Y'all excited for the new chapters? I know that some are short, but they are building into a huge part of the story, each and every one of them. So please, just read and enjoy.

Phases

Ichigo looked around Urahara's shop as he waited for said man to return. Orihime, Chad and Uryuu sat by his side in silence, none wanted to break the tension in the air. Well who would when one of your friends wants to go chasing down your arch enemy for a person that you had only known for a little while and spoken to less than a day. Ichigo on the other hand was furious when he heard that Soul Society was on lock down and would be sending no help to recover their missing Shinigami. When he had first heard about it he had yelled and clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

The sound of a door opening brought everyone's attention back to their surroundings and towards Urahara Kisuke. The green and white hat clad man frowned as he looked at the faces of the teens before him, his face hidden by his usual fan. He knew that Aizen would try something, but he never expected this. In fact, he was surprised to find out that the man was going straight for Ichigo, but was now willingly holding Hanazono instead. "So, you all need a gate to Hueco Mundo huh? Guess you came to the right place." Suddenly he grinned and snapped his fan shut. "To the basement! Oh and Ichigo, you're body and Hanazono's were brought here. So you won't have to worry about your family finding out that you're not breathing."

Slowly the group made their way into the basement, each climbing down the ladder one at a time. Just before Ichigo went to jump down Urahara placed his hand onto his shoulder. "Where have you been? It's been two weeks Ichigo and no one's heard anything from you. So where have you been?"

"I'm not really sure where it was. But just be glad that I was there." With that Ichigo jumped straight down. Hueco Mundo was just a gate away. Just a little more until they could have their friend with them once more.

Byakuya marched through his manson with pure determination written in his eyes. Hitsugaya was right behind him. "This will never be spoken of to any other. What you're about to see, who you're about to meet. He could very easily kill the both of us." After slamming open various doors they finally came upon a double set of doors that were pure white. Not a single speck of color or dust muted the color. Byakuya stopped right before them with one hand ready to open the doors. "You'll go through these, and you won't look back."

Hitsugaya nodded and placed his own hand upon the door. "Captain Kuchiki..."

"Don't, just go." With that Hitsugaya opened the door and walked through, Byakuya closing it behind the young captain.

Orihime watched as her three friends walked through the gate into Hueco Mundo. She wished that she could go with them, but Chad and Ichigo had someone convinced her to stay and look after things in the Human World. They had said that if anyone tried to attack this home, it would be up to her to hold things steady until they were able to return.

"Don't worry," Urahara said as he waved his hand around in a nonchalant manner. "It takes a lot to kill those teens. They'll be back sooner than you can say Soul Candy." With that, he walked off towards the ladder up.

Orihime took one last glance at the gate before following him. "Soul Candy," She whispered.

Hanazono shivered as the cold night air surrounded her. For once she'd made it past her guards and into the darkness of Hueco Mundo's night. The air, although weight down, was cleaner than inside the building. Slowly, she walked farther into sands, trying to keep her eyes open and her body moving. The moon shown down in pure light, bathing the ground and alighting Hanazono's figure. Suddenly everything around her started to become hazy.

"Well well, this was not what I was expecting. To think, of all the people in the worlds, you would be the one to come my way." Hanazono tried to force herself forward and she heard the man's voice in her ears and mind. The more though that she tried to focus on the here and now, the more her vision became darker.

"You will help me." Another voiced hissed.

"Oh..." the first man chuckled, "Then I believe, the time has finally come... Former Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads."