Selling Point [Private/Kouketsu]

It been another week or so ever since she stepped into the wealthy Kingdom of Ilusia. Another week of clearing out some of her competition and making alliances with some of local dealers. Business was good at the moment,, it was around that time of year wear people spend more than usually, she knew some people celebrate  something, but she wasn't sure what it was call not that  she care much about it, If brought her business, it had to be wonderful.  The Kuja Arms dealer decided she would set up a small store and do some on the street selling today, she need to recover some beli she spent on a unexpected encounter. A whole 600,000,000 beil down the drain! She had the person who cause her to spend so much, to pay her back, but still she need to make that money up. So that why she was out working the streets and pushing her product.
"The way that sound in my head, it sounds like I'm selling my body. Haha. Too much pride for me to ever do that." She quietly laughed as she finishing drinking that last of pink lemonade.

"HELLO CITZIENS and TRAVELLERS of Iluisa Kingdom. Kaleesi, Here and welcome to he grand opening of Kaleesi's White Market. Where all your needs can be satisfy. I go everything you need! So just step inside and take a peek?" Kalliope would playfully wink at the men and women who pass the street as continue to explain about her 'White Market'.  Her charm and attractive stretch across both genders and everything in between. She was looking around the area to see if anyone caught her interest, maybe some warrior or criminal. They always had beli to spend.

The blue armored medic took a step back and marveled at the Illusian empire that had taken its spot on the island. The city was grande and held much wealth to its name. What came of it however, wasn't exactly the same image the city portrayed when you walked into it. There was crime, greed, and above all, corruption. At least, that's what the medic believed to happen inside cities like Illusia. Not all of them were like that, it just so happened that most of them were. The thing that Osore came looking for in this kingdom in particular was a pair of gauntlets. They had to be a certain pair as well. Hopefully those that sold that type of material and goods had something Azazel was quite fond of.

The man continued his stride after his marveling of the city and his quick thoughts about the local merchants. His hopes quickly diminished as he noticed most of the shops and stalls did not hold any of the merchandise he was seeking out, he needed a selection as well which meant a single pair wasn't going to do. More and more he went down the street, more and more people called out to him wishing to sell him utter crap and bullshit scams. He waved away the ones bold enough to get into his face to sell him something and quickly said no to those who didn't. A quick look of their wares would be all he needed.

Noticing another young woman, maybe around the age he was, he decided he may actually approach this one. She wasn't weird and constantly got into his face for something. She just stayed by her own and tried alluring people. That wasn't what made her stand out however, it was her outfit. It seemed very military like, mercenary even. He took a few steps toward her direction and called out.

"Excuse me, I don't suppose you have anything on armor. More specifically, gauntlets like mine."

The medic showed the young woman (Kalli) his arms and then crossed them waiting for an answer he hoped he would hear.

Business was good! Maybe she would have drawn more people if she didn't wore her mercenary outfit but then again people did like Kuja in uniforms. Either way she was thinking of ways more ways to increase sales. She was getting several customers here and there, but none of them seem to connections to the people she was seeking to spread the word of her 'White Market.' When she thought about it the name, it was a dead giveaway or near giveaway to the Black Market. She could came up with a better name, but she wasn't drawing unwanted attention at the moment. She may be wanted by the marines, but at the same time, she had no problem selling her products to them as well. All she had to was be careful. She didn't which marines would ignored her and which ones would try to captured her.

"I Promise everything in my Market comes at reasons price. Everything is negotiable because at Kaleesi's market I put the customer first."  She said in charismatic tone, which playful look in her eyes. Using her looks never her, just as she was about to take a small break she was greeted man around her age, he had an exotic looks towards him. She hardly see people with white hair, she figure he might have been born from Shimotsuki Village. He just had that samurai look in her opinion.  Already she figure he was going to ask about sword that was until she actually listen to him speak. "Ah Gauntlets!? I rarely get requests about them. These days everyone into dual swords and large freaking guns. I admit, I'm fond of firearms myself. Now come. I'm sure.I have some for you handsome?" She laughed as she turn around and motion with her hand for the man (Osore) to follow her in her market. She hope some flattery would help her in making a sale. She push opens the door of her shop as she step aside to let her client step through.


"Take look around my friend. I be back to help you out. I just need to get some lemonade for my throat." Kalliope kept her grin up as she went to the back to get a drink.

Kouketsu listened to her comments and sighed slightly. She wasn't sure if she'd had anything on the gauntlets but he could look around. It wouldn't hurt anything but he was on a tight schedule, he needed them right away. Her mentioning his looks merely gave her a response that equated to a nod. He wasn't used to being seduced, at least not since all those years ago with that one old man. He probably keeled over by now because of how old he was. It was a shame, he hoped to encounter him once more in his lifetime, not necessarily because of his seducing but for his joyful and mischievous attitude. It was much like he was when he was young and without Azazel.

A quick snap back to reality and he would notice the young girl walking away from him probably allowing him to freely look around for what he was seeking for. Taking a quick look at the entire building as a whole would reveal numerous pieces of armor and weaponry. Guns, swords, shields, and more. Perhaps there was still hope for the shop after all. Taking a stroll throughout the building was quite interesting. There were well designed swords sitting on top of walls and shields resting onto the wall waiting for someone to choose them as their rightful guard. Further inspection wouldn't immediately reveal his true objective however.

"Hm. How unfortunate."

The white haired man silently pondered the whereabouts of his most reliable choice of weaponry.

When Kalliope was in the back of the store, she open up a small refrigerator, and grab a bottle of ice cold pink lemonade for herself. Maybe she should have ask her customer if he want anything to drink, but she didn't want to share her drink...so she push the thought out of her mind. Unscrewing the capped and gulping down her favorite drink, she thought about her earlier interaction.  "Well seduction didn't work on him, I didn't expect it to fail so badly. That rarely ever happens to me. Maybe he fancies men instead of woman, it wouldn't be the first time I meet customer who weren't attract to women. Oh well I got him inside at least. " Licking her lips she screwed the capped on her bottle lemonade as she walk out from the back, hoping the man seen something, but to her disappointed, he found nothing of the sort for now. "Sorry about that. Mister...?" She paused for a moment so he could answer her question. Even if he didn't she would continue to speak. Walking tours a suit of armor she had and resting her arm on the helmet.

"Gauntlets. I'm sure I have a pair that you would like. You see where I keep the gun blades at? Those fancy guns with a blade attach to them." Kalliope use her left hand as a guide, pointing to the area she was describing. "Just keep moving towards your right and you see a selection of gauntlets to choose from. Not as large as my section of swords or firearms, but still it wouldn't hurt to check. Anyway what brings you here to the wonderful place known as the Ilusia Kingdom, Friend?" Kalliope said in friendly tone as she watch this particular customer browse around, she had feeling that he wasn't a easy sell. "Heh" She utterly quietly as she took sip from her lemonade bottle.

Gauntlets Galore:

Osore would look up as she apologized for him not being able to to find what it was he was seeking. The questioning tone after mister implied she wanted to know his name. He pondered whether giving her his name would prove to be more trouble then not. Ultimately he doubted it would be that serious so he replied to her.

"My name is Osore, nice to meet you. Your name would be miss?"

She continued walking ahead and Osore calmly followed in suite awaiting any leads to his objective. He would sadly be alone on this mission as he didn't ask any of the crew to help him. However, he had been alone a majority of his life and worked on his own agenda anyways. He could handle himself alone in most situations so finding a pair of gauntlets should be easy enough. Soon the girl would reveal she did indeed have a selection, though small, the man noticed two nice looking gauntlets.

Both were black and both were gray, both would do. However, the man didn't necessarily need to buy them. He only needed Azazel to "observe" the structure of the piece of armor and possibly "consume" it to increase in power. However, Osore wasn't ready to fill Azazel with even more power, it would consume Osore as he wasn't ready to "tier" up either. He frowned and looked back at the girl who mentioned his purpose of being on the island.

"It was merely the closest one to where I was, nothing special. I'm sure I already know why you're here. It's pretty obvious with the shop that you have."

She noticed that delayed response when she ask for his name, but didn't say anything about it or seem to care about it. It made her slightly curious to learn about who she was dealing with at the moment. When he ask for her name, her grin widen a bit. She thought if she should reveal her actual name, if wasn't that question, she assume people would think her name was same name of the store, but oh well, there wasn't danger of saying her real name. Even with her tiny and annoying bounty, all the people she meant so far didn't recognize her as an Arms Dealer, why would he be any difference. "Well since you ask so nicely. My name is Kalliope, but most people tend to call me Kalli. Mostly likely to try to butter me for bargain or something of the sort. Anyway Nice to meet you Osore."

She watch him intently as he obverse the selection of gauntlets she have, she thought that one of them would at least he catch his attention and he would have to buy it, but no dice, if the frown on his face was any sign. Mentally she roll her eyes and sighed, but she had to keep her friendly tone. After taking another sip from her bottle, she place a hand on her chin thinking of way to get a purchase out of him. "Right, Hmm. by the look of your face I can sell that your less then please with what I have out on the floor? Is it the price of the items? Don't forget everything in this store can be negotiated, well expect me of course." She tired out some humor on the man, to see if she could get a chuckle or even a smile from him.

Osore slyly at the mentioning of her not being of any sale. It was clever and wasn't forced. It had been a while since he found a joke like that so amusing. It was a nice change, even if for only a moment.

"No there's nothing wrong with you or your merchandise, it's me. You see I have very little money at the moment and my real objective into finding the gauntlets were to merely allow my friend here to observe the structure of these fine pieces of armor. Yet, as a entrepreneur, I can see the problem of not buying anything and you went out of your way to help me."

The mention of not having very much money was a ruse in itself. To be honest, he had a good chunk of money, he just wanted to possibly be amused by the response of the young lady. Most merchants didn't like the idea of free service and to see them squirm and complain was entertaining. He hadn't noticed it before but the young lady wasn't completely consumed by corruption, she had a nice balance. It was interesting that someone in a business like this hadn't been fully corrupted by greed.

"Peculiar indeed..."

Osore sighed as now he had to awaken his long time "friend". He balled both of his hands into fists and then bumped both fists on each other. As soon as this was done, a purple aura surrounded the pair of gauntlets to signify the awakening of Azazel. His presence inside of Osore's mind could be felt. The feeling of darkness, corruption, temptation. To most, it was enough to make them go insane but Osore had always had that spark in him, that spark that was dimmed by Azazel. Wearing the gauntlets wore down on him, but he believed a change in appearance could help him.

"Azazel, meet Kalli."

The gauntlets' purple aura grew slightly brighter at the sight of the young lady.

At least it wasn't her products that were problem.  So her main guess was correct after all, a lack of money to spend or it was sort of right. The main issue is that he really didn't need to buy any gauntlets! If she understood him right, his friend which Kalliope assume were his current gauntlets had some sort of ability to mimic and possibly improve the ability or powers of other gauntlets. That would been bad of business. She took several seconds to think before she would response back. "I didn't expected that at all. That is one useful power that your friend has, I'm surprised that you're willing to share that information! Your honestly is admirable and I like that. I'm willing to make a deal, a bargain or however you want to call it." She wasn't completely greedy, but she wasn't charity either. "How much beli do you have on you? If you don't mind revealing that piece of information."

The question might have been viewed as rude to ask, but she was simply trying to come up with the best deal as possible, one that would benefit both of them. She could let him do whatever with gauntlets and charge him a small fee, 100,000 Beli doesn't sound to bad. Before she continue her thoughts, focus back on Osore gauntlets, that aura that appeared from them, it was lovely, but she knew that it did more than glow. "Where did you even get something like those? Wouldn't mind expanding my network of suppliers."

Osore listened to the girl's comments and waited for her to finish.

"It isn't something that could have my life endangered in any way, so I don't see what's the problem in not sharing it. Also, just in case you get the idea of coming after Azazel or sending someone after him, don't. He doesn't reside in the gauntlets, they are merely a host for him. Now your deal on me buying something. I'm not going to buy any of these gauntlets as I don't need to now that Azazel is awake and has seen them, but I still have one more thing i wish to purchase which Azazel has a harder time observing. I'm looking for wristblades, do you have any of those? I wouldn't mind buying them as it'll take quite some time to observe something that he has no prior knowledge of."

Osore pondered how much Azazel could really add onto the gauntlets. He could possibly merge the wrist blades with the metal or just pay someone to do it for him. He could then conceal both Azazel and the wristblades until they were truly needed most. Osore wasn't fond of showing his full potential to everyone so the wrist blades would be a nice surprise for those who fight up close. Now he would just need something else to provide some range. He wasn't exactly proficient with ranged weapons which is why he never used one, but he wouldn't need to aim very far as he wouldn't be trying to engage those who were better at long ranged combat.

She let out a soft chuckle and raise an eyebrow. "Don't worry your pretty little head, I wasn't planning to send someone after you, that would be costly and time consuming. I could probably do it myself, but I have no interest in gauntlets myself, Like I said earlier, I'm more fond of firepower which firearms are made for. I was just curious in the location where you got Azazel, maybe I could find more items like that to sell, but oh well. I just do some research on my own I guess." The Arms dealer set her bottle down on a counter near by as she folded her arms across her chest. A small frown appeared across her face as her deal was rejected. "Fine, but if I see things gauntlets try to copy my items,  you be owning me 100,000 beli. Just call it a mimicry fee." Kalliope grin appeared once more, wristbands or wait she misheard that. Cheap product but, a sale was a sale.

"Wrist blades, I'm sure I have something like that, check near the mask section. I go in the back room for few minutes. Don't miss me too much while I'm gone. " Kalliope winked as she walk towards the back room again. Looking through things she still have in storage. "Let's see what we have here!" Kalliope pickup a crowbar and pry open a crate she had and look through its content, gloves, hats, brass knuckles. She pick up a pair of boots that had a blade built into them. She set some things onto the floor until she found what she was looking for.

Osore looked at the young woman as he could see the greed slowly consuming her soul. Corruption still touched this girl's soul only it was in the form of greed not murderous intent. The mentioning of trying to sell something akin to Azazel would prove to be highly unlikely. Azazel drained away at Osore's personality, his will, his everything. The sole reason for him being able to keep Azazel on for long periods of time is because of his personality without Azazel on him. It didn't matter whether it was on or not, you would still feel it's cold presence in your mind and very soul. So for the young woman to ask him for the reason of finding more pieces of weaponry like Azazel, it would surely tick him off.

"I'd advice against even trying to find things like Azazel. If I even here of someone obtaining something like Azazel, if I even think someone has obtained this power, I'll kill them and destroy the weapon. It doesn't matter who it is."

Osore laughed as the girl mentioned Azazel copying her gauntlets and taking its form to further its power. He'll probably end up having to owe her 100,000 Beli then. When Azazel finds something he likes, it doesn't matter what Osore urges him not to do, he does it. The woman left once again with a remark that made the medic give a slight  smile in response. Since Azazel was currently preoccupied with learning the structure of the armor before him, he wasn't so taxing on Osore. Looking through the selection of wrist blades the medic eyed each one. He didn't want a flashy one since they were meant to be hidden but if that's all the girl had he might end up taking one.

With a sheepish grin she respond to that statement in almost challenging tone. "Oh. How terrifying. I guess you might have to kill me or my customers in the future then. If I see an chance to make some more money, I be hard press not to take it. You know what I mean. As a business owner, this shop is my meal ticket, my paycheck, its my everything. I got to do what best for business." Sure she could start a fight in her shop and then ask him to pay for the damages, but that took to much effort and she wasn't sure what Osore was capable of. All she know was that he was medic of sorts and he has experience in close quarters battle. He was looking for gauntlets after all. Whether her statement about killing her was serious or a joke, that was up to the listener. Although if anyone did try to interfere in her underworld dealings she would take care of them. Besides Love, money was one of the most important things a person can have in this world. "Just make sure if you can backup that statement. I wouldn't want to read in the papers than a handsome fella like you got himself kill for picking a fight that you can't win! With all these pirates and revolutionaries running around these days."

It look like she was going to say more, but she decided to end the subject right there and move on to different topic. "Anyway. I'm afraid that all I have in stock for the moment. My next shipment won't come in for another week or so. Give or take a day." The Arms Dealer shrugged her shoulders slightly. Then she offer another deal out of nowhere. "But, since I'm just starting up this store. How about if I do something out of character. I won't charge you for anything you might purchase. In exchange for that just spread the word about my shop." She knows when she lost a deal, so she figure she make the best out of the situation. Free PR never hurt anyone, right?