Chapter Three: The Hunger Games Begin

Yuki Sohma waited in his Launch Room, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. He was surprised to feel his hands shaking. This wasn't like him; realistically, he had a very good chance. Years of fighting with Kyo gave him a good baseline for martial arts, which meant he didn't even need a weapon. So he could defend himself and get away if he needed to. There was no reason to panic. Not yet, anyway.

He thought of the others. He wondered which Cornucopia he was at, and who would be there with him. He hoped Haru and Rin could keep their tempers and wits in check long enough to get away from the crazy fighting and regroup with him. As for Miss Hanajima… he somehow felt she had the best chance of the others of surviving.

"ATTENTION ALL TRIBUTES: THE TIME HAS COME. PLEASE ENTER YOUR TUBES."

Yuki gulped and stood, adjusting the thin wind breaker they were given. A light shirt, pants, sturdy boots, and a wind breaker. That was it; the rest would have to be found in the arena. Still, Yuki knew he was fast enough to get something before taking off to hide in the woods.

He stepped into the clear tube and the floor slowly began to rise. Above him, he could see the daylight of the arena. He closed his eyes, the visions of his friends and family flashing through his head. Last of all was Tohru Honda… and as her face faded into the darkness, Yuki opened his eyes and set his face in a serious, hard look.

Haruhi Fujioka squinted as she broke over the edge onto the top plate and faced her Cornucopia. She couldn't tell for sure which one she was at; the sun was high in the sky, and the area around the Cornucopia had a forest in one direction and wide fields in the other, leading to more trees and some hills. Because of the tall Cornucopia in the center, she couldn't see who all was on the far side. She looked around at those she could see.

It was actually a lot of girls, which made her feel a little better… even though that was probably not necessarily the right way to think about it. And then she caught the red hair… on both sides of the Cornucopia. Both the boys from District Six were there… that was bad. And there was the white-faced boy from District Two right next to her. That was also probably bad. But at least… she could maybe escape… if she headed right towards the trees in the north…

"TRIBUTES! THE TIME HAS COME!" roared the voice of Game God Delta over the arena.

Haruhi jumped, but made certain to stay within her plate. She didn't want to fall off, because then it would explode. It happened every couple of years, but she definitely didn't want to be the next one. She listened as he reminded them of the rules and warned them to be ready for the countdown. She swallowed hard and tried to smooth her quaking stomach.

"10…" came the voice of Game God Delta again.

Mithos knew Genis was on the other side of the Cornucopia. He could sense him, somehow. That made him feel at ease. All they had to do was get into the Cornucopia, and get their weaponry. And then they could thin out the competition. He glanced around. He could see a few that were actual threats: the blonde man, Flynn, from District Eight was on his right. The muscular boy from District Ten was stretching on his left. And he could barely see the fighter girl, Chloe, from District Two.

Mithos thought about it for a moment and wondered if maybe it would be better to hide out near the Cornucopia until the crowd thinned itself out first.

"9…"

As he surveyed the pile of items and weaponry, Will Raynard immediately spotted a large hammer he could use. He couldn't see anyone from his District around him, but it didn't seem like his Cornucopia had them set up by alternating districts since both District Twelve tributes were off to his left.

They were on a hill that was surrounded by alternating steep and rolling paths, and a sea of trees fully surrounding them. Will knew those would be good to hide in, and Jay would probably be using them to leap from branch to branch. But he wouldn't be the only one. He knew Judith from District Eight would be able to do something similar, judging from what he'd seen in the training department… and there she was, just on the corner of the Cornucopia, so that he could just barely see her.

"We've got this… let's go, District Two…" he muttered.

"8…"

Hermione's hands shook as she stood on her pedestal, listening to the countdown. She couldn't see Harry, Fred, or Luna… but as she counted around, it looked like her Cornucopia had arranged them by District. On her right was Fina, the girl with the perfect score, and on her left was Luke, the less-angry redhead from District Six. She struggled to keep her breathing in check and the tears out of her eyes.

She knew what she was going to do right after scanning the Cornucopia. The stacks of bags, boxes, and weapons were all well and good… but not worth dying over. She knew she just needed a single wand… and she'd be set. But she didn't see any. But she did see a bag off to her side and behind. That meant they'd scattered stuff away from the Cornucopias as well.

So she waited for the gong that would signal the start, her muscles tensed. She picked the tree she would run for. She had to get out of sight… and she really hoped the others in District Five remembered the plan and how they would track each other. She took one final deep breath and shifted around on her pedestal to run for the trees.

"7…"

As she surveyed the area around her, Hamuko knew she would have a hard time getting to and from the Cornucopia unscathed. It wouldn't be impossible… but it wouldn't be a walk in the park, either. And since she couldn't see anyone from her District in her line of sight, she wondered if she might not be better off running immediately away from the impending blood bath.

But the pull of the weapons and armor near the massive, golden building in front of her… that made it very tempting. She knew she was fast enough to reach it; her runs with Akihiko had given her and edge in speed and stamina… and having a weapon would at least make her odds of survival in the first few hours much higher.

She knew that was foolish and greedy, and something that Akihiko and Shinjiro had harped on her about all morning, until they'd been separated for the final preparations for the day's events. The desire to get something and the heart-pounding fear fought each other for dominance inside her as the countdown continued towards the starting gong.

"6…"

"So it looks like we've been arranged by District on this Cornucopia at least…" Quinn muttered to herself.

That meant, as long as she was thinking correctly about it, her District partner would be on the far side of the Cornucopia. She wondered who it would be. Theoretically it should be one of the boys, but there was no real way of guaranteeing they'd staggered the genders so one was at each Cornucopia. As long as it wasn't Tina, she'd probably be fine…

She winced when she had that thought. It wasn't Tina's fault… but it would definitely improve her chances if one of the boys was on the other side. Then they could group up and go rescue Tina and whoever else was at the other Cornucopia. And Quinn knew she could snatch some sort of small weapon as she dashed past the Cornucopia. She surveyed the group in each direction, wondering which way would give her more of an edge for survival.

"5…"

Natalia looked three people to her right and nodded at Anise. Both girls held a grim look of understanding and preparation; they knew they were one of the lucky ones. Being able to group so quickly at the beginning would give them an edge. And Natalia was sure she saw several small bows stringed up and ready to go near the Cornucopia.

She swallowed the fear that threatened to burst from her throat, waiting for the countdown to finish. She tensed her muscles and prepared to run, watching as Anise did the same. As the countdown reached the end, she gave the young girl one more look and nodded, receiving a smirk and nod back from her.

"Let's find Asch and Luke…" she muttered. "We… we will win this."

"4…"

Melody stared at the Cornucopia, unimpressed by the array of weaponry and armor she saw before her. Even glancing around, she could see the trees and field had other equipment half-buried there. No sponsors… that meant the arena would take care of them. A Hunger Games without weapons was a boring Hunger Games. The entertainment value needed to be there. After all, if there was one thing Melody Moon understood, it was entertainment.

She tried to gauge the looks of those around her. She knew the boys from Districts Six and Two were going to dive straight for the Cornucopia, as would be likely for the girls in District Seven and Eleven. The boy from District Nine, directly to her right, and the girl from District Twelve, two down on her left, looked like they were going to turn and run. Stretching her legs as she waited for the start, she forced the sadness and scared feelings she had down deep inside her.

"I wonder… how many of you will be alive when we end this?" she muttered.

As only the counting down voice of Delta answered her, she took a deep breath. She knew Shayla's plan would work… she had no doubt that between Jack's sister and their cousin something would happen. The question was how long… and how many victims would there be before they could execute it?

"3…"

Nan couldn't see anyone from District Eight near her at her own Cornucopia, but that didn't bother her. In fact, that suited her perfectly. They'd just get in the way, and she needed to be as efficient in the first few minutes as she possibly could be. She looked around her for suitable targets.

She was displeased with what she saw. The pink-haired girl from District Nine would be an easy kill. But right next to her was that mammoth bastard Will from District Two. And three people down to her right was Ramirez from District Four. Districts Seven, Ten, and Eleven all had the muscular-looking guys around her, too. And District Three had that crazy girl who refused to kill children… Nan couldn't help but wonder if she could play the part of a child to lure her into a false sense of security.

Okay, so that meant there were few easy targets. Just as well. Maybe she could cut down some of her real competition first. It was just like hunting a pack of monsters, after all. How much different could it be?

"2…"

Fina didn't know who was on her team at her Cornucopia. But as she counted from her right to her left, she realized they were arranged by District. Since they had a field directly opposite of them, and since there was nothing but forest directly behind her, she began to plan which way to go. Fighting wasn't an option for her; she had to run, to meet up with the others from District 4. If she found something along the way, fine, but… staying alive was her priority.

She didn't see a lot of friendly faces, except for District 1's Haruhi Fujioka, three to her right. There was also Hermione Granger, on her left, who was actually looking directly back to the woods. She wondered if maybe the two could be friends. She turned her whole body to face the trees and smiled at Hermione. The latter girl gave her a brief nod and then looked away. Fina frowned, suddenly realizing that for her to survive the next few days, the sweet, bushy-haired girl she'd talked to many times during their training would have to die.

And, worst-case scenario, Fina or one of her District 4 friends might have to be the ones to do it.

"1…"

As the final seconds counted down, Yu looked at Rise, two people away from him, and smiled. She gave him a terrified smile, shaking. He nodded and pointed off to her left, down one of the paths that would take them off the hill and down into the woods. Luckily, he didn't see any projectile weapons in the arsenal at the Cornucopia, so nobody should be able to pick them off. He did, however, see exactly what he was aiming for: a spear and a set of armor sitting right at the edge of his part of the Cornucopia.

"BEGIN!"

At the sound of Game God Delta's voice and the horn that always sounded the beginning of the Games, Yu hurtled himself off his pedestal and sprinted for the Cornucopia. Despite his speed, both guys on either side of him (Akihiko from District 7 and the tall guy from District 2) outstripped him. Still, he managed to grab his spear and a bag of food, although the passing Kirala grabbed the bag of armor he'd hoped to pick up for himself.

There was already the sounds of shouting and scuffling, with the occasional sound of metal-on-metal, as the starting area was ransacked. Yu turned and found himself face-to-face with the black-haired girl form District 4. She was already bleeding from a small cut on her cheek, but she was defenseless. Still, Yu wasn't balanced right and ready for his spear, so he instead feigned right and ran left around her as she climbed up and over the Cornucopia.

Dodging through a sea of bodies and overturned barrels, Yu headed for the area and path he'd pointed to just before the start. His heart stopped when he realized he didn't see Rise. It got even worse when he heard the blood-curdling scream behind him. He turned to see Rise, pulling herself across the ground, a hammer in one hand and a small stick in the other as the mammoth dude from District 2 descended on her.

"Rise!" he shouted, turning and running back.

"Senpai! Help!" she cried, trying to pull herself to her feet.

Yu got tunnel vision at that point. Time seemed to slow down, and all he could see was his friend nearly being hit by a large, blunt mace held by the tall combatant in front of him. He charged full-force at the guy, parrying his death blow just before it contacted Rise's head. The force nearly knocked the spear from Yu's grip, but he recovered and dragged Rise to her feet. They ran, but the man bared down on them, recovering quickly.

They had just reached the steep path down when Yu turned to see Will, the man from District 2, raising the mace for another strike. Without thinking, Yu reacted quickly, swiping at him with the spear. Yu felt the blade slide into the tall man, bouncing off a rib and splattering Yu with blood as he pulled back through the muscle and skin. Will screamed in pain and dropped one hand off the mace to stem the blood from the wound. When he looked up at Yu, there was murder in his eyes, as he raised the weapon with his other hand.

"No!" shrieked Rise.

A blast of purple light shot past Yu and slammed into Will. He grunted with the impact, the force of which made him lose his footing. With a long scream, he fell over the edge of the steep path until his scream was abruptly cut off when he impacted the trees and rocks at the bottom of the steep hill. For a moment, the shock of what they'd done froze Rise and Yu, but when the latter heard the sounds of combat from just up the hill at the Cornucopia, he regained his focus and drive.

"Rise! Let's go!" he yelled.

"Y-Yu-senpai… what… what did I…?" Rise asked, tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it! We have to go, now, before someone comes after us!" cried Yu, grabbing her hand and dragging her down the path.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" muttered Rise, as the two sprinted down the steep path into the tree-filled forest which would give them cover and security.

Tina wasn't sure how she got underneath the box, but that was all that was keeping her alive. The sounds of combat and death were around her. Through the crack, she could see a bunch of people running away from the Cornucopia, down the steep path to the forest below them. She just had to wait… and maybe she could get past them.

Just then, something slammed into the box she was hiding behind. She let out a little scream and immediately clamped her hands to her mouth. It was too late; the other person had heard her. Her hiding space was quickly dismembered by the short girl from District 8, who broke out into a wide, evil grin when she saw Tina.

"Just like a trapped animal… this'll be easy…" she muttered.

Tina screamed again when she saw the long knife the girl had. Tina rolled out of the way, frantically climbing under boxes, trying her hardest to escape the tormenting chick. She threw bags and light boxes and weapons, anything she could get her hands on, at the girl. But the hunter wasn't fooled; she carefully guided Tina around so that she actually was going further inside the Cornucopia. Just as Tina flattened herself against the back wall, the girl's face appeared around another stack of boxes, grinning widely.

A sword suddenly pierced through the front of the girl's chest, splattering Tina with blood. She let out a silent scream, fighting to keep what was left of her breakfast down as the warm liquid splattered her. The sword disappeared and the girl's body fell forward, knocking some of the heavy boxes onto Tina, shielding her from view. Only through a small crack could she see the arms and legs of the scary man from District 4, the one who had threatened to kill his whole team.

"Pathetic," he muttered, wiping his blood off on the ground. "Here I thought you'd be some competition."

The man turned when someone ran past the front of the cave and the boy gave chase. For a few seconds, Tina shook silently in the corner as the light fully faded from the District 8 girl's eyes. Then, something in her mind finally locked into place. Tina scrambled out from under the bloody boxes, sliding on the pooling blood on the ground as she ran from the mouth of the Cornucopia. She ran, her hands behind her neck as she did, sprinting to the nearest path down away from the hell she was trapped in. She didn't stop until she fell and rolled the whole day down, and only then did she realize that nobody was actually following her.

She ran into the woods as far as she could, finally stopping to rest behind a large rock. Her whole body shook as she stifled her sobs against the horrors of everything, as the dead girl's final moments played over in Tina's mind.

Kyoya smirked as he surveyed the girl in front of him. She glanced around him, as if looking for his tricks, breathing heavily. She was panicked. This would make it easy. Besides, she didn't have her primary weapon; that gave him an advantage.

"You're Natalia, of District 6. Don't worry, I won't make you suffer," said Kyoya, smoothly. "This is not my first choice; I would first like to have you join me."

"No. We don't join others in District 6. We don't associate with fake aristocrats who haven't earned their titles," snarled the girl in response.

That was, of course, predictable. "Very well. It pains me to do this. Rest in peace!"

He dove at her, whipping out the short sword he'd grabbed when he ran into the field. Natalia responded with a rather unexpected parry with the spiked mace she was holding. The weapon was clearly in the arms of an amateur, she wasn't using the balance correctly. Still, it became very apparent to Kyoya that the girl had held back her true dexterity during training.

"What's wrong?" she taunted, spitting blood out of her mouth after she accidentally hit herself in the mouth with the handle of her own weapon. "Can't land a hit on me?"

"Well if you keep injuring yourself, I won't need to," said Kyoya, grinning.

"That's okay… ASCH!" screamed Natalia. "Come this way!"

Kyoya's eyes widened. He was legitimately surprised for the first time in a long time; she was smarter than he gave her credit for. She was stalling… if Asch got here before he dispatched her…! He snarled and dove in, but a dirt patch caught his foot and he stumbled. His swipe missed, and the next thing he could see was the mace swinging directly at his face as Natalia let out a furious, blood-thirsty roar that Kyoya never could have expected from her.

"Natalia? Where are you!" came the call.

"Over here, Asch!" Natalia yelled back.

He burst out of the tall grass, clutching a bow and a sword. He seemed surprised at the scene he found. He watched wordlessly as Natalia pulled the pace out of the boy's skull, wiping blood off of it on the grass around her. Asch did a once-over and tossed the boy's knife away.

"Pitiful," he said. "Good kill. That's one for District 6. Let's get going; if we can get back to the Cornucopia we should be able to get better weapons."

"Yeah," said Natalia, gratefully accepting the bow and arrows he gave her. "Thanks for these; I think I can do better now."

"Remember… everyone in here is our enemy, unless it's that useless replica or Anise. Don't show any mercy," he reminded her.

"… I already think I proved that I am beyond that…" Natalia muttered, glancing back into the field where the body of the District 1 "Genius" now lay.

"Damn… there's not a lot left here, huh?" said Genis.

"No, you're right… that moron…" muttered Mithos.

They were digging through the remnants of their Cornucopia. Only seconds after the battle had started, some idiot had discharged an explosive spell of some sort, which had badly damaged most of the weapons and armor inside and scattered the starters of whatever Cornucopia they were at. Mithos was sure it was that bastard from District 1… Kyoya Ootori or however it was spelled. He made a mental note to hunt him down if nobody else did first.

"Look out!" cried Genis.

Mithos spun around, picking up the only intact weapon he'd found so far—a massive scythe—and came face to face with the ginger from District 5. The guy held a bag of some sort in one hand and a wand in the other. Between the two half elves, he didn't know which way to aim his magic wand. Swinging the scythe at him, Mithos attacked.

"Cover me, Genis!" he shouted.

The wizard fought back immediately, swinging the bag and firing sparks from the wand in his hand. But his aim was off; Mithos could see the panic in his eyes. Scythes may not have been the most efficient weapon, but they certainly gave a psychological advantage over the others. He raked at the boy until he finally struck true and a huge gash opened up all down the front of his chest.

"I found something! Get back, Mithos!" Genis shouted again.

Mithos withdrew, jumping back. The man from District 5 tried to stumble away, but there was a sudden rush of air and water. A tiny whirlwind burst forth from a box that Genis held in his hand, which raked into Fred and threw his body hard against the edge of the Cornucopia. The whirlwind dissipated as Genis and Mithos walked over to the body of their first victim.

"Score one for District 9," said Mithos. "Good shot with… whatever that is."

"I've never seen the magic before. But with these designs, I think it's an enchanted box of some sort form District 4," said Genis.

"Understood. Let's see what he has," said Mithos.

The bag turned out to have food in it, but nothing else. Still, Mithos strung it over his back. The wand was useless; neither he nor Genis could make hide-nor-hair of it, so they snapped it and threw the pieces back in the wreckage of the Cornucopia explosion. Genis tapped Mithos on the shoulder and pointed around the edge of the forest and the fields. People were returning towards the Cornucopia to scavenge for items.

"Let's lay low over here, but keep your guard up," said Mithos. "We don't want to give this to them until we've had a chance to find the good stuff."

"Yeah… we gotta get the best stuff so we can help Presea and Seles," said Genis.

"Right. I'm gonna check out the inside of the Cornucopia. Cover me from that little box over there," said Mithos, sneaking away towards the mouth of the massive structure.

Sam only had a long dagger, but even that was enough for him. He had made it down off the hill and ended up by an enormous lake of thankfully fresh water. He missed three people already as they ran past, possibly not even seeing him. He knew for sure the crazy bitch from District 3 saw him, but he wasn't sure about the tall beanie guy from District 7. Either way, they got away before he could do anything about it. But when the black-haired boy from District 5 almost stumbled directly into him, Sam steeled himself, accepting that the sooner he got used to fighting, the better off he'd be.

"Now or never…" he muttered, running at the boy.

The wizard tried to run away, but the shield and wand he was lugging slowed him down in the dense forest. He tripped over one of the fallen branches and fell hard on his face. Sam leapt at him, wildly swinging the dagger, but his first attack completely missed. His second was deflected by the wrought-iron shield the boy cowered under. As he came around for a third, the boy waved his wand around his head and pointed it at Sam.

"Flipendo!" shouted the boy.

A ball of blue-white light slammed into Sam's arm which hurt bad enough. But the burst knocked him and his arm back and the blade buried itself in his left shoulder as he fell. Sam screamed in agony as his entire shoulder felt like it was on fire. He bit down on his left hand to stifle his screams as hot tears of pain stung his eyes. The wizard took the chance and took off again, but Sam didn't want to chase him now. Instead, he worked his way through the undergrowth and washed out his wounded shoulder, tearing a piece off of his coat to try and make some sort of bandage.

"Man, screw this…" he muttered, gritting his teeth, deciding that maybe he would try and meet up with the others in his District before trying any other ill-advised fights.

Harry stumbled over another stupid tree branch as he broke out into a small opening somewhere in the forest. He hadn't any clue where he was, much less which direction he'd gone in, or where Hermione and the others might be. His heart still raced from the confrontation with the blonde guy from District 10… or 11… or wherever it was. He could figure out why the wand would only respond to "Flipendo," either. At least he'd had the shield. If he didn't he'd probably be dead.

The sound of a twig snapping made him spin around, wand pointed high. On the far side of the clearing, he saw the two tall boys from District 7, both with their hands in the air and staring unassuming at him.

"Easy. We don't want to fight," said the one with the shaggy hair.

"Oh yeah? How can I trust you?" asked Harry. "You're from the same District. How do I know you won't turn on me?"

"We're unarmed," said the other boy, the one with white hair. "Look, see these bags? There's just food and a ratty blanket in here."

He threw the bag down to prove it. Harry glanced at the bag but kept his wand trained on the other two. His eyes whipped quickly from the bag on the ground back up to the two boys, still standing with their hands in the air. Harry tried to think back to the moment of the start. Were they both at his Cornucopia? Were they just waiting in the clearing to distract him while their girls circled around for a better shot? He knew the one District 7 girl spent most of her time at archery…

"Look, we're just trying to meet up with our other District mates. We have no intention of fighting you, or anyone else, unless we have to," said the shaggy one.

"You want to find our other group mates, right? Why not team up? There's 40 other tributes out there… wouldn't it make sense for you to ally yourself with one of the Districts that's actually together?" asked the white-haired guy.

"… I'm only interested in finding my friends. I have no intentions of forming an alliance beyond that unless we need to," said Harry.

"That's fine. I just want to find Hamuko and Takeba," said Akihiko. "That good with you, Shinji?"

"Yeah that's fine. You can keep control of all the weapons and food if that's what it'll take to make you trust us," said the guy, Shinji.

"… all right, fine. But I'm warning you… one false move and I'll blast you apart," said Harry, indicating his wand.

"Fair enough," said Akihiko. "I already know that you're Harry Potter; they made a big deal about you being 'The Boy Who Lived.' But I'm Akihiko and this is Shinji. I know it sucks, but it's good to have an ally in this mess."

"I s'pose so," said Harry, nodding. "Do you know where we are? Or where the other Cornucopia might be?"

"Not exactly, but we should be able to find something," said Shinji. "If we go by the sun we ran mostly east. We should go try north."

"My group and I have a system," said Harry. "We leave small marks… well, you don't need to know about that, but when I see them I'll know if we're going the right way."

"Let's move. We're still uncomfortably close to the Cornucopia and that means we could have some unwelcome company if we don't watch ourselves," said Shinji.

"You lead the way, then," said Harry. "And… you can carry the food. It is yours after all, I won't hog it."

"Honestly it's just some crackers… but that might be a feast given what they sometimes have in here," grumbled Akihiko as they made their way back into the forest.

"Dude. I can't believe I found you already," said Teruhiko, as he followed Jack through the forest.

"Yeah. Guess the Cornucopias weren't as far away from each other as we thought they were," said Jack.

"Can't be more than like a mile and a half… or maybe two, I dunno dude," said Teruhiko. "This is messed up."

Jack glanced around and nodded. The two were in a much less dense are of the forest, making their way back down towards the "South" Cornucopia. He had seen his sister running to the "West" and fully intended to get back down there now that he knew Melody was on her way there, too. Running into Teruhiko was a happy accident. Finding suitable weapons was just the icing on the cake.

Teruhiko had a small ax he'd found and a bow and arrow, while Jack had the same sword he'd snagged from the "South" Cornucopia. The bow wasn't incredibly powerful, but at least it had survived the explosive carnage of the "North" Cornucopia. The ax was singed and chipped but otherwise appeared in good form. Jack's sword only had a small nick in the blade, but other than that it seemed to be perfectly fine. As the two broke through the underbrush, Jack caught movement to their left. His heart sank when he saw the other two approach: it was District 6.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered. "Teru, let's go. We can't engage them."

"Why not?" asked Teruhiko, taking a step towards them. "We could get them on our side for Shayla."

"District 6 is not to be trusted; they won't go for it," said Jack. "Shit, they spotted us!"

An arrow hit the tree next to them as the girl fired, quickly reloading another arrow. The two split as the red haired man came running at them, waving his own sword above his head. Jack ran to meet him as Teruhiko fired a volley of arrows at the girl, who rolled behind a tree to avoid the attack.

"Get out of our way!" snarled Jack.

"You're going to be my first victim," hissed Asch.

His swordsmanship far outmatched Jack's, which he learned very quickly. Though Jack was able to parry and keep him busy, he could never quite land a hit on the frightening guy from District 6. The bow-shooting girl attempted to shoot at them, but Teruhiko was ready for her every time she popped her head up. Unfortunately, he also used up his arrows pretty quickly and soon had to resort to stealing the ones the girl shot at him for extra ammo.

Suddenly, the red-haired man stuck his leg out and kicked Jack, hurtling towards the Teruhiko. Jack fell hard against a rock, the pain of which knocked him senseless for a few seconds. He stood up and shouted for Teruhiko to start running, as he recovered and gave chase, taking care to keep under cover to avoid the girl. Suddenly, he heard movement behind him. The pink-haired girl from District 9 and the orange-haired guy from District 12 both broke out through the underbrush at the same time, momentarily shocked by the fighting they saw.

"Gods damn it," hissed Jack, glancing back at them. "We got more company!"

"I see it dude, I'm gone!" shouted Teruhiko.

Jack looked up just in time to see the furious redhead plunge his sword into Teruhiko's arm. Teruhiko screamed in agony and dropped the bow, but managed to roll and keep going. Jack took the opportunity to body slam the District 6 bastard hard against the tree, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. He quickly jumped back and gave chase to Teruhiko's retreating from.

A shout from the bow girl made Jack glance back at the last second. An arrow flew from her bow and shot right past him, striking Teruhiko in the back, just right of his spine. He dropped instantly.

"No! Teruhiko!" cried Jack, sprinting to his friend.

He turned the large mass over, but it was clear that he was already dead. His brown eyes stared straight into nothingness as the gash on his arm bleed freely, staining the forest around him. Jack fought back a wave of sickness, slid his eyelids closed, and tore the arrow out of his back. He grabbed Teruhiko's bow and turned back to the scene from which he'd come.

Both the pink-haired girl and the redhead from District 12 were distracting the bastard from District 6. For a second, Jack couldn't see the bow girl, but then he caught sight of her, retreating at her District mate's orders. Fury overtook him and soon Jack was on her tail, rapidly catching up with her as she stopped every few yards to check on the bastard's situation with his own fight.

She caught sight of him when he was only fifteen yards away. She turned quickly and fitted an arrow into her bow in one fluid motion, but it was too late. Jack was already releasing the blood-covered arrow from Teruhiko's back. It struck her in the chest and she fell backward, her bow and arrows tumbling directly from her hands. She struggled for breath as Jack moved to her, a spare arrow still trained on her, until her body went limp and she closed her own eyes.

"That was for you, buddy…" Jack muttered, stealing the remaining arrows from her quiver and turning.

He got maybe a quarter mile away from her body when he heard the massive, heart-stopping roar from the clearing he'd left her in. It sounded like his new enemy had found the girl and would probably be giving chase. It was then that Jack realized that he'd actually been cut on the arm and leg by the bastard during their fight… and his ankle throbbed with pain where he'd been kicked.

He hid around the far side of a large tree, stopping to check his wounds. Without warning, another girl appeared in front of him. It was one of the black-haired girls from District 3, the one with the kind smile and the eyes that reminded him so strongly of his sister. He instinctively reached for the bow, but she was unarmed and merely stood, smiling faintly at him.

"I see you are injured. Is it bad?" she asked.

"N-not really," said Jack. "Just a flesh wound. But… you should get out of here. He'll be after me now that I killed his friend. He might've killed the girl and guy who were fighting him, too."

"Asch of District 6 will not find you this way. He has gone the wrong way in his search for you," said the mysterious District 3 girl, staring back in the direction from which he'd come. "Presea of District 9 and Yosuke of District 12 are also alive and bear no extra ill will towards you beyond the desires of their own survival."

"That's good to hear… I'll have to repay them later if I can," asked Jack. "If I may ask, how do you know all this?"

"I was able to see some of your battle… mostly the aftermath. Regardless, I believe we should move on. If it is to your liking, I would like to travel with you for as long as this arrangement will allow," said the girl.

"Yeah… I'd like that. I want you to meet my sister," said Jack. "You remind me so much of her."

The girl smiled and even chuckled a couple of times. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Jack Harper. I am Saki Hanajima. Let us commence with our journey."

Luke's body shook with emotion. He could feel hatred, sorrow, illness, and overall a sense of absolute helplessness. Natalia's body lay in the forest clearing, an arrow still sticking out of it, blood covering her body. Asch was nowhere to be found. Luke had seen two people, a redhead and a pink-haired little girl, running from the scene when he had found her.

"Don't worry, Natalia… I'll… I'll get revenge for you," said Luke, sobs threatening to break out from his body. "Dammit… where is Asch? I thought he was going to protect you…"

There had been a tense moment at their Cornucopia, right after the explosion when there was pandemonium and everyone had started to flee, where Asch had shouted at Luke to go "south" and find Anise. He hadn't seen her, either, and hadn't been able to find the Cornucopia. He wondered if it was even there; maybe the explosion had been a trick by the Gods to make them split up quicker.

With some difficulty, he left Natalia's body and made his way carefully and quietly to the south. He finally saw the paths and the Cornucopia on the hill. He scaled the hill quickly and carefully, keeping an eye out for any movement. He didn't see anybody until he caught sight of a small body lying inside the Cornucopia. His heart stopped for a moment and he wondered if he was about to find Anise… but it turned out to be the District 8 girl.

"Luke? Is that you?" came the quiet call.

"Anise? Thank Lorelei you're here!" exclaimed Luke.

They stood at a stockpile of weapons, where Anise had been hiding out. She hugged him briefly while Luke brought her up to speed on everything that had happened since he'd left his starting platform. She told him about the chaos that had happened down at her end and how everyone seemed to have cleared out because their Cornucopia offered no protection whatsoever.

"Well then, sounds like we have our first targets," she said, her voice dropping to the dangerous octave. "Districts 12 and 9 will pay for what they did. We need to split up and find Asch. When you find him, bring him back here, but stay in the tree line so we aren't discovered."

"Good idea," said Luke. "Did you find anything weapon wise to use?"

"I found a few things… don't worry. Lady's secret," said Anise, giggling.

"I just… I can't believe Natalia's really gone…" muttered Luke, tears springing to his eyes.

"Luke. Stop. We can mourn later. For now, we need to get as much distance from here as we can. She would want us to carry on and fight for District 6," said Anise, though she, too, seemed to struggle with emotions.

Luke nodded. "I'm sorry. I'll be strong… for her, and for Asch, too. Let's go, Anise. Districts 12 and 9 are in for it now."

At least the decision of fleeing versus trying to get something out of the Cornucopia had been easy, thanks to whatever caused the explosion. Haruhi had a sneaking suspicion Kyoya had been behind it, but since she hadn't been able to locate him, she wondered if maybe she'd gone the wrong way. Getting lost, it wouldn't be the first time.

She hadn't managed to grab anything from the Cornucopia explosion, even though things rained down all around her. She and two other girls had immediately fled to the tree line in a desperate attempt to escape the bloodbath behind them.

When she came face-to-face with one of the girls, she almost screamed.

"Please don't kill me," she muttered, backing into a tree.

"I am unarmed," said the girl, the short-haired one from District 12. "It appears we are both alone and separated from our friends."

"Yeah, so it seems," said Haruhi, her heart still pounding.

"May I presume that you have an interest in forming a temporary alliance?" asked the girl.

"Yes. I would like that," said Haruhi, nodding.

"I'm… afraid in my haste to evacuate the Cornucopia I was unable to procure anything… no weapons or food to speak of," said the girl, sheepishly.

"It's all right. I'm sure we can find something in the woods," said Haruhi.

"Oh, right, introductions. I'm Naoto Shirogane, of District 12," said the girl, extending her hand.

After just a momentary hesitation, Haruhi took it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Shirogane."

"I lost track of my District's partner. He could be anywhere. Do you know where any of your people are?" asked Naoto.

"No, I really don't," said Haruhi. "Sorry…"

"I think we should move on.

There was something… strangely familiar about Naoto, but Haruhi couldn't put her finger on it. Still, having someone to walk through the forest with was a nice change. It made it less lonely. She kept her eyes peeled and her ears trained for any unnatural noises for hunters, but as they made their way through the forest, they didn't encounter anyone. Slowly, Haruhi relaxed around her new travel companion, though she kept a slight guard up just in case her new ally decided to turn on her.

Shayla had just slid carefully down a hill not far from the Cornucopia when the cannons started. She held her breath and felt a stab of pain in her heart each time it fired. One… two… three… four… five… six… … … and then silence. The bloodbath was over. Six down, 42 left alive. It was actually a relief; as far as blood baths went, this one wasn't nearly as awful as it could have been. She followed the trail someone left in their wake, clearly not even trying to cover it. She tried to keep the six cannons from her mind, the six dead… but she couldn't help but worry about whether one or two of them were from her own district.

"If only I could See… then I'd be able to… do something…" she muttered to herself.

The sound of footsteps reached her and Shayla took a careful, defensive position that kept her back protected by a tree. Moments later, she saw the tall form of District 2's Grune appear around another corner, smiling brightly, acting as if she were off for a leisurely stroll through the woods. Shayla relaxed and called out to her, and the woman stopped and smiled even more widely at her.

"Hello! How are you doing?" asked Grune.

"No complaints. How are you?" asked Shayla.

"I couldn't be better! I was hoping to find some friends today and it looks like I got lucky running into you," said Grune. "I believe I located a couple of others in this direction if you'd like to come?"

"Who were they?" asked Shayla.

"One of them was the sweet girl from your District, and the other was the crying one from the singing District!" Grune exclaimed. "And I sensed a couple of others but they wouldn't let me get close to them."

"Melody!" cried Shayla. "Oh thank God… any sign of the boys from my district?"

"Sorry, no such luck," said Grune. "But I'll lead you to them. We can make it a big friendly group!"

Shayla nodded. "I'd like that. Have you found any supplies or food?"

"I found a little crystal… I don't know what it does. It's very pretty, though," said Grune.

Shayla glanced at the small gem in Grune's hand. She hadn't any clue what it was, either, but guessed it had something to do with Districts 4 or 5. As they worked their way through the underbrush, Shayla kept her eyes peeled for any items or supplies she could find. Soon she could hear stifled sobs and the whispered reassurances of another, and it wasn't long before she found Melody and the girl from District 11 sitting against a log.

"Are you both okay?" asked Shayla.

"Oh my God! Shayla, thank goodness you're alive!" cried Melody, jumping up to hug her while Grune sat next to the District 11 girl. "Where's Jack? Have you seen him?"

"Not since the Cornucopia," said Shayla. "He was running in for weapons when I took off… that idiot. I think he got away, though; I took another glance there before I went looking for recruits. I only saw two dead in the area and neither were him."

"I lost track of Teruhiko when I ran, too. Someone blew up our Cornucopia!" Melody exclaimed.

"Did… did you happen to see my group…?" asked the girl from District 11, sniffling.

"I'm sorry, Tina, I admit I wasn't looking… I know the blonde girl was right next to me at the start but I think she ran towards the Cornucopia, too…" muttered Melody, kneeling down next to her.

"That doesn't mean they're dead. Did you hear the cannons? We only lost six… that's really good for a bloodbath," said Shayla.

"Yeah… yeah you're right. Maybe we can save everyone else…" Melody muttered.

"Save everyone else? What are you talking about?" came a new, somewhat snarky voice.

Everyone turned to see the brown-haired girl form District 7 standing at the edge of a new tree line. She held a couple of small bags in each hand. Grune smiled and walked over the give her a huge hug.

"Yukari I'm so happy you're okay!" Grune exclaimed. "And you found food?!"

"I did some digging, yeah… I guess we're sharing with them too, huh?" asked Yukari.

"It would be wise for us to group into an alliance… I see no reason for us to fight with your District," said Melody.

"Fine. But know that it's only temporary… and… I want to survive," said Yukari.

"Don't worry. I plan to see to it that as many of us survive as we can," said Shayla.

"Well only one District can survive… and I wouldn't be surprised if they revoke that rule at the last second, too, with all the surprises we have going on out here," said Yukari.

"Not necessarily," said Melody. "Tell them your plan, Shayla."

"Well… I can't tell you the specifics yet because I don't know if it's going to work. The best I can say right now is we need to stall for time and try and survive. The more we have, the better," said Shayla. "If we run across any of your District mates, we should invite them into our group. You can bet 6 and 9 are teaming up, and there are several rogues like Ramirez in 4 and Nan in 8. If we can't convert them… we may have to fight them…"

"So… wait, we're just gonna pull a Career this time?" asked Yukari. "Seems… strange. And how do we know you're not going to just stab the rest of us in the back?"

"You're going to have to trust me. And Melody. We just need to wait for my cousin to make contact… she should be doing so within a couple days," said Shayla, pleading. "We just need to stay alive until then. And avoid combat at all costs."

"Easier said than done," said Yukari.

"So… so what do we have to do, then? Don't we need shelter?" asked Tina.

"I actually already have a good place. I'm loathe to share it with so many people, but… there's a natural rock depression by a small lake in that direction," said Yukari, pointing. "If you follow me to it we can make it there and set up camp. It should be well hidden."

Shayla nodded. "Excellent work. Thank you for sharing that with us."

Yukari shrugged. "Grune technically found it, honestly. Scared me half to death when I found her sleeping there. I thought she was dead."

"I just wanted a nap," Grune said. "But I'm so happy we have so many friends now, aren't you?"

"Let's get moving," said Shayla taking a few steps towards where Yukari was pointing. "Here, we're too exposed, and still in danger… of…"

She trailed off. The ground shook for a few moments. The girls turned and looked up the hill next to where they sat. It was faint to see at first, but Shayla could see the earth give way. Suddenly, stones and branches were rolling towards them, and suddenly it looked like the whole hill was rolling for them. As it got closer, she started to shout commands to the others to get out of the way, helping drag the panicked Tina to her feet and guiding the mesmerized Grune away from the deluge of stone and rocks hurtling down the hill towards the alliance.

FROM THE ANNOUNCEMENT ROOM:

"Hello everyone! Once again this is Caesar reporting in from the start of the Hunger Games! What an exciting scene we have so far… a girl banding together a misfit group from all different Districts to try and keep the entertainment alive for our viewers as long as she can! That Shayla Harpers certainly is a team player… but now they face the perils of the rock slide!" exclaimed Caesar. "Joining me in the announcements today we have Game God Epsilon, who is the figurehead behind our mechanics for this year's arena. Epsilon, would you mind explaining what's happening here?"

"Thank you Caesar, I'd be most delighted to," said Epsilon. "As you can see, when Miss Harper stepped on this rock here… she triggered the trapped rockslide which is now cascading down on them. This, and hundreds of other traps, now litter the arena."

"Amazing… so every step is a risk!" exclaimed Caesar. "Well then… leaving the girls for a few minutes, let's check on our other tributes. After the explosive beginning at the North Cornucopia, we seem to have had yet another couple from the districts meet up! Vyse and Fina of District 4 have already found each other, and, by the looks of things, they have quite a stockpile between them!"

"That's correct, Caesar," said Epsilon. "As you can see, Miss Fina has a very potent healing scroll in her possession… though most of our magic equipment and armor remains sealed through the initial bloodbath, we have already seen some uses with Mr. Potter and Mr. Sage. When unlocked, the duo of District 4 will prove very difficult to kill indeed."

"We've seen Genis and Mithos from District 9 meet up at the ruins of Cornucopia North, but there's also Quinn and Puck from District 11, searching through the wreckage as you can see here," said Caesar. "Some of our tributes have gotten separated from everyone, too."

"And we've already seen several tributes who have voiced their opinions on finding each other. Rin and Hatsuharu, both from District 3, have said that the only person they are searching for is the other," said Epsilon. "From District 1, Benio is deadest on finding Haruhi. It's as if she doesn't see anything else… one hopes that she can regain control of herself before it is too late."

"I gotta say, the one I'm most impressed with is Judith from District 8, however," said Caesar. "Were I able to bet, I would put my money on here."

"Yes, she has outperformed all of our expectations. Though she and Jay of District 2 have taken to the trees, she is the first tribute to have made it all the way from one Cornucopia to the other," said Epsilon. "How she has stayed solely in the trees and avoided all traps and combat is beyond me. But I say, bravo! I cannot wait to see what happens when she gets down to business."

"Very well put, Epsilon. I believe we only have another minute or so before we need to take a quick break, so: what do you think is the most exciting development overall in our first few minutes here in the Hunger Games?" Caesar asked.

"Definitely the swarm of revenge encircling District 6," said Epsilon. "After tonight's death reveal, District 1 will be out for blood on District 6. They, meanwhile, have already got a mutual vendetta forming against District 10, and now possibly with Districts 9 and 12. It will be very interesting to see how this one plays out."

"While I don't disagree with you, I must admit my 'most exciting' development were the early eliminations of District 2's Will and District 1's Kyoya. They were pegged high in the initial standings and, from all accounts, looked as if they might provide us with some of the best entertainment. My guess is quite a few Gods and Goddesses lost a pretty penny today," Caesar joked.

"No doubt about that! But we can't say Mr. Ootori didn't go out without a bang, right?" joked Epsilon.

"Indeed we cannot! Well, folks, that's all we have for you. We now return you to continuing coverage of The Hunger Games: Day 1. Thank you and, as always, may the odds be ever in your favor!" Caesar exclaimed.

Author's Note:

Thank you for your patience as I got the story bits and pieces all together. Remember, I didn't choose these deaths myself; the dice did it. And yes, I, too, am rather unhappy with some of the early eliminations. Regardless, the next update should be along sometime in January. Enjoy your holidays and Happy New Year!