Hello! :) Thanks once again for all of the reviews and feedback on the last chapter! Since it's been quite a while, I'll reply to some of them!

Meel Jacques: Ahhh thank you so so so much for all of your reviews~! And yeah, in this chapter, a certain someone is going to find out that Mulan and Fan pretty much grew up together. I guess you'll see how he takes it ;)

RosexDoctorForever: Thank you so much, you're so sweet omg

The Cat Charmer: I know right? He's such a jerk. I wish I could strangle him myself.

Kagamine Arimonori: Thank you :) (I'd do a heart but ff doesn't let you, apparently.)

AussieGirl16: Thanks so much! Expect as many updates as I can do in the next week!

pistonsfan75: I know. It's a shame that there have always been people like Chi Fu. But yes, Shang just wants to protect her, but how will keeping his distance work out with this new recruit? Mwahaha.

As always, thanks so much for reading and continuing to read and follow the story! I appreciate all of you so much! :)


Chapter 8: Training


Mulan woke up early, quickly getting dressed and stepping outside. The camp was still quiet and barren. She realized how early it was when she looked at the position of the sun and realized that even Shang must not be awake yet. She looked around, though she stopped when she saw a figure sitting by the lake. She walked down to him, realizing that it was Fan. She came up behind him and tapped his shoulder, looking at him with a smile.

"Hey, Fan." He said. "Can I join you?"

He smiled up at her and nodded. "Yeah, of course."

The two caught up with each other even more, now that they had more time to. They joked about people they knew, especially a particular Chi Fu, told each other stories, and remembered experiences they had had together as children. Mulan was elated to have another friend at camp with her, especially with Shang acting so harshly towards her all of the sudden.


Shang woke up early as well, squinting as the sunlight entered his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck and sat up. After a minute of rubbing his eyes and stretching out a bit, he stood up and got dressed for the day. As he stepped outside, he didn't expect to see Mulan awake, let alone see her laughing at something with Wen Fan. He stayed back for a few minutes, watching them talk. He started to feel a pang of jealousy, however he quickly dismissed it.

'No. She loves me. She said she did. Doesn't she?'

Shang had a feeling that deep down, it was his fault. He knew that he should have at least talked to her before ignoring her, or at least not showing her affection as he used to. After a little while of watching them talk and laugh with each other, Shang could hardly take it anymore. He walked up behind her and gently tapped her shoulder. She stopped laughing and looked back at him, a smile still on her face.

"Captain, we have to start setting up the training exercises for today." It was a lame excuse, but it wasn't a lie. He could see her smile vanish as he called her captain, and he realized he'd made a mistake. Still, he didn't say anything as she nodded at him and said goodbye to Wen Fan.

They walked away in silence, Shang leading her to the field after she retrieved her bow, quiver, arrows, and sword from her tent. Once they were in the center of the tents, where the recruits line up each morning, Mulan smiled to herself. She remembered her first morning at camp so clearly. Every word said that morning was still in her memory. What she remembered the most, however, was the exercise with the pole and arrow. She looked up at the abandoned pole and aimed her bow at it, pulling an arrow out of her quiver and shooting the top of the pole. Shang turned around to her at the sound, alarmed at first, but smiling as he realized what she did.

He wanted to talk to her. To tell her that he was sorry and that he was only trying to protect her. He kept trying to think of the right words to say, but he just couldn't come up with them. He sighed to himself with defeat and turned to her.

"Um, we should go set up archery. The materials we need are there, we've just got to hang the targets." She nodded at him, looking as hurt as she did before. However, she followed along with him.

They finished just as the recruits were waking up and getting breakfast. Shang and Mulan met up with the Gang of three and talked to them during the meal, Shang explaining the plans for the morning. They joked around for just a bit, however Shang and Mulan still had an obvious distance. The gang quickly noticed it. Once they had all left to clean up their things, the three silently agreed to confront Shang about it. They considered themselves to be Shang's 'Guardian Angels' when it came to Mulan. And, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Shang knew that they were right in a sense. Shang wouldn't know what to do if it weren't for his friends.


After everyone had finished putting away their dirty dishes, Shang stood in front of the line of soldiers. However, this time around, he was more confident with four others to help him train the soldiers.

He reintroduced Mulan and the Gang once more before glancing up at the arrow Mulan had shot on the pole.

"Now soldiers, as you know, these next weeks will be very hard for all of you. However, you should be honored to fight for your country and your families." The recruits nodded at him.

"Our first exercise will be a challenge, as you should expect. Fa Mulan will help me demonstrate." She smiled and stepped forward as Shang took out 'Discipline' and 'Strength' and handed them both to her.

There were a few scoffs among the recruits, and some of them even laughed. Still, Shang and Mulan stayed composed. Before climbing, Mulan looked at each of the recruits.

"Is there something funny?" She asked. Her tone wasn't stern, however. It was calm and tranquil. The men rolled their eyes at her, which only made her smile. Mulan glanced at Shang quickly before approaching one of the recruits who was laughing at her. She knew this man's name already just from hearing side chatter among the recruits.

"Luo Fu," she addressed him. He stopped laughing and looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face. "Why don't you stand closer to me. You're going next."

He groaned and stepped towards her as she made her way back to the pole. She began to climb up, managing to make it to the top very quickly. After a moment or two, she slid back down and handed the weights to Luo Fu.

"Your turn, soldier." She said. He cracked his knuckles and attempted to climb the pole, however he couldn't even make it a quarter of the way up. He fell on his back and rubbed it, sitting up slowly and handing her the weights.

Mulan still smiled at him and took his hand, helping him up. He smiled at her and bowed, which was his form of apologizing. As she watched him rejoin his peers, she could tell that she had gained more of the soldier's respects.

Shang smiled at her during the whole demonstration. He admired her so much and wished he could just kiss her in front of all of the recruits. He refrained, however, and instead turned to the rest of the recruits. However, he did put a hand on Mulan's shoulder as she came up next to him.

"As you can see, Fa Mulan simply makes it look easy. However, it's obviously not going to be for the rest of you." They nodded.

The day was filled with strenuous training in the sun, and the soldiers were soon tired. Shang dismissed them all for the night, and they all headed into their tents to rest for a while. Shang came up behind Mulan and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, uh," He said as she turned around. "Nice job today, captain."

She faked a smile and nodded. "Thanks, general. You did well, too." With that, she walked into her tent, leaving him standing there with regret.


Once in her tent, Mulan let out all of her frustration from the last two days by throwing her sword on the floor, which made Mushu quite alarmed.

"What was that for?" He asked. "I was trying to get some sleep!"

"Shang's being an ass." She said, pacing back and forth in the room. "I don't see what's wrong with him!"

"What's pretty boy been doing to you?" He asked her. "I swear, I'll torch him if he hurts you." He was about to walk out of the tent before Mulan lunged for him.

"No, don't!" She said, grabbing him in her hand.

"Why not?" Mushu asked, quite annoyed that she had stopped him.

"Because I still care about him, Mushu! I just don't know what's wrong."

"Then why don't you just talk to him. I've seen you two before, you both care about each other! All you need to do is talk!"

"I just don't know what to say to him." She said, letting go of him and sitting down. She took a breath as Mushu patted her shoulder to comfort her.

"Just tell him what's on your mind. He'll understand."


Mulan walked out of her tent after a short rest. The first person she saw was Wen Fan. She waved to him, and he walked over.

"Hey, Fan. Good job today."

"Thanks," he said, smiling. "You did okay, too." She smirked and punched his side.

"Where are you off to?" He asked her.

"Oh, I... I'm going to talk to General Li about... Military strategy."

Wen Fan raised his eyebrow. "Military strategy?" He asked her.

"Yes! Honestly, Fan, we're both military officials, what else would we discuss?"

"Uh huh..." He said, confused. However, he shrugged it off and smiled at her once again. "Well, have fun! I'm pretty sure he's in his tent."

Mulan nodded and thanked him before walking over to Shang's tent. She said his name before lifting the tent flap and stepping inside.

"Shang?" She asked. However, there was no sight of Shang. Instead, she saw Chi Fu, who appeared to be looking over the maps in Shang's tent. He turned around to face her quickly, and she took an intimidating step towards him.

"What are you doing in the General's tent?" She asked him.

"I..."

"Don't you have your own map or something in your own tent?"

"Well, the..."

"Don't you?" She asked once again, moving closer to him.

There was a pause, and Chi Fu stood up taller than her, clearing his throat. He pushed her away, causing a surprised, angry expression to find it's way to her face.

"This is none of your concern, lowly whore. Shouldn't you be outside 'entertaining' the real soldiers?"

Mulan was astonished, to say the least. She stormed out of the tent, trying to find Shang somewhere among the soldiers. She finally did find him, sitting around a fire with the Gang of three.


As Shang walked out of his tent after resting for a few minutes, he immediately saw the Gang in front of him, staring him down coldly.

"What's the matter?" He asked them, genuinely confused.

"What in the world have you been doing to Mulan?" Yao asked, getting closer to him and staring right at him with his good eye.

"Yao's right. There's obviously something wrong. I've never seen her act so sad and quiet around you."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Shang. "When was she sad or quiet?"

Chien Po stepped forward. "At breakfast, when you complimented her for climbing the pole, during the rest of training,-"

Shang cut him off. "She was just being serious because we were in front of the recruits."

"Bullshit." Said Yao. Shang was about to reprimand him before he spoke up once again. "Even around other soldiers she's usually still happy."

"Well..."

"What did you do to her, General?"

So the four of them sat down and got food while Shang explained himself. He told them all about how he overheard Chi Fu talking to her, and how he didn't want to put her reputation at risk.

"Did you at least talk to her about it first?" Asked Chien Po.

"Of course he did," Ling answered for him, "He's not an idiot. Right, Shang?"

"Uhm..." He hesitated. He saw Yao drop his chopsticks in awe, and he shook his head.

"No." He answered. "I just... I don't know what to do around her, I guess. I can never do anything right with her. I thought that it was a good way to protect her, but..."

"You're not even taking her feelings into consideration!" Yao said. "Don't you know how hurt she must feel?"

It took Shang a moment to respond. He put his bowl down and sighed, putting his face into his hands.

"What have I done..." He asked himself quietly. "I've been such a jerk to her and I didn't even realize it!"

There was a pause, and Ling gently put his arm around him in a comforting manner.

"And," Shang started, "It doesn't help that she's spending all of her time with that one recruit."

"Are you actually jealous of him?" Yao laughed. "You're much stronger and better-looking than he is!"

Shang glared at him. "But even you know that Mulan doesn't care about that. She cares about what kind of person somebody is. And, honestly, I feel hat I've been a worse person to her than he has for the last couple of days."

There was no response to that. Shang was simply right.

"Shang, why don't you go talk to her. She may still understand." Said Chien Po. Shang sat up and sighed.

"I guess so, I just wish I knew what to say. She's really important to me, but-"

"Shang!" Said a female voice. He immediately knew who it was, but he didn't know if he was ready to talk to her yet. She finally got to him and stopped in front of him.

"We have to speak in private, Shang. It's about-"

"Don't mind us." Yao said, smirking, "We'll leave you two alone." The three of them walked away, smiling at Shang.

"No, wait," Mulan said, "It's not about-"

"We should get away from everyone for a moment, if it has to be in private." She was about to say something, but nodded.

They walked together, Shang wanting to show her affection by taking her hand, but he knew that he should only do that when they were away from everyone else.

Once they got far enough, they were on the side of the lake which was far away from everyone else. They were also concealed by a few trees. He was thankful that it would also be harder to see them both since the sun had gone down. He turned to her and sighed, trying to muster up some courage to apologize to her.

"Mulan,"

"Shang," They both started at the same time. Shang politely allowed her to speak first.

"Shang, I think Chi Fu is up to something. I was looking for you earlier and he was in your tent. I think he was messing with your maps or something, because when I asked him about it, he'd just insult me and not answer my questions."

Shang was a little disappointed that she wasn't talking about the same thing he was going to talk to her about. However, the feeling was taken over by anger and confusion. Anger because of the fact that Chi Fu had insulted her once again, and confusion as to why he would be going through his maps.

"That is strange," He nodded. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Not really. He just pushed me."

Shang sighed. "Mulan, if he pushes you, don't be afraid to push him back."

Mulan smiled at the fact that he used her name once again instead of her title. There was a short pause before she started talking again.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, it's just..." He tried to think of what he wanted to say to her.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"Well, I'm... I'm sorry I've been... Distant, for the past few days." He paused. "I just... I had heard what Chi Fu said to you. After the four of us left him alone. I noticed that he'd grabbed your arm and I'd noticed what he said to you. And, honestly..." He took her hand in his. "I didn't want Chi Fu to have a reason to spread rumors about... You and me."

"Well, Shang, he's not going to have any if we talk to each other. I mean, we haven't been talking at all since he arrived."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I should have talked to you first before distancing myself. But all I wanted to do was protect you."

Mulan smiled sweetly. "I know, and thank you. But you didn't have to completely shut me out."

"I know." He looked down. She smiled and gently lifted his face with her fingertips. They both smiled at each other and Shang wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She hugged him back and both of them were happy. They held hands as they were walking back to rejoined the soldiers, but were sure to let go once they were able to be seen. As they came back, Mulan saw Fan walking towards them and smiled.

"I see you found Shang?" He asked her.

"Actually, he wasn't in his tent, smart one." She elbowed him lightly. She then turned to Shang with a smile.

"Wen Fan and I grew up together." Shang nodded.

"Yeah, she's been a pain ever since we were little." Fan smirked as Mulan shoved him playfully.

Shang already disliked him more than he had before. However, he was at least happy that he knew why they were always spending time together.

"Well, it's good that Captain Fa has another friend with her." Shang said, in the nicest tone possible.

"Oh, Shang, I could have better than him." She said.

Fan rolled his eyes. "Like the Matchmaker?"

Mulan fake-laughed and kicked his leg.

Though they were teasing each other, Shang could still tell that they had a lot of chemistry. Though he knew that Mulan loved him, Shang couldn't help but feel jealous of Fan. He just hoped that he could contain his jealousy while he was around the two of them.


That's it! Thanks so much for reading! I doubt I'll be able to get another chapter out before I leave, but it will only be about a week or so before I can start writing again. I will, however, brainstorm what the next chapters will be about so I can write them quickly! Thanks so much for reading it! :)