~Fire Is Catching~ {Kiribaku Hunger Games AU}

The Reaping

Eijiro Kirishima's pov:

District 8 isn't as poor as people make it out to be. Yes, it is poor by Capitol, District 1, 2, and 3 standards, but not nearly as bad as Districts 10, 11, and 12. They have people being shipped out from starvation ever few hours. Whereas it is often rare that someone dies from starvation here. District 8 is the district where textiles is the main business. We provide the Capitol with all their fancy clothing items while we are sitting at home with absolutely no entertainment, just mindless manual labour. Our pay sure is stinking crap but we get by. My family is nowhere near the richest but we aren't the worst off.

My family is quite big compared to others. I had 3 brother and two sisters. Emphasis on had. My older brother was picked last year. He didn't make it.

Those selfish bastards threw him into that arena and fed him to the fighting machines that are the snobby stuck up district 1 and 2 kids. He didn't stand a fucking chance!

That's why this year, I will avenge him. I'll either get picked or I'll volunteer. Whichever one happens, I'll be sending those district 1 and 2 pricks down to hell where they belong!

I've been working my skinny ass off with my training. I can now pretty much hit any target with a spear and I'm pretty good at using swords. In the factories that I work at, we use a lot of fabric cutters and scissors so I'm handy with small blades and knives too.

Despite my weaponry abilities, I can't help but feel a little nervous about fighting for my life and my brothers. These kids in the richer districts have been working all their lives just to be picked. To them, it's all just a stupid test to prove their strength. If you win, you'll live as long as you can with whomever you win it with. And will have undoubted, absolute respect from all you may encounter.

Yes. You heard me right. Whomever you win with. Meaning there are two winners. And this time, it doesn't have to be from the same district. Whoever you win the entire thing with, you'll stay with forever. You'll live together, spend time together, and in some cases, fall in love with each other. That's what's happened more often than not.

As I'm volunteering anyway, I may as well come up with a strategy with finding a suitable ally to win by my side...

It's harder than it sounds.

People stab each other's backs in there. People turn on each other and fight until one remains. But that shouldn't be the case. There always has to be two winners.

Anyway, enough about my backstory and what's changed in the pay few years, time to talk about the event that everyone has been talking about. The event that has the gossipers in full bloom. The event that has the buzz on the street put bees to shame.

The Reaping.

Every year, 24 participants, 2 from each district, get sent to the Capitol where they're out through series' of dress-up, interviews, and chariot riding. All while acting as though you're memorable when you're not. One must have either a sob story or a vicious backstory that causes the Capitol citizens reaching for their wallets.

Come up with a tragic enough story, and you could be looking at three or four sponsorships in the games. And that's a huge advantage.

And so I worked to create the perfect tale that I would explain to the interviewer, the one who overtook Caesar Flickerman, and hopefully win the hearts of the local citizens and my future partner.

After days of checking spellings, grammar, and any loopholes, I finally had the outline to memorise for my heart-shattering fib.

And here it was: