[OP: "Bad Blood"--Taylor Swift]

Jinu decided to bring Bobby a glass of water.

But when he did, Bobby gave a start. "Aren't you one of the Saja Boys? What are you doing here?"

"That's another part of the story," Rumi said.

"I'm...but how did you...turn into...me?" Bobby was at a loss. "And the other...the body paint one."

Morph walked up to him.

"Hey, we haven't met yet," he said. "I'm Kevin, but they call me Morph. I also can transform into people. We're something called Mutants, not demons...but Raven thought if we didn't show you we could do this, you probably wouldn't believe the other story either."

"Huh?" Bobby said again.

"Demons can also shape-shift, a lot," Rumi said. "Uh...sometimes the staff around are replaced by demons. They've even copied you before...sorry."

"What?" Bobby looked ready to faint again.

"Yeah, we know," Mira said flatly. "It's a lot to take in. We sound crazy, right?"

"We never told you because we wanted you to be okay with being our manager," Zoey said. "And we thought we could protect you if they ever tried something, but...lately, we've had trouble. Mira's arm got hurt. I got cut..." She held up her hand.

"When did that happen?" Bobby asked.

"Celine did it," Rumi said. "Celine is...an ex-demon Hunter. It was an accident. She was aiming for one of the Saja Boys. Do you remember that big concert they had? They were demons the whole time... That's why you don't remember it that well."

The whole story kind of spilled out then, though it couldn't be said that Bobby was processing it very well.

Rumi blurted out more than she intended to anyway, since she was nervous, and she mentioned the whole thing with the Saja Boys from the start, that she'd been hiding her own secrets (though she never said what they were), and that the Saja Boys were trying to turn back human. And two of them already had. Three, counting Jinu.

Jinu questioned the wisdom of this, but he nodded resolutely at that part.

While she was talking, the other Saja Boys came in to hear what was going on.

Baby at least didn't say anything nasty to make it worse.

Finally, Mira told Romance to show Bobby his patterns (she didn't think Baby would do it).

Romance didn't like being the example here, but he did it.

Probably Bobby didn't believe the story up till that point, but seeing the markings that disappeared and reappeared did seem too magical to have been fake.

"So...uh...please say something," Zoey said finally. "Anything... Yell at us for hiding it, or tell us we're nuts, but..."

"I...I'm trying to wrap my brain around this," Bobby said. "You're...demon hunters? The name Huntrix is real? Defending the world for...ever, I guess, and Celine is a former demon hunter? And so was your mother?"

Rumi nodded.

"And all those tricks in your show aren't special effects?" Bobby said.

"Well, some of them were," Zoey said. "Just not the...demons...and the crash landings...and the weapons."

She took out her knives.

Bobby nearly fell out of his chair, not for the first time in the conversation.

"Seriously, stop surprising him like that," Morph said. "Only so much one manager can take."

"Th...those are real?" Bobby said faintly.

Zoey handed him one.

He fingered it in disbelief.

"Too real." Romance moved farther away.

"Wow..." Bobby closed his hand around the knife. "Wow...this is...a lot... I'm trying not to have a nervous break down right now..."

"This is why we didn't tell you." Mira was blunt. "We thought it would be too much."

"Maybe give him a second to process this," Morph suggested.

But secretly he was troubled. He knew that often when someone found out that you were a mutant, like Rogue's father, you were sent away...rejected.

He thought that Bobby was not the type, but you didn't know till you tried someone. Even the kindest people could be scared by what they didn't understand, and that made them act cruel.

Raven was thinking the same thing and tensing.

"So everything was real all these years?" Bobby was hung up on that part. "I wondered how you could do those moves...and why I never met any of those actors after the show... This explains a lot, come to think of it...why you're always late, why you got injured out of nowhere." Meaning Mira. "Why your music is about fighting...why you hated the Saja Boys so much...why I can't remember most of that concert at all..."

"Sorry about that," Jinu said weakly. "We were...evil at the time."

"And kind of zombies..." Abby added.

"Gwi-Ma made us do it." Mystery was not willing to say he was the bad guy when Bobby was new.

"And you were...those things?" Bobby said. "You seemed like such nice people before."

"Lying is a thing," Baby said.

"That one is not much of an actor," Mira said testily. "The others are okay, I guess...now. When we started this, they were all like brain dead monsters in a movie. I guess they woke up once they hung around humans for long enough. Raven and Morph also know something about it. They're not normal humans either, though they aren't demons, but they have the powers of ones... Gave us an edge."

That she put it that way startled Raven, since Mira had never liked their powers, but she didn't want to question it in front of Bobby.

"But how can there be humans who have powers like them?" Bobby said.

"We'll talk about that some other time." Rumi thought it was too much to say the alien part right now. "But they're not bad... They encouraged us to tell you the truth because they thought you should know you're risking your safety if you hang around us...and...we wouldn't blame you if you wanted to resign after learning all this."

She glanced at Mira and Zoey and then back at Bobby. "We're sorry we didn't tell you before. We never thought it would get this bad, but the attacks have been worse lately. See, Gwi-Ma, the fire devil thing we mentioned? He doesn't like that the Saja Boys are escaping him. So he wants to stop us from getting the last two of them free, and he wants the others dead so they can't tell any other of his slaves about being able to get free. And so we can't warn anyone about it either."

"Now that you say it," Bobby spoke, "I have this faint memory of seeing a giant flame at that concert and some...floating guys...but that's all I remember..."

"Memory loss seems to be a symptom of being around Gwi-Ma too much," Jinu said. "Unless he wants you to remember." He winced.

"I see..." Bobby didn't really.

"So...are you calm because you're panicking inside or because you're actually calm?" Zoey asked.

"Uh...the first one probably," Bobby said. "You... I mean, somehow this makes too much sense, but simultaneously, no sense at all." He rubbed his hair some more. "And I never knew? Wait, that time you canceled that interview last minute, was it because there was a demon attack?"

"That happened a few times, but yeah, that was probably it," Rumi said.

"And that time you ran off in the middle of the Met Gala to use the bathroom for two hours was really a demon attack?" Bobby said.

"Well, it could've been food poisoning," Zoey said.

"What about that time--" Bobby began.

"Yes, it was another demon attack," Mira said.

"What about when your parents called and you said you were busy?" Bobby said.

"Uh, no, that was me not wanting to talk to them," Mira said tersely.

"Oh..." Bobby said. 

"I did miss my flight home once because of one though," Zoey offered. "You remember when that happened a couple years ago? We said they lost our luggage, but it was demons stealing it..."

"Hey, is that why I lost that one jacket?" Bobby said indignantly.

"Uh, yeah, one of them shredded two of our suitcases." Rumi rubbed her neck. "But Mira beat its face in with a guitar case, if it makes you feel better."

"That doesn't make feel better," Bobby said, disturbed. "Hey, what about that time that your mics clicked off in the middle of a performance?"

"Yeah, that was also a demon," Zoey and. "I was in the rafters that time doing that stunt, and I knifed it before anyone could see me."

"Okay, do we need to go over if every single incident was a demon or not?" Raven broke in. "Either it was or it was just a random inconvenience. What's the big mystery?"

"I think it's more strange that you can blame so many things on demons," Abby said. "Stuff happened to us and it wasn't a demon, just bad luck."

"You're assuming it wasn't demons," Mira said. "But Gwi-Ma could've been stalking you."

"Wow, thanks for that lovely thought, Mira," Romance shuddered.

"Just one more question," Bobby said. "What about all those times my coffee order was wrong?"

"Uh...no, actually that wasn't demons," Zoey said. "Like...most of them wouldn't be able to understand that well enough to mess it up. I think we just had a bad assistant."

"I mean, we would have noticed." Mira shrugged.

"Oh...okay." Bobby sounded almost disappointed to not be able to blame that on demons as well.

"So, you believe it then?" Morph said.

"I...think I have to, after what you just showed me..." Bobby said. "I don't think they'd make this up."

"Somehow, he's still more trusting than Celine was," Rumi muttered.

"While we're talking about it, we're sorry for trying to steal your soul," Abby said. 

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Mystery said.

"Yeah, it's... Why would you do that?" Bobby sounded a little mad. "What kind of people do that? Did you do that with all your fans?"

"Well, that was the purpose of the Saja Boys..." Jinu said.

"But they also stopped it," Rumi said. "Well, Jinu did, so we're good now."

"I...well, I guess." Bobby wasn't one to hold a grudge. "I guess that you're all getting out of it now. So you worked for the devil? I've heard popstars say that they do that, but I've never met any who meant it."

"I think some of them do without knowing it," Abby said. "At least, the managers work for the devil. But you seem okay."

Bobby didn't take that personally.

"So you told me because I'm in danger?" He looked at the girls again. "And you're worried about me?"

"It's a lot..." Rumi put her hands together. "And we're sorry... But yeah. We considered just pretending nothing was going on right now, but it could take weeks...and there's been so many close calls. Mira especially has already nearly died several times."

Mira didn't enjoy being call out there.

"Oh, whoa, Mira, are you okay?" Bobby asked.

"I...I'm fine." Mira looked down. "No big deal."

"So, we wanted to know if you wanted out?" Zoey said. "We could cancel our contract...if it's too much." She looked sad though.

There was a long silence while Bobby turned it over in his mind.

"Still hard to believe what's going on," he said again. "You had secret lives?"

They nodded.

"We're new though," Morph said. "We're temporary, if that helps. Just helping them figure out things with the boys."

"I need to think about this," Bobby said. "Uh...can I get back to you?"

"No...of course," Rumi said.

Bobby left the tower after that.

"Oh my gosh, he's seriously gonna quit," Mira said at once.

"Really? I was thinking that was actually more positive than we expected," Zoey said.

"I don't know, he seemed shocked," Rumi said. "I mean...yeah, who would believe that story? And even if they did, who'd want to be part of it?"

"That went way better than it could have," Morph said. "Take it from me... Sometimes they call you freaks and disown you."

The girls all glared at him.

"Oh, stop it," Raven said. "At least he was willing to think about it. That's more than most mutants get from their friends if they come out."

"Sure." Mira got up. "I'm going to my room."

"Again?" Zoey said. "You...you don't want to do anything with us?"

"Like what?" Mira tilted her head.

"We could just hang out," Zoey said.

Mira knew they wanted to ply her about what was on her mind.

"We hung out all morning. I think I need a break," she said.

It was not like Mira to say no to this.

"Oh...okay..." Rumi said.

Mira left.

"Crap, she's mad at us now." Zoey put her hands to her face. "We really screwed up."

"Why would she be mad at you?" Morph asked.

"It's Mira, do you need to ask that?" Baby said.

"Get out," Raven said.

He frowned and walked away.

"I'm out also." Romance left too.

Mystery was taking no notice of this.

Abby and Jinu were too nosy to just walk away.

"We've just realized that we've maybe made a mistake with Mira," Rumi told Morph and Raven. "It's possible we ignored her feelings about a lot of things without realizing it."

"Oh...so you noticed?" Raven was brutal.

"Wait, so you knew?" Zoey said. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I thought I tried," Morph said.

"But that was ages ago," Rumi said. "If it was still going on..."

"Why should we tell you? She's your friend," Raven said. "You don't like us meddling with the three of you anyway. And I don't really propose solutions to friendship problems. Not like I had any ideas. She's bothered, but that's all I know."

"But at least you knew she was bothered," Zoey said. "It went over my head."

"I...am not sure how to say this nicely..." Morph said, "but...how?" Blankly.

"Yes, does she try to hide it that much?" Raven said.

"Oh, she's always angry," Rumi said. "I mean, at our problems, but it's more than that, isn't it? Something else is eating her. I've never seen her so down like she's been lately. I thought she missed dancing and fighting, since she's been laid up, but it seems worse than that."

"Did you try asking her?" Morph asked.

"Not about that," Rumi sighed. "I've been hyperfocused on what we're doing. I always do that. Workaholic. Mira would say that, in fact."

"Mira can be brutally honest," Zoey said. 

"Wait, we're doing it again," Rumi said. "Abby is right--why do we keep saying that about her? It's like we're mad at her."

"Aren't you?" Raven said.

"What?" Rumi said.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't you been mad at her for not being on board with the whole Saja Boys project since the very start?" Raven said. "Not liking Jinu, not liking any of them. I never doubted you were angry at her, and I thought she could tell."

"She could," Morph confirmed. "I could tell it bothered her a lot, too. But not sure how to make it better. I can be oblivious at times..." With a weak laugh.

"It feels so long ago, too," Rumi said. "I guess I never really told her I wasn't mad anymore, but she'd know--she's not stupid."

"Hmm," Raven frowned. "Did you apologize for the many times you broke her trust though? Again, one song and dance doesn't fix years of problems. Making progress with the Saja Boys isn't going to magically make Mira and you get along. It almost sounds like you're distracting yourself with that from the fact that you have some very serious problems in your relationship. You and Zoey don't seem to have the same problem, though."

"I don't mind as much," Zoey said. "Mira is a lot more sensitive than I am about that kind of thing. I guess I assume that people just aren't going to share things with me if they aren't ready to..." She looked sober.

"Trust is what we come back to again and again," Morph said. "Whether you trust us or her, our mentors, or the Saja Boys. No offense, boys."

"None taken," Jinu said. "I feel responsible for part of this though."

"No, I can't excuse it," Rumi said. "It was there before you did anything... I thought I made it right."

"Rumi, this is hard to hear," Morph said, "and I don't mean it to be discouraging, but forgiveness doesn't equal trust. Mira has forgiven you for what you did, but trust is built over time, and if you shatter it, it can't be fixed in one moment, because it's based on consistency. I knew my team forgave me, but they couldn't trust me with stuff for a long time. It got pretty hurtful for a while, but I couldn't say they were wrong when I couldn't even control myself. You're very new to this being honest thing. Is it fair to say you're still working on changing your lifestyle? It's going to be rocky until you've worked that out."

Rumi looked nervous. "I guess I need to change... So am I the one causing the issue then?"

"I think it goes both ways," Morph said. "And it's not for us to say either...but, not asking her is not going to get you anywhere."

"But she's not talking to us," Zoey said.

"Fine," Raven said. "Then listen to what she is not saying."

Blank looks.

"Listen to what she's not saying?" Rumi repeated.

"How can you hear what someone's not saying?" Zoey said.

"Is that like playing the pauses in music?" Morph asked Raven.

She rolled her eyes at him.

But then she said, "Actually, that might be a good metaphor. Music has pauses that tell you something is important, doesn't it?"

"Sure, the lack of noise gets your attention," Zoey said. "And...I think I see what you mean. Wow, solid music metaphor, Morph."

"I was just joking, so that was an accident," Morph admitted.

"But what she is not saying is unclear," Rumi said. "I'm not a mind reader."

Raven sighed. "Ask yourself what Mira never talks about. Go from there. That's what she's worried about the most. I haven't learned that much about her, but I know that when she's complaining about something, it's the thing she's least worried about. Her silence is what I would fear."

"Uh, but Mira is very vocal about her concerns," Rumi said.

"Back when you lied to her about your patterns," Raven said. "I know she confronted you about it, but did she really push that hard?"

"She thought I was hiding something, but then she backed off and said she sounded nuts," Rumi said. "And said something about demons suffering with Gwi-Ma for eternity and that it was getting to her... How is that not saying it?"

"You just said it," Raven said. "She backed off of the real problem and went on about something that wasn't really new."

"She gaslit herself?" Abby said.

They all glared at him.

"Sorry." He remembered he wasn't supposed to be participating in this.

"What does that mean?" Jinu ask him.

"You have to get a phone or something." Abby shook his head.

"This is like code." Zoey rubbed her chin. "Mira has complained about the Saja Boys thing since we started doing it and how unsafe it is, but you say that what's really bothering her is not that? But, if she won't say, will asking her help?"

"People are so complicated," Rumi sighed.

"Feelings are complicated too," Morph said. "So are problems. I mean, it takes one person messing with you to screw things up for years. I think we all know that firsthand... Just...don't let it fester. That's all we're saying."

"Avoiding it never helps," Raven agreed.

"It's not like you did anything about it either," Jinu said. "And you could have."

"We don't meddle with the girls themselves," Raven said.

"Really? Your mentor wouldn't do that?" Jinu said sarcastically. "She seems to butt into your lives a lot, from what you've said. Aren't you trying to imitate her?"

"That's one thing Shine does that I can't hope to imitate," Raven said. "It is her gift and hers alone."

"And she's the best at it," Morph said. "We're okay at the hero stuff and maybe at the figuring out how to help people stuff...but what makes people heal? I have nothing but personal experience on that, and that's not universal."

"At least you gave us an idea," Zoey said soberly.

"I think they're right anyway," Mystery startled them by speaking. "Silence says a lot sometimes."

"Oh, well, thanks for contributing to the conversation." Rumi was a bit miffed at him just butting in like that.

"No problem." Mystery didn't understand that she was being sarcastic immediately.

He realized it a second later and then looked embarrassed.

Raven thought to herself about what Jinu and Abby had told her the night before.

She wanted to talk to Mira about it herself, but now she thought Mira wouldn't talk to her either. She didn't think she'd get far with the woman when she'd refused to tell her best friends.

She didn't think anyone else could possibly get her to talk at this point.

* * *

"Do you think we were responsible for this?" Jinu asked Abby when the girls had gone.

"Why would we be?" Abby said.

"I still think I did this by stirring up trouble," Jinu said. "Rumi isn't mad at me anymore, but I wish I could at least help. I know that Mira would never let me though, even if I knew what to do."

"Hmm, Mira might warm up to you if you stopped trying so hard."

"Oh, really? Is that strategy working for you?"

"No," Abby said. "But that's because I kept butting in when I wasn't wanted."

"So why did you? It's not like you had to."

"I get the idea I don't like it when friends fight with each other," Abby said. "And why do you care?"

"I want Rumi to be happy," Jinu said. "She deserves a break after everything. She really wants to make things better for all of us, but I know it's taken its toll on her."

"Wow, you really are down bad for her," Abby saw no problem in saying.

Jinu reddened. "I...well..."

"Not even denying it anymore?" Abby said. "You should just ask her out."

"I... That's not necessary anymore," Jinu said.

"Why? Did you do it already?"

Silence.

"Get out! Really?" Abby was eager.

"It was more the other way around..." Jinu looked at his toes.

"Wow...she's bolder than I thought, then," Abby approved. "Nice. Well, good for you."

"You don't think it'd be irresponsible to think about that at a time like this?" Jinu was getting personal there, but...

"I'm not sure what time would be better for someone who's 400 years old," Abby said "And with the way we're living right now, you have to make the most of it."

"That's dark," Jinu said. "I don't like that way of looking at it. I mean...I'd want the same thing even if I was going to live another 50 years."

"Do you think it's weird you're going to die normally now?" Abby said.

"It'd be a relief to die normally after being un-dead," Jinu said.

"Hmm, you've never had a near death experience to think that is normal," Abby said darkly.

"Are you...okay? You've acted like you've been remembering something else lately."

"Nothing good. And I'd rather not talk about it."

"You said that before...but what if it would help the others?"

"I don't think it would. It's not that kind of memory. I'm trying not to think about it."

"Well, if you say so, but isn't that doing the same thing as Baby?" Jinu said.

"Like I said, they're not the right kind of memories." Abby sounded way more defensive. "Just leave it alone."

"Okay..." Jinu put up his hands. "Geez..."

"More importantly, did you kiss her?" 

"I'm not discussing that with you."

"Oh, you're being a gentleman about it? Classy," Abby said. "But no one cares about saying that anymore, as long as that's as far as it goes."

"Don't ever say things like that." Jinu glared at him.

"I know you must have if you're not saying no anyway," Abby said.

"You're incorrigible," Jinu complained.

Even so, he was more comfortable with him than the other guys. Now that they weren't demonic anymore, it was easier to feel like you could be friendly to them.

But they also got on his nerves...so the full human experience.

[I'm here for the bro-mance also.]

* * *

Rumi and Zoey went to the studio to try to work on their music.

Without Mira, it was hard to come up with a tune, that was for sure. They always worked together on it.

Since they hit a creative roadblock, Rumi brought up the thing with Jinu.

"Wait, you finally told each other your feelings?" Zoey was all excited. "Yay! And you kissed?"

"Just a little," Rumi said.

"What was it like?" Zoey had stars in her eyes.

"It was...nice," Rumi said, a bit dreamy-eyed.

"OOH, this is so exciting!" Zoey said. "Finally, one of us actually has a love life."

"So, you don't think it's weird at all?" Rumi said.

"Uh, well, it's weird, but weird can be good. I mean, it's not normal to date someone who gave you their soul, but at least your 'soulmates' then."

"Zoey, that joke was terrible..." Rumi  groaned.

"It's not really a joke..." Zoey was all ready to ship this. "So how was it?"

"I'm not going into that much detail." Rumi blushed. "But it was nice... I mean, I just went for it... Not sure how I had the nerve."

"Nerve? More like how did you hold back that long? Bro is like a whole snack, and you were just dragging your feet." Zoey was incorrigible as well.

"Zoey!" Rumi wished Mira was here to bail her out of this.

But, she would just say it was a bad idea.

How was she going to tell her?

* * *

Mira was disturbed from her sulking later that night by someone knocking on her door.

She expected it to be either of the girls or possibly Raven, but when she opened it, it was Abby.

"What are you doing here?" she said, very hostilely.

Abby had asked himself if this was a good idea for a long time before doing it, but since neither Raven or Jinu were willing to attempt this, and he was definitely the one who thought things through the least out of all of them, he'd finally decided it wouldn't be too big of a deal.

"Did Raven talk to you yet?" he asked instead of trying to ease into it.

"No... About what?" Mira was not softening. "More personal business that none of you should be involved in?"

"About the Honmoon." Abby ignored that last part.

"What?" Mira almost was interested now.

But not in a good way.

"Just, they're worried about last night. You left first," Abby explain. "But they were going to ask you about it, but...I think they chickened out."

"Chickened out, huh?" Mira folded her arms and leaned on the doorway. "What were they so afraid of?"

"I don't know, ask them." Abby thought Jinu was being a wimp.

Raven, he thought, just wasn't interested in getting yelled at.

"So you came all the way over here to tell me they didn't talk to me about it, and that I should just ask them? What kind of strange reason is that?" Mira was in disbelief. "Are you their messenger boy now?"

"No, I just think it's bothering everybody, and someone should do something about it, but I don't know about the Honmoon."

"Bothering everybody?" Mira repeated. "Oh...I see." Darkly.

"Yes, I think they don't want you to get hurt anymore." Abby could see she wasn't happy but assumed she just didn't understand.

But Mira understood, or she thought she did.

"So, they talked about that behind my back," she said, still darkly. "And what is this? Some kind of intervention? I know you heard what those demons said...and you think you get to ask me about that? Where do you get off anyway?"

"Not sure why you're angry about that. Wasn't the attack on all of us?"

"Was it?" Mira didn't normally talk like that, but she was at her limit, she thought. "Or are you really saying that I'm the problem here?"

Funny, she hadn't voiced this to anyone other than Zoey, Rumi, and Raven, and that was only that one time, and they'd forgotten about it afterward.

Now it was just making her angry instead of sad.

Probably because she thought the ex-demon person had no right to talk about this to her.

"Not that. Jinu thought it might be like Rumi's voice, but that's all he said." Abby was unclear on this, since no one had told him exactly how that worked. "Raven though it might be too. You should just talk to them about it. Maybe they could help you."

"Help me? So I need help now?" Mira still took that personally.

"Well, don't you?" Abby wasn't nearly as much of a people pleaser as Zoey, it turned out, who would have caved immediately.

Mira didn't like that.

"You can't believe what those demons say," she said instead. "All that crap they were saying was just to throw us off. And if I did have a problem, I wouldn't tell any of you anyway. So--"

"But you will tell the two Hunters, right?" Abby had her on that.

Mira got angrier.

"You know, this is none of your business," she said, more heated. "You think you can just start talking about this to me? It's pretty invasive to just suddenly act like you have the right to interfere. Did I ever say that?"

"What happens to you affects the rest of us too." Abby had a good point.

But that was the thing Mira didn't want to think about.

She knew she didn't have the right to get angry at him, if she was honest with herself, deep down. If someone had her fate in their hands in the same way they had the Saja Boys' and had acted the way she did, she 100% would have been worried about trusting them.

In fact, she'd already have been trying to confront them about it. No way would she have waited this many days to try.

But knowing this wasn't enough to calm her down.

 Abby might worry about Romance and Baby still being caught up in this, and Mystery and himself getting caught in the crossfire, even if they weren't demoniacs anymore.

Not surprising they'd be worried if one the Hunters was losing their stuff.

It being valid was why she was so angry. Because she was afraid that the problem wasn't fixable, even if she did figure it out.

She nearly choked on rage after Abby made that last point.

When she found her voice again, she was livid.

"Look," she said, louder, "we'll handle our own problems. I don't recall asking any of you former demons for your opinion on our lives. Are you the people who should tell us how to live anyway? Why don't you just shut up and get out of this hallway?!"

Abby was taken aback by that reaction.

Sure, Mira was..hot-blooded, but she didn't seem quite that mean, even in a temper.

Mira didn't feel any better because she'd successfully surprised him. She only felt slightly guilty.

"You know what the problem with you Hunters is?" Abby said instead, a little heatedly. "You think you don't need anyone else but each other."

"Why would you think we need you--" Mira began, but he cut her off.

"But you would have been in trouble without Raven and Morph," he went on. "And, like it or not, even we've helped a little. And Jinu saved all of you before you even started on this quest to free the rest of us. So maybe we should be involved in your business now and then."

"How dare you--" Mira began.

"Oh, sure." Abby was offended now. "You sound just like Celine."

Mira froze. "I... Take that back."

"Are you 13 years old?" Abby said in disbelief. "Take it back? Really? Hey, honestly, I don't care. So you don't like us, fine. But you should tell your friends. It's pretty childish to hide this from them if it's causing you problems and then blame us for noticing. Wasn't that what you were mad at Rumi for doing?"

Mira started to speak and then stopped, since that was a good point.

"I just thought if someone broke the ice it would be easier," Abby said huffily. "But fine, have it your way. Maybe they'll talk about it instead."

"Are you threatening to walk away and go tell on me like some kid?" Mira was afraid he was going to ask them to do it.

"No." Abby shook his head. "Not really my style. But you know, you're not as tough as you think you are."

"Excuse me?" Mira went back to livid.

"No one's untouchable," Abby went on. "Even I wish--" But he was thinking about something else and stopped short.

Mira guessed he was thinking something about the Saja Boys' past.

She was still interested in learning about it, but she was not going to say that right now.

No way.

"Nevermind," Abby dismissed his thought. "I thought you'd be honest, but...guess not."

"Who wasn't honest?" Mira frowned. "I'm always honest."

"Honest about the fact that you're not healing as fast as you're supposed to?" 

She looked freaked out.

"And that you suspect the reason for it?" Abby went on.

Mira felt like she was shaking.

"I thought so." Abby could tell he'd gotten a reaction finally.

"So you're throwing that in my face?" Mira felt almost as if she'd start crying, but she wasn't about to do that, not in front of him. "What, does that make you feel superior or something?"

"The one who feels superior is the person who thinks they can just ignore that and it won't come back to bite them," Abby retorted. "I wasn't saying any such thing. I just got a little worried about it. The others might know how help. That's literally all I was trying to say. You're the one taking it personal."

"How is that not personal?" Mira retorted.

"It's just a concern," Abby argued. "That's all."

"I don't want to hear this from you." Mira fell back on her original defense, since she couldn't think of a better one.

"Fine then." Abby wasn't going to keep doing this if he was getting the same answer every time.

"Fine!" Mira slammed the door in his face.

She then realized she literally was just doing what Raven had done to her when she'd tried to apologize and Raven had insisted on taking it personally anyway.

Oh...they were alike.

She kicked one of her chairs into the wall--which cracked the wall slightly.

Whoops.

It wasn't the first time she'd done that.

She hadn't lost her strength entirely... She just couldn't recover enough for it to matter.

[That's a hard place to be in.

By the way, Mira's injury was always supposed to have a deeper meaning, the same way Rumi's voice being lost had one. I wonder if anyone can guess the full symbolism of it before it's explained.]