((SXH: Hi, everyone. Sorry about the little notice I left; I should have said something sooner instead of getting your hopes up. I really hate my school and my life right now, but I won't take it out on you guys. Again, sorry for not updating like I said I would. I found some time over the weekend to type this up. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, even if it is a little slow. Enjoy.))

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors or its characters. I only own the storyline and Little Ying, the Yin, Yang twins.

Warning: Cursing and general angst.

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To Hell & Back Again

Chapter 22: Trust Issues

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Diao Chan, one of the most beautiful people in China, was a mess, for lack of a better word. The poor woman had been sitting on a stump, watching all the events unfold below before her very eyes. Her wind beaten hair laid on her shoulders, lifeless, as she stared down at the empty river. All night she had prayed for her beloved's safe return, not moving once from her place on the stump. Even after the last ship sunk, she did not move a centimeter.

Even now, Diao still prayed, silently to herself, as she desperately fought down the urge to give up. She watched as the sun began to peak up to shed its rays upon the mountains behind them. The Beauty heard something in the back of her mind. It subtly grew. Louder and louder it was until she could make out what was being said to her.

"Lady Diao Chan!" came the voice of a nameless soldier. Diao didn't look at him. She held fast her gaze on the river below, never wavering.

"Leave me be," Diao ordered in an uncharacteristically monotone voice. She then blocked the man out, like she had the rest of them earlier. She was always so skilled at blocking them out that she heard absolutely nothing. Silence in its purest form. She shriveled back into her own little world until someone had the nerve to touch her shoulder. Had she not just told him to leave her alone? She merely shrugged it off. Persistent, the hand touched her again. This time, she swatted it away.

The third time, however, she did not get the chance to remove it. The owner of said hand spun her around to face them. Right as Diao was about to chastise the person, her mind registered who this person was. Zhang Liao. He was still clad in his armor and everything. Upon seeing him, Diao glared her hardest.

"What do you want?" Diao spat, slapping his had away. She refused to be touched by the likes of this man. Zhang Liao just continues his gaze. "What?" She repeated harder.

"I do not know!" he bit back. Diao was taken aback for a moment. Partly by the answer, and partly the fact that he had never shown such harshness when speaking to her. Ignoring her reaction, Liao continued to speak. "One, of the troops said that Gou Si found something. I do not know what it is, but Gou Si is bringing it to camp." Diao nodded, curious as to what the man had found and anxiously wondered if it had something to do with Lu Bu.

Diao stood and followed Liao to the middle of the encampment. They all awaited for Gou Si's return and his findings. Liao was just as anxious as, if not more than, Diao. But he never showed it. He was indeed very worried for the man he considered his friend. That worry escalated when he realized Lu Bu was going on the burning ships. He had fallen in love with Zhou Yu and would have grieved heavily if he died, but he didn't want to lose his best friend, too. He would love again, but it was very hard to build friendships as strong as his and Lu Bu's had been. To be very honest, he was terrified that Lu Bu had indeed perished in the flames.

Enough of those thoughts now, Gou Si had finally arrived. The look on his face was unreadable, as he lead Red Hare into the sight of the others. Lu Bu, though, was nowhere in sight... Diao's eyes searched and searched the area but came up fruitless.

It is not true. It cannot be true. It's a lie, a trick! The thoughts and denial swamped her mind. She didn't want to believe that her beloved was dead. Although, she couldn't get past the fact that Lu Bu wasn't there with Red Hare. The two of them were practically inseparable when it came to war. What truly sealed the deal for Diao, was Red Hare trotting over to Zhang Liao. At this point, she broke- shattered to be more accurate. She fell to her knees and wept. She regretted everything she had done that led to this and cried a tear for each mistake. Diao realized that everything she had done led up to this and continued to sob. Now, because of her, the love of her life was dead.

Liao, on the other hand, was not upset at all. He examined Red Hare closely and found that the horse was not upset either. Now, he believed in the close bonds of a man and his partner, whether it be a riding horse or a pet. If the owner was dead, the animal would feel it and mourn as well. Red Hare was now mourning, which meant that there was still a chance. Lu Bu may be alive.

Liao watched Gou Si try to comfort Diao. He took hold of Red Hare's reigns and said, "I understand." Red Hare butted his head against the man's shoulder lightly. He turned to the troops and took control. "Pack up and move out. We are going home." Sullenly, the troops began to do as they were told. Zhang Liao turned back to the two grieving officers. "Gou Si," he called, motioning for the man to come over to him.

Gou Si stood and made his way to the commanding officer. Not taking his eyes off Diao, Liao pulled Gou Si farther back, out of earshot of the woman. Not that he needed to, he was sure the woman wasn't in any condition to listen, even if she tried. But, one could never be too careful.

"What is it, sir?" Gou Si asked, his voice wavering a little. He couldn't help but fear the man greatly.

"I want you to keep your eyes on Diao Chan, at all times," Liao began. "Do not let her out of your sight." The officer furrowed his brows.

"Why, sir?" Gou Si pressed, looking at Diao himself.

"I have reason to believe she is going to kill herself," Liao replied, his expression not once changing.

"But, sir, would it not be more merciful to let her die so that she will not suffer without her lord?" the lower officer countered. Liao chuckled.

"It is tempting when you consider what she has done," Zhang Liao started. "But, I also have reason to believe that Lu Bu is still alive. I do not want to be held responsible for her death. Nor do I wish to see a Beauty kill herself. No Beauty should face such sorrow. But, when he returns, she will be happier than ever." Liao looked straight at Gou Si. "Do not let her near anything sharp pr life threatening. I am assigning you to her personal guard. Also watch out. She can be very creative when it comes to the death of another, or even herself. That is if she puts her mind to it."

Zhang Liao patted his shoulder and then went to pack his things. Gou Si was dumbfounded. Getting over it, he quickly went over to Diao and began his assignment.

After everything was packed, the troops began to move on.

/

Cold. That was about the only thing Zhou Yu felt. He felt extremely cold, and the softness under him didn't help that. He just shivered violently and despite his exhaustion, he forced his eyes open. The sun was just peaking over the mountains. The next thing Yu notices was the fire; it was just embers now.

Yu, remembering where they were, quickly got up. He grabbed his bow and quiver, then drew an arrow back, and scanned the area. there was no movement anywhere, except for the few birds singing in the trees. Keeping his weapon in hand, Yu took the wok and set it in the water about knee deep. Then he came back and kicked sand on the embers of the fire, then scattered the rocks that had been around it.

Without opening his eyes, Lu Bu asked, "What are you doing?"

"Hiding our presence. Do not leave any traces behind," Yu informed as he changed out his ruined clothes and into the ones that had laid upon the rock the day before. Lu Bu sat up and stared at the man. He could see the fine scars on the man's back, briefly wondering how many wars the strategist had actually been in. After changing, he tossed the clothes into the river. He then tied the dagger holster to his thigh and the quiver to his back. In his rush, Zhou Yu noted that Lu Bu hadn't moved much at all. He was still sitting in one place.

"Is something wrong?" Yu questioned hastily. Lu Bu shrugged, not moving from his place.

"It is barely morning. Why rush?" Lu Bu countered. Zhou Yu merely stare at the man with his mouth slightly agape.

"Er... What?" Lu Bu stood, dusting of the sand, that clung to his skin overnight, as he did so.

"All I am saying, is that maybe we should take our time and recover before we head out," Lu Bu explained.

"Yes, on any other circumstance, that is what I would do," Yu commented. "But, have you really forgotten where we are? As I said last night, we are in bandit country. We cannot be seen by them or leave any evidence that we were here to begin with," Yu said, taking a step forward each sentence he spoke until he was right in front of LU Bu.

"I do not care. I am in charge and I will not take any orders from a weakling like you," Lu Bu growled. Yu ignored the 'weakling' comment, but fury built upon his other words.

"You in charge?!" Yu whispered, highly offended by the statement. "In case you have forgotten, I know the way to Xia Pi, I know the terrain, and-"

"And what?" Lu Bu nearly roared.

"I know the type of people here!" Yu said just as loud. "These people are not like the soldiers. They will not fight you head on, especially you. They are smarter than you think. They thrive on hunting people down, stealing anything they have, and torturing them until they are too weak to move, even to blink, or they are dead." Lu Bu stared down at Zhou Yu for a long time. Apparently, in Zhou Yu's eyes, these people were not to be reckoned with. However, Yu could see the curiosity within Lu Bu's eyes, but he ignored it.

Zhou Yu took his head and began to walk away, heading for the tree line. Lu Bu realized what he was doing and followed after him. The only thing that stopped Yu was LU Bu grabbing his wrist.

"Be my guide," Lu Bu ordered suddenly. Zhou Yu's brow furrowed deeply.

"Excuse me?" Yu bit out, yanking his hand away.

"You heard me. I want you to be my guide," Lu Bu replied. Yu folded his arms, and studied Lu Bu for a minute. For some reason he could never read this man, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Fine. But, no one is in charge," Yu bargained.

"That is insane," Lu Bu stated.

"No, it is called working together," Yu corrected. "As a team, I want us to work together and make decisions based on what we both know."

"I do not know about this..." Lu Bu hesitated.

"Do you not trust me? Well, if it makes you feel better, I do not trust you either," Yu informed. "But, we need to work as a team from here on in. Honestly, How different could it be compared to fighting with Zhang Liao or Diao Chan?"

"I need to trust you," Lu Bu shot back. Yu scowled and thought about what to say next. He could see where Lu Bu was coming from. If he was Lu Bu, he wouldn't trust him either. He could kill the other man in his sleep, after all.

"How about this?" Yu asked, getting Lu Bu's full attention. "Help me and will help you.

"Huh?" Lu Bu grunted. Zhou Yu smirked, his fiery eyes hitting him full force.

"I figured you would say something like that. What I actually mean is: I will keep us away from the bandits if you protect us from dangerous wildlife," Yu proposed. "What do you say?" It took several minutes before Lu Bu said anything.

"Deal," he replied.

"Good. Now we need to leave soon. Let me know when you are ready to go," Yu spoke. Lu Bu nodded and went over to the crate of weapons and dug around in it. Quickly making a decision, Lu Bu picked up a pike. Then taking Zhou Yu's advice, he set the armor in the water gently and made sure to put each piece in a different place.

"Which way?" Lu Bu asked as he waded his way to the river bank. Yu looked up at the sky.

"Well, it is still morning so..." Yu began. Lu Bu watched Zhou Yu trace a line in the air, then pointed down the river. "South. If we follow along the river, we are bound to make it to a small village near Xia Pi." Lu Bu watched as Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "Lu Bu, I believe we should stick to the river bank for the time being." Lu Bu gave him a confuse look. "The bandits surely saw the smoke from last night. They are most likely on their way to check this place out."

Lu Bu made a noise of annoyance. However, he did listen to the man he was stuck with. The two then began their journey to Xia Pi. And, though neither of the two saw it, this was going to be a rather surprising journey...

/

SXH: So, what do you guys think?

Lu Bu: Do I really have to be stuck with that damn bastard?

Zhou Yu: Funny, I was about to ask the same thing about this beast.

SXH: Whoa, guys! It's just a part of the script. Don't take it personally! *Is ignored*

Lu Bu: You call me the beast? What about you? We all watched you and that other man *is referring to Sun Ce* have sex on stage.

Zhou Yu: *is very pissed* That was part of the story! I didn't have a choice! Had my way I would kick his ass again. Better yet, I would kick your ass before ever considering being in your presence!

Lu Bu: Right... *heavy sarcasm* You could really make a scar on me, Princess.

Everyone Else: *'oh shit' face*

Zhou Yu: *silent*

Lu Bu: What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?

SXH: *looks at Lu Bu* You, quit while you're ahead. *to Zhou Yu* You, save that for the next chapter. *to readers* I hope you liked this chapter and don't be afraid to tell me what you think with a review. I take all criticism, so long as it is constructive and you're not just bagging on the story. Love you all my wonderful readers and stick around for the next chapter!

Bye~!