Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Training, District 8

Naoki pinpointed the District 9 tributes the second he and Kyoko entered the training room. They were huddled off in a corner, trying to figure out what to do. Smiling sadly, Naoki hurried to their sides, kneeling nearby. They jumped, hugging each other closer.

"It's okay," Naoki soothed. "It's alright, little ones. I'm not here to hurt you. I was actually hoping you would let me help keep you safe."

The girl looked unconvinced. "...W-why would you want to help us?"

"How old are you?" Naoki asked curiously. "I'm eighteen."

"...Fourteen," the girl replied warily. "Mado is fifteen."

"That's what I feared," Naoki murmured. "The idea of allowing children to run around on their own in this place doesn't sit right with me. You two shouldn't be here."

The girl's eyes softened. She nodded. "...I-I'm...Oni. This is Madoka."

The boy nodded beside her.

"I'm Naoki," Naoki replied. "I'll keep you two safe, I promise. Do you know where you want to go study today?"

"Um..." Oni shrugged. "I-I don't know. Where can we go?"

Naoki surveyed the room, curious about the same thing, admittedly. "...Why don't we try the obstacle course?" he suggested. "We can at least get some experience moving quickly through the arena. Maybe tomorrow the survival stations will be open."

"Okay!" Oni agreed. "Let's go! I'm super fast!"

"I-I'm really small?" Madoka tried.

Naoki chuckled, ruffling his hair. "That's good. That'll be helpful. Let's go!"

"Yeah!" Oni cheered.

Together, the trio moved to the obstacle course. Naoki went first to demonstrate some of the techniques, admittedly surprised by how efficient he was considering his height; he was fairly certain he was the tallest tribute here, closely followed by the District 12 boy and the District 3 boy. Perhaps he would be effective at keeping the kids safe after all.

This was supported by Oni's strong time through the course, and Madoka's increasingly better times as he tried the course a few times in a row. They would be okay.

If only he could find a few more adults to help.

The next day, Naoki noticed Oni and Madoka were now being tended to by the District 11 tributes. Assuming they would let their new friends know he was already in their alliance, he looked around for any other kids who may need help.

The boy from District 5...he had a young face. Naoki thought he remembered hearing he was shockingly young despite his height.

Only one way to find out!

Humming, Naoki tracked down the District 5 boy at knives, where he had begun carving the dummy into an effigy of the trainer for some reason. "Hello, friend! Do you mind company?"

The District 5 boy blinked at him, then shook his head. "No, I do not mind."

"Wonderful! My name is Naoki." Naoki went to collect a second knife to see if he could improve his skills with one. "What's yours?"

"My name is Balthazar Bartholomew Bassett, and I am thirteen years old," the boy announced.

Thirteen... Naoki knew what he had to do. "What do you say about joining my alliance where I do my best to protect a horde of children?"

Balthazar cocked his head. "...Allies are good, I think."

"Hooray, new friends!" Naoki cheered. "Don't worry. Madoka and Oni are on board as well, so you won't be surrounded by adults. Are you good with a knife?"

"My father is better, but I am capable of using one," Balthazar replied. Something about this casual statement combined with his blank expression and monotone voice was a bit worrying, admittedly.

There would be time to dwell on that later. "Could you practice with me? I know a few things myself, but I want to make sure I know enough to protect you properly."

Balthazar nodded. "Okay."

The second day of training was another success. Surely Naoki's other new friends would be okay with adding another child to their gaggle of babies.

They would figure this out. They had to.

For the final day, Naoki noticed that the District 11 tributes and the District 1 boy had taken command of his alliance of infants. Assuming they would be caught up by the kids and noticing they seemed to have things under control, Naoki decided to spend his time wandering around between survival and weapons training to gather as much skill as he could. He couldn't count on the others to know what they were doing. If he wanted to protect the younger tributes, he had to be strong enough to protect himself first.

In this manner, training came to an end.