Logs: A Helping Hand Up

Port Island - Shirakawa Blvd.

Tatsumi Port Island is, on the whole, a nice place to live. This has never stopped certain elements from getting a hold on available real estate for their own ends. Shirakawa Boulevard is by far the most infamous of them all.

Vices that one may not be able to attain with a straight face in the open can be obtained far more easily here. The streets are dimly lit and almost maze-like in order to throw off people unfamiliar with the area. Even the shady back alley of Port Island Station can't even begin to compare to what goes on in these parts. It is no place for a young student to be, with numerous buildings proudly declaring their "services" with poorly maintained electrical signs. Red and violet are the dominant hues cast by these lights.

On the plus side, the hotels are the very cheapest in town. This has led to more than a few rather awkward incidents with tourists, especially foreign ones, being blissfully unaware as to what sorts of places they're about to spend the night at. If one is streetwise, however, this can be a great place to obtain particularly juicy pieces of information... but things can go south much faster than one would expect.

There are some strange whispers being passed along the Shirakawa Blvd. this afternoon. Whispers of a monstrous roaring heard from one particular and especially dark alleyway late last night, followed by a mysterious light that did not seem to be cast by any artificial source. Like the first rays of the dawn, they're saying.

Of course it's complete rubbish. Probably just the wild mutterings of some crazy drunk or drug-addict that had way too much of their substance of choice -- but if one walks down that alley, they will find scrapings along the street and the walls that were surely made by something extremely strong and very BIG. The observant may also notice signs of part of the concrete swept clean, as if by a powerful torrent of water. Strange.

The observant and very curious, those that know that truth can sometimes be found in the most bizarre of rumors, may be able to find that subtle trail which leads away from the scene of the fight(?) Tiny specks of blood that didn't quite come clean, a trash can lying on its side like someone was trying to pull themselves up on it, small pieces of cloth that were scraped off by the concrete. Like someone was trying rather weakly to haul themselves away.

Megumi had heard of the various rumors going around about this place lately. Those amongst her own bunch had been more than forthcoming about various such things as of late and since she had intended to check out this Port Island anyway, why not kill two flies with one stone no?

"If I didn't know better, I'd suspect the Hulk had been messing up the place." Mumbles she to herself while she's eying the surrounding area. It was rather messy, even for an alleyway. Thankfully the Hulk was just a cartoon figure, but then again as she'd learned, things far worse could've gone past here. Such a nice world no?

/I wonder if you knew all this already... Then again if you're me, I suppose you didn't./

She makes her way further down the alleyway, carefully noting what details she's able to spot. Whoever was involved in this was certainly someone she'd never envy. Even the poor trash can had been pushed over.

Masumi spent most of the night drifting in and out of consciousness, unsure where his fevered nightmares ended and the waking world outside began. They seemed so terribly similiar. Neither offered any relief from the intense, burning pain that wracked his entire body, nor from the memory of the horrible nightmare creature which should not have existed. He could understand mind-over-matter, but never would have dreamed of such demons prowling the night.

Once Megumi picks up where the trail begins, beyond the mostly-blanked area washed clean by...something, it is not entirely difficult to follow. Various points of interest clue her into roughly what she is looking for, and she is able to gradually accelerate her pace as the trail becomes more obvious. It's clear that the person she is following was rapidly losing strength with each passing moment.

And then the trail abruptly stops with no sign of where it went. Megumi will probably spend a couple of minutes trying to find where it picks back up, before finally noticing the tiny alcove formed by building walls that blends in so well with both the shadows and the surroundings. It is extremely easy to miss.

Stooping down a little to get a better look into the alcove reveals the limp form of a teen about sixteen years in age. His shirt is gone, shredded into pieces to stop the bleeding from a number of violent injuries sustained along his arms and upper chest, and his abdomen is painfully tight and swollen. Internal bleeding? Most likely. Dried blood cakes his entire body, including (especially, even) his waist-length silver hair. His eyes flutter weakly as if he were trying to fight to fully regain consciousness.

Megumi follows the trail mostly out of curiosity. After all the chances of finding someone at the end of the trail, back tracking and what not notwithstanding, was just as unlikely as gold raining from the skies. That sort of thing only happened in the movies you know!

"What the...?" Says she to herself after the third time she back tracked. Either she wasn't much of a detective material or there was something missing here. Of course she hadn't noticed the alcove yet. There was also that strange sensation that was lingering in the air. It wasn't one she enjoyed either. For some reason it felt uncomfortable, as if the burning rays of the sun were aimed straight at her. Granted it wasn't severe in any sense of the word, more like an annoying itch of sorts. She wasn't sure how to explain it.

/The last time I had one of these weird sensations... Ah I think I see./

Meggy turns her eyes in the direction where she believes the sensation is coming from. She hadn't noticed that Alcove before now. An interesting thing formed by the structural design, so to speak.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Says she loudly as she walks towards it with careful steps. Though when she finally reaches it and notices what's there, she relaxes somewhat. At least it wasn't one of those monsters or a thug. Whoever it was looked like they were erring to much on the side of death, so to speak, to be much of a threat.

Masumi struggles within himself to regain consciousness. The pain that hammers at every fiber of his being is like nothing he's ever experienced before, and his brain keeps trying to shut back down from the combination of shock and blood loss. The worst injury he's ever had before was some bruises and black eyes from thugs before he learned better how to operate in the seedy world of Darkside. One time, he got his arm slashed by a small shiv.

And so he simply wasn't prepared to be outright attacked by a monster the likes of which should only appear in movies and bad nightmares. His fighting prowess certainly was not up to par, but neither was his frame of mind or pain threshold. Far too much time was spent simply trying to get the primal animal terror under control so he could actually fight back. And now it's a monumental effort just trying to think of something other than the pain so he can /do/ something about his situation.

A voice slowly filters into his consciousness. Megumi probably has to repeat herself a few times before the sounds pierce through the haze, and the youth's mind can form them into coherant syllables and then words. And then he finally realizes -- someone's there. Someone that's speaking to him. He stirs visibly, trying to get full thoughts to form. Maybe they can, maybe they can --

He loses the thought as blackness claims him again. But this time it only lasts for a few moments before the thought worms its way back into his fevered dreams again. That's right! Maybe they can help him! He starts back awake, panicked that he's missed the opportunity. "Help...please...help..." he manages to gasp out, though the words are airy and indistinct. He needs to get out of here. Before it comes back.

The best words she could think of describe the teenager she was looking at would be 'half dead'. Or perhaps 'almost dead' was better. Unfortunately for him, she was by no means a healer of any kind. Granted there was one thing she could try, but she'd only used it once or twice when she was alone. 'twas worth a shot no?

"Please relax... I'm not entirely certain if this will work..." She crosses her fingers and closes her eyes as she whispers something. Barely a second later, she's surrounded by a glowing blue circle of bright light and something appears above her head and a warm sensation begins to spread around the boy. Whether or not it did any good, she cannot say. She's a teacher and a computer nerd, not a healer.

It would be nice if Megumi were a better healer. It would be pleasant if the light which washed over Masumi's frame was powerful enough that he could simply stand up and be on his way. It would probably also be far, far too easy.

As the small figure appears above Megumi's head, the teen's eyes widen slightly, and he seems to find some small amount of focus. Eyes that were previously staring at nothing instantly fixate on the figure. He's always known that there were other people like him, people that wielded the power of Persona. But somehow he always seems just a little bit surprised whenever he actually encounters one, and certainly intrigued.

The warmth that passes through Masumi's body is not especially strong, but still feels like the sweetest touch of heaven to him. Much like the man dehydrating in the desert, even the smallest taste of water is the greatest thing of all. He further has never actually experienced the touch of supernatural healing before.

Still, the Dia spell is enough to take the edge of, which perhaps will be enough. Masumi can feel the haze of half-consciousness, shock, and pain starting to lift from his mind until it is no longer all-consuming. Beneath the strips of torn shirt, gashes and torn flesh become just a little bit smaller. Some minor amounts of lost blood regenerate in his veins. The swelling in his abdomen goes down a noticeable amount.

The youth continues to lie there for several long minutes as he tries to slowly acclimate back to full consciousness. His entire body /hurts/, and he can feel the intense burning of wounds quickly becoming infected. There are horrific cramps in his stomach that feel like he'll probably pass out again if he moves the wrong way. But...he's still alive, isn't he. The Dawn indeed brought a new day.

"Thank you," he breathes slowly, voice still very weak as he stretches out a slightly-trembling hand in a silent request for assistance getting back to his feet.

Meggy stretches out her hand and grabs the teenagers in order to help him up on his legs, while refraining to comment on how bloody he looked like. Or how he looked like he'd been wrestling with a lawnmower.

"Did it help any? Are you feeling better?" Asks she in her usual friendly tone of voice. He seemed a bit better at least. Perhaps she should call an ambulance or some other sort of medical personnel? Then again that might bring some uncomfortable questions. Probably more so for the boy than her.

"Uhm should I call for an ambulance?" Asks she as she quickly eyes the body again. What had he run into that had caused that kind of damage? If she didn't know better, she'd think a wild animal had completely mangled him while some thug was beating the crap out of him.

A helping hand gets Masumi out of the cramped alcove which he collapsed into last night, though he yelps in pain as the movement puts pressure on his abdomen. Everything just /hurts/. He just wants it to stop hurting. Monsters, demons, whatever they are -- he never asked for any of that. He just wanted to know the truth, just wanted to find the answers. But perhaps he should have expected it.

After all, anywhere the light shines, it always casts a shadow.

The highschooler leans heavily up against the alley wall, and almost passes out from vertigo induced by the blood loss. He settles for slowly sliding down the wall into a slumped sitting position. His face is terribly drawn and pale. "...I don't know," he admits quietly. It's so hard to think right now, his normally sharp mind replaced by a frustrating haziness. Trains of thought keep starting and then stopping before he can think them through.

On the one hand, he wants so badly for the pain to stop. On the other, he doesn't know what he'll tell his parents. Or the police for that matter. 'I was attacked by a man that turned into a ten-foot monster which could control torrents of water with his mind,' doesn't quite quit it. Neither does 'and I was in the Shirakawa district trading papers with a shady guy I've never seen before,' for that matter. What is he supposed to do?

"There...there was a monster," Masumi finds himself saying breathlessly. Maybe his recent savior would understand, even though he doesn't even know her name. "It was a man...and then it was a monster."

A man and a monster? A persona user from the sounds of it. Who it might be she couldn't say though. The information was a bit too vague and besides this boy needed her attention more right now. Hopefully that persona user wasn't around at the moment as well. This boy would likely die if he were to appear right now.

"Who are you?" Asks she while she offers her shoulder for the boy to lean on."And we should get out of this alleyway. I don't think whoever did it is here, but I'd rather not take any chances."

"'S'not here," Masumi says, his words broken and run together. He just doesn't have the energy to do much in the way of talking, especially as every word seems to just make it all hurt more. "Too light now." Or at least he assumes it wouldn't come out during the day. He can remember the way it moved, the darkness that rippled off of it at every turn. And he can remember the way it reacted to Ceridwen's light.

Nevertheless, Masumi takes the offer of help, if for no other reason than he's too tired to argue. He almost passes out again as he comes to his feet once more, but manages to just barely avoid it. He leans extremely heavily on Megumi's shoulder to compensate. He is thankfully rather light, but still feels like something of a dead weight.

"Masumi," he finally answers in a slur to her question. No last name is proferred.

Meggy is also a fairly strong person. Compared to the average anyway. The boy being fairly light does of course help the situation somewhat.

"Most people call me Meggy. Nice to meet you Masumi-san, though the circumstances could be better." A lot better, but at least the boy wasn't dying! Or so she thought at least.

"So what happened exactly? You said you met a man and a monster? Did he say anything?" Meggy doubted the man had said anything worth noticing. What was the chances that someone let slip something important right before viciously attacking after all? Seemed a bit unlikely, but then again what did she know?

"And just a bit further and we'll be out of the alleyway." Meggy turns her gaze forward and notices the light coming from the streets. There was one thing she hadn't thought of so far. How would people react if she came walking with someone this wounded straight into the streets?

In this area of town, it is likely that no one will react in any particular way other than to turn around and mind their own business. The people here are pretty much accustomed to ignoring the victims of various strong-arm robberies, drug deals gone sour, and a dozen other ways someone could end up looking like Masumi does right now.

Once they reached more respectable parts of town, there may be some problems -- but that really depends on if Megumi is a subscriber to public transportation or has her own vehicle. The twin kodachis only partially hidden in the strips of what used to be Masumi's shirt are definitely not something to be seen with in places where the light of proper civilization actually reaches.

The youth attempts to gather enough energy to talk, although he is frequently stalled in these efforts by sharp pains from moving the wrong way. They are very nearly out of the alley before he finally manages to answer the question. "It was a man...and then he /turned into/ a monster." It's clear from Masumi's tone that he'd never seen or heard of such a thing before. "All he kept saying was...stuff about killing." He can't quite bring himself to say 'killing me.' The truth is far too close for comfort.

"Turned into the monster? Are you sure about that?" Hm had Yu mentioned something about that? She couldn't remember. There'd been so much that he'd gone over that time. If only she'd kept some notes.

/But you know, don't you?/

"Not sure I've heard of people doing that before... I thought summoning was the only way." Meggy notes down that she needs to ask about this the next time she runs into that Yu boy. He'd likely know more than her.

As Meggy brings the boy into the streets, she's somewhat surprised at how ignored they are. One would've thought that the sight of someone so heavily wounded being carried around would provoke some sort of reaction. Well seemed like every city had it's apathetic parts. At least she had a car with her this time, opting to skip using the train for once.

"I've got a car nearby here by the way. Do you have anywhere you want me to bring you to?" She turns her eyes towards the boy and offers him a comforting smile.

"Quite sure," Masumi says, gesturing at himself and giving a weak but droll smile as if to say that he experienced the effects of that transformation quite vividly. He doesn't know how they did it or what it means or anything else, but he's accepted the fact that it did indeed happen. If he's going to seek the truth, he can't reject experiences which fall outside of the realm of his current understanding of the world. He just has to keep redefining and digging down to new layers.

"Know any other healers?" the youth asks with a glint of hope in his voice. If there was somebody that could erase the signs of his injuries without traditional medical care -- it would be a lot easier to give a cover story to his parents, and would also skip dealing with the police at all. He can't help but to think that it would really simplify...everything. He's still not sure what he's going to do if he has to go to the hospital. And he's sure he's bleeding internally. He can't just wait that out.

"I'm afraid not... Only other one I can think of doesn't have that capability." At least not that she knew of. Then again she was capable of calling upon the power of more than one of those entities. Not that it mattered that much, the little healing she'd managed to perform had only seemed to patch the poor kid up.

"Ah here's the car." Meggy sighs with relief as she recognizes her parents car, she couldn't afford her own and they were always away anyway.

"Do you want to lie down in the backseat or do you prefer to sit?" She wasn't sure which one was the wiser idea and she doubted an internet search would yield the correct answer in time.

Well so much for that idea. A damning metallic taste springs up in the back of Masumi's mouth as his hopes are dashed. What kind of story could he possibly weave? His injuries don't even look like he was mugged, but rather by some kind of wild animal. Maybe that's what he could say. It's not entirely unheard of for hungry animals to attack people near the edge of civilization. But how to explain his being in Port Island in the first place?

"Just...just need a second," he breathes as he lets go of Megumi's shoulder and sprawls out over the backseat. It's a half-sitting, half-lying position that ends up being the one that hurts at least a little bit less than the others. He needs to try and think. The intense, burning pain hammers repeatedly against his mind and makes it so difficult to think. He keeps grasping at half-formed thoughts, wisps of smoke that slip right through his every attempt to grasp them.

Come on, Masumi, he chides himself. There's no reason it has to all end like this. The answers are here, you just have to find them. "Can...can you drive back into the alley?" he asks finally.

Meggy opens the front door of the car and sits down in the drivers seet. Now the the teenage boy had a chance to rest, as much as one could in the backseat of a car, he'd probably hold out a bit longer. Though his requests makes her turn around and look somewhat baffled.

"I beg your pardon? Drive back into the alley? Why?" That seemed like a rather unwise choice from what she understood of the situation. Sure the man wasn't there now, but with all those wounds...

"Please, just...just for a moment," Masumi asks, almost pleading.

"Buy -why-? Did you forget something there? Something important or?" Meggy looks like she doesn't understand why the boy wants to return to the alleyway at all. Given he'd risk any number of rather lethal ends to his life if he didn't get to a doctor, it seemed like a rather incredibly stupid thing to do.

"Because I need to -think- for a second, and--" Masumi starts to exclaim in exasperation, pain shattering his normal patience. He's cut off by a violent coughing fit, blood running from his mouth down into his lap as he completely doubles over. It's several long moments before he finally manages to stop long enough to gasp pitifully, "Please."

"I don't think you're in any shape for it. I'm taking you to the hospital right away. Otherwise I fear you might not survive the day." Responds Meggy and activates the cars engines, while shutting the door at the drivers seat.

"I'm sorry Masumi-san, but your life is more important than gathering your thoughts." Her standard view and responce to such things.

Why doesn't she understand? How can he make her understand? There are so many things that could go wrong in so many different ways if he has no story ready, no alibi. The cold steel resting against his chest is a constant reminder of that even through the haze of pain. His life is meaningless if it's a life trapped in a cage.

Too exhausted to argue any further, Masumi slumps back again. All he can do is hope that this part of town is simply sparse enough during the day that no one will notice inside the confines of Megumi's car. It is an area whose main activity is at night. Maybe he can do it before they get onto roads which see any real traffic.

The youth closes his eyes as if in sleep. He listens to the steady hum of the car around him, trying to anchor his mind on it and ignore the pain. Try to take slow, steady breaths, he reminds himself. It doesn't matter if it hurts, do it anyway. You have to. So much is riding here. The old fear, the old terror of being trapped by the mundane world fuels him. Focus. Focus. Reach down and touch that part of yourself the world cannot see.

A double helix of gentle light rises from Masumi's body, quickly coalescing into the form of a great ephemeral enchantress that seems terribly cramped in the small vehicle. The dawn light she holds in her one hand is kept as dim as the youth can make it in his current state. The cauldron which she holds in her other hand bubbles with strange scents and colors and sounds, whispering of Secrets and Mystery and most of all -- Wisdom.

He can feel his mind starting to open despite the pain as he casts the spell of inspiration and wisdom upon himself. He can feel the wisps of thought starting to form into coherent patterns, becoming solid in his mental grasp. He can feel a plan and a story beginning to take shape. Most of all, he can feel hope again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. There anyone around right now, but if people notice it, you'll have a difficult time explaining what that was." Says Meggy when she notices the persona. It's form and shape doesn't tell her much, but then again she's by no means an expert when it comes to such creatures.

"Anyway I don't think the hospital is far away so please... Try to hold on." Says she before she drives into the street and towards the nearest hospital. The trip doesn't seem to take very long as there's a surprising lack of traffic along the way. Perhaps it's just one of those days no?

Which is why I asked you to go back to the alley for a second, Masumi thinks a little nastily, made irritable by pain. It will likely spark a couple of rumors that will join the others circulating about the strange sounds and lights from last night, but this is such a disreputable part of town that chances are slim of it going beyond that. He is finished by the time they pull out into more widely-used roads and civilized parts of town, dismissing Ceridwen back into the depths of his psyche.

"You can't...tell them where you found me," he breathes. "They'd never believe--" the youth pauses as a sharp pang wracks his body. "Stories of monsters. You know that. You...you found me on the outskirts of town. Attacked by a wild animal." He's formulated a believable enough account, and he knows his boss will help. It won't be perfect, not like this, but hopefully just good enough they can't pin anything down.

"I'm not gonna go around telling people about persona's so you needn't worry. Besides who'd believe us? That is who'd believe us besides all the wrong people? Anyway... We're here." Meggy eyes the hospital. It looked a lot more pristine than the one in Lunarvale. Then again Port Island did sort of seem like the rich folks city. At least from her point of view.

She opens the door and exits the car, then walks over to one of the doors leading to the backseats. After opening it, she offers her hand to the boy.

"Just a little further now and you'll be fine. Oh and if anyone asks, I can always claim I saw a wild animal attacking you. With the way you look, it'd be close enough for them to believe it... I hope." She would've bought the story at least, but then again she wasn't a cop or a detective of any sort. Just a generally nosy darksider woman.

The twin kodachis are left behind underneath the seat of the car, leaving Megumi with the slight problem of holding onto them for now

Masumi shakes his head just a little as his savior helps him out of the car. "Wounds -- they're too old," he says breathily, the world starting to slowly swim again. He's starting to run down the stamina boost the minor healing spell gave him, feeling like he's going to pass out again. "You have to tell them...that you...found me like this." The youth only manages to take a few steps before he falls heavily into Megumi, the world blacking out once again.