The Hiro Games

CHAPTER ONE

        "Survival is of the utmost importance."
        I remembered these words of my teacher when I was finally there. There, in that arena. They reminded me of all I had learned, about survival. You go for the throat. Gouge out the eyes. Maybe spit on them a little. Anything it takes to survive. Survival is about dominance, and humiliating the enemy.
        Everyone is an enemy.
        I know this.
___

        "Were you scared?" she asked, sitting beside me in the darkness.
        "Scared of what?" I responded, in a whisper.
        "The benders."
        I hesitated for a moment. I knew what she was talking about, but it wasn't something I had ever admitted to myself. I let the wind blow between us, as a small campfire simmered.
        "I've never seen a bender." she said in an ashamed tone, for the both of us. "Not until today. I'd seen them in the broadcasts but they never seemed real. I guess none of it does, until you're here."
        I watched as embers from the flame floated and died onto the cool, packed dirt.

        It was true, what she said. For all of us. No one from our nation had ever seen a bender. We've heard of them, read about them, feared them. But never seen them. My grandmother used to tell me about a firebender she claimed to have loved, who she almost married before they rounded everyone up -- before the end of the Avatar. She said his name was Zarach. He had hazel eyes, like firebenders do. Tall, handsome. He liked books.
        I never liked my grandmother.
        She always told stories about the other elements, and what the world was like before the Hiro Games. I guess that's why they arrested her. I knew she told these stories because she never went to school in the United Non-bending Republic like I did, so she couldn't really help it, but the police said she was insubordinate. They were right.

        "A bit." I finally admitted to her. "They can't prepare you for something like that. As if we weren't already at a disadvantage." I hated being a non-bender.
        Sayuri was quiet for a moment. Her face grew tense as she struggled to put whatever it was into words. "Sato..." she began. "Do you think that we really have a chance? Either of us?"
        I answered immediately. I thought this over too many times before. There was no chance. "No," I said. "No non-benders have ever won the Games. They're usually dead in the Bloodbath. The only ones who ever make it past then are the ones who team up with the benders. Doesn't happen often."
        "We've survived."
        "Yes."
        "Doesn't that count for something?"
        "Not really."
        I watched the expression on her face become stoic as she turned from me and gazed into the faint glow of the campfire. I followed her eyes to where she was looking, and simply stared along with her. I didn't mean to be so brusque, and felt the need to explain. I almost told her about the statistics behind a non-bending victory, but realized she probably took the class too. Just as I leaned in to say something that would console her, there was a fireblast in the distance. It reached high above the trees, coming from a small grassland in the middle of the forest. It was nearer than I would have liked. When we heard it, we jumped to our feet, and gave each other quick glances that said it was time to go.
        I kicked dirt onto the fire, and it went out. I gathered my things without paying much attention to what I grabbed, and only made sure that the spring-loaded knives were in place along my forearms. They were an excellent grab from the Cornucopia, and I was more than prepared to use them. They were the closest I would ever come to bending. When I was finished, I gave Sayuri one final nod and we both disappeared into the forest, headed toward the sight of the blast.

        It was a meadow, roaring with the cries of battle in the midst of a silent night. There was an earthbender moving rather gracefully, with few steps, at one far side. His face was stern, and it looked like he was in the middle of an intense practice. He never once took his eyes off of his enemy. Against him was a firebender, at the other end of the field, moving erratically. Her steps were unpredictable and savage. As she punched another enormous blast across the field, which seemed to require the force of her entire body, the earthbender dodged it slyly. He tucked beneath the flames and pulled himself out from under, in a circular motion. As he twirled to regain his balance, his legs spread apart automatically. With his right hand, he gave a simple flick of the wrist, and suddenly, three pillars of earth burst from the ground, at angles. The first was low to the grass, aiming for the girl's torso, probably to knock her off balance. As she avoided it, a second pillar jutted out in succession, even farther than the last. She dodged it. Finally, a third emerged from the soil, and it landed a hit square to her face.
        I recognized the technique. It was of the early Beifong Class. Something Toph Beifong used against a wrestler named "The Boulder" a hundred years or so ago. It was designed to fool the enemy into believing they could flee, only to land a hit at the last moment.
        The firebender girl was knocked off of her feet, and in a rage. She rolled over sluggishly, and stood back up, but this time drooping with fatigue. Her hair was wild, and seemed to be all on one side. I later realized that she had long, red burns across the left side of her scalp, which made her head look shaved on that side.
        It was probably from an Agni Kai. The bare, burnt skin had tattoos of wispy flames over it. It was lovely, but I wondered for a moment what she ever did to get into such a duel.
        She pumped out three more blasts of fire, which seemed to curve as they launched. They weren't as precise as before and mostly fizzled out by the time they reached the earthbender. The girl was exhausted, and the earthbender was moving in closer and closer as she limped to get away from him. She fell to the ground, and began to crawl as she let out screams of desperation. Her abilities were faltering. She could barely manage a wisp of fire. The earthbender knew this and approached her without much caution. As casually as he walked, he bent two large blocks from the ground, lifting them without any strain, or even moving his arms. They hovered beside him, and slowly began to descend upon the firebender girl's body as she wailed in fear with nowhere to turn. All you could see was her dark figure scrambling beneath the rocks as they edged nearer, threatening to crush her. The earthbender took his time.
        "Sato!" Sayuri exclaimed in a hushed shout. "We have to do something!"
        "We can't," I said to her flatly. "It's his kill."
        Sayuri gave me an indignant look. She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it once again as she watched that the deed was done. The firebender's screams were shushed. Sayuri turned, with one hand on her mouth, and her eyes pinched shut. This was while her other hand clutched my garment.
        I simply watched as the earthbender vanished back into the forest, with a walk of victory. Her death was marked by a single cannon, and the meadow was silent once again.