So, Dynasty Warriors fans, how are you all? I suddenly had this spark of inspiration after playing Xiahou Ba's battle in Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends. I hope that this fanfiction will be enjoyed! It is 4,859 words of pure devotion. I Do Not Own Anything Other Than My Own OC! And last but not least, please R&R! :)
-ProductOfWritten-Ideas-
Never Going to Leave You
-A Dynasty Warriors FanFiction-
Shun Li sat there with a thoughtful expression. She looked at the three ladies that were accompanying her. "So, you're telling me that we have another General that was from Wei who defected to Shu?" She had been so surprised about it. Of course, being fairly new to the whole political and warring affairs, Li didn't know about anything save for a few notable officers. She knew that Jiang Wei was once a Wei General as well before he defected to Shu.
In front of her stood a young lady dressed in heavily clad armor. The young lady happened to be Xingcai, daughter of Zhang Fei. Xingcai had a stern expression. If anything, Shun Li often wondered if Xingcai knew how to take a joke. Next to Xingcai, dressed in green with a thoughtful expression, was Yueying. After her husband's death, she took a bigger role in strategies and helping the young Shu Commander. Lastly, there was Bao Sanniang who seemed to be looking suspicious.
"Yes, it would have appeared that General Xiahou Ba has defected to our side. The reasons why, we do not know." Yueying answered, still looking thoughtful. Li understood that the older woman was thinking a lot about this defection, wondering if it was a trick. After all, Wei was once defeated by the false defection of Zhou Fang. It would be a normal thing for the older woman to be worried. Li sighed. War has made everyone more wary than they should be. She couldn't wait for the war to end. Li wondered if she'll ever meet the new General especially with how things were going. Jiang Wei was working hard to continue on with the late Zhuge Liang's Northern Campaign. Little did she know, she'll meet the son of Xiahou Yuan soon enough.
It was late and everyone seemed to be drained, dragging their feet back to their own rooms. Li sat at the dining hall, wondering if her first battle as a General would arrive soon. Then, she heard someone call her name. Looking up, she noticed that it was Jiang Wei. She gave him a smile before she noticed a person following behind Jiang Wei. The person wore armor that concealed him that Li could not catch a glimpse of who it is. Li raised an eyebrow. This person would definitely give Xingcai a challenge on who wore the most armor. She stood up and smiled at Jiang Wei.
"My lord, how are you?" She asked out of politeness. Jiang Wei smiled at her.
"All should be going fine, Lady Shun. But of course, that is not the reason as to why I found you this fine evening." Li blinked. She wondered if Jiang Wei was alright because if anything, it wasn't in the evening at all. In fact, one would call it nighttime. Jiang Wei moved aside and pushed the armor-clad person to the front. " This is General Xiahou Ba which I am sure that you've heard of." Li nodded her head and lifted her right hand to shake the newcomer's hand.
The newcomer looked at it before grabbing her hand. " I have never heard of you before." Ba said this while looking questioningly at Jiang Wei. Luckily, Jiang Wei understood Xiahou Ba's gestures despite not seeing his face.
Jiang Wei chuckled. " This is Shun Li. She is a new General in the Shu Army. Now, if you'll excuse me, Lady Shun, Ba." He started to leave the area but stopped just as he was at the door. "Lady Shun, kindly show our new General around. I have other business to attend to."
Li didn't even have the time to protest as the Shu commander left the place. She turned around to face Xiahou Ba. Ba stared at her. He noticed how tense she looked. "If you don't want to, you don't have to, ya know?" He stated suddenly. Li jumped at his sudden statement. Ba smirked. He didn't know that she was so uneasy.
" No, no, it's just so sudden. And I'm not well... I'm just not suited to showing people around."
Ba was unconvinced by what she said. Li, on the other hand, was fidgeting. " I get it if you don't trust me like all of your other friends." Li suddenly looked at him with a surprised expression.
" Trust you? I don't think you're a bad guy, Lord Xiahou. Just maybe... a little weird with all the armor." It was Ba's turn to be surprised. Li took the silence wrongly. " I mean, I'm very weird too. So, it's fine if you're weird... That didn't come out right, did it?"
And for the first time since he defected to Shu, Ba laughed. He had never once met a person like Li before. She seemed so unsure with herself. Like she didn't know if she was making the right decisions. Ba knew right away that this girl would have difficulties on the battlefield. But for now, he didn't want to think about battles or about what happened in Wei. All he wanted was to figure out what is the girl trying to do. He took note of her dark brown hair that fell just above her shoulders. Her grey eyes seemed out of place and yet, it suited her. In it, he caught a glimpse that the girl was smart. But he wondered, just how smart is she?
Li was trying to find a way to tell him why she couldn't give him a tour. She was embarrassed and yet, by avoiding it, she seemed to have antagonize the ex-Wei general. She was surprised to find him laughing instead of getting mad at her. She found herself laughing along with him. She noticed that he has a nice smile. It was sincere and it was warm. Through his helmet, she caught sights of his eyes. From afar, she thought that they were dark brown. At a closer glimpse, they looked golden brown.
Li realized that she should inform him before he gets any other wrong ideas. " General Xiahou, I..." Her voice trailed into a whisper. " am bad in directions."
Ba leaned in closer but he could not hear what she said. "What was that?"
Li pressed her lips together and her cheeks flushed. " I said, I'm bad in directions." She said it, loud enough for him to hear. Ba stared at her. Then, he started laughing again.
"How on earth can a general be bad in directions?!" He asked through his laughter. " Oh man, how are you going to follow orders?"
"Well," Li started. " I can't help it if I'm bad. I did try to get better at it!" She frowned at him with an obviously annoyed expression. Ba noticed it and stopped his laughter. He still kept his smile on his face.
"That's okay then. You'll just have to stick close to me, huh?" Ba teased her. But Li didn't think of it as a tease. Her eyes immediately lit up and she smiled at him with a nod. She thanked him for his offer while Ba looked dumbfounded. He shook his head and allowed himself to smile. Maybe, just maybe, with Shun Li around, he didn't mind how the other Shu generals treated him with suspicion.
It was clear out. The sun shone brightly in the clear, blue sky. It seemed peaceful, maybe even as tranquil as a forest. At least that was what it seemed like. Li jumped back and used her leg to kick her opponent. But of course, her opponent avoided it by jumping aside and swinging his great sword. Li did a back flip and landed on her feet. Sweat beaded her forehead and her breathing labored. Her crossbow still firmly held in her right hand, she got ready to fire again. Then, she stopped when she heard a messenger approaching. Her opponent, the ex-Wei General Xiahou Ba stopped as well.
" Lady Shun and Master Xiahou, Lord Jiang Wei has requested your presence immediately." The messenger stated before bowing and taking his leave. Ba raised an eyebrow, wondering what Jiang Wei wanted from them. If anything, Jiang Wei probably wanted to talk about his strategies again. So much time has passed since Ba's defection and he has gotten used to Jiang Wei calling on him for advice about Wei. And over the course of time, he has gotten to be great friends with Shun Li. Li frowned.
"Honestly! Wei couldn't have had a better timing, could he? I've actually gotten better in sparring with you, Ba." Li exclaimed in frustration. Li still had problems with directions and she was still as unsure as ever when it came to decisions. But, just like she said, she improved on her fighting skills that was barely even enough for her to survive a large-scale battle. Thanks to Ba, she could at least be able to defend herself better.
Ba laughed. " Yeah, you've gotten better! All because of me!" Li rolled her eyes at that.
"All because of you, huh? What happened to modesty in this world?" She said sarcastically. Ba had gotten used to that. To him, he would just laugh it off. "But really though, thanks for all of your help, Ba." With sincerity in her voice, Ba was taken aback. For the first time that day, he actually looked at her. Nothing much has changed. Li now wore her dark brown hair in a ponytail. She wore a green armor similar to that of Xingcai's. But unlike the distinguished female warrior, Li used a crossbow as her weapon. Li looked more and more like a fighter compared to when Ba first saw her. Her skin was tan and her stormy grey eyes narrowed every time she aimed her crossbow. Li fidgeted. That was when Ba realized he had been staring at her. He looked away immediately. " Let's go to Jiang Wei before he starts hunting for us. You know how impatient he can get once he has an idea in his head."
Ba chuckled and nodded his head. " Wouldn't want a repeat of Jiang Wei's hunting. Better hurry it up!" He said as he took off running, leaving Li to run after him.
They spotted the young Shu commander sitting with a bunch of scrolls scattered over his desk. Jiang Wei kept checking each scroll. The young commander rubbed his temple, hoping to clear the headache that would soon arrive. Then, he looked up and noticed his guests. " Ah, you're finally here. Took you long enough. Come over here." Ba and Li went nearer to Jiang Wei. " As you know, the late Lord Zhuge Liang tried to capture Mt. Qi for a total of six times. Instead of Mt. Qi, I've set my eyes on something that isn't defended, Taoyang."
"Taoyang." Ba echoed. " Deng Ai is located in Mt. Qi. There is no way he'll leave Taoyang defenseless!" Ba knew how Deng Ai was like. He understood that the older general was not stupid. He would not leave a place virtually defenseless. There had to be a reason. Li pursed her lips. She noticed how tense Ba gotten after hearing Jiang Wei's plans. Li understood that Ba has always been a carefree kind of person and if he was actually upset with this, it meant that this battle has to be taken seriously. The crossbow in her right hand suddenly felt heavier than before. She knew that she would have to use it soon, very soon.
"Mt. Qi has been a location that Lord Zhuge Liang had wanted to capture. Wei has probably defended Mt. Qi and thought that we would not attack Taoyang." Jiang Wei explained his thoughts. " You may feel uneasy, Master Xiahou, but this is an opportunity we can't miss. Not when we can expand on our Northern Campaign."
Ba reluctantly nodded his head. His eyes shone with determination. " Fine! But I'm going to go for this battle. Just in case." Jiang Wei nodded his agreement.
" And I'm going too." Li said, leaving no room for arguments. Ba stared at her. It was the first time he heard her say that she wanted to go to a battle. Jiang Wei agreed once more and the two generals left to get ready. They walked in silence. Even after such a long time, Li could not find her way to her own room. This little problem caused Xiahou Ba to walk her there every time. Even before breakfast, Ba had to get himself ready before heading to her room to help her. Ba remembered the one time he asked her if there was ever a place that she would not get lost in. She answered 'her hometown' and that was all she said.
They continued on in silence, both not wanting to be the first to break it. Ba stopped when he realized that they stood in front of her room. Li immediately halted herself. She gave him a curt nod and turned to go into her room when he stopped her. He held her wrist and turned her around to face him. Li gave him a look and Ba released his hold. Li opened the door to her room and gestured at him to go in. Ba followed her in and took off his helmet.
"What's with the sudden battle loving attitude?" Ba asked her. Li sighed.
"Well, with you gone, who's going to stop me from getting lost? So, I decided to follow you." She answered sheepishly with a small grin. But both of them knew the real reason why. Li was worried about him ── worried about this battle. She sighed. " If what you think is true, please let me be there with you. Just to keep an eye on you and your tendency for extreme measures."
"I don't have a tendency for extreme measures!" Li chuckled at his protest. Ba mock glared at her as she continued laughing. "Well then, I'll be seeing you later. How long do you need to get ready?"
" Give me an hour. I should be done by then."
Xiahou Ba nodded his head and left the room while muttering something about how Wang Yuanji took a far longer time to get ready. Li immediately laid down on her bed while staring at the ceiling. When did she start caring about Ba? She wondered to herself. No, she should ask herself when did she start caring about Ba in a more-than-friends kind of way. She has not met anyone as carefree and strong-willed as him. He is so honest especially about how bad her fighting skills are that she wanted to strangle him and love him all at the same time. She chuckled to herself. Didn't anyone teach Ba that the way to a woman's heart is through flattery and compliments?
She shook her head. She can't think of him like that. She can't ruin their friendship, right? Who's going to help her when she gets lost? At the very least, she could still admire and try to protect him from afar. Li remembered the first time she saw Ba without his helmet. She stared at him in disbelief and asked him why he would hide his face. She actually threatened to shoot him with her crossbow after hearing his reply; he felt naked without his helmet. He didn't feel right without his armor. She sighed again and pushed herself off her bed. She needed to get ready for the battle. She took her crossbow and her quiver of bolts. She blinked. Her sweat made her smell bad.
She had better take another bath before going off. She hurriedly packed her things and went for a bath, asking for directions along the way which caused many to look at her weirdly.
Jiang Wei was right. The entire castle was left unattended. Most Shu officers were thrilled about such an easy victory except for Xiahou Ba and Shun Li. Ba knew that something was not right with this situation. He knew that something was bound to happen. Li, on the other hand, noticed how tense and uneasy Ba was and felt fear pierce her heart. Ba has always been so pumped up before a fight and yet, here he was, being the exact opposite. Ba walked up to Zhang Yi and said that he would take a look around. Li immediately went up to him.
"I'm coming with you." She stated, looking into his eyes.
Ba shook his head. " Not this time. Stay here where it is safe."
Li frowned. " I'm safe when I'm with you. And besides, if something were to happen, we can deal with it together."
"Just stay here, General Shun Li." Another voice interrupted. Li turned to see Zhang Yi. She was about to protest when she noticed that Ba had already disappeared. She huffed in annoyance and started muttering about how that Ba didn't care about her feelings.
Ba headed out and felt an eerie feeling. Then, ambush units appeared ── ambush units from Wei. He cursed inwardly as he fend off the attackers. He knew that Deng Ai would not willingly surrender anything. He should have trusted his instincts. The one good thing he did was leaving Li behind with the other officers. He swung his great sword and dodged an arrow. Despite all the armor he wore, he felt that it was not enough. His muscles ached as he continued fighting. Defeating a few enemy officers that were once his allies, he continued making his way through. He needed to get out of here to safety. His eyes narrowed. This was the price of living free ── the price of being a traitor.
Then. he found the one person he felt he did not have the energy to face── Deng Ai. He panted heavily and held his sword firmly in his hands. " Xiahou Ba, son of Xiahou Yuan. A traitor to Wei and a traitor to the Xiahou clan." Deng Ai gave a cold stare and a humorless laugh. " Your father must be crying in his grave."
"Don't talk about my father! He would have been proud of me! I did not betray Wei, Wei betrayed me!" Ba argued back. Deng Ai smirked and raised his lance. Both sides clashed almost immediately. Lance against great sword. Despite his exhaustion, Ba held his ground. He blocked every attack that Deng Ai sent his way. But he knew that was not enough. He had to do something, anything to make Deng Ai retreat. He had to defeat the old veteran general. He pushed forward against the lance that blocked his great sword and succeeded in making Deng Ai stagger. He then swung his sword and wounded the general.
Deng Ai glared. " I see your resolve. I shall retreat for now but there will still be many who would be after your head. Many more." The Wei general retreated but Ba was too tired to give chase. Instead, he felt like collapsing. He forced himself to stand straight as he noticed the exit was nearby. He had to face more Wei soldiers before he could escape. His focus broke as one soldier tried to attack him, screaming that he would avenge Lord Guo Huai. Ba remembered the time he spent with the late Lord Guo Huai and his dearly departed father that he had sworn to avenge. His helmet was knocked off as he remembered but he snapped back to reality just in time to see a bolt flying and hitting the soldier.
Ba looked up to see Shun Li standing there, covered in sweat with only a few bolts remaining. She held her crossbow firmly and aimed, hitting the soldiers that was about to attack Ba. Li panted heavily and tried to give him a toothy grin. " Hey there, how are you?"
Ba didn't know whether to feel relieved or to feel annoyed that Li did not listen to what he said. " I'm doing good considering how I nearly lost my life for the millionth time today." He answered dryly. Li shook her head. Even at times like this, he would still be able to crack a joke. " What are you doing here?"
"Saving you." She stated like it was the most obvious answer. She ran up to him and hugged him. " Do you have any idea how rude Wei soldiers are? They just won't answer my questions about how to find you."
" I can guess why they wouldn't. The exit is just there. Let's get out of here!" Li nodded and they started to move. Ba struggled, trying to force his own body to move. He didn't remember the last time he had fought this much. His knees buckled as more Wei soldiers ambushed them. Ba panted heavily while Li did her best to shoot the soldiers. She turned to Ba and tried to get him up. Ba knew that there wasn't much time left. More soldiers would be coming. " You should go and leave me behind. It's me that they want. So, go!"
Li glared at Ba, her left hand reaching for another bolt only to find that it is empty. She took a deep breath as the soldiers surrounded them. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Truth be told, she hadn't really perfected this skill. In fact, she had only used it once and it went berserk. But now, she had no choice. It is a life or death situation, she told herself. She got to her knees and held onto Ba. She looked right into his eyes. " I'm never going to leave you, Ba. Never. And do you know why?" She paused, throwing her crossbow onto the ground and forcing icicles to form above the soldiers. "Because, you carefree idiot, I love you. And you won't get rid of me that easily!" With that said, she allowed the icicles to fall, piercing the soldiers around them.
She held onto Ba. She felt his body slumped. He was unconscious. She checked his pulse. Thump, thump, thump. He was still breathing. She struggled to get up while pulling Ba along. True to her word, she would never leave him. The only way is if she was killed. She made her away outside, silently praying that no more soldiers would show up. Her crossbow was long forgotten and the only weapon she could use was her fist. There was no way for her to use her icicles again. It drained her too much. She continued moving, dragging Ba with her. She didn't allow herself a moment to rest for fear that more soldiers would appear. The night breeze felt lovely on her burning skin.
She squinted her eyes, seeing someone approaching them. Immediately, she took a defensive stance while struggling to hold onto Ba. Then, she sighed in relief. " Lady Shun! Master Xiahou!" Li gave the person a small smile.
"Lord Jiang Wei. Thank the heavens that you are here!" Jiang Wei immediately went over to Ba's other side to help Li in dragging Ba. Together, they continued walking. "Please, hang on, Ba. Just a little longer..."
He woke up to find himself in a small, wooden hut. He was confused. He didn't know where he was. He could barely remember the ambush and the fighting that he went through. He tried to get up and immediately, his body ached in protest. He winced at the sudden shot of pain. His muscles seemed to be crying for any form of relief. He allowed his eyes to scanned the place. It was a simple hut. There was a kitchen with simple cooking utensils. In fact, he could smell some stew being brewed. He noticed a small wooden table with two chairs.
That was all there is in the hut. Ba wondered why he was brought here. Then, he remembered that Li was there. She was with him. He shot up from bed and wondered where could Li be at. The front door opened and he saw the person he was looking for. Li was holding some herbs but at the sight of Ba being awake, she dropped it all and ran up to him. She hugged him. "You're awake!" She exclaimed. " I'm so glad!" Ba grimaced at the pain being inflicted on him. Li didn't seem to notice it though until Ba said 'ouch'. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just so worried. You looked horrible. Heck, even I looked horrible that day."
" What happened? Where are we?" Ba asked, cutting off her rambling. Li fidgeted. She bit her bottom lip before sighing.
"We're in my hometown." She answered tentatively. " You fell unconscious and I had to drag you. Lord Jiang Wei came after awhile and helped me. And..." Her voice trailed.
They made their way back to camp. In the tent as Xiahou Ba was being treated, Li went to talk to Jiang Wei. Li looked worried, pacing to and fro at the sight of Ba's slumped form. She decided to make herself be useful. She went to ask Lord Jiang Wei for something that would drastically change her life. She bowed as she was given audience. " My lord, forgive my interruption. I have a favor to ask of you." Jiang Wei looked at her curiously. " I wish to ask you to allow Master Xiahou Ba and I to leave the army. I wish that you will spread news that Master Xiahou was killed in the Battle of Taoyang."
She kept her head low and prayed that Jiang Wei would agree. "You love him, don't you?" Jiang Wei asked after a moment of silence. Li nodded her head.
"Yes, I do. His safety is important to me. If my lord does not do this, Wei will continuously hunt him down. That would cause problems for Shu in the future, would it not?" Li tried to reason with the Grand Commander of Shu, Jiang Wei.
Jiang Wei sighed. " Ba and I, we are one and the same. Both of us have been called traitors. But he came from the famous Xiahou Clan... If only... Your reasoning has some logic in it. But where will the both of you go?"
"My hometown."
Jiang Wei stared at her before chuckling. " You must really love him if you are that willing to return there." Li kept her head low. Li remembered how her rash behavior caused the lost of so many lives. " Very well, I will agree to your request." Li looked up and gave him a smile. She ignored all formalities and ran up to the Shu commander to give him a hug. Jiang Wei stood still in surprise before he returned her hug. She released her hold from him and gave him another bow. She turned to leave and just as she was out of the tent, she heard Jiang Wei saying Good luck.
" I took a horse and made it here." She gave a humorless laughter. " It's the only place that I could never forget. You've been resting for a few days. I'm glad that you're finally awake." Ba then gave her a smile.
"Thank you." He said simply. " For everything."
" You don't have to thank me. I'm your best friend!" She said easily, trying to play off her feelings. She didn't know if he actually heard her words that day. For all she knows, he probably became unconscious before he heard it.
Ba looked at her and gave her a mischievous look. " Last I heard, I thought that we're more than that."
Li flushed red. " You... heard that?" Ba nodded his head. " You should have said so earlier to-" She was interrupted as his lips met hers for the first time. They broke apart and Li looked away shyly. She wasn't the only one. Ba was scratching the back of his head. "Don't do that so suddenly!" Li shouted, looking indignant. Ba didn't respond. He was staring off into space. Li poked him. " Did you fall asleep?"
Ba immediately snapped his attention back to her. " No, I was just.. I love you too!" He said quickly while looking away. Li, who had started laughing, was silenced by another kiss from the blushing golden brown haired ex-general.
Li smiled at Ba. " So, I guess being dead is not so bad, after all. At least now, we won't have trouble from Wei. What with you being dead and all that." Ba shook his head and kissed her again, hoping that this would finally be the start of a peaceful life that he had wanted since he left Wei.