This chapter didn't come out as well as I thought but hope you guys enjoy it.
The moment they stepped into the car, Iwaizumi had immediately pulled away his sweaty hand from Oikawa's, his face burning at how the crowd had responded to Oikawa telling them that they were potentially lovers. His heart was racing so hard and his mind was spinning that he could barely think straight, the sound of squeals and ahhs filling the air not helping as Atsumu grinned at them. His fox tail swished lazily behind him, his lips curled in a mischievous smile as he said.
"Well well, you two make a really cute couple. Anyways, we're at the end of our show, folks. May the odds be ever in the favour of these two star crossed lovers."
Star crossed lovers.
What the hell as that supposed to mean?
"Hey, Shittykawa. Why did you tell them we're lovers?" Iwaizumi growled as his fingers began to curl into fists. This felt wrong. It felt so wrong.
He was best friends with Oikawa. He did love him to a certain degree but not in a romantic way. He couldn't love Oikawa that way; he had his life to fulfil instead of being tied down to him.
He deserved more than a man like him. He couldn't even look at him in the eye at this point after possibly signing both of their death warrants.
"I told him to say that."
Iwaizumi lifted his head, his hand unclenching ever so slightly as Matsun leaned in the seat across from them, his face shrouded in the darkness as they drove down the streets. Even though it was around 11 at night, everything was still open and people were still bustling about doing their shopping and having fun. All the adrenaline that had been pumping through Iwaizumi's body for the entire night was starting to die away, leaving him drained enough to sleep in the car.
But Matsun's words woke him up as he stared at the man, Osamu sighing in response.
"We thought that you two would make an interesting item. Especially with your already close relationship, it wouldn't be hard to pull off a scandalous one of best friends following each other to their deaths on the arena."
"You're willing to make us play a lie for the amusement of others?"
"We want you to survive this game kid. Capitol citizens like scandals. They like gossip. They like seeing lovers suffer for one another in the Arena. Its entertainment to them and the more you play them into your hands, the higher your chances are of winning the Games. I did it once, and it worked pretty well for me I guessed," Matsun rumbled as he leaned forward, his hands propping his head against his knees as he glowered at them.
"Oikawa was willing to do it so you better play along in it. You don't exactly have the social skills to make yourself sellable to the people and you need everything you could get to make sure you get sponsors. While they are technically the reason why you're going to die, they're also another way for you to survive in the Arena. Play your cards right and you will win. This year has a lot of tricky people to deal with and I hope you two idiots would make it to the end."
Oikawa was silent the entire time, his eyes staring out at the window overlooking the city. As they made a turn to arrive at their destination, he turned to look at Matsun, who's jaw stiffened ever so slightly as Oikawa curled his lips. Iwaizumi had seen that look before whenever they had a tournament or event that involved them having to win it; the look that Oikawa gave that he would never lose.
"I believe in you."
Those words were only spoken to those that Oikawa really trusted; in other words, Iwaizumi. He only reserved these words for a very serious moment, where there was a possibility that he might encounter great danger. And this was one of these moments and for Oikawa to trust someone he had only just met a couple of days ago made Iwaizumi's stomach turn in… jealousy?
…
Iwaizumi's head was still ringing from the day before, the sounds of cheers and laughs filling his mind from the interview plaguing him as he got up from the bed. As he tried to get up, he noticed an arm slung across his waist, pinning him down when he heard a clicking sound filling the air and a snicker.
"Man, you two don't even need to play the role of darling lovers when you're asleep. Those moronic Capitol citizens are going to be buzzing about this, fufu," Matsun smirked as he ran his fingers through his hair before reaching to press the send button on his phone, narrowly managing to avoid getting pummeled in the face by Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi's mouth was open in shock as Matsun revealed his handiwork to him, what appeared to be a social media platform now spiralling out of control as people reacted to the picture of them sleeping.
Iwaizumi had to admit Oikawa looked slightly cute in it.
"What the hell? You didn't say anything about taking pictures of us, you dumbass!" Iwaizumi roared as he ripped Oikawa's arm from his waist and stumbled out of the bed only in his boxers as Matsun snapped yet another picture.
"Come on, you guys are getting a lot of ratings on this. You're now being dubbed the hottest couple in the games starting from now. Man, I don't think even me and Makki got this much attention when we were Tributes," Matsun whistled as Iwaizumi lunged, his hand nearly grabbing the phone when Oikawa stirred in bed. The other boy hadn't bothered changing out of his clothes from the previous night, his dress shirt crumpled as he yawned and stretched himself out. His mousy brown hair was all mused up, making him look almost adorable as he moaned, "Iwa-chan, so loud."
Iwaizumi threw up his hands in frustration, not wanting to argue with him as he stomped into the bathroom to get changed and showered. They had training later in the Training Room anyways and had to 'showcase' their abilities in front of some people later, some of them being possible sponsors that would keep their asses alive and Victors from previous games.
Iwaizumi wondered if Ushijima would be there.
When he stepped back into his room, now showered and feeling a bit more alert and ready to kick some ass, he spotted Oikawa sitting on the bed, not seeming to be bothered at the fact he had been photographed in his sleep from earlier. Iwaizumi always thought Oikawa would be great in front of the camera because of his looks but now he was getting irritated that he was getting dragged into the mix as well.
"Hey, Shittykawa. You don't mind the fact people are advertising us like we're some stupid celebrity couple or something?" Iwaizumi groaned, sitting down on the bed next to him as Oikawa raised his eyebrows, "Why not? I don't see a problem if it gets us through the Games."
"Don't you feel uncomfortable about it, the way people think we are acting around each other?"
"I don't see why not. We've been sleeping together for years, although you got too big to share a bed with since you started to grow, Iwa-chan. You're now like a gorilla. Ouch!" Oikawa yelped as Iwaizumi flicked his forehead.
"Get your ass to breakfast and let's get this over with. I don't want to think what the other Tributes are thinking of us now when we get back down there."
…
Turns out that things have even reached the ears of the Tributes, some of them giving them looks as they stepped from the lift. Iwaizumi tried not to meet the eyes of some of them, avoiding the smirks of the Tributes from Districts 3 and 7, in particular the guys with the mad hairstyles. The Tribute from District 3, Kuroo Iwaizumi believed was grinning at him like a Cheshire cat as Bokuto, the Tribute from District 7 smirked.
"Hey, what did you two get up to last night? You seemed to have a lot of energy to have some fun after the interviews. I was too wiped to even do anything after that!" Bokuto laughed as Iwaizumi went red when his companion clamped a hand on his shoulder, "Bokuto-san, please refrain from making false claims about the others."
"Akaashi! You're no fun!" he whined when the Tributes were finally let into the room for practice, although Iwaizumi spent his time wandering around the room trying to see what he could use for the showcase later. Without him realizing it, his feet carried him to the archery range, his hand automatically moving to grab a bow and a quiver of arrows before stepping onto it.
It was a simulated play, 3D images forming from the sides as moving targets ran towards him. Iwaizumi breathed as he set his eyes on the targets, his fingers moving to grab and notch arrows before letting them fly. Each target was hit square in the chest, the target disintegrating into cubes before another took his place. Iwaizmu barely let out a breath as he continued to shoot, wanting to run away from the looming thought of his death slowly creeping upon him.
He wasn't going to die.
He was going to survive.
He was going to go home with Oikawa.
He was going to…
His hand reached for empty air when he realized he had run out of arrows, the simulation had ended when he ran out of them. As his hand dropped to his side and he finally managed to take a breath, he realized that the room had gone quiet as the rest of the Tributes turned to stare at him. Even Kageyama and Hinata of District 1 were quiet for once, which was very scary since the look in their eyes resembled that of hunters finally locking onto their prey.
He might have just made himself a target for the others.
…
"Don't worry about it. It is always a good idea to actually get under some of the Tributes skin so that they avoid you during the Games," Matsun said as Iwaizumi groaned. The look majority of the Tributes had given him made him feel that he might be the first to go during the Games.
He hoped he could get his hands on a bow and arrows in the Game.
"Come on, Iwa-chan! Lighten up! If you wow the judges during your showcase later, you should be able to get some sponsors," Oikawa grinned, even though his smile was as fake as it could get. His leg was hitting the ground in the same rhythm, his fingers clasped together indicating that he was actually freaking out about it.
They were now waiting for their time to show their skills off to the potential sponsors and Iwaizumi was really hoping Ushijima wasn't there. The last time he had seen him, he had been close to whipping out an arrow and shooting it at his head and he would do so this time, even if it meant if he was killed before the games started.
Yes, Ushijima would be a good distraction by providing him a target to shoot.
"Iwaizumi Hajime. Please make your way into the chamber for your skill assessment," a mechanical voice spoke above the as Iwaizumi got to his feet, trying not to sway as Matsun gave him a pat on the back. Despite the fact that Victors could mingle with the sponsors up there, he and Osamu had chosen to stay behind to give them as much support as they could. Even though Osamu looked like he would rather be eating onigiri than looking at them freak out now.
As Iwaizumi moved to walk, slender fingers grabbed onto his wrist, stopping him as Oikawa moved to wrap his arms around his waist, nearly making Iwaizumi stiffen as he whispered, "I believe in you."
Iwaizumi shook him off as he walked, not wanting to feel the lingering presence of his best friend as the doors opened to let him in. As he stepped into the chamber, he could see a glass chamber very much like the one that was present during their training sessions embedded in the wall. Although for some reason, this one didn't seem to have glass protecting them from the potentially lethal Tributes below.
Various ridiculously coloured dressed people were milling about, some of them picking their way through the food spread out on the table before them. There was enough food to last Iwaizumi and his mother for a good month, his mouth watering at the sight of roasted pig laid out on it. As his mind wondered how delicious the pig would taste, his eyes caught on a tall imposing figure moving through the crowd, dressed in a suit of white and purple.
Ushijima was there.
His eyes then moved to see what was available for him to put on display. Numerous weapons were set on racks, one of them including the bow and arrow. Iwaizumi automatically picked it up, notching his arrow into it before turning his attention to the people above him, who hadn't even bothered paying attention to the Tribute who had entered the room.
Iwaizumi didn't think twice as he let the arrow fly, a whizzing sound filling the air as it flew past Ushijima's face, nearly hitting him in the nose before embedding itself in the wall. There was a shriek as a man dropped his plate, the arrow having missed him by centimetres as all of them finally turned their attention to Iwaizumi.
"Name's Iwaizumi Hajime of District 12, and I hope you enjoyed my skill display today," Iwaizumi mumbled as he dropped the bow and quiver onto the ground, the items clattering onto the cold ground. He didn't bother to turn to see their reaction as he walked out, half expecting to have bullets raining over him for pulling such a stupid stunt when a voice rumbled.
"If you needed to get people's attention by shooting an arrow at their faces, it shows you're too weak to even gain people's attention. Iwaizumi Hajime, you're just as weak as your brothers from the previous Game.
Ushijima was never one to mince his word and Iwaizumi didn't have to turn to know that he was giving him a condescending look, uncaring the way he took down his brothers all those years ago.
He wished he had aimed the arrow at Ushijima's face.
"Oikawa Tooru on the other hand is strong. He knows what to do to get what he needs, never sparing an expense when he is on the court. If he had been born in a better District, he might have a higher chance of becoming a Victor and pairing up with a better Tribute. Instead, he is stuck with you."
Shut up. Don't you dare talk about Oikawa like you know him.
"Ushiwaka. I don't know if you even feel any remorse for what you did to my brothers but mark my words. I'm going to kill those Tributes from your District without mercy and win the Games with Tooru, whether you like it or not."
Iwaizumi didn't look back as he stomped out of the chamber, not bothering to see if Ushijima looked even the slightest bit surprised at his words. He didn't care what he thought of his words, but he meant it.
He would do anything to keep Oikawa alive in the Games.
Even if it meant if he had to die in the process.