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lithirin · 13 days ago

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Heart behind the lie # 1 : Wounded beast

Let's go, I'm going to repost all chapters of this fic on Tumblr. It's gonna be a ride.

For those who don't know the fic, it's about Wukong becoming feral after LBD possession and Macaque having to take care of him even if he's at first unwilling.

TW : blood and injuries

There was a time, long ago, when he was feared. A time when he was the enemy hiding in the shadows, the killer capable of roaming every nook and cranny of this earth. Capable of hearing the deepest secrets of gods and demons alike, and brought them to his King's feet, whispering long forgotten truth in his golden ears.

A time when the sun still loved him enough to share its warmth with him, to give purpose to every pump of blood flowing through his veins. He had been naive then, too young to see beyond what was given, beyond the kind smiles thrown his way. Satisfied to be nothing more than the shadow of a fool, the silhouette of a King not deserving of his throne.

He wondered if the men that feared him would still be struck by terror if they saw him again. Chained and battered, a mere puppet at the service of a witch fooling herself with dreams forever unachievable. Would they fear him, or would they pity him, seeing him as what he truly was, and perhaps what he always had been : a broken fool.

When he crawled out of his grave, digging through layers of piled dirt with broken claws, he promised to never let himself fall for kindness again. He picked his shattered heart, giving it as much tenderness as he could, and stuffed it in his chest. He appeased his crying, bleeding heart with whispers of vengeance, and an oath to never trust again. It didn't soothe the pain tearing him apart, it didn't soothe the memory of him. It only gave his heart a reason to beat, and not die pitifully seconds after his rebirth, if you could call this wretched life a rebirth.

He broke this promise when the kid asked him to be a warrior. All his will, his oath of vengeance, shattered before a trusting gaze.

He fell for kindness, again. Maybe he was doomed to never learn, to never understand that trust was a lie, trust gave to him, at least. He was the shadows, the one you should never trust, the one you always betrayed.

He betrayed his own heart, and took the hands of a child as naive as he once had been. Repeating, again and again, like a dog chained to a never ending circle, the same mistakes. Do not follow after the hero, this should be simple enough. Their golden steps were not made for you, you were not made for the light. But every oath, every promise, meant nothing in the face of his own weak heart. Hope was unkillable, he learnt, at least within himself. He couldn't help but fall for their tricks, for their soft eyes and their blinding kindness, for the hope of it being true.

And there he was, fighting the great sage equal to heaven, the one he once followed willingly, and losing against him.

It was bitter, to realize your own weakness, what you had become after eons of being a ghost. The Diyu shattered him, and the Bone Demon didn't take the time to collect all the pieces of his broken soul. His strength was a mere illusion, a trick he conjured up to fool the strong, a shadow of what he had once possessed.

He was an illusionist, a great pretender.

The only thing keeping him alive was his instinct, the sensations he forged in the midst of battle. Macaque had one been a warrior, his body, even ruined, remembered those times. He evaded the fists of the possessed King, wincing everytime death grazed him. He didn't need to win, he wasn't sure he could anyway, he only had to gain time. Enough for the kid to retrieve his weapon, and bring the King to his senses.

Because he was the only one capable of doing it, wasn't he? Sun Wukong made him bleed without any speck of remorse, his grunts and cries were nothing to him, but a mere word of the kid, a human he knew only for a few months, was enough to break the witch's hold over his mind.

He buried the thought before he could indulge it, envy wasn't something he should feel, especially for his killer's love. This was nothing but the echo of a long gone past. He was only surprised by Sun Wukong's quick fondness, nothing more. It had to be nothing more if he wanted to preserve his sanity, especially in the midst of a fight.

Macaque rolled around, evading each of the sage attacks. He ran, claws ratting on the floor, ears erect, capturing each sound echoing nearby. His heart was beating against his skin, a traitorous thing that overflowed with fear.

The King grabbed his tail and threw him around. Macaque crashed on sharp rocks, breath knocked out of his lungs. One tip pierced his skin, burying itself in blood and flesh, tearing his bones apart. Macaque slapped his hands on his mouth, smothering his cries, killing them before they could pass his bruised lips. He needed to get up. No matter the pain. He didn't have the time to let the suffering fester and poison his mind.

The ebony monkey tried to slip in the shadows, in safety, but he didn't have enough magic for that anymore. The shadows melted under his claws, disappearing, forever out of reach. If he had more time, he would worry about this, after all his whole existence depended on his magic, life wasn't flowing in his veins anymore, magic was. But Macaque couldn't worry about this, not when the sage was running towards him on all four with fiery eyes and claws coated in his blood.

The ebony monkey wheezed, blood dripping on his lips, and scrambled to rise. Death was approaching, he could feel it, he lived through it one time. And like the first time Diyu claimed him, the one putting him underground was a being coated in gold with eyes once familiar, and cared for.

But Macaque didn't want to die, not again. Perhaps, his body remembered the torture it endured in the Diyu and was scared to live through it again, it acted on its own, gathering every last speck of strength he possessed and punching the King. His knuckles crashed upon golden skin, claws piercing pale blue eyes, and his last drop of magic pushed the sage away.

Sun Wukong crashed a few meters away, before a sharp cliff. Macaque felt nauseous, without magic his body crumbled on itself, each beat of his heart painful enough to make him cry. He heard the sage groan, an animalistic cry piercing through the air. That wasn't normal, the sage never spoke while possessed by the witch, voice frozen by her hold.

The macaque watched, still, the sage slowly rising to his feet. He moved strangely, arms and legs trembling, unable of holding his weight. He fell, and fell, struggling to stand up, like a puppet with cut strings, trying to walk on his own for the first time. Sun Wukong walked on all four, moving carefully, sniffing his surroundings, limbs still trembling.

Macaque tried to rise once again, but his legs failed him, and he stumbled on the ground. The sage turned towards him, ears erect, and face still marred by his claws, long glittering red slashes piercing his eyes. Sun Wukong hissed, fur rising, fangs out. He looked like a beast, perhaps he was in this moment.

"You're trying a new thing ?" Mocked the macaque, trying to speak with the witch, to make sense of this situation. But silence remained.

The sage only hissed louder, backing away slowly, like Macaque was the one to be feared, like the sage was the one who needed to escape.

" Is this a mind game ? You think I'll fall for that !" Sneared the ebony monkey, but like before, nothing answered him. If he could, Macaque would use his ears and try to listen for the whereabouts of the witch, but he didn't have enough strength to do so, and the only thing he heard was the howling winds, his own heart and the sage hisses.

Sun Wukong kept backing away, slowly approaching the edge of the cliff.

"You're gonna fall." Hissed the ebony monkey, but it was like the sage couldn't hear him, couldn't even understand him.

The sage looked around, groaning, like something was trying to attack him, a ghost only he could saw. Macaque could see his eyes, flickering between blue, gold and red, a battle was taking place in those irises, perhaps as violent as this one. The King cried, his own claws piercing his heads, blood flowed in his russet fur. He backed away, and fell out of the cliff, a frail, scared chirp stumbling out of his lips.

Macaque ran. He ignored the ache in his body, and ran towards the cliff, pushed by an instinct he thought he buried long ago. He ran, and jumped after the King, falling with him in the howling winds. There were a number of things he could blame for this foolish act. The pain that rendered him mad. The kid and his eyes full of trust he didn't want to shatter. The weird state of the King, and the need to defeat the witch. But in the end, he knew this act was nothing but the last echo of his feelings for the sage, the instinct of a shadow wanting to protect the one giving him respite.

The sage was curled up like a newborn, falling without even trying to call upon his cloud, or any other powers that could save him from pain. The macaque caught him rather easily, and held him closer, pushing him in his bloody chest. Sun Wukong battled him, perhaps not wanting to be saved by his nemesis, a fitting prettiness for a being as prideful as the great sage.

"Stop moving !" Growled the ebony monkey, and the sage instantly calmed down, looking at him with round eyes, like he didn't expect to be caught by him of all people.

Macaque lost himself in ruby eyes, savage and untamed, rivers of blood as gorgeous as the dawning sky. The sage chirped, a questioning, faint sound, lost in the winds. He chirped back, pushed by his most shameful instincts, a sound that was meant to be reassuring, but sounded like a dying dove. Sun Wukong seemed to appreciate his chirp nonetheless, he curled around his chest, golden tail tying itself on his bony hips.

Macaque took most of the fall, he crashed upon the earth, his nemesis cradled in his arms like a mother would hide his infant from pain. He groaned, bones shattering on impact, flesh torn, fur dripping with warm red. He sullied the golden bundle cuddled on his chest, blood spoiling perfect locks, locks cherished by the sun itself. Why did he go after the sage ? Sun Wukong had enough immortality to feed armies of man, while he was a walking corpse latching on life like a flea would latch on a dog.

Why was he still following after his killer ?

Macaque knew the pain was making him delirious, at least that was the only explanation he could muster, because Sun Wukong would never look at him with such worry, not anymore. He was bleeding out, and mayhaps this was an illusion his dying mind conjured up, something to appease his pain.

He is going to die in the arms of this man, again. But maybe dying was kinder than living in shame, weak and incapable of killing the one that took everything from him.

Macaque closed his eyes, tiredness gnawing at his shattered bones. His ears flickered, bothered by frantic chirps, and worried coos.

"Shut up." Muttered the ebony monkey, but whoever made those sounds didn't listen, and only cried louder.

Warmth fell upon him, a fur he didn't feel since centuries, a scent he didn't smell since before his downfall. He let those pitiful illusions embrace him, and lost himself, letting his mind fall in the darkest of slumber.

Memories came to him.

Flashes of another life, of another him, someone so white, so full of foolish hope, naive to the bone.

"Isn't it perfect !" Laughed the King sitting on his side. A being made of gold, with eyes full of stars, and smile full of white fangs.

"What ? The cliff ? You saw it hundred of times." He said, his voice smooth, flowing serenely like the course of a river, holding nor malice, nor hatred.

"Come on, Liu'er, you're always so grumpy." Groaned the golden monkey, he rolled his eyes and gestured to the cliff, like what he was trying to say was obvious, etched on nature itself.

"I don't see it." Snorted the macaque, before him was only a cliff, a sky, a sea, he didn't understand what was beautiful in such normal views. What could catch the eye of his King.

"You're serious? Liu'er, it beautiful !" Whined the King, he latched to him, golden fur merging with white locks.

Macaque shuddered, embraced by warmth, a novelty for a shadow as cold as him. He turned towards the King and felt his heart leap out of his chest. Sun Wukong was beautiful, lightened by the clear light of eternal summer, eyes struck by the sea blue, fur wet with sunlight.

"Beautiful." Whispered the macaque, bewitched by the golden being at his side.

"So now you understand what I'm saying ?" Chuckled the golden monkey, his own eyes lost in the sea before them.

He never answered, throat strangled with unsaid words, a fondness he would hide forever.

But Shihou didn't exist anymore, devoured by another, by the great sage.

Macaque woke up frantically, nerves alight, and skin burned by sweat and blood. Everything was a blur, a blend of shapes and colors, of echos and cracks. He stayed a long time in this state, torn between blurriness and clearness. He was in something soft, perhaps clean sheets, and this alone made him question his sanity. Was this a dream ? Because he knew for a fact he didn't touch a sheet since before his death.

At last, blurriness began to fade away, allowing him to see in what kind of place he landed. Did they threw his corpse on a street, atop the waist of a bedding shop ? Macaque was quite surprised to see a room, a white, lavish room, ornated with dragons. He was on a bed, bandaged from top to bottom, body aching everywhere. He couldn't move, each of his nerves was frozen by pain, so he simply stayed still, eyes glued to the white ceiling.

After a bit, someone entered the room, a maid or something ressembling a servant, with clothes sewn with dragons, seemingly a recurring theme in this place. The maid looked at him with round eyes, before darting outside like a frightened deer. Huh, he didn't thought he looked that ugly, this hurts his self-esteem a little. However, he couldn't stay awake until the master, or mistress, of this place deigned to show themself, he succombed to slumber, again.

The second time he woke up, he was struck by the worst headache on earth, surely even drunken teenager didn't woke up with this sort of pain. He groaned, feeling like his whole skull ached, and rolled in the sheet. His slight movement was meet with more pain, so he decided to simply curl on himself, and let whoever put him here do whatever they saw fit. He wasn’t in any state to fight, anyway.

"Don't move, you have several broken bones." The voice was soft, a light whisper, full of warmth. He knew this voice, he turned, painfully, towards the one sitting on his bedside and met the strained smile of the kid.

"Hey kiddo, you're not dead." He sounded like a sick seagull, but at least he could speak.

"No, we won."

He thought victory would taste better, better than pain, aches and tiredness at least.

"Hm, where am I ?" Asked the macaque.

"In Mei's place, we tried the hospital but they didn't keep you for long, they don't deal with mistyc stuff, apparently." Huffed the boy, like he was upset on his behalf, which was a novelty.

"I'm too tough for them." Chuckled the macaque, he quickly regreted it, his stomach didn't like to be shaken, it seemed. The boy stood up, hands hovering above him, but never touching, like he was afraid of shattering him.

"Take it easy. You've been asleep for a long time."

"How long ?"

"One week."

"Huh, I've been asleep longer."But the boy didn't get his death joke, maybe he shouldn't joke about it, whatever, this wasn't important. Macaque noticed bandages on the boy's arms. "The Bone Demon got you ?" MK furrowed his eyebrows, lost, before understanding what he meant.

"Oh no, no, she's gone, for good."

"Great." He would never admit the relief washing over him at those words, the sheer joy of no longer being chained by another.

"I, huh, I got those from someone else."

"Never thought Wukong would let anyone do that." Sneared the ebony monkey, but surprisingly enough the boy didn't jump on his mentor defense. He only stood here, eyes downcast, sadness etched on his face. "Where's your mentor, anyway ? I doubt he would like you being with me."

"He's… elsewhere." Answered the kid, this was suspicious, but Macaque didn't want to dwell on Wukong whereabouts, the sage coud take care of himself.

"Okay." And the discussion ended here, the kid rose after a bit, and left him with a faint “take care, I'll come back”.

Macaque only nodded, wondering when they would throw him out now that he was awake. His state was strange, he shouldn't be able to function properly after loosing so much magic, but now that he focused on this, he could feel something in him, something foreign.

There was magic flowing in his veins, but it wasn't his. Something more celestial, warm, almost scorching. Whathever it was, it feeded his soul and his skin, forcing life to flow again. It was only a question of time before he devoured every ounce of this foreign magic though. He knew well that he didn't have enough strength to repleat himself naturally, and that this foreign source was too faint to keep him in the mortal plane forever.

Right now, he was like a bottomless pit, every inch of magic would be devoured to keep him stable, and now that the witch that regularly fed him was long gone, he was destined to fade away.

To die, a second time.

It was only a matter of when. Would he die the day after tomorrow, still incapable of leaving those pitiful sheets, or would he die inside the wreck he called a dojo, after weeks of suffering.

Whatever he chose to do, his future ended in pain.

When the boy came back, Macaque didn't feel like trying. He did nevertheless, because he was weak at heart, and he didn't want to disappoint the first person to ever show him a speck of kindness after eons of solitude. His own weakness disgusted him, but he was too weary for wearing the spiteful mask he created. He tried to walk, tried to stretch, and after days of slow recovering, and patient exercising, he was able to stumble through corridors without any help.

"Do you hate Monkey King ?" Asked the boy, one day, while they did umpteith exercises.

"Yes, I do." Because what else was he supposed to answer, the thing he felt for Wukong was so bitter, it could only be hatred.

"… But would you do me a favor ?" This was tricky, he didn't owe anything, in the proper way, but he was recovering inside the dragon girl house. And she was at the boy beck and call.

"What favor ?"

"Would you take care of him ?"

"Wukong is capable of taking care of himself, besides I don't think he wants my help."

"It's complicated." Sighed the boy, arms littered with more bandages. "Maybe it's better to show you."

Macaque followed after the boy, only because he wanted to see Wukong at he's lowest and nothing more. They walked in long, lavish corridors, and finally reached something oddly ressembling dungeons, but more comfortable than the old staves he was accustomed to. The kid hesitated before a door, a heavy, chained door, marred with claws mark. He finally opened it, and they entered a large room, completely wrecked.

The bed was teared open, blankets thrown on the floor like battered corpses, what must have been a dresser was broken beyond repair, shards of mirrors littered the floor, and the walls were clawed with hatred.

"Monkey King ?" Whispered the kid, he walked cautiously inside the hornet's nest, and knealed before the bed. "Are you there ?" The boy tried to reach beneath the bed, but the moment his hand extended, sharp claws teared his skin open.

MK yelped and stumbled back, he didn't look surprised, only pained and disappointed. Holding his bleeding arms with eyes full of uncried tears.

"What is this ?" Asked the macaque with a tight voice.

"It's Monkey King."

"You're kidding ? This is not-"

"We found him like this, according to Red Son the possession wrecked his mind."

"So what, he's crazy now ?" Snorted the ebony monkey.

"He's scared. He didn't want to part from you when we found the both of you. But you needed help so we… "

"You don't need to finish this." Sighed the ebony monkey, not liking the waver in the boy's voice. "What do you want from me ?"

"Could you at least try to help him, please." Pleaded the kid.

"… I promise nothing, kiddo."

"It's alright, as long as you try."

Macaque knealed before the bed, and took a look beneath it. Two fiery eyes watched him from the darkness, Sun Wukong was curled up against the wall, tail lashing and ears pined back. Macaque gulped, and tried to extend his arm, the sage hissed, fangs glinting in the dim light. But then, the beast sniffed, snout furrowing furiously. And cautiously, like a wounded tiger, Sun Wukong crawled towards him. He growled when the ebony monkey dared to move, and as such Macaque stood perfectly still.

Sun Wukong sniffed his hand, snout brushing against his open palm. His eyes extended, turning almost dark, and he cooed curiously. Macaque answered with a weak chirp, something rough and quick. Sun Wukong chirped back, a bell-like sound echoing in the silence. Then, the great sage crawled out of the bed and circled him, sniffing him, and eyeing him suspiciously. Once satisfied, the beast sat on his lap, and curled on himself.

Macaque gulped, looking at the beast curled in his lap with fear, hatred and pity.

This smelled like trouble.

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lithirin · 25 days ago

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Okey! Here's a little bit of laura on my au, which @sarych drew a comic

Ahem

In modern Macaque, he is the hater who constantly shits, idk, Wukong streamer, but when things got bad in Wukong’s life, he gloated at first, but became the main support. Although quite sarcastic, but he stayed... And sarcastic, but still...

Fuck that asshole, no, wait, don't go! ©Wukong

Macaque, of course, is a schmuck, but he's a good schmuck ©Wukong

***

«Can you see me clearly? You can hear me, right? Wonderful! Welcome, my dear children! Grandpa Sun, or the Beautiful Monkey King Sun Wukong, welcomes you to today's stream! And today we will have a game based on the novel "Journey to the West"! If you remember, the majority voted for her, although I'm not surprised anymore!»

There was a bright smile on the golden-haired monkey's lips. The chat that was hanging on the other screen started to come to life.

"Six-eared Macaque: +15 immortal peaches: naturally, I don't recommend shit, unlike some"

Wukong's smile became strained, and he involuntarily leaned closer to the camera.

«What people! This is our great and clever Six-eared Macaque! Have you finally decided to get out of your hole? Had you already accepted your loss?»

Wukongs_wife_: Oh my God, he's back

_i_love_sun: Oh, this stream is definitely going to be fun

im_not_red_boy: I bet old man Sun will start discussing to him half the time again.

_Shue_fan2: but it's definitely worth it, we need to make popcorn!

im_not_red_boy: _Shue_fan2, I'm with you, it's definitely necessary to do without it

MK_fan1: Oh! MACAQUE! You haven't been here for a long time!

Nenzha_: Hmm, something remains the same

Mei_bf_MK: Dude, we already thought that Wukong found you and killed you.

Six_Ear_Macaque: Huh, I'd like to see that.

"Six-eared Macaque: +15 immortal peaches: I lost the battle, but not the war, peach brain"

Wukong's eye twitched involuntarily, this asshole!

***

"Big_fan_Sun_Wukong: +5 peaches: Wukong, you are my sunshine! Thank you for delighting me with your wonderful streams, you are my outlet in this gray life!"

Mei_bf_MK: Awww, how sweet!

Big_fan_Sun_Wukong: Heh

Big_fan_Sun_Wukong: I wanted to send an immortal peach, but dude, $200 for 1 piece is a lot for my wallet

_sheng_shen: $200 APIECE?!

_STOP_IT_MAC: Wait...

yuanqi_: Macaque once sent 100 peaches, and more than once...

Six_Ear_Macaque: and?

zhuzha_fan: dude, you...

_Shue_fun2: his flirtation is elite, you don't understand, you just remember those poems under those donations

im_not_red_boy: I printed out each of them so that I don't forget when I want to fuck off someone a nice or scold them.

Six_Ear_Macaque:... It's quite unexpected, but it's nice, you can immediately see an educated person.

Gold_koi: Guys, is he really a hater? I'm just newbie and I'm not getting into the gist of it yet...

_Shue_fun2: Welcome Gold_koi to our family! Yes, Six_Ear_Macaque is definitely a hater, well, at least he was, now he's just a sarcastic jerk

Six_Ear_Macaque: nuuhh. I never stopped being one. I'm just showing pity. Also. There are kids here.

_Shue_fan2: come on! We all know!

"Six-eared Macaque: +15 immortal peaches: I thought your idiocy wasn't contagious, but looking at your admin, I have doubts."

"Six-eared Macaque: +15 immortal peaches: Peach Brain, only you could take a team of characters who are useless to this boss because he has immunite to their skills"

- Go to hell Mac, it's not my fault that I ONLY have 7 characters! I'm going to kill the boss anyway!

A few hours later

- Ha! See? I won! PHYSICAL STRENGTH! Hahaha! Damn it, I'm so cool!

Wukong's beaming face looked at him from the monitor screen. A soft grin touched the Macaque's lips

"Six-eared Macaque: +15 golden peaches of immortality: idiot"

_Shue_fan2:... Holy shit.

_Shue_fan2: I take back my words about the sarcastic jerk. HE'S A FUCKING SIMP.

Min_min: simp? Who?

_Shue_fan2: Six-eared! 1 golden peach is worth 50k!!

_jaid_bunny_: I wish I had such a hater

_zhuzha_fan: no one would refuse such a hater

the_Spider_Queen: Six_Ear_Macaque when is the wedding?

Six_Ear_Macaque: I'd rather die than marry this

***

OH, AND THEN THERE'S THE SCENE WHERE WUKONG DID A CO-OP STREAM WITH A MACAQUE.

AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE SAW MACAQUE LIVE.

Wukong before the start of the stream:

Wukong: Oh, come on, just admit that you're too shy to show yourself!

Macaque: Are you an idiot? I wrote, I'm setting up the camera.

Wukong: yes, yes, of course

Wukong rolled his eyes, occasionally glancing at the nearby chat monitor.

A soft, velvety voice sounded in the headphones: Are you satisfied?

A monkey with dark skin and black fur looked at him from the screen, golden arrows were in the corners of his eyes, and a red butterfly mask framed his face, his lips were stretched in a grin.

Wukong's mouth involuntarily opened. What the hell. Why the hell is this jerk so handsome?! He felt his face heating up.

_Shue_fan2: Whoo, well, Wukong-exe flew off the stratosphere

Mei_bf_MK: Damn it, Mac, you're a handsome man!

MK_fan1: Wow

A soft laugh rang out in the headphones, sending shivers down his spine.

The macaque smiled coquettishly and put his hand on his chest, saying: thank you. So what? Wukong?

Fuck

*The translation was interrupted*