Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (EXCEPT Lu Kyoko and Jia Li)

AN: Thanks to jusdatgiirl for the correction on Taishi Chi's name (I'll keep the 'h' in Chi until I know for sure okay?)

Chapter 10: Trouble with Shu

Ling Tong and Gan Ning watched them all go, extremely confused. But Gan Ning patted Ling Tong on the shoulder and followed them as well, Ling Tong rolled his eyes but he couldn't help but admire his friend's curiosity, mostly because it was worse than his own. Ling Tong decided to walk around for a while and meet up with Gan Ning later, 'He'll have something... his old eavesdropping skills haven't left him one bit' And Ling Tong headed towards the dorms.

Gan Ning snuck behind the group and did a head count, there was Sun Quan at the lead with Lu Xun, and Lu Meng and Lu Kyoko right behind them, they were silent it made Gan Ning's job slightly harder but they didn't notice him. They all went into the library and Lu Xun shut the doors, Gan Ning knelt down by the big keyhole and looked through it. Sun Quan sat down, Lu Xun was pacing, Lu Meng was leaning against the table and Lu Kyoko was standing by the window, watching Lu Xun.

"Xun, what's this about?" Lu Meng asked

"I'm afraid some bad news reached us while you were away" Lu Xun said, still pacing.

"About Wei or Shu?" Lu Kyoko asked

"Shu surprisingly..." Lu Xun stopped pacing and turned towards them "I decided that you should all know first before it is properly announced. I'm afraid Liu Bei has turned against us, he has taken Jing for his own and left it in Guan Yu's charge while he is hiding in his new capital of Cheng Du"

Gan Ning swallowed the fear that rose in his throat, if that was true then Wu had enemies all around them, it was Lu Meng who spoke next "What should we do?" He asked his friends "We cannot defeat Guan Yu's army"

His answer was only met with silence, until Lu Kyoko moved towards them; she turned towards Lu Xun "Where is Guan Yu now?"

"Last report he was just outside Fan Castle"



"That's better for us than him"

"What do you mean Lu Kyoko?" Sun Quan asked

"If Guan Yu plans on taking Fan Castle then he'll have Wei to deal with, that makes him both our problem... Meng is right; we cannot defeat Guan Yu... Not on our own"

"I see what you're getting at sister, but do you really think that Cao Cao will ally with us since we have just taken He Fei from him?"

"Think about it, Wei cannot afford to lose Fan Castle, that's their foothold in Jing; however they cannot defeat Guan Yu on their own either. Liu Bei isn't stupid he will have expected this and left Guan Yu with a considerable force. If we ally with Wei then we can defeat him"

Sun Quan stood up and walked over to Lu Kyoko "You are right... Though I hate to admit it we must ally with Cao Cao, now we need to tell all the other officers I will sent a message to Cao Cao about the alliance"

"Actually he sent us a letter requesting an alliance it arrived just before you came... By the writing I would guess he actually sent it after he lost He Fei" Lu Xun said, turning towards his lord

"After He Fei? He must have known about Fan Castle before us" Lu Meng said, scratching his chin in thought "Kyoko, what do you think about this letter?"

"I'm not going to lie; I think it sounds like he's determined not to lose Fan Castle, he must be desperate to ask us for help... Cao Cao knows he can't defend Fan Castle on his own"

Sun Quan nodded, "I'll announce it now, Lu Meng form a small army together, one that help Cao Cao defeat Guan Yu" Lu Meng nodded, they all bowed and Sun Quan started walking towards the door, Gan Ning ran out of the corridor and towards the dorms, he knew where Ling Tong would be, he didn't even knock he just walked inside and sure enough Ling Tong was sitting on his bed.

"Hey, did you find out?" Ling Tong asked and stood up

"Sure did" Gan Ning said, then he looked around his room slightly, he'd only been inside a few times, but mostly he stayed at the door, especially lately, but he forgot to shut the door. "Apparently Liu Bei's up to no good and is trying to grab Jing for his own accords. Lu Meng's been ordered to round up a force and go help Wei"

"What?!" Ling Tong almost shouted, "Wait... is that why he asked us to attack He Fei? So he could steal more of Jing... And now we're helping Wei, of all people?! We just finished a battle with them"

"Relax Tong! Besides I don't know who's going yet"

"I thought you'd have been listening Gan Ning" Said a familiar voice, Gan Ning turned around and saw Lu Meng with Lu Kyoko, both leaning against the doorframe.

"I told you I thought someone was following us" Lu Kyoko said

"It seems you weren't wrong sister... But in any case, Gan Ning be ready, you're going" Lu Meng saw Ling Tong's almost crushed face "We only need a small force and besides there's no need to take every good officer we have, anyway after six duels with Zhang Liao, get you're rest Ling Tong" Ling Tong understood and nodded.

"So who's going?"

"I've decided to use officers which won't be tired; we took a large force to He Fei... There's me, Lu Xun, Gan Ning and Lu Kyoko with our lieutenants and troops to go to Fan Castle"

Lu Kyoko saw Ling Tong's eyes widen when her brother said her name, she swallowed expecting him to protest, but he kept his protests to himself. "So..." Ling Tong said "When do you leave?" Lu Meng sighed "We leave at dawn tomorrow" Lu Meng bid his farewell.

"I'm sorry, but--" Lu Kyoko started, but Ling Tong cut across her "Don't worry"

Gan Ning cleared his throat "Well despite some tension and the potential fun I'll be off, see ya"

Gan Ning left and Ling Tong sat down, Lu Kyoko closed the door and sat down beside him "Tong, it's not gonna be for long"

"We've only just... and now you're going to Fan Castle to fight the 'God of War'" Ling Tong reached over and touched her hand tentatively "I'm just worried..." Then he calmed himself and held her hand. He looked at her and saw she was biting her lip, like she always did when she was nervous "It's just... He's not called the 'God of War' for no reason"

She squeezed his hand comfortingly "Listen, even if we did meet in battle do you seriously think that brother and Ning would let anything happen to me... and that's almost out of fear of you" Ling Tong couldn't help but smile 'She knows exactly what to say' He thought happily.

"What happened to Taishi Chi? I haven't seen him around"

She looked a bit uncomfortable "Well, he got badly injured in the ambush, he's still with the medics"

"Just promise me you'll all come back well"

Lu Kyoko nodded "I promise, for my part at least"

Ling Tong smiled and took her hand in both of his, he kissed it and then looked out of the window, he saw that the sun was setting "You're gonna need to get some good sleep tonight... and if you stay here any longer then you won't... So just go I'll see you tomorrow at the farewell thing" And he let go of her hand, but she didn't leave.

"Ling Tong, you don't actually expect me to leave you do you?" He was surprised, and thrilled. He felt a knot tie in his chest but a sinking feeling came with it... what if she didn't return from Fan Castle?

"I guess I sort of did... yeah" Ling Tong said, and he moved closer to her, his lips mere centimetres from hers, she smiled and moved close to him as well "You might have to admit you're wrong every now and again" Ling Tong kissed her.

Ling Tong groaned as he moved his sore muscles and he turned on his side and held out his arm to hold Lu Kyoko, but he only hit an empty space, he opened his eyes and saw she was sitting on the trunk beside his bed, tying her boots together, she was fully dressed. "If you were planning on seeing us off you're going to have to hurry up and get dressed." Ling Tong looked down at the pillows, and she sat on the bed next to him, "I'm gonna be okay Ling Tong"

He nodded, but still didn't look at her, she placed her hands on his face and pulled his chin up so he was looking at her "Get dressed" She said and stood up, she picked up her spear from beside the door she looked at it thoughtfully. Ling Tong got dressed as fast as he could and he walked over to her, standing behind her he wrapped her arms around her and kissed her head. There was a knock at the door, Ling Tong reluctantly let go and Lu Kyoko opened it, Lu Meng was there.

"I figured you'd be here" He winked at her and she blushed, looking away and bringing her free hand to her cheeks, Ling Tong cleared his throat and smiled, he had forgotten that Lu Meng's room 

was right next to his, and an unbearable separation plus a declaration and maybe the chance for a last time... well it made things interesting.

"Listen, Kyoko we leave in ten minutes, be at the plaza" Lu Meng said and bowed in goodbye, she nodded and he left. Ling Tong linked his hand with Lu Kyoko's and they left, Ling Tong closing the door behind him and they walked towards the plaza, the farewells were already in place as families said goodbye to their fathers, brothers, sons and husbands, Ling Tong had only been on the giving end a few times, and that was to his father when he was still a boy. He had always imagined a wife and children saying goodbye to him, not him saying goodbye to the person he loved.

He saw Gan Ning and Jia Li not far off, he remembered that she was staying behind as well, but He Fei had been her first real battle in twelve years. When they reached the square's edge Lu Kyoko turned around, and Ling Tong wrapped his arms around her again, and he kissed her.

Gan Ning had said his sixth goodbye to Jia Li, and he walked over to Lu Kyoko and Ling Tong, almost laughing he cleared his throat, they broke apart and Ling Tong kissed her cheek and she went over to Jia Li and they hugged goodbye and Lu Kyoko mounted her horse. Gan Ning and Ling Tong just sort of summed each other up for a few moments and then laughed, they clasped hands together and hugged "I'll keep her safe for you" And they broke apart and Gan Ning mounted his horse, Lu Meng trotted over on his horse and Ling Tong looked up at him "Never been on this end like this before" Lu Meng smiled "She'll be fine, I'll make sure of it"

"Gan Ning promised the same"

"I bet she promised a safe return to"

Ling Tong nodded and then bowed down to him; Lu Meng placed his spear in front of him and went to the head of the army, "Forward! We go to assist Wei! Onto Fan Castle!" He reared up his horse and left the city, Lu Kyoko right at his side with Gan Ning and Lu Xun right behind them.

Ling Tong stood at the gates and watched them go off into the distance, and eventually out of sight. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned his head, and saw Xiao Qiao, he was surprised to see her here, Zhou Yu had died a while ago and there was no-one for her to cheer onto the battlefield anymore. "Don't worry about her, I know Kyoko, she's a strong girl"

Ling Tong couldn't help but smile, partially amazed that she could reach his shoulder "I keep getting told that"

"Then believe it! Besides she's... wow, in skill especially but her looks aren't that far behind"

Xiao Qiao let go of his shoulder and looked out across the plain "I'm thinking of going onto the battlefield myself"

Ling Tong turned around at her, surprised "What?" She asked

"Sorry I just don't see you as a warrior somehow"

Xiao Qiao didn't seem bothered about his comment she just shrugged "I've already spoken to Quan and he says it's fine, and... I think Zhou Yu would have liked me by his side"

Xiao Qiao waved bye and left Ling Tong along to his thoughts... 'Why am I so worried about Lu Kyoko? She's as strong as me and got one hell of a mean streak in her with that spear...' Ling Tong smiled; he knew that he didn't need to worry about her, especially with Gan Ning and Lu Meng with her.

Ling Tong ordered for the gates to be closed and he walked back towards the dorms.

That evening Lu Meng was leading his small Wu army towards Fan Castle; Lu Kyoko was on his right side, Lu Xun on his left side and Gan Ning on Lu Kyoko's right. "So..." Lu Xun started "You think this'll be enough?"

"I sure hope so; don't forget we don't know how big his force is"

"We're there"

AN: Right, next chapter here, I wasn't really sure about how to finish this chapter but the next is another battle scene, Fan Castle! Please R&R