What Is Free? (Kiribaku Midevil Au)

part 10

Days stretched on as the group traveled along the plains. Soon after setting out on the ocean of green they four developed a routine. They would travel until mid-day. Then they would stop, set up camp and train. After spending a whole afternoon fighting they would sleep under the cover of night. Kirishima knew the plains were big but he didn't think they were this big. Just green for miles and miles. And when the sun set each blade of grass would radiate a golden glow. The others had found out quickly that Kirishima likes shiny golden things. The first time he saw this golden glow in the grass he was basically a cat on cat nip. Bakugo would never let him live it down. Izuku later explained that it had something to do with a dragons hoard or something. Kirishima and Bakugo were too busy sparing to care. Kirishima's swordsman skills had greatly improved to the point where he could start to be offensive instead of constantly being defensive. Now that he thought about it, everyone was getting stronger. Todoroki was gaining control, Izuku was mastering that magic sword of his and Bakugo was learning more defensive strategies as well as offensive ones. They all were improving. He couldn't help but hope it was enough to fight the league. They had already finished training for the day and set up camp. The sun was setting which meant Kirishima was rolling in the golden grass as the others ignored his antics. His hands brushed back the thin blades. His eyes scanned each and every one. He knew they weren't gold or anything valuable bit it was still nice to see. He loved how the further down you went to each blade the darker the gold became until it returned to the normal green at the base. The gold color was what captivated him though. He felt warm when he was near it, both inside and out strangely. Maybe it was his instincts or something that made him feel like this. It's not like he could exactly ask anyone if he was right or not. He examined the color more closely. The tips he felt like we're paler the more he looked at it. It brought him a sense of comfort and familiarity oddly. It reminded him of something besides gold. His eyebrows knit together as he thought about it. His eyes narrowed at the grass. What is it?

It looked kind of like Bakugo's hair.

He immediately sat up upon that realization. He stopped analyzing the grass and glanced over to the others. He specifically looked at Bakugo and his hair. It was identical in color to the golden light. Maybe that's why Kirishima felt so close to the color of this grass. But why did he feel so close to Bakugo then? The sun set below the horizon line as Kirishima placed his hand on his chin. Did Bakugo have dark roots too? Was his hair actually made of gold? He stood up and began walking back over to the group. It was Todoroki's turn to prepare and make the fire. Bakugo's back was facing Kirishima as he slinked up behind him. His predatory silence giving him a huge advantage. His gaze narrowed on his target. His body moved on its own, pure instinct overriding any rationality or logic. He jumped up right behind Bakugo, his hands treading through the blond hair to try and see if he had darkened roots.

"What the fuck!?" Bakugo jumped up in surprise. His hand went to his sword but he detached it after their training. "What the hell shitty hair?!"

"I wanted to see if your hair had dark roots." Kirishima shrugged as if it was obvious. His hands shot back out to Bakugo's head again. "now let me see!"

Bakugo dodged and backed away from the fire. Kirishima may be immune to fire but Bakugo was very much not. "Get the fuck away!" He huffed. But Kirishima wasn't one to just give up on something. He launched himself at Bakugo again, only this time Bakugo had the common sense to run.

"Uh should we intervene?" Izuku asked.

"It's not our problem. They're sort this out." Todoroki shrugged and his gaze went back to the fire. Kirishima was chasing after Bakugo over the hills. The molten reds of the sunset were not replaced by the dark blues of nights with the eyes of stars.

"Just let me see!" Kirishima made a mad dash and grabbed Bakugo's arm. Bakugo violently yanked his arm. He used the moment to throw Kirishima over his head and to the ground. Kirishima's breath quickly left his lungs upon impact.