Hello everyone.
First of all thank you for clicking on my newest story, I've written Disney before but never a Mulan story.
I first of all want to say that I got the idea for this story while reading 'Be a Man!' by Kino no Tabibito, that story was about Mulan eventually falling in love with Shangs sister named 'Yueh' ( which I am using for his sisters name here, all credit for that name goes to the author) , sadly the story only got to 3 chapters and didn't really progress far, and the author hasn't updated any of their stories in five years.
So I decided after re-reading the story for the third time in 2 years, and re-watching Mulan again after forever, to write my own version and write the full story ( I thought my title sounds better due to the situation) , I also have a plan for Mulan 2 when I finish this story.
So now that that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy my story and if your interested please check out some of my other stories.
Frozen in Time: a time travelling 'Frozen' fanfic about seven year old Elsa travelling to the future during the events of the film
Pixie Dust and Dark Magic: a Crossover between the 'Tinkerbell' film series and the TV show 'Once Upon a Time' where Tinkerbell falls in love with my OC Van Helsing who is the son of Rumplestiltskin and their lives before and during Regina's curse.
My 'Wicked Fan's Series' : Which is now on its second story and follows the adventures of a team of young heroes brought together by the witches from the musical 'Wicked' and are facing off against forces of darkness to defend the Earth, encountering trouble not only with villains but within their own team.
And many more of my stories ( not going to write them all out, don't want to bore you guys)
Disclaimer: I do not Own Mulan or any of the characters within this story, they all belong to their original owners and to Walt Disney Studios, also the name 'Yueh' belongs to Kino no Tabibito.
Please enjoy
Mulan stood at the edge of the camp nervously, after making the decision to take her father's place in the emperor's army she had rode off immediately that night, and after having some short preparations as well as meeting her so called 'guardian' Mushu, that her ancestors had apparently sent to protect her, she was ready to enter camp and begin training.
Accept that she was now feeling really nervous as the gravity of the situation hit her.
What if she couldn't pass as a man?
Or she was discovered by one of the others?
Her family would never live down the shame if she were revealed. However as soon as she thought of her family she remembered why she had come in the first place, she had to succeed, she just had too.
Mushu popped up from under her armour as she was about to enter camp and turned to her with a confident smile on his face.
"Ok, this is it, time to show 'em your man walk" he instructed.
"Shoulders back"
"Chest high"
"Feet apart"
"Head high, and strut" he ordered as he sat behind Mulan's head before slipping back under the cover of her armour.
The result of Mushu's advice was less than incognito as almost every head in the camp turned to watch Mulan's awkward march through the entrance, however seemingly lost interest as she made her way further in.
The disguised female couldn't believe the sights she saw passing the tents, these men were acting completely uncivilised and downright disgusting, she wrinkled her nose at the behaviour as she tried to keep a steady pace, and this was something she wasn't sure she could emulate no matter how hard she tried….not that she wanted to.
"They're so disgusting" she remarked as Mushu popped up once again.
"They're men" he corrected.
"And you're gonna have to act just like them, so pay attention" he said before they came upon a man showing off a dragon tattoo on his bare chest.
"This tattoo will protect me from harm" he boasted.
A skinny man slightly taller than Mulan and a shorter burlier man with a black eye were looking at it with scrutiny, before the shorter man decided to test that theory by punching him right in the stomach.
Mulan gasped at the action as the skinnier man suddenly burst into laughter.
"I hope you can get your money back!" he laughed patting the shorter man on the back.
Mulan stared blankly at the exchange
"I don't think I can do this" she said once again feeling doubt.
"It's all about attitude, you gotta be tough like this guy" Mushu said pointing to the shorter man, who promptly snorted before spitting right onto the ground in front of them, Mulan looked slightly shocked at the action and the shorter man turned to her.
"What are you looking at!" he said aggressively.
'Obviously someone's got a temper' Mulan thought dryly before she was interrupted by Mushu who told her to punch him, saying it was a normal 'manly' greeting.
Smiling slightly she raised her fist back and socked him right on the back of the head, sending him barrelling into the large belly of a huge man who dwarfed all of them.
He smiled at the sight before turning to the shorter man.
"Oh Yao, you made a friend" he said politely.
Mushu decided to unveil yet another pearl of wisdom to the young girl in disguise.
"Good, now slap him on the behind, they love that"
Yao however didn't seem to take the sentiment the same way and was red with anger, turning to Mulan.
"I'm going to hit you so hard, it'll make your ancestors dizzy" he threatened, before the larger man took him in his arms and tried to calm him down.
"Yao, relax and chant with me" he said evenly before proceeding to lull the angry man into a calmer state, Mulan thought the situation was over when the man proclaimed she wasn't worth his time and calling her 'chicken boy' and was about to turn away when Mushu decided to once again intervene and 'help'.
"What's wrong, afraid to fight a real man you limp noodle!" he called from beneath Mulan's armour.
"Oh that's it; I'll teach you to make fun of me wimpy!" Yao said once again fuming.
Mulan took off running through camp, not planning on being pummelled any time soon.
"Come on ling" Yao called as he and the skinny man from before took off after her, followed by the larger man who was trying to calm the two.
Mulan managed to slip into one of the tents and duck under a blanket just in time for them to pass through without seeing her, only to come into contact with a line of soldiers waiting for porridge, as soon as the larger man collided with them at the end the entire line fell over like domino's, spilling the pot onto the grass and causing them all to collide with the solid ground.
Mulan looked on as seemingly the entire recruit forces turned to her with seething stares.
And that is when the trouble truly began.
(Meanwhile elsewhere in Camp)
Yueh walked towards her father, the general's tent holding a small tea tray. She entered to see her father was going over strategy with her brother, while Councillor Chi-Fu was present.
She never did like the man from the moment he stepped into the camp, always scrutinizing her brother and insulting the new recruits, he didn't make it a secret that her presence in the camp infuriated him to no end.
She poured a cup before passing it to her father; he smiled and graciously accepted before she turned to her brother.
"Tea, Shang?" she asked motioning for his cup.
Her older brother gave her a smirk.
"That's Captain Shang, now Yueh" he said light heartedly, showing her the blade that their father had given him.
Yueh turned to her father who smiled and nodded in response to her unasked question.
"That's wonderful" she said giving him a small hug, he returned it quickly before they were interrupted by Chi-Fu clearing his throat.
"You shouldn't interrupt military operations, nor should a woman speak openly around men, surely General Li your daughter should have better respect than that" he said cockily.
Before he could say any more General Li gave a small chuckle.
"Oh my daughter is only happy for her brother's promotion, besides she is a perfectly polite, caring, intelligent and honourable young lady. Any young man would be lucky to have her as his wife" he said before sending a dangerous smile to the councillor.
"Wouldn't you agree?" he said, Chi-Fu merely grumbled angrily before seemingly regaining his composure.
'That girl is nothing but trouble' Chi-Fu thought angrily.
'The first chance I get she is going to be sent home, as soon as the General leaves, that'll show that insolent girl not to meddle in the affairs of her betters' he thought cunningly.
"Very well then, I will take my leave" General Li said rising to his feet, Yueh approached her father and was instantly brought into his warm embrace.
"Yueh, make sure not to cause too much trouble for your brother" he said kindly, she looked up at him and smiled, trying not to get too emotional.
"I will father, and please, be safe" she replied, hugging him back before stepping back to her brother's side.
"I shall, I promise you. And I shall see you both, when we toast victory in the imperial city" he said moving towards the tent entrance.
"I'll expect a full report in three weeks" he said to Chi-Fu, who turned to Shang and Yueh.
"And I won't leave anything out" he said to the two of them, sending a light glare to Yueh before exiting the tent.
Yueh walked back over to where she had deposited the tea pot and picked it up, she was worried for her father's safety, but quickly pushed the thoughts out of her mind as she turned back to her brother, she stifled a giggle as she saw him.
"Captain Li Shang, leader of China's greatest troops….no the greatest troops of all time" he proclaimed to himself.
"Well 'oh great captain' you might want to see father off before he leaves" she said as Shang realised his little sister had heard him; he faltered for a second before clearing his throat and regaining his composure and exiting the tent.
Yueh walked out a few moments later and her mouth dropped open slightly at the sight of the recruits all fighting and squabbling, one man was even beating another with a fish.
She turned to her brother who was looking on with his mouth agape.
"You may have a way to go before the whole 'greatest troops' thing brother"
Their father meanwhile stepped over an unconscious recruit and onto his horse; he looked back at them with a smile.
"Good luck captain" he said before taking off on his horse, the regiment of trained soldiers following behind him.
"Good luck…..father" Shang whispered.
Shang took a deep breath before looking back at the still fighting troops.
"Day one" Chi-Fu said obnoxiously.
Yueh watched on as her brother began to sort through the chaos; it seemed that the fighting had begun due to the actions of one young recruit.
He was about Yueh's age, had black hair tied in a bun, and was wearing full armour. Yueh glanced at the young man's face, there was something different about it, but she couldn't tell from the distance.
Currently however she could see Shang questioning him on his name.
"I didn't ask for his name I asked for yours" She heard Shang say after the recruit had muttered one of the other men's names.
"Ah…Chu" he said, Yueh stifled a giggle at the name; Shang however seemed to be getting even more annoyed.
"Your name is Ah Chu?"
Yueh watched as her brother once again questioned him, she briefly wondered if the recruit was suffering from an identity crisis or had merely been hit too hard on the head during the scuffle.
"It's Ping" he finally answered.
"Ping?" Shang asked once more.
"Yes, my name is Ping" Yueh heard the young man say once again.
Yueh hung back as she watched her brother continue to scrutinize the poor young man, but her head whipped up when she heard the name Fa Zhou.
"The Fa Zhou?" Shang questioned, Yueh heard Chi-Fu mention that he hadn't known Fa Zhou had a son.
Yueh had heard of the man in question before, he was a hero of the previous war, his actions on the battle field where legendary and he was highly revered among the military and an honoured veteran.
"Ok gentleman, thanks to your new friend Ping here, you're going to spend tonight picking up every single grain of rice. And tomorrow, the real work begins" Shang proclaimed to the recruits who were all now looking at Ping angrily except for the large man named Chien Po, Yueh had run into him previously and the man seemed to be a peaceful soul.
She looked back at Ping once again and squinted slightly, she swore she saw something red flash near Pings armour but after a few seconds it disappeared, shaking her head slightly she turned back to Shang who was walking back towards the main command tent.
"Let me guess, you're going to throw them straight into training and do you whole 'manly' routine" Yueh said to her brother who sent her a small grin.
"Oh yeah, I doubt any of them are going to enjoy this, we'll see soon who the real soldiers are" he said before entering the tent.
Yueh stayed behind for a moment and watched the soldiers scrambling around on the ground desperately trying to pick up the grains of rice from the ground.
She hoped her brother wouldn't go too hard on them, and that she would be able to have some fun instead of being cooped up all day in her tent.
Before returning to the command tent she looked back one last time at the soldier who had caused all this mess, she couldn't place it but there was something about Ping that she just couldn't shake.
So there it is, chapter one all wrapped up.
Usually I will try and write 2500-3000+ words per chapter, this chapter was only an intro though.
I do hope you enjoyed it, and would like to review. I love hearing feedback on my stories and just to hear your thoughts.
So please, reviews are encouraged.
I may update the next chapter soon, since I have almost finished my Exams.
Oh and look out for a new story of mine that I have adopted from 'PerkyGoth14' and will be continuing called 'Ashley meets a Troll in central park'
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will try and get chapter 2 up as soon as I can.