I'd Rather Be Me (With You)

The Party's Disbanded

As you traversed through the marketplace you finally understood what the brothers had meant about the place being a black market. The people running the stalls grew more grotesque the further you went, each selling things that you knew were illegal. It was honestly horrifying that such a place existed in Megapolis, (and that law enforcement had somehow not discovered it sooner). You could feel the stallholders' burning gazes into your skin, mostly likely due to the fact that the city's hero was clinging to your back. You figured you should've left him at the entrance, but it was too late to go back now.

The demons in front of you seemed to be more in their element, walking with much more pride and confidence than they were before. You weren't sure why, you figured that they'd get their butt handed to them by any of the people there, but you didn't pay mind to it. Mo seemed to agree with your sentiment, staring at the two brothers. Every moment you spent with that cat convinced you he was a person trapped in a cat's body.

"Look, how far until we find this potion vendor?" You asked, "This place gives me the creeps."

"I'm not too sure, it's not like she has a stall here." Yin looked around, "Maybe we can ask somebody here if they've seen her." Like clockwork, his golden colleague made his way to a stall.

The stallholder was a large fish demon, similar to Sandy but without an ounce of kindness in his form. He scowled at the group and crossed his arms, showing off his build and the scars that covered it. You pinched your nose, smelling salt water, cod, and seaweed from where you were standing. Somehow, despite the obvious threat, Jin waltzed over, completely ignoring the huff the man gave when he reached the counter.

"Hello kind sir, you've got a lovely stand here." He smiled at the pedlar.

"Whaddaya wants vermin, I got a business to run here and I'm sure you a squirt like you ain't got any money." He bent over to stare Jin down, making the latter shrink towards the floor. His eyes darted over to the rest of the group. You hadn't noticed that Yin was hiding behind you, cowering in fear. Mo hissed at the demon, while MK continued lazily holding onto you. You noticed the stallkeeper's eyes widened, making him look much less intimidating than before.

"Hold on now, is that..." He pointed at MK, making you freeze up. The other people in the market followed suit, each either pointing or whispering amongst themselves about the commotion. The stallholder walked from his shop, his footsteps making audible shakes as he moved. He approached both you and MK as the other members of your party slinked away leaving only you and the hero.

He grabbed the man from you and before you could react, grabbed a stray bandage from his arm and wrapped it around MK's hair. He whined and pushed away from the demon holding him, griping about being away from you for too long.

The crowd immediately started panicking, screaming about how the hero of the city was in their domain, making you wonder how they just now realized who he was. The fish demon dropped MK, jumping away in fear like a schoolboy, immediately losing any level of intimidation he had over you. MK crawled back over to you, letting out a sigh of relief at being at your side again.

"That's the Monkie Kid! The man who brought the Demon Bull King himself to his knees!" You heard someone cry out, causing the others to freak out even more. Their fear dampened when they realized he wasn't doing anything, just clinging to them like a faint odor.

"Why isn't he doing anything?" The stallkeeper approached you again, staring at you in confusion. "You there, what's wrong with him? Why hasn't he beaten us to a pulp by now? Is he intoxicated?" He crouched down and poked at his face, wincing for a moment, before realizing that he wasn't going to do anything.

"Oh, um." You trailed off, realizing just how dangerous it would be to tell a group of possible criminals what had happened.

"I'm glad you asked our aquatic fellow!" You wanted to smack them so hard. The crowd turned over to see the two brothers posing together, as though they were team rocket or something. "You see the Monkie Kid is currently under the effect of a love potion."