Chapter Text
"Whoa! Mind the face! I need it to steal your fans." Jinu casually lobbed a wooden bucket toward Rumi, which she promptly sliced in half. The demon lunged forward, taking a wild swipe at the hunter with his claws. She dodged, using the momentum to take another swing at Jinu.
Too much momentum.
The weight of her sword dragged her arms too far down on the miss, throwing off her rhythm. While she recovered from the movement, Jinu made another pass. Rumi managed to move just enough to the side that his claws only grazed her shoulder. She spun around, meeting him as he launched himself into another assault. Just before they connected, though, he vanished in a puff of purple smoke.
The air behind Rumi burned.
Her instincts took over, and she spun around, delivering a swift kick into Jinu's gut as he rematerialized, sending him across the room.
He broke through a wooden bench, slamming against the wall with a grunt.
Refusing to give any ground, Rumi pounced, ready to drive her sword through his perfect face. Jinu managed to catch it just before it pierced his throat, though, careful to grab Rumi's hand instead of the Honmoon charged blade.
"You're strong..." Jinu's face strained with effort as Rumi pressed harder with her saingeom. Suddenly, his gaze flicked to the side and his previously cocky eyes flashed with surprise.
The resistance eased just slightly. Just enough for Rumi to get the upper hand.
A quiet gasp escaped the demon idol, the blazing light of the Honmoon danced in his eyes, and the sword embedded itself into the wood paneling of the wall, purple ash decorating the spot where Jinu had been pinned seconds earlier.
A little confetti to celebrate Rumi's victory.
She let the Honmoon reclaim its weapon, allowing relief to wash over her. Before the singer could revel in it too much, though, a body was launched through the wall into the private room. Cries for help followed shortly after.
"Rumi! Get in here!"
"We need you!"
Zoey and Mira were surrounded by demons on all sides, claws and fangs pressing in as the girls huddled closer and closer together. Rumi's shoulder still burned from her close call with Jinu, but she buried it. She'd treat it after she helped her girls. Gritting her teeth through the pain as she tensed her arm, she called for her saingeom and flung it into the fray.
The sword sliced clean through a demon closing in on Zoey. That eased just enough of the pressure for the two to push the demons back, giving space for them to regain their balance. Rumi sprinted through the gap the girls opened up for her, eyes locked on her sword. She grabbed the hilt, dragging the blade along the ground as she sent a demon back to Gwi-Ma right as it broke through the Honmoon.
Behind her, she heard the quiet whistle of Zoey's shinkal flying through the air, each one finding its mark. Rumi leapt off a pillar in the middle of the room, killing a demon emerging from the bathhouse's ceiling, before locking eyes with Mira. The dancer swung her gok-do in a wide arc as Rumi dove over it, wiping out a wave of demons emerging from one of the pools.
She usually tried not to enjoy this, but the adrenaline was coursing through Rumi's veins at this point. The lingering sting of her shoulder had long gone silent, buried by the sound of demons turning to ash around her.
The clang of a gok-do lodging itself into the side of one of the tubs behind her forced a small smile onto Rumi's face. She turned and ran at it, grabbing the end as it carried her momentum through a clean arc around the tub, sword effortlessly slicing through demons as she spun. Mira and Zoey followed suit, landing side-by-side as Mira reclaimed her weapon.
Stopping only for a moment, Rumi took to the air again, jumping over the tub and driving her sword into the ground, releasing a wave of Honmoon energy that wiped out any straggling demons.
Finally, the trio took a minute to catch their breaths.
"Hey, this is the men's bathhouse! Get out of here!" The old man's sudden comment shocked the three girls. Hurried apologies tumbled out of them as they made their way out of the sauna, very intentionally keeping their eyes on each other.
As Rumi rushed past her girls towards the exit, she noticed Mira looking her up and down. It was subtle, almost restrained, but just enough for Rumi to catch it. She pushed it to the back of her mind; it had been a long day, and they already had enough to worry about between the rest of the Saja Boys and the Honmoon weakening. Despite all that, Rumi was feeling surprisingly light.
The chill breeze of the night was a welcome change of pace from the steamy air of the bathhouse as the girls stepped outside. It was cooler than Rumi had expected.
The two oldest girls flanked Zoey as the youngest let her bravado fill the gaps of the city's silence, giving a play-by-play of each of the girls' highlights in the final fight.
"We really showed them how it's done!" Zoey smiled wide, looking far too proud of her reference.
Rumi just playfully rolled her eyes, wrapping her arm around Zoey and pulling her close.
Walking in uneasy silence, though, was Mira.
Rumi kept glancing across Zoey towards the dancer, but any attempt at subtle communication was ignored. Intentionally or not, Rumi couldn't be sure. Their eyes finally met, and Mira's narrowed, reflexively leaning away. Again, subtly, but enough for Rumi to notice.
'Guess we're gonna have to talk when we get home.'
The hunters cut into a series of alleys down the street from the bathhouse: light enough and out of the way enough to avoid all kinds of attention.
Zoey's joy echoed through the night. "So, Rumi, what'd you get up to back there?"
A smirk eased its way onto Rumi's face. "Oh, you know, nothing much. Just killed one of the Saja Boys is all..."
"What?" Zoey practically squealed. She jumped up and down, grabbing onto Rumi's arm. "God, you're so cool! Tell us about it!"
Mira narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. What happened?"
Rumi's confidence faltered under Mira's gaze. What was with her? "I... um... I cornered him in one of the private rooms and just... overpowered him." She shrugged, trying to play off the hesitancy Mira set off in her. "He wasn't nearly as tough as I thought he'd be, to be honest."
"Yeah, that's cause you're you, Rumi!" Zoey was beaming. "And they thought they could steal our fans? Fat chance!" She pumped her fist in the air.
Rumi couldn't help but laugh. She patted Zoey on the back. "Easy, Zo. We're not done yet. There are still four of them running around."
Suddenly, something in Mira's face changed. She stalled, waiting for Zoey to walk past her, and slid in between her and Rumi. "Yeah. We've got to keep an eye out." Her arm tensed, eyes locked on Rumi. "Demons can be tricky."
Zoey looked at her two friends, confusion flickering in her eyes. "Y... yeah. I guess."
Rumi didn't know what Mira's deal was either. She just took hold of Zoey's shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Hey, that doesn't mean we won't win. We just shouldn't celebrate too early."
Mira glanced down as the arm pulled back. That was when she grabbed Rumi and slammed her into a wall, pinning her with one arm held tightly against her chest. By the time either of the other girls processed what happened, Mira summoned her gok-do, aiming it at her bandmate's throat.
Rumi's heart was pounding. Her gaze shifted back and forth between her fellow hunters; Mira's face was set, impossible to read, while Zoey's had a look of shock that almost matched Rumi's own. The maknae's breathing had picked up, jaw working like words should be coming out but wouldn't form. What was likely only seconds felt like an eternity as Rumi stared down the glow of her friend's weapon.
The weapon designed to kill creatures like her.
The thought chilled Rumi to her core. A faint burning started just under the surface of Rumi's skin, perfectly matching the familiar arc of the patterns that had seared themselves into her brain. Mira couldn't know. She had been so careful. There must be some other explanation, but Rumi's mind was drawing a blank.
"Mi... Mira?"
"I'll ask once. Where's Rumi?" Mira practically spat out the question, grip tightening on her gok-do.
The venom in Mira's eyes made Rumi want to fold into herself. She looked over at Zoey for help, and the rapper gently placed a hand on Mira's shoulder. "Mira, you're holding Rumi. Did one of the demons hit you in the head or something?" Zoey's attempt to lighten the mood fizzled out as Mira aimed her glare towards her. She shrunk back slightly, desperately searching both of them for some sort of answer. She steeled herself, holding her arms out like she was taming two wild animals. "Guys, whatever this is, I'm sure we can work it out at ho-" Suddenly, her breath caught, face now sheet white. She was looking at Rumi's shoulder. The leader followed her gaze, and her whole world flipped on its head.
Her patterns were out.
Jinu must have torn her costume during their fight. Thoughts were racing through Rumi's mind faster than she could work through them. She couldn't focus. Couldn't defend herself. 'It's over. They know.' She could practically feel the patterns spreading, the fire consuming more and more of her. Her chest tightened as years of warnings came rushing back. Every fear that had been drilled into her from the day she learned what she truly was was coming to life right before her eyes, illuminated by the blinding light of her friend's blade. Celine was right: this was always going to be how it ended if they failed to turn the Honmoon gold. A growing part of her was accepting her fate, trying to find comfort in the fact that at least it would be someone she loved who finally put her down.
Mira seemed to piece together that Rumi was up to speed. "Yeah, you're caught." Her eyes bored into Rumi's. There was no playfulness to her tone. "Now answer. I'm not asking again."
The explanation sat like lead in Rumi's stomach. She had rehearsed this moment for years, but always with the hope that she would never have to actually act it out. She couldn't be sure Zoey and Mira would understand, that they would stay with her, so she could never build up the courage to tell them. And now, with the only thing standing between Rumi and death being Mira's quest for information, she couldn't help but feel slightly vindicated in her fear.
Then Mira's question fully processed.
'They don't know. They think it's a trick. That I'm a demon in disguise. I can still fix it.' Rumi clung to that hope like a life raft at sea. She just had to get out of this alley. She needed time to think. She needed to be alone.
Rumi started struggling for freedom, desperate for any space she could force for herself, but Mira's hold got firmer, driven by rage and fear for her friend. Part of Rumi knew Mira couldn't hold her. That if she truly let go, she could escape with ease. Then she studied Mira's face, overwhelmed by the love at the root of her violence. Her want to retreat and her fear of hurting her best friends waged war inside Rumi, only adding to the mounting pressure in her skull.
A frustrated scream tore out of Rumi's throat, sending a purple wave through the Honmoon. All three girls froze at that. After a beat, Mira's resolve strengthened, prodding Rumi's exposed patterns with her gok-do. "Last chance." Zoey still hadn't drawn her weapon, but the stance was burned into memory from years of fighting together. Rumi was on her own.
The burning intensified, a pink glow escaping from the tear in her costume. She felt a sudden surge of power from deep within herself. Something unnatural. Inhuman. The temperature around them rose, and, before she had time to think about it, Rumi shoved against Mira with all she had, knocking her to the other side of the alley. The dancer's head slammed against the wall of the opposite building before she slid to the ground. Still breathing, but out cold.
"Mira!" Zoey cried, rushing to her side.
Reflexively, Rumi started to reach for Mira. To tend to her wound. To apologize to her. To comfort her. She fought back those instincts, though. There would be time to do all that later. Zoey could handle it for now.
Instead, she ran.
The faint glow of her patterns synced with her racing heartbeat. She forced her eyes shut to block out the pink lingering at the edge of her vision, only to be met with the empty surprise in Mira's eyes as she fell. She focused on the ground beneath her. The crack of her head against the concrete echoed with every footstep. Guilt scratched at her chest, begging for release. She had to be ok. She had to.
A sharp cry from behind made Rumi hesitate right as she was about to reach the end of the alley. She dared turn back to see Zoey standing over Mira, shinkal in hand and aimed down the alley. At Rumi. The two girls stared at each other for a moment, neither sure what the other was capable of, before a flash of fury colored Zoey's features.
"Give. Her. Back!"
With that command, she whipped the shinkal into the night, the light bouncing off the walls of the alley as the knife ripped through the air. Rumi froze, watching the knife soar past her. A warning shot. She would never go for the kill. Not while she believes this creature is the only thing that can return her friend to her. She had to believe that. She had to.
Rumi didn't wait to collect herself. Her balance was slipping and her vision blurred, but that could wait. Right now, she just needed to get out. She could faintly hear Zoey alternating between calling after her and desperately repeating Mira's name, voice wracked with fear and confusion, torn between which friend to help: the one she was afraid to lose or the one she thought she already had.
Rumi almost looked back again, but she knew better. If she did, she would stay. If she stayed, she would lose them. She could still fix this. She had to.