[center][h3]Team Seekers of Fight: The Sequel[/h3]
[i]With Captain Falcon, Amaterasu, and the Bogard Twins[/i]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1721 (+3)[/center]

Day two of Pools was officially in full swing. No announcements from the Four Kings were necessary to kick the action off today; the minute the clock struck nine, eager contestants kicked off the first batch of qualifier matches. Though these bouts were still a far cry from the intensity (or publicity) of Sunday’s Top 8 matches, the stakes were definitely higher for today’s fights. For Low-Tier fighters, getting this far was a sign that they might actually stand a chance at getting results, even if only in Losers. If they had only been trying their luck before, they would need to lock in and doggedly pursue victory. For the more likely candidates, they could not afford to rest on their laurels. There were still plenty of unknown, volatile up-and-comers who could knock them down a peg if they weren’t careful.

Stronger competitors meant stronger competition, and better spectatorship. Esaka’s populace knew it, so compared to day one, many more citizens and yokai turned up to watch. For now, their number included Bartholomew and Marguerite Bogard, perched up the precipice of the Middle Tier overlooking the King of Fighters division of the Pools tier. From there, they could see it all: every punch thrown, every sweep and anti-air, every teched throw and explosive counterhit. For a couple of kids insulated within the Lost Numbers colony or aboard the Avenger most of their lives, such spectacle was exhilarating. They weren’t just here to watch, though, nor even to fight, but to win. Today, thanks to their grandfather’s sudden and mystifying disappearance, the burden of saving the world fell on their narrow shoulders. And having already stretched, dressed themselves to the nines, and psyched themselves up, the two were ready. Neither Bart nor Marg planned to let their teammates down today.

Amaterasu lay on her belly just a little bit to their side, claws hooking the edge of the drop, snout leaning down into it as she observed the combat below, though she was not particularly focused on that observation. The water droplets from the light drizzle speckling her glossy white coat seemed to only enhance its radiance, as if to spite the overcast skies. Like the sky, her mind was lightly clouded with memories of how she had let the side down the previous day. Not only had she not actually won a match yet, only endured, she also had been in the team who’d lost track of Terry, only to then also expose themselves to the local Consul.

That none of these things had led to disaster was a combination of chance and hard effort by her allies, and she could not stand to rely on such things today. She would pull her weight and more so.

Captain Falcon stood nearby, arms crossed in solemn thought. There was no backing out of letting the twins fight now, as the substitution had now been finalized. For better or worse, they were on this team now. And whatever worry the F-Zero pilot had for their lives was just going to have to be replaced with faith in their abilities. He finally broke the silence. [color=1f66b2]”Remember,”[/color] he said, [color=1f66b2]”These aren’t going to be like normal fights. You’ll be under the effects of the Heavenly Principles. Your shields will only block attacks from straight ahead of you. The power of your attacks will probably feel weak at first due to the overall damage reduction, so you’ll need to get used to that and adjust your strategies accordingly when you need to.”[/color]

He sighed a bit and added, [color=1f66b2]”And mind the time limit - 90 seconds. If you’re not paying close enough attention to it, your opponent could potentially wait out the clock and win by decision.”[/color] He didn’t advise any more than that for now, not wanting to come across as patronizing - but still, he wanted to ensure they were aware of the basic rules at least. [color=1f66b2]”This was usually the part where Terry could tell us about who we’re up against. Since he’s… absent… I would advise us all to pay closer attention to the other matches wherever we can so we can learn about our potential future opponents.”[/color]

Although a little false bravado might lift the mood a bit and give the team a more optimistic outlook, the Bogard kids weren’t foolhardy. It was just now really sinking in for them how out of their depth they’d be today. In addition to being strangers to Esaka, its fighters, and its rules, they had to contend with the Heavenly Principles. So far, the power of their grandparents, borne of pure elemental earth magic and the notion of Preservation itself, had been a potent enough trump card to save their skins whenever they needed it. Now, their abilities were subject to the adjustment of an unknown entity. Even if they preferred to rely on their own skill rather than raw power, it was a scary thought.

At the same time, though, neither Bart nor Marg were about to let anxiety devour them. They didn’t know much about the King of Fighters tournament, but they did know that only two of the three competitors actually needed to win to advance the team. Still, they wouldn’t be satisfied with coasting by on Amaterasu and Falcon’s coattails. They were going to win.

“Thanks for the advice, Cap,” Bart told Falcon.

“No matter how long it takes, we’ll play patient and whittle them down,” Marg explained. “There are plenty of ‘zoners’ in Esaka, right? If we play our cards right, they won’t so much as touch us.”

Ameterasu cocked her head to the side in thought for a moment. Then she turned the world into her canvas, dipped her brush into the pools down below and wrote in the sky the warning “Then is known strategy" in text as stylish and stylised as possible as if that would make up the indignity caused by her four word limit. 

Seeing her warning, Marg shrugged. “Well, it's what we’ve got. Plus, the people here in Esaka have been fighting for what, two hundred years? Nothing new under the sun.”

The wolf gave a little head tilt that somewhat conveyed an attitude of “I suppose” but internally she at least hoped that the sun herself might be able to throw them a little off guard.

[color=1f66b2]”Well, we’d better get down there ourselves.”[/color] Falcon reminded them, [color=1f66b2]”Getting eliminated because of tardiness would be rather embarrassing, don’t you think?”[/color]

That went without saying, so the kids got a move on without a word, their teammates following right behind. A lift down to the Pools tier happened to be less than a minute’s travel away, although given the time of day it was so jam-packed with competitors and spectators on their way to the qualifiers that the team could scarcely cram in. Once they did wedge themselves in amongst the musclebound brawlers, masked ninjas, and other fighters, a quick ride down brought them to the watery expanse of arenas and walkways that would bear witness to the Seekers’ rise or fall. Having already used a bulletin board to familiarize themselves with their designated arena -as well as the names of their prospective opponents- the four knew just where to go.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Gwd9KRV.png[/img][/center]

Today, the King of Fighters contingent had the privilege of scrapping atop a rather high-profile arena. Five statues of ancient Chinese warriors, each easily twenty-five feet tall, stood in the water holding ropes that worked together to suspend a disk-shaped stage, accessible via wooden walkway from one side and large enough to accommodate three duels at once. One of the biggest and fanciest battlefields in the Pools tier, this stage tended to draw a decent crowd, with a number of citizens and yokai perched atop the surrounding statues for premium viewing. Whether they liked it or not, it looked like Team Seekers of Fight would be subject to a lot of publicity.

Furthermore, their opponents were already here. Amaterasu in particular would recognize the elegant, reserved [url=https://us-east-1-bandai.graphassets.com/AXzioIclSWilEjFtsMJPwz/LJpjWsaS7aYm9xRBQftf]Jun Kazama[/url] with her raven-black hair and flowing white dress, although her presence here meant that the gentle-looking woman was in truth a foe to be taken seriously. At the lady’s side stood her niece, the tough and feisty Japanese brunette [url=https://us-east-1-bandai.graphassets.com/AXzioIclSWilEjFtsMJPwz/Do1ctlu2Qu6mURUCs5iO]Asuka Kazama[/url] who the Seekers might be a bit more hard-pressed to recognize as Sakura’s counterpart in the Asuka/Lily-Sakura/Karin rivalry. Finally, the rough-and-tumble Chinese detective [url=https://i.imgur.com/TSW9Lqy.png]Lei Wulong[/url] completed the trio, a hard-boiled gumshoe with Jun’s years of experience and Asuka’s raw gumption. These were fighters from Tekken, a High-Tier dojo, and beating them would be no mean feat.

Amaterasu padded up the walkway with head held high, ignoring the jeering coming from a certain Yokai who had tried to steal the letter of recommendation from Jun Kazama, before seating herself down opposite the woman in a clear indication of her desire to face off against the woman. This would be her trial, the cliff to test her new resolve. Not just in terms of martial prowess but also, perhaps even more so, in terms of setting aside her fears of harming the undeserving, for none were less deserving than the charitable woman across from her.

Captain Falcon stepped forward a pace further than where his team stood, a silent indication that he was indeed the captain of this particular team. It wasn’t hard to see who Amaterasu preferred to fight, so the Captain went ahead and let her square off with Jun if she so desired. And between the remaining two Tekken fighters, it seemed pretty obvious that the detective was the one he was going to fight here. That at least would give the twins an opponent closer to their age range to fight in their first round. This would also be Cap’s oldest opponent thus far. Kung Fu Girl and Lee were both pretty students of their arts. This man, on the other hand, seemed a fair bit more experienced and wizened. Of course one could only glean so much from appearances alone.