The rain thudded heavily against the roof of the palace, a steady, rhythmic drumming that seemed to mirror that of his own heart.

He knelt with his head bowed, waiting; his eyes were closed but his mind, contrary to his peaceful appearance, was running wild – was this it? Was he going to be chosen? Were his dreams going to come true at last?

Next to him, his Shifu’s voice was low and soothing, “Relax. Clear your mind. Be at peace.”

He tried to do as he was told, exhaling deeply through his nostrils. And his mind turned to her – she would be waiting outside, as always. Waiting, they both hoped, to congratulate him.

“No.”

He stiffened. Looked up, unable to keep the disbelief from spreading over his face. Shifu rose as well, his voice just as disbelieving, just as incredulous, “But Master, how can this be? He has trained hard, he-”

“Not him.” The Master turned to look at him, his flat, obsidian eyes seemingly gazing through to his soul. “He is unworthy.”

And his life fell apart before his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four Years Later, Yanjing

Zhou Mi tossed his quill down on the table, frustrated. He turned his eyes skyward, muttering under his breath in frustration.

Next to him, Luhan glanced up coolly. “If you stopped thinking about going out and actually focused on the work, you wouldn’t feel so irritated.”

“Don’t throw me all your philosophies, Luhan. I just want to get out of here.” Zhou Mi replied snappily.

“That wasn’t a philosophy, that was a fact.” Luhan answered. With precise he finished writing, then placed his quill down gently and carefully.

Zhou Mi craned his neck, trying to look at Luhan’s answers. “Are you done?”

Luhan covered his script with his body, his eyes sharp as he looked at Zhou Mi. “Yes, and I am not going to let you copy from me again! God knows, I got into enough trouble with the teacher last time already.”

Zhou Mi bit back a sigh. “This is such a waste of time. Who cares whether or not we finish this anyway? What’s the point? It’s not like it’s going to be useful to us in the future!”

“Yes it is. The scholar’s examination is coming up in a few months’. If we do well for it, we’ll be guaranteed a place in the emperor’s service. If not – well, what else can we do? This is all we’ve been trained for our entire lives, after all.” Luhan shrugged, almost nonchalantly.

“I can…I can always wander the world like I’ve always wanted to!” Zhou Mi replied, almost defiantly. But the look in Luhan’s eyes when he looked at his friend was pitying. “Mi…a childhood dream is well enough, but we can’t just waste our lives thinking about paths not open to us.”

There was nothing Zhou Mi could say to that. Luhan was right, of course he was. As the son of a merchant, the only paths available to him was to join the emperor’s service or continue in his father’s footsteps as a merchant. The daydreams he had entertained as a child – becoming a famous warrior, wandering the world upholding justice and punishing those who deserved it, these were things he would never be able to do. But that didn’t change how unfair it all was.

With a bitter sigh, Zhou Mi pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. “I’m going out. And don’t follow me.” He threw the doors to the room open, storming out angrily.

Luhan stared after his friend. After a moment, he took Zhou Mi’s script and began to write.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zhou Mi muttered angrily, throwing his hands up in frustration as he walked, “A complete waste of my time! I swear, my life will never amount to anything!”

All of a sudden, a figure crashed into him; Zhou Mi reeled back, nearly falling, when a pair of hands reached out and grabbed him, steadying him. He winced, rubbing his arm hard.”

“Maybe you could watch where you’re going next time?” A feminine voice suggested; despite the words, the tone was joking and casual.

Zhou Mi looked up, startled. It was a girl with long brown-haired tied back into a ponytail, dressed in the traditional clothes of a martial artist; her youthful, pretty face contrasted sharply with her uniform and the sword buckled at her waist.

The girl snapped her fingers smartly in front of Zhou Mi’s face. “Hello? Anybody home?”

Zhou Mi jerked upright, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of the girl. “You...who are you?”

There was the slightest of pauses; then the girl shot him a mischievous little smile. “I’m the Queen of Wushu! All men fear me, and there is none who do not know my name!”

An even lengthier silence this time. Awkwardly, Zhou Mi pointed out, “I don’t know your name. So that means there isn’t “none” who know your name.”

That elicited a fabulous eye-roll from the girl. “It’s an exaggeration. So what’s your name?”

“Me? I’m Zhou Mi.” He introduced himself with a smile.

 She opened to speak again, but before she could say a word, a voice called out from behind her, “Qian! Let’s go! Shifu is waiting for us!”

Zhou Mi looked over the girl’s shoulder, which wasn’t difficult considering her average height. The man standing behind her was tall, with short, cropped black hair and a playful grin on his face. Like the girl, he was dressed in the traditional uniform of a martial artist, but instead of a dagger buckled at his side, he wielded a long metal staff, which he twirled over his head as he called impatiently again, “Come on, Qian, or we’re going to be late!”

The girl, Qian, gave a nod; Zhou Mi reached out to hold onto her - he wanted a moment more to talk to her, this girl who came from a world completely different from her own, this girl whom he would perhaps never meet again. Only a hair’s length away - but the girl was gone, chasing after the other man.

Zhou Mi stood frozen for a second; then, before he knew what he was doing, he began to run after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Qian caught up with Tao as he slowed down; she mock-punched him in the shoulder. “I was having a conversation back there, you know!”

Tao’s brows raised, amusedly. “With that nerdy-looking kid? No offence, but he kind of looks like a wimp.”

Qian rolled her eyes. “You think anyone who’s not from Shushan is a wimp.” She glanced warily about the busy marketplace, bustling with activity as commoners and shopkeepers haggled over prices. “So where’s Shifu waiting for us? Or did you just say that to get me away from the “wimp”?”

“He’s waiting for us at the north gate.” Tao replied calmly as he swung his staff over his shoulders.

The two navigated their way carefully through the crowded marketplace; Qian felt out of place here, as she always did. Raised in the quiet, lonely mountains of Shushan Sect, she was rarely exposed to so many people, so much activity, all at once. Despite Tao’s seeming nonchalance, she was sure he felt the same way as she did; Tao almost never left the mountains, and thus was even more unused to the harried activity of the busy cities.

They reached the north gate without incident; Qian’s eyes cast about her, before turning back to Tao, irritated. “He’s not here. Are you trying to prank me?”

She took back her words almost at once; Tao’s eyes were just as concerned as he turned around and around, going up on his toes as he tried to look out for their Shifu. “I don’t see him either; he said he’d be here with the others!”

“Are you sure he did?” A smooth voice interrupted.

Tao and Qian spun around, their eyes widening in shock. Tao’s eyes narrowed. “Changmin. What are you doing here?”

The other man was tall, his short brown hair windswept. Unlike them, he was dressed in light armor, with two swords buckled at his sides. Behind him was another familiar face; Cho Kyuhyun dressed in similar armor but wielding scimitar instead. The duo stood outside the north gate, facing the town.

Changmin drew one of his swords. “Let’s take this away from the town, shall we? I’m sure you would not want to involve innocent townsfolk.” His tone was casual, his smile pleasant, but the threat was implicit in his words.

Tao’s voice was bored, “Here, there, anywhere - does it matter? Let’s just get this over and done with.” He swung his staff around, pointing it straight at Changmin.

Kyuhyun was a flash of movement; in a single fluid action he drew his scimitar and stepped in front of Changmin in a defensive pose, his voice softly threatening, “Your enemy, Panda, is me.”

But before any of them could say a word, another voice interrupted, bewildered, “What in the world are you doing?”

Qian whipped around, her eyes startled; Zhou Mi stood behind them by the gate, his eyes puzzled as he stared at them, completely unaware that he had just stepped into a deadly crossfire. 

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A.N: Here's the start of this story! A few characters have been introduced already: Zhou Mi, the earnest boy who hates studying and is always dreaming of becoming a warrior who fights for justice; Luhan, the good and loyal friend who wants the best for Zhou Mi; Victoria (Qian), who's quite a playful, vivacious girl; Tao, the mischievous panda; and the two mysterious baddies Kyuhyun and Changmin!

First off, on Qian and Zhou Mi: Zhou Mi's just a boy who really, really wants to become a warrior, which is why he's so shocked (and kind of excited) upon seeing Vic, to the point that he follows her when she leaves. Qian doesn't think much of him - he's just some random guy she ran into, but she is worried about him when he entires the crossfire, because she doesn't want to hurt innocent people. 

Luhan and Tao - Luhan's the loyal best friend who just wants to protect and help Zhou Mi. He's not as naive as Zhou Mi (he understands that sometimes, dreams are just dreams and you have to do the best with what you have) but at the same time he cares for Zhou Mi enough to help him entertain his dreams (he helps Zhou Mi do his work, so Zhou Mi won't be punished for not completing it). Tao's just the playful badass - he's a little mocking, a little mean, but it's all for the sake of fun. 

I've updated the character descriptions, so please check them out! The other characters described there will appear in the next chapter ^^

Oh - and can anyone guess what the scene right at the top is about? Cookies for you if you can guess it!

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