Under the Veil of Night

"This place is really far from the city. Are you sure that you can go back in time when you have a meeting?" Tommy asked curiously.

Jason nodded his head. "I can use a helicopter."

Tommy: "…" what a rich man.

Without her glasses, Kanae saw things very differently from usual. Her dark irises watched the trees outside carefully. Even if she could not see clearly, her movement wasn't any different from the usual.

Tommy waved his hand in front of Kanae. "Sometimes, I wonder if you truly need the glasses when you still can react to the surroundings so well."

"You should learn to rely on your other senses," Kanae smiled slightly.

"I'm not that good and you're clearly avoiding my question."

Kanae ignored Tommy and leaned back on her seat. They rode for another hour before they arrived at the secluded villa. Looking back at the winding roads they passed through, Kanae wondered if they could reach this place if they didn't have Jason.

"It's going to be a pain whenever I want to get out of this place," Tommy groaned.

"You can ask Shin to bring you around. He should arrive with his motorcycle not long after this," Jason took out a key and opened the door to the villa. "Pick whichever room you want."

"I'll pick the best one!"

"They're mostly the same," Jason yawned. Only he drove the car all the way.

"You have to teach me how to drive in the future," Kanae remarked.

"Sure, when I have time, I'll teach you,"

Kanae took her bag and randomly picked one of the rooms. She immediately went inside to rest while Tommy was still checking the rooms one by one because he wanted to see which one was the best.

"Why do you have so many rooms here?" Tommy complained.

Jason shrugged. "This is my private villa. Do I need your opinion on what I want to do?"

"Fine, I'll just pick this one."

Jason watched as Tommy went inside the room while he strolled to the living room. The living room was big, and it was connected directly to a passageway towards the main door. He purposely built the small passageway after the main door for safety. This way, unwanted visitors couldn't see the inside of the villa easily.

There was a big round sectional sofa with a table at the very middle. He sat down on the sofa and put his feet on the table as he waited for Shiro to arrive. He knew that Shiro would come not long after him.

Knock! Knock!

"You already have the key, Shiro. There's no need for you to knock again."

The door opened and Shiro walked inside. He was wearing a big leather jacket with a big bag over his shoulder him.

"What are you doing still awake? Where are the others?"

"They already fell asleep in their rooms," Jason shrugged. He scrutinized Shiro for a moment. "Your shooting has increased in accuracy."

"So you noticed," Shiro shook his head lightly as he put his helmet on the table and took a seat not far from Jason.

During their fight at the port, Jason received a bit of Shiro's help. When he heard the firing, he knew that Shiro was further than where he usually positioned himself. It was as if he wanted to prove to himself that he could do better.

"I think I'm afraid," Shiro suddenly said.

"Afraid? I never saw you feeling afraid before, Shiro," Jason chuckled. "You're the weirdest doctor that I ever met and you surely are not one to feel afraid easily."

"I'm afraid of getting left behind," Shiro continued. His words caused Jason to freeze. "I'm sure you have realized that we're no longer the small group that only do missions for fun and for money. Ever since that battle, ours standard became higher and the risk has increased by a huge margin."

"You don't have to say that to me. Even I know that we're growing, but wasn't it our decision to go there? Only you didn't join the battle."

"I know, that's why I have to get stronger. Our name is going to intersect with the superpowers of this city. If we don't grow stronger fast, we're going to be eliminated as quickly as our rise."

Jason smirked. "Don't worry. That's why we're holding this training session. You have to make sure that we can dodge even the closest gun near us."

"You won't be able to dodge if the gun is right beside your head."

"…"

Shiro picked up his helmet again. "You're the one who has to be more careful. If they know you are part of the underworld, your position as the young master is going to be taken away."

"Heh, as if they could do that," Jason snorted.

The two men looked towards each other. They knew that they needed to be extra cautious in their movement. The wounds all the groups sustained after the big battle earned them the chance to rest and recover themselves little by little, but it was not entirely a good thing for them.

As they just suddenly rose to the forefront, it made them the eyesore of the other groups. They were the 'black horse,' and they might not be able to keep this position for a long time. Those established groups wouldn't stay silent and do nothing when their position was taken away by a newcomer.

This was the reason Fiore Group was not allowed to fall at all.

"I'm taking my rest. You should rest too, young master."

"I got it."

Jason contemplated in his seat for a few more minutes before walking towards his room. He had to rest if he wanted to train well tomorrow.

The next day, Kanae woke up early. She looked around her room in bewilderment before realizing that she was inside Jason's villa. It was the best possible place she could stay at.

'The bed is really comfy.'

Kanae sighed to herself when she compared her hard bed with this bed. She was still a girl and what kind of girl didn't want to have a comfortable bed to sleep on and warm water to take a bath with. However, she knew that it was impossible for the time being.

She put on her glasses and scanned the surroundings. This was a normal one-person bedroom with a table and some chairs on the side. There was also a bookshelf, as well as a small window on the side. Although the room was not very big, it was still far larger than her house.

Jumping down from the bed, she approached the window and looked outside. Because she barely paid any attention last night, she only realized now how beautiful this place was.

The window from her room gave her a view of the courtyard and she could see the beautiful stone path leading away from the front door. The path soon split to form a circle around some rose bushes before joining together again. The blooming flowers and lush trees made this remote villa even more beautiful.

"I better take a bath then get out of the room. I came here to train and not to enjoy the scenery."

Reminding herself of her intention for coming here, Kanae moved her feet away from the window. She reached for her bag and quickly searched for her toiletries and training clothes.. It was time to train.