Chapter Text
Macaque’s POV
Several months had passed since our victory against the Lady Bone Demon.
With her defeat came an era of peace in Megapolis. The new villains were weak. Most were easily defeated. The city's denizens went back to living their lives as if they hadn’t been frozen in ice for almost a week and the world hadn’t been nearly ravished by a psychotic ice demon.
Ever the optimists, the people of Megapolis simply moved on.
Within the next week, they were throwing parties and having celebrations. It was almost disturbing how quickly they went back to smiling and laughing with friends and family. Part of me wished I could have shared in that.
However, despite being free from the Lady Bone Demon, I couldn’t seem to relax. Ever since I could remember, I'd been running. Running from my past. Running from those who sought to hurt me. Running from the Lady herself and hoping my favor would never be cashed in.
I was always consciously aware of the fact that I was running on borrowed time.
So far, I'd had two chances to start over. Do something different. Change the way I lived and who I interacted with. The first one I took in stride, never looking back and allowing myself to be free from my past. That time period was full of sunshine and midnight skies.
I was a fool back then. Blinded by emotion...
My second chance to start over was bleak in comparison. It started just like my first life did. Alone without anywhere to go.
My home was empty alleyways, my blanket the cold winds that swept over my shoulders. I never stayed in one place. Constant movement was a part of the agenda, something I'd gotten used to after centuries spent running and hiding. None of that was unfamiliar to me. I'd lived that way for almost half of my life.
The cold was a constant.
So was running for my life.
Which is why I didn't understand why I decided to stay in Megapolis.
I was free. Free from the Lady Bone Demon. Free from her echoing whispers and icy claws. I'd broken my chains, freed myself, and helped in her defeat. I could go anywhere, do anything.
Yet, I stayed.
The reasoning was lost to me.
On one hand, the kid was in town- which was a plus. In the weeks following the battle, I caught glimpses of MK and his friends flitting over the buildings like bright beams of light chasing whatever new villain showed up in town. They kept the city on lock down, immediately defeating any threat no matter how small. The added protection was nice.
I found that I didn't run into as much trouble within the city limits.
Still, I kept to the shadows and only went out with my cape and hood. The dojo I'd once trained MK in had been destroyed in the ice and wasn't set to be rebuilt.
So, upon deciding that I would stay in town, I searched for a different place to stay.
Eventually, I found some guy on the harbor selling an old semi-functional submarine. Before I knew it, I found myself handing over what little money I had to buy the stupid thing. It stayed tethered to the dock near town most of the time.
I didn’t have much to put in it. Spending so many centuries in the shadows didn’t exactly allow for a lot of personal belongings.
All of my previous possessions had been lost to time and anything gained after that was pointless. I didn’t even have a blanket. Even that had been lost in some scramble to get away from the people hunting me years ago. Any of my possessions were either broken or lost and never seen again.
The only thing I had left was what was on my body.
My fingers drifted to the scarf around my neck on instinct. The inside of the submarine was stuffy. On a day like today, I didn't really need blankets or pillows. It was already hot enough. My fur felt itchy and sweat beaded on my forehead as I laid there, sprawled out over my old rickety two seater couch.
Any of the furniture in my house had been stolen from alleyways throughout Megapolis. There was my couch, a mattress full of holes, a microwave that sparked if it was used for more than two minutes, and a make shift night stand I made out of some plywood I found.
It wasn’t much, but it was a roof over my head for once. Another plus to living in the city.
One of the only drawbacks, was the constant traffic. Staying docked near the pier meant there was never a quiet moment. People wandered back and forth at all times of the day. There were markets and fishing boats. A party here. A party there. The noise bordered on being a little too much.
However, I found that it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. After all these years, I still preferred at least a little noise over the quiet. Especially after the fight with the Lady Bone Demon.
When things got too quiet…
Well, sometimes, I could’ve sworn we’d never defeated her at all.
Having so many sounds around me at all times meant that I was on high alert all day. Every sound was a reminder that I wasn’t alone. At any point, any of them could be my undoing.
Therefore, when footsteps landed on my dock late one afternoon, I was immediately on alert.
The person’s feet hit the pier with a dull thud. I could hear water sloshing as the platform rocked in place. Quietly, the person approached my door.
If it weren’t for my heightened sense of hearing, I was certain their footsteps would have been virtually undetectable. The steps were almost erratic yet soft. It was as if the person were stumbling bare-footed across the pier. There was no recognizable pattern to them.
Slowly, I slid off my worn down couch. My staff warped into my hand as a precaution.
I waited with bated breath to see who would come bursting through my door. I'd made enemies of some pretty dangerous people before. Although I was certain the reinforced metal would hold up against some of them, that didn’t apply to everyone.
The person continued to approach with those hard to place footsteps. I waited until they reached my door, my whole body tensed and ready to spring.
The person didn’t knock. They didn’t even attempt to make themselves known. I grew even more cautious as they pulled something out. It sounded like plastic. A very faint chuckle echoed through my ears and, for a second, I thought I recognized it.
Without a word, the person walked away.
I blinked in shock before racing over to the door and flinging it open.
Inside the submarine, it was pitch black.
However, outside the sun was shining with such vengeance that I instinctively shrunk back. My ears caught on the sound of a familiar heartbeat. Briefly, I feared that he would take advantage of my momentary blindness. I didn't have to think before my body was dropping into a defensive crouch. My staff covered my right eye without a thought.
Yet, nothing happened.
There was no abrupt pain. No jolt or strain as something hard collided with my staff.
When my vision cleared, I couldn’t see anyone on my dock at all. People were spread across the top of the pier and down along the harbor where the stairs led down to my dock. They all bustled about, taking friendly walks and chatting amongst themselves.
Besides them, there was no one. Not even so much as a speck of dirt to suggest that someone had been nearby.
I straightened and took in a deep breath.
Immediately, my nose was assaulted with the strong smell of fresh noodles and some sort of fragrant sauce. Underneath it was the slightest trace of peaches. I wrinkled my nose.
Frowning, I looked down at my feet only to see a neatly packaged bag of takeout food with “Pigsy’s Noodles” boldly printed on it. Underneath those words, was a big picture of MK’s friend, Pigsy. A tiny folded piece of paper had been attached to one of the handles via tape. I hummed curiously as I crouched to look at the bag.
It didn’t look booby trapped.
Although, if I knew anything about the King let alone the kid, I was sure there was gonna be some kind of hidden mechanism that flung the noodles in my face or something. Or maybe it would explode. Wukong always did love his explosives.
Either way, whatever was inside smelled too good to not take a look.
Carefully, I reached forward and pinched the plastic handles of the bag in between two claws. There was no immediate reaction as I carefully picked it up. Nothing spewed out of it. There was no string attached to the bottom to pull it apart and make a mess all over the place. It also didn’t explode which was a win in my books. Even jostling it a little as I raised it didn’t do anything.
All-in-all, it seemed like a perfectly intact, prankless bag of delicious smelling noodles. Which was suspicious.
As I moved to grab the bag properly, the little folded piece of paper fluttered, catching my attention. I squinted at it only to realize that the only thing holding it to one of the plastic handles was one tiny piece of tape. It seemed like a very MK thing to do. The tiny piece of paper was just one strong gust of wind from being blown off.
Before it could do so, I carefully pulled it and its little anchor off the bag. It wasn’t very big. Just a little scrap piece of paper that had been folded to hide the contents.
I frowned and unfolded it.
Depicted on the little white sheet were four cartoonish faces. I immediately recognized MK at the front with little finger guns. The dragon girl behind him was sticking her tongue out and making a face. Next to them were two very familiar monkeys. Me and the Monkey King. Surprisingly, our expressions were flipped from the usual. There was a little smile drawn onto my face while Wukong looked bored out of his mind. I tried resisting the smile threatening to appear on my face as I looked at the picture.
However, I couldn’t stop myself after seeing the little written note from MK on the side of the paper. “Hope you’re doing well”, it said.
“I thought it’d be another hundred years before I saw you smile again.”
With a barely concealed sigh, I wiped the smile off my face and turned to my right to see none other than the Monkey King.
The golden-furred monkey sat, lounging on his floating nimbus nearby and observing his claws with feigned interest. I had noticed recently that he hadn’t been wearing his armor as often. It had been a while since I'd seen him without it.
Today seemed to be one of his relaxing days though. The golden simian was wrapped up in a simple yellow hoodie and his usual red pants. His boots were nowhere to be seen, which was another first. His heart, strong and loud, drummed a unique beat against my ears.
I couldn't help but notice the smug smile that adorned his face as the King looked out towards the setting sun. Sunlight reflected off soft, freshly groomed golden fur. He was nothing short of radiant.
Part of me wondered who helped him with grooming these days.
Another part batted away the thought and buried it again before it could escape my mouth.
“Nice trick.” I hummed, eyeing the King's bare feet. The gold simian jumped down onto my dock, grinning like a rabid monkey.
“I know right! I bet you didn’t know it was me.” He crowed as his tail lashed with excitement. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, pointedly turning away from him while tucking the little picture from MK into my shirt.
“You sounded like an elephant stomping around my dock.”
“Are you calling me fat?” Wukong shouted. I simply smiled and leaned back a little as he stomped over to me, eyes hot with indignation, his fangs bared the slightest bit.
Somewhere in my mind, I was reminded that this was the Monkey King staring me down. I knew from experience that he could pack a mean punch. Although we were almost matched in strength, built with the same hard, sturdy muscles and lithe strength, my recent fight with him while he was possessed had shown me just how much he’d been holding back in all our previous fights.
Not to mention, he stood just the tiniest bit taller than me, forcing me to tilt my head back ever so slightly. Even when we were still friends, he had always managed to make me feel small. That feeling only increased when we became enemies.
Despite that, it’d been a long time since I was more than intimidated by him.
Ever since he started meeting with lords and gods and dragons with that Monk, the almighty Monkey King had been somewhat tamed, albeit very slightly. His fangs were almost never bared in anger. It had always been considered improper to some.
For us simians, baring our fangs was a way of communication, a way to show happiness or displeasure. Yet, they had taken that from him as well.
An inexplicable well of loathing rose in my chest.
“See, if the old Wukong would’ve glared at someone like that, they would’ve shit themselves on sight.” I sneered. The King wrinkled his nose in disgust and backed away.
“Language.” He huffed, turning his nose up a little.
I chuckled darkly at the familiar motion before slipping into my own shadow and moving to the other side of the dock. The overwhelmingly intoxicating scent of peaches lessened as I did so, much to my relief.
“At least say you’re surprised to see me.” Wukong grumbled petulantly. I scoffed and turned back towards him, taking in his defeated pout.
“As surprised as I would be to see trash at the bottom of a trash can.”
Monkey King’s eyes darkened into an expression of barely repressed outrage. Priceless.
I felt a genuine smile touch my face as I began making mental notes of all my possible escape routes. For all of his strength, Wukong tended to have the slightest delay in his speed. Distance always did me good whenever he blew up.
“I bring you food and this is how you repay me?” The golden simian huffed. I paused to look down at the bag still in my hand. It did smell delicious.
Without missing a beat, I turned and threw it off the dock towards the ocean. Before it could hit the water, a rush of air and golden fur blasted past me. I simply smirked as Wukong spun around on his cloud to look at me, bewildered.
“What the hell are you doing!?” He hissed, clutching the bag of noodles against his chest. I made a helpless motion with my hands.
“How do I know those aren’t poisoned?”
“Why the hell would they be poisoned?” Wukong demanded as he jumped safely back onto my dock. I shrugged and turned back towards my submarine.
“It wouldn’t be the first time you tried to kill me.”
My words were met with a tense silence. I didn't even have to look back to know I'd touched a nerve. The thought drew a sneer to my lips.
“What? Too soon?” I jabbed, walking over to close my door before spinning the wheel to lock it in place.
“Yes.” Came the simple reply. I chuckled darkly and turned back to see Wukong still standing in the same spot as before, holding the noodles.
On his face, was one of his rarely seen serious expressions. His eyebrows were pinched, his eyes dark with thought. All laughter had disappeared from him.
When we were young, there was never a single second where he wore that expression. His overbearing enthusiasm and confidence used to annoy me.
However, in the previous months with the fight against the Lady Bone Demon and the issues with the Samadhi fire, I almost wished he'd never figured out how to make such a solemn expression.
Before I could make fun of him for it, he lifted the bag of noodles and gestured it towards me.
“I brought these for you, but I didn’t make them. It was the kid’s idea. Pigsy made them.”
I frowned, something in my chest twinging. Whether it was disappointment that this visit wasn’t Wukong’s idea or if it was the fact that MK himself didn’t come find me wasn’t immediately clear to me.
Either way, I refused to analyze the feeling any further.
“So, MK’s the one poisoning me, hm?” I remarked as I sauntered back towards the King. He rolled his eyes but continued holding the bag up as I came to retrieve it.
“They’re not poisoned. MK just gave them to me and said to make sure they got to you.”
I hummed in thought and placed my hand under the bag. Wukong dropped it as I did so and I brought the little bagged box closer to me.
I vehemently resisted the urge to dig in now that I knew that they were safe. It’d been a while since my last meal and, although my sense of smell was never as strong as my hearing, the combined scent of peaches and the noodles almost made me dizzy.
“He told me to make sure you ate those.”
I paused, my heart making a strange palpitation in my chest as I glanced up at Wukong. It’d been a while since I talked to him from this close without my whole body hurting from the fight. It’d been even longer since I’d seen that soft look of concern in his pretty gold eyes.
“Don’t put words in the kid’s mouth.” I scoffed, making my way towards the stairs that lead to the main pier.
The smell of the noodles only seemed to explode outward as I opened the bag and took out the takeout box within. Some of the sauce had spilled out of the sides, but it was mostly intact. The kid had even placed a thing of wooden chopsticks in the bag as well.
Monkey King seemed to hesitate before slowly making his way toward me.
“You’re not gonna invite me into your dungeon?”
“Hell no.” I growled as I popped open the box of noodles.
Inside of it were jajangmyeon noodles, completely doused in a delicious smelling sauce and topped with a whole bunch of vegetables. There was absolutely no meat.
I shouldn’t have been surprised since I was certain Wukong’s eating habits were still the same. Part of me considered the fact that Wukong himself may have told them.
The other part figured it was more likely that they knew about his diet and had just assumed that our eating habits were the same.
I didn’t know whether to be insulted or pleased by that thought.
Ignoring the monkey now standing in front of me, I broke apart my chopsticks and dug in.
The sauce tasted even better than it smelled. I found as I ate that the vegetables were nice and soft but not to the point of being mushy- just how I liked them. Even the noodles seemed like they’d been carved from the celestial realm.
In my head, I gave Pigsy a ten star rating out of five. My taste buds felt like they’d ascended.
As I ate, a memory came to me, unbidden.
Once, about a hundred years ago, Wukong and I had been in the middle of another death match. It had been mere coincidence that we stumbled across each other that day. I hadn’t eaten in days and my water supply was running low. Not to mention, I hadn’t been able to sleep for a while.
With my strength already depleted, I hadn’t been nearly as fast or strong as him. I remember struggling just to keep my defenses up. At some point, my entire body went into survival mode. I sunk so far into it that even when Wukong called out to me in the middle of the fight and asked me what was wrong, I couldn’t hear him. I just kept fighting.
According to him, I collapsed after he threw me a little too hard. I remember the blank yet guilty look he had all too well when he told me that. It was as if he was afraid he'd killed me again.
When I woke up, I was on Flower Fruit Mountain for the first time in centuries. After I collapsed, the King brought me there so that he could tend to me without interference. I ended up having to stay for several days.
The whole time, neither of us really spoke. It was more of him feeding me and taking care of old wounds that I hadn’t properly bandaged and were infected. That was the last time I’d been treated with such care.
Although I’d hated it at the time, I knew even then that Sun Wukong was the only one who could’ve helped me without wanting something from it. Honestly, I still wasn’t sure if I would’ve survived back then if not for him. Not that I was ever going to tell him as much.
Either way, as soon as he turned his back one day, I slipped back into the shadows. We didn’t see each other for several decades after that.
Brushing off the memory, I looked down only to realize I'd already finished my food. It was then that I remembered I was still in a certain someone’s presence.
Trying not to blush, I folded the box again and stuck it back in the bag along with the chopsticks.
“Those were pretty good.” I huffed, wiping away the excess sauce still on my lips with my thumb.
“I’ll be sure to give Pigsy your word of approval.” Wukong chuckled.
I glanced up to see that he had sat down on the ground in front of me. His tail made little scuff sounds as it swished behind him. The golden simian's fur practically glowed in the early evening light.
As if to put a cherry on top, he was smiling, soft and sweet.
Even after all these years of fighting and misunderstandings, there was no denying that Sun Wukong had the prettiest, if not the most contagious, smile in the entire world. I had visited every corner of the planet and yet no one came close to his level of beauty. Not to mention those bright golden eyes of his, vibrant with mirth and mischief. It had been so long since I’d been on the receiving end of that playful expression and, suddenly, it became very hard to speak for a moment.
I frowned and tossed the bag with the empty box straight at his head. He caught it easy enough, that little smirk still on his lips as he brought the bag away from his face and set it down.
“What do you want, Sun Wukong?” I growled, folding my arms and leaning back. He reached up to itch the back of his head, his smile turning from playful to nervous.
“Straight to the point as always.”
“I know you came here for more reasons than to just drop off some noodles.” I pressed, eyeing his still bare feet. “If it had been that simple, you would’ve left after pulling your little stunt to drop them off.”
A light flush appeared on Wukong’s face as he tried to hide his feet. I couldn’t even see his boots anywhere in the vicinity which begged the question of just where they’d gone. I was distracted from that question, however, as Wukong leaned forward.
To my disappointment, the smile on his face steadily disappeared as he did so. Instead, it was replaced by that serious expression again, his thick eyebrows furrowed and his expression troubled.
“I- uh… I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” I scoffed.
“That’s a first. Since when have you ever talked things out?"
Monkey King winced and turned his head away. I frowned as he began fidgeting, his tail twitching anxiously behind him. The sight only made annoyance flare in my chest.
"You never listen. You just do whatever the fuck you want to do. Ya know, I can’t even remember the last time you asked for anyone’s opinion let alone actually taken it into consideration. You've always just done whatever’s best for yourself. Yet, they call me the selfish one."
The King glowered at the ground beneath him, his eyes dark with a growing anger. I leaned forward, a sneer appearing on my face.
"I'm honestly surprised. Even with such a fatal flaw, you've still managed to make friends. I could never. You're selfish, egotistical, and a coward and yet they still stick with you. You're a fuckin' deadbeat mentor and an asshole who uses people and then abandons them."
“Would you stop!?” The King’s gold eyes blazed as he lunged to his feet.
I stood as well, summoning my staff and dropping into a fighting stance. Golden energy crackled over Monkey King’s fur, making it sparkle dangerously. I kept my shadow magic close to my skin, ready to be used.
For several tense moments, we stared at each other. In my head, I was already re-listing all the quickest escape routes and the King’s weak points. I was ready, rejuvenated by the food in my stomach. It would only take one step to slip into the shadows. One more to begin a fight.
That thought process was cut short as Monkey King let out a frustrated yell and threw his hands in the air. I watched in astonishment as he turned away from me with an angry snarl.
For a moment, I considered making the first move. His back was turned after all.
However, as I watched him walk out to the middle of the dock, I realized he wasn’t going to fight. Instead, I could see him actively trying to calm himself. He put his hands on his hips and stood there just breathing. Each breath was sucked in and let out like he was releasing several thousand pounds from his shoulders.
I stood, frozen in shock, for several moments.
Ages ago, I tried teaching Wukong different breathing exercises to help him maintain his temper. I spent a whole afternoon one time trying to get him to just sit and breathe and relax.
Of course, the old Sun Wukong didn't really take to it. He was always too impatient for breathing exercises or meditation of any kind. His attention span was also abysmal.
Plus, back then, his emotions always seemed to rise and fall as they saw fit. Monkey King had never seen any point in trying to control them. That's what had led us to having half the issues we had back then. Monkey King was brash and arrogant. He always flew by the seat of his pants and let his emotions run wild. Everyone knew that.
This… this was a complete shift, one that I hadn’t seen before.
Frowning, I straightened and began approaching him.
“I told him this wouldn’t work.” He muttered, seemingly to himself. I tilted my head, drawing closer to the troubled simian.
In my head, I was trying to figure out what exactly he meant by that. My answer came as I accidentally stepped on the trash bag that I had thrown at Wukong. Scowling, I reached down to grab it.
“This is about MK.” I mused, tossing the bag into a nearby trash can. Wukong sighed before turning back to me. His gaze caught briefly on my staff, his gold eyes narrowing.
“He was persistent.”
“About what?” I asked, folding my arms and hugging my staff close. Some foreboding feeling curled in my stomach as Wukong hesitated, his words seemingly caught on his tongue. He only held my gaze for a moment longer before looking away.
“MK wants you to help mentor him.”
I blinked, waiting for the punchline. However, Wukong just kept standing there, watching my reaction with barely concealed concern and caution. His eyes were sincere. This wasn’t some trick.
Immediately, confusion washed over me. There was no way the kid would want me back in his life. Not after everything I’d done. Why the hell would he want me on his team? Out of everyone, I'd always thought I'd be higher up on the kid's shit list, especially after threatening his friends so many times. My breath stuck like a burr in my throat.
Still, I forced out a nervous chuckle as I turned away from Wukong.
“I can only imagine the look on his face when you rejected him.”
“I told him I would ask you.”
I paused, so many emotions exploding through my chest at once. For a moment, I almost couldn’t think. I couldn’t tell if I was thrilled or alarmed by this new development. On one hand, some deep and long buried part of me warmed at the thought of MK requesting me to mentor him. However, the bigger part of me flinched at the thought.
How many times had MK and his friends ended up on the other end of my fists or the blunt end of my staff?
“I agreed to let you help mentor him.” Wukong spoke just loud enough for me to hear. My hand tightened around my staff as I caught the edges of regret in his tone.
“I thought you were against the idea of him having two mentors.” I chided, trying to sound nonchalant and failing, my chest too tight.
“I am, but…”
“Then, why are you here, Sun Wukong?” I snarled, pointedly remaining turned away. Anger flared in my chest like a hot fire. I could feel it burning under my skin, making my blood boil. His eyes bore into my back for several moments before he responded.
“Macaque, I know I’ve wronged you.” I winced, lifting my staff and spinning it experimentally in my hand. “We’ve had our differences. I know we have and I’ve done stuff to you that I regret terribly.”
“I somehow doubt that.” I growled, my tail lashing at the thought. Wukong was silent for a long moment before I heard him sigh sadly.
“Even so, MK wants your help. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.” Something in me stung at those last words.
Burying the feeling, I turned back to the golden monkey and fixed him with a glare. He looked sad, his eyes shadowed with so many unspoken thoughts and apologies. I ignored them, hardening my words and twirling my staff again.
“There is nothing I could help him with.”
“He wants you to come to the mountain palace.” Monkey King pressed. Something in his eyes suggested that those weren’t MK’s words. “According to him, you taught him a lot of things in the short time that he trained under you- stuff that he wants to know more about.”
“The only lessons I taught MK were how to get crushed by the enemy!” I spat, cringing internally at the memories. “I have no place as his mentor and you know that. I’ve done nothing but break that kid’s spirit over and over and then I continued to beat him into the ground just to prove a point. I pushed him harder than any kid should be pushed at his age. Yet, even when I knew he was broken, I just kept pushing, hoping and praying that he would give up before he ever had to meet her!
"All I wanted was to make sure they never faced off and yet all of that was ruined because of you and your arrogance! Because you decided to go lone wolf and left him alone to deal with her on his own when he wasn’t fuckin' ready.”
Wukong’s face twisted, anger and regret warring viciously in his eyes.
For several moments, he didn’t speak, his jaw clenched shut. I could see him mulling over my words, his thoughts churning behind his eyes. Anger consumed his expression for several moments before he took in a breath and let it out.
“That’s why I agreed to let you help me.”
I backed up a little, my tail swishing nervously. He eyed me as I did so, making my skin crawl.
“You know damn well I’m no good for that kid.” I growled, waving away my staff with a shake of my head. He frowned.
“It doesn't matter. You were there for him when I wasn’t.” I stared at him, confused, as he carried on. “MK told me about some of the encounters he’s had with you. I don’t agree with your training methods, but the two of us agree that you had good intentions.”
“Beating up a kid is a good thing now?” I sneered, folding my arms and leaning back. Wukong grimaced and shook his head.
"You said it yourself just now. You were trying to stop him from facing off against the Lady Bone Demon. Meanwhile, I did nothing. He faced off against her, dealt with her torture for weeks, and was almost beaten by her when he was at his lowest. Yet, I was nowhere to be found.” Monkey King bowed his head a little, his face twisting in shame. “Pigsy was right. I should’ve been there for him and I wasn’t... I apologized to him but he just brushed it off like I didn’t abandon him when he needed me the most.”
“The kid has a bigger heart than me.” I scoffed. Wukong nodded, his expression growing soft.
“Too big for his own good.” He shook his head before making eye contact with me again. “The kid was adamant that I extend this offer to you. We’ve been talking about it for a few weeks now.”
“Let me guess. He gave you those noodles to give to me as an excuse for us to actually talk.” I huffed, anger slowly easing into resignation. Wukong looked away, his eyes flickering nervously over the ground next to his feet. I rolled my eyes and turned away.
For months, I’d always thought MK was too caring for his own good. He had demonstrated as much when he requested my help in defeating LBD. Not only that, but no one in their right mind would ask their ex-enemy, one who tried to kill them multiple times, to help them use their powers. It was idiotic and definitely one of his worst ideas.
There was no way I could be a mentor. Absolutely no way. I refused to even consider it.
Once upon a time, Wukong and I had agreed that we would be the last of our generation. We would never be able to train anyone to be our successors and we were certain there would never be a chance for us to do so anyway. We bounced from battle to battle for centuries. In our free time, we enjoyed a life of luxury, napping under the trees of Flower Fruit Mountain and minding our own business. There was never a chance for us to train people. It was always just us two.
For years, just us against the world. The Hero and the Warrior.
“If I were you, I’d keep someone like me as far from MK as possible.” I growled, making my way to the stairs to the harbor.
“Will you just consider it?” Wukong pleaded, his footsteps coming closer to me.
I made it to the top of the stairs before turning back to him. He stopped mid stride, halfway up the stairs, to look at me with wide, hopeful eyes. His golden fur was turning darker as the sun set, framing his face perfectly.
If I were still young and innocent, I may have fallen for that damn kicked puppy look. I couldn’t count how many times I had crumbled under its influence in the past.
Grimacing, I turned away and began making my way into town.
“Absolutely not.”