((SXH: Hey guys! I know it's been a while but I've been having just a little bit of trouble posting because of all the project I've had to do for school. I've been getting some cool feedback from you guys and, to be honest, I have fallen in love with this story. I've worked so hard on it. This is the story I'm most devoted to and have stuck with for a while. I hope you guys enjoy!))

Warning: Cursing.
Disclaimer: You guys should know it by now. I no own except for Little Ying and the storyline.

To Hell & Back Again
Chapter 16: Care

Zhou Yu had run away from them. It was crazy. Absolutely insane. Cao Pi was a noble. He was a prince to be more precise, with a wife who was expecting. He couldn't believe that Cao Pi would ever 'suggest' being with a man. That made it all worse.

Yu had to get away from that. He had to get away from the insanity. He needed time to think, a place to think. 'A place to hide' He thought. This is why he found himself lost on one of the many ships. He panicked when he heard some soldiers coming his way. Yu quickly hid himself amongst the cargo.

Yu hid in the crevice between two large crates that sized around six feet tall and fourteen feet in length. The space was slightly tight, but Yu could sit down by hunching his shoulders. As he slid down the wall in the very back, he had to keep from making a sound. The soldiers neared closer, so he bit his lip to silence himself and listened intently.

From the sound of their footsteps, Yu could tell they were in a hurry. He could hear several of them run past. For a moment, he wondered what they were in such a hurry for. However, it was only for a moment. He was answered when a couple of soldiers stopped just a few feet in front of the crates that hid him. The two of the were panting very hard, desperately trying to catch their breath before they spoke to each other. Their hands were on their knees to help them rest. Yu listened as intently as he ever had.

"Did... Did you find her?" one solider panted. The other let his head drop and shook his head negatively.

"N-no," replied the other. "Do you really think I would... be here if I did?"

"Damn! How are we supposed to find a woman we do not know anything about? And for that matter, how are we supposed to find a woman when we do not even know she looks like?" the first exclaimed.

"It does not matter," said the second, standing up straight. "All we know is that she is beautiful. If we just keep looking with that in mind, we are bound to find her sooner or later." The first nodded in agreement.

"That may be true. However, how do we know that she did not jump of the boat or something of the like?" argued the first.

"We know she didn't jump," said a new voice. The two soldiers whipped around to look at another person. Yu could not see them because of the crates. He dared not move from his hiding place to look either. "The sound of her hitting the water would have alerted someone." The person began to walk slowly into Yu's line of vision.

Of course... It just has to be that man. My new so called master. If they can find me that is... Yu thought. He dared not say a word or move an inch. Zhou Yu had heard many soldiers speak of his vigilance. It was rumored that Cao Pi had the eyes of a hawk when looking for his prey. Yu didn't believe this of course, but he wasn't going to take the chance and find out either. He stayed very still, his fear overcoming his sorrow. The fact that he was unarmed didn't make things better. He definitely did not want to be found so he held his breath, showing no movement. Yu also made the decision of not blinking, no matter how bad his eyes hurt, he would show no movement. Fear now reined his hear, for he never wanted to be found by that man.

Cao Pi continued to speak to the soldiers. He did not notice Yu still sitting in the shadows. Zhou Yu was doing very well at hiding himself but suddenly a strand of his own traitorous hair fell into his face, tickling his nose. Yu tried his best to ignore it but he just couldn't. Yu finally pushed the strand behind his ear. Although, he quickly regretted the movement. Cao Pi, who had seen the disturbance, shot his eyes to the crates. Yu had been found out at last. He cursed about a thousand times in his head about his long hair.

"Sir, is something wrong?" asked one of the soldiers. The two had noticed their lord's eyes lingering on something but before they could look he spoke to them.

"No, it is nothing," he answered. Yu was shocked by this answer. It made him take a small breath of surprise. After that, Yu kept his breathing silent. "I thought I saw something." This made Yu stop breathing again.

"Then should we not check that place, Milord?" they asked, about to turn around.

"No, no. It was probably a bird," Cao Pi insisted. Then he shoved them encouragingly in the wrong direction. "Now, you two go search somewhere else. I will handle searching this spot." Yu curled in himself a little tighter.

"Yes, sir!" they replied and ran off. Cao Pi, on the other hand, cast one look in his direction. Yu did not flinch or move while he looked. Then Yu was taken by surprise again when he just turned and walked away in the opposite direction as the soldiers.

If Yu thought he was scared before, he certainly was scared now. His old strategic paranoia kicked in. It made him start to think that this was just a game to the prince. Well, if the price wants a hunt, then he's not going to get one from me... I will stay until night starts to fall. Then, I will sneak off the ship. Yu planned. He was insulted that the man would just outright turn and walk away after finding him in his hiding place. Suddenly, he got the image of Lu Bu turning his back on him after saving him over a month ago. Why would I think about that? It's not important at the moment. What is important is the fact that he just treated me like I was worthless trash! I'll show him... It was then decided. He would wait there until the sun began to set.

/

Miles away from Diao's camp, the most feared man in the world had awoken to the bright sunlight. Without a word, Lu Bu began to pack everything he needed for the rest of his trip. He was only halfway from his destination. It irritated him to no end. He was delayed a day because of his injuries and then his companion passed out from exhaustion.

Speaking of his companion, at the moment she was still sleeping. She was wrapped in several covers to keep away the cold of night. After he was done packing, everything, he went over to the small sleeping bundle and gently shook her awake.

"Mmm... Is it morning now, Lord Lu Bu?" asked Little Ying.

"Yes, Ying. It is time to go. Can you get up?" he said, not taking his eyes off of her.

"I think so..." Ying mumbled, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. She got to her feet as best she could. Ying clutched to one of her blankets as she did so. Lu Bu picked up the rest and put them away.

Ying followed him to Red Hare. Lu Bu helped her up first and soon followed suit. Without another word, the two of them set off to their destination.

/

Zhou Yu began to regret his decision of staying. Staying there was more boring than listening to a history lecture. He finally knew how Ce felt when he was trying to teach him. Immediately, Zhou Yu felt his heart ache and tears well up in his eyes. He might as well get his sorrow out now. Yu doubted that he would have a better time to do so.

Yu curled up into the fetal position and began to cry. His pain was indeed great. It was a pain that needed outright sobs, one that called for a person to cry their heart out. Yu knew that if he did that, he would alert some very unwanted attention. So he simply settled for silent sobs that would last hours.

/

Cao Pi had become very frantic in his search. He had seen no sign of the beautiful man. He kept checking with his soldiers for any clues. He was about to go search again when he was stopped by his father's strategist, Sima Yi.

"Going out again, Lord Cao Pi?" Sima Yi inquired. Cao Pi turned to face him, not saying a word. His expression told Sima Yi to speak or else. "I am sure the Beauty will show up at some point. In the meantime, why not you join me for lunch? It would not be good for the Prince to pass out during his search for the lovely man."

Cao Pi merely turned away from the man. "There will be plenty of time to eat once the beauty is found." The price began to walk away from the strategist. Sima Yi frowned. No. He needed to tell the prince something. Cao Pi needed to listen to him.

"Yu," Sima Yi said in a small moment of desperation.

"What?" Cao Pi asked, very impatiently.

"His name," Sima Yi clarified. "The Beauty's name is Yu. His surname is, however, a mystery to me." Cao Pi turned to the man with an expression of expectancy and confusion.

"Why would you tell me this?" Cao Pi demanded.

"Can I not tell my lord important information out of the goodness of my heart?" Sima Yi countered.

"'Goodness of your heart'? That is definitely a load of poppycock if I have ever hear any," Cao Pi spat back. "You do not do anything but unless it benefits you, and everyone knows that." Sima Yi made a face of mock hurt, as he put a gloved hand over his heart.

"Why I never!" Sima Yi replied in mocked shock. "And here I was, trying to be of use to my lord and-"

"Acting does not suit you and, frankly, it annoys me," Cao Pi snapped. "You had better tell me what now for you are wasting my time. Time I could be spending in my search."

"You are no fun to tease, at all, Milord," Sima Yi informed. Cao Pi gave him a glare, telling him to get on with it. Sima Yi sighed and continued, "It seems as though I know the Beauty. Although, it is just a vague feeling that I have met him before. Once you find your Beauty, I want you to find out his surname. It frustrates me to no end that I do not know who this person is."

"I should have known this was about knowledge," Cao Pi murmured. "I will do it, but I must ask you to leave me alone so that I can."

"As you wish, Milord. We now have a deal," Sima Yi said and walked off.

Cao Pi was now all alone. While he was alone, he went through his thoughts. He needed some clue as to where the beautiful man had gone. Just when he was about to give up, he remembered one little important detail about earlier. It was when he was speaking to those two soldiers. He had caught a glimpse of movement of the cargo boat. The prince had honestly thought that it was a bird or a rat. No, it couldn't have been. Now that he had time to think on it, it was far too large to be either.

That's when the Wei prince began to panic. He could not remember which cargo boat is was! They had so many; it was going to take hours to find the Beauty-no, Yu. That is assuming that he stayed in the same spot. No matter. Cao Pi thought. I will search them all personally, just to find you, Yu.

/

At last, the sun was starting to set. Zhou Yu had paid no notice to it though. His pain and agony had caught him and they were not willing to let him go just yet. Yu was sitting in such a tight curl that his muscles began to ache terribly bad. Although he did not know the time of day, he could still feel about his surroundings.

Zhou Yu's head shot upward, when he felt a presence so very close by. The person was only feet in front of his. Yu's sorrow caught in his throat at the sigh before him.

Cao Pi stood just five feet away from the crates. He had come across the man by following the sound of soft sobs. Cao Pi's eyes showed concern. They were very comforting, but Zhou Yu still tried to back away from his as Cao Pi came closer.

Cao Pi crouched down, getting on his hands and knees, to be at eye level with Zhou Yu. He slowing made it to the back and was about three feet away from Yu. The prince reached for Yu. Even though Cao Pi was trying to help, Zhou Yu would have none of it. Yu swung at the man, trying to get the man away from him. Cao Pi quickly dodged it and grabbed Cao Pi's chest, and an arm around his waist. Yu struggled greatly against the man. Sadly, it was to no avail. Yu only felt himself being pulled against him even tighter.

Cao Pi let go of Yu's wrist. He wrapped his other arm around Yu's waist. This did not stop Zhou Yu's struggles. What did make Yu stop was Cao Pi's words. "Calm down," he whispered. "Yu."

The concern and the care laced in his voice was what made him stop. The way he said it made him sound like Sun Ce. This brought back memories of the man, even the ones from last night. All the emotion in Zhou Yu finally gave away. Zhou Yu finally let loose in absolute hear-breaking, ear-splitting sobs. They were filled with such pain, sorrow, agony and hate that Cao Pi was having a hard time to keep from crying with him. Cao Pi settled with comforting the Beauty-no, his Beauty.

Eventually, Zhou Yu's sobs silenced. Cao Pi pulled away from Zhou Yu and began to wipe away his tears with a cloth. He saw the exhaustion in the smaller man's eyes and smiled.

"I think it is time for us to head to bed," Cao Pi said. He looked at Yu's exhausted form and frowned softly. "I doubt you can walk. I hope you do not mind me carrying you." Yu said nothing as Cao Pi picked him up him up bridal style and carried him away. Zhou Yu couldn't remember the trip to Cao Pi's room. He guessed that he just fell asleep. He did, however, remember the feeling of being set on a very soft bed, with covers being pulled over him and a feeling of someone petting his hair.

/

SXH: Hey! I hoped you guys liked the chapter. And I have good news! I'm gonna get my computer back in soon. My parents haven't given me an exact date but I know it'll be soon!

Zhou Yu: *not amused*

SXH: What's wrong with you, Mr. Grumpy?

Zhou Yu: Oh, nothing. It's just the fact that You had me cry like a weak woman!

SXH: Well, I'm the writer. I can do whatever I want and in this scene you were upset. You finally let out all those pent up emotions! Aside from that, I'm a little offended now...

Diao Chan: Who are you calling weak?! I'm the one who's controlling everyone's asses in the story!

Zhang Liao: I have to agree with Yu here. It was a bit too feminine.

Diao and SXH: *Death glare* Shut up!

Lu Bu: *sighs* What does it matter? I thought it was perfect for the scene. Now let's drop the subject and just give the ending...

Everyone but Lu Bu: ...*stares at Lu Bu is shock* ...

SXH: (Didn't think he would actually side with us women. But I'm not complaining!) He's right. Now on three. 1... 2... 3!

Everyone: We all hoped that you enjoyed this chapter! Don't be afraid to tell us what you think with a REVIEW! See you next time!

Bye~!