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Betrayal. That's the first thing (M/N) felt. Which didn't even make sense since to have betrayal, you'd need trust. Between (M/N) and Katsuki, trust was never a part of the agreement. They were tributes. But the boy who took a beating to give (M/N) bread, the one who reassured (M/N) in the chariot, who insisted Shota knew his hunting skills... was there some part of him that couldn't help trusting Katsuki?
On the other hand, (M/N) was also relieved. He didn't need to keep up that facade anymore. Whatever small connection they had made was gone, not that (M/N) cared. The games would start in two days. Trust and friendship would mean nothing in the arena. (M/N) suspected that his high score had something to do with Katsuki's decision. Maybe he finally accepted the fact that the sooner they openly acknowledgd that they were enemies, the better.
"Good," (M/N) said, "So what's the schedule?"
"You'll each spend four hours with Emi for presentation, and four hours with me for content. You'll start with Emi," Shota said.
(M/N) didn't know what she could be teaching him that would require four hours, but she had him working down to the very last minute. She has him going over sitting, posture, eye contact, hand gestures, and smiling. She made him say a hundred different things while smiling, starting with a smile, and ending with a smile. By the time they finished, (M/N)'s cheeks were extremely sore.
"Well, that's the best I can do," Emi said with a sigh. "Just remember (M/N), you want the audience to like you."
"And you don't think they will?" He asked.
"Not if you're glaring at them the whole time. Save that for the arena. Why don't you pretend you're among your friends."
"They're betting on how long I'll live!" (M/N) shouted. "They aren't my friends!"
"Well try and pretend!" Emi snapped, before recomposing herself and giving off a bright smile. "See? I'm smiling at you even though you're irritating me."
"Very convincing."
~
After lunch, it was (M/N)'s turn for his session with Shota. On his way to the sitting room, where the said male was currently situated, he passed Katsuki- who didn't give (M/N) so much as a glance as he left to go meet Emi. (M/N) just stared at the boy's back with a disgusted expression as he walked away. It was very obvious that he was purposely trying to avoid (M/N).
Why do I care if he ignores me? It's better this way, he can go die in the arena for all I care. (M/N) knew he didn't mean that. There was some part of him that cared about Katsuki, no matter how small those feelings may have been.
Once he made it to the sitting room, Shota just stared at him for a while. It was making (M/N) very uncomfortable.
"What? Why are you staring at me?" He asked defensively.
"I'm just trying to figure out what to do with you, how we're going to present you," Shota responded. "Are you going to be charming? Fierce? So far, you're shining like a star. You volunteered for your sister at the reaping. Keigo made you look unforgettable. You got the top training score. People are intrigued, but no one knows who you are. How you present yourself tomorrow will be the deciding factor of what I can get you in terms of sponsors."
(M/N) knew what he meant. He'd watched the tribute interviews every year. If people liked the way you presented yourself, you could gain yourself a hefty amount of sponsors.
"Well what's Katsuki's approach? Or am I not allowed to ask," (M/N) said with a somewhat snappy tone, he was still confused about his feelings towards the boy. Whether he should feel angry or happy with the way things have turned out. Shota noticed this but chose to ignore it.
"Likeable. He has a humorous approach naturally. Whereas when you open your mouth, you come across as sullen and hostile," he said.
"I do not!" He forgot just how good Katsuki was at acting, which made (M/N) feel inferior since Shota thought he couldn't do the same.
"Please. I don't know where you pulled that cheery, smiley boy on the chariot from, but I haven't seen him before or since."
"Oh, like you've given me so many reasons to be cheery," (M/N) countered.
"But you aren't pleasing me. I'm not the one sponsoring you, so pretend I'm the audience," Shota said. "Delight me."
"Fine!" (M/N) snarled.
Shota took the role of an interviewer, and (M/N) did his best to answer his questions in an entertaining way. But he didn't do a good job, all he could think about was how stupid this whole thing was. Why did he have to hop around like a trained dog to please people he hated? The longer the interview went on, the more annoyed (M/N) became- to the point where he was spitting out answers at Shota.
"All right, enough," The black haired male said. "Not only are you hostile, I don't know anything about you. I've asked you 50 questions and I still have no sense of your life, your family, or what you care about. They want to know about you, (M/N)."
"Well I don't want them to know about me! They're literally taking away my future! And if I can't have that, then they can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!" (M/N) shouted.
"Then lie! Just make something up!" Shota retorted.
"I'm not good at lying," (M/N) mumbled.
Shota scoffed. "Well you better learn fast, you've got about as much charm as a dead rat."
"Well I don't know what else to do."
Shota seemed to think for a moment before speaking. "Try acting humble."
"Humble..."
"If you won't talk about yourself, compliment the audience. Talk about how nice the people are, how nice the Capitol is. That you can't believe how well you've done so far as a tribute from District 12. Talk about Keigo's clothes. Anything like that."
The next few hours were agonizing for (M/N). He tried every angle he can; cocky, witty, funny. None of them worked though. By the end of the session, (M/N) felt as if he'd made no progress at all. Shota had started drinking some time ago, showing that he was just about done with this 'training' as (M/N) was.
"I give up," Shota stated. "Just answer the questions and try not to show the audience how much you despise them."
~
The next morning, the prep team was all over (M/N). His lessons with Shota and Emi were over, and the day belonged to Keigo. He was (M/N)'s last hope, maybe he would be able to make (M/N) look so amazing, no one would care what came out of his mouth.
The team worked on him until late afternoon. Stenciling patterns around the side of his left eye, starting in dark blue then fading into black. His hair was styled and had patterns of blue and cyan weaved in, then they covered him in a powder that gave his body a slight shimmer of green dust, as if someone dotted him with tiny green diamonds.
Afterwards Keigo came in with what (M/N) assumed was his outfit. It was somewhat of a struggle trying to get it on, it felt so tight and hard to breathe in. Once all the stylists were done adjusting things, (M/N) turned around and looked into the full length mirror.
The person in front of him looked like they came from another world. A world where skin shimmers and eyes flash. (M/N) was convinced the Capitol made their clothes from jewels. From the puffy sleeves to the boots, everywhere was adorned with gold patterns. His outfit started out black and faded into a deep ocean blue, mixed with green swirls and lines that somehow looked like moving snakes, giving off the illusion of green fire. The boots situated on his feet were white, but the bottom was black, the two colours separated by more gold patterns.
It wasn't until (M/N) heard Keigo's voice that he snapped out of his trance. "So, do you like it?"
"Like it? It's incredible," He turned to face the blond. "Thank you."
Keigo only grinned in response. "Don't mention it, I had a lot of fun designing the outfit. So, are you ready for the interview then?"
Looking at his face, (M/N) could tell Keigo had spoken to Shota, and knew how terrible he was.
"I'm awful. Shota literally gave up on me because I couldn't do anything. I couldn't be the person he wants me to be," (M/N) sighed.
Keigo thought for a moment. "Why don't you just be yourself?"
(M/N) raised an eyebrow. "Myself? That's no good. Shota called me sullen and hostile."
"Well, you are... around Shota," Keigo smiled. "But I don't find you that way. The prep team loves you. You even won over the gamemakers, and as for the Capitol citizens, no one can stop talking about you. Everyone loves your spirit."
My spirit? What does that mean? That I'm a fighter? Well, it's not like I'm never friendly. Yeah I don't go around smiling at everyone I meet, but I do care for people.
"I'll be in the audience, you'll be able to see me. So just pretend like you're talking to me. Alright?"
(M/N) gave a nod. "Alright."
The two walked to the elevator, where they met up with Katsuki and Rumi. (M/N) could see how stunning the boy looked. He was wearing a black suit that was covered with gold and orange accents, giving off the illusion of gold fire. Both of them portraying their outfits from the opening ceremony. (M/N) assumed they covered Katsuki's body in a powder as well since his skin was shimmering with gold, he also had gold patterns fading into orange around his right eye. While they looked good together, (M/N) was happy they weren't dressed identically.
Shota showed up in a suit as well, which was surprising. (M/N) didn't think he could clean up so well. Emi was wearing one of her over the top outfits as usual, accompanied by an even more ridiculous wig.
When the elevator opened, they could see all the other tributes being lined up for their interviews. Everyone looked like they came out of a fairy tale. First up was the girl from District 1, she wore a sparkling gold dress and had a super complicated looking hairstyle that (M/N) assumed would have taken a few hours to create. Each interview only lasted for three minutes, then a buzzer would go off, signalling that the next tribute was up. Being in District 12 meant (M/N) was going to be last or second last. Oh how he wished he could just go out there and get it over with, instead he had to listen to all the other tributes be witty, funny, charming, fierce, and humble.
(M/N) sat anxiously as the Districts slipped by. The boy from District 1 was a ruthless killing machine, great to hear when (M/N) knew he wanted him dead. Bella was cute and funny, even Wendy managed to come off as charming, despite her obvious nervousness. Although with her outfit, he doubted anyone could tell. She looked like a little angel, wearing a knee length yellow frilly skirt with matching yellow wings.
"I'm very hard to catch," she said meekly when the interviewer, Toshinori, asked what her greatest strength is. "And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me. So don't count me out."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Toshinori responded encouragingly.
The boy from District 11, Shoji, was almost 3 times Wendy's size. He was very intimidating and only gave simple answers. (M/N) noticed he had declined invitations from the career tributes to join their group. Which wasn't surprising since he scored a ten in the evaluations, and he's the biggest tribute. Instead, Shoji kept to himself, speaking to no one except Wendy, who would occasionally sit with him during meal times. He could tell the burly male had a soft spot for the little girl.
Then they were calling (M/N) onto the stage. He shakily walked over to the seat next to Toshinori and sat down.
"So, (M/N), the Capitol must be quite different compared to District 12. What's impressed you the most since your arrival here?" Toshinori asked.
What did he say? It was as if the words were gibberish to (M/N). He was lost for words as he tried to say something, he looked into the crowd and locked eyes with Keigo. He imagined the words coming from his lips, What's impressed you the most since you arrived here? (M/N) racked his brain for answers. Be honest, he thinks, be honest.
"The lamb stew," he got out.
Toshinori laughed and the audience joined him.
"Oh yes, it's quite an exquisite dish, I eat it in bucketloads," Toshinori then turned to the crowd and held a hand over his stomach. "It doesn't show, does it?"
He received laughs and reassurances from the audience. (M/N) did appreciate his way of helping the less confident tributes.
"Now (M/N)," he said confidently. "When you came out for the opening ceremony, my heart stopped. What did you think of the costume?"
"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned to death?"
He received many laughs from the audience and Toshinori. "Yes, start there."
"Well I thought Keigo was brilliant, and it was the most amazing outfit I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it. I can't believe I'm wearing this, I mean look at it!" (M/N) said as he gestured to his outfit.
"Yes it is quite the outfit, those beautiful patterns look as amazing as your outfit in the opening ceremony, don't you agree folks?" he said, receiving shouts of agreement from the audience. "So, how about that training score, eleven. Can you give us some details on what happened there?"
(M/N) chuckled nervously as he glanced at the gamemakers on the balcony. "Well... all I can say is, I think it was a first."
"You're killing us," Toshinori said dramatically. "Details, details."
(M/N) looks towards the balcony. "I'm not allowed to talk about it, right?"
"He's not!" One of the gamemakers shouted out.
"Sorry, my lips are sealed," (M/N) said with a sheepish smile.
"Let's go back to the reaping, then. When you volunteered for your sister. Can you tell us about her?"
(M/N) could tell the atmosphere of the room changed, everyone was silent as they awaited his response.
"Her name's Eri, she's only twelve. And I love her more than anything." He could hear a pin drop at this point.
"What did she say to you? After the reaping?" Toshinori asked intently.
"She asked me to try really hard to win." The audience was frozen, hanging onto his every word.
"And what did you say?"
"I swore I would."
"I bet you did," Toshinori said as he gave (M/N)'s shoulder a gentle squeeze. Just then, the buzzer went off. "Sorry, but we're out of time. Best of luck, (M/N) (L/N)."
The applause continued long after (M/N) leaves the stage. He was still in a daze for the first part of Katsuki's interview. But (M/N) could tell he had the audience from the get-go, he could hear them laughing and shouting out. He played up the baker's son thing, comparing the bread from different Districts. Then he had a funny explanation about the Capitol showers.
"Tell me, do I smell like roses?" He asked Toshinori, and then there was a whole run where they took turns sniffing each other which brought the audience to tears. (M/N) was still astonished by Katsuki's ability to completly switch his personality, it seemed so real (M/N) was convinced he'd practiced it endlessly at some point, or it was just a natural talent. Either way, it felt weird seeing the boy act like this. Katsuki was not some charismatic guy. But then again, if being one would save his life, it wasn't all that surprising that he'd be pulling those moves on the audience. He came back into focus when Toshinori asked Katsuki if there was a special someone back home.
Katsuki hesitated, before giving an unconvincing head shake.
"I don't believe it for a second! A handsome lad like you, there must be a special someone. Come on, what's their name?" Toshinori pushed.
Katsuki sighed. "Well, there is this one boy. I've had a crush on him ever since we were kids. But I'm pretty sure he didn't know I was alive until the reaping."
Sounds of sympathy rose from the crowd. Unrequited love they could relate to.
"Does he have another fellow?" Asked Toshinori.
"I don't know, not that I'm aware of," Katsuki responds.
"Well, here's what you do. You win, you go home, and he'll have to go out with you," Toshinori stated confidently.
"Thanks, but I don't think winning will help me," Katsuki said.
"And why ever not?" Toshinori asked, quizzically.
Katsuki let out a sigh, as if he would regret what he was about to say. "Because... because... he came here with me."
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