[Thanks for the suggestions for this book; I ended up going with what my sibling had suggested-- starting from the beginning and allowing the bonds to form better and really let the angst take place in s2-s3.]

It's over. It's finally over.

They step outside, panting. They take a bite of what little they had left of a butterscotch-cinnamon pie, their eyes meeting the sunset.

Thier smile became a tad more genuine as they watched the sun rise. They chuckled. "Yup. Everything you've ever thought it'd be, Paps." The bony silhouette said to no one in particular. The skeleton sighed, lifting a red heart-looking object in front of them. It glowed brightly, emitting something that really made you feel determined. "Sorry, lady. Looks like I couldn't keep your promise." They said sorrowfully despite a smile on thier face.

The figure placed thier hand on thier chest, absorbing the heart thing. They sighed, the smile on thier face stretching into a half-cringe at the feeling of skin on thier bones-- h/c hair sprouting from thier head. Plain white pupils against black turned into e/c against white.

They looked at thier s/c hand, flipping it frontside and back to see the new appearance. The monster-now-part-human felt the power of a human soul resonate within thier bones as they walked down a path. They paused at a sharp turn, seeing the sunset one last time before turning to the right. They should get an idea of the human world, so that they can get the hang of new 'shortcuts'.

The monster-human strolled down the street five years later in the roads of Megapolis in China. They sport a blue hoodie with deep pockets and a grey/furry hood. Their e/c eyes looked around as they headed to work.

They had been hired at Pigsy's after a few days' wait for results. The person pocketed their hands, fiddling with a soon-to-be used prank in thier fingers. A cheeky grin spread on thier face as they knocked on the door early before opening-- As wanted.

Today they were going to be trained by the only other employee-- a kid named MK or something.

The door opened to reveal-- a pig? Their smile widened a little in amusement as they stepped inside. "'Sup?" Asks the human-monster casually.

The swine demon nods his way. "The kid you're training under is late, so feel free to show yourself around." He says.

The blue hoodied man chuckles, holding out a hand. "Eh, it's fine. My name's Y/n, you?" He asked.

A small glimpse of relief flickers onto Pigsy's face at the offer for a handshake. Finally! He thought as he went to take Y/n's hand.  Someone who isn't immat--

PFFBBBBBT

His thoughts are cut off as a fart echoes in the room. "Ha! Classic whoopee cushion in the hand trick." The new worker laughs lightly, amused. Pigsy begins to fume at both the lateness of his worker and the childishness of his newest-- but then again, barely anyone applied and this person was the least butthole-ish of everyone.

"Careful, Pigsy," Says Y/n, "Might pull a hamstring." They snorted, blowing air into thier whoopee cushion as their shoulders rocked up and down from chuckling.

"Why--" Pigsy began to raise a wooden spoon before the door opened. A man with glasses entered, wearing a sort of red and white traditional outfit with golden accents with gold-rimmed and round framed glasses. His hair was dark and slicked back, and his olive skin complimented his color scheme. His brown eyes glimmering from behind his bespectacled face and there was a wedding band in his left hand.

"Hey, Pigsy!" Greets the stranger. "Tang." Huffs Pigsy. Y/n takes note of Pigsy's matching wedding band that went together with this 'Tang's'. Tang hopped in his seat. "Welp! 12:00 means open time, right?" Chuckles the scholar cheekily.

Pigsy fumed, but went away into his kitchen anyways before shouting loudly--

"KID! WAKE UP, YOU'VE GOT WORK!!" Shouts the stern pig demon. Y/n sits next to Tang, placing thier chin against thier palm with their signature grin.

AND THATS HOW Y/N--

       ended up sitting next to Tang while their 'manager' MK listened to this old legend intently a few days later on the job.

"The thing you need to understand about the old legends is that the story is never finished. There maybe no pages left to turn, but there is always more to the journey. Rising from the Netherworld, the Demon Bull King attacked. No one could stop him, no one could resist. No one except...

the legendary Monkey King."

Tang narrates dramatically, unbeknownst to Pigsy.

"The Monkey King used his magical staff to pick up a nearby mountain. He trapped the Demon Bull King underneath it. The Monkey King sealed the mountain with the staff that no other being could wield, trapping the Demon Bull King forever."

Y/n frowned. They tapped a finger against the wood of the table, recalling how boring it was underground. It was large, of course, and they enjoyed selling hotdogs at thier illegal hot dog stand, but they wanted so badly to help make their brother's dream come true. See the stars, sunset, become a member of the Royal Guard...

Y/n zoned back in. "And with the Demon Bull King gone, civilization was able to advance into the amazing city we now live in. A world of elegant cultures, gentle loving people, a city brimming with five-star cuisine, and all because of the Monkey King." Finished Tang, pushing his glasses up his nose pridefully.

"Oh, that's so good!" Cheers MK, "Monkey King's so cool! He's so strong and handsome!"

"You can even say-- a little bananas." Jokes Y/n. MK grins, "Exactly!" He agrees, recalling Monkey King's irrational and hasty movements.

"Oh, MK. And you thought you knew all of Monkey King's stories." Tang tutted.

"Oh, but I do!" Says MK, hurrying over to a counter to look for something. "I got his whole life documented extensively in this unauthorized autobiography of Monkey King."

He found what he was looking for-- a large and messily made red binder filled with doodles of what was the Monkey King stories. "Written and illustrated by yours truly. Like I knew he was born from a stone, and live behind a waterfall with his sweet little baby monkey friends! And- and- and oh!"

"Ha," Snorted Y/n, "Nerrrrd." They chuckled, pointing an accusing finger at MK while Tang was grateful for something about 'pearls of wisdom'?.

"Well, you know the deal. One story, one free bowl of zha jiang mian. Hmm?" He hums expectantly.

MK makes a quick "oh!" in realization. "Free noodles! Yep, on it. How heavy do you think a mountain is? Compare to like-" He asks while going to grab the Ramen.

"Careful, kiddo-" Warns Y/n just in time for a spoon to be thrown at MK.

"FREE NOODLES!?" Shouts an offended voice. "No one gets free noodles here at Pigsy's! I'm not running a charity here, Tang!" Shouts the pig demon.

"Ah, but, Pigsy, I was paying with wisdom." Answers Tang with a calm smile towards his husband.

"Yeah? Well, wisdom don't pay the rent, you freeloader!" Pigsy scolds before turning to MK and Y/n. Y/n raised his hands in mock surrender. "You've been slacking off all morning! I've got a dozen orders that need to go out, so quit slacking and get packing!"

"Yeah, I was just about to take my break, so..." Trails off MK, ultimately triggering Pigsy into a rant.

"Break? Break?! There's no break in war! I need workers. Soldiers in the army of Pigsy's Noodles, home of the world's longest noodles. How else am I gonna expand my business into enemy territory?" Pigsy shouts, bonking heads with a hog that worked across the street.

"Uh, you mean across the street?" Asks MK. "Hey, hey," Nudges Y/n, "If he gets heated enough, maybe we'll smell bacon." They joke softly enough for only MK to hear.

"I stand by my statement! Now hurry up!" Demands the swine before spotting his husband trying to sneak towards the previously mentioned bowl of Ramen. "Hey! Get back here, you coward!!" He shouts.

Tang yelps, "No, Pigsy!" He pleads, protecting his precious noodles. "I want my money!"

Y/n and MK sat in the TukTuk, with the noodles safely in Y/n's lap. It emitted a warm temperature, the thermos bag doing its job by keeping the noodles in a fresh state. Both Y/n and MK have on headphones, MK having an over-the-ear pair and Y/n sporting a pair of ear buds.

They slow to thier last stop, each pair of eyes landing on an ominous construction site. "Huh. Did someone put thier order wrong?" Asks Y/n aloud. The monster-human snorts. "Sounds like they have a case of noodle brains." They joke.

As they exit the tuktuk and grab the noodle order, humming thier respective favorite songs, they have no idea who was in there, and what they were doing.

Hearing a few voices, Y/n stops and stretches out an arm to stop MK. MK stops, pulling off his headphones while Y/n took out thier ear buds.

"You hear that?" Asks the joker as the voices grow louder when they advance a bit more.

[GASPS!! A NEW FIC!! Teehee ♡♡ ]