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Chapter Text

Chapter Text

(Two weeks earlier…)

"You want to break off your engagement with Long Xiaojiao, a respectable young lady who comes from a powerful family, because you've fallen in love with a…human ?" Iron Fan questions, unsure whether she had heard him correctly. 

Red Son can feel himself stiffen at the sudden tension in the room. 

“Yes…but…” 

"This is outrageous!" She hisses, outraged by her son's confession on why he doesn't want to marry the young lady he's been engaged with since they were children, the two being close childhood friends. "Do you think your father and I will allow this type of union?" 

"B-but he's not a human. At least, I don't think so." Red Son begins, attempting to explain things to his mother. "One night, when it was a full moon, his human form changed—and instead of being human, he became a demon monkey. And I was surprised—"

"Do you take me for a fool?" Iron Fan scoffs, lips twitching downward. "You expect me to believe that a human somehow transformed into a demon monkey? That you're not making this story up to marry the commoner?" She sighs deeply, shaking her head, completely disappointed with her son and this… new infatuation of his. 

He frowns. 

"The Demon Bull Court will not react positively if my son, the only heir to the throne, marries a… peasant instead of someone with noble blood."

"Mother, please-" 

"Enough," Iron says firmly, gaze hardening. "You are staying engaged to Lady Long, and that's final." She places the silver fork down since she no longer has an appetite to continue eating the food before her. "You're so lucky that your father is out on a trip and not here to witness this foolishness."

And just like that, the conversation is over, his mother's sharp tone leaving no room for argument until he abruptly stands up from his seat.

“I will not stay engaged to her when my heart belongs to another!” Red Son snaps, his voice booming across the dining room table, surprising his mother and even himself with the intensity of his outburst. 

Shit. 

His anger quickly shifts into panic when he realizes what he has done, this is the first time he's ever dared to talk back to his mother, and it doesn't help that she looks absolutely furious at his little temper tantrum.

But like an angel sent from above to save him from his mother's fury, a familiar voice joins the conversation.

"Oh no, did we come at a bad time?" 

Red Son looks toward the direction of where his savior's voice is coming from, spotting his two uncles standing near the entry to the dining room. 

His mother's pinched expression softens when she turns to face her sworn brother. "Not at all. I was just wondering where I went wrong to raise such an ungrateful, disrespectful brat."

"Why is that?" Macaque raises an amused eyebrow as he strolls over with his mate following closely behind. 

"Because he wants to marry a human-" 

“He's not a human!" Red Son interjects, and a loud gasp comes out of Wukong's mouth, the golden monkey shocked to see the young prince interrupt his mother, knowing very well she hates being disrespected in such a way. 

Macaque places a firm hand on his sister's shaking shoulder to prevent a murder from occurring, and fortunately for Red Son, it works, her tense muscles relaxing at his touch.

"Aha anyway," Wukong chuckles awkwardly, throwing an arm around Red Son. "So what's this about the human you wanna marry not being…human?" 

Red Son shrugs his arm off with a glare. "He turned into a demon monkey on a full moon one night."

Wukong blinks.

"I know, I wouldn't believe me either but…" Red Son pauses, taking a moment to recall what his eyes saw many nights ago. "I know what I saw. He had golden-brown fur similar to yours except it's a darker shade and bright golden eyes with a pinkish-orange pattern across his face." He turns to Macaque before continuing in his description of the demon monkey. "But what stood out to me was that he had multiple ears like you."

"Red Son," Macaque begins, trying to push down the hope building up in his chest at the possibility that this 'human' may be his cub based on his nephew's description. "Are you sure you didn't just imagine things?"

"I'm telling the truth."

Macaque shares a look with his husband before glancing back at him. "Tell me, what village does this…strange human live in?"

***

"Wow, this drawing of me has my appearance on point." Mk mumbles, leaning closer to the poster placed right outside the shop's entrance so his eyes get a better look at it. "And the reward for finding me is… 50 bags filled with GOLD?!" His eyes go wide as he reads the text out loud, shocked at the amount the Demon Bull Clan is putting out just for him.

"Jeez! Is this guy really that desperate to marry me?!" 

It's only been a week since he's been on the run.

So far, he's been getting by, his body has gotten used to the outdoors, and the cold weather at night doesn't bother him as much. 

But now that there are missing person posters—and probably many more posted in multiple towns across different territories—this will make things much harder for him. 

And it doesn't help that a large sum of money is waiting for whoever is lucky enough to catch him. 

Mk tilts his head to the side, thinking about what to do until he spots something in the corner of his eye—a colorful mask that is for sale inside the shop.

That's it! 

He'll wear that to hide his identity. It's the perfect solution to his problem.

Hopefully it's not expensive…

The bell above the door jingles as he enters the small shop, alerting the shopkeeper of his presence, but the older woman keeps her eyes glued to the book in her hands, not paying him any mind. 

Mk heads straight to where the mask is, the smile on his face faltering when he catches a glimpse of the price tag attached to it.

Three silver coins for such a cheap-looking mask…? Mk thinks, astonished by how pricey it is despite looking poorly made. 

That's a third of his savings. 

But…he really needs this.

 ***

(10 months earlier…)

"Sooo, I'm guessing the tea was to your liking?" Mk grins, placing the empty cup down on the tray. "It's green tea—which my dad taught me how to brew."

The fire demon blinks, then huffs. "I've tasted better before." 

Mk opens his mouth, ready to say something not-so-nice, but a thought suddenly crosses his mind.

What if he's like this because he's never had friends? 

Mk saddens at the thought, but it makes perfect sense why this demon's manners are practically non-existent. Poor guy is just lonely! He should try to be friends with him so he's less grumpy.

He silently takes a sip from his cup of tea before speaking. 

"I don't think I ever got your name. Do you mind telling me?" 

"That's none of your business," The fire demon sneers, glancing away from the human. "I'm not obligated to tell you anything about myself."

While that’s true…

"Yeah, you're right." Mk mumbles with a defeated sigh. "I just wanted to know what to call you…since you might be stuck here for a while." It's quiet, and for a moment, Mk wishes he had kept his mouth shut instead of trying to befriend the demon…

"Red." The fire demon suddenly answers, drawing Mk's attention back to him. "Call me Red."

Mk's eyes widen briefly before his lips stretch into a wide smile. 

"Red.…" Mk whispers the short and simple name. "Red. Red. Red. Red. Red." He repeats the name multiple times, irritating the short-tempered demon beside him. 

"What?" 

Mk turns to him. "Oh —sorry— I didn't mean to annoy you. I just like saying your name." 

A choked noise escapes Red's throat.

"Wait!" Mk gasps, seemingly unaffected by the strange sound that came out of the demon. "I don't think I even introduced myself." He says, feeling a little flustered, and it only worsens when an image of him getting a little too close to his new friend while he was unconscious pops up in his mind. 

"I— Uh — I'm Mk," He begins clumsily, finding it hard to speak all of sudden. “And…I…I am so sorry that I was up in your personal space when WE WERE IN THE FOREST!" His voice rises into a high-pitched squeak at the end of his very awkward apology, making the demon wince.

He can feel the other's burning stare on him as he keeps his head down, nervous brown eyes focusing on the cup of tea in his hands that is beginning to grow cold.

Ugh, Mk wants to bury himself in a hole right now— scratch that —he wants to jump off the nearest cliff because the tension in this room is eating him alive! 

He has to physically fight the urge to flee the room to prevent embarrassing himself any further than he already has. 

"I suppose I can consider forgiving you," Red says, crossing his arms. "Since you finally realized the error of your ways. But, don't get your hopes up, human ..."

Mk immediately lifts his head and leans forward, eyes shining so brightly that Red has to tilt his head back from being blinded by it. "Do you really mean that!?" 

"I—"

"Oh wait!" Mk cuts him off, remembering that he was supposed to change Red's bandages a couple of hours ago but got sidetracked. "I forgot to change your bandages. I need to do it right now before you get an infection."

Red glares.

"What?" Mk blinks, tilting his head. " Oh! Don't worry. I'll try not to touch you more than necessary. It's just so you don't get an infection." 

"That's not— ugh! Whatever. Just don't take too long with it." 

***

Mk dumps three silver coins on the counter, causing the woman to glance at him and finally acknowledge his presence. 

"I wanted to buy this mask." Mk holds the mask out for her to see. 

She nods, then looks back down at her book.

Mk stares.

Uh. Is she gonna say anything? 

"You can leave now." The woman mutters, her voice comes out scratchy and so quiet that he almost doesn't catch it.

Mk blinks a couple of times as his mind barely begins to register her words, and then he speed walks out the door, feeling embarrassed for standing there like an idiot. 

When he looks outside, it's no longer bright and sunny as it was earlier, there's clouds blocking the sun, darkening the sky. 

Hm. It looks like it's about to rain any second. Maybe he should go grab something to eat before everything closes. It's been a while since he's eaten, the last time was the day before he left, and his body will need lots of energy if he keeps roaming different places until it's safe to return home.

Home.

The one Mk left (without saying a word to his friends and family), which he knows deep down was impulsive and very wrong, but it's not like he had a choice. His dads are probably worried sick about his well-being, his safety, wondering where he could possibly be and why he did such a thing.

A heavy, suffocating feeling settles throughout his entire body, and it suddenly becomes hard to breathe, the amount of guilt he's feeling becoming too much for him to handle.  

But if he goes back he'll have to marry that prince—or those demon monkeys will take him away, and he doesn't want either of those things to happen! 

And it's not like he can run away forever. No, he'll probably be caught and—

Wild thoughts and images flood his mind, and the mask in his hand falls to the ground, his fingers losing the strength to keep grasping it. 

All that he can feel is sweat forming on his forehead, and everything around him becoming fuzzy and distorted, but he's unable to process what's happening to him, to control the way his body—

But then there's a light tap on his arm before a small hand rubs his back gently. 

His eyes flicker down to a little girl standing in front of him—who seems to be talking to him with a concerned look on her face, probably asking if he's alright, but he's not coherent enough to fully understand what she's saying. 

Until something wet lands on his arm. 

Oh. 

It's raining, He thinks numbly. 

"Let's take a deep breath on the count of three together. Okay?"  

"1…" 

Soft hands grab his shaky ones.

"2…"

They give a light, comforting squeeze.

"3…"

Mk inhales, then exhales a shuddering breath. 

He does it multiple times, each one taking longer than the last. His breathing slowly becomes steady and relaxed, and his mind is calm again, no longer overwhelmed like it was a few minutes ago. 

"Thank you…" Mk mumbles quietly, extremely grateful for the girl stepping in to help him with his panic attack despite being a stranger to her.  

The little girl nods. "I'm glad you're feeling better now. But you should probably go home to change into warmer clothes since the ones you're wearing are soaked."

Mk's face falls for a moment before a fake smile takes over. "Ah —yes, thanks again!" 

But he only manages to walk a few steps because a small hand grabs his arm, stopping him from leaving. 

He looks over his shoulder. "Oh, is there something you-"

"You don't have a home to return to, right?" 

Mk freezes.

"Well, you can come over to my place." She continues, smiling softly. "I don't want you to catch a cold from the rain." 

Wait-

"B-but I'm a stranger!" Mk argues, horrified by the fact she's being so trusting, but also touched by her kind offer since he really has nowhere to go. 

The little girl shrugs, then tugs his arm. "Come on, we'll get sick if we keep standing in the rain like this!" 

Mk splutters. 

Has no one taught this little girl about stranger danger?!

"I…" Mk trails off, his resolve crumbling at the girl's puppy eyes. "I…okay. I'll stay the night, but only because it's raining."

Her face brightens, and a moment later, he's being whisked away by the odd but friendly girl. 

***

Mk stares at his reflection in the cracked mirror, sighing at the way this round-collared robe makes him look so small with how large it is on his body, but overall thankful for the change of clothes after his old ones were starting to stink.

The color of the yuanlingpao he's currently wearing is a soft gray-blue with patterns of clouds sewn into it, and underneath is a plain white shirt, bringing the whole outfit together. 

"Mk, I finished brewing the tea!"

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute!" He shouts back, turning away from the mirror. 

Bai He, the little girl's name, gave him these clothes to change into and urged him to keep them since she had no use for them. They belonged to her late father, who passed away from a disease like her mother did years before.

She lives alone, only having her pet cat, Mango, to keep her company. The orange fur ball is mischievous, but he's super friendly, and that's all that matters to Mk. 

Mk has learned a lot about her during their walk to her home, which is a small but comfy living space. 

He also decided to tell her his real name, deciding there was no point in lying since she did see his face while comforting him, and it's not like she seemed to have recognized him or his name, so he doesn't feel unsafe and in danger of being reported. 

Mk joins her at the table. "Thank you for the tea."

She hums, sliding his cup of tea over to him. He grabs it and mumbles a quick 'thank you' before taking a sip. It's quiet, but a comfortable silence between the two, the only sound being the rain pouring heavily outside. 

"So, what brings you to this town?" Bai He asks, resting her face on the palm of her hand. "We usually don't get any visitors since there's not much to do here." She gently pets Mango with her free hand, the fur ball currently curled up on her lap, taking a nap. 

"Just passing by is all." Mk answers after a long moment, which is a blatant lie, and hopefully she believes him because he sucks at lying. 

She nods. "Can I ask you another question?" 

"Sure." 

"Why is the Demon Bull Clan so interested in finding you?" 

The hot drink in his hands almost slips, but thanks to his quick reflexes, he's able to catch it, sadly some of the tea spills on the table.

"I didn't mean to scare you," She sighs. "I'm just curious since there's so many missing person posters with your face on it." 

"I— uh, don't know what you're talking about," Mk says, acting dumb. "I'm just a simple-"

"Mk, I already know who you are." Bai He cuts him off. "I knew the moment I saw your face. I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier…" 

Fuck, he's so stupid to think that she wouldn't recognize him after having multiple posters with his face on display for everyone to see. Mk is about to stand up and leave, despite how hard it's pouring outside, until he realizes something. 

She could have already reported and turned me in if she wanted to when I was vulnerable but she didn't…

Mk mentally sighs, contemplating what to do or say, and it takes a while for him to come to a decision, and hopefully it's one that he won't regret.

"I'm on the run because the prince of the Demon Bull Clan wants to marry me." Mk starts slowly, his grip on the cup tightening as he explains the story behind the missing person posters. "I don't want to marry him since I'm already in love with someone else—and as a commoner you can't reject royalty." He takes a small pause, placing the cup down so he doesn't accidentally drop it again. "So I decided the best thing to do at the time was to run away before anything could happen." 

Mk slumps in his seat, throwing his hands over his face.

"…And I-I didn't even say goodbye to my dads who are probably so worried and stressed out. I feel so awful about leaving them like that after everything they've done for me…" Mk continues, his eyes beginning to tear up as he imagines the reaction of Pigsy and Tang finding his note that he left for them on the counter.

Bai He leans forward to put her hand on his elbow. "Mk, I'm sorry that you've been feeling like this. It must be so scary traveling alone, without knowing if you'll ever be able to return home to your family." 

"I…I don't know what to do—"Mk voice breaks, which is heart wrenching to the girl's ears as she patiently waits for him to continue. "—I don't know why this is happening to me." His breathing starts to pick up while he struggles to figure out what to say, finding it hard to talk with the sudden tightness in his throat. "I don't— I'm—"

She rubs his elbow up and down in a soft, comforting manner, hoping that it will help calm him down so he doesn't have another panic attack. 

Mk lets out a choked sob before the tears start flowing down his face. He sits there for a while, eyelids squeezed shut, and body shaking violently as he cries at the possibility that he may never get to see his parents again. 

Bai He doesn't utter a single word, the only thing she does is rub his arm in a circular motion, allowing him to finally let out the tears he's been holding in for some time. 

Eventually he grows tired of crying and she notices he's in no condition to keep on conversing with her. She wordlessly guides him to his room so that he can get some much-needed rest. 

Bai He places a blanket over him. "Mk, if you ever need a place to stay, you're more than welcome to stop by any time." 

Tired brown eyes stare at her briefly before their owner smiles weakly in response. 

She smiles back and then leaves the room to give him space for the rest of the night. 

Mk looks up at the ceiling, his eyes beginning to grow heavy. 

He's fortunate to have crossed paths with Bai He, because he was starting to feel lonely (and homesick), since he usually socializes with his neighbors and friends daily. 

Thankfully, he's not alone anymore.

He has Bai He now. 

***

It's midnight when Bai He wakes up.

For some reason she's having trouble staying asleep, maybe it's because of the cold weather or the excitement of having a new friend, but she can't sleep for more than an hour. Instead of trying to fall asleep again, she decides to get up. 

As she leaves her room, a golden light comes from the guest room Mk is resting in, and it's gone the second she blinks. 

Instead of returning to her room and listening to her gut instinct, she stands at the door, her heart pounding loudly against her chest. 

Hesitantly, she opens the door.

CREEAAK!

The loud noise causes her to wince. 

Then a moment later, her heart drops.

A demon monkey is on its knees, turned away from her, with its back hunched over as it curls into itself, but its ears—six ears— twitch at the sound of the door creaking. 

The monster turns around, its eyes glowing brightly like the sun, brimming with celestial energy which lights up the dim room. 

And its fur is a wild and untamed golden brown, the tips turning a dark bronze. For a moment, this demon looks like the paintings she has seen of Sun Wukong, but unlike the Monkey King, this creature's fur is darker and has multiple ears, each glowing a different color.

However, this leaves her with one question. 

Where's Mk? Her eyes scan the room for the young adult, but he's nowhere to be seen, only this demon that is wearing the same blue robe she gave to Mk…..

…Wait.

Her eyes widen. 

This demon is wearing the same robe as Mk, so that must mean-

No. There's no way that's possible. 

A human can't just transform into a demon! She thinks, in disbelief.

But… there's no other explanation for how this demon is somehow wearing the exact clothes she gave Mk hours ago.

She steps forward, causing the feral monkey to snarl at her, baring its sharp teeth at her as it backs away.

"Mk..?" She whispers, voice hesitant. "Is that you…?"

The demon monkey hisses in response, warning her to stay away but she doesn't back down, instead she takes another step, closing the distance between them.

A sharp claw raises in the air about to slash her in the face—

—until the monkey suddenly collapses on the ground, writhing in pain.

"MK!"

Immediately she reaches for her twitching friend on the floor, and scoops him up into her arms, gently placing his head on her lap. 

Bai He runs a hand through his surprisingly fluffy fur and her shoulders sag in relief when the monkey leans into her touch, the glow in his eyes begin to dim, returning back to its normal amber color. 

"Bai He…?" Mk mumbles, confused. "Why are you h…"

He never finishes his sentence, a beam of celestial energy suddenly shoots out of his eyes—straight up into the sky, and Bai He barely leans back in time to cover her eyes, protecting them from the blinding light.

Removing her arm from her face, she notices a big hole in the ceiling that wasn’t there a minute ago. 

"I.. uh ... did lasers just come out of my eyes, or am I hallucinating?" 

She looks down at her wide-eyed friend. "I think you know the answer to that."

Unfortunately, they don't get the time to process or even discuss what happened because of loud banging coming from the front door. 

Mk tries to stand up, but his legs wobble and give out. 

"I'll answer it," Bai He places a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here and hide. Most of the villagers here despise demons."

Mk reluctantly nods, watching his friend leave the room to see who it is. 

Even though he's hiding in the room, he can still hear the front door open ( because of his enchanted hearing) and hear the voices, heartbeats, and breathing patterns of different villagers awoken by the strange light—

Mk clutches his ears, overwhelmed by how loud everything is to him, feeling like his eardrums will burst and bleed at how much pain they are in.

It hurts.

It hurts-it hurts-it hurts-it hurts-

MAKE IT STOP!  

***

(20 minutes earlier…)

"Hey bud, how's the search going?" 

Nezha narrows his eyes at the astral projection of his sworn brother, annoyed that he keeps bothering him with the same question every hour after the god agreed to aid in the search for his missing cub.

However, he understands why. 

Somehow Wukong’s cub has been miraculously alive and well without anyone knowing for years. 

Until now.

"I haven't found him yet, if that's what you're wondering," Nezha says, turning away from the Sage. "But I do have some good news."

Wukong hovers in front of him, eyes flashing with interest. "What is it?"

A smile tugs on Nezha's lips before he speaks. "I finally got a lead on where the boy may be."

After wandering around without a single clue where the human could be, a few residents he questioned in the village he stopped at earlier today recognized the young man from the poster he showed them and spoke to him days before. One of them witnessed the boy heading east as they were out collecting firewood to prepare for the upcoming rain. 

The curious expression on Wukong's face shifts into a surprised one. "Really?"

Nezha nods. "Yes, he was in the nearby village four days ago but is currently heading east." The god pauses for a moment. "Don't worry brother, I'll bring him home no matter what. It shouldn't take me too long now that I'm close on his trail." 

"Thank you Nezha, I appreciate it—"

In the far distance, a bright, familiar golden light shoots up in the sky, reaching all the way to the Celestial Realm, startling both the prince and Monkey King. 

The lance in Nezha's right hand almost slips as he stares up at the sky, the beam gone as quickly as it came. 

"Wukong."

The golden monkey's eyes nervously flicker to the god. 

"…Yes?" 

"Your cub seems to have inherited one of your abilities.” Nezha says dryly, keeping his gaze focused on where the beam came from. 

“...It seems so.”