A dark curtain of hair hung around his face as he lifted himsel from powdery white sand. The ground resembled ash and went on in every direction around him that he could see. He pushed his upper body out of it and shifted his body to get up. A pounding in his head caused him to blink hard and he rose to his feet, his form was bare and naked. Dark hair fell behind him like a cape as he slowly looked around. The world around him was wide and surrounded him in darkness with dead pale tree trunks with fiberous branches.

The sky was dark, and in the distance, he could see what could be a structure of some kind. It was too far away for him to tell what it was. Icy teal eyes glanced around, and a sound from behind him caused him to whip around with a narrowed angry stare at the person.

A tall older man with a long face and tan skin stood before him, he resembled a human but had what appeared to be some type of bones attached to his upper cheek below his right eye. He had gaunt cheeks, was well groomed, and wore a white robe of some type with black trim. The man had thin lips and elegantly combed back greying hair.

The neatly dressed man stood up from a stone he was perched on and slowly approached the foreigner. A hand held out a folded white robe,

"Good evening sir, I have this for you. Would you grace me with the learning of your name?"

The pale figure stared down at the robe and silently reached out and took it. His icy eyes laid on the white robe and he then stared at the man ahead of him. After a few quiet moments, a smooth deep voice emanated from the new comer,

"Deep Blue."

The man gave a small smile,

"Welcome to Hueco Mundo, Deep Blue."

...

-1 year later-

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she carried a heavy tray of dirty plates and glasses back to the kitchen. Ichigo rolled her eyes at Minto; who was smirking at her from the hostess stand. The red head grit her teeth and had to force herself to look away and keep working- she always got stuck doing the dirty work while Minto got to work as the hostess. Sunday brunch was almost over and without Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro working anymore, there were new waitresses who weren't quite up to par now employed at Cafe Mew Mew. The new girls were not aware of the girls being the Tokyo Mew Mew fighters.

Retasu and Masaya had gone off to start college, and Purin was traveling to look at boarding schools for her siblings. Zakuro had quit working at the cafe, but popped in every so often to eat and check in with the girls, like she was today. Things had grown quiet since the final battle with Deep Blue, but life hadn't slowed down for the girls. Ryou and Keiichiro were still around managing the cafe.

Minto waved daintily and smiled at the numerous customers leaving, she made a point to wave at her idol Zakuro who was lurking in a corner table across the room. Brunch was finally over and the crowd was dying down. Through the large party leaving came a man in a long green coat, he had frayed pale blond hair sticking out messily from under a green and white striped hat. The bird mew felt herself somewhat amused by his traditional appearance as he approached her,

"Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew Sir. I'm sorry but I'm afraid you just missed brunch, we are just about to get set up for Lunch. You still want a table?"

The man raised his head just enough for her to see his eyes from under the brim of the hat,

"I would actually like to speak to the manager if he's available."

Minto felt a twinge of annoyance, believing he could be an upset customer from a previous day. Without another word, she briskly made her way off and called Ryou from the Kitchen. Ryou was assisting Keiichiro due to the Sunday Brunch rush. Ryou scoffed and threw his arms up as he turned to face Minto,

"Really? We made it all morning without a complaint!"

The annoyed blond man wiped off his hands and exited the kitchen to follow Minto to the front of the cafe. The green clad man remained, a corny grin on his face as he met Ryou and shook his hand.

"Could we talk in private Ryou? I have something sensitive to discuss with you."

Ryou brushed him off initially not taking notice that the stranger already knew his name,

"We are just cleaning up for lunch, can you come back later?"

The man shook his head casually with a half smile,

"I'm afraid I can't... and it's somewhat urgent. I have traveled from Karakura Town to meet you Ryou, it's very important."

Ryou relented, and the name 'Karakura Town' stuck out in his mind. He recalled that city had been on the news for a few years having suspicious objects fall from the skies and numerous reported earth quakes. There were odd sightings and disappearances, the town had developed a rather spooky reputation as of late.

The lean manager led the stranger back to the hallway near the base of the stairs that led up to he and Keiichiro's apartments. Ryou leaned back against a wall and made a gesture with his hand,

"This is as private as it's gonna get at this hour, what did you need?"

The visitor took off his hat and leaned back against the opposite wall, a casual smile played his face as he introduced himself.

"My name is Urahara Kisuke. I know who you are and the fighters you are responsible for here in the world of the living. It's very impressive actually. I came to warn you about that uh... battle you all had about a year ago."

Ryou felt a chill run up his spine, this stranger seemed to know quite a bit.

"I think you have the wrong cafe Urahara, I don't know-"

"Please don't placate me. I'm here to help you and I've done my research. I came all this way to warn you- that Deep Blue character you all dealt with isn't exactly gone. I'm afraid if we don't get ahead of this problem now, he will certainly come back for you guys."

The blond manager was frozen where he stood. His body was tingling with nervous energy, the name 'Deep Blue' stood out sharply in the conversation. His guts twisted into a sickening hard knot. Flash backs of that final battle appeared in his mind and all other sound from the cafe fell away. The girls finally had a sense of normalcy and were settled in their regular lives again. Several seconds of silence passed as the two men stared at one another. Ryou felt his heart begin to race as his mind raced. Deep Blue couldn't be back. They killed him. He was gone. He had to be.

"I'm..."

Ryou couldn't find words and trailed off, Urahara interjected,

"I know this is shocking news. But you're not exactly alone in this I assure you. Would you mind if I addressed your whole team?"

...

Minto, Ichigo, Zakuro, and Keiichiro accompanied Ryou after he had abruptly shut down the cafe. The customers were forced out and the group met in the basement. The stranger from the cafe stood before them. Minto furrowed her brow and leaned over to Zakuro,

"I saw him earlier in the cafe."

Urahara smiled sheepishly as he introduced himself to the small group,

"So I already introduced myself to your manager a little while ago. I uh... have some bad news. I know your whole team isn't here, but this will have to do for now. You girls are a team of, well, for lack of a better word, super heroes I suppose. You engaged in a battle with a guy by the name of 'Deep Blue' or something similar to that right?"

The girls nodded, confused expressions painted their faces as they listened intently to this seemingly knowledgable stranger. Ichigo shot a concerned glance over to Ryou, who appeared highly tense and was intently focused on the visitor speaking. Urahara continued, in a more serious tone,

"He's not gone. His body may be gone, but his soul is not. Deep Blue is still a great threat, and will be returning. I'm not sure-"

He was abruptly cut off by Ichigo. She jolted up to her feet and interrupted him,

"What are you talking about?! We killed him, how can his soul be a threat?"

Minto chimed in behind her, "And who even are you?"

Ryou hissed at the girls,

"This is serious, You guys need to pay attention!"

After a brief pause, Urahara continued. The tension in the room was stifling. He broke it down piece by piece to the girls and their male cohorts: The Soul Society. Hueco Mundo. Soul Reapers and Substitute Soul Reapers. The battle with Aizen. The captains and divisions. He pointed out that the Soul Society got an influx of souls when Deep Blue's Ship obliterated part of Tokyo. This sudden mass killing caused the Soul Society to take notice. Deep Blue's soul was now gone, and since it is so powerful, it raised suspicion.

His explanation went on for almost two hours. Each of the mew team were listening intently, their gaze not moving from Urahara for a moment. When Urahara finally finished, he opened his arms widely,

"I know you have questions- Lets hear 'em"

Zakuro rocked back onto the couch she was seated on, her eyes closed and her head leaned back, taking it all in. She had been silent the entire time, but was feeling the mounting stress weigh down on her. Minto sat cross legged, anxiously twiddling her thumbs with a perturbed look on her face. Ichigo was bouncing her foot nervously and piped up first,

"So what do we do?"

Ryou forced a chuckle,

"Million dollar question Strawberry-head."

Urahara shifted his weight and slid his hands down into his pockets,

"I need you all to go to the Soul Society. The Head Captain will want to meet you, and we can enhance your powers there with some training. We will need to prepare for what could happen. This Deep Blue guy has had almost a year to possibly bolster his own power... you guys wouldn't be able to defeat him since you haven't trained at all in the last year I'm assuming."

Urahara was right. Ryou put his head down in his hands, the girls hadn't trained because they felt the alien invasion was over. They weren't ready for another fight with Deep Blue currently. Zakuro took a deep breath and looked over to Minto as she spoke up finally,

"Go to the Soul Society? Like when?"

...

It was around 1am now, Urahara had stayed for a few hours and laid it all out for the team. The group remained in the basement of the cafe after he left, discussing what was to come.

"I just don't understand how this is our problem now? We beat him, we should be done. If he's dead, he's their problem now."

Minto snapped, her arms crossed as she listened to Ryou respond,

"We defeated Deep Blue, and we need to finish the job. Just because he's only a soul now doesn't mean he wont come back to this world to destroy it. Urahara is offering us help, which we have to take to get you girls ready."

Zakuro interjected cooly,

"As frustrating as it is...If he's still around, he'll surely come after us. There is no way around it. He would certainly come after us first if he comes back."

Keiichiro had his head low with his elbows sitting on each of his knees, his eyes set on the ground. He was feeling devastated, he had wished this was all over and the girls could go back to their lives. Ichigo then spoke up,

"This is all so crazy, I feel like I'm going to wake up and it's going to be a dream! I can't just up and leave and go to a soul world! That's insane!"

Ryou hissed at her, a mug of coffee in his hand. He was leaned against the wall near them with Keiichiro to his side.

"You are still a part of the team! We have to act, or Deep Blue and whoever else is in that spirit realm could come after us. Deep Blue still is a threat. You heard the Urahara guy, he knows what the fuck he's talking about. He knows about us. He knew about the work I've done. He knows that wherever Deep Blue is now, he's becoming more powerful and we either sit here and die when he come back for us, or we get up and get to training."

The arguing went on for hours, and it was settled that Retasu and Purin would be updated as soon as they returned. But for now- Immediate action had to be taken.

...