A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next FIVE chapters are up on my Patreon for early access!

Rumi is going through it.

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Feeling like death warmed over, Rumi rolls out of bed somewhere between eight and nine the next morning. Not that she actually did much sleeping, all things considered. That was part of why she felt like such shit.

A quick check in her vanity mirror reveals that her demon patterns have grown another half an inch overnight as well. Too much further down her torso and she won't be able to wear the Golden Costume anymore. Too much further up her neck and they'll be on her face.

Normally, she'd be panicking. And she still is, but it's a muted sort of panic. After all, now she knows why… or at least, she has a possible answer anyways. Shame. If Jinu… if the demon is to be believed, then her patterns grow from shame. And the worst part is? Rumi does kind of believe it. Fuck, she hates that she believes it.

For most of her early years, the demon patterns had been pretty much nothing to her. Celine told her to keep them covered and so Rumi did because she wanted Celine to be happy with her. But then eventually… Celine told her about demons. And hunters. And the Honmoon.

As Rumi grew up, she learned everything. She learned her mother was a hunter, she learned her father was a demon, and she learned that the Honmoon had chosen her to be one of its hunters in spite of her… flaws. More than that, Rumi learned that hunters killed all things with patterns, because demons were never good, never nice, never… kind. But then, if all demons with patterns had to die, if all demons were bad… what did that make her?

If you asked Celine, it made her a hunter. Every time Rumi asked, Celine was always quick to say Rumi wasn't one of them. She never referred to Rumi as part demon or half-demon. Those words had never so much as passed through Celine's lips before yesterday evening.

And yet… and yet it wasn't enough. Rumi wished it was, she wished she could say Celine's reassurances were enough to quell her inner thoughts. Because really, Celine never went out of her way to make Rumi feel small or ashamed of what she was. No… if anything, she did it unintentionally.

Rumi's demon patterns had only started growing once Rumi was old enough to realize that she was born a mistake. That some part of her, no matter how small, came from a monster. And over the years, they'd grown more and more as she'd been forced to lie to Zoey and Mira, to her fellow hunters, her beloved best friends and bandmates.

Most recently… it was when she'd released Golden early on them. Even though Rumi had plastered a fake smile across her face and stood her ground, all but forcing Mira and Zoey into their costumes, she'd felt it then. Shame at making them work and not letting them have their break. Shame at pushing them along for her own selfish desires…

Moving out of her bedroom and into the penthouse kitchen, Rumi makes herself a cup of tea as she ruminates on her many, many failures over the past week or so. She'd rushed the release of Golden because she was so desperate to make the Honmoon gold and be rid of her patterns, but in doing so the patterns had just gotten worse. Her shame at forcing Mira and Zoey out of their break had stolen away her voice, there was no denying it.

It really was all her fault… and now she found out that the Golden Honmoon probably wouldn't even be the salvation she thought it would be. Celine's answers last night had been less than satisfactory across the board and Rumi was starting to wonder why she hadn't questioned the older woman earlier. Maybe because deep down inside, she'd always been afraid of the truth.

After all, why would the Golden Honmoon erase her patterns and not just take down Rumi herself? And how would Celine know it would do so in the first place when the Golden Honmoon had literally never been achieved before? Were there other half-demons out there who had somehow got rid of their patterns after all? Rumi would have to ask Celine later about that, seeing as Jinu had confessed to not knowing of a single one besides… her.

Jinu. He'd been surprisingly upfront with her last night. Almost like he'd been trying to respect her privacy by waiting until they were alone to be fully honest. Rumi hated that part of her had begun to trust him. He wasn't even 'the demon' in her head all the time anymore.

He was… Jinu. Not just a demon, but a person as well. And she'd tried to kill him. Fuck.

Frankly, he'd been way too understanding about that. Rumi's fear that he would tell Mira and Zoey about her patterns and force a confrontation between her and her fellow hunters had caused her to act irrationally. After all, she KNEW Jinu could teleport.

If he'd really wanted to, he could have teleported up to the penthouse the moment she started trying to kill him and Rumi would have been unable to get up there in time to stop him from telling the girls everything. Mira and Zoey probably wouldn't have believed him at first… but then Rumi wouldn't have been able to show them her arms and they would have known he was telling the truth.

He hadn't done that though. Jinu hadn't gone for the nuclear option. Instead, he'd tried to talk her down until… until she'd managed to land a hit.

Just from the look on Jinu's face, Rumi knew that he'd been just as surprised as she was when the blade of her saingeom barely hurt him. He'd been shocked and then angry, even as he pushed her sword away and clutched at the small, bleeding flesh wound. And then… and then the Honmoon had healed him. Right before her eyes.

Fuck. Demons weren't supposed to bleed. But then, they also weren't supposed to have souls or a connection to the Honmoon either.

Rumi knew why her patterns had grown overnight. Even now, she's ashamed of her attempted murder. Even if she'd been trained all her life to kill demons, to kill everything with patterns… it didn't matter. It wasn't like she'd been trying to kill Jinu for being a demon last night. She'd tried to kill him for her own purely selfish reasons.

And even after that, even once they both realized she couldn't really harm him… he hadn't done anything. He'd all but forgiven her on the spot and even told her outright just how she could solve all of her problems and manage to complete the Golden Honmoon.

Of course, according to Jinu, the solution to healing her voice was honesty. If she set aside her shame and told her bandmates the truth about her patterns, if they understood and forgave her rather than killing her for being a demon, and if they were actually willing to still complete the Golden Honmoon with her after all of that… then completed it would be.

That was a lot of big fucking ifs though, wasn't it? The bastard knew what he was doing too. Dangle the 'solution' right in front of her face while knowing full well that trying to go for it would just put the Golden Honmoon even further out of her reach…

No, there had to be another way to achieve the Golden Honmoon. Without telling Mira and Zoey. Even if… even if it killed her.

She just wished Jinu didn't feel so warm whenever she got close to him. He felt… he felt like home in all the worst ways. He felt like home in the same way her girls felt like home. And that… that was bad. It had to be bad.

DING!

Just as that thought is running through Rumi's head, the elevator suddenly dings, arriving up at the penthouse. Blinking, she glances up as the doors open, her curiosity piqued.

Bobby would never come up without sending word first. Jinu was a demon and she wasn't sure he even knew how to operate an elevator. And Celine… Celine should have still been asleep if Rumi was right about how long she'd gone without.

Thankfully, it's not Celine. Not so thankfully, it's Mira and Zoey who step out of the elevator, freezing up as they make eye contact with her. Rumi freezes too, not entirely sure if she's ready to face either of them this morning. Not… not after everything.

… But then she gets past her anxiety and starts to question the fact that both girls are up and dressed already. Mira was an early riser most days, but Zoey loved to sleep in. What were they doing? Where had they gone together… and without her at that?

"Hey… did you two step out for something?"

Sharing a glance with one another, Mira and Zoey slowly nod, with Zoey taking the lead.

"Oh! Yeah, we um… we had something we wanted to ask Bobby."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Mira just grunts.

"Unfortunately, he wasn't in. Which admittedly, we would have known if we'd checked our messages first."

Laughing sheepishly, Zoey runs a hand along the back of her head.

"Haha yeah… we got a little too excited, I guess."

What? Messages? Brow furrowing, Rumi grabs her phone off of the kitchen counter and goes to check her messages. There, from Bobby, is a simple message… about how he's taking Jinu out to a bathhouse and not to worry about them. Sent at six am in the damn morning.

"… A bathhouse with Jinu… what is Bobby thinking?"

The question was intended to be rhetorical, but Zoey just shrugs as she walks over to the kitchen and starts making her own cup of tea.

"Well if I know Bobby, I imagine he's trying to repair the relationship or whatever. You know, because Celine pretty much did everything in her power to piss Jinu off last night. Up to and including threatening to send him back to Gwi-Ma when they're clearly not on the same side. Oh yeah and also trying to get me to summon a shin-kal so she could try her hand at torturing him."

Zoey says it so conversationally… but there's a definite undercurrent of anger there that Rumi can't help but wince at. This isn't good. Sure, Celine is far from perfect… but she's still their mentor and they still need to respect her… they need to be able to rely on her, especially if Rumi… if Rumi isn't going to survive the Golden Honmoon.

"How are you doing, Rumi?"

Mira's question causes her to jolt and look at the pink-haired girl, who has taken up residence on the other side of the kitchen counter. Leaning over it, she has a brow raised in Rumi's direction. Also, there was a lot more emphasis on that 'you' then Rumi preferred.

"M-Me? I mean… I'm doing about as well as any of us could be, given these insane circumstances. Why would I be doing any worse than either of you, r-right?"

… Fuck she's a mess. Mira and Zoey share a glance before Mira just shrugs.

"Look. Last night… really wasn't Celine's best showing. And sure, she's been a mentor to all of us, but she's always been more than that to you. Last night… Celine got her ass handed to her. No denying it. No sugarcoating it. So yeah, it's okay if you're doing worse than me and Zoey. She literally raised you, after all."

Oh no. It's so much worse than Rumi thought if Mira is talking like this. And Zoey is nodding along. By the Honmoon, Celine's reputation with both girls took a major hit last night, didn't it?

"Look, girls… I know the Celine we all saw last night was far from what we're used to…"

Mira scoffs.

"She fucked up Rumi. Repeatedly."

Zoey pipes up, tone sugary sweet as she brings her mug of tea down after taking a generous sip.

"And to great effect!"

Rumi flushes and smacks her hand on the surface of the counter gently but firmly, causing them both to jolt as she gives them stern looks.

"She was tired. She hadn't slept and she was relying on caffeine to keep going. This whole situation has been rough on all of us but Celine… Celine doesn't know how to ask for help. Especially not from us. So she burnt the candle at both ends until it bit her in the ass. One bad night doesn't erase decades of stellar service though."

Mira and Zoey exchange another glance and for a moment Rumi thinks she's getting through to them. But then Mira's face scrunches up in anger and she grits her teeth.

"Why are you still defending her? She lied to you. Lied to all of us."

Rumi flinches. They don't know. They can't possibly know. So Mira… Mira isn't talking about anything specific. She's not talking about the Golden Honmoon. Letting out a slow breath, Rumi shakes her head.

"She didn't lie, Mira. She told you herself last night… our training was unconventional by necessity."

Celine would never want Rumi to talk about this… but at this point it feels like the only way to make the other girls understand the immense pressure Celine always puts herself under.

"Do you know what it was like? Before we found you two? Or even before I was old enough to start training?"

That brings Zoey and Mira both up short. Rumi seizes upon the opportunity, her voice quiet but filled with emotion.

"The Sunlight Sisters disbanded when my mom died. Celine was all that was left. The only line of defense between the Honmoon and Gwi-Ma's demons. So she did her duty. She kept singing, released a few albums as a solo artist. Only, she'll tell you herself she was never the heart of the group. She couldn't draw the same amount of fans that all three could together. So instead, she spent most of her time on the other side of things. Hunting demons just like Jinu told us."

Rumi scoffs. Jinu had made it sound so… epic. Inspirational even. Like Celine was some big bad reaper among the demons in the demon realm. And maybe to them she was. But…

"She ran herself ragged. As I got older, she even had to leave me alone for weeks on end sometimes. Eventually, I realized why and what she was doing and started begging her to train me so I could help her. And… she did. But she still refused to let me fight alongside her. She refused to let me risk myself until we found you two and the three of us were together. Even if it killed her… she told me I had to stay alive, that we HAD to find each other because… because only then would we all be whole."

Zoey sniffles. Mira's face looks drawn. Rumi straightens up.

"It took us eighteen years from the Sunlight Sisters' disbanding to debut. Eighteen years where it was just Celine against every demon Gwi-Ma could throw at her. She did what she had to do exactly how she did it, because if she didn't, then the demons would have broken through and the Honmoon would have been gone before HUNTR/X ever even got a chance to exist."

Meeting Mira's eyes, Rumi knows her own are blazing a bit at this point.

"So yeah. She didn't tell us everything. Even after we debuted, she let us remain ignorant about things we maybe should have known about. But don't doubt her commitment for even a second, Mira. To the Honmoon. To you, to Zoey, to me. Why am I still defending her? Because she's still worth defending, just as much as the two of you are. And I'll gladly do so until my dying breath."

Zoey's arms suddenly encircle her from the side and Rumi blushes, breaking her intense stare with Mira to reach up and hug their younger bandmate right back. Rumi is still expecting a caustic response from Mira… but even her face softens a fair amount, the anger building in the pink-haired dancer suddenly flowing away like water down the mountain.

After a heartbeat, Mira and Zoey share another long, quiet look. And then, Mira's face twisting into something Rumi doesn't quite recognize, she begins to respond.

"Rumi… we…"

But before Mira can finish whatever she was about to say, they all feel it at the same exact time. The Honmoon SCREAMS and they stiffen, eyes widening as they feel a tear open up out in the city. The biggest tear yet. Rumi curses as she chugs her tea and races to put on her shoes, Mira and Zoey right behind her.

"Damn it, I knew yesterday was too quiet! And in broad daylight too! Let's go girls!"

At least in this case, they all knew what they were supposed to do.

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A/N: Oh dear. Well, I'm sure that'll be fine. And also that Bobby and Jinu are having a very manly heart-to-heart at the bathhouse right now. We'll get back to Jinu's POV next chapter~

Also in case it wasn't obvious, Mira and Zoey went to see Jinu for a little private chat 'first thing in the morning' only to find out that Bobby had already grabbed him and skedaddled, temporarily stymying their plans to get answers from him.

Feedback is GREATLY appreciated, every comment helps me shape a story like this one!

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