Work Text:
The sun shines brightly again over Megapolis, another picture-perfect day. Pigsy’s Noodles was blooming with customers for lunch. Now that the rush is over, the place is nearly empty. As a small group leaves the restaurant, a girl walks inside.
The girl had hot pink hair with light pink tips, tied up in buns on the top while the rest hung down. She had blue LED eyes, and she was dressed in a pet store uniform. She walked in with a smile on her face, looking around the restaurant.
“Welcome to Pigsy’s Noodles!” The owner, Pigsy himself, said to her. “Home of the world’s longest noodles! How may I help you?”
“Hello! Can I get a bowl of your popular noodles? I heard this place had the best noodles, and I had to try them!” The girl said with glee.
“Of course! Have a seat, it’ll be done in a minute.” He said as he turned back to the pot of noodles.
The girl nodded as she took a seat at the counter. She pulled out a book from her bag and flipped to the spot she had left off. She read a bit before her eyes turned into hearts and she started to steam. She continued to read as she waited patiently for her bowl.
She ends up grabbing the attention of the man sitting just a seat away from her. Tang wasn’t paying attention to her at first until he heard her gushing over her book. He turned to her, and his face turned from confusion to slight anger. The monk stood up and made his way to the back.
At the back of the restaurant was where MK was, cleaning up dishes from the big lunch rush. For once, he wasn’t tasked to deliver noodles. He was listening to music, so he didn’t notice Tang was there.
“MK,” Tang said as he tapped MK’s shoulder.
MK screamed before he moved his headphones down. “Mister Tang! Are you finally going to clean the dishes for once?”
Tang ignored him. “MK, I think we have a problem.”
MK’s eyes widened slightly as he finished up the bowl in his hands. “What’s going on?”
The monk turned MK’s attention to the front, the girl had her noodles in front of her. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of her food. She takes a quick photo before she takes a bite. Her eyes widened, and her face blushed as fireworks exploded behind her. She started to eat with tears in her eyes. Pigsy looked on with a satisfied smile as he cleaned up the counter.
“Um, Mister Tang? I’m confused.” MK looked at the monk. “What’s up with her?”
“The book in her lap.” He said, pointing in the direction of the book. The book was still open in her lap, but the back cover was still visible. The characters for “black list” were in large red print. “Do you remember our talk of The Cloud?”
“The big library thing?”
“Yes. It houses all kinds of books in it, including books that are banned for various reasons.” Tang fixed his glasses. “I’m worried about that book she’s reading. That’s definitely a banned book if I’ve ever seen one. It could be possible that the book she’s reading is one with dark magic or something of the sort.”
MK nodded. “No problem, I’ll see for myself.” He walked over to the girl. “Yo! What’s up with ya? I’m MK, one of the greatest delivery guys around!”
The girl giggled. “I’m Xuan. Just having noodles before I go back to work.”
“Hah! If you’re one the greatest, I didn’t have to yell at ya to make the deliveries!” Pigsy retorts.
“Hahah, that’s not important right now. Anyway! What’s the book you’re reading?” MK smiled, looking down to the book on her lap.
Xuan’s face turned red as she looked at him. She sweats as she closes her book. “Oh! Um, it’s nothing! You wouldn’t like it!” She turned to Pigsy. “I’ll like the check, please. Hehe, quickly, preferably!”
Tang walked over and stood next to MK. “That’s a banned book. What exactly are you reading?”
“Enough! Both of ya! I’m trying to run a business here!” Pigsy yelled.
“You know what.” She stands up, grabbing a large sum of money from her pocket. “KEEP THE CHANGE!” She screams as she throws the money on the counter and makes a run for it.
“Hey! Get back here!” MK yells out as he runs after her. “Just tell me what you’re reading!”
“I can’t!” She yells as she runs faster with a boost.
“Ugh! How is she running like that?!” MK pulls out his staff, using it to throw himself up the buildings.
He runs after her through the building tops with his staff as a boost. Leaving Tang and Pigsy behind. Tang lightly jogged for a moment before giving up.
He looks at MK and sighs. “I’m sure he’s got this.” He turned around and met with Pigsy standing in front of him.
Pigsy glared daggers at him, clenching his fists. “Tang… explain to me why you and that good-for-nothing ran away MY customer.”
“Uh… she had a banned book?” Tang said with a nervous smile.
“THAT’S IT?!” Pigsy screamed. The pig demon’s scream can be heard over the block.
——
“I’m sure I can find some inspiration with a walk.” Red Son said, looking around the park he was in. “I need to find a way to give Father the power he deserves!” He clenched his fist as he continued walking.
“PLEASE STOP FOLLOWING ME!” Xuan yelled in the background. “I PROMISE IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!”
“JUST ADMIT IT!” MK yelled. “THAT’S ONE OF THOSE DEMON BOOKS! GIVE IT TO ME!”
Red Son was caught off guard by the chase going on in front of him. He shook his head. “Wait? Did I hear that right?!” The demon runs to his car in a panic. “A demon book?! A banned one at that!” He started his car and sped up to Xuan. “That book! I need it!”
Xuan screams as Red Son catches up to her. “NO! NOT ANOTHER ONE! IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!”
“THEN WHAT IS IT THEN?!” Red Son yelled.
“I CAN’T SAY! I WON’T! BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY IT’S NOT WORTH IT!” She sobs. She runs into a wall, climbs it up, and jumps over a couple of buildings into an alley.
During her sobbing screams, Mei catches up to them. She was called in by MK for help. She speeds up her bike to make a jump after her. She pulls some tricks while in the air before landing safely near Xuan. The robot runs down the alley to a dead end. She looks around for a place to hide or a way out.
“No place to hide or run! I’m also low on energy! I can’t do anything else!” Xuan said in a panic. “I can't change my form either!”
Just then, Mei pulls up to the dead end. She hops off her bike and pulls out her sword. Pointing the Dragon Blade at Xuan, but she stopped when she took a good look at the robot in front of her.
“Huh? Haven’t I seen you before?” Mei said in confusion. “Wait! You work at the Pet Store! I recognize that uniform!”
“HERE COMES MONKIE KID!”
MK crashed down into the ground, the staff creating a crater from the impact. He stands ready to battle. Soon after, Red Son stops his car and jumps out. Landing in front of the two.
“You! Hot Pink Peasant!” Red Son pointed at Xuan. “Hand over the book! That book will be the key to my father’s world domination!”
MK walked towards Red Son. “Uh, no! I'm getting the book to destroy it!”
“Noodle Boy! Don’t get in my way!” Red Son’s eyes flared up in flames. “I’m getting the book!”
“Hold on! WHY are you two going after her?! She’s clearly a worker at the pet store!” Mei said, getting in the middle of them.
Xuan looked at the three with a cold sweat. Thankful that the dragon girl was on her side. She looked at the two men in front of her, and her eyes turned into hearts. “Wow, they’re way cuter now that I got a good look at them…” She said to herself. She pulls out the book, looking at it for a second before shutting her eyes tightly. “Okay! Fine! I’ll talk!”
The three turned to her, going closer to her. The robot’s face turned red as she turned the book over. With the paper side showing, she opens to the page she was reading. A piece of paper falls out and lands under MK’s shoe.
“THIS IS A GAY LOVE STORY!” Xuan yelled out in embarrassment.
The three look at the book a second before all of their faces turn red. A mental image appeared as two soldiers were proclaiming their love for each other in a very seductive fashion. Wrapped up in the tentacles of an octopus. The tentacles squeezed around them, the soldiers drooled and gasped. They were pushed together, panting as they closed into a kiss. Red Son was the first to come back from the mental image, backing away dramatically with fire popping out of his hair.
“A-Ahh…?!” Red Son said in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “What a WASTE of time!” He screamed as he made a beeline to his car. “YOU PERVERT!” He ripped his engine and drove away.
Xuan was close to tears. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you what I was reading!”
“B-But the black list symbol-“ MK sheepishly said.
“It’s no longer banned!” Xuan turned to the front inner cover, there was a stamp of a guardian with a thumbs up. “Books as old as this no longer have their original covers and sometimes don’t have an author anymore. There’s a whole section in The Cloud with other books like this.” Xuan pulls the book closer to her, hugging it.
Then, there was a pause before Xuan spoke up again. ”Either way, I’m a robot! I can’t even use magic or anything like that!” Xuan turns to her watch. “Great! My lunch break is almost over, and I’m all drained out! There goes the energy I got from my lunch…”
“I’m sorry. How about I drive you back to work?” Mei said, holding her hand out to Xuan.
“No, thank you, it’s not far from here.” Xuan started to walk away. “AH! I EMBARRASSED MYSELF IN FRONT OF THE MONKIE KID!” She cried out. “The life of a Rotten Girl will never be easy…”
Mei and MK watch her walk away. “MK, you really screwed up here.”
“It was Mister Tang!” He said in defense. “He saw the book and thought the worse!”
“Well, now there’s a girl out there who’s embarrassed to look you in the eyes,” Mei said, disappointed.
MK sighs. He looks down and notices the paper under his shoe. He picks it up, and his face turns red again.
——
Laughs filled the air as Monkey King held himself. He was laughing so hard his sides hurt.
“Kid! Bud! No way you thought those kinds of books are THAT easy to get! No, they’re more likely in the celestial realm!” Monkey King said in between laughs. “I have a good idea who’s watching over those bundle of sticks…” He wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, hilarious,” MK said. “Oh! I actually know she’s a fan of yours.”
“Really? How do you know that?” Monkey King said, sitting up from his cloud. “I’m not relevant to the story at all.”
MK pulls out the paper from his pocket. “This dropped out of the book.”
One of Monkey King’s eyebrows rose. He grabbed the paper and took a look at it. He froze and stared in disbelief. The paper had a drawing on it, a pinup drawing of him and the Great Monk lying in bed, wrapped around each other while staring at the viewer. He dropped the paper and nearly gagged.
“Oh no! She’s one of THOSE fans!” The monkey groans. “Why did you show me that?!”
MK only laughs at Monkey King’s misery. Grabbing the paper again and continuing to laugh.