Disclaimer: KOEI owns Dynasty Warriors, including any in-game quotes utilized in this fic. It is a non-profit fanwork.

Author Note: Trying something new, this fic has been completed before posting. No more waiting for years for a story to finish. I'll be posting the chapters as they're edited. This story comes about from the DW5:Empires create a warrior scenario that allows you to start under an officer and accept/decline defection requests. It also has some elements of the ROTK game. Reviews always appreciated.

Rated M for yaoi, sex and language.


Sweet Trade

Chapter 1

Shore Leave


"Zhang Liao…Zhang Liao is here!"

Her eyes lifted slowly to look at the shaking messenger and she gave an annoyed grunt. Xu Mingzhu looked over her shoulder at the man chasing off the archers that she had stationed at the fort entrance. Zhou Yu had been very particular about explaining how important the supply base was and she had wanted to break his pretty nose for it. Her commander, Zhou Tai, had followed it up with a casual warning about how pirates needed to be extra careful with their actions especially ones under his command. Might as well have said 'No one trusts you, so try to do something right and not make me look bad.'

She had been a decent pirate captain, but transition to land hadn't been easy. Nobody second guessed Zhou Tai or Gan Ning. They backed away and applauded them for their outrageous antics. Fighting naked or fighting drunk was perfectly acceptable, yet she refused to support Sun Ce on a spur of the moment chase across the battlefield and was labeled untrustworthy. The guy was a loose cannon, prince or not, and she wasn't going to go on some dumb escapade so that he could get some cheap thrills. She valued her life too much for the senseless risks.

Mingzhu drew her cutlass and played with it in her hand as she waited for the men to scatter and open up a path towards this great and mighty Zhang Liao. There were men like him out on the water too; men who had a reputation that did more work than they did. She watched him move thru her men like a typhoon, bodies and blood flying everywhere as his halberd cut through the air and soldiers like a fine instrument. Perhaps he would finally be a challenge. Life on land was turning out to be disappointing despite the profitable war. She just didn't fit in.

"So you're the mighty Zhang Liao that makes everyone piss their pants?" She leaned against an archer tower and looked him over. He finished his fancy attack and looked around for more opponents, only finding her. He gave her a dismissive look and she smirked. He had the build of a warrior, thou it was hard to see what he was really like under all those clothes. She hid little with her own attire, as a pirate she'd use her own body to gain the advantage and it was no different as a soldier.

"Cocky for a mere sub general, aren't you?"

She smiled in reply. "I do think I'm going to enjoy this. I never thought I'd enjoy following orders."


"Hmmmm."

Zhou Yu knew that tone of 'hmmm'. He looked up at Zhou Tai who was watching the progress of battle, waiting for him to issue a new order. Zhou Yu's eyes caught sight of what had caught the man's interest. "Well, well. She can follow orders."

"He will kill her."

"She's distracting him, which is what we need to turn the tides of this battle. Order Huang Gai and Lady Sun to advance, we can push Cao Ren out of the base and flank them." Zhou Yu folded up his map and put it back into his saddlebags. "I'll rein in Sun Ce and we'll be ready to reinforce from the center once they break through."

Zhou Tai nodded and watched the former lady pirate fight her latest opponent. Two years earlier Sun Jian had sent his two pirate captains out to eliminate a nuisance on the river. Several pirates from the South China Seas had bottled up the mouth of the river and were taking what they wanted from the merchants and fisherman who were unprepared to battle sea thieves. The Wu King had made it clear to him that he wanted the mastermind of the small fleet to be captured alive; he liked the style of thinking that had put together this lucrative attack. Wu needed more leaders like that. The wily Sun Jian didn't even bat an eye when he found out the mastermind was a woman. Back then she had fought Zhou Tai and lost; today she was in a one-on-one dual with Zhang Liao and Tai doubted his king had instructed him to take prisoners.

Zhou Yu cleared his throat. "I'm sure she will be fine. Self preservation is pretty high up on her list."

"So is pride." Tai turned away and walked over to his horse. He was going to have to find Huang Gai and Sun Shang Xiang. Thankfully the old man would be there so he could keep Lady Sun's flirtations to a minimum. He couldn't protect his subordinate forever and he definitely couldn't save her from herself.


The base was almost in ruins and Xu Mingzhu was impressed. This general was fierce and hadn't held back. Usually she could outmaneuver and outlast her opponent until they got sloppy. Her strength was in speed and unpredictability and it worked most of the time. It was different fighting on land; on a ship it was so much more confined and confusing. She ducked as that halberd whistled thru the air and embedded in the gate door next to her. Finally!

Zhang Liao drove his elbow into her head as he realized his predicament; weapon lodged and a cutlass coming dangerously close to embedding itself in his ribs. It had the desired effect and she tumbled backward out of range, giving him the chance to rip his weapon out of the oak door. "Do you give up yet?"

"Ha!" She rolled out of the way and leapt to her feet, her chance to attack was now. "Do you?"

He moved to block just in time. This was taking too long. "I have other things to do, surrender now or I will kill you."

"You've been trying to kill me and here we still are."

"Likewise."

She bounced back and waited for him to make his next move. They could both see action on the battlefield outside. "I'm not the one responsible for winning this battle. Doubt your boss would like you spending all your time with me when there is a battle to win, huh?"

"My men aren't as worthless as yours. They can follow direction without me holding their hands." He struck out at her again, knowing there was truth to her statement; this duel had taken up enough of his time. She bounced back and he smirked. One more quick charge attack and he had shattered the base of the archer tower beside her. She scrambled to get out of the way, but it was too late. "Still, I'm sure there is something better I could be doing."


"You know, there is one kind of person I just can't get along with! And that's people like you! People that take pleasure in fighting!"

Gan Ning turned around to see who this champion of morality was. He had just hacked down a defense captain and his squad and was in the process of surveying the field to find a new wave of blue to charge into. He slung his cutlass over his shoulder and chuckled as he saw who it was. So Cao Ren could go on the offensive, even if was just with his mouth. "Oh? And what is that wicked looking thing you're carrying for? Sewing?"

"Silence! I shall break that contemptible blade of yours!"

Ning was actually caught off guard by the man's speed, who knew a dude that big could move like that? Maybe this would be some fun after all. "I kinda like fighting your handicapped cousin more, he's less preachy, but I guess you'll due."

Ren slammed into the pirate's blade, sending sparks flying off his shield. When he started his charge the cutlass was carelessly lying across his shoulder, but he had managed to block him nonetheless. Ren's eyes noticed new banners fluttering across the field; Huang Gai and Lady Sun were coming to support this heathen.

"Awful quiet all of a sudden. What's wrong, getting scared?" Gan Ning jumped back and prepared to perform his running and slicing attack that was unpredictable and undefendable. Let's see if I can't put a dent in him that way!

Ren was never a man to be lured in by a taunt and his eyes scanned the battlefield to quickly assess the situation. There was only one choice here; they were going to have to pull back. Lady Sun and Huang Gai were in formation and were going to try and turn his flank and provide a distraction. Zhou Yu, Sun Ce and Zhou Tai were all still unaccounted for and there was little doubt in his mind that this attack was merely prelude to something far bigger and more destructive. Where the hell was Liao? He wasn't going to fall back until the other officer was safe. That meant he was going to have to play adolescent insult games with the Wu pirate. "Just trying to take mental notes so I can tell my cousin about his new fanboy. Suppose we should have seen this coming, a pirate fantasizing about our only officer with an eye-patch."

Gan Ning cocked his head. Fanboy? What the fuck? He narrowly avoided being decapitated by Ren's shield as it flew at him like one of Shang Xiang's chakrams. "Woah there chubby! You throw like a girl!"

Ren attacked with his blade as the pirate let his guard down. He leaned in and tried to overpower the officer who reeked of sweat and booze. No much worse. Did this man roll in roadkill before battle?

Zhang Liao galloped up to the fort, pissed at himself for letting that stupid woman keep him occupied for this long. As his horse jumped an abatis he saw Ren and that annoying mouthy pirate in a deadlock. His horse landed in a puddle of blood and limbs on the other side of the wooden blockade and he saw Ren's shield on the ground. Without reining in his horse, he swooped down out of the saddle and picked the shield up off the ground, then used it to put a dent in the back of Gan Ning's thick skull.

Ren barely avoided being knocked unconscious with the pirate's face as Liao's mounted attack clocked the man in the back of the head. He smiled to himself as the officer fell forward into the mud, unconscious. "You're late!"

Liao suppressed a grin as he galloped through the gate and slammed the shield into the mud behind him. Had there not been an entire company of infantry waiting inside the fort he would have told Ren to punish him for his curfew violation, but instead he put his war face back on and went to repulse the flanking attack.

Ren looked down at Gan Ning and flipped his body over so the man wouldn't drown in the mud. There wasn't any time to take prisoners; they were going to have to retreat. He walked back to the fort entrance and picked up the shield and reassembled his unique Buckler Blade. Calmly he looked to the sub-general in front of him. "Begin the retreat. General Zhang will be our rear guard."


"Hmmmm."

Mingzhu opened her eyes and looked up at Zhou Tai's stoic face. "Shit. He got away."

"You did what you needed to do, I commend you for that." Zhou Yu picked his way thru the ruins of the base and watched her wiggle out of the debris of a collapsed archer tower. "Keeping Zhang Liao occupied is no easy task."

"Maybe if you all stopped acting like he is immortal you wouldn't have such a hard time beating him." She dusted herself off and stood up. With her head aching and body battered it was hard to concentrate on finding her cutlass in the rubble.

"There is no harm giving the man credit for what he is capable of. Otherwise we will end up with more than a company of slaughtered men." Zhou Yu opened his arms and looked around him. "I know you didn't chop up this base with that cutlass of yours."

"He didn't chop me up with that halberd of his either." She sheathed her weapon and had to admit to herself that his reputation was well earned.

"Good." Zhou Tai patted her shoulder. It was a job well done.

"I want another crack at him."

Zhou Yu smiled. "Of course you do."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"The battle is won!" Sun Ce whooped as he rode his charger into the base. The horse sent fragments of archer tower flying in all directions. "Let's celebrate!"

"It's over." Zhou Tai grabbed her arm and started to escort her out of the base. "Time to heal and practice."

"Right." Mingzhu dusted herself off and readjusted her sword belt.

Zhou Yu smiled at Sun Ce as he rambled on about his feats on the battlefield and some comment his wife had made. He looked at the scope of the destruction here and began to wonder if Mingzhu had made an impression or not. He needed someone to defect to Wei, and that someone needed to have a keen eye to get inside their army and bring back vital information. Cao Cao was not a fool and would never try to recruit one of the main officers, he learned his lesson at Chibi, however she had promise. Not completely trusted by her own side because of the recent piracy acts that cost Wu significant amounts of supplies and income, she remained distant as a way of keeping herself detached. She didn't fit in either, only Zhou Tai and Sun Jian seemed to like her and trust her. He himself trusted her intentions, but was skeptical about her nature. Gan Ning had been that way before wholeheartedly devoting himself to Wu, but he was motivated by sex and booze. Wu treated him well and it cost him nothing, then Sun Ce came along and they bonded as only tomcats could. He needed her to defect, but he also needed her to come back. Cao Cao needed a naval officer, especially after he decapitated his last two.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Bofu, I am."

"So is Zhou Tai banging her? I mean my sister will be pissed, but good for him if he's getting some action."

Zhou Yu knew the ex-pirate was not. Sun Jian had already asked that same question in almost the same manner. "No, he isn't."

"He's not banging my brother is he?"

Zhou Yu sighed; Sun Jian asked that question as well. "No."