Large, teal green doe eyes peered into the dimly lit room. The petite figure stood by the door, holding the door ajar and sneaking a small peak inside. Bright lights and colors flashed as several monitors displayed various video footage of the human world and radar scans. A small group of soul reapers in lab coats sat around, working diligently. There was a doorway inside that lead to other parts of the research institute. She blinked twice and tilted her head. She kept her feet steady, thankful no one had sensed her presence. It was quiet save for her soft breathing and the repetitive tapping of keys on the keyboards and some momentary idle small talk.

She was thankful the head of the division wasn't present. She couldn't bear the thought of him sneaking up behind her and scolding her. Captain Ukitake would not be pleased with her. Though she was a mere fifth seat, he still cared for her as if she was his own daughter. She felt a bit sheepish, standing in the doorway where she could be seen if they'd just turn their heads. She had thought it a good idea at first, now she wasn't so sure. She took a deep breath, debating on either just leaving or trying to sneak in to get a good look at everything. She barely registered the set of footsteps heading her way. She then felt a looming presence behind her, close enough not to touch but enough to be aware of. A set of eyes bore into her head and suddenly tensed up. Her mind shouted at her to turn and run, but something kept her there.

"May I help you?"

A soft squeak pushed passed her throat and clenched teeth. She knew that voice, though she'd never been close enough to the owner. She heard it in passing, but it still had the same effect. She was inwardly thankful that Captain Kurotsuchi was not behind her. Though the fact that the second person she wished she hadn't run into at all was standing behind her, made her feel just as tense. She felt intense heat rise to her cheeks and ears and her throat closed up. Her muscles reacted on instinct and she turned quickly, her back slamming against the wall by the door, which was still slightly ajar.

She kept her gaze to the ground for a moment, then forced herself to look up. Naturally narrow, brow-less coal colored eyes stared back at her. There was a small hint of amusement and a slight smirk tugged at thin lips. Her heart rate picked up and took a deep breath. She pushed off and prepared to take off running back to her division. "I'm so sorry, I know I shouldn't have been sneaking around. I'll never do it again, I swear." She said, hurriedly. She then pushed off the wall and made to take off, when a strong hand pressed against her shoulder, stopping her dead in her tracks. She wanted nothing more than to sink down into the smallest possible organism and slink away. Her fears were becoming a reality. She knew she was in trouble, he would take her to Captain Kurotsuchi and she'd be punished. If not by the 12th division captain, then by her own.

"Woah, hold on there. You're not in any trouble." His deep, rough voice assured, making her face darken more. Her head tilted down, making a curtain of dark mud brown hair around her tomato red face. This was just perfect. She couldn't respond, so he simply took her by the wrist and pulled her into the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. Somewhere deep inside her paralyzed, nervous form, she found some sort of strength and willpower. She began to protest, but his grip was much too strong. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to prove a point that she was not getting away anytime soon.

She finally gave up and followed after him. The other members of the Institute glanced up as they entered the facility. She kept her head down, ashamed of being caught. All she really wanted was to look around unnoticed. She really needed to plan things through more. She huffed inwardly and peeked around the man at the other members of the division. She gave a small wave and sheepish smile. A boy no taller and no older than her jumped up from his seat at a monitor. He had a wide grin but still looked somewhere between distressed and sad. His eyes seemed to droop in a way, but he looked lively enough. "Hello there, are you lost?" He asked, curiously. She seemed to calm down a little and laughed nervously. "Not really, I was just wandering around thought I'd come check this place out." She replied, simply. The boy nodded and looked up at the man who still had her held captive. He gave a confused look and glanced between them.

"Is she in trouble, Akon?" The boy asked, raising an eyebrow. The man remained quiet and shook his head. She glanced up at him as her wrist was released and was placed in the custody of the boy. She looked up at the man, now actually getting a good look at him. He had dark, messy hair with a jagged area that ran from the hairline and halfway through the scalp. His bang were parted and his forehead boasted a set of three small horns. He wore what appeared to be a type of scowl and he had no eyebrows. His onyx gaze turned back to her and she quickly looked away, ignoring the amused gleam in his eyes. The boy took her hand and lead her away and toward what she assumed to be his station. He pulled a cookie off the desk and handed it over. She gladly took it with a small thanks and bit into it. "My name's Rin Tsubokura, what's yours?" He asked, cheerfully. She looked down, her shyness coming back. She looked around the room at the others that had turned back to their work, chancing glances now and then.

"Nice to meet you, Rin. I'm Hitomi Miyamoto, fifth seat of the 13th division." She replied, quietly. Rin gave a small smile and nodded, politely. "Well, Hitomi. I see you've already met Akon. He's the second best scientist in the institute." Rin replied, gesturing to the man who had drug me into the room after catching me sneaking around. I gave a small nod, avoiding eye contact save for a small glance his way. Rin didn't seem to notice my attitude toward Akon and continued on. "Over there is the head of the Institute. His name is Hiyosu." Rin introduced, gesturing toward a large green skinned man with big eyes. Upon hearing his name, he turned in his seat and looked at her, intently. She practically shuddered under his gaze, cold chills running up her spine. Hiyosu extended one eye to get a better look at her. She froze up under the attention and quickly retreated back to hide behind Rin. Rin then proceeded to scold Hiyosu, telling him to be more careful with her.

A soft chuckle drew her attention away from the large man and she glanced back to see Akon glancing at her. She forced a glare in his direction for finding amusement in her fear. He didn't seem phased in the least. She huffed, petulantly and went back to eating her cookie. Rin introduced her to the rest of the division save the captain and lieutenant. "They should be around soon. Captain Kurotsuchi is working on something in the lab" Rin assured, absently. She nodded and played with a strand of her dark hair. Her teal gaze flicked left and right. She glanced at Rin who had gone back to work and decided to walk off and give herself a tour of the rest of the facility. Though her venture hadn't gone unnoticed. Akon kept a watchful eye as she approached the door leading into the laboratory part of the facility. Though as soon as she went to open the door, a loud explosion resounded from inside.

Hitomi stumbled back, losing her balance as the door flung open and smoke billowed out. She would have fallen on her backside had a pair of arms not wrapped around her to stabilize her. She quickly steadied herself and stood up straight, brushing off her uniform. Two figures appeared in the smoke that was slowly dissipating. Hitomi struggled to see who it was and jumped back upon seeing the one culprit responsible for the explosion. She had only seen Captain Kurotsuchi a few times while out with Ukitake and even then she always felt uneasy around him. She gave a sharp gasp and retreated to hide behind the closest person, which happened to be Akon. She didn't care as long as she wasn't near the 12th division captain. "Ahh and who do we have here." The captain's chilling voice sounded close by. Hitomi jumped and let out a small squeak, pushing closer to Akon's back. The horned scientist didn't know what to do about the situation and was caught between staying out and moving to let his captain get a look at the stray fifth seat.

Captain Kurotsuchi decided to make the decision himself and moved Akon aside and pulled Hitomi close, inspecting her with a critical eye. "I know you...you're one of Ukitake's subordinates." He mused with a small grin. Hitomi could only manage a small nod. "What might someone like you be doing around here, hm?" He asked, tilting his head as if calculating an answer in his own head. "Um..well I was just exploring since well I'm new to the 13 Court Guards and well I wanted to get to know everything better and decided to start here. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. I'll leave right away if I have to." She replied, shakily. Mayuri gave her a once over with shocking gold eyes and then moved on with a casual wave of the hand. He didn't say anything in response and made his way to another room.

Hitomi wasn't sure what to think of the situation. It was quiet until Akon spoke up behind her, spooking her. "Don't worry about him. That's his way of saying he's fine with it." He stated, casually. She watched him go over to a table and check data records, tilting her head for a moment. She shook it off and wandered back over to where Rin was. She spent the rest of her time there chatting with Rin, getting to know him better. She was barely conscious of the few small glances from a certain three horned scientist. It had been another hour before he finally decided she had overstayed her welcome and had to return to her own division. She was sure Captain Ukitake was worried sick about her. She announced a polite goodbye and expressed her thanks for not punishing her for her curiosity. With that she left, catching a small glimpse of Akon's gaze locked on her as she disappeared through the door.

Hitomi returned to her division in record time and checked in with her captain. Surprisingly, Captain Ukitake didn't seem to mind her absence since she had no particular duties that day. She had some paper work before she took off, but that had been taken care of. Deeming that she had nothing better to do with her time, she excused herself and went back to the barracks to rest. The sun was beginning to set since she spent the better half of the morning on paperwork, then the rest wandering around the 12th Division. She collapsed on her bed, burying half her face in the pillow and staring out into nothing. Soon she dozed off and fell into a peaceful slumber not to be disturbed until the morning.