Strings and Buttons

Chapter 23: Burning Red

A voice whispering in his ear, the wind outside, the creaking of the house, rooting him to the floor. The unknown hushing and creaking lift his arm up and puts the stone over his eye. He blinks, and through the hole in the stone, the world is monotone. 

Dark blacks and light whites, all washing over the world like an old grayscale painting. He looks around with the stone held up to his eye until he sees something other than the lack of bright color. He lands on that color so suddenly that it would be impossible to miss. 

The item is a bright red. The red of burning fire, the red of bright flowers, the red of the sky, the red of blood. Without taking his eye out of the stone, he reaches his hand out to grab at the flaming item. His hand closes around something small and smooth, so cold against his hand.

Closing his fist around it, he takes the stone from his eye and looks down at the item in his hand. It's a small black marble, one that was sitting on top of the pile of clothes that he had thrown on the floor. Something so easily forgotten and lost, one of the ghost's souls. 

He almost doesn't believe that this is the same thing he was looking at just moments before. He puts the stone back to his eye just to double check and the marble is back to its bright red color. There is another voice in his head, clearly not his own, only louder now.

"Thank you for saving me. I promise, if i could, i would reward you with the best tea my family has to offer. My thanks is all i can give you. But you must be careful uncovering my friends. The beldam is furious that you've found me. Good luck, Katsuki Bakugou."

Katsuki doesn't ever think he'll get used to the feeling of hearing someone else's voice inside of his head. He puts the marble in his pocket, his hand going to grip the stone. This protection, or guide, or whatever the hell it is, just makes him feel slightly more at ease.

 As he walks through the door, just leaving the mess of the room, a sudden stinging covers his entire body. It's so sudden it makes him jump. It feels like a harsh wind blowing sand against him, like he's standing on the beach in a tornado, but unable to even run or get away from it.

 It hurts so bad, but someone rings in his head, the voice of the boy he saw earlier.

"You must keep going. Don't stop, she is doing this to deter you."

He walks, the invisible blowing sand still not going away, even when he walks down the stairs and into the kitchen. The faucet is still letting water tap away at the porcelain sink, the never-ending tempo to Katsuki's current anguish. He yells when the stinging gets even worse,

"Stop cheating you bitch!"

There was no reply, no voice, or no movement. Katsuki's yelling falls on deaf ears, or maybe no one was around. But he knew for a fact she was watching, enjoying the sight of the harsh wind prickling his body. For a second, he doesn't think she's going to stop fucking with him. 

But, the wind whips around him one more time, especially harshly, before it stops. He takes a deep breath, the stinging still hurting slightly, and slowly lets it out. The water is still dripping, only quicker this time. 

His back is to the sink, and he doesn't want to look and see if it's her, so he quickly goes through the front door, stepping outside into the night. There is no sound, not even insects chirping or chattering, when he steps off of the porch and onto the ground. 

He begins to walk, pulling his jacket closer to himself as he circles the house. He stops only when he's right back around again, this time a sound catching his attention. Something being moved in the wind, like a flag. 

He looks up, and on the small railing at the landing of the old man's flat, there is a coat with shoes stitched under it. Deku's red shoes stand out against the darkness of the house and Katsuki feels that familiar heat warming his body. 

She wants to rub it in his face, gloat around like she's already won and is just playing around with him. But like hell he's going to let her do that. He grits his teeth and angrily mutters to himself, his hands balled up into fists. 

He looks down the stairs of Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Hisashi's flat. The flashing lights that once displayed a number of words now flashes symbols and patterns that Katsuki doesn't know the meaning of. 

He goes down the creaking stairs and puts his hand on the doorknob. He pushes, but it doesn't budge. After a few more tries and still no result, he slams his body against the wood. With a loud crash, the door falls off of its hinges and he goes along with it, falling inside. 

A cloud of dust rises from the impact and Katsuki coughs, swatting the blinding filth away from his face. After gaining his baring's, Katsuki stands up and takes the flashlight out of his backpack, now with fresh batteries. He clicks it on and tries to get a better look at the room he's in.