Splatoon manga x Reader

Vintage x Fem Reader

Angst warning I guess. Not that it's good angst lol

Y/N's Pov

"Vintage... Come on, you can't just stay in your room forever."

Yet again, Vintage stayed in his room, not responding to me. He'd been doing this for the past few weeks now. I'd go to his house and wake him up just in time for daily training, and he'd always seem super tired and unenthusiastic about going. Sure, Vintage is naturally poker-faced and annoyed, but this time... it was like a different kind of annoyed.

"Alright, I'm coming in, mister."

I opened the door, a wide smile plastered on my face. I wanted to be positive, just as a small attempt to get Vintage pumped.

But... after what I saw next, I couldn't keep my smile any longer.

"Vintage..?"

A surprising sight was unfolding right in front of me. Vintage sat on the floor, his back laid against the side of his bed. He was slouched, and silently crying. His face were buried into his knees. The only reason I could tell he was sobbing was from the tiny bit of red on his face, and not to mention his twitching. It's weird how quiet his crying is. If it were any other scenario, I definitely wouldn't notice.

"Vintage!" 

I quickly ran up to him and got down on my knees, reaching my hand out and placing it on his shoulder.

"Y-Y/N-!" Vintage hiccuped, lifting his head up.

Yep, he was definitely crying. Along with his red face were puffy eyes and a runny nose. Not a pleasant sight, but that's to be expected.

"Oh my god..! What's wrong?" I asked. I'm not exactly the best at comforting, but I at least have to attempt to make my best friend feel better.

Vintage's breath hitched as he stared at me. He was fidgeting, and his mouth was moving slightly as if he was trying to say something, but couldn't.

He couldn't keep it in anymore. Vintage broke down and tackled me in a hug. It was sudden and aggressive, but coming from Vintage, who never shows any affection, it's understandable. 

Of course, I hugged back, softly rubbing his back after the process.

"Y-Y/N I'm so fucking sorry..." he whimpered. His cries mimicked one of a dog who just got kicked. 

"Sorry..?" I questioned, "F-For what?"

"For being a god damn failure!"

His grip on me was getting tighter. His fingers were almost clawing my back. 

"I-I mean..."

Vintage finally started to loosen his grasp. His breath was slowing down, too.

"I mean... I lost to the Blue Team... so what use am I anymore?"

I pulled away from the hug and gave Vintage a confused look. He was staring down at the ground, a sad expression on his face.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm not strong anymore... right? Strong people don't lose... and what's the use of being good at something if someone's always going to be better?"

Vintage gave a small chuckle, but it most certainly wasn't because he was starting to feel better.

"I'm not the X-rank king anymore, I'm just a nobody. I'm like a background character. It's like..."

...

...

...

"It's like no one cares about me anymore. People care about strong players, and that's what I used to be. But that's in the past now... I was just a one hit wonder, and nothing else."