HG:I

Chapter 2

~Happy Hunger Games~

*just so you guys know, I have the cast list posted as just that (didn't want it to be a false chapter and disappoint ya!) check it out some time! Give me some ideas if you want a character in there, but remember – this is the first book. So no, Awesome and Arrogant Finnick cannot be in this… for now…*

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I own Hunger Games

I creep silently along the forest floor, waiting to recognize the spot Kikyo and I always visit.

Kikyo…

She's the only person I can be… less aggressive towards. She lets me say what I need to say without outwardly judging: and so far, she doesn't give any indication that she's judging me at all. In the beginning, however, the story was not as cheery. We were mere children back then and to put it concisely – we hated each others guts.

We would fight over who got the game and when we finally did decide – we'd argue about who would bargain the deal to Greasy Sae, the old soup kitchen lady who usually gave us a tad more generous helping of food than others, I know realize. I tried once, but greeted her by calling her a hag and couldn't sell my rabbit meat to her. I had stomped off, pissed, but Kikyo simply stole the game from me and went right up to her – snagging a deal almost immediately.

She's been dealing ever since.

I pull the remaining ferns out of my way to reveal a rock ledge over-looking the vast world past the Seam: an untouchable freedom. I sigh and make my way over to the edge, taking in the moment. To look at something so precious, freedom, but to never actually obtain it. Oh, sure, Hizador claims that everyone is equally important to Panem, but that's just a filthy lie.

I've always been mistreated by the other District people. The Hizador mistreats them, and I get the bitter end of it, as always.

I growl, the threatening vibrations rumble in my chest.

"Easy, Inuyasha, or dost thou not have control anymore?" A feminine voice reaches my ears. I end my growl with a whimper, but shut the embarrassing noise off quickly. I whirl around to see a woman in her late teens step out of the greenery, the leaves trying to hide her leather jacket and green pants, a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over her shoulders.

"Kikyo… 'bout time!" I smirk at her and sit down on the rock, still yearning for what is just out of my reach.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She says politely, sitting down beside me. In the corner of my eye, she rummages through her pockets, offering what she found to me in an outstretched hand. "Here."

I look at the hand and feel my jaw drop from shock.

"Ramen! You found ramen? How did you get this?" I snatch the small tub out of her hands, holding it above my head to, happily, further inspect the tiny colorful package. Bread, let alone ramen, is very hard to come by in the Seam. So me getting this package is… It's like a gift of heaven to me.

"I sent some youki corpses to the demon slayer district some days ago, and they've compensated me generously for the raw materials for their armor." Kikyo replies softly, obviously amused by my rare, animated reaction. In Effie Trinket's voice, she perfectly mimics, "May the odds be ever in your favor."

I set the ramen down in my lap, its glory no longer as happy as it was moments ago. I stare straight ahead and whisper, "That's right… Happy Hunger Games…"

The female archer, too, looks at the unobtainable freedom and asks, "How many times is your name in there, Inuyasha?"

Well, I started when I was 12… and now I'm…. plus all those tesseras…

"Can't say. I lost count past thirty."

"I have eighteen, at least." I look at her, her ebony black hair being softly tossed by the ominous wind.

Really? That many even though you're sixteen? I thought I was getting enough rations for you these past years. I have no use for extra food, but Kikyo… you're just a little more that skin n' bones.

"We could do it, you know." She says in a half-dreamy, half-serious voice.

"Do what?"

"Leave the district. Run off and live in the woods… You and I," Her dark eyes finally meet my amber ones. "We can do it… Well, if it weren't for the kids." Her half-hearted laughter doesn't make it past our ledge.

Kids. Yeah, right. Me and Myoga plus you and your little sister, Kaede?

"No, we can't. We wouldn't make it five miles."

Kikyo's eyes turn cold and her eyebrows knit together in frustration.

"Oh yes we would." She argues. A delicate, pale finger points to that land stretched before us. "I'd get five miles that way."

Her dark brown eyes bore into mine, to find her way of reason, but I see none. I know I grew up with a hard life, but I also know, thanks to my half-demon blood, I had an easier life than my fellow human district personnel when it came to physical abuse such as hunger or epidemics. But the mental effects are still here.

"I'm not gonna have any kids." I state firmly.

"I might. If I didn't live here-"

"But you do." I say, irritated.

"Forget it!" She snaps back.

I literally stumble back from my sitting position and blink at her.

Wha-what? What the hell did I do wrong?

"Feh!"

I scramble up on my feet and run away; my ramen, of course, tucked safely in my shirt.

Feh! I'm not running away, merely giving her the space she needs.

I run for a good five minutes, slowing down as I come to the edge. I slide under the barb-wire fence and jog all the way home. I open and shut the door quickly, leaning against the fragile barrier between my home and the soon to be chaos outside. I don't say hello to the vermin youki that has the desire to absorb my demonic blood. I give him a good smack and he wisely chooses to leave me alone.

Once inside, I collect my thoughts in order to calm down and calmly walk to my room to move my cot to the other side of the room. I fall to my knees at the only spot not covered in a thin layer of dust and dig my claws into the floorboards.

They come up easily. They should since I've had this hiding spot for years now, even when Mother was alive. Gently setting the two boards aside next to me, I pull the ramen out of my blue shirt and stash it among my other treasure to save for another day. I pick up the boards, but give one last look to my childhood memories. A small red ball, a beat-up wooden doll, a robe once made from the legendary creature called the Fire Rat.

But that's all. I frown at my own wording.

No. That's not all, just the stuff people can take away from me. Everything else is in my memories and I'll never forget them.

I slam the floorboards back into place and scoot the cot over the site. I sigh, only now noticing the white button-up shirt along with grey slacks lying perfectly on my bed. God, Myoga had even put shoes on the bed. That brown pair had cost him a lot of money, money he could have spent on food or medicine, but he said he wanted me to be properly clothed.

I still didn't wear them, they disconnected me from the ground, from the earth; how am I supposed to be aware of stray youki if I can't sense them to my fullest capability. As 'punishment,' he hasn't bought a pair since then…. But I have to wear the same pair every year for Reaping Day, each year my feet hurt more than the last – if that's even possible.

By the time I strangle myself into the 'fancy' attire, I look like a completely different person. Besides me being the only person in the room, I wouldn't have known that the hanyo was me if it wasn't for the silver hair and my golden piercing glare in the mirror.

I let out a huffed breath.

Spare me; I'd rather die than go out in this monkey suit.

"Master Inuyasha." I slowly turn around and zero-in on the flea on the floor. "It's time. Is there anything I can do?"

You can get me out of this! You can crawl into the bowl and nibble on my name a thousand times. You can-

"No, I'm fine."

He bows his head and says solemnly, "Then let's go."

He turns around in the dust and walks out the door. I give him a minute's head start before following him out the door. My eyes drift close as I tilt my head up towards the ceiling.

"Happy Reading Day, and may the odds be in her favor…"

A/n: Hey guys! I actually used the Hunger novel as a reference because I want to stay more true to the book series than the movie (yes, although it was very good, anyone who read the book series can definitely tell you that there were some flaws.).

How was this one? I'm trying to portray Kikyo in a neutral light because I don't want my personal opinion to get in the way of a potentially really good story. (seriously, I'm a InuyashaXKagome fan all the way!) But hopefully that won't show up in the story. (the biasness, I mean) In fact, I stared at the screen for fifteen minutes straight, not typing, because I was afraid that I'd say something that a Kikyo fan would find bad.

Me: Inuyasha? I'm so hungry right now! It's 1:40am right now and I really want you're Ramen! Can I have it?

Inuyasha: No!

Me: *drops head and walks away* No more ramen in the story…. *whips around and faces him, pointing a finger at his face.* I'll say Hizador found that the sodium was too high so they banded it from Panem! *laughs manically*

Inuyasha: NOOO! *throws box at her* I want Ramen in the Hizador, though.

Me: *already done making ramen* Hm-mmm….. *too busy eating the deliciously, mouth-watering ramen*

….

Wow… I am really hungry.

Did anyone else get hungry while reading the original Hunger Games novels? I know I was starving!

Later!