I'm so, so sorry I haven't updated! I have been so busy with school lately! I promise I will not make you wait this long again. District Two Reaping! Thanks for all those who review! Warning: It's a little violent in the beginning… but this is the Hunger Games after all!
Marv Cunningham's POV
The tribute strikes at me but I swerve to the side and plunge my knife into their side.
I watch him fall to his knees with his mouth open as if he is about to scream but instead he stays silent.
I pull out the knife to see that it is now coated with dark red blood.
It has to be over. Surely he is dead. But to my shock, he manages to groan and tries to get up slowly.
Seeing my opportunity, I push any doubt of myself that looms in the back of my mind and plunge the knife into his chest since it is the only weapon I possess.
I smile at him devilishly as he falls to the ground again. He stares into my eyes and then he is gone.
I step away as the canon fires and look to the sky for the awaiting hovercraft that holds my new future as a victor.
I've won. But I can't believe it was done so easily. I was up for a bloody end, and it doesn't quite register yet that it ended so fast.
I've trained for the Games all my life and finally my skills have paid off. Since forever I have waited for my father to be proud of me, and I know he is now.
"May I present to you… the winner of the 113th Hunger Games!" Resley Pocketmotte says with a powerful voice.
I stand and hold my fist into the air in triumph as all of Panem watches me. I can only imagine the victorious cheers of my friends and family from home. All of District 2 will be in celebration because of me.
This is the moment I have waited for my whole life. I have brought upon more pride to my family's name and to Scarlett.
"Shove him or something!" I hear a voice shout.
"We've been trying that for the past hour," Another voice explains impatiently.
My eyes fly open and I find all my friends crowded around me arguing with one another.
They fall silent when I sit up and then stand.
"You'd think you would have been up earlier for today of all days," Xavier points out.
"I think I can manage myself, mother." I spit at him, hoping to put him in his place.
The others laugh at this.
"Well you wouldn't want to miss it. Better hurry," he says.
This only makes us laugh more.
"Why? Are you on some kind of schedule?" I ask him sarcastically, taking on a more teasing tone.
Xavier has always been the stupid one. He never learns. But his quirkiness makes the rest of us look less stupid, so why not let him hang out with us?
I throw on a black V-neck t-shirt and start replaying my dream in my head.
It had felt so realistic….
Even if it isn't real at the moment, it's going to be.
I have been trained since the age of six for this and this year I have been honored and chosen by the academy to volunteer.
I will be the most envied man of the District. Not only will I become wealthier, but also my fame will live forever.
And of course then I will be able to bend the rules to bring Scarlett here to live in District 2, like I promised. But what matters the most right now is winning, whatever it takes.
We all head towards the main square and we push our way out to the front.
No one argues with this. They have to comply because I am their honor.
I don't remember our escort's name but she is a typical capital person with her colorful assortments and heeled shoes.
She doesn't bother to talk before we watch the Capital video; she just waits to walk up until afterwards.
"Well I'm sure your all eager to get started," she says with average enthusiasm.
There are several shouts of agreement.
"Are there any volunteers?" She asks.
I'm about to stand forward but then I remember, "ladies are always first." I almost want to roll my eyes just thinking about this saying because I have waited long enough for this.
Rukia jumps up onto the stage in her red boots casually.
"I volunteer as tribute," she says.
No one is surprised. We knew she was chosen, and it's no puzzle as to why.
I've seen this girl in training. She is ruthless and she is more focused in her aim than anyone else I have seen.
In training she fights with her fan blades. Yes, little fan blades.
It may sound insane but if you saw the way she shot those across the room, it would appear more threatening.
She maneuvers her fan with her hands as you would a Frisbee, sending them flying into targets in seconds.
I will have to conquer this girl if I am to win. I know this because it is easy to see she will last to the end. This girl is not one to die quickly.
However, I do remember people talking about her reaction to being chosen. She couldn't have cared less. It was if she didn't care about the honor at all.
And this scares me. Something about her is just unnatural.
I think another reason they chose her is because she's a rich girl. Not that she flaunts it around or anything but it's not hard to figure out based on the house she lives in and some of the jewelry she wears.
Her parents could have bribed easily to get her in. In fact, I try to believe this so that I do not have to think about her potentially murderous fans and her training skills.
Many would do anything just to get chosen by the academy. But I knew I wouldn't have to do any of those things. I am the perfect Mayor's son and it has always been my destiny to win these Games.
I remember many of the conversations my father had with me when I was younger.
"Why do I have to train so early, Dad? All of the other kids say they don't have to until they're older." I asked in complaint.
"You aren't just any other kid!" He scolded me firmly.
I sat puzzled, not understanding why he thought this.
"Someday you will realize just how special you are, Marv Cunningham. You will never be like any other kid. You are better than all of them," he told me.
I continued to sit silently, soaking in every bit of his words.
"That is why you train. You must always exceed above the others. You will never be an ordinary person, the Cunningham's will always be known," he said.
I was finally beginning to understand it all.
"Volunteers for the gentlemen?" Our escort asks.
I raise my hand up and my friends began to cheer for me, triggering the cheers from the rest of the crowd.
I walk to the stage with a grin.
"And your name?" She asks me.
"Marv Cunningham," I tell her with a grin.
"A Cunningham? As in the mayor's son?" She asks me stupidly.
I shrug as if it's no big deal. But it is and we all know it. These circumstances do not occur often.
I look over and see Rukia with a straight face, having no reaction to any of this.
Then something occurs to me I should have thought of way earlier.
There is nothing to fear with this girl.
Fans aren't exactly a common weapon found in the cornucopia, sweetheart.
Rukia Suzuki's POV
I wake up and stare at the ceiling.
The sun shines through the small window I have in my room and reflects across the walls.
There's something shiny that catches my eye.
It's not a normal object in my room because it glints in the morning sunlight.
They must be my grandmother's beads. I recognize the colorful shine. But what are they doing in here?
"Beads of Jade, for beauty." She tells me, suddenly standing in the doorway with her arms folded as if she had heard my question.
She seems to do this to me frequently.
Before I can even try to utter a word of defiance she's pulling me out of bed.
"You must have an early start today. You are going to look radiant," she says as she is positioning me in front of the mirror.
"You better not be planning a dress," I state with irritation as she combs through my dark hair.
She laughs quietly when I say this.
"I know well enough by now that you don't allow such things. You've always been determined to fight until the end," She says, locking eyes with me in the mirror. These words obviously have a deeper meaning.
My mother enters the door with Niisan, our dog, trotting behind her faithfully. He jumps onto my bed watches me contently.
"Here is your brother to wish you luck," My mother jokes, referring to our dog.
"I think I can get ready on my own," I say, talking to all of them but pretending to direct it at Niisan.
My mother doesn't get the hint, as usual. But I'll allow it today.
Ever since I was chosen I have been wondering things. I wonder if this is what my mother and father want, for me to fight in the games and bring them wealth and pride.
It's not like we don't have enough money, because we already on the richer part of the District. But could they possibly just want it for the pride?
It makes sense. Pride is one of the only things they have ever asked of me. I am always focused on academics and my training, nothing else. I've never had much of a social life.
I guess I just never really related to the people around me. And although my family has never said it, I think my social life is least important to them.
Sometimes I would watch as the other girls would chatter and laugh together like squawking birds and I would wonder what it would be like to be one of them. But then I would remind myself that I would hate that kind of pointless life.
I wonder things too often.
"How should we fix your hair?" My mother asks, beaming at me as she examines my face.
When I don't reply, she takes my shoulder-length black hair in her hands, along with my side-sweep bangs.
She begins muttering to herself about the possibilities, and luckily my grandmother intervenes to save me.
"I think it looks best down on her shoulders," she says.
My mother looks at her and nods.
"I think you are right," she says, taking her hands out of my hair and turning me towards the mirror again.
It's a good thing she said it, because if I had said it she never would have agreed.
But no one really bothers to argue with my grandmother.
My mother hands me an outfit and I am surprised to see that it is niether a dress nor any kind of skirt.
They walk out of the room as I change and when I'm finished I stare into my reflection.
My slim-fit jeans seem to fit me perfectly and the red tube top with the blue top underneath satisfies me. In fact, it is one of the times I have looked best.
I let them know they can come back in and I am a about to compliment my mother's surprisingly good taste until I see my father standing next to them, staring at me.
He gives me a slight smile.
"You look radiant, just as I knew you would," my grandmother compliments.
"Hopefully there won't be problems with… young men," my father says, looking a bit skeptical of my outfit.
I stare at him in shock, not believing he made such a claim.
"Kyoto, she is seventeen years old. You must stop treating her like a caged dove," my mother says, smiling at the same time.
I however, just roll my eyes. Mostly to hide the fact that am a bit humiliated and angry that he is concerned about such things.
"You act like I've gotten attention from guys before," I remark in an annoyed tone.
"But don't worry, if anything, Niisan will surely be there guarding me," I reassure him a bit jokingly.
We all get a smile out of this.
Niisan even barks for the effect, making us laugh.
"We should probably head to the square," I say finally, looking at the ground.
"Not before we have eaten properly!" My grandmother scolds.
None of us object but I know none of us are very hungry.
Not because we are scared, but this day stirs up a lot of anticipation and uncertainty.
We pull out our chairs and watch as she lays down the meal on the table that she has cooked for us.
From under the table, I feel my mother grab my hand.
I almost pull my hand away, startled. But then I look up at her smiling expression and keep my hand planted.
My father and I are finished within minutes, only doing what grandmother has ordered but my mother fiddles with the things on her plate.
"After all these years, you still eat like a bird." My grandmother says to her harshly.
Finally we leave and are standing in the town square, separating into the places we are meant to go.
Around me, in my section, girls are giggling with each other annoyingly and they keep looking at me with weird expressions.
I want to curse at them but I resist the urge. It wouldn't be worth it.
Our just as annoying Capitol escort approaches the stage and after the film, she asks for volunteers.
I don't even bother to take a deep breath, almost everyone in my section is already staring at me.
I step up to the stage in my red boots swiftly.
"I volunteer as tribute."