Meeting the Truth

We Worry.

Wukong watched his successor meditating with worried eyes. His eyebrows were scrunched up and he was shifting. This isn't right, he shouldn't be stressed, and if he was he would've broken out of the meditation state by now.

So why hasn't he?

His tail swayed behind him, this wasn't right, he knew that. Something was off, what's going on with his successor? He tried using gold vision.

The only thing he noticed was that his magic core was unstable. He frowned, maybe that's the cause of the stress and the inability to break out of the meditation state? But what if he can and just hasn't yet? And what caused his magic to become so unstable? Things weren't adding up and his head was starting to spin. 

He jumped when Mk's eyes suddenly shot open, his successor nearly fell back with how panicked he was.

"You alright, bud? You were looking a little stressed there?" Wukong could see his little brother was trembling, he wanted to know why but he knew he shouldn't bring it up yet.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

He knew that was a lie, what he wanted to know was the truth.

"Bud? Are you sure?" Mk looked on the verge of running away, Wukong narrowed his eyes.

"Yup! Just peachy! Yknow, I just remembered I have to go meet up with Mei! So, see ya!!" He couldn't get another word in before his successor was running off to gods know where. His arms dropped to his sides and he sighed, before transforming into a bird so he could make sure the kid wouldn't get in trouble.

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When her best friend arrived at the arcade, just by his presence alone she could tell something was wrong. She looked over at him and just as she expected, all the signs of him hiding something were there. He was tense, his smile was forced, he was talking less and acting suspicious. Mei knew something was wrong, she just needed to figure out what.

"Hey Mk! How was training with Monkey King?" Maybe the simian was at fault, if he was she would hunt him down and make him pay, anything for her best friend!

"Oh, it was great! We, uh, did some meditation thingy!!" He sounded unsure, a clear hint he was lying, Mei knew that.

"Really..? What'd you see? How was Monkey King?" She was being too obvious with her questions, she should've known Mk would catch on, she could see the realization in his eyes, then the worry.

"Oh I could barely do it, I kept getting distracted and I couldn't sit still." He tried to play it off, even though Mei could tell that he was clearly lying.

"And Monkey King was great!" He exclaimed, sounding just a bit like his normal self, but Mei knew this was just an act, they've known each other for so long, sue her if she was worried about her friend! 

"Now come on, aren't we gonna play Monkey Mech??" Mk dragged her into the arcade, his forced smile turning into a real one. Mei decided to let it slide, just for now as she followed her best friend into the sea of people and games.

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When Mk came home, Pigsy was just about to berate him for messing up another order while delivering, that was until he saw how Mk held himself. Tense, fidgety, worried. They know when their son is hiding something, but what is it? Pigsy thought about just asking straight forward but Tang, the wise one, decided against it. 

"Hey Mk, how was your day?" Tang started, he wanted to see if his suspicions were correct.

"Oh it was great! We did a- uhm, meditation thing during training, then me and Mei beat our old high-score!!" Right there. When Mk is explaining a good day, he'll tell them every detail, so much detail they'll be able to imagine that they were actually there. He's hiding something, both of them knew it.

"Really? How did meditation go?" Pigsy tried, seeing how Mk tensed even more, that's the problem.

"Ohhh I could BARELY do it, I kept getting distracted and I couldn't sit still! I hated it so much." His hand gestures and voice were convincing, like he already had the lie ready. Or maybe he's telling the truth?

"I'm gonna go to sleep now, I'm pretty tired after a whole day of fun!" Mk was running up the stairs of the shop before Pigsy nor Tang could get another word in.

"What is he hiding?" Pigsy asked no one in particular.

"I'm not sure." Tang responded, even though he knew the question wasn't directed at him.

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He was surprised when Mk came to his boat, maybe he needed another ride to another dangerous mountain or something?

"Hey little man! Is there something you need?" He asked with his usual cheer. He noticed Mk's body language, a sign that he's either stressed or hiding something. His years of therapy taught him a few things.

"Can I just... yknow, hang out here for a while? I promise I won't stay long!" Sandy tilted his head, Mk's never asked for such a thing before but he has only known him for a few months so maybe this is normal.

"Stay as long as you need. Make yourself comfortable!" Sandy opens his boat door and allows Mk to enter. He's tense and forcing a smile is the first thing Sandy notices. When Mk sits down, Sandy takes this opportunity to try and get some answers.

"So what's bothering you, little guy?" Mk lifted his head in surprise, not expecting Sandy to catch on so quickly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confusion clear in his tone.

"I can tell somethings bothering you, it's in your body language and tone. I'm a therapist after all! So come on, what's going on?" His voice softened, trying to coax Mk into telling the truth. Mk looked nervous and hesitant, he understood it might be hard to speak of whatever may be bothering him.

"U-uhm.... Well, it's not really a big deal..." Sandy shook his head.

"It may not be a big deal to you but if it's stuck in your mind, it must be one." He said as sincerely as he could, the look of surprise on Mks face nearly made him laugh, he looked like a puppy with those wide eyes!

"it's just.. oh would you look at the time! I have to go meet Monkey King for training!" Mk sprung up, much to Sandy's dismay.

"Wait-" Mk was out the door in less than a second.

NOTES: Sorry if this chapter is rushed, i didn't have that many ideas on how to make the others react to Mks odd actions.