Living Situation || Agent 3 x Agent 8

[4]

The first thing 3 felt when she appeared on top of the spawnpoint was the wind. They must've been high up. She saw an octopus, which she assumed was 8, and two other squids laying with her. The ink color was dark blue.

She rose up and looked around, panicked. The stage was Moray Towers. A whistle suddenly blasted from the loudspeakers, and the rest of the group began inking the floors.

Her heart started beating rapidly. She couldn't do this. She couldn't be back here again.

"3! Come on!" 8's voice suddenly pierced through her thoughts. He was looking at her and tapping his foot impatiently. She couldn't let him down, so she forced herself to move forwards. He smiled and started running down the ramps with his brush.

3 needed to stay close to him. She followed the ink trail he was leaving, shivering in the ink. She didn't want to be here. Going on missions was one thing, but Turf War was a completely different story.

They eventually reached the center of the map, where pink ink was already scattered everywhere. A male Inkling wearing a Straw Boater rose up and started firing.

8 smirked and ran in a circle around him before hitting him with the brush repeatedly. The pink Inkling's little ghost spirit whined and rose into the air.

"That was pretty cool, huh?" 8 said to 3, who was hiding behind the wall. "Come on, let's try to-" His sentence was suddenly cut off as he bursted into pink ink.

3 covered her mouth with her hands, horrified. She looked up and saw a female Inkling wearing a Firefin Mask standing on one of the higher ledges, holding a Splatterscope. 3 quickly dodged out of the way of another shot and dove behind a wall.

"Hey, ink the ground already!" a pigtailed blue Inkling shouted at 3 as she dashed by with Dapple Dualies. "Don't be a coward!" the other blue Inkling shouted as he followed.

3 trembled and threw a Splat Bomb over the wall. The sounds of detonation shortly followed.

Pink ink suddenly started to rain over the wall. She looked up and saw a giant pink cloud above her. Wincing in pain, she quickly jumped out of her hiding place and swam up the ramps to escape the deadly rain.

"3? What are you doing?" 8 said, appearing beside her. "Don't you know what Turf Wars are, silly? This isn't hide and seek!"

3 looked up at him with a terrified expression and his smile dropped. Before she could do anything, she was splatted by an Autobomb.

"Now or Never!" by Wet Floor suddenly began playing over the speakers. This signifies that there was one minute left of the match.

3 respawned, but she didn't move off the spawnpoint this time. Instead, she curled up into a ball and broke out into tears. Her body shook as she silently cried.

Something pushed her off the small platform onto the ground below. It was 8, having respawned next to her.

"I'm so sorry, 3! I didn't know you were still there!" 8 said apologetically, but looked at her quizzically. "Wait, why are you still at spawn?"

3 looked up at the Octoling, tears streaming down her cheeks. His expression softened and he immediately dropped his Octobrush. He bent down and hugged her.

The crying Inkling buried her face into his shirtfront. She was embarrassed to be seen like this. It wasn't like her to cry in front of other people, but she couldn't help it this time.

The sounds of battle continued around them. 8 stroked her back gently, trying to console her. Their teammates yelled at them to move but they didn't. 3 covered her ears.

Another whistle sounded, this time ending the match. "Come on, 3, we need to get to the center for the results," 8 said gently, helping her stand up. They made their way down to the center of the stage where the others were waiting.

Judd and Lil Judd walked onto the stage. They did their adorable little dance before Lil Judd pulled out a pink flag.

"Tch, that's what we get for pairing up with an Octoling and a crybaby," the pigtailed Inkling said rudely, and the male Inkling shot a glare at 3 and 8. They collected their consolation money and walked off.

8 sighed and turned to 3. "Don't listen to them," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "Come on, let's go back to the apartment." They turned to leave before a voice stopped them.

"Tara? Is that you?"