Guanzhong Academy: Chapter 1
Fandom: Dynasty Warriors
Parings: Lu Bu x Zhang Liao, Xiahou Dun x Cao Cao, Zhou Tai x Sun Quan and others (not yet decided)
Summary: Modern day AU, based on the downloadable school uniforms of DW7. The cast from DW are attending a boarding school; watch as friendships and romances develop between students and teachers alike.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: I based the school on the French education system, where after high school people can go to “preparatory school”, which prepares them for the entrance exam of the highest level universities in France.
On another note, I still haven’t decided all the pairings, so suggestions are welcome! ^^
Chapter 1: Opening Ceremony
“Welcome to the Guanzhong Academy of China, an educational institute for the most gifted young people of the country! You should be all proud of yourselves for securing a place…” the Headmaster’s voice droned on as he gradually lost the students’ attentions, his face beaming as he addressed new and old residents of the prestigious boarding school.
“Even with such excellent high school results, I am sure you will find the syllabus challenging, so I expect all of you to do your best while you are here. Your mentors and tutors will provide academic and pastoral support and look over…”
“Gosh, this speech was boring enough last year!” moaned Sun Ce, as he leaned back in his chair, suppressing a yawn. “Why do we have to listen to it again with the newbies?” he complained, turning to the young man next to him.
“It’s part of the official opening ceremony, Bofu.” the man chided, pushing his long hair over his shoulder. “The course is only two years, they supposed students can sit through this speech a second time without problem. It is a reasonable thing to expect I suppose, from people intending to go to such high-class universities.”
Receiving a bored expression from his friend, Zhou Yu chuckled softly and turned back towards the stage. A sudden weight descended on his shoulder and he glanced down to see Sun Ce resting his head on him.
“…meet the head of dormitories, Cao Cao of Wei Dormitory…”
“Bofu, wake up!” Zhou Yu whispered flexing his shoulder to shake Ce off. “It’s your father’s introduction! Pay some attention!” he scolded his friend as Sun Ce blinked at him sleepily.
“… Liu Bei of Shu Dormitory, a distant relative of the founders of this school and…”
“Bofu!”
“I’m awake, stop poking me!” Sun Ce complained, regaining his composure just in time to see his father walk up to the stage.
“… and Sun Jian of Wu Dormitory, do not be fooled by his kind appearance! He can be fierce as a tig-…”
“You should really show more respect to your father.” Zhou Yu chided good-naturedly, knowing very well that there was no changing his best friend. Sun Ce just shrugged, losing attention the moment his father walked off.
“Whichever dormitory you applied for, I am sure you will enjoy the years you will spend with your mentors and fellow students here and that you will build lasting friendships with people from different dormitories…”
“Can I go back to sleep now?” he asked, turning to Zhou Yu.
“You really are horrible, you know that?” the handsome man chuckled. “You’re not showing a very good example to your siblings, you know.”
“I’m showing the best example they’ll find out there. Maybe Quan’ll learn some manliness from me at last.”
“Ah yes, it worked perfectly well with Shang Xiang too.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault she’s such a tomboy.”
“I suppose not… She’s just following her brother’s example.”
“That was low, Gongjin.”
“I know.” Zhou Yu smiled mischievously, chuckling softly at Sun Ce’s affronted expression.
~
“I can see you’re bored.” Sun Quan remarked, turning to look at his companion’s eyes, hidden under his hat. “Are you a second year?”
“Hm.” the man grunted in positive, watching the young boy from the corner of his eye.
“Ah, must be tiresome to listen to the same speech again. Not like it’s very entertaining for the first time either… “ Quan smiled shyly, getting nervous from the other man’s unresponsiveness. “I’m Sun Quan by the way.” he added quickly, holding out his hand to the second-year.
Not making any movement, the man eyed the hand extended to him. Just as Quan was about to pull it back, he grabbed it and shook hands firmly. “Zhou Tai.” he murmured.
“Nice to meet you.” said Quan, happy that he got a reaction at last and smiled brightly at his companion.
Noticing the younger man’s open expression, Zhou Tai stiffened invisibly, not used to having so much attention directed at him. For the first time in a long time, he was searching his brain for something to say to the friendly man.
“You said your name’s Sun. Are you a relative?” he asked in a low voice, his head indicating slightly towards where the heads of the dormitories were seated.
“Sun Jian? Um, yes, he’s my father.” Quan replied, becoming flustered at the mention of his well-known father. “I’m Sun Ce’s younger brother, maybe you know him…” he rambled on, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
“I do.” Zhou Tai replied in a voice that conveyed exactly how he felt about the carefree son of his dorm leader.
Sun Quan stopped his rambling and after a moment of stunned silence, he clasped his hand onto his mouth, trying to keep himself from laughing out loud. Zhou Tai, a bit surprised at the man’s reaction stared at him before letting a small smile appear on his lips.
“That bastard, just wait till I get my hands on you!” Sun Ce raged silently, watching the exchange happening a few rows from where he was seated. “Getting all friendly with Quan!”
Zhou Yu glanced at the pair then looked back to his friend, expression incredulous. “Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? They’re just chatting. And Quan needs to make some friends too; don’t you want him to gain some self-confidence?”
“Sure…” Sun Ce grumbled, still glaring daggers at Zhou Tai’s head. “But that guy will only mess with him, nothing good will come of this, I’m telling you!”
Zhou Yu decided not to answer that and just sighed instead. Sun Ce was a bit too protective of his little brother and if it weren’t for Zhou Yu stopping him, he would have locked him up in a tower long ago so no one could touch him. On a second thought, maybe Sun Ce wasn’t just a bit too overprotective…
~
“Hey girls!” Diao Chan heard an unfamiliar voice call out while she exited the auditorium. Turning around, he saw a young boy in the Shu uniform, wearing a flower in his hair.
“Wait up!” he called again, and Diao Chan and the other girls from Wu stopped and turned to him.
“Hi Suo.” Da Qiao greeted.
“Hi, Da, Xiao and Shang Xiang.” the boy greeted them all in turn. “And you, my lady, what name may I call you? I’m Guan Suo.” he asked with comically overdone politeness, turning to Chan.
“My name’s Diao Chan.” she answered, finally realizing why the boy was so familiar. He was the younger brother of Guan Ping, a fellow second-year at the academy.
“A pleasure to meet you, Diao Chan!” he said, smiling brightly at his new acquaintance. “Are you a friend of Sun Ce too? I don’t recall meeting you during the summer.”
“I do know him, but I rarely spend time with him, I’m sorry.”
“No prob.” Guan Suo said brightly. “Our families live in the same neighborhood, so I’ve spent most of my summer with the Sun family, that’s how I met the Qiao sisters.” he explained with a happy smile.
“You’re the younger brother, of Guan Ping, am I right?” she asked politely.
“Yup, sure I am!” Guan Suo proclaimed proudly. “Do you have any relatives in the school?” he asked cheerfully.
“Erm, well…” she mumbled, the question catching her by surprise. Her family relations were well known within the school but it was rarely brought up with her.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you!” Suo said quickly when he noticed Diao Chan’s discomfort, a wide-eyed look replacing his happy expression.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sun Shang Xiang laughed at Suo’s panic. “We just usually don’t talk about this. She’s the adoptive daughter of Dong Zhuo.”
“Dong Zhuo?! That bea- I mean man?” Suo exclaimed in surprise but got no response from Diao Chan. “Does that mean you’re Lu Bu’s sister?” he asked incredously.
“Yes, it does.” Shang Xiang supplied, placing her hands on Diao Chan’s shoulders. “But as I said, Chan prefers not to talk about it.”
“Ah, I’m sorry!” the Shu student said guiltily, suddenly realizing his mistake. “I didn’t mean to bother you, Diao Chan-“
“Guan Suo!” a stern male voice interrupted him. Turning around, he came face-to-face with the Shu Dormitory’s second-in-command, Liu Bei’s advisor. “Shouldn’t you be going to the dormitory meeting? Liu Bei’s about to start the briefing.”
“Yes, Mr Zhuge Liang!” he replied, quickly running off after his dorm mates.
“My ladies, shouldn’t you do the same?” Zhuge Liang asked, turning to the girls in the red Wu uniforms. “I’m sure Sun Jian’s waiting for you.”
Realizing that they almost forgot about the briefing, they thanked the Shu advisor and hurried off as well to their dormitory building.
~
“I expect you all to respect and obey the dormitory rules during your stay here.” Sun Jian said, looking over the students gathered in the meeting room of the Wu dormitory. “The advisor and I are responsible for your welfare as well as ensuring that you keep the school regulations.” He indicated to Lu Meng, standing behind him. “As you all know, the dormitories have friendly competitions among themselves; however I must warn you that public and hostile rivalry is discouraged.”
Liu Bei smiled softly at the people dressed in the green uniforms of Shu. “To encourage social integration, you will be housed in a flat for four or five students with single study bedrooms, sharing kitchen and bathroom facilities as well as a living room. You all will be held responsible for any damage in the flat, regardless of who has done it, keep that in mind. You can choose your rooms and collect your keys after the meeting from my advisor.” Zhuge Liang, standing behind the Shu head indicated towards the signup sheets and keys placed on the desk before them. “The library and extra study rooms are located…”
“As the headmaster said, we expect you to do your best academically and enjoy your stay here.” Cao Cao’s stern voice commanded the attention of all Wei students. “Within the next week you will receive the signup sheets for the autumn school trip which I hope you’ll all attend. Have a pleasant year in the Guanzhong Academy! You are dismissed.” He finished his mandatory speech written for all head of dormitories and sighed inwardly as he watched Sima Yi handle the students struggling to get the rooms they wanted. Not like the rooms weren’t all the same…
“You look troubled, cousin.”
Glancing to his side, Cao Cao saw that Xiahou Dun sneaked into the meeting room during the commotion the students now caused. Sighing aloud this time, Cao let some of his tiredness show.
“These speeches bore me and I see no point of them. The students know all about room arrangements and the facilities already and they won’t keep the rules, no matter how many times they’re told to.” He explained, turning towards his cousin fully.
“I understand, Mengde, but it’s still your responsibility to hold this meeting every year.” Dun replied, his expression not betraying his concern for Cao Cao. “It’s not like this has troubled you so before.” he added.
“You’re quite perceptive, Yuanrang.” Cao Cao smirked, there weren’t many people who could read him quite like the stoic man beside him. “This year, my son’s attending as well.”
“Cao Pi? I thought he didn’t want to choose Wei.”
“I thought so as well. Maybe he’s doing it just to spite me. It would be just the thing he’d do.” Cao Cao exhaled through his nose, gaze wandering back to the students crowding around his advisor’s table. He easily spotted his son, standing out in his white student council uniform. It was no surprise to him that Cao Pi passed the summer tests and got into the council, he was after all his father’s son.
Sensing someone’s eyes on him, Cao Pi looked up and his eyes met with his father’s for a long moment. However, he only smirked arrogantly at the warning in Cao Cao’s eyes and turned away, not noticing his father narrowing his eyes at his behavior.
“You needn’t worry about him, Mengde.” Xiahou Dun said after observing the exchange and placed a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “His arrogance wouldn’t let him bring shame to his family’s name.”
“I hope you’re right.” Cao Cao said with a sigh, squeezing Dun’s hand on his shoulder in gratitude.
“SWEET! I’ll be in the same flat as you, Zhao!” A loud voice echoed through the room, making both older men cringe at the noise. Looking over, Xiahou Dun visibly paled then sighed, hiding his embarrassment.
Noticing his behavior, Cao Cao eyed the loud boy and asked. “Is that Yuan’s little brother, Yuanrang?” After a small nod, he added. “He does seem quite similar to him.” he said with a smirk, enjoying his cousin’s discomfort way too much.
~
Parings: Lu Bu x Zhang Liao, Xiahou Dun x Cao Cao, Zhou Tai x Sun Quan and others (not yet decided)
Summary: Modern day AU, based on the downloadable school uniforms of DW7. The cast from DW are attending a boarding school; watch as friendships and romances develop between students and teachers alike.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: I based the school on the French education system, where after high school people can go to “preparatory school”, which prepares them for the entrance exam of the highest level universities in France.
On another note, I still haven’t decided all the pairings, so suggestions are welcome! ^^
Chapter 1: Opening Ceremony
“Welcome to the Guanzhong Academy of China, an educational institute for the most gifted young people of the country! You should be all proud of yourselves for securing a place…” the Headmaster’s voice droned on as he gradually lost the students’ attentions, his face beaming as he addressed new and old residents of the prestigious boarding school.
“Even with such excellent high school results, I am sure you will find the syllabus challenging, so I expect all of you to do your best while you are here. Your mentors and tutors will provide academic and pastoral support and look over…”
“Gosh, this speech was boring enough last year!” moaned Sun Ce, as he leaned back in his chair, suppressing a yawn. “Why do we have to listen to it again with the newbies?” he complained, turning to the young man next to him.
“It’s part of the official opening ceremony, Bofu.” the man chided, pushing his long hair over his shoulder. “The course is only two years, they supposed students can sit through this speech a second time without problem. It is a reasonable thing to expect I suppose, from people intending to go to such high-class universities.”
Receiving a bored expression from his friend, Zhou Yu chuckled softly and turned back towards the stage. A sudden weight descended on his shoulder and he glanced down to see Sun Ce resting his head on him.
“…meet the head of dormitories, Cao Cao of Wei Dormitory…”
“Bofu, wake up!” Zhou Yu whispered flexing his shoulder to shake Ce off. “It’s your father’s introduction! Pay some attention!” he scolded his friend as Sun Ce blinked at him sleepily.
“… Liu Bei of Shu Dormitory, a distant relative of the founders of this school and…”
“Bofu!”
“I’m awake, stop poking me!” Sun Ce complained, regaining his composure just in time to see his father walk up to the stage.
“… and Sun Jian of Wu Dormitory, do not be fooled by his kind appearance! He can be fierce as a tig-…”
“You should really show more respect to your father.” Zhou Yu chided good-naturedly, knowing very well that there was no changing his best friend. Sun Ce just shrugged, losing attention the moment his father walked off.
“Whichever dormitory you applied for, I am sure you will enjoy the years you will spend with your mentors and fellow students here and that you will build lasting friendships with people from different dormitories…”
“Can I go back to sleep now?” he asked, turning to Zhou Yu.
“You really are horrible, you know that?” the handsome man chuckled. “You’re not showing a very good example to your siblings, you know.”
“I’m showing the best example they’ll find out there. Maybe Quan’ll learn some manliness from me at last.”
“Ah yes, it worked perfectly well with Shang Xiang too.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault she’s such a tomboy.”
“I suppose not… She’s just following her brother’s example.”
“That was low, Gongjin.”
“I know.” Zhou Yu smiled mischievously, chuckling softly at Sun Ce’s affronted expression.
~
“I can see you’re bored.” Sun Quan remarked, turning to look at his companion’s eyes, hidden under his hat. “Are you a second year?”
“Hm.” the man grunted in positive, watching the young boy from the corner of his eye.
“Ah, must be tiresome to listen to the same speech again. Not like it’s very entertaining for the first time either… “ Quan smiled shyly, getting nervous from the other man’s unresponsiveness. “I’m Sun Quan by the way.” he added quickly, holding out his hand to the second-year.
Not making any movement, the man eyed the hand extended to him. Just as Quan was about to pull it back, he grabbed it and shook hands firmly. “Zhou Tai.” he murmured.
“Nice to meet you.” said Quan, happy that he got a reaction at last and smiled brightly at his companion.
Noticing the younger man’s open expression, Zhou Tai stiffened invisibly, not used to having so much attention directed at him. For the first time in a long time, he was searching his brain for something to say to the friendly man.
“You said your name’s Sun. Are you a relative?” he asked in a low voice, his head indicating slightly towards where the heads of the dormitories were seated.
“Sun Jian? Um, yes, he’s my father.” Quan replied, becoming flustered at the mention of his well-known father. “I’m Sun Ce’s younger brother, maybe you know him…” he rambled on, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
“I do.” Zhou Tai replied in a voice that conveyed exactly how he felt about the carefree son of his dorm leader.
Sun Quan stopped his rambling and after a moment of stunned silence, he clasped his hand onto his mouth, trying to keep himself from laughing out loud. Zhou Tai, a bit surprised at the man’s reaction stared at him before letting a small smile appear on his lips.
“That bastard, just wait till I get my hands on you!” Sun Ce raged silently, watching the exchange happening a few rows from where he was seated. “Getting all friendly with Quan!”
Zhou Yu glanced at the pair then looked back to his friend, expression incredulous. “Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? They’re just chatting. And Quan needs to make some friends too; don’t you want him to gain some self-confidence?”
“Sure…” Sun Ce grumbled, still glaring daggers at Zhou Tai’s head. “But that guy will only mess with him, nothing good will come of this, I’m telling you!”
Zhou Yu decided not to answer that and just sighed instead. Sun Ce was a bit too protective of his little brother and if it weren’t for Zhou Yu stopping him, he would have locked him up in a tower long ago so no one could touch him. On a second thought, maybe Sun Ce wasn’t just a bit too overprotective…
~
“Hey girls!” Diao Chan heard an unfamiliar voice call out while she exited the auditorium. Turning around, he saw a young boy in the Shu uniform, wearing a flower in his hair.
“Wait up!” he called again, and Diao Chan and the other girls from Wu stopped and turned to him.
“Hi Suo.” Da Qiao greeted.
“Hi, Da, Xiao and Shang Xiang.” the boy greeted them all in turn. “And you, my lady, what name may I call you? I’m Guan Suo.” he asked with comically overdone politeness, turning to Chan.
“My name’s Diao Chan.” she answered, finally realizing why the boy was so familiar. He was the younger brother of Guan Ping, a fellow second-year at the academy.
“A pleasure to meet you, Diao Chan!” he said, smiling brightly at his new acquaintance. “Are you a friend of Sun Ce too? I don’t recall meeting you during the summer.”
“I do know him, but I rarely spend time with him, I’m sorry.”
“No prob.” Guan Suo said brightly. “Our families live in the same neighborhood, so I’ve spent most of my summer with the Sun family, that’s how I met the Qiao sisters.” he explained with a happy smile.
“You’re the younger brother, of Guan Ping, am I right?” she asked politely.
“Yup, sure I am!” Guan Suo proclaimed proudly. “Do you have any relatives in the school?” he asked cheerfully.
“Erm, well…” she mumbled, the question catching her by surprise. Her family relations were well known within the school but it was rarely brought up with her.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you!” Suo said quickly when he noticed Diao Chan’s discomfort, a wide-eyed look replacing his happy expression.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sun Shang Xiang laughed at Suo’s panic. “We just usually don’t talk about this. She’s the adoptive daughter of Dong Zhuo.”
“Dong Zhuo?! That bea- I mean man?” Suo exclaimed in surprise but got no response from Diao Chan. “Does that mean you’re Lu Bu’s sister?” he asked incredously.
“Yes, it does.” Shang Xiang supplied, placing her hands on Diao Chan’s shoulders. “But as I said, Chan prefers not to talk about it.”
“Ah, I’m sorry!” the Shu student said guiltily, suddenly realizing his mistake. “I didn’t mean to bother you, Diao Chan-“
“Guan Suo!” a stern male voice interrupted him. Turning around, he came face-to-face with the Shu Dormitory’s second-in-command, Liu Bei’s advisor. “Shouldn’t you be going to the dormitory meeting? Liu Bei’s about to start the briefing.”
“Yes, Mr Zhuge Liang!” he replied, quickly running off after his dorm mates.
“My ladies, shouldn’t you do the same?” Zhuge Liang asked, turning to the girls in the red Wu uniforms. “I’m sure Sun Jian’s waiting for you.”
Realizing that they almost forgot about the briefing, they thanked the Shu advisor and hurried off as well to their dormitory building.
~
“I expect you all to respect and obey the dormitory rules during your stay here.” Sun Jian said, looking over the students gathered in the meeting room of the Wu dormitory. “The advisor and I are responsible for your welfare as well as ensuring that you keep the school regulations.” He indicated to Lu Meng, standing behind him. “As you all know, the dormitories have friendly competitions among themselves; however I must warn you that public and hostile rivalry is discouraged.”
Liu Bei smiled softly at the people dressed in the green uniforms of Shu. “To encourage social integration, you will be housed in a flat for four or five students with single study bedrooms, sharing kitchen and bathroom facilities as well as a living room. You all will be held responsible for any damage in the flat, regardless of who has done it, keep that in mind. You can choose your rooms and collect your keys after the meeting from my advisor.” Zhuge Liang, standing behind the Shu head indicated towards the signup sheets and keys placed on the desk before them. “The library and extra study rooms are located…”
“As the headmaster said, we expect you to do your best academically and enjoy your stay here.” Cao Cao’s stern voice commanded the attention of all Wei students. “Within the next week you will receive the signup sheets for the autumn school trip which I hope you’ll all attend. Have a pleasant year in the Guanzhong Academy! You are dismissed.” He finished his mandatory speech written for all head of dormitories and sighed inwardly as he watched Sima Yi handle the students struggling to get the rooms they wanted. Not like the rooms weren’t all the same…
“You look troubled, cousin.”
Glancing to his side, Cao Cao saw that Xiahou Dun sneaked into the meeting room during the commotion the students now caused. Sighing aloud this time, Cao let some of his tiredness show.
“These speeches bore me and I see no point of them. The students know all about room arrangements and the facilities already and they won’t keep the rules, no matter how many times they’re told to.” He explained, turning towards his cousin fully.
“I understand, Mengde, but it’s still your responsibility to hold this meeting every year.” Dun replied, his expression not betraying his concern for Cao Cao. “It’s not like this has troubled you so before.” he added.
“You’re quite perceptive, Yuanrang.” Cao Cao smirked, there weren’t many people who could read him quite like the stoic man beside him. “This year, my son’s attending as well.”
“Cao Pi? I thought he didn’t want to choose Wei.”
“I thought so as well. Maybe he’s doing it just to spite me. It would be just the thing he’d do.” Cao Cao exhaled through his nose, gaze wandering back to the students crowding around his advisor’s table. He easily spotted his son, standing out in his white student council uniform. It was no surprise to him that Cao Pi passed the summer tests and got into the council, he was after all his father’s son.
Sensing someone’s eyes on him, Cao Pi looked up and his eyes met with his father’s for a long moment. However, he only smirked arrogantly at the warning in Cao Cao’s eyes and turned away, not noticing his father narrowing his eyes at his behavior.
“You needn’t worry about him, Mengde.” Xiahou Dun said after observing the exchange and placed a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “His arrogance wouldn’t let him bring shame to his family’s name.”
“I hope you’re right.” Cao Cao said with a sigh, squeezing Dun’s hand on his shoulder in gratitude.
“SWEET! I’ll be in the same flat as you, Zhao!” A loud voice echoed through the room, making both older men cringe at the noise. Looking over, Xiahou Dun visibly paled then sighed, hiding his embarrassment.
Noticing his behavior, Cao Cao eyed the loud boy and asked. “Is that Yuan’s little brother, Yuanrang?” After a small nod, he added. “He does seem quite similar to him.” he said with a smirk, enjoying his cousin’s discomfort way too much.
~