Chapter twelve

Whip of the Snaketail

"GO RAIKA!!! KICK HIS ASS!" Setsuna yelled at her friend from where she stood. Raika looked over her shoulder and nodded. Suddenly she felt Kai charge for her she looked back and barely blocked the blow. His face was fixed with that menacing look of wrath. He suddenly brought his scimitar across her chest. She was able to block it and then slashed at him with the end of the scythe.

"Such an unwieldy weapon..." Kai smirked. He was right it was much to big of a weapon for her she was having a hard time doing anything other then blocking.

'cut me some slack...you haven't learned to use me right Raika!" her Kokkaijinji growled at her. She nodded slowly.

'sorry Kokkaijinji...its just I have to show Ichigo-sensi that he made the right choice in me..." she said lightly. To her sword. Suddenly she had to block another attack from Kai as he aimed for her she felt the blade however sting into her left hand. He has nicked her knuckles with the blade the cut felt like it was burning with iciness.

"Heh...careless..once my blade nicks you your body will start freezing from that point out... although I would of preferred a deeper cut it works faster that way" he said she looked down at her hand it was already starting to stiffen the cold was nearly unbearable. Her eyes widened slowly as she tried to bury it into her robes to warm it. "You have about ten minutes before you freeze completely and you heart stops theres no warming it by normal means the only way it will stop is if my Shikai drops." his voice was deadly calm and cocky. She looked at him her eyes wide. She would die that thought had yet to cross her during this whole time death. She pulled her frozen hand up and looked at it the nerves where numb she couldn't feel anything in her hand. She didn't want to die she then dropped her Kokkaijinji's Shikai.

'I am sorry Kokkaijinji...but...I have to win this and I still cant use you as well as I would like' she said to it as her hand reached for Zabimaru for once she didn't hear complaints from the sword.

'I understand...Raika...even if you do not use me to win this fight...I don't want you to die on me' she said Raika pulled out the sword Zabimaru from its sheath and looked at Kai.

"Ten minutes...before I freeze to death...then I need to get serious with you" she said lightly "Zabimaru! Roar!" she yelled suddenly the blade in her hand morphed and became a toothed segmented blade. Kai stared at her as she held it in front of her with her good right hand.

"...Zabimaru..." he said staring at the sword. "Now I see why Ichigo-san was so willing to make one so young a Captain...you are able to use another's Zanpakto...tell me witch one is yours...and witch one did you get from another..." he said as he charged for her his blade held forward as he tried to stab he she blocked with Zabimaru grabbing his blade between two of the teeth of the blade. She then ripped backwards and the sword flew from his hand.

He suddenly jumped up and flipped over her head she didn't have enough time to recover her self to hit him she turned as he grabbed his sword it landed in his hand nearly perfectly Raika glowered at him. She flicked her wrist with the sword still in her hands the segments suddenly ripped apart from each other they where connected by what seemed to be thin strings of metal the weapon could now double as a whip. Raika looked at it the cold was already almost half way up her lower arm. She flicked the swords handle hard and Zabimaru lashed out at Kai. The man jumped to avoid her attack, but it caught him by the leg one of the teeth burying into his leg. Kai let out a growl of pain and suddenly his face went dark.

"DAMN YOU!!!!" he yelled she yanked him down and he fell to the ground his Zanpakto skidding across the ground. She looked down at it in front of her. Her eyes narrowed there was something in her eyes a cool calculation.

"Drop your Shikai and I wont hurt you anymore..." she said as she got in front of his sword he smirked and grabbed at the ground as he went to stand up. In one swift movement he threw it into Raika's face the girl was suddenly blinded by sand as she stumbled back. Kai grabbed his blade and then cut into her shoulder

"Three minutes..." he said as he stood up his face was a cold glare. "Your going to have to kill me before I will drop my Shikai for you!" he hissed. Raika looked down at her shoulder and then charged forward quickly lashing out with Zabimaru she no longer was the kind girl from before there was something different in her face as she fought now. It was a cold look devoid of kindness. Kai tried to block her lashes but one of the two got through. Zabimaru pulled back together into her hand Kai now had a huge gash in his chest blood poured from the wound but he was still standing. He looked at the wound in his chest.

"...my body..." he said almost sniffling. Raika watched him hoping he would see reason and stop this but that was a long shot. Instead the blond man charged forward the blood dripped to the floor as he ran staining his white captains robes "BANKAI!" he yelled. Suddenly his sword changed shape again this time it became toothed and ragged looking more like icicles then a sword around them both the air became colder and seemed to chill Raika to the bone. The girl looked around her it seemed to be snowing but the snow never touched the ground. She looked at the new shape this was his Bankai form she had only seen Zabimaru's before.

Her eyes where wide witch shock suddenly the flakes of snow around her started to morph into larger and larger icicles. They flew at her quickly she was only able to doge a few as the rest ripped through her flesh. She started to bleed from the wounds as she looked down at her arm however she found that it was now mobile again. Her shoulder was bleeding as well a fresh volley started to appear again. She pulled out Kokkaijinji quickly and spoke her name loudly Zabimaru fell to the ground with a clatter as she spun her long scythe it blocked all of the icicles this time around. She then gather up Zabimaru and flicked her wrist Bankai's where taxing and if she could only keep him in the form he would use up all of his spiritual pressure.

All she really needed to do to win this was knock him out right. Her two weapons where now in hand Zabimaru lashed at Kai the man was able to block one but a second and third hit him on both shoulders. The blood continued to pour from his wounds. His eyes where already starting to go unfocused from the combination of power and blood loss. She would only have to hold out for a little while longer she was thrown another volley of glass sharp ice. She dodged most of it but one ripped through her leg. She had long ago stopped feeling the pain from her wounds however. She glowered at him as he continued to stand there but as she watched she saw him almost fall from his standing position. He was doing everything he could just to stand. As the two stood there she watched as Kai slowly fell to the ground and his Bankai disappeared his sword clattered to the ground. Raika then fell to her own knees the wound over her body almost like gunshots over took her.

"Set...suna...go get Orihime-san..." she said as she fell forward onto her hands fighting to stay conscious both Kokkaijinji and Zabimaru has gone back to there base forms and where on the ground next to her. Setsuna who had been watching the whole time nodded and took off running for the squad four lieutenant Raika was bleeding almost as badly as Kai but she remained conscious until Orihime got there.

"Heal him first..." she said before passing out completely. Orihime looked down at the young Captain she had heard the girl had been made one but she didn't believe it, but there she was in her captains robes witch where red with blood her blond hair had blood flecked through it as well. Setsuna was behind her looking worried.

"What happened..." Orihime asked as she walked over to Kai who had lost the most blood.

"He challenged her...for her captain position...and she won..."Setsuna said slowly as she looked down at her friend.