Between Two Worlds

by Gotham317

Kikyo can hardly wait to start her first year of high school, until she finds herself entangled in a series of psychotic breakdowns, mental shutdowns, sinister shadows, and a strange world known as the Metaverse. When she joins a group known as the Phantom Thieves, and falls for a handsome artist, her whole life will change forever. YusukexOC. Based on Persona 5 the animation.

9. He Is My Other Self

Narrator's POV

Joker ran down the hall of Madarame's museum to escape a guard, who has just blown a whistle to sound the alarm. Skull peeked from the other side of the wall, signaling him to come over. By the time the guard reached their spot, he found the intruders had already gone. He still blew his whistle to call for backup. Joker and Skull hid behind a wall, waiting for the guard to pass. Bell, Panther, Mona and Thea were also hiding behind another wall.

"Security's already tight, but we haven't even sent our calling card yet," Skull pointed out.

"Which is proof there's an amazing Treasure somewhere inside!" Mona's voice squealed like an excited school child.

"What are you so excited about?" Panther noticed the change in his voice.

"Shh! Quiet!" Thea shushed her.

At last, the guard ceased blowing his whistle and looked around some more if the intruders are still there. But he gave up when he couldn't find anybody and left the room.

Joker smirked, satisficed the guard was gone. "Let's go!" he signaled.

The group made their way to the garden outside, where Panther and Bell rushed toward a series of doors (green bamboo trees amidst a blue scenery) opened up for them as the two girls ran in. Joker had leapt onto a cube-shaped lantern on a post for higher ground to check for security. Mona and Thea stood in the center, side by side in front of some deadly lasers. In front of them stood a giant door with the same peacock pattern back at Madarame's shack.

"Yo, any luck?" Skull had come up round the corner after completing his search, later joined by his friends.

"Not yet." Joker shook his head. "I couldn't find any kind of switch."

"We didn't find anything either," Panther added with a hopeless shrug. "I thought we could at least shut down the sensors."

"I also checked to see if there are any keyholes in the door," Bell sighed, "but there doesn't seem to be any."

"Seriously?" Skull droned. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, it doesn't look like there's much we can do at least from here." Mona stepped forward a bit, his arms crossed and keeping that clever smirk on his lips.

"What does that mean?"

"It means we need to come up with a plan."

---

The next morning, the Persona users met up at the walkway bridge to further discuss their plans, although it was more of a lament on Kikyo's actions of making a deal with a handsome devil to pose nude for the sake of art.

"WHAT WERE YOU EVEN THINKING!?" Ann screamed at the poor girl who cringed at the loud volume of her voice. "HE'S TOTALLY OUT OF HIS MIND! ARE YOU GONNA POSE NUDE IF THIS KEEPS UP!?"

I-I didn't have a choice!" Kikyo defended, wincing a bit. "I couldn't just let Yusuke threaten you guys. Besides, I know you've been forced to endure something similar with Kamoshida, so I..."

Ann's heart melted. "Kikyo..."

"How dare that pretty boy blackmail you into doing something dirty!" Athena hissed, the fur on her back stood up.

"Yeah, and the way he said it, it's not gonna be semi, but full-on nude." Ryuji's expression morphed into a serious scowl.

Hearing this, Morgana's eyes widened and his jaw drops. "F-Fu-F-F-Full nudity? Kikyo's gonna..."

"DROP IT!" Ann reached into her bag and whipped out a pair of handcuffs, instantly cuffing Kikyo's left wrist to her own.

"EH!? What the hell are you doing!?" Kikyo stared at the blonde girl in utter disbelief.

"There's no way I'm allowing you to pose nude for that creep..." Ann's voice lowered to a whisper, "even if you have a crush on him."

Kikyo's face heated up, this time fantasizing herself revealing her naked body to Yusuke Kitagawa, but instead of painting it on a canvas, the artist-in-training smiles romantically as he removes his article of clothing until his amazing body is exposed to Kikyo's eyes. Then Yusuke pulls her into his embrace and presses his lips against hers, ready to make passionate love to her. Kikyo shook her head, mentally slapping herself to banish these dirty thoughts. Thinking of making out with Yusuke, both in the nude, made her female parts tingle, but she had to control herself and focus on the present. "By the way, where did you get these handcuffs?"

"A magic shop. And second, just call your mother and ask her to sue Kitagawa-kun. Or better, ask your father to threaten him."

"Hell, no! If I did, my parents will be asking questions about how we got involved in this in the first place! And trust me, you don't want to get on their bad side!"

"She's got a point. You know, you won't have to worry about that if we make Madarame confess before the exhibit ends," Ryuji assured.

"That means I have to go through with my deal with Yusuke," Kikyo declared boldly. "It's too frustrating to leave this alone, even if he's fine with it himself..."

"Then, Kikyo... you're fine with baring it all!?" Morgana gazed at the dark-haired girl worriedly.

"SHE IS NOT!" Ann shouted angrily, refusing to let Kikyo answer.

"Anyway, we gotta go after this guy," Ryuji said. "Madarame's the kind of target we've been waiting for. Let's help Yusuke come to his senses too...before he ends up like us."

"Also, there's the problem about Kikyo modeling," Ren stated in a matter-of-factly tone. "Didn't Yusuke said there'd be 'inconveniences' unless he submits a new piece? My theory is that's gonna be announced soon as Madarame's next piece of work."

"Does that mean the whole country's gonna see Kikyo nude!?" Ryuji's eyes widened as he registered this info.

"Huh?" Kikyo's face heated redder than ever.

"NO WAY! HELL NO!" Ann snaked her arms round Kikyo's body, pulling her into a protective hug. "Not as long as she's handcuffed to me, I'm not letting her out of my sight!"

"We must deal with Madarame, no matter what, before the exhibit ends!" Morgana announced fiercely. "And furthermore, Kikyo's chastity is on the line!"

"My what!?" Kikyo's eyes turned blank white and her mouth hangs open.

"Anyway..." Athena decided to put an end to her mistress' dilemma by getting straight to the point, "there's a similar door with the same peacock design in Madarame's house. Morgana and I found it while exploring his shack on the day pretty boy told you guys about that Sayuri painting. It also has an unnatural hefty lock on it."

"Maybe there's something really bad behind that door," Ann worried.

Ren put a hand on his chin, pondering it over. "I bet if we open that door, the one in the Palace will open."

Morgana chuckled, praising his leader. "That's the idea! But opening the door isn't enough. For this to work, we need to alter his cognition that the door cannot be opened... meaning we'll need to open it in front of him."

"The timing has to be perfect, yet it will be difficult..."

"Yeah... Athena and I will get the key somehow, but the hard part will be opening it in front of Madarame. We should try to get in there before Madarame returns home. If only there was someone who could distract him for a while..." Morgana's crafty blue eyes shifted toward Kikyo.

"Especially pretty boy living under his roof..." Athena smirked amusingly.

Kikyo blushed, realizing what the cats meant.

"Oh yeah!" Ryuji caught on with this huge knowing grin on his face. "Man, how are we even gonna get into his house? But we can't break in. We're banned from going there and we'd get reported to the police for sure if we force ourselves in... I guess the only way is..."

Ann glared at him suspiciously.

"...she's gotta do the nude."

"WHAT!?"

"Fancy you saying that, Ryuji." Morgana grinned. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Well, I-" Kikyo began, sweating bullets and her face completely red.

"This isn't funny!" Ann protested.

"We're not saying Kikyo should really get naked," Athena reasoned while trying to guilt-trip Ann into allowing Kikyo to do her job, "it's simply the best excuse for her to enter Madarame's house without raising suspicions. So, we'd like her to play the role of decoy."

"Okay." Kikyo nodded. She was ready for this, prepared to do anything.

Ann gawked at her like she had grown a second head. "What do you mean 'okay!?' Worse comes to worse, what if you get found out?"

"I can run into the Palace!"

"Why did you have to be the bait?" Ann's gaze lingered at the cuffs, but she refused to unlock them. "Why can't one of you guys go nude?"

Ryuji's face fell, irked. "That ain't what he wants. Yusuke said he couldn't paint both of you girls while you had your clothes on. But Kikyo did promise him that she'd do it. That'll solve all our problems."

"But we need to be careful of Yusuke this time too," Ren warned them cautiously. "I'm sure that whatever he sees will just get passed on to Madarame."

Still, Ann refused to give in. She pulled Kikyo deeper into her embrace, closer to her chest as though trying to shield her friend's breasts as if exposed. Kikyo found it hard to move with Ann's arms snaked round her body.

"Don't worry about a thing, Lady Ann," Morgana calmed her down. "If he starts getting weird on Kikyo, Athena and I will protect her."

"Yeah, I mean what could go wrong?" Kikyo tried desperately to convince Ann to release her, giving her the most innocent puppy dog eyes she ever conjured. "Pleeeease?"

Ann was holding her dearest friend close to her, flustered to even consider allowing Kikyo to do this. "But... she's doing this... naked?"

Ren lowered his head, averting his embarrassed expression. "In the name of justice... probably..."

Ann's mouth exposed her clenched teeth, their words weighing in on her conscious. Even Kikyo's puppy dog eyes are getting through to her. "IIIIIII...Urghhhh! God!" With great reluctance, she whipped out a key and unlocked the cuff holding Kikyo's wrist, freeing her. "Fine, do it for justice!" She gave Kikyo an even bigger bear hug which almost squeezed the air out of Kikyo's lungs. "If he tries to force your clothes off, I'll tear his whole house down!"

Her threat made everyone sweatdrop nervously, even Kikyo stepped back a bit. Although she was glad to be free.

"Oookay, let's do this tomorrow." Ren decided, brushing off his surprised reaction.

"Huh? Why tomorrow?" Kikyo raised an eyebrow. "Will Yusuke even agree to it?"

"I don't know, just say something like 'I really need it to be tomorrow.'" Ryuji mimicked a girl's voice to sound sexy and seductive. "That should work, yeah?"

Kikyo just facepalmed.

---

The day of tomorrow had finally arrived. The sun was setting outside Madarame's atelier as Kikyo now stood in front of the house, sweating bullets and fidgeting her bag in her grasp. Her friends waited in the distance, hiding behind some lamp posts. She knew they will be all right in the Palace, but will she be all right if she's going to pose nude for Yusuke, the boy of her dreams? Of course, Morgana and Athena are going to stick with her if she needed help, hiding inside her bag. Hesitating, Kikyo rings the doorbell and the buzz sound happens.

"Who is it?" Yusuke's voice comes from the communicator.

"It's me, Kikyo..." she replied. "I'm here to do the modeling gig like you wanted."

"Wait a minute, I'll be right there!"

As she waited, Kikyo could've swore she overheard her friends talking to some strange lady who claimed she's a journalist. She grasped the temple of her forehead. "Oh, great! Are the paparazzi snooping around to witness the upcoming model who's going to be known as Madarame's nude model?" Her face paled when another thought hit her. "Crap! What will my family say if they see a naked painting of me in the exhibit? Mom and Dad are going to lose it!"

The door slides open to reveal Yusuke, still in his school attire. He smiled politely as he greeted her, "My apologies for keeping you waiting. Please, come in." He stepped aside, allowing her entry.

Swallowing her fear, Kikyo stepped over the threshold and entered the shack. Yusuke shut the door and lead the way to the room from before. He started busily making preparations for his nude painting while the girl stood frozen on the spot at the end of the room.

"I didn't think you'd come back," Yusuke said. "I assumed you were lying when you contacted me."

"Well I did make a deal with you..." Kikyo recalled back to that fiasco the other day, the guilt lingering in her heart, "listen, I want to apologize for what happened the other day. My friends and I were out of line." She lowered her bag to the floor, sensing slight movement inside where the cats struggled for space.

"So was I," Yusuke apologized as he put down a blank canvas on the wooden stand. "I'm sorry for kicking you out and for the threats I made to you." He backed away and crossed his arms to see admire his set up, then he glanced in her direction.

"Uh, really?" Kikyo looked at him, mildly surprised.

"Yes, I was too harsh on you. I know this proposition to be a nude model is rather sudden and I should've been more considerate of your feelings. I confess, I was rather impulsive, even though I resorted to desperate measures. It was discourteous of me... I'm sorry..." Yusuke gazed at her shyly, waiting for her reaction.

At this point, Kikyo was quite stunned to hear her crush apologizing for his outburst and for the blackmail he forced on her. Even though he smiled at her, the look in his eyes spelled remorse for his poor attitude. His apology was so sincere and honest that she couldn't find it in her heart to reject it. "I forgive you," she replied sincerely.

Those words made Yusuke's heart leap for joy and relief. "Wonderful! At first, I assumed you'd back out the last minute. To think you'd really come... I still can't believe you decided to do this." Today is the day for him. To paint the masterpiece of his dreams and nothing will stop him.

"Huh?"

"Agreeing to model for me." Yusuke started arranging his paint and brushes in complete order. "This way, I can paint a nude portrait properly and capture your true beauty." Deep in his heart, he knew a nude painting of Kikyo is going to be his best work ever.

Except Kikyo's smile nearly faltered, her left eye twitching. "O-Oh, right! I-I figured that since it's for the sake of art, eh, I needed to muster up the courage." She took a deep breath to calm herself. And yet, watching him standing there as he rearranged his stuff, Kikyo was practically staring at how tall and gracefully slender he looked. "And I'm sorry if this is so sudden for you."

"Oh, it's not a problem. Sensei should be coming back soon in twenty minutes. I know he makes you feel anxious, but..."

"No, it doesn't bother me," Kikyo whispered the rest to herself at the last part, "That's what I'm really here for."

Yusuke turned round, confused if he heard her right. "Hmm?"

"Oh, it was nothing!"

"Hold right there." Yusuke put his fingers together in that rectangle shape to peek through and examine her body figure. "By the way... Have you gained some weight?"

Kikyo had come to the atelier wearing several layers of clothes that made her appear extremely fat, just like Santa Claus. "W-What? I don't think so. I feel the same as always. D-Don't you think it's cold today?" She laughed nervously, embarrassed.

Yusuke never dropped that skeptic frown with one closed eye as he kept looking through his mini-rectangle. Nevertheless, he accepted her story. "I suppose so...? The sun is starting to set. I apologize, it must be my imagination." He turned round to finish whatever he was doing.

The second his back was turned, Morgana and Athena squeezed out of the bag one at a time. The two cats took off down the hallway and up the staircase to locate the peacock door and unlock it with a hairclip that Kikyo had given them to use.

Waiting for Yusuke to finish, Kikyo hummed to herself as she recalled the events minutes before entering the atelier.

"Are you seriously asking me to wear ALL of your clothes, Ann!?" she couldn't believe her eyes at the large plastic bag containing numerous amount of clothing that Ann had brought with them.

"Hey, you're my friend and I have a right to be VERY concerned about this!" Ann retorted defensively. "Besides, it's not all of my clothes, just some that I picked out for you. Athena didn't say you should really get a naked, just an excuse to get inside the house. It'll buy you enough time to distract Kitagawa before Madarame comes home."

Kikyo looked skeptical about this, but Ann made her own impression of puppy dog eyes to persuade her.

"Please, do this for my sake?"

"Ugh! Fine, I'll do it."

Her flashback ends once Kikyo sees her beloved artist taking a seat on his stool in front of his canvas, ready to paint his beautiful muse in a lovely naked portrait.

"So, then... can you, um... get ready here?" Yusuke gently pushed her on.

"I-I have to take off my clothes so we can get started, right?" Kikyo's legs trembled, feeling that same tingle in her womanly parts from yesterday.

"Yes, please begin."

A moment of pleasant smiles were exchanged between the two, accompanied by an awkward silence.

"Uhh, I'm kind of embarrassed if you keep watching at me," Kikyo goaded shyly. "So would you mind looking the other way?"

"Oh, is that all? Very well." Yusuke obeyed, turning around facing his back to her.

The clock was ticking, who knows how long will it be until Madarame comes back. Kikyo began removing Ann's clothes off her figure. Hard to imagine why Ann would go through all this trouble to make her wear so much. One of the shirts landed near Yusuke's feet, followed by a skirt. Yusuke made a low gasp, growing flustered by the second. A light blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Phew, that felt tight on me but at least I got it off." Kikyo sighed in relief, throwing a pair of shorts at his feet.

"Tight...?" Yusuke couldn't ignore his imagination momentarily running wild. But he cannot ignore his goal to paint the portrait of his dreams. "No, get it together. This is for art... I'm doing this for art!" He muttered to himself, clasping his hands together. Praying these emotions will go away.

"No peeking, please!" Kikyo reminded him innocently, blushing. "Your Sensei's coming home soon, right?"

"O-Of course... I mean, I believe so..." Yusuke's voice cracked a bit.

"I see..." Kikyo unbuttoned a white blouse and tossed it to the floor. Her regular attire was underneath all of that. She gulped nervously, but she had to take it off to distract Yusuke. Slowly, she pulled off her skirt and removed her shirt. Next, she tossed her shoes aside and gently pulled off her socks.

Seeing the shoes clatter to the floor made Yusuke's heart jump, but he kept his cool. "Kurusu-san, are you ready to begin?" he turned his head to her.

"No!" she cried, making him turn back round. "Uh, I mean, yes! I mean, not yet! That aside, don't you think your Sensei should be back by now?"

"Huh? I guess so... sure..."

Now Kikyo was left in nothing but an aqua green bra with a matching underwear. "Why is Madarame taking so long? Where is he?" She was coming close to stripping nude for Yusuke. In her heart, she wanted him to see her naked. Her brain took better control of reprimanding her, remembering she had to do this for the Phantom Thieves.

Not to mention that hideous mark on the right area of her waist, something she had kept secret from her friends but only her adopted family were well aware of; an old yet large burned scar forever imprinted on her. Something to remember her birth mother by. Kikyo hesitantly paused amidst her stripping, she started to shake violently. Trembling at the horrid thought of what Yusuke would think once he sees her scar. "What was I thinking?" she whispered. "I don't even know why I agreed to this in the first place!"

Yusuke still had that light blush on his cheeks, growing flustered. He sensed how oddly quiet his muse had become. "Uh, Kurusu-san...?" he asked, turning around to see what's wrong.

I'm sorry, Yusuke! Kikyo reacted quickly and threw an extra light blue lacy bra, along with an extra matching underwear, directly at him as she ran out of the room.

In slow motion, the bra and underwear fly past Yusuke's bewildered eyes. He went rigid at what he just saw, believing his muse had finished removing all attire and his now... The bra landed at his feet and the underwear landed right on his lap. "BRUH!" his breathe caught in his throat, shoving the underwear off his lap.

"K-Kurusu-san!" Yusuke's heart leapt to his throat where he could hear it beating in his ears. He averted his gaze, moaning a bit. Now is the time gaze upon the beautiful exposed body of his muse, despite his timid stature. "Can I turn around?"

No answer came, and when he turned around at last... his muse had vanished. Only the floor blanketed with multiple clothes.

"How was she wearing all that?" Yusuke stood up, wondering where on earth did she run off to this time. "Kurusu-san?" He walked out of the room, searching for the girl.

---

Kikyo quickly tiptoed up the staircase to the second floor, recalling the whereabouts of the peacock door the cats mentioned once. She called out softly for their names and Athena answered, "Over here!" The girl crept round the corner to find Morgana still at work lockpicking and Athena right behind him.

"Still not done yet!?" Kikyo frantically asked the cats. "Ugh! I bought you two so much time already!"

"I know, I'm sorry. I-I think I almost got it." Morgana told her yet he didn't look back, still busy.

"It's been a challenge, let me do it!" Athena volunteered. Then she finally noticed her mistress in her undergarments, her blue eyes widened. "Whoa, I didn't you'd go that far to strip for him."

Just as Kikyo opened her mouth to retort...

"What are you doing?"

Kikyo jumped out of her skin with a shriek after believing they'd been caught. As she whirled around, she was met by an unpleased Yusuke walking towards her. Kikyo put her hands out to stop him to no avail as he moved closer to her.

"The room is off limits! Sensei doesn't allow anyone in there." He strictly told her.

"Oh... I-I thought it was the bathroom. What's s-so special about?" Kikyo excused with a lopsided grin, trying to play it off like she didn't know what's going on back there.

"It's a storage room for old paintings."

Just then, Morgana lost his balance and yelped when he almost slipped off the lock, causing a loud noise in the process. This made Athena shudder nervously.

"Wait! Did you hear that?" Yusuke tried looking over his muse's shoulder.

"Umm... no, I-I didn't hear anything." Kikyo panicked, then tried to figure out how to distract Yusuke from suspecting otherwise...then it hit her. "Uhhh... let's get back to your painting. I'm almost ready to get undressed."

"Oh, you are?" Yusuke gasped, his face blushing.

I can't believe I'm doing this, but I don't have any other choice. Kikyo was internationally panicked on the inside, while keeping that awkward grin on her face. Her hands trembled as she reached behind her back to unhook the strap holding her bra in place.

While the poor girl was struggling to do so, Yusuke finally noticed the scar on her waist. "Ugh, if you don't mind my asking, but what is that mark on your body?"

"Huh?" Kikyo snapped back to reality when she heard her question and realized her scar was exposed. Filled with embarrassment and shame, she quickly tried to cover it. "NO, DON'T LOOK!"

Yusuke recoiled at her outburst but continued to pry, "But what is it? It's okay, you can tell-"

"I-IT'S JUST A STUPID SCAR! THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!" Kikyo blurted out, cutting him off.

Yusuke was thrown off by her outburst, but as he continued looking at her scar, a horrid thought crossed his mind. "Did... did those boys... those 'friends' of yours do this to you? Because if they did..." He growled, clenching his fists.

"W-What!? No!" Kikyo quickly retorted in defense of her friends. "Ren and Ryuji would never do that to me! They are the greatest friends that I could ever ask for! It was my birth mother who did this-" she immediately covered her mouth when she realized what had slipped. Kikyo dropped on her knees and began to cry, preparing for the worst to hear her crush react repulsively by such an old injury.

As for Yusuke, he was quite shocked to hear this revelation. Seeing her like this and wanting to comfort her, he sat down in front to her. Once Kikyo's crying lightened up, he softly told her, "Kurusu-san...it's okay if you don't want to tell me. I'm sorry if I was prying too deep into something personal. If you want... you... you can put your clothes back on if that makes you more comfortable."

Kikyo was dumbfounded yet spellbound. He was being so sincere about her scar, not to mention he didn't even mention how ugly it was. Once again, Yusuke was proving to be more of a caring gentleman as ever. It especially deepened her attraction for him. So much that Kikyo even developed the confidence to confide in him her backstory.

"I'll give you a moment." Yusuke was about to get up, but Kikyo grabbed onto the sleeve of his arm.

"DON'T!" she exclaimed until she calmed down. "Please stay. It's okay, I'll tell you." Kikyo then began to retell the events of her past, "M-My birth mom wasn't very kind to me. She yelled at me a lot whenever I did something wrong, despite it being harmless, even abused me! One day I met this nice woman and it was the first time I ever felt kindness, she even fed me and drew pictures with me. But my mother found out about her and scolded me for talking to a stranger when it was the biggest rule she wanted me to follow, despite the woman's gentle demeanor. As punishment... S-She..." Kikyo clenched her arms around her knees, "she burned me!"

Yusuke was at lost for words. He didn't know what to say after hearing such an appalling violent act happened to her as a young child, but one question was on his mind. "H-how were you able to get away from your mother?"

"Oh... after my mom did that to me, that nice woman swooped in to saved me! She even reported her to the police and my birth mother was arrested for child abuse, and thankfully I haven't seen her since. She stayed with me in the hospital until I recovered. I vaguely remembered her bringing in another kid to meet me...her son, I believe."

When Yusuke heard that last part about this mystery lady saving her, it sounded familiar. Like he somewhat remembers a similar situation with his own mother helping this little girl and staying by her side at the hospital. Wait, could she be the one my mother rescued? Is this the work of fate for us to meet?

"Another reason why I didn't want to show you my scar is because... I was afraid that you would think it was ugly, like me, and you wouldn't want me to model for you anymore."

Now Yusuke felt many emotions for Kikyo all at once after hearing her backstory and the reason for her actions, and yet he didn't know what they were and why he felt them. But it didn't matter to him. The young artist knew he needed to comfort his muse and not allow her to wallow in misery. "Kurusu-san..." he spoke tenderly, "I'm not repulsed by your scar. Just because you have one, doesn't mean it makes you ugly. You are beautiful regardless what you or anyone else says. In fact, seeing you open up to me like this makes you even more beautiful than ever and if you like, I still want you to be my model."

No one had ever said this to her in all her life. Feeling so overwhelmed by his kindness, Kikyo leans in and wraps her arms around Yusuke to embrace him whispering, "Thank you, Yusuke."

It caught Yusuke off guard, especially to feel her cloth-covered breasts press against his chest. It's been a long time since anyone held him like this. He took his chance to warmly return the hug with equal affection and they hold onto each other for a bit. During that moment, Yusuke muttered to himself, "It might make for a better picture if I can brighten my model's mood... If I succeed, she may even be willing to try out various expressive poses for use in a dynamic composition..." It wasn't infatuation on his part. He only viewed her as his muse, nothing more, and yet, this idea was a mistake on his part without realizing it.

Yusuke began leaning in to close the gap. By now, Kikyo sensed what her crush is going to do. She had seen it before in the movies, but to think this is actually happening to her. She wanted to stop him, but her heart wouldn't allow it. His lips a few centimeters away from hers. Kikyo's cheeks heated up and, right then and there, couldn't control herself any longer. He locked his lips with hers in a passionate kiss.

Click! The door to the storage room was successfully unlocked.

"Yes! Got it!" Morgana cheered, jumping off the lock and rushing inside.

"Hey, Kikyo, we got the door-" Athena round the corner to let her know, only for her eyes to behold a sight she had never seen before, "open?"

Kikyo Kurusu was locked in a kiss with Yusuke Kitagawa. His lips are the softest things she had ever felt. Her heart soared as she melts in his arms. For Yusuke's part, her lips felt like a brush on a canvas. But this... this feeling was incredible. What kind of sorcery did he believe he was under? It all felt alien to him. But he reminded himself that he was doing this for art. Except their first kiss lingered longer than they thought.

"Wow...!" Athena's jaw drops, feeling the urge to break it up and let Kikyo know the job is done. But her mistress seems quite happy when she heard the girl release a gentle moan through closed lips. There's no reason to ruin such a wonderful moment.

"What's going on?" Morgana came over to see what the silence is about. His reaction was quite different than his partner. "WHAAAAT!? How dare that Yusuke touch Kikyo like that! What if he pulls her behind a canvas and tries something funny?" He was exaggerating, much to his friend's dismay. "That's it! I'm gonna claw out his eye-"

"MIND YOUR OWN GODDAMN BUSINESS!" Athena used her back legs to kick him right against the peacock door, her voice hissed to a low whisper, and the attack knocked Morgana out cold.

Being inexperienced in this department, Yusuke decided to try a different approach. He tilted his head to the left a bit to open his mouth. Kikyo felt him do this and tilted her head to the right, opening her mouth. His tongue dominated her own, savoring the intoxicating taste that made his heart skip a beat. His mouth soon moved with hers in an erotic dance, taking in the delicious taste of her tongue and lips as he deepened the kiss. In Yusuke's mind, their tongues intertwining felt like some sort of courtship dance.

Then, Kikyo's hands proceeded to unbutton his white shirt, exploring every detail of his muscular physique. Yusuke released a groan of pleasure, wasting no time in unhooking her bra behind her back as though his mind wasn't there and someone else had taken over the minute he started kissing her.

Seeing this, Athena started to panic. "Uh oh! If this keeps up, they're both gonna up naked..." Her rigid legs glued to the floor, unable to interfere and keep watching. "What should I do?"

Suddenly the front door downstairs could be heard sliding open. "I'm home!" Madarame was back, a lot earlier than expected.

"Saved at last!" Athena sighed in relief.

Yusuke's eyes shot wide open. Realizing what he did and what he came close to doing, he instantly pulled away from her for air and to stand on his feet. He left Kikyo sitting there confused and surprised, until she heard the voice of Madarame downstairs. She panicked, standing back up worriedly.

"W-Welcome back, Sensei!" he greeted, his voice cracking.

Waking up Morgana, Athena ushered him to hide inside the storage room.

"Aah! My bra!" Kikyo freaked out when she saw the cups were close to falling off, desperately attempting to fix the hook back in place.

"I'm so sorry! Let me help you!" A blushing Yusuke quickly hooked her bra up, just in the nick of time.

Madarame walked up the staircase and found, to his surprise, his pupil standing at the end of the hallway, with his white uniform open and exposing his bare chest, and that dark-haired model he so adored standing behind him, in her undergarments. "Yusuke...? What are you doing?"

"Eep!" Kikyo instantly hid behind her crush, embarrassed.

"I was... we were... I-I can explain!" Yusuke stumbled over his words.

Of course, Madarame pointed out the obvious. "Then why is your shirt open? And why is that girl in her underwear?"

Yusuke paled and looked down at his open shirt, he scrambled to button it up back in place. "I-It's... It's not what it looks like!" Before he could explain, Kikyo reacted quickly by grabbing Yusuke's arm and practically dragged him into the darkened storage room with her. "WHA...!?" Poor Yusuke cried out, confused and worried.

"Not in there!" Madarame shouted.

There was no light in the room as Kikyo fumbled about in the darkness to find a switch. Lucky for her, her feline comrades have better eyesight in the dark, directing her to pull a string above her.

"This is wrong! We shouldn't be in here!" Yusuke protested in vain.

Kikyo found the string and tugged on it. The switch flickered a bit until the entire storage room illuminated in bright light. Kikyo and Yusuke were genuinely surprised to see the room filled with multiple paintings of the Sayuri, along with a large object on a canvas covered by a purple cloak.

"What the...?" Yusuke gasped.

"Isn't this Sayuri?" Kikyo asked, scanning the room. "Where are there so many copies of it?"

Madarame walked in, angrily yelling, "Get out now!"

Despite his initial shock, Yusuke was desperate for an explanation. "Sensei, what is this?"

The old man's glare faded, took a deep breath and sighed. He rubbed his chin as though thinking. "These Sayuri are..." he glanced aside with a nervous frown, "...sold through a special connection of mine."

"They're sold? But why?"

"You understand that the real Sayuri was stolen, right? The original was taken by one of my pupils long ago. I assume they begrudged my strictness. That moment was quite a shock for me... I haven't been myself since... Ever since then, I've been in a slump." Madarame covered his eyes, looking quite distressed.

"A slump?"

Madarame opened one eye as he peeked in-between his fingers, sensing his pupil was falling for the sob story too easy. "Because of the distress, some of my pupils handed their ideas over to me from time to time. I knew I couldn't keep that up. Nothing I've tried has cured me from it. I decided to return to my roots and attempted to recreate Sayuri once more. These copies were my last resort." He clasped his face with both hands in a pathetic attempt to look guilty.

Kikyo crossed her arms and glared suspiciously at him. She had studied his odd gestures, aware these are nothing by lies to cover his schemes.

"These were made out of desperation, I was desperate to return to my former self." Madarame walked a bit further in, grabbing his hair.

Yusuke looked at his master sympathetically. Kikyo, on the other hand, wasn't buying any of it. She noticed Athena sneaking out of the room, with a look on her face that said 'I'll be right back.'

"That's when someone approached me and offered to buy them, even after knowing well they weren't the original. I know it's wrong, but I needed the money to further your talents..." Madarame began approaching Yusuke with outstretched hands, but the blue-haired boy steps back nervously. "It was foolish of me to take part in such a scam. Please forgive your cowardly teacher for such an ill-advised venture."

"Please, don't..." Yusuke still backed away, but the sympathetic urge to comfort his father figure is weighing in.

"Hold it!" Kikyo sensed the fear in her lover's eyes, placing herself protectively in front of Yusuke to stop the supposedly sullen old man from approaching him any further. "If the original Sayuri was stolen, how did you make copies of it?"

Madarame hesitated for a second, "I happened to find a finely detailed photograph of it in an artbook."

"I'm not buying it. Something doesn't add up." Kikyo glared scathingly. "It should've been in the news that a famous painting was stolen. What's wrong about a respected painter making money by selling copies of the original?"

"What would you know!?" Madarame instantly snapped, dropping the humble old man act. "This doesn't concern you!"

Kikyo looked at Yusuke, hoping that he'll take her side. To her dismay, she saw an irked scowl cross his features for questioning his master. Fortunately, luck is on her side.

"Hey, Kikyo!" Morgana called to her from behind the cloaked canvas. He pulled the sheet off to expose...

Yusuke gasped in recognition of the object behind the sheet. "It can't be!"

It was Sayuri.

But Yusuke knew deep in his heart that despite being surrounded by copies, he deduced correctly that this is the true original. "It's the real Sayuri!" he cried. "I thought it was stolen."

"It's not! That's a replica, too!" Madarame yelled defensively.

"No, I can tell it's real." Yusuke remembered all too clearly back to whenever he gazed at this magnificent painting growing up, comparing it to the one in the artbook and admiring the real one in person. "This painting kept me going... It's the reason I made it this far."

"It's a counterfeit! I heard there was a counterfeit going around so I bought it!"

Now Yusuke began to feel anger bubbling up inside his soul. He could no longer tolerate these lies. "Enough lying, Sensei. Please tell me the truth." As much as he hated to speak those words, he couldn't ignore the truth in front of him.

Madarame clenched his teeth while beads of sweat trickled down his face, rubbing his hands together mysteriously inside his large sleeves. "You doubt me? I'm disappointed in you, Yusuke." The con man had quite enough of this nonsense in humoring these kids. With a hardened scowl, he whipped out his cellphone and pressed a button, brandishing the phone at them like a gun. "I've reported you to my private security company! And if you continue to make a fuss, I'll turn you into the police!"

Kikyo and Yusuke gasped in horror.

"I had it set up to deal with some problematic paparazzi, but I never thought it'd come in handy." Madarame grinned smugly at their reactions.

"You bastard!" Kikyo couldn't hold in that insult any longer.

"Why!? I just want to know the truth!" Yusuke pleaded with such strong emotion, believing such drastic measures shouldn't be involved. "Please, let's talk about this!"

"There's no need for you to know the truth!" Madarame refused to back down, scowling threateningly at his pupil. "You can talk all you want to the police!"

"Mrrow!" Morgana pounced on the old man's extended arm with incredible force that Madarame lost his grip on his phone, dropping it to the floor. But in doing so, the tri-colored cat made an opening for the teens to escape. "Now's our chance! Run for it!"

Without hesitating, Kikyo followed closely behind him.

"Kurusu-san!" Yusuke dashed after his muse. He didn't know why, but he was deeply concerned about her.

"A cat!? Where did it...?" Madarame was briefly taken aback to find a cat in the room, but it didn't matter now that he's getting rid of those snooping kids. "It's no use! They'll be here within two minutes!"

When Kikyo rounded the corner and made it to the top of the stairs, she found Athena had come back with her cellphone in her mouth. The girl was so relieved her cat had brought her the phone, because she was still in her undergarments and had no pockets. Taking the phone, Kikyo suddenly paused to wait for a certain boy to join her. She didn't know why, but bringing Yusuke to the Metaverse could save him from private security or the police. It was stupidly dangerous, but she wanted to help him. Except he won't be able to deny Madarame's wicked nature once he views the Palace with his own eyes.

"Wait!" Yusuke ran up to her, grabbing her arm.

Kikyo activated the Meta-Nav and everything around them started to shift, morph and distort. Yusuke seemed to realize this when he never let go of Kikyo's arm.

And then, they were falling.

Kikyo screamed at the top of lungs as she plummeted down a red and black tunnel. The wind blew in her face and made her hair fly as she continued falling, her eyes shut tight refusing to witness what is to come next if she made a bloody collision with the ground.

"KURUSU-SAN!" Yusuke's voice bellowed in the wind, loud enough to make Kikyo open her eyes to find him falling beside her. "Give me your hand!" He desperately stretched his hand out far enough to reach her.

Obeying, Kikyo extended her arm further out to grab his hand. When their hands locked in a tight grasp, Yusuke summoned enough strength to pull his muse into his embrace. Kikyo shut her eyes again, until she felt heavy breathes in her face. She looked up and blushed. For a surprising reason, Yusuke had his arms wrapped protectively around her. His eyes were closed shut, awaiting the inevitable. She wrapped her arms round his back, burying her face in his chest where she felt his heart pick up speed.

"Hang in there, guys!" Athena shouted amidst the fall.

Morgana wasn't far behind, smacking Yusuke in the back of his head on the way down. The impact stunned him enough to release Kikyo. Just as he prepared to grab her for the second time, what happened next made the artist's eyes dilate in shock.

Blue flashes of light engulfed Kikyo and the two cats. They vanished within seconds of happening. Morgana and Athena were transformed into their usual forms in the Metaverse, and Kikyo was now wearing her Phantom Thief attire, much to her relief.

A large hole parted open beneath the endless portal. Fearing this could be the end, Yusuke managed to catch Kikyo in his arms once again. Peering downward, Kikyo had seen her fellow thieves in the courtyard and just happened to look up to see the portal appear in the sky when they heard her screams.

"Oh noooooo!" Panther yelped.

"What the-?" Skull gasped.

"Incoming!" Joker cried.

The trio backed out of the way in time, just as Bell and Yusuke fell from the portal.

THUD!

Yusuke landed on his feet with grace and style, knees crouched. He was holding Bell in his arms, bridal style. The girl in his arms hugged his neck, blushing like crazy. The pain of the landing ached his legs, but he was definitely relieved to be alive. Before anyone could register this, Mona had fallen onto Yusuke's head.

BOING!

The impact bounced Mona off his head and tumble to the ground, landing on his bottom. "Aaagh! Owwwwww!" he groaned, holding his head in agony.

BOING!

Thea came in not long after, her body saved by Yusuke's head and she toppled across the ground. "Ow, ow, ow!" she massaged her head to ease the pain. "That was close, but at least we managed to escape."

"I thought it'd be the end for me..." Bell moaned, only to realize she was still in Yusuke's arms. The cats bonking him twice had knocked him out, his head resting on her abdomen.

Panther had seen this and, believing the young artist is doing something perverted, lashed out in a rage, "Hey! Will you let go of her already!?" And she spiked him across the face, a lot harder than anyone intended. Yusuke released a groan, falling on his back.

"Ah! What did you do that for, you idiot!?" Bell snarled furiously at Panther, who recoiled in shock. Then she crawled over to her crush, hoping the spike didn't hurt him badly. "Are you okay? Wake up!"

Luckily, Yusuke sat upward to massage the back of his head where the cats struck him. He found his muse sitting on her knees, staring at him worriedly. "Kurusu-san? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Bell nodded.

Then Yusuke reacted in a double take when he registered her appearance for a second. "Kurusu-san...? That attire...?"

Bell gasped, breaking into a nervous sweat. "Uhh, I-I can explain..."

Yusuke put his fingers together in his rectangle shape to peek through and study her clothes. In his eyes, his muse wearing such an elegant leotard reflected in them as he continued gazing at her. "Stunning, the embodiment of ideal beauty!" he praised warmly. "You have the air of a beautiful yet tragic princess. I can feel it, such burning passion!"

"Y-You like it?" Bell stuttered, blushing. She wasn't expecting to hear him compliment her Phantom Thief attire.

"With that attire, your form has been etched into my heart!" Yusuke had this huge smile on his face as he edged closer, grasping her shoulders to bring her toward him. "You must let me paint a portrait of you wearing it!"

His charming smile made Bell's heart skip a beat. "Uh... I, eh... sure..."

"Ahem!" Joker cleared his throat abruptly to end the moment.

Yusuke looked behind him, noticing three terrifying individuals wearing masks and morphed his gaze into fear. "What? Monsters!" he shouted. Then he sharpened his face into a scowl with narrowed eyes. "Who are you all!?" Yusuke shifted his body in front of Bell, trying his best to protect her.

Bell couldn't help but smile and blush at how fiercely protective he got.

Panther raised her hands in defense. "Calm down, Kitagawa-kun! We're not monsters." To ease his fears, she lifted her mask up a bit. "It's me!"

"Takamaki-san!?" Yusuke's gray irises shrank slightly, recognizing her. He glanced over at Joker and Skull, correctly deducing their identities. "Then you two must be..." Then he noticed Mona and Thea nearby. "I don't recall seeing these cat costumes before though."

Naturally, Mona took offense to this as he yelled, "What do you mean 'cat costume' you perverted artist!?"

"Mona!" Thea scolded him.

"Gah! They talked!?" Yusuke's eyes widen in a panic, immediately placing a significant distance between himself and the cats. "What on earth are those things!? Monster cats!?"

"It's okay, it's okay!" Bell quickly cleared things up, whilst the two cats grumbled at the usual nicknames they were given. "This is Mona and Thea, the cats that were with us at the shack. They're our friends."

"What are you doing here?" Skull grunted, though not opting to bicker with him. "We never said you could tag along."

Panther kindly extended a helping hand out to Yusuke to make up for spiking him. He grasped her pink gloved hand and climbed back on his feet once more.

Yusuke took a moment to examine his surroundings, his eyes darting around. It looked like a museum, yet fancier than the one he's used to in the city. "Where are we? What is this place?" he asked.

"We're inside Madarame's heart," Joker explained.

"We're inside... Sensei's heart?" The confusion written on Yusuke's face said it all. "That's absurd!"

"Actually, it's sort of like a distorted world of how your mentor really views the world," Bell explained nervously. "It's called the Metaverse." It was difficult to tell her crush of the world they're in now and what he's going to expect soon, but he needs to hear the truth.

"The Metaverse...?" Yusuke repeated. "I'm sorry, Kurusu-san... but are you sure you're feeling okay?" He placed a hand on her forehead to search for signs of a fever and the gentle touch of his hand made Bell's face heat up.

"She ain't lying. This is what that bastard truly feels," Skull clarified. "He's nothing but a greed-filled money grubber."

"Enough of this rubbish!" Yusuke snapped, his hand performed that same dramatic air sweep.

"Yusuke, can't you see that Madarame is a fraud!?" Bell lectured, hands on her hips. "You were in the storage room with me when he lied to our faces about all those Sayuri copies! The original was never stolen to begin with."

Yusuke stole a sharp scowl at his muse for insulting his master. "Ngh... that's..."

"I know this is very difficult to believe," Panther reasoned calmly, "but we're in another reality viewed through Madarame's eyes. This is his true nature."

"This... garnish, repulsive world...?" Yusuke's stunned expression drops to a scowl. "This can't be his heart!"

"You gotta snap out of it," Skull urged sternly. "He's way more obsessed with money than art. What you see here is how he really views the world."

"Just who are all of you!?"

"I guess you could say... we're a group that changes the hearts of rotten crooks."

"If everything you say is true, then the Sensei I know doesn't exist..." Yusuke shook his head dismissively. There's no way his master would ever do such things, regardless of what he knew. Even if Madarame did all those atrocious things, why did he take him in? He was still reluctant to accept the truth. "Still... he has kept me safe these past ten years. My gratitude for that won't just disappear."

"You're gonna forgive him!?" Skull was growing frustrated that this moron is ignoring what's in front of him. "At this rate, you'll..."

"N-Ngh..." Suddenly Yusuke heaved and collapsed to one knee, gripping his forehead. His emotions were spiraling out of control. It was too much for him to take. The faces of his fellow peers scorning disdainfully at him whenever he refused to listen to the truth... the faces of others who had committed suicide when Sensei stole their masterpieces... the face of his kind, humble Sensei who took him in and raised Yusuke ever since he was a child... He felt like he was going to throw up, gripping his stomach.

"Yusuke! Are you okay?" Bell cried, rushing toward his side.

"I'm trying to be rational about this, but my emotions are overwhelming me..." Yusuke solenly gazed up into her concerned, tender eyes.

All of a sudden, an alarm went off and everyone gasped.

"Sorry, but we don't have time to dawdle," Mona interrupted. "The security level's gone through the roof! We need to get out of here, at once!"

"Lean on me!" Joker offered, his eyes shone with concern behind the mask.

"No, it's alright..." Yusuke didn't want to be a burden, but he began panting heavily, as though in pain.

"I'll do it." Worried, Bell carefully helped him up and had Yusuke lean on her for support.

Joker lead the way to the exit, or at least he thought he did. Everyone flanked close to Bell, carrying Yusuke on her shoulder with his arm draped around her. They needed to avoid fighting guards as much as possible with a personaless teen among them. Yusuke had no choice but to follow them, feeling like a fish out of water in an alternate world where only his muse and her friends are more familiar with. He did listen to their warnings about Madarame, but he just didn't want to accept it.

As they traversed the museum, the group passed through the gallery of Madarame's unfortunate pupils of the past. This is where Yusuke stared at the portraits with uneasy horror, his eyes flitted from one portrait to the next. He recognized most of them, no doubt his former peers.

"So this... is inside of Sensei's heart?" he whispered. "A vain museum such as this...?" Suddenly Yusuke released his hold on Bell and staggered behind. She turned back round for him, to find him standing in front of a high school girl's portrait. "Ah, this painting...!"

"Do you recognize her?" Bell questioned. "We believe these might be his past pupils."

Yusuke nodded to confirm it. "But... why are there paintings of them here?"

"Technically, those aren't normal paintings. They're the pupils themselves, Madarame saw them as objects, tools to fame and fortune. That's what they are in here." Bell looked around and found her crush's portrait is still at present. "Oh, and... here's yours too." She pointed it out to him.

Yusuke stared despondently at his own painting, even read his name and age on the plague. His gaze shifted to the floor, despair and pain morphed on his face. The girl in the painting was a good friend of his in the past, always created the most spectacular paintings he'd ever seen and a great person to interact with. But one day, she left him forever. Madarame informed him she had passed away due to a terrible sickness, but the police told him otherwise - the girl had committed suicide by hanging herself because Sensei stole her work.

And then, he saw her. Another painting of a very familiar woman. Yusuke lagged toward the painting, his gray eyes enlarged wider than ever. He reached a hand out to stroke the bottom frame, gazing tenderly at the woman's face.

"Yusuke...?" Bell approached him, wondering who else did he recognize in the gallery. Looking up, she gasped softly. She recognized the woman as well. Her attractive facial features resembled Yusuke's very much, but with long dark hair in a low ponytail. "Oh! That's..."

"...my mother," Yusuke admitted. "Her name is..."

"Yuri Kitagawa!"

"Huh? How do you know her name?" Yusuke's face shifted to shock.

"Because I knew her too!" Bell confessed honestly. "Remember the scar you saw on my body? The one I told you my biological mother made? Your mother was the one who saved my life. Truthfully, I had no idea the two of you were related until you said she's your mother."

It didn't take long for Yusuke to figure it out as a low gasp escaped his lips. It all made sense now. His suspicion proved correct. "Don't tell me... you're the girl from the hospital...?"

Bell stared at him, bewildered. "What are you...?"

"Yo, we'll talk more later!" Mona's brash voice cut off the moment between the young artist and his lovely muse. "For now, let's just get out of here!"

Yusuke and Bell whirled around to see the rest of the group had been leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for the them. The two said their apologizes as they rejoined the Phantom Thieves.

The group made their way out of the gallery and found themselves within the main central hall where that same a giant gold statue loomed over them in the center of the room. Now that they were in the hall, they noticed readings on the banners floating all around them. The name of the statue was called The Infinite Spring. Heck, even mysterious, ominous, spooky voices echoed everywhere in the room as though nonexistent people are either screaming in agony or manically cackling.

Just as it seemed the group is home free, shadow security officers spawned from the floor blocking their exit. All of them armed with heavy batons. Yusuke gasped the loudest among the group, never had he witnessed such ghastly creatures. Bell positioned herself in front of him, ready to defend him at all costs.

"The exit is right there!" Mona shouted irately.

"Hahahahaha!"

Maniacal laughter caught their attention. The group turned round to see Shadow Madarame standing at the top of a round staircase which surrounded the giant statue. He was clad in a golden kimono, his hair styled into a Japanese topknot resembling a paintbrush, his skin completely white, hips lips painted red, and his black eyebrows were thick. The most notable trait which Yusuke noticed is his Sensei's shadow had menacing yellow eyes. And he was not alone, he was accompanied by two more guards who acted as escorts.

"Welcome to the museum of the master artist, Madarame!" The shadow stalked down the stairs as the cornered thieves, Yusuke and the cats stood where they are, gawking at his appearance.

"Is that Madarame?" Panther questioned.

"What kind of outfit is he wearing?" Skull couldn't help but mock the attire. "Talk about bullshit clothes! First a king, now some kind of shogun!?"

"Sensei, is that you?" Yusuke stammered, shocked. "Your clothes...? This... This is all one big lie, isn't it?"

Shadow Madarame stopped in front of the group, sneering at them. "My usual ragged attire is nothing but an act. A famous person living in that shack? I have another home..." he lifted his pinkie with a taunting grin, "under a mistress's name, of course."

"What a pig!" Panther scoffed.

"Tell me it's not true?" Yusuke still hoped that all of this is just a dream, no, a nightmare, and he'll wake up eventually.

"However, now it seems you all know too much..." Shadow Madarame gazed at them, smirking evilly, "and I cannot allow you to leave here alive."

Joker and his friends glared back at the smug snake unaffected by his threat as the leader announced bravely, "We're here for your Treasure."

"Hahaha! You are naïve as you are foolish."

"You're supposed to be an artist!" Panther growled at him, her fists clenched. "Plagiarism, forgery... aren't you ashamed?"

"Ha! Artless simpletons are the ones who should be ashamed. They can't distinguish between a genuine and a fake, but throw money at me just for the trifling works of my pupils. That is as long as it has my name on it." The monster had no shame nor guilt for what he had done at all.

Yusuke gasped as heard those words come from his master's mouth. "What are you saying?"

Shadow Madarame smirked callously as he held his chin, like he did in real life, thinking on how to demolish Yusuke's spirit for all of his naivty and loyalty, "You've been a great asset helping me with that, Yusuke."

"Hold on! If the Sayuri wasn't stolen and you had the real one all along in the storage room, why did you start making so many copies?"

"You still haven't figured it out? The painting being stolen was a lie that I started. It was all an act!" Shadow Madarame explained the falsehood he told to the his buyers. "'I found the real painting, but it can't go public. So you can have it for a special price.'" He chucked heartlessly. "How's that for preferential treatment? Art snobs will eat it up, and pay good cash at that! The value of art is purely subjective. It's a legitimate business transaction."

"No..." Yusuke collapsed to his knees, agonizing in despair.

Alarmed, Bell joined his side to steady him. Her heartstrings were being pulled to see him break down like this. Then she aimed a very scathing death glare at the man he called his idol and father. "You're a sick bastard, Madarame! You hear me!? You never even give a shit about art or the pupils who look up to you!"

"My art, my pupils... they're nothing but tools to gain money and fame!" Shadow Madarame declared boastfully. "Though I doubt a brat like you would ever understand."

"All you ever talk about is money, money, money!" Skull yelled at him, bored of all this money chat. "It's no wonder you ended up with this disgusting museum!"

Yusuke clasped his shirt where his heart ached, aware of the pain he now felt. His other hand tightened into a fist as he stood up. Bell wanted to ask if he was okay, but he sent her an assuring look that he's fine. "I don't believe it..." Yusuke's broken voice didn't go unnoticed by everyone, "Your painting, Sayuri, was pure and truly beautiful... it was everything to me... I chose this life after being captivated by that work..."

He remembered the first time, as an adorable four year old child, where Yusuke sat on a middle-aged Madarame's lap as the two looked through the artbook together, until they came upon the photo of Sayuri. Little Yusuke was so entranced by her that he turned round to give his foster father a large smile, deciding what he wanted to do with his life - become an artist.

"...answer me! Why have you forgotten true art!?"

"What do you know about art!?" Shadow Madarame retorted at his pupil. "I shall put an end to that arrogant, lecturing tongue right now!" He signaled his guards to attack.

The guards began to surround the thieves, ready to launch an assault. Joker reacted quickly when he spotted one guard sneaking up behind Bell and Yusuke. He whipped out his gun and fired a bullet directly at the shadow's chest, startling Yusuke and Bell. Performing an acrobatic flip, Joker fired three more shots to finish off the second one. The shadow dispersed as Yusuke gazed over his shoulder.

"Thanks, Joker!" Bell smiled at him, then withdrew her sword and slashed a guard by the throat when it came close to grabbing Yusuke, who gawked at his muse for such violence. "Stay close, Yusuke!" she ordered.

Joker kept shooting at more shadows until he ran out of bullets. A guard snuck up from behind and was just about to club him down when Skull bashed him over the head with his pipe, making the shadow vanish at once. Bell sliced down another guard in the middle when he pounced on her, while a frightened Yusuke quietly backed out of the battlefield.

Panther threw and wrapped her long red whip around a guard and, with one might tug, knocked him off his feet. Mona reacted quickly by shooting a pellet at it with his slingshot, and the guard demolished immediately.

"These things aren't gonna stop coming!" Skull exclaimed, as he was back to back with Joker.

Many more shadowed guards spawned out of the bottom of the gold statue like a fountain shooting black ink and mist. Thea took aim and fired three arrows at three shadows to kill them before they had the chance of morphing into guards. But this didn't stop more guards from entering the scene.

"Think we can somehow put a lid on it?" Mona ran from a shadow.

"Yeah, and where would we find that?" Panther had snaked her whip around a guard, stomping on it with impeccable strength to kill it.

Yusuke kept backing away, but unfortunately backed up too close to a guard.

Bell had dispersed another guard when her pupils dilated in extreme horror when the guard raised his baton to club down her beloved. "YUSUKE!" she cried and raced toward him.

The guard swung down his baton as poor Yusuke stood paralyzed with fear and instantly covered himself with his arms, preparing for the worst. But it never came, only to sense someone else's presence. Yusuke opened his eyes and saw, to his surprise, that Bell had literally thrown herself in front of him and blocked the baton with her sword. With a mighty shove, Bell pushed her enemy back and chopped off the guard's head, demolishing it.

"Are you okay?" she asked, turning around to check on him.

Yusuke was too stunned to speak, speechless that this strange girl whom he picked to be his muse just risked her life to save him. Suddenly his eyes dilated fearfully when another guard loomed up menacingly behind the unsuspecting girl because her attention was focused on him.

"LOOK OUT!" Yusuke yelled, stopping the guard from ambushing her as he used all his strength to push her out of harm's way.

Bell tumbled to the floor, regaining her senses of what just happened until she looked to the spot where Yusuke once stood. He was gone. Where could he be?

Joker had recently stabbed a guard with his dagger when the shogun leader of the shadows broke up the fight.

"That's enough! Put down your weapons!"

Everyone ceased fighting and gasped in horror.

Yusuke had been captured, held back by the strong arms of the same guard who tried to murder Bell. Four more guards surrounded him, just in case the thieves tried anything stupid to rescue the hostage or they'll kill him if necessary.

"Kitagawa-kun!" Panther cried worriedly.

"Don't move!"

"Yusuke!" Bell screamed, about to jump in and rescue her beloved, only to be held back by Skull, who shook his head at her.

Shadow Madarame walked out from behind the guards and sent a disgusting smile toward Yusuke, who could only stare at his Sensei with a face of terror. "It's not too late to come back, Yusuke. If you do it now, I'll forget this ever happened. You know you're better than these uncultured riffraff. You're my prized cash-cow."

I'm his what!? Yusuke gasped, his face paled.

"Did you really think I would take you into my home out of the goodness of my heart? Naturally, I only took you in to exploit your talent, to harvest the fruit, to raise you like livestock whose only purpose is to be lead to the slaughterhouse! You're a fool! Hahahahahaha!" Shadow Madarame burst into a fit on uncontrollable laughter.

While Yusuke remembered back when he was just an innocent child when Madarame would hold his tiny hand and instructed him how to properly draw on a canvas and he smiled affectionately at the man he had grown to love and admire as both a teacher and a father, the image of his idol shattered inside Yusuke's mind. He was never seen as a pupil and a foster son, only a tool to gain money and popularity. This is the truth of the man he naively believed he owed his life to... a truth he can never avert his eyes from ever again... Yusuke's lips trembled and tears streamed down his pale cheeks, feeling his heart breaking. He clenched his teeth and lowered his head. The betrayal, shock and sadness was too much for him to bare.

More shadows began spewing out of the statue, and this time, the Phantom Thieves found themselves helplessly outnumbered.

Seeing her beloved crush heartbroken like that, Bell wanted nothing more than to give him a hug. Right now, she had quite enough of this monster's cruel boasting. Every bone in her body screamed to shout insults. "You are unforgivable, Madarame! You treated Yusuke like an object, plagiarizing his talent and manipulated his trust for your own selfish gain! He looked up to you all his life, but all you ever did was abuse him! He's not your property, he's a human being! You've always been jealous of gifted artists like him far more talented than you because you never had any talent!"

Her venomous words rendered Shadow Madarame silent as he glared disdainfully at the girl for interrupting his jeering taunts.

Finally, Bell threw her words of encouragement toward the crying Yusuke. "Have you opened your eyes now, Yusuke!? If so, fight him!" Her yelling caught his attention as his eyes drifted in her direction. "It's not too late for you to stand up and rebel against him! If you can't, I'll save you!"

"Hahaha!" Shadow Madarame just chortled at her ridiculous speech. "Why fill his head with such nonsense? Yusuke will never betray me. He's too gullible for his own good."

In that moment, Yusuke felt a surging storm of revenge and fury spreading throughout his entire body. Hands shakily grasping the arms of his captors, his teeth gnashed harder than ever. He could no longer suppress his rage against this man for ruining his life and destroying the lives of many other artists before him. "The children who adored you as 'father'... the prospects of your pupils..." he asked rhetorically, "how many lives have you trampled on? How many dreams did you exchange for riches?" His eyes dilated coldly, glaring at his mentor with nothing but loathsome hatred. "DAMN YOU! I'll never forgive you for this!"

SLAP!

Shadow Madarame smacked Yusuke's cheek so harshly it left a pink, swollen mark and it made the boy yelp slightly, even though he's no stranger to it. "You dare bite the hand that's fed you all these years!? You ungrateful brat!"

That was one last action Bell wasn't going to tolerate, yelling, "You bastard!" With the speed and swiftness of a cougar, she pounced forward and collided against Shadow Madarame, the impact knocked him to the floor. One hand on his neck, Bell drew back a fist and decked him right in the face. Shadow Madarame released an agonized grunt, before he drew his own fist and punched her back. It hurt, but it didn't do much to stop her.

"Bell, get off him!" Thea called out through a shadow's legs, finding no chance to get out of this sea of shadows and help her.

Two guards rushed to the aide of their master, one of them snatched Bell by the hair, gripping it tightly enough to drag her off Shadow Madarame. Bell yelped in agony like a pained animal, struggling to free herself. She was no stranger to it whenever her birth mother pulled her hair, but this was different.

"You insolent wench!" Shadow Madarame rose to his feet, rubbing his face where he got spiked. "Dispose of her first!"

One guard restrained Bell with his huge arms in the same manner Yusuke was being held, and another one picked up her sword, deciding to use it on her instead of beating her to death with a baton. The Phantom Thieves could only watch in panicked horror as their friend's life is on the line. Nobody could interfere, there were too many shadows encircling them.

However, Yusuke refused to stay silent and allow it to happen. All he felt now was rage. "I wanted so hard to believe that it wasn't true..." he admitted, "I clouded my vision for so long. I was blind, my eyes were truly blind... unable to see truth... the truth behind this horrible man!" It felt like a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders, until a man's voice communicated to him through his mind.

"Have you finally come to your senses?" Suddenly Yusuke's eyes shot open and his pupils started glowing a familiar yellow color. The room around him had grown darker and nobody else was there but him.

"Ngh..." Yusuke clutched his head as the throbbing pain burned his skull. He could barely stand and collapsed on his knees, one hand grasping his head and the other on his elbow. "How foolishly you averted your eyes from the truth. A deplorable imitation indeed..." His fingers buried deep in the ground, scrapping his nails along the surface. "Best you part from that aspect of yourself!" Small trails of blood were left where his nails dragged, making Yusuke let out a pained scream, "A-Aaaagh!" "Let us now form a contract..." He shakily rises back up, still groaning.

"I am thou, thou art I..." Yusuke reached for his face and pressed his bloody fingers on his face, his expression like one trapped in a mad frenzy. "The world is filled with both beauty and vice..." The blood mysteriously spread by itself around his face and the outline of a kitsune's mask appeared in the darkness, his gleaming golden eyes shone brightly through the spaces of the mask's eyes. "It is time you teach people which is which!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Yusuke screamed at the top of his lungs to the heavens above, just as blue fire exploded on his face and it killed the guard holding him hostage. He wore a kitsune mask on his face while a huge burst of wind blew in the faces of the shocked Phantom Thieves and a deeply concerned Bell. "Come..." Yusuke knew what he had to do, gripping the mask with one hand, "GOEMON!" The second he pried it off his face, Yusuke's face was smeared in blood but the pain no longer mattered to him anymore.

The mask vanished into flames and a blue pillar of light and ice surrounded him... empowering him... engulfing him. Once the pillar faded, there stood a huge man clad in very unusual Japanese attire with hair styled like a pompadour, pale skin while wearing makeup, and carrying a huge pipe in one hand.

Yusuke's attire had changed as well; a white high-collared and dark blue puff-sleeved jumpsuit, a blue and white striped sash worn around his hips, white motorcycle boots, and bright blue gloves. Behind the jumpsuit is a white and red striped foxtail. In on hand, Yusuke was holding a katana sword and the other hand stretched far out to display a kabuki pose, imitating his Persona behind him.

In Bell's eyes, Yusuke now looked more handsome than ever. Especially that pose, it made him look dangerous, elegant and sexy.

"A breathtaking sight..." Yusuke declared poetically as he stared down at his enemies while his hand moved horizontally, "imitations they may be, but together, they make a fine spectacle. Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it know, abominations are fated to perish!" His gloved hand stopped in front of Madarame.

"Are you mocking my beauty!? Hmph! Who do you think you are!? The price for your insolence will be death!" Shadow Madarame ordered his guards to attack immediately.

The guards exploded in sludges of red and black, morphing into four winged Tengu shadows. The monsters all headed straight for Yusuke, arms outstretched.

But Yusuke stood his ground, holding his katana readily and a devilishly mocking smirk on his lips. He pulled out the blade and no sooner did he perform a slash, an icy wind blew out of Goemon's pipe, solidly freezing all of the shadows to death in mid-air or on the ground, like the ones holding Bell hostage or encircling the speechless Phantom Thieves. Yusuke coolly put his sword back in the sheath, and the shadows shattered into small pieces of ice.

"That was impressive!" Mona awed.

"Pretty boy's got style!" Thea praised.

The impact of the ice attack started to freeze everything in the room, the golden statue turned to solid ice and it spread to the emerging shadows beneath it, freezing them as well. Taking advantage of this, Bell kicked the frozen guard in front of her and elbowed the one holding her back, smashing them to bits. She picked up her sword, not only glad to have it back, but amazed by Yusuke's newfound power.

Yusuke put a hand to his face, summoning Goemon to change into the form of the kitsune mask reappearing on his face. He glanced scornfully back at his Sensei. "I learned much from you, Madarame. In order to see authenticity, one must be dispassionately realistic."

"Don't mouth that crap at me!" Shadow Madarame growled hatefully.

"I can now ascertain your true self without reservations with Goemon by my side!" Yusuke began to step dangerously toward his master, who recoiled in fear. "No matter what it takes, I will bring you to justice!" However, the exhaustion in his body spoke otherwise. Yusuke collapsed on one knee and struggled to stay up by holding onto the other.

"Yusuke!" Bell called his name worriedly.

Shadow Madarame smirked mockingly at his now weakened pupil. "You're still nothing. You just threw your bright future down the drain. I'll destroy every chance you had at becoming an artist!"

A bright light appeared out of nowhere and Shadow Madarame seemed to be flying up to the ceiling or who knows where, but it mean the cowardly teacher had made his escape.

"Madarame!" Yusuke's eyes widened at what he saw.

"You'll forever rue the day you dared defy me!"

"Come back!" Yusuke reached a desperate hand out to him, but his body was unable to move. He was so frustrated with himself, determined to go after him and finish him off.

Just as his hand was about to drop, Joker's red gloved hand grabbed it. Yusuke stared in surprised disbelief at how Joker and Skull were coming to his aide, each of them slung an arm of his over their shoulders, bringing him to his feet. Panther and Bell stood nearby, watching worriedly.

"Even if we beat him here, it wouldn't solve the real problem," Mona explained.

"You're totally drained, pretty boy," Thea advised. "You can't do much right now, even if you wanted to."

"We're gonna change his heart by stealing his Treasure!" Skull declaredly proudly.

"Change his heart?" Yusuke looked puzzled.

"That's our main goal as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts," Joker finished.

---

You have returned to the real world. Welcome back.

"So we have returned to the real world?" Yusuke studied his surroundings briefly for a moment, making sure that he and the others have safely returned to reality. Everyone had returned to the neighborhood outside the atelier. It had grown dark and the lampposts illuminated the area.

"Yep! All we had to do is touch the app on the phone and we're home sweet-Gah!" Ryuji's voice trailed off when he saw something which his eyes enlarge comically and go slack-jawed.

Confused, Ren and Yusuke followed the direction of his gaze. Kikyo was trying to cover her chest, blushing like crazy. She had forgotten that she had to strip for Yusuke to paint a nude portrait of her, the girl was still in her bra and underwear upon returning to the real world. Ren's eyes widened, star-struck. Yusuke's expression remained normal, although he stared admiringly at her creamy white legs and the outline of her breasts glistening in the moonlight.

"Why you..." Ann, with a cross-popping vein appearing on the side of her forehead, explodes in a rage to see the boys ogling at Kikyo, grabs the lid of a nearby trash can and beats the shit out of them. "TAKE THIS!"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

A few masculine screams sound off while Kikyo witnesses her friend 'protecting' her chastity with blank white eyes and her mouth open. When Ann finished extracting her revenge, all three boys lay on the ground with plasters on the back of their heads, groaning.

"You guys are such perverts," Athena grumbled, rolling her eyes. She and Morgana witnessed the whole thing as they sweatdropped. "Now, we're gonna get you some clothes. You just stay right there." The white cat instructed, bounding off toward the atelier with Morgana and snuck in through an open window in the back.

"I can't believe Kitagawa-kun would force you to do something like this!" Ann huffed angrily.

"Hey, I practically made a deal with him to protect you and the boys!" Kikyo retorted. "Plus, neither of us planned on making out in front of the storage-Oops!" She clamped a hand over mouth, realizing what she just let slip.

"EEHHH!?" Ann's jaw dropped.

"Look, I'll explain later! Please don't say anything to the guys, okay!?"

It didn't take long for the cats to come back with Kikyo's aqua green shirt and a white skirt, carried in their mouths as they strolled casually back to where the girls waited. They placed them down in front of the dark-haired girl, who wasted no time in putting them on. The cats went back to the shack to bring her socks and shoes. Once done, the boys recovered from the physically painful blows (the plasters gone from their heads). They were lucky none of them overheard the girls talking about Kikyo's first kiss.

Afterword, everyone traversed to the local diner in Shibuya to buy Yusuke some tea to recover from his exhaustion in the Metaverse. Ann and Ren sat on the left side with Morgana on the table in the bag, along with Athena in Kikyo's bag sitting in-between Ann and Ren. Ryuji, Kikyo and Yusuke sat in the opposite seat.

"I turned on my benefactor... the only person who's ever cared for me," Yusuke sighed miserably, "but I had no choice."

"But you've known what he was doing for quite some time, haven't you?" Ann asked.

"Not to mention you threatened these guys when they tried to tell you, right?" Athena reminded him with a scowl.

Without looking at them, Yusuke just stared down at his reflection in his tea. He was fully aware of the criminal activity Sensei has been causing and there's no need to deny them the truth anymore. "I'm no fool. Strange people have been coming by for years, and the plagiarism was an every day affair. It's true I knew he was plagiarizing his students' ideas. I tried to ignore it... I couldn't face the truth... But, who would want to admit that the man they owed their lives to was doing such terrible things? He's done so much for me." His grip on the tea cup hardened.

"Why didn't you leave?" Ann inquired. "You could've left at any time."

"He is the one who painted the Sayuri. Plus, I owed him a great debt."

"You mean it's because he raised you?" Ryuji questioned.

"I never knew my father..." Yusuke explained, "my mother died in an accident when I was four. Before the accident, I was told she raised me all by herself. That's when Madarame took me in. I heard he helped my mother when she was still alive."

"Heard?" Ren's voice had a linger of doubt, suspecting Madarame might've told his pupil another lie, this time regarding the poor boy's dead mother, but he decided not to jump to conclusions and wait longer.

"Honesty, I don't remember much about my mother either..." Yusuke's eyes stole a brief yet saddened glance at Kikyo, "but I do remember this, my mother is the one who saved your life when your own mother abused you. I went to the hospital with Madarame when I heard she was attacked. That's where I first met you, Kurusu-san."

Kikyo listened to this part of the story with deep intrigue. Her eyes grew so wide as she finally recalled Yuri wasn't the only one who kept a close watch on her while she made a good recovery - Yusuke was there, too.

Three year old Kikyo stirred softly and finally awakened after remaining unconscious for quite a while. She noticed her savior, Yuri, had fallen asleep in her chair. Nearby, a little boy with blue hair and gray eyes sat by his lonesome drawing intently on a paper. He sensed the bedridden patient had regained consciousness and looked up at her.

"Oh, good! You're finally awake!" Yusuke crawled off the chair and came over to sit beside her. "I'm glad you're okay. My mommy saved you."

Kikyo withdrew from him, trembling. She didn't know him well and being alone in a strange room with a strange boy made her wary. Especially after what her own mother tried to do to her before passing out.

"Don't be afraid, I just want to talk." Yusuke could see the fear in her eyes, knowing he meant no harm but he wanted to help her. He handed her the completed sketch he had been drawing. "Here, it's a gift. I made it to cheer you up."

Hesitating, Kikyo took the sheet of paper and examined the sketch. Her eyes widened to see such a fascinating pencil portrait of a bellflower etched perfectly on paper. The words on the bottom read 'Get well soon.'

"You're name is Kikyo, right? Like the bellflower?" Yusuke smiled hopefully. "Oh! My name is Yusuke Kitagawa, by the way."

For the first time all day, Kikyo felt relaxed. She never spoke to anyone close to her age until now. And his present was the most beautiful thing she had ever been given. "Thank you so much, Yusuke." Leaning forward, she gave him a hug which took him by surprise, but he returned it with equal affection.

"I remember now!" Kikyo gasped. "You were that little boy at the hospital!" How could she forget after all those years? It made her guilty to have discarded such a cherished memory. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even recognize you when we met at Kosei High-"

"Don't apologize. To tell the truth, I didn't recognize you either," Yusuke calmly assured her. He gave a tiny smile, which eventually morphed back to his melancholy frown. "After you left the hospital, I did want to see you again. But when my mother passed away, Sensei informed me that you have moved away to a different city with your new family."

"I never moved... ugh, no doubt that creep lied to you on purpose." Kikyo's expression hardened angrily. How dare that Madarame deceive such a young child, to the point of isolating him and preventing him from interacting with other children his age.

"I did everything I could for Sensei... I thought of him as a father, but... he changed." Yusuke's face darkened visibly. "To think he would treat the Sayuri, the very foundation of his art, like that!"

"You've been through a lot, huh?" Ryuji gazed sympathetically at the artist. He felt guilty for behaving so coldly toward him from their first encounter.

"It's just like Takamaki-san and Kurusu-san said, part of me realized the truth. When you mentioned plagiarism... deep down, I knew you were right. That's why the other day I refused to listen to you and I wanted to drive you away through blackmail, out of denial... I chose to run away. I'm sorry." Yusuke stared down at his tea in shame, the guilt of taking his art piece too far to threaten Kikyo to go through with it. He felt more ashamed than ever for how poorly he treated them.

Kikyo reached over to place a comforting hand on his wrist, making Yusuke glance in her direction when she assured him with a genuine smile, "I already forgave you back at the atelier, and after everything we've been through."

Yusuke was truly relieved to hear this and smiled gratefully, especially at everyone present forgiving him and accepting his apology wholeheartedly. "Thank you. I'm grateful for the chance to face what I have been denying all this time."

"You gotta learn to lighten up," Ryuji advised gently. "That's why you're so stressed out all the time. Hey, wait a second!" He looked Kikyo, stupefied. "You're own mother tried to attack you!?"

"No, no! The woman you met who prosecuted Kamoshida, and the man you met who drove us to school, are my adopted parents!" Kikyo hastily explained, yet she refused to talk about it anymore.

"But..." Ryuji tried to pry further, except Yusuke sternly frowned at him to leave it.

"What will you do now?" Ren questioned with light smile.

"I don't know... I don't know what to do... what am I supposed to do?" Yusuke simply replied.

At this, Ryuji developed a huge grin on his face. "You don't know? We're gonna change his heart!"

"We're not gonna let Madarame get away with his crimes," Morgana revealed their intentions with a determined grin. "It's our duty to make him pay. He's gonna atone for everything he's done."

"That Phantom Thieves of Hearts?" It didn't take long for Yusuke to figure it out and realize the rumors about these people involved in Kamoshida's case at Shujin Academy are true.

Ren took a sip from his cup, then lowered it to give him a knowing smirk.

"If I had just faced the reality sooner, this could've been avoided." Yusuke raised his head with a firm, determined look. He knew what he wanted to do now. "For the sake of those whose dreams and futures he stole...allow me to join you, the Phantom Thieves!"

His request surprised everyone, except Kikyo, who happily accepted the invitation. "Of course, you can join us!"

"All right, now you're talking!" Ryuji cheered with no objections.

Ann lightly clicked her glass cup on Yusuke's tea cup, smiling warmly. "Welcome aboard, Yusuke!"

"Try to keep up and not slow us down!"

"I'll do my best!" Yusuke understood.

"Welcome to the team." Ren remarked with a grin, which morphed to a playful smirk. "Oh, and no nude paintings."

"Thank you." Yusuke took a moment to register what he had just been told and it clicked once he realized it was all a ruse. "Wait...so that was all a plan? That's quite daring, Kurusu-san."

Kikyo blushed and turned away, although she was glad he wasn't angered about being tricked.

"It was their idea for her to do it when I didn't want her to!" Ann snarked, frowning. "I tried handcuffing her to me for the entire afternoon!"

"What else were we supposed to do?" Ryuji retorted. "It's his fault for going on and on about the nude modeling thing!"

"I haven't given up on that yet though." Yusuke grinned, making Kikyo blush again. "And Takamaki-san, if you have changed your mind-"

"GIVE IT UP!" Ann huffed crossly.

"Wait a second!" Kikyo protested vehemently. "We had a deal, Yusuke! You'd only use me to be a nude model as long as Ann is excluded!"

"I understand, but I won't push you unless you're ready." Yusuke was in no hurry to paint a nude portrait, especially after growing flustered when his nerves shook him when Kikyo actually undressed to her undergarments. He will be patient with his muse until the time has come. "However, I'm still not giving up on asking your friend to model for me."

Kikyo sighed, but she couldn't argue with him. Although she was glad he decided to wait until she's ready to become his nude model...especially after what they came close to doing during their first kiss.

Ann grunted in irritation. "Oh, that reminds me... I wonder what's going on with the real Madarame. You two were in a pretty tight situation?"

"Ohhh, they were tight all right," Morgana sneered with a knowing smirk, making Kikyo sweat nervously. "Athena and I just happened to witness-Ouch!"

Athena stood on her hind legs to swat at his face, startling everyone at the table. "My apologies, but there was a fly on your face." That was her excuse, aiming a very intimidating death glare at Morgana to stay quiet about Kikyo's first kiss, much to the girl's relief.

"Actually, I contacted him before we came here," Yusuke explained. "He believes I continued pursuing Kurusu-san. And, just as you all explained, it appears he knows nothing about his Shadow."

"What did he say?"

"He was complaining to the security company how they couldn't catch one half-naked high school girl. But I gave him a false spelling of Kurusu-san's last name, just in case he makes a report, his security won't be able to find her. However, he's still furious about it, and said that he's going to take legal action against everyone and...I'm not allowed to see Kurusu-san ever again."

"Oh no!" Kikyo groaned worriedly. "He's acting way too desperate, but maybe he still has more secrets."

"Talk about being completely on guard..." Ryuji commented. "If the police hear about this, they'll get in touch with our schools and we'll all be expelled for sure this time."

"But school is the least of our worries," Ren added further on. "We'd end up arrested."

What will my dad say if he's called to arrest me? Kikyo shuddered at the thought.

"Sheesh!" Ann complained. "Right when I think the talk about Kikyo being a nude model is over... this happens!?"

"If he were to act, it'd be after the exhibit is over," Yusuke assured them. "Any scandal during the show would be his loss."

"We'll have to change his heart before then, if we're to dodge this 'legal action' thing," Morgana advised firmly. "Looks like our plan must be accomplished while the exhibit is still open."

A few seconds later, Yusuke stares at the two cats with a neutral frown. "By the way, what are those?"

"Huh?" Ryuji glanced at Morgana and Athena for a moment, as if Yusuke has never seen such cute creatures in his life. "Oh, they're cats."

"But they're talking..." To Yusuke, this isn't normal for cats to speak.

"You got a problem with that, pretty boy?" Athena asked with a scowl.

"No, not really."

"I guess you're just on another wavelength from other people."

"After you talk with us in the Metaverse, then you can talk to us here as well," Morgana stated. "At least, I think that's how it works."

"You think?" Yusuke asked.

"Try not to dwell on the details too much."

Yusuke held his chin in deep thought, it was all very curious yet intriguing for him. "I see. How very interesting." He extended a hand over to Morgana...

"Wait! That doesn't mean you can pet me!"

...but was actually pressing a button to call a waiter to the table. "I was thinking about ordering some black bean jelly."

"And I bet you got the idea from seeing a black cat," Ryuji joked in a deadpanned manner.

It was at this moment that Yusuke made a terrible realization as he gasped, "Oh! I didn't bring any money."

Everyone just groaned at this.

"Never mind," Ann stated with a sigh. "He's just weird."

He's weird in his own adorable way. Kikyo was the only one who chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I'll pay for you."

"You will? Thank you, Kurusu-san." Yusuke gave her a smile of gratitude. "I shall never forget your kindness... and, uh..." a light blush was clearly visible on his cheeks, "thank you for saving me."

Briefly stunned, Kikyo smiled gingerly and blushed in response. "Your welcome, and thanks for saving me too. You were really cool back there in the Metaverse, when you took down those Shadows with your powers."

Yusuke just chuckled lightly at her compliment, and then a waiter came over to take their order.

After chatting a bit more and dining together (Yusuke practically devoured a steak that Ryuji and Kikyo paid for him to eat because the poor boy was practically starving), they decided to call it a day and go their separate ways. They paused in front of the diner in the street to discuss one more topic.

"You still need to decide on a codename," Morgana reminded the artist.

"It's gotta be Kitsune!" Ann recommended hopefully.

"It does have an impact," Ryuji added.

"Huh?" Yusuke just looked at everybody, confused.

"Oh, I got one! How about..." Athena recommended with a playful tease, "Sexy Fox!"

Everyone tried not to snicker at the white cat's chosen name, but Yusuke remained stupidly baffled as ever. Heck, Kikyo is fully aware of how sexy he is in his new Phantom Thief attire.

"We need a codename for you as a Phantom Thief," Kikyo explained to her crush. "Any ideas?"

"Da Vinci, maybe?"

"No good." Ryuji shot down the lame idea.

"Why's that?"

"It's way too cool. You rock in that mask and that weird tail... I got it! You're Abura-age!"

"That's..." Ann tried to protest, but she and the cats couldn't help giggling hilariously.

"Very well." Yusuke nodded.

"He's okay with it!?" Morgana was shocked by the newbie's cluelessness to how ridiculous his nickname is.

"No way! Everyone would laugh at you!" Ann objected, still chuckling. "You can't use that name. This is important" She gazed over at Ren and Kikyo. "Don't you guys have any other ideas?"

Ren pondered it over for a second. "Inari."

"Come on! Again with the foxes?"

"Hold on! Why not leave it at Fox?" Kikyo recommended.

"Well then, how about Fox?" Morgana suggested.

"I don't mind it." Yusuke accepted the codename.

"Then it's settled!"

"But don't go all feral on us just because your name is Fox," Ryuji teased playfully.

"Ryuji, you track in more than enough fleas as it is," Ann got back him.

"What did you say!?"

Yusuke smiled at their childish teasing. Looking at this peculiar group, he was quite glad to have made friends with people who are just as odd as him. After having lost contact with Kikyo as a child, he never had friends growing up. Most people at school avoided him due to his eccentricity or attempted to get close to him because of his connection to Madarame, or just for his good looks. He was really looking forward to helping them put an end to Madarame's crimes for good.

---

Yusuke Kitagawa, now going by the codename Fox, stood stoically on the edge of a boat inside a grand painting. The wind blew in his face and at his blue locks of hair, holding his chin in deep thought. Last time, Joker, Skull and Panther had a hard time trying to get through these gigantic paintings to secure a route to the Treasure. Lucky for them Fox had joined the group. Figuring it out, Fox directed everyone to follow him as he jumped out of the painting.

"Whoa, awesome!" Skull was very impressed to have found their route lead them to a different path instead of either losing themselves in a maze of portraits or going back to where they started. "We got through without getting lost this time."

"It's a very simple trap. Why did you struggle so much with it?" Fox asked deadpanned.

"Well, that's why you're the artist, right?" Panther smiled at the expert.

After completing their route, the Phantom Thieves retreated outside back to the parking lot to discuss further plans.

"We finally have our infiltration route," Mona said.

"All we have to do now is send our calling card," Panther added.

"I'll do it!" Skull cheered excitedly. "It's my time to shine!"

"I don't know..." Panther doubted it, recalling the last time Skull did it against Kamoshida, some of it was very immature or idiotic, although Bell had done most of the writing beautifully, "Oh, what if Fox did it? Yeah, he can make really artistic and stuff!"

"Hmm, interesting." Fox agreed.

Nobody had noticed Joker had disappeared on them for a short moment thanks to a sudden visit by a girl wearing an eyepatch and a blue warden uniform. While he was gone, Bell volunteered to help Fox with the calling card. "If you like, I can help you with the writing. Oh! And I could teach you how things work in the Metaverse."

"Thank you." Yusuke appreciated her assistance wholeheartedly. "If anything arises which I fail to understand, I'll rely on those more experienced than myself."

Everyone smiled, but none smiled the most than Bell.