Under the Veil of Night

Kevin looked at Taro's expression with an indifferent gaze. There was not even a millimeter change in his expression, but the others could feel that the atmosphere seemed to change slightly. "Are you sure about your decision?"

"It's not my decision alone, but it's also what James wants," Taro explained. "Should I call him here to talk with you?"

"I'll just go visit him," Kevin stood up calmly.

"I'll come with you."

"Me too!"

"Only Kanae and Uncle can come," Kevin ordered strictly, his tone was rather cold and indifferent. This caused the others to be rather surprised, but they knew better than to offend him. Neo and Mike listlessly returned back to their place. Internally, they complained about the unfair treatment. They wanted to hear what James said too!

In the living room, James was playing with his drawing book. He lifted his head when he heard them coming back.

"Brother Kevin, Sister Kanae," James waved his hand excitedly.

Unknowingly, Kanae's lips were already curled to make a smile. She approached the young boy gingerly. "What are you making, James?"

"I'm drawing my family," James showed off his drawing proudly. In the picture, there were several people that he gave names to. Kanae and Kevin were placed in the middle, holding hands together. He was standing near Kanae, holding her other hand while his other hand held onto Taro. Beside Kevin were Mike and Neo.

Kanae scrutinized the picture curiously. "Why don't you draw your Uncle Charlie?"

"I'll draw him after he gets out of the hospital," James grinned.

Kevin saw the drawing as black lines appeared on his forehead. He accepted that he and Kanae held hands, but why should she hold James's hand too? On the second thought, he erased the thought regarding this matter. There was something more important that he needed to talk with James.

"James, Taro tells me that you want to follow the protection program. Did he tell you what it will mean?"

James put down his drawing. His clear iris stared back at Kevin's eyes. Even though Kevin's eyes made him feel like he was sucked into a bottomless abyss, he stayed calm.

"Yes, Uncle Taro has explained everything. I know that I might never return back to this city and never meet with him again," James's voice faltered a bit at this point. "But I don't want to always be protected. I want to become strong enough so that I can stand on my own."

Right now, a lot of people were chasing after him because of a gift that he didn't even want. Even though he wanted to erase his ability, he couldn't. It was part of him. The only option left for him was to accept himself as who he was and continued his journey.

What he wanted to do right now was to become stronger; strong enough to make him able to protect himself and those around him.

"I understand," Kevin glanced at his uncle. "Please make a call to Matt telling him that James will follow the protection program."

"Wait, why me?" Patrick frowned. He was about to complain more when he saw Kevin walked out of the room. Kanae was following behind Kevin, so he was left alone in the room.

While grumbling, he took out his phone and made a call to Matt. At the same time, he asked James about his preferences in studies and the like.

In the garden, Kevin walked around aimlessly. Behind him, Kanae was following him like a little pet. She didn't understand why Kevin didn't return back to his workroom, but she decided against asking that. It would be better to wait for the man to talk about it by himself.

They stopped near the pond. Kevin sat down on the stones as he gazed at the water, which reflected his cold expression.

"You don't have to follow me here, Kanae," He said indifferently.

Although Kevin's tone was slightly milder, Kanae could tell that it was because he was trying to tone himself down in front of her. She had heard him talked in much harsher tone before. As she was subjected to the minimum changes in his expression, she has started to get used with them.

Right now, Kevin was trying to calm down. She didn't understand why, but it seemed that there was something that agitated him.

"I don't want to return back for now," Kanae shrugged. "The work can be done later. They're not too many either."

Kevin glanced at her direction for a moment. "You should sit down."

Kanae pondered for a while before inching closer to the man. She sat down near Kevin and leaned to his back. When her head touched his back, his body tensed up slightly, but it relaxed again in the next second.

"Do you want to know?" Kevin asked in a low tone.

Kanae knew that there was something wrong with Kevin today, so she nodded her head lightly. "If you wish to tell, I'm willing to listen."

Kevin gazed at the pond. "Master Rudy asked me to follow the protection program too when I'm young. If I agree, I'll be taken away from this city, had my name and identity changed, and never met with my relatives ever again."

When she heard that, Kanae's eyes flickered. For Master Rudy to offer the protection program to Kevin, there must be a reason behind his action. Recalling his ability, she knew that the government must have wanted to chase after Kevin to get his ability for theirs.

"I refuse," Kevin continued. "I want to stay with my father and my clan members. Because of my decision, our clan has always been at odds with the government as they want me. In the end, they got what they wanted and killed my father and several important core members."

It was the incident that pained his heart the most. That incident changed his entire life and also numerous people's lives, including Kanae. When he heard Matt talked about the protection program, he was reminded of his decision in the past once again.

When James decided to agree, he wanted to see why the young boy decided that. Seeing the clear gaze on James's eyes, he knew that James wanted to fight using a different way.

"Everyone has their own way," Kanae whispered softly. "Don't regret your decision. If you decide to go after them, many people would have lost their lives. There are always good things and bad things from the decision you make."

"Yeah," Kevin replied.

The two of them stayed quiet for the next few minutes. Only the sound of wind could be heard occasionally, brushing against their cheek as if intending to light up their mood.

"We should go back. The work is not going to finish by itself," Kevin remarked after a while. He enjoyed his time with Kanae, but he knew that it wouldn't last long. There were still a lot of things that they needed to do.

"Okay."

As they stood up, Kevin examined Kanae up and down. When he saw her sleepy expression, he knew that she enjoyed their time too much to the point that she wanted to sleep.

He reached out his hand and pulled the girl to his embrace. The sudden movement caused Kanae to be shocked as her eyes widened in surprise. She could feel the warmth from the hand that Kevin used to hold her and at the same time, the heartbeat of the man before her.

"What is it?" She tried to calm herself down.

"Nothing," Kevin replied. "I'm just glad you're here."

Kanae didn't understand, but it seemed that Kevin was enjoying their current position, so she stayed still. His arm was warm and she felt safe with him.. Leaning her head to his chest, she closed her eyes, enjoying this moment to the fullest.