AUTHOR'S NOTES: And now we're at the 2nd-to-last chapter of our standard Hunger Games. After that, it takes a little spin before the ending, although those who have read my other fics probably already knew that. Like all of the chapters from 91-99, there is or will be (in thise case will be) a full-length story of this game in the distant future, but don't hold your breath. We're on the final stretch, and here we go.
Happy Reading!
The 98th Annual Hunger Games
A great deal of Panem's Capitol audience was getting excited. Each passing year drew closer to the next Quarter Quell, and with the recent decade of games being as thrilling as they were, it was clear that there was going to be a game that would blow them all away.
Even then, since it had not happened yet, there was no way it could actually eclipse the 98th Annual Hunger Games, which were in full swing and expected to be just as promising as the ones before it. The Gamemakers had been hard at work designing another exciting arena, and they banked on there being a slew of exciting tributes to occupy it this year. Fortunately for them, they would not be disappointed. District 1 and District 2 produced their usual volunteers considering that they had facilities that trained boys and girls for this express purpose. Terius and Lethe were these for District 1, while Remus Verdell and Hinoka Morrow stepped up over in District 2. Also joining the ranks of volunteer tributes this year were Cordelia Mason and Shigeru Lombardi from District 3. The volunteers from this district were always an interesting case. In almost every situation, it was either both tributes or neither tribute volunteering, and unlike the careers over in Districts 1 and 2 they did not have training facilities and did not volunteer out of loyalty to the Capitol, being rather rebellious districts. The machinations of District 3's mind were an enigma. That much was certain.
But of course, like nearly every year, the career pack was faced with opposition, and the same would ring true this year even if District 3 did end up joining their comrades from '1 and '2. Nolan Carter and Shelia DuFronz emerged from District 4 to throw a bit of variety into the mix, while District 11 brought forth Hector and Mavis. District 12's tributes weren't "Painted" this year, but Rusty and JoAnn were not about to be too easily forgotten.
Alliances formed in the training center, but they were not too surprising. On one hand, District 1, District 2, and District 3 lined up for one of the more common "extended career alliances", while District 12 and District 11 stuck together again to serve as primary competition. The tributes from Districts 4, 5, and 8 did not ally with anyone, although a few of them had their eyes on a striking girl from District 6. Asami Kobayashi was a mechanic worthy of the Meraxas, and she spent most of the time during training building weapons and other mechanisms that were rather impressive. As a result it was not overly surprising to anyone when this woman scored a 12 in training. The only other tribute to do that this year was District 2's Hinoka, although her partner Remus, as well as JoAnn, both scored 11s. The pair from District 1 scored 9s, Cordelia took a 10, and Shigeru's score was the lowest of the careers that year, at 8. It was not shabby by any means, however, and so there were no backdoor conspiracies to get him removed the way there had been with a certain Ikki Ortolani some 21 years ago. The other tributes from the outlying alliance scored between 7 and 10, as did the pair from District 4. These would be the primary competitors this year, and it got to the point where a lot of the Capitolites started betting on who was going to die in the bloodbath.
As the tributes glanced around during the 60-second countdown before the games officially began, they noticed something about the cornucopia and the resources it offered this year. It didn't look like there was much to offer this year, with only scattered shards of metal that could be used like blades appearing apart from a few regular weapons here or there. This was a crafting arena, the tributes were pretty sure.
9 tributes died in this year's bloodbath, and surprisingly, none of them were killed by any of the tributes from District 1 or District 2. On the other hand, Cordelia kicked off the show by assassinating the two tributes from District 10 simultaneously with a couple of well-thrown shards of metal, while her partner took one of the other tributes down. These actions proved their worth in the eyes of the careers, who helped chase the remaining tributes away. Asami had disappeared and gone the opposite way the moment the gong had sounded, and the 11-12 alliance managed to give the career pack the slip before any of them could be wounded, let alone killed. Also at large were Peter and Susan, the boy and girl from District 7, who had done some damage in the bloodbath, but then also run off towards the west.
For the rest of the tributes, considering that the cornucopia supplies were negligible apart from a few backpacks the careers had claimed, it was time to explore the rest of the arena.
It was a field day in a very literal sense of the term. Fields of all kinds lay in every direction, with orchards, grasses, and other types of foliage in all sorts of directions. Some of the areas were short enough to see across, while others were tall and even a bit treacherous, which would make wandering and navigation difficult if they couldn't keep their bearings.
The career pack began exploring the arena to see what they could find that was of any worth. Surely in some of these fields there would be food and water, and so they spent the rest of the first day scouting around for the best spot that would conceal their camp, and that would also offer them something to eat and drink, since there was none of that at the cornucopia.
As with most first days of the Hunger Games, there was not much else that happened apart from tributes making camps or hunkering down. The careers made their camp in a surprisingly rocky area, although despite the rocks, the plants still seemed to grow here just fine. This arena was a reminder to the careers from District 1 and District 2 that their friends from District 3 would be invaluable. Cordelia and Shigeru knew most of the plants while the other careers had ignored most of that as they usually did. Fortunately for them, this District 3 pair weren't about to go turncoat on the alliance that quickly.
Nolan was killed around the early afternoon the next morning, and his partner Shelia died later in the evening as Hinoka was out scouting more of the arena. The careers had found a nice brook for water, and most of the plants around their area were fruit-bearing. There were even a few fruit trees as well.
An oddity about this arena was that a lot of it appeared surprisingly desolate apart from the plants. Most of the tributes suspected that there would be some sort of mutts or monsters lurking in the tall grass, and yet other than breezes rustling the leaves or stalks, there was not really any sign of non-plant life apart from the 13 tributes that remained.
Incidentally, Rusty and JoAnn had learned many of the wind patterns and breezes, and so knew how to use them to their advantage as they snuck around. On Night 3, they pulled a rather bold maneuver against the career pack as the latter were slowing down for the evening. While Rusty was successfully able to shoot Terius and kill him, he did not count on Hinoka being so aggressive. It wasn't even her district partner, but the girl had raced after the District 12 pair with vengeance on her mind. Her partner Remus kept watch for the rest of that evening, although no cannons went off. The pair from '12 split up as Hinoka gained on them, and JoAnn saw a reprieve as the career girl went after Rusty.
Day 4 kicked off without any cannons or without any sign of Hinoka. Day 5 was similar, although by this point, the pair from District 3 were back on the move. It was later in the evening that a rather interesting pair of reunions took place. Cordelia and Shigeru ran into Hinoka, who was still hot on Rusty's trail. However, that boy had managed to run into Hector and Mavis from District 11, and after they met up, it became clear that there was going to be a fight.
This was only verified as Hinoka and the District 3 pair came into view. The six tributes squared off in a three-on-three that was rather decisive for the careers. Within minutes of the fight starting, Hinoka had offed Rusty, and while Cordelia provided a distraction, she also managed to take down Hector. Mavis was now severely outnumbered and outmuscled, and she met her grizzly end (which was actually not terribly grizzly; just an impalement) at the pointy end of Shigeru's blade.
Lethe and Remus managed to keep the career camp going, and they made a few more discoveries of their own. Asami was building something, for she managed to snatch up supplies from around the arena. Remus had seen her, but decided not to race out and attack her from his position, since she seemed armed and he could not tell what the contraption was. Asami either did not notice them, or had decided not to react to their presence, for she went on her way without event.
Days 6, 7, and 8 were fairly eventless by comparison, although Cordelia pointed out that the edible plants were becoming scarcer and that the poisonous ones were becoming more common. She had to prevent Remus from accidentally eating one at least once, but the boy quickly learned. Shigeru got to work trying to figure out how to use these as traps against the other tributes, not really worried too much about the alliance just yet. The only other tributes not part of the career pack that were still alive were Peter, Susan, JoAnn, and Asami. Of those, Asami seemed the most threatening after Remus gave his report, and so the pack remained wary.
Asami was not done with her trickery though. She returned to the careers' camp on day 9, waiting for Hinoka, Shigeru, and Cordelia to go back on one of their scouting trips. She knew Remus was cautious of her, but what she did not know was that it was a setup.
Lethe still wound up being a victim of her treachery, where the contraption strapped around her body wound up being a powerful projectile launcher of sorts. It struck Lethe before she could react, and the boy next to her sprung up for vengeance.
The twist was that it was not Remus. He had gone with Cordelia and Hinoka, leaving Shigeru behind instead. Shigeru was much faster than his District 2 ally, and so he raced right in and cut Asami down before she could do much else. Her contraption, while impressive, was not something he would want to try and salvage off of her or figure out how to work, and so he'd let it get taken with her.
Remus was pleased when he learned of Asami's death, and he and Shigeru took a walk later on Day 10 as they discussed it, Hinoka and Cordelia were watching the camp, and so this time it was the boys' turn to have a bit of fun.
JoAnn had survived thus far, but she was being pursued by Peter and Susan. However, Peter and Susan were being hunted by Remus and Shigeru, which led to an interesting turn of events.
Day 11 saw Peter's death, and Susan blamed it on JoAnn's treachery. As a result, Day 12 saw Joann die at Susan's hand, despite the girl claiming that it was Remus who had killed Peter instead of her. This was actually true, but it hardly mattered at this point. Two tributes were dead, and Susan was next.
She met her demise on Day 13 at Shigeru's hand. With her out of the way, that just left the four tributes from District 2 and District 3. It was not quite the traditional career pack considering District 3 was in place of District 1, but they were volunteers and were part of the career alliance, and so it was time for them to settle once and for all who the victor would be.
Day 14 was when this all went down. Surprisingly, none of them tried to pull fast ones on anyone else that evening, not even the wily District 3 tributes. As such, the fighting was set to begin. Remus and Hinoka were stronger, and the latter was rather fast, but the agility and cunning of Shigeru and Cordelia made them able to hold their own.
The first one to fall was Cordelia after she got stabbed by Remus' blade, but Shigeru knifed him so quickly in response that his cannon actually went off before Cordelia's. Shigeru and Hinoka battled for the final spot—the Victor's Crown, and the slash of metal against metal filled the air as they both dueled rather expertly. Eventually, however, Shigeru gained the upper hand, and finished the fight with a well-placed strike to Hinoka's forehead, the blade plunging into her skull and killing her, which in turn ended the games. Shigeru was the 9th victor from District 3, and the 98th victor of the Hunger Games.
Cunning, swift, and devious, Shigeru enjoyed his victory. While technically not a career tribute himself considering his lack of formal training as one, he was still considered a career when all was said and done. He lamented the death of his allies and friends, but he knew that they would have done the same thing to him, and had actually tried to. It was not personal; it was merely business. Such was the nature of the career pack, and the very nature of the Hunger Games itself. Shigeru knew this well…
VICTORS BY YEAR:
1HG: Fukaya Kerezaki (#1, District 5)
2HG: Lucy Takamatzu (#1, District 11)
3HG: Naseru Litzak (#1, District 3)
4HG: Naisha Szasz (#1, District 2)
5HG: Jade Prima (#1, District 1)
6HG: Cedar Hardin (#1, District 7)
7HG: Susan Jackman (#2, District 5)
8HG: Malcolm Reed (#1, District 6)
9HG: Mags Cohen (#1, District 4)
10HG: Faren Dragmire (#2, District 1)
11HG: Maius Karuha (#2, District 2)
12HG: Iunius Karuha (#3, District 2)
13HG: Hilda White (#1, District 10)
14HG: Minali Otoyome (#2, District 3)
15HG: Willow James (#3, District 1)
16HG: Lark Chandnea (#2, District 11)
17HG: Woof Casino (#1, District 8)
18HG: Leah Holden (#2, District 7)
19HG: Zeruda Mezkiel (#2, District 6)
20HG: Muscida Lee (#2, District 4)
21HG: Kada Lahka (#4, District 2)
22HG: Gleam DiFronzo (#4, District 1)
23HG: Ivette Coronado (#3, District 5)
24HG: Olivia Thurman (#1, District 9)
25HG: Laurel Fox (#1, District 12)
26HG: Daron Armstrong (#5, District 2)
27HG: Cobalt Evans (#5, District 1)
28HG: Lyme Golding (#6, District 2)
29HG: Ash LosDias (#3, District 7)
30HG: Challis Worth (#2, District 8)
31HG: Beetee Latier (#3, District 3)
32HG: Fletch Crossley (#4, District 5)
33HG: Seeder Howell (#3, District 11)
34HG: Price Emerson (#6, District 1)
35HG: Leto Irizari (#7, District 2)
36HG: Jackson Kjelle (#5, District 5)
37HG: Zerviah Hawke (#3, District 6)
38HG: Wiress Plummer (#4, District 3)
39HG: Nephi Lott (#3, District 4)
40HG: Miriam Luxio (#7, District 1)
41HG: Marcelina Kovac (#6, District 5)
42HG: Niles Lincoln (#8, District 2)
43HG: Blight McKay (#4, District 7)
44HG: Sagittaria Svenja (#4, District 11)
45HG: Dezna Meraxa (#4, District 6)
46HG: Alice DeSiete (#3, District 8)
47HG: Aurum Zianja (#8, District 1)
48HG: Layla Aranai (#9, District 2)
49HG: Chip Sangster (#5, District 3)
50HG: Haymitch Abernathy (#2, District 12)
51HG: Derrick James (#7, District 5)
52HG: Chaff Mitchell (#5, District 11)
53HG: Brutus Gunn (#10, District 2)
54HG: Tiffany Waxler (#2, District 10)
55HG: Zak Dreggite (#4, District 4)
56HG: Zoroka Chandaki (#9, District 1)
57HG: Cecelia Sanchez (#4, District 8)
58HG: Meili Meisha (#5, District 6)
59HG: Zhin Lyautey (#6, District 3)
60HG: Lucas Drazen (#10, District 1)
61HG: Kara Petersen (#5, District 7)
62HG: Enobaria Taos (#11, District 2)
63HG: Gloss Zianja (#11, District 1)
64HG: Cashmere Zianja (#12, District 1)
65HG: Finnick Odair (#5, District 4)
66HG: Elroy Trujillo (#12, District 2)
67HG: Varric Svenja (#6, District 11)
68HG: Carver Tabris (#2, District 9)
69HG: Bethany Shanza (#8, District 5)
70HG: Annie Cresta (#6, District 4)
71HG: Johanna Mason (#6, District 7)
72HG: Immanuel Cox (#3, District 10)
73HG: Paige DeSiete (#5, District 8)
74HG: Clove Kazera (#13, District 2)
75HG: Katniss Everdeen (#3, District 12)
76HG: Johnny Stallings (#9, District 5)
77HG: Ikki Ortolani (#7, District 3)
78HG: Ryuka Satoru (#6, District 6)
79HG: Nailah Zoraki (#13, District 1)
80HG: Zenzi Tallarico (#7, District 11)
81HG: Kaede Raiden (#14, District 2)
82HG: Katsuo Raiden (#15, District 2)
83HG: Mandy Ikezhen (#7, District 4)
84HG: Vigo Zakatau (#4, District 12)
85HG: Resin Balthezar (#7, District 7)
86HG: Marian Greene (#3, District 9)
87HG: Connor McIrish (#6, District 8)
88HG: Ian Nelson (#8, District 3)
89HG: Kozue Sowa (#8, District 11)
90HG: Gill Wainright (#8, District 4)
91HG: Aveline Togisala (#5, District 12)
92HG: Amy Zavala (#16, District 2)
93HG: Korra Francisco (#17, District 2)
94HG: Cadence Montoya (#10, District 5)
95HG: Lux Calameda (#14, District 1)
96HG: Shishio Meraxa (#7, District 6)
97HG: Eli Christiansen (#9, District 11)
98HG: Shigeru Lombardi (#9, District 3)