[Center][i]Akiko Ikamochou, 12th division Lieutenant [/i][/Center]

As her captain made his excuses to leave, Akiko did nothing more than bow her head respectfully. It would be an exercise in futility for him to stay, and an even greater waste of time and of her breath to pretend otherwise in some sort of wasted dialogue. Instead, she remained in her seat, head bowed until the sound of his first Shunpo alerted her of his departure.

After that, she simply waited for her turn to do battle in the tournament. It seemed the attendance this time around was somewhat greater than normal, which was unusual. She tried to hypothesise the reason behind the increased amount of fighters, when an announcement was made by the Captain-Commander that the tournament was over for the day. Akiko felt her mouth twist into a mildly annoyed frown. What a waste of time this had been for her, as she’d missing captain Zume’s match and failing to compete in her own on the first day. It was almost sad to think of the time lost, time and resources that could have been used by her to further any number of her projects. The augmentation project wasn’t going to complete itself, after all.

Speaking of which, another project was in need of her attention. She had a third agenda with the Hakudo tournament, she must admit, namely, meeting with the 3rd seat of the 2nd division, Saru Feng. She had expected to see him in the tournament, yet had failed to even catch a glance at the man: Which, on reflection, was odd considering his bright blue hair that seems vastly counterproductive for a member of Onmitsukidō. 

Nevertheless, she was sure she wouldn’t need him. She had made visits to the Maggot’s nest before, accompanying him in some such regard. He had been very helpful in providing her with assistance, assuming she offered him the correct bribe. His personality was easy enough to manipulate: offer him the correct compliment here, feed him the right lie there, promise him an increase in power or a favour at a later date…Rather simple, truthfully.

So, with her fellow Shinigami meandering around and looking to meet up with allies and friends, Akiko made her exit using a few simple flash steps. She decided to go ahead and make her way to the Maggot’s nest without the Feng boy. It seemed unlikely that the guard wouldn’t let her past, considering her regular visits alongside Saru Feng. 

A few minutes of Shunpo later, Akiko was in the forests of the second division, staring up at the imposing sight of the Nest of Maggots. The doorway looked simple enough, but the frightful thing was that the majority of the structure was underground. The complex was an astounding thing, and she had only learned of its existence from an offhand comment made by captain Zume. 

At the entrance, she made a brief conversation with the guard, and handed over her Zanpakuto. It was always a strange feeling to abandon her blade at the door, but only because the weight was familiar. If she had been forced to draw it, it would only have been to awaken her Shikai anyway. Her fists were significantly more effective weapons.

From there, she began her descent. The long descent into the Maggot’s nest had one major purpose for Akiko: Her tests were considerably dangerous to test on live Shinigami, so by offering a few desperate souls a few creature comforts, she is able to test her experiments’ effects. To her, the Maggot’s Nest was a dream, as it was a realm full of live, willing test subjects. She had a number of possible drugs to test, as well as their antidotes, on hand to test. 

She reached the large set of doors to the Maggot’s Nest, pushing them open and revealing the scene of the sprawling incarceration unit, and its multitude of inmates. For now, she would simply have to choose which who she could make her offer to.