After a few moments' consideration, you come up with what you feel is a reasonable plan. Akasha is the person most likely to be able to give you useful information in the shortest amount of time, so talking to her is a priority; since you have the best relationship with her and the Shuzen sisters, however tenuous it may be, and are likewise the best-equipped to deal with them on something approaching an equal footing, you'll approach them on your own. Tatsuki can go talk to the Kurosaki family and their mysterious friend who "knows how to handle ninjas." There's no guarantee that Isshin, Masaki, or this Yoruichi woman will be able to offer anything on demons, but they're easy to reach, on reasonably good terms with you, and personally invested in the situation through Tatsuki. Best to give them the opportunity to contribute, even if it amounts to nothing. Ayane, Kasumi, and Taki, meanwhile, can go off as a group to speak with their families. That will save a lot of time and trouble, compared to you trying to approach them yourself, not to mention it will let them preserve the whole ninja mystique. And while they're off doing that, and after you've spoken with Akasha, you'll have an opportunity to try and track down Lu-sensei.

You explain your plan to the girls, asking if Tifa would mind going with Tatsuki for safety's sake, and then suggesting to Cordelia that she might join the two non-ninja girls, if she doesn't want to deal with Kahlua and her family again.

Cordelia chews her bottom lip for a moment, obviously tempted. "What happened to not going off on our own?"

"Akasha didn't strike me as the type to attack a kid just for asking a question," you reply. "Not to mention the thousands of witnesses and the cameras all over the arena. And in the highly unlikely event that something did happen there - because I'll admit, Kokoa didn't seem to like me very much, and Kahlua's is the scary kind of friendliness - or while I'm looking for Sensei, I have a lot of methods for getting myself out of harm's way. Not so many for protecting two people at once."

Cordelia nods. "Alright. I'll go with the girls." She looks at the fairy on your shoulder. "I won't ask you to keep him out of trouble, because god knows he's been finding it every time he goes off on his own-"

Oh, come on. That's not your fault!

"-but try to bring him back in one piece, alright?"

Briar wordlessly salutes, and with that, your group splits up.

"What's with her?" you grumble. "She makes it sound like I go looking for trouble."

"Yeah. Just think what she'd say if she knew about the squid and the sorcerer."

"Okay, the squid was totally not my fault, because I had no idea it was even there until it attacked me - unprovoked, I'll remind you. And as for the sorcerer, I was sure I managed to avoid leaving a trail."

"Hello, Alex!" Kahlua greets you as you reach the Shuzen box. "It's very thoughtful of you to visit during the intermission. Aw, but no Tatsuki?"

"That's my fault, Kahlua," you say. "What we saw in that last match has me worried, particularly for Tatsuki, and I thought she might want to talk to her family for reassurance while I tried to find some information." You glance at Akasha. "That is, if you don't mind my asking, ma'am."

"In this particular instance, I most certainly don't," the woman replies, giving the waiting area a sour look. You follow her gaze and find Gorn on the far end, talking with an adult of his kind. The elder demon wears garments that straddle the line between heavy clothes and light armor, carries a long, curved sword on his back, and has a particular look about him that you recall from Ganondorf's lifetime - the controlled bearing of a masterful warrior, combined with the dispassionate mask of a remorseless killer. "This 'Gorn' is a Mohra demon. His kind are exceptionally disciplined and skilled warriors, but their greatest power lies in their blood, which heals them from virtually any wound, and also causes them to grow larger and stronger after they suffer a serious injury. Unless one is able to reduce a Mohra to ash, rend it apart at the cellular level, or otherwise inflict an overwhelming amount of damage in a single attack, it will survive, recover, and come back more dangerous than before; even decapitation and dismemberment won't kill them, although it is possible to starve them to death. Their major weakness is that jewel; if it's smashed, the Mohra is instantly slain in a burst of energy."

You blink. "Just like that?"

"Quite a few demons have some manner of fatal vulnerability like that," Akasha replies, "and most of them make very little sense." She shakes her head. "Unfortunately, knowing how to kill a Mohra demon won't help you or Tatsuki advance in the tournament - but I do hope you'll keep it in mind, in case Gorn stops obeying the rules."

You nod, silently. You're a little conflicted over the idea of killing another kid, even if he is a demon, but then again, if it comes down to the question of him or you, or him or Tatsuki... well, that's not really a question at all.

"As far as fighting Gorn within the rules goes, you should do just fine. Tatsuki, however..." Akasha sighs. "I can see two options for her. The first is to forfeit. Gorn is here to win the tournament, not for the purpose of fighting any specific opponent; if he's given the opportunity to advance without having to expend time and energy, he'll take it. The second option is for Tatsuki to attempt a ring-out. That won't be easy at all. Mohras are much stronger than humans, far more intensely trained, and they are not fools; Tatsuki might be able to match this one for pure skill and cunning, but she'll be at a disadvantage in every other respect."

Once again, you can only nod. "Thank you for your advice, Miss Akasha. I'll be sure to let Tatsuki know."

Is there anything else you'd like to do here?

OOC: Currently, Alex is a high D-rank opponent for other children his age, which works out to low E-rank in the big scheme. He can use magic to exploit the weaknesses of certain enemies that would normally be outside his weight class (like attacking Buffy vampires with fire spells or telekinetically-driven pencils), and if he goes to Maximum Power, he's pretty close to a rank-up - although as noted, he can't keep that up for long, and he sacrifices his spellcasting while the boost is in effect.

Also, as it happens, Alex CAN use divination to try and track down his teacher. It's not guaranteed to work - the arena is a big place with a lot of people and material to get in the way - but it's a very sensible approach.