Quintin and Doctor A walked through the halls of the building, Quintin having an annoyed expression on his face. Doctor A looked up from her phone as Quintin continued to walk away.
Doctor A: Who is Lorisian to you?
Quintin: Don't tell me you're going to annoy me with that question too.
Doctor A: I usually don't care about what's going on with you, but I'm also not a fan of being left in the dark.
Quintin: I don't want to bother with it. I'm trying to stay as far away from him as possible.
A little further down the hall, two paramedics stood on both sides of Lorisian, Lorisian having his arms wrapped around their necks as they supported him to the infirmary. Lorisian turned his head to the side before it perked up.
Lorisian: Little nephew!
A look of dread appeared on Quintin's face as Doctor A let out a small laugh before looking away.
Quintin: Did you just laugh at me?
Doctor A: N-No… I did n-nothing of the sort… pffffftt…
Doctor A put a hand over her mouth as Quintin gritted his teeth.
Quintin: I am out of here!
Quintin walked away from the hall, the paramedics pushing Lorisian along as Doctor A started letting her laugh out more audibly. Quintin walked through the halls, his head swarming with all the annoyance he's dealt with recently.
Quintin's thoughts: What does it take to get some peace and quiet around here?
Quintin looked up and stared down the mostly empty hallway. He adjusted his glasses, noticing Li speaking to someone a bit out of Quintin's line of sight. Quintin moved a bit closer to the wall to get a better look, noticing Daymond talking to Li with a faint smile on his face. Li bowed as Daymond disappeared down the hall. Quintin raised an eyebrow before walking up to Li who looked in shock as Quintin walked up to him.
Quintin: What the hell was that?
Li: What was what, Mr. Planck?
Quintin: Don't play stupid with me, I know what I saw. Why were you talking with the head?
Li rubbed the back of his head. His expressions changed quickly before he looked up at Quintin.
Li: I was actually asking about some rules regarding the tournament. If my chances of dying are high, I might want to switch out, you know?
Quintin: That's some bullshit. I have no intentions of letting you win but don't think I'm cruel enough to kill you.
Li: Oh, I'm not talking about you. Just if I were to…
Quintin: What, you think you're going to beat me?
Li: Anything is possible in this tournament, after all…
Quintin: Man, I'm annoyed with you already. I'll meet you in the ring.
Quintin walked away as Li let out a sigh of relief. Thong ran up to Li, holding two hot dogs in his hands.
Thong: I already dropped off Hugo's. So have a snack before you go out there.
Li: You're always so considerate, Thong. I'm glad to have you cheering me on.
Thong: I can tell you're strong. Hugo would be so proud if you could beat someone like Quintin.
Li: Why are you acting like he's actually your teacher…
Thong: Well, he's our friend, you know? He lost his round, but he has his hopes in us.
Li: You're really optimistic. Oh yeah, I wanted to talk to you about your outlash.
Thong: My outlash?
Li: When we were at the pool earlier this week. Who exactly are the members of the Kaisuto Group to you? Why did you attack those two like you did?
Thong went quiet as his gaze wandered off.
Thong: They're the reason I ended up joining the Eclipse in the first place. My dad runs a dojo, and when the business started to go under, he turned to anyone to support it. The Kaisuto Group are those people. But they keep upping the amount we need to pay. My family is struggling and it's all their fault.
Thong felt Li place a hand on his shoulder, looking up at him. Li wore a gentle look on his face before meeting Thong with a smile.
Li: Then let's get as much funding from these matches as we can. Even if Hugo doesn't, I'm willing to help pay off some of that loan for you.
Thong's eyes began to water as Li gripped onto Thong's shoulder warmly. Li walked past Thong, eyeing down an entrance opposite to the one that Quintin had headed to.
Li: So wish me luck, alright? I'm heading out there.
Thong: I wish you the best of luck, Li.
Li wore a proud face as he headed towards the entrance.
Zachary: After that small break to allow some repairs to the ring, we can finally return back to our usual business!
Zachary tightened the grip around his mic as he wore a large smile on his face.
Zachary: THE FIRST TO ENTER THE RING IS THIS MAN! DESPITE HIS SMALLER SIZE, DO NOT LET THIS DECEIVE YOU! HE'S A BRUTAL OPPONENT WITH A LOVE FOR EVOLUTION, EVEN IF HE MUST BRING THE EVOLUTION FORWARD THROUGH HIS OWN WORK! HE'S RANK 34 WITH A TOTAL OF 19 WINS AND 1 LOSS. STANDING AT 167 CENTIMETERS AND 67 KILOGRAMS, HE BRINGS A NEW WORLD OF SURPRISE TO THE RING! GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO "THE SELF MADE MAN," QUINTIN PLANCK!!
Quintin walked into the ring, lowering his sleeves as he stood beside Zachary with an annoyed expression on his face.
Zachary: Try to lighten up, alright?
Quintin: This day was full of annoyances, I can be anything but happy.
Zachary: Sheesh, what a fighter.
Quintin crossed his arms as he stared down at the opposing entrance. Zachary lifted the mic to his mouth once more as he clenched his other hand.
Zachary: AND ON THE OTHER SIDE IS THIS MAN'S OPPONENT! WHO WOULD HAVE EVER EXPECTED THIS MAN TO BE ONE OF THE FEW TO FIGHT! HIS HISTORY IS AS EVEN AS YOU CAN GET! COMING IN AS RANK 300 WITH 20 WINS AND 20 LOSSES, THIS MAN IS THE PERFECT MIDDLE ROUTE! STANDING IN AT 178 CENTIMETERS AND WEIGHING 70 KILOGRAMS, KNOWN AS "THE BREAKING GENIUS," PLEASE WELCOME LI!!!
Li walked into the ring with a grin on his face. Li stood opposing Quintin, the height difference being obvious to anyone in the audience. But despite that, people had already decided on their victor.
Carrie: C'mon, that Li guy has to win. Just look at that size difference!
Gonzalez: I thought you'd know at least something about Quintin.
Carrie: I'm busy doing actual work most of the time to be playing your little games.
Remy: If that "actual work" is referring to sleeping during the job, I'd agree with you.
Carrie slapped the back of Remy's head, Remy immediately headbutting Carrie before they both looked angrily at each other. Mike stared at the match with his arms crossed.
Mike: This could go either way.
Gonzalez: How so? You already know how strong Quintin is.
Mike: After the previous match, I don't think just having a longer history means much.
Theodore: I see your concern. I may lead myself to agree.
Gonzalez: Finally done with that political talk?
Theodore: Yes! I'm going to be having dinner with the presidents of three different nations after today's matches.
Mike zoned out the conversation as he watched Li stretch in the ring.
Mike's thoughts: There's something about you, Li. What is it that's off about you?
Li wore a smile on his face as he looked at Quintin, his heart beating rapidly.