Even a few days later, (Y/n) still felt pain from her sore muscles. She wasn't used to fighting, so after an intense hour of just that, plus fighting Sun Wukong, she wasn't feeling her best.
"Monkey~," she whined, dragging her feet. "just carry me *please*! I'll even be okay with hanging on your staff by the back of my collar like last time!"
"No (Y/n)." he said, turning around and walking backwards to face her. "If you're going to fight more in the future, you'll have to get used to this feeling!" he clenched his fist smiling. "You should relish it you know?! It's proof that you fought hard and badassly! That feeling is like a rite of passage. Great isn't it?!"
"No."
"Are you kidding?! I wish I could experience my first battle again! Boy did I feel like shit afterwards!" he sniffed, getting emotional as he looked up at the sky. "Your first real fight, and it was against the great and powerful Monkey King! What a time to be alive huh?"
"Technically, I think my first 'real' fight was with Nezha."
"What?!" he quickly turned around, offended.
"I tried to get passed him in order to get back to the Jade Palace of Heaven. Obviously I lost."
'Looking back on it, I was embarrassingly bad. I couldn't even touch him.'
Monkey scoffed.
"That bastard! How dare he?!" he looked away before holding her shoulder (to which she let out a little 'ouch' of pain). "Don't worry (Y/n), I will avenge you!"
"No need, it's all good." she lazily waved a hand. "Also, what's with the change of reaction there? What's the difference?"
"The difference is that you were fighting a dumb version of myself, obviously you were gonna win. First fight being a losing fight? That just sucks!" his gaze wandered. "That brat! And then he comes to me and says 'she's my friend' and all that sappy crap!"
"Aww~! Did he really say that?" she smiled, touched.
"Don't react like that!" he pointed at her. "He doesn't deserve it!"
.
Our two protagonists approached a crossroad, split into three. Monkey gestured to the direction they had to take. But just as they turned to their new course, a giant fire ball came down from the sky. With his quick reflexes, he tackled (Y/n) out of the way just in time, the two of them falling on the ground. Monkey quickly stood in a fighting stance and looked up.
"Why hello to you too! What the hell man?!"
(Y/n) followed his gaze. Descending from the sky was a young man, well, he looked human except for his bright red hair, his bull horns and bull ears.
'Is he part demon, like Wuneng?' she thought.
Before she had time to ponder over the question, our two protagonists gasped when they recognized the armor he was wearing. The same as the generals working for the Three-Horned Demon Lord. She quickly stood back up and prepared herself.
"Finally," the demon said. "fate has brought you maggots to me!"
"Maggots?!" they both exclaimed, Monkey being the most offended one.
"Sun Wukong, I will beat you to the ground then drag the two of you to my Lord. He will kill you once and for all," he pointed at Monkey, then at (Y/n). "and he will eat you!"
"Ha! If your boss really think he can kill me, he is very welcome to come here and try again!"
(Y/n) shook her head, not really a fan of the idea after what happened to her last time. Monkey prepared his staff, standing at a certain distance from her so she doesn't get burn.
"Come at me with you little flames!"
The demon's smile only grew larger. He put his hands together and took a deep inspiration before blowing fire out of his mouth. Monkey smirked and rotated his staff, reading to simply swat his attack away. But as soon as it touched him....
"Woah! That burns!" Monkey exclaimed and jumped away in surprise. "Wait," his eyes widen. "it burns?"
"Aren't you fireproof?" (Y/n) asked, just as shocked as he was.
"I am!" he glared at the demon. "What kind of fire is that?!"
The young demon just laughed.
"You fool! You are only immune to human fire and heavenly fire. This," he raised a hand in which an unusually bright flame appeared. "is neither of those things. This is the true fire of Samadhi! Not even the rain of the dragons can extinguish it!"
Monkey gulped, gripping his staff in frustration. The demon laughed.
"That's right! I, Red Boy, is the only being in the three realms able to hurt you!"
"That doesn't mean anything!" Monkey pointed at him. "I'll beat your ass, you and your stupid name!"
"How though?" (Y/n) quietly asked.
"I'll figure it out." he said between his teeth.
She pursued her lips, trying not to show her worry, and to forget about her sore muscles.
'This guy must be crazy powerful. I don't know how we can get out of this one.'
Red Boy kept laughing. He put his hands together again, this time, fire came out of every hole of his face, including his eyes.
"Oh my lord!" (Y/n) exclaimed, stepping back.
"Let's do this!" Monkey dashed towards him.
"Monkey no!"
"Finally, the world will be rid of the Monkey King!" Red boy stood still with a big smile on fire, opening his arms and waiting for his opponent.
Monkey jumped up, attempting to attack him from above. Just then, an aura of fire formed around Red Boy and began to rapidly expand, not letting any time for Monkey to dodge. But just before the flames could burn his entire body...
"Red Boy!!!"
The two demons looked towards the voice as the flames suddenly disappeared. But since Monkey was in mid-air, he and Red Boy clashed and the two of them fell on the ground. As they were pushing each-other away, insulting each-other in the process, (Y/n) looked over to see a beautiful woman walking over to them from the third path. Well, since her hanfu was covering her feet, she looked like she was more hovering over to them. She was wearing a garnement worthy of royalty, with beautiful red jewels in her hair. Despite her colder-than-ice glare, she looked as calm as ever.
"Do not start a scene on my front yard."
"Mom~!" Red Boy whined, mad that she just interrupted him.
"Princess Iron Fan-Mom?!?!?!" Monkey happily said before looking at the young demon in shock.
"Sun Wukong!" the princess, who before was rather far away from them, with a gust of wind, she suddenly embraced him in a tight hug, startling him. "How happy I am to see you my old friend!"
"Old friend?!" Red Boy looked confused.
"You know each-other?" (Y/n) walked over, equally as confused.
"Of course we do!" Monkey smiled, hugging the princess back. "She's my sister-in-law!"
Both (Y/n) and Red Boy looked at each-other and gestured towards the in-laws, as if to silently ask each-other 'did you know about this? 'Cause I didn't!'
"What are you doing here?" Monkey asked as they let go of each-other. "Do you live nearby now?"
"Of course. From here," she pointed at a nearby mountain. "to there," she pointed at another mountain, this time on the horizon. "is our land."
'No wonder she said front yard!' (Y/n) internally yelled in shock.
"Eh," he playfully shrugged. "it's not Flower Fruit Mountain, but hey, good for you guys."
"Thank you. Oh you must join us for dinner!"
She started walking away and he followed her as the two of them started some small talk.
"Wha-Mom!" Red Boy whined again as he and (Y/n) followed behind them. "You're not gonna let this monkey join our family dinner!"
"Oh shush honey," she waved a hand, giving him a brief glance. "I'm sure your father would be delighted to see him."
"Dad would be beyond pissed!"
'How old is he exactly?' (Y/n) thought. 'During the fight, he spoke the same way as the Demon Lord. Now he speaks more like a moody teenager.'
"Oh yeah! Where is that big cow?!" Monkey excitedly looked around.
Just then, the Princess seemed sadder.
"He hasn't been feeling well lately."
"Lately?! It's been decades!"
"I'll explain everything once we get home." she continued, ignoring her son.
Red Boy huffed in anger, smoke and small flames coming out of his nose. Unsettled, (Y/n) picked up the pace to be beside Monkey. She leaned closer and whispered.
"What do you mean 'in-law'? Your brother is a cow?"
"He's the Bull Demon King. When I became King, him and other demon monarchs came to ask me not to kill them." he snickered. "Bunch of losers. Him and I became sworn brothers after that."
"Really? Because according to...his son, it seems to be the opposite."
"Yeah, we're also mortal ennemies. It's kind of our thing." he picked up two rocks as big as watermelons. "We're like this." he said as he crashed them together, breaking them into pieces, and cackled, ignoring (Y/n)'s pale face. "I bet he's ugly now."
She pursued her lips and glanced back at Red Boy, he did not look happy. She quickly looked ahead again when their eyes met.
'Are we really going to have dinner with him? After he just tried to kill us?'
.
They've walked for a while and arrived in the biggest castle (Y/n) has ever seen. She stood there for a few moments, looking at it as its shadow covered her.
"...Hurry up!" Red Boy exclaimed.
She yelped and flinched, now noticing that Monkey and Princess Iron Fan were going inside, too busy chatting with each-other to notice her. She rushed ahead.
'Wait,' she glanced behind her, the young demon following her (though he was simply walking). 'why didn't he just go with them? Was he...waiting for me?'
She lightly shook her head.
'I may just be overthinking this.'
Once inside, (Y/n) was once again speechless by the grandness of the place, it was close to the Heavenly Palace (though with way less white and jade and more black, red and gold). Fortunately, this time, she didn't forget to walk.
"With such a home, you must have a large family." she said, admiring the paintings on the walls.
The Princess laughed.
"Not at all." she said, waving a hand. "It's just my husband, me and my son here. Although, we do have quite the staff."
(Y/n) looked around. They were the only ones here as far as she could see.
"Where are they?" she asked.
"Why, in the kitchens of course. I told them to make the best feast in the land, and my husband's favorites." once again, she grew sadder. "Every year, I'm hoping it could bring him back."
"What do you mean?" Monkey asked, a bit more pressing this time. "Where is he?"
She sighed.
"Ever since we heard of what happened to you and your companions, he's been broken." she said. "Overcome with sadness, he secluded himself in one of our mountains. He never came out since."
"Pfff, yeah." Red Boy rolled his eyes. "Sad that it wasn't him who defeated that damn monkey."
"That makes sense," Monkey said, hearing the boy's words without acknowledging him. "we did promise we'd kill each-other in an epic battle that would shatter all three realms, along with reality itself."
'Seriously, what kind of relationship do you two have?!' (Y/n) thought, disturbed, as Red Boy just clicked his tongue and folded his arms.
"But Wukong!" Princess Iron Fan faced him, more determined. "I'm sure that, if you would just talk to him, he'd come back and be himself again!" she joined her hands together. "Would you do this for me, old friend?"
"Heh, come on now." he patted her shoulder and walked passed her. "Which mountain is it?"
"Uuuuh..." (Y/n) hesitated. "Monkey, are you sure about this?"
"Oh thank you Wukong! Right this way."
"You just talked about breaking reality just a moment ago." she continued as she followed them.
"Don't you worry (Y/n)." he waved a hand while still looking ahead. "I'll win for sure."
"It's not you I'm worried about!"
"No yeah, go ahead. I'm sure you'll be fine." Red Boy followed with a smile. "Not." he mumbled.
She gave him a weird look, still unable to figure out his age.
'He looks like an adult, but he sure doesn't act like one.'
They left the castle through the backward and the Princess pointed at a nearby mountain, and by 'nearby', I mean a dozen of kilometers away. From here, they could see the opening of a large cave, too dark to see inside. The Princess gave Monkey a worried but hopeful look. His smile grew bigger.
"You guys may wanna step back."
(Y/n) took a step back without question.
"*You* step forward, don't tell me what to do." Red Boy glared at him. "You're not my dad."
Monkey chuckled in anticipation and slowly inhaled, so deeply he had to lean back.
"Oi!!! You dumb cow!" he shouted so loudly, (Y/n) and Red Boy covered their ears. "Is this how I find you after years of emprisonnent?! What a joke you are!" he opened his arms. "Come out and face your mortal enemy! We got some unsolved business! Seems like I didn't kick your ass hard enough last time I saw you!"
Just then, there was an explosion, creating an earthquake from which (Y/n) almost fell over. Once stable again, she looked ahead. There was now a way bigger hole into the mountain, a giant bull demon with raggedy clothes stood there at what-once-was the cave's entrance.
"Sun Wukong!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing throughout the land, before charging head first.
"Darling!" the Princess exclaimed.
With a big manic smile, Monkey charged head first too. The two of them didn't slow down at any point and eventually, their skull came into contact. The impact created a powerful gust of wind. Princess Iron Fan seemed untouched by it, as in, her hair wasn't even moving because of it, so (Y/n) hid behind her. Red Boy however was swept off the ground and he would've flew away if (Y/n) hasn't caught his hand just in time, pulling him with all her weight so he'd be safe behind his mother too. Once the wind settled, the two of them let out a heavy sigh. He realized she was still holding onto his arm and quickly backed away.
"Ew! Don't touch me with your human hands!"
She frowned.
"You're welcome." she rolled her eyes before coming out from behind the princess' back.
There was now a giant crater in the middle of the land. In the center was Monkey and the Bull Demon King, blood dripping down their forehead but they seemed unfazed by this. They skulls were still touching and Monkey looked so tiny compared to him. Just when (Y/n) was growing anxious, the two sworn brothers burst out laughing, he grabbed Monkey and threw him in the air.
"Brother Monkey! Why aren't you dead yet?!"
"The only way you could kill me is with how lame you are!"
"Well now that you're here, I can finally tear you to shreds!"
"Not if I kill you first!"
They both laughed, they looked beyond happy. (Y/n) turned to the Princess, who was silently crying from joy.
"Are they just always like this?" she asked. "Threatening each-other like that?"
"They wouldn't have it any other way." she whipped a tear. "It just shows how pure their friendship is."
"Sure...Pure." she mumbled.
'At least they're happy.' she thought, a smile forming naturally on her face from looking at Monkey laughing.
The two best friends walked back, with Monkey on the bull's shoulders. Whose face lit up again once he saw his wife.
"Honey!"
"Darling!" she flew up to him and kissed him a bunch of times on his snoot. "How I missed you so!"
"Oh! What a day to return!" he gently grabbed her and placed her on his other shoulder. "My two favorite people, giving me a warm welcome! We must dine to celebrate!"
"I had the servants make your favorite dishes."
"Oh how I love you so." he snuggled up on her and she kissed the top of his head. "Ah."
He stopped when he became face-to-face with (Y/n) and Red Boy. He seemed more perplexed in the latter. Which was a good thing since the poor young woman was speechless to see how massive the king was. Now it made sense why the castle was so big, so that he would fit.
"Honey, have you replaced me?"
"Father! It's me, Red Boy!"
"Well that's a silly name."
"You're the one who came up with it! I'm your son!"
"Red Boy! Right~, because you have red hair!"
He smiled a little bit, happy to be recognized. The bull demon's eyes narrowed as he inspected him.
"Something's off, you've grown since the last time I saw you."
"Of course I've grown father." he said between his teeth, trying to stay calm. "You left when I was a baby." no reaction. "It's been almost a hundred years father!"
"Uh-hu. Well, try not to grow too much." he walked passed him. "Or at least get a haircut."
Red Boy scoffed and looked at his hair, not seeing anything wrong with it. Meanwhile, (Y/n) couldn't help but felt bad for him. He noticed her look of sympathy and it pissed him off.
"Come on," he pushed her ahead. "let's go already!"
.
(Y/n) believed that she would feel more comfortable after a while, that it was just a matter of time. But at this moment, it felt as if she was sitting with two time bombs at the table. One being the very chaotic yet strangely wholesome friendship between the two demon kings, and the other being simply Red Boy. The food was delicious though, although there a bit of a situation at first when the servants set the dishes on the table.
"Wait, is any of this meat human?" Monkey asked.
"Yeah," the demon king replied as he was about to dig in. "but why do you care? You're vegetarian now." he gasped. "Unless you're back to being a carnivore again! In which case, dig in!"
He handed him a dish, Monkey slapped it away, making it fly across the room and drop on the ground. (Y/n) made a small prayer to whoever this meat belonged to.
"No!" he exclaimed. "The woman I love is a human, and she's right here!" he gestured towards her, making her blush. "So don't be rude!"
Everyone in the room looked at them two with big eyes. She sunk a little bit in her seat.
"No way!" the Bull Demon King eventually said before leaning closer to Monkey. "You must tell me all about it!"
'He's been ignoring everyone except him and his wife.' she thought. 'Rude, but I understand. He hasn't seen Monkey in decades, and they are best friends...enemies?' she tilted her head. 'Either way, he must care an awful lot about him.'
"She's not just a human father!" Red Boy suddenly stood up and pointed at her. "She's the newest Golden Cicada! We should be eating her right now!"
She gulped.
"Boy, come on now." his father shook his head, disappointed. "Wukong's love of his life is human, that'd be rude."
'Not the fact that *I'm* the woman in question?!' her eyes squinted in confusion.
"Who cares about him! We could achieve true immortality! Be the most powerful monarchs in the world-"
"Boy!" his father slammed his fist on the table, only lightly, but it was enough to tilt it (and it was a big table). "Stop spoiling the mood, can't you see I'm trying to catch up with my old nemesis."
"Old?" Monkey raised an eyebrow and nudged him with a smile. "You better not talk literally. You're as old as I am!"
"Yes, but I'm younger in spirit."
"Don't make me laugh! You stayed in a cave like an old hermit!"
"You were also stuck in a mountain last time I check. What is it, the third time it happened?!"
"Yeah but they had to lock me up! You *willingly* went in there like a loser!"
As they kept bickering, Red Boy's face turned red from anger and he stormed out of the room. (Y/n) wouldn't have gotten involved if it wasn't for the fact that, no one around the table or even in the room acknowledged him. She felt a bit disturbed by this, and leaned a bit towards his mother.
"Is he going to be all right?" she quietly asked.
"Mmh?" she looked at her. "Oh, yes yes. He always comes back eventually."
Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought of all the instances someone actually talked to him. And every time, it wasn't to say the nicest thing. She stood up and excused herself.
"Are you actually going to talk to him?" Monkey asked, his mouth full. "You know he wants to eat you right? And he tried to kill us on sight."
"What?!" his best friend exclaimed before she could respond. "He did?!"
"Yeah! Let me tell you- Oh, but first I gotta finish this story." he turned back to him. "The chief was like 'if you want the flower, you'll have to prove yourself worthy' and I was like 'bring it'!"
(Y/n) pursued her lips and left the room, excusing herself once again. Monkey glanced at her, he was worried of course, but he knew that guy with the dumb name wouldn't go against his dad's wish.
.
Luckily, she didn't have to ask for direction, she only followed the sound of crashing furnitures along with the shouts of rage. She reached a bedroom, the door was wide open. She stood on the doorway and saw Red Boy, having wrecked and burned most of his room, smoke coming out of his nose every time he exhaled. He looked frustrated, as if all his overwhelmed feelings were still present in his chest.
"...Are you okay?" she eventually asked.
He spun around to face her. For a brief moment, he was shocked, but then he frowned.
"You have some nerves coming here human."
"The door *was* open." she carefully stepped in. "I thought maybe...you'd like someone to talk to. You know, I've had arguments with my father too and-"
"You don't know anything about me, or my family! Don't you look down on me!" he walked up to her, making himself taller. "If it wasn't for my father's wish I would kill you right where you stand!"
She leaned back, intimidated, but not scared.
"I don't know what he sees in your bodyguard boyfriend but I will make him see." he slowly said, pressing his words. "He's just being soft after being locked up all these years. I will make him understand. Just you watch human."
Only silence followed. Red Boy thought that maybe, he scared her speechless. But (Y/n) was thinking.
'He said he left when he was a baby.' she frowned slightly.
"...Was this your first real conversation with your father?" the question escaped her lips without thinking.
His eyes widen, caught off guard. Then his face twisted in anger, and now she felt scared.
"What kind of question is that?! Get out!!!" his eyes and fists started to burn.
She gasped, cursing her big mouth, and ran out.
"Who do you think you are?! I don't know you! Get out get out get out!" he grabbed his door. "And stay out!" and he slammed it shut, his shouts of anger now muffled.
In the heat of the moment, he took off the golden snake earring he was wearing. It began to move on its own and looked up at him as he walked to the now broken window.
"Tell my troops I got Wukong and Golden Cicada at my dinner table right now. My men shouldn't be this far away, I did two-thirds of the way with them."
After saying the message, he let the little snake quickly crawl out of the castle, out of sight in an instant. Now calmed down, he looked back at the door. It was the first time in forever since he closed it.
'Why do I keep it open in the first place?' he shook his head.
(Y/n) sat back on her giant chair at the giant table and let out a heavy sigh.
"I apologize for that." Princess Iron Fan said. "He's always been a real piece of work."
"Always?"
"I tried everything." she shook her head. "Talking to him, have someone else talk to him. I gave him the most valuable and expensive gifts I could find, had the best teachers all across China come and teach him whatever he wanted. But his bad temper never changed." she sighed and shrugged. "At some point, I just gave up."
(Y/n) frowned. That didn't sit right with her. In fact, this whole family didn't sit right with her.
'A loving parent should never 'just give up' on their child.'
"The Three Horned Demon Lord?!" the Bull Demon King suddenly exclaimed, making her flinch.
"Yeah!" Monkey nodded. "And he said he was gonna bring us to his boss!"
"Unacceptable! Where is the boy?"
"He left to his room." she said. "You didn't notice?"
"Why he should've announced that he was leaving, how impolite! Who raised this kid?"
"You... Well, you *should have*." she glared at him.
Just before things could get heated, Red Boy came back into the room. As he walked back to the table, he kept looking at (Y/n). He must've heard what she said.
"Ah, boy!" his father said, making him stop in his tracks. "What's this I hear about you working for that loser with three horns?! I won't have it!"
"F-Father, he has grown very influential over the last centuries. His recourses are unthinkably valuable and it could be very beneficial to us. He even managed to-"
"He's the demon who locked up my best man right there!" he pointed at Monkey.
"Your 'best man' tried to kill you on multiple occasions and almost succeeded half of the times!"
"And some of those times *I* almost succeeded."
"You wish." Monkey smirked.
"No *you* wish!"
(Y/n)'s frown deepened as they started bantering again. Now was not the time. And Red Boy felt the same way.
"Dad!!!" he yelled, cutting them off. "Don't you wanna be powerful?! Don't you wanna be all mighty?! This has been the goals of our family for generations! Don't let that monkey blind you! Immortality is right here! At your table!" he gestured towards (Y/n), but kept his gaze on his father. "I could cook her right now and-!"
"Don't you dare!" Monkey stood up, ready to fight.
As crazy as it may sound, (Y/n) was on Red Boy's side in this argument.
"Yeah, don't change the subject." the bull demon pointed at his son. "The enemy of my nemesis is my enemy-"
"Is he your nemesis or your best friend?! Make up your mind!"
"*And*." he pressed his word to shut him up. "That means you're working for the enemy. You said you'd deliver Golden Cica- I mean," he glanced at Monkey. "the girl, to him instead of me. What kind of double-crossing is this?!"
"N-No! Obviously I was gonna give the girl to *you*! After they kill Wukong, I'd use the true fire of Samadhi to get out of here with her and bring her back home!"
"I'm disappointed son." he slowly shook his head. "You'd think they could kill my mortal enemy just like that? Please."
"Oh *now* I'm your son?! Great!" he groaned. "Why can't you see that I'm...?!" he looked for words but gave up and broke the table with a flaming fist before stomping out of the room again.
"No~!" the Bull Demon King held his head. "The dinner's ruined!"
"He did it for you." (Y/n) looked at him, ignoring what he just said. "He became a high ranked general, all for the benefice of your family."
"It's not like I asked him to do that, we were doing just fine." he huffed, clearly not putting much thought into his response. "Uh, servants, make us a backup dinner before I lose my appetite." he looked around at the people at the table. "Sorry about that."
''That' is your son!'
She started walking towards Red Boy's room again.
"Are you sure about that?" Monkey casually asked. "Didn't sound like it went well last time."
She glared at him, but he was unfazed by it. The two of them maintained eye contact for a moment before she left. He sighed.
.
Once again, the door was wide open. At this point, she wondered if it was an invitation. Red Boy was in the middle of wrecking his bedroom even more. This time, she stood in the doorway and stayed there. She watched him for a moment, and once he paused, looking unsatisfied like last time, she softly knocked on the door. He looked over and was just as pissed to see her as last time. She took a small step back just in case.
"You! What, are you here to give me stupid life advice?!"
She shook her head.
"Are you here to laugh at me then?!"
She shook her head again.
"Well jokes on you, I'm not in the wrong here! I only left because he's my dad and I can't talk back to him! Ah." he laughed, realizing what he just said. "Dad?! More like a superior really! Shall I call him 'guy' like he calls me 'boy'?"
She didn't say anything. He continued, pacing around the room, and she took a small step forward.
"I don't know why I even care! I don't even know this guy! All I know is the stuff my mom told me. Of course, since he's the only thing she talks about! About how she misses her darling!" he groaned and rolled his eyes. "Well now he's here and things are even worse! Who knows, maybe it would've been better if he stayed in that cave! I got used to not have him around anyway! But no! His precious frienemy- whatever they have going - finally came back and he's out just like *that*!" he punched the wall, breaking it. "Can you believe it?!"
She didn't say anything. He continued, and she took a small step forward, now in the room.
"It took him one minute what I've tried to do for *years*! Decades of going up that stupid mountain to try and talk him into coming back! And guess what I got?" he paused. "*Nothing*!"
He groaned loudly. (Y/n) slowly closed the door. He was so focused on his monologue that he didn't notice that, nor that she took a step forward. He huffed.
"I get it, they have a history together. But I'm your *son*! Does that not count for *anything*?!" he ran a hand through his hair. "I thought maybe if I became general of the army of the most powerful demon lord around. I could bring more prestige to our family and he'd come out to congratulate me, or, at least he'd do it when he comes out." he frowned. "In the end, the only thing I got from my own father was the knowledge that my name's Red Boy because of a stupid observation about my hair!" he groaned. "I thought if I brought us true immortality, I'd be praised, but no! I'm getting yelled at! I don't get it! What... Why doesn't he..." he turned away and rubbed his face, his shoulders dropping. "What am I doing wrong?"
(Y/n)'s eyebrows furrowed as she felt her heart twist. He finally looked her in the eyes, and for the first time, he seemed to have gotten everything out of his chest. There was a moment of silence.
"...Nothing." she finally said. "You're not the problem. There is nothing wrong with just...existing."
His eyes widen and he pursued his lips. He then looked away and slightly nodded, processing what she just said. The fact that he seemed to just consider it broke her heart a little bit.
"What's your name again?"
She blinked twice.
"I'm (Y/n)."
"(Y/n)..." he looked away again, nodding.
"...It's nice to meet you." she leaned a bit closer.
"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah." he quickly bowed his head. "Nice to meet you."
She couldn't help but smile. He must not be polite often. Just then, they heard a hundred of synchronized footsteps in the distance. Red Boy looked out the window.
"Uh-ho."
She followed his gaze and saw an army walking over to the castle. The two of them looked at each-other. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, like he was guilty of something. She pieced together what it was when she noticed his golden snake earring disappeared.
"What are you going to do now?" she asked with a grave expression. "Because I'm telling you, I am not going out without a fight."
He nodded.
"Respect." he exhaled before leaving the room.
Confused, she followed him without thinking. He went out the front door and walked up to his men, while she stayed on the doorway, ready to run.
"Halt!"
They all stopped. The soldier that was leading the way stepped forward to talk to his superior.
"Sir, we have arrived and we are ready." he spoke in a clear voice, standing to attention. "What are your orders?"
"Actually, I apologize." Red Boy said, staying calm. "It seemed that Golden Cicada and the Monkey King have escaped. Nowhere to be found."
"...She is right there Sir."
"Wha-!" he looked back "You-!" glared at her (she was too far to hear them though), but then sighed and faced his army again. "Alright. If I'm being completely honest, they're now guests at my annual family dinner. I can't do anything about it, it would go against my parents wishes."
"Oh. Well that's no problem." he began to step forward. "If you can't do anything, then we'll-"
He was about to walk passed him, but Red Boy raised his arm, stopping him.
"Get the hint." he sternly said. "Go away."
The soldier stepped back, shocked.
"Are you...going against our Lord?"
"...What if I am?"
"Y-you can't!" he pointed. "You're under contract, you signed it yourself!"
"Then I just have to change my signature!" he looked away for a moment, thinking. "There, I just did!"
"That's not how it works! Sir, you're acting childish! Is this her doing?" he looked at (Y/n). "What has she done to yo-?"
"Enough with the fancy talk! I'm sick of it!" he glared, clenching his fists. "And I'm sick of people telling me what to do."
The soldier stepped back, frowning and preparing his weapons.
"If you really think you can back away from this just like that, after everything that happened, then you really are a child. We'll take Golden Cicada ourselves then! Men!" he turned back to his troops.
Red Boy focused, clenching his fists and teeth as smoke came out from between them. An aura of fire formed around him, steadily condensing, his armor slowly turning red from the heat. Eventually, he shouted as his aura was projected outward, his armor broke into pieces which flew in every direction. It hit some soldier and missed (Y/n), who let out a 'woah!' when the piece on fire hit the wall behind her, leaving a big hole in it. She looked back at Red Boy, now in regular clothes, he joined his hands together, then opened his arms to create a tall wall of fire which rapidly expanding around the entire castle. With him inside the flames, she couldn't see him anymore. The army on the other side though could still see his silhouette, distorted by the flames, he looked monstrous, and they all took a couple of steps back. Red Boy stepped out with a big smirk, pushing the flames away like they were mere curtains.
"Go on. Come get a taste of the true fire of Samadhi." he said, gesturing them to come closer. "Little reminder that the flames can't be put out by anyone but *me*! So if you get burned..."
He did have to finish his sentence, he could see the fear and anxiousness in the soldiers' eyes.
"Now get the hell out of my house! And you better hurry up because my house goes from here," he pointed at the mountain his father was in before. "to over there!" he pointed at the horizon. "Scram! And tell your lord he's a loser!"
They all left. He huffed, small flames coming out of his nose, before walking through the wall of fire once again. Seeing him alone, and without his armor. (Y/n) rushed towards him.
"Red!" she called out.
"Red?" he mumbled.
"Are you okay? Are they gone?"
"Yeah they all ran way like cowards!" he looked towards the wall. "I'll leave it up for a little bit just in case."
"Did... Did you leave the Three Horned Demon Lord's army?"
He huffed.
"It sucked there anyway. He's a jerk."
She smiled, happy to see that, once he gave up the fancy talk, he seemed more comfortable. Her smile faded.
"But, is this really okay? Won't he be mad at you for doing this?"
"If he is, he can come over here and tell me himself." he looked at the wall again with a smile. "I'd like to see him try."
"Wow." she paused. "Thank you."
They faced each-other.
"You didn't have to protect me, but you did. That was really nice of you. I know it takes a lot of bravery to defy a lord and his whole army like that. And you really showed them what for, that was really cool what you did there!" she smiled. "I'm proud of you, and I'm really thankful." she bowed.
At this moment, Red's face twisted as he let out a long, loud rumbling noice, coming from the back of his throat. Like a suppressed scream.
"Woah! Are you okay?!" (Y/n) asked, panicked and worried as she looked for any injuries.
"Mh-hmm!!!" he nodded.
"You don't sound okay, you sound like you're in a lot of pain!"
"Mmh-hm!!!" he shook his head.
It was then she noticed the tears building up in his eyes that he was trying his hardest not to let them escape. She suppressed a laugh. Truth was, this was his first time crying ever. He grabbed her shoulder with one hand, and held up an index with another.
"If *anyone*," he spoke slowly in a shaky voice. "ever tries- or even thinks about messing with you. I'm going to *kill* them."
"Okay there's no need for that." she laughed, her eyebrows furrowed as she patted his hand. "Just don't try to eat me next time we run into each-other please."
"Okay!!!"
He turned away and sniff, blinking rapidly to get the tears back inside his system, while (Y/n) patted his back. The two of them stayed like this for a moment, with the giant wall of fire in the background. It warmed them up, it was nice.
.
"Man I'll tell you:" Monkey said, patting his belly as him and his two old friends walked out of the castle. "human food and nature food is nice and all, but there's nothing like a delicious demon buffet!"
"Glad to hear it!" the king happily huffed. "I'm sorry we don't have enou- What the-?!" they stopped once they saw the wall of fire.
"What's this?! Red Boy!" Princess Iron Fan exclaimed.
Said boy, now calmed down, along with (Y/n), turned over to see the three of them walking over to them.
"Could you not trap us all in our own home please?"
"Honey, have you forgotten?" her husband said. "Wukong's fireproof, those stupid flames won't hurt him."
Red frowned.
"It will be a pain to put out though..." he continued.
"No need." Red said.
He waved a hand, and gradually, the fire disappeared, leaving a clean black circle of burnt grass on the ground.
"Oh my! I didn't know you could control fire."
"It's not any fire!" (Y/n) said. "It's the true fire of Samadhi, it's the one thing that can hurt Monkey!"
"Really?!" now he seemed invested, and he looked at his best friend for confirmation.
"That's true." he nodded. "He almost got me the first time. I wouldn't have been able to walk through those flames without...dying." his gaze wandered, disturbed at the prospect.
"No way!" he looked back at Red. "Where'd you learn how to do that?!"
"...Years and years of hard learning and training." he looked away, trying to not be too happy that his father was being interested in him for once in his life.
"Right! And he uses it like a champ!" (Y/n) added. "He just made a whole army run away like cowards!"
The king looked around.
"I don't see them. If you really fight an army, there should be bodies all around! Like when me and Wukong fought that one time but then suddenly-."
He kept going. Her and Red exchanged a look. At least, they got his attention for two whole minutes, there was some progress made.
"Anyway," the princess said after he was done with his little story. "it's was nice to have met you."
"Huh, we're leaving?" she looked at Monkey.
"Yep." he said as he stretched.
"But," she looked at the sky. "the sun is setting. Can't we stay here for the night?"
"They don't have any room left."
'In this giant castle, they don't have any room left?!'
"And it's fine, there's a town right outside their house." he pointed at the nearby mountain with his thumb. "They'll pay for the inn too."
She sighed as a way to say 'fine'. Now was time for goodbyes. As the Bull Demon King and Monkey were bickering once again, promising to meet on the battlefield next time, she offered a hand to Red. He shook it.
"What will you do now?" she asked.
He shrugged.
"Maybe have my own army, or master the true fire of Samadhi, find another way to become immortal, maybe get a hobby, or just chill for a while. I don't know yet."
"Just do whatever makes you happy." she smiled. "As long as you don't... Eat anyone that is."
He smiled.
"Goodbye (Y/n), and thanks."
'You didn't say you wouldn't do it.'
Before she could worry about that, Monkey called out for her. She said goodbye to Red before walking away. But then she stopped and went up to Princess Iron Fan. She leaned closer and spoke quietly so that her son wouldn't hear.
"Your son is very strong and brave. He's a good man and he's sure to become a great one someday."
"Aww, thank you very much." she nodded.
"...With all due respect princess, that wasn't a compliment." she paused, looking into her eyes. "That was a reminder." she bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality."
And with that, she walked away. The princess took a moment to consider her words, then she looked at her son, who was kicking the ground.
"Come on Honey, let's get back inside before you get cold."
"Ah, yes." she smiled at her husband before looking back at him. "Son, let's go."
Red looked up, surprised. But he quickly followed.
"What happened to you armor son?" she asked.
"I..." he awkwardly looked away. "I quit my job."
"Really? Does it have something to do with the army you've fend off?"
"Y-yeah." he said, surprised again, this was the longest time she has kept her attention on him. "I had called them at first, but when they came I was like 'they are not ruining my family dinner'!"
The Bull Demon King laughed.
"Oh man, that reminds me of this one adventure Wukong and I went on. We were originally going to get-"
"Darling." the princess sternly said, smiling. "Our son is already telling a story. Once he's done, you can tell yours."
The two men looked at her, shocked.
"I... I'm sorry son." he bowed his head. "Continue."
Red's face twisted and he let out that same weird rumbling noice.
"Son! Are you alright?!" his mother exclaimed.
"I'm okay!!!"
.
"Seems like you guys made up." Monkey said as him and (Y/n) reached the town and made their way to the inn. "Good for you."
"Monkey, I'm sorry to say this but... Your friends are bad parents."
"...Makes sense." he looked ahead. "Although I wouldn't know, since I'm neither a father nor a son, I never imagined them as the domestic type. They were always more of warriors than anything else."
"Even so, they should be making an effort." she shook her head. "Especially the king. Did you know that was his first real interaction with his son?" she leaned closer, not wanting anyone to hear that part.
"Ouch. Yeah, rough. But you know, with the right motivation, he could."
"Well I hope he finds it soon then."
.
The next day, our two protagonists were leaving the town and going back on their journey, the ocean looking much closer now, when suddenly:
"(Y/n)!!!"
They both looked up to see Red Boy flying over and landing in front of them.
"Hello Red."
"You here for a rematch?" Monkey smirked.
"I almost forgot," he said, ignoring him. "I have to warn you."
They both frowned in confusion.
"I'm - well, was - a general in the Three Horned Demon Lord's army, I know what his plan is."
Their eyes widen slightly and they leaned closer, listening closely.
"He's making a weapon that's powerful enough to kill Sun Wukong." he explained with a grave expression. "And it's almost complete. I've seen it being tested on living demons and..." his gaze wandered, unsettled by these memories. "I've never seen anything like it. Like, it doesn't leave any physical marks and yet... All the subjects were gone just like that."
(Y/n) became paler as he spoke. An image of the hundreds of demon skeletons they found in the stone village, all stuffed into one room, popped into her head. Monkey on the other hand...
"Oh~ so that's what the shadow freak meant."
"Wha-! You knew?!" she looked at him.
"I mean, I didn't *know* but I kinda knew. He said something cryptic like 'I was gonna wait until they finish you off'." he said with a very exaggerated voice impression of Macaque.
"And you didn't think of asking what he meant?!"
"I was pretty busy at the moment."
"He's just as powerful as you-"
"Don't compare me to him."
"- so if he says they could kill you. That means it's very much possible that they can actually kill you!" she gasped, scaring herself by saying that, then turned to Red Boy and nodded. "Thank you so much Red, we gotta go quick now! Come on, we're almost there!" she tapped Monkey's arm before running away.
Monkey sighed and followed her, casually walking with his hands behind his head. Red Boy watched them go for a moment.
"Good luck." he quietly said. "Please don't die."