Chapter 3: Döppleganger

Waking up to the sound of birds chirping, Alistair growled, turning over, attempting to stop the golden rays of sunshine that beamed into the windows from hitting him in the face so he didn't have to wake up. In all honesty, he was perfectly content not to go to school and have to listen to teachers bitching at him because he fell asleep in the damn class because 1. He was too tired. 2. He was too lazy. 3. The teachers bored him to goddamn sleep. However, he had to, in order to keep the 'normal school child' vibe alive, and to protect the bloodthirsty murderer side in the dark.

"Okay, okay, I'm up. Shut the hell up!" His growl was evident as he grabbed the nearest object to his hand- a book, and threw it out the open window. It missed the birds, but they chirped and flew off in a ruffle. Hearing the thud as the book hit the floor outside, he dragged himself up and out of the bed and onto his wavering feet. Alistair….most definitely had bed hair. His normally flat, black hair was now curled in many different places…somewhat defying gravity by going up instead of down. With a yawn, he pushed the door open- it swung on its golden hinge. Sticking a hand up his shirt, he rubbed his eyes with the grey cloth it was made from.

Going to the bathroom, he ran the toothbrush along his teeth and stepped into the shower- pulling off the shirt rather easily and flicking on the tap.

"G-gah, that's goddamn cold!" The boy shivered, snapping awake as the first few droplets of water cascaded down his body, his eyes widened as he took a breath, the water slowly, surely becoming warmer. He didn't relax, though- not after that sudden shock. Best to have a shower as quickly as possible- he stepped out, drying himself off with a towel and began pulling on his school's uniform.

He hated the way it looked. The blazer was blue with a white shirt and blue tie- the students had a choice of black trousers or a black skirt. It didn't matter as long as they wore one of them. Blue was too…..blue for him. However, he had to wear it or he'd get yelled at for something stupid….for the millionth time.

Moving down the steps drowsily, he almost fell multiple times, tripping over his own feet and numerous jutting out pieces of wood.

"Maia, I'm off." He said, waving gently, hearing a "Bye!" from the woman before he shut the door. Another day of pure nonsense, he guessed. School was much less 'school' and more 'fight training' for most. Half the kids didn't come in, and the rest simply went to the Magic Training class only.

Arriving at the school, he glanced up. Same as ever….what was he even going here for? The teachers were stupid, and they seemed to despise him anyway. Even the dumbest people knew they wouldn't care if he transferred halfway across the country- or worse, died. But…the atmosphere was different- he picked up on that as soon as he walked through the gate. People hid in corners- cowering, afraid. Not of him, however. In light of Azrail's recent attack, it seemed the morale had dampened significantly. Alistair couldn't help but feel the slightest amount of guilt, especially considering he was the one causing them to act this way. There wasn't much he could do about that now, anyway. He didn't have the power to bring the dead back to life- and owning up at this point would do nothing…his path was set.

Making his way through the crowds of people it was time for the first class…Chemistry or whatever it's stupid name was, he wasn't interested. Glancing out of the window, he became lost in thought. Not peaceful thoughts either. It was just black, pure black…and it was going to consume him, devour him whole- until he was snapped out of his thoughts due to someone calling his name.

Hands were slammed on his desk. The teacher loomed over him, glaring rather angrily. Alistair clicked his tongue and scoffed, looking up at the man. Alistair's look was condescending and scorning- it showed no fear, nor respect for the man looking down at him.

"Yes, sir?" He asked with a rather dry, sarcastic chuckle. The teacher, seemingly even more frustrated at this point, crossed his arms before sighing.

"Go up to the board and-"

Cutting him off by moving away, the teacher sighed, Alistair…well, he was more arrogant than most. However, his arrogance wasn't baseless- it was due to the skill he had. Alistair had lots of bark- but an even bigger bite. Drawing up a few equations on the board, he approached his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as the bell rang.

The rest of the day went rather smoothly, with only a few times he got told off- better than most days. Before he knew it, he was making the slow trudge back home. Opening the door, he didn't expect to see the look of disbelief and utter horror on Maia's face as she pulled him inside.

"A-are you okay?" Her voice was rather frantic as she checked him over for injuries, running her hand across his cheekbones and face.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why?" His voice was evidently curious as he gently removed the woman's hands from his head.

"A teacher at your school- he's been killed! And the police are saying it was Azrail. They say REQUIEM's going to get involved too- he's not going to get away with this one."

Hearing that word…the name 'Azrail'...something cracked in the boy's mind. How? He hadn't done anything of the sort! Moving Maia out of the way gently, he gingerly pressed his fingers against the TV screen, the news report blaring out.

"Yes, and this is a report from Maho City High, in which a chemistry teacher has been killed. Police report it's Azrail, a notorious killer who roams the streets. They have no idea what his motive was- but they have REQUIEM working on the case. That is all for now, we'll update you on if we-" The TV shut off with a click, Alistair pressing the button himself. For the first time in forever, fear and dread ran through his veins. Who…! But a shocking realisation had appeared to him. Someone had done this on purpose, knowing it would be blamed on him. They were framing him, trying to cause his downfall…no.

They were trying to get him out of the picture, trying to lock him away so he never caused trouble again. But for what?!

..Perhaps he'd have to check this out- for himself.