Under the Veil of Night

Kanae only returned back to Laura's apartment when it was already late at night. She had just finished practicing under Master Rudy. Her sister originally didn't like the idea of her going out at night, but in the end, Laura didn't say anything else.

She moved without any sound towards her bedroom and changed her clothes. Her face scrunched a bit in pain. Today, Master Rudy showed no mercy to her and abused her greatly.

Sighing internally, she walked out of the room towards the dining room. The food that Laura had prepared was placed neatly on the table. A smile made its way to her face.

'Even though you say that you don't want me to go, you still prepare food for me.'

Kane sat down and started eating with relish. At least, now she could fill her belly up quickly.

Creak ...

"Sis?" the sleepy Laura walked out of her room while yawning heavily.

Kanae smiled and gulped down the food. "What is it, Laura? It's late, you should just go back to sleep."

Laura looked towards the food and smiled. "You're hungry in the middle of the night, Sis?"

"I can't help it."

"Don't eat too much. You're going to be fat."

"I know."

Laura kept on yawning as she filled a glass a water and drank. After that, she proceeded to walk back to her room and climbed into bed again. She only came out because she wanted to have a drink. As for her sister, she trusted the other party. There was no need for her to ask more questions than needed.

'I better get some sleep too.'

It was only two in the morning, so she still had plenty of time to sleep. Of course, she might sleep in the classroom too considering that nowadays she normally only slept for four hours or even less.

…

Nolen School C

"Kanae, this is the list of the new students. You might want to review it too," Neo handed her a piece of paper when she walked into the Student Council Room.

"We're going to have a meeting today?" Kanae raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

"Not really a meeting, just a small talk about the new members for the Student Council," Mike answered back. "Since you're not going to stay here, we will need to pick some more second-year students in addition to the first-years."

In the first place, only three new students got picked last year. Because Jay had trouble with his clan and Kanae didn't want to continue, the only one who was staying here would be Tommy.

"There's no abnormality like the previous two years," Neo commented.

"Abnormality?"

"Yeah, Jason's appearance and Kevin's ability caused the system to change. Before that, we always used the voting method to pick the Student Council president and vice president," Neo explained. He had looked into the history in this school, so he knew much more.

Kanae: "…" if only she knew about this, she would have protested that they should just pick using that method.

If they used popularity, there was little chance she would be chosen as the vice president. Unfortunately, that was all in the past, and she didn't have the intention to lament on her condition anymore. Her life as part of the Student Council has been pretty fun, and she couldn't change the past either. It would be better for her to just forget about it.

Tommy looked at the paper and sighed. "I can't even see anything special from those new students."

"I guess, this is indeed not your forte."

"Yeah, I'll just become the guard for this year Student Council. It's the job that fits me the most," Tommy grinned.

"You're correct."

The position of a guard required physical strength rather than precise thinking. Because of that, someone like Tommy was quite suitable to become the guard in the Student Council. Of course, it was only after Mike passed down the position.

Tommy glanced at the clock. "I have training today. Next month we're going to hold a competition at our school. I want to fight for the position."

"With your ability, shouldn't you get chosen for certain?" Neo asked confusedly.

"I guess so."

As Tommy walked out of the room, Mike pondered about the former's situation. From what they saw last year, Tommy was the fastest among the students from their school. There might be someone faster among the first-years, but he doubted that since Tommy was pretty quick.

"Not everyone like Tommy gets chosen. After all, he's a person with poor family background," Kanae tried to explain.

"You already know about that?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you help him?"

Kanae shrugged. "He doesn't need any help. With his capability, he can make them shut their mouths for good."

In any case, this kind of bullying was nothing compared with what they experienced on the street. Here, they would only need to work harder at most. On the street, they might lose their lives if they were not careful enough.

"Let's finish reviewing this and return back to the company. There's a new deal we need to secure."

"Yes!"

While they were talking in the room, Tommy made his way to the field. On the way, he saw Alice already waiting for him near the stairs. The sight of this doll-like girl caused a smile to appear on his lips.

"Alice, you're going to watch me practice again?"

Alice looked up and smiled. "Yes, can I?"

"Sure, of course. Let's go to the field."

The two of them walked to the fields. Tommy saw the seniors using the fields and looked at the time. From their gesture, it was clear that they didn't want to give up the training field to anyone.

One of the seniors noticed Tommy and threw a shirt towards him. "Here, wash them up, brat."

"Mine too."

"Clean carefully, Brat. Don't let any stains stay."

"You can only practice once you have finished."

The others also threw their shirts towards Tommy, and he caught them readily. Behind him, Alice's expression darkened, but she didn't say anything. This was always what Tommy experienced on the fields.

After catching their shirts, Tommy made his way towards the washing machine and put them all into the machine. After setting the time and all, he leaned back on the wall.

"Sorry, you have to accompany me for a long time again."

Because he had to wait for the washing machine to finish, he rarely had the chance to practice for long. Most of the time, the practice already ended, so he had to practice by himself. As a result, he would leave much later to make up for the time he lost.

However, he didn't really mind it much since he always practiced again by fighting on the street all night. In the past, he hated waiting and would always use this chance to practice his stance. But now, he found himself enjoying this time because he could talk with Alice.

"It's fine. I just feel that you should stand up and fight back," Alice felt rather frustrated when she saw Tommy accepting their treatment. She wished he could fight back and not just allow those guys to step all over him.

"They're older than me, and I don't want to create trouble in the school. Just wait, I'll definitely defeat them in time and become a representative of the school for the relay event," Tommy grinned. They wouldn't be able to defeat him in a head-on fight. He would make sure of that.

Alice nodded her head. She took out a drink bottle and handed it to Tommy. "This is for you. I'm sure you'll be tired after exercising later."

"Thank you, you always bring me snacks or drinks. They always make me feel refreshed after I finish training."

"That's good," Alice smiled.

Tommy was also smiling. At this point in time, he completely forgot that he was being bullied by his seniors. He even felt rather grateful for his annoying seniors because he could spend more time talking with Alice thanks to their 'thoughtful' arrangement.

Just like that, the two of them talked until the washing and drying machines finished their respective washing and drying cycles and Tommy started practicing.