The center of Inkopolis Square was packed with a bustling crowd, at least ten times more full than the daily commute, as the city was getting ready to host the yearly turf war tournament that brought in thousands of inklings and octolings from Inkopolis and even places beyond it, all coming with the goal of winning first place with their team of three in mind. Currently, the welcoming fest was going on, the day right before the week-long event, and the plaza was lit up in bright splashes of color and buzzing with voices.
Team banners, confetti, flyers, and instructions on how to sign up decorated the walls of the buildings and littered the ground, but they were barely disregarded as inklings made their way swiftly from store to store, their arms and hands loaded with luggage, shopping bags, and turf war gear. Some teams were checking out new clothes or polished weapons to prepare for the many battles ahead, others were gathered around their team captain as they sat at a round table, munching on a shwaffle or a seanwich from the Crust Bucket as they discussed plans and possible strategies.
One inkling, however, stood away from the noise and excitement of the crowd, her back pressed against a concrete wall in the far corner of the city as she watched the bustling activity with a narrowed and watchful eye, a suitcase lying at rest beside her. She had long, cyan-colored hair that reached down the back of her neck and dropped down over and hid her right eye, while the left one, which was a light shade of amber, stayed revealed as it observed the crowd. She wore a Painter's Mask over her face, a Takoroka Windcrusher, small black shorts laced with pastel green on the bottom, and Arrow Pull-Ons.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered angrily in a low voice, crossing her arms, "you'd think that none of these inklings have ever seen a city before." Her eye narrowed even sharper as she spotted a group of three octoling girls laughing at something one of them was displaying on their phone, scoffing as she turned her head to one side. "And to think that they allowed octolings in here. I don't know what the officials were thinking, letting a bunch of the enemy waltz right into the heart of our city." As she grasped the handle of her suitcase between her fingers and began to make her way around the edge of the crowd, she whispered something under her breath. "Better not have an octoling on my team."
As she rolled her luggage behind her, making her way to where several cabs were parked on the curb of the street, waiting to take inklings and octolings to New Albacore Hotel where they would be staying for the next week, she decided to check on her own phone, hoping that the tournament app had been updated and she could check who she had been paired up with. "What do you mean, no service?!" She exclaimed in frustration as she jabbed her thumb at the screen, which only displayed an 'error' message. "Whatever," she shoved it back into her pocket and ducked into the back seat of one of the cabs, pulling in her suitcase with her.
"Hello," the cab driver, who was a male inkling, greeted her, but she didn't regard him and instead popped in her earbuds and began to play a song from her phone. He shrugged and started the car, taking off along the main street after letting another cab pass them. The girl inkling rested her head on her arm as she stared out the window, watching the buildings fly by in quick blurs as they made their way to the hotel. Suddenly, her serious expression dropped quickly as if it was a thick wall that took a lot of energy to hold up, replaced with many mixed, uncertain emotions. Sadness, anger, confusion-she looked so distracted by how she actually felt about being here that she jumped when she felt a slight prodding on her shoulder.
"Hey, we're here." The wall of seriousness flew back up again as she grabbed her luggage and opened the door, embarrassed and desperate to get out.
"Um, yeah, thanks," she muttered as she emerged from the dark shadow of the cab and into the bright light the evening sun was giving off as it was just dipping below the horizon, its colors washing over the silloutte of the city of Inkopolis that was now in the far off distance. As the cab's engine roared back to life and the driver quickly re-oriented its direction, the inkling began to make her way to the hotel's entrance, where a few inklings and octolings were sitting at the tables outside, drinking what looked to be fruit smoothies. She swept quickly through the front doors, resisting the urge to glare at the octolings with a snark expression, and approached the front desk, where two inklings were working.
One of them, a female inkling with short pink hair, looked up from a small stack of papers, smiling.
"Welcome. Can I see your ID you got when you registered?" The cyan inkling nodded as she pulled a small card with her face on it from her pocket and presented it to the receptionist. She took it and ran it through a small scanner, then turned behind her and grabbed a key that was hanging among many others on the back wall, handing it to the inkling. "Hakai, Room 863."
"Thanks," Hakai said as she took the key and made her way to the elevator, pressing the '8' button. As it moved up, she placed her hands in her jacket pockets, releasing her grip on the suitcase for just a moment before grabbing it again as the door opened. She stepped out into a long hallway lined with many doors. As the elevator closed behind her, she began to pace down the walkway, her eye darting from the left to the right side as she searched for room 863. Finally, she arrived at a door near the end of the hallway with a plaque marking '863.' She sighed, "finally," and fitted the key into the hole. After jiggling it for a few minutes, the lock clicked and she turned the handle.
As she opened the door, she released a small sigh of relief. No one else was there yet, so perhaps she could unpack in peace. She walked all the way in, closing the door behind her, and looked around. In the front of the room was a small living room setting-a long couch pressed against the wall, two small armchairs to the right and left of it, a coffee table in the middle, and a tv. In the back of the room she could see three beds and a kitchenette, but she'd look at those further later. She lifted her suitcase onto the coffee table and began to take small bits of luggage from it-neatly folded clothes, extra shoes, and a hairbrush, which she placed right beside her bag on the table.
She stepped away from her suitcase and looked near the back of the room. "Where can I put this stuff? Perhaps there is a closet somewhere over here..." As she said this and began to walk over to where the beds were positioned by a large, glass window overlooking the back of the hotel, she heard a click and whipped around, rigid as another person entered the room. It was another girl inkling-she inwardly let out a huff of relief-who had long, bright orange hair that tickled the back of her neck, flowed over her shoulders and even past her knees, and bangs that hung right above her eyes. She was dressed in all black, wearing a Skull Bandanna, a Negative Longcuff Sweater, and Black Punk Boots.
Hakai observed her with one eye as she stepped fully into the room, dragging her own luggage along with her, streams of satisfaction coursing through Hakai. "She seems a lot like me..." she muttered extremely quietly as the orange inkling finally made her way inside and closed the door behind her. Hakai approached her and stuck out her hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Hakai." The orange inkling looked up, observed Hakai for a few seconds, and then her eyebrows slightly creased, and you could tell she was smiling through her mask. She accepted the handshake.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Naomi." As Hakai helped Naomi lift her luggage onto the couch, she began to ask her questions.
"Soooo...which weapon are you using?" Naomi dropped the strap of her bag and looked thoughtful for a few moments.
"I'll probably stick with my dualie squelchers." Hakai nodded, obviously very satisfied and relived.
"Nice, I'll always stick with my-" Suddenly, she was interrupted by the lock clicking and the door opening. She turned.
YOU ARE READING
Tournaments, The Day That Changed Our Lives
Fanfiction(Cover made by LKkrata)The fate decided to meet three different girls from their different worlds, in the hotel room number 863. But maybe their past and present is not that different?
