Monkie Kid x Oc: The Bull and the Jade Warrior

Calm Before the Storm

Chen gets back to the noodle shop, annoyingly after Mei and MK. The two were boasting about their win to Tang, who sat at the counter eating noodles.
MK notices Chen enter first. "Hey, Chen! What took you so long?" he asks cheekily. Chen elbows him. "Har har, very funny." he says.

Looking around, he sees one person who was missing. "Hey Tang, where's pops?" he asks. The man shrugs, gesturing over his shoulder with his chopsticks. "Oh, he's probably out back." he says nonchalantly, taking another bite of his meal.
Chen heads into the kitchen, passing by MK and Mei who were still vibrating with excitement about their win.

Entering the kitchen, the young man spots Pigsy washing dishes. The chef's ears perk up when he enters, and he looks up. He grins when he realises it's Chen. "Hey, Chen. You did great in the race today. I was here rootin for ya." he congratulates, shooting him a thumbs up. Chen shakes his head with a small, half-hearted smile, going into the corner to grab the bag he'd left there. "Thanks, dad. But you should be congratulating the two dorks out there." he said, gesturing to the doorway. At that, Pigsy shakes his head.
"Nah nah nah, you deserve one too. You tried really hard out there, and got second place. That counts as a win." he states, returning to the dishes. 

Chen hums. "Nah, I could've done better than that. Anyway, I'ma head home and change." he said, slinging the bag over his shoulder. Pigsy shrugs, giving up on the conversation. "Alright. Everyone's having dinner here tonight to celebrate the win." he explains.
Chen stops at the door, looking over his shoulder with a raised brow and a knowing grin. "On the house, or...?"

"Everyone pays for themselves." Pigsy states matter-of-factly. Chen laughs. "Ha! Knew it. See ya then, pops!" he waves, exiting the kitchen.

– – –

He wanders along the street, trying to get over losing the Great Race. He just failed something that he'd worked really hard for for months, of course he was going to be a little salty.

Oh well. There's always next year.

As he walks down the street, a figure approaches him. "Uh, hey! Chen, right?" Chen stops, looking over to them, eyes widening slightly in recognition. Their long grey hair and red eyes were unmistakable.
The snake demon, Jade, smiles as he gives Chen a wave. The young man stops. "Oh, hey. I don't think I ever did introduce myself, though, so it's not creepy at all that you know my name." he says, raising a suspicious brow. The demon laughs, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, uh....I was watching the race on the big magic box." he explains, pointing to the large screens around Megapolis.

Chen follows his thumb. "Oh. Okay, that makes sense..." he trails off. "So why are you here? I thought you didn't want to be bothered." the young man points out, gesturing to the crowded street. The two were out in the open, yet nobody batted an eye or looked in their direction.
The demon looks over the crowd uneasily, pulling at the turtle-neck t-shirt he had on. "Yeah...I-I'm here to congratulate you. You did a great job out there. It's not everyday you get to beat a demon at something so trivial." he laughed at his own statement, but the young man wasn't so amused. He squints suspiciously at the demon.

"Why are you really here?" he asks. Jade looks at him, surprised. Smile dropping, he looks away. "Wow, straight to the point." he chuckles awkwardly. Chen awaits his answer, raising a brow expectantly.

"Well, for one, I wanted to thank you for opening the box. I was starting to worry I'd never get out." he says. "And two....could you not tell anyone you saw me? Or even released me? If word gets out that I'm free, the Jade Emperor will stop at nothing to make me his slave again." he explains. His voice goes quiet, as he looks at the sky. "I...don't want to go back..."

Chen's brows furrow, still suspicious, but he rolls his eyes. "Fine. But if you even think about doing anything that could hurt my friends, I will hunt you down myself. So you better not try anything." he threatens, pointing a finger at him. Jade laughs, holding up his hands. "Alright, alright." he chuckles, folding his hands behind his back and giving the young man a bow. "You have my word."

"Good." Chen fixes up the bag strap on his shoulder. "I gotta go. Bye." he states, turning and leaving. The snake demon hums, a small smile playing on his lips at the young mans boldness. "Bye."

–

As he watches the boy round the corner, Jade lets out a sigh. That was dealt with. Hopefully the kid won't spill.
He's about to leave the busy street, when they spot two demons snickering as they come out of an alley. Jade recognised them immediately as the two commentators who narrated the race.

They point in the direction the young man went in. In the gold demon's hand, they held a familiar looking object. The snake demon freezes, as the two transform into two elderly men and round the corner, chasing after the kid.

Jade now felt conflicted. He knew the object they held wasn't good news. And if they were planning on doing what he thought they were doing...

He shouldn't care. He was just a random kid! A kid of one of his enemies, no less. His partner always said that his emotions would get in the way of their job, and that he has to block them out. Otherwise he's useless to them.

But...he couldn't just let them do it.

Against his own judgement and logic, he follows after the gold and silver demons, keeping his distance so they wouldn't know he was there.

–

Chen searches through his bag, growling. "Where are my headphones..." he grumbles, not realising that there were two figures approaching him until he bumped into them. He accidentally drops his bag, the two seemingly unfazed as he quickly picks it up, glad that nothing spilled out. "Sorry bout that..." Chen says, finally looking up at them.

The two men smile warmly, the one with silver hair waving him off. "Oh, it's alright young man! Say, weren't you the one that came second in the race?" he queries. Chen raises a brow. "Uh...yeah? What about it?" he asks.
The golden-haired one laughs. "That was some racing! What was your name again?" he asks. Chen nods. "Yeah, I'm Chen. Why? Does everyone think my racing was that bad?" he jokes.

The golden-haired one grins maliciously as he holds out a bottle-like object, and Chen yells as he's sucked inside of it.

–

Jin laughs, holding the calabash up. "We got him! Ha! Good thing that that Monkie Kid didn't break it the first time, ey?" he says, jabbing his brother. Yin hushes him. "Shut it! We got a job to do!" he hisses. "Come on!"
The two hurriedly move down the street, entering an abandoned warehouse.

All the while, a figure perched on top of a rooftop watches them. Jade doesn't make a sound, as he silently follows the two demons.

"What are you demons up to..."