Work Text:
Hear; the Past, Present, and Future
A pair of three, beholden of all
Listen to their voice, harken their songs
For destiny cannot be escaped between the fingers of Heaven.
"Divine Mother."
A title she wasn't quite used to hearing, Mimi turns over her shoulder to bring her attention towards whoever within the flower fruit mountain call for her. The moon cupped the stars and below her feet the lake from the water curtain cave laid still as the waterfall remains endless at a distance. At this point of hour, shadows are sharp and strong, easily for those that master in the dark to skip and hop across. She knew of someone matched of this power, and coincidentally she finds herself to face him.
"Good evening, Mihou. Would you like to sit with me under the stars?" Mimi speaks with sweet benevolence that Mihou and the Great Sage claims to never break the day and night tranquility. She was never aware of her tone and language, but if the Yaoguais of this mountain find security and even peace around her then remaining natural and unmasked felt right. It always did, but such critters that see herself without threat affirms against what she hears from the Heavens and Tianshi.
Mihou gave a chirping hum, "I'll pass. Done enough of that with the King for tonight."
"Ah, so you've grown weary of his high energy." Mimi gave a sly chuckle, jabbing at him enough for his fur to puff and his eyebrows raised quickly before he threw in immediately,
"Absolutely not! Well, I mean, his Majesty does have a lot to say..." His voice cracks before slipping to run on murmurs. For the longest time, Mimi had seen the Monkey King and his close companion Liu'er Mihou's friendship bloom fruitfully as the flowers of the mountain. It was still something she herself did not expect, but the unexpected variance of it was what had her drawn to them in the first place. She had not heard of intertwined symphonies through her future hearing as similar as Mihou's and the King. A celestial, ambitious anthem that harmonize with lone, gentle pluck of strings. Even then, as she looks to the monkey now the leitmotif remains cold and steady. A more slower tempo, to echo the breezy comfort as he steps into her presence.
Once again, Mimi pats down the stump where the Monkey King's stone was at, offering Mihou to sit with her. Still lightly flustered at her earlier banter, he gives a slight pout before sinking in his shadow to fast travel besides her.
Only the tunnel between light and dark was still choppy, as she looks up to see Mihou stumble from the sky instead of rising besides her. Both arms up, she catches him safely and gave a lighthearted laugh. "Young Macaque, you shouldn't rush into the dark like that~"
Mihou's face heats up more, as he stammers, "I.. will get better at this, Divine Mother! I just had a error in foresight!"
"Patience, moonlight," Mimi smiles, setting him down besides her, "Unlike the Monkey King, your power is quiet and still. Rushing into it will only steer you from your destination."
"Inspiring, but there's not enough time for me. I have to be out there and be my King's shield." Mihou frowned, looking down at his hands, "No matter how confident I am, the darkness won't listen to me. My shadows won't listen, and I keep ending up in random places that aren't where I need to go." His claws dig into his palms as he spoke. Mimi felt that if those claws dig any deeper, she would see him bleed.
"Soon we will have a final feast before the Havoc in Heaven with the Brotherhood..." Mihou mumbled under his breath, "If... If I can't master this power then I'll just be in his way." He didn't seem to make himself bleed. She watched him let go, only to tense and hug his own arms. Even while his body speaks differently, she sees him give a weak grin with his fangs present, "Tough thoughts to digest huh? Almost unfitting as Wukong's sworn brother..."
Mimi's expression remains unchanged. Sympathy softening across her gaze, she had nothing to tell him that will ease his troubled nerves. Peng, as she had heard from the young monkeys, patronize Mihou for running away from trouble. They'd make him feel like a weak link to the Brotherhood.
Almost reminiscent to the Celestials in Heaven whose attitude towards her are similar. Cowards and those that stay far back... Never wanting to take the spotlight.
Then Mimi had an idea, the stars on her face glowing in delight.
"Do you have time tonight? Perhaps I can be of aid."
Her offer to help Mihou piqued his interest. He slowly turns to her in curiosity.
His own staff ready on his hand, he stood between the horizon of the moonlight that spills through the water curtain cave where the darkness of the cave inside met at the soles of his shoes. While Mimi made her final preparations on setting up the stage of this little game, Mihou's middle ear flicked hearing a familiar voice echo beyond the cave: Wukong.
"Soooooo, is there anything else I can do Mama?" Mihou could hear him, but seeing him was a different answer.
"Nope! Just stay right where you are, Your Highness!" Mimi, calls back to Sun Wukong. The both of them knew that the Monkey King himself wasn't the type to sit still. This wasn't a lesson for just Mihou apparently, but Sun Wukong as well. His six ears lowered as he carefully watches her light up a lantern that barely lit up anything.
"So... um.. Remind me on what we're doing again?" Mihou asked, uncertainty in his voice. Mimi answered once she stood and dusted the dirt off her hands and hanfu, "We're playing a game! Well, you and Sun Wukong more specifically. Mortal children play this echo game where the finder searches for the participants by their voice and nothing else."
"And..." Mihou paused, trying to find kinder words to say to the Divine Mother other than this is sounds stupid. Not that Mimi herself was brainless! But, "How is this going to help me master my powers?"
"It won't."
"How reassuring."
"Unless we work together to make it fun, moonlight~"
"Fun and making it work are two different things, with all due respect." Mihou murmured, leading Mimi to laugh softly. She faced him, the stars in her eyes glowing warm gold under the caves darkness.
"The outcome will be the same will it not? Except one is more boring than the other. End of the day, might as well just have fun with it."
"... I guess." Mihou nodded reluctantly, his shoes digging further into the dirt, "So... what are the rules of this game?"
A pause, and the crease of Mimi's eyes rise slightly. She was smiling again, as she held her hand up in front of Mihou and curl one finger up, immediately pulling him towards her and away from where the moonlight could reach him.
"Just play the part."
"Mihooooooou! Miiiiiiihouuuuu! Can you hear me?" The game began. The Monkey King's loud voice pierces the walls of the cave. He's been doing this for a while now, and he wasn't sure if Mimi gave Sun Wukong clear instructions on being the echo.
"Woolululu!~ Sheesh this cave has nice acoustics too!"
Mihou groaned, "Wukong, I'm trying to focus! If you keep on talking, you will sound all over the place and I won't be able to find my way to you!"
"D'aawww I think you're able to figure it out! Mama's made it easy for you to learn before our big heist! If it gets too hard you can just cheat your way through with some night vision!"
Mihou's eyes twitched irritably, "You know I can't do that."
"Sure you can. Didn't Mama tell you to--"
"Have fun? Yeah. I don't have night vision, genius. The point of the game is for me to get used to the dark so I can control it easily. If I keep on relying on the shadows to only hide away, I won't be able to use it for anything else."
A pause, making Mihou assume that Sun Wukong finally got it through his thick skull. Mihou takes a deep breath, trying to ease his nerves and tuning all his senses into the darkness surrounding him.
"... I don't think you hide away at all, Mihou." He heard Sun Wukong say.
Liu'er Mihou snapped his eyes open, before he looked down in front of him to see a red ribbon; a physical manifestation of a gifted spell that he knew right off the bat to be a transformation spell. His throat knotted, looking back up to Mimi - no, Falhura.
He knew deep down that she was one of them. Yet she seemed willing to help them through this rebellion. It was the night before, after the final feast. The Brotherhood was told that Mimi couldn't make it due to wanting to scout the heavens, but she wished to still celebrate with the King and his champion.
Instead he was by the cliffs of Flower Fruit Mountain where Sun Wukong's broken stone remained, entrusted with a mission- request- oath…? Something that cannot be said or heard of other than him.
"The thing about the Moon is that it shines because of the Sun. The Moon itself bears no light, born as a broken stone that only endlessly orbits the Earth. Without the Sun, no one would know the Moon ever existed. Yet, not even this world could live without the Moon either. Both you and Sun Wukong — together, bring a protective glow of this planet."
"Mimi-.." He didn't think to correct himself. He didn't expect it, let alone hear the dissonant from his future ear. He didn't believe she wanted him to correct himself. After a pregnant pause, he stared down at the ribbon. Mihou wanted to beg for her to fight with them and kill her goddess identity, not kill both her identities, but then the moonlight's glow of the gold cuffs that wrap around her wrist flickered as she insisted he take her gift. He looked back up to her, the same cuff on her neck that seemed like she was slowly suffocating to it. He hears his own voice crack as he pleaded a weak protest,
"There has to be another way. You can still be Mimi!"
"As long as Falhura and Mimi exist, we will never be free. This has always been 'Falhura's domain' and they will never allow her— me, to die while in these cuffs. Even as Mimi, I cannot bear to have this world be in the hands of someone even once divine like me."
"Still!" Mihou shook his head, "I can't. I can't bear to hurt you like you're just no one to me!"
And even then, that kind smile appears again. It didn't reach her eyes, however as she shut them. It almost give him hope that she may be reconsidering, but she didn't. His stomach dropped the moment he saw tears fall from her trembling lips and her smile grew wider. She spoke with the same soft sincerity,
"You don't have to. Just play the part. You're good at hiding, aren't you Mihou? You're allowed to hide, just for this one favor for both Mimi and Falhura."
The loud endless war cries and rolling chariots drowned his hearing, but he remained focused on the goddess that fought equally as the rebellious pink renegade he glamoured under. To the Heavens and the Brotherhood, Mimi and Falhura were different individuals. One was divine, and one was mortal. Exchanging each blow from each other, he saw Falhura grin but it was masked mockingly.
Deep down though, beyond the mask, she was proud of him.
"What's wrong, Renegade?" Falhura shouts to rile Mihou up, "Are you afraid to be in the Great Sage's way? Come on! Play the part, warrior!"
Mihou collapsed on his knees, but wait no further to thereafter spin his heel to knee the pig pilgrim to the gut and punt him away with the blunt end of his staff. Hearing the sand river pilgrim lunge at him, Mihou perfectly timed the exact moment he would attempt to throw his rod at Mihou for his own shadow to burst as a decoy. When caught off guard, Mihou grinned and his shadows followed and took the opportunity to strike the other pilgrim into the pile. In the corner of his eye, the Monk can only watch in horror.
"Sun Wukong, what has gotten into you?!"
He was no where to be seen. This was supposedly the group Sun Wukong slaved away to. The disciples. Pilgrims. Mihou thought to enjoy this moment, to sabotage the very people that imprisoned his King. This meant bearing his face. After all, no one could tell them apart. He slowly struts to the Monk, the darkness masking half his face to echoed laughter.
"Just playing the part, Master." Mihou spat with saccharine emphasis. His tail sways venomously, as he playfully tosses the scriptures up and down on his palm, "Now if you will excuse me, I have a journey of glory to take! Later, bud!~" He waves, before leaping into the shadows and beyond the trees of the forest.
"Wait, stop!"
"Don't make me do this!"
Liu'er Mihou laughed vicariously as if he didn't hear Sun Wukong's plea to stop his adversity. Despite Buddha's ability to see through him, that did not lead fear to stop him. It shouldn't anyways. He has to play the part.
"Come on, Wukong! Have some fun! Are you afraid of getting in the way again?" Their fight tore the heavens and earth, light and shadow clashing, "You've gotten more immortal haven't you? You can't be that afraid of death anymore! Not after you threw all of what you had away!" Mihou continued, throwing himself to the surface of the sea as he leveled tides towards Sun Wukong. In his sommersault cloud, Sun Wukong spun his staff diligently as he zigged zagged his way towards Liu'er Mihou.
Disarming her weapon, Mihou gave himself an opening to fatally strike Falhura as she was stunned. They were between the horizon of the sea and the sky, where all heaven and earth could see. It was easy to miss if he blinked, but he saw the stars in Falhura's eyes soften. The reflection in each of her eyes showed his glamour and his true face.
"Sun Wukong!"
In attempt to prevent the Great Sage from hurting who he saw was a good friend of Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang drew the circlet's spell once more. Quick and sudden, Sun Wukong immediately felt the sharp, throbbing pain and dropped the staff near Mihou's right eye. Mihou's gaze hardened, furrowing his brows as he exchanged glances from the monkey on top of him writhing in pain to the monk chanting the spell. He took the opportunity to sink into a dark portal and warp in front of the monk, preparing to strike him down.
"MASTER, NO!"
Mihou had no time to process what Sun Wukong said, as the moment he turned back—
Falhura had narrowly injured him. Her weapon was a crafted illusion, only piercing through his flesh like a breeze while his own blow to her chest and heart bled celestial gold. It burned against his knuckles, and she became cold and heavy on his shoulder. He swallowed thickly, trying to hold back tears as he was supposed to play the part.
Her cold, bloodied hands reached to his right cheek, stains of gold ichor rubbing right under his right eye. He remembered the exact moment when she became lifeless from the way her hand slipped away.
"O-Oh! Sorry, Mihou! Does that hurt?" The young girl, Freya, jumped when Mihou's knuckles gently nudged her wrist. 500 centuries from now, he wouldn't expect to have his injuries mended by a bunch of mortal kids. Not that he was complaining.
"Nah, I just think that's enough." He says, rolling his shoulder and neck, "Nothing that a good ol' glamour can hide."
"Hey! I think your scars are cool looking!" Freya pouted, putting Xiao Taiyang's medical kit away and folded her knees close to her chest, "The bandaids that come with some booboos are cute anyways!"
Mihou snorted, "Yeah, well, cute isn't my style, kid. Save some extras for yourself next battle." He gives a sly grin and a wink before leaning on the tree he sat with Freya under. The girl huffed, nudging his uninjured shoulder, "Alright, Lord of Shadows, you don't have to play the part anymore! We know deep down you're just as dorky and cheeky as the rest of the monkeys here."
His tail twitched, and Mihou opened one eye, "Yeah?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." It was painfully obvious that Freya has had it with his games. Mihou smiled warmly before he gave a nonchalant shrug.
"Didn't say you didn't mean it." He said in return.
"You little—!"
She attempted to grab Mihou's ears before he warped below the grass with a shadow portal and reappeared behind her, wrapping his tail around her waist and lifting her up. He smirked as she wriggled, "Easy there, pinkie pie. You'll open a stitch~"
"Well no damn open stitch is gonna stop me from smacking the shit out of you!"
"Will you?"
"IF YOU KEEP TESTING ME LIKE THIS!"
Mihou laughed, setting the girl down and poked her forehead, "You and the Monkie Kid, in your own ways, are a bit too much like them." A pause, "But, it's good to see there's some good potential with you two."
Freya scoffed, this time pushing his hand away from her, "What's that suppposed to mean?"
"Well, you two are really good kids; good kids with a very horrible teacher."
"Aren't you my teacher?" Freya asked, "You're your own worst critic, dude."
"Hey now," Mihou hummed with his hands on his back, "I didn't imply it to anyone here."
Freya rolled her eyes, unconvinced. She was sharp, that's for sure. She doesn't back down on seeing through the act. Mihou pulled his scarf over his nose.
"I mean it you know." Freya finally said after he believed she was done with him, "You don't have to be someone you're not anymore."
"…I know, kid." He says, voice unwavering.