Yumi stood outside of a medical room along with Coraline, and the two had an Inkling doctor shaking her head at them and letting out a tiny sigh.

Yumi:....

Coraline:...are they?....

Doctor: definitely not....I apologize....

The Doctor looked through some medical records and then glared straight at Yumi.

Doctor: your two friends are going to die soon.

Coraline:....What!?

Doctor: I did all that I could...but the injuries that they received were...way too lethal beyond repair.

Yumi:.....

Doctor: the boy was pierced straight through his stomach...yet...he didn't die on the spot. The especial stream that the girl used....it healed him from bleeding out, yet it infected him with a poisonous ink that's causing him pain and killing him slowly.

Coraline:....Miles....

Doctor: the especial stream must've been just to give a very slow and agonizing death to your opponents by healing them on the outside, yet destroying them internally. Since the boy was inflicted with more poison than the girl, it will make it's way through his body faster than her.

Coraline:....there's no...cure to it?....

Doctor: this poison has never been seen before....it will creep through the boy's body, starting from his stomach until it reaches his heart, then he'll perish....as for the girl...since she had less poison, she'll die later than him...but the poison will make its way to her brain instead of her heart since she was injured on her face.

The Doctor walked away, but then looked at Yumi once again with a disgusted look on her face.

Doctor: I hope you're happy with yourself.....maybe you should control that sister of yours....go home and enjoy the last bit of time you have with your friends, because from what I've seen....they won't survive to see the end of the exams....

Yumi:.....

Coraline: it wasn't Yumi's fault! Don't blame her!

Doctor:....*tsk*....

The Doctor walked off and Coraline looked at Yumi to see her looking slightly down at the ground, saddened by the news, but Coraline placed her hand on her shoulder and gave her a tiny smile and tried to cheer her up.

Coraline:.....we failed....but that's alright......let's head home and we can eat some delicious ice cream and tell Bella about our experience....

Yumi:......she wouldn't even want to see my face.....

Yumi walked over to the door, gently grabbing the knob and opening it to see Amira and Miles, and instead of the two grieving from the news, Amira was sitting in Miles' bed with her legs crossed, talking to him while Miles looked at her, very interested in what she had to say.

Amira:...it was a spark...as if the ink within me lit on fire...

Miles: on fire?...woah....

Coraline/Yumi: 0-0.....

Miles: so maybe I can unlock high tide if I really try my hardest, huh?

Amira: yes. I will make sure to lend you any assistance in doing so.

Coraline: w-what are you guys doing!?

Miles: oh, hey Coraline, hey Yumi.

Amira: you both should be watching Charlotte's fight with Lux.

Coraline: what the hell do you mean!? Do you guys not understand the condition you're in!?

Miles: *nods* of course.

Coraline:....then why don't you care, Miles?....what about Lola? What about.......Echo?......

Miles' face slowly faded from it's peaceful state, then he looked away a bit before letting out a tiny smile at her.

Miles: I called Yasu.....I told him to take care of Lola for me as I push myself through these exams....because I'm not coming home....

Coraline:....

Miles:....and I told Otto....if he were to ever find Echo....to give her the news and tell her that I'm sorry for what I've done, and for her to take care of herself.

Amira: My mother told me.....if your body can still move, you can still fight....but Isabella was the one who truly showed me what she meant by that.

Miles: so if you two are thinking that we're gonna give up and head home, then you're just mistaken! Because the exams just started!

Amira: after what happened with Yuka...her team was penalized for the harm she caused to us, which actually moved us up to 3rd place.

Miles: oh for eel!? hell yeah!!

Coraline was completely lost for words.....the two knew that they'd be dead within the next 48 hours......yet...it looked as if they could care less. She felt her body get warm and start to shake from overwhelming sadness, but before any tears could be shed, she looked over at Yumi to see her in the same state.....but....much worse.

Yumi had tears running down her face and her body shook while looking down at the ground. Miles and Amira looked over at Yumi as well to notice the state that she was in, which only concerned them greatly, hearing little sniffles coming from the Octo.

Miles:....Yumi?....

Before anything could go any further, Yumi quickly turned around and walked out of the room, walking down the hallway and wiping her eyes after accidentally bumping into an Octoling in the hallway.

Yumi: I'm sorry...

Yumi looked at the Octoling she bumped into and noticed it to actually be Charlotte herself, leading into a deep state of silence between the two.

Yumi:.......

Charlotte:......

Yumi turned away from Charlotte and continued to walk away quickly while covering her face from her tears, which only made Charlotte look at her and watch her storm away, leaving her speechless from her unseen state.

Charlotte:.....(so you do feel....)

Ami: yo, Char.

Charlotte turned her head and saw Ami walking up to her and giving her a thumbs up with a nice smile as Cecelia hung on his shoulder.

Ami: Yuka should be good to go and fully recovered by tomorrow, so things are going smoothly!

Charlotte:....whatever...

Charlotte shoved her hands in her pockets and walked down the hallway as Ami caught up and began to walk by her side.

Charlotte: we're better off playing without her....at this point. she's done nothing but cause trouble....and thanks to her, we have no points to our name....

Ami:...yeah....but you can win us some points when you fight Lux, right!? Oh! Shoot, your match with her starts in like, 5 minutes, right!?

Charlotte: Mhm....

Ami: you better kick some serious ass out there, Char. We're counting on you.

Charlotte:......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Camera squid: Harlow?...

Harlow:.....

Camera squid: Harlow!

Harlow: h-huh!? Oh....uh.....Hello, ladies and gentlesquids! Welcome to the one on one battles for the entrance exams!

The crowd roared and screamed just as Harlow took a deep breath from the events yesterday, calming herself down and shaking her head as Coraline helped Miles and Amira into the stands, with Amira having a bandage around her eye and Miles having bandages around his stomach.

Miles: you didn't have to take us, Coraline.

Coraline: it's best if you see it in person instead of a Tv....so shut up.....

Amira:...Yumi.....

Coraline:....I'm....pretty sure she'll be back.....she just...needs a moment.......

Within the arena, Charlotte and Lux walked inside to see each other face to face. Lux had a bright smile that glimmered over towards Charlotte, but didn't faze her, it only made her grip her Cherry H-3 even harder than usual towards the inkling.

Lux: alrighty! I'm ready to get this battle started! I can't wait to see how much stronger you've gotten, Char!

Charlotte: shut up....

Lux let out a tiny chuckle and looked up in the stands to see Miles looking down at her, which made her burst with even more courage and confidence.

Lux: don't worry, Blue!

Lux swung her chained splattershots and let out a nice laugh of determination as she straightened her stance at Charlotte.

Lux: I'll make this a match you'll never forget!

Harlow:....

Camera Squid: *nods*

Harlow:...alright...3...2.....1....fight!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yumi sat on top of her bed in her hotel room...doing nothing but holding onto her Phantom's badge within her hands as Bella's straw boater was resting next to her on the bed.

She gently rubbed her thumb over the emblem....then looked over at the boater. Her legs trembled slightly as she let out a sigh and placed the emblem down, covering her hands with her face.

Yumi:.......everyone.....that I involve myself with......I ruin their lives.......

She laid down on the bed and hugged herself, shifting her feet and gently pushing on Bella's boater, unintentionally making it slide and fall off the bed, then roll onto the ground.

Yumi:.....I'm sorry, Bella......Charlotte.....Miles......Obsidian..Amira......Yuka....I took.....so much from you all......

Yumi looked at her hand and saw the battle scars on it, then felt her vision getting slightly blurry, signaling that she was tired. Yumi clenched her fist gently and fell into her deep sleep, curling herself up into a little ball as she slept.

————————-

Yumi stood within a void of pure darkness....looking around to find anything, but then heard and felt the radiance of light shine from behind her.
~~
???: "I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!!! YOU JUST GOT ALL OF US KILLED!!! WHY DID YOU GO TO THE SURFACE!!!!!? WHY!!!!!!!?"

Yumi:........

???: "YOU COULD'VE HELPED!! YOU WERE THE STRONGEST WARRIOR WE HAD!!! YOU GOT MY LITTLE BROTHER KILLED!!!! THEY JUST CAME AND TOOK EVERYTHING FROM US!!!!"
~~

Yumi looked at the past memory....seeing herself taking the punches inflicted onto her, which did nothing to her....she looked at herself once again.....thinking about her past.

[Yumi:.....(when I was young.....I was very apathetic.....I didn't know how to feel emotions......I couldn't understand the pain others went through......when my mother died......I wanted to cry....but not even a single tear fell from my face.....I didn't understand a lot of things I did when I was younger.....)...

Yumi felt another memory behind her, making her turn around and see her father glaring down at her younger self.

~~~

Yumi:....father....I-

Y Dad: just shut your mouth....please...

Yumi:....

Y Dad: why.........why did she let you live?........you got your own mother killed......she was in perfect condition...but she became weak because of you....

Yumi's father clenched on his bottle harder and harder, looking down at his daughter while gritting his teeth.

Y Dad: how come the second you were born....things started to go downhill....you disgusting littl-

Just then, Yumi's father broke his own beer bottle within his hand, making glass stab into his palm and fingers, then he grunted in pain as he held onto his hand in pain.

Y Dad: mother fucker!....dammit!

Yumi quickly ran off and grabbed a box of bandages from a medical cabinet, then ran back to her father with a emotionless face. She tried to open the box, but her father glared at her and swung his hand at her, slapping the box and Yumi's face in the process, making her fall down onto the ground.

Y Dad: DON'T TOUCH ME!! WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU THINK I WANTED YOUR HELP!!? YOU WOULD'VE JUST KILLED ME AT THE END OF THE DAY!!

Yumi:.....

Y Dad: you're just a walking ray of hell....bad luck......disgust.....you're not my blood..........just go find something around the house to do.....

Yumi stood up and gave nothing but a little nod to her father, walking away just as she heard her father grunt in more pain than before.

Y Dad: Yuka!! Come down here and help me!!

~~

Yumi saw the memory fade from her, and all she did was sigh to herself as she looked away.

[ Yumi: those were the last words my father ever said to me before he sold me away.......those words......were stronger than my mothers......because unlike hers.....his were true...)...]

She felt on her face gently, and the golden radiance of her eyes made her disappointed in herself.

[ Yumi:....(you told me that golden eyes mean pure luck and happiness.....was that just an attempt to help me break through my apathetic shell?........)...]

Yumi looked down and saw an Octo Shot near her feet. She picked it up and looked at it closer, seeing the tag on the back of it saying "Yumi. #1"

[Yumi:....(...that's all I had to my name....my strength.....that was the only thing that made me push through my life without negativity towards me....well.....not from him....at least)...]

Yumi saw another memory flash in front of her, seeing her slightly older self standing in front of Octavio. The Octopus lord himself chuckled in delight as he patted her on her back and handed her an Octo Shot with her name on it. She saw before her, an army of Octarians kneeling before her.

~~~

Octavio: congratulations, my star pupil! You've finally achieved the honor of being my number 1 soldier!

Yumi heard mumbling in the crowd, but she couldn't make out what the soldiers were saying.....but when she turned her head and saw Octavio, a smile pointing within her direction, it soothed her.

~~~

[ Yumi: (.....back then......seeing a smile towards me for an accomplishment....was a very rare occurrence.......I thought I was doing something good.....something that wouldn't bring down any chaos....)....

Yumi saw her memory flash into a new phase of her and a young Charlotte standing across from each other. Charlotte cried in front of her, then threw her Octo Shot at Yumi, hitting her in the stomach with it.

~~~

Charlotte:.....you were my friend, Yumi!....why didn't you.....tell me that my dad promoted you?.........Did I not mean anything to you!?

Yumi:......

Charlotte:....n-now....thanks to you....my dad.....doesn't even see me as his daughter anymore.......he only focuses on you........

Yumi stood silent, not knowing how to properly respond to Charlotte, but silence was the worst possible thing to show towards the crying Octo at the moment, which made her snap towards Yumi.

Charlotte: PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!! SAY SORRY!! PLEASE SAY THAT I WAS YOUR FRIEND!! IF YOU TOSS ME AWAY, I'LL HAVE NOBODY!!

Yumi couldn't muster up anything, and instead just looked away as she clenched her fists. She heard Charlotte go silent through her sniffles, then heard nothing but her own quick footsteps run away from her, and when she looked up, Charlotte was gone.

~~~

[ Yumi:.......(if I would've just....said something that day.....you wouldn't have.....turned into....someone completely different from who I once knew.....)

Yumi's Octo Shot faded away from her hands, and all she had to look at was herself once again.

[ Yumi: (I'm sorry, Charlotte........you were the only one back then.....who'd smile at me besides your father....but....back then....your smile didn't faze me......I never understood why someone would just....randomly smile at another cephalopod.....they didn't do anything to be worthy enough for a smile......like what I did....for him.....I felt as if I had to....earn a smile from the ones around me.......but...that is...)

Yumi turned her head slowly....and saw another memory....a memory that made her eyes widen and her body tremble.

[ Yumi:.....( until I met you.....) ]

~~~

Bella: these are my friends; the pink Inkling girl is Coraline

Coraline: hi ^^

Bella: and the blue Inkling boy is Miles

Miles:...um....hey...

Bella: and I'm Isabella, but you can call me Izzy or Bella for short. What's your name?

~~~

[ Yumi:......(Bella.......understanding a girl like you......you didn't care about my strength whatsoever......you smiled at me for the smallest things....you made my mind expand beyond my own limitations.....you...did so much for me.....)..]

~~~

Yumi: why did you do it?....

Bella:....do what?

Yumi: help me....why would you help an Octoling?....I thought you Inklings hated us...

Bella:....Yumi.....not everyone is the same. I personally like Octolings and I find you guys pretty damn fresh.

Yumi:...

Bella: your appearance isn't what makes who you are on the inside...but rather, your actions.

Yumi hugged the blankets close to herself as Bella let out a tiny sigh.

Bella: don't let your type of species control your actions and what you want to do in life; If you desperately want something, don't let any obstacle be your limitation on what you can and can't do. I see Octolings as an equal species to Inklings and that's how I treat them as well.

~~~

[ Yumi: ( I've never heard anyone speak like that towards me before......you were so open.....you didn't know me at all....and I didn't know you one bit....yet you were so trustworthy with me.......I felt something crack within me that day.....my shell....)

~~~

Otto: wow Isabella, I knew you were low, but I didn't know you were THIS low.

Bella and Yumi stopped looking at eachother and focused their attention in front of them to see Otto with his squad, standing there and smirking at Bella.

Otto: hanging out with an Octoling? Sheesh...you really are desperate for more friends, aren't you?

Bella: shouldn't you guys be off bragging about yourselves somewhere else?

Mandy: awe, someone's still sea salty about yesterday's match; did we really wreck you guys THAT hard?

Bella: you guys didn't even wreck us, we almost brought that game back!

Ryan: *snickers* sure.

Bella: we lost by twelve points!!

Otto: but didn't you say you wanted to climb the ranks to beat us Bella? *smirks* Have you found your fourth squadmate yet?

Bella:....I'm.....I'm still looking...

Otto: awe but what about that "Pit-dweller" next to you? Is she not good enough? actually that makes sense because she's an Octoling, that'll only hold you back.

Bella:....say it again...I dare you....

Otto: oh..*chuckles* say what again?

Bella: you know exactly what I'm referring to.

Otto: but it's true Isabella; *shrugs* all Octolings are disgusting Pit-dwellers that don't even deserve to breath the same air as us.

~~~

[ Yumi:......I never understood why you were so defensive of me back then.....It made my shell crack for the second time......I wish....that I could've been like you....)

Just like the Octo Shot, Yumi looked down and saw Bella's boater instead this time, making her reach down and pick it up, then look at it, feeling it's worn down nature from her battles.

[ Yumi: how were you able to break through me like this?.........especially.....on that day.....)

~~~

Bella: don't you!!..*trips* dare?....

Bella tripped right over Willow's sprinkler and stumbled forward and right behind Yumi. Bella called out to Yumi, but only got her attention and...it was too late. Bella fell right onto Yumi and Willow looked at the two to see that their.....lips...were connected.

Willow:.....

Pearl:.....

Marina:.....

Mandy: what the hell?!

Ryan: ugh!! Disgusting!!

Yumi and Bella just looked into eachothers eyes in shock and Bella got off of Yumi, with a tiny trail of saliva that still connected the two.

Bella: Y-Yumi!!! I'm so sorry!! I....I tried to warn you but!....

Yumi got up and gave Bella a nod, then actually felt on her lower lip to still feel the little bit of saliva that had connected them before, but was now broken.

~~~

A little blush formed on the Octo's face as she clenched onto Bella's boater and saw the memory playing right before her.

[ Yumi:....(one large crack was inflicted on my shell that day.....so large that....emotions began to.....seep through me.....I was so confused of myself and my own actions back then...I felt so many weird things throughout my body that I've never felt before...]..)

~~~

Obsidian: h-hello, Yumi.

Yumi: -_-

Obsidian: Bella was telling me.....about you....I hope we can become good friends!

Yumi looked down and saw Bella and Obsidian's hands still locked together from before, making her dark aura emit even further as she looked down at the ground and slowly began mumbling to herself, making Bella and Obsidian look at her, completely confused.

Yumi: *mumble mumble*

Bella: uh....you ok, Yumi?

Dayna: she mumbles to herself when she's stressed.

~~~

[ Yumi: sadness, anger, jealousy, happiness.....after so many years, I began to...feel it all.......it overwhelmed me.....Whenever I saw you back then, my body would tense up.....I didn't understand why.....I eventually started to go to the library to see if I could read any books regarding emotions....)..]

~~~

Bella: wait.....Yumi?

Yumi:.....

Bella: what are you doing here?

Yumi:...oh....I um....

Yumi didn't understand what was holding her back from speaking. the last time she saw Bella, she would talk to her just fine, but this time it felt as if her vocal chords were tangled. Yumi began to feel her heart beating rapidly again and she could barely even keep eye contact with Bella. Yumi saw her look down and notice her bag that she dropped when the two collided, then she picked it up and handed it to her.

Bella: I'm guessing you're into books as well.

Yumi:......*takes her bag*..Mhm

Bella: *smiles* well it looks like we both have another thing in common.

Yumi felt her cheeks get warm from Bella's smile as she let out an adorable woomy in the process, making her heart beat even faster.

Bella: I'm just here to get the newest issue of my comic that I ordered

Yumi: n-newest....issue?

Bella: yeah! it's a very cool story that I'm reading called "Demons". it's about this demon girl who can use a scythe and is a part of a clan. so far within the story, there's this big baddie who is planning on destroying their clan and I have a feeling that something BIG is going to happen in the next issue. I'm so pumped!

Yumi:.....

Bella: so what book did you buy, Yumi?

Yumi:....h-huh?

Bella: I saw that you bought a book from the store. Are you going to tell me what you bought?

Yumi clenched her bag up to her chest with both of her hands as she stood there completely silent from Bella's question, making her blush even harder from being flustered, and from being embarrassed at the same time.

Bella: um.....hello? earth to Yumi?

Yumi: I......I'm sorry!

Yumi ran past Bella, making her turn around and watch her run off, confused as ever. Bella scratched the back of her head while raising one of her eyebrows in the process.

Bella:.....uh....did I....do something wrong?
~~~

[ Yumi:.....the day you shattered it....the day it completely disappeared......when my shell completely left my body...my life.....who I was....]

~~~

Bella:....WHAT WAS THE POINT OF FIGHTING YOU IF YOU WERE JUST GOING TO HOLD BACK AGAINST ME, HUH?!!!!

Bella put one of her hands on her own chest fiercely and glared at Amira. Amira could see the determination and courage in Bella's eyes as she stood in front of Amira with so much....pride...making Amira completely freeze up.

Bella: I WILL BECOME THE BEST TURFER KNOWN TO SQUID!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!!!!

This time, it was Bella who was glaring deep into Amira's eyes, completely knocking her own tactics against her. Amira couldn't move...it was as if she was....afraid.....she's never seen anyone stand up to her like this before...Blood was dripping from out of Bella's mouth and nose, but she didn't care one bit.

Bella: Nobody talks about my friends like that..... especially Yumi....because when I make it to the top....I WANT HER TO BE RIGHT BY MY SIDE!!! TOGETHER, WE WILL FUCKING PROVE THAT INKLINGS AND OCTOLINGS ARE ON THE SAME LEVEL!!!

Bella shifted her attention to everyone in the stands, she pointed right at the stands as her own blood dripped down onto the floor.

Bella: And that goes for you disgusting fuckers in the stands!!! YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO CALL MY FRIEND A PIT-DWELLER, BUT WE ALL KNOW DAMN WELL THAT YUMI COULD EASILY MOP THE FLOOR WITH YOU ALL!!! THAT'S HOW MUCH I BELIEVE IN HER!!! YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!!!

Everyone in the stands sat there in shock... especially Yumi. She could feel her body getting warm and bubbly...as if the Ink inside of her was boiling up. Yumi looked at Bella and saw so much confidence in her...making her shed a tear and shake a little, in happiness......

~~~

Yumi saw the boater fade from her hands, but she simply let out a very tiny smile at herself when it did.

Yumi:......that was the day.....you changed me and made me forget who I was back then......

Yumi's smile faded slightly as she was deep within the black void....feeling her father, Sister, Charlotte, and everyone grab her from behind in an attempt to drag her down.

Yumi:.....but.......after all this time...I still don't believe that I deserve you......especially because.....of what I allowed Calvin to do....to you....

Just then, a radiance of light shined apon Yumi, making all of the dark hands fade from her body. She looked up and saw Bella smiling at her, holding her hand out to her, making tears fall from her face.

Bella: you can't change your past....but...you can still try your best to fix what you still can.....

Yumi:.....

Yumi gently grabbed Bella's hand and was instantly pulled into a deep hug, shocking her, but also making her tears flow even faster as Bella's body began to fade.

Bella: no matter what....I'll never leave your side....

That's when everything faded to white, and Yumi clenched onto Bella just as she faded away along with herself, sending her back to reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yumi's eyes opened up, and she noticed that she's been asleep for quite some time. She leaned up from her bed and sat on the edge of it, thinking deeply to herself as she felt on her face, noticing that she was crying in her sleep.

She looked down and saw Bella's boater laying right in between her feet, upside down, but just as Yumi was going to normally pick it up to properly dust it off and fix it, she noticed the underside of Bella's boater.

The underside of the fabric had a little zipper that was slightly open, revealing a tiny white sheet of paper. Yumi confusingly grabbed the boater and looked at the zipper, then gently unzipped the underside of the hat, showing her an arrangement of photos.

Yumi looked at the photos to see Bella smiling with many separate shots of her friends. One with Echo, Miles, Coraline, Cynthia, Gabby, Obsidian, Aryll, and even Ginger and Sidon with Lola.....but she didn't see a picture of her.

Yumi looked at the sheet of paper that was sticking out of the hat prior, then grabbed it and began to unfold it slowly until she saw a little list that was written by Bella herself.

*paper*

My super awesome To-Do list!!

_Teach Lola how to say my name!

*check* beat the hell out of Miles for stealing my squiddy cakes!

*check* apologize to Miles

_Teach Coraline how to accept herself

_Teach Miles how to stand up for himself.

*check* become friends with Yumi!

*check* Beat that bastard Otto!

*check* Beat Amira!

_ beat Calvin!

Yumi's eyes widened at the last checkbox on Bella's list, seeing a very recent picture of her and Bella at the Inkopolis ball together, smiling at the camera, seeing it taped right next to the checkbox and Task.

Yumi:......Bella......

~~~~~~~~

*Chapterly art*

Cursed Lola.