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

Bobby and Celine have another chat~

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Bobby is doing his best not to let any nerves show as Celine leads him into her office. He needs to be as brave as he was the night before when he'd somehow managed to send everyone, Celine included, to bed. He needs to be strong for his girls… most of all for Rumi.

That said, he's still reeling a bit from Celine's apology. He doesn't think he's actually ever seen the older woman say sorry before. Especially not like that…

"I'm going to have some Boba sent up from the cafeteria. Do you want any?"

Bobby blinks at the sudden offer Celine throws back over her shoulder at him. The girls were rich-rich, there was no denying that, but they weren't quite as spoiled as their haters liked to say they were. Specifically, they didn't actually have personal chefs cooking for them twenty-four-seven.

Instead, the HUNTR/X Tower had its own state-of-the-art cafeteria with a massive kitchen filled to the brim with all of the best and most modern technology. And of course, it was staffed with some of the best cooks their exorbitant amounts of money could buy.

The cafeteria was available at all times to every employee who worked in the tower. While also allowing for the girls to have their favorite foods made for them at the drop of a hat without having to deal with the risk of ordering off-site too often.

"Ah, yes please. Brown Sugar for me, thank you."

"Of course, I remember."

Bobby bites his tongue at that… and quickly averts his gaze when Celine bends over her desk from the front to use the phone from there, rather than circling around and taking a seat. He knows she's not trying to be provocative or inappropriate, but he also knows better than to stare at his boss' back profile while she's calling the kitchens.

Instead, as Celine is putting in their Boba Order, Bobby looks around the office, really taking it in… and with new eyes at that. The place is relatively spartan, but it's not… empty. Sure, it's true that Celine has spent less and less time here over the years, giving the girls more and more space and leaving most of the day to day stuff in Bobby's (hopefully) capable hands.

However, this was still her main office back when the girls were first debuting and for a year or two afterwards. There's even a couple of pictures on the walls; one is of Celine with the girls at the Idol Awards on the year they debuted… and the other catches Bobby's eye in a big way.

This picture is just Celine and Rumi at a different Idol Awards entirely… and Rumi is positively tiny. It must have been taken just a few years after the Sunlight Sisters disbanded and more than a decade before HUNTR/X debuted, because Rumi can't possibly be more than four or five in the photo.

However, what really catches Bobby's eye is what Tiny Rumi is wearing. She has on a sleeveless top, one that reveals bared, blemish-free arms and shoulders. No demon patterns to be seen. So they weren't there since the day she was born? When exactly did they start showing up then? And why had they been growing all these years?

"Ah. I remember that day. I was worried about taking her to an awards show so young but Rumi assured me she would be good and practically begged me to let her attend."

Bobby turns away to see Celine has finished her call and is standing there with a smile on her lips and her arms crossed. Unable to help himself, he raises an eyebrow.

"And was she good that night?"

Celine lets out a laugh.

"Oh, she was fine. I won't pretend like she didn't have her bad days like any kid does, but she knew the whole world was watching us that night. She did amazing. Though it certainly tuckered her out. We wound up leaving early and she was asleep the moment we got in the car and drove away."

Bobby can't help but smile. He can definitely imagine Tiny Rumi taking her first ever Idol Awards super seriously. And the mental image of her passing out on Celine in the backseat as they were driven home… well, that just makes his heart melt.

"I owe you an apology as well, Bobby."

Stiffening, Bobby calls out before Celine can fully bow.

"Wait! Don't bow, please. That's not necessary, Celine. You didn't do anything to me worth apologizing for."

That doesn't mean he's not glad she apologized to the others though. Because he is. Even though at the same time it feels like nothing can be truly fixed until Celine knows that they all know about Rumi's patterns and she can… well, make amends maybe for forcing her to lie all this time. Or at the very least, explain exactly what she was thinking in making Rumi hide a part of herself from her closest friends for all these years.

Unfortunately, so long as Rumi isn't ready for Celine to know that they know, Bobby can't exactly push the issue. He would never betray any of the girls like that, least of all Rumi.

"We both know that's not entirely true, Bobby. I said some truly regrettable things to you. I won't try to excuse them, but I hope you know I really do appreciate everything you've done for the girls over the years."

Unable to ask anything he actually wants to ask right now, Bobby swallows down the slurry of questions that are on the tip of his tongue and just nods instead. A moment later he's given a temporary respite as their Boba order is delivered by a runner from the cafeteria.

Finally, Celine circles around her desk and sits down. Bobby, nursing his Brown Sugar Boba, does the same in one of the chairs on the opposite side. For a second, they're both drinking quietly. Then, Celine puts her cup down and sighs.

"The last few days have been… rough to say the least. I allowed myself to panic and get caught up in the strangeness of the situation. As a result, I didn't take care to get the sleep I needed. If I could go back and do last night over again… but I can't, so I'll stop crying over it and focus on what I can do moving forward."

Heh, the very idea of Celine crying is… well, it makes Bobby want to laugh and cringe in equal measure.

"What exactly can you tell me about Jinu, Bobby?"

Blinking, Bobby pauses before sitting back in his chair.

"Uh… Jinu?"

Celine just nods.

"Yes. For all intents and purposes, Jinu is something that should be impossible. A demon with a soul who can not only connect to the Honmoon but repair it as well. I erred massively and can only describe last night as a catastrophically bad first impression on my part. However, you have spoken with him yourself, have you not? You and he seem to have a much more amicable relationship and I can only hope I did not damage it too much with my actions."

… Bobby wasn't an idiot. Contrary to popular beliefs, he wasn't innocent, naïve, or particularly gullible either. He knew a redirect when he saw one. He knew what it looked like when someone as cutthroat and ruthless as Celine could be, was trying their best to pivot off of a failed first move.

Did she really suddenly care about Jinu as a person, or was she simply trying to plumb Bobby for more information so that her next attack would go better for her? Honestly, he didn't know… but he did know this was his best chance to convince Celine that Jinu was on their side.

"You didn't do any damage, no. In fact, I took Jinu to the bathhouse this morning, just in case I needed to smooth any ruffled feathers but he turned out to be fine."

Its Celine's turn to blink, before she slowly nods.

"A wise decision. Well done, Bobby."

"We were attacked by hundreds of Water Demons though."

He's not so mean as to deliver that sentence while she's taking a sip of her Boba Tea at least. But Celine nevertheless does a rather close approximation of a spit take, almost coming out of her chair as she reacts.

"What?!"

Bobby waves her off.

"We fought them off, don't worry. Well, us and the girls. I guess you were still dead to the world. The demons were there for Jinu, you know. Called him a traitor. Talked like they were surprised I was even there. From what I could see, it was a concentrated attack to try and capture Jinu and bring him before Gwi-Ma, as I understood it."

Slowly, Celine settles back down. She still looks a little pale, perhaps because she slept right through such an incursion. Given what the girls had said about how damaged the Honmoon was, Bobby imagined that must rankle something fierce for Celine. Even if he can't see the barrier, she supposedly can… and she missed it.

Although… there is one thing he can see. Reaching back behind himself, he pulls out the Bowie Knife, sheath and all, and puts it down on the desk.

"Jinu did this to my knife to give me the ability to defend myself."

Celine just stares for a moment, first at the sheathed blade and then at him. Finally, she reaches out and picks it up, pulling the hefty knife free. Her jaw drops open at the rainbow edge that Jinu gave the blade and judging by her reaction, this isn't something that just anyone can do with the Honmoon.

Then again, Bobby had guessed as much. If it was, Celine wouldn't have had to ask the girls for their weapons so she could try her hand at torturing Jinu the night before.

"How… how did he do this?"

Bobby shrugs, taking a sip from his Brown Sugar Boba before answering.

"He sung a couple of lines from a song I've never heard before and his special brand of magical energy soaked into the blade like this. It worked too. I killed quite a few Water Demons with that bad boy."

For a long moment more, Celine just stares at the enchanted, iridescent bowie knife. Finally though, she puts it back in its sheath and hands it back over to him handle first. Bobby takes it and tucks it away while taking another sip of his Boba.

"… I am not a particularly trusting person by nature, Bobby. Life experiences have taught me time and time again to reserve any trust I can spare to a select few at best, and to always be ready for treachery around every corner."

Taking a deep breath, Celine slowly releases it.

"Demons are another thing entirely. I have been taught my entire life that the only good demon is a dead demon. But I have never before encountered a demon with a soul. Nor one that is so clearly touched by the Honmoon. So… I struggle to believe. But at the same time, I want to be convinced."

Bobby bites his lower lip. If Jinu is the first demon with a soul that Celine has ever met, the first demon 'touched by the Honmoon'… he wonders what the story between Rumi's mother and father was. Was it a tragic tale? Was Mi-yeong a victim of manipulation? Something worse? The very idea makes the Boba Tea in his gut curdle.

Still, he has to focus on the present. Even if he wants nothing more than to demand answers from Celine in this instant.

"What can you tell me about Jinu, Bobby? He's gone out of his way to heal the Honmoon, but he's also altered it. He's saved your life multiple times now, but he's also benefited greatly in the process, having gained the trust of all three of the girls from the look of things. I want to be able to believe he might be on our side. But I need more."

Hm. Was Celine being earnest, or just manipulating him to get the answers she sought? A couple days ago Bobby would have said he knew when Celine was lying to him, but given everything he knows now, it's harder to say.

And yet… he can't just give up. He has to try, right? What can he tell her? Giving Jinu's entire damn story over feels a little bad but… maybe just a morsel will do.

"Before we were attacked in the bathhouse, the Honmoon gave Jinu a vision."

Celine's brow raises at that even as she sits there wordlessly, clearly hanging off of Bobby's every word.

"I'm serious, he and I were just talking and all of the sudden something I said triggered a vision for him. Those patterns of his glowed bright enough to almost blind me for a second and then he was out of it for over an hour!"

"… And what did he say about the contents of this vision when he finally came back to himself?"

Bobby figures Celine even asking that sort of thing is an encouraging sign.

"Well, basically from what he said, the Honmoon showed him how Gwi-Ma had manipulated him and twisted things so he could torture him for four hundred years. But it also showed him something else interesting. It showed him what happened to his family after the last time he saw them."

Bobby had already told the girls what Jinu said about 'abandoning his family' during their first conversation back at the café and he assumed the girls had told Celine as well, so he doesn't feel bad mentioning that part again. Celine just nods, still carefully listening. Heh, here was the fun part.

"According to Jinu, the vision showed him his mother and sister in a village under attack by demons… a village that was then saved by three female shamans who went on to create the first Honmoon. And get this… apparently his sister went on to become part of the second generation of hunters."

Bobby's not sure what sort of reaction he's expecting from Celine as he drops that juicy morsel in her lap. But whatever it is, he definitely isn't expecting her to stiffen up and go narrow eyed in response.

"Excuse me? Can you repeat that?"

Her tone is suddenly very, very sharp. But Bobby stays strong and nods, happy to do so.

"Yeah. He said the Honmoon showed his little sister meeting the women who created the first Honmoon. Supposedly they saw potential and took her on as a student. Therefore-"

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"-she was part of the second generation of hunters."

Jinu can't help but beam as he finishes telling the girls his story. He still feels nothing but pride for his little sister for having lived a good life fighting monsters like him and protecting the Honmoon after they'd been separated.

The penthouse's communal area has wound up a little messy. They'd had all sorts of foods sent up through the elevator and been eating the entire time he'd been telling them about the vision and his past in general. At this point, all three hunters are lounging in some way.

Rumi and Mira are both sprawled on different parts of their massive couch, while Zoey is laid back on Derpy's belly, patting her own stomach like she just ate a horse. Which to be fair, she might as well have. All three girls could REALLY put away food when they got down to it.

In fact, Jinu doesn't think he's ever seen anyone unhinge their jaw and down an entire kimbap roll without choking like Rumi just did. It seemed like it would be a bad idea for a singer like her as well, but neither Mira nor Zoey had seemed all that concerned about it.

Instead, Mira had just slowly nodded in the face of his bewilderment, as if to say 'yeah, she does that sometimes'. Meanwhile, Zoey had given him two thumbs up and a big smile when Rumi wasn't looking. Which… Jinu really couldn't parse what THAT was supposed to mean. Maybe he was old…

"… So your little sister was one of our ancient predecessors? That's like, so awesome."

Zoey's comment garners a nod from Mira, who grins and gives a thumbs up from the couch.

"Yeah, that's seriously cool. Score one for Jinu's little sister. Hah, without her, we might not even be here today!"

Zoey giggles and Jinu smiles, more than happy to hear praise for his sister, no matter the source or reason. Rumi, meanwhile, hums thoughtfully for a moment before speaking her piece, her voice slightly quiet from the partial food coma she's put herself in.

"You know, it's interesting. Hunter 'lineages' aren't like… a guarantee or anything. Sure, my mom was a hunter, but Zoey and Mira don't have any hunters in their family lines as far as we know…"

There's a pause as Rumi does an adorable little stretch that Jinu tries not to stare too much at. He fails.

"Mm, but I do remember Celine telling me once when I was little that it was something she and I shared in common. She said she could actually trace her family line all the way back to the second generation of hunters. What a crazy coincidence, right guys?"

…

Jinu blinks as the silence that's fallen over the penthouse suddenly ends with all three girls shooting up at once. Food comas forgotten, drowsiness set aside, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey all look at each other with wide eyes.

"You don't think…"

"There's no way…"

"Okay but hear me out… what if?"

Then, all three of them look to Jinu. He just smiles awkwardly, not entirely sure what they're getting at. What, are they trying to insinuate that he and Celine are somehow related? Hah, there's no way… right?

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A/N: We know nothing about Celine's canon heritage btw. I'm just having fun with it lmao.

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

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