Sleeping and Dreaming with the Soul of the Mind; a Forsaken Image Until it Awakens (Solo)

Anna was sleeping under a tree that was in the first district of North Rukongai. Her sword was stabbed into the ground in front of her; both of her hands are resting on the hilt with her head on top of them. She had originally been watching the children in Rukongai play games and pass the time; the endless time that flowed with the wind and through the trees. The ground around her was rich with grass and dirt; vibrant green colours exploding around the patches of dark yet opulent brown. The tree behind her was hidden in the shadows of ubiquitous branches and leaves. Each leaf was vibrant and beautiful in colours that ranged from orange, yellow, green, red, and variants in between. Anna was being covered in leaf after leaf in which flowed from the trees and ground; she looked like an abstract picture of leaves by the half hour in which she slept. What was going on in her head, however, did not reflect anything on the outside world. She was imagining many gears and pieces of flat metal, round metal, and even abstract metal that formed a humanoid in front of her. It was a figure shorter than her, and the build of the body seemed to represent that of a mere child. It was moving towards her slowly once the legs were finished in creation, but the body wasn't anywhere near consummation. Pure black skin and some white cotton clothing started to take place of the metal as it fell into place and became smoothly fit with very little gaps; whatever gaps there were quickly disappeared behind this layering of flesh. The clockwork was silent, but inconceivably perfect and precise. Anna even admitted to herself that she has never seen anything so utterly impeccable! It glimmered brightly and reflected colour onto the world of grey and white figures; the things in this dream were so peculiar to her. Anna was standing with her arms crossed, and has been this way for about twenty minutes upon the manifestation of this dream. What happened next was stunning to Anna; she knew that this was a dream, but what she didn't know is how little control she had of it. The moment the person before her finished forming from the intricate design and concentric gears there was an instant reminiscence of who she was.

"Hello, Sinthia." said Anna to her, but the girl just continued walking. She was wearing full white cotton clothing, but no shoes to go with it. This perplexed Anna, but then the girl came to a halt in front of her. Sinthia held out her hand to show that there was a gear in it; this symbolic item had not meaning to Anna currently, but she did know that it may be of significance. She took it in hand and felt a strange energy emanate from it, and yet it felt familiar to her. The girl in front of Anna smiled and backed away; there some sort of defiance about her that Anna didn't particularly like. Suddenly, in a bright gleam of gold, a strange golden armour appeared around the Sinthia with many intricate works of clockwork built into it.

"Who are you? You saved me in the forest of Rukongai and then tried to kill me." Anna says to her, and the girl just laughed. She snapped her fingers, and the same forest that she was in appeared before her. There was another Anna there, but this one was wearing the rags that the real Anna remembered so well. Her Asauchi was still in the same spot that she put it: under the rocks. Anna didn't understand this, because all she could count were ten people including herself. The ground around the Anna from her memory seemed to be pallid, but looking upon the whole area would show that everything was pale and lacking colour. Everything except for the armour in which Sinthia was wearing.

"You thought I was actually real? Ha! You silly girl. I am just a figment of your imagination; a friend that was made from the insanity of your life's work! When you died and became stuck in the World of the Living you created me in your mind; you created somebody to keep you company. Don't you remember any of this?" Sinthia said to her. This was true, Anna did remember all of this. She remembered going into a state of lunacy from being alone, and creating an imaginary friend in whom she thought saved her constantly. Anna guessed that her growth in power brought her back to these memories, and brought Sinthia back into her mind. This, however, didn't explain how she lived during the excruciating battle with the bandits.

"Then how did you kill all of those bandits if you're just a figment of my imagination?" Anna said, and suddenly everything around her came into full volume and colour; sounds of the battle exploding into action around her. She remembered all of this, and was still confused as to where Sinthia is or was. In fact she doesn't see her anywhere now; she didn't even see the one from her memory. As she loosely watches the battle commence, she remembered taking the enemies sword and battling, but what happened next was astonishing. Instead of being over-powered by the bandits or surprised by a little girl two bandits ran towards her. Anna's memory ducked under a swing and punched them in the stomach. She cleaves the other man's throat as he attempts to club her in the head. The real Anna thought this impossible, because when she fought she was nearly killed by these two. She did notice that the club still made contact, and crushed her shoulder. There was a scream from the memory, but still she stood to fight and rushed forward. Three bandits were dead now and the other four were yelling at each-other to see who would fight her first.

"I'll kill her then!" said the female bandit, but she didn't last even four seconds. The moment she turned to face Anna's memory the sword in her hand hit the ground. Blood was flowing from the woman's handless arm and a scream cracked the air around her. A blade stabbed into her throat to keep her silent, and blood spurted from the wound and onto Anna's face. She lifted her hand towards another bandit in which ran at her from the side. He was screaming, and her finger entered his mouth. She pushed it into her throat and energy built as he cough and choked.

"Hado #4: Byakurai!" Anna yelled out, and a sudden beam of lightning fires through his throat and out of his stomach. He screamed as the she pulled her hand back to make a swing for his throat. Before she could finish by decapitating this bandit she was stabbed through her side. She screamed in pain as she had to pull the blade out of her stomach. The actual Anna fell to her knees with immense confusion. Sinthia was now sitting beside her with the golden armour that she was still wearing. The whole scene faded away at this point, and Anna was crying. Officially she was insane, and this was enough to bring her to tears. She always tried to hide the fact that she would be doing this by covering her eyes, but now they were opened. However this didn't stop her from asking one more question.

"You, as a figment of my imagination, said that you were my death. What did that mean?" Anna asked. Sinthia sighed as another figure appeared before her. It was the child merchant! She smiled slightly when she saw this person, but what he said next sent a chill down her spine. This couldn't be true!

"Who are you?" the boy asked, and Anna walked into view with her knee stabbed and her shoulder bleeding heavily. There was now her Asauchi held in hand, and a grin on her face. If Anna remembered correctly then what she said next would be appalling.

"My name? You want to know my name? My name is your death: Anna Burū!" yelled Anna. The kid had wide eyes and screamed for help, but the blade hit its mark, and the lucid sounds explained what the real Anna couldn't dare watch. Anna screamed in anger as a blade formed in her hand. She was dreaming of course, and it was her dream. Destroying Sinthia from her mind couldn't be any simpler. She swung at Sinthia, but suddenly Anna felt a blade enter her stomach. It was gold, but extremely blurred for some reason. What was this?

"Do not worry. This is the last time you will see me if it is your wish, but remember that even if you yourself do not favour me another soul you shall know does!" Sinthia said as she disappeared. Anna was still holding the gear in her hand, and she threw it onto the ground. All she wanted to do was wake up, and suddenly there was a mass amount of itching on the back of her head for some reason. As if she had been heard all she could hear was the same two words echoing around her.

"Wake up!" were these two words, and Anna looked up quickly in the real world. Her dream was over, but everything that just happened was permanently singed into her mind. There were three kids poking her to wake her up. A mass of leaves were covering her and she glowed like a beacon as the light hit her. Her hair was covering her face and her eyes were peering through it at the person in front of her.

"E-excuse me. Somebody told me to give you a message. I don't understand it, but they said that the sight of sound is not so clear to the silence of metal." said the person, and Anna shrugged. She didn't know what it meant either, but when was finished standing the three of them were gone. Leaves were floating away on the wind as a gust of air flowed past her. Was this yet another hallucination?

"Hello?" she said with doubt. She didn't know where they were, or if they were even real, but she just walked away whilst dragging her sword behind her. She noticed a multitude of things: the black sky, the dark and sinister colours of the area around her, and the stiffness of sleeping all day.

What she didn't notice was the picture of a gear symbol made by leaves. This was directly around the cut that her sword had made. What is with this item that follows her everywhere; was it something trying to contact her? Anna thought about what her imagination told her, about how another soul may favour her. What does that mean exactly? How could another soul imagine her if she were her imagination? Anna made her way back to Seireitei, and was glad she didn't go far into Rukongai this time.