A bird has been flying without stopping for long hours now all throughout the country, going from the harsh wind to the heat of the desert, finally he reached the snowy mountain tops. The bird demon turned back to his original form and fell on his knees, the snow making his impact with the ground less painful. In front of him was a large and tall metal door, the two ogres guarding it recognized him and went to him asking if he was okay. They took him inside where the cold snow was replaced with the heat of the cave, specifically from the various waterfalls - except instead of water, it was lava. They lit up the whole place and so they saved up on candles. They were about to go treat his wounds but he insisted on speaking to their King right away.
They entered the throne room after walking through a system of tunnels. Their King was sitting in front of a lavafall, the backlighting making him look like a tall imposing shadow.
"My...My Lord!" he kneeled. "Sun Wukong he's...he's beaten us! I managed to run away, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who survived!"
"...So you're telling me," he slowly leaned closer, his low voice echoing throughout the cave. "that my best lieutenant the tiger demon and one of my generals the leopard demon were killed by a mere monkey?"
"No h-he has his Gold-Banded Cubgel again! A-and Golden Cicada, she-"
"She?"
"The newest reincarnation is a female my Lord." he hung his head down. "She managed to remove the seal's first circle, and now he can transform again."
The King hummed and leaned back, thinking for a moment.
"She's getting more powerful... Good." by the sound of his voice, his demon subordinates could tell he was smiling.
"Huh?" the bird demon looked up, confused. "I don't understand, you're not punishing me for my general's defeat?"
"On the contrary, you've given me a key information." he stood up. "Now that a part of Wukong's powers has been unlocked, we can track him down."
"You...you can do that?"
He chuckled lowly and started walking.
"It's been a hundred years, a lot has changed." he said as he passed him. "Wukong doesn't know this, and his ignorance will be his downfall."
He left through a different door, just as he did a few demons rushed towards the bird demon to tend to his wounds. After a while, the King walked into a tall cylindrical room, standing on top of a set of stairs made out of the cave's stone, going down to the bottom of the room in a circle. At the center was a large hole filled with lava. Poorly organized bookshelves were against the wall, and in between was a desk with parchments of all sizes scattered on it, and all throughout the room in fact. As he descended the stairs, he could progressively hear mumbles. Now at the bottom, he saw the young snake demon looking for something under the desk in a panic.
"Nian Zhen."
"Shit-Aouch!" she tried to stand up but instead bumped her head against the desk.
Cursing to herself, she quickly stood up, stumbling a little bit while still holding her head. Then she faced the king and stood to attention.
"My Lord!" she bowed. "You're honoring me with your presence! I-I wasn't expecting a visit from you toda-"
"Golden Cicada has removed the first circle."
"...Huh?" she tilted her head, blinking twice in disbelief. "Just the first one?"
"We don't know much. She did managed to break him out of his prison -"
Her eyes widen when he said 'she'. He continued, his gaze wandering around the room. Nian Zhen really hopped he wouldn't bring up the mess, she already felt like dying of embarrassment from bumping her head on her desk.
"- but she might not be as powerful as the previous one. Since she wasn't able to remove the seal completely." he looked back at her. "Think you can track that monkey down?"
"Um..." she thought for a moment, a hand to her chin. "I think so?"
"You *think*?"
"I-I know so!" she tensed up. "Although, since only one power of his has been unlocked, it will take time and it might not be very precise."
"If it's just a general direction, that's fine. But I won't allow much time. We've been patiently working for a hundred years, but now that the Monkey King and the Golden Cicada have been reunited, it's just a matter of time before they become more powerful and escape from our grasp yet again. Find him as soon as possible. In the meantime, I'll scatter some of my men around the land they were last seen in."
With the growing frustration in his voice, she just intensely nodded.
"Now," he exhaled. "about the weapon."
"Right! About that!" she briefly pointed at him but then remembered it was rude and quickly put her hands behind her back. "I cleared up the draft and came up with a seal that could potentially work - We'll have to do some tests though 'cause for all we know there's a chance it might affect the wielder too. As for the weapon itself, I'm gonna need some specific materials. I made a list but uh..." she looked around. "Uh~!" her voice went up in pitch and volume.
He sighed, shaking his head. That's it, she wanted to die now.
"Find it, or make another one." he turned around and walked back up the stairs. "And clean up your mess once and for all."
She looked down.
"I did, this morning." she mumbled to herself.
(Y/n) was sitting under the shades of a tree by the road. Her and Monkey were taking a break and she took this opportunity to read Tripitaka's old notebook.
'Very pretty handwriting.' she smiled.
As she was focused on reading, a butterfly flew by and landed on her shoulder. She didn't notice it.
"...(Y/n)!"
"Wah!" she jumped and turned towards the voice.
The butterfly flew to be in front of her.
"Look! I'm a butterfly!" Monkey exclaimed, sounding very proud of himself.
"Yes, I can see that." she frowned.
With a puff of smoke, he turned back to his original form. He looked offended.
"Why aren't you impressed? I can turn into things!"
"You've been turning into things ever since you got that power back!" she huffed. "It kinda loses the element of surprise after a while."
Monkey just glared at her and then transformed into her.
"...okay that's just weird. Stop it."
He sighed loudly and sat beside her.
"Why are you so obsessed with this book anyway?" he pressed his shoulder on hers.
Her face twisted slightly. Hearing Monkey's voice coming out of her mouth didn't sit right with her.
"You know, even if you learn those sutras by heart," he continued. "if you're not powerful enough to use them, it's useless."
"Still," she looked back at the book. "it's interesting to see how he tampered with already existing sutras, and even made his own. And it's a good read overall." she let her gaze wander for a bit before sighing through her nose. "But you're right. I can't rely on Golden Cicada's powers and wait to be super emotional to use them." she looked at him with a determined spark her eyes. "I need to become stronger on my own."
"Oh don't look at me." he said, laying back on the tree trunk with his legs crossed and his hands behind his head. "I'm a warrior, not a monk."
She hummed and stood up, putting the notebook in her bag.
"I guess we'll have to find one willing to train me on our way to Guan Yin's island." she turned back to him. "And stop being me! Turn back!"
"Why? Does it creep you out?" he stood up with a smirk.
"Yes! Turn back!"
"Being twins would be a good cover though."
"Monkey please!"
He cackled and turned back to his original form.
It has been a whole month since our two companions have began traveling together. And (Y/n) was happy to recognize the changes in their relationship. The two of them could now pick up on the little things in their behavior. But on this day, it didn't take a genius to tell something was wrong.
As they approached a town in the distance, Monkey noticed that (Y/n) was either looking down or up at the sky with a certain melancholy. She kept sighing and he kept count.
"Eight." he mumbled.
"Huh?" she looked at him.
"Say, what's with you?" he gently nudged her. "You've been bummed out for a while."
"Oh, yeah sorry, it's nothing." she shook her head. "I'm just sad I'm not able to celebrate my birthday with my family."
Monkey stopped walking, shocked, after a few steps, she also stopped and looked back at him.
"What?"
"Today's your birthday?!"
"Yesterday actually."
He scoffed.
"And you didn't say anything?!"
"Well it's not like we can celebrate it right now." she shrugged and continued walking. "Not normally anyway."
He wanted to argue further but restrained himself as they finally entered the town. Monkey turned into a human version of himself when they did. They found an inn and payed themselves a room after negotiating a more affordable price of course (although with the prize money from poll town and the music band sharing their payment, money wasn't that much of an issue anymore). They settled in, planning on resting for the rest of the day.
"Welp!" Monkey clapped his hands. "I'm gonna head out now."
"Really? Why?"
"I was thinking of doing some uh, some parkour." he pointed out the window. "Plus I wanna enjoy my human form and walk freely without anyone looking at me weird."
"Right, a demon alone would look suspicious to some. Alright," she picked up her bag. "I'll be at the teahouse downstairs to read some more."
"Got'cha!" he gave her a thumb up. "Look at us, using our time in a productive way."
They smiled at each-other before going downstairs.
"Ah, wait." she called as they separated.
He stopped at the doorway and looked back at her.
"It's a big town, so please promise me you won't get into fights with humans. Because I may not be able to talk your way out."
"Don't worry, I won't."
"No- Monkey." she pointed at him. "Promise me."
He hung his head down, his shoulders dropped slightly.
"I promise." he slowly said as he rolled his head back up.
She smiled, satisfied, and sat at a nearby table.
"Okay, have fun~." she waved.
He sighed, scratching the back of his neck before walking out.
As soon as he was out, he picked up the pace and wandered through the town. On a mission.
Given how much money he managed to snatch away before leaving, something luxurious shouldn't be on the list of potential gifts (even under normal circumstances it would be too much), but Monkey had no perception of the value of money. To him, if you deserved something, you shall have it no questions asked. But he understood that having money was important to humans and that (Y/n) would be upset if they were to lose it all. So he'll make sure not to spend it all, and if it comes down to it, he'll use his charms to negotiate. But there was still another problem:
'What the hell do humans give each-other on their birthday?!'
Back on Flower-Fruit Mountain, they'd offer each-other things that were so hard to get you'd put your life on the line to get it. The more dangerous it was, the better the present. That or a shiny beetle, everybody loves beetles, you eat it and keep the shiny shell, and you can use them to accessorize or you keep them for collection or, even cooler, you make clothes out of it.
But looking at the various shops and stands, he felt like he had to put himself in a different mindset. He paused for a moment and rubbed his temples, concentrating. He wanted to think like a human, but it was harder than he expected.
"I can't do it I'm too smart!" he exclaimed in frustration.
Just then, a delicious aroma made him forget all about his problem for a second. He sniffed and followed it to a food stand with a few people standing in line, eagerly waiting for their turn.
'Of course, food! It's the human equivalent of beetles but with no shiny stuff!' he thought. 'Plus it looks popular, must be good stuff.'
He walked up to the stand owner and placed his forearm on the counter, casually leaning on it.
"Um, sir? You're cutting the line." the man said.
"I know, but it's an emergency. It's my friend's birthday."
"I understand sir, but you still need to get in the back of the line."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because the people behind you have been waiting for their turn and cutting the line would be disrespectful." he patiently explained.
"Get in the back already!" someone in the line exclaimed.
He glared at them with a clenched fist but then took a deep breath and walked to the back, mumbling angrily.
Before he could take his place, an old lady rushed over with a 'scuse me' and stood to the back of the line where he intended to be.
"Um, lady?" he said. "No cuts, get in the back like a normal person."
The people in the line glared at him but he ignored them.
"Huh? You weren't even in the line." she frowned.
"I was standing right here, get your eyes checked again!"
"If anyone can't see straight it's you sonny."
"You stubborn old bag!" he said through his teeth.
"Hey! Can't you take this elsewhere?" the stand owner said. "I'm trying to run a business here."
"See? I got scolded because of you." the woman shook her head. "How embarrassing."
"If you weren't trying to cut this would've never happened!"
"Ooo~ scary~." she sarcastically said.
Though she was unimpressed, the expression on his face was actually scaring the passerby's. Monkey could feel his hands shaking, just wanting to pick up this woman and move her aside himself. But he bit the inside of his cheeks.
'No... I promised I won't make a scene! Dammit!'
He clicked his tongue and looked away as he stepped to be behind her. She huffed in satisfaction and looked forward.
'She got some nerves butting in line in front of a guy like me.' he looked at her, his arms folded and tapping his index in impatience. 'And geez, what's with the ugly hairdo and horrible color combination?'
"Hey fella," she turned around. "I see ya eyeing me like a hungry tiger! What, ya don't got enough lovin' at home?"
"How did you even- Lady you're the biggest turn off I've ever seen!"
"What a pervert! Help!" she ignored him. "This man's tryin' to have his way with me!"
"What?! I'm just standing here!"
"Help me! He's a nasty pervert!"
"Stop yelling! You're making a scene!"
"Mom, what's a pervert?" a child nearby asked his mom.
"Don't look Bojing." the mother tugged on his hand as they walked by. "You don't want anything to do with that horrible man."
"No! That's not true! I didn't do anything! Bojing, your mom's got the wrong idea!" Monkey called but they quickly left the scene.
He felt his blood boil and he slowly looked at the old woman, but then noticed she disappeared.
It turned out that, while he was trying to keep his 'good with kids' reputation intact, it was her turn to order. She got her food and walked away in a flash, disappearing in the crowd.
"What the hell?! Where did she-?!" he stopped himself. "No. Focus on the mission. At least now the coast's clear." he walked up to the stand owner.
"I'm sorry sir, but we're out of stock for now. The lady just bought our last one." he placed a little sign on the counter with 'please wait' on it. "You'll have to wait for me to buy the ingredients and come back."
"Rah~!" he shouted, his fists dramatically in the air as he looked up in the sky. "That old hag~!"
"I'd drop it if I were you. She's infamous in town for pulling those kinds of tricks." he shook his head. "Trust me, you don't wanna get involved with her. It'll only get you in trouble."
Monkey clicked his tongue.
"She's just an old lady with horrible tastes."
Now that the food wasn't an option anymore, Monkey continued his search for a birthday gift, still struggling to find the right one. The idea of simply asking around for advice would be obvious, but it didn't even crossed his mind of course. Instead he approached a group of ladies doing their shopping and leaned against a wall close to them, listening to their conversation. Amazingly enough (or 'obviously' for him), it worked: they talked about this charming little shop selling items women of all ages would love, and told themselves the exact location in weirdly specific details. Smiling to himself for being so damn clever and awesome, Monkey didn't waste any time and went to that shop.
This shop must be very famous, there seem to be so many people inside that there was a line outside to go in. Monkey disregarded this bad omen and went to stand in the back of the line.
And then, coming out of nowhere with that damn 'scuse me'. The old woman stood on the spot he was just about to take.
"Oh the old hag strikes again I see!"
"Well hello again!" she looked at him, only now noticing who he was. "You gotta wait, I just got here."
"Get real! You're not pulling that stunt again!"
"What? Tryin' to get a feel again? I'm not cheap sonny."
He gagged.
"Yeah right! You couldn't pay me enough!"
"Oh my lord, Yanmei is that you?!" another old lady with an equally terrible outfit joined her.
'Oh no! Not another one!'
"Rufen!" she smiled, turning her attention to her friend. "How's it goin'?"
"Hey! I'm still here!" Monkey exclaimed.
'Just shove them aside!' was his first thought. 'No no no! I can't, I promised!'
"Look," he exhaled. "it's clear as day: You cut in line. Now get behind me and wait your turn."
Yanmei scoffed.
"How unreasonable, it's just one spot! I haven't seen my friend here in ages!"
"And I have a birthday present to buy!"
"Here?! How basic." she looked at him with disdain. "You must not like your friend if you won't put any effort into it."
At this moment, Monkey looked like he was about to explode with rage.
"Now listen here you little shit!"
"Ooo~ scary~."
"What's going on here?" a soldier walked up to them, addressing the women.
"You gotta help us officer!" Yanmei said. "This scary fella is bein' a real terror to us, poor defenseless old ladies."
"Yeah," her friend nodded. "we were just chattin' when he started shoutin' obscenities."
"These two windbags cut in line!" Monkey pointed at them.
"Now now. Here, why don't you have some candy and calm down a bit?" she took his hand and placed a tiny candy in his palm. "It's as sweet as it comes, made 'em myself."
"The hell?!" he threw it away. "I'm not a baby! You think that makes it all better?!"
She shrieked, which made the soldier glare at him. Knowing where this could go, Monkey groaned.
"Fine!" he exclaimed before stomping away.
Yanmei huffed in satisfaction.
Still fuming, Monkey decided to sit alone somewhere to calm down.
'This old gal is one cunning adversary...'
Not wanting to think about her anymore, he thought back to his mission. But what she told him about being basic came to his mind. Suddenly, something clicked. He groaned loudly and ran his hands through his face.
"All this time I searched for what humans would like," he rumbled. "not what *she* would like!" he ruffled his own hair. "I was too much in my own head this whole time!" he groaned again. "The old bag was right~!"
He let out a long sigh, his eyes closed. He thought of (Y/n) and what would make her happy. And just like that, he had an idea.
"Nevermind I'm a genius and everyone is bellow me!" he suddenly stood up and went on his way with a smile.
Learning from previous events, he looked for a shop that had no line. He went in and bought a couple of items without trouble. With a proud smile, he made his way back by the rooftops, wanting to do a bit of exercise on his way back to the inn.
"Help! Pervert! There's a pervert here!"
He stopped and looked down. The old bag was yelling while being in line for the same food stand from before (looked like they restocked), she must've wanted seconds. She was facing a man, he looked angry.
"You old shitbag! Who you calling a pervert?!"
'Ha! Fell right into her trap.' Monkey grinned and crouched down on his toes.
He expected a fun spectacle to enjoy in a 'feel my pain' kind of way. But then the man took out a knife. And there were no soldiers in sight.
"Now you're really gonna get it! You cut in line, I'll cut you!" he exclaimed before swinging the knife at her as she gasped in terror.
As he did, Monkey jumped unto the scene and grabbed the man's wrist with enough strength to make him drop his weapon.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Th-the scary fella..."
"I know this old lady's a pain in the ass," Monkey said. "but that doesn't mean she has to die for it."
"What?!"
"I know how you feel, I really do. But trust me, it's not worth it. You're no match for the old hag."
'Hell, I'm not either- Not on equal footing anyway!'
The man shook his arm and Monkey let go of him.
"Think you can tell me what to do punk?! Telling me I can't beat an old lady?!" he raised his fists in a fighting stand. "I'll show you!"
He shouted as he swung his fist towards him. He effortlessly dodged it and with just one punch to the nose, the man fell down, unconscious.
'He raised his hands first.' he nodded to himself. 'Justified!'
"You ain't bad scary fella!" Yanmei smiled.
Monkey sighed.
"I did it without thinking and I'm already regretting it."
"You know..." she ignored what he said. "On closer inspection, you're a fine piece of work. Ooo! My heart's poundin'!"
"Ew! Dial it down, you're creeping me out!""
"But...I gotta repay you to set things right."
"Keep your candy lady." he waved his hand. "I don't want it."
"Oh I have something much sweeter than candy in mind."
"...what?" his face became paler as he took a step back.
"Don't be shy, come to granny! You fine handsome devil!"
(Y/n) sighed with a serene smile. She didn't usually read this much but something about this notebook was really enjoyable. She could tell Tripitaka started writing before he met Monkey and the others, because at some point, she'd see little notes left by him about his journey to the west. Without context, there were pretty funny. She gazed outside.
'I wonder what Monkey's doing.' she thought and stood up. 'Maybe I should go look for him.'
She was already having a peaceful day and was expecting the rest to go smoothly, but then as soon as she stepped outside:
"(Y/n)!!!"
She turned over to see Monkey running towards her like his life depended on it. He looked terrified.
"Monkey? Wha-?"
"Don't let her get near me!" he hid behind her back. "She's not your typical human! She got endless stamina! I can't shake her off!"
"Don't be embarrassed~ it's been a while for me too!" an eccentric old woman ran up to them, smacking her lips. "Oh?" she stopped when she saw (Y/n), then looked at him. "Is that your partner?"
"No, I-"
"Listen here hun," she pointed at her. "your man here just saved my life, he's a gem compared to the pigs livin' among us. So make sure to give him all the lovin' he deserves."
"Huh?" she tilted her head in confusion.
"If you ever feel lonely, you know where to find me~." she cooed as she blew a kiss towards Monkey and winked before walking away.
He let out a long sigh, panting slightly to calm his heart.
'The stand owner was right.' he thought. 'The only thing gained from getting involved with that woman is misery.'
"I don't know what happened," (Y/n) said. "but I get that you saved her. Good job Monkey!" she smiled and gave him a thumb up.
He looked at her for a moment before clearing his throat and standing up straight. He handed her a few parchments and some ink with a brush. She looked at the items, then at him, confused again.
"You said you were sad to not spend your birthday with your family." he scratched the back of his neck, his gaze wandering. "I can't do anything about that, but at least with this you can write to them. Let them know you're okay y'know?" he looked at her. "I'm late but... Happy birthday."
She placed her hands on her chest, feeling a warmth inside of it as a soft smile formed on her face. She was touched.
"Aww~!" she took them and then hugged him. "Thank you so much Monkey!"
'Mission successful!!!' he closed his fist in victory while placing a hand on her back.
Because her handwriting wasn't the best, he proposed to help her by writing a draft to make sure she wouldn't make any faults and to have a model to follow so her letter is readable. But she insisted on writing it herself.
"They'll understand what I write, they know me." she said. "Plus I don't want you to read it."
He sighed.
"Sure. It's your birthday after all."
After that they called a messenger and gave the letter to him. He didn't know where her tiny village in the middle of nowhere was so (Y/n) had to explain to him the whole route he had to take (recalling her own and inverting it). He said having this great of memory wasn't part of his job but then Monkey convinced him to make it a part of his job by passive-aggressively threatening him.
"It'll reach them in about a month..." (Y/n) said as they watched the messenger ride away on his horse. "That's too long."
"At least your family can read."
She puffed a chuckle.
"Right, sorry." she paused. "I'm sure they miss you a ton." she realized he hasn't been to Flower-Fruit Mountain in more than a hundred years, a few centuries in fact. "They must be worried sick!"
"Worried? Nonesense!" he posed, dramatically flexing with each sentence. "They know the all mighty Monkey King always comes back! They know I'm the greatest! They trust me, as they should!"
She laughed and nudged him.