Under the Veil of Night

Shiro's Clinic

"Doctor, do you have to glare at me like that?" Kanae asked helplessly when he noticed that Shiro was looking at her with an annoyed expression.

Shiro snorted. "If you don't butt in into the fight between the clans, you won't get hurt like this. Do you think you're invincible to the bullet?"

"Well, no."

"Then you should learn how to behave next time. It's not like you get a mission to protect them."

Kanae laughed dryly. It was true that she didn't have any task to protect Kevin, but seeing him got hurt, her feet moved on their own. Before she knew it, she already stood before him and protected him from the barrage of bullets. Even she herself was not entirely sure why she wanted to protect him that badly.

"Little lass, you're the one who says that you only enter the underworld because you want to protect your sister and yourself. There's no need for you to delve deeper into the matter of the clan. They're more dangerous than what you can imagine."

As Jason still has a meeting, he could only lecture Kanae from the special phone that they used for communication. It was not like he didn't want to come, but his condition didn't allow him to go.

"I know, Oro. I just can't help it myself," Kanae answered.

Jason sighed. He looked towards the screen in front of him with a dark expression. If only he didn't have to do this work, he would surely head to the clinic and gave Kanae a round of lecture.

The single thought of Kanae got hurt pained him much more than he could think. He valued Kanae too much that he didn't want to lose that girl. Rather than losing her, he would rather get hurt in her stead.

"Kevin is the clan head, he's more powerful than what you can imagine. I don't think you should worry about him so much."

"I know."

"The underworld is truly unsuited for you, Rei. If it's possible, I hope that you can have a normal life in the future."

"I hope so too," Kanae answered with a soft voice. Deep in her heart, she knew, it was impossible. With her hand stained with blood from the countless fights she did for the past three years, there was no way she could live an ordinary life anymore.

On the side, Tommy was still sulking. He felt annoyed by the fact that he got himself involved with unneeded fights while Kanae was fighting like that. Kanae even got hurt from the continuous strain she forced herself to endure while he was merely fighting unworthy opponents.

If he had finished faster, he could be the one to help Kanae too. Yet, fate said otherwise as he was instead the one who couldn't move from his position. This caused him to feel annoyed at how weak he was.

"I want to train again," Tommy stood up. Next time, he would not fail again!

Kanae smiled when she saw Tommy got out. "Oro, please pay attention to Tom's movement. He has nearly reached his limit in his potential, there's no way he can last longer."

Hearing Kanae's instruction, Jason sighed. This so-called 'potential' was something that belonged to everyone and it would determine their talent and their growth. However, its existence was something only a small portion of people in the world knew. They kept it a secret as they didn't want to leak this dangerous information, especially because there was a way to find out someone's potential through a special test.

"I understand, but I think, you should tell him more about this matter."

"There's no need for him to know about the dark secret of this city. It's better for him to stay as an idiot like this."

"…Why do I feel you like seeing him acting rashly?"

"Who knows?"

Shiro took the alcohol on the side. "This is going to be painful, bear with it for a while."

"I understand…"

…

After Kanae finished her painful treatment under Shiro's intensive care, she headed towards Master Rudy's place. This time, she could feel the gazes of people around her were tenser. It seemed as if they wanted to dig a hole from her body.

Kanae frowned as he reached the place. Master Rudy and the young man were sitting peacefully. They were busy examining a blade in front of them.

"You're early today, Rei," the young man greeted when he saw Kanae.

Kanae nodded. "I don't really have anything to do, so I come here instead."

By the time she finished talking, Master Rudy appeared by her side. He grabbed her arm and lifted the sleeves, showing an arm filled with cuts on the edge. From their shape and color, it was clear that she only got them recently.

"So the news is true," Master Rudy nodded his head as he saw the cuts.

Kanae felt her body tensed up. She couldn't even react when Master Rudy made a move just now. It was as if he appeared out of nothingness. It took less than one blink for Master Rudy to arrive by her side. How did he do that? By the time she could react, he already stood by her side, ready to take her arm to inspect.

"What news?"

"They're telling me that you help Clan Head Kevin during the time he's in pinch. I thought that it's impossible, but from your wounds, it seems to be rather true," Master Rudy answered.

Kanae smiled wryly. It would be a miracle if she could get out from the barrage of bullets without getting any scratch. Having them as little as this was all she could hope for from them.

"News travels faster here," Kanae commented.

"We have to keep up to date if we want to stay alive. With your body full of wounds, you should just learn how to perfectly detect a master like me when I get close. But before that, you should have some rests."

Kanae sat down by the young man's side. Master Rudy took the blade and inspected it once again. The way he handled the blade was similar to that of a father caressing their daughter. It was clear that he treasured the blade so much that he couldn't bear to let it go.

"Master Rudy loves blade," the young man explained. "That's why he always meddles with them during his free time."

Kanae nodded her head. "I can see that."

"You're progressing pretty fast. Ordinary human won't be able to face the barrage of bullets head-on like what you do."

"Thank you for your compliment."

"I'm not really complimenting you, but I'm warning you. You shouldn't show your real skill under the light because you might attract the attention of people who are far stronger than you. At that time, not even Master Rudy could help you."

Kanae nodded her head. She knew about it very well, which was the biggest reason she tried to keep her movement hidden.

"Under the ray of light, my ability will only make me die faster. Under the veil of night, my ability allows me to survive longer," Kanae smiled.

The young man was stunned to hear Kanae's sudden declaration. It took him less than one second to understand what she meant by her words. He nodded his head slightly.

"You're correct, your ability is only suited in the Underworld."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment.. After that, Kanae proceeded to train her perception while the young man sat on the ground, trying to erase his presence as much as possible.