Do No Evil (Solo)

People passed her by, shoving her aside in a nonchalant manner. She hugged her arms as she walked, the old routine that had once been second nature slowly resurfacing from where she had buried it. One wave, a show of two fingers, slip into a car with a warm and familiar smile and go make money. Yes, it was all there, even after decades of living in the Seireitei, the memories were still painfully fresh. They knew this, and they exploited it.

If you want submission, you must conquer all fears. They wrote as she continued walking. Sanzaru's illusion was so painfully real, and awareness of the fabrication made it no less difficult to face it. Especially in this state. Carmen had no idea what it was they wished of her, of how she could prove she was above these haunting nightmares. She had been trying to overcome them for eighty years, slowly whittling them into nonexistence. All of those nights spent erasing her mind meant nothing. The bandaid had been hastily ripped from a wound still fresh the moment Sanzaru had sent her here.

"Adónde voy?" The voice was not hers, not anymore. Her commanding tone had been stripped, replaced with the high-pitched chirp of a frightened little girl. It had been her voice once, long ago.

Find me. You know where to look.

She did know. Her heart sped as she stopped her stumbling and looked into the sea of traffic. Carmen watched as they rolled on by, smoke seething from a few cracked windows while the angry sound of horns polluted the evening air. The sun was sinking into the west, signaling the beginning of what many of her nights had become when she had been alive. She sucked in a breath. "Son cruel." Carmen whispered in the only tongue she was able to speak. Shakily, a skinny arm rose. Three cars slowed their pace and shifted lanes when they caught sight of her, and her open hand closed save for two fingers.

A black car pulled to where she was waiting, its approach garnering a submissive grasp of her two arms about her chest in response. Her heart was beating frantically, her breathing coming in short little gasps. She forced herself to take the car handle and open it, donning a sweet little smile. She looked up to her client and nearly froze. He was what she remembered of her childhood. His features skewed and monstrous. He looked absolutely inhuman and absolutely terrifying. Carmen wanted to cease, but her motivations made her hold steady. She eased herself into the car and shut the door, and the world went black again.

Carmen turned and found herself alone with her demon. He licked his lips hungrily in anticipation, his face the only thing being illuminated in this blackness. Carmen groped around for her mind for answers as she tried to back away. He was coming after her, and tears sprouted from her wide eyes. She was crawling backwards on her hands and feet as he descended, stumbling over a something wooden as she leapt from his reach. Her hand grasped it, and she brought it to her face. A broomstick.

Conquer your fears, Carmen. Viva la vida.

She couldn't see, even with open eyes the world was a black hole. Carmen shut her eyes and inhaled solemnly, crossing her arms about her chest. Her clothing was gone and the stagnant air tickled her exposed skin. Her head hung limply from her shoulders, black strands of hair reaching for the ground from where they sprouted on her head. She was waiting for something, what, she didn't know. Sanzaru had been purring quietly in her mind's ear but had made no move to test her further. Carmen could have sat but she dared not move, afraid of what may come next. That fear was what was holding her back and the reason behind these trials.

Slaying the demon had done her some good. Her sword had protected her and had given her courage. That courage had been stripped from her grasp when Mizaru left. She was alone again and without a weapon. Courage is your greatest weapon, Carmen. They wrote as they read through her thoughts. Carmen grimaced at that, tightening her grip on her bare arms. She wanted this over with.

The world shifted then as if the trio had felt her impatience. She was in a dimly lit bedroom as far as she could tell. An old hotel perhaps? Her body was still exposed fully, and she reached for the blanket on the bed to cover herself.

It was then that she saw the baby. Her baby. He lie on the bed, cold and unmoving. Just as he had been after she had held him in her arms when he arrived. One breath was all he had been given. One breath and a sad little sigh. That night his warmth had turned to cold in her arms.

Tears welled over, falling silently from her face. They hadn't buried him when he died. Guilt had crushed her over the fact, turning itself into some twisted sort of fear. Her nightmares had starred her son more times than she could count, and now here he was.

Acceptance.

Carmen fell to the floor and sobbed.

She felt herself falling through another one of their powerful illusions. Her body was weightless, but it was covered in its usual garb. The welcome weight of her sword was slung about her back and she gripped the hilt with a hand to reassure its presence. Eventually she stopped falling, her feet planting themselves securely on the floor below. Carmen drew her sword, marveling at its gaudy appearance. The metal pulsated with life she had not seen before, and she inspected it in the dim light her zanpakutou had given her. Hues of orange, red and black danced on the surface of the blade, sometimes forming familiar images as they moved. Carmen didn't question Sanzaru's appearance, not yet at least. She lowered the blade and looked about her, finding herself in an open plain.

Carmen surveyed the area cautiously, her blade still positioned to counter an abrupt attack. Nothing met her gaze, nothing but a few trees that dotted the rim of the field. The shock value of whatever was coming could not be as strong as the two trials that preceded this one; there was no chance that anything would shake her as much. Such tactics were necessary for the first two pieces to this puzzle they willed on her, though. To overcome and to accept fear required a hefty dose of shock. Conquering it, however...

The three were before her just then, ethereal in their appearance. You've done well, Carmen. One final trial sits before you. When you complete it, he will judge if you are ready.

He? Carmen looked to them with confusion plain on her features. Which of them were they speaking of? They had all written that phrase together in a single hand, which confused her further. No matter, the truth would be revealed soon enough. Carmen nodded once and they were gone. In their place stood the demon from before, but his shape was forever shifting. She saw hints of the numerous men who had plagued her nightmares and the darker pieces of her fears that still irked her to this day. Every once in a while she even glimpsed the man she had been afraid to fall in love with, peeking out from within the monster's ever changing frame.

She watched it without reacting, immune to the effects that had once sent her back with her tail between her legs. Carmen brandished Sanzaru, watching it glint in the sun's rays. It was a beautiful thing, and it was powerful too. "I can." She said softly, realization blooming on her features. Although it was fearful, she was brave enough to confront it, to beat it. The grip it once had on her could be sliced from her person with ease, and the thought of being the one to do that made her smirk.

Speak no evil.

The woman went for it without hesitation, her own will urging her forward. Sanzaru was alive in her hand, splitting to resemble Iwazaru and whistling as she moved. Her demon screeched at her, throwing an ugly paw in her direction. She dodged it mighty easily and aimed a cut for its leg. Iwazaru went through easily, whistling as she swung it. The demon made a grab and caught her in its hand. She yelped when it brought her to its face, meeting her gaze with the image of the numerous men she had come to hate. Carmen launched a kick, connecting with the monster's chin. The face of an old white man reeled in pain, and she was free to bite into him with her blade again.

They sparred for a long while, each landing blows whilst taking others. She was becoming winded, but her determination never faltered. She would not give in to her fear, not when she had been forced to realize how pointless it was to be afraid.

"I'm not.." She grunted as she dodged a perceived attack and took another piece with her blade. The monster was falling forward and she shuffled out of its reach. It was a hideous thing, and watching it fall was marvelous. She brought Iwazaru above her head, eyeing it with the courage that had evaded her for so long, "afraid."

The blade descended, splitting the head of the beast into two. Voices from different people from her life filled her ears as the monster died, and she watched with satisfaction. She sheathed the blade and sighed, falling back into the grass and looking up at the fabricated sky above. As she watched, she failed to hear the approaching footsteps.

You did well.

He wrote in a pretty hand. The words were written singularly, the voice of one and not three. Carmen had never heard such words before, and she turned her gaze to meet the smallest monkey she had ever seen. Barely half the size of the other three, he was covered in white fur and his arms were bound painfully behind his back. Curiosity lighted her eyes as she investigated the ape which merely gave her a pleasant smile in return.

Hello Carmen.