Under The Veil of Night

"You came at the right time, Brother Jason," Kanae smiled in relief.

Jason nodded his head. They had actually listened to the conversation Kanae had with Master Rudy from the moment Kanae asked the question. This was the reason Jason could appear at the most crucial moment. She might never have said it blatantly, but he knew that Kanae also knew the recipient in the Nali Family of the letter from the government.

"I don’t understand why you don’t want your master to know," on the backseat, Tommy remarked.

"We’re not that close yet and I don’t wish for him to get involved in the turmoil inside the Nali Family," Kanae answered.

Tommy nodded his head. Although he barely understood anything, he knew better than to ask for more explanation.

"I still don’t understand about that letter from the government. How could a single letter have caused so much trouble?"

He really couldn’t comprehend how a single letter made of paper could throw the entire city into turmoil. From their conversation, he could infer that the recipient of the letter was extremely important. It was to the point that every single person in the city would try to get the letter.

Kanae tapped the car door with her finger as she thought about the best explanation she could offer to Tommy. Tommy’s IQ was not too high and this boy preferred brawn over brains, so she couldn’t use complicated words to explain it.

"You know that in this city, the ones who seem to hold power are the five---no it’s now the four big clans and the four big families, right?" Seeing Tommy nod his head, Kanae proceeded. "On the outside, it seems that they’re the ones in control while the government only stays behind them. Their power is always being neglected as crimes are extremely common in this city. In fact, many people would even forget about their existence if not because of the taxes they have to pay.

Unfortunately, that’s not entirely the truth. The only reason the clans and the four big families have their power is that they don’t choose to go against the government. The government holds enormous power, hidden from the outside, and no one knows the true extent of their power."

Tommy stared at her with mouth agape. This was the first time he heard something as outrageous as this. From what he knew, the government always seemed extremely weak, which was why crimes always happened. Little did he know that it was actually intentional on their part as they didn’t want to bother with those trivial matters.

"If that’s true, why are they holding back their power?"

"At first, it’s because they don’t want to make changes in this city drastically. The power structure from the past always had the clans and the families hold the power. However, the world keeps on changing and they need the government more now to ensure the growth of this city," Kanae shrugged.

Jason nodded his head. "The government has been supporting the growth of this city for decades. Ever since they made the treaty with the clans and the families decades ago, this is the only way they can make changes without alarming anyone. Unfortunately, the government has also been changing lately."

"Changing? How?" Tommy asked confusedly.

"They seem to be breaching more matters in this city, which makes the citizens feel restless. Some of the clashes that happened lately are somewhat related to the government, but very few know that."

"Why are they doing that?"

Kanae shook her head. "I’m not sure myself. However, those big powers have realized their actions too have started to prepare themselves. Some of them want to have access to the secret power of the government. The only key they know that is related to this seemingly hidden power is the letter from the government."

Tommy stayed silent. He was trying his best to process what Kanae told him. Truth to be told, he never expected this city to hold that big of a secret. All along, he knew only the street and only to become more powerful by fighting every single day. It was all he could do to make sure he could live.

If the government wanted to change how things were in this city, there was no doubt that the lives of numerous citizens were going to change. No one knew for sure how they would change. One thing was for certain: the clans and the families might not necessarily accept the change without struggle.

They have been at the peak of power for decades. Who would want to step down so suddenly just because of the emerging power of the government? Even if they didn’t know the power the government held, they still wouldn’t back down so easily.

"What is the content of that letter?" Tommy raised his head after he had finished processing the information.

Kanae stayed silent while Jason sighed. "The letter is an invitation."

"What’s the purpose of the invitation?"

"It’s a bit complicated and I don’t think someone like you will understand," Jason laughed dryly. He had access to the information because he was a core member of the Wells Family. Should he come from an ordinary family, he would never know about it at all.

As for Kanae, he was unsure how this girl got the information. He had his guesses, but he would not say it before Kanae told them the truth herself.

"I still want to know."

"In short, the government is trying to recruit talented people, and the letter is addressed only towards those whom they believe hold some sort of potential," Jason answered ambiguously.

Tommy eyed Jason suspiciously. Why did he withhold that information from him? Was there some kind of secret that he couldn’t divulge no matter what?

"The number of people who know the truth about the letter is very limited, Tom. It’ll be better if you don’t know more than the fact that it’s an invitation to talented people. Should you get captured, you still can get away if you only know this much," Jason answered.

"Why are you keeping so many secrets from me? It’s not that big of a deal, right?"

"If word get out about the letter, you and everyone close to you will be killed," Kanae answered in Jason’s stead.

Hearing that cold tone, Tommy shuddered. He got the feeling that it was for his own good that he didn’t know about the matter. Facing the government, they were still nothing.

"How do they know that you’re talented?"

"That’s something that you shouldn’t know either," Jason sighed. It would be too complicated to explain this to Tommy right now. This boy would only ask them endless questions. For now, it was enough for Tommy to know the importance of the letter.

Tommy’s face scrunched. He got the feeling that the answer to all of his questions would be he shouldn’t know.

"What about the recipient of the letter in the Nali Family? Can I know who got the letter?"

"The government sent the letter to Sakura Nali," Kanae answered evenly.

"I see... wait, you mean your cousin, Sakura Nali?" Tommy’s eyes widened. He would not feel so strange if it were a name that he didn’t know, but Sakura? It was a name that he never expected to come out of Kanae’s mouth.

That dumb and annoying girl got the letter? What in the world was the government thinking?

"Yes."

"Are you serious?"

Kanae laughed dryly. "Yes, I’m serious. However, you shouldn’t tell anyone that you know about this matter."

"Why?"

"When the people who found out about the news crash Sakura’s birthday party, they might leak out the news. At this time, whoever knows about the fact that Sakura has the letter will be taken away and interrogated," Kanae smiled wryly.

Tommy nodded his head in understanding. It was then did he realize something. "It means you’re going to be taken away too?"

Kanae closed her eyes for a moment and nodded her head. "Unfortunately, yes. Sakura loves to brag in front of me, so my name will obviously come out of her mouth."

"That’s unless she decides to keep mum about you."

"I highly doubt it," Kanae shrugged. "In any case, when they take me away, please take care of Laura. I don’t want that girl to worry about me too much."

"I think you should worry about yourself more. If what you say about the government is true, you’re going to face an enormous wall," Tommy said worriedly. If Kanae knew more than she should know, the government would surely find it suspicious and might do something unimaginable.

He didn’t want to think of what might happen to Kanae if they decided that she was dangerous. It was something that he wanted to avoid.

Kanae smiled slightly. "I have my own way to deal with them. Don’t worry."

On the side, Jason sighed. He glanced towards the mirror to see the faces of his two teammates. For whatever reason, he didn’t want to lose them even if their relationship so far was only limited to the street. From the bottom of his heart, he hoped that Kanae would be fine.

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