Cruelty. Yes, there was cruelty, desire, and an insatiable thirst for blood. But hate? Fear? Anger? No, there was none of that. He only felt slight irritation at the one who killed him, and he was by no means...incompetent.

He would do wonders as a shinigami...but that bloodlust could prove to be a problem. Besides, he was honest. If he said he was going to brutally murder you, and watch you scream and slowly wither away, he would hunt you down to do it, even if only for that promise.

Okay, so that might have been a bad thing, but that wasn't the point here. Maybe, as a shinigami...if his memory was erased entirely...no.

If he happened to remember, then there would surely be chaos. He would probably have a relapse, and with his power, even without a zanpaktou or proper shinigami training...well, the best thing that would happen is that he would completely annihilate a whole district. And that bloodthirst of his could be used just as well on hollows...

But the cruelty in this man, could that really be overlooked? It was a well known fact that he gave all his victims excruciatingly painful deaths, chopping off their limbs before beheading them mercilessly. Could such a fact really be just...ignored?

No, it would not necessarily mean ignoring it. Maybe, as a shinigami, he'd better his ways, among so many good souls. Besides there had been another, not so unlike this one, by the name of Kenpachi...and he turned out to be such a shinigami...
This...yes, it would be alright.

Hozuki Suigetsu would become a shinigami. He would change, and prove that this decision hadn't been such a bad one after all.

~.::..::.~

By all means, Hozuki Suigetsu should have been in Eleventh Division. He loved to fight, was mischievous, loud, and always up for a challenge. He was rude, and bad-mouthed, absolutely perfect for that crass idiot Zaraki's division. Except…Hozuki was kind of…smart.

Toushiro knew that all of Eleventh Division was idiotic. However, that did not excuse the blasphemous conspiracy to force Hozuki into his squad. Sure, he liked Ukitake. The man was good-hearted, if a little too enthusiastic. That, by absolutely no means, gave him the right to stick his nose into the midget captain's life by protesting that Suigetsu would be perfect for lightening up the captain of Tenth Division.

Ukitake used his first name, Suigetsu. When the hell did they get so close?! It was a conspiracy. A full, straight out conspiracy. Everyone knew that the new shinigami made it his death's purpose to irritate the hell out of Toushiro. Unfortunately, everyone also knew he was succeeding.

While Toushiro was silently sulking, brooding, and generally thinking thoughts of an unpleasant nature, he was just slightly oblivious to the outside world. That slight obliviousness, however, just turned his life into hell.

"So, Hitsugaya-taicho, it has been decided that Hozuki Suigetsu shall be placed in your division. We expect to hear good things about such a promising young student." Yamamato-taicho's booming voice rang out in Toushiro's ears, breaking into his rather…pleasant dream of strangling Hozuki and sending his dead body off to the fishies. On the other hand, that brat might actually like being with the fishies.

Wait a second. Toushiro could have sworn that the Head captain had just said…his head shot up suddenly, his own wary eyes meeting Yamamato-taicho's amused ones. Toushiro had made no comment during the meeting, but surely they didn't think he didn't object. Very, very slowly, just barely masking his horrification, his gaze made it's way around the room. Was that bastard Kuchiki smirking? And Zaraki wasn't even bothering to keep the maniacal grin off his face.

No. Just…no. He was being manipulated. Toushiro was very blatantly being used for the whole of Sereitei's amusement. The conspiracy…at that moment, if he was a samurai, he would've committed seppuku. Actually, screw not being a samurai. If he didn't wake up and realize this was all a dream, he would definitely kill himself. If he had been Hinamori, he would've promptly burst into tears. If he had been Matsumoto, he would've gotten himself drunk and publicly declared everyone insane. If he was that bastard Ichimaru…no. Ichimaru would've gotten along perfectly with Hozuki. Absolutely perfectly, he thought bitterly. But since he was Toushiro, the genius-midget-prodigal-captain-everyone-loved-to-make-death-hell-for, he simply opted to mask his feelings, and silently swore he, in turn, would make Suigetsu regret ever being born.

~.::..::.~

"Oh, come on now, Shiro-chan. It can't possibly be that bad." Hinamori Momo laughed at the look on her best friend's face. Slightly disgusted, angry, irritated…yup, it was perfect Shiro-chan.

"You're just saying that because you think he's cute." The white-haired boy accused her, an absolutely adorable scowl on his face. How anyone could think that that incorrigible annoyance was cute was beyond his comprehension. Hell, he heard Matsumoto tell Kira that Hozuki was sexy. What freaking part of that…that thing could anyone possibly find sexy? That was like saying Kuchiki was a girl in disguise!!

…Well, he did have that long hair, and that incredibly girly zanpaktou…

Okay, bad analogy. But that wasn't the point.

"Shiro-chan?" Momo's voice broke him out of his mental rant.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou." Automatically, Toushiro's mouth formed the words without him even having to think. He caught the smile that was gracing her lips before it rapidly disappeared. "And no, I am neither daydreaming, nor overreacting." His friend's soft, tinkling laugh filled his ears.

"Whatever you say, Shiro-chan."

~.::..::.~

Practice swords clashed together in a rhythmical melody, and clothes rustled as the combatants jumped back in a smooth dance. They leaped around each other, their academy colours a blur as the weapons met once again.

"You're going easy on me, Hozuki," Ryousuke Sawada shook his head at his friend. "I don't appreciate that." Just a millisecond after the words left his mouth, Ryousuke found himself flung against the wall. Unable to stop himself, the wall shuddered at began to crack as he lay, dazed, on the ground.

"Aw, you're the one who's always telling complaining that I'm too harsh~!" Suigetsu smirked at the older boy, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Strolling over casually, like he hadn't just thrown one of his best friends in an almost impossible maneuver, he stretched out his arm to Ryousuke.

"I hate you." Even as he said the words, Ryousuke couldn't help but smile a little, as Suigetsu's grin grew even wider. Refusing the help, he dragged himself up from the obviously painful position on the ground. Suigetsu shrugged, and waved as the boy limped away to the Fourth Division. His eyes snapped into something painstakingly more familiar to him, something sinisterly mischievous. Quietly, he slipped outside, his feet making no sound as he walked around the building, hoping to find someone he could spar with, to get rid of the unmistakable bloodlust piling up inside.

Moving past a closed door, he heard hushed whispers inside. His ears had not lost their sensitivity from when he'd been a shinobi, and he easily heard the voices. Sidling up closer to the door, making no noise, and expertly masking his reiatsu, Suigetsu melted into his puddle of water, making it easy for him to slide under the locked door. Once he was inside, he surveyed the room for a good hiding spot. Most shinigami were surprisingly pitiful, and these few were no exception. They didn't even notice a very suspicious looking puddle of water surreptitiously glide across the floor. Or if they did, they just chose to ignore it. Like he said, pitiful.

Turning away from his criticisms, his perfect eyesight noticed the zanpaktous, hanging proudly from their masters' waists. Suigetsu, who was still in the academy, could hardly wait until he got his zanpaktou. As he regained his original form his fingers reached up to stroke his necklace. It was unusual to say the least, but it was the one thing he treasured here in Sereitei. His accomplishments had stayed with him. Hanging from the long cord that was under his Academy uniform, were seven swords, each very different. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Suigetsu now held all the swords, and that necklace could do something special, he was sure of it.

He cursed under his breath, he had gotten distracted by the swords. He tuned in to the conversation from his hiding spot, instantly picking up what he missed.

"…don't do things properly! I wouldn't blame Aizen-taicho for defecting…"

"…Ichimaru-taicho was right in following him…"

"…we could easily raise an army…get out of this damn place…"

"…where? To Hueco Mundo…?"

Suigetsu wasn't an idiot. And even idiots could understand what these so-called adults were up to. As much as he thought that such a trick would be interesting, his bloodlust was getting heavier by the second. Soundlessly he shifted, and stood up. They still didn't see him. Granted, before, he was a puddle, and puddles didn't get much notice, but now, he was in plain sight, not even in a henge…these people really were pitiful. As if they had read his mind, one of them tensed. His eyes widened and he gave a small shout. Instantly, everyone followed his gaze.

They found themselves staring at a very amused Hozuki Suigetsu leaning against a desk. Their hands scrambled for their swords, but they stopped when Suigetsu gave them a short conspiratorial whisper.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what my most esteemed senpais are up to." The group relazed visibly, though they were still in a basic battle stance. And a very poorly done one at that, too, noted Suigetsu.

"Why?" The one who seemed to be the leader eyes him suspiciously. In an moment, he was impaled ruthlessly on his own zanpaktou.

"Why?" Suigetsu repeated, in that same soft voice. "Because I won't need to." Suigetsu roughly grabbed the zanpaktou and pulled it out of the man in the same manner. Regarding the bloody sword, Suigetsu smirked before crudely casting the sword away.

The one who Suigetsu guessed was the second-in-command gaped at him, seemingly not able to understand what was happening. Slowly, the "second-in-command's" zanpaktou was drawn from the sheath, but not by it's owner. Suigetsu grinned broadly at the way the sword had pushed through, like a knife in melted butter. In rapid order, the pile of bodies grew larger, as did the pile of cast away swords.

Suigetsu stood alone, rising up out of a sea of blood. His fingers were bloodstained, and he licked them fondly. He had almost forgotten how good blood felt on his fingers, the way it gently dripped down, signaling his victory. He loved the way it made him feel, the exhilaration that followed for hours after. And killing them with their own weapons…that had a certain appeal to it, the disbelief on the murdered faces left etched there for eternity. Suddenly, the temporary euphoria rolled away as the Mist in his blood washed the blood out. Hearing voices coming from outside, he summoned up his shinobi skills, the ones he hadn't used since died. Disappearing from the room without a trace, he had but a single thought in his mind.

Yes. Hozuki Suigetsu could get very used to this.

Okaay! Finally done! After hours and hours of toil. I know there wasn't really much from Suigetsu's point of view except for the murder thingy, but that was supposed to show that Toushiro had very good instincts and was right to be wary of Suigetsu. I think it worked. I hope it did, anyways. So, I hope you enjoyed it...the next xhapter will hopefully focus more on the relationship between Suigetsu and Toushiro.