School Days

The next day, when Ye Yang arrived at school, he found Yoruichi already playing around with Urahara. Overnight, they had become close friends who talked about everything, and around them

were many classmates. With Yoruichi's cheerful, outgoing personality, she naturally got along with the people around her in no time.

Ye Yang was different. Although he always wore a faint smile that made people feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze, the natural

noble bearing he exuded also gave off an air that kept strangers away. His lofty manner made people afraid to approach him.

When the bell rang, everyone returned to their seats. The next class was Hakuda, and the teacher led everyone straight to the Hakuda

training grounds. Then he said, "Today's lesson is Hakuda. As one of a Soul Reaper's four major skills, Hakuda is second in importance only to Zanjutsu.

When we don't have a Zanpakuto, we can rely only on Kidō and Hakuda against our enemies. Kidō attacks are certainly useful, but their Spiritual Pressure

consumption is more than ten times that of Hakuda. That's where Hakuda's importance becomes clear. Now then, Urahara, Ye Yang Shihoin, please

come up and spar." To distinguish Ye Yang from Yoruichi, the teacher had deliberately used his full name.

Ye Yang smiled wryly to himself. Enemies really do meet on a narrow road. This is a good chance to see just how capable Kisuke Urahara is and what kind of person he is.

Ye Yang stepped forward and bowed to Urahara. "Ye Yang Shihoin. Please give me your guidance."

"Kisuke Urahara. Please give me your guidance," Urahara replied in kind.

Ye Yang seized the initiative and launched a flying kick. Seeing how fierce the kick was, Kisuke Urahara could only avoid its edge and dodge aside. Ye Yang

paid no mind to the missed attack and continued pressing forward. He hadn't expected to knock Urahara down in one blow anyway. If he could be beaten with a single strike, he wouldn't deserve to be Kisuke Urahara

. Ye Yang followed up with an even fiercer onslaught. He didn't use any particular martial art, relying only on a few simple, practical

fighting techniques. Even so, the depth of Ye Yang's training was more than the young Kisuke Urahara could withstand.

Urahara quickly fell behind. It looked as though Ye Yang was completely dominating him, and he would be defeated in just a short while. Ye Yang was curious

how Kisuke Urahara would respond. At last, Ye Yang spotted an opening and threw a straight punch at Urahara's chest, but Kisuke Urahara did something Ye

Yang hadn't expected. Rather than protect his vital spot, he simultaneously raised his leg and kicked at Ye Yang's head. This attempt to trade injury for injury gave

Ye Yang a headache. If he didn't stop it, he would certainly hit Urahara first, but the price would be a kick to the head. Anyone could tell which was worse.

With no choice, Ye Yang opened his fist into a palm and deflected Urahara's foot. Just like that, the two brushed past each other.

"Stop!" the teacher called. "Very good. As expected of Ye Yang, who earned an SSS grade on the practical exam. Your Hakuda is no weaker than mine

now. Urahara did very well too. To think you could come up with a way to deal with such a fierce assault." Then he turned to the others.

"Did you see that? That's the level of skill our class one should have. You need to learn from them, understood?"

"Yes!" the class answered. Only Yoruichi scoffed. Ye Yang's true strength went far beyond that. At the very least, he hadn't used a single martial technique

.

"Now, everyone, pair up and practice. Urahara, you'll spar with Yoruichi. Ye Yang, you can help me

instruct them. Any objections?"

"No!" After all, the strength Ye Yang had just displayed had won them over. How could they object to his instruction?

At that moment, Ye Yang gave Kisuke Urahara a meaningful look and asked, "When did it start?"

"From the very beginning, of course."

Ye Yang was shaken. He knew that the apparent attempt to trade injury for injury hadn't been accidental. Only after the fight had ended did Ye Yang realize something was wrong, and only now did he

learn that Urahara had calculated it all from the start. Urahara knew he was no match for Ye Yang, so he had stayed on the defensive, luring Ye Yang

in step by step just to gain a sliver of opportunity. Ye Yang had never seen such a calculating mind in his life. Kisuke Urahara really was no simple person.

Yoruichi had come to stand beside them at some point. Hearing their conversation, she asked in confusion, "When did what start? What do you mean, from the beginning

?"

Ye Yang didn't explain and merely brushed her off. "Nothing. We were just discussing tactics. You wouldn't understand anyway."

Yoruichi gave a little snort. "What do you mean, I wouldn't understand? If you don't want to tell me, just say so."

Kisuke Urahara added, "We were discussing the tactics we used in that fight. It really was nothing."

"Hmph. Even you're taking his side. Come on, let's start sparring. We can have a good discussion about tactics." Yoruichi was already gritting her teeth, ready to take it out on Urahara

.

"Ah, Yoruichi-san, don't!" Before he could finish, a pig-slaughtering scream rang out. Yoruichi proceeded to torment Kisuke Urahara to the brink of death,

and the scene was too painful to watch.

The other students saw the bloody scene and all moved away from that troubled spot. Ye Yang didn't join them either, instead walking over to where the other students

were training. As soon as they saw him approach, one student came over and asked, "Shihoin-kun, please give me some pointers. How should I respond

here? Also, my side kick always feels awkward."

"Your side kick is too stiff. Relax, and swing your leg out instead of kicking stiffly. Understand? And here..."

Ye Yang patiently explained his shortcomings and how to improve. Seeing how patiently he guided the student, the others immediately felt that Ye Yang wasn't

so hard to approach after all. They came to him with questions one after another, and Ye Yang patiently answered each one. This gave them a new understanding of Ye Yang:

he wasn't so far above them after all.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year passed, and it was already December. There were no seasons in Soul Society, and the Soul Reapers still wore their unchanging

shihakushō. Over the past six months, Ye Yang's strength had continued to grow steadily. He spent much of his time in the school library. In his eyes, the library

was a vast treasure trove, and most of the knowledge inside was new to him. Like a sponge soaking up water, he absorbed

that knowledge at a furious pace and made it his own.

It was worth mentioning that at Shin'ō, Ye Yang had always ranked first in both Hakuda and Zanjutsu. Hakuda went without saying. As for Zanjutsu, the arts Ye Yang had learned in his previous life

weren't limited to boxing. He had also studied blades, spears, staffs, and cudgels. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been called a martial arts grandmaster rather than a tai chi grandmaster.

Kisuke Urahara, meanwhile, had extraordinary talent in Kidō and had always held first place in that class. As for Yoruichi, it went without

saying that she had consistently dominated first place in Shunpo. No one could match her talent for it. Thanks also to the boxing techniques Ye Yang had taught her, her

Hakuda had always been second only to his.

That made life hard for Kisuke Urahara. When they played around, he couldn't beat Yoruichi, and he couldn't outrun her either. The Kidō he excelled at was

useless against her. If he recited an incantation, Yoruichi would evade it with her incredible speed. If he abandoned the incantation, its power was insufficient

and posed no threat to her at all.

The three of them also practiced together often, learning from one another and making progress together. Ye Yang taught them his Hakuda and Zanjutsu techniques,

while Kisuke Urahara generously shared his understanding of Kidō. He said that Kidō worked by arranging Reishi in a particular order to release

the technique, and that incantations arranged the Reishi in that order. Abandoning the incantation meant that, after using a particular Kidō enough times, one's body had

memorized the order of the Reishi, allowing one to cast it without reciting the incantation. With his guidance, Ye Yang's Kidō improved by leaps and bounds.

Yoruichi also shared her understanding of Shunpo. It involved gathering Spiritual Pressure beneath one's feet and releasing it in an instant to produce a brief burst of

high-speed movement. Yoruichi had told Ye Yang this long ago, but it was undoubtedly a tremendous help to Kisuke Urahara.

The three of them firmly held the top three places, far ahead of everyone else, and came to be known as the Golden Triangle. During this time, the academy had also

approached them about skipping grades, but Ye Yang had politely declined each time. They had discussed and agreed on this, and the reason was simple: they didn't want to graduate

early. They wanted to experience all six years of school life.

Today was the start of the school holiday. To celebrate the coming New Year, they had a month off, which also gave the students living at school a chance to visit

their families.

After leaving school, Ye Yang said to Kisuke Urahara, "Kisuke, what are you planning to do over the holiday?"

"What else can I do? Oh, right, my birthday's during the holiday too. Come help me celebrate." Kisuke Urahara chuckled, clearly

intending to make Ye Yang foot the bill.

Yoruichi exclaimed in surprise, "Kisuke, when's your birthday? My little brother and I have ours during the holiday too."

Only after seeing Ye Yang nod did Kisuke Urahara say, "December thirty-first, the day before New Year's. But I've never had a proper celebration,

precisely because it's the day before New Year's." A hint of sadness entered his voice as he said this.

Yoruichi stared at Kisuke Urahara with wide eyes. "Really? December thirty-first? Did you know my little brother and I were born on January first? We're even

unluckier than you. Who remembers our birthdays when New Year's comes around?"

Kisuke Urahara looked equally surprised. "Really? Just one day apart? What a coincidence! Then let's celebrate our birthdays together this year.

We can start on the night of the thirty-first and keep going until dawn. Wouldn't that cover all our birthdays?"

"That's a good idea. It's settled, then," Ye Yang said.

"Okay, it's settled."

"See you, Kisuke."

"See you, Ye Yang, Yoruichi."

(I wrote this chapter overnight. If you enjoyed it, please leave your thoughts in the book review section. A word of encouragement from you would be a tremendous

motivation for the author.)