Nine

"Dare to be different."

- What Ira once said to Nine. Nine is a tribute of Aria. She is also referred to as Ira Mendez, but her real name is Nine.

Appearance
WIP

Personality
Nine is the best, most badass yet friendly friend you could ever hope for. She's determined and would do anything to protect the ones she loved, no matter what the danger. Hence, the reason she pretended to be Ira to save her.

Nine greets danger, adventure and thrill like best friends. She doesn't want a happy ending. She surely never had a happy beginning. All she wants is a happy middle which she enjoys before she dies.

Nine is open to adventure, romance, danger and sacrifice. She stands for it. She's a big dreamer, but she doesn't dream for things most people would; Nine dreams to live life to the fullest. She's a full-fledged, YOLO-ing girl who can't stay still for a minute.

That said, Nine isn't always the fun-loving girl she is. Sometimes she cares too much. Sometimes she just makes the biggest mistakes of her life for those she loves. She wouldn't save the world if it meant letting go of them. She would give up her own life if it meant saving them. And that was exactly what she did.

Backstory
Born to a less-than-average family and unnamed for the rest of her life, this girl hated it. Her family treated her like trash and dragged her back after a beating whenever she tried to run away. That was, until at the age of six, when her entire family was shot by peacekeepers. All except for the protagonist of this story, who did the logical thing.

She ran away.

And was caught by peacekeepers a year later.

There was a debate about what to do with this runaway who should've been killed a year ago, and it was decided that she would be sent to a place worse than home: the orphanage.

Naturally, there was a repeat of what happened in her earlier life. Failed escapes, beatings, treated like trash, you know.

That was until at the age of nine, when she was at the field in the orphanage alone, resting against the trunk of a tree.

"Want an apple?"

She quickly got up and turned around, facing the tree. She didn't know where this strangely similar voice came from. Then, the source of the voice jumped down from the tree, biting an apple.

"Excuse me?" she said.

The other girl, who looked almost exactly like her, rolled her eyes. "I said, do you want an apple?" She didn't say anything, because she was used to people fake-offering her things, and then going like, "Whoops! I was kidding! That's not for idiots like you." But this strange tree-jumping girl seemed sincere yet sassy. After she didn't say anything for a moment, the other girl just threw an apple for her to catch, which she did.

"Mendez. Ira. And you are?"

Once she (again) didn't respond, Ira gave a short laugh. "One of the unnamed ones?" she asked. "That's alright. You can give yourself a name."

She thought about this for a moment, but couldn't find anything to call herself. People would laugh at her no matter what name she chose.

Ira shook her head. "Tell you what. Make your name a number."

The girl tilted her head. "Why a number?"

Ira shrugged. "I don't know. I've never met anyone with a number for a name."

"Of all things, why a number?"

"Dare to be different."

She thought about this for a while, and finally came to a conclusion. "Nine," she said.

Ira lit up. "Well, Nine, pleased to make your acquaintance."

And since that day, Nine's life wasn't that bad.

Three years passed, and Ira and Nine were still best friends. They were both twelve, so it was their first time going to the Reaping. Neither were nervous, though.

"This is nothing," Ira whispered to Nine.

"I know, right?" Nine whispered back.

"And the female tribute this year," the escort was saying, "will be Ira Mendez!"

Ira, bravely, was walking up to the stage with Nine cheering her on, until someone older, about sixteen, called out, "I volunteer!"

Nine was impressed to see a volunteer. Brianne Winslow, the volunteer, looked like she had a chance of winning, and Nine and Ira kept rooting on for her.

Brianne died at the end, earning second place, when the vicious Career took her out in a way that I can't explain.

Ira started shaking. "Oh, my God," she said, "I never want to be in the Games. And to think I was Reaped that day!"

Nine herself was pretty shaken up. "It'll be fine, Ira. How often do people get Reaped, huh?" But Nine couldn't convince herself.

Around the age of fourteen, both of them brought up the subject of look-a-likes. Both Nine and Ira had black hair and green eyes. They already looked alike. A few more adjustments and nobody would be able to tell who's who.

"Why not?" Nine replied to Ira's question.

So, the best friends edited themselves and turned into twins. Nobody could tell them apart. They even pretended to be each other in situations to save each other from trouble. They even found the head of the orphanage's weaponry, and taught themselves how to use basic weapons, like throwing knives and katanas. Nobody found out, and nobody got in trouble.

And it was the best two years of Nine's life.

Until the duo were sixteen, and Ira was reaped again.

Nine paled. Ira couldn't survive the thought of the Games, not after she was Reaped at twelve and seen the gruesome death of her volunteer. No. Nine couldn't let Ira into the Games.

So, Nine came up with a plan. They already looked exactly the same. They talked the same way. Nobody would know about this.

So, Nine walked up to the stage solemnly, and shook hands with the escort, who said, "Pleased to meet you, Ira."