the things that you might like don't grow inside of me

No, that was exactly what she was going to do.

Shuichi could all but feel the muscles in his back immediately tensing as the small child emerged from the bushes opposite his hiding place. That alone might have been fine and escaped the small cult's notice, at least until she opened her mouth to address them directly - in the process revealing what the broken mass of twigs they'd been standing around was and what all this had been about. As incomprehensible as it might have seemed the adult men - and presumably women - were dressed like that in broad daylight and gathering... over a bird? Hardly a rare one, either, from what little Shuichi could see. He'd passed maybe a dozen nests like that just in this day alone, nevermind the number of years he'd been in forests or similar parks for work.

What made this one so special? Or were the adults in this equation just that unstable?

Neither option boded well for the girl as the masked individuals stopped at her voice, looked to each other and allowed one of their number to turn and approach the girl. It seemed that she was finally beginning to pick up on the fact that she'd made a mistake with the unease creeping into her demeanor, but at this point it was probably too late. The individual that had stepped forward to speak was polite enough, and the option was on the table - and Shuichi hoped for a moment against all reason that the girl would take it. Give them the bird, then leave here. Get to safety, find an adult and inform them of what happened. The bird would doubtlessly be placed in an unfavorable situation to put it lightly but predators got to nests all the time - it didn't particularly matter what form said predator took, and while the girl's sentiment was an admirable one she wouldn't be so easy to replace.

But no. She did what she should have done over a minute ago and turned to bolt from the clearing.

He shouldn't get involved. On a logical level Shuichi understood this. Vigilantes, aside from being illegal, drew all sorts of unwanted attention that he could afford right now. Moreover it meant exposing his face, and if his Quirk was seen... he had no idea how connected the masked people in the clearing were, but assuming he got the girl to safety the police would know who he was immediately. It wouldn't matter if he managed to evade them this time, they'd have a face to match to his Quirk and nowhere in Japan would be safe for him anymore. That was a sentiment only further compounded as one of the three moved to quickly place themselves between the girl and her escape route, assisted by a wind based Quirk of some sort.

Forget the police. Even if Shuichi managed to grab the girl his Quirk would be useless and outrunning them would be a pipe dream.

Despite all of those realizations, something about just watching this unfold left him with a deep seated discomfort. Assuming he did intervene... would it be possible to talk them down? Did he have the skill for it? No. Was that even an option with this group, the irrationality of their apparent objective? If he failed to as was most likely, then what? They'd know he was there, seen his face. Using his Quirk after that point would be just as disastrous, leaving him with only one option that Shuichi very much did not want to resort to if it could be avoided for more reasons than he cared to count. Even then what did he have on him? Just a basic utility knife, the kind you'd find in almost any store or business for box cutting. What good would that do against three of them? Even as Shuichi considered those possibilities he found his hand wandering to that pocket, for all the good it would do.

Ideas were forming. Not ones Shuichi was particularly fond of but he saw no way to reasonably resolve this in a manner that would keep the kid safe without resorting to some form of violence. As much as he wanted to simply be done with it all, though, the idea of watching this unfold and seeing where it ended appealed to him even less, logic be damned. Hand drawing the tiny utility knife from his pocket and extending it out an inch or two as quietly as he could, Shuichi took a deep but quiet breath to steady himself and his nerves. It would have to be fast. There would be no second chances here, not unless the first play paid off. Even then there were any number of ways for this to go wrong. Despite it taking a physical act of will to achieve Shuichi would force his body to relax, allowing the tension to leave his muscles - a moment later pushing off from the ground with one foot, making as much noise as he physically could forcing his way through the branches and bushes around him in an attempt to quite noticeabaly draw the cult's attention to his position.

Or rather, what had been his position.

Prior to breaking through the bushes and into the clearing Shuichi's Quirk would Slip him directly behind the one furthest away and presumably in the opposite direction from there they would be looking, hand already reaching for the individual's cape to yank it up and over across the cultist's face. His other hand holding the knife would arc - not to cut at the man but the fabric, intending to take a sizable swath of the fabric with him before Slipping away into the bushes. If all went as intended the maneuver would blind one of the cultists with their own cape whilst keeping Shuichi's face hidden during the brief second he was in the open... and giving him a piece of cloth he could wrap around his head to obscure his identity after Slipping back into hiding.

@tag