Breakfast in the Zhuo camp was quiet and understated. Haru dined with the soldiers, but to his distinct lack of surprise, no one seemed particularly comfortable near him except for Kan'u, Chouhi, and Shoukatsuryou, not even the men from his own personal unit.
After eating, Haru had taken Blood-Scythe and gone off to another corner of the camp, and Kan'u, refusing to be sidelined by Chouhi or Shoukatsuryou again, followed after him as soon as they left the table themselves. After a few minutes of walking, Haru stopped in a place where no tents had been pitched, and began to swing Blood-Scythe around vigorously, twirling the handle between his fingers to switch between a reverse and a regular grip without even thinking about it. It was not the first time Kan'u had seen Haru practice, but she had not had any opportunities to see him this intensely focused on it; he was usually in the courtyard of the palace, and was carrying on a conversation with her or one of the other members of the court. The spell was broken, though, when Haru jammed Blood-Scythe into the ground after a violent overhead swing, and said, "What is it, Aisha? You've been staring at me like you got punched in the face, and it's kind of distracting."
Kan'u blinked, then coughed and cleared her throat, blushing violently. "I'm sorry, Lord Haru. I just meant to… there's something I wanted to talk to you about. Yesterday, when Sousou… said those things about me… you went out of your way to stress that I was a person and not a thing. It meant a lot to me, and I'm truly grateful that you feel that way… about me." Her blush seemed to magnify for a moment, but she soon stopped for a moment and took a breath. Control yourself, Aisha. You can't read into it too much. He's your lord, it's not appropriate to feel this way. "Why did Sousou's words bother you so much?"
To her surprise, Haru didn't ignore the question or shut down after she asked it. Instead, he turned toward her with folded arms and gave her a look that seemed to indicate he was bored out of his mind. It was only the way his brow furrowed and that his mouth twisted which gave any indication otherwise. "That's a long story," he replied. "And it's not one I'm up to sharing right now." He grimaced, as if realizing what he sounded like, and shook his head. "It's not your job to listen to me angst."
"Lord Haru, no one expects you to deal with your burdens alone," Kan'u replied. She took a few steps closer to him. Despite her earlier self-admonishment, she couldn't help but remember how softly he'd spoken to her yesterday, which did nothing to stop her pounding heartbeat. However, before she got too close, Haru turned his back to her and picked up Blood-Scythe again.
He didn't say a word, but it was clearly a sign of dismissal.
It took all of Kan'u's willpower to avoid letting her dismay show. Instead, she opted for a force of anger at being turned away; she could not let him see her falter. "Lord Haru, please..."
But before she could continue, another woman's voice, energetic and bright, interrupted her. "Lord Haru of Zhuo? I've got a message for you from Sousou. It's urgent."
The voice was not one either Haru or Kan'u recognized, and so they turned in the direction of the rest of the camp to see a brunette about Kan'u's age approaching them. She wore a teal skirt with long black sleeves and puffy shoulders, as well as sturdy, white thigh-high boots. Her high, long ponytail trailed behind her, and her bushy brown eyebrows were partially covered by a maroon headband.
"And who the hell are you?" Haru asked as he sheathed Blood-Scythe.
The girl grinned and bowed. "Mouki Bachou of Liang, at your service. My father Batou is one of the minor lords participating in the alliance."
Kan'u frowned thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers. "Bachou of Liang… then you're Bachou the Splendid?"
Bachou laughed ruefully. "That's what they call me, but please, just Bachou is fine. It's an honor to meet you, Lord Haru, Lady Kan'u—your reputations precede you." Her cheerful expression faded as she focused on Haru. "Sousou's giving marching orders to all the armies, her own included. She said that she wants to be as close as possible to Sishui when the spies come back with the info so that Toutaku doesn't have time to prepare for us. She expects to be marching by midday. She also wanted me to tell you that we'll be deciding on our plans for attacking Sishui Pass the night before we arrive, so be well-rested that day. She wants to run the attack at the crack of dawn."
"The shrimp's pretty smart, I'll give her that much," Haru muttered. Then, after looking up in the sky and getting a rough gauge of the time, he turned to Kan'u. "You think the men will be ready to go in time, Aisha?"
"I think we can manage it if we move quickly," Kan'u said. She cursed Bachou's timing and bit back a sigh. Had the girl not interrupted, Kan'u might have been able to finally speak her mind, but if such an opportunity had existed, it was gone now. "I'll go tell Shuri and Rinrin to spread the order right away."
Haru nodded. "I still need to train. When things are in order, come and get me. Have Cerberus ready for me too." A deeper frown flashed across his face. "And for now, let's not talk about things that don't matter. We need to focus on getting into Luoyang, not my shitty personal history."
Kan'u bowed, and pressed her lips together. "As you command, Lord Haru." She quickly departed, and Bachou and Haru both watched her leave.
Then, Bachou bowed to Haru as well. "My father wishes to send his personal regards to you, Lord Haru. We've heard a lot about your exploits against the Yellow Turbans. If it pleases you, he'd like to consider an alliance after Toutaku is defeated."
Haru sighed, and unsheathed Blood-Scythe. "Tell him I'll consider it based on how things turn out here. If you don't have anything else to share with me, I need to get back to training."
Bachou nodded, and stepped away quietly. As she did so, Haru began to swing again, keeping his expression carefully blank even though he was finally alone again.
True to her word, Kan'u delivered the message to Chouhi and Shoukatsuryou, and by the time Sousou was ready to march, Zhuo's army was more than ready to move with them.
The next several days were much the same for everyone in the alliance. There would be a march from dawn till noon, at which point there would be a short lunch break followed by more marching; camp would be made at dusk, and marching would begin again at dawn of the next day. This pattern continued until the anti-Toutaku alliance arrived at a site a few hours away from Sishui Pass, right as dusk was coming on; by that time, it had been about a week since the war council. The spies had been given a map of the area as well as instructions for where to meet the army, and sure enough, the spies were there and waiting by the time that the alliance arrived. The chosen location was behind a moderately-sized rock formation, and camp was arranged in such a way that no one from the Sishui Pass would be able to see them that easily.
That same evening, another war council was called.