D4DJ: Colors of The Heart (Saki Izumo x Male Reader)

Prologue - Crimson Confliction

As another boring history lecture continues on, I try to focus but in the end, I can't help but pick up on the disdain that's so noticeable in the history teacher's tone. I don't know if it's for somebody specific, the class as a whole, or his job, but I'm probably the only one who knows about it, and that's for one simple reason: my synesthesia.

I was born with synesthesia, and because of it my senses are interconnected. It differs from person to person as to the specifics, but for me at the very least my hearing has ended up with a double-edged sword that I can pick up different people's emotions through their voice and perceive it as color. It sounds pretty cool, but as I've grown up and learned more about people, a canvas of color that seemed so pretty when I was little has been revealed for what it is. I've seen how disingenuous people are, how often what they present to the world has a disgusting truth underneath. Truth be told, I hate my synesthesia and how it's made me notice all of this, but there isn't really anything I can do about it, so I'll just keep moving forward, living with a couple rules to deal with it all.

"Y/n, can you answer this better than he did? Who passed the Haito Edict that prevented former samurai from carrying swords?" The teacher asked, putting down the last person he asked

I stood up and said "The Great Council of State passed it."

He nodded and said "Correct, go ahead and sit down." Huh, after I answered correctly the color of his disdain lightened some.

I returned to my seat and as I finished taking some notes on the current subject, I doodled to pass the time. Wait, don't I have cleaning duty today? And I'm pretty sure I'm stuck with Saki Izumo, the one person who I really can't seem to understand.

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After classes, as I got ready for cleanup duty, I saw Izumo headed my way and she said "L/n, I'll start the sweeping while you take care of the whiteboard."

"Huh? Yeah I guess I can do that. I'll help sweep after I'm done though." I said, I mean cleaning the whiteboard isn't exactly hard.

After that, we silently grabbed what we'd needed and got to work. I took out my headphones and started to play some music. This girl has synesthesia like me, right? How come she seems so at peace and happy despite it? Well I guess it's probably that whatever hers is like is nowhere near as much of a nuisance as mine. Man, I wish I could have a situation like that.

Saki's Perspective

As I cleaned I couldn't help but feel curious about Y/n. He has a reputation of being hard to approach among our classmates and besides class he's always got headphones in listening to something. But he seems like a kind enough person and looking at him as he works and listens to his music, there's a smile on his face.

After a moment however, he pulled his headphones up on one side and he said "Yeah?"

"Oh uh, it's nothing." I said, realizing that I must have been staring at him and he must have thought I needed something

His expression softly slightly and he shrugged "Yeah alright."

The two of us got back to working, an awkward air between us, until suddenly the song he was listening to starting to play aloud, it was an instrumental version of song that I recognize, and he muttered "Aw come on, I thought I charged them"

"It's alright, I enjoy music." I said

With his music now audible, I could start to see the color of his heart, and I saw a really dim blue. I've usually seen blue in people who are calm or have some sort of idea, but with him it doesn't feel like either of them really fit him, if anything it seems like he's conflicted about something.

"No, that isn't it." Y/n said as he headed to his desk and pulled a cord out of his bag, plugging it in and connecting his headphones. He left the music on at the very least, so I can try to learn more about him, but he still seems so conflicted about something

"Is there anything I can help with?" I asked

Y/n let out a sigh and said "Well if you had some way to turn off my synesthesia besides blocking out noise, that'd be great."

"Huh?" I said, surprised. He has synesthesia too?

Y/n's Perspective

As I picked up on her surprise, I regretted mentioning my synesthesia to her for a moment before I said "Yeah, I have synesthesia too, and it really, really sucks."

"Wait, what problems is it causing you?" Izumo asked, curious

"First off, can you explain how it is with you? I've been dying to understand why you don't ever seem to have the issue I have." I said

"Alright, when I'm listening to music with someone, I can sort of read their hearts through the colors I see." Izumo said

I let out a deep breath and said "So that's why, and I'm guessing part of why you're a DJ. Meanwhile I'm stuck picking up the real emotions in people's voices no matter how much they hide it."

"Really? That's amazing." Izumo said, seemingly happy to be able to relate to me through something like this

I shrug and say "I guess it is until you learn enough about people and pick up on all the negativities."

"Even with that, I'm sure you find it a gift in at least some capacity." Izumo said "I'd love to talk and compare the colors we see."

Compare the colors? I'm sick of being able to pick up on all the hate, jealousy, and lies that people constantly are spouting out, I don't care about the colors anymore.

Since we were done cleaning I grabbed my headphones, and turned them on, figuring they'll at least last until I can get home, and left the room, saying "I really don't understand you."

As I headed through the halls to leave, I let out a sigh. I don't understand her, I really don't. I'm stuck being able to pick up on things I shouldn't and don't want to know, but she still believes that in some capacity this is a gift. She seems interested in me now that she's aware I'm like her so maybe someday we can talk and try to understand each other, but I doubt that it's going to happen anytime soon.

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A/n: Like with Disco Volante, I'm going to take the basic idea from my Saki oneshot and turn it into a full story, and hopefully something way better. I'm looking forward to seeing how my changes and expansions will end up, and I hope you'll enjoy what's to come.