[center][abbr=Primrose][img]https://i.imgur.com/zqHOn9T.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=D34C25][sub][i]Thursday Afternoon[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 368 (+1 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]11[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 311/110 
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Pools, the Forbidden Kingdom[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color][/center]
While the rest of the Seekers that had met to discuss how to handle G-Corp left to continue that discussion in a meeting with a whole new group, Primrose remained in the Pools tier. She was rapidly getting familiar with the area on just the few pass throughs, and she expected she would be spending even more time there throughout the week. With four separate tournaments running concurrently, and only throughout the next couple of days, there weren't any scheduled breaks for the participates - so there were just as many fighters competing now as there was earlier, despite it being the traditional lunch hour.

The dancer rechecked the various brackets for any changes she thought she should be aware of. So far all of the Seekers were still in Winner's, save for that man Kim... ah, scratch that. The World Warrior listing flickered with golden speckles as another relevant name dropped down into the Loser's Bracket: Harry Du Bois. That was 'their Harry,' wasn't it?

[color=D34C25]"Hm."[/color] Primrose made the mental note but ultimately didn't find herself all that surprised. The two men were new recruits without any sort of outstanding power let alone magic. Frankly it was more shocking that they'd gotten through any actual martial artists, even the amateurs one could expect in the early stages of the tournaments. Though they technically had the chance to keep making their way through the Loser's Brackets, there were still other Seekers still winning that they could rely on. Left now were Zenkichi and Roland in Tekken, Sakura and Bid Band in World Warrior, Pit, Nadia, and Yayama in Mortal Kombat, and the team of Terry, Amaterasu, and Captain Falcon in King of Fighters.

She didn't expect those members standings to change today, but there were a few matches left for the afternoon. On that note Primrose rechecked her intended destination, then headed once more to to the MK section of the Pools. She passed by a few excited yokai chattering about how Mortal Kombat might be more exciting that usual this go around, but as far as she could tell it was just the hopes of fans of the blood sport. 

Not worth her time at the moment.

[indent][/indent]
[center][abbr=Therion][img]https://i.imgur.com/af5E4Ko.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=BC8DBF][sub][i]Thursday Afternoon[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 936 (+2 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 362/100 
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Mid-Tier, the Forbidden Kingdom[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color][/center]
Moving as part of a large group was something Therion had gotten used to. Not just with the Seekers, but with his companions back in Orsterra as well. It didn't normally bother him as much as one might expect given his personality (or original personality, or whatever), but at the moment he was a bit antsy about it. Not because he was nervous about Kazuya, because it wasn't like the guy had been after all of them in the first place. It was for the fact that one of the region's Consuls was in the city. Hiding in plain sight as a fine strategy and all, and Esaka was a fairly large city, but the Seekers were not exactly inconspicuous. It would be easier to assume that Moebius was already aware of their presence and chose not to engage them, but to be safe they actually had to assume the opposite. And clustering together as they weaved through the Mid Tier was not the opposite. 

At least it was a fairly quick trek. One that Terry managed to fit an entire long winded story into, but still quick all things considered. Therion took a moment to raise a brow at the exterior of the establishment they ended up in front of before he entered it along with the rest of the gathered Seekers. His ears stood high on his head, listening for any signs of ambush. So far so good though, he supposed. Just a handful of apparent do-gooders whose leader jumped right into business. The thief was grateful for that.

He chose to stand and listened as Chevalier proposed his alliance and his plans, though many of the specific names and terms he used escaped Therion. Especially when Terry jumped in to speak. Rather than try and keep any of the background of these characters straight, Therion focused just on the general outline Chevalier gave them. The man concurred with Therion's earlier thoughts that blindly raiding the G-Corp building was a bad idea, offering the alternative of destabilizing the company itself to get to its leadership. Therion wasn't adept at this sort of thing, but after mulling the information over he found that it made sense to him. 

It honestly surprised Therion that the Seekers hadn't been flat out betrayed yet, at least to his knowledge. One would think that there were plenty of villains around who would eagerly try and take advantage of a group of heroes. Then again, wasn't this world full to the brim with heroes in general? The amount of genuinely good people must outweigh the bad ones, so it was likely that this, too, was just a bona fide offer of cooperation. If they seriously wanted to go after G-Corp, they'd have more of an advantage if the Seekers took them up on it.

...but Therion was not without his suspicions. And his questions.

[color=BC8DBF]"If your goal is the Four Kings, why bother going after G-Corp?"[/color] he asked during a lull in the back and forth between the UN and the Seekers of Light. In fact wouldn't it make more sense to use the distraction of the bounty to take a stab at the Kings? 

Or perhaps they wanted to curry some favor with Esaka's rulers, in order to do the stabbing in the back later on? A long con would be better suited for this kind of thing, although... 

[color=BC8DBF]"The reward,"[/color] Therion said next, tone flat. [color=BC8DBF]"Are you planning to claim it, even if they don't let a whole group up there?"[/color]

Chevalier had emptied the last of his wine from his glass as Therion spoke, though his expression suggested he wouldn't tolerate the cup being empty for long. "...Simply put, because G-Corp is bad for everyone. Their removal will only benefit Esaka and its people. For now, eliminating them is more achievable than the Four Kings." He paused he considered the thief's next question. "I think that 'reward' is a fool's errand. As far as we know, nobody has even successfully communicated with the Heavenly Principles, let alone convinced them to alter the balance. Our stance is that Heihachi's offer is a bluff. After all, how can we bring back a head if bodies turn to ash?"

A fair assumption. It did sound a little too good to be true. Though he'd thought the same, Therion had been lured in by that sort of temptation before; the easy mark, the unguarded treasure. Bringing the head was simply an expression, and there were ways to confirm Kazuya's death without it. Even if it didn't result in an audience with the Heavenly Principles, it would at least give them an opening at one of the Kings, if not all of them at once. It was a chance too good to pass up, even if it wasn't true.

[color=BC8DBF]"I guess you wouldn't mind if us fools took them up on the offer then,"[/color] he said. [color=BC8DBF]"you know, just to be sure."[/color]

Without replying, Chevalier gave a shrug, as if to say [i]knock yourselves out[/i]. 

Which meant that if they did work with this altruistic group, they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Therion's tail twitched. He didn't say anything more, just listened to the others talk and clear up their own misgivings. Until they had a time table like Yayama had brought up there was no need to split up now, but he did consider where he'd rather be when they kicked of this whole thing. A fair few Seekers already looked convinced, so it might as well have been a done deal already.