It was a lovely day in the Seireitei, as always, and the grounds of the Fifth Division were no exception. The main office's window was open, letting the occupant enjoy the pleasant day and the sound of his subordinates training. Of course, in the dedicated combat unit of the Gotei, training usually was synonymous with thinly-veiled attempts to kill each other with the only real reason not to was inviting the Captain's ire. The man himself was lounging in his chair at his desk, paperwork already done and silver eyes closed to the world, his sleeveless haori slung over the back of the chair. The office itself was, ironically enough, rather peaceful. Scrolls with poetry about warriors and death adorned the walls tastefully, a table behind the counter held his zanpakuto along with a small bonsai he'd cultivated out of a sakura tree, and a cabinet locked in the corner kept a small collection of liquor that he had just in case.

Currently, Okami Shiba was waiting for a series of papers to be delivered from the Second Division, regarding something or other. He'd forgotten exactly what it was that his old friend had needed from him, but it would get taken care of regardless. The noble just hoped desperately that the other Captain hadn't sent one of his stick-in-the-mud Onmitsukido members, and had actually sent someone interesting. That kid he had as a Lieutenant, for example! Man, Seiji was fun to mess around with. Hopefully he'd get here soon, though.

The swordsman's wrist was starting to get twitchy listening to all the fighting nearby, after all, and if he didn't have a distraction he'd probably go join in.

Seiji begrudgingly trudged towards the offices of the Second Division while yawning with his free hand. In the other he was carrying some letter that Captain Okami needed. Granted, he was told to do it hours ago but Seiji elected to relax and catch some Z's after a rousing bit of training. He paused for a moment to watch some of the other members of this Division train. Captain Ika was going to be gone soon, so he'd need to start drafting his "Training Camp From Hell: Let's All Suffer Together!" program soon enough.

With a sigh, Seiji turned away and walked up to the door to the Captain's office and gave it a couple knocks before speaking through a yawn. "Hello sir... It's Seiji here with your... Letters, or whatever." Once he received permission to enter, Seiji would step in with his usual tired expression and place the paperwork on the Captain's desk. The man was looking mighty comfortable. Frankly, Seiji envied him. "Good sunlight?"

The Captain of the Division in charge of external affairs - things like the World of the Living, and keeping an eye on the Rukongai - was constantly stuck in the office, only really getting enough training these days that he doesn't slip at all. Hence why he had his men working so hard, and why he was getting twitchy himself. He was a fight junkie, and the only reason he hadn't taken over the position of Kenpachi so many years ago was because his obligations to his Clan prevented him from risking his life like that, and his own loyalty to the Gotei and those he had befriended over the centuries were no different. Nowadays, he found himself growing restless as if something was in the air. Thus, when Okami caught sight of the Lieutenant of the Second Division walking into his office yawning, it promised an end to his current boredom at last.

Stretching a moment in the sunbeam, the Shiba gave the kid a lopsided grin and waved him in, winking a gleaming silver eye playfully. "It really is! I don't get to enjoy it nearly as much as I'd like these days. Too much burning the midnight oil, although I'm sure you know exactly what that's like."

Grabbing the paperwork off the desk, he'd glance over it with a grimace. Thankfully they were just reports, but there were some choice topics that he'd have to deal with later. Setting them in one of the drawers of his desk for the moment, he looked over Seiji carefully, lifting an eyebrow in question. "Well, brat? Not gonna take a seat or tell me how you've been? Have you started to try for Bankai yet?"

Another thing of note about the noble: Captain Okami Shiba couldn't help himself when it came to actually caring about those he found interesting. Thus, the friendly harassment. "Spill it, kid!"

Seiji groaned as he slumped into his chair, his head rolling back as the frustrated noise issued forth from his lips for a slightly-too-long amount of time. Eventually he lifted his head and stared blankly at Captain Okami before slumping back forward with dead-fish eyes. "I hate it in the Second. Don't get me wrong... Captain Ika's a great guy, but man I hate paperwork. Despite having tons of sneaky nap spots, doing stealth as a job is kinda lame."

Seiji sighed and rolled his shoulders. "I've been prodding at the wall of Bankai, but so far no luck. Right now Captain Ika's away on business so I'm running things. And since I have to work, EVERYONE has to work. I've got a whole training regimen planned too... Let me see..." Seiji patted at his clothes before pulling a scroll out and unrolling it. It had cute little drawings with the colorfully illustrated title: "Training Camp From Hell: Let's All Suffer Together!"

Okami huffed out a laugh at Seiji's assessment. The Second was definitely one of the Divisions with the most paperwork, although the Eighth wasn't really any better if he were honest. "I can imagine. The thought gives me flashbacks to my time as a Lieutenant. If you think the Second Division's bad, try the First. I was glad when the old man promoted me to Captain, just so I could get away from it."

He and Ika Mazi had been promoted at similar times, although he'd honestly stagnated a bit too much with his new workload. Fat load of good trying to get AWAY from that paperwork did him, clearly. Nodding and picking up the training regimen, he glanced over it and his smile turned absolutely predatory. "I'm glad you took my advice! The badgers will be a wonderful touch, although if you wanted to take it a step further you could always add in a burlap sack and a nearby river. It's the best way to get in touch with yourself, and I can almost guarantee that you'll see a couple of your subordinates reach Shikai that way."

Tsukiakari Shojo was chuckling in the back of his head, and the noble couldn't help but be of the same mind. A playful amount of sadism was something to be encouraged. "As for your own Bankai...What exactly is the hang-up? Maybe there's something I can do to help."

At Captain Okami's mention of the badgers, Seiji had a flashback to the time when he'd been subjected to such torture as training by the man before him. Captain Okami was the type of person who was always willing to lend a helping hand or a piece of friendly advice in the name of growing stronger, however; many in the Gotei learned the hard way that what you wanted and how Okami might help you achieve it would be in clear and distinct dissonance. "Badgers... Of course, why didn't I think of that one sooner!" Seiji remarked with a gleeful, sadistic grin as he took out a case of colored pencils he'd prepared just in case this topic came up and drew a cute little leather bag with a small badger head sticking out of it. Seiji had two mentors he held in high regard, and it was easy to see he had subconsciously picked up on some of their traits.

Ika's relaxed attitude coupled with Okami's sadistic streak made for an interesting combination, to be sure.

"As for my bankai, hmmm." Seiji paused a moment to think as he scratched his head. "As far as I've been able to grasp, Midorikage is all about flexibility. Wind is formless, so it can be shaped into many different forms as well. In Shikai, my blade becomes extremely thin, so I've been wondering if pushing that factor even further is the key. I kind of feel like I'm on the right track, but even so this has been a tough nut to crack."

The Head of the Shiba Clan smirked as his young friend began to space out a moment, clearly remembering all the fun he'd had with the badgers himself. It had been a hilarious time, and when Seiji snapped out of it he added the concept immediately in a manner that had the Captain laughing. He wished he could be there to see the poor bastards go through this little ordeal. It was relaxing and built character, although for whatever reason the Fourth Division complained quite a bit afterwards.

Leaning back in his chair as he listened to the Lieutenant's thoughts on his own abilities and how to grow stronger, Okami hummed lightly, his eyes seeming to shift from their usual bright silver to the color of brushed steel with the more serious mood of the conversation. Mulling it over for a moment, the leader of the Eight Division glanced backwards at his own Zanpakuto, conferring for a moment before turning back. "Hear me out...You're probably on the right track, but found it in the wrong direction."

Waving his hand vaguely in the air, he'd clarify what he meant. That was, after all, pretty damn confusing. "Right now, you're thinking about your Shikai and your Zanpakuto's abilities, attempting to find the function of your Bankai and force it to do that. Meanwhile, you're forgetting the most crucial part. Your sword is a part of you. So, if Midorikage is meant to abandon it's form, then perhaps that is something you should do yourself."

Letting a playful grin cross his face, Okami would stare dead into Seiji's eyes, finishing his idea. "Tsukiakari Shojo's command is to Eclipse. So, I must eclipse myself, push my reiatsu beyond my limits and even give up a part of myself to do so. That's the mindset I have to be in to use Bankai. It sounds like you have the right idea in that your sword needs to push that concept further, but at the same time you have to remember that you are the sword that should become more thin, more flexible. Make sense?"

For once, Seiji took the time to properly sit down and listen. For some, realizing their Bankai was a rather simple affair. Some people were just more in tune with the heart of their sword, plucking enlightenments out of the air mid-fight like they were casually playing an instrument. For other, more normal people, it took a lot of time and effort. Unlike the mortal samurai below(?), growing stronger up(?) here in the Gotei was as much an affair of the spirit as it was of the body. The Zanpakuto was more than a sword - it was a part of you, and walking that journey of self-discovery and personal understanding was considered a pre-requisite to a Captain's seat.

Granted, that didn't mean you couldn't snip a corner here and there. Those with the backing of powerful families, mighty figures, or whom otherwise caught the eye of their elders could be blessed with these moments of sagacious advice. All roads are different, and lead to varying endpoints. How you get there, however; can be inferred by those who have walked this path before and this knowledge was indispensable for unlocking further power from one's Zanpakuto. By the end, Seiji's eyes were narrowed in thought as he spoke up again. "Abandon form, huh...? How annoyingly antithetical. I very much dislike the sneaking about of covert operations. Ah, but then again, it doesn't necessarily have to mean STEALTH in and of itself. Hmmmm..."

As Seiji muttered to himself, he began doodling more cute little badger-bags all around his scroll. By the time he was done, he held it up for Okami to see the sign read: "Training Camp From Hell: Let's All Suffer Together! (Featuring: A Perfectly Normal Amount Of Badgers.)" Though knowing the young swordsman, it was unlikely to be anything but a normal amount of badgers, as is tradition.

Laughing a bit at his younger friend's words, the Captain listened with that same smile on his face. Bankai was an incredibly personal thing, the true form of one's Zanpakuto. It was your inner self made manifest in the outer world, and while there was another step in theory, it came from mastering that same form and finding oneness with one's blade. That particular step was one that Okami hadn't managed just yet, but he was working on it. Everyone came to their own conclusion in the end, and everyone needed to find it for themselves. A little nudge here and there, however, could make a world of difference. "Well, sounds like you're on the right track to me."

The Shiba almost lost his composure as some older brother-slash-mentor figure, however, when he looked at what the other swordsman was showing him and saw the absolutely, stunningly NORMAL amount of badgers that were planned for use in the aptly-named Training Camp From Hell. Before he could comment, however, his eyes snapped to the window where a large black swallowtail had drifted in. Extending his finger, he calmly listened to the message that was being sent to him with an odd look on his face.

Turning to Seiji as it fluttered away, Okami had turned thoughtful, glancing between the packet of glorious ideas and the man himself. "Well, Seiji, it looks like we'll have plenty of time to work on this little project of yours, as well as pushing for Bankai. You've been transferred to my Division as a Third Seat. Someone named Shuya Kitakaze will be taking over your former position."

It was unusual for a Lieutenant to be demoted and transferred, although if there was one thing that the Captain of the Eighth Division could say about his old friend it was that Ika Mazi never did anything without thinking it through. There was a plan here, and while he wasn't privy to it Okami wasn't opposed to having Seiji around long-term. It would get him away from covert operations, and while reconnaissance was still in their job description it was also accompanied by more traditional combat and a hint of unconventional warfare. A good fit, all in all.

Hopefully the former Lieutenant thought of it that way, as well.

Seiji was silent as he took in the news of his transfer and demotion. To be fair, it wasn't like he'd been living up to the standard of a Vice Captain, but who could blame him? Covert Operations was boring as HELL. Sneak around here, gather intel there, observe, observe, and maybe observe a little more. Boring stuff, that. He thought about what Captain Ika had asked of him while wondering if this was something that factored into his plans somehow. However, after taking the time to consider it Seiji decided he didn't care.

He was FREE.

And freedom? Freedom calls for a victory cry. "Fuck YEEEEEEEEEEES!" Seiji jumped up, fist-pumping with a big grin on his face. "Whoooo baby! That's what I've been waiting for, that's what its all about, whooooo!" He then glanced over at his training regimen. He then looked at Captain Okami. Then the scroll. Then the Captain. Scroll. Captain. And slowly, a wicked grin began to spread across Seiji's face. "Captain, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"