Author's note: I do not own any Dynasty Warriors characters or places mentioned. Dynasty Warriors belongs to Koei games and the creators of Dynasty Warriors.

Document 3: Akihiko Yamazaki

Akihiko's eyes slowly flickered open, revealing sapphire-colored irises and the fatigue that had been within him even before waking up to an unfamiliar room. Instead of sitting up and looking around, he simply laid there in the warm confines of the bed. It wasn't that he didn't want to explore this new room that he was in because he seriously wanted to. He just could not muster up enough strength to get up out of the bed. Whenever he tried to move something too quickly, his muscles would cry out in sheer pain and he would be forced to lie back down and be still again. He had done this several times throughout the day and still he was getting nowhere. This frustrated him, but he knew that he had probably pushed himself too much again. He did not even know how he had gotten here in the first place. All that he could remember was his legs buckling underneath him and him collapsing onto the ground. He had tried to speak, but no sounds had come out of his mouth, just silence. His vision became dimmer and dimmer until there was nothing but blackness and then nothing. Next thing he had known, he was in a strange room with sunlight softly coming through the silk curtains covering the window. He had found it somewhat odd, waking up in a room one did not recognize until the eyes have done a good scan and the brain has become fully functional again. He remembered that he had woken up many times in his friend's room and seeing their face filled with worry. 'You can't be doing stuff like that, Akihiko. I swear, someday I'm gonna find you dead on the side of the road because you worked yourself too hard again.' He had been sorry all of those times for burdening him with taking care of him, but his friend brushed it off and said that it was the least that he could do for him. Akihiko could not bring himself to say anything against his best and only friend and simply let himself be taken care of until he could move without anything hurting. He hoped that his friend was okay without him. By the way, where was he exactly?

He tried to sit up, but apparently he had moved too fast again because he could feel the muscles in his arms and back hurting badly. This was not going to stop him from getting up, though. He forced himself to remove the sheets from his body and place his feet on the carpeted floor. He felt a stinging sensation when he put more weight on his legs, but he did so anyway and was soon out of the bed. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing a simple white rob and that his hair was not in its usual tight ponytail. His long, green-tinted black hair was slipped over one of his shoulders, which looked strange to the teenage boy. He brushed his hair back with his fingers and was satisfied with it being behind him. He then slowly made his way over to the door, opening it while trying not to strain his arm and shoulder more than necessary. He stepped out of the room and noticed how enormous the hallway was compared to him when he swiveled his head around and looked around. Great, I feel like an insignificant ant. He thought miserably to himself as he continued to slowly and painfully walk through the corridor.

Each step that he took the pain shot up his legs into his head. A grimace began to show as he continued his trek across the floor of the hall. He noticed that each and every step seemed to echo somewhat. He should've expected something like that to happen, but hadn't thought about it until this point. He shook his head and kept going, despite how painful it was getting. He was pretty sure that his eyes would be watering sometime soon because of all the pain he was feeling coursing through his veins. But he simply could not stop now. There was no way he was going to be truly satisfied until he knew where the hell he was! No way in hell! He noticed that his legs were getting weaker and felt that a short rest was good right now. He made his way over to the nearest wall and held onto it with the remaining strength he had. He could feel his whole body shaking with the effort of staying upright. He simply couldn't give up now because his body didn't feel like going on. He shoved himself off of the wall in anger and resumed walking toward the end of the hall that he couldn't see at the moment. He also noticed that there were decorations along the walls that looked very Chinese to him. He wasn't exactly sure of his guess, but a guess was as good as any he supposed. He also noticed that there were no guards or anyone else there outside his room. He had half expected this to happen, but that was probably due to him watching too many cheesy movies lately. Well, that's what happens when you're fired from one of your jobs for showing up late too many times, he supposed. He couldn't wrap his head around what was happening. He also couldn't exactly know how things ran here, since he was not recognizing this as any place he knew of.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he reached the end of the corridor and pushed the wooden door open. He came across another hallway and groaned loudly. These people do not make it easy for one such as myself in this state to walk from one place to another! Ugh! He kept these thoughts to himself, no matter how much he wanted to vocalize them. He had just started walking again when he heard a voice come from behind him,

"Aren't you supposed to be resting? If my lord sees you like this, he'll become extremely worried." A loud yelp was emitted from Akihiko's lungs as he realized that someone was actually behind him when he turned around on his heels. He nearly jumped into the air and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight as arrows. The person seemed somewhat startled by Akihiko's outburst and took one step back. Akihiko put a hand over his chest and gripped the robe underneath his hand with strength that his body did not have before. He stared at the new person with eyes wide open in surprise and fear. He managed to choke out a question after a few more tense moments of silence,

"Y-y-y-you're not g-g-going to k-k-kill me, are y-y-you?" The figure now was the one who was surprised. They had certainly not expected that kind of a question to come flying at them. They then calmed themselves down and replied,

"No, I am not. I actually have been ordered to keep an eye on you until you fully recover."

"T-t-this is from y-y-your lord, I'm g-guessing?"

"Yes."

"Who in the world are you, anyways?" Akihiko managed to say without any stuttering involved this time. He was quite proud of himself for that, but that feeling soon faded when the person responded to his question.

"Zhao Yun is my name. What about yourself?" Now Akihiko felt like he had a frog stuck in his throat. Darn him, always having trouble telling other people his name! He could swear that it was a curse placed upon him for reasons that he did not even want to begin knowing. He took in a few deep breaths and bowed slightly to the man who called himself Zhao Yun.

"I'm Akihiko Yamazaki. It's a pleasure to meet you, Zhao Yun." He lifted himself up so he was standing straight again and noticed the confused look on Zhao Yun's face. What the heck was that for? He could not possibly begin to think of what was wrong with his greeting. He had rehearsed it so many times, it was routine to him now. Why was Zhao Yun looking at him the way he was? It made Akihiko nervous, almost anxious even. He was about to ask why when Zhao Yun spoke abruptly,

"Forgive me, but I am not used to having someone bow to me when they introduce themselves to me. I apologize for my behavior just now."

"No, no, don't apologize to me. It's quite alright. I do that whenever I meet anybody, really. It's simply a sign of respect."

"I see…" Zhao Yun said. Akihiko did not notice this, but his whole body began shaking again. He kept staring at the man in front of him, who seemed to not be much older than himself. He had long hair that was tied into a ponytail with bangs going past his chin and accenting the shape of his face quite nicely. He also had a headband that seemed to be made of metal that held the hair out of his face somewhat. He also wore armor all over, minus the right upper arm and a turquoise scarf hanging over his right shoulder that seemed to have more green in it than blue. He simply could not keep from staring, that was, until he began to fall over. Gosh darn my body! Why can't it hold up for just a bit longer! Is that too much to ask?! Apparently it is! Akihiko's mind yelled angrily as he continued to fall. Zhao Yun noticed this and quickly ran over, catching him at the last moment. He held Akihiko gently in his arms, despite the muscle he had acquired over the years by fighting and training. He then noticed that Akihiko was unconscious. He simply had to get him back in the room. He raised himself off of the ground, still holding Akihiko gently, and walked briskly to the room that temporarily belonged to the injured boy. He went over to the bed and gently set him down, tucking him in. He noticed, as he looked at the latter, that there were dark bags under his eyes. How could he push himself like he did? What was it exactly he wanted to accomplish on his own like this? He was somewhat pained by these questions. He calmed himself down and walked away from the boy, stepping out of the room soon after. He closed the door gingerly as to not disturb Akihiko's much-needed rest. Should he report what happened to Liu Bei? No, that wouldn't be a wise choice. Liu Bei was busy with other matters at the moment. His report would only put more pressure on the pure-hearted man. Zhao Yun could not bear to see his lord in pain. He would wait until things had settled down and until then, he would guard Akihiko's room as ordered. He grabbed his spear from the other side of the door, which had gone completely unnoticed by Akihiko when he came out of the room, and held it tight in his grip. He would carry out this order faithfully and without fail. He stood there outside Akihiko's room, a resolve burning deep inside him.

Took a bit longer than I had anticipated, but it's finally up. The next chapter will be coming very soon, so look out for it!