Make It Impromptu!

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Summary: What if it was Shang instead of the three that caught Mulan at the pond?

Author: KuroiNeko-ou

Pairings: Shang/Mulan&Ping

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I doon't own Mulan, even though 'gasp-surprise' I would like to.

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Chapter One: Plucked from the tree

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"Just because I dress like a man doesn't mean I have to smell like one", she said in a firm tone.

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Damn straight.

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"Besides, this is the dinner hour. No man in their right mind would come swimming at this time of the day. Except me."

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Mulan told her little guardian to keep guard. It was supposed to be his job anyway?

She heard him mumbling distantly something incoherent:"...while I blow our secret wit' mah girly habits. Hygiene."

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The water felt sooo nice 'n soothing after all those training practises. And it really felt good to be finally clean again, too.

It was the third time she heard Mushu demanding her to get out of the river, and she answered almost routinely with something like 'yes yes, soon' even though she had no intention of leaving her temporary heaven yet. After his fourth try the little salmon-red dragon gave up.

The peacefulness got to him and the little cricket making them both asleep shortly. So when the black horse neighed, Mushu's ears were deaf to the world.

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A figure was coming alarmingly towards them. Mulan was currently underwater and thus didn't sense the person approaching.

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Khan had to take matters into his own hoofs and protect his mistress by every means. Unfortunately his well-aimed kicks and bites missed their marks..

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"Aalright, alright, I got the point. Geez, I'll just go bath little farer away. Protective of him, or something?", he said, noticing Ping's clothing on the shore.

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He walked quickly in the water, to avoid further 'horse-pestering'. Ping's horse was still glaring at him downright, murderously? Protective indeed.
He scanned the water area with his eyes for the horse's owner and was met with a ridiculous sight.

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"Ping. What are you doing behind that water-pad?" he inquired while grinning amusedly.

"Oh, Shang, hi. I didn't know you were here. But I was just washing andnowI'm clean an'I'mgonnago – so byebye!" She started to swim towards the large rock in hopes of finding safety.

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Why was Ping suddenly blabbering like a fool? Was he embarrassed about something? He had sounded fishy..

"Are you hiding something from me?" Shang asked, deciding to solve whatever it was that was concerning Ping.

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Mulan stopped swimming.

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"No-oo. Why would you think something like that?" She tried desperately to convince him, while smiling rather suspiciously. Couldn't he just buy it? Was she ever going to get out of this with her secret intact? Daaamn.

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But maybe she really could swim out of this like a fish in the water – she had after all managed to fool him on the first day with her less than poor excuse of a show about telling him her name. The first sentences had been exceptionally spectacular: 'Oh, I've got a name', with the quick oh-so-stupid add, 'Ha, and it's a boy's name too.' Yeah, let's be fish.

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"Hey Shang. Let's play this new game, where you close your eyes, count to ten, and keep your ears shut with your hands while I disappear", she suggested in a 'persuasive' voice holding a smile.

"Do you really mean to play hide and seek?" Shang looked at him incredulously.

"Oh no", she said her smile widening further. "This is an updated version, and actually good for military training too!"

Shang raised one eye-brow.

"Remember the ear-covering part? Yeah, that's right. Well?"

"Actually, I came here to bath."

"Please captain, humour me", she said, ever-so sligthly pleading.

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Gah. Whatever, he thought. It's not like it can harm me.

"You'd better hide yourself well then, or else I'll find you in an instant."

"Yesss!! Right sir."

Shang turned, shut his eyes, covered his ears and started slowly counting to ten, aloud. He couldn't believe for his lifetime that he was really doing this.

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Mulan almost didn't believe her luck. She wasted no time getting out of the water and tying the towel around her securely. But could she really leave her captain there? No, her time would soon run out, getting away yet wasn't an option. And as quickly as she could though feeling idiotic she climbed in the closest tree. It had really thick branches hiding her quite well. She was a bit thrilled at the idea that Shang wouldn't probably find her. And here she had thought about the game as a last resort to get herself out of the pond. Maybe she found herself enjoying the game because she was playing it with Shang? Maybe even pouring tea around Shang would feel different.. and suddenly she didn't want to continue those thoughts as she realised in which direction they were heading.

Mulan heard his silent steps on the ground.

She was very still, waiting. She was hardly breathing.

What about her footsteps? Even though the soil wasn't ideal for tracking, some small trails of water must've been left on the grass. That's right, she barely saw Shang from where she was sitting, but when she inched towards him she saw between the bushes that he did indeed seem to be inspecting the earth with a critical eye. He couldn't clearly figure out into which direction she had gone. The little trails seemed to stop near the tree and the horse. While Khan made some noice Mulan decided that it was better to creep on the other side of the tree while Shang had his attention elsewhere. Once out of his visual range she sighed quietly feeling content.

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"Maybe he dried his feet here." Or maybe, he climbed in that tree? Li Shang was mentally laughing about his easy victory. He took a good grip from one branch and began moving towards the top. All the while Mulan was set on the task of getting down, as quietly as possible. And while keeping pressed to the tree's main outline. Fortunately the treebody was wide.

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Shang kept going up.

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And Mulan kept going down.

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And suddenly, his senses kicked in, he spun around the tree - knocking them both down on a big branch.

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It hurt, but she was too shocked to let out any sound.

Well, wasn't this pretty. He was sitting on top of her. She was only towel-clad while he was wearing nothing. Her throat felt really dry. She had to use all her willpower not to follow with her eyes the water-droplets going down from his face, too obviously down to his lower parts of body.

"Okay, you found me. Would you mind getting off?"

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Shang was bewildered. There was such a feminine air about Ping that made him even blush.

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"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.." he hurriedly rose off of his soldier. The image of Ping sitting under him, still dripping wet, the smooth pretty skin of his swan-like neck, big dark eyes and those reddish lips of his were driving him literally mad. Mad, because he wasn't going to bring his father dishonour. He wasn't going to dishonour the Emperor. Nor the China. And finally, he just didn't swing that way. No way. He made his way down the tree quickly and quietly, and after gathering his garments he headed straight for his tent. He needed to get away from Ping as soon as possible. To fall for a pubescent boy, was, his worst nightmare.

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What did he have for a brain? A sack of rice? How could he not have noticed her breasts? Though small, from that near a distance he should have seen them all too easily. She just had to thank her awesome luck again and scold herself for not riding off with Khan immediately after getting her towel on. Her stupidity really did cause her troubles.

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She all of a sudden spotted Mushu hiding behind a rock.

"Mushu. How come you failed to inform me of his coming? I thought I asked you to 'stand watch'."

He looked a little guilty.

"Umm.. I wasn't by any chance.. gettin' a nice nap in da grass?"

Mulan fixed a glare at him.

"How poetical. Next time you decide to fall asleep on your watch, inform me first."

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Oh Shang. I'm so lucky that you can be so dense sometimes.

I wonder though how you would react to my gender.. Honour and duty would have my head cut. But are you really so by-the-book?

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She let out one pitiful depressed sigh. Cursed broad glistening chests and abs and chiselled jaws might have made her head more airy than she was comfortable with.

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End of the Chapter One

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Sorry for any grammatic or spelling mistakes – I'm Finnish. :3 Duh, I hope this wasn't boring.

I still don't like the dots. : /

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Note: Mulan did have her towel covering her, but Shang should have still seen that her chest wasn't flat. Duh, the idiot. :D