"Hmm..." Kaori sighed, though a small smile never left her lips. "Fufu, ah, sorry, I got a bit excited. My...guise tends to fall when I do that. Don't worry though, my little Ice-woman." Though, with how things were going it didn't seem like anyone was going for the idea. Tomoko hadn't really offered any alternatives either. Perhaps, yes, perhaps she could still have some fun with this. The spider moved closer to Asahi.

"Hmhm, strong and certainly capable of holding her own. I think Asahi would be an excellent choice in being a decoy." Kaori she flashed Asahi a grin...and suddenly she might feel something digging into her skin. Threads of spider silk had somehow managed to tie themselves across her body.

"I can even, say, tie her up to make it look convincing and easy?~" She seemed quite pleased with herself. "It's highly protective, too~"

Tomoko might need to tell her spider assistant to calm down a bit.

"...Heh?"

This Yuuto guy, he... he seriously just nominated her to be bait, too?! What kind of monster would dare suggest using her glorious, fluffy self as bait for anything! Was it jealousy driving them to say such blasphemous things?! Illusions or not, that was no excuse to... wait, her abilities weren't that strong, were they? No way she could make an illusion convincing enough to fool a ghost yet! The flustered fox in the midst of preparing a Nice Girl response that would rebuff the possibility of her abilities being of any use, when of course that little brat had to chime in as well.

"Er, that's..." while Asahi could indeed shapeshift, that was also quite limited as well; her current appearance was all she could really do in regards to looking human, so no altering her apparent age, either. Asahi hated that she couldn't tell if Tomoko was oblivious to her limitations, or knew full well and was taking way too much delight in teasing her. Vengeance was a top priority once this whole matter was settled.

"That, uh... won't quite be..." before Asahi could finish informing the group, Kaori had now approached, unnerving the fox. She found herself unconsciously trying to hold the frozen Mugi closer to her as a form of protection, when the suspicious spider spoke. No way anything good could come from letting this continue on! She opened her mouth to firmly protest, but her voice died into a confused whimper when she felt something constrict against her body. The material felt way too fine to be rope, but nonetheless worryingly sturdy.

The spider had ensnared her. This insane group were hell-bent on sacrificing her supremely fluffy and cuddly self to some strange internet-ghost, and she was powerless to stop them. All she could do was hold Mugi close and hope that being encased in ice would defend her from a terrible fate.

There were plenty of things to be scared of in this world. A truck hitting you while crossing the street. Food poisoning. Knives flying at you. And spiders tying you up to suck the marrow from your bones later! "W-w-wait!" Mugi exclaimed as she felt tough spider silk wrapping around her and Asahi both. "A-are we going to become urban legend food bait together!?" That said... Asahi pulled her close. "Eh-heh-heh..." She muttered as she basically cuddled back. Well, it's not like Tomoko would let the spider eat her... And she was probably too old to lure in the target. So she just took the time to try cuddling with this fluffy Class President.

"Hehe... President feels all soft and cuddly." The Yuki-Onna muttered aloud as she rubbed her face against Asahi's innocently. One thing Asahi would notice is... For all the lack of actually touching Mugi, this is the first time she noticed just how much cooler she was than a normal person.

The smirk on Tomoko's lips was undeniable.

However, when she next spoke...

"Then again, I suppose Shimamaru-san's capabilities are far too meager to fool a monster like Hasshaku-sama," she added, tapping her walking stick lightly on the ground as she spoke. "At least, when used on herself. Ibaraki-san has the features of an oni, but if those features are concealed sufficiently..."

The blonde's smirk broadened.

"Would anyone be able to tell the difference between her and a human child? I don't think so."

Of course, a great deal of this plan hinged on the perpetrator truly being Hasshaku-sama. When it came down to it, even though Tomoko was considerably certain about this hypothesis, the fact remained that it wasn't impossible that another culprit was behind this. It was the edge of uncertainty that could always cut through likelihood like a knife.

But as of now, it was the best option.

"Shimamaru-san will use her illusions to conceal Ibaraki-san's nature, and we'll head into the territory Hasshaku-sama seems to be patrolling going off of her previous victims," explained Tomoko, "Since we can't determine much else about her actions right now, and speed is of the essence, we'll have to do our best."

Ideally, the sight of an ordinary child wandering alone would be enough for the phantom's attention to be captured.

"If the children are alive, it's likely she's keeping them somewhere. It's possibly an imaginary zone or a closed space, but we can follow her back to it regardless," added the Intermediary, "If they're not, then... we still have a duty to carry out."

---

It was late when Tomoko insisted her plan be carried out. She had located an area ideal for their purposes, with the help of some of the local yokai, an alleyway near a vending machine. From there, it was simply a matter of dulling their presence and waiting while Ibaraki-san did her best to look like a confused child who was completely alone and Shimamaru-san did her best to uphold her illusions on threat of having her tail shaved.

Now all they had to do was wait. As long as Hasshaku-sama made an appearance, even if she fled, then they would be able to pursue her.

@RolePlayerRoxas@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99@TheHangedMan@Rune_Alchemist