Chapter Text
Chapter One - Troublesome
Ne Zha was a very busy guy. Hence, he had a great reputation around the Celestial Realm. He guarded the celestial realm, was a child protector, among other things. He never slacked off, followed the rules, did what he was supposed to.
It was a normal day. The prince was in his dorm getting ready for yet another day or hard work. He put on his armor, did his hair, looked for his spear and got out. The place was empty. Usually, there were ladies looking out for the peaches of immortality, but that wasn't the case that day. It was a bit strange to him, but he paid it no mind and moved on from it. A few minutes after this, Li Jing — Ne Zha’s father and Master of the Pagoda — walked up to him.
— Is everything right, father? — The prince asked.
— Send troops to the Eastern Sea. Now. — Li Jing demanded. Ne Zha didn't have time to question why he wanted troops to be sent to the sea, but he immediately got ready and led his men.
The place was windy, clouds were grey and the atmosphere was overall just… tense; Something wasn't right . Troops were ready, armed, and in a fighting stance. Ne Zha was floating in the air, observing from above and looking for the root of his father’s straightforward command. His gaze roamed all over the place. He looked over at his troops, and when he did, he witnessed a white, blue-maned dragon come out of the sea and start to cause chaos everywhere.
The men were starting to attack it, shooting arrows, tying divine ropes around it, trying whatever it was needed to take out this fierce dragon. — Ne zha had never seen a dragon before. He had heard of the Dragon Clan before, yet had never seen a member of them in person. The prince attacked, using his Fire-Tipped Spear to knock this menace out and take it to the Court of Heaven.
Something intrigued the Prince; The strength of their opponent — It was equally as powerful as Ne Zha, maybe a little more. He started to piece things together; hundreds of troops were sent with urgency to the Eastern Seas, whose king was Ao Guang. This for sure wasn't Ao Guang, or any of the other 3 Dragon Kings. If anything, this had to be one of Ao Guang’s sons.
— You! Surrender in this instant, or else- — The Prince was suddenly in the dragon’s grasp. He grunted and was about to release himself, if it weren't for his notice of the animal’s eyes staring directly into his own eyes. They both stared at each other.
— Something about you… is different. — Said the dragon. It was the first thing that had come out his mouth. Ne Zha scowled and signaled the troops to attack him when he had his guard lowered. The dragon finally was about to get knocked out. The Lotus Prince took this opportunity to free himself and use his Magical Ribbon to tie this dragon up.
— Send him to the dungeon, for now. Until the Court decides what to do with him. — Ne Zha ordered. The troops bowed quickly and took the animal away. Ne Zha was behind by a little bit. He just floated, thinking about what just happened, the words said do him by this…. Dragon? Person? He wasn't sure
— Prince, are you hurt? What took you so long? Were there any more dragon sightings? — A male guardian asked. He looked up and down at the Prince to make sure he was physically all right.
— I'm fine. I'm unharmed.
— Well, that's a relief. Your father has a task for you, but go shower first or… get some rest. You clearly need it, no offense, prince. —
—…Very well. — Ne Zha said this with a… troubled, soft tone of voice.
The guardian nodded and was about to leave, but the prince stopped him.
— Wait.
The guardian looked up, waiting for him to say something.
— The Dragon. Where is it? …Or him? — For some reason, he sounded like he really wanted to know where this person went to. — Maybe rest can wait. What is the task my fathers needs me to complete? — He said, having a more confident and steady expression.
— Follow me, Prince.
They walked around the Celestial Realm for a little while. Ne Zha recognized this route — it led to the dungeon. It had been a while since he walked down these quiet, cold halls. Before entering, the guardian turned his attention to Ne Zha.
— Unfortunately, we have no news regarding the Supreme Lord or from any of the 12th Immortals to help us solve this case. As you may recall, we hadn't seen a dragon in centuries, so this alarmed the entire Realm. However, unless we have an official order from the ones mentioned, we can't really do anything to the Dragon.
— And… how does that involve me?
— Your job will be to keep an eye on him until the Supreme Lord or the 12th’s answer our call. It's only gonna be a couple of weeks.
— My father wants me to do this?
— Yes. — Ne Zha’s face was unreadable. Black. He was about to ask more questions but decided to accept his fate and do what his father asked him to.
— All right.
The guardian nodded and left after giving a few instructions. Ne Zha was nervous, even if he didn't show it. He grew more and more unsteady as he felt the cold air send shivers down his spine. Finally, he arrived at the cell. He looked up and saw the dragon from earlier. It was…huge. It barely fit in the cage. He immediately raised his guard and grabbed his spear as the imprisoned struggled to find a comfortable position. He hadn’t noticed the prince, who had been staring at him quietly for a while now. He flinched and immediately tried to use the disguise spell to turn into a human. Before he could concentrate, Ne Zha spoke.
— Who are you?
No response. Ne Zha scowled slightly and tightened his grip on his spear. The Dragon stared at him and crystalline water surrounded the dragon for a second, revealing his human form. Ne Zha’s guard lowered for a second as he examined him. He had several injuries, but had a steady position. Some blood here and there. His outfit wasn't that relevant to him, but his face was. Slightly taller than him, baby blue eyes, long eyelashes, blue long hair, small horns on his forehead and a bun. He didn't look evil, he looked… like a whole different person. Crazy change compared to the monster who had attacked him and his men earlier that day.
— So dragons aren't extinct. — Ne zha said. Neutral tone. Still no response. This was starting to bug him. He could say anything and still wouldn't get anything out of this guy’s mouth.
— Release me from this cage. Right now! — The blue haired guy yelled out. He was demanding it, not asking. He looked mad, grasping the bars tightly. The sudden aggression startled Ne Zha and he raised his spear at him immediately. The dragon guy didn't back off at this.
— Where are the rest of you?
— Why would I tell you anything? Do whatever you want with me, but leave my father’s clan out of this.
— “Clan?” So you are one of the sons of Ao Guang! You- You should be extinct! — The room’s atmosphere gave chills to both of them. Both frowning at each other, the dragon looked pissed.
— Why? What did we do? — He had a scowl and a mean tone of voice.
— Well, to begin with, you attacked troops of Heaven for no apparent reason. You- — The Prince was interrupted.
— And you showed up with armed men for no apparent reason. To Heaven, it's a crime to defend myself and my people?
— There are more like you, then. More dragons. You're gonna tell me where they are right now.
The guy stayed quiet. Ne Zha too. He sighed and sat down against a wall, looking down at the floor. The Dragon noticed this and scowled at him.
— Are you not gonna… kill me? Or burn me alive, whatever they do to “Bad people” here.
Even after everything he had said, all the sarcasm and irony, his voice was incredibly soft. He was very soft-spoken, which relaxed Ne Zha a little bit.
— … I don't know yet.
— Yet?
— We can't do anything without an order. I'm supposed to keep an eye on you so you don't… you know, sneak out.
The dragon sighed and threw himself to the stiff bed, groaning. He hated being trapped in a cage.
— What's your name? — Ne Zha asked.
— Ao Bing.
Ne Zha looked down with a serious gaze. Ao Bing, huh. He sighed.
— Hmm. Alright, Ao Bing.
— Yours?
— Ne Zha.
Ao Bing’s eyes narrowed, he felt like that name was familiar, but didn't say anything. He just looked away. He noticed Ne Zha getting close to the cage.
— Don't tell on my clan. Please.
The prince was a bit surprised at this, not expecting him to say something like this.
— I have to. Its my job.
— Please.
Ne Zha frowned.
— You're a dragon, you don't give me orders.
— Oh, of course. The dragons are the villains, never trust them. Right?
Ao Bing mocked the mindset of the Celestial Realm’s population and how, to them, dragons were the original villain. That was the last straw. Ne Zha had had enough of this guy. He aggressively opened the cage, went in and locked it, of course. He pointed his spear at Ao Bing and was about to set him on fire.
— One more word out of you, and you're done for. All that will be left of you will be your ashes.
Ao Bing finally decided to tone it down a little bit. He stared at Ne Zha just like he did when they had their first encounter. Huh. He was right, the Prince really was… different. He could feel it in his bones. He grabbed the spear and used it to get up, getting extremely close to him.
— You're oddly familiar. — The Dragon Prince said, softly.
— Excuse me?
Then, there was an awkward silence. This had caught Ne Zha off-guard. He took the spear away from the Dragon's neck. As soon as he did that, the Dragon got up and got obnoxiously on his face, staring at him with a tad of curiosity. Ao Bing’s eyes narrowed. Ne Zha pushed him away.
— What the hell? You don't just do that.
Ao Bing rolled his eyes as Ne Zha shoved him.
Ne Zha frowned at the nickname but wasn't exactly mad. Nor annoyed. It took him a while to notice that nobody even came down here at all. There weren't any other prisoners, nobody. It was just… Ao Bing. Was he so dangerous or important that they couldn't just kill him and move on, but they had to wait for an actual order from the people above them? — It was getting late. Ne Zha had already left the cell by then. Nothing much more important happened that night. Ao Bing was in his bed, about to fall asleep. Ne Zha stared at him. This was such a weird guy, yet so interesting. Since he thought Ao Bing wasn't that much of a threat, he decided to go back to his dorm and go to sleep himself.
The prince finally went inside and flopped face-first on the bed, thinking about what a day he had, and what a guy he had met. After resting for a good 10 minutes without doing anything, he got up and went inside the shower, and afterwards got in his sleeping clothes. Once he was in bed, he stared at the ceiling and all that was in his mind was Ao Bing. Ne Zha thought about his personality. The sassiness, the way he would get weirdly close to his face and just stare at him. This guy was the same giant, dangerous dragon who tried to eliminate over 100 men. Yet… he looked forward to seeing him the next day.