Entrance Exam

Kaien Shiba said to his younger sister, "Kūkaku, go get ready. Let's show them the Shiba Clan's fireworks."

The little girl said peevishly, "I know that without you telling me. I'm going to be the best fireworks maker in Rukongai." With that, Kūkaku walked into the strange house.

Shunsui Kyōraku took off the hat he had kept pulled low and looked up at the sky. "My, my, it's been a long time since I last saw the Shiba Clan's fireworks. Nearly a hundred years, I'd say. Isn't that right, Ukitake?"

Jūshirō Ukitake was equally nostalgic. "Yes. We haven't seen them since the Shiba Clan fell into decline. Yoruichi and Ye Yang should be happy~ This is the first time the Shiba fireworks have bloomed in nearly a hundred years."

Before long, a streak of light shot from the cannon. The firework soared straight into the sky, tracing a bright arc. Then it burst, blooming wider and wider into flowers of every color. The brilliant fireworks stood high in the sky, looking down upon the earth and taking everything in. Everything seemed so small, as if the whole world came alive only at this moment. They broke the stillness of the darkness, revealing their most beautiful moment to everyone before gradually fading away. That fleeting beauty gave people the shifting colors of light, the wonder of sound, the pleasure of beauty, the swirl of illusion, and the reveries of dreams. Though brief, it would not be forgotten.

As everyone watched the fireworks, Isshin Shiba suddenly tilted his head and asked Ye Yang, "Little Ye Yang, do you like fireworks?"

Ye Yang said noncommittally, "Fireworks are beautiful and dazzling, but I don't like them. They're too fleeting. In their short lives, they bloom at their most beautiful and make everyone remember them. But I only want to protect the little dream in my heart. I just want to live an ordinary life with my family, for the rest of my life. That's all."

Isshin Shiba could not help being moved by Ye Yang's words. He thought to himself, You only want to protect your own heart? You only want to live an ordinary life? But you should know that some people are destined to be extraordinary. Fate always forces you down an extraordinary path. What will you do then?

After speaking, Ye Yang looked at Yoruichi, who had woken up some time ago and was watching the fireworks. His heart warmed. At least you're still by my side. I'll never let anyone take you away...

After watching the fireworks, Ye Yang and Yoruichi went home to sleep. The next morning, they got up to practice as usual, but when Ye Yang went outside, he noticed many people glancing at him, some openly and some discreetly. He was puzzled. Why did they keep looking at him? It wasn't as though there was a flower on his face. He called a servant over to ask and learned that their performance the previous day had caused a stir throughout Seireien. People everywhere were talking about what they had done. Yoruichi's heavenly dancing had earned her the title of Dancing Princess, and somehow people had learned that Ye Yang's instrument was called a guqin, so he had been dubbed the Guqin Emperor.

Ye Yang didn't mind the title. In fact, he rather liked it. He wondered, though, how Yoruichi felt about being called the "Dancing Princess." Speak of the devil: when Ye Yang looked up, he saw Yoruichi, who appeared to be quite angry.

"Hey, sis, what's wrong? You look pretty angry," Ye Yang asked, though he knew perfectly well.

When Yoruichi saw Ye Yang, she said indignantly, "You've heard, haven't you? Dancing Princess? Guqin Emperor? I can't believe they came up with those."

Ye Yang said unconcernedly, "I don't mind. I quite like the title Guqin Emperor. But you have to make sure you live up to the name Dancing Princess, or who knows how many young men's hearts will be broken again." He gave his trademark smile.

"I'll definitely replace it with another title..."

Before they knew it, another six months had passed. Ye Yang's life had been as dull as ever during that time, but today was special: it was the day the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy admitted new students. The Shihoin Clan's rules required their children to attend the Spiritual Arts Academy for formal training as Soul Reapers either in the year of their coming-of-age ceremony or the following year. The Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy was where Soul Reapers were formally trained. Founded by Captain-Commander Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, it admitted students who passed the entrance exam. The course lasted six years, though anyone who learned quickly could skip grades. Kaien Shiba, for example, had completed the first five years of coursework in just one year. He was now in the fifth year and would advance to the sixth when the new students enrolled. One more year and he could graduate. He was known as a genius rarely seen in decades.

But Ye Yang's ambition was not to become a genius. That went against his own way of mediocrity. He had never had the chance to attend school in his previous life, so he had decided to enjoy his school days in this one.

After breakfast, Ye Yang and Yoruichi went to the Spiritual Arts Academy's registration desk together, only to find Kaien Shiba working as the receptionist. Ye Yang greeted him. "Morning, Kaien. Welcoming the new students?"

Kaien Shiba saw that it was Ye Yang and Yoruichi. "Morning, Yoruichi, Ye Yang. Can't be helped. There are an especially large number of people taking the entrance exam today, so even us sixth-years have come out to help. Are you two enrolling this year too? If there's anything you don't understand, you can come ask me anytime~ I'm your senior, after all. Come on, let me hear you call me senior."

Yoruichi shouted, "Kaien Shiba, I haven't dealt with you in a few days and your tail's already pointing at the sky again, huh? Just you wait until the exam's over. Heh heh!"

Kaien Shiba hurriedly gave her an apologetic smile. "No, no, no. Sister Yoruichi, I was wrong, all right?"

Ye Yang had heard plenty of similar exchanges over the past six months. Kaien's easygoing personality got along well with Yoruichi's, and they had quickly become close friends who talked about everything. But whenever they fooled around, Kaien always came off worse, leaving him thoroughly depressed. Ye Yang was actually a major factor in that. The reason was simple: Yoruichi always came off worse in her battles of wits and nerve with Ye Yang. As the saying went, one took on the color of one's company, and Yoruichi felt Kaien was far inferior to her unscrupulous little brother.

Kaien continued, "All right, enough of that. I'll take you to register." With that, he led Ye Yang and Yoruichi to fill out forms, after which came the Spiritual Pressure test. The first requirement for entering the Spiritual Arts Academy was to have Spiritual Pressure. Classes were assigned according to its strength, with Class One being the best and the others ranked below it.

Ye Yang and Yoruichi's Spiritual Pressure was currently about equal to that of an ordinary Seated Officer, but they had long agreed not to reveal their strength and cause a sensation. Yoruichi used only half her Spiritual Pressure, while Ye Yang used only a third. Even so, they drew the attention of everyone present. Their Spiritual Pressure had reached the level of elite Soul Reapers in the squads, earning them an S grade on the entrance exam—a result that could be seen once in ten years. Of course, above that was the SSS grade, achieved by people like Kaien Shiba.

The examinees who saw this had already begun discussing it.

Some were envious. "Look over there, an S grade! I only got a B. Ah, we're not even in the same league."

Some were jealous. "Hmph, I bet they just got lucky."

Some were ignorant. "S grade? Just wait until we enroll. I'll show them."

A child of a high-ranking noble family quickly pulled that person aside. "Shh, don't ever say that again. Do you know who they are? They're the young master and young lady of the Shihoin Clan. They could wipe out your family in the blink of an eye."

The person's face went deathly pale. He quickly shut up and slunk away...

After the Spiritual Pressure test came a written exam, which tested their knowledge of the Gotei 13 and the history of Seireien. When the paper was handed out, Ye Yang felt utterly bored. The questions were too easy. As a young master of the Shihoin Clan, he had been immersed in these subjects since childhood, so he didn't answer a single question at the beginning. Only when he saw the last question did he become a little interested: Why do you want to become a Soul Reaper?

Ye Yang thought for a moment and wrote down what he had said when Shunsui Kyōraku asked him that question: To protect my own heart.

Once he had finished, he handed in the paper and left. In fact, the written exam wasn't important. Anyone whose Spiritual Pressure passed the test could enroll. The earlier questions on the written exam hardly mattered; the most important was the last one, which tested the examinee's attitude toward Seireien to prevent rebellion.

Once the written exam was over, they moved on to the final part of the examination: practical combat.

Practical combat was also an important factor in assigning classes. The exam consisted of unarmed combat, intended only to test the examinees' combat awareness and adaptability. Their opponents were fifth- or sixth-year senior students, but the seniors were not allowed to use spiritual power and had to fight using Hakuda alone. Three examiners and one senior student took part in the exam, which was held in a separate training ground.

Everything had been within Ye Yang's expectations, but the person facing him in the third exam turned out to be Kaien Shiba!

Ye Yang had originally intended to hide his strength and avoid putting on too striking a performance in the third exam. But fate worked in mysterious ways. Against Kaien, he couldn't possibly win without using a certain amount of strength, yet if Kaien discovered that he wasn't using his true strength, trouble would be unavoidable.

Ye Yang looked at Kaien across from him and said, "Hey, Kaien, can you go easy on me?"

Kaien was instantly displeased. "Are you looking down on me? In terms of Hakuda alone, Yoruichi and I were evenly matched when we sparred. Yoruichi told me you taught her Hakuda. If you don't give it your all, I'll be angry."

Ye Yang looked at Kaien, who was brimming with fighting spirit, and knew this battle was unavoidable. With that thought, Ye Yang did not hesitate. The fire of battle, which had not burned in his heart for a long time, gradually flared to life. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes as he said, "Then let's fight!"