Chapter Text
=A few Months ago=
----
"Happy 14 years, 5 hours, 8 minutes, and 10 seconds, Monkie Kid!... 13, 14, 15, 16-"
"Pahaha! Okay dad! Stop haha!" Mk said as he took the present wrapped in cloth that Wukong was offering to him. Sun Wukong was very good at keeping track of time. You could say he had a really good internal clock.
Mk unwrapped his gift to find... A peach.
"...Really dad?" Mk looked up at him, unimpressed.
"I know right? Isn't it grea-" Wukong paused as he looked at Mk's expression. "Wait... You look upset. You don't like it, why don't you like it?" He asked genuinely as he knelt down a bit to Mk's level to lock eyes with him.
"Ugg daaaaad, we have peach trees! I could eat one of these literally any other day!"
"...." Wukong blinked in confusion, and then he realized. "Oooohhh! I see where the misunderstanding happened. Heh, that's not just any peach, Mk. It's an Immortality Peach," Wukong said as he dramatically fluttered his fingers in front of his face.
Mk gasped as he looked back down at the peach in his hands. At a closer look, he could see that the stems of the leaves were golden. The gold trickling into the tiny veins of the leaf. A small, yet also big difference from normal peaches.
"Wait, really!?" Mk said, with excitement this time. Wukong nodded his head as he smiled from his son's cute reaction. "What- That's- I can't even believe you got one! How'd you get it?"
Wukong scratched the back of his head, "O-Oh you know, I just politely asked the celestial realm if I could have one heh heh.."
=What actually occurred=
Wukong stormed the heavens. He easily disarmed all of the guards that got in his way. He made his way over to Nuwa, the goddess of many things, but she was mostly known for being the goddess of creation. Wukong was wearing his old hat so that he could cover the scars circling around his head. He didn't like showing his physical vulnerability in front of anyone he wasn't close to.
"Nuwa! Come out! I know you're in theeereee," Wukong called. Golden doors opened as Nuwa came out. It looked as if she was in the middle of a meeting between other higher celestial beings.
"Child, was it necessary to bulldoze your way through the heavenly troupes?"
"Oh I am far from being a child," Wukong said with a cocky smile. "And, yes, because I'm a monkey! That's how I roll!"
"What is it that you desire to know, Sun Wukong?"
"It's not what I want to know, it's what I want to have!"
"(Sigh) And what would that be?" Nuwa asked, her patient smile wavering.
"I want an immortal peach!"
"You do not need that. You are already many times immortal."
"Uggg! It's not for me it's for my- our- your?... (Sigh) it's for Mk!" Wukong said, his face a bit more stern with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Oh? For the child that I bestowed upon you? How is he?" Nuwa's smile came back, curious to have an update on one of her creations.
"He's doing great! But I need him to be doing greater! You gave me a very fragile monkey, and I need him to be immortal. I don't... I don't want to lose anyone else..." Wukong said as he looked down. "So, give me an immortal peach! It's the least you could do for him!"
"Hmm..." Nuwa pondered what he said for a moment. Then, she spoke, "only if you ask properly."
"Huh?"
"I know Tripitaka taught you better. Say 'please'."
Wukong blushed as he folded his arms. He worked up the courage and drooped his head down in embarrassment. "Ugg... P-Please, may I have an immortal peach? For my son.." He said, trying his best to sound as formal as possible.
"Hmhm," Nuwa chuckled, "here." An immortal peach floated into her hand from Buddha knows where. She lowered her giant hand down to Wukong's level. He looked up, smiled excitedly, and took it.
=Back to Mk's birthday=
"Really? From all the stories you've told me I figured you had to force your way through heaven to get this. But, I guess things have changed for you, huh?" Mk asked with his innocent smile.
"Heh heh, yuuup..." Wukong answered, nervously, avoiding eye-contact. "Alright, enough talk. Take a bite already!" He said, shaking his fists in anticipation.
"Okay okay, hee hee," Mk giggled as he held the fruit up to his lips. He opened wide, and took a big bite. It tasted like any other peach, which was unexpected. But the second that he swallowed, he felt something.
"Whoa- ullhh," Mk shook as he felt a tingly feeling go through his body.
"Soooo, how do ya feeeel?" Wukong asked, wagging his tail.
"...Honestly? Not that different. Well, other than that short, strange tingly sensation. But, it only lasted for like a few seconds."
"Heh, yeah... I vaguely remember that happening to me," Wukong's face became serious as he brought Monkie Kid into an embrace. "Now, everything will be just fine. We'll be together forever..."
"Oh I hope so, haha!" Mk said as he hugged Wukong back, not really noticing Wukong's change in energy.
'I can't lose another one. Not again. I won't' Wukong thought. Tears started to prick at his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. He then pulled away from Mk with a forced smile.
"Heh, now c'mon, let's go celebrate your birthday! Me and the monkeys planned a lot of fun games!"
=Present Day=
Wukong was flying as fast as he could in the direction the woman had said. To any human traveling on a horse, this would've taken about an hour. But for Wukong, traveling 40 miles would only take 15 minutes. He of course had put on his hat to once again cover his scars in front of strangers.
A wide grin grew on Wukong's face. "I'm so close... We're so close to being together again.." He mumbled under his breath. "Haha.. I can't believe it. After all this time, I finally have a lead.." Happy and desperate tears welled up in Wukong's eyes. No one was watching, so he let them fall.
He sniffled and laughed sadly as he wiped them away. "Please, I pray that it is you.. I just-... I can't handle another false alarm!"
----
Monkie Kid was laying on the ground staring at the clouds. He let his mind wander. Some of the monkeys had fallen asleep on his chest. "(Sigh) Alright, buddies. I'm gonna go take a bath." Mk said as he carefully lifted the sweet little monkeys off of him. He gently placed them on the grass.
Mk walked over to their hot springs. He had a towel wrapped around his private parts. He slowly dipped himself in, getting used to the hot sensation on his skin. He groaned in annoyance as he dunked himself deeper; his mouth blowing bubbles through the water.
Mk then sat up and spit the water off of his mouth. He leaned against the edges and stared up at the clouds again. The clouds making many interesting shapes. Mk then flinched as he felt tiny hands touching his head. He whipped his head around to see one of the monkeys. "Oh, it's just you, heh, sorry.." Mk relaxed again and let the monkey groom his hair. "(Sigh)... I'm so bored..."
----
Wukong finally arrived at the village the woman had referred to. He started sniffing around. The villagers were giving him creeped-out looks, but he couldn't care less.
There were times that he would crawl around on the dirt looking for any scent that would help. Some people yelped as he crawled passed them.
"Ulg creep!" A lady yelled as she pulled her skirt out of his way.
"Wait a minute, isn't that...?" A guy said as he observed. "No, it couldn't be. Not this perverted fellow.."
Okay, that one irked Wukong a little. What exactly did the public think of him? Did they think he was some prim, proper, and uptight god? He rolled his eyes at the thought.
He finally stood up and scratched the back of his head.
"Hey, that guy's a monkey, do you think he's in kahoots with the other guy?"
Wukong's ears perked up at hearing this. He looked over and saw a trio of men. The one in the middle, most likely the leader, had two big bruises. One on the side of his head, and one on his forehead. The other two had some bruises on their arms, and a few on their cheeks and jaws. They were eyeing Wukong, but the second that he caught their gaze, they became anxious and looked away.
He then marched over to them. "Hey!" He shouted and they all flinched. They became a little less intimidated once Wukong actually walked up to them. His stature becoming a lot more noticeable. Wukong was about a head shorter. He stared up at them with a serious frown; his hands on his hips. "Who's this 'other guy' you speak of?"
"Uh, w-what? You lookin' for your buddy so you two can beat us up some more?"
"Um... No? But if you don't tell me who you're referring to.." Wukong pulled out a magical staff from his ear. That's where he tucks it away. It can change shape and size. "I might just consider it." His eyes were glowing gold, and he perked up the leader's chin with his staff as he got closer and they locked eyes. The man began to sweat.
"Gah alright!" The man said as he backed away, his buddies following suit. "They call him, the One-Eyed Macaque. He's a phantom that haunts the forest with shadow magic-"
"Which forest?" The men flinched at Wukong's demanding voice. That look he had; absolutely menacing. His eyes were wide with a blank expression.
"U-Uh, it's just over there a few miles, why-"
"What did he look like?" Wukong asked, sounding a little more desperate as he got in the man's face. The man leaned his face away in disgust.
"What- I- I don't know? He was wearing a hood, it was hard to tell."
Then one of his buddies chimed in, "I.. I saw a glimpse of his tail, it was black, oh! And he was wearing an eye-patch!"
Wukong then turned his attention to the guy who had just spoke. "Which eye was it?"
"His left?"
"No, you idiot, it was his right.." The third guy whispered. "(Sigh) our left, his right."
Wukong turned his attention to the third guy. He pondered for a bit, and then spoke, "how long ago did he beat you three up?"
"Hey! I'll let you know w-we got a few punches in!"
"Yeah! He just got a few lucky hits on us t-that's all!"
Wukong grabbed the collar of the leader, "that isn't what I asked. Try again."
"..." The man's gaze darted between looking at both of Wukong's eyes.
"It," guy number three spoke up, "It was yesterday..."
'No wonder... They must've taken a bath. They don't have his scent on them.' Wukong thought.
"Did he happen to have some red marking on his face?" Wukong asked, returning his staff to his ear and grabbing his chin.
"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that. I was so focused on the eye-patch at the time." Guy number two said. Wukong grinned widely. The three men got shudders from seeing this
----
Mk’s muscles felt great soaking in the hot spring. He was a little achy from his and Wukong’s training they did before they went shopping. Another monkey had joined in on grooming Mk’s hair on his head. They were probably bored too.
Mk abruptly dunked his head all the way in. He popped back up, immediately regretting it. His body had gotten used to the temperature so the sudden heat on his face was a sensory overload.
”Pttt, ulg, I regret that so much…” Mk spit as his face was steaming. As in, literally steaming, from the heat. He heard the monkeys chirping with complaints; their hard work being ruined. “Oh, heh, sorry. But, It’s okay! You made sure that I didn’t get any bugs or dirt in the water!” That somehow cheered the monkeys right back up. They squeaked as they hopped away to go play with the others.
Mk then grabbed a bar of soap. A very rare thing that was created a few years ago. Wukong got some specially made to smell like peaches. Because of course he did.. Mk rubbed it all over his head and body hair, wanting to smell nice and clean. He even scrubbed his tail a bit.
After washing up, he put some new clothes on and began walking towards the exit. Their home was hidden by a waterfall. He hadn’t learned how to create a cloud like Wukong, so he couldn’t leave through the open hole in the top of the mountain. He was gonna get his new clothes wet but he didn’t mind.
When he tried hopping through, he instead got pushed back.
”What the…” Mk mumbled. He tried hopping through again, but a golden seal appeared in front of him. “WHAT!?”
----
Wukong raced towards the forest on his cloud. A wide grin still plastered on his face. He was filled with excitement. He hopped off his cloud once he was at the entrance of the forest.
He started jogging through, sniffing as much of the air as he could. A sense of smell was really his only lead. Unless he somehow saw something that related to Macaque.
Wukong stopped as he thought of something. He activated his gold vision. He was looking around for a bit as he continued walking. Then, something caught his eye. A small, tiny, black thing, scurrying around. It kept on crawling up trees and when it would go by, apples went missing.
”Oh, you’re a fast little thing…” Wukong mumbled as he followed it with his eyes, “but not fast enough…” He smirked. He zoomed through the forest, following the little mystery.
The little black thing hadn't noticed Wukong until he was right on top of it. It stopped in it's tracks, probably startled. It didn't have eyes but it seemingly looked up at him. Wukong had it caged with his arms and legs. It came back to it's senses and scurried away from Wukong's looming figure.
Wukong chuckled to himself; enjoying the chase. He began pulling his staff back out of his ear. He then knelt down, getting ready, and then leaped forward towards the little black thing.
Wukong then chucked his staff and it zoomed towards the thing and landed right next to it, catching it in a seal. A golden circle with symbols and markings appeared from the staff, surrounding the little thing. The seal then started glowing brighter as it seemed to activate.
He slowly walked up in a taunting way with his hands on his hips, feeling proud. Wukong stopped and stared down at the creature, waiting for his seal to reveal it's true form. The thing kept on trying to break out of the seal's barrier, to no avail. The seal was beginning to work to reveal it. But, once it did, Wukong's arms fell to his sides in shock.
It's form looked almost to a T, like the one and only, Macaque.
It was one of Macaque's shadow clones. It had his silhouette, just in a shadowy way.
Wukong started quietly laughing, his eyes wide with excitement, and his mouth open in a widening smile. The clone looked at itself, seeming confused on why it was in it's master's form. This wasn't the form it's master wanted it to take. As it was distracted, sitting up looking down at it's hands, Wukong jumped at it, pinning it's wrists to it's sides.
The clone was struggling, moving it's body left and right, but then froze once it noticed Wukong leaning closer to it's face.
"Hmmm..." Wukong hummed, he had a serious thinking face, "you almost look the same as him. But, it seems your eye is intact, and you only have two ears... I wonder why that is... However," Wukong's wide grin grew back. The clone turned it's face away as Wukong leaned down to it's neck.
"You smell exactly like him." Wukong said as he took a strong, satisfying whiff of the shadow clone. Wukong was almost getting drunk off the smell alone. He hadn't smelt it in such a long, long time..
----
Mk had banged and punched the barrier, having zero progress on opening it. So he eventually decided to try something stupid. He started climbing the inside mountain walls to see if he could get out through the top. He was about halfway up.
"Okay, almooost... AH!" Mk's grip slipped and he used his tail to latch onto another bump. He was breathing really quickly and clutching the wall. He had his eyes closed and refused to see how high he had gotten. The other monkeys were watching his progress and they had easily climbed higher than him. They were cheering him on, waiting for him to start climbing up again. "Guuhhh I don't think I can do this, it's too scary!..." He said as he buried his face against the dirty, rocky, wall.
The monkeys all began squeaking as they protested him giving up. He slowly lifted his head to see some of them up there jumping and squealing. A smile grew on Mk's face.
"You know what? You're right, I can do thi-aAAAAAHHH!" Mk stupidly lifted up his arms in a cheery way, which ended up making him lose his grip entirely, and he began to fall. "AAHHHH!!"
Just when he was about to hit the floor, a cloud came around and scooped him up. He was covering his eyes, waiting for the impact. But, when he opened his eyes, he was floating about five feet off of the ground.
"(Gasp) I DID IT!" Mk said as he threw his hands in the air, cheering himself on. "Okay, now, let's get to the top!" ....
"Uh... I said, let's GET TO THE TOP!" Nothing happened.... "Ulg, c'mon cloud, please?"
The cloud moved a little bit, and then a little more, and then it zoomed towards the top. Mk was screaming until the cloud abruptly stopped just before the exit hole. Mk took a moment to calm himself down by breathing.
"Alright, cloud, now take me outta here!" Again, the cloud refused to move. "Uhh... please?" It still didn't move. "Ulg, fine, I'll just climb through myself... useless thing..."
Mk stood on his tippy toes and reached up towards the exit. But, instead of waving his hand through the summer breeze, his hand, once again, got stopped by a barrier seal. "Are you KIDDING ME!? I climbed half of this stupid mountain, almost fell to my death and URRGG!" Mk was too angry to form words. He started kicking around on his cloud. He then sat down on the cloud, his legs criss-cross, and his arms folded. He simply frowned as he started grumbling to himself. "So now he suddenly doesn't trust me to go out on my own? Hmph!" Mk then thought for a bit, trying to recall the past. "....Wait... Did he ever?"
Suddenly, the cloud dissipated, and Mk began to fall again. "Wait WAIT NO! HELP! Is this because I called you useless!? I'm sorry! I promise I won't call you useless again-"
With that, he hit the ground, hard.
Mk groaned and started to come to. He could hear the monkeys doing worried chirps around him. His eyes cracked open and he had a bad headache, but, not as bad as he thought he would. He saw the monkeys all surrounding him, with worried looks on their faces. Mk very slowly sat up and blinked a bit in confusion.
"...Am I dead?" He asked in a scratchy voice. The monkeys shook their heads. "...How long was I out?" The monkeys all looked at each-other, and then one just spread their fingers apart. "Not that long, huh?" Mk looked up at the exit to see that the sky wasn't any dimmer than when he last saw it. "So... How am I not dead?" The monkeys jumped up in excitement and one grabbed a peach and started frantically pointing at it.
"....OH that's right! I'm immortal now!"
Mk flinched at the sound of banging. A familiar sound he had heard when he was banging on the barrier seal earlier. He stood up and slowly started walking towards the waterfall entrance. He could hear a young male voice talking behind it.
"Sun Wukong the monkey king! You killed my father! So now I am here to take revenge!" Mk couldn't help but snicker at how rehearsed that sounded. "Wha- Is that you!? Come out and face me you cowardly monkey!"
Mk pondered for a bit, and then he decided, why not? It's not like the barrier could be broken. He hated doing this because it took a lot of strength and energy. He was gonna use his powers to separate the waterfall. This is why he usually just liked to jump through it instead. But since he can't do that, he might as well open the waterfall to see who was paying him a 'visit'.
He put his arms in front of him and closed his eyes, beginning to separate the water. He was already starting to sweat from how much concentration it took to do this. Of course, Wukong could do it easily, but he was hundreds of years old with much more experience.
When he finally got it separated, he opened his eyes to see... A boy?... A boy his age, with bright red hair, and flames burning around his hands. The boy's angry expression faltered as he stared back at Mk. He blinked a couple of times in confusion.
"Wait... Who...?" The boy spoke, "you're not Sun Wukong...?"
"Oh yeah, definitely not. I'm nowhere near as powerful as him, haha..." Mk responded, scratching the back of his head.
"...Who are you? Why are you here!?" The boy asked, sounding more annoyed than angry now.
"Well... I sort of can't leave. I'd give up trying if I were you, no one can get in through that seal!... Or... out heh..."
"... You're trapped here?... (Gasp) are you a hostage!?" The boy fired up his hands again.
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, I'll get you out!" The boy then started hurdling fiery punches at the seal. Mk simply watching in awe at this display.
"Uhh no you don't have... to.. okay..." Mk gave up as the boy wasn't listening. Mk stood there waiting for the boy to tire himself out. He eventually did.
The boy was holding himself up on his knees as he was panting heavily. "Good gods (inhale) that's (exhale) a strong seal."
"Yup... I learned that the hard way too, buddy... Sooo, what's your name?"
The boy finished catching his breath as he stood up straight. He then cleared his voice.
"(Ahem) I am Redson, son of the Demon Bull King, and of the Princess Iron Fan. I am the flame prince of this world, and my goal, is to take revenge on that Sun Wukong for killing my father and imprisoning my mother!" Mk giggled again, another line that sounded so rehearsed. "Hey, what's so funny, monkey boy!?"
"Huh? Oh it's nothing. And my name's actually Monkie Kid."
"...Really? 'Monkie Kid'? That's your name? How utterly un-creative..."
"Wha- Says you! 'Red Son'" Mk said with air quotes.
"What- Silence you!"
"(Sigh) anyway, what's this you say about Monkey King killing your father and imprisoning your mom?" Mk asked.
"Well that's all there is to it! He's a horrible un-trained beast that needs his collar back on..." Redson turned away, his hands clenched into fists, "I barely even got to know my father before he died. I was only five! Sun Wukong doesn't deserve to call himself a king, that title should've been for my father!"
"...W-Well, I'm sure, uh, Sun Wukong, had a good reason. Your parents were probably bad people-"
"What do you know!?"
Mk flinched and backed away, even though he wasn't in any danger.
"Big brother Nezha keeps telling me that my parents were in the wrong and that I need to 'cAlM mYsElF' and that I need to 'LeT iT gO'" Redson repeated in a mocking tone. "Pfft, he even admitted that he doesn't agree with Sun Wukong killing my father, but he still agrees that my mother should stay imprisoned... Tch.."
"Nezha?..." Mk mumbled as he sort of recognized that name.
"I don't care how immortal that simian is... I will find a way to kill him and avenge my father..." Redson had tears prick his eyes, but Mk couldn't see them since Redson was turned away.
"N-No, he... My dad would never do that, at least, not without a good reason!" Mk blurted out, he instantly regretted it.
Redson slowly turned around with a shocked look, "Sun Wukong... is your father?"
"I... No uhh he's just... (sigh) yes..." Mk finally gave in as he looked away in shame. He was expecting the fiery fellow to start screaming at him, but, he got something else instead.
"...That man has warped your senses... I've read about cases like this..."
"Wh-What? He hasn't 'warped' anything, what are you-"
"Stockholm syndrome is what it's called," Redson said as he looked off in the distance. "They lock you up, like how you are now, and make you think it's for your own good. They say that it's for your protection. When in reality, they don't ever want you to leave. Even when you have sprouted your own wings and want to leave the nest, they'll still keep you there... Forever... And even if they do eventually let you leave, you won't want to. That's stockholm syndrome... That's what's happening here."
Mk stared in utter shock. He was absolutely baffled by what he was hearing. "Are you out of your mind!?"
"Are you?" Redson retorted.
"No! And my dad is not- whatever you were just saying. He's a good guy! He loves me! He always has and always will!"
"Then why did he lock you in here?"
"He didn't- Thats- Urg! He didn't 'lock' me in here. He just put a barrier around it so people like you couldn't get in!"
"And people like you, couldn't get out?"
Mk paused at hearing this. He was the one that told Redson that. It was true, he himself couldn't get through the barrier either. Why did his dad do this?
Mk turned around, leaned against the seal and dragged down until he was sitting. He hugged his knees to his chest. Redson then did the same on his side. Them practically leaning against each-other.
"He hasn't done this before..." Mk finally said. "This is the first time that he's put a barrier around the mountain to keep me in. He's just scared that I'll get hurt..."
"...Well what about before this?"
"Huh?
"Before today, did he ever truly let you out of his sight?"
"Well yeah plenty of times! There was that time that- wait no, he was watching from the mountain.. Oh! That time that he let me go in the forest-... No, he had a hair clone following me... Oh uh- wait..." Mk thought hard about it, but he could not think of a time where he was truly out of Wukong's sight, and completely by himself, un-protected.
"Mmhm..." Redson simply said. "That's what I thought. He's never gonna let you leave the nest."
"I... Hadn't realized..."
"...Hey," Redson said as he turned around. Mk turned his head a bit to look at him. "I'll get you out of here one day... But, It probably won't be anytime soon."
"Okay, look, I don't need saving. I know it may look like your, 'stockholm syndrome' or whatever. But I promise he's just trying to look out for me! I'm only 14!"
"Pfft, so am I. But my big brother Nezha encourages me to go off on my own. So I can learn to fend for myself. What Wukong is doing is smothering!"
"Well maybe, this Nezha, isn't a very good parent to you!"
"(Sigh) Look, Monkie Son-"
"Monkie Kid."
"Whatever.. Sun Wukong has made it so you're the only one he can listen to. But now that you've met me, you have a chance in life."
Mk knew Redson wasn't gonna listen so he stayed quiet.
"I'll visit you every so often to keep tabs and see if he is what you claim. See if he's truly just being a 'good parent' as you say." Redson stood up and walked away a bit. "I'll see you later, Monkie Son."
"Um.. Okay? See you later, Red Kid."
"It's Redson, urg..." Redson grumbled in annoyance as he turned into flames and flew off to Buddha knows where.
----
"Princess Iron Fan?" Nezha called as he walked up to her cell.
"Where is my son?" PIF asked, coldly.
"Look, I'm sure he's fine. I've taught him very well how to handle himself. I know he was supposed to visit you, but he keeps on spouting nonsense about revenge. And I feel that you've been planting ridiculous ideas in his head-"
"And who are YOU to tell me how to raise MY son!?" PIF yelled as she grabbed the bars. Some of the heavenly guards pointed their weapons at her. Nezha lifted his hand in a motion that immediately calmed the guards down.
"Look, I know that you're his mother. But you can't be raising him to be a vengeful beast. Redson doesn't stand a chance against Wukong in the first place! Now, I won't let him visit today, and starting next month, from now on, I'm going to be monitoring your visits."
"You have no right to do that, lotus prince! You should know your place, I was once above you!"
"No, it is you who needs to know yours..." With that, Nezha left her alone in her cell.
Redson was allowed to visit his mother only once a month. She was a prisoner after all, so they couldn't just give her free reign to raise him to be just another power-hungry criminal like his parents.
Nezha was the god of children, but even he admitted that Redson was a handful. He had anger issues and was really bad at being humble. But, Nezha couldn't help but love him like a brother. He was trying his best to teach and nurture Redson to be a good celestial soldier. He hoped that Redson would one day use his flames to light the dark in a tunnel, instead of using them to burn the life of a forest.
All the other children that Nezha looked after were easy. They didn't have tragic backstories or a thirst for revenge. So Nezha had to pay extra attention and care to Redson. Especially since Nezha was one of the people who helped get the samadhi fire out of Redson when he was only an infant.
Nezha stared up at the sky, patiently waiting for Redson to come home. He didn't know what to do with that boy. Redson had the most difficult teenage phase Nezha had ever seen.
"Pfft, even I wasn't this hard to deal with when I was a teenager..." Nezha mumbled.
"Oh really now?"
Nezha jumped as he heard his father, Li Jing's, voice behind him. "Oh, father, it's just you..." Nezha looked back up at the clouds.
"You still worrying about that boy? The one who uses fire powers?" Li Jing asked.
"I-I'm not worried! I'm just-" Nezha's father gave him a raised eye-brow and a smirk, "(sigh) yes, but, not for the reasons you think. We had an argument and he stormed off saying he's gonna kill Sun Wukong. I'm not worried about that, because I know Wukong knows better than to hurt a child. He has one of his own after all.."
Li Jing sat down next to Nezha.
"I'm just worried about his future. I don't want his whole world to revolve around taking revenge on Wukong. Yes, he was in the wrong for killing the Bull King, but Demon Bull King was still too far gone in his madness.."
"Hahaha..."
"What's so funny?"
"You know, you say you weren't as bad a teenager as Redson, but, as your father, I beg to differ. You may not have wanted to enact revenge, but you were a little too heroic for your age at the time. You would always put yourself in danger even when there were other adults that could handle the situation. In a way, Redson reminds me of you..."
"I... Barely remember that..." Nezha said as he looked down. Li Jing patted Nezha on the back, stood up, and left. "Remember to get some sleep, son." He said as he walked off.
"Yeah..." Nezha said.
"Lord Nezha!" A guard called. Nezha immediately stood up.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Redson he-"
"What!? What happened to him!?" Nezha asked as he abruptly got closer to the guard.
"It's not what happened to him, it's what he did to a forest! He set a forest on fire!"
"...He did what?..."
----
To be Continued