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."

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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.

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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.

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End Chapter Six

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