Currently cursing her horse's odd sense of humor, Mulan used her robe to dry herself off before changing. She was embarrassed, but at least she had kept the moment of exposure as short as possible. At least Shang had helped her by throwing her a towel. It could only have been better if he had left and Mushu had dragged her towel to her. Some guardian, she thought.
Mulan flopped back on her bed, debating whether or not to go talk to Shang. She knew the issue would be addressed about her behavior, but right then, she did not want to see anyone.
Fate, however, had different ideas for Fa Mulan: Li Shang rapped on the tent flap a few times and cleared his throat.
"May I come in?" He sounded hesitant but a bit amused to her ears.
Mulan pushed herself up to a sitting position on her bed. It occurred to her that she should cover herself with a robe as well, because all she had on was a tank top and calf-length pants. Just in case, she grabbed her blanket for cover, since her robe was wet because she had dried herself on it. "If you come bearing gifts, feel free to enter."
Shang slowly opened the tent flap, letting it fall behind him with a whoosh sound. He was wearing his robe and pants, and noted that his second in command was attempting to cover herself completely with a blanket. He could not meet her eyes, and she could not meet his. They exchanged quick glances, avoiding eye contact for a while longer until he took a seat on her chair. Finally, their gazes locked, and after a few seconds, they both began to laugh at the insanity of it all.
That night, a few hours before dawn, General Li Shang received a message from the emperor of China. They would move out in two days.
Shang knew he should have been elated. Finally, they would be doing something, training elsewhere. However, he felt uneasy about the long trip and how his troops would fare. He felt incompetent, undeserving of the title general. If Chi Fu had allowed him, he would have shared the title with Mulan, or given it to her. She was a better tactician that he by far with her creativity and insight. He was only a man who had read military strategy books for enjoyment as a child. She was a girl who had defeated the Huns by using one cannon, a fan, and her shoe. One should feel honored just to meet her, let alone be her superior and friend.
And when was the exact moment he had considered her a friend? As Ping, it was the moment Ping had clutched his side wound in pain. Shang was more than concerned about a member of his team, but a friend. But that was Ping. When had he considered her a friend? He could not think of when, could not place when he began greeting her by first name without a second thought or smiling in pride when she bested him. No, when had he first laughed at her antics with Ling, Yao and Chien Po? When had he started feeling like her equal?
And that brought Shang back to the subject of the previous spar. Why had he held her for so long? It seemed like he had forgotten he was fighting a worthy opponent and he was suddenly fighting a petite, fragile girl. It was so confusing, and it caught him off guard. Why couldn't he see Mulan for who she was? Why couldn't he combine her and Ping? He had to separate them, and whenever one of them was confused with the other Shang felt himself lose his composure and freeze up. He had nothing against Mulan, in fact, he respected her too much. It was because of her that he was the General of the Chinese Imperial Army. It was because of her that he now held the fate of the nation in his hands. It was because of her that he now had a friend to talk to.
For far too long in his childhood, Shang had been out of contact with intelligent females. Most that he had met were officers' wives; older, demure women who had little thought for anything but their growing children. All of his life, his superiors had insisted that he stay out of contact with women, that friends were unnecessary, and that feelings were a weakness. Now, all three of those cardinal rules were being violated by the presence of one person, one friend, one woman, one...he didn't know what she was anymore. He was confused, and for the first time, there was no one to offer him advice. All of his superiors were dead, and his idol father who he had modeled himself after was gone. No, he had to figure this out for himself, and he still didn't know...
Mulan visited the nurse Chui Wei first thing in the morning. The major's wound had been bandaged for a few weeks now, and it was time to check up on her progress. Even though she had removed the bandage herself several times, she was wondering when she could start to go without it. It was itchy and a little cumbersome at times, always getting soggy whenever she bathed. She was eager to be rid of the uncomfortable thing.
Chui Wei greeted Major Fa when she entered the medical tent. Chui Wei was still adjusting to the other woman's position in the army, watching her carefully. Mulan made sure the tent flap was closed, returned the greeting to the older woman and sat on the table in the center of the tent. Mulan let Chui Wei lift off her shirt. She tried not to fidget while waiting for the other woman to prepare some salve.
Mulan felt completely exposed, waiting for the stray man to enter for treatment of a cut or black eye. She always felt so vulnerable in the hospital tent, feeling like Wei was judging her. She felt like there were eyes watching her from every corner, ready to point out that she was not worthy, that she was a disgrace.
It was at times like these that Mulan wished her father had come to visit to tell her how proud of her he was. His eyes always softened with love, and Mulan had wished nothing more that to give him a reason to be proud of her. Now, Mulan had given him a reason, and although proud of herself, she could not ignore the baleful glares aimed at her by a few resentful men among the ranks.
Chui Wei removed the bandages of the young woman before her. She always seemed so frightened of rejection, like one disapproving look could cause her to retract into a shell. Sighing, Wei applied salve to the place where the deep cut had been and rewrapped the bandage. All that was left was a faint pink line. The nurse assured Mulan that she would only have to wear the bandage for a few more days, just to be on the safe side. Mulan gave her thanks while pulling on her shirt, hastily leaving the tent.
Ling tried not to worry when Shang had called the officers into his office. There were eight present: one major, two captains (and the absent Chien Po would make three), and five lieutenants. Major Fa was running late, and General Li tried not to be irritated by this. Ling glanced nervously at Yao, who was trying not to smirk and say, "Waiting up for something, pretty boy?" Ling held his hands together behind his back, switching hands every few seconds. He was nervous. General Li had never called more than two officers together other than for sparring, or an important announcement. Ling had a feeling that it was the latter, and the only news that could be important enough was a the order to move out.
A flustered Major Fa entered, muttering something about a appointment with the nurse. General Li gave a curt nod and turned to the men, and one woman, before him. He was in full military dress, pacing across the small space in a few steps. His red cape flapped every time he turned, and Ling could not help but remember that the man before him was intimidating and formidable. The general's gaze fell on each of his officers, each sitting in order of rank in a triangle. Their heads were not bowed, but they might as well have been because all of them could not meet his eyes. They all heavily anticipated his news, knowing full well that the war was about to begin.
General Li stopped his pacing and cleared his throat. His eyes avoided Major Fa's as he straightened up to his full height and tried to look confident.
"A message of invasion by the Japanese has been intercepted. The Emperor has given order to move our soldiers to the far northeast region of the coast of the East China Sea. We shall be ready to move in two day's time. Training will be suspended until further notice."
With that, Shang gauged his officers' reactions. Yao looked ready for action, while Ling looked a bit sick to his stomach. The five lieutenants nodded their heads slowly, each a bit reluctant to see battle again. Shang's eyes fell on the woman major sitting in front of him. Her eyes were a mix of eagerness and reluctance, switching back and forth between the conflicting reactions. Finally, her face settled firmly into an emotionless mask. She met his gaze and nodded slightly. He acknowledged her and dismissed the five lieutenants.
"What about Chien Po?" Ling asked hesitantly after the four officers had left. His friend was still traveling back from visiting a girl and would not be able to travel quickly enough to return in two days time.
"Chien Po is a capable man. He will catch up with us within a week," Shang replied nonchalantly.
Yao, Ling and Mulan each had their individual thoughts about the statement, concerned about their friend. It was not like Shang to so quickly disregard a problem.
"You are dismissed," Shang said quietly, letting out a breath he had been holding when they had left.
"Attention soldiers!" Mulan yelled out over the disorder. An ordered line of men soon stood in front of her at rapt attention. Mulan took a deep breath, and then relayed the announcement, trying to keep out any emotion from her voice. "I have just been informed that we are to be ready to move to where the East China Sea meets the Yellow in two days. There will be no training until announced." She waited for the excited whispers to die down. "Your only order is to pack up. If needed, I will be supervising you. You are dismissed." She promptly turned on her heel to fetch Khan so she could feed and groom him.
Mulan was still not happy with her horse from the previous night's incident. But she couldn't blame the mischievous animal, and worked her frustrations onto his coat. What had happened last night? After their laughter had been reduced to a few titters and chuckles, Mulan and Shang had agreed to discuss the issue another time.
'The classic delay tactic,' she thought. She made circular strokes with the brush on Khan's neck.
'He doesn't want to talk about it,' a little voice in her head said.
"Well, we will have to some time," Mulan argued out loud. By this time, Khan's left side was brushed to a high gloss, and Mulan switched to his other side.
'You don't want to talk about it either.'
"Hey! I want to, it's just...I haven't gotten around to it yet." She wasn't fooling herself.
'And the way he froze on you during your last fight. What was that about?'
"I don't know! Leave me alone." Khan had started eying his human curiously. To him, she was talking to herself, not even to him. He shrugged, and resumed his feeding.
''You like him, don't you?' sound familiar? Mushu was right! You like him, you like him, you like him...'
"Go away. Besides, I don't know if I like him in that way."
"Like who in what way?" A voice asked.
Mulan's eyes widened in dread as she saw whom it was. 'Shang...'
"Who are you talking to anyway?" he chided, patting Khan's neck. The horse butted his head playfully against Shang, almost knocking him off his feet. "Surely not your horse."
Mulan turned a deep crimson. She struggled with an answer for a few moments and mumbled a weak "myself" before going back to brushing Khan's mane, praying that Shang hadn't been eavesdropping long. She managed to regain her natural coloring and gestured for Shang to join in grooming her horse.
After a pause, they began to chat.
"Are your troops prepared?" Shang started, hoping to use a neutral subject. He cleaned Khan's face with a soft cloth, rubbing the wide white stripe on his nose.
"They will be, if only they would stop playing pranks and stay serious long enough to learn something." Mulan thought of Mah's antics and his various ways to avoid any physical work.
"What goes around comes around," Shang chuckled. "Need I remind you of the plum on arrow incident when you first joined the army?"
Mulan blushed deeply. She remembered that incident all too well. Looking at Shang's shaking shoulders, she realized he was laughing at her. She faked a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes indignantly. "Yes, almighty Shang, I do remember when I was a lowly recruit. There is no need to bring up my own misbehavior. But if your training wasn't so hard, I would not have needed to cheat. So in effect, it was your fault."
"It was most certainly not my fault. And from what I hear, you drill twice as hard as I do." He had heard plenty of complaints, good-natured complaints, from the troops under Major Fa. If the rumors were true, no one had bested her at hand-to-hand combat yet among her ranks. "No one in your troop has beaten you."
"I learned from the best." She smiled shyly, twining her fingers in Khan's mane. She tugged on it a bit, knowing it didn't hurt him.
"Thank you," Shang replied quietly, not quite knowing what to say. However, he couldn't keep the appreciative smile off of his face.
True to her nature, Mulan dissipated a potential silence by bringing in humor. "Whoever said it was you General Li?" she asked playfully, arching an eyebrow incredulously. She realized too late she was flirting.
"Who else could it be?" he challenged back, starting to pack up the horse equipment.
"It could be anybody," she replied, leading Khan to the lake for a drink of water. Shang followed her with the equipment in tow. "It could be Khan here for all you know." She patted her horse affectionately. "Or a little grasshopper." She scanned the grass for Crikee, but did not find him. "Or a bird or a..."
"I understand the concept. So it wasn't me..." He feigned hurt.
"I never said it wasn't you, silly." Mulan giggled when she realized she had just called Shang "silly".
"Uh huh." He rolled his eyes melodramatically at her. "Whatever you say."
Determined to ignore Shang's teasing, Mulan picked up Khan's reigns below his chin to lead him back to camp. Shang picked up the cleaning equipment again, quickly catching up to her. They walked through camp, occasionally ordering the stray soldier to help pack up artillery or supplies. Mulan released Khan in the grassy area of their training field, trusting him to be smart enough and move whenever men passed by with a wagon. Khan was shy of wagons now anyway since that last incident with the cannons in the Tung Shao Pass.
They returned to her tent, where she grabbed a flask of water for later on. Shang waited outside and placed the supplies near Mulan's tent, being careful not to cross the invisible line they had both set early on. He was not to enter her tent unannounced, and she, his.
When they exited, they continued on their way through the camp, making idle conversation about everything under the sun and moon... except for their growing list of uncomfortable and unanswered questions about certain occurrences. They continued on this way until dinner, side by side at work, stride for stride when walking, laughing when lazy soldiers suddenly found vigor to work when the couple's presence was known. Even at dinner the two friends kept up their lively conversation, sitting closely together. However, a vivacious Ling and grouchy Yao decided to join in.
"So, where have you two been all day?" A smiling Ling teased as he sat down on the log with his bowl of rice soup with beef strips and vegetables.
Mulan punched him in the arm lightly in greeting. "Just helping pack up for the move."
"Sure," Yao growled, squeezing between Mulan and Shang on their log. Shang tried not to be bothered by this gesture, and received a "one up for me, pretty boy" look from Yao. Mulan didn't notice Shang's reaction because she was too busy laughing at one of Ling's jokes about his "suaveness" with women. However, Ling pouted, proving it wasn't meant to be a joke, and Mulan only chuckled harder.
"Ling, maybe if you didn't try so hard you could get some-" Mulan advised, trying to keep a sympathetic face. She had been trying to say "some girl to like you", but she never got the chance to finish.
"Some what?" Yao interrupted her, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at a now blushing Mulan and Ling. Mulan quickly made an excuse to refill her rice bowl and left. With Mulan gone, Yao mischievously glanced at Shang and nodded his head in Shang's direction for Ling to see. "Like the 'some' that pretty boy here gets every now and again, right Ling?"
Shang, who had been busily eating his dinner, nearly choked on a strip of beef and coughed hard for a few seconds. When he was able to breathe again, he glared at Yao, turning a bright red from either anger or embarrassment. He could not even manage a weak retort. Yao and Ling only laughed, high fiving each other and falling all over themselves.
When Mulan returned, two of her friends were rolling on the ground, and the third could not meet her eyes, or even her feet. She deduced what happened and pulled Yao to his knees by his ear. Yelping, he shrugged, glanced at Shang's burning face, and began to laugh all over again. Knowing it would be no different with Ling, Mulan decided to confront Shang, who was doing a wonderful job of blushing a deep crimson and keeping his profile to her. Becoming impatient, Mulan grabbed him by his robe's collar and dragged him away to someplace private to talk. Yao and Ling's reactions consisted of catcalling and whistling, which she noted to avenge for later.
Mulan considered her options. She could drag Shang to her tent, the lake, or the training field. Noting that the first option would be scandalous, and that the second was occupied, she went for the third option. They reached the field, Mulan hoping that simple routine would snap Shang out of his nonverbal stupor. Sure enough, the downcast shyness of his eyes disappeared, and soon after they were set up to spar after clearing the field.
The setting sun turned their skin reddish brown, rapidly descending over the horizon. Both of their faces were half in shadow, casting long lazy silhouettes on the dusty ground. Mulan took her normal fighting stance; feet shoulder width apart facing sideways, her arms loosely guarding her torso. She waited for Shang to start the fight, as always. He was a bit shy tonight to be in contact with her, and his cautious movements showed it. However, she was in no mood to change tradition, and soon enough, Shang started with a swift lunge to her left. He aimed a left hook at her jaw, missing when she quickly ducked. A quick knock to the back of his knees almost sent him to the ground, but he caught himself with his hand. They both got up, switching sides. Shang now had his back to the sun, making it difficult for Mulan to see. She blindly leapt in his direction, preparing a right hook kick. She realized she was on the wrong side, and decided to change to a roundhouse. She missed, and her attempt to hit him with an ax kick failed. He had dodged under her roundhouse, performing an aerial flip to get out of the way of her lightning feet. Confused that she had missed, Mulan was unaware until too late of the arm around her neck. When she fell to her knees, she used Shang's weight to her advantage and flipped him over her. He had expected the classic move, but decided to lie on his back for a few seconds to catch his breath instead of continuing the fight.
Shang's eyes were closed, and he was tempted to just lie there and sleep until the next morning. He had hardly slept last night because he had stayed up thinking. Mulan, however, was determined to find out what had happened at dinner. She placed a foot, and half of her weight, on his sternum (breastbone), making sure she was in his line of vision. She was determined to know what had happened earlier, and frankly, she was tired of not being able to talk to Shang about anything awkward that had happened between them recently.
"So, how's the weather down there?" She smiled down at his tired, sweaty face, knowing that her's looked exactly the same way.
He breathed with a little difficulty. "Hazy..." He tried to push her foot off, but she stubbornly kept it there.
"You stay on the ground until we are done talking, Shang." She crossed her arms and leaning over her propped up leg.
He groaned with even more of her weight on the center of his chest. "Okay, what's there to talk about?"
"What Yao said to you while I was gone at dinner," she answered promptly. Shang could tell it had been bothering her curiosity for a while by the way she had answered a little too quickly after his question. By now his embarrassment had faded a bit.
"You should ask Yao. It was..." She leaned all of her weight onto his chest to urge him on. "Okay, that's beginning to get annoying." He pushed her foot off, throwing her off balance. He laughed as she made a show of flailing around and falling. She landed beside him, propping herself up on her elbows. "Join me?" he teased as he propped himself up as well.
Mulan laughed. "Okay, I'll ask Yao. I need to beat him up anyway." A happy grin settled itself on her face, and she took a handful of fine dirt and tossed it into the air, watching it mix in with the red of the setting sun.
"Beat him up for me too."
"Shang! Can't you do it yourself?" she admonished, faking surprise at his jest.
"Of course I can. I just want to watch you beat someone else besides me, that's all." He watched the last sliver or glowing red sun slide beneath the distant hills of the west.
"Oh, you let me win half of the time." By this time Mulan's ponytail had loosened and the stubborn wisp had made its way out of confinement. She admired the sky's blue-purple blend with the red-orange. "By the way, what was that flip you did today? The one with no hands?"
"You mean the one that helped me avoid two of your kicks?"
"Yeah, that one. You'll have to teach me someday."
"It's called an aerial. It takes a long time to master, but I will teach you someday."
"Will that someday be today?" she asked, hopeful and eager to learn something new.
He rubbed the back of his head. He had landed pretty hard when she had flipped him. Shang shook his head and chided her. "No, you did a good number on me today."
"I'm sorry, are you all right?"
"I will be, especially if I get to pick the next uncomfortable topic of conversation." He grinned mischievously at her, causing her to squirm a little. He tried not to revel in retaliation.
"And that particular topic would be...?"
"Honor," he said simply.
She breathed a sigh of relief. "That's not a bad topic."
"You didn't let me finish. Your honor. My honor. What happens to that honor when we enter... difficult situations." He busied himself with picking grass off of his robe after the statement was made, waiting a while before he could look at her again. "Like last night," he continued.
"Like last night," she agreed. "We should be able to prevent that from ever happening again." She nodded affirmatively, emphasizing her conviction.
"But will we be able to prevent what other people think?" His voice had dropped in volume and his fingers made little trails in the dirt.
"What does that have anything to do with it?" she asked carefully, not quite sure what he was getting at.
"If your integrity is compromised..." he trailed off.
Mulan's eyes widened. "You don't mean..." He couldn't mean what she thought he meant, could he?
"Like if Chi Fu had stayed last night at the lake. Or if one of the soldiers had seen you, or..."
"I see your point." She abruptly sat up, leaning her arms on her bent legs. "That could be a problem."
They sat in silence until the redness of the sun was completely gone. It was a comfortable silence, both parties contemplating their options. All that could be heard was the occasional chirp of a cricket, or call of a nightingale.
Shang suddenly sat up next to her. "We need a plan." He looked to her expectantly.
It took Mulan a brief moment before she realized the silence had been broken by a voice instead of the chirping crickets. She managed only to get out an "oh" and went back to thinking. It was an impossible situation. If, the keyword being 'if', Shang compromised her in any way (she still blushed at the scandalous thoughts going through her head) or anyone of import thought so, she would be dishonored as a woman, not as a major in the Imperial Army. It did not matter that she was in the army, only that she was a young unmarried woman who was often alone with men. Already the social boundaries had been pushed for her, and now she wondered what would happen if she pushed them too far.
Back to the thought of Shang compromising her, she would have to either have an honorable reason to be alone with him, or any other man for that matter, or be escorted wherever she went. The latter thought did not appeal to her liking, or convenience. However, she could think of nothing short of a marriage proposal that would be considered an honorable reason. No, Shang deserved someone better than her, she thought, that was out of the question. But what to do?
Shang was contemplating the same thoughts as Mulan, weighing pros and cons, wondering what could happen. If the time ever came for this decision to be made, he knew they would both do what was the best for both of them. Shang just wasn't quite sure what that best thing was though. Surely his honor would not be compromised by a woman, but he cared too much for his friend to leave her dishonored and alone. No one would talk to a dishonored woman, let alone take care of her, although Shang was sure Mulan could take care of herself. But she was so sensitive to what others said about her, a single scold from her father sending her to isolation. Shang had seen her cringe when the emperor had named all of her sins for all of China to hear. No, if society made her an outcast, that would break her spirit, and in turn, that would break Shang's heart.