Chapter Twenty-One
The Art Exhibit

Saturday May 14th

Chiyo was certain the word she was looking for was 'bishōnen.' For a stalker, he was… pretty. Disarmingly pretty.

He was a high school boy, second or third year, it was difficult to tell just because of how tall he was. He was also slender. His blue-black hair was done in a bob with his bangs cut in a side sweep. The worst Chiyo had to say about the boy's physical appearance was that he needed a bit more sunlight, he was awfully pale, but that was about it. He wore a white gakuran shirt with a fleur-de-lis emblem on the breast, and a pair of black slacks.

Chiyo wasn't sure if the fact that he was a pretty boy made the situation scarier or not.

"Hey, uh…" Ryuji half-turned towards Ann, "are you sure it's him? Or are you that self-conscious?"

Jaw slightly slacked, Chiyo threw a droll look in Ryuji's direction. She supposed that Ryuji, being a boy, simply wouldn't get it the way a girl would. But that did not excuse his lack of tact in the slightest.

Ann snapped, "Hey! I'm not that-"

"Is there something you want?" the boy asked, his voice was surprisingly soft-spoken.

Her brow creased, Ann pushed past her friends and jabbed a finger in the boy's direction. "That's my line! You were the one stalking me!"

A few moments of silence ticked by; the boy looked down briefly. "Stalking you?" he asked. "That's outrageous."

"I know you've been following me! Ever since the train!"

"That's because…"

He cut himself off as a black car pulled up beside them. The back window rolled down, revealing an aging, borderline grandfatherly, man. His hair, completely grey, was pulled back into a low ponytail in gentle curls. "My goodness," the man said with a bemused tone, "I had wondered why you left the car. So this is where your passion led."

The boy flinched, his eyes cast downward, refusing to meet with the old man's gaze. "I'm sorry, Sensei," the boy said loud enough for the man to hear. "I should have said something before-"

The man held up a hand, silencing the boy. "No need for that. Just try not to take too long. We both have places to be this morning."

"Yes, of course."

The old man gave the Shujin student's a brief nod of the head before he rolled the window back up. As soon as the window was up, the car slowly pulled back out into traffic. The boy held a hand over his chest with a slightly pained look in his eye. "I saw you from the car…" he explained, "and I couldn't help myself from chasing after you. I didn't even notice the calls from Sensei…" He shook his head. "But thank goodness, I caught up to you."

"Still a pretty poor choice of words for someone who supposedly wasn't stalking," muttered Chiyo.

Ryuji made an odd sound of agreement. Maybe a 'yeah' or something of the like, but Chiyo couldn't tell for certain. "You're the woman I've been searching for all this time!" declared the boy. Chiyo could feel the sweat forming on her brow, picturing several roads this could go down. "Please, won't you-"

Chiyo slid her bag off her shoulder and held onto the straps in her hand before it could hit the ground. Morgana may be in for a bumpy ride, but considering it would be for Ann he might-

"-be the model for my next art piece?!"

She heard the little 'ophf' from Morgana as soon as the straps slipped out from her hand. Had she heard correctly? All three Shujin students stared at the boy as though he were some sort of alien creature. Ryuji's face changed expressions several times, unsure of how to process this, while both Chiyo and Ann listed their heads to the side. "Model?" Ann questioned.

"Art piece?" echoed Chiyo.

"All that I've drawn till now has been lacking," the boy explained, "but I feel a passion from you unlike anyone else."

"This man's highly suspicious!" Morgana said from Chiyo's bag.

Ryuji, brow still rising and falling every other second, turned to read his friend's faces. At least they were just as lost as he was. "Ain't this a recruit for some shady business?"

Ignoring Ryuji, the boy took a half-step closer to Ann and asked, "Will you cooperate with me? What do you say?"

Chiyo shook squeezed her eyes shut briefly and shook her head upon opening them. "Hold on," she held up a hand, "I think we're still running on confused. You mind starting with introductions first?"

The boy's face relaxed. "Oh," he breathed, "where are my manners? I'm a second-year at Kosei High's fine-arts divisions. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa."

"Ann Takamaki," Ann introduced gesturing to herself, then gestured to Ryuji and Chiyo as she spoke, "Ryuji Sakamoto. Chiyo Kusakabe. We're second-years at Shujin Academy."

Abruptly, Kitagawa shouldered Ryuji out of the way to step closer to Ann. "I'm Madarame-sensei's pupil, and I am being allowed residence at his place. I'm striving to become an artist."

Madarame… why did that name sound familiar?

"You mean that Madarame?!" gasped Ann. "The one who was on Good Morning Japan the other day?"

"The very same."

Ryuji glanced at Chiyo. "You know who that is?"

"It's on the tip of my tongue..."

"He was introduced as a super-famous Japanese-style artist who's been recognized all over the world," Ann explained.

Chiyo's brow rose, finally putting two-and-two together. "Okay! I got it."

Ryou had been following Madarame's work for years. Chiyo knew for a fact that she had a folder in her bedroom filled with articles about Madarame, his career, and his work. And, though she had no proof, she was pretty sure Ryou had a few articles saved on her phone too. It was prints of Madarame's work that hung on the walls of Ryou's bedroom. When Chiyo thought about it now, it definitely made her think of girls making collages of their favorite actors and pop group members.

But wasn't Maderame also the name they heard in Mementos?

A black car slowly pulled up to the group as the Shujin trio exchanged concerned glances. The window rolled down revealing the same old man. "Yusuke!" Madarame called upon rolling down the window.

"I'm sorry, Sensei," Kitagawa was quick to respond. "I'll be right there!"

"That old guy's Madarame?" Ryuji asked under his breath.

Once again, Kitagawa ignored Ryuji. "Madarame-sensei's exhibition will be at the department store near the station tomorrow. I'll be there to help out on opening day. Please come by. It'd be great if you could give me your answer about being a model then…" Kitagawa paused, his grey gaze traveling from Ryuji to Chiyo, finally acknowledging the two of them. "I bet you have no interest in the fine arts, but I'll give you tickets too."

"Well, fuck you too," Chiyo murmured, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kitagawa passed three thin slips of fine cardboard. "Well then, I hope to see you there tomorrow."

He headed to the car, where Madarame scooted to the side allowing Kitagawa in. As the car took off, Ryuji tapped the heel of his shoe against the sidewalk. "That guy's as easy to read as a book… You're not plannin' on goin' to that thing, are ya?"

"I think I will," murmured Ann. Ignoring the surprised looks of Ryuji and Morgana, she reached into her pocket and pulled out of her phone. "Crap, guys! We gotta get going! We'll be late if we don't move!"

Chiyo grabbed her back and slung it back over her shoulders as she took off into a run with Ann and Ryuji. Morgana, despite being jostled in the rush, was committing to memory the face of Yusuke Kitagawa. He would show him what happened when you went after Lady Ann.

Chiyo tried to massage her temples. Her story was about to get harder to keep track of, with a new Phantom Thief joining on the horizon. If only the haze would let up already, maybe then she could plan ahead comfortably.

Across the table from her, Niijima sat back in her chair. "You became acquainted with Madarame's pupil by chance?" she asked, eyeing Chiyo wearily. "That's a little too coincidental. It makes me wonder if you're even telling the truth."

"What. Do I. Gain. From lying?" Chiyo asked forcefully. "Do I need to keep repeating it until it gets through your head? No, because I'm seventeen that means all I'm capable of is wasting time. Would you be listening to me if I were twenty, I wonder."

"This has nothing to do with your age," Niijima said incredulously.

"Doesn't it? You seem so eager to dismiss everything I have to say as nonsense. Even if my story were more grounded in how you see reality, odds are you wouldn't believe it because I'm only seventeen. So what the hell could I possibly know."

Chiyo and Niijima exchanged glares, equal parts sharp and intense. After a few heartbeats, Niijima cleared her throat. "What I want to know most -"

"You're changing the subject again."

"-is your method." She gave Chiyo a warning glance. "It's true that Madarame was an unforgivable criminal worth of the scorn thrown at him. He was an adult who cultivated his own fame and fortune by the livelihood of the children under his care. But he'd been covering his tracks for years. How did you uncover the truth in such a short span of time?"

"Through the Metaverse," Chiyo said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"This 'Metaverse' business again?" asked Niijima.

"Because I'm seventeen, everything I say is nonsense. You know there were oddities when I was arrested."

She saw Niijima's brow twitch as she looked down at her watch. "Fine, let's suppose that people's hearts can be changed by stealing their Treasure as you've said. If so, a different suspicion arises.

"People have gone mad or lost consciousness, never to recover… Like the subway accidents in April. Depending on how you look at it, that could be taken as a phenomenon for a sudden change of heart too. Were you related to those as well?"

Were they? Didn't… Didn't something go wrong? It was all over the news… Frustrated, Chiyo placed her palms over her eyes. "I don't… think so…"

"I see…"

That didn't help her case at all. But, thankfully Niijima was able to see that Chiyo was having a memory lapse. "Let's get back to Madarame's case. Keep it concise, and stick to the facts."

The gang met up at the station when they were finally let out. The last day of exams were over and done with. They could breathe a sigh of relief until their next bout of exams. "It's over!" Ann sang happily as she stretched her arms and back out.

"It's over," Ryuji agreed. His voice warbling; he tossed a glance at Chiyo. "How 'bout you?"

Chiyo shrugged. "It's over?"

"Why did I get the feeling you were going to say that?" Shaking his head, Ryuji fished his phone out of his pocket. "Anyways, can we stop talkin' about the exams? Like it or not, they're gonna come back graded next week. Rather than focus on stuff that's over with…" His voice trailed off as he prodded at the screen with his thumb.

"What're you looking at?" asked Ann.

"The usual site." He paused a moment to sigh. "It's no use. There ain't any useful info. The number of posts are gettin' less and less too."

Abruptly, Morgana poked his head out from Chiyo's bag. "I am not letting this end as a one-hit-wonder, okay?!"

"There's no point in getting antsy though," Ann pointed out. "I know! Why don't we go eat lunch somewhere? We still have some money left over from the other day."

"I want sushi, then!" Ryuji chimed in. "Or domestic-raised eel."

The fact that these two were often on similar wavelengths was kind of frightening…

"We don't have that might left!" Ann reminded him. Her brow perked slightly. "Oh right. There are those tickets to Madarame's exhibit! Wait, that's tomorrow…"

"Don't tell me…" Morgana gasped, as wide-eyed as this particular form allowed. "Was it love at first sight with that Yusuke guy?"

"Oh my god," Chiyo muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If you're given free tickets to an art exhibit you don't pass them up."

"That," Ann said, gesturing to Chiyo. "And this could also be related to what we heard in Mementos."

"Madarame, was it?" asked Ryuji.

"Pretty sure," said Chiyo.

Releasing an unhappy groan, Morgana sunk back into the bag. "So, we're going then?" Ann asked, sounding rather excited.

Hesitantly, Ryuji crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine arts, huh…"

"It'd be a nice change of pace," Chiyo offered.

"I agree." Morgana poked his head back out. "Appreciating the fine arts builds character. A phantom thief who can't identify an original is lame."

"Alright," Ryuji said at length. "If everyone's goin'…"

Ann clapped her hands together once, happily. "It's settled then!"

"This'll be fun," Chiyo said twirling a lock of hair. What would Ryou say if she found out Chiyo was going to a Madarame exhibit?

"Just the phrase 'going to an art exhibit' sounds kind of mature. So, let's meet at the exhibit entrance tomorrow."

"And until then…" Chiyo pointed in a random direction, "let's find ourselves some conveyor belt sushi!"

"That we can afford!"

"Yay…" Ryuji said lacking enthusiasm. Good-bye sweet, sweet eel.

It did not take them long to find a restaurant. The seats were right there in front of the conveyor belt, so the trio were seated shoulder to shoulder with Ryuji sandwiched between the girls. Morgana was placed on the floor, hidden in Chiyo's bag. He knew they had gotten lucky at the buffet that he was still hidden well enough to take part in the festivities. But a restaurant like this, with the cooks in direct view of them. If they were in a booth maybe Morgana could join in with them like the buffet.

Or, maybe when he became human he wouldn't need to hide all the time. He could just sit down with the rest of the group and grab whatever he wanted when he saw it go by. No need to be sneaky about getting him a bit of sushi. No need to do what Chiyo was doing by 'dropping' a roll of sushi on the floor and tossing it into her bag when she leaned over to pick it up.

So, Morgana nibbled on the loose bits of rice, occupying himself in his daydreams. Until another sushi roll was dropped onto his head.

After the gang parted ways Chiyo headed straight for Untouchable. It was not until Chiyo's hand hovered over the doorknob that she wondered if she should have gone back to Leblanc to change into casual clothes instead.

Iwai was, once again, behind the counter, reading a magazine. He glanced up when he heard the door open, and closed his magazine when he spotted Chiyo walk in. "You again?" He stood up and eyed her wearily. "You gonna try and sell me somethin' weird again?"

Shaking her head, Chiyo reached into her bag and pulled out Iwai's paper bag. "I thought you wanted this back." She placed it on the counter then slid it across towards Iwai. "I saw what was inside…"

Iwai opened the lip of the bag and pulled out the pistol inside. It looked a bit like the glock Chiyo was already using in the Metaverse, but a little sleeker, with some subtle differences in style. "I see. That's a custom model gun that I modified to make it look as real as possible. I had a customer who was interested in it. But, you helped me out by smugglin' it outta here, so that I didn't get caught by those detectives. So you can have it if you want."

He passed the pistol back to Chiyo. She held it in her hand as though preparing to fire, but deliberately kept her finger away from the trigger. She wished she had enough foresight to try it out in Mementos at least. But if it's custom-made, wouldn't that mean it had a little more firepower in the Metaverse? Maybe she could convince Iwai to sell her the custom models? Or teach her how to make them herself?

"But you're an accomplice now," Iwai said crossing his arms over his chest. "So don't go snitchin' on me. I've got everything on security camera."

"I'm already on thin ice over some bullshit," said Chiyo. She placed the new glock into her bag. "I assure you, I'm not so stupid to get myself sent to juvie." The irony of what she just said was not lost on her. "You wouldn't… happen to have any more like this?"

Chiyo could see Iwai's brow twitch slightly. He glanced towards the front door before he gestured to the back door with a list of the head. "Wanna talk in the back?"

Shit, Chiyo just overstepped didn't she? Overplayed herself in a shady place, now she was going to be stuck in some shady shit for the rest of her life. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she silently nodded.

Iwai let Chiyo in from the other side of the counter, then lead the way to the back room. It looked like Chiyo had inadvertently discovered where Iwai built his custom guns. At Iwai's side was a desk with various materials littered across, and a shotgun laying on the floor. Chiyo certainly hoped it was just a model. "Alright," Iwai crossed his arms over his chest again, "who the hell are you?"

"Just a gun enthusiast," she said, hoping she at a good poker face right now.

With a brow raised, Iwai scrutinized Chiyo. Yep. She should have changed out of her uniform. "A girl like you, at your age?" he asked doubtfully. His eyes met with hers. "Well, I guess you got the heart of an enthusiast. You're a strange one, kid."

"So I've been told."

"Wait a sec…" His lips pursed as he gripped his chin with one hand, looking over Chiyo again. A glimmer of mischief danced in his eyes. An innocent-looking teenaged girl… "Yeah, this could work."

Chiyo blinked. "Hm?"

"I guess I can grant that wish of yours… But you better have the money." Iwai gestured to his work desk. "These things are worth hundreds of thousands of yen per unit. Sometimes they even reach the millions… dependin' on how I feel."

"I got the money," Chiyo said instantly. She was bluffing of course. The way Iwai made it sound, he would have been lucky if Treasures from Mementos would have covered it. But she wasn't going to let that get her down.

Unsurprisingly, Iwai eyed Chiyo. "You're not bluffin', are you kid?" She kept her face frozen. After a moment, Iwai shook his head. "It may actually make you more useful if you are. I ain't a bad dude. I've been known to compromise from time to time. For example… You help me you with my 'business' - smugglin' goods, destroyin' evidence – and as a reward, I'll introduce you to the special menu. With good prices for a punk like you. Whaddaya say?"

In other words, she would have to get into some shady shit. "I'm already said I'm on thin ice," Chiyo said, trying not to come across as whiny. "Isn't this breaking the law?"

She said with a model airsoft gun in her bag.

The older man simply shrugged in response. "Gotta fight evil with evil. I need a pawn of my own. Just don't talk to no one about this. Got it? Follow my orders and you'll be fine."

Chiyo bit her lower lip. The Phantom Thieves were one thing, what were the odds of the cops catching them in the Metaverse? But this was real crime, a higher chance of getting caught for real. But wouldn't the risk be worth helping them in the Metaverse? Wouldn't this help her help people?

Yes, yes it would. But Chiyo was not going to go into this blindly. "If it gets too dangerous, I'm out," she said firmly.

"That's fine. I'll work on that special menu for you. You should be grateful. Oh, yeah. When I don't got any business goin' on, I'll have you do some miscellaneous chores. Clean, run errands. There's plenty for you to do around here. Must be pretty excitin' for an enthusiast like you, huh?"

"Were you just looking for a part-timer?!"

Back in her attic, Chiyo sat at the edge of her bed, her left leg jiggling up and down as Chiyo held her phone in her hands. Morgana had already dozed off at the foot of the bed, having made himself a nest out of Chiyo's blanket. Chiyo had changed into her nightclothes, still feeling the remains of her bath on her skin and hair.

She stared at her list of contacts, specifically at the number for Ryou Kusakabe.

Both knees began bouncing as Chiyo called Ryou's number and held her phone to her ear. She heard it ring several times before she heard Ryou's prerecorded message. "Hello, this is Ryou Kusaka-"

Heart racing, Chiyo hung up and slid herself to the far corner of the bed.

What was she trying to do?! What would Chiyo even say if Ryou did answer, "Hi, Mom! Guess what? I'm going to the Madarame exhibit tomorrow! I even indirectly met the man today! Met his pupil. Don't think the pupil even bothered to remember my name, but it's more than what you'll probably ever get!"

What was she expecting to get from that conversation? Something to lord over Ryou?

Wasn't it Chiyo who could be difficult while growing up? Ryou could have been a renowned gymnast in her own right if she hadn't had Chiyo. She was twenty when Ryou discovered she was pregnant, about twenty-one when Chiyo was born and then Ryou needed to take care of Chiyo while Eiichi was at work.

Wasn't lording something like this over Ryou when she gave up a lot to have Chiyo kind of cruel?

"Do you know how much I gave up to have you?" Ryou would ask whenever Chiyo complained about being tired or hungry. "I could have gone to nationals myself. But I gave up all of that to have you when I didn't necessarily have to."

Chiyo was a terrible daughter.

But… Ryou should have been on Chiyo's side during the arrest. She wasn't wrong about that, was she? As her mom, Ryou should have been on Chiyo's side…

Hugging herself, Chiyo scooted down and laid her head down upon her pillow. She ended up falling asleep with her glasses still on.

Sunday, May 15th

It was raining that morning, which put a slight damper on the hoity-toity aspect of going to an art exhibit. Ann, being the one with the tickets, was the first one to make it to the department store, followed by Chiyo and Ryuji within minutes of each other. Ann gave the curator their tickets, allowing them access in.

Chiyo could probably count on one hand the number of times she'd been to a museum, or anything museum-like. The walls were lined with various Japanese paintings of varying sizes and styles. People, largely thirty-somethings and older, littered the exhibit, chatting amongst themselves.

"So crowded…" moaned Morgana, his head poking out of Chiyo's bag.

"Hey, watch what you're doin'," Ryuji said in a hushed tone. "It'll be a pain in the as if someone sees you, so don't stick your head out too much."

Morgana's head list to the side briefly as though to say, 'Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day.' Then he dipped himself back into the depths of the bag. Chiyo could feel him moving around briefly before he got himself comfortable. What a very cat thing to do…

It was a good thing Morgana went down when he did. Almost as soon as Morgana disappeared, Kitagawa strolled up to them. Well, less 'them' and more 'Ann.' He was wearing a grey pinstripe blazer with a pink undershirt, black slacks, and a pair of black ankle boots that gave him a few more inches in height.

As if this beanpole needed to be taller…

"You came!"

Ann forced a smile. "Um… Yeah…"

His dark gaze traveled beyond Ann to Ryuji and Chiyo. "You really came."

"What'd you expect when you left us those tickets?!" snapped Ryuji.

"Make sure that you don't get in the way of the other visitors."

"I will try in my own fumbling way to stay away from my betters," Chiyo said, heavy on the sarcasm. "Obviously, I've never been out in public before, so we'll see how it goes. Wow! Is that what they call a-"

Ryuji elbowed her in the side before she could continue. Kitagawa's brow furrowed ever so slightly. Whatever he might have wanted to say remained known to Kitagawa alone. Dropping the matter, he turned his attention back to Ann. "Come now. I'll show you around. I'd like to speak more about the picture I'd like to draw, too."

Almost immediately, Ann looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, see you guys later," she murmured before she took off with Kitagawa.

Soon after, Chiyo started to feel a strain on her shoulder as Morgan started to move. Poking his head out, he looked up at Chiyo. "Will Lady Ann be all right?!" he asked frantically. "What if he drags her behind some painting and tries something funny?"

Abruptly, Ryuji placed a hand atop Morgana's head and shoved him back down, almost causing Chiyo to overbalance. "I told you not to come out!" He jumped back with three thin cuts along the back of his hand. Nursing his hand, Ryuji muttered a few curses directed at Morgana. "Are we really gonna 'appreciate' the fine arts? Can't we just go home?"

"We just got here," Chiyo argued. "C'mon, this'll be fun. Besides, it's still raining and I really don't wanna deal with it right now."

Releasing an overly-exaggerated sigh, Ryuji's shoulder sagged in defeat. "I guess we should do a quick pass through it once. So, uh… Which way are we supposed to start?"

"I don't think it really matters. Go with the flow of the crowd, I guess?"

Looking through the exhibit, Chiyo couldn't deny that each painting was a sight to behold. But she couldn't help but notice that the style changed drastically from portrait to portrait. Chiyo wasn't an artist by any means, in fact, her own drawing skills barely went beyond stick figures. But didn't most artists have a style that, at best, developed over the years?

She never really noticed anything about Madarame's work through Ryou's little fangirl folder, Chiyo never would have thought it would ever become relevant. But now that she was looking at the man's repertoire up close she could see a difference in the differences in style. The thickness of lines, the brush strokes, even the differences in styles, abstract over realism. Was this normal for an artist with decades under his belt?

If only Chiyo had the foresight to check the year each was painted.

They found themselves in front of a painting that may have been trying to go for a Picasso-abstract type. But there was too much going on. Too many shapes, too many colors, too much haphazardly put to canvas. "Is this art or…" Ryuji began slowly, tilting his head to the side, "a mistake?"

"I have no idea," murmured Chiyo. She got the sense that Ryuji had grown bored looking at painting after painting. It was difficult to tell how long they were there for when they just happened upon the man himself.

Madarame looked like he was in the middle of an interview. The cameras pointed at him might have tipped Chiyo off a bit. "We continue to be truly surprised by your imagination," declared the interviewer. A middle-aged, brown-haired woman in a green tweed jacket and earthy-colored skirt. "You have such expansive styles, it's hard to believe that it all stems from one person. Where in the world does all your inspiration come from?"

"Well…" Madarame took a moment to ponder. "It is rather difficult to put into words… They naturally well up from within my heart like bubbles rising one after another in the spring."

"Naturally, you say?"

"What's important is to distance oneself from worldly desires such as money and fame. My atelier is a modest shack, but it is more than enough to pursue true beauty."

Ryuji and Chiyo exchanged looks. "A shack?" he thought out loud.

"I see," the interviewer continued. "So the act of emptying one's mind gives rise to inner beauty. Still, to think we could hear the word 'shack' coming from the great artist Madarame."

"You would understand if you saw it," Madarame said reassuringly.

"Say," Ryuji said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wasn't the word 'shack' something…"

"Madarame-san is actually here?!" shouted one of the customers.

"Over there!"

"I'm so glad I came on opening day!"

It was like a scene out of an anime. Chiyo glanced over her shoulder to see a wave of people bounding in their general direction. Instantly, Ryuji grabbed onto Chiyo's forearm as the swarm grew in numbers. Chiyo took a few elbows to the sides, Ryuji was shoved to and throw, his grip on Chiyo's arm loosening with each bump. "Hey, stop pushin'!" Ryuji shouted, his voice lost in the masses. Chiyo felt something hit the back of her head with enough force to knock her glasses askew. "Damn it! There's way too many people!"

"I'm getting crushed!" shouted Morgana.

"I'm tryin' to get us out of here dude!"

With one last bump between her shoulders, Chiyo's arm slipped completely out of Ryuji's grasp and she fell to the floor. Her hands immediately went to the back of her head in an attempt to protect it. "Chiyo!" shouted Ryuji.

"I'm okay!" she shouted back. "I'll meet you outside!"

"Outside the front door! AH!"

"Ryuji?!"

No response.

"Chiyo!" Morgana called from her side. "I'm gonna get trampled!"

It was difficult for Chiyo to see anything but shoes walking around her, walking on her. Chiyo wasn't going to be able to get back onto her feet. So, placing her hand in front of her and prompt herself up on her elbow. Crawling on her elbows, Chiyo army-crawled her way through the crowd.

Now and then, she was thrown off her game when someone trodded on her. But she was able to get back on track. Towards the front of the store, there was enough room for Chiyo to get back on to her feet. She dusted off her front, reached into her back for her umbrella, and hurried back outside.

Kitagawa ushered her around the exhibit, giving her the time to take in each painting. "I didn't know there were so many types of Japanese art," she said after a while.

"Usually one concentrates on their own style," said Kitagawa. "However, Sensei creates all this by himself. He's special."

"There you are, Yusuke." They both half-turned to find Madarame approaching them. Kitagawa gasped briefly, as Madarame's gaze traveled to Ann. "Ah, one of the girls from yesterday. Are you enjoying the exhibit?"

"I don't know how to put it into words," Ann said, feeling a slight flush on her face from being put on the spot like this. "But it's really amazing."

"You're sensing something from the artwork. That alone is enough to give us artists satisfaction. I hope this becomes a wonderful piece, Yusuke. Well then, if you'll excuse me."

Madarame gave the pair a brief bow of the head before he walked off. As soon as Ann was sure he was out of earshot, she couldn't help but giggle briefly. "You'd imagine artists would be difficult to approach. But he seems really friendly."

"Indeed," agreed Kitagawa.

Humming briefly, Ann approached one of the paintings. "Oh! This is it! I wanted to see this one in person."

"This one?" Kitagawa asked tentatively, walking up to Ann's side.

It was the image of a mountain sunset through the trees, reflected in a lake. "It's… 'Odd' feels like an oversimplification. Fascinating?" Ann explained. "Something like this, it's usually a serene landscape, but it's never been what I got from this one. I guess it's the painter's anger? I'm not sure, but I sense this… strong frustration from it. And to think such a cheerful and gentlemanly person could make such a piece…"

She heard something behind her like someone was in pain. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Kitagawa, his eyes cast downward and a hand clenched above his chest, trembling. "Something wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Don't mind me. There are better pieces than… this one. Come now, this way!"

Without much warning, Kitagawa turned on his heel and sauntered off.

"That old lady totally elbowed me," groaned Ryuji. "But thanks to that, I remember now."

As agreed, they met up at the entrance, then headed for the station walkway to get out of the rain. And to give Morgana a chance to talk to them face to face. Ryuji sat down with his back to the window and phone in his hand, while Chiyo watched the rain sliding down the pane.

"Remember what?" Chiyo asked, rotating her shoulder.

"Well, lemme get to it. It's about a post online." He paused a few moments to pull up the post. "Here, look at this."

He held the screen out for her, but Chiyo wasn't given the chance to read it. "Why'd you leave without me?!" Ann sauntered up to the two looking a little ticked off.

"You got it all wrong," said Ryuji. "We got dragged into this huge crowd and-"

"We wanted to live," Chiyo said bluntly.

"Anyways, you gotta look at this too. It might be a post about Madarame."

Chiyo glanced down at Ryuji as Ann's brow rose, intrigued. "What's it say?"

Ryuji turned his phone around and read aloud, "'A master of the Japanese arts is plagiarizing his pupil's work. Only his public face is shown on TV.'"

"Plagiarizing?!" echoed Ann.

Chiyo gripped her chin in thought. If that were true, then it might explain why the paintings all varied in style. "I didn't think much of it when I saw it," Ryuji explained, "but hearing 'shack' and 'Madarame' triggered it." He went back to reading the post. "'His treatment of his pupils who live with him is awful. He teaches nothing and bosses them around. He treats them inhumanely as if disciplining a dog…'"

"Abuse on top of plagiarism, hm?" mused Morgana.

"If this is real, it'll be a huge scandal."

"I wonder if Kitagawa-kun posted this," Ann pondered, gripping her chin. "I mean, he is a pupil of his."

"Who knows? It's anonymous and all…"

"In that case," began Morgana. "It's possible the Madarame we heard about in Mementos is referring to the same one."

"It can't be a common name, can it?" asked Chiyo. Ryuji and Ann shrugged in response.

"A man like that, doing such a thing?" murmured Ann. Her lips suddenly pursed. "I wonder if we can ask that Shadow from earlier about this. Oh. Actually, we just need to talk to him in reality."

"And how are we gonna go about that?" asked Ryuji. "Are we gonna explain it all, startin' with Mementos?"

"Besides," added Morgana, "if we make a move out in the open, there's the possibility that Madarame will find out."

"Oh… Yeah, right…" sighed Ann.

"I'm not completely sure what to think about this," Chiyo confessed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "On the one hand, it is difficult to believe he could do that… But couldn't some people at school say the same thing about Kamoshida? I don't want to just ignore it."

"I know, right?" asked Ryuji. "This all fits way too well to just be a coincidence. If this post is legit, ain't this the kinda target we've been waitin' for?"

Ann shifted her weight. "Well, yeah, but… Is it really true?"

"I think we need to look into the situation a bit more before we decide on anything," said Chiyo.

"Yeah…" sighed Ryuji. His brow arched briefly before he glanced back up at Ann. "By the way, what did you do about the whole modeling thing?"

"Kitagawa-kun gave me his contact info," she explained. "And the address to his sensei's atelier."

Suddenly Ryuji's mood started to pick up. He grabbed onto the rail and pulled himself onto his feet. "He said he lives there, right? Perfect timing. Let's try goin' tomorrow. We're off to Madarame's house right after school!"

"Huh? You want me to model tomorrow?!"

"What? We're just gonna go talk to Kitagawa."

"Oh, that's what you meant…"

Cheeks puffed, Chiyo exhaled. These two sometimes…

The Hanged Man Rank 1

Authors Note: Apologies for those hoping Yusuke would want Chiyo for his piece too. Two big reasons for this first; it felt like too much. Especially after Kamoshida's ultimatum and the cognitive Chiyo.

Second, and most important; it's been established that, hair dye aside, Chiyo's still a regular Japanese girl. She's not going to stand out as much next to Ann. Even with Kamoshida, it was more that he thought she'd be an amazing lay than her looks. Being another face in the crowd, and knowing nothing about her, Yusuke has no reason to look twice in Chiyo's direction.

For some reason my computer autocorrected 'bishōnen' as 'fishnet,' of all things. I guess I get it upon closer inspection, but still…