Under The Veil of Night

"How’s the Red Gang?"

"They’re trashed completely. Even without my help, there’s no one who can stop her," Shiro answered calmly. What he saw back then also made him believed in the legend of the street. At the time this nickname was born, they must have felt the same way as he did right now.

Sense of unbelieving, yet it was shown right in front of his eyes. The fear of the strong, yet there was a sense of excitement rushed down his spine. It was rather complicated, and what he saw made him unable to believe that someone as powerful as that was here. However, it was something he knew happened.

"Without your help? Doctor Shiro, please don’t joke with me," Tommy’s face was rather funny as he looked at Shiro with an unbelieving gaze. "Even when facing that clan, Rei still gets hurt. As one of the biggest gangs in the biggest clan’s territory, Red Gang is stronger, right?"

"Yes."

"But you say that Rei did it with ease?"

"Yes," Shiro answered. He himself felt like he was dreaming. Unfortunately for him, it truly happened right in front of his eyes by someone he knew very well. Even if their distance was several hundred meters, he still saw everything clearly using his sniping gun.

"Just how much stronger did she become? It has only been like four to five months since the first time she starts training, right?" Tommy asked again.

Normally, the growth of strength slowed down as time passed. Yet, the opposite happened with Kanae as she seemed to show even more monstrous rate of growth. Before long, she would surely leave them all very far behind without any chance to catch up.

"She’s talented," Shiro answered shortly. "Take a rest. You’ll need it more. As for training, we’ll ask Jason to arrange one in the future. He’s currently busy, so you can’t expect much."

Tommy didn’t answer. He was feeling rather shaken by the growth that Kanae showed to them. Even if he already knew that Kanae was far stronger, it was a huge blow for him. After all, he met with Kanae the earliest among the three of them, so he knew very well how Kanae strength from back then was.

As for training, he had to learn by himself and didn’t rely on the others too much.

"Tom, what’s your dream?"

Shiro’s question stopped his train of thoughts. Tommy was startled, but he answered soon after. "I want to be an athlete."

"Then you should just focus on your training in school. Eventually, you have to leave the Black Street," Shiro said as he disassembled his gun carefully. As a gun lover, his gun was already like his long lost love.

Tommy was stunned. He never thought about this before as he always considered that his life would always stay like this. Now that Shiro mentioned it, he knew that their path would differ. Kanae did say that this group was only temporary, but she never said until when.

After all, neither one of them had the intention to tie themselves into the Black Street forever. Each of them has their own path that they wanted to tread in the light, away from the darkness and cruelty that ensued in this place.

"I guess you’re right."

"Now sleep or I’ll give you sleeping pills."

"..." do you have to threaten me?

With indignant feeling, Tommy closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

...

Ryukalin Clan

"The Red Gang is eliminated by Fiore Group?" Kevin frowned when he heard that. This time, he was reviewing the materials about his own clan and not his company in his workroom.

Neo nodded his head. "The news is all over the street by now. The place is completely wrecked that no one dares to step in as the smell of blood permeates the entire place."

"Is it like the incident in August last year?" Mike asked.

"That incident is far worse," Neo shook his head. "Based on the living witness, the one who comes is only one person who wears dark clothes. He’s rather small, but his power is something different."

Kevin’s mind drifted to the encounter he had with a certain small person not long ago. That person was wearing dark clothes with cloth covering his mouth. The only remarkable point that he remembered was how agile he was and the thin sword on his hand.

"He’s using a thin and short sword, right?" Kevin asked.

Neo nodded his head. "They say that he’s holding a weird small sword. My guess is, it’s Rei."

"Do you know their reason?"

"Tommy is wounded hard," Mike remarked. "Misae tells me about that because she calls him for the Student Council meeting."

Kevin nodded his head. The last time he heard about the fierce battle from Fiore Group, it was because Tommy was captured. Now, this incident was related to Tommy again. It seemed that this group’s movement was not only because of money and interest, but also friendship.

This made his interest to Fiore Group increased.

However, his current priority was not them. "Neo, arrange a work trip to Tamari Clan’s territory. I want to meet with them."

"Yes, Boss."

...

Laura’s Apartment

"Sis, do you know what Tommy’s sickness is? It has been a week," Laura complained as she packed her items. They have just got the news about the renovation of the mansion has finished. This piece of news caused them to be jubilant as they couldn’t wait to go there.

Kanae smiled wryly. If Tommy could move again after nearly beaten to death like that, it would be a miracle in itself. "He’s involved in a fight, so he got a lot of wounds. Don’t worry, he’s currently recuperating."

"What is that idiot thinking getting involved in a fight right now? We have to prepare a lot for the end year party," Laura complained.

"It’s not like he intends to fight," Kanae rustled Laura’s hair. "Now, have you finished packing up?"

Laura nodded. "Only the small radio that you leave near the table lamp is left. I can hear our voice from them when I come near. Do you purposely place them there, Sis?"

Ah... Kanae had forgotten about that lamp. Since she didn’t want to let them listen to their real conversation, she used the recorder of their gossips from months to years ago as the replacement. It would play as long as the electricity in the living room was used, which was the reason Laura could hear a faint voice.

Thankfully, she set it at lower sounds, so they wouldn’t hear if they were too far since the sound waves were weaker*.

She already planned to sell the lamp, but it seemed that she had forgotten about it completely. Well, she hoped the government liked her present. They could listen to the gossips for hours, and she wouldn’t care in the slightest.

"I’ll take it back. You should load our belongings to the cab first. I’ll head down later."

"Okay, Sis."

Kanae approached the recorder and turned it off. She peered into the lamp again as she saw the device was still there. Silently, she moved away from the house and closed the door. Goodbye~.