Resurrection Round
Alrighty, this is the first of two chapters from Nao's perspective- the one after that will be from Akiyama's point of view (that may extend to two chapters as well), and then we'll move on to round three. BGR has offered to edit this story for me, and I have accepted so very shortly you will find that the chapters being replaced- there will be no changes really except for rewording to make things more clear. The only significant change so far has been that I offhandedly mentioned Nao going to school in chapter one; whereas, I had later decided that due to the expense of having to support herself and her father she would have a part time job instead- I thank BGR for pointing out that mistake.
This chapter has been written for a while but I was at a Miyavi concert and couldn't upload it- I'm sure you all understand, and in case anyone was wondering it was absolutely amazing. Finally thanks to everyone for reading so far, and thank you Thun and BGR for reviewing- responses as always are at the bottom. As a side note I would really love to hear everyone's thoughts on this story, so please do review; although I'm not saying that I won't update before however many reviews it really is a good motivator (It makes me very happy). In addition I will be going away for vacation with family for 2 weeks starting the first of July so I will most likely not be able to update during that time.
As soon as she entered the warehouse she felt as if she had made a terrible mistake by coming back into the game. As soon as she saw everyone who had ended up in debt after round two already in the room that she was entering she knew she had fallen into the LGT Office's trap. This was their way of keeping people in rising debt that they would have no hope of ever escaping from. Really this was a terrible game- the best way to win this game was to never play.
Still she hoped that there was some way to come out of this next round unscathed. Maybe if everyone worked together… She hoped that they could all make it out of the situation together, but the steel like hardness that shone in the eyes of her fellow players scared her. Through the harshness of the preceding rounds these people had been stripped of all of their capacity for kindness it seemed- and that, more than the game itself, terrified Nao.
Perhaps it was because she had become wearier since she had participated in such a nerve wracking game, or maybe Akiyama-san's constant warnings of caution had started to sink in; whatever it was Nao couldn't help but be closed off when Fukunaga-san approached her. Regardless of her natural generosity towards everyone Fukunaga-san had betrayed everyone in the last round and she didn't quite feel like she could trust him.
"You also lost in the second round, right?" he said as if the end of the last round had never happened. She couldn't understand why he was talking to her but she didn't want to talk to him. She tried silently to slip away.
"Let's be friends" she looked at him startled by the notion that he thought she had forgiven him when he hadn't even apologized.
The dealer saved her from further forced interaction with Fukunaga by beginning to explain the game. It was as she was beginning to realize- once you were in the Liar Game they tried to keep in the game, and consequently in debt. It was a terrible game. This round was even worse that the one before it- it required all of the players to forsake one of their own as a sacrifice so that they may escape. Nao was already staring to feel slightly sick- disgusted at the thought that this game pitted all against one- she really wished she hadn't come.
The day had barely started and she was already feeling lethargic, she tried to listen carefully to the rest of the rules and the use of the M tickets to see how this game could be played strategically but she couldn't really come up with anything- all the rules were swirling around in her head. After seeing that the other players had come prepared with things to sell to each other she felt even less prepared.
After they were dismissed by the dealer Nao went off by herself mostly to clear her foggy head and pick out a space to sleep. When she went back to the main area she was absolutely shocked by the cavalier attitude that the other players were displaying. Etou-san even gestured her over and offered her something to eat without asking for any reparation. The explanation for their behaviour made her feel distinctly uncomfortable- it was good that the players were banding together but to band together in hatred was still wrong.
What worried her even more than everyone banding against Fukunaga-san, was how calmly Fukunaga-san was accepting their agenda. Nao's stomach lurched as he came over. "How about playing an ice breaker?" His voice had taken on a sickly sweet tone as he proposed his question to the other players.
Nao's eyes shot open and she tried to edge away uncomfortably but Fukunaga must have seen her trying to get away and the look in his eyes kept her rooted to the ground. If she ran away he would twist it into something sinister- if she stayed he would twist it into something sinister; so she might as well face what he told everyone about her with dignity, instead of running away like a coward.
As the others told their tales of woe Nao couldn't help but feel sincerely bad for them- if she had insisted the prize money from the last round be split more equally then none of them would be here desperately fighting- it was probably true for the game they were now playing also; if the money was split evenly nobody would end up in debt. It was a moot point Nao gathered since everyone was only working together out of fear and hatred instead of trying to help each other achieve a mutual victory.
Then finally it was her turn to tell everyone why she was participating in the round and as she had been dreading Fukunaga cut off nearly everything she said and twisted the rest beyond recognition. If it had been a court of law and he had been her solicitor he would have been thrown out for all the leading questions- but none of that was of any consequence; he turned everyone against her in one fell swoop. Finally she realised that was what Fukunaga had been scheming to do all along- he had turned the group against her because he had planned to have her 'restructured'.
Still she remained rooted to the ground unable to bear the looks of disdain that everyone was aiming at her. They thought that she was a greedy, conniving, sycophant- wheedling her way into the group only to turn wolf at the last minute- the irony of the notion rested briefly at the edge of her thoughts before being brushed away by the horror of what she had gotten herself into.
One by one, the other players brushed past her, some avoiding her like she had cholera- others making sure to jostle her harshly as they passed her. The last to leave was Fukunaga, as he flashed her a ruthless smile and popped the last bit of his Caplico Cone into his mouth making sure to time the crunch of the biscuit just as he walked past her.
Gathering herself she ran after the other players trying her best to talk to them but there was nobody left who was willing to listen to her. She swallowed the lump in her throat- it had been a long time since people had completely ignored her. It was a sad, lonely feeling that she hadn't felt in long time- but that wasn't really the truth. It was the same feeling she felt everyday; with her father in the hospital, and the people who pretended to care about her she was just as alone there as she was outside of the game. At least the other players told her how they felt about her to her face instead of hiding behind false cheer only to turn her away in her times of need.
The truth was that she woke up alone every morning, ate alone every afternoon, walked to the hospital alone every evening, and went back to her apartment only to repeat the cycle. Her life held no real joy besides talking to the patrons and nurses of the small hospital her father was at. Even when she found work waitressing at a nearby family restaurant she had been all alone even when she was surrounded by people. That was no longer the truth either.
Akiyama-san had broken the forlorn monotony of her life even when he followed her schedule exactly. He had treated her like she mattered, and he had brought out the part of her that refused to let people discard her. He had followed her to the second round of the Liar Game without a thought- and even when he had admonished her for being fooled but the LGT Office it had been half-hearted at best.
He hadn't treated her like she was imbecilic- or questioned her intelligence at all- he accepted her as she was. Then he had still cared enough after the end of the round to make sure that she got home safely, and somehow she had convinced him to spend his afternoons with her. The truth was that when he had stopped coming to see her everyday she had worried that he was gone for good- that more than anything was the impetus that caused her to enter the Resurrection Round. She smiled a small wry smile; he wouldn't be coming to save her this time because he had no idea where she was, and had no way of finding out.
"You're all alone now aren't you?" Nao felt tears of frustration, and desolation prickle at the corners of her eyes. He had no right to treat her like a friend after he had so cruelly ensured that everyone would try to make her lose the round. He was wrong she could blame him because what he had said hadn't been the truth- omission was still lying; but that meant that Akiyama-san had lied to her countless times because although he had never said anything that had been untrue to her, he had definitely omitted many of the important details of his plans.
The thought of Akiyama-san lying to her made her heart lurch. How could you trust somebody who constantly lied to you? Fukunaga explained his plan to her, and to her still fuzzy mind it sounded like a logical course of action and before she knew what she was doing she had agreed. This whole game made her feel lost and confused, and as much as she tried to grasp some sort of strategy for herself everything seemed to flow over her, drowning her in the machinations that ran abound in this game.
"Why are you helping me?" the question was burning in her mind and she couldn't stop herself from asking Fukunaga about his motives.
"You looked so fragile that I couldn't leave you alone." It was a good answer. It was the right answer. It was the type of answer that she would have expected to hear from Akiyama-san. Maybe then it was possible that more people in the world would take her on her own terms like Akiyama-san had if she gave them the chance? After all if she hadn't been so desperate it was doubtful that she would ever have approached him- and it was unthinkable that they ever would have met under any other circumstances. This time when Fukunaga-san asked her if she would help him she agreed with certainty.
What he had said worried her though. Was there really no way for everybody to be happy in this game? If nobody took anybody else's money and they all split the votes equally then there would be no losers and everyone could progress to the third round, but then nobody would be able to leave the game. She spent the rest of her time musing over the problem not really coming up with a solution; before she really noticed it was time for the first vote casting.
Was she really surprised that Fukunaga had betrayed her again? If she looked deep within herself she knew she wasn't really surprised but it still hurt. Nobody had voted for her- there wasn't even one vote. It struck her as slightly odd that the voting had been so even, everyone had gotten five votes except Fukunaga who had gotten ten, but she couldn't really see how it could possibly have been a contrived result.
"You promised" it was all that she could say to Fukunaga as he sauntered by.
"Did you forget the objective of this game?" She was struck by what he had said. What was the reason for this game? Was cruelty such a pressing motive; or was it something else entirely? "Being deceived is always your own fault." Was this really her fault?
Was being foolishly honest really a bad thing?
Discouraged she settled down against the wall and gave into the overwhelming urge to cry. She couldn't give up before she had fully tried so again she tried to talk to the other players to convince them to vote for her, but it was useless. Whoever she tried to talk to turned her away, and more than ever before Nao felt like curling into a corner somewhere and giving up completely. Then it was time for the second vote. Nao tried desperately just to get somebody to listen to her but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The third round was the same.
"What will you do?" Nao was beyond being intimidated by Eri, and so for the first time she talked to her without avoiding her. She was beyond surprised by how pleasant Eri was; she couldn't imagine why she was a part of this awful game. She realised that maybe she had been wrong to think the worst of somebody without really taking the time to know them- maybe it was just as wrong to think the best of someone without really knowing them. Either way it was a judgement made without any basis, so maybe she should be trying to really know people before making up her mind about who they were; good, or bad.
Thun- For this piece one of the objectives was to add scenes without changing the flow of the drama at all- so while there will be scenes that didn't happen in the drama they won't change what happens in the drama. I do have a few interesting ideas for AU Liar Game stories but I want to finish this first then if I still find those Ideas interesting I might write something AU. You're right I didn't notice that the last chapter is a bit of both Akiyama and Nao- when it comes up for editing I will try to fix that. To answer your last question I am indeed female, so I suppose 'my lady' would be more appropriate than 'my lord' :). Thank you so much for your continued support, and for reading this and reviewing it.
BGR- I know we've already discussed it, but once again I'd like to thank you for beta reading this- It means more to me than I can say that people are reading this, reviewing it, and in general liking it. Every time I log in and see that I've managed to get a hundred or so hits in a matter of a few hours it makes me feel really amazingly good.