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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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End Chapter Five

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