Katzo learned the rhythm quickly.
Week 1: The Bakugo House.
Mitsuki woke him up at 6:30 AM sharp with a shout of "Rise and shine, brat!" — same as she did for Katsuki. Breakfast was always loud. Mitsuki cooked while Masaru set the table quietly, and Katsuki glared at his eggs like they'd insulted him.
"You're chewing too loud," Katsuki said on day three.
"You're breathing too loud," Katzo fired back, grinning.
Katsuki's eye twitched. Then he smirked. "Tch. Whatever."
That was Bakugo-speak for you're okay.
Masaru was the calm in the storm. He worked from home most days and let Katzo sit in his office with a coloring book while he answered emails. Sometimes he'd look up and ask, "How are you feeling, Katzo? Really feeling?"
Katzo always said, "Good." And mostly, it was true.
On day five, Mitsuki caught Katzo staring at his own hand, flexing his fingers.
"What's up?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Nothing," he said quickly. Then, because lying to Mitsuki felt impossible, he added, "I think my Quirk might show up soon."
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah? Well, don't force it. It'll come when it comes. And when it does —" she ruffled his hair, hard — "you better make it a good one."
Behind her, Katsuki stomped past. "Mine's gonna be better than yours."
"Obviously," Katzo said. "You're you."
Katsuki paused, unsure if that was a compliment or not. He decided it was. "Damn right."
---
Week 2: The Midoriya House.
Inko was the opposite of Mitsuki. Soft voice, soft hands, soft everything. She woke Katzo with a gentle "Good morning, sweetie" and made him small pancakes shaped like bunnies.
Izuku was already awake, muttering to himself about a video he'd watched on support gear. When Katzo sat down, Izuku's eyes locked onto him.
"Katzo! Do you think heroes should have backup weapons? I've been thinking — what if their Quirk gets canceled? Should they train without their Quirk? What if—"
"Inko," Katzo said, deadpan, "your son is broken."
Inko laughed. "You get used to it."
The Midoriya house was covered in All Might. Posters, figures, a limited-edition blanket. Katzo, who remembered the manga perfectly, had to stop himself from saying "He's going to pass his Quirk to Izuku and become a skeleton" at least three times a day.
Instead, he just nodded along when Izuku rambled.
On day three, Izuku asked, "Do you miss your old house? Before the accident?"
Katzo thought about it. He'd never seen that house. The original child's memories were gone. But he said, "A little. But this is nice."
Izuku beamed. "You can stay here forever if you want. Mom said so."
"I know. But I have to go back to the Bakugos next week."
"Oh." Izuku's face fell. Then it lit up again. "Then we'll just play extra hard this week!"
They built a pillow fort that afternoon. Katsuki came over and called it stupid. Then he got inside and refused to leave.