Ouida

Ouida is a minor character and one of two brothers who were acolytes training to become bishops. It would appear the two made the decision to become bishops after their parents died and the brothers' relatives took the opportunity to try and steal the extravagant inheritance left to the two young boys.

Ouida is the elder of the two, recognised by his taller stature and dark greyish-brown hair, and is the guardian of Liam. In the manga Ouida has passed the Bishop's Apprentice Exam and is now serving under Bishop Labrador as his apprentice (manga chapter 65).

Etymology
"Ouida" is an old German name meaning "famous warrior", and was used as the pen name of Victorian romantic novelist: Maria Louise Ramé.

Physical appearance
Ouida appears as a young boy who is 15 or 16 years old. He is fairly tall, being an estimated 5 foot 7 inches in height, and although his weight is unknown, he has a slender build.

Ouida's face is diamond-shaped with a sharp jaw and pointy chin, as well as a small, long nose, a small mouth, and narrowed, brown eyes. His skin is pale with a brown tint. Ouida's hair is a dark greyish-brown colour and spiked up to the right, with two strands falling over his forehead.

Clothing
He is first seen in the Bishop's apprentice uniform which appears as a long, white robe down to the ankles, having two slits, going from the bottom of the robe to the hips, at each side of the body, and long, white sleeves with large, dark blue sleeve cuffs. Down the back of the robe is a criss-cross stitching like that of a corset with dark blue thread. A small, white poncho (mid-back length) with a high collar and dark blue round the edges is worn over the robe, and he wears his exam badge at the front of his collar. He wears dark blue trousers and knee-length brown boots.

Later in the series, Ouida becomes Labrador's apprentice, and is shown wearing what appears to be a shawl decorated with the cross of the Church on the left, over a long, plain white shirt with full-length sleeves and long, plain white trousers.

Personality
Ouida appears as a kind and patient person who is sympathetic to the plight of those around him. He is also helpful, shown when he gives some of his Zaiphon to Teito during the Bishop exam.

Ouida is also studious and strives to do well during exams, as he becomes panicked at the thought of being late for the Archbishop's sermon because he may miss valuable information that could be on the exam.

Family
Unnamed mother and father: Ouida's mother and father died before he and Liam came to the Church. It appears Ouida was very close to his parents, as he carries a little book containing photos of them and would have been upset if he lost it.

Various relatives: Ouida has a deep hatred for the relatives who used his parents' deaths to take the house and inheritance, and they were his innermost darkness that he had to face during the exam. Attempting to separate him from Liam and frightening Liam have lead him to truly despise them. However, during the exam, he appears grateful that their actions made him realise how important his brother was to him.

Liam
"Until now I've taken too much care of him and been a hindrance to his growth. I understand now, believing in him is the thing most connected with his growth."

- Ouida

Ouida is the guardian of Liam, and has been since their parents' deaths. Ouida greatly cares for his sibling, and he prays to the statue of Fest that their bond will never break.

The protection of Liam is Ouida's utmost priority, and he constantly worries about his safety. When relatives attempted to seize his parents' property and separate him from his brother, Ouida fled to the Church in an effort to protect him. He considered frightening Liam an "unforgivable" act, and his anger at his relatives for doing so drove him to hate them. He also hopes for Liam to perform well, and pushes him to work to the best of his ability, seen when he urges Liam to hurry in case they miss the lecture, quizzes him on text from the holy books, and also takes him to pray to Fest.

Following Liam failing to pass the Bishop's Apprentice Exam, Ouida's approach to Liam changes: he views himself, in part, as responsible for Liam's shortcomings, and that his past protection of Liam had hindered his growth. Ouida then vows to allow Liam to go his own way and believes the best think he can do for Liam is to believe in him. However, Ouida's overprotection of Liam has not disappeared completely, and he becomes worried when he sees another boy tousle Liam's hair.

Superiors
Labrador: After passing the Bishop's Apprentice Exam, Ouida goes on to become Labrador's apprentice. He is very caring and respectful towards Labrador, advising him not to sleep outdoors at night in case he catches a cold, and making tea for him.

Castor: Once, when Ouida was looking for Labrador and could not find him, he enlisted Castor's help. Castor once remarked that Ouida is like a pious son towards Labrador.

Peers
Hakuren Oak: At their first meeting, Ouida and Hakuren got along well, and their shared duties as apprentices of Labrador and Castor seemed to have further improved their relationship. Due to the closeness of their respective Bishop superiors, it is likely they spend a lot of time with each other.

Teito Klein: Ouida took an instant liking to Teito, as he returned a notebook containing photos of Ouida's family that Ouida had dropped. He looked happy to see him during the Bishop's Apprentice Exam, as he smiled and waved at him and donated some Zaiphon to Teito. Due to the closeness of their respective Bishop superiors, it is likely they would spend more time with each other if Teito was able to stay in the Church.

Kyle: It seems that Ouida and Kyle are friends, or at least on good terms. They are familiar enough with each other for Kyle to call Ouida a: 'brother-complexed weirdo', and for Ouida to be not offended.

Ouida also appears concerned with Kyle's health, preparing light food for him after Kyle jumped from a Ribidzile, and when Kyle told Ouida that he (Kyle) was going to go mountain climbing with Lance, Ouida told him to 'try to come back unharmed'. Due to the closeness of their respective Bishop superiors, it is likely they spend a lot of time with each other.

Zaiphon
Healing Zaiphon: Ouida had a healing Zaiphon, and he appears to be quite skilled with a Baculus, as he was able to pass the Bishop exam.

Childhood
It is revealed that Ouida was born into a very wealthy, possibly noble, family, native to District 5. He was the eldest of two sons.

Escape to District 7
Ouida's parents died sometime before he and Liam fled to the Barsburg Church.

It is unknown if his parents were assassinated by members of their own family, but after their deaths there was a large fortune left unclaimed, and relatives of the boys took advantage of this and claimed it, and their parents house, for themselves. It seems his relatives also tried to separate Ouida and Liam, and it could be that they (Ouida and Liam) travelled to the Church to protect themselves from potential assassination, as they were set to inherit their parents' money.

Bishop's Apprentice Exam
Ouida is first seen dropping something an then Teito picks it up and returns it. He introduces himself and his younger brother, Liam, to Teito and Hakuren.

Statue of Fest
Ouida and his brother are then seen in one of the Ghosts towers, looking at the statue of, Fest. Upon arrival Liam asks whether this is the statue in which Ouida replies "it sure is, he's the God that Links peoples hearts together." Ouida then explains that the examinations are taken in pairs and that the examiners will be testing their bond as they go along. Liam says that despite not worshiping the ghost, he will pray that the bond between him and Ouida never breaks.

Part one of the exam
"It's the obligation of having the healing [Zaiphon] form."

- Ouida

The next time the brothers appear is right before the exam starts, where they smile and wave at Teito Klein and Hakuren Oak.

As a result of the incident involving the Eye of Mikhail, Teito's energy is drained. Hearing this, after the two former assistant Archbishops asked if anyone could lend him some Zaiphon, Ouida approaches Teito volunteering to give him some after many other trainee Bishops shunned him. Teito declines at first- not wishing to drain Ouida, but Ouida tells him the fact that he is trying to become a Bishop makes it natural that he would help him and that he will treat the whole thing as part of his trial.

He and his brother appear near the end of the first exam: at the final challenge, which is to decide which one of them passes, as only one can walk through the door of the victor. "Stupid! If I can't protect you, I can't protect anyone!"

- Ouida

Ouida tells Liam to walk through the door of the victor, but Liam distracts Ouida, writes Ouida's name on the wall and runs through the door of the defeated, crying and saying Ouida should pass. Ouida follows him through the door, saying he wishes to protect his brother, and when Lance hears these two reasons they both pass.

Part two of the exam
"Thank you. Because of all of you, I was able to feel how incredibly important my little brother is."

- Ouida

Ouida enters the second part of the exam and faces his fear of his relatives, who attempted to separate him from his little brother after his parents died and claim the large inheritance for their own.

Ouida runs to protect his little brother and is furious with his relatives for frightening him (Liam) so much. However, he is able to calm himself and be grateful that his relatives' actions made him realise how important his brother was to him. The illusion then disappears, and Ouida passes the exam.

After the exam
After passing the Bishop's Apprentice Exam, Ouida goes on to work under Bishop Labrador. He is seen rushing up to Bishop Castor, and his (Castor's) apprentice Hakuren Oak, in a panicked state after 'losing' Bishop Labrador. Castor advices him to search around the trees, and they find Labrador asleep amongst the roots.

Ouida presumably has a cross tattooed on his back to show he has been chosen to "pursue the path of a Bishop", and prepares to leave the 7th District to travel with Labrador exterminating Kor. With his things packed, and Kyle having already left with Bishop Lance, Ouida regroups with Hakuren Oak (who will be leaving with Bishop Castor) and informs him he will be leaving after he and Labrador repair the garden.

"Until now I've taken too much care of him and been a hindrance to his growth. I understand now, believing in him is the thing most connected with his growth."

- Ouida

They see Liam, who is preparing to retake the exam after failing, with some of his friends. Ouida tells Hakuren his own protectiveness had hindered Liam's growth- and that he is prepared to let Liam go his own way now, but becomes paranoid after seeing one of Liam's friends tousle his hair.

Just then, some children bring a letter to Hakuren, and Hakuren immediately rushes to Castor to warn him of the news.

Introduction
In the manga, Ouida is first introduced in the church refractory, where he drops something and Teito returns it. In the anime, Ouida is first seen late for a sermon.