~ Third Person P.O.V ~

Katsuki's face scrunched up as he tossed and turned in his sleep, mumbling incoherent words and phrases under his breath. Men shouting, and the ear-splitting, whining, feedback of a bomb exploding resurfacing in the forefront of his mind-- images of people sprinting, men falling . . . their screams. Water splashing and being filled to the brim with muck, and shrapnel from the bomb . . . His father--

Jolting upwards, the blond pants as dewdrops of perspiration formulated in the dips of his temples-- streaking down his chin and broad column of his neck. What the hell was wrong with him? It had been weeks - no - months, since he had that nightmare and now all of a sudden . . . Shaking his head, as if he were shaking away his thoughts, Katsuki threads his fingers through his dampened locks. More drops of odorless sweat rolling down his nape as he heaves a sigh.

It was still nighttime, the well-rounded moon presenting itself in the window told him so-- casting shadows and light sources throughout the room. Swallowing thickly, the scarlet-eyed male swings his legs out of the bed . . . his body instantly beginning to cool as his feet hit the bitter floor.

Soft snores and snorts cut through the air and filled his ears, prompting him to pinch his eyebrows together-- Shoto never snores. Quietly sludging over to the other male's bed he finds the duel-haired boy sound asleep, no snores whatsoever emitting from him.

That's when he remembered the other male in the room. With inquisitive, probing eyes, Katsuki made his way over to the sleeping Japanese-American-- taking light-footed steps as he went along. As habitual, Izuku was sprawled out on the floor in a wild manner, thin blanket scarcely sheltering his delicate frame. Untamed, curled, emerald locks swirling around the plump mounds of his cheeks as well as fanning over his eyes and nose. From Katsuki's perspective, he almost looked like a small child when he slept. It was . . . cute.

Yeah, cute-- for a snarky, annoying boy who never ceased to piss the blond off.

"Do you always watch people while they sleep or am I just an exception?" Izuku scoffed, voice low and hoarse from his previous slumber.

"Are you always a sarcastic jackass or are me and Todoroki just an exception?" Katsuki countered, cocking an eyebrow as he awaited an answer from the smaller male.

Mouth pulling downwards into an ironed, grim line, Izuku swallows thickly. "Touché,"

It was fairly quiet between the duo for a while. Izuku had since sat up on the floor, the thin blanket draped around his shoulders as his eyes wandered over to the moonlit window-- while Katsuki's did the same.

"You know you've been giving him a hard time," The elder voiced softly, scarlet orbs never peeling away from the window.

"Hm-- giving who a hard time? You'll have to be more specific than that." Izuku intoned, pulling his brows together to form a tiny dent in his forehead.

A gurgled snort managed to slip past the barriers of Katsuki's lips at the smaller male's reply, only to harden his expression a fraction of a second later. "Todoroki, you've been giving Todoroki a hard time," He clarified, folding his arms across his chest and shifting his weight from one side to the other. Attempting his best to remain indifferent.

Truth be told, the blond wasn't all too bothered by Izuku's presence-- however, that's what pissed him off the most. Katsuki should be bothered, infuriated even; that's probably why he acts the way he does with the boy. Nice one minute, then attempting to rip his head off the next. If the boy were anyone else he most likely wouldn't even acknowledge him unless it was needed, yet that wasn't the case here. Izuku is who he is . . . more like what race he is. Katsuki didn't want to consider himself to be a racist, however, he was cautious-- especially with everything going on . . . especially with everything that already happened. He was at war with himself, internally, he didn't want to be a complete and utter asshole to the boy like he was . . .

He knew it wasn't right . . . His father taught him better than that . . . But none of that mattered. Right? It was his father's carelessness, his bovine optimism that everyone was equal that got him killed. Katsuki's father was an idiot-- at least to him, he was.

Katsuki was at war with himself and he was afraid of losing. And it was all Izuku's fault, at least to him it was if he hadn't--

"Good," Izuku huffed putting an end to Katsuki's mental berating, pulling his legs closer together-- eyes still examining the other male expectantly. As if he were anticipating something bad to happen. Something he knew he wouldn't be able to control.

Call it anxiety, paranoia even; but could you blame him?

"Am I giving you a hard time, too?" He probed, slight amusement licking the base of his tone, barely detectable underneath the mask of his monotone.

"It's a probability," Katsuki grunted lowly forcing Izuku to strain his ears just to hear, trudging back over to his bed and getting back under the covers. "I'm going back to bed . . . if you're loud and wake me up I'll fucking kill you, got it?"

Izuku, who was too exhausted himself to even concern himself with the blond's threat, just nodded his head. Emerald eyes glued to the outside world, a longing look disrupting the mask he put up.

'I miss you Mama . . .'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I repeat myself yet again, that's the stupidest shit I've ever heard Captain!" Katsuki scoffed, leaning back in his chair whilst rolling his eyes. "Todoroki and the Small Fry have only been training for a few days-- sending him out now will only slow us down out there!"

The raven-haired man's features had become unbending as he controlled his voice into a low, tight, yell. "I don't give a damn what you think Bakugou, the war doesn't wait for us-- it expects us to keep up with it!" He snarled, fingers grazing the wooden table separating them.

"So, what? You send us out there and expect him to kick ass right off the bat?!" Katsuki countered mouth parted with raised brows. "It's fucking stupid," He muttered under his breath.

"Bakugou you listen to me and you listen good," Aizawa growled, teeth grinding together before he spoke again. "We have promising leads that put Japanese spies in Florida and New York, we have people on the inside in both states who will help if everything does go to shit. I don't care if you think it's 'stupid', it's happening."

Katsuki, who had little to no trust in his Captain's plans, begrudgingly nodded his head-- a cloth of unease wrapping itself tightly around the pit of his stomach. This would end horribly, he knew it, hell, Aizawa knew it . . . But desperate times called for desperate measures. Yet this seemed like they would need a miracle to pull this off, one they didn't have.

"You and Todoroki will take Izuku Midoriya, as well as your unit to Florida first-- get familiarized with the area for about a week or two and lay low. Once you finally get there contact me," Aizawa explained, his consternation from before slowly dispersing from his voice.

However, his eyes still held onto the last drops of irritation he had.

"It's a suicide mission," Katsuki grumbled over his shoulder before walking out of the tent.