All the animals, big and small!

For a few days Bansho chose to extend his welcome in the jungle. Last time we had seen the monkey, he had fought a fox guy and had apparently and absolutely, perhaps even completely obliterate him through the use of his strongest technique yet; the Kamehameha. This was merely a side effect of just how strong Bansho had become in a few minutes, and this left him hanging wanting for more. He needed to grow stronger, but there were just so few opportunities... maybe he was too isolated to begin with, and had to kind of explore a little more. Maybe he could figure out something if he could figure out how to go back to that weird planet over there, Deeznats or whatever the name was.

Besides the weird person there Jinx gave him a funny necklace, it tasted okay though for the most part, maybe he could get another one. He did not feel like he got a good taste the first time around, however it was shaped like a banana so he believed it would be perfectly edible. Naught happened to him, so it definitely was edible. However he could barely find any good food outside of berries right now. He could literally find no peaches whatsoever, this was by far the worst.

During his travels however, he stumbled upon several strange figures that had been walking down the same path but from the opposite direction, they were running apparently. He did not recognize them, but they were just some Earthlings with heavy garb and what looked like to be firearms like he saw in the movies back home.

Once they spotted Bansho apparently, they pondered their next course of action. The fact alone that they could not get their previous prey had left them quite annoyed and on edge, and what was presented in front of them was yet another animal albeit one that looked far more different than most monkeys, nearly human even. Perhaps people would pay more to watch him in a zoo cage! Thus they readied their firearms and Bansho looked quite confused, surprised even.

Until a voice in his head simply whispered.

"C'mon... you are better than them. Just kill them."

Bansho for a moment hesitated, but a moment later when they fired the majority of them suddenly found themselves whacked violently each against the same tree. While not mortally wounded, it looked like the monkey did not pull back said punches, but he did indeed hesitate. He did not even notice whether or not someone actually told him to do that, he guessed he just thought to do that? Ah, weird stuff... right.

"Right, right. Anyway..."

He moved on without a second thought, as they were mostly knocked out in a single fist each one of them and thus he continued his path onward in the search of anything remotely tasty, but to be fair he also had to practice and get better with magic... and also grow stronger, man this was a mess. However the longer Bansho walked, and the more his eyesight began to catch something interesting; a big t-rex, perhaps with proper care it could have been an amazing meal instead of all those funny berries.

However, he also noticed that the creature was not alone, rather there was what appeared to be another human being just sitting nearby. He blinked for a while, the scene looked not to be that random and there was probably some meaning to all of this, but he figured it out in like after a few moments, thus he made his move and approached them.

"Heyo! You eatin' that?"

He asked, with a friendly smile.

Thread Power Level: 10,577

WC: 613
Total WC: 613

By any and all means usually Bansho was not this kind of needy before. You could say for certain that he had indeed been a sheltered child for the most and good part of his childhood, rarely getting to actually growing accustomed to any one other than his own mentor and caretaker and not to mention the fact that most notions of politics and other kinds of government were pretty much lost to him. He did not know what a society was like besides its most primal concepts such as friendships, enemies, strength and furthermore.

There was no fault to that, in the end he also chose not to really visit or spend more time than he needed in any city. For most of them were far too much noisy and usually far more polluted than any creatures should actually have to witness. Therefore Bansho and his own liking of any city out there was pretty zero, he figured the only way he would actually get to like a city was if most of the buildings were made of banana and peaches, yes that would perhaps be the most incredible outcome in Bansho's life that would even make him rethink about living in a modernized world.

That right there would have been an example of how his mind was simply made this way. It was indeed built only to host the most stupid thoughts some times, but not stupid as in asinine or really fantastical, indeed he would not lie that he figured at some point he could just take over the whole world and make it better with his own two hands since everyone else was just far too much of an idiot to actually do it themselves. But then whenever Bansho would stop thinking about the details, he eventually abandoned the intrusive thoughts and would just begin to monch on some peaches... hmm, peaches.

"Eatin, yeah. Like, eating. You ever eat? Can you eat? What are you? Ooh, you are like some kind of epic creature like me are you not? I see the cool ears."

Well. He did not really know any other word for this rather than 'epic creature'. It was not like the monkey thought of himself as an alien or anything like that, but there was no doubt that him and most other Earthlings were completely different types, like the sun and the moon. Most of his kind was however not really all that different, the ones with the most animal like features out there were simple people just like any other guy on this world. Your average Joe, was nothing more than just a person.

So maybe that was also how he thought of himself as an epic creature. Therein existed the desire to be something greater than any other Earthling that ever existed, whether or not that would have been possible it was actually hard to tell given the fact that he barely had any kind of chance with a lot of the fighters out there it seemed... indeed there was like he had yet to break through some barrier right now that was just far too high for him right now, but of course the desire to do so was there, simply it was not all that easy right now.

Still, he did have some kind of innate strength anyway. Something that the likes of those hunters he passed by a few minutes ago, did not have, and when they threatened him they simply got what they gods damned deserved, it was not like his fault or anything. They should have known before picking a dumb fight. Pick stupid fights, win stupid prizes. In their case it was a few broken bones or a nose, it was not actually a big deal - he could have done way worse.

"Ahh... wait, why not? Why are you just sitting next to him like that?"

Bansho looked at her but he simply could not find a reason for this. Even the beast looked at Bansho like he should have rightfully looked at the most epic creature between the two of them, for only one of them had the strength to eat the other. To be fair, it was just what the dinosaur would have done to Bansho if only the roles would be reversed right now. That was not just because he believed dinosaurs were evil, it was simply that; animal instinct. It was something that both of them had and at this point he wondered whether this new curious fellow actually had it in her, maybe she was not even the kind of Earthling he made her out to be after all.

"You can literally bet he would be trying to eat me right now if he could."

It was not like all that strange after all... so who knew what was actually going on in this stranger's head, but what he knew was that all in all, he needed to kind of try and get some food other than that garbage he had been eating thus far. Berries and whatnot, he did not find them tasty in the slightest, instead he required something far greater. Damn, if only he had not absolutely vaporized that fox, at least he could be eating some of his food right now.

Well, maybe there was not actually something off about him as of recently but it was not like his entire personality had gone to shit, rather he had far more intrusive thoughts than usual. Hmm, perhaps... he was just hungry? That was indeed a possibility, perhaps the greatest of them all as he yet yearned to feast upon something juicy and tasty. Eventually Bansho just turned over to stare at Rhapsody when instead she would offer food of her own, his head tilted ever so slightly and very faintly so when she suggested indeed to give him food.

"Wait, for real?"

At once the monkey simply disappeared and once more reappeared next to her, no this was not high speed or some weird technique, he just plopped onto the spot she designed for him that fast, with curious eyes while he leaned closer to kind of try and get a glimpse of that box she was holding.

WC: 613
Total WC: 1655

The one and only monkey looked over the dinosaur, with clear intent, he was sure that he spoke the truth and the truth alone... but sincerely the animal did not look like in such high spirits either right now, which he found quite strange to begin with, why was he not eating this blonde lady too? Had dinosaurs suddenly lost their grit all of a sudden? Strange, very strange... unless.

He narrowed his eyes a little and instead inspected Rhapsody closer, could it be that she was one of those demons that he used to dream about? Hmm, well he did not know if taming dinosaurs was one of their abilities, and Nervan told him that he should not be mean, so all he did was just give her the benefit of the doubt for now and make sure she would not pull off any odd moves without him noticing.

"Fruit? Like me? Hmm, fat chance, this guy has the kind of teeth to eat big beasts."

Bansho said, he did not trust anything the dinosaur said, he had experience with these animals after all. But instead what Rhapsody unveiled, had Bansho go completely bananas to the point where he leaned forward and attempted to grab the contents of the box.

"Ooohh, you are the best! Best best! Gimme!"

He stopped all of a sudden and looked at her confusedly so.

"Parfwha?"

WC: 232
Total WC: 1887

Bansho knew that the rex guy was definitely shady. No one knew the laws of the jungle better than the King! No, not a lion, obviously Bansho. He was not a ruler yet but he would definitely be in the near future, just some patience and work would go a long way surely. Still even if Bansho agreed not to hurt this animal just to respect and not having to kick this potential witch's butt, he would keep his eyes open... and destroy the dinosaur at the earliest sighting of misconduct.

Yes, even while she revealed the peaches, he was still very wary of the dinosaur, but in the end he just pulled away and looked over that creature. Then back to Rhapsody and he just shook his head.

"I am a monkey. I do not speak dino. I do not even know what a parfwha is. But okay, I want to see it now."

The monkey scratched his ear in anticipation but then eventually his mouth gaped once more at the sighting of the peach he had been offered, he snatched it and then relaxed back, laying down as a cloud materialized right behind him, embracing him like a massive fluffy bed.

"Yum!..."

He exclaimed, while his teeth began tearing apart the fruit with delight, each and every crunch and bite felt incredible with the juice and freshness of the fruit. Bansho sighed and stretched his limbs before he gulped the peach down.

"I am just passing by. I am the best student of the Turtle School, and soon everyone will know me as the Handsome Monkey King, Bansho!"

Bansho introduced himself with convinction, similarly to how he learned during his fight with Xiaolan and then just crossed his arms behind his head and used them as a pillow to relax into the cloud, whilst one ear made sure the dinosaur would not move any closer, almost as if his mind's eye was ever ready to jump the creature.

"And you are? You kind of act like a witch. Are you a witch?"

WC: 344
Total WC: 2231

Bansho of course did not mean the term witch maliciously in any kind, of course to him it was merely a magic user- so in some retrospective fashion he could also call himself a sorcerer, except the fact that he was a monkey took priority over all, therefore he was not a sorcerer... but a monkey, indeed. But this one was somehow strange, other than using magic, she just talked with animals and stuff. He could not do it, and he was an animal, therefore he did not see her being a cat as the missing link to his doubts.

"A witch is like, a woman that is very good with magic. That is pretty much it."

He stated, but if she did not see herself as a witch, well, maybe that did not count. Undoubtedly maybe for anyone to be classified anything like that, maybe they also needed to kind of believe in that 'life choice career path' kind of deal, if she did not see herself as a witch then, well, the point was kind of just a shot in the sky.

"A cat, hmm. Well, maybe you are like me. Monkeys do not look, talk or do the stuff I can do. So maybe we are not that different, except you are a cat."

Out of curiosity, now that she made a point out of it, Bansho would also attempt trying to gently poke her feline ears with his index finger just to get a feel, because he felt like it, he was quite instinctive. Anyhow eventually Rhapsody just went on with the whole cooking process, which to him was quite... uh. He did not really get it, most he could do was just harvest fruit or meat and then cook it, otherwise he did not really have a sense for this kind of thing.

The one exception was when he lived with the hermit, but otherwise that was not so much 'elaborated' cooking rather massive amounts of nutritious food such as rice, meat and so on.

Bansho did take pride that Rhapsody thought he was interesting, alas that was pretty much part of his ego in a certain sense where he enjoyed the feeling, but even then at some point he began to wonder if this was really it. He did not really feel like he had made any real connections out there, besides like two people, therefore whether anyone found him interesting well, did not usually amount to much. So he wondered what it was really about.

"The Turtle School, uh, well it is a martial arts style. I am a fighter and stuff, but well, so far I have not been able to do what I want to do. Feels like I am limited by something."

She addressed his clouds and just quirked a brow- friend? He did not ever find the clouds to be conscious, rather they responded to his whims and desires, almost as if they were a part of himself.

"Dunno, they just appear! I do not think they have a mind of their own, it is more like they just listen to me."

Bansho eventually poked his head out and fetched the strange meal that she made for him, well, in any case he did not ponder much and simply shoved it fully inside his mouth and tasted it- of course it was very flavorful and sweet, alas, his head also began freezing from the fact that he attempted to almost immediately consume something akin to ice cream- and he kind of found it annoying, but it subdued quickly, rather he just laid into his cloud and hummed to himself.

"Tasty... wow, you are good at this! Hey, can I have another?"

He looked curiously at Rhapsody with a smile, looking quite pleased all in all.

WC: 630
Total WC: 2861

Well.

For once he liked this one! Other people with funny ears did not allow touch, which well, it was whatever but this one did not seem to make such a fuss about trivial things. Of course, the thing with Bansho was that to him mostly anything was trivial and very little was important. The things that were important to him were... either not here, or gone, or perhaps they never existed. But perhaps that would be a question for another time, another age. He did not know. Why was he even thinking of another age? It was not like he would likely live that long. But with a sigh, he figured out that the entire witch part well was likely either true or lost, he did not even know if witches were real or where he even heard such a term. Perhaps it was from television, back at the old hermit's place... or perhaps, did it ever exist?

"Hmm?"

He hummed all of a sudden when addressed once more, his mind was... strangely deep as of late. Bansho was suddenly freed from those thoughts, however, as strange as it sounded, it was almost like something had happened on Konats that had changed him. Perhaps it was that weird necklace he ate again, but it was almost as his thoughts were- well, not more human, simply different.

"Oh, right. Yeah, it was... good."

Bansho murmured under his breath, almost as if disconnected from reality still, hence he just leaned into his cloud to just kind of reset his brain. He cleared his throat just a slightly bit, before he looked over Rhapsody.

"Thanks. It was good."

He did not say it much to please her, it was just what he thought of it, but then again since when was Bansho so considerate to even thank another?! He was so much more smug! Damn it, there was something fishy going on with him, but nevertheless this kind of thing was merely a set back, indeed, he could still feel the fiery embers within his soul. He smiled a bit, and just folded his arms over his head.

"Brain freeze? Hah! That is not something that would trouble the likes of me. Don't sweat it."

Maybe the brain freeze was what did this briefly, but well he had no idea to be honest. Instead, his attention focused over the rex. She felt weird too, for some reason. He could not tell why, but the animal was not exactly what it was, henceforth he glanced at Rhapsody.

"You think the animal is ill? Usually, they are a lot more fierce than this. Unless it is bearing a baby dinosaur maybe?"

He glanced over, and attempted to use his scent to try and figure out if there were any oddities with the beast, but he could not quite see anything unusual. He looked over at Rhapsody again when he mentioned the Sun school, nodding his head.

"I know her, yeah. I do not know if Jackie would train someone like me, though."

WC: 508
Total WC: 3369

Bansho looked over Rhapsody, even so just briefly, a moment of pause came to him. She was slightly red, and alas for some reason this made him freeze a little. He did not know why exactly, it felt both familiar and strange. Indeed as if he suddenly disconnected from reality once more. Things that were not so common for him, it would not be the first time surely, but well the monkey man also just kind of looked away in the end.

"It tastes good. Trust me on that."

He said before hot air came running off his nostrils and he just gulped the rest of it in one go. Likely the monkey king was not one for just flesh, indeed, as much as devouring the dinosaur could have been enjoyable he did also enjoy sweets given his particular favor for most fruits such as peaches. He did not know however that one could make so more different things from something as simple as a peach, he found it to be quite remarkable.

"But well, it is not like I really get it a lot! I usually just eat peaches the way they are."

He said, but the whole other stuff she put through, it was cold but the ice cream itself was good! So he just continued eating until eventually he felt like he was good and just laid back onto his cloud, his head rested into the soft mass without a care in the world while his eyes observed the clouds and the far skies beyond his sight.

"Yeah, thought so. I could tell something was off with my nose."

Despite all things considered, the guy was pretty much a monkey even if he lacked plenty other characteristics that would make him look like a full Zoan. Indeed, he was more like some kind of mix or hybrid, hard to tell, but in any case he could notice things that other animals often could out of instinct or scent.

"I doubt they could tell the difference whether she was expecting or not. Humans are limited, weak and silly! At least a large majority of them. There are some individuals that stand out, that is for sure. But I can not say I am impressed by the community itself, heh!"

He turned around eventually and looked over Rhapsody when she questioned his tastes. Of course Bansho ate about anything that mostly looked edible, even rocks. But well, he did not disagree on Rhapsody with that, being that Bansho was a little closer to mother nature than other Earthlings. He nodded his head and just turned once more his back onto the soft, heavenly couch of clouds and yawned.

"Yuh, of course they can tell I am a menace. Because I am! Whether or not I choose to do anything with that is of my own doing, however. I will let her live, just because she got babies. Besides, do not get me wrong, it is not like I called her food as if it is wrong. When I consume an animal, it becomes a part of me! It feeds me, makes me stronger, therefore the animal is like it lives on within me, if you think about it. So it would not be that tragic, given they would feed something grand such as myself. I do not kill animals or life just for fun, duh."

Bansho stuck his tongue out and began licking the corner of his lips as if trying to clean it off in case any of the ice cream had tainted his lips.

"Hmm?"

OH right. Jackie, well, whenever he thought about it he did not have any real reason. He just did not connect too much with the individual before, so he had no idea.

"I had a few run ins. Nothing bad, just I do not think we would get along! That's all."

Which was mostly because Bansho was the equivalent of an internet troll, but he was also surprisingly capable of deep thought whenever he was properly provoked in doing so.

WC: 678
Total WC: 4047