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Chapter 6: At Wit's End

"If there be a hell upon earth it is to be found in a melancholy man's heart" -Robert Burton

Back at Shu compound, while most of the Shu soldiers resumed their daily work, Zhou Yu kept to the room he was assigned, pacing, his shoulders tight, trying to make something of his predicament. His wound still was painful, but he could manage. What Liu Bei didn't realize was that he was resilient and after surviving impalement by Lu Bu, all other injuries seemed to be scratches in comparison. Yet, here he was, pacing, like a caged tiger. He rubbed his tired eyes, but remained alert. Gods, he was so on edge, especially after being insulted by Zhuge Liang. What did that man have against him anyway?

Zhou Yu couldn't stay like this. It was unhealthy, he knew, to be so wound up. No, no, he was after Cao Cao and those bastards who took his mate…wife away. He couldn't be caught up in petty squabbles instigated by the Shu. He had to think about Xiao. That was his only goal…

He walked slowly through the trail in the woods, taking his sweet time observing the nature around him. He rarely went on walks for fun, but whenever he did he always enjoyed it. Why didn't he do this more often? It's healthy to get out of the house every once in a while. The air seemed fresher and lighter out here. As he strolled, he kept his hands held behind his back, his head lifted to the trees seeing the leaves making wonderful patterns against the gleaming sun.

"Zhou Yu, my lord, hurry up!" a sharp voice cried. Zhou Yu glanced ahead on the trail. Xiao Qiao was up ahead on the trail waving her arms frantically.

"Hurry, you slow poke."

"The purpose of taking a walk is to slow down. You seem to be doing the opposite of that," Zhou Yu replied resuming his pace.

"I want to show you something," the girl ran ahead and Zhou Yu strode purposefully to where she ran off to, but kept his calm pace. The trail got deeper into the woods and the trees blocked his vision from the outside, but he could tell there was something beyond the trees.

"Lord Zhou Yu! Up here," her voice called and Zhou Yu looked up. Xiao Qiao had climbed a big tree and settled herself on a tall, thick branch. It was almost hard for him to see her amidst the luscious leaves.

"Xiao Qiao," he called looking up, "what are you doing up there? You could get hurt."

"You have to come up here. See this view! I bet you never knew your family had this."

Sighing, Zhou Yu climbed the tree, mostly to make sure she was alright. He finally reached her branch and she scooted over so he could sit next to her.

"Are you alright?" he immediately asked a little breathless, as he crawled to her on the branch.

"I'm fine," she beamed and pointed out ward.

Zhou Yu turned his head and was immediately struck with the scenery. They could see everything to the horizon and it was covered with the tops of green trees. He had no idea his uncle owned a place in the middle of such beauty. He let out calming breath of amazement and glanced down at the girl beside him. She just smiled at him.

He remembered them sitting there for a while, Xaio resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer.

Zhou Yu knew she liked this physical intimacy, even if it was simple and he was slowly becoming more comfortable with this situation. The combination of the beautiful scenery and the beautiful girl so close to his body caused his heart to go haywire. With the scenery and the air, he wanted to slow down and relax, but with the girl so close to him…

Zhou Yu reached into his robes and pulled out two red fruits.

"Here. I brought these in case you get hungry," he said pulling out a knife and cutting the fruit in half revealing tons of red gel-like seeds.

Xiao smiled and took the fruit, picking out the delicious seeds and eating them, while Zhou Yu cut opened his own fruit.

"Mmmm, I never had pomegranate before," she said as she licked her juice-stained fingers.

"You haven't?"

She shook her head, but dug back in to her fruit.

"No, but I keep hearing about them," she swallowed and wiped some juice from her mouth, " Yet the pomegranate is the symbol of fertility…I think. Eating them increases fertility, supposedly."

"Really?" Zhou Yu said after a short pause but he continued to eat his seeds, "The Turks believed that eating pomegranate seeds before battle made them invincible."

"Did it?"

"I have no idea," he shrugged, his gaze lifted from his fruit to the scenery.

Xiao, her mouth full of seeds, made a noise and pointed. She swallowed, "There's the lake."

Sure enough, there down beneath the green tops was a sparkling lake, shining under the sun. It was small, but it was there, nestled securely in the middle of the forest.

"We should go for a swim."

"Excuse me?"

"A swim in the lake."

Zhou Yu stared down at his half eaten pomegranate. He wasn't ready to leave this spot. He was perfectly content where he was now.

Apparently she could tell what he was thinking, "We don't have to do it right now. Later in the afternoon perhaps."

With that she dug back into her fruit and Zhou Yu took a glance at her. There must've been something wrong with him because he could feel his own pulse quicken. She was so close to him and all he could stare at were her lips, moist with the juices of her snack. Yet she looked so innocent and hopeful as she stared at the Chinese landscape. He didn't know how much she knew about the politics going on around them, but she didn't seem to care at the moment and neither should he.

He quietly placed a few seeds in his mouth, before reaching over to cup the back of her head and turn it towards him. He didn't wait for her to respond as he pressed his lips to hers. She was in shock, he could tell, but he still deepened the kiss. All he could taste was pomegranate and he was sure they swapped lingering juices. He brought her as close as they could get on the branch. He could feel his blood run quickly and he broke away, before he lost control. Leaning away, he took a gaze at her flushed face and noticed that some juice drizzled out of the corner of her mouth when they kissed. He wished to kiss or lick it away but decided against such an action. Instead, he wiped it away with the cuff of his sleeve, gently stroking the back of her head.

Then, he abruptly turned away, "I apologize."

"Ooooh, quit furrowing that brow!" she exclaimed, much to his shock, as she reached up and smacked his forehead. "You're more handsome when you don't look so concerned."

He shook his head, surprised that she hit him. True, it was a playful hit, but usually his first instinct if anyone hit him would be to strike back. Still, his brow loosened when she leaned against him again. He brought her closer and they resumed their silent watch.

He snapped out of his thoughts a little breathless. Thinking about her didn't prove to help matters; it only caused his pulse to beat faster with rage and frustration. Withholding the incredible urge to throw something, he took several deep breaths to calm himself. That didn't seem to work.

He looked around and spotted a sturdy beam that was thin enough for him to hang on to but sturdy enough to hold his weight. He jumped and grabbed it and hauled himself up. He brought himself back down, but then hauled himself up again. He repeated this practice several times until he was too physically exhausted to think.

Liu Bei had his meeting with Pang Tong out on the compound's front courtyard. Or what could be called a courtyard. It was mostly a dusty plane that was now murky and muddy with melted snow. The hunched man whose hideous identity was kept hidden by a scarf and a wide hat, bowed before his lord.

"Lord Liu Bei, what do you wish to know?"

"I ask about Wu."

The man's moderately deformed eyes widened a little, "This has something to do with our unexpected guest."

Liu Bei laughed, "Correct as always."

"All I have heard, that has been confirmed, is that Lord Sun Jian died at the battle of Hu Lao Gate."

"Hu Lao Gate? That was less than a year ago."

Pang Tong nodded, "It's hard to believe that we were all allies at one point and with a drop of hat, we pick up arms against each other."

"So far the only who has done that is Cao Cao."

Pang Tong nodded, "But he is cleverer than he looks. Sending small allied bandits to do his dirty work allows him to keep most of his strength while we dwindle."

Groaning, Liu Bei glanced back at where Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei were hanging about, laughing about something.

"The question is: why would Cao Cao kidnap a wife of someone from Wu?"

"Because he can," Liu Bei mumbled bitterly.

"Or the man we are harboring has some value to Cao Cao."

Liu Bei thought about it. Kidnapping was usually done for leverage of some sort. Assuming Cao Cao's men knew what they were doing, Zhou Yu was probably a target that managed to get away or they wanted to use his wife against him. Liu Bei couldn't help but shudder slightly when he thought about Zhou Yu's face when his wife was brought up. Zhuge Liang was right: he was a man on a mission and keeping him here was like harboring a tiger. It could lash out. Ever the idealist though, Liu Bei shrugged those concerning thoughts away. Surely someone as gentlemanly as Lord Zhou Yu would retain a sense of decorum and honor within the house of Shu. Yet that didn't mean he couldn't try to make friends with the guy.

Even later in the day, Liu Bei was getting anxious, wondering if Cao Cao knew he was harboring this Wu warrior. He tried to spend his worries playing chess with Zhuge Liang. It was very hard to do, but Zhuge Liang taught him how to play successfully.

"If you move that piece, you will see that I have three opportunities to take you, but there may be a way to move without consequence," the man waved his fan subtly.

Liu Bei rubbed his chin, glancing at the board and evaluating Zhuge Liang's expression.

Maybe this one…

Liu Bei moved one of his pieces from the back.

Zhuge Liang smirked, "Of all the successful ones, you had the misfortune of picking the worst one to move, my lord."

The strategist proceeded to move his pieces and won the match.

"Well, darn it," Liu Bei sighed, and looked up. Standing a distance behind where Zhuge Liang was seated was Zhou Yu, wrapped in a dark robe that Yue Ying brought for him. The man looked like he hadn't slept the whole time he was here.

"Ah, Zhou Yu. I'm glad you are here," Liu Bei beamed.

"I just needed some water," Zhou Yu's voice was raspy and edgy, clearly not a healthy sign. "You don't know where perhaps I could find some."

"Well, don't worry we'll get some for you," Liu Bei said calmly, but concerned. He turned to a servant man and whispered, "Could you please get our guest some water?"

The servant nodded and left.

Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang cleared the chessboard, "We are playing a little game here, Zhou Yu. Are you familiar with it?"

"Yes, sir, I have."

"Then why don't you play a game," Zhuge Liang offered as he stood from his seat. "I'm sure master Liu Bei wouldn't mind playing with you."

Zhou Yu rubbed his tired eyes. He wasn't sure if he had to mental stamina to play. Maybe, playing chess would keep his mind off of pacing and Xiao Qiao for the moment.

Zhou Yu bowed and sat down before the Shu lord. Liu Bei was wide-eyed, apparently not as keen on playing against one of the great minds of Wu as Zhuge Liang was, but Zhuge Liang was right by Liu Bei's side.

The game started off uneventful, like most games, but quickly, Zhou Yu began to take charge. He was fast in his calculations, while Liu Bei took several agonizing moments to make moves. Yet, before any damage was done, Zhuge Liang leaned over, his fan covering his mouth, and whispered something in Liu Bei's ear. Liu Bei immediately moved his piece in what Zhou Yu quickly identified as a strategically important area. So that's how it was going to be. Liu Bei was just the puppet, and then he saw Zhuge Liang for what he was. A manipulator. A cold manipulator with a fan. Most of Shu seemed blind to this. Maybe they weren't blind. Maybe they willingly follow Zhuge Liang's every whim like sheep.

Zhuge Liang didn't like the stare Zhou Yu was giving him. It was apparent from the get go that this man had this ability to see things others didn't. Yet, even the great Zhou Yu couldn't break through his strategies. Could he?

The match went on and on, and the intensity increased ten-fold, both strategists using careful moves and calculations. Liu Bei's hands began to shake as he moved pieces. He could see that this match was an unbelievably close one. He trusted Zhuge Liang's genius, but Zhou Yu was making this way too close. If he didn't know any better, he would say that Zhuge Liang was maybe getting a little flustered that a man could match his own genius. Yet, as always, he kept his cool, staring at the board with calculating eyes, and whispering instructions behind his fan. Liu Bei barely had time to notice the quiet crowd gathering around them.

"What's going on?"

"Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang are facing Zhou Yu."

"Who's winning?"

"No one. This guy can play."

"Jeez."

Finally, Liu Bei laid a piece down where Zhuge Liang instructed him to go. Zhou Yu impassively sat back up straight, his hands on his thighs, silent.

"I believe that is the end," Zhuge Liang said coolly. And the crowd gave a collective sigh of relief.

Zhou Yu didn't know what to believe. He wasn't used to losing at chess. Yet, judging how long the match was it could have gone either way. Today was just Zhuge Liang's day.

Zhou Yu bowed, accepting defeat, even if it left a bitter taste in his mouth, "The victory is yours. The better man won."

Zhou Yu took his long untouched tumbler of water and retreated back to his room.

Sighing, Liu Bei stood, "That was intense."

"Ahh, but Zhuge Liang is still the reigning genius," Huang Zhong barked with laughter, "No one can match him."

Normally, Zhuge Liang would humbly appreciate the compliment, but this time his mind was on the previous match.

"I'm not so sure…"

Liu Bei heard his whisper, "What's that?"

"It is true that I have been proven the better at formulating chess strategies today, but I have this feeling that I wasn't facing the real Zhou Yu."

"How do you mean?"

"He hasn't slept in days and you know what exhaustion does to a man's ability to concentrate."

As Zhuge Liang left, Liu Bei swallowed.

Back at Cao Cao's palace, Sima Yi had wandered to where the heir to Wei's throne hung out with his pals and…female confidants. Despite Cao Pi's habit of hanging out with other women, the boy adored his wife, Zhen Ji, and would never dare doing anything more to other women other than mild flirtations.

The brat was now throwing knives at a board with a red painted bulls-eye. Shit, the kid was good. Two knives were stuck right in the center and he was preparing for another.

Zhen Ji rubbed her husband's shoulders, "Last one, darling. If you make this one, I'll…"

She whispered something in his ear, and Cao Pi flashed a lascivious grin, "I don't even think that's legal, but, yeah, I'm ready."

"Oh, please, give it a rest," Sima Yi rolled his eyes.

Cao Pi glanced over his shoulder, "I'm sorry, but I can't hear over the loud sound of my…awesomeness!"

The young man threw the knife and 'lo and behold, it stuck in the center, right next to the others. Cheers erupted as Cao Pi's "entourage" jumped in excitement at their master's success. Cao Pi gave Sima Yi a smug grin. The older man folded his arms frowning.

Cao Pi rolled his eyes and called back to his group, "Clear out guys. Mom's here."

Sima Yi faked a laugh, "Oh ho, my side!"

Subtly, Cao Pi shook his head, "What do you want?"

"Your father's angry that you weren't at the meeting," Sima Yi crossed his arms returning a smug expression that looked strangely sultry. Cao Pi backed away a little.

"My dad doesn't need my input. He just wants me there for appearances. So is he in or is he…out eating a baby."

Sima Yi had to agree, "Let me explain something, Cao Pi. There's a fish that swims around with its babies in its mouth. That fish would look at your relationship with your father and say 'That's messed up.'"

Cao Pi almost, just almost laughed at that analogy. It was true, he gave his father respect, but Cao Cao hardly gave his son anything more than cold regard. Cao Pi usually shrugged it off and went about his usual day.

"That being said," Sima Yi continued, "He can be generous when you perform well. Hence why I have eight men under me."

Cao Pi cocked his head and couldn't help but smirk, "Wow…what god of gay fantasies did you write to in order to get that?"

"Shut up," Sima Yi spat back. "Speaking of generosity, he has you working with Zhang He."

Cao Pi looked horrified, "No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Cao Pi shook his head in disbelief. Zhang He was a skilled warrior and commander, but he was…different. He knew how to make everyone uncomfortable. Now Cao Pi had to hang out with Sima Yi and the pretty butterfly, Zhang He. Screw being a prince, he would likely kill himself after a day with those two.

"I can't believe this," Cao Pi sighed running a hand through his black hair.

"Believe it…" Sima Yi smirked, but noticed his lord's son walking away in a huff. "Hey were are you going? Did you even hear what I said!"

"You're not my supervisor!"

A/N: Ahh Sima Yi and Zhang He...I am convinced those two are why Cao Pi has rage face on all the time. I'd be a pretty angry person too if I had hang out with those two all the time. Anyway, Review!