Vega7285

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

"Hey! Wai-" And Kaori was already gone. Jeez, she worked fast. Though she probably was the best costume designer among the club members. Especially for short-notice costumes, with all that silk. Still, Homura felt like it would probably be better if she weren't left completely to her own devices, either.

"I feel like I should follow her. On the other hand, tea." Homura shrugged. "I suppose while we wait, we've got to plan our next move. No use letting Hina get disappeared because we weren't prepared with a good trap after setting our bait."

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

She was actually right? But that was just some internet horror story anyway, not a real spirit or the like. Well, there's no reason to discount eyewitness accounts, and no doubt something that unusual wouldn't be mistaken.

Homura still looked rather surprised that her hunch was even on the right track. "Huh, I honestly thought it was a long shot. But if Hasshaku-sama is completely fictional, does this mean we're actually dealing with something else? Something that takes its form from rumors or the like?"

The discussion did quickly go toward someone to serve as bait. Shina had the right of it, at least where Homura herself was concerned. "Yeah, given the current victims, I'm a bit out of the age range to be a good target. I suppose I could play big sister in case we want someone around to step in. Though given how some of these disappearances happened, I'd have to react fast."

She didn't have any strong opinions on whom should be bait, however. "All I can say is whoever's our bait, it's a dangerous, but very important job. I'd do it myself if I could, but since I can't, I won't try to volunteer someone, either."

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

"Hmm..." Homura pondered the ghost's testimony. Strange, possibly spectral woman. Disappearances. There were some options there, at least for narrowing it down. "What did this phantom woman look like? She wasn't super tall and wearing a big hat and white dress, was she?" That'd rule out at least one spooky thing she read about on the internet.

"Really, anything identifying will help. Unusual hair or eyes, clothing, whatever you can remember about her." Even if it turned out this phantom wasn't the culprit herself, she was a person of interest and possibly another witness. Something had to have spirited the child away.

Though speaking of, if children were being taken, they had to be taken somewhere. That meant there would be some sort of lair to track down once they've got the target in mind. Especially if there was any chance for rescue. Hopefully it wouldn't involve some sort of spirit barrier or other little alcove carved out of the spirit world.

"Forgive me if I'm completely wrong with this one," Homura started a suggestion to Shuichiro. "But I don't suppose you'd be able to sniff out any trails left by spirits in the area? Might be a way to track down this mystery woman."

Qualia: Mission Sub Rosa

Hana Yun

Jeanne's sentence and departure was the expected result, and nothing quite seemed off about it to Hana. Probably, if not her, someone else who have been made an example, by now. Still, there was a fair amount of to do about defending her, from what she read in the papers. Perhaps nothing had come of it after all. Ryuuko was more of a surprise, but certainly she had her own reasons.

Hana had, for the most part, judiciously avoided the major events of the past few days. She was certainly adjacent to it, as she'd treated a few of those more closely involved, but beyond the crops of injuries sustained at night to pique her interest, she still didn't get directly involved. Certainly, she would have to break curfew, and soon, to see what all the fuss was about.

In the meantime, though, she set about establishing herself on Bermuda. She found a good space for a laboratory, and claimed it, and made the rounds of the local hospitals and the like to make sure they knew of her and how to contact her. Hopefully, the times when her talents would be needed would be rare enough, but it never hurts to get the word out. And, for that matter, get closer to any cases that were particularly severe. As that would probably mean either someone had a really impressive lab accident, or more interesting reasons behind the injuries.

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

Homura had an umbrella, so at least getting there wasn't a problem for her. Tomoko did her thing, with a usual flair that was endearing, if unnecessary. And they had their ghost. There was something funny about her dropping the horror act once she knew who it was, but hey, everyone's got appearances to keep up.

Hina had already stared with the important questions, so there wasn't much reason to just chime in with "what she said." Instead, Homura started looking around the area. This definitely wasn't the usual place for a disappearance. Far too open, although they had already assumed a supernatural cause.

She turned her attention to the others. "What do you think? Know anything that likes to hang out in places like this?"

Malevolence from Beyond (Vega7285 and LuckyBlackCat)

Saya nodded at the suggestion they leave. "Yeah." She followed shortly after Nanami. There really wasn't much reason to stick around, and if anything, it was better to try and process what had happened elsewhere. Was this the sort of thing they were supposed to report?

She didn't notice anything odd like being able to tell where Nanami was without looking, but she could see the other girl, after all. That didn't mean she didn't feel things were plenty different as-is. For one, she felt truly healthy for the first time in her life. Like she actually could just run around for hours without worrying about anything.

"I definitely am," she answered Nanami's question. "I've never felt better." Would that be a problem, though? She'd have to still pretend to be sick, or something? "Like, no pain or anything. Heck, I bet this is how you must feel all the time." She did feel like she could take on the world.

"Wait a sec. Strange, uh, things, and all that...maybe we are magical girls now." Saya giggled. "Though until we run into some sort of monster, I guess we can't be sure."

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

"Meaningful glances aside, I don't actually believe you're the type to do such a thing," Homura started with Kaori. "Were all the victims female? Or male? Either might suggest something."

They really didn't have a lot to go on, though. Just a list of currently unsolved disappearances, so there's definitely going to be a need to get on the case, as it were. Homura tried one of the cookies with her tea, while Tomoko explained the plan. Asking a spirit to catch a spirit sounded like the right idea. Certainly better than harassing any onmyouji around in case they had a shikigami who happened to notice something.

"That's definitely one way to get a lead. It's been a while since I did anything like that, but it's not like I'm an expert at calling someone up. I can help with drawing up the ofuda, at least." For a yokai hunter, Homura really was more the meathead type, unfortunately.

"Hey now," a bright voice like steel on steel rang out from Homura's sword caddy. "If you can't hit a ghost with your bare hands, you don't have the right tool, that's all." Mizuki was, of course, referring to herself. "Not that you should need to fight anything you're calling up yourselves, unless you really screw up."

Homura couldn't help but crack up at Hina's pun. "I guess that could work." She also did her best to give a solid answer to her question about ghosts. "Usually, one deals with ghosts with means other than punching them. Toss some salt at one, or have the right charms and you can trap them or chase them away, that sort of thing."

Malevolence from Beyond (Vega7285 and LuckyBlackCat)

"Yeah, we have." Saya reached for the offered snacks, but something out of the corner of her eye didn't seem right, either. Some sort of movement, and a shape like a strange, inky jellyfish. "I think so? I saw something."

She also felt something. While Saya didn't hear a clear voice at first, there were some strange sounds beginning to impign upon her, like rushing of winds that weren't there, or scratching of ground glass. And there were these...probing sensations. And something deep within her was telling her to get away, some ancient memory of dark forests and things within them considering their next meal.

"We should definitely get out of here." Saya stood up to run herself, and her vision swam. Was she really in that bad of a shape? Wild colors burst across her vision, and she could almost see some other world superimposed, like some sort of film projection, over the park: a strange sky with many planets or moons suspended within it, and the pillars of what could be a temple. That presence she had felt earlier was hurtling toward her, but she couldn't move to escape.

Eyes, glittering coldly like gemstones in the dark, regarded her. "Small, weak." something that could almost be a dismissive snort echoed from all around her. "Refuses to die, at least. Not the one who called out, and yet..." The voice shifted its attention slightly, to actively address her. "What you need is strength. And you shall have it, unless you would be food." Saya didn't really have much choice in the matter, as at least in her vision, she was quickly surrounded by webs of flesh, bladed tentacles, and the eyes...those gleaming eyes.

The pain was exquisite. Even to someone who was no stranger to pain, it was almost impossible to endure, feeling as if Saya was being flayed apart layer by layer and rebuilt, all raw nerves. Even her mind hurt, crushed under a wave of pressure and force as her body was alight in sheer suffering. She managed to hold onto herself, somehow.

And then she was there, back in the park as if nothing had happened. "I'm okay! I...think. Just what the hell was that?" No reason to keep quiet as far as she could tell. "I think that thing was about to eat me or something."

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

Homura nodded at Akari's decline of the tea. The other girl tended to get skittish around her for some reason, but she still communicated well enough, and there really wasn't reason to be bothered. Once the kettle finished boiling, she prepared a pot of tea, and brought it and some cups over to the meeting table. Homura of course poured a cup for herself, and another for Tomoko.

"So, kamikakushi in the literal sense," she began, after Tomoko had explained the situation. "Sounds like something we should look into, all right. Sadly, it could be a lot of things." Homura spares Kaori a glance. "So nothing immediately comes to my mind just from disappearances. A namahage, maybe? Or...isn't there a couple urban legend sort of things that grab kids?"

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

As far as Homura could tell, the dynamics were already well-established for the club, by now. The first couple meetings had been surprisingly normal, at least content-wise. She had to wonder just what sort of dirt the president had on some of the other members, though. Regardless, the scene currently playing out before her was no longer surprising.

Kaori had brought sweets. Shuicirio was already helping himself to said sweets. One would hardly know they weren't just ordinary students. Homura refrained from taking any baked goods just yet, mostly out of propriety and waiting for the meeting to begin before helping herself to refreshments, and not out of mistrust at all. "Afternoon," she returned Tomoko's greeting.

"Should I put on some tea," she offered as she made her way over to an electric kettle on a desk by the wall. "It's a good day for it, and would probably go nice with the snacks."