Pursuit
By Yukira
Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, yay!

Author's Notes: Well, I guess I'll answer reviews at the end of the chapter. Thanks for reviewing, you know. Now, on with the chapter! w00t!

*~~~~*~~~~*

Sima Yi glanced over at Cao Cao. "The scouts have reported in. Zhang Liao has been captured by the Shu forces."

Cao Cao slammed his fist on the table. "Damn! What will we do?"

Sima Yi leaned back in his chair, crafty smile playing on his mouth, obviously somewhat amused at his Lord's agitation. "Well, you see, I have been working on a plan."

"A plan, you say?"

"Yes," replied Sima Yi. "It would be useless to prepare the whole army for battle, no matter how important Zhang Liao was so we'll have to send in a small pair of officers to rescue him."

"Who will go?"

Sima Yi pretended to be lost in thought, then replied. "We will need two or three agile warriors for this. I suggest Zhang He. His speed is unrivaled."

"And his partner?"

"Well, I was originally thinking of Zhen Ji, but she seems to be distraught about something. A mission like this could tear her apart. So I suggest...Xu Huang?"

Cao Cao laughed at this. "I suggest a female officer. Women are generally faster then men."

"I guess you're right," answered Sima Yi. "But since Zhen Ji is out for now, well..."

"You're thinking about the new one? What's her name...I forgot."

Sima Yi seemed to disagree. "What!? Are you sure we can trust her?"

"No," replied Cao Cao, standing up. "But we will see."

*~~~~*~~~~*

Sun Ruan Er was pacing her room, heading to her door then stopping. She had been doing this for a few hours already, wondering if she should leave. Then, Zhang He opened her door.

"Yes?"

Zhang He motioned for her to leave the room. "Lord Sima Yi is requesting our presence."

Sun Ruan followed the path to the conference room and someone called her 'name'.

"Mai Li!" greeted Sima Yi.

Sun Ruan stayed quiet. Who was Mai Li? And then she remembered!

"Uh, yes?"

Sima Yi pulled out two seats across from him; one for Zhang He and one for Sun.

"Well, there is something I'd like to tell you..."

Sun Ruan and Zhang He sat down.

"It's hard to explain...well...General Zhang Liao has been taken hostage by the Shu kingdom."

"Continue."

"What I'm asking you to do is infiltrate the Shu territory, locate Zhang Liao, and take him back here without getting caught. Is this okay?"

Sun Ruan spoke. "Who will be guarding...uh...him?"

Sima Yi stared curiously at Sun. "Well...we don't know yet. Probably Liu Bei's trusted officer, Zhao Yun-"

"That bas-" began Sun loudly but she stopped when Sima Yi and Zhang He gave her curious looks.

"You know Zhao Yun?" asked Zhang He.

"Who? Zhao Yun? No...I don't know him...I just thought you said someone else." Answered Sun Ruan.

Sima Yi continued to speak. "The mission will have to be done tonight."

Both officers nodded.

*~~~~*~~~~*

Zhang He waited patiently, mounted on his horse.

Then Sun Ruan mounted the horse beside him, clad in a black cape and hood that covered her face and made her barely recognizable.

"So," started Zhang He.

"I know what you're thinking," answered Sun, "Why am I wearing this?"

"Yeah..."

"We should go now." Sun rode off on the horse and Zhang He followed her.

On the way to the Shu territory, Sun Ruan was silent.

"I was wondering. Where did you get your sword from?" asked Zhang He.

Sun Ruan bit her lip. The Jade Dragon was still in its sheath. "It was a gift."

"A gift?"

"Yes. A...a young blacksmith forged it out of jade and silver...he gave it to me."

Zhang He and Sun were quiet. Ten minutes later:

"I was also wondering about your weapon."

"My claws?"

"Yes."

"From my family. It was locked in a case for years...and when I got it open..."

Sun Ruan pointed to the Shu's flag. From behind a large rock, Sun saw Zhao Yun walking out of a small tent. She dismounted and Zhang He followed suit.

And then she could hear another voice.

"Ow, let me go! When I get out of here, I swear..."

"That's Zhang Liao!" whispered Zhang He.

"Okay." Began Sun. "Here's the plan. I will stand watch from outside of Zhang Liao's tent. You will go inside and rescue him. Deal?"

Zhang He nodded. The two officers waited until Zhao Yun and the other Shu troops were out of sight. They moved somewhere behind a bush.

Sun Ruan sneaked out and stood watch near the tent. Zhang He walked inside the tent and...

Zhang Liao was chained to the ground. Next to him was a guard.

The guard's eyes opened wide as he saw Zhang He. Then, before Zhang He could catch him, he ran off to the center of the tents and rang a large gong.

"Ahh! Shit, we're screwed!" thought Sun.

Zhao Yun suddenly ran back and began to fight Zhang He. Zhang Liao looked up at them from the ground.

A sub-officer ran in the tent to help restrain Zhang He. Sun Ruan pulled the Jade Dragon out of its sheath and began to join in the skirmish.

Zhao Yun turned around and looked at Sun Ruan. Her face was still hidden. Zhao Yun then stared at the sword.

Sun Ruan made the first move. She swung the sword but Zhao Yun blocked it with his spear.

"I guess I will fight you." Said Zhao Yun.

"Fine! Let's see how you fend against me."

After exchanging a few bouts, Zhao Yun spoke. "That sword you wield, it looks very familiar to me."

"Oh what?" answered Sun, in an annoyed tone. "The Jade Dragon?"

"Yes."

"Would you mind telling me where you got it from?" implored Zhao Yun.

Sun Ruan attacked again but Zhao Yun dodged. "It was just a gift."

"Was it, really?"

Sun ignored this question. She caught Zhao Yun off guard and used this opportunity to knock his spear out of his hands. Zhao Yun grabbed several other small spears and fought back.

The Jade Dragon was able to slice through the other spears as though they were nothing.

Finally, Zhao Yun, out of defenses surrendered, his back against a small house.

"Okay, you win." He said, looking down.

Sun slid the Jade Dragon back into its sheath and turned around, about to walk away.

Zhao Yun suddenly jumped forward and pulled Sun's cape and hood off. She was exposed, wearing a white qipao.

Sun Ruan turned around and faced Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun only gasped. "It's-It's you!"

Sun only glared at him, her eyes filled with hatred. "I have to go now."

Zhao Yun stepped forward. "Why did you leave?"

Sun Ruan's eyes filled with tears of anger. "You of all people should know! Why don't you ask the village women?"

Sun ran off, but Zhao Yun did not try to stop her. Instead, he picked up his Dragon Spear and sat inside his tent, still confused.

*~~~~*~~~~*

Sun ran back behind the rock. Zhang Liao was mounted on one of the two horses.

Zhang He mounted a horse and motioned for Sun Ruan to sit behind him.

Sun climbed up on the horse and held on to Zhang He tightly as they rode off back to the Wei castle.

*~~~~*~~~~*

Zhao Yun, clad in a silk robe, lay down on his sleeping mat and rested his head on a pillow. Everyone else had already gone to sleep but Zhao Yun was still wide awake.

"Why did she leave?" thought Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.

*~~~~*~~~~*

So how was this chapter, hmm? It took me a few hours to write it, and now, I'm tired, but happy that it's completed.

Can I at least get a few reviews? Oh! Right...answering reviews...

Sea-Blue Dragon: Thanks for reviewing, and yes...I've been insane...heh...

Malz: First of all, thank you for submitting such a nice, thoughtful review. Heh. Next, Sun Ruan Er is NOT an original character. Type her name in a search engine. You'll see what I mean. Third of all, lighten up, it's only a FANFICTION. If you wanted a fic with the real Zhen Ji, write one yourself. I don't go by RoTK. Nor do I go by history. How can I make Zhen Ji a bitch? I just do so my FANFICTION will have the effect that it does. I understand your respect for Zhen Ji, I respect her myself, but again, this is a FANFICTION. Have a nice day, hope to hear from you soon, and please work on proofreading your reviews. Good day to you (or night, I dunno).

Black Phoenix: You can do Ma Chao's musou attack? Wow! I hope you are okay...thanks for reviewing!

Akairi: Thank you for reading and reviewing! And *ahem* wasn't it I that first fell asleep during reviews? Hmm? ^_^

lacitar13: Ahh, the edge of insanity. Kind of a cool place to go...occasionally... And you are right, I wasn't thinking about the different name thing...well, the reason she hasn't messed up yet is because no one has addressed her by her other name...yet. Thanks for the review.

Luke McDermott: Short but nice review. Thanks.

Okay...Now that I'm done answering my reviews, uh...well...you know...review...

~*Yukira*~