[district 12]

[illdrinktothat]

The day of the Reaping has come as it always does, and District 12's sole victor, Walter Sullivan, is ringing in the event in the manner with which he is accustomed to. That is, of course, by getting blackout drunk the night before and being utterly unresponsive on the morning of.

He doesn't hear the Capitol escort knock at his door. Likewise, he doesn't hear the same Capitol escort come in the house, call out, or stomp his way up the stairs, back down the stairs, and through the house. He doesn't hear Weyoun's reaction to him being passed out in the hallway. He's not aware of anything and then suddenly he's very acutely aware he's very cold and very wet, and there is an incredibly annoyed Trinket standing over him, holding an empty bucket.

Walter sputters cursewords, hefting himself up onto his elbows and shaking his head vigorously - he regrets that very quickly. The room spins, and neither the hangover haze or the cold water are moved any. "The hell is your problem?" He snarls once he gains some amount of coherency again.

"We're going to be late, Mr. Sullivan," Weyoun tuts, frowning, as if there is truly no offense worse than that. Late. How very dare. "Get yourself prepared, please. And no drinking. I expect you to be composed. This is a very important day."

Walter's not to pleased with the authority Trinket apparently thinks he's wielding here. No drinking? Like hell. Still, he clumsily pushes himself up more. "Fine, fine. Just get the fuck out of my house." He blinks blearily at the icecubes on his clothes, the floor. Did that shithead actually dump ice on his head? That's just cruel.

"Very well," Weyoun answers primly, tucking the bucket delicately under his arm. He stares down his nose at the victor for a long moment before turning and making his way back down the hall. "I'll see you at the justice building, Mr. Sullivan."

Walter stubbornly sits in the puddle of cold water and melting ice until he hears the front door shut behind Weyoun. Getting up is a lot more difficult than he'd like to admit; stiff, achey limbs from his choice of bed, the ever increasing hangover... and the puddle. He slips and nearly falls a few times before making it to his feet properly. Goddamn Trinket. Goddamn Capitol. Goddamn Hunger Games.

The prep team and getting ready can wait. Right now, he makes a beeline down the hall for the nearest room, and the nearest bottle of booze. No drinking, sure.

Comments

[ichigo_kurosaki]

Ichigo doesn't even realize Renji's moving until he's well on his way. There's a red blur, then that numbskull is deep into the crowd, making a beeline for Kikuchi and the Peace Keepers. And then Renji goes and fucking volunteers.

Ichigo wants to leap after him, drag him back, but finds himself rather firmly stuck in place. Chad's got a grip on his shoulders.

"Goddamnit, that dumbass, why the hell would he--" Ichigo grits his teeth. What the hell was he thinking? They were done. It was their last year. He'd have to worry about his sisters, sure, but everyone else'd be safe finally. Why fuck that up? He can't imagine what Issui is going through, or Rukia, and one glance their direction is enough to tell him he doesn't want to.

Ichigo would like to yell, throw some kind of a fit, maybe, for all the good it'd do. He slumps a little, watching to Peace Keepers converge around Renji. "It's fine, Chad, I'm not going to do anything stupid."

It's not as if he could top that level of idiocy, at least.

[yasutorasado]

Sado gives Ichigo a long look before letting him go. It's not that he thinks Ichigo's lying to him, it's just... he's a hot-tempered guy sometimes. Sado wouldn't put it past him to look over at Renji or the girls and forget all about not doing anything stupid.

That was rash, Renji. He won't say stupid, though. The others probably will. But Sado can understand why he did it. He's even thought about it himself. It's hard to watch those little ones get sent to die. It's hard to watch anyone, but especially the little ones. They never stand a chance. But Renji will. Hell, he just knocked down a Peacekeeper without really trying.

[renjiabarai]

There's a ripple of talking in the crowd around him; Renji's quietly grateful to not hear any shouting from either side.

"Well, I believe we have a volunteer," Comes Trinket's voice over the loudspeakers. The Peacekeepers' grip slackens enough that Renji can shrug their hands off him. Trinket is over the moon, he's sure, but he doesn't bother to confirm. He's turned to see the girls. He looks at them, at Rukia, as apologetically as he can manage. He can hear Trinket encouraging him towards the stage, but he doesn't move. He holds that look for a long moment before steeling himself, turning and marching towards the stage. Peacekeepers flank him, hands on his back, pushing him forward. It's unnecessary.

"What a dramatic turn of events," Weyoun chirps, beckoning Renji onto the stage. "District 12's very own volunteer."

His feet feel very heavy, as he goes up the stairs. Trinket ushers him up on-stage, pausing a moment while he visible realizes how tall Renji is. Yeah, sure. Renji stares down at him before being lead over to the mic. Sullivan nods at him as he passes him. Renji catches a very brief glimpse of what looks to be a flask in the victor's hand - unsurprisingly.

"What's your name?" Weyoun asks cheerfully up at him.

Being confronted with a microphone and a large audience is a lot more nerve-wracking than he'd imagined it. He stares ahead at nothingness, willing his voice to be steady. "Renji Abarai."

"And a volunteer! How exciting. You two must be very close." Weyoun looks expectant. "Your cousin? A nephew?"

Renji is a little too aware of the cameras on him, of his face plastered across that big screen - and on televisions everywhere. "Uh, not really," Renji shrugs, trying very hard not to look as awkward as he feels. "I don't even know him."

"Don't want to let him steal all the glory, hm? Come on, everyone, let's give a big round of applause for our newest tribute!" Trinket just steam rolls right on ahead, and Renji's actually happy with that. It gets the mic out of his face.

[issuiyanagi]

As soon as she sees movement out of the corner of her eye from the boys' side, Issui has an awful feeling things are about to go very wrong. They do. Renji. She feels like she's been punched.

Issui's very glad for Shinobu and Caro on either side of her right now. This is exactly what they're all afraid of, only... they should have been in the clear. They were. She dimly registers that if she weren't so upset right now she'd be furious. She probably will be later. Much later. On the other side of the fence. Rukia and Ichigo will be mad enough for everyone in the meantime.

Then he gets up on stage and... wow. He doesn't even know the kid. Kikuchi? That's infuriating and endearing and very Renji. Of course he doesn't even know the kid he volunteered for. Of course.

There's a long, silent pause when Trinket asks for applause. Then someone--Issui doesn't see who does it first-- kisses their fingers and holds them up in the old salute. Then another and another-- across the way she sees Sado salute early enough that he stands out a lot and she hopes that doesn't come back to haunt him-- and there's the kid, too. Even as she and the others detangle their arms so they can join in, something tips the balance and now it's something everyone's doing. The entire crowd salutes Renji, and Issui really hopes the Capitol enjoys the fucking show.

[renjiabarai]

Renji's put everything into putting on a good face. Defiant. Hard. He doesn't expect applause, and so the silence he's met with is not particularly troublesome. Then one by one, the people in the crowd press their fingers of their left hand to their lips before holding them up to him. Someone he doesn't recognize, but then it spreads. Chad, Ichigo, Caro, Shinobu. Rukia and Issui. Two small hands from the front of the crowded audience that he's sure are Ichigo's baby sisters.

Renji's throat feels very tight, suddenly. No, he reminds himself. Don't let them see you crack. He stares straight ahead again and puts his thoughts elsewhere, to the woods where he hunts. To what he would've done had he not made the choice he did. Anything but the saluting crowd before him, strangers and friends alike. Anything but that.

Trinket seems utterly bewildered, glancing about at the silent display. "And now, for the girls."

Renji doesn't look when Trinket leaves to pick someone else. He stays unmoving, listening to the clink clink clink of Trinket's stride as he returns to the mic. It's not going to end well, no matter who's name is on that slip of paper. All Renji can do is brace himself.

Trinket squints at the paper again before looking up and smiling brightly. "Issui Yanagi."

[issuiyanagi]

No.

No.

Issui looks blankly at Shinobu and then Caro and Rukia. They look horrified. She-- she can't. But she has to. She slips from between Shinobu and Caro before they can grab onto her, because she's not sure she could get herself to make them let go before the Peacekeepers wade in. She doesn't want that.

No.

As she walks toward the aisle, she's vaguely aware of Caro grabbing onto Shinobu for comfort and to make sure she stays. Good. That's good. Chin up, Yanagi. The whole country is going to see this. Don't stare at the ground. The aisle seems impossibly far and right there. She's... she's probably in shock. At least she's not crying. A lot of kids do.

She manages to get into the aisle before the Peacekeepers are there to meet her, but barely. She's not sure how. One looms over her shoulder, and for some reason she notices the streaks of dirt on his white uniform. The one Renji knocked over. He starts herding her up to the stage before the other get in place and between his stride and Issui's, they make the other Peacekeepers struggle to catch up. That's good. She likes that. They're not necessary.

She's not going to run.

Trinket's probably saying something-- he's probably been saying something the whole time. She can't hear it though. Her ears are ringing and everything sounds far away, like she's underwater. Blood pounding in her ears. That's what does that, right? She thinks. Issui reaches the stairs. She looks up instead of straight ahead and almost trips when she looks past Trinket to Renji. She catches herself before she can overbalance and actually fall. Good.

She climbs the stairs and lets Trinket steer her towards the center of the stage, but Issui doesn't look at him. He's not worth paying attention to.

[shinobuakiyama]

Shinobu lets out a small, strangled sound in the back of her throat, reaching out for Issui as she slips away. That can't be true. It can't be. She wants to go after. She wants to so badly. It's pointless, and worse, she knows; her Grandmother taught her as much. But she wants to more than anything. All she can do is hold her breath and watch Issui be brought to the stage. She feels a scream welling up in her chest, but chokes it down.

She reaches back for Caro, finding her already there. That's good. She can't lose it and make it worse, so she just wobbles in place for a moment. Then she blindly grabs in Rukia's direction, for good measure.

This isn't fair. This isn't fair. They were so close to being free of this.

[renjiabarai]

It's like the ground has gone out from under him.

Renji can't think. He can barely breath. He's dimly aware of Trinket chattering away cheerfully. He doesn't care. He struggles to keep his face deliberately blank, to not let on a hint of... anything. Everyone is watching.

The Peacekeeper he knocked down - Keevan - escorts her up the center aisle. Renji finds he can only watch for a moment before he feels that resolve start to crack a little, then he returns his gaze to the distance. On the stage beside him, Trinket introduces Issui, and goes through the motions of calling for volunteers. Renji hadn't let him get that far with Kikuchi.

The crowd is quiet.

Renji only spares a brief glance at Issui when the mayor starts reading through the Treaty of Treason. He's sorry. He's so, so, so sorry. There's no telling her that, not now. He clenches his jaw and ignores the burning in his throat. He doesn't know what he's going to do. This isn't supposed to be happening. It's not like he had a plan, really, but this is one of the worst possible things that could have happened. He's certain of one thing, though. Just one.

He's going to do everything in his power to make the Capitol pay for this.

[issuiyanagi]

When Trinket calls for volunteers, Issui snaps her gaze over to Shinobu. No. She shakes her head. Don't. Caro and Rukia are holding onto her tightly, and Caro even has a hand over Shinobu's mouth. Good. That wouldn't fix anything.

Issui would rather it be her than Shinobu anyway.

It's hard to look out at all those people while the mayor drones on. But it's better than looking at Renji right now. Issui's not sure she could. She keeps her eyes on her friends instead, which isn't much easier.

The mayor must be done because now Trinket's telling them to shake hands. She turns slowly toward Renji. Once she can unclench her hands she reaches out and takes his hand in both of hers. An awkward brief handshake is the norm-- most Tributes go for as brief as they can get away with. Not Issui. As she continues to hold onto Renji's hand, she spares a brief glance at the cameras and lifts her head slightly. Her blank expression comes in handy, up on the screens she looks haughty. Defiant. Good.

She turns back to Renji and straightens up to her full height. She's always tall, but the way she tends to slouch disguises just how tall. Now she practically towers over Trinket. The Capitol can have their little show, but not for free. Not this year.

[renjiabarai]

Renji hesitates before finally turns to Issui at Trinket's call. The handshake. He's not looking forward to it - it's Issui, and he has to keep his shit together. He clasps her hand in his, though that quickly becomes a bit reversed, with both her hands on his. Well... alright then. He holds the handshake, following her gaze to the cameras and back. They don't get as much attention from him, though. He glances over his shoulder at the cameras dismissively. They're not worth his time.

Issui, however... He does everything he can to look like he's making eye contact without actually doing so. He never realized how tall she is. A little taller than he is, even.

That moment is rather abruptly broken when Sullivan barrels toward them at some speed. He has very little time to react. Then Walter's right there, arms slung across both of their shoulders. God, he smells like he slept in a pool of liquor.

"I like them!" Sullivan announces loudly, slurring. "Lotsa... heart," Sullivan glances between the two of them for a moment, bewildered, until he apparently gets his thoughts somewhat together.

"Yeah, that's it!" Sullivan says with a victorious grin, taking his arm off Renji to point accusingly at Trinket. "More than you!" Then he turns his accusation to the cameras, and Renji's not sure who he's addressing. "More than you!"

Renji has to shuffle back so Sullivan can wheel around and hug Issui. A moment later, Sullivan releases her and stumbles back around, looking as if he's about to hug Renji.

...Only to stagger to far to one side and plummet, face-first, off the stage, promptly knocking himself out. Beautiful. Trinket skitters around while the anthem blares loudly from the speakers. Renji ignores him, ignores the music, and leans over the edge of stage. He looks down at the the drunk dumbass passed out on the ground for a beat or two, before glancing up at the cameras and shrugging.

[issuiyanagi]

Issui doesn't know what to make of Sullivan barrelling in between her and Renji, apparently intent on drunkenly stealing the show again. Is he... is he actually saying that to the Capitol? There might be more to Sullivan than she'd thought. And now he's hugging her. She almost sympathizes with Trinket. Almost.

Sullivan smells like an entire bar and he's hugging her very tightly. At least he's not rubbing her back? Just as Issui's considering giving Shinobu a look of some sort, Sullivan lets go. And... falls off the stage. Well. That's all, folks. She's still blinking in amused disbelief when someone finally comes to herd her offstage.