SUBMIT

35

        "That is the most disgusting thing I have seen, and I have seen just as many dead bodies as you have." A man with red irises sneered in disgust at the one who was on the ground, his arms crossed. His long dark hair was slicked back as it tumbled down to his hips, wearing only black hakama pants that hugged his waist and a bare upper body that allowed him to showcase his muscular arms and chest. His skin was decorated with golden lines, made to accentuate the dips and rise of his body. On the waistband of his hakama pants, a mask of power was clipped to the side.

A boy, small in stature compared to the man, whimpered from where he sat on the starry blue ground that rippled under them like water. He had shaggy brown hair and hazel eyes that were wide with a pout on his lips, his features soft and youthful. Gold eyeshadow ran on his lower lid, sharpening at the corner of his eyes. He wore a comfortable set of jinbei—loungewear for during the summer—despite there being no season nor weather where they resided. It was dark green in color with various stripes of white and blue running throughout the outfit. A monkey mask was clipped to his own waistband, and it moved when the boy stood up, exclaiming, "I-It's not disgusting! I was curious!"

"Do not listen to him," A hearty laugh was heard as a man, large in stature and short in height, came up to them. He had a full face, cheeks round with sparkling gold dusting the apples of his cheeks and the entirety of his drooping ears. His eyes were closed as if in a constant state of joy that paired with his large smile full of teeth. He wore a simple yellow robe that was tied in the front, and a mask full of smiles hung from the belt of his robes. His arms came to happily pat his round stomach as he spoke. "He is just jealous he cannot do that as well!"

"What can he not do?" A quieter voice joined in as a hand reached out to rub the laughing man's golden earlobes. An older man, probably in his fifties, stood behind him. His eyes were open but gray and glazed over, shifting around slightly and narrowing at certain times. Golden lines ran underneath his eyes, as if similar to tears. He wore a kimono with a wrapped skirt on top, simple and gray in color for both to make it seem like one. A mask of an older man hung from his waistband. Eventually the older man let go of the other's earlobe to turn to another voice, feminine, "He cannot hold and eat a banana between his toes."

A beautiful woman with long black hair and eyes that were the color of a soft magenta looked upon the four men with a smile. She wore a traditional miko outfit with a white kosode, a white robe, with a scarlet hakama. A thin line of white thread was threaded through the waist of the hakama, each being separated an equal amount of distance to give it a uniformed look. She wore tabi, traditional socks, and zori for comfortability. A flower ornament was pinned at the back of her hair, holding back some of the hair that was combed from either side of her head, and her lips painted gold. A mask of a young woman hung on the left side of her waistband.

"I do not want to eat a banana from my feet. Hold it with your hands, will you?" The first man grunted out to the young boy who cried again, "I was curious! Are you not curious about what your body can do?"

"I can give hugs!" The laughing one rumbled, and the old man beside him sighed, "I still cannot see."

"And I can still kill things, but much more effectively." The man who berated the boy commented, which caused the others to take a simultaneous step back away from him. The young woman sighed from where she was, "Must you say such things, Otobide?"

Otobide, the mask of power, the source of strength and arrogance, guffawed loudly as he laid loosely curled hands to his hips, "But of course! This is the body that was given to me by Master! I use it for her! I slay things for her! I am Otobide, the man of power!"

The joyous man laughed loudly alongside Otobide, causing the volume to rise more, "He is still so stupid! What is he saying?"

"You are not deaf, Fukujin." The old man beside him commented as he rubbed his ears, "But I might be after this."