Chapter Text
MK arrived on FFM. There was no training scheduled of any kind, but he was there for a purpose.
He reached the entrance to Water Curtain Cave before releasing his glamors and entering. Keeping his breathing even and thinking over what he planned to say to Monkey King. MK entered the main room where his mentor was watching one of the many retellings of his stories with the Little Ones.
Wukong hearing him enter turned to MK, "Hey Bud. What're you doing here? We didn't plan anything today did we?" He asked while getting up, he left the show running to distract the Little Ones, because this seems like it's going to be important.
MK shakes his head, and gestures for Wukong to follow him.
They head to the kitchen area where MK takes a seat first, while Wukong sits across from him. Wukong watches the kids ears and tail twitch before taking a deep breath.
"I don't think I can be your successor in the same way anymore." MK begins, Wukong jolts but before he could say anything, MK held up his hand to signal him to wait, "It's not that I don't want to be your student anymore. I just don't think I will ever be able to be a New Monkey King. Let alone live up to your titles." MK gives a sad smile, not looking at the Monkey King just around him.
"Ever since I gained my Monkey Form, and learned my original purpose, I just don't think that already huge gap in our power is something I could ever close. And the more I learn the more it becomes clear how wide that difference is." MK continues, pulling Ruyi Jingu Bang out and carefully placing it on the table, "So while I still want to be your student, in Monkey things, I don't want to become a Monkey King. Or an odd replacement."
MK finally looks at Wukong who was thinking this over, and trying to come up with some kind of solution or alternative.
Wukong was glad MK still wanted to be his student, but he's not sure if that would keep the kid safe from the possibility of demons coming after him without pause. Because the only reason nothing bad had happened before was from MK still being human, with no sign of true immortality. Now he was a Celestial Monkey Demon and likely seen as highly desirable by others. Just being a 'student' wouldn't be as much protection as 'successor' was.
The silence stretched on longer than MK expected, and he was starting to get nervous. Monkey King didn't stay quiet for this long without reason.
Then Wukong claps his hands together and smiles, "Okay how about this. Instead of just my student, you become the Official Monkey Prince!" He announces instead of asks, "That way the successor role is different. Your not trying to inherit my title, you're learning to help me run my Kingdom, or what's left of it anyway." He mutters the last part, but MK caught it loud and clear with his 4 ears.
"How is that any different or better?!" MK shouts in confusion, "I would still be your successor which is what I don't really want anymore."
Wukong tries to calm him down, "Kid, demons will likely not care either way, but if you become the Prince they would back off more often." MK was still confused and tilts his head trying to process that logic, "Okay, before demons knew you were my successor but didn't think you'd go far, be human and all. But now that your a Monkey, unless you have a solid connection to me other than 'Mentor and Student' they might believe you don't have any kind of protections."
"Huh?" MK was still not quite getting what was being explained. It sounded like Wukong was repeating himself in different ways, and not actually explaining what the difference was.
"You're confusing the poor kid Peaches." Came the voice of Macaque who slipped out of the shadows.
"Then you explain it then!" Wukong shouts in a huff. No he wasn't pouting.
With a sigh, and a shake of his head Macaque starts to explain.
"As a human, other demons might've not seen you as a threat. They just believed you were given a fraction of Wukongs power. But now that you're a Monkey other Demons will see you more favorably, and a bit desirable, and not leave you alone unless you have some status other than just a student." Macaque explains the best he could, he still wasn't sure if it made sense, "Just a 'student' doesn't give the same status protections as Prince."
MK still didn't quite get it, but he understood that if he didn't take up the Prince title, other demons wouldn't leave him alone if Wukong and Macaque weren't nearby.
So he lets out another sigh before asking what the "Upgrade" to becoming Prince would mean for him. Since he wonders how effectively the title would keep the annoying demons away.
From there they started planning with help from the Demon Bull Family. And pray things work out the way they hoped.