Even if it was Kaori's praise, being praised always felt like it was the most correct action to Tomoko. At least, when it was directed at her.

While her club member's squabbles and interactions were amusing, they indeed had a job to do.

"You're coming too," the Intermediary commented without even glancing towards Akari as she approached the door.

As the door opened, the shape of the girl Tomoko had arrived with in the first place shimmered into view, holding her umbrella over the petite blonde girl, the single eye upon it glancing at the others, the tongue waving back and forth.

"Let's go!"

[hr]

The trip there was a wet one, though as they reached the scene of the crime the rain appeared to be dying down. Tomoko, with her hands-free umbrella, had of course remained completely dry during the whole walk.

Why she had elected to walk there rather then any other method of transport was perhaps mysterious, or perhaps simply because she felt like it. Regardless of the case, by this point in the day there were few people in this area of town.

The most recent disappearance had happened at night, and no-one was certain where it had actually occurred. Therefore, Tomoko had decided to travel to the site of the second-to-last disappearance. Not only was it a shorter walk, but it was also one of the most baffling: It had happened right behind the child's parent's backs.

Makishima Taro's disappearance was among the strangest of them, for certain.

The site of the disappearance was a playground. It seemed as if Tomoko had deliberately targeted both a fairly late point in the day, and a day where there would be very few people in the area, to begin her investigation.

"And now... let's get started!"

The talisman she drew and tossed into the air was one-hundred-percent necessary, one of many invocation spells she had prepared prior to her arrival.

The pose she struck, drawing the five-pointed star of Abe no Seimei in the air with her cane around it, was almost invariably not. As the shimmering sign faded, the talisman began to glow...

Tomoko straightened.

For a few moments, nothing in particular seemed to happen... And then...

Lurching out of the shadows, was the gaunt, grey-faced figure of a girl in her teens. She appeared like a dry corpse, her kimono in tatters with the colors faded away, eyes rolled back, hands grasping at the air, fingers curled like claws. Her mouth hung open, a death rattle escaping her throat, dried blood caked over one empty eye socket, a ragged gash across her throat.

When she spoke, her voice was like a whisper.

"Who... dares to-"

The ghost stopped for a moment.

When she spoke again, her voice was completely different.

"Oh, it's you, ojou-sama!"

Almost immediately, her eyes seemed to reappear in the sockets. Her hair neatened considerably, skin fading to a pale, but much less grey flesh tone. Her wounds sealed, her cheeks filled out... in moments, aside from a certain ethereal nature...

[url=https://safebooru.org//samples/2763/sample_836f3edf0beb780b0c680d72f826d3029c474291.jpg?2877018]The girl who stood before them wasn't threatening at all.[/url]

"And some other people! What are all of you here for?" she questioned, tilting her head. "Fufu, if you're here to play karuta again, I won't lose this time!"

[@Raineh Daze][@Vega7285][@Pyromania99][@AzureKnight][@Rune_Alchemist][@Octo]