Author's Notes:

Yuri? Kind of. I don't really think of this as a yuri, just some kind of bonding that one doesn't really understands. If you wish to call this a yuri, you may...after all, Chai did kiss Ping on the lips before leaving, fully knowing that Ping's a woman.

The theme "worth protecting" comes from the song "A Girl Worth Fighting For" but I changed the words a little. I believe that they were already talking about that subject even before the fic setting. The story was inspired by the scene where Mushu whistled to some farm girls and the girls giggled and whispered while Mulan looked about ready to die. Ping does look beautiful, doesn't he? Early Chinese bishonen.

Everybody are out of character, but then, we didn't have much of a character, huh? Even Mushu wasn't in character and Kri-kee. Sorry about that. I would also like to apologize about the transition between Ping and Mulan. I had a difficult time there so I wouldn't be surprised if everything's messed up.

Historical notes:

Instead of the traditional "Hua Mulan", I kept with the Disney version of "Fa Mulan". I think Disney also named the cricket "Cri-kee" but I chose "Kri-kee" because I think it looks good. While Xialao Chai, Xuu'yu and the captains and monks of the town are my own creations, the rest are not. They're not mine.

In the poem/ballad of Mulan, Mulan has an older sister and younger brother. In the movie, it seemed highly weird that a distinguished family like Mulan's didn't have a male heir while her father already looked so old. According to the poem, Mulan's brother was too young to join the army, so to save her father and brother, she dressed up as a man. Thus were Bee-Len (Mulan's younger brother) and her Achi-Chen (Mulan's older sister) born in this story. By the way, Achi means "older sister" or something you call a girl who's older than you. Something like "Oneesan" but comes before the girl's name. My language, which was also taken from some Chinese, has it translated to "Ate" (ah-teh). It doesn't say so in the story, but I also had Mulan have another sister, younger than Bee-len, whose name is Mai Mai (5 years old).

The reference on the eunuchs came from a discussion I heard somewhere. Eunuchs are there to serve the girls in the harem, and are such so they will not "despoil" the woman. I believe it is also so not to "despoil" the emperor.

I don't think there were women scholars in the old China, but I made Xuu'yuu-tze a different kind of monk and the monastery takes in girls who wish to learn how to write something besides their own name. I can dream, can I? That's why in one scene, before they enter the village, Chai has to cover her face and robes with a cloak.

Terminologies:

Baba - "father"
Achi - "older sister/girl"
"-tze" - "master" or "teacher"
xie-xie - "thank you"
dao - I imagine this to be "greater than the one speaking"
"xiao-" - smaller