Bringing the blanket over Ren, Jinhua let a hum fall from her lips as she tucked the child in her bed.
Her eyes softening at the sleeping form, observing how his chest rose slowly with each breathe he took.
The small quiet knock on the door frame, brought Jinhua back. Her body turning to face Macaque who leaned on the wooden beams, wearing some more comfortable clothing as he held a cup of coffee to his lips.
"Your hair is shorter than I remembered..." Jinhua spoke up first. Her eyes flickering over the dark toned locks that framed his tanned skin.
Macaque let out a snort as his tail swayed behind him, "It got in the way, so I chopped it off to get a feeling of change in this new era."
"A shame. I liked your long hair, they made the best braids..." Jinhua chuckled softly as she made her way over.
"I'm sure you thought so... Come on. I need to discuss some certain events with you... I'm sure you have many questions." He held his hand out with his other holding the mug.
At that Jinhua's smile dropped as she placed her gloved hand in his.
"I have plenty unanswered one's. But they were not for you." A scowl made its way up her face, "But that will wait another day..."
Macaque didn't push her for his own questions about that, so he instead led her away from the room and into the sunroom that hung multiple flowers of assortment.
As they sat down on the fabric covered couch, Macaque stared down at the brown beverage with a unreadable expression.
Jinhua leaned forward in her spot and pressed her finger tips together to try and focus her thoughts, "How are you alive...?"
"I should've expected that one.." He scoffed out in a small snort.
"This isn't a game, nor joke, Macaque....!" Jinhua grabbed his cup from the top and placed it down on the coffee table in front of them. She then grabbed hold of his hands and gave a slight squeeze. Violet met gold.
"I watched you die in my arms...! It's the worst feeling imaginable for the person to watch a beloved die in front of them and not be able to do anything about it." She whispered solely for him to hear, "I watched the light die in your eyes... I felt your body grow cold and limp.... I heard your last spoken words from your dying breathe..!" She shut her eyes when she felt the sensation for the urge to cry. But she held it in for the simian in front of her because of the expression of his.
He looked so torn and guilty.
He leaned in and placed his forehead gently against her own, "I'm sorry, my love.... I'm sorry for putting you through such a thing.... But honestly.. I have not the slightest clue how I was released from the grip of the grim reaper..."
"Not one?"
"Just that I feel a certain debt to them..."
Jinhua closed her eyes and focused on the simians relaxed breathing, "It was devastating..."
"I'm sorry."
"It was hard..."
"I'm sorry."
"It hurt..."
"I'm sorry."
"It was so.. painful...."
Jinhua let out a shuddering breathe as she felt herself be encased in warmth. Her eyes opened wide, startled, when she realized that Macaque had wrapped his arms around her trembling form. She leaned into the embrace when she felt safe for the first time in decades.
Her hands gripped the back on his shirt when she brought her face into the crook of his neck. She felt her undone locks be combed in a relaxing pattern as Macaque had placed his chin on the top of her head.
"Tell me what happened..." A mumble was uttered, but Macaque heard.
"Well... It was really supposed to be an in and out mission..."
Traveling through the shadows of the dimly lit room, the simian leered over the group of elder Nekomata men as they grumbled a few complaints about their next in line clan leader.
"How dare she act so impulsive and disgraceful—!?"
"It's like that mortal blood in her has filled her demon genes and thought process all together...!"
"You can repeat that notion again...."
"I just had the greatest idea yet...!"
"Speak!"
"Say this grand plan of yours!"
"Hear hear!"
"What if we used a little leverage to convince her...?"
"Are you suggesting we use a hostage to force her into the position?"
"Exactly—!"
"And what would be the most proper hostage..! She's allied herself with multiple powerful figures!"
"Indeed she is."
Macaque stood upside down on the marble ceiling, a humorous smirk painted on his face. His armor glinting in the dim candle lights that raked the halls.
"It's that simian—!"
"Why's he here—!?"
"You think you can defeat us by yourself!?"
A deep amused chuckle rung out around them. All the elders frantically shot their heads around in all directions, trying to figure out where the mocking laughter was coming from.
"Oh but that's the thing. He isn't."
A head rolled out from the shadowed halls. It's eyes lulled to the back of its head as it's mouth hung open in a silent scream for help.
"Elder Hingli—!"
"How could this be—!?"
"Who did such treachery—!??"
A deep chuckle reverted through the air, as a bronze simian slowly stepped out from the dark that suppressed his presence. He ran the back of his hand across his cheek and smeared the coating of loose blood.
His golden eyes showing not the mischievous playfulness that he stored for his friends, but the eyes of a sworn warrior out for the blood of his enemies.
She swung his staff into the resting position of a casual stance as he showed a grin to the elders, "I see your all gathered, good. It'll be easier to kill you all in one go." He trailed a finger along his jaw in an itch as he started to count them.
"Is it just me, Macaque? Or are there supposed to be more." Wukong glanced over the elder's shoulder to see Macaque ascend out of the floor on the opposite side of the group, his eyes narrowing in a peeved manner.
"Your right. There's supposed to be 12 but there's on 9. We've already killed two but that would make it 11." He felt his hackles raise in irritation, "We're missing one—!"
"I'll go look for him—! You go and finish these old geezers off! I'd rather return to Jinhua's cooking for dinner." He did a little skip into the air and his cloud zipped him up and flew off down the hall.
"Hey—!! I already called dibs on first plate served, Wukong!" Macaque called after him, waving his staff threateningly.
All that was heard from the fellow simian was an obnoxious snicker that trailed off.
Letting out a sigh, Macaque had raised a hand to the side and trapped an attack from from the elders.
They're blades only an inch from his figure.
Turning slowly towards the naive, old Nekomata, Macaque flashed a mocking grin their way as his eyes shifted to purple at the use of his powers.
"It very well seems to me that you all want to die as soon as possible." He quipped with a innocent facade. Raising his free staff, he slammed it against the ground and leaned against it, "Let me grant thou wishes."
The sound of blood splattering across the walls and floors merged with the ear piercing screams of horror and agony that mixed with Macaque's onslaught of maniac-like laughter.
—
Smearing the fresh blood off his face and die, Macaque glanced down the hall to hear hollering and then a few crashes following after.
Eyes widening, Macaque hurried into the shadows and teleported to the said commotion.
But what he didn't expect to see was Wukong's figure standing over a ripped to shreds corpse. It's flesh and skin scattered across the floor.
The Nekomata elder was unrecognizable.
Holding a sleeve to cover his nose at the horrid stench in the air, Macaque glanced down to see a broken staff with a shattered blue gem. It's unspoken aura radiated pure essence of another demon at work.
"Hey, Wukong. I think we can go now. That makes all the elders in the council." He stepped over the corpse and placed a hand over his shoulder.
But he was just met with silence.
"Wukong...?"
The sudden shock of pain registered through his mind as soon as a fist connected to his cheek, sending him flying through the wall.
The collision sent a ache shooting through his back and limbs, "Oi—! What the hell is your problem—!?" His voice lost all words in his throat as he stared back at Wukong's angered expression.
"It's not enough...." The bronze simian stated with a small growl in his tone. His grip on his staff made his knuckles turn white.
"What...?" Macaque slowly pulled himself out of the stone and rock debris. His free hand holding his cheek when it kept throbbing. His eyes widened at the sudden drop of temperature in the air. The bloodlust just dripping from the Monkey King's form.
"It's not enough... There needs to be more..." He chanted it like a prayer over and over again. His eyes looked dazed in a way, like he wasn't actually looking or speaking to Macaque.
"H-hey... We killed the Council... That was plan—! We don't need to kill anymore...!" Macaque felt his spine stiffen when Wukong turned his gaze towards him.
"No we do..." A twisted look glinted in the simian's eyes. Wide and strained as a chuckle erupted from his lips, "Don't you think we should get rid of the very clan that abandoned Jinhua....? The very Clan that out her through such hardships—!? They tossed her aside when she begged for their help.. They took away her loved ones all for their own selfish greed of having the royal bloodline keep going...."
Macaque felt sick at the thought as his claw sunk deep into his side, trying to restrain himself, "But Wukong.. Not everyone in this clan is guilty—! There are children and even adults that have never even met Jinhua before because of how long that feud
occurred ago."
Wukong tilted his head wigs a blank wide eyed stare, "What's wrong with you? You used to always do things with me without questioning it..."
"Maybe because you think killing the innocent will make Jinhua happy—!"
"But it'll give Jinhua a whole new life. The past won't be there to haunt her!"
"Are you listening to yourself-!? Your talking about mass genocide—!!" Macaque gritted his teeth.
"And you care now—? We've made genocides occur multiple times! What makes this one any different—!? Is it because of Jinhua!?"
Macaque felt like pulling his fur out at this point in this horrid argument, "YES—!! It always was Jinhua! This is her clan! Her demon race!"
"A demon race that abandoned her!!"
"A demon race with innocent people—!!"
"Why are you so hung up about the innocent... This isn't like you at all, Macaque. The Macaque I know wouldn't give a living ass about the people."
Slamming his magic conjured staff into the staff, Macaque glared back, "Well maybe I changed. Because now for certain, my priority has changed."
"Your priority? And what would that be? The people's lives? Who do you think you are? A hero??" Wukong raised a brow, folding his arms as his tail bristled.
"At first I thought my priority was to be by your side and follow you like moon folllows the sun..." Macaque trailed off with furrowed brows, "But I realized that no matter how hard the moon chased the sun. It will always be out of my reach."
"Tsk—! You should be a poet with all these metaphors." Wukong rolled his eyes.
Macaque's eyes flashed purple as he felt his own bloodlust grow, clashing with Wukong's, "So as I began to think, I looked to my surroundings and found a star. A star that would forever shine around me." Grabbing his clothes that covered his chest in a tight grip, "She is my priority—! She always was! And I will fight you, if it means Jinhua's happiness.
Wukong narrowed his eyes and unfolded his arms as he let the staff rest loosely by his side, "Is that your choice? And you sure you aren't gonna regret it?"
A grin rose up on the simian's lips, "Jinhua was right. Love does make one do crazy things."
"Crazy is an understatement—!" Wukong charged forward with his staff raised. His eyes flashing a blue as he bull dozed Macaque through the wall and out of the temple.
They're both proceeded to exchange blows as they fell through the air and crashed into a close building. The impact had sent a hit racing through Macaque's head as he was used to cushion their fall.
Weakly waving his hand, multiple shadow clones raced out from the dim ground around them and shot out at the startled Monkey King.
Gritting his teeth, Macaque raced foreword and connected his staff against the Monkey King's stomach, sending him flying through a row of shops.
The people around them started screaming out in terror and pleas. They all started stumbling past the broken down buildings and tried to get as far away as possible.
Stumbling towards the golden glow that shot up from the ground, Macaque watched as Wukong stood far above the city with his eyes shifting from a blue to a gold in mere seconds. With that he enlarged his staff that was almost half the size of the city.
"Don't tell me...." Macaque gasped out at the sudden thought and began to grow into his shadow projection, grabbing as much Chi into his projection to make it as big as possible.
It soon reach the height that it started to loom over the tallest of buildings.
Wukong reached back and put in as strength as possible and sent the on slaughter of golden rods crashing down from the sky.
To a regular citizen's view, it must've looked like the end of the world as massive rods came crashing down from the heavens above.
Macaque gritted his teeth and grabbed hold of one of the giant rods, "MOVE IT—!!" He screamed out and threw the faint rod into the others beside it making them collide to each other and land on the edge of the city.
There were definitely casualties from that explosion.
Letting out a ragged breath of relief that most of the city was protected, He glanced up to see Wukong shooting down from his spot as he used the distraction to his advantage and striked his staff down on Macaque's face. Shooting him out of the shadow projection in the process.
The no hesitance from his so called friend made Macaque lock in his place as he stared up with a slightly mortified look.
The strike knocked the simian out like a light.
—
Slowly blinking his eye open, Macaque felt his lung clog up with ash and smoke as he felt the dirt and grim littering his form as he weakly pushed himself up from his spot.
All around him, flames and screams reached the sky as he watched the city he promised to protect started to burn to the ground.
The screams and shouts for help only mixed in with grief filled wails and shrieks of fear to die.
His head throbbed at the loud noises surrounding him, his eye blurred for a minute as he found his eye sight to be tinted red and faded out white.
Reaching up to feel the injury, his fingers trailed over a deep gash that crossed over his right eye.
"That's gonna leave a scar...." He croaked out weakly. His sides were losing a lot of blood as well. At this rate, Macaque could feel his life draining away.
A sudden slam into the ground in front of him greeted him as Wukong glanced up at his fellow simian with a twisted expression.
"Well if it isn't the so called Hero... The Monkey King—! I see you've been busy." Macaque stated with lazy eyes as he lightly pointed to a nearby blazed shop next to him. The flames licked at his fur and tail, but they were not as welcoming as Jinhua's fire at the moment.
"Are you still not gonna stop?"
The question from Wukong made a small smirk rise on his lips, he leaned onto his staff for support, "Sorry, Bud. I don't do take backs. And I won't be regretting this decision anytime soon..."
"So this is the end..."
"So it would seem."
Wukong gritted his teeth and charged forward, his staff raised.
Macaque used his shadow clones to support him as he also charged forward. His injured eye glowing a dim purple as he swiveled around Wukong's jab. His own attack was blocked by Wukong's tail as it wrapped around it and dragged him forward.
Macaque having his lack of eyesight stumbled forward and was hit in his blind spot.
Macaque managed to elbow Wukong in the nose before he was sent crashing down into a crater.
Trying to bring himself up, Macaque was shoved back down as Wukong straddled him. His nose scrunched up at the sight of his friend.
He then reeled his fist back and brought it down on the simian. This process repeated multiple times until Macaque could feel his eyes blurring.
Each punch felt like a boulder being dropped onto his head. His nose was broken and bleed like water. He began to cough up blood as felt his chest throb in a full ache.
And with that he faded into unconsciousness.
—
"And that's when I woke to find you there..." Macaque stated with a clouded gaze. His hands twitched at the sudden feeling of Jinhua's touch.
His gaze glanced up to meet Jinhua's twisted look. She looked as she couldn't decide whether to be angry or saddened. So instead, she held out her arms to the simian. One of her hands were placed softly on the back of his head and gently shoved his face into the crook of her neck while the other rubbed circles on his back.
"It's fine now...."
Macaque felt his eyes prick at that simple statement. To others it might sound like an obvious answer to say but to the both of them it held so much more meaning.
They were both alive.
They were both together again.
And they both promised to never let such a thing happen again.