When she heard her orders, the hair at the nape of Kaede's neck stood on end at the mention of a strange Hollow. Kaede nodded her head once and answered "I'll check in on her." Turning on her heel to face the doorway, she made her way to the Senkaimon with haste. Perhaps a little more haste than was entirely necessary, but the memory of what had happened to Tobio was still fresh on her mind.
She'd known Tobio since way back, when she still ran with the gangs in the 54th district. He was a young soul; headstrong, a show off, and a brash twerp. He used to call her 'Anego', and was almost like a younger brother to her. When she up and left the district to train at the academy, it didn't take long for him to decide he wanted to too. On the other hand, it did take him a while to grow strong enough for acceptance. By the time he entered Shin'o, Kaede was already a lieutenant.
Whatever had killed him, they still hadn't found it, and it hadn't look like they were going to find it. For exactly that reason though, Kaede was eager to get to Karakura town. If it was still there, she owed it to Tobio to get some pay-back.
A string of consecutive shunpo brought her to stand at the foot of the gate, where she caught her breath for a moment as the Kido corps finished their preparations to open it. As soon as the portal was made, she dashed through it, a limiter seal forming on her as she made her way to the world of the living.
When she arrived, she took up a high vantage point atop a telephone pole before visualizing the spirit ribbons. The distinctive red of a soul reaper's reiryoku formed two ribbons quite nearby, which gave Kaede pause for a moment. The captain-commander had only mentioned one soul reaper already in the field. Whatever the case might be, Kaede made her way towards them at high speed, coming to a stop balanced on the corner of a roof. The spot overlooked a scene where a man she didn't recognize, and Hollow in a dress, and the third seat of squad 13 stood in a face-off. She made no effort to hide herself, and drew Higanbana from its sheath.
"What's going on here?" she asked, not singling out any of them for an answer. Her eyes narrowed as they fell on the Hollow.