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."

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"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.

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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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