The Flower That Blooms In Adversity | Male! Mulan x Reader

Chapter 10

Your POV

Your stomach drops. In front of you is what is left of what used to be a thriving village. The walls of the village are cracked and broken, debris laying all over the snowy floor. Houses are nothing but damaged wood, it's a surprise how they're still standing.

You think of all the lives that have been lost. You picture the townspeople screaming for help, trying to get away from the fire. You slowly walk into the warzone, holding onto Khan's rope. You glance around, tears threatening to spill.

Minsheng appears next to you and places a hand on your shoulder. You glance at him and he gives you a weak smile. You know that deep down he's trying not to cry as well. "I can't believe someone could do this," he whispers.

"Me neither," you agree quietly. "We can't let our emotions get ahead of us. Let's continue walking."

You take a deep breath and continue walking through. You can't let the others see you cry. You can't let Minsheng see you cry. You need to be strong for him. You signed up for this.

The orange smoke in the distance dances in the wind almost as if it's taunting you. Look at what I've done. What I've created, you can hear it saying.

"Search for survivors," Shang orders. You do as you're told and drop Khan's rope. You know that Khan won't run away; he's a good horse, despite not having any training. You search the area, your feet crunching in the snow.

You look down at your feet and see a doll in the snow. You pick it up and examine its face. This doll used to belong to a young child. A young child who would run around, clueless to the outside world and what was going to happen to them and their family.

You hug the doll close to your chest. Shang jumps down from his horse beside you. "I don't understand," he says. "My father should've been here."

"Captain!" Chi-Fu calls. Shang walks toward him as he points to an area below. Thousands of bodies are scattered across the floor. Your stomach twists and turns, you cover your mouth and look away.

You had an idea of what war is like, but you never knew it was like this. Chien-Po walks up with a helmet in his hand. Shang's father's helmet. "The General," he sighs sadly, passing the helmet to Shang.

He stares at the helmet in his hand. Your heart aches for Shang. You've no idea what you'd do if your father passed. Even without looking at his expression, you know that Shang's feelings are the equivalent of being stabbed.

He walks away near the edge of the cliff and grabs out his sword. He pushes the sword through the snow and gently places the helmet over it. He kneels and bows. "I'm sorry," you whisper, approaching Shang.

He gets up and walks until he's beside you. He places a hand on your shoulder, then continues walking off. You look back at the men and see them slowly making their way off. You place the doll against the sword and bow your head.

You get up, catching up with the others. All of a sudden, one of the rockets in the carriage erupts and shoots out of the carriage. It explodes in the air. You glare at Mushu, your blood boiling.

Mushu points at Cri-Kee. Shang rides toward you. "What happened?" he demands.

"Uh..." you stammer.

"You gave away our position!" he yells. An arrow gets shot at his armour and you realise the mistake you have made. The mistake that Mushu has made. That idiot! Thousands of more arrows are shot and all the training you've received flashes through your mind.

This is the real thing. It's time to fight for your country. For your family. For Minsheng.