Hey everyone, another surprise fic coming out here. Didn't expect to be writing this to be honest, but I was prompted by Scoopball98 to write it and with help along the way mainly by him, TheChamp123, and Kiege but a few others as well.

This was also beta'd by LuckyBastard6969 so big thanks there.

Last note is to check out AizenTheGoat's discord server. Always something happening there. /BAZzmaQF

Anyway, please enjoy and review.

Chapter One

District Twelve

District Twelve was always miserable at this time of year. Snow collected here and there, while most of the world seemed to have turned to a mix of icy mud. Everywhere one might look the aged buildings of the region seemed to sag in disrepair. All except one. The Justice building with its cold grey stone walls and intimidating design loomed over the tired old town that made up the hub of the district.

Naruto hated that building. More so, he hated the poles that rested opposite of it in the town square. They towered over him during the day, and mocked him in his dreams in the cold and listless nights. It was the destination for those who broke the laws of Panem, the 'unruly lawbreakers', who endangered the 'peace and stability of the district'

Turning away, the blond teen began making his way down the crowded and dingy roads, eventually leading him into the woods. He found the silence of the woods to be far better company than the citizens of District Twelve. The defeated and hopeless aura they all seemed to possess drove him mad and he couldn't bear to interact with them for too long before he needed to return to the serene forest to decompress.

As he came closer to the barrier fence that trapped the residents of the district within, like prisoners, he glanced back and forth down the length of wire to ensure no one else was around before slipping through the same weak spot he'd been using for the last few weeks.

The forest was as calm as it usually was. Birds chirping in the trees, a few mocking-jays mimicking the tunes he and some other poachers had whistled to them. Unlike most who hid their gear inside the woods to hide them from the peacekeepers, Naruto had taken to hiding his knives on his person. It might have been more paranoia, but he dreaded being caught in a fight without them. District Twelve was akin to a dog-eat-dog world, and he intended to be the top dog should the situation ever arise.

Soon coming by a trail he knew by heart more than anything, he plucked along, looking for the traps he had set out over the last few days. The Game had grown scarce as it was during winters. Sometimes the best he could catch was a squirrel, but thanks to his traps, his haul was usually the best of those that hunted the woods past the wire. This allowed him to make a bit of extra money since he rarely needed all the prey he caught.

Today seemed to be another slim picking. A single rabbit and three undersized squirrels. He hoped his traps in a nearby stream would have seen more success. Huffing at the poor haul so far, he made his way down the incline toward his spot where he stopped for a moment. He saw another figure nearby in a small clearing.

Deciding to see who had joined him on this cold January morning, Naruto crept along through the brush before stopping and watched as a familiar girl seemed to have been practicing, at fighting the air. His lips quirked up slightly as he watched on. He recognized some of the movements she attempted. They were poor copies of something he had used to put a pair of bullies in their place a week before, at the school back in town. He hadn't taken kindly to someone trying to shake him down, especially by kids from the wealthier merchant section of the district.

Stepping out, Naruto nearly laughed when Katniss was startled and nearly slipped when she spun around to see who it was. They were around the same age but Katniss came just under his nose in height. Align with that, their appearances couldn't contrast more. Naruto had once been among the Merchant section himself and like the majority, he too has blond hair and blue eyes. Though his shade of blond was darker than most others, and his skin a bit more tanned to the pale complexion of many from that part of the district.

Katniss fit the appearance of most folks from the seam well. Dark hair with matching olive skin and grey eyes, the two looked different indeed but beyond their appearances, they had more in common than most would take the time to notice, including the two of them.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Katniss asked once she regained herself. She clearly wasn't pleased with being seen doing what she had been. Especially by him, being as he was the one she had been copying.

"Well, a guy has to eat." Naruto said bluntly, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Well then go off you go to your little traps, I haven't bothered them." The girl said as she pretended to look for something in her pack while hoping he would leave.

"If that's how you want it to be fine. Good luck on your...training." Naruto said with sarcasm.

He yelped while lifting his arm to shield his face from the rocks hurled at him by the girl. It stung as his forearm took the blow, but it was better than getting hit in the head. Though the rocks wouldn't likely even leave a bruise. However, it was definitely a sign that Katniss' patience was reaching an end.

"Go on to your traps." Katniss said as she turned back, to go back to her practise. Naruto watched for a moment as she began doing the same as she had before, but this time ignoring his presence.

Deciding to grant her wish, Naruto shrugged and turned to move away.

"You know if you really want to fight like that, try widening your feet, you need balance." Naruto said over his shoulder as he left.

Katniss scoffed but once she was sure he was gone she did just as he had suggested and noticed the difference immediately.

Continuing on to his fish traps, he thought back on Katniss a little. The girl was one of the few people he got along with. She was kind, and that was rare in District Twelve. Everyone minded their own business and would watch a man bleed to death rather than taking any action to help. He hated that. Hated how the whole district seemed to care only for themselves. He didn't fully blame them though. They hadn't put themselves into this poverty. No-one wished to die of starvation. They were just all doing their best to survive.

The fact that the Hall of Justice and the Peacekeeper's barracks were in such better shape than all the other buildings in the district, excluding only the victor's village, seemed to mock the residents of District Twelve. It didn't stop there, the residents of District Twelve, even those from the merchant section were never fat, at most they might have a strong and healthy appearance but most were small, hungry looking mousey people. The peacekeepers casted a long shadow over them and some even sported a gut from over-indulging. He couldn't despise them enough.

It wasn't long after that that Naruto was on his way back into town. The old Hob was effectively the black market for anything you might need or want in district twelve. Old radios, coat buttons, jewelry, or just a bit more food than you could normally afford. Naruto ate more than his share normally, he took the time and effort to hunt after all. However most, even when he had slim selection like today, ended up sold here. The only issue was business in the Hob rarely dealt using cash. Instead it was almost all bartering. So after bartering for a few things he needed, he set out to head to his final destination for the day. He bought a new whetstone for his knives, a new-used pair of boots, and a set of needles and some thread and patches for his clothes. Mundane things they may be but they were still essential.

Every year, the Capitol randomly selected one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death in memory of a war the Capitol won against each of it's twelve districts. On July fourth every year, the candidates, all boys and girls between ages twelve and eighteen, would be lined up on that same square he hated so much in front of the Hall of Justice and two would be randomly selected to participate in the game.

It was a terrible thing. Some districts treated it more like an honor but twelve always handled the event with passing. Despite that, for the months prior to the 'Reaping' as it was called, the candidates for tribute had to register their name at least once to be in the running. Since he was fourteen, Naruto had repeatedly placed his name the maximum number of times possible. The money wasn't a huge amount either way, but what did he have waiting for him here anyway? He was different from the rest of his district's candidates. If they added their names, they did so with a heavy heart and terror in their veins. Naruto had already committed himself to volunteer when he was eighteen even if he hadn't been selected yet.

While most of the district saw the games as nothing more than a death sentence, Naruto knew it was also the greatest stage in the country. Whoever was on it, could be heard in every corner of the nation.

After registering, something that was as simple as filling a small form out and having his blood taken, Naruto started making his way home. Trying to ignore the sight of hungry children and wilting houses. He instead focused on the dumb look the organizers had given him at the registry. A relatively new clerk had been a little worried seeing the number of times his name had been in the jar. It almost looked like she wanted to try and discourage him before glancing at the nearby peacekeepers and Capital agents leading the registration. She clammed up after that and ushered him through the process without a second thought.

Coming back to his house, Naruto found it really hard to not sigh at how the people of his home were focused on them and them alone. Stepping into the cold, empty building he went about his normal routine of preparing dinner. A watery thin soup much less than the stew he was aiming for. Bits of leftover squirrel from his meal the day before and some mushrooms and a wild carrot he'd been saving for a stew like this one.

By the time he had finished eating it had grown dark. After cleaning up and changing into some warm sleeping clothes he climbed the creaking stairs to his bedroom. Before dropping into bed for the night he stopped by the pair of framed photos hanging in the hall. He whispered a quiet goodnight before slipping under his blankets to weather the cold January night.

The last six months since registering for the Reaping, Naruto had stretched his cash as far as he could. In the end even the amount he got from putting his name in for fifty chances to be drawn in the jar was not enough to carry him to the next Reaping. That being said he had used the last of the money to pick up a worn leather jacket from the hob. It was light enough that it didn't smother him now that summer had come and still broke the chilly evening wind that swept through the mountains of district twelve.

It was perfect for Naruto lately. He had been staying up late for the last two weeks after noticing an interesting series of events. A specific man, one Naruto knew of very well, had started to stay later and later at the bar down the street from the Hall of Justice, before slowly stumbling his way back to the barracks to sleep. Evidently he had always been a bit of a heavy drinker but over the years he had grown worse and worse Now-a-days not even his fellow peacekeepers helped him home from his nightly visits to the bar.

Naruto was happy to step in for the job tonight.

As the off duty peacekeeper sergeant with a growing beer gut bumped into his third wall, Naruto pushed off the building he'd been leaning against and cut across the road with his best, yet still lacking, fake smile plastered on his face.

Just as the man pitched forward to fall, Naruto caught him around the shoulders and helped him back upright.

"Wha-Who the hell are you?" The man growled as he leaned heavily on Naruto.

Naruto flinched at the smell of the alcohol wafting off the man's breath. With a struggle, he then readjusted their arms in order to support his footing..

"Don't worry about it, you need some help to walk the rest of the way." Naruto said through clenched teeth, barely holding the false smile.

The man hummed at that but didn't fight him as Naruto practically dragged him down the alley and straight toward the gap in the barrier fence. He was pleased that no-one seemed to be out the night before the Reaping. It wouldn't look good for him to be dragging a peacekeeper through the streets. Especially not this one. People knew this man. They knew the sergeant was heavy handed and a drunkard. They also knew he had blood on his hands. Naruto's blood.

They continued to walk, miraculously coming to the gap without others noticing them. The struggle of getting the man through the fence was annoying but manageable as the fool actually helped him hold the wire.

"Where the hell are you taking me by the way?" The man slurred. More drunk than Naruto had ever seen a man still capable of some form of speech.

"Just a shortcut." Naruto replied.

"Shortcut my ass. Who did you say you were again?" The sergeant said in confusion.

Naruto's lack of answer as the two continued finally set the alarm bells off in the man's head.

"I said, I wanna know your name dammit." The peacekeeper growled as he fumbled while shoving Naruto away.

Naruto grappled with him briefly but the man managed to pull away fully and fell onto the muddy path. Grabbing at his baton to give himself an advantage he couldn't get a hand up to stop the boot smashing into him from his still standing, and sober, attacker.

"You little fuck!" The sergeant cried out. "You'll be dead tomorrow for this! I'll make sure of it!"

The man's words stopped as the bottom of Naruto's boot impacted his face, crushing his nose and pressing him into the dirt.

"Oh yeah? You don't even know who the fuck I am, there peacekeeper." Naruto mocked as he ground his foot down into the man's face. He had stopped trying to free his baton by this point and clawed at the foot pressing down on his face.

Naruto lifted his foot off the man's face and yanked him off the ground by his collar. The pristine white of the sergeant's uniform was ruined and his face was a mess of mud and blood.

"You really don't know me, do you?" Naruto hissed in anger at the man.

The man didn't answer, his head still lolling to the side as his vision no doubt swam from a mix of alcohol and the beating he was receiving.

"You piece of shit!" Naruto snapped while shaking the man roughly. "You really don't remember?! Four years ago?! The foreman and his wife!?"

Regaining a bit of himself the sergeant blinked away the tears in his eyes and got a good look at the person holding him up. Spitting up blood as he opened his mouth. He glared at Naruto as his eyes sharpened just slightly.

"Yeah I remember. Bastard who didn't know his place and his stupid bitch that got in the way." He sneered.

Naruto trembled at that and his eyes darkened with rage. He would make this bastard pay. Pay for talking about them like that, and pay for what he had done to them.

Before he could though the man slammed his face forward catching Naruto's cheek with the jagged edge of his nose. The teen stumbled backward while the peacekeeper broke free of his grip and tried to maintain his balance.

From this point on things seemed to happen at a speed Naruto couldn't even register. He felt himself pull the knife from his belt and tackle the teetering man. They rolled for just a moment before Naruto had him pinned under his knees. Lashing out over and over as fast as he could, the boy drove his knife into the man's side.

The peacekeeper cried out and grunted from the pain with each blow, as he tried to push Naruto off of him desperately. He was aging, drunk, and Naruto was filled with years of hatred for this man. For everything he had done, represented, stood for. He despised him with every bit of his being and that drove his knife harder and faster into the man's chest.

Soon cries for help and grunts of pain became soft whimpers and throaty gurgling sound. His hands patted lightly at Naruto's sides before falling limp on the mud. Breathing heavily from the brief but violent struggle Naruto slid backwards off his victim and looked down at the man. He was dying quickly but Naruto could see his eyes locked onto his killer's face.

"Make sure you memorize me. I'm Naruto Namikaze and you killed my folks. You take that with you wherever you end up." Naruto said before awkwardly climbing to his feet and turning to leave.

He stopped for a moment before turning back to the now dead man and spitting down on the corpse. Heading back the way he came he hoped to make a beeline for his home before thinking better of it and making for one of the larger streams he knew of.

Once there he did his best to wash the blood off himself. He felt detached, as if watching his body on autopilot scrub at his own hands and wiping off the blood on his jacket. He was a bit surprised he wasn't crying or really upset at what happened. He thought he was supposed to feel like a terrible person, but all he felt was like a small weight had been lifted off his back. That and exhaustion.

Deeming it enough to slip by anyone who might see him on his way home, Naruto headed back to his house. Like earlier he found no one on the roads and few lights switched on in the buildings he passed by. He idly wondered if stopping by the stream had been a waste of time before chalking it up to being better safe than sorry.

Once at home, things seemed almost like any other night. He washed up, made some dinner, and set about getting ready for bed. He made especially sure he was clean of any blood and even tossed his shirt he had worn under his jacket into the wood stove used to heat his house rather than trying to scrub the red out of the white.

Tonight as he passed the pair of photos he stopped like he usually did. A small smile slipped onto his face as he looked at them. His mother and father smiling back at him. He hadn't cried at all when he had killed the sergeant in the woods. Now though the tears slid down his face without resistance.

"Rest well, both of you." He said quietly before wiping his eyes and sliding into bed.

Naruto woke early the next morning. It was going to be a busy day. He needed to head out to the woods and dispose of the peacekeeper's corpse before someone found him. He knew a few places no-one would find the body, but the trick was getting there before people went searching.

Gathering up his usual hunting gear he bounded out of the house. Calling a goodbye out to the portraits on the wall as he went. He made quick time down the road to the fence. Already some folks were beginning to come out for the event of the day. The square was filled with crews putting the finishing touches on the Reaping ceremony's preparations. He saw the tables for check in, the large scaffolds for the camera and lighting crews, and the massive screen for the typical film sent by the Capital to remind them all of what it claimed the games were about.

Slipping out of town and past the fence Naruto was doubly sure no-one was around today. Tracking down the muddy deer paths of the woods, he eventually found what he was searching for. The scene was far different than he recalled from last night. The expression on the dead man's face seemed bland and his skin had turned pale.. The previously blood stained ground had already dried and it looked like some beast had gouged his innards after Naruto had left.

Naruto didn't look at the body for long before grabbing the man's wrists and dragging him through the brush toward a spot he knew to get rid of him. He hoped no-one would come looking for the sergeant in this area. The trail showing where he dragged the corpse would be clear to anyone who frequented the woods and he didn't like the idea of what might happen to him should someone begin investigating the sergeant's disappearance in a place many of the district's citizens knew he often hunted in.

"You fat bastard." Naruto grunted as he hoisted the body over the incline of rocks that blocked his path.

It took a while but finally he hauled the body of the man up to the ledge of a ravine. The deepest in the area, and one filled more than halfway up with water in the driest part of the year. Pulling some loose large rocks over and the spare rope he kept with his hunter's kit, Naruto tied the body to the stones before giving it a good shove over the side, into the water below. He looked over to see nothing but the water return to it's placid state, hiding the secrets held under its depths. A smirk spread onto his face at the sight.

"Good riddance." He grumbled before turning and heading back. He didn't have a lot of time to check his traps before he would need to head back to town. He hoped to trade some at the Hob before heading home to get ready for this years' Reaping.

He picked his way back through the woods before ducking into the brush at the sound of voices. He held his breath while thoughts of being found out ran through his mind. Imagining the punishments he might suffer. Death was the kindest of them. The one he feared most of all would be to be an Avox and living as a mute slave for the rest of his days.

Thankfully, Naruto soon noticed the voices were a bit too young and familiar. Deciding to risk a glance he saw Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne. That was a relief. Both were here roughly as often as he was, and probably had been in the area of this clearing for a while, judging by how they were sitting and chatting about the day's coming event.

He was about to slip away and avoid any sort of interaction with them when one of the peacekeeper hovercraft flew slowly over the treetops, headed toward town. Katniss and Gale bolted for the treeline, nearly stumbling over Naruto who ignored their surprised looks at seeing him as he ran back on his own path into town.

He had planned to check the rest of his traps and visit the Hob but he'd rather play it safe for the moment. Bumping into his fellow hunters and the low flying hovercraft had felt like two close calls. He'd rather not risk the third time being the charm for catching him.

It didn't take long to get home, others were starting to fill the town, especially the peacekeepers, they seemed more on edge than usual and he had an idea why. Despite that, he did his best to act natural and head home to change into a nicer set of clothes, before throwing on his jacket and heading to the square with everyone else.

By now the roads were filled with traffic. Dirt covered miners heading to work, mothers escorting frightened children to the center of town to likely watch their elder siblings and pray they were passed over, and those same elder children, slowly marching as if heading to a funeral.

Naruto stood out among his peers. Being neither husky like most of the merchant kids, or thin like most of the kids from the seam, he stuck out even more with his black jacket and swollen cheek. Others gave him some space, more than they did the others and he didn't complain as he filed along with them to check in.

All it took was a pin prick and a pressing on paper, and lo, he was standing among hundreds of other kids waiting for the usual fanfare from the capital to begin. Those around him seemed to shrink in on themselves while waiting for the Reaping, several of the younger kids had tears in their eyes and everyone, like usual, were completely focused on themselves and what might happen to them.

Unlike those around him, Naruto stood proud. A mark of black and blond with cold blue eyes among a sea of drab grays and beiges. Naruto glared up at the podium as several politicians for the district took their seats on the stage behind the gleaming mic stand.

Finally the event began. A thin woman that was obviously from the capital took the stage popping the microphone with her hand and grinning widely behind purple painted lips. She stood out terribly here in district twelve with her bright purple designer dress and expensive hairdo. The joyous look she held made it even worse. To her and no doubt her fellow capital citizens, today was a celebration.

"Welcome, Welcome! Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor." Her voice boomed over the mic while she looked out over the somber crowd.

"Now before we begin, we have a very special film to watch. One that was brought to you all the way from the capital!" She continued before waving at the large screen to one side of the stage.

As the film started, Naruto rolled his eyes in annoyance. He had seen and heard the thing plenty of times already. It would begin with images of the war between the capital and rebellious districts, then continue to talk about how they had nearly brought themselves to annihilation for 'daring' to stand against the capital in open rebellion. It then spoke about the defeat of the traitors and that as a reminder to keep such terrible acts from occurring ever again, that it was decreed that each of the districts would surrender one male and one female as tributes every year to fight to death in the hunger games. It even said that the fighting was a pageant of 'honor, courage, and sacrifice.' and that the victor would be 'bathed in riches and glory' for them to remember the capital's 'forgiveness and mercy.'

Naruto couldn't help but scoff. It was a load of bullshit, but he knew it was effective for what was intended. As with everything involving the capital, he felt the indignation and anger start circulating inside his chest but he clenched his jaw tight as the video finished up with it's message and the woman on stage cheered along about how much she loved it.

"Now," Her voice called out over the speakers again. "The time has come for us to select one courageous young man and woman for the honor of representing District Twelve in the Seventy-Fourth annual Hunger games."

She paused momentarily to smile out over the two separated crowds of children. One set of boys and one set of girls.

"Now, as is proper, ladies first." With that she pulled off her expensive looking gloves and stepped over to the larger clear glass bowl filled with tiny envelopes, each holding the name of one of the poor candidates for the games.

Hanging her hand over the jar dramatically she slowly spun it around before snapping up a slip and making her way back to the microphone. Breaking the seal and unfolding the slip of paper she read it fully before looking out to the audience.

"Primrose Everdeen!" She called out.

Naruto joined the others in glancing over to the girls to see the unfortunate subject. He knew her from her name alone. The younger sister of his fellow hunter Katniss, not that you could tell by looking at her. Where Katniss had olive skin and dark hair and eyes, this kid was pale, blonde and blue eyed. The small girl found herself suddenly standing alone as the other former candidates backed away like she had a contagious disease. She looked terrified and baffled as if things hadn't registered for her.

Naruto didn't outwardly change in appearance but he felt a small sliver of sympathy for the little girl making her way toward her peacekeeper escort. It seemed especially cruel for the raffle to pick someone on their first year in the drawing. He doubted she had multiple entries like some others either.

As soon as she had reached the peacekeepers though, things became more interesting. A sharp cry for the girl's name had everyone one turning and Naruto caught sight of her elder sister Katniss surging forward toward the girl calling out to her. He remembered a similar event, but put the thought from his mind as he watched the events surrounding the two girls. The guards had stopped her from continuing up to her little sister causing her to cry out to her.

"No! No!" Realizing quickly it changed nothing to simply say that she changed to something that surprised everyone present.

"I volunteer! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" Katniss said, with her voice becoming less frantic and more determined by the end. She shook free of the guards and raced to her younger sister before they started whispering between one another, too low for Naruto to hear them from where he was standing. He could hear the capital woman's voice spring back to life on the microphone however.

"I believe we have a volunteer, mister Mayor." The woman said with a surprised smile.

Soon the sisters had stopped whispering as the younger girl cried and screamed no, before Gale swooped in and took her back to her mother. Meanwhile Katniss was led by the peacekeepers up to the stage. Her sure and resolute appearance had drained away and she suddenly looked pale as she approached the stairs.

"District Twelve's very first volunteer. Bring her up." The woman had moved to the stairs and was reaching out a hand for the new tribute while waving her fingers.

"Come on dear." She said before taking her by the shoulders and walking her over to the mic.

When they made it to the mic, standing on either side they couldn't look more different. The smiling, cheery, brightly colored woman of the Capital and the pale, sullen, frightened girl of District Twelve.

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

"Katniss Everdeen." The girl croaked out with a dead voice.

"Well I bet my hat, that was your sister, wasn't it?" She asked.

A quiet yes was all that came in reply.

"Let's have a big hand for our first ever volunteer, Katniss Everdeen!" The Capital woman cheered, but instead of applause only silence met her. That is until soon several of the people began giving Katniss the three-fingered-salute. First kissing their fingers and lifting their hand silently to show her their support.

Naruto watched the first few commit to the sign of thanks and admiration used through the districts and he soon joined them. He smiled slightly at the shocked look of the girl on the stage. She really should expect something like this after the showing she had given. Tears that Katniss had fought to hold back finally broke and she silently cried while the woman continued the ceremony.

"And now for the boys."

The hands lowered, and like before she made her way over to the respective jar of names and after swishing her hand around for a moment she withdrew a slip and stepped back to her mic.

"Naruto Namikaze." She called, causing the blond to blink in surprise.

The space around him grew wider as those around him turned to look at him, and like Prim earlier treated him almost as if he was suddenly tainted. Naruto was still surprised. Statistically he did have the highest chance of anyone to be drawn, but actually being picked seemed to flood anyone with shock.

Still he managed to push himself forward steadily making his way up to the stage and standing beside her. Each of them contrasted heavily from the others. The crying girl, who was only there to save her sister, the smiling capital woman at no risk for her life in the near future, and the stoic boy, a bruised face and grim appearance glaring into the cameras.

"Here we are! Our tributes from district twelve." She announced placing a hand on both of their shoulders before turning them slightly to face one another. "Go on, shake hands."

The two locked eyes for a moment before grasping each other's hands and shaking.

"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" She then turned and started ushering the teens into the Hall of Justice.

From there things were a bit of a rush. They were pushed along into a pair of rooms, Katniss to one side, Naruto to the other and told to wait. Naruto sat staring out the window quietly as he did. This was the part where family members would come to say goodbye. Naruto didn't really think having him wait here was necessary. Who would come to visit him? He had no-one, the closest he could consider friends were the few traders at the Hob that gave him a free meal when he hadn't caught anything.

He didn't wait the fully allotted time before telling the guard he was done. The guard led him to meet up with the woman from before standing beside a car that he assumed would take them to the train to the capital.

She looked like she might try and make conversation, and not really looking forward to that, Naruto took a spot as far as he could from her and leaned against the wall of the Hall of Justice and kept his eyes off her. It did exactly as he hoped and discouraged any conversation from picking up.

A little while later Katniss was led out, a little more like dragged out by peacekeepers, and they climbed into the car with their strange escort between them. Naruto fought back a sigh at that, he wished Katniss was in the middle separating him from the capital woman by as much space as the small vehicle would allow. Not that it would likely matter much as she continued to run off at the mouth and would have been just as annoying on the far side of the seats.

"You two are in for a treat." said the woman trying to make a conversation. All she got was a snort from Naruto and a look of mixed disbelief and hatred from Katniss. Something that nearly had him snorting again.

"Crystal chandeliers, platinum door knobs, and it flies. We'll be at the capital in less than two days." She continued ignoring the derisive snort and half glare she had gotten.

Naruto tuned her out. It was clear Katniss was doing the same and he doubted whatever she had to say hardly mattered in the end. Probably some nonsense about etiquette or something. He couldn't care less if he offended the delicate sensibilities of the people running the show. Well it was better to say he almost hoped to offend their delicate sensibilities. It sounded kind of fun, his life was probably going to be even shorter than it was intended to be so why not.

Once they had finally come to a stop they led through the crowd at the station to a pristine silver train. The subjects of District Twelve watched on in silence as they boarded and Naruto tried to ignore the terrified look of his fellow tribute. After climbing on the door slid open on it's own and the most opulent room he had ever seen lay before him. Just as she had said everything seemed either made of crystal, platinum, silver, or gold. Half this room could feed a half dozen families in the seam for a year easily. That was just the trays of food and treats. The actual metal and other items could feed everyone in the seam for weeks, maybe more.

Naruto scowled at the sight, no doubt he'd see even more extravagant waste on this trip. It might all be worth it though. He was about to stand on the largest stage Panem had, and he lacked any sort of filter.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Hope to have fun with this story and keep bringing new updates out.

Till next time.