I might actually start working on this properly now. I didn't think anyone liked it at first, I only realised I had reviews for this story yesterday! XD
Reviews are extremely beneficial to my writing. I don't own DN or THG.
Light woke up as the train slowed and stopped. They couldn't possibly be there yet, could they? He checked the clock on the wall. He had only slept for about twenty minutes.
It wasn't very late, perhaps around seven thirty in the evening. Other reapings would still be happening. He sat up, peeling back a curtain and looking out of the window.
They were at a train station. 'This couldn't possibly be the Capitol', Light thought. 'It's... It's filthy!'
He looked around for an indication as to where he was. Up in the corner of the station's platform was an old, rusting sign with a faded D5 on it. District Five... Light pressed his forehead up against the window, trying to see what was going on. Four people were getting onto the train, but a few carriages down. They were sharing the train? Nobody told him about that.
He stared at the two tributes who were boarding, trying to profile them. The girl looked terrified, nothing special. But the boy... Wait, was he barefoot? In a place as filthy and disgusting as this? EW. Maybe he was too poor to afford shoes... Light looked up at his face, trying to see what his expression was. But... It was completely blank. Not an oblivious, ignorant kind of blank though. It was a carefully crafted mask, designed to stop anyone from seeing how he was feeling.
Light looked away from the people getting on the train, quickly becoming disinterested. He decided to search for something to do on the train. Maybe he could find somewhere he could watch the other reapings.
Ryuzaki found the train very strange. It just wasn't what he was used to, and it made him slightly uneasy. Everything was too posh, too fake. The floor was too smooth, too clean. The windows weren't shattered, or covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. There were no battery acid stains on the walls, and everything was far too quiet.
Maybe all trains were like this? He wouldn't know, all they had in district 5 were the massive transportation trucks for delivery of products to the Capitol.
At least there weren't any more cameras. Ryuzaki had kept a completely blank expression for the entire day, excluding his final moments with Beyond. He didn't want to give any of his emotions away. He couldn't let anyone get a proper first impression of him, whatever they made of him would be wrong. Only Beyond knew him. Ryuzaki had always wondered how people could think they automatically knew what somebody was like merely from their looks and facial expression.
Him, Kim, Matt (their mentor) and Near all sat in the train car, facing each other. Yet nobody was speaking. A table sat between them all, adorned with a pot of tea and a multitude of pastries, all of which were untouched.
Near stared at the two tributes, twirling his flawless, curly white hair with one leg tucked underneath him on the chair. Kim stared into space, her figure pale and shaking.
Matt was sprawled on his seat with a cigarette between his teeth, his attention completely focused on the small gaming console he held in his hands.
Ryuzaki sat in a slightly odd crouching position on his chair, balancing perfectly on his toes. He didn't want to touch the foreign material if he could help it, but this seemed like an appropriate compromise. His feet had managed to stay relatively clean, considering he had been barefoot in a place as filthy as District 5. But he didn't care if his feet got dirty.
In the cold, electric, dead District 5, he had to walk around barefoot, stepping on small bits of metal and other debris. The small, sharp stabs of pain cleared his mind somewhat, but the only time it had ever cleared completely was with the strawberries... He decided to stay barefoot in the arena if he could. It was something Beyond had shown him, and he wanted to hold onto it. Not to mention it would keep his mind sharper and he would be more alert.
He stared at each person in turn, analyzing them. He didn't like Near that much. While Ryuzaki hid his emotions, Near didn't seem to have any at all.
Kim just seemed very scared, but Ryuzaki knew she would gain confidence. Someone like her could adapt so quickly that it was almost disturbing.
Matt... He intrigued Ryuzaki. For a victor, he had always seemed so relaxed, so carefree. At least, from a distance. Now, Ryuzaki could see how he clung to his console almost desperately, how his mouth trembled ever so slightly with the effort of not clenching his teeth shut, which would crush the cigarette. How even with such a relaxed, open position, he seemed guarded and alert...
And his eyes. What were they like? Behind those goggles, Ryuzaki was almost sure they were filled with terror. It was almost visible if one watched; how they darted around frantically when he wasn't glued to a screen.
He stared for a little longer at Matt's eyes, trying to see past his goggles. Eventually, he noticed that one was missing.