To ordinary squad members, the Research and Development Institute was a terrifying place. Rumors of human experimentation often emerged from it, and few people were willing to visit.
The entrance examination at Shin'ō Academy included a question about which division applicants wanted to join. Even one or two people in a class writing down the Twelfth Division was considered a lot.
As a result, Shin'ō Academy had to resort to all sorts of methods, including but not limited to trickery, deception, and forced assignments.
Whenever the Twelfth Division was short on people, the teachers at Shin'ō Academy lost a few hairs over it.
In fact, the Research and Development Institute wasn't frightening. All the rumors and fears circulating outside stemmed from one person: its director, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
The institute's other members were, at most, a bunch of eccentrics with outlandish ideas.
To fund their own bizarre experiments that had been rejected by the First Division's reviewers, they would be especially enthusiastic about finding Shinigami to do business with, selling them various spiritual tools.
For example, there were self-dusting straw sandals, deodorizing socks, all-purpose hair gel... Occasionally, they also took on sword spirit modification experiments, forcibly turning your sword spirit into the girl of your choice.
Of course, the Research and Development Institute's bestselling spiritual tools were none other than Gigai.
Half-body Gigai, figurine-style Gigai, fully automatic telescoping Gigai, fully automatic telescoping heated Gigai, fully automatic telescoping spiral-heated Gigai, and so on.
Marechiyo Ōmaeda was the lieutenant of the Second Division and captain of the patrol corps, and his family owned the foremost gemstone business in Soul Society. The thumb-thick gold chain around his neck, the gold watch on his right wrist, and his conspicuous gemstone ring were constant proof of his wealth.
As such, he was a VIP customer of the Research and Development Institute, primarily buying Gigai. He had even set aside a secret basement at home especially for them.
After all, playing with Gigai wasn't something to be proud of.
He had always played with them in secret and never expected his captain to expose him with a single remark. He began to stammer. "C-Captain Soi Fon, don't make baseless accusations against me! I barely know those people at the Research and Development Institute!"
"Huh?" Soi Fon turned her head. Her instincts told her that this lazy glutton was hiding something, but she wasn't interested. "I'm telling you to go there and take care of something. What are you babbling about?" she said irritably.
Marechiyo Ōmaeda breathed a sigh of relief, his heart settling back into place. "Oh, that's what you meant. You scared me. Leave it to me. I guarantee no one will be any the wiser."
"You're only good for this sort of thing."
Soi Fon rolled her eyes. Her lieutenant was by no means weak, but his character left much to be desired. He was far too timid and afraid of trouble, and extremely lazy.
When it came to work involving combat, he generally avoided it whenever he could. When he couldn't, he gave up trying. His mind was full of food, money, and how the family business was doing.
If the Ōmaeda family hadn't paid so much back then, and if this guy hadn't been so tall and broad that Soi Fon had mistaken him for a courageous man, she would never have personally chosen him as her lieutenant.
"That's right. No matter how many jobs like that there are, you can leave them all to me."
Marechiyo Ōmaeda seemed oblivious to her sarcasm and answered with a proud look on his face.
Soi Fon sighed helplessly and continued, "Then help me write an application to go to the World of the Living. Also, notify the squad members under us that if there's any news about Shiraishi, they're to inform me immediately.
"Remember, inform me!"
The order was worth thinking over carefully. Several thoughts passed through Marechiyo Ōmaeda's mind, but he smiled and said, "Rest assured, the Stealth Force is definitely on your side."
Soi Fon nodded slightly. "I'm going to train. Once you've finished, remember to come and tell me."
"Mm." Marechiyo Ōmaeda thumped his chest to show how dependable he was.
Soi Fon left with a Shunpo.
Marechiyo Ōmaeda rubbed his rounded chin, only now realizing what it meant. "Wait, two Gigai, an application to go to the World of the Living... Could it be..."
"Haha, no way." He shook his head, thinking his guess was too stupid. That was Captain Soi Fon, who was devoted to her duties, always spoke of the dignity and pride of the Gotei 13, and never broke the rules. How could she possibly elope with a criminal?
Marechiyo Ōmaeda used Shunpo to travel to the Research and Development Institute. He was lazy in many respects, but when it came to Shunpo, he had never slacked off.
It was an essential skill for running for his life.
His principle was that it didn't matter if he couldn't beat an enemy, but he absolutely had to be able to outrun one.
When he arrived at the Research and Development Institute, Marechiyo Ōmaeda entered through the VIP-exclusive passage, perfectly avoiding every trap and easily reaching a door.
Marechiyo Ōmaeda pushed the door open and said with a broad smile, "Akon, I'm back."
Akon was the Third Seat of the Twelfth Division and the deputy director of the Research and Development Institute. He had spiky black hair and a stern face, with three horns of unknown purpose on his forehead that he had modified and attached himself.
"This is the latest design I've come up with: a fully automatic multi-port Gigai. You can insert it from any direction, with 360-degree spiral heating and no blind spots. It's just a little more expensive, at six million kan."
Seeing his patron arrive, Akon immediately stopped the experiment he was working on and handed him a proposal.
Adding a few minor features like this and then inflating the price so the money earned could be spent on research was something that pleased both buyer and seller.
Marechiyo Ōmaeda didn't care about such a small sum and said generously, "Money's no problem, but I'm not here for a new product today. Give me two of the old models. As for the appearance, please make one look like Captain Soi Fon."
A hint of surprise appeared in Akon's eyes. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. The other one's a man. Make it look like this silver-haired man."
Marechiyo Ōmaeda took a photograph from inside his robes.
Akon's brow furrowed even more deeply. This guy's tastes were getting stranger and stranger. From tentacles to men?
"Ōmaeda, sorry, but I have standards. The man's no problem, but Captain Soi Fon is absolutely out of the question. I won't make Gigai that look like captains and sell them to other people."
"Six million kan apiece."
Marechiyo Ōmaeda couldn't be bothered with further discussion and went straight to throwing money at him.
Akon shook his head. "It's not about the money."
Marechiyo Ōmaeda said gravely, "Seven million kan apiece. That's my limit."
Akon fell silent. If he took this order, he would have funding for the perpetual motion machine experiment he had recently been planning.
Although both the First Division's reviewers and the director considered perpetual motion a pipe dream and a waste of money, he still wanted to try his experiment. "All right. Come back the day after tomorrow to pick them up."
"Same as always. Remember to keep it secret for me."
Marechiyo Ōmaeda reminded him.
Akon said knowingly, "Don't worry. I don't have any friends I could talk to about this sort of thing anyway."
"You're as gloomy as ever. Oh, right, please make me one of that new model too."
"All right, I'll deliver them together the day after tomorrow." Akon's furrowed brow relaxed. After costs, the net profit from the three Gigai came to a staggering fifteen million kan.
There was no need to worry about funding for the perpetual motion machine experiment.
"Sorry for the trouble." Marechiyo Ōmaeda left with a satisfied look on his face, looking forward to Captain Soi Fon's praise.