Kana had had a short nap before being woken, not by Orihime or Ishida, but by the thrumming of a heated battle a ways away. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who felt it.
"Kurosaki-kun is fighting again..." Kana sat up and looked at Orihime, giving her a smile.
"Lucky bastard. The more he fights, the closer he gets to saving Rukia." Standing, Kana brushed her legs off and stretched with a yawn.
"Where did Ishida go?"
"He went out to find us Shinigami uniforms so we can blend in! It's such a smart idea!" Orihime chirped and Kana shrugged.
"Yeah, it's probably best if you stay out of any fights. I know you want to do a lot, Hime, but we'll need you able to heal us. You're not a fighter." Orihime frowned slightly but nodded. It was only a few minutes later when the door slid open and Ishida came in dragging two unconscious Shinigami. Kana whistled lowly and helped him drag them in, feeling their uniforms off of them and throwing a set at Uryu before taking Orihime to the back and helping her change.
"Now listen, if you're gonna impersonate a Shinigami you're gonna need to keep as low a profile as possible." Kana said after they were changed, watching for a patrolling group to walk past.
"Stick to large groups, figure out what squad they're in, and if anyone asks who you are say you just graduated from the Shino Academy and were recently recruited into that squad." She explained and Orihime clapped lightly.
"Wow, Kana! You know so much!"
"How do you know so much anyway?" Ishida asked and Kana frowned at him.
"Cause I asked questions and paid attention, now shut up and follow me." She said, diving out of the building and jogging quietly to catch up to a patrolling group, giving Ishida and Orihime a grin as they caught up and fell into formation. They looked a smidgen nervous, but other than that they fit right in.
"Fuckin' Ryoka. When I catch 'em I'm gunna fuckin' bleed 'em dry, interuptin' mah nap." One of the Shinigami at the front of the group said, picking at his teeth with his finger nail.
"Oi, oi, the captain would be furious if he found out we killed a ryoka instead of arresting them." Another, shorter one told him, making a hand motion to the side and as a whole the group turned on the spot and started marching the way they had came. Ishida was quick enough to turn, but Kana had to grab Orihime's arm to get her to spin with them. Taking note of their positions now, it was up to Kana to give the signal when the group had to turn again. Orihime's fingers grasped Kana's shihakusho, and Kana lightly shook her head as they turned a corner.
"How many ryoka did the report say there were?"
"I think it was five? A short woman, a skinny guy in white, a buff mexican lookin' dude, an orange haired shinigami, and a tall female shinigami with dark hair."
Kana was never more glad her hair colour was normal. If she stood out anymore, she wouldn't be able to conceal herself like this.
"Ye'd think we were given be'er 'splanations of these people so we know 'em on sight."
"Yeah, but what can you do? It was the 12th Squad on lookout so I'm just surprised we even got that much information without Crotch-key's salves fucking it up." The group laughed as a whole and Kana tensed as they rounded another corner. Ahead of them looked to be a dead end, but just before it was a right turn, and she was in the position to either make that turn or signal the group to rotate.
"Kana-chan...what are you going to do?" Orihime whispered beside her and Kana shushed her softly. It took all of her control to not show her relief when there was an explosion from just behind her. The group was split in two as the wall to their left crumbled and Kana pulled Orihime behind her as she turned to see what caused it. Crumbled where they had just stood was a familiar figure to Kana. Renji Abarai, looking near death. Kana stared out towards the directions he flew from to see Ganju carrying Ichigo's body, a short Shinigami struggling with his Zanpakuto.
"Abari fuku-taichou!" While everyone was distracted Kana lifted Orihime onto her back and grabbed Ishida in a bridal hold, flash stepping away as fast as she could with the extra weight.
"Kana-chan, where are we going?" Orihime's arms tugged a little tighter around Kana's shoulders and Uryu looked incredibly offended and was flushed, but wasn't struggling.
"Away from here. Ichigo beat that red headed guy, Renji Abarai, but he didn't look so good. There was also a few higher level reiatsu signatures heading our way, probably around the same level as the Lieutenant I had fought earlier." She explained, slowing down a bit once she didn't feel anyone nearby.
"We need to regroup, but I'm not sure how. Ichigo is somewhere back that way, he has Ganju with him and some other Shinigami who seemed on our side. Chad's a long ways a way, he was defeated a while ago but he seems to be holding steady so they must be healing him. I'm not sure where Yoruichi is, but she's resourceful so I'm not too worried." Ishida pushed on her shoulder so she let him down, Orihime hopping off her back as well.
"F-for now, anyway, we will need to find somewhere to hide out for the night. Tomorrow we can focus on getting back to Kurosaki, then we will be able to go save Kuchiki." The Quincy said as he brushed himself off and straightened his clothes.
"Sounds like as good a plan as any. Let's just hope Ichigo can manage to not get himself killed by then."
They were lucky enough to have found another storage shed, taking turns keeping watch throughout the night though Kana had protested Orihime being on watch. They managed to make it through the night however, and were sneaking out as the sun was barely rising on the next day, painting the seireitei pink.
"It's so quiet..." Orihime whispered as they made their way towards were Kana and Uryu sensed Ichigo. There was a tense air throughout the entire place, and it was easy to tell something had happened during the night. What that was, however, was a mystery to them. There was something else worrisome to Kana as well.
She had the feeling of eyes on her. It had been there since they had left the storage shed, but nobody had come out and attacked her yet and it was driving her crazy until finally she had had enough. Taking hold of Orihime's wrist, both the shorter girl and the Quincy gave her a look of confusion.
"I want the both of you to go find Chad," It was likely safer there, and they were most likely going to simply be held under arrest rather than killed.
"I'm going to go get Ichigo and then we'll meet up with you to go get Rukia." She only felt as though she was being watched by one person, so Orihime and Uryu would likely be safe if they split away from her. Orihime's eyes welled up with tears and she seemed ready to protest but Uryu stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"No, she's right Inoue. The Shinigami will likely try to find the ones with stronger reiatsu, like Takahashi and Kurosaki. They'll be safe and can fight alongside each other. We'll be better off finding Chad and keeping a lower profile." He muttered, adjusting his glasses and Kana nodded before grinning at the orangette.
"Stay safe, alright? I'll see you later!" She called as she started jogging away, picking up speed until she was flash-stepping away from the buildings. She could still feel the eyes on her, which was reassuring as it likely meant she was being followed instead of Orihime being in more danger than she generally was. During her short time in the seireitei, she had gotten outstandingly better at sensing people's reiatsu signatures, but whoever was following her was doing an incredible job of keeping theirs hidden. If Arashi hadn't felt so unsettled, Kana wouldn't have even started to suspect anything.
"Dammit, Yoruichi, where did yo-" Kana started to murmur to herself before being cut off by a sharp pain in the side of her ribs. Here eyes widened as she flew sideways, crashing through three walls before crumbling at the base of a building. Coughing, Kana scowled at the blood she spat up, and flared her reiatsu out in anger before freezing at the tip of a blade pressing against her throat. Looking up, Kana narrowed her eyes at her attacker.
The same height as Rukia, with a tighter frame and a serious expression. Short black hair with two thin long braids with golden hoops at the end. Wearing a Captains Haori. Fuck.
"...Soi Fon, Captain of Squad 2...and Leader of the Omnitsukido..." Kana muttered, mostly to herself as a shiver ran down her spine. Yoruichi had given her a list and description of all the Captains and Lieutenants that she knew of, but Soi Fon was the one she was warned the most about. Soi Fon would be the one to kill any one of them with absolutely no hesitation, and looking into cold eyes Kana knew this was true. The blade pressed a little deeper and a bead of blood came forth, dripping down Kana's neck and into the valley of her breasts beneath the bandages.
"How do you know my name, Ryoka? Who fed you information?" Even her voice was cold, and Kana shuddered. If she reached for Arashi, she was dead in one quick move. But still, Kana wasn't about to give up easily. Slowly standing and ignoring the pain as Soi Fon's Zanpakuto continued it's light slice into her skin she leered at the shorter woman.
"Well now, I see why Yoruichi was so fond of her little bee." Soi Fon's eyes widened slightly in shock but that was all Kana could take note off before she was running for her life. It was time to see which of Yoruichi's students was faster.