So here is chapter 2. Just to make things a bit clear, its been a while since I watched or read the series so what I write might be based on some vague memory I have on it and what I got off the internet. Also, the rule of having one male and one female Tribute per District doesn't apply here; not a fan of gender-bending and thought it would be better to leave them as it is.

Also, don't mind Osamu being an onigiri freak, just wanted to give him a unique quirk for the story and thought heck, why not a person who eats onigiri 24 hours.

Other than that, have fun reading it!

"Well congratulations, you two. You've just signed up for your death warrant," Matsukawa muttered as they waited in the Council Hall for District 12. Once the Reaping was over, the Tributes along with their Victor mentor and escort were escorted to a room in the District council hall, the only things present in the room being a single table and four chairs with two Peacekeepers guarding the door.

They were now given around half an hour to prepare themselves to say farewell to their families, something Iwaizumi wasn't looking forward to in the slightest.

Oikawa had a single mother who got pregnant with him when she was 18. On the day of the Reaping, she had been reaped as one of the Tributes, only for her lover, Oikawa's biological father to step forward and take her place. He didn't survive long enough to see his son being born, forcing Mrs Oikawa to raise Oikawa on her own. Iwaizumi didn't know how she was going to react to her son being shipped off to the very same Games that killed her lover.

"Don't say that, Matsukawa-san. You're making things worse," Osamu murmured from his seat, a container of onigiri opened up on his lap. Iwaizumi counted that he must have eaten at least ten onigiri since they knew him and wondered how he managed to even keep them in his stomach.

Matsukawa sighed as he reached to the flask clasped to his belt, unscrewing the lid to down the content within. As he smacked his lips, the smell of alcohol wafted through the air, making Iwaizumi want to gag at the smell. The rumours about Matsukawa being anything but sober for the past twenty years of his life didn't seem to be a joke, although the man's eyes were sharp as the Peacekeepers in the room watched their every move, making sure the Tributes didn't try to make a run for it.

It wasn't uncommon for Tributes to try and escape their doom only for them to be gunned down like animals. Iwaizumi would rather die in the Arena than die a pathetic death somewhere in a coal mine in District 12.

He could even say that he was slightly happy that even if he did die, it wouldn't be a bad death since he could enjoy the luxuries of the Capitol for a little while.

"Your families are here to see you," the Peacekeeper said as he moved to open the door, their mothers walking in before rushing to envelope their sons in their arms. Iwaizumi's mother was sobbing as she held onto her son, whispering that everything will be alright to him as Iwaizumi held her tight.

"I'm sorry mum, for being so selfish."

"Don't be. I treat Tooru as my own son so I'm happy that you two will be able to be together…" she choked as she tried to avoid thinking about them possibly dying as Iwaizumi kissed her on the forehead.

"I will protect him and come home. Then we will be able to live a much better life and you won't have to go to the coal mines to work anymore."

Mrs Iwaizumi sobbed as she pulled back from her son, pressing her hands on his cheeks to stroke them. She ran her thumb over tears Iwaizumi didn't even know he had been shedding, kissing them away before pressing her forehead against his own.

"I love you so much, Hajime. Come back to me safe. Protect Tooru, alright?" she whispered as Iwaizumi nodded.

"Come here. No way I'm going to leave my second son to go away without giving him a kiss and hug," Mrs Oikawa said as she stepped between them and gave Iwaizumi a big hug, but not before letting out a few hiccups as Iwaizumi held onto her. His own mother had moved to hug Oikawa, Oikawa trying his best not to cry as the older Iwaizumi wished him the best. Iwaizumi caught sighed of Oikawa blushing as she said something to him, although Mrs Oikawa turned his attention towards her when she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Sorry for him dragging you into this. You may be his knight in shining armour, but he needs to stand on his own two feet for his."

"No, I chose it for myself."

"I knew you cared for him a lot, but never as much as this," she whispered as she hugged him for what may be the last time.

"I love you both as my own. Come home safe," she whispered as the Peacekeepers announced that time was up. As both women were removed from the premises, Oikawa and Iwaizumi couldn't help but sob as their remaining family were removed from their sight. As the doors closed with a resounding slam, the four men in the room stood in silence before Osamu decided to break it by snapping the latches to his container shut.

"Alright, we better get a move on to the Capitol. We should be there by morning," he drawled as he stood up to brush the crumbs of his coat. Since the two of them didn't have any belongings to bring with them, the two boys followed the two older men out of the hall to where the train was waiting. Iwaizumi hadn't seen one up close before but it looked like something from another world.

The train was made of sleek black metal, smoke rising from above it as the door opened automatically to let them in. As Iwaizumi stepped into it, he nearly felt his jaw drop at how luxurious the inside looked; velvet seats lined the walls, a single crystal chandelier hung in every carriage. Food of every type was available in every room, with a huge dining room laden with every type of food Iwaizumi could ever imagine as Osamu took a seat behind a large plate of onigiri.

"Sit. Eat as much as you like," he said as Iwaizumi and Oikawa looked at one another being saying, "Itadakimasu."

While most people thought that District 12 was made out of savages from the previous Hunger Games, Iwaizumi and Oikawa had been raised by women who valued etiquette. They picked up the chopsticks and began to pick at the food, Iwaizumi's hunger nearly getting the better out of him as he let himself savour the taste of salmon sashimi hitting his tongue. He had never tasted fish before this since District 12 was so far from the sea. Anyone would be lucky to even have any form of meat on their dinner table, let alone food at all.

Oikawa was digging into a bowl of salmon roe, his mouth stuffed to the brim as he ate. Iwaizumi smiled to himself at how much his friend seemed to be enjoying his food since he normally didn't get to eat this. Oikawa's mother worked as a teacher in the local school, although she didn't earn much she tried to make sure her son had the best of everything.

Matsukawa settled on popping open a bottle of vintage wine, pouring it into a glass for himself before drinking straight from the bottle. Osamu didn't seem to care that his fellow passengers seemed to be eating everything in front of them without leaving any for him, his fingers scrolling through a tablet in his hands. About this time, the names and faces of the Tributes from various Districts will be announced, although it didn't do them much good since they had never met them and wouldn't know how lethal they were until they get into the Arena.

From previous years, most of the winning Tributes hailed from District 1 and 2 along with the occasional ones from other Districts. Known as the Districts that support the Capitol the most, children from those Districts have been trained from a young age to compete in the Games, giving them a heads up in learning ways of killing other kids their age. In recent years, things have got even more brutal, some of them killing off their partner within minutes of the Games starting just to get them out of the way or some of them killing off half of the Tributes as soon as the cannon goes off, often having made a pact between them to kill off the others before killing one another at the end of it. Ushijima had been one of those who abandoned his group, picking off Tributes one by one. Hikaru and Haruka had been the last ones in his way, the furthest any District 12 Tributes had made in the Games for years until he mercilessly killed them.

Iwaizumi still couldn't forget his mother's screams as she watched her sons die before her eyes, the clip being rewinded over and over as the commentator gleefully told of how unfortunate it was for the twins to have died. He had spoken of it as being beautiful, that they managed to die together in each other's arms without being separated for eternity. He wished he could kill that sicko when he had the chance.

"The results of various Tributes have come in. I don't know if you want to see them, but here they are," Osamu said as he handed the tablet over to them. Oikawa held onto the tablet like it was made of glass, giving it to Iwaizumi for better measure as he held it in his hands. The tablet felt feather-light in his hands as he swiped the screen, the images of Tributes along with their various Reaping ceremonies passing before his eyes as they drank them in.

District 1 had quite an uproar this year, boasting two Tributes who had made a run to the stage once the escort opened his mouth to ask for volunteers. District 1 had a mad tradition of people lining up to run for the stage to become Tributes, some even trampling others to death in the stampede to the stage. These years tributes were a duo named Kageyama Tobio, a boy with a permanent resting bitch face that rivalled Iwaizumi's own with black hair and dark blue eyes and Hinata Shouyou, a short boy with a wide smile and unruly orange hair that looked too happy for someone who might be dying in a week. Both of them were apparently rivals who wanted to duke it out on the arena, making every attempt to make sure both of them made it into the Games this particular year.

District 2 has what appeared to be a guy with a serious attitude problem, his scowl prominent as the guy with a black bowlcut standing next to him waved to the crowd, shouting he was going to win the Games. His partner looked ready to murder him there and then and knowing how the Games worked, Iwaizumi wouldn't be surprised if he was the one to take him out; Districts 1 and 2 had had a few years of its Tributes killing each other without mercy at the beginning of the Games to avoid conflicts in the end. Ushijima's partner had gotten himself killed in the frenzy a few years back while he himself proceeded to kill off the others before turning his sights to the other Tributes.

Oikawa's hand found its way to Iwaizumi's wrist, Iwaizumi not realizing that his grip on the tablet was so tight, there was a single crack on the screen as Osamu looked ready to go to bed and leave them all alone. Matsukawa looked up from his drink, half of the bottle of wine already in his belly as he looked at the faces of the Tributes flashing on the TV that the tablet was connected to.

"This year's crop looks pretty strong. Well, every year yields strong people but you might need to watch out for a few of them," he murmured as various faces flashed by. The pair from District 3, a guy with a bad bedhead along with a shorter boy with pudding-like hair flashed on the screen before moving on to District 4, which was represented by a silver-haired boy that was more than two heads taller than his companion, who looked more composed than his companion. Iwaizumi noted them down as he scrolled through them as more names and videos flashed past him.

When they were finally done with it, Matsukawa had fallen asleep, the wine bottle on the ground as he snored loudly. Osamu had busied himself with plugging on his earphones and reading something on his personal tablet, onigiri in hand. Iwaizumu and Oikawa were left to their own devices, choosing to wander around the train since they had around 12 hours of a train ride to get to the Capitol.

Asides from the dining room, there was a large gaming room filled with various gaming consoles, although they had no idea how to play them or had the mood to do so. Another room held a large screen TV with plush couches made of leather, the floor covered with lush carpeting as the boys decided to make their home there. Iwaizumi sank into the couch, Oikawa sinking in next to him as Iwaizumi flipped on the TV, various Reaping ceremonies of past showing before them as Oikawa leaned his head on his shoulder.

"Iwa-chan, why did you volunteer as Tribute?"

"I didn't want you to go alone."

"But now, I might have to kill you in the arena. I don't want that to happen."

Oikawa's hands had fisted themselves in his shirt as Iwaizumi reached to pull the other boy against him, Oikawa's soft sobs slowly filling the room, the sounds of Tributes getting chosen and dragged away to their doom filling the background. When he turned to look at Oikawa, the boy's nose was running and eyes puffy, his grip on Iwaizumi getting stronger as he whispered the words he dreaded.

"We will make it out alive, right?"

Iwaizumi had no idea on that. No more than one Tribute was allowed to live and there have never been any exceptions to that matter so far.

"I don't know Oikawa… I don't know…"

As his free hand found its way to winding itself in Oikawa's soft hair, his eyes moved to the TV, which now showed a Tribute with the number 12 on his sleeve cradling a pink haired boy in his arms, wailing as he clutched onto his body. A spear was impaled in his chest, blood still running from his wound as he reached up to cup the Tribute's face before passing before his eyes, the sound of the cannon going off before his name appeared in the sky.

"Hanamaki Takahiro, aged 18 years old from District 12."

The voice floating from the open door belonged to Matsukawa, his eyes fixed on the video, more so at the boy with pink hair being cradled by his comrade. Even though he had just drunk a lot of wine, he still looked sober enough to recognize what was going on before him as his eyes filled with tears, his hand reaching out to the boy in the video as he whispered.

"Makki you moron. Why did you leave me alone to suffer like this?" he whispered as he moved to sink into a chair, his body rocking backwards and forwards as Oikawa and Iwaizumi watched him do so. While they rarely saw the man come out of his house from the Tribute village back in District 12, there were times they had seen him in the graveyard, looking at the grave of a certain Tribute buried there. Rumours had been that the Tribute had been his best friend, possibly lover and when he sacrificed himself for Matsukawa, Matsukawa had turned to drinking to cope with it.

The man sitting before them wasn't the bright, sunny boy who had once been a part of the meme duo of District 12, always smiling with his friend even as they faced death in the arena. He was no reduced to a mess, his clothes stinking of alcohol and his face unshaven for what may be years. Despite that, when he looked at the new Tributes, his eyes were filled with the fiery determination he never had for those before him.

"I will keep you two idiots alive. So once we get to the Capitol, you better listen to everything I say, got it?"

Both boys didn't say anything as Matsukawa leaned back in his chair, moving to unclip the flask from his belt before taking a swig from it, his eyes on the boys as he smacked his lips.

"Since we haven't formally introduced ourselves, let me start first. My name is Matsukawa Issei, you can call me Matsun. I was a Tribute in the Hunger Games 10 years ago and lost my best friend in it. If you two want to stay alive, and you better damn do, keep your heads up and listen to everything I have to say."