BAM! The balloon burst with a loud bang and it fell to the ground. "Heck yeah!" Susan exclaimed and leaped over the railing. It was a bright summer day and the sun shone high up in the sky. It was early afternoon in Inkopolis, and everyone were getting on with their day. Susan rolled as she landed and aimed her charger at the next balloon, which was on the other side of the park. BAM! Another bullseye! She focused her hearing. The next balloon should pop out somewhere. She heard a small sound behind her. Without thinking, she turned 180 degrees and fired. BAM! The balloon exploded. A bell rang. "New high score!" Theo shouted from the railing above her. "20.000 points! With this, you're surly going to win!"

Theo was an Inkling with blue, short hair. He leaned over the railing and smiled down at her. "Yeah!" Pitri said and smiled. Pitri was an Inkling with dark skin and long hair that fell down her back. Her eyes were mystical and her smile warm as the sun. Next to her stood Anna and smiled. Anna wasn't really talkative around Susan's other friends. She and Susan were best friends, had been since they were little. She had tied up her pink hair, but one tentacle had loosened, so it now was free in her hair, but she didn't seem to notice. Susan was pretty sure she had no other friends except her. She had a bright smile, but Susan hadn't seen her smile reach her eyes since they were twelve. Even if she didn't get along with her other friends, Anna still smiled her brightest and waved to Susan from up on the railing. Susan shouldered her charger and climes up the stairs to them. Susan was an Octoling, with long blue hair that fell down her back. She was tall and had bright, blue eyes. She wore a red jacket and a white tee, blue jeans and red shoes. When she reached the others she smiled and extended her hand. "You owe me Theo," she said and smirked. "If I got a new high score, you'd pay me 5000 coins. Bet is a bet!"

Theo grunted and handed her the cash. "That's not fair!" he complained. "I was gonna use that!"

"If you were going to use that, why did you bet?" Pitri said and patted him in the back. "Besides, you never buy anything useful, so you might as well give it to us."

Theo glared at her. Anna stood a few meters away and watched the others. She gave Susan a thumbs up and smiled. "What time is the tournament again?" Theo asked. Susan glances at her watch. "In half an hour," she said and put her Squiffer into her case. Susan was participating in a sniping tournament and today were the semifinals. She had worked so hard to get here and was not planning on giving up now. The winner would get 250.000 coins in reward and she was gonna use that to buy some new gear. She had been saving up for a Kensa Charger for months and the money would be more than enough to afford it. But she knew it wouldn't be easy. Her opponents had worked just as hard as she had, and she doubted that they would give up. Susan had no idea who her opponents were. The quarterfinals had taken place in different places in the city, so she had no idea who the others were. All she knew was their names. Susan picked up her backpack and turned to the others. "Let's go." she said. "I don't want to be late."

After a short stop at the coffee shop where Susan worked, the four of them were walking to where the tournament took place. It was a big, old warehouse by the harbor. It was huge on the inside with many crates and ramps. It was a perfect playground for a sniper! Susan walked up to a lady who sat by a table that said: "Participants"

"Hi!" Susan said with a smile. "I am Susan Splatnair, here to participate!"

The lady looked up and smiled. "Great! That means all participants are here. Take your time to heat up, your match is in 20 minutes. You are fighting against Lens in the first match. The winner of your match then moves up to fight the winner of the second match. Make sure to be here in 10 minutes."

"Understood!" Susan said walked to where her friends stood. They were examining the board which where the brackets were displayed. "You're fighting Lens in the first match," Pitri said. "I've heard he's really good."

"Not as good as Susan though!" Theo said. "There's no one as good as Susan!"

"The other two are Headphones and Two," Anna said. "I've heard Headphones is really good. She and her team has won many tournaments before."

"You mean Team Blue?" Theo asked. "I dunno, I've heard they're idiots."

"Idiots or not, she has gotten this far in the tournament." Pitri said. "But I have no idea who this Two is."

"Yeah," Theo said. "But that name is pretty stupid if you ask me. Who names themselves after a number?"

"Like naming yourself after a piece of clothing is any better?" Pitri responded and smirked. Theo's face turned red. "Hey, don't diss my name!" he said and leaned towards Pitri. "I like that name, and you'll beg me for forgiveness when that name is on every wall in Inkopolis!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're gonna win the next big tournament and everyone will praise you for it," Pitri said. "You've told us before. In fact, you've been telling us this for three years now. So how many years more before your name will be displayed in every wall in Inkopolis? Three? Four?"

Theo looked like he might charge Pitri, but he knew from experience that he couldn't beat her in a fight. Susan laughed and grabbed around their shoulders. "You two are so cute when you argue," she said. "I've heard those who argue the most are most likely to end up together," she said with a teasing tone. Pitri's face turned red and looked away from Theo, who coughed and seemed determined to look at nothing but his shoes. Theo has come up with a stage name when he was younger. But instead of having it a cool flashy name that everyone would recognize, he decided that his stage name would be "Cap" named after his cap he always wears. Pitri and Susan had laughed when he told them and they made fun of it very often. But their criticism seemed to have the reverse effect on Theo, because he seemed even more determined to have that name. Susan laughed and squeezed their chins. "I'm only teasing turtle doves."

Susan sat down at a bench and picked up her Squiffer from her case. She had cleaned it in this morning, so it gleamed in the sun. She looked around and examined the other participants. Lens was an Inkling boy, with green hair. He wore a black jacked and sunglasses, and his charger was an E-Liter. On the other side of the preparation area sat an Inkling girl. Susan assumed she was Headphones, since she wore Studio Headphones on her head. She was talking to three other Inklings, who Susan guessed were her teammates. She held a Splat Charger in her hands. Susan looked around. There was no one else there. Where was this Two? A set of TV cameras caught her attention. The tournament would be broadcasted live. Susan looked at her watch. Ten minutes until her match. She packed her Squiffer and walked to where the lady was. "Are you ready?" she asked. Susan nodded. "Great!" the lady said and looked at her notepad. "Now where is Lens? Ah, there you are!"

Lens came up to the table and nodded his head towards Susan. "Alright, now that we're here, I'm going to explain the rules just in case." the lady said and looked at them both. "The rules are simple. Both of you will be dropped into the arena. There are balloons scattered all across the area. On them is a target. The outer ring is 10 points, the next ring is 50, the next after that is 100, the one closest to the middle is 500 and a bullseye is 1000. Your objective is to rack up as many points as possible in the span of five minutes. However, this will be a little different from what you did in the quarterfinals. There, you and your opponent would be dropped into two different arenas and you just had to rack up as many points as possible in five minutes. But now you'll be dropped into the same arena and you're allowed to splat each other. If you are splatted, you lose 500 points. There are no sub weapons allowed nor any specials. You will be immediately disqualified if you use either. When five minutes are over the person with the most points wins. Do you understand or do I have to go over again?"

Susan and Lens nodded their heads. "Great!" the lady exclaimed and glanced at her watch. "Five minutes, better go to your starting points! Good luck you two!"

Susan walked to where she was supposed to start. She hadn't practiced with the idea in mind that the opponent would be with her in the same arena. She just had to keep a steady hand and focus. This is just a normal match with a little competition. Susan looked up and saw her friends wave to her from where they sat. The audience would spectate the match on a big screen outside the warehouse. This was to not distract the hearing of those who were competing. Susan walked through a door that lead into the warehouse and looked around. It was huge! Above her were catwalks and big, wooden crates were everywhere. Balloons were in the air and Susan could see Lens where he stood in his spawn point. Susan took a deep breath and picked up her Squiffer from her case. This was it. No backing out. "I can do this," Susan whispered to herself. "I can do this."

Susan could hear the crowd outside and a voice boomed in the speakers above her. "Ladies and gentlemen! Squids and Octos! Jellyfish and more! Welcome to the Inkopolis sniping tournament!"

Susan couldn't believe her own ears. Was it really them? "What's with the formal attitude Rina?" another voice boomed. "This audience is here to see a competition! Screw the rules and formals, let's get to the fun!"

Susan froze. It was! "You're right Pearlie, but the fun can't start just yet!" the first voice laughed. "We are your hosts, Marina and Pearl from Off the Hook! Welcome to the-"

"Yeah, yeah, you already told us!" Pearl interrupted. "The audience doesn't like talking as much as you do Rina!"

Susan's heart was on a million. Off the Hook?! Hosting in her competition?! This was a dream come true! Susan took a deep breath and tried to focus. "It doesn't matter," she whispered to herself. "Just a normal match. Just another match."

"I feel like the audience is eager to meet our participants!" Marian's voice boomed. Susan could hear cheering outside. "Of course we are Marian!" Pearl said. "Tell us who will be doing a better job than you at sniping!"

"On one side is Lens!" Marina boomed. "He won the quarterfinals in the northern district of Inkopolis and more! He and his team have won three Turf War tournaments and he himself is one of the top snipers in the northern district! I've heard he's quite a charmer too!"

"And who is he fighting Rina?" Pearl boomed. "Well, that would be no other than Susan!" Marina responded. "A little unknown sniper from the western district! She hasn't achieved as much as the other participants, but don't judge a book by its cover! She dominated in the quarterfinals in the western district and is quite high up on the leader board! And by the way Susan, I love your hair!"

Susan could feel heat stream into her cheeks, but she lifted her thumb in response. "No distractions," she whispered. "Well that's our participants!" Pearl boomed. "But let's stop with the blabbering! Participants, are you ready?!"

Susan lifted her thumb again and closed her eyes. It was now or never. "Great!" Marina boomed. "And without further ado! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"