I would like to say this, the three companions ARE NOT like Wukong, DBK, Azure etc. They are actually the animals and not some type of demon or celestial entity based on the animal.
Also, changed my mind. Blue is sorta associated with the bad guys too much to be used for a good person.
Enjoy.
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Taro stared at the silvery white furred dog in shock before he rush to the fallen animal in horror. He quickly checked if the dog was still alive and thankfully, it was still breathing.
The peach boy sighed in relief before he anxiously thought of a way to save the injured dog. "If I was still a tree I could've given it a peach- no, I wouldn't have had arms." Muttered Taro in a panic before he had an epiphany. "Wait- peaches! I-i'm still kinda a tree."
Taro quickly grabbed a lock of his long peach colored hair and used his sword to cut it off. Taro stared at the lock of hair intently, hoping it would magically turn into a peach of immortality and by some miracle...it did.
"Peach!" Exclaimed Taro happily before he stuffed the peach into the dying dog's mouth. The effects were immediate as the injuries of the dog quickly healed which made Taro sigh in relief.
The dog eyes soon started to open as it started to wake up. The dog stared at its savior with widened eyes before opening it's mouth and trying to bite Taro, but the peach boy managed to jump back just in time. The bite was strong enough to cause a shockwave that made Taro fear for his safety.
The peach boy quickly tried to run away, but the dog was faster and leaped onto the boy with a rabid bark. Taro was barely fast enough to turn around and hold his sword horizontally before the dog bit down the sword, pinning the boy to the ground.
"Who are you?!" The dog asked angrily. "Answer me!"
Taro paused in shock. "You can talk?!" He asked in confusion.
"You understand me?" Asked the dog in shock before promptly trying to bite Taro once more. "Who are you?!"
"I saved your life!" Exclaimed Taro in a panic to save himself. "You were dying and I helped!"
Hearing this, the dog finally stopped trying to kill Taro and calmed down. The peach boy sighed in relief for the third time before he noticed the dog looked very angry about something. He then remembered what happened a few seconds ago. He could understand the dog and the dog could understand him.
Was it the peach or him being a tree spirit that allowed for this, he didn't know; but it allowed for a conversation.
"Uhh, who attacked you back then?" Taro asked in concern as he stood up.
"Demon." Replied the dog angrily with a bark.
Taro's eyes widened in surprise . "You mean the one up north? I'm supposed to go fight them." He said calmly.
"How will you do that? You're so tiny." Deadpanned the dog.
Taro frowned. "Thanks for the encouragement, but people depend on me to do it." He said rolling his eyes unamused. "Now if you would excuse me, I have a demon to fight."
The dog watched as Taro walked away with a conflicted expression before he barked. "Wait- I'll join you! A tiny one like you can't defeat a demon alone." He said as he jumped towards Taro. "And I do feel oddly powerful after I ate that tasty thing."
Taro's expression brightened. "Oh my gosh, yes. I was really scared of fighting that demon." He blurted out in relief, causing the dog to give him an unamused expression. "Do...you have a name?"
"...Kuangzao." Replied the dog dejectedly.
Sensing Kuangzao's sadness, Taro pet him on the head. "Guess I can call you Zao, huh?"
"Whatever." Replied Zao grumpily.
And with that, Taro gained a new friend as another potential friend watched from the shadows with a smile.
xxxxXxxxx
Taro and Zao ventured northwards towards the demon's cave with renewed vigor, but as they trudged on they heard rustling among the trees.
When the two turned to the source of the noise a figure blurred past them, stealing Taro's sword on the way. The two turned around and the figure blurred past them once agai, this time stealing a lock of Taro's hair that transformed into a peach in the figure's hands.
The two's eyes finally landed on the thief and they saw a monkey with reddish copper colored fur and blue skin on a tree holding a peach as well as Taro's sword.
"Losers!" Exclaimed the monkey cheerfully before it nonchalantly chowed through the magical peach in its hand.
"Guess I can understand animals now." Muttered Taro in shock as he stared at the monkey. As he was about to respond to the monkey's taunt, Zao responded angrily by rushing to the tree the monkey was on.
"Hey! That's not yours! Get down and face me, you thief!" Yelled Zao angrily as he barked at the monkey.
The monkey laughed. "Okay!" It exclaimed before it used its tail to swing above Zao before hitting the dog in the forehead with the hilt of Taro's sword. The monkey laughed again before blowing a raspberry Zao's way.
Zao saw this and growled angrily before he opened his mouth and bit the tree the monkey was on itself horizontally. At first, Taro thought this was a bad idea...then he saw the the bite snap the tree in half like a twig. Seeing a fellow tree get bit in half like that sent shivers down Taro's spine and it seems that the monkey felt the same.
The monkey jumped from tree to tree trying to escape the maniac trying to kill it, but alas, Zao bit all the trees down with great fury. Seeing that there was no escaping Zao, the monkey realized there was only one way to survive. It jumped off the tree it was on and ran desperately towards Taro.
Taro saw this and got ready for combat while Zao rushed to take down the monkey. But then the monkey kneeled in front of Taro and yelled. "PLEASE SPARE ME!"
"Zao, stop!" Exclaimed Taro quickly, prompting the dog to stop in his tracks growling.
"I'll do anything, please don't kill me!" The monkey begged as he threw Taro's sword back to him.
"Oh please. We're going to fight a demon" Asked Zao ready to chomp the monkey down. "What can YOU do?"
"D-demon?" The monkey sweat dropped. Its heartbeat started to quicken in fear. It racked its brain for a way to live. Taro was about to tell Zao to not terrify the monkey before he saw rocks and sticks float in the air around them.
The monkey also noticed this, but also noticed something different. It could control the rocks and sticks with its mind. Its eyes shined in delight before it pointed at the floating rocks and sticks and spoke. "I did that! I can do that! See? I'm useful! Now you HAVE to let me live!"
While Taro was surprised by this development, Zao was less than impressed. "You got that power from the peach!" He yelled angrily as he got ready to eat the monkey.
"Zao, stop!" Exclaimed Taro firmly as he stood between Zao and the monkey. "You got your ability to bite down trees from a peach too. Plus, we'll take all the help we can get."
Zao grunted while the monkey cheered and hugged the side of Taro's head affectionately. Taro smiled and spoke softly. "So, you have a name?" He asked cheerfully and the monkey shook its head. "Guess I should give you one then. I don't know much chinese, but how about...Ezuoju. It means mischief and we can call you Zuzu."
Zuzu happily accepted his new name much to Zao's displeasure before Taro spoke once again.
"Now, let's fix up these trees before we go." Said Taro with a frown as he turned to all the trees they hurt. "Leaving them like this hurts to think about."
"But they're just trees." Replied Zuzu in confusion.
"I agree with the monkey for once." Deadpanned Zao.
Taro glared his two companions angrily. "Well, we're not moving north until we help the trees BOTH OF YOU DESTROYED!" He snapped, causing the two to go silent.
"But how will we do that?" Asked Zuzu in confusion. "Doggo over there did a lot of damage."
"Call me that again, I dare you." Said Zao angrily, glaring at Zuzu.
Taro sighed as he cut a lock of his hair and let it turn into a peach in front of his two companions. "We'll crush it into paste and smear the paste on the trunks before reattaching the trees." He said calmly as he held his sword. "Got it?"
Zao and Zuzu paused before nodding and getting to work. Taro crushed the peach with the handle of his sword and Zuzu telekinetically smeared the paste on the trunks before Zao put them back upright using his immense strength. This quickly worked as the magic peaches healed all the trees to full health.
And with that, Taro gained a second friend. Not noticing that another creature watched the entire interaction with a displeased frown.
xxxxXxxxx
Taro, Zao and Zuzu trecked northwards ready to fight the demon with great vigor. Zuzu sat on Taro's shoulder, teasing Zao about being closer to Taro which made the latter sigh.
And as the three walked forwards, a figure suddenly stood in their way. A colorful pheasant with golden feathers among other colors.
"Puny peach human and his ragtag group!" Exclaimed the pheasant in a haughty tone. "Kneel in front of my magnificent figure!"
"Who's this idiot?" Asked Zuzu curiously as he sat on Taro's head.
"Don't try to eat him yet." Added Taro calmly, which made Zao stop in his tracks.
"So you're saying there's a chance." Replied Zao glaring at the pheasant.
Despite the comments, the pheasant appeared unfazed in front of Taro's group as it maintained its haughty demeanor. "Unfortunately, all of you are not permitted to pass through my territory." It said arrogantly. "But if you were to give me one of your magical peaches, I might consider it. And If you beg enough, I might even be willing to grace your little party with my presence for a short while."
"No thanks." Deadpanned Taro before Zao leaped onto the pheasant ready to eat the arrogant bird.
The pheasant barely dodged the attack and yelled. "You DARE atta-" it couldn't finish its sentence before Zao attacked once again only for the pheasant to hide behind Taro which made Zao stop.
Knowing it couldn't dodge forever, the pheasant jumped up and flew to Taro's head before pecking his head for a lock of his hair, earning a kick to the face from Zuzu. Alas, the pheasant succeeded and swallowed the lock of hair it got before the hair even turned into a peach.
"Hey!" Exclaimed Taro angrily at the arrogant pheasant.
"Watch, peasants as I manifest my powers and potential and beg for mercy!" Exclaimed the pheasant arrogantly as it spread its golden wings before they grew bigger and shined metallically.
Zao saw this and tried to rip apart these new wings, but he quickly found out that they were nothing short of indestructible. The pheasant wasn't even getting pushed back by the attacks.
"Haha! Take that you rabid mutt!" Exclaimed the pheasant happily as it hid behind its impenetrable feathers.
Taro saw this and was intrigued. "That's useful." He said calmly, which got the attention of everyone. "Maybe we should take them along."
"Haha! Of course! Now that you see my great power you want a taste. Beg for it, BEG! HAHAHAHA!"
Taro almost groaned at the pheasant's antics, but held it in with a smile. "Oh, yes. We definitely need the power of the golden pheasant on our journey to take down the demon up north." He said awkwardly before Zuzu tried to say something. Taro quickly covered the monkey's mouth and gestured for Zao to come before he whispered to the two. "Look, that guy's an impenetrable meat shield. We can use him."
"But that bird's so annoying." Muttered Zuzu with a frown. "Even more than the dog."
"Ugh, can't it just the two of us again. We can handle it alone!" Replied Zao angrily.
"Do an annoying laugh if you can take a hit from a demon without batting an eye." Replied Taro with a deep frown before gesturing towards the pheasant which was laughing haughtily in the background. Neither Zao or Zuzu attempted an annoying laugh, admitting defeat. "Alright, pheasant, we'd like you to grace our party with your presence. Might we have your name?"
The pheasant froze. "Uhh, name? Uhh, I- uhh, I only go by my titles! Yes! I'm the golden pheasant." Said the pheasant nervously. "But if giving me a name would make you more appreciative of my regal presence, you're free to do so."
Taro rolled his eyes before he thought of a name for the pheasant. "How about Zihao? It means pride and we'll call you Zi."
Zi looked extremely happy with his new name. "Zi, huh? I suppose it is decent enough." He said trying to hide his joy.
And with that, Taro gained another friend. The group trekked on towards the demon with great vigor... perhaps too much.
xxxxXxxxx
Later that night.
"Stop pelting me with rocks, you peasant!" Exclaimed Zi angrily as he blocked rocks thrown at him by Zuzu.
"Or what, your majesty?" Asked Zuzu sarcastically as he continued to pelt Zi with rocks before one of the rocks deflected off of Zi and hit Zao.
"Hey!" Yelled Zao with an angry bark before he started trying to attack the other two, but to no avail as the Zuzu was out of reach and Zi was protecting himself with his feathers.
Meanwhile, Taro sat in front of a fire and was covering his ears in pain at the antics of his three companions. Their fighting and bickering was nothing short of torture to his ears and his confidence.
"Shut up!" Taro snapped angrily. "All of you, STOP BICKERING!"
"""It's their fault! I didn't do anything! They're a nuisance!""" Said the three companions in unison.
"All of you are terrible! Zi, you're an arrogant piece of garbage! Zuzu, you're an annoying little goblin! And Zao, you're an insane dumba- I mean dumb butt! And with all your fighting we're all gonna die to that demon instantly! So would all of you insufferable animals SHUT UP before I stab myself before the demon could?!" Snapped Taro angrily, causing all his companions to go silent. Seeing this, he took a deep breath. "Sorry for that. I'm just...a little stressed. Look, how about we pass the time by telling each other our backstories? This way, we know more about each other and can work better. Yeah, let's do that. Who wants to start?"
Zi stepped forwards elegantly and spoke. "I suppose I can start." He said calmly. "When I was but a little chick, I was...ugly. My parents saw this and abandoned me. But I showed them. I SHOWED THEM ALL! I grew feathers of gold and became beautiful! I'm beautiful, aren't I? TELL ME I'M BEAUTIFUL!!!"
Everyone went silent at Zi's words. They were shocked by the story, but the pheasant took that as something else and started freaking out.
"No..no. no, I'm NOT ugly!" Snapped Zi in a panic.
Taro saw this and quickly spoke. "No! We don't think you're ugly. It's just..." He said before going silent.
"We didn't expect someone like you to have that kind of story." Zuzu finished the sentence. "We sorta took you as a..."
"A big idiot." Finished Zao nonchalantly. "But I guess you're not the worst bird out there."
Zi, on the verge of tears sniffed. "and I'm pretty?" He asked hopefully.
"Yes, Zi. You're pretty." Replied Taro with a soft smile. Zi heard this and approached Taro's side before sitting comfortably next to the peach boy. "Okay, who wants to go next?"
"Me! Me!" Exclaimed Zuzu cheerfully as he jumped around. "Me and my monkey friends lived together happily in the forest. We caused all kinds of mischief together, but then we heard of the great and mischievous monkey king! All my friends ran off to meet him leaving me alone in our home. And since that day I swore that I will be more mischievous than the monkey king so my friends would regret leaving someone as mischievous as I, Ezuoju!"
Taro chuckled. "The monkey king, huh? That's a tall order." He said cheerfully.
"You have great ambition, monkey." Added Zi. "I respect it."
"I can get behind sticking it to the people who left you." Added Zao wagging his tail.
Taro smiled. "Guess it's your turn, Zao." He said calmly.
The silvery white furred dog paused. "I was a guard dog meant protect a farm. I kept everything suspicious out. But my owner thought I was just being a menace for being too aggressive. He even gave me the name Kuangzao." he said with a growl "I was just trying to protect him and his kid. Eventually, he decided to sell me to someone I bet would've been worse. But the moment he untied me, I ran off as fast as I could."
"Ooh...you have my regal respect, my canine friend." Said Zi cheerfully.
"Guess you have some good in you, doggo, trying to protect someone and all." Added Zuzu cheerfully.
"Yeah, and I guess that wraps up storytime." Said Taro with a smile.
"Wait- what about you?" Asked Zuzu curiously.
"Yes, we don't even know your name or how you can understand us." Added Zi curiously.
"I'm also curious." Added Zao curiously.
Taro chuckled nervously. "Hehe, me? There isn't much to talk about. But I guess I have to." He said with an awkward smile. "My name is Taro. I...used to be human. Just a normal teenager. Then I died and...got separated from my home and my family and friends and will never see them again. Hehe, ever."
As Taro continued to speak, he didn't notice tears starting to fall from his eyes like waterfalls as he recalled all that happened.
"Then I woke up as a tree that makes immortality peaches in the celestial realm. It was lonely and dark and I was going insane." He said unconsciously gripping his own hair as he continued to speak with tears fell more vigorously out of his horror filled eyes and his body shaking. "And now the celestials are chasing me and if they catch me, i might be turned into a tree again. I don't wanna be a tree again. I just *sob, I just wanna s-see mom and dad again. And now I have to fight a terrifying demon and I've never even held a sword before today and a lot of people depend on me. But I'm fine, I'm totally fine. I'm great, even. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Silence descended upon the area. Not a single soul spoke a word. The three companions couldn't utter a word to make the situation better as they stared at Taro dejectedly.
"Zuzu, you're the funny one. Do something." Whispered Zi in a panic.
"I don't know! Maybe we can dance? Dancing is funny." Whispered Zuzu in a panic.
"I can't dance, you morons!" Whispered Zao angrily.
"That makes it better." Whispered Zuzu. "On three, we all start dancing. Got it?"
Zao and Zi nodded before Zuzu counted to three and they started dancing. Zao's dancing was very awkward while Zuzu was trying too hard with his dance moves and Zi was dancing dramatically as if he was at the center of the world.
The sight of three animals suddenly bursting into goofy dancing was enough to make Taro laugh which prompted the three companions to dance harder which made the peach boy laugh even more.
And all of them at that moment knew that they were fated to be friends forever.
xxxxXxxxx
Tell me which of the four companions is your favorite. Yes, Taro included.
Also, the names of the three animals are here:
Dog: Kuangzao meaning mania by me
Pheasant: Zihao meaning pride by NeonSilhouette on Ao3
Monkey: Ezuoju meaning mischief by Flowerboy_baby on Ao3
Zi, Zao and Zuzu. The three Z's
Also, they're also supposed to be like gold, silver and bronze or gold, silvery white and reddish copper colored. Also also, it's kinda funny that this group is just three animals and a tree.
Tell me how I did. Leave a review.
Toodles.