Under The Veil of Night

It took Laura quite some time to calm down. Her mind was a mess because of the revelation that Kevin told her. It was... unacceptable for her. She just couldn’t believe that things would turn out this way.

Fate truly played a cruel joke on them.

By the time Laura managed to calm down, she got into her sister’s hospital room. Her nose and eyes were red, but her face was no longer stained with tears. Her hand was gripping tissue that has turned wet because she kept on using it, despite the fact that she had replaced it a few times.

Looking at the sleeping Kanae, she slowly made her way to the seat near her sister. Her hand touched Kanae’s hand, which felt slightly rough due to the training that Kanae did.

"Sis, you always hide it from me, but I know what you have been doing all these times," Laura said in a low tone. "I know you have feeling for him, but don’t you know what he had done to us before? If...If you know, why do you still get close to him, Sis? You have to endure a lot in the past because of him, but you still stay close to him. Why, Sis?"

"The death of our parents changes the entire course of our life. Even if you never say anything to me, I know that you have to sacrifice a lot of things to keep up with our daily needs. The life that does not supposedly belong to us becomes ours."

Closing her eyes, she brought her hand that still held her sister’s hand to her forehead. Tears streamed down once more as she recalled the day she found out Kanae’s real work.

...

Three years ago

Laura knew how hard it was for them to fight back against those greedy b*stard of the Nali Family. She still lived as usual, but it was not the same with her sister. Despite only 14 years old and in the second year of Junior High, Kanae has to work and fight against the Nali Family.

Kanae stayed silent and never divulged any of her difficulties, but Laura knew some of them. Once, she woke up late at night due to the sound of the door and heavy footsteps.

’Who is it?’

It was late at night. Laura looked at the door warily, hoping that the one who came was not a stranger. However, the sound stopped in the living room. Out of curiosity, she sneaked out of her room.

It was dark, so she took several seconds to make her eyes got used with the darkness. Without the sneakers, she could walk around without any sound. The cold floor was nothing to stop her curiosity as she moved towards the living room.

Their mansion was quite big. But the sounds tonight caused her to wake up, so she chose to inspect it. Peeking to the living room, she saw her sister walking. Her eyes lit up as she wanted to greet the other party, but her words stuck on her throat. What she saw made her unable to speak.

’She’s bleeding.’

The word bleeding was not enough to describe the current condition of Kanae. She was basically covered in blood all over her body. Limping on the chair, Kanae was breathing hard. Her hand was holding bandages as she tried her best to cover the wounds on her body. There were numerous bruises on her arm and legs, with the addition some wounds from sharp blades on her arm that kept on bleeding.

At that time, Laura couldn’t do anything.

’Sis, why do you hide this from me?’

Kanae never told her anything. Laura knew that it was not something that could be talked easily, but it was so scary. The sight of her sister covered in blood caused sense of unease to appear deep within her heart. She was afraid to lose her sister after losing her parents.

As her voice threatened to come out, she used her hand to close her mouth. Her eyes were wet from tears, and she tried her best to stifle her cries. She didn’t know what happened with her sister, but one thing for sure, it was something dangerous.

’Sis...’

Tears streamed down even harder.

’I have to move.’

If she stayed there, her sister would find her for sure. At that time, she wouldn’t be able to explain to her sister what she was doing in the middle of the night. She knew that her sister didn’t want to be seen in this condition. Kanae wouldn’t want her to worry. She couldn’t possibly show herself right now.

Her stomach churned when she recalled Kanae’s current appearance. It was horrible....

Moving back slowly, Laura moved her trembling legs to the room. Her steps caused no sound as she tried her best to move unnoticed. By the time she reached her room, she closed her door. Before she could move another step, she fell to the ground.

Her knees felt weak, she was unable to stand anymore. Laura slumped down on the floor with her back facing the door and cried without any sound. Tears stained her cheek and clothes as she didn’t try to make any effort to wipe them.

She knew Kanae didn’t want her to know, so she tried to suppress her cry. However, it was impossible for her to not realize that Kanae did it for the two of them.

From the moment they lost their parents, she knew that their life was not going to be any easy. She still didn’t find any change in her daily life as her sister told her not to worry about anything. But, would thing stay the same for her sister?

Obviously not.

At that moment, she hated the fact that their parents left them the most.

Why?

Why should they die?

If only they were still alive, her sister didn’t have to do something so dangerous and risked her life like that. Her hand tightly clenched into a fist. She felt extremely useless to not be able to do anything while her sister braced through danger.

Only from involving herself in the Black Street would her sister able to earn enough for their living.

Tears continued to fall for the next few minutes or even much longer. Laura didn’t know how much time it was needed for her to calm down. When she had calmed down, she reached the bed and slept until morning, trying her best to forget what she saw the night before.

In the next morning, Laura opened her eyes slowly as her alarm rang. She barely slept at all because her mind kept on replaying the view that she saw last night. She still remembered everything from the night before. Would she see her sister in bad condition again?

She didn’t want to lose her sister.

Her heart was filled with worry as she changed her clothes. She didn’t have any capabilities in terms of martial arts, so she knew how useless she would be if she tried to involve herself in the Underworld. If anything, she would only become a burden.

Slowly, Laura got out of her room. As she entered the living room, she saw her sister was standing near the door with a smile on her face.

"You wake up quite late today, Laura. I already take out the foods from the refrigerator."

Laura opened her mouth but no words come out. Her eyes scanned the chair where she found her bloodied sister last night. Everything was clear and there was no trace of the mess from the night before. It was as if what she had seen before was nothing but a dream.

"Laura? Is there anything wrong?" Kanae asked as she walked towards Laura in confusion.

Laura shook her head. Her eyes caught the sight of bandage on her sister’s neck. Because Kanae buttoned the button on her collar, it was hard to see anything. However, when she stood near her, Laura could see it very clearly.

’So, it’s not a dream.’

Laura forced a smile out. "It’s nothing, Sis. I’m just thinking about something."

"What can make you think so hard, little girl?" Kanae chuckled. "It’s not like the lessons are too hard for you."

Laura smiled wryly. Why did it have to be lesson? However, she knew that the only thing that should matter for her was the lesson. It was no wonder that Kanae thought about that matter the very first.

Her mind drifted to the invitation letter that she got from overseas not long before their parents’ death. She knew that her sister tried to hide it from her and in this city, there was nothing much she could do. Unlike her sister, she was never good in fighting.

She didn’t want her sister to get involved in the Underworld, but how could two children get enough money to live if not from there? She could just quit school and search for jobs, but she doubted that Kanae would allow her to do that. Besides, the cost to maintain this mansion was simply too big if they just want to rely on the low pay job.

It meant, she had to turn blind eyes of what her sister did on the Black Street. But, there should be a way for her to be able to help.

Right now, there’s just one that she could think of.

"Sis, do you remember the invitation letter that I get from overseas?"

"I thought you already forget about that," Kanae arched her eyebrows.

Laura smiled slightly. "I’m thinking about accepting it. Do you mind, Sis?"

Kanae stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head. "If you want to pursue a better education, I’ll fully support you. Now, can you help me reheat the food? I’m hungry."

"Okay, Sis," Laura smiled slightly. Walking to the kitchen, she thought about her decision just now. It might be reckless of her, but if she couldn’t do anything in this place, it would be better to learn more about other things overseas and learnt many other important things. That way, she would be able to earn a lot when she returned back and become the one who protected her sister.