The first time Hisagi Shuuhei saw Matsumoto Rangiku was when he was entering the Shinigami Academy to take his entrance exam.
He had stepped into the foyer of the main entrance, glancing at his paper that had the directions to the exam room when he caught the site of orange in his peripheral vision. His head turned and found himself looking at four students of the academy walking down the hall, books in hand and conversing amongst themselves. Two wore the standard male uniforms of white and blue and the other two were wearing the female red uniforms. The men were grinning as one of the girls blushed fiercely.
It was the woman who had a fierce grin that captured his attention. Her hair was not actually orange but a bright, golden red. It bobbed around her face and the ends brushed against her jaw as she walked. There was a curl to the ends of it and it looked just as alive as her smile. Her eyes sparkled like light playing off water as she laughed with the two men she conversed with.
Shuuhei stood grounded where he was as he watched the four cross in front of him, continuing across the lobby. The womans voice swept over him as he watched her, wrapping around him and lightening his mood. He was a little surprised at the pitch of her voice; he would have thought it would be high and maybe a little whiny. But instead it held this lower pitch, like a low strum on a guitar that hummed through out him.
It was probably the sexiest thing Shuuhei had ever heard in his life.
The four of them were long gone before Shuuhei got a complete hold over himself. The woman had just shone with life and vitality, and he had to wonder what gave her so much joy. It looked like she had no cares in the world. What he would give to feel even just a portion of that freedom.
Surprisingly he could not remember what she looked like but he knew he would recognize her anywhere if he ran into her again.
Rubbing his fingers over the paper he held, Shuuhei looked down at the map again and turned to go down the hall the woman and her friends had come from. He glanced one more time behind him before walking down the hall.
If anything, he would be able to see her again if he passed the exam.