FicWad

Oh my god! I just realized that I was doing the stupidest thing ever! I was blocking anonymous reviews! Aren't I an idiot?

LOOKAFALCONTHECOLOUROFDEATH

It had been two months since the last battle between any of the kingdoms. No two swords had clashed in any attempts at murder - only meaningless hours of training for fights that had long ago faded away. It seemed China had united itself all on its own, for no reason other than to give the warriors a rest from the tiresome sound of metal on metal.

Perhaps it was fate that had done this, some of the soldiers thought. They pondered this in their hours of boredom when they could think of no other things to do. Had the gods brought this peace upon them? Would China finally come to an end of the chaos for good? It seemed too long since the last battle - the kingdoms were trading again. They were lucky, the leaders thought...it was all sheer luck.

But of course they were wrong.

The fighting had stopped for the rise of the new kingdom of Lu Xun. After many letters and twenty nights of no rest, he had finally gotten things under control and was prepared to leave with his army when he found the courage to do so. It didn't seem right, though, as much as he wanted to do it. He would be abandoning many of those he had loved and grown up with - and soon would be facing them in battle.

He tried to remove from his mind the image of himself standing over a blood-soaked Shang Xiang in her bright red army uniform. Would he really be able to destroy all that he knew for the sake of his kingdom?

But then, such was the life of a strategist. One must focus not on emotions, but on progress and honour. Well, that's what he had read in a stupid little scroll he had found in the library. How he hated its smooth surface and stained lettering...perhaps it was wrong, but he went by its words, however reluctantly...

Looking down at the note he had written for himself, a bit of the anxiety that had filled his heart flitted away...

Cao Pi, Sima Yi, Officer, Strategist, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Katana, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, guaranteedfive thousand soldiers...

It would have been helpful had Cao Pi of informed him of the names of the two unknown officers he was bringing. Perhaps then he would have known where they stood in their chances of rising to actually become a true acknowledged kingdom. Five thousand soldiers were not a lot to start off with. They could easily be annihilated if any of the others spotted them...

Well, at least he knew where they would first strike to obtain their own place to stay - castle and all. It was a nice place...filled with cherry blossoms and fishing ponds. An army of a merehalf athousand defended the land, so it would be easy enough to obtain the place. The villagers there knew this as well, so it wouldn't be too difficult to persuade them into surrendering - if they wanted to do that, which they didn't.

It wasn't much of a place for a kingdom, though, but Xun figured it was a good place to set themselves up with no one noticing. The castle stood quite close to the border of the country, so the area wouldn't be so much as glanced upon by the other kingdoms. A search for the missing officers wouldn't have to be worried about, either. Each one of them apparently had a good alibi to go upon...

Okay...maybe a search would be issued...they were all leaving the same day, after all...surely Zhuge Liang would be able to sense that something was happening...

Xun sighed and said a word aloud simply for the comfort of hearing his own voice. He was alive, at least, and that was a wonderful accomplishment considering all of the previous battles he had fought. Surely this one would make no difference.

Attempting the process which he had repeated a dozen times in the past two days, he took a piece of parchment from his drawer and scribbled a quick message onto its surface.

Cao Pi,

Now is the time to strike. The new kingdom will march from the gates of Wu in one week's time. Please arrive with your officers the day prior. I will meet you just outside of Xia Kieh. Your soldiers shall remain hidden in the forest two kilometres away - food and equipment will be provided. I beg that you keep your identities as discreet as possible.

Lu Xun

Feeling a sudden surge of daring pass through him, Xun sent for Cao Pi's trusted spy and ordered him to deliver the note as soon as possible. He was right on thinking that the moment would leave quickly, though, and he nearly stopped the man on his way to the window.

Xun had pictured the sending of the note to be much like that moment in many ways, but the regret and excitement he felt afterwards was tenfold to what he had predicted. Slamming his little red hat down on his head with unnecessary force, he turned to inform the others of what he had just done.

"Holy-!"

To the poor strategist's dismay, Katana happened to have magically swept into the room and was leaning comfortably right over his left shoulder. He had this evil little smirk on his face that said he knew he was going to startle him.

"I see you've sent the letter. Is suppose we're leaving in one week's time?" he continued when he received a nod, "Well, thanks for telling me. You'd think you would have informed me of your plan...a little short notice, don't you think?"

Xun huffed and stared out the window at the moon, full in all its glory.

"I didn't even know what I was doing until it was done. I have to get this over with quickly. If Cao Pi truly wants to join Shei, then marching a little early won't bother him...I do find it strange, though, that he'd want to join the new kingdom when soon he'll own Wei..."

"We already went over this," Katana snorted, "and it doesn't matter! But, hey! When did I agree on Shei?"

Xun swivelled his chair around, causing the other boy to stumble into him heavily. He pushed him off lightly, saying, "It doesn't matter if you agree. It's just a name and no one will think anything of it. I rather like it, though...it mocks the other kingdoms, in a way."

Standing up from his place on the chair, the young master of tactics strolled towards the door. He took one last glance at the dim lighting in his room before fixing his hat and pushing into the hallway.

"Will you join me in informing the other officers of the date of our leave?"

ITSEEMSTOBEFOLLOWINGME

Half a week later...

The kingdom of Wei was in utter disorder. The small battle that had taken place the day prior had brought with it the loss of Cao Cao, or rather...his displacement. It seemed that no number of spies, foot soldiers, or peasants could locate the missing emperor. Cao Ren and Xu Huang had taken this chance to begin their reign of the kingdom, demoting half of the officers to a place far below the ranks they were originally stationed at. The new emperor had taken a protesting Zhen Ji as his wife, and his right hand man had a strange look whenever Sima Yi passed by.

Cao Pi had been assigned to the spot of the lower officer's cook - Cao Ren feared that if he was stationed anywhere higher, he might find his food poisoned. The kind emperor, though, had allowed him to keep his 'sex slave,' and had given him a nice uniform adorned with little bronze chickens on the front.

"Here."

Zhao Yun stumbled back as a rather large bag filled to the brim with daggers and poison was thrusted violently into his unsuspecting hands. He nearly fell back onto the chair behind him as Cao Pi opened the zipper and began shovelling in random items from the nearly empty drawers.

"Sir-" he winced as a dagger unsheathed itself and slipped through the layers of fabric, surprising him with a small cut. He dropped the bag by accident, and went to pick it up, but bumped heads with his new commander and fell back, just missing the chair.

Cao Pi looked down angrily for a moment, but his expression soon softened to one of deep sadness, and he helped Yun onto his bed.

"Sorry," he said sincerely, "but we're leaving today - I'm in a hurry."

Yun nodded dizzily at him, holding his spinning head for a moment before he tried to sit up.

"Do you think we'll have enough food to last for an extra day in the forest? We're leaving pretty early, after all..."

Pi turned around and continued to pack.

"I have everything planned out." He said shortly, then added quietly, "And father's probably fine...he'll fix Wei when he comes back..."

Yun tried to ignore the innocent doubt behind that statement, looking away slightly and shifting where he lay. What if Cao Cao was actually dead and word got to his son?

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Yun shot up quickly, shooting a glance over at Pi and all the carelessly placed luggage, before stating loudly, "We're busy! Don't come in!"

His commander sneered at him, obviously embarrassed, but said nothing.

Unfortunately, though, whoever was at the door didn't seem to care for Yun's defensive words, and slipped into the room with an aura of impatience and a patch around his left eye.

"Xiahou Dun!" Pi gasped, shoving most of the luggage behind the chair and out of sight, "What brings you here? And why are you barging into my room? Surely you know it is not proper..."

Though he was normally civil with his father's right hand man, he was in much of a hurry and had no need to be polite to any of the officers that might later become his enemies.

"I wish to accompany you to the new kingdom." Dun said shortly.

For a moment Yun was completely surprised that he had found out about that certain secret that had been barely whispered among the three kingdoms, but it didn't take him long to realize that, at some point, the rumour would have had to be heard by someone that wasn't a part of it. He looked closely at the man that stood at the door, and remembered him as Cao Cao's right hand man. He noticed that his visible eye seemed a little red...as though he had been...

"I see the information has leaked out," Cao Pi sneered, "Of course, there must be at least one fool that had been told if the idea originated in Wu...Xiahou Dun, why do you wish to accompany me to the new kingdom?"

The man with the eye patch bowed, whether it was out of respect or to cover his expression, Yun couldn't guess.

"To carry out the wish of your father, and stand at your side."

As he straightened up, Pi stood and faced the window, a grim expression lining his face. He stared vaguely at the glass, seemingly thinking of something. Zhao Yun shifted a bit. He wasn't considering the death of Cao Cao, was he? The man was a war god - he wouldn't die in such a petty battle...but there was still doubt, he supposed.

"The soldiers are waiting, sir." Yun cut in, acting as much like a soldier as he could, but still trying to hurry the men along. It wouldn't be god for anyone to get too deep into thought before they left. Second thoughts about this trip would only make things slower, and he might begin rethinking his own decision.

Dun didn't make a reaction to his statement, though. He simply stood where he was and waited. Pi didn't wait, though.

"Officer Xiahou Dun, please pack your things. We will be leaving shortly."

OHCRAPTHERESNOTONEBUTTHERESTHREE

Short, I know, but this is really just a filler chapter. I'll have more eventually, and the action will soon start. I'm basically still at the beginning of this story...I might have to change the name, too. Would you tell me if that's all right? I was originally going to base it on the OC, Katana, but then I became interested in all of the other pairings, too, so the title doesn't really make sense anymore. What should I change it to?