Chapter Text
Rumi dug her claws into her arms, trying not to cry as she curled into a ball against an alley wall. When was the last time she had cried? She didn't remember. Probably close to a decade at least.
Crying was a sign of weakness in the demon realm, something you never did unless you knew for certain you were alone. It was a waste of water and energy, both resources Rumi didn't have much of to spare.
Blood welled up from self-inflicted scratches, starting to curl down her patterns. Life would have been so much easier if she didn't have them. If she could gouge them out.
Your loyalty is to your kind!
Loyalty. What in interesting word.
People tend to think it was a delicate thing. A friendly concept, full of warmth and comradery. And for some it might have been.
But for Rumi, that word had always been stained with blood.
It had been something she gripped with both hands, like shards of glass embedding in her palms. It was bared teeth and a refusal to bend. It was a sword in her grip, standing between the people she loved and those trying to hurt them. And Rumi was nothing if not loyal. Loyal to her dad and brother. Loyal to Mira and Zoey.
Never to Gwi-Ma. Never to the idea humanity should be stamped out.
Never to herself.
Or at least she thought she had been loyal to Mira and Zoey, but apparently she had nearly killed Mira years ago. Had snuffed out that light before it ever had a chance to glow.
(Not at fault. Did what you could.)
Rumi would never get used to the Honmoon ringing in her mind, far too similar to Gwi-Ma's voice for it to be comfortable.
"I'm sorry," Rumi whispered to no one, not even sure what she was apologizing for. Maybe her existence period.
The Honmoon crooned under her, like a dog curling at its master's feet, trying to provide comfort, as if Rumi was someone worth comforting.
(Wait, wait, above!)
Rumi's head snapped up and she barely managed to roll out of the way of a demon jumping from the roof, landing where she had been just moments before.
"Traitor," he snapped, flexing his claws.
Rumi didn't dignify that with a response, just flicking out her own claws. She wasn't deserving of calling herself a Hunter. Didn't deserve to make this a clean fight.
Maybe it was better if she didn't fight at all. At least this way she wouldn't die by fire.
The demon swung and Rumi found herself moving anyway, unable to tame that animal instinct to stay alive no matter the cost.
Claws met skin as Rumi rolled under the demon's next strike, slashing at his leg. The stitches on her torso tugged as she moved, threatening to tear. But for the moment it felt like they were holding.
Small mercies.
Rumi's ears twitched and she barely managed to dodge a set of claws from another demon, faint pop in the air her only warning as they joined the fight. Her back hit the alley wall and she used it to push off of, tackling the newcomer.
They went down hard, head colliding with the concrete. Rumi started to sink her claws into their neck, pull out their windpipe, when she had to move to dodge yet another demon joining the mix.
Three on one. This was fine, she had faced worse. She had faced far worse.
…not without a weapon in over a decade though.
Her fingers twitched. The her sain-geom was right there. She could pull it free with barely a thought.
Rumi bared her fangs and growled at the trio of demons, the one she had tackled shakily rose to their feet, growling right back.
"Poor hound, dying like a mongrel in an alley. Where are your new masters? Did they figure out exactly what you are and abandon you?"
(Mine. Mine, not yours. Get out.)
Rumi's head swam with the warring voices ringing in her ears. She needed to focus.
The first demon aimed a kick at Rumi's torso. She sidestepped, putting distance between her and the trio. "You really want to do this?" she asked, slightly desperate. "Pick a fight with Gwi-Ma's enforcer?"
The second demon laughed. "You haven't been an enforcer for some time now, you're just a rabid animal that needs to but put down." They smiled, fangs gleaming in the low light. "And I'm very happy to do so."
Fine. Rumi didn't expect that to work anyway. So she lunged at the first demon, still closest to her and sank her claws into his arm.
Blood coated her hand, the demon yelled in pain.
And Rumi sank her claws in deeper, pulling him closer.
Using her free hand, Rumi swung at his neck. Her tri-jointed fingers hit first, digging into the side of his windpipe. Her thumb latched home a beat later, completing the embrace. Rumi clenched her fist and pulled.
Blood erupted outward, spraying Rumi's face, coating her clothes. The windpipe squished in Rumi's hand, dangling like a dead snake in her grasp.
The demon collapsed, clutching at the empty space in his neck.
"Who's next?" Rumi spat, dropping the organ like a bad omen.
Neither demon looked eager to approach, but their patterns flickered and they diverged, trying to flank her. Rumi sighed, leaping at the third demon.
He leaned back from Rumi's strike, narrowly avoiding losing an eye. The second demon took the opportunity to swing at Rumi, snagging her right arm.
Rumi grunted in pain, feeling warmth flow towards her wrist. She needed to fix this-
(Look out!)
White exploded in Rumi's vision. Stars danced in front of her eyes. Bones in her arm crunched.
The second demon had managed to catch Rumi's left arm in their teeth. They made eye contact with Rumi, clenching their jaw even tighter.
And Rumi screamed.
Magenta reverberated out from her, chunks of the Honmoon going flying.
No, no, no. She was supposed to be better than that, she was supposed to help the Honmoon, not hurt it.
The demon startled, releasing her and Rumi staggered backward, colliding with the alley wall. Her left arm twitched pitifully when she tried to move it. Her right burned as she flexed her claws. When she tried to gather her focus to teleport away, spots swam in her vision.
There was no way she was winning this fight.
She was going to die here.
Fine. She would at least go out swinging. Rumi bared her teeth one last time and lunged at the second demon, blood crusting their cheeks.
A blow to the side knocked her over before she made it to them. The air was knocked out of her and Rumi wheezed as a foot dug into her ribs.
"I have been looking forward to this for a long time," The third demon purred, pressing his foot deeper into her side. "Maybe I'll draw it out, make you pay for every one of us you threw into the flames. That seems like a fair-"
Air whistled and red dust coated Rumi's face.
"Get away from her!" Zoey shouted, palming another shin-kal.
Mira charged into the alley, going pale at the sight of Rumi. Her gok-do sprang into existence, neatly bisecting the remaining upright demon, then making quick work of the one Rumi had felled.
Zoey crouched in front of Rumi, wincing at the movement. "Are you okay?"
"You came for me?" Rumi asked in wonder.
"Of course I did. You're my friend," Zoey said like anything else was unthinkable.
Rumi lifted her gaze to Mira, who was still pale and shaking. Oh, yeah. Rumi was covered in so much blood.
"They were trying to kill you," Mira stated like she couldn't believe it. "You're hurt."
"Such is the fate of traitors." Rumi wanted to close her eyes, but she was afraid if she did she would never open them again. "The only reason I haven't already begged for my life at the foot of Gwi-Ma's throne is because he can't drag me through the Honmoon."
Aunt Jung-hee, ash in the wind. Dad, trying to save her, suffering the same fate.
"I didn't know it was you in that alley," Rumi slurred, focusing on the pink blob that was Mira. "I didn't mean to scare you. It was the only way to save you."
"Save me?" Mira sounded like she was being strangled.
"Let you go. Broke my arm in the process." Rumi tried to wiggle her hand to demonstrate, only to be met with a burst of pain.
"I'm sorry," Mira said in a rush, collapsing to her knees. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I thought you were a spy. I thought you were toying with us. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have questioned your loyalty. You don't do this to people who are loyal to you. I'm sorry."
"If you want to be trained by Celine, I can arrange that." Rumi let her eyes close, not wanting to look Mira and Zoey in the eye when she admitted she had been lying to them from the start. "Just wait around here and she'll show up eventually. I don't blame you if you don't want to stay with me. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop running."
Admitting it was like cracking open her ribs and pulling secrets out by force, but Rumi did so anyway, not caring of the carnage they left in their wake.
"No," Zoey said with so much fire Rumi pulled her eyes back open. "No, I'm not leaving you."
"I'm not either," Mira responded as well. "I'm sorry," she said again. "We're supposed to be a trio and I almost ruined that. I want to stay with you. If you'll have me, that is," she finished, suddenly hesitant.
Rumi offered her less-injured right arm, gripping Mira's hand and pulling the two of them standing.
"Of course I want you. We're a trio."
"Matched set," Zoey chimed in, accepting Rumi's hand, hauling her up as well. "Do not separate."
"Now, if we want to avoid Celine we should get going." The world swam in front of Rumi and suddenly she had Mira bracing her against her side.
"First things first, we are patching you up."
Rumi didn't have the strength to protest. She let her girls lead her on to somewhere safe.
~~~~
An abandoned store was not the best place to spend the night but Mira supposed it was better than nothing. Rumi twitched as Mira gently guided her shirt off her body, revealing the mosaic of bruises and gashes covering her torso.
Mira froze for the briefest second when she caught sight of the bite on Rumi's arm, still bleeding freely. It was nasty, she swore she could see the yellow-white of ligaments deep in the injury.
"I'm sorry," Mira said again, not sure if she was apologizing for the pain she had caused or the pain she was about to. "We need to pack this, get it to stop bleeding."
Rumi nodded tightly, gritting her teeth in preparation of pain. Wordlessly Zoey handed Mira a shirt and Mira started tearing it into strips. She didn't give Rumi any warning, she just pressed the fabric deep into the wound.
A screech of pain half made it out of Rumi's mouth before she clamped her jaws shut, muting the sound. She thrashed under Mira's grasp but somehow did not pull away. Once again Mira wondered how used someone had to be to pain to gain that skill.
Once the cotton was firmly in place, Mira leaned back, feeling shaky herself. "I'm sorry," she said for the umpteenth time. "For everything." She looked over her shoulder at Zoey as she said those final words. "Didn't believe you didn't recognize me. I should have…"
"You apologize too much." Rumi folded her left arm protectively across her torso, watching the white cotton rapidly turn red. "I tried to kill you. I don't blame you for not trusting me. I would have done the same." Her amber eyes turned gold, nearly making Mira flinch. "But I swear to you I have never been loyal to Gwi-Ma. I was his hound, nothing more."
"What…do you mean hound?" Zoey said after a long moment.
Rumi shrugged. "His attack dog. The one to dole out punishments. As you can imagine it didn't make me very popular with demons."
And this time Mira let the words roll around in her mind, thinking back to all of the times Rumi had been called a traitor by other demons. To the scars across her body that were caused by claws. To how she had offered to let Celine train them, if they really wanted.
Puzzle pieces clicked together. The story lined up. Rumi was being truthful.
And Mira was an asshole.
…an asshole who had an out. The ring in her pocket burned. If Rumi was being truthful, if Mira could stay with Rumi and Zoey for the rest of her life, she didn't have to go back.
She could be free of her family.
The breath froze in Mira's lungs. She could be free. She could start to mend her bridges with Zoey, because it didn't matter what her parents thought.
"You deserved better than that." Mira gently touched Rumi's arm, careful to not disturb the bite. She did not apologize, she still had many to say, but that could be done later. "You should have had people in your corner."
"I did. It just didn't matter." Rumi's eyes went dead, staring into the mid-distance. "Gwi-Ma's flames do not care who touches them, they burn all the same." She shook herself. "Can one of you hand me the needle and thread? I need to stitch this up before we crash for the night."
Rumi patched her arms with terrifying efficiency, the stitches on her right wobbly and uneven but functional, only pausing to ask for Mira or Zoey's help in cutting the thread. She laid down on the cold, hard linoleum floor and told them to wake her for watch in a few hours.
Mira, suddenly finding herself in the position of 'least injured,' lied through her teeth when she said she would.
"Zoey," Mira said before she could chicken out. "Can we talk?"
Zoey sat up, moving slowly to compensate for her ribs. She stared at Mira, searching for something. Mira wasn't sure whether she found it or not, but when Zoey opened her mouth, what came out was "Yeah, sure."
Suddenly at a loss for words, Mira felt her tongue go ashen. She'd wanted to tell Zoey this for months. To drop to her knees in front of her and beg forgiveness. But now that she had the chance, her jaw bolted itself shut.
"What is it, Mira," Zoey said, looking irritated. "I need to sleep."
"I'm sorry." Mira pried open her jaw, opening the vault of secrets she'd locked behind her ribs. The door long since rusted shut torn off its hinges. "For everything I said to you that night."
"Why?" Something fragile formed in Zoey's voice. "Why did you say those things?"
An abyss yawned on either side of Mira, rope bridges stretching out into the horizon. One lead forward, the other back. Neither one safe, but at least one was familiar. This was the point of no return. Her last chance to call it off and have a path back to her parents. To some semblance of normal.
"My parents found out about us."
A single step forward.
"They threatened to tell the tabloids about you being queer."
Another.
"Their deal for not releasing the pictures was for me to stop seeing you."
Another.
Tears sparked in Zoey's eyes. "You could have said something. We could have worked something out."
Mira shook her head. "I couldn't risk it. Your career was more important than our hookups."
"Mira," Zoey nearly sobbed. "You were one of two good things in my life. I would have burned it all down to keep you with me."
They were nearly nose to nose. Mira's eyes flicked to Zoey's lips and back up. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I'll say it as many times as it takes for you to believe it. I didn't want to hurt you. I have never wanted to hurt you."
Clouds engulfed the bridge, Mira could not see the way back anymore. Did not know if it even still existed.
Zoey threaded her fingers through Mira's hair, black strands tangling in her grasp. "I forgive you." She leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together.
The abyss still loomed. The path was still uncertain. But with Zoey in front of her, suddenly Mira felt less afraid of it
Unbidden, three words bubbled to the front of Mira's mind.
She blinked, nearly jolting back. She didn't have time for those, so instead she crushed them with her fist and buried the remnants in the back of her mind.
She was content with what she had and would not sully it by wanting more. Zoey had deigned to forgive her, Mira would not squander this opportunity.
~~~~
Waking was difficult. Zoey felt like a branding iron had been pressed against her ribs. Every breath caused her pain. Shaking, she felt tears spring to her eyes as she became aware of her body, dragging herself into an upright position.
Sunlight shone through the edges of the curtains on the windows. Which shouldn't be happening. Someone was supposed to wake her for watch. Probably second, given that Rumi needed all the sleep she could get.
Mira shifted, looking at Zoey, eyes bloodshot. "Morning," she greeted, lips parting in a jaw breaking yawn.
"Did you get any rest?" Zoey asked, incredulous.
Mira shook her head. "You both needed sleep more than I did."
"I'm used to operating in pain and on little to no sleep," Zoey protested.
Mira waved her off, arching her brow. "And I'm not?"
Zoey didn't have a response to that, so instead she shakily rose to her feet, accepting Mira's offered hand.
Feet steady under her, Zoey looked at Rumi, left arm tucked protectively against her body even in sleep. She couldn't tell how bad the bite was in the low lighting, but at least it didn't seem any worse than the night before.
Zoey blinked, remembering something. "What do you think caused that shockwave last night?" she asked Mira. "It wasn't a breach and it lead us right to Rumi. Some sort of demon ability?"
It had been terrifying, trying to find any sign of Rumi, to track down a person who could teleport, when a pulse of magenta had the Honmoon screaming in their ears.
"I'm not sure," Mira said after a moment. "But I'm not going to complain too loudly. Without it…" Mira trailed off, looking at their third member. They had almost lost her. Rumi had almost died alone and afraid in an alley.
(Together. Mine. No dying alone.)
"What a set we make," Zoey grumbled, picking her bag up off the ground. "Beat to shit and covered in dust."
"I think my parents would have an aneurysm if they saw me now." The joke was fragile, same with Mira's smile. But she made it anyway and Zoey smiled back tentatively. The bond they shared wasn't fixed. The gasoline tossed on the bridge between them during their fight had burned too bright for one conversation to make it all okay.
But as Zoey watched Mira try to wipe dust off her pants something flickered to life in the embers.
And then flickered beneath her feet as the Honmoon pulsed blue, ripples spreading.
But the ripples didn't stop. If anything they got worse, coming faster and faster as a figure started to emerge from the Honmoon.
Zoey yelped, scrambling backward, staring at a creature with fangs as large as her hand. Burning gold eyes stared her down, silted pupils narrow. Claws dug into the linoleum as a massive blue tiger stalked forward.
And promptly knocked over Mira's bag, still on the floor.
The tiger looked down at the bag, reaching one massive paw out to try and right the bag.
It fell over again almost instantly.
The tiger tried again.
The bag fell over once more.
"Derpy?" Rumi said, voice full of wonder. She shakily got off the ground, hand twitching as she put weight in her bad arm. "What are you doing here?"
"Derpy?" Mira asked, eyes narrowed. Zoey abruptly realized she'd pulled her gok-do into existence. "That thing is called Derpy?"
Rumi extended a hand to let Derpy sniff. Derpy pushed past the hand and nuzzled her arm, gently nudging the bite wound. The tiger rumbled, sounding concerned.
"I'm okay, boy," Rumi assured, scratching under the tiger's chin. "The person who did it is dust."
Good.
The tiger did not speak, did not open his mouth, but the words reached Zoey's brain nonetheless, reverberating across the Honmoon.
Wait wait wait.
"Derpy?" Zoey asked. "As in the cat that almost suffocated you in your sleep, keeps knocking things over, Derpy?"
Rumi lit up. "You remembered that story?"
"Of course." It was Zoey's turn to be indignant. "It concerned the hell out of me. You also said you woke up afraid someone was attacking you, which makes much more sense now."
So many things about Rumi made sense now that Zoey knew about the existence of demons.
Okay, Rumi had a pet demon tiger that could talk. This was fine.
Zoey crouched, also holding out a hand for Derpy to sniff. "Hey bud," Zoey crooned, "Can I pet you?"
Derpy's nostrils flared as he inhaled. Whatever her smelled he must have like because he leaned into her touch, purring.
Huh?
"Tigers can't purr," Zoey protested, only digging her nails into Derpy's fur farther. "Their hyoid bone is too solid to allow it."
"I don't think he cares," Mira chimed in, weapon long since vanished from her grasp.
Rumi blinked, lifting her fingers from Derpy's fur. "Where's Sussie?" she asked. "You two are never apart for long."
The question of 'who's Sussie' was on Zoey's tongue when she got her answer. A black and grey blur shot up from the Honmoon, holding something in its beak.
The magpie landed on Derpy's head, looking very proud of itself. The thing in his beak turned out to be a chunk of colorful flesh, still bleeding.
What. The fuck.
Rumi sighed, as if this wasn't out of the ordinary. And maybe it wasn't. "What did you do?"
Again, words were not spoken aloud but Zoey heard them anyway.
Disparaging you. Claimed you were a traitor. Sussie flicked his wings. Made it clear that was not tolerated.
So Rumi had a tiger and a murderous magpie as pets. Awesome.
Rumi groaned. "I am a traitor. By definition, that is what I am. Don't draw unwanted attention to yourselves."
Sussie opened three sets of eyes, staring Rumi down. Gwi-Ma has no hold over us. We will make sure you are given the respect one of your ranking is owed.
"What does that mean?" Rumi nearly whined. "You're not making sense."
Derpy pressed his head into Rumi's chest. Protect. Ours.
With that, Sussie discarded the chunk of flesh and the Honmoon started to ripple around Derpy again.
"Stay safe," Rumi told them, resting her hand on Derpy's chest for as long as she could. After they disappeared, she stared at the Honmoon for a long moment, breathing heavily. When she stood, it was like watching a mask settle into place, emotions locked behind a wall. "Come on," she said, squaring her shoulders. "We need to get going."
But Zoey wasn't about to let that lie. "What do you mean you have a tiger as a pet? And a magpie that isn't afraid to tear open demons?"
"Yeah," Mira stared at the spot they had disappeared. "What did they mean when they said Gwi-Ma has no hold over them?"
"First off, they aren't my pets." Rumi swung her bag onto her back, holding the right strap. "They're older than I am. And I couldn't answer that second question. They've always been free spirits." Her voice turned wistful at those words, patterns rippling. Her stomach growled and Rumi flushed. "Breakfast first, questions later."
Fine.
"I'll hold you to that," Zoey said as she made to grab her bag.
But Mira got there first, swinging her own into place then placing Zoey's on top of it. "You're injured. I'm not making you carry your own bags."
It was Zoey's turn to blush, but she didn't protest, mutely following her fellow Hunters out of the abandoned store, embers in her chest burning to life once again.
~~~~
The worst part of being on the run, about not being in the demon realm anymore, was the sheer boredom.
Rumi never thought she'd miss fighting for her life every day, but she wanted something to do. Wanted to pick a fight just to feel adrenaline singing in her veins. Wanted the smell of gravel to fill her nostrils because Jinu knocked her on her ass during a spar. Wanted to feel the weight on her hwando on her back, for nothing more than the comfort of familiarity.
Instead she was nursing a bite wound that would almost certainly scar and sitting under a tree, coarse bark digging into her back as she watched Mira and Zoey gently tug at the Honmoon.
Grass bent under her touch and Rumi marveled at the sensation. Plants were nonexistent in the demon realm. Hell, the color green wasn't common either, only appearing on a handful of demons.
A park like this, coated in greenery, the last dregs of flowers clinging to their stems as autumn settled in the air, was unthinkable.
Zoey hissed in pain and Rumi snapped to attention, scanning for threats. Mira clenched her fists, gok-do half formed before they both realized it wasn't necessary.
"I'm fine," Zoey waved them off. "Just tugged something in my ribs."
It had been a few days since that fight. A few days since Rumi learned how close she had come to committing the unthinkable, a Hunter killing a Hunter.
Mira seemed to have forgiven her, but Rumi wasn't ready to trust herself just yet. Not with all the blood on her hands.
"How are you healing?" Rumi asked, as if she didn't know. Hearing Zoey describe how she felt would soothe something in her brain.
"Better than I thought I would." The Honmoon pulsed under her touch, leaning into Zoey's hand like a pleased cat. "I swear I can feel my bones knitting back together. Still a 0/10 experience, but not as bad as I was afraid of."
"Is this your first time breaking a rib?" Mira leaned back on her elbows, looking content but Rumi could see the probing in her gaze.
Zoey stared at Mira. "You say that like breaking a rib is a normal experience, yes this is my first time breaking a rib." She paused a moment. "I've performed at a concert with bruised ribs, but never actually broken one."
"You've what?" Mira shot upright. "What do you mean you've performed with bruised ribs?"
"You know what my manager was…is?" Zoey shook her head. "What he's like. Does that really surprise you?"
"No," Mira grumbled. "But if I ever see him again, he's dead. It'll be easy now that I can summon an untraceable weapon at will."
Rumi laughed, something warm sparking to life behind her ribs. "I've had to fight with acid burns before."
Competition flared in Mira's eyes. "My parents made me go to a gala with bruised ribs, while wearing a corset."
Zoey flopped onto the grass. "I got shoved down the stairs in high school. Concussion."
Air hissed between Rumi's teeth as she thought. "I once was stabbed in the thigh then had to run on it with the knife still in."
"Corporal punishment." Mira held up her right hand. "A teacher hit my hands with a wooden rod hard enough a bone fractured then made me write lines with it."
"Back to back to back performances with maybe three hours of sleep between each of them." Zoey sighed, letting her head thunk against the ground. "Yeah, I'm tapping out. You two have far more brutal lives than I do."
"Don't sell yourself short." Mira nudged Zoey. "I don't think either of us are as good at sleep deprivation as you." She looked at Rumi.
"My record is almost a week without sleep."
"Okay, what the fuck," Mira said, indignantly. "How?"
Rumi shrugged. "Demons are resilient." Derpy and Sussie were unreliable when it came to keeping watch and there was no one aside from Jinu Rumi trusted to watch her back in the demon realm.
The scar on the back of her neck itched and Rumi resisted the urge to scratch it. She wondered how Jinu was doing. The Saja Boys were still going solid the last time she had checked on them, but that was two weeks ago. So many things could change in two weeks.
Rumi stilled. Did Jinu know that Rumi was a Hunter? That they were technically on different sides now? Should she try and contact him? Derpy could ferry messages without detection.
But another thought cut off that idea. What would Gwi-Ma do to him if he thought the two of them were working together? Rumi could no longer be dragged back to the demon realm by her patterns, Jinu had no such protection.
She couldn't contact him. Couldn't reach out. The realization hurt, but it was for his own good.
Rumi couldn't lose the only family she had left.
"Wow, we have fucked up lives," Zoey joked, pulling Rumi back to the conversation. "What you thinking about, Rumi?" She asked, noticing Rumi's distant gaze.
"The time I broke my right arm and had to fight five demons with my non-dominate, slow side before I could get it treated," Rumi lied.
Mira dropped her head into her hands, sighing. "You win. I don't know how to top that."
Rumi felt bad lying to them, but she knew being family wasn't enough to spare a demon from a Hunter's blade. The scar on her collarbone throbbed. Just like she wasn't going to contact Jinu, she wasn't going to remind Zoey and Mira of his existence.
Anything to protect her family, even if it meant deceiving them.
~~~~
Mira slowly inhaled as Rumi prodded at her ribs. The bruises were pretty much gone, far, far faster than Mira had expected. Honmoon healing was no joke apparently.
"Alright," Rumi said, stepping away from Mira. "You're good to practice. Zoey," She shot the third member of their trio a glance. "You're on rest for a while longer."
Zoey jokingly saluted, keeping watch from the sidelines.
Rumi beckoned Mira to join her in the circle. "I'll go easy on you." Dying sunlight glinted off her fangs as she smiled and Mira's stomach did something complicated.
"And I'll try to not tear your stitches." Mira's eyes darted to the crescent on Rumi's arm.
Zoey counted them in and Rumi charged at Mira.
It was only a fight because Rumi was holding back. Mira knew that. But some part of her still glowed with pride as she dodged around and under Rumi's strikes. She was improving, learning how to read her opponent, getting faster at reacting.
Freezing less.
Rumi swung at Mira, overextending her left arm and Mira took her opportunity.
She stepped inside Rumi's guard, slamming the base of her palm into Rumi's sternum. It wouldn't do any actual damage, but it would hurt like hell.
Rumi wheezed, stumbling back. Her fingers sharpened into claws and fear flashed through Mira. Rumi was undoubtedly on their side, but she was still volatile.
And then Rumi exhaled, claws fading and Mira felt foolish for ever being afraid.
"Well done." Rumi rubbed her sternum. "I think you're ready to start training with your weapon."
"Wait, what?" Mira blinked. "I'm not raising a blade to you. I could hurt you."
Rumi laughed joylessly. "I learned what a Hunter's weapon feels like when I was 12. You don't need to be scared of hurting me."
"You do realize that makes me more concerned, not less." Seriously, what was Rumi's childhood?
Bad. Mira knew that.
Sighing, Mira summoned her gok-do into existence. The Honmoon chimed brightly as starlight crystallized in her grasp. Rumi didn't call her weapon forth, instead flexing her claws and dropping into a crouch.
"You aren't going to use your sword?" Mira asked, adjusting her grip, feeling the grooves in the metal bite into her palms.
Rumi shook her head. "Demons using swords is nearly unheard of. You need to get used to fighting against someone with claws."
Mira leveled her gok-do at Rumi's chest, stance so much steadier than it had been the first time she'd used it. Rumi's lessons were paying off.
But Rumi still had over a decade of experience on Mira. Having a blade between Rumi's claws and herself helped, creating distance, making Mira more of a threat.
It didn't matter when Rumi swept Mira's legs out from under her, knocking her flat on her back. The air left her in a rush, thankfully not smacking her head onto the concrete. Mira stared at the overcast sky, clouds promising rain later that night.
"You're doing better than you think." Rumi offered Mira a hand, hauling her back to her feet. "Again."
~~~~
Mira took a long swig from her water bottle. "So how do Hunters' weapons work anyway? Do they dematerialize demons or something?"
Rumi drummed her nails on her own bottle, deep in thought. "I'm not completely sure. I think it has something to do with a demon's lack of soul."
"Lack of a soul?" Zoey parroted.
"Yeah." Rumi rubbed at her sternum, trying to find the right words. "When a demon makes a deal, they trade their soul to Gwi-Ma. That lack of a soul is what allows them to steal others'. They detach a person's soul and ferry it back to the demon realm by carrying it where theirs used to sit. But it also makes them vulnerable to weapons that are powered by souls like the Hunters' weapons and the Honmoon."
And Gwi-Ma's flames.
"So you've never stolen a soul?" Zoey was looking at her intently, searching for something but Rumi wasn't sure what.
"Huh?" Was the very eloquent response Rumi gave. Zoey was right, Rumi had never stolen a soul. But...
"How did you know that?"
Zoey gestured to Rumi's chest. "You have a soul. Can't store a soul when yours is still in place."
Rumi opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "What are you talking about? I'm a demon, of course I don't have a soul."
"We saw it." Mira stepped closer to Rumi. "The first time we harmonized. Your sternum lit up blue, the same as Zoey's."
"And yours, Mira."
"That's impossible." Rumi took a step back, feeling lightheaded. She'd made a deal. She'd bargained with the only chip she had. She was a demon.
A demon who was also a Hunter. Her existence was already one impossibility. Who's to say she couldn't be another?
(Mine. Mine, not his. My claim first.)
"I have a soul?" Tears pricked in Rumi's eyes. "He didn't get it?"
Mira grabbed one of Rumi's hands, Zoey grabbing the other beat later. "You have a soul."
"I have a soul." Relief washed over Rumi, so strongly she almost collapsed, only supported by Mira and Zoey. "I have a soul."
Blue twined around the three of them as Rumi wept, knowledge her dad's sacrifice hadn't been completely in vain soothing a decade old ache.
~~~~
"Shit, shit, shit," Mira hissed as a demon snagged her thigh, leaving a trail of thin scratches.
Zoey summoned a shin-kal and flung it at the offending demon, ignoring the ache in her chest as she did so. The blade sank into the demon's shoulder instead of anywhere lethal but it distracted it enough for Rumi to slam her sword between its ribs.
"How bad is it?" Zoey dismissed her weapons running up to Mira. Her pants were already starting to darken with blood, hands shaking with the adrenaline crash.
"They missed an artery," Rumi supplied, "But we need to put pressure on it. Mira," She looked her dead in the eye. "This is going to hurt."
"Just do it," Mira growled.
Rumi pulled a sweatshirt out of Mira's bag and pressed it to the scratches. Mira bit back a screech of pain, thrashing under Rumi's grasp. Zoey grabbed her shoulders, pinning her back to the floor.
Minutes ticked by, Mira slowly stopped struggling, fight draining out of her. Eventually Rumi lessened the pressure, not moving the sweatshirt, but sitting back. "Alright," she said lowly. "Now we figure out how to get you back to the motel room without disturbing the scratches."
Air hissed between Mira's teeth. "It's a short walk and our room is off to the side."
"It's going to suck," Rumi warned, already sliding an arm under Mira's shoulders.
"I've had worse." Was Mira's so very comforting answer.
Together they hobbled through the streets, Mira's face twitching with pain every time her leg was jostled, bloodstain growing and growing the longer they went but finally they arrived at their motel. Thankfully they had been thinking ahead and gotten a room in preparation for the coming storm.
Hinges ground as Zoey swung the door open, rust making it a struggle with broken ribs. Rumi and Mira limped in a beat later, Rumi laying Mira on the bathroom floor.
"What can I do to help?" Zoey asked. Rumi looked up at her, slightly surprised. "I have two perfectly functional hands. Tell me how to use them."
"Get her pants off. As little movement as possible." Rumi flexed her hands, covered in blood. "I'll grab the first aid kit and alcohol."
"Great," Mira grumbled, letting her head hit the base of the sink. "Love the feeling of alcohol on an open wound."
Zoey reached for the button of Mira's pants, ears going slightly pink at the memory of doing this under very different circumstances. Mira lifted her hips slightly to make the process easier, also blushing.
Zoey could tell salvaging the pants was already a lost cause, the bloodstain had spread to cover most of the pant leg. Despite Rumi's best efforts, moving Mira had disturbed the fragile clotting on the scratches.
Rumi reappeared, holding their rudimentary first aid kit and a bottle of soju. She offered the bottle to Mira who look a long swig, gritting her teeth.
"On three alright?" Rumi hovered the bottle over Mira's leg. "One." She upended the bottle and Mira's hand latched onto Zoey's clenching with such force Zoey swore she heard bones creak.
"You're an asshole," Mira panted when Rumi stopped pouring. "You know that, right?"
Rumi shrugged. "Bracing for pain is often worse than the pain itself."
"Not in this case. Fuck." Mira closed her eyes, exhaling shakily.
Light glinted off a needle as Rumi held it up. "And time for the fun part."
To her credit, Mira barely twitched when Rumi pierced her skin, needle freshly sterilized with alcohol. Rumi poked the needle through the other side of the gash, pulling the thread taught then twisting it into a knot before severing it with a claw.
"How did you learn how to do that?" Zoey asked, closely observing. She'd seen Rumi do stitches an alarming number of times, but she'd never thought question it before.
"My dad taught me," Rumi responded after a beat. "He figured it would be a useful skill living in the demon realm."
"Could you teach me?"
Rumi blinked, looking up from her task. "Sure." She pierced Mira's thigh again causing Mira to make an aborted noise of pain. "When doing sutures, always make sure the injury is clean and as sterile as you can get it. Anything in the injury when you close the stitches gets stuck there."
She poked the needle through the skin, completing the loop. "Don't pull the skin too tight or you'll do more damage. Then all you have to do it tie a knot and sever the thread." Rumi sliced the thread, examining her handiwork. "There is a version where you do a continuous stitch, which is faster but if you damage any part of it you need to redo the entire thing so I prefer the interrupted method."
"Of course you do," Mira said through gritted teeth. "How old were you when you learned how to do this?"
"Eight?" There was hesitation in Rumi's voice. "I think I was around eight. It was after I met Derpy and Sussie but before…" She trailed off, eyes dropping to the floor. "You want to give it a shot, Zoey?"
The abrupt subject change made Zoey blink. "Right now?"
"What better time?" Rumi offered the needle.
"Mira?" Zoey turned to her. She wasn't sewing an injury without Mira's approval.
"Only if I get to return the favor the next time you need stitches," Mira hissed.
If the way Mira jolted was any indication, Zoey put too much force into her first jab. And then not enough when she tried to exit the skin, causing her to try a second time. As she wound the thread into a knot, Rumi placed a gentle hand on top of hers.
"Not like that." She said, manipulating Zoey's fingers, somehow missing the fact Zoey's cheeks were aflame.
When Rumi cut the thread, Zoey leaned back, looking at her work. It was obvious which one was Zoey's stitch, far messier than Rumi's, slightly tilted. But it was holding.
Zoey grinned, squeezing Mira's hand, ignoring how she arched a brow at Zoey's blush.
"Great, now could you please finish closing my wound."
~~~~
"Hey, Mira, I got you something." Rumi walked into the room holding small bundle of food, shaking her head like a dog to rid her hair of water. The promised storm had started in earnest.
"I hope this gift is better the last one you got me," Mira joked, tugging at the grey sweatpants Rumi had stolen from the lost and found (a concept they'd had to explain to Rumi) for her.
The gashes were closing neatly, thankfully. With a little luck they wouldn't even scar. Mira wasn't sure how to feel about that. She glanced at the thin scratches running down her left arm from the demon she'd fought the night she'd summoned her gok-do. Father's money had ensured they were only visible when Mira twisted the skin.
Of course he cared about things that weren't him leaving marks on his daughter.
Rumi tossed a small metal object through the air. Mira fumbled it briefly, catching it in her left hand and examined the thin rectangle she'd been gifted.
It was a knife. A switchblade to be exact, with a textured black handle that had obviously seen some use. Mira pressed the button on the side and a blade, maybe ten centimeters long sprung free. Suddenly cautious, Mira folded the blade back down then pressed the release again.
Again, the blade swung open, smooth as anything.
"Sick." Mira tilted the knife so it caught the light, examining for any damage or dull spots.
"Sick as hell," Zoey agreed, rolling off the bed. "Where'd you get it?"
Rumi placed the bag of food on the desk. "Someone tried to mug me," she said with such indifference it gave Mira pause.
"Someone what?" Mira sputtered. "A human? Not a demon?"
"Yep." Rumi started passing out food, glaring at Zoey until she accepted the offered portion size.
"You. Someone looked at you and thought 'yeah, that's a good mugging target. She definitely won't tear out my throat for trying.'" Zoey gestured to all of Rumi. Patterns glowing dully, scars obvious and plentiful, pointed ears, and amber eyes that didn't reflect the light quite like they should.
"Humans are good at ignoring signs of danger." Rumi looked at Mira as she spoke, the edges of her lips twitching.
…Was that a joke? About almost killing Mira?
Startled, Mira laughed. Never in a million years would she have expected that out of Rumi. "Hey," Mira protested. "Demons don't seem to be good at recognizing danger either considering they keep coming after us."
"What happened anyway?" Zoey asked, poking at her food. "You growl at them or something?"
"Yes."
It was Zoey's turn to laugh. "Never change, Rumi," she said with infinite fondness.
Rumi tore into her food with ferocity that still rankled the part of Mira that was raised to be polite while eating. "I growled and he went so pale I thought he was going to pass out. Dropped the knife and ran without looking back. I didn't even have to flash my claws."
Mira spun the (sheathed) knife across her fingers. When was the last time someone had given her a present, just because they could? Because they wanted to? She and Zoey hadn't had that type of relationship, there could be no proof of their exchanges.
And no one had ever gifted her a knife before. Never something practical, it was always gaudy jewels or trinkets which were supposed to be proof of a good business venture. If her parents saw her wielding a knife, they would probably have a heart attack.
"Well." Mira pocketed the knife, feeling the weight settle against her thigh. "His loss. Mine now."
Rumi chuckled lowly, wiping rice off her chin. "You would have loved my aunt Jung-hee."
"Who?" Zoey asked, voice suddenly gentle. "I didn't realize you had an aunt aside from Celine."
Rumi locked up. For a long moment Mira thought she wasn't going to answer. But then, "Aunt Jung-hee, she was a courier. A demon who's good at passing through the Honmoon without attracting attention. She would get items from the human realm and sell them to demons. She was the one who provided Dad with baby supplies. She's a large part of the reason I'm alive. She wasn't family by blood, but she was my aunt in every way that mattered."
The past tense wasn't lost on Mira. "What happened?" She spoke softly, as if Rumi was a wild animal she didn't want to spook.
"Gwi-Ma," Rumi nearly spat the name. "He felt she was no longer loyal to him and burned her. It was the first execution I watched, the first time I really understood what he was capable of."
"The first?" Something fragile filled the air, as if speaking above a whisper would shatter the delicate expression on Rumi's face.
"If it comes down to it, make sure I die by a Hunter's blade, not Gwi-Ma's fire. Please. I don't want to die like him," Rumi said suddenly. "It's better to die by blade than fire."
And Rumi detonated it anyway.
"No way!" Zoey shouted, rising to her feet. "I'm not killing you, Rumi."
"I'm not asking you to." Rumi looked into Zoey's eyes for a brief moment before dropping her gaze. "Just. If it comes down to it, I'd rather not burn."
Mira didn't ask who he was. She had a feeling, but that didn't mean she was any more willing to comply with Rumi's request. "You aren't going to die to Gwi-Ma. He's stuck in the demon realm. Now that there are four Hunters protecting the Honmoon, that's where he'll stay."
Rumi's face did something complicated before smoothing out into glass. "Sure." Mira could tell she didn't believe her, but was moving the conversation along. "Who wants first watch?"
Mira gritted her teeth but raised a hand. No way was she letting this drop completely.
No way was she letting someone she lov cared about die.
~~~~
"Can I make a request?"
Rumi's ears twitched as Zoey piped up, tilting her head she nodded for Zoey to continue.
"We haven't been back to my apartment since we started running." Zoey fidgeted with the strands of her hoodie. "It could be worth checking to see if we can gather any supplies."
Rumi opened her mouth to protest then paused. Zoey was right. Rumi had been hasty to cut and run, to discard any place Gwi-Ma might have seen through her eyes as unsafe.
But it had been two weeks. Surely Gwi-Ma had better things for his demons to do.
"Alright." Rumi started mentally planning out how long the trek was going to take. It would be almost sundown by the time they arrived, but it would be a place they could crash for the night. "Let's do it."
Zoey pulled her in for a crushing hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried.
Rumi stiffened, unsure how to react. When was the last time she'd been hugged? Had it been on that horrible night in the alley with Jinu when she'd darkened her sword with blood? It was the most recent time in her memory.
After far too long, Rumi returned the hug, feeling something in her soul settle as Zoey melted.
Far too soon, Zoey broke away, cheeks aflame. "Onward then?"
Mira arched a brow, eyes darting between them. "Onward."
It was a long walk. Rumi's feet ached when Zoey punched in her entry code for the building, guiding them to her apartment. The sound of a key turning in a lock made Rumi's spine go ridged but she forced the sensation down.
When the door swung open, nothing had obviously changed. Stepping over a pile of letters, Rumi peeled off her boots and scanned the entryway. Posters were still hanging on the walls, trinkets and knickknacks scattered on the shelves, a faint layer of dust covering them, proof no one had been here since Rumi and Zoey left it.
"I'm going to raid the closet for linens, see if we can fashion some into bandages," Zoey said, crouching to pick up the letters. "You both know your way around, feel free to grab anything you think will be useful."
Rumi furrowed her brows, glancing at Mira. "You've been here?"
Zoey and Mira exchanged a look Rumi couldn't begin to parse out the meaning of. "Once," Mira said after a beat. "Under very different circumstances."
Zoey laughed under her breath. "I'd say."
Alright then. Rumi walked into the living room, staring at the bloodstain she'd left behind on the carpet. Seeing how close she'd gotten to dying rankled, ever so slightly.
Water hissed as Mira turned on the kettle, cabinets creaking. "I found some cup ramen. Any requests for flavors?" She called, jostling Rumi out of her thoughts.
"I'm not picky." Rumi sat down on the couch, rubbing her feet, knowing nothing would help them but time. Time and rest. Neither of which she was capable of right now.
"Figured as much," Mira grumbled. The couch dipped as Mira sat down next to her, searching for something. "You see the remote? I haven't watched the news in forever."
"Uh." Rumi didn't know what distance had to do with the news. Mira seemed to catch onto her distress, because her gaze softened.
"The black or grey rectangular brick used to control TVs. Knowing Zoey it's probably between the cushions."
"I resent that!" Zoey said, walking into the living room wearing a fresh set of clothes. Rumi swore she heard paper crinkle when she sat down, bracketing Rumi.
"Resent it all you want, it's true." Mira held up a black rectangle Rumi suddenly recognized. So that's what those were called.
Zoey groaned, flopping dramatically into Rumi. Unbidden, a laugh bubbled out of Rumi's mouth, smile tugging at her lips. This felt nice. Felt right.
The TV flickered on and people talking about events that made no sense to Rumi drifted in and out of her brain. Warmth from both the ramen in her hands and the people by her sides lulled her into a sense of security.
"…upcoming Idol Awards. Our current front runners are MYST, last year's victors and the Saja Boys, a newcomer which has been taking the nation by storm with their single Soda Pop!"
Rumi nearly jumped out of her skin. Of course ignoring the problem of the Saja Boys wouldn't make it go away.
"Hey Rumi, didn't you say your brother was a musician as well? How does that work in the demon realm? I would have thought Gwi-Ma hated song."
As always, Zoey's insights were razor sharp. Rumi was going to have to play this once carefully.
"It's pretty common for people to make deals for musical talent. Gwi-Ma isn't fond of music, but getting rid of it completely would give a large chunk of his forces reason to be disloyal to him." Rumi placed her finished ramen on the table, next to Zoey's picked at cup. "My brother is no exception."
"Wait, you have a brother?" Mira turned to face Rumi. "Why haven't you mentioned him before?"
"I didn't realize Zoey remembered me talking about him." Rumi tried to wrack her memory, figure out when she had mentioned Jinu.
"In the first conversation we ever had you said your brother was a musician. That it was a family…oh fuck. Family thing. Celine." Zoey sank her head into her hands. "'Family is complicated.' Fucking hell, yeah that whole mess is complicated."
"You don't need to worry about him." Rumi very deliberately did not look at the screen, showing off the Saja Boys smiling at the viewer, the first time Rumi had seen Jinu in weeks. "He doesn't cross the Honmoon often. He's not a threat."
Please don't kill him. I'm loyal to you I swear. I can't lose another family member.
"If we ever come across him, point him out," Mira said, face doing something complicated. "We can work something out."
"Alright." The TV moved on from the Idol Awards coverage. "I will," Rumi lied.
"Loyalty split already? We both know they won't spare him. The only thing Hunters do is kill demons."
~~~~
Zoey ran her fingers over the paper she'd grabbed from her room. The note Mira had left her years ago, worn with how often she'd run her fingers over it.
'Z,
Ice is in the freezer. Take care of yourself ankle.
See you next time.
-M
Fifteen words. And yet she'd cherished it. She'd almost thrown it away after Mira had broken things off with her, but now Zoey was glad she hadn't. Grabbing it might have been a bad idea, but she couldn't fathom leaving it behind. Not when she didn't know if she would ever be able to return to her apartment. Casting a longing glance around the space, Zoey returned the note to her bag, gently folding it between a bundle of clothes. She looked long and hard at the ceramic turtle Mom had gifted her shortly after she'd debuted before shaking her head. Too fragile, too heavy. It hurt to leave, but bringing it wasn't worth it.
Spending the night had been a good idea, Zoey felt amazing after showering with actual water pressure and her bag weighed heavy with food and medical supplies. They had slept in the living room, bed stripped of linens creating a veritable nest on the floor for one of them. It reminded Zoey of having sleepovers when she was in elementary school, making pillow forts and staying up far too late chatting with friends.
But Rumi was right, if they stayed in one place for too long Gwi-Ma was sure to attack and Zoey didn't want to risk her neighbors or trinkets. So one night it was.
"You got everything?" Mira asked, stretching lazily. She looked ethereal with the early morning sun streaming through the blinds, turning the edges of her hair to fire. Zoey's stomach flipped and for a moment she was at a loss for words.
"Yep," she said finally, thankfully not voicing any of the other thoughts Mira had shaken loose. "You have any idea where we're headed?"
"You're the one who knows the area. I was planning on following your lead."
Rumi stepped into the living room, shaking water out of her shorn hair. Her patterns rippled, bright purple casting light onto the walls. Muscles shifted under her skin. Amber eyes flicked around the room, softening ever so slightly when they caught sight of Mira and Zoey. "I was planning on spending the day on top of of the city. Get some sparing practice in. How are your injuries feeling?"
Mira grimaced, testing the limits of her leg. Zoey rolled her shoulders, feeling the flex of her ribs. Tilted her torso to see how the punctures on her hip were doing. She inhaled fully with minimal pain. Wow the Honmoon was good at this. "I'm good to spar. Mira?"
Mira inhaled slowly. "So long as I take it easy I should be fine."
"Perfect." Rumi's fangs glinted as she smiled and Zoey abruptly clenched her jaw. No inside thought would become outside thoughts. "I saw some spots yesterday, let's try them out."
Zoey locked her apartment door, feeling strange. The key sat heavy in her hand. Odds were she wasn't going to come back. Odds were she was going to lose everything inside.
But that was a worthy price to pay for keeping Mira and Rumi safe.
Zoey's ears twitched when she heard a gasp behind her. Turning, she caught a glimpse of one of her neighbors quickly shutting her door, apparently panicked at the sight of Zoey.
Well if she couldn't return before she definitely couldn't now. "We should get going before the police show up," Zoey said, despondently.
"Why would the police be involved?" Mira asked, glaring at the door Zoey's neighbor had vanished behind.
"Because I'm still the prime suspect in a murder investigation and I vanished for two weeks then reappeared with someone who looks like they know six different ways to dispose of a body."
Rumi blinked. "I actually don't know how to dispose of a body. Demons dissolve when we're killed, it's never been an issue." A storm cloud passed over Rumi's face, she looked like she was about to add more to that statement but held back.
"Either way." Zoey grabbed their hands, harsh callouses and soft palms juxtaposing in her grasp. "We need to leave."
Rumi described the place she had seen and Zoey guided them through the streets, occasionally ducking her head to avoid a camera or person she recognized. It was doubtful she would get noticed, but safe and sorry and all that.
Paint flaked away under Zoey's grasp as she pushed open the roof access door of some apartment building. The concrete was littered with empty beer cans and cigarette butts. Wind tugged at her hair, threatening to pull it free from her buns. Rumi stepped into the sun and stretched in a very cat-like manner.
"Perfect," she said. "Zoey, how are you feeling about target practice?"
Despite growing up American, Zoey had only held a gun once; at a birthday party when she was around ten. It was a BB gun that had been far too big for her to handle properly. She'd been instructed to shoot at a line of tin cans full of water sitting on a log. The party guest who hit the most would get a prize.
She'd missed every shot.
As Rumi lined up beer cans on the railing of the building Zoey hoped that this would go a little better.
A shin-kal formed in her hand. Zoey drew back and released the blade.
The Honmoon hummed as it flew through the air, shimmering in the early morning sun. It hurled towards the line of beer cans, deadly and unrelenting, stopping for nothing and no one.
And flew over the edge of the building.
"Shit," Zoey grumbled.
"Shit," Rumi agreed. "Try again?"
Another knife. Same result.
"Any advice?" Zoey grumbled.
"I've never used a long ranged weapon. I have no idea where to start." Rumi flexed her claws in demonstration.
Alright. Zoey could work with this. She had figured out how to rap with no proper guidance, she could learn how to wield an ancient weapon designed for slaying demons. She could hit a stationary target.
Inhaling, Zoey summoned another blade. Start slow, then ramp up. She flung another shin-kal at the row of cans.
It flew to the left.
Again.
A little high.
Lower and to the right. Got it.
This time, when Zoey released the knife it clipped the edge of the can, unbalancing it just enough it toppled over the edge of the building.
"Fuck yeah!" Zoey cried. Warm arms wrapped around her, Rumi pulling her in for a hug.
"Well done. Now do that again."
Once Zoey hit the first can, it was just a matter of muscle memory. She didn't make every shot and more of them than not were glancing, but she was making progress.
As the final can tipped over the edge of the building, clearing the roof of litter, something twinged in her soul.
Zoey sucked in a breath, feeling the twang of the Honmoon against her lungs. A breach was happening, and not one right at their feet.
But something in her bones told her it was still close. Close enough they could do something about it.
Zoey looked at Rumi, then to Mira. Indecision was clear on both their faces.
"Are we Hunters or not?" Zoey asked, summoning a fresh set of shin-kal. "We're supposed to save people. Supposed to keep demons from stealing souls."
"You're right." Mira squared her shoulders, gok-do taking shape. "For all the talk about being this generations Hunters, we haven't done any hunting. We have a chance to do some real good."
Rumi exhaled shakily, patterns flickering like a searchlight. "If it gets too dangerous we run. I'm not losing the two of you because we decided to play heroes." A sain-geom solidified, hanging lazily in Rumi's grasp, a contrast to the tension in her body. "Let's be Hunters."
Chasing the ache in her soul, Zoey sprinted down the stairs, not caring about the odd looks they got. If they moved quickly they could save lives. They could ensure people made it home to their loved ones. They could prevent more souls from ending up like Min-su and Ae-rin.
(Hunters mine. Embrace what is yours. Protect.)