Bleach 1. Chapter 1

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Rating: Fiction: This chapter T, all over story arc most likely M

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach. I am a lowly, broke fan.

Warnings: Mayuri worst case scenario, enough said. Really, though, this thing is going to be long and it gets a little… gruesome, in parts.

Summary: When Ishida disappears, it leads Ichigo and his friends into a dark conspiracy at the heart of Soul Society.

AN: This started as a quick little response to a drabble by someone… I can't remember exactly who wrote it, but it was this amazingly cool line about Mayuri hurting Uryuu and Ryuuken killing Mayuri and giving his head to his son. Anyway, the idea kind of exploded in my head and now I have this wonderful new world to play in… Yay!! PS, if you recognize the inspiring drabble I would be extremely grateful and willing to part with a drabble for a link…. Please!!

Edit: the original drabble is by thenakedcat on LJ. I'm still working on the drabble… *head desk*

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Chapter One

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Ichigo hadn't been concerned the first day Ishida didn't show up for school. After all, if any of his friends could take care of themselves, it was the prissy Quincy. Then Ishida didn't show for a second day in a row. Strangely enough, the teacher's offhand 'he's not a delinquent so we'll let it slide,' comment caused his eyes flick over to his friends empty seat and then out the window in the direction of the dark haired boy's apartment.

The day had gone on like normal, but the littlest things kept nagging at Ichigo's mind. First the math teacher's exasperation as no one managed to figure out a particular problem. Then a girl in science lab ripped her skirt and wailed over no one knowing how to sew it up without the patch job showing. At lunch Keigo accidentally brought the usual five meat buns instead of four. Ichigo had needed to miss five minutes of English to take down a Hollow and couldn't read Orihime's notes.

Nothing really significant happened, yet Ichigo couldn't help think that the dark haired boy should be with them and he wanted to ensure his friend would be back in his rightful place tomorrow.

Of course since it hadn't been a big deal Ichigo didn't think to keep his voice down when he mentioned his plans to check on the Handicrafts Club President to Chad. Unfortunately for him, Orihime and Tatsuki overheard and insisted on coming. Then Keigo and Mizuru jumped in, and his small little side-trip had somehow turned into an expedition that had everyone tagging along after him to the Quincy's apartment.

Orihime, dead set on Ishida having some rare illness, ("What if he has Malaria!" she'd cried) kept thinking of different ingredients for a special homemade soup she was certain would make Ishida feel better no matter what he had. Everyone willingly indulged the auburn haired girl as she dragged them into stores. At least until she bought dark chocolate at the convenience store and said it would go perfectly with the leeks and jelly beans she'd gotten at the corner market, and the shrimp and miso broth from the grocery. Then Keigo whispered that Ishida would probably die from Orihime's 'cure'. No one could bring themselves to disagree.

Only Tatsuki would support a fourth stop for peanuts and Ichigo felt the satisfaction radiating towards him from the dark haired girl's smirk. He felt sure her cooperation was only to annoy him. Her glance at his tapping foot and glare while Orihime checked out _again _at the fifth store (this time for red bean paste) only confirmed this. The entire time Keigo kept insisting Ishida was taking advantage of his 'top of the class' position to skip while Mizuru reminded him with a telling smirk that someone as straight laced as Ishida wouldn't do that like _some_ of the people present.

Only Chad met Ichigo's eyes every now and then with a slight nod. Not even Orihime, fresh from her ordeal with the Arrancar, quite picked up on Ichigo's apprehension like the larger teen did. Chad also understood the other, only slightly less troublesome than Arrancar reason Ichigo wanted to check on their friend; that reason being the Quincy's Father.

It seemed unlikely, however the possibility existed that the elder Ishida had retaliated for his son's maneuvering around his promise not to associate with Shinigami. Ichigo remembered the snapping eyes and icy demeanor of the middle aged Quincy when he had appeared without warning at Urahara's shop to collect his son right after they crashed through the gate from Hueco Mundo.

He had seen the tightening of his Quincy friend's fists and the minor shift to the defensive.

"You survived despite your taste in allies," the man had stated emotionlessly, then stepped to the side of the shop's entrance with the rustle of expensive fabric, "move." Ichigo had wanted to jump in to defend the still wounded Quincy. Only a shake of blue-black hair stopped him, and Ichigo started to understand why his friend lived separately from his Father. He'd only been able to watch as Ishida stiffly walked out of the room. The silver haired man hadn't even slammed the rice paper door; they could hear it slide along its grooves and the click as it met the doorframe in the silence left in the departing pair's wake. It had taken a few moments before Renji spit out a curse then called the man a bastard only to be hit over the head by Rukia for his lack of manners. That returned things to their definition of normal.

When Ishida appeared at school three days later, a bit worn down but in one piece with all his wounds tended to, Ichigo assumed that his Father had been placated. Unfortunately all the make-up work the four of them needed to do, than his sisters' understandable clinginess, and the increased Hollow activity didn't leave him any time to confirm this.

So his abrupt vanishing act two days after his reappearance left Ichigo a tad twitchy.

They _finally_ arrived at the Quincy's apartment laden down with all of Orihime's 'ingredients' (and a bottle of Tums bought behind the overly excited girl's back courtesy of Chad), and Ichigo's concerns transformed to dread when Ishida didn't answer his door despite the orange haired Shinigami's pounding or Keigo's caterwauling.

He glanced up, saw Chad nod and the worry begin to creep over Orihime's face. The others stalled a little bit as they felt the air shift around the three of them.

Ichigo stepped out of Chad's way, fully prepared to pay the repair bill. "Break it down."

Before anyone could blink, the door shattered, shards of wood flying into Ishida's apartment.

Ichigo moved in, glancing around the sparsely furnished main room to see the definition of immaculate. Even the work table in the corner by the window was perfect. The neat stack of fabrics next to it had been color coded and there was an actual shelving unit for various (also color coded) threads.

After a few moments staring at the room (spotless except for the splinters of door) Keigo, Mizuru and Tatsuki's complaints about their actions reached his ears. "Shut up!" They recoiled back, the two boys leaping behind Tatsuki for safety who met him scowl for scowl but kept silent. Ichigo couldn't bring himself to care about their reactions before he found Ishida.

Orihime darted around him towards the doors on the other side of the room. "Ishida-san?" She tentatively leaned in the door that Ichigo guessed lead to the other boy's bedroom. He knew the Quincy wouldn't be in there. He wouldn't be in the apartment at all. There was no way Ishida, no matter what state he was in, would miss their Reiatsu or the noise of Chad's forced entry…

He would've had spirit arrows shoved up their asses for their audacity faster than Ichigo could switch to Shinigami even if he _had_ been delirious from Malaria.

"Keigo, Mizuru, Tatsuki, can you guys handle the door?" Ichigo asked, his voice tense as his brain automatically jumped to its current default conclusion: Worst Case Scenario.

Tatsuki glanced between him, Orihime and the empty apartment. She met his eyes and overrode Keigo's whining with a firm nod.

He headed out the door as Orihime and Chad caught up with him.

"Ichigo? Orihime?" He turned to glance back at Tatsuki, who was leaning against the door frame.

"What?"

She met his eyes straight on, "If it's something we can help with, let us know this time okay?"

He gave a nod and continued down the hall.

"The Hospital first, let's see if he's training with his Dad or something before we go busting down anymore doors."

XXXXX

"No you listen! We're going in now!"

"I don't think so! And show some respect for the fact that this is a hospital or you'll get to visit with security!"

"Don't you get it?! This is about his kid!" Ichigo could not believe he was being waylaid from his mission to find his friend by a five-foot-two woman with peroxide blonde hair in a tight bun, a chest that rivaled Matsumoto and Orihime's, a perfectly tailored suit and an attitude that more than matched his own.

"Since I take all of his calls, I think I would know if his son called, or ended up in another hospital, or if he got in a fight at school, or anything else! So take a seat and I'll see if I can't fit you in when he's done with his current meeting!"

Sparks flew between Ichigo and the Cerebus guarding Ishida Ryuuken's door.

"Ano…" Both of them turned their glares on Orihime who hunkered down a little before squaring her shoulders and stepping forward in a bow to the receptionist.

"I really am sorry for our causing you trouble, but we really are worried. See, he hasn't been at school the last few days, and the teacher hadn't heard from him, which isn't like Ishida-san at all but he's such a good student that she wasn't worried but when we went to his house he didn't answer and we were really loud and we just want to make sure he's okay!"

The woman's eyes softened and Ichigo scowled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Let me see what I can do."

She glared at Ichigo for a second, muttering something that Ichigo was almost sure contained his Old Man's name for some reason, before standing up to slip through the large, wooden doors at her back. Whatever she said must have done the trick because a steady stream of men in business suits and white coats came walking out of the office.

She stepped out a second later to wave the teens in before slipping back into her seat.

The three of them entered the room, coming head to head with Ishida Ryuuken's glare.

The stare down lasted for a few minutes before Ichigo's patience snapped. "Where the hell is Ishida?"

"Where the hell are your manners, Shinigami?" The pale haired man leaned back in his chair, glaring at Ichigo over the expanse of his desk.

"Same place as Ishida."

Ryuuken raised an eyebrow. "For your own good I would find them both as quickly as possible then. Uryuu is either at that shabby little apartment he insists on keeping or at that second rate school he insists on attending. If not there, try a hobby store." His elbows rested on the arms of his plush chair and his fingers interlaced. Ichigo had the urge to ask him if he'd copied the motion from a cliché cartoon villain.

He took a deep breath, trying to sound as polite as possible and managed to get his words out at a reasonable tone (albeit through gritted teeth), "yeah, well, school's a no go, same as his apartment. And I'll agree with Ishida that I suck at sensing Reiatsu so if he is at a hobby store, mind pointing us in the right direction?"

"A Shinigami needing help with something as simple as sensing Reiatsu, what is the world coming to?"

Okay, that was it. Being his friends' Old Man only gave a person so much leeway. "Listen you bastard, if he isn't with you training or whatever and he isn't at school or home, what do you think might have happened?"

Ishida Ryuuken stood and planted his hands on the desk. "You really are Isshin's brat."

Ichigo reeled back from the sudden shift in topic. "Huh? What does old goat chin have to do with anything?"

"Heh…" Ishida senior let out with a condescending look. The man shifted and pushed his glasses up in a move scarily like his son's, then a frown creased his features, "odd."

"What is it? Is he okay? Can you tell?" Orihime piped up, coming to stand at Ichigo's right side.

"No, there is absolutely nothing."

"Nothing? What does, is he... is he alive?" Orihime pleaded.

Ichigo's Hollow cackled in his mind, high pitched words laughing about his stupidity and failure to protect his friend on his own.

Ishida senior's minor glare instantly became bone chilling. "I would have felt my son die, little girl. He's still alive, just somewhere I can't sense a regular level of Reiatsu. There aren't many places like that in this world that he has access to. That ex-Shinigami Urahara's shop comes to mind. Now get out so I can get back to my meeting."

"What about outside of this world, Hueco Mundo?" Ichigo asked, that same deadly calm that let him rush after Rukia and Orihime settling in his body as he face planted his still laughing Hollow into the sideways building they stood on.

He was rewarded with icy blue eyes narrowing and a fist tightening around a charm from a silver bracelet. "While my son might have some minor potential as a Quincy, he hardly has a power as unique as the girl," his eyes flicked to Orihime, "there is no reason besides being close to you that anyone would go after him, and if that's the cause of his disappearance, well, it's his own fault for breaking his word and continuing his association with you Shinigami. Now get out."

Ichigo had reached for his substitute badge before he even realized it, but was stopped by Orihime's delicate hands encircling his. "Not now, Kurosaki-kun."

He met her eyes for a brief moment before glaring at the floor.

"Thank you for your time, Ishida-san," she nearly whispered as she tugged Ichigo back out of the office, and he transferred his glare back to the bastard until his view got blocked by the suits reentering the office.

He shook off Orihime and stalked down the hallway. Even if the Quincy wasn't with Urahara, Sandal Hat had managed to spring Ishida once before, so they'd be able to check out the training grounds, and then if necessary, head to Hueco Mundo.

XXXXX

Urahara actually looked surprised when they asked if he had seen Ishida and happily helped them break into the training ground under the hospital. After they found it empty, he and Yoruichi insisted that they wait for just a little while longer before rushing to Hueco Mundo. The three teens had been shoved in a room where Ichigo, on a long shot, called the Vizard to check if they knew where Ishida was and slammed the phone down when he received a scathing laugh.

He had worn an actual hole in the carpet by the time Sandal Hat and Yoruichi returned, stating that they could find no trace of Ishida's Reiatsu anywhere in the Human world.

"So, Hueco Mundo it is, then," Ichigo slammed his badge into his leg. Orihime stood up from where she had been kneeling on one of the cushions, and Chad stopped leaning against the wall. All three were ready to head out before Ichigo's physical body hit the floor. He wished he'd remembered Kon…

Urahara moved to block the door. "Now hold on just a second. There's no evidence of any portals from Hueco Mundo to the real world, the little birds I have floating around the Gotei 13 confirmed that, _and_ you can't leave this world without my help."

Ichigo's look darkened. "They wouldn't do anything to save Orihime, what do you think they care about a Quincy!? And you'd better open the door or I'll bash your face in!"

Urahara raised his hands up in a calming motion that Ichigo in no way appreciated. "Another point, our Ishida-san might be a prodigy, but I can't fathom why Aizen would want him, and those Arrancar won't move without his say so."

"That's what Ishida's bastard of a Father said. Doesn't make it any more true."

"Or any less," Urahara's hat tilted in that way that shadowed his eyes; Ichigo didn't like not being able to see people's eyes. Normally, it just meant he didn't have as big a hint on what they were going to do next, but right now it just reminded him of the way Ishida's glasses would glint and become opaque. "It just doesn't make sense for Aizen to kidnap our wayward Quincy, and while that might be reason enough if he wanted to prove he could strike at us, I doubt this would be the method."

"But he's still missing! You can't tell me that if nether you or his Dad or anyone else can find him that something isn't wrong!"

"I'm not arguing that, I'm just saying that we need to think about this."

Ichigo glared at him before giving in with a curse and moving to kick a table across the room, barely missing his body. "So what can we do?" Ichigo questioned the scruffy looking ex-Shinigami once his immediate anger had been vented.

"Well, my little birds have given me all the current information, and will tell me if anything pops up. Until then we could use more eyes to see with, nee?"

Ichigo took a deep breath, then slowly let it out like they taught him in all those awful anger management classes that the school counselor (after watching Ichigo's version of standing up to the upper-classmen) insisted he attend.

The majority of the Gotei 13 ranked very far from the top of his favorite people list at the moment, but Sandal-Hat was right. The more people who knew about Ishida's disappearance meant more eyes looking for his missing friend, consciously or not, and that was worth putting up with the degrading experience of asking that old bastard that called himself Sotaichou for help. The decrepit fart would probably act like an asshole again but some of the others would get the message and do the best they could to help out.

He looked over to Orihime and Chad who chimed in with their own affirmations.

"Open the gate."

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Another drop of blood trickled from Uryuu's bitten-through lip, trailing down his jaw to curve along his ear and join the rest of the blood currently matting his black hair.

"Oh, so pretty… So pretty fighting the pain. I'm having so much fun that if I weren't buried in your chest right now, I would even be half convinced you were female you're so _delightful_," the high pitched nearly sing-song voice taunted him again.

Another fiery slice of the scalpel traced along his left shoulder, a sharp contrast to the iciness of blood loss that permeated the rest of his flesh.

Strapped to the metal table warmed by his body and blood, Ishida wished he could do anything but lie there, feeling his Reiatsu being carefully peeled away layer by infinitesimal layer, and his flesh being carved at the hands of this monster.

Uryuu couldn't scream. The only thing he could do was refuse to give Kurotsuchi the satisfaction of making him seem weak.

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End Chapter One

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	2. Chapter 2

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach. I am a lowly, broke fan.

Warnings: Mayuri worst case scenario, enough said. Really, though, this thing is going to be long and it gets a little… gruesome, in parts.

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Chapter Two

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Ichigo stood stock still in front of the gigantic red doors that lead to the Taichou's meeting hall. He didn't know how long he'd waited (hours maybe?) but he wouldn't move until that meeting got out and he could see the old bastard.

He'd been lead to the right Hall by Renji, Yachiru, Ikkaku and Yumichika. The two Fukutaichous had intercepted word of his arrival by Sandal Hat's portal and met him out in the Rukongai to see what chaos he would bring this time. Yachiru, believing he wanted to play with her Ken-chan, went on and on so excitedly he couldn't explain to Renji's worried scowl the real reason he had come.

Then Ikkaku and Yumichika had arrived and the Peacock proved his worth by somehow managing to get the little girl to quiet down. "Ishida's gone missing, looks like it's the same deal as Inoue." Renji had frozen, eyes meeting Ichigo's with a nod. The red head was in.

"We're with you this time." Ikkaku had said smirking madly, Yumichika nodding in agreement.

"YAAYYY!!! LET'S GET KEN-CHAN TO BEAT THE BAD GUYS UP TOOOOO!!!!!"

Ichigo had liked that there was a Taichou's meeting, and wanted to fling open the doors and start shouting, but Renji and Yumichika and had convinced him what a BAD idea that was. So they waited, Yumichika and Orihime doing their best to distract Yachiru from bursting into the meeting to get Kenpachi right away, Ikkaku sitting cross-legged against a wall with his Zanpaktou laid across his lap and Chad leaning against the same wall a few feet down. Renji constantly ducked in and out, letting Ichigo know Rukia was on her way from the Rukongai while Shuuhei, Kira and Rangiku tracked down and questioned everyone who might have noticed any portals or strange energy readings in the area. So far they couldn't seem to find anything.

When he came back the final time he had Hanataru with him and the 4th Squad member was laden down with a giant, whipped cream covered dessert that Renji quickly scooped up double handed to present to Yachiru. She gave a squeal and dug in making little contented noises. Yumichika and Orihime both looked at him with relief pouring from their eyes.

He just shrugged and moved over to stand by Ichigo's side. "You know, glaring at the doors won't get them to open any faster."

"Shut up, Baka," he gave the door a quick break and glared at the red head instead.

"They've already sensed you; you're shit at controlling your Reiatsu. I can guarantee that several Taichous are pushing the meeting to go as fast as Yamamoto-Sotaichou will let it."

"With him as leader I'm surprised Soul Society's still running," Ichigo scowled at the door again. It had better open soon if it knew what was good for it.

"Don't say things about stuff you don't get Ichigo. The Sotaichou is-"

"He's a ratty old bastard whose head is stuck up his over righteous ass!"

"Humph." He could see that Renji really wanted to retort, but knew well enough that it wouldn't help. Ichigo would never forgive the old man for leaving Inoue-san in Hueco Mundo or for having the gall to order him not to help someone important to him. That combined with what he'd been willing to do to Rukia…

With nearly perfect timing the doors to the meeting room swung open. Before Renji could blink Ichigo's Zanpaktou was out, blocking Kenpachi's.

"So you've finally come to die, Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"Get over it ya nut job!" Ichigo braced and threw the battle hungry Taichou back ten feet.

"KEN-CHAN!! WE GET TO GO MASH THE WHITEY HOLLOWS!!"

All the Taichous who'd been watching in various states of amusement, terror, and/or disgust froze.

Renji moved well out of the way as Orihime and Chad came to flank Ichigo, the girl's fists clenching so hard they shook.

"What is this Substitute-Shinigami Kurosaki?" The Sotaichou's Fukutaichou asked, moving forward a step.

"They… they took Ishida-san. No one can find him. They took him just like they took me," Inoue said before Ichigo could say anything, the young girl stepping forward to face the old man.

The quiet turned into absolute silence, and Ichigo tensed as Byakuya's eyes landed on Renji who just nodded, silently telling his Taichou that he and Rukia would be going.

The Sotaichou stood slowly from the hall's only chair, "explain further."

XXXXX

Nemu stared down from the observation window as her Lord peeled back another layer of the young Quincy's spirit.

Something… hurt, somewhere in her chest.

It puzzled her. She had taken no injuries and had just had a full physical so she knew it wasn't a problem with her physiology.

It was disorienting to feel something that all logic argued she should not be feeling.

She also felt a strange pull towards the room. Perhaps it was related? But why, it wasn't like this was any different from the other procedures she had witnessed, even if the subject had been one of the few people who had ever been pleasant to her.

A black butterfly fluttered down to hover over her shoulder and she held up a hand for it to land on.

The message that came through made her close her eyes. The Quincy's disappearance from the living world had been noticed, it was suspected that the Arrancar were at fault.

Not the 12th Squad.

Not… her.

Nemu had been good at covering her tracks, taken the cups so that no one would be able to find any traces of the paralytic, used one of her Lord's inventions to wipe all traces of her Reiatsu from the room.

She had done what she had been created to do. Follow her Lord's orders. She had exploited the small amount of trust that the young Quincy felt for her. Never had she felt this pang in her chest that was almost like… well, she wasn't sure. It had no physical cause and she had no emotional precedent to judge it by.

She fulfilled her purpose so well not even a trace of her own portal to the living world remained, and the Sotaichou was in an uproar that their sensors had missed the possible appearance of Arrancar. He didn't care what vital experiment the Taichou was in that caused him to miss the Taichou's meeting, he was to appear before the Sotaichou to answer for the failure of their warning system right NOW.

Nemu left the observation room taking the steps that lead down to the surgery theatre. Her seals had never been as precise as she made her way through the various decontamination rooms leading to her Lord and the young Quincy. Nemu wanted to avoid bringing in anything that would damage the Quincy further.

_Damage him further then what has already been done?_

Nemu tried to squash the voice in the back of her mind, but wasn't quite able to.

"Mayuri-sama, the Sotaichou demands your presence."

"Tell him I am busy."

"The message says he does not care. The Quincy's disappearance has been discovered and his friends believe it to be Arrancar. The Sotaichou demands to know how another intrusion into the Human World by the Arrancar has been missed."

"As if I need to explain myself to those fools! If there was no trace of Arrancar detected, it was because there was no Arrancar! My sensors wouldn't miss a thing!" The Taichou yanked his gloves off and dropped them to the floor, before turning to leave. "Foolish girl, make damn sure that they don't screw my subject up and watch the dosage or he'll ruin my results."

"Yes, Mayuri–sama," she gave a slight bow as he stormed off, not even bothering to take off his blood spattered over robe.

XXXXX

The Taichou that had threatened to dissect her showed up covered in blood, and Orihime shrieked instinctively.

Kurosaki-kun spun at her cry, but Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka had already launched into the air between her and the newcomer.

"What is the meaning of this, young lady?" Demanded the Sotaichou.

She knew that all the eyes in the room were on the tableau they presented, and had to choke back her fear to speak. "I, I'm sorry… He startled me."

Everyone in the room looked at her, disbelief written on many of their faces. She silently called her Shun Shun Rika back. Baigon and Hinagiku landed on her shoulders and she felt their small hands rubbing comforting circles against her school uniform's white shirt as Lily hovered between Orihime and where Kurotsuchi-Taichou would walk to reach the Sotaichou. She could feel the prongs of her hair pins that were Tsubaki practically buzzing with rage and it took a moment of concentrated will power to keep him from manifesting.

She made sure to shift closer to Ichigo as the strange Taichou moved further into the room. Kurosaki-kun, if just by her reaction, had narrowed his brown eyes at the Taichou and seemed ready to pull Zangetsu at the slightest provocation. Orihime smiled unnoticed up at him in an attempt to calm him down, what this man had done to Ishida and threatened to do to her back then weren't as important as finding their missing friend now. She could be silent for his sake; she wouldn't let this man cause Ishida any more pain by making them wait longer than they had to.

Those oddly colored eyes in that painted face stayed on her as the 12th Squad Taichou approached the Sotaichou. She could almost see the exact moment when Lily's fluttering wings caught his eye and that intense focus shifted to the small Rikka, Orihime's breath caught, unsure on whether or not to call Lily back. Then the Taichou's hand snapped forward and literally extended to snag Lily out of the air.

"Let her go!" Orihime called out. Baigon and Hinagiku shot forward from her shoulders to hover over her head, and she could practically hear Tsubaki begging to be called forward.

"Tch, so troublesome. I just wanted a look," Kurotsuchi flicked Lily back into the air where Baigon and Hinagiku caught her. They flew her back to Orihime, who quickly checked her over before allowing the Rikka to jump out of her hands. The three Shun Shun Rika formed a shield again before Orihime was even really conscious of her desire to call it and Mayuri only laughed, "My offer still stands, but its terms won't last forever."

"That is enough!" The Sotaichou Fukutaichou's voice called out.

No, it wasn't, Orihime thought, and she knew in her heart that Ishida-san would forgive her for this. She just had to figure out how to say what she had to say. In the end her words came out louder then she'd meant. "I won't be an experiment and neither will they!" She inched closer to Ichigo and her shield, backed by her determination, grew larger.

Kurosaki-kun quickly stepped protectively between her and the gruesome clown before them. Only Abarai-kun's tight clench on his arm kept him from breaking Shinigami law (again) by drawing his Zanpaktou in Seireitei, and she wanted to cry out. Sado-kun's large presence joined Ichigo and nearly blocked her view of the blood soaked 12th Squad Taichou. First Ishida-san, now Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun. She hated that she hid behind them, but this monster wasn't one she knew how to deal with. They shouldn't have to risk their lives for her!

"Stupid girl. I'm in the middle of something else interesting, not that I wouldn't mind figuring out how you work in due time."

"You won't get near Orihime!" Kurosaki-kun growled out.

"Please, I hardly need another primary experiment until this one is completed! Stop being fools and have that impudent twit call off her little toy before I swat it down." The man glared at them imperiously and Orihime could feel the tension in the room rising. There was some disgust mixed in, but people were moving as if used to seeing Kurotsuchi-Taichou covered in blood. "Though," the man lightly touched a clean, white finger to his lips as if in thought, "if it hadn't been for the Quincy brat I'd have already had you spread out on my table and then we'd have never had the trouble of your powers possibly falling into Aizen's hands now would we? They'd be safely under my control."

Abarai-kun was joined by Matsumoto-san (when had she arrived?) and a vaguely familiar black haired young man with a 69 and bar tattooed on his face in holding back her friends. She felt the strained atmosphere almost snap, and the battle that the two wanted to start to protect her played before her eyes along with the injuries they would take, and she didn't know if she could stand it. This monster, the things Ishida had told her…

"I-Ishida-san should have killed you when he had the chance."

Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun spun around to face her, eyes wide. Matsumoto-san and Abarai-kun were gapping a little at her as well, but she couldn't help it as images of Shinigami bodies blown apart from the inside pushed to the forefront of her mind. She wouldn't back down, she was stronger, she'd survived Hueco Mundo on her own before her friends came for her, and she could fight him even if she couldn't win. She would be strong on her own.

"Stupid girl there's no way he could have killed me."

And that made her furious. Ishida, he was so much better than this monster that killed his own people and she would fight this battle for her friend if it killed her. Truthfully, that was the most likely response to what she was saying, but Ishida-san would have died for her. "He could have! He told me about it when I thanked him for protecting me from you! Even barely trained and half dead like he was he still could have done more than just beat you! He just didn't want to make your daughter see her family die in front of her eyes like he had to watch his Grandfather die because of you!!"

She was getting tired of the painted man mostly just standing there indifferently. Ichigo had gone kind of limp in Matsumoto-san and Abarai-kun's grasps still staring at her in utter shock, and the black haired Shinigami barely had to hold onto Sado-kun. She couldn't meet either of their eyes. She couldn't believe, oh God, they'd fight for her and because of what he'd done to Ishida and how could she…

"I REJECT!!!" Her shield spun and Orihime took the path it had cleared for her out the room before anyone could intervene.

XXXXX

"Inoue!" Ichigo moved to go after his friend before Rangiku caught his shoulder.

"I'll take care of her. I promise." She glanced at her Taichou for a moment, not really needing Toshiro's nod to know it was okay for her to go after the distraught girl.

Rangiku didn't bother looking to Renji or Shuuhei, she knew they would keep the two Ryouka from doing anything too stupid. She easily overcame Orihime with Shunpo and gently caught the girl's arm as she ran blindly. Tears were welling in big gray eyes and they fell as the auburn girl realized who had come after her. Small hands clenched in Rangiku's scarf, and the Shinigami pulled Orihime into a hug. They stood there for a moment in the hall, and she glared over auburn hair at any Shinigami who dared gape at them.

Several minutes later when Orihime's sobs had subsided slightly, Rangiku stepped back and looked down at the girl, smiling just a little. "Come on," she said as she ruffled the girl's hair like she did her Taichou's on occasion. Where it made Toshiro glare and growl her name, it made Orihime smile, her cheeks moving up to dislodge a few drops of silver liquid. "Let's get out of the hallway." She gently led the girl to the Fukutaichous meeting room which was luckily a few doors down. Orihime settled against the wall, sliding down so her arms could wrap around her knees, and looked up at Rangiku.

"How stupid was that, Matsumoto-san? I wanted to fight that man for Ishida-san since he fought for me, but I just made things worse, because I can't beat him so Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun and Abarai-kun and all the others will fight for me and Ishida-san, but then Ishida-san is still missing, but the all blood, and they'll fight and how could I be so stupid and selfish and we don't have the time for this!" Another sob followed her ramble and Orihime buried her face in her arms.

Rangiku knelt down and tilted Orihime's head up to meet her eyes. "Orihime, no one will blame you for shouting at Kurotsuchi-Taichou. Most of the people who saw you do it, feel _exactly_ the same about him as you do. What we would do to that man if we could is one of the great drinking topics of Seireitei," she carefully wiped Orihime's cheeks.

"No, you, it's just…" Orihime's head tilted down and Rangiku brushed back a strand of hair that fell into the girl's eyes. "He really did threaten to turn me into an experiment! And Ishida-san - - he carried around a picture of what he did to Ishida-san's Grandfather and he just walked in there covered in blood and nobody cared! I had to stand up in Ishida-san's place."

Rangiku wasn't quite sure how to go about explaining the Kurotsuchi-Taichou situation to the girl. For as long as she could remember rumors had circulated about the strange Taichou; that he did things that were inhuman, but it could never be proven. There were also the urban legends about wandering his Squads' grounds after dark: that you disappeared and never came back. "Orihime, we don't know for a fact that he would have done anything to you, but I promise you will never be alone where he can get you. We'll protect you, I promise."

Rangiku expected the girl to at least smile but instead the tears came rushing back.

"You shouldn't have to protect me! Ishida-san lost his powers for me and Kurosaki-kun would have broken the laws and been hunted again and I should be able to fight just like they can! Be strong just like they can! How can they still care if they always have to risk their lives for me?"

Sometime while Orihime had been choking on her sobbed words she'd thrown herself forward into Rangiku's arms, clutching tightly to the older woman, face upturned so that Rangiku nearly drowned in the poor girl's stormy eyes.

"Orihime-chan, they would rather die a million painful deaths then see a hair on your head hurt. It wouldn't matter if you were stronger than them, because you stand by them, accept them. You put up with Kurosaki's attitude and still smile so beautifully for him," she lifted her hands from where they had wrapped around the younger girl to gently pinch her cheeks. "Despite how strong he is, you're not afraid of him. You still laugh and make his world brighter. You thanked Ishida, then you listened to him, you let him talk. Do you think he's really talked to anyone else about his Grandfather?" Orihime silently shook her head, more tears falling. "There, see? Those strong types, they fight and fight, and then they need someone to be there for them when the fighting is over. It doesn't matter what makes them fight: the love of it, the pride, or the desire to protect. They still need you, because you make them whole."

Rangiku thought of another woman's healing smile, and gave a little laugh. "You're just like a Unohana-Taichou in training, Orihime-chan. Do you know that even Zaraki-Taichou is terrified of her?" Orihime's eyes grew wide in disbelief before her head flew back and forth, long auburn hair flying.

"She's in charge of the medics though! Why is he scared of her!?"

Rangiku had to grin. "Because she smiles, is truly, absolutely kind. He can't fight her because of that; she would win hands down since he can't even raise a blade against her." Orihime was positively gaping. "You're the same way," Rangiku continued, "and you're just as invaluable to your friends as she is to the Gotei 13. You heal them. You take care of them. You stand beside them and never waver in your protection of their hearts as their bodies protect the world. They are strong because you are," she poked Orihime in the forehead and giggled when the girl went cross eyed following her finger.

"I-" Rangiku didn't hear Orihime's response as she jumped to her feet in response to the explosion of Reiatsu coming from down the hall. There were too many to pick out individuals, but they all raged wildly.

"Stay here!" She shouted over her shoulder at Orihime who had moved to follow her as she raced across the room, throwing open the door and ending up in the middle of an all out brawl.

XXXXX

End Chapter Two

XXXXX


	3. Chapter 3

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach. I am a lowly, broke fan.

Warnings: Mayuri worst case scenario, enough said. Really, though, this thing is going to be long and it gets a little… gruesome, in parts.

XXXXX

Chapter Three

XXXXX

Ichigo watched Rangiku-san rush from the room in a slight state of shock. He hadn't really run into this Kurotsuchi during any of his time in Soul Society, and from what little he'd heard hadn't had too high of expectations. But from Inoue's outburst and the disgust on the faces of the Shinigami he liked or respected, he scribbled this guy on his to-be-sliced-and-diced list somewhere under Aizen but above Ishida's Father.

"Twelfth Squad Taichou Mayuri Kurotsuchi. What do you have to say for the failure of your Squad in the matter of the detection of Arrancar in the Human World?"

Kurotsuchi waved his hand nonchalantly. "My Squad did not fail. If there was no reading of Arrancar, then there was no intrusion. Simple."

"Yeah well you sure failed when they took Inoue." Kurotsuchi's strange golden eyes glared at Ichigo who just smirked back. Ishida could glare worse blindfolded. "'Sides, who else would take Ishida? Sure wasn't the Vizard and that other bastard won't forgive him for helping me so he wouldn't take him either."

"Other bastard? As in, another Quincy? Really, I thought I had gathered up the last of them, yet more keep appearing. Where can I find this other Quincy?" Kurotsuchi's head twitched to the side at an almost impossible angle and Ichigo recoiled.

"Like hell I'd tell you, you sicko."

BANG "Enough." All eyes turned towards the Sotaichou who had slammed his walking stick into the floor. Renji and Shuuhei moved away from Ichigo and he glanced around. All the Shinigami had fallen into ranks, with the Fukutaichous at their Taichou's right shoulders just like Chad was at his, and everyone resembled marble statues staring intently ahead. Shuuhei and Kira stood alone, and an obvious hole remained in between Unohana-Taichou and Byakuya. Another one fell between Kenpachi and Ukitake-Taichou where the wannabe clown would go. The lines of Taichous and Fukutaichous were half in the meeting room, half in the waiting hall with Kurotsuchi at one end, Ichigo and Chad at the other. A crowd had gathered, some pretending to pay attention to other things, some blatantly staring. All of them had frozen in position at the Old Bastard's order.

"Kurotsuchi-Taichou, despite your assurances, Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki is correct. There does appear to be some holes in our sensor areas. I want you to forget whatever it is you are working on," a quick glance over the blood drenched robes, "and look at the scans of the area surrounding Karakura Town personally, see if you can't spot anything your subordinates missed that might allow us to know how these Arrancar slipped through our sensors. Then upgrade the systems _immediately_ so that we do not miss any other incursions from Hueco Mundo to the Human World."

"As much I would love to, I really can't let this little research project wait. It could be of great use in the upcoming battles, and it is very time sensitive. My current subject is strong, but it won't be long now before his physical body expires and I really need to track the current pathways and structures before that happens and his Reiatsu transforms from human to soul."

Zangetsu streaked for Kurotsuchi's head before Ichigo realized it, only to crash to a halt on Byakuya's Zanpaktou. Ichigo recognized the stern look on the noble's face even as Shuuhei grabbed his other arm, and the entire area seemed as if it had been hit with a binding Kido. Kurotsuchi just looked smugly at Ichigo.

"Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki. I understand that your situation is stressful, but that is no reason to attack a Taichou," the Old Bastard's voice stated with absolute authority from behind Ichigo. "Given your history I am afraid that I must insist on your staying in Seireitei until further research can be done. You will _not_ go half cocked to Hueco Mundo and you _will_ await my orders. You and your friends may stay in the barracks of whichever Squad you chose until then. Kurotsuchi-Taichou, you may finish whatever you were doing, quickly, but I want some of your people working on this now."

"Yes, Sotaichou." The _thing_ gave a slight bow before grinning madly at Ichigo and turning to leave the area through a hastily cleared corridor of Shinigami.

Ishida had never really liked Shinigami. Ishida had hated them for not doing anything to help his Grandfather when he'd been too weak to. Ishida had told Inoue that the thing moving hastily down the hall was the main reason he'd had to watch his most important person die like Ichigo'd seen his Mom die. The only thing Ishida hated more than Shinigami (or buttons, Ichigo thought strangely) was indifference to suffering. Ishida, wherever he was, wherever he would be when this was over, would never forgive Ichigo if he didn't do everything in his power to save the person from that Thing. When the Quincy heard about this he'd probably even pause his tirade against Shinigami to politely (and a little primly) thank Ichigo.

"You don't care that he's dissecting someone alive? That he's going to kill them?" Ichigo still couldn't quite believe these revelations, and had to reassure himself it was the only option before he made his final decision to back burner one rescue attempt for another. His eyes flew around trying to find someone who would meet them. Renji just nodded to him, even as he backed from the line of Fukutaichous, but his face and eyes remained as blank and stern as his Taichou's so Ichigo didn't know where his friend fell on this matter. Toshiro shook, looking at his feet clenching nearly white fists. Soi Fong looked barely interested. Kira just stood there, his face unsure. Unohana-Taichou's face had transformed into a stoic mask, her gaze locked with Byakuya's. Her silver haired Fukutaichou looked like she wanted to panic. Komamura had grasped the hilt of his Zanpaktou and kept looking at the Sotaichou for orders. Kyoraku-Taichou and Ukitake-Taichou were staring at each other with strange looks of confirmation on their faces and their Fukutaichous had become focused only on them. Kenpachi was grinning madly with a hand on his Zanpaktou and Yachiru giggling quietly on his shoulder.

"This is war. I don't expect a child to understand the necessary sacrifices we must make." The Sotaichou stated calmly.

Ichigo stood there, Zangetsu locked with Senbonzakura and Suuhei's grip tight on his upper arm, and twisted his head to stare over his shoulder at the Old Bastard as he turned on his heel and left through a door at the rear of the Taichou's Hall, his Fukutaichou at his shoulder. He shifted to look at Byakuya's blank face, the shame on Shuuhei's, and the gamut of looks from everyone else. Were these people really letting this happen?

They were fighters! Protectors!

They couldn't just go about their day knowing that this thing was in his lab cutting up some living and breathing person.

Ichigo realized his glare had turned defiant and he silently urged them to act, desperately wanting to see the good people he believed them to be. They were strong, honest and caring, they were... _not moving_. They were all just standing there, letting that thing go so he could finish dissecting someone's body and soul no matter what the looks of disgust on their faces said.

"Ishida was right." He heard himself say. "You Shinigami, you just let that… _thing_ go, knowing he's going to torture someone! You Shinigami are nothing but monsters, hell you're just like the Arrancar!" He shoved away from the two Shinigami and broke into the fastest Shunpo he could, aiming to intercept the retreating 12th Squad Taichou, only to be stopped halfway to his target by Byakuya.

"There's nothing to be done, Kurosaki. He has his permission -now orders- to continue."

"Orders that are bullshit!"

He didn't really care that they had stopped in the middle of a semi-crowded walkway growing more packed by the second with those that followed them from the meeting hall, or that he was screaming at a Taichou in the middle of an audience. Someone was being tortured, Ishida was missing and unsurprisingly Soul Society seemed too concerned with itself and its Old Bastard's orders to do anything useful. Nothing was good or right about _any_ of this.

"It doesn't matter," came a quiet voice from behind him. Ichigo looked over his shoulder at Toshiro whose robes were still calming from Shunpo, unwilling to believe that the young Taichou said that. This kid, who had a smart mouth but was generally good, and caring and – and… everything. This boy who helped his little sister win a damn soccer match and let her score the last goal! "I wish it did," the white haired boy took another small step forward. Pain filled ice blue eyes meet his own shocked brown before falling to the ground, "but it never does to them."

"Then do something!" Toshiro just kept his eyes averted as a shudder ran over his small frame, and something in Ichigo rebelled. "Fuck this!" He shifted his grip on Zangetsu and said a silent prayer that Chad and Inoue wouldn't be stuck in the crossfire, and that he'd be in good enough shape when this was over to actually save Ishida.

Kenpachi's laugh was the last thing he really heard before he started to fight for real.

XXXXX

Nemu shifted as she felt the explosion of Reiatsu from the Quincy's friends somewhere outside. She doubted that Mayuri-sama let it slip who his test subject was, so she knew it had to be from something else, but --

"Wait! You can't go in there!" Nemu looked up towards the window in time to see one of her squad members thrown against the clear surface with an audible crack and saw lines appear on the supposedly unbreakable glass. As the injured Shinigami slid down the spider webbed surface 6th Squad Fukutaichou Renji Abarai appeared, his tattoos and black robes blending with the cracks making him appear a blood crowned spirit looking down at the bloody scene at Nemu's back. She could tell the exact moment it truly registered on his face who was down there being held open, waiting for her Lord.

When the rage flew over Abarai's face Nemu recognized the feeling in her chest to be the same one that she had felt whenever she survived her Father's experiments, when she survived the fight between her Lord and the boy on the table, and when that boy, Uryuu, trustingly took the antidote to her Father's poison from her before the damage became irreversible.

Her mouth felt odd, and as the window finished shattering and the violent red head landed in front of her, she reached a hand up, and lightly touched the corners of her mouth, which were turned upwards in what could only be a smile.

XXXXX

Ikkaku, who had just been literally thrown _over_ multiple open walkways by a reckless sweep of Komamura-Taichou's rather annoying Giant Arm Zanpaktou as it tried to grab Ichigo, couldn't help but laugh as he parried the blow from nameless opponent as he made his way back to the main may lay and a better fight. Rukia, who Ikkaku had crash landed in front of, fought beside him, seemingly intent on reaching the same area he aimed for. Every now and then he saw her glancing around -- looking for her friends, he guessed. Not that you could see much besides the opponent before you in the beautiful chaos surrounding them.

Even as far from the Taichous as they were the sheer number of Hado spells and Shikai Zanpaktous flying about made moving quickly a risky option. It was a battle royal, a fight that had his blood singing and made him glad to be alive. He felt sure that battle cries and shouted Kido spells could be heard all over Seireitei, possibly even in the Rukongai.

It had only been the Taichous, Fukutaichous and the members of the 11th Squad at first, blade to blade as people backed Ichigo or tried to get him to stop. Then Kenpachi went a little berserk on Byakuya, making the noble the first to break the laws as he had to release his Shikai to avoid being cleaved in two by a particularly quick, powerful blow.

It had been stunned silence for a moment and then more Zanpaktous had been released in a fury of shouted names and swirling, dance like motions as people tried to counter each other.

Unohana-Taichou had tried calling for peace, but it had been a futile urging, barely heard over the rush of Reiatsu and blood in their ears. She had quickly thrown up shields to protect the less powerful Shinigami around the more powerful fighters, but it hadn't helped as they started fighting amongst themselves as well, mostly in Squads in defense of their Taichous or friends, but soon no one had been able to really tell whose side the person across from them had been on.

So many Reiatsus had peaked around him that what he could sense beneath the Taichous overwhelming presence was no help in telling people apart amidst the flashing of sword blades, Hado attacks, Bakudo shields and the rising dusty smoke. He knew that most of the Shinigami weren't aware of the fights cause. It was the closest Ikkaku had seen to the outer edges of the Rukongai since becoming a Shinigami. Everyone fought everyone, there were no sides, and people just parried thrusts towards their hearts and counter attacked, even if it wasn't against the same opponent.

It didn't even matter that so many of the people Ikkaku fought were weaker; since so many people were fighting he had to get creative. He and Rukia couldn't even leap the walls and go by rooftop because the battle had moved there too. Several sections had been so damaged he heard them starting to crumble under the weight of fighters on top of them.

He could hear a few people shouting for calm; mostly fourth squad members that had managed to avoid injury if only because the weaklings were so damn good at darting away from attacks to make it to the wounded. He finally heard Kuchiki actually shout in frustration when she threw the 10th Squads 14th Seat up over the wall (as an icicle he might add) as he nailed the 5th Squads 8th Seat in the head with Hoozukimaru's pole. He really didn't get why Renji was so protective of her, the Kuchiki Princess was more than holding her own.

"Throw me!" she called to him as she locked blades with another lower ranked Shinigami, and spun around to slam her elbow against the back of his head, twisting her blade so that both swords were out of the way of his fall.

"You sure?" She scowled and he laughed again, "Don't land in front of a Kido blast!" He spun around, placing Hoozukimaru to catch her jump, and then something snagged the collar of his uniform. Both their eyes widened before he crashed into her, and a dark hand locked onto Rukia's robe and somebody lifted them into the air.

"Yoruichi-san!" Rukia called out, and Ikkaku glared at the sleekly beautiful woman holding them both up easily as she flash stepped through the fighters. (Ikkaku had to admit a slight amount of awe at the woman's maneuverability, which easily beat Soi Fong's.) He didn't have the chance to complain about how she manhandled him because before Ikkaku could take a deep enough breath to scream at her she had released both of them, sending them crashing into several sets of fighters before they stopped. Ikkaku wanted to yell at her even more for that before he spotted a scowling Yumichika facing off against a smirking Shuuhei (again) and changed his mind. They were back at the best area of the fight no matter how annoying the method of travel had been.

Ikkaku shoved up from the pile of limbs. Deftly twirling Hoozukimaru he stepped forward as Rukia yelled at someone, calling them a hentai, and a wave of cold rushed against his back, helping to push him forward.

Suddenly, a wave of Reiatsu washed over the crowd of fighters from the Twelfth Squad's buildings, one that Ikkaku knew without a doubt wasn't a Shinigami's. It didn't have that sharpness that came with a Soul's. It belonged to someone still living and it was powerful, growing more so very quickly.

"Ishida-san!" He turned to stare at Rukia, wondering why she had called the missing Quincy's name, her eyes grown wide in fear.

Rukia Flash Stepped away, easily maneuvering around the fighters as they stopped battling to stare at the strange arc of blue now towering over the buildings. He darted after her as Yumichika, Shuuhei, Iba and Kira fell in beside him. Yoruichi and Soi Fong darted past them. They landed in the middle of the particularly ravaged area that surrounded most of the Taichous.

He could feel all the Reiatsu curling back into its owners, see varied weapons and strange constructs whirl back into blades quickly sheathed as people wondered at the growing blue dome that was spreading on the horizon. Rukia literally shoved Ukitake-Taichou out of her way in her rush to get to where Ichigo stood, blade held high against the cherry blossoms still idly floating around him as stared in shocked recognition at the blue Reiatsu. He heard the 13th Taichou's exclamation of surprise, and Ikkaku's eyes bugged a little as it didn't slow her down. The other Ryouka were rushing towards him as well, the girl tripping and falling, Rangiku by her side, the boy leaping on his own.

Yoruichi appeared by Ichigo, talking quickly and firmly like people would do around Kenpachi occasionally.

"Oh, this won't be pretty." He glanced at Yumichika, who raised his decorated eyebrow and flipped his hair back and nodded towards the blue Reiatsu. "Isn't that rather lovely shade familiar?" And everything clicked. It was the same shade as that Quincy's bow.

He scanned the growing Reiatsu again, forced himself to sense beyond its sheer presence, felt its pain, and then recognized it. He hadn't been around the boy very often, but his Reiatsu combined with the stories that floated around about Quincies after the dark haired fighter had taken Mayuri down, had made him pay attention to the kid to see if he'd be a good opponent.

The friend that caused Kurosaki to come was already here, and his Reiatsu just exploded from the 12th Squad's grounds.

Kurotsuchi-Taichou had been covered in the blood of a living human.

The orange haired Shinigami's face became blank as the other fighter accepted recognizing the Reiatsu, realizing the blood coating Kurotsuchi belonged to his friend. A burst of Reiatsu blew everyone away from Ichigo. Rangiku caught the girl, and the others near him managed to twist themselves in the air to mostly land on their feet.

A demented cackle escaped a grin that began to stretch Ichigo's face almost in two, and Ikkaku took a few steps forward as darkness began to creep through Reiatsu. His orange topped head twisted to the side just a little further than it should and Ikkaku blinked to clear his vision, it looked as if Ichigo's eyes had turned black and gold like a Hollows. The teen gave another screeching laugh and raised a hand to his face staggering before he muttered "what are you doing?"

Ikkaku took a few more steps forward until Kenpachi shifted in front of him, "Taichou?" he looked up at the towering from and just nodded at the possessive smirk on the man's face.

The area had gone silent except for the substitute's heavy breathing, and then the teen's hand dropped with a soft but harshly uttered "ok." A shift of colors started to swirl over his face from where his hand had been. The color crept and crawled and the darkness that had been making its way through the boy's Reiatsu shot out to encompass it completely and the Reiatsu kept growing, and the colors swirling over Kurosaki's face formed into a solid, gleaming white mask with stripes the color of dried blood delicately curving along one side.

The boy hefted his Zanpaktou, pointing it at where Kurotsuchi stood near Komamura-Taichou with his trident held high, and in a lilting, scratchy voice called out. "Bankai."

Then Kuchiki-Taichou uncharacteristically but literally screamed for them all to evacuate the area around the fight and the growing Reiatsu from the 12th Squad buildings.

XXXXX

It hadn't taken as long as he had anticipated to barter Ichigo into joint control. It had also taken considerably less arguing than it usually did, for which he couldn't blame the King, and wouldn't complain.

After all, the boy was theirs (though Ichigo would say his alone).

"Die!"

He felt the force of their combined power shoot through the King's veins as he launched towards the _thing_ that had hurt their toy. A flurry of sakura blossom blades swirled in front of him, and they howled as it let the _thing_ dodge Tensa Zangetsu's strike. Their Rukia's brother knew what he could do and was trying to fight them. He fumed, and decided he'd see the noble broken at their feet whether Ichigo agreed or not.

Even as the King pivoted amidst the swirling pink blades and the crushing, giant fists and the chipped blade and bells, he used the King's senses to do a quick check around since despite all the warnings Ichigo still hadn't fully grasped sensing Reiatsu worth a damn. If their little Quincy was here, all their toys deserved to fight for him and not some nameless victim that his King foolishly took pity on. All of theirs in Seireitei were accounted for, including Renji, who was near Ishida.

Annoyingly enough Renji's Reiatsu was disappearing, being beaten down by Ishida's growing strength.

He rallied against his bonds. A fight meant joy and this _thing_ deserved the torture it was about to be put through for daring to hurt what was theirs. He could feel the emotions pouring from several of the others who followed the King, even if they didn't play with him now, the _thing_ wasn't going anywhere except in a nice little cage to wait for what they would do to it. They had time to fight to save their pets, their toys. Their prize wouldn't be stripped from them before they could finish the fight.

It didn't take long for the boy to catch on, and they darted away from the battle towards where the two precious Reiatsus originated.

"Kurosaki-kun! Wait!"

They didn't.

XXXXX

Renji winced as he felt the shinning blue Reiatsu lash against his again. He was hunkered behind some type of shield that the 12th Squad Fukutaichou had thrown up over him and the two surviving aides from the operating room. They huddled close together on a small chunk of floor that was all that remained of the room, probably the whole building if not more thanks to the little ball of shield hanging suspended in the blue field of Uryuu Ishida's Reiatsu.

The other Fukutaichou tersely explained what was happening as the shield hummed around them. Part of their experiments had included removing the natural barriers and limits in the Quincy's mind that controlled his powers. Instead of taking small amounts of ambient Reiatsu from the air like he usually did, the boy was consuming everything made of Spirit Particles.

"Without it we would be dead, but even this shield is having trouble blocking Ishida-san's full power. We need to find a way out of here," she concluded.

"I'm not so pathetic that I can't feel my Reiatsu being eaten, thank you," he scowled and she just calmly tilted her head to the side. Okay so he had thought it was being battered down and not eaten until a few minutes ago but that didn't really matter. "Like you said we're all dead without this shield so unless you got something else hidden up that sleeve, just shut up so we can wait for the reinforcements."

"They will not be able to get through his Reiatsu, and we won't be able to Shunpo out either. As you've seen the Quincy's power will eat everything, _including Shinigami,_ and convert it into pure power. We have severed nearly all the connections from his will to his Reiatsu so we cannot even hope for him to overcome the pain and bring it back under control himself."

Renji flinched as he recalled the sight he had stumbled upon. Not even seeing all the blood coating Kurotsuchi had prepared him for the sight of the Quincy laid out naked on the table, multiple slices in his arms and legs held open by sutures exposing muscle, tendon and bone. There were slightly closed cuts on his chest that Renji vaguely recognized from the classes seat five and up routinely had to take for field surgeries and he had wanted to throw up. There had been only minimal dressings and closures. He had over heard them mention something about increasing the dosage of a drug to keep the Quincy from moving due to stimuli, and realized they weren't even dosing the kid to numb him -- that he had felt every single thing they had done to him. Then red had filtered over his vision in a way that hadn't happened since Rukia was nearly executed.

The blood haze hadn't left until he had sliced an IV line leading to the kid in order to get him to the 4th Squad, then it had been replaced by bright blue and the only thing that saved him had been the 12th's Fukutaichou snagging him back behind the shield.

"You're not sparkin' any new ideas here," he shifted uncomfortably, eyeing the shield.

"I'm trying to lead us to the only option." Her calm voice was gonna get really irritating really soon.

"Well stop being so annoying and let's hear it."

"It isn't one that you'll like."

He scowled, "lady, if it keeps the kid from eating us, I'm up for it."

Nemu looked up at him with bright black eyes, and he swore that he saw tears in them before she blinked and turned to look over at where Ishida was barely visible, floating from the Reiatsu forcing itself into him from beneath. The Quincy's aura had already disintegrated the table, the equipment and the floor.

"Please implement the strongest Kido shields that you can. They should not have to last long."

"What are you planning, Kurotsuchi-Fukutaichou?"

She didn't even turn to look at him. "Please, Abarai-Fukutaichou. I doubt that a 9th and 13th seat will be able to withstand Uryuu-san's Reiatsu without help."

His eyes narrowed at her, if she was going to take it and run…"Where's the shield going?"

She smiled sadly. "I will need it so that I can survive long enough to tap him with this." She pulled out a needle from her sleeve. Renji felt something inside him clench, and he had to fight down the automatic urge to reverse the needle and shove it into the construct, but she had helped him…

Still it couldn't hurt to ask. "It won't-"

"No. It is a drug my Father designed specifically for the Quincies. It contains a form of what was in the IV you pulled out. It is less powerful but will last longer, about fifteen minutes."

He scowled at the shield which was his second objection; he really didn't want it to go anywhere. "Why can't you just fucking throw the thing?"

"Because Uryuu-san's power would absorb it before it could reach him. You will have to get him to either Unohana-Taichou or that Ryouka girl and instruct them to repair the walls and the pathways to his will."

He blinked. "The what?"

"The Taichou will understand and the girl's powers will do it for her. You have to be fast, if his Reiatsu reacts again before they finish…" her voice faded as she looked at the blue encompassing their small refuge.

He frowned, it sounded like the Quincy needed some very specific medical voodoo done to him, and Renji didn't trust himself with an area that was one of his weakest, not with the life of a brilliant, courageous kid that had stood back to back with him in Hueco Mundo on the line. "Why don't I hit the kid and you explain all this to them?"

"Because his power will be greater the closer you move to him, and not even this shield will be able to withstand Uryuu-san's Reiatsu." Renji scowled as that sunk in.

It would be a one way trip.

"Sounds like an even better reason for you to give me that needle and tell me how to use the shield."

"It is my fault he's here, Abarai-Fukutaichou," she glanced back at him and Renji saw something on her face that was even more out of place then the strange smile she'd worn earlier. He didn't know... it kind of looked like regret, but not really.

All he could do was nod, "good luck."

"You as well, Abarai-Fukutaichou," she moved to release the shield then paused. "Also, the third east building on block 4 of the 12th Squad barracks will need attending to if it has not been destroyed. And tell Uryuu-san, that I thank him once more, and this time, it is for myself."

He nodded again, "as soon as the kid is safe."

Renji turned to the two cowering 12th Squad members that had tried to get between him and the Quincy rather than help him like the Fukutaichou. If he didn't want someone still breathing who knew exactly what the bastard had done to the Quincy every step of the way he would have let Ishida's Reiatsu eat those two just like the rest of them.

"Shields now you losers, I want you alive until I can question you."

They both stumbled through their forms and Renji scowled at their weakness. His own shield remained strong despite the damage taken from the Quincy's draining, and he nodded at the long haired girl who immediately dropped the shields range and launched herself forward towards the Quincy with a blast of Shunpo.

She spun, putting her back to the Quincy, cradling the needle protectively to her chest as she hurtled through the air.

Renji felt blood fill his mouth as he bit back a shout as her shield dissipated.

She didn't cry out as the bright Quincy blue enveloped her, her face losing that look of regret before it vanished.

XXXXX

End Chapter Three

XXXXX


	4. Chapter 4

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach. I am a lowly, broke fan.

Warnings: Mayuri worst case scenario, enough said. Really, though, this thing is going to be long and it gets a little… gruesome, in parts.

Summary: Ichigo meets up with Renji and sees firsthand the damage Mayuri did to Uryuu. Renji tells the others what Nemu told him, and they find a dark secret at the heart of Soul Society.

XXXXX

Chapter Four

XXXXX

About half of the 12th Squad area had been consumed in blue along with a good quarter of the 13th, and a small section of the 11th. The initial blast had covered half the area and the sphere had steadily increased to its current size. It didn't show any signs of stopping or slowing.

Ichigo paced on the rooftop at the edge of Ishida's power, it was disappearing millimeter by millimeter and soon he'd have to jump to the next one back. His Hollow, a shivering mass of anger just underneath his skin, grabbed for power each time they had to retreat even a step. Ichigo had to take the step though, and fought to shove the Hollow back into his bonds and keep the mask from forming and going berserk again, it wouldn't help anyone. Not Ishida and not Renji.

He glanced at his friend's Taichou. Byakuya glared at the blue sphere, and Ichigo could see the stoic swordsman blaming himself. After he had forced his little sister out of harm's way by ordering her to help with the evacuation, Byakuya had raced after Ichigo who had run right into the wall of Reiatsu. It had literally tried to tear him apart. Rukia's older brother had been the one that had saved him, using a Kido shield and a swirl of Senbonzakura to pull him out. He had been dazed enough from the pain that he'd barely been able to dissolve his mask and force his Hollow down so it didn't lash out at the other Shinigami in pure frustration.

Then Byakuya told Ichigo he had put it together the moment Mayuri had shown up covered in blood and that was the cause for Renji's presence in the middle of the Reiatsu sphere. The 6th Squad Taichou had ordered his Fukutaichou around the back way to the 12th Squad's territory to quietly search for the Quincy while trying to keep Ichigo there, a boiling rage of Reiatsu that would distract everyone from following Renji's trail as he went to save the boy. Unohana-Taichou had realized it as well, and she'd informed Byakuya with a mere glance she would protect the boy if he could be brought to her infirmary.

They'd waited outside the sphere until the others had caught up. In between the two of them they'd sent most everybody back to the main battle site to help move all the injured, but a few had stayed.

Orihime and Chad he'd sent back to go to the 4th Squad's triage area; Chad mainly went to keep an eye on her as she would inevitably ignore her surroundings as she healed people. The Thing had apparently been sent with the casualties under watch in the name of expediency. Rangiku was the only Shinigami he really felt safe trusting that had gone along specifically to guard the Thing that was in pretty close proximity to his friends. Rukia would be too busy to notice trouble right away and he was still trying to figure out who else among the ranks of the Gotei 13 could be trusted.

Especially among the Taichous and Fukutaichous.

He stepped back again as the slate roof tile under his foot slid into the blue Reiatsu and round housed his Hollow back to the sideways world of his unconscious mind.

Beyond the stoically fuming noble next to him stood Toshiro looking more pale than usual, his eyes were darting wildly, landing everywhere but the blue wall of Ishida's Reiatsu as he waited. Every now and then he politely brushed off a worried looking Ukitake-Taichou when the man tried to talk to the boy. Ichigo wasn't quite sure what to think right now in regards to the young Taichou, so left him up to Ukitake-Taichou and Kyoraku-Taichou, who was at his friend's shoulder along with his Fukutaichou and those strange two almost Fukutaichous from Rukia's Squad.

Soi Fong and her hulking Fukutaichou hovered near Yoruichi who ignored them to talk with Urahara on a cell phone, constantly updating him and shooting down his suggestions. Apparently while she was relatively safe here since she had family who would protect her, Urahara couldn't come in person without being arrested. Ichigo would beat anyone who had issues accepting the man's help if it meant getting back Ishida. Sandal Hat had his problems with honesty, but he was still better than most of the Shinigami.

All of his friends from the 11th Squad were bristling near their Taichou, looking ready to pile on him to prevent him from jumping into the blue light and being eaten as he tried to fight it. Even Yachiru remained strangely quiet, holding tight to her Ken-chan's shoulder.

Shuuhei and Kira had shown up a few minutes before, quietly relaying information into what had to be telepathic seals like the one used to warn them about Aizen. That or they'd gone nuts, which was also a possibility but not something he really cared about at the moment.

For all they were focused on the blue sphere, it took them a moment to realize they were staring at plain air when it suddenly dissipated.

In mass, they hurtled into the smooth crater created by Ishida's Reiatsu. Ichigo saw some motion towards the center of the giant hole in the ground, but couldn't quite see details. Ichigo stretched his senses as much as possible. Renji's Reiatsu was coming towards them with two stationary, really weak presences behind him, but he couldn't feel Ishida at all.

Then Renji finally came into his sight, cradling a naked Ishida to his chest. (And wouldn't that just embarrass the Quincy six ways to Hueco Mundo when he came out of it.)

When they got close enough Renji's eyes met his and Ichigo moved faster at the relief that poured from them. He barely made it in time to snag Ishida from Renji before they both fell, Renji staggering a few steps before collapsing into his Taichou's arms. Ishida whimpered, and it took everything Ichigo had to not recoil in terror and drop the dark haired teen as he realized that he had grasped his friend over gaping wounds and that every shift of his hands pulled back flesh from open cuts and that in some places he was touching Ishida's muscles and that blood oozed out from every cut that he tore open further just by shifting and the warm fluid dripped along the remnants of Ishida's flesh to seep into the Substitute Shinigami's uniform, just like it had soaked Renji's straight through. Oh God, how could Ishida still bleed much less breathe?

"Drug won' last long, gotta get him ta Unohana-Taichou, she said 'pair the walls ta his will," Renji breathed out unsteadily, and Ichigo winced at how weak Renji seemed to his senses. He was hard pressed to keep from gaping at Renji's current accent too; poor guy must be flat exhausted to not be able to maintain the nearly flawless control he had over it, especially in front of his Taichou.

He clutched Ishida as tightly as he dared, and prepared to Shunpo towards Orihime despite Renji's insistence on the 4th's Taichou. He had no intention of leaving Ishida in anyone else's care. Before he'd finished turning Ukitake-Taichou grabbed his arm; he was really tired of people doing that to him today. "You can't take him there." Ichigo took a second to think up a proper insult before going anyway when Ukitake-Taichou held up his hand.

"I've already had Hisagi-Fukutaichou send word. Unohana-Taichou and Inoue-san are on their way, however Abarai-Fukutaichou said this calm will not last long. We cannot risk him being in a populated area if his Reiatsu reacts again."

"Put him down. We don't want to aggravate his wounds further," he looked over at Kyoraku-Taichou's words, the man had draped his flowered haori and Taichou's robe on the sloped pavement while Toshiro dropped to his knees, intent on awkwardly bundling his own Taichou's robe into a pillow even as he drew Hyorinmaru with his other hand and created a small ramp of ice that the 8th Squad Taichou helped him shift the hastily made bed onto so it was level. The cold would also help numb the pain and slow the bleeding.

Ichigo instinctively pulled Ishida tighter against him only to have his friend give a hoarse mumble and twitch, and Ichigo focused on pale lips that were nearly bitten off. He wanted to head for Orihime, but they were right. Besides, Ishida would never forgive himself if he hurt one of the few innocent bystanders in the Gotei 13 with his precious Quincy abilities.

He carefully knelt laying the smaller teen on the makeshift pallet, Ukitake-Taichou immediately kneeling beside them. The Taichou glanced up at Ichigo and he nodded once, trusting Rukia's Taichou to not hurt his friend further.

Of course Yoruichi standing at Ishida's side didn't hurt either. She'd drop kick the Taichou's head all the way to Earth if she thought he would hurt anyone under her protection.

Ukitake-Taichou placed a slightly glowing hand on Ishida's forehead and Ichigo couldn't help but breathe a little easier as the lines of pain that traced his friend's face and body eased. He vaguely heard a lot of mutterings over his head but couldn't remove his eyes from the Quincy's strangely peaceful face for even a second. Then he heard Renji scream in pain and glanced up to see Byakuya wave a sweet bun in front of Yachiru and the pink fluff bundle of a Fukutaichou release her death glomp on Renji's neck in order to dive after it. He smiled a little as he realized where Renji had picked up the trick he had used earlier while they had been waiting for the meeting to let out.

"You okay, Renji?"

The Fukutaichou glanced at him for a second, and Ichigo was sure the answer would be no from the pain that he saw in the Shinigami's eyes before the red head glanced at Ishida. Then a confidant smirk twisted the corners of his mouth and his expression lit up with sparkle that Ichigo knew from personal experience meant whoever had hurt the tattooed man's friend would be in some serious pain very soon.

"Tch, like tha' pansy would be able ta' take me down."

"Ishida would stitch Quincy crosses onto your own pansy ass from a mile away and then press it to make curtains."

Renji threw back his head and laughed making Ichigo smile madly. The Taichous and Fukutaichous looked at them like they'd just suggested a treaty between Shinigami and Hollows while Yoruichi just shook her head in exasperation.

They all quieted as Ishida whimpered and then Renji nodded for a second before pushing himself up off of the ground.

"Abarai?" Byakuya said, looking at his obviously drained of Reiatsu Fukutaichou who should most definitely not be standing.

"I'm fine, Taichou." Renji took a deep breath. "Hey Peacock, there are a coupla' 12th goons over there that need to be dragged ovah if ya can do me the favor. Knocked 'em out 'fore I ran with the kid since they were helpin' the monster, an' I want 'em to answer for it."

"Move it, Ayasegawa," Kenpachi's gravelly voice boomed out. Ichigo glanced at the towering madman and got more than a little nervous, especially since he couldn't quite tell what the strange grimace on his scarred face meant.

Ichigo watched Yumichika vanish in a haze of flash step towards the direction that Renji had come from. He heard a grunt of pain and looked back to Renji who had staggered towards the remainder of the 12th Squad barracks. His Taichou kept him from hitting the ground a second time as he collapsed again.

"Abarai-Fukutaichou, sit down until Unohana-Taichou arrives," Byakuya ordered as he held the younger Shinigami.

"Can't sir. Got somethin' I gotta check," Renji stated with a quiet authority that said he knew he had contradicted his Taichou but would leave anyway.

"What would that be?" Renji straightened his back more than Ichigo thought he could considering how frayed he looked before twisting in his Taichou's grip to face the man.

"Just somethin' the 12th's Fukutaichou said. I need ta make sure tha' kid's not the only one if his power blows again."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he looked at Renji, than back to Ishida. He didn't know how but his friend was still bleeding, staining the over robes beneath him a deep crimson. It was a miracle that the slightly younger boy still had a pulse after what that freak had done to him. His attention turned to the weight of Zangetsu on his shoulder, and his hand twitched towards hilt. Renji was in no state to move, much less help in securing another miracle.

The orange haired Shinigami couldn't do anything here besides be moral support or a last minute safe guard. It wasn't like he would be good moral support either, considering the fact that he had let this happen to his friend through sheer negligence if nothing else. Ishida had said Quincy and Shinigami didn't belong on the same side and look where going against that got the dark haired archer. Only a few of the Gotei 13 had been willing to help Ichigo search for his friend and most of the Shinigami had been more than willing to allow flat out torture to happen at the command of that Old Bastard.

First Rukia, than Orihime, now Ishida. (He'd be keeping a close eye on Chad after this.)

Maybe he should face the fact that while a few of the Shinigami were okay, the Gotei 13 itself was a loss.

He glanced around and saw the faces of those surrounding him and knew without a doubt that if swords were drawn, most of these people would come through. Soi Fong probably only because of Yoruichi, and her Fukutaichou seemed too dumb to do anything but follow her orders. The 11th Squad officers would follow him because they'd get more fights that way. Ukitake-Taichou's and Shunsui's Fukutaichous would follow them before the Old Bastard and the two Taichous' disapproval and disgust were clear. Shuuhei and Kira both seemed more apprehensive than anything, Shuuhei with a side of disbelief and Kira anger. Byakuya was a veneer of calm that reminded Ichigo of the night they first met. Toshiro just looked ill, his ice blue eyes filled with pain and he seemed to be just a few seconds from shattering.

If only for right now as they staggered from shock, Ishida would be safe with these fighters.

Now to make sure no one else got written off as a necessary sacrifice by the Old Bastard.

His decision crystallized in his mind even as Byakuya asked Renji where he thought there would be others like Ishida. "She said, third east block four."

"Fukutaichou remain here, we'll take care of the situation." Ichigo eyed Byakuya. The nobleman didn't really mean that he was going to go instead of Renji, did he? Ichigo looked at Renji questioningly, who just nodded at his Taichou's words and let the older man lower him onto the smooth ground. Byakuya's eyes narrowed in determination, "Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki, Taichous Hitsugaya and Ukitake, Fukutaichous Hisagi and Kira, please follow me. Kyoraku-Taichou if you could please redirect some of the Fourth Squad to meet us we would appreciate the assistance. Soi Fong-Taichou, see to it that all members of the 12th Squad are taken into custody as soon as possible, we will need to know as much as possible before Mayuri regains consciousness." Ichigo blinked, when had the Thing been KOd?

"With pleasure, Kuchiki-Taichou," Soi Fong said and Ichigo had no problems with the 2nd Squad Taichou's look being directed at someone other than him and his.

"The rest of you-"

"I'm going with you. And don't argue, Bya-chan." Yoruichi said with a smirk, lifting the phone out of the way so she could stick her tongue out at him almost playfully.

Byakuya didn't even blink. "You're as crude as ever, Shihoin-san. It's not my fault if they catch you here."

"Can we hurry this up?" Ichigo growled. As nice as it was to realize that Rukia's annoying big brother and Yoruichi knew each other and that he wouldn't be feeling Senbonzakura's slice, he wanted this over with so he could get back to Ishida in case the drugs wore off before they could fix him. If worst came to worse and they couldn't repair what Mayuri had done to him, he wanted to be there.

"Patience, Kurosaki. The rest of you get ready, there might be resistance to our actions from sources other than the 12th Squad."

"Yama-ji," said Kyoraku-Taichou as he rested his hand on the hilt of his blade as did Ukitake-Taichou. Ichigo figured they meant the Old Bastard by how pale the other Shinigami all became.

"Hopefully not, but I take it we are all agreed?" There were nods and Kenpachi and Ikkaku laughed in a way that made Ichigo grateful he wasn't facing the belled Taichou or his bald worshipper right now.

"Let's go."

Ichigo launched himself in the same direction the others headed. At the very least they probably knew where to find the place that Renji had mentioned. Ichigo decided to be grateful for the opportunity to not get lost and muck up the most horrific rescue he'd ever mounted.

XXXXX

Shuuhei Hisagi wanted to puke after seeing what had been done to that kid. Shinigami weren't supposed to do that. They were honorable protectors, steadfast guardians, towers of might standing against the raging madness of the Hollows. They weren't monsters who would systematically slice apart a living child just to see how his Reiatsu ticked. They shouldn't be monsters who with an apathetic distance ordered the torture of an innocent to continue.

But they were.

The confusion raging in Shuuhei's heart was as bad as his nausea at the remembrance of the boy's muscles fresh with blood and the gleaming of exposed bone in the sunlight.

Surely this hadn't been what Tousen-Taichou had meant when he said the Gotei 13 were unjust. His Taichou would have raised the gates of Hell to bring Mayuri to justice if he had known. But then, Shuuhei couldn't possibly imagine that Aizen was any better, he'd seen the mess that Kira had been and Hinamori-chan still was. How much would Tousen-Taichou have objected to the Quincy's torture? He didn't even know where to begin figuring it out. But he did know himself, and if this nightmare was the Gotei 13, Shuuhei doubted he could remain a part of it.

Shuuhei knew with certainty that his world hinged on what he found in this block, what the Sotaichou had allowed to be done.

He could only pray as they skidded to a stop outside of the locked and spelled doors, that whatever it was wouldn't break his faith any further. Ever since that Shinigami with the 69 had saved his life, this place had been the beginning and the end of his dreams. He wasn't quite sure what would happen if he couldn't be a part of it any longer.

He and Kira began to work on the doors, careful to make sure their spells didn't trigger any traps.

They found it actually rather simple to break through all the wards and no trouble to slice through the locking mechanism. There was no excuse for the lax security, an unseated Shinigami right out of the Academy could have gotten in. A moment of doubt entered Shuuhei's mind, whatever lay behind these pathetically guarded doors must not be considered important.

The large doors swung inwards with a push, letting sunlight illuminate a dark nightmare.

Shuuhei couldn't quite process what met his eyes. It was a gruesome art project; a fake.

They couldn't be real.

There absolutely could not be bodies hanging spread eagle in row after neat row.

Tubes containing various colored liquids ran in and out of the strapped up people. Some of the figures looked skeletal, and he could see thick lines of cuts tracing across the remnants of their flesh, some so fresh they leaked blood. Shuuhei looked down to see anything but the bodies and immediately regretted his choice as he realized the pattern on the floor wasn't a pattern. The floor was actually a grate leading to a series of tanks that collected the falling blood and fluids, his stomach clenched in revulsion.

He heard Ukitake-Taichou choke out a spell, the man's voice barely louder than a whisper but it lifted a filter from Shuuhei's perception, letting him feel the mix of souls and still living people, all frozen in time with a suspension spell. Some of the tubes had traces of spells and Reiatsu, probably forcing nutrients into them and keeping the poor souls from properly passing on like they should. He could smell the stench raising off the bodies, worse from the left side than the right, and he noted that half appeared to have been washed and the other not. They were still experimenting on them he guessed in a nearly detached fashion. At the same moment he realized vaguely that he was probably going into shock.

Kuchiki-Taichou sharply called out another spell and Shuuhei staggered from the sheer weight of these souls Reiatsu crash into him. It radiated from all around him in a nearly overwhelming pressure. He tentatively reached out his senses even as he counted, this large room held 12 rows, each ten people across. It felt like there were three floors below and above. Oh Gods, there were so many. They were practically sitting right underneath everybody's noses. How the hell could the entire Gotei 13 miss them! How long had they been here!?

Shuuhei hadn't even realized that he'd fallen to his knees until Kuchiki-Taichou laid a hand on his shoulder, the tremor in it barely noticeable. He glanced back over his shoulder to see the others, hoping they could give him some idea how to handle this.

He could only see Hitsugaya-Taichou's shuddering shoulders and Shuuhei could hear vomiting. Ukitake-Taichou hovered over the kid, whispering soothing words and gently rubbing the boy's back even as his brown eyes remained pointed resolutely towards the center of the room. Kira must have reared away until he hit the far wall because he sat slouched at its base, eyes wide and mouth hanging. Kurosaki looked absolutely venomous and Shuuhei felt the darkness that had shot through his Reiatsu earlier when that mask (which looked and felt too much like a Hollow's for comfort) had covered his face coming back, clashing against the boy's own. The orange haired teen gripped his head tightly and Yoruichi had a careful hand on his shoulder but she didn't take her eyes off the sight before her, stoically relaying the information in a hissing voice to the communicator held to her ear.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" Shuuhei's head flung around at the loud voice echoing through the large room. A dark haired Shinigami rushed towards them from amidst the forest of bodies.

It had to be some sort of lurid joke.

Shinigami couldn't really do this.

A desperate hope remained stubbornly in the back of his mind. Maybe they rescued these people from some Hollow lab or this was an auxiliary medical area and they had to be in that position. He couldn't be seeing what he thought he saw!

"This area has restricted access! If you ruin the test results Kurotsuchi-Taichou will be furious!" Shuuhei drug his gaze away from the man's angry face to look at the room again. A few more people in white lab coats had started scurrying towards them. Shuuhei had to shove aside the noble's hand in order to stand, leaning to the side so he could to vomit without hitting himself or the Taichou even as he unsheathed Kazeshini.

He might not spend much time with anyone who wasn't in his small circle of friends, but he recognized those Shinigami from the few times there had been semi-formal inter-squad get togethers, drinking parties or challenges. He had laughed with these despicable creatures, tried to get along with them, encouraged them when they flagged along with the 4th Squad, after all it hadn't been their fault they belonged to a science division instead of a battle squad.

He hadn't known they'd done this!

"Ease down, Fukutaichous," he glanced over to see Kira on the other side of Kuchiki-Taichou, Wabisuki just as ready as Kazeshini. Hitsugaya-Taichou had shoved away from the door, the air sharpening around him with cold. One by one Shuuhei watched all their breaths start to fog. Ukitake-Taichou left his hand on the kid's shoulder, even as he carefully maneuvered into the younger Taichou's path. Kuchiki-Taichou's arm rose decisively into Shuuhei's line of sight and he wasn't quite sure if he felt grateful or not to be ordered down with Kira. These bastards deserved to die. He heard a high pitched cackle from behind him and saw Yoruichi literally holding Kurosaki back in a pinching hold that had his sword arm completely immobilized, a voice shouted from the communicator lying forgotten on the pathway.

Kuchiki-Taichou's voice cut through the air, sharper than the best cared for Zanpaktou as he started in on the techs. "Kurotsuchi is the least of your problems. Explain this travesty, now!"

The Shinigami who had noticed them straightened his back with an imperious sniff. "I'll be happy to relay your request to the Taichou if you would leave. You broke the seals and we'll have to work fast to keep this batch from being contaminated. With the war going we'll need every drop we can get. And that's not including the research your unshielded presences might destroy!"

Shuuhei couldn't figure out how this guy could be stupid enough to believe they were worried about the research…

"And the souls behind you? Will they be adversely affected?" Hitsugaya-Taichou's cold laced voice decreased the temperature of the room again. Shuuhei heard cracking and flicked his gaze down to see the metal grates warping from the ice that slowly made its way across the floor.

A disdainful roll of brown eyes accompanied the fools answer. "Hopefully not. The last time there was a contamination it took months to find replacements for the ones we had to dispose of, and we lost another 93 as we had to push them harder to meet the production quotas."

Hitsugaya-Taichou was a fast brat and the lead scientist became a glittering statue before any of them could move. The Taichou calmly pulled his Zanpaktou from the ice tower to turn on the other scientists. They tried to scramble away in panic. "Hainawa!" Spiritual Ropes snaked through the air at Kuchiki-Taichou's spell, wrapping around the fleeing scientists and hauling them up to dangle before them even as Ukitake-Taichou grabbed the pale boy again, clutching him tightly to his chest and whispering furiously to the scarily blank kid.

It was a moment before Kuchiki-Taichou spoke again. "Hitsugaya-Taichou please escort Substitute-Shinigami Kurosaki back to the group with Ishida-san and have the 4th Squad directed here with all haste."

Another cackle rang through the room and Kurosaki's too high voice choked out "I'm no-"

"Kurosaki, they should have made it to your friend by now," Kuchiki-Taichou silenced the substitute Shinigami with his own words, and Shuuhei could hear the hint of worry in his voice. "I'm sure your presence will be a great comfort to your friend when he awakens given the situation. Besides, it will not take long for word to spread of these atrocities and I would have a few more strong fighters near those who need protection if things go wrong."

Shuuhei thought of that poor teen laid out like some sacrifice on the Taichous' robes; of Renji weakened by his loss of Reiatsu collapsed on the smooth ground; Hinamori-chan, the other two humans, the fourth squad members... Kami-sama, this was going to be a blood bath if it came to a fight!

"Yeah… right…" Kurosaki took one last glance around the room then followed Hitsugaya-Taichou back in the direction they had come from. Ichigo's Reiatsu was seething and Shuuhei hoped that someone would be able to rein the Substitute Shinigami in a little. The orange haired teen's friends were most likely why the Taichou had sent him back to them. And well, Hitsugaya-Taichou was already so pissed he'd killed the icicle in front of Shuuhei. He could hear Ukitake-Taichou whispering into a seal about having Rangiku meet the kid.

"Let me make this very, very clear," Kuchiki-Taichou's voice was colder than the still chilled air of the room and the 12th Squad members were shaking in the grip of his Kido. "You have perpetrated such atrocities that I would see you all die a much slower death than that of Hitsugaya-Taichou's example. You will explain what must be done to safely remove these poor souls and then you will assist us in doing so. Any attempts on your part to cause problems will add more hours to the stretch of time your death will take; cooperation will decrease it, but make no mistake, you will die for crimes. It is up to you as to how painful it will be."

Shuuhei couldn't tell if the Taichou was bluffing. The lab-coated Shinigami cried out as the ropes around them constricted even further before vanishing, dropping all the men onto the sharp, cold grates.

"Well?"

"We -- we can't!"

"Scatter! Senbonzakura!" A flurry of petals darted towards the man who had stuttered the words only to stop a millimeter in front of his face and the man collapsed further in panic. "Why?"

"No one has every survived coming down!" another one shouted.

Kuchiki-Taichou said another binding Kido and all of their captives were slammed into the floor.

"When the 4th Squad gets here you will help them in making sure these ones do," Ukitake-Taichou stated calmly as he stepped in front of the other man.

"We can't!"

The lightly glowing petals danced before their vision. "Why not?"

"They, they power, oh Kami-sama we're going to die! We were just following orders!"

"You lost any right to speak after that comment," Kira spat out. Shuuhei glanced at his friend and saw the blonde's face had gone disturbingly blank, even as his eyes burned with rage. Shuuhei knew some of that hatred had to be inspired by the blonde's self loathing at what he had done while following Ichimaru Gin's orders. Kira had healed faster than Hinamori-chan, but still blamed himself for the harm he had caused his friends. The blonde had come to truly despise anyone who thought they could excuse their wrongs by blaming orders. Shuuhei thought of the 6th Squad member that had nearly been pulped on the ground by multiple taps of Wabisuki, saved only by Kuchiki-Taichou's arrival. If they survived the fallout he, Renji and Rangiku would have to drag Kira out for another night of drinking 'til the lightweight 3rd Squad Fukutaichou dropped. It was really the only thing that made him susceptible to their words of comfort.

That these unjust nightmare makers could in any way hurt one of his few friends made Shuuhei almost as mad as what had been done to the Souls hung around them. "One of you had better answer the Taichou's question," he stated calmly, his façade betrayed only by the creak of his knuckles tightening on Kazeshini's hilt.

"Their Reiatsu powers all the technology of the Gotei Thirteen!" shrieked the blue eyed kid to the left of the idiot who had cried out about orders.

The world screeched to a halt, all Shuuhei could hear were the whimpers and half sobs of the Shinigami before them against quiet background of fluids hissing through tubes and the occasional drip of blood hitting grating. Only the burn in Shuuhei's chest reminded him to breath and then he choked a little at the stench that filled his lungs with his deep inhalation.

"What?" Ukitake-Taichou's perfectly calm voice questioned even as his Reiatsu retreated back under so many shields that Shuuhei could barely feel a trace of the Taichou.

The young Shinigami who had spoken jumped to his feet, furiously wiping tears from his baby faced cheeks and brushing sweat damp brown hair out of his face. He must be barely out of the Academy, Shuuhei thought as the shivering scientist met Ukitake-Taichou's eyes. "It… Things needed power! Kurotsuchi-Taichou-"

"Shut up Mizuno!" this came from the still shaking fool who had shouted about orders, "Kurotsuchi-Taichou will-"

"No!" The furiously shaking boy spun on his comrades, brown eyes snapping. "You know I've never liked this but I've followed orders and if-" the boy choked, Shuuhei could see him visibly gathering his pride before continuing a little calmer, "if death is my penance for not acting sooner than I'll go to it with a clear conscious!" He turned his back on the cowering technicians and Shuuhei couldn't help thinking the word 'brave' as the boy looked towards Ukitake-Taichou again.

"I don't know the details, I wasn't here then, but I know the story," the boy swallowed. "Soul Society's researchers would develop the concepts for technology, some our own designs, a few based on what other groups of Souls would do." Shuuhei started at these words; there were other Souls in the Spirit World that did this? Where? "It was nearly impossible to gather enough Reiatsu to create prototypes and make them work in Seireitei, much less the Human world. Somehow they discovered that the Spirit Particles that made a Soul would work as a power source." The 12th Squad member glanced behind him at the hanging bodies, "I don't…" another deep breath, the kid, Mizuno, looked pale enough under his light tan to go into shock, and Shuuhei had to wonder if he was going to pass out before he could finish his tale. "I know why we continued using them; they're powerful, very powerful. Combined with harvesting and purifying the Reiatsu they give off just by existing we have almost no problem meeting whatever power requirements we are presented with. We don't even have to stop experiments so long as any side effects in the Soul or Reiatsu are filtered out."

Shuuhei looked at all the Souls and Humans hung before them and wondered what could possibly be worth this callous brutality.

"What power requirements are you presented with?" Shihoin-san asked a touch of Shuuhei's own disbelief in her voice. "If these atrocities are so Kurotsuchi can play with his experiments I will-"

"No!" The boy looked startled he'd shouted again and Shuuhei knew for certain the kid was going into shock. "This, a lot of this started before Kurotsuchi-Taichou took over! We're separate from the main R & D Squad so not many know about us! I think… I think it was two or three Taichous ago they discovered this method of power generation." The boy furiously shook his head. "We draw power for a lot of things, lights, the waste processing plants, running water, everyday applications. Then there's times medical units need something that fulfills a specific purpose and doesn't interfere with their Healing Kidos. The repair units need their spells supercharged to deal the 11th Squad's training grounds whenever Zaraki-Taichou gets in a good mood. The recon and front line units need something that will work on a specific Hollow that keeps evading them. We need tracers to help the Shinigami in the Human world find Souls in need of burial. We have to find Souls that become Hollows and find incursions into the Human world from Hueco Mundo. There are so many other things, like the field communicators, they require an immense amount of power to breach the barrier between worlds but a Soul will power five or six for a year of regular use. It's used for so many things in Seireitei that even a slight drop in production is damaging since we can't store too much because it goes bad so quickly!"

"My Squad relies on machines fueled by this monstrosity?" A quiet, perfectly serious voice rang over the room from the door. Shuuhei spun around to see that he had been so distracted by what happened in front of him, he had failed to recognize Unohana-Taichou's Reiatsu coming up behind him, a few members of the 4th and 13th Squads standing outside the open door behind her.

The 4th's Taichou's face lacked its usual smile, her dark eyes foreboding as they assessed the young Shinigami. Mizuno stood trembling, caught in Unohana-Taichou's gaze. It was a while before he could nod.

"Kami-sama forgive us," she whispered, bowing her head in prayer. Then her head gracefully rose and she moved forward. "Kuchiki-Taichou, Fukutaichous Kira and Hisagi sheath your weapons. They do us no good drawn." Shuuhei blindly followed the authority that rang in her voice. "Isane-chan, please lead the questioning of these technicians. Iemuro-kun, head for…"

Shuuhei stepped out of her way, only to have a medical pack shoved into his arms by Kotetsu-Fukutaichou. She motioned for him to follow Unohana-Taichou as the woman made her way through the hanging figures, delivering orders to everyone present even as she leaned over to check on certain people herself. Shuuhei let himself be carried in her wake, glad to be able to do something to help. He snagged the kid Mizuno's sweat soaked collar and pulled him along so he could answer any of the questions interspersed in the serenely confident Taichou's running litany to her Squad via the seal she'd flawlessly called while gently probing where needles went into either side of a young girl's neck.

XXXXX

End Chapter Four

XXXXX


	5. Chapter 5

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Disclaimer: If I owned this, Mayuri wouldn't have escaped.

Warnings: Bad stuff as always.

Summary: Mad Laughter of lack of sleep and caffeine.

AN: No killing me for the wait or you don't get more! RL has been majorly lacking in the fun and free time, and I've had like ten brain dying moments and yeah, brains are nice… Thanks again to Obi for the Beta. Cheers to Life and evil distracting shiny things! Anyone seen my mind? I think I lost it five plot bunnies ago… Either that or it's in the listy things of doom for this fic. Someone remind me to post that…..

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this, I really appreciate it. ^_^

Anyway, please enjoy!!!

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Chapter Five

XXXXX

Ichigo felt more than a little restless as he paced along the edge of Orihime's healing light. He kept glancing between his friend and the direction he had just come from… all those lost souls hung up like ornaments.

He'd heard horror stories, everybody did. The Holocaust, Africa, the Middle East, modern 'slave trades.' Still, especially in his off kilter world where he faced Hollows so often, it was really hard to remember--much less believe--exactly how cruel people could be to each other. Not even the clinic, and seeing the occasional abuse case or bully victim drove in the depths that humans, dead or alive, were willing to sink.

He'd wanted to kill the bastards that had helped that _Thing _with his experiments. He'd wanted to rage against them so badly it had been nearly impossible to find any emotion he could use to keep his Hollow from convincing him to let loose.

A trio of 4th Squad members that Ichigo had decided to ignore hovered just behind Chad. They hadn't run screaming from his glares so he really wasn't sure what else he could do about them unless the damn Shinigami showed themselves to be like their 12th Squad compatriots. No one in a black uniform was getting anywhere near his friends without supervision.

He glanced over to where Rangiku spoke quietly to Toshiro, trying to get the poor kid to stop making them shiver in the chilly air. Ichigo decided he would cut the kid some slack about following the Old Bastard's orders. The younger boy had been so horrified by what had been going on and then…

He couldn't have really known. Hell, the Gotei 13 was probably the only life the kid had ever known, and as much as that foundation had been shaken because of Aizen, he knew the kid was still a Shinigami. Ichigo doubted Toshiro would be one for much longer though, if the disgust and pain he had seen written across his face was anything to go by.

And heaven help the Old Bastard if he tried to order anyone that had seen Ishida or those people to do anything besides execute the Thing plus his henchmen and see to the victims.

Yet so many of the Shinigami were so loyal to the Gotei 13 Ichigo felt confident in saying that the Old Bastard might be able to get away with losing only a few of them if he played his cards right.

Hanataro was carefully helping Renji down some concoction that had to taste as bad as it smelled, (and that said something given the fact that Ichigo could smell it a good fifteen feet away) but the red head already looked better and Ichigo could sense his Reiatsu without straining again.

A good portion of the 11th Squad not in the infirmary from the fight (Ichigo had found out that the 11th Squad's grounds had been empty when Ishida's powers erupted because they'd all ran to join the battle. The 12th and 13th Squad's grounds hadn't been--they were still waiting on the final body count) were fanned out protectively in a circle around Ishida, the rest peace keeping at the overflow area from the infirmary by shear intimidation. Kenpachi was a bristling mass of Reiatsu pacing at the edge of the circle while Yachiru's mouth was stuck shut thanks to some chewy sweet that Unohana-Taichou had been handing the bouncy little girl clinging to her robes when Toshiro and he had arrived back at the scene.

Shunsui had vanished a few minutes ago with Ise-Fukutaichou. He wasn't sure where they'd gone, but knew that the strange taichou would be able to manage for himself.

Orihime finally recalled her Shun Shun Rikka and Ichigo dropped down next to her. He leaned over Ishida to inspect him in greater detail--not like he doubted Orihime would do an amazing job, but he had to double check. Sure enough she hadn't even left traces of scars. His eyes trailed over slender limbs and marveled at their smoothness when barely five minutes ago they were…

He was going to kill Mayuri.

Not just defeat him, not just put him into the pavement, he was going slice that sick monster's head from his shoulders and let his hollow come out to use it for a basketball. He heard his Hollow's mad laugh echo through his head… for once the two of them were in perfect agreement.

Orihime gently clasped one of his hands and one of Ishida's and the two of them sat there by their unconscious friend for a few moments with Chad standing protectively over them. Suddenly every single 4th Squad member jumped to attention. Ichigo watched them listen to something no one else could hear and then gather their packs. Ichigo snorted. Unohana-Taichou hadn't quite believed him and Toshiro when they told her what they'd seen. Looked like she believed now.

He hadn't told Orihime yet as she'd been too concentrated on Ishida. He didn't know if he wanted to tell her. Chad's eyes had widened as he had listened in on Ichigo and Toshiro explaining the scene to Unohana-Taichou, but he hadn't really done much besides hover over their friends since then. Ichigo had no idea how the larger teen had taken the news.

Most of the 4th Squad members took off at a jog up the side of the crater towards the torture chamber. Ikkaku and a few other Shinigami that Ichigo didn't know went along with them on Kenpachi's barked order.

A thumb rubbed over Ichigo's knuckles and he glanced at Orihime who smiled at him. "Ishida-san will be alright, Kurosaki-kun. I promise." She released Ichigo's hand to gently cup Ishida's cheek, then released the dark haired boy's hand as well and stood up, stretching before turning to where the 4th Squad members were disappearing over the edge of the crater. "What's over there, Kurosaki-kun?" He blinked, unsure how to answer. "Tell me, please?"

He had to smile as she tilted her head and looked at him questioningly. Then he frowned as he remembered that building, "It's a nightmare, Inoue. A lot more people in just as bad shape as Ishida."

She hesitated for a moment then nodded, her eyes filling with a steel Ichigo hadn't ever seen in them. "Okay then. Stay here with Ishida-san please, Kurosaki-kun. I've healed him but I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."

"Where are you going?" He shot to his feet and grabbed her wrist. There was no way that he'd let her go anywhere without him in this viper's nest that used to hold so much of his regard and he had to stay by Ishida, not just because he didn't want the Quincy to be alone amongst Shinigami when he woke up, but because his friend's first reaction would probably be to draw his bow and start firing. Ichigo glanced at Ishida's unadorned wrist, he didn't know if the missing cross would hinder the pale kid from taking anybody down.

"I have to do what I can to help, Kurosaki-kun," she smiled at him and Ichigo thought she looked calmer than he'd seen her in a long, long time. "I can't fight very well, but I can heal."

Ichigo blinked at her, stupefied. Her grin widened and she raised a hand to tap him in the forehead. What the-? Since when did Orihime-? "If I do get in trouble, you'll save me, nee?"

He didn't know what to say to the confidence in him that Orihime's voice relayed. Not after he'd been the reason everyone had been thrown into so much danger.

She whirled around in cloud of reddish hair and grabbed Chad's hand. Ichigo had to give another little smile at the sight of the girl tugging the giant after her. It faded as he thought of what they were about to see.

"Inoue! Wait!" She paused, looking around Chad at him. "It's bad. You don't have to see it."

She looked apprehensible for a second before the steel returned and she smiled again. "I'll be fine, Kurosaki-kun."

She started up the rise again and he called after them. "You don't even know where you're going!"

That stopped his friends dead in their tracks and Orihime moved to stand by Chad, raising her hand to the back of her head and laughing self-consciously. "You're right, Kurosaki-kun! Please give me directions?"

"We'll take them," Toshiro said before Ichigo could say a word. Ichigo stared at the small Taichou and his Fukutaichou before nodding. The two jumped over to his friends and Toshiro was promptly caught in a hug and smashed against Orihime's chest (at least he was used to it thanks to his Fukutaichou).

"Thank you Toshiro-kun!"

"It's Hitsugaya-Taichou!" Ichigo could practically see the exclamation points as the boy struggled to get free and he heard the laughs from around the group. He knelt back by Ishida as the four headed up the side of the crater at a pace Orihime could easily handle, the two females bantering playfully over the brooding taichou's head the entire way.

"Ano, Substitute-Shinigami Kurosaki?"

He looked up at one of the 4th Squad member that had been waiting beyond Chad. The man recoiled before drawing his shoulders up and executing a waist deep bow. "We should really change the patients bedding, it isn't healthy to lie in blood, and we should cover him and check to make sure that no drugs or poisons remain in his system. Kurotsuchi-Taichou is infamous for his poisons, sir."

Ichigo knew the part about the bedding from helping in his family's clinic, and could see the wisdom in the rest of what the guy had said so he nodded slightly. He stood up and moved out of their way, watching carefully for anything that didn't seem right as they tended to his friend.

XXXXX

There had been moments when Taichou Juushiro Ukitake had questioned orders, when he thought something was wrong, like with what happened to Kuchiki-san, but he had never been ashamed of the office he held or the robes he wore until this day. The thing that made him ashamed wasn't that other Shinigami had committed the crimes Kurotsuchi and his followers had, or that his own health had benefited as a result of what had been done to these poor souls, and he had nearly been violently ill when they'd been shown the row of Souls with the same medical condition he had. According to the technician in charge of them, they were there so Kurotsuchi could experiment with the rare illness's ability to exist in the Soul in spite of healings and purifying that would have cured anything else. The research had brokered several of the techniques that were used to help lessen his pain and ease his breathing, along with some of the drugs that helped keep his condition in remission.

The thing that made him most ashamed though, were the words coming from Yamamoto-Sotaichou. He stood still against a wall of the Black Hole (as the technicians called this building) and listened via a seal that he and Shunsui had developed while still in the academy. Only the two knew of it, and they had used it during their most boring classes or Juushiro's occasional times in isolation to keep themselves entertained. Now it let him hear what Yamamoto-Sotaichou was saying to his long time friend complete with the nearly patronizing tone that said Shunsui should really know better than to even question orders. That they were at war, and since these people couldn't fight they should be happy to help by what they were doing. That they ultimately didn't matter in the scope of the war against the Hollows. That he'd better get his ass back to the others and make sure they didn't do anything fool hardy that would endanger the smooth running of Seireitei unless he wanted a whooping. The highest offices of the Central 46 knew about the great power source of Seireitei and acknowledged its necessity, he shouldn't presume to know better.

Juushiro knew that his expression was scaring Kiyone and Sentaro from their silence at his side. Normally they would be bickering playfully, trying to one up each other and make him smile. He didn't know how he would protect them from this.

It wasn't as easy as it had been on the execution grounds not too long ago. This, no matter what the Old Man said, was wrong, and too many people had seen it and were appalled.

There was no way this could continue.

Someone would have to answer for the crimes that had been committed against these souls and Juushiro had no idea how Soul Society would survive that in its current state. They were still shaky from Aizen and the others' betrayal. The new Central 46 still wasn't completely manned and those that had answered the call to 'serve' were mostly a snipping, conniving, power hungry lot. They still hadn't finished rebuilding from the Bount's attack and some of the renegades they had stirred up still lurked in the Rukongai, waiting for a piece of Shinigami flesh.

As glad as he was that this had come to light so these Souls and Humans could be saved, it couldn't have happened at a worse possible time. They really did need many of their technological advances to survive against the increase of Hollows and the Arrancar, and their casualty rates would increase without the aid of the medical equipment Unohana-Taichou had already ordered scrapped. He knew that she was furious, and only her concern for the patients here had kept her from confronting Kurotsuchi and Yamamoto-Sotaichou herself. He was glad she was so clear minded, as he had no idea how to help these people.

He frowned as Yamamoto-Sotaichou finally had Sasakibe-Fukutaichou and his 3rd Seat Maru forcefully remove Shunsui and Ise.

This was not a good situation. He glanced over the rows of hanging victims. There were six other levels just like this one, with a combined total of 840 victims--nearly a fifth of the depleted population of Seireitei.

There was no way they'd be able to fully evacuate them by the time the Sotaichou discovered what was going on and intervened. That was if they could get them down alive. From the occasionally spiked discussion that Unohana-Taichou was having with the new head technician (the last one being the icicle two 4th Squad members had taken to the morgue), a sniveling waste of a Shinigami named Takatori, it seemed like even the brilliant healer was having trouble finding a way to manage it. Some of those who hadn't been hooked up for very short time might survive, but apparently some had been hot wired into the system for decades if not longer.

Juushiro refused to write anyone off unless he absolutely had too, and Unohana-Taichou obviously felt the same way.

Either way they'd have to fight tooth and nail for these people.

If it meant regaining the Gotei 13's pride and honor, he would do it, but it would not be an easy battle. A lot of the younger Shinigami who had been raised in the belief of the Old Man's infallibility would be swayed by the Sotaichou's arguments. It was war, after all. You did what you had to in order to survive and win.

There were also those like Kira-Fukutaichou, Juushiro thought sadly as he glanced over at the blonde who was trying (rather poorly) to stay out of everyone's way. The poor man had been hurt so badly by Aizen's betrayal that no matter the damage done to these souls the thought of actually standing up to the Sotaichou and the Central 46 would be ludicrous and not even imagined.

Aizen. That was another consideration. Despite Yamamoto-Sotaichou's nay saying, Juushiro was certain he still had to have followers in the Gotei 13. The nearly fanatical devotion he could inspire would have worked on more people than Hinamori-Fukutaichou and the other false Taichous. The traitors would be sure to inform their Master of the Gotei 13's crippling.

A cool breeze of Reiatsu wafted through the room and Juushiro looked to the doors to see Toshiro-chan enter with Matsumoto-Fukutaichou and two of the Ryouka.

The giant teen's eyes widened, but that was the only reaction aside from a nearly imperceptible shift of Reiatsu along his right arm.

The girl that had been training with Kuchiki, Orihime, on the other hand looked absolutely horrified. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth as tears welled up in her storm-grey eyes. Her head shook a few times in negation, hair pins flashing and she stepped backwards, only for Matsumoto-Fukutaichou to wrap an arm around the girl and whisper something in her ear. Whatever it was seemed to strike a nerve with the red head, and her hands dropped from her mouth as a look of determination crossed her features. She took a deep breath and then strode through the bodies and scurrying Shinigami towards Unohana-Taichou and the head technician, the larger Ryouka shadowing her.

Juushiro watched idly as Toshiro-chan nodded for Matsumoto-Fukutaichou to follow them before coming over to lean stiffly against the wall near him, Sentaro shifting out of the young boy's way.

Toshiro-chan still looked pale and upset, so Juushiro dug a hand into his robes' pockets. He knew he had a bag of watermelon candies somewhere; he'd had Kiyone get them just so he could give them to the boy after the Taichou's meeting.

Juushiro's heart warmed as instead of politely thanking him like he usually did, the boy smiled up at him and pulled out one of the candies to suck on.

XXXXX

Aiko Mizuno had never been more terrified or more clear-headed in his life.

He was the 12th Seat of the 12th Squad of the 13 Divine Division Imperial Guards and for the first time since graduating the Shinigami Academy at the top of his class he was following his conscience.

He stood toe to toe with his worm of a superior, 4th Seat Masani Takatori, to get Unohana-Taichou all she would need to finally save the Souls that had been in his poor care. It didn't even matter that Kuchiki-Taichou was going to rip him to shreds with his terrifyingly beautiful Zanpaktou when this ended. He deserved it for what they had done. Aiko had no right to beg for his life, no one who worked in the Black Hole did, when they'd found out how unethical what they had been doing was. Even if it would have only ended up with him hanging besides his former charges, he should never have accepted the immoral orders to hurt these people.

It had been a thought provoking moment when he realized that Kuchiki-Taichou really did mean to kill them. He'd only given them the choice of how to live the last of their lives. Not even the knowledge that his death would be quick in reward was as fulfilling as the knowledge that he could do what he had wanted to when he became a Shinigami in the first place: help those who needed it.

Being able to tell off the prick of a 4th Seat that had made his life miserable hadn't hurt either. He relished making that pinched, I-hate-you-so-much look appear on Takatori's face every time he pointed out discrepancies in what the man said and what Aiko had noted on his own.

"Excuse me, Unohana-Taichou." All three of them turned to look at the young Ryouka girl whose trembling voice had interrupted another bout of Takatori's idiocy.

"Yes, Orihime-chan?" the Taichou asked, her face smiling again.

"I overheard what some of the 4th Squad have said, and what the three of you were discussing. I think my powers might be able to heal them, Unohana-Taichou!"

Takatori sputtered. "Be silent you foolish girl, if-"

"One should watch their words if they understand little of a situation, Takatori-san," Unohana-Taichou said as she looked at the girl. "You certainly do have some remarkable healing abilities, Orihime-chan, yet I do not know if even they will help."

"It -- it isn't really healing. When Aiz- - Aizen had me in Hueco Mundo, he called it 'Phenomenon Rejection.' He said that I didn't heal so much as reverse the negative effects from ever having happened, that I'd even be able to bring the dead back to life. Either way, i-it couldn't hurt to try, could it?" the girl asked, looking unsure of herself for a moment, and Aiko could only blink. That…that sounded so far beyond what even the most skilled of Shinigami healers could accomplish, that it was beyond ludicrous a human girl would be able to do it. But he conceded to himself that she had been kidnapped by Aizen for a reason.

"Orihime-chan, I'm not sure-"

"I know I can do it, Unohana-Taichou! Please give me the chance!" Aiko couldn't believe this girl had just raised her voice to a Taichou. There were things that you just didn't do and that was up there with walking unarmed into a Hollow's nest.

"You can't possibly believe this little girl Unohana-Taichou! These subjects are dead no matter what! Suppliers don't survive being brought down!"

"I reject that statement, Takatori-san, and this young lady does as well. Alright Orihime-chan, let's try this on one of the souls that has spent the least amount of time in one of these contraptions, as even Takatori-san admits they are more likely to survive. Aiko-kun, which one would you suggest?" Both Unohana-Taichou and the Ryouka girl looked at him with wide, slightly smiling eyes and he caved in a little. They were so… so amazing.

"I -- I just know the ones I was involved with. Takatori-san, may I have you password so that I can find the latest entrant?"

"You may not have my password! Those files are Classified!"

"Unohana-Taichou, anything I can help you with?" A deep, almost gleeful voice said from over Aiko's shoulder and he spun to see the 11th Squad's 3rd seat Madarame eyeing Takatori with a nearly hopeful expectation. Aiko turned back to Takatori as the man blanched.

"Ikkaku-san. I believe we're fine here, Takatori-san was just going to give Aiko-kun here the master password to the system, although if you would inform Ukitake-Taichou, Shihoin-san and Kuchiki-Taichou that I would like to speak with them, I would appreciate it." The 4th Squad leader smiled at the 11th Squad member, and Takatori, if possible, whitened even further.

"Allow me to assist you with those files, eh, Mizuno?" Aiko couldn't help but smile at his supervisor's about face. It didn't take them long to pull up the most recent person sucked into the black hole, and they found themselves two rows in on the main floor. A medical team stood behind Unohana-Taichou and the girl, Orihime-san, who looked up resolutely to where Aiko and the 4th's 3rd seat Yaruchika-san were about to release the young boy into the waiting arms of the large Ryouka boy, Sado-san.

"On three, Yaruchika-san, blue than green tubes." Everyone around them took a collective breath. "One, two, three!" He and Yaruchika-san quickly pulled the feeding tubes from the boy's neck and the IV lines with the Reiatsu paralyzers from his arm. Then they released the restraints. In one smooth motion Sado-san caught the boy and gently lowered him to the floor even as the child started to convulse. Orihime-san's voice called out "Shoten Kisshun!" and the large Ryouka barely made it out of the way of the two Rikka that darted out to form a pointed oval around the child.

Aiko watched in wonder as many of the cuts on the boy sealed, fading to scars than skin, even the blood disappearing. The convulsions stopped almost immediately, everything healing cleanly and the boy's eyes even opened for a moment, focusing on Orihime-san's smiling face before he dropped back into unconsciousness. The shield dispelled, the two Rikka floated over to hang onto Orihime-san's shoulder as the girl thanked them. Unohana-Taichou knelt by the boy's side to check his vitals as everyone waited with baited breath. "He will be fine, you did marvelous, Orihime-chan!" The Ryouka girl's face brightened in joy and Aiko felt hope alight in his chest at the sight, this girl, she -- she was incredible! It hadn't even taken thirty seconds! The girl laughed a little, placing her hand behind her head even as she still beamed.

"Iemuro-kun!"

Yaruchika-san jumped down from where the two of them hung onto the ladders on either side of the restraint housings. "Taichou!"

"Oversee the patients to where Ukitake-Taichou and Shihoin-san are setting up outside. When the Gateway is activated go through with 5 relief units to aide with their care." Aiko wondered at this even as he more carefully made his way down the ladder. They weren't being taken to the 4th Squad infirmary?

"Yes, Taichou!" The blonde made a precision bow and quickly ordered two 4th Squad members to place the boy on a stretcher, and move outside even as he began to call out names via seals and issue orders.

"Well, Aiko-san, who's next?" Unohana-Taichou said to him, smiling.

In all honesty he hadn't thought they'd be able to get the boy down alive. Despite how much he'd been hoping there really had been no survivors to ever come down. He hadn't even looked anyone else up he'd been so sure this would fail, and the girl would be heartbroken. Instead here he stood—here he stood with the world brightened by the smiles of these two women.

"Let me check the computers, Unohana-Taichou. We should try a Supplier with an older connection to make sure this is still a feasible option, and then we'll have to look at the precise specifications of some of the other experiments to make sure there's nothing too volatile."

"Work fast, Aiko-kun. We'll need to heal as many as we can while we can, and get them evacuated before we are interrupted."

He stared at her in confusion, "Unohana-Taichou?"

"This will shortly be a battle ground for these people, Aiko-kun. Kuchiki-Taichou will not be able to provide cover for long."

"What do you mean, Unohana-Taichou?" Orihime-san asked apprehensively.

A voice called out. "What she means, is that Yama-ji is being stubborn about leaving this building exactly the way it is." Aiko spun around again to see Kyoraku-Taichou behind them and nearly feinted. He might be seated but being around all these Taichous and Fukutaichous (and insane third seats) was beginning to wear on his nerves. "We're going to have to fight to save these souls."

A small white form appeared next to the man in blast of Shunpo. "So everyone decide now!" Screamed Hitsugaya-Taichou and Aiko could feel the boy's words echoing through the building with the help of a seal, "Decide whether you're willing to fight to see this stopped and what you're willing to risk. If you can't stand the thought of going against the Sotaichou and the Central 46 to stop these Souls suffering, leave now!"

Everyone became still, and Aiko looked at the two Shinigami holding the child's stretcher and the 3rd Seat hovering over them. Those three nodded and were the first to move. They shifted closer to the child and Yaruchika-san's face got a protective glint. A few looked fearfully around, and their despairing eyes met their various Taichous for a moment before the men and woman nodded. Those ones quickly bowed to those next to them with an apology and raced from the building.

Aiko's heart fell until he saw others make up their minds and go back to doing what they had been before, "I'll get to work, Unohana-Taichou. For all we know more people than Orihime-san will be able to help those that come down. I just accepted that we couldn't, but maybe we didn't care enough to try hard enough." He raced back to the computers, Hitsugaya-Taichou shadowing him. He glanced at the pale young Captain, almost afraid to ask why the boy that had frozen his Squad's 3rd Seat was following him.

"I won't kill you. Just get to work." Was the only response he received, and swallowing, he complied.

XXXXX

End Chapter Five

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	6. Chapter 6

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Disclaimer: If I owned this, let's just say, yeah… Let's not even go there.

Summary: Umm, I can't come up with even a semi-decent one. Refer to past chapters, thanks!

AN: It's a little shorter, but packed with stuff to help set up later chapters. I've finally gotten a few later parts worked out to my satisfaction, but that involved expanding a few other scenes I thought I was done with almost right after this so, yeah… Chapter break needed to go after this… Annoying, but worth it in the long run I hope!

Oh before I space them in a truly (albeit accidentally) evil manner, a couple of quick responses:

MoonClaimed: Wow! Thanks for the compliment! If I ever do get published I'll be sure to let you know! ^_^

J'aime Manga: I'm glad you liked the character, I'm always scared of using OCs but I needed a few for this fic, Aiko is just the first, and I'm hoping they turn out all right…

Morena Evensong: With Canon Yamamoto I don't think he's evil so much as determined to do whatever is needed in regards to his orders. In this fic, well, we'll see how I work a few things out, but given how much I dislike some of the things he's done/allowed to be done in canon I'm leaning towards evil in the fic at least.

Morghann: I'm glad you liked her character too! I really wanted her to grow a backbone in canon that lasted more than five seconds, so, yeah. She's now an Unohana in training! As for Kira, each section is done in that person's POV, so their thoughts/opinions color everything. Shuuhei knows Kira better than Ukitake, who mainly remembers how broken Kira was, so the 13th Taichou is going to see Kira differently, and not quite realize some of the decisions that the Fukutaichou has come to. (Nice call, btw. ^_^)

ArrowSphere: I know, I'm soooo mean to the characters I love, I have major issues that way. Anyway, when he wakes up, it'll be interesting. Hee, hee hee… MWAAAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!! *choke cough*

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed, I really appreciate the feedback!

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Chapter Six

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Kisuke hadn't wanted to believe what Yoruichi had relayed to him, even as he told her he did. The thought of what had been done to the Quincy child was bad enough, and he'd known that Kurotsuchi had had an almost morbid fascination with humans that managed to develop spiritual powers so he could see that happening in a farfetched way. But the images that pushed themselves into his mind at Yoruichi's latest words, the pictures that appeared no matter how hard he fought them…

Her clipped tone of voice and the horror that occasionally bled through lead him to believe she truly believed what she was seeing. And then via the speaker phone Yoruichi had switched on so he could hear a technician's explanation, he heard that young sounding voice yell out that it hadn't been just Kurotsuchi, that it had been going on before him, under Kisuke. As Kurotsuchi's direct predecessor Kisuke had had no idea, and he'd barely been able to make it to the toilet before he vomited at the mere thought of what Yoruichi had described happening under his watch. He'd dropped the phone, and it had fallen shut hanging up on his close friend. All he could do was press his pounding head to the cool porcelain of the toilet and stare at the cheerfully ringing device. Yoruichi's name, complete with the little smiley face she'd added one day to make him laugh, ran across the screen. It stopped ringing and the screen changed to '4 Missed Calls.' Huh, she must have called while he was throwing up.

He didn't want to talk to her again; didn't want to know what else he'd been too blind to see happening under his command, but the phone started ringing again. "Urahara-san! Get your phone!" Tessai-san's voice rang down the hallway and the man himself followed it. He glanced into the room, eyes landing on the cell phone on the floor before seeing Kisuke, clutching to the toilet.

Tessai-san raised an eyebrow at him from the doorway, but Kisuke couldn't meet his eyes for long and let them fall back to the ringing cell phone. When Tessai-san apparently decided that he must not be well enough to answer, the large man knelt down to pick up the device. Kisuke heard Yoruichi-san yell his name despite being as far away from the phone as he was and winced. Her tone brought every mistake he ever made as part of the 2nd Squad and the resulting painful rebukes flashing before his eyes. "Ah, Yoruichi-san, it appears that Urahara-san is ill and-" the man went silent at whatever Yoruichi said, and remained silent. He took his glasses off for a moment and rubbed the bridge of his nose, dark eyes meeting his own blue, a mix of emotions similar to those running through Kisuke's crossing the older man's face. "Hai, we'll be ready for you, Yoruichi-san."

After flipping the phone shut, Tessai-san replaced his glasses and looked down at him calmly. "They will need to move the victims out of Soul Society as Yamamoto-Sotaichou is refusing to allow them to be helped. Yoruichi-san wants us to force the receiving point of a portal she and Ukitake-Taichou will be creating into your training grounds as it's shielded and has plenty of room." His stomach pinched tightly and started to crawl up his esophagus again. How could she expect him to be able to help when he'd failed so many people so badly?

Kisuke only nodded, head still pressed to the toilet. The coolness calmed the burning rage that was consuming his head at the thought of how he had let people be tortured because he hadn't bothered to read a few damn files. "Urahara-san. Soul Society has hurt more people and abandoned them as they did the Vizard. You helped them. I know you will help these people as well." Oh God, Hiyori…

How would Hiyori react to this? Kisuke didn't develop this… this gruesome method of power generation. Had Hikifune-Taichou…?

He stared up at the ex-Kido Corps Chief, and felt some of the pain go from his stomach as the mystery started to engage his mind, but "It was happening though, Tessai-san. It had to have been because it's true that Power Generation was figured out before my time. I may have started the Research Division, but bones of it were in place in other Squads before that, and we had power, Tessai-san. I just knew we had it, I never cared to ask how…"

Obvious confusion filtered across the man's face. Maybe Yoruichi hadn't been able to explain everything to his assistant, they must by running short on time. Tessai-san's face went stern like it had in Kisuke's childhood when he blew up another room and held a hand down to him. "Feel remorse for whatever inaction you may be guilty of later. Now, they need that gate opened."

Kisuke looked at the offered hand, knowing that it meant more than just helping Kisuke to his feet, even if he wasn't sure exactly what it did mean. "You're right, let's get to work," he clasped the hand and Tessai yanked him to his feet and they strode out of the bathroom. Kisuke scowled at the aftertaste in his mouth as he yelled for Jinta, Ururu and the mod souls, he took a pack of gum off the shelf and pulled a piece out to chew even as he began explaining the details of the situation to Tessai.

In between the two of them it didn't take long to create a receiving point for Ukitake and Yoruichi's Gate. The felinesque woman was the first through. She stalked up to him and Urahara didn't even brace himself for what he knew was coming. He deserved it…

Her spin kick landed solidly on his face and threw him the distance of the training grounds. His head pounded unimaginably and every bone and muscle in his body protested as he pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily on Benihime's sealed form.

He'd barely made it halfway into an upright position when Yoruichi's fist closed in the collar of his haori and lifted him to meet her eyes.

"Did you know, Kisuke? Did you do it?" her voice was so close to her cat form's hiss that Kisuke could barely make out her words.

He had to repress the instinct to call out Benihime against the death that lurked in her golden eyes, "I didn't Yoruichi." She scoffed disbelievingly and he spoke faster. "You know I don't always think past just completing experiments and I hate fights because the blood makes me ill and once something's been managed I don't really care about it!" He glared back a little as she blinked. "I never even asked where the power we used was coming from because it was already there and I didn't care and I will never forgive myself for that." he looked desperately up at his oldest and closest friend. It felt strange, not being able to find the right words like he usually could. Instead so many fairly useless phrases tumbled from his mouth as he tried to explain the unexplainable.

He didn't want to lose her because of this, but would if he had too. She had always put up with him, with his research and everything else and encouraged him and beat up the rest of the young nobles that would make fun of him even before her parents had taken him in after his family had been slaughtered by a rogue Hollow. He wouldn't have done this and was sick to the thought that it would have been right in front of him, because of him even, and he hadn't done anything to stop it. If she thought he was capable of this, he'd stop being her friend. After all the betrayals he'd gone through, he could survive this one if he needed to, even though a small voice in the back of his head whispered to him that he shouldn't even try to imagine losing her.

A few moments later, her fist loosened in his robe as her eyes softened a little bit, twinkling just enough that Kisuke knew she believed him, even if she didn't forgive him quite yet. She would though, and that made his heart skip a beat in relief.

He barely made it one step before his wrenched neck protested and his muscles screamed at him. She caught him gently around the waist and Shunpoed them back to the Gate. "I have Ururu, Jinta and the mod souls bringing down as many medical supplies as we have in the store, and I can call Kurosaki-san and Ishida-san if we need more. How many souls are there exactly?"

"840, but Orihime-chan is helping, in between her and Unohana-Taichou I don't think anyone will come through in too bad of condition and Unohana-Taichou is sending through some of her Squad to help."

"Tessai said you mentioned that Yamamoto-Sotaichou was--"

"Causing problems, yes. He's insisting that we leave those poor souls strung up like little living batteries. According to Kyoraku and Ukitake, he's dead set on maintaining the Status Quo. We--"

"Asagi, Harato! Place the kid over there! The rest of you begin preparing places for the rest of them! 3rd unit, get to work on the seals to purify the air now! 4th unit, I want a triage area up in case it comes to a fight! Everyone move!" Kisuke looked at the blonde man ordering everyone around before he caught sight of him and Yoruichi. The man hastily made his way over and quickly bowed, sunglasses flashing in the training ground's artificial light. "Thank you for your hard work and for offering us the hospitality of your home! I am the 3rd seat of the 4th Squad Iemuro Yaruchika! Please don't hesitate to come to me with any concerns!"

Kisuke pulled his hat forward to shadow his face a little more and whipped out his fan. He didn't know how many Shinigami would remember him from his time as a Captain or his rather inglorious expulsion. "You're quite welcome, Yaruchika-san. I have my assistants bringing in some supplies as I did not know what condition yours would be in. Please don't allow me to keep you from your duties."

The man bowed a second time before rushing back to the Shinigami that were now steadily coming through the gate. The only victim that had come through so far was the first one, and Kisuke couldn't help but walk stiffly over to see him despite the pain he was in. It was a young boy, barely older than Jinta with brown hair and very pale skin tucked securely under a thick blanket. The ex-Shinigami didn't bother trying to find sign of injury thanks to Orihime's remarkable healing abilities.

"Oy Sandal Hat!" He looked up at Kurosaki's loud voice and winced at the pain in his neck. Right next to orange haired teen carried on a stretcher by two Shinigami, was the missing and now found Uryuu Ishida. He rushed over to look at the boy and quickly whispered a diagnostic Kido even as he allowed his sight to blur in the right way to see the boy's spirit. He ushered the Shinigami to where he wanted Uryuu put down. He had no doubt that Orihime had done an amazing job at healing his body, but Kisuke's experienced eyes could see Kurotsuchi had completely wrecked the young Quincy's soul and Reiatsu.

He sensed a few places of lingering damage in the areas around his chest and head especially. There were also a few connections from the boy's soul to his Reiatsu in the wrong order, he wasn't sure if Kurotsuchi had done that himself or if Orihime's power had fused them together wrong (he figured it was the first rather than the second).

He carefully pushed down the blanket and moved aside the edge of the sleeping robe to get a closer look at where the seat of Uryuu's power was and sighed at the Quincy Cross scar on his chest and the way the Reiatsu flowed around it. The boy's reiatsu in that area had just barely recovered from the method his Father had used to give him his powers back, much less the strain he had undoubtedly placed on it in Hueco Mundo. Without speaking to Uryuu's Father, Kisuke couldn't be certain if the Reiatsu flows there were how they should be since Quincy's were strange on a good day.

"What is it?" His eyes flew up to where Kurosaki was standing over him with the three 4th Squad members that had carried him.

The male 4th Squad member bowed to him. "We could find no lingering traces of any poisons and the Ryouka did an amazing job at patching him together. Please tell us if anything else needs to be healed and we will find the correct physician."

Kisuke sighed, "I'm not sure; I want to wait until his Reiatsu settles down before I make any judgments." Kurosaki looked at him assessing _something_ before he nodded.

"I need to get back through there. We might have to fight to get the rest of them out since the Old Bastard is against us helping them. Byakuya wants me at point with Kenpachi."

Kisuke nodded, even as the next stretcher bearers made their way through the gate. Yoruichi had already gone through again. "I'll have Ururu sit with him as soon as she makes it back down."

"Thanks, Urahara-san," Kurosaki vanished in a haze of Shunpo, a brief flicker of the gate letting him know that the boy was already through it. Kisuke stood up from Uryuu's side and pulled out his cell phone as a third stretcher came through, the bearers setting it down before racing back through the gate. He had two calls to make, and wasn't looking forward to either of them.

The two Shinigami that had carried Uryuu through knelt at the boy's side where he had been, probably under orders from Unohana-Taichou to make sure nothing happened to him.

He hit the third speed dial and his face was stone as a cheerful voice answered. "Hirako-san, I think you and the others need to hear this, and then I'm calling in a favor."

XXXXX

Toshiro glared at the scrolling progress bar on the screen in front of him. Mizuno had shown him how to filter the searches of the _Suppliers_ (the name made him want to hurt something) in this horror house by certain criteria to come up with viable ones to be extracted by Inoue-san. The Shinigami had seemed nearly terrified of him but he couldn't bring himself to feel too badly about it. Then the 12th Squad member had come up with a list of patients that he thought someone other than Inoue-san would be able to help and had quickly demonstrated how to use the programs so he could explain what he thought was necessary to Unohana-Taichou. For a few moments Mizuno'd been so excited about his discovery he had barely been afraid of Toshiro. Of course the lower ranked Shinigami had panicked when he realized he'd practically ordered the Taichou to take over the computers for him, but Toshiro had waved him away and the other Shinigami rushed gratefully to Unohana-Taichou, following her up the stairs after Inoue-san.

The room bustled behind him as people cleared routes for stretcher bearers and leaped out of Inoue-san's way as she raced around with Sado-san, Kotetsu-Fukutaichou and a revolving team of 4th Squad members. The poor girl showed some pretty obvious fatigue but she kept up, and so far 76 people had been healed and sent through the Gate. Number 77 was two floors above this one, a living human who'd been hooked up for 16 years. She was part of a long term project on the effects of spiritual power on regular humans (there were additional links on that to a case study of Kurosaki, Inoue, Sado, and Ishida. He hadn't clicked on those).

77 people seemed like a lot until you saw the rest of the Suppliers unknowingly, silently waiting for a turn Toshiro didn't know if they'd get. There were less tubes then there had been even five minutes ago though. In between what Kotetsu-Fukutaichou had managed to get from the technicians earlier, and what they were getting from the from the computers now, the 4th Squad had managed to pull most of the tubes, wires and IVs leaving only the bare necessities even as they sent him the information to update the lists to send to Kotetsu-Fukutaichou for Inoue-san.

Toshiro heard the impressed comments and the rest of the awed mutterings as he'd hung around. The girl really was something, he thought. She was working herself to the bone showing no signs of stopping despite the sweat soaking her shirt and the lines of exhaustion creeping over her face. He hoped that Mizuno was right about others being able to do something or the girl would probably kill herself helping them. A little 4th Squad member that had come in a few minutes ago steadying Abarai-Fukutaichou (who was now propped up on a wall near Kira-Fukutaichou) followed after her like a puppy dog wringing his hands. It would be almost amusing in a less serious situation.

He glanced over at the screen next to him where another 12th Squad member assigned to this place was making copies of all the data on the computer systems under the watchful eye of Ayasegawa from the 11th Squad. The vain Shinigami had arrived with several of his Squad Members and the 12th squad Members that had helped turn the Quincy teen into such a mess. A few of the man's fellow 11th Squad members had dragged Kurotsuchi's two henchmen through the Gate so they could be dealt with properly later, after they'd been adequately... debriefed, about any pertinent information they knew.

Toshiro absentmindedly read the file names as he waited for his computer to finish rearranging the lists again. Most of the files crossing the screen made him vaguely sick, but one in particular caught his eye. "Open that one," he jabbed a finger against the screen startling the daylights out of the 12th Squad member who would also be an icicle if Ukitake-Taichou hadn't stopped him. The man just cowered away and Toshiro got fed up and reached over him to grab the mouse. He shifted it over and clicked on the icon depicting the 4th Squad's Flower that read 'Prospective Suppliers.' He really doubted that Unohana-Taichou had given these idiots any information and wanted to make sure that there weren't more kidnapped people in holding cells or something waiting to be strung up.

A list of names appeared on the screen, and Toshiro's breath caught at the name two from the top. Almost mechanically he shifted the mouse pointer up and clicked on 'Hinamori Momo.'

A medical report sprang up, and Toshiro read the clinically precise notes mixed in with Captain Unohana's more upbeat notes on the large screen. The 12th Squad member fell away from him and scrambled along the floor. Ayasegawa called out something from behind him, but Toshiro was too transfixed on the words at the bottom of the screen and the signatures affixed to the comments.

'Hinamori-Fukutaichou shows very little sign of full recovery. If her condition does not show marked improvement by the end of the month I recommend having her transferred to the Black Hole to replace Subject 4976 as their reiatsu signatures are nearly a perfect match. Standard cover will apply.'

- Masani Takatori 12th Squad 4th Seat

Approved- Mayuri Kurotsuchi 12th Squad Taichou, President Shinigami Research Institute

Rejected - Give her an additional month. Should she fail to recuperate to the point she can return to active duty, reissue the transfer request and I will approve it. Her case will require more than the standard cover to ensure her absence causes as few interruptions in the running of the Seireitei as possible, develop something suitable.

-Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai-Sotaichou, 13 Divine Division Imperial Guards, 1st Squad Taichou

Approved – Ayame Tooko, Third Wise Man of the Central 46.

Toshiro's fingers touched the picture of Hinamori on the screen as his mind flew to Kusaka. He heard the Central 46 calling for them to fight, saw the Secret Mobile Corps cut him down… All for a stupid, arrogant completely wrong reason.

"Hitsugaya-kun." Toshiro turned wide eyes to Ukitake-Taichou where the man was reading over his shoulder.

"They… He -- he would have hurt her. After everything Aizen did to her, he would have done this to Hinamori."

"Toshiro-kun-" He didn't give the older white-haired man a chance to finish before he shoved past him, calmly heading for the door with clenched fists.

Matsumoto appeared at his side but he didn't even acknowledge her until her hand landed on his shoulder and he slapped it away, hard. She clutched her hand and stared at him, shocked. Toshiro knew that something in him wasn't normal by the way he couldn't bring himself to really care. "Not right now, Matsumoto." The air around them shimmered, and their breaths fogged. Even though they were inside a few diamonds of snow fell onto her hair, and Toshiro strode out the open doors and past the gate that had better still be open when he got back as he heard Rangiku actually shriek at Ukitake-Taichou, demanding to know what he had found.

He had to get Hinamori-chan away from here before she ended up like Kusaka, destroyed by Soul Society's foolishness.

XXXXX

Renji watched the 10th Squad Captain leave the room, more than a little stunned at the boy's glacial appearance. He was never exactly cheerful, but he had never been that… frigid. And he never, ever, treated his Fukutaichou with the curt rudeness he just had. No matter how exasperated the young Shinigami got, he would almost always indulge her, and never really snapped at her, much less slapped her away like that.

"What is it, Ukitake-Taichou!? What did he find?" Rangiku started in at the Taichou, but Renji Shunpoed to her side and caught her arm at the look on the man's face. He could have called out to her, but his restored Reiatsu (he had definitely decided it was worth the pig's vomit or whatever it was that Hanataro had made him drink) had felt so good he had to flex his spiritual muscles a little.

"Ukitake-Taichou?" he asked hesitantly. Today was certainly showcasing expressions and reactions he'd never seen from most of the Taichous before, not like he could blame them, but he wished that they would stop scaring the crap out of him. The long white-haired man had turned on the Shinigami on the floor and was stepping closer to him, a look nearly as cold as Hitsugaya-Taichou's on his face.

Behind the Taichou, Ayasegawa's face had gone a shade of green that clashed horribly with his feathers as he spun away from the screen.

"Your name, it was Takatori-san, wasn't it? And you're the 12th Squad's 4th Seat?" Ayasegawa's face went from green to red and Shuuhei barely made it to the 11th Squad's 5th Seat in time to keep him from slicing the whimpering man into two with Fuji Kujaku. Ukitake-Taichou, who didn't even blink at the 5th Seat's truncated attack, took another step forward. Renji couldn't really think of anything that would tick off Hitsugaya-Taichou to the point of callousness that Ayasegawa would get so pissed about, and Ukitake-Taichou looked like the furious, overprotective family members that he occasionally had to deal with as Lieutenant when a 6th Squad Shinigami fell in the line of duty.

Renji looked at Rangiku and they both nodded. After Shunpoing around the tableau, they leaned forward to read the screen.

Renji's heart stopped. Rangiku let out a string of curses that would have made him proud in different circumstances and vanished from his side, probably to find her Taichou and keep him from doing anything suicidal whether the kid liked it or not. Ukitake-Taichou nodded to Renji then followed her, his own 3rd Seats racing after him, confusion etched on their faces.

He just smiled wickedly and thought of all the mutilated bodies he and Rukia had seen growing up and wondered how many positions he could break this guy's limbs into before he ended up looking like them. "Renji!" Kira had grabbed him when he made it even with Ayasegawa and Shuuhei.

"This fucker was gonna do that-" he jabbed a finger at the room "to Hinamori-chan!"

No one made a noise; it was like the lingering traces of Hitsugaya-Taichou's frosty Reiatsu had frozen them all. Then Shuuhei growled and Kira let go of his arm as he felt Ayasegawa's Reiatsu pull back, he'd ranted often enough to Ikakku and Yumichika for them to know how much Hinamori-chan meant to them. Hinamori-chan was like their little sister… and this bastard was gonna hang her and strip her Reiatsu from her even as he let these fucking contraptions siphon away her Soul. From the years the three of them had worked together Renji knew exactly where they fell into place at his side. There was a gaping hole where Hinamori should be right in front of them with a Kido spell on her lips. They hadn't even gotten her back from Aizen yet and this bastard wanted to take her away from them.

Before a single one of them could move to slice the man to pieces, there was a blast of both Reiatsu and sound from outside the door, followed by a loud scream. Renji growled out a curse as he felt Shuuhei and Kira vanish from beside him, Kira to dive for Takatori and Shuuhei grabbing him. "Take it out on whoever's outside." Renji blinked at Shuuhei for a second. The black haired Shinigami looked at him, resignation and responsibility etched across his features. "Hitsugaya-Taichou was right heading for Hinamori-chan. Let's get her and these people out of here, especially now that it's actually come to a fight. We'll get justice later." As if to emphasize the sense of what Shuuhei said, there was another scream followed by another eruption of Reiatsu. Renji turned to the door, ready to Shunpo out and join the fight, when two burned Shinigami were thrown through the gapping doors.

Hovering at the entrance was half of a golden, stylized sun about half a foot across.

Renji didn't know what the heck that thing was, but knew that this was going to suck.

XXXXX

End Chapter Six

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	7. Chapter 7

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, the characters would mutiny.

Warnings: Umm, well you've gotten through most of the worst, so I guess just, well… Yeah.

Summary: Stuff stuff, and more stuff

AN: Yeah, RL is madly weird, much love to you all though! Sorry for lack of updating on this and all my other stories. Everything is suffering due to how many plot bunnies for NEW stuff I've had lately… (No Obi, I'm not talking about you specifically, although you certainly don't help but I love you anyway and my own brain is to blame for most of them…) I so need help…

Also, that thing I mentioned last chapterish in a RR about the occasional OC… Yeah, well this chapter starts out with another one, which was slightly bad planning on my part. *HEADDESK* Please let me know what you think of him, I was pretty happy that my last one seemed fairly well received, and am hoping this one is too… Not that I have problems with ANY type of feedback, but I'd especially appreciate C&C on Shin and Aiko. THANKS ALL!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!!

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Chapter Seven

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Shin woke with a start and stared at a strange blue sky. The world felt… Painful and slightly empty. Like a part of him was missing.

He shot up when he realized his wrists felt light.

Then he panicked even further when he realized he could move, but he couldn't clearly understand why he shouldn't be able to. Shouldn't he be more worried about why Gaki wasn't around his forearms? Why he couldn't hear him very well, like it was fuzzy…from distance...? But he shouldn't be far from Gaki, he never was.

"You're awake!? How are you feeling? I-" Shin focused in on the blonde man wearing sunglasses as the man rushed towards him, his black robes billowing in the air caught his attention and-

"_He's obviously unique in some way. Maybe it has to do with those strange bracelets we pulled from him?"_

_FLASH_

_Gaki…_

_FLASH_

_A bright silver blade in the focused light… pain shooting through his arms as he hung almost exclusively by his wrists so the restraints around his chest wouldn't get in the way of what they were doing near his Soul Chain._

_FLASH_

_Why wasn't he with Gaki…?_

_FLASH_

_A swirl of black robes and white lab coats._

_FLASH_

_A flash of a painted face and strange eyes, followed by more pain. He couldn't move away from it!_

_FLASH_

"_It's so interesting, like he's some kind of symbiotic being missing the other half!"_

_FLASH_

_He couldn't scream, but felt his doll screaming in his mind…_

_FLASH_

_The pain of his soul being slowly pulled at even as his body was starved and his Reiatsu stripped away._

_FLASH_

_The hole in his heart where his doll's comforting warmth should be. The metal cuffs where Gaki should be wrapped around his wrists._

_FLASH_

"_Just up to dosage of the paralytics, he's got so much Reiatsu still, and his Soul is strong enough it'll last us 50 years at least, I don't want him to damage himself!" The agony that not even his drug induced stupor could fight, Gaki screaming in agony in his head as something hurt him. Shin felt every single second of his constant distress multiplied a thousand times as Gaki suffered something similar but so much more acute, but maybe, maybe their torture was nearly over… Maybe they'd finally die…_

_They would never be so blessed though, even as his mind hazed in and out of the constant pain he could sense from Gaki he could feel them toying with the lines into him that forced life into his body even though he didn't want it anymore. _

_Then he fell into warm arms, and the agony increased a thousand fold before everything went blissfully, peacefully numb. He felt his body knitting back together, and the daze of drugs and invisible restraints that stopped his limbs from moving vanished. He could feel the Reiatsu that did it, laughing, resolute, smiling, hopeful, he forced his eyes open and stared at the beautiful source… So pretty he thought, as the pain started to echo back again from Gaki and he slipped into the darkness encroaching on his vision. Nothing like the monsters that hurt him and Gaki…_

_FLASH_

Shin felt overwhelmed as everything hit him at once, focused on the blonde that was kneeling at his side, the hazy pain from Gaki, and saw Shinigami robes, felt the hunger claw its way out from his stomach, and even though a Shinigami would give him a stomach ache and a dead soul would taste bad, he hated him for what he'd done and was sooo hungry…

He launched himself forward and locked onto the man's neck even as he screamed through his mind for Gaki to fly to him.

Maybe if he died, he'd get to feel the beautiful Reiatsu and see its Angel again.

He heard the man scream as he sucked and sucked and sucked. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd fed and didn't remember how to make the man not scream… Hands shoved them apart and tried to hold him down…

He threw them off and bolted up, crying out for Gaki. He felt a wave from somewhere above him, just as he felt an echo from the strange glowing gate. A few more Shinigami tried to grab him, but Shin dodged them. He'd always been fast and he wasn't going to let them tie him up again. He bolted for the strange doorway and made it through before anyone could stop him. When he arrived he could feel the difference of pressure in the air against him and laughed, surprising those who had been around the outlet for the tunnel.

He felt Gaki headed towards him, slower than usual. His doll was still aching and wrong and in pain, but he felt him, could clearly hear him for the first time in ages.

"Hey! You need to go back through! It isn't going to be safe soon, I-" Shin slashed his hand at the man who leaned down over him.

He scrambled back and laughed as dozens of Shinigami rushed towards him just as Gaki arrived. They would pay! They would erupt in a flurry of pain like they had caused he and Gaki, and they'd find the others and burn them to the ground! A beautiful, shinning, golden, gently curving rod slammed into the ground in between where he and the Shinigami were, and the pavement exploded. His head fell back and he looked up to his sun, his Gaki, and screamed.

Gaki!

What had they done to him!?

He'd been ripped in half.

Shin scrambled to his knees and raised his hands up to the golden sun. It settled down in his arms, and Shin choked on his tears as he ran his hands on the flat, smooth side. Gaki wasn't an orb anymore. Half of the intricate, twisting designs that could reach out and deliver the fire of vengeance into the dark souls that would hurt them -- gone, and he could feel it. He screamed again, felt Shinigami hovering uncertainly and _hated_ them.

What they would do to them would be soooo much fun! He laughed as he threw Gaki into the air and the half orb spun, shooting out tendrils that caught the ground in some places, and Shinigami in others. The resulting explosions were absolutely splendid! He giggled again as Gaki floated into a building after two of the Shinigami he'd blasted away. Shin rushed after him, and came to a stop as he saw what was in it.

_He screamed and kicked as he felt them hold him down. They'd taken Gaki from him like he was just a toy, then rattled out a string of words that made no sense. They had injected something into him and exclaimed as it didn't work. Then hit him with something else even as they did something that made Gaki go dormant. It didn't work the way it was supposed to though. He could still feel as they moved him, dragged him, hung him up by the wrists, braced him around the chests and legs, and drove the needles into him. _

This was where –

"You – you hurt me… I didn't… I didn't do anything!"

The room was silent as they stared at him. "Kid-" a red haired Shinigami with an intricate design of thick black tattoos took a step forward, a blonde and black haired Shinigami near him were oriented threateningly over another cowering Shinigami on the floor even as they turned to face him. The Shinigami on the floor -- the one that had stuck the first needles in him. ..

The one that had had them take Gaki away from him.

Shin felt the rage burning in his heart erupt. His clutched at his pounding head, it throbbed with the ach of Gaki's pain and his memories that had this monster in them so frequently Shin almost wanted to run away. But the man couldn't catch him by surprise this time. Gaki might be hurt, but he'd spent a long time in this nightmare world and absorbed no small amount of Reiatsu. Gaki was ready, and he would pay.

"DIE!!"

XXXXX

It was another child, a little girl. Most of the others had been adults, or older teens. One elderly gentleman and this was the eighth child. Orihime bit back tears as Kotetsu-Fukutaichou and Kenichi-san (she couldn't remember what seat the red headed man held in the 4th Squad) released her into Sado-kun's waiting arms.

Orihime cringed as she managed to convince Shun'o and Ayame to fly forward one more time. They looked as exhausted as she felt, and she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to keep feeding them energy. Her limbs felt heavy and it was getting harder to concentrate, even with the pill that Kotetsu-Fukutaichou had given her. They could only guess that it didn't work as well on humans as it did on Shinigami.

She could hear Yamada-san fidgeting behind her. She knew he had her best interests at heart when he kept begging her to stop, telling her that Ichigo and Rukia would want her okay after this too, but she knew they didn't have time. Unohana-Taichou and the others who kept rushing in and out weren't calming down; instead they were getting more and more tense. She'd heard Hisagi-san and Madarame-san threaten a bunch of the 12th Squad to answer messages from the Central 46 and Sotaichou in a way that wouldn't make them suspicious. Kuchiki-Taichou had asked Unohana-Taichou something about creating false spiritual traces. A few minutes later she'd seen hazy duplicates of some of the people and all the Taichous and Fukutaichous vanish out the door.

After they had finished healing 15, maybe 20 people, Mizuno-san had pointed out the seals on the walls that had activated to counter the temporary generation disruption. It wouldn't be long before the seals really became strained and certain aspects of Soul Society began to shut down to conserve power for primary areas and those who wanted this to continue would have proof of the disruption.

Shortly before that Kurosaki-kun had pulled her aside for a moment, told her Ishida-san was safely through the Gate back to the Human World, and to run for it if fighting started. She'd only needed to glance at Chad to know that he would carry her if he needed to. They didn't want her ending up like Ishida-san.

She couldn't tell them no matter what happened she wouldn't leave until every one of these people had been safely released.

Mizuno-san had handed Kotetsu-Fukutaichou the next three people cleared to be taken down even as he rushed to Unohana-Taichou and quickly began explaining an idea he had for getting a few other people down alive. The 4th Squad Captain had smiled encouragingly, so it had to be at least viable. They were off to the side, discussing something about flow rates and muscle relaxants when Orihime managed to finish healing the little girl. It had taken longer than the first child. A lot longer.

She dropped to her knees in relief even as two 4th Squad members began to take care of the girl, bundling her up in a blanket and shifting her gently onto a stretcher. They then headed towards the steps down to the next level. Yamada-san handed her a water bottle, she gratefully took a sip. She carefully screwed the cap back on, and handed it up to the small Shinigami with a smile before trying to push to her feet. Her muscles screamed, pins and needles shooting up her limbs.

"Inoue-san, take a break for a moment. Let's let Unohana-Taichou and Mizuno finish talking."

Orihime looked up at Kotetsu-Fukutaichou, then over at Unohana-Taichou and Mizuno-san who looked more and more excited each second. "Do we have the time?"

The woman blinked for a moment, looking a little stunned before she smiled. "We'll make the time, Inoue-san."

"I'm sure we will, Kotetsu-Fukutaichou," Orihime looked up at the woman with a smile. From the Shinigami's reaction to it she doubted it'd been as reassuring as she had meant it to be. "Help me up please, Sado-kun?" she glanced imploringly at him. After a second he nodded and leaned down. Orihime reached out a hand but suddenly felt herself lifted up into the air, carried bridal style in his arms. She blushed.

"Hold her there, Sado-san. I want to try one more thing since the pill didn't work." Orihime blinked at the gray haired Fukutaichou who swung her pack off of her back and dug through it for a moment before pulling a bottle out. "Okay, this is going to taste bad, and is a little stronger than I'm entirely comfortable letting you have, so you'd better tell me if you feel even the slightest bit strange, alright?" Orihime nodded furiously. Then she twisted the cap off and choked at the smell. She recognized it from earlier; it was the drink that Yamada-san had given Abarai-kun and he was already up and about on the main floor. She took a deep breath, plugged her nose and gulped the stuff down.

"EEWIE EEWIE EEWIE!" she waved her hands, throwing the bottle who knows where in an attempt to get something besides the awful taste in her mouth. Yamada-san scrambled to give her the water she'd sipped at earlier and she quickly drank the rest of it. Orihime heard peals of laughter from behind Sado-kun and looked hesitantly over his shoulder to see Kotetsu-Fukutaichou holding her mouth shut, Unohana-Taichou smiling widely and the others beaming. She blushed scarlet and buried her face in Sado-kun's shirt before she realized that she felt amazingly better. She still felt a little hazy, but her vision was clearing quickly and the room didn't feel tilted anymore. She kept feeling better and better by the second!

Orihime glanced up at Shun'o and Ayame. They looked so much better too! Shun'o darted down and gave her a thumbs up. "We're ready to go again, Orihime-chan!"

She nodded, "Right!" She slipped out from Chad's arms (carefully, she still wasn't back to a hundred percent but was getting there) and turned to Kotetsu-Fukutaichou and bowed, "Thank you very much! Where are we headed to now?"

The woman's smile widened and her hands fell from holding in her amusement to pat Orihime's auburn hair, "Back to the main floor, then down to the very bottom."

"Got it!" Orihime clenched her fist to her chest as she swung around, the others following her.

They were half way down the steps when they heard the first explosion, and bolted down the rest of them trying desperately not to trip over each other. They appeared right as the second explosion rang throughout the room, a scream and two flying bodies in its wake. Chad grabbed her as the first one she had healed, the little boy, entered the room.

Hadn't the boy gone through the Gate? What had happened that caused the explosions? Was he alright?

Her heart broke at the boy's words, "You – you hurt me… I didn't… I didn't do anything!" She saw Abarai-kun move towards the boy, a placating hand raised, even as slight confusion played across his features. Orihime could see the moment the Shinigami shaking on the floor by Abarai-kun and Hisagi-kun registered with the boy. She didn't know what he'd done exactly, but from the way Abarai-kun, Hisagi-kun and Kira-san are hovered threateningly over the man and the boy's reaction…

"DIE!" The boy dove for man at the same time as golden tendrils shot out from the half sun over his head towards the man. She saw it in almost slow motion as Abarai-kun and the others deflected the golden spikes and as their Zanpaktous met the sun's rays, explosions consumed the area around them.

The kid dashed right through the fires, making it to the Shinigami as Abarai and the others landed where the explosions threw them. At their shouts of pain she shoved off Sado-san to rush forward calling out Shun'o and Ayame. She dropped to her knees by Ayasegawa-san as Chad reached the boy and pulled him off of the Shinigami on the floor. He'd done-- something to him, hurt him somehow… Orihime wasn't quite sure how but knew from the way Abarai had been acting that the guy probably deserved just a little of the punishment.

The boy leaped to his feet, even as the sun thing darted down in front of him protectively. Orihime finished with Ayasegawa-san and he nodded to her in thanks before shoving to his feet. The motion caught the boy's eye and Orihime's own eyes widened as he started towards them. The sun spun in front of him, and Ayasegawa-san battered it away from her with his Zanpaktou and the resulting explosion threw her to the ground and sent him flying several feet. The boy darted straight at her with blind rage covering his features and glazing his eyes.

Before she could call out her shield a form appeared in front of her and the kid latched onto that instead. She gaped at the sight of the boy's mouth locked onto Aiko-san's neck, and with a start she realized what the boy was… a Bount.

She stumbled forward half a step and ripped them apart with a grunt. The boy literally hissed at her, bearing his teeth before his eyes grew as wide as saki cups and he pounced on her. She winced as she imagined the pain she was about to feel but instead all she felt was wetness on her chest where the kid's face was buried, he shook, and then he whispered "Angel."

The others rushed to help her, but there was no pain… "Stop! It's ok he isn't hurting me!" This caused the kid to jump slightly and he clutched her tighter. His head snapped up as he glared and hissed at them. "I've got him, he's alright, isn't that right? See, none of us are going to hurt you-" She glanced around as she furiously whispered calming words to the boy, stroking his hair. The others had been quickly healed by Unohana-Taichou, most looked like they'd only gotten a few scrapes and bruises, some minor burns, and even Aiko was nodding to her though he looked a little drained, like he'd aged a year in five seconds, but he was moving. As the boy finally stopped shivering Orihime heard Unohana-Taichou order Abarai-kun and Hisagi-san to where the others were since she could sense Yamamoto-Sotaichou near them.

Orihime knew without a doubt that it wouldn't be too long before the real fighting started. She had to get back to work. She looked down at the boy and tilted his head up to meet his eyes. "Okay, now, I'm Orihime, what's your name?" He choked out what sounded like 'Shin.' "Listen Shin, I need to heal others, just like I did for you, alright?" He nodded, but as she got up to head for Kotetsu-Fukutaichou he jumped up too, trailing after her like along with Yamada-san, his doll clutched tightly in his arms. She sighed when he hissed at anyone from the 12th Squad, at least he wasn't attacking anymore.

As she faced the next victim, even she felt the first explosions of Reiatsu that signified the battle for these Souls had really begun.

XXXXX

The setting sun was really pretty, Ichigo thought as he kicked at a loose roof tile. The bottom of the large yellow ball was just barely touching the tip of the west wall and the sky look like it had been set on fire.

While Orihime was rushing around healing people back at that warehouse, Ichigo had been sitting on a roof staring at the clouds with Kenpachi in an almost Zen manner while Yachiru drew in red crayons on the white walls of the hallway beneath them. Byakuya was actually pacing on the opposite roof while the 8th Squad Fukutaichou had like 15 seals going doing things he couldn't figure out. Her Taichou, Kyoraku, had gone back to the Black Hole to let everyone know in person that the Old Bastard had betrayed them, and to prepare for a fight before heading to lead the protection forces on the opposite side of the Black Hole.

A few minutes after the guy had left, a bunch of Shinigami had scurried down the walkways and Ichigo could only scoff a little as he remembered the fear and regret that had been written on every line of their bodies. They were losers. If they were going to run, they shouldn't regret it.

Ichigo got more anxious the longer it took for anything to happen. It'd been at least 45 minutes, but he'd left his cell phone back with his real body and none of the people around him had one either so he wasn't sure. The only thing he knew for sure was that he was so bored he felt half tempted to help Yachiru with her mural just for something to do since he'd (secretly of course) always enjoyed coloring things with his sisters when they'd been younger, and had been about to jump down to ask if she had another crayon when a loud explosion came from near the gate.

He jumped to his feet, no way did something get past the ring of fighters and the warning systems that Kuchiki, Soi Fong and the 8th's officers had set up.

Another explosion rocked the area and Ichigo stumbled a little in an aborted Shunpo step when he saw Hitsugaya come into view, walking calmly and swiftly down the hallway. He jumped down and landed in the boy's path, "Toshiro! What's going on over there?"

His words were met with a glacial glare and Toshiro literally shoved past him. He could only kind of stare at the kid that was still walking down the path, and Ichigo'd just worked himself up to yell when Matsumoto-san and Ukitake-Taichou (along with his almost Fukutaichous) rushed past him. Matsumoto-san and Ukitake-Taichou literally grabbed onto Toshiro as another explosion, this one slightly muffled, echoed through the Seireitei.

Ichigo could feel himself rip in two. Inoue and Chad were back at the Black Hole near the explosions, but something obviously had Toshiro in flat out shock, and if the kid was heading towards yet another scene like the Black Hole than he'd need back-up, and his friends had plenty of people willing to fight around them.

"Ukitake-san! What's happening!? Those explosions-" Kuchiki called out from where he's poised on the roofs edge.

The white haired man turned to shout over his shoulder, "I don't know about those, but Toshiro just discovered they were going to put Hinamori-Fukutaichou in the Black Hole!" That made up Ichigo's mind. Even if he'd known who this Hinamori person was, it meant Hitsugaya was going after a single person, and that Ukitake and Matsumoto would be able to handle the kid. The others were probably more in need of help. Ichigo prepared to Shunpo for the Black Hole when Toshiro actually drew Hyorinmaru and swung at Ukitake and Matsumoto.

Ichigo froze as the kid screamed. "Don't try and stop me! Don't! I'll kill you if you try!" Toshiro spun around and Ichigo cursed as the kid got brought up short, not by Ukitake, but by rebounding off a towering, fox faced Shinigami.

Komamura, his Fukutaichou Iba, Soi Fong's hulking Fukutaichou, the Thing, the Old Bastard, a wall of Shinigami in the white of the Captain's Squad or the Ninja uniforms of the Secret Mobile Corps, and guys in weird red jackets or white robes are arrayed en mass against them, and he heard Byakuya actually curse the 'Kido Corps'.

The decrepit leader of Soul Society took a step forward and looked down at where Toshiro climbed back to his feet in front of Komamura. "Hitsugaya-Taichou, it appears as if you've come to senses and are leaving the traitor's side. Fight beside us and I'm willing to forgive you without trial." Ichigo winced, that certainly let him know exactly how long the Old Bastard had been standing there. Even though Toshiro was facing away from him, Ichigo could see the kid's answering smirk.

Ichigo vaguely heard Ukitake-Taichou yelling for Ise-san to get 'Shunsui' even as she called out that he was already on his way, more focused on where Toshiro was hefting Hyorinmaru. "I really was just planning to take Hinamori and leave, but if you won't let me I'll be happy to go through you to do it!"

The Old Bastard gave an overly aggrieved sigh, and turned his attention to Ukitake. "Well, Juushiro, are we really going to have to go over this again?"

Kyoraku had landed next to Ukitake by the end of the Old Bastard's question. The two shared a quick glance before nodding to the Old Bastard and drawing their Zanpaktous. "Yes, Yamamoto-Sotaichou." They said in perfect unison, and Ukitake stepped forward to add, "Whether you like it or not, you taught us to believe in Justice--in right and wrong, and not just what is best for Seireitei or what is ordered by the Central 46. We're sorry that this pits us against you, Sensei."

Kenpachi was grinning like mad by now, and the only thing keeping Ichigo from completely anticipating the upcoming fight was not knowing what the explosions he'd heard before were and how his friends were doing. In one of those moments of perfect timing Renji and Shuuhei landed next to him. Byakuya appeared beside his Fukutaichou and he and Ichigo glanced to Renji at the same time and his friend nodded. Keeping his voice low he muttered, "A Supplier woke up and had a few problems but Orihime got him calmed down." At this Ichigo turned back to the wall of fighters in front of them and finally let some of Kenpachi's euphoria and his Hollow's laughter infect him, since now nothing could distract him from enjoying this fight in the way he'd truly began to appreciate down in Hueco Mundo against Grimmjow.

The Old Bastard sighed again and Ichigo's hand clenched on Zangetsu's hilt in anticipation. Sure enough the Old Bastard's voice rang out over the assembled fighters.

"Attack."

Both sides launched at each other. Their side might have been fewer in number, but they were all Fukutaichous or higher in power. Still they could only be in one spot at a time, and some of the other fighters slipped past them. Ichigo could hear them running for the Black Hole, but knew Yoruichi, Soi Fong and the others wouldn't let anything bad happen even as he clashed with a 1st Squad members and their Fukutaichou.

It was only a few moments after the first blades met when three huge Reiatsu's crashed over the field. Several of the lesser fighters around them collapsed, including the guy tag teaming him with the 1st's Fukutaichou. Ichigo glanced around his standing opponent to see the Old Bastard facing off against Ukitake-Taichou and Kyoraku. Toshiro, Matsumoto-san and Ukitake-Taichou's weird subordinates were gone, and Ichigo figured they'd gone to the 4th Squad Hospital to get this 'Hinamori' person and let those at the infirmary know what was going on.

Ichigo's attention was drawn back to his own fight by the 1st's Fukutaichou coming at him again, two of his still standing Squad members that looked like they could be twins now at his back. This time Ichigo didn't have the element of surprise against the guy and since none of them were underestimating him it's actually a pretty good fight.

More Shinigami from the surrounding areas had arrived and those that hadn't collapsed under the Reiatsu started releasing Zanpaktous as they joined one side or another. Ichigo scowled as most of them blindly joined the Old Bastard's. He and his opponents darted amongst the fighters and essentially took pot shots at each other. Every now and then they'd be able to get in more than a few volleys, but they were always thrown apart by either other Shinigami flying between them or blasts from Reiatsu or released Zanpaktou forms.

Ichigo knew it put him at a disadvantage, but he kept angling his movements to get closer to where Kurotsuchi was fighting Renji and Shuuhei. He wanted to get at least one swing in at the Thing before the battle ended one way or another, but since he was having to concentrate to keep his attacks to a level that wouldn't flat out obliterate the weaker Shinigami around his opponents he couldn't just dominate and go join the fight he really wanted to be a part of.

He'd just barely dodged a whip that seemed to be made of water from one of the twins when the 11th Squad arrived with a battle cry of devotion to their Taichou who was currently facing Komamura again and the 7th's Taichou's giant Bankai was shaking the Earth and causing more property damage than even Kenpachi's wild swings.

It didn't matter that most of the half mad Kenpachi worshippers were still covered in bandages, they all ran headlong for the fight anyways. Ichigo and the other main combatants could only watch in amazement as the 11th Squad wave rushed through the battlefield, leaving broken, twitching bodies of lesser Shinigami in their wake, breaking around the powerful fighters leaving them to their battles. "They're insane, that's the only reason they could be so loyal to that nightmare and survive all of their mad stunts."

Ichigo looked across the now clear gap between him and the three 1st Squad Members and shrugged at the Fukutaichou's words. He couldn't claim to be very different when it came to miraculously surviving mad stunts. The three of them quickly firmed up their fighting stances only to be distracted again when a cry of frustration resonated over the battlefield.

Suddenly a mist covered the rubble around them and it washed over him at the same time as the three 1st Squad members he'd been facing collapsed, the Fukutaichou's hand twitching futilely for his arm band, fighters on both sides dropping unmoving to the ground behind them. Ichigo spun, coughing, trying to see where the stuff was coming from and growled as he saw it emanating out of the Thing's trident-shaped Zanpaktou. That cheating, unfair bastard Kurotsuchi. Ichigo recognized Renji and Shuuhei laid out on the ground before the Thing, hands draped across their bodies reaching for but not quite making it to their arm bands like the 1st's Fukutaichou and Ichigo managed to take a single step forward only to collapse as his limbs stopped obeying his commands.

XXXXX

End Chapter Seven

XXXXX

I really didn't want to be one of those authors who complain about what they posted, but… *shrugs* I'm not sure if I like the last fight scenes. I KNOW it isn't as good as my last one and I have severe issues with that since Bleach is so Battle oriented. Seriously, I didn't even describe a single freaking strike! Just explained who was facing who! *shakes head* I promise I shall attempt to do better next time! I really just couldn't get this specific part of the battle to flow right on paper… I think it's because I have it as another set-up piece for the next couple of scenes. *MAD LAUGHTER!!!!! CHOKE COUGH* GO (CENSORED DUE TO SPOILERS BY BETA)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	8. Chapter 8

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, the characters would mutiny.

Warnings: Umm, well you've gotten through most of the worst, so I guess just, well… Yeah.

Summary: As you can guess, I suck at these. Soooo, I'M DOING A CONTEST!!! Leave me a review or send me an e-mail with a new summary for this fic since I suck at creating them and I haven't liked all the ones I've come up with so far. The winner gets the next chapter a day early and a one shot of their choice!

Also: XBows humblyX All of you rock! (I am so sorry that I do not do individual review responses via PMs and such, I have limited Internet availability so I kind of just open pages and go, I'll try to work on that.) I can't tell you how much I appreciate your candid reviews and the fact that you take the time to leave me such detailed responses. You RULE! Be all, end all. Finite. I'm especially grateful to those of you who've stuck through from the beginning and reviewed each chapter, letting me know that I'm managing to keep you interested, thanks again!

Individual RR to specific points:

Morghann: Thanks for the critique. I wasn't really sure what to call them, and picked something really generic for most of the characters since from what I understood aside from generalities not a lot of the Squads know each other and those two are confusing at best. I'll try to watch it in future chapters and see what I can do about past ones, I like your suggestion of just '3rd Seats' for some of the other Shinigami though. Thanks again for the help!

Saigo no Hajime: Thanks! One of the things I really want to do with this fic is see if I can play with reactions to trauma, so hopefully I'll be able to make the other responses we see just as believable. As for our beloved Shiro, well... I plotted this entire thing out before recent chapters, so you'll just have to read and see!

Volcanic: I'm glad I could introduce you to the bount in a positive light! In my personal, and often challenged opinion, I think they were an amazing concept to bring in as filler, even if they were so poorly thought out and executed that it ruined the effect. There are 1 or 2 strictly non-filler canon mentions of humans with strong spiritual powers/abilities/presences besides the Quincies and I hope to explore that a little more.

And finally, away we go!

XXXXX

Chapter Eight

XXXXX

Soi Fong glared at Omeada even as she tried to decide how many places she was going to hit him with Suzumebachi before she finished him off. She hadn't really cared when he'd disappeared a while ago, more concerned with making sure Yoruichi-sama's orders were followed out correctly. Now he had the gall to stand there smirking with the members of her own Squad at his back.

The man was an idiot if he thought he would stand a chance against either her or Yoruichi-sama. Her Squad seemed awfully sure of themselves as well. Then again, they were designed to take down traitors against the Gotei 13 and Central 46. Which, as she thought about it, she could probably now be classified as.

She, Yoruichi-sama and a few of the other Squads fighters were aligned against the Soutaichou's minions, and Soi Fong waited rather impatiently for one of them to make a particularly stupid move she could use as an excuse to start in on them. Then Omeada's arm shifted too obviously to the hilt of his Zanpaktou and she decided to slice the limb off rather than paint him in butterflies. Just as she was deciding on moving from above or beneath, one of the seals they'd been using so frequently they never bothered to take down flared and she heard Ukitake's slightly panicked voice call out for assistance.

"We need back up now! Kurotsuchi's loose and his poison is spreading! Kyoraku and I are the only ones standing but if we move too far from the Soutaichou's flames we're going down too! Send medi – DAMN IT!"

As Ukitake's message tapered off with a clang of metal and a curse, Omeada's pig face became so smug that Soi Fong felt an almost Kenpachi-like joy in planting her foot in his face.

Wordlessly perched on his head as his hands twitched futilely around her, she reached behind his Fukutaichou badge and pulled out the antidote to Kurotsuchi's paralytic that all the Fukutaichou's were required to carry. She felt particularly glad that Omeada had started wearing the badge almost full time since the thought of having to search his robes for the brown glass bottle made her stomach roll.

Soi Fong heard the rest of her Squad finally realize the change in pace and couldn't help the smirk that crossed her own face as she took a quick drink then tossed the antidote over to Yoruichi-sama. Her Sensei looked at her questioningly for a moment before she shrugged slightly and downed the second half.

"Madarame, take care of things here, we've got the battlefield," Soi Fong called to the 11th Squad Member. As much as she wanted to remind her Squad that there was a reason she was Taichou, she and Yoruichi were the only ones quick enough to get to the battle before serious damage could be dealt to their side.

"Sure, Taichou." Soi Fong didn't even have to look at him to know that a grin just as mad as his Captain's had crossed his face. She dug her foot into Omeada's face just a little bit more than was strictly needed to launch herself with Shunpo, but she doubted that even Yoruichi-sama noticed. The others were more than enough to keep these idiots away from the Black Hole and all the victims in it, and she heard the noise of her Squad's reeducation even from the distance of her Shunpo step. If she was still Taichou when this was over she'd have to drill her Squad and Corps to death. They really shouldn't be brought down _that _easily.

Soi Fong narrowed in on the Fukutaichous first, they'd need the antidote they were carrying to release their top fighters from the paralytic.

She and Yoruichi-sama arrived just in time to see Kurotsuchi gloating in the direction of the 6th and 9th's Fukutaichous while preparing to impale the 8th Squad's Fukutaichou with his trident. Abarai and Hisagi were both screaming at him from the ground to stop, but the man just laughed madly and started his down swing. Soi Fong could gauge Yoruichi-sama's anger by how far the man flew from the foot she planted in his gut.

Soi Fong slid to her knees near Ise-Fukutaichou and pulled the antidote from her armband and carefully gave her half. Soi Fong nodded to Yoruichi-sama who was taking care of Abarai and Hisagi, before she darted to kneel beside Kurosaki to give him the rest of the dose. She debated heading for Kuchiki next but knew Yuroichi would take care of him after she finished with the two Fukutaichous, so she swallowed her pride and glanced around for Zaraki and his pink haired Fukutaichou. By then the other side's medics had reached their main fighters too and it was a race to get powerful people on their feet. She couldn't help but curse quietly at how badly they were outnumbered. They had better fighters that could shake off the poison more quickly, but the other side had more antidote doses to get a greater number of people moving.

She spun as she heard Kurotsuchi's shriek and launched herself back towards him from where he was staggering towards Yoruichi-sama and the two Fukutaichous the other woman was trying to help. Spinning in midair to increase her momentum and bring her greater leg power to bear, Soi Fong added her own footprint next to Yoruichi-sama's. A plume of now useless smoke belched from the man's trident as Soi Fong landed from the recoil. She glanced around, debating whether to head for Zaraki and Kusajishi or keep guard over the staggering Fukutaichous. Her decision finalized when Kurotsuchi reared up yet again and held his trident high, beginning to call out the name of his Bankai as he advanced on the still recovering Ise. The painted freak always had had a twisted obsession with going after women.

Soi Fong darted forward, summoning Suzumebachi and slashing at the mad scientist's face. He jumped backwards, dodging the blow, but she succeeded in distracting him from summoning his final form. He managed to parry several of her blows and actually managed a fairly decent counter strike that she barely escaped. It wouldn't do to get tagged by that damn trident and have to deal with its contact poison on top of the paralytic still floating in the air. She skidded to a stop several feet away from him, and raised her wrist, Suzumebachi flashing in the fading sunlight.

Then Hisagi and Abarai shot past her with quick nods, and she bowed the fight into their very ticked off looking hands. She vaguely recalled the 12th's frankly insane Taichou gloating over Ise when she and Yoruichi-sama arrived about neither of the young men being able to save anyone. Their pride had to be stinging and she felt no doubt that they would give Kurotsuchi the bashing he deserved in return for the blow to their honor.

Yeah, the bastard was going to be in pieces the next time she saw him.

She released Suzumebachi as she raced back through the other side's rising fighters and used her momentum to clothes-line two of the five people hovering over Zaraki and Kusajishi with needles. Luckily it seemed like all the needles were still full and she doubted they'd been able to dose the two 11th Squad members before she'd arrived. A quick spin kick flattened two more and a solid right floored the still blinking last one before she quickly dropped to her knees by the little girl and pulled her antidote out. She popped the seal and quickly sniffed the liquid. Luckily it was the antidote, not that she'd really admit it out loud but she'd been half afraid the ball of psychotic fluff had replaced it with juice or something.

She quickly administered the antidote to Zaraki and his pink haired Fukutaichou and waited a moment or two for the giant 11th Squad Taichou to get back on his feet before darting out to take down as many of the enemy medics as she could without using any lethal force. She glanced over at where Yoruichi-sama had moved to hover beside a fuming Kurosaki who was still staggering just a little. Soi Fong used her few moments against weaker and weakened opponents to plot out her next move.

With so many of their side still paralyzed on the ground and nearly all the other side's forces back on their feet if not back at full strength, she wasn't the only one taking advantage but at the same time that advantage was dwindling. Fast.

Then a rather familiar voice rang out over the battlefield, calling out a wind based Kido spell. The resulting gust swept over the field, clearing the remaining poison away.

Soi Fong glanced up to see a dark figure haloed rather dramatically by the mostly set sun. 4th Squad Relief Units along with more of their sides fighters darted over the roof the figure was standing on to begin treating their fighters for the paralytic and to take apart anyone threatening them.

Then the figure itself leapt down into the battlefield.

Urahara Kisuke. That stupid fool! Everyone who ran across the man in the real world and truly realized who he was made amazingly complex works of fiction out of their field reports to keep the idiot hidden from the Sotaichou and the Central 46 and what does he do but show up right in front of the old bastard. The dirty blonde in his strange hat landed next to where Juushiro and Kyoraku were facing off against the Sotaichou much to the two other Taichou's rather obvious surprise. Soi Fong pondered it for a moment before deciding that what the heck, this was just plan amusing. She smirked a little. When they'd needed a connection point in the real world to establish a Gate so quickly, who the heck did they think Yoruichi-sama was going to call, the Ghostbusters?

"I knew, ever since you were willing to kill them, that you weren't always right, but I didn't think you would stoop so low!" The man said, pulling his hat from his messy hair so that the full force of his glare reached the Sotaichou.

The Sotaichou actually looked stunned for about thirty seconds. "You traitor! You have been exiled from Seireitei! How are you here?!"

Urahara was smirking way more than he should be considering he was facing off against the Sotaichou, and that Ukitake and Kyoraku were both gaping at him too much to be any real help. "Inside help. You've fallen so far, old man. I can't believe what you made me complicit to."

"I am not the one who has fallen from the grace of the Seireitei, it is you." Before anyone could move Yamamoto's arm twisted, turning a blast from Ryuujin Jakka on Urahara. Soi Fong heard Yoruichi-sama scream and she could see Juushiro and Kyoraku react, trying to reach the man since he wasn't bothering to dodge himself, but they weren't able to reach him in time. The entire field was silent as the flames died down.

Soi Fong's eyes widened in shock as she saw Urahara still standing there, completely untouched by the raging flames that had surrounded him.

Standing in front of him with their Zanpaktous drawn, were a short haired young blonde man and a man with a pointed afro. Soi Fong gaped as she realized who they were, and she saw her shock mirrored on Ukitake, Kyoraku and the Sotaichou's faces, while Zaraki laughed gleefully in the background.

Urahara just continued to smile as he placed that annoying hat of his back on his head. "What, Yamamoto, you don't really think I'd be stupid enough to face you without back-up do you?"

XXXXX

Kensei growled in annoyance as he skirted the battlefield with Rose. He should be in the middle of the fight with Shinji and Love, not on a babysitting job for the 4th's Taichou. Retsu Unohana hadn't even blinked when she'd seen the six of them, simply asked Hachi to help Orihime and Hiyori to take over directing rescue efforts on her behalf so she could get to work. Then she'd told the rest of them to make sure at least some of them didn't get derailed by fight and made it to the 4th Squad barracks to help guard the evacuation of everyone who wished to leave the Seireitei. She'd told him that those on the 'potential' list she'd printed out and handed to him didn't have a choice, and were to be taken through bound if need be. The four Vizard had played rock paper scissors to see who would go with Urahara and who would manage the evac, and Kensei was sure that Shinji had cheated… the bastard.

At least Risa and Mashiro had stayed on the other side of the gate to help out Tessai. They'd have really cheated to get their way. Nell was with them, safely being distracted by trying to cheer up several of the victims that had woken up. The green ball of fluff and big eyes they'd taken in for Ichigo on his return from Hueco Mundo was adorable, but could more than match the entire Shinigami Academy combined aptitude for bumbling ineptitude when she got it in her mind to help in situations well beyond her control.

Unohana had also unnecessarily warned them to be careful as they raced from the room. This was the freaking Sotaichou. The man who'd been a Taichou since before they'd even been born. His personal Squad might be only twenty people but they were all nightmare inducing fighters. They weren't always the strongest, but they had talents that broke a person and were infallibly loyal to the old man. Kensei didn't doubt that the Vizard would be able to win against them, but how hurt they were going to get in the mean time was up for debate.

Halfway to the Fourth Squad's hospital he almost tripped over his feet as he spotted a woman with long strawberry blonde hair and a killer rack glaring while trying to fend off a group of furious 4th Squad members that seemed intent on a kid in a Captain's haori trying to drag a protesting black haired girl down the walkway. Kensei waved a smirking Rose on and diverted his path, trying to remember if he'd eaten anything foul smelling after he brushed his teeth that morning.

As he landed next to the bombshell, Kensei noted that the woman had two Zanpaktous, the one strapped to her obi and the one clutched in her hands she was using to smack the five 4th Squad members when they got too close to the kids. Since the boy had his balanced on his back, he figured the spare one was the girl's.

He didn't even try to smile since he knew more often than not it made him look ridiculous. "What's up?" he asked the woman in the body of his dreams.

Instead of hearing her sure-to-be amazing voice he heard the whining of one of healers. "They're absconding with a level one patient!"

"Hitsugaya-Taichou would never let Hinamori-chan be hurt!" Ooohhh… just as nice as he'd imagined, and that glare of hers was fiery. That synched it, Kensei was in love.

"She's the one who might hurt herself or others!"

"You're insane if you think we're leaving Hinamori-chan here when that monster and the Sotaichou are going to string her up in that hell hole! I think as her doctors you'd be on our side!" His new love was certainly a spitfire; she'd nearly knocked the lead healer out with that blow.

This of course only made them madder. "She can't leave the hospital!"

"Everyone is leaving or did you miss the hell butterfly?!"

Kenji had had enough of the arguing now that he'd grasped the basics, the girl was in the care of the 4th Squad, and from the dark circles under her eyes, the paleness of her skin and how thin she was, he could guess why. Apparently the Sotaichou and the people in charge of that little horror house were tired of how long it was taking her to recover and were going to use her in the nightmare house. These guys had issues with her getting away for whatever reason. He thought for a second before deciding on how to best intervene in a way that made him look particularly good to the-- quick glance at the badge-- 10th Squad Fukutaichou, which meant the white haired boy calling the girl 'bed-wetter Momo' was her Taichou.

He spun around, caught two with his foot at the same time he banged another two heads together and on his return caught the last one with a blow to the back of the head, in five seconds he flattened five people. That had to impress her at least a little.

The woman blinked beautiful silver blue eyes at him. "I'd say thank you but now we have to worry about getting them out too."

"Taken care of." The woman just looked at him for a moment before she waved a hand and sashayed over to try and help her young Taichou convince the girl that she really did need to leave. He shook himself from the daze created by her swaying hips and pulled out his cell phone, calling Rose to tell him about the unconscious people. He got yelled at for a few seconds before Rose hung up on him, but he knew the long haired man would divert a team to take care of them no matter how much he complained.

When Kensei reached his walking dream's side the kid had finally gotten tired of the time it was taking to convince the girl. Using a sleep Kido on her she collapsed in his arms. Blue green eyes that reminded him of glaciers appraised him for a moment before the boy nodded. "Thank you for helping my Fukutai--" the boy grit his teeth, "thank you for helping." He then turned on his heel with a quick, "Matsumoto," and the three were starting off in the direction of the Black Hole and the Gate.

He quickly Shunpoed in front of them. "Hey kid, the Old Man's-"

Blue eyes snapped at him, and his new love glared at him over her Taichou's head. "It's Hitsugaya-tai… It's Hitsugaya. And I can feel the Sotaichou fighting the others. Thank you for your concern, we can handle ourselves."

"I think I'll be tagging along just in case." Kensei wasn't about to let Matsumoto get even a bruise on that body of hers and he wasn't the type to leave two kids alone in a battle zone.

"Whatever. Let's go Matsumoto."

The three of them leaped into the air, heading for the portal to the human world. They hadn't gotten very far when a monstrous looking baby headed Zanpaktou construct crossed their path being chased by a wild looking spinal snake with a red mane. A black haired figure leaped from the top of the snake's head to clash in mid air against a twisted, odd figure holding strange scythe that was attached to a cord coming out of his ear. Kensei blinked.

"Matsumoto, back them up!" The kid called out.

Kensei grabbed her arm, stopping her. "I've got it! Keep heading for the Gate with the kids!" He leaped towards the fighting (the white haired kid shouted something about not being a kid) just as the snake thing hit its maximum length and twisted back towards its owner, a wild looking red head. The snake head snapped at the painted figure on its way back, but the momentary opening its leaving created allowed the huge creature to peal around on its centipede like body and fly towards the black haired figure where he stood poised on a roof top. The young man recoiled back and prepared to jump.

"Blow it away, Tachikaze!" His Zanpaktou whirled in its Shikai release, and as he swung it around he released a strike of energy right at the thing's head throwing the giant creature back head over tail.

He landed facing the young man with a scowl. The young man stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing insensibly, before the shock quickly got replaced by flat out disbelief. Kensei's eyes narrowed in on the 69 on his face. He'd seen quite a few of the 6 Wheels of the 9th Squad proud of their position, getting their tattoos in all sorts of places but this one took the cake. Especially since he wasn't a very good one if all he did at an ally's arrival was gape like an idiot and then not believe that someone, no matter how strange they were, would help him out in a fight against a monster.

Still, he'd been able to become a 6th Wheel in the first place… Kensei couldn't help but think as the brat finally came out of shock and an even weirder look took over his face. Kensei tried to force out a smile, wanting to snap this teen out of looking at him so strangely, like he was some type of second coming or something, "Buck it up kid! You're a 6th Wheel!"

"What?" The black haired fighter blinked and Kensei sighed, they really weren't making Shinigami like they used to.

"DOWN!" Came a shout from over the teen's shoulder. The huge snake thing swung over their heads, and Kensei dropped to his knees as it slammed into the giant monster Zanpaktou that had nearly reached them. The creature let out a squeal and a billow of smoke as it flew back again. The smoke washed over Kensei and he started to choke. His limbs suddenly felt heavy and he collapsed to his knees as his legs refused to support him, and he barely registered his Zanpaktou's released form still clutched in his paralyzed fingers. What was that stuff?

The weird, vaguely familiar freak that the two kids had been fighting landed right in front of him. "Oh… if it isn't an old subject coming back to pay me a visit! Let's finish this fight so I can see what's changed in you in all these years!"

He raised that scythe thing again and Kensei's eyes widened as he still couldn't make himself move, and then images crashed into him, this guy, he'd been the one who, oh Kami…

"REAP KAZESHINI!" the boy leaped over him, landing with one Kama on the scythe bearing it into the ground, the other swinging in an arc and slicing the strand from the hilt to the guy's ear.

The freak of a man drew back with a shrieked curse. "Pathetic little Fukutaichous like you should really know your place. A shame Tousen couldn't beat proper respect into you before he left, now I'll have to do it for him, brat."

"It isn't brat. It's Shuuhei Hisagi." Another image slammed into his head from that night, a shivering mess of a kid with a strong name that he'd pulled from in front of a hollow. It couldn't be… The kid glanced over his shoulder. "Your smile sucks as much as it did a hundred years ago!" It was him. "Renji! Get him to an antidote! Kurotsuchi's mine."

"'Bout time ya really started ta fight ya moron. Make sure ya leave enough of him for the others."

"I'll try to control myself." The boy--the young man said as he deftly twirled his Kamas and advanced on the painted figure.

An arm wrapped around Kensei's shoulders, and he felt himself lifted into the air by the red head. As they leaped from the scene, three things flashed in front of his mind: Mashiro would never let him live this down if she heard of it, the bastard that had helped Aizen turn him into a Vizard was still a member of Soul Society and knew his traitorous squad mate, and he really hated contamination weapons.

A rush of wind blew against his back and he heard the monster scream.

Oh, yeah… And the kid had turned into a decent Shinigami after all, and might even be worthy enough of being a 6th Wheel if Kensei could get him over holding back in battle.

XXXXX

Matsumoto breathed a sigh of relief as she felt Shuuhei finally release Kazeshini. She'd convinced her Captain to hang back long enough to make sure her friends would be alright. They'd both been shocked as the guy pulled his Zanpaktou and in Shikai form blew away Kurotsuchi's Bankai.

Her Captain had called her name sharply, stopping her from leaping forward as the guy was hit with smoke. Sure enough, they handled it themselves. Shuuhei released Kazeshini, and with a deadly precision saved the strange guy. Matsumoto blinked when Renji grabbed the man and shot back, dropping Zabimaru to his Shikai. Then she understood why when Shuuhei let loose, and Rangiku had to brace herself against the tornado that enveloped the area.

Oohh… Looks like something really upset their friend. Normally he was so disappointed with himself for creating a Zanpaktou with such an obviously lethal design he refused to wield Kazeshini to the full extent he could. Heck, even though she knew for a fact he'd achieved it one day while sparring with Renji, she'd never even seen his Bankai. His reluctance to wield his full power in battle was one of the few things keeping Shuuhei from just being appointed Taichou in Tousen's stead.

"Renji!" She called out and her friend swerved his path, and Matsumoto and Hitsugaya leaped over to meet him, Hinamori still clutched tightly in Hitsugaya's arms.

Right as they landed next to him Renji tried for a grope and she decked him, both of the men falling to the ground.

"Damn it Matsumoto, I just need your antidote!" Renji half growled half yelled out. She blinked, it had been pure reflex, she knew that Renji wouldn't actually try to grope her. For all the fact that he'd grown up in the Rukongai like she had, he had more class then most of the nobles. She felt a little chagrined she'd just pelted one of her best friends for no reason.

"Oh. Sorry. Right." Rangiku pulled the brown bottle from her badge, sending out a small thank you to whatever it was that had kept her from switching the antidote with sake liked she'd thought of doing so often, and knelt down to pour it into the guy's mouth as Renji held him up so he wouldn't choke.

"Thanks." The silver haired man said as he shook his limbs out, "I really hate weapons like that; they have no place on a battlefield."

"People like Kurotsuchi have no place on a battlefield," Hitsugaya countered.

"I won't argue with that. We should move on, I think that Hisagi's got that fight handled," the man said as he glanced at the maelstrom in front of them, hair and piercings glinting in the light as he shifted and the field knife looking blade in his hand became a regular sized sword. Whoever this guy was he had a Zanpaktou and was proficient in its use.

Renji scoffed at him. "Of course he does. Shuuhei's a freaking genius, so hold on just one more second."

The man turned to Renji questioningly. "What?"

Then Matsumoto felt it. Kurotsuchi's Reiatsu collapsed in on itself, the freak was unconscious!

Renji just smirked at all of their gapping faces. "Guy might have been healed from the bang up from earlier, but we worked him over pretty good and he took a brutal hit from both Soi Fong and Yoruichi. With Shuuhei as pissed as he is, the monster didn't stand a chance."

A figure started leaping over walls, and Rangiku smiled when she saw Shuuhei carrying Kurotsuchi over his shoulders, both their Zanpaktous hanging from his obi. He landed in front of them with a scowl crinkling his dark blue bar tattoo adorably. "You know you could have helped me carry him instead of just standing there."

Rangiku had to laugh, "And possibly broken a nail when you had things in hand?"

"Matsumoto…" Hitsugaya sighed. She grinned even more at the familiar sound; it was nice to have her Captain back.

"Sir, I-" Shuuhei stammered out. She turned her attention back to Shuuhei who stared at the gray haired guy with a look of admiration and awe.

"Stop it, Hisagi. There's nothing to say besides I'm glad you turned out to be just as strong as your name." Oohhh… Rangiku smiled, was this the guy that had saved Shuuhei's life when he was a kid? But he had died… One night ages ago, before they'd all been Fukutaichous even, when they'd been too drunk to care about the consequences they'd snuck into the records office and pulled the reports from that night to make Shuuhei stop whining. None of the Shinigami in that area had been listed by name, but they had all been declared Killed in Action. "And that my name's not sir, it's Kensei Muruguma, and I'm a Vizard."

Rangiku stared in shock. He was a half Hollow! Someone who betrayed Soul Society to gain more power! Her fist clenched on Haineko's hilt before relaxing, Shuuhei was taking the shock pretty well and Renji just looked a little bored at the declaration. This guy, for all the rumors about the Vizard, had helped them, and he didn't seem to be completely evil. She'd give him a bit more of a chance before actually drawing on him.

She snapped out of her daze as the man met her eyes and started talking. It was nice to meet another guy who didn't stare at her chest. "We're here with Urahara, the guy wanted back up as he checked out what Yoruichi told him and confronted the Sotaichou and we owe him. Soon as we landed Unohana drafted us into helping out."

Before anyone could ask any questions, a siren sounded over the Seireitei. "What is it this time damn it!? Can't we finish solving one problem before another pops up!?" Renji yelled.

"It's the intruder alarm!" Shuuhei cried out.

"Is it because of us?" Kensei snapped, shifting his grip on his Zanpaktou, other hand hovering over the side of his face, as his eyes quickly scanned the area for attackers.

"No, can't you feel them, they're all around us!" Hitsugaya snapped even as Kensei cursed and Matsumoto threw open the senses she'd had shuttered to avoid feeling too much of the crushing power of the Sotaichou and Ukitake-Taichou and Kyoraku-Taichou and the others.

With a cold heart Matsumoto knew what had happened: Aizen. Someone had betrayed their weakness to Aizen and he was taking full advantage of it.

Hollows. Hundreds, upon hundreds of hollows surrounded the Seireitei. Then Matsumoto's heart stopped as ever so slowly the binding on the shield surrounding the Seireitei began to open in three distinct spots. Three of the Gates had started to open and the Hollows poured into the Seireitei around the Reiatsus of the Gate Guardians. "They'll pay for this!" Rangiku spun and saw an unfamiliar, almost deadly look on Shuuhei's face as he looked pointedly at each of the three Gates over and over again. Each of the Gate Guardians was in his Squad, so the poor Fukutaichou must be taking this particularly personally, especially after Tousen's betrayal, although that explained how they'd been turned. She saw a lot of nights out drinking if they survived this, Shuuhei would never forgive himself for not noticing their treachery before it was too late.

"Kill them later Hisagi! Head for the others! We need to regroup!" Kensei shouted and they all leaped forward.

She glanced to her Taichou, his face was cold, and his fingers white where they clutched Hinamori even as he kept pace with them back to the battle site. She wondered what he would do if she beat him over the head and chucked the both him and Hinamori through the gate to the Human World.

Probably come right back through and pour all of her surviving saki down the drain.

XXXXX

End Chapter Eight

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Okay, I know I dropped a hint a while ago, but who saw the Vizard coming? (Aside from EnyoAzul, mad props to you!) I was much happier with this chapter than the last one! XsmilesX Flow wasn't the greatest in spots but I had a blast writing it! XGrinsX As always, give thanks to my ever awesome Beta Obi! Any remaining mistakes are mine and not hers, please point any out that you see! For bigger cannon nuts than me, I do realize that Soi Fong wouldn't know about the Ghostbusters, but it was too perfect an opportunity.

As for the Gate Guardians, I'm going with they were traitors like in the Manga, but like in the Anime we haven't seen it yet. XshrugsX What can I say, I like combining universes.

I've been going over the old chapters as I worked on the new ones and found a few mistakes or things I wanted to change, so with my next update I'm also going to post semi-revised versions of the older chapters. You might want to glance through them, I don't think I changed anything too much but I'm adding a few things here and there.

Please let me know what you thought of the chapter and take part in the contest! I'll tell Yachiru you have a frankly obscene amount of candy if you don't. Xsmiles innocentlyX


	9. Chapter 9

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Warnings: AU, None for this chapter specifically

Summary: When Ishida goes missing, Ichigo, Orihime and Chad begin a search that leads them to Mayuri, where they uncover far more than their missing friend. Ironic that a Quincy would lead to the breaking of the Seireitei.

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach, and he gets paid for it, not me.

AN: Okay, so… I only got one response to the contest and I'm pretty sure that was because I was ranting so much, so I give up… It'll stay pathetic. Miko, thanks for the support! You didn't have to but I'm glad you did. I'll get that back to you soon, you know what RL is like right now unfortunately. PS: Thanks Obi.

RR:

Volcanic: Thanks! :) As for spelling, I thank the makers of the 'Spell Check' feature every day.

Greyfalcon: Thanks for the compliment! PS… :p ….. joking…. I really mean it, thanks for the review!

Fan girl 666: Thanks!

Saigo no Hajime: oh yeah, Ikkaku has been itching for a (2nd) fight all day long. Guess I should add AU onto the warning tags too, since yes, I am planning to have had our oh-so-favorite 12th Squad Taichou have helped Aizen with his initial Hollowfication experiments, mainly with Kensei and Mashiro. As for Urahara and Yamamoto actually seeing each other in Canon, I didn't think so and tried to find it but couldn't, I can mask it under the AU tag if I need to, but I was wondering if you could let me know which chapter it's in so I can modify the story if I need to, I'd appreciate it. Thanks! :)

Morghann: Yes, there are too many fun characters in Bleach and D. Gray -Man and Naruto and everything else I like so it's just not fair! As much as I love them I want to cry at all the plot bunnies such awesome characters inspire. The main focus characters in this are going to be Ichigo, Ishida, Orihime, Hitsugaya, Yumichika and Urahara… I think. And as if that weren't enough, I have a bunch of sub plots designed for many of the other characters just so I can combine multiple plot bunnies into one. This fic is going to be a little epic and I want to see if I can realistically pull it off. I mean, aside from a few paragraphs of Chapter One this has all been a single day here, as sad as it is, all of this is only the setup. All the POVs will eventually narrow down into a few regular ones with the occasional side character like I started out with only Ichigo but then had his problem lead to the others making him realize that there's more than just what's in front of him like how Rukia first got him to agree to fight Hollows by using that kid. I wanted to kind of show case the initial problem that led to the discovery of all the other problems, than slowly narrow it back down into the main characters focus even as everything else the initial POVS started was still going on, if that makes any sense… Ugh… I'll stop rambling now…

I hope you enjoy the Chapter!

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Chapter Nine

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"-incompetency and blind stupidity that for even one iota of second allowed you to believe-"

Ichigo had actually been kind of impressed when Ukitake uncharacteristically lost it and literally started berating the Sotaichou very loudly when the gates had been held open by the Gate Guardians, only the one manned by Jidanbou remaining closed. Not even Kyoraku grabbing his arm and reminding him that this wasn't the time could stop the white haired man's tirade.

"-sheer lunacy of the assumption that that traitor wasn't capable of swaying more than a girl and two insane men when he'd fooled all-"

Next to him stood a lounging Shinji whose smug grin had broken into quiet, slightly mad giggles when Ukitake had called the Old Bastard a flame-blinded geriatric codger four minutes before, and Love who was glaring at the Sotaichou from the blonde's other side. Ichigo himself couldn't decide whether to head back for Inoue and Chad or go straight for the Hollows, and figured he'd wait to see what the others would do since they had a while before the Hollows reached the main areas. Occasionally he could feel pockets of spiked Reiatsu indicating fighting but most Shinigami ran from the wall of Hollows, most likely aiming to regroup. Ichigo couldn't decide which of those tactics to cheer given the circumstances, hence the reason he was rather impatiently waiting for the idiots here to stop being quite so stupid.

"Oy, Shinji, stop enjoying the bastard getting his for once and actually concentrate on the problem at hand for a second." Ichigo glanced at where Kensei was walking up to them with Toshiro, Matsumoto-san, Renji and Shuuhei-san. They came with baggage too, Toshiro clutching a thin, black haired girl tightly to his chest and Shuuhei had the _Thing_ draped over his shoulders.

"But- but its Ukitake taking him to task!" Shinji finally choked the frankly scary giggles back to say. "And he's right and the old fart's just as damn unwilling to listen to reason as he was back when Aizen did this to us!" The amused grin vanished a little, a look of almost detached contemplation taking over his face. "I have to laugh at how pathetic he is or I'm just going to kill him!"

Kensei smacked Shinji on the back of the head. "Kill the Hollows not the Shinigami, you annoying idiot!"

"Not like they act much better half the time." No one got the chance to respond to Shinji's sharp retort as Ukitake's voice somehow managed to climb in volume, drawing all their attention.

"-and all the people who will die today are on your head, Yamamoto-Sotaichou!"

Ichigo blinked as Ukitake finally ground to a halt, not quite comprehending the silence in his word's wake. Everyone was staring at the tableau the three scions of Shinigami society made standing there in the middle of their abandoned battleground. The Old Bastard looked at Ukitake calmly despite the younger man's rant, and if anything this just made Rukia's Taichou's face steel even more.

"Juushiro, you-"

"Are completely right!" Shinji called out in a sing-song voice interrupting the Old Bastard, making Ichigo wish Hiyori was here to pelt him with a sandal as it turned the Sotaichou's attention onto their group. He couldn't help but grasp tightly to Zangetsu's hilt, ready to draw if the Old Bastard made a move towards them.

The gravelly voice called out perfectly calmly again, "Hollows like you have no place even breathing here in the Seireitei, Shinji Hiraku."

Ichigo growled, and opened his mouth to yell at the Old Bastard only to have Shinji beat him to the punch. "We aren't just Hollows, we're Shinigami! And despite all the decades we gave you in service when that-" Shinji paused as his fists clenched, and Ichigo knew the feeling of trying to reign in anger enough to make a rational argument, he usually failed at it, "-when Aizen ripped us into shreds and did this to us you were just going to erase us to keep it from getting out on top of killing the two people who were willing to help us!" Ichigo blinked for a second, before he spun to gape at the three Vizard who stood aligned against the old man. Love and Kensei were on either side of Shinji, all three of them of them had their Zanpaktous out, and seemed ready to retaliate against anyone who moved against them in a heartbeat. Urahara just hovered to their side, letting them take center stage, carefully pulling his hat down further over his eyes.

"You are nothing but Hollows, just like the Arrancar we have already fought. You are no longer Shinigami and should be executed on the spot as a danger--no, traitors to the Seireitei, just like Aizen!"

"We've never fought Soul Society, sir!" Love cried.

"We didn't ask for this and didn't want it! We needed help but you just wrote us and all the others who died off, abandoning us after all the years we loyally served you! We were your Taichous and would have laid down our lives for you Sotaichou-sama!" That was Kensei, and he looked pissed. Ichigo could only stare at the Vizard. He'd seen them fight, Shinji against Grimmjow, and all of them against him when he was first learning to master his Hollow. He knew they could be vicious fighters if provoked. He knew they didn't like Shinigami, but not the reasons. To think they'd been betrayed just like Rukia and Orihime. Just like Ishida…

There was no justice in Soul Society.

There was also no noise. No one wanted to say anything until the Old Bastard spoke. Ichigo could see recognition on a few people's faces as they looked at the Vizard now, and the oncoming crush of Hollow Reiatsu mixed with the occasional flare of Shinigami's as they fought them…

It wasn't the time for this; they had bigger, less personal battles.

But the personal ones— those were sometimes the ones that were the most important.

"You are Hollows. There is only one response to Hollows."

Ichigo growled at the Old Bastard's cold words, furious on behalf of the three men standing there with looks of angry resignation on their faces and the other five Vizard currently working to help a world that had betrayed them. Then Ichigo wondered what the Old Bastard thought of him. He had a Hollow, and he had actively fought Soul Society and disobeyed its orders more than once. Was the Old Bastard just waiting for him to help deal with Aizen before he took him out?

"You really don't care about us at all, do you Sotaichou?" Shinji said with an off kilter tilt of his head. It seemed meant to be more of a statement, but the faintest traces of hope turned it into a sad inquiry. Ichigo felt half tempted to throw Matsumoto at him to try and cheer him up.

"How could I when you've become what you are?" Then the Old Bastard's eyes narrowed on something over Ichigo's shoulder. "Hitsugaya-Taichou, you are a prodigy the likes of which hasn't been seen before so I will give you one more chance. Answer me now: What exactly do you think you are doing?"

The kid clenched Hinamori harder and Ichigo felt pretty sure the girl would end up bruised from the boy's grip. "What, you didn't understand me earlier? I'm taking Hinamori as far away from you as I can before you 'approve her transfer' to that damned Black Hole and string her up and drain her Soul like you have those others!" He shouted back at Yamamoto in the middle of the broken ground.

That started a load of whispers.

Half the Shinigami around them hadn't known what their reason for fighting the Sotaichou was, and those that did hadn't realized they were candidates for the Black Hole they were trying to get people to out of. The news about the Vizards, some of the truths that had just been revealed for all and sundry… and Aizen's Hollows closing in. As if on cue, another short flare of Reiatsu burst against the Hollows, and Ichigo wasn't sure if he'd imagined the scream from the distance or not as the din died down in response. All of this really wasn't getting them anywhere, and Ichigo wasn't Ishida, he couldn't come up with a single caustic barb that would make people stop being idiots and think.

Ichigo couldn't imagine how all the fronts that made up their side of the field would be able to work together against the Hollows, especially since he thought he could feel the strength of a few of those lesser Arrancar in there, the Privateer Espada or whatever they were called. The one thing he felt relatively sure of was that Aizen and the other two former Taichous weren't with them, and he couldn't feel the greater Arrancar, but that just might be his lack of talent at sensing Reiatsu.

Ichigo could see enough people twitching, not to mention the grin splitting Kenpachi's face widening, and knew they were going to start fighting against each other just from the tension. He'd just started to pray they'd be able to finish their battles and be in good enough shape to take on the Hollows when Captain Unohana landed her Zanpaktou on the roof above them. She dropped down like an angel from heaven, her long black braid barely swinging.

"All of you stop where you are right now! Let us deal with the traitor's Hollows before we deal with our internal affairs. Am I perfectly clear?" Ichigo felt his own back stiffen and glanced a little sheepishly around only to see that every single person in the area was at stricter attention than when the Old Bastard had slammed his cane earlier. Unohana-Taichou's narrowed eyes widened a little, and he felt some of the tension rush out of him. "That means you too, Hirako-san. Stop smirking at the Sotaichou this instant!" Ichigo bit back a smile as Shinji gulped. "Those of you more versed in strategy than I had best come up with one as most of our usual contingencies have already been rendered moot." There was a contemplative lull as people looking around, neither side really trusting the other's leadership, and not even the Sotaichou seemed sure of how to proceed. "Well?" Her eyes narrowed again, along with Icihgo's. She was right, enough was enough.

"Best defense is a good offense. We go to them and kill them all before they get any closer," Ichigo stepped forward, Zangetsu a comforting weight on his back. He hoped that this strategy would pass muster (his normally didn't) since he really didn't want to be here as they continued arguing. He'd rather sink his sword into something then stand around uselessly.

"That's more like it!" Kenpachi called out. Ichigo glanced up at the annoyance in his voice, but luckily it seemed to be more directed at the other Shinigami.

Ukitake shifted forward, and Ichigo could practically see scenarios buzzing about his head. "That is a good start, but not all of us, just enough to do them some damage and buy us some time to complete defenses. Those who go out go in pairs. I'd say three teams of fighters?" The white haired man glanced at Kyoraku, who nodded, opening his mouth only to be cut off by the Sotaichou.

"Four. We'll need a pair to head off the group moving towards the noble families so the 6th Squad can adequately prepare the protective seals." The 8th and the 13th Captain looked at the Old Bastard contemplatively, before giving a hesitant nod. Ichigo let out the breath he'd unconsciously taken when the geezer interrupted, idly noting others doing the same. Yeah, getting these two sides to work together wouldn't be pretty. He was very grateful he'd be out fighting rather than trying to do that.

"Okay, volunteers for the teams?" Kyoraku said.

"I want on." Kenpachi grinned maniacally, not that anyone had really doubted that he'd be in the thick of the fights whether he was on a team or not.

"I'll go," Love said before Ichigo could chime in, "and I volunteer Shinji too." They all ignored the blonde's loud protestation that he wanted to stay since he was a little too hotheaded about the Sotaichou to do much good here.

"Soi Fong and I are in," Yoruichi chimed in with a smirk.

"I want a piece of them too!" Ichigo added quickly, in case they hadn't realized his suggesting it counted as an emphatically waving hand in the air. He wanted to be doing something useful.

No one else spoke up, so the Old Bastard slammed his cane onto the ground. "Komamura-Taichou, Kuchiki-Taichou, fill out the ranks. Move out, 8, maybe 9 steps. Kuchiki-Taichou, Kurosaki, you two handle protecting the path to the Noble Houses, Central 46 Chambers and Residential Towers."

Ichigo scowled, ready to argue about the Old Bastard audaciously giving him orders in Ukitake or Kyoraku's place; the geezer might be able to suggest amendments to their strategy, but he no right to actually give orders to anyone he had hurt any longer. Ichigo had barely opened his mouth when Byakuya grabbed his arm (he was going to slice the next person that did that) and shook his head, so he deepened his scowl and they all vanished in a haze of Shunpo.

They'd split into groups of two a ways out to meet the Hollows. Ichigo found it slightly amusing to see the two Vizard skirt Kenpachi just like everyone except the 11th Squad and Unohana. Shinji had practically cringed when he'd been paired up with the 11th Squad Taichou. Soi Fong went with Yoruichi (of course), Komamura and Love teamed up without any complaint, and Ichigo and Byakuya peeled off a little early to get where Byakuya wanted them to wait. Ichigo might not be able to pick apart the Reiatsus like Ishida and some of the others could, but even he could feel the spots that contained the massively more powerful Reiatsu's of the Arrancar and incomplete Arrancar. They shouldn't be too much trouble, though. So long as the teams could refrain from fighting amongst themselves they might even be able to kill most of the Hollows before they reached anyone else.

XXXXX

Before he was a Shinigami, he was a Noble. Not just any noble, but the Head of the Noble House of Kuchiki, a descendant of the Royal Line.

By his very existence he had to condone that some people were better than others, that by right of birth he was more capable of leadership than many of the others who had more years, more wisdom, or more experience than he did.

Byakuya Kuchiki, by living the life of privilege he lead, admitted that he was more deserving of it than the multitudes of Souls in the Rukongai, and that he deserved to have servants bowing to him and pandering to his every whim even as people starved in the outer districts.

However, because of this, he had also been taught he held a great responsibility to those under his care. The Noble Families might collect tithes along with the Central 46 from the people, but that was to help fund the Gotei 13 and protect the people in turn. They were allowed their place by the grace of the populace that was willing to support them. You did not betray them, you did not break them, you did not allow them to be tortured, you did not allow them to be used to the point their Souls were destroyed.

Yet, as a Shinigami, he had supported the Sotaichou, supported the Gotei 13, and the Central 46 as they did just those things.

Do or die, his Sister was going through that portal and would be kept well away from the Seireitei until Byakuya made damn sure the regime his family helped sustain would in no way allow those travisties any longer and that any attempts to stop it from doing so would fall on him alone and not her. He knew how tough the oncoming times would be. The short list that technician had given was bad enough. He didn't want to know what other systems would fail in the upcoming days and didn't want his Sister to suffer.

They'd survive Aizen's little toys, and the Noble Families would browbeat the Gotei 13 and the Central 46 into submission. They would bring justice to those that had injured their subjects and build a stronger Seireitei in place of this corrupted regime.

He glanced over at where Kurosaki kept pace with him. The orange haired Shinigami and his Fukutaichou would protect Rukia. Those three children and the others allied with them would defeat Aizen himself and any other threats arrayed against them.

Byakuya would build a world those children would be proud to come home to.

XXXXX

Ever since Yoruichi-sama had come back into her life, Soi Fong had been reevaluating that same life. As she watched her Lady, her Commander… her Taichou resting gracefully on a tower wall as they waited for the Hollows to reach them, Soi Fong finished her evaluations.

Soul Society held nothing for her now. Her Father had passed recently, and the rest of the family, including those in her Secret Mobile Corps and 2nd Squad, would never forgive her for drawing against the Seireitei for whatever reason, even if it, as it had been today, was the right thing to do.

Yoruichi-sama had explained to her the reason she'd left, explained the Vizard, how she'd saved Kisuke Urahara as he was about to be executed for helping them, how Yoruichi hadn't been able to live in Soul Society any longer and hadn't wanted to force anyone into the life of a semi-outcast. Soi Fong knew without a doubt that if the Shihoin Princess had asked her a hundred years ago to follow her, she would have without hesitation.

She couldn't decide if that would that have been the right thing for her. Even when she had hated Yoruichi-sama for abandoning her and had worked until she bled to surpass the Princess, she'd still respected and honored the woman who had encouraged her to become powerful--to become strong and beautiful and self reliant on her own…for herself, not for her family or for the Shihoin's they served more than any other.

Yoruichi-sama would accept her if she couldn't achieve that, but she'd never truly respect her. Soi Fong hadn't known if she could stand that. So rather than blindly following the woman as she would have done all those years ago, now that she'd found her, Soi Fong had kept to her duties, and thought.

Today, a part of her musings had crystallized: The idea that sometimes, going against the Soul Society was actually the correct decision for her own Soul. Soi Fong shuddered as she remembered the child, sliced to pieces by Kurotsuchi, and the quick glimpse she'd gotten of the Black Hole.

Soul Society had allowed that—encouraged it. How many of the people that Soi Fong herself had brought in were hanging in that… that… outrage?

Today she'd stood against her life, her Corps, and her Squad, as she had seen the man they served without question and the Central 46 he represented, and been sickened.

So today, now that she had five seconds that didn't involve fighting for her life, for Yoruichi-sama's life, and for the lives of all those behind her, she finished deliberating. As the Hollows closed in, Soi Fong felt lighter than she'd ever felt in her entire life. She made sure pull off her Taichou's haori and drape it across the roof they stood on before it could be shredded by her Shunko. She wanted no doubts that she was leaving the Gotei 13.

Soi Fong looked up when Yoruichi pushed away from the tower to stalk to the edge of the roof. She could only stare at this amazing woman as she glanced over her shoulder, carelessly flicking her purple tail out of her way, and smiled at Soi Fong in a way that made the younger woman's heart lighten even further. "Shall we defeat these pesky little Hollows and get about our lives, Soi Fong?"

"Yes, Yoruichi-sama!"

XXXXX

Yoruichi felt ready to obliterate some Hollows. Today had been nerve wracking (to say the least), and she needed something to take out her frustrations on before it became time to really deal with the old man and the mess he'd created. Tempers would eventually be banked so that solutions could be reached, and those arguments would be tough enough without her reaching the end of her short temper.

Damn it, how could Kisuke have missed something this freaking big when he'd been made Taichou of the 12th Squad? She could be angry at him for that at least; even though she'd been convinced he hadn't started it, or even condoned it.

She could also be furious at him for what happened to Ishida, but she was furious at herself as well. She'd known what type of person Mayuri Kurotsuchi had been, why he'd been sentenced to life in the Maggot's Nest. He actually deserved it, if not worse, unlike some of the other Shinigami imprisoned there. She'd still let Kisuke take him out though. Just like he said, sometimes her Kisuke could get distracted by the thrill of discovery and forgot the consequences.

They wouldn't forget the consequences this time, though. They'd make sure Ishida got taken care of, and help the people in the Black Hole. They'd break all the Hollows headed their way, and then go after Aizen. The man would pay, not just for turning traitor, but for ruining their lives and the lives of their friends.

She couldn't stand still any longer, and shoved off from the wall she was leaning against and looked at the Hollows they would battle shortly. She glanced over her shoulder at her apprentice and little sister. "Shall we defeat these pesky little Hollows and get about our lives, Soi Fong?"

"Yes, Yoruichi-sama!"

She smiled and made another mental note to work on getting the young woman to call her just Yoruichi.

XXXXX

It curled up from his stomach, made his fingers clench and his feet tingle with the urge to move. He could see every detail of the Hollows coming for them; smell their disgusting stench; hear their shrill voices echoing with laughter; feel their sick auras dance along his skin; taste the sharp expectation in the air.

Kenpachi knew it wasn't just from the Hollows though, the battles that would rage when all the Hollows had been dealt with were what would really matter.

He didn't really care one way or the other about what happened to souls too weak to fight for themselves, but seeing Kurotsuchi drug and bring down a strong fighter like that archer just for experiments really galled him. In the end, it hadn't taken him much to decide that come hell or high water he and his Yachiru would leave Soul Society today. He'd already gotten most of the fights out of it that he would get and, what was left wasn't worth risking Yachiru somehow catching that freak's eye. Besides, now he'd even be able to really fight the Taichou's without that strange, almost reasonable voice in the back of his head telling him it was wrong. All he'd have to do to be able to fight in the upcoming battles against Aizen was stick close to Ichigo.

Until then, he'd have plenty of other fights if the Vizards that had come to back up that fool Urahara were anything to go by.

The blonde brat on the roof across from him was perched almost lazily, and Kenpachi breathed in the former Shinigami's sharp, hollow-like scent. He'd better survive this day, because from what he'd seen of his clash with the Old Man, the strange man could fight. Kenpachi vaguely remembered the guy from when he'd been a Taichou so long ago, but that hadn't really mattered, only the quicksilver movements and the sharp twists of his blade and Reiatsu as he fought.

The shivers of pleasure at the idea of facing such a strong fighter, of finding yet someone else he could really go all out against made his whole body ignite with a rush of adrenaline.

The visions of all the beautiful battles to come danced through his mind, jumping here and there around the scarred places that had been there as long as he could remember and twisting to glee at the idea of being able to truly live in a worthy battle.

These battles, they'd be glorious.

In the end, Kenpachi Zaraki hadn't been able to hold as long as he should have. What did they expect of him anyway, with battle singing in his veins?

He threw back his head and laughed in joy, his bells ringing in his ears as he raced towards the Hollows.

XXXXX

Shinji really hadn't liked the way that Kenpachi Zaraki had been eyeing him, and breathed a relieved sigh when the nut went off half cocked for the Hollows.

He had to actually beat his Hollow over the head once since the thing was so uppity about wanting to 'come out and play with the nice man.'

He had enough to deal with thanks to the old man and this mess that Urahara had dumped partially in their laps. Not to mention the inevitable collapse of Soul Society because of today's events with Sosuke Aizen still hanging in the wings waiting to pounce like right now…

The last thing he needed was an insane Kenpachi gunning for him. He shuddered as he remembered his introduction to the man over a hundred years ago. He hadn't gotten any saner and Shinji couldn't wait to finish taking care of this mess and head back for the Human World and their safe little existence of anonymity.

XXXXX

Sajin Komamura had made up his mind, and even in light of all that had been revealed since he'd decided to enforce the Sotaichou's orders, he would stick by that. He wouldn't abandon this place that gave him meaning. He had his people to look after and his duty to Soul Society. True, when (if, more than likely given how truly horrible they were at communicating with the Seireitei) most of his Squad heard about this, they'd probably be more than happy to join the revolt, there would be some that wouldn't. There would also be other Squads and Shinigami that would lose their Taichous and need support.

Sajin sighed as he thought of how broken most of the Seireitei had been after Aizen and the others had betrayed them. He really could care less about Aizen or Ichimaru, but Tousen still hurt. The strangely fragile man with his reliance on justice and order was the last man Sajin would have ever expected to hurt those that cared for him. But he had, and Sajin had no idea why, save that Tousen believed that following Aizen was the path of least bloodshed. The large captain couldn't comprehend how that could be when the traitorous man was so selfish in his pursuits. Wanting more power than being a Shinigami could grant? Wanting to sit on the throne in Hell since the throne of Heaven was denied him? How could a path of such narrow mindedness be justice?

Justice was fighting to right the wrongs done, and try to ensure they never happened again. Like the injustice done to Tousen's unnamed friend that drove the man, like what had been perpetrated on Sajin himself his entire life because of his differences. Sajin's entrance examination had not gone smoothly, and in the end his case had ended up with Ukitake-Taichou. The man hadn't had to grant his request to join the Academy, yet he had, and because of his strange circumstances he'd drawn the personal attention of the Sotaichou rather early on. The old man had been encouraging, inviting him to tea, treating him as if he was normal, giving him a place to belong. He'd personally introduced him to his Taichou, Love Aikawa, who was now pacing him stride for stride again.

Still, as he and his former Taichou came to a halt before the mass of Hollows, he couldn't help but wonder what truth the accusations of the Sotaichou held. He'd have to see for himself, since he had been the victim of enough hearsay to not believe rumors without proof.

He watched Aikawa from the corner of his eye. The man didn't seem evil, and if nothing else, Sajin respected him for the way the former captain honestly hadn't cared what he'd looked like, and encouraged him in subtle ways to gain more confidence in himself, as well as to lose the mask he'd worn. He'd only known the man for two years, but even so, Love Aikawa had been the man that Sajin had most wanted to emulate as Taichou, even with his rather… inglorious end.

Then again, had that end really been inglorious? They'd said they'd been betrayed, and for all his protestations, the Sotaichou had never actually disagreed. Also, no one really knew exactly what had happened the night that half the leadership of the Gotei had been declared traitors and exiled. Surprisingly though, after the initial declarations, nothing else had been mentioned, like all the Central 46 and the staggering Gotei 13 had wanted to do was forget.

Still he'd persevered over the years, and he would persevere now as well. The Seireitei would survive this, and they'd survive those that would leave as a result of the injustices wrongly done in its name.

He thought of the Human child's bright blue Reiatsu spreading over the horizon and the blood coating that monster Kurotsuchi. Perhaps, if the situation had been handled better, true justice rather than just mindless fighting would have been enacted.

He thought of Hitsugaya-Taichou, the young boy obviously terrified out of his mind to the point of blind rage, not for himself but for the barely older girl, Hinamori-Fukutaichou clutched in his arms. He didn't know what the Black Hole this boy and many of the others were so horrified by was, but he would see it for himself before he judged it.

He thought of Hisagi-Fukutaichou, an honestly good and caring young man, who believed in the strength of Shinigami and their ability to strive for justice. If only so that when Tousen returned, the young man his friend had cared so much for would be in the Seireitei and still believing in him. Sajin would find what had caused the shattered look in his eyes, though he suspected it was the Black Hole that Hitsugaya-Taichou had spoken of, and the other former Taichou Muguruma, who he'd hovered near the entire confrontation.

Undoubtedly Kurotsuchi, who had been dropped unconscious at the young man's feet showing signs of Shuuhei's wind work, had something to do with it as well.

The 12th Squad Taichou seemed to be at the center of much that was happening this day, and just from what Sajin had seen he wanted the man brought to trial. If true proof arose that Yamamoto-Sotaichou had aided and abetted him in harming innocent souls like Hitsugaya-Taichou had alleged…

As much as it would hurt him, Tousen and Yamamoto (the two people who truly gave him a place to belong and the hope that if he tried hard enough he could be more than an outcast) had believed in justice. They were accountable to the same philosophies they advocated, and Sajin would make the Seireitei a place of justice and fairness they would be proud of when they found their paths again.

XXXXX

Love Aikawa's view on life was simple: It's short, so don't stress. There's no point in getting worked up over things that won't matter in a week.

People should live and let live and anything that had a problem with that should be argued and/or annoyed into agreement and ignored if they couldn't be. Anything that actively fought against letting people exist in peace should be brought down without mercy. Unfortunately, in his life, that more often than not meant Hollows, but if they grew enough, even they weren't so bad. Take the adorable little Nell they had running around now thanks to Ichigo. The tiny little Arrancar had never hurt a fly (and never would)!

Heck, even his own inner hollow wasn't too bad unless something got him riled up. He could even hold the occasional philosophical debate if the wind was blowing in the right direction.

Love sighed as he looked at his fighting partner for the next little while. He vaguely remembered the man's Reiatsu from back when he'd been Taichou, but didn't remember the face, and it was certainly something he'd remember. Maybe the kid who'd wandered around in a mask all the time?

This was all so troublesome.

Why couldn't Aizen have just worked for whatever it was he wanted rather than having to go all megalomaniacal on everyone?

Why couldn't the Sotaichou just admit that maybe he was wrong?

Seriously, Love thought as the Hollows finally reached to two of them, life would be so much better if people just respected each other. The fox-faced Taichou released his Zanpaktou to Shikai, and giant arms began to bat the Hollows into oblivion even as Love took down the Gillian in front of him with one swing.

People really just needed a little love.

Had anyone considered giving Aizen a hug or something?

XXXXX

End Chapter Nine

XXXXX

AN: Okay, my beta points out that I should probably clarify timeline, so: (She also points out that this has spoilers) This goes AU mid Hueco Muendo. Basically you know those pause points everybody had? They escaped then. Rukia got away from 9th two headed guy (Kaien wanna-be), Ishida, Renji and that brother guy slipped from 8th pink haired guy's (Mayuri wanna-be) trap, and Orihime and Ichigo slipped away with Nell after the Grimmjow fight and before Noitra, so yeah. No Captains in Hueco Mundo, no Fake Karakura Town Fight and a lot of the big reveals haven't happened.

PS, Grimmjow is alive and Espada number 6, even if on shaky footing. Ichigo doesn't know about Neliel and her lackies stayed in Hueco Mundo as informants while Nell was taken back to Earth and taken in by the Vizard.

I think that's most of things that might be confusing, let me know if you need anything explained! ^_^

C&C Please!

PPS My beta also points out, that for Love's Hollow the wind must be coming from 37 degrees West-Northwest at exactly 14 miles an hour at no more than 5 knots and no less than 2, and it must be in the afternoon otherwise he is too cranky.

PPPS Please note that we had waaaaayyyyy too much fun with this at 12:53 in the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

The Lengths One Will Go

By: Kuroi Atropos

Warnings: AU, None for this chapter specifically

Summary: When Ishida goes missing, Ichigo, Orihime and Chad begin a search that leads them to Mayuri, where they uncover far more than their missing friend. Ironic that a Quincy would lead to the breaking of the Seireitei.

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach, and he gets paid for it, not me.

AN: Okay no comment on the delay. RL was nuts and yeah….. Still not a good reason. This story isn't abandoned, and I will finish, the next chapter is mostly written and this is kinda fillerish….. Please don't hate me.

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Chapter Ten

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Hiyori had kept tabs on the other Vizard and Urahara as they joined the fighting. Luckily for them they faired alright. Then the intruder alarm went off, and she threw her senses wide to encompass more than the fight, feeling the mass of Hollows. And she felt the shield of the Seireitei opening rather than locking down like it should at the alarm. Opening in three spots, directly where three of the Gates were.

She saw the horror on the faces of those who realized what was going on. "Keep working!" She quickly activated a seal, and barely looked at Unohana who was flying past her towards where the main battle was. "Everyone listen up! We've got a bunch of Hollows incoming but it'll take a while for them to reach us and they have to go through a crap load of fighters to do it! Work until you lose your nerve then finish the patient you're working with and get through the gate and out of our way!"

She actually felt a bit of pride as nearly everyone kept working despite the incoming threat. She herself began grabbing packs of medical supplies and Shunpoing them to the Gate, back and forth, even as she redirected all incoming Squads from the hospital to dump their cargo and start getting anything else they could think of on top of that. Extreme stress had always helped her focus even more.

One of the good things about having as many large fights as they'd had in the last several hours was that most Shinigami in the Seireitei were already heading in their direction, she winced as she felt several of the guard stations fall and small pockets of fighting broke out in several other places as well.

Hiyori couldn't stop looking at the walls of the Black Hole and the seals that were glowing madly on them.

She had taken over handing out assignments for the teams of 4th Squad members and Hachi and Inoue. She was also managing which arriving patients went where, and was using the work to stave off shock and panic. They had barely arrived when the blasts of Reiatsu from the fights started. Hiyori had wanted to strangle Urahara after she had seen the nightmare in that building, but she couldn't blame him because she had been with him so often that it was nearly impossible to believe he'd had any major part of this, which left Hikifune which was also an impossibility to believe. But still, one Captain being in ignorance, she could believe; two, not so much.

They'd had maybe two or three minutes after arriving when call for help came and Unohana had waylaid them all from jumping into the fight. She'd kidnapped Hiyori and Hachi, saying she remembered them and wanted their help for specific things even as she waved Urahara and the others out, telling them to make sure at least someone made it to the Fourth Squad hospital and to make sure that everyone who needed to leave Seireitei made it out ok. Then she'd put Hiyori to work as personnel manager in place of her third Squad Iemuro who was on the other side of the gate, and Hiyori didn't mention that she thought that Iemuro was the guy that had been attacked when the first supplier woke up. They'd been really careful with the other ones because of that, but very few had had any major reactions aside from shock, fear, and confusion. The few that had other reactions were still weak enough that the on hand fighters were able to bring them down long enough to be calmed.

Snapping back to the present, Hiyori took the latest list from the 4th Squad member working with a stinking, shivering mess of a 12th Squad Member and Hiyori was half tempted to order him to act like a man. She might not have much respect for the Gotei 13, but still had some pride in her old Squad and this…thing was a disgrace!

She quickly called for an update and while she checked the teams off she sent on the next three patients for Orihime, the three for Hachi, and the five for the first of the two teams of 4th Squad members and the four for the second.

An hour and a half after the intruder alarm went off they were at 432, just over half, and according to Kotetsu-Fukutaichou, Orihime, who was at 157 people, had already drank one mega juice and was asking for a second, which was risky for a Shinigami, much less a living being. The girl would have to stop soon unless she wanted to burn out. Hachi was a bit quicker at healing, even if it was just from experience. He'd already gotten 93 people. The two teams had been able to stabilize 182, they weren't actually completely healed, but could be moved to the other side of the Gate where they could be fixed up at relative leisure.

She had felt powerful fighters fan out in a loose circle around them, even as a few more split and took off for the area that contained most of the noble houses that another section of Hollows seemed intent on. The ones that had headed for the Hollows were already fighting, Shinji and Love among them. Most of the Hollows felt powerful, but there were a few spots where even she couldn't tell the spiritual level of the monsters. Shinji, like usual, had forgotten to call her and let her know what was going on in the fighters' ranks before he'd run off like an idiot, and she could tell a couple of people were starting to look to her as well as Kotetsu-Fukutaichou for direction as Unohana-Taichou had rushed to the battle scene to begin healing the main fighters.

Risa, Misaharu and Tessai had heard from the other side of the Gate and were wanting to come through to help fight, and a few of the wakened Suppliers had turned out to be Quincies or other spiritually powerful humans and Souls. A few were Shinigami and they'd wanted to help as well when they'd gained consciousness. The 4th Squad was, of course, shouting nay to this since most of them were still pretty weak and most of the Quincies had been just as awake as Kurosaki's friend had been when Mayuri took him apart.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

About an hour after the alarm had sounded Mayuri had been brought in, showing marks from several high level wind attacks that were almost like Kensei's. Hiyori had made the 4th Squad members carrying the man stop for 30 seconds so she could pelt him across the face with a sandal. That was all she did right now though, she wanted him to be awake for the rest of it. To think she'd worked for nearly ten years next to this monster! It was enough to make Hiyori as furious as the thought of Hikifune having something to do with the Black Hole.

He'd gone through the gate, and Hiyori had insisted he get a high guard, and be separated from his Zanpaktou, firstly so that the Suppliers on the other side wouldn't tear him apart, and secondly so he wouldn't be able to escape. And that was if he woke up from the sedatives she'd insisted they feed him.

Hiyori was still determined to make his trial, and be one of the ones to execute him. She scowled when a crash distracted her from her thoughts and flipped her sandal off to go pelt the idiot that had just dropped whatever he had dropped when she was this nerveous. She didn't need crashes near her when she couldn't fight, especially when Shinji and Love were, and Kensei and Rose would be soon enough.

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He knew what his friends would tell him, that the mass of Hollows bearing down on them wasn't his fault. That Hinamori, far smaller and paler than usual in Hitsugaya-Taichou's arms, wasn't his fault. If Rangiku, Renji and Shuhei got even an inkling of what he was feeling right now, they'd tag-team him into the ground and beat him over the head.

But Kira couldn't help but feel just the smallest bit guilty. The fact was that he should have pushed himself harder, thought more and trusted his friends more. Instead he'd let himself be used by the false Captians that ruled the force currently barreling towards them.

He caught a shinigami that stumbled next to him in their rush and with a quick nod he wisely ignored the look in their eyes since it was one of empathy rather than sympathy or hatred or expectation of failure or weakness like he'd seen on so many others, including most of the Captains these days. Kira knew he was stronger than people gave him credit for. He hadn't worked himself half to death this past while just to let Renji, Rangaku and the others down again. He'd never leave their side again, literally or figuratively.

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Rukia felt the Hollows and had to will herself to stay where she was. She desperately wanted to fight. It would be better than helping the 4th Squad prep people for a move to a more defensible location while listening to her two third seats bickering. But she would do as ordered, no matter how much as it galled her things needed to be done here.

"You, make sure that goes with the next group to the Gate. Where'd that guy with the concussion go?" she snapped.

She was getting exasperated with how many people of every damn Squad were panicking now with the Hollows coming close. It wasn't like any of the fighters around them would let them get through, and even if that did happen, they were Shinigami for goodness sake!

Rukia couldn't help but look over in the direction her brother and Ichigo were fighting in. They'd ended up near the Noble Houses, and she could feel more Shinigami scouting around them and reinforcing the barricades protecting the Great Noble Families, the Lesser Noble Families and the Central 46's areas. Everyone over there should be safe.

So should everyone near her, since Zaraki-Taichou was obliterating everything in front of him; hence the reason why he'd been assigned to the Hospital. The presence near him, one that felt a bit like Ichigo's when he…when he…well, it felt a bit like Ichigo and was doing just as much damage. They were slowing a little from wholesale destruction through and she could feel them settling into actual fights now, one or two strong Reiatsus around each of the fighters, with the smaller ones playing spoiler.

In the end Rukia didn't know quite what to think about the sheer chaos that had encompassed the Seireitei today. She'd been forced by her brother to take care of the injured from the first fight when Ishida's Reiatsu had exploded from the 12th Squad Section, and Renji's weak within it. She'd wanted to go with her friends when that had first happened, but when Orihime and Chad had gone to this 'Black Hole' she'd really started cursing out her brother and Kurosaki. None of them were exactly wilting flowers that needed to be kept from danger. They were all strong, capable fighters.

Despite her brother's orders she'd taken a couple of minutes to Shunpo to the site that Renji had apparently learned about from the 12th Squad Fukutaichou before she sacrificed herself to bring Ishida's powers back under control. The sight had made her ill. She'd apologized to the 4th Squad member that had rubbed her back and even started to clean up after her before she'd completely snapped out of it. He'd just smiled at her and told her she wasn't the only one.

Rukia had taken one more look around at the disgusting display of people hanging in comas, trying to decide whether to stay or not, and had seen all of the Taichous and Fukutaichous rushing around or already encircling the area. The place had plenty of people to protect it, but the 4th Squad Hospital and the courtyard which had been converted into an overflow area didn't. Besides, Kurotsuchi had been taken to Captain Unohana's squad as well.

By the time she'd gotten back, though, Kurotsuchi was gone, and several of the others were being treated for paralysis. She'd warned her brother, and he'd just thanked her, stating calmly that they'd known they were in for a fight.

Then the fighting had actually started.

Then Hitsugaya had literally stormed in and kidnapped Hinamori-Fukutaichou with Matsumoto and the 13th squad's two 3rd seats who had ordered her to evacuate everyone to the Black Hole, informing her that they would sort them out there and that they needed to get as many people in danger of being turned into suppliers to safety. She'd taken to doing that while they started arguing about who should be in charge.

Then that long haired blonde in a poet's shirt had showed up, and had looked around before coming up to her and asking what he could do to help. She'd only blinked for a few seconds before asking how good of a fighter he was. He'd just smirked so she'd had him work on the protection of the teams running back and forth with patients and supplies.

Then the Hollows had appeared.

Then the Gates had opened.

Even then, from the feel of the Reiatsu and the spiritual pressure, all the bakas that dared call themselves shinigamie were still acting like idiots. She'd actually broken a clipboard in frustration from not being able to go smack a few people.

Seriously, it was just one damn thing after another today and she was getting ready to scream even as she pushed people to rush even faster than they'd already been running.

Then Byakuya and Ichigo and the others went off to fight the Hollows on their own and she'd kicked a wall, cringing at the hole it made.

Rukia couldn't wait until all these people were out of danger and she could take her frustration out on some Hollows…and Ichigo and Renji's skulls.

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Hitsugaya carefully hedged away from where he had placed a slumbering Hinamori, safe in as many Kido spells as he could manage. The ones he'd used would prevent her from leaving too, since he refused to make the same mistake twice when it came to protecting his dearest person.

Still, he thought as the mass of Hollows crested towards their location, it wouldn't protect her from everything which was why he was staying in the area this time. Especially since the Sotaichou didn't look like he was moving any time soon. With a steady hand (thanks only to the training that he had put himself through to not appear weak on top of young), Hitsugaya unseathed Hyounmaru and called out the Shikai release, leaping into the air. He carefully spun and reviewed the field, his mind temporairily cataloging Hinamori as well as the Black Hole and the portal to the mortal realm along with the treasures his squad—his former squad had been tasked with protecting.

He knew the battlefield laid out below him as he had drilled in theories and forms for decades, each minute detail falling into place before his eyes. Then, with a deep breath, he unleashed wicked ice spikes at the first batch of Hollows that had made it this far before spinning and launching Hyounmaru's manifestation at another batch.

On the ground and the roofs, more battles had started as Hollows that had survived Ichigo and the others reached them. This initial wave wasn't going to be a problem, but he was a bit apprehensous about what would happen when someone gave in even for a moment. It was inevitable really. Even Kenpachi could get distracted by someone that gave him a better fight and more Hollows would get around them and it would make everything so much harder. Hitsugaya took a second to glare down at where the Sotaichou was batting Hollows like they were nothing. Bastard still didn't even look guilty.

Toshiro pushed that thought to the side. He didn't have time for it right now. The best he could do was to take his frustration out on the hollows. So he did.

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End Chapter Ten

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End file.

Bleach, Drama, Friendship