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The first time it happened, they had no time to process it. It was during the Huntr/x Comeback concert, the girls singing a polished version of “What It Sounds Like” when the Honmoon rippled with gold, purple, and black.
It took all Rumi had not to stumble, to not let her voice waver as the wave of color washed over them and desperation, protectiveness, “Let her go!” filled her, caused her patterns to spark. She had to glance at Mira and Zoey as she moved through the choreo, had to make sure they were still ok. They seemed fine but Rumi couldn't shake the sudden anxiety until the show was over and the girls were piled into a car headed back to their building.
“What was that?” Zoey was the first to breach the topic.
She knew they were looking at her for an explanation. Rumi had been a part of this world far longer than the two of them, she was supposed to know these things, and yet. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think it might be a Golden Honmoon?” Mira suggested.
“It looked different from the last time we got close to gold.” Zoey pointed out.
“This is a new Honmoon, maybe it looks different.”
Rumi wondered if they had felt it the same way she did. Probably not seeing as they didn't bring it up.
“No,” Rumi shook her head, “this felt… different. It almost felt like a plea. No… a demand.”
Their eyes were on her again and she couldn’t blame them. It was hard to explain when the girls hadn't felt it too, that wave of emotions that flooded Rumi as if they were her own.
“It almost looked like your demon voice…”
“Zoey!”
“No, she’s right. It wasn't the right color but…” her voice died off as she remembered magenta rippled across the Honmoon as her patterns flared to life. The wave from before had looked remarkably similar.
There was something out there that was able to affect the Honmoon. The thought weighed heavily on the girls as the car came to a stop.
The next time it happened Rumi was enjoying Couch Time (™), her chin resting on Zoey’s shoulder, taking in her scent of the ocean even though they hadn’t been to one in months, as the maknae scrolled through about a dozen shorts on turtles, while Mira prepped their ramyeon. Those same gold, purple, and black ripples washed over the hunters but it felt different this time.
Excitement, uncertainty, doubt built in her chest. She didn't even realize she had let out a whimper until Zoey asked if she was ok. The unwanted emotions faded faster this time and Rumi nodded.
“It seemed weaker this time.” She pointed out as Mira joined them in the living room, Gok-do already in hand.
“We should do a check for demons either way.” That earned a groan from the two girls.
“But couch!”
“We don't know how this is affecting the Honmoon. If demons are able to slip through because of this, we have to do something.”
Rumi hates that she can’t argue against that. Three months of peace and quiet or not, they are still demon hunters and they had a job to do.
They searched for hours but found nothing.
It happened a third time and Rumi grew extremely annoyed as she watched it grow closer. Gold, purple and black approached them in the middle of a fan signing and the half demon wanted to strangle whatever was causing such ripples in their Honmoon. Or she did until it washed over her and she felt emotions not her own.
Fear, pain, Getawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetaway- Rumi straightened, her eyes zooming around the room in search of a threat she knows isn't there. Still, her nerves are on end and her body is acting like its trying to respond to fight or flight. Her hand twitched, moments away from summoning her saingeom in front of all these people. Her eyes landed on her girls, desperate to see they were there, they were safe.
To her relief, they sat near her, still breathing, not in harm’s way but then she noticed something had shifted. Mira was sat with such proper posture Rumi wondered if she’d been replaced with a lookalike, her face was blank save for her eyes, which darted from Zoey to Rumi then back again. Zoey, who was filled with so much energy it seemed like she never stopped moving, was frozen in place. The only movement was from the pen in the maknae’s hand shaking from her tightened grip.
It was then that she realized that, for the first time since these ripples began, the other girls had felt the wave of emotions that came with. Somehow, in some way, they felt it too, felt how it seemed to build in their chest and tried to pass itself off as theirs. Something must have been different if they felt it this time too.
Before she could think about it more, a hand grabbed her shoulder and she nearly ripped it off, hand wrapped around it, claws threatening to emerge, as she turned to the owner, a growl building in her chest.
It died the second she realized it was Bobby, a frown marring his face. He didn't seem to know just how close to losing a body part he was as he leaned in, his voice low. “Is everything alright?”
She looked at Mira and Zoey, the two slowly recovering from the ripple, and responded back, keeping her voice just as low. “Yeah, we’re fine, Bobby.”
She wasn't sure he believed her but he nodded and backed off. The group got through the rest of the event the best they could, ignoring any lingering fear. It was easier said than done.
“Maybe it’s not even in Korea.” Zoey suggested as the three crashed on the couch. Several more ripples had come and gone, the false emotions passing quicker, the waves more spread out than they’d been in the past. The past few had been like that, Rumi had noticed, like they were weaker than the first few.
“How could it not be in Korea?” Mira raised a brow, her hand already gently tugging at Rumi’s hair to loosen the braid. “The ripples wouldn't be able to travel that far, right?”
The half demon bit back the purr building in her throat as she leaned into the pinkette’s side. The smell of sandalwood and spices comforting her after a long day.
“Well, we aren't finding the source and it feels like we’ve searched all over!” Zoey groaned, letting herself fall into Rumi with an ‘Oof!’
“Zoey might be onto something.” Rumi finally manages, her voice only slightly rumbling as the maknae decides to fiddle with her hand.
“Ha!”
“You can’t be serious.” Mira deadpans, her hand stopping. She let out an annoyed growl before she could stop it only for it to turn back into a soft rumble as Mira gave her a soft apology and continued the motion.
“My demon voice seemed to go pretty far depending on how worked up I was, am? Maybe that’s what’s happening he- Zoey!”
“Sorry, sorry!”
The youngest laughed, moving her grip away from Rumi’s fingers. The girl had been pressing at the base of her nails, watching as they extended out into claws then let go to see them go back. Rumi hadn't even noticed until she pressed too hard, leading to all her claws coming out. Thankful Zoey chose to trace the patterns on her hands instead which made Rumi’s breath shudder as soft fingers ghosted her palm.
“If it’s not in Korea, how are we supposed to find it?”
Nails turned into claws as Rumi flexed her hand, but she didn't say anything this time. Zoey continued with a smug smile and a soft hum. Silence fell over the girls as they thought about it. It wasn't like the girls could just travel the world for no reason.
Well, they could, but it would definitely draw unwanted attention seeing as their break hadn't been that long ago and the girls were as popular as ever.
“We could try another world tour.” Zoey suggested, shocking the two girls.
It wasn't the idea that had surprised the pair. Zoey had a lot of ideas and most of them were good, when they weren't spur-of-the-moment I-just-saw-this-really-cool-thing ideas that the maknae hadn't fully thought through yet. There was a reason when one of the girls had a problem they looked to Zoey.
No, they were surprised Zoey was paying enough attention to have said idea. Rumi had thought the youngest had completely zoned out when she started tracing the patterns that climbed up her fingers.
“It could work.” Mira finally said. “Could take a while though.”
“I’ll call Bobby in the morning,” Rumi promised and that was the last they talked of it for the night, Zoey filling the silence that followed with a documentary.
While the tour itself had been a success, the group strengthening the Honmoon all across the world, it had been rather lackluster in finding the thing affecting the barrier. There was still the occasional ripple, but any time they went in search of the source they found nothing. That was until they landed in America.
Their first stop was Los Angeles, mostly for Zoey who was so upset they hadn't had time to stop at some place called ‘in and out’ the last time they were there. Zoey was practically buzzing as they stepped off the plane, rambling on and on about how they were ‘totally going to love it’ and that they had to order off the secret menu. Rumi just nodded along with a soft smile and Mira rolled her eyes lovingly.
The second they stepped onto American soil the Honmoon seemed to flare to life. There was something… Rumi hesitated to use ‘wrong’ because it didn't feel wrong per say, it was different. It was hardly the weakest they had felt the Honmoon during their tour but it wasn't the strongest either. It was like something else had been affecting the barrier, the bits of gold, purple, and black that would ripple past them seemed like a more permanent fixture here. The colors seemed to slide along the starlight strings as if they had always been there.
“It’s here.” Mira breathed, her eyes following the movement of the Honmoon.
“Aww, man,” Zoey groaned, “I hate being right!”
“Sorry, Zo.” Rumi patted the maknae’s shoulder with a sympathetic smile.
“I just wanted an In-N-Out burger!”
Despite the liveliness of the Honmoon, the thing messing with it wasn't in California. Zoey, in particular, had been very happy about that, but that still left them with the question of where it was. They were pretty sure it was somewhere in the United States, they just had to find it.
Their only clue was when another wave washed over them during a patrol one night. It felt like the first two times the group experienced the ripples; strong, noticeable, but only Rumi seemed to feel the false emotions that came with. When it passed the Honmoon seemed to tug at them, beckoning them in the direction the wave had come from. Thankfully they had a couple stops across the states.
They had planned out the tour so they’d have several days in each location post concert to search. It hadn't been all that successful until after their New York concert, where another bout of ripples came and went and the hunters were able to trace it back to a small town in Connecticut.
Gravesfield, as the town was called, was weird. And not weird in that they could go unrecognized even in their semi last minute disguises, it was weird because the Honmoon was different. The American Honmoon was already strange with the gold, purple, and black weaved into the iridescent strings but in Gravesfield the roles seemed reversed, like their Honmoon was the invader. Multi-colored strings seemed to surround them, occasionally parting to make way for the iridescent the hunters were used to. Whatever caused this, it was clear they were in its territory now.
The Honmoon’s gentle tugging that had brought them this far had vanished, leaving them on their own to find the source.
They had had no luck so far and decided to take a break in the town’s park. They sat on a bench, Mira in the middle letting Rumi and Zoey lean against her, in front of a statue of two young men. The plaque claimed them to be Caleb and Philip Wittebane, a pair of witch hunters. Someone must not have liked them all that much because Rumi could vaguely smell rotten eggs coming from the statue.
That was another thing that came with accepting her demonic heritage, enhanced senses. Her senses had always been better than a normal human's, she could easily tell when someone had been in a room recently and could see pretty well even in dimly lit rooms, but it had increased ten-fold since the Idol Awards. She could tell where her bandmates were in their penthouse based on where their scents were strongest and she had spooked people more than once by getting a late night snack without turning on the lights. There were some other changes too, like how she could grow fangs but she didn't do that often because they never sat right in her mouth.
As annoying as the smell of rotten eggs were, it was nice to sit there and listen to her girls talk. Besides, it was nothing compared to the smell of sulfur and decay that had just entered the park.
Wait- what?
She instantly sat up, her eyes scanning the park.
“Wha- Rumi!”
There was only one thing that smelled like sulfur and decay. Demons.
Except a demon’s scent had always been… the best way Rumi could describe it was muted. They had one, she knew they did, but it was weaker than a human's. This scent was anything but weaker, it was as strong as any human's. Sulfur, decay, and… lemons?
“Unnie? Is everything ok?”
Her gaze landed on two girls on the other side of the park, the taller of the two staring right back at her. They couldn't have been much older than sixteen and there was only a few centimeters height difference, maybe the same amount between herself and Mira. Rumi was so focused on the taller that all she really processed about the shorter girl was that she was pale with lavender colored hair.
The taller teen seemed normal, with tan skin, long brown hair that poked out around a red beanie and brown eyes. She wore sweats and an old Letterman jacket even though it was on the warmer side this afternoon. Despite how human she looked Rumi knew there was something wrong with her. The demonic smell was coming from her. She was sure of it.
The two stared at one another and something seemed to grow in Rumi’s chest. It was a little overwhelming and the hunter wasn't in the right mind to examine if it was a good or bad feeling.
The shorter teen seemed to say something to the taller, gently tugging at her arm. The other teen’s eyes flashed that golden cat eyes that only demons had and suddenly the demon was holding the girl as it bolted away from the hunters. Rumi sprung into action.
“Rumi!” Mira yelled after her and the half demon could hear Zoey try to chase after her.
She’d have to apologize and explain later but right now she had to catch this demon.
(It was one of the few times in her life that she didn't know what to do when she caught up with the demon. She’d never met a demon with a scent as strong as a human's, not even Jinu’s was that strong and he was once human. She’d also never seen a demon so young looking.
Which led her to the other girl. Why would a demon be out in the open with a girl like that? Demons usually made quick work of their prey and if they were caught mid-soul-snatching they fought for survival first. The only time she’d seen demons run was with Jinu and the Saja Boys. Was this demon like Jinu? He was the only other demon Rumi knew that acted strange for a demon.)
Rumi chased the demon across town, through neighborhoods, and into woods. She didn't care if Mira and Zoey were following, she didn't care if someone saw them, saw her. She just had to catch this demon. (Some strange part of her almost felt proud that the demon was doing such a good job at trying to lose her. If Rumi wasn’t so well trained she’d definitely have lost them.)
The demon didn't stop until they reached some cabin in the middle of the woods. They put the girl down to open the door only to slam it shut upon seeing the inside.
“Luz, what’s going on?!” The girl looked back where Rumi approached.
“Damn it!” The demon (Luz, apparently) banged on the door with a growl. “Open the fucking door, Eda!”
Rumi stopped in the middle of the clearing, taking them in. It was weird the demon was calling for someone to open the door when they could clearly open it themself. They both seemed to be tense, maybe even scared that Rumi was there.
“Rumi!” The half demon spared a glance to see Mira and Zoey catch up to her. “What the hell?! What’s happening?”
She didn't respond to them, instead focusing back on the two teens.
The girl tugged on the demon’s arm, forcing them to turn. “Luz!”
Luz noticed the group of hunters and put herself between them and the girl. Their lips curled back into a snarl, revealing sharp fangs. “I don't know what you want, but stay back!”
“Does she have fangs?!” Rumi heard Zoey whisper in awe.
“Look,” she put her hands out in front of her in a universal sign of placation, slowly stepping forward.
“I said,” Luz interrupted and she instantly knew what the demon was planning. Knew by the way Luz seemed to inhale deeply, how their chest seemed to puff up. Knew by how their eyes glowed yellow and how their disguise shimmered. In the moments Rumi realized what was going to happen she let her own demonic abilities build in her throat. “Stay back!”
“Stop!”
Gold, purple, and black crashed into magenta waves, canceling one another. The two demons struggled to catch their breaths as they stared at each other with wide eyes. Luz’s human disguise had disappeared thanks to the demonic roars and Rumi had never seen a demon like them before.
The most human thing about Luz was their face, which looked the same as it did in her human disguise except with yellow cat eyes and fangs that slightly stuck out of their mouth. Their hair, which was an untameable mane, was tinted purple with a pair of horns curling out of them.
The rest of her body was covered in black fur with the exception of her fingers and feet, which seemed to have bone-like claws. They wore a trench coat that was the same color as their fur, making it hard to tell where one ended and another began, and a pair of baggy pants. A yellow symbol that Rumi didn't recognize glowed on the demon’s chest.
“She just-” Zoey cut herself off as if she couldn't believe it.
“She’s a-”
Rumi just nodded. They had just found the thing that affected the Honmoon.