Almost two weeks have passed since we’ve arrived at Hope City. Life as a member of FUUI was a lot different than I had expected it to be. I thought we would be going outside of the city and hunting monsters but we haven’t done any of that. There’s just been a lot of paperwork and odd jobs that we’ve been doing. Since I wasn’t suited to the paperwork I’ve been assigned to doing odd jobs around the city.

“Thanks for finding my dog, Mister.”

“No problem. Be careful and take care of your dog so he doesn’t get lost.”

“Ok.”

Looking at the little boy walking his dog reminded me of Mary and Goldie. I guess I still can’t get over there deaths but I can’t keep dwelling on it forever. I have to live my life to its fullest.

“Alright, I have enough money to splurge a little. Let’s get ourselves some donuts, Fifi.”

“Oohhh, I’m finally going to get to taste a donut.”

“Yeah, I did promise you after all.”

“Great, let’s go!!!”

Fifi excitedly swung her feet as she pointed me to the nearest donut shop. Seeing her cute and excited expressions was almost enough to make me forget that she was the one who got me into this situation. Ever since she negotiated my wage with William, I’ve been struggling every day just to get by.

The base provided lodging and breakfast but other than that, I had to work for everything else. Whether its buying new clothes, toothpaste, or equipment, I have to work for it. Unlike everyone else who gets paid a regular wage even if they don’t do work, I was paid through items and monster bodies I find in the wild. But the problem is that I haven’t got a chance to go outside and hunt monsters.

Because we are still newbies to FUUI, we are made to help with paperwork or odd jobs around the city which didn’t include hunting monsters. The only lucky thing for me was that there are a lot of odd jobs considering how big the city is. From cleaning the gutters, delivering packages, or advertising for stores, I’ve done all it in the past few weeks.

Odd jobs like these are usually left for members of Units A-Z to do but many of the members are either to arrogant or haughty to do them. Aside from Unit K which is pretty regular, many of the other Units are made up of people with rich bloodlines that carry special powers. I don’t really understand their positions but I’ve been having fun doing these odd jobs.

I get to meet all kinds of people and most of them have been very nice. It’s a contrast to days of my life where I never interacted with others or bother to help others. I’ve been having a lot of fun helping others.

“Donuts, donuts, oh sweet and beautiful donuts.”

Fifi’s face was plastered against the glass panes that displayed the donuts. I was going to fulfill the promise we had made back in Ostempal.

“Good afternoon, Jude. Thanks for getting rid of the rats the other day.”

“No problem, Mr. Haws. I’d like to buy a chocolate filled donut.”

“Oh, you came at the perfect time. I was about to close the shop so I’ll give you a discount.”

“Really, thank you!”

I walk away from the shop with the donut in my hand. Although the city was underground, I could tell that it was almost night time. I find it amazing every time I look at the ceiling because there’s a simulated day and night cycle. Aside from the beauty of the sky, I could hear Fifi’s wings vigorously buzzing as she stared at the donut. I could practically feel her drool falling onto my shoulder.

“Go ahead and take a bite, Fifi. This is payment for all your hard work.”

I bring the donut to my right shoulder where Fifi was sitting. I could hear her gorging herself out and enjoying the donut. I’m happy from just seeing how happy Fifi was. These past few days she’s been helping me with the odd jobs because she discovered the donut shop a few days ago. Now she could finally enjoy the fruits of her effort.

“The bread is so soft!!! Ahhh, its soo sweeeetttt!!”

“Hey, get back here!”

The sounds of Fifi joyfully eating was suddenly interrupted by some man’s harsh voice. Looking around the corner, I could see 3 men dressed in black entering an alleyway. I wasn’t going to get involved because Fifi was still enjoying herself but this is the neighborhood I worked in. What if it was one of the residents who were being chased. Just the thought of these nice people being hurt made me angry.

It was rare to see hoodlums but considering the size of the city, it was inevitable. Every day, more and more people enter Hope City because they are losing their homes to monsters. There have been so many refugees that the government was even allowing people to come live in the underground city because the surface city was reaching peak capacity.

I peek into the alley and could see 3 men surrounding a small figure, it was a little kid. My blood pressure rose and my heart began beating furiously but I held myself back.

“Damn, brat. Get over here.”

“The boss would have killed us if we lost his merchandise.”

“Alright, let’s get this over with.”

I put my hoodie over my head and rush towards the three men without asking any questions. If they were going to gang up on a little kid then they weren’t anyone good. I use earth magic and bind their legs before jamming my knee into the back of one of them.

“Who the hell!?”

“Shit, Johnny’s out.”

Suddenly, the right arm of one of the men turned into a large blade and the other had disappeared. They were ability users so they must be some part of a Unit. Looking closer the man who had passed out and the man with a blade for an arm had the letter F tattooed on their necks.

The man rushed at me with the blade but it was slow so I was able to duck down and trip him. Once he was down on the ground, I used earth magic to bind his arms and legs. Now, all I had to do was find the other person.

“This is security, stay where you are!”

Hearing the commotion the men were causing, someone must have called security. ‘Shit, if I get caught here I’m going to cause trouble for William.’ Without a second thought, I grab the little kid and run away.

“Chase after him!”

The security begins to chase me but I launch myself onto the rooftop before using wind magic to accelerate my escape. The security may be good but the city was too large for them to cover every corner. After a while of running, I was far away from my original position. Finally safe, I jump down into an ally and put the little kid down. Throughout my escape I could feel the kid shaking in fear.

“Umm, I’m sorry for the rough ride but I’m not a bad person.”

“That’s what all bad people say, Jude.”

Fifi was still stuffing her face with the donut and she already ate half of it. I’m surprised she hadn’t dropped it.

“I’m just trying to help. Where are your Mommy and Daddy, I’ll take you to them.”

The little kid was still shaking in fear and I didn’t know what to do. Fifi wasn’t going to help me since she was still trying to finish her donut. ‘Wait, I got a perfect idea.’ I grab the half-eaten donut and hand it towards the little kid.

Fifi screamed and complained but she calmed down after I told her I’ll buy her another one. The little kid looked at the donut curiously and sniffed it before chomping down on it. Just like Fifi, she vigorously ate the donut, she must have been hungry. Looking underneath the hood, I could see that they had light purple colored hair.

“W-wait, get back Jude!!”

Fifi pushed me aside before using magic to make vines emerge from the ground. The vines wrapped around the small child and were trying to strangle them.

“Stop, Fifi! What are you doing!?”

“It’s a demon!”

A demon? This little kid was a demon, it was totally different from the old man that I met in Ostempal. They didn’t have that dreadful aura around them.

Their hood came off and I could see her face. Her cheeks were pudgy and pinchable while her eyes were clear and innocent of the horrors of the world. The only thing demon-like was a small horn on her head which was covered by most of her hair. Otherwise, it was just a little girl.

“Fifi, stop.”

“But.”

“Even if this child is a demon, that doesn’t mean they’re evil. Please, release your magic.”

“Ok.”

I’m glad Fifi understood my words. I rush towards the little girl to check if she was fine but the little girl had passed out. Luckily she was still breathing.

“Fifi, is she fine?”

“Yeah, she should be.”

Hearing Fifi’s confirmation, I was glad. Knowing that she was ok, I carried her back to our base. Since I just caused a commotion, I took the long route back to the base just in case we were being followed.

It wasn’t a big place but the base was a two-story building with plenty of space. Even with the addition of Mako, Gorou, Jill, Karla, and me, there were still many rooms that were still left unused. I didn’t want to bother anyone with the situation so I snuck into my room without anyone noticing.

I open my door and was shocked to see Karla cleaning my room. She blankly stared at me and I tried to come up with the words to explain my situation but she spoke first.

“Is that girl hurt?”

She came to me and grabbed the little girl before carefully resting her on my bed. All I could do was stare at Karla in shock. This was the first time she’s spoken since we left Ostempal.

“She seems to have a fever. Do you think you could go and buy her medicine?”

“Oh, ok.”

I left my room and encountered Gorou in the hallway while still shocked at Karla speaking.

“Are you done working for the day?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re going to go eat out. Do you want to join us?”

“Maybe another time. I want to rest for now.”

“Ok, get plenty of rest then.”

I walk past Gorou and head for the closest convenience store to look for fever medicine. Looking around the aisle there were many kinds of fever medicine. I didn’t know which one to buy so I decided to buy one of each. It was quite expensive but I didn’t mind.

By the time I came back, it seemed like everyone else had gone out to eat besides Karla and me. I went into my room and saw Karla gently stroking the little girl’s purple hair. I could see sadness within Karla’s eyes but a certain gentleness that reminded me of the past.

Whenever I was sick my parents would always take care of me so my mind would be distracted from the pain. Mom would keep me company and read me stories from my favorite books. Sometimes she would even make up her own stories and sometimes dad would join in. Before I knew it, they would be reenacting scenes from their stories which I remember gleefully laughing too. I could never forget the warmth of their hands or the gentleness of their voices.

“Are you ok?”

“Y-yeah, here’s the medicine. I didn’t know which one to buy so I just bought all of them. Haha, I-I’ll get going now.”

I hand Karla the bag as I quickly leave the room. I couldn’t control my emotions as the tears begin to come out.