No nonsense, no delay, here is:
Chapter 37
Sun Jian was positively furious. Lu Meng had returned pale faced from the boys' dorm from to pull Sun Jian and Huang Gai aside to relay what Xun had told him only moments before. Huang Gai's face had become red with rage as he led the way out the door leading to the hallway which would in turn take them to where Lu Jun was being held in Zhu Rong's office. Huang Gai kicked open the door and the top hinge came unscrewed from the wall. From outside in the hall, three figures looked to the door. Liu Bei took one look at Huang Gai's face and his own expression became set. He followed the other two down the hall to where the rest of the teachers were gathered downstairs while Zhang He and Jiang Wei were left alone and confused in the hall but thinking the worst. Ning waved them in as Meng began to retell the rest of Wu what he had just reported to Sun Jian.
Upon entering the main hall a commotion of sorts could be seen three floors below before the great main doors. As the trio approached they recognized the tall white haired head of Zuo Ci. Zhu Rong looked positively murderous with one hand closed on his neck. Zuo looked calmly over to Sun Jian and the others' approach. Gently prying Zhu Rong's hand from his neck, nail marks on his neck began to bleed ever so slightly as he announced:
"Now that everyone has arrived, perhaps it would be better if we more into your office so I can explain the situation."
"There wasn't a situation until you set that bastard free!" Zhu Rong spat viciously.
"Wait, Lu Jun isn't here?!" Huang Gai fumed.
"There was no reason for him to remain. He is currently not in the best mental shape so I had Ahui Nan escort him back to his hotel." Zuo Ci affirmed.
"Why the hell would you do that?!" Huang Gai demanded.
"Did I not just say?" Zuo paused, pulling open the door to the office.
It took a few minutes to herd everyone into the office. Zuo Ci looked abnormally calm for the situation where every other body in the room seemed to have wanted nothing more than to see him dead. He was seated calmly on the sofa while a majority of the other adults were standing in various places, the team separations obvious still among them.
"Alright, is everyone settled in then for story time?" Zuo said, his tone a little too cheery.
"Quit the babbling and tell us what the hell is going on." Sun Jian snapped in a way most unlike him.
Zuo's face at once became serious.
"Pardon, I have said the wrong thing." Zuo stood. All eyes followed and remained locked on his. Zuo looked perfectly at ease at he gazed about the room. "I know that no one present holds me in any regards as someone to be trusted, but I swear on the grave of my dear friend, Xun's mother, that I speak no lies."
There were slight murmurs in the room and Zuo waited for them to hush.
"I should start from the beginning. When first Xun remembers seeing me Xun, I was actually coming to visit his mother. I was a long time friend of the family and was there for her wedding, even at the first birthday of Lu Yi. I know it might be hard to imagine, but there was a time when Lu Jun was a good man. As Xun should have told you, Lu Jun had taken to drinking heavily in his later years."
Zuo paused here. Sun Jian nodded once and this wasn't surprising for any of the others. The stench of alcohol had been apparent on the man.
"Everything I have told you has been easy to comprehend. I do not mean to confuse you, or turn you against me. On May 5th two years ago, Xun's mother fell down the stairs. She had had been becoming weaker and her neck snapped." Zuo said, his voice somewhat softer.
"Xun said that his father murdered her." Sun Jian cut in.
"Xun is a smart boy, but all the same he's just a child. He was a boy who loved his mother more than anything in the world. He couldn't cope. He was gone before the coroner arrived." Zuo said, "For the past almost 3 years, he's been hiding. He changed his name from Lu Yi to what it is now. All his documents have been faked and he has probably been working to earn to money to come to this school. Ironically, this was where his father attended."
"That can't be right. Xun's not delusional." Huang Gai denied.
"No one will praise Xun's maturity more than I, but he wasn't always this way. He wasn't born the prodigy he is now. He was 3 years old before he even spoke." Zuo pointed out.
"So you expect us to believe that Xun made up a story about his mother's death? After the spectacle this afternoon?" Liu Bei inquired.
"When you're a child, and you're scared, that adrenaline in your small body, things aren't always logical. When one loses the single most important person in the world, can you really expect him to be perfect?" Zuo asked.
The room was dead silent. Zhu Rong leaned back on his chair, one leg crossing over the other with her arms crossed and her eyes stared defiantly at Zuo.
"I don't believe you." She stated bluntly.
"What part don't you believe?" Zuo questioned politely.
"Xun's no fool. No kid could take care of themselves for two years if they were delusional. It just doesn't add up. If earlier is anything to go by, I wouldn't put it past that fat-ass of a prick to kill someone. Practically murdered his own child with no sign of remorse." Zhu Rong glared.
"You underestimate Mr. Lu. If he had truly wished for Xun's death, the boy would probably not have lived past his first breath. That man's fighting ability is second to one and I've seen him take a life. He goes easy on Xun, he holds himself back."
"I know he did."
The whole room fell silent. In the doorway, Xun was standing silently leaning on the doorframe. His gold eyes slightly dimmer than usual.
"But it's not because he doesn't wish for my death. He's messing with my head." Xun's words were icy.
"How did you get down here? You were told to stay in bed." Sun Jian reprimanded.
"I need to talk with him." Xun indicated Zuo with a nod of his head. "Preferably alone."
"You might as well say it aloud. I kept nothing from your teachers." Zuo said.
Xun's eyes widened slightly, then shot down to narrow into a glare. A variety of emotions flickered through his eyes as they roamed to take in all the people in the room. The most profound of the expressions was one of bordering on fear. Xun suddenly wheeled began to limp away. Zuo sighed.
"Well, I have a course of action I hope you will agree too." Zuo announced.
"And what would that be?" Sun Jian asked suspiciously.
"First off, you saw him. He's not exactly little Mr. Sunshine. He'll need time to recover both physically and mentally. I recommend you place him in my custody for a period of 3 months. I will return him to you in a much better condition then he currently is." Zuo requested.
"3 months?!" Zhu Rong flared.
"What will you do?" Sun Jian asked instead.
"After patching him up, I'll try to reintroduce him to socializing slowly. He's scared and believes himself to be alone. The only way to make him open up will be to give him time truly to himself to rethink things." Zuo said.
"Then what?" Liu Bei pressed.
"I'll return him here. This place has worked wonders on him from what I've seen. He's attached as much as he would refuse to admit it. He might be reluctant at first but I figure he'll resettle nice enough."
"You're making this sound like you're transferring an animal between zoos." Zhu Rong's lip was curled.
"And what would you do? Force him to talk and you might just break him. But if that your goal then have at it. He'll just burrow deeper into self-loathing."
Zhu Rong's lips pursed tightly together. Zuo looked about at the other room occupants.
"Well? Anyone else disagree?" Zuo asked.
Xun's eyes failed his sense of direction. His aimless wandering was cut short by the pain in his leg. Ended up sitting against the wall in one of the back hallways. His heart throbbed in his chest erratically at he thought of Zuo's betrayal. Then again, Xun had also told his story. It didn't seem logical but Xun couldn't help feeling angry toward his old friend. Wrapped up in deep thoughts, Xun didn't hear footsteps approach him.
"Xun? Mind if I sit with you?" Shang Xiang asked quietly.
Xun's head shot up to look at Shang, then lowered back to the ground and he gave a weak shrug, wincing at the sudden flare of pain in his shoulder. Shang sat next to him and they remained silent for a few moments. Shang glanced over at Xun.
"You alright?" She asked.
"Peachy." Xun mumbled sarcastically.
"Not the best question, huh?" Shang gave a nervous laugh. "Everyone got real worried when you disappeared."
"Why? It's not like I'm getting anywhere." Xun glowered at his leg.
"We were just worried. You should take it easy for a while-"
"I was scared." Xun said suddenly.
Shang stopped mid sentence. Her mouth was agape, slightly shocked at Xun's sudden confession.
"That you were going to lose?" Shang inquired.
Xun shook his head.
"When he…When he had his dirty hands on you, I was terrified that he would hurt you. That you or any of the others would have been injured and all because of me." Xun muttered, and then looked over at Shang, his expression pained. "Why did you do it?"
The slap echoed down the halls. Xun was in shock with his head still slightly turned as Shang's handprint began to grow pink on his cheek. Her eyes blazed as her rage made itself apparent.
"You are such an idiot, Lu Xun! 'Why'?! Because we're your friends! Any enemy of yours is an enemy of mine and don't you dare pull any of your noble 'I can take care of myself' crap!" Shang's harsh words flew out of her mouth. "And there's not a chance in hell that any of us would stand down and let you down even if it means cutting down your pride! Why can't you just accept that you're not alone?!"
Xun's face was in complete shock. There was nothing defensive to hide the now apparent swirling of feelings. Shang stopped her verbal rampage long enough to breath. Xun continued to stare until his wits returned. Turning away he tried to compose his expression.
"So…you're saying, that as my friends, I should allow you to be harmed for my sake?" Xun asked slowly.
"No, but two people are stronger than one standing alone." Shang hit her fist to her palm for emphasis.
"Unless it's my father." Xun muttered. "Then it doesn't matter how many."
"Alright, this moping has to stop right now." Shang declared.
Shang jumped up to her feet in one smooth motion. Xun's slight surprise gave way to irritation.
"What do you expect me to do? Sing and dance?" Xun rolled his eyes.
"Good idea. Let's dance."
Xun stared incredulously at Shang's outstretched hand, almost positive he had misheard her. "P-Pardon?"
Shang snatched Xun's hand and pulled the half unwilling boy to his feet. Shang released Xun's hand once he was on his feet. With her hands clasped behind her she flashed Xun an uncharacteristically coy smile.
"Hurry up and ask, sparky." Shang teased.
"Um…wasn't this your idea?" Xun asked.
"Doesn't matter, you're the guy."
Xun sighed. "Fine, would you please dance with me."
"No."
Xun blanked.
"You can't ask a girl to dance half-heartedly. You obviously know something about romance when you won Xiao over. Put a little effort in it and show me what you got."
Xun calmed his incredulous look. Composing his face, he held his arm out in a most gentlemanly manner with a dazzlingly charming smile that lit up his eyes more than they had been all day.
"May I have this dance?"
Shang seemed taken aback at first before she grinned. Taking Xun's hand she stepped up and put her free hand on his shoulder. Xun laid his free hand lightly on Shang's waist. Leading Shang in a slow dance he was immediately impressed by her.
"You dance more than for show?" Xun inquired.
"You doubted me?" Shang faked being appalled. "I took lessons with my mother."
Xun lifted his arm under which Shang twirled gracefully. Her hair lightly brushed by his face before her face was so close to his that he could feel her hot breath.
"You are a beautiful dancer, considering how clumsy your partner is. More graceful than any tomboy I know."
"Hey, I'm still a girl. I have to meet some standards."
"The Qiaos don't know, do they?"
"No way, they'd never let me live it down."
For a few minutes there was no sound but their shoes on the tile flooring. Xun's leg began to rain on his party and he was quickly limited to swaying in something of a pivot motion. Shang didn't seem to notice.
"This is kind of odd, isn't it?" Xun whispered.
"Why?" Shang tilted her head to one side.
"We're dancing to no music, in a school hallway." Xun said slowly. "And you're taller than me."
"Height doesn't matter." Shang rolled her eyes.
"Maybe not to you." Xun huffed childishly.
"You're perfect exactly as you are now." Shang said. "Don't you ever change."
Xun missed a step. Shang tripped on his bad leg and stumbled. They both laughed off the incident but the laughter quickly became much quieter, more nervous. In righting her, Xun had put his arm around her back, holding Shang close. At first they were frozen in place, but then the distance between them became obsolete. The tender kiss lasted only for a moment, but it left Xun's lips feeling like they were aflame. Shang's cheeks had blushed a faint red that reminded Xun of a rose. Xiao with her bouquet of roses flashed through Xun's mind, then her again with tears in her eyes as she thrusted the locket back at him and he winced, pulling back. Shang looked at him, confused as he took a step back, retracting his arms.
"Xun…?" Shang asked.
"I-I shouldn't be doing this." Xun mumbled.
"Why?"
"E-Every time…If I get close to you, you will only get hurt."
"Your father doesn't scare me."
"That's not it. Xiao, my mother… please, I can't see anyone one else hurt because of me."
Xun stumbled back a few steps before he was walking. Shang said no more as Xun disappeared down the dark hall. Suddenly, his feet began to run. There was no pain in his leg anymore as he dashed down another hall till his foot slipped. Slamming his arm against the lockers to right himself, the clang echoed down the halls. His leg flared up and he slid down to a sitting position. Xun didn't notice the footsteps until they stood just before him. Looking up, dim gold eyes met those of Zuo Ci, who knelt down.
"I can't stay here." Xun said through clenched teeth. "I can't take it."
"I know. It's time to go."
End of Chapter 37
Sorry for the incredibly long delay. We're not going to bother explaining why because by now your all tired of our excuses. Hopefully this chapter can make of for some of the time lost in the storyline. We won't actually wait 3 months for Xun's return, we'll just skip ahead. It might take a little while to get the next chap but it's on it's way, promise.