The Naming Ceremony

The next day, in the Fon Clan's main hall.

Fon Shaoling, the young man, the six guards from the previous day, and some of the Fon residence's attendants had gathered and taken their places. Fon Shaoling knelt in the main seat of the hall, while the young man knelt in the center, directly facing her. The six guards knelt in a row by the door, and the attendants took their places on either side of the main seat in order of rank.

"Did you sleep well last night, sir?"

"Thanks to you, Your Highness. Of course I slept well when I didn't have to brave the elements."

"Your Highness?"

"Yes. Didn't you give your name as Princess Shaoling when you faced the enemy yesterday? If you're called a princess, doesn't that make you Your Highness?"

Fon Shaoling laughed. "Hehe, I do bear the title of princess, but that's what I'm called as the daughter of a lower noble family. I only use it when I'm representing the clan, not usually in everyday life." She suddenly paused. "Could it be that after we met yesterday, you spent the whole day wondering what to call me?"

The young man's expression froze.

"Oh? Is that really so? You didn't need to think so hard about it. Just call me Shaoling. You don't need to worry so much about our difference in status."

"Then... Shaoling?"

"Yes, I'm here," Fon Shaoling answered, though she thought to herself:

Shaoling... Since I inherited the name Soi Fon from my grandmother, no one close to me or among my comrades in the Fon Clan, the Onmitsukidō, Yoruichi, or the Gotei 13 has called me that anymore...

Clap!

Fon Shaoling clapped her hands, deliberately cutting off her train of thought and bringing the subject to an end.

"Speaking of names, you still haven't received one of your own. That's why I invited you to the main hall today. Would you like to try the naming ceremony?"

"The naming ceremony? What's that?"

"It's a ceremony the nobles of Soul Society use to name their children after they're born. Spiritual power is activated during the ceremony, and legend has it that the name written down at the ceremony reaches the heavens and receives the Soul King's acknowledgment."

The naming ceremony was indeed a ritual for giving names to nameless souls. A spiritual array was drawn, and the name was written in a petition in the proper format. The array was then activated, sending the contents of the petition to the Soul King Palace, where a technique performed the naming. Fon Shaoling thought:

But if the soul already has a true name it recognizes as its own, the ceremony will fail. If the true name is the same as the name bestowed, the petition will catch fire. This is the final test. If he passes it, then his identity can be confirmed. With the talent he showed yesterday, he'll be another Tōshirō Hitsugaya someday...

The young man called out to the Zanpakutō spirit in his mind. Zanpakutō spirit, do you think this ceremony will work?

"All the information I have comes from your consciousness and subconscious. If you've just forgotten something, I can dig it out of your subconscious for you. But if it's something you've never heard, memorized, or seen, I won't have it either."

"Then let's give it a try."

"Very well." Fon Shaoling nodded to the attendants on either side. They bowed and began their respective preparations. The attendant at the head of the line produced a stack of papers and a stack of rigid talisman tablets. Each sheet bore a beautifully written Chinese character: Kang, Hang, Guang, Hao, Gang, Hu, and so on... (In Japanese, all of these characters were pronounced kou, kou, the only sound the protagonist could make when trying to say his own name.) Each tablet bore a set of characters inscribed in a standard format, such as Ye Xing, Igarashi, Tadato, Yatogami, Nara, and so on (all sorts of strange surnames).

"What are these characters?"

"Well, you were feeling sad last night because you'd lost your name and your former appearance, weren't you? I thought perhaps I could at least preserve the sound of your old name, so I wrote these names down. I don't know if your old given name or surname is among them. If you don't like any of them, you can choose something else. The other stack contains the surnames the Fon Clan, as a lower noble family, is permitted to bestow. If you go through with the naming ceremony, you can only choose a surname from these tablets. If there isn't one you like, you can leave it blank. There are people in Soul Society with given names but no surnames, too."

"I see." The young man flipped through the stack of papers. "Did you write all of these last night?"

"Yes. I hope there's one you like. It's rare for someone to get to choose their own name, and I hope you can have one that suits you. I need to prepare for the naming ceremony now. Once you've chosen a name, you can wait here. The attendants will set up the spiritual array around you." With that, Fon Shaoling rose from the main seat and temporarily left the hall.

"Oh, all right."

The young man looked through the papers, his chest churning with emotion. Did she come up with so many names for me? She took even this so seriously. She's such a good girl...

The attendants beside him busied themselves setting up the spiritual array, and ritual items were brought in one after another. The young man went through the stack of names again and again.

Every one of them seems good. When I think about how Shaoling came up with all of them, I don't want to give any of them up...

"Aren't you letting love cloud your judgment a little too much? Maybe she's just serious about her work. She is Soi Fon's younger sister, after all. She must be capable, or she wouldn't have been sent out here."

But it really is hard to choose...

The young man looked through them again.

After a long while, the spiritual array was complete, and all the attendants had taken their places. Shaoling's voice came from behind the young man. "Sir, the preparations for the ceremony are complete. Have you decided on a name you like?"

"About that..." The instant the young man turned to look at Fon Shaoling as he answered, he froze. She wore shrine maiden robes, white above and red below, along with a shrine maiden's cap. Her deep purple hair, which had previously hung loose, was tied into a single braid draped over her left shoulder. Her hands and face were slightly damp, red eye shadow lined her eyes, and a touch of vermilion colored her lips. Bending at the waist beside him, she looked at the papers in his hand, a faint fragrance wafting from her.

When Fon Shaoling heard nothing more from him, she looked at his face and asked, "What's wrong, sir?"

Only then did the young man recover slightly. Still somewhat dazed, he said, "Oh... nothing... I've chosen one. This one." His eyes remained fixed blankly on Fon Shaoling as he mechanically handed her the paper and tablet. She took them and looked them over. "Is this your choice? Then leave the rest to me."

Fon Shaoling walked to the ceremonial lectern standing before the young man. Black array markings spread from both sides of the lectern and encircled him.

Fon Shaoling inscribed the name the young man had chosen on the prayer petition used for the ceremony. "Now then, the naming ceremony is about to begin. Please relax. It was originally a ceremony for infants, after all, so there are no strict requirements for the recipient. You need only wait with a calm mind."

The young man nodded from within the array.

"Then..." Fon Shaoling's somewhat gentle tone faded, replaced by a solemn one. "The naming ceremony will now officially begin!"

The attendants seated at the eight points around the spiritual array knelt upright, their expressions grave as they waited for Fon Shaoling to act.

Fon Shaoling placed the petition on the ceremonial lectern.

"We respectfully open the rite!" the attendants said together.

"O Soul King, great deity enthroned upon the lofty seat,

Sovereign foundation who rules the three realms and decrees life and death.

Today there is a faint soul, a wandering spirit,

Roaming the fields of wandering souls, drifting upon the river of the World of the Living,

With no name to rely upon, no surname by which to stand,

Like dew upon a blade of grass, like dust floating in empty light.

Humbly before you, we beg your merciful gaze: bestow a true name and establish its foundation." As Fon Shaoling recited the prayer, the spiritual array activated, and blue Reishi began to drift through the main hall.

"The prayer of declaration!" the attendants said.

Fon Shaoling spoke: "Behold this soul:

Its form is clear, like the morning mist over the Seireitei at its beginning;

Its essence is pure, like a primordial spirit untouched by a Hollow's taint.

Though no Chain of Fate binds it to the World of the Living,

The radiance of its soul's channels still illuminates the netherworld.

Yet a name is the guiding thread of the spirit, the pivot of life.

Without a name, there is no home; without a home, one is easily scattered.

When scattered, one falls into the gaps of reincarnation, and may become a source of Hollow affliction.

Thus, with sincere reverence and trepidation, we present this soul to the heavens."

The black markings of the spiritual array gradually began to glow with the blue light of Reishi.

"The prayer for the bestowal of a name! Humbly we pray!" the attendants said in unison once more.

Fon Shaoling continued: "By the wisdom bequeathed by Amaterasu Ōmikami,

By the creative breath of Izanagi-no-Mikoto,

Let the voice of the lower realm convey the sound of a true name.

Let its name receive the soul as an Asauchi does,

And accord with its nature as a Zanpakutō resonates with its wielder.

Perhaps let it draw upon the quiet seclusion of Bamboo Creek Plain,

Or take from the peace and harmony of Junrinan,

Or reflect the steadfast will of Carp-Crouching Mountain,

Or inherit the loyal bond of the Bee-Crest Flower.

Let name and substance correspond, and the spiritual foundation be made firm."

As soon as she finished speaking, the entire spiritual array fully awakened, and the Bee-Crest Flower on Fon Shaoling's shrine maiden robes and cap lit up.

"Recite! The words of the closing oath!" With that, the attendants bowed low.

Fon Shaoling spoke again. "Today we offer the sacred enclosure as a screen, and the sacred branch as our pledge.

May the Seireitei walls guard its exterior, and the Sesshōseki subdue what lies within.

On the day it receives its name, this soul shall enter the order of reincarnation,

Obey the laws of Soul Society, and keep the statutes of the Soul King Palace.

May the Gotei 13 observe its conduct,

And the Seventy-Two Paths admonish its heart.

With true heart and true spirit,

In reverence to the divine and the way,

We bow our heads and bow again,

Humbly beseeching the Soul King to bear witness!"

The objects arranged within the spiritual array rose one by one as Fon Shaoling spoke. When she finished, she bent forward and gestured, and the petition on the ceremonial lectern rose into the air. Its written characters shone one after another.

Finally, Fon Shaoling said, "We hereby proclaim and bestow the true name—Yexing Hu—to anchor these soul channels forever. We humbly beseech the Soul King to bear witness!"

When she finished, Fon Shaoling knelt and bowed her head to the ground before the petition. All the markings of the spiritual array rose and began circling the young man. When the three characters of Yexing Hu's name on the petition lit up, he too slowly rose into the air, and the spiritual markings and all the floating Reishi began pouring into his body.

However, two hours later... the spiritual markings had all been infused into him, but Reishi was still pouring into his body. Much of it was even drifting in from outside, passing through the Fon residence. Fon Shaoling and the attendants remained bowed, seemingly still maintaining the ceremony with solemnity. But Fon Shaoling could not understand the situation at all.