Kana's original intention was to train for a few weeks, go back to the outside world and check up with her friends, and then repeat until the 3 months were up. That was thrown for a loop when it turned out she was obsessed with Kido. But fuck, was she bad at it. The reiatsu control was the easy part, but the memorization of the long ass chants and the different hand movements needed for each one didn't quiet feel right. What didn't come as a surprise though, was the fact that she was able to master any lightning based Kido with no incantation after just a few weeks. The other ones were the ones she had issues with. She was steadily improving out of sheer stubbornness and although Tessai told her the rate she was growing was amazingly swift she felt it wasn't anywhere near fast enough. She was determined to master Kido by the time her time here was up though, and kept at it. Her training with Tessai covered most of the first week but slowed down a bit to make room for more after Urahara started her on Zanjutsu as it was most definitely her weakest point.
That part was barely coming along. When she had Arashi released it was better, she felt more natural with the whip in her hand, but in his unreleased form she had a hard time with how stiff the blade was. She was making progress though, and just so long as she continued to improve she would have to deal with the pace. It was better than staying as shitty as she was. At the very least, her endurance was up and that was always a bonus.
The real point of improvement came when Yoruichi returned. Hoho, Shunko, Hakuda, how to fight in her wolf form, how to use her powers in her wolf form! Yoruichi popped a joke often that she improved faster with her cause she was like a dog chasing a cat.
She was also trying her best to learn Bankai, but she couldn't tell if she was making progress on that front at all. Arashi kept quiet, and neither Urahara nor Yoruichi could tell her how it was going from an outside perspective.
Where she focused the most of her attention though, was her own powers as a Godai.
'This is the one thing we have that Aizen doesn't.'
'Which means it's the one area he can't beat us in.'
'So if we focus on this power,'
'We'll have something to hold against him.'
'It won't be much.'
'But it's better than nothing at all.'
She didn't know a whole lot about her powers but fuck was there an improvement. She went from being able to create a little light show, or sending some sparks down her arm to being able to summon thick forks of purple lightning from a false thundering sky. She could force her lightning to take figure and hold for a few seconds, she could use it to bind people, she could use it to numb limbs, she could use it to blind people, and as she grew into these powers her bond with Arashi only got better. With him being a God of storms himself he was ecstatic at her growth and they were currently in the process of trying to see if she could form the thunder clouds that arrived when she released Arashi at will. She wasn't able to yet, but she would make the sky go from clear to slight overcast and that was better than nothing.
'Now you don't have to worry about burning that porcelain skin of yours.' Arashi would comment in an amused tone every time they practiced this.
Which brought another thought to her head two months later on a Saturday morning as she was getting ready to head out to the outside world and check in on people before she ended up leaving. Her appearance had changed more than she ever thought it would. Luckily she didn't get any taller. she already felt like a fucking giant towering amongst her friends. Even Ishida was an inch shorter than she was. she was put right head to head with Ichigo, so only Chad stood taller than her.
With Tessai's insistence on a clean diet, her improved mood the stronger she got, and her constant exercise under false sunlight, she had filled out a bit so she didn't look quiet as gangly as she used to, though she was still skinnier than Tessai was happy with. Even her breasts and ass had filled out and Yoruichi had ended up taking her shopping for new lingerie. Her skin went from pasty to a healthy pale, she had trimmed her bangs and hair and started wearing it in a high ponytail with a purple ribbon similar to when she released Arashi. She had also noticed a slight change in her eyes that was sort of freaking her out. At first she thought it was a trick of the light, but the closer she bonded with Arashi the more noticeable it became. Her eyes were lightening from the black-grey they were before and taking on a slight purple tint. There was nothing she could do about it and she had never been one to care much for how she looked anyway, so she ignored it in favour of changing into a t-shirt and jeans. It felt weird to wear non-traditional clothing after 2 months straight of shihakusho and kimonos, but that was whatever.
"I'm heading out now! I'll be back in time for supper!" She called as she left the front door, Tessai's voice telling her to be safe muffled behind her.
"Alright...Orihime first then." Kana mumbled to herself as she pulled her phone from her pocket, texting as she followed her own reiatsu trail where it had locked onto Orihime's signature. Her lips curled into a wide grin as her phone started ringing an overly cute little tune.
"Oi, Hime!" She answered, eyes looking skyward as she walked.
"Kana-chan! You've missed so much!"
"Have I? Like what?"
"Oh, um, well. There were a bunch of Hollow-people in the park and they almost killed Tatsuki-chan and Chad and me but then Kurosaki-kun saved us but he got really hurt! And then Urahara-kun and Yoruichi-san showed up and stopped them and-"
"Woah woah woah, hold up, when the fuck did all this happen?" There was a long paused before Orihime's voice chirped up.
"2 days after you left!" Kana groaned, pinching at the bridge of her nose.
"You're fucking kidding. Shit all happens when I'm around! Then the second I go to train all this shit happens!" Orihime giggled on the other side before going quiet again.
"Ne, Kana-chan...?" Kana's brow furrowed as she frowned, picking up pace a little bit. Orihime's tone took a sudden drop into 'sadville'. It was the first time she had heard Orihime's voice sound so...dull.
"What is it?"
"Do you think...you could teach me to be strong?" Orihime's voice was a near whisper at this point, and Kana found her legs taking her into a jog, then a full on sprint. Lucky for her, she was able to keep a steady tone as she ran without getting winded.
"Hime, you're plenty strong. You're just not a fighter the same way Ichigo and Chad and myself are. I'm almost to your apartment, we'll talk more when I get there."
"Okay. Um. Rangiku-san is here too. Her and Hitsugaya Taichou and Madarame-kun and Ayasegawa-kun and Abarai-kun and Rukia-chan are all here from the Soul Society! Rangiku-san is staying with me and...um...I hope you don't mind...I told Hitsugaya-Taichou he could stay at your place since you weren't using it! I'm so sorry!" Kana breathed a sigh of relief before laughing as she rounded the corner and bounded up the stairs, hanging up the phone as she went. She knocked twice on Orihime's door before it was opened and Orihime beamed happily at her.
"It's fine, Hime. My parent's pay for that apartment, it's good that someone uses it."
