Dark Pleasure
By Natsue Arishima
Chapter Four: Turquoise
He felt stupid, clumsy, idiotic, and immensely irritated. Glaring out of his single eye, Xiahou Dun continued to stare down at his callused fingers and the piece of white thread.
Besides him, Zhen Ji was blowing softly on her flute, eyes hidden by dark lashes. An occasional bird would come by and land on her shoulder, and she seemed to know all of the creatures near Xu Chang, pausing in between melodies to whisper a few words to the animals.
Wasn't she supposed to be helping him fight right now? It was noon. He had come on time. He hadn't been that grumpy, or at least tried not to be. So why wasn't she pleased yet? He was trying, he really was! And what did he get in return?
A knot.
A stupid, gigantic knot.
Patience, patience, patience, pat - he was as damn patient as he could ever be! But no, she just couldn't have been satisfied. And now here he was, trying to untie a knot that she had made, and without much success.
Finally, he snarled and threw that pathetic string onto the ground. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back onto the tree trunk, next to his scimitar.
Zhen Ji stopped her tune instantly, looking down at him with unreadable, dark eyes. There was a click of high heels as she gracefully jumped down from a branch and landed in front of him, a hand on her hips. Wordlessly, she bent down to pick up the string and within minutes had it untied.
That done, she looked at Xiahou Dun expectantly. "It was that simple," she whispered.
"Che."
She sighed, her ponytail sliding around her shoulders, and tapped his head lightly with her flute. "Stop being a bastard."
He looked up, surprised, before regaining his usual glare. "I thought you were supposed to teach me how to fight, not to untie stupid knots."
"It works on your patience."
"I have plenty of patience!" he roared, standing up and towered over her. "Stop training me to become a gentleman! Just get on with the whole fighting thing!"
She was quiet for a long time, her eyes blazing, before she lifted her flute and blew a piercing note. Xiahou Dun tried no to wince, but failed.
Pretending not to have noticed, she grabbed his scimitar, slightly taken back by its weight, and handed it to its owner. "Fine. Attack me." She backed up several steps to put some room in between them and waited.
Xiahou Dun smirked, heaving the sword onto his shoulder, before lunging. She made no attempt to stop him. His eye widened and his blade halted inches from her face at the last moment.
She blinked at him, but didn't move.
"What are you doing?" he hissed through clenched teeth. She made no reply.
He attempted several swipes at her but always stopped right before causing any damage. He was in a rage now. With a firm hand, he grippe his weapon again and lunged again. Parry or not, he wasn't going to stop this time.
She must have sensed a change in him, for she brought up her flute and parried. Sparks issued from their weapons and they were both thrown backwards by the force of the attack.
Zhen Ji frowned at the wild look in his eyes. She was starting to become scared of him. The resemblance between Cao Cao's guardian and the might Lu Bu was too similar for her liking. Did Xiahou Dun know what he was turning into?
He kept on attacking her, and she kept on parrying. When the strain on her arms became too painful to bear, she took to dodging the attacks, thankful that her speed was much faster then the gruff officer's.
The rain started suddenly. Xiahou Dun stopped, blinking water out of his eyes, and regained his sense of dignity. As if coming out of a trance, he slowly lowered his weapon.
Zhen Ji followed suit, the rain soaking her hair and dress, matting the feathered lining. It was freezing out here... Readjusting the peacock ornament on her head, she rubbed her arms to get the warmth back. "We'll stop for the day," she whispered, teeth chattering.
He raised his eyebrow, suddenly noticing the goosebumps on her arms. She stiffened slightly as he took off his cloak and placed it on her own shoulders, just for the time being, of course, he assured himself.
She looked up at him and suddenly laughed, and he felt a shiver run down his spine at her voice. What was wrong with him? He felt like hitting his head, but resisted.
"You're becoming a gentleman after all," she mused, smiling, before the two of them headed back towards the doors of Xu Chang. Inside, she immediately shed off the cloak and handed it back to him. The two of them parted ways, and Xiahou Dun rubbed his eye a bit nervously.
With a sigh, she slowly lowered herself into the warm water, relaxing as the heat immediately got rid of her previous shivers. Taking a deep breath, she plunged her head underwater.
Bursting from the surface again, she untied her hair, releasing the smooth black strands from their restraints. They swirled around her on the water, thick and silky.
Looking out of her window at the dreary rain, she bit her lip as she thought about the others on their way to battle. Were they fighting this very instant? No... they wouldn't be able to get there so quickly, not even if everyone had a Red Hare.
And Cao Zhi...
Shaking her head, she splashed her face with water. But his face wouldn't leave her mind. And she felt a little guilty that just for a little while, on their way back inside, she had imagined Xiahou Dun to be Cao Zhi.
It also surprised her at the gruff officer's sudden gentleness. Maybe it was just the rain. Or maybe he was soft under it all. Or maybe he had damaged some brain cells during their fight.
She hissed slightly as the warm water lapped at her wounded leg. Gritting her teeth, she slowly untied the bonds, and was greeted with a bloody mess. Damn. It had probably opened again while she had been outside.
"Mei!" she snapped, and her maid immediately stepped in the room. Gasping, the older woman rushed over to her Lady, grabbing bandages on the way.
"What happened?" she whispered as Zhen Ji out of the tub and dried herself. "I was outside," Zhen Ji murmured before sitting down on her bed. Mei started washing the bleeding leg.
Zhen Ji looked away, focusing on the rain and trying not to cry out. She failed to do so, however, and a curse escaped her lips.
"You should be more careful," the maid whispered as she gently wrapped the bandages around Zhen Ji's leg. "Don't tell me that you actually fight against Xiahou Dun to train him!"
The Lady gave a wry smile, but didn't reply.
"You should rest for today. No walking, you hear?"
After her maid had left, Zhen Ji limped over to the window, before changing her mind and heading towards the door. She was bored, and there was nothing else to do besides walking. Smiling slightly, she stepped over the threshold and headed down the corridor.
Fingering his scimitar in front of the blazing fire, Xiahou Dun shut his eyes, letting the heat warm his body.
Though he hated to admit it, Zhen Ji had been right when she had told him to work on his patience. He had almost gone insane today, while he had been fighting her. All because of some stupid knot.
He silenced himself by picking off some dried dirt on his pants, with his eyes reflecting the fire. He wanted to fight... he wanted to follow Cao Cao.
He wanted to kill Lu Bu.
There was a faint clicking behind him and a small "Oh!" of surprise. Turning around, the officer raised an eyebrow as he saw Zhen Ji behind him, her long hair down and rippling over her shoulders.
She was so beautiful.
He turned away before she could notice the blush in his cheeks. Xiahou Dun? Blushing? He mentally slapped himself. He really needed to calm down.
She hesitantly settled herself next to him, careful not to reveal her limp. The two of them were silent for a while before Zhen Ji smiled.
"Thank you."
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--Natsue Arishima