Shouta is glad they'd already decided on a new hideout location before he took Shigaraki to the police.

Even if his students had agreed to clean up the blood at the old location—Shouta would have done it himself, had he not been on a time crunch—it was never a good idea to bring a small, impressionable child to an active crime scene. The scent of blood and charred flesh would've still been present.

Personally, Shouta wasn't keen on remaining there, either. Not after what he did.

He's trying not to think about the blood on his hands.

It's better to stay on the move, regardless. Now that Shigaraki has been taken out of the immediate picture, Shouta and his students may be caught in the crosshairs of both the authorities and All for One.

Or even worse; the HPSC.

Getting Amichan back to her parents and his own students out of danger is top priority.

By the time Shouta finishes his roundabout way to the new location they'd agreed to meet at, it's nearing sunset. Thankfully, Amichan stays asleep for the entire trip.

He climbs down from the roof as quietly as he can to the correct floor, stepping out onto an abandoned balcony with a door and a single window that's opaque with grime. The latter has been propped open with a stick.

Ochako is waiting for him on the other side.

"Uh... What'cha got there, Sensei?" she asks once she's opened the door for him and sees what he has.

He doesn't immediately answer.

It doesn't take much time for Shouta to walk through the door and for Ochako to close it behind him, but it gives him a couple seconds of stall time. Ochako's looking at him expectantly.

Shouta decidedly does not look at the small child sleeping in his arms.

He's out of stall time.

"A headache," he finally deadpans.

Ochako's eyes narrow in response, and she takes a deep breath in with both hands raising to her mouth in a praying gesture.

"...Eraserdad, please tell me you didn't abduct a child."

"No, I stopped her from being abducted," Shouta huffs, though he looks askance when he goes on to say, "...and in my defense, she latched onto me."

"She's adorable, Sensei," he hears Izuku say.

And just like that most of his students are crowding around him, cooing over Amichan.

The only ones who aren't cooing are Katsuki, Hitoshi, and Mei, though they've still shuffled over to see what he has along with their classmates. Katsuki's eyes have widened slightly with his curiosity, staring at Amichan over Izuku's head, while Mei's own curiosity quickly burns itself out and she wanders away. His last student isn't looking at Amichan, however. Hitoshi is instead looking at Shouta with a smug, knowing smirk.

"Wondered what was takin' you so long," Hitoshi rasps, grinning all the wider when Shouta scowls at him. "Figures you'd go an' adopt another kid."

Though the words are meant as a joke, Shouta can see the underlying tension in all of them.

They'd been worried about him.

"K̀͠e̴e̕p?" Dark Shadow croons before Shouta can answer, nibbling at Amichan's pigtails with their beak.

Shouta sighs.

"Not adopting her," he says, much to the apparent disappoint of his kids, if their groans are anything to go by. "I've already got my hands full with the lot of you. No, I'm going to take her to a different police station once things have calmed down out there."

"That's probably for the best," says Momo.

Tsuyu on the other hand asks "Can we hold her...?" with pleading eyes. Shouta hates to have to deny her.

"Not quite yet," he murmurs, shaking his head. As their disappointed looks intensify, he goes on to explain, "She didn't want me to let go of her earlier. I don't want her to panic if she wakes up in a stranger's arms."

"Yes, that would be... less than ideal," Fumikage nods, patting Dark Shadow's head while they sigh and mope.

Shouta walks farther into the room then so he's not so utterly surrounded, though his students simply trail after him. Like little ducklings, he knows Hizashi would have called them. Now, the comparison only hurts.

Their newest hideout for the time being is this rundown apartment building.

It wasn't completely abandoned quite yet; most of the rooms on the lower floors are still being rented out, but the ones above were long overdue for renovations.

It's clear there were other squatters staying here at some point; a ruined futon in the corner, and empty alcohol bottles and cans that his students—he assumes—have organized near one wall. That and the swept-up pile of cigarette butts, which explains the lingering smell of smoke permeating the apartment. It sticks in his nose, and Shouta buries the lower half of his face in his scarf to resist the urge to sneeze.

Well, the smell doesn't matter. There's a functioning—if rather dilapidated—bathroom that they now have access to, and they all have a roof over their heads for the night.

While it's not the kind of environment he wants for his students or Amichan, it's the best they have for the time being.

Shouta spares another glance over his students, and notices the way Momo is now leaning up against the wall, looking pale and uncomfortable.

He's moving before he even consciously registers doing so.

In a few short steps he's got Amichan swaddled to his chest with his capture weapon, freeing his hands so he can place one on Momo's shoulder to steady her. He feels her shaking under his palm.

"Easy, I've got you..." Shouta says, ensuring that Momo won't collapse before he asks "What's wrong?"

"I—I don't know..." Momo shakes her head. "I just got... really dizzy all of a sudden."

Shit.

"Here, sit down." Shouta guides Momo to the floor, murmuring his thanks when Mei hands him a blanket without so much as a word; she barely even looks up from whatever she's working on.

"S-sorry, Sensei..." he hears Momo say.

"Don't be," Shouta retorts gently, wrapping her in the blanket and making sure she's comfortable. He sits back on his heels with a sigh. "I should have expected this..." he tells her, and the rest of his students who were shamelessly listening in. "Our bodies are still in starvation mode. We need to eat smaller meals until our bodies catch up. Things less rich than... fried rice. I forgot, and for that I'm sorry."

It's been so long since he learned about this sort of thing, and to be honest, the constant hunger had gotten the better of him. But he's the adult here, he needs to be the responsible one.

Even if they'd all been making sure to eat slowly, the kinds of food they ate was important, too.

He can't let himself be tempted by the feast suddenly in front of them.

"Here, try to drink some water. Slowly..." Shouta says, reaching to grab a bottle from another pile he's only just noticed. Blankets, nonperishable foods, and bottles of water. He opens the bottle he'd grabbed for Momo, and passes it to her.

"Thank you, Sensei..." she whispers between sips.

He hums in response.

Feeling reluctant to move too far from his ill student, and wanting to get pressure off of his prosthetic, Shouta turns to sit against the wall next to Momo. He eyes the futon in the corner with clear suspicion.

He can smell it from here; that stale, musty scent, underlaid with cigarette smoke.

There's a non-zero chance the thing is infested with bedbugs, and that's the last thing they need to deal with right now.

If they're planning on staying here for a while, it might be a good idea to clean up a bit more. He'd really like to get those cigarette butts and alcohol bottles out of sight before Amichan wakes.

First things first, he wants to make sure his students are alright.

"Status report," Shouta prompts.

"W-well... I headed here first so I wouldn't be recognized by anyone," says Izuku, plopping down nearby with Katsuki in tow. Predictably, he goes on to say, "Kacchan came with me."

"Someone had to make sure the nerd didn't get into trouble."

"Kacchan!"

Shouta bites back a laugh at that, but he does hum and nod before looking to the next person to speak.

That would be Ochako, in this case.

"Hitoshi, Tsuchan, and I all went to grab supplies," she says, and she indicates to the pile Shouta had grabbed the water bottle from. Looks like Hitoshi must have put the two first aid kits there, too.

Ochako's still standing, but she comes over to sit by Shouta's side, opposite Momo. She reaches into the pocket of her hoodie.

"I got this for you, Sensei," Ochako tells him, which knowing his kids isn't at all a reassuring thing to hear. Shouta's eyes widen when she shows him what she has.

It's a jelly pouch.

He barely hears Ochako when she goes on to say, "I wasn't sure what flavor you'd like, so I just sort of... grabbed one at random." She presses it into his hand when it's clear Shouta is too shocked to take it himself. It's still a little bit cold.

When was the last time he'd had one of these...?

He can't remember.

"...Thanks, kid," Shouta says, managing a genuine smile as he ruffles Ochako's hair with his free hand. She squeaks and ducks away, but he can tell she's proud of herself.

He's proud of her, too.

Twisting the top off the pouch, Shouta takes a sip before asking, "Any other news?"

"I got a police radio!"

Everyone turns to Mei with wide eyes.

"Where the hell did you get a whole-ass police radio from?" Hitoshi questions, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I pulled it outta a cop car," Mei answers, easy as can be. "Duh."

Katsuki eyes the device warily. "Don't those things have trackers and shit in them?" he asks.

"They sure do!" Mei cackles, but she quiets right back down when Amichan whimpers and Shouta shoots her a look. "...But I already disabled all that, so we're safe."

"But why?" asks Ochako. "Why would you even risk stealing something like that?"

"So we can listen in on police chatter, obviously." As she says that, Mei clicks something into place and the radio roars to life. She's quick to bring it back down to an acceptable volume, grinning sheepishly. "I can't tune into any private hero networks—for now—but at least we'll be able to hear if the police are onto us."

"Good thinking, Mei," Shouta says, cutting off any other protests his kids might have. Regardless, he levels Mei with a serious look. "Next time, though... please ask me before stealing from police officers, okay?"

Mei salutes him. "Okay, Sensei!"

Somehow, Shouta feels even more tired now than he did just a minute ago.

"...Anyone else?" he asks, deciding to just let Mei get back to work. Being able to keep track of the heroes and police was very helpful.

"Fumikage and I got here shortly after Izuku and Katsuki did," Momo murmurs. She's looking a bit less pale now, though she still leans sideways until her shoulder bumps with Shouta's, resting her weight against him. He thinks she's looking somewhat tired now, actually. She takes another sip of her water before saying, "Dark Shadow helped us clean up..."

"The remainder of this building's dwellings were... not suitable for habitation," Fumikage chimes in, clacking his beak disdainfully at the remaining mess. "...Not even for ones such as us."

"Thank you for that," Shouta says with a grateful nod. "I'd like to get that futon and the rest of it outside, but that can wait until later. Good job taking initiative."

Fumikage and Momo smile, and the latter leans heavily into Shouta's side.

Since it's clear the 'status report' is over now, Katsuki speaks up to ask "So, what's the plan now, old man?"

Shouta shoots him a withering glare.

"I'm choosing to ignore that," he mutters under his breath, before answering anyway with "Right now, we're laying low. I'll want to get everyone's opinion before he make any decisions, but it's best if we wait to do that until Amichan is with the police. I don't want her hearing anything incriminating."

"That's probably a good idea, kero..." Tsuyu sighs.

Meanwhile, Izuku questions "Amichan?"

Oh, right. He forgot to tell them her name.

Should probably do that now.

"Yes, Amichan," Shouta confirms. "That's her name; Kibarashi Ami. Though, she told me to call her Amichan. Apparently I rescued her and her mother a while ago and she remembered me."

Hitoshi opens his mouth to say something, probably about Shouta adopting the girl again, but his mouth clicks shut when Shouta glares at him.

Ochako meanwhile leans back against the wall since she's sitting between Hitoshi and Shouta, and she looks around the room with a frown. "Okay, so... How do we want to do this?"

"For now, I want all of you to get some rest," Shouta says, stern like a teacher. Or, stern like a father. "Tomorrow, everyone at UA will be busy with the USJ trip."

"And now that we've stopped Shigaraki, there shouldn't be an attack!" Izuku says, eyes widening as he sits up straighter.

"Exactly," Shouta says, nodding. "With them out of the way and hopefully not looking for us, it'll give us enough time to convince Amichan to go with the police. Then we can figure out a plan."

"She doesn't want to go?" asks Ochako.

Shouta sighs. "No. I tried to take her before coming here, but she was too upset by what happened to let go of me. I didn't want to draw attention to us so I just brought her with me."

From where he's sitting next to Ochako, Hitoshi grins smugly. "And you say you haven't adopted her, huh?"

Apparently he hadn't taken Shouta's earlier glare to heart.

"Hush, problem child," Shouta huffs. His hands are still technically free, even if he'd shifted to hold Amichan again, so he reaches across Ochako to shove at Hitoshi's shoulder. "I saved her from a kidnapper. It's logical she would associate me with safety."

As if timed, Amichan begins to stir.

Her face scrunches up, and she turns to hide against Shouta with a whimper.

"Hey, hey, you're alright..." he automatically soothes, grateful that all of his students have fallen silent, though they're all intently watching him and Amichan again.

"Mister 'raserhead...?" Amichan asks. She peeks up at him with big, fearful eyes, hands clenching in his jumpsuit.

"Yeah, it's me," Shouta says. His eyes flit up to check on his students, and he swears Ochako looks like she's about to explode with how she's holding in the urge to coo. Amichan looks, too.

Before anyone can say anything, Shouta goes on to explain, "These are my students, Amichan. They won't hurt you."

"Yes, please do not be frightened," Fumikage murmurs. He'd been leaning back against the wall, but he crouches down now so he's not looming overhead. The rest of Shouta's students similarly lower themselves even if they're already sitting; even Katsuki makes himself smaller, though he turns his face away like he's pretending he didn't.

Softly, Fumikage continues with "We mean you no harm."

Shouta thanks any gods that are listening that Amichan doesn't freak out. Instead, she looks around at Shouta's students with widening eyes; a look Shouta recognizes as awe.

"Are... are all of you heroes, too?" she asks in a hushed voice.

It's Izuku who answers her.

"Yes, we are," he says. And he's smiling now, something soft and encouraging that reminds Shouta exactly why he thought Izuku would make a good hero.

If possible, Amichan looks even more amazed.

"All of you?"

"Al̴l of̷ u҉s!" Dark Shadow chirps.

It makes Amichan squeak in surprise and bury her face in Shouta's jumpsuit again.

"͢O̶h.͞ ́We a̵re ̨s̨or͘ry.͝.͟." Dark Shadow practically wilts, lowering themself with apologetic-looking eyes. They chatter sadly. "͠S̢o͘rr͠y, ́dįdn't͟ ̨m̛ea͟n̢ tơ ̵f͝ŕi̶ǵh͜te҉n y͘o͡u̵.̸..̢"

Shouta adjusts so Amichan is more sitting in his lap rather than swaddled there with his capture weapon. "It's alright, Amichan," he says. "That's just Dark Shadow, they're... Tsukuyomi's quirk."

It's probably a good idea to stick to their hero names while Amichan's around.

"...Tsukomi?" Amichan asks.

Close enough.

"That is us," Fumikage answers, though Shouta thinks he's holding himself back on correcting Amichan. He bows his head. "I apologize, Amichan. My friend here was simply excited to meet you. They are very fond of children."

Dark Shadow lets out a sort of chittering sigh, deflating further over Fumikage's shoulders.

Amichan seems to notice their new surroundings just then.

She looks around curiously, still clinging to Shouta's jumpsuit with both hands. "Where are we?" she asks.

"Someplace safe," Shouta tells her. He adjusts her then so she can look at him without straining her neck. "I'm sorry it's not the... cleanest. We won't be here long."

"Oh, that's okay," Amichan says with a shrug, seemingly unphased by the barren apartment. "My house is really empty, too."

Well, that isn't concerning at all.

"...Amichan, I need to ask you something, alright?" Shouta says, bringing her attention back to him. "You mentioned your parents left you with a babysitter. Do you know when they're coming back?"

"Uh-huh..." Amichan nods, and her amazement from earlier seems gone now as she shyly fiddles with her fingers. "They said they'll be away at work 'til the weekend, and to be good for Chirasu-san, my babysitter..."

The weekend. And today is Tuesday.

Fuck.

"Mister 'raser?" Amichan says before Shouta can think of what to say next. She's looking at him through her bangs with wide, imploring eyes. "Am I bad...?"

Shouta blinks in surprise. Why would she think that?

"No, no. You're not bad," he says. "You... you did the right thing asking me for help, kid."

"Even though I didn't stay where Chirasu-san told me to stay?"

"Yeah." Shouta runs a hand through his hair, holding back a grimace as he catches on a knot. He sighs. "Sometimes... when you're in danger, you gotta break a few rules. Keeping yourself safe is important."

"Oh," Amichan says.

Now that she's awake, a part of Shouta wants to jump right into convincing her to go somewhere safer, but he'd rather not have her panic again when she's calm now.

He's sort of questioning her living situation now, too.

But still, there's more things he need to talk to his students about.

"Amichan," Shouta says, "I have... some important things I need to talk to my students about. Would you be alright with Froppy, Tsukuyomi, and Dark Shadow for a minute?"

He points to Tsuyu when he says her hero name so Amichan knows who he's talking about, since she already knows Fumikage and Dark Shadow now.

"Froppy?" Amichan echoes.

"That's me, kero."

"Um..." Amichan looks between Shouta and his students, before she nods slowly. "I guess so."

Gently, Shouta helps Amichan stand up, offering what he hopes is a reassuring smile and nod when she looks back at him.

"Go on," he urges. "I'm not going anywhere, kiddo. I'll just be right over there."

He gestures over at the apartment's kitchen, which is a decent enough distance away that they should be able to talk without Amichan overhearing much of anything, while still allowing her to see him.

"Hello, Amichan," Tsuyu greets with a little wave. "Would you like to see me make bubbles, kero?"

Dark Shadow jumps in to ask "̀Wou̢l̢d͠ you ̴li̶ke ͝tǫ se͝e̸ m̷e̷ p҉op҉ ͠b̵u͜b̨ble̛s͠?̕"́

While those three entertain Amichan for the minute—Shouta or one of the others will have to fill them in later—Shouta stands and shuffles over to the kitchen, letting the rest of his students follow along. The only one who doesn't is Mei.

Most of the appliances in the kitchen have long been removed, and as Shouta eyes the empty spots for the microwave and refrigerator, he wishes they weren't.

It would have been nice to prepare a hot meal for once, and to have a place to store the rest of their food.

Well, beggars can't be choosers.

"...We can't keep going the way we are. Not forever," Shouta says lowly, the words bitter on his tongue. He hates having to admit it, like he's failing them, admitting defeat, but it's true. He can't ignore the facts.

Not anymore.

"It may be a good idea for us to get into contact with Nedzu."

"You think?" Katsuki scoffs with his arms crossed, and though he hasn't quite joined their little huddle, Shouta can tell by the way he lingers near the edge that he's paying close attention to the conversation.

"Do you really think he'll be able to help us, Dad?" Momo asks. "I know you were able to... that Eri was a ward of UA, but is it even possible for Nedzu to take in all of us?"

Katsuki speaks up again to mutter, "Commission sure won't be happy 'bout it."

"Screw what the Commission thinks!" Ochako says, not quite loud enough to be a shout, but not quiet either. They all look at her. Ochako grimaces, and continues in a harsh whisper, "Since when did Nedzu care about what they think?"

"It's our best bet," Shouta sighs. "If anyone knows how to keep the HPSC off our backs, it'll be Nedzu. The problem is how to ask him."

If—and that's a big if—Nedzu agrees to take them in, once they're in UA they wouldn't be able to leave. Their safety would be out of their hands and in Nedzu's instead.

After so long, Shouta isn't sure if he knows how to let others take control anymore.

It requires a lot of thinking about before they can commit to any one plan.

And Shouta knows he's not thinking rationally. He's too strung out, too frazzled from the constant threats to be able to weigh the pros and cons effectively. All he's worried about is right now; not next week, or tomorrow, or even an hour from now. Only this exact moment. But recognizing that doesn't help him think any clearer.

"There is... a possibility that Nedzu won't be able to take us in immediately..." Shouta warns them, taking in their somber expressions. "It's possible he'll need time to handle the legal aspects, to avoid being accused of breaking the law. Of... harboring criminals."

"If he's willing to help us," says Hitoshi.

"Right," Shouta nods. "If he's willing."

Ochako is frowning down at her hands now, picking at a stray thread on her sleeve. "We... really are criminals now, aren't we?" she whispers.

The question makes Shouta's gut twist, even as Hitoshi joking asks, "Like, figuratively? Or legally?"

"Well, let's see..." Izuku mumbles, and begins counting off on his fingers. "Multiple counts of theft, kidnapping—Shigaraki, not Amichan—aggravated assault and battery, impersonating a pro-hero..." His words, though not meant with intention to hurt, make Shouta wince.

This isn't the kind of future he'd wanted for his students.

Katsuki meanwhile scoffs, the conversation continuing on despite the way Shouta's heart sinks.

"You can't impersonate yourself, dumbass."

"But our Aizawa-sensei technically isn't the Eraserhead that detective Tsukauchi was expecting," Izuku points out. "—and his hero license likely isn't valid anymore. Our provisional hero licenses probably won't work either."

Shouta clenches his hands into fists, but stops when he realizes his nails have shifted into claws. Damn.

"Our... situation has changed," Shouta says quietly, and his five students fall silent. "Before, there was nothing of our former world left. None of these things—laws, other heroes, the HPSC—were problems. But they are now. We can't go back to the way things were, but I promise, I will do everything in my power to keep you all safe."

When Shouta looks up from the spot he'd been staring at on the floor, he finds that Izuku, Ochako, Momo, Katsuki, and Hitoshi are all looking at him.

"Don't worry, Dad-sensei," Hitoshi rasps. "We know."

These damn kids...

Shoving down the urge to hug his stupid, loyal students, Shouta grunts out a "Good talk," that's only somewhat choked up. He still pushes away from the wall so he can ruffle Hitoshi's and Katsuki's hair. The latter hisses in protest; like a pissed off cat. Shouta grins. "Get some rest, brats. Things are only going to get more difficult from here on out."

They mutter responses at him, and with nothing else to do Shouta heads for the bathroom to clean himself up a bit. The damn bathroom door is unattached and leaning against the wall inside, but it's better than nothing.

Before he disappears into the bathroom, he hears Izuku squeak in surprise when Mei grabs ahold of him, and Shouta shakes his head with an exasperated sigh.

Hopefully they don't blow anything up while he takes five damn minutes for himself.

He may not have always had the energy to shower back before everything fell apart, but gods what he wouldn't do right now for a shower. To even just be able to wash his hair.

The bathroom looks like someone got halfway through a renovation before they gave up; walls ripped open, bathtub full of broken tile. The showerhead looks to be so clogged with rust that it's unusable. But even if it wasn't, Shouta doesn't feel like moving all that tile just so he could stand in a tub full of soap scum and grime.

Instead, he takes a minute to wash his hands and face in the sink, grimacing at the metallic scent to the water.

At least it looks clear, and that's all he can really ask for.

Steadying himself with both hands on the sink, Shouta looks at himself in the cracked mirror.

He looks... awful.

All of them do, honestly.

There's bags under his eyes, and his hair hangs limply around his pale, gaunt face. His jumpsuit is much baggier than it was designed to be.

With the sun setting fast, they're losing what little light made its way into the apartment. They could probably turn the lights on—the building still has power—but that might attract attention. Shouta can see just fine in the dark, personally.

His eyes glow a sickly red in the dark of the room.

Shouta's fingers grip the sink tighter.

'We really are criminals now, aren't we?' Ochako had asked him.

In the eyes of the law, they're no better than criminals.

Villains.

Shouta never wanted this.

How the hell did his life get to this point? Hiding out in some shitty abandoned apartment while trying to keep his remaining students alive and out of jail.

Today, he chopped a young man's hands off.

Tomorrow, that same man would have tried to kill Shouta and all of his students.

But was it really right of him to punish Shigaraki for something he hadn't even done yet? He has to believe that's the case, because he knows what Shigaraki is—would have been—capable of, but...

He doesn't know.

He really, really doesn't know.

...Tomorrow. Tomorrow they'll get Amichan to safety, and then... then they'll handle everything else.

Everything is going to be okay, Shouta has to believe that.

He has to.