-After the events of the beast sword arch- (because i like the zanpakuto spirits! Spoiler warning for the beast sword plot.)
Shuhei had been busy with helping the others reclaim their lost or rouge zanpakuto, but once everything had calmed down his mind drifted back to that girl in the forest. he couldn't make sense of why she'd let him go if she really thought her purpose was to kill. he found himself wondering if Sandra's zanpakuto had gone rouge as well and because he himself had regained his powers but not made up with his zanpakuto spirit he decided to go look for her.
in the forest he looks around quietly. 'i don't see her... maybe she died.' he frowns. "sandra!" he calls and then waits for a reply.
"Sandra is no longer residing here." A dark eeree voice chuckles.
"who are you?" Shuhei shakes slightly as he reaches for his zanpakuto handle. 'that spirit pressure not only is it strong but it feels like... death...'
a dark cloaked hooded figure steps up from the shadows. "Shuhei hisagi... the one that got away." the dark voice chuckles and holds up it's zanpakuto. "Your a fool for coming out here."
"where is Sandra?" Shuhei draws his zanpakuto and faces the dark cloaked figure.
the figure laughs darkly. "you mean my former master... why not see for yourself." he moves part of his cloak to reveal a standing up but lifeless looking Sandra. "because we are bonded by blood i could not exist without her so the master had to become the subordinate."
"S-sandra!?" Shuhei stares at the scene before him.
"she can't hear you." the dark figure chuckles. "Sandra never did understand her full power... i am strong enough to take down the soul society once and for all yet she would have me hide my face in the woods!" he turns to Shuhei and points with a boney finger. "you are the only person to venture in this place and survive, but that's because she mistakenly believed you and her were the same! now i will finish what she could not. I, Shiketsueki, shall kill you!" the cloaked figure slides the zanpakuto across Sandra's arm causing a cut and her blood to run onto the blade.
'he's manifested like everyone else but he can't unseal himself without her so he left her alive... that monster! he cuts her every time he needs to release!' Shuhei holds his zanpakuto up. "Reap! kazeshini!" the two clash zanpakuto. 'i could hardly beat her the first time! this is going to be tough.' after putting up a good fight he gets tossed aside and Shiketsueki goes for the killing blow.
"hey!" Kazeshini growls wrapping his zanpakuto chain around Shiketsueki. "Nobody kills my master but me!" he growls and pulls the chain tight. he glances over at Shuhei. "finish him off we don't have all day!"
Shuhei nods gratefully and impales the hooded figure shattering the zanpakuto.
Kazeshini frowns slightly and looks away. "still not your friend." he grumbles. "i just didn't want to see you die fighting somebody else's zanpakuto."
"understood." Shuhei frowns and looks at Sandra laying on the ground. he starts walking over to her slowly remembering that dead lifeless look in her eyes she had before. "she could be dead... but i should just check..."
"there isn't a point." Kazeshini growls. "her spirit pressure is down to nearly nothing. if she isn't dead now she will be soon." he follows shuhei to Sandra and holds up his blade. "i'll end it right now so she won't have to suffer."
"wait." Shuhei frowns. "i think she might be ok." he bends down next to Sandra and checks her for signs of life. "she's breathing... of course Shiketsueki would have needed her alive... he was using her blood to release himself." shuhei smiles a bit. "i'm glad i wasn't too late... i don't care if you help or not." he grumbles and picks Sandra up off the ground. "but we don't have to be enemies kazeshini." he begins walking carrying sandra.
"wait where are you going!?" Kazeshini protests.
"squad four." Shuhei replies. "Do me a solid and drop Shiketsueki off at squad twelve so it can be repaired."
"you're not the boss of me!" Kazeshini growls and picks up the pieces of Shiketsueki anyways. "i'm doing it because i want to!"
-later-
Kazeshini meets back up with Shuhei in squad four medical treatment area. Sandra has still not woken up but is in stable condition now.
"What did captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi say?" Shuhei asks as his zanpakuto spirit jumps in through the window because he didn't want to be seen entering through the door.
"how the hell should i know!?" Kazeshini protests. "i left the zanpakuto like you said and then i came straight here. i don't understand why you insist on saving her. last time you met she attempted to kill you."
"because i think she's just lonely kazeshini." Shuhei mumble. "after all an ability like death and control... even the way she summons her blade with her own blood is terrifying... people like that don't have a lot of friends."
Kazeshini frowns and crosses his arms. "i see then you really think she's like us then? or rather you since i hate your guts."
"i do..." Shuhei frowns. "mislead by conception and tossed out even by central forty six... she was alone for who knows how long... and then to have the one thing that's suppose to always be your support turn you into a human sacrifice..."
"Shiketsueki?" Kazeshini raises his eyebrow. "your saying you feel bad because her zanpakuto nearly killed her and was using her like a puppet?"
"yes..." Shuhei nods. "normally i wouldn't care... i'd have turned her in... i'd have defeated or even killed my opponent... but something just won't let me rid myself of this person."
"I really will never understand why you go out of your way to help people who are beneath you." Kazeshini smirks. "i see how it is. i'll get out of your hair then." he goes back to the window. "next time soul reaper we will fight for real." 'can't tell him that i think the same way because then he'd know that i know he likes her. i'm not sure why he just does.'
"alright." Shuhei nods. "cya i guess."
Kazeshini nods and rolls his eyes. 'i'll never understand why that guy always wants to help people he doesn't know.' he leaps out the window and disappears.
-later-
Shuhei is sitting in a comfy chair slumped back with his balled up fist on his cheek. "i probably should have told somebody what i was doing. i've been gone too long i bet people are beginning to worry." he wonders.
"ug..." Sandra grumbles.
"Sandra." Shuhei sits up and looks at sandra who still has her eyes closed.
"sh-shuhei?" she grumbles and opens her eyes slightly. then her eyes open wide and she sits up and looks around. "what!? wait where is Shiketsueki!?"
Shuhei smiles a tiny bit. "Your zanpakuto is being repaired. i sort of broke it. i'm sorry but it's the only way to fix them." he stands up. "how do you feel?"
Sandra looks at her hands and frowns. "i'm all cut up... like i was summoning my zanpakuto... but i don't remember anything after..." she looks around quickly again. "my zanpakuto Shiketsueki came to life and i was fighting with it." she looks at her shoulder. "i got cut... and then everything went dark."
"Yeah Shiketsueki was using you like a personal puppet. It had you completely shut off and was just using your blood to release it's shikai. it would have had to be your blood because it was all bones so i guess that means it can't bleed." Shuhei frowns. "it didn't seem to care about anything else really it just really wanted me dead."
"thats right." Sandra stands up. "because you're the first person i've ever let go." she frowns. "normally without hesitation i would cut down any soul reaper that wondered into my place, but when i saw your zanpakuto i thought... maybe we're the same. when Shiketsueki became real he confronted me about why i hadn't killed you. it was like my head was clear for the first time in years... i could finally remember my purpose." she clenches her fists. "the whole time... i thought i had power but really it was manipulating me all along."
"well the point is it's gone now. right?" shuhei frowns. "how could a sweet little girl like you make something so horrible."
"Shiketsueki was never mine to begin with." Sandra frowns. "it was given to me... i don't remember the young man's name. Marimo? yeah i think marimo sounds right..."
"when did this happen?!" Shuhei asks astounded.
"oh about hundred years ago... i told you i was alone for awhile." Sandra frowns. "the power was what caused central forty six to abandon me... i thought it was because they believed i was to strong because that's what Shiketsueki had told me... foolishly i believed him and was only dragged deeper into the darkness..."
Shuhei pulls her into a one arm hug. "i'm sorry that happened to you... if you like i can have mayori discard Shiketsueki for you."
"but without a zanpakuto i can't be a soul reaper..." Sandra frowns. "that's all i ever wanted."
"we'll get you one then. until then i think you can still come train with me." Shuhei smirks a bit. "As acting commander and lieutenant of squad nine i would be honored to welcome you to squad nine."
-later- (after obtaining a zanpakuto that does not have a name, and through the recommendation of Shuhei hisagi, Sandra was able to join Squad nine. she has a zanpakuto that doesn't currently have any abilities as she is still trying to learn it's name.)
"How do you feel now?" Shuhei asks.
"better." Sandra smiles a bit. "it's been so long since i've been among people. My head feels much lighter too without the constant pressure of Shiketsueki whispering lies into my ears."
"i had a feeling it was something like that." Shuhei remarks as the two walk aimlessly around the squad nine barracks. "you're not much different then Koga that way. in the end though muramasa realized his master had never seen him as more than a tool."
"mura...masa?" Sandra's eyes grow wider. "MURAMASA! that's the name of the guy that gave me that zanpakuto!"
"really?" Shuhei puts his hand on his chin. "perhaps that's a zanpakuto he couldn't control... since it needs blood to wield. It was probably part of his plan to use you to keep that zanpakuto in his control but somehow it backfired since he never bothered to show up to try to fight us."
"probably." Sandra frowns. "i'm glad i don't need to use that zanpakuto anymore."
"You're not busy tonight are you?" Shuhei asks having not really been paying attention to the last thing she said.
"um... no i don't think so. why?" Sandra replies.
"oh it's just... as lieutenant i have all this paperwork i need to do. i wondered if you might help me since you aren't busy." Shuhei replies.
"sure." Sandra smiles and follows Shuhei to the office.
"listen i know its probably strange to you that i've done all these things for you." Shuhei mumbles while pausing after finishing a paper. "it kind of confused me at first too. but now i'm just kind of glad i did."
"i'm nobody special. You could have just killed me." Sandra frowns.
shuhei smirks slightly. "yes i supposethat's true but then i wouldn't have been able to see your cute smile. The youthat i met before is completely unreal compared to the you i know now. i am very glad i decided to let you stay."