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

Chapter 5

ALASDAIR RARELY misremembers anything. It's both a blessing and a curse. A blessing since he will never forget the first time his parents had looked at each other, their eyes glistening. He thought they were finally in love. He thought they were going to be a complete family. Well, he'd thought wrong. The next day, Kaito disregarded his wife again and focused on him. He urged little Alasdair to learn algebra, the German language, and snap more animals' necks. And eventually, turn them into ashes.

Still, that very moment when his parents saw each other for the first time, even if it was brief, is precious to him. He'll treasure it forever.

It's a curse since the memory of his cat's demise will never be erased from his mind. It was a week after his mother's death, as though the cat couldn't bear to live without her. The cat, Kuro, had been hers after all. Perhaps this is why he despises cats.

Alasdair has learnt to store his memories methodically and release them when he needs to. Today, he pictures Declan heaving in the restroom, probably telling himself to calm down and possibly repressing his emotions by manipulating the water inside his body.

He'd known that Declan wasn't normal. It wasn't a coincidence that he had him followed. Kobushi might be a liberated city, as they say, but as a Yamato, he had to know why a nonnative like Declan moved from school to school.

Admittedly, the thought that Declan might be a fugitive had crossed his mind, and so to be sure and safe, he asked for his father's authority to have their men watch Declan.

As it turned out, Declan was a legal immigrant, only that he couldn't stay in one place because he was looking for someone. He wouldn't tell who, ever, Declan had said. He then told Alasdair and his men to leave him alone.

Granted, Declan was correct that whoever he was searching for was none of his business, but Alasdair couldn't let go of someone whose energy was different from that of a normal human being. Unlike Noritaka or Watanabe, Declan's was gentle and wild at the same time, reminding him of the sea.

To test his theory and to trap Declan, he'd commanded his new guard to drown.

'Drown myself?' The newly hired guard asked.

'You heard me. Drown,' Alasdair replied, eyeing the deep swimming pool. It was reserved for the athletes and their coaches only.

His guard chuckled, obviously thinking he was pulling his leg. He stopped when he realised that the young master was serious.

Alasdair called the other guards and told them to hold the newbie's head down under the water. 'And don't let him emerge until I say so.'

Declan turned around then, eyes saturated with incredulity. 'Are you crazy? You gonna kill one of your men?'

In which he challenged with, 'Why? What are you going to do about it? They won't listen to you. Try it, if you'd like. Everyone has gone home. In other words, there will be no eyewitnesses.' He didn't add that even if there were witnesses, his men would gun them down.

'That's because the headmaster called me after school. I thought I had done something wrong! I ain't never been in any trouble.' Alasdair could read the puzzle in the boy's face.

'Drown.' One word and the reluctant guard plunged into the deep pool together with the taller and bigger guards. Swiftly, they seized his head and kept it under the water.

'You're crazy. They gonna kill him!'

'So be it.'

'What do you want from me?' Declan ground his teeth, his veins popping on his forehead.

The energy was getting stronger and yet still restrained. They couldn't have that. 'Why don't you save him?'

Alarm flickered in Declan's eyes, but he soon hid it with bravado and feigned ignorance. 'I don't know what you sayin.'

'Oh, please.' He smiled tenderly. 'Don't worry about these men. We pay for them to keep their mouth shut.'

Declan asked him what he'd do once these puppets cut their strings. He brushed it off and said they wouldn't dare because his father could be a ruthless puppet master.

He didn't know what Declan would do. Would he burn them? Did he have teleportation? Or perhaps telekinesis? It was a risky gamble, but he was willing to take it.

It took Declan a minute, a minute of the neophyte's suffering before he raised his arms and split the water, revealing the gasping man. He not only solidified the water but also froze the two men holding the new guard. 'For following you without any question,' he said.

A split second passed between them, and Alasdair knew that Declan had considered doing the same thing to him. For some reason, the older boy merely glared at him.

That was a year ago, and he knows that Declan doesn't trust him a hundred per cent, but he has proven he isn't cruel. At least, not that much. It was all an act. One, to force Declan to show his gift, and two, to demonstrate to his men that he'd be their boss one day and they must fear him.

He'd offered Declan a spot in their school, said he'd protect him. It'd made Declan laugh, and yet he still complied. Alasdair is aware that it's mostly fear that pushed Declan to accept his offer.

'So many things are going on these days. I'm going to have a headache,' Noritaka says, towering over them as they walk back to their classroom. The question of whether they should wait for Declan or if Declan will miss Miss Aida's class hangs in the air. No one dares voice it out.

'Miss Aida will be thrilled once she sees you, just like Mister Williams,' Jaxon says. The homeroom teacher fawned over Noritaka until the latter got tired of it and asked him to stop. Williams agreed, but he was still smiling like a fool even after leaving the classroom. He didn't comment on how late Jaxon and Noritaka were.

Noritaka shrugs. 'Eh. Can't avoid it.'

Sure enough, as soon as they open the door, Miss Aida rushes towards Noritaka. 'It is you! It's really you!' she says, pinching his nose and cheeks. Since she's smaller than he is, she has to stand on her toes.

'Please, stop it, Aida-sensei.' The woman doesn't listen and launches into lecturing him on how it is not a good idea to waste his education away. Alasdair silently agrees.

Eventually, she lets go of Noritaka. 'Finally,' his friend mumbles. Despite worrying about Declan, they manage to laugh.

Soon, it dies out as they settle back into their seats. Alasdair, along with Noritaka and Watanabe, is struck with anxiety over Declan. They all know that when a gift wielder like them gets too emotional, they become someone they'd wish they were not.

Alasdair can't help wondering, though, why Jaxon looks guilty instead.