Between Love and War
By: Mako-chan
Mako_chan@tekken.cc


When I first played Dynasty Warriors 2, I immediately fell in love with it and the real thing itself. This is a story about my two favorite characters in the game. I hope that you would enjoy it and see it as I would. Oh, btw, don't forget those reviews =)

*DISCLAIMER: No profits. No ownership but the story. DW and its characters belong to Koei.*



BETWEEN LOVE AND WAR
Chapter One



"Diao Chan...you will come with me," the fierce young warrior proclaimed as he scooped up the maiden.

"What's the meaning of this? What's happening Lord Lu Bu?" she asked confusedly.

"Nobody shall come between us anymore. I have slain your oppressor."

"My lord..." Diao Chan was taken aback, shocked still by the turn of events. She should have seen it coming, for she had played her part so very well. The moment she came into Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo's lives, catastrophe was bound to happen - she was there to make sure that it would, indeed, happen. It was not because she was endeared to the tyrant pig, but perhaps because of her frailty, Diao Chan, like any other lady, would not take it so easily. Never has she seen a world of betrayal, corruption and lust for power and flesh, she even wondered how on earth she was able to save herself from somebody like Dong Zhuo; how she was no more a dancer and nightingale for his nightly entertainment.

"Where is my father?" she suddenly asked. Surely he would be among with the general's men...wouldn't he?

Lu Bu rode in silence, trying hard to think of a way to break the news to Diao Chan. He was fully aware that it will bring great sadness to her, not even he can ease his lady's pain. The last thing he wanted was that, and every time since he watched her from her chambers crying, he longed to free her and make her happy with his presence.

"Well? Could the kind lord give me an answer? Please. I wish to know of my father's whereabouts. I wish to inquire of his well-being!" she burst out, unable to control the pounding and anxiety building up inside her.

"Minister Wangyun," Lu Bu paused, "refused to leave..."

"What?"

"I urged him to come with me but he insisted. Minister Wangyun said that I must take care of his daughter and not let anything befall her," he said and looked at her with intense eyes. "Between men I am sworn to protect my lady at all costs," Lu Bu valiantly declared as he flicked on the reigns and urged the glorious Red Hare to increase its already thunderous pace.

Diao Chan closed her her, leaning slightly on her side on Lu Bu's armored chest. She clenched and unclenched her hands repeatedly, trying to digest the news she received and as to why she did not put up a fight when this man who was supposed to be no different carried her off.

What have I gotten myself into? What have I truly gotten myself into? Diao Chan thought. "Where are we headed, my lord?" she asked and looked up at his stern yet handsome face.

"A place where both of us can be free."


They rode throughout the day, from dawn until dusk. Nobody was with them, only the massive Sky Scorcher under its owner's hands would be able to defend them if misfortune should befall them. Diao Chan did not care if the remaining members of Dong Zhuo's faction set up an ambush nor did she give a thought that Lu Bu would best such puny men even with his eyes closed. She did not care whether or not she would still get to see the next sunrise; it made no difference for the honorable man who took her under his wing and who compelled her to destroy a burgeoning despotic empire was dead.

To save an empire, yet I could not do so much as lift a finger to save my father, Diao Chan thought. Minister Wangyun's demise had finally hit her, and the tears came flooding down her cheeks as if it had a life of its own.

For hours neither one of them exchanged words -- the last of them being a most unfortunate news. As a man, he looked at himself as no more than a soldier, or a warrior, if not, a general. Lu Bu thought that men were solely made of and for the battlefield, but the moment he laid eyes on Diao Chan, despite having been already slightly drunk, a part unfamiliar to him had been revealed, and he suddenly found himself yearning so much to be whole.

Lu Bu had much to learn; and learned that he had a price to pay. For bribes he had given up his principles, thinking such would satisfy him. But when his betrothed had unwillingly been made into a mindless courtesan for a man whose carnal desires rival the length of the Yangtze River, Lu Bu dreamed of the day that his halberd would cut right through that bastard's throat...that had become a reality, and that day was yesterday.

Yet despite all of this, he could not make himself feel happy either. They were running for their lives, and the delicate maiden he had encircled possessed a face so stricken that the sky itself would wail in sorrow with her.

"You are...crying."

"This is nothing my lord. Oh, whatever are you saying?" Diao Chan dismissed Lu Bu as she discreetly wiped her eyes with her fingertips.

Lu Bu commanded Red Hare to stop, and by this time they had to cross the river to get to the other side and meet with his men. Contrary to what she expected, the general dismounted, guided his steed and tied it to a nearby tree.

"Come," he said with his fit arms reaching out to her.

She nodded, and let herself fall into the strength of her mighty catcher. "Thank you, my lord," she said quietly while at the same time hiding her face as best as she could.

"My lady," Lu Bu began as he came up behind Diao Chan, and then gave a snicker, "among people I can easily tell."

"Tell what?" she whispered.

"That you...are the worst liar," he finished, turning back to retrieve his weapon.

"What?" Alarmed with his words and actions, her mind raced. Could this man possibly had known of their scheme all along? What was in it for him? She bowed her head and closed her eyes and uttered a prayer.

"Do as you wish," Diao Chan declared as Lu Bu towered before her, halberd in hand.

"I-I beg your pardon?" the general asked somewhat stupidly. "My lady Diao Chan, be so wise and prudent enough with the things you say and conceive." He chuckled. "Those words of yours is sure to get you into trouble with every single man besides me."

Diao Chan you henwit! she wailed in her brain. Lu Bu did not have even the slightest notion after all! "And am I to assume that the general is a gentleman?" she rallied, trying to save face.

Lu Bu was surprised and raised his thick brows. "By my lady's wish, I can be anyone she desires me to be." With that, he dropped the Sky Scorcher and took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "But there is one that my lady need not ask of me...I will be her protector."