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

Rumi POV!

-x-X-x-

"Jinu can explain it best!"

Rumi immediately feels a little guilty as she throws the demon under the bus without so much as a 'by your leave'. But it's true, in the end. Even if he does look a little caught out as both Mira and Zoey look over at him with furrowed brows.

"Huh?"

Blushing when their gazes swivel back to her, Rumi hunches in on herself just a little.

"W-Well… you were the one who explained it to me, so…"

Finally, Jinu nods.

"Ah, sure. Let's see then, where to begin. Basically… demons have patterns, you both know that. But I guess you don't know that patterns are marks of shame that Gwi-Ma can use to control us."

Mira and Zoey's eyes go wide at that, before darting over to Rumi's bared arms and shoulders, where her demon patterns are very visibly on display. Jinu clears his throat and waves a hand through the air.

"You don't need to worry. Gwi-Ma can't control Rumi. If he could, you would all already know it because she would probably be hearing his voice in her head twenty-four-seven and also he would have dragged her down to the Demon Realm at this point for good measure."

All three hunters, Rumi especially, blanch at that mental image for a moment. Mira is the first to recover though and she leans in with a frown.

"… Why can't he control her? Is it because she was born instead of made or turned by him? And how many other half-demons are out there anyways?"

Rumi would be lying if she said she wasn't wondering the same thing truth be told. About the control part, seeing as she already knew what Jinu knew about half-demons. Indeed, just as she expects, Jinu shakes his head.

"As far as I'm aware, Rumi is the only half-demon in existence. What Celine and I were doing the other night was simply dancing around the issue… both of us were talking about Rumi without actually talking about her."

He shrugs his shoulders, even as Mira frowns while Zoey makes a confused noise in the back of her throat.

"Wait, really? There are seriously no other half-demons? It's just Rumi? How does that work?"

Again, Jinu is forced to just shrug his shoulders even as Rumi finds herself wondering once again what the truth about her parentage really is. Who was her father? How had he and her mother met? Celine was the only one who would know more details, wasn't she? But she also wasn't here right now…

"I don't know exactly how Rumi happened. All I know is if there were other Half-Demons out there, Gwi-Ma would know about them… and I'm pretty sure he would have sent his minions to hunt them down. And if you'll recall, I was one of his minions for four hundred years. And I never even heard about one before Rumi here."

Mira and Zoey fall into mulish silence for a few moments before Mira slaps her hand on the table.

"We got off topic. Back on track. What was that about shame, exactly? Gwi-Ma can't control Rumi, but her patterns grew for a reason, right?"

Zoey gasps from the other side of the table.

"Oh no! Rumi, have your patterns gotten worse all these years because you were ashamed of them?!"

Rumi grimaces as her friends both look at her with big eyes. Reaching up, she rubs at her pattern-covered arm for a moment before slowly nodding.

"… Yeah. At least according to Jinu… and I trust him at this point. Jinu said…"

She hesitates, biting her lower lip and looking at him for a second imploringly. After a beat, Jinu nods and Rumi averts her gaze again in embarrassment as he explains on her behalf.

"Basically… if Rumi hadn't been made to feel ashamed of her patterns all her life, if she hadn't been taught to cover them up and hide them from the people closest to her… you two, then her patterns would not have grown as much as they ended up growing. They wouldn't have affected her voice either, I don't think."

Which, privately Rumi has to be at least a little grateful for. In a world where shehadn't been taught to hide or feel shame, her and her girls might have completed the Golden Honmoon before the Honmoon even sent Jinu to help them out. In a way, it was almost a good thing that Rumi had to hide all her life…

Of course, she's not stupid enough to say that out loud or anything like that-

C-CRACK!

Rumi's wide eyes snap over to Zoey, who has just snapped her chopsticks in two with a shaking, white-knuckled fist. Their maknae, usually so bubbly, looks wide-eyed and more than a little enraged as she grinds her teeth, positively vibrating with anger.

"Celine… better get her ass over here sometime today or tomorrow. Because she has a LOT to answer for!"

Mira fist pumps.

"Hell yeah, Zoey!"

Rumi groans.

"Zoey…"

But she can't help that her voice is nevertheless tinged with affection, even as Zoey shakes her head violently.

"I'm serious Rumi. This… this is just ridiculous! I mean, I guess it's all going to work out for the best because the Honmoon literally had to step in and send Jinu, but that doesn't change all the damage Celine has done! To you and us! It just... it makes me so mad!"

"Preach it, Zoey!"

Across the table from her, Jinu looks amused as Mira acts as Zoey's hype-woman in the background. Rumi though just sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. What was she going to do with these two? Specifically, how the fuck was she going to stop them from trying to kill Celine when the older woman finally showed her face again?

"… Look I'm not going to say you guys don't have reason to be mad. You do. It's just… let's focus on the upsides okay? Like you said, it's all going to work out for the best. All I have to do to fix my voice is stop hiding and being ashamed of myself and I'm good to go. Right Jinu?"

When she looks to him hopefully, Jinu gives her an encouraging smile and a nod. And then for good measure, a thumbs up as well. Heh, he's such a dork sometimes.

"Yep! Simple as that. Just talk things out with your girls and you should be good to go!"

Okay great, that should be easy. Talking to her girls… pssh, piece of cake! She did that all the time about all sorts of stuff!

"Right!"

Rumi feels happy and determined for all of a moment… and then she looks at Mira and Zoey. Really looks at them. And then she shrinks in on herself as the weight of everything they have to talk about truly hits her.

"Ah… shit."

Mira snorts derisively, as if expecting that.

"Yeah. Talking is a bitch ain't it?"

Zoey though, reaches out and takes ahold of Rumi's hand again. Rumi tries not to feel too hot at the other girl's touch.

"It's okay Rumi! Baby steps! Let's start simple, okay. How about we all go around the table and say 'I feel' and then something small that's bothering us this morning. And if you want, you can then say something that makes you happy too!"

Rumi hesitates for a moment before biting her lower lip and nodding. Zoey beams and does a happy little dance in her chair.

"I'll go first! I feel unhappy learning that you were stuck in an endless cycle of covering up out of fear and shame, only to have to cover up more because of that fear and shame. But I'm very happy to be sitting here with you this morning knowing you finally don't have to hide anymore!"

The first part makes Rumi wince, but the second part makes her smile. When Zoey gives her an encouraging nod, Rumi lets out a low breath. She doesn't have to think too hard to figure something out.

"I feel… bad about my patterns still. I've already said it, but I don't like how they look on me. But I am happy being here with you guys and Jinu. Breakfast has been tasty too."

"Good, great stuff Rumi! Mira, your turn!"

The pink-haired dancer rolls her eyes good-naturedly but doesn't try to fight it.

"I feel annoyed that Celine isn't here to face the music this morning after Rumi finally decided she was willing to fully come clean about what we know."

There's a pregnant pause but when it finally becomes clear that Mira is done, Rumi frowns at her, brow furrowing.

"… You didn't say something you were happy about."

Mira just shrugs.

"Zoey said that part was optional, remember?"

Groaning, Zoey shakes her head from across the table.

"Miiira…"

Rolling her eyes again, Mira just huffs.

"Fine. I'm also happy about all of the progress we've made in the past twenty-four hours, even if Celine still sucks."

"That's the spirit! Okay Jinu, your turn!"

Rumi watches as the ensouled demon looks completely caught off guard, even pointing at himself in surprise.

"Me?"

Heh, he's still not fully used to Hurricane Zoey. But then to be fair, Rumi has known Zoey for like a decade at this point and she still finds herself swept up in things sometimes.

"Yes you, silly! We're ALL taking part. To help Rumi! You want to help Rumi, don't you~"

Oh god, that teasing tone Zoey was using… Rumi wants to bury her face in her hands to try and hide her blush. Unfortunately, Zoey is still holding one of her hands and she can't fully cover her face with just the other one.

Jinu, meanwhile, scratches at his cheek for a moment absently. It's really not clear if he even understands how Zoey sounds right now.

"Ah… of course I do. It's just… I don't really have anything bothering me right now?"

Rumi blinks at that comment, but at least Mira and Zoey also look surprised by his response.

"Seriously dude? Not a single thing?"

Jinu just shakes his head at Mira's response.

"Nope."

Leaning in, Mira narrows her eyes.

"What about the fact that Rumi tried to kill you just two nights ago?"

Rumi's shoulders hunch as the guilt starts to well up inside of her at that. Only Zoey suddenly squeezing her hand in comfort keeps her from completely shrinking in on herself. Of course, Jinu's response is…

"Oh that was nothing. Like I said before, she just got in her own head. And nobody was really hurt…"

… not the greatest.

He keeps doing this, downplaying what happened. And Rumi finds she can't quite contain herself this time. Growling, she rises from the table.

"You were hurt, Jinu! I hurt you! Even if you healed, my blade still sunk into your flesh! And if you weren't practically immune to my sword thanks to the Honmoon, I WOULD have killed you with that blow! How can you be so cavalier about it?!"

Jinu tilts his head to the side, studying her for a moment. His face takes on a more serious expression as he sits back in his chair and squares his shoulders.

"… Because in the end, nothing happened. And if something had happened… then it would be because I deserved it."

Rumi's eyes are wide as she sits back down heavily in her chair, his words hitting her like a punch to the gut. Mira and Zoey are also quietly staring at Jinu with wide eyes, prompting him to look around at all of them with a frown.

"Don't forget what I was, girls. I was a servant to Gwi-Ma for four hundred years. The Honmoon might have showed me the truth of my human life and given me this second chance to help you out, but that doesn't change my past as a demon."

From the side, Zoey speaks up, her voice small.

"What… what sort of things did you do as a demon?"

Jinu doesn't even hesitate to answer.

"All sorts of things. I lied, cheated, and stole. I manipulated my way into a favored position under Gwi-Ma. And of course, worst of all, I collected human souls for him. I assure you all, I was everything you've fought against all your lives."

He's… he's so ready to throw himself under the bus. It makes Rumi want to cry watching him talk so badly about himself. Like he thinks he's irredeemable, the scum of the earth. But if he was, the Honmoon wouldn't have chosen him… right? And he definitely wouldn't have turned over a new leaf and helped them so much either.

Before she knows it, she's speaking up.

"… You made mistakes, Jinu. But your mistakes don't have to define you. You're more than just the demon. I know it."

Jinu looks at her with wide eyes and Rumi can tell her words have struck some sort of chord with him. After a moment though, he frowns and slowly shakes his head.

"That's not… that's not how it works, Rumi."

Narrowing her eyes, Rumi hums a melody and reaches out to pluck at the Honmoon when it appears beside her. The shimmering strings of the Honmoon flow across the table and swirl around Jinu, making his breath hitch as his eyes dance across its surface.

"Isn't it? The Honmoon picked you for a reason. You're here in enemy territory, risking your freshly returned soul and body to help your would-be adversaries. Celine was ready to torture you. I tried to kill you. You've given everything you have to us these past few days and we've treated you miserably in turn."

Mira scoffs.

"Speak for yourself."

But Rumi isn't having that. She pins Mira with a glare.

"Shopping Trip."

Two words is all it takes to make Mira flush… because yeah, she and Zoey had sort of abused Jinu's trust and ignorance yesterday. They'd taken advantage of his lack of understanding when it came to modern… anything to basically have their (completely platonic) way with him.

If Rumi and Bobby hadn't been there, she shudders to think what sort of get-ups her girls might have dressed Jinu in. The clothes they'd ended up buying for him were only mostly normal because she and Bobby had put their collective feet down more than a dozen times.

Suddenly, Mira stands up from the table to. Uh oh. Rumi doesn't like that glint in the other girl's eyes.

"You know what I think, Zoey? I think we should give Rumi and Jinu here some time to talk to each other alone."

Wait what?!

"Huh? Oh… ohhh. Sure, I think that's a good idea too!"

"W-What?!"

But it's too late. Zoey and Mira are already leaving the common area.

"It's okay Rumi! Feel free to come and talk to us whenever you want. But you and Jinu totally should talk about demon stuff one-on-one some more first! It'll be good for you and give you more to tell us too!"

Her friends definitely knew she was developing feelings for Jinu. That much was obvious at this point. And yet, they were abandoning her! Leaving her with… with him! The only consolation prize as Rumi looks across the table with wide eyes is that Jinu looks just as flummoxed as she does by this sudden turn of events.

… Yeah, not much of a consolation prize. Damn it…

-x-X-x-

A/N: Truly being Rumi is suffering…

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

-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!