Completed [The Great Bazaar] Phantom in the Market (Oleander)

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Nine~... Ten~ HA!" Kouri finished her count and quickly turned around to find Merle already gone. She observed her immediate surroundings and couldn't find him in the sea of people. Hmmmm~ Ehehe~ I'm going to find you nonetheless... Kouri rubbed her hands in anticipation as she began floating upwards and then flying forward, gaining a bird's eye view over the market. Where... where are youuuuu~? The bizarre sight of a translucent little girl wearing a blood-stained white dress flying through the air could be seen in the Bazaar that night. Kouri was searching for a particular hooded man with brown hair. "Aha!" She found him! Kouri dashed down to the ground, materialized herself, and hugged her target "Gotcha!". She extended her tendrils and pulled down his hood only to reveal a very confused woman with brown hair. "W-w-w-wha-" The woman couldn't help but stutter at the very strange girl hugging her. "O-oh! Sorry! I was looking for someone else!" Kouri quickly flew away to hide her embarassment. He's good... really good... "Haumph..." After thirty chimes of floating, Kouri still haven't find Merle. She stopped in mid-air and began pondering. Hmmmm... where would I hide if I'm him... but, I'm not him so... I don't know! Oh no! What to do, what to do, what to do! Kouri's child-like mind began to panic as it's already halfway until a bell pass. "Aaaaargh!" She began randomly flew around and pulling away every hooded person there is. "Fuueeeh... petch this..." Thirty chimes later, Kouri could be seen curling up in the same empty alley where she first met Merle. Uuun... he should come back here soon... I bet he will boast about this... uuuuah!! Kouri already admitted defeat for this particular round.

[Oleander]

Oleander walked around with a random, as he heard random woman scream in confusion. She’s on the move… He walked continued walking with a group of people, until he saw in the corner of his eyes Kouri pouncing on a random hooded person, and another. I guess she was looking for me with a hood… ah!? When Oleander looked to his left however, he saw a man with the same hood as him and noticed that Kouri was closing in on the man. Not good… not good…! Oleander slowed his pace down and allowed his group to go ahead of him as he merges with another group, and moments later the surprised voice of the hooded man was heard. Oleander looked at his group and noticed none of them were wearing hoods, and gave a sigh of relief. However, when he looked around, he noticed that a majority of people had hoods on. Bad news spilled for Oleander when his group broke up, and he merged with a group with a hooded person. Oleander shifted out of that group and into another, but there was a hooded person as well. So many hoods…! After 30 chimes of switching in and out of group, the sound of Kouri’s frustration was heard followed by a storm of random people’s voice gasping in surprise. Oleander understood that she was now rapidly picking off any hooded man, woman or thing. So he needed to steer clear from people with hoods. However, no matter what group he shifts into there is always a person with a hood. Every time Kouri flipped someone’s hood, she was somewhat close to Oleander. She was like a relentless predator teasing its prey. Another 30 chimes later, and the round was over, and Kouri flew back to the alleyway. Oleander gave out a hefty sigh as he stops in place. His heart was pounding from how close she came to finding him. Since when did games like this become so intense…? Oleander walked back to the alleyway at his own pace, to meet Kouri. When he reached Kouri, he was met with a little girl who curled up in a ball with puffed up cheeks, turning her head away from Oleander. He couldn’t help but laugh at the cute sigh he just witnessed as he walked up to the little girl. He crouched down her height and gave her a small applauds. “You did great Kouri, you almost found me.” He said to the little girl who was refusing to look at him. He attempted to pat her head but his hand passed through. I guess she’s not taking it too well… “Well.. it’s your turn to go now. I’ll count to ten.” He said, trying yo cheer her up. “one! two…!” he began his count as she began to go.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Hmph!" When Merle came back and tried to comfort her for losing the round, Kouri scoffed and looked away from him, her face still pouting with puffed up cheeks. Then he tried to pat her, even that gesture was childishly refused by Kouri as his hand passed through her unmaterialized state. .........I'm going to win this time... Kouri kept silent as Merle announced that it's her turn now. Her child-like selfish attitude overcame any thought of cheating so Kouri planned to abuse her ghostly abilities of phasing through objects. Ehehehe~ Kouri blinked away from the area when Merle began counting. "Hmmm~?" She arrived in the narrow space between two stalls not far from the empty alley where Merle was still counting. You can never found me... like this! Kouri 'dove' down to the ground as she announced the boastful declaration in her mind. Now her whole form was beneath the stone floor and invisible to any normal detection means, except magics of course. I hope he's not a mage... but! I think he's not one~ Ahahahaha~ Kouri arrogantly relaxed herself underground and planned to wait until a bell has passed before heading back and boasting about her victory.

[Oleander]

“NINE!, TEN!” Oleander was off to find Kouri. Upon leaving the alleyway, Oleander looked up to make sure Kouri wasn’t in the sky searching for a place to hide. He saw no signs of her and began his search. He wandered around the market place keeping an eye out for the younger girl. Her appearance makes her stand out immensely. However, it was obvious that she wasn’t hiding in the market crowds. Let’s see, I’m a girl with the strange ability to fly… but I’m not flying… hmm… Oleander walked around pondering about the girl’s abilities and how she could use them to hide from him. She also has the ability to ‘jump’ from place to place, but I’m not too sure how far she can jump… I’ll assume she can jump long distances, which makes things a bit harder for me thought... thinking about the Kouri’s ability he was bumped stranger and fell to the ground. The stranger apologised and Oleander told him he was okay. …and her third ability… the ability to pass thought things… Oleander got up and began to walk about again. 20 chimes had passed and Oleander has ruled out that she was hiding in conventional places and was hiding in a place where her abilities her could be used to her advantage. “Darn those abilities” Oleander said in Ancient tongue. Her abilities gave her a serious advantage over Oleander's normal body. However, Oleander wasn’t one to give up. Darn… well… I know that I can’t see her now… but I could see her before, that means others have seen her as well, that means others might know where she is… perfect! Oleander had struck an idea. Oleander wandered around the place, asking people the where about and where they last saw young girl. He did his best to describe her, but as soon as he mentioned her clothing, they pointed in a vague direction. Oleander followed the directions the people pointed him to, some being more useful than others. 15 chimes had past, and all sign pointed to a place near two stall not too far from the alleyway. “That’s last place I saw her” a stranger said, answer Oleander's question. “Thanks” Oleander replied. Oleander walked up to the area, not sure if Kouri was there or not. I’m not sure if she’s here… but everyone I asked said that she was here… I better stay here for a while and see if she pops up. I’ll tag her then. In total it took 45 chimes for oleander to do his investigation.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri Fu fu fu fu~ Kouri was still giggling in her mind, her right hand covering her mouth in a stifled giggle as her victory goes nearer and nearer. It was really simple, she would just have to wait until a bell has passed, a non-mage couldn't possibly have any hope of finding her unless they were to tore apart the stone floor and got arrested by the Knights. Ehehehe~ Kouri curled into a ball and play around with her hair ribbons, her favorite past time when she couldn't do anything but wait. I love my hair~ She rubbed the very long strands of her ethereal white hair. Kouri's mother was an avid fan of very long hairs, she thought it make a woman looks elegant and beautiful. Kouri was taught to take very good care of her hair and never let it to be cut. Now being a ghost, her hair required no maintenance whatsoever and could even be moved like an extension of her body. After forty five chimes of waiting, she heard footsteps vibrating through the ground approaching her location. Huh? Who could be here I wonde-... don't tell me it's him... naaah, he couldn't have, must be a random merchant or something... Kouri was determined to win and as such, she would not come out on her own will no matter what. When a bell had passed, Kouri immediately rose up from the ground to find Merle standing in front of her, his back facing her. Oh! Ehehehe~ Kouri giggled. She then materialized herself and poked his neck. "Heeeey~ I win this time! Ehehehe~" She arrogantly boasted her victory to him. "Okay then! This is the last round! I'll definitely find you this time!" Kouri turned around, faced the wall, and began counting. Ufufufu~ I will win... I must win! This time, Kouri was planning to cheat. She planned to look at where Oleander was going before she even finished counting. "One... two~"

[Oleander]

A bell had passed and Kouri poked Oleander's neck, boasting about her achievements. Oleander saw this as childish, but it didn’t mind. After all, he was learning about this girl pretty quickly. She is a girl that can fly, go through objects and ‘jump’ from one place to another. As well as, having a childlike personality, unable to eat food and judging from her frustration earlier… is a bit air-head… Kouri stated that It was his turn to run and he did so. He pulled up his hood and began to run, but he looked back to see Kouri, he noticed that she was looking where he was going. A cheater, hah? Two can play at that game… A smirk grew on his face as he gets himself lose within the crowd of people, vanishing from Kouri’s sight. Let this be a game of a cheater and the brain. Oleander got as far away from Kouri as possible, mentally counting along the way… Okay, she’s at ‘5’.. Kouri… the first thing you will be looking for is a person with a hood… looks like I won’t be needing this... Oleander removes his clock and folds it up into his bag, leaving behind his dark clothing. … I bet now you’ll be looking for people in large clumps just walking around too. Oleander began to walk with a small crowd towards the exit of the marketplace. Oleander began looking at the various stall near the exit of the area, hoping that he can deceive the flying girl. Without a cloak, Oleander looked like a generic shopper in a busy market place. Oleander could tell that she had finished counting when he saw a girl flying in the distance. Oleander acted natural as he walked around the area, touching trinkets at stall and inspecting them. He even bought a nice silver brooch of a full moon that he could use to hold his cloak together. It was 45 silver mizas.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri Kouri stared at Oleander's running form, she didn't notice that he realized she was cheating. Ehehe... So that's where you're going... Kouri grinned as she was assured that her victory was certain. "Ten!" Finishing her count, She immediately made a mad dash to the air and began searching to spot people that wore dark-colored hood. Hmmm... where are you? Where are you? Kouri would not be fooled like last time, so she changed her tactics... well not much of a change really since she was now targeting poeple with dark-colored hoods instead of all colors... It didn't bear much results as after forty five chimes of searching, she found no Merle. "Uhuk..." Kouri began to cry at her loss, it was quite childish really, but Kouri was an actual little girl at the age of twelve years. "What is wrong, my dear?" A familiar voice of an old woman was heard by Kouri's ethereal ears. "Huh?" Kouri looked to the direction of the voice and spotted the very same elderly merchant she met about two bells ago. She was preparing to close her shop, her old age didn't let her open her shop until very late at night like other merchants. "W-well... grandma... you see, I'm playing tag and..." Kouri felt that she could trust the wise old woman and told her about the game she played with Merle. "Ohoho..." the old woman calmly chuckle "Well... if you're looking for a young man... with different-colored-eyes you said? Ohoho, well, he just bought an item from my shop, a silver brooch to be exact..." Kouri's eyes immediately perked up at the information and she excitedly asked the woman on Merle's whereabouts. "Ahaha, he should be still in the area... if my experiences are of any use, he seems to be the... secretive type, dear and unlike what you described... he's not wearing a cloak..." "What? Kuuuuh!" Kouri gritted her teeth, she felt like she was being fooled. It's not fair! She's the one who was supposed to fool Merle, not him fooling her! "T-thank you, Grandma! I'm sorry but I must hurry!" With her newfound information, Kouri floated up just two meters above the ground and searched around for a non-hooded man with chocolate hair and mismatched eyes. "You better hurry child... from what I could predict... you only got two chimes left before the next bell rings..." The old woman said before she continued to close up her shop for the night. "Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Kouri was filled with frustration and exerted all her power to search around for Merle. Is that... is that him?! Yes! That's him!! After a chime, she finally spotted him, the man with chocolate hair and unmistakably mismatched brown eyes! "Haaaaaaaaaaaa!" Kouri shouted with desparation and she immediately did blinking bursts to approach and touch Merle as fast as she could. In the next five seconds, her time will run out. I can do this! I can do this! I can do this! OOCWhether Kouri succeeds or not, I'll let you decide, Oleander.

[Oleander]

Oleander was still looking around the area, pretending that he was a shopping for random good. Oleander gazed at Kouri with the corner of his eyes, making sure not to look at her directly. He could see that she was having a hard time trying to find him. She was checking strangers with dark hoods, hoping that Oleander was one of them. Deception is my sword... but I feel kinda bad slashing a little girl with it… Oleander shook his head and continued along with his plan. Forty chimes had passed, Oleander was repetitively visiting various stall, and Kouri was once again frustrated. He could hear her sounds of frustration as she flew around the area. A few chimes later and Kouri actually began to cry. Er…? Um…? Oleander didn’t know what to do, but he still needed to continue his act. However, he felt betrayed with the old woman from the store began talking to Kouri. Oleander knew that the old woman was informing Kouri about something. Darn that old woman… Suddenly Kouri burst away from the old lady and soared through the air like an arrow from a bow. Looks like Oleander's cover is blown because of that old woman and with 5 chimes left, Oleander thought it would be safer to make a getaway. Oleander began to run and after a chime or two he could tell Kouri was chasing him. Oleander weaved through the crowd of people, sliding through people’s leg if necessary. Oleander did his best to his agility and speed to out run the girl. Now there was only 5 seconds left, and Oleander could feel Kouri catching up to him. The adrenaline flowed through his body. He could feel his heart bounding. He could hear time around him slow to a crawl. He could taste the dry air he was breathing. Kouri’s distance grew closer and closer. Oleander couldn’t out run the girl, so he did the next best thing… fall. Oleander dropped to the floor and he saw Kouri fly past him, over his head. Time was up…. Oleander had won. "good... game..." oleander huffed, catching his breath.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Come on! Faster faster faster faster!" Kouri exerted her body as she made a mad dash to Merle. She even blinked in rapid successions to reach him faster, it was quite tiring for her Soulmist. "Kuuh... haaaa!" She could see him now, right in front of her within her short child-like arm's length. Kouri materialized herself and threw herself to glomp Merle when... *Woooosh!* She missed... she actually missed. Merle fell down to the ground to dodge Kouri's 'Tag!' attempt and unfortunately for her, it succeeded. "Aaaaah..." Kouri let out a hollow monotone groan as her materialized body kept dashing forward and crashed into a wall. "Guhak!!" It hurt... it really hurt, "Uuuh..." Kouri slowly fell down to the ground, moved up into a curled up position while holding her head, instinctively unmaterialized her body in the process. "U... u... u..." She was sobbing and tried her best to hold her tears, both from the crash pain and the fact that she lost when she was so close to winning. "U..uwaaaaaaaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah!" It didn't succeed after all as streams of bloody tears fell down from her crimson eyes. Most of the people near her couldn't take the shrill high-pitched voice of the phantom girl and slowly edged away. Though some stayed put, in a dilemma on whether to help the ghost or concerning their own safety.

[Oleander]

Oleander picked himself up off the ground. His fall, thought intentional, was quite painful. Ow… ow… ow… I think I bruised my knee… ow… he stood up and brushed the dirt off himself as he looks at Kouri, who seem to had a collided with a wall. Oh, damn… jogged as fast as he could to the girl, seeing if she was alright. By the way she sounds of it, she wasn’t. “Are you okay? How’s your head?” Oleander asked as he got closer to Kouri. Oleander looked into Kouri’s eyes, and he could see that her tears were willing up in her eyes. However, these weren’t normal tears. These tears were blood. Everything about this girl is strange…. He abilities seem limitless she can move things without touching them; she can fly and pass through things, and she even ‘jumps’, but possess a mind of a child. Now tears of blood. Who is this girl… more to the point what is she? Oleander furrowed his brow, trying to understand when suddenly she began to let out her tears and began to cry, letting out a shrill noise. “Arrggghh!” Oleander gritted his teeth together, trying to dampen the pain caused by her crys. Oleander's ears were in immense pain. What…. Do…. I… DO!? Oleander then began to edge slower to the crying girl, bearing only a thought. The closer he edged the more painful his ears hurt. Oleander wasn’t sure it what she was going to do work, but whenever he was bullied in the past and cried, his mother would do this. Oleander was right next to Kouri and he lowered himself to her height. I hope this work! Oleander hugged Kouri, holding her head against his chest. He was hoping that this would both dampen the noise and calm the girl down. “It’s okay…” Oleander said, unsure how he could comfort the girl. After all, they literary jest met 3 bells ago and he was hugging her to calm her down.