[center][abbr=Pit][img]https://i.ibb.co/7VzgY22/pit.png[/img][/abbr]
Word Count: 1585 (+3 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 284/80 
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Mid-Tier, Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
Following lunch the Gold Team's angelic captain had opted to travel up into the city's higher tiers. This meant that he stuck out like a sore thumb with the half of the Seekers he was tagging along with. Normally as a group the Seekers were all different enough that the entire team stuck out against thematically appropriate location natives, but Pit was a young angel in bright clothes among a bunch of drably dressed old guys. For the most part, anyway. Plus there was the fact that most of them towered over Pit even after he'd grown a couple of inches. The second shortest was Kim, with a bold orange jacket on, but the two of them could hardly be more different.

Normally Pit wouldn't have minded. Though he hadn't gotten to know any of the detectives very well, he didn't dislike any of them either - even Roland and Harry, despite the fact they'd sort of made fun of him (though they were now pretty far down on his personal "coolness tier list" of Seekers). As they walked around, Pit pointed things out or struck up a few short lived conversations with them. 

No, it wasn't the company that was the problem. It was the fact that information gathering was excruciatingly [i]boring[/i].

He'd been serious when he said he wanted to get to see more of the city, so sight-seeing was his main priority. However, he wanted to be a little responsible too; so when the group passed through the Pools (which had indeed looking pretty nice to swim around in as Ms. Fortune mentioned) into the middle tier of Esaka, Pit felt he couldn't leave all the hard work to the other guys. He gave it his best shot, whether listening in on everyone else's inquiries or chatting up a few locals himself. It was almost impossible to keep himself on task though when there were so many other neat things to ask about, and places to see, and being subtle was not a skill Pit had in his repertoire. 

He'd never been more grateful that Lady Palutena just told him everything he needed to know when on a mission, or that Org XIII had just decided to give them the biggest piece of information right off the bat. [i]I think I'm just gonna stick to watching detective movies from now on.[/i] 

When his attention span finally reached its limit, Pit declared, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm gonna go check out the other side of town, maybe see what the high tier's like! I'll leave the rest to you guys!"[/color]

Then he was gone in a flash, wings trailing behind him as he beat a path towards more interesting ventures. With the ever present touch of his patron's presence in the back of his mind, Pit didn't mind exploring alone either.

By area the mid tier was not as large as the low tier, but there were still plenty of things to see. Pit kept note of more nice looking places to eat, various shops (which he eventually realized the names of which were mostly puns, which made him backtrack to see if he could figure out the joke to the ones he'd already passed), public recreation that wasn't limited to beating each other up, and of course larger and more impressive dojos strictly for said purpose of beating each other up.

He also saw that there was at least one large digital display screen, risen above most of the buildings like a billboard, that scrolled between four shifting lists. The names and numbers changed too fast for Pit to read, almost like a computer compiling data, but after each list reached the end the screen would briefly display a classic tournament bracket. They were currently empty, with a message overlay that read something like [i]to be determined.[/i]

The tournament brackets. Hopefully the Seekers didn't all end up seeded too close to each other.

Pit ignored them for now but would remember to check later tonight to see if they updated early. Otherwise he was sure that tomorrow morning would be a flurry of people crowding around to check the list of fighters. There was a growing sense of excitement in the angel's chest despite his chosen tournament, likely because of the buzz of the city's eager citizens. For now though, checking out the rest of the tier. Of momentary interest was a shop called Directional Influence, a multi-media store that also sold the hardware and accessories to watch said media. Since he could get another errand done now Pit slipped into the shop, and soon after he heard the familiar telepathic voice reach back out to him.

[color=lightgreen][i]Can you pick me up a laptop while you're here?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Sure![/i][/color] he thought back to her, not even questioning it. 

He exited with the purchases bagged up neatly and hanging from his arm and a sleek white and gold credit card in hand until he banished it away the same as his divine arsenal. Pit glanced up in the general direction of Skyworld, though he couldn't see it from here. Maybe if he got up to the top tier... [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]Hey Lady Palutena, what's the going rate for hearts to zenny?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Worried you're going to break Skyworld's bank?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]I was just curious, but... um, should I be?[/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Let's just say you'll know when you're cut off. Now, hold still.[/i][/color]

Pit paused in place and stuck out the bag of electronics, watching as an orb of blue light began to take shape around it. A moment later and they disappeared with a distinctive blip of sound, a few azure particles shimmering in the air as the goddess warped her goodies to her side. Another moment passed before Pit blinked as he realized, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]my new phone was in there![/i][/color]

[color=lightgreen][i]Hm? Oh, so it is. I'll give it back later.[/i][/color]

Pit grumbled, more just complaining for the sake of it as he continued towards the elevator that would take him up to Esaka's next level. He passed a few more fighting clubs, peeking into their windows briefly out of curiosity, and as he passed by one in particular finding what actually looked like a [url=https://i.imgur.com/5mV5jIK.jpeg]proper dojo[/url] even if a bit worn, he felt a prickle on the back of his neck. It lingered even a few minutes later when the elevator was within sight.

[i]...is someone watching me?[/i]

Pit glanced around, not at all discreet about it. Sure, there seemed to be a couple of people looking his way, but none of their gazes lingered long. His angel sense hardly helped either, what with all the different kinds of power wielded by the locals. Esaka was a hodgepodge of all kinds of fighters, but now that he was alone Pit figured that he shouldn't draw that much attention. Then again, in a city of seasoned martial artists his true strength must have been apparent. Maybe someone was sizing him up. Yeah, definitely that and not that he'd blown the Seekers' admittedly poor cover already.

It could be anything really, so he didn't worry about it as he crossed one of the roads towards the lift. He also didn't worry about it as he waited for said lift to come back down for a return trip up. He tried not to worry about it when he grew antsy, or when his covert feathers slowly began to subconsciously fluff up in response to something... [i]dark[/i] approaching. It was a small feeling, barely there at all. Even when it was right on top of him.

He'd already stepped onto the elevator's platform when he sensed someone step in behind him, and felt a light touch on one of his wings. Already tense, Pit whipped around with wide eyes and his blessed bow in hand. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Don't even think about eating my wings!"[/color] he warned, his voice pitched up higher than normal. He was greeted with the mystery stalker, a woman clad in white whose face was shielded by a [url=https://i.imgur.com/tXF1fWh.png]wide hat[/url] with a veil trailing from the back. She drew her hand back, making no move to assail the angel.

"I would never... consume your or anyone else's wings," she said slowly, almost like she had heard similar insinuations before. But Pit could practically hear her nose wrinkle in distaste even if he couldn't see it, so he felt himself relaxing a little. "I merely wanted a closer look and I admit I'm not sure what came over me. I apologize, I didn't mean to startle you."

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Oh. Uh."[/color] Pit stood down, letting his weapon evaporate into light as he cleared his throat. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"That's okay. I wasn't startled."[/color]

The elevator ascended, dragging the lift up the side of the high brick wall that separated the tiers. It was a wide platform, more than large enough for the two occupants to keep space between them. Even so, Pit could feel her eyes tracing his feathers before politely looking away again. It wouldn't be a very long ride to the next level, but he wanted to break the awkward silence that had formed anyway.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm Pit, by the way,"[/color] he said, turning his head to look at the woman. He could just barely see her mouth form a small smile, relieved that her rudeness hadn't been taken personally. 

There was still something about the woman that pinged a part of his brain which told him to be on guard, but there was no hostility in her body language. Nor in her voice, as the two of them got to chatting.