Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Day 2 Part 2

Aoi tossed her backpack haphazardly into the mud, collapsing to a sit. Exhausted, she beckoned for Oni to sit next to her, leaning into the trunk of a tree. Posture meek, Oni obeyed, dragging Madoka beside her.

Cerys and Naoki sat on either end of Balthazar across from her. Their little alliance had spent all night trying to find a suitable place to camp, but they had come up empty; the river was too exposed, the cliffs were taken, the jungle was too dangerous...they would have to settle for something if they wanted to let their kids get any rest.

"...Okay," Aoi began, "I think we should set up some ground rules. Now that...now that Otoshi is gone, we're low in the physical strength department. Naoki, any special skills?"

Naoki perked up. "I know how to give stitches!" he offered. "I first learned with my mutter's sewing needle and thread. ...It was extraordinarily painful, but effective at keeping wounds closed!"

"That is...hugely useful," Aoi said, sitting up slightly. "Okay, that's good! We just need to try to get needle and thread from our Mentors. Both of mine are childhood friends, so they're likely to send me something if I make it clear I want it."

"Mine is a childhood friend too," Cerys said. "I'm sure she'll send me whatever we need. A-although she is still mad at me for telling everyone I had an alliance of children..."

"That was a brilliant idea," Aoi insisted. "You probably earned us more sponsors than anyone else. Let's hope your Mentor can keep up with our demands. ...Right. I don't want any infighting here. I know the Games...only take one Victor, but I would rather not think about that until we have to. Right now, our goal is to protect these kids at all costs. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Naoki and Cerys replied at the same time.

"And I think it'll be a good idea for each of us to pick one of these youngsters to keep an eye on," Aoi continued, turning to smile warmly at Oni. "If one of us is in charge of one kid while on general outings, we don't have to divide our attention as much. So if we're running from a threat and we get separated, we always know at least one of us is with them. Sound good?"

"That...makes a lot of sense," Cerys agreed. "In that case, I can watch Madoka...?"

"I'll watch Balthie," Naoki decided, patting Balthazar's shoulder. Balthazar attempted a smile; he seemed to be getting closer with time, but it was clear he still didn't fully understand emoting.

"And I'll stick with Oni. Perfect." Aoi sighed in relief, leaning back into her tree trunk. "...I know we've run you guys ragged a bit. I'm sorry about that. Let's rest here for now and maybe go out hunting if we need to. We can worry about where to settle later."

"I think this spot is fine for now," Naoki admitted. "I haven't seen any mutts around. Which is odd considering jungles are usually densely populated by animal life..."

"I'm sure they're saving the mutts for a big surprise later," Aoi said. "Don't let your guard down. Never, ever let your guard down."

"Are you our leader?" Cerys asked suddenly. "I have no issues with that. I just figure we should make sure we establish which of us is in charge in case of fighting later."

Naoki shrugged. "I can agree to that. You seem to know what you're talking about."

"I am a bit of a genius," Aoi said, smiling proudly. "Kids? Are you okay if I'm in charge?"

Oni nodded. "I trust you, demon captain!"

Madoka nodded as well, peeking around Oni's frame to smile nervously at Aoi. "I-I think you're doing a-a good j-job..."