Imagine (Y/n)'s surprise when she woke up and saw a child sleeping next to her.
Backing up a little bit: a few days have passed since our two protagonists left the crystal mine town. They were walking across a mountain and decided to set up camp here in this forest. They went to sleep and (Y/n) had a peaceful night. But when she woke up the next morning, Monkey has been replaced by a child. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, yawned then gently shook the kid.
"Monkey?" no responce. "...Monkey!"
"Aaah!" he shouted, startled awake.
"Your power is getting out of control, you turned into a little girl while you slept."
"Huh?! I'm not a girl!" he stood up, angry.
"Well yeah, I know that."
"No you moron! Stop talking to me like we're friends! And who the hell is Monkey?!"
There was a moment of silence. (Y/n) blinked twice as the realization sinked in.
"You're not Monkey?"
"Duh! Do you see a tail anywhere?" he wiggled his butt.
"...Then who are you?!" she stoop up and looked around, suddenly concerned and slightly panicked. "And where's Monkey?!"
"Stop panicking!" his booming voice made her stop. "Geez you humans are so stressed out and annoying, sit down!"
She sat down and took this opportunity to get a good look at this kid, now that she was at his eye level (wow he was small). He had mid-long black hair, half of it tied up into two buns by red ribbons, the other half down. He had no shirt on but was wearing a sleeveless red vest and matching baggy pants, whose belt was tied in a messy knot. He also had a red mark on his forehead, his left arm was bandaged and on his other was a golden bracelet.
"'You humans'?" she repeated.
"You-Don't you know who I am?!"
She pursued her lips, feeling bad, and slowly shook her head.
"You ignorance girl, I am the Third Lotus Prince Nezha! Marshall of the Central Altar!"
Her eyes widen slightly and slowly nodded, she heard of him. Though all her child brain remembered him for was that one time Monkey fought him and beat him when he was clashing with Heaven's army.
'Wait. So Monkey beat up a kid?!' she made a mental note to scold him later.
"Oh, okay."
"'Okay'?! That's all you can say?!"
"Sorry du-uh, your highness."
She almost called him 'dude'. It was hard for her to be polite to an immortal when they have the appearance (and behavior) of a regular eight-year-old brat.
"I'm sorry but," she calmly said. "what happened to Monk- I mean, Sun Wukong exactly?"
He huffed, his hands in his pockets.
"Last night me and my brother were just minding our own business when we saw you two. I had some unfinished business with that damn monkey so I woke him up and the three of us battled!"
"You battled?!" she looked around, noticing no broken trees and no giant craters on the ground.
"In the air stupid." he pointed skyward.
"While I was asleep?!" she asked, baffled.
"Yeah, and you weren't even bothered in the least. You sleep like a rock it's unbelievable." by the way he said it, it wasn't a compliment. "But yeah, and we could've taken him down once and for all if I didn't get knocked out!" he kicked a pebble on the ground. "When I woke up they were both gone."
"Oh my lord!" she stood up and packed up her things. "We gotta go look for them!"
"We? No no no no." he sternly said before pointing at himself with his thumb. "*I* am going to look for my brother," he then pointed at her. "and *you're* coming with me!"
'That's the same thing.' she thought, pausing to look at him as he kept going.
"He must've defeated Wukong by now. But just in case, Imma need you as bargain." he smiled widely. "Until we find them, you're my prisoner human!"
"Prisoner...?" she tilted her head. "I don't see why, we have the same goal here."
"Rule number one!" he pointed at her. "Never talk back to me, don't speak unless spoken to."
Her expression became deadpan.
"...Whatever dude."
"Rule number two!" he showed the number with his fingers. "Don't get sassy with me. Number three: don't you run away from me if you wanna live."
"Uh-hu." she said in a disinterested tone as she put her bag around her shoulder.
"Hey! What did I say about getting sassy?!"
"I just said 'uh-hu'."
"But you said it sassily!"
"I don't think that's a real wor-."
"Geez you're so disrespectful!"
"You're a kid, if anything you should respect me."
"I just look like one! This isn't even my real form!"
"And I'm not gonna respect someone who steals from me."
He looked taken aback by this. He must've thought she wouldn't notice the bandages missing from her bag. He looked down, finally quiet.
"You didn't have to take all of it." she kneeled down and gestured him to come closer. "Your bandage is messy too, let me do it."
He glanced up at her, a moment passed and eventually he groaned, kicked another pebbled then dragged his feet towards her, giving her his bandaged arm while turned to the side. (Y/n) sighed through her nose and began to remove the bandage. His forearm was slightly swollen and blue-ish. She quietly inhaled through her teeth, he must've fallen hard, considering they fought in the air. She glanced at him, he was looking away, sulking.
'I refuse to believe he's not a kid.'
As she bandaged him up properly, she was reminded of the little kids from her village who'd get into accidents because they got too cocky while playing. They would be too ashamed to go to their parents so they'd ask her for help. And as she'd treat their wounds, they'd have that same expression of their face, she couldn't help but smile faintly. But, this right now wasn't just a bruised knee or a bleeding nose.
"Aren't immortals supposed to be tougher than humans?" she asked once she was done.
"Hey, don't get it twisted. If it were you, your arm would've been crushed to pieces!"
'I guess he's not as strong as Monkey...'
"Still, you need someone with proper medical training."
"A doctor?! Please." he waved his hand. "Any wounds of mine can heal on its own it's only a matter of tim-AOW!" he slapped his arms to show how tough he was but whimpered in pain.
(Y/n) didn't say anything, knowing he'd be pissed with whatever would come out of her mouth.
She stood up and looked around, then back at Nezha.
"Can you use your powers?"
"'Course I can!" he exclaimed, but then slowly looked down and mumbled. "Though...after that battle, they're still recharging."
"That's okay." she pointed towards the mountain top in the distance. "I think there would be our safest bet, we'd get a good view of the area and we could spot them. And maybe a village too, where they'd be a doctor."
"Really?!" he said but then cleared his throat to change his tone. "Yeah, yeah that's what I was planning already. Come on human," he walked passed her with decisive steps. "don't make me drag you along!"
She followed him, hoping Monkey was okay.
Monkey and Ao Bing faced each-other, completely out of breath. They were in pretty bad shape, both of them were exhausted and have been out of energy for a while. Even with only one of his powers, Monkey put up a real fight, and when he knocked out Nezha, it lit a fire in Ao Bing. They've been fighting non stop since then, first in a shapeshifting battle in the air, then on the ground when they used up all their shapeshifting fuel. Now was the first time that they paused. It was then that Monkey noticed the sunlight.
"Wait..." he looked around. "Where...Where are we?"
Ao looked around, realizing that they've been so focused on their fight that they have now ended up in a completely different part of the mountain. Although it was a good thing, considering the forest around them was destroyed into a battlefield once they were on ground.
"Nezha!" he called out.
"(Y/n)!" Monkey called out.
No response.
"Dammit!" he cursed to himself before turning into a bird.
He flew three meters in the air before turning back and falling face first on the ground. He groaned.
"We're both too tired to use our powers." Ao said as he walked up to him. "It'd be better if we go by foot."
"Woh woh woh!" he stood up and faced him. "We?!"
"Well, we have the same goal here-"
"Oh so we're suddenly friends now? You stay here and think about the fight you just lost, I'm gonna go look for (Y/n). If that little brat does anything to her, I'll pay him back tenfold."
"And if you hurt him again, I'll make sure you pay for it." though he stayed calm, there was a threatening aura around him.
"Oh yeah?" he tilted his head backwards with a mocking smiled. "Like that fight I just won?"
"No one won, we stopped because our friends are both missing. And if you find them first, things will surely escalate into a fight. If anything, I'm joining you in your search so that you won't do any more damage."
"*You* attacked *Me*!"
"...It was Nezha's idea."
"Geez, way to be friends for eternal life, putting the blame on your brother." he rolled his eyes and walked away.
But when Ao followed him, he didn't complain.
"Shouldn't we treat our wounds first?"
"Nonsense!" he waved his hand. "We're immortals, they'll heal on their own!"
"Agreed. We mustn't waste time."
Right now, (Y/n) understood how Monkey felt when the two of them started their journey together. Nezha was struggling to follow her, and though he made it clear he didn't want to converse with her and she was okay with that, he would still complain. Also she could tell he was a bitter boy by the way he kept finding excuses.
"I'm still recovering from my fight! You don't know how epic it was!" he panted.
She stopped and sighed sharply, she had enough of his nagging. She turned back to look at him, leaning on a tree trunk to catch his breath.
"Do you want me to carry you?"
"Huh?! What am I a baby?! Don't you look down on me!" he pointed up at her.
She crouched down so that they were at eye level. Nezha blinked twice, a bit taken aback.
"That's...better I guess." he shrugged.
"I'm not looking down on you. I'm sure immortals fly everywhere they go, and so they're not used to walking long distances."
He pursued his lips. She hit the spot.
"Hey, I'll have you know I was once mortal too!"
"Wait, really?" she blinked twice, now intrigued.
"Yeah, I was born from the demon pearl but I was still mortal, I had parents and a childhood!"
(Y/n) leaned a bit closer with curiosity, it was then Nezha realized he got carried away. He lightly shook his head then walked passed her.
"So yeah, I can walk just fine!"
(Y/n)'s eyebrows furrowed, disappointed that he didn't talk more, but she shrugged if off and followed him.
After a while, they stopped at the bottom of a cliff, going up to around fifteen meters. Being used to it, (Y/n) was already looking for the proper route to take so as to get to the top.
"What are you staring at?" Nezha asked. "Let's go look for a way around this cliff already."
"Oh don't worry, I can climb just fine." she said without looking at him.
"Climb...?"
"Yeah." she began stretching and turned towards him. "Can you fly in your state?"
"There's no way you can climb up that thing!" he ignored her question.
"Hey now, I won a competition against a demon you know?" she grabbed the rock, "Alright, see you at the top." and started to climb with ease.
Nezha watched her for a moment, his mouth agape. Then he lightly shook his head and looked down at his feet. He lightly jumped to ready himself, then summoned two big golden rings on fire, which he usually used like wheels to fly around. He noticed how the flames were flickering but decided to ignore that and stood above them, hovering. He gulped before slowly floating upwards, the rings weren't very stable and so his legs shook a bit. When he reached (Y/n)'s level, she looked at him and he suddenly changed his stand to be straight and confident, with his arms folded and a smug look. She smiled as he went above her, glad that he seemed to have regained some of his powers.
Just then, the two rings suddenly disappeared and Nezha began to fall, screaming. (Y/n) gasped and extended her arm towards him but he wasn't within reach. So she let go of the wall, and during a short second, she grabbed him by the back of his collar and grabbed the rock with her other hand, dropping only a couple of meters down. She quickly positioning her feet so as to regain stability and stayed still for a moment, panting. Nezha was silent before the fact that he was dangling eight meters above the ground really sinked in.
"Nezha, are you okay?" she eventually asked.
"Ah...a-Aaaaaaah!"
"Calm down Nezha! You're okay! It's just-" she stopped herself as he kept screaming.
Feeling her arms getting a bit weak, she quickly lifted him up to her back. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs around her stomach and she could now support herself with all four of her limbs. With the pain it brought to his arm, the boy only realized now what he did.
"You'll be fine," she calmly said. "just don't look down. Or you can close your eyes if you want."
He didn't answer, she kept going. The rest of the way up was silent, calm after this thrilling moment.
Once she reached the top, she took a deep breath with her hands on her hips. She glanced back and was actually surprised to see that Nezha had his eyes closed, he looked more relaxed. For a moment, she didn't want to say anything if it meant he'll stay like this. But still, she lightly shook her shoulder, the one that wasn't the same side as his injured arm.
"Nezha, we made it."
He slowly opened his eyes, as if he just woke up from a nap. She smiled, thinking he looked kinda cute.
"Yeah I know." he quickly went back to his brat persona. "But now I realize that not using my legs is waaaay less of a pain. So," he pointed forward. "carry on."
"...Sure." she lifted him up so he'd sit on her shoulders. "Could you then hold this for me please?" she removed her bag and handed it to him. "It'd hurt my shoulder with your weight is pressed on it."
Nezha hesitated, but still took it and put it around his shoudler.
"Thank you." she said before walking forward.
Monkey and Ao Bing went back to the campsite and were panicked to find it empty. Then they remembered it was early afternoon and that it was obvious their friends have woken up at this point. Monkey thought for a moment, looking around.
"If I were her..." he mumbled before pointing at the mountain top. "I'd probably go there to get a good view of the place. Come on." he walked away.
Ao blinked twice, a bit perplexed, and followed him.
"This girl," he said. "is she your new master?"
Monkey gagged and looked at him with big eyes, cringing.
"Oh Lord." he rolled his eyes. "Never say that when she's near, it'd totally go to her head."
"So..."
"She's not my master! We're just traveling together!" he frowned. "Why do you even care?"
"You just seem dedicated to her."
"'Dedicated'? I just know she'll get into trouble, and get in even bigger trouble if I'm not there with her. Especially if she's with that brat," his frown deepened. "he'll be the one to get her hurt."
"Still, a hundred years ago, you'd never stop a good fight for any reason."
Monkey was silent for a moment, looking away.
"Like you said, it's been a hundred years," he finally said. "people change."
Ao smiled.
"Yes, but thanks to who?"
Monkey stopped and watched as he casually walked away. He blinked twice and went up to him.
"Anyway!" he said. "What were you and the brat even doing in the mortal realm?"
"Oh just a simple mission from the Jade Emperor."
He frowned.
"Does he know about (Y/n)?"
Ao didn't respond. He sighed.
"He didn't even try anything, even back then, right?"
"...It is odd." he frowned slightly, thinking. "Every time the subject comes up, he just disregards it." he looked at him. "Maybe, when me and Nezha get back to Heaven's palace, I could try and talk to him about your...situation."
Monkey rolled his eyes.
"You know how I feel about the Emperor." he paused. "But it's true that even he wouldn't just ignore an issue like that, especially regarding Tripitaka and Golden Cicada."
"That is true. He changed."
"But thanks to who?"
They looked at each-other for a moment of silence.
"...To you."/"To me." they said at the same time then nodded. "Yep. Mhmm."/"Yeah definitely to me."
Ao chuckled while Monkey tried not to smile, but one corner of his mouth did curl upward. Ao looked at the mountain top.
"I wonder, why didn't they wait for us at the campsite?"
"That's what happens when two hotheads get together, they never stay put."
"She's a hothead?"
"Oh yeah you have no idea! There was this one time when she-"
Ao smiled at his sudden enthusiasm.
(Y/n) felt hungry, that's what happens when you skip breakfast, lunch, and climb up a cliff. She glanced at Nezha.
"You mind giving me an apple? There should be one in my bag."
"Uuuuh..."
"What?"
"Mmmmh..."
"What?" she stopped and smiled with a raised eyebrow. "Do you not know what an apple is?"
"Hey!" he lightly hit the top of her head. "I'm not stupid!"
"Then give it to me."
"...I ate it."
"You ate my apple?!"
"I was hungry! Falling to your death empties the stomach!"
"Your death?! You're supposed to be tougher than that!" she pulled on his ankles.
"Hey! It's not like there's your name on it!"
"It's in *my* bag!"
"You gave it to *me*!"
She sighed sharply, knowing this could go on forever, she continued walking.
"If we stumble upon civilization, you pay for my food."
"What?!"
"Yeah. Because I'm broke. And you ate my last ration, which I was saving for later. So you pay for it."
"You think a kid like me would have cash on hi-?!"
"Oh *now* you're a kid?" she glanced back at him. "You're an immortal, and part of Heaven's Army, surely you'd get at least an allowance."
"...I may have some gold in my pocket somewhere." he mumbled.
She huffed. Just then they noticed a little village in the distance. What great timing!
"You might have to treat me for a meal sooner than you think."
"Okay let me down now." she obliged without question. "At least let me keep my dignity." he said, facing forward as he handed her her bag.
She took it and the two of them walked towards the village.
Just as they were about to step in, Nezha suddenly stopped.
"Oh no." he quietly said.
"What's wrong?"
"You go on." he took out a little bag and handed it to her. "I'm not welcome here."
"What do you mean?" she frowned in confusion, taking the little bag.
"...I used to train a lot when I was mortal. Went there and there to take care of demons." he took a step back, his hands in his pockets. "This is one of the places I went for a mission, it...didn't go as well as I thought I would be. Since then I'm not welcomed."
(Y/n) looked towards the village, then back at him.
"But it was a while ago wasn't it? I'm sure they forgot about it by now."
He looked down, shifting his center of gravity from side to side. He looked a bit uncomfortable.
"It's kinda like Monkey, he also wrecked havoc everywhere he went."
"I'm nothing like him!" he looked offended by that. "I least I didn't do it on purpose!" he looked down again, his eyebrows furrowed. "Well, after a while...when I met Ao." he mumbled that last part, although she heard him.
She thought he must be talking about his brother.
'They must be sworn brothers then. Like Bao, Wu-peng and Shen.'
"Suit yourself, but you're gonna have to come with me to look for a doctor. I can't just bring them to you." she said as she walked away.
Nezha just kicked a pebble.
The village seemed modest, simple but lively. She smelled something delicious and found a food stand, and it looked popular too since there was quite the line. While waiting, she noticed a group of children playing ball together and she couldn't help but smile. She kept looking at them until she noticed Nezha in the distance, he was looking at them too. Once again, he reminded her of the children back in her village: there was always one kid who really wanted to join the group but was to shy to take the first step. But he mostly looked sad.
His words echoed in her mind. It made her wonder.
'Did he have any friends in his mortal life?' she started to feel bad for him.
Suddenly, the ball landed right on her face. The kids gasped (Nezha included) as she rubbed her nose with a frowned.
"We're so so sorry stranger! Please don't tell our parents!" one of the kids said and pointed at one of his friends. "It's his fault!"
"You're the one who couldn't get the ball!" his friend hit him.
(Y/n) took the ball and walked over to them with a neutral face. They began to get scared but then she let the ball drop on the floor and put her foot on it.
"Five to one, come and get me!" she exclaimed and ran away while kicking the ball with her.
The children's face lit up and they went after her. The cheers and laughters intensified and in his corner, Nezha felt the pit in his chest getting deeper. It felt just like when he was mortal, everybody hated him for being born from the demon pearl. Even when his mother played with him, she had to wear an armor because of his superhuman strength and even she wasn't home often. He looked down with a sad frown.
Just then, the ball rolled over and stopped in front of him.
"Hey dude!" he looked up to see (Y/n) waving at him. "Could you pass it over?!" she turned towards the kids. "Do you guys mind if he joins us?"
"Huh? I-no!" he picked it up and walked up to them. "I...I can't play ball."
"Why no-oh..." she trailed off, figuring he must be referring to his strength. "That's okay, there are other games we could play together."
Him and the children looked at her, curious. She smiled and raised her fists.
"Rock paper scissor shoo!"
Two teams of three with (Y/n) as referee. Score: five to five.
"We won!"
"What do you mean you won?! I did the bear!" Nezha exclaimed, waving his hand which made the bear sign.
"The cicada annoys the bear to death! Idiot!"
"Who you calling-?!"
"Calm down, calm down." (Y/n) karate-chopped their argument. "Let's see." she turned towards Nezha's team. "M-hmm. The bear does lose against the cicada, but then you did paper with your other hand, combined with your teammate's ink, you get the book. The bear is now smarter than that and could even enjoy reading with the cicada in the background." she turned to the other team. "Here you got the cicada, combined with the wood: it's on a tree and-Oh my lord!" she pointed at one of the kid's hand. "Combined with the mountain! It's completely in its element, the smart bear stands no chance!"
"But bears also live in the forest!" Nezha protested.
"Yeah but he learned how to read by being domesticated by the humans. He lost his edge. What else-Ow~! she leaned back and sighed. "That is, *so* unfortunate!" she pointed at another kid's hand. "The ink neutralizes the cicada, the whole combo falls apart! The bear wins!"
Nezha and his team jumped up and down, chanting their victory while (Y/n) clapped and the other team whined.
"Wait, what about the other signs?" one of them asked.
"If it doesn't fit the narrative, it doesn't matter." she explained. "It's all about the combos you see."
Well, to be truthful, that's not really the case. The Flower Fruit Mountain style has complex and intricate rules. But, if Monkey was there right now, he'd say that as long as it's played in the right spirit, then there's no wrong way to play rock-paper-scissors, Flower Fruit Mountain style.
"Good game dude!" the leader of the losing tea shook Nezha's hand. "Good game."
"You're....You're not angry I won?"
"Why would I be? We were pretty close, next time will be different though!"
A big smile formed on Nezha's face, his eyebrow furrowed. Seeing him like this made (Y/n)'s heart squeeze.
"What's your name?" the kid asked.
He suddenly froze, his eyes darting around. If he said his name, they'll hate him for sure! Thankfully, he was saved by the bell, literally, a bell rang across the whole village.
"What was that?" (Y/n) asked.
"The merchants are here!" the kids exclaimed, suddenly excited as they ran away.
Her and Nezha looked at each-other before following them to the other side of the village where three merchants have set up their carriage into a stand, displaying various items. The whole village was gathered around them.
"You three sure are early." a woman chuckled. "You usually come in the afternoon."
"Oh we had some...help." one of them said before another one nudged him.
"We found a shortcut." the other one said.
The third merchant was giving little toys to the children.
"Stop giving away items for free!"
"But, they said they wanted them!"
(Y/n) picked up the pace, thinking they may have some medicine for Nezha. Meanwhile, as he stepped closer, the boy felt his golden bracelet shaking. He gasped and rushed over to grab her hand, she looked at him, confused.
"Demons." he just said.
"Oh." Nezha was about to walk passed her, but she put her hand in front of his face to stop him. "Now now now wait, maybe they're friendly." she shrugged and calmly went to the stand.
"Hello." she greeted one of them.
"Ah, hello! Wonderful to see you again!"
"What do you mean 'again'?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Are you okay?" she frowned.
"Uh-yes yes! I-uh..." he eyed the other two in distress.
"...hey look." she leaned closer and he did the same. "I know you guys are demons."
He suddenly became tense.
"Are you also...?"
"Yeah sure." she quickly answered. "Are you planning on eating the humans?"
"Just the kids."
"Okay~!" she turned away and went to see the kids. "Hey guys, I still haven't eaten anything yet, what do you say I buy us all a round?"
They looked excited but then started to look back and forth between her and the merchant.
"Um, excuse me?" he frowned. "We're in the middle of something.
"We were too, and they were having much more fun anyway."
"Excuse me?! I have toys!"
"With me, they don't even need toys to have a great time." she folded her arms. "Way to buy their love."
"You're about to buy them food!"
"Yeah, after spending some quality time together. What are *you* bringing to the table?"
"Uh," another merchant stood beside his colleague/brother. "I'm sorry are you their mom?"
"Nope. I'm a complete stranger, and a friend."
"And you guys are demons!"
Everyone turned to the stand where Nezha was standing on top of, he was holding the real merchants above his head. He found them in the back of the carriage. All three were tied up, gagged up and stripped of their clothes. Everyone gasped and (Y/n) immediately told the kids to run, they did, with her not far behind. The three demons turned to their original form, mountain ogres, and went after them as the villagers screamed and ran away.
"Oh no you don't!" Nezha let the real merchants go and summoned a golden spear, the base of the blade shaped like a lotus.
He jumped and landed in front of two of them, stopping them in their tracks. He clicked his tongue as the third one kept going after them, but he didn't have time to take care of him as the other ogres attacked him right away. Though Nezha did have the element of surprise (looking like an eight year-old), mountain ogres are bigger than most ogres and so can be a lot to deal with. Plus with his bandaged arm, it didn't take a genius (which ogres were not) to understand that this was his weak spot. He endured the pain and kept fighting, still, neither side seemed to get the upper hand. He knew he could just transform and finish this in an instant, his powers were all charged up by now. But how would the villagers react if they saw his demon form? They'd just run away again...
He heard screaming and turned around. (Y/n) has conjured a barrier to protect herself and the scared children hiding behind her. The third ogre was punching the barrier which was starting to crack.
"Come on!" (Y/n) said to herself, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes. "Concentrate, transfer that feeling."
Slowly but surely, the barrier reformed itself and grew thicker. Hearing the ogre gagging, she could tell she made it. Suddenly he cried of pain. She opened her eyes and was so shocked her barrier disappeared. Nezha flew over with his two rings and struck him down, now standing in front of her, facing the other two ogres. But he looked different: the little prince was now a grown young man, longer hair floating by itself, longer and pointier ears, with a long red ribbon hovering around him.
"Ne...Nezha?" she asked, astonished.
He glanced back at her, his big round eyes now piercing and almond shaped, and gave a little nod before turning back to the demons, who ran away in fear. He rolled his shoulders and was about to go after them when (Y/n) grabbed his jacket. He looked at her again.
"I think they got it."
Without a word, he watched them leave and frowned, yet he relaxed and she let go of him. It was then he noticed the entire village starting at him, dumbfounded. He turned back to his child self, the ribbon, the rings and the spear all disappeared in the process. He looked down and without thinking he stepped closer to (Y/n), standing behind her and grabbing the edge of her tunic. Her heart squeezed and she patted his head in a moment of silence, which didn't take long. Images of when he was mortal flashed in his mind, when he accidentally destroyed half his village and his mother apologized to everyone on his behalf, it was just like this. Except it wasn't.
"That was awesome!!!"
Nezha gasped, now surrounded by the kids looking at him with big smiles while the adults cheered for him.
"Yeah, the way you made them run away just with your stare!"
"You're so cool!"
"Thank you so much for saving our children." a mother stepped closer. "Who are you?"
He rapidly blinked, his eyes getting watery. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. (Y/n) smiled and picked him up to put him on her shoulders.
"His name is Nezha!"
For a quick second, he was afraid that their behavior would suddenly change upon hearing his name. Instead...
"Nezha! Nezha! Nezha! Nezha!" they chanted, (Y/n) jumping lightly to the beat.
He sniffed, wishing his parents were there to see this.
So after singing the village's hero's praises, the local doctor took a look at his arm and gave him some healing paste.
"With powers like his," he patted him on the arm, making him whine in pain. "your little brother is sure to be back to full health in no time."
"Brother?! Please!" he rolled his eyes and walked out. "She's just a human who I allow to accompany me, that's it!"
"Oh come on." she smiled. "You shouldn't talk to your sister like that."
"Shut up!"
"Puberty." she whispered to the doctor.
After that, the two of them were offered food for free. While the villagers went about their business with the real merchants, they sat on a bench and enjoyed their bowl of chow mein.
"Were you crying back there?" (Y/n) asked him.
"No!"
"It's okay if you were."
"I was not!" he paused. "I had dust in my eye."
She chuckled and kept eating. He looked down.
"I really thought they still hated me." he paused. "Maybe...Maybe I'm the one who didn't change."
"...It's more likely the people who hated you died a long time ago, but-" she tried not to laughed. "that's still a good lesson. You know, you play all high and mighty, but I knew you were a good kid."
He looked up at her.
"Since the very beginning actually." she chewed on her food and swallowed as she pointed at him. "You said you were knocked out during battle, and when you woke up no one was there. You could've just woken me up and we would've gone looking for your brother. Instead I wake up by myself and find you sleeping next to me." she smiled at him. "You didn't want to wake me up."
He frowned and turned his head away. But she saw his ear getting a shade redder.
"Or maybe I was just super tired."
"Maybe, but if you were, why waste your energy into going through my stuff and bandaging your arm?" she shrugged. "You're a nice kid Nezha. If you weren't, I wouldn't have come with you." she glanced to the side and mumbled. "Although you were very annoying at some points."
Nezha was silent for a moment and took a bite of his food.
"Thanks." he eventually said.
"I didn't do anything."
"Yes you did." she glanced at him. "Playing with you...it was fun."
"Aww~ you're welcome then." she ruffled with hair and he slapped her hand away.
"I never heard of this type of rock-paper-scissors before, where did you learn it?"
"Well actually it was-"
"(Y/n)!!!"
Out of the forest came Monkey running, he immediately picked her up, causing her bowl to spill over.
"I'm here now! Don't worry!" he put her on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, pointing his staff at Nezha with his other hand. "What did you do to her you little shit?!"
"Monkey! That's rude!" she hit his back but he didn't react.
"Wukong!" Nezha threw his bowl down and summoned his rings and spear. "You son of a bitch!"
"Woah! Language young man!" she exclaimed but the two of them ignored her and kept bad mouthing each-other.
"Hello (Y/n)." she looked ahead to see a young man with long white hair and little blue horns, smiling calmly at her. "I heard quite a lot about you."
"Oh, h-hello." she scratched her cheek, embarrassed to meet someone in this position. "You must be Ao, right?"
"That's right, I'm Ao Bing." he bowed slightly. "I hope Nezha wasn't too much trouble."
"Not at all-well, it wasn't boring that's for sure. I hope Monkey wasn't too much to handle either. He can be just as childish sometimes."
"Actually, he was the one who stopped the fight and started to look for you two. He even figured out where you two were going."
"Really?" he nodded, she blinked twice. "Well that's...surprisi-Would you both stop it for Lord's sake?!" she looked back as the two 'enemies' kept screaming at each-other. "You're both unbelievable! Put me down Monkey!" she wiggled around.
Ao chuckled.
After this shaky reunion, the four of them had dinner together. Nezha and Monkey wanted (Y/n) to sit as far away from the other as possible, in the end, she sat beside Ao Bing. Which as it turned out has been a 'pick your poison' situation all along.
"So," he looked at her, his calm smile becoming more mischievous. "scared of ghosts?" he puffed a chuckle. "Really?"
She let out a long sigh, between his teasing and these two bickering non-stop, this was going to be a long night.