Chapter Text
The crowd’s cheering from Namsan Plaza was still ringing in Rumi’s ears as they left the stadium, her hand clinging tight to Jinu’s bracelet. She didn’t even remember him passing it to her, but right now it was the only thing holding her together. Had he put it in her hand as he burned, or before? She shook her head violently, trying to dispel the thoughts plaguing her mind, and from the corner of her eye, she could see the concerned glances coming from Zoey and Mira.
“Rumi, are you okay?” Zoey whispered, reaching over to grab her friend’s hand, gasping quietly at how much Rumi was trembling under the touch.
Rumi tried to shake her head, but felt totally stuck. “No.” She whispered, tears coming to her eyes as everything truly hit her. She shook her head, still numb from the shock. “No, I…I don’t think I am.” Her bare arms bristled as she admitted it, goosebumps raising on the surface of the skin causing the patterns there to ripple in the limo’s dim light.
Zoey’s eyes zeroed in on the marks and opened her mouth to ask the questions she was dying to, but Mira stopped her with a shake of her head. “Can you believe we just DID that?” Mira asked, brushing the strands of hair framing her face away from her eyes, expertly changing the subject. “We built a whole new Honmoon, and turned it golden in a single song!”
Zoey giggled. “That was pretty amazing. The flying was cool too!”
Rumi could only manage a weak smile. “Did you hear the fans? They were singing along without even knowing the words coming next.”
“We didn’t even know the words coming next, they just…came out.” Mira grinned, glad to see her friend engaging in the conversation. “But yeah, the fans were pretty great too. And we totally kicked Gwi-Ma’s toasty teeth in!”
“We couldn’t have done it without Jinu.” Rumi said, and the other two girls froze. “I know, he’s a demon, but he…whatever he did, it…”
“It helped.” Zoey cut in. “Rumi, I am so sorry. But is it okay if I say I’m grateful for what he did too?”
Rumi blinked. “Why?” She asked, her chest aching, resisting the urge to scream How could you be grateful that he died?
“Because he saved you.” Mira finished, taking Rumi’s other hand, finishing Zoey’s thought. “He protected you when we couldn’t and that means everything to us.” Rumi’s eyes welled up with tears, and a sob broke out of her throat, just in time for her friends to pull her into a hug on the floor of the limo.
And the sobs just kept coming.
Rumi cried, longer and harder than she had in a long while, and she was convinced nothing could stop it. Hot, salty tears rolled down her cheeks, smearing her makeup, while painful gasps for breath wracked her chest. She clung to her friends like they were a lifeline, and let the grief, and stress, and anxiety that had been building up for the past few weeks wash over her. At some point, the other two girls also started crying, devastated to see her like this, and all three clung to each other, desperate for comfort.
At some point the limo stopped, and Rumi started to realize she’d nearly cried herself hoarse. Her throat hurt, and her head pounded, and she could feel her braid loosening against her scalp, tugging awkwardly at the strands.
“C’mon Ru, let’s get you upstairs. I think you need our couch.” Mira whispered, and Rumi found herself being gently helped to her feet. Zoey tucked one of her shoulders under Rumi’s arm, half lifting her as the three stumbled into their apartment building, none of them caring as the building’s residents and staff watched them move.
Distantly, Rumi could make out that one of their phones was ringing, and almost on instinct she reached for hers, but Mira stopped her. “It’s Bobby, probably calling to tell us the concert was a massive hit. I’ll take care of it.”
“Mmm’kay.” Rumi slurred, exhaustion setting in, and she had to force herself not to dump all her weight on Zoey as soon as they reached the lift. “We should still talk about…”
“That can wait.” Zoey insisted, awkwardly pressing the button for their floor. “I think we’ve been through enough for one night. And we’re definitely in need of a break, so we can talk about it…” The elevator doors opened, and Rumi was dragged to the floor, surprised yelps emerging from her friends as a glowing arrow was embedded in the elevator wall behind them.
“What the…” Mira shouted, summoning her staff, only to recognize the source of the arrow. “Celine, what the hell?! Stop!”
“Girls, step away from her!” Celine ordered, drawing back her bowstring, which was humming with energy from the Honmoon. “Now!”
Rumi’s heart sank. By her, Celine meant Rumi herself. Celine was going to kill her.
“Celine, what are you doing?” Zoey cried, physically covering Rumi with her own body, Mira doing the same.
“What I should have done, years ago!” Celine shouted, tears streaming down her face. “Breaking my promise!”
“Stop!” Rumi’s protested, trying to push her friends aside. “Please, stop!” She pleaded, no longer sure that Celine wouldn’t kill all three to get to her, but neither of them moved, pressing their shoulders together to prevent Celine from having a clear shot.
“Celine, you don’t mean that.” Mira tried to reason with the older woman. “You love Rumi! You don’t want to kill her!”
“I loved Ryu!” Celine’s voice cracked. “She was my sister, and I wanted to protect what she left behind. But I took an oath as a hunter, and I let my personal feelings break that oath. She shouldn’t exist, she shouldn’t be alive, and my best friend should still be here! Now, I won’t ask again, move!”
“No.” Mira jutted out her chin, gripping her staff, threateningly raising it. “Because that’s my best friend you’re talking about, and none of us would be here without her!”
“She destroyed the Honmoon!”
“And she fixed it!” Zoey shouted back. “Look around you, Celine? The Honmoon is golden, it’s impenetrable, and stronger than ever! And so are we! Now, put it down, please!”
Celine wavered, looking down at her hunters, finally making eye contact with them. The two girls in front stared back at her with stubborn but terrified expressions, but Rumi’s face was neutral. No, Celine realized. It was acceptance. Rumi had been expecting this.
Celine dropped the bow, collapsing to her knees, keeping her eyes locked on Rumi. “I…what have I done?” The patterns shone iridescently on Rumi’s face, and Celine realized with a start that the girl’s eyes were the same color again, rather than split between her normal brown and demonic yellow. Whatever the girls had done, Rumi HAD managed to fix it. “Rumi, I…I’m so sorry.”
Rumi flinched, and the grip her friends had on her tightened. “I don’t know if I can forgive you.” Celine bowed her head, and covered her face with her hands. She rocked back and forth, on the verge of crying herself, and then fingers brushed her hair back. She looked up to see that Rumi had stepped forward, and was now standing inches from her. Rumi’s fingers weaved through the strands of hair, and then brushed down the side of Celine’s face, her thumb wiping away the tears.
“But I’d like to give you to opportunity to earn my forgiveness all the same.”
Celine let out a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding, and pulled her daughter into a hug, clinging to Rumi’s shoulders. Rumi did the same, gripping tight onto her mother’s shoulders. “I’m so, so sorry.” Celine whispered, still on the verge of sobbing. Rumi pulled away, putting some distance between her and Celine.
“I have so much I want to say to you.” Rumi managed to keep her voice even, despite the fact she was seconds from falling apart all over again. “So much I need to talk to you about. And yet, right now it’s hard being in the same room as you. You caused this, Celine.” Rumi gestured to herself. “I nearly died tonight. I nearly let myself die tonight because you turned my mother’s mistakes, and your own, into my shame, and it was exploited.” Celine flinched, looking up at her daughter with despair. Rumi continued to say her piece. “Hundreds of people died, or nearly died at the hands of Gwi-Ma because of this secret you made me keep, and now we both have to live with that.“
Zoey and Mira got to their feet, placing a hand each on Rumi’s shoulders, gently pulling her away from Celine. Rumi grabbed their free hands with her own, staring defiantly down at Celine, who made for a pitiful sight on the floor. Her adoptive mother’s face was blotchy and red, her hair unkempt and her clothes stained and rumpled. The glowing bow she had been holding had long since dissolved, but Rumi knew her too well to believe Celine was now unarmed. Her face was full of grief and sadness, which was reflected in Rumi’s own expression.
A moment passed as the mother and daughter exchanged looks, and understanding coming between them.
“You’re right.” Celine chuckled wetly, getting to her feet. “Of course, you are.” Celine smoothed her clothes, trying to conceal her sadness, and recover her image as the poised hunter the girls had known for years. “The world turns on. And we must continue.”
“We’ll talk soon.” Rumi promised, and Celine nodded.
“We will.” The older woman made to leave, summoning the lift, and the doors opened. She stepped inside, but just as the doors were about to close, she turned around, and stopped them, looking back at the band with pride.
“For what it’s worth, you girls did well tonight. Your predecessors would be proud.” She said, and let the doors close.
Rumi’s knees gave out, and she hit the floor hard, accompanied by surprised yelps from her friends, feeling like she’d had the breath knocked out of her.
“Oh my gosh, Rumi, are you okay?” Zoey fussed, checking her friends immediately for injuries.
“I…don’t think my answer has changed since you last asked me that.” Rumi muttered, and Mira rolled her eyes.
“At least you still have a sense of humor.” The pink-haired girl said, walking away from the group into the kitchen, intent on retrieving snacks. “So, you’ve got patterns. You had a demon boyfriend. Any other surprises we should know about?”
As if on cue, the door to Rumi’s bedroom creaked open, slowly revealing Sussie and Derpy standing in the doorway.
The three girls watched in silence as the door awkwardly swung until it hit the bumper, and then tried to swing back closed. But Derpy, ever the awkward tiger, batted his paw against the wood too hard, kicking it back into the bumper, causing the door to bounce closed again. This repeated twice before Derpy finally got it right.
“I might’ve acquired a couple more friends.” Rumi gestured to the pair of animals, and Sussie jumped off of Derpy’s head, leaving the tiger to continue with the door, and landed on Rumi’s outstretched hand.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” Zoey squealed, diving for the tiger. “They’re so cute!!!!!!” She immediately buried her face in Derpy’s fur, wrapping her arms as far and she could reach around the tiger’s neck, and the tiger settled down on the floor, content to be cuddled. Mira bent down to make eye contact with the magpie, but Rumi honestly wasn’t sure which eye she was looking at.
“What are they?” Mira asked and Rumi shrugged.
“I don’t know. Demon animals? They accompanied Jinu. I don’t know why they’re here.”
“Because they belong to you now.” A man’s voice cut through the room, and all three hunters startled, summoning their weapons to spot Baby Saja leaning against the wall of windows in their penthouse. Derpy chuffed menacingly, and even Sussie backed away, each one wary of the demon.
“How are you still alive?” Zoey asked, her blades glittering in her hands. “I stabbed you?”
Baby Saja moved, revealing the wound, which glowed a deep fuchsia, the energy emitting from the wound flickering like Gei-Ma’s flames. “You did,” his deep voice rumbled. “But it hasn’t killed me yet.”
“We can fix that.” Mira threatened, but he held his hands up in surrender.
“I’ll be dead soon enough anyways. I can’t survive cut off from Gwi-Ma’s power, unless I take souls of my own.” He explained, looking at them hollowly. “In which case, if I even tried, you’d kill me.”
“What do you mean, they belong to me?” Rumi asked. Baby Saja raised an eyebrow.
“Jinu gifted you his hon, before Gwi-Ma’s fire consumed him. The tiger and the magpie are parts of that too. Facets of him, split off into metaphysical manifestations.” Rumi glanced away long enough from Baby Saja to lock eyes with Derpy, who stared back passively with a grin still on his face. And in her heart, she finally understood.
“They’re…part of him?” She whispered, hope flaring inside her chest. “So, if they’re still here, is he still alive?”
Baby Saja hesitated. “I don’t know. I can’t sense him, or much of the demon world anymore. My powers are failing.” The marks covering his face glowed brighter and then flickered, almost going dark, and Baby Saja collapsed against the window.
“Then what do you want?” Mira interrupted. “Why are you here?”
“To give you a warning.” Baby Saja said weakly, and the light flaring from his wound started to spread, consuming him slowly. “Gwi-Ma may not be able to penetrate the Honmoon anymore, but that doesn’t mean he will stop. He’s been in your ears, I know.” All three girls flinched, recalling Gwi-Ma’s vile whispers. “You won’t ever stop hearing him now. In your weakest moments, in the loneliest parts of the night, when you think you are at your limit, he’ll be there. There is no escape, and eventually, you’ll give in. And so will they.” He gestured to the city down below, grimacing at the sight of the glittering Honmoon.
“Why tell us that?” Zoey readied her blade, and Baby Saja grinned, showing off his pointed teeth.
“To see the fear on your faces when you learned this to be true.” Baby Saja sneered cruelly, and Zoey’s knife flew through the air. The flames would’ve consumed him eventually, but the knife stuck true in between his eyes, and the body disintegrated into purple light.
“And to think, people were shipping me with him.” Zoey wrinkled her nose, shivering with disgust.
“What about what he said?” Mira gestured to where he’d been standing. “Do we just ignore that?”
“For now.” Rumi nodded. “I think if we think any more about it tonight, my head will explode. In the morning, we can talk about it then.”
“You promise?” Zoey begged, looking at Rumi pleadingly. “You’ll tell us everything?”
Rumi nodded. “Yes. Everything.”
“Okay,” Mira nodded, and flopped on the couch, where she was quickly joined by both the girls and the animals. “Now…what do you two say to falling asleep to some two second turtle videos?”
“That sounds super boring.” Rumi grinned. “I’m so in.”