I'm sorry. I tried. I tried to hold this off from being posted as long as I could, but…

Anyways. This is basically extremely AU. In this, the rebellion in Mockingjay failed (there will be references to it/HG characters from time to time), and basically all of the 5Ds characters live in some District (or the Capitol). And their ages are different. And I might change around their personalities some. Oh, and Katniss' way of volunteering is a thing, instead of the escort person asking for volunteers. They just, well, shout out.

…Yeah. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or The Hunger Games. I own my OCs, though, and some of this plot. Enjoy…?

Chapter 1

If I don't get reaped, I'm going to volunteer this year. It's what I've trained for, every free moment I've had for the past year. With several of the orphans I take care of with Crow and Angel within the age limit for how old the tributes have to be, combined with the fact that mine and Angel's names have definitely been put in dozens of times because we've all needed supplies, odds are at least one of us is going to be reaped.

My only condolence is that Shoshan turned nineteen last week, and his name can't be pulled. He could never kill anyone, even in a kill-or-be-killed situation. Also, he has asthma—a major hindrance to basically everything he'd have to do in the Arena.

I sigh, pulling my hair back up with my ribbon. I look at myself in the mirror. A touch of makeup (blech) to cover a bruise forming under my left eye. I don't see anything wrong with the rest of my face, so I just look at my own eyes.

I can see my own determination in them, but I also see the underlying sorrow and regret.

Sorrow that wasn't there last year. Regret that I let them take away my sister.

Like a scab was just ripped off a fresh wound, all of the raw emotions hit at once, and tears well up in my eyes. I grip the semi-broken sink and blink them away. Quit crying, I tell myself. She's been dead for a year now. There's no reason for it to hurt this much.

Someone knocks gently on the door, and I let go of the sink. "Who is it?"

"Kokoro," the young girl replies, her voice squeaking the way it does when she's nervous. "Can… can I talk to… you?"

"Of course," I reply.

The twelve-year-old with reddish brown hair slowly opens the door and steps into the bathroom. She has on the nicer of her two pink dresses. By nicer, I mean it isn't torn at one of the shoulders, and there isn't a stain at the bottom. Her eyes are puffed up, though, and still wet with tears.

I kneel down and pull Kokoro into a gentle hug. As soon as I do so, I feel her shoulders shake uncontrollably. "What if my name gets picked?" she sobs into my ear.

"It won't," I whisper into her ear. Even if it does, I'm stepping up. "You have nothing to fear, Koko." After all, what's one slip in thousands, when mine is in… oh, I lost count at fifty.

She sniffs. "Are… are you sure, nee-chan?"

I lean out of the hug, and lock eyes with her. I offer her a smile, and nod. "I promise you, you aren't going to participate in the Games this year."

Kokoro wipes away some of her tears with the back of her right wrist. "O-Okay, I believe you."

XXX

Reaping Day. It's the one day of the year everyone dreads, because it means that it might be the last day one stays in their District, or it might be the day a loved one gets taken away. The former is what I have to deal with, but I'm not afraid. I'll make it through the Games this year, no matter what.

For my sister, who almost won last year.

And for my father, who won't be able to bear losing both of his daughters. He still won't tell me what happened to my mother, or the supposed brother I have…

I stand in the crowd of possible female tributes, Kokoro to my right and gripping my hand tightly, and my best friend Angel on my left. To Angel's left is Hikari, the other female orphan who has on a light-blue dress and has dark hair. I don't really know any of the other girls who surround us.

The 'sort everyone by age' thing was done away with a few years ago. Something about a shred of kindness; a little more time for the reaped to spend with their friends or siblings that are also between the ages of twelve and eighteen.

Everyone gets quiet as the escort from the Capitol takes the stage. It's some lady that looks like she belongs in a circus, with electric-blue hair, a bunch of makeup on, and some sort of dress that matches her hair color practically glued to her body. I never catch her name.

She goes on and follows the boring procedure of showing us the video about why the Hunger Games came into existence.

There are two rebellions on record. The one that caused the Games to exist—that one was about a hundred and seventy-five years ago, and ended with District 13 being utterly destroyed.

The second, almost exactly a century ago, ended with most of the Districts on the brink of destruction, forced to surrender by the then-President Snow. The names of the higher-ups in the rebellion are lost to history… or, in my opinion, purposely erased.

One thing I do know, from digging through the archives in the library here, is that there was a girl at the front of the rebellion. Though the records didn't have her name, it did call her the 'Girl on Fire'.

After that, it's time for the drawing of the names. Two glass bowls rest on the stage. The one on the left for guys and the one on the right for girls. But before the clown-lady does anything, she smiles at us and says, "Ah yes, before I forget, I must tell you about the special rules this time, as it is a Quarter Quell!"

Yeah, it's a Quarter Quell all right. This year is the 175th Hunger Games…

"The environment in the arena will change every other day, but…" she trails off, likely trying to gain suspense, "as a reward, two people can win this year!"

At this, my eyes widen. Two people can win the games? Then that means… I look at the group of potential male tributes. I won't have to kill one of them. A strange feeling of relief settles itself inside of me.

Once the uproar the statement of two victors caused dies down, the woman walks over to the bowl on the left. She reaches in, stirs her hand around a little, and pulls out a card. Opening it, she reads off, "Crow Hogan!"

Angel flinches, and both Hikari and Kokoro freeze up. "Of course, it's our last year and he has to get picked," Angel says.

"At least he seems confident," I say. "Look, he still has that stupid grin on his face."

Crow does, in fact, still have on the smile I've never seen him without except when she died. Several Peacekeepers escort him to the stage, and the smile stays on the entire time.

Clown-lady now goes over to the female bowl, and pulls out a card. She clears her throat. "And the female tribute from District 5 is… Kokoro Ward!"

For a moment, my insides freeze. One card… just one… while I have more than fifty…

"No!" Kokoro screeches, pulling my arm. "No! You promised I wouldn't get picked!"

Instantly, Angel steps up. "I volun—"

"I volunteer as tribute!" I shout over Angel's statement and Kokoro's screaming.

The entire square goes silent. District 5 has not had a volunteer in over twenty years. My father remembers a time when an eighteen-year-old volunteered in place of his thirteen-year-old (supposedly extremely frail) younger brother—that was twenty-eight years ago. And now, here I am, stepping up.

I should have stepped up last year. I still remember her panicking look, pleading for me to do something. I didn't; I couldn't, because I couldn't even move.

I still see that look in my nightmares…

"No!" I hear a duet of male voices shout.

I look over to the section of people either too old or too young to be eligible for reaping. My father and Shoshan have both wormed their way to the front, both staring at me. Shoshan with worry, and my father with anger.

My head falls as the Peacekeepers lead me to the stage. Once on it, I hold my head high.

No one claps. Not one person. They're all silent, except for Kokoro sobbing while Angel tries to comfort her.

"A volunteer, huh? What's your name, sweetie?" clown-lady asks. Her breath smells like a disgusting combination of pineapple, mint, and honey. It's too strong, and almost makes me throw up. Right here, in front of thousands, no, millions of people, because of the cameras.

"Sky Fudo," I reply.

"Fudo? Hmm… ah! You must be related to last year's tribute!" clown-lady exclaims. "What was her name…? Naomi? Natalie? No, no, it was Natsumi! Are you her older sister?"

I flinch at the fact that she says her name with so much cheer. "Yes," I answer, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. "Natsumi… was my younger sister."

"Alright," clown-lady says, turning back to face the crowd. "District 5, we have your tributes!"

I look over to Crow, who purposely grins even wider than he already is.

I can't help myself, but a small smile appears on my face as clown-lady grabs my arm and raises it high.

For you, Natsumi, I think. This is for you.

To be continued…

That's all for this chapter. Yes, Natsumi's death is going to be important later on. Especially once Sky meets the other tributes, because the victor of the 174th Games—the one Natsumi lost in—is related to one of them. *Evil grin*

I hope you all enjoyed and stuff. Leave a review if you want me to continue, okay?