Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be the usual long, boring day. Get up, get ready, eat, then go to whatever place the agenda says. Not hard to follow.

Rumi wondered how she ended up in an alley fighting demons. They were supposed to be unable to cross the Honmoon. It was at its most powerful state. Somehow, Rumi ended fighting demons that had escaped their realm; she moved her sword, smoothly slicing the air and the demons in its path.

The platinum Honmoon shone red, a warning; more demons were crossing. Rumi wondered if the girls had felt it, if the warning had reached the penthouse.

What had failed?

Gwi-Ma had been destroyed, and they had lived in peace for the past year. After her demon marks were revealed, she had accepted herself. Mira and Zoey had accepted her.

No more hiding.

Rumi was living how she had always dreamed of, and she was happy. They had finished their last concert of the season, a tour that marked them as reborn, as something new. No demons have been seen after that day.

Well, Rumi was on her way to a photoshoot, sponsored by a sports brand, where her marks would be uncovered. A line of athletic clothes. A new feeling of not hiding them anymore was new, not uncomfortable, just new.

The driver had stopped at a red light, still 5 minutes away from the location. The Honmoon shone red; it vibrated strongly. It grabbed Rumi's attention. Disbelief, there is no way the Honmoon had weakened. There was no reason for it to happen.

Rumi opened the car's door, ignoring the driver's complaints. The traffic light had turned green, and she could hear the other drivers' complaints, honking for her private car to move. Rumi signaled to the driver to go; she would be there on time. The driver drove away, but not trusting her.

Rumi ran to where the Honmoon had alerted her to go. She passed the empty streets. Eerie, the streets were rarely empty, usually vivacious with people, no matter the day and time.

She kept running until she reached it.

An alley. Empty. Just trash cans and dirt.

Rumi summoned her sword. A second nature when danger whispered in her ear. There was something hidden, the unease, dark. She continued to move, slowly, stepping carefully as if at any moment she could alert what was hiding.

The Honmoon sent the alert. Red. Bright. An attack.

Rumi felt it on her left, the presence. She swung her sword, killing the demon that had attacked her. Then again, one, two, three. Left and right. Rumi knew she was capable of destroying them. Muscle memory to her.

She heard glass breaking, followed by a splash on her skin. Rumi didn't pay attention to it; she had to keep fighting as the demons were multiplying. No time for distractions. But the splash on her leg started to burn, the skin feeling tingly and uncomfortable, but the demons were not stopping. There was no time to stop.

The Honmoon kept sending warning after warning. Exhaustion was starting to rise. Rumi wondered how long it had been, probably more than 5 minutes. Bobby was probably having a mental breakdown. As if on cue, she heard the phone vibrating, probably Bobby.

Sweat started to form on her forehead, the sun rising slowly, the heat of the day rising as well.

Rumi noticed the demons were slowing down, as if their mission was complete. The last two demons looked at each other, with creepy smiles on their faces. Her eyesight started to blur, an unwelcome dizziness that made her body lose balance. Rumi quickly leaned on the wall, holding herself from falling.

The last two demons attacked at her moment of weakness. Rumi's senses were ready; she moved her sword, finishing them at the same time. She fell on her knees an unexpected pain in her muscles, not holding her up anymore.

A broken bottle, shattered on the ground with a pink liquid surrounding it. Rumi observed it, unease rising at the sight. She remembered the splash, the feeling of it burning her skin. For a moment, everything went still, then pain.

An agonizing pain. Her muscles are screaming at the sudden feeling. She heard it, a loud snap followed by a pain she recognized. A broken bone. Familiar with it, but still painful. Rumi tried not to scream; she knew the streets were about to start filling with people. Snap after snap, bones in her body breaking. Pain was causing her to cry, her patterns shining a bright pink, a sign of her distress.

She needed to call Zoey or Mira. She needed them; she thought of them to distract her brain from the pain. She thought of Zoey's warm hugs and Mira's loving kisses.

Fear rose inside her. What if she never saw them again? Is this how she would end? Alone in an alley, were her last moments full of pain?

Rumi had lost count of how many times she heard her body break. She was sure it had been all her bones. She was sure she had passed out a couple of times, only waking up to the agonizing pain her mind wanted to forget. Rumi waited for the pain to return, but minutes passed and nothing occurred.

She tried to get up, but had no strength. She landed back on the ground with a hard thump. Pain in her abdomen as she fell with full force, as if gravity was against her. She observed her surroundings.

The noise of the streets, louder than usual, was causing her a headache. She could hear people's steps clearly. Their voices murmuring. The cars honking, people yelling, the buzzing noise of insects around her. Her senses were more sensitive to her surroundings.

The trash can that was on the floor looked big. Maybe because she was lying on the floor, Rumi was sure of that, because no way it had expanded in a short time. Rumi tried to get up again, trying for her muscles to respond, but it was in vain.

Rumi took a deep breath and stretched her arms. Then she noticed her arms were not arms anymore. She had fur in her skin. Instant panic, she got up, not listening to her body protesting against it. The pain was nothing to this new finding.

Her back against the wall, hands, well, paws in front of her. There had to be a mistake, purple colored fur similar to her hair, soft-looking pink pads as she turned her paw. She examined it.

A mistake, she had to be dreaming. This was a nightmare, and she had to wake up. Rumi moved one of her paws closer to her mouth and bit it. Instant pain, followed by red drops. She had bitten too hard and was now bleeding. Rumi screamed, well, kind of, it sounded more like a cat lamenting. A loud meow she recognized was coming from her.

She quickly covered her mouth with her paws.

There had to be an explanation. Rumi thought, the pink liquid from the bottle. It had to be it. It had splashed her skin, her leg. Rumi moved, trying to see if her leg was affected, but her body protested, pain not letting her continue her investigation.

The Honmoon shone red once again. Another warning, Rumi was aware she couldn't fight in this state. Her body was exhausted from the transformation. Her bones already suffered from breaking; she couldn't add more trouble to her already suffering body.

She couldn't run and definitely couldn't call Mira or Zoey. She had to think, too far from the penthouse, but too close to the civilians. She couldn't let anyone find her like this. Not when her fur was already bright purple enough to call unwanted attention.

She had to teleport.

Rumi knew that was a better option, not the best, but better. She tried to ignore her body protesting against it; she was tired, and usually, teleporting caused her body to be tired.

Concentration, she needed to visualize her room. The comfort of her bed, the white walls, the view, and her plants. She closed her eyes and let her body do the rest. She heard a puff, landing hard on her feet. Paws. Whatever.

She landed too hard; she visualized it as a human, causing her to have too much height compared to a cat. Her weakened muscles gave up, falling on her side. Another loud thump of her body hitting the ground.

She tried to hold on to consciousness, but her mind couldn't. Darkness was conquering her eyesight, and a blurry door was opening in a hurry in front of her. Rumi's mind wandered. Would Mira and Zoey love her even if she were a cat? How would they kiss her if she were covered in fur?

Rumi let a sad meow escape her at the thought of not having her girlfriends kiss her again. At the thought of never having their lips touch her skin.

She welcomed the darkness. Maybe when she woke up, she would be a human again with Mira and Zoey beside her.

Chapter Text

Zoey was folding her clothes when she heard a loud thump followed by a meow. Zoey stopped with a shirt in her hands and listened carefully. Silence. The penthouse is supposed to be silent; only she, Derpy, and Sussy were in the building. And both of them were beside Zoey, well, lying on the warm clothes she had taken from the dryer.

Then she heard it again

Meow

That was definitely what she thought it was. She got up quickly from her bed, trying to listen carefully for another sound to find its location. Derpy and Sussy were behind her. She checked the living room, nothing, empty. She checked the kitchen, still nothing.

She looked at Derpy, who appeared as if he had heard something. He moved, which Zoey decided to follow. They moved through the penthouse silently, Derpy leading the way. They stopped by Rumi's door. Zoey noticed the purple smoke; her mind raced. Demons.

Zoey summoned her Shin-kals, 3 in each hand, ready for the unexpected. She opened the door, making a mental note to apologize to Rumi for entering her room without her permission. Then she saw it.

A cat, unconscious, lying on the floor. Unmoving. Zoey noticed its strange fur, a purple that reminded her of Rumi, and the patterns that were similar to how Rumi's body was adorned. She scanned the cat, she moved her hand, and touched it softly, trying to wake it up. The cat appeared injured, with a couple of scatches and fur trimmed compared to the other sides. Stargely, the cat was missing hair on its right leg as if the fur was completely waxed, and even the skin looked red and irritated. Zoey moved the fur, checking for open wounds, but didn't find any.

The cat didn't move. Zoey observed its fur rising slowly as it was breathing. Relief was felt as the cat was alive. She had to call someone, let them know her discovery. Rumi was not an option; being in the photoshoot, she wouldn't answer. Zoey remembered Rumi telling her to call her only in emergencies. Mira was 15 floors below her; it was easier to reach her.

Zoey, phone in hand, dialed Mira's number. Easier than looking for the contact. The phone rang, and Mira answered at the fourth ring.

"Hey, babe, what's up?" Mira sounded out of breath. Probably stopping in the middle of the choreography to answer her call.

"Mira, I found a cat in Rumi's room." There was silence. Zoey imagined Mira's face, with absolute confusion, furrowed eyebrows.

"Zoey, are you sure?" A tone of disbelief

"Yes, I swear. It's right in front of me. I'll send you a picture so you believe me." Zoey took the picture quickly as if the cat would get up at any moment.

Mira waited. She heard the familiar sound, the notification alerting her to the picture. She opened it, and clearly a cat was lying motionless on Rumi's carpet. The ugly carpet Mira hated but wasn't strong enough to tell her. She remembered Rumi's bright eyes at the sight of the ugly carpet; she couldn't break that to her.

She went back to the cat, examining its body. It had purple fur? Mira zoomed in on the picture, as if that would clear her eyesight. "Zoey, is the cat purple?" Mira heard Zoey laugh at her words.

"Yes, its fur is purple. It reminds me of Rumi's hair, and it's really soft just like hers." Zoey heard Mira sigh.

"Zoey, don't touch the cat again. We don't know if it might be sick, maybe it's a trap, or worse…" Zoey heard Mira move, her voice sounding farther away, echoing in the studio. "It might have fleas and passed them to Derpy."

Derpy in question was touching the unconscious cat with its nose. As if with familiarity. Zoey panicked. Derpy couldn't have fleas. Not on her watch. She managed to move Derpy, the stubborn cat, refusing to move from the purple cat's side as if protecting it. Sussy appeared to judge the curious cat.

Zoey's thoughts were moving faster than she could keep up. "Mira, what if the cat is Rumi?" A nervous laugh followed her statement. "I think I'm overthinking it. I'll call Rumi, and I'll call you back."

She heard Mira agree as if still processing her words. She hung up and quickly called Rumi. The phone rang until the voicemail was heard, the operator's cold voice greeting her. Not the voice she wanted, Zoey's uneasiness grew. It was already late, the clock marked 4:26 pm. Rumi was supposed to be back already, photo shoot ending at 3:00.

Zoey tried again, but the same outcome. No answer. She called Bobby instead; maybe the photoshoot had taken more time than expected. Zoey's anxiety level was rising.

The phone rang, Zoey feeling impatient. Bobby answered. He always answered.

"Hi Bobby!" Zoey's voice was lively as always. "Is Rumi done with the photoshoot?"

Bobby heard the hidden anxiety in Zoey's tone. "Hi Zoey, uhm, Rumi never arrived at the photoshoot. I had to reschedule it; the brand wasn't too happy, but I fixed it."

Zoey felt her stomach drop. Rumi never missed an event, not when she had agreed to it weeks prior. "Oh, did the driver say anything?" She remembered the driver picking Rumi up, driving her to the location.

"Yea, he said Rumi got out of the car at a red light. She promised to arrive on time and ran away." Zoey sighed. Why was Rumi always running away?

"I'm sorry, Bobby, I'll talk with Rumi when she arrives back." She said her goodbyes and hung up.

Quickly, with her heart racing, she called Mira back. "Did you get hold of Rumi?" She could hear Mira trying to keep calm between the two.

"No, Mira, she never made it to the photoshoot. I talked with Bobby, and he said she got out of the car and ran away." Zoey felt Derpy touch her with his nose. Cold nose grounded her, stopping her mind not getting lost in her thoughts.

"I'll track her phone. We will find her, love, I promise." Zoey heard her voice, thanking her.

Still on the ground beside the unconscious purple cat and Derpy and Sussy at her side, she felt the Honmoon vibrate. A warning, never felt in the penthouse. Not even when it was being destroyed by Gwi-ma.

She saw the red light in front of her. Zoey got up, grabbed the cat, and carried it with the phone in hand. She could hear Mira's desperate voice calling her name. "I'm ok, but I think the demons are going to attack."

She heard Mira say, "I'll be there in 5. I'm on my way. Can you stay on the line?"

Zoey didn't have an opportunity to answer, as a demon appearing in front of her. A hammer in hand, as big as her head, swung in her direction. Zoey smiled, stupid mistake, never swing your weapons at your enemy without control.

She jumped, agile legs moving with ease. A dance Zoey enjoyed. Shin-kal in hand, she threw it with precision, hitting the demon right in the face. Zoey took the opportunity to run to the kitchen, the cat still in her arms, unconscious. She opened one of the cabinets, placing it inside, safe. She whispered, "I'll be back for you. Please don't move."

A vase could be heard breaking. Zoey closed her eyes. That vase was a gift from Celine after healing the Honmoon. That day, they had their favorite flowers now it was dry, the flowers were dead, most likely on the floor with the vase. Even if Rumi didn't want to change it, she knew she wasn't gonna be happy about it.

Zoey jumped over the counter, landing in front of a crowd of demons. She stepped on the vase's pieces, and a crunching sound followed her steps. She started to run once again. Throwing her Shin-Kals, six demons downs hundreds more to take down.

The demons were excited to fight, just as excited as she was. Zoey kept fighting, a reminder of the adrenaline she had been craving since sealing the Honmoon. Defeating demons one by one, the Shin-kals hit their target.

Mira was in the elevator, a silly mistake. Piano music that didn't help her angsty feeling. Mira, phone in hand, heard the commotion. Zoey's grunts, something breaking, and the demons disappearing.

She walked in circles, her thoughts of her girls not being safe, getting injured, and her being in the elevator, not being able to help. Mira felt frustrated. Rumi's location was unknown, behavior was unfit for her character. They had promised each other to let the other know if they felt in danger.

It will be fine, they will find her and everything will be ok.

With Gok-Do in hand, Mira was ready to fight beside Zoey.

Mira, looking back at the picture of the cat, remembered Zoey's comment. Could it really be possible for it to be Rumi? Mira tried to focus. Right now, she needed to make sure Zoey was safe, then they would find the owner of the cat. Maybe it was a fan obsessed with Rumi, dyeing its fur the same color.

The elevator made a ding sound at every passing floor. Moving tediously slow. 25… 26… 27… Mira saw her reflection in the metal doors. Her leg was shaking in nervousness. The number 30 bright at its reach, a final ding. The doors finally opened.

She saw Zoey, weapon in hand, fighting the demons. And in the background, a purple cat with a sword.

Mira did a double-take. She was sure she had her glasses on. But she still took them off and cleaned them with her shirt. Yep, a cat was fighting side by side with Zoey.

A cat with a sword in its mouth.

It seemed Zoey hadn't noticed the unique event happening behind her.

The cat appeared to enjoy it, doing acrobatics in the air, slaying demons with its sword. The cat's feature showed complete concentration, as if calculating its next move. From the floor, it jumped on the couch, landing on its two back legs, and threw itself at two demons in front of it. It twisted its body in the air with impulse, moving the sword with its body, slaying them with ease.

Mira took a deep breath; no time for the cat to distract her. That was an issue for later.

Some demons noticed her presence. Mira felt offended; it took too long for it to happen. Her Gok-Do slaying them, a simple move that Mira felt ashamed of. She expected a fight, not a children's play. Weaklings. Mira made her way to Zoey, who seemed to be enjoying this a little too much, with a wide grin on her face.

Mira's back made contact with Zoey's. "You miss this, didn't you?" Mira said with a little smile on her face.

"Oh yeah, baby, we are so back." Mira chuckle at her girlfriend's excitement. At least she was enjoying it.

"The final move," Zoey made eye contact with Mira, agreeing. The final move called for "the Tornado". Named by Zoey after endless weeks of training.

Zoey did a backflip, balancing on Mira's hands. Mira using her strength, threw her in the air, with implacable aim and twirling in the air, Zoey sent her Shin-kals ending as many demons as possible. A tornado to whoever saw them. The Honmoon responded, shining, creating a wave of translucent color, eliminating them all.

Zoey landed smoothly. The purple cat landed in front of her sword in its mouth.

Zoey froze on her landing pose, speechless, mouth open in surprise. "Mira, tell me I'm not hallucinating, tell me you see a cat in front of me with a sword." The supposed unconscious, injured cat was standing in front of her.

"Yep, I see it too," Mira confirmed. Zoey didn't know how to feel, some relief, it was real, or concerned that the cat was capable of fighting.

The cat had brown eyes and a speck of gold on its right eye. Its patterns were shining, translucent, matching the Honmoon over its whole body. A long, majestic fur, a little dirt on it, but it still showed its beauty.

There was a resemblance to their Rumi.

The cat looked at her as if waiting. At the sign of no response, the cat meowed at Zoey. It moved its eye between Mira and Zoey, waiting.

Both of them just observed it, studied its pattern, and tried to figure out where it had come from and why it looked so much like Rumi but not at the same time. Mira was the first to say something.

"Do you understand us?" Doubt was clear in her voice as if not waiting for it to actually answer.

"Meow," the cat answered, moving its head. Nodding in confirmation. A mumbled 'fuck' and 'how' could be heard. Mira observed the cat, trying to move with difficulty, mostly her back leg. She limped forward and signaled for both Mira and Zoey to follow.

Rumi walked to the couch, which had minor scratches from the fights. Zoey and Mira followed her, hesitant. She felt pain on her right back leg, but Rumi kept moving. She kept trying to figure out if to walk on two legs or four, but her body did not agree with either. Rumi kept tripping on hair, almost falling twice on her face. Finally, she reached the couch, jumping on it.

She noticed both Mira and Zoey sat beside her, not taking their eyes from her form. Rumi felt intimidated, thoughts running through her head. What if they don't believe me? But she had to explain.

Derpy and Sussy appeared from the Honmoon. Derpy saw her and appeared he recognize her. At least her smell was the same to Derpy. He got closer, touching her with his nose as if greeting her. Zoey and Mira observed the interaction, their eyes softening.

'Let me explain them what happened,' She said to Derpy. She hoped he understood. Moments later, he moved with Sussy in his head and disappeared in the Honmoon.

Rumi tried to recreate the scenes with her body. She mimicked a car, front paws moving as a steering wheel. Change of scene, she sat on her back legs and moved her front legs as if running. She tried to show a bottle, something small, and as if throwing a ball, she moved her front paws in the air. Then she moved to the other side of the couch in fighting stance, and with her front paws showed the motion of a tiny object moving through the air. She tried to make the sound of it breaking, but Rumi wasn't sure how it actually sounded in a cat's vocal cords. Then, a splash. Rumi showed her back leg, with a bald spot on it.

Rumi stopped her theatrical demonstration at the sight.

She had a bald spot.

Rumi couldn't believe it. It had burned her fur and some of her skin. Redness could be seen.

"Hey, it's ok." She heard Mira's voice.

The shock washed off. Mira and Zoey looked at each other as if trying to figure out and process her storytelling. Rumi remembered she had to keep going. Her story wasn't complete yet.

Deep breaths, it's fine, it will grow again. At least it wasn't her head.

Rumi moved her paws, signaling she was going to continue. She held her leg, in pain, and she threw herself on the couch, meowing in pain. She moved her legs and kept meowing, then she got up quickly and sat down. She tried to demonstrate her shock at the sight of her paws in front of her. A small scream, or yell, she let out remembering her shock.

Rumi looked at Zoey and Mira both with wide eyes. Clear confusion in their features. Rumi realized she had acted her predicament and it wasn't clear to be understood.

Oh

She felt embarrassed. She covered her eyes with her front paws, falling on her back. Rumi didn't dare to face her girlfriends. She wanted to hide, to make them forget her performance. She had tried her best, but it wasn't enough. Rumi wanted to cry, missing her voice to tell them directly and she could write exactly with her paws.

She heard Mira clearing her throat. Rumi was familiar with the action; Mira was trying to find the words to respond to her demonstration. She heard Zoey instead.

"Rumi…is that truly you?" Rumi lowered her paws from her face and looked at Zoey. Rumi could kiss her right now if it weren't for her situation. She nodded in excitement. Finally, they knew it was her. Rumi could cry out of happiness, maybe some tears were even escaping.

Both of them looked unsure about how to react at the end.

"So…you were attacked?" Rumi still embarrassed, nodded and meowed in response.

"Oh, Princess, but are you ok?" She felt Mira's hand on her head, caressing her little forehead. Rumi leaned into it and nodded. "We'll figure it out, ok."

Rumi felt relieved; she had both of her girlfriends at her side. Reassuring words thrown at her, she felt calm and loved. Tiredness felt in her bones, heavy eyelids threatening to close. She had just woken up, but her body demanded to sleep. Rumi moved to be in contact with Mira's skin, her head touching her leg while her back legs were being touched by Zoey.

There was no other best thing in Rumi's life than being with her girlfriends. An instant smile to the feeling of warmth on her fur, the soft hands touching her. Grounding. Peaceful. Rumi welcomed her sleep, not fearing for the future.

She knew they would find a way to turn her back. They had each other, there is nothing else she could ask for.

Mira caresses Rumi's soft fur. The cat leaned into it as if welcoming the touch. Rumi moved closer until her head made contact with her leg. Rumi loved sleeping with contact, grabbing a hand or her head on hers or Zoey's chest; it kept her warm and feeling safe.

Rumi closed her eyes, breathing evenly, slowly, and calmly. Mira noticed Rumi fell asleep, purrs escaping her without her noticing. A deep sleep after a long day.

"Zo, let's move to the be…"

Mira observed Zoey, who had fallen asleep as well. Her hand holding Rumi's paw, secured, safe in her hand. Mira smiled at the view, Zoey snoring softly, mouth slightly open, and Rumi purring to her heart's content.

Mira's heart squeezed, almost taking the air out of her lungs at the cuteness of her two girlfriends. She couldn't wake them up, the couch having enough space for all of them. The clock marked 10 P.M., the time Rumi usually goes to bed.

Mira grabbed a small blanket on her side, and she covered both of them as best as the blanket could. She got up carefully, avoiding waking Rumi from her deep slumber. She decided to move Zoey to lie down on the couch instead of sitting down uncomfortably. Zoey didn't let go of Rumi's paw. And Rumi seemed not to be bothered to wake up at the movement.

Both deep in sleep.

Mira lost track of time, observing both rest peacefully. She had to find the solution to Rumi's issue. She could see Rumi's features, moved her body to a better position, now fully lying on her back, paws in the air, except the paw Zoey was holding.

Mira grabbed her phone, taking a photo, a must-have picture she had to take. She set it as a wallpaper, the screen showing the sight in front of her. She smiled again. She had to print the picture and hang it on the wall. Another one for the collection of "the future wedding slide show" pictures.

There was so much to do, and Mira knew Rumi would need them. She kissed both on the forehead, making them smile in their sleep. Mira decided to lay on the couch instead of carrying them to bed, she needed their warmth to avoid the nightmares of the night.

She welcomed the sleep closing her eyes. Tomorrow, they had to find the reason why their beloved girlfriend was a cat. But now, she had them in her arms safe and sound.