Chapter 4.


Here, have a long-ass chapter. Fun little fact. I uploaded this last night on AO3 and thought I had uploaded it here as well, leading me to frantically wonder why no one was reading it. Well...

To answer a much-asked question, yes, all of team 7 are currently alive (they're about two years old). At least one of them will play a bigger role later. Make of that what you will.

Also, I realize my readership is not as aware of the Hunger Games as I'd thought, so I'll throw in some exposition here and there.


They spend the night in the most luxurious place Kakashi has ever seen. It resembles a tower of sorts, but it's impossibly high and made almost entirely of glass. It's called the training center, but aside from just containing a training area, it also contains luxurious apartments for the tributes. Leaf district is assigned to one of the topmost floors, which Kakashi can appreciate. The view is amazing from his bedroom window.

He lies awake at night staring at the ceiling lights. When he squints, they resemble the stars he is used to seeing overhead. That's where the resemblance ends: when he claps his hands, these lights are doused. He can even adjust the colour, if he wants to. It's ridiculously decadent, but he thinks he would have loved it as a child.

The meals are every bit as fatty and rich in taste as they had been on the train. Kakashi is beginning to appreciate it, and he's quite sure he eats more with every meal. Maybe it'll trigger a spontaneous growth spurt: if he were a foot taller he might actually stand a chance against the likes of the Waterfall boy.

In contrast, Rin only nibbles at her food. She is pale and doesn't look at all like the powerful, mysterious figure he'd seen on the chariot yesterday. Kushina seems to notice as well, and after breakfast she takes the other girl back to her room with the excuse of helping her with her hair. When they come back, Rin's hair is tied back with the sides braided, and she has regained some of her colour.

Kushina, Kakashi thinks, is far more... more than he had expected

After breakfast, Sarutobi and Minato are quietly discussing amongst themselves. After a while, they go over to where Kakashi and Rin are playing a silly card game.

"We're about to head off to your training. Try and get a good look at your opponents. If you do have skill at something, try not to show it off- but make sure you don't appear incompetent either. If you think there's anyone in that group who might ally with you, try to remember their name and District. If we approach their Mentors, we might be able to strike a deal," Sarutobi says gravely.

From up close, Kakashi can see the resemblance to Asuma, Sarutobi's son, more easily than before. Asuma is a year older than Kakashi, which means he can still be reaped. He wonders what it would be like for Sarutobi if that were to happen. Or what it would be like if his own mother had won her games. If she had been his Mentor now.

He shakes off the thought and considers Sarutobi's advice. Stand out, but not too much. Right. That's about as useless as saying 'don't die'.

"Why would we ally with people whose survival depends on our deaths?" he drawls.

Sarutobi's expression grows grave. Minato's mouth opens and closes without making a sound. "Kakashi, you have to remember that most of the other Tributes are just like you and Rin. They don't want to fight, or kill. Together you might be stronger," the younger man finally says.

"So we shouldn't ally with the Careers? The guys who train for the Games, I mean," Kakashi crosses his arms across his chest. He feels faintly guilty: the conversation is only turning Rin pale again. And no wonder. Careers are Tributes who train for years for the games and then, madly, actually volunteer for them. They probably figure that if they can train, they can win, and if they can win, they can have money and relative freedom. It's a hell of a mad gamble.

Worst part is that they're usually right. Careers win 80% of the time.

The Mentors exchange looks. "That would be preferable. Careers shouldn't be trusted."

Rin stares at her lap. Her hands have tightened into fists. "Then who can we trust? How can we tell the difference between someone trustworthy and someone who will... who will betray us?" She asks quietly.

Minato opens his mouth, only to close it again. "I suppose... You'll have to use your best judgment. Be suspicious. Try to estimate what the person you're looking at. We'll try to help you, but you'll have to do most of the work yourself," he finally says.

Rin looks down at her cards. She is still pale, but when she looks up she is wearing a more determined expression. She gathers her cards and stacks them neatly on the table. "So, we have to decide for ourselves."

"Yes."

"Then I say Kakashi and I work together. We don't think about anyone else, for now. We don't look at anyone else. We figure out what we are good at, and focus on that," Rin says, unexpectedly fierce.

Kakashi stares at her. It's funny. He's always taken her to be a gentle, almost shy person, but she's neither of those things. She's kind, yes, but she is also tough. A true child of the district. And like him, she's not going down without a fight.

He sighs. "I agree with Rin," he says.

"Are you sure? More allies mean-" Sarutobi begins, but Kakashi cuts him off.

"Having more allies means more opportunity for betrayal. It's like that every year. They group together, and then they slaughter each other at the end. And besides, if it's just the two of us, it'll be much easier to keep a low profile," Kakashi shrugs, and nods at Rin. Like him, she's a thinker. It would have been nice if she had been really brawny, or big, to cancel out his smallness and scrawny arms. But two brains aren't so bad either.

She smiles at him. Across the table, Kushina fails to hide a little smile of her own. It doesn't last long, though. They're still talking about the games, after all.

Cooperation or not, one of them is still going to die. And as much as Kakashi wants to, he can't quite bring himself not to care about Rin.


Training begins early the next day, after another bountiful, but slightly more nutritious meal. They are put in sleek black outfits, made of some kind of strange flexible material Kakashi has never seen before. It feels light on his skin, like he's dressed in moonlight. The symbol of his district is on his shoulder, and there's a name tag on his collarbone.

Minato is visibly nervous when he escorts them to the training area. The training area is a big, colorless room, all of it in the same sleek style the capital seems to love so much. Kakashi and Rin are the first to arrive, which is good-they can use the opportunity to scout before anyone else does.

There are racks upon racks of weapons, holding blades and spears and throwing knives, and then an impressive array of sharp and pointy things Kakashi doesn't recognize. Minato wants to stay with them, and begins explaining the purpose of one particularly nasty looking blade when he is escorted out by one of the peacekeepers.

Rin tugs on his sleeve, pulling him in the other direction. She's looking at a series of training stations, each manned by people from the capital. They look a little different from most capital socialites-more natural, somehow, dressed in earthy tones and wearing relaxed smiles.

Their stations do not bear weapons-they bear nets and baskets and rope, plants and pictures of animals. These stations are therefore different purpose, Kakashi surmises. Information gathering. How do you create a basket out of nothing? How do you weave rope? How do you avoid poisoning yourself?

He's not surprised Rin would choose to go to the stations, rather than the weapons racks, but when she begins to pull him towards the basket weaving, he pulls back and directs them both towards the plants station. She frowns a little, but then relaxes. He hopes she has caught on.

The Capitol is efficient. Would it give out information to its tributes about plants they will not encounter? He wouldn't put it past them, but it is still worth looking at what types of plants they are offering information on. Sometimes, the arena is covered in poisonous plants . It's useful to know which ones might be edible, or if they contain water. If the plants mentioned in the station are all plants that occur in a certain type of natural terrain, perhaps he can make some assumptions about the arena…

They've only spent a few moments looking at the plants (the information consists of pictures, names, and the classifications 'poisonous' or 'edible'), when the doors open and the next pair of tributes enter. They're the pair from lightning, the blond boy and a dark skinned girl who had worn the silver dress on the chariots.

For a moment it's just the four of them, slowly sizing each other up. The boy's a little younger than he is, the girl is probably about the same age. Neither of them are big, but if you ask Kakashi that usually just means they're used to being underestimated. They wear name tags. It says their names are C and Mabui.

Sometimes, in the cloud district, peacekeepers name the orphans. And because they don't see them as people, there are now kids walking around with letters for names. Kakashi wishes this could still surprise him.

Rin grab for his hand again. Somehow, it breaks the tension; the boy smiles a little at seeing it, and visibly relaxes. "Err. Hi."

Rin lets go again. "Hi."

Kakashi puts his hands in his pockets. Lightly pushes his shoulder against Rin. They're not here to make friends. Hell, they'll only make it harder on themselves if they do. It doesn't matter that these kids might be nice.

The moment is broken when the team from sand comes in. It's not hard to guess why Careers are so successful when looking at these two. The boy is well-built, eighteen, and fully grown, with tan skin from spending many hours in the sun honing their skill. The Sand district makes glass, amongst other things. Kakashi isn't sure how that can be weaponized, but the look on the boy's face suggests he has found a way.

Maybe Kakashi is just being paranoid, but he decides to remember the boy's name, just to be sure. Baki.

The girl is smaller, yes, and her hair is still dyed in ridiculous colors from the chariot parade, but despite this there is a fierceness in her eyes that sets Kakashi's alarms ringing. Her name is Pakura, according to the tag.

More people file in slowly but surely. Some of them are big, like the boys from waterfall (Kakuzu) and mist (Zabuza, who looks even crazier because of his filed teeth. They are actually serrated). Some of the others aren't big, but seem vicious (the boy from Iwa, Kakkou, and both the sound kids). And then there is a whole bunch of normal looking kids. Skinny, underfed district kids, like Shi and Mabui. Cannon fodder, Kakashi can't help but think.

It's always the same. Every game he's seen, it's the little district kids that bite it first. In the middle of the arena, there is the cornucopia, a shelter containing equipment and food. Theoretically, it contains everything you might need to survive. Practically, it's where an average of a dozen tributes get slaughtered five minutes into the games as they tried to obtain equipment. It's awful. The little kids usually go first. The careers don't show any mercy. Sometimes, Kakashi thinks perhaps they have already practiced murdering people back home, killing animals or something.

The starting positions of the tributes are placed in a circle around the cornucopia. You come up from a tube underground, and face the one place that holds the key to your survival. But if you have half a brain at all, you know not to go there. Not in a million years. Dad said that mom hadn't even considered it. That she turned and ran right away, into the forest, before anyone else could respond. She'd never been a fool.

But if some of these kids have lazy mentors, or if they decide to follow their own plan, chances are they'll get killed at the cornucopia. The little ones are easy prey. Kakashi is uncomfortably aware that he could, potentially, count as a little one. Rin certainly could.

The tributes slowly spread out over the training room. They all eye each other warily. The easy acquaintance between Kakashi, Rin, and the cloud kids dissipates in the face of the open hostility of some of the other tributes. Others just seemed scared, and quickly scuttle off to the corners of the room, where they observe the bigger kids from a safe distance.

The career kids from Mist and Sand make their way to the weaponry, of course, taking out their old favorites and moving to the practice area. The boy with the serrated teeth, Zabuza, catches his eye and glares. Kakashi knows he should probably look away, but for some reason he holds the boy's gaze. He's not going to show weakness. Not now, not ever.

Still, Zabuza eventually moves on and start swiping a rather massive blade through the air. The muscles of his back ripple impressively. Now it's Kakashi's turn to look away. All he can do is mud wrestling. Right. Good luck with that.

He looks over to Rin, who has joined the kids from cloud at the basket weaving station. The instructor is talking to them, enthusiastically demonstrating his skill.

Kakashi wanders over to the weaponry instead, curious despite himself. The racks themselves are simple metal, filled with all sorts of nasty sharp things. He recognizes some from the history books at school; Spears and halbards, swords and daggers, even bows and throwing knives.

The instructor smiles at him. "Want to try something out?" He asks. He's tall and strong, not at all what Kakashi would imagine a Capitol man to look like. The man takes out a knife, and slashes the air with it, his body swift and flexible.

The man grins at Kakashi's expression, and then him towards the same maneuver at a slower pace. Kakashi observes him with narrow eyes, trying to analyze the moves. From what he can tell, speed and agility are important. Range is too, but he suspects he might be able to compensate with speed.

"Pick a blade," the instructor says. "Don't go for something big just because it looks deadly. A heavy weapon is not going to do you any good if you can't lift it up," he finishes, giving Kakashi slight built a meaningful look.

Kakashi snorts and tries not to take it too personally. So he's skinny.

He looks back at the weapons rack, and feels a natural pull towards one of the blades. It's about as long as his lower arm, elbow to wrist, with a slightly curved tip and a groove running down its length. He lifts it off the rack, testing the feel of it in his hand. Its weight is perfect, not too heavy or too light. He makes a few experimental swipes and finds that it is as fast as he imagined it to be.

He turns towards a nearby practice dummy and tries out a few quick maneuvers, combining some of the patterns the instructor had shown him into a quick flurry of movement. The long blade leaves deep gouges in the dummy and, more terrifyingly, went almost straight through the dummy's arm.

Kakashi stares for a moment, then puts the blade back on the rack and hopes no one saw. The other Tributes all seem busy, but the knife instructor has seen his activity. He watches Kakashi with a smirk.

"That's a traditional Tanto," he says, "a double-edged one. Did you ever handle one before?"

Kakashi shakes his head as he commits the blade's name to memory.

"Well, I hope for your sake there'll be one in the Arena." The instructor shrugs. "You're a quick learner. I think you might benefit from some one-on-one training."

Kakashi eyes him warily. That could be a good idea, except 'one-on-one' probably means 'right here, where everyone can see you'. No, he'd rather have the attributes think he was an easy target. It might give him the element of surprise. Of course, it might also mean all the attributes would chase after him because they think he is weak. Choices, choices.

He decides to ask Minato once they get back to the apartment. Minato used blades as well, in his games. He might be able to teach Kakashi himself, within the privacy of their apartment. Kushina might not appreciate knives in the close proximity of priceless furniture, but he has a feeling she would understand. She isn't really like the other Capitol people, anyway. He feels a little naïve for thinking it, but it seems as though she cares, actually cares. That's something of a rarity, here.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the training area. Kakashi ends up joining Rin, and together they pass all the information stations, trying to absorb as much knowledge as they can. They return to the apartment a little bit early. Sarutobi isn't around, but Minato and Kushina are. They're sitting on the couch together, their thighs almost touching. Kushina gets up quickly when the kids enter, smoothing down her dress in a slightly nervous manner.

"So, how did it go?" She asks.

Rin and Kakashi exchange looks. Kakashi shrugs.

Rin smiles faintly. "Do you have some paper, perhaps? And a pencil?" She walks over to the nearest cupboard and starts rummaging through the drawers. Unsurprisingly, they're all empty. Even the furniture is just for show, here.

According to Kushina, paper and pencil are quite outdated in the Capitol. They do have these strange, book sized panels that remind Kakashi of the holo-screens. You can control them by touching the screens with your fingers, and apparently they're quite suitable for writing texts on.

Rin takes it eagerly, and after a moment's practice she begins to write fervently. Kushina and Minato exchange looks as she types. Then, Rin slides the tablet over to Kakashi.

"Could you fill in the gaps, Kakashi?" Rin says. "Then we can study what we've learned."

Kakashi blinks. He looks down at the tablet. Rin has made a list. It's just about everything they've learned today, ranging from poisonous plants, food and water sources, to a basic basket weaving technique that she practiced earlier. He looks up from the tablet to stare at her. "You memorized it all?"

Rin's cheeks color. "Well, I tried. That's why I was thinking... Perhaps you could fill in the blanks. Or what you remember, anyway. Then we can memorize it. We don't know if their stations will still be there tomorrow, when they go to training again. We can keep a log."

Minato smiles triumphantly. Kakashi just stares at Rin, then smiles. For once, it feels genuine. He nods and reads through the list slowly, clumsily typing in info she hasn't yet mentioned. Truth be told, her list seems pretty all-encompassing. There isn't really all that much for him to add. The more he gets to know her, the more he regrets that they never really talked back in class.

Minato and Kushina turn away from the table again. They stand by the window and talk to each other softly, too far away for Kakashi to overhear. He figures that goes both ways, so he looks up slowly, feeling uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden. "Hey... Were we always in the same class, or...?" He asks Rin.

For some reason, Rin turns red again. "Yes. Right from the start. I suppose we just never really talked."

Kakashi tries to remember whether he has met her family, and what their attitude towards his father was. That's usually a pretty good indicator of whether a kid will play with him or not. Given how kind Rin is, he finds it hard to believe her family would be any different. Then again, even kind people would have a hard time forgiving the deaths of three people. Most people in the district don't really believe that it was an accident, after all, but Kakashi has never quite been able to find out why they think that way.

"I wanted to," Rin suddenly blurts out, "but you were always so busy, and I thought-" she looks back at the tablet to inspect his additions to the list. Unfortunately for her, it's too obvious a distraction. Whatever she was about to say, she obviously felt too awkward to share it.

Then again, he's not really sure how to reply to her remark so he lets it go. It's not as though he's a star at emotional conversation. Hell, he'll take any opportunity to avoid it. Busy, though? If by that she meant looking after his dad and avoiding all human contact, then sure. Okay, maybe that did make him look busy. He just never thought of it that way.

They spent some more time reading through the lists, quietly discussing strategies. Minato joins them at the table, and every now and then he pipes up to give them new information or advice. Just as Kakashi wants to ask him about knife fighting practice, Sarutobi returns to the apartment. He looks harried and stressed, and even older than before. He runs a hand through his thinning hair and sits down on the nearest chair. Kushina quickly passes him a glass of water, from which she gratefully drinks.

"Well, Cloud's tributes want an alliance, but their mentors don't. I swear, those two brothers... They are stubborn as mules," Sarutobi sighs. "I think I might be able to convince Bee, but there's no talking to A. He wants to ally his kids with bigger tributes."

He looks up, and seems surprised to see Kakashi and Rin still sitting there. Kakashi raises a skeptical eyebrow.

"Oh, I didn't think-isn't it bedtime for you two?" Sarutobi says.

"There's no harm in their staying up a little bit longer," Minato says, "they've compiled a list of information from the training room, haven't you, kids?" He smiles again, that warm, happy smile that makes you feel comforted, despite your best intentions to be a surly, moody teenager.

Sarutobi finally relaxes, and gives them a warm smile as well. "That's good, very good. I'm glad to hear it. As you can tell, I've been talking to the other mentors to try and see whether any of their tributes one ally with you. It's an ongoing process, obviously."

"Will we be in training all week?" Rin asks.

"No," Minato says hesitantly, "Three days. And after that, you will have an evaluation by the game makers."

Right. Kakashi had almost forgotten about that. At the end of the training, all tributes undergo a test of their skills in which they show the game makers their skills. They receive a score on the basis of their performance, on a scale of 1 to 12, one being the lowest and twelve being impossibly high. A high score may attract sponsors, but it may also attract unwanted attention from careers want to take out their rivals. A low score equals an early death.

Kakashi wonders what kind of score would be good. Having a higher score would be nice and all, but you also have to be able to back it up, because the careers will definitely chase you for it . Quite frankly, appearing average won't be all that hard. Even if Kakashi does his best, he doesn't think he'll get a very high score at all.

"And after that we will have to discuss a strategy for your interviews," Kushina says, joining them at the table.

Kakashi stomach does something funny. An interview. Of course.

"It will all be televised of course, so you'll have to do your best to be likable. It's all about marketing, in a way. As awful as it is, you'll have to sell yourself," Kushina practically growls, crossing her arms. Her eyebrows tick.

Minato looks startled and reaches across the table to grab her hand. "Kushina, hush! Not here-"

Kushina huffs angrily. "I know," she says quietly. Then, in a louder voice, she orders the children to go to bed. "It's high time. You'll need to be rested tomorrow."

Kakashi and Rin exchange a look. It's quite late, yes, but it seems to Kakashi, that they would be much better off strategizing and learning as much as they can. They only a three days of training, after all, and then another two or three days of publicity, and that's it. Then the games start.

He also wonders at Minato's quick response to Kushina's anger. It makes sense for place to be bugged. He wants to ask Minato, but of course if it is bugged, he can't. Either way, Kushina is clearly not allowed to speak her mind on the matter. Kakashi wonders what would happen if she was caught doing so.

If she did feel negative towards the games, though, that would certainly explain her behavior so far. The regrets she'd expressed when she reaped them, the kindness she was showing them now... Those weren't the acts of cold-blooded Capitol socialite. That, and Minato likes her. That has to be good for something.

"Before we go to sleep, Minato, you used a knife in your games, right?" Kakashi wagered, deciding to try and solve one conundrum at a time. "I'd like to learn how to use one."

Sarutobi gets up and says hands together, somehow immediately commanding the attention of everyone present despite his slight figure and plain looks. "That's certainly a good idea, but Kushina is right. You two need to sleep first. Kakashi, I would recommend you stick to knife training in the training area for now. We're not technically allowed to hand to weaponry outside of the area."

He smiles a little enigmatic smile, walks over to the table and picks up a bread knife left over from dinner. He spins it around in his fingers with unexpected dexterity. As he slashes it through the air a few times, he puts a fingers to his lips, still smiling.

Rin grins, and Kakashi can't resist a smile of his own. So they are going to train, but they are going to have to do it silently. That suggests the capitol can listen in on their conversations, but they can't actually see them. Good.

Sarutobi places the knife back on the table and returns to being a harmless looking older man. How did he win his games, anyway? A knife? A spear? Dumb luck? Or, how did they put it, 'kill them with kindness'?

Well. Probably not that. Kakashi would have to ask Asuma someday.

It's not until he puts his tooth brush in his mouth, a few minutes later, that he realizes he may never see Asuma again. With that sobering thought in mind, he goes to bed. He dreams of Sarutobi and Minato, as they are today, fighting off the tribute that killed Kakashi's mom.


As promised, the next three days are filled with training. Climbing, wrestling, making rope, building up muscle, and using tools, every day all day, until Kakashi feels like he could fall apart at the seams. His muscles ache every day, but he can't go to bed soon as he comes back to the apartment; there, Minato and Sarutobi steal away their last free minutes to teach him and Rin knife fighting techniques, as well as close combat.

When they eat, Kushina sits with them to discuss ridiculous Capitol manners, such as how to hold your cutlery or keep a conversation going. She even tells them about Capitol culture, that weird institute where people hardly have to work and are so bored with life that they focus instead on whatever ridiculous new fad someone has come up with this time. Apparently, at the moment, it's dyeing one's hair all sorts of crazy colors. Well, that certainly explained Haruno Kizashi and his toddler. Though how on earth one would go about dyeing a toddler's hair, Kakashi doesn't know.

If there is one good thing to say about the rigorous regiment they are put through, it's that it doesn't give them a lot of time to think about home, or about the weeks to come. It also means that time flies, and the day of the evaluation arrives before Kakashi knows it.

The evaluation is pretty simple. Each individual tribute will enter the training room and show off their skills to the best of their ability. They will be watched and judged by the game maker himself, Orochimaru, and a number of his technicians.

Kakashi has heard things about Orochimaru before, and none of it is good.

The tributes all sit in a waiting room, eyeing each other nervously as one by one they are called into the room. Even the careers seem on edge. They probably want high scores to intimidate the other tributes. Kakashi isn't really sure what he wants to do. Is showing them the best he's got really the way to go? Wouldn't that also kind of highlight his weaknesses? Because what if the skills he's gained in these past few days are not enough? There's a pretty good chance of that happening. So, what if the best he can do will only get him his six, or a seven?

Perhaps, Kakashi thinks, it would be better to go for a calculated score. To go for something so utterly average that he will not stand out to anyone. Not weak enough to be obvious prey, and not strong enough to warrant people wanting to be better than him.

He glances at Rin. They haven't discussed a strategy. Perhaps it's better that way. He wonders what she's planning.

They wait for what feels like ours before Rin is called in. She gives him a nervous smile and then goes into the room. Kakashi counts the minutes. Exactly twenty minutes pass by before the door opens again and he is called in.

He gets up slowly, his heart in his throat. Average. Go for the average. Don't stand out. Sponsors can still be gained in the interview, anyway. Well, if he manages to be a proper human being for once.

The room he enters is reminiscent of the training center, but smaller. There are a few training dummies scattered throughout the room, as well as another rack filled with weapons and a station containing tools. To his surprise, Kakashi can hear people talking behind him. He turns around to find a balcony above the door, where Capitol people dressed in their finery and served drinks and snacks by their servants, sit and watch him with bored expressions.

At their center sits Orochimaru, the gamemaker, the man who designs and controls the arena where the games will take place. In only a week's time, all the tributes' lives will be affected by this man's sadism. How many foul beasts will his arena contain? What sort of deadly terrain has he picked? And how many tributes will die because of him?

Kakashi has only seen Orochimaru on the holo-screen so far. The screen doesn't really do the man justice. Orochimaru is one of those Capitol people who has undergone severe physical augmentation. His features are strangely ageless, although Kakashi knows he must be in his fifties by now. His skin is pasty white, his face framed with long, sleek hair that is so dark it only makes him look paler. His eyes, however, are what really draw the attention. They are a snakelike yellow, the pupils slit like those of a cat. Dramatic makeup on his eyelids draws even more attention to the unnatural eyes.

Orochimaru notices him looking, looks right back, and gives him an unnerving smile.

Minato didn't warn Kakashi about this man, but he has a feeling that Minato should have. Just making eye contact with the man is enough to send shivers of discomfort down his spine, like some primal terror. Like being face-to-face with a forest viper, of the sort that strikes fear into the hearts of Konoha lumberjacks , and having no means of escaping its bite.

Orochimaru nods at him. "You may begin," he says. Even his voice is reminiscent of the snake, low and sibilant.

Kakashi takes a deep breath, trying not to show just how unnerved he is. Something in those yellow eyes suggests Orochimaru knows it anyway, and rather enjoys the fear he inspires.

Kakashi turns around. He can still feel those eyes drilling in his back, taking in his form and thinking God knows what. Orochimaru screams of danger, and has completely thrown Kakashi off his game. If this strategy had actually been to do his best, it probably would've failed.

So instead, he picks up three throwing knives from the rack and throws them at the dummy. Two hit the dummy with dull thuds, the third sails past the target and hits the wall with a crack. Kakashi breathes in slowly.

He takes another knife from the rack, the longer slightly curved one he had practiced with in the training area, and attacks the dummy with it. He goes at full speed, but he uses none of the technique or finesse Minato has drilled into him the past few days.

He finishes when he has made few neat slashes in the dummy, and moves on to the station. He picks up a few objects and explains their use with as little detail as he can manage. Now with his face towards the balcony again, he can see that Orochimaru is still smiling.

Kakashi is relieved to see his allotted time is nearly over. He shrugs awkwardly at his audience, and ridiculously, wonders if he should bow. Gone are the thoughts of resistance and rebellion. How humiliating. One intimidating figure and he's done for. What a Tribute he'll make.

He turns towards the door at the end of the room, the exit. One of the servants opens it for him, but before he can enter through, Orochimaru's low, hissing voice stops him.

"Say... Aren't you Hanano Kinue's boy? Or... I suppose I should say Hatake Kinue," Orochimaru says.

Kakashi freezes. "... Yes. I am."

Orochimaru chuckles. "Interesting. Very interesting."

The peacekeeper who has to escort Kakashi out waits for Orochimaru to say more, but he doesn't. So instead, Kakashi is guided out of the room and into Kushina's waiting arms. She seems pale and anxious, but smiles when she sees him. Much to Kakashi surprise, she even puts her hands on his shoulders as she asked them how it went. He doesn't have much of a reply for her, though. He wants to ask her more about the game maker, but he has a feeling this is not the place for those sorts of questions. So instead, they go back to the apartment.

The others are already there. Rin's eyes are little red like she's been crying, but she hasn't lost that fire in her eyes. "I could show them all about the workstation," she said, "but I messed up with the knives. I thought it would go better, but I got nervous."

"Did he keep staring at you, too?" Kakashi asks.

Rin gives him a quizzical look. "Who?"

That in itself unnerves Kakashi. Did she really not feel those eyes drilling into her back? Or... That comment about his mother. Could it be...?

No. Kakashi chides himself for being paranoid, before suddenly remembering that these are the hunger games. A little bit of paranoia might just save his life. Whatever Orochimaru's deal, Kakashi has to be careful around him.

There isn't much to do other than sit and wait for the next few hours. The grades the tributes receive will not be broadcast until tonight, so all of the capitol can watch and bet on their favorites. Thus, Kakashi and Rin spend the rest of their day honing their skills with their mentors. Kushina tries a few times to interject lessons of our own, mostly by trying to talk loud enough that they might hear her over their intense focus, but gives up after a while.

At dinner, neither of the tributes eat much. Even Kushina, who is usually bright and loud, is silent.

After dinner, they all move to the couch and turn on the holo-screen. Kushina promptly plops down between Kakashi and Rin and wraps an arm around each of them. Kakashi wants to protest, but her warm presence is actually kind of nice. He would rather have his father at his side, but Kushina is kind and comforting and good. He sees that now, although how someone like her ended up getting so involved in the games is an enigma he has not yet solved.

Minato and Sarutobi sit on either side of them, exchanging nervous looks.

Then, the program begins. They have made montages of each tribute, showing their chariot rides (Kakashi had been right, the grass tributes really had been dressed as grasshoppers!), and shots from the training is startled to see a shot of himself working away at the dummy, using some of his better moves. He'd had no idea they were filming at all. Judging by Minato's expression, the shot startles him as well.

Then, grades start rolling out. The scale runs from 1 to 12, with twelve being the highest and impossible to reach. No one has scored a twelve, ever. The careers usually score around 8-10. Those are the scores to watch out for. The average kids get around 5-7. That's what Kakashi is aiming for him, so as not to stand out in any sort of way.

They start with the careers. Zabuza, the boy with the serrated teeth, scores an impressive nine. His partner, surprisingly for a tribute from a career district, only scores a six. Then, sand is graded. Baki gets an 8, the girl Pakura an intimidating nine.

The kids from Iwa both score sevens, and so do the kids from Sound. The kids from rain and grass are not so fortunate, scoring no higher than five.

Then the kids from lightning appear on the screen. The girl, Mabui, scores a four, only one point higher than the twelve-year-old from grass. Shi does a little better, getting a six.

Kakashi wonders when it will be their turn. It would be just like the capitol to always place the Leaf district last just to annoy Kakashi. Or, more likely, because the ancestors of district Konoha's inhabitants had been amongst the fiercest of rebels. But hey, the 'annoy-Kakashi'' theory seems just as likely.

Another one of the smaller districts is graded very badly, and then its waterfall's turn. The girl, small as she is, only scores a two. Then it's the boy's turn. The commentator suddenly gets very excited, and seconds later, Kakashi understands why. Kakuzu has scored an eleven.

"That's... That's insane," Minato breathes. He's leaning forward with wide eyes, as if he can't believe what he's seeing. Kushina's grip on Kakashi's shoulders tightens. Rin seems even smaller all of a sudden.

There isn't any time to process Kakuzu's insane score. The district symbol on the screen turns into Konoha's, and a moment later Rin's face, almost angelic with the flower wreath and fairy makeup, appears on screen. Then, a big seven appears next to it.

Rin gasps. Kushina cheers loudly. "That's my girl! Well done!" She shouts.

Rin flushes from the praise, but smiles widely when Sarutobi pets her on the head.

Kakashi smiles at her as well. How on earth had she managed that?

The screen shifts again and then he suddenly sees himself, looking hollow eyed into the camera. His name appears, and then a grade. Nine.

"... What." Somehow, that's all he manages to say. His performance didn't warrant a nine. Not in a million years. Not even if he'd thrown his knives while cart wheeling- okay, that might've done the trick, but what he had actually done? Halfheartedly throwing a few knives at a dummy and reciting a few incorrect facts?

He is once again reminded of those unnerving yellow eyes, and that creepy smile. Kakashi doesn't know why, but he has a feeling Orochimaru had a lot to do with his score.

xXx

AN:
Thanks for reading! Please do this old author a favor and leave a comment so she does not starve to death, and can keep on writing for you.

Next chapter: Kakashi and Rin are interviewed, and two very familiar faces make an appearance...