Disclaimer: No owning. Just playing.

-start-

Monster In The Mirror

Sometimes, you don't like mirrors.

You use them, of course. Checking your appearance, so you won't get laughed at later. Brush your hair, brush your teeth, glimpses when you wash your hands.

But you sometimes see them as an evil – a necessary one, but an evil.

Because you fight monsters. Horrible monsters, that devour souls and loved ones and if you fail they will be worse than dead and then where are you?

There are monsters that – almost – look human, but their actions their motives...surely it is easy? One destroys them because they will hurt those you care for.

But sometimes...you wonder are you fighting the right ones?

Because there is a society that will follow the law no matter what, who obey without question and will let you die in flames leaving nothing. One that will mock you for your failures and hide madness and darkness behind an easy smile. Who recruit others from the very fact they will starve to death otherwise.

Because there are old old men, set in their ways that will destroy people, kill them, because they are a threat and there is no other way. (Is there? You wonder. Couldn't they have done something, removed their powers?) And they destroy things that are morally wrong – they murder children to hide their mistakes. (They had other options. They definitely did, you know that well.)

And those monsters...some of them can be kind (a little girl needing protection – a woman who repays the debt by fighting for you) and sometimes one feels they are lonely. That they wish they could cry.

(And maybe they are becoming human.)

(Maybe...they could have been friends.)

And there's a monster in you and you know where it came from and you hate it.

(Because you can't get something from nothing.)

And yet you fight on, because there are people you have to, need to, protect. Because if they die, you will never forgive yourself. If they die when you could have saved them, no matter who the opponent, that makes you the lowest.

You recall the stories you've read or watched or heard about. There are monsters there: cruel beings who want to devour the world, who are alien in thought and even might see you as a cat sees a rat. A temporary play toy, something to torment and hurt until they are bored and walk away, leaving you to slowly bleed and choke to death. Monsters who eat people, who kill for no reason than because they can. Monsters in human form and life, twisted for reasons beyond imagining.

Monsters on the news. Rapists. Serial killers. People who beat up or treat others as lesser because they believe it is right. An ex-girlfriend killing her ex-boyfriend in rage and jealousy. (And they said she was such a sweet girl before...)

So no. You don't like mirrors.

Because when you look into one, you see the real monster.

Battle not with monsters
lest ye become a monster
and if you gaze into the abyss
the abyss gazes into you.
Friedrich Nietzsche

"Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters." ― Rick Riordan, Author of The Lightning Thief

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A/N: Don't...don't ask. I just wrote this right now and it is depressing. Shit. The Other One has woken up. Be prepared for the nightmare fics. Not exactly sure who this is from, but I guess it's Ichigo...?

Somewhat inspired by Lady Azar de Tameran's Snapdragon and my own musings on Soul Society's "morality". Heck, even the TVTropes page points out its more like, at least, Grey Versus Black, if not out right Evil Versus Evil. The amount of truly good people is arguably low...luckily for everyone's future, Ichigo is one of them.

Also, I'm sorry but Renewal decided to die on me. I'll try to revive it in between my crazy hyper bunnies and dealing with my increased bad mood. This could take awhile though...because someone-who-will-not-be-named drove a stake through the bunny's heart just as I got it to the Lightning Rod of Inspiration.

Asshole.

Reviewers get magic mini cheesecakes!

~Love Psycho