The Enemy Beside Me + The Liar Beside Me (Book 1 and 2)

B2 Chapter 10

Kaito's room could house a whole-ass family of eight or more, honestly. Damn this guy. I've never felt this insecure about my bank account and I'm only a teenager.

Deep inside, even though I've always told myself not to trust rich people, I know I want to be like them. That's why I'd pushed hard to be a model. I'd thought it would help me be an actor and then be as wealthy as those Hollywood stars. Yeah, they still exist. You would think with the war lingering and children "mysteriously" disappearing, humans would focus more on the crucial issues instead of following celebrities who do not really care about them. But you know what? It's only normal for us to distract ourselves from our problems. That's our stress taking control over us.

'Please, sit down,' Kaito says with that perfect accent again, looking down at us with his perfect brown eyes and his perfectly gelled hair. Now I understand why there are guys who hate me.

I sink down onto a chair that is more comfortable than Kaito's. His requires someone to sit up straight which could eventually break one's back.

To distract myself from his stupidly serious but respectable manner, I focus on the lights. Now, I don't find them interesting except they're light blue instead of the usual white or orange. This is intentional, I guess, as its effect is calming. Had they been white, I would've felt I was being interrogated. Which I am, I think. But it doesn't feel like it because of the blue lights, you catch my drift?

'I understand that we've had some misunderstandings and...really. I cannot blame any of you if you have lost some of your trust. Or in your case, Declan, I know you've never liked me.'

'Damn straight,' Declan says. He crosses his arms over his chest. 'I know I need you guys though, so I stay loyal. I don't have any choice.'

Kaito rests his chin on his knuckles. 'As I was saying... I would like to mend our relationship. However, this doesn't mean, I will start acting like Dr Matsuda. No offence.' He nods to Matsuda who is standing behind him. The friendly old man nods back with a full smile on his face. Creepy. 'I'm not like him and will never be like him. But I can be more forgiving from now on. I just needed to see what had to be fixed and how to deal with your abilities. Remember, you are no ordinary children. Aside from that, you are in danger of being hunted, so I'm doing everything in my power to see what I can do.'

Jesus Christ. This man and his crazy methods. Well, he's got a point. Declan had told me that he'd rather have armed men do the dirty work to protect us. He's good at killing, but he's no killer at heart.

It breaks my heart that I agree with him. As much as possible, I wouldn't want to use my pyrokinesis to take another life. Yes, we are hypocrites. But this is a much better option. As long as they are only protecting us from people who want to take our lives, I'll keep on closing my eyes.

'I see that Uchiyama-kun has finally joined us. Welcome.' Kaito's lips stretch into the sincerest smile yet.

Eien's gaze glides to the glass floor—it's so freaking shiny, what the heck?—before settling in Kaito's direction. 'Thank you, Yamato-sama. Please take care of me.' I expect him to bow, but he stays rigid in his seat. I guess even the kindest people have their limitation.

Recognition flickers in Kaito's eyes. He knows he is in danger of losing our trust, and yet he also knows we've got nowhere to go. 'Now, I don't want anything but cooperation from all of you. You will have to listen to your trainers and let them help you. Do not be afraid. If somehow, you have accidentally hurt them, it is only natural. Raw powers coming from a young body tend to be uncontrollable.'

'Not me,' Declan mutters.

'Are you sure about that?' Kaito challenges.

There is a few beats of silence as if Declan is debating answering at all or deliberating between sarcastic responses. But when he finally answers, his voice is quiet and serious. 'Yes.' I don't even know what was I expecting. He has a reason to be confident about his capabilities. That or he won't ever let anyone see through him. 'But I'll let you do the dirty work for me. Unless, of course, you're planning to use us as weapons.' He shrugs, smirking at Alasdair who's noticeably eyeing him.

Kaito chuckles and claps his hands as though he's heard the best joke in the world ever. 'No, no. I simply want to secure my son's life. It just so happened he can feel the others' energy and so, we couldn't stay silent, doing nothing whilst the other children like you,' he gestures to us, 'were being slaughtered.'

'There are more of us. You will meet them soon, Jaxon,' Alasdair adds.

'What the hell? I thought it was just...us.' The thought of meeting more gift wielders creates turmoil inside me. At the same time, I'm quite looking forward to it. I hope there are girls there. I haven't met anyone who's my type, except for that girl with the blue headband. Since I've got too immersed in my current problems, I haven't had the chance to give her a message.

As if reading my mind, Kaito proceeds with: 'For some reason, gift wielding is more common with the male population than with the opposite sex.'

I sit up straight. 'What?'

'So far, we only have four...five female gift wielders. I don't know the reason behind that but there you have it.'

'Well, a five doesn't sound so bad.'

Declan scoffs. 'Actually...There's the twins who are twelve years old. Then there's this lesbian couple and very much in love with each other. And the last one is in an open relationship, so unless you're fine with that, you've only got one. Oh, there's also this their de facto leader, but I don't think you like the studious type.'

'What? That's just great.'

'Hold your libido, Evans. That is not why we're here,' Watanabe says for the first time. I wince.

It's easier for him to pretend as though everything is still the same. He's not the one being gnawed with guilt. I'd thought this all would be erased when I saw Eien standing for the first time ever since that night. Then you know what happened next.

Kaito clears his throat, forcing us to turn our attention back to him. 'As I and my son were saying,' he waves his hand at Alasdair's direction, 'you will be meeting some more gift wielders. Your number is still small. But we are getting bigger. Don't worry, this won't hinder your security. My team and I will try our best to keep you all alive.'

'When?' I flatten my palm against my trousers and wipe them until they're semi-dry.

'In the camp,' Alasdair says.

A loud, 'Whoa!' escapes my lips. 'And I thought we would only be swimming and partying.'

'That honestly sounds boring,' Watanabe says.

What do you know about having fun? 'Well, I for one, welcome our fellow gift wielders. Jokes aside, does this mean they're also in our class or from another class or what?'

'From another class. Mister Williams teaches some of them.'

'Mister Williams?' My head feels fuzzy all of a sudden with all of this information coming all at once. It's not as though I care about Mister Williams. I barely pay attention to his lessons, but now that I know he's more than meets the eye, I kinda regret not observing him more.

Dr Matsuda smiles wider. 'He's my half-brother! I just thought you'd like to know.'

'OK, OK. Relax with the information, jeez...' I palm my forehead and rub my temples with forefingers.

'Sorry,' Dr Matsuda dips his head as he smiles sheepishly.

'Is there anything else I should know? Maybe some of you is a descendant of Jesus or worse, Hitler? Or someone here is an android?' I say with a straight face.

Kaito shakes his head. 'No, don't worry. From now on, we're going to be more open to you. Just ask anything.' He opens his palms as if he's offering me a crown.

'I've got nothing.' I pause. 'Wait, I do have one. Do you know who Phoebe Evans is?'

I don't expect much. Old and rich people tend to hide their real intention until they see it fit it's time to reveal the secrets. He will deny her. He won't say anything about my mum. Or maybe it's just her who knows him and he has no idea who she is. Deep down, I am hoping it is the latter.

Silence becomes thicker between us. I don't dare to breathe. Everyone else is confused, including Alasdair who's looking at us back and forth. Eien remains passive as if he's not here. I don't mind. He's never interested in anything unless it concerns our safety.

Kaito locks his gaze to me, never wavering. When he opens his mouth and gives his answer, I am reminded once again that one word can be powerful enough to knock the air out of your lungs. And that word is, 'Yes.'