A Duel and a Clear Sky (Splatoon fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Susan rolled forward when she landed, stopping at the edge of the box pile. Her body still ached from the fall earlier. But she ignored the pain and turned to face where Two had stood. Where Two had been moments ago. The boxes were covered with blue ink, and Susan turned in all directions, looking for Two. "Maybe she dodged it!" she thought and tried to find any movement. "There's no way that hit!"

And then she saw her. Standing in the spawn on the other side of the warehouse, was Two. She stood completely still, watching Susan. It was like she was studying her. Susan's heart raced and her knees buckled. "It hit!" she murmured. Her legs gave away and she sat down, trying to calm herself. Doubt and disbelief washed over her, and she took a deep breath. "The timer ran out before the shot connected!" she thought and rocked back and forth. "It has to be!"

Suddenly, the speakers cracked and Marina's voice boomed throughout the warehouse. "Uhm... well this was an exciting match, wasn't it Pearl!"

Pearl's voice echoed through the silence. "Oh uh, yeah! That was wicked!"

Susan could hear that even they were uncertain. Two was still standing motionless, watching her. Susan felt like she could see through her, and looked away. Marina's voice boomed again. "Sorry ladies and gentlemen, the judges will have to discuss this for a little longer. In the meantime, we'll have a little break! See ya in a few minutes!"

Susan's head shot up. "Really?" she murmured. She had never ever seen this happen before. At least not in a sniping tournament. She stared at the speakers, half expecting Marina to come back to correct herself. But the speakers remained silent. "Hey miss?"

Susan looked away from the speakers and looked at an Inkling girl in a staff vest. The girl repeated what she had just said. "Sorry miss, but you'll have to go outside while we clean everything up!"

"What? Oh, yeah," Susan said after a short silence. She was still a little dizzy. Susan stood up, picked up her Squiffer and glanced over to where Two stood. She was still staring at Susan. A man was trying to tell her something, but Two didn't seem to hear him. Their eyes met. Susan couldn't see very well, but Two's eyes weren't mad. They looked calm, and like they were thinking, like they were looking at a very complicated math problem. The man walked over to Two, trying to tell her that she should move outside. Without responding, Two finally looked away from Susan, picked up her charger and walked out the door. Susan shook her head and dropped down on the floor and walked to the door that led out to the waiting area. She had barely been able to take one step outside when she was tackled by Pitri and Anna. "Oh my cod, that was absolutely amazing!" Pitri said and hugged Susan so tight that she could barely breathe. Pitri's eyes were red and her voice was shaking. Anna was more calm, a little sweaty, but she inspected Susan thoroughly with a really concerned expression. "Are you alright?" she asked and brushed Susan's hair away. "That fall looked like it hurt!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Susan was able to squeeze out of her mouth, struggling to breathe in Pitri's tight hug. "Are you sure?" Pitri half screamed. "Yes, yes, I'm fine Pitri!" Susan said and broke away from Pitri. "Look, I'm still alive!"

Theo stood a little away, and smiled. "Susan, that was absolutely amazing!" he said and took a step closer. "Like, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this! The way you flipped over Two and behind her was so cool! How did you do it?!"

Susan froze for a split second. "I... I don't know." she said. "I just sorta... did it."

The woman with the clipboard came walking up to them, talking with someone on a radio while trying to write something on a piece of paper. "Yeah... Yeah, I know... What do you mean you can't see it?... Then find a different camera angle, there has to be at least one camera that caught what happened!" she said to someone on the other side of the radio and then put it back into her pocket. "The judges are still discussing what happened, just wait for a few minutes." She said. Her tone was a little lighter than it had been when she was talking on the radio. "Do you need something? A drink? Or are you maybe hurt?"