Here's chapter three. Please review, it inspires me to write faster.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger games or Bleach.


"Ichigo…"

A far-off voice was interrupting Ichigo's sleep.

"Ichigo…"

Ichigo decided to ignore it for a little while longer. His plan would have worked better if the interrupting voice hadn't gotten a whole lot closer and breathed, "Aizen is coming…" down his neck.

"AHHHH… I'm up, I'm up! Where is he?" Ichigo cried, jumping instantly to his feet.

"You're finally awake!" Said Kisuke, who was apparently the one who had been whispering to him.

"Damn it, Getaboshi…"

"Anyway, now that you're awake, put this on," Kisuke said cheerfully, holding out a black bundle of cloth. "I made it with Cinna and Portia." Ichigo took the cloth and unfolded it. As he did, two sandals made out of straw fell to the floor. Ichigo's mounting suspicions were confirmed when the rest of the cloth unfolded into a shihakusho.

Yes! Ichigo silently cheered. He was happy to finally find something comfortable in the Capitol. He wasn't about to let it show though.

"How did you get them to agree to helping you make this?" Ichigo asked.

"I said that it was part of your training," replied Kisuke.

"Is that how you got that ridiculous hat?"

"It's not ridiculous! It's fashionable," said Kisuke, "I'm disappointed in your sense of style."

"Whatever you say," Ichigo said with some exasperation. "Can you go outside so I can change now?"

'I'll see you in the dining room," Kisuke said as he exited and closed the door behind him.


Ichigo made his way down to the dining room after dressing and found Kisuke and Katniss sitting at opposite ends of the table and eating breakfast.

"Ah, Ichigo, there you are," Kisuke said when he saw Ichigo, "come and join us."

Ichigo moved around the table gathering various breakfast foods. When he finished, he sat down between Kisuke and Katniss and began to eat.

"What's up with that outfit?" Katniss asked Ichigo as she dipped a breakfast roll in hot chocolate.

"Getaboshi got the stylists to make it for me."

"I've never seen that style before, where's it from?"

"Uh…" Ichigo trailed off, trying to think of something. He glanced over to Kisuke, hoping that he would interject to save him, but the man appeared to be completely focused on his pancakes.

"Yes?"

"Nowhere." Ichigo concluded, giving up.

You could've asked me for ideas, said Zangetsu.

Whatever…

"Now, Katniss. I want you to avoid the archery station in the training grounds if possible." Said Kisuke.

"Why? That's my 'special skill', right?"

"Because you may need the element of surprise later."

"And what about Ichigo?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"You'll see."

The meal continued in silence as each person ate. When Kisuke finished, he stood up.

"It's almost 10 o'clock. Katniss, I have something for you to put on," he said, grabbing her by the arm and leading her away.

Ichigo decided not to follow.


What the hell is this thing, anyway? Katniss thought as she struggled to put on the strange robe thing that Kisuke gave her. The eccentric man had written detailed instructions, but it was still tough to put them on.

"How are you doing in there?" Kisuke called through the door to Katniss's room. "Do you want me to help you?"

"NO!" Katniss cried immediately. "I'm fine."

"Just let me know."

After spending the next ten minutes continuing to struggle with the unruly clothes, Katniss stood in front of a mirror, admiring the finished product. She had to admit that while it was outlandish in design, it was quite comfortable. She opened the door to her room to find that Kisuke was still waiting for her.

"Finally done?"

"Yes."

"Good, follow me."

They walked back into the dining room to find Ichigo and Effie already waiting.

"Shall we go?" Kisuke asked.

They piled into the elevator and Effie pushed a button, sending them down to the training level.


At the end of the short elevator ride down to the training level, the doors opened to reveal a huge gymnasium filled with obstacle courses and weapons of all descriptions, some real, some made of wood for training purposes. In the middle, all the other tributes stood in a circle around a tall, athletic woman. Ichigo cast his glance across the weapons for something that he could use as a substitute for Zangetsu. He saw a single broadsword that came somewhat close in length, and decided that once they got to the station he would make use of it. He also noticed that he and Katniss were the only pair that was dressed alike. They were stopped for a minute while the symbol for District 12 was pinned on their backs before they were allowed to join the others. Kisuke held Ichigo back briefly to say,

"Remember, Katniss needs this training period more than you, so just stick with her."

"Alright, but I need a good spar at some point. Promise me that."

"Sure, maybe tonight. I have to go back now, they won't let me stay down here."

"Ok."

Ichigo went on to join Katniss in the circle. The woman in the centers, who Ichigo learned was named Atala, began to brief the tributes on the use of the training room. Ichigo and Katniss's outfits seemed to be drawing a fair amount of attention from the other tributes, including one tribute who made a quick jibe about them. After her speech was over, the tributes dispersed and went to the various training areas. Ichigo saw that the tributes that were from the richer districts immediately made their ways to the stations for weapons and hand-to-hand combat.

"Where to first?" Ichigo asked, nudging Katniss.

"Knot tying?" Katniss suggested.

"I was asking you."

Katniss took that as a yes and they went over to a station run by a man who seemed delighted just to have visitors.

"Wonderful! Wonderful, how about this?" He said, tying a knot with a flourish. The man looked somewhat surprised when Katniss duplicated the knot with ease. After a few more knots, it was clear that Katniss already knew something about them, so the man moved on to showing them a simple snare. They spent an hour there, learning the art of stringing people up in trees until they had it mastered. Next, they moved on to a station that taught camouflage. Neither Katniss nor Ichigo were very good at it, and they moved on to the next station quickly. Ichigo noticed that the Gamemakers had arrived. There were about twenty of them, wearing purple robes and equipped with clipboards. They sat at a special elevated dining table that ran along the sides of the room, where they could peer down at the tributes and occasionally take notes.

The next station was hand-to-hand combat. There stood an athletic and cocky-looking man whose hair was a deep azure color.

"Hey you!" The man called when he spotted Ichigo, "orange hair!"

"Yeah?" Ichigo replied, trying hard not to sock the man in the face for being so annoying.

"My name is Marlow, it's nice to meet you." Marlow said, offering a hand. When Ichigo attempted to shake his hand, Marlow drew his hand back. "Too slow! With reflexes like that, you'll never survive!" He said brightly. "Now, let's see what you've got!" He continued, beckoning theatrically.

Katniss was curious about what would happen next. She remembered that Ichigo had said that his skills included hand-to-hand combat the night before, and she was curious to see what he meant.

"Come on now, put em' up!" Marlow said jokingly, hopping from foot to foot.

"Your move." Ichigo said simply.

"Have it your way then." Marlow said. He charged, throwing a punch that almost blurred. Both he and Katniss were surprised when Ichigo caught the fist with one hand and proceeded to quickly jab Marlow in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the cocky instructor.

"Good one, caught me off guard for a second there," Marlow panted, only slightly daunted.

"Are you ready for a real spar now?" Ichigo asked, now sounding slightly annoyed.

"You haven't seen anything yet, kid!" Marlow said, lifting his fists once more. Ichigo decided that it was his turn to attack now. He surged forward, raining a flurry of incredibly fast blows down on the instructor. When he saw that he wasn't going to be able to get a decent spar out of the instructor, Ichigo backed up slightly before planting a solid kick to the Marlow's chest and sending him crashing down to the floor. Now every pair of eyes in the room were trained intently on Ichigo, and the sound of pens furiously scribbling on paper could be heard from the Gamemakers as they took note of what had just happened.

"Sorry," Ichigo said, bending down next to the beaten and humiliated instructor, "I expected more of a challenge." He cast a glance around the room, and wherever his eyes fell, people subconsciously shrunk away from him.

Katniss was stunned. She had been expecting Ichigo to be good, but defeating the Capitol's trained instructor so easily, that was out of anything she could have possibly imagined.

Wait, didn't he also say something about swords? Katniss thought.

"Ha!" A new voice broke the silence, "what's everyone so amazed by? Marlow is weak, I'm not surprised that someone beat him."

The source was a man standing at the swordsmanship station, who was wearing a grin that somehow managed to look even cockier than Marlow. He was holding a simple short wooden sword that seemed to clash with his overall gaudy appearance.

"Come over here and let me show you how a real warrior fights!"

"Who are you?" Ichigo said as he went to the station to face his new challenger.

"My name is Agron!"

"So, you decided to face your defeat like a man, eh?" Agron taunted. Ichigo ignored him, instead walking to the weapon that he had spotted when he entered the training area. It was a one-sided training sword with a broad blade, shorter by a foot than Zangetsu. It felt a little bit strange, but it would do.

"Is this alright?" Ichigo asked.

"Look at this! He doesn't even know what weapon he wants!"

"I was asking your permission, you idiot." Ichigo replied, clenching his teeth.

"Ooooh, how scary." Agron mocked, "I'm shaking already."

Zangetsu, I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop myself from killing this guy, can you make sure to stop me if I try? Ichigo thought.

I will do my best.

Good enough.

"To the center, then." Agron said.

They stood in the center, a few feet away, sizing each other up.

"You do know that that's a two-handed sword, right?" Agron said, starting to get irritated by Ichigo's confidence.

"Not for me."

"Ha! What a joke!" Said Agron.

They stood for a minute, waiting for each other to make a move. Not a noise could be heard, except the susurration of the Gamemakers' pens as they jotted down note after note. The silence continued until one of the Gamemakers dropped a pen, and the resulting click sent Ichigo and his opponent into action.

The sound of their swords clashing filled the air as the two swordsmen felt each other out. Ichigo was surprised to find that, while Agron's movements were somewhat slow, his boasting was not entirely hot air.

Agron broke away, now breathing quite heavily. He was somewhat unnerved to see that Ichigo was still breathing at a normal pace.

How is he keeping up with me while using that huge sword? Agron thought.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked loudly.

"Nothing!" Agron shouted defiantly.

"Then come," Ichigo said, readying his sword.

Agron took Ichigo's invitation, charging him and making a powerful sweep from above. Ichigo easily brought up his blade to block and then stabbed forward, pushing Agron back. Ichigo took advantage of his opponent's imbalance to rush forward with a series of quick stabs that Agron failed to block, before planting a foot on the man's chest and pinning him to the ground.

"I win," said Ichigo, holding the tip of his sword to the man's throat.

"Not yet!" Agron cried as he twisted out from under Ichigo's foot and swinging at his legs. Ichigo responded by blocking the attack and hitting Agron on the head with the flat of his blade, knocking him out.

Do you think I overdid it? Ichigo asked Zangetsu.

I think you may have.

Damn it.


There was an awkward silence as people gawked at Ichigo and the knocked-out swordsmanship instructor, until Atala took control of the situation. She called in a stretcher for Agron and told the tributes to get back to their stations if they wanted to survive. Ichigo awkwardly continued to accompany Katniss as she went around the room, making use of the stations. She also seemed to have taken Kisuke's advice, and was avoiding the archery station.

"You should stop following me around," she said with annoyance when Ichigo followed her to the station on edible plants.

"I can't, Getaboshi's orders."

"Why?"

"Don't ask me."

"Then leave me alone!"

"Fine, we'll talk to Haymitch after this is over and ask him why."

Ichigo went to the side of the room and sat down with his back to the wall and watched the other tributes.

Most were unsure and often avoided each other. But some, the ones from the richer districts, took every opportunity they could to show each other up. They were the Careers, the ones who actively trained to compete in the Hunger Games for their entire lives. They bumped into each other, competed with each other whenever they were at the same stations, and acted generally bloodthirsty.

Idiots Ichigo thought.

Ichigo spent the rest of the time before lunch examining the tributes and trying to decide which ones he would be able to save.

Most of them are still partially in shock, and probably don't want to kill anyway, so they'll be easy to get behind me as long as I can get them away from the slaughter in the beginning. Ichigo had been examining footage from previous games and trying to figure out the best way to save the tributes, and had decided that the most critical point in time was the beginning. Often, tributes would rush the Cornucopia and become easy targets for the Careers. Maybe I can give a speech at lunch.

Perhaps, but today is not the day, Zangetsu interjected.

Why not? Asked Ichigo.

They are scared of you. Perhaps tomorrow.

Alright, that sounds good.

Just as Ichigo finished his conversation with Zangetsu, Atala called the tributes to a separate room for lunch. There, tables were set up and food was laid on them. Ichigo decided to try and sit with Katniss, and he noticed that the other tributes were indeed afraid of him. They edged away as he walked past them, and even the Careers subconsciously flinched when he looked in their direction.

See? Scared. Zangetsu said.

I do see, Ichigo replied.

"Can I sit here?" Ichigo asked Katniss.

"Sure," was Katniss's curt reply. She handed Ichigo a piece of bread and he sat down, tearing it in half.

"What are you?" She asked after a while.

"What do you mean?"

"You beat two Capitol instructors, and you made it look easy."

"And?" Ichigo said, much to Katniss's exasperation.

"You work in a bakery. I'm pretty sure that hand-to-hand and swordsmanship aren't part of your duties."

"You're right."

"Then where did you learn how to fight like that?" Katniss asked, beginning to become irritated with Ichigo's unhelpfulness.

"Uh…"

"Yes?" Katniss prompted.

Zangetsu, help me out here. Ichigo called out in his mind.

Perhaps if we go for honesty?

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"Can we talk about this later?"

Katniss become suddenly aware of the stares of the Gamemakers and tributes, who were waiting with bated breath for Ichigo's answer.

"Fine," she conceded, "later."

A collective sigh of quiet exasperation filled the room as its occupants realized that they weren't going to get to find out about Ichigo's abilities.


As Katniss lay awake in bed, she thought about just how outclassed by Ichigo she was.

What chance do I have? She thought as she began to feel despair. Is there really anything I can do? Maybe if I can't beat him, I can outsmart him. She began to formulate a plan. I can't fight him head on, but maybe I can get at him from a distance. Maybe I can catch him in a trap. She felt her depression lift as she ran possibilities through her head.


The next morning, Katniss made her way sleepily along the hallway and into the elevator to go to the roof. Kisuke had pointed out the night before that the roof was open to tributes and she was curious about what was up there. The elevator doors opened and Katniss immediately felt an icy breeze blow right through her. There was a greenhouse on the other side of the roof and not much else. Katniss made her way over to the greenhouse and was about to go inside when she heard voices.

"…I have my ways," one voice said in a teasing tone.

"You better," a second voice said, "if we want to escape."

Escape? Katniss thought.

"Don't worry, I have everything under control." The first voice replied. Katniss realized that it was Kisuke's voice.

"Fine." The second voice conceded grudgingly, "let's go down for breakfast."

That's Peet- Ichigo's voice. Kantiss thought. Then, Katniss heard footsteps approaching the door to the greenhouse. She hurried behind the greenhouse just in time to avoid running into Ichigo and Kisuke as they exited. She waited until she heard the elevator doors close before stepping out and finding herself face-to-face with Kisuke.

"Hello Katniss, what brings you up here?" Kisuke asked with an off-putting smile.

"Uh…" Katniss said. She felt like she had just overheard something she wasn't supposed to, and she really didn't want to be found out.

"Perhaps you were enjoying the view?" Kisuke said.

"Er… yeah," Katniss replied hesitantly.

"Strange, though, that you would chose this side of the roof to sight-see from," Kisuke pointed out cheerfully, "with this huge building in the way." Katniss was really beginning to sweat now.

"I… er… um,"

"Ah, I see," Kisuke said knowingly, and Katniss flinched backwards. "You were just admiring the architecture!" Kisuke, apparently satisfied with his own answer, turned away and headed back to the elevator. "Come on, follow me. We wouldn't want to keep our breakfast waiting." Katniss hurried behind the blonde. "Oh, one more thing before we go down." Kisuke said when they entered the elevator, "we have a plan, so don't worry." For some reason, Kisuke's words calmed Katniss and made her feel just a little bit safer.

Escape, huh? That might be nice. She thought as Kisuke pressed a button in the elevator and sent them back down to District 12's floor.


Table in the dining room had been filled with breakfast, and it smelled delicious. Effie had woken up and was sleepily filling her plate with a colorful array of fruits and sausages.

"Good morning Effie," Kisuke said, "Effie?" The woman didn't respond. "We'll wait a bit before we begin the discussion, then." It took about fifteen minutes for Effie to fully wake up. "Finally awake," Kisuke said when he saw her rise from her early morning stupor.

"Indeed," Effie replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Now that everyone is here, we can begin to discuss our strategy." Kisuke said, tipping his hat, "Ichigo, Katniss, you two need to start doing things that lovers would do."

Ichigo felt himself blush.

"And what's that?" Katniss said. She seemed to be somewhat more comfortable with the idea than Ichigo.

"Oh, you know, things like holding hands, giving gifts, maybe a kiss." Ichigo's blush deepened at the word 'kiss'.

"I'm surprised Ichigo, I didn't realize you were so... immature." Kisuke said, pointing out Ichigo's blush.

Is he really that innocent? Katniss asked herself, seriously, what kind of teen blushes at the idea of a kiss?

"Here, Ichigo, I want you to give this to Katniss during training." Kisuke said, holding out a small box covered with wrapping paper and topped with a bow.

"Oh, how romantic!" Effie interjected.

"Uh… sure…" Ichigo said.

"You two better go get dressed now," Kisuke said, "It's almost 9 o'clock."

The two tributes took Kisuke's advice and left the table to go to their separate rooms. Katniss took the time to take a quick shower, making use of the machine she had found on the first day to untangle and dry her hair. Katniss found that it easier to put on the robe thing that Kisuke gave her, now that she knew roughly how to do it. She exited her room to find that the others were already waiting in the dining room.

"Katniss, Ichigo," Kisuke said, beckoning with one hand, "I have something to give you." When they came, he gave each a white bundle of cloth. "I wasn't able to give you these yesterday because Cinna didn't have them ready yet." They each took one and unfolded it. Ichigo recognized them as the same kind of coat that the captains of the gotei 13 wore. On the back, in the place where the division symbol usually sat, was the symbol of District 12. "I hope you like them."

"Yeah, thanks." Said Katniss.

"Great! I'll see you two tonight."

Ichigo, Katniss, and Effie walked into the elevator.

"Oh, and don't forget to hold hands!" Kisuke called as the doors of the elevator closed.


When Ichigo and Katniss entered the gymnasium, a hush fell over the room. It seemed that Ichigo's scene the day before was not forgotten. When it was clear that Ichigo wasn't going to make any sudden moves, Atala began her speech. Katniss decided to take the initiative, grabbing Ichigo's hand and leading him to a station. As they went from station to station, Ichigo began to notice that they had a shadow. She was the little girl from District 11. She shyly stepped up to all the stations that he and Katniss used. Ichigo pointed it out to Katniss when they came up to a spear-throwing station.

"We have a follower," Ichigo whispered to Katniss. "I'm going to talk to her."

"Wait," Katniss said, but Ichigo was already crouching in front of the girl, holding up a hand.

"My name is…" he paused a second, before deciding, "Peeta." He chose the name the Capitol people would call him in their TV programs to avoid confusion. The girl flinched back at first. Having the scariest (In her opinion) person in the room talk to her was unnerving, to say the least. But then something about Ichigo calmed her, made her feel more at home than she had since getting to the Capitol. She shook Ichigo's hand.

"Rue," She said.

"Nice to meet you, Rue."

Katniss watched as Ichigo led the little girl over to the spear-throwing station and started to work with her, giving her pointers every so often. As she watched, Katniss began to feel just a little bit sad that she would eventually have to kill Ichigo. He seemed so… honest, despite his scowl. Ichigo briefly patted Rue on the head before walking over to Katniss.

"She's a nice kid," he whispered in Katniss's ear, only confirming her view of him as a nice person.


Later, Kisuke caught Ichigo when he was on his way to his room.

"Hay Ichigo, are you up for a spar on the roof?"

"Always." Ichigo said with a grin.

They went up to the roof and stood facing each other.

"Ready?" Kisuke said, "Three, two, one, go!"

Kisuke and Ichigo charged each other, trading punches and kicks at speeds most people would be unable to follow. Kisuke jumped and aimed a Kick at Ichigo from above. When his attack was blocked by Ichigo's arm, he pushed off of it and flipped backwards, landing on the railing that ran along the edges of the roof. They paused briefly.

"It seems that our athletic abilities are better than a normal human's should be," Kisuke said.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"Our souls are enhancing our body's strength and speed above the level that a human body can maintain."

"How?"

"I'm not sure, reincarnation isn't a very well-researched concept. High-level shinigami don't often die, so there's not much material to research."

"So we have some of our old strength back?"

"just a little."

"Ok," said Ichigo. "Let's finish this before it gets too late." Ichigo moved forward and began to trade blows with Kisuke again. Eventually, Kisuke began to take the upper hand. He pressed his advantage, pushing Ichigo back. When he saw an opening, he planted a dual-footed Kick on Ichigo's chest and knocked him to the ground.

"I win!" Kisuke said offering Ichigo a hand.

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo panted, "Let's go inside."


At lunch the next day, the tributes were called one by one into the gymnasium to have a private session with the Gamemakers. The idea was to have the Gamemakers rate each tribute on how much potential they have, so that the sponsors had something to go on. Tributes were called in the order of the districts, with 1 being the first and 12 being the last. Boys first. When he was called, Ichigo walked into the gymnasium, unsure of what would happen.

When he entered, the Gamemakers were singing a drinking song and laughing loudly as they dug into a large roast pig. He waited a while for the Gamemakers noticed him, but they made no move to acknowledge him.

"Excuse me," Ichigo said loudly, "I'm here to be rated." He decided to go for politeness, just to be safe.

"Yes, yes, my dear boy," one of the Gamemakers said, "We know."

"So don't you want to see me demonstrate my skill?"

"You already did that!" Another of the Gamemakers cried. "On the very first day!"

"Go on, we'll give you a good score if that's what you're wondering." A man with hair died in swirls of green and blue said, "Leave us now, before we change our minds." Ichigo hurried out, just in case the man meant what he said.


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