With the insertion of more characters, expect to me to get very confused. Anyway, on with the story!

Date Uploaded: 08 February 2009

Chapter 07: Rude Awakenings

Early the next morning Zhou Yu was contentedly catching a few last minutes of sleep when all of a sudden something heavy landed on top of him, giving a loud whoop. "Hey, Gongjin! Rise and shine, dude, smell that?" whereupon the thing on top of his bedspread took a deep breath. "Phew... smells like horse shit. Looks like your steed took a major dump outside your window."

"What...?" Zhou Yu blinked and peered, disgruntled, over the covers, trying to push off whoever was on top of him. "Who the hell...?"

Before he could say more the person had jumped off and then the futon was abruptly turned over, causing Yu to fly into a pile of books with a yell. A burst of laughter greeted his expletive. "Bro, are you going to get up or am I going to have to boot you out of the door too?"

Despite the fact that Zhou Yu was now seeing little Fledgling Phoenixes spinning around his head, he knew that there was only one person in all of China who referred to him as 'Bro'. He unearthed himself from under the covers and books and looked up in flabbergasted disbelief. "Bofu??"

Standing on top of his upside-down futon was the unmistakable form of Sun Ce. The heir apparent to the Wu kingdom grinned down at his sworn brother, hands on his hips. "Yep. Well don't fall all over yourself in excitement welcoming me to your little abode." He straightened up and looked around, surveying the jumble of bed covers, scattered books and scrolls from his own assault. "Kind of a mess, I have to say."

"Ce, I thought we talked about mauling me awake, specifically that I don't enjoy it as much as you do," Zhou Yu groaned, trying to get up.

Laughing boisterously, Sun Ce reached down and hauled him to his feet, immediately crushing him into a huge bear hug. "Man, it's been, what, five months? Jeez, I've missed you, bro! I tell you, putting silk worms in Huang Gai's jocks just isn't the same without you."

"Yes, Ce... it's nice to see you too," Zhou Yu gasped out, trying to squirm out of his best friend's iron grip. "I'd like to resume breathing now, please..."

Sun Ce mercifully let him go and Zhou Yu took the opportunity to take in a deep breath of air, only to promptly gag. "Ugh, goddamnit, you're right, that is horse shit. I've been telling Rosebud not to do his business there!"

"For god's sake, Gongjin, your horse is named Rosebud?" Ce asked, looking both perplexed and delighted that he had something more to rib his friend about.

"Oh wipe that grin off your face," Zhou Yu said sourly. "I didn't name the unfortunate thing. It's a long story."

"I have time," Ce said, flopping down onto the messed up futon and clasping his hands behind his head.

"Yes, maybe, but I don't," Yu said, only noticing that he was now at least fifteen minutes late. He began to scramble around for his clothes and the supplies he would need for class that day.

"Aw, c'mon, dude," Ce whined, beginning to toss one of Zhou Yu's books into the air and catching it. "I just got here, can't you take a day off or something and show me around? What do you do for fun in this dump?"

"I can't do that," Zhou Yu said, pulling his shoes on and nearly falling over in the process. He stopped for a moment and regarded Sun Ce suspiciously. "Wait, Bofu, what are you doing here?"

"Long story. And I think you just said you didn't have time for those," Ce answered a little too quickly.

Zhou Yu frowned, giving his sworn brother a gauging look. Ce studiously ignored him and whistled as he continued to play catch with the book. Yu reached over and grabbed it in midair. "Well, whatever the case, I'm late," he said.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do while you're gone??" Sun Ce called out as Yu headed out the door.

"Acquaint yourself with Rosebud!" Zhou Yu called back as he bounded out of the dormitory.

***

Meanwhile, as Zhou Yu was hurrying out of his dorm, a small cluster of the other students was walking farther ahead. "Fengxiao, really, I must protest, I had a wash this morning. I really can't smell as bad as you purport," Lu Meng couldn't help but joke.

"Very funny," Guo Jia said, his voice muffled as he was talking through the handkerchief pressed up to his nose and mouth. Lu Su gave him a curious look but said nothing.

"Well surely it can't be me," Zhang He sniffed, looking a little put off. "In fact I have a new scent I've just tried out today. Can you guys smell it?" he leaned over and presented his neck to Lu Meng.

"Ugh, man, yes, I can smell it! I've been smelling it the moment you wafted down the street!" Meng said, backing away quickly. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that the chicken that just keeled over and died half a block back inhaled enough to poison its system!"

Zhang He rolled his eyes and twirled a strand of hair back into place. "Really, Ziming, sometimes you can be quite juvenile." Undeterred, he smiled at Lu Su. "How about you, Zijing? Want a sniff?"

"I'm good," Lu Su said quickly, also taking a step back.

Zhang He turned back to Guo Jia and asked, "Anyway, I'm not the reason you're covering up, am I, Fengxiao?"

"Partly," was Guo Jia's muffled answer.

Lu Meng snickered as Zhang He looked crestfallen. "But you said you liked it earlier."

"In small, concentrated doses, Junyi, not when you've immersed yourself in it," Guo Jia said, coughing into his handkerchief. "But the bigger reason why I've covered up is that there is something going around here and I fear I may catch it. It's already put out Lady Huang. The fact that we were all doused with water yesterday does not help either."

"Fengxiao, it's just a cold," Lu Su said. "Surely this type of precaution is a bit much."

"Probably for you," Guo Jia said scornfully. "But the moment that gets into my system it might as well be the plague. It would wipe me out."

"You exaggerate," Lu Meng said, grinning. "In fact, it would be better that you catch it now than when it really goes around the class and gets blown into massive proportions. Here, let me help you out," with that being said he then fired a loud sneeze in Guo Jia's direction.

This caused Jia to let out a stifled screech behind his handkerchief, and he would have stumbled backwards into a ditch if Lu Su had not grabbed his free hand and steadied him. Lu Meng laughed and then ran off towards class.

"Oh, I'm going to be ill tonight," Guo Jia said, already looking pale.

"Don't be silly," Zhang He chided, brushing something off his shoulder. "Now, tell me, exactly what do you mean by 'immersing' myself in it? Because, honestly, I just put a dab behind each ear..."

Fortunately before Guo Jia could push Zhang He himself into the ditch, Zhou Yu came running up, panting and straightening his clothes. "Oh good, does this mean I'm not late?"

"Why are you rushing this morning?" Guo Jia asked as he once again pressed his handkerchief to his nose and mouth. "You're usually one of the most prompt people in class."

"I had an unexpected visitor," Zhou Yu said dryly.

"Ah, yes, Lord Sun Ce told me that he wanted to surprise you this morning," Lu Su said. "You must have been happy to see him."

"I would have been happier had his methods of waking me up didn't include tendering bruises all over my body," Zhou Yu said. "Wait, you were the one who let him in?"

"Of course," Lu Su said. "He is your dearest friend after all. And he threatened to give me an atomic wedgie if I didn't. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but it sounds rather painful."

"It is," Zhou Yu muttered, absently rubbing his backside.

At that moment a carriage appeared at the junction between two roads. The four young men stopped and let it pass them by, Guo Jia and Zhou Yu examining it closely. As there were few visitors to the small village it was easy to spot what didn't belong there, and this carriage was one of them. It was simple but of sturdy make, pulled by two brown and white mares and attended to by about half a dozen men. Despite the fact that it had been made up as unobtrusively as possible, the way the attendants brushed past them with an air of importance showed that whoever were the occupants were not people with trifling merit.

As Zhou Yu watched, one of the curtains in the carriage parted a bit to reveal a pair of dazzling hazel eyes, part of a rosy, unblemished cheek and pink lips. He stood there, transfixed, as this partly hidden creature's eyes crinkled into a smile upon seeing him, and then the curtain was pulled back again.

"Probably persons of standing just passing through," Lu Su said as the carriage passed them and they were finally able to cross.

"Probably," Guo Jia mused, but didn't look convinced.

Zhang He turned to Zhou Yu, caught his glassy expression and waved a hand in front of the ridiculously handsome man's face. "Gongjin? Wake up, you look like you've just been struck by lightning! Oh dear, it's happened, hasn't it? The realization that you can't be forever young and beautiful has sunk in! Not to worry, I have a new cream I've procured that does wonders on regressing the horrors of aging!"

Zhou Yu finally snapped out of it and gave Zhang He a scornful look. "What are you talking about? Honestly, keep your liquids and creams to... what is that SMELL??"

Guo Jia sputtered into a laugh behind his handkerchief, as Zhang He huffily crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Zhou Yu with a glare. Lu Su thought to remedy the situation quickly. "I'm afraid to say that if we don't hurry we will be late for class."

"Well let's go then, shall we?" Zhou Yu said, taking the lead so as not to have to deal with Zhang He any further. "I don't want to have to sit next to Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong or Sima Yi."

The four of them reached the little farmhouse that substituted as their classroom, where inside they found that the only five seats left available were beside a sour-looking Sima Yi, Pang Tong, who was planning a farting contest with Lu Meng later in the day, and a snoozing Zhuge Liang. Zhou Yu groaned. He knew for certain now that today would definitely not be his day.