1Disclaimer: See first chapter for full one. Otherwise, I own nothing but books, dvds, and mangas. Not much.

Chapter Five

House of Love

When wits are matched, it's best if they agree;

But when talents clash, it's hard for them to yield.

Luo Guanzhong

To say the ride back to the Hidaka farm was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Awkward and silent, Ken and Ran atop their horses slowly approached their destination. Both were pondering that morning and its meaning. Ran, for his part, did not show any outward change. Stone faced as always, atop Shao's back, the Graceful Lord was the picture of calm and tranquility.

Ken, on the other hand, was the opposite. He was fidgety and Red Hare, who was behaving himself for once, was having quite the time chewing on the reigns of his shaky rider. Ken's mind was going a mile a minute and he could only come up to one conclusion: General Fujimiya must have gotten sideswiped by the Red Hare. After the encounter this morning, the General had exhibited signs of being beaten by the Red Hare meaning that General Fujimiya had been temporarily dazed and confused. After all, he had seen it a hundred times thanks to the great stallion.

Atop Shao, Ran's appearance was one of tranquility. However, his mind was running as well. But unlike Ken's conclusion, Ran had none. What is wrong with me? Not only did the Hidaka boy deserve punishment for his earlier outbursts but as well the actions of his horse and yet I let them off and laugh. I laughed! A sigh. Perhaps I am coming down with something. There is no other explanation for that complete out of character experience. Despite the thoughts running through his head, there was no outward change on Ran's face.

Finally, Ken couldn't stand the silence anymore. "So, is there any specific type of horse you're looking for?"

Ran blinked, his mind slowly registering the words Ken just spoke, "Not really. Anything that can handle the battlefield and is comparable to Shao's speed. Other than that, no."

"Any particular color? I once knew this one guy who would only ride white horses. He had some strange superstitions, that guy." Ken shook his head with a slight smile on his face.

Ran looked out of the corner of his eye to look at the expression on Ken's face. Finally he asked, "You speak of him in the past tense. Did something happen to him?"

Ken sniggered then continued, "Yeah, you could say that."

Ran couldn't help but feel that he was left out on a private joke. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me what happened to the man?"

"He was killed while riding through town. The funny thing about it was, that was the only time he was riding a horse other than white. I guess white horses are luckier than others."

Looking down at Shao, Ran remained silent. Of course, Ken continued to torture the poor general, "Hey! I think we might have a brown colt you could buy. Ya know, just in case."

This did not put Ran at ease - not one bit. Maybe he better take a look at the brown colt.

Sitting near the Hidaka house, Omi was furiously writing an update to Kudou. He at least intended to inform Yohji of the Flying General and the Wei army's fortification of Xianyang. He was barely into his letter when he looked up and spotted the very source of his current irritation, Fujimiya Ran.

And to make matters worse, it seemed that Hidaka's boy was leading the general to the house. Hastily, Omi sought to hide his notes and letter in his bag and took off toward the house. He needed to inform his men of the general's approach. At least that way, they wouldn't panic and leave him here alone with Hidaka's volatile son and unfazeable general.

"Sir," Ken called out to Ran, "I'm going to have to let Red Hare go here. I still can't take him near the other horses. It was probably luck that he didn't run your poor nag to the ground." After finishing this, Ken swiftly took off the Red Hare's gear and threw them near the house. At once after being freed, the Red Hare whinnied and galloped across the field.

Ran watched the stallion as he flew across the green land. Despite being a royal pain, the Red Hare was a beautiful horse. Despite that beauty, Ran remained on guard, "He's not going to take another run at me again, is he?"

"Probably not. He's been down right civil today. Come on, I'll show you our other horses. Hopefully you'll like one of 'em."

Dismounting Shao, Ran led her and followed where Ken lead.

Lady Hidaka watched from atop her porch as her energetic son led the tall general to the fields behind the house. She turned her attention to the southerners. She knew who they were and still let them stay despite it. Slowly lifting her flowing dress, Lady Hidaka walked to stand in front of the group of men.

"Excuse me, sirs." A slight bow came from her, "I require a word with Lord Tsukiyono."

Omi quickly dismissed his men and turned to the lady. "Is there anything wrong, Lady Hidaka?"

"Not as of now, no. But that will not stay for long. I am correct in assuming you know of our new guest, yes?"

"If you are asking if I know of Fujimiya Ran, then yes. Is there any reason to believe that he is here because of me?"

"No, because he is with Ken looking at our horses. I am here to give you a word of warning. If the Wei find you here, I will deny ever having anything to do with you and your companions. If that came to happen, not only would you be imprisoned, you would be executed." Her gaze remained impassive and ushered no argument.

"Lady, with all due respect. I do not intend to involve you and your son. We will be gone soon enough and until then I ask that you remain as you have been."

"If anything happens to my son, pray to whatever gods you believe in. There will be nothing to hold you safe. Now, if we are to remain as before, then I suggest you clean up and appear to be a family guest." As she finished her words, she turned and her dress was a myriad of greens as she walked back to her house.

Omi pursed his lips. Well, he thought, at least she didn't kick us out. I guess that's encouraging. But she's right, we'll need to remain inconspicuous until the general leaves.

Ran looked on as Ken pointed out each of the young horses and their qualities. He scrutinized them carefully, seeking any faults in their gaits or any outward signs of future behavioral problems. Normally he wouldn't mind if a horse was temperamental, but Red Hare quickly changed Ran's mind.

Inwardly, Ken sighed to himself. Here he was, showing some of the more promising horses in the area and the general seemed uninterested. He stopped speaking of the horses and continued to watch them run free alongside Ran. "Do you like any of them? If so, I could go get 'em."

Taking his eyes off the horses, he turned to the young man at his side. He was silent for a moment before speaking, "They are all beautiful horses. I just don't know how they would handle in the middle of a battlefield. Its hard to choose a horse that hasn't been properly trained for those circumstances." Ran's violet eyes turned back towards the young horses. All of them were truly some of the better bred horses he had ever laid eyes on. But yet, he couldn't make a decision.

Ken watched as Ran turned back toward the field. He wanted nothing more than to give him the nastiest nag they had and be done with the Flying General. But yet, he wouldn't willingly give Ran a horse that wouldn't withstand a battle. That would just be animal abuse. "Um, Fujimiya sir? If you want, you could stay the night and think it through. That way you won't be forced into a decision that might be bad. I don't think Mom will care, so if you want to stay it will be fine." Ken had finished his sentence rather quickly and promptly bowed before Ran.

Ran only looked at Ken with a curious face. This young man whom earlier had been cursing his entire family and existence now invited him to stay the night? Had the boy been rambling? "Just to clarify, Hidaka. You first want nothing more than to slap my father for allowing such a cretin to be born, and now you are sharing your home with said cretin out of kindness?"

There was only a nod for Ken's reply.

The violet eyes didn't narrow in suspicion or any form of hostility, but rather widened in surprise. "Very well. I thank you for your hospitality, Hidaka Ken. And I will decide on which horse I will buy tomorrow morning. Before anything else, could I please speak with your Mother first? I would like to thank her for such kindness."

Again Ken nodded as his reply. He slowly lifted his brown eyes to the general's gaze. Neither spoke nor moved. They just remained motionless as the world around them continued to flourish with the vibrance of life.

As he emerged from the house, Omi took in the field. More specifically, where the Flying General and Hidaka's boy were. He was planning on quickly finishing his letter to Kudou but something told him to just watch.

What he saw was Fujimiya Ran and Hidaka Ken not glaring at each other out of hate or spite as he originally thought. But there was something else in their gazes. Something he had never seen on the face of any general he had known. As if sensing his presence, Ken said something to Fujimiya and proceeded to lead him to the family house.

As the Flying General and Ken approached, Omi quickly put a smile on his face and greeted the two. "Hello Ken. I missed you this morning."

Ken smiled at the greeting, "Yeah, sorry about that. I had to go into town early. Oh, let me introduce you two. Omi, this is General Fujimiya Ran. And General, this is Omi. He's a guest right now."

The two unknowingly sized each other up as if to gauge the weaknesses of their counterpart. Finally, Omi extended his hand out in greeting, "I'm pleased to meet you, General Fujimiya."

Something about this youth was causing alarms to go off in his head. But due to politeness however, he ignored them. Stretching out his hand as well, he returned the greeting. "Like wise. Have you been staying here long? I don't believe I've seen you in town."

"Oh, I haven't been here long. Just visiting with some friends." The pleasant smile was still on his face.

Ken watched as the two exchanged pleasantries. Omi seemed overtly friendly and Ran was acting stiffer than usual, which was pretty bad to say the least. "I'm going to go see if Mother is in. Stay here." He dashed off leaving the two alone, unsupervised.

"You have an interesting accent, Omi. I don't believe I've heard anything like it from where I'm from. Do tell, where are you from?" The red haired man's eyes narrowed into something akin to suspicion.

Plastering a fake smile across his face, Omi cheerfully replied, "I'm actually from the east. I have a southern accent because of my mother. Her family used to live in the south so I guess I just picked it up."

"I see." Ran's gaze softened from scrutinizing to mere boredom. His suspicions were stifled for the time being. He really wanted Ken to hurry up and return. The awkwardness was overwhelming.

Omi remained in his cheery posture despite the rigorous questioning. Kudou owes me for everything I am going through, Omi thought. Ken really needed to hurry up, he wasn't quite sure how long the smile could hold out.

Both men remained silent as they awaited their eager host to return.

"Mom! Where are you?"

"What do you need, Ken? I'm right here," Lady Hidaka answered as she emerged from her room.

"General Fujimiya wanted to speak to you. I told him to wait with Omi while I found you," Ken replied.

Her brown eyes widened a bit at this news. "Well, hurry. Don't keep the General waiting. Go and fetch him."

"I'll be right back," Ken called as he hastily made his way to the front door.

Ken found the two standing silent near where he had left them. Neither looking at each other nor doing anything.

Inwardly, Ran sighed with relief as he spotted Ken.

Grabbing Ran by the hand, Ken pulled lightly. "C'mon. Mother said she'll meet with you right now." As he tugged the general behind, the two men disappeared inside the house.

Omi's smile disappeared as soon as the two were gone. Grabbing his bag, he set out for one of the more secluded pastures in the area. He needed to finish the letter to Yohji immediately. The General's questions had him on edge. The sooner he finished this job, the better.

Once he was certain he was far enough away from any prying eyes, Omi quickly resumed his task.

To Imperial Corps Commander Kudou Yohji

The situation is worse than we had assumed. The Wei forces have already fortified their troops in Xianyang. Currently, I am staying with the Hidaka family as they are the only ones with the space for travelers. I don't know how, but Lady Hidaka knows of who we are and what we are doing here. This concerns me somewhat but it is not an immediate threat.

The immediate threat lies in the Wei general. The Flying General, or known as General Fujimiya Ran, is not what I had expected. Although young, he is not in a hurry to impress his superiors and thus has just strengthened the fortification. So far, I have not observed any of his tactics in action. But I do know that we need to force the army here into a water battle - if we can. These troops are not trained and do not have the supplies nor equipment to withstand a siege with our naval experts. From what I gather, these men captured Xianyang with an ambush and a quick cavalry charge to knock out the garrison.

The only advice I can offer currently is to continue strengthening our fleet. This way we'll have the advantage in the water. If you haven't already, please do contact those pirate comrades of yours. They'll no doubt be an essential key to victory if we go by water.

That is all I have learned so far. But I may learn more tonight about the general's behavior pattern. He is, after all, staying with us for the night.

May you have better luck than I,

Tsukiyono Omi

After speaking with Ran, Lady Hidaka retired to her room. She slowly descended upon a small stool and looked at herself in the mirror. Things were going to become difficult very soon, she concluded. Already the Omi and Fujimiya were on uneasy ground and they had just been introduced. She allowed a small sigh to escape her lips. It would be best if both men left quietly and without incident.

Author's Notes: Well, here is the latest installment. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying this as much as I am. This is the easiest and yet most entertaining thing I have written in a long time.

This time, there WILL be another update this week. Maybe on Wednesday or something. Depends how wasted I am after Tuesday's concert deal. I'm going to a Tears for Fears thing on Tuesday but I don't foresee myself getting wasted other than lack of sleep. So rejoice!

Reviewer Responses:

Yukio: I'm glad that you enjoy the story so far. And thanks for looking at my other ones. There aren't much though ;). And yes, more RanxKen coming soon.

Kiori133: Yes, a new chapter! And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you! It is some slight RanxKen going on. Thanks about the fridge. It needs to be shot and buried somewhere. Soon, soon a new one will appear. Thanks for the review!

RuByMoOn17: Thank you! Keep on reading!

o.Olll: Thanks for the review! Ah, Ran. The poor boy will be tortured shortly. If not by Ken then Omi. ;).

SilverwingedAngle: Thanks for your reviews and comments. They completely crack me up! And yes, college is great except for the whole paying for it thing. That sucks.