((SXH: Hey guys! I posted this a little later than usual because I tried to get my sister to read my story. She says that she won't read it unless I have posted 4 chapters since she read it last. That bugs me to no end really... but what can I do? Enough about me! This chapter starts the Chi Bi saga. For those of you who don't know, this takes place during the Battle of Chi Bi. I changed a lot of things while writing this but I tried to stay close to the game as much as I could. I failed... This story is just a big 'WHAT IF?' But hey, that's what FF stories are about, right? Anyway, on with the dramatic story!))

Disclaimer: I only own Little Ying and the storyline, nothing else.

Warning: I can't think of anything except a little language...

To Hell & Back Again

Chapter 8: To Chi Bi part I

After an hour or so, a servant came in and bowed to Diao Chan and Lu Bu. "The preparations are almost complete, Lady Diao Chan," the man said. "Lord Zhou Yu asks that you come to the stable now, if you wish to leave as soon as possible." Diao nodded to the oddly handsome servant and dismissed him.

"It seems I must take my leave, Lord Lu Bu," Diao said. She stood up and bowed, saying, "I bid you well." Lu Bu nodded in acknowledgment, saying his good-byes to her as well.

Diao made her way down to the stables. Her foulness renewed when she had to leave Lu Bu. But she made up for it by barking orders at her servants to pack her things and such as she went. All the while, she did what she did best: thinking of ways to rid herself of that retched Zhou Yu.

It must seem terrible, on her part, for not thinking of things sooner, but there was a very good reason for that. She tried her best to get Lu Bu to kill Zhou Yu himself, but he stopped for some reason. She tried to get the reason out of him but he just wouldn't speak his reasoning! Instead, he decided to keep the man here! To top it off, her plan to kill of the damned man and the little pest in the bathhouse backfired!

But this was different. This time she would get rid of him. If Zhou Yu was as pretty as everyone says, then the Lord of Wei will definitely want him. Once that man's gone and can no longer seduce her Lu Bu or protect the brat, she will finally do away with her. With Lu Bu mourning over his precious little 'daughter', Diao will comfort him. In the end, Lord Lu Bu will only have eyes for me! Diao thought.

As she thought this, she had somehow reached the stable. As she entered, she noticed that Zhou Yu was sitting down on a hay bale with a cup of tea in his hands. He apparently decided to chat with the stable boy while he shirked his duties. Diao scowled at the two, tapping her foot, waiting for them to shut up. When they didn't as soon as she wanted, she coughed, not too loud but just enough to get their attention. What happened next just made her angrier.

Diao had obtained the boy's attention but she went on completely unnoticed by Zhou Yu. She coughed a little louder. Again, she was ignored, taking her from angry to pissed.

"Zhou Yu!" Diao yelled in a tiny burst of rage. At this, Zhou Yu stopped speaking and the little stable boy flinched. Zhou Yu set his tea down and turned his head to look at her. He smiled as he said, "Well, hello. I am glad that you finally showed up, Lady Diao. It is always good to have the princess grace us with her presence." Diao frowned heavily at the way her title was stressed and the last sentence he spoke.

"Watch what you say, filth," Diao warned.

"I'm terribly hurt," Yu said with a smile. Diao huffed as she walked over to her favorite horse, a white stallion. On her way, she passed by Red Hare. Red Hare reared up at the sight of her. Diao rushed her arms up to guard her face, stumbling backwards.

Zhou Yu ran up in front of her with his hands reaching out for the horse. "Wow, easy there," Yu shouted raising his hands to touch the horse's snout when the horse came back down on all four legs. "Easy there, boy." Yu petted Red Hare's snout, calming it down some more. He patted the horse on the back and then turned to Diao. "You really should be careful, Lady Diao," Yu started. "Spooking a horse says quite a bit about a lady's appearance. And it could also ruin it as well."

Diao fumed. "Just keep control of the damn horse," Diao said quietly. The group waited until two more needed officers arrived to the stable, Gou Si and Zhang Liao. The four of them mounted their horses and were off.

Lu Bu sat in the hospital wing, bored, with absolutely nothing to do. He was annoyed because of the medics panicking over him. The only other person in the room, besides the medics, was Little Ying of course. Although, something was off with her.

"Ying, you are quieter than usual," Lu Bu commented. "Is something wrong?" Ying, who was laying her head in his lap, shifted a little, almost as though he had broken a comfortable silence between them. She turned her head to look at him.

"No, Lord Lu Bu. I'm just tired," she lied. Lu Bu could tell she was. He said nothing on it because he would find out sooner or later anyway. So he nodded, dismissing the subject. He looked back down at her when something crossed his mind.

"Ying, what all have you learned from your teacher?" he asked. He had noticed Ying's speech patter was a little off too. She sounded more educated than before.

Ying's smile was back on her face in no time. "I learned a lot from Momma," she said brightly. Lu Bu still couldn't believe that the man let her call him 'momma'. "He taught me the alphabet and a little on how to speak, my numbers up to one hundred, he taught me how to tell what plants were poisonous and what weren't, and a whole bunch of other things." To say Lu Bu was surprised would be an understatement. He would have never thought that Ying would have learned that much in one month. Was Ying a fast learner? Or was it the fact that Yu was an ex-Wu strategist? Wait. Since when did he become Yu instead of Zhou Yu? Lu Bu didn't know. But he was happy that Ying was learning so much.

"What was he going to teach you next?" Lu Bu asked.

"Momma said that if you never woke up, then he would teach me to fight. He was going to show me some steps but Lady Diao said that she was taking her with him so meet some people," Ying explained.

"The negotiations?" Lu Bu inquired. "I wonder why she took him with her." Ying shrugged her small shoulders.

"I don't know. She didn't say why," Ying replied. Suddenly, Lu Bu got a really bad feeling. His gut was telling him that something really bad was coming and quick, he just couldn't tell when.

"Do you know where it is taking place?" Lu Bu asked. Ying nodded and sat up.

"Lady Diao said they were going to Chi Bi," Ying informed. That is near the Wu territory... Lu Bu thought absently. What is Diao Chan thinking?

Lu Bu's thoughts were interrupted as a medic spoke to him. The young woman said, "Lord Lu Bu, your injuries have healed greatly. If it continues then you will be able to return tomorrow morning!" Lu Bu nodded. The medic bowed and left the man alone. For the rest of the day, Lu Bu sat with Little Ying, mostly in pleasant silence.

It hit nightfall quickly for the four officers, although, not quickly enough for Zhou Yu. He did not want to be here but he had no choice. Zhang Liao had to beg him to come with so as not to leave him alone with Diao and, for some reason, Gou Si. Personally, if not for Zhang Liao's pleading, he would not have come here and dealt with Diao, even though she told him he had no choice but to come with them.

Of course, the officers did bring a few troops. They would be stupid if they didn't. Earlier they sent a few scouts ahead to check things out. One of the scouts was now running toward Diao. "Milady! I suggest we stop and make camp," he said, clearly out of breath. Diao scowled at him.

"No, we must keep moving," Diao said stubbornly.

" I am sorry, Lady Diao, but I must insist," the scout spoke. "There is a Shu camp just up ahead. Their troops greatly outnumber our own. It would not be wise to keep going and run into them." Diao stopped her horse. She thought about what she should do. When she decided, she dismounted her horse.

"Make camp," she ordered. Diao turned to Zhang Liao. "Tie up the Wu scum," she commanded.

"What?!" Zhang Liao exclaimed.

"I am not scum," Zhou Yu said calmly. Diao just glared at him.

"Diao, that is hardly necessary," Liao protested.

"I think it is more than necessary," Diao shot back. "We do not want him running off to the Shu troops and telling them that we are here."

"Lady Diao, I highly doubt that he would do such a thing," Liao spoke. "Even if he did, I would think he would have some honor and not sick the Shu army on us like they were a bunch of dogs." Diao laughed at this.

"They might as well be," Diao laughed. "Although, if you won't do it, then Gou Si would gladly do it for you." Zhang Liao's face contorted in anger. He had to hold himself back from grabbing his spear and- Wow. Calm down, Liao. Cool down before you do something you will regret. Liao told himself.

"No. I will do it," Liao replied. Gou Si frowned, but dismounted and told the troops to make camp for the night.

"Very well," she said, going to have some troops set up her tent. Zhang Liao dismounted with a look of disgust apparent on his face. when he approached Zhou Yu, his expression softened, looking apologetic. As he helped Zhou Yu off his horse, he whispered his apologies.

"If you would like, I could keep you in my tent. No one would touch you there," Liao whispered. He quickly went over to his horse and grabbed some ropes. I am really sorry about this."

"Don't be, Yu said as Liao bound his wrists together. "Diao Chan is an idiot if she thinks the Shu troops do not know we are here. She greatly underestimates Zhuge Liang." Once his hands were bound, he sat next to a tree watching Liao as he set up his tent.

Once everything was set up, Liao helped Zhou Yu to his feet and led him into the tent. It was a simple, meant to house only one person, but Yu felt slightly safe none the less. "It is a bit small. I hope that doesn't bother you too much," Liao said. True, it was smaller than the cot Yu used when he slept in Liao's room but space never really mattered to Yu. The only thing that did, was when someone invaded his personal space when he didn't want them to.

"No, it's quite alright," Yu reassured. He sat down near the back of the tent, deciding to get comfortable.

"Well, just in case a certain someone decides to check up on you," Liao started, "I need to bind your ankles."

"I understand," Yu said. he moved his legs towards Liao to make it easy for the man to tie him. "Liao, I don't know if anyone has told you but Lord Lu Bu has awaken." Liao's hands stopped for a second.

"No. No one told me," Liao answered. "I wish someone did before we left."

"I would have, if Diao let me out of her sight for a few minutes," Yu complained. "I swear she wants me on a leash or something." Liao laughed.

"That's a scary thought," he smiled.

"No. It's downright disturbing," Yu shuddered.

"Agreed," Liao said. He finished tying up Yu's ankles. "There. I'm done. Make yourself-"

"Liao, go get the firewood," Diao yelled from somewhere outside the tent. Liao sighed.

"In a minu-" Liao tried.

"NOW!" Diao screeched.

"Alright!" Liao yelled back. He looked to Zhou Yu. "Please, make yourself comfortable... That is, if you can," Liao said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing, you imbecile," Yu said pulling his legs back toward him. "I have been through worse, remember? You're apologies are not necessary." Liao nodded dumbly and left, saying he would be back later. All the while, Zhou Yu sat patiently.

SXH: Well, there you have it! Another chapter posted! I'm so happy that I've got it up finally!

Zhou Yu: You had them tie me up? Why?

SXH: Wait for the next chapter and you will see!

Zhang Liao: I can't believe Zhou Yu's tied up in my tent!

SXH: Don't get too excited he's not going to be there for long! *evil smirk*

Zhou Yu: What are you planning?

SXH: You will have to find out in the next chapter!

Lu Bu: *sighs* Looks like I'm going to be cut from the story for the next few chapters...

SXH: Not completely, Big Brother! *hugs him from behind and is now riding on his back*

Lu Bu: Whatever...

SXH: Now please tell me what you think of this chapter with a REVIEW or two. If you don't I'll enact my rights for the DIRECTOR'S CUT, or in other words my right to dispose of any character I wish. *looks evilly at Liao* Now all I can say is I hope you enjoyed this chapter and to all the character's I might just cut: RUN, LITTLE PIGGIES, RUN! *rides on Lu Bu's back as he chases said characters*

See ya later!~