Get School'd [Okuda and Hisana]

[INSERT SNARK HERE]


It was late in the day, the sun or rather the facsimile of it, was setting in the Soul Society. It had been sometime since he had last been to this building, the academy where he had been taught about how to be a Shinigami, a Shinigami. He felt like he had come not nearly as far as he was capable of having gone, especially since he had since grown to have a Hollow trapped within his body. The idea sometimes made him uneasy, especially since he had less control over his own powers when compared to his Zanpakutō and the level of dominance it showed over his inner Hollow.

Strolling through the halls of the Academy, his blade at his side, the young looking man would look from room to room, wondering just how some of his teachers were doing in the days that have since gone by. The man would eventually find himself in front of the classroom of the teacher that he remembered the most now in his mind. The teacher of Hollow Studies, someone who could best help him with understanding more of his Inner Hollow, at least on a technical level at least.

The man assumed only others like himself would only truly be able to assist him in truly knowing what he was going through. The man would slowly walk into the room, his eyes scanning the room as it looked much the same as he remembered, mostly small changes as far as he could tell. “Professor? Hello?” The man would wonder if his professor was even still there, though that would be the preferred option he knew that it was just as likely that someone had replaced that professor in the time since he had been at the academy, he hadn’t kept up with the goings on at the academy since he graduated.

Looks Are Deceiving...


Okuda looked down at the smaller woman, his left elbow instinctively resting on the hilt of his Zanpakutō, he wondered if she was a student of the academy. She did not seem to have the gait of a student though, a rather strange thing indeed. “Well…I am looking for the professor of the class here, do you happen to know where they are young lady?” The black Shihakushō hung loosely off his lithe body, he was clearly not a normal person by any stretch of the imagination when it came to what he looked like.

The man’s look belayed his age when he was alive, many thinking he was much younger than he actually was. As he spoke to the woman his head canted away from staring down at her, slowly he looked around the room hoping once more that the professor of the class would arrive so he could speak to them. His long, almost bushy, red hair that was tied in a sort of ponytail behind his head rustled gently against the robe he wore as he looked around. He wondered just where the professor could be at this time of day, he was sure that he had gotten here just after class had ended.

“Do you happen to know the name of the professor? I really could do with speaking to them about an…issue I have been having and could use some advice.” The man returned his gaze to the woman, wondering just what sort of information she could provide him to answer his questions, they were of rather import to him after all, his inner hollow dilemma was something he wanted to better get a handle on now rather than later when it became a much bigger issue for him. Okuda still had vague memories of his original life, nothing major the occasional flash, but he knew deep down that he always had issues with his personality as it were.

And There Goes The Other Shoe.


Okuda walked towards one of the desks, a bit taken aback by the woman revealing that she was the teacher, he was not sure he could believe that after all she did not even look like she had the experience to teach basic Shinigami related abilities let alone anything as specific as what this class taught. He figured though that she must know a thing or two, what was the worst that could happen by trying to have her help him with the issue at hand. With a slight sigh of resignation, he leaned against the desk a bit.

He soon placed his right hand in front of his face and concentrated a bit and let his Spiritual Pressure build around it, concentrating it and hardening it in that oh-so-familiar way now. Soon his mask appeared just off his face, near it and resting against it a bit but not fully on it. “This. This is what I need help with, the person who once tried the help me learn about this is apparently no longer with us, so I was hoping you could help me try to figure this thing out…” Okuda almost blurted the issue out a bit, wondering just how much she really knew about what was going on with the mask.

He could feel his Inner Hollow almost eager to do something now, but he was not quite sure. He soon let the mask shatter and fade back into pure spiritual energy, no longer existing in this plane of reality, where it came from and where it went when not on him was a mystery to him. For all he knew the mask itself was pointless, just a façade to help him channel the ability, though it could also be something he needed more than anything else in the universe.

Regardless of that, he hoped that the woman could help him. “Sorry if that scared you, I know many people here don’t see Hollow Masks like that appearing on people without them turning into Hollows themselves.” The man looked at the woman as he rested himself against the desk a bit more, wondering what she thought of the situation. He wasn’t going to speak more without gauging her reaction to his hollowfication, after all it was something more common now apparently, but still quite rare in the world as a whole it seemed, but he needed to know what she knew to continue this.

Exposition Dump Ahead

The last fragments of the mask disappeared back into pure spirit energy, fading from existence the man would take a seat in the chair of the desk the woman had indicated to him. He let out a sigh and looked at her, his face going from the stern look to a softer one, more relaxed now that he knew she was similar to him in some fashion and that she was not overly concerned about his having an Inner Hollow. He looked the woman over, knowing that she likely faced even more hardship than he had due to her starting her afterlife as a hollow.

“Well, simply put my Inner Hollow listens more to my Zanpakutō’s spirit than it does me…and my Zanpakutō itself tends to outright ignore me, sure I can make use of its abilities and even its Shikai release, but there have been times where it simply turned the faucet off, kicked me out of the release at a moments notice.” It was clear that he was thinking back to a moment he wished he could forget during a training incident some time ago. His eyes betrayed the thoughts that were not reflected upon his face.

Though the incident was quite some time ago and when he was still new at utilizing his Shikai, he knew that he had not grown much since then. Perhaps this woman would be capable of helping him, to help him get past his hang ups and to help him grow once more as a Shinigami and a combatant. The man’s eyes and mind then returned to the here and now, looking once more at the woman with a somewhat renewed sense of purpose he wondered just what advice the woman had for him regarding all of this.

“So, Hisana-Sensei, do you have any advice on how I can help gain further control of my Inner Hollow at least? I doubt I’ll get the control I need over my Zanpakutō anytime soon and as such I am not focusing on that for now. I’m starting at a point where I feel I can best do what is needed to be done, so what do you say Sensei? Can you help me or should I go about this my own way once more?” He was hopeful that she might have some sort of idea, something to help him with what he needed.

Important Question

Okuda would listen to the woman, taking mental note of all that she might say. The Shinigami would close his eyes, deep in thought as he did so. He wondered just how best to go about doing this, thinking to himself a bit, his eyebrows furrowing in the action, as if he were churning through some great debate. Okuda would gently bring his right hand to his chin, rubbing it as he thought more and more. After a little bit of time, the Shinigami came to the understanding of what she was trying to tell him that even using the Mask was dangerous, summoning it should not be done lightly.

However, the man already knew that and did try to rely on it as little as possible when in combat. He then went back to his thinking for a brief moment, ideas going into his head, some good and some bad. His mind racing at a mile a minute as he considered the various ramifications of each one, eventually though the man came up with only one idea that could be of any true use. Even if she was not much older than him, which he knew looks were quite deceiving in the Seireitei, he could benefit from her helping him.

He slowly opened his eyes and let his hand hover near his chin, but no longer rubbing it directly. The Shinigami would then look at the smaller woman, which was impressive considering he was rather short for a man, to have met someone shorter than himself that was not a child was something of an accomplishment in and of itself. However, that was neither here nor there at the moment as his mind managed to get back on track after finishing that thought.

“Well, if its best to do this with the aide of another in a safe manner…would you be against helping me to learn to better control my Zanpakuto spirit as well as my Inner Hollow? I suspect you might have an idea of two on how to do this or at least might have a good safe area where it can be done.” Okuda would then look straight at the woman, his gaze not harsh nor overtly questioning, his expression one of seeking genuine help with the issue at hand, a hint of hope deep within his face as he waited for her answer to come to him.