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Baby hissed slightly as he crashed into the road.
"So, are you going to go?" Mira asked, casually slicing a demon in half.
"Probably not." Rumi rolled her eyes, ducking from the fight to help Baby back onto his feet.
Baby huffed, shoving her away. "Can you two focus on the actual matter at hand??"
"You act like this is hard." Mira snorted, covering Zoey's back from an incoming demon. "At least for us."
Baby groaned as he raced forward, kicking the legs out from under one near Mira. "If it's so easy, why aren't we done already??"
"Getting tired?" Zoey chuckled.
"I'm trying not to be late to my own date." Baby admitted. "So save discussing if Rumi has a date or not for later."
Date?
Rumi and Baby both froze in shock at the voice. Baby felt ice in his veins, worried Gwi-Ma was in his head once more. But... No. This felt different. This wasn't from his head.
"Look out!" Zoey frowned, trying to decide the best angle to throw her blades without hitting Rumi as fast as possible.
Rumi didn't even have time to duck from the demon lunging for her, before something else shoved her to the ground.
Baby's jaw fell as he watched Jinu fling the demon away from Rumi, right into Mira's blade.
Jinu glanced behind him, at Rumi, expression hurt and confused. "You have a date?"
"J-... Jinu??" Rumi stared, glancing briefly to her sword which was once more thin and slender like it used to be.
"Still in a battle!" Mira reminded, snapping out of the shock to protect Baby.
Rumi jumped to her feet, trying to not to keep checking if Jinu's still there.
Baby sighed in relief as the last attacker was sent back home. He pulled his phone out to let Bobby know there'd have to be a change in plans.
Rumi lowered her sword, glancing to Jinu. She looked to her girls. "You see him too, right?? I'm not finally losing it?"
Zoey and Mira both gave a nod.
Rumi sighed in relief, moving to despawn her sword-
"Wait, wait, wait-" Jinu raised his hands, feeling the pull of it.
Rumi froze, glancing between the sword and Jinu. "....Have you been in my sword... this entire time??"
"...I have no idea." Jinu admitted.
Rumi looked to the others for what to do, confused and flooded in conflicting emotions.
"I think we need to see Celine." Zoey offered.
Rumi tensed, eyes falling.
".....She has no idea about the boys. Does she?" Mira asked.
"I haven't even spoken to her since that night."
"Rumi." Zoey frowned, stepping forward to hug her close.
"I just don't know what to say to her anymore.. You didn't see the way she looked at me- Or... couldn't look at me." Rumi clung to Zoey for comfort.
"She needs to know." Mira spoke softly. "If for no other reason than so she doesn't send them all back if she ever sees them out and about."
Rumi gave a slow nod, knowing she's right.
"I'll have Bobby bring the limo for us all." Baby got his phone back out.
Jinu glanced over to Baby. "...What are you wearing?"
Baby looked up to Jinu, then down to the oversized Huntrix shirt he stole from Bobby's closet, then back up to Jinu. He scoffed, leaning his weight onto one foot and resting a hand on his hip. "I know you are not throwing stones right now, lover boy."
Jinu raised his hands in surrender, focusing back on Rumi once more. He smiled fondly, reaching out to hold her face. "I didn't think I'd see you again..."
Rumi smiled, leaning into the touch. "Your pets have missed you."
Jinu's grin grew. "They're okay?"
Zoey's face lit up as she exploded into an excited speech about the pair who now resided in the Huntrix Tower.
Mira chuckled. "She's already put the tiger on a shirt."
"NO!" Zoey huffed. "He's on THREE shirts!"
Jinu laughed, beaming to hear how loved his companions are.
Rumi smiled, hugging Jinu close. "I've missed you too."
Baby rolled his eyes, using his phone to check himself over before Bobby got there. He didn't need to worry the always-worrying man worse.
Baby held his arms out as he walked along one of the thicker branches of the tree at Celine's place. He'd let the girls handle the explanations while he explored the stunning garden.
"Will you get down from there?!" Celine snapped at him, glaring. "That's not a jungle gym!"
Baby raised a brow at her.
'Please', Rumi mouthed behind Celine's back.
Baby rolled his eyes, teleporting back down to the ground. He couldn't stop the slight grin at the way the action made the elder's hand twitch, no doubt contemplating summoning a weapon to strike him down. He'd love to see her try. To wipe that judgemental stare from her face.
Celine took several deep breaths, trying not to freak out about any of this. She didn't want to lose Rumi again.
"Can you help?" Rumi tried to refocus on the matter at hand. "I know this isn't.... anything. We have ever handled before."
Celine focused her eyes back on Rumi, trying to ignore the way the hair on her neck stood up as the restless demon circled their group. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched one of the pink ones reach out and yank the other down to sit and be still.
Celine took Rumi's sword carefully, looking it over. "Our weapons exist as extensions of our souls. It's less likely he's bound to the blade itself, but to you. We could, perhaps, redirect that into a different object. Something of importance. That should let him maintain a physical form, without needing the weapons active."
Baby looked over. "What about that bracelet the big cat kept carrying around? It was important enough for him to try to interrupt us setting up the show for it."
"The show where you tried to end the world?" Celine commented before she could stop herself.
Baby only grinned. "I'm sorry. What were you doing to stop it, exactly?"
Rumi once more stepped between the pair, pulling the bracelet out from under her sleeve. "It's worth a try."
There was a collective sigh of relief when Rumi was finally able to put her sword away without it affecting Jinu.
Rumi hugged Celine tight. "Thank you."
Celine jumped slightly at the sudden contact, too long spent cooped up alone. Once the shock passed, she clung back to Rumi, just as tight. Unspoken words in the embrace.
Jinu glanced around the group, surprised to see how easily the Saja Boys seemed to be getting along with the girls. Girls, and Bobby, he mentally corrected, watching as Baby leaned on the manager to watch a video together. "I never could've imagined a scene like this."
Baby glanced over, scowling. "What? Thought you'd come escape up here and leave us to rot?"
Jinu's eyes widened. "What?- No-" He frowned, realizing the plan had been mostly for himself. They would've been above the Honmoon during it, too. He just, hadn't been thinking on it.
Bobby reached for Baby's shoulder-
Baby shrugged him off, stomping towards Jinu. "Do you have any idea what your little stunt put the rest of us thru? Do you even care?"
Jinu raised his hands in surrender, backing up.
"Who cares if the rest will get the blame, right? As long as Jinu gets to be safe above the Honmoon. As long as Jinu gets to keep his identity. Who cares about the rest, right?"
"That's not-"
"Woo, Jinu! Right?? It's not like the decoration pieces matter!"
"That's not fair-"
"You know what's not fair, Jinu?! That the idiot no one has missed in four hundred years-"
The other Saja's attentions snapped fully onto the shouting now, shocked by the low blow.
"Gets to keep his name, his memories, his LIFE. While I struggle to remember what my mother's face even looked like. While I'm stuck here with that STUPID descriptor that isn't even a proper name that you decided I'd be stuck with! And I can't even bring myself to let it go and chose an actual name because at this point, it's the only semblance of an identity I have LEFT!"
Jinu yelped, trying to duck Baby's incoming fists. "I was just-"
"I don't care! I don't care!! I hate you!" Baby punctuated each sentence with another punch. "I HATE YOU!" Baby shrieked, this punch making contact with Jinu's face.
Baby hissed loudly, kicking behind him as Abby lifted him off the ground entirely, dragging him away from Jinu. He managed to kick free, crumpling unceremoniously onto the ground. Baby shoved to his feet, claws out and ready to charge at Jinu again. "It's not FAIR-"
"That's enough!" Mira's blade came down to cut off his path, not close enough to risk hitting him, only startling him.
Baby let out a shout of frustration before turning around and storming into the woods behind them, clawing gouges into each trunk as he passed until his nails ached from the abrupt force.
"Are you alright?" Abby glanced to Jinu.
Jinu nodded slowly, wiping the warmth dripping down his chin from one of the punches. "I..." He didn't know what to say. Didn't know he'd made his band feel so small.
Abby gave Jinu's shoulder a pat.
"It all worked out in the end." Mystery gave a shrug. "We have time to sort thru the rest."
Jinu gave another slow nod, sighing.
Romance stood up, following the path of destruction into the woods. He frowned as he finally found the other, curled up halfway inside a bush. Baby's full form showing as he sobbed alone.
Romance slowly sat next to him. "I can't say I remember much about my family, either. I do know just by gut feeling I probably don't really want to, anyways."
Baby glared over his knees at Roman.
Roman leaned back on his hands, looking at the stars between the leaves. "I do remember the day you got the absolute worst flu I had ever seen." He chuckled, glancing to Baby.
Baby gave a snort. "What?"
"Oh, yeah. You had tried to come to rehearsal anyways, insisted you were fine. You couldn't even tell the other two boys apart, your head was so foggy. You refused to let us take you to a doctor. Kept insisting you didn't want to strain the band's budget since we were barely making ends meet. You would NOT believe us or listen to us when we assured it probably wouldn't cost us much, if anything. Kept insisting we couldn't afford it. Mystery eventually talked you into going to this weird hole-in-the-wall Herbal Remedies place."
Baby laughed, the memory stirring inside him. "That was the first time we'd ever met a fan face to face, wasn't it?"
Roman gave a nod, laying back in the grass fully.
Baby sighed, laying next to him. "That was the day we knew there was no going back on our dreams... We couldn't mess it up. It had to work..."
"Whatever it cost." Roman agreed, sighing as his patterns shimmered across his arms.
Baby frowned, holding himself tight. "...I can't blame Jinu for everything... We made our own choices back then."
"You don't have to keep Baby as a name, you know." Roman tilted his head to bonk it into Baby's.
Baby snorted. "I don't know what else I'd even be anymore."
"You got all the time in the world to figure it out now."
Baby gave a hum or acknowledgement.
After a minute of silence, Roman chuckled. "You busted his lip, by the way."
Baby cackled to himself. "I'll have to thank Zoey later for teaching me how to throw a proper punch."
Roman snickered, shaking his head. "I don't think she intended you to use it to make Jinu bleed."
Baby's laugh died short as he sat up, staring down at Romance in bewilderment.
"What?" Roman glanced to him.
"Jinu's bleeding??"
"..Yeah?"
".....We don't bleed."
Roman sat up as well, both scrambling to their feet and racing back to see this.
Baby peered over Rumi's shoulder as she cleaned Jinu's lip for him. "...Well, I'll be damned." He laughed. He returned to Bobby's side, draping across his back and resting his head on top of Bobby's. "There might just be hope for us yet."
Bobby gave a snort, leaning in to the embrace. "Are you okay?"
Baby considered the question carefully before making an affirmative hum, burying his face in Bobby's hair. "Any chance we can still make it to the restaurant in time before they close?"
"That one? Probably not... I do know a nice gogi-jip that should still be open."
Baby gave a nuzzle before letting go so they could walk together. "Sounds perfect."