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chaozsilhouette · 3 years

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The Mentor

Feeling frustrated with his situation, MK seeks guidance from a new master in the form of a powerful stranger. However, he may soon learn that all things require a price.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

For MK it was just another day being the Monkie Kid. Training at Flower Fruit Mountain with the Monkey King as the legend filled the silence snacking on peach chips.

For some reason, his training over the last few days comprised of taking a hammer to the beautiful mural etched into the stone palace. He couldn’t explain it but every time he struck at the mural he could feel his heart breaking. The focus of this training session was to teach him patience. Now that part he really didn’t get.

Okay, he didn’t get any of it!

How was destroying a beautiful tribute to the legendary pilgrims of the immortalized Journey to the West going to help him learn patience?!

And the Monkey King’s approach during the whole thing didn’t exactly help inspire confidence.

Feeling annoyed and not capable of handling human interaction, MK wondered the parts of the city he rarely ventured. He just needed some time to clear his head. Clearly, Monkey King was playing the trickster mentor role, but what was he trying to teach by destroying his own stuff?

“Get him!”

An explosion rocked the next block over. MK immediately took out the staff and raced towards the source. But what he found surprised him.

Looking around, he saw humans and demons alike scattered in every form of agonizing defeat. A closer look revealed that each individual was a member of one of the three strongest gangs in Megapolis.

Turf wars weren’t exactly rare in Megapolis, especially when demons and greedy humans were involved. But this was the first time he saw one end so quickly. It was like these guys were taken out in one strike.

In the center of it all was a figure cloaked in smoke. Wait, he knew that silhouette!

“Monkey King?” He approached the epicenter, eager to learn what drew his mentor from the mountain.

A gust of wind cleared the smoke granting the youth full view of the individual.

No. It wasn’t him, but the stranger did look awfully close.

Black fur instead of peach. A red, black, and gold gi replaced bright armor and cloth. A hooded cape fluttered in the place of a scarff wrapped around his neck. The marking on his face was blood red instead of gold and was slightly more styled.

“Oh. You’re not Monkey King.” The strangers’ golden eyes turned in his direction, an eyebrow raised. Crap! Did he say that out loud?

Thankfully the stranger took it in good fun. “I get that a lot. Monkie Kid, right?” He asked with a patient smile and a kind voice.

“How did you?”

“Heh. The Ruyi Jingu Bang kinda gives you away, dude. Not just anyone can wield that thing.” Especially not so effortlessly. He would know.

“Ah.” Right the ancient and mystical weapon of the Monkey King. The weapon he was holding in front of himself in clear view to anyone with a working set of eyes. “Sorry, who are you?”

“Macaque.” The monkie stood proud. “Well, the Six-Eared Macaque, if you’re into that whole formal nonsense.” Seeing nothing else to do, he started to make his exit. “Well see ya around, MK.” With that, the monkie leaped into the air, straight onto the rooftops without a sound. It hardly looked like a jump, more like flying.

MK watched the display of skill with an expression of pure awe.

There went a powerful monkey demon, one capable of downing nearly one hundred opponents in a single blow (without killing them), who proved to be friendly-No! No. He was not going to bother this civilian. He had a teacher. He had a master, who wasn’t really teaching him how to use his powers and had him hammering away at a priceless treasure for twelve hours a day and called it training-

Damn it, boy, don’t let him get away!

Extending the staff, MK launched himself skyward. Thankfully Macaque hadn’t cleared the first rooftop. Running as fast as his powers would let him, MK cut off the monkie before he could go any farther. “Can you teach me that awesome thing?!” He pleaded, eyes burning bright.

The black-furred monkie leaned back at the surprise action. He put on a slightly uneasy smile that matched a shaky laugh. “Aha? Don’t you already have a master? I thought Wukong was training you?”

Like that all the confidence just drained away. “Oh. Yeah, yeah. No, he is. Um…” Twisting the staff in his hands, MK struggled to find a way to explain himself without sounding ungrateful to the awesome opportunity he was given. One countless demons and humans will happily commit genocide to claim.

Fortunately for him, Macaque already had one ready for him. “But you can never have too many teachers, right?” His not question was filled with such confidence and control. “I’m sure ol’ Wukong would agree. It took a few masters to get him where he is today. It’s not like he’d want to rob you of the same opportunities he had.”

“Um, yeah! Yes. He’d totally be cool with it.” MK agreed, a little shaky at first, but was quick to reclaim his stride.

“Alright then.” Wrapping an arm around the boy’s shoulders, Macaque guided him to an abandoned dojo that served as his temporary home. Of course, from the inside one would never suspect it had endured three years of emptiness. It was filled with used, yet well-tended equipment, while still having plenty of open space.

Macaque decided that the two of them should have a quick spar. He explained it would allow him to figure out how far along his training was and where he needed to improve. Plus, he thought MK could use an excuse to let off some steam.

MK stared in amazement as Macaque conjured a staff from pure darkness. It was the same size as the Monkey King’s staff, but the ends were adorned with small but undeniably sharp spikes.

The spar mainly composed of MK trying in vain to land a hit as Macaque either dodged or batted the blows away. Eventually, the simian grew bored and unleashed his first attack. The staff fully connected to MK’s stomach, sending the boy flying into a rack of spears and against the wall.

Groaning MK tenderly rubbed his aching back. He was not expecting Macaque to suddenly go on the offensive. Much less for him to be taken out so easily. If nothing else this proved he needed to get stronger. He had been complacent with his strength and now he had his weakness shoved in his face.

MK instinctively flinched when the staff appeared an inch from his nose.

“Mm. Well, that was…enlightening.” Macaque turned his head away to mask a demonic smirk. “Don’t get me wrong. For a human that was impressive, but I was expecting a bit more from someone with your power.” He explained, facing his new student after toning down the malice.

He wasn’t wrong in his comments. As a human, he was plenty skilled, but he would rarely engage in combat with humans should he continue on this path.

“Hey! I’ve got more! I can give way more than that!” Taking a deep breath MK saw the simian twirl his staff without a care. Centering himself, Mk faced his new master eager to learn. “I can do better.” He wanted to grow stronger. He needed to be more prepared. He could do this.

Macaque’s easy smile returned, pleased with the answer. “Kay. Maybe show me next time.”

That night MK walked home feeling as though his muscles had been replaced with molten steel and glass. The next morning he played off his obvious soreness as the results of his training with Monkey King. Pigsy gave him the day off to lay in a bathtub filled with ice.

Thus, begun the secret training sessions. Each one designed to push the successor to his limits physically and mentally. Macaque demanded MK put 100% into every session, any sign of slacking would be met with a sharp whack from a practice staff.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Stop holding back. Stop trying to be nice. As Wukong’s successor, you will be the target of countless demons and gods who crave revenge. The moment you picked up that staff a massive target was branded onto your soul.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

“You’re still hesitating.” Macaque commented to a panting MK.

The boy had managed a lucky combo and was about to land a blow on the monkie’s head, but before he could put any strength behind it, he stopped. Naturally Macaque retaliated with a swift blow to the solar plexus.

Today their goal was to get MK used to using more of his super strength. Apparently, he had subconsciously been restraining himself ever since his victory against DBK. This was done after the destruction of many teacups and ripping one too many doors off its hinges. The downside was that MK accidentally made it more difficult to tap into the rest of his abilities due to a justifiable fear of losing control, a fear that was only enhanced due to the Clone Incident.

“I know! I know. I’m trying. I’ve done everything you said, but…it just isn’t working. I’m still learning how to use Monkey King’s powers. Hell, I haven’t even managed to unlock a quarter of them!” He vented, equally frustrated with his lack of progress.

“And there lies the problem.” Macaque’s staff dissipated at the admission.

“Huh?”

“You still see them as Wukong’s powers, but the truth is, they are yours.” Macaque explained. “Yours and no one else’s. The sooner you learn that the sooner you'll make progress.”

“But how do I do that? I mean, I get it. I heard you say it, it makes sense, but how do I know it.”

Humming, Macaque’s eyes drifted towards the incense he had burning by his tea kettle. “Tell me, have you ever tried deep meditation?” Macaque asked passing a towel over.

“Considering I’ve never heard of it, odds are the answer is: no,” MK answered, catching the towel.

“Good enough.” The next ten minutes were a whirl of preparation, namely the gathering of fresh incense, soft pillows, and the reveal of a small water feature.

“Okay, the key here is to relax.” Macaque instructed the sitting MK. He stood behind the boy, the pointer and index fingers of both hands resting on the boy’s temples.

“Kinda hard when it feels like you’re one second away from snapping my neck.”

Macaque had to laugh at that. “Oh cub, trust me if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it before you could have set one toe on the roof.”

Well, if that didn’t just make his heart beat a little faster in all the wrong ways. “Not making me feel safer.” A tail smacked the back of the brat’s head in warning. Taking the hint, MK closed his eyes and tried to relax.

“Just focus on your breathing. Let your soul drift away until you reach the deepest part of yourself.” Macaque whispered. His eyes glowing as the smoke from the lit incense was drawn towards MK, circling the unsuspecting youth as he drifted further away.

MK opened his eyes to a really weird sight.

Now what do you see?

Macaque’s voice seemed to emanate from both everywhere and nowhere.

“Ah? It looks like Flower Fruit Mountain. With part of the city mixed in?” It was the best way he could explain the mess of a layout. Literally perched at the top of the fiery mountains was the anti-gravity arcade and some apartment buildings were built right into the mountains. “Seriously who designed this place?”

You did. You are walking through a projection of your own mindscape.

“Cooool. So, what am I supposed to do?”

Feel for traces of power, it will lead you to the source of your strength.

Could this guy get any more vague? “Okay. Power? Power? What would it even look like?” MK leapt back as the world seemed to flicker around him. “The Hell?!” For a second all the colors dimmed, but one thing stood out. It was like a gossamer thread of golden light, winding its way through the mismatch of locations. “What do I have to lose?”

Following the trail, MK passed lots of familiar sights. He passed Pigsy’s shop where he saw a phantom of the demon happily working. There was the racetrack where Mei was speeding down without a care in the world. The University’s library window showed Tang giving a lecture on ancient civilizations. Sandy’s boat was in the lagoon for some reason, leaving the big guy serving tea to a collection of monkey cubs as Mo got into a hissing contest with a stubborn one.

Laughing MK took everything in with a smile. If this was what was inside his head, he was definitely going to make this a regular thing.

The trail ended at what seemed to be a mash-up of his apartment and Monkey King's house.

Before him, floated a golden projection of Sun Wukong meditating. It perfectly matched the Monkey King down to the last detail. If MK didn’t know any better he’d think the Monkey King just painted himself gold and pulled a fast one on him. But one thing separated the two, this one was perfectly still, a huge contrast to the real one who always had to be in motion.

“Okay, now what?” If this wasn’t the source of his power then he was completely lost.

Touch it and make a connection.

Reaching out a hand MK let out a yelp the instant his fingers touched the figure. Frantically he shook his hand to get some feeling back into it. It was as if he touched a live wire.

I know it feels weird, but it needs to be done. Relax. Let it flow through you. You will soon find it quite addictive.

“Not helpful!” He screamed to the heavens, fully aware it wasn’t necessary, but it made him feel better. So there! “Augh. Here we go again.” He placed his hands on the statue and just as before a current of energy burst to life.

MK grit his teeth against the onslaught, bringing his second onto the statue. Slowly he saw a change. The feathered headdress was transforming into a simple headband.

Gasping, MK feel forward lungs burning as he tried to inhale as much air as possible. Hearing water splashing against the ground, MK opened his eyes to see the sweat dripping from his face onto the floor.

“You’ve done well.” A water bottle was placed before him, one he didn’t hesitate to crack open and nearly choke on as he downed the contents. “That’s it for today. I suggest you head home and take a long shower.”

“But I can keep going!” MK insisted. All they did today was drill sets with their staffs and have one spar before the meditation.

“Check your phone.” Macaque said as he slid over the device.

Raising an eyebrow, MK turned on the screen. His eyes were blown wide open at the time. “Three hours?! I was out for three hours!”

“Yep. Lasted longer than I thought you would have on your first try. Good job, kid. See you in two days.”

“I’ll be here.” Smiling Mk ran out the door and straight to his apartment. He didn’t know why but he felt lighter.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

They will not care about your age or morals. If you allow them to survive once, then all you are doing is providing them another opportunity to learn from their past mistakes and take advantage of your kind heart.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

“I can’t believe he lets you walk around like this. For all his talk about being the ‘Handsome Monkey King’, you’d think he’d have a touch more concern towards appearances.” Macaque complained as he pulled MK into his lap. The red headband was tossed to the side, allowing brown locks to fall limp.

Not giving MK a chance to ask why, Macaque was quick to run his fingers through the youth’s hair. Sharp claws lightly grazed the scalp, sending trills of danger to mingle with the instinctual sense of safety. Something inside MK, something he didn’t quite understand craved the sensation and presence the monkie was providing him.

The soothing motions combined with his exhaustion and sweet pain from a good workout guided MK to gently drift off. He couldn’t help but watch as the world grew fuzzy as his eyelids drifted shut.

Macaque knew the instant his claws combed through brown locks that his actions had an immediate effect. The cub’s breathing was easing into a slow rhythm as his head fell against his chest. If the shadow user didn’t have such self-control, he would burst out laughing.

The kid was way too trusting. They had only been training together for a week, but apparently, that was all that’s needed to get him to let his guard down. Enough to fall asleep with essentially a stranger in the room in a location none of his allies are aware of.

So trusting. So naive. So helpless.

“Oh MK, you’re truly making this too easy.”

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

The next time your family may be the ones to pay the price. If you can’t handle that, then you must take the steps to protect them no matter the cost! You must make a statement no one can ignore that demonstrates that what is yours is off limits!

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

“Today your training will focus on basic demon culture.” Macaque stated, standing in front of a blank wall.

“Ah, sorry. How is that going to help me get stronger?” MK asked as this was a huge leap from sparring and meditation.

“As Wukong’s successor, you hold tremendous influence in the divine and demonic realms. You need to learn about basic manners and social cues, unless you intend to spend the rest of your life in constant combat. Although given who your mentor is, no one would expect anything less from you.” He snickered as MK blushed at the insinuation. Oh, was that a hint of mischief in his eyes? “Besides, don’t think I haven’t seen you favoring your left side. You are resting. Now sit.” Macaque commanded, pointing to a provided pillow.

“You see the world is divided into territories overseen by Demon Kings and Queens. The crux of this order is the presence of the Kings/Queens. Anyone can call themselves a fancy title, but to truly own one requires a tremendous amount of power and influence. A ruler is not only smart but has the strength to back it up. They need to be able to trade blows with other rulers, while being able to defend their subjects.”

“Each of them rules over a sizable amount of land and holds responsibility for the welfare of its inhabitants. The rulers are usually joined by a family, who sit right beneath them in terms of influential power. For example, with the demon bull family, DBK reigns supreme, followed by his wife, then his son. Beneath the main rulers lies an assortment of trusted individuals that serve to aid the rulers while being gifted their own plots of land to oversee. Such as the secretaries, generals, advisors, and with servants as the lowest of the low.” Macaque stated as shadows formed all sorts of visual aids.

“Now what keeps the world in this state of organized chaos is a series of treaties and alliances by the rulers to avoid all-out war and losing their property. Naturally, there are plenty of demons who work outside the alliances or don’t belong to any Court. Some choose to live peaceful lives, while others go out of their way to cause as much destruction as possible." MK couldn't be sure but the last example reminded him of the Gold and Silver Demons. Figures those idiots would be involved somehow. "It is important you learn to identify when a demon has the protection of a Court or you risk compromising your reputation in the Court system or accidentally starting a war.”

Groaning MK, rubbed in eyes. “All this sounds super complicated. How come I’ve never seen any servants or lords when I’ve battled DBK’s family? It’s just been the iron bull clones.”

“Probably due to some wounded pride. The demon bull family has sworn a blood oath to pay back Wukong for repeatedly humiliating their family during the Journey. And since you have become his proxy in battle you fall under that protection. For now.”

“I remember Mr. Tang going over that a few times. Something about the importance of family honor.” He thinks Tang went over it during one of their busier days. The man saw MK couldn’t afford to give his stories his regular amount of focus, so he switched to a less action-oriented topic.

Now that he thought about it, a lot of the customers got into it. turned into an impromptu Q&A session. Half the people ended up staying longer and ordering a dessert. That was like one of the only times Pigsy never demanded Tang pay for his food.

Good times.

“And the human’s right. Whenever you deal with a member of a noble demon family you must also be able and willing to handle the family head, assuming they care about the fate of one of their own. Some families will move heaven and earth for their bloodline, others would see any failure as a sign they are unworthy to share a surname.

“But Red Son lost a bunch, and that family doesn’t feel like a healthy one.” It was painful watching the prince struggle in hopes of earning a scrap of what should be freely given.

“That’s because you’re looking at it from a human’s perspective. According to the demon community, they are a very forgiving and devoted family, admittedly not with the healthiest relationship.” Seeing MK’s unimpressed expression, he followed with “Although, they were much closer six hundred years ago.”

“Oh.” MK trailed off, wondering what could have happened to mess them up that badly. Then it struck him like a thunderbolt. “OH.”

“Yeah, before the Journey and the whole separation by mountain seal shtick.”

That would do it.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Your first strike should be your last strike. Every time you attack, give it everything you got. You won’t always be facing honorable opponents. There is no shortage of demons, gods, or humans who will not hesitate to use every advantage they can find.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

“Okay, that’s enough for today.”

“But we just started,” Mk stated before he was thrown backward. Everything had turned dark. He scrambled to regain his footing thinking it was some sort of sensory training.

He was almost blinded by the return of light. When he no longer felt as though someone was rubbing salt into his eyes, he saw Macaque was staring at him with a single raised eyebrow and a damp towel in his hand. Red quickly consumed his face as he connected the dots.

“As I said, that’s enough. You’re exhausted.”

“I guess you’re right.” He did just complete his training with Monkey King after enduring a full shift at Pigsy’s Noodles. If he couldn’t dodge a wet towel, what good was he going to be in a fight?

“You know I’m right. Come here.” The monkie walked over to the rest area, where he sat down and waited for MK to follow suit.

The young adult was quick to join his master. Taking off his headband, he leaned against a fluffy chest and allowed the peace lull him into oblivion.

At first, MK didn’t know how to react to the regular grooming sessions.

On Flower Fruit Mountain, Monkey King explained that grooming was a sign of acceptance along with being an act of social bonding. A few of the younger monkeys had started to approach him, but most of the tribe had maintained a safe distance. Monkey King had explained that they were still cautious because he was still a new presence on the mountain and the elders had more than their fair share of bad experiences with humans, but they were warming up to him. Mostly in the form of stealing from him.

Monkey King actually turned it into a form of training, where he had to try and catch the babies that enjoyed rooting through his bag before they manage to devour all his snacks.

He supposed it made sense. Out of the four months since he became the Monkie Kid, he’d only been on the mountain for maybe a little over three weeks, a full month if he was being generous, and all his time was devoted towards training. It wasn’t as if he’d really tried connecting with the inhabitants. But he couldn’t deny that he was curious about social grooming. Whenever he saw it in action the recipient always looked so much more relaxed.

Now that he experienced it himself, he couldn’t imagine life without it. There was just something so fulfilling about it. Like he had been waiting his whole life to feel this.

As a bonus, his hair has never been this soft.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

You have power inside you. Use it. Take the power and destroy! Remember, you don't use a weapon, you are a weapon!

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

“So, you were able to destroy the mural in one blow?” Macaque asked, a wicked smirk hidden by an oh so carefully positioned shadow.

“Yeah. You’d think he’d be happy I was improving, but instead, he got a dark look in his eye.” MK stated as he worked through the exercises Macaque had drilled into him. If he cared more, he probably would have broken down crying seeing his idol so enraged at him.

“Oh?” Macaque inquired.

“Asked if I was cheating on him with another mentor.” MK finished as he began the next set.

Macaque let out a puff of laughter. “Technically you are, cub.”

“I know. It’s just...he’s been so distant and with you, I’m finally making progress.” He felt as though he was truly wanted as a student again. Felt as if he wasn’t a disappointment.

He’d never deny Macaque was a brutal instructor, the Ten Kings knew he was, but he just had this way of knowing exactly how to push him without breaking him. He’s learned so much more of the Demon community than he ever suspected with the Monkey King.

“Thanks, cub. But now that he’s onto me, I’m afraid this will be our last session.”

“Wait! What?!” Dropping the staff, MK launched into full panic mode. “Why? Did I do something wrong? I can do better! I swear!” He clung to the monkie’s leg as though it would fix whatever horrible sin he had committed.

“Sweet cub, it has nothing to do with you.” Mk was picked up as easily as one would a kitten, he found himself cradled against Macaque’s chest as the monkie gazed down at him with an amused look. “The fact is Wukong’s a possessive, stubborn bastard. Once he thinks someone is trying to rob him, any compassion tends to be violently thrown out the window. And I rather not be skinned by some misconception I’m trying to steal his student.”

“So, this is goodbye?” He always hated goodbyes, something about them just felt so final.

“For now. I have no doubt our paths will cross again. Just remember what I taught you. You’ll be fine. Although I’d shower five times with the strongest body wash and conditioner you have. The last thing you need is Wukong picking up on my scent during your next training session or if he decides to make a surprise visit.” Macaque nuzzled against the youth’s well-groomed hair, taking in a scent he's grown to appreciate. “We’ve been lucky that he’s been so unobservant this last month, but sooner or later he’ll grow wise. I can’t be here when that happens.”

“I understand. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“It’s a shame. You really are a good kid.” With that Macaque struck MK’s forehead with the heel of his palm. The last thing he saw was the monkie’s eyes turning solid purple as they took on a wicked expression.

Mk felt as though he was falling for a brief second until his back collided with something soft. Opening his eyes, he found himself back in his room, on his bed, as though he’d never left.

For a brief moment, he wondered did any of that truly happened.

*Thunk*

MK turned at the sound. There on his desk was something he didn’t recognize. Slowly he approached it, but what he saw made him pause.

It was a gold medallion. Somehow, he knew it was the real deal. The surface was engraved with a strange kaleidoscope pattern. In the dark, the different sections seemed to emit a nearly indistinguishable glow of a variety of colors. He didn’t know why but the number six came to mind the longer he stared at it.

It was a gift. A promise.

“I’m sorry, master.”

Tears started to flow as he realized that was the end. His month-long vacation of truly feeling like a pupil had come to an abrupt end. He had an awesome mentor and because of his actions, he had no idea when he’d see him Mentor

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