Unwanted House Guest: Valentineās Run - Part 1
Based on characters created by @tamarinfrog (a.k.a. @searching-for-bananaflies , a.k.a. @cafe-cardamari , a.k.a. @bottledupcomic , a.k.a. OH MY GOD Tammy, just how many more blogs do you have!? I mean, Iām not one to talk, but...)
And the video games Splatoon, Splatoon 2, and Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion by Nintendo.
āāāāāāāāāā
A brief primer on Unwanted House Guest:
Began this Fanfiction series back in the Fall of 2015.
Multiple entries in the series were submitted to Tammyās blogs for posting.
Feel free to search Tammyās blogs for āUnwanted House Guestā for previous entries in the series.
āāāāāāāāāā
āYOU WANT HOW MUCH!?ā
Arnick shouted from nearly the top of his lungs. Every Inkling and Octoling in Inkopolis Square turned to look at the small bench near the lobby entrance for Turf Wars. There, everyone saw a tall, lanky, Inkling male with purple tentacles wearing a replica hero jacket and with a Legendary Cap on his head. It was an older cap with some sewn on patches and a hole to let the Inklingās tentacles out through the top of the hat. Upon recognizing who it was, about a third of the people turned back to minding their own business because they were rather accustomed to the ear-splitting din that Arnick Stilton was known for.
āYou heard me, chum,ā Murch shot back, ā100,000 G! Take it or leave it.ā
Arnick was gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, and looking like his hat was going to pop off his head. The 21-year old Inkling had been searching for months for a very particular item. He regularly browsed through Annieās Online Shop, checked every retail store daily since Squiddoween, and constantly asked about it from the local (shady) āgear specialistā: Murch. After going for so long without any luck, Arnick even went so far as to try and craft it himself, but couldnāt get the ability chunks necessary to finish it.
Now it was being held ransom by a puny little one-eyed street urchin.
āYou have any idea how hard it was to find this thing, chum?ā Murch continued with a small hint of indignity, āSpyke had to ask somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody whose cousinās sister-in-lawās brotherās uncle happened to have one tucked away in a box at a garage sale out in Calamari County!ā
āYeah, right...ā Arnick said in about a 50/50 split between disbelief and sarcasm. He grabbed his iSquid and opened up the app for his bank account. His winnings had increased since Team Toxicās recent entrance into the highest level of professional Turf War. This was a great honor as they were now being matched up against the most experienced players; some of who had been engaging in Turf Wars for decades. But Arnick still had rent, utility bills, credit card payments, grocery expenses, and other debts that needed paying.
Doing a quick check of his bank balance, Arnick saw that he had exactly 567,902 G in the bank, but by Arnickās calculations, only 50,000 G of that would be considered āavailableā. Sure, Arnick had the 100,000 G in his bank account, but if he spent it now, one or more of the payments Arnick had scheduled to go through could bounce. This would lead to a Non-Sufficient Fund (NSF) fee from the bank, and a whole new level of headache that Arnick did not want to deal with. (Especially since Tetrox gave him enough of a headache anyway. Arnick couldnāt count the number of times sheād swiped his credit cards to buy ridiculous things online).
āHey,ā Murch called up to the tall, penny-pinching grouch, āyou want this or not?ā
āYes of course I want it, you pipsqueak!ā Arnick said with frustration in his voice (which was nothing new), āIs there any way I can pick it up tomorrow?ā
āNo can do, chum,ā Murch said with a shake of his head, āIām a busy guy here and gear like this is hot stuff! If you donāt buy this, Iām going to have to trash it.ā
āWHAT!? You said it yourself this thing was difficult to get, and youāre going to throw it away just like that!?ā questioned Arnick.
āLook, chum, I only got so much inventory space here,ā Murch said gesturing to his case sitting on the bench behind him, āI can hold this for you up until midnight tonight, but after that, this gear is gone.ā
Murch then raised his solitary eyebrow as he took a peak at the precious gear in the case. āStill,ā he said, āwhy would an uptight guy like you want this bo-ā
Arnick hissed, almost shoving his hand over Murchās mouth to keep him quiet. He then looked around him, cautiously, to see if anyone had seen or heard anything. Everyone in the Square was either staring at or side-eyeing Arnick, but mostly because his outbursts were giving them a scare. No matter how many times Arnick blew his top, the folks that inhabited Inkopolis Square would still jump from his outbursts. (Many of them were getting rather tired of it.)
āWhat was that for, chum!?ā Asked an annoyed Murch.
āI donāt want anyone finding out Iām getting this, you dimwit!ā Arnick pleaded.
āWhy wouldnāt you-ā Murchās single eye popped wide open as it hit him. He then slowly turned towards Arnick with a big, smug smile on his face. His eye now had a look to it as if it was saying āI see what you did thereā. Arnick had seen that look before and dreaded what was coming.
āOhhhhhh,ā Murch said with a sneaky smile, āthis is a gift for someone, isnāt it?ā
āYour point?ā Arnick snapped back, feeling rather annoyed.
āYou sly sea dog!ā Murch said while giving a small elbow jab to Arnickās leg, āDonāt you worry about a thing! Your secretās safe with me.ā His gesture was meant to be a knowing jab to the ribs, but given Murchās height, Arnickās leg was the best he could reach.
Arnick looked left, then right, then left again. By now, the eyes of the square were no longer on him and Murch. Arnick guessed that everyone was likely thinking: āOH MY COD! WHAT WA- Oh itās just Arnick! False Alarm!ā before going back to whatever it was they were doing. (He was right too.) In a quiet voice, Arnick responded with, āIt had better be safe, or so help me, if this gets out...ā
āRelax, chum!ā Murch said with a smile, āall I need is that 100,000 G and you wonāt hear a peep out of me!ā
Arnick growled to himself. He absolutely hated the idea of having an overdraft fee affecting his credit score. But at the same time, he had been searching for this gear for so long that he just couldnāt let it slip through his fingers. His mind raced through possible solutions when suddenly the hour changed and the new Turf War maps were announced by Inkopolisā latest shining stars: Off the Hook. The volume on the large Jumbo-Tron size TV in the square cranked itself up for the news segment.
āYāall check this out!ā the energetic Pygmy Inkling named Pearl called out over the airwaves, āOur sponsor Grizzco is now hiring for Salmon Runs!ā She then looked over to her co-host, the Octoling named Marina, who was looking into the camera with a big smile.
āBig Money? Big Prizes? I love it!ā The cheerful Octoling expertly said after reading it from the teleprompter. Arnick was certain this was an obscure reference to something. He also wagered that line was written by his old nemesis: āthat guy named Steveā. Arnick recalled Steve saying something about how he was taking on some additional work responsibilities at the Turf War League the two of them bickered (and it was always bickering). Arnick didnāt have the foggiest idea what the reference was to, but he didnāt care...
...he just got a brilliant idea.
Turning to Murch, Arnick smiled unusually wide. ā100,000 G by midnight!? No problem!ā Arnick said confidently, āHang on to it and Iāll be back with your money in no time.ā
āAlright,ā Murch nodded, āBut remember, when I say midnight, I mean Midnight! If you aināt here by 12:00 on the dot, then this...ā Murch hesitated when Arnick gave him the stink eye (while still smiling, no less) to remind him to keep this under wraps, ā...gear goes bye-bye.ā
Arnick gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up and a toothy grin that almost sparkled. āSmoke me a kipper, Iāll be back for breakfast!ā Arnick said assuredly before spinning around and marching towards the Salmon Run Office.
Murch called out, āYOU DO KNOW IT WILL BE TOO LATE BY THEN, RIGHT!?ā
Arnick turned around and hollered back, āITāS A FIGURE OF SPEECH!ā