Disclaimer: All characters in this story are the rightful property of Disney, except for Luo Jin, Captain Hsiao Tso-liang and Captain Ma Yuan, who belong to icedragon6171.

A/N: this is the first chapter written by me! I hope you guys like it!

Towards the Setting Sun

Chapter 14

As soon as the words came out from Shang's mouth, all the soldiers started to cheer, while the Captains present, including Mulan, just stood there looking utterly confused. When Mulan turned to look back at Shang, she realized he was still looking at her, his eyes sparkling in a special way. Was he… challenging her? Didn't he think she could do it? She broke her eyes away to look at Captain Hsiao again.

"Well, let's get moving, shall we?" She said to him.

She started to walk towards the starting line, where some of the Captains were already standing. As she passed a group of men, Captain Hsiao by her side, some of them called her name and begun to cheer. She recognized them as some of the soldiers under her command. She nodded in response, smiling slightly, thankful of having her men's support.

As they got to the starting line and took positions, she started to ponder over how she was going to run the race… after all this wasn't sprinting, which she would certainly loose against the other more experienced and faster men, no, this was resistance running, and although she didn't like it very much (she remembered how glad she had been about not having to run when she and Captain Hsiao had waited at the checkpoint), she knew she had as many possibilities as the rest of the men to win this race because the result didn't depend only on speed, but also on wits. She remembered when she was back at Wu Zhong, how good, she'd actually been, she was better than anyone in camp with those weights on her shoulders, she even remembered Shang congratulating her once.

As the Captains did their warm-up, Shang had sent some of the soldiers to stand at the checkpoints where they had been standing not so long ago. After having done that, the General approached the competing Captains.

"Men, you know the rules. Run around the camp, and the first one to get back here, will be the winner." He said looking as regal as always. "May the best one win." He said that last sentence looking solely at Mulan, the same challenging look in his eyes.

The twelve Captains present got into a straight line, waiting for Shang to give the signal to start. He observed the line and saw that all of his seven Captains were present; however, two of General Su's were missing. He spotted Mulan standing between Captain Hsiao and one of the elder General's men, whose name he couldn't remember. The runners were looking ahead, most of them had a concentrated look on their eyes and Mulan, Shang saw, was frowning slightly. He counted up to three before giving the starting signal. Then the men all started running.

As Mulan ran she only thought about one thing: about saving her strength and energy. Even if the men were quickly leaving her behind, she knew that if she pushed herself harder, she would become exhausted too early. She had to hold on until the end. If she didn't, she wouldn't only let herself down, but Shang as well, and she certainly didn't want that, especially after the challenging look she had got from him earlier. She kept running and was overtaken by yet another man, who she recognized as the Captain who had been sleeping on a bench while Shang and she talked inside the mess hall after her return from the mountains.

She briefly glanced over her shoulder. The starting line couldn't be seen anymore and she realized there was no one behind her.

She was the last one.

After passing one more checkpoint, she decided it was time to speed things up a bit. She had been jogging steadily while some of the men who had rushed at the beginning had no energy left in them, and were slowing down. She finally managed to reach the last of the men and overtook him. He was one of General Su's men.

She started increasing her pace, just a little bit. It was her turn to overtake the others now.

...

Shang was waiting at the finish line, a bit further away from the other soldiers. He watched as some of the men he had sent to stand at the checkpoints were coming back. To his right some men were discussing who they thought was going to win the current race. A small smile appeared on his face when he imagined Mulan running towards the finish line. He knew she was a good runner, but how good? He was about to discover.

"General." Shang turned around and looked at the soldier who had just addressed him.

"Yes?" He answered.

"General Su sent me; he wants to see you in his tent to discuss the upcoming journey through the mountains leading to the Turkish territory."

"Of course, tell him I'll be there as soon as the race finishes, surely he can start without me." Shang answered, an edge of bitterness marking his last words. Su Dingfeng hadn't needed him before, when deciding when to leave, even though he had advised him to wait until the snow in the mountains had melted. Why would he need his help now? Surely he would be able to cope on his own.

Shang was aware of how childish his reasons for making the elder General wait were, but his pride wouldn't allow him to act otherwise. He had treated Shang as a subordinate since he arrived at the camp in Kashgar, even though they shared the same rank.

He realized the soldier was still standing beside him, waiting for further orders. Shang tried to appear as commanding as he possibly could and dismissed him. After that he submerged himself in his thoughts again: why would Su Dingfeng suddenly want to talk to him? Surely it wasn't only to discuss strategy… he guessed he would find out later.

He was brought back to reality by the screams and shouts coming from the soldiers waiting at the finish line. Shang looked up and saw that Captain Ma Yuan had got round the last corner: His face was red from exertion, and his pace was irregular. Immediately after, other two Captains had appeared in sight; both were under General Su's command, closely followed by Captain Hsiao. Mulan was nowhere in sight.

Right after that thought had crossed his mind he saw her appear. She was running as fast as the little energy she had left in her would allow her. Her lithe body moved swiftly across the terrain, and she quickly overtook Captain Hsiao. She kept running, increasing her speed, and, as a result, overtaking one of General Su's Captains, the one who had stood beside her while they waited for the signal to start the race. She was approaching the next one.

'Just some more steps to go,' she thought. As she ran, she could faintly hear the soldiers standing at the sides of the "track" cheer, and scream the names of their fellow Captains. She even heard a horse whinny someplace far away, but despite all the distractions around her, she only looked ahead, increasing her pace with every single step.

The soldier ahead of her and herself were getting closer and closer to the first of them all which Mulan recognized as Captain Ma Yuan, the one who had begun telling stories of his years as a young soldier at the eating table that evening, and they were also nearing the finish line.

The other Captain didn't take long in passing Ma Yuan, Mulan following closely behind. As Mulan passed him, she mused on how a man his age could be such a good runner, even if his pace was slow and irregular now, due to the fact that he had begun the race with a sprint, he had managed to come this far holding his leading position.

She stopped musing when she realized that the other soldier was getting away from her. How could she loose her concentration when she was so close to the finish line!

So she ran even faster. She put every last bit of energy into this one last sprint, and soon she was side by side with the other Captain. She kept running forward, her eyes only looking at the finish line some more steps ahead. The only thing that made her aware of her opponent running beside her were his rhythmic footsteps on the floor.

She heard the cheering soldiers around her, some of them screaming her name. She looked up for a brief moment and her eyes interlocked themselves with those of Shang. This time his eyes didn't sparkle denoting any challenge, but instead they shined with what looked like pride.

With her eyes back on the track again, she ran the final steps, so intensely concentrating on getting to the finish line that she forgot about everything else.

She stopped hearing the cheers.

She forgot about how heavy her legs felt.

She stopped hearing the rhythmic steps beside her. Were they even still there? She wanted to look, to confirm her thoughts, but she wasn't about to make the mistake of getting distracted twice.

So she just kept running until she finally reached the finish line. She stopped, glad to be able to catch her breath, and as she looked to her side, she saw that the other Captain was catching his breath too. Suddenly he looked up and stared daggers at her. She couldn't help but smile in return, because it meant…it meant that-

"Mulan." A voice said behind her, interrupting her thoughts. She turned around and found herself staring right into the smiling face of Shang. "Congratulations." He said in a low voice, only for her to hear. She smiled back, her face flushed from exertion.

The soldiers that were under her command were the first ones that came to congratulate her, and she acknowledged them with a nod of her head, smiling happily.

Many other soldiers and fellow Captains came to congratulate her, and afterwards, the men started to leave and went to their respecting tents, retiring for the night. Shang ordered a few men to bring back the torches which had been used to signal the checkpoints. Then he remembered: he had to go and talk with General Su.

A he started leaving, he looked towards Mulan. She stood talking animatedly to Captain Hsiao. She looked his way and their eyes locked for a brief moment. She smiled to him and he found himself smiling back. Then without another word, he walked away, towards General Su's tent.

...

Mulan found herself riding Khan, taking shots at a lone tree she was using as a target. Since they had left the fortress at Kashgar, she could no longer practice her shooting in the training fields, so she had to go to the outskirts of the provisional camp to be able to do so.

It was already very late; the full moon was shining, allowing Mulan to see what she was doing. She was feeling rather proud of herself that day since most of her arrows were finding their mark, one or two still missed the target, but overall she could see that she had improved significantly.

After the race, all the soldiers had retired for the night, since they were leaving early the next morning. Mulan thought that General Su was rushing their departure, it was still very cold in the mountains to travel though them, but she also thought that he knew what he was doing, after all, he was an experienced General, and it would be very convenient to have the element of surprise on their side.

She jumped down from Khan to retrieve all the arrows she had shot. It was already late and she knew she needed to get some sleep. When she had picked all the arrows, she placed them inside the quiver attached to the horse's saddle. After having done that, she heard some steps behind her. She turned around to face whoever was coming.

"Don't you think it's a bit late to be practicing? Especially since we are leaving so early tomorrow morning." Shang said with a stern look on his face.

"I was just leaving." She answered in a low voice.

"Seems you've become pretty good at this." Shang said switching to a lighter tone. 'So, he had been watching.' Mulan thought. "But you missed your lesson today. I had to talk to General Su about the upcoming trip." A grimace appeared on his face as he said those last words. "Then I sent a soldier to look for you, but when he told me he couldn't find you, I thought you would be training." 'Was that even relevant?' he thought.

"I'm sorry." Mulan said as they both started walking towards camp.

"Don't apologise." Shang said his expression unreadable. "Go, take care of your horse and then go to my tent. You'll show me what you have learnt then. You must know that a good leader does not only know how to fight, but also which is the best way to do it. That's why you should concentrate on your studies as much as on your practicing. Now go."

After having said that, he left, leaving Mulan standing alone in the darkness.

...

Some time later Mulan sat inside Shang's tent. After her lesson, Shang had begun to tell her about the meeting he had had with General Su earlier in the evening.

"Once we cross the mountains, we'll have to camp somewhere well hidden, or at least part of the army will have to do so, to hide our numbers, we have to appear as weak as possible to them."

"All warfare is based on deception." Mulan quoted interrupting him.

"So it is." Shang said smiling proudly.

"Shang… What if the Turks had the same idea as us, and left before the winter season ended?" Mulan asked, a frown crossing her features. She didn't think it would be pleasant to encounter them in the mountains.

"Well, I'm afraid that's a risk we'll have to take." Shang said, his face mirroring Mulan's worried expression. "But for now, let's concentrate on the task ahead, which is crossing the mountains. Let's hope we can survive that." He said emphasising the last word. "Now you should go to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day."

He stood up, waiting for her to do the same. When she did, he opened the tent flap to allow her to exit. Before exiting, Mulan turned towards him to bid him goodnight, and found him standing just a few inches away from her. He lifted his hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Mulan, sleep well." He said in a whisper. She was so close to him that she could feel his warm breath on her face. She was paralysed; she felt her knees tremble slightly and hoped he didn't notice it. Her brain wasn't functioning properly, she couldn't think of any coherent words to say. She opened her mouth to say something but no sound came from her mouth. She wanted to step away before she did or said something she would later regret, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. This wasn't the first time it happened, Mulan remembered the night he had given her the scroll she had been studying for the past months: Sun Tzu's "Art of War".

"Goodnight Shang." She finally managed to say. Then she turned to leave, and she walked away towards her own tent.

Shang could have sworn he had seen a pained look on her eyes as she had stepped away from his touch.

What Mulan quoted inside of Shang's tent is an actual sentence extracted from Sun Tzu's "Art of War"; it's one of his most famous quotes.