Anyhow... enough of my ranting. Go on and read this... new installment...? Uh, yeah. Read away!
Chapter Two
Birds chirped loudly outside of Gan Ning's window. A gentle breeze blew through his window, bringing with it the faint smell of cherry blossoms. He groaned and sat up, muttering his annoyance at being up so early and stretching his arms. As he opened his eyes and rubbed them with his left hand, he remembered his cat. Turning to check on him, he expected to see golden unblinking eyes attached to a large ball of fuzz. Except, there was no brown fuzz ball there anymore.
"Holy fuckin' cow!" Gan Ning shouted, shoving the blankets off of him, and falling backwards out of bed. He yelled so loud, in fact, that he woke up nearly everybody in the immediate area of his room… and probably many more people in the castle.
At the end of his bed, curled up and-- unfortunately for Gan Ning-- naked, was a human boy. His skin was a sickly pale color, and his light brown hair had a feathery look to it, catching the light streaming through Gan Ning's window. At the loud yell, the boy stretched his arms out, gripping the blankets with small hands before pulling them back and sitting up, blinking open familiar golden eyes. He turned to Gan Ning, a confused look on his face.
"Who the hell are you!" Gan Ning demanded, climbing clumsily to his feet and grabbing his sword, pointing the end towards the boy.
The boy merely tilted his head to one side, confusion etched on his fine features, his longish light brown hair barely hitting his shoulder. The feeling of hair on his shoulder seemed to surprise him, and he immediately looked down at himself in shock, and fell off the bed, dragging the blankets with him.
He sat up quickly and looked at Gan Ning, wide-eyed, and then tore his eyes away. He looked down at his bare body again, and wrapped the blankets around him quickly. Gan Ning watched this with wide eyes, his sword, though now shaking, still pointed at the boy. The boy looked up at him in deep embarrassment, the darkest blush Gan Ning had ever seen clear upon his pale face.
The boy turned away from Gan Ning's steady gaze, fidgeting with the end of the blanket, then looked back up at him and cleared his throat, opening his mouth. "…oth…s…"
Gan Ning dropped his sword in surprise. He had thought the boy was possibly a mute or something, but apparently he had been wrong. He stared at the boy, his mouth partially open, for a minute, before snapping out of it. "What?"
The boy cleared his throat and tried again, more slowly and louder this time. He struggled to form a word he had heard before in his life. "…Clothes?"
It then dawned on Gan Ning what exactly the boy was looking for. He stared at him for a moment more before turning and walking across the room to his closet. Pulling out the first thing he touched, he tossed it across the room to the mysterious boy. Only after he threw it, did he realize it was a ceremonial robe that was meant for special occasions. Did finding a naked man in your room count as a special occasion?
Oh, who the hell cares, anyhow?
The boy caught it and examined it quickly. It was whiter than snow, and also made of an incredibly light material. Gold trimming ran along the ends of the sleeves, and a silver dragon wound its way partially up one side of the bottom part of the robe.
He cleared his throat again, and looked back at the pirate, a blush still clear on his face. He nodded in appreciation, then he dropped the blankets from his shoulders and struggled to pull the robe around his shoulders. Though Gan Ning would never admit it, he stole a glance at the boy, which is how he came to know that the boy was too light for his own good. He stood up quickly and wrapped the robe around his body, tying it tightly in the front. One shoulder of the robe was hanging off, his pale skin visible.
"So… what… I mean…Who are you?" Gan Ning struggled to find the correct words as he spoke. He didn't mean to make it sound like the boy was abnormal or anything… but the truth was, the boy was abnormal. He could barely talk, and he had those creepy eyes…
"…" he thought for a moment, then blushed again. He whispered the next words quietly, as if he was testing them out. Gan Ning didn't get a chance to hear them.
"Say again?"
"Lu… X…un…"
"Lu Xun?"
The boy nodded his head slowly, seeming to be at awe with himself for sounding out the few letters he'd spoken. Gan Ning closed his mouth, opened it, and closed it again, searching for the right words. Finally he shook his head, rubbing a hand on his chin, and eyebrow raised. "What the hell are you doing in my room, kid?"
Lu Xun shrugged, and gave him another confused look. It then hit Gan Ning like a ton of bricks that this boy with the eerie golden eyes, who couldn't speak… shared an unexplainable likeness with the cat he had found on the streets the previous night. He raised a hand and pointed at the boy's chest. Lu Xun looked down at the spot Gan Ning was pointing at, then back at the pirate, a confused look in his eyes.
"You have stitches right there, don't you…?"
Lu Xun shrugged again, placing a hand gently on the spot. He let out a startled gasp, and pulled his hand back, as if he'd been shocked. Peering down the front of his robes, his golden eyes delved onto the pale skin of his chest, and he snapped his eyes back to Gan Ning, nodding his head vigorously. Gan Ning gave him a look of both surprise, and overjoyment at having been right.
"You do! You're the cat!" he exclaimed triumphantly. The shock of this caught up to him quickly, and he backed up a few steps, pointing at the boy with a shaking hand. "Holy fuckin' God… How… but you're a… holy shit!"
Lu Xun watched Gan Ning run a shaky hand through his spiky hair. He looked down shamefully, thinking he'd done something wrong, then looked back at Gan Ning with pleading eyes. His stomach growled loudly, and the noise seemed to scare him. Gan Ning lowered his hand, coming forward slowly, then kneeling down in front of the boy.
"Are you hungry… Lu Xun?" he asked. When he received no response, he tried again. "Do you want something to eat… do you understand me?"
Golden eyes rose, and their owner nodded slowly. Gan Ning nodded back to him unsurely, and stood up slowly, heading for the door. He heard the sound of bare feet on the floor and glanced back to see Lu Xun stumbling, but still walking, on his own two feet. He opened the door and ushered the robed boy out of his room, before grabbing his black vest off the top of the pile of clothes on the floor beside his door, and heading after him, closing the door quickly.
When they came to the dining hall, only a few other residents of the castle were present. Zhou Yu was once again reading a book, at the head of the table, his seat pulled back, so he wouldn't be in anybody's way. Zhou Tai was at the far side of the hall, eating quietly and ignoring everybody else. Grabbing Lu Xun's wrist lightly, Gan Ning lead him slowly to the end of the table where Zhou Yu was sitting, still buried in his book. He turned the page with a deliberate slowness, as if the book was boring him, and looked up when Gan Ning shoved Lu Xun into the seat next to Zhou Yu. He walked around Zhou Yu's chair and sat down in Sun Ce's usual seat.
Zhou Yu slowly scanned the golden eyed boy, as he, in return, received a curious look. Then he turned to Gan Ning, closing his book and sliding it on the table. He jerked his thumb at Lu Xun. "You know that nobody besides generals is allowed in the castle, Gan Ning…"
Gan Ning shrugged. "You told me to bring him back if anything got worse. I don't know if this is worse… but it's definitely creepy."
Zhou Yu raised a fine brow, giving Gan Ning a confused look. He glanced quickly at Lu Xun, who had picked up the discarded book and was holding it right side up, scanning the words on the cover. "Hey, put that down!" he snapped, but received absolutely no response as the boy continued to read the cover. He turned on Gan Ning. "Tell him to put it down."
"Lu Xun… Lu Xun!" Gan Ning said, slapping his hand on the edge of the table sharply. The said boy jumped slightly, dropping the book in surprise. He looked at the pirate for a second, before turning a sorrowful look on Zhou Yu and bending down to retrieve the book.
He handed it back to Zhou Yu, and simply said, "The Art of War…"
"Yes, it is… and it's very valuable to me…" Zhou Yu said quickly, snatching the book away from the smaller boy. He glared at him for a minute more before turning to Gan Ning, and asking, "What'd you mean, I said to 'bring him back if anything got worse'? I was talking about the cat… not some stupid kid. Are you drunk again?"
"No! I swear, Zhou Yu, I'm only doing what you said!"
"Well, that's not a cat." Zhou Yu snapped, gathering his book and standing up. He glared once more at the boy who had dropped his precious book, and turned to walk away. Gan Ning jumped up and grabbed his arm, pulling on it roughly, so Zhou Yu was forced to stop. "Let go of me."
"I need to tell you something." Gan Ning stated, ignoring Zhou Yu's warning. He dragged Zhou Yu away from the table where Lu Xun sat, now examining a fork while kicking his feet back and forth. "It's really important. And I mean really fuckin' important."
Zhou Yu sighed, crossing his arms, and putting all his weight on one leg. "I'm waiting. I don't have all day, you know."
Someone's a little grumpy today, yeesh…"That boy right there… the one that dropped your book? He's the cat from last night!"
"You're drunk again. I'm telling Lu Meng about--"
"Will you fuckin' listen! I woke up this morning, and the cat was gone! It was just this kid, and he was sleeping on the end of my bed… hell, he was naked, too! That's my ceremonial robe he's wearing! But never mind that, he has stitches, Zhou Yu. Stitches, right where you stitched up my cat last night!" Gan Ning spit this out in one breath. When he stopped, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if he had just run a marathon.
Zhou Yu stared at him, disbelief written all over his face. "I would never believe a word you just said. Not even if I was drunk. You want me to believe that that kid over there… is your cat?"
Gan Ning nodded quickly. Zhou Yu snorted and turned to walk away. Only, instead of walking, he slammed into the boy in question, knocking both of them over. He slammed his palms onto the ground, jarring his wrists, and stopping himself from falling any further. Lu Xun, however, had no such luck, as he had fallen over backwards. He closed his eyes to the impact, and shoved his hands up to stop Zhou Yu from falling on him, both palms on the taller man's chest. The robe he wore had fallen open, and Zhou Yu looked straight down at a pale chest… with thread laced through it.
"By the Gods…" he gasped, shoving himself away from the small boy, and climbing unsteadily to his feet. He backed up a few steps, his eyes watching closely as Lu Xun struggled to stand up. Once that task was complete, he pulled the robe shut again. "It is the cat…"
Lu Xun once again came across the feeling of shame, and guilt, as if he'd done something wrong again. He bowed his head, closing his eyes, like he was expecting some kind of punishment. Instead, Zhou Yu came forward again, shoving the small boy back lightly, then shoving him down into the chair he'd been on.
Turning back to Gan Ning, he sighed, shaking his head. "I just don't see how this could have happened… Explain to me what happened last night. Tell me everything. I don't care if it seems irrelevant, I still need to hear it all."
"Well… after I left your room, I headed straight for mine and went to sleep… Not much else to it." Gan Ning stated simply, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's it? Nothing unusual?"
"Nope."
"What about this morning?"
"This morning… that's a whole 'nother story. I woke up, and there he was, naked as hell at the end of my bed. To put it simply, I flipped, he woke up, he flipped, then he fell out of bed. Dragged all of my fuckin' blankets with him, too… Then we went through all this shit where he just kinda stared at me funny, then he said 'clothes'…"
"So he can talk?"
"I don't think so. When he said clothes the first time, it came out really bad. The second time he said it, it was more like 'croth' rather than clothes. The only other thing I've heard him say is Lu Xun, and even that came out weird."
"How so?"
"He sounded out each letter, as if he's never used them before."
Zhou Yu leaned back against the wall, his head bowed, eyes deep in thought. This was a mystery to challenge any strategist, and it was doing so to Wu's. After a moment of silence, he shook his head and looked back at Gan Ning. "What else happened?"
"I asked him if he had stitches… then brought him here." Gan Ning replied simply, looking over to check on Lu Xun.
The small boy was once again swinging his feet back and forth, but he had Zhou Yu's book again, the strategist having placed it on the table again. It was opened and his eyes were scanning the pages in concentration. Gan Ning was mildly shocked when he turned the page and scanned another page. Sighing, he reached over to pull it away from the boy.
"Lu Xun, that's not yours… give it here."
Zhou Yu turned to look, his dark brows rising when he saw the boy reading his book. "Is he… Reading that?"
"Nah… I think he was just flipping through the pages." Gan Ning said, tugging gently on the book again.
Lu Xun released the book reluctantly, then looked at Zhou Yu pleadingly. Hopefully, he said slowly, sounding out the word, "Read…"
"You want to read this book?" Zhou Yu questioned, taking the book from Gan Ning, and showing it to the boy. He received a nod in reply, and sighed slowly. "Do you understand the meaning of read? Show me what 'read' means." With this, he placed the book down on the table.
Lu Xun repeated the word again, pulling the book over to him and flipping it open to the page he had been on, and scanned the page again. Zhou Yu watched in fascination, Gan Ning in total shock. The strategist walked around the table to stand behind Lu Xun, pointing to the first line in the book. "Will you read that out loud for me?"
Slowly, his eyes full of concentration, the boy read the short line slowly, sounding out every letter in each word, somewhat distorting it. He finished it and looked up at Zhou Yu, smiling happily. Both Gan Ning and Zhou Yu stood speechless.
Finally, the strategist let a small smile grow on his face. "I think we've got a genius on our hands. Though… how he's human is still behind me." he said slowly, then turned to Gan Ning, one eyebrow raised. "Are you still going to take care of him?"
"But… he's not a cat anymore… I ain't taking care of a kid!" he complained. "I don't know how!"
"For the love of the Gods, Gan Ning, he's the same as you! It's just like taking care of another you… Without the wine. Don't give him wine. I'll take him to the library now… see if I can teach him to talk at all. I'll make sure he's back with you by the end of the day."
Zhou Yu beckoned to Lu Xun, who gave Gan Ning an unsure look before standing up and following the strategist. He looked back at Gan Ning before the left the dining hall, and the pirate merely waved him on. He sighed and sat down, dropping his forehead to the table. Of all the things to happen… he found a cat that turned into a human…
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Well, there ya go! Was it any good at all? Reviews are wonderful, and cookies to all who do!