Hide Arma

Hide Arma (隠すアルマ, Arma Hide) is a young member of the Arma Clan. Together with his siblings Shinkō and Hito, he forms one-third of the Shikaku and is considered a feared and upcoming assassin. He resides in Kōhai Tochi and is an avid supporter of the the Death Games practiced there.

Appearance
Hide is a relatively tall young man with a lithe and lean-built physique as a consequence of his occupation, which involves a lot of stealthy movement and acrobatics. He rarely smiles, usually being seen with some form of serious and no-nonsense attitude, striking an interesting contrast with his colorful sister and calculating brother. The fierceness of his red-colored eyes, as well as the serious expressions he favors serve to make him an intimidating figure.

His garb consists of a uniform that almost ninja-esque. The cloth hugs tight to the contours of his body to afford the greatest level of secrecy possible, befitting a man of his occupation. The top half of his uniform consists of a chain-mail-style shirt with simply tight-fitting trousers worn beneath, all colored black so he can move around more effectively in shadows. The soles of his tabi are also reinforced and silent, making not a noise when he moves.

Personality
Hide is a man of many mysteries, mainly due to his withdrawn nature and lack of a social life, as many would call it. He is very much an introvert who thrives more when alone than he ever could in a team, pushing away even his family so he can enjoy the peace of his own thoughts. This makes him appear cold and rather intimidating, usually because of his scowl and complete lack of a talkative approach. His sister reckons if Hide speaks more than twice or three times a day, you can count yourself lucky. This attitude also serves to make him very taciturn in nature, who can also be described as a brooding young man. Due to this, it is extremely difficult to discern what Hide is thinking, causing his brother to joke his name suits him well; leading many who met him personally to refer to him as an enigma.

Synopsis

 * Main Article - Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Equipment & Inventions
Forearm Blades: Positioned within the forearm guards he wears lies Hide's primary weapon - blades that are positioned so the points go past his elbow when fully extended, but never actually touch his skin. While slim and delicate in their appearance, the blades were forged with the same properties as a Bakkōtō, ensuring top-grade durability without the devouring properties, though it demonstrates no abilities of its own. Hide usually keeps them covered with a special sheath for the blades are coated in a deadly poison that slowly paralysis the victim before stopping their heart, all in the space of a few minutes following the ingestion of said poison.

Kodachi: A short-sword Hide uses as a secondary weapon. When utilizing it he uses a strict jabbing style befitting the jabbing strikes he makes when utilizing Hakuda, only with slightly longer reach. The sword is plain and unadorned, black of color and completely lacking a guard of any kind. The blade itself is coated in the same poison as his forearm blades, that slowly paralysis the victim before stopping their heart, all in the space of a few minutes following the ingestion of said poison.

Anti-reishi Device: A device that weakens the reishi particles forming attacks, either spiritually based or elementally powered. This allows him to combat, , and Arcanist with more ease, as each of the aforementioned races use reishi particles predominately in their abilities. When used in conjunction with his elemental rod, he can even shot back incoming elements, essentially creating a work-around to Shinigami's Kidō and an Arcanist elemental control.

Elemental Rod: A rod that can redirect elemental attacks back to their source without incurring a drain on Hide physically or spiritually. This is made possible through Hide's anti-reishi device which weakens the reishi particles enough that his rod can successfully absorb them and re-direct them back again. While useful, the spells are usually weakened as a result of the anti-reishi device itself.

Wire Dispensers: Hide carries several coils of his specialized wire secured to his belt for use in Hakuda and other close-quarters situations, such as a grappling hook, a means to change his trajectory during a jump and as a means on entangling his foes and setting off traps. Easily his most used item, Hide fights by entwining his nearly invisible wire around his foes, making it more difficult for them to attack him. It is also quite durable, being fit to resist being cut by zanpakutō and Bakkōtō alike without snapping, requiring a good degree of physical power to sever it.

Hidden Knife Mechanism: A piece of equipment that allows Hide to instantly extend and retract hidden knives secreted up his sleeve using spring-loaded wire. The knives are brought out by hitting a small button in the palm of his hand, releasing the blades and allowing for a potentially fatal surprise attack. A favorite of Hide's during assassination missions because of their hidden nature and almost silent use.

Powers and Abilities
His contractors often choose him and the Shikaku based solely on the reputation of Hide's abilities. Aside from slight differences, his spiritual signature is almost identical to that of Shinkō and Hito.

Master Assassin: As the leader and founder of the Shikaku, Hide has demonstrated masterful skill in the art of assassination, including stealth, espionage and breaking and entering. Calling him a shadow would be nothing of an understatement. He can easily eliminate any sound his body makes while moving and can, without any trouble, work himself into a position that allows him to fatally strike his target. As a result, he has great levels of knowledge regarding the human body, preferring to clip arteries instead of decapitating to ensure the speed and precision of his work.

Hakuda Expert: Hide's main method of combat is Hakuda, should he need to come in close enough. He has demonstrated expertise in utilizing his hands and feet alongside his specialized wire and forearm blades to make his strikes all the more lethal. Even when utilizing his bladed weapons, he maintains a strict Hakuda style, with the blades following on from elbow, forearm and jabbing strikes.

Enhanced Speed: Hide's speed is such that many actually think he uses some variation of high-speed movement, when in truth he simply has great leg strength. He can leap great distances and when traveling smaller distances he even appears to blur from A to B.

Enhanced Reflexes: Hide's reflexes are top-notch. He has a unique genetic trait that allows him to "see fate" unclouded before his eyes, something he usually passes off as acute instinct on his part to better hide it. By focusing solely on his foe he can begin to see the branching routes of ones future, theorized to be the influence fate has on their acts and choices. By seeing this "vision", Hide can effectively predict and dodge strikes, demonstrated most notably during his failed assassination of Kenji Hiroshi, which was the one thing that actually prevented Hide's death, as he saw Kenji's attack coming before the Shiba clansmen even made it.

Behind the Scenes
This article, along with Shinkō and Hito, is an attempt on the authors part to create a group of antagonists who, like his protagonists, grow and develop as the story progresses. He also will include several inventions and pieces of specialized equipment in lieu of standard abilities and powers.