An Especially Twisted Hunger Games

Day (and night) 1

Silver

I shake my head as I see the aircraft leave with the bodies. I'd expected Yuu to fall quickly; he was nowhere near as strong as the rest of us and I could tell by the look on his face he was ready to give up at the start. Jack, on the other hand, was a complete and total surprise. The guy was completely ripped from head to toe, possibly giving even Leona a run for his money. To be killed by one of those creepy Leech brothers? It just doesn't seem plausible. But then, Jack always had a sense of justice that was too strong for his own good. It was hard not to admire a guy like that, but it just seemed like such a waste of life. Damn it, Jack. You just had to play the hero, didn't you? Why couldn't you just keep running? "Hey. Herbivore. Snap out of it, will ya?" Leona's harsh voice breaks through my thoughts. "Eh? Oh. S-sorry. I was just thinking about Jack. Are you ok?" He rolls his eyes. "Jack was an idiot. It's not my fault that fresh-baby got himself killed." I stare at him blankly as Jamil softly mutters "Leave it to Leona to feel nothing when one of his students gets killed." Suddenly, Leona lunges at him and grips him by the throat. "You got something to say to me, punk? Let me remind you that you're only alive right now because I haven't decided to kill you yet!" he growls. I just watch the altercation in fear; I want to help Jamil but I know if I do it will only turn the dorm head's rage onto me. Jamil puts his hands on Leona's, desperately trying to pry them away from his throat. "T-then why d-don't you just d-do it then? K-kill me you c-coward" he manages to choke out. Leona narrows his eyes, pondering his options, and eventually releases Jamil from his grasp. Jamil gasps for air for a bit before starting to smirk. "H-ha. I knew it. You won't kill me yet. You still need me." Leona glares at him and storms off. I offer Jamil a hand and he takes it gratefully. "Holy crap, dude, are you ok? You were really playing with fire there." He chuckles a bit. "I wasn't in any real danger there. As I said, he's not ready to kill me yet. Or you, for that matter. He needs us still." I raise one of my eyebrows. "For what, exactly?" Before he can give me an answer, Leona harshly interrupts. "Hey, fresh-baby, I have a little job for you." I turn to face him. "What's that?" "I need you and Viper to go track down Malleus. You know him better than anyone else here; you shouldn't have any trouble finding him. When you manage to find him, I want one of you to stay and keep an eye on him while the other comes back for me. Once that's done, we'll take care of that horned bastard once and for all." He smiles a cruel smile. I stare at him in shock and disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? What makes you think I'd even consider doing something like that to Prince Malleus of all people? Or even Sebek, for that matter? That would crush him!" The dorm leader rolls his eyes. "Oh, please. You can't honestly expect me to believe that crap do you? After all, who are you aligned with? Not that horned bastard; that's for sure. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you haven't been dying to get away from him, to finally be out from under him and the shadow he always casts on you. You'll never be as good as him, always be second best to Sebek. I'm giving you an easy out here. For once in your life, do something for yourself. Come on. You know you want to." He offers me a dagger and looks at me expectantly. I look away-- I can't do this, I just can't! Malleus is my family, a big brother, hell even like a father to me. I can't just throw all of that away. But... some of what Leona said speaks to a small part of me, a small part buried deep in my soul. I was tired of living in his shadow, in living to serve him, in always having to do what he told me to. I look to Jamil; he'd been in a similar situation before with Kalim. He gives me a sly smile showing he'd take the job in a heartbeat. I realize it's time for me to finally take my life into my own hands. "Alright. Jamil, let's go. Lets go kill a friend. Let's go kill Malleus."

Epel

Things are not going well at the Pomefiore camp. It's only been a few hours since the bloodbath and Vil and Rook are already looking tired and worried, and I feel like it's my fault. I really stressed Vil out when I ran away from my pedestal; the two of us had originally agreed to run off together while Rook went for some supplies, but as soon as the cannon went off, I panicked and ran as fast as I could.