Noble Etiquette

Time always passed quickly in Soul Society. Before they knew it, ten years had gone by, and Ye Yang and Yoruichi had grown into a graceful boy and girl, appearing to be around eleven or twelve years old. Every day, they practiced fist techniques in the early morning, then practiced Hakuda and sparred with Ogawa Kagenashi to gain combat experience. In the afternoon, they practiced Shunpo.

When it came to Shunpo, Yoruichi's talent was truly unparalleled. Even their Shunpo teacher was no match for her now, so he had stopped coming altogether and let them practice on their own. Yoruichi had finally gotten some payback. Although Ye Yang had a good talent for Shunpo, it was nowhere near Yoruichi's monstrous level. Whenever Yoruichi got even a slight advantage, she would glide away, leaving Ye Yang utterly helpless.

One day, their parents called them together. "Yoruichi, Ye Yang, we didn't summon you today to test your strength. As children of the Shihoin Clan, one of the Four Great Noble Clans, you should know how to conduct yourselves as nobles. Starting today, you may practice Hakuda and Shunpo as you please in the mornings. In the afternoons, you will study etiquette with your mother."

"Yes, Father!"

Their mother, Shihoin Tsukiyo, was a well-known lady among the nobility. Her manners were graceful, and every movement she made carried the air of a noble.

Tsukiyo spoke up. "Little Yoruichi, little Ye Yang, come with me." With that, she led them into a room.

Shihoin Seigen and his wife had already taught them basic noble etiquette in daily life; they simply hadn't studied it systematically. Ye Yang had assumed that, even if he didn't master it immediately, he would at least take to it easily. But when the lessons actually began, they were nothing like he had imagined.

"Mom, why do we have to learn etiquette? Didn't we learn it a long time ago?" Yoruichi asked impatiently, as always.

Tsukiyo smiled faintly. "Yes, little Yoruichi and little Ye Yang did learn etiquette a long time ago, but there's more to it than that."

"First, you must wear formal attire on formal occasions, and then you must display the bearing of a noble at all times..." For the next half hour, Tsukiyo explained all kinds of etiquette to them. In the end, Yoruichi dozed off, while Ye Yang appeared to be listening, though his mind had long since wandered off somewhere.

"Ahem." Tsukiyo coughed a few times, bringing their thoughts back. "Actually, you only need to pay a little attention to what I just said. What comes next is the most important part."

I give up... Then what was the point of everything you just said, Mom? Ye Yang grumbled inwardly.

"As direct heirs of the Shihoin Clan, how could you not have some special skills of your own? For example... music, board games, calligraphy, painting, poetry, prose, or dancing would all do."

Uh... The sudden change left Ye Yang struggling to adjust. Was she joking? She wanted him to compose poetry and paint? That wasn't his style. But then inspiration flashed through his mind, and he asked, "Mom, I'll choose a zither, but not an ordinary one."

Tsukiyo was puzzled. "Not an ordinary zither? What kind, then?"

"A guqin!" Ye Yang replied.

Tsukiyo was even more puzzled. "What's a guqin?"

"It's a plucked instrument made up of a body and seven strings," Ye Yang answered.

"But I don't think there's an instrument like that in the Seireien."

"Uh... well... It's like this. Once, when I went to the Rukongai with Sis, I happened to see one." He turned to Yoruichi. "Isn't that right, Sis?" At the same time, his eyes conveyed, Say no and you're dead!

Intimidated by Ye Yang's threat, Yoruichi could only nod. "Yes, Mom."

Although they were nobles, the Shihoin Clan's household rules were not as strict as the Kuchiki Clan's, and they were allowed to visit the Rukongai for fun from time to time.

"Although there aren't any here, I was very interested in the instrument called a guqin, so I remember it especially clearly. Mom, if you get me a piece of good wood, I should be able to make one," Ye Yang said.

In his previous life, Ye Yang's favorite pastime outside of training had been playing the zither. His master wouldn't let him buy one, so he could only use the guqin belonging to a martial uncle at his school, which was inconvenient. Thus, Ye Yang had learned how to make a guqin from one of his martial uncles.

"All right." Shihoin Tsukiyo also wanted to see what this so-called guqin was. "What would Yoruichi like to choose?"

Yoruichi's golden eyes sparkled. "Dancing, then."

Ye Yang stared at Yoruichi in horror. He simply couldn't picture her dancing, and the more he thought about it, the more he laughed. "Hahahaha... Sis, you're going to dance? Hahaha..." Ye Yang burst into utterly undignified laughter.

"Hmph! What's wrong with dancing? Do you think I can't do it?" Yoruichi retorted.

"No, no, no. My beautiful, gracious, noble, and elegant dear sister, as your little brother, I look forward to seeing your lovely dancing," Ye Yang said teasingly.

"Then you'd better watch carefully."

While the siblings were talking, Tsukiyo cut in from the side. "Little Yoruichi wants to learn dancing? I can teach you. And little Ye Yang, you both need to master these skills within five years."

Ye Yang was puzzled. "Huh? Why?"

"Because you'll be thirty in five years, which means you'll be taking part in the coming-of-age ceremony. All the nobles of Soul Society, great and small, will attend, so don't disappoint me." Watching her son and daughter grow up, Shihoin Tsukiyo couldn't help feeling that her children were finally coming of age.

"Yes, Mother," Ye Yang and Yoruichi answered together.

The next day

The Shihoin Clan's efficiency was no empty boast. The next day, Ye Yang received a fine piece of fir wood, just as he had wished. He had specifically requested it: fir was excellent wood for making a guqin, and in Soul Society, where time passed so quickly, finding a piece from a century-old fir was no difficult task. Thus, Ye Yang had instructed the servants to find a piece of fir wood over a hundred years old.

The piece of wood was several zhang across. Ye Yang took a short knife, divided it into several sections, and began working.

Ye Yang intended to make a standard Fuxi-style guqin. It would be approximately three chi, six cun, and five fen long, symbolizing the 365 days of the year, about six cun wide, and about two cun thick. The underside of the body would be flat and the top rounded, symbolizing earth and heaven respectively, in keeping with the ancient belief that heaven was round and earth was square. Its overall shape was modeled after a phoenix's body, with a corresponding head, neck, shoulders, waist, tail, and feet.

As for the strings, he needed no material at all. He would draw Reishi directly into strings, saving him from having to replace them later while also being inventive.

Making the guqin took five days. At last, a beautiful instrument was complete.

The entire body was ink-black and gold, with a lifelike Eastern dragon on the phoenix-shaped body, making it look like a symbol of nobility at a glance.

The following day

Ye Yang took the finished guqin to find his mother, only to happen upon Yoruichi dancing. She was stepping lightly, completely absorbed in her dance. Although her movements were not yet polished, they could not conceal her graceful figure. It was entirely unlike Yoruichi's usual carefree image, and Ye Yang couldn't help watching her.

The dance ended, and the beauty took her bow. Yoruichi returned to her usual self. "Yo, little brother, what do you think? Were you captivated by my dancing?" There was a hint of teasing at the corner of her mouth.

"A little, but can't you keep up that appearance a bit longer? You know, I've never seen such a feminine side of you before, Sis."

Yoruichi said angrily, "You mean I'm not feminine normally?"

"No, no, no." After saying no three times, Ye Yang changed tack. "Normally, you're not even a woman."

"You..." Yoruichi made as if to hit Ye Yang, but their mother's voice interrupted her. "How is your practice going, little Yoruichi? Oh? Little Ye Yang is here too?" Shihoin Tsukiyo spotted what Ye Yang was holding. "Little Ye Yang, have you finished that so-called guqin?"

"Yes, Mom. It's the instrument I'm holding." Ye Yang handed the guqin to his mother.

Shihoin Tsukiyo accepted it and stared at the luxurious guqin for a while. "Not bad. Then, little Ye Yang, can you play a piece?"

"Of course." With that, Ye Yang used Spiritual Pressure to draw seven strings along the guqin's body from top to bottom. Seeing this, Shihoin Tsukiyo marveled inwardly at how well Ye Yang controlled his Spiritual Pressure.

Ye Yang sat cross-legged and placed the guqin across his knees. He set both hands on the strings, and the performance began with a melodious note. He was playing Flowing Water, one of his three favorite pieces from his previous life.

The piece was divided into nine sections. The opening established the flow of water throughout the piece. The second and third sections evoked the sounds of springs, like streams murmuring through mountain gullies and waterfalls splashing. The fourth and fifth portrayed springs from countless ravines flowing out of the mountains in slender streams and joining a torrent that gradually grew turbulent. From the sixth section onward, the water flowed into a vast ocean, racing through gorges and over shoals to form towering waves with an unstoppable force. The seventh and eighth sections were the aftermath of the climax, now slow, now swift, alternately surging and receding before gradually subsiding. The ninth ended the piece with a distant, slowly fading air.

Yoruichi and her mother had long since become lost in Ye Yang's music, as though immersed in flowing water and unable to pull themselves free. Only when the piece ended and the music stopped did they come back to their senses. Yoruichi was already too astonished to speak. She had never imagined her little brother possessed such skill. Their mother Tsukiyo said, "It's been a long time since I heard such a beautiful piece, but as far as I know, it isn't a piece from the Seireien, is it? What is it called?"

"Flowing Water. It really isn't a piece from the Seireien, because I composed it myself," Ye Yang said shamelessly. In any case, Ye Yang was the first person in this world to play Flowing Water, so it wasn't too much to call it his own creation.

"Is that so? Little Ye Yang really has so many talents. Little Yoruichi, you'll have to work hard."

Yoruichi said to Ye Yang, "Hmph, just wait. I'll be sure to give you a big surprise too."

"I'm looking forward to it," Ye Yang said with interest.