Sisters

The next day, Ye Yang arrived at the Shin'ō as usual, along with a group of passionate and adorable young men and women. Being late was not a good habit, and he couldn't let the image he had just built up crumble because of it.

As the school bell rang, Ye Yang walked into the classroom. They all sat quietly in their seats, but the five extra seats in the classroom were particularly conspicuous. These were the seats that Ye Yang had expelled yesterday, and now only lonely seats remained, but no one came to sit in them.

Good morning, students!

Good morning, Teacher Ye Yang!

Ye Yang nodded. "Hmm, everyone's here today." Ye Yang pointed to the few empty seats. "Don't remove these seats yet. They are your warning bells. If you don't work hard, their today will be your tomorrow. Remember this: it's your honor to be in this class! This class only needs elites, and those who remain are the elites. So I hope you can constantly remind yourselves, understand?"

"Yes!"

"Today's class is Hakuda. Now go to the Hakuda classroom and wait for me. Anyone who isn't there by the time I arrive..." Ye Yang didn't finish his sentence, but how could they not know?

In an instant, the students in the classroom vanished without a trace, their speed astonishing. Those near the door naturally walked out, while those farther away simply opened the windows and jumped out. Renji was the first of them.

Ye Yang chuckled and slowly walked out of the classroom. When he entered the Hakuda classroom, they were already there, all waiting. Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the point. "Today we will be learning Hakuda. As the name suggests, Hakuda Fighting is fighting enemies with bare hands. It ranks second among the four great combat skills of the Zankensōki."

At this Renji, Renji, aka "Teacher Ye Yang," raised his hand and said, "Isn't fighting bare-handed a huge disadvantage? Since we have Zanpakuto weapon for slaying Hollows, why should we fight bare-handed?"

"Oh? So you think Hakuda is useless?" Ye Yang looked at him with a slight smile. Ye Yang's forte was Hakuda, even surpassing his Zanjutsu. Hearing Renji say this naturally displeased Ye Yang.

Seeing Ye Yang smile at him, Renji couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. "Teacher, that's not what I meant, but wouldn't it be better if we had weapons?"

Ye Yang scanned their eyes and found that most of them were skeptical about the issue. Ye Yang said, "Don't you all have this question? Let me explain it to you today."

He cleared his throat and slowly said, "Indeed, what you say makes sense, but have you considered that if that were truly the case, how could 'Hakuda' be ranked only below 'Zanjutsu'? Hmph! Let me tell you, thousands of years ago, Hakuda was actually ranked number one!"

Ye Yang looked at their astonished expressions with satisfaction and continued to explain, "You all know that your Zanpakuto can increase their strength through two stages of release, right? But thousands of years ago, there was no such thing as Zanpakuto release. Back then, Hakuda was the best way to kill Hollows. The ability of Asauchi alone was simply not enough to eliminate Menos Grande."

"However, as the Shinigami gradually discovered the release of their Zanpakuto, Zanjutsu) began to gain importance. It wasn't until Bankai was developed that Zanjutsu truly shone, eventually surpassing Hakuda- to-hand combat) to become the most valued skill among the Shinigami. While Zanjutsu is important, if you encounter an emergency where you can't use your Zanpakuto, excellent Hakuda can help you escape danger. Don't rely too much on your Zanpakuto's abilities. This is my advice to you as your teacher, understand?"

"Yes!"

Renji chuckled awkwardly, surprised that the Hakuda was so important. He didn't say anything more and returned to the group.

"Alright, let's begin our formal training. Don't simply think of 'Hakuda fighting' as just punches and Hakuda. It's about using every part of your body to attack. Fists, elbows, feet, knees, and so on are all powerful weapons. If necessary, you can even use your head, or even your hair, to attack your enemy."

After Ye Yang finished speaking, he pointed at Renji and said, "Abarai- kun, you come up here first and attack me with all your might!"

Renji's face immediately fell. Why him again? All I did was talk back to you once, is it really that big of a deal...?

Despite these thoughts, Renji reluctantly walked up, knowing that something even more terrifying awaited him if he didn't. Standing opposite Ye Yang, Renji felt a strange unease.

"Hah!" Renji shouted to bolster his courage, throwing a punch at Ye Yang's chest. Ye Yang easily dodged Renji attack with a slight dodge. Renji raised his left hand to attack again, but this time Ye Yang grabbed Renji's left wrist and twisted it. Renji screamed in pain and involuntarily turned around. Ye Yang then kicked Renji in the buttocks, Renji to the ground.

The others burst into laughter, and Renji stood up angrily, but dared not speak out. "Did you all see that clearly? Remember, never imitate Abarai in the future. Is this Hakuda? This is downright thuggish fighting!"

"Hahaha..." The students couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, no longer caring about their image. Renji turned his head away in embarrassment.

"So next..." Ye Yang paused abruptly before he could finish speaking, looking up at the door, "You guys start practicing on your own now, preferably finding someone to spar with. I have something to do, I'll come back to check on you later."

He had just sensed an aura approaching Shin'ō, and judging by the time, they should be arriving soon. Sure enough, Byakuya and Hisana were strolling through the Shin'ō grounds when Ye Yang walked towards them. "Byakuya, Hisana, you've arrived."

"Brother Ye Yang, I heard from Hisana yesterday that you found her sister, so I came today to confirm it." Byakuya remained unhurried, his face showing no particular emotion.

But Hisana was different. Her face was filled with a bright smile, no longer the slightly sad smile from before, but a genuine joy from the bottom of her heart, a different kind of beauty compared to before.

"Yes, I was more worried about Rukia, so I asked Lord Byakuya to come with me." Hisana's words were tinged with excitement, but also with worry. She was concerned about Rukia was doing now, after all, it was something that others couldn't understand after so many years of lost love.

Ye Yang nodded knowingly and said, "You guys go to my office and wait for a bit. I'll go get Rukia."

"What should we do? Let's go look for it," said Hisana.

"I understand that you want to see Rukia, but this is in school after all, and it wouldn't be good if other students saw us. Listen to me." Ye Yang understood that Hisana wanted to see Rukia as soon as possible, but the classroom was crowded and noisy, and it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.

Byakuya said, "As Brother Ye Yang wishes," and then led Hisana to the office.

Ye Yang went straight to Class 2's classroom and saw Rukia listening attentively to the lesson through the window. Ye Yang walked to the door and called the teacher out. The teacher quickly came out when he saw Ye Yang. Although they were also teachers, Ye Yang was not an ordinary teacher. The position of vice captain was not something they could compare to.

After Ye Yang finished speaking to him, he went back and said, "Rukia, could you please go out for a moment? A teacher is looking for you."

Rukia was taken aback, then stood up and walked towards the door. She was wondering what her teacher could want with her. But when she saw Ye Yang at the door, she understood. It was probably the person Ye Yang had mentioned who had come to see her.

"Good morning, Teacher Ye Yang!" Rukia greeted, but seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Ye Yang nodded. "Good morning! Rukia, do you remember what I said to you yesterday? She was quite excited after I told her, so she came to see you today. But you should be prepared."

Whether she heard Ye Yang's words or not, Rukia just nodded blankly, her mind a jumble of thoughts, clearly still somewhat taken aback. "Just follow behind me," Ye Yang said, then led her towards the office.

Rukia closely behind Ye Yang without saying a word, her eyes vacant as she walked. He didn't know how to face this relative he had never met, nor what their relationship was. All he could do was wait quietly.

Ye Yang slowly opened the office door, his body just blocking Rukia's petite figure. As soon as he entered, he saw Byakuya and Hisana, who were sitting at their desks, stand up. Ye Yang said, "I've brought them to you. Rukia out. This is your sister, Hisana Kuchiki, and your brother-in-law Byakuya Kuchiki."

Rukia slowly emerged from behind Ye Yang, her eyes filled with an unreadable emotion—whether it was anticipation, fear, or both.

Her eyes immediately widened in shock. The reason was simple: the woman in front of her looked exactly like her, the only difference being that Hisana was noticeably older and more mature.

Hisana stared intently at the girl who emerged from behind Ye Yang, her body trembling uncontrollably. She was 100% certain that this was her sister. Not to mention their identical appearance, just the throbbing deep in their souls, that feeling that came from the depths of their blood, there was no mistake!

For a moment, the two, one big and one small, Rukia's shock was replaced by a strange look in her eyes, while Hisana welled up with tears.

Ye Yang and Byakuya had already quietly left. At this moment, they both knew that they needed to give the two sisters a quiet environment so that they could have a proper conversation.