The Stranger

Chapter 8: The beginning of the end

They had one shot. One shot before all their hard work went down the tubes. Zhou Yu knew this very well. He knew it better than anyone else. He also knew that if they failed, Wu would be without a ruler. He looked at the man that stood beside him and smirked, "Well Ce, we have this one chance at victory. Please do not blunder."

Sun Ce smirked, "Hey, no need to worry about me, just do what you do and we'll get that pig." Zhou Yu tossed the torch he had been holding to the garden floor.

"It is a shame to waste such a beautiful garden. However, such a shame that so many men had to die as well." Zhou Yu watched as the sakura tree burned beside him. Taking hold of the sword at his side, he leapt to the roof of the Inosuke manor. "Ce! Move!"

"You got it!" Sun Ce yelled, tossing his torch to the opposite side of the garden. Zhou Yu heard the screams of servants as they noticed the fire surrounding the manor. They had set torches all around the manor. There would be absolutely no escape for Inosuke. Only the servants door was left alone.

This time, all the pain, all the grief that this man had done to Hanako, her family, and all of Zhou Yu's men would be avenged.His memories may have almost all returned, but that did not mean a thing. He would kill Inosuke for what that tyrant had done.

His eyes blazed with the memory of what had happened before. What he saw when he returned from China.

xXx

Sun Ce blinked at the house in front of him. "Hey Yu, what's with the wall?" He asked, pointing at the walls that surrounded each and every dwelling. Zhou Yu smiled politely.

"They are for blocking out the force of the storms they get in this country. They get large typhoons every year. In some places, the water come's all they way up to the walls." He put his hand on the dry rock and felt the warmth seep into his hand. "Sometimes they help, and sometimes they do not."

Sun Ce sighed, shifting his feet impatiently. He was clad in a kimono robe tied around his waist with a sword man's pants on. His long hair hung in its customary ponytail. He wore a pair of Japanese sandals on his feet. "Come on, let's go, I'm glad that we're finally off that boat, but sheesh, you think you could speed things up?"

I'm sorry my lord, I was just thinking," He led Sun Ce to the front door of Hanako's home. And stopped abruptly, forcing the Little Conqueror to walk into him. A red mark trailed down to the ground. Zhou Yu looked at it, slightly confused. When he looked at the house, he noticed an eerie silence surrounding the house. His breath caught in his throat at the pure and utter silence of the place. Not a sound could be heard. He noticed then, that the gardens, usually so well kept by Hanako, had weed's overgrowing the flower beds and the vegetation invaded the ponds. The small well was silent, making no sound.

He dashed forward, disturbing the eerie peace of the household. "Sun Ce stay where you are!" Zhou Yu cried, tossing open the sliding paper door. He dashed forward, barely registering that his shoes had come off. The entrance room was empty, the hall was devoid of life...and then he saw it.

The pale hand extended out from a hole in the paper door. The frame work was tainted red. He carefully slid the door open, afraid to look at what he would see. When he gained the courage to glance into the room, he gave a horrible gasp and fell against the wall behind him.

Hanako's skin was deathly white. Her Kimono was soaked with blood, and a slight dribble of blood ran from her mouth to her chin. Her eyes were blank and sunken from death. Her brown hair flowed freely on the floor, mixed with blood. Her children and husband lay not far from her, in much the same position. Yu crawled forward and stretched out a shaking hand. Her skin felt smooth as glass. The picture of innocent beauty, even in death. The one he had suffered to protect for so long had met her death.

As he held her in his arms, a note fell out of her kimono sleeve. Picking it up, he unfolded it and scanned the contents. The ink was a deep red that flaked at his touch.

Boy, I know that you shall find your note. I leave it in Miss Hanako's care, and I know it will reach you safely. After all, who would dare to enter a house that I have marked with death other than you? It was unwise of you to leave on that journey. Do not bother to look for you men, I have killed them as well as this whore. She was very fine in bed, and I can assure you that had I not had to end her life, she would have made a very fine addition to my collection, had she not been so mouthy. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, I refuse to be out done by a simple slave. I trust that you have realized by now that I filled the air of the house with a poisonous mixture. It will kill you in a matter of hours, should you not decide to see me for the cure. Return to me my little no name pet. I still have to break you remember! Oh, and you have about fourteen hours to reclaim your life. Signed, master

Dammit! He thought, cursing bitterly. Lying Hanako onto the floor gently, he halted as something else fell out of her sleeve. He picked it up and looked at it carefully. It was a faded red head band with a symbol on it. He recognized it was the symbol of love in sloppy characters. His mind went blank as a sudden surge of pain slammed against his temple. He gasped, feeling the familiar fabric between his fingers.

Xiao Qiao...

"Xiao really, you needn't make this for me..." He sighed, brushing his dark bangs out of his eyes. His wife looked up at him stubbornly from where she was adjusting the red cloth carefully.

"Well too late for that Yu! I've already made it!" She pushed the headband against his pale forehead, tying it behind his head. "Besides! You keep on having to knock your bangs out of your eyes! This way, you will be able to see without hair in your face!" She stepped back, surveying her work carefully. She leaned up to make a quick adjustment.

As her hand brushed passed his nose he caught the scent of peach blossoms. He grasped her hand gently with his own and placed a kiss over top of it. Xiao Qiao blushed, dropping her other hand from its work with the headband. "What was that for?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and sitting herself on his lap.

He smiled, lightly brushing her lips with a kiss. "That was a thank-you, my love." He lifted her easily with his strong arms and stood, going over to the window. For a moment they gazed at the night sky together, admiring the ageless beauty. The moon shone brightly overhead, beckoning to them.

"Yu, do you think that someday people could go to the moon?" Xiao asked, laying her head on his shoulder. He looked at her with surprise for a moment. "It doesn't seem that far away, almost as if you could just reach out and grab it!" She lifted her arms and stretched her delicate fingers towards the glowing orb in the sky.

"Some thing's are farther away than they appear Xiao." Zhou Yu explained sagely. "But perhaps someday, when man has learned enough, they will have the technology to go to the moon."

"I want to go there," Xiao whispered tiredly. Zhou Yu lay her down on the bed gently. He smiled slightly and got into bed beside her. Wrapping his arms around her waist he nuzzled her hair gently with his face.

"I'm doubt man will make it to the moon in our lifetime Xiao."

She yawned tiredly, leaning into the warmth of her husbands chest. "But I can still dream, can't I Yu?"

"Of course you can," He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Now sleep, or you will never awake in the morning."

"Okay."

Zhou Yu coughed, feeling the poison in his lungs. He staggered to his feet, only to fall again as another memory invaded his mind.

And then another, a memory which he would have desired to forget.

"So you'd rather choose the Sun house hold to honor than your own?!" Master Zhou cried to a young Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu winced as the man's fingers shoved him against the wall of the manor. "You would die for them, but when it comes to your own family, you want nothing to do with them?!" Zhou Yu winced as a rough hand streaked across his cheek, knocking the side of his head against the wooden wall.

He crumbled to the ground at the force of the blow, blinking stars out of his vision. "Father.." He choked as the man grabbed his collar and shook hard. Anger flashed in his dark eyes and he slapped his father's hand away. "That's enough. This is disgraceful father." He glowered at the man, trying to reign in his anger. "You wonder why I rather spend my time with the Sun family?" He took a step forward, glowering into his fathers grey eyes. "Because I have never lived up to the expectations."

"Get out." The order came curt and rough from his father's mouth. Zhou Yu felt his breath stall in his throat. "I said get out of my house boy." The master of the house hold landed a blow to his eldest son's abdomen and knocked him to the ground. "I disown you from all ties that you have ever had to the Zhou family. I never want to see your face again."

He snapped out of the trance and ran through the household with legs that shook terribly. His lungs gasped with the poison that filled the air. He fell through the open door, relieved to see that Sun Ce was still standing there, listening for once. "I'm impressed Ce, you actually listened to me for once." He leaned against the doorframe, panting slightly. His hand gripped the note and the headband securely. He took in a breath of fresh air and immediately felt the reaction to the poison in his lungs. He dropped to his knees and choked, eyes widening as blood dripped down from his mouth.

"Yu?" Sun Ce cried, rushing forward in alarm. Zhou Yu stopped him with a harsh glare.

"Don't come near the house!" He snarled, and Sun Ce backed off in alarm. Zhou Yu wiped the blood out of his mouth with a cringe. "There's a poison in there, if you inhale it you will die."

"What?!" The Sun lord cried, looking at his friend astonished. "But that means–" Zhou Yu hook his head.

"We have approximately fourteen hours, possibly less, to secure Inosuke and an antidote if there is one." Zhou Yu walked up to Sun Ce calmly. "It's been a long time Sun Ce, but finally I can look at you knowing most of what took place before the storm." A smile graced Sun Ce's face at those words. "And all I can say is..." He paused.

"What?" Sun Ce asked eagerly, overjoyed.

"That you are an idiot." Zhou Yu sighed, turning away from his friend. "Haven't I told you that your kingdom is far more important than me?"

Sun Ce frowned, "But Yu, haven't I told you? I can't live without you around, and I didn't know if you were coming back!"

Zhou Yu sighed, "Selfish as ever I suppose..." He clutched the headband tightly in his hand. "Then again, so am I."

"What are you talking about Yu?" Sun Ce asked, stepping in front of him with a puzzled look. The look Zhou Yu gave him was full of hurt.

"They're all dead..." He whispered, "Hanako, her family, my men..." He heaved a shallow sigh of despair, "All of them..."

"What?" Sun Ce cried with alarm.

"Inosuke killed them all." Zhou Yu stepped towards the door.

"No way..." Sun Ce's eyes widened with disbelief as Zhou Yu took out the fire box and light a pile of dry weeds.

Stepping up to Hanako's home, he light the shoji (paper) doors, then he threw it up to the top of the house and backed away, watching memories burn. When he turned back to Sun Ce, the man felt chills run up his spine.

A blood lust shone through Zhou Yu's dark eyes, burning eyes that made Sun Ce quiver. Eyes filled with rage and sorrow.

Zhou Yu's voice spoke harsh and cold over the burning house behind him. "I will kill Inosuke for what he has done."

TBC...

Yeah, this chapters one giant flashback thinger. I hope no one got too confused. Thanks for reading! Please review!