The moment Oikawa reached the edge of the forest, he felt something whizz past his head, digging into the wood of the tree trunk behind him as he steeled himself. He thought his heart would have stopped there and then as a bald Tribute edged towards him, armed with knives. Although his hands were shaking as he tried to take aim at Oikawa, who put his hands up in surrender.
"Come on, lets just talk this out like civilised people," Oikawa started as the guy snarled, "Hell we can do that. We lost that right once we entered the Arena. Only one makes it out, and I'm going to make sure its Kiyoko-san."
"Ah, the beauty from your District? Are you sure you shouldn't be taking care of yourself?"
The guy, his name now coming to Oikawa's mind as Tanaka Ryunosuke of District 10. He hadn't had much of a presence in any of the training sessions or interviews they had, most of the time just trying not to stare at Kiyoko as she did the talking.
What a bad time to be stuck in a death game with your crush.
"Sorry, baldie. But I'm going to have to go. Not going to get killed so early in the game. Iwa-chan would murder me," Oikawa said, his hand itching to grab onto the knife stuck into the tree trunk as Tanaka yelled, "Hell I'm going to let you win! I'm going to make sure Kiyoko wins this, even if I have to skin your pretty-boy face!"
Tanaka lunged at him, Oikawa side-stepping as the guy barrelled into a nearby tree. Oikawa lunged for the knife stuck in the tree, yanking it out just as Tanaka came charging at him once more, knife in hand as Oikawa let the knife fly to stick it into his throat. Tanaka gurgled as blood spewed from his wound before collapsing in a heap, his body twitching before he finally died from the wound.
Oikawa didn't even feel fazed as he ransacked Tanaka's body of any weapons and supplies, swinging the backpack the other Tribute had on his shoulder over his own before taking off into the woods. He didn't look back as the sounds of people getting murdered filled the Arena, his legs carrying him through foliage and fallen leaves before finally deciding he was deep enough that he would be safe for the time being.
He got to work opening the backpack and checking to see if there were any useful supplies. Aside from the knives he had stolen from Tanaka, he had some rations, matches and even a blanket to use for the night. There was a compass inside as well, although that wouldn't do him much good since he didn't know which direction was which at this point. Once he finished checking through his supplies, he lifted his hands to see that they were crusted with dried blood, when it hit Oikawa hard in the gut that he had killed an innocent Tribute.
Oikawa doubled over as he retched, whatever food he had put into his stomach being dumped onto the forest ground as he tried to get the image of Tanaka out of his mind. The boy had been scared out of his wits and was just trying to survive, but Oikawa had killed him first. That didn't take away the guilt that he was now a killer and would only have to kill more as the Games go on.
Oikawa slowly got to his feet, his feet carrying him aimlessly for a good hour before he finally came to a river. The river had a very strong current as it raged through the forest, water lapping onto the sides of the river to splash onto the rocks. There was a flat area of rock that would have made a very obvious trap for Tributes to get shot down in the open. The sound of rushing water reminded him of the few times he and Iwaizumi had snuck off past the fence to the forest beyond, going skinny dipping in the river during the summer. Oikawa hadn't been a fan of the water ever since he nearly drowned in the strong current at one point, and he had no intention of taking a dip in the water unless he needed to fill his water bottle.
That was when he heard a scream and a canon going off not long after, his eyes scanning the area before landing on a group of four Tributes huddling in a group, one of them already dead from an arrow lodged in his back. A small girl was gripping onto him, begging for him to wake up as a silver-haired Tribute screamed at her to run for it while his own body betrayed him by remaining rooted on the spot. His partner threw himself in front of him just as another arrow was launched, digging into the other Tributes back before he collapsed.
Damn it, why weren't they running?
His hand flew to the knife stuck in his pocket, his hand gripping the hilt as the Tribute from District 2, Shirabu is he was right, walked out of the forest, crossbow in hand as he shot another arrow into the second Tribute, this time causing a canon to go off in a distance as his partner collapsed in fear. He could see the silver-haired boy's eyes tearing up as his body shook, too shocked to move from his spot as the girl next to him sobbed.
Shirabu was merciless and Oikawa knew it. He must have taken down at least half of the Tributes that went down in the bloodbath and Oikawa really hoped he wouldn't have to go anywhere near him if he could help it.
"Goodbye," Shirabu smirked as he aimed his crossbow at the duo, their trembling bodies making Oikawa's body go into overdrive as he swung his arm back, the knife leaving his hand as it stuck into Shirabu's hand. The boy howled in pain before collapsing on the ground, holding onto the wound as Oikawa quickly grabbed the two Tributes and dragged them into the woods, not stopping until he felt they were far enough from the river.
"Stop. Please, just stop," a voice begged as Oikawa turned to see the two Tributes on the verge of collapse. He slowly released his grip from their wrists, the girl promptly collapsing in a heap on the ground while the male Tribute took a few gulps of air. Oikawa was used to running fast so he hadn't taken into account that they might not have been able to keep up with him.
"Thanks," the male Tribute muttered as he collapsed on the ground, panting as Oikawa sat down across from him. At the moment, they were in a small copse of trees that provided them a little bit of camouflage from any other Tributes so they were good to rest for a while. The female Tribute was now rocking on her butt, murmuring under her breath as the male Tribute sighed.
"Yachi isn't going to get any better as the Games go on. She's already seen one of her best friends die before her eyes… I don't even know how I'm going to protect her," the Tribute whispered as he brought his hands to card through his hair, his breathing becoming more erratic as he remembered Daichi's breath dying against him before the cannon going off.
How was he going to explain this to Asahi?
"Hey, hey, it going to be alright," Oikawa whispered as he pulled the silver-haired man against him, letting him sink into his chest before letting himself cry. The emotions of the past few hours building up in his chest finally burst free, his tears soaking into Oikawa's filthy jacket as the other boy rubbed circles in his shoulders.
"Neh, I never got your name. You always seemed a bit more refreshing but damn, you look like a wreck."
"Sugawara Koushi. That's Yachi Hitoka."
"My my, pleased to meet your acquaintance, Kou-chan. Let's help each other survive this crazy time, shall we?" Oikawa smiled as he held out a hand for Suga to shake, the other boy a bit dubious of Oikawa's intentions but glad they had someone strong with them.
After letting them rest for a while, Oikawa led them through the forest as they searched for shelter for the night. They managed to find a small cave for them to rest for the night, Oikawa opting to go hunt while Suga took care of Yachi, trying to get her to drink some water they got from a small stream earlier. The little girl barely drank anything, murmuring to herself as she rocked on her butt in the corner of the cave.
"How is she doing?" Oikawa whispered as they roasted some lizards over a small fire, the flames warming their hands as Suga look at her.
"I don't know how long she can last. Her mind is already so fragile and she isn't eating either."
Oikawa poked at the flames as he tried not to tell Suga to leave her behind. A mentally unstable Tribute was a death sentence and he felt it would be better to put her out of her misery anyways.
Iwaizumi might have said the same thing.
When night fell, the anthem of Panem played above their heads, the sound of the music cutting through the air as pictures of the fallen Tributes began to flash across the night sky. Faces of young boys and girls, now dead flashed one by one, their Districts written beneath their faces. They didn't even bother showing their names, adding them to the list of forgotten souls when Suga teared up at Daichi's face appearing across the night sky. Not long after, Tsukishima's face appeared as well, scowling as usual into the camera before the hologram finally turned off.
Oikawa felt himself sigh in relief that Iwaizumi had survived the bloodbath. As he watched the hologram flicker out of existence, he prayed that his best friend was safe out there, uninjured and that he would be able to make out of this hell alive.
…
Iwaizumi tossed in his sleep, his jacket barely providing him with any warmth as he wrapped his arms around himself. After falling down earlier, he knew his body was going to hurt the next day and after making sure his body had been refuelled, he thought it would be a good idea to settle in. His body was already screaming for him to lie down and rest but the moment his head hit the backpack he used as a pillow, he felt himself becoming wide awake once more.
The sound of music filling the air gave Iwaizumi an excuse to sit up, moving towards the mouth of the cave to see the night sky lit up with a hologram. One by one, the faces of fallen Tributes flashed across the sky, most of them unfamiliar to Iwaizumi. He did recognise Sawamura Daichi of District 6, his kind smile flashing across the sky before being replaced by another Tribute. Iwaizumi felt his gut twist as the bespectacled Tribute of District 11 flashed across the sky, his heart hammering as he prayed that Oikawa's face wouldn't flash across the sky.
The hologram died after Tsukishima's face was shown, a breath of relief escaping Iwaizumi's lips. His hadn't realise his heart had been beating so fast as he laid back to sleep, his hand reaching to hold onto his shirt as he willed himself to sleep, praying that he would be able to survive the Games the next day.
District 1 : Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou
District 2 : Shirabu Kenjirou, Goshiki Tsutomu
District 3: Kuroo Tetsurou, Kenma Kozume
District 4 : Haiba Lev, Yaku Morisuke
District 5 : Arakawa Shouta, Sakura Nanami
District 6: Sugawara Koushi, Sawamura Daichi
District 7 : Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji
District 8 : Sakamichi Kunihirou, Saitama Ryuma
District 9 : Mei Kimura, Kirishima Asuna
District 10 : Tanaka Ryunosuke, Shimizu Kiyoko
District 11: Tsukishima Kei, Hitoka Yachi
District 12 : Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime
Day 1 of the 74th Hunger Games
Alive : 14
Dead : 10