Chapter 14: Fightin' Baiten and the Wrangler
"Thanks again, hope I don't have to see you any time soon!" Baiten called as he left the 4th Squad medical tent. Luckily, he hadn't sustained many wounds against Arda, so his period of healing had been short. He had to wait awhile, however, as priority cases were treated first. Even after his injuries were fixed, Baiten had to wait an hour before the Hell Butterfly arrived to inform him of the location of his next match.
Baiten felt excited, and more than a bit nervous, to be fighting in the tournament for a second time. He'd beaten a 3rd Seat, but that battle had been a matter of luck and he was doubtful he'd have such good fortune twice in one day. Baiten took one, long breath, stretched his legs and arms briefly, and kept marching forward, entering his assigned section of the arena.
"Well, howdy!" A cry rang across the section, stunning Baiten and causing the young Shinigami to stumble for a second, managing to catch his balance and look at his opponent. Across from Baiten stood a Shinigami of medium height wearing the standard uniform of the 5th Squad; his face was strong and rugged looking, the shadow of his whiskers clearly visible across his cheeks; this man had piercing hazel eyes and blond hair, only because a ponytail extended from under the Shinigami's mahogany hued cowboy hat.
"Hi there, you startled me," Baiten said with a jolt. "My name's Baiten Seisha and I'm a member of the 9th Squad."
"The name's Martin Turgan Jirun Kayana the Third, but you can just call me Mack," the Shinigami answered, his accent dotted with a hint of southwestern flavor. "I'm from the 5th squad, a 6th seat to be precise."
"Pleased to meet you," Baiten replied politely. Wait, I shouldn't be too cordial with this guy, we're about to do battle, Baiten thought. I mean, it's good to respect your opponent, but let's hope I'm not taking it too far...
"Charmed, as well," Mack said, tipping his hat in a salute before running his finger along the brim. "You seem like an awfully nice guy, it'll be a shame to have to rough you up."
"I feel the same way," Baiten answered, "but you've got one thing wrong: you're going to be the one beaten."
"All fights start this way," Mack sighed, walking forward as he spoke. "The two combatants size each other up, exchange some insults, maybe a few compliments, and then each brags that he himself will be the victor. It's really a shame: all the enemies I've beaten in these tournaments are like that; even most Hollows act that way."
"So...you've fought in this tournament before?" Baiten inquired.
"Yes sir," The 5th squad member stated. "This is my fourth time. Last time I made it to the final four, but got knocked out. This year, though, the applicant pool was cut down to a smaller size than usual, meaning it'll be easier for me to get to the top."
"You forget that you'll have to best me first; I may not look like much, but I've got a lot of fight in me," Baiten shot back.
"Speak through your blade; we'll see which of us is the more skilled!" Mack paused, and the wind whipped up dust clouds from the arena floor around the two. "Now draw!" Before Baiten's right hand closed around the handle of his sword he felt a rush of air and a sharp pain in his left leg. He gritted his teeth in a vain attempt to ignore the biting pain coursing through his lower left limb, while simultaneously pulling his own sword free of its scabbard. He turned his head, searching for Mack's whereabouts within the arena.
Out of the corner of his right eye, Baiten saw the brim of Mack's hat. The black haired Shinigami whirled to his right, holding his sword in position to block while standing in a defensive back stance. He was caught off guard again, however, and felt Mack's blade plunge into his right leg.
"Wanna quit now?" Mack asked, appearing directly in front of Baiten but just out of sword range. "I've sliced your tendons; it's my standard strategy. You legs won't work, so you really won't be able to stand against me."
"How do you move so fast?" Baiten inquired, staring directly at the smiling face of his cowboy-esque competitor.
"That's a little secret," Mack answered, winking. "If you win, maybe I'll be nice enough and tell you. But, then again, you're already slower than me when both your legs do work."
"I won't allow myself to lose by forfeit," Baiten stated, gripping his zanpakuto tightly in his right hand while his left hung loosely near his legs. "I'll only accept a loss if I fought my very hardest!"
"Suit yourself," Mack said, shrugging his shoulders. "This next blow will probably end it. It's a shame you weren't as good of a fighter as I thought you'd be. Oh well." Mack finished speaking, but before he could move a blindly light filled his eyes.
"Judge, Justare!" Baiten declared, his katana transforming into its shikai form; the rapier blade shimmered as a wave of light flashed before Mack's eyes, temporarily blinding the 5th Squad Shinigami. As he realized his situation, Mack started to chuckle.
"Excellent, Baiten, truly spectacular. You may be unable to move, but now I''m blind. And excellent way to level the playing field."
"Oh, but you're wrong," a voice announced from behind Mack. "I can move just fine," Baiten informed his opponent while slashing Mack twice across each arm. The 5th Squad member, though unable to see, moved forward as soon as he felt the blow, and so the damage was minimized.
"That was lucky on your part, Mack," Baiten announced. "You moved forward just in time to dodge one of my stabs which would have pierced your back and ended this match."
"Yes, don't think I've never fought blind before," Mack chuckled. "That's not to say I like fighting without the sense of sight, but it's doable. A few years back I fought against six Hollows in a dust storm, lost two of my best friends that day too. But anyway, enough of my life's story; what I want to know is, how could you move again after I slashed your tendons like that?"
Now it was Baiten's turn to act smug. "Tell me the secret of your speed, and I'll tell you the secret of my movement."
Mack smiled and turned to face the area he heard Baiten's voice coming from. "I suppose that's fair. Have you ever heard of shunpo?"
"You mean the Art of the Flash Step?" Baiten asked. "I don't know much about it, except that it leads to a massive increase in speed at the cost of reiatsu and that only higher level Shinigami are capable of using it."
"That's correct," Mack said. "Then again what you saw, or rather didn't see, was the fact that my version of shunpo is very rudimentary. I've only been able to use flash step for two years, so my skill at it is still very limited and it's difficult to modulate the reiatsu cost."
So essentially he just revealed his weakness, Baiten thought. All I need to do is make him waste his reiatsu through shunpo. Then, when he's weak, I can take him down without much effort.
"Anyway, now that I've revealed my skill it's time for you to fess up about yours," Mack said.
"Healing kidou," Baiten stated immediately. "I'm not exactly the best at zanjutsu or kidou, but I'm decent at both. Thus, I've tried to strengthen my kidou skills lately since I'd only been focusing on sword techniques for awhile. I was able to focus my reiatsu and mend my tendons; it wasn't exactly easy, but I made sure to force you into conversation which gave me time to surreptitiously heal my injuries." I'm also not going to mention that I'm still learning to heal well, and so I wasted more reiatsu than I should have, Baiten thought.
"Now, that's ironic," Mack said, "because I've just done the same thing to you! Wrangle, Boloira!"
"Damn!" Baiten cursed, realizing his folly. He saw that Mack was staring straight at him and had edged forward somewhat. He also saw that a lasso was flying through the air towards him. Baiten ran, trying to dodge the rope, but it caught his left leg and pulled him to the ground. As Baiten slammed into the arena floor, he felt an intense pain in his leg as the rope constricted tighter and tighter around his ankle.
Pain shot through Baiten's leg as Mack whipped the rope back, pulling the 9th Squad member into his range.
"Like I said, I've fought blind before," Mack stated.
"Isn't that oddly convenient?" Baiten grunted as pain shot through his body.
"As I said, it's not easy. In fact, if you hadn't kept speaking, I'd never have found you and you could've slashed me a few times by now."As Mack continued to reel his opponent in, Baiten screamed as the uneven stones of the arena floor tore through his skin and clothing.
It's lucky his sight hasn't returned yet, Baiten thought. I could easily use Justare again if need be, but it'd be better to save reiatsu just in case he's got some other tricks. For ow, I need to free myself. Building on that thought, Baiten hacked at the rope binding his foot, yet the slashes seemed to have no effect on the lariat.
"I take by that sound your sword is making that you're attempting to slash my lasso," Mack announced. "Don't bother; I run my reiatsu through it to instantaneously repair the strands; you won't able to cut it up for quite awhile yet." As he spoke, an idea flashed through Baiten's mind and he rammed Justare into the ground to act as the anchor. Mack continued to pull, and Baiten strained to keep from moving.
"Struggling eh? You're as stubborn as a mule, Baiten!" Mack laughed. "And, did I forget to mention, my sight seems to be coming back. It's still hazy, but I can see your outline. Also, don't try that blinding trick again." With that, Mack released his left hand from the lariat while still gripping it with his right; with his left thumb and index finger, Mack lowered the brim of his hat over his eyes.
"Aren't...you...still...fighting...blind then?" Baiten grunted as he struggled to keep himself from moving towards Mack. He's damn strong, Baiten mulled. I can't keep this hold for long. Either Justare is going to snap, my arm is going to break, or both.
"Sort of, but not quite," Mack answered, his left hand returning to tug on the rope. "I can now choose when to look at least, and by the time I need to look at you, there'll be no chance that you can blind me."
"Don't...be...so...sure," Baiten gasped as pain continued to shoot through his lower extremities. "Nothing can exceed...the speed...of...light."
"That's why I've got to take you down either before you can use your ability or before we enter a situation where it actually helps you. Once you're close to me, I can just sense your movements through hearing; then, I'll be free to kick you around a bit and win this match. But first, I've got to get you close in!" Mack tugged harder than he had before and Baiten smiled wickedly.
"I'll be happy to oblige then!" Baiten shouted, prying Justare free from the stones around him.
"So you're giving up, eh?" Mack guffawed as Baiten flew through the air towards him. Mack stood in a standard fighting stance, his right leg back, readying for a kick.
"No, quite the opposite, I'm about to win!" Baiten said as he thrust Justare in front of him as he was only several feet away from Mack. The 5th Squad member could do nothing, as the massive force of the pull launched Baiten's outstretched blade straight into the wrangler's chest. Mack spluttered as the rapier rammed through his ribs.
"Damn...that was...smart..." Mack coughed, blood running down his kimono. He paused for a second as his head sank, before raising it rapidly. "But not smart enough to beat me!" With a swift motion, Mack push-kicked Baiten away from him, before punching the 9th Squad Shinigami once in the face. Baiten staggered, giving Mack the time he needed to swing his lasso around both of Baiten's arms. Mack swung Baiten in a wide circle, slamming the black-haired Shinigami into one of the arena walls; Mack then flipped the position of his hands and changed the type of movement, ramming Baiten into the stone floor beneath them.
Baiten looked up from the arena floor. He could not stand; too many of his bones were crushed, and he did not know the necessary healing kidou to recover from such injuries. How did I lose? My plan was perfect! I hit him dead on! Am I...am I too weak? Am I a failure? No, this can't be the end of the fight, I have to keep going! With that in mind, Baiten tried to push himself upright, but his muscles would not respond. "H...how...did I...lose?" He murmured before losing concioussness.
"You're an excellent fighter Baiten, but I'm better," Mack stated as he watched the medical team enter to retrieve Baiten. "In a few more years, you might equal me, but by then I'll be stronger too. Strive to do your best, but always know that sometimes you just can't win."
"The winner is Martin Turgan Jirun Kayana the Third!" The referee cried as Mack was helped out of the arena by a 4th Squad member.
Character Profile: Martin Turgan Jirun Kayana the Third aka "Mack"
Age: Unknown (appears 33 in human years)
Height: 173.99cm (5 feet 8.5 inches)
Affiliation: Member of the 5th Squad
Rank: 6th Seat
Hobbies: Raising livestock, camping, hunting, playing the violin/fiddle
Zanpakuto: Boloira
Shikai: Mack can release his zanpakuto by saying, "Wrangle, Boloira!" His sword morphs into a lasso. The weapon itself seems to have no inherent abilities, though Mack's style of fighting allows him to use the lariat to trip, ensnare, reel in, swing around, disarm, and strangle opponents. Mack sends a stream of reiatsu through the rope, causing Boloira to be very resilient and almost impossible to sever. It is theorized that Mack can also alter the length of his rope with reiatsu, with a greater cost necessary to sustain a greater length.
