Round I

AN: Hi, I'm Purple Marmalade. I'm fresh of the boat when it comes to writing fan-fiction; though I lurk around when the mood strikes me. However while watching Liar Game I was inexplicably compelled to write this story- and since feedback is always good for writing I'm posting it here. Of course since I can't seem to write anything short the small spark of inspiration that came from a single 30 second scene from the drama has turned into a full length pseudo-retelling of the entire drama...

On that note, this will be a retelling of the DRAMA- while I've read some of the manga I'm not generally a big manga reader and I don't expect to get far enough into it to write something based on it with confidence. By day I'm a languages scholar- which is why I watch so much Japanese drama, but I really don't appreciate mixing languages in writing so this story will be 100% in English. Other than that I hope you enjoy, and thank you for reading. *This chapter has edited with help from BGR (who is absolutely fantastic)*

Purple Marmalade


From the first moment he met her Akiyama Shinichi could not help but be baffled by Kanzaki Nao. She was obviously trouble- he could tell that from the time that she bumped into him not five minutes after his release from prison.

When she ran literally right into him, he almost snapped at her to watch where she was going; but as soon as he saw her, the need vanished. Somehow he felt that yelling at her could be equated to kicking small dogs and drowning kittens. He was completely bemused.

"Just who the hell are you anyways?"

Resisting the urge to help her up and berate her for not being more cautious he chose to walk away-

and she chose to follow him.

Although he had noticed her presence behind him immediately, he did not acknowledge it hoping that she would give up and go away. He didn't want company. Nor did he want to hear a sob story. After all three years in prison did not serve to make anyone sociable.

Glancing at her discretely he thought that perhaps if he took a less savory route to the lodging house he planned to stay at, she would be frightened away. He supposed that if he made a motion to strike her himself he could save himself the trouble of going through the Chinese market, but decided against it. He reasoned that she looked like the type to run to the police at the first sign of trouble- three years in prison was more than enough.

They walked in silent procession for a fair distance through the rowdy and dilapidated market when he finally worked himself into enough frustration to try a less passive way to force her to leave. His lie "Wait here. I'll just go home to drop my bag." sounded so weak to his own ears that he didn't think for a minute that even a five year old would believe it.

She did.

Akiyama scoffed internally as he walked away; if she was in trouble, it was certainly her own fault for being so damn gullible- that wasn't his fault; and it certainly wasn't his responsibility to help her. Besides, she would have left as soon as she saw his back if she had any sense.

Still later on as the sun was setting he couldn't help his curiosity.

She was still there.

She stood in exactly the same place that he had left her, looking completely miserable as a fight broke out in the impromptu bar that had sprung up as the sun went down. It was pitiful.

"Just get it already, will you?" Akiyama almost growled to himself, wishing she would get the message. Leaving a girl alone to spend the night in such a rough neighborhood struck him as something his mother would disapprove of. Still- he was sure that she would be gone by morning.

That night in the capsule hotel that he had chosen to stay at after finding that the lodging house had gone out of business (many things had changed in the three years that he had been away) Akiyama couldn't sleep. There were too many things to consider. What sort of future did he have? He couldn't go back to school- not only did he not have the money; he doubted that any school would take him. A life of repetitive menial tasks or intense physical labour did not appeal to him, but then neither did a life of swindling. As those were the only jobs he was qualified for, his future looked dim.

Akiyama flicked through the channels on the tiny TV not watching more than a minute of any one station. Finally sighing to himself he turned off the power and lay in his capsule, unable to avoid the thoughts flooding through his mind. He missed his mother. Somehow when she had been there, there had been a purpose to his life.

That girl- Nao- reminded him of her.

Akiyama walked through the market the next morning, the same way that he had the night before. It wasn't for her he reminded himself forcefully; that girl- Nao- would be long gone.

"Akiyama-san" Lost in his thoughts Akiyama was startled by the plaintive bleat though outwardly he showed no signs of it.

She was still there.

He couldn't really believe his eyes- surely she would have gone home by now. "After being kept waiting for so long, you'd usually go home, wouldn't you?" he voiced as incredulously as he could permit.

She looked at him innocently, stuttering some nonsense about listening to him. Suddenly he was angry. Angry at himself for allowing someone like her to sit in such a place for so long and angry at her for allowing him to treat her that way. Why couldn't she see that this wasn't a safe place to spend the night waiting for him?

Allowing his frustration to take a hold of him for a few minutes, and he scolded her soundly "You're too honest for your own good, that's why you're getting deceived." bitterness rising up in his mouth. She was going to get herself killed.

"To be stupidly honest- is it such a bad thing?" For a moment he couldn't help but stare at her. Surely such a person couldn't exist in this world? Surely not. His curiosity grew and his resolve to not get involved with her -somebody who could only cause him trouble- crumbled under her surprisingly determined gaze.

Akiyama let out a sigh "I'll just hear your story, that's all." The grin that resulted on her face almost made him smile. Almost.

Akiyama walked silently through the Chinese market, Nao following faithfully two steps behind him. He didn't slow down to make it easier for her to follow his long strides, even when her fatigue from spending the night on the cold stone became apparent though he noticed it. He felt a bit vindictive of her ability to wrap him around her finger. She didn't even know him!

When she began to sway on her feet as if about to collapse though, he began to feel his heart soften; she hadn't complained once of his unkindness to her. Rather it seemed that she held the belief that he was the kindest person on the planet. Frowning he took her arm and let her to a small noodle shop and sat her at the closest table. Leaving her there puzzled as he walked off.

The smile that lit her face when he returned with two bowls of noodles struck him in a way that almost tempted him to tell her that they were both for him. It really wouldn't be to his advantage to encourage her staunch belief in kindness that wasn't there. Sighing for the umpteenth time since he had met her he laid one neatly in front of her.

"Eat this." He said gruffly, only to cause her smile to widen. "If you collapse before I hear your story I don't want to carry you." He felt the need to add, the twinkle in her eyes made him feel like he was being laughed at.

"100 million yen?" He could barely believe it.

How could a girl like that get involved in something so big?

"That's really hard to believe..." he spoke in wonderment. He believed every word of what she had told him- he didn't think her capable of lying even before she affirmed that she was telling the truth.

He could see the desperation in her eyes- the type that makes people do crazy things.

Mentally beating his head against the table for getting caught up in her problems and feeling compelled to help her he asked her "What do you want to do? Do you want to win such a game? Or do you want to quit?" already knowing that she would want to quit. He knew the type- always trying to avoid conflict, unable to do anything for themselves. Well he would show her the true nature of this world.

He began to prepare immediately. He admitted that he was using really amateur tactics against Fujisawa, as well as Nao, but he hadn't had much time to think of a plan- nor did he have much information.

Getting Nao to tell Fujisawa her intentions to play the game had been his way of gathering more useful information- and had the added bonus of causing Fujisawa some extra stress. He hadn't been prepared for the effect that Fujisawa's lies had on her. He hadn't wanted to see her so beaten. That's why he told her that it was going to be alright; though even he wasn't sure how.

Slowly his plan came together in his mind, and he began to execute it. It involved a large amount of stress for both Fujisawa and Nao to work, and he thought with relentless glee that it would teach both of them not to rush so blindly into things. However; as Nao became paler and paler losing both weight and the shine in her eyes because of the added stress of watching Fujisawa, her part-time job, and visiting her father at the hospital Akiyama had begun to feel slightly guilty for what he was about to put her through.

He rented a room for her.

He took over more of her shifts so that she could visit her father.

He made sure she ate and slept enough.

It wasn't. None of it was enough to compensate for the stress he was about to put her under. It frustrated him to think that her comfort might affect his ability to think. It frustrated him- so he ignored her. It was all according to plan. He didn't let her growing uneasiness change his plan. Even her begging eyes could not sway him to reveal his plan. When she cried he turned away.

In the end it worked perfectly. It was worth it (whatever 'it' was). She had won and he had earned his 50 million yen reward. He told himself it was worth it when she despondently questioned his methods of keeping her in the dark about his plan.

He was amazed when she hesitantly asked "About Fujisawa-sensei... What's going to happen to him now?" Keeping a careful watch on her reaction, he calmly told her that they would probably sell him off; but he was still taken by surprise when upon hearing his speculation she turned around and headed back to Fujisawa's house. There was no doubt in his mind that she had gone to give him her half of the prize money.

Maybe people like that existed after all.

Sighing to himself Akiyama resigned himself to the sudden surge in his conscience- he felt obligated by her righteousness to help the man who had condemned her to face a debt of 100 million yen. He was going insane. Surprisingly, it felt good.

"Give this to Fujisawa as well" he told her ignoring her obliviousness to the effect she has on others, making up some flimsy loophole about how they had agreed on splitting the prize. It seemed that a moral compass was contagious.

That was the first time she saw through his lies.