Under the Veil of Night

"You know about them, don't you?"

Shiro didn't answer. His dark iris stared back at Kanae without any intention to reply. He could sense the deep seated anger within her voice that she seemed to hide with her expression.

"Kanae…"

"You must have already gotten the access to the database, right?" Kanae pointed to the laptop behind him. "You have to enter the result of the test, so you should have known that there are missing children from a long time ago. And their test results… are not exactly normal."

Shiro knew that. He had looked at them when he browsed the database because they instructed him to pay close attention to some specific characteristics that he might find in the students. Even though he couldn't access the deepest database, it was already a lot.

Among them, he certainly found the report of the missing children that the government was unable to take back anymore.

One was forgotten because that young child didn't have anyone anymore. Without any clue or whatsoever, they couldn't find that young child as he had blended into the city's people.

One was protected by his family and position to the point that the government was unable to make a move unless they wanted to start a war. Before they were prepared for the large clash, they would never make a move.

One disappeared without any trace. Not even the record of her existed as if she was nothing but a virtual person in the first place.

"Yes," Shiro said slowly. "I know. But that…"

Kanae shook her head lightly, stopping Shiro from continuing his words. "I can run, but if I run forever, I'll never be able to win the battle. I can't change the past, nor change how I was born. I can never fully free from them, so I choose to fight back. At the very least, I want to do something."

Shiro looked at Kanae with worry inside his eyes. "You know very well that you're not their match, right?"

"I know," Kanae smiled. "But do you really think that I come this far without preparing anything? It's not like I have just faced them yesterday and learn about their true color overnight."

It has been years.

She had long known about them for years and secretly investigated about them. At first, it was nothing more than an effort to make sure that she kept safe. But now, she needed them to fight back against them.

If nothing was done, more and more children would fall to their hand and died because of their experiment.

"I see."

"Will you stop me, Doctor Shiro?"

Shiro shook his head slowly. "I can never stop you from doing what you want, Rei. You're stubborn and wouldn't want to listen to my words."

Kanae laughed and scratched the back of her head. "Right. Even if you wish to stop me, I won't stop. I'll surely find a way to make sure that I can stay here and find all the awakened people."

There were several awakened people that she had met in this school for the past few days. Every single one of them acted normal, but she could faintly sense the threat that they held within their body. If they wanted to, it would be very easy for them to create chaos in the city with their capabilities.

"I see."

"You don't sound too surprised."

"I can guess that it's your plan," Shiro shrugged. "But don't you think that you can also gain their information by using me, who already have the database."

"It's not like you can access all the information regarding them. Besides, I want to be able to see their own prowess with my own eyes, so coming here is the decision I come to after thinking for a long time."

Shiro sighed. He knew that Kanae would never change her decision anymore. "Alright, I understand your point. I just want to tell you one thing. Jason might hide this from you, but I will tell you that she's waiting for you."

Even though Shiro didn't mention the name, there was only one person who would wait for Kanae. Kanae sighed internally. The mention of this name always caused so much pain for her because she was truly unwilling to let it go.

"I can't return, not anymore. Right now, I'm part of the Black Street and it'll be better for us to not have any connection anymore," Kanae smiled bitterly. "She walks the path of light while I walk the road under the veil of night. We can never stay in one frame anymore."

Shiro looked at the young girl in front of him. It was her decision to leave the family in the first place and took this path. Even though she knew that this would be a path filled with agony and all, she still took it.

"You're truly weird, Kanae," Shiro sighed.

"I know."

"But it's weird in a good way," Shiro added. "I'll never stop you from walking on this path and oppose them. I just want to tell you that I too will do the same thing. They and me can't stay in the same place without clashing with each other."

"It's the same with me," Kanae smiled.

"I'll help you as much as I can, Kanae. But you have to promise me one thing that you have to prioritize your life more than anything. You have a lot of people waiting for your return."

From the very first, the life around Kanae has always been filled with a lot of people. She cared for them and helped them out, which made them attached to her. They wanted to protect her and kept her safe all the time.

This was the same with Shiro. He couldn't bear with the thought of losing Kanae even though he only saw the young girl as nothing more than his little sister.

"I'll do my best, Doctor Shiro," Kanae replied. "You too should stay alive."

"I'll also do my best," Shiro replied. "Now you better go back and prepare for the trip to the island for the Ryukalin Clan celebration party. I'll handle the fake report for you."

"Thank you, Doctor Shiro."

After Kanae left, Shiro pulled out a different paper and started copying the information there for Kanae. It belonged to a rather ordinary girl in this school, so he used it without any hesitation.. He would never let them have the correct information about Kanae.