Mist Locks the Mountaintop, the Mountain Locks the Mist

Rukongai District 3

By the time Ye Yang and Yoruichi reached Rukongai District 3, the sky had already darkened. The moon was beginning to appear, and the lanterns had just been lit. When they reached the appointed place, Shi

ba Kaien was already waiting for them. "Yo! You sure took your time, but never mind. Come on, they're still waiting."

Ye Yang was puzzled. "Where are we going? And who do you mean by 'they'?"

Kaien Shiba put on a mysterious air. "Won't you know when we get there?"

Kaien Shiba led them through a series of turns until they reached a shop with two large characters written plainly above it: wine shop.

Ye Yang was at a loss. "Kaien, don't tell me the surprise you mentioned was bringing us here to drink?"

Yoruichi, meanwhile, was eager to get started. "What's wrong with that? Drinking is one of life's great pleasures!" With that, she gave Kaien Shiba a

look that said, You understand me.

That was right. Aside from training, our young lady Yoruichi's favorite pastime wasn't dancing, but drinking! Ever since her first trip to Rukongai, when she had

chanced upon alcohol, there had been no stopping her. Every day, she pestered Ye Yang to accompany her to Rukongai for a drink. Unable to withstand her daily

nagging, Ye Yang agreed to go once a week. But every time, Yoruichi was the one who drank, while he merely ate some food and never touched alcohol. More than

once, Yoruichi had tried to get Ye Yang to drink, but he had always refused on the grounds that he was underage.

It looked as though he wouldn't be able to refuse this time. It wasn't actually that Ye Yang couldn't hold his liquor. In his previous life, many martial arts schools had invited him to give instruction, so he was no stranger to drinking

occasions. Ye Yang's capacity for alcohol could only be called average, but he had never gotten drunk. That was because, as the drink went down, he used his internal energy

to evaporate the alcohol. To him, drinking wine was much the same as drinking water.

Kaien seemed to have found a kindred spirit. "Hahaha, you're right, Miss Yoruichi. Let's go, then." With that, he led them toward a private

room.

Yoruichi looked at Ye Yang and said, "Today is our coming-of-age ceremony, you know~" In other words, he couldn't refuse today.

"Yeah, yeah!

" Ye Yang said helplessly.

As they approached the private room, a clamor came from inside. When they opened the door, there really were quite a few people: Kaien Shiba's younger sister, Kūkaku Shiba; the Eighth Division

captain, Shunsui Kyōraku; his lieutenant, Lisa Yadōmaru; the Thirteenth Division captain, Jūshirō Ukitake; and a middle-aged man who looked about the same age

as Shunsui Kyōraku and was having a drinking contest with him. The man wore a Captain's Haori bearing a large character for "ten." He was the Tenth Division captain, Isshin Shi

ba, Kaien and Kūkaku's eldest uncle. He was the reason no great noble clan had sought to replace the Shiba Clan, even after its decline.

When Kaien saw Isshin Shiba, he said, "Greetings, Uncle."

Isshin Shiba's response took Ye Yang by surprise. He kicked Kaien straight out the door. "How many times have I told you? You don't need to greet me like that. Just call

me Uncle."

"But..."

"No buts."

"Uh... yes, Uncle."

When Shunsui Kyōraku saw Yoruichi and Ye Yang arrive, he said, "Well, well, what took you so long? You'll have to drink three cups as a penalty."

Hearing that, Yoruichi immediately picked up a cup and downed three drinks without a change in expression. She even handed the cup to Ye Yang. "Well? You have to

drink this time."

Seeing that Yoruichi wouldn't let him off, Ye Yang resolved to get her back. He put on a troubled expression and said, "But what if I can't hold my

liquor? How will I get home if I get drunk?"

Yoruichi thumped her chest. "It's fine. If you get drunk, I'll just carry you home."

Since Yoruichi had said that, Ye Yang could hardly refuse. He took the cup and drank three cups straight away. Afterward, he even pretended to cough a few times, making it seem as though it were his first

time drinking. Yoruichi was delighted to see it and thought, I'll get Ye Yang drunk tonight.

By now, Yoruichi had returned to her usual carefree self, so unlike the image of a model noble she had presented at the coming-of-age ceremony that every

one stared at her in surprise. Seeing them all looking at her, Yoruichi couldn't help saying, "Why are you all staring at me? Come on, drink!"

Then Yoruichi explained, "This is what I'm really like. I couldn't help acting that way today."

Silence fell over the room. Ye Yang seemed to hear hearts breaking. It was no wonder: a goddess had suddenly turned into

the tomboy before them now. Anyone's heart would have broken.

Finally, Shunsui Kyōraku gave a dry cough and said, "How many young men's hearts is this going to break? All right, enough of that. Let's drink."

Yoruichi soon hit it off with the others, while Ye Yang joined in with an occasional remark. Ye Yang got along particularly well with Jūshirō

Ukitake. After all, Yoruichi had dragged Ye Yang here, just as Ukitake's friend Shunsui had dragged him here. The two felt they were in the same boat.

Whether deliberately or not, Yoruichi kept plying Ye Yang with drinks. Thanks to her efforts, Ye Yang was already a little muddled after several dozen cups.

Yoruichi was delighted and tried even harder to get him to drink. Strangely, though Ye Yang was clearly swaying, he just wouldn't fall over.

He had started swaying after twenty-odd cups, but he was still swaying after more than fifty. Yoruichi, on the other hand, was beginning to struggle.

Only Shunsui Kyōraku gave Ye Yang a meaningful look before resuming his drinking.

Ye Yang suddenly said to them, "Just drinking like this is boring. Why don't we play a game?"

Isshin Shiba's interest was piqued. "Oh? What game?"

Yoruichi, who was slightly drunk, sobered up at the mention of a game. "What game? I'm playing."

Ye Yang explained slowly, "Let's match couplets. I'll give the first line, and you have to come up with the matching line as quickly as you can. The first person to match it won't have to

drink, and everyone else drinks a cup. Then the person who matched it gives the next first line, and so on. How about it?"

"Oh? Sounds interesting. Let's do it," Shunsui Kyōraku said, eager to try.

"Then I'll start: Alone I stand on the stream's bridge; my shadow does not follow the flowing water away."

After a while, Ukitake said, "Alone I sleep in a country inn; my dreaming soul often returns to my hometown."

Ye Yang couldn't help praising him. "A fine match, neatly paired. Drink, drink!"

After everyone drank, Ukitake said, "Close the door and push out the moon before the window."

Ye Yang quickly answered, "Throw a stone and break open the sky beneath the water. Drink! I'll give you a more imposing one: The heavens are a chessboard, the stars its pieces; who dares to play?

This time, Isshin Shiba answered, "The earth is a pipa, the roads its strings; who can play it? How's that? Haha, drink up. Hmm... here's mine: A capacious belly can

hold what is hardest to bear under heaven."

Yoruichi, who had been quiet all this time, burst forth. "An open mouth laughs at those who are laughable in the world. Hmph! When a tiger doesn't show its might, do you take it for a sick cat? Here's mine:

A young phoenix learns to fly, and winds and clouds rise across ten thousand miles from this day on."

Ye Yang replied, "A hidden dragon rises, and thunder and rain arrive in time across the nine heavens. Where the sea stretches boundlessly, the sky forms its shore."

Kaien answered, "When I climb to the mountain's summit, I become its peak."

They drank like this for another hour, and everyone became at least a little drunk. During that time, Ye Yang asked Kaien about the surprise, but Kai

en merely said they would talk about it after drinking. Seeing that everyone had drunk about enough, Ye Yang said, "I'll give you one. If you can match it, I'll drink ten cups.

If you can't, you each drink five. How about it?"

"Sure. Go ahead," Kaien Shiba said, full of fighting spirit.

Yoruichi, meanwhile, was already bleary with drink after Ye Yang had deliberately targeted her, and she couldn't even stand steadily.

Ye Yang cleared his throat and said, "Mist locks the mountaintop; the mountain locks the mist."

The room instantly fell silent. This one was difficult: not only did the wording have to match neatly, but it also had to read the same forward and backward, with its meaning unchanged. That

made it extremely difficult.

After a while, no one had managed to match it. Yoruichi said, "Your first line is far too hard. I don't think you have a suitable second line yourself."

Ye Yang kept smiling. "What if I do?"

Impulsive Yoruichi fell right into Ye Yang's trap. "If you can match it, I'll drink twenty cups." As she spoke, she gave a drunken hiccup.

"No need. Ten cups will do."

"Fine, I accept. If you don't have a second line, you have to drink ten cups too."

"All right, it's a deal. Listen carefully. My second line is: Heaven meets the water's edge; the water meets heaven."

Hearing Ye Yang's second line, Yoruichi was thoroughly convinced and drank ten cups. As soon as she finished, she fell over. Fortunately, Ye Yang caught her with quick hands and eyes, muttering

under his breath, "In the end, I'm still the one carrying you..."

Ye Yang said, "So, Kaien, what's our surprise?"

Kaien looked at Yoruichi on Ye Yang's shoulder. "What about Yoruichi?"

"Don't worry. She'll sober up in a little while." Ye Yang knew Yoruichi well. Though she was drunk, she sobered up quickly.

"All right. Ye Yang, do you know what our Shiba Clan does best?" Kaien said mysteriously.

Ye Yang really didn't know, so he asked, "What?"

"Hehe, fireworks, of course. We can absolutely say that our Shiba Clan's fireworks are the best in Soul Society, without equal." Kaien Shi

ba was quite confident about that.

Ye Yang's interest was piqued. "All right, let's go. I'm really looking forward to it."

The group left the wine shop and came to a strange house. The two large characters for Shiba were especially conspicuous on it, and there was even a

tube resembling a cannon that pointed straight into the sky. It was Ye Yang's first time seeing such a peculiar house.

"Is this the place?" Ye Yang asked.

"Yeah. Now, please enjoy a grand fireworks display..."