Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Ain’t stoppin’, keepin’ growin’, it ain't change it's growin' pains… ‘cause when you've lost everything, everything will be alright, wanjeonhi alright. ‘Cause you-ou-ou-ou-” Rumi's voice broke and she stopped singing, putting her hand to her throat. Mira and Zoey immediately pulled her aside, away from the rehearsal stage.

“It's happening again, Rumi.” The raven haired maknae rapper said, looking up at Rumi with big worried silver eyes.

Mira, the tall pink haired lead dancer, grabbed Rumi's shoulders.

“How? The Honmoon was supposed to- your voice was fine!”

Rumi shrugged, a worried look on her face.

“I don't know, girls. Last time…” last time it had been shame over her markings threatening her voice. Now, after she made them public, people started using them as designs. They weren't shame, they were a symbol of strength. So it could t be that.

“Last time I thought turning the Honmoon gold would erase the marks and heal my voice. Maybe if we can turn it gold, it'll fix my voice.”

Zoey lit up like a Christmas tree angel. “Or we could get you more voice tonics! You said they worked last time, right?”

Rumi laughed. “Zoe, he gave us grape juice.” Zoey's grin melted into a dramatic pout.

Mira frowned. “Then what fixed your voice last time? It wasn't the Honmoon, because the Honmoon was literally falling apart when we sang Gwi-ma back into the demon world.”

Rumi looked down. “It was… it was Jinu. He talked to me. Listened to me. He saw my patterns and instead of judging me, he made me feel like they were ok.” She held out her hand, her patterns glowing as she summoned her sword from the Honmoon. Its glow pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat. It was longer and larger than it had been before Jinu gave her his soul.

“Now he's in here. His soul is part of my sword… but it's growing fainter. My sword is going back to normal.” She looked at her friends, a note of pleading in her voice. “I can't- I can't lose him again.”

Mira sighed. “Rumi, he died. He can't come back from that.”

“Actually, there's a thing I found while I was looking for more videos about turtles.” Zoey said. “I've been making another compilation to watch during the next hiatus and I'm already at 547 30-second videos. I'm focusing more on the sea turtles than freshwater ones in this one, and they're totally different-”

Rumi massaged the bridge of her nose. “Zoey, I'm sure the turtles are fascinating. What did you find?”

Zoey blinked. “I was rambling again, wasn't I? Sorry. Well I found a myth about phoenixes, firey bird magic things that don't die. It wasn't turtles so I clicked away, and then I found this super coo-”

Mira sighed. “Zoe. Focus. Phoenixes…” she trailed off.

“It's the face. I know that face. That face means Mira knows something.” Rumi teased.

Mira growled, then sighed. “Okay, fine. There was this one time while we were training that I saw a picture on Celine’s phone. It looked like a bird on fire. I asked her what it was, but she never answered me. It seems to me like it's something connected to the hunters, so we might find something…”

“In the Hunter Archives.” All three girls chorused. Rumi pulled out her phone.

“Our next meet’n’greet is the day after tomorrow, and we don't have anything set up after our performance tonight.”

The other two girls nodded. “That's when we hit the archives.”

Mira got them focused again. “First, we’re performing ‘comeback’ to a live audience tonight. And Rumi's voice isn't working with that last ‘you-ou-ou-ou-ou’.”

Rumi rolled her eyes. “I just need some water.”

“That's what you said last time!”

Rumi groaned. “I know, I know. But what else can we do?”

Zoey put her hands together in front of her face and levelled them at Rumi. “You aren't gonna like this. Neither will Bobby, but he'll be able to get everything sorted out. He's great like that.”

Rumi gave Zoey a apprehensious look. “What won't I like?”

Zoey gave a big cheesy sheepish grin. “Promise not to hit me?”

Mira groaned this time. “Zoey, when would we EVER hit you for saying something?”

Zoey tapped her pointer fingers together. “We could cancel the performance tonight and go straight to the archives.”

“What!?” Rumi and Mira said at the same time.

“Zoey, no. We've only cancelled one performance in the last two years and that was ‘Golden’, when-” Rumi stopped, comprehension dawning on her face.

“When your voice gave out and you took ‘five minutes’ that ended up being like an hour long.” Mira finished for her.

Zoey's eyes sparkled as she gave an encouraging double thumbs up. “See? There's precedent!”

Before Rumi or Mira could respond, their producer Bobby shoved open the door at the end of the hallway and came down the hallway mimicking the choero for ‘Comeback’.

“Ain’t gonna… kickin' back… ya da da da… comeback!”

He spun to a stop and grinned at them. “Ready for the last rehearsal, girls?”

Zoey opened her mouth to suggest cancelling, but Mira stepped in front of her and cleared her throat.

“Yeah, completely. Rumi? Zoey? Ready to perform?”

Zoey was making a face like she'd eaten spicy pickle goldfish while watching videos of people doing dumb things again. (It was a sight to behold.)

Rumi gave a thumbs up. “Yeah, all se-” her voice cut out, and she blinked, startled. “All se-” it happened again. All three of the others were looking at her, concerned.

Zoey sighed. “Bobby, let's rehearse but be ready to cancel. I feel tired and stretched, and it looks like Rumi's vocal cords agree.” Rumi gave her a grateful glance.

Bobby nodded. “Of course, girls. I can reschedule for… tomorrow is the only day I can manage before the hiatus, since the break starts next week.”

All three girls looked at each other.

Rumi cleared her throat. “Let's go through with the concert. Let's at least try rehearsal first.”

Everyone nodded, and they started back to the rehearsal stage.

-}§{-

“It's our comeback
Reflex
Kickin’ in.
No matter what, ain’t gonna stop
Till we come out on top
And that's where gonna stay!
Hamkke, hey,
That's where we're gonna stay.”

“Coz it's time for a come-
back
We ain't gonna stay
back
Time has passed to kick
Back
‘cause right now we are
Back!”

“Yeah coz you know that no matter how we grow we ain't gonna change coz things can grow and things can change no matter why we stay the same!”

“That's why we say we
ain't stoppin’,
keepin’ growin’,
it ain't change it's growin' pains…
‘cause when you've lost everything,
everything will be alright,
wanjeonhi alright.
‘Cause you-ou-ou-ou-ou are gonna be just fine,
stand here in the light with me.
We've changed but we're the same,
grown up through the pain.
And though we’ll never be the same,
We're bigger than we used to be”

“It's our
Comeback
Reflex
Kickin'
In
Ainyo matter, ain't halyeogo
Never no never gonna stop coming ba-ack!”

Huntr/x stuck their finishing pose and held it for about half a second before both Mira and Zoey tackled Rumi. Zoey was squealing, and Mira had cracked a smile, which was her emotional equivalent that only sheer success or pre-show ramyeon could achieve.

“RUMIIII! YOU DID THE NOOOOTE!” Zoey was squealing like a demented guinea pig, and Rumi couldn't NOT smile at the turtle obsessed muffin of rap death.

Bobby was dancing a little in place trying not to hug them. Instead he hugged the nearest person- the cameraman he'd accidentally backhanded in the face multiple times while following their choreo. On multiple occasions.

“I love my girls!”

The cameraman kept a deadpan expression on his face. This was fairly normal.

-}§{-

The girls sat in their changing rooms pulling on their costumes and doing the finishing touches on their makeup. Rumi had set her sword on the counter, and when she finished pulling on her gloves, she picked it up.

“I'm trying, Jinu. We're going to get you back. We've got a plan.”

She rested the flat of the blade against her forehead, feeling the cool of metal imitated by the Honmoon energy the sword was made of.

“Jinu…”

She didn't know if he could hear her. She didn't know he COULD hear her.

-}§{-

Inside Rumi's sword, Jinu’s soul had formed into a semblance of him. He'd been surprised to open his eyes after dying, more surprised to be inside of her sword. But it had been a few weeks, and it had become… normal. He slept, sort of, letting the manifestation of his body dissolve. When he focused, though, he could see and hear what was outside the sword. Like Rumi. Especially Rumi.

Her soul was blinding, bright and shimmering blue, with hints of demon pink and purple around the edges. But he could never look away. She was talking to him. Well, to the sword. But to him anyway. And he was listening.

Her voice drifted seemingly from far away; “...going to get you back. We have a plan.”

He forced himself toward the edge of the sword, his body resisting approaching the edge. He saw her lean her forehead on the flat of the blade, and wished he could rest his against hers and wrap his arms around her.

Chapter Text

Zoey knocked on Rumi's door.

“Ru? we go live in ten. Pre-show ramyeon?

Rumi opened the door with a smile. “Sure. Keep the fans happy, right?”

Mira came out of her room and joined them for a three way first bump.

“Happy fans, happy Honmoon!”

They proceeded to raid the kitchen for pre-show ramyeon, which they ate lying on the floor (Zoey), sitting sideways in a chair with her legs over one arm (Rumi), and sitting crosslegged on the counter (Mira). Until Bobby leaned in the door.

“Live in five!”

The girls looked at each other, then moved backstage and listened to the crowd filing into the stadium.

-}§{-

An audience of crazed fans is one of the few things in life reminiscent of a bar fight in which everyone is on the same side. The crowd crammed into the stadium was going wild.

A few cameras were interviewing the fans.

“I've been to every performance of ‘comeback’, and it is AMAZING! The way Rumi hits those notes is just-” the fan did a chef's kiss.

The camera turned to a little girl.

“Golden’s still my favorite song but Comeback is so good!”

A random guy grabbed the camera.

“HUNTR/X, IF YOU SEE THIS PLEASE MARRY ME!”

The camera was taken away from him as some of his friends questioned him.

The next fan was talking about how they wished the Saja Boys would come back so they could date Huntr/x when the opening notes of Comeback played and all words in the audience turned into fanatical screaming.

-}§{-

Rumi, Zoey, and Mira launched into the choreo for Comeback.

Mira and Zoey linked arms, and Rumi did a roll over them before jumping up to grab the hanging cube decoration and making it spin. Mira and Zoey also jumped onto it, and the three girls began a set of flips through and around the cube.

The cube slowly swing in circles over the audience before returning to the main stage and settling onto the ground, Rumi standing in the middle. Mira and Zoey sat on the bars of the cube. Rumi walked forward, singing her main part as Mira and Zoey kept doing tricks with the cube behind her.

“‘cause when you've lost everything,
everything will be alright,
wanjeonhi alright.
‘Cause you-ou-ou-ou-”

Her voice cut out, but Mira and Zoey stepped up beside her to finish the line for her, putting their hands on her shoulders.

“-ou are gonna be just fine,
stand here in the light with me.”

Rumi crossed her hands over her chest to rest on each of their hands, and smiled at them as she joined back in.

“We've changed but we're the same,
gotong-eul gyeokk-eumyeo jalassda.
And though we’ll never be the same,
We're bigger than we used to be”

Rumi nodded to them, and Mira and Zoey stepped the the side as Rumi walked backwards and did a quick flip onto the cube.

“Ainyo matter, ain't halyeogo
Never no never gonna stop coming ba-ack!”

They hit their finishing pose, and every single fan went nuts.

-}§{-

The Huntr/x girls, as soon as they changed out of their costumes, convened at the couch of many purposes for an emergency meeting. Bobby was there too.

Zoey patted the couch proudly. “How long have we had Couch? It feels like forever. It's been through so much.”

Rumi snorted. Mira rolled her eyes, but also patted the couch.

“Good Couch.”

Bobby was flicking through social media feeds to see how the fans were reacting to the hiccup in the performance.

“Ok, it looks like everyone thought it was a fun way to mix it up, a little special pizzazz for the performance. So we should be in the clear about that.” Bobby turned to Rumi. “Are you ok? I can bump the hiatus up, so you can rest your vocal cords.”

Rumi blinked. “No, next week is still fine. We think we've got an idea of something that might help.”

Bobby sighed in relief. “Wonderful. I'd just about die if anything happened to you three.” he stood up and waved.

“Bye, Bobby!” The girls chorused. As soon as the door had closed, Zoey and Mira focused on Rumi. Rumi sighed.

“Guys, it's fine. My voice is going to be totally fine for the we-” Her hand flew to her throat. It felt fine, but her voice was gone. “...” She tried to talk, but nothing came out. Then, as if something had come unstopped, it was back. “Week. Maybe we should bump up the hiatus.”

The other two girls nodded in sympathy.

Zoey pulled out her phone. “I'll tell Bobby we decided to bump it up.”

Mira tilted her head. “Guess that means we can get right on finding a Phoenix to solve Rumi's ‘my demon boyfriend is trapped in my sword' problem.”

Rumi flushed. “Mira, it's not like that. He isn't- wasn't- my boyfriend.”

“But you wanted him to be!” Zoey grinned. Rumi hit her with a pillow.

“Stoppit!”

Rumi couldn't help but grin. This was why these girls were her sisters-by-choice. That was the deepest thing she had time to think before Zoey retaliated with a pillow to Rumi's face.

The emergency meeting devolved into a whirlwind of pillows and blankets and snacks.

-}§{-

The next morning, Rumi woke up to the sound of something falling over.

She sighed into her pillow. “Not again…”

She sat up and saw Derpy trying to set something back upright. The tiger could never leave something knocked over… which, since Derpy was also extremely clumsy and couldn't set things back upright easily, meant he spent most of the day trying to fix stuff. This time it was Rumi's trash can.

Rumi smiled a little, climbing out of bed and setting the trashcan back upright. She gave Derpy an affectionate scratch behind the ears.

“Derps, it's ok. You don't have to keep setting it back upright. It's just going to fall over again.”

Derpy flopped his head to one side, his constant ‘no thoughts head empty’ grin wide. That grin was why Zoey had named him ‘Derpy’. Rumi didn't know what Jinu had called him.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed hard. She wasn’t ready- hadn't prepared- to think about Jinu right now. Her arms around Derpy’s neck, she sank to sit on the ground next to him.

“Jinu-” she began, before her voice disappeared again. Derpy rubbed his head against hers.

“...” Rumi tried to ask the tiger if he missed Jinu too, but nothing came from her mouth. Her voice was just gone. And not in a throat clenching voice feels like it's strangled way. Just… gone. Like everything's working but it's just silent. She opened her mouth to try and mouth the words, then sighed silently. She didn't try to ask again.

Sussy the six-eyed magpie sat on Rumi's shoulder. She gave a halfhearted silent smile at the bird’s tiny hat, and felt tears sting her eyes. Jinu’s voice from more than a month ago came into her head, and she closed her eyes and remembered.

-}§{-

She had come to ask if he would help Huntr/x win. Help her seal the Honmoon. Derpy was there, and she petted his head before leaning on the wall next to Jinu.

“I'd been meaning to ask… why does the bird wear a tiny hat?” she asked playfully. Sussy chirped smugly.

Jinu's face was deadpan, but not in an intentional way- more a ‘i haven't realized this is funny’ way.

“I made it for the tiger, but the bird keeps taking it.”

Rumi held back a laugh as Sussy smirked in triumph.

-}§{-

Rumi gasped slightly and leaned forward as sobs racked her body- silent sobs.

Oh Jinu-

She missed him so much. It had only been a month since they'd become enemies, then friends, then enemies again… and he had sacrificed himself to save her. His soul had become part of her sword.

But it felt like she was losing him again. His soul was weakening, she could tell. Her sword pulsed as if with his heartbeat, but each pulse was weaker. The sword was slowly shrinking to the size it used to be.

And if she couldn't get him back- couldn't make him stay-

She couldn't let herself think it. A fresh round of sobs shook her frame, still in silence. Her voice returned in time for a final sob to be heard, almost more of a hiccup.

-}§{-

Zoey and Mira were in the hall, about to knock on Rumi's door and tell her it was time to leave for the archives when they heard her sob. With a single look at each other, they pushed open the door and came to Rumi's side.

“Hey, girl, it's ok. We're here.” Mira said, her face so gentle that at least half the fans wouldn't believe it was actually her. She rubbed Rumi's shoulder.

Zoey just threw her arms around Rumi's midsection. “I'm so sorry!!! I'm not entirely sure what exactly you were crying about but I'm sorry!!!”

Rumi gave a half-chuckle half-sob and hugged them both. “Thanks girls. I really needed that.”

All three got to their feet, and Rumi wiped the last of her tears away with the cuff of the oversized tan hoodie she wore as pajamas.

“So. Today's the day. We're going to the archives.”

The other two nodded.

“To find a Phoenix.”

“To bring back your demon boyfriend!”

“To fix everything.” Rumi finished.

Chapter Text

Zoey was bobbing her head along to a song, her yellow bucket hat pulled down over her hair and an oversized light purple hoodie over a yellow skirt completing her ‘im not a pop star’ disguise. Mira checked the train schedules on her phone again, pushing the fake glasses she was wearing up her nose and adjusting the tracksuit top she had tied around her waist.

Rumi smirked a little. Their ‘normal people' clothes were surprisingly effective at keeping them from being recognized, even when the three of them were sitting on a bench at a train station not three feet away from a promo poster of ‘comeback’. She caught a glance of herself in the mirrored glass of a nearby store. She was wearing a fitted black hoodie with the hood up, fingerless gloves, and ripped jeans. She'd had to be careful to hide her patterns, lest anyone recognize her.

Mira set down her phone with an exaggerated sigh.

“We've got another 20 minutes before the train comes.”

Rumi frowned.

“We could take turns riding Derpy?” She suggested.

Mira shook her head. “We should stick together. Also, Derpy is back at the penthouse. By the time we got back, the train would be here.”

Rumi sighed. “I guess we wait for the train then.”

Mira nodded. And folded her arms.

Zoey froze mid bob, pulled out one earbud, and asked “wait, how long until the train gets here?”

Rumi burst out laughing as Mira groaned.

-}§{-

Zoey stuck out her tongue at the camera and started speaking in a dramatic voice.

“Interesting as the events on the train and the possible hijinks that happened before boarding and disembarking the train may have been, they don't have any particular role in this story. Thus, we rejoin our protagonists (us)-” she winked at the camera “-as they enter that most revered of places- the Hunter Archives.”

Zoey had her phone out and was recording herself as the three girls walked out of the train station. Rumi cleared her throat and Zoey turned the camera on her.

“Zoey, what are you doing?”

Zoey grinned. “Narrating!”

“What hijinks, Zoe? You bought a hotdog.” Mira asked. She crumpled up a chip bag and chucked it at a trashcan as they passed like she was shooting a hoop. It hit the rim and bounced off, and she clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

Zoey flapped her hand. “I said POSSIBLE hijinks.”

Rumi snorted. “Hot dog hijinks aside, we're here.” She gestured at the giant mural of two doors on the wall next to them. The three girls looked to see if anyone was watching, then Rumi grabbed the handle of the painted door and pushed it open just far enough for the three girls to vanish into the space behind. The door closed behind them, a mural once again, as Mira’s chip bag blew past.

-}§{-

The space the three girls had entered was enormous, with sunlight filtering in through distant skylights. The skylights were made of stained glass, tinting everything a multitude of colors.

As always, the girls couldn't help but stare. It wasn't like it was their first trip there- they'd come multiple times while they were training to learn about previous hunter trios. Zoey spun in a slow circle, not watching where she was going. Rumi had to catch her shoulder and point her straight again to get the three of them moving toward the reference desk.

“Saseonim!” Rumi called as they approached the desk. A soft pair of fluffy white rabbit ears poked up from behind the counter before a young girl poked her head up, revealing the ears were hers. She giggled and waved to Zoey, Mira, and Rumi.

“Hihi! Wow, I still remember when your MOM was coming in here, Rumi! And before that it was-”

Rumi grinned. Saseonim was prone to rambling. Rumi didn't actually know how old the bunny-girl was, or even WHAT she actually was. She'd been there as long as Rumi could remember, and as long as Celine could remember too. For all Rumi knew, she'd been there since the archives were made.

“Saseonim, we need to find some information.”

The white-haired girl’s eyes widened. “Ooh, I love finding things. What do you need?”

Rumi bit her lip, but continued. “We wanted to learn about Phoenixes.”

Unexpectedly, Saseonim’s ears drooped a little.

“Rumi… why do you want to know about them? The information concerning them is really very delicate. If you wanted to bring back…” she trailed off, then shook her head and continued. “You must know Celine already asked me.”

Rumi was confused. “Why would Celine have asked about Jinu?”

Saseonim also was confused. “Who's Jinu? I'm talking about your mom. And like I told Celine, she's gone and that's that. We've got several scrolls about grief if-” she turned to start rifling through something but Rumi caught her sleeve.

“No, it's- hah. It's not about my mom, Saseonim. It's Jinu. My-” she shot a glance at Mira and Zoey as if daring them to call him her boyfriend again. “My FRIEND Jinu.”

Saseonim shook her head. “Shouldn't be possible. Everything I've read tells me the Phoenix demons can only-”

“Hold on, wait, back up.” Mira interrupted. “Phoenix… Demons?”

Saseonim nodded. “Yeah, what’d you think they were? Big birds made of fire that are basically immortal? I actually have a book somewhere where someone thought Phoenixes were a sort of horse, I think…”

“Ooh, what if they were FIRE TURTLES!” Zoey squealed.

Rumi sighed. “Demon thing aside. What were you saying, Saseonim?”

Saseonim blinked. “Wha? Oh yeah. Duh. Phoenix demons can only bring back other demons. And that's only if they've got the demon’s soul. There should be a theory here somewhere about soul conversion rates and exchange…”

Mira shook her head. “Back to the Demon thing. These guys are demons, so they're stuck in the demon world, right?”

“That would be correct.”

“So if we want to get Jinu back, we need to go to the demon world.”

“Still not sure who that is but correct. Is Jinu Rumi's boyfriend? It's about time. She isn't getting any younger over there.”

“Hey!” Rumi folder her arms. Zoey had flopped on the counter and was banging her fist on it in laughter. Mira ignored both of them.

“And we can't go down there, so Jinu is just going to be gone forever.”

“Not correct.”

Mira threw her arms in the air. “Great! One big waste of time. Sorry Rumi.” She turned to leave, but Rumi grabbed her shoulder. “What?”

Rumi was staring at Saseonim. The bunny girl was smiling. Her grin was slowly growing wider. Rumi let go of Mira's shoulder and walked toward the counter. Zoey had slid to the floor, but she stood up and backed away from the desk slightly as Rumi came to a stop directly in front of Saseonim.

“Mira wasn't correct?”

Saseonim nodded, still grinning.

“We can go to the demon world?”

Another nod. Saseonim's face looked like it was about to split.

“How?”

This time she shook her head.

“You’re only going to answer yes-no questions?”

A nod.

Rumi groaned and facepalmed. “Saseonim, is this a game?”

Saseonim purses her lips and thought about it. Then she shook her head.

“Then why are you doing this!”

Saseonim shook her finger at Rumi warningly.

“Ooh, let me try!” Zoey called. “I've got an idea.” Rumi willingly moved aside and let Zoey take her place in front of the reference desk.

Zoey tapped her bottom lip, thinking.

“Can we learn how here at the archive?”

Saseonim nodded.

“Are you going to show us where we can learn?”

A negative.

“Is it… in one of the books?”

Nope.

“Scrolls? Stone tablets. Computers?”

A shake of Saseonim’s head for each. Her grin was growing again.

“Artefacts?”

Saseonim was bouncing in place now as she shook her head again.

“Do you know?”

She nodded and clapped excitedly, as if Zoey had just translated the Rosetta Stone.

“But you aren't gonna tell us.”

Saseonim shook her head.

“Why? Wait, you aren't gonna answer that. Hm…”

Mira sighed. “I call team huddle. We need a plan.” The girls clustered in a corner of the room.

“Why isn't she telling us?”

“Why SHOULD she tell us?” Rumi pointed out. “She's probably under some sort of magic binding to not tell.”

Zoey's brow furrowed. “Do you think she's a demon?”

Rumi shook her head. “No patterns. Also, what hunter would make a demon their librarian?”

Zoey nodded. “True. What IS she then? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised at anything."

“I wouldn't be surprised either.” Rumi confided.

Mira looked at both of them like they'd just said they didn't know what the color blue was. “She's a Dokkaebi, right? A goblin?”

Rumi and Zoey's eyes widened and mouths opened in matching expressions of amazement and realization.

“Of COURSE she is!” Rumi gasped, pounding her fist into her palm. “Shapeshifter, so she can have her bunny ears.”

“Mischievous and loves riddles.” Zoey added. “That makes perfect sense! Mira, how did you-”

Mira shrugged. “I asked her once. She did something like this and I ended up listing mythological creatures for a couple hours before I called her a little goblin and she told me I was right.”

Rumi facepalmed. “Why did I never do that?”

Zoey shrugged. “I don't know. I usually just asked her to help with homework and stuff. Wait. Mira, you did this for a few hours? How did you not give up!”

Mira shrugged. “I thought she'd get tired of me guessing and just tell me.”

Rumi laughed. “Saseonim never gets tired of anything.”

Zoey was concentrating. “Maybe… if we ask general questions and narrow it down from there, we can get to the answer faster.”

Mira frowned. “How would that work?”

Zoey grinned. “Think of a number between one and 20.”

“Ok.” Mira folded her arms.

“Is it bigger than ten?”

“No.”

“Smaller than five.”

“No.” She tilted her head to one side.

“Bigger than seven?”

“No.”

“Six. And I got it in three questions.”

Mira nodded. “Sure. We can try your way.”

Chapter Text

The girls walked back to the desk, Zoey in the lead. Saseonim bounced a little.

“Is there a specific location where we can enter the demon world?” Zoey began.

Saseonim nodded.

“Is it in Asia?”

Nod.

“Korea?”

Nod.

“a city?”

Nod.

“Seol, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, or Daejeon?”

A shake of the head.

“Gwangju?”

Nod.

“So it's the city we're in now… is it in a hunter-specific place?”

Saseonim's grin grew larger and she nodded.

Zoey clapped and pointed at Saseonim. “It's the archives, isn't it!”

Saseonim clapped and pointed back, nodding.

Rumi unfolded her arms. “Show us where. We need to get to the demon world.”

Saseonim gave her a look that had ‘oh really?’ written all over it.

Rumi sighed. “We need to save Jinu. I need to save him. He died for me, now he's basically dying again. And this is all I can-” her lips kept moving, but nothing came out. She sighed again, silently. Mira put her hand on Rumi's shoulder and mimed taking a deep breath. Rumi did. She put her hand on Mira's and mouthed the word ‘thanks’.

Saseonim was leaning over the counter in fascination.

“Oh wow! Your voice vanished! Is that normal now?” She'd stopped with the yes/no in favor of childlike curiosity.

“No, it's not normal.” Mira replied. “It's- we don't know what it is, but it's connected to Jinu. That's why we need to get him back- he fixed her voice last time this happened.”

“There was a last time?!?”

Zoey nodded. “The demon marks were making her voice disappear. But they stopped and she's not going all demon-y anymore, so we don't think it's that.”

Saseonim practically dived behind the counter to find a book, but Zoey caught the back of her dress and pulled her back.

“Focus please!”

Saseonim sighed. “But the incantation to open the spillway is in the book.”

It took Zoey a second to decide which question to ask.

“Incanta- spillwa- what book?”

Saseonim pulled a dictionary sized book out of the space behind the desk, plunking it onto the desk with a jarring ‘WHUMP’. Rumi groaned, still silent.

“...” She threw her hands in the air. Then tried to mime what she meant. Zoey and Saseonim grinned.

“Ooh, charades! I love this game!”

Zoey started guessing. “Door… the book… yes? The book is the door! Wait, really?”

Saseonim laughed. “No, silly! She's saying the library is the door to a book!”

Mira groaned. “Saseonim. We don't have to search through that book for the incantation, right?”

Saseonim pounded her fist into her palm. “Of course! That's exactly what Rumi was saying! Mira wins charades, everybody!” She started clapping.

Mira groaned. “Just answer the question.”

“What question?” Saseonim grinned. “Just kidding! No, this is the directionary. Like a dictionary but it's got directions and where all the books are, like a directory.” The three girls looked at each other as Saseonim flipped the book open. “It'll tell me where the spillway gate and the book with the incantation are.” She tapped one page, then flipped to another. Then another. And another. Then she picked up the book and set it in her lap. She tapped it one last time, and looked up.

“I know where you need to go. Follow me.” With a rush of movement, she was on the other side of the desk, still holding the book. Now the three girls could see what she had been sitting on- a white tiger about the size of Derpy, but with a much less derpy expression. It nodded hello, and the girls nodded back. The tiger turned and walked away, Saseonim and the directionary perched on his back. Rumi, Mira, and Zoey followed.

-}§{-

The girls, tiger, and goblin wound their way through towering shelves for a while. Rumi's voice came back, a feeling a little like having your ears pop.

“Oh!”

Zoey hugged her as best she could while still walking. “Your voice is back!”

Rumi grinned. “Yeah. For now.”

“Now is better than never.” Mira pointed out.

“Zippit! Drama is absolutely necessary right now!” Saseonim called without looking back. The Huntr/x girls rolled their eyes, but stopped talking.

The group came to a halt in front of a smaller shelf than most they had passed, in a moss-and-forest themed reading room. A small artificial waterfall cascaded softly down one wall.

Rumi pointed at the books. “One of those has the incantation?”

Saseonim frowned. “No? This is where the spillway gate is.”

Mira groaned. “The one we can't open without the incantation?”

Saseonim nodded. “Yeah, that one!”

Mira resisted the overwhelming urge to start strangling the air. “What about the incantation?”

Saseonim flapped her hand. “Brad should have it here soon.”

“Who's Brad?” The three girls asked at the same time.

This question was promptly answered as what looked like a book with legs stumbled out from behind a shelf, took a few skipping steps to keep its balance, and ran up to Rumi.

She crouched to pick it up while shooting a look at Saseonim.

“The books walk?” She picked it up, and discovered it had been carried by a mouse.

“No, Brad’s a rat. He's my assistant.” Saseonim answered. “Great work, Brad!”

Brad saluted, then scampered back into the library. Rumi rose to her feet and turned to look at the other two.

“That was… unexpected.”

Saseonim laughed. “Why? He's just a rat. They get everywhere, so they might as well be useful.”

Rumi shook her head and opened the book to the cover page.

“‘The Spillway; Opening and Closing of; A Guide'”

She flipped it open.

“It's full of music.”

The other two girls looked.

The entire book was sets of notes, split in three part harmony. There were a few directions, but not many.

The girls smiled at each other. Hunters had planned this.

They put their right hands together in the middle, palms together, and sang the first set of notes.

“A-a-e-o-a!”

The floor beneath them vanished, and they fell about 20 feet before landing on a carpet of thick moss.

Saseonim's voice came from above. “Wow, so THAT'S why it's called a spillway, it looks like a giant hole in the floor! Anyway girls, don't spend too long in between worlds, come back soon, and don't lose that book. Bye bye for now!”

The hole in the ceiling closed with a snap, leaving the girls to stare at each other in the faint glow of the moss.

-}§{-

Everything outside their patch of moss was dark, and nothing was making noise. The Spillway was absolutely silent.

“Uh…” Rumi began. The book in her hand jerked, and she almost dropped it. She kept hold of it and, squinting in the dim light, was able to see that the title had changed. It was now called ‘Tides of the Spillway; How to not die; a Beginner’s Guide’.

Mira was staring into the darkness around them. “Guys… do you hear that?”

A low rumbling was building. Rumi swallowed hard.

“I think that's the tide. We need to run. Now!”

The three girls sprinted away from the patch of moss, following the way the book was pulling. They had barely left before the wall of water surged through the mossy space.

The book in Rumi's hands tugged her sharply left, and the girls narrowly avoided falling into a massive pit. Giant mushrooms grew inside the pit, and Zoey's eyes lit up.

“Jump on the mushrooms!”

The girls leapt, each landing on a mushroom before bouncing to another. Mira managed to grab Zoey's wrist on the third bounce, making them land on the same mushroom. The next bounce, the book tugged Rumi into them, knocking them all past the safety of the mushrooms and into the middle of the pit.

“...Shoot.” Rumi said.

Then they started to fall.

-}§{-

Rumi grabbed Mira’s free hand, and Zoey grabbed Rumi's wrist. They spun slightly as they fell, and the book didn't even twitch.

“How long do you think we’re gonna fall?” Rumi called, struggling to be heard over the wind of their fall.

“I don't know!” Mira replied.

“Hopefully not much longer!” Zoey yelled. “Or we might hit terminal velocity!”

“That passed when the floor disappeared!” Mira replied. “Life is terminal now!”

Rumi shook her head. “That's not how it works!”

A blue glow silenced them. Strands of the Honmoon wound around the pit they were in. Like it was a hole in their shield.

“What…” Rumi trailed off, not because her voice has disappeared, but because she couldn't find the words.

“What is this place?” Zoey finished.

They passed the Honmoon strands, and a feeling like passing through the edge of a bubble filled them. All three blinked, and when they opened their eyes they were in the pink clouded sky above a red and brown and gray world. The Demon World.

Chapter Text

Gravity claimed the girls quickly, and Rumi squinted against the rushing air, thick with steam. Zoey and Mira pulled her closer, and the three of them braced for impact.

Said impact occured within a minute, leaving a surprisingly small crater in the ground and a larger cloud of dust in the air. Rumi coughed as she got to her feet, then waved her hand in front of her face to clear the air.

“We should get out of here.”

Rumi turned to see Mira, her tracksuit and hair now brown with the dust. Zoey was also covered in dust next to her.

“The demons are going to be checking this explosion out any moment now, and we aren't exactly dressed to blend in.”

Rumi nodded, and the girls ran to a cluster of nearby buildings. The shacks were on the verge of falling down, but they at least hid the girls as demons swarmed the crater only a few seconds after the girls had left.

-}§{-

The girls walked down an alley. Rumi was planning.

“They eat souls, so we'll have to find normal food. We have to get disguises… I have my patterns, but we'll need to draw some on you two…”

“Don't forget clothes!” Zoey chirped. “The demons wear furs and hanbok, for the more humanoid ones.” She clapped. “Hanbok, that's what we need! Though… I have no idea where to get those.” She deflated slightly.

“None of us do.” Mira pointed out. “That goblin bunny dropped us in here with no time to prepare. I'm frankly amazed we haven't fought any demons yet.”

As she spoke, a young demon girl ran around the corner and bumped into the three of them. The girl was knocked off her feet, and Zoey automatically reached to help her up.

“Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to-” the girl began before noticing the lack of patterns on Zoey's skin. She scrambled to her feet, clutching a small bag to her chest. She stared at Mira, Zoey, and Rumi as they stared back.

Her hair was red, and she wore half of it in a high ponytail that was tinted orange. The rest of her hair was cropped short except for her bangs, which fell in also-tinted waves over her right eye. Her eyes were yellow, like most demons. Her skin was slightly surprising- a healthy-looking honey gold with lighter patterns. She wore a torn canvas shirt over rolled up loose brown pants. She was barefoot, and shorter than Zoey. Other than her eyes and patterns, she could've been human.

She was studying the Huntr/x girls just as much as they were studying her.

More footsteps sounded from the same corner the girl had come from.

She quickly ducked behind the Huntr/x girls.

“Please, they're after me. Please help.”

Rumi took a moment to wonder what had flipped everything on its head- a demon asking hunters for protection… from other demons?

Three large demons came around the corner, snarling. They paused when they saw the dust-streaked girls. One cleared his throat.

“That's ours.” He pointed at the girl, who flinched.

Rumi shook her head. “She isn't. That's not how anything should work.”

One of the other demons snorted. “Not her; the bag. Well, also her. Brat’s a thief, so she's ours to punish.”

Mira and Rumi looked at each other. Then at the girl.

“What did you take?”

The girl silently pulled a single apple out of the bag.

Mira turned back to the three demons.

“What were you going to do to her?”

This time the third demon replied. “Rend her limb from limb, tie her to a tree and feed her to a goat, smack her with a stick a bunch, fe-” the first demon covered his mouth.

“None of your business.”

“Incorrect, sorry friends.” Zoey grinned. “Making demons behave is our business.”

All three girls reached toward the Honmoon in the sky, and a mini whirlwind of the strands spun down towards them, creating a dust storm around them before forming into their Honmoon weapons.

All three demons screamed in terror as they recognized the girls for the first time.

“The hunters!”
“Huntr/x!”
“Stop yelling and run!”

They did not have time to run. Rumi's sword, Mira’s moon blade, and Zoey's shin-kal each found their target in one demon. It surprised the girls when the dead demons didn't vanish into confetti, though. The dead demons just… laid there.

“Ewww.” Zoey declared. “Why didn't they just poof?”

Rumi shrugged. “I don't know.” She looked around. “But we need to get moving again. The demons probably saw us summon our weapons. And when they get here…”

“We'd better not be here.” Mira finished. “But where are we going to go?”

“Uh…”

Zoey, Mira, and Rumi turned to the girl they'd been protecting. She flinched slightly. The girls lowered their weapons.

“I know where you can go, Huntr/x.” The demon girl said. “And I can help you blend in.”

-}§{-

They followed the girl through the village to where it became more of a town, then almost a deserted city. She led them to an old broken almost-apartment building, and into a room on the fifth floor via a broken window and fire escape.

Rumi squinted in the sudden darkness, and Zoey sat on a mound of blankets vaguely shaped like a nest. Mira ran her hand over gouges in the wall. The girl watched them, biting her lip.

It was almost like some teenager who had never lived alone was dropped into an apocalypse. Rumi could tell this was the girl's home.

“So… you know us.” Mira said, turning to the girl. “You know what we do. Saw what we did. Why are you helping us?”

The girl blinked. “Because… you helped me. Any other demon would've handed me over and gone to watch the fun.”

Zoey frowned. “Even your family?”

The girl laughed. “Family? Family is for Humans. Family is for people strong enough to keep it. Family isn't for demons.” She folded her arms defensively.

“Didn't you used to be human? Didn't you give Gwi-ma your soul?” Rumi asked. “The only demons I've met who looked as much like a human as you were-”

“The Saja boys?” The girl replied. “I know. They- Jinu especially- were tormented by their human lives. I'm lucky in that way, I guess. I don't remember a human life. I remember this world. I don't remember anything other than struggling to survive. And…” she fell silent, hands running up and down her arms as if to warm herself.

Zoey stood up and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. “Let's get introduced properly- I’m Zoey.”

Rumi nodded. “Rumi.”

“Mira.” Mira folded her arms.

The girl blinked. “Everyone just calls me Brat. Or ‘Stupid Kid'.”

Mira’s face softened slightly. “That's not your name though, is it?”

The girl shook her head. “My name is Kiko.”

Zoey grinned. “Ok, introductions, check. What now?”

Rumi looked around again. “Kiko… you're alone, aren't you?”

The demon girl snorted. “Of course. I'm not strong enough for a family; I told you that.”

Mira hesitated, then put her hand on kiko’s shoulder. “You are. Everyone deserves a family.” She gestured at Rumi and Zoey. “These girls are mine.”

Kiko’s eyes were filled with longing. “Yeah. You’re strong. They won't abandon you if you're good enough.”

Rumi shook her head. “That's not how it works. Families take care of each other. You never have to prove anything.” She walked to the window and looked out. “Kiko, we have something- someone- we're trying to find. Can you guide us through the demon world?”

Kiko nodded. “O-okay. I can.” She tapped her chin. “First, though, you'll need to blend in.”

Zoey squealed. “Demon makeover!”

-}§{-

Before long, Mira’s hair was in braids, Zoey's was loose and down, and Rumi's hair was in a ponytail looped around her neck like a scarf. Zoey wore a jeogori jacket over black pants and teal ankle boots and sash, while Mira had a jeonbok and leggings with knee high magenta boots and a loose magenta shirt under the overcoat. Rumi had a sochangui with faint purple patterns and purple thigh high boots.

The girls took one look at each other and squealed.

“Mira, look, I'm a demon!” Zoey laughed.

“Not yet!” Kiko replied, brandishing a small brush and a pot of grey/purple face paint. “You still need patterns. Rumi's fine, since she's got her own patterns. But here we go!”

With the patterns and improvised sheaths and accessories, the Hunters had become demons. In appearance, at least.

-}§{-

Rumi rested her hand on her sword’s handle. She was honestly glad they'd decided to always keep their weapons active, given activating them involved whirlwinds of Honmoon, because it meant she felt like Jinu was closer.

“We're getting closer, Jinu.” She whispered. “We're on our way to get you back.” She looked up at the Honmoon in the sky. “And we'll go back to the human world. Together. And everything will be like we planned once.”

Kiko watched Rumi, her sharp hearing picking up every word. She rolled over in the nest of blankets, pretending to be asleep while her mind was a storm of thought.

Jinu was alive? But Gwi-ma had killed him… hadn't he? And Rumi wanted Jinu with her, in the human world? A demon in the human world… if Jinu could go there, could Kiko?

Chapter Text

Baby kicked the wall. The wall, however, was much less compliant (and soft) than he would've liked, and he proceeded to hop up and down clutching the injured appendage and resisting the urge to cuss the wall out. He wasn't supposed to be loud right now.

He wasn't supposed to do anything right now. Except sit tight and wait for everyone else to get back. He flopped into a mound of blankets in the middle of the room and sighed, staring at the ceiling.

Everything sucked right now. Had sucked for a while. Whenever it had started it was awful! He was a grown Demon, fully 100 years old (next month, not that he was counting) including his human life (25 years). But the other Saja boys treated him like a baby! Did they realize the cutesy stuff he did for the fans were just for the fans? He wasn't actually an innocent angel.

He clenched his hands into fists and sat up, throwing a pillow across the room. He'd killed just as many people as them! But what did Romance do? Grabbed him and pulled him to safety while the pink hunter (Margot?) killed Abs and the Maknae hunter almost killed Mystery. As if Baby needed protecting.

Actually, Baby realized, it started before that! The variety show! Abs wouldn't even let Baby run on his own. He made him ride piggyback like a little kid who couldn't keep up!

And everything had just gotten worse after they came back to the demon world. All of a sudden, the four of them were on the run. And Baby had to stay at their hideout and wait for the others. There wasn't even a good reason! Baby pushed his hair back, out of his face. Jinu wasn't even here anymore. Gwi-ma had killed him, and he was the only one who didn't treat Baby like a baby.

Baby narrowed his eyes. Well the three others could keep playing buddy buddy hideout bros alone. He was fed up with this.

Baby grabbed an old satchel from the corner, and pulled it on. He stuck some food in it, then slipped out of the old lean-to the same way he and the others had slipped in a few days before.

-}§{-

Baby kicked a rock, sending it flying satisfyingly across the almost-alley, the space between the buildings. Right now, if he'd bothered to worry about where he was instead of pouting and calling the other three idiots, he would've seen that he was in a demonic almost-city that looked like it'd been through the apocalypse.

“Stupid Mystery. Stupid Romance. Stupid-”

A click sounded from somewhere nearby, but he was too busy feeling sorry for himself to notice.

“Stupid Huntr/x had to go and make a new stupid Honmoon, making stupid Gwi-ma say we're failures and traitors- I wanted to fight! Stupid Romance taking me away. I could've taken them. All of them. At the same time! Stupid Abs dying and making it look dangerous.” He kicked another rock and kept grumbling to himself.

-}§{-

Rumi stood on the roof of one of the buildings, looking down at the streets surrounding Kiko’s home and their temporary base.

“See anything?” She asked Mira, who was next to her.

“Mm-mm.”

“I think I can see something.”

Zoey was looking off the other side of the building. Rumi and Mira joined her, looking down in the alley where she was pointing.

Six floors below them, a blue-haired demon was pacing. He brandished his arms as if casting dark magic.

Rumi's brow furrowed. “Saja.”

Mira groaned. “Ugh, it's the Baby.”

“Let's ask what he's doing here.” Zoey suggested, drawing one of her shin-kal. Mira unslung her moon blade from her back and grinned.

The three girls leapt off the roof, quickly landing in a triangle around Baby, who squeaked in surprise.

-}§{-

Needless to say, Baby hadn't thought Hunter/x would fall from the sky around him. Especially not in the demon world. He didn't worry much about how they got here- he could do that after he got away.

He threw his satchel at Margot, or whatever the pink one's name was, who he deemed the biggest threat. Ducking low, he lunged at Zoey's feet, trying to knock her off balance. Instead, she kicked him in the shoulder, almost dislocating his arm and sending him spinning across the alley and slamming against the far wall, already instinctively holding his injured shoulder. The impact blurred his vision for a moment, but it passed quickly.

Quite a few pointy things were aimed at his face. Baby tried his best not to flinch, but the fear showed in his eyes. Had he really been telling himself he could take these girls on only a minute ago? His only hope now was that they'd kill him quickly.

His attention shifted from the sharp pointies to their faces. Which looked just as angry and pointy as the weapons. Oddly, now all three of them had patterns. Baby knew better than to hope this meant they were on his side- if they were, pointy things would not be being pointy at him.

“Uh…” he fell back on the method he'd employed with the fans- be lovable. Cutesy. Innocent. Play up the shoulder. He rubbed it again. “Owwie.”

“Drop the act, Saja.” Margot growled. “It's not that effective.”

To her seeming surprise, Baby laughed. “Ah, finally! You would not believe how tired I am of that stupid act.” He raised both hands. “I will admit, that act was my idea. Killing the fans, not so much. That was all-” Rumi, the purple one Jinu blushingly used to deny he liked, held her sword closer to Baby's face.

“But you killed them. Demon.”

Baby stared back at her, a little defiantly.

“Harsh words, cousin.”

Her eyes hardened. He'd hit a nerve- of course he had. She didn't know her demon parentage. Granted, neither did he, but that didn't exactly matter. He could still play on that.

“Leveling with you, demon to- well, not demon but close enough- I really think you'd rather not kill me.”

Rumi glared harder. “Don't call me a demon. I'm not a demon, I'm just half demon.”

“And it's a simple little step from half to full.”

Her sword was almost touching his skin, but he felt like he couldn't shut off his flow of flippant remarks.

Stupid stupid stupid why am I saying this she's gonna kill me I'm gonna die I'm gonna- who's that?

Baby's attention was now focused on the girl who had come out of a building next to them. The red haired demon girl.

-}§{-

“Who's th- is that Baby Saja?” Kiko asked.

“Yes. Stay back.” Zoey told her, sliding Kiko behind her protectively.

Mira frowned. “Talk, Saja. What are you planning? Where are the others?”

Baby held up one finger. “Listen, Margot,-”

“It's Mira.” She hissed.

Baby nodded amicably. “I stand corrected. Mira, think about this logically. If we had shoved you to the ground with entirely too many pointy things for you to be comfortable with pointed at your neck, would you ever admit anything other than that you were undoubtedly very wrong to do whatever it was that annoyed us?”

Kiko snorted a little. The Huntr/x girls just kept glaring at Baby.

He sighed. “I'm going to be honest here. A rare occurrence, so I figured I'd warn you. I don't know where the other Saja boys are. We were just trying to survive, but they kept treating me like a little kid. So I ran away. And didn't make it two miles before getting pinned by very deadly people, so I suppose in a way they were right.”

Zoey narrowed her eyes. “Liar. You five did everything together.”

For the first time, what looked like an actual emotion crossed Baby’s face.

“We used to. When it was still five.”

Rumi flinched slightly, her sword lowering. “Ji-” her voice cut out, but baby didn't seem to notice.

“Jinu, yeah. Just so you know, every time one of us mentioned you he lit up like a volcano. Bright red.”

Rumi flushed almost as brightly as Baby was describing.

“Yeah, just like that!”

Zoey shook her head. “Don't you tease my Eonni! Give us three good reasons not to just kill you now.”

Inexplicably, he grinned. “Their names are Mystery, Romance, and Abs, and they're standing right behind you.”

-}§{-

As he had predicted, all three girls spun around to face the threat. He almost couldn't believe they'd fallen for it. He immediately scrambled backwards and to his feet, sprinting down the alleyway.

Something hit the back of his knees, and he fell hard. He bounced once, then rolled a few times.

“Ow, ow ow OW!” He mumbled before forcing himself back up. The redhead was next to him, having also tumbled after tackling his knees out from under him.

Surprisingly fast, she launched herself back upright and came at him again. He ran, around the corner and smack into a remarkably muscular chest. The owner of said chest lifted him by the collar, then caught the redhead by her wrist as she chased baby around the corner. Holding both of them swinging in the air, Abs Saja sighed.

“And now I guess we get to say I told you so.”

“Yeah, fair, please do it later though.” Baby replied. "Or we might all die."

Chapter Text

Romance and Mystery stepped out from behind Abs, who let go of the back of Baby's jacket. Baby dropped about a foot, slipped on something, and landed hard on his rear.

“Ouch! Did you really need to do that?”

Romance leaned forward, a mildly accusative finger pointed between Baby's eyes.

“You snuck out.”

Baby slapped Romance’s hand away and scrambled to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah, stupid Baby ran away. Yell at me later, run away now. Trust me on that.”

Mystery shook his head, silver-gray hair swishing across his face.

Then Hunter/x rounded the corner, and the other three Saja boys all looked at Baby.

Romance sighed. “This is why I told you not to sneak out.”

“What?!? It's not like I brought them to the demon world!” Baby said, holding up his hands in innocence.

“Ouch!”

The redhead had managed to claw her wrist out of Abs’s grip, and dropped, catlike, to the ground. She quickly retreated to the Huntr/x girls.

“Kiko!” Zoey tucked the girl behind the three hunters. Rumi and Mira had their weapons ready to attack.

Romance and Abs immediately stepped in front of Baby. Mystery went one further, picking Baby up and setting him back further behind them before turning to face Huntr/x.

“Oh come on, can't I fight this time?” Baby asked.

“No.” Romance replied without turning around.

He took a step forward. “How did you get here? Why are you here? We've done nothing to provoke this new attack. You already punished us for stealing your fans- you even killed Abs.”

Abs cracked his knuckles. His fangs now protruded from his mouth, and it lent a snarling aspect to his face.

Rumi stepped forward from the other girls.

“Our approach is irrelevant, and our reasons are our own. Baby was spying on our camp. And-” she pointed her sword at Abs. “Why isn't he dead?”

Baby shoved his way between Mystery and Abs to stand next to Romance.

“I can talk for myself, okay? I wasn't spying. I was finding somewhere to stay.”

Romance sighed. “Baby, let me handle this.”

Baby folded his arms and stuck out his tongue.

Zoey groaned. “Okay, like, they aren't going to be any use, and they've seen us now. Can't we just kill them?”

Mira smiled, a rather frightening sight. “Dibs on the pink ones.”

Rumi sighed and massaged her eyes slightly. “Guys. It'd leave more of a trail, since demons don't die normally anymore.” She looked back at Romance. “And you never answered me about Abs.”

Romance started to scoff, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. As one, everyone stared at the end of the alley. Mystery casually reached out his foot and hooked Baby’s feet out from under him.

“Woah!”

As if Baby’s fall was a signal, there was a rushing flurry of movement.

When a demon soldier turned the corner, all he saw was an empty alley.

-}§{-

“Get your abs out of my face!” Mira whisper-shouted.

“Enjoy the view?” Abs shot back.

“Shhh!!!” Zoey hissed.

The Saja boys and Hunter/x girls were crammed into a room much too small for them, behind the only door on the alley.

Zoey did not mind this very much, as she was practically getting a piggy back ride from Mystery. She absently noted that even the back of his head was hot.

Mira was basically crouching on Romance’s shoulders as he sat on the ground, her face at ab level with Abs. Needless to say, she minded.

Kiko had found herself bundled against Baby, held against his chest. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on.

Rumi had wedged herself against the roof, holding her sword carefully above her. She absently smirked at the positions everyone had been forced into when they crammed in here in the space of 2.3 seconds to hide.

They all kept their ears perked as the demon walked past the door, a hummed snatch of music drifting past.

“My little soda pop…”

Abs smirked at Mira, and she growled at him. But quietly.

-}§{-

As soon as the demon had left, they practically fell out of the door. They weren't split into two sides anymore, but they were by no means a united team. No one could make that miracle happen.

Rumi sighed. “Look. We'll go this way, you guys go that way, and we'll all forget we saw each other.”

Baby snorted. “That's the point where Jinu would go ‘No, we’ll go that way and you guys go this way too.’, or something funny like that. If he was alive. Which he isn't, because of you. Beautiful irony right there.”

Rumi's eyes did something between blazing with anger and tearing up. Mira growled.

“Okay, THAT IS IT-”

She lunged at Baby, but Abs just picked her up.

“PUT ME DOWN.”

“STOP ATTACKING OUR MAKNAE!”

“THEN HAVE YOUR MAKNAE STOP INSULTING OUR EONNI!”

“I REGRET NOTHING!”

“OH YOU ARE GONNA BE REGRETTING AS SOON AS THIS GALOOT LETS ME DOWN!”

“WOULD EVERYONE SHUT UP!”

The sheer volume produced by Kiko drew everyone's attention.

She pointed emphatically towards the sound of the demon guard coming back.

“Either we go back in that closet of a room, or we go somewhere else. And it occurs to me that both of you groups of people have something in common! All of you care about Jinu, right?”

Everyone blinked.

“What does Jinu have to do with-”

Kiko punched Abs in the stomach to try and make him shut up. It just hurt her hand. She flapped the offended appendage in pain, glared at him, and continued.

“Everyone will explain everything later. For now, I know where we should go.” Without waiting for them to agree, she ran down the alley away from the approaching demon.

Everyone followed.

-}§{-

Kiko led them to what looked like a cross between a gym and a warehouse, though it was really just four walls that happened to have a roof wedged across the top.

Rumi, Mira, and Zoey glanced at each other.

Kiko turned to face the seven others for the first time since the alleyway. She sighed.

“Rumi. Your questions first. What happens when you kill a demon using your Honmoon weapons in the human world?”

Rumi frowned. “They vanish into confetti and red dust.”

“And don't I know it.” Mumbled Abs.

“So why aren't you still dead?” Mira asked. “I killed you.”

Romance sighed. “Yes, you killed him. But your weapons are made from the Honmoon. So when you kill a demon with them…”

“We get sent back through the Honmoon and come back to life, slightly less human and more demonic.” Abs finished, lightly stroking his fangs. “Hence these.”

Zoey frowned. “So… like Jinu, all of you used to be human?”

Mystery nodded. “Stolen souls become lesser demons, because they get a little digested. Traded souls, like ours, are mostly still intact. So we look more human.”

Baby shrugged. “All I know about it is what they've told me. I haven't died before. Except as a human.” He pointed at Mystery. “He's gone through the cycle the most out of us, even though Romance is the oldest.”

Zoey pursed her lips. “Out of curiosity, how old are you all?”

Abs scoffed. “267.”

Mystery had been staring at the ground for the past five minutes, and didn't look up. “345.”

Romance flicked his hair out of his eyes. “589.”

Baby folded his arms. “99 and eleven months.”

Kiko blinked. “I'm only 56.”

Rumi nodded slowly. “Jinu was about 426, right?”

Romance nodded, a flicker of surprise and respect in his eyes. “Yeah.”

Baby interrupted. “But physically, we’re (pointing at Romance) 29, (pointing at mystery) 26, (pointing at Abs) 27, and (pointing at himself) 25.”

Zoey shook her head in wonderment. “I'm only 22, and Mira and Rumi are 24.”

Kiko rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “I'm physically 18, so… I guess I'm basically the youngest here.”

Rumi gave her a one-armed hug. “Don’t worry about it.”

Abs folded his arms. “Glad we could educate you on the ins and outs of demonic death in the human world, but what does it have to do with Jinu? He can't come back. Gwi-ma destroyed his soul.”

Rumi looked down, then back at the Saja boys. “No. He didn't. Jinu gave me his soul before he died- it's in my sword. And we're trying to bring him back.”

The Saja boys sat in stunned silence for a second. Then clamor erupted.

“WHAT?”
“You can do that?”
“GAVE YOU HIS WHAT?”
“HOW DID I MISS THAT AND CAN WE HELP?”

Baby's shout was the loudest, and the other three turned to him in surprise.

“You want to help the hunters.” Romance asked, as though he couldn't believe his ears.

Baby flapped his hand back and forth. “I mean, as long as it gets us Jinu back. We all miss him, Romeo. Don't try and say you don't.”

Romance frowned. “Two things; first, stop calling me that. Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy, not a romance. Second… you're right.” He turned to Rumi. “We've been here since you remade the Honmoon, hiding from Gwi-ma and his soldiers. He'd kill us forever if he found us. Maybe we can help each other.” He held out his hand to shake on it.

The other Saja boys nodded. Rumi, Mira, and Zoey looked at each other. Zoey and Mira nodded.

“Okay.” Rumi said, shaking Romance's hand. “We'll work together.”

Chapter Text

“But all I was trying to do was dodge left. How was I supposed to know there'd be another one?”

Kiko stood with her arm held away from her body as Zoey wrapped bandages around the scratch on the younger girl’s forearm. Mira sighed, her brow furrowed.

“Kiko, we told you to be careful.”

“Didn't you hear my five minute explanation of how careful I was being?” she tugged her arm away from Zoey with a thankful grin as soon as the dark haired girl finished tying off the bandage.

Mira sighed, glancing up and down the alley.

“You're just lucky Romance managed to punch it in the face long enough for Zoey to pull you out of the way so I could kill them.”

“Speaking of, where are the boys? Have they still not come back?” Zoey asked.

“Boo.” Abs’s voice was right in Mira’s ear, and he narrowly dodged getting punched in the face.

“Ugh, you demons.” She groaned. “Wish I could stab that stupid smug grin off your face.”

“Aw, you don't really mean that.”

Zoey rolled her eyes, and looked over at Romance, who was rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he smirked at Abs and Mira.

“Oh the trials of young love.”

“Are you gonna tell them to stop flirt-fighting so we can go back to the hideout now?” Kiko asked.

Romance gave an inadvertent splurt of laughter, and Mira’s face went almost as pink as her hair while Abs coughed into his fist and found something very interesting to look at way over somewhere else.

-}§{-

By the time the five of them got back to Mystery, Rumi, and Baby, the three who had stayed behind had finished getting their hideout (the gym warehouse) set up for the night.

They ducked in at the door while Baby was setting the last bedroll out. He glanced up, his gaze flying first to Abs and Romance, then before he could even wonder if he should care about anyone on Huntr/x’s team, to Kiko.

Her forearm was bandaged, from wrist to elbow.

Something had hurt her. Baby was surprised how angry that made him. She was just another demon. He hadn't cared about anyone except him for more than 73 years before Jinu had found him lost and wandering around in the demon world and introduced him to the other Saja boys.

He had probably looked to Jinu as Kiko looked now… small. Defenseless and vulnerable, but not in a way that made him want to exploit her. In a way that made his heart feel like it was being stretched like taffy and like he needed to protect her. In a weird, strange, good way. Baby reflexively shoved those confusing new sensations to the back of his head and ignored them.

How else had he probably struck Jinu? Alone. Wanting, no, needing a family, companionship. Cute.

He hadn't meant to think that.

Cute.

Did he think she was cute?

She seemed to have missed the short circuiting happening in his head, because she just waved before turning back to Rumi, who was fussing over her bandage.

He caught himself half lifting his hand in reply. He turned and pointedly walked away, hiding in the far side of the room by Mystery, who had fallen asleep sprawled sideways across three bedrolls and had a shiny track of drool down one cheek.

Baby rubbed his temples. What was wrong with him?

-}§{-

Kiko frowned. Baby Saja looked upset or disappointed or something.

Rumi was telling her to be more careful, but Kiko had already explained that to Mira. And Zoey, but mostly Mira. So she interrupted Rumi.

“Is Baby mad at me?”

“I- what?” Rumi looked confused, as if the conversation had given her a left hook.

“Is Baby mad at me?”

Mira snorted. “If he is, that did not take long. You've only been in the same area for a day or so at this point.” She tapped her chin. “Actually, wait, it took all of the Saja boys about five seconds to make us hate them. Yeah, he could be mad at you.”

“Wait, why do you think he's mad at you?” Zoey asked.

Kiko blinked. “After I came in, he was staring at me a little angrily for like five minutes until I waved at him and he went to the other side of the room.”

Zoey smirked. “Oh and you usually pay attention to other people that much?”

Kiko furrowed her brow. “I don't know. I don't think so.”

“Just… be careful around them.” Mira warned her, resting her hand on Kiko's shoulder. “They're deceptive.”

“Just like all the other demons, right?” Kiko asked. Then she grinned. “It's fine. I get it- you're hunters.” She interrupted herself with a yawn. “Can I go to bed now?”

The Huntr/x girls looked at each other and chuckled.

“Ok. But we're going to talk more about this in the morning.” Rumi said, tapping Kiko's bandage-wrapped arm.

She tugged it away, sticking her tongue out before claiming a bedroll and tugging it into the corner. Romance unsuccessfully tried to shift Mystery onto one bedroll instead of three, and eventually just gave up and claimed the fourth one left. Baby facepalmed and Abs sighed, then picked up Mystery and moved him into his own bedroll. Mystery whined a little in his sleep, and Zoey made a barely audible ‘awww’ sound.

-}§{-

Kiko woke up to her arm itching about halfway through the night. She sat up, scratching at it through the dressing. It was dark, but she could see fairly well at night. She glared at her arm, which felt like bugs were crawling up it. Or flickers of fire. She shuddered and started unwinding the binding, as if to reassure herself she hadn't accidentally caught fire.

A hand on her wrist stopped her, and she looked up with a question on her lips. The question took one look at the owner of the hand, did a backflip, and stuffed itself back down her throat. Baby's eyes, wide and demon gold, met hers, and the question wedged in her throat squirmed in embarrassment.

He gently unwound the bandage the rest of the way for her, then lightly turned her hand over to see where the scratch spread across her arm.

She blinked in surprise. Her patterns were glowing faintly where the scratch spread across them. The itch came back, harder, as if fiery bugs were crawling through her skin. She pulled her hand back against her chest and gasped slightly. Baby's eyes filled with worry, and as she looked at them she questioned how she ever could have thought he was mad at her.

He gently pulled her hand forward again, running his fingers across the scratch. It actually felt nice. His hands were cool and gentle, almost like this demon boy, here in the darkness, was much more than his snark. Kiko's eyes couldn't decide between watching his face or his hands.

He kept rubbing her arm until the itching was gone, then carefully rewound the bandage. Kiko's question finally got unstuck, and slipped out.

“Why? Why did you do that for me?”

Baby blinked and shrugged. “You looked like you needed help.”

Kiko snorted softly. “You were awake watching me sleep?”

“No! Well… no. I heard you scratching the bandage.”

“Oh. Well… thanks.” She ducked her head shyly. “Your hands feel nice.”

She could tell his face flushed even in the darkness.

“...”
“...”

They stared at each other for a moment, neither knowing what to say next.

“Okay bye.” Baby dropped her hand, which he hadn't even realized he was still holding, and retreated back to the far side of the other Saja boys as quickly as possible.

Kiko stared after him, holding her hand to her chest. She could still tell exactly where he had touched her, a feeling like when you wear silk and it slides across your skin in that amazingly soft, cool way.

-}§{-

Baby stared at his hands, which were shaking slightly. Why on earth had he gone over there? He didn't care about her. He just couldn't stop… paying attention to her. He'd touched her hands. She liked how his hands felt?

He felt a small smile growing on his face. Why on earth was he smiling? He clenched his hands into fists to try and stop them shaking. It didn't work.

-}§{-

Kiko was smiling. She wasn't sure why. Her arm didn't feel prickly with heat anymore, and Baby had been nice to her.

It was nice that he wasn't mad at her. She'd felt all funny when she thought he was mad at her, all pinched up. She frowned. Now she felt like she'd swallowed a balloon. In a happy way, like she had when the Huntr/x girls said she could help them.

What did it mean that her heart was doing backflips as he held her hand, even when she felt like she couldn't talk? Why was his face sticking in her thoughts?

She sighed. She'd ask Rumi tomorrow, Rumi probably knew more about why boys make you act funny.

Chapter Text

She did not have time to ask Rumi tomorrow.

The next morning was a whirlwind of activity, Rumi and Romance directing the activity like generals.

“Zoey, you and Mystery look for hints about the Phoenixes.”

“Abs, take Mira and get us some supplies. Food, for instance, since the humans can't live without food.”

Mira raised her eyebrow. “Demons can?”

“Usually.” Abs shrugged, putting both hands behind his head and stretching. “Starvation won't kill you, but it's incredibly annoying, much like a hunter I could name.”

Mira groaned.

Rumi folded her arms. “Romance and I will stay near our base, making sure no demons get too close to finding us.”

“Because you saw how that ended last time.” Baby mumbled rebelliously. His arms dropped from their folded position as something occurred to him. “Hang on, what about me?”

“We're staying in pairs. It's the buddy system.” Rumi replied. “And Kiko is staying here to stay safe, since she got hurt yesterday.”

Romance ruffled Baby's hair with his hand. “Besides- what if someone gets past Rumi and I? We need you to keep watch. Don't worry, we’ll come check in every so often.”

“Wow, long distance babysitters.” Kiko muttered, too quietly for Rumi and Romance to hear. Baby heard her, and couldn't hide the smirk on his face.

Everyone else left quickly, and Baby found himself staring at Kiko across the small mound of bedrolls that had been shoved together in the middle of the room.

-}§{-

Kiko pursed her lips, her gaze lingering on the shape of Baby's face. His eyes. The way his bangs partially covered them. The fact that he was biting his lower lip.

“So… what now?”

He shrugged, but looked a little on edge. He was holding one arm straight at his side and the elbow of that arm with his opposite hand, his arm held tight to him like a shield, and shifting his weight back and forth.

“We could… I dunno… organize everything?” He didn't look thrilled at the idea.

Kiko tilted her head to the side. “You don't want to though. What do you want to do?”

He shrugged again.

-}§{-

Baby's brain had stopped working. All his mental teleprompter was giving him was ‘preddy preddy’, and there was no way in any of the worlds, human or demon, he could be thinking that about her.

But she was just staring at him with her big shiny yellow eyes, all innocent and adorable.

When on earth or below it had he given himself permission to think of her as adorable?!?

Too late, he realized she was talking.

“-ould go there, if you want. I know the way.”

“Sure.” His mouth was running on autopilot. And his traitorous brain was justifying it. Well, I wasn't doing anything else today… “Yeah, we can go.” What am I saying what am I even agreeing to?

She didn't seem to notice the fact that he was at war with himself. She just grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door.

“Wait-” she stopped, and smoothed a patch of the dirt floor. Using her finger, she scrawled a quick message. Baby read it upside down.

‘bak son, dont wory, baby + kiko'

He chuckled, and crouched next to her.

“It's spelled like this.”

‘Back soon, don't worry. Baby + Kiko'

“Oh, ok. I never actually really learned to write.” She grabbed his hand again, pulling him to his feet.

“Come on!”

-}§{-

Internally, Kiko was torn between blushing and grinning. On one hand, she'd messed up and disappointed Baby. On the other, she was holding his hand again. Cool and soft in hers. She wondered slightly how it would feel to hold his face in her hands. Would it feel like his hands?

Regardless, she was excited to show him her secret place. She shoved a panel of the wall out of the way, and crawled out. Baby crawled out behind her, and she let the flap shut again. She'd had to drop his hand to open it, but she grabbed it again as soon as he had his balance.

She liked holding his hand. It made her heart happy. She grinned at him when he blinked at her in the semi-brightness of daytime in the demon world. It was always overcast here, so it was always a little dim, but it was still brighter outside than it was in the hideout.

She bit her lip, smiling, as her energy overflowed.

“Let's go!” She burst into a run down the alley, pulling him behind her. He stumbled slightly at the unexpected movement, but quickly started running next to her. He was faster than her, and they were quickly side by side, then he began to pull ahead.

She couldn't stop herself from laughing aloud.

“Haha! Baby, slow down!”

“You started this!” He was laughing too, a startled sound like he didn't think he was supposed to and was surprised to catch himself doing it.

“Well now I can't keep up! How are you gonna know when to go left or right?”

“I guess you’ll tell me.”

She laughed again, pulling on his hand to pull him into a building.

“This is one of my favorite places.”

It was one of the buildings that looked like someone had stolen it from the human world… or like someone from the human world was unusually desperate for home. You know, if you preferred to look at things immorally, or tragically. She liked it because it had a tiny elevator.

“Come on!”

Still pulling Baby, she climbed into the cupboardlike elevator. They ended up wedged in opposite corners, knees touching and tangling. Kiko reached out and pulled a lever, then quickly pulled her hand back into the elevator as they started upwards.

“You wanted me to see the inside of a tiny box?”

“No. I wanted to show you what you see after the box.”

“And that is…”

She put her finger to her lips and winked. The tiny elevator juddered to a stop, and she took his hand again to pull him out.

“This.”

The view was less than climactic, but it was amazing in its own little way. There weren't any other buildings quite as tall around, so if you just looked up you could see the Honmoon and clouds as if you were flying.

-}§{-

Baby stared at the view Kiko had brought him to. He found himself missing the sky of the human world. How it was pink, or blue, or gray or purple or black or whatever it wanted. Not pink and gray like the constant clouds of the demon world. The human world had sunlight.

He looked back at Kiko, who was beaming at him.

“Thanks. It's… cool.” His words felt woefully inadequate, but he had no idea how to communicate the thoughts he had and emotions he felt. She just smiled.

“The sky… it's beautiful, but it never changes. What are we missing? What's it like in the human world?”

“Well…” Baby cleared his throat. “Usually it's blue.”

“Like your hair?”

“Yeah. A little.”

“Tell me more.”

-}§{-

Baby smiled as he held Kiko’s hand. He'd told her about the sky for hours, and now the dusk of the demon world was descending. Romance and Rumi were probably going to be furious when he and Kiko got back, but he didn't really care.

The tug of Kiko stopping drew Baby’s attention and he looked back.

Her face was pale. That was the first thing Baby noticed. The second was her eyes. Wide. Scared.

He looked back to where they had been going. Something was glowing around the corner, but he couldn't tell what.

He started towards the glow, wondering what it was.

Kiko pulled at his hand, stopping him.

“Don't… not there…”

“Why? What's wrong?”

“Just… don't leave me here.”

She dropped his hand, stepping towards and behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his back.

“Ah…”

His brain was overheating. What was happening?!? She was scared of… something, and she was hiding behind him?

He twisted to look at her, and saw that her eyes were clenched shut.

“H-hey, let go. It's ok, whatever it is is around the corner. Y-you can let go now.”

She let go, still clinging to his sleeve like a lifeline, her fear and worry plain in her face.

“What's over there that's so scary? I can't even tell from here. I’m going to go look.”

She didn't respond, so Baby cautiously stepped towards the glow. He only had to move a few feet, which was rather convenient as Kiko was still holding his sleeve and seemed to be rooted to the spot.

It was fire.

A fairly small building, little more than a glorified hut, was blazing vibrantly. A few demons were running around in the larger street Baby and Kiko’s alley intersected. Baby turned back to Kiko.

“It's ok, it's just a fire.”

She flinched at the word ‘fire’, her grip on his sleeve loosening. She started swaying slightly.

He fully turned to her as his sleeve fully dropped from her fingers and she brought both hands up to her face, hiding it completely.

“Are- are you okay?”

Idiot stupid question of course she's not ok!

She shook her head, hands still covering her face. A cracking sound and rush of heat blew into their alley as the roof of the hut caved in, and her knees buckled. Baby caught her.

“Kiko? Kiko!”

She just kept her hands pressed to her face, and tried to make herself as small as possible. Baby lifted her entirely off the ground, and she finally took her hands off her face, instead grabbing his shirt and burying her face in the folds.

Baby stood for a second, at a loss what to do.

“I need Romance.”

And he set off for the hideout at a dead run.

Chapter Text

Quite a few hours previously, Mira, Zoey, Abs, and Mystery had left the hideout.

Before long, they had split up to work on their respective tasks.

Zoey glanced up at Mystery out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't tell if he was doing the same, given the fact that his bangs still covered his face. She'd only gotten to see his face once, but it was so absolutely perfect. She shook her head violently, trying not to obsess over his face and instead focus on finding clues to the phoenixes.

She jumped over a small piece of rubble. “So… what are we actually looking for?”

He shrugged. “Writing. Pictures. Music. Ancient legends.” He paused and stared at the wall next to them. “That.”

Zoey turned to look, and her eyes widened. On the wall was a painting of a person made of fire.

“Is that a Phoenix?” She ran her fingers gently over the image, tracing the lines of fire on the figure’s skin.

“Be careful, Zoey.” She looked over her shoulder. Mystery was practically glaring at the wall.

“Why? It's a painting.”

“I… smell danger.”

Zoey bit her lip, trying and failing to hide her grin. It was so cute when he acted like a puppy! A tad annoying when that was growling at the fans, but still cute. And now he was sniffing the air.

Unexpectedly, Zoey felt something under her fingers. It felt roughly like a circle had been carved into the wall.

“Hey, I found something.”

Mystery crouched next to her and felt it too.

“But… what is it? A circle?”

Zoey didn't quite register what he had said- his fingers were touching hers. And his shoulder was brushing hers. She exhaled a tad stronger than she had meant too, a slight sigh escaping. He turned, hair shifting enough for a glimpse of one eye and throwing her slightly off balance.

The circle slid into the wall with a grinding noise and a click. Zoey overbalanced and fell into a hole that had opened in the wall, which closed behind her with a snap.

-}§{-

“Z-bear!” Mystery blurted, surprised. He immediately wished he could rescind that exclamation- even the other Saja boys didn't know he'd nicknamed Zoey that.

He was acknowledged among the Saja boys as the nickname emperor, having made up basically every nickname in the group using the stage names that had been chosen. He had called Romance Romeo, Abs Abby, Baby Yabyab, and Jinu Woojin. That talent probably stemmed from his human life… but he didn't remember it very well. Too many reincarnations would do that to you. Most of the other, less human demons had forgotten their previous lives entirely.

Z-bear was more important than memories, though. Mystery scanned the wall for more carvings, quickly finding a crescent, water drop, and amorphous blobby shape he guessed was supposed to be a cloud. Cautiously, he pressed the cloud, then jumped back. A couple holes opened in the wall, and all of a sudden he could hear Zoey.

“-uppy? Mypuppy? Where are you?”

She'd called him a nickname his life was perfect- er. Responding. Ahem.

“Z-be-zoey, I’m here. I found more buttons. There's a cloud, crescent, and a water drop. What's in there?”

-}§{-

Zoey clapped her hand to her mouth. How much of what she'd just said had he heard? Had he heard the nickname?

Back on task back on task!

The small room she was in was dark, and there was what looked like a dial and a lever on the wall. She frowned.

“Zoey?”

Mystery’s voice came from she wasn't sure where.

“I think I found something… wait there!”

“Where else would I wait?”

“I don't know, you could come down here with m-” she cut herself off as she noticed several scorch marks on the ceiling and walls… that were new.

“On second thought, do NOT press the circle button. I think it represents the sun, and sets off fire jets in here.”

“Pushing the cloud gave us communication. Should I try the moon and water?”

Zoey came closer to the dial, which seemed to be marked with circles.

Ancient demons knew about the phases of the moon? She wondered. Then she shook it off and turned the dial till the full moon was foremost.

“Push the moon.”

With a click, a hole started to open in the far wall. It expended until it was as tall as Zoey, then stopped and began to close again.

“No no wait stop-”

She hurriedly spun the dial, trying to make it reopen. In desperation, she pulled the lever. The door halted half closed.

“Phew.” She squinted past it, into the darkness. “I wonder what's in there…”

“What's in where?”

She pointed at the door, before realizing that wasn't helpful.

“There's a door in here. It's half open right now.”

“Should I press the water button?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Almost before Zoey had finished speaking, a deluge of water from the door soaked her from head to toe and filled the room. She quickly lost her footing and floundered in the water.

“Ah! Help!”

-}§{-

At Zoey's call, Mystery gritted his teeth.

“Screw this.”

He pressed the sun, and launched himself into the rush of water now pouring out of the small door the sun button opened.

He quickly got to his feet, now that the room was slowly emptying. Zoey still hadn't figured out that up was up again. Mystery caught her, and pulled her to her feet. She threw her arms around him.

“You saved me!”

…Well there was certainly no reason to tell her she was mistaken.

Mystery pointed to the half opened door that still leaked water.

“In there?”

Zoey nodded, letting him go. “Yeah.”

She got through the door fairly easily, but it was tight for Mystery. They waded together down the passage, emerging into a small circular stone room covered in carvings. The ceiling had a large hole cut into it, and what looked like a passage exited the room above. On a small pedestal in the middle of the room sat a small bag. Zoey picked it up, hefting it in one hand.

“Not sure what's in here, but it's probably important.”

Mystery nodded, his eyes flicking around the room. Something was off. A slight click registered in his ear, and he reacted. His eyes glowing brightly enough to be seen through his hair, he scooped Zoey up and leapt through the hole in the ceiling just in time to save both of them from a blast of flame. He sprinted down the passage, shouldering a door roughly out of the way as the fire chased them.

-}§{-

It had taken Zoey a second to get her bearings again- dang, demons can move fast- especially since Mystery hadn't stopped running.

She reached up and touched his cheek, and he blinked, the light on his eyes dimming back to normal.

“Hey, it's ok. We got away.”

He let her down as if in a daze.

“Are you ok?”

Zoey certainly did not expect for mystery to hug her, much less rest his head on her shoulder like he was tired. She stroked the back of his head.

“Let's go back to the hideout, yeah? We need to tell the others we found something.”

He nodded, still with his forehead resting on her shoulder. She stifled a giggle.

“Come on, sleepyhead. Let's go.”

The hut a few roads and alleys behind them was still on fire, and would be for almost an hour. It would take less time than that for Kiko and Baby to find it, however.

Chapter Text

Baby wasn't sure how fast he could run. He was sure that he was currently breaking every sprinting record he had.

Kiko still had her face buried in his shirt, and was breathing irregularly. Baby held her a little tighter as he turned a corner. The new alley took a sharp turn, and he barely had time to turn such that he slammed into the wall instead of her before continuing down the path.

He was on the verge of panicking- what on earth are you supposed to do when someone stops working right? Romance probably knew, since he's older. Older people always know better, or at least say they do.

At the next corner, Baby caught sight of the hideout. A choked gasp of relief burst from him, and he gave Kiko a squeeze.

“Almost there, jus’ hold on-” he was panting for breath. She didn't respond.

He shouldered the panel she had shown him- hours ago, it felt like- open, and practically fell into the room.

Every single other person was there, and the Huntr/x girls instinctively pointed their weapons at Baby, who had managed to twist and land on his back with Kiko on top of him. He was still out of breath and a little disoriented as he stared at the pointy things aimed at his face. Again.

“Enough… with the… pointy… things. Kiko need… help.”

Rumi and the others had put the weapons away almost before he had finished speaking.

Baby sat up, Kiko still clinging to his shirt.

“You can… you can let go now. Romance and Rumi and everyone's here, they can take care of you.” He gently put his hand on her head. She shook her head slightly and held tighter.

Rumi crouched next to them and tapped Kiko's shoulder.

“Kiko?”

She shook her head harder.

Rumi shot a suspicious glance at Baby.

He raised his hands in defense.

“Hey, I didn't do anything. We were out explo- scouting- and we saw a fire. It made her start freaking out, and she went all floppy and I didn't know what to do so I picked her up and ran here.”

Romance crouched next to Rumi.

“Panic attack. She must be pyrophobic.”

Baby wrapped his arms around Kiko, holding her more securely.

“What's that mean?”

“Scared of fire.” Mystery replied. Now that Baby took another look, he looked sort of singed.

“Where… was the fire?” Come to think of it, Zoey looked singed too.

“Just some old hut.”

Zoey and Mystery looked at each other, distinctly guilty looks on their faces.

“So… that might've been us…”

Rumi facepalmed. “You set a building on fire?”

“We didn't mean to! And we did find stuff…”

Mira sighed. “Okay. Dealing with that later, Kiko is still clinging to Baby like she's a little koala.”

Baby blinked. “I don't- I don't mind. She's fine. I mean, she can hold on as long as she wants. I mean she can panic if she needs to. No I mean-”

A knowing look spread over Romance's face. “You're just fine with her being in her lap.”

Baby flushed. “No! Sort of. Not like that.”

-}§{-

Kiko kept her eyes closed and her face pressed against Baby as she listened to them talk. She felt like if she opened her eyes everything would be on fire. But with her eyes closed, she was safe.

And besides, Baby felt nice. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek, and the coolness of his skin even through his jacket.

She took a deep breath and pulled an inch away from him and opened her eyes a fraction.

It was almost blindingly bright, though there was no fire. Rumi was staring at her, worried, next to Romance.

Mira and Abs were standing next to each other further back, half of Mira’s fake patterns smeared off of her face.

Rumi reached out for Kiko's shoulder, hesitating until Kiko nodded that she was fine with touch.

“Hey. Are you ok?”

Kiko shook her head, and leaned it against Baby’s chest, instead of burying her face in his shirt. She also released her grip on his shirt, instead holding one of his hands.

Rumi squeezed her shoulder.

“Relax for a minute, ok? You don't have to talk about it unless you want to.”

Kiko nodded. Letting go of Kiko’s shoulder, Rumi turned to Zoey and Mira. She jerked her head at a corner of the room, and they nodded. Then all three of them moved to that corner and started talking. Mystery kind of halfheartedly wandered after them before flopping onto a bedroll and falling asleep in record time. Abs snorted and picked up one of several sticks he and Mira had apparently brought, using a small knife to sharpen the tip with a rhythmic ‘shnk shnk’ as slivers of wood were carved away.

“Here.” Romance scooted Baby and Kiko back until Baby was leaning against the wall, and Kiko was leaning against his chest. “More comfortable.”

He then walked off, attempting to join the girls in their conversation but getting glared at so angrily he changed course and started helping Abs sharpen sticks.

Kiko let herself giggle slightly, though it quickly turned into a hiccup.

She was sitting in Baby's lap. This was the most she'd ever touched him, shy of hugging him (once) and being carried by him (in a near catatonic state of sheer panic).

-}§{-

Baby felt Kiko shift, and reflexively moved one of his arms to hold her a little closer.

Poor girl… she didn't deserve the terror he had seen her feel.

He hated seeing people look scared. Unless he didn't like them. At least when he and the other Saja boys performed ‘your idol’ the audience had been hypnotized and enjoying it.

And it was so much worse when it was someone he knew. Someone. He. Cared? About.

He felt her shift again, and looked down. She was looking up at him now.

“Thanks…” her voice was quiet, and wavered like she was trying to keep the lingering fear out of it. “Thanks for bringing me back.”

“I was worried.” Not worried, confused! And startled! And… maybe a little worried. He shrugged slightly, careful not to jostle her. “Figured someone would be able to help.”

“You helped.”

Baby flushed even brighter.

“All I- I just-”

Kiko giggled, though without as much energy as she would've before. She leaned her head against his chest again, closing her eyes.

Baby sat frozen for a few minutes before realizing she had fallen asleep. He leaned his head back against the wall, looking at anything except the girl on his lap.

She was warm, almost unusually so. He'd noticed before, but he could really feel it now. It felt like she was made of sunlight. Baby closed his eyes.

-}§{-

Flickers of movement shifted behind his eyelids. Yellow… yellow and… blue. Large blue eyes, blinking up at him. Sparkling, wide, and… scared.

Hands closing on the front of his shirt. A black shirt, the loose but casual kind he'd worn before becoming a demon. The hands belonged to a girl. Her hair was long, and blonde, and flickered like fire as it fell over her face, hiding one of those blue eyes for a moment.

Her lips were moving, but he couldn't hear her. He tried to ask what was wrong, but all he could hear was the best of his heart.

She whipped her head around to look over her shoulder, then back at him, desperation growing on her face. Her hair flew at the motions, shimmering waves hanging in the air for a moment before landing on her face to be shaken back.

He brought one hand up to try and touch her cheek, but it felt like his arm weighed as much as a millstone and was made of clay. She slid further and further away from him as he reached for her.

Her voice finally came through for a moment, a sound like chiming bells pealing out a wild warning.

“Please, I need you-”

“Who are you?”

The words finally left his throat over what felt like a thousand years. Her eyes filled with tears and the echo and shape of a name filled his head, though the letters and sound escaped him.

-}§{-

Baby lurched forward, gasping, tears stinging his eyes. He'd felt like he was drowning. His lap felt cold, and he instinctively looked to find Kiko. She had woken up earlier, apparently, and was sitting by the Huntr/x girls. Baby brought his knees up to his chest and wiped his eyes with one sleeve tugged over his hand.

Why was he crying? That girl… the golden haired, blue eyed one… he'd seen her only once, barely remembered what she said, and didn't even know her name. He'd been a demon for less than 50 years at that point. He hadn't thought about her in at least 50 years… why was he thinking about her now? Why?

Romance noticed him, and gave him a concerned look.

Baby had no idea how to communicate what he just felt, was currently feeling, and was probably going to feel for a while. So he forced a grin and waved.

Romance looked unconvinced, but nodded.

Chapter Text

"Okay.” Rumi nodded to her girls, then turned to Romance. “We've got a plan.”

The Saja boys simultaneously folded their arms. Romance raised his eyebrow. “Oh? A plan involving that?” He pointed at the small bag Zoey held.

Zoey nodded. “Mystery, a little help?” working together, they quickly assembled a small lamp hanging from a set of chains you could loop around your hand to carry. Mystery held it as Zoey lit it, and the lamp instantly swung to point at the far wall.

Romance nodded slowly. “Magical. Definitely not magnetic, the demon realm doesn't have consistent magnetic fields. Turn it?”

Mystery obliged. The lamp kept pointing unerringly at the far wall.

Zoey pulled the last thing out of the bag. “This paper… I can't make out the words, but this-” she pointed to a picture of a person on fire “I think is a Phoenix. And this-” she pointed at what looked like a burning temple “looks like a destination that has something to do with Phoenixes.”

Romance's face lost its skeptical look and he leaned in, a spark of curiosity in his gaze. “This writing… may I?” Zoey nodded, and Romance took the paper. “I thought so… ‘long’... ‘palace’... ‘spark Guide'... This is written in ancient demonic. I can translate it. Just give me a moment…” he buried himself in the symbols, and Baby took the opportunity to edge up beside Kiko.

“Hey.”

She jumped a little, then looked up at him and grinned.

“Hey.”

“You ok? I… noticed you moved.”

Her eyes closed as she smiled.

“Just fine! Thanks for asking. I didn't want to move, but Rumi wanted to talk.”

Rumi frowned. “Rumi still wants to talk.”

Baby and Kiko jumped guiltily and edged away from each other again.

“I've seen demon patrols getting closer and closer to here. We need to leave. There should be somewhere else we can hide… right, Kiko?”

Kiko frowned. “I know the city best, but the city’s also swarming with demons. We’ll get caught in no time if we stay here.”

“We won't.” Romance replied, resurfacing from the page of ancient text. “We follow the spark guide to the Phoenix Temple.”

“Follow the what?” Abs asked.

Mira rolled her eyes. “That's the lamp, biceps-for-brains.”

“Hey!”

Incredibly, both Abs and Mira were smiling. Baby was confused.

Rumi rolled her eyes. “Let's pack up and move out. We'll find another hideout when it gets dark.”

-}§{-

Less than an hour later, they'd packed all the little essentials for the trip- like a book Rumi had that none of them could even get to open, much less read, and had absolute word salad for a title but she insisted was important because she got it from a goblin, the spark guide and accompanying paper of confusing symbols only romance understood, and various nonperishable foods.

Baby found himself walking next to Kiko at the back of their group as they passed under a bridge over the alleyway.

Why there was a bridge over the alleyway, none of them knew. But there it was, another example of the chaotic architecture of the demon world.

Zoey had compared it to some guy named Mic Etchy* or something- Baby hadn't really been paying attention. His eyes seemed to be mildly broken and kept getting stuck if he looked at Kiko.

He felt his face go hot when she looked back at him, and he looked away as quickly as he could. Preoccupied as he was, he didn't exactly notice a slightly misaligned cobblestone on the road. His boots decided to inform him of its existence by tripping on it.

“Wa!” He fell forward, crashing into Kiko. She had turned to face him as he fell, and landed on her back. He caught himself on his hands, their faces inches apart. She blinked, confused.

Baby's face now felt like a volcano. He looked up and saw Romance smirking, Abs laughing, and Mystery being… well, Mystery, who always stared at something completely unrelated.

Baby scrambled back to his feet as quickly as possible. Kiko did the same, her face not nearly as red as his.

-}§{-

Kiko couldn't help smiling as they kept walking. It was like he'd given her a hug again. So they were still friends. It felt nice to be friends.

“Okay, girlie, what is up with you and Baby?” Mira asked. “That demon lights up like a neon tomato near you.”

Kiko shrugged. “I don't know. Oh! Rumi, I wanted to ask you something and I forgot too before.”

“What's the question?” Rumi raised her eyebrow.

“Why does a specific guy make someone act funny or feel funny?”

Zoey inadvertently did a spit take. “Not it. I did nothing.”

“Convincing.” Mira smirked.

Rumi shook her head. “You’re both very subtle, don't worry.”

Kiko shook her head. “Not them. Me. I’ve been feeling and acting funny.”

Zoey's eyes lit up. “I CALLED IT! It's Baby, right? Little miss koala-hugs the demon boy.”

Kiko blinked. “He feels nice. I like holding his hand.”

Rumi looked torn between grinning and frowning.

“Just… be careful. He's a demon, they like hurting peo-”

“I’m a demon.”

Rumi stared at Kiko for a second.

“Right.”

“We just want you to be careful. Not all demons are as nice as you are. You know that from experience.” Zoey offered.

Kiko nodded, reluctantly.

“He's familiar to me. Like I talked to him before. As in before he was a Saja Boy.”

-}§{-

“She's familiar. I can't shake the feeling I saw her somewhere before. It's like Deja Vu.”

Baby was having much the same conversation with Romance as Kiko was having with Rumi.

Romance shrugged.

“You’ve lived in the demon world for almost a century, kid. You know more people than you think you do.”

“I'm sure I would remember seeing that mop of bright red and orange before!” Baby retorted, gesturing at Kiko's decidedly unique hairstyle.

Rance shrugged again. “Mop, huh? You sure that's how you're going to describe the hair of the other half of this OTP?”

“OT-what?” Baby furrowed his brow. He hated when Romance talked in ways he didn't know. It was so much more funny when he talked in ways Romance didn't know.

“One True Pairing. It's a way humans ship characters. And people, sometimes.”

Baby.exe ceased working, and Romance.exe found it hilarious.

“Abs, has he ever made that face before?”

“I sure don't think so.”

Abs smirked. “And if he isn't careful, his legs are going to stop working and someone will have to carry him.”

Baby glared at them all, and sped up his walking pace until he caught up to Mystery, who was in the lead next to Mira, who was holding the spark guide. She took one look at his face and rolled her eyes before handing the spark guide to Mystery.

“I'm guessing you two need some guy time. Bye, demons.”

Mystery ignored her departure and just kept walking. Baby watched her drop back to the other girls and put an arm around Kiko’s shoulders. Kiko was laughing.

Baby was both happy and sad about it. He wanted to know what they were saying. He didn't like that the Huntr/x girls could make Kiko laugh, but he loved seeing how it made her face light up.

In an abrupt motion that jerked Baby out of his thoughts, Mystery caught Baby by the back of his shirt and stopped him from walking into a wall.

“...wall.”

“Thanks.”

Conversation had, they began scaling the chunk of rubble that had blocked their path. From the top, Baby saw the end of the demon city. They had reached what looked like… a desert. Or a forest. Or some terrain that hadn't made up its mind which to be, and settled down in some strange combination that looked like a desert that had redwood trees instead of cacti.

-}§{-

They all gathered on the outskirts of the city, where they could look out and see the silhouettes of the giant trees.

“It's not a real desert. Not like the ones on earth. There are streams and pools of water. You can cross it in a day, maybe two, three tops.”

“Maybe you could! We're human, remember? We get tired.”

“So do we!”

“How are we going to carry enough food? Even if it takes three days, we'll have to carry everything we'll need for that. Food alone for eight people-”

“Three. Demons don't actually need to eat.”

Kiko stifled a yawn. The girls and boys had been arguing it backwards and forwards for what felt like days, though it was probably just hours. She had sat down on the ground, correctly guessing that they were getting nowhere fast. She looked over at Baby, who looked as half asleep as she felt. He noticed her looking and grinned a little, waving. She waved back. And grinned; there was something exhilarating about communication no one else noticed.

The sound of a horn that sounded like it had gone through a meat grinder sent Kiko flying back to her feet.

“We're out of time!”

Baby pointed to the desert.

“We have to run, now!”