Under The Veil of Night

Alice just nodded her head, agreeing with Misae’s answer.

"The car is quite cramped now," Kanae laughed lightly.

It was indeed true as they now had to sit close to each other. Kevin and Mike were at the front. The second row was filled with these three girls and the third row was filled by three boys.

"I want to change seats," Jay complained.

"That’s my line!" Neo snapped.

"You’re the one hogging too much space!"

Boys’ builds were usually bigger than that of girls, so they were even more cramped. The three girls had slim figures, so they didn’t take too much space. Thankfully, the car was big so they could all fit inside.

On the side, Tommy stayed silent. He was stunned when he heard that Kanae would come along. After all, he knew very well that Kanae had experienced much more than him at that place. This girl didn’t even dare to go closer all this time. Why did she decide to go again?

As for him, he too didn’t want to recall those memories again. The feelings of helplessness, pain, and regret welled up in his chest when he tried to remember. At that time, he became the burden of his group and nearly sent them to their doom. He could not forget how useless he was.

His hand tightly clenched into a fist as he tried to calm down. Everything has passed. There was no need for him to remember it all anymore.

"Tommy, are you alright?" Neo noticed that Tommy barely spoke. Based on this boy’s brash nature, he didn’t see Tommy as the silent type.

"I’m fine, just feeling tired."

"You’re sleepy again?" Kanae tried to interject. She knew what Tommy felt very well as she too felt it.

"You can say that," Tommy laughed.

He looked outside and saw the construction site. Although they have only built the foundation, it looked similar to the previous place. His heart tightened and he felt cold sweat starting to pour out. His brain recalled once again the memories he had in this place.

’It’s painful, I can’t move anymore!’

’Captain, why are you protecting me?’

’Please leave me. I’m just being a burden here!’

His pitiful voice rang out in his ears. His eyes turned red as he remembered how he made a lot of mistakes and was unable to move forward. He had been a burden, and he was afraid of seeing the others getting wounded because of him.

"Tommy, if you’re that sleepy, you can just stay inside the car," Kanae’s voice woke him up.

Tommy raised his head. He couldn’t see Kanae’s expression, but her tone of voice was calm. He silently nodded his head. "Thank you."

Kanae was also looking towards the construction site outside the window. Her body tensed up slightly as her memories started to flow backwards in time. However, she didn’t show it on the outside. Her eyes held deep regret as she gazed towards the site.

This was the place that changed her style of fighting forever. Previously, she was only an unknown leader of a small group, but the brutal fighting in this place caused her to grow at an unimaginable rate. At the same time, it changed her in a way that she had never imagined too.

"We’ve arrived," Mike informed.

They came out of the car one by one. Tommy was nearly unable to come out as his steps turned uneven and he stopped near the car. The sight of the building in front of him made him unable to move. His feet and hands trembled slightly, showing how troubled he was.

"Do you want to stay here?" Neo asked while he leaned on the car beside Tommy.

"I think, it’s better if I don’t get any closer."

Neo pointed to the building. "Can you overcome your fear after the brutal fight in this place?"

Tommy closed his eyes for a moment as his trembling disappeared slowly. He opened them again. "I think not entirely. Many of us experienced things that we don’t want to recall ever again. Seeing this place, I don’t think we can stay calm so easily unless we have a firm mental attitude."

His eyes flickered towards Kanae. Kanae was walking calmly, but her steps were slow. It was clear that she too was trying to adjust herself to overcome the fear.

He felt rather dejected. Compared to him, she was bracing herself to move forward. He knew that it was not easy, but Kanae still did it. He felt that he was pathetic for he couldn’t be as brave as Kanae.

"If the situation forces it, can you go inside?" Neo asked.

"Maybe I can, but I doubt I can be clear-headed as usual. Why are you asking me this, Neo?"

"Nothing," Neo’s eyes gleamed for a moment before they returned to normal. Seeing that Tommy has calmed down, he decided to just accompany this boy for a while longer.

While these two were talking, Jay followed after the girls to the outer edge. They didn’t dare to come closer because it was dangerous. As for Kevin and Mike, these two already went inside to do their work.

"This place is really big," Misae commented. "I always wanted to see this place, but I never got the chance in the past."

Alice nodded her head. "This is the most prestigious school, so only special students can attend this school."

"Kanae, did you enroll here in the past?"

"Yeah, kind of," Kanae answered as her eyes surveyed the surroundings slowly. Her body was adjusting, and her mind did the same. She didn’t want to let this place to become something that would hinder her movement in the future.

"Let’s go see it."

"Don’t go too fast, this is a construction site."

...

On the other side of the site, two girls were standing as they talked to the manager. They wore expensive clothes and dressed up nicely. This made them stand out and many workers spared a glance towards them.

"Miss Sakura, this is the list of companies that the Nali Family approves. Please double check it."

Sakura took the list and browsed it cursorily. "I want to have a talk with the manager. My father says that the construction is behind schedule."

"Miss, this is..."

In the back, Amanda felt like yawning. She was bored with following after her new Miss. After the incident in the school, she no longer attended any school, and her father sent her to the Nali Family to build a deeper relationship.

She was assigned to be Sakura’s companion. Although her pride didn’t accept her new position as a mere servant, she behaved well in front of Sakura. Still, she would not follow after this woman wholeheartedly. For now, she would just behave, but strike forward when there was a chance.

Her eyes trailed to the side. She saw three girls looking around curiously. Her eyes glinted with ruthlessness. She recognized them as her classmates from high school. They were the reason she had to drop out dishonorably.

Looking towards the doll-like girl, she smirked. Everything started with her trying to bully that pretty girl. Her eyes glanced towards Sakura. Since it seemed that Sakura was busy, there was nothing wrong with her making a move against them. After all, she got into trouble after trying to target Kanae per Sakura’s request.