Who Are You Without The Mask?

[Anadwen]

"No! That was YOUR job! It's not my fault that you can't search for them fast enough!"
"My job? It's your job to chop it to pieces!"
"If I am to do my job, first you have to do yours! Isn't that how it's always been?"
"You don't even have to search for them! You just have to lure them!"
"And get a ghost-claw straight into my face? No, thank you!"
"So that's it? The perfect Seiki Naohiro Adachi is afraid something might spoil his beauty? If that's the case, then-"

Shinobu didn't have the time to finish her statement in the argument - it was Seiki's clenched fist that interrupted her in the form of a punch, flying from the side. She gave him a cold, enraged glance - right before her foot was sent at his chin. It crashed into his forearm, but threw him off the chair nonetheless, flipping both him and the chair over. He immediately stood up, facing her, and threw another rain of punches and kicks on her.

"You're a hypocritical, lazy liar!" he growled.
"That's the definition of yourself, isn't it?" she replied, ducking underneath another hit from him.

Isako watched all that show with the same bored expression as always. Shinobu and Seiki argued all the time, and almost every time they fought together with fists. Hard. She was so glad that she never got caught in one of those fights, but the crashing and shouting was really annoying her. She pushed her unfinished bowl with dumplings away, and stood up.
"Arimus! Aaaaariiiiimuuuuus! Come here and stop them!" she cried out, holding her hands by her mouth. Her cry was soon drowned out by Shinobu's wailing as Seiki pulled her hair and dragged her through the hair, and a muffled thud as she grabbed his leg and tripped him over. Isako just smacked her head. Where was that butler? He usually appeared in an instant!

"You incompetent fool! Stop it! Stop!"
"You begun it! Stop blaming me for your mistakes!"

Through a mash of screams, Isako rushed out of the hall, carefully avoiding her fighting siblings and their lightning-fast punches and kicks, and searched for Arimus, repeating his name in the process. If he wasn't anywhere near, he must be in his room...

Oh, why it has to be so far from the dining hall by our rooms? Running in these high shoes is so hard! she thought while running. The sound of her shoes, clattering on the wooden floor, echoed in the long, tall hallways, but she ran faster than she might have though. The door of Arimus' room was soon in front of her.

She has always wondered how it looked inside. The truth was that Isako has never entered the butler's room - after all, he always came when you called him! Though, maybe something was wrong today... Well, everything has to be done for the first time once. This might just as well be the first time she'd come there!

And without further hesitation, she knocked the door open and burst into his room. "Arimus, Shinobu and Seiki are fighting again and they're making a terrible mess! Please, go to the dining hall by father's room - not the main one - and divide them, otherwise they'd break everything and kick a wall in like the last time they fought this much!" she whined at him in her loud, high-pitched voice, stomping onto the ground to emphasize her request.

[Brisinger987]

Arimus had spent the morning pampering himself relative to his daily actions and chores, and simply laid on his bed reading, his eye patch flipped up so he could read the script he was examining. He had an agenda, but he was in no rush. He had a green apple to his left, and a glass of wine, and the room was lit with incense and candles, the smell of burning wick and lavender intoxicating to him.

The candles were only present for light, and he smiled as he read about things that were even older than he was, remembering hearing some of these events happening as he grew up. He began to reminisce about times long forgotten to death now, and family members he had seen live and die as he remained ageless, and it made him sad.

So many of his charges died, and he was older than all of them, and it broke his heart knowing that while they could all die, he would live forever, owing his life to service of the family that had saved him over 1000 years ago.

So when Isako burst into the room, he panicked, closing his cursed eye, and staring at her intently. Then he did something he had never done before, in the presence of any of the current family members.

"Is someone going to die?"

[Anadwen]

"No! But they're wrecking the room again! They totally broke one of the dividers again and I was painting the cherry-trees on that one for hours! Besides, who's going to listen to their whining afterwards? I'm not! I'm so fed up with their constant fighting and that's all just because of the ghosts!" she replied, just as fast and loud as before.

Only then did she open her eyes and realized that Arimus had his helmet off, and he actually spoke to her. She's never seen or heard him speaking... It was an unusual sound, and an unusual sight, too. He wasn't old or scary as she has thought as a child... He actually didn't look much older than herself.

Even his room was... Surprising. It was quite dark in there, though, considering how late it was, that was logical. She could see the painted fan her mother made a long time ago, one of many like that, on the wall, and there was an apple and wine by his side. Along with scripts. She knew so little of him and this was all so surprising... 

"A-Arimus! I always thought you were mute!" she burst out the first thing that came to her mind.

[Brisinger987]

Arimus didn't respond to the mute comment, feeling that he was at least doing a good job of making himself seem quiet and respectful. He did however, respond to Isako's mention of a lack of death.

But only with the slight shaking of his head that he was used to. He picked up his script again and laid down, wanting nothing but to rest on his day off. He worked nearly every day of the month for this family, and they choose his day off to fight. Typical.

He flicked his hand, indicating to Isako that he would refuse to do it, and that merely speaking had dirtied his image. However, she would not be able to prove that he had actually spoken, so it would become mere suspicion that he could speak.

So he simply decided to ignore her, and shoo her away.

[Anadwen]

Isako's face became sad when he shooed her away. Her hands, till then in the air by her chest, dropped to her sides, and she opened her mouth in a disappointed disbelief. How was it that he wasn't willing to help her?

Seiki and Shinobu were just wrecking a hall, and he was... Reading. How was that even possible? Wasn't it his responsibility to take care of these things? And what was she supposed to do without him? It was practically impossible to tear Shinobu and Seiki apart in a fight...

"Arimus, please. If someone doesn't tear them apart, they'll soon demolish... Completely everything! You know how much mess they make every time!" she begged him, far more quietly than before, and showing him her large, glimmering crimson eyes.

[Brisinger987]

Arimus frowned, annoyed that she was disturbing him on his day of rest, and looked at her.

"Fine! But do not bother me again." He got up from where he was sat, and put on his helmet, taking off his eye patch, and scowling at the idea of having to do something that wasn't relaxing on the one day he got off.

He beckoned for Isako to follow as he strode down the hall, his looming frame light and agile. When he reached the fighting siblings, he let out an audible growl and got to work.

Seiki was the first to be dealt with, one of the thrown punches caught by Arimus, how flipped Seiki over and planted a foot on his chest, while he got Shinobu into an intricate lock hold with the other arm.

[Anadwen]

Unlike Seiki and Shinobu, Isako was shining with glee. Immediately after those two were set at the opposite ends of the low table, off course with their backs to each other and frowning, she grabbed the bowl on the table and offered its contents to Arimus.
"Thank you! Good job! I think you deserve a sweet dumpling, quick and awesome as always!" She cheered, sticking the bowl underneath his face. Except for Takuya, Arimus was the only person that could ever get Shinobu and Seiki off each other in a fight... Something really useful, considering how often they got into one!

However, Shinobu's voice broke this moment of silence. Isako's older sister partly turned her face towards the other two of her siblings, and frowned. "I smell a ghost. An evil one, at that." she muttered.

[Brisinger987]

The first thing Arimus knew of said ghost was when a knife was flung at his back, and he whipped around and caught it with lightning precision, before walking over and placing the knife back in it's sheath on the wall.

Then, silently, he went to leave the room, feeling that he deserved to go back to his ancient texts/

[Anadwen]

A loud, blood-curling scream escaped Isako's mouth when she turned away. She immediately bolted towards Arimus, coiling up to a ball on the floor behind him, and hiding her face with her hands. "It's huge! It's so big, so big, so big! Do something! Please!" she begged, crying.

Shinobu and Seiki looked to see what scared Isako so much - and their jaws dropped. It was indeed huge - and it burst a hole into the wall. Dust was settling in the large crack, and where others might see just a blurred shape, or nothing at all, they saw the ashen-grey body of the creature, topped by a large, skull-like horned mask.

"Someone bring our swords, I can engage it till then! Shinobu! Arimus! Just go get them!" Seiki shouted, springing from his chair at once, almost instantly followed by Shinobu. In a split second, everything was upside down.

[Brisinger987]

Arimus saw the damage done, but no ghost. And for a minute, he spoke his own name, and time slowed around him, warping, and he sped to get the swords, seeming to appear with them instantly, and threw them to Shinobu and Seiki, before deciding on a tactic.

"Hey, skull-breath! Look here!" He gave Shinobu and Seiki a look to say to direct it's attention to Arimus. Then he removed his helmet. The eye patch was still in his room, so he kept his eye closed.

"None of you look at my eye if you want to live." Arimus made a gesture that was one of inviting death.

[Anadwen]

Was Arimus trying to engage the spirit while they actually fought? It looked like it... He was sure a good bait, practically indestructible, while the more fragile, but stronger trio would...

Slice it to pieces. He caught his katana in mid-air, gripping both hands around the handle of the extraordinary large blade, and with the corner of his eye, he saw Shinobu do the same. In the meantime, Isako was covering somewhere in the back of the room, staring at them, petrified in horror.

Both him and Shinobu shifted to the opposite sides of the room, avoiding Arimus' face with their glances, while the attention of the ghost was still glued to him. He gave her a signal, nodding his head at the spirit. Stun it while it's looking, then slice its head off.

All of a sudden, it moved towards Arimus. And that was the sign for Seiki and Shinobu to attack. They leaped into the air, both quickly moving towards the head of the ghost, and a bolt of energy, directed from Shinobu, hit it. It turned the skull-shaped mask in that direction, but before the soul-cutter swords could hit it, it burst forth, towards Arimus, with unusual speed. It appeared that it was avoiding him, but aiming at him at the same time...

[Brisinger987]

Arimus opened his eye for a brief second and saw that he could see the ghost with his unobstructed eye, and he grabbed a kitchen knife, and threw it through the monster's mouth, before closing his eye, and preparing to get torn apart, and knowing that it was going to hurt.

And then it happened. He felt the hands dig into his body, and he felt the two halves separate, spraying his blood everywhere, and he roared in agony, the pain unbearable to him. But of all the things he did, he still kept his eye shut, knowing that without his helmet, he was a danger to them all.

[Anadwen]

Seiki was knocked into the wall by the spirit's strong swinging tail. Cracks spread from where he hit it, such was the force of the impact, but even though he was pushed into it more and more, he still held his katana. With the little possibilities to move, he lifted it, and sliced the part that kept him in check off, falling onto the ground right after.

The only one who was still on her feet was Shinobu. With a few fast cleaving blows, she managed to cut off the spirit's clawed arms, and she got to Arimus in a few moments. Even though she was aware of the dangers she exposed herself to like this, she bent above him in an attempt to use Kido to put his severed halves back together.

Off course, it's impossible to see a tail flinging at you from behind when you're not looking up. It was Isako's scream that warned her - her little sister was screaming in the corner some indistinguishable words. Isako was obviously too terrified to do anything about it...

However, before the spirit's tail could have hit them, it seemed to crash into some kind of invisible shield, and it flicked back. Isako... Was defending them?

Though, this way, Seiki was left on the other side of the shield alone. Shinobu believed he could deal with this even without them. She wanted to believe it, even though this was a pretty big and strong evil spirit. And he was on the floor when she last saw him.

Fortunately, not anymore.

[Brisinger987]

The right half of Arimus disintegrated, and his left side began to bubble and boil at the cleaving, and very slowly began regenerating. It looked gruesome, and the smell of nitrogen filled the air, but he slowly began regenerating the lost half.

[Anadwen]

Why didn't she remember it sooner? Arimus would naturally regenerate after any physical damage... That must have been why Kido wasn't working. Just that simple.

If she would have realized that before, her brother wouldn't be tossed around the room like that, slicing the spirit! He had to avoid both the remains of the tail and arms, and the head of the ghost, and Shinobu couldn't get through Isako's shield...

"Isako, let it go! Shield Arimus and let me help Seiki!" she shouted.
"I can't... I can't control it!" Isako screamed back through her tears. Shinobu threw herself at the shield, banging her fists into it, but it was worthless - Isako's defensive spells were too strong.

Not even shoving a blade through or channeling her spiritual energy into it in the form a strong spell worked. Shinobu dropped onto her knees, drained off her power, and reached after Isako, shaking her violently. "Do something about that! Seiki's fighting it alone!"
"I can't! I don't even know how it happened!"
"You used your Kido! Don't you remember nothing that you've been taught?"
"No! I was asleep! Ow, Shinobu, stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Isako begged her, quivering in her hands.

Their argument was interrupted by a long, horrible scream. As they turned their heads towards the spirit, they saw the handle of Seiki's sword sticking out of the forehead of the mask, sliced in half. His hands were still clenched around it, partly covered in blood. The floor beneath was melted by acid...

"Shinobu, do something! I'm stuck!" he shouted, desperately trying to yank the blade out, but apparently without any greater success. The head was twisting and turning, trying to shake the dragon-blood atop it off, while repeating the same horrible scream over and over.

[Brisinger987]

The half disintegrated form of Arimus sudden reanimated, throwing knives at the beast with astounding accuracy, each knife aimed at eye sockets or the throat.

The other half of the head had only just begun forming from the boiling, bubbling fluid, and yet he could see through the eye that was forming there.

[Anadwen]

Every knife was deflected by the invisible shield, bouncing back onto the floor. Shinobu attempted to drag Arimus back, when all of a sudden, the spirit turned towards him.

It was most likely the soul-cutter blade in its head that made him face Arimus. Its deep, hollowed eyes met those of the butler... And with a last terrifying scream, it crumbled to ash, collapsing onto the floor.

Seiki's figure tumbled to the ground, landing amid the hole, burned into the wood, with a loud crash. Isako copied his motion, dropping and coiling on the floor, and Shinobu fell through the shield she was till then pushing into, since it disappeared almost in an instant. She turned to Arimus with a reluctant glance in her cold eyes.
"Did you just...?"

[Brisinger987]

Arimus had already closed his eye, and was nearly fully regenerated. When he was regenerated, her got up, and began to walk to his room to get into a fresh outfit, now that the old one was torn in half.

When he returned, he was wearing his helmet, which he had somehow hidden on his person as he left, an suddenly he began to speak.

"How stupid are you?" Arimus' voice boomed out, his anger barely concealed, and his fists actively clenched.

"I MAY AS WELL HAVE WALKED AROUND WITH MY EYE OPEN AND JUST MUTTERED TO MYSELF TO LOOK AWAY!" His rage was boundless, and they had pushed him beyond his tolerance, and he found himself laughing. He was laughing in the most insane, maniacal manner possible.

[Anadwen]

Shinobu has been just helping Seiki up when Arimus returned. She was still confused - and partly horrified - by what happened... The spirit just got destroyed. A soul dead. How was that even possible? That was...

"Arimus, what are you even talking about? Calm down! Everybody's alright by now!" she burst out back at him, abruptly standing up. "Are you insane? What are you screaming at me for now? How was I even supposed to know anything when you NEVER SAY A WORD!"

Isako covered her mouth when she heard them screaming. She hated listening to arguments... Bad things followed every time. In the end, she could no longer hold it in. She burst into tears, and bolted out of the hall, crying.

"Now look at that!" She, too, was off her limits. Shinobu was rarely ever screaming, or even angry at all, but when it happened... "WAS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?"
"Shinobu, stop screaming." All of a sudden, Seiki stepped in, obviously not amused by the scene she was making. "Can't you just let it be?"
"No! And what do you think? Let everything be, like you did? Like a selfish fool?"
He narrowed his eyes. And without warning, a heavy punch struck her from the side, successfully knocking her unconscious and leaving a trace of blood on the side of her jaw. It was, off course, Seiki's.

He sprung to his feet, wrapping his hands in his robe, and with long steps walked out of the room. "Everybody in this household is insane..." he muttered on the way as he passed by Arimus. However, as he stood in the doorway, he suddenly turned on his heel, and faced the butler. "Arimus. If I ask you not to tell Takuya and Risa about this, can I trust you to keep it secret?"

[Brisinger987]

"Hmmm, let me think about that one: NO! I will personally greet them, and inform them the TRUE retelling of this disaster!" Arimus sighed, kicking Shinobu gently to see if she was still alive.

"This was supposed to be my day off! And now, it's ruined. I shall be taking another day off, to recover from the stress the three of you have placed upon me today! Do you have any idea what could have happened if you had stared into my eye? If you had even glimpsed it?!" Arimus stared at Seiki, angry, upset, frustrated, and truly, truly enraged at what he had seen happen.

"You and your blasted sister, constantly fighting! I DON'T SERVE THIS FAMILY TO BREAK YOU TWO APART, EVERY TIME YOU FEEL LIKE GETTING INTIMATE WITH SWORD AND FIST! I SERVE THIS FAMILY BECAUSE I OWE YOUR GRANDFATHER A DEBT OF SERVICE! I OWE NOTHING TO YOU TWO, IT'S HIS LEGACY I PRESERVE, NOT HIS RECKLESS, STUPID DESCENDANTS!"