Cussed (Kacchako)

THIRTEEN

"That sounds like an awful game," Katsuki said, grimacing. He had a pretty rock solid stomach, but the spin he had managed, combined with the impact on the wall, made him think that the barf bucket Ochako had brought with her wouldn't go unused if he did much more of that. He didn't know the range that Ochako's quirk lasted. Could she make him weightless and then leave him to train on his own so she wouldn't see him floundering around?

Ochako tapped on his chest, and he felt that odd sensation of lightness. "Oh, but see, you'll be trying to catch me," she said coyly, stepping away from him. That damn outfit she had was distracting enough, he didn't need her playing the minx to go along it. "And if you catch me, you can have me."

Katsuki head snapped to her. What did that mean?! She was hovering a few feet off the ground, grinning down at him. It didn't matter what it meant; whatever it was, he was sure that he would enjoy it. He was tempted to fire off and get to her as quickly as possible. Going slowly was almost painful, but he knew if he just used his explosions, he would go spinning into some wall again. And since this was some demented game of tag, she wouldn't be coming to his rescue this time.

He jumped into the air, relying on the power of his legs. Ochako used those weird air canisters to shoot back from him, but it wasn't necessary. Even just using the power from his legs, he realized that he didn't apply the exact same force with both legs, that both feet didn't leave the ground at the same time, so while he didn't go violently spinning like he had the last time, he hardly went straight up like he was expecting. He remembered seeing Ochako maneuver a bit when they were younger, and he suddenly had a lot more respect for what she had been able to do then. And now? She was weaving back and forth in the air as she was watching him, making it look like the easiest thing in the world.

Katsuki took a moment and just watched her. Not all her directional changes were due to the air. She would twist and bend her body, and along with her momentum, that would alter how she was moving. He tried. It wasn't exactly a failure...he was able to change how he was moving, but hadn't manage to really straighten out. He finally stopped moving, several feet in the air and at an odd angle. Ochako hovered a few feet above him and several feet back, giving him an inscrutable look. Finally she sighed.

"I don't know the best way to describe it," she said, still studying him. "It's a different kind of spatial awareness." She paused and started weaving back and forth in thought. "I'm sure it's really close to whatever you already do. You learned how to maneuver really well, it practically looks like you're flying sometimes."

"You've watched me?" Katsuki asked, somewhat surprised. She turned an attractive shade of pink. Well, wasn't that interesting. "That took a lot of practice. And lots of falling and rough landings."

"Well, I mean, this will be similar. But what you learned there should be the same. So, at least the learning curve won't be so bad?"

Katsuki grunted. So he just had to resign himself to getting a bit beat up. And looking like a fucking idiot in front of woman he was trying to impress. Alright. He could do that. He crossed his arms, thinking. His regular blast was too strong. And the force produced might be too diffuse to give a reliable directional change. His AP shot could give him a tighter form of propulsion, but it was also a stronger blast. It had been a long damn time since he tried to reduce the strength of his explosions. In life or death fights, pulling your punches didn't a hell of a lot of sense. Now, however...

He made a circle with his left hand and placed it against his right palm. He took a deep breath and imagined trying light a candle as opposed to bringing down a building.

The moment the explosion started, he knew that he hadn't nailed the imagination part, but it was still a smaller explosion than normal. He flew backwards and up, and the momentum allowed him more freedom to twist in the air and orient himself more or less upright. Katsuki looked at his hands. Normally he liked to have one of the palms open to get as much surface area as possible for the blast. He closed his fists, looser by his thumb and tighter by his little finger, and looked at the inverted cone formed. His blast would be a lot smaller, but that was what he wanted, right? And this would free up both hands. Katsuki tried again. The blasts were a lot smaller, but as a result it was easier to control. He grinned. Ok, he thought, I can do this. I can catch her. "Ready?"