Chapter Text
Children are born innocent. They know nothing about the world and are just so wrapped up in their own little lives that they never notice the things going on around them.
Macaque was half grateful for this fact as his body went enough many forced changes in order to satisfy Wukong’s need for a perfect family. Despite the discomfort, he could not come to despise him. Even now.
Though even he could tell, Wukong quickly realized that he bit off more than he could chew. As time wore on and their new child grew within him, the Great Sage stretched himself thin in order to accommodate all of the recent changes. Trimming excess shadow magic every so many hours, taking MK to and from playdates, dropping him off at Tang’s for homeschooling, on top of all of his additional duties.
Neither of them was aware of the Lady Bone Demon’s eminent return or who she was working with. In a way, they too were far too wrapped up in their own silly little lives.
Liu Er, in her human form, was walking with MK through the city. Gladly asking in this rare moment alone. Well, almost alone.
“Oof. Let’s stop for a second, Xiaotian.” She winced at a sharp kick. Sitting down on a nearby bench with a sigh while MK scooted close to his mama. Shooting an angry, protective glare at any passersby who got too close. He wasn’t going to let any mean poachers, or anyone for that matter, near his beloved parent or his baby sibling.
After a while, the kid was growing bored. He pressed his ear against Liu Er, attempting to listen in as kids often do.
At first, she didn’t mind, but then a chill went up Liu Er’s back like a cool breeze went past. It felt unnatural.
She wasn’t going to stick around where her kid wasn’t safe. “Okay. That’s enough rest. Let’s go, Xiaotian.”
“Aww. But I wanted to hear the baby more.”
“You can listen plenty when we get home. The whole point of our outing was to spend some time outside the house.”
The cub pouted at this before accepting his mother’s words. He couldn’t wait to be a big brother. But he started to notice his mama was getting restless. Constantly trying to find reasons to go out of the house. Mama didn’t know but before they left, Baba pulled him aside to tell him something important.
“Make sure to keep an eye on your Mama for me. Okay bud?”
The cub took that to heart and promised him that he would. It was a big task for a little boy like him. But baba never would’ve asked him if he didn’t believe in him.
They continued on their excursion. Parent and child with hands clasped tightly together.
…
The little girl peeked her head around the corner with a coo of curiosity. The lady was back again. That meant her guardian would be too.
She didn’t know very much yet, still only a toddler with a very limited understanding of her surroundings. It didn’t help she had no true parents to speak of.
Even in that limited field of knowledge there were two truths. Firstly, she had her guardian who often took care of her in a caring yet clinical fashion. Secondly, never go near the scary lady that lived with them.
The toddler quickly started crawling in reverse back before she could be spotted. She didn’t like when the lady got loud and started screaming at her.
Thankfully for her, her guardian came just in the nick of time.
“There you are. Where have you been, little one. Hmm?” He chuckled in his usual candor as he lifted the little girl up with a chuckle.
Everything was going smoothly. Thanks to the girl’s birth his place in the office was secured practically overnight. Now that he had influence in the human realm, he had been seeking out trustworthy allies for some time. Well, at least trustworthy enough to keep their mouths shut.
The little girl cooed as she began to chew on his tie while the demon threw a few glares Daiyu’s way. He knew she was up to something again. He only hoped this time he wasn’t the one dealing with it again.
“Any progress with your … little research project?” The demon asked dryly as he adjusted his hold. Removing the sopping wet tie from her mouth.
To his amusement the woman only gave a curt grumble as she crossed something off on a sheet of paper. She’d been looking for a rare artifact that supposedly would’ve been able to help. Another bargaining chip perhaps? It was nearly 10 years since her child disappeared and they were no closer than they were before.
He squashed any doubt with the same simple phrase. “Trust in the Lady, you’ll see. Everything you want and more.”
She wasn’t sure if she could believe it anymore. She’d already wasted so much precious time.
Children are born innocent. They know nothing about the world and are just so wrapped up in their own little lives that they never notice the things going on around them.
And that poor little girl had no idea of what was waiting for her.