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

Mira & Zoey: "We have to talk to Jinu as soon as possible."

Jinu, oblivious to this: "I gotta talk to Rumi as soon as possible."

-x-X-x-

Look, Bobby might have told them all to go to sleep, but the thing was… Jinu still wasn't really used to needing sleep. And to be fair, he'd checked and he didn't need THAT much even with his soul back. Just a few hours a night at most and he was fine!

Plus, given everything that had happened tonight, Jinu figured he knew someone else who wouldn't be sleeping any time soon as well. So if they were both going to be up anyways, why not get a move on and take a page out of the old playbook?

After all, not all of his ideas from the previous timeline were that bad, right? One of them had worked out pretty damn well!

… So yeah, he'd sent Derpy and Sussie up to Rumi's room like ten minutes ago with an offer to talk and at this point he's not entirely sure if she's going to show up or not. He's just waiting there in the apartment that Bobby had directed him to, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the door expectantly. Hopefully, any moment now there will be a knock and-

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His head whips around and his eyes go wide as he jolts in shock to the sight of Rumi literally hanging off the side of the building outside of his window. The purple-haired half-demon is tapping the glass with one single fingernail as she gives him an expectant, impatient look.

Getting to his feet and moving over to the window, Jinu finds that Rumi's other hand is holding her sword… which she currently has buried almost to the hilt in the building itself. He can't help but stare a little bit, even as he finds the window's latch and slides it open.

As fluid and acrobatic as ever, Rumi slips into the apartment, her sword disappearing back into the Honmoon as she lands on her feet. When she sees the look he's giving her, she just raises an eyebrow.

"What? Honmoon Weapons only damage demons, but they still have a weight to them. So using my sword to both slide down and cling to the tower causes zero property damage. It's perfectly safe."

Safe… right…

Setting that aside, Jinu cracks a smirk as he closes the window behind her and tilts his head to the side curiously.

"You know, for a second there I wasn't sure if you were going to come."

That draws a huffy scoff from the purple-haired hunter, who narrows her eyes at him and crosses her arms over her chest.

"I almost didn't. Sending your bird and tiger to jump scare me like that wasn't very cool."

… Huh? Jump scare her? His confusion must show on his face because Rumi frowns.

"What? You didn't tell the bird to lead me into an 'ambush' by the tiger? You know, if I didn't already know how harmless 'Derpy' was, I might have struck first. Frankly, I almost did on pure instinct before he knocked over a flowerpot. At which point I watched him spend over a minute trying to get it to stand back up with one of his oversized paws."

… That did sound like Derpy if Jinu was being honest. And it also sounded like Sussie too. Trust the two of them to turn a simple message delivery into some sort of prank…

"Sorry. They really do have minds of their own… even if Derpy's is pretty much perpetually empty. Sussie has enough schemes for the both of them combined though."

Rumi studies him for another moment and it pains Jinu that she doesn't know him like she would have in the other timeline. Of course, he's also a little relieved that she doesn't know everything he did to her in said other timeline. The harm he'd caused her, the damage he'd done… it was frankly unforgiveable.

He had a chance to do better with this Rumi though. He wasn't going to hesitate to take it.

"I'm sure you've guessed that I know what you are."

Rumi straightens up at that… before jutting out her chin and glaring at him challengingly after a moment.

"And what am I, exactly?"

Well, if she wanted him to spell it out… so be it.

"You're part demon. Your mother was a hunter, but your father was a demon. You were born with patterns… patterns that you hide under that sweatshirt of yours even now."

Rumi sucks in a sharp breath, looking down at the heavy sweatshirt she's wearing. She also has on the infamous pajama bottoms with the teddy bears and choo-choo trains, but Jinu doesn't comment on those like he did last go around. He's not trying to rile her up or piss her off this time… he's trying to help her.

"… Yeah. Fine. You know what I am. But I didn't come to talk about that."

What? Jinu doesn't bother hiding his surprise, staring at her incredulously.

"Really? Then why did you decide to come here and talk to me?"

Her fingers dig into her arms as she borders on hugging herself for a moment. Then, she seems to find her resolve as she gives him an intense stare.

"I want to know about the other half-demons that you talked about with Celine. How many are there, exactly? Who are they? Where are they?"

Ah. Now he starts to understand. Jinu tries not to cringe too hard. Rumi had heard everything he and Celine talked about… and come to the wrong conclusion about things. This was her self-worth issues getting in the way again, wasn't it?

She didn't see anything about herself worthy of saving, so instead she was focusing on the nonexistent 'other half-demons' out there, latching onto that so she didn't have to think about what might happen to her if the Honmoon turned Golden.

Well… too bad.

"I only know of one half-demon, Rumi. You."

Rumi's eyes widen in disbelief, her mouth opening partially.

"But… but you said the Honmoon-!"

"Yes, I did. And now that it's just the two of us, I can be completely honest. The Honmoon cares about you, Rumi. It loves you. And it gave me my soul back and sent me here to save you from yourself."

Rumi's jaw goes slack at that. She looks like she doesn't know what to say. So Jinu fills the silence, lifting up a hand and letting the Rainbow Honmoon spread through his patterns more enthusiastically, glowing bright.

"You've hid from what you really are all your life, Rumi. Funny how if you'd gone the other direction and embraced it, you would have been able to hide it all the better."

Blinking owlishly, the purple-haired half-demon furrows her brow.

"What? What does that mean?"

Jinu sighs, showing off both arms, letting his iridescent patterns shimmer and glow. And then, he transforms himself, using a bit of illusion magic to easily disguise himself as a human. No more patterns. No more demon. In an instant, he becomes just a seemingly ordinary man.

"You could have learned to disguise yourself, just like any demon can. You have the abilities; you've just been repressing them all this time."

He has her attention now. She's gaping at him in shock. Jinu grimaces and lets the disguise drop, going back to his real form. He doesn't want to deceive or manipulate her with his 'pretty human face'.

"More than that though… those patterns of yours are marks of shame. If you hadn't been made to feel ashamed of them, if you hadn't been compelled to cover them up and treat them as a bad thing… then they never would have grown as much as they have in the first place."

Rumi's eyes bulge out of her skull and she looks down at her sweatshirt-covered torso and forearms with an expression of pure betrayal. For a moment, Jinu thinks that he might be getting through to her… but then her hands curl into fists and she growls.

"But they ARE a bad thing. I should be ashamed of them. Even if you're telling the truth, how is that fair?!"

Life isn't fair. Jinu doesn't say that though. He also doesn't say what he's really thinking, about how they're only truly a bad thing for those under Gwi-Ma's control. Even though she has patterns, Rumi is free of the Demon King. She's safe from his voice and control for some reason. Even before the Rainbow Honmoon, even at the height of Gwi-Ma's power when the old Honmoon had been destroyed, she hadn't heard him.

… But Jinu can tell she's not ready to hear anything about her demon patterns being 'good' right now. So instead he changes the subject back to the Honmoon and it's love for Rumi. The Rainbow Honmoon, specifically.

"You girls are close. Closer than anyone who has ever come before you. You might very well be able to complete the Golden Honmoon if you can find a way to fix your voice. But the Honmoon itself doesn't want that. Because the only thing at the end of that road is pain and suffering."

Rumi's jaw clicks shut and her eyes suddenly blaze with righteous anger.

"For demons! It will protect the world from all the demons who would prey on it!"

But Jinu just shakes his head.

"As well as the one half-demon who doesn't prey on it. The one who has helped it. Who has tended to it all this time. Do you really think the Honmoon wants to see you hurt, Rumi?"

… Technically he's lying here. It's just a little white lie though. Really, it's more of an obfuscation of the truth than an actual lie. But put bluntly… Jinu is pretty sure the original Honmoon actually doesn't care about whether Rumi gets hurt or not. It's not it's fault though. The original Honmoon doesn't understand how to care about a part demon.

Jinu has had plenty of time to think about this and here's where he landed. If Rumi's shame hadn't completely overwhelmed her and stopped the first live performance of Golden, the girls probably would have completed the Golden Honmoon right then and there. Because the original Honmoon was built on four hundred years of stoicism, duty, and hiding one's true self.

However, that would not have been a good thing. Because in the face of four hundred years of hunters doing their duty and gathering up the adoration and devotion of their fans while giving everything they had to that protective barrier… Zoey and Mira's love for Rumi would not have been enough to protect her.

That was where the Rainbow Honmoon came in. With the old Honmoon destroyed back in the original timeline, Rumi and her fellow hunters had come together and created a new one. Frankly, Jinu had been struck speechless when it started. Every word out of Rumi's mouth had felt like a metal spike driven right into his heart.

But the results spoke for themselves. The three hunters had come together and despite Gwi-Ma's best efforts, they'd sung a brand new Honmoon into existence. The Rainbow Honmoon. And in his totally unbiased opinion, it was so much better because it was built on love, acceptance, and friendship.

The Rainbow Honmoon would never hurt Rumi, because Zoey and Mira would never hurt Rumi. That's why it was better than the old Honmoon. That's why Jinu had to do everything in his power to make sure it replaced the old Honmoon in this timeline as well.

"… But what if it's worth it? Even… even if it kills me or… or seals me in the demon realm with Gwi-Ma and the rest of the demons… isn't that worth it? One life to save… countless souls?"

And there it is. Of course she's come around to the self-sacrificing mindset. Jinu had sort of expected this. He'd known it was coming. And yet… it still pisses him off. How little Rumi values herself. How quickly she's willing to throw her life away for the 'cause'. She's not the damn monster here! He is.

His anger gets the better of him admittedly and words spill out before he can think them through.

"Do you think Zoey and Mira will just accept that? Do you think they'll help you complete the Golden Honmoon if they know what you really are and the threat it poses to your demon half?"

Rumi goes still for a moment… before her sword is suddenly in her hands again and pointed at him as she scowls angrily.

"You haven't told them yet. You haven't had the chance."

Jinu straightens up, looking down at Rumi… and at her sword.

"No, I haven't."

And there it is. Determination in her eyes that he remembers quite well.

"You won't get that chance either."

With a snarl, Rumi leaps at him in an all too familiar manner. Jinu dodges of course, even as Rumi growls at him. He does his best to try and talk her down, not really wanting to fight her.

"I'm not going to fight you, Rumi. The Honmoon sent me to save you."

"Good! All the easier for me to kill you then!"

"Your girls will understand, you know! They won't love you any less!"

"Don't talk about them! Don't talk like you know them better than me! If they find out, they'll hate me! We were trained to KILL demons. The instant they see my patterns, the instant they know what I am, they'll do their DUTY!"

"Do you really believe that?!"

"Of course I do! That's why the Golden Honmoon is the ONLY option! It'll keep everyone safe! It'll keep them safe!"

"Without you! They'll be without you!"

"They'll be better off!"

A bit too late, Jinu begins to realize he's allowed himself to be boxed in. This isn't like their first rooftop meeting where he had all of the room in the world and Rumi simply couldn't catch him. No, this is more like the bathhouse fight, where she'd very nearly gotten him and only the distraction caused by the reveal of her demon patterns allowed him to get the upper hand as she'd frozen up.

There was no such distraction here, and despite everything, Rumi is and perhaps always will be a better fighter than him. She certainly has far more training. Just as he's wondering if he needs to retreat or maybe even wake up Bobby… Rumi's sword moves in a lightning fast motion that he can't dodge in time… and comes crashing down onto his clavicle, cleaving his right shoulder and hewing through his body.

Or rather… the saingeom tries to anyways. Oh, it certainly hits Jinu's shoulder. And it even digs in half an inch, cutting right into one of his patterns. However, it stops there. Not because Rumi is lacking in strength (she isn't) and not because Jinu manages to halt it with a hand (he doesn't).

No, rather… the Rainbow Honmoon stops it. And holds it in place as Rumi tries to use all of her strength, both hunter and demon, to end his miserable life. Until finally, she realizes she's not going anywhere and stops.

There's a long beat of silence as Rumi and him both stare at her sword in his shoulder in disbelief. It hurts, but honestly not that bad.

"…"

"…"

Finally, blood begins to seep out of the wound. But it's not normal blood, it's glowing iridescent blood… and Jinu can tell that it carries the Rainbow Honmoon within it. With a growl, he finally grabs Rumi's sword and yanks it out of his flesh, pushing her back. She stumbles a few steps, too shocked to really keep herself anchored in place.

Holding a hand over the shoulder wound, Jinu tries pressing the blood back into himself. But it's no use. A fraction of the finite amount of Rainbow Honmoon living within him is lost in that moment. Or rather… spent. Because when he finally removes his hand a minute later, the wound is completely gone. He's fully healed, like it never happened at all.

Of course, Rumi doesn't know what she just cost him, what she might have just cost all of them. She doesn't know that she just endangered everything.

All she sees is a demon who she can't kill. A demon with resistance to her blade. A demon who bleeds opalescence instead of exploding into confetti and glitter. It took everything she had to land one measly blow on him and she couldn't cut more than half an inch into his body.

"… Please…"

The half-demon collapses to her knees, hanging her head and starting to shake with barely contained sobs.

"P-Please don't tell them…"

Jinu should be angrier. Not about Rumi trying to kill him, that was honestly fair game. But her wasting even a small fragment of the Rainbow Honmoon… that definitely wasn't good. Yet… at the same time, it's Rumi. And so he just sighs and shakes his head.

"I was never going to tell them."

Rumi's head snaps up, eyes wide as she stares at him in disbelief. Jinu stares right back at her, yellow eyes blazing with certainty.

"You are."

Immediately, she blanches and starts to panic.

"W-What? No, I can't, please they'll hate me f-forever!"

Taking pity on the part demon before she has a total breakdown, Jinu sighs and crouches down in front of her, putting them at eye level.

"Not right now. Not immediately. But eventually. Soon, even. You're going to have to tell them if you want to fix your voice and deal with your shame and you're going to find out that they care more about you than you could ever imagine."

Rumi stares into his eyes and for a split second Jinu just kind of wants to… give her the Rainbow Honmoon and then offer to let her kill him. It would be easier for everyone involved, probably. And something tells him it would work too, at least the transfer part.

All Jinu has to do is reach out and touch her and Rumi will have it. He can feel it in the depths of his regained soul. But without her consent, that would be crossing a line. And he can already tell she's not there yet. Smiling crookedly, he pulls back instead, rising to his feet and tilting his head to the side.

"You should go get some sleep. You know, in your own bed. Tomorrow isn't going to be any easier than today, especially if your mentor has anything to say about it. And maybe consider what a future for Zoey and Mira would look like if it didn't have you in it. Really think about what losing you would do to them before you write yourself off so easily."

Slowly rising to her feet, Rumi bites her lower lip… but doesn't say another word. The hunter can't even look him in the eye either. She leaves through the door to the apartment this time, heading to the elevator in silence. Jinu watches her go before letting out a sigh and glancing at his shoulder.

So apparently he was resistant to Honmoon Weapons because he had a version of the Honmoon inside of him. Only, he could still be hurt and any time he was, the Rainbow Honmoon would rush to heal him whether he liked it or not.

With Gwi-Ma breathing down all of their necks and Celine being Celine while Rumi was Rumi… well, it seemed they were all on a timetable. Jinu needed to turn more of the original Honmoon over to Rainbow as soon as possible, but if he did so without the express consent of the hunters, he would just turn them all against him.

… Part of him wished that he'd lied to Rumi and told her there were hundreds or even thousands of half-demons out there and that she had to give up on the Golden Honmoon for them. Maybe she might have even believed it…

But no. He was keeping the lying to a minimum this time around, no matter what it cost. Grimacing, Jinu rolls his healed shoulder, feeling just the barest hints of a twinge along with some phantom pain from the erased injury.

This… this was going well. Totally. He'd made so much progress tonight. Yep. No sweat.

-x-X-x-

A/N: What's a little attempted murder between frenemies, right?

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

ALSO PLEASE READ! I have decided to start crossposting the public version of this story over to both Spacebattles and Royal Road since so far its SFW. I do still intend to have NSFW scenes eventually, but I'll just cut them out for the SB version when I need to.

That said, if you have the time and could toss me a comment or like on SB or rating, review, follow, and favorite over on RR, they'd be much appreciated!

SB: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/second-chances-kpop-demon-hunters.1261606/

RR: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/135556/second-chances-kpop-demon-hunters

-x-X-x-

If you'd like to read more of my work not seen on this website, check out Hentai-Foundry.com and QuestionableQuesting.com where I have over a thousand stories!

If you'd like to contribute to funding my writing at all, check me out on Patreon.com/Cambrian

Thanks for reading!