Disclaimer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors. SSX, Lu Xun, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and Gan Ning belong to KOEI
So, yeah. I know I REALLY REALLY LATE for this chapter, but I DO have a good excuse (well, I hope so). I spent most of my holiday in the country when Lu Xun, Shang Xiang, and everyone from Dynasty Warriors had lived 1800 years ago (in the other words, I visited China). Well, after my rather long visit, I realized that I HAVE MADE SO MANY MISTAKES IN ALL OF MY STORY. It was so many that it scares me until now to think of those mistakes I made. Just want to tell you, from now on, I will write my story better, according to the real old Chinese customs.
Oh, well I speak to many. Just read in my profile for detail. Please enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review!
"Xunie! Wake up! Wake up!"
Lu Xun rubbed his eyes and let out a loud yawn. When he could fully open his eyes, he found Shang Xiang in front of him. Oh great, I'm still a girl… another day started… He reminded himself. After taking a bath, he found himself being dragged to the princess' room, just like yesterday. Shang Xiang seemed to enjoy playing dress-up with him. Everything almost the same.
The only difference was that Lu Xun found himself wearing an apron with so many laces.
"What are we going to do, Shang Xiang?" He asked with a tone full of boredom. That made Shang Xiang frowned. Crap! I forget I have to be a nice little girl! He berated himself. Getting no reply, he repeated his question, this time more in a girly way. "Are we going to cook? What are we going to cook, then? Something sweet? Something nice?" Oh... I look so stupid! Gods have mercy... He spoke to himself over and over again, until he felt himself losing most of his intellegence.
This time, Shang Xiang gave him a smile. "Yes, Xunie! Good guess!" She raised a thumb. "We're going to cook something sweet like the cake yesterday. You like it, don't you?"
Lu Xun swallowed hard, recalling the almost killing sweetness. Sadly, there weren't any choices left for him. He just hoped that they didn't make something as sweet as yesterday. Still pretending to be excited, he nodded vigorously. "That's great! Let's go!"
"Alright, now let's pick some strawberries!"
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"STRAWBERRY! YAY!"
Shang Xiang and Lu Xun ran over the strawberry garden. There were some ripe fruits there that were ready to be picked. Shang Xiang brought a basket while Lu Xun picking the strawberries. He felt so stupid but decided not to show it. Just like a kid, he pretended to be so happy, although he would rather stay on the strategy room.
"Xunie! Pick the red one!" Shang Xiang shouted. She too, was doing the same.
Lu Xun nodded. Of course he had known it. The ripe strawberry must be the red one. He had known it since he was just a little boy. Spending some times by picking strawberries, Lu Xun could see Shang Xiang showing her girly side, or maybe it was the effect of the potion and all of his effort? At this, he couldn't help but smiled inwardly. So everything he had done did really come into fruition.
While still pondering, he continued picking another strawberry. However, he missed the strawberry and his hand ended up grabbing the stem and that made the thorns pierced his skin. As he hissed in pain, Shang Xiang quickly turned at him and approached him.
She took his hand. "Lu Xun, you should be more careful." She led him inside the palace. "I will take care of your wound."
"It's alright, Shang Xiang. Don't worry." He said rather cooly, which was an unfortunate.
"If your wound isn't cleaned, it will get infected!" Shang Xiang insisted.
"B-but…!" Before Lu Xun could continue, he suddenly remembered his mission. To make Shang Xiang more ladylike. Therefore, now he should do what he must. Acting like a girl. That's why he quickly silenced himself and let Shang Xiang took care of his wound. After cleaned the dried blood, she took the thorn from his hand. He winced as she did so.
"Does it hurt bad?" She asked worriedly.
He shook his head as a reply. At the same time, he was still thinking about the princess. The way she bandaged his wound, even if it just a small cut, was surprising him. Usually, she would just ignore it or grumbling on how crybaby the person was. Even if she gave a help, she would be complaining or doing it carelessly and roughly. This time was different, completely different. Shang Xiang did it in carefully with patience. Is it me or is Shang Xiang really changed? Does the potion really work? He thought to himself.
When she finished, she looked at him, only to find that she was being stared at. The princess waved her hand in front of him. "It's finished, Lu Xun. Are we going to cook or do you want to do it later?"
That interrupted his own thought. When he shot his eyes to look at her, he gave a wide smile. "Let's cook now!"
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"Are you sure you're alright?" Asked Shang Xiang once again.
The strategist nodded. "A bit hurt, but it's alright now." He looked at her. "Thanks to you, Shang Xiang." That made her blushed slightly. "Anyway, what are we going to cook?" he asked finally.
Shang Xiang placed a hand under her chin. "Let's see…" She snapped her finger. "I know! we will make the sweetest dishes in China! Puddings, cakes, candies, anything!"
Lu Xun imagined how it would taste. After the strawberry cakes event in the restaurant yesterday, he didn't want to eat anything sweet again. He never really liked sweet food after all, much prefer the salty or the spicy ones, and that included NOW. However, it seemed he couldn't since he had to do his mission. "WOW! I like it, Shang Xiang! Let's make it fast!"
And they started, of course after ordering the maids and cooks to leave the kitchen. When it was only two of them left, they started to work on the dishes. The two, having no knowledge of cooking, just followed the recipes to every letter. Lu Xun was an amateur, but Shang Xiang was even worse. She often did something clumsy such as spilling the milk to the floor or dropped the egg.
"I'm sorry, Xunie! This is the first time I cook!" She apologized.
"Don't worry." He cheered her up. "I can't cook too. We're the same."
Even as Lu Xun said that, he didn't look like one. Almost cooking like a pro, he did it easily. That was what impressed Shang Xiang. Who knows Lu Xun could cook? A special-secret ability of his? From this, Shang Xiang could conclude that a man needs not to impress the ladies by showing his strength or muscles. Sometimes the ladies could be impressed when the man did the seemingly woman thing.
As for Lu Xun himself, in fact he enjoyed it so much. Being trapped on a girl's body wasn't as bad as he thought. When he was a man, he never could get so close with Shang Xiang, but now, as a girl, he could. Sometimes he needed to teach her how to do this and that.
"Shang Xiang, don't crack the egg yet!"
"Shang Xiang, pour the milk to the bowl, please."
"Shang Xiang, mix the dough."
Some hours passed and they were finally finished. It was just a matter of time before the dishes was done.
"I hope it will taste good." She said.
Lu Xun looked up at her. "Now, Shang Xiang, the last thing to do is to pray so that the food will be good."
Shang Xiang nodded. After they did so, the two realized that it was almost dusk. Before having dinner, Shang Xiang told Lu Xun to take a bath first, just like a mother to her little daughter. Lu Xun felt so weird but he did it though.
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The air started to be cold as the night fell. But still, the water in the bath house was warm. Lu Xun put off his clothes slowly, eye still gazing at the water. Then, he saw the changes of his body, which then made him sighed in exasperation.
Well, at least it's just one day left… he told himself inwardly.
He stepped into the water. Using the soap, he cleaned himself. That's when suddenly he heard someone's footsteps. Aware of it, he surveyed his surrounding but found no one there. Still, he had a feeling that someone was watching him.
Catching a sound of another mysterious footsteps, the turned-girl strategist shot his eyes to look at the door and finally he found out that the door hadn't been locked and there was a small opening. That's when he saw…
A pair of eyes was watching him, or peeping him.
As soon as their gaze met, Lu Xun let out an ear deafening scream, before picking a nearby vase and threw it to the peeper. It successfully hit whoever dared to watch him. Covering his bare body using a towel, he ran over the door and slammed it to open.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" He shouted as he found a figure lied on the floor with the pieces of the broken vase scattered everywhere near him. Instead of helping the victim, Lu Xun stomped on the mysterious peeper until he felt satisfied. "DUMMY! DUMMY! DUMMY! DUMMY!" He ended it with a powerful kick on the peeper's head.
"STOP THAT, CRAZY GIRL!!!" Somehow, the peeper managed to stand up straight again.
Figured out who the peeper was, Lu Xun couldn't help but blinked for a moment.
After that, he shouted out loud. "GAN NIIIING!!!! WHAT IN THE NAME OF WU ARE YOU THINKING YOU'RE DOING?!" He was ready to shout again but Gan Ning had already clasped his hand to his mouth.
"Shhh… quiet, please!" He ordered, almost pleading. "Okay, I'm sorry for peeping you, girl. But this is the first time I see you here and I guess you're sneaking into castle. That's why I'm watching you."
Lu Xun crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that true, Gan Ning?"
The ex-pirate nodded. "Yeah, of course! Anyway, how do you know my name?"
The strategist smacked his own forehead. "Can't you recognize me, Gan Ning?! I know you because I AM LU XUN!"
Another pause…
"You don't look like him AT ALL." Gan Ning replied. "I know! You must be Lu Xun's sister or maybe his niece, right?" He looked really really stupid which made Lu Xun was now at the end of his tether. What worse was that Gan Ning looked so smartass.
Great, he doesn't know that I'm now a girl… Lu Xun thought to himself. "Gan Ning, listen. I'm not any of them. I'm Lu Xun and somehow yesterday, when I woke up, I found myself like this. So stop being a smartass and just believe it. I know it sounds funny but it's the truth, buddy." He stated firmly. As a reply, he just got a blank stare from Gan Ning and mouth fell a gape.
"That can't be…" Gan Ning muttered. "So you're Lu Xun?" He was rewarded with a nod.
Then came another horrible laughter from Gan Ning, which almost drew everyone's attentions. At this, Lu Xun almost sure that someday his pirate friend would be die laughing.
"Okay, Lu Xun buddy. You're my friend and I believe you." He still couldn't stop his laughter. "But tell me, how can you be a girl? I mean, you're now look like a kid!" Though he said so, the pirate always though of Lu Xun as a kid, not a grown-up man...
Lu Xun rolled his eyes. "Well, it's a long story and I will kill my precious time by telling you the entire story." Then he drew his lips closer to Gan Ning's ear before whispering. "I have no time to lose, I'm on a mission."
Gan Ning frowned. "What kind of mission?"
"A mission to…" Lu Xun trailed off his words. "…make Shang Xiang becomes more girly."
Another laughter.
"That's impossible!" The pirate clutched his stomach in an effort to stop laughing, which he failed. "Funny! How can Shang Xiang be more girly?" In his mind, image of a girly, pinky Shang Xiang appeared. "Even if you're helping her! Why don't you tell pretty boy about this?"
"Lord Zhou Yu?" Lu Xun let another sigh. "He's the one who asked me to do this." Then the strategist explained in a simple, easy to understand way.
Gan Ning nodded. "So, you're saying that drank the potion that supposedly given to Shang Xiang. Then the potion really good that changed Shang Xiang but at the same time turn you into a girl. But, you can turn back to a man, right?"
"Yes." Lu Xun answered. "Now, I only have a day left for me. And I don't know whether I'm successful or not." He ended with a sad smile. "If I fail, then all of my effort is… useless." Including peeped by you when I was taking a bath... he continued inwardly.
Gan Ning patted his friend's back. "Don't worry, Xun buddy! You will success!"
"How so?"
"Because you're LU XUN!" He laughed. "I know that with you, all things are possible!" He said optimistically.
Lu Xun smiled. "Maybe you're right…"
"I'm always right!" Then Gan Ning grabbed Lu Xun's hand. "Come on! Let's go get the princess!"
"Wait, Gan Ning…!"
But it was too late. As Gan Ning turned around, he found the mentioned princess standing in front him. It was visible that the princess was now mad at the pirate. Hands on hips, a scowl, and she had an aura that looked a lot like a fire burning behind her. She then turn her gaze to Lu Xun, who was now a girl, hand being grabbed by Gan Ning, and even worse, was wearing nothing other than a towel that covering her wet body. That made a negative thought popped up from her mind. Gan Ning found Lu Xun, in a girl's body, was taking a bath. After he had peeped Lu Xun long enough, he decided to kidnap him and… they will end up on Gan Ning's bed. That was what she thought.
"Gan Ning…" Her voice was like a dagger that was ready to stab anytime. "…what are you doing to this girl? I mean, to Lu Xun?"
Gan Ning was paralyzed for a moment before answering. He raised his hands to protect himself, in case Shang Xiang sent him a surprise attack. "Look, Shang Xiang! This isn't like what you think it is! It's just…" But Gan Ning wasn't given any chance to continue. "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
When Lu Xun finally realized what happened, Gan Ning had disappeared from his sight. Then, there was seemingly like something, or maybe someone, fallen from the sky and it followed with a loud 'THUMP!' sound as it grounded on the garden. It didn't need a genius to know that it was Gan Ning. That was all thanks to Shang Xiang's insanely strong kick.
"Erm…" Lu Xun finally spoke up after recovering from his shock. "Shang Xiang, you have to apologize later. Gan Ning didn't do or plan anything wrong."
The princess turned to look at him. a frown appeared on her face. "Look, Lu Xun. You're now a girl and who knows what Gan Ning will do to you?"
"He's my friend, Shang Xiang. No need to worry." Lu Xun gave her a smile. Inside his heart, he was happy that Shang Xiang was worried about him being a girl. However, he didn't know why. "Anyway, thanks. You're so kind, Shang Xiang."
She was taken a back by his words before lowering her gaze to the floor. "You know? I didn't expect any 'thank you'. I'm just worried. That's all." She then let out a sigh of relieve before continue. "Now that you're a girl, I think it's my responsibility to take care of you."
"That's just Gan Ning, and don't worry. I can take care of myself." He exclaimed. "It is my job actually to watch over you, am I right? Just like yesterday."
Shang Xiang's face had that slight blush as she heard this. Was that really come from Lu Xun? She couldn't believe her ears.
A sneeze from Lu Xun brought her back from her own world. Realizing that Lu Xun was still just having only a towel to cover his body, plus warming him from the chill air, Shang Xiang quickly became panicked. "Lu Xun, are you okay?"
"I think I need to get dressed." That was his last word before he once again entered the bath house.
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Shang Xiang led Lu Xun to a dining room, which was specially prepared for them. There were two reasons for this. First, their menu was different from the other officers, that's it, the sweety food they had cooked earlier. And the second was, Lu Xun didn't want anyone to know his gender change. Having Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and Gan Ning to know this was quite worrying him. He obviously didn't need anyone to find out about this. By now, the other Wu generals was anxious about his sudden disappearance, although Sun Ce had convince them that everything was alright and offered no further explanation.
This night was their time. Only the two and no one else. Shang Xiang sat on a chair and Lu Xun was in front of them. There was a distance between them and it was the table. In front of them was a mountain of food, or specifically, cakes and the other nice and sugary food.
Lu Xun swallowed hard at the sight. Could he ever finish all of the food? He was having a great difficulty to eat the strawberry cakes yesterday and now, as if it wasn't enough, there were so many sweet foods to be eaten now. By now, Shang Xiang had taken a piece of cake and ready to swallow it all. But, when she saw the worried Lu Xun, she put the cake back to her plate. "What's wrong, Xunie? You don't like?"
Lu Xun quickly lied. "No! it's not like that!" He gave her a fake smile which fortunately she failed to realize. "I like them all and can I eat now?" He asked, again, in a childish way that almost made Shang Xiang wanted to pinch his cheek because of how innocent he sounded.
"Of course you may!" Then, she took the cake to her mouth.
As for Lu Xun, he was hesitant to eat anything. But after praying to the heaven above, he did the same with Shang Xiang, taking a spoon of pink strawberry pudding and chewing it.
"Huh? It's nice. Really nice!" He spoke to himself. This time it wasn't a lie. Something in the food tastes so great that he didn't bother whether it was too sweet or not. He just simply couldn't stop eating. That made Shang Xiang giggled.
"You like that, Xunie?" She asked, although she had already known the answer. "How is it, compared to the yesterday's strawberry cake?"
He answered, with his mouth still full of another strawberry pudding. "This is ten times better. It's so…" He paused, thinking of another world than 'tasty', or 'nice', or 'delicious'. "It's so… yummy!" That made him sound REALLY like a little kid.
"Yummy?" Shang Xiang kept her gaze at him. "I'm glad that you like it." She paused. "I'm just wondering why you said that, when I'm just an amateur of cooking. You know… I never cook."
While still busy eating, Lu Xun continued. "I don't know either, Shang Xiang. Maybe… it's just different when you're the one who cook the food."
"There is an old saying like this…" Shang Xiang turned to look at the window, taking a fruit pie. "Add some love to your dishes when you're cooking, then everyone will enjoy everything you cook for them. That's because love is the best flavor of all food."
Lu Xun smiled sweetly, which only he could give. "That's true, Shang Xiang. You cook it with love. That's what made the food taste so good. I think you have the talent." Another piece of strawberry cake was eaten. "The texture is so soft, and the sweetness… it's just right. This is really good. I never know that you're great at cooking." He raised one thumb.
Shang Xiang blushed. "R-really? I never thought that…"
"Now you know, I've told you." He replied simply before continued with his food. Shang Xiang couldn't say anything. She gazed back to her own food. Now, only silence spoke the rest for them.
As some hours had passed, there was nothing left from the foods. Now, it only left the very full Shang Xiang and Lu Xun. When the princess looked at Lu Xun, she found him with the food smeared all over his face, just like children when they were eating. Smiling, Shang Xiang took a napkin, walked over him and cleaned his face.
"Your face is so dirty with the food, Lu Xun." She did it like a mother to her daughter.
"Oh, sorry…" He scratched the back of his head. Although feeling a bit strange, he let Shang Xiang did it for him. He thought to himself inwardly. Strange… Shang Xiang never did something like this before. She's just like… taking care of a baby. He kept thinking. No tomboy would do that. Is this another effect of the potion? I'm really success?
After Shang Xiang finished, they left the dinning room and walked toward their rooms. Luckily, it seemed that the other generals had been sleeping, while some still having the dinner. On the way, the two kept silent until one of them spoke up. "You know? This is the greatest dinner I've ever had." Lu Xun complimented. "I hope I could have something like this again." He ended it with a smile.
"That's because you helped me." She answered humbly. "Had it not for you, I couldn't never make anything like this."
He shook his head. "That's not true, Shang Xiang. I know you can, even without me."
She lowered her head, trying to hide her blush. "If you say so, then perhaps I will cook again someday. Somehow, I like cooking, now that you said that." She then turned her gaze back at him. "But if I ever cook again, will you eat the food?"
He nodded. "I will Shang Xiang, because the food you cook has something different, and that's the 'love flavor'." He gave a very adorable smile, which then made Shang Xiang flutter. "I will be waiting for the time you will do it again."
"But…" She said timidly. "I'm a tomboy. What if anyone finds out that I do this?"
Not this tomboy thing again… he tried to hide his disappointment. "Why can't a tomboy cook, when a man can?" He answered with another question, reffering to himself. At hearing this, Shang Xiang finally nodded in understanding.
When she was finally arrived in front of the door of her room, she talked to Lu Xun for the last time. "You know, Lu Xun? Cooking is my hobby now." She waved her hand before entering her room. "I hope someday we can ever do it together again."
The door closed. Taking the last look of it, Lu Xun turned around and continued to his own room. After taking a bath, he jumped on to his bed. Closing his eyes, he encouraged himself to complete his mission. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are counting on him. As an addition, Gan Ning now had known his mission. There was no way he would be failed. Tomorrow is the last day. By that time, I have to make sure that she is a real one hundred percent girl.
And that's the third chapter. As I said, this story won't be a long story.
I've just realized Lu Xun looks bad trying to 'convert' Shang Xiang. So sorry for all Shang Xiang-the-Tomboy Fan. I just want to know how Shang Xiang became a feminine girl... ^^
Review, please!