Author's Note: I HONESTLY HATE CLIFFHANGERS, but I decided to try it out in this story. And sorry, you won't find out who that person in the house is until LATER. But I do give little clues. :) Trust me when I told my friend who it was, she freaked! But anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this story, and Trackrat, thanks for always reviewing my chapters! :) I'm glad you're enjoying this story! :)

And sun's and stars, yeah I stopped it, but its called a cliffhanger. I'm not finished with this story.

Btw, I need to know what you guys think of the music, do you like it or no? Thanks a ton to all the readers and visitors :)

[Daughters – John Mayer]
Earlier that morning Mulan had gone to get alterations done on her dress. She had even woken up earlier that him and based on the fact that Mulan was always last to rise at camp, this was a big surprise. However, it was now mid-afternoon and she had not yet returned. Before, he had gone to his old town, just to visit and clear his mind. He even sat on the tire swing hanging from the tree in his backyard. But did not go inside his house, because it looked deserted. Shang then returned and walked through the market trying to search for Mulan, but when he could not find her, he decided to get some food to help out her parents. People everywhere in the market came to greet him and congratulate him on winning the war. They all complimented him on his fine leadership skills. Usually each conversation ended there, with people going back to what they were doing previously in the market. However, someone finally asked him who he believed was his best soldier and Shang said without a second thought that it was Mulan. Some smiled and took it in. After all, she did save him and China, twice. Regardless of that fact, some looked at him with disgust, while others looked at him skeptically.

"Her?" some of them asked, "But she's a woman."

"Who happened to save not only my life, but yours," He argued. "Now she may not have done the most traditional thing for a woman, but she certainly did them for the most honorable reasons, unlike what you people seem to believe. Mulan went to war to save her father, who should not have gone to war in the first place. She did nothing dishonorable with any man and I know she never would."

From the deep within the crowd stepped a man, who said slyly, "Maybe because she already lost her honor with you. Are you trying to hide something General?"

Rage filled Shang's eyes. "Are you saying that I would do something dishonorable?" He angrily shouted.

"I'm just saying," the man started.

"Why I am going to…" Shang started as started to charge towards the man, who cowered back in fear.

"Stop," a voice behind him whispered in his ear. Shang felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Walk away," the voice told him again.

Shang just shook his head and walked away from the crowd in the direction of Mulan's house. He realize that he had lost control too quickly and remembered his lessons of self-control. But Shang wanted to know who was behind him so he quickly turned to see who was speaking to him.

"Mom?" He looked at her in shock. "What are you doing in this town?"

She smiled as she gave her son a hug. "I do believe you have a wedding in a day, do you not?"

"Yes," he sighed. "But I don't know why."

"You don't love her?" she asked worriedly.

"Of course I do, but I just do not understand why I have to marry…"

"It is tradition. Girls must get married to fulfill their duty."

"Let me finish. I don't know why I have to marry her again." Shang informed her.

"Again?" This time she looked at him in horror. "You married without her parents' recognition?"

"No!" Shang shouted, and this time the whole market looked at him.

Shang went back to a whisper and told his mother about their whole adventure in Qui Gong, as they slowly walked through the market place. When he had finished they stopped near some houses.

His mother looked at him sympathetically as she gave him a hug. "You have been through so much already and have grown up since I last saw you go to war. I'm guessing that she was part of the reason why you are so mature now." Shang smiled.

"But you also need to think," his mother told him, "not like you did in war though. Have you ever thought that maybe she wants a real ceremony with her family and friends, and possibly a banquet?"

Shang grunted. "But that doesn't seem like something she would do. Are you saying she would make me go through this elaborate ceremony to make sure it was real or because it did not satisfy her?"

His mother nodded. "She is a woman, and it is time you start thinking of her as one instead of one of your soldiers."

"I do. I don't ask her to fight, or get into shape. I treat her like someone I love. Besides she isn't like other women, she's different. She went to war..." Shang started.

"The way you seem to describe her, it's as if you are treating her like something else. Not as your wife. She is still a woman, who has feelings whether you can see it or not and honestly, I don't know a single woman who doesn't dream about their perfect wedding."

"I guess," Shang told her. "I need to talk to her, but every time she just gets angry and storms off."

"Ask her tonight," she told him, "Give her some time to cool off. She is probably stressed or trying to tell you something. Don't do something irrational."

"You're right." He told her as they started walking again.

On the way he saw a father and his young daughter playing in their yard. He saw her start to cry and her father holding her in his arms trying to calm her down.

"What is wrong dear?" Her father asked.

"My arm is bleeding," She told him through her tears.

Her father then cleaned the wound and kissed it. The daughter smiled.

"Baba," the daughter then said with a smile, "I'm gonna be with you forever."

"Dear one day," he told her as she stroked her hair, "You are going to have to marry and leave your mother and me. It is a part of your duty to this country."

"But," she trembled as she spoke, "I'm scared. What if the man doesn't like me?"

"My daughter," he told her, "You have to trust the matchmaker and your parents. We wouldn't choose a man, we don't think is right for you. But don't you worry, one day you are going to put the color inside of a man's world. Boys would be gone without the warmth from a woman's good heart."

Shang smiled as he and his mother walked away to Mulan's house. He agreed with everything that man had told his daughter. As he stopped in front of the house he realized what that girl reminded him of: Mulan and her father.

They walked into the house where they were greeted by her parents.

"Li Ying!" they ran out to greet her. "It's been so long since we saw you last!"

"Fa Li," his mother said as she gave her a hug, "I'm so glad to see you again."

"Good afternoon, Li Ying," Fa Zhou greeted her as he stepped beside his wife.

Shang's mother smiled at both of them. "Who would have thought that our children would meet in war? I always did love your daughter and now I have an even greater respect for her, after all she did risk her life to save yours."

They both laughed. "Come," Fa Li grabbed her by the hand, "Let us talk more in the kitchen."

Fa Zhou looked at Shang, "Thank you son, for bringing some food home. What do we owe you for these items?"

"Nothing sir," Shang told him, "It is part of my dinner, so I decided to contribute what I could."

"Well thank you for that." He told Shang, "But you couldn't find her in the market, now could you?"

Shang shook his head. It surprised him that her father knew what he had planned to do.

"She'll come home soon." Fa Zhou told him reassuringly. "But I want to do something I haven't already done, which is thank you for sparring my daughter's life on the mountains. Why did you do it?"

Shang thought for a moment then looked at her father in the eyes as if he was telling Mulan. "At first it was because she had saved my life. I honestly didn't want to kill her. She was my best soldier. But then looking back on why I didn't kill her, I think there might have been other reasons why I didn't."

Fa Zhou looked at him questionably. "Like what?"

"Well," Shang told him, "She was my friend, but for some reason, it wasn't the full deep friendship, it was more of a relationship. I could tell her things and she wouldn't say anything, unlike the other men. So when I found out she was a girl, I guess you could say I was glad. We didn't share a friendship; it was more like a relationship. So you could say the reason why I didn't kill her was because I loved her."

Fa Zhou smiled at him, and Shang smiled back. He patted Shang's shoulder and led him into the house.

[Stop the music]

Later that day…

Shang was in her home alone which gave him time to think. He was worried but at the same time angry. Shang did not know where Mulan was and could not think of a single place where she could have gone. Her parents and his mother had gone out for errands or other things. He had played with her dog, Little Brother, but the dog had tired and fell asleep, leaving Shang lonely in the house. He thought, that maybe he should get some fresh air and take a walk in the town. But after the earlier incident, he would not want to show his face for a while.

In the evening, Shang took his own little tour of the house, which he felt a little uncomfortable doing. It was as if he was going through their own private things. He decided to go and see Mulan's room. It was a simple little room, with a window as the only light source. Her room was not that big and contained a screen, bed, and desk. On her desk was a small candle, a scroll, and a little book. The scroll contained all the things the matchmaker would ask. But the book stood out to him. Shang did not want to read the book, because it was an invasion of privacy, but at the same time, he wanted to see what she had wrote. Though she probably would never know, he decided to respect her privacy and not read the book at all.

Shang then heard footsteps and ran to the front door. The front door then swung open and Mulan stepped in. She greeted Shang but strayed away from his eyes.

"Where have you been?" he asked casually as he leaned against a wall.

"Out, you know, running errands." She told him still looking at the papers she was holding in her hands.

"Mhm. I see. What were you doing?" he asked her suspiciously.

"I was trying on my wedding dress, after all my wedding is tomorrow."

"In a whole day's span?"

"I also had alterations done."

"For the whole day?"

"Well, for the most part."

"Your wedding dress came in a few hours ago." Shang told her, still looking at her, "Your mother pushed me into the kitchen, while your father kept watch making sure I didn't try to sneak back in."

"Well," she told him slowly as if she was thinking, "I did other things."

"Such as?" he asked curiously.

"I went to the market."

"Hmmm. So did I."

"Well I went as soon as I finished with my dress."

"And when was that?" he asked her skeptically.

"I am not sure, mid-afternoon?"

"Well I was there also, and I didn't see you at all."

"Maybe you came out at a different time."

"Or maybe," Shang told her angrily, "you didn't go at all."

Mulan finally looked up at him with glaring eyes. "I did!"

Shang returned the same look with more intensity. "Then where is all the stuff you bought?"

"Why are you acting paranoid?" she asked yelling at him.

"Why can't you just tell me the truth? What are you hiding from me?" he yelled back.

"Nothing! Why don't you trust me?" she shook her head in disbelief.

"Why can't you just tell me where you went? Why are you hiding things from me?"

"I'm not!"

[Better That We Break – Maroon5]
Shang brought his voice back down and told her calmly. "Then tell me why I'm marrying you for the second time."

"I…I…" Mulan stammered trying to find the right words, "I'll tell you after the wedding. Just trust me."

Shang was annoyed and furious. "How can I trust you if you can't even tell me where you've been? I talked to people in the market, they said they saw you leave the alteration place and go towards the North, not even stopping in the market. Why are you lying to me?"

Mulan looked down and said at a whisper, "Maybe it is best if you didn't know."

"'It's best' if I didn't know?" He looked at her in disbelief, "You made me promise on the way home from Qui Gong that we wouldn't keep any secrets from each other. Where is the girl that believed in trust, the one I knew? Because the girl I see standing right in front of me is not the real you."

She said calmly, still looking down, "If you think that I did something dishonorable to you…"

He interrupted her, "I know you wouldn't."

For a while, they said nothing to each other. Mulan continued to look down, while Shang kept staring her right in the face. He then walked away to the guest room and started doing something he never thought he would do in her house.

"What are you doing?" Mulan asked as she stood leaning against the door.

"I'm packing for home." He told her solemnly and continued to pack.

"You're leaving me?" she asked in disbelief as tears formed in her eyes.

"Yeah," he told her, still avoiding her eyes. "I honestly don't want to go through with this again unless I know why."

Mulan tried to fight the tears, but told him as her voice trembled. "Then I want you to remember what you had told me in Qui Gong. 'I know there are a million reasons for you to go, but if you could find one reason to stay, I'll do whatever it takes to turn this around.' Shang, there was one reason why I stayed, because even though you didn't believe me I stayed with you. That one reason was because I did, and will always love you…"

"Hey! We're home! Come into the kitchen for dinner," their mothers yelled from the kitchen door.

Mulan dried her tears and walked away. After she left, Shang looked sadly at the door where she had stood and sighed as he slumped down on the floor.

"Do I really want to leave her?" he asked himself. He then remembered his mother's words: "You need to think…Don't do something irrational."

"Well too late." He thought, "I already told her the wedding was off, but maybe I need to think. But the wedding is tomorrow and I'm not even sure who she is now."

"Shang?" his mother called from the kitchen stopping his thoughts.

He walked over to the kitchen where everyone was already sitting. Shang looked at Mulan, whose face was solemn but only he knew that she was crying before.

"This dinner will not go well," Shang thought.