Ever since the "ghost" incident, neither of them talked, it was quiet as they walked through the meadow. Looking ahead, (Y/n) saw a landscape of hills, they must be close to the valley's end. She glanced at Monkey who was still looking straight ahead. There was no tension between them and yet she felt like the silence was pushing them apart by the seconds. She wanted to say something but found nothing to start a conversation with, a friendly one filled with both laugh and sarcasm like the ones they've had together before. How she wanted to go back to that. She quietly sighed and let her gaze wander.
"Oh! Look!" she pointed, happy to have found something. "A crane!"
Monkey looked over. There was indeed a crane.
"I've never seen one before." she said.
He just looked forward again. (Y/n) wanted to tell him she heard that cranes were very spiritual birds and that they'd sometimes represent passed loved ones. But considering what happened, she didn't bring it up and kept observing the bird. It walked around through the tall grass, its head down, as if it was following something. She thought nothing of it at first but when it started to peck something and she heard a scream, she realized the crane was attacking someone.
"Hey!" she ran over to the bird and stood between it and the little old man it was attacking. "Shoo! Shoo!"
It looked unfazed by her but then Monkey came over and glared at it.
"Shoo." he pressed, and the bird flew away with a shriek.
"Are you okay sir?" (Y/n) asked, leaning over the old man with a concerned expression.
"Aouch~!" he held his head in pain but then shook his fist at the crane, flying high above them. "You damn bird! Ruining my daily stroll yet again! I don't care if you're symbolic I'll get you one day! And I'll round up that beak of yours see how you like me now!"
As he kept yelling, (Y/n) took a closer look at him and realized that he wasn't a human. He was too small, like half her size, his bald head looked like a turnip and his eyebrows were so hairy they covered his eyes.
"Excuse me but..." she asked, making him look at her. "Are you an Earth God by any chance?"
"I sure am!" he said as he picked up his cane.
She quickly bowed as soon as he said that.
"I'm honored sir."
"Finally some respect. Unlike *someone*!" he looked up at the crane. "Yeah that's right I'm talking to you!"
He went back to shouting and Monkey walked back to the road.
"Um, well." (Y/n) looked at him go before turning back to the God, bowing again. "Good day to you." she said before rushing back to her companion.
The old god watched her go and just then did he notice Monkey.
"Huh?! Hey!"
They both looked back but he wasn't there anymore. Suddenly, he appeared from the earth in a little cloud of smoke right in front of Monkey. (Y/n) yelped in surprise, but the two men didn't mind her.
"You're Sun Wukong aren't you?" he pointed at him with his cane, almost hitting his nose.
"Yeah. Why?" he said, pushing it aside.
"Oh~ finally!" he turned towards (Y/n). "Then you must be the new Golden Cicada."
The two companion exchanged a brief look of confusion before looking back at the old god.
"Uh...yeah? How do you-?"
"Great, wonderful!" he paused to look at her eyes. "Camouflage, smart. You're a clever one." he motioned a finger gun.
"Oh I didn't-
"More importantly, I have some stuff to give you."
"Stuff?" she blinked twice.
"Yes, the previous guy was supposed to have it, but he just wanted to learn the sutra of last resort and left right after that."
"Wait, you met my father?!" she leaned a bit closer to him.
"Your father?! Small world we live in." he smiled to himself before pointing ahead of the road. "I'll wait for you in my hills."
"Where in the hills exactly?"
"You'll find it, sometimes the spirit remembers." he tapped his temple with a smile right before disappearing into the earth once again.
Now alone, they both looked at each-other and shrugged before going back on the road. They had to go through the hills anyway so this wasn't a big change of plan.
"Do you seriously believe him?" Monkey asked.
"I'm not sure. He did meet my father, it won't hurt to see what he has to give me."
He hummed.
"Even if he was playing a trick, are Earth Gods powerful?" she asked.
"Depends. But with this guy? We'll be fine." he said. "Unless he's luring us to bigger more powerful baddies."
"Like an army of cranes?"
He puffed a smile. She smiled too, happy to have gotten that reaction out of him.
"Who knows."
And the conversation ended.
'No~ keep talking!' she thought.
As they left the valley and the ground started to go slightly upwards, (Y/n) looked back and realized the vastness of the place. She admired the view, like she would do almost everyday back in her village. She could see the large clear shadows the clouds cast unto the valley, slowly moving with the gentle wind.
"What are you doing?" she heard Monkey behind her.
She slowly inhaled.
"Contemplating." she exhaled. "Never in my entire life did I think I would be travelling this far for this long."
"There will be a much longer way to go after you see Guan Yin."
"...I can still kind of retrace my steps." she said, drawing an invisible line on the landscape. "I wonder if I'll always be able to do that, to remember where I've been and who I've met."
There was a moment of silence. She sighed.
"I hope so at least." she said as she turned back and the two of them kept going. "I really hope so."
Once they've reached the top of one of the hills, Monkey took a long look around.
"Do you see him?" (Y/n) asked, sitting down to take a little break.
"Nope. That mole must still be in the ground."
"You can't call a god a mole!"
"I can, I just did." he kept looking and suddenly froze. "Wait."
She tilted her head.
"I've been here before."
"Really?"
"It changed for sure but..." his eyes narrowed. "I think..." he then rushed down the hill.
"M-Monkey!" she called out, trying her best to follow him.
"Yes! I remember that tree!" he pointed at a big tree stump as he kept walking with decisive steps. "I took a nap there, it was still alive before!" he turned around, now walking backwards. "I think... The king stepped in from over there and I went for it but then they put the seal on me and I got knocked all the way over there to the mountains where I got trapped. Before that... I battled them over there. They tried to get me away but I kept my ground right there." he pointed at different spots in the sky as (Y/n) looked at him, confused. "Right!" he turned back, looking around. "I used my duplicates, took a bunch of them down, did a few poses and told a few awesome lines for aesthetics reasons, one of them transformed so I transformed too, took her down after beating the ones who wanted to sneak kill us because before all that we-!" he stopped.
(Y/n) stood beside him and looked at where he was staring. Covered in moss was a big broken statue of Buddha, almost unrecognizable now, there was also the ruins of a temple. She joined her hands and prayed. Monkey walked closer.
"...this is it." he said, placing a hand on the back of his shoulder as he looked down at a piece of stone representing a third of Buddha's face. "This is where we stopped for the night."
She felt her chest tightening as she figured what he was talking about.
"Is this where...?" she began to say, but stopped herself.
She didn't want to ask such a question, not to him. Yet, he still gave an answer.
"This is where I last saw him...Saw them." he said in a monotone voice, not showing his true feelings.
She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.
"Why was it kept like this? Did no one try to repair it?"
"Do you see anyone around here?" he gestured to their surroundings. "Who would want to stay longer than a day somewhere where a fierce bloody battle was held?"
She frowned slightly. She walked passed him and grabbed the statue piece, she gathered the parts she could lift and looked back and forth from them to the statue's bottom, representing Buddha's crossed legs, which was still intact.
"You don't have glue or anything that could stick it together." Monkey said, figuring out what she was planning.
"Maybe if we balance it correctly, we won't need glue." she pointed at a bigger piece. "Could you get that one please? I think that's his stomach."
He looked at the piece, then at her back facing him. He sighed and went to take it, he figured she won't change her mind on this one. He took the bigger pieces and together they tried to figure out how they all fitted.
"It's not on the left, here turn it around." (Y/n) turned said piece. "That's the right side of his robe."
"Oh wow (Y/n), I didn't know you knew exactly what he looked like. Have you seen him? Are you pals?"
"Last time you saw him was six hundred years ago!"
"We're talking about Buddha here. Just because he's one with the universe doesn't mean he's got a variety of outfits."
She gasped.
"Monkey, are you saying he has no style?! Now I get why he trapped you under that mountain, you have no respect for the gods or the divine!"
"Bold of you to assume I have any respect for anyone."
She chuckled, happy that this moment brought them together again. Thankfully, the statue was well balanced, so with careful movements, they managed to piece it back together. At some point, Monkey had to put her on his shoulders in order for her to reach the statue's top.
"They're a piece missing." (Y/n) said as they were at chest level.
Monkey looked around.
"Ah! Over there." he pointed.
"Great, onward!" she lightly hit his chest with her heel, pointing ahead.
"I'm not a horse! Get off me!"
He put her down and she just laughed. He sighed before leaving to get the piece, since it was too big for her to lift.
"Aww, how heartwarming."
Monkey suddenly turned around and positioned himself in a fighting stand. (Y/n) was standing straight, her muscles stiff. He could still see parts of her face, staring at him with panic and fear. The rest of her head was covered by one big hand, belonging to a leopard demon wearing an armor. A moment of heavy silence passed as light grey clouds were covering the sky, but no rain, just a bit of darkness, making Monkey's eyes glow slightly.
"But what is the point of rebuilding a temple if the faith has disappeared?" she chuckled. "Am I right Monkey?"
"It's Great Sage Sun Wukong to you asshole!" he exclaimed.
"Oh? But that's what she calls you. That's what your master called you too right?" she looked at (Y/n) while he groaned in anger. "Where is he anyway?" she leaned a bit closer like she was expecting an answer. "Oh he passed away? Ow~. Mmh~." she smiled seeing Monkey's reaction, gritting his teeth.
"Let her go!"
Her sly grin grew larger.
"No, I don't think I will. Not yet."
Meanwhile, (Y/n) slowly reached for her bag's pocket where a few paper seals were.
"Now now now." the demon squeezed her head, making her stop moving. "Don't do anything stupid."
"If you're using her to make me surrender, then you are the biggest coward I've ever encountered." Monkey said between his teeth.
"I'm not, not exactly." she paused. "I am getting at you."
He frowned, not understanding.
"You see, me and my men have been sent to capture you both and bring you to our King, after we learned what happened to my dear cousin, the tiger demon. And we were all taking a break when I decided to see what was ahead, and that is when I heard you two. And I thought 'let's pay them a visit, see if what I heard was true'." she paused. "I wanted to show you something."
"Show us something?"
"Yes." she looked at (Y/n), shaking under her touch. "You are weak, weaker than your predecessor, though you are better in terms of stealth, you do not compare to him in anything else. And he got killed and eaten. Even though he didn't give my lord immortality he was still a tasty snack-"
"Shut the fuck up!!!" Monkey shouted.
"And you," she smiled, enjoying every moment of this. "do you realize the situation you're in? Do you see how easy it would be for me to kill her? You never saw, or sensed me coming, even your reflexes got sloppy. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say it's because you lost all of your powers and was trapped for a hundred years. And yet, the fact of the matter remains:" she leaned a bit closer. "you are incapable of protecting your master, yet again. Right now, you have no power, you're no Great Sage, you're not even a king. You're just a monkey with a heavy stick."
She waited a moment, lingering on Monkey's enraged expression.
"Ooo, scary~." she cooed. "I'll go now, see you soon~."
Then, she let (Y/n) go, whose shaky legs gave up on her, and flew away to the horizon with incredible speed. The wind her take-off produced made the statue fall to pieces again. (Y/n) placed a hand on her chest, panting, trying to calm her fast beating heart as Monkey walked up to her.
"Come on." he grabbed her by the wrist and lifted her up before walking away, pulling her behind him.
"Wha-where?" she asked, confused.
"You're going to hide somewhere safe while I take on the demons."
"Huh?! No!" she tried to get away, but his grip was too strong. "You can't do that!"
"What? Are you saying I can't defeat them?"
"Yes!"
He suddenly stopped and looked at her with a piercing stare. She felt so tiny and a part of her wanted to look down and shut up, but she refused.
"It's a whole army, they'd be too many for you to keep up!"
"You're saying I'm weak?!"
"I am saying that they can fly! And they have powers! Probably the same powers that put that seal on your back!"
He gritted his teeth, his frown deepened. She hit his chest, he didn't react to it.
"So stop acting stubborn and let's just get out of here!"
"Running away? You want *me* to run away?! I would much rather die! And I'm immortal remember?!"
"I know that! But I'm no-!"
"You shut your mouth now you are not going to die." he suddenly leaned closer to her face, pointing at her. From the sound of his voice, he was restraining his volume, she must've struck a cord. "I am not letting you die here again."
(Y/n)'s eyes widen at his slip of the tongue. He realized what he just said and for a brief moment, his eyebrows furrowed. He shook his head as he turned around and continued walking without another word.
"No wait! Monkey! Let me go!"
She leaned back with all her weight but her feet only left two strings of dirt on the ground behind her as she was being dragged by him. She kept protesting but he ignored her, her cries echoing through the silent land. This was even worse than the separating silence she thought.
"Stop ignoring me! Listen!"
Even though he thought of her safety, he would still abandon her just to prove himself, and she knew he would likely not come back.
"Let me go! Stop!!!"
He suddenly cried in pain and fell on the ground, gripping his crown as he wiggled around for a while.
"What...?! The...?! Hell?!" he yelled through the pain.
"I-If that's what it takes to knock some sense into you I'll do it again!"
"You...don't know what you're talking about!"
"Maybe I don't, but you are clearly blinded by your feelings right now!"
"Feelings?!"
"Yeah you know, anger, revenge, that's how grief works to some peopl-"
"How would you know?!?!?!"
With the look of rage he gave her, she would be terrified in any other situation, but right now, it only angered her. Without thinking, she kicked him in the stomach. Even though it was nothing compared to the crown's curse, it still shocked him into silence.
"How dare you ask me that?!?!?!" she said with a similar volume. "I *do* know and you know it!!!"
Finally, the pain stopped and Monkey sat up and took a moment to calm his head, panting.
"Right...sorry." he quietly said. "I wasn't thinking."
"Yeah. You weren't."
As he frantically shook his head and scratched his hair, she took a look around, fearing to see the demons approaching in the distance. Then, she felt a certain feeling of deja vu, which was weird in and of itself since she's never been here before. She recalled what the Earth God said. Following that feeling, she walked to a different direction.
"Where're you going?" Monkey asked.
"I think... I think my spirit is remembering." she gestured him to follow her. "Come on."
"(Y/n)!" he called out but she didn't respond.
He sighed sharply and stood up, he didn't want her to wander around places he hasn't certified as safe. She looked back to make sure he was following her and was glad when she saw that he was. They walked in between two hills, the path getting more and more narrow, like they were between two walls. (Y/n) kept looking ahead as Monkey looked around and sometimes behind him, he didn't recognize this part of the land. Also, neither of them realized there's been a role reversal.
Then, they entered a patch of trees in a little clearing. (Y/n) stopped for a moment and they both looked around. Monkey thought this would be a good enough hiding spot and he was about to tell her that this is where they part ways before the battle when she let out an 'Oh!'
"Right there!" she said before rushing towards what seemed to be an entrance leading into the hill, the doorway made of stone.
"Ah~ you found it at last!" Monkey yelped when the Earth God from this morning appeared right in front of him, yet was facing (Y/n). "Took longer that I expected but that's fine, come on in." he pointed at Monkey with his cane. "That goes for you too."
"Stop pointing at me with that thing! I will break it!"
The god ignored him and walked inside the hill. (Y/n) looked at him, he sighed, hanging his head down, and dragged his feet towards her. She smiled and stepped in.
They walked through a dark narrow hallway before entering a large room with stone pillars. It seemed to be the god's home. By the architecture, it looked like it was once very fancy but the furniture looked either handmade or very old. A few candle were lit, illuminating the room dimly along with stripes of dark daylight coming from the holes in the very high ceiling. The two companions observed their surroundings as the Earth God walked over to the other side of the room, where multiple shelves were. On it were a variety of artifacts and objects, but he picked up one in particular. He then walked back to (Y/n) and handed it to her.
"Here."
She took it as her and Monkey leaned a bit closer. It was a notebook with 'Sutras' written on the cover.
"That's Tripitaka's." Monkey said, making her look at him with big eyes. "How come *you* have it?!"
"Don't look at me like that, he gave it to me." the old god shrugged.
"Huh?"
"Why?" (Y/n) asked.
"One day he called for an Earth God, I appeared and he gave it to me, saying that one day, his successor may come by and need it more than him. I remember, he said he already knew all of his sutras by heart."
"...So that's where he went." Monkey looked back at the book.
'He must've known something bad was going to happen.' she thought.
"I also have his japamala if you want." he pointed at the shelves with his thumb. "After he died, I was able to sneak in the battlefield and grab it without the demons noticing."
"His necklace...?" Monkey whispered as he walked to the other side of the room.
(Y/n) flipped through the pages to have a quick look at the sutras.
"I recognize some, but others I've never heard of before."
"Yeah, they are extra powerful. He must've made his own."
"You can do that?"
"'Course you can. You didn't know that?"
"I don't know much..." she glanced to the side before looking back at him. "Could you teach me?"
"Oh child," he rubbed his head, chuckling lowly. "I'm not a monk. I'm just an old god with lots of time on his hands. You could try asking questions, I may be able to answer a few of them."
She nodded.
"I've never received proper training, I'm self-taught and so I can conjure very rudimentary things." she paused. "But sometimes, my powers would peak and become more effective, but it seem to only last a second. I don't understand."
He twirled the tip of his eyebrow, humming in his thoughts.
"What was the situation when it happened?"
"Um...the first time was when my childhood friend was about to get eaten by a demon. And there was this time when I was praying for another friend who seemed to be..." she paused, looking for the right words. "in a tough situation."
"Well maybe that's just it." he raised his index.
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe it's the mindset in which you were at the moment that triggered your powers." he chuckled. "You're a strange one, it's the first time in my long life that I've heard of such a thing."
(Y/n) thought for a moment.
"Then, how do I become better? What do I do to be able to use my powers at all times?"
"Maybe... Maybe you just have to remember that mindset, that feeling." he smiled and tapped her chest with his cane. "This time, it's about the heart, not the spirit. And maybe, if you learn how to channel it, you'll unlock the full potential of Golden Cicada."
She placed a hand on her heart, frowning slightly. A moment of silence passed.
"Well, you two should hurry up out of here now." she looked at him as he spoke again. "Because as we speak, there are like fifty demons armed to the teeth coming through my land, and I don't want my house to be destroyed." he looked back. "Oh. Maybe I can wait a bit."
(Y/n) followed his gaze. Monkey was on his knees, his staff put aside, looking down at the old japamala he was holding. Her eyebrows furrowed as her chest tightened.
"I'll give you a moment." the old god said before disappearing in the ground.
She quietly took a deep breath and walked up to him, placing the notebook on a table as she passed by.
"Monkey...?"
"Do you know why I wanted immortality?" he asked in a monotone voice, not looking at her.
She didn't respond and sat down beside him.
"I was with all my little monkeys and I realized that one day we will all become old, tired and sad. We wouldn't be able to play, we wouldn't be able to have fun like we were. That's why I gave us all immortal life, so we would always be happy." he paused. "He was my first ever experience with grief."
"Well...being immortal doesn't mean you won't suffer from all the changes of life, and grief is a part of that. It's one of the most universals of truths: people die..." she looked to the side. "There's no special cases for that."
A moment of silence passed. Monkey glanced at her.
"I'm a special case."
She chuckled and nudged him.
"That's because you're the Monkey King."
"Heh, damn right." he smiled, but soon slowly shook his head. "It's...this isn't a desirable feeling."
"...It really isn't." she nodded.
Silence passed. Then he looked at her and shifted to fully face her, putting the necklace aside.
"You've dealt with it, how did you do it? How do you stop the heartbreak? What do you do when everything about that person just tears you apart? How can you move on when even the happy memories become unbearable to remember?! And you can't bring yourself to ever forget them because that would just be like a second death for them so you keep thinking about them and it's just one painful circle that you can't escape from! It is so insufferable!" he gripped his head in frustration, then he sighed and let his hands fall on his lap. "How do you deal with that?"
(Y/n) looked into his eyes, her lips pursued with an expression of sad empathy.
"...you cry."
Monkey's eyes slowly widen, a flow of feelings hitting him with just those two words. He shut his eyes closed and inhaled as if he was in a deep pain, then exhaled as he slowly placed his forehead on her shoulder, hiding his face. She could feel him shaking and her own eyes became teary. She put her hands on the back of his head, gently caressing his hair.
"And you remember that, wherever they are, they still love you." she said in a soft voice, slightly shaking due to her own feelings resurfacing. "And that is the one things that's never going to change." she smiled faintly.
The two of them stayed like this for a while. In the silence of the room, only Monkey's uneven breath could be heard, sniffing from time to time. (Y/n) closed her eyes and leaned her head on his, a single tear falling down each of her eyes. In this moment, she felt heartbroken, yet serene. She didn't know it, but Monkey felt the same way. They grieved their loved ones, a painful process, but at least they weren't alone.
As Monkey seemed to calm down a bit, she caressed his back, her hand slowly going up and down, and it just happened to stop at the center. Just then a blue light shined from her palm. Monkey, sensing what was happening, instantly looked up and she looked at him, she gasped when she saw the light. She was about to remove her hand but he covered it with his.
"(Y/n)," he looked at her with a shocked expression, his eyes slightly red and puffy. "your eyes!"
He didn't have to explain for her to understand what was happening. At this moment, her powers peaked and pushed through her father's cursed. They were now cyan. She concentrated and pressed her hand on his back.
"Alright boys." the leopard demon turned to face her men. "Until we find those two, destroy or eat everything you see. It's up to you."
"Do we destroy the hills too?" someone asked.
"Do you see any other thing here?" she gestured around her. "The temple is already destroyed."
"I thought you wanted us to eat it."
"Why in the world would I want that?"
"W-well, you are fuckin' crazy."
She clicked her tongue.
"That's fair."
"General! General!" another soldier pointed ahead. "Over there! Look!"
She looked over to see her two targets in the distance, walking towards them. She raised an eyebrow and gestured her men to follow her. The two sides walked towards each-other and stopped once they were at hearing distance. The leopard demon and (Y/n) took once step further from their respected soldiers.
"Quite an army you got there!" the demon exclaimed, making her men laugh.
"Thanks! Can't say the same about yours!"
A mocking 'ooo~' resonated through the crowd.
"You talk a lot of sass for someone who's facing her demise." she smirked. "Tell me, are you giving up? 'Cause I said you were neat when it comes to stealth yet here you are walking in plain sight. Are you asking to be captured?"
"On the contrary, I'm getting at you."
"Ooo~ callback. Okay, I'll bite: what do you mean?"
"You said I was weak."
"Oh! Did that all change during those couple of hours?! I can see that with your very cyan eyes!" her men cackled.
It was all ironic, her eyes were still (e/c), of course they were. Monkey smirked, (Y/n) smiled.
"You did forget something..."
Suddenly, he exploded in a big cloud of smoke. The demon were protecting themselves because of the gust of wind it created. The leopard demon looked ahead to see the human smiling widely at her with her arms open, and just as a giant dark silhouette appeared in the smoke, she said:
"I'm Golden Cicada!"
Then, a giant hand broke through the smoke and with one swing made it all go away. The 6 feet tall monkey was now replaced by a giant ape three times his size. The human ran away as the ape charged towards the demons. Some ran away, screaming that Sun Wukong was back, but the leopard demon ordered her men to stay put and fight. Monkey's roar echoed throughout the hills and proceeded to beat the demons to a pulp. Even though they had powers, because the demons were afraid, they were hesitant in their movements and so it was easier for him to defeat them. However, the leopard demon, in her endless self-confidence, refused to admit defeat and when only the two of them were left, the real battle began.
Monkey had things to settled with her and she was too stubborn to back down. Using her flight and speed, she hovered around him, landing a couple of hits on him. As her spear was dug into his arm, he exploded into a big cloud of smoke again. When it cleared, Monkey was back to normal, holding her spear in one hand and his staff in the other. He pulled her spear for her to get closer then swung his staff down on her. She fell on the ground, successfully landing on her feet and was about to fly again when she realized she couldn't move her feet. She looked down and saw that they were sinking into the earth. She looked back up and watched as Monkey, a big smile on his face, fell down on her.
"Monkey with a heavy stick! Coming through!" he shouted before landing his staff right on her skull.
In the distance, (Y/n) and the Earth God watched as Monkey created a big crater on the ground, shaking the ground beneath them. She stumbled a bit, but the old god didn't react.
"I don't think she'll survive this one." he commented.
(Y/n) ran towards the battlefield. She stopped at the edge of the crater and saw Monkey standing in front of the now dead general. His tunic has been ruined a long time ago, revealing his upper body, the seal that used to cover his whole back now lost its outer circle. She was about to call out for him when he burst out laughing and started to jump from joy, transforming into different animals and objects, enjoying his re-found power. As a sparrow, he flew up and turned back to his original form while still in the air, a big happy smile on his face.
"I feel like myself again! This is awesome!" as he was falling, he noticed her and his face lit up even more. "(Y/n)!"
He landed on his feet and ran up to her, holding her in a tight hug.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" he picked her up by the waist. "If you keep it up, I could get all of my powers back!" he laughed.
"Monkey please!" she exclaimed, overwhelmed with his sudden affection but still smiling. "You're at a ten right now, I need you at a six."
He put her down but kept jumping lightly up and down from joy. Seeing him like this, she couldn't help but chuckled.
"You removed the first circle~!" he chanted.
"I did~!" she jumped too, his enthusiasm getting to her.
They both started giggling like children.
"Dancing on the grave of your enemies?" they looked over to see the old Earth God. "Bold."
They walked up to him.
"Thanks for your help old man." Monkey said. "It would've taken longer for me to beat her if you haven't stuck her to the ground."
"You're welcome. I didn't want you all to cause even more damage to my land."
"Come on now, we're the ones who stopped them from destroying everything." (Y/n) at them both.
"You two are the reasons they were here in the first place!"
She looked down, feeling bad.
"...But," he turned around. "I suppose that they would caused chaos anyway. I did hear that their general was crazy."
She smiled.
"Now come on you two." he began to walk away. "We have to patch up the monkey. He's bleeding all over my grass. And after that you'll clean up your mess."
"Heh, naturally." Monkey said as him and (Y/n) followed him back to his home.
After bandaging his arm and part of his back and chest, and giving him new clothes, Monkey asked for a favor.
"You got any glue?"
It took them the rest of the day to clean up the ruined temple and restore the Buddha's statue, now with the assistance of the Earth God. It went about as well as you'd expect it.
"No you fool!" he exclaimed, watching as the two of them were working. "It's the right side of his tunic. Turn it around."
"That's what I said!" (Y/n) exclaimed, pointing at him.
"Oh please! I bet you local god have never even seen Buddha before."
"Oh I'm sorry, did you spent all your life with this statue? Did you make it? I didn't know sculpture was one of your hobby Monkey King!"
(Y/n) tried not to chuckle, but she did snicker. Monkey glared at her.
"He even said Buddha had no style."
"What?! How dare he?!"
"First of all I'm right here, and I dare you to say that to my face! Second: (Y/n) stop siding with this old hag!"
They both gasped. The god looked down, his feelings hurt (though Monkey suspected him to be pretending).
"Did you just called a god an old hag?!" (Y/n) said as she patted his back.
"And I'll do it again!"
When the statue was restored, the three of them looked at what they did with the satisfied feeling of having completed a task.
"You guys did great!" the Earth God gave them a thumb up.
"We did everything!" Monkey shouted.
It was getting dark, thankfully the old god invited them in his home where they spent the night. The next morning, he gave Tripitaka's notebook and necklace to (Y/n).
"I haven't had this much fun in a long while." he chuckled and bowed to her. "You're both forever welcome in my land."
"Aw~!" she smiled. "Thank you Sir!"
"Just Shu-hui is fine."
She gasped, feeling her heart squeeze by the fact that a god just allowed her to call him by his name.
"Thank you Shu-hui! Goodbye!" she bowed before joining Monkey, she leaned closer to him and whispered. "I'm on a first name basis with a god!"
"He's a simple Earth God, it's nothing special-."
"Shut up, let me have this!" she raised her hand to stop him.
He rolled his eyes, smiling.
On their way, the two companions passed by the statue and looked at it one last time.
"Oh, Monkey."
(Y/n) stopped and reached in her bag, Monkey stopped and turned to face her. She handed him Tripitaka's japamala.
"I already have mine, so I want you to have it." she smiled.
He looked at her, his lips slightly parted, then back at the necklace. Eventually, he smiled and took it. But to her surprise, he walked over to the statue and placed it on the statue's pedestal. He then joined his hands and prayed. She smiled softly when he came back.
"Let's go." he said.
She nodded and they walked side by side.
Meanwhile, from the top of a hill, the Earth God was watching them. The crane from yesterday by his side.
"They'll do great, I'm sure of it." he smiled. "I'm sure you knew that from the very beginning old friend."
The crane scratched the underside of its wings and looked at him before violently pecking the god's head, making him cry in pain.
"Arh! Ouch! You damn bird!" he cried as he hit it with his cane.