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

I hope people like this chapter. It DOES move the plot forward, but maybe not as fast as some might want. On the other hand, I had way too much fun writing it lmao.

-x-X-x-

By the time Celine makes it over to them, the rainbow patch of the Honmoon has grown by maybe half a centimeter. Not too bad, but at the same time, it's not good either, especially if Rumi's suspicions about this being an infection prove to be correct.

Their mentor, a former demon hunter in her own right, barely acknowledges Rumi or the others once she's on scene, giving them all a simple nod and a crisp 'Report' as she moves to closely inspect the now-iridescent part of the Honmoon herself. Rumi is the one who gives the report of course, having been trained from a young age in how to deliver a clean and concise message.

Finally though she's done and silence hangs heavy in the air as Rumi, Mira, and Zoey all await Celine's verdict.

"… You say a demon used your lyrics to sing this into the Honmoon?"

Rumi nods sharply.

"Yes Celine. Specifically he used How It's Done."

Then, she glances at Mira and Zoey, who finally step in now that its Q&A time.

"And he was wearing our merch. Douchey demon had some serious nerve pulling that crap."

Mira's scowl is on point and her arms are crossed over her chest. Rumi cringes a little at the crass language but nevertheless nods in agreement with her. Zoey on the other hand…

"He was also suuuuper hot. Like, I didn't know demons could BE that hot, ya know? Maybe he was a magician instead! Oh! Did you ever have to deal with hot demons back in the day Celine? Because for us they've always been sooo ugly! Right guys?!"

Mira rolls her eyes as Rumi sputters. A magician? What was Zoey even talking about?

"Z-Zoey!"

But of course, the youngest member of HUNTR/X is just getting started.

"What? It could be relevant to all of this! We've never met a hot demon and we've never met a demon that glows like a bag of skittles and can apparently heal the Honmoon either! Maybe the hot demons are the nice demons?!"

"There are no nice demons."

It's not Rumi who says it this time, though it is on the tip of her tongue before Celine cuts her off. Of course, the older woman makes the words feel like a death sentence, crossing her arms over her chest as she turns away from the Honmoon and frowns at them all.

"Attractive demons? Certainly, they exist. Sensual. Manipulative. Treacherous. But nice? No. Never. The more handsome a demon, the more dangerous they'll turn out to be, girls. Because in the end, there can only be one outcome from such a creature no matter how much you might wish it were otherwise."

Celine sweeps her gaze over all three of them for a moment before answering the unspoken question that hangs in the air.

"Betrayal."

That single word hits Rumi like a bullet train. She's never asked Celine what happened between her mother and the demon who was said to have fathered her. All she knew was that her mother died after giving birth to her. Rumi was smart enough to know that asking about her father would only cause… issues between her and Celine.

But now there's a sickening feeling in her gut. What HAD happened between her parents? She'd always known that she was an awful, awful mistake who never should have existed… but just how dark did her origins really get? Was she the product of-

"… Sooo not like the fanfics then."

What.

Zoey's words pull Rumi out of the war brewing inside of her, causing her to blink in stupefaction even as Celine's brow furrows in confusion. Mira, meanwhile, just groans and rubs the bridge of her nose as she shakes her head.

"Fan… fics?"

At Celine's baffled, questioning tone, Zoey just smiles brightly and nods.

"Yeah! You know, like how the fans write stories about us and everything! It's called Real Person Fiction, or RPF for short. But then there's also a subset of that group of fans who write different genres… like supernatural stuff where they make our rival boybands into demons or vampires or stuff and then write us being in salacious relationships with them!"

… What.

"Zoey…"

But Mira's warning goes unheeded. Celine focuses on only one thing in Zoey's words, her tone sharp as she growls in question.

"Demon… boybands?"

Zoey just blinks before waving her hands in the air.

"Oh no, don't worry Celine! It's not at all based on reality; I've done PLENTY of research! There's no mention of the Honmoon or anything like that, and I don't think I've ever come across a single fic that like, made us demon hunters or anything. Actually, there's a lot more fics about one of us three being a demon or some other supernatural monster in order to explore how that would affect our relationships! Like, ten times as many as all the stuff with rival boybands!"

Rumi stands frozen in place and even Celine can't help but involuntarily toss the smallest of glances her way. People… people were writing stories about HUNTR/X being… demons?

Unlike Rumi and Celine, who are both as still as statues, Mira just snorts and shakes her head.

"That's super fucked up. And yet, I really can't be that surprised… let me guess, I'm normally the demon aren't I?"

Wait, what? But Zoey is already nodding along happily.

"Oh yeah, you know it! Well, you're either a demon or a vampire most of the time. And they usually make me the werewolf if they're going to have more than one supernatural monster in our group. And Rumi…"

Zoey trails off and goes quiet all of the sudden. Rumi blinks. Seriously? Zoey was going to say all of THAT in front of Celine (though to be fair, Celine HAD asked. Twice.) and then stop right there?! What the fuck Zoey?!

Of course, Celine isn't about to let it go. Rumi is glad for that because it means she doesn't have to ask herself.

"Rumi is what, Zoey?"

Cringing under Celine's clipped tone and narrowed eyes, Zoey looks down at the ground and scuffs it with her shoe.

"Rumi… is written as the normal human of the group most of the time."

Looking up at Rumi, Zoey waves her hands back and forth.

"N-Not that it's a bad thing Rumi! And I don't think it means they think you're boring or anything, I swear! If anything, the fact that you're always the human and me and Mira are the monsters just means that our fans think you're interesting enough as you are without giving you extra attributes!"

Mira snorts in derisive amusement.

"Wow Zoey. What does that say about the two of us, huh?"

But Zoey just grins, planting her hands on her hips and standing proud and tall.

"It says we make kickass monsters, that's what it says!"

The two share a high-five as Mira lets out a deadpanned 'damn right'. Meanwhile, Rumi is… just plain lost. She's the real demon here. The one with the secret that's tearing her apart, ruining her voice, and steadily killing the Honmoon. And their fans think she's… too normal to… to what? Monsterify? She really has no idea how to feel about that to be honest.

Seeing her silence, Zoey coughs delicately.

"Really Rumi, it's not that big of a deal. Back when we'd just debuted, I was actually usually the 'innocent' one in those types of stories. But then as we got bigger and everyone started to know me for my rapping, I guess I sort of became the wild feral type in their eyes. Hence, the Werewolf Zoey tag being a whole thing! And also Human Rumi taking the fanfic world by storm!"

… The Werewolf Zoey tag. Human Rumi…

Rumi would really like to go back to a world that made sense please. A world where she could actually sing Golden and turn the Honmoon gold at long last. A world where demons didn't sing her and her friends' songs and wear their merch and fix the Honmoon with goddamn rainbows. And a world where they hadn't had this entire conversation, honestly. She felt like she needed brain bleach.

Letting out a laugh, Mira shakes her head.

"Holy crap Zoey… just how long have you been reading this trash? Since our debut, you said?"

But Zoey just shakes her head.

"Nah way before that!"

And then… oh god, she actually turns to Celine and smiles.

"Did you know there's a lot of Sunlight Sister fiction online too Celine?"

Celine goes absolutely still at that, but Zoey doesn't catch the hint.

"Actually, most of it pairs up you and Mi-yeong. Silly, right?"

What? Celine and her… mom? Heat rises to Rumi's face as she also goes completely still. Mira finally does something besides just being amused by Zoey's antics and reaches over to smack the other girl upside the head.

"Seriously Zoey? Talking about Rumi's mom and the woman that raised her in that way… in front of Rumi and said woman? Not cool. Sorry on her behalf, Celine."

Zoey finally seems to realize how far she's taken this entire conversation off the rails by the way she begins to panic and sputter out apologies with big, wide eyes that are impossible to stay mad at. Before she can get too far, or heaven forbid start tearing up, however, Celine finally clears her throat.

"… Back on task, girls. The Honmoon is in danger. We don't have time for… frivolities."

Immediately, everything they'd just talked about is wiped away as Rumi straightens up, her thoughts snapping back onto the mission like a trained soldier. Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees Mira and Zoey doing the same thing. Celine had taught them all well.

"Something or someone has attacked the Honmoon recently. Not from the other side of the barrier, but from this side where it's at its weakest."

Rumi doesn't let her panic show on her face and she definitely doesn't flinch or react in any way, despite knowing full well that it's she who did that. The night they were supposed to sing Golden live for the first time and her demon patterns had started to crawl up her neck. She'd let out an inhuman scream and… and it had hurt the Honmoon. SHE had hurt the Honmoon.

"And now this demon comes along with the supposed ability to fix the holes being torn open in the Honmoon. I don't trust it."

Mira grunts and nudges Rumi's shoulder.

"That's what Rumi said. Has to be a trap. Right Ru?"

Blinking, Rumi slowly nods. And Celine gives her a thin smile and a nod of approval.

"Good. It's incredibly important that you stay on your toes… all of you. Our enemy is getting desperate. You're all so close to turning the Honmoon gold and sealing the demon realm away forever. Gwi-Ma will do anything to stop that from happening… and if he's found a way to infect the Honmoon using our own methods against us…"

Celine trails off, looking back at the rainbow pattern with a troubled expression. Rumi, seeing an opportunity, clears her throat.

"So then we need to hunt this demon down and kill him as soon as possible. So he can't do anything like this again."

As Zoey lets out a disappointed 'aww' from one side and Mira nods and smacks her fist into her palm on the other, Rumi waits for Celine to give the go ahead. Only… she doesn't. After staring at the iridescent threads for a moment longer, Celine shakes her head.

"… No. Unfortunately, we can't do that. We can't afford to kill him until we know what he's done and how to reverse it."

Pointing at the Honmoon, Celine looks back at them.

"This is growing on its own. Slowly yes but still growing. So even if you girls managed to kill this trickster demon, it might be too late. Rather, killing him might MAKE it too late."

And then she says the words that Rumi never thought she would hear. Judging by Zoey's shocked gasp and Mira's surprised grunt on either side of her, they're just as caught off guard.

"You'll have to capture him. Alive."

… Celine, the woman who had drilled into all of their heads that every demon needed to be killed for years and years… was advocating for capturing demons now.

It was official. Rumi's life had completely and utterly stopped making sense.

-x-X-x-

Jinu's life was finally starting to make sense. Or rather, his second lease on life. Last night had been truly spectacular. Sure, it was only the first time… but it had gone off without a hitch! Even if it did mean he'd had to follow Rumi and her bandmates for over two hours waiting for the right opportunity.

Stepping in when they were kicking ass and winning wouldn't have help, he figured. But stepping in when they were on the ropes… well, that would certainly have an impact right?

So yeah, he'd bided his time and sure enough, an opportunity had eventually presented itself. Not that he didn't think that the girls could have handled the second wave, but him doing it before they could was an excellent introduction to 'him' as a concept, Jinu figured. He wasn't just some demon now. He was the demon with iridescent patterns who had helped them seal a hole in the Honmoon.

And if he had his way, he'd be helping them seal a lot more going forward.

Of course, he was still stuck hiding out in the human realm and still stuck with a soul that forced human needs like food and water onto him. So Jinu finds himself back in his preferred public park the very next day bright and early, using his lute and singing HUNTR/X songs while collecting tips here and there to get enough for some food for himself, Derpy, and Sussie.

Heh, the sleeveless HUNTR/X shirt had cost a lot of his money from busking up to this point, but it had totally been the right call. The stupefied looks on their faces as they'd stared up at him were not just cute and hilarious… they were also way better than the hatred and disgust and homicidal rage that would have otherwise been there.

Of course, unbeknownst to Jinu… he's currently being recorded. There's a small crowd gathered around him at this point, listening to his voice and his instrument with soft, happy smiles on their faces. Among this crowd of people is a young woman who would gladly label herself as a HUNTR/X superfan.

She was actually involved in multiple online HUNTR/X communities. Some of them she moderated, and still others she'd actually started herself and was the admin for. And right now this nameless young woman has her phone out and trained on Jinu so that she can record his singing and instrumentals and upload it online to EVERYONE she knew. Probably titled something catchy like "Even this homeless dude knows how amazing HUNTR/X is!"

… She'd workshop it before hitting post.

Yes, this is happening and Jinu has no idea. He's just merrily playing away, ignorant of the fact that he's about to be plastered online.

But then, to be fair Jinu hadn't paid much attention to the social media bullshit the first time around either. That was what he'd made Romance for, after all. The other Saja Boy hadn't been a natural or anything like that (none of them had), but he'd put his head down and grinded out learning what he needed to learn, just like Abby, Baby, and Mystery had all done for their respective parts in Jinu's plan.

Admittedly it didn't help that Jinu didn't really understand technology, except for that it had been a big help in stealing HUNTR/X's fans and destroying their precious Honmoon. All so Gwi-Ma could reap as many souls as he liked in the timeline where Jinu was still an evil, soulless demon. This time around, since he wasn't doing any of that and smartphones along with phone plans were needlessly expensive, he hadn't bothered to get one.

After all, tracking HUNTR/X at night and helping them with the Honmoon was easy. Not to mention, Jinu was a four hundred year old demon from the Joseon Dynasty. He didn't need to be perpetually online like everyone in this day and age seemed to be. And he definitely didn't need a smartphone or a connection to the internet to be able to track HUNTR/X, not when he had the Rainbow Honmoon guiding his every step.

It would probably all be fine. Right?

-x-X-x-

A/N: Narrator: It would not all be 'fine'.

-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!