Summary:
MK checks in on some local monkeys
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MK could cut the tension in the building with a knife.
Not for the first time in the past thirty minutes, he’s grateful for Mei’s presence at his side. He’d called the dragon girl moments after he contacted Monkey King after that, frankly, horrifying message from Macaque.
Wukong met back up with them at the shop like he promised, but now as things are winding down and MK’s bed upstairs is occupied by a half dead monkey that almost died for the second time this past week, and third time overall.
MK feels tired.
And done.
Very much done.
And very much in the opinion that something needs to be done, because from what he was able to scrape together from his mentor storming into his bedroom in the early hours of the morning all but shouting if he’s seen Macaque and what do you mean, you haven’t?! is that he left the two monkeys alone for less than an hour and in that time, they managed to spectacularly implode the fragile peace that hung over Flower Fruit Mountain.
The metaphorical grenade has gone off, and now MK can only cross his fingers and hope the explosion knocked something loose in the demons’ heads. He glares at the restaurant counter, wishing not for the first time he had the ability to simply lock the two in a room and throw away the key until they finally talk to each other. He knows, deep down, that that’s not how things go realistically, and there is a good chance it would only make things worse, but Macaque just nearly died again and MK’s very much done with letting dramatics endanger his friends.
Because Macaque is his friend.
Whether the Six Eared Macaque accepts it or not, he is MK’s friend.
Or at least someone he loves very much.
They’d struck up somewhat of a friendship when he trained under Macaque -as harsh as a teacher the demon had been during those few days, he’d been excellent at teaching MK new fighting techniques, and his sly bluntness had been enlightening. Monkey King -Wukong likes to run circles around things. Training with him is always good -but with Macaque, it’s just as good in a different way.
And there’s the whole shadow play. Macaque’s awkward, definitively characteristically dramatic attempt at teaching him -and without a doubt accidentally dumping out some crucial information about himself and Monkey King that had not flown over MK’s head. To this day, he's not sure if Macaque even realized how not subtle that entire event had been. Looking back, it should have clued MK in more about the true nature of the shadow demon's relationship with Monkey King.
Then there’s the whole… Lady Bone Demon saga.
Something MK doesn’t want to touch with a hundred foot pole. Not today, not tomorrow, not this year. He knows it's unhealthy and Sandy will likely have his ear for this, but he…he wants time. And focusing on Macaque and Wukong seems like a good compromise. A good distraction, both needed and necessary because MK can’t leave them to deal with this on their own.
Today proves that.
“...are you going upstairs?” Mei’s voice is calm, but there’s a little tinge of apologetic amusement to it. MK can feel her staring at the side of his head, but he doesn’t glance at his best friend, rather too caught up in his own thoughts… and glaring at the counter.
“Not yet.” MK replies. “...Monkey King took care of Macaque, now they’re just…resting.” He adds, mind wandering to the memory of Macaque’s bleeding face. His chest squeezes at the thought. He’d looked so hurt. It hadn’t been as bad as… as back then, after his fight with Monkey King, but the sight had been haunting.
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Brotherhood: Destiny Fulfilled
Fanfiction"Be a warrior." From the moment he accepted the boy's offer, Macaque knows how it's going to end. Or: Macaque knows that Wukong has been holding back, and what happens when he doesn't. It doesn't change his decision Sun Wukong and Macaque are brothe...
