Under The Veil of Night

"I guess, I’m just not careful enough," Kanae smiled wryly. She took her shirt and wore it before turning her body to face Shiro. "Thank you."

"No problem. Don’t be so reckless, Kanae. If anything happens to you, I doubt we all can have a good night sleep."

"I’ll try to be more careful."

Shiro sighed lightly. The wounds on Kanae’s back were mostly the result of her protecting other people. As a fighter himself, he knew that it was almost close to impossible for Kanae to show her unguarded back to other people. Especially with the skill that Kanae possessed now, she would not show her back to other people easily. The only possibility was she tried to protect others and took the damage on her back.

Cleaning up his tools, he looked towards the blood-soaked cloth that Kanae used. "You lost some blood, so you might feel rather sleepy. You shouldn’t practice with Master Rudy for the time being."

"I understand."

"Just have some rests. I believe you will have to face a bigger obstacle not long from now."

Towards the warning from Shiro, Kanae understood it perfectly. Like what he said previously, there was a member of the government in the party. They must have known that the secret regarding Sakura got out. When they interrogated the latter, her name would surely appear.

Closing her eyes slightly, Kanae smiled. "I’ll be careful."

"If you need help or anything, just call us."

"I can’t do that," Kanae frowned. Even if she tried to muster all the strength from the underworld and Jason’s men from Wells Family, they would never be able to match the government. This is her personal problem. She didn’t want to drag her friends into the black hole without any way to return.

Shiro arched his eyebrows. "You don’t have any other choice. If they feel that you’re suspicious, your body might disappear and no one will know what happens to you in a matter of seconds."

"I know. That’s why I don’t want to involve all of you. You’re all my friends, and I don’t wish to drag you down," Kanae replied solemnly.

Sighing deeply, Shiro looked deep into Kanae’s eyes. He knew for sure that this girl has a secret she could never divulge to anyone else.

"Are you going to go against the government?"

"Do you think I qualify?"

"No, not at all," knowing that Kanae avoided the question, Shiro turned around. "I’ll be going now."

Kanae nodded. "Thank you for your help. You should try to avoid the cameras too, so no one will know that you have been here."

"Now that you mention that. With the location of your wound, I doubt anyone will believe if you say that you treat them by yourself," Shiro frowned. Even a single loophole could spell death in front of the government. No one wanted to antagonist them for this single reason. Their unfathomable strength was simply too mysterious.

"I can only say that, aren’t I?" Kanae shrugged.

Shiro recalled Laura and the latter’s expression from before. Considering Laura’s personality, it was close to impossible for her to treat Kanae’s wound. Without Laura’s support, Kanae wouldn’t be able to use the excuse of the latter treating her wounds.

"In another perspective, it’s not that hard for me to treat myself. It’s just the result will be worse and take much longer time," Kanae smiled wryly.

Shiro shook his head. "Lie on the bed and rest. Be careful."

"I will."

He walked out of the room and saw Laura was still standing in the living room. The little girl looked worried and scared as her eyes were locked on Kanae’s room the entire time.

"Um... Sir Shiro, how’s my sister?"

"There’s no need to worry. She’s fine," Shiro answered with a professional smile. "Tell her that she needs a lot of rest. Aside from that, she’ll be alright."

"Thank you very much."

Shiro waved his hand and walked out of the small apartment. This time, he was being careful enough not to let his picture got captured by the cameras. He didn’t want to invite trouble with the Nali Family as it was already hard enough for him to keep low-profile.

When Shiro had left, Laura tiptoed to Kanae’s room. She peeked inside and saw her sister was lying sideways on the bed. Seeing that Kanae still woke up, she quietly walked inside.

"Sis, how’re you?"

"Laura, are you crying again?" Kanae asked in surprise.

Laura was startled. She quickly moved her hand to wipe her tears. Internally, she scolded herself to cry again.

"I’m not crying."

Kanae smiled helplessly. "Come over here."

Laura looked towards Kanae’s gesture and slowly walked towards the side Kanae pointed at. Her eyes locked to Kanae’s face as guilt filled her entire body. She couldn’t bear the thought of making her sister face danger again.

Kanae raised her hand and patted Laura’s head. "Stop blaming yourself. Even a thousand ’what if’ can’t bring back what had happened. You should rest too. Today is quite tiring and you still have school tomorrow."

Laura also knew that even if she lamented what had happened a thousand times, she wouldn’t be able to change the past. It had happened and no matter how unwilling she was, she couldn’t change them.

Her eyes turned larger when she processed what her sister told her. "Sis, I’m not going to school when you’re still like this!"

"You have to," Kanae answered simply. "There’s nothing you can do when you’re at home. You better go to school and tell others about my absent."

"But..."

"No but, you have to go to school."

Seeing the insistence from Kanae, Laura could only nod her head in reluctance. She didn’t want to leave her sister, especially because it was her fault that Kanae was in this position. However, Kanae’s instruction didn’t leave her with any other choice.

In truth, Kanae had to instruct Laura to go to school because she didn’t know when the government would send people to fetch her. Although they would do it under the pretense of kindly asking her about the incident, it was actually a threat. When the time came, it would be better for Laura to not be at home or she was going to be extremely worried.

"If the other asks about visiting, tell them that I’ll be alright, there’s no need for that," Kanae added.

Laura frowned. "Are you sure you’re alright, Sis?"

"I’m fine. You worry too much, Laura," Kanae smiled brightly.

Hearing that, Laura could only nod her head in reluctance. She bit her lower lips as she thought about her sister condition.

"I’m sorry, Sis."

"Like I say, it’s not your fault, Laura. Even if the scene can repeat itself, I’ll make the same decision," Kanae added again, unwilling to give up her stance.

"Sis, you’re still as stubborn as ever."