The Hunger Games: Mashup

Chapter Twelve

District Eleven

“Earthquake...SMASH!!!” The ground gave a tremendous rumble, and the people standing on the area of land stumbled back from the fluctuation, crying out in fear. With a wave of her tiny hands, Toph Beifong was able to level the entire field and bend the earth to her will so that neat crop rows popped up amongst the soil. She grinned at the awestruck people behind her, their mouths hanging open and flapping in the wind humorously.

“You can thank me later. If you need me for anything, I'll be in my hut,” she told them cockily, strutting off. She saw a silver haired seventeen-year-old walking towards her, a small smile on his face.

“No matter how many times you do that, I think you're always going to get that reaction,” he told her, beaming.

“Well, I'm just that amazing. Trust me,Yuki,” she told him. He chuckled, hoisting his bucket of water up on his shoulder farther.

“Are you going home now?” he asked her. She cracked her shoulder as she stretched her right arm.

“Nah...I'm going to go train. Wanna come with?” she asked him. Yuki gave her another princely smile.

“Don't mind if I do,” he told her. He started forward again.

“Just let me drop this water off with Machi and I'll come join you at the fields,” he told her cheerfully.

“I'm just going to head on ahead then,” she said, stomping away with her bare feet. Toph, little more than fourteen—was an Earthbender. In her time, that means she has the ability to control earth and manipulate it to her will. Even more than that, she has gone farther than any Earthbender has done before, and she has found a way to do metal bending, by bending metal through the earth particles within it. If anything, she should be the tribute from District 11. She had long, black hair, but she pulled it back into a large bun at the back of her head with a strangely ornate headband. She wore a green outfit with a white fabric tunic guard over it. Her feet were bare, and so were her fists. Even more than that—she was blind. She only saw with her skills as an Earthbender, by feeling the vibrations in the earth like a snake. Yet, she could punch with the strength of ten men. Most men found it hard pressed to beat her in a battle, even without her Earthbending skills. Yuki Sohma was one of the few who could, even looking like a girl. He had silver hair that shone in the sunlight. He had gray eyes that were filled with loneliness, and a smile that hid all of that within seconds. He was slender and beautiful, but don't let his elegant looks deceive you. Inside, Yuki was a warrior. Hating to lose, and always willing to fight those too stupid to challenge him, he was the only person in his district able to stand up to Toph's battles. At the moment, their score was tied to 50-50, and Toph was in favor to win today's scrimmage. Aside from being excellent fighters, the two were also close friends, hard as it was to believe it. Toph was the only child who was allowed to know Yuki's secret after his accident as a child.

“Machi?” asked Yuki, ducking into his small wood cabin. A girl sitting on the sofa looked up as he came in, and her face immediately lit up in a shy smile.

“Yuki. Welcome home,” she said. She suddenly coughed, her face turning pale. Yuki rushed to her side, checking her forehead temperature with his own.

“Well..you're temperature has gone up a bit,” he told her. She gave a stubborn frown. “I'm fine,” she told him. “I want to watch today's scrimmage,” she told him. Yuki shook his head at her.

“You can't...you're ill. Besides, if Toph gets out of control, I won't be able to protect you, and you could fall,” he told her.

“I'll be fine, Yuki! A little fall isn't going to hurt me,” she told him. He gave her a sad smile.

“Maybe not you...but the baby...” Machi paled. She hadn't meant to get pregnant. A Peacekeeper had raped her a couple months back, and she still wasn't recovered from it. She was weak. Her dark brown hair had turned a sickly shade, and her skin was paler than the moon. Her once bright and fierce eyes had dark shadows beneath them, reminders of the horrible nightmares she had. Yuki kissed her forehead reassuringly.

“I'll tell you all about it when I get back. While I'm out, if you need anything, just phone up Haruhi. She'll keep an eye on you. Us commoners have to stick together, right?” asked Yuki. She nodded at him, giving him a weak smile. Yuki's heart throbbed a bit at her weakness, but she couldn't help it. He had already killed the man who broke her spirit. Now all that was left was to heal it.

“I'll be back later, Machi. I'll bring dinner by in a couple hours,” he told her. She waved him away with forced cheerfulness. Yuki walked towards the arena, head held high, ears pricked for the slightest sound. A whoosh of wind came to his right ear's attention and he ducked just in time to avoid a boulder Toph had sent flying his way. He gave her a grin.

“You are truly a worthy opponent,” he told her, grinning in anticipation. She stood above him on the roof of his cabin, grinning at him.

“You're girlfriend wants to see the fight, so let's bring the fight to her,” she told him, grinning. “Don't worry, I'll contain myself.” She jumped down and they began to circle each other, sizing the other up. Toph gave her loud battle cry and Yuki flinched away from the noise. That's when she made her move, rushing at him with outstretched fists. Left, right, left, kick, duck, punch, punch, duck. Those are the thoughts that went through Yuki's head. He ducked Toph's fists with ease, but she blocked his with just as much grace. She was heavy on her feet, but she stopped his fists with her own, so she was just as effective. She gave him a grin.

“Getting tired yet, Dancy Dan?” she asked him, using her self-appointed nickname to taunt him. He smirked back at her.

“We'll see,” he told her. He did a flip to avoid her punches and she kicked up a rock from the ground, sending it towards him like a projectile. He jumped off of it it with ease, and it crashed back into the forest. By this time, their fight had caused enough noise that the people of the district had come around to watch. Even some of the Peacekeepers could be seen in the crowd. It was after hours, so at least the two were on their break and they weren't breaking any rules. Besides, aside from work, watching Toph and Yuki fight was their only entertainment.

If I can just get one good punch in, I can knock her out, thought Yuki, ducking down to avoid more of her rock throws. He rushed forward, his hands pointed to jab. He stabbed her her lithe body with his bare hands. She knocked aside his blows with her fists as if she was wielding clubs. She managed to graze him in the face, he retaliated by nicking her shoulder. She kneed him in the gut, he returned the favor by knocking around her right arm. She kicked him in the side, and he felt a few ribs break. He kicked her back in the leg, and by her pain gasp, she had sprained something. Suddenly, Toph made a stupid move. She swung in at his right with her left fist, leaving her open for attack. Yuki ducked past her arm and he was able to smash his elbow into her cheek. Toph gave a startled grunt and collapsed onto the ground. When she opened her eyes, Yuki stood above her, grinning victoriously.

“I win,” he told her happily. She grinned at him.

“Fine. I'll owe you one favor,” she told him. He smirked at her. She beamed back and she accepted his outstretched hand as he pulled her back up to her feet. They could hear Machi applauding Yuki's performance from inside of the house, even over the rest of the crowd that had watched him. The Peacekeepers finally came over and ordered everyone back to work. Toph brushed herself off and Yuki shook her hand in good sportsmanship.

Toph had no idea how soon she would be paying off that favor to Yuki.