Logs: Student and Teacher

There were few worse places in Sumaru that one could live in than the hirasaka ward, but it had it's own strange charm. One that Megumi couldn't quite put her finger on. Perhaps it was the somewhat bizarre people who lived here? Or the various other things one could find if one looked hard enough? Granted she'd never actually dealt with any of the businesses here beyond taking a look around and buying that one tarot card deck for her sister.

"Nothing like taking a walk around the city after all the work is done..." Mumbles she to herself as she continues moving down the street. In her right hand she's holding a smartphone with a schedule planner taking up most of the screen. When she nearly bumps into someone, she turns it off and puts in a pocket somewhere on the inside of her jacket and apologizes to the person before hurrying onwards.

/Come to think of it, that place is nearby... Wonder if they're still up to the same old things./ Her eyes falls upon a street lamp in the distance and forms an amused smile with her lips. After a while she turns her eyes around and examines the surroundings. There weren't many present in this part of the ward right now. Infact she could count them on one hand. To her they were all the sort of people that'd stick out in a crowd everywhere else, after all one of them was even in full ganguro garb and makeup. Here on the other hand, she was the one who did so given she was dressed in casual business clothes. Just the type one would expect from someone from her line of work.

There were few worse places one in Sumaru that one could live than in the Hirasaka Ward. That much is true. But none the less, to some teenagers the place is the only home they have, and Haruko Fukui is one of them. Dressed in her Seven Sisters High School uniform, she is headed homewards... and she seems to be in a good enough mood. One backpack is slung over one shoulder, the other strap hanging loose.

Before heading home, however, the girl is headed for one site not too far away from the place she lives. The Kuzunoha Detective Agency in Sumaru is also located in this part of town, and the teen is heading straight for it, in a hurried pace because she doesn't like being outside in this area, despite having lived here for her enture life.

It's not until she notices Megumi and her nonstandard attire for the area that the teen suddenly pauses. Haruko's eyes glance over the woman, and that's when she picks up that nonstandard smell. A quick, sudden sniff in the air... and Haruko is just unsure. She knows something is off, but can't pinpoint the source of the smell of blood; which may not even be caused by supernatural means... after all, this is the Hirasaka Ward, the smell may be from a recent fight.

Still, Megumi stands out; and the high school girl's eyes linger for a few more moments than they possibly should. It's not very obvious, but it's not like the area is crowded either, so it could very well be noticed. After a few moments of staring, Haruko starts to scan the surroundings for blood, just in case that's the source of what she's picking up...

One of the people wandering nearby catches her attention. It is a man dressed in what she can only describe as rags. Oddly enough he doesn't appear to be a homeless person judging by the appearance of his face however. If anything it shows the signs of having been relatively well taken care of. It made her wonder if it could be one of those types who put on an act in effort to try and rob others. It hadn't been the first time it had happened around here. Granted the last two who tried ended up regretting it when Miyamoto-san got involved. Not that she'd been particularly gentle either...

In the nearby shadowed alley, there is signs of someone moving around, paying attention to what is transpiring. However it is far too dark to make out who or what it could be. It could even have been a simple breeze hitting the curtains of a window.

There are no signs of blood anywhere on the street. Even if there had been, it is likely it would've been covered by the dirt and grime. The blood scent however suggests that it must've been spilled very recently, perhaps even merely seconds ago. It is however not that difficult to figure out which direction it's coming from, namely in the general direction of where Megumi and the strange bum can be seen...

"'lo pretty lady! Got coins for the less fortunate?" Asks the bum as he stretches out his left hand towards Megumi and hides his right one behind his back. She looks down towards the mans hand, pondering if an act of charity would really be a good idea given the contradiction in the mans visage...

The signs in the shadowed alley are ignored, Haruko is far too smart to go into dark alleys alone. Especially in this neighbourhood, Haruko is about to head on when Megumi opens her mouth, and suddenly the pieces fall into place for Haruko. As such, she heads over towards Megumi and politely bows as she opens her mouth, "Mushikabe-Sensei?" She isn't shouting, or even speaking loudly; but close enough that she should be heard.

The girl is in Megumi's class, and while Megumi is new, Haruko definitely recognizes her. A very faint whisper, barely overheard is spoken, "Should've recognized that scent..." It's not meant to be heard, not even by Megumi; but if Megumi is listening very closely, she likely will hear it. Haruko is talking, even if to herself.

"Surprising to see you here, Mushikabe-Sensei." Haruko remains at a polite distance, but does add, "I would advice against supporting the drug or alcohol habits of those bums, you're not doing them a favor, sensei."

Megumi is about tell the strange man that he'd be better off finding a homeless shelter when Haruko makes her presence known. The bum on the other hand seems to retreat from the pair once the girl starts talking about drugs and alcohol. The reaction doesn't surprise her in the least, especially not given the vibe he had been giving off.

"Ah Fukui-san... Didn't think I'd run into you here and what... " She tilts her head slightly and stops speaking. After looking at the girl for a second, her lips forms the same gentle smile she always has when she's in class and not busy trying to teach any of them.

"...no nevermind." She shakes her head slightly and seems to have opted not to finish what she was about to say. Instead she casts a quick glance towards one of the alleys before returning her gaze towards Haruko.

"What brings a young girl like you to this place?" The in which the words are spoken suggests that she's slightly surprised to find a student here, but also worried at the same time.

Haruko's gaze follows Megumi's when it goes to the alley, but when Megumi's gaze snaps back, so does Haruko's. It's not hard for Haruko to explain what she's doing here, "I'm going home, Sensei." Her voice is calm and collected, "It's just a few streets over." She smiles faintly, as she glances at a street in the direction of where she lives. She pauses a few moments.

When she opens her mouth again, she echoes her teacher's words. "I do wonder what brings you here, Sensei... if you don't mind me asking." At this point, Megumi could probably pick up Haruko's resonance... the subtle sound of a young woman sobbing softly to herself. The first year student looks at her teacher.

A glance back at that alley where Haruko saw something move. It's a brief glance, but Haruko's standing still anyway... so she may as well take another glance in that direction...

"Going home?" Megumi blinks, looking rather surprised at the response, but it doesn't take long for her to realize that the girl likely lived somewhere that made a route through this ward quicker than other means. Unless of course the girl actually -lived- here... Something which she doesn't get to speculate on for long before her student flat out states it's just a few streets away.

"Oh... I didn't know you lived in this... uhm..." What she wants to say is 'dump'. However she can't quite bring herself to actually say that for the fear of sounding insulting when not meaning to. As for the girls resonance, if Megumi picked up on it it at all, she isn't saying or doing anything to suggest that she did, perhaps due to their current location.

When Haruko glances in the direction of the dark alley again, she'll be able to spot what resembles the figure of a female. While details one can make out are relatively sparse, it's not that difficult to realize that whoever it is, it is someone that's wearing a dress of some kind. The only other detail that's visible is the fact that the figure seems to be smiling, but the way it's shaped makes it appear almost... malevolent.

Haruko remains polite, despite clearly picking up on her teacher's distate for the area. Megumi may not have /said/ 'dump,' but a word to that effect was heavily implied anyway. "I know it's not the most glamorous area, Sensei... but my parents don't have the means to move out of this part of town." It's not even a lie, despite the fact that her parents don't want to leave either.

The female figure draws Haruko's attention quite firmly, and she pauses. "Excuse me, Sensei. I think I see someone I know in that alley." Okay, this is a lie... but Haruko is going to head over that way unless Megumi outright steps in her path. She moves quickly, and she seems to be well aware that this is dangerous.

In fact, while she hasn't gotten Astraea out yet, she is already mentally preparing herself for the possibility she may /need/ to take Astraea out quite soon... but let's take a look at what's going on in there first...

Megumi regrets her choice of words when the girl reply remains polite, compared to her own which was by all means rather rude even if it was technically the truth. It stings a little bit when her student even tells her they lack the means to move. While she'd never had a lot of money during her life, even she had enough to move away from her old home. Granted she wasn't paying for the apartment she was living in. Someone else was doing that...

"Ah I see... I can relate to that kind of situation. I hope you have no issues going through this place." Her tone has a hint of genuine concern in it. Given the kind of people one could find here, such as the strange bum from earlier, this was definitely not the best place to raise kids.

"What?" Is the only thing she manages to say before Haruko begins to walk towards the alley. The fact that the girl is moving quickly means she's well outside of arms reach before Megumi can even react. That is when she realizes where the girl is heading...

The figure that is hiding in the shadows of the alley doesn't seem to withdraw as the girl is moving towards it. Instead it seems to wait patiently and now the girl is getting closer and closer, the eyes of the figure becomes possible to make out. They seem to have a golden yellow like color.

Haruko doesn't seem to be afraid. Nervous of what she's in for? Sure. But not truly afraid... the color of those eyes confirms her suspicions something strange is going on... and the teenage detective moves closer. "Hello." She greets what she starts to believe is a Shadow. She is firmly staring at it, and seems to get ready to call forth her Persona at the first sign of real trouble.

She isn't sure whether her teacher knows anything about what's going on here, but she has an inkling that her teacher may. As such, Haruko doesn't call Megumi over, but isn't likely to tell Megumi to go the other way either. In the end, what Megumi does is her own decision, or so Haruko reasons.

Megumi is a bit unsure what to make of the situation as her student continues walking forward. Granted the girl likely had no clue what was in that alley, but she knew exactly who and what it was. So when the girl says hello, she isn't entirely sure how to react. It was by all accounts a rather odd moment for both of them.

The figure remains silent and doesn't seem to be doing anything. The only change is that it's lips has parted, making it possible to make out it's teeth in the dark. However if someone inspects them a bit closer, one would notice that the female figure has fangs... It doesn't reply to the girls greeting however and remains silent.

"Why are you saying hello...?" Asks Megumi finally and walks up next to Haruko, turning around to face the girl. She doesn't seem to pay any heed to what's in the alley. It's almost as if there's no danger at all as far as she's concerned.

Megumi pretending that being isn't there is strange, that much Haruko knows. This is then the moment of truth... after making certain nobody beyond Megumi and that thing are in sight... she calls upon her willpower, thus Haruko calls forth Astraea... partially to see how Megumi reacts, partially to see how that fanged figure reacts. Mostly to see if there's any similarity between those two reactions...

The figure that comes forth from her head is a beautiful European woman dressed in ancient robes, carrying a pair of scales and who seems to be kind of distant from the matters at hand. It's likely that Haruko thinks Megumi is not unaware of what Astraea is, even if Megumi may not recognize the specific variant...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. People might notice." Comments Megumi when Haruko calls forth her persona. Thankfully the street has emptied by now and there is no one to watch the show. Though she is concerned that someone might walk in on it. Chances were low granted, but it never hurt to be on the safe side. Not that she'd been any better considering a certain someone.

"Granted I guess I'm not one to talk..." She turns her gaze towards the alley and sighs. The figure then moves backwards into the darkness of the alley, seemingly vanishing back to wherever it came from. Once that is over, she turns her attention back to Haruko's persona and studies it curiously.

"Interesting... I could make a few educated guesses about it." Based on the persona's appearance, she was guessing that it was some sort of european mythological figure. A greek or roman one to be specific. It reminded her of a specific one, but the name escaped her as it had been too long since she last read about it. Still she was somewhat proud that as a teacher, she was educated enough to figure out this much.

When reactions have been measured, Haruko calls Astraea back herself. As a whole, Astraea was out for less than ten seconds, not that much of a risk. Especially since Haruko /had/ made certain that nobody was nearby at that specific moment in time. Still, the reaction of her teacher is satisfying.

"We're in a part of town where people have learnt to avoid strange things and not to ask questions, Sensei." The teen points out, and it is quite likely true. Neighbourhoods like these are not places where asking too many questions is a safe thing, Megumi should have realized this as well.

"I believe she's Astraea." The teen answers, her eyes moving towards where the vampiric persona had been. "And yours... I'd guess she's a vampire of sorts?" It's phrased as a question, though her tone suggests she'd like clarification; not confirmation. "I should've known what that smell meant..."

Megumi was indeed well aware that asking questions around here wasn't exactly the best hobby to have. That however didn't prevent people with no sense from babbling, even despite how unhealthy it might prove to be for them. She'd met two here who could've fit that mold if it wasn't for the beating they'd received back then.

"I'd be more inclined to say 'strange by their standards', but I see your point." Replies she and nods agreeingly. This girl probably knew a fair amount about the area, not to mention the people who lived here. Though that was not a topic for right now. Nor did she have any need for it either. It was simply a resource to keep in mind for later.

"Yes she is a vampire." Says Megumi in an honest tone and smiles friendly. This one seemed to have a level head on her shoulder and not only that, she even had the gift. That meant she could prove to be a -very- useful asset later. "Smell? I heard you mention something about a smell earlier too..."

"You reek of fresh blood, Sensei." Haruko spoke softly, "I'm sure most people can't notice it... but this does explain the smell quite well..." The girl made sure to try not to be overheard as she spoke. That's easier when there's nobody around, of course. She looked around a bit more, "I should go home, my parents are no doubt waiting for me..."

She doesn't quite start to walk away immediately, but it is clear that she intends to depart soon. "We should talk some more later, Sensei... if you don't mind." That is partially a promise, partially meant to make clear she isn't trying to evade Megumi all of a sudden. "I'm still quite new to, well..." She makes a slight shrug, "I'm sure you know what I mean..."

"Wait what?" It is quite telling by Megumi's reaction to what Haruko is saying that she wasn't aware of it. It was indeed the first time she could recall that -anyone- had told her that she reeked of the scent of fresh blood! Learning this made her a tad upset and part of her hoped the girl was lying, but the sensible part of her mind realized that this wasn't so. After all her student had no reason to lie to her and she -was- aware of resonances herself. So it logically followed that being one of the gifted, she'd have one too. Still... she could've survived never being told this.

"Don't worry about it Fukui-san. We can discuss this more when we have a better opportunity to do so. I'll answer any questions you might have then." Given she was a teacher and Haruko was her student, they'd have numerous opportunities to do so. It even opened up a slew of other options that'd be most useful. For now however she should make her way back home as well. Knowing her sister, she was likely one step away from calling the cops since she hadn't sent her a message on her phone for a while...