, his milky white jacket flowing behind him.

I realized my team was staring at him for the longest time, which made me laugh. "Come on guys, I'm gonna need some help getting home."

A/N: ayyy this book isn't dead! I've been incredibly busy since school's literally just around the corner for me...I'm terribly sorry but please just bear with me over the next few days qwq