The Liar in Love

Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice and any references I make do not belong to me D:

Dear reader, thank you for choosing this story. I really appreciate the time you've taken to read this. This first chapter is really just a set-up of sorts for the story to come afterwards. I hope you continue to stick by The Liar in Love.

Chapter One

"So?"

"Hold on, there's waaay too many people. Just give me a sec…"

Mikan stood next to the girl who had been her friend since her second year of high school, Anna Umenomiya. She held onto Anna's arm with one hand, clutching her folded long cane in the other. It was the start of the new school year and they were currently in front of the school's announcement board. Everyone was excited to find out which class they would be in and who would be in their class this year. Mikan hoped desperately that Anna would be in the same class as her.

Anna edged her way further up as the students who crowded the front left for their respective classes. "And… We're in the same class Mikan!" She then received a hug from Anna, and she hugged her back.

Mikan felt a smile creep onto her lips. Thank goodness. During her first year, she and Anna didn't know each other because they were in different classes. There weren't many students who were willing to help her, whether it was with writing notes or moving from class to class, because they felt like she was the reason they were behind in their lessons compared to the other first year classes. So during lunch or after school, Mikan decided to make it her task to memorize the layout of the school. She had asked her homeroom teacher to assist her, and he was more than happy to.

But then she met Anna the next year and she realized her efforts to memorize the school grounds were in vain as Anna pretty much helped her with everything. Anna was the first person at school to approach her without a teacher asking her to and seemed pretty content with helping her around and sharing her notes. "It helps me revise too," she'd said. That year, Mikan was top five of the second years. The year before, she had made top ten.

"I bet if you could see, you'd probably be first place," Anna said to her once. "You work so hard."d

Mikan smiled at Anna's remarks. "Well, I try."

"And sometimes, I feel you aren't… ordinary."

Mikan cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean? I feel pretty ordinary."

"I mean, compared to the other girls at school. You don't care much for fashion and you don't wear makeup. I mean, I know you're blind, but I think even blind people care about their outward appearance. And you don't seem really interested in pop culture stuff, and like… I guess, you just seem so much more sophisticated compared to everyone else. When we're in class for example, you're never hunched over, always sitting with great posture, and when you walk, it's like you're balancing a book on your head."

Mikan shrugged. "Maybe it's because I'm blind that I'm like this." She'd meant it as a joke, but she could feel the sudden change in Anna's mood. "Don't take it so seriously Anna. I was only joking." She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to reassure her. "I don't know. I suppose I was raised differently. Not that my grandpa is really strict or anything, just that he didn't want me to seem vulnerable, especially since I'm disabled."

"Don't say that!"

She could hear the defensive tone in Anna's voice, and that warmed her heart. "Thank you Anna."

Even though it was true

It was lunch time when a girl from a different third year class suddenly burst through their classroom doors, catching the attention of the eight girls who decided to remain for lunch, including Anna's and Mikan's. She had her phone in her hand, and on the screen, was a video she'd put on pause.

"Natsume Hyuuga's interview is on MHK right now!"

Mikan could hear the all eight girls get up from their seats, including Anna, and rushed over to her. Mikan remained unfazed, never having heard the name before. Nevertheless, she got up too, and walked over with no trouble, having memorized the positions of the desks and chairs, where the door was, and approximately where the girl was too, based on how far away she'd heard the voice.

She touched someone's shoulders, and someone placed their hand on top of hers. "Interested?" It was Anna.

"A little bit."

The girl played began to play the video.

"Let's welcome today's guest," said a woman's voice followed by screams from a mostly female audience. "Natsume Hyuuga!" Followed by even louder screams. "He's here today to talk about his third novel, titled The Unkindness of Sakura Blossoms." He shook the interviewer's hand and sat down on the chair across from her. "It's nice to see you again, Natsume."

"Likewise. The last time I was here, I think was about two and a half years ago."

"Oh yes, that was when you released your second novel. I believe you were nominated as a finalist for the Kuma Awards."

"I was. I didn't win though," he pointed out, which garnered a small laugh from the audience. "But all the same, congratulations to Mutou-sensei. His book was excellent."

"Since I'm sure viewers have seen Natsume multiple times on this program why don't we just go straight to the questions. I have some of my own, and some from people watching at home. I'll start with mine and we'll move onto the fan questions after. What do you want readers of your book to gain this time from reading this book?"

It didn't take long for him to answer. "I believe that the act of experiencing a novel is an intensely personal one. So I think each reader decides for themselves what my stories are about."

"I've read all your novels Hyuuga-san, and no matter how much violence and death permeate your stories, they are all love stories at their core, correct?"

"I guess you can say that."

"Is there a reason for this?"

"I've experienced my fair share of lovers." To this remark, all the girls in the audience as well as the girls in the classroom squealed. "I'm no stranger to love. But I've always felt that love is what drives a story. Whether romantic love, familial love, torn relationships, everything has a story. Without these relationships between people, in this case my characters, there can be no story. And besides, love makes things more interesting, doesn't it?"

"I see. Then does that mean your stories also draw from your own personal experiences?"

"Not really, but I think we can all agree that I've got a rather creative imagination. I can make my characters do whatever I wish. In some ways, they are my children and I make sure to take very good care of them."

It was at that moment the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch.

"D'awww," said the girl who had come in. "Sorry guys, gotta go."

"We can watch it later," said a girl in reply.

The girl left, and other students from their class started piling in.

"Gosh, he's so handsome."

"It's like those red eyes are staring straight into my soul."

"Can't believe he's only 27."

Mikan and Anna both went back to their seats. Anna leaned over to Mikan and whispered into her ear, "Curious?"

"Hmmm… I feel like I've been missing out on something important," was all she said in response.

"Who is he?"

"Hm?"

It was after school, and Anna was walking Mikan home as usual. She could've probably gone home herself, but Anna didn't trust herself to let Mikan off on her own. Ever since she'd met Anna, she found herself using her folded long cane less and less, and in many ways she was incredibly thankful.

"When Takamura-san came in today, we were all watching that video of his interview."

Anna turned to look at her. She was used to Mikan not making eye contact with her at this point, just staring blankly ahead. "You knew it was her?"

"It sounded like her."

"You're not wrong." Anna chuckled. "Yeah, it was her. She's a big fan of his. And so are most girls actually."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? Mikan, if you could read his books, then you'd know what's got every girl's ovaries exploding."

Mikan laughed out loud. "Are your ovaries exploding?"

It took Anna a while to answer. "Can't say. But it's just the way he writes. He totally enraptures you and you just can't put the book down until you're finished. He makes you feel like you're the female protagonist and that he'll do anything to protect you and keep you safe. And," she pointed out, "he loves you unconditionally."

"Who makes you feel safe? Hyuuga-san?"

"No, the male protagonist. 'Cause they're always super hot and cool. But Natsume knows what's up 'cause he's super hot and cool too."

"He's an author. How do you know he's super hot and cool?"

Anna was the one who laughed this time. "We watched his interview video. How can I not know how he looks like?"

Mikan hadn't thought about that. "So did you know how he looked like before?"

"Don't they always have the picture of the author on the back of books or someth…" Anna trailed off. Mikan's smiling face suddenly became very serious. Of course, she wouldn't know because how could she have? "A-anyways, I'm sure you'd like him Mikan. If it's possible, I'll try to find a brail version of his books for you."

They had been walking for about twenty minutes at this point and Mikan sensed she was close to arriving home. She lived in a relatively small neighbourhood with her grandfather. Her parents died when she was eight, and ever since then she'd lived with him. She loved her grandpa like she loved her dad, although her dad and mom had been gone for nearly ten years now.

"Thanks Anna." She let go of her arm and walked up to the gate. "Let me know when you do." She waved, not turning around. "See you tomorrow."

"Alright. Same time, okay?"

"Sure."

She opened the door – it was always left unlocked so she wouldn't have to fumble for keys and she subsequently locked it whenever she arrived home – and was greeted by her grandpa.

"Mikan, you're home."

"Hello grandpa. How was your day?" She walked over to the living room where her grandpa was sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Same old, same old. Not much for an old man to do these days."

Mikan giggled. "Go out for walks. Meet people. You've got lots of time which means you've got lots to do."

"I've done too much over the past three decades. It's nice to spend my remaining years just relaxing."

Mikan put her bag down on the couch next to him and went over to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took out a container containing vegetables and pork, and rolled her sleeves. "You've done many things, but great things grandpa. How about steamed veggies and pork with rice tonight?"

She heard her grandpa yawn. "Sounds good." Her grandpa started flipping through the channels before stopping and putting the remote down. There was some ruffling, and he got up. "I'm going upstairs for a quick moment Mikan."

"Got it."

She'd started washing the vegetables and putting some hot water in a pot when the sounds of the TV caught her attention.

"Luna Koizumi's newest single, Only You, shot up to number one after only one week on the charts. This will be her tenth consecutive single to do so, making her the only solo female artist to achieve such a feat."

The song started playing. It was a slow pop song, one where you wanted to hold onto the one you loved and never let go, desperately trying to look for the love you hope was still there.

Mikan couldn't remember a time when her music wasn't playing everywhere. She'd go the mall, and her song would be playing. She'd go to a restaurant and her song would be playing. Even at school, boys and girls would listen to her. Anna had complained to her about not knowing enough of pop culture and the like, but even she knew who Luna was. It seemed like she would be hearing this new song for the next ten weeks. Again.

Her grandpa came back downstairs and sat on the couch again. He began to flip through the channels once more.

Thank goodness.

What Mikan didn't know was that this woman – whom she would learn to hate – would constantly reappear in her life.

Natsume Hyuuga lived in one of the most expensive high-rise buildings in Tokyo. Of course, this was only because he could afford it. His first two books had been best sellers, accumulating to a total of 10 million sells and he was sure this new book would be no different.

"It might even sell more than your first two," Ruka Nogi, his editor and best friend, told him.

"Did you make any changes?" Natsume had asked him.

"Not many. But I think maybe…" and he'd taken out the manuscript from the envelope. Ruka ruffled through the pages and stopped at the ones he marked with a sticky note. "I think you should get the plot moving a bit faster from pages 201 to 219. It's a bit dragging. I highlighted the parts to take note of in red pen. I'm sure you know what I mean."

Natsume did. He knew exactly what Ruka was talking about. He was in the process of writing his third book when suddenly, bam, he just couldn't write. He was suffering from writer's block. And there were circumstances going on in his personal life stopping him from writing that he decided to take a break for six months. Ruka was furious and constantly nagging him about getting the manuscript done, that the people at the printers weren't going to give him more time. The time limit was two years, and he'd taken an extra half a year.

"You know what they said to me?" he asked Natsume one day during his six-month break. "'Ruka, you're lucky that people are willing to wait a looooooong time for Natsume's next book. We wouldn't give any other author this treatment.' You're a real gem Natsume."

But Natsume hadn't just been preoccupied with writing the book. He'd been busy with other things that had been preventing him from working. So that's why when he opened the door to his room and saw her on his bed, he wasn't at all surprised.

"Did you hear? Only You is at number one on all the music charts right now." She was wearing a yellow sundress, lying on her stomach, hands in her hands, feet swinging in the air. "All thanks to you."

He took a quick look at her – there was the beauty mark he was all too familiar with, on the left side of her bottom lip – then scanned the rest of the room. Nothing seemed out of place. But it wasn't like he was suspecting her of taking anything in the first place. He just wanted to find something so he could blame her. He walked over to his desk and turned on his computer. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"I hope you don't mind," she continued, ignoring his question. "I gave the piece you wrote to my producer without asking you beforehand. I read what you wrote and knew it was meant for me anyway so…"

Natsume didn't turn to look at her. Instead he took out a pen and paper. "You can use whatever you want. I really don't care." He started scribbling on the piece of paper while waiting for his computer to start.

He heard shuffling and he could see in his mind the shape and curve of her thigh as she bent her legs over the bed. She walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What are you writing?" she whispered softly into his ear.

He ignored the sensation she gave him every time she was this close. He tried to give a quick and short answer. "Things that have been bothering me."

"Like what things. I want you to tell me about them."

Natsume stopped writing and put the pen down. "No Luna." He brushed her off him with his hand and stood up. He walked out the room to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

Luna followed after him elegantly and leaned against the kitchen counter, a smile appearing on her face. "Barkeep, whisky please," she said in a husky and sultry voice. Natsume rarely drank, but he grabbed a bottle of whisky from one cupboard and a shot glass from another. He poured the alcohol into the glass and slid it over to her. She downed it quickly and pushed the shot glass back to him. "Another," she said in the same husky voice.

He ignored her and walked over to the living room. The only thing separating the living room from the kitchen was the kitchen counter – made of black marble – and placed his glass of water on the table. His apartment didn't have much – white walls with the occasional painting, a glass table-top coffee table with copies of his books among others, a black leather couch overlooking the floor to ceiling windows and a flat-screen attached to the far wall.

Luna turned her gaze his way and followed him again. She stood next to Natsume, facing him and she was so close she could've put her chin on his shoulder. She placed her hand gingerly on his stomach and started doing circular motion. "Natsume…" she began.

Natsume didn't look at her. "You should leave," he said.

Her eyes went wide. "What?"

"And I want you to give me back my keys. It was a mistake to give them to you."

Luna dropped her hand from his stomach and took a step back. "You're not getting paid, are you?" She smiled at him, and put a finger to her mouth, biting down on the nail. "But you don't mind, since this is what we agreed to after all." She took a few delicate steps to the couch and turned to him, the same, coaxing smile still on her face.

Natsume could feel his fists clench and unclench and before he knew what he was doing he had crossed the room in three steps, her head in his hands and kissed her where her beauty mark was. Luna fell back on the couch and raised her arms over her head.

His hands went over to her thighs and he proceeded to take the sundress off.

If a blind person could roll their eyes, Mikan was sure she'd done it just then. It was lunch time and the girls from her class were crowded around each other again. The same name kept coming up throughout their talking and squealing and laughing.

It seemed to Mikan, according to the direction the conversation was taking, most of the girls – if not all – had bought Natsume Hyuuga's new book three days before the school year started, as that was the release date. They'd all finished reading it and couldn't stop talking about it. So much so that Mikan fought the urge to place her palms over her ears.

"They talk too much," she muttered to no one in particular, though Anna was the only sitting by her. Her grandpa was the one who prepared her lunch today andsince he usually woke up before her he had some extra time. She took the cover off her blue bento box. "What do I have for lunch today?" she asked Anna.

Anna peered over. "I see pickled vegetables at the top of where you're sitting, rice with eel to the left of that, and a salad on the side. You're very well taken care of."

"Of course I am," Mikan replied. "So…" she leaned closer to Anna. "Have you finished reading Natsume Hyuuga's new book as well?" It took Anna a while to answer so Mikan assumed her answer was probably yes. "Anyways," she continued before Anna could give her a response, "I was thinking maybe we stop by the bookstore after school. Maybe I could find a brail version there. See what all the fuss is about."

She felt around the desk for her chopsticks, held it properly in her hands and took a bite of something. Pickled radish…

"About that…" Anna looked away from Mikan. "You know how I've been in the Cooking Club for three years now?"

Mikan nodded.

"Well, club events are starting again and we have to attract new members. So I have to set up downstairs in the lobby today after school. I meant to tell you but I never found the time to. Sorry."

Mikan tilted her head to one side. "Hmmm? Can't help it I suppose." She did feel a little dejected, but then again, she didn't want to hold Anna back. She knew how much her club activities meant to her. After all, she was the one who got the club going back on its feet again. It was almost like her baby. "I'll go by myself."

"What? I don't think it's safe."

Mikan waved away her concern. "You know what, don't come with me. Seriously, I mean it. I know this is important to you so you should dedicate yourself to it. Besides, it's not like I've never been out by myself before." And it was true. During the ten years she'd lived with her grandpa, he'd taken her to places all over Tokyo.

"Since you're blind Mikan," her grandpa told her when she had first lost her eyesight, "you must pay extra attention to your surroundings, especially when we're in a city as busy as Tokyo. Now, how do you do that, you may ask. You need to feel, use your intuition. Listen to people's voices and determine whether they mean to do you good or do you harm. What are their intentions? How far away or how close are the sounds? Use your cane to prevent yourself from walking into a sign or a tree. You'll do fine by yourself in time."

When she had just begun to live with her grandpa, she didn't really understand what any of those things meant. But now that she was eighteen, she'd become acutely aware. She used her blindness to her advantage. Sometimes, when she was out by herself, someone would approach her – usually boys – pretending to ask for directions, and when they realized she was blind, they would quickly get themselves out of the situation.

"Sorry young lady, wrong person."

"I thought you were someone I knew."

"Miss – oh, my bad."

From her own personal experience, most people didn't want to associate with someone who couldn't see, because that meant they had to rely heavily on others. But she preferred it this way. The only people she wanted to care about were her grandpa and Anna and they were also the only people she needed to care about her. She didn't want anyone else.

"Let me go, okay? I promise, I'll be fine."

Later on that day, Anna had been given permission by the teacher to leave class early. It was around that time that the clouds started rolling in. Though the windows were closed, Mikan heard the rumbling outside.

The bell rang and school ended.

She left the classroom and made her way to the shoe lockers. At this point, she'd been here for three years and didn't need the aid of her cane. She felt along the walls. First door… second door… hall here, turn left. She changed from her indoor shoes to her own pair. She could hear the hard pitter patter of the rain.

Great… She rummaged through her bag and took out her folded long cane.

"Sakura-san!"

She turned to the direction of the voice and walked over. "Ah, Fujiwara-kun. I've not said hello to you yet since school started. I guess we're in different classes this year."

"So we are. I saw you a few times and you seemed pretty busy. But actually, the reason I called you over is because I'm handing out plastic raincoats and umbrellas to students. The teachers asked me to. I think you probably need one." He walked over to her, took her hand and placed the plastic raincoat in her hand. She fumbled with it a bit, not sure where the sleeves were, whether she had it right-side up or upside down. "Here, let me help you," he offered.

She put her hand up in protest. "I've got it." She put it on and the raincoat felt nice and snug. Perhaps it was a bit too big but it would do the job fine. "Thanks for this," she said with a smile and headed for the exit.

She made her way to the nearest subway entrance without any problems. She didn't need to ask anyone for help and nobody came up to talk to her. Ikebukuro was where she wanted to go. Although Tokyo was generally crowded pretty much everywhere, people tended to go to Shinjuku or Shibuya because there were more shops there. Ikebukuro was less crowded – although not by much.

It was only one stop away so she didn't bother taking sitting on when she got on the train. She arrived at her stop, and exited the station. The rain hit her raincoat hard, and she flinched slightly. Quickly, she took out her cane, and felt as it unfolded and the end hit the ground. She took a step forward and moved the cane left and right simultaneously.

The department store… should be a bit further north from here.

She could hear the sound of the rain, the sound of footsteps, people talking to each other, store attendants trying to draw customers in and pretty soon she arrived at her destination. She turned the corner, and before she could even let out a scream, she collided face first into someone's chest. She took a step back, but her ankle twisted underneath her and she fell hard onto the ground – right into a puddle – bottom first. Her skirt and shirt were drenched. Her bag was no longer on her shoulder but instead dangling around her wrist. She'd dropped her cane as well at some point, and her hands automatically felt around the ground to try to find it.

"Miss!" The voice called to her urgently and apologetically.

I'm fine! was what Mikan wanted to yell out, warning the man not to come any closer, but no words came out. Instead, she felt drenched and pathetic. It turned out the raincoat couldn't completely shield her from the rain after all.

She felt someone put their arm around her shoulder, and she shuddered. She wanted to smack his hand away, but didn't because there seemed to be a familiar warmth to them. "Miss, are you okay?"

Suddenly, she was on her feet again and her bag was back on her shoulder. Something was placed into her hand. It felt long and thin, like a rod – her folded long cane. "Th-thank you," she murmured, clutching it closely to her chest.

She was just about to be on her way, when the man stopped her. "Miss, are you going somewhere?"

Mikan didn't say anything, just stared in the general direction the voice was coming from. The voice was obviously male. Not anyone she knew, but it was gentle and soft. There wasn't any hint of ill will behind his voice and he genuinely seemed like he wanted to help her. "I'm on my way to the bookstore," she told him.

"I could take you there," he began, "but it might be a bit uncomfortable since you're completely wet. You might garner some stares from people. Let's get you cleaned up."

"Cleaned up?" she repeated.

"Look at you, you're soaked from the tips of your hair all the way to your toes." Mikan reflexively wiggled her toes in her shoes at his comment. She put a hand to her hair and squeezed it. Water droplets fell onto her arms. She heard him hmmm before coming to a conclusion on what was best. "I can't take you to my place because it's too far. But I can take you to my friend's place. He lives nearby, about a five minute drive."

"I-I'm sorry?" Mikan stuttered. She immediately took a step back from the man who had helped her. "I appreciate your help but I must be on my way. In fact, I'd like it if you left me alone."

She walked past him when he grabbed her arm. Mikan stopped where she was. "Jesus, that's not what I meant," he said in between chuckles. "I know you don't know me, but I feel a little bad. I'm the reason you're like this and besides…" He held his left hand out to her where there was a ring on his ring finger. "I'm engaged. And I couldn't possibly dream of doing anything to a high school student."

Engaged…? Mikan didn't completely trust this man, but she didn't feel like he was a bad man either. 'Use your intuition' she remembered her grandpa telling her. "Okay," she finally said after a short pause.

"Alright then, follow me." And the man turned and started walking.

Mikan fumbled with her cane, and she heard the familiar tap of it as it unfurled and hit the ground. Her hand started shaking because she didn't know which way he started walking and began drifting off in a different direction.

She had only taken a few steps when the man grabbed her arm once again. "I'm sorry." He took her cane and folded it back up, putting it back in her bag. "Hold onto me, like this." She took hold of the arm he extended out to her and they started walking side by side. "What's your name young lady?"

Mikan contemplated for a moment whether she should tell this strange man her name but ultimately decided on it. "Mikan Sakura."

"Mikan… That's a nice name. I'm Ruka Nogi."