The Definition of Red [A KiriBaku Fanfiction]

Chapter One: Forest of Feelings

Sad

/sad/

adjective
    1. Feeling or showing sorrow; unhappy.

    Green. That's what color the grass was. Green like leaves on trees during summer and green like the color of life. Katsuki didn't know why things had certain colors, or why some things didn't. He didn't know a lot of things really. He wished he did, maybe he wouldn't be so angry all the time. 

    Sighing, Katsuki pushed himself up into a sitting position and gazed around at his surroundings. Everything was so bright. The grass, the trees, the cars that passed by, everything. He wondered what it all sounded like.

   There was a time long ago that he would have been able to imagine the sound of birds, sitting high in branches, singing whatever song their tiny birdy hearts desired, or the sound of cars rolling noisily over the asphalt as they polluted the air with their fumes. Now all he heard was silence. It wasn't really even silence though. He couldn't remember what that sounded like either. He did remember what it felt like though. It felt like nothing and everything. Awkward silence; the pressure that it put on your chest and how your brain would twist itself inside out to find something to fill that empty space with or the comfortably silent moments, where your body feels warm and you're at ease. 

    So many different feelings and Katsuki could remember them all, yet he couldn't seem to remember the sound of them no matter how he tried. It pissed him off quite frankly. A sound. Nothing could hold him back, nothing in this whole damned world had the power to squander his resolve except for the lack of sound. That one little thing that made people look at him like he couldn't survive on his own just because he couldn't hear the sound of their voices. 

    He didn't have to worry about that for the time being though. His family had moved to a new town with new people and new chances. This was supposed to be a new start right? That's what this meant. His plan was to pass as normal. Not Katsuki Bakugou, the deaf kid with a hot temper. Don't get it twisted, he'd still be as hot-headed as always, there was no way he could change that. 

    With a grunt, he got to his feet, his arms stretching up above his head and towards the cloudless, light blue sky. In his pocket, his phone buzzed, the feeling startling him. Furrowing his eyebrows, he pulled out his phone, his eyes nearly rolling out of his head when he saw his Mom's name stretch across the screen. Yet another message telling him to get his ass home for dinner. He didn't feel like going home though. He'd surely get his ass chewed out by his Mother but all he had to do was look at her and pretend he was listening. The only perk of being deaf; he didn't have to listen to her screeching daily and nightly. 

    Pocketing his phone, he let his feet carry him across the grass, his black boots scuffing against the ground with every step. The day was too nice to spend cooped up in his house with his overly protective parents breathing down his neck every time he did even the simplest things.

    Katsuki didn't have any place in particular that he wanted to go. Truth be told, he barely knew where he was at the moment. He had only been living in his new town for about three months and he had not even the slightest idea where the grocery was. Still, though, Katsuki had taken it upon himself to explore this uncharted territory every day - much to his Mother's disapproval. He did many things to her disapproval, now that he thought about it. He went off alone, refused to get an aid to help him get through everyday conversations; in conclusion, he just enjoyed pissing of his Mom. Part of him knew it was just because she wanted to make his life easier but a much larger part of him saw it as her being overbearing. He didn't like the constant coddling to his disabilities. He was just as normal as the others.

---

    Katsuki walked for hours, or what seemed like hours. According to his phone, it had only been thirty minutes since he left his cozy spot in the grass. Figures, after sitting around the house for most of the summer - even if he continued to do exercises regardless of his mother's nagging - his body still ached. 

    There wasn't much for him to do. He had money on him, so he could always grab a bite to eat or maybe go to the arcade but he mostly wanted to appreciate the feel of the sun warming his skin. He couldn't experience that while sitting inside a stuffy arcade filled with sweaty teenagers who were trying too hard for a high score, their greasy, pizza fingers smashing down way too hard on the game machines buttons. Besides, if someone tried to talk to him, what would he say? "I'm deaf", "I can't hear you"? To hell with that.

    So instead, he kept walking. He ignored the ache in his heels and walked over cracked sidewalks until there were no more. When the concrete path finally came to a halt, it was in front of the forest entrance. He'd seen a few things in the newspapers about the forest. Nothing bad, just simple things. Kids having parties within the cover of its thick-leaved branches, animal activity, everything you'd expect to happen in a forest by a town filled with teenagers. 

    Katsuki stared at the thick trunked trees for a moment before taking a step forward. He could practically see his mother pulling her hair out at the decision. The thought made a smug smirk cross his face, he really did love to piss her off. 

    The forest brought a cacophony of senses to Katuski. The smell of pine, sharp and sweet, almost refreshing after having wandered around the stuffy town for an hour or so. He tasted things too. However odd it may sound, he could taste the air, sweet with the scent of honeysuckle and bitter with the hint of the animals that lived in the overgrowth. Almost immediately, Katsuki was entranced. It was like something deep in his heart called for the embrace of the forest like he would stay here forever if he had the option. It was like the forest was calling for him. For now, he would just settle with having it for a short time. 

    It didn't take much of Katsuki's aimless wandering before he came across a clearing. It wasn't anything special, just a spread of golden grass that the sunbathed in its rays. It was simple and sweet. Nothing special. So why was Katsuki so enthralled? Maybe it was how it looked like something exactly from a movie, the way the wind blew and brushed the tall grass to the side like a wave of something other than water. No, that wasn't it. That obviously wasn't it. It was the kid that laid right in the middle of it all, like a centerpiece. 

    Red hair, bright red hair that stood out like a beacon against the grass. Briefly, Katsuki wondered why in the hell someone would die their hair so brightly. It was so attention-drawing, like you wouldn't be able to not notice it, even if you tried. Only briefly was Katsuki curious about the others hair color choice. It was soon the others face that did something unexplainable to him. His expression, filled with so many emotions, made Katsuki's gut twist and do flips, made his heart still as if he'd fallen prey to whatever the other was feeling. Sadness, happiness, worry, fear; they all were so present in that moment that Katsuki almost wanted to run away. 

    Katsuki swore he made a noise. Maybe he breathed or let out a quiet word, he didn't know what exactly what. All he knew was that it alerted the other and suddenly he was staring into deep red iris' and he couldn't look away. Looking into those eyes, he realized one thing.

    It wasn't the forest that had been calling for him. 

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Thank you for reading! This is the first chapter of this story do I hope you enjoyed it. I'd say it turned out a lot better than I expected, so that's a plus.

Anyways,  updates will be every Wednesday, so don't fret, you will get the next chapter soon enough. Wink wonk