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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 20:06:57 GMT -5
There was subtle motion from the boy who had his arms crossed behind his head, with glazed eyes staring up at the canvas of the tent. Shen was lying down, drifting within his thoughts about how the disturbing events could affect everyone. If his mind was a little less jumbled, he could've drifted into a deep sleep. Finally, his eyes closed in the slightest blink and he let out a sigh. Allowing his left arm to move out from behind his head, his hand placed down to slowly sit up and stare at the entrance of the tent. He was glad that the tent was dark, only alight because of the miscellaneous candles. No matter how hard he tried to rest, he couldn't do it.
Maybe I should go.. and then he stopped himself from thinking further, wanting the topic to never arise. Instead of trying to fix the problem, he sighed again and slowly laid back down. Perhaps the silence was getting to him.
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Post by Sze Kamlong on Oct 8, 2006 20:12:28 GMT -5
As he approached the tent, he slowed his pace until it came to a gradual halt. It seemed to be unlit, and while he certainly wanted to let Shen know of their decision, he didn't want to wake the younger soldier, especially considering he was aware of how unfitfully Shen seemed to be resting lately. He felt a little guilty for it - Yulin had mentioned once how his tension seemed to be contagious, and probably plagued his Lieutenant General ten times worse than it troubled him. With this in mind, he let his haid, raised to open the flap, fall to the side.
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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 20:23:09 GMT -5
..check on Sze. Losing the battle to dismiss the thought he sat up straight, only to go into a stand. He didn't want to annoy the General with his presence so often, but he worried about his friend constantly. If Sze wasn't happy, then he wasn't happy. That's just how it worked, just like a habit. Taking one last glance around the tent, making sure he didn't forget anything, he motioned towards the flap of the tent. He lifted it slowly, only to find himself staring up at a taller figure.
"General?" Shen asked, slightly bemused. Coincidence or not, it alerted him completely. "I was just going to go look for you," he admitted with a slight smile.
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Post by Sze Kamlong on Oct 8, 2006 20:29:29 GMT -5
"Ah," said Kamlong, rather ineloquently, already in the middle of turning around. He blinked, somewhat embarrassed. "I...well, I was going to too," he amended, laughing. He supposed there was no hope of escape, then. "I thought you were asleep, so I was going to leave you to your rest, but apparently I was wrong." He smiled, and it was less strained than it was earlier in the day, now that he had made his mind and felt somewhat more confident in the path he was going to take. The only matter that lay unattended to was this one. "Well then, Shen, would you mind if I came in?"
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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 20:43:09 GMT -5
"Not at all," he replied, eyeing the General suspiciously. Shen folded back the flap of the tent a little more before side stepping to allow his friend in. He assumed Sze was going to tell him some more bad news by the broken speech pattern. The laughing made it worse, instead of relieving the tension. "Is everything all right?" he asked, wanting to get to the point.
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Post by Sze Kamlong on Oct 8, 2006 20:53:10 GMT -5
"Suspicious even of me?" Kamlong asked, looking around for a place to sit, before finally settling on the foot of the bed. He looked up at Shen, finding the Lieutenant General wearing a worried expression. "Everything's fine," he answered with a nod. "We've come to a decision as to what we're going to do. I just thought you'd like to know, that's all."
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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 21:04:21 GMT -5
"Suspicious?" he echoed, shaking his head no, "more like curious." Shen followed Kamlong to the foot of his bed, yet leaving enough room out of respect. "Oh," Shen said, surprised when Kamlong said everything was fine. "Well, thank you .. I would like to know." Yet it all seemed so awkward.
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Post by Sze Kamlong on Oct 8, 2006 21:15:01 GMT -5
Kamlong looked at his friend's face for a moment, wondering exactly how well Shen really knew him, if he could sense the uneasiness even like this, with greetings at the door being the only inconclusive material to work with. Very well, if Shen wanted to know that badly, he wasn't going to beat around the bush. It was late and they were both tired. They had played enough political games for today.
"We are going to allow Prince Akihito and his companion to return to Japan. We cannot very well request the Emperor to back down, since that is treason. However, if we can get the opponent to rescind their declaration of war, there is no battle to fight. Therefore, our problem lies with the Shogun in control. Apparently there is already an established organization in Japan with a similar objective. Akihito will help them overthrow the man in power, and end this pointless conflict before it escalates too badly."
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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 21:24:50 GMT -5
Shen stared back at Kamlong's face, listening to the other's words. He had no problem with it at all. The plan sounded like it would be tricky but at least it would hopefully decrease any fatalities. "Sounds like it's in our favor, however, how will we know if it works that way? We won't know since we'll be in China, right?" Shen was anxious at the moment, and suddenly everything sank in. "There's a catch, isn't there..?"
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Post by Sze Kamlong on Oct 8, 2006 21:33:45 GMT -5
Ah, he should've known better than to try to withhold anything from Shen. Or maybe, he was just that bad at hiding something from his friend. Yulin always did say that around those close to him, he lied like a guilty, red-handed child. "Yes, you will be in China, but I won't. I am going with them."
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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 21:42:01 GMT -5
Shen's eyes widened slightly and he suddenly looked away from Kamlong, eyes falling to the floor. He could feel his heart racing from the sudden panic, attempting to breathe in. "Yulin is going with you at least?" Shen asked, his voice hardly audible. With Kamlong being so vague about the situation, he had to probe. "And how long will you be gone?" He already knew it would be difficult without his friend around, not to mention he would lapse into several panic attacks worrying about his friend's health and safety. "Why.. why you?"
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Post by Sze Kamlong on Oct 8, 2006 22:02:26 GMT -5
"Only I will be going; this many people cannot be managed with only one general. We may be trying to stop the war, but I'm pretty sure we won't be fast enough to end it before it can start. Fighting will definitely break out first, we just have to end it as soon as we can. I don't know exactly how long it will take, so I cannot guarantee any deadlines."
He tried leaning forward, attempting to get a good look at Shen's face. He didn't know exactly how Shen was taking the news, and it made him a little off-balance. The Lieutenant General had always been behind his decisions, and with a choice this big, Kamlong desperately wanted his friend's approval too. "Is there something wrong with me?" He took this into consideration. "Would it be better if Yulin or Rie Chou went? But I didn't want to put them in danger."
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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 22:23:15 GMT -5
Shen bit his lip, turning his head further away when Kamlong tired to lean forward to see his face. He didn't want his friend to see the worry and pain contorted, no, engraved in his face. He knew that his friend was looking for approval, anything to make his selfless decision more secure. But that was the thing, Kamlong was the last person he could truly confide in and if he lost his friend because of this so called danger - there would be nothing left to live for. Perhaps it would've been easier to run and hide from the problem but that would be cowardice.
"No, there's nothing wrong with you," he said softly. Shen suddenly reached his left hand out to rest it over Kamlong's right hand, grasping it slightly. "At least let me go with, it's unfair to have two against one," Shen's voice was pleading. Still, it was not good enough to emphasis how much he didn't want to stay in China suffocating under worry. With his free hand he took the other side of Kamlong's right hand within it and brought his friend's hand under his chin. "Please.."
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Post by Sze Kamlong on Oct 8, 2006 22:43:23 GMT -5
He could see Shen's face now, and he supposed that from the moment he had decided to tell the Lieutenant General, he had known his friend would react this way. He smiled, tightening his lax captured hand until it gripped Shen's fingers under his own. "Ah, do you think they'll beat me?" Kamlong asked gently, allowing himself a moment of conceit in jest.
"It's not because I'm worried," he explained, before the other soldier could protest. "I know that there will be danger regardless, but I also know that you are fully capable of protecting yourself if you were to come with me. That's not the problem. You should stay here, Shen, and help the others with things out here. You're just as capable as a general, and I can rest easy if I know you'll be here. You probably take care of my army better than I do, so they need you more than I do."
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Post by Shen Rui on Oct 8, 2006 22:56:38 GMT -5
Shen's fingers didn't tighten nor release his hold, his eyes still focused towards the ground. In a way he was afraid to let Kamlong go, and yet his friend wanted nothing more than him to understand. Yes, he would like to think Kamlong was undefeatable but at the same time his friend was as human as they came. "I've never been the one to defy you, General, but I am going whether you approve or not. You'd have to chain me down before I'd let you go alone. It's..really not fair, two against one." Finally, his head raised and his eyes turned to meet Kamlong's.
"I worry; I care, and if you left me behind here .. ah," he wasn't sure how to finish it so he decided to change it around a bit, "you might not need me as much army does, but I need you."
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