Been wanting to write a Hunger Games au for a long time now and finally got the inspiration to do it from Twitter. Shoutout to noya jailbreak whose simulation on the Hunger Games sparked an idea in my mind, something I really needed to boost my confidence in writing and to try and do something productive over the course of my final year in university (and just trying to be creative). I will try to update daily but depending on whether I hit a block or am too busy, it may depend.
I don't own the characters.
Happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favour
.Iwaizumi Hajime was crouched in the bush of the forest behind his house, his right hand pulling against his bow as his eyes looked for his prey. When they finally settled on the young doe in front of him, he smiled as he let the arrow fly free, the sharp squeal of the doe getting hit filling the silence of the forest as he pumped his fist in triumph. His family will be happy with this prize that he's going to bring home for dinner; hopefully, it would be to celebrate another year where he hadn't been Reaped.
Today was the day all individuals from the ages of 13 to 18 years of age will be getting Reaped for the annual Hunger Games. Iwaizumi thought it was the sickest idea humanity had ever come up with in an attempt to punish the descendants of a bunch of people who decided to rebel against the Capital, which in return is the place where nutjobs lived out their lives partying every day and dressed in the most comical fashions in the universe. To think they actually treated this as one of the highlights of the year, going so far to even send 'gifts' of weaponry onto the Arena on the day of the Games; it made Iwaizumi's stomach roll.
He had been lucky to have avoided getting picked for the past five years of his life. One more year and he would be able to live his days in peace, harvesting coal from District 12's coal mines.
One more year and he wouldn't have to die of a heart attack from hearing a certain idiot being picked for the Hunger Games.
As Iwaizumi bent over his prey and clapped his hands together, praying for the doe's spirit to go into heaven, he heard a rustle in the woods, his hand automatically going for his hunting knife when he heard a sing-song voice filling the air.
"Iwa-chan! There you are! Auntie has been looking everywhere for you! The Reaping is in another hour and you haven't gone and showered! Man, you sure smell like a gorilla right now," Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi's best friend and the most annoying person in existence groaned as he trudged through the woods, his eyes falling onto the doe on the ground as his eyes lit up.
"How did you manage to happen across a doe?" he yelped as Iwaizumi sighed before beginning to gut the animal, much to Oikawa's horror. The other boy hated the sight of blood, almost always throwing up at the sight of it. He had gotten better at controlling himself though, thanks to Iwaizumi dragging him for hunting when they were teenagers.
"It's still another hour. I only need a few minutes for a shower."
"But Auntie says you literally have fungus to scrub out from under your toenails."
"Not like anyone would even look at them."
"I do! They smell like they haven't seen the sun since the day you were born!"
"Shut it Shittykawa," Iwaizumi growled as he tossed the remainder of the guts into the bag, never so much wanting to waste any source of protein that could be sold in the market as he tossed the bloody bag to Oikawa. Oikawa shrieked as he barely managed to catch it, wrinkling his nose at the sight of blood dripping from the bag as Iwaizumi hoisted the deer onto his shoulders and began the march back home.
He had been trying to avoid the town the entire day because of the Reaping. Every year, he feared that he would get picked and shipped off to fight in a place that would be his burial ground. Heck, most Tributes were sent back in a box when they were killed, if they were lucky to have been remained intact. Some Tributes weren't even sent back due to having been blasted to pieces or whatever that remained of them was too gruesome for their grieving families to handle.
But most of all, he feared Oikawa would be chosen and he would have to watch his best friend suffer in the Games all on his own.
On the way back to their homes, which were right next door to one another, the atmosphere of District 12 reminded Iwaizumi of the usual Reaping day atmosphere; doom and gloom. District 12 was the poorest of the Districts and barely ever had Tributes who even passed the first 5 minutes of the canon going off without getting killed, let alone win any Games. Only one man came from District 12 that was still kicking; a middle ages man by the name of Matsukawa Issei, who drank to his heart content and was never sober since the day he won the Games.
Oikawa reached out to Iwaizumi, ignoring the blood coating his hands as he took them in his own to give them a light squeeze. Iwaizumi felt his heart break as his friend looked at him in the eyes, brown chocolate staring back at him as he put on the fakest smile yet; one that assured him they would walk away from the Reaping without being chosen once more. Oikawa always seemed to know when to make him feel bad.
"Go and have a good shower. Auntie is going to kill you if you don't go in right now," Oikawa grinned as he finally let go of his hands, heading into his own shack of a house. Iwaizumi watched as he entered the house, closing the door behind him before turning to his own, heading inside to see his mother seated at the dinner table.
Iwaizumi had a big family, although it has since been torn apart by the Games. His elder twin brothers had been Reaped several years before and managed to get quite far into the finals when they were ambushed and killed by District 1 representative Ushijima Wakatoshi. His father had gone mad at losing both of his sons at once and got into a brawl in the District bar, which resulted in him getting knocked unconscious. With the lack of medicine to pull him out of his coma, they were forced to pull the plug on him. The only ones left of the Iwaizumi household were Hajime and his mother. Iwaizumi's stomach twisted at the thought of the possibility of his mother losing another child to the Games this year.
"Hajime, welcome home," Mrs Iwaizumi smiled, her face worn with years of hard work and stress of losing the men of her family one after another.
"I'm home," Iwaizumi said as he moved to give his mother a peck on the cheek, who grimaced a little at the sight of her son being covered with blood.
"Come on now, Hajime. Leave the cleaning to me and go wash yourself up. You look like a caveman right about now," she smirked as Iwaizumi thought of the number of times Oikawa had called him that as he headed into the shower, which was actually just an outdoor shower he shared with the Oikawa household.
He ducked inside, stripping himself of his sweaty clothes before turning to pour water all over his back. Water was precious in these parts and he would be lucky to have a shower even once every four days. Reaping Day was exceptional since there had been cases where people showed up at their worst, smelly and filthy that were taken away by the District Officers and beaten to a pulp. Iwaizumi could take them down, although he didn't want to bother going through all that hassle when he could use it as an excuse to feel fresh.
Once he was done scrubbing all the dirt from his body (and under his toenails since he had to admit he did have some fungus growing under them), he wrapped himself up in a towel before moving to his room where his Reaping clothes were; a simple white shirt with black slacks. These were the nicest items of clothing he ever possessed, although he only ever wore them on Reaping day. As he buttoned up the shirt, his thoughts turned to Oikawa, who was getting ready in his own home.
Why did he have a bad feeling about today?
Iwaizumi quickly finished wearing his clothes before heading into the living room. His mother moved forward, her hands moving to straighten his clothes and tame his messy hair, although Iwaizumi knew his mother was trying to stall the inevitable fate of possibly losing her last child; she didn't want to lose anymore this year.
"Mum, we need to go," Iwaizumi whispered as Mrs Iwaizumi nodded.
"I know. It's just… I can't lose you as well. Not after what happened with Hikaru and Haruka…" she whispered as a silent tear fell from her eye. The older Iwaizumi was terrified of losing the rest of her family, her hands shaking as her son took them into his hands. Mrs Iwaizumi sucked in a rattled breath as she finally let the tears flow.
"Hajime, you've grown so much. I love you o so much. Always remember, no matter where you are, I will always be looking out for you."
She pecked a kiss on his forehead before taking him by the hand, walking out into the street to join the crowd of parents and children walking to the square. Most of them were pale with fear, some of them even visibly crying into their sleeves as they headed to their doom. As they neared the square, Peace Keepers in white uniforms proceeded to split the children away from their parents. Most didn't say a word as they separated them, their faces hidden behind white helmets as they barked out orders for the parents to keep away. Not many children put up a fight, knowing they and their family would face bitter consequences if they did so.
"Good luck," Mrs Iwaizumi whispered as she moved to stand with the adults, Mrs Oikawa coming in to give her a hug as Iwaizumi's hand suddenly felt so empty and cold.
He scanned himself in before moving to stand with the other 18-year-olds. The square had been divided into age groups, each group standing in a square with a path in the middle to allow the future Tributes to walk down to the stage. As Iwaizumi moved to stand, he felt a warm hand slipping into his own, callused from the knife training he had done.
"We'll get through this," Oikawa whispered as Iwaizumi nodded, both of them holding each other as the Capital representative walked onto the stage. Oikawa thought that most of them looked pretty mad but this guy looked very.. ordinary. He was dressed in a crisp suit, black save for the orange and white lines lining it. The only thing about him that looked a bit odd were the fact he was munching on onigiri as he moved, not caring that most of the people in front of him were starved for such food as he spoke into the mike.
"Welcome to the annual Reaping. My name is Miya Osamu and I will be your Capital representative this year. With me on the stage is the mayor of District 12, Irihata-san and Tribute mentor, Matsukawa Issei. Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour. As usual, I will be asking if anyone wants to volunteer. Any volunteers?"
Compared to all the representatives they had seen over the years, Osamu looked ready to just bail and eat his onigiri in peace as he moved to the large bowls in front of him. The names of all the boys and girls in the district had been pooled into it, their names written on a single piece of paper that would assign them to their early death. Osamu didn't seem bothered by that fact though, his hand moving through the bowl to pull out a name, unfurling the paper as his mouth opened to announce it. Iwaizumi could feel the silence in the air growing heavier as Osamu spoke the name.
"Oikawa Tooru."
Iwaizumi felt his blood run cold as Oikawa turned to look at him. There wasn't a hint of fear on his face as he smiled at his best friend, not seeming to be bothered about the fact he might be dying in a week's time as the crowd parted for him to move.
"Shittykawa… why…" Iwaizumi growled as he tried to control himself from snapping. He lost his brothers last year, he wasn't going to lose his best friend.
"Don't worry. I will come home to you," Oikawa smiled as he gently moved in to kiss Iwaizumi on the cheek. They had been doing this for years, just a small sign of greeting between them that never amounted to anything in the past, until now.
"While I'm at it, maybe I can kill the Tributes under Ushiwaka-chan after what he did to Hikaru and Haruka last year," he smiled, the expression on his face sending chills down his spine. Oikawa had been there with him as they watched the twins getting cut down by Ushijima's sword, Hikaru trying to shield his younger twin from the final blow that cut down the two of them together. The winner hadn't even faltered as he cut them down, proceeding to stand up tall as he was announced the winner of the Games.
While he looked like he was confident and ready to go, deep down, Iwaizumi knew that Oikawa was balled up, sobbing and wishing he could run away from it all.
Slowly, Oikawa released his hand as he turned to walk up the stage, two Peacekeeper moving to escort him up as Iwaizumi reached out for him.
"Tooru…"
No… he couldn't lose his best friend. Not after losing half of his family.
No. He wouldn't let the stupid Capital take anything away from him anymore. He was going to make sure Oikawa came home alive.
Even if it meant if he had to die in the process.
"Hey, what are you doing?" the Peacekeeper guarding their group shouted as Iwaizumi pushed past him to run into the path that separated the groups from each other. Oikawa's retreated back was straight and proud, never flinching as he walked closer to his doom as Iwaizumi yelled.
"I volunteer as Tribute with Oikawa Tooru for District 12!"
A hushed silence filled the air as Oikawa turned to look at Iwaizumi, his eyes screaming for him to turn back when Iwaizumi strode over, not caring at the fact the Peacekeepers had tasers with enough voltage to shock him dead. He turned to look at Osamu dead in the eye, the man flinching slightly as he glared at him with the pent up rage of losing everyone he ever loved to the Capital.
"You wanted a volunteer? You have one," he snapped as Osamu sighed into the mike.
"Alright. Come on up. We haven't got all day."
Slowly, both of them walked onto the stage, Osamu moving to let them stand in front of him. Matsukawa shook his head as he looked at the two of them, his eyes tired from having seen too many Tributes die under him as Osamu drawled.
"May I present to you the Tributes of District 12; Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime."
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