Bleach and it's characters are the Property of Tite Kubo.

I hope you enjoy this story. Please review.

1 Observation

It was spring in the Soul Society. The cherry trees were blooming and the grass was green. Warm breezes swirled through the barracks and up to the roof tops. The air was full of sweet smells of blossoms and nectar. During these times everyone was more at ease then usual, and it was a peaceful time for the shinigami. The slower pace of life during these periods of isolated quiet were enjoyed by all. Life was truly sweet for all in the Soul Society.

The Soul Reaper academy was in their spring term. For a small group, this would be their last term. Graduation was approaching. Many of the graduates in the advanced class were working extra hard; being they were the most likely to be placed in one of the thirteen court guard squads. This honor was not taken lightly by any of the students. Many in the advanced class had hopes of being a seated officer and strived to obtain that.

This time of year was a favorite of Captain Kyouraku. So many of the girls in the Soul Reaper academy were more then willing to talk with a Captain, and Shunsui took full advantage. He was always more interested in the girls of the academy. This year was no different. In fact this year was a bit more interesting then most, because of a young woman that was in the advanced class. She was suppose to quite a bit smarter then her fellow classmates and very skilled with her sword. Some had called her a prodigy, others a genius, but nonetheless she was exceptional to her teachers.

Captain Kyouraku was walking to the academy training grounds when he saw the Captain of squad ten, Toshiro Hitsugaya. The young captain was sitting on the roof top of the squad barracks. He looked to be enjoying the breeze and was relaxed.

"Hey, Toshiro." Shunsui called up to him. "What cha doing up there?"

"Nothing." he replied closing his eyes and lowering his head.

"I thought you might want to join me." the brown haired man continued.

"Why would I want to do that?" he opened his eyes and looked at the man below him.

"Well, I am going to the academy to check out some of the new graduates. I hear there is one or two of real interest." he smiled at the thought.

"Really, and why would I be interested in them."

"Well, the one girl is suppose to be as smart as you..." he turned his head and pulled down his hat, "maybe even smarter."

This statement did catch Toshiro's attention. It is said that prodigy like him only came around every hundred years or so, but the rumors had already placed this girl in that category.

"Very well." the silver haired man jumped down from his perch to join his fellow captain.

They walked to the academy grounds without saying much to one another. When they got to the outside wall. The older captain turned to the other and suggested not walking through the front door, but to rather go to one of the top balconies that was overlooking the training grounds.

"That way we don't distract the young cadets." he said with his usual devious grin.

"Fine" was all the response from the other captain.

The two made their way to one of the upper balconies that overlooked the training grounds of the academy. Shunsui immediately started looking around for this girl that everyone had so much to say about. Hitsugaya on the other had didn't seem so interested, although he was scanning with his eyes. The way he figured it, if she was really that impressive she would be easy to spot, and sure enough she was. She was in the katana skills class in a one on one fight with a class mate. It was all true, she was very impressive. She managed to easily disarm her classmate within two minutes. Her classmate being a man that was at least twice her size made it that much more magnificent. When she rejoined her classmates it was obvious that she was not very tall herself, but was very well respected by her peers. This intrigued Toshiro, and now he was more interested.

"She is something, hah." Shunsui said while jabbing Toshiro in his side.

"Yeah, I grant you she is very good with her sword." he admitted.

"Should we go down and introduce ourselves?" Kyouraku grinned.

"Not yet. Lets see what else she can do." Hitsugaya folded his arms across his chest and continued to watch.

While looking down at this girl talking with her classmates, he thought sure he saw her look up at the two of them. That couldn't be right though. The two captains took care to hide their spiritual pressure, so as not to be noticed. Maybe she was something special after all, he thought to himself. The class then moved on to the Kidou field. The two captains changed their position on the balcony to better observe the class. Again the brown haired girls skills were striking. Her Kidou was not as good as her sword skill but she was still very talented and quite a bit better then others in the class. Both captains were very exhilarated by their object of interest. After the kidou class the group broke for lunch. Shunsui decided to go down and talk with the group; so Toshiro went along with him.

They came into the group and excused their interruption. All the cadets jumped up and gave a bow to the captains. Shunsui took the advantage of his rank and talked freely with the girls; while Toshiro stood silent. The unlucky thing for them was that the girl that they were most interested in was not there. How had they missed her? After a nice chat with the group they excused themselves and turned to leave.

The young captain kept his ams crossed the whole time and said very little and continued in this way to the gate. Before reaching the gate a voice called them both from behind,

"Excuse me captains." the voice was feminine and soft. The two men turned to see who had called them.

It was the girl that they had come to contemplate. She was small in most respects. Not very tall with a small delicate frame. Her hair was a dark brown and was held up at the back of her head by a clip, while a few long strands hung around her face. She had pale green eyes and beautiful skin. Although she had a small frame she was very voluptuous. She was very lovely and Captain Kyouraku was not shy about this. He swept in and took her hand. Then bowed low and kissed it. The poor girl was blushing crimson with embarrassment. She pulled her hand away and stepped back a bit.

"I just wanted to apologize for not being present when you visited." she said softly.

"I usually eat alone, and leave my group for lunch. I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you came. I didn't think you were going to come down and visit, because you both stayed on the balcony for so long." she bowed again.

"That's quite alright. This is not a formal visit." Captain Kyouraku assured her. "What is your name?"

"Yuri." she said.

"Yuri, what?" he persisted.

"Just Yuri is fine, sir." she smiled and turned to Toshiro. Her gaze made him uncomfortable for some reason. She stepped toward him and bowed again.

"You are Captain Hitsugaya correct?" as she bowed he could see her cleavage that she was trying hard to cover, but was hard to do so with her size.

"Yes." he finally lowered his arms.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you. I have heard a lot about you and have been most interested in meeting you, sir." she stood up straight again.

"You are one of only two captain that discovered Aizen's betrayal. That is very admirable. They say that you are one of the smartest students to have come through the soul reaper academy."

"I guess. I don't know." he was amazed at the information that she had. She was very bright indeed.

"I'm sorry sir. I am talking to much. Usually I don't go on like this, but I have learned a lot about you since being here and I am fascinated....." she blushed and stopped. "I'm sorry. Excuse me." she bowed again, turned and ran away.

"Well, she seems to like you Toshiro." Kyouraku smiled and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Then turned to exit through the gate.

The young captain stood there for a moment, baffled at the girls behavior, and turned and left.

Yuri was blushing all the way back to class. She was so embarrassed by her behavior. 'Why did I carry on like that? I was such an idiot." she thought to herself. When she got back to class she cleared her thoughts and continued her day with out too much trouble. Graduation was only a week away and she had to concentrate. She so wanted to be apart of the one of the thirteen squads. Although all her teachers and classmates assured her, she was still doubtful of being able to obtain a seat. She was always in doubt of her own abilities. The end of this week they would be undergoing the process of gaining their own zanpakutou. She was very nervous about this.

Toshiro and Shunsui walked back to their squad barracks quietly. Each lost in their own thoughts. Shunsui's thoughts were pretty obvious to the other man. Since he was known as a womanizer his companion could only imagine what he was thinking about the young woman they had just met. Any of the young woman they had just met for that matter. Toshiro on the other hand meditated quite solemnly on the last girl they talked with. She was interesting. From what they had observed she was very talented in many areas and was indeed very smart. Why she wouldn't give her last name was a mystery, but not very important. Kyouraku was right though she was very pretty, and Toshiro like her mannerisms. Maybe he would consider her for his squad.

"Later, Toshiro." Shunsui waved lazily at the other captain and left for his captains chambers.