Chapter 11: Baiten's Brawl: Love and Honor

As Baiten walked towards his section of the arena his hands started to shake slightly; as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was nervous about the upcoming match. He had trained hard these past years, and had worked even harder in the days before the tournament; losing meant that all his work was for nothing.

Shaking his head, Baiten cleared the thought from his mind. "I am strong," he reiterated to himself. "Winning isn't everything. The purpose of this competition is to test my skills and make me stronger. And, better yet, maybe I can even enjoy myself a bit."

"Talking to yourself is a bit odd, isn't it?" A feminine voice sliced through Baiten's sentences, each syllable containing beauty and malice rolled into one. Baiten turned to see a familiar face, gasping as he realized that Arda Codestum, his former failed love interest, was his first opponent. "Surprised to see me?" She asked. "Please don't say it's fate or something; it's just bad luck that you got stuck with me."

"Perhaps it was unlucky for you," Baiten replied calmly. "I may not be a 3rd Seat like you, but I'm a hard worker and I fight fairly well for an unseated Shinigami."

"You're a bit overconfident...it amuses me a bit," Arda answered. "Either way, we'll see in a few minutes who the stronger of we two is."

Baiten nodded as they entered their portion of the arena and the white walls closed around them. "Good luck; let's hope neither of us is injured badly."

"If you surrender now I can prevent your pain," Arda giggled. "Honestly, though, it's in your best interest to withdraw. This is the last time I'll say it: I'm a 3rd Seat; an unseated warrior like you won't last more than ten minutes against me."

"Ah, but unlike a lot of unseated Shinigami I can use Shikai," Baiten replied confidently as he drew his zanpkauto.

"Why betray a trump card like that this early?" She questioned, a perplexed look crossing her face. "You may have been able to take me by surprise later on."

"I like a fair fight," Baiten said. "I want us both to battle to the best of our abilities; I'd rather you didn't for easy on me so that if I lose I have a desire to train and get stronger."

"Hmph, whatever you wish," Arda said, sighing as she drew her sword. "Let's both release our blades and do battle!"

"Oh yeah!" Baiten yelled back, raising his weapon above his head as Arda unsheathed her katana. "Judge, Justare!" Baiten's blade took on the distinctive shape of a rapier as he watched his opponent utilize her Initial Release.

"Twist and Mold, Zemzemdaika!" Arda declared holding her katana parallel to the arena floor. As she spoke, the blade of her sword split into two thin halves that wrapped around one another forming a helical shape. Each strand of the blade was individual, with space between it and the other metallic piece, yet the two seemed linked in some way. The metal of the zanpakuto itself had on odd violet tinge beneath the normal silvery exterior. "Meet Zemzemdaika, the Heredity Slayer!"

"Sweet sword," Baiten answered, marveling at the appearance of the zanpakuto.

"You should feel honored," Arda said. "I'm saving you a lot of pain; I was planning on wearing you down with an unreleased blade which would have cost a considerable amount of time and blood on your part. This way, I can beat you faster and with less injury."

"Don't get overconfident," Baiten said, stepping forward. "We haven't even truly begun to fight yet. Now, ladies first."

"Exactly, I'm waiting for you," Arda said sarcastically. "No, that's very gentlemanly of you. Stupid, but gentlemanly." Without another word, she was upon him. Baiten barely saw her move; he only felt the bite of her blade into his shoulder and felt the warm stream of crimson blood spray across his face. He reeled back as she wrenched the sword away and readied it for another strike. Before she could attack again, Baiten focused on his weapon and, turning the blade horizontally to face Arda, roared a single word:

"JUDGE!" A blast of light erupted from Justare as Arda approached, causing her to cover her eyes at the last second. She quickly shook her head and lunged at Baiten once again; this unexpected attack took the Shinigami of the 9th Squad by surprise, and once again the weapon craved through his flesh, this time slamming into his chest.

"I told you that there wasn't much hope for you," Arda said. "You can still surrender and spare yourself more bodily harm."

"N...no," Baiten mumbled as he rose and wiped the blood from his chest. "I won't surrender, ever. And, even if I lose, I want to figure out why you were able to predict the ability of my Shikai. Had I blinded you, this fight would currently be in my favor."

Arda smiled sweetly but with an air of malice beneath her outward glee. "Oh, I'll just tell you so when you lose you came away with something. My sword, Zemzemdaika, steals and copies some of the DNA from whomever it cuts; that first slash I got against you allowed me to incporate a bit of your genetic data into my body temporarily. Though I did not directly know your ability, the reflexes built into your body registered that I should cover my eyes; almost every person knows how to beat himself."

"So...can you even copy my fighting style?" Baiten asked.

"Yes, if I so chose, but only for about 30 seconds per slash," Arda sighed. "Because of the great strain upon the DNA, it is usually degraded after that short period of time. Luckily, I can still remember your moves and abilities so I can counter them even if I am unable to wholly emulate them."

"Any other fancy tricks that sword of yours has?"

"Just one more: I can also make myself appear similar or exactly the same as the person I cut. Not exactly useful for battle, but there are times it's valuable."

Baiten smirked as she spoke, gripping the handle of his rapier tightly. It's getting sunnier, he thought. Not much, but slightly more since we started fighting. Without another thought, Baiten jumped to his feet and declared, "Judge!" This time, caught off guard, Arda was unable to shield her eyes; she cried out as she temporarily lost her vision and began to stumble around blindly, knocking several times into one of the walls.

"You bastard! You're clever, I'll give you that," Arda growled.

"As I said, you underestimated my skills," Baiten replied. "While you were busy talking, the sun was shining more brightly, making my sword more powerful. Also, your train of thought was moved away from the battle, causing you to ignore the fact that I was gathering strength for an attack. Now, I suppose I should inform you that because of the level of sunlight when I used Justare you will probably be blinded for another five minutes or so. You can either keep fighting in the dark and become badly injured, or you can surrender."

Arda gritted her teeth and lunged in the direction of Baiten's voice, narrowly missing his right arm. She swung again, this time rotating like an insane top, her sword flying every-which-way; Baiten barely dodged these strokes, and one even managed to slice off some of his hair.

I'd better finish it now, he thought. Hair contains DNA too, so she may be able to read my fighting style and somehow counter it. Baiten pointed his sword at Arda and stabbed, catching her through the ribs but purposefully missing her internal organs. He removed his sword and wiped the blood off with a cloth from inside his kimono.

"It's over, I've won," Baiten said.

"I...impossible!" Arda cried. "There is no way someone like you could beat me!"

"I admit, I got lucky," Baiten replied. "I also exploited your conceited nature; if you'd talked less about yourself and just struck at me from the get-go, you probably would've won."

"I won't forget this, Baiten Seisha," Arda rasped as she continued to bleed. "Next time we fight, I'll destroy you." Arda's sight returned just in time to see the tournament referee appearing to declare Baiten to winner; then, without another word, she blacked out.

You were a strong opponent, Arda, Baiten said. I wasn't trying to make you feel better when I said luck contributed to my victory. I just hope in the coming matches my good luck doesn't run out; sometimes luck is all you need to win, but it isn't always enough: skill ultimately triumphs over chance.

As Baiten left the arena, the referee, a red-headed female Shinigami with a ponytail and large hoop earrings, informed him that the next round was starting in an hour.

"I'd better head over to the medical tent and get my chest and shoulder looked at," Baiten said. "Thanks for the tip!"

Character Profile: Arda Codestum

Age: Unknown (appears 22 in human years)

Height: 172.7 cm (5 feet 8 inches)

Affiliation: Member of the 12th Squad

Rank: 3rd Seat

Hobbies: Reading, genetic research and experiments, writing, training

Zanpakuto: Zemzemdaika

Shikai: Arda can release her zanpkauto by stating, "Twist and Mold, Zemzemdaika!" The blade splits in two and resembles the double helix of DNA. The metal has a slight mauve tinge. The weapon allows Arda to steal a copy of the DNA of whomever she cuts, so long as she cuts a portion of their body containing genetic data (ie: not just their clothes). With this data in hand, Arda can temporarily gain attributes of her target, such as fighting style, basic reflex knowledge of his or her abilities, and even his or her appearance. Regrettably, the blade can only transmit this power for roughly thirty seconds for each cut made into the enemy's body.