A/N: IM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY!!!!! Things've been really hectic last week but at last my exam's done and i'm on holiday now~ As an apology i'll write the next chapter the day after tomorrow ^^; Sorry for any mistakes in advance and enjoy!

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Sana woke up by the knocks of the sunlight behind her eyelids. She groaned, recalling how she had forgotten to pull the curtain of the gigantic window beside the bed last night as she had cried herself to sleep, trapped amidst the sorrow she let out so fervently that it was a miracle she did not lost it. There was a constant pounding on her temple as she blinked her drowsiness away. She whined, and was close to falling back to the lure of the comfy bed if it wasn't because of the nagging voice on the back of her head that told her the practice would start soon.

She sat up, swapping her hair back absentmindedly and took in how her first morning in the Capitol looked like.

Morning in the Capitol was hazy and serene. Orange threads of sunrise basked the city like a pour of strings. It kind of reminded her how the morning in the District 12 look like, breezy and tranquil and peaceful. White, with a hint of green, was what she would probably used to describe that moment, where she would just lay on the humid soil with her hunting knife and bow on her waist, the end of her patched-up trouser stained with mud and her breathe slow as she indulge in the freshness of morning air.

But if District 12 made her feel content, it was different with Capitol. Only the peak of skyscrapers and towers could be seen above the fog and Sana felt like floating, weightless with no burden. She felt powerful; a sensation that sent an ounce of thrill to her veins. That until the headache reminded her about the games, about the practice, about her being away from home, about Tzuyu.

Tzuyu.

Even the way her name resounded inside her mind got her wrecked.

She wiped her eyes even before they could shed a tear. She had enough of crying. She had cried so much it hurt to cry some more. Sana didn't want to be so weak, not when she was soon to be battled with bunch of other tributes who shared similar fate as her, not when her death would probably be broadcasted live on the whole Panem. No, she wouldn't allow that. She had enough of waiting and worrying about someone who didn't worth all the effort. She would just channel her frustration into spirit to at least survive longer than what others had expected, than what her grandma probably had expected.

With that new determination, she flipped the blanket and shuffled her way to the bathroom to wash off and get ready for her first training session with her mentor.

~*~

"Can you deliver this to President Snow? I need him to read the terms and conditions and give his consent before we can proceed to- Tzuyu?"

Huddled on her spacious desk with forehead glued on the keyboard was Tzuyu, who shot up with eyes bloodshot red and exhaustion edging her when her name was called by non other than Momo.

Realizing it was just her ex-mentor, her posture relaxed, but she kept her countenance on her usual strict default when she spotted another the staff on the watching room. A young intern named Jung Somi, who didn't seem to bother to mask her gawking out of pure amazement at Tzuyu.

Momo took a note at how horrible Tzuyu looked and conclude that she might need some time away from people to blow off some steam.

"You can go Somi."

Somi was hesitating at first, probably wanting to be in the same room as the great Chou Tzuyu longer because well, Tzuyu was pretty much a celebrity here. The way she played with death years ago was remarkable and her charisma was oozing so much during the tournament she even gained dozen of fans. Fortunately for Tzuyu, with one warning glare from Momo, the intern scurried away, the glass doors shutting with a beep and the room was once again empty aside from the blonde woman and the original occupant.

"So how was it? Last night, I mean."

Well, Momo did help Tzuyu to shoo people away, but that didn't mean she wouldn't bother Tzuyu for an answer.

Tzuyu, knowing fully well that she wouldn't be able to dodge the question, just slumped on her chair and sighed, pinching the bridge of nose with her eyes screwed closed. With the way the usually composed Tzuyu was dwarfed with whatever pressure she had at the moment, Momo, somehow, could find her answer through the non-verbal gesture. Moreover, Tzuyu only showed that kind of expression when President Snow demanded for a more brutally aggressive beast or when one or both of the tributes from their District had breathe out their last breath.

(Tzuyu was easily attached. The fact that they shared the same District and born in the same land were enough reasons to care, to wish that, well, they wouldn't die.)

"She hates me." The words taste so sour, as much as the truth, and she was half aware of how hard she had gritted her teeth in the process. She bit back her urge to just whimper and seek comfort on the corner of her abandoned apartment (she had considered the office to be her home at this rate, especially when the game was nearing).

"Maybe if you gave your reason..."

"I’d rather not." Tzuyu sighed once again, reaching out for a lonely pen and scribbled lines on the back of her report to distract herself. Every felt like a gash on the flesh of her wrist. It was painful. "Besides, she told me to keep it, and that she didn't want to hear any of it." Her voice was controlled but trembled, even if it was just a fraction.

That was it. Sana hated her. No, she must have despised her to the very core of her existence. Tzuyu bit her inner cheek and her hand movement faltered slightly. Sana's bracelet was nesting on the pocket of her jeans, bringing her down, and even the charms she that could pick up last night pricked her skins every time she shifted, as though to shout all the sins Tzuyu had did and how much damage she had caused to Sana by her rather abrupt departure.

Tzuyu hurriedly shoved the bracelet inside her bag; her pocketknife almost hit her shoes tip first if it wasn't because of her quick reflex. Sana waltzed into the scene, ducking from branches of trees and jumping over a small pond that had been formed after the rain earlier this afternoon.

Sana eyed the oddity of Tzuyu's stance and quirked her eyebrows. "Are you hiding something?"

"Errr no?"

Sana didn't buy any of it (Or more like Tzuyu could never really tell lie) and approached closer, trying to intimidate the taller girl with so much menace she could muster. However, she didn't come out strong enough that could force Tzuyu to spill the bean and ruin her little surprise for Sana's birthday tomorrow. She was too cute for her own good.

"Really?"

Tzuyu gulped. Sana was cute alright, but it didn't stop her from feeling slightly frightened. "Y- Yeah..."

Actually, she had been carving three pieces of hummingbirds out of the teak wood she had purposely hunted for its location the week before (the forest might be dense but she needed a wood with an exceptional quality to make her surprise perfect). She wasn't particularly pro at it; one of the hummingbird’s necks turned out to resemble a serpent instead while this one she was making had its head and its body proportion... Worrisome.

Despite the rather unfitting result, she tried anyway, even going as far to borrow the sharpest knife her neighbor had, a cranky old man whose job was to make swords for living. The fact that she had compiled her courage and patience to reason out with him said something.

Sana looked unconvinced, but dropped the subject nevertheless, although she still looked a bit grudging. Sana marched forward, across the decomposed trunk and toward the river, not waiting for Tzuyu to follow her, presumably upset at Tzuyu's discreet tendency over the last few days. Well, Tzuyu could understand her. They never keep something from each other throughout their seven years of friendship.

‘Wait a little bit longer please.’ Tzuyu whispered inside her mind, smiling as she caught up with Sana with ease, as the forest was pretty much her home at this point.

Later when the clock hit twelve midnight, Tzuyu sneak into Sana's dingy bedroom, careful not to wake the latter's grumpy grandmother up and gave the girl a sweet, kiss on her lips to wake her up and congratulate her on her eighteenth birthday, presenting bracelet she had made over the week and named it as the only 'secret I have ever kept from you'.

Sana did not say anything, bewildered and touched and mildly irritate, either with how Tzuyu had indeed hide something from her or just the fact that she had woken her up from her slumber. Strangely, however, Tzuyu knew Sana liked her gift because the next moment, a pair of lips was enclosing on her and she had her back on Sana's mattress; the curves and the heat radiating off Sana's body on hers. Sana was expressing her gratitude with things she was best at, and that was to mak