First Kill

(Author's Note: I presumed that Katniss knew Peeta's name since the district is small and Peeta was one of the more privileged, who was bound to have some rumors going around him. Besides, Katniss would have probably found out his name, since he had saved her life once. Though, I could be incorrect in assuming this. Sorry in advance)

Katniss continued to run at her full speed, basically feeling Peeta's breath upon her shoulders. Peeta was acting like an animal. Every time he stumbled, Peeta promptly raised back and continued, as if he couldn't feel the pain.

Katniss knew that something was wrong. Peeta was someone from the town square. He would never come into this part of the district, unless there was some particular reason. Seeing Peeta rushing towards her like an animal, Katniss presumed that she was that reason. Why though? 

"What do you want from me?!" Katniss shouted, not even turning her head as that would lessen her speed momentarily. Yet, no answer came from Peeta's side, and Katniss only heard rapid steps approaching from behind.

At that moment, Katniss tripped over a tree root, falling face-forth on the ground. Her head was dizzy, she took a few seconds to regain her composure. Then, Katniss grabbed onto her bow, twisting her body and loosening an arrow.

Without even hesitating, Katniss fired it. Peeta was a few feet away from her at that point, and he couldn't dodge, as the arrow pierced his thigh right through. Peeta's foot bolted backwards and he halted. Katniss, still on the ground, watched with horror as Peeta grabbed onto the arrow and ripped it out of his body.

"What..?" Katniss mumbled, seeing Peeta's smiling face reflect in the sunlight. Peeta held the bloody tight in his hand, taking small steps towards Katniss. Katniss's pupils trembled, as she tried to promptly nock another arrow. 

However, before she managed to do so, Peeta threw the arrow at her. Barely reacting in time, Katniss tilted her head to the side, the arrow hissing a few millimeters away from her cheek. And, then, Peeta was upon her. 

He hit her square in the face with his knee, causing her to stumble back. Her vision blurred, followed by a ringing sound in the ears, as she saw Peeta staring at her from above smiling. Then, Peeta leaned down, taking that same bloody arrow and raising it above his head. 

Katniss's eyes filled with tears, as she tried to wake herself up and resist, but it was futile. Peeta was a moment away from killing her, when, suddenly, a figure flashed in Katniss's vision and Peeta was pushed away.

Katniss turned her head sloppily, still dizzy. She saw another unfamiliar figure pinning Peeta on the ground, landing an uncountable number of punches on his face. 

Katniss struggled to rise to her feet, spending another instance in a sitting position. Then, she grunted, took her bow and an arrow. She heard Peeta cry out something indescribable. Standing up, she nocked the arrow, aiming it at the two men. "Don't move, both of you, or I am going to shoot your brains out!"

Her voice forced them to halt. However, only the dark-haired man stood up, his head turned away. Katniss glanced to the ground, seeing Peeta lying there, blood covering his face. He was unmoving. "Peeta?" Yet, even after that, there was no response.

The dark-haired man stood with his back against her, as Katniss aimed the arrow at him. She was confused, not understanding what was happening. "Who the hell are you? Why did you kill him?"

-

Draco walked through the forest, whistling to himself. He tried to remember the usual route Katniss used to take toward the forest, hoping that he would encounter her on his way. However, he was a bit clueless as to what to do now.

However, destiny seemed to shine upon him, as he heard a shout of help coming from the south. It was a voice he recognized. Katniss. Draco rushed towards the voice immediately, as Katniss continued to shout for help. After a few minutes, Draco finally found her, pinned against the ground by another figure.

Draco rushed at the man, grabbing him by the waist and throwing him to the ground. Then, Draco jumped on top, plunging his knees against his hands. However, once Draco saw the man's face, Draco hesitated. It was Peeta. A red screen with a warning written all over it appeared in Draco's vision, which Draco assumed to be the effect of his employee title.

Judging by the perpetual frown on Peeta's face and the fact that he had been trying to kill Katniss, Draco guessed the screen to not be lying. Peeta was infected. He had found his first prey. Peeta roared, trying to push Draco away and almost managing to do so, for Draco didn't expect such unnatural strength out of Peeta.

'There is no other option.' Draco thought, punching Peeta in the face. He rained attacks one after another, feeling the strength leaving Peeta's arms. Halting for an instance, Draco heard Peeta shout at him, his face of indescribable anger. "Let me go, you no-name character!"

After that, Draco continued, hitting and hitting, not letting Peeta resist in any way. Barely a few seconds lasted during this entire fight, but for Draco, it felt much longer. His hands bloody, Draco realized that Peeta was long dead, his face smashed in, drenched in crimson.

Then, Draco saw Peeta's mouth open slightly, as a peculiar white worm forced its way out. Remembering what Cal said, Draco grabbed the worm with one hand, squeezing and killing it effortlessly. Its blood was also white. Draco saw a few screens appear beside him, but Draco ignored them.

His eyes were drawn to Peeta's caved-in face. Draco heard Katniss shout something from behind, but he barely registered it. It was his first time killing someone, and he heard that the first time was always the hardest. They weren't wrong. Draco felt dizzy.

'I need to get used to death if I want to stay alive. Hesitation will only lead to my own demise.' Draco thought, swiping his forehead with his sleeve. Taking a deep breath, Draco's ears were bombarded by Katniss's shouts.

"Who the hell are you?" Draco heard the confusion in her voice. Then, he felt the voice soften to something similar to a threat. "Why did you kill him?"

Draco slowly turned around, seeing an arrow aimed straight at his head. Behind it, Katniss stood in her full glory. She had neat, darkish hair and a somewhat square face. Her nose was a bit swollen and there were some signs of tears going down her cheeks. 

Draco stared at her for a few instances, keeping intense eye contact. Then, he frowned. "I will not answer any of your questions until you put your bow away."

Katniss didn't move, keeping the arrow tightly knocked.

"I saved your life and that's how you repay me?" Draco raised his hands, a little grin appearing on his face. Then, he looked beyond Katniss, as Draco's face filled with horror, and he shouted. "Behind!"

Katniss, already on the verge of losing her nerves, promptly spun, expecting to see another human rushing at her. However, there was nothing, except trees. Realization struck her, but it was too late. Draco's hand was already on her bow.

Katniss looked up, seeing Draco's dark bottomless eyes staring down at her. A little smile appeared on his face. "Can't believe you fell for that. Didn't you have friends who always joked like that?"

Katniss tried to push Draco away, but he was like a stone, unmoving. The smile disappeared from his face, instead getting replaced by an indifferent one. "Don't worry, I will not harm you. I just want to make sure that you won't."

Katniss gulped, intimidated by Draco's gaze. Then, slowly, she nodded, letting go of the bow. Draco took the bow and threw it away, unintentionally smearing it with Peeta's blood. 

"Alright, now we can talk." Draco glanced one more time at Peeta's dead body, before making eye contact with Kitnass. "Honestly, I don't know either of you. I was walking through the forest when I suddenly heard you shout. I was on top of that guy before I knew it."

Katniss stared at Draco's unwavering eyes, the scowl not disappearing from her face. "Why did you have to kill him?"

"He was resisting. I wanted to just knock him out, but that guy kept receiving my punches like it was nothing. He even tried to bite me. What? Did you want me to release him, so that he gets another chance at killing you? Why do you make it sound like I am the bad guy here?" Draco feigned anger, letting his words sink in before he took a deep breath, and continued. "Anyway, do you even know this guy? He looked like he would bite his own tongue if he could get his hands on you?"

Katniss contemplated for a moment, something of a scowl on her face. "I don't know him." She concluded, then lifted her eyes to meet Draco's. "And you are right. I am sorry for coming at you like that. I was just still a bit in shock. Thank you for saving me."

Draco nodded, glancing down at his bloody hands. "What were you doing in this forest so late anyway? You know it's dangerous." Finishing that, Draco removed his sweater, cleaning his hands with it.

Katniss hesitated. "I was... getting some fresh air. What about you?"

"Same." Draco continued to clean his hands, glancing down at Peeta's body. "What now? He looks well-groomed and has nice clothes. Surely, people are going to start looking for him. I don't know about you, but I don't want to end up in the Justice Building."

"I don't know..." Katniss was clearly still unable to process that the man was dead. "We should probably burn his body. Otherwise, peacekeepers are eventually going to find him, and then we are probably done for."

Draco put a hand to his chin. "No...the District is too near. People are going to see the smoke and feel the smell. They might not report that, but it is not guaranteed."

Draco threw the dirty sweatshirt on top of Peeta's body. "Since I have killed him, I will go deeper into the forest and take care of the body. You don't need to worry."

Katniss eyes flickered. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Draco nodded absentmindedly. "Just go home and try to not be seen by anyone. It would be suspicious if you returned home at night, and then this guy would be declared missing."

Katniss nodded.

"Oh, and try not to act fishy during the next few days, at least until the Reaping. You know how they are, the Peacekeepers could just randomly stop you on the street." Draco added, kneeling in front of Peeta's body. "And if you see me somewhere, try to act like you don't know me. Don't tell anyone of this incident and just forget it, alright?"

"Yes..." Katniss's doubts filtered within her voice. Slowly, she picked up her bow, cleaning the blood with a leaf. "Could you at least tell me your name before I go?"

"Draco," Draco answered, without giving it much thought.

"I am Katniss." Draco heard her say, followed by the sound of her footsteps. Then, it was quiet once again, except for Draco's quiet breathing. Draco glanced down at his hands, seeing them getting a bit swollen. Sighing, Draco sat down on the ground. So much happened in these half an hour.

He killed someone for the first time and then lied to the main character of the Hunger Games. It felt bizarre talking with a character you have always presumed to be just fictional, seeing them behave and act in a way that was indistinguishable from any other human.

Trying to distract his mind, Draco checked the system notifications.

-

[You have killed an Ordinary Mysthral(Level 1)]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have received 35 Coins!]

-

Draco stared at the notification, not expecting to level up from killing just one Mysthral. Draco had basically ambushed the creature, thus not really getting a feel of whether a level 1 was considered strong or not. However, Draco almost got pushed away, meaning that the creature's strength had to be around the same level as his.

That brought up another question though. Cal said that Mysthrals can recognize him if he uses powers from different worlds. However, since he doesn't have them yet, can they feel that he is not from this world? After all, technically, with their actions, Mysthrals could very well change the plot themselves, meaning that they could think that Draco was just a character not mentioned in the story.

Thinking, Draco forwarded this question to Cal and then proceeded to open his stats.

-

Name: Draco Ashvale

Age: 18

Title: Unhinged Lunatic, Cal's Employee Number 903.

Level: 2 (62%)

Strength: 5

Agility: 6

Perception: 5

Stamina: 6

Intelligence: 4

Willpower: 189

Luck: 25(Unchangeable)

Stat Points: 2

*Skills: None

*Summons: None

*Equipment: None

Coins: 35

-

He had become level 2 and was 62% way towards level 3. Furthermore, it seemed like for each level, Draco would receive two stats points, which was not bad, but Draco hoped for more. Finally, Draco was the most excited about coins, for only with them Draco could purchase skills.

...Only with coins could he become different from a normal, boring human being.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Draco had to spend these coins just after getting them. Glancing through the screen at Peeta's dead body, Draco sighed. He knew too little about this world's technology, and Draco feared that even if he burned Peeta's body deeper within the forest, he would still somehow be found out.

That would ruin all of his plans and possibly result in his death, and Draco wasn't willing to take that risk. There were too many factors at work, including luck. Perhaps some peacekeepers are, for some reason, taking watch in this forest.

Instead, Draco preferred to do everything in a sophisticated manner that wouldn't leave any signs of Peeta even being here. Paranoia can get quite bad, especially when in doubt. Thus, Draco opened the shop, clicked on Summons(F-rank), and began scrolling.

"Damn, this is getting nowhere," Draco mumbled after a few minutes. There were just too many summons. Some of them were really fascinating, despite being F rank, and Draco found himself dozing off at the thought of having them.

Then, a realization would strike him that he was still sitting beside dead Peeta. Sighing, Draco tried a different approach. In the search bar, Draco typed cleaning, hiding, illusion, and burying. Only after that did Draco start seeing stuff more related to what he wanted.

Finally, he stopped scrolling and pressed on one, staring at it for a while.

-

[Summon: Dead Butterfly]

[Rank: F]

[World: Harry Potter]

[Description: A butterfly that died, but is afraid to cross the bridge to the other side without a partner. Attaching itself to a dead body, this butterfly causes it to disappear alongside it, leaving no sign of there ever being either of them]

[Cost: 10]

-

The price was good as well and Draco quite liked how sophisticated this method sounded. Realizing that he probably spent like fifteen minutes in this forest, Draco purchased it, seeing 10 coins disappear from his account.

There was no flash or some burst of lightning, the butterfly simply disappeared from the market, meaning that he would probably be unable to purchase it again. How unfortunate.

Once the transaction ended, Draco felt like he had grown another arm. It felt strange like he suddenly had something that was never there, but he knew how to use it perfectly. Draco closed his eyes and something moved within his shadow.

Looking back, Draco saw an intricate black butterfly flying out of the shade. Unceremoniously, it moved straight toward Peeta, not greeting its owner in any way. Draco followed it with his line of sight, seeing it land on Peeta's bare hand. Then, it started blending into Peeta's skin.

Draco blinked and the body was no longer there. Draco blinked again. Still not there. This wasn't the way he expected it to go. It was too sophisticated. 'Kind of reminds me of that joke about dad going to buy some milk.'

Still, Draco kicked the space in front of him, almost stumbling when he felt no resistance. Coughing slightly, Draco was secretly glad he was in a deserted forest, where no one could see him. Draco was about to turn back towards the village, when, suddenly, a message from Cal popped out.

[Cal: Hahaha, why are you kicking empty air?]

Draco stopped in his tracks, violently replying.

[Draco: How can you see me?]

Draco looked around whilst waiting for the response.

[Cal: I created the system. I can see everything that you do]

Draco felt a vein popping out on his forehead.

[Draco: You never told me that when I agreed to this]

[Cal: Oh, come on, you paranoic, we both know you would agree to any terms. Anyway, about the question you asked, technically, you are right. Mysthrals can't exactly know that you are my employee until they have seen definite proof that you are using powers not from that world. So, if a character not from the main story emerges, they usually assume that's because of their own actions]

[Draco: Alright, that answers my question. Thanks, stalker]

Draco saw Cal responding again, but Draco simply shrugged and moved all these screens. He needed to find some food, new clothing, and take a nap. It has been a long day and he was quite exhausted.

Draco threw one last glance at the space where Peeta's body previously lay, the sight of his splashing blood and caved-in skull imprinted in his mind. He would not forget what happened here. He would learn from this experience to never hesitate when facing a Mysthral.

Otherwise, that could be him lying on the ground, dead.