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

Jinu does an oopsie, but thankfully he has reward points saved up with the Bank of Rumi on account of the attempted murder.

-x-X-x-

Jinu had really thought that leaving Rumi to Mira and Zoey was the most prudent option, all things considered. It was pretty clear that she still barely tolerated him at best after all and actively distrusted and despised him at worst. So even if he was pretty sure he could easily catch up to Rumi using his connection to the Honmoon and some demonic teleporting, Jinu just… hangs back.

After all, based on how fast Zoey and Mira race after their leader, there's no way Rumi is going to be able to escape them unless SHE starts to teleport or something. Which shouldn't happen. Hopefully.

Of course, that opinion is thoroughly shattered about ten minutes later when Jinu and Bobby are finally finished getting properly dressed again. Just as they're making their way towards the exit of the bathhouse with Bobby chattering away beside him, Jinu feels it.

A very familiar, very distinct pulse rocking its way through the Honmoon.

"So I don't know what's up with Rumi exactly, but I do know that we can trust the girls to help her figure stuff out… and if they need me, they'll call, I know they will. That said, I was thinking maybe you and I could go and get you some actual clothes. While the HUNTR/X merch combined with the Jeosong Saja look is very… you, it's also more than a little over the top and-!"

"Stop."

As soon as Jinu feels it, he cuts off Bobby's rambling with a raised hand. Bobby blinks and stops in his tracks, furrowing his brow.

"What? What is it?"

Jinu swallows thickly, eyeing the ground beneath his feet.

"… A pulse."

"A pulse?"

"… Yeah. A damaging pulse through the Honmoon."

Bobby audibly gulps at that.

"Oh no, that doesn't sound good. Is it Gwi-Ma again? So soon? Is he coming after us or the girls?!"

But Jinu is already shaking his head. The words 'It's not Gwi-Ma, it's Rumi' are on the tip of his tongue, but he manages to hold himself back in the end. Bobby might know a lot more now than he did in the original timeline, but he doesn't know this bit and he's not about to learn it from Jinu!

Still, his mind is racing. Mira and Zoey were supposed to catch Rumi and calm her down… but instead she was sending demonic power through the Honmoon just like she'd done the night of the failed Golden Live Performance. And just like she'd done multiple times to devastating effect in the previous timeline.

Gwi-Ma might not be in a position to take advantage of it right now, but then he wouldn't have to be if they somehow continued and Rumi tore the entire Honmoon apart before Jinu even had a chance to finish turning it Rainbow. And fuck, he didn't even know if she could also damage the Rainbow Honmoon in the same way. That would be even worse given he seemed to be carrying a finite source of the stuff.

"Bobby… you said the girls would call if they needed you right? Can you call them too? On… your smartphone?"

He's proud he remembers the terminology, even if Bobby looks surprised. Nevertheless, the manager slowly nods and draws the thin rectangular device from his pocket.

"Sure I can. Just gotta hope they have their phones on them given how fast they rushed to the bathhouse to save us…"

Jinu grunts, watching impatiently as Bobby begins to fiddle with the device. At the same time, he's reaching out through the Honmoon, searching for a specific feeling just in case it becomes necessary. Bobby brings the 'smartphone' close to his face once… then twice… then three times.

On the third time, the look he gives Jinu makes it clear that none of the girls are picking up. Which isn't good. Though at the same time, there hasn't been another 'Rumi Pulse' since the first one. That might be good. Is Jinu really willing to risk it though?

No… no he is not.

"I can't get ahold of any of them, Jinu! What do we do?!"

Reaching over, Jinu grabs the other man by the shoulders.

"Secure your smartphone, Bobby. I've already located them."

Or rather, he's located Rumi and he's pretty sure the other two are close by. It's just that Rumi's presence in the Honmoon is so massive and all-encompassing that it overshadows her fellow hunters completely. Regardless, Bobby does as he's told… and as soon as the rectangle is tucked away, Jinu grabs the human man and teleports them both all the way to Rumi's signature.

They land on a rooftop not too far from the bathhouse actually, which is good because teleporting with somebody is always harder over long distances. Bobby yelps and almost falls on his ass, but Jinu holds the shorter man upright until he can get his feet under himself again. Meanwhile…

"Bobby?! Jinu?!"

Looking over, Jinu is immensely relieved to see all three hunters safe and sound. Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't most happy to see Rumi seemingly alright. Although… she's not wearing her sweater. Her demon patterns are out in broad daylight. Right in front of Mira and Zoey. Who don't look at all surprised.

Or rather, they look surprised by Jinu and Bobby's arrival, but from the look of things, they don't look surprised or even that upset about Rumi's status as a half-demon. Jinu's eyes light up and he beams, quickly shooting Rumi a thumbs up.

"You told them! Good job!"

Before Rumi can respond, however, Bobby clears his throat.

"Uh… why does Rumi have the same markings as demons all over her arms and neck?"

Oh. Shit.

Jinu's smile immediately drops as he looks between Bobby and Rumi and realizes how badly he's fucked up. He opens his mouth to begin apologizing, only to be cut off by Rumi letting out a long, drawn out sigh.

"… I'm a half-demon Bobby. My father was a demon."

Bobby being Bobby, of course takes this in stride, snapping his fingers as a light bulb goes on in his head.

"Oh! Like Celine and Jinu were talking about just last night."

Zoey grins as she calls out.

"And just like Blade!"

Jinu still doesn't get the reference, but Bobby just nods in easy agreement.

"Yeah, I guess Rumi is a lot like Blade huh? A half-and-half hunting down the bad guys she shares blood with. Pretty cool stuff… though god, all this time I was afraid the longer sleeves were because you were hurting yourself Rumi."

Rumi straightens up, her eyes widening.

"What?! No! I wouldn't… I don't do that sort of thing. I don't… self-harm."

She shrinks into herself near the end there and Mira and Zoey exchange a glance that Jinu can't help catching. Maybe something related to that pulse he felt? Bobby, meanwhile, just nods along.

"Yeah, I tried to talk about it with Celine a while back and she made it abundantly clear that you weren't doing any of that… and also that I wasn't allowed to pry any further. I'm just glad she was telling the truth, I guess…"

Mira scoffs and crosses her arms at that.

"Ugh. Don't even get us started on Celine."

Shooting the taller girl a look, Rumi growls.

"Mira…"

But Bobby's attention has already been caught and he's starting to furrow his brow.

"What? What's wrong with Celine?"

Even with Rumi glaring daggers at her, Mira doesn't let that stop her as she gestures to her purple-haired bandmate.

"Celine knew all along, Bobby. She raised Rumi after all. And she told Rumi not to tell us. To keep it a secret. She told Rumi if we found out that we would try to kill her. That she couldn't trust us."

Rumi winces at the emphasis Mira puts on the words 'kill' and 'trust'. Bobby, meanwhile, looks very troubled.

"Oh… that's… bad. Really, really bad."

Waving her hands in front of her, Rumi tries to take back control of the situation.

"Look, Mira and Zoey already agreed but please, let's NOT tell Celine that you all know just yet. Just… keep it to yourselves for the time being, okay? I don't… I'm just not ready for her to know that everyone else knows."

Mira and Zoey exchange another glance and Jinu intuits from the look that that's not entirely the reason Rumi gave THEM for why she doesn't want her guardian and mentor to be aware of just how much her secret has spread. Still, Jinu is way too pleased with this progress to press too hard. Instead, he goes back to smiling now that it looks like he's not going to get in trouble for accidentally exposing Rumi's heritage to Bobby.

"Well! I for one am just glad you told them of your own volition, Rumi. You must have really taken our talk last night to heart!"

Zoey giggles nervously while Mira scoffs and shakes her head.

"You mean when she tried to kill you, dude?"

"WHAT?!"

Jinu freezes as Bobby's exclamation fills the rooftop. Rumi also freezes, looking caught out completely. Wow, Jinu hadn't expected her to be THAT honest with them. Still, damage control.

"It really wasn't that bad. No seriously Bobby, no need to get upset with Rumi. She just got in her head. And nobody got hurt so-!"

"… You don't need to make excuses for me Jinu. What I tried to do last night to you was inexcusable. Also, I didn't tell them that I was a half-demon… they figured it out on their own. Even before I tried to kill you so… yeah."

… What? Jinu's brow furrows as he peers at Mira and Zoey in confusion.

"Figured it out… on your own? But how?"

Mira and Zoey exchange yet another look, though this time they seem more offended than anything. Something Mira isn't afraid to comment on.

"What's that supposed to mean, exactly? Of course we figured it out on our own. Rumi's hair color is a natural purple and she's been trying to hide her demon patterns for ages as they grew and grew."

Zoey nods, chiming in after.

"Not to mention nobody has ever been able to name her dad. Plus all of the obvious lyrics she snuck into Golden make so much more sense in the context of her heritage and the shame Celine made her feel for being half-demon. Frankly, once you and Celine confirmed that half-demons were a thing, it was pretty obvious."

And there it was. Jinu feels a palpable sense of relief as they finally reveal just what tipped them off. This wasn't some bizarro timeline where Mira and Zoey were just plain smarter than their other counterparts… no, this was just the timeline where they found out half-demons were a possibility and figured it out from there.

Though… one thing does make Jinu scrunch up his nose in confusion, his gaze flickering between Rumi and Mira.

"… Purple hair isn't a natural human hair color?"

All three hunters plus Bobby stare at him, baffled, forcing Jinu to defend himself.

"What?! Mira's hair color is pink! And I've seen all sorts of other hair colors around in this modern era too! Rumi doesn't standout THAT much! In fact, there are plenty of other purple-haired humans!"

He crosses his arms over his chest and smirks as if to say 'so there!'. There's a brief moment… and then Zoey giggles while Mira laughs. Even Rumi smiles slightly as she shakes her head. Finally, Mira says what they're apparently all thinking.

"You are SO old."

Jinu's smile falters as the pink-haired hunter unknowingly throws Rumi's words from the original timeline in his face. And this time he's even more confused than last time. Reaching up, Mira runs a hand through her pink hair.

"This? This is hair dye, Jinu. As is every other different color of hair you've seen in the human world. Yes, a lot more humans dye their hair vibrant colors than they did four hundred years ago. Including some of our most diehard fans who want to have their hair the same royal purple as our very own Rumi here."

Jinu opens his mouth, but Mira isn't done. She reaches over and rakes her fingers through Rumi's hair, making the half-demon squeak and squirm from the sensation.

"The thing is, dyeing your hair isn't simple. It isn't an easy process, in fact it's pretty damn involved. Taking care of it requires constant maintenance or my roots start to show. But not Rumi here. She's had natural purple hair since the day she was born from the sound of things. Heh, I bet you the carpet matches the drapes too."

"MIRA!"

"Mira!"

Zoey squeaks, even as Rumi and Bobby both shout Mira's names at different intensities. Jinu just raises an eyebrow in confusion. What does carpet and drapes have to do with Rumi's natural hair color? And why does Mira's comment seem to have made Rumi so red in the face. Finally, Rumi just slumps and shakes her head.

"… You're a menace, Mira."

Jinu just hums a bit, considering the situation for a moment before ultimately shrugging and beaming again.

"Well… I'm glad you two figured it out. This is excellent progress!"

Rumi groans and covers her face with her hands for a moment before lowering them.

"… I really don't want to talk about the Honmoon right now. Golden or Rainbow or otherwise. Can we please do something else."

Jinu falters at that, given the Honmoon is the entire reason he's been set back in time in the first place. Mira and Zoey don't look much better, sharing concerned glances as if they can't think of anything else. For a moment, Rumi looks close to despair… until Bobby swoops in.

"Well, before Jinu started to freak out and then introduced me to the utterly terrifying experience of being teleported against my will, the plan WAS to take him clothes shopping so we could maybe get him a proper wardrobe instead of… what he's wearing now."

Wait what? Jinu thinks back, his brow furrowing. Was that the plan? Hm, now that Bobby mentioned it, he sort of remembered the other man saying something like that. But Jinu doesn't need new clothes. He can just use a bit of illusion magic to dress himself however he needs to whenever he needs to.

He opens his mouth to say as much, but before he can Rumi has already perked up.

"Yes! That's perfect! Let's go shopping!"

Zoey and Mira aren't far behind her, all three of them giving him predatory grins out of nowhere.

"Oh, finding Jinu's style actually sounds like it would be really fun!"

"Hm… never bothered dressing a demon before. Yeah, I'm down."

Jinu just gulps as a shiver of icy dread runs down his back. Why did it suddenly feel like he'd made a brand new deal with Gwi-Ma or something?

-x-X-x-

A/N: RUN JINU RUN! NOOO, YOU FOOL, DON'T GO WITH THEM… Aaaand he's gone. It's too late for him…

Next time on Dragonball Z Second Chances, we get back to Celine waking up all alone in HUNTR/X Tower. I'm sure nothing important has happened while she was conked out all this time…

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