Naruto and Katniss woke with the sun or whatever acted as the sun for their games. They collected some supplies and quickly prepared a sizable breakfast for themselves.
Naruto's arm was still in no small amount of pain but the mending Katniss had done on it was far better than anything Naruto could have managed himself. Only partially because it was his own arm. Mainly because he simply didn't have that much skill with mending his injuries as he would have liked to.
"Where did you pick the doctoring stuff up?" He asked as he pried a morsel of fish away from his meal and popped it into his mouth.
Katniss glanced his way and swallowed down her own food before cocking her head to the side to answer.
"I think I actually learned it from my little sister. She learned a lot of it from my mom though…at least I think she did."
"Sounds like their lessons are coming in handy right about now." Jiraiya said happily.
"Tell me about it. She saved my life with that repair job." Naruto replied, once again taking credit for what was happening to his other self.
"Hmm your mom was a seamstress right?" He asked just making conversation.
"Not really. To some extent, my grandparents were tailors or something on her side. Why are you asking?" She said with a shrug before turning her attention away from her makeshift bark plate and focusing on the boy.
Naruto blinked as if wondering the same thing himself. Why was he asking about her mother and grandparents? Why did any of that matter?
"Dunno…curiosity maybe?" He asked.
Katniss snorted softly. "Curiosity about what my mom did as a living?"
"Yeah, I mean I know your dad was a miner. I kind of remember him, he and my dad talked a lot, so did some of the other miners but your dad more often than most." Naruto explained.
"Oh we got some history there?" Sakura asked.
"Looks like it. I don't think it'll amount to much unless there's some sort of history that the kids don't know about." Tsunade commented.
Katniss perked up at that. Her eyes locked on his own making it clear this conversation was now under her control. It might as well have been an interrogation from this point on.
"What did my dad want to talk with yours about so much?" Shs asked though the slight bent in her question made the hair on his neck raise slightly. He had no reason not to answer but if he had, he'd have likely decided to think twice about it when hearing the heat in her voice.
"I don't really know for the most part. I was pretty little, but I know it had to do with conditions in the mines." Naruto replied.
Katniss nodded a bit disappointed with his answer obviously but also not seeming to have expected anything else.
"What were you expecting Katniss?" Haymitch asked with a grin.
His reply was a middle finger and a roll of the eyes from the brown haired young woman.
"To be young again." Jiraiya said wistfully.
"Makes sense. He was a foreman and all that." She mumbled.
"Yeah. I remember your dad was sort of picked by the others to speak for them. You remind me a lot of him." Naruto said.
The girl focused on him again, fish breakfast having been forgotten entirely by now.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know." He said with a shrug.
"No. What do you mean?" She demanded a bit harsher than necessary. He didn't blame her though. He understood her feelings at the moment.
"Damn. You're not getting out of this. Tell her how you feel." Haymitch encouraged with his shit eating grin.
"He'll deflect. He knows cameras are on him. If he says something, the whole country will talk about it." Sakura said.
Katniss agreed. "Plus my mom and little sister are watching. I really wouldn't want to hear what they tell me once we make it back. It's bad enough they already saw us kissing."
"You're like he was. I don't just mean looks. Brown hair and gray eyes or whatever. I mean you seem tough. Like you could fight for a long time if you needed to." He mumbled out.
"What?"
"Forget I said anything. It's stupid."
"No, no, no sorry. I just…for you to say that." She said with a soft smile and a much lesser tint of a blush than the day before.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked, completely confused by this point in the conversation.
"Just, thank you for the compliment. I know you meant it as one at least." She said with a small chuckle.
Naruto flushed before standing and turning away from the girl, avoiding looking at her as he did so. He didn't need to be acting like some smitten kid while in the damned Hunger Games.
"Kid is involved in a fight to the death with a couple others and here he is, sweet talking a girl. I'm actually pretty proud." Jiraiya said, swiping a fake tear away from his eye.
Tsunade rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. It was refreshing to see the young man not be angry anymore. Well, he was still angry but at least now she got to see him acting like a kid his age.
"Honestly at this point just admit the feelings and win more points with the capitol. The more they like you, the more it'll hurt when you throw them into the hunger games in the future." Sakura replied.
"Seriously, what is it with you and this idea?" Naruto asked, clearly perplexed.
"It was a compliment. Most folks from back home got a hungry look in their eyes like they are ready to fight but most of them don't look like they could keep it up for long. You're different though…scrappy I guess." He muttered as he packed up the things he would need for their day.
"Scrappy?" Katniss said, though Naruto ignored her now as he continued to pack up.
Katniss grinned slightly and set to work finishing her breakfast before also packing up. They made the occasional bit of small talk as they got around for their day. It was strange. How quickly the two of them were becoming comfortable around one another.
They could almost forget they were in the Hunger Games and imagine it as if they had decided to tag along together for a hunt. It was a great change from earlier in the games. Having the company and security of one another nearby was comforting in ways they hadn't realized it could be.
"That's cute. Katniss, you're clearly going to have to make a move. I can give you some pointers." Jiraya offered.
Naruto snorted. "You can't pay her for anything so I doubt your tips will work."
Katniss looked scandalized at the insinuation. She had heard of people having to offer certain services to keep afloat but didn't know anyone who did it. One look at Jiraiya and she knew he was a frequent customer.
He looked at her, still laughing and she laughed along so it wasn't awkward. Unfortunately, she was laughing along with him but he still wasn't stopping even though her laugh was clearly fake.
Rather than the exact route that they had used to reach the shelter Naruto had made, the pair of tributes from District Twelve took a longer, more scenic route toward the rendezvous with Thresh. Treading too much on the same path would make it easy to pick out for other tributes. Especially for the likes of the careers.
"With Thresh we should be able to match the career pack with numbers. That district one girl is dead." Katniss commented.
"Yeah. Don't count the others still out there out of the games just yet. They could pop up at any time and really make things a mess." Naruto replied.
Katniss thought about the boy that was responsible for Rue's death. She knew that well enough. He hadn't been one of the people she was worried about and then he was simply just there and Rue was dead.
She needed to change the subject. Focus on something else. The thought of Rue hurt even if she hardly knew her.
"It usually is like that, especially in a situation like yours." Haymitch said sympathetically.
"How well do you know Thresh?" Katniss asked.
Naruto paused for a moment at that and glanced toward her. Katniss noticed the thoughtful look on his face but he was turning forward and leading the path through the woods again before she could really study his expression.
"He's like us. Outer district, would have been his last year in the drawing if he hadn't been pulled." Naruto said.
"It was Rue's first. Prim's too." Katniss murmured.
Naruto stopped again and turned to face Katniss. She averted her eyes this time. She knew she had said too much for him to drop it though.
"You volunteered for Prim, I'll do everything I can to make sure you see her again." Naruto said suddenly before turning and continuing yet again.
"You've kind of been doing that already." Sasuke commented. "You've just been saying that it's for other reasons."
"I've been doing it to stay alive, but at the same time I guess so." Naruto replied.
Katniss thought back to everything she'd heard so far and yeah, Naruto had basically been doing everything for her. He really was a good guy.
She blinked briefly. "What?"
Naruto didn't reply as they continued on.
"Naruto, where did that come from?" She asked.
"It's nothing. I was talking with Thresh. He intended to make sure Rue won and went home even if it meant he had to die to do it. I thought about it since then and…" Naruto shrugged as they continued on.
"You didn't think twice about volunteering for Prim. She is lucky to have a sister like you and you're lucky to have her and your mom you know?"
"We can both go home now. They changed the rules." Katniss said. She felt incredibly uncomfortable about what he was implying when he promised she would see her mother and sister again.
"Don't tell me he's planning on dying." Sasuke stated. "He's made it this far, there's no reason to die. Just stick with Katniss and he'll be fine."
"Maybe he's worried about Cato, and maybe even Thresh." Jiraiya surmised. "He's injured, one arm is useless. Taking them down with him would be a solution in his mind."
Tsunade shook her head. "He wouldn't. Even if he isn't ours, he still shares enough similarities. He won't kill himself or go down like that. He'll do whatever it takes to get them both back home."
"Yeah, and I don't know if I'm as good as Thresh. I- really I dunno. Maybe I would do the same but it doesn't matter now anyway." Naruto ground out as they neared the rendezvous.
They fell back into silence as they approached the tree. The pair of them remained cautious and ready. Katniss already had an arrow knocked on her bow string while Naruto tightly gripped the handle of his largest knife with his good hand.
"Thresh?" He called out.
The two district twelve tributes remained silent for a time while waiting and hoping for the other boy to appear. It felt like an eternity but as if appearing from thin air the larger boy rose up out of a section of tall overgrown grasses and bushes.
"Naruto?" He called out.
"Yeah, it's me and Katniss." Naruto replied but he didn't stand up and Katniss was content to follow his lead. They were mostly concealed by the brush themselves though she doubted that the boy from eleven didn't have at least a good idea of where they were.
"We still good?" Thresh asked in their general direction.
Everybody sighed a breath of relief. The alliance was still intact. Though that brought up a certain memory from a past chapter.
"Wait." Naruto said. "What if he's like the guy who tried to kill me in my sleep?"
That was a possibility. "But he's not like him." Sakura shot back. "He seems to be a decent guy. Although now that Rue is dead, he could have snapped."
"I want to think so, but I know losing Rue could have changed things." Naruto replied cautiously.
"Smart." Thresh said calmly. Slowly his posture changed to a relaxed stance.
"Unless one of you did it, I don't have a reason to go after you yet. That's the way I see it anyway."
Naruto turned to lock eyes with Katniss. She could see the thoughts running through his head behind those blue eyes. But slowly he nodded. Then carefully he stood, remaining on guard but also making a point to not threaten the older boy.
"We didn't do it. Katniss killed the one that did though." Naruto replied.
"Still can't believe how easily you killed him." Naruto said, both impressed and a little sad that she had to do it.
"It was a reaction. There was nothing I could do." She defended.
"Good. Little Rue should have been the one to go home y'know." Thresh said somberly.
"I get you. We are still good though?" Naruto asked cautiously. He doubted he would have been as calm and relaxed as Thresh was.
"We are good. I…wasn't earlier. We're good now though." He said with a sad sigh.
"I'm sorry about her. I should have been there with her but-" Katniss began. She felt so guilty about Rue's death on her own. Seeing the obvious pain in the older boy's eyes. The eyes of a boy who was intent on dying for Rue.
Those same eyes flashed dangerously with anger and Naruto found his hand tightening on the hilt of his knife again.
"Just drop it twelve. Just stop. You killed the one that…just leave it at that alright?" Thresh stiffly said while cutting Katniss off.
"Keep your guard up." Naruto warned Katniss. Thresh wasn't right at the moment.
"I will." It wasn't like she needed to now.
She slowly nodded her head and had to fight back some tears at the thought of Rue's death once again.
Tense as they were, the three slowly calmed down as they moved and fell into a more comfortable bit of conversation. Mostly talking about what it was like back home for each of them.
The comparisons from the farms of district eleven to the merchant quarter of twelve and finally the seam in twelve were a bit surprising. Despite such stark differences in production and the like the overall grim oppressive nature was almost identical in all three areas. It was almost wholesome that they could bond in such a way despite the incredibly depressing circumstances.
Before long the trio of outer district tributes had made their way back to the lines of traps and defenses that Naruto had created. The cave itself was starting to feel a bit crowded with three of them, though Naruto didn't complain overly much as Katniss had taken to being right at his side when they were inside it now. Just having her close enough to brush up against him regularly was calming. A balm to his senses after days of worrying about if she was alright out in the arena alone.
"Already she's the key to calming you down. I bet her mother is ecstatic that she's found someone." Tsunade said with a pointed look at the girl.
Katniss looked away, her mother definitely saw it but ecstatic probably wasn't the right word for it. Her sister would for sure be gushing about what had happened. Since Naruto had shared his food with them and kept them alive, her sister always saw him in a positive light.
Obviously all of them remained a bit tense with one another. Naruto and Katniss had absolutely no reason to fight one another now. They could truly trust one another. Sadly that level of faith wasn't something they could gain with Thresh or him with either of them.
The game's design simply made it impossible, after all they would have to kill one another in the end or at the least let the other die.
The trio made a meal and talked a bit of strategy. Thresh mentioned that the careers had not only moved camp but had managed to recruit the boy from district six to support them. Evidently they had him surrounded on a rock ledge and gave him the chance to face them in a free for all when it was just the four of them left over.
"Nobody is buying that." Hinata muttered
"Like that will happen. The careers will kill him the moment the rest of us are dead then Cato and Clove will take on Marvel together." Katniss scoffed.
"It gives him hope for a chance though. So they feed it and now they have the numbers on us again." Naruto said with a sigh.
"Where did they move their base to?" Katniss asked Thresh.
"I'm not sure about the exact spot but somewhere further down the river. Lots of rock out toppings and thinner trees. Pretty much impossible to sneak into the area they are in and find their actual camp." Thresh explained.
"There aren't many of us left. The game makers will start making things happen soon." Naruto said, causing Katniss to softly rub at her leg.
"I had forgotten about that." Sakura said worriedly. They could really do whatever they wanted to get some action. She chuckled at her own words.
"I wonder what they'll do to force us together?" Thresh pondered.
"Something devious. That's for sure." Katniss said before grimacing as her stomach rumbled. They needed to eat again.
"Let's fish some more. Can't have too much fish in your diet." Naruto joked.
"What I wouldn't give for a nice stale loaf of bread right now." Thresh complained as he glanced at the horrible tasting ration bars they still had left.
"Some slimy pond scum fish will have to do." Naruto teased, causing both of the other tributes to glare at him and Katniss to flick a stone his way.
"You are lucky I'm so damn hungry." Katniss huffed though she followed after her partner to help spear some good sized fish for dinner.
"At least he lightened up the mood." Sasuke said. "If they keep the depressing atmosphere the chance of someone attacking increases."
"Really sucks when someone close to you turns on you doesn't it?" Naruto asked in a tone that was far too innocent.
The former avenger narrowed his eyes at the barb shot his way. What was worse, was that he could see his other teammate nodding in agreement.
"I'm a changed man. I don't do things like that anymore. I'm a different man than I was before." He defended.
Sakura frowned. "It hasn't been that long since the war ended."
The trio had honestly struck up an easy friendship by the time their meal was done. It was nice even if the whole of their interactions were tainted with the knowledge that not all of them would leave the arena alive.
As the sun began to settle the tributes all jolted as the face of Seneca Crane appeared above them with a smarmy grin looking farm to clean compared to the dirty and bloody tributes.
"Attention tributes. Attention. You have all made it to the final eight competitors. To celebrate your victories over the lesser two thirds of your competition we have decided to offer you a grand feast. While food and drink will be available the real prize will be the eight weapon or armor sets offered up for each of your specialities. Don't miss out otherwise someone else may just claim your prize. The feast will arrive at sunup tomorrow morning so be prepared. This is the only announcement at this time."
"That seems oddly convenient." Jiraiya said with suspicion.
"It's to get them in the same area. It'll be the perfect opportunity to kill each other." Naruto replied.
With that the face of their professional tormentor faded from view and the sky returned to the starry void it had been moments before.
"Well, we were wondering how it was they were going to force us all in together." Thresh sighed.
"Devious as hell. As expected." Naruto agreed.
"We could just not go. We have food and water. Weapons too even if they aren't perfectly suited for us." Katniss said.
"If we don't go, the careers are definitely going and that means they will have an advantage on us." Naruto said with a frown.
"So we have to go?" Katniss asked.
"It's the better play." He nodded back.
"It's gonna be a fight. A hard one. The careers will use it as a chance to fight us in the open. They have the training and the numbers again." Thresh commented.
"This is where the tactics are going to come into play. If you can catch them off guard, perhaps you have a chance." Haymitch commented with a pensive look. His mind was already racing with different scenarios that they could employ to turn things to their favor.
They didn't have the numbers advantage and were injured. It would be difficult but not impossible. Unless Thresh sacrificed himself to create an opening, but that was iffy.
"Maybe with the bow you can pick someone off." Naruto suggested. It also depended on the location of the area.
"Yeah but it's worse if we don't face them. Eventually they'll come at us with everything and if they get all the weapons and armor they could want them we will be too badly disadvantaged. We have to go " Naruto explained to his comrades.
The group fell into silence at that. The knowledge of a looming fight to the death was normal in the Hunger Games but knowingly walking into an ambush was a bit of a tall order. Naruto was right though. They had a better chance going and fighting on more even footing than simply passing the entire thing over.
The group prepared for bed and set up for the night. Before long they bedded down and Thresh couldn't help the conflicted feelings as he looked over at Naruto and Katniss. He knew Naruto trusted him greatly, especially after the situation with that District Ten boy had happened earlier in the games.
It was clear that while Naruto did indeed trust Thresh, he was protective and far more trusting of Katniss. Naruto had laid in a position between the other two occupants of the cave and Katniss had almost naturally wrapped herself tightly around him from behind. It was hard to imagine them as anything other than a couple from their appearance even as Naruto faced away from the girl and more toward the opening of their little hideout. Always vigilant for an attack
Seeing the two of them together threatened him with some dark thoughts though and he went to sleep set on having a conversation with Naruto in the morning. A very important one.
"He's actually a good guy." Naruto said. He knew how hard it was to battle against those dark thoughts. They usually sounded good at the time, and if you were weak minded, it was easy to fall to them.
"But he has those thoughts. You need to be fully alert now. Either he'll try to kill you now, during the dinner, or he'll surprise us and help out until the end." Sasuke replied.
Jiraiya was thinking of the possibilities as well. As it stood, he would have just killed Thresh to be safe. He wouldn't want to, but it was clear the boy was troubled after the death of Rue. It was a risk to have him around, but at the same time he did provide added firepower to their team. It was a difficult position to be in.
The Capitol Broadcasting Center
"That brings an end to another day of the seventy fourth annual hunger games folks. Lots of buildup there today even if there isn't much fighting. What do you think about today, Claudius?" Caesar asked his co-host.
"A much needed break after the events surrounding the cornucopia I think Caesar. We've had a somewhat slow couple of days since the rule change but it's given us some time to enjoy some of our competitor interactions once again." Claudius replied.
"I couldn't agree with you more Templesmith my good man, from the heartwarming kissing that we got to peek in on with Naruto and Katniss to the interactions of Cato and Clove now that they know they can go home together, things are really starting to draw us all in. Now with the added elements of Thresh joining up with his fellow outer district comrades and this Feast event to be held in the morning. We are possibly looking at our last peaceful night here in the games." Caesar said almost sounding sad that the bloodshed would be ending soon.
Claudius nodded somberly before the pair launched into yet another conversation about the actions of one of the remaining tributes in the games.
"They're really disappointed that kids are about to stop killing each other." Hinata said angrily. Even she wanted to go to the world now. Things weren't right there and she would be damned if she just allowed it to happen when she could do something about it.
Naruto awoke before Katniss, mainly because of Thresh gently tapping his shoulder. The sight of the larger boy standing hunched over him when he awoke caused Naruto's instincts to kick in as he grappled for his knife on to to pause and let out a breath to try and calm down when Thresh held up his hands to show he was no danger.
"I almost stabbed you." Naruto hissed quietly, careful not to wake up Katniss. They had all been exhausted so he intended to let her get as much rest as he could.
"Relax. I just needed to talk to you for a little bit before we head out for the Feast or whatever it is they are calling the bloodbath part two." Thresh said as he stepped away toward the mouth of the cave.
Naruto eyed the other boy for a moment before glancing toward the sleeping form of Katniss. Even in sleep she looked tense after he pulled away from her. He felt a bit guilty for that but if Thresh needed to talk then he was sure it was something that needed his full attention.
"Okay, lead the way." Naruto said as he pried himself loose of Katniss as gently as possible.
Once he was fully extricated from her arms he followed Thresh out and they both stopped at the edge of the small pond. They were both silent, simply staring at the dark water and trying to ignore the bite of the chilly morning air. The 'sun' had still not come up yet so it was dark and almost silent in the woods.
"Well?" Naruto prodded carefully.
"Here it is." Naruto said grimly. "Either he dies now, or he's gonna tell me about a plan to make it to the very end. Is it strange that I kind of want him to kill himself?"
Sakura snorted. "Hinata said it earlier. All you gotta do is talk to him, he'll kill himself shortly after."
Naruto gave them a flat stare. Did they forget that without him most people would have remained dead? Including Kakashi who was chuckling at his misfortune.
Thresh sighed out as he turned toward Naruto with a grim look. In an instant Naruto knew what the topic of the conversation was going to be.
"We can't stay allied for long. I don't want it to come down to me or one of you, you know?" Thresh admitted.
Naruto slowly nodded. He felt the same way after all.
"You know, seeing you two in there. It's hard, kinda. Like one more day and I could have had hope of both me and Rue going home. You know what I said, what I wanted. I still have people I care about back home too. And you two I just…" Thresh tried to explain why he had been willing to die for Rue to win but wasn't willing to for Naruto and Katniss despite actually getting along with them.
"Hey man. I get it. Really, I kind of get it. I don't think I'm as good of a person as you are but I definitely don't blame you for well…" Naruto awkwardly consoled the other boy.
"Yeah, with you two it's different. Sorry." Thresh said.
"Come on, don't keep us in suspense." Tsunade grumbled. She had a pit in her stomach wondering where this conversation would lead.
"It seems he's at a crossroads." Kakashi pointed out the obvious. "I'm really hoping he decides to help them. At the very least he can take a few down with him. It's clear he doesn't want to fight Naruto and Katniss."
Katniss felt bad for Thresh. He'd lost his purpose for staying alive despite having people back home. She briefly wondered if that would be how she felt if Naruto had died.
"It's fine, really. I mean if the rules hadn't changed and it was just me and Katniss…I still don't know if I could do like you planned to do for Rue." Naruto replied.
They fell into silence again. Both are just trying to make the peaceful company of their odd friendship last. Such a strange place to find friends. Still they couldn't deny it.
"After the fest we have to break the alliance. Win or lose at the cornucopia today we can't stick together. The end is too close." Thresh said seriously.
Naruto sighed tiredly. "Yeah."
The blond turned to the other boy and held out a hand. "Under other circumstances I think we would have made great friends, eleven."
The bigger boy chuckled morbidly. "For sure. Twelve."
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. He had a friend even for a little and already he would have to leave them behind. Things really couldn't work out for him anywhere he was.
"Thresh was a good guy. It's a damn shame." Kakashi said softly. He could tell Thresh was the kind of friend that anyone would be lucky to have.
"I wonder how the story will end for him." Sakura said softly. Taking a glance at the book, there were still a bunch of pages they needed to go through. He wouldn't be present in them, that was for sure. The only question now was how far was the end?
He grasped Naruto's hand with the force of a vice and shook solidly.
"Naruto." Thresh said his friend's name with a small smile
"Thresh." Naruto replied before both broke the handshake and turned back to the cave.
The moment was left behind them. Pushed aside in their tumultuous minds as they focused on preparing for the battle that was to come today. Back inside, Katniss had just woken up and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She shot a questioning look at her partner but relaxed more at the reassuring smile he sent her way. Already the two were coming to rely on one another heavily and understand each other easily.
"We need to get around if we want to set up in a good spot to jump on the careers at the cornucopia." Naruto said.
The other two had no arguments with that and quickly got to work readying for the day. With their bellies as full as they could be all things considered and their weapons cleaned up and readied for a fight they trailed through the traps toward the center of the arena.
"Any chance that this could be where everything ends?" Hinata asked.
Haymitch shook his head. "Not by a long shot."
"Cato won't go down easily. Plus, I think he'll want to kill Naruto himself." Katniss replied.
The others agreed. The capitol would definitely want to see a rematch and try to make it happen.
Once they arrived at the tree line with the cornucopia in sight, the arena was just beginning to light up as the faux sun climbed over the horizon. As more and more light spread across the landscape and chased away the shadows the three tributes settled in to ambush the careers when and if they arrived.
That ended up being a long wait. Hours even. It was hardest on Thresh. He wasn't used to the patience needed with hunting that Naruto and Katniss had long since gotten used to. He repeatedly shifted before glancing at the calm and rather intense pair from district twelve and forcing himself to calm down once again.
Naruto and Katniss kept sweeping their eyes along the tree lines hoping for any kind of indication as to where their opponents might be at. The careers weren't considered a big threat just for their skill at killing though. They were trained from childhood for this sort of thing and when it came to facing their competition could be incredibly patient and cunning.
Eventually though something did catch their attention. Katniss drew back her bowstring ready to eliminate a career tribute only to pause.
It wasn't one of the career pack. Instead it was the District Seven girl. The same Katniss had run into on the first day.
"I already forgot about her to be honest." Naruto said with a frown. The morbid part of his mind recalled Sasuke's words 'fuck them kids' but quickly shook them out his mind. He wasn't like his troubled friend.
Katniss wondered if this would be where she got her next kill. She was now fully set on surviving so killing someone would be easy enough, and that frightened her. Would this be what she was like after the games ended?
In a blur of bright red hair the girl bolted forward toward the tables and snatched up the bag with her number on it. One filled with food, water, a coat, and of course her weapon. A thin blade that looked to be razor sharp and just long enough to pierce through someone if it was rammed into their chest.
No one but the redhead moved as the rest of the competitors watched her continue on from their hiding spots. At least until she neared the treeline again.
Suddenly an irritated Clove materialized from the tree line and let loose a dagger toward the running girl's back. Or rather she had intended to. The arrow notching a tiny gash in her cheek as it barely missed her face stopped her mid motion. A millimeter forward and she would have at the least lost her eyes if not her life.
She dove back into the trees for a second before she and the rest of the career pack plus their fodder addition of the boy from district six came charging across the open field in haphazard and random paths to avoid Katniss' marksmanship.
"Let's go Katniss!" Naruto cheered.
The woman wasn't playing around. She saw an opportunity and she took it.
"Nice shooting all things considered." Haymitch said. "Still, that might have given your position away."
"But we also know where they're hiding. The fight is going to start soon." Naruto finished.
It wasn't perfect at that, unfortunately for them. The District Six boy screamed as an arrow planted itself on his left bicep. Sadly her other two shots, aimed for Clove and Cato went wide as the careers changed direction suddenly.
It took hardly any time at all for the group to cross the clearing with the cornucopia. Deciding he'd rather meet the careers with a charge of his own, Thresh charges forward soon followed by Naruto and even Katniss as she purposefully lagged behind to try and catch an opening to shoot one of their enemies.
Thresh and Cato, being the largest and oldest two in the games from the beginning, clashed sickle against sword. It was exactly the kind of fight that the people of the capitol wanted to see. Warriors. Gladiators. Boys trying to murder one another with all the power and strength someone newly in their prime could wield against one another.
Marvel attempted to attack Thresh while his back was turned away from him but Naruto caught the shaft of the District One fighter's spear in his hand before planting his boot squarely in the other boy's chest and forcing him back.
"Come on Naruto. You got this." Kakashi encouraged. "Set Katniss up for a money shot."
Clove looked briefly torn between helping Cato or charging on after Katniss but as she caught sight of the other girl knocking another arrow she made her choice and opened up her own engagement with a knife narrowly missed Katniss' head and instead took a few strands of her hair.
Three distinct fights began to form. Naruto was more than a match for Marvel but the mix of the spear's reach and the boy from district six supporting him kept Naruto on the defensive. Thresh and Cato were both powerful and deadly however, while Thresh was larger, stronger, and even faster than Cato, the career tribute had been trained for this and kept the boy from district eleven on the back foot as well.
Katniss and Clove found themselves both out of their element. Neither was exactly large and powerful and both preferred range to close up fighting, but the rough hand to hand they had engaged was a display in violence most rarely seen even in the games. Both fought dirty, kicking dirt, aiming for eyes, everything they could to gain the advantage. Something that sadly Clove was steadily managing to do.
"Don't count Katniss out." Tsunade muttered. She'd proven to be one to look out for and if Clove got confident, she would die.
The people of twelve were nothing if not cunning though. Suddenly changing her tactics, Katniss fell backward and lashed out with her foot to plant an incredibly painful kick between Clove's legs not only buying herself a chance to gain some space and time to knock an arrow once again but also to drop Clove to her knees.
As Katniss drew her arrow back though she caught sight of another change in the fighting. Naruto had pushed past the spear held by Marvel and driven his knife hilt deep into the other boy's throat. Before Marvel to the ground though, the boy from Six drove his own spear into Naruto's thigh causing him to cry out in pain and fall alongside the quickly dying Marvel.
"Fuck!" Naruto yelled desperately. Things weren't looking good for him at the moment. "Come on, that's nothing. You've been through worse."
Sakura wanted to tell him that he didn't know that for sure but didn't want to ruin his immersion. She too was worried, but knowing Naruto, his luck would get him out of it. It always did.
Seeing the other boy about to finish off her partner Katniss changed targets and shot him through the eye. He jerked and froze as if time had briefly stopped.
Katniss didn't get a chance to watch him collapse to the ground a second later because Clove had regained herself enough to launch another attack at her. She tackled Katniss to the ground and tightly gripped the archer's throat to strangle her. Katniss tried to fight back but at a terrifying speed her body became weaker and her vision began to dim. Just as she felt certain she would die she felt not only Clove's grip loosen but the girl be forced off of her entirely when Thresh booted her across the side of the face and sent her sprawling with a mouthful of blood and some broken teeth.
Thresh wasn't built for long periods of fighting though and Katniss could see that Cato had purposefully been letting the bigger boy tire himself out hoping to overwhelm a tired opponent.
The loss of two of his group had changed things though. Despite his injury, Naruto had struggled back to his feet and was inbound, Thresh was exhausted but still more than ready for a fight and while Katniss's Bow had been knocked away he doubted he could kill her before the two boys got him.
"I told you. Never gives up." Tsunade cheered. Even she was completely immersed in the action. It wasn't the usual battles she was used to, but the images that would sometimes appear in the air for them to see really painted a vivid picture.
"Clove get back to camp!" He barked before sprinting toward the table and grabbing the bags for himself, his partner, as well as their two dead comrades. He wanted badly to take the rest but he simply couldn't carry all of it.
Clove and Cato both crashed back through the treeline while the exhausted and injured outer district tributes let them go. All to lick their wounds and catch their breaths. Naruto collapsed down beside the gasping and coughing Katniss and began working to try and plug the wound in his thigh. It wasn't as deep as it normally would have been. Thanks mostly to the fact that Naruto's attacker had previously been wounded by Katniss and couldn't put too much force behind the strike.
It was still a spear wound to the leg though and if it was ignored Naruto was sure he'd suffer for it. As she managed to regain her breath, Katniss quickly set about helping him to stop the bleeding and bandage it as best that they could with their supplies. All while Thresh caught his breath and watched.
He eyed the two he had worked with up to this point with. They were extremely vulnerable right now. Naruto had set his knife down while he applied pressure while Katniss had still yet to collect any of her gear while she worked on her partner's leg.
"Oh no." Hinata gulped. "This is bad."
"It is. They could get killed right now. Wouldn't even get a chance to fight back." Jiraiya commented. If he was in that position, he would simply use his hair as an attack but these kids didn't have that option. Katniss' bow was out of range and Naruto was almost out of commission.
Thresh could kill the both of them without much trouble. A quick violent burst of action and they would be dead and he would be that much closer to going home.
Naruto jerked slightly toward his knife when the sickle thumped into the grass beside him. He stared at it for a moment before looking at Thresh.
"We can't be allies anymore. From this point on we'll just betray one another. Looks like they sent me a better blade than that sickle to use. I'll grab my rewards and leave. Good luck to both of you." He said simply before receiving a sober nod from the blond in return.
Thresh walked away after that. Katniss eyed him as he went. Soon she shook her head and got back to work on her fellow Tribute's injury. Once it was patched up as best as she could manage in their current situation she helped Naruto to stand and gathered up their gear.
The two collected their rewards and made their way back to their cave. Naruto limping painfully while struggling to not put too much weight on his leg as they went. They were incredibly vulnerable at the moment but thankfully after the fight at the cornucopia it seemed like the two careers were licking their own wounds and organizing for what would most likely be their final showdown.
"Haymitch. I need a care package or something man. I can't fight Cato like this." Naruto pleaded.
The man looked worried. His tributes were in trouble. They were down to five or so tributes, including Naruto and Katniss. Thresh was one of the few in decent shape, but Cato couldn't be counted out. Hopefully he could manipulate things to get Naruto some help.
The thought of such a confrontation filled Naruto with no small amount of dread though. They might have hoped to level the field today but even with the district one and six tributes eliminated the two remaining careers now had the lion's share of remaining resources, weapons, and armor.
Nothing in the Hunger games can be easy after all.
Capitol Broadcasting Center
"What can I say besides…Wow!" Caesar cried out.
Claudius nodded along with an unnaturally stiff smile.
"You all saw it with me folks, was that a day or what? Down by another two valiant tributes and what a show they gave us, huh?" Caesar said as the two most recently killed tributes appeared on the screen.
"I am really curious to see how the finale of this year's games will turn out." Claudius commented.
"So am I. We have two full districts from opposite ends of the country left to square off though our rough and tumble district twelve tributes, Naruto has really started to collect some painful injuries that will slow him down." Caesar pointed out.
"He'll be alright." Jiraiya said confidently.
"He has to be." Katniss replied. "He's a survivor, he's made it this far and I'll do whatever I can to take him home with me."
She knew she had messed up once again as the grins were pointed her way. She would really need to think her sentences through before saying them.
"If you need help on how to approach him, just let me know." Sakura whispered over to her.
"Not to mention the careers that seem like their natural adversaries have just gotten quite the haul from the Feast. Weapons, armor, food, and medicine that they have already started to implement." Claudius said as images of the advanced flexible armor was being put on by Cato and Clove while opposite them images of a limping Naruto was guided through the woods by a roughed up Katniss.
"It really will be exciting to see where this all goes from here. Although we definitely can't discount our two wildcards. Thresh may have been on the same side as Naruto and Katniss for a few days but today he made it clear he is now once more on his own and I'm sure if they meet again a fight is bound to happen. Our last contestant has simply been avoiding others and foraging a smart strategy that has kept her alive and healthy this long." Caesar broke down the remaining survivors in the arena.
"It has gotten her into the final six at the very least. I can't wait to see more."
"Agreed. Stay tuned here, Panem you beautiful viewers. Things may be winding down but that's only because they are picking up in preparation for our final climax. The Seventy Fourth Annual Hunger Games are now down to our Final Six!" Caesar cheered.
"What a way to end the chapter." Kakashi said with a tired breath. "I think we have one or two left."
"Naruto vs Cato is coming up for sure." Sakura said worriedly. "Normally it would be an even battle but now Cato has weapons and armor, and Naruto has a hole in his leg."
Naruto shook his head. He would make it out of this for sure, somehow some way.
The book disappeared and reappeared in Katniss' lap once again. This time, she didn't bother to ask if the others wanted to continue. The way they leaned forward in her direction was enough to know the answer. Even if they had said yes, she would have disregarded their choice. She needed to know how this would end in order to plan what changes would need to be made.