{Shadows In The Snow} |Monkie Kid AU| •Book 1•

•Chapter 15• {|A Nightly Walk|}

It was midnight and everyone was sound asleep, well...except for Li Mei. She kept having that feeling that she was being watched and twisting and turning in her spot, all she saw in her dreams were darkness and...that monkey, "Macaque..." his voice echoed, when the monkey told her his name. She then remembered the encounter she had with him, the creepy and unsettling feeling he had, the pair of eyes that haunted her dreams, and the feeling of always being watched made her uneasy, she couldn't even close her eyes without having the feeling of being watched or not alone. She opened her eyes and sat up, looking at the door and windows only to see nothing there, she felt relieved but still uneasy, she then saw the small lights in megalopis, her eyes widened as the lights reflected in her eyes and she got up to see the lights closer, pressing her hands and face against the glass and looking into the city itself, the view was beautiful. She has NEVER seen megalopis as much before but was amazed by the city and felt curious to see more. She then had gotten an idea. She changed from her pjs and began to go into some outing clothes and put on a big turquoise blue sweater, long dark blue pants and slippers with a coat for warmth, she put on the Sakura blossom hairpin in her hair and had her long hair in a tight bun, only a few streaks of hair spouted out from the bun. She then wrote a long letter to everyone letting them know she went out and that she'll be back by sunrise and left it on the table by Kenji and began to leave, she unlocked the door and stepped outside and...the feeling hit her....

She felt like she wasn't alone out...like something or someone was near by, she didn't see anyone, but her paranoia was off the charts, something in her head told her to go back inside, but she thought that maybe it's just her and her imagination. She whispered to herself, "Cmon Li...you got this, don't be scared, you can protect yourself! You got this!" she said in confidence, still feeling nervous but brushed it off and began to leave, closing and locking the door behind her and starting to walk to the city. Macaque was on the roof of the restaurant right ABOVE her the entire time, watching and his eyes following her every move  as she made her way to the city, "Hehehehe...just like little red riding hood going into the flower gardens...and not even knowing that the wolf, is right behind..." he chuckled under his breathe, vanishing into the same purple mist and stealthily followed after her as she went. She jogged into the streets of megalopis, admiring the lights and sights around her, she smiled with excitement as she went to explore more of the utopian city, she even saw people trying to fix they're shops and repairing the streets from the attack of the Demon Bull King Family around her, she helped out a bit with some people and was still smiling from the sights around her and enjoyed the smells of the fresh treats and food the shops sold, she saw a shop with cakes and immediately was attracted by it, going to the shop and ordering some for herself and to go. The shop owner gladly nodded and began to make the sweet treats in the back, while the young monkey waited for the shop owner to be done with her orders and looked around, she saw people and construction workers walking by holding supplies for a construction job over in town, she offered to help but the men told her that she's fine and kept going by. She looked confused but sighed calmly and kept waiting for the shop owner to finish up, looking around and gazing upon the sights, but then she saw...a strange looking man, he looked oddly familiar, wearing a black and red looking robe and with a hood over his head and face. She saw him approaching by and watched as he walked past her, he shared a small glimpse at her and she did the same at him, the two making eye contact. It was like time stopped and the eyes of the man looked oddly creepy under the darkness of the hood, but they looked golden, hazel...

Her eyes widened a bit from the sight of the man's eyes, but he then turned away and kept walking, as if his feet wasn't even touching the ground, his long sleeves dragging behind. Li Mei felt curious and kept watching the man but then was snapped back into reality by that shop owner and quickly saw stacks of the box's of cakes on the counter. "I-..Uhm..thanks!" Li Mei said politely to the man behind the counter. "Why your very welcome little missy!" the shop owner replied. "How much is it?" She asked the shop owner, "Hmmmm...about 25 coin!" he replied, Li Mei flinched from the amount but only had 10 coin on her, she put it on the counter and told the man that that was all she had, but the shop owner gladly accepted it and let her go get away. She nodded while smiling and went on he way through the city carrying the box's of cakes with her tail and in her arms. As she went, she decided to sit down on the sidewalk and enjoy some cake she bought, opening a box and taking a small piece of the cake and taking a bite, her cheeks immediately exploded with the sensational flavor and taste of the cake, her eyes grew wide with sparkles and hearts and she took another bite of the piece, enjoying every last chew and swallow. She kept eating until half of the cake was eaten, she smiled and rubbed her belly and suddenly burped loudly, but giggled from it being so sudden and began to get up, until...that feeling again. The feeling of something watching her, and then at the corner of her eye she saw the man again, he was standing in the alley near by her, looking around as if he was looking for something or someone, he then turned his eyes to Li Mei, making the girl flinch, his eyes looking creepier than before, they were bigger and wider, and..purple..they weren't that color before, then he began speaking to her . "Hello there miss..." he said in a friendly manner, "Uhm...hello" Li Mei responded to him, looking a little nervous of the man, "What's a monkey like you doing around here in this part of megalopis? It's unsafe and certainly...there's not many people around.." he said to her giving her an creepy smile and stare. "Uhhh...not for so much, in fact, I was just getting ready to go back home...my grandfather must be worried..." she said as she slowly got up and began to grab the boxes. The man got closer and said "Why? The city is nice to see, why so soon...I'm owning a shadow puppet show in town aaaand I thought, that you'd like to come and see it...I promise you it's worth the long walk..." she looked a little unsettled with him getting closer to her and backed away slowly. "Uhm..I would LOVE to, trust me-" but the man cut her off. "But wait!-" he said before Li Mei continued, "S-Sorry sir, but I gotta get home, it's late and my family and friends must be getting worried about me being out so late! Soooooo yeah but maybe I'll visit the show..! Uhm...bye!" she said as she quickly left going in the other direction, she felt creeped out and decided to call it a night, leaving and walking back down the same street she came from. "Hmmm..." The man muttered as he kept staring at her the monkey from afar, his emotionless and straight human face, turning into a monkey's mischievous and twisting smile, sharp teeth poking through his lips and his eyes growing more menacing and squinted. "Hehehe..Clever girl...." He muttered under his breathe while holding something of his in his sleeve, a lantern? Maybe...but he held it by his clawed hand that was still wounded and walked into the darkness, chuckling and laughing in a unnerving way and vanishing into the darkness and never being seen again.

Li Mei was running back home to the restaurant, huffing and puffing a bit from the weight of the boxes on her tail and back, but had enough strength to carry them. She ran past some people and looked at the sights that went past her, but she focused on getting home, she found a shortcut to the restaurant and decided to go through there, finding the restaurant and going to the front door, she took out the keys with her tail and unlocked the door and began to walk inside, everyone still asleep and seeing Kenji still napping on the floor under a blanket and on a cozy pillow. She sighed in relief and snuck past everyone and put the boxes on one of the tables and the note still on the table from earlier, she yawned and stretched once she finished putting down the boxes and decided to call it a night, she went back to the spot where Wukong was sleeping and just later there beside him on her back and immediately went to sleep, snoring loudly and dreaming off to her own little world.

[Meanwhile]
Mac was at the museum in the city, looking around and trying to find a safe place to do his magic, he saw the mayor there tho, a man in a black and grey striped suit and giving off an eerie feeling, but Mac only ignored the mayor and went into the dark places of the museum and putting down the lantern on a stage like setting, him teleporting onto the stage and taking off the hood that covered his head, revealing his human face and form, he then picked up the lantern and looked at it, a small chuckle escaping his mouth and him smiling a bit. "Finally..." he said under his breathe, smiling more menacingly and the lantern glowing a bright purple glow, his monkey shaped shadow dancing on the floor in the glow, it swirling and laughing and it reflecting the real monkey while he's in his human form. It then slid its way to Mac, it's smile twisted and crooked. Mac then spoke, "You'll be with me soon snowflake, gotta let love run it's course of course hehe....but know this...I won't stop..until Wukong is finally finished..and with YOU finally in my grasp...hehehehe...hahahahahaaa! AAHAHAHAHAhahahahahaa!!!" He laughed while still in his human form, his shadow smirking a crooked grin and it on the walls of the room and hovering over Mac and the glow of the lantern.

[Meanwhile]
Back at the restaurant, Li Mei was fast asleep, her in dreamland and resting beside Wukong. But...the one thing that made her uneasy, was that approach she had with the mysterious man from the streets, the look he gave her was surely to pierce her back and send shivers throughout her body. But she just thought it must've been her paranoia, maybe the man just wanted to me friendly and let his business soar...or at least, that's what she thought...she soon shook off the feeling and went to sleep, the night being peaceful and calm and the man slowly vanishing from her mind, she hopes...

[End of Chapter]