Under The Veil of Night

"If they manage to finish the weapon, we’re going to be one of the targets. Do you think they will let go of a perfect guinea pig like us?" Shiro rolled his eyes.

"I’m not a guinea pig!"

"You’re the most perfect one. No one will search for you even if you disappear for days!"

Seeing these two starting to argue, Kanae rubbed her forehead. No matter where they were, Tommy would always make trouble with either Shiro or Jason. It seemed as if they would never be able to get along.

"Kanae, is it alright for us to let them do the job?" Jason asked when he finished contacting the two.

Kanae nodded her head. "It’s not like this is a big event. Based on how easily the information was obtained, I’m sure the secret weapon is not the only deal between the two families. Even if we manage to destroy the place, there will be other things that we have to look out for."

"The big families are not simple," Jason nodded his head in agreement. "How was your meeting with Kevin?"

"He seemed different," Kanae answered as she recalled what happened not long ago. Kevin seemed like a stranger to her. She had never seen him like that before and it caused her to feel discomfort.

Her mind blanked a bit; why did she only sense discomfort when normal people would feel pressure and fear? She did feel cautious in front of the man, but she was not afraid of him. All she felt was the uncomfortable feeling of having to fight against someone whom she knew and was close to.

"He’s the leader of the Ryukalin Clan, so it’s obvious that his demeanor will be different," Jason had seen him before too in his clan leader role. He found it quite unbelievable how much Kevin changed when he was in the clan from when he was at school. He seemed like two completely different people.

"Yeah," Kanae answered curtly.

In all honesty, she didn’t like seeing this side of Kevin. She felt glad that the usual Kevin was very kind to her. Wait, kind was not a suitable description. He was more like an ice block and rarely changed his expression. Still, she felt that he was more expressive lately.

Erasing those thoughts, Kanae took out her small sword and moved around the room. She felt that she was not strong enough against Kevin, so she wanted to train her body more.

Jason shook his head when he saw Kanae’s actions. "Those old fellows from the Souhon Clan are going to challenge you after they finish helping the Lighting Gang sweep through the building. Where do you want to meet them?"

"How many people are they sending?"

"There are three people, each of them is an expert at fighting."

"Search for a hidden but spacious place in the Black Street around the Souhon Clan’s area. We’re going there," Kanae answered as she twisted her body and landed swiftly on the ground.

Tommy stopped his argument with Shiro and looked towards Kanae. "When will I be able to catch up to you, Captain?"

"You should just train," Shiro patted the boy’s head. "At least, a decade should be enough if you want to catch up to the current Rei."

"A decade? I’m not that bad!"

"A little brat like you will never be able to catch up in a short amount of time."

"You dare to say that when you yourself can’t do it?"

Kanae and Jason: "..." when will you stop arguing?

"I’m going to head to the meeting location first. Do you two want to come along?" Kanae glanced towards the fighting duo.

Tommy nodded his head. "Of course, I don’t want to miss your fight, Captain."

"There’s no need for me to come along. I want to catch up on my sleep," Shiro shook his head. He had just gotten a new gun part from the black market, so he had spent a long time studying it. Right now, he wanted to rest.

"I’ll drive you two. Oh yeah, Tommy, you’re not allowed to get out of the car at all except in an emergency," Jason warned.

Tommy nodded his head solemnly. Those three must be very powerful for Jason to warn him like this. He didn’t want to die just yet, so it would be better for him to follow his instructions.

While Jason was driving, Kanae browsed the web to find out more about those three people. They were quite famous in the Souhon Clan’s territory lately because they were able to make a name for themselves as the power of the Souhon Clan decreased. Although their fame was only limited in that territory, their abilities most likely surpassed many others from other territories.

Her brow creased when she read their information. If these people had interfered in the Souhon Clan’s battle before, the fight would have been extremely dire. Fortunately, the three of them were not that idiotic to barge into a fight where they would get used.

When they neared the designated location, Jason got a call from Joshua, the Lighting Gang leader.

"Oro, you’re correct. There are a lot of research results in this abandoned building. The Souhon Clan’s elders are furious."

"You should just hand them over to the Souhon Clan. I’m sure the clans won’t like it if the families tried to do anything behind their backs."

"You bet. Still, I feel like the families are planning for something bigger than this. You better be careful too."

"I got it. Will you watch the fight between Rei and the other three?"

"Of course, I will. I have been waiting for this. I’m heading towards the place with them. Mind you, they’re powerful."

Jason sneaked a glance towards Kanae from the mirror. Kanae was still studying her opponents seriously. He smiled slightly at this sight. "There’s no need to worry, Rei is very powerful too."

"That’s good."

The call disconnected, and Jason tucked the phone away. If this was before the incident last year, he would not be this confident, but right now, there was no one whom he trusted more than Kanae. Her fighting ability was far more than how it used to be.

The car soon arrived at their destination. Tommy looked towards the opposite side of the field. Even from inside the car, his senses were telling him that those people were dangerous.

Kanae looked towards the three people with a solemn expression. They were going to be the most powerful group of people she faced. In the Ryukalin Clan’s territory, most of the strongest people were inside the clan. She rarely met opponents she had to face with extreme seriousness lately as her fighting prowess had been soaring.

"Josh, is that the one you mean?" the first man, a fat man, asked with a frown on his face.

Joshua nodded his head. He recognized Rei in that getup instantly. After not seeing the other party for some time, it seemed that Rei had grown even stronger.

The second man, a tall man who wore black clothes, snickered. "Don’t underestimate that boy. Even I feel that he’s quite dangerous."

"You’re correct," the third man, a bulky man walked forward leisurely. "He’s quite powerful, but not up to our standard."

"We’ll see about that," Joshua answered calmly.

Kanae walked towards the group of people indifferently. Her eyes assessed the three men beside Joshua carefully. This was not going to be an easy fight.