TRIGGER WARNING:
- Mention of sexual assault

Chapter Twenty-Two
Sayuri

Monday May 16th

Morning class featured a lesson with Dr. Maruki. It was something most of the girls in class chatted excitedly about when Kawakami informed them about it during homeroom. By the time he did arrive in their classroom about half the class hung on his every word. Ann supposed he was a handsome older man. But there was something about even crushing on a guy whose profession was to pick apart your brain a bit… unnerving.

He called upon Chiyo to ask her a question about the placebo effect, and Ann wondered if it was because of their earlier session on Saturday.

During lunch, Ann found herself walking straight to the nurse's office. Outside she stared dumbly at the door. There was a sudden weight in the pit of Ann's stomach as she began to second guess herself.

Was it really necessary for her to seek counseling? Surely there were other students who had a worse time with Kamoshida than her. Those students needed more help than she did.

Didn't they?

God, this was so stupid, why couldn't she just knock? Chiyo said Dr. Maruki was pretty cool, so why was she worrying so much?

Because it was going to mean talking about what happened and that was a little overwhelming. Biting her lower lip, Ann tapped her knuckle against the door and opened it. "Umm…" she poked her head into the room.

Dr. Maruki looked like he was in the middle of organizing papers. Shit, maybe this was a bad time…

No sooner was Ann beginning to second guess herself and turn around, did Dr. Maruki look up. "Welcome! Are you here for a counseling session?"

"Um. Yeah, is now a bad time?"

"Not at all!" Maruki gathered his papers into a pile, then tapped the bottom edge against the table. "It's always a good time, so long as I'm not already listening to a student." The doctor stood up. "I'm so glad to have you here, Takamaki-san. Did you bring your lunch, I've got plenty of snacks if you didn't."

The most Maruki provided was a cup of peach tea for her. Ann did indeed bring her lunch with her, she'd brought some leftover rice and meatballs from home. Dr. Maruki had gotten out a container of onigiri and a box of apple juice. Juggling a rice ball and his clipboard, Maruki jotted down a few things on a fresh sheet of paper. "So, shall we get started?" he asked, looking up at Ann. "Oh - but first, just relax, alright? I'm only here to listen to whatever you wish to talk about."

Ann swallowed one of her meatballs. "Sure. Although I really have one thing on my mind right now, anyway…"

"Yes, I'd say that makes perfect sense. But don't force yourself into talking with me."

"No, it's… it's all right." She took a moment to steal a sigh. "I know I should talk to someone about this, anyway. That is if you're willing to listen to the super-long story…"

"I absolutely am," Maruki assured her. "Take all the time you need."

Ann gave the doctor a brief history of her relationship with Shiho. About how Ann always sensed that Kamoshida was looking at her, but things didn't start to escalate until the third semester of her first year bleeding into the start of her second year. So she started the school year as 'Kamoshida's bitch.' How Kamoshida dangled Shiho's starter position on the volleyball team in front of her like a carrot.

And then Ann went on to explain what lead up to Shiho's suicide attempt. At that point, she had a difficult time finishing her food. She mentioned that Shiho specifically said that Kamoshida called her to the PE faculty office. Shiho never went into full detail about what happened before she lost consciousness. Just that in his office he got too close and she tried to get him off. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she meant. And Shiho ultimately did go into further detail a couple of days after she regained consciousness when the police came to visit her after he was arrested. Ann only found out through the news that there were former Shujin students who had stories not unlike Shiho's. At least one of whom had graduated as early as this past March. She got the sense that it helped Shiho to realize she wasn't alone. Plus it was more evidence against Kamoshida to keep him locked up for a long time.

"I see," Maruki mused when Ann had finished. She reached for her cup of tea, is only because she was half-convinced that if she put anything more solid into her stomach right now it would come right back up. "That is a horrible thing to happen to someone."

"That's why I wanted to get even with him… For Shiho."

"Mmhm… And?"

Ann took a moment to think over her choice of words carefully. "At first, I thought Kamoshida ought to face the same fate Shiho was going to put herself through… But…"

"But?"

"Later, I realized that wasn't right," she confessed. "If he did take his own life, it wouldn't undo Shiho's suffering - in fact, it'd just give him the easy way out."

"Is that so?" mused Maruki. "You know, you are quite the wise, level-headed young woman, Takamaki-san."

Wise, huh? Dr. Maruki clearly never saw the marks Ann always managed to scrape by with. "Huh? Uh, I think you've gotten the wrong-"

"Nope. In fact, I think you're wiser than I was at your age. I wasn't anywhere near as mature as you are now."

She couldn't help the blush upon her face. "It's not like I did anything special, though," she admitted. "If I hadn't gone through my own share of hell, I don't think I'd be so mature either."

"I see…" The doctor took a moment to write something down. "So, what's on your mind now?"

"Right now? Hmm…" Ann pondered for a moment. Just a moment. "I'm just hoping Shiho will get better quickly. We both suffered a lot, but… I just wanna get back to laughing and having fun together like we used to. At this point, I don't give a rats ass about Kamoshida."

"Now there's a healthy outlook!" Maruki gestured to her with the tip of his pen. "You can't change the past, but you still want to keep your chin up and press onward - is that the gist of it?"

"Yeah," Ann nodded, "that sounds about right. I mean, it'd definitely be better if none of this had happened at all, but…"

"I definitely agree with you there," Maruki said adding another note. "But, it's impossible to wipe every tragedy from history."

"If only, right?" Ann said with a half-hearted shrug. "Everyone would be so much happier if we could actually do that."

She nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard a knock at the door. Both, Ann and Dr. Maruki glanced at the door. "Oh, it seems I lost track of the time," murmured Maruki. He placed his clipboard on the table and put away his empty lunchbox. Ann had only eaten about half of hers, she'd probably finish it after she and the others spoke with Kitagawa. "We should wrap things up here for today - thank you so much for coming to see me."

"Oh no, thank you!" Ann slung her bag over her shoulder. "I feel a ton better now that that's all off my chest."

Chiyo sat beside Ann with her bag in her lap on the train. They managed to get two seats, which Ryuji let the girls have, opting to stand instead after sitting all day in school. As agreed, they met up after school, gave Ann a chance to look up the address Kitagawa gave her and headed for the proper train line.

"Phantom thieves goin' by train," Ryuji mused. "This ain't any different from how I get home from school, y'know?"

"The train is the fastest way to go," Ann said matter of factly. "Plus we can bring pets on here."

"Hey," Morgana poked his head out from Chiyo's bag, "who're you calling a pet?!"

"Shut up!" Chiyo hissed. "They allow pets, but we didn't pay the fare!"

"I'm the one guiding you to your destination! You should be calling me 'Master!'"

"Ooh, kitty!"

A little girl with her hair done in pigtails skipped up to the teens. Ann's back stiffened, as Ryuji suddenly paled. "Is that your pet, Miss?" the girl asked Chiyo with her eyes wide in excitement. "I heard it meowing!"

"Uh…" Chiyo's blood turned cold. "I-It's just a stuffed animal we're bringing to a friend."

"Yeah!" Ann added. "It meows when you press on its head."

"See?" Chiyo asked, pressing down on Morgana's head. He released a meow, if not somewhat hesitantly.

"Wowwee!" The girl laughed. "Again! Again!"

Chiyo knew she shouldn't. but at the same time, she couldn't help but be a bit annoyed with him when Chiyo told Morgana to keep quiet. She pressed down on his head, repeatedly in rapid session. Morgan struggled to keep up with each press. The little girl giggled as Chiyo finally pulled her band back. "I wanna hear it again!"

"We should probably save the battery for our friend," said Chiyo. "Sorry."

"Okay. Thank you, Miss!"

The girl turned around and skipped back to her mom. Morgana slowly eased back into his bag. "I just threw up in my mouth…"

"Seriously…?" sighed Ryuji.

"Our next stop is Shibuya," a voice came over the intercom. "Shibuya. Doors will open on the left side."

"That's our stop," Ann said slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Be gentle…" Morgana whispered.

Director Kodaira kept his hands steepled in front of him as he stared at a copy of the case file of one Suguru Kamoshida. The case itself was an open and shut case. He confessed, word got out, then students and former students came forward about his past physical abuse and sexual harassment. Not only did he confess to raping a girl who tried to kill herself afterward, but the girl herself also called in from the hospital to make her testimony.

"Suguru Kamoshida," Kodaira mused out loud. "Former Olympian… Teacher at Shujin Academy… Reason for turning himself in is… a heavy conscience, huh…"

And yet, at least three other young women came forward about their rapes at Kamoshida's hand. One of them had also tried to kill herself in the privacy of her home by swallowing pills. Even then, Kamoshida never came forward, and yet he did after this most recent girl.

"The human mind doesn't change that easily… let alone their natural temperament."

Kodaira placed his hands firmly on his desk as he stood up. He strolled up to his window, looking over the city below. "Shujin Academy," he mused. "Seems doubtful… Perhaps I'll have someone look into it. Just in case…"

When they got off the train, Ann confirmed that they could walk to Madarame's from there. Ryuji found it rather lame that a group of phantom thieves were taking the train, then walking the rest of the way over.

Madarame's atelier was a two-story building that looked like it was being held together by sheets of rusted metal. "Is… that it?" Ryuji asked, scrutinizing the shack.

Ann peered down at her phone. "We're at the right address… The door plate does say 'Madarame.'"

"Uh… You ring the bell."

"Me?!" She looked back at the artier. "Eh, the walls won't collapse when I do, will they?"

"I can't believe we're the only people to come over," Chiyo said crossing her arms over her chest. "Then again we would be the unlucky bastards to do the impossible…"

"Just in case… no one sneeze, okay," quipped Morgana.

Ann lead the way to the front door, a sliding door at that. She rang the doorbell and moments later static from the intercom buzzed. "Who is it?" Kitagawa said from the other end. "Sensei is currently-"

"Um, it's Takamaki."

"I'll be right out!"

"People really do live here…" Ryuji murmured in awe.

The door slid open; Kitagawa, still in his uniform, looked like he'd dropped whatever he was doing to come to the door. "Takamaki-sa-" He stopped himself and his previous exuberance dying the moment he saw Chiyo and Ryuji. "…You two are here, as well?"

Ryuji saluted. "Hey. Sorry, but uh… we ain't here to talk about the modeling thing. There's something we gotta ask you. Is it true Madarame's plagiarizin' stuff? He's abusin' people too, yeah?"

"Are you serious?"

"We read about it online."

The breath of air Kitagawa released was not unlike an enraged bull. He stepped out of the shadow of the shack and looked Ryuji in the eye. "This…?" His shoulders began to shake as he just burst out laughing. He'd brought a hand up to his face covering his eyes, making his expression unreadable. "Preposterous! Not only is the plagiarism impossible, but abuse? He welcomes pupils into his own home! This is no act of violence; it is charity! And I'm the one residing here and studying under him. I'm saying it's not true, so it's beyond doubt."

"You might be lyin' about it!" argued Ryuji.

Kitagawa looked taken aback by it briefly. "Th-That… That is utter rubbish. I had no family when Sensei took me in and raised me into what you see now!"

"If it's as wholesome as you say it is, why'd you stutter?" Chiyo asked plainly.

"Wha…?"

"You started that with a stutter. There's also your body language that kind of tips off. Not looking a person in the eye is generally a good way to tell when someone's lying."

He flinched again. "Your friend simply caught me off guard."

"Did we though? It sounds like these rumors have been going on for a while. We can't be the only ones to ask about this."

"That's enough!" snapped Kitagawa. "I swear, if you continue to ridicule the man I owe my life to, you will rue this day!"

"What is going on out here?" Madarame poked his head out through the doorway. "Yusuke? What's the matter? I heard you yelling."

"These people are slandering you with baseless rumors!"

Chiyo and Ryuji exchanged identical looks of raised brows. If that wasn't a very kindergarten-like moment then Chiyo didn't know what was.

"Forgive them, Yusuke," Madarame said simply. "They must've heard some bad rumors and came in worry for their friend's safety."

"…Understood, Sensei," Kitagawa said hesitantly.

"Well, even I doubt that a cranky only man like myself could be liked by everyone."

"That's not what we meant," murmured Ann.

"I'm sorry to have butt in on your conversation. However, I do have neighbors around. Won't you please keep it down? Now, if you'll excuse me."

Madarame bowed his head, the slid the door close as he disappeared back inside. Kitagawa's gaze fell momentarily before he bowed. "That was discourteous of me. I'm sorry." He paused for a moment to think, then reached into his back pocket for his phone. "I know! I think you'll be able to believe in Sensei if you saw that painting. It's his maiden work as well as his most representative piece – it's titled 'Sayuri.'"

After a moment, Kitagawa showed the trio the screen of his phone. Displayed on it was a Japanese painting of a woman in red, with her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She was surrounded by… Well, Chiyo wasn't sure what it was supposed to be, water maybe? She was looking down at the water with such a warmth it was kind of off-putting for Chiyo. "This was the painting that inspired me to become an artist," explained Kitagawa.

"It's so beautiful…" Ann murmured in awe.

"I don't know all this fine-art stuff," began Ryuji, "but even I can tell that this is impressive…"

"When I first saw you," Kitagawa said to Ann, "I felt the same powerful emotion as when I saw this painting…"

"Me?"

"I wish to pursue beauty like this. And I believe drawing you will be part of that pursuit. I implore you: seriously consider my offer. I'm sorry that you took the time to come all this way, but I must assist Sensei today. I hope that we can discuss this further another time. If you'll excuse me, then."

After Kitagawa disappeared back into the shack, the Shujin trio shuffled back across the street. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, Ann fiddled with her hair, unwilling to look up at Chiyo or Ryuji. Chiyo's hand reached back for the scarf part of her scrunchie as though checking if were still there. Ryuji, with his hands, jammed into his pockets, kicked at the gravel. "Those two…seem like nice guys, don't they?" he asked, at long last breaking the silence between them.

They did, Chiyo decided. Kitagawa came across as a little pushy, but it was also coming from a drive Chiyo once understood. And his sensei came across as a kindly grandpa. It left Chiyo feeling of two minds. Every glowing thing Chiyo had to say about Kitagawa and Madarame could easily be said about Kamoshida, that he was nice, that he was doing what was best for the team, for the school. That was why so many students were so surprised when Kamoshida turned out to be a monster.

So who were Kitagawa and Madarame behind closed doors? "Maybe the Madarame we heard about in Mementos is a different person," offered Ann.

"How common is the name Madarame, though?" asked Chiyo. "How do we even know that wasn't an act on Madarame's part, anyway? Kamoshida acted professional and friendly in front of certain people."

Frustrated, Ryuji started to rake his hands through his hair. "Agh! Why'd you say that man?! Now my head's swimmin'!"

"Here's an idea," Morgana worked his way out of Chiyo's bag, and landed nimbly at everyone's feet, "check the Meta-Nav."

Chiyo pursed her lips as she pulled her phone out. She almost dropped the phone as her eyes widened; the app had already booted up. And the words 'Madarame,' 'shack,' and 'plagiarism,' already plugged in. She turned her phone around, showing it to Ann and Ryuji. "Did it pick up on our conversation?" Ann asked, sounding a little unnerved.

Ryuji shrugged. "I mean… It did when we discovered Kamoshida's palace."

At Ryuji's side, Morgan had leaped onto the back of a bench to get a better look. "'Madarame,' 'plagiarism' and 'shack,' huh? Those seem to be the keywords."

"For real though, what the hell's goin' on?! So an old man like him really does have a Palace?"

"We have the person's name and the location. All that's left is the 'what' that Madarame mistakes his shack for to enter his Palace."

"You mean, like how Kamoshida thought the school was his castle?" asked Ann.

"That's right. Let's try saying some things. They can be random guesses."

"He's an artist, right?" asked Chiyo. "So it's gotta be a museum."

"Beginning navigation," came a mechanical voice.

Feeling slightly lightheaded, Chiyo closed her eyes. Upon opening them she found that Ryuji and Ann had taken on their appearances of Skull and Panther. Mona stood on the back of the bench on two legs. She looked down at herself to find a black coat, red gloves, and a sheer skirt. "Hey, when did you activate the Nav?" Mona asked, almost falling off the other side of the bench. "You surprised me!"

"Guess we just happened to get it right," Skull said as Joker slid her phone into her pocket.

"Hm, so even you can slip into the Metaverse without realizing it, Morgana?" Panther asked thoughtfully.

"Yes," the cat-creature admitted, slightly embarrassed. "In a place with minimal cognitive distortion, the differences can be subtle.

"Forget that," Skull gasped. "Take a lookit that!"

Joker half-turned to find a tall, golden building across the street right where Madarame's shack was. It was a four-story building made up of squares and rectangles. There were golden swirls against a golden background. A golden sign hug at the side of the building, advertising the museum of the great artist Madarame.

There was too much gold. The building was trying to be eye-catching, to stand out, to be something mesmerizing. But in the end, it ended up being generic and unremarkable. Regardless of the aesthetics, it did not stop the crowd of people from lining around the block to get in.

"So that shack really did become a museum," murmured Skull.

"It's so extravagant…" mused Panther, "to the point that it's gaudy. We're sure this is a museum, right?"

"We're sure this is Madarame's? The guy we saw earlier looked kinda…humble."

"Well, a Palace is a world formed by a mind's twisted desire," Mona reminded them. "Joker could have been onto something about that old man guise being an act."

"But Madarame's artwork is on display in museums in reality," Panther pointed out. "His exhibit was popular, and people already respect him. Why would he fantasize about a museum?"

"Mmm," Joker gripped her chin in thought. "I have an idea or two but… I dunno, maybe we should check it out for ourselves first…"

"I mean, so far this ain't revealing any plagiarism or abuse," Skull crossed his arms over his chest, "maybe we'll get an answer one way or another inside. That aside… Ain't a museum a must for phantom thieves?!"

"I do believe you are right, Skull," Joker said beaming. "This may very well be the closest we get to robbing a real museum."

"What about that crowd, though," Panther asked, pointing at the mob of generic, featureless people.

"We'll have to find another way in," Mona said plainly. "Not like we'd use the front door anyway."

"But there's a high wall around the building," Panther pointed out.

"I mean there are cars here," said Joker. "We can just use them to give us a lift."

"You mean like that truck?"

Panther pointed out a truck parked right beside the high wall with a logo like the swirls decorating the outer walls of the museum. There were a couple of cars parked nearby that could easily give them the added lift they needed. The issue the humans of the group had was climbing onto the car, the awkward surface made it difficult to get comfortable footing. It wasn't until they each made their way onto the car roof and the back of the truck that walking felt normal again. "Hard to believe this shiny museum is the same old shack in reality," Mona said, using Skull to give him the elevating to climb onto the wall.

"It's just now hitting me that this is that old guy's Palace," murmured Panther.

"That's why we're here, right?" Skull pulled himself onto the wall after Mona and offered a hand to help either Panther or Joker. "C'mon, there's gotta be a back entrance."

Panther let out a frightened 'Eee!' as she slid off the other side of the wall. She landed awkwardly on her knees. Joker landed on her left, rolling into her landing. Skull came tumbling down shortly after calling for the two to look out. "Well that was pitiful," Mona said crossing his arms. "How're we supposed to be phantom thieves with landing's like that."

"Shaddup!" snapped Skull.

"My landing was fine," Joker murmured almost childishly.

The other side of the wall brought them to a topiary garden. They traveled around the garden until they found a series of stone structures that lead to a skylight window. Skull opened one of the windows and they used the grappling hooks Mona gave them to scale down.

They found themselves smack in the middle of an exhibit room. Portraits of varying sizes, some almost as tall as Skull, hung on the wall. There didn't seem to be anything in common with the individuals outside of being young adults. "It's quiet in here," Mona said in a hushed tone. "Almost eerily so."

"H-Hey, aren't those paintings… moving?" Panther asked pointing at one of the portraits.

The image was indeed moving, swaying as though it were a running stream. "Who are these people anyway?" Skull asked thinking out loud.

"There's plaques under them. Maybe…" Panther strolled up to the portrait and read, "'Iwato Ninomiya. Age thirty-three.'"

"What the hell? But who is he?"

"What do the other's say?"

Exploring the room they found, Eyuri Wagatsuma, age twenty-seven. Daiya Satomi, age thirty-one. Kenichi Amari, died age twenty-five. Joker started to wonder if these were simply fans, but something about that didn't sound right.

Beyond the confinements of the room, there were more portraits of random men and women. The ages placed with the names continued into their forties. It wasn't until they came to a third hall that Panther drew everyone to a stop. "This doesn't make any sense… Madarame's famous for having a variety of styles…" She gestured to the portraits around them. "But all these portraits look the same… This isn't what I'd expect from the-"

"No way! Look!" shouted Skull.

Panther and Joker followed Skull's gaze to find a portrait of a fairly generic man with his black hair done in a bowl cut. But there was no mistaking it, it was Natsuhiko Nakanohara. "Dude, I don't get it," Skull said, raking a hand through his hair. "Why's there a painting of him in here?! And more important, why's his name written under it?!"

"You're right…" murmured Panther. "Doesn't art usually have like, the title of the piece or the artist's name?"

"My first thought was they're Madarame's fans," Joker admitted. "Like, maybe he really takes them for granted, like how Kamoshida saw the male students as slaves. But something about that doesn't feel right."

"But that makes sense, don't it?" asked Skull.

"I know, but why would someone who takes their fans for granted put them on display like this? Their ages are right there, that's a little too personal, isn't it? And one of them is dead, they can't do anything for him anymore, but their picture's up with the others."

"Hm…" Mona crossed his arms to think. "This is quite the mystery… Let's keep looking around for the time being."

They only got as far as the end of the hall before they slowed to a stop. Their brows all furrowed in concern, and jaws fell open, as the implication behind the portraits slowly dawned on them.

Easily the largest painting in the room, it bore the image of a young man, his blue-black hair done in a bob with his bangs in a side sweep. And sure enough, there was a plaque beside his portrait reading, 'Yusuke Kitagawa. Age sixteen.'

"They're his pupils," Joker said voicing what everyone was thinking. "Everyone here is or was Mararame's pupil."

"Wait, all of them?" Skull asked in disbelief. "But it was only Yusuke when we went to his place."

"Then everyone else must be his former pupils," deduced Morgana. "Only one remains now… Taking into account what that Nakanohara guy said earlier in Mementos, things are getting clearer. All right, let's keep investigating. We need something to further confirm our deductions."

The others nodded in silent agreement. Fortunately, there was a door to a lobby room right across the hall from Kitagawa's portrait. There was still so much yellow and gold in the lobby. Still flashy to the point of being gaudy. For an artist, it was little wonder that Madarame never learned that less was more.

There was even an information desk with a couple of flat-screen TVs playing some sort of documentary about Madarame's career. By the information desk was a rack of brochures. Panther plucked one out and unfolded it. Her entire body shook as she bit back a laugh. "It's a map," she said, her voice high-pitched and slightly strained.

"Wait, for real?" Skull peered over her shoulder. "Dude."

"Is that… wise?" Joker asked, stretching at the back of her head despite the pinch of her ponytail.

"Well it is a museum," Mona said nonchalantly. "It makes our job a bit easier."

"The map only goes as far as a central garden," Panther said after studying the map. "Think that's where his Treasure is?"

"Maybe. But let's gather a bit more information before we commit to stealing his Treasure."

"I mean, he has a Palace," Skull pointed out. "That seems pretty sketchy to me."

"Hey, Joker, look!" exclaimed Mona.

The cat-creature took off running towards a golden treasure chest and started to bounce in place. Exhaling through her nose, Joker approached the chest and started to pick the lock. "Why can't you pick it?" she asked him.

Immediately, Mona held his paws up. "I don't have thumbs in this form!"

"But how can you-?! Forget it."

The lid sprung open after Joker successfully picked the lock. Inside was plush blue lining and a sculpture that looked like it started to melt in the kiln. "Think we can pawn it off?" asked Skill.

"I dunno, I think Iwai-kun's getting a little suspicious," Joker said, pocketing the sculpture anyway.

On either side of the information desk was a door that lead elsewhere in the museum. After opening the treasure chest, the gang went through the door nearest to them. They were brought into a large, circular room with a ramp that lead up to the door beyond. Banner's of Madarame hung from the ceiling all over the room. And in the center, nestled between the lanes of the ramp, was a massive golden sculpture. Copper people were either trying to climb up the waves of the sculpture, or they were being thrown down.

"'The infinite Spring?'" Panther read off the plaque. "'A conglomerate works of art that the great director Madarame created with his own funds. These individuals must offer their ideas to the director for the rest of their lives. Those who cannot do so have no worth living!'"

"Fucking hell," Joker muttered under her breath.

"This is most likely about the plagiarism, right?"

"Sounds like it. Maybe even the abuse too. 'Those who cannot do so have no worth living.'"

"So, in other words, his pupils are his property," Mona summarized. "He doesn't even qualify as an artist if this is true. He's stealing the ideas from talented students in exchange for securing their livelihood. Madarame keeps them around as long as they're useful to him, but the moment they're not…"

"He's treating them like slaves or tools!" snapped Panther.

"He might even be sabotaging them, too," said Joker. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Being the pupil of a renowned artist should give them a leg up in the world, even if they don't, shouldn't his pupils have careers in their own right?"

"But why's Yusuke keepin' quiet about this?" Skull gestured to the sculpture. "He's got no reason to cover this up!"

"He did say that he owes Madarame his life for being taken in," Panther pointed out uneasily.

"But still!" Panther started to rub the back of her neck. "When we were at the exhibit, I praised one of the pieces on display. But… Kitagawa-kun started acting strange…"

"You're thinking the painting was actually his?" asked Joker.

"I can't think of any other reason for a reaction like that."

"Okay, so what's the call?" asked Skull. "Ain't this enough to target Madarame?!"

"At this point, I want to," admitted Joker. "But this isn't like Kamoshida. We ought to consider Kitagawa-kun."

"Whut?"

"I agree with Joker," said Panther. "If we just do this, we may be ruining Kitagawa-kun's livelihood without warning."

"We should try to confirm the facts with Yusuke once more," added Mona.

"Confirm what, though?!" asked Skull. He gestured to the sculpture behind them.

"We should get solid evidence that such crimes took place in the real world."

"That's gonna be a pain in the ass, though…"

"Besides, there's too much we don't know about Madarame yet."

Panther's head tilted slightly as she thought. "You're probably right. If we're set on this, it might help us out in here. I'll try contacting Kitagawa-kun. I might be able to get the truth out of him if I accept his modeling offer."

"Wait, you're gonna do that?!" shrieked Mona.

"You sure you're okay with that?" asked Joker.

"I mean, it can't be all that different from the modeling I've already done for my agency," she said, fiddling with one of her pigtails. "But you all better come with me, okay? I'm scared to go alone…"

"What happened it being not that different from your regular modeling?" Skull asked under his breath.

"Wait, Panther's a model model?" asked Joker.

"That's just 'Snap! Let's try another pose!'" Panther retorted irritably. "Modeling for a piece of art like this feels more… intimate."

"'I-I-Intimate?'" Mona's voice rose a few octaves.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

Joker's shoulders shrugged. "Yeah, I think I see what you mean."

Skull swept one leg behind the other as he crossed his arms. "Famous, renowned artist, huh?" he mused with a hint of excitement. "This might be tougher than Kamoshida. Well, we'll just prep ourselves until we get confirmation from Yusuke."

Chiyo's bangs were still damp when she headed back upstairs after changing. Morgana had made himself comfortable on Chiyo's pillow as she put her things away. Her phone started to buzz as she contemplated what to do next.

Ann: Would you really forgive someone unconditionally if you owe your life to them?
Ann: I'm not sure anymore.
Chiyo: Well, you kind of owe your life to your parents, right?
Chiyo: Some people have shitting families they completely cut ties with.
Chiyo: Isn't that kinda similar?
Ann: Is it?
Ryuji: What're you even bringing this up for?
Ann: Well, according to Kitagawa-kun, Madarame isn't a problem.
Chiyo: What do you mean?
Ann: I mean, I know Madarame is a bad person, but still…
Ann: Maybe I'm so hesitant because I haven't actually met any of his victims.
Ryuji: Yeah, I guess that part's totally different from what happened with Kamoshida.
Ann: This might be an extreme line of thinking…
Ann: But if an evil person isn't causing any trouble now…
Ann: Is there really a point in us stepping in?
Ryuji: Well… you got a point.
Ryuji: So we're gonna let Yusuke decide if Madarame's worth going after or not?
Chiyo: It's his sensei and maybe even his livelihood we're talking about.
Ryuji: I dunno… If it were me, I'd never forgive that bastard!
Chiyo: Let's just see how Kitagawa-kun feels and we'll move from there.
Ann: Yeah… I guess we could talk some more after that.
Ann: OK. Let's meet in Shibuya after school tomorrow.

Sitting up in her bed, Chiyo left her phone in her lap and flexed her thumbs for a moment. She didn't remember texting this much back in Higashiizu. The device started buzzing with Ryuji's ID popping up. "Hey, it's me," Ryuji said from the other line. "I just can't forgive Madarame, but… what Ann said made me think… To Yusuke, are we just a buncha thugs?"

"Maybe not thugs," Chiyo said, leaning back on one arm. "But I get the sense that you and I are definitely uncouth to him."

"Is that any better?"

"I… don't know."

"It ain't like the thinks it is! Pisses me off just thinkin' about it! Good people have to put up with so much crap while…while shitty adults do whatever they want! Makes me sick!" He paused. "I-I'm not wrong, am I?"

Sitting back up, Chiyo looked down at her lap.

"Damn brat! I'll sue!"

"No," she said at length. "You're right."

"Aww yeah!" Chiyo needed to hold the phone away from her ear after that. "Don't tell Ann I called you, by the way. Seriously. Well, see you tomorrow."

Ryuji hung up after that with Chiyo following suit. She leaned back on her hands again, now wondering what they were going to do if Kitagawa still kept tight-lipped about Madarame. Throw caution to the wind and hope he thanked them later? Yeah, that was not going to go over well...

When her phone rang again, Chiyo was starting to feel frustrated. After a long evening, she just wanted to go to bed, damn it! Too much for a Monday.

Authors Note: I imagine the real Sayuri would stir some rather… complicated feelings in Chiyo. Given her relationship with both of her parents aren't that great to put it delicately. Though it's kinda weird to think her relationship with her dad is the "better" relationship. Kinda hard to have a meaningful relationship with someone when they put in the bare minimum.

There's a few details about the game that never fully hit me until I started working on this fic. Like Takemi's sense of humor. This was one of the moments I realized, yeah, Maruki really is just buttering up the Phantom Thieves. I'm starting to think Maruki is, whether or not Atlus intended it (I don't think they were), a good example of toxic positivity.