Chapter Twenty-Five
Beauty Underneath

Thursday May 19th

Takamaki had contacted him the night before to arrange for another session. She stressed that her schedule was about to get hectic, so if Yusuke still wanted her to model, today would have to be the day for the foreseeable future. It was fortunate that Sensei was going to be held up with the exhibit. Needless to say, Yusuke was quick to respond and hope he could finish the rough sketch before Sensei returned.

Yusuke was heading to school through Shibuya station that morning. It was just him going through the motions of the day while he thought about the lighting composition, perspectives, and how abstract he may or may not have wanted the painting to be. This would be easier if he knew what he wanted it to be.

How was he supposed to get through class today?

He was weaving around the crowds, taking the path he had known like the back of his hand. It wasn't until Yusuke looked up that he stopped in his tracks. Leaning against one of the round pillars was a girl with powder-grey hair and a thick pair of glasses. The same was tailing Takamaki. Kusakabe, was it? She had a book balanced in one hand, the fingers of her other hand gripping the page as she read.

He supposed Kusakabe and that Sakamoto were using the same line as Takamaki now that he thought about it.

She was another face in the crowd, were it not for that hair color. No different than the girls Yusuke went to school with. Distinctly Japanese. Distinctly ordinary.

"I'm supporting Sensei as his pupil. Where's the wrong in that?"

"There isn't normally… But if there's livelihoods at stake… Are you really okay with the way things a-"

Yusuke's brow twitched irritably.

Damn her.

Yusuke strolled up to Kusakabe; despite the girl looking very deep into her book, she looked up. Closing her book, she slipped it under her arm, then smiled. "Good morning, Kitagawa-kun," she said cheerfully, as though she hadn't tried to dig up dirt on Sensei. Twice. As though they were acquaintances or friends.

"What's with the sudden change in attitude?" he asked bluntly

"I'm sorry?"

"I was contacted by Takamaki-san last night. She's accepted the nude modeling proposition."

Sexual extortion…

"Did she now?" Kusakabe asked pointedly. "Well, that's nice of her."

"It… is..." Yusuke agreed, eyeing Kusakabe. "But I hope you aren't conspiring anything."

"Why would I? It was Ann's choice. I'm her friend, not her keeper."

She was lying. Very few ever pressed that hard then simply let the matter drop literally overnight. And the fact of the matter was, between Kusakabe and Sakamoto, it was Kusakabe Yusuke expected to be plotting something. "I'll call the police if you try anything," he warned. "Remember that."

She tried to keep her composure, but that did not stop a muscle in Kusakabe's jaw from twitching, or how Kusakabe bit her lower lip. So that got under her skin. Without looking down, Kusakabe reached into her bag and pulled out her smartphone. "Sorry, my train should be here soon," she said. After Kusakabe put her phone back, she repositioned her book, holding it close to her chest. "Have a nice day, Kitagawa-kun."

And she was gone, as though Yusuke's thinly veiled threat never happened.

Chiyo had a difficult time telling what Kitagawa was thinking, but she tried to be approachable and cheery. Like she just now heard about Ann's acceptance of the nude modeling. He still seemed a bit wary of her, but then again Chiyo's previous impressions didn't give him a reason to relax around her.

During class, Inui was singing Madarame's praises that day. And during lunch, Chiyo handed Ann a couple of sets of clothes she'd brought for either down days or laundry days. They met up in Shibuya at the walkway after school, Ann arrived late with two other bags besides her school bag. "You plannin' a trip or something?" Ryuji asked as soon as she arrived.

"Just taking some precautions." Ann flexed her fingers and rotated her wrists after she put her bags down. "Chiyo was saying I should come up with a stalling tactic."

"I just said sprout useless facts. What're you planning?"

"Um… you'll see…"

"A'ight," Ryuji said, getting things back on track. "Ann, Morgana, we're countin' on you. Me and Chiyo're banned from goin' there, so all we can do is wait here…"

"Actually, you two have something different you'll need to do." Morgana slipped out of Chiyo's bag and leaped onto the railing by the window. "You two need to wait inside the Palace. Once that door opens, sneak in and look for some kind of control room."

"Oh, okay." Chiyo nodded. "That way we don't have to worry about the door in the Palace closing again."

"Mkay, I get it," said Ryuji. "You can leave that to us!"

To be on the safe side, the plan was for Ann and Morgana to enter the atelier first and keep Kitagawa distracted. Then Chiyo and Ryuji would head into the Palace. Ann made them stop at Big Bang Burger first to better set her plan into motion. When she came out of the bathroom, she thought everyone was going to crack a rib trying not to laugh. And yet, Kitagawa didn't notice or care when Ann arrived at his doorstep.

He lead her to the same room as last time and Ann took the opportunity to put her bag down by the wall. As soon as Kitagawa's back was turned, Morgana slipped out of the bag. "To think you'd really come," Kitagawa said, more to himself as he readied his supplies from the opposite end of the room. "I assumed you were lying when you contacted me."

"I'm sorry it was so sudden," Ann said hoping she sounded casual.

"Oh, it's not a problem. But as I told you yesterday, Sensei should be returning in about twenty or thirty minutes. So um… I'm sorry if that causes some anxiety on your part."

"That's why I'm here today, dammit," Ann muttered under her breath.

Kitagawa glanced over his shoulder. "What was that?"

"Oh no, it was nothing!"

"By the way…" Kitagawa turned towards her, eyeing her peculiarly. "Have you gained some weight?"

Ann's plan involved putting on as many layers of clothes as physically possible. Which also meant stretching things out to their maximum capacity. She had even asked Chiyo for a few pieces of her spare clothes to help out. What Ann didn't consider was that the two girls had different bust sizes, so Chiyo's shirts were a little tight on her. "You think so?" Ann asked fringing obliviousness. "I weigh the same as always… Maybe I'm just a little bloated today?"

Kitagawa looked like he wanted to say something. "So, then…" he said tentatively, "can you, um… get ready here?"

Wise boy.

"I… need to take my clothes off, right?"

"Y-Yes please…" Kitagawa glanced away, fiddling with his hair.

Great, so now he was just supposed to watch as Ann took off layer after layer? "I'm a bit embarrassed," she confessed, at least this was partially true. She grasped onto the hem of her first layer, an old t-shirt from seventh grade. "Could you look the other way?"

He did not argue, thank goodness, as he turned his back to her. Ann started to shed off each layer, idly mourning some shirts she liked, but ended up ruining by stretching them out. She dropped the articles in an ever-growing pile at her feet, save for a few pieces she strategically tossed in Kitagawa's direction. Perhaps if he was flustered enough, he'd call off the nude aspect.

One of Ann's shirts was giving her problems. It was a shirt from late elementary school, early middle school, it lasted before she had her last growth spurt. She had to ease it over her bust then ease her head through the hole. As soon as she'd finally gotten it over her head, Ann had to let out a sigh of relief. "That was tight…"

"Tight…?" Kitagawa echoed. Why couldn't he get it together? This was for his latest piece!

"I'm getting there," Ann assured him. Maybe Chiyo was right and she should have just looked up useless trivia to prattle on about. At least that wouldn't be such a hassle. "Your sensei's coming back soon, right?"

"I believe so…"

"Do you think we could do this somewhere else then? A little more atmosphere would be lovely…"

"This should be good enough…"

"But wouldn't a room with a lock be a bit better?"

"A lock?"

"Must a girl say more?"

Without paying attention, Ann tossed one of her pink camisoles in Kitagawa's general direction. Unaware of how she had unintentionally gotten his pulse to quicken. "But the only one with a lock is…" Kitagawa's voice suddenly sounded strained to her, "Sensei's room…"

"Then why not there?" Ann asked innocently.

"I can't intrude… Besides, I don't have the key…"

Ann turned her head towards the door. "He says he doesn't have the key," she said to the doorway in a hushed tone.

In the lower right-hand corner of the doorway, Morgana poked his small head in. Ideally, he at least wanted to see if Kitagawa had the key on him, or even if he knew where Madarame kept it. "It's okay. That's why I'm here." He bent his head over his collar and pulled out a couple of hairpins between his teeth. "I came prepared."

The last Ann saw of him, Morgana had taken the hairpins back into his mouth and sauntered off with Kitagawa none the wiser. Then she nearly tripped trying to get a pair of pants off.

"Takamaki-san," Kitagawa said after a long bout of silence, "are you about-" He dared to turn around, just as Ann was in the process of removing her school blazer. For the most part, she had dropped most clothing articles she had into a single pile. She watched as Kitagawa glanced from Ann to the pile of clothes and back to Ann. "You were wearing all this?"

"D-Don't you think it's cold today?" Ann asked, striking a flirty pose.

"I suppose so? The sun is starting to set, and I guess it's been awfully rainy today…"

"Riiiight?" Ann asked thinking on her feet. "That's why a change of location would be nice… for lighting. I mean, I'm gonna take it all off."

"True…" He brought a hand to his chin in thought. "It might make for a better picture if I can brighten my model's mood…"

"Uh-huh! That's right!"

"She may even be willing to try out various expressive poses for use in a dynamic composition…"

Wait, did he want her to do splits in the nude?! "Let's gooo…" Ann cooed putting on the part of a flirty girl. "I was just starting to get in the mood."

She posed again, a kind of pose the photographers usually had her finish off with. She held, keeping an ear out for Morgana and not hearing anything. Come on! How long did it take to pick a lock? Without another word, Ann simply turned around and walked right out of the room. "Wait!" Kitagawa called. "If you wander around, Sensei will…"

"Ohhh… It's sooo hot."

"W-We really can't use any other room…" Wait, didn't she say it was cold before?

"Hey, why not this one here?"

Skull was fidgety as he and Joker waited in front of the door. They'd used their firearms to mow down every Shadow that tried to get in their way and made a b-line for the Central Garden. As time went on Skull started pacing, jiggling a leg, and kept his arms crossed. "They seriously gonna be able to pull this off?" Skull asked finally. "She was sayin' stuff like, 'I'll just seduce him with my acting,' but that sounds out of her league…"

"It doesn't sound that hard," said Joker.

"Ehhh, you didn't see her during our middle school play... Plus we ain't got one sign this place is gonna open," he gestured over his shoulder at the fence. "Isn't Madarame comin' home soon? On top of that, even if Mona's able to unlock the door, how's he gonna show it to Madarame? And then even if they do show it open, any normal person'd just close it right up again."

"Well, that's the reason we're here," Joker said, using a hand to help talk with her.

"Yeah, but doesn't that mean we only got a few seconds to get in? To be blunt, won't it be a miracle if this works?"

"It'll work."

"I wanna think that too, but…"

Ann wandered the halls playing the part of a flighty girl as Kitagawa frantically tried to catch up. Damn it, why didn't Morgana tell her where the door was? She came to the end of the hall coming at an intersection. "Please," Kitagawa called, trailing after Ann, "can you just wait and-"

"What's past here?" Ann asked innocently, pointing down the left.

"That's…" She saw Kitagawa's eyes cast downward uncomfortably. So she was on the right track. "I keep tell you," Kitagawa's voice cracked, "you can't…"

Pretending she didn't hear him, Ann rounded the corner to the left. She nearly fell back when she spotted Morgana hanging off a blue door with a golden peacock. The cat had a hairpin in his mouth and another in the lock with one of his claws hooked through the end of the pin. "You're still not done?!" Ann hissed.

"It's hard to do this…" Morgana said through his teeth, "with cat paws!"

"Is something the matter?"

Immediately, Ann whipped around and tried to block Morgana from Kitagawa's sight. "So, ummm… What's this room?" She gestured to the door with her head.

"It's a storage area for old paintings," explained Kitagawa.

"Storage…" Ann echoed thoughtfully. Maybe it was simply everything she had previously seen in Madarame's Palace but something about that was nagging at the back of her head. Turning on the charm, she started to sway playfully. "Hey, Kitagawa-kun… Why don't we… do it in there? I won't be embarrassed if we go somewhere nobody can find us…"

"Only Sensei can go in there," Kitagawa insisted with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Pleeease?" she asked with her sweetest tone. "I really wanna be alone with you. Somewhere like, quiet. You know, where we won't get interrupted."

Meanwhile, Morgana was trying desperately to get the lock open as fast as he could. If only to stop Ann from acting. Nothing she said sounded like it could have come from a human being having a casual conversation. She was trying to desperately come across as cutesy and flirty that she just became decidedly unsexy and wooden.

Kitagawa wasn't falling for such a blatant act, was he?

He heard Ann released an overly exaggerated sight. "It's just sooo frustrating that my feelings aren't getting through to you!" She wrapped her hands around herself as though she were physically wounded and pouted. "Kitagawa-kun, do you not like girls like me?"

Kitagawa's face was flushed as he wrapped his arms around himself. "N-No, that's not true…"

Morgana could have let go of the doorframe. Ann's act was working on him?! How oblivious was this kid?!

"Please?" Ann asked. "We can continue this… inside…"

"S-Sure…" murmured Kitagawa. Wait, was he saying?! "I mean, no! We can't go in there! It's locked anyway, so…"

"Fine!" huffed Ann. "This is too embarrassing… I'm leaving!"

"But!"

"Let's just do it in here! Okay?!"

Kitagawa hugged himself again. He was between a rock and a hard place with no exit in sight. What did he do now?

"I'm home."

"S-Sensei?!" Was there anything worse than a rock and a hard place? A rock, a hard place, and a garden of cacti? Because Kitagawa was pretty sure he was there.

Click.

"All right, it's open!" Morgana congratulated himself releasing the door frame. The door creaked open as soon as the lock had open, Morgana proceeded to help it along by nudging it further open.

With the door open, Morgana trotted into the darkened room, followed close behind by Ann. She looked over her shoulder to find Kitagawa looking into the room wide-eyed and cold sweat on his brow. "What are you doing here?!" Madarame didn't sound too far away, and Ann could just make out the edge of his robe from where she was.

"I-It's…" fumbled Kitagawa. "It's not what it looks like!"

"What does it look like?" Ann heard Morgana whispering.

Unable to think of anything else, Ann took a step forward, gripped the back of Kitagawa's gakuran shirt with both hands, and dragged him into the darkened room with her. "Not in there!" Madarame shouted as they disappeared into the shadows.

It was a wonder Skull hadn't eroded an imprint of his boot into the pavement with how much he was jiggling his leg. Joker was starting to get nervous too but had no idea what to do to let off steam. Skull was doing that enough for the both of them. "Nothin's happenin'," Skull muttered nervously. "I wonder what's-"

"Look!"

Skull opened his eyes to see the infrared fence flicker on and off. On the other side of the fence, the peacock door suddenly flew open and the infrared was shut off. "They seriously did it!" Skull said in amazement.

"Now let's got before Madarame closes the door."

They ran across the Garden, into a golden-colored lounge. More gold on gold with maybe the occasional green or blue. There was a Shadow waiting for them on the opposite side of the lounge, dressed in a red guard suit with a police baton in its hand.

As soon as the Shadow saw the two sprinting towards it, its body began to twitch until it convulsed into massive Shadow. Joker's best guess was that it was about three times her height with its legs crouched like it was. It had the head of a monkey with a white mane, the arms and legs of a tiger, the body of a raccoon, and the tail of a snake. "They got past the security system?!" the Security Shadow roared. "You will not go any further! You are trespassing on Lord Madarame's territory!"

"Shit, man," muttered Skull. "Of course they get this big when it's just two of us."

"Well, it's not like we can just politely ask it to leave. Orobas!"

A red horse with a white underbelly appeared before Chiyo. Its mane and tail were a dark green color. It stood upright on its back legs and had human-like appendages. "Orobas, Maragi!" commanded Joker.

A burst of fire hit the Security Shadow, causing it to growl. Skull followed it up with a Zio attack from Captain Kidd. Between the two, the Security Shadow was getting angry, It crouched low, and slammed its head upon the two. Joker dropped to one knee, one hand trying to soothe the pain in her head and the other braced against the floor.

At her side, Skull was cursing up a storm as he summoned Captain Kidd again. The pirate captain maneuvered the ship he stood on around, slamming into the Security Shadow as though he were performing a trick on a skateboard. Slowly, Joker got back onto her feet, she removed her mask, summoning Orobas again, and had it attack with another Maragi.

The Security Shadow fell over slightly, allowing the Phantom Thieves to hit it with an All-Out Attack. The Shadow roared, inraged, as a shadow briefly overtook Joker and Skull. The bleach-blond tried to stand tall despite his painful flinch. After another Maragi attack from Joker and Orobas, the Security Shadow finally went down in a cloud of miasma. "Okay," Skull breathed out, collecting the money dropped. "Things're a bit tough when it's just me and you…"

"Yeah, little wonder Mona got caught by Kamoshida's soldiers when we met." Joker took out the bottle of Recov-R and dropped a pill into her palm. As she swallowed it she passed the bottle to Skull who mimicked Joker's actions. She would likely need to see Takemi soon about more medicines, either more Recov-R or something stronger. "Let's just find that security room and meet up with the others."

"Takamaki-san, this is bad!"

Ann hated being in dark places like this, not because of a fear of the dark, but because of how difficult it was to see anything in the dark. The fear was always knocking something over or breaking her neck because she tripped over something or missed a step. She could hear Morgana shuffling around the room, which caused her to wonder if he had an easier time navigating in the dark.

The lights suddenly flicked on and after her eyes adjusted to the change, Ann had to take a step back. Prints of the 'Sayuri' lined the storage room, more than thirty duplicates of the same painting were lined up neat and orderly. Behind them was a canvas covered in an old sheet. "What the…" Kitagawa's voice was hollow as he took it all in.

"Isn't this 'Sayuri?'" Ann asked, wishing she had a better opener. "Why are there so many of them?"

"I have no idea…"

"Get out!"

Both teens turned to find Madarame storming into the room. He wasn't bothering to hide his anger at that moment, but Ann could have sworn she saw the wheels in his head turning, trying to find a way to salvage the situation. "Sensei," Kitagawa began, gesturing to the prints around them, "what is the meaning of this?"

Madarame's anger eased away; he released a sigh. "I suppose I can't keep quiet now that you've seen this," he said as gentle as the day Ann and the others met Kitagawa. "Truth be told… I'm in severe debt. I handmade these 'Sayuri' copies and have been selling them through a special connection of mine…"

Brow furrowing, Ann eyed a couple of the 'Sayuri' copies. They looked identical to each other. How could a man perfectly replicate the painting every time? If nothing else, the brushstrokes would have to be a tell, right?

"But why?" Kitagawa asked.

"The real 'Sayuri' was stolen by one of my pupils long ago," the old man explained. "I assume they begrudged my strictness… That moment was quite a shock for me… Since then, I've been mired in a terrible artist's block…"

But if that were true, why keep the fact the 'Sayuri' was stolen and his artist's block secret? Perhaps Ann was being a bit overly optimistic, she didn't know much about the artist world, but it had to be a bit more forgiving than the idol world. Especially when the artist was dealt such a devastating blow. Wouldn't the art world understand if an artist needed to take a personal leave?

"Because of this distress," Madarame continued, "some of my pupils handed their ideas over to me from time to time… I knew I couldn't keep that up, so I attempted to recreate the 'Sayuri' a number of times. However, it resulted in nothing more than replicas… That's when someone came to buy the paintings, knowing well they weren't the original.." He paused as though to add to the dramatic effect. "It's all my fault. I couldn't pay the price of being famous. As expectations for me rose, it reached a point where I had no choice but to keep making them… I… needed money to further your talents… I ask that you please forgive your cowardly teacher…"

Okay, this was starting to sound more and more like a pretty sob story. At her side, Kitagawa's breathing shuttered. He had bought it hook line and sinker. "Please don't-!"

"Something doesn't add up," Ann pointed out. She turned her gaze upon Madarame and cross her arms over her chest. "If the original painting was stolen, how did you make copies of it?"

"I…" Madarame thought for a moment. "Happened to find a finely detailed photograph of it in an art book."

"So you managed to sell copies of a photo of the original?" Ann asked slowly. "I'm not sure how this works, but… Don't people who buy paintings generally have a keen eye for the fine arts?" In the corner of her eye, she could see Kitagawa's expression change as he started to see the holes in Madarame's story. "Wouldn't they be able to tell when something's a replica of the original? This sounds like a lie to me."

She must have struck a chord in the old man, he went back to glaring daggers at her. "What would you know?!" he roared.

"Something just doesn't feel right," Ann defended.

"Lady Ann!" Morgana said loud enough for her to hear. He was hiding behind a shelf lined with even more copies of 'Sayuri' and other paintings. Maybe from former pupils, maybe replicas of other paintings to sell. "This one seems different!"

The cat gestured to the covered canvas with his paw. Ann looked over her shoulder to find the blue-purple sheet. She reached out for the sheet, ignoring Madarame's protests, and pulled the sheet off. Another 'Sayuri' painting was slowly revealed, but something was off about this one. The canvas looked a bit aged compared to the other 'Sayuri' copies. Did that make this one… "'Sayuri?'" exhaled Kitagawa. Slowly, he walked up to Ann and scrutinized the painting. "This… This is the real 'Sayuri!'" He whirled around to face Madarame. "But you just said that it was stolen!"

"That's a replica!" shouted Madarame.

"No, it's nothing of the sort! This painting kept me going… It's the reason I made it this far…" He paused, a dark thought dawning on him. "Sensei… Don't tell me…"

"It's fake! A counterfeit! I heard there was a counterfeit spreading around, so I bought it!"

God, this was getting ridiculous. "So you're telling me the actual artist behind the painting bought a counterfeit?" Ann asked bluntly. "That's pushing it."

"You're lying, Sensei," Kitagawa said with a shaking voice. "Please just tell us the truth!"

"You too?" growled Madarame. Without looking away from the teens, Madarame took out his flip phone and punched in a few numbers. "I've reported you to my private security company!"

"What?!" cried Ann.

"I had it set up to deal with some problematic paparazzi, but I never thought it'd come in so handy."

"Please wait!" cried Kitagawa. "Let's talk about this!"

"You can talk all you want to the police… That includes you, Yusuke."

"Lady Ann, run!" Morgana shouted, making a break for it.

The sudden sight of the cat had caused Madarame to drop his phone and Ann used his momentary confusion to run past the old man. It was enough to shake him out of his revelry. "There's no point!" he shouted as Ann and Morgana navigated their way through the halls. "They'll be here within two minutes!"

"How fortunate they won't find us by the time they get here," Morgana said haughtily.

"What 'us?!'" Ann hissed as she got out her phone. "The police aren't going to care about a stray cat that got in!"

"Not a cat!"

"Like the police will care!"

She slid the door open with a loud BANG, allowing herself and Morgana the freedom they needed to meet up with the others. Ignoring the rain, Ann took a moment to look out for oncoming traffic before they sprinted across the road to the bench they were using as an access point. Booting up the Meta-Nav, Ann fired it up.

"Takamaki-san!"

At the end of the room was a massive golden sculpture of Madarame. And with each passing room, Joker was really starting to hate the color gold.

By pure happenstance, the security room was not that far off. They found the terminal controlling the garden's security system. After they messed around with the terminal a bit, they were able to disengage the system.

They barely stepped out of the security room when they overheard the Shadows talking amongst themselves about the infiltrators. Wordlessly, the two agreed they were better off cutting their losses and make a run for it. Back in the garden, the fencing had turned off completely and the devices emitting the infrared had gone dormant. Making it back to the other side of the garden, Joker leaned over slightly to catch her breath. "I hope those two managed to get away," mused Skull.

"I just wish we had an easy means of communication to find out."

A sudden shriek caught their attention; they looked up to find Panther falling from the sky… with Kitagawa. He landed on his feet, awkwardly catching Panther in his arms and nearly falling over with the sudden weight. Mona crashing down on his head ultimately proved to be a bit too much for him. He ending up dropping to his knees as Mona groaned in pain. "I thought I was gonna die…" whimpered Panther. Her mood changed in an instant when she realized Kitagawa still had a hold on her. "Hey, will you let go already?!"

She elbowed him in the face so hard Kitagawa flew flat onto his back while Panther landed on her rump. "Oh no! I didn't mean to push him so hard…" Panther quickly scrambled to her feet.

"What'd you bring him here for?!" exclaimed Skull.

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

Yusuke eased himself up into a sitting position. One hand supported his weight as he leaned back, the other was trying to ease his oncoming headache. What hit him? He looked up to find three individuals looking down at him. Each one masked and wearing a rather outrageous outfit. "Who are you all?!"

Immediately, the one in the red bodysuit and the cat mask held up her pink gloved hands pleadingly. "Calm down, Kitagawa-kun! It's me!" She pushed her mask up, revealing Takamaki's face underneath.

"Takamaki-san?!" He turned his gaze towards the other two, beginning to recognize their features despite the masks and costumes. "That means you two are…" In unison Sakamoto and Kusakabe eased their masks back, confirming his suspicions. He turned his attention back towards the monster-cat in the utility belt and yellow kerchief. "I don't recall ever seeing this cat costume before though… What is this place?"

The architecture around him was twisted and combobulated. Everything was colored in a loud shade of gold. "We're inside Madarame's heart," Takamaki explained.

"Inside… Sensei's heart?" Yusuke repeated, climbing onto his feet. "I'm sorry, Takamaki-san… but are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"She ain't lyin'," said Sakamoto. "This is what the bastard truly feels. He's nothin' but a greed-filled money-grubber."

"Enough of this rubbish!"

"Didn't it ever cross your mind that something wasn't right about Madarame?!" demanded Takamaki.

Did it ever cross his mind? "That's…" He couldn't say it. Not when it would mean admitting to everything, and admitting he was stuck.

"You may not want to believe it," Takamaki continued, "but this is another reality as viewed through Madarame's eyes. This is his true nature."

Yusuke took a moment to really look at the world they were in. It may have been a garden. Too much gold and flash, empty canvas frames littered across the building's exterior. The structure behind him looked like it could start tilting over at any time, the other structure looked like a gold-plated prison. "This repulsive world?" He stole one last glance that the three around him and the monster cat. "Just who are all of you?!"

"I guess you could say…" Sakamoto rubbed the back of his neck despite the high collar and ascot, "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…"

"You gotta snap out of it."

"Still… he has kept me safe these past ten years. My gratitude for that won't just disappear…"

"You're gonna forgive him?! At this rate, you'll-"

"Skull," Kusakabe said firmly.

He couldn't hold it in anymore. There was a piece of lead in Yusuke's stomach and a manacle attached to his neck weighing him down. He wasn't getting enough air and it was making his head feel light. He crouched onto his knees, one hand around his stomach, while the other supported him. If he stood up much longer he was going to faint. "Hey! Are you okay?!" Takamaki cried as Yusuke heard a couple of footfalls against the pavement.

"I'm trying to be rational about this," Yusuke said breathing in deeply, "but my emotions are overwhelming me…"

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

Meaning Yusuke couldn't very well stay on the floor like this. And this did look like an awful place to be stuck alone in. "If you think it's going to come to it, don't hold it in." Yusuke looked up to meet with Kusakabe's eyes. Pale in color, lacking judgment, but something Yusuke couldn't quite place. Empathy? "Sometimes it helps to let all that sick inside out."

He didn't say anything, just slowly got back onto his feet. He kept an arm around his stomach, as though that would do anything to get rid of the lead. "Alright, we've got an amateur with us now," the monster-cat said to the other three. "Let's try to avoid fighting as much as possible."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Kusakabe said, pulling a handgun out of her coat pocket.

A handgun?

Yusuke looked to Sakamoto and Takamaki to find the two of them each held their own firearms. Who were these people?

He tried not to stumble in his attempt to keep up with the others despite his maladies holding him back. Going into the building Yusuke likened to prison and he soon realized it was some kind of perverse museum. Portraits were hung on each of the display walls, some of the individuals Yusuke recognized as Sensei's fans. "So this… is inside of Sensei's heart?" murmured Yusuke. "A vain museum such as this?"

They hurried into the next hall, where more portraits hung on the wall. Yusuke stopped in front of a portrait of a schoolgirl in a sailor suit uniform. He recognized her instantly as Akemi Tomoe, a girl his age Sensei had taken as his pupil over a year ago. Her parents pulled her out of Sensei's wing after six months and supposedly moved to Kyoto. "Do you recognize her?" Takamaki asked tentatively. "We were thinking these might be his past pupils or something…"

"Not… Not all of them," Yusuke said, forcing himself to take deep breaths before he passed out. "But why are there paintings of them here?"

"They're not really paintings," Kusakabe fiddled with the tail of the black scarf in her hair, "so much as their the pupils themselves. They're how Madarame sees them, little more than objects."

"We, uh… found yours too," added Sakamoto.

His mouth was beginning to salivate again. He wasn't sure how much more he could take before something happened. "We can talk about it later," the monster-cat said urgently. "We gotta keep moving."

"He's right," said Kusakabe. "And we still have a ways to go."

They continued on through the museum, through a few more falls. Now and then they would come across black creatures in guard uniforms and face masks. Whenever they came across one of them, either Takamaki, Sakamoto, or Kusakabe would fire off their gun and it would disappear just like that.

Eventually, they came to a circular room with a couple of ramps leading down to the floor level. In the center of the room was a massive gold sculpture of, what he thought were people trying to ascend to the heavens, only to be forced back down. They were about to head out the door to a lobby, when two of the faceless guards suddenly appeared, blocking their way out. "Drat!" snapped the monster cat. "The exit's right there!"

A chill suddenly ran down Yusuke's spine, everyone turned around to find an old man in golden shogun robes, exaggerated makeup, and an exaggerated topknot. But Yusuke could recognize the face anywhere. "Talk about bullshit clothes!" Sakamoto snapped, bringing a hand to the side of his head. "First a king, now some kind of shogun?!"

"Welcome," the shogun began, extending his arms as he spoke, "to the museum of the master artist Madarame."

"Sensei? Is that you?" Yusuke asked, his voice sounding strange even to his ears. "That attire…"

"Disgusting," spat Takamaki.

"But unsurprising," Kusakabe added dully.

"This…" Yusuke's voice suddenly went dry. "This is all one big lie, isn't it?"

"My usual ragged attire is nothing but an act," the perverse Madarame said, gesturing to his person. "Besides, a famous person like myself living in that shack? I have another home… under a mistress's name, of course."

"I'm almost impressed," Kusakabe said with a slight tilt of her head. "Juggling two lives without slipping up so far? And at your age, too. I hear the mind is the first thing to go as you get older."

The shadow of Madarame glared at her and sneered. "Only fools would allow themselves to slip up, as it were," he said. "True fame is about sincerity, and if you can fake that you have it made."

"If the 'Sayuri' was stolen, why was it in the storage room?" Yusuke asked desperately. "And if you have the real one, why make copies?! If it's really you, Sensei… please tell me!"

"Foolish child. You still don't see it?" His grin could have split his face. "The painting being stolen was just a false rumor I spread! It was all perfectly calculated staging!"

"What do you mean?!"

"Let me see," Madarame crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to think. "How does this sound? 'I found the real painting, but it can't go public… You can have it for a special price, though.'" He chortled as though sincerely proud of himself. "How's that for preferential treatment?! Art snobs'll eat it up, and pay good cash at that!"

"No…" Yusuke could feel a tremor journey through his body. His legs gave out as he collapsed to the floor. His arm wrapped tight around his abdomen, his opposite hand helping to support him.

"The value of art is purely illusionary. What's the matter with providing that illusion to eager customers? Though I doubt a brat like you would ever come up with such a brilliant scheme!"

"You keep goin' on and on about money this, money that," Sakamoto said mockingly. "No wonder you ended up with this disgusting museum!"

"You're supposed to be an artist, right?!" shouted Takamaki. "Aren't you ashamed of plagiarizing other people's work?!"

"Art is nothing but a tool," declared Madarame. "A tool to gain money and fame! You helped me greatly as well, Yusuke…"

"And let me guess," Kusakabe said darkly. "You only took in pupils in the first place because it makes you look good."

"Originally, yes," the shogun said casually. "Who doesn't love altruism?"

"God," Sakamoto spat under his breath. "Pisses me off… That's your teacher."

Yusuke took in a few breaths in an attempt to stop his head from spinning. He looked up, hoping he could meet his sensei in the eye. "But what about the people who believe in you?" he asked desperately. "Who think you're a master artist?!"

Their eyes met for a moment. Madarame tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. "I'll tell you this alone, Yusuke," he said at length. "If you wish to succeed in this world, I'd advise you don't rise against me."

"Is that advice for his sake, or yours?" snapped Kusakabe.

"Can't it be both? Let's be honest who could find success with my objection holding them down?"

Yusuke's breathing was still deep, but no longer was it to stop his head from spinning. It was a failed attempt to keep his growing range in control. "To think I was under the care of this wretched man!"

"You thought I took you in out of the goodness of my heart?" Madarame asked mockingly. "Plucking talented, yet troubled artist allows me to find promising pupils and take their ideas. Who is the public going to believe? Me, or some daughter of a salaryman? Me, or a college student with delusions of grandeur? Me or some homeless urchin who just happens to hold a brush? I think the answer is obvious. After all, it's much easier to steal the futures of those who can't fight back."

"I can't believe this…"

"Livestock are killed for their hide and meat!" the imitation roared. "This is no different, you fool!"

"Because there are absolutely no controversies surrounding the treatment of livestock," Kusakabe drolled sarcastically. "Find a better analogy, maybe it'll work better."

Madarame sneered again. "I tire of this little chat. It's time that I-"

"You are unforgivable," Yusuke said darkly.

"Hm?"

"It doesn't matter who you are…" He slowly stood back up. The lead in his stomach was replaced with something else. Something cold and harsh. "I won't forgive you!"

"So, you repay my keeping you around for all these years with ingratitude? You damn brat!" Madarame glanced over his shoulder at the guards at his side. "Men! Dispose of these thieves!"

Yusuke was vaguely aware of the others around him getting out weapons. Not their firearms, but melee weapons. "Get back!" shouted Takamaki.

"How amusing…" He kept a hand around his stomach, still cold and the sensation was beginning to blossom across his veins. "It seems the truth is stranger than fiction, hm? I wanted to believe it wasn't true… I had clouded my vision for so long…" He turned a glare upon Madarame. "My eyes were truly blind… Blind, and unable to see the true self behind this one horrible man!"

"Have you finally come to your senses?"

It was instantaneous, a pain from the very center of Yusuke's head erupted, taking control of his other senses. His hands gripped the side of his head as he bent over double, unaware that his eyes had turned yellow.

"How foolishly you averted your eyes from the truth… A deplorable imitation indeed… Best you part from that aspect of yourself!"

No longer was Yusuke aware of the floor beneath his feet, of the concerned eyes on him, of the truth standing before him. Nor was he aware of how he was flailing about until he dropped to the floor for the third time that day.

On his hands and knees, Yusuke's limbs were shaking. He slowly dragged one hand across the floor, clawing at it so hard his fingertips left behind four lines of blood.

"Let us now forge a contract… I am thou, thou art I… The world is filled with both beauty and vice… It is time you teach people which is which!"

Calmly breathing, Yusuke stood back up, a kitsune mask appearing over his eyes. "Very well…" He was barely aware of the fear in Madarame's eyes, or how his hand was bleeding. Elegantly, his bleeding hand reached for the kitsune mask and dug his fingers under the edge. "Come, Goemon!"

In one yank, Yusuke pulled the mask off, leaving behind a bloody outline as blue fire surrounded him. The fire soon took shape into a tall being that looked like it was a ukiyo-e painting come to life. It was wearing elaborate blue robes with pink animal print lining. It had on a red under robe with dark red slacks and tall clogs. In its right the being carried a massive smoke pipe that emitted not smoke, but frost.

Unknown to Yusuke, his uniform had been replaced by a black jumpsuit with puffy sleeves and a white high collar. He had on a pair of bright blue gloves, a pair of high white motorcycle boots, and a black and white striped sash fastened around his hips. Clipped onto the sash was a fluffy white foxtail.

"A breathtaking sight," he said, striking a pose that was mirrored by Goemon. "Imitations they may be, but together, they make a fine spectacle… Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known… Abominations are fates to perish!"

Sweeping his arm through the air, Goemon puppeted the action, sending a wave of frost across the room, and freezing the guards at Madarame's side. When the chill died down, Madarame glared at Yusuke. "Who do you think you are?!" he barked. "The price for your insolence will be death! Where are my guards?! Kill them all!"

Three more guards appeared, shielding Madarame. It didn't matter, Yusuke wouldn't be turning a blind eye anymore. "The children who adored you as 'father,'" he uttered. "The prospects of your pupils… How many of them did you trample upon? How many dreams did you exchange for riches?! No matter what it takes… I will bring you to justice!"

Kusakabe calmly walked up to Yusuke's side. She held a thick red ribbon in her right hand. "Looks like it's too late to run away," she said.

"Very well. Bring it on!"

The guards surrounding Madarame began to twitch. Two of them transformed into two winged imps with yellow and red striped slacks and matching checkered shirts. The third became a mad blacksmith with a hammer in his hand. "You are in the presence of Lord Madarame!" growled the Embittered Blacksmith, swinging its hammer as it spoke. "On your knees, intruders!"

"I learned so much from you, Madarame," Yusuke mused, oblivious to the chill behind him. "In order to see authenticity…one must be dispassionately realistic. With Goemon by my side… I can now ascertain your true self without any reservations! Now, Goemon!"

A strong puff of frost was blown out of Goemon's smoke pipe. The Bufu briefly encased one of the Foolish Monks in ice. When the ice broke, it fell to his knees on the floor, looking confused. Another Bufu hit the Embittered Blacksmith causing it to flinch violently.

"Jack Frost!" Kusakabe shouted, removing her mask. A snowman wearing a jester collar and an impish hood upon its head appeared. Another block of ice incased one of the Foolish Monks.

The monster-cat summoned a top-heavy being with a rapier. It slashed through the air and a boxing glove on a scissor arm punched the Embittered Blacksmith. It flinched back briefly but was otherwise unaffected by the monster cat's attack. Takamaki carried a red leather whip in her hand and cracked it twice, slicing it into one of the Foolish Monk's. Sakamoto followed with Takamaki's attack by beating the last Foolish Monks with his rod.

The Blacksmith pulled its hammer back and swung it at Takamaki. "Hold on Panther!" shouted the monster cat. The same top-heavy being appeared and a gentle green light surrounded Takamaki.

"Thanks, Mona."

Panther?

Yusuke summoned Goemon again, instructing him to use a Bufu attack, briefly incasing the Embittered Blacksmith in ice. Kusakabe removed her mask against, summoning the snowman she called Jack Frost. The snowman cast a similar ice attack on the Embittered Blacksmith to fall to its knees. "Go!" she shouted, readying her ribbon.

Following the leads of everyone else, Yusuke removed the sword at his side. The group began attacking the creatures all at once. Kusakabe used the ribbon while the monster-cat had a curved sword in his paw. When they broke apart, Kusakabe, in a motion that was both fluid and graceful, swept her left leg so far back and low it was flat on the floor. One arm arched above her head, the other held out to the side, as her tails of her coat created the illusion of a dress belled out around her. Behind her, the Foolish Monks started to bleed black ooze; they disappeared, leaving the Embittered Blacksmith behind.

The Blacksmith readied its hammer back again, this time aiming for Kusakabe. She performed a graceful turn, effortlessly dodging the attack. Takamaki and Sakamoto repeated their earlier physical attacks using a whip and rod respectively. Yusuke used Goemon to incase the Blacksmith in ice again. When the ice burst, the Embittered Blacksmith started to twitch, hopefully, it meant that it would be following its fellows soon enough. Jack Frost appeared and used their ice attack on the Blacksmith.

The creature began to convulse wildly as it vanished into a black haze.

The battle over, Yusuke made his way towards Madarame. But like a wave crashing into him, he suddenly felt weak, falling to his knees yet again. "Yusuke, you've just thrown your bright future down the drain," Madarame said coldly. "I'll destroy every chance you've ever had of becoming an artist!"

"Madarame!" His body wasn't listening, suddenly heavier than the lead in his stomach.

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

Despite the fear he had shown earlier, Madarame simply walked off. Yusuke pushed himself back onto his feet and tried to give chase. "Get… back here!" He only got a couple of steps in before fell forward again. Useless! "Why can't I move?!"

He could have jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his forearm. His head turned to find Kusakabe, guiding his arm around her shoulders. "The first summoning takes a lot out of a person," she explained gently. "Happens to all of us."

"C'mon, let's take a moment to simmer down, yeah?" Sakamoto asked, mimicking Kusakabe's actions on the other side.

Yusuke's mouth fell open slightly as they eased him back onto his feet. He had been cold and callous and downright rude to them ever since he first approached Takamaki. Why were they being this kind to him when he had done nothing but treat them horribly?

Authors Note: I had way too much fun writing Ann's attempts at acting.