YAY! I worked like a month on this... But it was on-off work, so the next chapter will be up soon (in at least three weeks...) I'd just like to say: Katniss is dead, and Peeta killed her (I will go into this more later). If you want stuff with the characters in the Hunger Games, find another fanfic. There will be CHARACTER DEATHS, it's the Hunger Games for god's sake! Some of them are going to be devistatingly sad, and that's what I aim to do. I'll sit in front of my computer, crying and wishing they all could win, but they can't. Sorry.
I hold no rights to FMA or the Hunger Games. The plot is the only thing I own.
ONE
Dim sunlight, spotted with dust, came through the dirty skylight and fell upon Edward's face. He groaned, rolled over, and scrunched his eyes closed. He didn't want to get up, not that day. Eventually, though, he got up. Edward ran his fingers through his shoulder length blonde hair and scanned the one room apartment.
It was grungy, like all of District Three. A small stove stood in the corner, and it doubled as a heater in the harsh winters. Next to Edward, was his brother Alphonse; he slept on the one mattress, while Edward slept on a thinner mat. A table with three chairs was near the stove. All of the windows were dirty or cracked, taped up to keep out the draft. The walls used to be painted white, but now were stained with watermarks, mold, and who knew what else. Despite the dirtiness, the rent was good; only a hundred notes a month.
Alphonse coughed in his sleep, and Edward tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Al, time to get up." Al's health had been getting worse in the previous months, but medicine was expensive in the district, and Al repeatedly told Ed to spend it on his own problems.
The younger boy opened his eyes, which were a light hazel. "Morning, brother." Alphonse said groggily.
"Morning." The brothers were very similar in looks, though almost polar opposites in attitude. Ed had shoulder length blonde hair and rich golden eyes. Alphonse's hair was a shade darker than Ed's, and cut short. Al's eyes, too, were different from Ed's.
"What time is it?" Al asked, standing up slowly.
Ed followed suit and stretched. "Dunno. Six?"
"I'll leave for work soon." Al said, turning to the stove and grabbing the kettle from next to the solitary pan. "Just don't forget your appointment."
"Don't worry, Al! I can take care of myself."
"I'll go get some water for breakfast, then Winry'll be waiting for you." Al said, leaving the room for the pump three floors down.
Edward sighed. His younger brother was always like that, taking care of him, and it killed Ed to see him going to the factory every day to assemble the newest line of Capitol luxury screen. It killed him to remind himself that he was an inventor almost completely out of work.
Ed went over to the stove, and picked up one of the soup cans next to it. He chose an already opened one, black bean that hadn't started to go bad. Al came back through the door with a full kettle of water. Al handed it to Ed, who poured a little of the water into the pan. Ed put the water in the stove to boil, and poured the black beans into the little bit of water to thin it out.
Once the soup was warm and the water was boiling, Al grabbed a pair of spoons and two cups, and they sat down for breakfast. They ate in silence. They finished, and the large bell in the town hall rang out twice, indicating that the workday was beginning.
Al jumped out of his seat and grabbed his worn coat from a nail in the wall. "Bye, brother." He said. "You should head over to Winry's soon."
"Bye, Al. Be safe at work, okay?"
"Yes, brother!" Al hurried out of the apartment with a smile.
Ed sighed and pulled on his red coat and white gloves. He slipped a few coins into his pocket, and headed outside. It was a brisk day, the sky grey and low. Ed walked purposefully down the main road, until he was in front of a small storefront with 'Rockbell Mechanics' on the window. Ed pushed open the door and stepped into the nicely warmed room.
A girl with light blonde hair in a ponytail sat behind the counter. Long strands of hair framed her face. She looked up as Ed walked in.
"Hey, Ed." she smiled. "You remembered you had an appointment today."
"Yeah, I did, Winry. Actually, I sorta need a lot fixed–"
"What did you do to my automail?!" Winry slid over the counter and dragged Ed into the back room, calling: "Granny! You watch the shop! Ed messed up his automail!" Winry pointed to the bench for Ed to sit on while she grabbed her tools. "Okay, let's see the damage. Shirt. Off." She demanded
Ed pulled his jacket off, then his shirt, revealing a metal arm. It was missing a plate over the forearm, and there was a significant dent right beneath the shoulder.
"What happened?" Winry asked, reaching toward her weapon of choice, her wrench.
"I got into a fight and the guy threw a metal pipe at me!" Ed cringed at the sight of the wrench. "No need to hurt me more!"
"But why today?" Winry said, exasperated. "I have no time to work today!"
"We still have until work is out."
"Yeah." Winry sighed and sat down next to Ed. "How many times is your name in?" she said, removing Ed's arm.
Ed cringed. "Fifty two times."
"That's a lot." Winry brought the arm to her table and started hammering out the dent. "He didn't hit you too hard; it didn't touch the wires. THAT'S good. And the plate is just a spare part, so that's an easy fix."
"How many times is your name in?"
Winry inhaled sharply. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask."
"How many times?"
"Sixty one."
"Winry!" Ed gave her an alarmed look. "That's too many times!"
"We struck hard times this year, what can I say? I'll go get the arm plate. When was the last time I checked your leg?"
"Three weeks ago. It still fits." Ed's two Automail limbs were always a topic of distaste for him. He especially hated removing his leg, as it kept him from being able to do anything.
Winry left the room to go get the arm plate. Ed sighed. It was the day the first reaping. Since it was the Quarter Quell, the capitol was having televised reapings, one a day for every district. Today at six o' clock is the reaping for District One. Winry came back into the room.
"Here you go." Winry said, sitting down next to Edward, and started screwing on the arm plate.
"Thanks." Edward said. She finished screwing it on, and Edward stretched his arm. "Feels great, Winry."
"Just don't forget that you still have to pay." Ed and Winry went to he front of the shop, and Ed paid. He silently cursed himself for not getting Al cough medicine with this money.
"Bye, Winry. We'll be over to watch the reaping."
"Bye! May the odds be ever in your favor." Winry said with a halfhearted smile.
~~~\/\/\/~~~
It was five-twenty. The end-of-work bell was ringing. Al would be home soon, and they'd head over to the Rockbell's for the reaping. Ed was sitting at the table, his head resting on his arms. A broken pencil lay next to him on top of a half drawn diagram. Ed cursed. He hadn't come up with anything in over a month. Al's job was barely enough to keep the apartment and feed both of them. Maybe if my name was called, he could– Ed shook his head. He couldn't die and leave his little brother! What was he thinking?
"Idiot." He rubbed his head.
"Brother! I'm home!" Ed turned around, putting a smile on his face. He wasn't going to let his bad mood drag Al down, too.
"Hey. How was work?"
"Fine. C'mon, let' get to Granny's."
"Sure, Al." Edward grabbed his coat, and followed Al outside. "Anything new to work on today?"
"No, it was–" Al broke off, coughing. He doubled over, gasping for breath.
"Al! Al, are you okay?" Ed held the younger boy's shoulders.
"Y-yeah." Al finally managed. "I think I got some dust in my thought or something."
"Okay." Ed said warily. "Don't push yourself to hard."
Ed made sure to walk slowly all the way to the Rockbell's. He glanced over at Al many times.
"Hey, Al! Hi, Ed!" Winry opened the door to them, saying: "I hope you didn't break your automail."
"Winry! It's been less than six hours!"
"You're always breaking it, though!"
"Come in, you three. The reaping starts in five minutes." Granny beckoned for them to enter the back of the store. There was a small stove in the corner, and a couch in facing a blank wall. A low table stood in front of it. Granny clicked on the projector, and all four arranged themselves on the couch. Ed found himself next to Winry.
The picture showed a large stage. A man in a blue suit stood on the stage. An eye patch covered one of his eyes. He had a microphone in front of him, and a single large glass bowl stood next to him.
"Hello, District One." He said into the mic. "My name is King Bradley, and I'm the game maker this year. Seneca Crane decided to retire after last year's game. There are some differences in the reaping this year, due to it being the Quarter Quell. Instead of having a girl and a boy tribute, I will be picking two names randomly. But you may only volunteer for someone of the same gender."
Ed shivered. This was going to be a very strange reaping.
"Alright! First name, and may the odds be ever in your favor." Bradley stuck his hand into the bowl. He fished around for a moment before taking one. He opened it and read: "Ling Yao!"
Somewhere in the crowd someone yelled something unintelligible. A boy with black hair tied back came up on stage. He was wearing a white shirt and white pants, both lined with yellow. "Yo." He said. He seemed perfectly calm.
"Next," Bradley plucked up a name. "Plush Flick."
"I volunteer!" A voice came from the crowd.
"Ah, a volunteer!" Bradley didn't look surprised. Volunteering was almost a ritual in the career districts. "What's your name?"
The girl had come up on stage. She was wearing all black, and her gloves and shoes had spikes on them. "Lan Fan." She quickly yelled at Ling before Bradley could cut her off: "You idiot."
"District One, you have your Tributes!"
The unseen crowd clapped and roared. The Lan Fan girl seemed tough, Ed thought. Granny switched off the projector. Ed and Al got ready to leave.
"Bye, Granny. Bye Winry!" Al called.
"See you tomorrow!" Ed waved goodbye.
~~~\/\/\/~~~
The next day was much like the last. Ed and Al went to the Rockbells, and got ready to watch the reaping. They got there early, and Al was helping Granny cook some dinner.
"Say, Granny." Ed asked. "Where's Winry?"
"In her room. She'll be down soon."
Ed lounged on the couch until six o' clock came around. Granny turned off the lights so the projector would work, and Winry came down. She sat on the arm of the couch, next to Granny.
King Bradley was on the stage. The set-up was almost identical to District One's, and so was Bradley's speech.
"Hello, District Two. My name is King Bradley, and I'm the game maker this year. Seneca Crane decided to retire after last year's game. There are some differences in the reaping this year, due to it being the Quarter Quell. Instead of having a girl and a boy tribute, I'll be picking two names randomly, but you may only volunteer for someone of the same gender. May the odds be ever in your favor." He drew a name. "Alex Armstrong!" A large very muscular person came up to the stage. He was bald save a blond curl on the front of his head and a moustache. No one was going to bother volunteering for him. Another name was called, and someone volunteered for her, and then someone volunteered for her. She walked up to the stage, and at her cold glare, no one dared volunteer. "What's your name?" Bradley asked.
"Olivier Armstrong." The blonde said.
She's going to win. Ed thought.
"She's going to win." Al said. "She's really scary."
"Yeah, Al." Edward said.
"You have your tributes, District Two!"
YAY! Next chapter: District Three reaping, dun dun duuuun. This chapter was like, 2050 words without the author notes! I'm so proud of myself! I've been adding a lot lately. Not being in school helps, right? Well, since it's Christmas Eve, I'll leave you with: MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! HAPPY WHATEVER YOU CELIBRATE! HAPPY NOT CELIBRATING ANYTHING! YAY! BURN DOWN YOUR HOUSE AND BE HAPPY!