Katsuki hoped it wasn't what he thought and that Izuku definitely didn't have anything to notice.

But the only person more observant than that fuckwad was probably God himself. Or a Birdie to a Katsuki.

And, well, she did follow Katsuki out with a humble traveling pack of her own.

"Oh, are you coming with us after all, Lady Ochako?" Izuku asked.

Ochako blinked and glanced at him. "Huh? Oh, Izuku! Yeah I, um, heard you were going to Crown Mountain. There's a rare herb there I needed to restock on."

Iida, who was standing next to Izuku with a passel of what could only be supplies he had brought for them, furrowed his brow. "Didn't we just get a delivery from Ninjang for you?"

"I've been having to make a lot of wards for the castle," said Ochako quickly. "They all kind of expire around the same time. You know."

No, Iida didn't know, but he nodded uncertainly anyway.

"If you say so. I suppose you'll be safe if you are with them, but do come back quickly."

"Aren't you trusting us a bit too easily?" said Katsuki, both because he was and also he really, really, really didn't want Ochako to get her way.

Iida stopped, thought for a moment with pinched chin and everything, before saying, "This…may sound strange, but I've been having the strongest feelings that I've known you for a very long time and that, yes, I can trust you. Are you sure we haven't met before?"

"Yep," said Katsuki, even as Izuku added, rather unnecessarily, "We've never left our homelands before, there wouldn't have been a chance."

"Hmm. Alright."

"But then there was this previous life," said Eijiro, rather sleepily. "Why don't you just tell him?"

"Because that went so great for you," said Katsuki.

"Nnng, why are you guys up so early?" A pink head oozed out from beneath Eijiro's wing and over his thigh. "Wait, we're leaving?"

"It's almost noon, Pinky, get your ass moving."

"Okay, okay, jeeze."

"I can make your bags lighter," said Ochako, uncomfortably close and doing the stupid eye sparkle again. "Would you like that?"

Katsuki put some much-needed distance. "No. Stop asking."

"But they look so heavy."

"And I'm strong as hell, go away."

He looked over at Izuku, fully expecting him to be giving him that scolding mama look, but instead he was looking back and forth between Katsuki and Ochako, a squirrely little furrow between his eyebrows and the beginnings of a frown.

Well, shit.

He had three options. 1. Do what he did best and asshole to the extreme to scare her away, pissing off Izuku probably to the point of never forgiving him (not like he cared). 2. Pull Izuku over and tell him what was what and then straight up refuse her coming with them, hopefully with Izuku's support. Or 3. Just blow her up. Wasn't like Izuku had the balls to make a decision on that anyway.

No, there was no 4. He was not bringing along a Pink Cheeks obviously smitten with him and doing nothing about it. It wasn't happening, nu uh, no way. Wasn't she just flirting with the dweeb yesterday? Were girls always this flippant? Damn, maybe life would be easier if he were gay-blargh, uck, no way no way, he'd rather not be attracted to anyone at all. He'd rather hurl! Dudes were just nasty.

Screw it!

He dropped his bag and went for the side pouch.

"Kaachan?"

"At least let me hunt first, I'm starving."

"I could hunt for you, Mina."

"If you could refrain from hunting until you're out of my territory, that would be much appreciated."

"Pink Cheeks, go towards that wall, will you?"

"Pink Cheeks? Is that me?"

"Kaachan, what are you doing?"

Katsuki, having eyed the distance between them and a far wall in the courtyard, started walking towards it. The few soldiers still out and trying to practice in the space not taken up by a huge-ass dragon scattered to the far corners, as though already knowing what was going to happen and not wanting anything to do with it.

"Come on, girl, over here."

"O-oh, um, okay. Can I ask why?"

"Gonna show you a magic trick."

Her whole visage lit up. "Really? You're going to show me your dragon magic?"

"Yeah, sure," he gestured to the wall again. "That way. Few steps. There you go."

"Wait Kaachan-"

"You keep your ass still, nerd."

"You can't-what if you hurt her?"

"She'll be fine." He popped out the stopper from the gunpowder bag and carefully measured out what they'd done for their experiments. He'd measured it out so many times when they'd done it that he could remember it. The little circle of his palm. Hopefully his hand wasn't THAT much bigger than when he'd been eleven.

Meh, Ochako was bigger than they were back then anyways.

"No, wait!"

Katsuki dumped the gunpowder, took a step back, palm up, and fired.

There were several things done wrong at this moment, first and mainly that Katsuki hadn't discussed this with anyone. No, he could be that close to the explosion. He'd practiced enough with his own magic, and with Eijiro, to be able to control the trajectory of any and all fire, especially abrupt, violent fire-like explosions.

The rest, well…basically everything was wrong.

The explosion, directed all at Ochacko rather than allowed to explode freely, threw her back. Not only was there more gunpowder, but having it all concentrated made it no less than cannon fire.

The little witch slammed into the wall with a loud CRACK.

"URARAKA!" Izuku and Iida screamed.

Katsuki didn't have to see through the smoke to realize he'd done something wrong.

"Oops."

Well…at least she wouldn't be in love with him anymore, right?