Title: A Fantasy Begins- the Legend of Rikku
Summary: A woman from another world has the power to reshape the destiny of China and find love along the way; this is her story- the Legend of Rikku.
Disclaimer:I do not own the DW characters, they are based off of historical figures that now belong to Koei, and the Dynasty Warriors series. The characters of FFX 2 are copyright of Square Enix. I neither claim ownership for any characters that are not my own nor do I make money off this story.
Ratings: PG 13 to possible M as the story progresses
Warnings: AU FFX 2/DW fusion, title is a working title and may change as the story progresses, formatting changes and edits may occur as well, slight violence and possible language as story progresses.

Important Note: "Words that do not yet have a translation between languages are always italicized and underlined."

Level One: Arrival
Battle of Fan Castle

Shouts and the heavy clash of weapons filled the air. All of his own soldiers were dead, and quite possibly his son as well, but Guan Yu was charged with taking Fan Castle and he would hold his own until he drew his final breath. That was likely to be quite soon with the charging soldiers of Wu bearing down on him. The filthy traitors broke the alliance with Shu to aid Wei in their defense against his attack. It was unexpected that anyone would ally themselves with the honorless Cao Cao at this point. The ambitious lord had more than revealed that he intended to conquer all of China for his own reasons and that he was willing to be as ruthless as possible to do so. That Wu would choose to ally with his empire was a display of their fear of Shu, and well should they fear the warriors who served under his sworn brother.

It was for Liu Bei's dream of peace that he and his companions fought and it was for Liu Bei that he would die.

He raised his arms high above his head and brought the wrath of the Blue Dragon raging down upon the heads of the first wave of the swarm. Over and over they came at him like the flood he had tried to set upon the castle. Parry, thrust, slash, blow after blow he dodged and countered. It was too much, there were too many of them and he was growing weary, his movements slowing. Small gashes began to appear on his body where sword tips slipped through his defenses. Grimly he swung his weapon, determined to claim as many lives as possible before his own death. He was the God of War, and even after he fell they would all remember why.

A small warrior with double blades ducked and broke through just as he finished his Musou, the technique he learned to perform even as he learned how to hold his first Moon Blade. A blinding pain in each side and he staggered, dropping to one knee as the world swam for one sickening moment. He looked up into the boyish face topped by a bright red hat of a tactician. Dimly he recognized the young man as the protégé of the two strategists that had served Wu. He couldn't recall the boy's name; it was difficult to think about anything. Strange. Was that regret he saw on the young man's face?

Guan Yu smiled faintly.

"Though I have failed, as a warrior this is a glorious end."

The boy's lips moved but he did not hear what said as a series of loud cracks, like miniature explosions rocked through the air. Wu soldiers began to drop with every thunderous outburst of noise.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Men scattered before the sudden onslaught, several falling lifelessly to the ground. The boy stared at something over Guan Yu's head in shock. Then he swung his head around to see his men dying. He jerked his blades free, and Guan Yu grunted in pain. The boy didn't notice for he was already running after his fleeing forces.

"Retreat! Pull back, pull back! We must regroup!"

Guan Yu saw nothing else as the world flickered darkly around the edges and then fell away completely.

"Hey Shinra! Come check this out!" I exclaimed excitedly waving my prize in the air.

The Gullwing's youngest member and resident genius stood up from his console and ambled over toward me. Shinra was shorter than me and always covered from head to toe in his overalls and head gear. Even his hands were always covered by heavy green gloves. Honestly I can't see how he can wear so many layers. I'd die if my clothes were that bulky. He makes the most incredible gadgets though. Still don't see how he does it wearing those gloves of his.

"What is it Rikku?" he asked curiously as I flourished my find around in front of his face.

"It's a record sphere, silly! At least, I think it's a record sphere," I felt my eyebrows draw together, and I had to make a conscious effort not to frown at the sphere in my hand. Tsk, can't be frowning at everything, I'll get lines around my eyes, or end up constantly cranky like Paine.

"Is it? It doesn't look like any sphere I've ever seen."

And it didn't.

Thing about my new sphere is, it's not like the other spheres we've found in the past. This one wasn't bright golden orange, or even obnoxious pink, instead it's a dark green material that I've never seen before, not even translucent the way normal record spheres are. Slow swirls of glowing green run through it, the closest thing to glowing it comes. The point is it looks like a sphere, although it never registered on the sphere-oscillator at all. The fact that I found it at all was a total accident. I was digging in Bikanel and hit a scrap piece of machina. When I pulled the remains of a generator (as the scrap turned out to be) free of the sand, out popped the sphere. See? Total accident.

"Think we can read it?" I asked excitedly.

"Possibly. If it is a record sphere," he answered doubtfully, taking the green orb.

"Let's see if we can get anything from it," I demanded impatiently. Honestly, unless we try something with it we're never going to know! Sheesh.

Wordlessly the boy took the sphere and began the analyzing process. I watched over his shoulder bouncing impatiently from foot to foot. Oooh! Why did this have to take so long? The computer whirs and beeps, lines of light tracing over the outside of the sphere.

"Anything?" I asked excitedly.

"Nothing." My shoulders drooped. "Unless…" I perked up.

"What?" I demand, impatient again. His hands passed over the control station tapping out codes that even as an Al Bhed I couldn't understand.

"Give me a little time. Maybe if I-" he trailed off, muttering to himself.

"Ok, then I'll leave you to it. Hey where're Brother and Buddy?"

"They went to pick up some supplies. We needed to restock the stores." Shinra was already at work trying to get the system to read the orb. "This could take a while, you know."

"Ok, I'm going to hit the deck then. Let me know if you find anything." All I got in return was a grunt and wave. Al Bhed males are all the same. Once they're focused on their toys you can't pull them away. Seriously, it's freaking annoying. And Gippal is the worst. Ok, that sounded slightly bitter, but it wasn't really. Ok, maybe a little bitter, but I'm happy for him. And Nhadala as well. They look great together. And it's not like I was ever in the running; he's always treated me like an annoying kid sister. Even if I'd ever had a real chance with Gip, we would have killed each other in the first week. Too much alike and all that.

It just… stings is all.

Anyways, that's hardly what I want to be brooding about on a day like this. It was so pretty outside. Look at how blue the sky is, and listen to that quiet bustle. Kilika was so peaceful like this, without the threat of Sin, or the constant bickering between factions. Yunie was right, we're all better able to appreciate how beautiful everything is now that the wars have all stopped.

Actually I kinda wish I could call my favorite couples to tell them about my new find, but a) they probably won't want to be bothered and b) we don't know if it is even a sphere that can be read. Sigh. But it was so exciting; I wish I could tell someone. Who though?

Shinra's working on the problem and any excitement over the sphere was lost on him. Brother and Buddy are out gathering stuff. Yunie and Tidus are busy setting up their second house in Besaid. Paine… last time I had heard from her she'd become a mercenary for hire. She was choosey about the jobs she took, but there were plenty of people willing to pay for her skills. Speaking of which, I heard Rin had been hiring her a lot lately. Either he recognizes a fighter with talent when he sees one or he has a thing for our Paine. I will definitely have to tease her about that the next time I see her, whenever that will be. I haven't heard from her since she took her last job, which means she's not finished with it. So telling her is out too.

So that leaves- I blink. Well, no one really. Darn it.

I plop down gracelessly on the edge of the Celsius and watched the bustling town below. That sucked. I get a shiny new sphere and anyone who would be interested in it, wouldn't be at this instant. Except maybe Paine. She might like to come back to the Gullwings for a bit, but she's busy. Luckily before I could get grumpy over not having anyone around I heard the heavy clomp of Shinra's boots against the red metal of our airship. I lean back on my arms and craned my neck to look up at him expectantly.

"Uh Rikku? I managed to get that sphere you found to read. You should watch it," his voice sounded odd as he spoke.

"Oh yeah?" I raised an eyebrow at that. "What's on it?"

"You should see for yourself." His voice didn't lose that weird tone as he spoke.

"Okaaaaay." Excitement bubbled up and I forgot that I wanted to tell anyone else about it. I hopped up from where I was sitting and ran toward the door leaving Shinra to follow after me. "Let's go see! Come on!" I could hear Shinra running after me, his shoes still clanging against the metal hull.

We hit the bridge and Shinra slid into his seat, quickly tapping on keys. I watched the screen closely, eager to see what the mystery sphere has in store.

Static. And then an image struggles to appear, stretching and contracting horribly a couple of times before it stabilizes into a solid picture. I stared.

It was a young man, about my own age, maybe a bit older. He was walking backward down a narrow hallway, looking at whoever was doing the recording. His skin was lightly tanned, and he had beautiful brown hair pulled up in a ponytail on top of his head, bangs falling on either side of his face. And his face was slightly boyish, but very attractive. That pretty face was filled with something that looked like curiosity, and maybe embarrassment. My eyes trailed down over his well built body, taking in the strange garb he had on. His clothing was unlike anything I'd seen any other man wear. The closest thing I could think of that would be similar to what he's wearing is a summoner's robes, but not really, no.

Grayish purple pants with subtle designs of a slightly deeper purple twining along the material fall over the tops of brown boots. Over the pants a half skirt falls, again a deep purple at the top that fades to a lighter one. He wore a deep green vest that falls over the half skirt. It was held closed by red ties in the front, and a dark belt. The white sleeves of the shirt he wears underneath are gathered at his elbows. Bracers graced his wrists, and in his right hand is the wood of what looks like a staff.

If he were here right now in person, well… What? I'm a healthy teenage female; leave me alone. Is it unnatural to feel a tingling spark of interest over someone who might not even exist though? Probably. My internal reprimanding stops the instant he opens his mouth to speak. Huh? That didn't sound like any Spirian language at all. The man laughed nervously. Another voice comes out of the sphere, from someone off screen. And it sounded… like I would, if I spoke whatever they're speaking. Okay, freaky. The man said something in response, and rolled his eyes. The me sound-a-like says something else.

"Rikku!" the strange man laughed in protest; he blushed. The sphere cuts out.

I wonder if this was how Yunie felt when she thought the sphere of Shuyin was Tidus? I blinked up at Shinra, who's hovering over me nervously.

Funny, I don't remember sitting down.

"Are you finished freaking out yet?" Shinra asked.

"It's a fake. I don't even know what language they were speaking. What kind of gibberish is that anyway?"

"I'm not really sure. But I think I can design a system that will let you find out," Shinra spoke thoughtfully. "It can't function as a dress sphere, but since we don't know the language, I think I might be able to devise a new grid network and make a language sphere for you if you want to know what they're saying. It'd take some legwork on your part."

"What kind of legwork?" I asked, staring up at him. I'd stand up, but I'm not sure my legs could hold me right now. Legwork indeed.

"You would need to collect more spheres like this. I can recalibrate the sphere-ocillator to track the energy signals so you can find them. And then you'd be able to figure out what they're saying."

"So these spheres can work kinda like Al Bhed Primers?" I asked with a frown.

"Well, kinda. It'd be more like a mix between primers and the dress sphere system. And you'd have to find a bunch of the spheres to learn it, but that's a pretty good example." Shinra rubbed the back of his head. "Could take me a little while to make the new grid though."

"How long before you can trace these spheres?" I wondered out loud.

"A couple of hours maybe."

"Ok. Let me know when you get it adjusted and have a lock on a new sphere. I think I'm just going to ah, sit here for a little while."

"Um, 'kay." With a shrug our little genius set to work, completely forgetting my existence within seconds. I sat there, with my mind tumbling over what I had seen in the orb.

"Hey Rikku!" Shinra's voice interrupts my brooding thoughts. "I've got a lock on a new sphere. Want to go check it out?"

"Where?" I asked eagerly. It had been two months since I found that first green sphere. I have eight of them so far. In the interim I have managed to learn more and more of the strange language. Not all of the orbs I found have had the first man on them, but several of them do. Some of the other people have been a big man with a long black beard, another man in a white dress, an older guy dressed kinda like my mystery man. Actually now that I think about it, they're all older than my mystery man. He looks like he's as late as mid twenties in some of the spheres, or as young as me in others.

I now could understand the gist of what he was saying in that first sphere. He was asking, erm Rikku, what it was she was up to, and what she was holding. The 'sphere Rikku' says something to the effect of that she's capturing his hotness for future generations to envy her over. He says she's delusional, or crazy… the implications are clearer than the word itself, if she thinks anyone would envy her, and rolls his eyes. She says something to the effect that they should since he's her man and she gets to have him every night. He says my name- er, her name with a blush, and the sphere ends.

Ever since the first reading, seeing the strange man and hearing him speak to someone who sounds like me and has my name, I've slowly become obsessed. Ok, scratch that. I don't slowly do anything; I immediately became obsessed and have since steadily grown worse. I live for the moment that I find a new sphere, that I learn a new word. And, as sad as it is to admit, get to stare at him. I still don't know his name.

I know when I first got the sphere that I wanted to tell my friends that I found a new type of sphere for everyone to hunt. I guess I was hoping that everyone would get excited and we could all get together for another adventure. Now though… now I want to cradle the spheres I have and never let anyone else know about them. I don't know why, but I want discovering what it means to belong to me alone. That's why I haven't talked to anyone on the commspheres or contacted any of my friends recently.

Shinra sees the spheres with me because he's the one who has the technology to read them, but I'm the only one with the language grid, so I'm the only one who can make out what any of them say. This is my treasure, my quest. Buddy and Brother go along with it because they have nothing better to do, but they don't care, as long as I fund the whole expedition. I fight enough fiends to keep us rolling in gil when I track these babies down. Have to fight the monsters to get to learn the language and all that, ya know?

"This one seems to be in the ocean off the coast of Besaid."

"Well, let's go then," I bounced impatiently. I need that sphere right now! Buddy shrugged agreeably and Brother yelled something about how he is the leader and he will say when we leave.

"Alright! Gullwings, move out!" he gestures wildly.

I rolled my eyes. Stupid. He hadn't even noticed that Buddy was already pulling away from the ground and heading for our next destination. Oh well, whatever makes him feel better. I settled down passenger side and proceeded to ignore my brother's posturing. Soon, I'll have another sphere. I lean back in my seat and stare unseeing at the orb screens flashing in front of me. I wonder if he will be on this one or if it'll be one of those other people.

Finally we arrived. I debate going to see my friends first since I know several of them are there at the moment, but… I want that next sphere! I'll go see them as soon as I find it. I'm sure they'll understand. Right.

I'm already wearing my thief sphere, sans the scarf and arm warmers, which are in the accessories compartment of my item sphere so I don't have to worry about my limbs getting all tangled in my clothes while I swim. I wonder if I'll ever be able to pull a dress sphere from one of these recordings? I have yet to see any with a female in it. Shinra thinks that's why he hasn't pulled enough data for me to have a dress sphere from the green spheres. I wonder how a female of their people dresses. I check that all of my items and dress spheres are ready to go just in case I run into trouble, however unlikely that is. Yep, everything is there and I'm ready.

"Ready to go Rikku?"

"Yep! Ready!"

"Good then. I will go to see with Yuna while you are busy and to tell her that you will be along shortly. Be quick," Brother admonished, his words slipping from the human tongue to Al Bhed and back without his even noticing.

That was something we were going to have to work on harder. Still I really was proud of the effort he had put into learning a completely new language. Something we have in common, it's the little things that prove that we are really related. You know, blond hair, swirly green eyes, and a burning drive to learn an entire language for someone you'll never have a chance with. I shook my head wryly.

"Let her know I'll be there as soon as I finish up downside."

I gave my fellow Gullwings a snappy salute and dove out of the hatch into the cool blue green waters of the ocean. Down and down I went, white bubbles tickling along my cheeks as I swam deeper. Without being able to respond to Shinra's urgings I concentrated to keep my breathing deep and regular. Didn't want to blow my lungs at this depth because I lost my rhythm. The mic in my ear crackled and I let Shinra guide me as best as possible to try and get me as close as to the signal as he can. I swam down as deeply as I can, listening to Shinra's directions as I went. Left. Left. Deeper. No a bit to the right. I'm almost touching the ocean floor by now. Argh! There's nothing there! I turn my head to try and glare at the surface. As I do something dark catches my eyes. I swam a bit closer to have a look. Bubbles floated up in front of my face making it difficult to see. Impatiently I reach out my hands to feel what is there.

Nothing.

A cave? The opening is rather narrow though. Still, nothing is going to stop me. I'm a woman on a mission! I push my hands into the opening and grab the slightly jagged edges of the small opening to start pulling myself through. I wince when my shoulder scrapes against the ceiling. A hint of red floats along the small eddies of water.

Owie.

Moving cautiously I felt along my way. My shoulder is still bleeding slightly, right above the strap of my top and my fingertips are getting covered in scrapes. I start to wish I'd worn more than my bikini and skirt and fingerless gloves now, but we didn't have any wet suits on hand. I typically wear my sphere suits so I never bothered to bring any of my clothes from home with me on the Celsius. The salt water stings and the cuts are throbbing in irritating pain, bad enough to be distracting but not bad enough to really get whiny about. But if the alternative was bashing my head in against the twisting walls or ceilings I'd take the scrapes, thank you very much.

I think I see a soft light through the water up ahead and tried to speed up a bit, heading toward it. My palms brushed against a wall, and I walk my hands up the side until my head breaks the surface. Ugh. I'm going to have to re-braid my hair when I get back onboard. And its going to be a hassle trying to pull my goggles off with it all tangled like this. I tread the water for a moment and breathe deeply. I place my chin against the narrow ledge of the wall and gaze ahead. There… there is my prize. A soft green pulse greets my gaze, and I felt myself grinning like mad. The mic crackled painfully for a moment.

"Rikku, you alright?" Buddy's calm voice sounded in my ear.

"She's right on top of the signal. She probably has it in her hands right now. If she's got the space she's doing a happy dance as we speak," Shinra's voice ccame from the background. Buddy chuckled. I stuck my tongue out at the both of them. They couldn't see it but it's the principle of the thing. I sniff, but they aren't what is important right that second. I stretched out my fingers toward the sphere, tongue clasped between my teeth; it was just out of reach. I huff in frustration. I prop my elbow up on the ledge and dragged my body up, grunting slightly when the rough rock dug into my stomach. Yay, more scratches to add to my collection, but again, the scratches are not what is important and I have plenty of potions to take care of them once I'm back on land. I reach for it again. Again my fingers can't quite reach it. I will have this sphere. I glare accusingly as though it's purposely staying just beyond my reach but I kept grabbing for it. "I don't have it in hand but it's right here in front of me. I'll be up in a few just… as soon… as…. I-"

A blinding flash of light startles me so much I fell back into the water sphere gripped tightly to my chest with one arm the other flung up to protect my eyes. Blue water deepens into an overwhelming blackness. The blackness enveloped me as I sank and flashes of green, flickering pyreflies, swirl around me. Even the pyreflies fade. The sphere was a boulder in my hands dragging me down into the endless dark.

Something was tickling me. I wrinkled my nose. I bat it away from my face but it just falls right back onto my nose more irritating than ever. With a grumble I rolled my head away from the annoying feeling. Doing so simply tickled my face even more as there is now several more of whatever it was brushing against my face. Irritated I crack open an eye. Green stalks of water weeds waver through my field of vision. Why are there water weeds on my face? I raised my head to look around. Weeds, weeds, clear blue sky, forest off on the side and a track of a dirt road past where I was now sitting up. I have been lying in a ditch that holds more weeds that water. Taking a moment to get stock of myself, I still had the sphere in my hands. I can't believe I've managed to keep my grip on it for as long as… well however long I have been lying there I guess. I drop it into my items. After rolling onto my knees I was about to stand up when I found myself staring into the brown eyes of a large beast.

My hand gripped the handle of one of my daggers and then I froze, confused. A… a fiend? But it wasn't attacking me, didn't even seem threatening. I lowered my weapon cautiously. It was a strange looking creature with a squared head and wide shoulders. It has spindly legs that didn't seem like they should be able to hold the animal's great weight. It had a muzzle with large nostrils that quivered as it sniffed the air toward me. Muscles twitched beneath its white and brown fur, and a thin tail swished lazily in the air behind it, swatting at the strange tiny insects. It stared at me with a blank expression as though wondering why I was sitting in its ditch. Quite suddenly it lets out a strange cry that has me jumping back a step.

"Mooooo!"

"Gyaaah!"

My dagger raised and I wondered if my earlier assessment was completely wrong. Maybe this was a fiend who could lull you into thinking it was innocent and then turn into a ravening beast that would snap your body in half with a single bite. But the creature stepped away with a look of vague alarm at my reaction. We stared at each other for a few moments more. Then the creature apparently decided that I wasn't a threat to it because it lowered its long neck to lean over and lip at the grassy weeds along the bank of the ditch. I backed away without taking my eyes off of it. It apparently was not aggressive but I felt unnerved by the strange creature nevertheless.

"Where am I?" I asked aloud. Unfortunately there is no one there to answer me. A glance at myself decided that the first thing to do is find a place to wash up. Yucky. Another glance around showed that aside from the road there is no sign of civilization in any direction, so there was no clue as to what direction I should travel to get what I want; namely a well stocked bathroom and some answers. What was that really old quote? If you don't know where you are going then it doesn't matter which direction you head? Something like that anyway and there was a certain truth to the statement at the moment. I had no idea where I was so I lost nothing by choosing a direction. I put my weapon away and give a short nod. With that decided I skirt around the … whatever that thing was and took off down the dirt track.

Several days later I found myself wondering if that logic was really all that logical. There were no people that I have come across in the past few days of wandering through this forest. I haven't even seen any fiends. I at least found a small spring to clean up in. An occasional water spell works to keep clean when a spring isn't handy, but I hate cold water baths. I would weep with joy if I could find a save orb. One of the white orbs that healed your hurts and recorded memory of your passage were scattered around all of Spira were suspiciously missing, and left me with no way of contacting Buddy or Brother or Shinra. And my mic wasn't responding no matter how many times I tried it.

Oooh, I would kill for a proper hot shower and a real bed. The next thing on that list would be a choco fried steak. I had been reduced to using my guns to catch local wildlife, skinning them with my blades, and cooking them with my magic. It was tricky at first since the little critters around here are so quick, but I finally got the hang of it. I was a bit worried about whether the animals here were edible but, hunger overruled caution and the gamble paid off. Mmmm camping. I feel almost like I'm back on the Thunder Plains. Except then I had the travel agency to stock up on food with before hand, and I could leave at any moment. Though there was a bright side to this situation- the sphere! I couldn't believe it! That last sphere was a dress sphere! It's called the Shu Sphere. I had no idea what a Shu was, but the outfit was cute. And I couldn't wait to try out this Musou ability. It sounds too cool. Too bad there were no fiends around to try it out on.

Wait a minute… I cocked my head, lowering the samurai robe I was holding over my head as a sort of makeshift umbrella against the light rain. What was that sound? Screaming? I pause, trying to track the source. I turned toward the sound and kept walking. There were men's voices yelling, harsh clangs and screams… a battle. There was a battle going on… I pull the robe back over my head and start to run toward the battle.

He was lying on something hard. Dark eyes cracked open and rolled around, evaluating. A series of rafters stretched over head. Moving cautiously he pushed up onto his elbows and then into a sitting position. He was in a base on the battlefield beyond Fan Castle, which was visible through the open gates. But why wasn't he even bleeding? A quick inspection of his person and he decided a better question was why was he still alive? He had a very distinct memory of being stabbed by the little Wu officer, with both blades in fact. He stood up to examine himself more fully. The proof was in the various rents in his robes. He rubbed the unmarred flesh through the hole on his side in wonder.

Quite suddenly a cheerful feminine voice rang out on his other side, the one he was not examining and he whipped his head around toward the sound. A strange young woman stepped into his line of sight with a bright grin. He stared.

The girl wore an outfit that vaguely resembled the common dress of the female soldiers of Shu. The green over skirt was the style that the women wore over their trousers, one that had a front panel and a back panel belted about the waist, but left the pants showing along the side. Except she wasn't wearing a pair of pants- or perhaps they were pants. They were purple pants that had been cut off at the seam of her thighs as near as he could tell and they left her legs bare from hip to her boots. She wore a green short sleeved vest that parted at the bottom to reveal the purple undershirt. Her top ended above her ribs and revealed the smooth plane of her stomach. Slender arms were wrapped with orange material from her elbows to the backs of her hands and matched the orange trimming along her collar, and the sash about her waist. She wore the colors of Shu, but he was quite certain there had never been a solider that looked like her to ever enter their army. While female soldiers were allowed in his brother's army provided they can prove themselves, there was no way any of them would wear their clothing the way she was. In fact, there wasn't a single woman in China who would dress the way she was, or who had hair like that. As yellow as gold it fell in a cascade of wild spikes over her shoulders, with small beaded braids around the top of her head, all held back by a blue headband.

So who was she? Was she a witch or a guardian spirit? Whatever she was she somehow was responsible for the fact that he was alive when he should by all rights be dead, and that was a debt he would not be able to ignore. She spoke again, a strange tongue unlike anything he had ever heard before. He blinked at her.

She cocked her head and then seemed to realize that he was unable to understand her.

"How are you feel?" she asked with obvious concern. She was not a native speaker- that much was clear.

"I am well now. Thank you," he answered back. When she frowned at him in confusion he repeated himself more slowly.

She brightened. Apparently she had understood him that time. He pointed to himself.

"My name is Guan Yu," he spoke slowly again. The pointing was a big clue for she seemed to realize what he said.

"My naymah iss Guan Yu," she repeated back, "Nice to see you."

Apparently he had exaggerated his words too much when he was trying to slow his speech. He paused, wondering if she thought his full name was 'My name is Guan Yu.'

He pointed to himself and this time simply said, "Guan Yu."

She exclaimed, and lightly smacked her own forehead, and once again repeated his words, "Guan Yu." Then she pointed to herself. She had a look of concentration on her face as she made an effort to echo his early greeting.

"My naymah iss Rikku." She looked pleased with herself.

He pointed to her, "Rikku."

She nodded.

"It is pronounced, 'My name is Rikku.' " he tried to explain, but he wasn't sure if this was going to improve things or make matters worse since he was throwing new words into the mix.

"My name is Rikku," she said.

He nodded his approval, and stroked his beard in thought. She seemed quite quick, and she already knew a bit of the language. As long as he remembered that he needed to be patient while she worked to understand him they should be able to communicate.

She cocked her head again.

"Why did those men fight at you?"

" 'Why did those men attack you?' " he corrected her words. Again she repeated his correction with a graceful acceptance of his teaching.

"There is a war going on. Those men were soldiers on the opposing forces." He couldn't think of a more simplified explanation than that and hoped she would understand.

"War," she repeated. "Fighting with other people?" She suddenly seemed sad. "My land had peace at last. Now I am in land with more fighting. It makes me hurt to think on it."

"I'm sorry. There is nothing that can be done to correct the problem until somebody wins," he answered gruffly. It was doubtful she would understand everything he said, but the pain being caused by the ongoing war was not something he felt like delving into. Especially with someone who didn't understand the details.

"I must go to the castle," he announced in the established slow pattern, along with gestures toward the giant stone building in the distance. "My duty is to claim it for my lord." Then he thought about it another moment and expanded on what he already told her. "I must go fight the men in that castle."

"Castle. That is named a castle? You go to fight? I will go with you. I can fight, I have my dressspheres."

Guan Yu didn't recognize the strange word, but the girl said she could fight so this dress spheres was doubtlessly her weapon. Still, it was not a good idea to bring a woman into battle when you were uncertain what she was capable of, especially a young one. Bringing a young woman that you didn't know well and who had a language barrier was an even worse idea. He shook his head in the negative.

"No," he said firmly.

She scowled up at him with her hands on her hips.

"I will go with you. I will not be left behind. I can fight also, and I will not lose seeing you," she informed him severely. Then she grabbed the spear that was leaning against the wooden wall of the base they were standing in. His own weapon had been placed next to it, and now stood alone. He gave her a considering glance when he realized that she must have put the weapon there herself. And they were not near where he had fallen in battle. His weapon was quite heavy, and few of the soldiers in his company had ever been able to use it, those that had been able to pick it up at all that is. If it came to that, how had she moved him while he was unconscious? And just how was he still alive and uninjured?

"The correct words are, 'I will not lose sight of you' and you will stay close to me at all times if you come with me," he spoke in an irritated voice. Whether she got his words or not, she definitely recognized his capitulation on the matter because she gave him a smug smile.

"You will not regret. I am good."

"We shall see," he said repressively. He would never forgive himself if the girl came to harm while under his care, so he sincerely hoped she was as good as she thought she was. But he really had no choice in the matter. Actually what he should do is return to Shu and report Wu's treachery, but he had sworn that he would take Fan Castle or die trying. He still had to take the castle and his entire troop had been decimated when Wu had joined the battle. Seeing as he was quite alive, and felt as well as he did at the beginning of the battle he had no excuse to leave the battle field. If she really could fight then he would need her help to win. Besides walking up to the castle after so many soldiers had watched him suffer what should have been fatal wounds was something that would give him a slight advantage.

The two set off to the castle, Guan Yu adjusting his stride to allow Rikku to better keep up with him. She still had to practically trot but she didn't complain about it. Soon they approached the main gate, a small crowd of soldiers nervously holding their weapons at the ready. They watched the two of them approach, closer and closer. One finally broke. Letting out a terrified scream, the soldier fled. The action seemed to get to them all because soon another joined him, and then another until the guard captain stood alone and trembling in front of the large wooden doors.

"Are you sure they fight?" Rikku asked dubiously as they walked closer.

Guan Yu glanced down from his towering height over the small woman-child, and could think of no response that would adequately express his scorn for the fleeing men. She caught his gaze after them and seemed to understand what he thought about soldiers abandoning their posts without orders. She gave him an impish grin that he was coming to recognize as a normal expression for her and skipped ahead toward the gate captain. The man moaned about an evil witch of Shu and he held his shaking spear up and jabbed it toward her in a threatening manner. She paused to raise a finger and wag it admonishingly at him. Then she said something in her strange language and lunged forward, knocking his weapon aside with a sharp twirl of her own spear and catching him across the head with the blunt end. He went down. The man would have a headache, and likely a large lump for his pains, but he would live.

Apparently Rikku spoke the truth. She could fight but she was willing to be moved to pity. That was something he would have to keep an eye on. Certainly he could be accused of something similar, but it was different when a debt was owed. Leaving enemies at your back in a war, especially ones in authority, however insignificant the position may seem was a bad idea if you owed them nothing. But now was not the time to get into that. They kept walking through the now open gate, several more men scattering before them. A few stood to challenge them but between his self and the girl they never stood a chance. Taking out the officers caused the foot soldiers to flee.

They reached the main hall of the castle to discover that Cao Ren standing there alone. He gazed upon the two of them, and Guan Yu had to wonder at the sight they must have made. The towering giant with the flowing beard and the tiny golden haired woman who barely came up to his rib cage; they must seem a strange pair.

"I have been waiting, Guan Yu."

"I must apologize then, for not arriving sooner," the larger man rumbled.

"Wei will win this war, and we will put an end to the chaos. Cao Ren shall serve as the shield that protects humanity. Defeat me, or die!" he bellowed in challenge. The stocky man shifted his stance until he appeared ready to charge them at any moment.

Rikku mutters something disparaging in her own language, then again tilted her head up to look questioningly at Guan Yu.

"I think I understand what he says. He is seeming funny. Is his head right?"

"Thatis debatable," Guan Yu answered with a small smile that he aimed at Cao Ren, who was choking on his outrage at the girl's question. Really Guan Yu grew fonder of Rikku every second.

The insult was apparently too great for the man leaped forward buckler blade at the ready; thick legs pumping as he bore down on the two of them. As he drew close, a familiar light flared around the girl and she launched herself forward to meet his rush. Her spear spun about in spinning patterns that caught Cao Ren repeatedly, both with the blunt end and with the business end of her spear, after images burning the air as she moved, too fast to follow. Guan Yu found himself staring yet again.

How in all of China did this girl who couldn't even speak the language have learned the Musou technique?

Her Musou energy flared once more, disappearing. She fell back into a defensive crouch, waiting for Cao Ren to gain his feet. His armor was such that he took less damage than most when attacked, but even he was showing signs of having been battered. There were several scratches and a couple dents in the deep blue armor that he wore. Along his left cheek there was a gash that followed the line of his helmet, and very nearly reached his eye. A red stain began to spread over his shoulder from beneath the small gap at the joint of his armor. Soon he gained his feet and he regarded the tiny woman child with considerably more caution this time.

The only problem was now that she had used her Musou to stop his charge it would be at least several minutes before she was able to perform it again, and Cao Ren was much larger than she was. She was not armored. She would take considerable damage, if not actually die from one of his first hits, especially if he used his own Musou energy. Once more the Wei general shifted his weight and charged. Rikku twisted her body, agile in evading his attacks. Her own spear lashed out, dancing along the edges of his armor, forcing Cao Ren to keep his buckler between them. They dodged, striking out at each other, defending, and then attacking. Guan Yu wished to step in, but the girl moved quickly and there was no guarantee he would not hit her if he tried to.

Quite suddenly Cao Ren stomped the ground, the force of impact knocking Rikku off of her feet. His blade came down and Guan Yu finally had the opening he needed. The Blue Dragon became a barrier between the blade of Cao Ren's buckler and Rikku's head. The blades inched slowly closer toward Rikku as Guan Yu strained against the leverage Cao Ren had from his angle and momentum for the attack. He shifted his hands on the long wooden handle and jerked his Dragon up, pushing the buckler blade away and throwing Cao Ren off balance.

"Leave the girl out of this. I, Guan Yu, will be your opponent," the giant declared in his grand style.

"If that is your wish, then I shall be happy oblige you oh God of War," Cao Ren growled out. He turned from the girl giving all of his attention to Guan Yu.

Rikku stared at the two of them and she squawked something in her language, that didn't need translation for anyone to know she was protesting being left out and ignored.

"Be still!" Guan Yu thundered at her, not taking his eyes off of the Wei general. Cao Ren was by most accounts an honorable warrior, but he was in a desperate situation and there were no witnesses. Frequently the generals of Wei were known more for their loyalty to Cao Cao and for getting the job done by any means, and he couldn't risk giving her more attention. "This is my battle."

She said something else in her language, sounding as though she was muttering imprecations at his announcement, but she seemed to understand. He noticed her standing up from the corner of his eye and stepping back behind him. Then he had no more attention to spare as Cao Ren was charging once more.

Soon there was the familiar sound of clashing weapons filling the air as the two dodged and struck. Occasional flares of energy rocked through the space they were fighting in. A sharp pain flared in Guan Yu's back when Cao Ren slid past him and spun in an arc, catching him from behind. Guan Yu stumbled forward. Facing Rikku, he could see her horrified face as he caught his balance. He turned in time to deflect Cao Ren's next attack, but before he could retaliate he felt something cold and wet splash across his back, directly into his wound. His back tingled. He jumped away from Cao Ren and turned so he could stare his question at the girl. She simply waved an empty glass vial at him and then pointed to his opponent, reminding him of his fight. He turned back to find Cao Ren staring at him in shock.

"So what my men reported is true. The girl you have at your side is a witch that keeps you safe in combat and heals your wounds."

Startled, Guan Yu felt with one hand along his back. Sure enough, there was no longer a deep gash and the pain was gone. That… explained a lot actually, but now was not the time to dwell on it. He wrapped his hand back around his Blue Dragon, and raised the blade in warning.

"There is no way that I alone can fight you off with a witch at your side," the man spoke in a pale voice. He was still bleeding from Rikku's earlier wounding, and the cuts Guan Yu had managed to inflict himself. The blue armored man looked ready to keel over at any moment. Apparently he had hoped that his attack would end the fight, but now that Guan Yu was healed, all hope had fled. He raised his buckler blade. "Yet I cannot yield."

"You can, as you must. It would be a shame for this land to lose such a staunch defender, and for the friendship that once existed between Cao Cao and myself, this once I will extend the offer of your life. Go now and I will let you leave unhindered," Guan Yu offered, bowing his head in respect for his opponent.

"How can I face my lord with this defeat? Even with Wu we were unable to repel your attack." The man closed his eyes. "Your son was captured. He yet lives. I will release him and the men with him in exchange for the nobleness of your offer."

Guan Yu drew in a sharp breath at the mention of his son.

"Guan Ping is alive? Go now, please. The sooner you return to your men, the sooner my son will be returned to my side."

"It will be as we have agreed. It has… been an honor to face you in combat, God of War."

"It has been an honor for my self as well."

"The next time we meet, I will not falter, and my family's honor will be restored."

"I look forward to the day when I am able to face you across the battlefield once more," Guan Yu responded gravely. Moving slowly, weighed down by defeat, the man made his way toward the door without looking at Guan Yu or Rikku as he passed. Soon the two of them stood alone in the silent castle.

"Eh? You both speak fast. What happened just this time?"

" 'What just happened?'" he corrected absently. "He realized defeat and I let him leave in exchange for my son's life."

"Defeat? Exchange? Son? What mean these words?" she asked with a frown tugging at her lips.

"He lost the fight. That is what defeat means," Guan Yu explained, searching for words that hopefully she would recognize. "He offered an exchange, a trade. My son is my child and he will be returned to me."

"Son is my… no, son is your child is correct from me. A he you say…? Um so… he will give you a man that he has in trade for leaving?"

"Yes that is a close enough explanation."

"I understand, I think." She grinned up at him. "We win!"

While they awaited the release of Guan Ping and his men, Rikku chatted on, asking string after string of question about the castle that they were in. It seemed she was trying to understand exactly what purpose the building served, but Guan Yu could not fathom what she was trying to ask specifically so he was unable to appease her curiosity. She tried to tell him of a place in her world, but the large man could make no sense of her explanation. Temples? Fayths? Spira? He had no clue what any of those words mean.

Dark eyes studied her as she ran back and forth across the hall muttering soft exclamations to her self and firing questions in her broken Chinese at him. Guan Yu marveled at her display, torn between exasperation and amusement over her antics. Never had he met another individual that moved with such restless cheer about the place as though she were trying to see everything in the world all at once and was afraid to miss anything. Had he not seen it for himself he would never imagine her capable of fighting with the way she was behaving now. Despite the initial impression given by her… revealing clothes, there was such a naïve and trusting look to her when she turned to ask him one of seemingly endless questions that made her seem quite childlike.

She was nothing human, he was sure of it.

Her strange healing powers and her ability to use a technique that only the strongest of warriors were able to master were unnatural. And then there were her eyes. They were an iridescent green, almost the color of a cat's eye when the light strikes their pupils. And the pupils themselves were also green, a deeper green. However it was not the unusual shade of her pupils that made her eyes so otherworldly, it was the fact that they were swirled. She had to be some sort of guardian spirit trapped in a human form. It explained her curiosity and her innocent wonder at something as simple as the grey stone walls of a castle, the silken wall hangings and the hung weapons. She showed no self consciousness over the amount of her body that was displayed by her clothes, as though it had never occurred to her that she should even concern herself over such matters. When she somehow managed to trip over absolutely nothing, he winced. His conclusion was confirmed. Surely no one who had been born with a human body could manage to be so clumsy.

She gave a soft grunt of pain on impact and blinked owlishly for a moment, and then she let out a startled laugh at her own awkwardness. Rikku tossed her golden hair back over her should and jumped to her feet. She ran back over to Guan Yu to tug on his sleeve.

"Why is your son not here yet?" She placed a heavy emphasis on the word son, and he could tell she still didn't understand what a son was even though she had managed to work out that it was a person they were waiting on.

"It will take time for his release."

"We must wait?" she seemed terribly disappointed by this. "How long?"

"We must wait as long as we must wait."

Obviously not what she was hoping to hear, her shoulders drooped at his unconcerned response. A moment of fidgeting from the girl in front of him, and then she perked up.

"I want to go to look see of this castle!"

"You want to go look at the castle?" he asked with a frown down at her. That was likely a bad idea. On the other hand keeping her near by would likely drive him to distraction with the way she seemed predisposed to bounce around. Images of it taking another couple of hours for his son's return in his head made Guan Yu reluctantly agree to her foolish idea.

"You will not wander far. And you will not be gone long," he ordered in exchange for her freedom to explore.

"Yes, yes Guan Yu. No wander far and not be gone long. I go now then!" she clapped happily and dashed off.

A large hand rose to stroke his long beard in thought as he watched her race away. Where did she come from? Why is she here? And why did she aid him? There were too many questions surrounding her. A complete unknown was a dangerous thing in the middle of a war, but he couldn't help feeling that she was not a threat to himself or to Shu, no matter what powers she had. Even if he did not have complete faith in his instincts on this matter he could not deny that he owed her his life, twice over now: first for his battle with the Wu soldiers and their tiny officer; and then again with the battle with Cao Ren. And for that he resolved to do whatever he could to protect her while she is here in this world.

End Notes: Again this story has yet to be edited so far so I apologize again for any typos and all mistakes are mine. The language difference I am working to resolve so hopefully you'll only have to put up with that for another chapter or so, assuming you're still reading it by then.
And the quote Rikku was referencing was -"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." by Lewis Carroll from Alice in Wonderland. (Because I love the Cheshire Cat)