"No, I’m not. I’m different from you, Tom. I didn’t born and grow up in Black Street."

Hearing that sentence, Tommy felt his mind went blank. All these times, he thought of Shiro as someone similar to him, who was born and grew up in Black Street environment. It was not strange for him to think that way as he had never seen Shiro’s live outside here.

Even though he met Shiro when the latter was still a medical student, Shiro graduated soon afterwards. They hadn’t grown closer by that time, so he had never seen Shiro’s life outside the Black Street. Even this clinic that has become legal was located in Black Street.

"You mean, among the four of us, I’m the only one who was born and grow up in Black Street?" Tommy asked in incredulous tone. Somehow, he found it hard to believe that he was the only one who lived in this harsh street from birth. After all, he always thought that Shiro was similar to him.

"I had a family and normal environment when I’m a kid," Shiro chuckled. "Things happen, and I end up in Black Street. That’s why you won’t see me outside this area."

"I see," Tommy muttered. He was still in trance as he found the realization hard to believe. "Did the other know?"

"Kanae and Jason?" Shiro asked. "They have known from a long time ago that I’m not someone from Black Street. Besides, isn’t it obvious from my action that I didn’t come from here?"

"Really?"

"You say it yourself. ’Everyone won’t help’ but I still do because I’m not used to see someone dying in front of my house. I may have lived in Black Street for some time, but I’m still not comfortable seeing someone die near my home," Shiro explained.

Tommy nodded his head. It was true. If it was him, he wouldn’t care for anyone around him because it was normal to see people dying one after another in Black Street. There was no one who would show compassion because even the slightest bit of mercy might lead to their grave. That was just how the Black Street worked.

"Now that you say it like that, I remember Kanae say the same thing when I first meet with her," Tommy recalled.

"Really? Can you tell me more?"

Tommy’s face darkened. "There’s no way I would want to share that story to an annoying doctor like you. By the way, why did I never see your friends from outside Black Street?"

"Oh? That’s because...."

Ding!

"Excuse me, is there any doctor around?"

"Ah, come in," Shiro halted his sentence and hurried to the front part of his clinic, leaving Tommy hanging on his question.

Getting ignored, Tommy rolled his body once more and faced the ceiling. He was still tired because of training. Even though Kanae no longer issued any mission for him, he still naturally did some missions just to move his body around. For him, it was much more relaxing when he was moving around rather than lazing around.

Closing his eyes, Tommy drifted back to the dreamland as he was still feeling tired.

historical

....

While Tommy spent his days with training at night and sleeping over in Shiro’s place at day time, Kanae also used this time to train at night and spent the day with her sister. As for sleep, she just sneaked it here and there when she had the time, turning her resting schedule into a complete mess.

"Laura, what is this?" Kanae pointed to the letter on the table in the living room.

Laura put down the recipe book she was holding. "It’s a letter for all business company in this city to attend for a business party. They want us to meet with each other and make more connection."

Kanae looked towards the letter suspiciously. Since she was spending her time to train under Master Rudy and Dean, she hadn’t got the chance to take care of the matter in her family again. This made her missed quite a lot of information regarding the company and Laura’s life.

"Will you come there?" Kanae asked.

Laura nodded her head. "Of course I’ll come and you too, Sis. I want you to meet with more people too."

"Are you sure about that?" Kanae frowned. She didn’t like the idea of her getting close with anyone at all. It would be proved to be very difficult for her to adapt to the situation well. Besides, if she had to use annoying dress, she would prefer to stay at home and didn’t come at all.

Laura’s eyes sparkled as she looked towards her sister. "Of course, I want to be the one doing your make up too, Sis. I’m sure you will look extremely splendid like how it used to be!"

"Um... Can you erase the sparkle in your eyes?"

"What are you talking about? I’ll prepare the makeup first, Sis. After that, we’re going to pick dresses for you. Since our size is the same, I hope you don’t mind using mine for the party!"

With Laura already getting hyper because of the party, Kanae didn’t have the heart to stop the girl anymore. With a wry smile, she sat down on the sofa. Her mind was wandering when the last time she wore dress was. It has been so long that the thought of wearing dress has become rather foreign for her.

’Was it in Laura’s 13 birthday party?’

It has been more than three years from her memory that she wore dresses and acted as a normal young girl. There was simply no difference between her with other students at that time since she was also similar with them: A girl who liked dress, makeup, gossips, and the likes.

The change occurred only after the incident. She no longer has the time to gossip with the other people if it was not for her mission. Even for makeup, she barely has any time to spare because she was too busy. Her appearance became as plain as possible.

Before long, Laura returned with all the equipment. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she helped Kanae to wear the dress and did the makeup. After hours of sitting in front of the mirror, Kanae was stunned to see the result. There was simply heaven and earth difference between her usual appearance and the one she saw right now.

In the mirror, she could see a young girl with lustrous skin staring back with wide eyes. Around the eyes were the eye shadow, making it light blue. Her lips were painted red like rose and the tinge pink on her cheek made her looked adorable. One look and it was all they need to be unable to look away.

She might not be at the level of a famous model or actor, but her appearance alone was top notch.

"How is it, Sis? You’re far better than three years ago," Laura grinned, feeling satisfied with the result of her tampering.

"It feels rather weird," Kanae laughed. She was not used to wear makeup again after a long time not using them. Still, seeing her appearance like this, sense of satisfaction rose within her heart.

Laura pouted. "Don’t say that, it’s better to see your appearance like this compared with before. Now, it’s time for me to prepare myself. You can do your hair, alone, right Sis?"

"I’ll do my best."