Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Never Meet Your Heroes

Rain poured down as a red skinned demon fled from an unseen individual down an alleyway. They took every single narrow path they could find, desperate to escape whoever they were running from. Eventually they came to a dead end. Looking back for a moment, they made a jump for the rooftop when a spear of red light stabbed the wall pinning their arm to the spot.

Looking back down the alley again, a young man was approaching at a leisurely pace. He wore black and red loafers, blue jeans, a light purple hoodie bearing “HUNTR/X” on the chest and back with the hood pulled up, and a white headphone cord coming up through the neck hole connecting to earbuds. Glowing yellow eyes were visible in the dark of his hood.

“Why are you doing this?! We’re supposed to be on the same side! Why?!” the demon pleaded, trying to get their arm free.

Once the young man was a few feet from them, he took a single earbud out showing he’s listening to Golden by HUNTR/X.

“You mind keeping it down while you’re banished? This is my favorite song in the album.” he replied to the demon.

With a flick of his wrist, the young man summoned a longsword composed of the same red energy pinning the demon down and very quickly split them down the middle. He then touched the energy still in the wall and absorbed it, proceeding to dismiss his sword into thin air as well. A ringtone of Rumi rapping in Korean then began to play, prompting the young man to pull his phone out. The caller ID showed “Boss Lady”, making him sigh as he removed his earbuds and answered the phone.

“Job’s done.” he spoke to the caller.

“You were supposed to be discreet.” a woman’s voice spoke over the phone.

“I was discreet.”

“The coffee shop is a pigstye thanks to your ‘discretion’, Jack. I already told you that if those hunters become aware of you then I can’t protect you.”

“Hey it wasn’t my fault this time.”

“Don’t give me that.”

“But it’s not .”

“Okay. Tell me why it isn’t your fault the shop is a mess and has authorities all over it.”

He leaned against the wall as he took a breath.

“So I went into the shop to just strike up a conversation with the barista, have a little coffee, get ‘em to trust me since we’re both demons. Discreet, just like you said to be.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Out of nowhere, this chick goes ballistic. Starts throwing stuff at me before leaping the counter to attack me. Like, what’d I say to set her off? So naturally I defended myself. Seeing my sword made her panic and flee the scene, so I gave chase.”

“Bull.”

“It’s true though!”

“Did you say anything that could have given away your intentions?”

“No. I was just being friendly, talking about the weather.”

“Were you listening to your mp3 player?”

“I only had one ear plugged in this time, I was listening to them. You don’t think I had it too loud and annoyed them, do you?”

“...Were you listening to HUNTR/X?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? They legit just dropped a new album. It’s gonna be the only thing I’m listening to for like three months.”

“Did it not occur to you that demons wouldn’t be listening to the songs of hunters?”

“No? Does my kind have a crappy taste in music or something?”

There was a very long silence from the other end. Jack paced a bit as he waited for her to reply.

“Just. Get to the shelter before someone spots you. I’ll wire the money in the morning.” the woman told him, sounding excruciatingly annoyed.

She then very abruptly hung up. Shrugging, he began walking along as he put his earbuds back in. After a number of turns through narrow alleys he came to a dilapidated run down storage unit. Plastered all over the doors and sides were condemned signs. He paid them no heed and unlocked the door, sliding open the door to go inside. Contrary to it being condemned, the inside was rather homey with DIY repairs to the ceiling and walls to patch up holes. HUNTR/X posters were on the walls, and on the nightstand beside an old and torn mattress were figurine statues of the girls. He locked the door behind him before approaching a minifridge to get a bottle of water. Approaching the bed, he chugged half of the bottle before setting it down beside the alarm clock.

“I’m home, ladies. Didn’t miss me too much did you? Been listening to your album all night, just can’t stop. The perfect soundtrack while I’m working, as always.” he talked to the figures as he flopped backward onto the bed.

Staring up at the ceiling, his carefree smile began to droop into a frown. He began to close his eyes when a drop of water hit his forehead, making him grumble. Looking closer, yep, another leak. He begrudgingly moved his bed to the other side of the nightstand and then put a bucket down to catch the water.

“Just one more thing to deal with in the morning…”

He then got back into bed and managed to fall asleep. It couldn’t have been a few hours before the sound of the door opening woke him. Sitting up, the intruder was a woman with long black hair wearing a fancy suit. Tucked under her arm was a vanilla folder.

“Rise and shine, Jack.” she spoke, revealing she was the woman on the phone.

“Morning, Hana…” he grimaced, itching his eyes.

She approached and then pulled up a stool from the dining table to sit on. Cracking the folder open, she handed him a piece of paper.

“Congratulations. You’re being demoted from a Class B Threat to a Class C Threat. You’ve managed to, somehow, convince my superiors that you pose a low threat to humans.”

“Really?”

“I don’t personally think so but it’s not my call to make. Being a Class C Threat means that you are hereby endowed with fewer restrictions on your activities between jobs and a certain degree of leeway on interacting with humans. It also means, in turn, that your actions during the jobs we assign you will have increased scrutiny. I’ve said it before but since it goes in one ear and out of the other with you…my superiors are looking for efficiency, tact, discretion, and above all results .” Hana lectured him, handing him more paper from the folder requiring him to sign several lines on them.

“I know, I know. Does this mean I can actually move into an apartment instead of this dump?” he asked, handing the signed forms back to her.

“That is my call, and I say no . As your proctor you have failed to show me the aforementioned discretion and tact expected of you time and time again. In other words, you haven’t proven to me that you are deserving of basic human amenities.” Hana replied, looking smug as she neatly organized the papers in the folder.

“What? Come on, it’s been-”

“Three years. Yes. I’m keenly aware. Three years and you have only convinced me more and more with each job that you’re a loose cannon that refuses to learn its lesson. I can’t trust you not to expose your true nature in a regular residence.” Hana huffed, standing and walking toward the door.

“Like I’d expose my true nature just like that! You only remind me on every job what will happen!” he complained after her.

“You say that you understand, Jack, but I don’t think that you do. Not really. After all, what is a demon whose only vulnerability is to the weapon of a hunter got to lose? With the Honmoon in place you can’t even take your true shape. It’s a miracle that you can even conjure a weapon in that state.” she scoffed, openly mocking him as she opened the door.

Jack grit his teeth and clenched his fists. He so badly wanted to refute her claims, but he knows that it’s true.

“I’ll be in touch. You’re getting your first C Rank Assignment tonight at the same time as usual. I’d say don't disappoint me, but I won’t hold my breath.” Hana told him, a sadistic smile being the last thing Jack saw before she closed the door.

“Up yours…” Jack growled.

After getting cleaned up, he put his hood up as he went into town to do some shopping. The first thing he did was hit up a hardware store to get a wood plank to patch the leak in his roof. After that came basic groceries. He didn’t have a stove or an oven for anything special. His mood only continued to get more sour as he watched other disguised demons going about their day.

“Must be nice…” he grumbled to himself.

Their nice clothes, their cars, their day jobs, their smiles, their nice apartments. Jealous fits him to a T. Everything he has is what little he could get with the domicile he has been granted and the measly pay. He had to starve himself for a little while to get the full set of HUNTR/X figures on his nightstand. Naturally, as any self-respecting fan, you cannot have just one of the trio of girls. It’s all three or none at all. That’s not important right now though.

What is important is Jack’s sour mood, making people wary of him. His slouched posture, his scowl, his hands in his hoodie pouch, and his pace all make him quite intimidating. Does not help that his height makes him tower a bit. A particular sound made his ears twitch though. Singing. He knew those voices. HUNTR/X? Were they doing a fan event today? He didn’t remember seeing anything about it on the official fansite. This warranted investigation.

Sticking to an alley, he peaked onto the street where a crowd was cheering. Sure enough there they were in the flesh. Rumi, Mira, and Zoey were performing a song he hadn’t heard before for the fans. The lyrics spoke of self love and a message of accepting others. He could see the souls of the fans lighting up in response, making his eyes light up for a moment before he slapped himself to snap out of it. That’s when he noticed the street itself. The performance was on the same street as the coffee shop that got ruined in his last job. They were investigating, which must have been when they got recognized by fans.

“I wanna see the whole show but I’d better bail…” he groaned, turning to leave.

Once the girls finished their song and signed various merchandise, the fans eventually dispersed. Finally alone with the crime scene, the trio became serious.

“Back to business.” Mira stated.

They entered the busted shop and put on rubber gloves before sifting the debris. In short, the coffee shop was a total mess. Every chair and table inside had been busted apart. Not even the paintings on the walls had been spared in the scuffle.

“So what are we looking for exactly?” Zoey asked, popping up from behind the barista counter.

“Proof that a demon was here. Something just like this.” Rumi replied, smirking as she lifted a yellow fang that was roughly the same length as her index finger.

“Okay. Demons don’t just lose teeth and a regular person wouldn’t be strong enough to knock out a tooth. So who did this to our target?” Mira asked.

“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s that shady organization. We might be able to kill two birds with one stone.” Rumi shrugged, tossing the tooth up and down.

“How so?” Zoey asked, vaulting the counter.

“Old habits die hard. Demons wouldn’t be able to resist trying to take us out in concert if we advertise a free concert. They’ll realize what we’re doing, think we’re biting off more than we can chew by ringing the dinner bell, and probably dispatch their dogs to lend us a covert hand.” Rumi explained.

“At which point we can get some answers about how demons are still getting through the Honmoon. Or at least a hint anyway.” Mira nodded.

“Let’s do it.” Zoey beamed.

“We’re all in agreement? I’ll call Bobby.” Rumi smiled, whipping out her cellphone.

Back with Jack a short time later, he’d finished putting up his groceries and exited the shed. Taking back to the streets, looking more friendly now that he’s had a good sulk, he bumped into someone causing both to fall over. Sitting up, he saw he’d crashed into a somewhat chubby man with fabulous black hair. Jack recognized him. The manager of HUNTR/X, Bobby.

“I am so sorry.” Jack gasped, hurrying to help him up.

“No, no, I wasn’t looking where I was going. It’s my fault for rushing. I just, really need to find this guy named Jack.” Bobby laughed.

“My name’s Jack.” he introduced himself.

“Do you know anybody named Hana? Hana Jeong? Super uptight, perpetually scowling, really scary when she gets mad, but still a totally nice person under it all?” Bobby asked.

“...She’s my boss. Sort of also my caretaker? Very accurate description of her by the way.” Jack chuckled.

“Well she recommended you for the security detail of our concert tonight, but just wouldn’t tell me your address or give me your cell number. I tried to press her, but, well, she’s your boss. I don’t need to tell you how she got.” Bobby explained.

“I’m painfully aware of how she can be. Lady’s a volcano at the best of times.”

“I know right? Just between us, I have known her since my rookie days as a manager, and she was exactly the same back then as she is today. It’s actually a little concerning that she hasn’t changed even a little bit. Don’t tell her I said that. She might kill me. Either way, I wanted to know what kind of skills you’ve got.” Bobby blabbed.

“Well, I am her go-to for any kind of job. Even the stuff that isn’t really glamorous. Usually goes unappreciated. She hasn’t thanked me a single time, actually. Or told me I did a good job.”

“For what it’s worth…she’s like that with everyone. Even me. Can’t expect a jawbreaker to be chewed like gum.” he shrugged.

“What?”

“Something my grandma used to say about people who won’t let anybody in their heart. Usually those people have some real damage though, hence the walls. Just try not to hold it against her.”

Hana, as if summoned by their talk, put her arms around the two of them.

“I’m so touched that you have such delusions about me, Bobby. Now will this bozo work for you or not?” Hana asked.

“Bozo?!”

“He’s definitely got muscle. If you recommend him I’ll take him.” Bobby chuckled nervously, smiling very wide to try and appear convincing.

“Good. I already told the venue he’d do it anyway. So nice to know that you’ll get along. Jack’s a big fan, in case it wasn’t obvious.” Hana smirked.

“What are you up to…?” Jack asked her.

“Giving you a two for one deal. You get to put your skills to work, and you get to hear HUNTR/X closer than you’ve ever thought possible. Don’t say I never did anything for you.” she replied, tightening her grip on his shoulder.

“ Something’s wrong here. She would never willingly let you near the hunters. Not where it’d be so easy for them to spot your pattern if you crossed paths for even a moment. ” a voice in his head told him.

“ They aren’t stupid. You wouldn’t be able to pass off your weapon or parlor tricks as being a hunter descendant or trainee. ” another voice in his head warned.

“ You need to get out of this job. Now. ” both voices spoke in unison.

“Pick up your suit at this address. Oh, and be sure to bathe first. Don’t be late either. First impressions are everything, right?” Hana giggled, putting a piece of paper in Jack’s pocket.

“ She means to kill us! ” the voices cried.

The two continued to yell at him, gradually increasing his agitation.

“ Shut up! ” Jack thought violently to himself, silencing both voices.

“You okay?” Bobby asked him.

“Neverbetter. Just. Deciding which public bathhouse to hit up. Lots of options in this part of town.” Jack chuckled, trying to play it cool.

Parting ways, he picked up a black suit from the indicated dry cleaners. After a quick bath it was time to suit up. Finishing touches, white gloves and some shades to conceal his eyes and hand markings. Just on the off chance he does get to meet his favorite kpop stars.

“Perfect.” he nodded, looking himself over in the mirror.

“ Until we get too excited and our pattern shows on our face. ” one of the voices hissed.

“ And then we’re dead. ” the other voice chimed in.

“I told you two to shut up.” he growled.

Finally he made his way to the concert venue. Other security guards were already posted up. Notably he was the only one in a suit. It actually made him stand out more than he’d like. Nonetheless, he began searching the premises for targets.

“ We’re dead. ”

“ Super dead. ”

“ Ultra dead. ”

“ Omega dead. ”

“ Shut UP. ” he commanded the voices.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“You know…? Now that I think about it, Hana never gave me a target description. Or a mission briefing.”

“ Sent us to diiiiiieeeee~ ” both voices taunted.

A tune then reached his ears. The concert was starting. He could hear their voices. Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. They were starting to sing already. By the melody and rhythm, it had to be Golden. An odd choice given the song’s age at this point. He didn’t get to contemplate it long as he spotted a demon going up toward the rafters.

“...Target acquired.” he huffed, narrowing his eyes.

Getting up to the rafters over the main stage, he saw below that the members of HUNTR/X were fighting and singing at the same time. Swathes of demons were rushing from the crowd. The fans were eating it up as special effects naturally. Jack couldn’t take his eyes off of them…until a metal sound brought him back to earth. The demons in the rafters were trying to drop the lighting equipment on them.

“Showtime. Fear, Anxiety, you’re up.” he growled, summoning his sword in a whiff of red smoke.

The guard of his sword then began to shift and slowly open a sharp-toothed mouth. His shadow then began to rise from the floor and also gained a mouth in the same vein.

“We’re so dead…” his sword spoke.

“Super dead.” his shadow grumbled.

“Fear, stop the equipment from falling by any means necessary. Don’t let HUNTR/X know we’re up here though.” Jack ordered, rushing the demons.

“Fine…” his shadow hissed, moving with incredible speed to deliver hand to hand strikes to a few of the demons.

“What a pain… I could break if you aren’t careful…” his sword groaned.

Jack deftly moved demon to demon, taking them down in singular swings and precision thrusts to vital areas. His shadow was repairing each of the lights as best as it could while knocking demons away. After a few minutes of fighting, the last of the demons seemed to have been destroyed. With a sigh of relief, Jack looked down to see HUNTR/X finished with their horde of enemies. All while stylishly finishing another song prompting the crowd to cheer loudly. Snapping his fingers, his sword and shadow vanished.

“You all want an encore? Well, our manager might have a heart attack if we blow more budget on special effects, but we’d be more than happy to sing more for you!” Rumi spoke to the fans, getting them to wildly cheer.

“Job well done. Not bad seats for an encore either.” he nodded, looking down on the stage.

One of the lights then sparked and sagged, grabbing his attention. It fell and without thinking he jumped after it. Panic set in causing his patterns to rise and cover his face.

“Fear!”

“On it!”

His shadow grabbed his ankles and then stretched itself to lock its legs around the rafters. The fans gasped loudly as the hunters looked up at the rapidly descending light. Jack managed to grab it and quickly found it was too heavy to pull back up. So with his shadow’s help he slowed it down and shifted its trajectory to just miss landing on Zoey. His shadow then lost its grip on the rafters due to being stretched so far, causing Jack to flop down face first on the stage.

“Ow…”

“Sorry.” Fear apologized, quickly vanishing back into its normal place.

Jack got up and his reflexes kicked in prompting him to perform an impressive standing backflip, narrowly evading a three pronged attack by the hunters.

“Whoa, hey, j-just a security guard. That light was going to fall on Zoey. I saved her life essentially. I’m good, promise.” Jack attempted to persuade them.

“Nice patterns.” Mira stated.

He felt cold as he touched his face. Looking at the stage floor, his shades were left behind and had broken. They could see his eyes, and if they could see his eyes that meant his patterns were on his face right now. The worst case scenario has officially been achieved. Just in time for Rumi to snap her fingers and Takedown to begin playing.

“ Deeeeeaaaaaaaad~ ” Fear and Anxiety taunted him.

Jack tried to make a break for backstage but Mira cut him off, almost cutting off his nose as he bent over backward. He had to pull out all the stops with flips, ducks, and slides to escape being sliced to ribbons. He threaded the needle between a coordinated strike by Rumi and Mira by essentially folding himself over like a piece of paper as he jumped. All while the hunters continued to sing and dance between attacks.

“ This would be SO cool if they weren’t trying to kill me! ” he thought to himself.

Right as the song ended he got desperate and flung himself towards the backstage area. This caused his upper back, left thigh, and right calf to get cut but at least he got off the stage. He broke into a sprint knowing they’d be unable to ditch the stage mid-performance. He needed to put distance between the venue and himself right now. His problems didn’t stop once he got outside though. All around the theatre were demons that did not look happy at all.

“Traitor!” they all roared, rushing him.

“Fear, Anxiety!” he cried, summoning his sword and shadow.

He fought his way through town to get into the back alleys. Even back here it was demons galore. Had every demon that managed to get through the barrier come to try and take out the hunters? Or had they all seen Jack on stage via the event’s livestream? Regardless, even this amount of enemies was too hard for him to realistically take on by himself.

It took several hours for him to finally shake them, or at least take out enough for them to back off. Either way he finally had a moment of peace as he leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. His cell then began going off, startling him. Sighing in relief, he pulled it out and answered.

“Hello…?”

“Oh, you actually picked up.” Hana spoke over the phone.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, his patience wearing thin.

“Well. Given the fact you have royally bungled up that job, I’ll give you the rundown. You singlehandedly angered the entire demon populace. You alerted HUNTR/X to your presence. You revealed yourself to millions of people through the livestream feed. In short, you have made me regret putting any faith in you. You failed to show any discretion.” Hana replied.

“It was an accident. That light was going to fall on her. What did you want me to do? Let it fall?” he argued.

“Do you have so little faith in the reflexes of the hunters to not see a falling light coming?” she scoffed.

“Listen…”

“No you listen. I gave you that job so you could prove that I was wrong about you. To throw everything I’ve ever said about you back in my face. It was highly dangerous but I had faith you could get it done without being spotted. Now all of social media is wondering about you. My superiors have been blowing up my phone with orders to send other agents after you to keep us from being compromised.”

“They want me dead…?”

“If the hunters have any reason, any whatsoever, to believe that humans are working with demons then we’re screwed. We can’t take that risk. Everything that could leak your affiliation with us is being scrubbed. This will be the last time I contact you.”

“Hold on just a second!”

“Goodbye, Jack. I wish you luck.”

She hung up as he was about to say something. He very quickly tried to call her back, but only got a dial tone. Looking at the phone screen he saw that he no longer had a signal. Did they cut his phone’s service? All because he was spotted?

Dejected, he walked back to his lonesome hovel. There he went from sad to devastated. Where once stood his only shelter was now only debris. Completely destroyed by construction equipment by the looks of it. Almost as if by some divine comedy, only the door was still standing. To answer it he walked up and slid the door open as he normally would. This prompted the frame to fall forward harmlessly over him.

“I’m…home…” he uttered, trying not to cry.

Walking over the debris, he began sifting through it to see if any of his merch was salvageable. Moving a plank, his spirits lifted at least a little. By some miracle, his HUNTR/X figures were just fine. It took some searching but he found his backpack and gently placed the girls inside.

“Least there’s one version of you ladies that doesn’t want my head on a pike.” he chuckled to himself, zipping up the main compartment.

“ Kill them… ” a new voice growled in his head.

“Not the time, Anger.” he snarled, beginning to walk.

“ We should just kill ourselves, save them the trouble… ” another new voice whined.

“Sorrow, don’t start. Today is really not the day to try my patience.” Jack grumbled.

“ If you’re depressed and you know it, clap your hands~! ” yet another new voice cheered.

“Joy.”

“ Sorry… ”

Meanwhile, the HUNTR/X were reviewing the security feed of the rafters. Watching what Jack was doing during their concert, up to and including the light falling.

“I’ll be the first to admit I would not have seen it coming if that light fell. I’m not saying he’s a good demon. Just that there’s an itsy bitsy teeny weeny chance that he was trying to save me.” Zoey stated as Rumi rewinded the footage again.

“Might be my imagination, but he didn’t want to fight.” Mira shrugged.

“Look at how he’s dodging us. This guy knows our moves and choreography. It’s like he knew where we were going to swing before we even moved. I’ve never seen a demon move like him.” Rumi stated, staring inquisitively at the screen.

Bobby then entered the room.

“Hey girls, killer performance. Did you check out the numbers? Everyone’s eating up the combat performance. Great job playing off the stage malfunction by the way, you made it look like part of the show. Just wish I’d gotten to thank Jack for a job well done.” Bobby told them, showing his phone screen.

“Jack?” Mira questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“The security guard you girls danced with. He’s a big fan so it must have been a dream come true for him. I’m impressed that he knew your dances so well to join in without getting in the way or throwing you off. The mark of a true professional. He even knew when to duck out so he wouldn’t interfere with the rest of your show. I can see why my old friend recommended him.” Bobby blabbed.

“He was recommended?” Rumi asked.

“Yeah. See, this old friend of mine was my mentor when I was just starting out as a manager. Cold as ice, but means well. At first I thought she was just bullying me, but then I actually gave her harsh advice a try. Like magic! I connected more with my team, tensions eased, and before I knew it I led them on to success. Before the whole disappearance thing anyway, which freed up my schedule to become your manager, but hey. Wherever they are I’m sure they’re doing great.” Bobby continued to blab.

“Yeah. Doing…I’m sure they’re doing fine.” Zoey smiled nervously.

“Definitely in a better place. I mean, somewhere else. On earth. Didn’t have their souls eaten by demons.” Rumi added, covering her mouth.

Mira facepalmed as Zoey got more nervous. Bobby gave a somewhat perplexed expression, and then shrugged.

“Is that new slang on the internet? Gosh, it is so hard to keep up with trends these days. They just keep coming and coming, rapid fire. Makes my job difficult if I fall behind the times, you know?” Bobby scoffed, quickly typing on his phone.

“Yes! Yeah! Totally new! So new you probably won’t find much on it! In fact people aren’t even sure how to use it right.” Rumi nodded quickly, Mira and Zoey nodding in agreement.

“If you girls say so.” he laughed, starting to walk off.

“Hey, by the way, what’s the name of that friend of yours…?” Rumi asked him.

“Hana Jeong, why?”

“We just wanted to thank her in person for lending us…such a professional security guard.” Mira replied.

“Just leave it to me, I’ll get you squeezed into her schedule. You girls rest up, okay?” Bobby smiled, exiting the room.

As soon as he was gone, the three huddled.

“Finally, a lead.” Mira sighed.

“We did deal with a ton of demons, so technically the first plan wasn’t a failure.” Zoey smiled.

“It also isn’t a failure because this means we did get our lead into the number of demons being around. So we interrogate this Hana Lady…” Rumi smirked.

“Figure out why she’s sheltering a demon.” Mira nodded.

“Then put whatever plan they’re up to six feet under!” Zoey cheered.

“Yeah!”

“Yeah!”

“YEAHHHHH!!!!”

A sudden crack of lightning made the three squeak and hold each other. Their phones then buzzed with a severe thunderstorm warning lasting to the day after next.

“Aw man…” Zoey groaned.

“So much for our outing tomorrow.” Mira sighed.

“Okay, so the park is out. Doesn’t mean we can’t find other places to have fun.” Rumi shrugged.