Next time I swear it won't be this long of a wait. I honestly had no idea it's been this long. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Arl313. Your review made me very happy, and kick started me into finishing this chapter.


You know the moment when you're not quite awake, but you're not asleep, and everything feels amazing for a second; like you're floating in an endless white oblivion? Well, I wish I would've just been suspended in that moment forever, but then the sad reality sunk in, and I wasn't in my bed in District Four. I was opening my eyes and looking at the cold metal ceiling of my temporary room in the Capitol, my skin being rubbed against an almost unbelievably silky sheet-completely unheard of from where I come from. The half-awake state had been completely wiped away, and in its place was the sinking realization that I was going to die very soon, and there was almost nothing I could do to save myself. Today was the first training day, and I guess I could learn a few new tricks, but really. What chance did I have against someone from District Seven who could hit a target with an axe, or that giant from Two whose strength was about four times of mine? Or even that red-head with the dangerous glint in his eye, like he wouldn't mind killing as many people as it took to preserve his life. That's something I could never do.

But as long as I still had control over myself...

Before my thoughts grow to an even darker shade, I hear a loud knock on my door.

"Wakey wakey! Hurry up and get out of bed!" Dillie calls through the door and I just huff.

"Up, up, up!" She clicks on the door with her nails and then taps away in those ridiculous heels of hers.

Well, there isn't anything much to do besides get out of bed. Just this once I'd do what she told me, but I'll take my sweet time. A long shower. Sifting through each drawer to see what I'd like to wear. That would kill enough minutes.

I spend another half hour in my room, with several interruptions by Dillie knocking on the door, but I simply ignored them and moved even slower. After finally showering and dressing, I step out of my room and walk into the living room. Yuffie and Dillie are sitting on the plush couches, chatting about something that I can't make out.

"Oh there you are! Finally!" Dillie exclaims and shoots straight up. "Training starts in ten minutes, so you better eat something really quick."

She almost shoves me into the dining room, but I hop out of the way and leave on my own, satisfied that I had escaped her violent habit. Kairi is sitting at the table alone, seemingly transfixed with the stack of cooling biscuits. When I sit down, her head jerks up in surprise, and then she quickly goes to sip her juice.

"Lost in thought?" I ask and scoop up some fresh fruit.

She nods and sighs.

"I'm nervous about the training today. I can't do anything, and some of those guys are pretty intimidating." I say, trying to provoke a response from her. She only seems to wilt more, because if I don't have any hope, how could a girl like her have a chance at surviving?

Well, that didn't help.

I give up any attempt at conversation, and settle with eating my meager breakfast before Dillie comes to take us away, which doesn't take long.

"Come, come you two. We'll be late!" She pulls me away from my bowl and tugs at Kairi's shirt to get her to stand.

The trip to the Training Center is silent. It's stationed far below the surface of the earth, and the elevator seems to grow smaller and smaller, making me more anxious by the seconds that tick by achingly slow. When we finally arrive, Dillie gives us a warning glance, as if to say 'be on your best behaviour', and pats our heads for an awkward goodbye.

The Training Center is a huge gym with all sorts of sick instruments of murder and obstacle courses that look varying in difficulty. There are about six groups already here, all in a taut circle with their district numbers on their backs. Someone comes over to pin the number 4 on mine and Kairi's shirts, and we're gently directed over there. That guy from Seven is standing next to his partner a few people to the left of me, and the freakishly tall red-head from One is right across from me. He's got a really frightening gleam in his acid green eyes, and a deadly smirk that probably never leaves his face. And he's staring straight at me.

I quickly divert my gaze to the man who's standing in the middle of our now complete circle. He introduces himself as Xaldin, and I can't help staring at his crazy dreadlocks and disturbingly big sideburns. He says he's the head trainer, which I barely catch, and then goes on to explain the dynamics here. We have free range at the stations, each with an expert to teach us. We can't fight with the other tributes, but there will be assistants for us to train with. The stations vary from hitting targets with knives, to making fires, to creating shelter, to tying knots. Anything we could need in these deadly games.

I'm looking around as he's reading off the list of things we can look into, and I decide that I'll start with edible plants, then go to shelter, to camouflage, and then make my way over to the-

"Hey, you're Sora right?"

"What?" I look up and see the boy from Seven, his hands casually hanging in his pockets.

"Your name: Sora. Right? I'm Riku." He pulls one of his hands out and offers it for me to shake. I take a second to decide if I should blow him off, but just shrug it off and return the gesture. He gives it a firm shake and then slips his back into his pocket.

"Nice to meet you." I say sarcastically. If he picks up the tone, he doesn't show it. On the contrary, he glances around then says, "Where are you starting at?"

"Edible plants," I mumble. "A guy like you would probably start-"

"There too, yeah. I've had years to practice with an axe. I need to know how to survive, not kill." He then has the nerve to look right into my eyes and finish with, "I've got that down already."

I can't say anything to that. All I do is snap my mouth shut and start walking to the station. The nerve of some people. That was practically a death threat. But what can I expect? We're in the Hunger Games. I guess I can't be appalled. We're all thinking the same things.

I spend the rest of our time here learning how to survive in various environments. What to eat, what I can use to my advantage, how to camouflage myself, how to start a fire, how to heal certain ailments with natural resources. Riku only bothered me at the edible plants station, then went on to his own agenda, thankfully. For the next two days, I pretty much master snares and knots and all sorts of practically useless skills in a killing game. Back in the room for our District, there's been an awkward and fairly uncomfortable air. Cloud never comes out of his room, and Yuffie's trying way too hard to cover up her condescending words to Kairi. Our mentors are no help to us, and if I were to choose one person I'd kill in these Games, it would be Dillie.

But it isn't until our last training day, before I have to present some sort of thing I'm good at, that every struggle I've put up with has been made up for. When I actually find my hidden talent.

The weapon stations are the only thing I haven't touched. I've dabbled with the obstacle courses and learned how to string up a human off a tree by their ankles, but haven't learned how to stick a knife in someone's chest. Or in this case, a target. I first tentatively pick up a small throwing knife. It's yellow and blue, with three-pointed prongs at the hilt and a very deadly looking blade. The trainer comes up behind me and pats my shoulder.

"Can ya hit a target with that one there?" He turns me around to the small range setup. There are four human ones and two plain square ones with red circles on them.

"I guess we'll see."

I suck in a breath and throw it. It barely sinks itself into the corner of the target.

"Try it again?" He asks, but I shake my head.

"I'm not feeling it." I say and leave. Knives are definitely not my weapon, but the blond from One certainly is talented with them. She can hit a target, dead center, from over fifty feet away.

I move over to the spears. The head trainer, Xaldin, is lingering around there. I pick up a long purple one. The end of it literally strikes fear into my heart. It's at a slant, but the end of it isn't attached to the body, it's set apart so when you rip it out of the victim, blood isn't the only thing you'll get. I shiver and set it down and leave without looking back. There are a whole bunch of other weapons: scythes, humongous swords that I'd never be able to pick up(but the giant from Two can without a struggle), and these weird circular things with spikes on them that the sadistic redhead from One, who I've discovered is named Axel, loves to mess with. I'm really about to give up, but then I see a now empty station, and for some reason, I feel like I have to give it a chance.

I walk over to it, and there's an older looking man with dark skin and black hair who's leaning on a very odd-looking crutch.

"What's your name?" He asks after I make my way up. It's sort of odd, because no other trainer has taken interest with who I am.

"Sora."

He sort of smiles a little, which is also odd, because he's from the Capitol and I'm just a kid from District Four who's dying for his entertainment.

"I'm Eraqus. This is the Keyblade station."

"Keyblade." I repeat. Even though I've never heard of that before, it just seems right. Fitting.

"See any you like?" He asks and takes a step back. I can see three rows of them on the wall, all looking magnificent. Before I get greedy, I look back at him and notice that the "crutch" he had been holding was actually one of those Keyblades. He straightens up and sets it down on the low table next to him. I take a good look at it. It's nice, with silver and smoky gray metal, but it's not for me. I first pick up a dark one with what looks like the head of a dragon on it, but it's not the right one either. There are so many to pick from, but each one I touch isn't right. It's not till I've already tried on six that I choose one that just feels... It feels like magic. It's simple, really. The simplest one there, but it feels right in my hands. Perfect weight. Perfect grip to it. I feel, for the first time since I've been here, warm and good.

"I think I like this one." I tell him. It's an understatement, but I won't say "This is my soul mate, I think I've found the love of my life" out loud.

"The Kingdom Key." He says. "A classic, not that commonly used today. But still a good one."

You're damn right, I think.

"Need a sparring buddy?" He asks. I nod, and he calls over a young man. Before he lets me go to the open area set up, he mumbles in my ear, "Don't forget to make a good show for your private session," and discreetly points up to the Gamemakers. They've been sifting around, eating and drinking their fill, for the past three days. Just watching us, making comments to themselves, getting fatter and fatter. And after lunch, I have to wait for six people to have their turn with them, then I'm sent out there and have to do something amazing, all for just a score. Just a number, but I'm already so nervous. Back home I wouldn't ever have to deal with anything as silly as being scored on my talents.

Oh, great, now I'm missing home.

"Thanks," I mouth back to him, and go over by the assistant.

The assistant is about my build, which is good, since we'll be evenly matched physically, but he's probably had more practice that I have. We just stand in front of each other for a few seconds(because I have no idea what I'm doing) but then he jumps back a step, swings around to the back of me, and takes a shot. But I even surprise myself, and counter it in one fluid motion.

"Very good," Eraqus says.

The assistant lunges at me, but I push back with both hands on the Keyblade, and he stumbles back a few feet. Before he manages to get his composure, I jump beside him and hit his side. He falls down to the mat, not injured, just stunned. This isn't the Games. This is just practice.

Eraqus walks over to me and claps his hand on my shoulder.

"You better stop." He says.

"Why?" I feel amazing. I feel invincible.

"You're getting too much unwanted attention." He whispers and I look around. He's right. There are a few tributes who have stopped what they were doing to watch me.

"Alright then." I say and hold out my hand for the guy on the ground. He looks confused, but takes it anyway, and I pull him up. He shakes my hand and nods his head to Eraqus before walking off, gently rubbing his side.

"You're good kid, but you've got to save it for the Gamemakers. Give them something they haven't seen from you. Do you want an assistant in there?"

"I-in where?" I ask and turn back around to look at him.

"For your private session. Do you want someone to spar with?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." I'm getting more nervous. What if I'm not good enough? What if the other person makes a fool out of me? Eraqus wouldn't do that, would he? Put a lion in the den with me? But who am I kidding? I don't even know him. He could be trying to sabotage me.

"They don't let just anyone in there, so watch out." He gives me a half-smile and pats my shoulder once more. I've been dismissed.

Great. Now I've done it. I have to fight against someone who's way better than me in front of the people who are holding my life in their hands. I'm dead.

"Lunchtime!" Xaldin calls from over by the spears. My heart starts hammering. After this, we have to give the performance of our lives.

Everyone is pushed off to the dining room, while they clear out the middle of the Training Center and the Gamemakers get ready to be entertained.

I can barely eat anything. I manage a bowl of stew, which is delicious, but I can't force down anything more. Kairi looks even more nervous than I am. In fact, half of the people here do, except the couple from One and a few of the other big tributes.

C'mon Sora, pull it together.

After ten minutes, they start calling people in. First Axel. Fifteen minutes pass. Then "Larxene". Fifteen minutes. It goes like this until it's my turn. I could throw up.

I straighten my clothes a bit, pat down my hair(which just pops back up), and make sure my number's still on my back. Everything's good in that department.

My name's called again, so I stand up, pull myself together, and walk into the Training Center. The Gamemakers are set up over it, so they can see everything. A few of them look bored, but most are intently staring at me. Maybe they saw me at the Keyblade station?

I swallow and say, "Sora Nevermore. District Four." A few of them nod, and I turn around to go to the Keyblades. I didn't notice before, but Eraqus is standing over there.

"Supervising?" I ask and pick up the Kingdom Key. It still feels great in my hands and the nervousness goes away a little.

"No." He picks up his Keyblade. "I'm your sparring partner."


The kid that was the sparring partner earlier is not Roxas, Ven, or Vanitus. Just in case you were wondering. Just some Capitol citizen. Favorite, Follow, Review my loves!