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

Jinu out here feeling a little dazed.

-x-X-x-

"We need to call the helicopter immediately!"

At this point in time, Jinu could be said to be… a little out of sorts. But to be fair, he really wasn't expecting to stick around once he transferred the Rainbow Honmoon to Rumi. He certainly wasn't expecting for her memories of the original timeline to be transmitted in her head or her to be able to refill his soul with iridescent power either.

Still, Jinu was more than happy to let Rumi handle explaining things to Mira and Zoey, right up until it became obvious that she was protecting him from them by trying to make him come across in the best light possible.

And yeah, okay, Jinu had technically been doing the same thing for days now by trying to put his best foot forward, admittedly. But that was solely because he needed them to trust him so they would choose the Rainbow Honmoon over the Golden Honmoon!

Now? Now that Rumi was both filled with the Rainbow Honmoon AND remembered… Jinu didn't think that would be as much of an issue anymore. So yeah, maybe it would be best to take a step back and-

"You're coming too, Jinu!"

… Or not. Jinu sighs as Rumi levels him with a very familiar half-pout half-glare that's extremely effective against him at this point. Stepping back in, he stuffs his hands in his pockets and tilts his head towards their smartphones.

"What's going on, exactly? What was that message you all seemed to receive at the same time."

Looking incredibly troubled, Rumi purses her lips together and glances down at her phone.

"Bobby just sent out an SOS. Apparently Celine might be suicidal and that he needs us over on Jeju Island immediately."

Mira suddenly snaps her fingers to get their attention

"Helicopter is on its way, so we need to get over to the pad to meet them."

Rumi nods sharply.

"Right. Should hopefully be able to sneak out without any fans seeing us and-!"

He hates to do it, but Jinu clears his throat all the same. Because he really doesn't like the sound of 'helicopter' and if there's a way to get around that…

"Why don't we just take Derpy instead?"

All three girls, Rumi included, pause to stare at him. Jinu just shrugs.

"He can either run on the Honmoon or teleport us all over… probably teleport, that seems faster. Jeju Island is pretty far away, right?"

Rumi's mouth opens and closes a couple of times, Mira is looking back towards the sliding door she and Zoey stepped out of minutes before, and Zoey… well, Zoey looks like she's about to explode with excitement.

"WE GET TO RIDE DERPY THROUGH THE HONMOON! FUCK YESSSSS!!!"

Springing from her place in front of them, the youngest hunter all but bounces away and back into her room while they watch her go. Rumi sighs and shakes her head affectionately despite the worry she's clearly currently experiencing and nods to Mira.

"Cancel the helicopter and give them our sincerest apologies, Mira."

"Copy."

Then, she looks to Jinu, serious as a heart attack.

"You're certain Derpy can transport all of us?"

Jinu can't help it… he gives her a lopsided smirk in turn.

"How do you think the Saja Boys got up to the human world without you guys sensing a tear in the first place?"

Mira shoots him a confused look while Rumi's eyes widen in understanding. But of course, now isn't the time… especially if their mentor is suicidal for some reason. Jinu can't even fathom it… life is so good in the modern era and Celine in particular seems to have it exceptionally great. Why in the world would she become suicidal just over losing some arguments?

Still, it wasn't his place to comment and Bobby was a trusted source so if he said he needed their help… then he needed their help.

They all move off of the balcony and into Zoey's room, where the younger woman has already gotten Derpy up on his feet and is sitting astride his back.

"All aboard the Derpy Express! Who's a good boy, Derpy? You're a good boy! Let's go save Celine from herself!"

Everyone climbs on in short order, with Mira behind Zoey, Rumi behind Mira, and Jinu taking up the rear. He's careful to keep his hands to himself. And if Derpy gets a little bit bigger to accommodate all four of them, nobody comments. As soon as they're in position, Zoey leans forward and runs her hands through Derpy's fur as she coos down at him.

"Take us to Jeju Island, Derpy! As close to the hunter's compound as you can get, please and thank you!"

Letting out a big, big yawn, the massive blue tiger wiggles for a moment… and then begins to sink through Zoey's floor right on the spot, slowly dropping down into the Honmoon inch by inch. They all go with him, falling into the shimmering sea of light for a moment before popping right back out somewhere else entirely.

Jeju Island, presumably, though admittedly Jinu has never been before.

"Holy shit."

But judging by Mira's reaction as she looks around with wide eyes and an open mouth, they're definitely where they're supposed to be. Even as they clamor off of Derpy's back and Rumi rushes into the nearby house, the dancer glances to Jinu, radiating sheer disbelief.

"Where did you get this thing, exactly?"

Smiling proudly as he runs a hand along Derpy's side, Jinu shrugs.

"I made him. Him and Sussie. They've been my companions for almost as long as I've been a demon in fact, minus a couple of decades."

Mira's eyes narrow at that, her lips curling into a confused, thoughtful frown. But before Jinu can ask what the problem was with what he'd just said, Bobby suddenly comes out of the house, demanding their attention. Even Zoey immediately locks in on Bobby.

"Bobby, you look terrible!"

Swallowing thickly, Bobby shakes his head.

"I feel terrible. I already told Rumi… and now I'm going to tell you girls too because even though it's not my secret to blurt out, you both need to know before you next interact with Celine, okay?"

Jinu raises an eyebrow as Zoey hesitantly nods and Mira scowls while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Spit it out, Bobby."

Taking in a deep breath, Bobby seems to gather his thoughts for a moment before finally speaking.

"Celine… Celine told me that she was the one who killed Jia, the third Sunlight Sister who everyone thinks committed suicide. It wasn't cold-blooded murder though. Rather, her hand was forced because… because Jia wanted to kill Rumi for being born part demon. And that's why Celine is so afraid of what might happen if you girls find out the truth."

Both Mira and Zoey stand frozen in the face of this new information. Jinu has to admit; he can't exactly blame them. He's as far detached from this whole situation as anyone here can be and even his jaw is hanging open at what Bobby has just dropped on them.

His eyes then dart to the house Rumi has run into. The house where Celine was apparently waiting for her. He wants to go to her; he wants to be there to support Rumi… but he's not sure he'll be wanted in this moment. Sure, there's the many generations removed blood connection between him and Celine… but Jinu knows that means very little at this point.

Zoey and Mira, on the other hand, have no such doubts or compunctions. They share one look as they finally come out of their respective stupors and then rush past Bobby to enter the house as well. Bobby grimaces and looks like he wants to stop them, but in the end decides to let them go.

However, the look he gives Jinu makes it clear he's not about to let the demon do the same. Jinu just raises his hands in surrender though to show that he has no intention of trying.

What happened next… needed to be between Celine, Rumi, and her girls.

-x-X-x-

Rumi would certainly have liked a little bit more time to process everything that happened back at the tower before being thrown for yet another loop like this. At the same time, she wasn't at all upset with Bobby for getting in touch with them as soon as he could.

Especially since if Celine truly did want to hurt herself, there wasn't much Bobby could have done on his lonesome to stop her. Calling in reinforcements really was his best bet to keep something tragic from happening. Even if he was had been more than a little surprised when Rumi walked into the house just a few minutes after he'd sent that group text thanks to Derpy.

Fortunately, at least for the time being, Celine had passed out and was drooling on herself, so Bobby was able to get up from the couch, come over to Rumi, and quietly whisper to her everything Celine had told him.

To say Rumi was shocked would be an understatement. Celine had killed Jia to protect her? Looking back, they'd never really discussed Jia in the same way they would sometimes talk about Mi-yeong. Much like Rumi's demon father, Jia had been all but verboten in the house growing up.

The Third Sunlight Sister was a topic Celine wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole and Rumi had always assumed that was because Jia 'abandoned' them mere days after Mi-yeong's death. But no. If Celine was to be believed (and to be fair, Bobby definitely seemed to believe it), it was so much worse than that.

Which of course, had Rumi spiraling just a teensy bit when she thought of the future memories that Jinu had inadvertently thrown her way when he'd shared the Rainbow Honmoon with her. Other Rumi had gone through some serious shit in the other timeline. She hadn't truly had Jinu on her side, nor was Celine involved enough to inadvertently spill the beans about half-demons to Mira and Zoey.

As a result, Other Rumi had maintained her secret to ultimately disastrous effects. Until finally the night of the Idol Awards arrived and everything had gone to utter shit. In fact, things had gone so badly that she'd wound up here on Jeju Island confronting Celine at the nearby seonangdang tree.

That conversation between Other Rumi and Other Celine had NOT gone well to say the least. Not that she blamed Other Rumi one bit, because frankly at that point, the Celine from that timeline was definitely grasping at straws rather than providing actionable solutions.

But then… that made a lot more sense now in context, didn't it? Knowing Jia tried to kill Rumi when she was just a baby and Celine had to literally snuff out a part of her soul just after losing the other part… it explained a lot.

Celine quite literally couldn't fathom a world where Rumi letting Mira and Zoey know about her patterns worked out because of how poorly it went with Jia. The trauma from that moment combined with what she'd had to do to her fellow hunter in order to protect Rumi was… well, it had clearly calcified into mental blocks that wouldn't allow Celine to see Rumi's girls as anything less than potential threats to Rumi's safety.

Needless to say, that did leave Rumi wondering briefly what had happened to Future Celine after she left her at the tree in the other timeline. Her own memories of the future ended on the stage at Namsan Tower with her girls on either side of them and fifty thousand fans cheering for them, so it wasn't like she'd had had a chance to reconcile or talk to Future Celine again.

But… she couldn't think about Future Celine right now. Not when she had Present Celine to worry about.

And so when Mira and Zoey finally come running into the living room a few moments later, their faces making it obvious that Bobby told them what he told Rumi, they find Rumi already sitting on the couch with Celine, holding her mentor close to her and running a hand through the sleeping older woman's hair.

They both freeze in place for a moment before slowly relaxing. Zoey bites her lower lip while Mira just huffs. Rumi can't help but smile apologetically at the two of them, mouthing the word 'sorry' to Mira specifically. Forget the memories from the other timeline that she'd suddenly been saddled with, today was supposed to be a special kind of catharsis for Mira, a chance for her to confront Celine about the role she'd played in all of Rumi's lies.

Instead… well, they were doing this now, apparently. Zoey is the first to move from her spot, carefully and quietly beginning to collect the truly ridiculous amount of empty soju bottles Celine had lying all over the place. Where she'd gotten her hands on such a huge amount on such short notice, even Rumi didn't know.

Mira, meanwhile, follows Zoey's lead a second later and starts to pack up the ancient artifacts, texts, and scrolls that Celine had strewn all over the coffee table, the kitchen counter, and the arms of the couch.

They both move without making a single sound, their hunter training on full display as they make sure not to wake Celine up. That is until Mira gets to the open tome on the coffee table right in front of Rumi. Rumi hadn't bothered looking at it, too focused on Celine, but Mira pauses after lifting it up and turning it around, starting to read.

After a moment, an involuntary scoff leaves Mira's lips, causing Rumi to shoot her a sharp look for being so loud. But Mira just shakes her head in amusement and wordlessly turns the book back around, holding it out for Rumi to read as well.

Her eyes dance across the page as she reads what is clearly a journal entry from Ahri, Celine's ancestor… and Jinu's sister. The Second Hunter is also apparently the one who sent Jinu his two pets in the first place, as it turns out Derpy and Sussie are actually guardian spirits who Ahri begged to watch over her foolish demon of a brother.

Given Rumi is pretty sure Jinu thinks he created his pets, she can't help the slight huff of laughter that reading the passage invokes in her. Nor can she help the heart-clenching sniffle that leaves her when she reads Ahri's final words to Jinu.

I'm sorry I could not do more, Jinu.

Fuck, that's probably what does it too, in the end. Celine always did seem to have a preternatural sixth sense when Rumi was on the verge of crying.

"R-Rumi?"

Mira has thankfully already drawn the tome back and carefully closed it by this point, because she freezes up right alongside Rumi and Zoey in the background as Celine's tired, sleepy voice hits their ears. All eyes turn towards the older woman as she stretches for a moment, groaning and popping her back.

Then, Celine's eyes fully open and she takes in the scene. First, her gaze lands on Rumi… who yeah, hasn't covered up her now-iridescent patterns. Rumi isn't really surprised when the sight of her demon patterns glowing all the colors of the rainbow begins to bring the faintest of frowns to Celine's face.

Then, Celine finally realizes Mira and Zoey are there and everything goes to shit as her eyes widen in horror and she leaps up off of the couch faster than a drunken woman of her age should be able to.

"No! Y-You two, look away!"

Of course, she seems to realize that's a rather foolish request as soon as the words leave her mouth, at which point she drops into a fighting stance, hands coming up curled into fists as she snarls.

"I won't let you hurt her!"

… So yeah, this was now happening, apparently.

-x-X-x-

A/N: This doesn't count as a cliffhanger, right? We all know it's all gonna be resolved lickity-split next chapter for sure!

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

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