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The Honmoon had been sealed after the Idol Awards, pulsing with a prismatic rainbow that matches your patterns. But despite this, there's still the odd demon outbreak that you all have to deal with, leftovers that weren't beneath the barrier before it closed. It's very superhero-esque, Zoey notes one night as you all feel the tingle of the Honmoon warning you, like television static in the air. It doesn't take you long to gear up and head out into the night.
When you arrive this particular evening, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Demons are lurking in the dark corner of the alleyway, no doubt ready to ambush any poor passerby that was unlucky enough to be walking at this hour. Mira already has her gok-do out, and you and Zoey are quick to follow with your own weapons.
Before you can move in, however, another demon emerges, no-doubt the leader of the pack with his taller stature and smug grin. He's all horns and teeth and glowing eyes, but what sets him apart from the rest is the rimmed hat on his head, composed of a black leather and exuding a forbidden power that makes your spine crawl. He tips the rim with a smirk before he flickers completely out of view. Invisible.
“A Gamtu hat, really?” Mira groans, wearily eyeing around them. “I'm so not in the mood for this.”
“It's fine, demon we can't see, no biggie,” Zoey breathes out, shin-kal at the ready, but her voice betrays her because this is definitely something the three of you have never dealt with before.
You don't admit it, but you're pretty nervous about this yourself. “It's okay girls,” you reassure instead, adjusting your grip on your sword. “It's just one of them that's invisible, and three of us. We got this.”
You so don't have this.
The three of you leap into action with a battle cry, slicing through the demons you can see. Your united hope is to tilt the playing field in your favour, lowering their numbers before dealing with the boss. But it's easier said than done.
Mira slices through a couple approaching demons, but she ends up taking an unseen fist from the side. She grunts, stumbling from the blow.
“Behind you!” Zoey warns, throwing a Shin-kal into a demon that goes for Mira's falter. But her feet get swiped out from under her, and she lands with a thud, the wind leaving her lungs.
You move forth to help them, sword out at the ready, but before you can take more than a couple steps you feel a clawed hand wrap around your arm in a steel grip. With one swift movement you're launched through the air, smacking straight into the brick wall of the alley before landing with a grunt on the concrete.
“Okay, ow,” you groan. A low rumbling chuckle emits from far too close for comfort.
“You're fighting on the wrong side, demon,” the deep voice husks in your ear, close enough for you to feel his rancid breath on your face. A claw traces the visible patterns on your exposed shoulder. You bristle at the touch.
“Don't touch me,” you snarl, swiping your sword in the direction of his voice. He only bellows out in laughter, the sound coming from the opposite side now. Demon teleportation paired with invisibility, great.
“Is it because of these humans? You've been domesticated like a common house cat,” he continues. You move to your knees, jabbing your sword in the direction of the voice again, only to slice air. “How weak.”
Claws sink into your thick braid on the back of your head, and you don't have a chance to react before you're being slammed face first into the pavement. You hear your girls shouting for you from where they're fighting the demon lackeys, but with the stars that explode your vision you can't formulate words to respond.
“Maybe I should get rid of them,” he croons, lifting your head before slamming your face harder into the ground. Then again. All you can taste is blood.
“Rumi!”
Zoey's Shin-kal whooshes above you, desperately trying to hit the invisible force tormenting you. From the deep laughter that follows, she misses. The claws retreat from your hair.
“I could just kill both of them for you right now,” the voice threatens. Promises. “You can watch as the light leaves their eyes, and know you were useless to stop it.”
You hear Zoey gasp, and through wobbly vision you see her being raised into the air by an invisible grip on her forearm. Slowly, like knives cutting through butter, claws rake down her arm, and Zoey shrieks as bloody lines are carved into her skin.
Your patterns flash an angry red. “Don't touch her!” you yell, trying to force yourself to your feet, but your dizziness makes you stumble.
“Zoey!” Mira runs in to help, swiping her gok-do where she suspects the demon to be with a cry. She's met with only air, and the demon chortles at the attempt.
“Weak, pathetic humans,” he tsks, and Zoey is thrown straight into Mira, who is unprepared and ends up falling with Zoey to the ground with a grunt. “How you managed to tame a demon is beyond me.”
“Leave them alone!” You're finally on your feet, bracing yourself on the wall. The world is spinning, swimming, but you need to get to your girls.
Mira is suddenly lifted, being shoved forcefully against the wall behind her by her throat. She starts choking with widening eyes, struggling to breathe as she tugs desperately at invisible hands around her neck.
“So quick and simple, I could just squeeze and snap her neck right now,” the creature laughs deeply as Mira sputters. “Are you watching, demon?!”
Zoey is screaming for Mira from her spot on the ground, cradling her bleeding arm.
Mira is gasping, choking, kicking at the demon. Unable to breathe.
White hot anger blinds you. Your patterns burn.
When darkness finally meets the light.
“I said STOP!”
The Honmoon ripples with your cry, not with weakness, but acceptance. It flows with you, through you. Your patterns are almost a blinding red.
Protect.
Your left eye flashes a bright glowing gold, fanged teeth snarling dangerously. With your demonic sight you focus, narrowing your eyes and honing your senses.
There.
Like the air above a sweltering road, a figure. Tall, outstretched, gripping Mira in a deadly fist.
You lunge, your body glowing bright enough to illuminate the dark alley, and with an animalistic cry you slam into him, sending him flying with the force. He roars in surprise, stirring up dirt as he skids on landing, and you can hear Mira drop to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.
Stepping purposefully between the demon and your girls, you growl, feral and rumbling deep in your throat.
“So you are a demon after all,” he chuckles to himself. You lock on to the faint outline of him, like a vapour, as he rises to stand. “Too bad you're nothing more than a pathetic—”
You're so not in the mood for banter.
You surge forward, clawed hand swiping at him. He dodges back in surprise, but he isn't prepared for you to use the momentum of your arm to follow with a spinning kick. He stumbles but recovers quickly, swinging his tree trunk arms. You dodge his invisible fists as you vault yourself over him, flipping and landing perfectly behind him.
He flickers back into view, all fangs and horns and claws, and confusion adorns his features as he reaches up to touch his bare head. He gazes back at you, and you hold the Gamtu hat up in taunt.
“Pathetic.” you rumble.
With a roar of anger he charges, a hulking figure barreling towards you. However, the ball is in your court now. You twirl the hat before placing it on your head, winking as you tip the rim. Your skin ripples with cold, like jumping into a deep lake. But it seems to work, because when you dodge to the side the demon falters in his steps, looking confused at the spot you used to be.
Now with the upper hand, you lash out at him with a snarl, claws slicing is bicep. He cries out and tries to lash back at you in frustration, but you teleport to his other side, slashing his ribcage next. Disappear, reappear, slash. Again. Again.
For Mira, for Zoey.
Finally, you teleport behind him. Summoning your sword from the Honmoon, you raise it high above your head and let out a mighty roar as you slice straight through him in a perfect line. He bellows out in anguish, light of the Honmoon illuminating him before he's vanishing in a puff of smoke. Gone for good.
You pant, taking a moment to regain your bearings. The sword clatters to the ground, dissipating into the Honmoon. The hat is quick to follow, cold wave rinsing away as you ripple back into sight.
Mira and Zoey are huddled together, and your knees hardly move fast enough as you stumble over to them.
“Mira, Zoey,” you breathe, dropping next to them.
“We're okay, Ru,” Zoey says, arm already wrapped with a ripped off piece of Mira's shirt sleeve. Mira nods in agreement.
“Thanks to you,” she croaks, neck harboring purple blotches and bits of drying blood. “You totally kicked his ass.”
Your eyes take in the bandages, the bruises, and a low growl slips out before you can stop it. “I should have kicked it more.”
“Down girl,” Mira jokes, lip quirking. “He's gone, you did it.”
“Are you okay?” Zoey asks.
You let out a steady breath to calm yourself as you nod. But it's then that you realize that you're still demonic Rumi. That you just went completely feral and they witnessed every second of it. Shame overcomes you in a wave.
Focusing, you force the demon back down. Claws and fangs retreat, eye returning to normal, and your patterns are no longer an angry glow, instead their normal faded purple.
However, with the demon adrenalin fading, you feel your consciousness slip too.
Your eyes open, slow and bleary, and it takes a moment to realize you're in your bed. You relax for a moment, letting out a breath, but your patterns flare as you remember what had happened, the Gamtu hat and Zoey's arm and Mira choking and your demonic freakou—
“Hey, chill. It's okay, we're both here,” Mira's voice comes from next to you, closer than you expect, and you realize as she hugs her arm tighter around you that she and Zoey are on either side of you, a tangle of limbs.
“We're both okay thanks to you,” Zoey says, head snuggling deeper against your shoulder.
“Yeah, you went full on demoness on that guy,” Mira adds. Her voice is grateful, but you still flinch at the words.
“I'm sorry.” Your patterns are a solemn blue. Fear, anxiety, shame. “I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to, which I know makes it worse—”
“No!” Zoey is quick to stop your spiral, lifting her head to look at you as she squeezes your hand. “Rumi, do not apologize. You were protecting us. We aren't and would never judge you for it.”
You look away from her. “I just. I never wanted you guys to see me like that.”
“I know, and I understand why you might be uncomfortable. But we definitely are okay with seeing you like that,” Mira says into your hair, kissing the side of your head. “We don't want you to hide yourself, any of it. We love all of you.”
“And do not be ashamed because we loved every second of it,” Zoey adds. Then her face flushes. “Like, genuinely.”
You look at Zoey in confusion. "Huh?"
Mira smirks. “Protective demon Rumi is hot as fuck.”
Your face burns. You weren't expecting that. “Oh?”
“Uh huh.”
“Definitely.”
“Plus we got a Gamtu hat out of it, which you were so superhero cool with by the way,” Zoey chirps excitedly, but pouts as she adds “though it doesn't work on humans.”
“She wore it all the way home.”
“Hey, you tried it too!”
“Whatever," Mira rolls her eyes, but she doesn't deny the accusation. "It's Rumi's cool invisibility hat now. Which is good, becauss I can't imagine the mischief Zo would get into with it.”
Zoey looks thoughtful. “Science.”
“Hmm, I'm sure that's all.”
Your eyes drift shut as you listen to them tease each other, a peaceful smile adorning your lips. A gentle rumbling starts from your chest, quiet at first, then a bit louder, and both girls stop in their banter as they notice.
“Are you… purring?” Mira asks.
Zoey presses her ear to your chest. “That is the most adorable thing I've ever heard.”
“Shhhh,” you shush them gently, still smiling. Zoey and Mira join you in comfortable silence, the only sound in the room your rhythmic purring. You bask in the affection and warmth of each other's presence, and your patterns are a shimmer of light prismatic colours, totally at peace.