Posted: 09/16/05

Chapter 2

AN: (looks sadly at my other chapter fics) Why did they stop moving? And why is this one? Eh, that means it's only a matter of time before this one freezes, right? Don'tcha love my optimism? And the fact that I don't own Inuyasha? No, you don't love that. Then again, maybe it is a good thing, lol. This story is a weird one for me. I've never done anything like it. And I feel like this is some weird crossover between Mulan and... well, Inuyasha, I guess, lol. But it's not. I'm not even used to the names. I can't remember :looks it up: Jiu Zhu to save my life sometimes. Although, I really like the name "Ban Gou Yaomo" for some reason... Okay, I'm done ranting now.

Iggy- Essence of Angst: Yeah, I think my biggest problem is that I compare myself to other people in almost everything I do. As for the reason I chose China, well, everyone uses Japan, and I wanted something different. And there might be more to that choice, as you'll later see...

Starzki: Come now, did I say this was a reincarnation fic? Give me more credit than that! (Cue evil laughter)

Candyland: Ah, my beloved beta reader/idea bouncer offer/muse/person whose house I go to for anime parties/um... Okay, I ran out of slashes. Thank you!

"Where is she?" Liu Di Yu growled. "I'm positive that she was instructed to report here after she ate. What is taking her so long?"

"Shall I look for her?" a nearby servant asked.

"No," he replied gruffly. "She'll show up if she knows what's good for her." The servant nodded.

A few minutes later, a very out of breath Shan Hu entered the room, her hair slightly mussed. "My apologies, father," she said, bowing before him. "I was delayed on my way to see you."

"What could have possibly delayed you?" he exclaimed. "Were you running around in the courtyard again? How many times have I instructed you not to do that? A proper lady does not exercise every morning, like you apparently think you must do. Even while wearing a dress as fine as that!"

Shan Hu remained silent, keeping her face toward the ground. She had learned over the years that it was best not to outwardly argue with her father, as nothing could ever change his mind about politics and what was considered appropriate.

"Now," he continued sternly, "this is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about. You are to be married in less than three months. Why do you insist upon behaving like this? Your husband will not accept this."

She nearly replied, "Has he told you so himself?", but thought better of making her father more angry than he already was and kept quiet.

"We are all ready behind in some of the newest fashions," he continues, standing up and beginning to pace. "Had we known when you were small that binding you feet was considered appropriate, we would have done so. This is just one more obstacle we will have to overcome when your husband arrives. Why can't you make that my only problem?

"I do not, nor will I ever understand, your reasoning behind leaving this place so much. A woman's place is inside of her home looking after her children. If you will not wear make up and continue to get all of this sunlight, I don't know what his family will think of ours. If only your mother had survived to teach you what being a lady was all about..."

Shan Hu sighed to herself. She had heard him say this many times before. Her mother had died after childbirth, only giving her father one child. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was a girl. She had often heard him say, quite loudly and in her presence, that he wished she had been a boy. She would sometimes wonder if that was the reason she wasn't as much of a lady as he would have liked, although that would make it his own fault. But Liu Di Yu was not the sort of man to admit his own mistakes. In fact, in his mind, he was infallible, and if something were to go wrong, he could easily find something or someone else to blame it on. Most of the time, it was her.

"We don't have much time," he continued, still pacing. "You must be presentable when the Zhuo family arrives. You are this family's only hope of maintaining status in this place."

There was that word again: status. It seemed to be Di Yu's favorite word, especially preceded by the word "high." He was very careful about whom he associated with. In fact, he would rarely leave their estate for fear of being seen around people of a lower ilk than he believed himself to be in.

"I want you to think about all of that," he finished, seeming tired. "Now, go and make yourself presentable to other people. The sooner you get used to it, the better of we'll be."

Shan Hu bowed slightly and left. The second the door closed behind her, she quickly walked to her room with a huge scowl on her face.

"How did it go?" a voice whispered. Shan Hu looked behind her, seeing a servant about a year or two younger than her running to meet her.

"The same," she replied disdainfully. "He wants me to be more of a lady for when my husband shows up, since I wasn't the son that he wanted to have."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" the girl asked, finally walking beside her. "I mean, I'd take your place any day than making food almost all day."

"Then why don't we switch, Zhao? Working all day sounds a lot better to me than sitting around and waiting for my husband's beckon call."

"Trust me. You don't want my life. Besides, even if we did try to switch, I'm sure someone would notice."

"My father wouldn't. Trust me, especially if you start acting the way he wants me to act, he wouldn't suspect a thing."

"Well, I wouldn't wish a servant's life on you, so the answer is no," Zhao finished, coming to the door to Shan Hu's room.

"Suit yourself," she sighed, opening the door. "Seriously, though, you should really think about finding a husband. You'd make a much better wife than I would."

Zhao laughed. "No, I'll probably be put with one of the young men who works around here by the head of the house. I don't think you realize how lucky are, Shan Hu."

"The same to you, Zhao," she said with a slight smile, going into her room and closing the door.

"Liu, sir," said the messenger, bowing low before the frustrated man.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

"There is word that troops from the south are making their way toward this village. I was told to inform all of the prominent families in the area and ask if they wanted military protection in case of an attack."

Di Yu blinked in surprise. "So the war's finally making its way up here, is it? Fine. I could probably use some soldiers around here. I can't risk anything ruining everything my line has worked for, even though it's about to end. It won't cost much, will it?"

"No, sir," the man replied. "Thank you very much for your time." With that, he left.

"Yes, yes, yes," Di Yu sighed. "Why must fate be so cruel to me? What did I ever do?"

AN: Since I've hinted at it enough already, and you basically know what's going on here, I shall now state that this is taking place in 1000 AD (not CE, dammit). Contemplate that... It'll probably be a while before you see chapter 3, as I'm probably going to figure out the exact layout of the rest of the story before I do too much with it. Or maybe not. We'll see. Plus, I'm busy at school. So think of this as part two of the teaser for now.