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Chapter Text

Tik Tik Tik-

That clock was starting to grind on his nerves.

Tik Tik Tik-

Gods these chairs were NOT Made with tails in mind! Isn't this place meant to be a demon friendly children's doctor?

Tik Tik Tik-

That banshee screaming toddler in the next room was putting everyone on edge, could no one shut them up?!

Tik Tik Tik-

UGHHHHHHHHHHH. THAT’S IT! HE WAS BURNING EVERY CLOCK EVER!

Wukong screamed inside his own skull as his eyes continued to circle and scan the colourful walls of the waiting room. His body was twitchy, his ears were aching and his face was trying its damn hardest not to cringe at the sight of snotty nosed kids drooling over the public toys. They were clearly too germ infested to be playing with things. He wouldn't describe himself as a germaphobe, but even that made him feel like he was actually going to be sick.

He was struggling to sit still, he could feel his tail twitch and his toes wiggle. His eyes flickering around the room at all the different adults sitting on their phones, some of the more old timers preferring to sit with a good ol’ book as they all ignored their children. And as a result himself. But there was still one thing stopping Wukong from bouncing his leg or trying to see if he could speed this snail paced process up. And that was-

"Mm..." As if on cue with his thoughts, a nervous hum erupted from under his chin, reminding Wukong of just who was hiding in his chest like the world didn't exist. All he could do was sigh, taking in a strong deep breath in and out to calm himself down. He needed to seem like the calm one in this situation. So he can't be going around throwing uncomfortable chairs at annoying clocks. No matter how his heart sings for it.

Running a hand up and down Xiaotian's back, he felt as the tension in the boy's shoulders leaned further into himself. "It's alright. That kid is just fine." He promised as he hugged the little body sitting on his lap just that little bit tighter. Sure, the kid was probably too big to be hiding in his chest like an infant monkey, but who was he to take away that comfort? Who cares if the kids his age were playing their handhelds looking bored out of their mind at the loss of their summer vacation.  Who cares if the only kids sitting in their parents laps were babies and toddlers! He didn't care if his kid stood out. He didn't care what any dorky mortal thought of him, But apparently someone else did.

"They're staring at me." He listened as MK whined into his shoulder blade. The small hands holding onto his materialised hoodie only getting tighter, threatening to rip finger holes in it at this point. He was going to argue that absolutely no one was staring at him, but he was quickly proven wrong. Turning his eyes back to the children playing with the toys in the centre of the room, he was met with little pairs of eyes that stared at MK. Wide and curious with no real bias against their position. Hell they probably just wanted to do was lick him or something. Small mortal children were weird like that. 

Yet the staring only seemed to stress out MK more, which was not something he needed in an environment like this. "They think I'm a freak." Was all the boy could whimper out, sounding down right near tears as he tried to hide further into the Monkey King's chest. Like maybe if he tucked in tight enough, he might just disappear.

Forced to adjust himself a little, Wukong wrapped his arms around MK once more and took his chin off the top of their head. So he could talk clearly into his ear. "They aren't going to do anything, bud. I'm right here." He promised as quietly as he could with another squeeze. Sure, he could say that the kid was being ridiculous, after all the little tots had all turned back to their own devices by now. But he had a feeling, that kind of brushing away anxieties wasn't going to help in this kind of place.

So he just kept comforting the boy as he glanced over to the presence beside him, Nezha. The immortal was sitting back straight in his chair, hands in his lap and ears listening out for their name, Well, MK's. They had basically ended up only going shopping for the immortal, getting him some typical teen clothes and gear. A red lotus themed backpack. A pair of pink white and teal rollerblades, that were now tied to his bag by the laces. And a whole arsenal of things they might need for home that he insisted on getting. Such as a bunch of cleaning supplies that apparently do different things. Wash cloths and more towels. Another set of bedsheets for MK so they rotated. A zafu. And a whole bunch of other things that were stuffed inside their bags. And even more that he took home in the flash of an eye to make their trip easier.

Ironically enough, they had thought they were running late for the appointment since they got so caught up in what vacuum to get. As a result, they ended up rushing in, fearing for the worst, but now that they were sitting here waiting they realised the doctor was running late instead. Which ended up being a bit of bad luck all round, since rushing in didn't give MK the chance to walk in himself, and now they were left with a curled up seven year old on the brink of crying out of nervousness. So to say this late morning had turned into a little disaster would be an understatement.

Nezha seemed to notice him staring after a moment and glanced his way, even if it was only a side eye. His eyes flicked down to the boy still whimpering to his chest then back at Wukong in a silent question. Besides the screaming child, babble of toddlers and the mutter of receptionists, it was quiet. So it felt rude to talk unless needed. Still the twelve year old immortal's silent question didn't go unheard, so he gave a small shrug and a smile that was just met with a bit of an annoyed cringe. "Everything's fine. Though we're gonna need some major ice cream after this." The human disguised monkey whispered, hoping it would get MK interested but the poor boy didn't respond. Though he didn't really get worse either. Was that a good sign?

His companion on the other hand, reacted with the roll of an eye and a soft tsk. "Don't go bribing him. It's a bad habit and it never turns out well in the end." The Lotus Prince warned with a hiss in his voice though went quiet when a lady a few seats away gave them a bit of a look. Ah yes. Nothing stood out more than two children refusing ice cream. He was going to need to give Nezha, 'how to be a mortal' lessons. Among many other things. Really, the idea of the Third Lotus Prince helping him take care of MK seemed like a good idea in theory. But now that he was in this situation, he realises that he's basically just given himself another head to look after and it was...

Well it was stressful. Handling MK was stressful. Not setting off Nezha while trying to get the guy to warm up to him was stressful. Trying to get this adoption sorted was stressful. Paying for Manyin's hospital stay and surgeries was stressful. Trying to figure out how to balance monster fighting in all this madness was stressful. And figuring out how he was going to break the news to MK seemed down right impossible at this rate.

Fuck...

He did not sign up for any of this!!!

"Qí Xiaotian?" 

A sweet voice called out though the small crowd and it quickly dragged Wukong out of his thoughts. Nezha sprung to his feet, pulling his bag on as he looked between the sheep demon who called and Wukong, almost seeming impatient or checking if he stood up for the right thing. The Monkey King could only let out another sigh, rubbing the kids back once again. "Alright bud, that's our call." He moved to stand up but was met with a very familiar but nonetheless funny situation. The kid wasn't letting go. His legs now squeezing the simian's hips and hands held on with such strength, he was pretty sure the kid could support himself like this. 

He couldn't help but be reminded of a baby monkey a little and was tempted to let him cling and see how long he could hold on. But he also knew it wouldn't end well if MK fell. So with nothing but a good chuckle, he held the kid properly with one arm underneath and the other around his back ready to carry. He only turned to Nezha for a quick, "Can you get my bag for me?" Before they followed the wool clad lady through a hall.

They passed the room of the hell screaming toddler, and as it seemed no one in their right mind closed the door. But besides that, Wukong poked his head into every other room he could, until Nezha kicked him in the back of the heel. As they kept walking, all of them couldn't help but think the hallway was unnecessarily long. But, at least they kept it lively. Filling the space with toys and drawings that kept the place comfortable. It made the place feel... well less like a doctor's office really.

Soon, they finally reached the office right at the end, the sweet sheep demoness opening the door and holding it for the three of them. "It's a pleasure to meet with you oh Great Sage." The woman bowed, finally being more formal since they were out of the public eye. Seeing as the door was finally shut, Wukong didn't hesitate to let his tail wiggle its way out and sat himself down on a far more comfortable, demon made chair.

"It's my pleasure, really." He spoke with a smile completely ignoring the glare Nezha gave him. The prince himself didn't know if he should be surprised or not that the doctor called the Monkey King out of his disguise. "Formalities aside. I assume you have read over the necessary paperwork?" The monkey asked, continuing to sooth MK's back, though didn't miss the fact the kid was starting to wiggle and come out of hiding just a little to survey the new location.

"Yes, I have been well informed by your lawyer, and officials of the situation. And yes, I have read your requested rules from the email." She hummed as she sat herself down on the cluttered desk of toys, papers, sweets and drawings made from previous patients. She started sifting through the clutter, brushing aside machines and folders clearly looking for something. But she paused when she noticed a little brown eye staring at her. "Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Sī yún." 

She greeted as she grabbed something from her desk and looked directly at the boy this time. "I was wondering if MK here would like to draw for a bit?" She asked and both deities watched when the boy was now poking his head out, seeming just that little more interested. There was nothing too scary about the sheep demon. Her hair was wool, curly and soft giving her a rather friendly shape. Her horns curled around her long, floppy ears and her whole body was rather short and stout. Having maybe an Inch or two on Nezha. The only thing that put MK on edge were her eyes, which were sideways like most goats and sheep, though there was nothing she could do there.

The doctor held out a clip board with a plain piece of paper to MK, who stared at it a moment before looking up at her. Clearly suspecting some kind of trick so she decided to give him more context. "The Monkey King and I are going to be talking for a while, and I just didn't want you to be bored, that's all. You can do whatever you want with it." And that seemed like enough to convince the boy to take it, though he didn't come out of hiding. Just holding it as he continued to watch her for a bit longer.

Satisfied with that response, she sat back down at her desk and started quickly typing away at the computer as she got talking. "Apologies for forgetting to introduce myself, Great Sage." She hummed, though didn't give eye contact as she started looking through something on her screen. "Though I am glad to have MK in today. Thanks to the officials, I was given access to his medical records to find there was well, little to none. His birth had no real complication other than parental worries about a birthmark and a few DNA tests to confirm blood relations. Which turned out to be no real issue. But other than that, there is almost nothing here. literally." She explained as she clicked and scrolled away on the screen. Neither deities could see the machine, but really they both knew they wouldn't understand it anyways.

They were almost none the wiser to the kid shifting himself sideways in Wukong's lap so he could use the board and crayon as they kept talking. "For the first two years into development, Qí Manyin came in for his check ups and while he developed normally, the only real expressed concern was well... He never got sick once. His body had no problems with vaccinations, which speaking of, he has a few of those he will need to catch up on. But yes, the only real concern was the question of when he would catch the flu, and how dangerous it could be for him." 

"Yeah.. I don't think that will be a problem. Guanyin mentioned that it was something more intentional So that's really no cause for alarm." Wukong explained cutting off that train of thought before the doctor got too far. He did need to shift himself a little as he talked, for it seems he has become MK's official chair. He didn't mind, the kid was just leaning on his chest facing Nezha as he doodled. Completely zoning out the adult conversation.

It seemed the mention of the goddess had the demon stunned for a moment, it wasn't every day a mortal hears someone just casually talking about the goddess of mercy as if they were a best friend. She had to remind herself she was dealing with the Monkey King and not a random guy with a tail. "Right well, aside from that, the only other concern was when the visits became less frequent around the age of three, and by five, there were no check ups at all." She explained with a soft almost guilty sigh, as she flipped through a few papers, almost like she blamed herself. But she didn't speak on any of that, making sure to keep things professional. "So we have a few years of missing records unfortunately. But that's fine. From here, we can start getting a better account of his health and have everything recorded down thoroughly." 

"Nezha. Psst." There came a little whisper, spoken from under the sheep's talking that dragged the prince out of his thoughts. Looking to his side, he was met with a very little, very bubbly smile from the child beside him. He didn't even get a chance to physically ask what he needed before there was a clipboard shoved in his face. "I drew you." 

And what he was handed, was an admittedly rather crude drawing of himself. It wasn't good by any sense of the word but, it was sweet. It was a sweet little bad drawing of him sitting in his chair looking angry. “Thank you." He whispered back, returning the clipboard and paper. "What do you think you're going to draw next?" He asked, watching as the boy thought over the question with a hum. The prince took the time to turn his body a little and give MK his complete attention. He was still keeping up with the basics of what the doctor was saying. Though keeping Xiaotian distracted seemed more important and something he could more reasonably do.

"Right, as for the examination itself. We will obviously need to do the basics such as weight and height, from there we can work out how healthy he is. There is also the blood pressure check though I do know that children that suffer with PTSD tend to have mixed reactions, so we shall leave that for later. Other than that, it would probably be best to get a blood test to make sure there isn't anything dangerous swimming in his system. Because, while maybe not affecting him. there is a chance he could still be spreading diseases. There's also the added bonus of a more thorough examination of his health through his blood too. What vitamins and minerals he may be lacking in et cetera. That would require a blood draw. Then of course, you mentioned you would like us to check his lungs for any issues. Considering Qí Zixin's smoking history and the reports of the apartment complex's health conditions I think that's a very wise idea. Which will require a spirometry test at least, luckily I managed to get one in my office just for this visit. Don't tell the other doctors though." 

This lady had a way of rambling on and on. And admittedly, Wukong was hardly keeping up with any of this medical terminology. Anyone who does this as a job must be as boring as all hell. No offense to her, she seemed sweet. But by GODS was this dull. He was honestly more jealous of the kids clip board at this point as he caught himself flickering his eyes over to the two children. MK wiggled out of his lap in favour of Nezha's, so they wouldn't interrupt. 

"Right, we should probably start with the simplest tests and from there work to the more... triggering, parts of the examination so that we can get the most out of this visit. At worst we can meet up on another day to discuss diets and how he has been behaving." Gods he really fucking hopes he doesn't have to come back soon or he might just explode. The Monkey King watched as the doctor stood up, another clipboard tucked under her arm and made her way around the desk. Heading straight to a rather large but simple contraption by the door. It was one of those things, where you could stand on the scale and the top part could slide down to measure your height. There were even bars on the side for someone with support needs.

She took a moment to turn it on before looking over at the group. "MK?" She called out to get the boy’s attention as he almost seemed to jump from where he was perched in Nezha's lap. "Do you think you can take off your shoes for me and stand here?" She asked, trying to give the best visual directions she could, though the boy’s hesitancy was clear as day when he turned right around to look at Wukong. Trying to get him to be his bail from the situation.

But the old monkey was having none of that. "You'll be alright bud, it's harmless. Look, I'll even prove it!" And before anyone with any sense of reason could tell him no, Wukong kicked off his shoes and marched his way over. He stood back straight, tail tucked, arms at his side all while smiling.  And the doctor, while admittedly taken back, decided to go with it. She checked the scale’s number and wrote it down. Then slid the measurements top down till it just patted the king’s head, then noted down the number there too. 

She was just going to do everyone a favour and keep the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's weight a secret.

"See? That's all it is. It's just measurements and number stuff!" He stepped off with a puff of his chest and it seemed to be enough to get MK to wiggle himself off Nezha's knees and shuffle over. He handed his clipboard to the prince and held up his foot for Wukong to take off his shoes, Which both happily complied to. It was only once he was left in nothing but fuzzy red socks did the battle of courage begin as he stepped up onto the metal scale. 

He was nervous. He was fidgety. He was squirming and hunching in on himself at the eyes that watched his every move. But it seemed the doctor had no real arguments, she seemed used to it if anything. Simply asking him to straighten his back for a moment before just simply writing the numbers down. "Thank you dear. That's all I needed for the moment, how are you feeling?" She tried to ask to keep conversation going as she went back round to her desk. But all he was given in response was a shrug as the boy reached his arms up to be held by Wukong again.

She typed down the numbers and gave him some time to calm down before they moved to the next test. Which was luckily the easiest of all of them. A breath test. Setting up the machine didn't take too long, and the explanation of "you just have to blow in it." Seemed simple and safe enough for the boy to do it without an example or a fuss. Though he stayed in Wukong's arms the whole time for it. The results there were oddly enough perfectly fine. Something she wasn't expecting but recorded it with the added note of asking about it later.

Now they got to the more difficult parts. Blood pressure and draw. She decided to use the stethoscope first, mainly just to buy herself time. Kneeling down and asking the boy to lift his shirt, she got a good view of his chest in the process. The pale skin and exposed ribs were alarming, but not surprising considering he was still rather under weight. But that wasn't what she was here for. She listened to his stomach and elevated heart, but when nothing caught her attention she knew it was time to check his blood pressure. 

"You have been so good for me this whole time MK. Now there are just two tests left. These tests might be kind of scary, but I promise they won't hurt a bit. If you don't want to do them at any point you just shout 'stop' and we will drop everything ok?" She asked bundling up the scope and the boy just nodded.

It was only now that he knew how chatty the kid normally was, did Nezha realise just how unnerving it is when he is quiet. Still the sheep demon didn't seem bothered one bit, and was happy with that answer. Putting the stethoscope down, she picked up another tool that had been sitting on her desk. She had been kneeling and just preferred to waddle on her knees rather than get up. 

Though MK was quick to make a nervous face at such a harmless looking device. It was like he was waiting for it to turn into a death trap at any second. "Now, this is a little band that's going to wrap around your arm alright? When I turn it on, it's going to make a loud buzzing sound. When it does that, it's gonna slowly squeeze your arm to see how strong your muscles are, ok?" She asked, ripping open the velcro and holding it open. Waiting to see if her description of the device was deemed safe enough for him to offer his arm.

There was surprisingly less hesitancy this time as he offered his arm and she wrapped it around. She even let him press the button this time, which seemed to make him a little happy. Though that didn't mean there wasn't a chance his mood could make a sudden turn for the worse. And her fear wasn't in vain. After a few minutes of the machine slowly tightening, MK started to whimper and wiggle, growing distressed and noisy. His whole body became stiff and Wukong could only hold him close as the buzzing finally came to a stop and she could read the numbers.

She scribbled them down so fast, she didn't even check where she did it before taking it off. Clearly trying to get it done as soon as possible when tears started coming to his eyes a little. "Good job! You did amazing. That was just perfect." She praised as best as she could, getting the machine away from him and letting him take his time to practice breathing with Wukong. PTSD was definitely something she would also need to record in her notes. And was definitely something she would have to report back to be added to the case. 

But that was all for later. For now though. "Here, I think you have earned a reward for being so brave." Like magic, she pulled out a lollipop she had stashed in her coat pocket and smiled when shakey little hands took the treat. Even if he didn't seem determined to eat it quite yet. She let them be, returning to her desk to record her new assortment of notes and gave them all the time they needed to calm him back down. 

They decided to give him a break for a little while before they tried to even offer the next test. Just letting MK go back to drawing for a while as he enjoyed his treat with tearful eyes curled right in Wukong's lap. They continued to discuss while they waited. Talking about what he had been eating. How his appetite has been changing. Wukong even added a few details on the kid's diet before the news reports, which helped paint a better idea of just what kind of malnutrition she might have been dealing with. They discussed getting him into eating more grains as well as getting him into a more stable food routine, rather than just eating fruits whenever he wanted. All in hopes of properly easing him into three proper square meals a day he still seemed to be struggling with.

Though they wouldn't really be able to tell if he was seriously lacking in anything unless they got blood work. Which meant, after five whole minutes of letting them calm down. It was time for the question to come out. "MK? Are you feeling up for one last test?" She asked but wasn't given any vocal reply as the kid kept drawing, rather opting for the shrug of the shoulders and a nervous side eye. Which she could tell was the look of 'depends what it is.'

"Well, I think it's best if I ask this first. Do you have any fear of needles?" The boy seemed to hesitate, eyes flickering about, almost a little frantic. That alone was a pretty big indicator. "All I want to do is use a needle to draw some of your blood. Is that ok?" She asked again and paused this time, letting the boy think over her offer.

He wrung his hands and squirmed in his seat enough that Nezha decided to unzipped his bag and pulled out Monkey Plush, which MK immediately took. The comfort item now in hand seemed to give him courage. Well enough to at least ask his question. "Are... Are they bad needles?" The question sounded a little silly. Nezha was raising an eyebrow and the doctor was blinking at such a confusing query. But Wukong understood. He still remembered what that kid said on the steps as they ate cheap mango ice cream off a wooden spoon that had more flavour.

"No, it's not a bad needle kid. You might feel a prickle, but they aren't the same as the ones your mother took." He promised and watched as those eyes seemed to process what he was told before agreeing. Nezha was giving the king a face at this point, but neither monkey nor kid was going to acknowledge him at this point. The process was slow, consistently checking that MK was still agreeing as he tightened a band around his forearm. All to get his veins clear so there ran no rush of missing. Last thing left, the demoness pulled on her gloves and picked up a small sanitised needle to begin the process. He was clearly scared, whimpering and even starting to shake but every time they asked if he wanted to stop or if he wanted a break, he shook his head. 

It was like that until Nezha got an idea. "MK, have you told Wukong the story I told you last night?" He asked and watched as the boy's whimpering quieted down just that little bit, giving Nezha a look. "Remember the one I told you last night with the cassock? Would you like to tell Wukong and Ms Sī? I'm sure they would love to hear it." 

And to his blessed luck, the doctor was quick to play along. "Oh? Are you a Monkey King fan? Well, I'll be honest I haven't heard many of his tales, but I hear he's pretty cool." She gave Wukong a glance and a smile. The simian simply returning it. She was lying. All the adults in the room plus Nezha knew this. The city prides itself of being the last seen location of Sun Wukong and continues to profit from his name. Everyone and their left dog's shoe knows at least one of his stories. "Do you think you could tell me one?"

And MK tried. Heavy emphasis on the word tried. He was stuttering, and would forget and remember plot points. He didn't remember names and he completely forgot about Ao Lei, Which Wukong had not commented on. But when Nezha or the doctor would ask questions, he would turn his head to them and soon enough his body eased enough for her to insert the needle and start drawing the blood. They didn't need too much, and in a matter of seconds she was pulling it out and placing a band aid where the blood dribbled.

"All done! Now it will bruise for a day or two, so go easy on that arm." She announced taking off the band on his arm and got up to return to her desk. All while MK stared at her like she just performed witchcraft. "See? That's the last of the tests that need to be done. I'll need to send this off to get a professional which will unfortunately take a while. But! In the meantime, is there anything else you would like to discuss now? Or should it wait until we get the results back?" She asked all while typing away at the computer. 

MK was too busy staring at his cool new panda band-aid to really be paying attention. Nezha was removing the drawing from the clipboard to take it home. And really Wukong wanted NOTHING more than to leave this place, so he was quick to make a decision. "Ah, we best be getting some lunch since it's already midday. Just email me the results of the blood work and we can schedule a new appointment from there."

He waved his hand and picked up his bag in one arm, and the doctor seemed to blink a moment before nodding. She had a habit of doing that it seemed. "Oh! Ok, well, if there's nothing more to add I will have this all sent off to who needs it. Would you like a copy and or a referral?" She asked and Wukong agreed on a copy of the papers which got signed then added to the collection of folders and documents piling up in his messenger bag. 

With that, the three of them were finally able to say their goodbyes and leave. Well, not before Wukong snatched his own lollipop like the child he was. It was just a good thing the doctor didn't mind. With tails tucked back in pants and children in arms, they made their way back out to the waiting area. Where they were greeted with significantly less screaming but a lot more staring. They didn't need to wait around to book the next appointment, which was probably a good thing seeing the way MK hid right into his shoulders again. Ducking away from the eyes of children and adults alike that still sat waiting. So they just said one last goodbye to the sweet little sheep, and left out the door. 

Once outside, they decided to simply make their way down the street for the time being. Taking in the technically fresher air and the not so peace and quiet of the city, as they all calmed down from that roller coaster of emotions. MK was still glued to the king's chest once more, though he was looking around at the city as they went. The metro train that was running overhead. The cars and bikes that zipped past on the high speed roads beside them. Even in the midst of summer break everyone still seemed to get caught in the lunch rush of such a busy work centred society. Even the streets were busy with kids and parents walking around and a surprising number of teens floating in their little troops.

It wasn't as if Wukong had never seen a teenager. But besides from high schools, you never really see so many of them hanging around unless there was a reas- "AN ARCADE!!!!" Well... That seemed like a good reason. Suddenly, MK was doing everything in his power to get out of his arm, really it was so aggressive and instant the kid literally fell out, landing on his butt. That didn't stop him though, like thunder he charged right through the groups of teens and straight to the glass windows to peer inside. 

With his face mushed so far into the screen, the fogged breath was starting to blur his vision, he looked over all the games and activities. The kids play equipment, the prize counter, the snacks, THE GAMES. All of it was like a dream! "WOAHHHHH!!! THEY EVEN HAVE MONKEY MECH!!!!" Finally peeling his face off the glass, he looked to the immortals with the biggest puppy eyes he could muster and poked out his bottom lip as far as it could go. "Pleaseeeee? Please can we go? I just wanna play Monkey Mech! I’ll be quick! Please? please? please? Please? please? please? please-"

Both immortals looked in through the glass at the place that could only be described as a kids heaven. Children young and old were running around inside as music and lights blasted from every direction. Every kid looked greasy and slimy, as they zipped around on sugar highs. And Wukong could already spot Nezha cringing. "Well he does deserve something after going through all of those tests. Don't you think?"

"Yeah but this? He's going to pass out from a sugar crash by three PM at that rate" Nezha argued back quietly, not seeming to be aggressive at the idea, just uncomfortable. Well when you have never been in an arcade before hesitancy made sense. It’s a shame the big arcade is closed at the moment, they were still installing a new anti gravity feature. That's probably why this place is so popular to begin with.

With a pat on the back, he leaned on Nezha once more to keep talking as they ignored the continuous chain of pleases. "Then just watch what he eats! Come on, food, games. It will be perfect for you two. You can sit in the parents area and keep an eye on him and even order food. And just let the kid tire himself out playing video games and licking stuff off the floor."

"Wait, what about you?"

"I got work to do Nezha!" Wukong smiled at that confused look of disbelief, honestly the face of betrayal from the deity almost made him want to laugh. But he kept himself formal and straight. "I made a deal with Guanyin. So, I gotta go do my job for a few hours, and MK needs to go eat. Come on, you know I'll be fast! No need to be worried.~"

He didn't even get the chance to pat his back before he was shoved off. "I'm not worried. Alright, MK. You and I are going to go in while... Wukong does a few things. Do you want to say goodbye first?" He spoke in a slightly grumpy tone, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hunching his shoulders. And as if on cue, the Kid charged at Wukong with a squeal, giving him one quick fast hug with a 'bye!' before running inside. 

"Here, just tap to pay, it's easier than cash." Wukong held out his card for Nezha to take, the prince had seen it enough to get a rough idea of how it works. So he took it with a huff and turned around to stop MK from getting them kicked out before they could even begin. And behind him, Wukong walked around to the back alleyway to transform out of sight once more.

When Nezha walked through the glass doors, he was met with the sight of the boy harassing some poor worker as he bounced about. "Kid. You can't play without tokens. You have to pay before you can go play." The worker behind the desk sounded tired, if not exhausted. With the music, the screaming, the games and the laughter. Nezha wasn't all that surprised honestly.

Still, he quickly joined MK's side and took his hand to get him under control. "Apologies, he ran in before I could keep up. Here I can pay." It was a quick exchange. Fifty tokens and a small bag to carry them with from just a tap of the card. With that, Nezha let the boy run off, informing him he would be by the tables in the food court as he got lunch. He wasn't really sure MK was listening, considering the way the boy almost enthusiastically got himself lost in the crowd of little heads. His only real company in his new adventure was the stuffed monkey still tucked in his arms.

The Lotus prince could only sigh, as he found a small table to sit at and tried to keep an eye and ear out for him. As much as he wanted to trail and keep him completely in his sights every second, he also knew that wasn't something he could do in a place like this. And he knew without a good reason for following, it made MK uncomfortable. So he worked on skimming the menu and listening in as best he could as the kid explored the new location.

And explore he DID!!! 

There were hundreds of games! Dancey-dance games, tappy games. Claw machines, sports games. Ball games. Whack-em games. Punch-em games. Games where you could ride a real motorbike like you're really driving. Fighting games. Even adventure games! There were so many! Almost every single one had bright colours and catchy tunes that sang and called for him to try. He could easily tell which games were the coolest, simply by the crowds of kids around one of the cabinets, watching and cheering as some older kid was probably about to beat their high score.

It felt like a dream to be wandering these fluorescent and noisy halls. Correction. It was a dream come TRUE! Kids would run by, bumping his shoulders with little care as they would make a mad dash to the prize counter tickets in hand. Others would run by, right in front of him to make their way to skee ball or other games. And some would walk in flocks with friends as they bantered and betted over what games they were going to play next. It was all so... Amazing! It felt like he was all of a sudden on a completely different planet. But MK only had one game in mind. One game he HAD to play. 

THE ORIGINAL MONKEY MECH!! With a run as fast as his scrawny little legs could take him, he found the games further down in the back. There were eight machines in total, four facing back to back with each other on different rows. Each game even had two stools that could be pushed to the side. While most of the games were taken up by groups of kids, cheering and screaming as their friends battled each other with aggressive button mashing. MK managed to spot one free spot right down the end, and with a little squeal under his breath, he ran right over. 

He pulled the stool out so he could reach the controls. And as he stood up, hand latching on the buttons and seeing the screen for all its glory- He couldn't help but stare. It was. It was beautiful. The mechs fought each other under the title of the game. Monkey Mech slaying everything in its path before it ran into the distance looking for new adventures. Soon followed by the other pilgrims’ mechs then FLASH! Suddenly they were fighting each other like some kind of super tough training. UGHHHH, IT WAS SO COOL!!!!

"Get lost, pipsqueak!" In the blink of an eye, MK was yanked by the back of his shirt and completely pulled off the stool and to the floor. Taking a moment to blink and even realise what happened, he was met with the sight of three kids standing over him. Older kids. Not quite as old as Nezha, but definitely bigger and stronger than he was. "These games ain’t made for babies like you, so run along!" 

The little ring leader of this trio of prepubescent children was chubby in size. Wearing a Monkey King shirt much like his own, though his was greasy and covered in food stains much like their face. The kid was big, large, strong and mean looking, standing over MK in a way he had seen hundreds of times before. So he knew what was going to happen. "S-sorry. I just wanted to see the cool fights. Can... Can I watch you guys play?" He wanted to be like the Monkey King, talking with people came so easily to him. He talked with Nezha and worky people like they were all his best friends. So maybe if he did the same they would want to be his friends too!

"Ew! No way!" Another boy gagged at the sheer idea. He was lean and tall, though the only thing significant about him was the can of grape soda he was holding. He reeked of pizza grease and had braces to help set a rather unflattering overbite. but he still sneered at MK like he was the disgusting one... Oh! right. His face... "This game is for older kids like us. Babies aren't allowed to play it. So go back to the playground or something!"

"B-but I'm not a baby!" MK pushing himself back to his wobbly feet argued. He was trying to stand tall, trying to make himself bigger as he hunched his shoulders to his ears. Trying to make himself seem scary as he grit his teeth and flashed them like the monkeys would. He was trying to look tougher but... But they were all at least half a head taller than him, and not bothered for a second. Instead they turned to look between each other, making small faces before finally. Bursting out in laughter

"Yes you are!" The leader insisted through a fit of laughter before taking a stomp like step closer, and quickly MK took a step back, his body starting to shake. In seconds, the monkey plush he almost forgot he was carrying was snatched from his arms and held away. It was dangled high up in the air by the tassels on its head like some kind of trophy. And all they did was laugh. "See? Only babies run around with stuffed toys. And aww look, it's Monkey King. We got a little fan boy~" He taunted in such a condescending tone, talking to MK like he was just some toddler. All while everyone watching was snickering.

MK's shaking tears started to pool his eyes and fall down his face. The lump in his throat getting so tough to talk around all he could do was beg softly. "Give it back..."

Yet they didn't care one bit. The leader simply turned his back to show his friends his new prize. "Look at how gross this thing is! It's all old and smelly. I bet he drooled on it as a baby and stuff!" All MK could do was watch their backs as he listened to them taunt and mock his most precious belonging. Treating it like it was worthless. "It's so gross, we should throw it in the trash where it belongs." 

That made MK's whole body freeze, for only a second when his eyes pulled away from the gang, he glanced around the area. And for a yellow blink he could see where every bin was. And they were nearby. He couldn't even give himself the chance to think about what he just saw before the fear choked him up so bad he started to sob. Yet it seemed his noise was enough to get the third kid’s attention. The third was a short boy, with curls and a pair of oversized glasses, though that didn't make him any nicer as he exploded with laughter. "DUDE LOOK HE’S ACTUALLY CRYING!" 

All eyes were suddenly on MK, even bystanders were watching him now as his vision grew wet and blurry. "Aww what's the matter baby? Are you gonna start crying? Are you gonna cry for your little doll? Do it. Cry! I dare you! Cry for me to give it back! DO IT!!!" He couldn't see anything. His tears had welled up so much that everything was blurry. He couldn't even see his own toy as lights flashed in the distance. But they kept screaming, they just kept SCREAMING!

In that second, everything went golden again. Even through his tears he could see everything perfectly clear. And just like the first time, everything felt slow. He could see how those boys pointed and laughed, heads held back to howl. He could see how other kids turned the other way, never doing anything to help. But in seconds. His eyes locked onto what was still held in the ring leader's hand. Monkey Plush. Without even thinking, he lunged for the object and grabbed its legs before it was completely pulled away. 

Suddenly that yellow vision was gone, but a game of tug of war though crying eyes began. "Let go! Let go! Let go of him!" MK screamed, the lump in his throat getting bigger and his sobs harder to swallow each and every time. But his grip had become stone and didn't let up for a second. Really, with each step he took back in this game of 'mine.' The bullies seemed to follow stumbling forward just that little bit. It was almost as if he was stronger then the three of them combined. And for a moment, for just a slither of a moment. MK thought he might just be able to win this. But then the sound of a rip almost seemed to echo in his ear.

NO.

NO NO NO!

THEY WERE GONNA BREAK HIM! THEY WERE GONNA BREAK HIM NO!!!

"HEY! LEAVE THAT KID ALONE YOU BIG BULLY!!" Suddenly like a saviour from the dark, a girl appeared at the side of those bullies with a firm puffy glare on her face. Before any of the four boy's could speak up or even yell at her, she lifted her arms and in one quick movement, pushed them all to the floor. MK tumbled over with them as he quickly yanked Monkey Plush away from the loosened grip. 

There standing above all of them was a little girl, she looked old enough to be in MK's year though her appearance was the definition of strange. She wore her black hair in two twin buns at the top of her head, and had bangs that were freshly cut. She was dawned in a beautiful green silky summer dress that was covered up by a dusty mint green cardigan. And on her feet were a pair of tattered and loved white sneakers. She didn't look like any other kid, but that didn't matter at the moment, as the look she gave those boys cowering in front of her must have been a nasty one. "You better get lost or I'm gonna MESS. YOU. UP!!!" 

With one last big and threatening stomp, the gang scuttered to their feet and ran off like a cowardice group of mice. They even squealed and shrieked like them too. The strange but scary girl watched them go for a moment. Only gracing them with the flare from her pointed nose and a final glare. Though like a light switch, every bit of aggression flushed from her face the second she turned to MK. "I like your bandanna! It's super cool." The sudden smile felt almost jarring to him, as all he could do was turn away, looking down at the toy squeezed in his arms as he sniffled.

"Sorry about those big mean bullies by the way. They come here a lot so they think they can boss anyone around! But they’re a bunch of wusses. They always lose to me." She pointed a proud thumb to her sternum and puffed out her chest like a superhero as she continued to stand over him. But her whole display of strength crumbled away when she realised her cool super hero pose wasn't getting the reaction she hoped. They were still crying. "H-hey... What's wrong?"

Finally, she kneeled herself down to MK's level, not caring if she was wearing a dress. Looking over the crying boy in front of her, she quickly noticed the problem. Stuffing was spilling out from a tear in his stuffed toy’s neck. "Oh no your toy! Um, hmmm..." She was quick to put her brain to work rather than trying to sooth him. She was trying to find a way to make things better. To fix the problem. She didn't have a sewing kit to fix the rip. She wasn't as good as a tailor anyways, so it wasn't like she would do a good job. Maybe they could get bandages? Or maybe a scarf or- 

"THAT’S IT! I have an idea of how we can make your little monkey friend feel heaps better!" Her squeal of excitement finally got the boy to look up at her rather than crying. And all the little girl could see was the brown mark that coated his rather puffy, tear stained face. Honestly? She was SO jealous. It was such a cool mark! It made him look like a ninja! Still, she needed to focus on helping her new ninja friend first.

She extended a hand as she stood up once again, holding it out for the boy and waited. Giving him a moment to calm down and gather his breath before taking it at his own pace. Though once in her grasp, she didn’t wait for even a moment before squeezing it tight and pulling him right to his feet in one quick yank. In seconds, they were making their charge across the arcade floor, all while ninja-boy squeaked behind her, struggling to keep up. She only had one destination in mind for their little pickle. The prize counter.

When they reached their goal the girl finally stopped pulling but didn't let go of his hand, simply using the other one to point. "THERE! THERE! LOOK!" On one of the shelves in the middle, between the blow up Monkey King staff and VR headset, sat a set of plushies of the pilgrims. And one of them, Zhu Bajie, wore a cute little red scarf just like she remembered! "See? If we work together to get enough tokens, we can get that piggy plushie and use the scarf as a bandage for your monkey! That's until you can find a sewing kit and fix him up for real." The only way to describe MK at that moment was... Well completely flabbergasted. This random girl, dressed in a pretty green dress and worn old sneakers dragged him across the whole arcade floor just to show him how they could fix the monkey toy that he broke. I mean what are you meant to say to that level of kindness!?

"Come on! What do you say, monkey man?" She asked, finally letting go just to hold out her hand once again. She was holding it out to shake this time, with confidence so strong she almost looked like a protagonist of one of those super cool fighting shows. "Let's fix up your friend together." She even sounded like one too. And that. Was so. COOL!! How could MK possibly say no?!

"Y-yeah! Let's do it!" 

They shook hands on it, like one of those business deals you would see adults do on TV. But to his demise, instead of letting go like he thought you were meant to, the girl held his hand again and pulled him back to the games. Fortunately this time she wasn't making a full sprint. "Ok! That toy needs a LOT of tokens, so we need to play the games we're best at to save up! What games are you good at playing?" She asked, lightly pulling him along through the crowd with so much confidence it was almost stunning. She was even swinging their held arms back and forth which was admittedly pretty fun.

Though as cool and amazing as her confidence was, it wasn't enough for him to forget where he was and how little he really knew. "I um... I don't really..." All he could do was stare down at his sneakers, feeling the way the girl stared at him as they walked. He was waiting for it. The laugh. The tease. The mean comments. The bullying. Maybe she would drop his hand like he was dirty. Or maybe she was going to dump water on him. No one wants to be friends with someone who stinks after all. She probably thinks he's a lo-

"OHHH! You're new! Well newbie, that means we have to try EVERYTHING!! Come on, Skee ball is the easiest to start with. It's just up here!" And again, he was quite literally lugged across the floor as the girl picked up speed. Her strength was scary and her ability to drag him about like a rag doll probably would have been even scarier if he hadn't managed to keep up. If only barely.

They found a set right next to each other and the girl popped in her token. Like magic, all the balls slid down though she waited, smiling up at him. "Come on! Put your own token in! We can compare scores. Though I'm totally gonna wipe your butt!" He blinked for a moment. Like he didn't know a challenge when he heard one. Really it sounded like she was insulting him, yet she waited. She waited for him with a big toothy smile that showed over her slightly bigger looking canines much like Monkey king’s. Her eyes were also pretty cool too. Bright green with slits in them like a kitty's, with those eyes and pointed ears, it was pretty easy to figure out she was some kind of demon. 

He remembered how his father would go on about demons. How they were terrible and disgusting just like him. And the book on the Monkey King said he fought evil demons but... Well they must all be stupid, because she was the COOLEST! 

He took out a token from the pouch in his pocket, and put it in the machine just like her. After picking up two of the balls that slid down, one in each hand, she started their countdown. "On three. ONE. TWO. THREEEEE!!" MK watched as she rolled the ball and quickly did the same. He wasn't really thinking, just picking up one after the other and bowling them across the floor, watching as they landed in different rings. "WOAH YOUR FAST!" The girl cheered, speeding up so she wasn't left completely in the dust. And it was a good thing she did, because he ran out of throws pretty quickly while she finished up her last three. But while MK may have one the speed race... Their scores were very different.

MK got a score of 80. Resulting in eight tickets

And the demon girl got a score of 210. Giving her twenty one tickets. 

"Guess it’s a draw." The girl shrugged, gathering up their now twenty nine tickets and folded them up. Though she did notice the odd look MK was giving her, so she clarified. "You won the time battle ,I won the points. So we tie." She declared, stuffing the tickets in her cardigan pockets before she motioned for him to follow.

Scurrying to catch up, MK picked up his injured stuffed toy that was set beside the game and jogged back beside her. The two of them now strolling for their next game. "How did you score so many points anyways? I was going way faster!"

"That's because I was aiming for the smaller holes with the higher points dummy!" The girl laughed looking around for the next challenge as they passed all the skee balls  

"OHHHHH." Yeah, now those numbers made more sense...

"COME ON WE HAVE HOOPS TO SHOOT!!!" 

And that's how they spent the next half hour. They bounced between skee ball, super shots and they even tried one of those strength tester punching games. The demon girl beat him at every single one, no matter how hard he tried. And honestly, he didn't even mind. She was fun. She would teach him tricks, how games work or how you could break the machine. Though she warned him not too. She got in BIG trouble for it one time, and her dad grounded her from the place for months!

Their games only came to a pause when a call was heard through the noise of the arcade beeps and boops. "MK! LUNCH!" A bellowed call came from the food court area where MK had seen Nezha walk off to. And he didn't have to guess who was calling out for him. 

"Yessss! I'm starving!" The boy cheered, fists in the air, though he did stop his mini victory for a second to bowl his last three shots. He didn't really care for the points, even if his score was infinitely better than last time. Now finished, he simply picked up his injured, stuffed companion and waited for the machine to spit out all of his thirteen tickets.

The mystery girl beside him smiled, collecting her own earnings and taking his too. Her cardigan pockets were already exploding with loose little papers considering her dress didn't have anything to hold them in. "I guess that's your call. Wanna meet back here when you're done?"

"You're not coming with?" 

MK asked with a voice that could only be compared to the whine of a kicked puppy. As if to try to convince her, he took the girl’s hand attempting to pull her over to the eating area and Nezha, before he called out again. But his question and action only seemed to draw out a completely puzzled look from the girl. "But I'm not with you, remember? That's your lunch not mine."

"But you can come sit with us at least! If you don't have anything to eat I can share! Come on! We need to plan what other games to play next anyways!" And with logic she can't deny, she was whisked away. Seems it was her turn to be dragged through the rows of games, straight to the cafeteria. A magical place she had never stepped foot in her entire life!

"There you are. I was getting worried." A voice cut the girl out of her thoughts as the little child safety gate was popped open for the two of them to walk in. Looking up to see who she was talking to, she was met with the face of a boy, no older than any of the other kids that would play here. "Oh! I see you brought a friend." The teens nose was flat but pudgy, made softer by the baby fat that still clung to his cheeks. His ears, much like her own, were pointed, though his were more pressed to his head and didn't stand out much. His eyes however, were rather catching. They were a fiery pink colour, though lacked any slit pupils. While he may not be a demon, he certainly wasn't human either. He reminded her of something, but before she could think to ask, her friend spoke up for her.

"Mhm! This is..." The words fell flat in MK's mouth as his eyebrows furrowed and a pout of thought crossed his face. "Uhhh. Wait... What is your name?" MK turned around back to his new found demon friend. And they both had to look at each other a moment and realise they didn't know each other's name. He had just been calling her ‘cool girl’ in his head. And she had just been calling him ‘ninja guy’ in her own

"Oh! My name is Long Mei, but just call me Mei. It's easier."  She giggled holding out a hand for them to shake like they were actually meeting each other for the first time. "Sorry, I guess we forgot the whole name part since we were so busy on our mission." Both kids couldn't help but give a guilty chuckle. They got so caught up in their emotions and conquest for that plushie, they completely forgot to introduce themselves. Yeah, they're bad at this.

The oldest of all of them just rolled his eyes with a loose chuckle before motioning them to come sit down. Mei was hesitant for a moment, but she and MK were still holding hands, so she was pulled along before she had a chance to bail. They were guided to a small round table with two chairs. In front of both sat hot dogs and milkshakes, each just waiting to be eaten.  "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Mei. I'm MK's uh… babysitter. Here you two sit I'm going to find an extra chair." With a simple yet formal greeting to the girl, he wandered off letting the two claim the chairs that were already waiting for them. And MK didn't hesitate for a second. 

He climbed up the plastic seat like a wild animal and sat down, legs crossed, so Mei followed. She moved her chair to be beside MK and sat down, legs together, hands in her lap. Clearly far more well mannered then MK, but neither minded. "His name is Nezha. He's super cool and strong and he learned how to rollerblade on the first try!" MK didn't seem like he was going to eat until the third member of their little party was back so he started rocking in his chair as he talked to Mei with a big proud smile.

"I didn't 'learn' on the first try. I had already been doing something similar to it beforehand." Suddenly Nezha was behind them, carrying the chair in one arm as he ran fingers through MK's hair. Now with his own seat, he plopped himself down comfortably, though was quick to give the girl a bit of a worried look When she started staring at his own food. "Mei. Do you have any lunch you’re meant to eat?" He could see the girl staring at the hot dogs, hell, despite her good manners she was basically drooling over them.

She seemed startled to be caught staring like that, and was quick to try and correct herself and straighten her back. "No, no, I'm okay! My dad packed me a lunch box! I just already ate all of it. Well except the fruit. Besides, He says I'm not allowed to eat arcade food. It's greasy and my mum will be mad." She gave a very detailed reason as she shook her head like a wet dog in her act of 'no.'

"Is your dad around?" MK asked, wiggling to stand up on the chair to look around, trying to see if he might be able to spot the man. Even if he wasn't sure what he was actually looking for. Nezha was quick to hush him down to his butt again giving him a pointed look and nothing more. But watching the way the boy could twist and climb the plastic chair made Mei laugh. He was like a real life monkey! 

"Nope. Just me." She popped the P as she spoke, rolling her head a little like she has had this conversation a million times. "Though I do have a bodyguard watching me. See? He's over by the entrance!" Shifting onto her knees to be tall enough to reach over the lotus prince's head, she pointed as best she could into the distance as their eyes followed. There, just beside the main entrance, was a man in an all black suit that no one seemed to notice. Not even Nezha noticed him! Mei and MK both waved to the man, trying to get a reaction, but there wasn't a sign of acknowledgement. They only stopped when their arms started to get tired. "His name is Lee."

Though apparently, big gruff guys in business suits were not on the list of MK's many fears. Instead he turned himself back around to Mei to keep up his argument. "Well if your dad's not here, he won't know the difference. Plus you must be starving anyway!" He kicked his feet like he was just an innocent little boy, and wasn't trying to break Mei's family rules.

"MK, that's rude. If she doesn't want to eat she doesn't have to."

"But what if I trade my lunch for her fruit!" He argued right back with a perfectly innocent smile. He seemed so dead set on this idea of not letting his new friend go hungry, he was trying to use every loophole his brain could think of. And really Mei LOVED the idea. Lee wouldn't rat her out. And if he did, she could just say they traded. She can't get in big trouble if it was just a simple little trade right? "What kind of fruit do you have anyways Mei?"

"It's a Kiwi fruit! It's pretty ok but they're usually kinda sour. I'll trade you my fruit for your hot dog, ok?" She asked wiggling up on to her own knees in excitement as the scheming began.

"Yeah! and I'll have Nezha's hotdog anyways!" The Lotus Prince would have argued at the idea of MK eating his food, if he even wanted it in the first place. The guy at the counter insisted on him getting food too and wouldn't stop pestering about it. So call him a little selfish. But he wasn't going to argue this plan any more than needed. He got out of eating and two kids were fed. Who was he to complain?

With a cheer, Mei ran off to go retrieve her lunch box from wherever she stored her bag. But she was running so fast, she would only need a minute. In the meantime MK was stuck answering a very difficult two second question. Did he want a banana milkshake or a strawberry? By the time Mei was charging back into the cafeteria, he decided to keep banana and give her strawberry. Crashing back into her chair, she dropped the metal box in front of her dramatically, before flipping it open. On its cover, Nezha could even spot a cute dragon theme on it, and as sweet as it was, he couldn't help but cringe looking away, feeling uncomfortable.

Inside were bits of plastic made to hold things like her rice, her chopsticks, her water bottle and more. But they were all empty now. All that was left was a small egg-like container, which was popped open to reveal the half cut kiwi in all its fuzzy brown glory. Pushing the rest of the box into the centre of the table, she held the fruit out to MK and watched in complete horror as the boy ate half in one whole bite, not even bothering to take off the skin. Mei looked as if she was just about ready to scream at him, so the teen took this time to interrupt her while the monkey child popped the other half in his mouth.

"So, what are you two up to? Been playing anything interesting?" He asked in a rather bored tone, sliding over the hotdog for Mei to eat which was gladly accepted as she too dug into her food like a wild animal, not caring about the mess.

"OH!" MK spoke up excitedly, spitting food and crumbs everywhere that made Mei laugh, rolling her head back so far she almost started choking. Even if the girl had been raised with manners, it didn't seem to apply any more. Not with MK's terrible influence. "We're working together to save up tickets for a stuffed toy, so we can use its scarf as a bandage for Monkey Plush. He got ripped when someone tried to yank him away."

As if to prove his story, MK wiped his dirty face on his arm before turning the stuffed monkey around. There in the centre of the table, Nezha could see the gaping hole on its neck. It was clear some stuffing had already fallen out, as it was now struggling to hold its head up straight. He also knew more was bound to fall if they kept carrying him around everywhere. "It was a group of dumb bullies, but I scared them off cause I'm tough!" Mei called out after bapping a fist to her chest and making MK giggle this time.

With gentle hands, the prince took the toy, examining the tear with careful eyes. He could feel the pairs watching him as he did so, but paid them all no real mind. It was a single rip, big enough to lose some stuffing, but not enough to be unrepairable. He couldn't quite help the bitter feeling that rose from his stomach as he looked over the clearly loved toy. Children were messing with MK, and he hadn't even noticed. It was his job to protect the child and yet he still failed. It left him... Angry to say the least. "Well, how about you leave this would me while you two go back to playing? I'll keep it safe and out of harm's way while you both work on getting that scarf for it."

He noticed the hesitation instantly within Xiaotian's eyes. He was unsure and eyeing the toy as Nezha set it back down on the table. His attachment was clear, but not unnormal. For thousands of years children have built strange attachments to toys. MK was no different there. But it seemed the dragon girl spoke for him. "That's a great idea Mr Nezha! That means we can play even more games even faster and your toy stays safe!"

With a hearty slap of a strong little hand, Mei slapped her tickets on the cheap plastic table so she could start counting while she ate. She would fold them into rows of ten as she did so, keeping them nice and organised. "So what do you wanna play next? Are there any other games we should play?" She asked MK between the threads of paper, so she didn't lose count. Clearly multitasking wasn't a skill she had mastered just yet. But she was almost there.

Luckily it seemed her excitement and reminder of the fun and task at hand was enough to get MK to let go of the anxiety of the toy. Even for just a little while as he thought of new games to play. "Those dancy dance games look fun. And we should definitely play those car race-NO THE BIKE RACING ONES! Oh! And we can play those um... Um the song one! Where it's like you're playing the song. And the whack-em ones too! And- OH!" He listed off things as they came to mind, stuttering a little as he clearly didn't know the name for any of the machines or even how to play any of them. But Mei never corrected him. She never needed to, especially when he yelled- "WE HAVE TO PLAY MONKEY MECH!!"

Seems his bright idea was agreed upon as the little girl gasped so loud one might have thought she had been suffocating. "YES YES YES!!! THAT’S MY FAVOURITE GAME EVER! I'M THE BEST AT IT!!! COME ON!" And like a tsunami, they ran off leaving their tickets, toys, lunchbox and half eaten food behind. All the deity could do was sigh, watching them leave with loud screams as they blended into the crowds of children once more.

"Come on MK! COME ON!!!" Mei screamed with the biggest smile the boy had ever seen. Somehow in their little race to the Monkey Mech games, she had gotten a dashing lead and almost ran into multiple people. Thanks to sheer good luck, there were a few still open and she was quick to claim one as theirs, coming to a stop and jumping on the stool. After all, she would rather DIE than have to wait their turn.

MK tried to pick up the pace, tried to beat her, he was a master of swerving through crowds after all! But it seemed she was still just that bit too fast for him. Stepping up on her metal stool of victory she held her hands high in the air. All while he had to skid to a stop to make sure he didn't run himself right into the game and break the damn thing! As a result, he ended up falling over right at her feet as he gasped and panted. He had never run that fast before... Never for fun at least. It was... IT WAS A RUSH!

"I win! You lose.~" Mei giggled, doing a little victory dance before she turned around to face the game and slid two tokens in. One for player one, and the other for player two. And suddenly they had control over the game and could select their mode! When he was no longer winded, MK climbed his way up the metal stool and held onto the controls watching as Mei chose the settings for them. They were playing battle mode and were facing against one another! OH IT’S ON! "So~ who are you gonna choose?" She asked looking over to him before she dared to move her cursor anywhere. 

And MK could only smile moving without a second thought. "Monkey King! DUH. He's like the coolest and strongest one there. He can beat ANYTHING" He tapped the A button and watched in amazement as the pixelated image of the monkey mech pulled the staff from its 'ear' and did a cool spinning animation before finally posing. UGHHHH THIS GAME IS SO COOL!!

"I mean, yeah... Monkey Mech is cool and all. But I would much rather- THE UNTAPPED STRENGTH OF THE WHITE STALLION DRAGON!!! MWUH HA HA HA HA!!" And like an evil villain picking her weapon of choice to defeat the hero, she selected the white horse dragon. The horse mech's animation was full of kicks and spins before landing in its own idle battle pose. "Everyone always underestimates his power, but he's ultra mega cool." She informed him with the nod of the head like she was stating a very clear historical fact. Even if the dragon didn't do much in the story, he was still a dragon! That means he HAS to be cool. It’s only fact.

"Well he's not as cool as Monkey King. But I think he's... Third coolest. Maybe second." MK spoke with a cheeky smile, clearly egging the girl on a little, in a playful way. Which seemed to be the worst mistake of his life when she looked at him with just an agape face of horror he almost flinched.

"OH IT’S ON MONKEY FAN-BOY!" And with the push of a button the battle started. Though luckily, Mei was merciful. Giving him one minute to get used to the controls seeing as he had never played before. Though when she started dramatically counting down after a time period that definitely wasn't long enough to be a minute. Well MK panicked a little.

"THREE!" 

"HEY WAIT-"

"TWO!"

"GIVE ME A SEC MEI!"

"ONE!"

"NOOOOOOO-"

"GO!" 

And like that, Mei came down in a thundering crash of button mashing that MK was quick to rival. Though he kept accidently jumping everywhere and his attacks kept missing. He ended up using his specials up way too fast and by that point he knew it was all over. All he could do was run away from Mei as he screamed at the screen. The girl beside him was laughing her butt off, chasing him around in what dissolved into a game of tag. 

In no less than four minutes. The White Stallion Dragon was deemed the winner, and Mei held her hands up in victory. "HOW YOU LIKE THEM APPLES!? I told you white horse dragon was the coolest of them all!" She cheered in his face as they turned to each other. For a second, the two stared in complete silence, Mei's dramatic pose crumbling and MK realising he totally got owned by the coolest person ever. And all they could do was break out in laughter. 

"Come on, let's play again. I'll teach you how to actually play this time." Choosing adventure mode and co-op, they ran through levels battling together against weak little robot enemies. All while  Mei showed him the ropes properly. Sometimes she was a little mean, yelling at him when he jumped to the left rather than doing his left Special. And she groaned every time he almost died. But she also laughed at every single joke he made like it was the funniest thing in the world. And never really got upset if he did die, just finishing the level herself so he could come back.

Piles of tickets started building between them as they kept sliding in more tokens. Each time they tried, they got just that little bit further and just that bit better. Though with skill, came the ability to talk and play at the same time. "Hey MK. Can I ask you something?" She hummed, smashing the attack button as she beat up a bunch of weak bad-bots with an almost bored face, it wasn't that she didn't like the game. She was just getting boreddddd. 

"Yeah what is it?"

MK was poking out his tongue, pressing on the buttons like his life depended on it and was clearly more focused and zoned into the game then Mei. It seemed like splitting his focus was also pretty difficult. To be fair, he was also battling for his life at every moment in this game so she didn't mind. "Um..." She paused for a moment, trying to find the words as she released her charge attack and took down the monsters MK had been chipping at. "Why is Nezha your babysitter? I know who he is. Are you some super special kid or something?"

Of course she recognised him. The makeup, the hair style, that scarf, she had seen it all before. They had a statue of him in their long hallway for ding dong sake! If Nezha. The Third Lotus Prince. The protection deity of children and the boy who once slayed Ao Bing, her technically great, great, great ,a bunch of greats- cousin, was watching over MK. He had to be pretty important. Right?

Well when the Monkey Mech sprite suddenly stopped moving and his life bar started dropping, Mei couldn't help but turn to look at her strange new friend to figure out why he paused. He stared down at the buttons, eyes furrowed and his hands hesitating to press anything. She could hear her own character starting to take damage now too, but that didn't really matter anymore. 

When the game over screen flashed before them, neither seemed to care, but it was enough for MK to finally say something as he let his hands fall off the knob and buttons. "I think it's meant to be a secret... I don't know if I should..." He was hesitating growing nervous as he turned to face her, but still staring at their shoes.

"Well... What if I told you a secret to make it fair?" Mei spoke up before he could really finish and that seemed to be enough to get him to look at her with a rather shocked blink. "I promise it's a cool one too. But you have to double pinky swear to never tell anyone." She spoke in more of a formal voice and poked him in the chest to prove her point. "Sound fair?"

MK seemed to think about it, looking back to the food court like he was almost expecting to be caught for even thinking what he was thinking. But there was no lotus deity standing over them, really you couldn't even see him where they were standing. So when he looked back at Mei, he nodded. Finally agreeing. She seemed trustworthy, and it wasn't like Monkey King told him not to tell anyone! So it was probably fine!

"Great! Follow me! We need to be somewhere private to tell our super cool secrets!" Picking up the huge pile of tickets between them, they worked together to carry it all in their arms till they found somewhere else to put them. Mei worked as his guide, weaving through the games and people until she showed him a hidden little spot. Behind a line of games, was a gap between them and the wall. The ground was covered in wires leading to power points, and while MK thought about turning it off to see what would happen, he decided against it. The nook was dark, a little warm too, but completely hidden. And stuffed far inside was even a backpack. It had a dragon theme on it too that matched the lunch box from earlier. SO THIS IS WHERE SHE HID IT!

Mei crawled in first, heading straight to her bag and far enough in that no adult could pull them out. She sat down facing the exit and looked to MK with a smile, waiting for him to join her as she sat the bag on her lap. He was quick to follow and while he worked on getting comfortable, the demon girl worked on shoving their tickets in her bag. With the games blasting its songs right beside them, no one would even be able to hear them talking. "You go first. Why is Prince Nezha buying you Hot dogs and taking you to the arcade? Come on, I gotta know MK!" The girl insisted as she gave him her full attention after finishing with the tickets.

MK didn't have any toys to fidget with anymore. So his hands fell back to good ol' reliable, his shirt. He pulled and stretched the bottom of his shirt as Mei excitedly nudged his knee. "W-well, you probably wouldn't believe me... But," He looked away, struggling with eye contact, but Mei didn't seem to mind, just excitedly echoing the word 'but' with a big smile and curious green, almost glowing eyes. "I actually... Live with the Monkey King."

"NO. WAY! NO ONE'S SEEN HIM IN LIKE A BAJILLION YEARS!" Mei argued, but she didn't do it in a mean way like other kids would. She didn't sound like she was putting him down at all. It was almost like... Like she was proving just how special it made him. She was excited, mouth agape as she stared at him like he was the coolest kid ever.

He could already feel a giddy smile forming on his face. "Mhm! It's true! He's taking care of me! I've been to Flower Fruit Mountain and everything! So that makes me the first human to ever explore it!" His response was ooo's and gasps as he continued to brag. Really he could feel the way his back straightened with every little ego boost he got. "But he's still super busy with hero stuff, so Ms Guanyin asked for Nezha to help take care of me. I think they’re friends, even if Nezha gets super angry at Monkey King sometimes." MK explained, a finger to his lip in thought. They yelled a lot, but they didn't yell like his dad yelled. It was... it was more like how Mei yelled. So they had to be friends!

Looking back at the girl and her big eyes and smile, a slight pang of insecurities washed over him. What if she was only pretending to be his friend like other people? What if she just wanted his food and tickets? What if she was going to make fun of him? "But... You probably think I'm lying. Monkey King isn't actually real after all..."

"THAT'S THE DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!!! OF COURSE HE’S REAL OTHERWISE I WOULDN'T BE REAL EITHER!!!" Her sudden yell Made MK flinch, his body completely freezing up as he squeezed his shirt. He couldn't bring himself to move, or say anything. All he could do was watch as Mei kept talking. "If Monkey King isn't real then that means I'M not real! So whoever says that must be the dumbest person to ever exist in the history of ever!!!"

All he could do was watch her, in complete stunned and silent confusion. What were you meant to say to such a strange sentence? All MK gave her was the tilt of his head. His throat sealed tight and his body still too stiff to do anything else. Though it seemed the motion was enough to get his question across, as Mei took a moment to calm down her huffing and puffing, before finally being able to properly communicate whatever the hell she was going on about. "Ok it's time for my secret. I won't tell anyone your secret, but you can't tell anyone either ok?" She asked, pointing a dramatic finger at MK's pudgy nose yet again. 

Though she quickly lowered it when she saw how the boy flinched. She only really acknowledged it with a blink before moving on. With careful hands, the girl reached up for her twin bun's and pulled out the silky white ribbons that held them in place. As the hair dropped, falling down over the rest of her head, something remained. Two stubby green horns. They were tiny, not even grown a full inch, but they were distinct. They weren't like a demon's horn, fleshy and coloured like their skin. Or like a deer or a goat with a sharp point or a distinct shape. No they were-

"My family is actually related to the white horse dragon Ao Lei. He's like my- great, great, million times great grandfather. And that also makes me the granddaughter of the dragon king of the west sea. Pretty cool right?" She bragged a little with a smile and suddenly her appearance made sense. The pretty green dress. The almost glowey eyes. The super strength and super confidence!

MK couldn't help but stare at her with his jaw dropped. The shock was so much, he almost forgot about the fear that clogged this throat to begin with. "So that means you're like, ROYALTY!? Awwww! That's so COOL! Can I touch it? Can I touch your horn? I always wanted to touch a dragon's horn! Does that mean you have a tail? OH! Can you breathe fire too? What about flying? Can you fly!? Do you have super scary claws? Do you have scales too?" MK asked a thousand questions at once, each one spilling from his tongue so fast he couldn't even think. He was too far into fanboy mode now.

All Mei could do was laugh, leaning her head down so he could touch them, even if it felt a little weird. "Nah, I can’t do any of that stuff yet. My mum says I wont get any of my other dragon features till I'm older, so I'm just stuck with nubby little horns and fangs for now." She huffed sticking out her tongue to blow raspberry bubbles to express her distaste.

"How come you hide them? They look so cool" MK asked, shuffling closer to look over her whole body, like maybe, if he was lucky, he might be able to spot a baby scale before she did! And Weirdly enough, Mei didn't mind one bit as he lifted and lugged her arms around like a rag doll. 

She didn't mine, because she was too busy being confused why he wasn't asking the same question every one else asked. 'What was a mega rich girl like her doing in an arcade?' Because of course she's too important for places like this! That's what every other adult and kid said to her. "O-oh... Well... Lots of people get really weird about me being a dragon. They think that since I have money, that I have to pay for everything... It sucks, because they get mad when I stop. So now I don't have any friends."

She confessed quietly, hugging her dragon themed backpack tight to her chest, Just like MK did before he had Monkey Plush. Something about this almost felt a little funny. She was so different to him. Fancy clothes, lots of money. Yet at the same time, she was just like him. "Well... I don't have any friends either. People think I'm weird, and smelly, and gross. So... How about we be each other's first real friend and never stop being friends?" He asked getting off her, but leaned in close to look her in the eye, holding out a pinky finger.

And when she looked back, he could see how the slits in her eyes grew wider, like a happy cat. "Wouldn't that... Wouldn't that make us best friends?" She asked with a small but bright smile as she wrapped her own finger around his.

"Sounds good to me."

And with a shake it was sealed. Any kid knew that pinky promises were far more powerful than just a boring old adult handshake. It was magic. A kind of magic that not even the celestial realm could control! Because it was powered by the bond of two newly declared best friends.

They decided to come out of their hiding spot after that. MK was dying to try the dancing games and it was getting a bit too hot behind there. So after Mei retied her hair and went back to looking like any other demon child, they grabbed the bag and climbed on out. The DDR games weren't far, they picked their song and got to clumsily tapping and struggling to dance. They were both bad at this one. If anything MK and his never ending abundance of energy actually allowed him to get the lead over her for his first ever win. And Mei happily applauded through fits of laughter from her own stumbling,

From there, they went from game to game like they owned the place, and never once cared if they failed or if others came to watch. They rivalled each other and worked together and never stopped talking the whole time. They smashed whack-a-mole and failed horribly and hunter games. They screamed as loud as possible on the VR roller coasters and even raced through the play area. Their energy was endless and it felt like they had been playing for days.

They only calmed down as Mei wanted to show him a cool bonus level of a single player arcade game. So MK watched, standing right beside her as she got past the boring easy stuff with ease. Though that didn't stop them from talking the whole time. "So what school do you go to?" She asked as she jumped and bounced in game like it was no big deal and MK could only hum standing on his knees and barely peeking over the controls. All while pushing his upper body back and forth.

"I go to West Gates Primary School." He answered with a simple tone, hanging his head back to watch as other kids walked by. Suddenly what they thought didn't really matter. He would only stop hanging his head upside down if Mei told him to.

She paused for a second to glance at him, even if she had to turn right back to the game at hand. "So where are you going now then? That place got shut down when summer started." She spoke in such a simple voice. MK almost smashed his head on the controller board when he sat up so fast to give her a confused look. "Mhm. I heard on the radio, that a kid went missing so there was a big investigation done. Turns out, the teachers had been stealing money or something! So they closed." 

MK blinked for a moment staring at Mei as the girl kept pressing buttons and tilting the joy stick with casual ease. And he was just left to think. "I guess... I guess I don't have a school then." He hummed, pressing his face to the cabinet. Was he happy to not have a school? ABSOLUTELY! But it was just strange that he never heard about a kid going missing. He could only hope they're ok now.

"Eh, it doesn't really matter" Mei spoke up again as she beat the level one boss with ease and stuck her tongue out at the machine. "It's summer time. And that just means you don't have any homework so you're lucky." He couldn't help but agree with her on that one. No teacher could argue the excuse that his school got shut down, especially if it was in the news! He was about to open his mouth and say something when the dragon girl gasped again with such excitement he almost jumped. "MK! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE THE COOLEST?"

"Um... No?"

"WHAT IF YOU WENT TO MY SCHOOL!? WE COULD BE CLASSMATES AND SPEND EVERYDAY TOGETHER!" Mei pulled her head from the screen a moment to scream at him before turning back all while he stared at her jaw dropped processing the clear awesomeness of what she just said.

" YES! YES YES YES YESYESYESYESYESYES!!! I'LL ASK MONKEY KING THE SECOND I SEE HIM!" He started jumping around and flapping his arms so much it couldn't even be contained on that metal stool. "WE COULD EAT TOGETHER! AND PLAY EVERY DAY AT RECESS! WE COULD BE TEAMMATES IN P.E. AND HELP EACH OTHER WITH HOMEWORK!!!" He was so excited he couldn't stop moving, even when Mei finally got up to the secret level where the game gave you a free invincibility to just destroy everything in your path. He was chewing his shirt, shaking his hands, twisting his hips and nodding his head.

As he watched Mei slaughter every creature on the map by running into it, the points racking up higher and higher. They talked and talked about all the things they would do and the games they would play. And even how they should totally meet up again here. "My dad drops me off here every Wednesday and Friday while he works but only if I get my homework done. So you HAVE to come see me at least one of those days that week."

"Of course I will!"

"KIDDO! TIME TO GO!!!" There was a loud call through the sea of children. No different to any other parent calling out, hell Mei didn't even think twice about it much like any other kid that didn't recognise their parents voice. Well all except MK, who froze looking out to where he heard the noise before letting out a gasp.

"MEI! MEI! FINISH THE LEVEL! MONKEY KING IS HERE!!" He shook her shoulders jumping up and down on them, not caring how he made her lose focus or balance. It seemed Mei was just as excited, as she charged to the end of the level. They both watched with big smiles as the machine spat out ticket after ticket, which they had just decided to start shoving in Mei's bag since they had been getting so many. "Come on! Come on! I gotta introduce you!!"

They shoved the tickets in together as fast as they could before MK took her hand this time, pulling her along to the eating area where the disguised Monkey King and Nezha stood. The king didn't even hesitate to pluck the boy right up from the other side of the gate and pull him into a big hug That MK happily gave back. "How was your day kiddo? Did you enjoy your first time at an arcade?" 

Wukong pulled the boy away to talk to him, holding him in one hand with ease to hear the explosive tale he had to tell. But turns out, that was going to need to wait. "IT WAS THE BEST! This is my new best friend Mei! She comes here every Wednesday and Friday, can we come back here so I can play with her again?" MK was quick to ask, since it seemed like the most important question, all while he squirmed and reached for her.

So with a bit of a pout, Wukong plopped him back down. "Don't see why not!" Wukong decided hands on his hips and Nezha beside him could only facepalm, knowing full well he was going to be the one taking MK here once or twice a week. Great. Just great. "I'm glad to see you're making yourself some friends kiddo! But we gotta head home now. It's gonna be getting dark in a few hours."

It seemed the urgency of a time crunch made both kids gasp and jaws drop. They turned to each other with the same stunned face and with a level of mental synchrony that was admittedly a little creepy. They both screamed at the top of their lungs. "WE NEED TO COUNT OUR TICKETS!!!" 

"What?"

Right there, on the floor, Mei zipped open her bag and streams upon streams of little paper tickets piled out. Squatting down they got straight to counting. Wukong was just left a little shocked While Nezha seemed unbothered or just unsurprised. They tried to count as fast as their little brains could, and while they could sure feel the pressure. Wukong and Nezha were still left standing there waiting for a good five minutes as they just talked and whispered mindlessly between each other. Though they did come out from the gate while they waited.

"I have two hundred and seventy six!" Mei called out with a huge stack of tickets right in front of her. MK, who definitely wasn't right beside her, was still trying to count his own pile that he had organized into sections.

"Um... Mine is um... It's... Two and sixty!" MK called out back and the girl gave him a confused look.

"MK that can’t be sixty two! There's so many!" She argued with a long pout, starting to worry he wasn't taking this seriously.

Though it seemed the supervising intelligent stone monkey was quickly able to figure out the count and the meaning behind the piles. "I think he means two hundred and sixty, so in total that would make... Five hundred and thirty six tickets. Wow! Nice job you two!" Though he wasn't given any sort of reply for his mental math as the kids booked it for the prize corner as soon as the total number left his mouth. "Ouch... Tough crowd."

"He doesn't know how to count to two hundred?" Nezha hissed under his breath as they watched the piles of neatly folded tickets in front of them. The glare on his face was clear.

"Hey! Don't go blaming me for his education. That one isn't my fault." All Nezha could do was sigh, as they waited for the results. His foot starting to tap rather impatiently.

And it was results they sure got-

"WE’RE SHORT!!!" MK wailed as he charged back over, Mei right beside him keeping up with his slightly inhuman speed as they both skidded to their knees.

"Maybe we could count them again!" Mei offered in a frantic tone, picking up the end of her pile. "Maybe we counted wrong or something!" But Wukong could tell they hadn't. "We need six hundred tokens for that toy!!!" They needed only sixty four more... They were so close. All the king could do was look at Nezha with the slight shake of the head, not needing to say a thing for the prince to know they wouldn't have enough. 

But suddenly the teen deity got an idea. Taking off his bag, he pulled out the cute little dragon themed lunch box that he had been holding. He had been waiting to give it back when they came back for a snack, though that didn’t seem to happen. "Mei. "he called out, trying to get the girl to look at him. "I believe you left something in your lunchbox."

"NOT NOW I'M COUNTING!!!"

"Trust me, it’s important." He kneeled down and held the metal box out for her. It seemed his slight drop in tone was enough warning that he wasn't just trying to distract them. So with the drop of the ribbon of paper she had been counting. She took it and sat it on her lap, even MK was looking up to see what was going on.

Unclipping the locks, she pushed it open enough to find. "TICKETS!!!!" The seventy three they had accidently left with the protection deity when they ran off to play. "MK! MK! WE HAVE ENOUGH!!!"

"YAYYYY!" Gathering up their hard work and earnings, they ran straight back to the ticket booth to harass the poor worker. Wukong could only punch the teens shoulder lightly, giving him a proud smile. Which was returned with a harsh glare. This time, they decided to walk over and join the kids there at the counter and watch as they were given their reward.

A plush Bajie. Which was quickly stripped of its scarf, Nezha already holding out the Monkey Plush for MK to put it on. All while they watched. The Lotus Prince already showed and told Wukong what happened with the rip, and he couldn't help but smile watching the way the red scarf hid the monkey's imperfection. It even made him look like a superhero. "THERE! Now he's all better!" MK decided with a smile and Mei cheered, hugging him close.

"And I get to keep the rest of the piggy, since I earned most of those points." 

"Hey!"

The two of them stared again for a moment before completely bursting out in laughter and almost falling over on top of each other. It was an admittedly adorable sight. Seeing the way they just seemed to... Click. But, as things go. Good things need to come to an end, even if it’s only temporary.

"Alright you two. MK, we need to head home now. But I'll make sure he comes again to see you next week, Ms Mei." Wukong scooped up the monkey kid and sat him down on his shoulders, unbothered by the weight of a seven year old. "Say your goodbyes kiddo."

"BYE MEI!!!! SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!!! MAKE SURE TO GET LOTS OF HOMEWORK DONE SO WE CAN PLAY ALL SUMMER! AND BRING MORE KIWI FRUIT!!!!" Why he was screaming like he wasn't just on Wukong's shoulders was a mystery. Others were giving them all looks, but he didn't seem to mind and neither did Wukong.

"Bye MK!!! Let me know if any other dumb bullies try to boss you around! I'll rough 'em up for you!!!" And with that, they started to part ways.

Well, not without the two of them being obnoxious.

"BYE!"

"BYE!"

"BYE!"

"BYE!"

"BYE!" 

"BYE!"

This kept going till Wukong finally closed the door behind them, where MK promptly shut up, and started kicking his little feet like nothing happened. Really the kid was almost vibrating with such a new kind of happiness, it honestly made Wukong want to cry. He made a friend. A REAL friend. How could he even be mad with good news like that?

They walked down the street for a bit, getting some fresh air and enjoying the sunlight as MK rode his shoulders and looked around at everything, even holding Wukong's ears like the controls to steer him. "Hey Monkey King?" He asked, starting to play with the still human disguised simian's hair, since tugging ears made no difference.

"Yes bud?"

"Can I go to school with Mei? She said my old school closed for some missing kid. So can I go to school with her instead?" Wukong didn't freeze, as much as he wanted to. He kept walking and kept his body language natural. Though the panic was still clear on his face. How on earth did MK know about that? He purposely never had the news playing so he DIDN'T hear about all of this! OH… Right… The dragon girl.

But... Maybe he hadn't connected the dots-

"O-of course bud! I don't see why not."

Wukong's shrugged, but calm demeanour was cut off. "Well you're going to need to study for it though. Are you up for that?" Nezha spoke up walking beside them, hands in pocket and bag on his back as his eyes quickly flickered over every little spot a demon or a bully could be hiding in. His response to such a fact was a loud and dramatic groan. And he couldn't help but feel just a pinch of guilt for ruining the mood. "I could help you, if you would like."

There was some grumbling, some fussing, some whining. But after a few minutes of carrying on. MK seemed to finally make a decision. "FINEEEEEEEEEE. I'll do it, for Mei!!!" With a fist in the air, MK found a goal for the summer, and the immortals couldn't help but laugh along, deciding to make their way home for the day.