Under the Veil of Night

Kevin was not sure what had gotten into him when he pulled Rei to the back with him. All he knew was that they were all at the limit of their physical abilities and with him unable to fight well, he would only be a burden. This girl was wounded because of protecting him.

If it was only Neo and Mike, they would be able to go into the forest safely. His presence was the only reason why they didn't try to make the attempts to enter the forest. He couldn't move well with his head still in constant pain and dizziness.

His eyes were looking as they all struggled to protect him. To be exact, he was looking at the young girl who was trying to block the bullet out of his range. He was not sure why, but he didn't want to see her get wounded anymore. Without thinking much, he pulled the young girl to the edge of the cliff with him.

At least in the water, he wouldn't have to face the barrage of guns and just have to make sure that he could stay afloat.

As he caught her off guard, it was extremely easy for him to pull the girl back. Circling his hand on the girl's hips when they fell down, he kicked the steep wall beside him when he fell down. It would be dangerous to stay too close to the wall because there might be rocky areas below him.

He made sure their position was vertical as he put his hand on the front as the two of them fell to the water.

SPLASH!

The cliff was only several meters high, so the times taken for them to fall were only a few seconds or even less. Inside the water, it was hard to determine which one was the surface and which one was the ground.

'I have to get to the surface.'

Trying to calm down, he saw that the girl was clinging to him heavily. He opened his eyes, trying to see through the surrounding. This time was completely different than before when he fell to the water with Kanae on their little 'date.' It was too dark around him, making him unable to determine which one was the surface.

He could hold his breath for several minutes, but if he didn't find out where the surface was, they would die. The bubbles around him didn't help much because of his movement to make himself stay afloat.

It was then that he noticed the necklace the girl wore, a pearly necklace. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized it.

'That's the necklace that I gave to Kanae as her birthday present…'

'So, it's really you…'

When he heard her voice, he already had the suspicion that Rei is Kanae. But it was only now that he realized that the conjecture was perfectly correct. The person whom he loved so much is also the same person who had helped him numerous times in the past.

The pearl at the end of the necklace moved in one direction. Because it was a fake pearl with air inside it, it would surely move to the surface. Kevin's gaze was locked on the pearl. Upon seeing its direction, he carefully pulled the woman close to him and slowly made his way to the surface.

Splash!

*cough* *cough*

The moment he reached the surface, he inhaled the air deeply. It felt so good. In the next second, he held the girl up. She coughed and tried to inhale the air as much as she could. The rain was still pouring heavily, but it didn't block her ability to breath. Besides, the cloth covering her face has fallen in the water at some unknown time.

"I… can't swim…" Kanae said while gasping for breath.

"I know," Kevin replied. He slowly moved Kanae to his back. "Hang on, Kanae. I'll take us out of this place."

Kanae didn't answer, but she moved her body to behind Kevin. This position felt rather familiar as she recalled that she too once held onto his back because she couldn't swim. Feeling the warmth from the man's body, she felt safe even though they were still in danger.

Her eyes flickered as she realized that Kevin had just called her Kanae. Did it mean he find out about her? Well, it didn't matter anymore. She was planning on telling him after this event too because the news about the four big families have started to die down. She wanted to have more roles in the part of the underworld.

The weight on his back was not too heavy for Kevin. His head was no longer hurting so much, but his strength was still diminishing. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hold on that much longer. The current and waves on the sea was going to crush them if they didn't move soon.

Splash!

*cough* *cough*

As the wave hit them, they nearly crashed to the rock. Kevin moved his body and kicked the wall. If they hit the large wall, it would be instant death. He had to make sure that they were holding onto a smaller one to prevent them got washed up.

Swimming while making sure Kanae was save, he reached the nearby rocks and held onto them.

"Kanae, can you move your feet?"

"I can," Kanae replied. She might have gotten shoot, but it didn't mean that she couldn't move her feet at all.

"There's a path on the cliff not far from here. I'll take us there, for now, please hold on."

"Yes."

Kanae hugged Kevin's shoulder tightly as Kevin started to swim towards the north. He kept his distance close with the rocks near the cliff in case he felt tired because he would be able to hold on occasionally.

*Cough* *cough*

The wave would sweep them at times, making them gasped for breath. The distance to the path was not that long, but they journey itself took much longer because of the waves.

Time passed as he continued to swim. The weakened feeling from the poison has started to disappear and replaced by real fatigue. The waves were big, so he had to make sure that they were not slammed to the rocks while keeping their distance rather close.

After some unknown time, Kanae could see the path that Kevin mentioned. The path was completely blocked from the surface and it was slightly filled with water, making it hard to walk pass. However, it would be far better than swimming while carrying someone.

"That's the place," Kanae pointed to the front.

Kevin nodded. He slowly moved his body to the path. Upon arriving at the place, Kanae carefully moved away from his back to the path. After securing her position, she pulled the man up from the water.

"Can you walk?" Kevin asked the girl.

Kanae nodded. "I can."

"Let's go."

The two of them carefully followed the path to the north. They have to stay careful so they would not slip or even got slammed by the waves. As they proceeded to the north, there were more rocks around the island, providing safety from the waves.

Kanae was trying her best to stay awake, but she felt her body was heavy.

"Kevin, can we have some rest?" she asked when she felt her body was nearing its limit.

Kevin turned around. He frowned slightly before his gaze landed on the bleeding leg of Kanae. Although it was no longer bleeding so much, she must have lost a lot of blood.

"Lean to me."

"But you're also tired."

"There's a house on the front, also," Kevin ripped part of his shirt and bent down before bandaging Kanae's left leg. "You should have told me about your wounds."

Kanae smiled wryly. It was not because she didn't want to tell him, but she didn't really feel the pain anymore. Right now, she was tired, sleepy, and fatigued. There was no time for her to think about her pain.

As Kevin propped her to walk, the two of them continued their journey. After a few minutes, he realized that Kanae turned a bit heavier. He glanced at the young woman and found out that she has already passed out from exhaustion.

'Exhaustion and blood loss,' Kevin thought to himself. He moved his body before carrying the young woman in a bridal style. The house was not far from here. It would be better for them to arrive there as fast as possible before she caught infection and cold or even worse.

With that in mind, he sped up his speed.