“Jude, are you okay? Why are you crying?”

“It’s nothing, Fifi.”

I wipe my tears with my sleeves but they just wouldn’t stop. My parents died 6 years ago and I thought I had gotten over it but seeing Karla and that little girl made me realize how much I miss those days. I miss Mom’s cooking, I miss being able to play with Dad, I miss Mom who would sing to me when I was afraid of the lighting, I miss Dad who would take me traveling around the world. Those days would never come back.

“It’s fine, Jude. Let it all out.”

It took a bit but the tears finally stopped. I was able to calm down and can appreciate Fifi’s presence. She didn’t ask any questions but just her being here for me made me feel a lot better. She just sat beside me patting my head but it was soothing.

“Thanks, Fifi. It’s been a long day so let’s go to sleep.”

“Ok.”

We head back to my room from the roof. As I open the door, I could see that Karla hadn’t left my room. She had fallen asleep while holding the little girl’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Mary. I’m so sorry.”

She was talking in her sleep and I could see the tears falling down her cheeks. Not wanting to wake up the two of them, I leave my room and found a couch I could sleep on. 

‘I hope I can find her parents.’

“Goodnight, Fifi.”

“Goodnight.”

……

“Fifi, wake up. Let’s go see if that girl has woken up.”

“Hmm, kay.”

I rest Fifi on top of my head as I enter my room. As quietly as possible I open the door and peek inside. Neither of them was awake yet but it seemed like the little girl had rolled off the bed in her sleep. She was soundly sleeping in Karla’s embrace on the ground. I open the door a little more so I could enter but as soon as I did that both of them suddenly open their eyes.

“Good morning.”

Karla gets up and tries to straighten out her bedhead while the little girl was looking at me in fear. She snuggles closer to Karla and says something that I didn’t understand. I couldn’t recognize the language she was speaking.

“Fifi, do you know what she’s saying?”

“Hmm, not really. I don’t really understand the demon language.”

Hmm, I don’t know what to do. I was going to ask her where her parents or home was at but it seems like we can’t even communicate. Besides that, she seems too afraid to even calmly think. Well, I guess all I can do is introduce myself.

“Hi, nice to meet you. Do you remember me from last night? I helped you get away from the bad men. My name is Jude.”

I put on my friendliest smile but it seems like my introduction didn’t get through to her. I could see question marks popping up all around her.

“J-U-D-E. My name is Jude. Jude.”

“Ju-Ju?”

“Fifi, introduce yourself.”

“Ok. My name is Fifila Phhilora, the most amazing fairy in existence. You better remember it.”

“Hiihh.”

I finally got a reaction from her so I thought introducing Fifi would have a similar effect but it seems like the little girl remembers what Fifi did last night. The little girl turned away in fear and seemed to be on the verge of crying but Karla calmed her down. It seems like the little girl seems to trust Karla a lot.

“Karla, do you think you can try talking to her?”

“Ok.”

Karla sat her on top of the bed and looking at her in broad daylight, she was very small. She seems to be 4 or 5 years old, even smaller than Mary.

“My name is Karla, what’s yours?”

“Kar-la?”

“Yeah, my name is Karla. You’re a smart girl, aren’t you.”

“Kar-la? Kar-la.”

“Yeah, Karla.”

“Kar-la!”

She made it seem so easy. All Karla did was point towards herself and repeat her name for the little girl. By now the little girl understands that Karla was a name. This time Karla used her finger and pointed towards the little girl.

“What’s your name?”

“Name?”

“Yeah, I’m Karla, that’s Jude, and that’s Fifila. What about you?”

“Justina. Name.”

“Good, nice to meet you, Justina.”

Now that we know her name, we’re finally getting somewhere. Slowly but surely we’ll get the answers we need but that was when someone began knocking on my door. I guess I can’t really hide her from everyone else if Karla already knows. It would also be faster to find her parents with more help.

“Jude have you seen Professor Jane? She wasn’t in her room when I went to wake her up for breakfast.”

“She’s in here.”

“WHAT!!”

I thought the door was lock but Mako was able to get inside with no trouble. She was staring at Justina.

“A-a child? In one night?”

“I’m sorry but I’ll explain everything at breakfast.”

Mako’s mouth was wide in shock as we headed for the dining room. We usually all ate breakfast together so I was going to explain to everyone the situation. One by one, everyone gathered around the table but they were all shocked at seeing Justina.

Karla had left to go cook breakfast so Justina was clinging onto me, the only other person she knew. I could feel her shaking in fear at all these people she didn’t know.

“It’s fine, Justina. They’re all my friends.”

“Ju-Ju, friends?”

“Yeah, friends.”

Karla served breakfast and I slowly began telling the story of what happened last night to everyone. How I finished working and fought those 3 men in black who were chasing after Justina. I omitted the personal stuff that Karla and I went through but they should understand what happened last night.

“I-I-I see, nothing happened last night. Hahaha.

“Justina, what a cute name.”

“She’s a demon, like the one we saw on top of the wall?”

“A-a demon!?”

“She’s a cute girl.”

“...”

They all had their own reactions but I wanted to get the opinion of William. He was the leader of our Unit and I couldn’t decide anything without his approval.

“Did you say that had the letter F tattooed on their necks?”

“Yeah, 2 of them had it while I couldn’t see the third one.”

“Hmm, this is going to be troublesome.”

“Please, do you think I can take care of this girl until I find her parents or get her home.”

I know it’s a lot to ask but I bow my head towards William. I know its a selfish request but I want to reunite Justina with her family.

“I’ll clearly explain it to you but Unit F isn’t something our Unit can handle. Unlike our small Unit, Unit F is more like a small organization and not a good one at that. Whether they have special abilities or not, all the members of Unit F are made up of thugs and gangsters. Their biggest business comes from monster trading and their biggest customers are people with money. It’s highly likely that her parents are in the custody of Unit F or that she was kidnapped from her homeland. Even then, do you still want to take responsibility for that little girl.”

“Yes, I may not have a lot of information right now but Justina knows where she came from. If we can just communicate with one another then I’m sure we can get information about where she came from.”

“Fine, just know that your selfish request is jeopardizing our team so if I see that it endangers us even more than this then you’re off the team.”

William was glaring at me with intense pressure but I wasn’t going to back down. I’ve selfishly decided that I’ll reunite Justina with her family so I’ll do it even if I have to do it myself.

“Fine, I can see that you’re serious about this so I’ll use whatever power I have to try and find her family. You’re a part of our team so I’ll help you with all my power and for the rest of you, you can decide if you want to help or not.”

“Thank you, William.”

I’m grateful to William and everyone else who decided to go along with my selfish request.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you but we have a mission.”

Everyone tenses up at the sound of a mission. This would be the first mission we’ve gotten since we came to Hope City. I hand Justina over to Karla as they leave the dining room. Ken, Rachel, and CZ close the doors and blinds before getting back into their seats so Gareth can explain our mission.

“This time our requester is Madam Justice. She wants us to investigate a small town about 100 miles east of Hope City. The small town of Consal had strange activities occurring for the past few months so a group from Unit I was sent out to investigate but they have failed to report to back. Ordinarily members from Unit I would be sent to investigate the branch group’s whereabouts but they are currently collaborating with other Units to deal with a disaster level city. Our mission is to retrieve the branch Unit but if that isn’t possible, then we are to investigate the area and bring back a detailed report.”

“I see, are there any reasons why Madam Justice is involved with this event?”

“Yes, Kayla, a rising disciple of Madam Justice, was the leader of the branch Unit that was sent to Consal. Considering that Unit I is planning to collaborate with other Units to attack a disaster level city, Madam Justice has some suspicions that foul play is at work. With such a big mission being planned out, it was suspicious that an up and rising star of Unit I was suddenly sent away.”

“She wants us to get involved with the internal affairs of Unit I? What are the rewards?”

“Madam Justice promises to train the members of Unit K for two days every month for 2 years and she’ll sponsor each member a piece of equipment.”

“WHAT!!”

This was the first time I’ve ever seen William so flustered. Even Ken and their group were shocked even though they’ve been here longer than us. The situation must be quite abnormal for him to react this way.

“What is she up too? What do you think, Gareth? You were trained under her so why would she make such an appealing offer to us.”

“I think she sees talent within the new recruits of Unit K and wants to train them while also achieving her own objective. Madam Justice has always been this way and I think this time she wants to test whether we are worthy or not.”

“The rewards are definitely good but the risk is quite high. And it’s going to be there first mission too.”

William began muttering to himself as he stared at us. There were various questions going through my head like who was Madam Justice or what’s so amazing about the rewards so I was going to ask them but seeing that Gorou had his hand raised, I stop myself. Gorou’s questions were the same as mine.

“Right, you guys don’t know much about her but Madam Justice is in one of the highest positions of power within FUUI. Besides her there are only 4 other people with the same amount of authority and power. Even then, her position is special. Before she retired, she was once part of Unit SUNNY which had solved some of the hardest and strangest missions, but her legend doesn’t stop there. After retirement, Madam Justice decided to train anyone who she thought had talent and as a result, most of the top Units like ZYU, KAL, or HCK have at least one of her disciples in them. And this legend is offering to train you guys and sponsor a piece of equipment for all of you!”

William was out of breathe as he had said all of that in one go. It was like a child who was talking about their favorite superhero. He drank a glass of water and was finally able to calm down.

“What are Units SUNNY or ZYU? I thought there were only letters A-Z as units. I’m also curious about what it means for Madam Justice to sponsor us for a piece of equipment? I’m sorry for all the questions.”

“It’s fine. You guys are still newbies so there are bound to be things you guys don’t understand. First of all, you do know that the Federal Union of Unnatural Investigations is an organization that is as old as our nation, right?”

“Yeah.”

“In the beginning when our nation was just made up of colonies, monsters were a serious problem so FUUI was created to deal with them. Originally the organization only had Units A-Z but as time passed, there were some Units that excelled more than others. To differentiate these Units, they began to create ways for single letter Units to get promoted to double letter Units or triple letter Units. Currently, the most letters seen in a Unit were 5 and there have only been 3 teams to have ever become a five-letter Unit team. So you can imagine how amazing Madam Justice is.”

Yeah, she is incredible but that makes this request seem that much harder. Why would someone who had once been in a five letter Unit ask a single letter Unit for help? I leave that in the back of my head because I’m not in a position where I can solve it. Something William said did get my attention, ‘promotion’. Once again Gorou asks William the question that was in my mind.

“How does promotion work?”

“There are three ways to be promoted from a single letter Unit. The first way is to apply with a different Unit and take an exam together and if they pass then the new Unit will consist of the two letters combined. But if there is already a Unit consisting of the same letters then the new Unit can choose to become a branch of either Unit consisting of the same Letters. The second way to get promoted is geared towards individuals. Once every year there is a promotional exam where individuals from Units A-Z can take and if they pass then they can choose to join any Unit with the same letter they originally came from. The third way is to get recruited by a multiple letter Unit which doesn’t happen very often.”

“Is it impossible to join a different letter Unit?”

“Well, it’s not impossible but there are strict requirements. The third way to get promoted is one of those ways but I wouldn’t really recommend trying to change to a different letter Unit. It’s an old ideology but carrying the letter you joined with is a way to show loyalty. By showing this loyalty, even if you join Unit IK you’ll still have connections with any other Units with the letter K because it shows that you have a common origin. So if you do get promoted one day, I recommend joining a Unit with the letter K in its title since I’ll be able to help all of you with my connections.”

The Unit hierarchy and relationships seemed complex but I understood the general idea of it. I guess I’ll worry about it when I get my first promotion.

“But compared to Madam Justice’s connections, mine pales in comparison. That is why her offering is so tempting, with her training your potential will flourish and become irresistible to stronger Units. It’s a good offer for your futures and her sponsoring you guys a piece of equipment is the icing on the cake. A single piece of equipment may not seem impressive to all of you but Madam Justice isn’t talking about any regular equipment.”

Everyone’s interests peaked as William began talking about Madam Justice’s sponsorship. If she was going to give us a free piece of equipment then I would gladly take it. I’ve been living here for almost two weeks so I know that buying a shield, special bullets, or armor is expensive. I’ve been saving up for two weeks and I almost have enough to buy the cheapest body armor.

“The equipment Madam Justice is going to sponsor us are pieces of equipment that only three-letter Units and above, or the richest two-letter Units can afford. These equipment are all specially made by “blacksmiths”, people who have abilities that help in forging items and equipment so they’re guaranteed to be amazing. The only problem is that it’s usually up to the requester to provide the blacksmiths the necessary materials.”

William pondered for a bit before finally making a decision.

“We’re going to take this mission and I suggest you all properly prepare for it. It’s going to be dangerous and our lives are going to be at stake so be ready. We’ll be leaving early in the morning tomorrow and it’s unknown when we’re coming back so tie up any loose ends.”

The meeting was dismissed and I realized that I have so much to do before we leave tomorrow. I have to finish my jobs for today and cancel the ones I set up for the following days. I also have to buy food and clothing for Justina if she was going to be living with us now. Gear and equipment is also another problem.

‘Haah, do I even have enough money for all of that.”