Under the Veil of Night

Neo and Mike returned one day after Kevin along with the bodies of their fallen comrades. Although Neo was feeling rather down, he hid his expression behind a rather neutral face.

"Neo," Kanae glanced at Neo. "I'm sorry about your loss."

"Thank you," Neo replied calmly. He eyed Kanae curiously. "What are you doing in the clan?"

"I'm helping out."

"Boss gives you permission to help out?"

Kanae nodded her head. She noticed that Neo's expression seemed strange, but she didn't understand why. Was there anything wrong with her helping out in the clan?

Behind her, Dean was standing nonchalantly. "Neo, Kevin is inside. Don't you need to make the complete report to him first?"

"Ah, yes."

As Neo hurriedly made his way inside, Kanae looked towards the limpid Mike. Contrary to her who healed very quickly, Mike still had to drag his right foot if he wanted to walk. It made him look rather pitiful.

"He recovers rather slowly," Kanae commented.

"Not everyone has the same healing ability as you, little lass," Dean chuckled. "Now, don't you need to go to school again?"

Kanae recalled the school, but she shook her head lightly. "I don't want to, Brother Dean. There are still a lot of things to do here."

"Fine if you say so, but call me Master Dean."

"Brother is more suited for you."

"Come here little brat!"

…

The situation in the Ryukalin Clan didn't turn to the worst. Although Megara managed to cause some hidden clan's headquarters into a mess, the worst was only the main headquarter with several destructions here and there. However, they managed to clean things up and repaired everything that they needed to repair.

The days passed swiftly as the wounds were treated and the victims were buried. Many of their family members wept because of their loss. Even if they knew the harsh life that followed by becoming part of the clan, no one wanted to lose their precious member.

The grandest one was the funeral for the Old Man. Many of the clan members came to offer their condolences for the deceased man.

"Let him be," Kevin said in an indifferent voice. "He'll feel better by himself."

Kanae glanced at Kevin then to the standing Neo. The funeral ceremony has ended a while ago, but the young man was still standing in front of the grave. It didn't seem that he wanted to move away from his position.

"Don't you think he needs some company?"

"Neo is the type of person who prefers to think by himself," Kevin remarked. "Even if you come over to give him some company, he won't like it. Let's wait on the back."

Kanae stole a glance at Neo for a moment before following behind Kevin. She didn't know what the two of them talked a few days ago when Neo returned. However, she recalled that Neo seemed to be rather restless after the talk with Kevin.

Neo was standing in front of his father's grave for a long time. He still remembered that just before the incident, his father had just dragged him for a practice. He resisted with all he got because he didn't want to have any practice.

"Old Man, you're really annoying," Neo grumbled. "You tell us that it's a great honor to die during a mission, but it doesn't mean that you have to go so early. I once make the promise that I'll follow on your footsteps, but I won't follow you on the matter of returning to the grave so early.

I want to live for a long time, not like you, Old Man. But I will give you my promise once again. I won't run away from my responsibility even if it spells my death. I vow to stay loyal to Ryukalin until the end and I'll adhere to my promise."

Neo stopped for a moment. He gazed at the sky. "Wherever you are, watch me, Old Man. I promise that I'll make you proud, but I still won't like practice as my skill lie in shooting. I'll hone my skill to the fullest."

After uttering them all, Neo felt that the burden in his chest felt rather lighter. Standing there, he gazed at his father's grave.

He could not turn back time, so he knew that his father would never return. No matter how much he missed the other party, it was the time for him to let go and move on. There were still a lot of tasks that he had to do. One of them was to fulfill his duty as Kevin's right hand to the fullest. He might not be able to protect him in close distant fight, but he would never lose in other matter.

Not long after that, the rain started to fall.

Neo turned his gaze to the sky, feeling the cold rain water dropping to his face. Closing his eyes, he stood quietly. His clothes were drenched, but he still didn't move from his face. He wanted to stay here for a long time.

Suddenly, he couldn't feel the rain drop on his face anymore. Neo opened his eyes and noticed Mike standing beside him.

"You'll get sick if you stand under the rain for a long time," Mike remarked. "Your body is not as strong as me."

Neo eyed the umbrella that Mike held on top of him. He sighed slightly. "Let's go back. You should drive."

"Sure, but make sure to wash the car later on. I believe that Boss doesn't like having his car wet."

"Whatever."

From the distance, Kanae was eyeing the two of them. Her eyes showed a trace of relief when she saw Neo accept the help that Mike offered and started to walk back.

"Kanae, don't you have to go to school again? You have skipped for a week," Kevin asked suddenly.

"Ah, I think its fine? I'm not really aiming to finish my school that brilliantly too," Kanae replied sheepishly. Because she skipped a grade, she was quite left behind in the lesson. Thanks to Kevin, her score didn't plummet further, but it was certainly not the top of the class anymore.

At best, she could only say that she was in the middle of the ranking.

"You will need to go back if you don't want them suspicious of your disappearance," Kevin reminded her of another reason why she should return.

"Fine, I'll return back."

"After the class, you can return back to the clan," Kevin's voice turned softer. "I believe that I still need your help."

Kanae smiled brightly. "Okay, I'll do that."

"Good girl."

Kevin patted the girl's head as his mind thought about the inevitable fight between him and the government. Right now, their relationship was already standing on the thin ice. Only a little bit more was already more than enough to make him declare an all out war or the other party declared it to him.

It was only a matter of time.