"In two weeks, twenty three of you will be dead. One of you will be alive. Who that is depends on how well you pay attention over the next four days, particularly to what I'm about to say." The tributes were gathered in the training area, surrounded by the head training who introduced himself earlier as Kun.

"First, no fighting the other tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that in the arena." A small chuckle escaped the tributes' lips as the words left Kun's mouth.

"There are four compulsory exercises, the rest will be individual training. My advice is; don't ignore the survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword but most of you will die from natural causes. Ten percent from infection, twenty percent from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife." A deafening silence surrounded the room, as they were all aware that what Kun said was true, they had all seen it while watching the previous Hunger Games.

"Now without futher ado, let's begin."

...

Kun had directed the group to what was known as the gauntlets. It was probably one of the most difficult stations, with platforms of various levels that you had to jump to get to.

"One at a time, jump from platform to platform to finish in the fastest time possible. If you want a challenge, we can ask the trainers to swing padded clubs as well." Kun explained.

Piece of cake. Jade thought to herself heading to the front of the line behind Jeno. She noticed the other Careers following right behind her while the tributes from other districts took their steps backwards.

"Cowards." Jade heard Renjun mumble, making her giggle. Renjun had noticed the sound, the slightest smirk immediately appearing on his face as he crossed his arms. Jeno climbed up the steps, being the first one up.

Jade had noticed that the Renjun in training was very different from the playful boy from last night. He wore little to no emotions on his face, simply glaring at the other tributes. Jaehyun's words rang through her head. His biggest weapon? He has no heart.

"Give him the clubs." Renjun called out to Kun, earning a glare from Jeno.

"Give us all the clubs." Jade said, motioning to the six Careers. Renjun's eyebrows raised the slighest, a clear sign that she had impressed him. They watched as Kun sighed before nodding to the trainers.

"Fiesty today, aren't you." Renjun said as they watched Jeno complete the course. 9.7 seconds. He could have probably finished it in less time, but the clubs had certainly made it more difficult.

"You only live once." Jade responded with a wink before making her way up. She took a deep breath as she analyzed the course and trainers in front of her. The whistle sounded, signaling the start of her time. Jade jumped from level to level, avoiding the trainers that were throwing clubs at her. She gracefully landed on the floor in a crouched position, before standing back up, a smile on her face.

Jade glanced at the screen. 9.8 seconds. She was a milisecond behind Jeno.

"Not bad." Jeno said as she made her way to where he was waiting. She glimpsed at the gamemakers that were sitting in the area above them, watching their every move while enjoying the Capitol food being served.

"Don't doubt me Lee Jeno." Jade said as they watched Renjun. Jade was in awe. Renjun's movements were quick and well-calculated. She watched as he finished the course with ease, despite the high difficulty.

"I like him." Jeno said as Renjun made their way towards them. As they looked screen. 8.3 seconds. Renjun had beat them both. When Renjun arrived, Jeno stook his hand out.

"Jeno." Jeno said, as Renjun took his hand.

"You hesistate too much when you run." Renjun replied, no emotion on his face. Jade noticed Jeno's grip on Renjun's arm has tightened but Renjun had no reaction. She elbowed Jeno, making him release his grip.

"He's a Career, Jeno." Jade reminded him as Renjun went to go stand beside Jade.

"Right, whatever." Jeno mumbled.

"You did well." Renjun told her. Jade turned to face him but like usual, he was expressionless.

"You too." Jade responded. No reaction. Before she looked away from him though, she noticed a small glimmer in his eyes, perhaps a sign that he had taken the compliment.

They watched as Bora and Hyewon took their turns, both of them fast but not as fast as Jade. After them was Donghyuck, or Haechan as he apparently liked to be called. He did a lot of fancy tricks, showing off before ending with a bow.

"For the ladies." Haechan said, giving the Careers a wink.

"You're disgusting." Hyewon said, making the rest of them laugh. Jade noticed a small chuckle escape Renjun's lips for a brief moment before returning back to his normal state. Perhaps he wasn't as emotionless as everyone thought.

Now it was the other tributes turn, the ones that weren't as eager. The District 11 male, Jaemin was it? He completed the gauntlets with a decent time.

"He looks like he's going to cry for his mom." Renjun commented as the District 7 male, Jisung, went up. Jade raised an eyebrow as he still somehow completed the course without falling.

Jade had her eyes on Chenle, who was apparently someone she should look out for. She had changed her mind as they all flinched (except for Renjun, of course) when Chenle almost missed one of the levels, holding on tightly as he pulled himself back up.

"At least he didn't fall to the ground." Jade noted as she placed her hands on her hips, staring at the boy. She watched as Chenle locked eyes with her, gulping as he walked past them.

The rest of the tributes barely completed the course. Many of them fell, some of them lucky enough to be caught by the trainers. Others, weren't so lucky, the harsh thuds as their bodies hit the ground made Jade pity them.

"Better not fall princess, there might not be a prince to catch you." Haechan snickered as the last tribute, Mark from District 12, made his way up. She watched as Mark took a deep breath before completing the course. Jade stole a look at the screen when he finished. 14.3 seconds. Mark was fast for someone like him, impressing the group of Careers.

Once Mark had joined the rest of the tributes, Kun called for a lunch break. The tributes made their way out of the training area to a small dinning hall. Jade decided that this would be a good time to get to know the other Careers as they sat around the same table.

"Anyone against the idea of an alliance?" Haechan asked breaking the silence. They all shook their heads.

"Very well then, let's begin. I'm Haechan from District 4, the womanizer of the group." Haechan announced.

"You're annoying, that's what you are." Renjun stated making everyone but Haechan laugh.

"Fine, why don't you introduce yourself, Mr. Heartless." Haechan said. Jade watched as Renjun rolled his eyes.

"Huang Renjun, District 2." Renjun said but Haechan shook his head.

"Tell us more about yourself, something... Interesting." Haechan insisted as Renjun shot him a death glare. Haechan kept the smug look on his face, making Renjun sigh.

"Don't get on my bad side. I won't hesistate to kill you." Renjun said before turning back to his food. Haechan seemed unconvinced but before he could say more, Jade decided to step in, saving Renjun from the additional interaction.

"Jade, from District 1. Sister of the God of the Hunger Games." Jade said with a smile. Jade noticed their eyes widening as the words left her mouth.

"Your the God of the Hunger Games' sister? As in Jung Jaehyun? The guy that killed the most tributes with the golden sword at the age of fifteen?" Haechan exclaimed.

"Yup. I'm not the only sibling of a victor though." Jade said, nudging Jeno who had seemed to go quiet for once in his life.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Jeno, also from District 1. My brother's Lee Taeyong." Jeno told them. Haechan and the two girls nodded, taking in the information. It seemed as though they had made a good impression.

"Looks like we're in good hands this year." Haechan said with a smile as they all began to eat. Renjun let out a scoff.

"Who your sibling is doesn't matter if you can't fight." Renjun pointed out. Although it was a direct insult to her and Jeno, he had a good point.

"What do you fight with anyways? What's your specialty?" Jeno asked him.

"Everything. Give me a weapon and I'll show you how to kill with it." Renjun said.

"C'mon on Renjun. Give us a little something. Sword? Spear? Bow and arrow?" Haechan asked, leaning forward.

"I don't like limiting myself, Trident Boy." Renjun replied. Haechan was taken aback.

"What? How did you know?" Haechan asked. Jade gave him a small smile when Renjun gave him a are you kidding me look.

"District 4, fishing." Jade told him, making Haechan slowly nod his head.

"Right." Haechan mumbled before turning his attention back to his food. Soon lunch was over and they were all heading back to the training area. They were given time to do their own individual activities. Jade went to her favourite one, the knife throwing station.

Jade recalled Taeyong's words to her and Jeno before they left for training this morning. Use the first day to intimidate them. Make the others think that they stand no chance against you. Show no weaknesses.

Jade felt the eyes of the other tributes behind her as held the knives in her hands. She eyed the targets, adjusting the grip on the knife in her hand. One by one, the targets quickly lit up. Jade threw her knives at every one of them, smiling as the sound of the knives digging into the dummies. She had hit all of them perfectly in the centre. As she turned around, she met Renjun's eyes.

"Nice specialty." Renjun said to her as she followed him to their next station. Jade wondered how Renjun knew that knife throwing was her specialty. They walked passed Jeno, who was slicing heads off the dummies with his sword, and Haechan, who was spearing with his trident. As Renjun walked beside her, he was carefully looking at each of the tributes, analyzing each and every one of their movements. As she noted the pattern, she realize Renjun wasn't quiet because he had nothing to say but because he was observant. They stopped at the crossbow station.

The single crossbow sat on display and it seemed like it was collecting dust. Jade raised an eyebrow as Renjun made his way towards the weapon. She had never seen a crossbow being used in the Hunger Games before. Crossbows were hard to set up, inaccurate at long ranges, making it a difficult weapon to wield. The traditional bow and arrow produced much better results.

Upon seeing Renjun pick up the weapon, a hushed silence came over the room as the tributes watched. Jade even noticed the gamemakers take an interest in them for once.

"Is this your specialty?" Jade asked in a quietly. She knew that Renjun wouldn't want the others to hear his answer. Renjun nodded.

"You're smarter than I thought." Renjun said, loading the weapon. The machines began to hum as the targets appeared. Jade watched as Renjun hit all of them, the sound of the arrows being launched vibrating around the room. She knew that the other tributes were trembling in fear. Renjun put the weapon down, swing his head to the side as he adjusted his bangs. He turned around, glaring at every person in the room. Jade heard Kun clear his throat, signalling that everyone should return back to training. The noise of the room began again, and soon it was filled with the thuds as the tributes returned to training.

"Why do you like the crossbow anyways? Isn't it harder to aim and takes longer to set up?" Jade asked him as they moved to the next station.

"That's the fun of it. It's hard to control. It's a challenge." Renjun said before eyeing the tributes who were trying to start a fire. They looked at the two before quickly looking away. Renjun shook his head, deciding to move to the next station instead.

"So you like it because no one else can wield it like you can." Jade asked him. Renjun nodded his head.

"Precisely. The crossbow is part of the selection of weapons every year, but no one touches it. Or whoever does ends up hurting themselves in the process of setting it up. If I'm the only one that can use it, it gurantees that I will have a weapon to use no matter what." Renjun explained as they eyed the knot tying station, where Haechan now was.

"Smart." Jade said as they made their way there. For a second, Jade could have sworn that she saw the corners Renjun's twitch upwards into a small smile before returning to his regular expressionless face.

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Hello friends, please enjoy this chapter :)

Oh yeah, do you guys like mass updates? Cuz i can do that with this one but the only problem is that you might have to wait a while before my next work 🙊