Sword & Spear - A Sushang Fanfic

3: Twilight of uncertainty - Reader's side

Chapter art by 成長納言: https://twitter.com/white_is_

A while had passed since the events at The Sleepless Earl. The morning of this day started with my section being assigned to start with some sparring sessions, while the other sections carried on with different forms of training.

As always, sparring sessions were done with our assigned partner, and so Sushang eagerly readied her sword to begin sparring with me. Over the past few months we had trained together, Sushang had gotten better at using her sword, but I too had also gotten better at handling a spear, and so our spars usually ended with no clear victor, and to onlookers, our spars looked more like a dance.

And yet today, something was different.

My thoughts were not what was the best way to defeat Sushang. Instead, my eyes and mind wandered as they studied Sushang's minute details - how her hands held her sword, her slender but strong legs, how her black cardigan-like article of clothing hugged her body perfectly, accentuating her curves. My body blocked her sword on instinct, but as my mind was focused on Sushang, not on the battle, I never took the initiative to strike back.

After a short spar, Sushang lowered her sword and frowned. "Are you feeling alright? I can't tell what happened, but your form seems a little off today."

I brushed it off, telling her I probably just didn't have a good night's rest, which was not a lie.

Sushang frowned, clearly knowing I hiding the full story from her. "I don't know why you're hiding things from me, but I'll respect your privacy." She commented as she returned to her spot and readied her sword once more. I too, readied my spear, preparing for a spar. Sushang and I stared at one another for a moment, before Sushang lowered her sword once more and let out a sigh. She walked away to put down her sword before stomping back over to my side.

"Forget it, I can't have a proper sparring match when you're like this." She placed her hands on her hips and frowned, displaying her displeasure. "Your form's been getting worse, but this is the worst it has been, you know?"

I lowered my head and apologised when the unexpected happened. Sushang reached out and grabbed my wrist and began to adjust my stance manually and began nagging. "You're pointing your spear towards the ground!" She continued correcting my positioning, grumbling as she did. She placed a hand on the small of my back and gave it a push, grumbling for I was slouching. She slapped my ankles, commenting how I placed my feet made my stance unstable. However, all that I could process in my mind was how smooth her hands were.

After multiple corrections, she took a step back to observe my form, only to frown and take a step closer once again, except this time she tiptoed and leaned towards me, trying to get a grasp of my perspective. That was when my nose picked up a waft of the fragrance of her hair.

The fragrance was on that was mild and sweet, and had a hint of flowers in it. A very feminine smell, which only served to elevate my awareness to see Sushang as a woman. After picking up such an alluring fragrance, my eyes naturally wandered to its source. Her hair was brown like the finest woods on the Luofu and silky smooth. Two ponytails that flowed down to her waist were secured by two yellow ribbons. Her hair was straight, and as she tilted her head to get the best understanding of my perspective, her hair flowed with the pull of gravity, each small movement causing a ripple of fragrance to exude from them.

Once more, Sushang took a step back to observe if my form had finally been corrected. She stood there for a few moments before letting out a big sigh, expressing that she had been unsuccessful despite her best attempts. She picked up her sword and returned to her original position in front of me.

"Fine, we'll take it easy for today's sparring session, but you better be at your top form the next time we spar!" She threatened.

That night, the bunkmates in my room were rowdier than usual. They had seen the events that transpired today in the sparring hall and were eager to tease me.

"So how'd you like it when Sushang cuddled up against you today?" The cheeky first one teased.

"I bet he snuck a peek at her cleavage!" The perverted second one said while gesturing with his hands.

"She's been having a lot of coincidental free time slots with you, hasn't she?" The third one asked. He leaned in and poked my side with an elbow. "So when you two gonna start dating? I'm tired of seeing this flirting between friends already."

The first one, perhaps unhappy with the thought of Sushang and I dating retorted when he heard that remark. "Ha! It's impossible. I'll remind you that she's from the Yaoqing, and once this batch of new recruits have finished their training in about a year they'll definitely be deployed back." He turned to me and spoke with a sarcastic, apologetic tone, "I'm sorry buddy, but you're not getting together with her."

I brushed off all their teasing remarks, but the last statement made lingered at the back of my mind. As I lay in bed, the reality of the little time remaining with Sushang caused my mind to begin overthinking, grasping at straws to try and find a scenario where Sushang did not go back to the Yaoqing. But as expected, I was no diviner from the Divination Commission, and hence all the scenarios that played were nothing but wishful thinking.

Beginning to feel frustrated and distressed, the room felt like it was shrinking, threatening to crush me within those four walls, so I headed out and sat in the open field, looking at the moon and stars hanging in the night sky. The night was illuminated by a bright full moon, bathing the world in its soft, white light, while the smaller stars in the star system we were in twinkled in the background.

As I continued to ponder what should be the appropriate actions to take now that I was faced with reality, a voice spoke behind me.

"Unable to sleep, soldier?"