Black Veil of Naps

Okuda was walking through the Rukongai on this beautiful day, wearing his usual Shihakushō with his Zanpakutō hanging from his left hip. He was not really paying attention, this was a thing that seemed to happen quite a lot these days. Okuda then felt a strange sensation, well...not so strange now that he had met his Inner Hollow. The creature wanted to speak to him once again, he sighed outwardly. He was not happy to have such a being inside of him, yes he had defeated the creature but he knew that until he bent both Shinda-en and Asahi to his will and attained his Bankai that he would likely never truly be in control.

He was about to pull his mask out to have a ‘conversation’ with the creature who was now practically yelling in his head. “I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME OKUDA! STOP IGNORING ME!” Shouted Shinda-en, however Okuda was about to answer when in his absentminded wandering he suddenly bumped into someone else, taking a few steps back he brushed himself off before closing his eyes and putting on a warm and friendly smile, something he had learned to do whilst he was still alive.

“Oh I’m sorry about that! Do excuse me, I did not mean to bump into you!” Said the red haired Shinigami quickly. He did not look at the person whom he had bumped into, but knew it was best to simply apologize to whomever it was and then try to walk away, hoping they did not want to start any sort of trouble on this fine day...

Okuda blinked a bit, watching the man go from accepting an apology to suddenly utilizing flash step to appear near a man who was apparently making threatening gestures at people with a sword, though he was not sure of the whole story as he had only just arrived. Okuda watched as the man barely touched the ruffian’s forehead before he was out like a light. Okuda was about to flash step over himself when the man suddenly reappeared before him, it was then that Okuda knew he was going to have some paperwork to fill out when he got back to the barracks to detail what he had just seen.

Okuda let out a soft sigh and said “Well...now they are, the paperwork I’ll have to fill out thanks to that idiot is going to be fun...but no, before just now it wasn’t something over here; I have a personal issue, you’ll think it sounds crazy if I were to try to explain it, so for everyone’s sake I think I’ll just take your side of that altercation and then go back to the squad barracks to fill out my report….”

Okuda was ostensibly in his black Shinigami attire, it was clear he was not just some random soul passing through, he was a member of the Gotei United, and thanks to the actions of the older gentleman he was going to have some work ahead of him. It was his day off too, what a wonderful set of issues to arise, he then looked to the man with the wheat in his mouth waiting for him to start speaking as to what had occurred with the ruffian.

Okuda watched as black reiatsu temporarily enveloped the man’s hand before a hollow mask appeared seemingly from nowhere. Something resonated in him as Shinda-en suddenly forced his own Mask to appear on top of Okuda’s head in a small fire of black flames with a red tint to them. The mask appeared on the top of the man’s head but not covering his face. Okuda definitely could feel the weight changing on his head as the mask materialized out of thin air. Okuda then let out a sigh and wondered why the Hollow was so damn annoying today.

Okuda then looked at the man before he let his eyes close softly, a look of concentrating appearing on his face. The mask then slowly from the center began to burn in that same black-red flame as before, the flame spreading from the center outwards. Disappearing with a lot more effort than it had taken to appear apparently. Okuda knew however that he had a kindred spirit in this former captain of the Gotei United. He then listened as the man asked him what division Okuda himself was part of, Okuda knew that this was likely to get a bit awkward.

“I’m in the combat division...despite my looks I am quite capable with the blade myself, also the paperwork was not so much for that fool but rather you...new paperwork for unauthorized kido use...though, most tend to simply ignore it, I think I can skip that paperwork since you are a former Captain...” It was clear that Okuda was holding back from referring to the man as Jaeden, after all he did not know if that was the man’s first name or his family name. Okuda then noticed the man placing his arm on his sword’s hilt as if it were an armrest.

Okuda decided to take up a similarly comfortable position for his arms, sliding his arms into the sleeves in a strange sort of crossed arm look. His right hand went into his left sleeve and his left hand into the right sleeve. It was a relatively comfortable position to rest himself in, and during winters he knew it could be used to keep his hands somewhat warmer than usual. Okuda sighed, as memories of his life in the living realm flooded and then were replaced by the image of Shinda-en. He wished he could just have a normal afterlife, did he not deserve that much at least after his long and painful life?

“Okuda, Okuda Nobuyoki is my name sir.” stated the redhead as he followed the older man who had explained that he used to be part of the Gotei United. The man had a similar fighting style to his own, at least in the most broad of terms, though he would not say as such unless directly asked. Okuda followed the man to what would be revealed to be his home, blinking at the rather lavish but small mansion that the man lived in. Okuda looked around the training field or yard that they were in a bit without leaving the side of his host, for fear of being rude.

It was then that the man said he wished to spar with the red-haired swordsman, to knock some of the rust off of himself as it were. Okuda would normally deny such a thing, but he was in the combat division, and he had not had a good spar with his real body since entering the squad itself. Unless you counted his spar with Shinda-en. Okuda let out a small sigh and walked a few paces from the man slowly, quietly agreeing to the fight. “I won’t be holding back then since you are a former captain, you’re strong that much I can gather from the fact you once held such a title...”

Okuda then turned his right side towards the man, his right hand hovering over his Zanpakutō and his left hand gripping his scabbard near the top, the left thumb pressing against the tsuba to push the blade out slightly. He would let the former Captain make the first move, not wanting to be overconfident in his own skills usually, but in this case it seemed prudent for Okuda to instead make the first move.

Okuda then took a step, suddenly disappearing in a flash of Shunpo, or Flash Step, combining his own skill with the sword with this new style of movement. He was suddenly in the midst of his draw, which was naturally fast thanks to his training. Likely before Jaeden had even managed to realize the fight was on, Okuda would already be in front of him drawing his blade and slashing at the man’s midsection, though his Zanpakutō was still in its sealed state, he wanted to leave some sort of trump card in reserve, in case he needed to rely on the strength his blade gave him.

He knew he also had Shinda-en that he could utilize...if he felt pushed enough to make use of such a horrible power. He wanted little to do with the creature, but knew against a Captain that might not be a valid option for him. Okuda watched in what seemed like slow motion as his blade slashed out at the man, now fully committed to the slash, wanting to show the man he might seem weak but that he was not in fact weak.

Okuda pushed against the blade that had intercepted his Zanpakutō with ease. He was not surprised that the man could read his flash step, it was obvious he was skilled in such matters. But in a fight that would not matter, what mattered instead was what he could do to turn the tide of the fight into his favor. He knew right now he could still become stronger if he needed to, for now he needed to test the strength of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, to see just how strong it was in this other world still.

He saw the man suddenly coming towards him from above, which Okuda reacted to quickly by using his Flash Step to appear now near the wall that was behind the man. His eyes glinting with a knowledge of someone who faced off in sword combat thousands of times. He then raised his Zanpakutō high before swinging it down hard, adding some spiritual pressure to the attack to force the ground to erupt as the blade struck the earth. The debris from the attack would send many pieces of the ground towards the Captain himself.

Regardless of if the man was hit or not, Okuda would waste no time springing forth into the fight still more. Gripping his zanpakuto in both of his hands, he was ready for the fight. He suddenly disappeared using the debris to hopefully hide his Shunpo. Once he was moving at full speed, he suddenly struck at the man using both his Shunpo and now his Shinsoku to grant him a bit more speed hopefully. As he moved, the swordsman would swing his blade nine times, each one aimed at one of the main target zones of sword fighting. Okuda was pulling out one of the strongest techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Kuzuryūsen.

The strikes would all come at the same time, or at least seem to based on how fast he was moving at this point. Diagonally up, down, left, right, as well as straight up, down, left right and then a stab directly into the center of the man’s chest. Each one moving as fast as the last. The man likely would be able to block or parry a few of the strikes, that much was certain, but the chances of blocking all of them were slim. His only hope was to realize what was happening and then dodge, blocking was quite pointless it seemed...