The second the canon went off, Iwaizumi took off from the pedestal and ran towards the direction of the forest. Already he could begin to hear the blood curling screams of Tributes dying, Iwaizumi whipping his head to see one of them meeting his demise as he slipped on the slippery track and fell into the water, his screams filling the air as sharks surrounded him and ripped him to shreds. His partner screamed as she huddled in fear on her pedestal, unable to move until an arrow was embedded in her chest, her body hurling into the water as shark surrounded to eat her up.

The bloodbath had begun in earnest, and it hadn't been a minute since the Games began.

Iwaizumi wanted to cover his ears as the battle ragged around him, his legs carrying him deeper into the forest as he felt an arrow whizz past him. He nearly toppled to the ground as he whipped around to see Shirabu carrying a crossbow, his face scrunched in a scowl as he took aim once more. Iwaizumi felt himself collide with someone, their mouth open in apology when they suddenly fell on top of him, both of them collapsing on the ground as Iwaizumi stopped himself from screaming.

"Dammit, you're hard to get," Shirabu growled as he took aim one more time. Iwaizumi unwillingly used the dead Tribute as a shield, the arrow hitting their body with a sickening thud when Iwaizumu realised they had left a fallen backpack on the ground. Quickly, he managed to grab it before dashing into the woods, foliage giving him cover as he ran. His heart was pounding as he continued to run, not stopping to let the screams wash over him.

He didn't look around to see if Oikawa was even following him.

Both of them had made a pact to run their separate ways so they wouldn't hold each other down in case the other got caught up, promising to meet partway during the Games. Iwaizumi had no idea how far Oikawa had made it now, his mind trained on making sure he himself was alive when he felt his foot slip and his body began tumbling through fallen leaves before his back slammed into a tree.

Iwaizumi bit back a scream as pain shot through his body, his head spinning as he painfully got to his feet, groping around until he finally felt safe enough at where he was. He collapsed on a fallen tree, his knees giving way as the adrenaline left his body, leaving him exhausted. His hand went to his chest, clutching it as he slowly took deep breathes, trying to calm himself down before turning to look at his prize.

The bag was a simple camouflage bag, a dagger stuck into it from an attempted attack. Iwaizumi carefully tucked it into his pocket as he unzipped the bag, rummaging through its contents as a small smile quirked on his lips.

Inside, there was some rope, matches, a container that had water in it and some rations. He even had a Swiss army knife inside, his prayers going to the gods above as he stowed his goods safely into the bag when he heard the cannon going off.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The canon continued going off, finally stopping after the eight boom. Iwaizumi felt his heart sink as he thought more Tributes had survived the slaughter, meaning he would have to deal with more of them later on.

The sun was still high in the sky, Iwaizumi grunting as he got to his feet and began the trek to search for shelter. The surroundings reminded him of the forests he and Oikawa used to play in as children and later hunted in together. The smell of wet leaves and bark sent pleasant chills through his body, his mine feeling slightly relieved that the Games were in a familiar environment.

Over the course of the day, Iwaizumi mapped out the area he was in, making booby traps to catch some animals for food. Despite not having any arrows to hunt big game, Iwaizumi still had some knife skills to skewer some lizards, allowing him to have a decent meal in the woods for his first night. As he rubbed his hands over the small flame, trying to keep it as inconspicuous as possible from being found from any other Tributes. Once he was done with his meal, he kicked out the flames, moving to scout the area once more.

From what he gathered, he was around a good two kilometres away. He had found a river not too far off from where he was now, giving him a clean source of water. His main concern was if he would be able to keep out of any Tributes sight for the time being. His idea was to wait out for most of the Games without having to kill anyone but knowing the Gamemakers, they would make things hell for them at one point. The audience never liked Games that involved waiting around.

After walking around for an hour and not bumping into any Tributes, Iwaizumi found himself a small little cave to hide in. The inside of it was nice and dry, allowing him to stay warm for a little bit as he set up camp. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, although Iwaizumi had no idea if that much time had really passed. The weather and time during the Hunger Games changed according to whatever the Gamemakers fancied, meaning it could be day for more than 24 hours and suddenly become night for the next four days. There had been one particular Game where dark had taken over for five days, leaving the Tributes freezing to death most of the time before getting picked off one by one.

As Iwaizumi tried to settle in, he heard the distant sound of a scream as he whipped his head around to the source. His hand reached for his knife, his body already moving to the mouth of the cave when he heard two booms going off one after another, signalling the end of two more Tributes.

10 dead. Another 14 to go.

…

Sugawara Koushi never thought he would be picked for the Hunger Games. When his name had been drawn from the box, he could feel his mind shutting off as it tried to deny that he had been chosen.

Out of the six years, he had to be Reaped, why did it have to be the year that would be his last?

He was going to have a safe job, settle down on his own, enjoy spending the rest of his days with Daichi and Asahi without having to worry about dying ever again and yet… fate had to be so cruel to him.

The crowd parted for him to be taken away, Peacekeepers sweeping in to grab him by his thin arms and dragging him forward. He didn't even have the energy to walk, his knees buckling the moment the seized him. His shoes scraped the ground, dust trailing in his wake as the Escort, a bespectacled man with all the features of a pig named Makoto Shimada smiled, welcoming him to the stage. Suga was all but dropped off into his arms, Makoto steadying him before putting him in front of the microphone.

This couldn't be real. This couldn't be real.

"And what is your name?"

"Suga… "

"SUGAAA!" a voice screamed as everyone turned to the source. Sugawara looked up in horror as his best friend stepped out, his hand raised in the air as he yelled, "I volunteer to be the next Tribute alongside Suga!"

"Oh! We have a volunteer! How amazing!" Shimada smiled as Daichi walked up to the stage, his stride confident as he gave Sugawara a smile.

You idiot? What have you done?

"And now, let's give out our applause to…"

"Sawamura Daichi."

"Sawamura Daichi and Suga?"

"Sugawara Koushi."

"Let's give a hand to this year's brave Tributes of District 6, Sugawara Koushi and Sawamura Daichi!"

The next few days were a blur. The first few were spent with Suga crying into Daichi's arms, berating him for being an idiot for volunteering when he could have escaped being Reaped. Asahi had cried as he hugged them goodbye for what may be the last time before being dragged away by the Peacekeepers, shouting at them to win the Games and come home. While Shimada had been frankly nice with them, they didn't have a Mentor to guide them since the last one died by suicide after being unable to cope with the death of his lover when he refused to become a prostitute for the Capitol.

So Sugawara and Daichi were left alone, unsure of what to do the entire time. They were paraded around the Capitol like birds in cages, unable to take flight only for them to be put down. They were made to dress in stupid clothes that were worth more than anyone in their District could ever afford in years and to please the crowd that would spell out their doom.

The only reason Sugawara hadn't gone insane was because of Daichi.

"Suga… shhhh. It's going to be ok," Daichi whispered into his hair as Sugawara sobbed into his chest, once again having woken up from a nightmare where he watched Daichi die before his eyes. But this time, he would be watching from the safety of his home District, Daichi having volunteered in his place and fighting in his name.

"Daichi. I don't want you to die."

"I won't."

"How are we going to win? We haven't produced a Victor in decades! We don't have anything!"

"We do… we have each other. Suga… please, look at me. Koushi," Daichi whispered as he tilted Sugawara's face to gently kiss away the tears. Sugawara sniffled as he leaned back into his chest, listening to the continuous heartbeat of his best friend before it stopped for good.

By some miracle, they didn't get killed by the bloodbath and managed to get away into the woods before bumping into Tsukishima and Yachi. While Tsukihima had managed to procure some weapons, Yachi was in no state to even go anywhere, her mind nearly torn after seeing people being killed before her eyes. after some negotiations, the four of them had joined up with each other, Tsukishima and Daichi taking the lead of the group while Sugawara stayed with Yachi as he tried to soothe her.

The small girl was frightened beyond belief. Tsukishima explained that she had always been terrified of many things and being thrown into the Games had been one of the many triggers to an even worst anxiety. Whilst their Mentor had tried to help her with medicine, without them when they're in the Arena, Yachi's mind would fall apart in the next few hours.

"Hey, Yachi. Everything is going to be ok," Sugawara whispered as he walked beside her, holding onto her hand as Yachi mumbled to herself. She had been doing that ever since the bloodbath, talking to someone from her past that Tsukishima identified as her lover and his best friend.

"Yachi was supposed to marry him after the Reaping. Before that, she got chosen and was taken away. Yamaguchi had been to frightened to volunteer for her, he nearly passed out during the Reaping so I did what I could do; to make sure at least she made it out alive in the Games. Now, I don't even know if she would even be sane by the end of it," Tsukishima whispered as he clutched the spear in his hand.

The four of them were trekking through the woods, night already beginning to fall as Daichi suggested that they find shelter. The shadows in the woods were beginning to grow, giving Sugawara the chills as he heard the sound of rushing water in the distance.

"Hey, isn't that…" Sugawara whispered as Yachi muttered something under her breath before breaking away.

"Yamaguchi… I think he's there! He's always by the river waiting for me!" Yachi smiled as she dashed into the direction of the river, her pigtails bouncing as Tsukishima hissed for her to come back.

"Shit. People would be hiding around the area! She's going to get killed!" he snarled as he ran after her, Daichi grabbing Sugawara's hand to pull him along when they heard a bloodcurling scream. Their pace quickened as they burst through the trees to see Tsukishima holding onto Yachi, an arrow stuck in his back as he held onto her.

"Yachi… run…" he whispered as Yachi shook her head, "No. No. No. No."

"Please," Tsukishima begged as he retched blood before collapsing on top of her, Sugawara diving to grab onto Yachi when an arrow shot through the air. Sugawara felt his heart stop for a minute when the arrow landed into something, Sugawara's eyes widening with terror as Daichi stood between him and the arrow, a smile on his face as he whispered, "Live."

"DAICHI!" Sugawara screamed as two cannon went off together. Yachi screamed as she clutched her ears, rocking on her feet as someone clicked their tongue.

"Dammit, can she shut up? She's hurting my ears," Shirabu muttered as he walked towards them, plucking out the arrows from the bodies as he wiped the blood off their clothes. Sugawara was shaking as he held onto Yachi, his body frozen as Shirabu took aim at his face, hand on the trigger as he sneered, "Goodbye."

Before he could shoot, a dagger hit into his right hand, sending him screaming as he toppled to the ground. He clutched his wound, howling and cursing, blood pooling around him as Oikawa ran out of the forest, grabbing both Tributes by their arms as he hissed, "If you want to live, come with me, Mr Refreshing-kun."