Under The Veil of Night

Weeks after the incident

"Clara, is Misae still the same?" Kano asked. It has been weeks since the incident took place. Over the holiday, they took Misae to various places. In the end, they even changed their house to a different clan’s territory. Misae also changed school to a different Junior High, but weeks have passed without her able to make any friends.

Seeing her condition, the two of them felt rather worried as they didn’t know what they could do anymore. It was nearing midterm as the winter has slowly turned to spring, yet she didn’t seem to focus on the study either.

Clara sighed as she nodded her head listlessly. "I should have picked a different middle school before."

"There’s no need to repeat it anymore. I know what you’re feeling," Kano smiled wryly.

"Now, the problem is how can we help her return back to be like usual," Clara sighed deeply.

Kano nodded his head. "In a way, she becomes sensible, but I’ll prefer the same reckless Misae as in the past."

Clara rolled his eyes. "This is not the time for a joke. You influence her too much, Kano."

"I’m just saying," Kano shrugged. He rubbed his chin as he thought for countermeasure. "Should we hire some professional therapist?"

"I’m not sure it’ll work," Clara shook her head. Considering how Misae behaved, what she needed was a genuine friend who would accompany her. Her previous best friend was no longer here as the incident caused some students to lose their life.

Kano scratched his head. He truly didn’t have any idea what he could do for the girl. At this moment, his phone rang, so he hurriedly picked it up. His superior told him something.

"Clara, dear, I think you have to go to work right now," Kano said after a few seconds of hesitation.

"What is it?"

"There’s an incident within the Nali Family, and they wish to bring the matter into the court."

"What is the connection with me going to work?"

"They need a lawyer for free..." Kano explained as he retold his wife about what his superior said.

As Clara went to work, she felt that her head was going dizzy with all the information she got. In short, a branch family in the Nali Family was going against the main family for a mansion. The mansion was big, but the worth was only a drop in a bucket for the main family. The Nali Family sure have a lot of free time to quarrel over a mansion with their family member.

When she arrived in her workplace, she saw a girl standing in front of the door. She was dressed neatly, but the dark circle below her eyes showed that she lacked sleep. In addition, she could sense the faint smell of blood. Did she got beaten up or something similar?

Her other colleagues tried to avoid her. There was simply no benefit for them helping this little lady winning the case. If she won, they would offend the Nali Family, and they didn’t get any money from helping her at all. The girl was poor because she didn’t have anything left from the time she lost her parents.

Clara felt pity for the girl because of her unfortunate fate. Yet, she saw that the girl’s eyes were still filled with fire and determination, the complete opposite of what she saw on Misae. If her own daughter was someone who was very fragile, this girl was someone who was extremely tough.

Anyone who heard about offending a big family would tremble in fear. Yet, this little girl, who was only 14 years old, dared to stand up against that family.

Wait... 14 years old?

Misae’s age is also 14 now, 15 in a few more weeks. If they could become friends, it would be good for her, no?

Thinking about it this way, Clara smiled wryly to herself. She would be using this case as a way to resolve her personal matter. It shouldn’t be allowed, but at this time, she felt rather desperate. Even if it this didn’t end well, she just hoped to help his daughter.

’I’ll just give it a go.’

She walked towards the young girl and stopped near her. The girl looked up with curiosity filled her eyes. Even when she was at her end, the girl’s showed that she would never give up.

"What’s your name?"

"Kanae," the girl answered. "Kanae Nali."

"So, it’s Kanae. Listen Kanae, I have a proposal. Do you want to hear it?"

Kanae nodded her head. There was no one else who wanted to help her, even the worst treatment she could get was all she could hope for.

Clara smiled. She started to tell Kanae about what she wanted.

...

Middle School

"Hey, do you hear about it?"

"What is it?"

"The rumored missing girl has returned back to school."

"Really? I heard that she didn’t go to school ever since the new semester starts. What makes her return back so suddenly?"

"How should I know? How nice it is to be like her, coming from a big family, they can go to school as they like."

Misae listened to her classmates talking with disinterest. She was only a new student who has come here ever since the second semester started. As a transferred second year, she barely knew anyone, so she didn’t expect much from this new girl. Probably, it was just a new rich and annoying student.

When the girl came into the class, she looked around with a smile plastered on her smile. "Hello everyone, sorry, I take a bit longer in my vacation."

"It’s not only longer!"

"You basically disappear for a long time, Kanae."

The others laughed towards her hearty and friendly comment. Misae was rather stunned. Why did they treat this student kindly? Wasn’t she only some rich and annoying student?

"Kanae, you have to teach me again."

"Aw, spare me, I don’t have the time to study that much again lately."

"Hmph, that’s what you say, but don’t you still get a nearly perfect score in the end."

"That’s the power of late-night study," Kanae answered with a smile. She spotted Misae not far from her, sitting on the chair blankly. "We have a new friend? Hello, I’m Kanae."

Misae pulled herself back to reality as she shook the hand that Kanae offered to her. "Ah, hello, I’m Misae."

"Is the seat next to you empty?" Kanae pointed to the chair.

"Yes, it is. You can sit here if you want."

"Thank you! They already take my seat because I disappear for so long. I miss the seat near the window," Kanae said as she sat down. Her eyes landed on the book on Misae’s table. "Are you studying?"

"Well, not really. I don’t really understand about this one."

"Which one? The lessons are hard sometimes, so I can relate."

As they talked, Misae realized that it was the first time she talked to someone for a long time. In the end, Kanae even taught her the lesson that she struggled for a long time. Even though Kanae hadn’t go to school for a long time, the girl still seemed rather energetic and used her mind very well.

"Kanae, I’m happy that you return back to the class, but please pay attention to the lesson," the teacher finally reprimanded the girl who was busy teaching other people.

"Ah yes, sorry!" Kanae laughed. Followed by her friendly laugh, the entire class exploded in laughter as they teased her.

Seeing her new friend’s attitude, Misae’s lips curled up into a slight smile.

Kanae turned her head around right on the time to see her expression. She grinned. "You look far better when you smile. You should smile more."

"Ah," Misae touched her own face. Ever since the incident, she rarely smiled as she felt rather gloomy, especially when she thought about her friend. However, it was already months ago. She needed to move on.

Her eyes landed on the new friend beside her. Although she hasn’t known much about Kanae yet, this girl didn’t seem bad. It would be best if she could make new friends and move on from them.

"Thank you."