Under the Veil of Night

"Mike is completely defeated in the face of love," Neo commented as he saw his friend sit next to Misae. Even from afar, he could guess that Mike was not a match when he was facing Misae.

Kevin glanced at them for a moment before averting his eyes again. He was standing in front of a vending machine as he thought about which drink Kanae would want.

Neo saw Kevin thinking hard and sighed to himself. "Kanae likes to drink juice if you don't want to pick the usual."

Kevin picked a melon juice before walking towards their seats. Seeing Kevin act like that, Neo didn't know whether he should cry or laugh. Although it was funny to see the usually cold leader become hesitant in front of the girl he liked, he knew that this might not last long.

With their different statuses in this city, the two of them wouldn't be able to stay together. That was the rule that has been in their clan for decades.

"President, we have saved a seat for you too," Kanae waved her hand when she saw him getting closer.

Kevin sat down beside Kanae and handed her the drink that he bought. "This is for you."

"Thank you, President," Kanae's eyes shone when she saw what he brought for her. This was one of her favorite juices. Not that she was picky, but she still had things that she preferred more than others.

"The competition is about to start," Laura reminded. They quickly turned their eyes to the field.

Alice already handed the bottle to Tommy, but she stayed on the sidelines.

"Girl, you should just return back to the stands. This is not a place for a girl like you to be at," the manager complained. She had seen Alice a few times in the past and felt rather irked by this young girl. After all, Alice was beautiful. This made the boys pay more attention to Alice than her.

Alice was confused. "I'm accompanying my friend, and this is still within the sidelines."

"Don't talk back to me. You're disturbing the competitors," the manager snapped.

Alice was stunned. Why did this girl treat her with so much hate? She barely did anything. "I'm just standing here."

The manager felt that her irk reached another level. She was already getting ignored during practice because of this girl. Right now, she didn't want to be ignored during the competition too.

She raised her hand. "Like I said, you're being a bother here!"

Alice closed her eyes when she saw this manager about to slap her. However, the pain she expected never came. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Tommy stand in front of her, holding the manager's wrist.

"This is school, not the place for you to bully other people. Even if you're older than her, that doesn't give you the excuse to do it," Tommy said in a low and menacing tone. As a fighter from Black Street, his aura alone could make most ordinary fighters terrified. For the manager, he would be no different from a death reaper.

The manager nodded her head furiously. "I… I… under…. I under…. understand."

"Scram! Just do your work!"

With that, the manager scampered away. Without her realizing it, tears started to fall from her eyes. Just two sentences from Tommy was more than enough to scare her out of her wits.

Tommy turned his attention back to Alice. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. But is it fine to berate her like that? Won't she make more trouble for you in the club?" Alice asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. She won't be able to do anything to me," Tommy grinned. "The club can't bear to lose me too unless if they want to lose."

Alice nodded her head. She still felt rather worried, but Tommy's words reassured her.

"Tommy, it's time," his teammate called.

"I'm coming," Tommy answered. He smiled at Alice. "Just watch, I'll bring victory for our school."

Alice smiled as she saw Tommy walk away. She thought about something as she cupped her hands around her mouth. "You can do it, Tommy!"

Tommy was startled to hear the sudden shout from Alice. The usually reserved girl seemed to be bolder today. He waved his hand and prepared himself on the field.

Alice's face was red, yet she was happy that Tommy responded to her yell. It was the first time she tried to do something like that. At this point, she felt exceptionally happy and excited.

When the gun was fired, the first runner took off. The students from Nolen School C were confident about this competition. The students there were not that good in their studies and most of them liked to fight. Since that was the case, they had better physiques and they soon led the match, especially since they have been drilling their bodies harder lately.

"Will our school win?" Misae asked excitedly.

"Not sure, that guy over there is fast too," Mike interrupted and pointed to the team beside theirs.

Although their school was in the lead, their runner was soon overtaken by the person beside him. Then, the baton was passed to the second and third runners. The gap continued to widen. Lastly, the baton was given to Tommy who dashed off quickly.

Aside from the school in the lead, the other schools were lagging behind in the race. Given Tommy's speed, he quickly reduced the gap between him and the first school. Tommy recognized this young man as the one who defeated him before. However, today was different from last year. His physical strength had increased greatly.

He crossed the finishing line a bit faster than the other party, which meant he won the race.

"Yes!"

"Tommy won!"

"Our school wins!"

Tommy panted a little as he decreased his momentum to a stop after the finish line. The difference between him and this person was less than one second. This time, he was the faster one. His lips curled up into a smile. It was rather satisfying to win this time.

"You've become faster," that student said in surprise. He was also panting, yet his face didn't show any disappointment. Having the chance to face off against Tommy again, he already felt extremely elated.

Tommy smiled and extended his hand. "It was a good fight. If you were faster by just another second, I won't be able to defeat you."

"That's only if. You improved a lot. I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent," the student stretched his body after shaking hands with Tommy. "See you in the next competition, if there is any. At that time, I won't lose."

"I accept your challenge," Tommy grinned.

The two of them looked towards each other before parting ways. Tommy made his way to Alice and took the drink that she prepared. The drinks always made him feel much better after practice, so he liked them very much.

"Congratulations, Tommy," Alice shouted again.

Tommy waved his hand. At this time the other members of the relay club were already crowding him.. They were excited by their win.