A/N: I've been wanting to do a Katniss!Mako heavy Hunger Games crossover since I became obsessed with Korra and the Hunger Games at the same time. I've just always been nervous about what people would think about me making Mako the main person, other than Korra. I hope I'm not kicked out of either fandom after this.
1. Reaping Day
It was his last year, but not his brother's. All he could think about was how to protect his only living family from this horrible day.
The day was unusually hot, which made the mines a living hell to work in. He walked out of the dark tunnel after his shift, coal dust all over his face and sweat running down. All he wanted to do was to go home, put his feet on the table, rub out the knots in his neck, and check if his little brother his alive. On the way, he decided to go through the Merchant section to see if there was anything to eat, now that he was getting some money for working in the mines. The street was empty with barely anyone in sight, probably because everyone was watching the games. He soon walked in the butcher shop, his suspicion's proven true when he saw a small group of men sitting in front of the store's television. The games have just begun and they were recapping what had happen while the broadcast was off the air. He shook his head and turned his attention to the front counter that showcased the fresh meat. The announcer was going down the list of districts that have lost both their tributes after the first night of the games.
"We are sad to say that Districts 3, 5-."
Of course the Careers would still be alive. They probably killed all those people. He thought as he told the merchant what type of meat he would like to purchase.
"9, 10, and 12 have all lost their tributes."
The last number caught his attention and his wide eyes went to the screen. On there showed the picture of the girl that was reaped for the games and then there he was. His little brother. In his holographic picture, his natural smile was sitting comfortably on his face and his eyes shone bright at the viewers. The men in the store nervously looked at him with sad expressions, knowing full and well who the customer was to the tribute. His whole body was shaking and he couldn't move. Never has he cried in front of people. The baby faced tribute on the screen almost caught him once, but even he hasn't seen the coal worker cry. Once the screen took the tribute's picture down, they started to play what the cameras caught during the missing night. One after another, they showed how each tribute died. His thoughts were proven wrong when it was shown that the Careers didn't kill the tributes from Districts 3, 5, 9, and 10. They didn't even kill the girl tribute from the district he called home.
But the Careers did have one kill that night.
There they all were on the screen. The District 12 tribute runs out to the edge of the mountain range, clearly out of breath as tuffs of it left his mouth and into the cold air. The group of six tributes then walked into the shot, laughing and thinking this was just one big game. The male tribute from District 1 seemed to say something to his prey as he drew his weapon out, a silver bow and arrow. The tired tribute quickly looked around his surrounding, trying to find a way out. Just has he decided he was unable to run anymore and needed to get ready to fight, he drew the knife he was able to grab at the beginning and took a basic fight stance. The careers seemed to laugh at his sudden bravery. The District 1 tribute then drew back his bow. The trapped pray then decided to make his move and go toward the out numbering Careers. After that, everything went by so fast on the screen, but seemed to be in slow motion to him as he watched. The arrow was released and struck the young tribute in the shoulder and the rest of the tributes attacked. The beating was gruesome and treated like a game to the abusers. Before he knew it, he was now watching the Careers kick his little brother to the edge of the cliff. The District 1 tribute then walked ahead of the group, a sickening smile on his face. He then place his foot on the arrow shot shoulder of his wounded prey and just pushed his body over the cliff effortlessly, ending what he had started.
As he watched his little brother roll off the cliff all he could feel was a mixture of anger and sadness. His body just shook as he watched the scene and once his brother fell, his body acted on its own.
"Bolin!" He screamed, reality breaking all around him.
Mako sprung up from his bed in a cold sweat, his sharp intake of breath being more auditable than expected.
"Hey bro, you ok?" A voice called out from below the beaten up loft.
Mako reached down under his small cot bed and pulled out a small, beaten up box. He opened it and pulled out a small knife he would use for cutting stitches out of old clothing. Mako then pressed his thumb on the tip of the blade and continued to press until he felt the sharp pain of his skin breaking and saw a single drop of blood run down the blade.
"Yeah, I'm fine Bo." Mako yelled back to his brother as he started to wrap the fresh wound with a piece of loose cloth that was in the box.
"Ok then. I started breakfast." His brother called back, his voice drifting a little as he walked away from the ladder, his heavy footsteps giving him away.
After a few moments of sitting in his bed with a blank look, pressing on his new wound to keep reminding him that he was back in reality, Mako got off his cot bed and started to get dressed. He pulled on a pair of worn out, dark wash pants there were made out of a material that looked like denim, but felt more like sand paper. He then went to a box of folded clothes that was in the corner of the loft and looked at shirt after shirt, trying to find one without a hole in it. Mako finally decided on a black t-shit that was covered in dirt stains and few missing seam threads here and there, but at least no holes. He pulled it over his old and tattered white tank-top that he practically wore all the time and then moved to look at himself in a big broken piece of a mirror so he can make his hair look less of a mess that it already was.
Mako made his way down the ladder that instantly took him to the main and only other room in the little shack he shared with his brother. Bolin was at the small wood burning stove wearing the cleanest clothes that he owns – a white button up shirt that was a little wrinkled from being folded up in a box for a year and a pair of dull khaki pants. The outfit made Mako feel sick, but he just decided to hide his disgust as he went to grab his tattered satchel off an old hat rack by their paint chipped door from. He then walked over to the beaten up table in the middle of the room and started to fill his satchel with supplies like bruised fruit and a few burlap bags.
Bolin turned around to see what his brother was doing. "You had that dream again didn't you?" Bolin asked once he saw that his brother was packing for another hunting trip. "You don't really need to go out. I made breakfast from what you got from the Hob yesterday and I don't think you really have time to hunt."
"I need to clear my mind and hunting helps. Besides, we need dinner anyway." Mako said as he finished packing his satchel. He then walked over to the hat rack by the door and grabbed a heavy coal dust covered miner's jacket before wrapping a tattered red scarf around his neck.
"You don't know that yet." Bolin added as started to fill his plate with eggs that he cooked.
"Bo." Mako said sternly as he laid the miner's jacket by his satchel. "I'll be back in time to get ready and once this all is over I'll work on dinner." Mako finished saying as he went to a loose floor board in the room and removed it to reveal a hidden bow and quiver full of arrows – some professionally made and looking brand new and other looking homemade.
Bolin sat on a stool at the small table and waited for his brother to put the floor board back in place and stand up with the bow and quiver before speaking. "So how many times are you in the pot this year?" He asked in a slight grim tone in his voice.
Mako was quiet for a moment as he set himself up by throwing the quiver and bow over his head before putting on the miner's jacket to cover up the weapon. "Twenty-one." He soon responded after putting his satchel on over the jacket.
Bolin's expression seemed to sadden even more. "Are we going to be ok?" He asked as he picked at his burnt eggs.
"We're going to be fine. After this year, I'll start working in the mines and get some money so you don't have to take out any tesserae for the next two years." Mako said as he went over to wear Bolin was cooking breakfast and picked at the pan that had his portion of eggs in it. After eating one clump of egg, Mako started to button up his jacket. "I'll be back in time to get ready. If I'm not back in time to walk with you, just wait for me at the end of the Reaping where your group is." He said as he started for the door.
Bolin perked up a little when he noticed that his brother was already leaving. "Hey, don't you want some breakfast?"
"You can have it." Mako said before walking out and closing the door behind him.
District 12 was empty on the streets that day. Most of the families were busy spending time with their children before the event, praying that they would get to see them come home at the end. Even though the aura around the Seam was sad and lonely, Mako liked walking through the streets alone. He found it peaceful and helped clear his mind and forget his fear. It was his last year, but not his brother's. All he could think about was how to protect his only living family from this horrible day.
Both Mako and Bolin have been on their own ever since Mako became eligible for the games. Their father died in a mining accident when Mako was ten. The loss was devastating to the brothers and their mother. Their father provided the most for the family from working multiply jobs in the mines, Hob, and Merchant section, but, because he was originally from District 6, he received most of his money from working as a mechanic for the peacekeepers whenever one of their cars would break down. After the loss, Mako's mother went in a deep depression for years, leaving the young boy to scrounge around the Merchant section for scraps. When he turned 12 and was informed that he was to attend the next Reaping Day that was when his mother hit rock bottom and just let go. Ever since then the two have been on their, lucky that they haven't lost each other since.
Mako soon found himself walking beside the chain linked fence that surrounded the district. The tin sign on the fence warned that it was charged at all hours, but that didn't bother him since he couldn't hear the humming of the electricity running through the metal. Most of the district knew that the fence was barely ever charged since they never really got electricity but for only a few hours in the night, but they still choose not to venture close to the fence and not even think about crossing it. But crossing it was no big deal to Mako. After perfecting a few hunting skills his father taught him, he decided that crossing it was the only way him and his brother would survive after a year of his mother's passing. He walked on a few feet before stopping and looking around him. No peacekeepers or residents in sight. Now was his chance.
Mako knelt down and pulled back a piece of cut metal that was hard to see when straightened. Once the opening was made, he crawled under it and quickly turned to see if anyone was around. Once he realized that the coast was still clear, Mako moved the makeshift door back in position and stood to run through the meadow and into the tree line of the woods. The run was a good hundred feet down hill from the fence to the forest tree line. Once he was in the woods and couldn't see the fence anymore, Mako stopped his jogging and started to walk calmly to a small clearing in the woods. He took his jacket off and stuffed it underneath a fallen log so that it wouldn't be found by any peacekeeper that decided to patrol the woods for wonders.
Bow in hand now, Mako walked around the woods calmly, whistling a tune now and then so that he could hear the mockingjays sing back. For the first hour of being out there, Mako walked around the woods checking his traps that he set up the day before, putting the few squirrels and rabbits that he caught in his satchel. After checking and resetting all of his traps, Mako then walked over to a spot in the woods that was nowhere near his traps that had a running brook make a small clearing in the grass. He walked down to the gravel banks and took a cup of water into his hands and splashed his face with it before sitting down and taking his satchel off. Mako then pulled out one of the slightly bruised apples from his bag and then pocket knife from his jean pockets and started peel off the skin of the apple with his knife.
Mako knew he had to leave right after his break, but, like usual, he let his mind wonder off to the idea of him and his brother leaving the district and just living in the woods for the next two years. It would be easy with his skills in the woods and his brother's skills of swiping things from the district. The only thing holding them back is the fact that they would be hunted down for not attending Reaping Day. He knew that once they finished taking everyone's blood sample and realized that his brother wasn't there and that there were no records of him passing away, the peacekeepers would be all over the district and woods looking for them and then kill them in front of everyone once they were found.
A small snap of a twig broke Mako from his mind and he instantly sprung in action. He reached back and pulled an arrow out of his quiver and settled it in place on his bow and drew back as he pulled one foot up and roll on top of his knee, facing where the sound came from. Right in line of his sight, Mako saw someone, a girl, frozen in place where they stood, a few herbs held tightly in one hand and an empty jar in the other and a tattered messenger bag strapped across their chest. Once Mako recognized that the girl was from the Market section of District 12, he drew down his bow and arrow and then put the arrow back in the quiver. The blue eyed girl stared at Mako for a moment, her body going from a stance of fear to relaxation, before putting the herbs in the jar and closing the lid before stuffing it in her bag, her eyes never moving away from his. Once she realized that Mako was not going to do any harm to her, she took her eyes off him and continued on her path down a small hill and through the stream and back into the woods.
Once she was out of sight and Mako couldn't her footsteps that her boots were making, he settled back down facing the brook and picked up his apple, cutting off the peeled part that had dirt on it and finished peeling the rest.
Mako walked in the little shack he called a home and put his satchel filled with his day's kills on the dining table as he called out for his brother. "I'm up here." Bolin called out from the loft. Mako went to hang up his jacket and scarf on the hat rack by the door and went to hide his bow and arrows. As Mako was removed the floor board, Bolin was climbing down the ladder, still in his nice clothes from the morning, but his hair was now gelled back, his natural ducktail hair now gone in the back.
"You need to get ready." Bolin said as he went to pull out all of his brother's kills from the satchel.
"I have time." Mako said as he put his bow and arrow away. He then placed the floorboard back in place and stood up, his brother's hair catching his eyes instantly. "What happened to the duck butt?"
"Don't call it that!" Bolin whined, hating the nickname that his brother gave his hair. "We have to look nice so I decided to try to make my hair look like dad's." He finished as he smoothed out the back of his hair.
"It looks better naturally. You actually look like you." Mako said he started toward the ladder.
The two were quiet while Mako was getting ready. He put on one of his father's white button up shirts over his tattered tank top, smoothing out some of the wrinkles before tucking it in a pair of dress pants he had that didn't have any stains on it. He then sat on his small cot as he put his boots back on and pulled his pants legs over them to hide the wrong choice of shoes. Usually boys are suppose to wear dress shoes to Reaping Day, but Mako hated how his father's dress shoes pinched at his feet, so for the past three years he's just been secretly wearing his usual boots that he would wear every day since he purchased them at the Hob and broke them in himself. Once he was done dressing, Mako went back to the broken mirror to one side of the loft and smoothed out his hair, keeping its usual spiked front, but smoothing out the rest to his head.
Mako climbed down the ladder soon and found his brother sorting out the kills, deciding what they should keep and what they should sell to the Merchants at the Hob and Merchant section. Mako walked up behind his brother and ruffled the back of his hair has he went over to the cabinets over their stove and sink.
"Really Mako?!" Bolin said as he tried to smooth his hair back. "It took me forever to get my hair that way."
"Your usual look hasn't been a bother to people before so you don't need to change now." Mako said as he pulled out a beaten up cup and filled it just below half of water from the sink. He then chugged down the water before putting the cup in the sink. "I saw someone in the woods today." He said out of nowhere to break the silence.
"Really?" Bolin said after giving up with fixing his hair. "Who else, besides you, is dumb enough to cross the fence?" He added as he looked at his brother.
"A girl from the Merchant section," Mako said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It was the one that works for the medicine shop in, the one that always was in a fight at school. I think she was collecting herbs or something."
"Oh her," Bolin said as he nodded his head. "I think I heard that her family's supply has been cut back or something. I don't really know; she stopped coming to school about a month ago so it's just what I've heard from the kids in my class."
Mako went quiet for a moment, letting the thought that the merchants were being hurt by the shortage while the people in the Seam just have been living every day like normal cross his mind. He then let the thought roll of his brain as he pushed himself off the sink edge. "Well, whatever she was doing there it'll probably be the last. Come on, we got to go so we can get this over with." He said as he started off toward the door, Bolin leaving the game on the table and following behind.
A/N: This is just a preview of the story. Since it seems that it's going to come out seriously long (it's almost at 4,000 words on my computer) I decided to post up a preview to see what everyone thinks. I'm really passionate about this crossover since I've never seriously done one and I fell in love with Korra and Hunger Games at the same time. If you want to help me with it in anyway possible (beta reader, someone to draw pictures for it, so on and so on) just let me know on my Tumblr(korrasgotnoshitstogive) or deviantART (sasuke12234). I hope you like what I have so far.
