A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Per usual, I do NOT own the Persona series in ANY way, shape or form (barring of course the OC Kusa/Draconis which I made and therefore do somewhat own) and the credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Atlus Entertainment and Sega Of America! So credit to them! That being said, on with chapter 16, or the start of Madarame's Palace!
Chapter 16- Truth of the Kitsune, and The Museum Infiltration Begins! The Kitsune Artist part 4
(At the start of Madarame's Palace, with Joker, Skull, Draconis, Mona and Panther)
After a mutual nod, the group walked over, hopped up on some nearby vehicles, and hopped onto the fence as Mona spoke up.
"Yep! This is really how he thinks of that run-down shack? It's overwhelmingly shiny..." Mona said as Panther frowned and spoke up.
"It's just not hitting me that this is that old guy's Palace..." Panther said as Skull nodded before speaking up.
"That's why we're here, right? C'mon, let's go check it out." Skull said as the group nodded and kept moving. After a bit of nimble hopping from point to point, the group eventually reached a rooftop with an open window as Skull spoke up.
"Ooh! The skylight's open! I think we can get in here." Skull said as Panther frowned while speaking up.
"But it's a pretty far drop...Will we be able to get back out this way?" Panther asked as Joker and Skull shrugged while Mona and Draconis exchanged a glance before the latter looked at Panther and spoke up.
"Depends on how we get in, Panther. I don't know how many spy/action movies you've watched, but I recall seeing a couple where people lowered themselves in on a rope and then raised themselves back up afterwards to get back out. Maybe we can try something similar here?" Draconis said with a shrug. Mona nodded as he spoke up.
"NOW'S MY TIME TO SHINE! Hehe, don't worry... I have a rope! I'm our tool specialist, after all!" Mona said as he turned to Joker before he kept speaking.
"So, what's your call, Joker? Want to head inside?" Mona asked Joker who exchanged a look with Draconis before he nodded.
"Naturally. Let's do this." Joker said confidently. The group then lowered themselves into the building, where they could see lots of paintings. At that point, Mona spoke up.
"...It's quiet in here. Almost eerily so." Mona said as Panther blinked before speaking up.
"H-Hey...This...It's...moving..." Panther said as Skull frowned before speaking up in an unimpressed tone.
"C'mon, we're in a Palace. That ain't anything to be freakin' out over." Skull said as Mona nodded before speaking up in a contemplative tone.
"Hmm...This is...Hm, the Palace reflects its ruler's heart...We may want to check these paintings out." Mona said as the others nodded and kept moving. They started at the far left of the room, where a painting was shown depicting a female in a blue and white dress with no face. Skull looked at the plaque under the painting as he spoke up.
"Oh hey, there's some kinda explanation here... Lemme see...Its someone's name and age? What the hell?" Skull said as Panther spoke up.
"That can't be the title of the painting, right? Do you think it's the artist's name?" Panther asked as Mona looked at Panther before speaking up.
"Hmm...Let's check the other paintings too. I think there might be something important about them..." Mona said as the others nodded and kept moving. As they kept going, they noticed a ton of paintings that all had people in them. After a few rooms, Panther frowned and spoke up.
"Hey, this doesn't make any sense...Madarame was famous for having a variety of art styles...But all the portraits on display here look the same...This is way different from what was at the-" Panther said as Skull cut her off by speaking up.
"Wait a sec!" Skull said as he pointed to a nearby painting where it depicted a very familiar face in it as he kept speaking.
"Ain't this that guy we saw in Mementos? Y'know, the one who was shit-talkin' Madarame..." Skull said as Mona spoke up with a cringe.
"Natsuhiko Nakanohara. His name's written on the plaque." Mona said as Skull blinked and spoke up.
"Dude, I don't get it. Why's there a painting of HIM in here!? And more important...why's his name written under it?" Skull asked as Draconis stroked his chin in thought and spoke up.
"I wonder...didn't Nakanohara also mention he once studied under Madarame? Could that have to do with why he has a portrait in here?" Draconis suggested uncertainly. Joker and Panther exchanged looks before the latter spoke up, looking at Skull as she spoke.
"You're right, Skull...Doesn't art usually have like, the title of the piece or the artist's name? And what you said is a possibility, Draconis." Panther said. Mona frowned as he spoke up.
"Hmm...This is quite the mystery...All right, let's keep looking around for now." Mona said as the others nodded. As they kept examining the paintings, a painting on the far end of the hall made Panther gasp as she spoke up.
"What...? No way!" Panther said as the camera panned to show the painting that Panther had been looking at, which depicted a certain blue-haired male that the group was quite familiar with, making the group frown as Skull spoke up.
"Hey, isn't this a painting of that guy?" Skull asked as Mona nodded before speaking up.
"It says 'Yusuke Kitagawa'. There's no mistaking it. Maybe Draconis' theory from before has more merit than I thought." Mona said as Panther spoke up.
"Huh? Wait a second...What do you think these paintings are?" Panther said as Draconis spoke up with a frown.
"Given this one has Kitagawa in it, I think it's a fairly safe bet at least SOME of them are Madarame's current and/or former pupils. Which then begs the question: Why does he have a gallery of paintings depicting his current and/or former pupils? That's kind of sketchy, to say the least." Draconis said. Joker nodded as he spoke up.
"I agree with Draconis. Odds are these are Madarame's pupils." Joker said. Panther nodded and looked at Joker and Draconis as she spoke up..
"I think you're both right. Granted, they're also well-painted, but that's irrelevant at this point." Panther said as Skull's eyes went wide before he spoke.
"For real? All of them? But it was only Yusuke when we went to his place before..." Skull said as Mona spoke up, nodding at Draconis as he spoke.
"I think Draconis was spot-on in his previous theory. This must include former pupils, as well as current. Only one remains now...Taking into account what that Nakanohara guy said earlier, things are getting clearer." Mona said as Draconis huffed before speaking up.
"True, but sometimes I'd rather just be mistaken than being right in my gut instincts so often. But I guess it is what it is." Draconis said with a shrug as Joker and Skull nodded before Mona spoke up again.
"That just means you have good instincts, Draconis. That said, all right, let's keep investigating. We need something to further confirm our deductions." Mona said as the group nodded and kept moving. As the group kept going, ignoring the intercom talking about Madarame a lot, Joker's eyes were drawn to a kiosk next to a desk that seemed to have brochures on it. Skull looked over at Joker and spoke up.
"Hmm? What, you find something?" Skull asked Joker who nodded and spoke up.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those brochures over there?" Joker said, pointing at the kiosk as Draconis frowned before speaking up
"I do believe that is the case, Joker. But brochures for what, exactly?" Draconis asked as Mona shrugged before speaking up.
"Who knows, Draconis? Either way though, we're here to investigate, so we should check everything that catches our attention." Mona said as Skull then suddenly spoke up.
"Ooh, a chest! All right, Joker! It's a treasure chest!" Skull said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.
"We can see that, Skull. What I don't think we could see was you acting like a little kid over it. But I guess given it's potential money, I can't fault you for being excited. After all, even Mona-sensei's proven that he gets easily excitable in the presence of treasure. Err, no offense meant to you of course, Mona." Draconis said as Mona laughed and spoke up.
"Nah, it's fine. You're not wrong, Draconis. But I agree with Skull. Let's get that chest!" Mona said. Joker nodded, walking over to the chest and using one of the three Lockpicks he'd brought with him, he cracked the chest open to reveal a Lunar Cutlass which Mona looked at eagerly as he spoke up.
"Oh, this beauty looks like it's just my size! This is mine now, all right?" Mona said to Joker who laughed and nodded.
"Sure, go right ahead, Mona. It's all you." Joker said as Mona smiled and equipped the Lunar Cutlass with a smirk.
"Yup! Hehehe, now I'm even MORE of a threat!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up at that moment.
"That being said, are we going to keep Mona on backup like we did for the back half of Kamoshida's Palace, or are we gonna rotate out our backup member?" Draconis asked as Joker stroked his chin in thought before speaking up.
"Honestly? I think for now, with respect to Mona, we'll keep him on backup, but we might rotate him in for the back half of the Palace if needed." Joker decided amidst approving nods from the group as Skull snickered before speaking up.
"Hmm, so if Mona called his weapon 'this beauty', does that mean he's moved on from Panther? OW!" Skull said, the 'OW!' being from both Draconis AND Panther frowning and bopping him upside the head in annoyance at his comment, the latter speaking up.
"Shut up, Skull. It was a figure of speech." Panther huffed in irritation as Draconis and Mona nodded with Draconis speaking up.
"Exactly. Sheesh, Skull, even Joker knows not to poke fun at a girl like that. Please tell me you have more brains than that." Draconis huffed to approving nods from Panther and Mona as Joker winced at Draconis' tone as the group kept moving. Joker then walked over to the pamphlet/brochure kiosk he'd spotted before and examined it as Panther spoke up.
"Is this... a pamphlet?" Panther asked as Draconis and Mona shrugged before Skull spoke up.
"This is gettin' way too detailed for a freakin' Palace...Why'd he bother makin' something like this?" Skull asked as Mona blinked before speaking up.
"Oh, there's a museum guide on here. Let's take it with us!" Mona said as Joker took the pamphlet, giving the group a partial map of the Palace as Panther spoke up.
"Oh yeah! It might even show us the location of the Treasure!" Panther said. Mona nodded approvingly as he spoke up.
"That is a possibility. At the very least, it should be good reference for the scale of this place." Mona said as the group laid the map out to view it, making Panther frown and speak up as she noticed something.
"Huh...? But the map only shows half of the museum..." Panther said as Mona chuckled with a smile before speaking up.
"I see...It says it's one out of two." Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.
"Indeed...so by that logic, there's still another map somewhere in here we need to find if we want a full map of this Palace. Seems about right." Draconis said with a nod. Skull sighed as he spoke up.
"Then the two outta two's gotta be around here somewhere, right? Just how big is this place...?" Skull asked as Draconis frowned and spoke up.
"That's literally what I just said Skull! The first half of what you said, I mean. To the second half, I have no clue." Draconis said. Mona spoke up before Draconis and Skull could exchange words.
"We can worry about that another time. Right now our objective is confirming Madarame's cognition. We may have to reconsider our plan depending on what we find." Mona said as Draconis, Joker and Panther nodded before Skull spoke up.
"I mean, he's got a Palace...Seems pretty sketch to me." Skull pointed out as the group kept moving. After a bit, they came to a room with a huge gold statue in the middle of it, making Mona frown as he spoke up.
"Hm...Look at this." Mona said as the group inspected the statue, Panther frowning as she read the plaque.
"Huh...'The Infinite Spring'? 'A conglomerate work of art that the great director Madarame created with hi sown 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!' What!?" Panther said as she kept speaking.
"Hey...This is most likely about the plagiarism, right?" Panther asked the group as Joker and Mona exchanged unimpressed glances while Draconis and Skull huffed, the latter speaking up.
"Dammit, what a phony geezer!" Skull said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.
"Phony indeed. And what was that 'Those who cannot do so have no worth living!' horse shit at the end of that plaque? Does that mean Madarame could be a murderer in addition to a plagiarist!? If so, this guy is even more scummy than I thought." Draconis said with a huff as Mona nodded before speaking up.
"Seems that way, Draconis. And in other words Panther, his pupils are his property. 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." Mona said as Draconis gritted his teeth and spoke up.
"Gah! That complete and utter scumbag! Who extorts someone for their ideas like that!? That's just low, despicable and screwed up!" Draconis said angrily as Mona nodded.
"Agreed. That said, I wondered about those portraits on display...They must all be his 'pupils' through his cognition. This even says they have no worth. Couldn't this be about the abuse? Madarame will keep him around as long as they're useful to him, but the moment they're not..." Mona said, trailing off as the group gasped before Panther spoke up in horror.
"No! He's treating them like slaves or tools!" Panther said as Draconis spoke up at that point.
"Precisely, Panther. This shitbag is no better than Kamoshida! Hell, he might even be worse than him, if that's possible." Draconis said with a frown. Skull frowned and spoke up.
"Why's Yusuke keepin' quiet about this? He's got no reason to cover this up!" Skull said as Joker and Draconis looked at each other before Joker spoke up.
"Kitagawa is probably blinded by his loyalty and gratitude to him." Joker surmised, as Panther spoke up with a nod.
"Exactly, Joker. He did say he owes Madarame his life for taking him in..." Panther said trailing off as Skull frowned and spoke up.
"But still...!" Skull said as Panther kept speaking as if Skull hadn't spoken up.
"When we were at the exhibit, I praised one of the pieces on display. But... Kitagawa-kun acted strange. Maybe that piece was plagiarized too..." Panther said as Skull gritted his teeth before turning to Joker as he spoke up.
"What's the call? Ain't this enough to target Madarame!?" Skull asked Joker, who exchanged an uncertain glance with Draconis and Mona before he spoke up with a nod.
"I think this is pretty good evidence against him, but since this has to be an unanimous decision, what do you all think?" Joker asked. Mona spoke up at that point.
"We should confirm these facts with Yusuke first." Mona said as Draconis blinked at Mona before speaking up.
"Don't you think we should get Kitagawa's permission before referring to him on a first-name basis?" Draconis asked as Skull nodded his agreement and spoke up.
"Exactly, Draconis! After all, excluding Joker and Draconis who are related, we never referred to each other on a first-name basis until we got permission to do so, not counting Mona here since he has no last name I think." Skull said as Mona shrugged.
"Wasn't given a last name. It is what it is." Mona said as Panther spoke up.
"I agree with Mona. We should get Kitagawa-kun's side of things first." Panther said as Skull huffed and spoke up.
"Confirm what, though!?" Skull said angrily. Draconis glared at Skull as he spoke up.
"Obviously, confirm that not only is Kitagawa himself a victim of Madarame's scummy ways, but whether or not Kitagawa is even aware of it. It's possible he could be in denial to protect Madarame, or he is in disbelief. Either way, it raises the possibility that we might have to open his eyes to what Madarame's really like, especially since he has a portrait hanging in this Palace. That alone suggests to me he might be Madarame's next target." Draconis pointed out calmly as Mona nodded and spoke up.
"Exactly Draconis! And Skull, it means we should get evidence that such crimes actually took place." Mona pointed out firmly as Skull huffed and hung his head as he spoke.
"What a pain in the ass..." Skull said huffily as Mona spoke up once more as if Skull hadn't said a word.
"Besides, there's too much we don't know about Madarame yet." Mona said as Panther nodded and spoke up.
"...Mm, you're right. I'll try contacting Kitagawa-kun. I might be able to get the truth out of him if I accept his modeling offer." Panther said as Draconis and Mona's eyes went wide behind their masks as Mona spoke up.
"Wait, you're gonna do that!?" Mona asked as Draconis spoke up.
"That IS her choice to make, Mona-sensei. But I agree with you that it's a bit of a risky play for her to make." Draconis said as Panther spoke up.
"You all better come with me, okay? I'm scared to go alone..." Panther said. Skull smirked as he spoke up.
"Famous, renowned artist, huh? This might be tougher than Kamoshida. Well, we'll just prep ourselves until we get confirmation from Yusuke." Skull said as Draconis huffed.
"Seriously? Now you're calling him by his first name, Skull? Are Joker, Panther and I the only ones who wait for someone's permission to be on a first-name basis with them?" Draconis said in stunned disbelief. Skull shrugged as he spoke up.
"Eh, you know what they say, Draconis. When in Rome...Anyways, that said, this is our first mission as real phantom thieves. We're gonna succeed no matter what!" Skull said as Draconis just shrugged as the group exited the Metaverse...
(Back outside the Metaverse, at Leblanc with Ren, Morgana and Kusa)
"Hmm...the reason why Yusuke is hiding the truth, huh..." Morgana said as Kusa frowned while his and Ren's phones went off to signal a group chat from Ann and Ryuji.
"Would you really forgive someone unconditionally if you owe your life to them? I'm not so sure anymore." Ann sent, making Ren, Kusa and Ryuji all wince as Ryuji sent a response.
"What're you bringing this up for?" Ryuji sent in surprise as Ann sent another response.
"According to Kitagawa-kun, Madarame isn't a problem." Ann sent as Kusa and Ren exchanged worried looks as both sent responses.
"What do you mean?" Ren sent at the same time Kusa sent his response.
"Is something wrong, Ann? Do Morgana-sensei and I have to go out head-hunting!?" Kusa sent as Morgana nodded approvingly to Kusa's message.
"Something wrong?" Ryuji sent as Ann eventually sent a response.
"First off, no Kusa, I do NOT need you or Morgana to go head-hunting! If I want you to kick someone's ass for me, I'll ask you! That said, I mean, I know Madarame is a bad person but still...Maybe I'm so hesitant because I haven't actually met any of his victims." Ann sent as Ren and Kusa exchanged a 'is she serious!?' look as Ryuji sent a response.
"Yeah, I guess that part's totally different from what happened with Kamoshida." Ryuji sent.
"I feel like those paintings we saw in that Palace with all of Madarame's pupils, including Kitagawa, would disagree with you not having actually met any of his victims. Or are you not counting Kitagawa as a victim of Madarame?" Kusa sent as Ren and Morgana nodded their agreement of Kusa's response. Ann winced as she sent her response.
"Fair point. I didn't think about Kitagawa as a victim. That said, this might be an extreme line of thinking...But if an evil person isn't causing any trouble now...Is there really a point in us stepping in?" Ann sent, making Kusa, Ren and Morgana exchange surprised looks, conceding that Ann could have a point at that. Ryuji sent a response.
"Well...you got a point. So we're gonna let Yusuke decide if Madarame's worth going after or not? I dunno...If it were me, I'd never forgive that bastard!" Ryuji sent as Joker thought about it before sending a response.
"Can you ask Yusuke for his opinion on this, Ann?" Ren sent as Kusa groaned and sent a response.
"Seriously!? Now you're calling Kitagawa by his first name, Ren!? Jeez, at least Ann is still calling Kitagawa-kun by his last name. So I'm not alone in that." Kusa sent. Ann sent a response right after that.
"Yes, well, have you ever known Ren, Morgana or Ryuji to always care about social customs, Kusa? And kk, got it Ren. I guess we can talk some more about this after that. OK, let's meet in Shibuya after school tomorrow." Ann sent as Kusa tried not to cringe at the textspeak in Ann's response. He then sent a response.
"Fair enough. Provided none of us gets in trouble or has something come up, that should work just fine Ann." Kusa sent as he and Ren put their phones away in time for Sojiro's voice to reach their ears from downstairs.
"Hey...another box came for you." Sojiro said as Ren and Kusa went downstairs to open up the box. Mona spoke up as he saw the contents.
"Ah, this must be that 'Allergy Relief Set' we ordered." Mona said as Kusa spoke up.
"That's a lot of stuff, Ren. Guess you were thinking ahead." Kusa said as Ren nodded. At that point, Kusa gently flopped down on his sofa and pulled his phone back out, deciding to see if Futaba was awake still for a brief text chat while Ren and Morgana sat on Ren's bed as Morgana spoke up.
"Well, since we have stuff to do tomorrow, we should probably hit the hay now." Morgana said as Ren nodded, laying down as Kusa laid back on the sofa, now in the middle of a private chat and only half-listening as he pulled a blanket over himself as Ren got comfortable, Morgana hesitating briefly before padding over and curling up on top of Kusa who looked down briefly before smiling as he gently patted Morgana on the head as he went back to his private chat, being careful to not be too loud with it so Morgana and Ren could sleep. Of course, before Ren could doze off, his phone went off, and he answered it after seeing it was Ryuji.
"Hello?" Ren said as Ryuji spoke up.
"Hey, it's me. I just can't forgive Madarame, but...what Ann said made me think...To Yusuke, are we just a buncha thugs?" Ryuji asked Ren who shrugged.
"I dunno about Kusa or Ann since I don't think he had much of an issue if any with them, but you and I he might see as thugs. But to be honest, I don't know." Ren said. Kusa looked up at hearing his name as Ren mouthed 'on the phone with Ryuji about Kitagawa', getting a nod of understanding from Kusa who went back to his private chat as Ryuji spoke up.
"You don't know either, huh...It ain't like he 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, I-I'm not wrong, am I?" Ryuji asked Ren who thought about Ryuji's words before speaking up.
"You're right, of course. We'll take them down." Ren said. Ryuji smirked as he spoke up, his tone much happier.
"Aww yeah! Don't tell Ann I called you, by the way. Seriously. Well, see you tomorrow." Ryuji said as Ren hung up his phone and laid down, hoping to get some sleep...
(The next day, in class with Ren, Ann and Morgana)
Ren's phone buzzed as he saw he had a group chat with Ryuji, Ann and Kusa.
"All right, I contacted Kitagawa-kun about modeling for him. Still waiting for his response." Ann sent as Ryuji sent a brief response.
"Thanks!" Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response.
"I still think you taking that offer is risky Ann, but if that's what you want, you know we have your back. Luckily for me, Yoshizawa doesn't care if I group chat in class as long as I pay attention to the work and don't fall behind. She's kinda laid-back like that. I think she's mostly doing it to impress you though, Ren." Kusa sent with a smirk as Ren rolled his eyes and sent a response.
"I'm sure she is, Kusa, but now really isn't the time for worrying about our love lives, is it? After all, we still have to ascertain the truth of Madarame and stuff. Besides, you have no room to talk about getting a girl's attention considering how long you were up private chatting last night. I get you and her hit it off Kusa, but you're lucky Yoshizawa lets you sleep in class." Ren sent. Kusa smirked as he sent a response.
"Yes, well, she and I have an agreement. As long as I keep up my marks and do my share of the work, she doesn't mind taking the notes and such for the both of us provided I help her out with things from time to time in exchange, which really is a fair deal I'd say. But back on topic, you were talking to Ryuji too last night so you have no room to yell at me about late-night chatting, Ren." Kusa sent dryly, either ignoring or not caring about both Ren and Ryuji's eyes going comically wide at Kusa's response as Ann sent a response.
"Oh really? Ryuji and Ren talked on the phone, did they? Interesting...Anyways, I really have no idea what I'm supposed to do as an art model though..." Ann sent as both Ryuji and Ren cursed Kusa in their heads for mentioning their phone call like that. Ren then sent a response.
"Just be yourself, Ann. After all, you've got the natural poise, confidence and talent for modelling so why should modelling for a painting be any different?" Ren sent. Ann frowned as she sent a message.
"Your nice compliments aside, that's actually kinda hard..." Ann sent as both Ryuji and Kusa had to stop themselves from making a 'That's what she said!' type joke at that point as the former sent a response.
"Look, you don't gotta go all out for this. You're only doing it so you can get dirt on Madarame, remember?" Ryuji sent as Kusa sent a response.
"Exactly, Ryuji! Besides, I get the feeling poor Morgana might just have his heart break if you DID go all out for Kitagawa-kun." Kusa sent, not aware of Morgana frowning at his response as Ann sent a response.
"That is true, Ryuji. And Kusa, I know Morgana has feelings for me, but not only is he currently in an animal form, he's a he. And really, I think of him as a brother of sorts more than anything anyways, sort of like how you and I see each other as siblings. So he'll just have to accept that he and I will likely never be an item. Sorry for coming off harsh, but it's the truth. That said, it sounded like Kitagawa-kun wants this to be a private picture of his though...Well, I guess I'll let you guys know when he contacts me again." Ann said as Morgana fainted in Ren's bag on reading Ann's rejection of him as Ren put his phone away...
(After school, in the courtyard with Ren, Ryuji, Kusa, Ann and Morgana)
"I got a response from Kitagawa-kun. He said he wants me to come over after school today." Ann said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.
"Perfect! Probably dropped all his plans just to get you over there." Ryuji said with a smirk as Ann spoke up.
"We need to find out from Kitagawa-kun if what we saw in the Palace was true..." Ann said as Morgana's ears reared back as he spoke up quietly.
"Hey, quiet down. It's that student council president." Morgana said as the camera panned to Niijima talking to Mishima as Ryuji spoke up.
"Yikes... She got a hold of Mishima today?" Ryuji said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.
"Not sure if I should be worried about Mishima or worried that Niijima might be pumping him for information." Kusa said uncertainly. Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.
"I'd personally say both, Kusa. That said, it'd suck if she noticed us. C'mon, let's split up." Ryuji said. Ann nodded and spoke up.
"Okay, see you later." Ann said as the group dispersed and moved elsewhere...
(A bit later, in the same unknown area Ryuji and Ren had went to after leaving the Madarame exhibition, with Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Morgana)
"We finally landed a big target. C'mon, let's get some dirt on Madarame. But man, Ann's late." Ryuji said with a smirk on his face as Ann walked up at that moment and spoke up in an apologetic tone.
"Sorry. I was thinking about some things and didn't notice how much time had passed." Ann said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.
"Thinkin' about what?" Ryuji asked as Kusa smirked and spoke up.
"If I had to guess Ryuji, probably trying to steel her nerves over having to possibly model for Kitagawa. That, or she was thinking about Suzui-san for whatever reason." Kusa said teasingly as Ann frowned, lightly slapping Kusa in the arm as she spoke up.
"You hush up, Kusa. And it was the former of those two, if you must know. Don't you think Kitagawa-kun has to be protecting Madarame? I mean they live together, so he'd have to be aware of Madarame's true nature." Ann said as Kusa frowned before speaking up.
"I don't know about that one, Ann. I get the sense that Kitagawa-kun and Madarame don't do literally EVERYTHING together, so it's very possible there're things that Madarame's keeping hidden from Kitagawa-kun, likelier than not to nurture Kitagawa's gratitude to him. After all, can't take ideas from an ungrateful person, can you?" Kusa said sagely. Ryuji and Ren nodded their agreement but Ann spoke up once more before either could say a word.
"You might be right, Kusa. But only Kitagawa-kun could say for sure which of us is right on that. That said, the only reason I can think of him doing that is that Madarame has something on him..." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up.
"Yeah, that's weird. But that's why we're going to check it out, right? You ready to be a model?" Ryuji asked Ann who nodded as she spoke up eventually.
"Yeah, I'm prepared." Ann said as Ryuji scoffed and spoke up.
"Whaddya mean prepared? Prepared for what?" Ryuji asked Ann before turning to Ren as he spoke up.
"Something seem different about her to you?" Ryuji asked Ren who spoke up after a moment.
"Not that I can see, no. But maybe she's dressed differently or something. Unless...did she cut her bangs?" Ren asked as Kusa huffed and spoke up.
"Are you both seriously that stupid? Clearly she means she's ready to get the info we need out of Kitagawa. And as for her seeming different, she might just have more confidence than usual or something. Jeez. At least Morgana and I have enough tact and sense to realize that." Kusa said huffily as Morgana nodded approvingly from Ren's bag. Ryuji smirked at Ren as he spoke up.
"Ooh, nice eye Ren! And also, shuddup Kusa!" Ryuji said as Ann huffed and spoke up.
"I didn't cut them. And Kusa, you're not wrong. But let's leave it at that for now." Ann said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.
'H-Huh. Well... let's get goin'. We gotta talk to Yusuke." Ryuji said as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"Kitagawa-kun seemed really happy when I agreed to be his model. Once he finishes drawing and gets a little friendlier, we should bring up Madarame." Ann suggested as the group nodded and headed to see Kitagawa...
(A bit later, at Kitagawa and Madarame's atelier shack, with Ann, Ryuji, Ren, Kusa, Morgana and Kitagawa)
"I thought it would just be you coming, Takamaki-san." Kitagawa said with a frown as he looked at Ann. Kusa huffed as he spoke up.
"No offense to you Kitagawa, but given how strongly you came off the last time we met, wouldn't it then follow at least a bit that Ann would be reluctant to have more to do with you one-on-one than she has to? Not to mention the fact you were following her for awhile...not the best way to make a first impression if I'm being honest. That said, pay us no mind, as we're only here to give Ann moral support as she models for you." Kusa said politely as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"What he said. Besides, wouldn't you get nervous too Kitagawa, if it was just the two of us?" Ann said as Ryuji spoke up and Ren, Kusa and Morgana, as well as Ann, all groaned at what he said.
"We're here to keep an eye on you, so don't try anything perverted, 'kay?" Ryuji said as Kitagawa frowned and spoke up as he glared at Ryuji.
"Stop making such odd assumptions. I have absolutely no interest in her as someone of the opposite sex." Kitagawa said as both Ren and Kusa blinked and the former spoke up, but not before Ann briefly spoke up.
"Huh?" Ann said in surprise as Kitagawa spoke up.
"Is there a problem?" Kitagawa asked. Kusa chose that moment to speak up.
"You mean besides the fact that you basically just said you have no interest in Takamaki as a woman? Which for the record, if you just came out to us like I think you did, more power to you. None of us judge people who make that sort of life choice. But just so we're all clear, none of us swing that way. Just putting that out there right now." Kusa said politely as Ren and Ryuji nodded agreement even as the former smirked and spoke up.
"Then again, maybe Kitagawa here just meant he has no romantic interest in Ann specifically which if so is probably just as well." Ren said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.
"Exactly. Saves Takamaki having to turn him down later for not being the right gender for her." Ryuji joked as both Ann and Kusa's eyes went wide as the former huffed and the latter lightly slugged Ryuji on the arm.
"RYUJI!" Ann and Kusa both rebuked Ryuji in unison, making Ren, Morgana and Kitagawa blink.
"Wait, Takamaki-san isn't into men? That's news to me...but it's irrelevant as long as she models." Kitagawa said with a shrug as Ann spoke up.
"Fair enough. And to your original question of if there's a problem Kitagawa-kun, no, not really." Ann said as she took a seat and Kitagawa did the same before speaking up.
"Well then, let's get started." Kitagawa said as he started drawing. Ann then spoke up.
"Hey. Kitagawa-kun?" Ann said, still holding her pose as she modeled. Kitagawa didn't say much, he was so immersed in his work. Ryuji blinked and spoke up.
"You hear her?" Ryuji asked Kitagawa as Kusa huffed at Ryuji and spoke up.
"Clearly not. He's immersed in his work. And honestly I can relate, as I get in that deep of a focused mindset too at times when I'm chatting or reading. At times like that, it's best to let him work." Kusa said sagely as he leaned back and got comfortable while Kitagawa worked. Kitagawa idly gave Kusa an appreciative nod, but otherwise made no move to answer Ryuji or Ann as he kept working. Ann spoke up again at that point, making Kusa blink at what she said.
"It's no use." Ann said as Morgana spoke up in surprise.
"This isn't what we planned! We were gonna catch him off-guard and make him spill his beans, weren't we?" Morgana said as Kusa spoke up again.
"With all due respect Morgana-sensei, if we were gonna do that, we should've let Ann come in here alone and stood watch outside or something so Kitagawa could feel like he had some semblance of privacy with Ann while we could be able to jump in at a moment's notice should it be needed. As it stands, he's probably more on-guard than usual if anything." Kusa said with a shrug. Ryuji blinked as he spoke up.
"How were we supposed to know this was gonna happen?" Ryuji asked as Ren shrugged before Ryuji kept speaking up.
"Guess we just gotta wait 'til he's done...What an effin' pain in the ass..." Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up.
"Perhaps I should try going outside this room..." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa exchanged a look and nodded before Ren spoke up.
"I'm not sure why you want to do that, but go for it. Just don't get caught." Ren said as Kusa nodded his agreement of Ren's statement. Morgana chuckled as he spoke up.
"Heh, who do you think you're talking to?" Morgana said as he kept speaking up with a shrug.
"This is too boring. I'm going to scout around a bit." Morgana said as he left the room and looked around, blinking as he noticed a door.
'It's weird how flashy that door is...And...is that a lock? A door with a hefty lock...What could be in there?' Morgana thought to himself...
(Back with Kitagawa, Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Ann)
Kitagawa 'hmm'ed to himself as Ryuji spoke up.
"Are you done?" Ryuji said as Kusa frowned at Ryuji.
"Does he LOOK like he's done?" Kusa said with a frown as Kitagawa spoke up.
"it's no good..." Kitagawa said to the others as they all blinked. Ryuji of course spoke up.
"What?" Ryuji said as Ann looked at Kitagawa and spoke up.
"I'm sorry...Am I the problem?" Ann asked as Kitagawa looked at her and spoke up.
"No, not at all. It's just..." Kitagawa said as Kusa gave him an almost sympathetic look as he spoke up.
"...Just that you don't work that well around a crowd, and having myself, Ren and Ryuji here makes your job harder. Is that it?" Kusa asked gently. Kitagawa looked at Kusa and spoke up once more.
"No, it's not that either, Amamiya the younger, but I appreciate your consideration. No, I'm having trouble staying focused today. I'm sorry, but we'll have to resume this another time..." Kitagawa said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up before either Ren or Kusa could stop him.
"Oh hell no! How many hours do you think you made us wait!?" Ryuji asked as Ren and Kusa groaned at Ryuji's tactless remark as they stood next to Ann as she spoke up.
"I'm sorry...We had another reason for seeing you today...We needed to talk to you." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up before Ren or Kusa could try to explain things in a more delicate way.
"It's about those rumors regarding your sensei." Ryuji said as Kitagawa frowned and spoke up not seeing Ren and Kusa glaring at Ryuji as he spoke.
"This again..." Kitagawa said as Ann spoke up and changed the subject.
"That painting I saw at the exhibit...You're the one who actually painted it, right?" Ann asked Kitagawa who winced at the question and spoke up.
"That's..." Kitagawa said as Ann spoke up once more.
"I knew it." Ann said as Ryuji once again spoke up before Ren or Kusa could comment, getting another glare from them for his efforts.
"Your sensei's seriously messed up. He just thinks of his pupils as tools. That's why he doesn't give a damn whether he steals their work or physically beats them. I'll make this clear, there's no point in hidin' stuff from us." Ryuji said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.
"RYUJI! Ignore him, Kitagawa. While it IS true we're here to get your side of things about your Sensei, we were NOT here to come out and hurl allegations about him at you. So pay Ryuji no mind. We merely wanted to make sure we weren't unfairly judging your Sensei for things." Kusa said, hoping to soothe Kitagawa a bit after Ryuji's blunt remarks. Kitagawa huffed at Ryuji as he spoke up.
"Hahaha...I have no idea what you're talking about..." Kitagawa said as Ann spoke up in what she hoped was a kind, gentle tone.
"You couldn't go against him, could you? I'm sure we can help you out though..." Ann said. Kitagawa frowned at Ann and Ryuji as he spoke up.
"Stop it...It's just as you all say. We're all our sensei's 'artwork'." Kitagawa said as Ren, Ryuji and Ann all blinked at him while Kusa merely gave him an understanding nod, knowing that feeling too well given how he thinks of Morgana as his 'Sensei'. Kitagawa kept speaking as if he hadn't noticed their reactions, though.
"Don't misunderstand me though. I offered my ideas to him myself. As such, it can't be called plagiarism. Sensei is simply suffering from artist's block right now." Kitagawa said and as Kusa was going to make a sympathetic comment and ask how long he'd been suffering from it, Ryuji cut in and spoke up.
"Dude, still..." Ryuji said as Kitagawa glared at Ryuji. Ann saw this and spoke up.
"Kitagawa-kun..." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up once more in his usual blunt way, his anger starting to simmer.
"Then why're you sticking around!? All his other pupils ran away! Aren't you the only one left!?" Ryuji said as Kitagawa growled at Ryuji and spoke up.
"What's wrong with a pupil helping out his master!?" Kitagawa asked as Kusa spoke up at that point.
"Nothing, if the Master is good and worthy of said help. And given what's been said about your master, these rumors do raise some legitimate questions. And I'm hoping they prove to be false and not a cause for alarm for your sake, since if they're true, you could be in danger Kitagawa-kun. And as much as you might be eccentric and stubborn, you seem like a good guy with a strong sense of loyalty which I can respect. So I'd hate to see something happen to you if it could at all be avoided.
So try to understand, we're only asking about these rumors out of worry for you, since I can respect you having a deep-seeded and strong respect and affection of sorts for your Sensei, but take care not to let it blind you to the truth. But I won't try to press the point more than that since I can see you're getting agitated and trying to reason with an agitated person never ends well, for anyone involved." Kusa said sagely, giving Kitagawa a small nod of respect. Kitagawa smiled at Kusa, then glared at Ryuji as he kept speaking.
"I appreciate what you're trying to say, Amamiya the younger! But still, there are no victims here! Stop pushing your self-centered righteousness on me!" Kitagawa said as Ren frowned and spoke up.
"You're okay with this, Kitagawa? I mean, sure, Madarame's a good and caring Sensei to you now, but what happens if that suddenly changes out of nowhere!? Do you have a contingency plan in place if that does happen? Or are you just holding out hope he never kicks you out?" Ren said to Kitagawa. Kitagawa blinked at Ren before grunting as he spoke up.
"I'm supporting Sensei as his pupil. Where's the wrong in that?" Kitagawa said as he sat down and kept speaking before Kusa could reply.
"Amamiya the younger and Takamaki, I appreciate your concern, but even so your friends are out of line. So as such...Amamiya the elder and Sakamoto, don't ever come here again. If you do, I'll sue you for causing a disturbance." Kitagawa said, sitting down as Ryuji frowned and spoke up.
"Hold it! We're not done talkin' here!" Ryuji said angrily. Kitagawa glared at Ryuji as he got to his feet once more and spoke up.
"Then you leave me with no choice..." Kitagawa said as he took out his phone making Ryuji wince as he spoke up.
"Hey!" Ryuji said as Kitagawa glared at Ryuji and Ren as he spoke up.
"I'm reporting you two to the police!" Kitagawa said as everyone's eyes went wide in shock at this. Kusa sputtered before speaking up.
"I can see you reporting Ryuji, but Ren!? He stopped talking when you asked him to. So do you really need to punish him for Ryuji's stubborn and tactless antics?" Kusa said soothingly to Kitagawa, not wanting to see Ren get into trouble. Kitagawa nodded respectfully to Kusa as he spoke up.
"I asked Takamaki-san to be my model today, but I don't recall every calling you three here!" Kitagawa said as Kusa spoke up.
"You didn't, that's true. But Ann asked us to come with her for support since she was uncomfortable about being alone. Granted, we could've waited outside or something but stayed nearby to give you two privacy to some extent, but she's our friend and we're not going to let her be afraid if she doesn't have to be. And before you protest, I know you mean no ill will towards her, but the way you made your first impression paints a very different, and unfortunately for you, not very flattering picture of you.
Granted, I can see now you were just trying to pursue a stroke of inspiration, but surely you could've just called out to her or something rather than follow her. Or failing that, you could've asked your Sensei to give her tickets to the exhibition so you could speak to her there and properly explain things.
Ann here is really a very reasonable person, but when her first impression of someone is a creepy person who follows them places, that's a hard impression to break. Ask Ren here how much he knows about being labeled. He'll tell you if you mess up it can haunt you for quite some time. So really, it kind of is your own fault for making a bad first impression, Kitagawa-kun. That said, if you want us to go, we'll go. We're not trying to make an enemy of you here. It might not seem like it, but we're trying to look out for you." Kusa said to Kitagawa, who looked at him, seemingly contemplating Kusa's words, when of course Ryuji spoke up angrily once more.
"What the eff, man!?" Ryuji said angrily as Ann and Kusa glared at Ryuji, the former speaking up as the latter kept trying to placate Kitagawa.
"Ryuji! Stop it!" Ann rebuked Ryuji as she turned to Kitagawa.
"Calm down, okay?" Ann said to Kitagawa as Ryuji kicked his foot lightly against the ground.
"Dammit!" Ryuji said as Kitagawa spoke up, giving Kusa a grateful nod for his words as he spoke up.
"I won't report the two of you...but only under one condition." Kitagawa said as Ann spoke up.
"What's that?" Ann asked Kitagawa, and when he spoke up, his words made Ren and Kusa both wince at his word choice.
"I want you to continue being my model, Takamaki-san." Kitagawa said as Ann frowned and spoke up.
"But you said it wasn't working out today..." Ann said as Kitagawa hesitated before speaking up.
"That's because I was unconsciously being modest for your sake...However, I have nothing to worry about anymore. If you're willing to bare everything to me...I will put my heart and soul into creating the best nude painting ever!" Kitagawa said as Kusa and Ryuji's eyes, along with Ren's, got comically wide as all three shouted at the same time.
"WHAT!?" Ren, Ryuji and Kusa all yelped at the same time in surprise at Kitagawa's declaration. Kusa then frowned and spoke up.
"Is escalating things like that really necessary, Kitagawa-kun? I know Ryuji came at you in a pretty harsh manner, but Ann didn't do a thing to you! So why up the ante by asking her to model in the nude!? I mean sure, it's her choice if she does it or not, but at the same time, she's been through some fucked up stuff recently so I can't say I'd blame her if she refused on principle." Kusa said with a frown at the same time that Ann spoke up in shock, her eyes also wide.
"NUDE!?" Ann asked as Kitagawa actually seemed to smile as he spoke up, making Kusa frown at what he said.
"Ah, to think I'd be able to create a nude painting with my most ideal model!" Kitagawa said as he turned to Ren and Ryuji.
"Of course, you two won't be allowed in, and I ask that you forget about our discussion today, as well. As for you Amamiya the younger, you can accompany Takamaki here if she insists on not being alone, BUT you have to wait outside while she models since as you said it might work better if she has a modicum of privacy. That said, if I don't submit a new piece to Sensei soon, there will be some...inconveniences." Kitagawa said as Ann and Kusa frowned and the former spoke up.
"Nude, meaning it'll be without any clothes, right!? Why are things suddenly escalating like this!?" Ann asked as Kitagawa smirked as he spoke up.
"Because those are my terms." Kitagawa said as Ann huffed and spoke up.
"But that's-" Ann said as Ryuji cut her off by speaking up in confusion.
"Wait, ain't that bad!?" Ryuji asked as Kitagawa smiled and spoke up, looking at Ann as he spoke.
"Sensei is out during the afternoon while the art exhibit is on, so I can use this place freely...I should buy more art supplies..." Kitagawa said as Ann spoke up.
"Will you give me a second here!?" Ann asked as Kitagawa sputtered but nodded as he spoke up.
"Of course, I'm willing to wait. I'll make time according to your plans. But, please come before the exhibit ends." Kitagawa said as Kusa spoke up with a frown.
"Let me say for the record that it's ultimately Ann's choice on if she agrees to your terms or not, but in my opinion I think you're being a bit unreasonable just to stick it to Ryuji. I can understand you being mad at him for before, but is it fair to then take that out on Ann like this!? Naturally, if she agrees to this, I will agree to wait outside while accompanying her, since, and I say this with all respect, there's no fucking chance in hell I let someone I good as consider a sister of sorts do something like this on her own. The only reason I'm not fighting you over that right now, Kitagawa-kun, is because as you say, those are your terms, and because this is your house." Kusa said firmly but fairly as Ann sputtered and spoke up.
"No! That's not what I mean! Why are you not listening!?" Ann said as Kitagawa spoke up..
"Sensei will be returning home soon. We're done for today. Takamaki-san, I'll be waiting for you to contact me." Kitagawa said as Ann sputtered and spoke up.
"No no no! We are NOT done talking here!" Ann said as Kitagawa turned away and sat on the nearby bench, refusing to look at or speak to anyone apart from giving Kusa a curt nod and speaking up briefly.
"I appreciate your being protective of Takamaki-san, Amamiya the younger, but this is the best way I can see to restore my honor after Sakamoto there impugned it with his slanderous allegations! And if we're being technical here, you also cast aspersions on me earlier when you suggested I might be into men! Let me make it clear right now, I am very much into women! I might not like anyone right now, but I am very much straight, so please never suggest otherwise again." Kitagawa said curtly as Kusa winced and nodded.
"I understand. My apologies for unintentionally slighting you when I said that, Kitagawa. I meant no offense at all when I said it. If anything, that's my fault for misinterpreting you previously when you said you had no interest in Ann as someone of the opposite gender." Kusa said apologetically as Kitagawa nodded and smiled.
"Apology accepted. At least you're decent enough to own up to your mistakes, Amamiya the younger. That said, good day." Kitagawa said as he turned away and stopped talking. Ryuji then looked at Ren as he spoke up.
"Hey...What should we do?" Ryuji asked Ren who shrugged as he spoke up.
"I don't know, Ryuji. But I think for now, we have to leave. We're lucky Kusa and Ann talked him out of calling the cops on us." Ren said. Ryuji nodded in agreement as he spoke up.
"Yeah...Dammit. He got us good this time." Ryuji said as Ann turned to Ryuji and Ren and pouted as she spoke up.
"Don't give up so easily!" Ann said in protest as Ren and Ryuji shook their heads as they turned to leave right as Morgana padded up to them and spoke up.
"Huh? Is she done being a model?" Morgana asked as Kusa gently lifted him up and set him on his shoulder before speaking up so only he could hear.
"Yes and no, Morgana. I'll explain later. For now, we're leaving since Kitagawa requested we leave. I'll fill you in more later." Kusa said as Morgana nodded. Kitagawa frowned as he spoke up in surprise.
"A cat?" Kitagawa said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up in a hiss.
"You moron!" Ryuji said as Kusa frowned and glared at Ryuji.
"Not now, Ryuji. We're supposed to be leaving. Besides, we don't want Kitagawa mistaking that for you calling him names. Now let's go." Kusa said with a glare as Ryuji nodded, before grabbing up Morgana by the neck and shoving him into Ren's bag, getting a loud 'MRAOW!?' from Morgana as he did so and a huge stink eye from Kusa.
(Outside the atelier, with Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Ren and Kusa)
"He's totally out of his mind! I'm gonna have to pose nude if this keeps up!" Ann said as Morgana frowned and spoke up from inside of Ren's bag.
"How dare that Yusuke...!" Morgana said as Kusa frowned as he nodded his agreement while cuffing Ryuji hard upside the back of the head making Ryuji glare at him.
"OW! The hell was that for, Kusa!?" Ryuji asked as Kusa glared and spoke up.
"Firstly, for being such a freaking dumbass back there! Secondly, it's YOUR fault Ann's in the situation she's in since YOU couldn't keep your damn mouth shut AND pissed him off with your remarks. I was on track to calming him and you kept undoing my efforts with your idiot remarks.
Not to mention the fact you manhandled poor Morgana into that bag when he was perfectly content riding shotgun on my shoulder!" Kusa said huffily, taking care to keep his voice down so only the group could hear. Ryuji shrugged and spoke up, giving his best contrite expression as he saw the angry look on Kusa's face.
"Crap, you're right. My bad. But back on topic, the way he said it, it's not gonna be semi, but full-on nude..." Ryuji said, making Morgana blanch and sputter incoherently as he spoke up.
"F-Fu- F-F-Full nudity? Lady Ann's gonna..." Morgana said, looking ready to faint again as Ann glared at Morgana and spoke up.
"Drop it!" Ann said to Morgana as Ryuji spoke up.
"You know, you won't have to worry about that if we make Madarame confess before the exhibit ends." Ryuji said as Ann frowned and spoke up.
"But Kitagawa-kun thinks he owes his life to him. Is there a need to make Madarame confess?" Ann asked as Morgana spoke up, having found his voice a bit more.
"Then, Lady Ann... you're fine with baring it all? OW!" Morgana said, the 'OW!' being a result of Ann very subtly flicking the back of Morgana's head in annoyance before she and Kusa glared as they both yelled at Morgana in unison, but at a low level.
"I AM/SHE IS NOT!" Ann and Kusa scolded Morgana in unison, blinking as Ren and Ryuji chuckled at the unintentional synchronicity between the two. Ryuji then spoke up with a huff.
"Madarame's no different than Kamoshida. That asshole's usin' Yusuke, who doesn't have parents. You're tellin' me we should just ignore how he's bein' treated horribly like the other pupils?" Ryuji asked as Ann frowned and spoke up.
"No...It is frustrating to leave this alone, even if Kitagawa-kun is fine with it himself..." Ann said, trailing off as Morgana frowned but spoke up in an understanding tone.
"You can't leave it be because you've endured a lot yourself, with Kamoshida." Morgana said as Kusa and Ann nodded approvingly before the latter spoke up.
"Yeah." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.
"Anyways, we gotta go after this guy. Madarame's the kind of target we've been waitin' for. Let's help Yusuke come to his senses too...before he ends up like us." Ryuji said as Ann nodded in agreement as she spoke up.
"Right." Ann said as Morgana spoke up.
"We need to look into Madarame first." Morgana said as Ryuji nodded as he spoke up.
"There might be tons more stuff that hasn't been exposed yet, too." Ryuji said as Morgana nodded and spoke up.
"It may become easier for us to investigate his Palace if he's preoccupied with his exhibit." Morgana said as Ann gulped before speaking up.
"Also, there's the thing about me modeling! Kitagawa-kun said there'd be 'inconveniences' unless he submits a new piece. Maybe that's going to be announced soon as Madarame's next work..." Ann said as Ryuji spoke up, and his words had both Ann and Kusa frowning at him.
"Does that mean the whole country's gonna see you nude!?" Ryuji asked as Kusa glared and spoke up.
"First of all, lower your volume, dude! Secondly, no it doesn't! It means we have to try and change Madarame's heart ASAP. AND keep Ann from having to model for Kitagawa-kun unless she wants to." Kusa said with a frown. Ren then spoke up.
"Not necessarily. Like Kusa said, if we can change Madarame's heart fast enough, the modelling will become hopefully unnecessary." Ren said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.
"Oh yeah. It might not show your face." Ryuji said as Ann and Kusa both glared at him and spoke up.
"Not helping, Ryuji! Also not funny!" Kusa huffed as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"Not to mention that doesn't make me feel any better about it!" Ann said huffily. Morgana nodded as he spoke up in a determined voice.
"We must deal with Madarame, no matter what, before his exhibit ends!" Morgana said as Ryuji nodded, swinging his arm around to limber up as he spoke.
"Let's start after school tomorrow." Ryuji said as Kusa nodded.
"Fair enough, after school tomorrow it is, provided none of us gets themselves into trouble so that they can't come." Kusa said, giving Ren and Ryuji pointed glares as he spoke.
"Fine. That said...Oh, right. It'll be a pain if Miss President finds us on the rooftop again, so where to meet up...Let's see...I guess that walkway-like place in Shibuya would work. it's near Madarame's place, too." Ryuji said as Morgana smiled approvingly and spoke up.
"Ah...Changing our hideout periodically, huh? That's a plan I don't mind backing." Morgana said as the group agreed to move their hideout from the Shujin Academy Rooftop to the Shibuya Teikyu Building Accessway. Right around that point, a woman walked up to the group, making Ryuji and Kusa wince at how plainly the woman was dressed.
She wore a pair of black and red sunglasses that were barely visible in her equally black hair that she wore in a bowl cut thanks to the neon red lenses, a black and red shirt with a long white undershirt, blue jeans, a purple and black fanny pack with water bottles on it and basic shoes along with a camera on a strap around her neck. She looked Ren in the eyes as she spoke, her dark brown eyes and bright red lips catching the group's attention as she spoke up.
"Hey, can I talk to you kids for a sec?" The woman asked as Ryuji blinked, crossed his arms and turned to the woman as he spoke up.
"Huh?" Ryuji asked as the woman spoke up at that point.
"From the looks of things, you don't seem like the ordinary, stalking fans." The woman said as Kusa and Ann blinked as Ann spoke up.
"Uh..." Ann said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.
"Ordinary, stalking fans? Madarame has fans that stalk him?" Kusa asked in surprise. The woman chuckled at Kusa's question before speaking up.
"Yes, he does. But I'm sorry, I should've been more clear. I'm actually looking for people that know Madarame's pupils. There's this painting, 'Sayuri', that was supposedly stolen in the past. But there's this rumor it was taken by one of his pupils in retaliation for being abused. Have you heard anything about that?" The woman asked the group as Ren spoke up eventually.
"We don't know that much about art, but where it comes to Madarame rumors, Ryuji here's probably your best bet since he's done the most research on the guy out of us all." Ren said as Kusa smirked at the subtle paybacks Ren was getting on Ryuji for screwing up their plan to get info out of Kitagawa. Ryuji blinked at being mentioned by Ren and spoke up.
"Me!? I don't know nothing!" Ryuji asked as both Kusa and Morgana had to stifle laughter at the look on his face. The woman sighed and shook her head.
"I see...There's no case unless there's a victim, and if there's no proof of abuse... I can't write either. Looks like I'm back to square one. Sorry for taking your time." The woman said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.
"Don't worry about it. If nothing else, you gave us a good laugh just now when Ren here mentioned Ryuji knowing stuff on Madarame. Besides, you gave us some good info we weren't aware of so if anything you helped us out. So thank you, ma'am." Kusa said politely. The woman nodded to Kusa's words before walking up and giving Ren one of her business cards.
"I'm a journalist. If you ever get any leads, mind contacting me here?" The woman said to Ren as she handed him a card and smiled while speaking up.
"See you then." The woman said as she turned around and walked off, leaving the group to blink as Ryuji spoke up.
"I guess we should go home for today." Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa nodded, and the group dispersed for the night...
(Back at Leblanc with Ren, Morgana and Kusa)
"Ugh, whatever, I still can't forgive him! Demanding to paint Lady Ann nude, then claiming to report us to the police..." Morgana said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up.
"I think you mean 'threatening to report us to the police', Morgana-sensei, not 'claiming to report us to the police.'" Kusa gently corrected Morgana as he gave him some comforting pets to relax him as Ren's phone rang and he answered it.
"Hello?" Ren said as Kusa got the hint and took Morgana out of the room after making sure Sojiro was gone for the evening so he wouldn't get chewed out for having Morgana out.
"Hey, it's me. Got a minute? I have some interesting news." Mishima's voice answered Ren, to his surprise. Ren then spoke up.
"Interesting news you say? Do tell." Ren said as Mishima spoke up once more.
"Someone who received a change of heart contacted me on the Phan-Site. Said he wants to meet with you to discuss another person who needs a change of heart." Mishima said as Ren blinked and then spoke up.
"Why me specifically?" Ren asked. Mishima chuckled as he spoke up.
"You're better off talking to him in person if you want specifics. All I know is his target is a terrible person...And that it might complicate things if he posted the name online." Mishima said as Ren blinked and spoke up.
"I...see. Very well, I'll meet with this person. Did he leave a time or place to meet up?" Ren asked Mishima who spoke up.
"I'll have him wait for you at Shibuya Station after school. The guy's name is Nakanohara." Mishima said as Morgana spoke up, having gotten curious when he heard Ren mentioning a change of heart and stuff.
"Nakanohara...That's Madarame's student." Morgana said as Ren hushed him and spoke up.
"Nakanohara, eh? I see. I'll be waiting at Shibuya Station after school then." Ren said as Mishima kept speaking.
"Very well. I told him to approach you. Good luck." Mishima said as Ren hung up the phone, only for a group text to come in right at that moment with Ryuji and Ann. Kusa walked back upstairs at that moment as the two checked the group chat.
"I found out something insane about Madarame. Sounds like a student of his offed himself when he couldn't speak up about Madarame stealing his work." Ryuji sent, making Kusa and Ren's eyes go wide as Ren sent a response.
"No freaking way...Is that true?" Ren sent as Kusa sent a response of his own.
"Regardless, Madarame is scum. This much we've agreed on." Kusa sent. Ann then sent a response.
"That journalist was looking into Madarame too. It could be real." Ann sent. Kusa and Ren winced as Ryuji sent a response.
"Someone died though. No one's talking about it...I bet it was covered up." Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.
"I wonder if Kitagawa-kun has heard anything...It'd be great if he could help us out." Ann sent. Kusa frowned as he sent a response.
"Perhaps, but would he want to help us out given how mad Ryuji got Kitagawa-kun at not only himself, but at Ren as well? I feel like something like that might make him less apt to want to work with us." Kusa sent. Ryuji nodded and sent a response.
"Exactly! Ain't that asking a bit much? After today, he's prolly gonna be on edge around us." Ryuji sent as Ren and Kusa sent responses.
"You mean around you and Ren, Ryuji! And you have no one to blame for that but yourself." Kusa sent as Ren sent a response.
"Be fair, Kusa. We all somewhat set him off by being there aside from Ann." Ren sent. Kusa and Ryuji sent responses.
"Okay, I'll give you that one, Ren. That's a fair point." Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a response.
"True. Well anyway, Madarame's still a piece of crap! Let's meet up tomorrow. It'll be our first time at the new hideout." Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response.
"It's that passageway in Shibuya, right? Got it. See you guys tomorrow." Ann sent as Ren and Kusa put their phones away after signing off. Morgana then spoke up.
"If the rumor Ryuji just spoke of is true, there have to be other victims..." Morgana said as Ren nodded and turned to Kusa who spoke up.
"If you're about to yell at me for how I handled things earlier, don't. I know I screwed up by losing my temper at Ryuji, but he had it coming after he not only cost us a chance to get info out of Kitagawa, but also put hands on Morgana-sensei and hurt him! I heard him crying out in pain as Ryuji shoved him into your bag, Ren! How dare he!?" Kusa said angrily but in a low voice. Ren smiled as he spoke up.
"I was actually going to apologize for not speaking up more today, but since you brought it up, yes you did mess up. But I wasn't going to call you on it." Ren said as Kusa huffed but spoke up.
"Fair enough. And apology accepted, Ren. I know you were just trying to keep a cool head and keep out of trouble, which is ANOTHER thing that pissed me off about today, was Kitagawa threatening to report you to the cops when all you did was provide Ann with moral support like the rest of us, and you didn't even say anything rude or mean. I can see him making that threat to Ryuji since he would've way brought it upon himself.
But you? I draw the line at my family being threatened! And Ren, even if you are a bit of an insufferable moron some of the time, you are still my older brother, and when all is said and done, I'm always going to have my family's back! Never doubt that Ren." Kusa said as Ren nodded and simply pulled Kusa into a one-armed hug before speaking up, ignoring the surprised expression on Kusa's face at his gesture as he spoke.
"Thanks, little bro. I appreciate that. And I'm sure Morgana appreciates how protective you are of him. To be honest, in a way, Morgana's kind of also become like a surrogate brother of sorts to us, but especially to you. I'm surprised at how quickly you can get attached to people, Kusa. Just so you know, if you ever decide to pursue anything with that girl you keep messaging, she's going to be very lucky to have you in her life since you're one of the most supportive and caring people I know." Ren said as Kusa smiled before speaking up.
"First of all, whether or not I pursue things with her at some point is for her and I alone to decide, not you, Ren! Secondly, I won't deny that she is cute from the pictures I've seen of her, but I get the sense she's not in the right mind space for anything more than friendship at this point. Maybe a ways down the line if she manages to come out of her shell, I might speak to her about it, but until then, I'm going to be content just being there for her in whatever capacity she wants me to be.
No matter what, even if that capacity should happen to be as just a friend or as a close confidant, I'll be there for her. And in any case, you have no room to lecture me on my love life, Mr. 'keeps my crush at arm's length', since you've yet to even speak more than a few words to Yoshizawa. And yes I know about your run-in with her in front of Maruki's office. But that's just one instance.
If you want me to consider a love life, you have to do the same Ren. Even if it's not until after we deal with that jackass Madarame, you have to at least try to get to know her. If you do that, then I'll think about getting closer to Futaba. Fair enough?" Kusa said to Ren who thought about it before sticking a hand out.
"Fair enough. Are we agreed? I make an effort to get closer to Yoshizawa, and in turn you start reaching out more to Futaba?" Ren said as Kusa nodded, shaking Ren's hand to seal the agreement between the two.
"Agreed. It seems we have another pact, brother. Pleasure doing business with you." Kusa joked as Ren chuckled, feeling his bond with Kusa increase. At that point, the 'World' card appeared in his mind's eye, the 'II' becoming a 'III' to signify his World Confidant reaching Rank 3, and with that rank up came the ability 'Financial Savvy', which enabled Kusa to up the amount of yen dropped by Shadows after a fight by 10%. After that the brothers smiled at one another.
"I suppose we should get to bed eventually. After all, we have a busy day tomorrow." Ren said as Kusa nodded before the duo went to bed after Ren made more lockpicks...
(The next day, after school with Ren and Morgana)
"Don't forget: From today on, our hideout's going to be at the Shibuya passageway. Oh, that reminds me...Mishima said Nakanohara should be in Shibuya too." Morgana said as Ren nodded and headed to the hideout...
(At the station with Ren, Kusa, Ann, Ryuji and Morgana)
"Yo." Ryuji said by way of greeting. Ann spoke up with a smile.
"We're about to head to the hideout too." Ann said before blinking and turning to her left as she kept speaking.
"Who's that?" Ann asked as a man in a suit approached the group, Kusa frowning as he saw the man, but said nothing as the man spoke up.
"Excuse me..." The man said as Morgana spoke up.
"That's Nakanohara. Mishima told us to meet him here in Shibuya today." Morgana said as Ryuji blinked and spoke up.
"For real?" Ryuji asked as the man in a suit spoke up once more, acting as if he hadn't heard a word the group just said.
"My name is Nakanohara. Natsuhiko Nakanohara, the one who was posted about on the Phantom Aficionado Website." The now-named Nakanohara said as Ann smiled and spoke up.
"He seems pretty nice. Doesn't seem like the stalker type. I think the change of heart must've worked." Ann said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.
"It would seem so, Ann." Kusa said as Nakanohara spoke up.
"The administrator of that website contacted me...They told me to look for someone in a Shujin uniform with a cat..." Nakanohara said as Kusa frowned, but Ren shook his head to stop Kusa from correcting Nakanohara on calling Morgana a cat. Ryuji spoke up while Ren and Kusa were staring each other down.
"So? Whaddya want?" Ryuji asked as Nakanohara spoke up in a very businesslike manner.
"You may have already heard, but there's someone I wish to trigger a change of heart in. ...An artist by the name of Madarame." Nakanohara said as the group blinked at this before Ryuji gasped and spoke up.
"Ooh, you think this is it? Is the pupil gonna confess his master's secrets?" Ryuji asked as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"His Shadow did mention Madarame as well..." Ann said as Nakanohara spoke up.
"I'm one of Madarame's former pupils. He gave me lodging at his home, where I thought only about art. I genuinely wanted to be an artist...There was another pupil as well. A very talented man, multiple years my senior. Obviously, Madarame kept tabs on him. Everything he made was claimed as a Madrame original. He wasn't the only victim though..." Nakanohara said as Ryuji smiled and spoke up.
"All right, we got some real proof of the plagiarism." Ryuji said as Nakanohara kept speaking.
"In response to Madrame's actions...that senior pupil committed suicide." Nakanohara said as Ann blinked at this while speaking up.
"Suicide..." Ann said in surprise as Nakanohara nodded and kept speaking up.
"He must have been unable to bear seeing his work praised under Madarame's name. That was when I disobeyed Madarame's orders and left. But he quickly pressured other parts of the art world, and my life as a painter was destroyed. I tried to turn over a new leaf working at a ward office...but it was no use. My attachment to art warped my emotions. Soon I began getting attached to everything. In the end, I even turned into a stalker...Ha...Haha...I'd like to ask again. Please, make Madarame have a change of heart. Not only for me. It's...to save the life of another man as well." Nakanohara said as Ren and Kusa frowned as they both spoke up.
"Save their life!?" Kusa questioned in shock as Ren spoke up.
"What do you mean by that?" Ren asked as Nakanohara spoke up.
"Even now, there is still one young man remaining under Madarame's tutelage. I think he's about your age." Nakanohara said as Morgana spoke up.
"That has to be Yusuke." Morgana said as the group blinked before Nakanohara continued speaking.
"Not only is he a talented artist, he also owes Madarame for taking him in after his mother passed...He is the perfect target." Nakanohara said. Ryuji gritted his teeth and spoke up at that point, feeling bad for his outburst the day before.
"So he's got no choice but to listen!" Ryuji said as Nakanohara nodded before speaking up again.
"I actually spoke to him a few times, back when I was still living at Madarame's. I asked him if he found it painful to stay with Madarame...and do you know what he said? 'If I could leave, I would...'" Nakanohara said as Ann and Kusa both winced before Ann spoke up and voiced both their thoughts in a single sentence.
"Kitagawa-kun..." Ann said as Nakanohara spoke up once more.
"I have no right to say this given my prior cowardice, but I don't want to see another suicide! I'd like to find a way to save this young man. He has a bright future ahead of him...Please consider that when thinking about changing Madarame's heart." Nakanohara said as he nodded before walking off, leaving the group to gape as he left. After he was gone, Morgana spoke up from inside of Kusa's bag.
"We've been asked to act directly on behalf of one of Madarame's victims. It sounds like we don't have the time to deliberate whether or not to change Madarame's heart." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren looked at each other and both spoke up.
"You're right, Morgana-sensei. We don't have the luxury of time in this case. Kitagawa-kun's life could be on the line as we speak. So I think the only thing left to decide is when we go back into that Palace!" Kusa said firmly but resolutely as Ren nodded and spoke up.
"I agree. Let's save Yusuke." Ren said, and it was a testament to how serious things were that Kusa ignored Ren calling Kitagawa by his first name. Ryuji nodded his agreement as he spoke up.
"Hell yeah! Madarame's just a piece of shit who preys on the weak!" Ryuji said as Ann spoke up, still shocked at what Nakanohara had said.
"Suicide...I'll never let something like that happen! Plus, we finally got to hear how Kitagawa-kun really feels!" Ann said as Kusa spoke up.
"True, but keep in mind he might try to deny saying that if we were to ask him about it, so maybe we don't confront him about it until after we change Madarame's heart if we can help it?" Kusa suggested as Ren, Ryuji and Morgana nodded and the latter spoke up.
"Well, since we've reached a unanimous decision, how about we continue this at our new hideout?" Morgana suggested as the group nodded...
(At the accessway/passageway, with Ryuji, Morgana, Ann, Ren and Kusa)
"My fellow thieves, welcome to our new hideout! Our target this time is Madarame! We all saw that Palace. We'll pay dearly if we assume it's just going to be like the last one. And furthermore...Lady Ann's chastity is on the line!" Morgana said as Ann and Kusa blanched as the former spoke up.
"What!?" Ann said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.
"I think he's referring to Kitagawa-kun's condition for not reporting these two morons yesterday." Kusa pointed out, giving a half-hearted glare to Ren and Ryuji. Morgana spoke up again before either of them could really reply to Kusa.
"We'll need to do what we did with Kamoshida. First, we secure an infiltration route in the Palace. After that, we send our calling card. Once the treasure has materialized, we steal it." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up excitedly.
"Oooh, I got a question! Madarame doesn't know that we were doin' stuff in the Palace yet. Why are we already getting treated like criminals in there?" Ryuji asked. Morgana smirked as he spoke up.
"You're learning, Ryuji. Well done." Morgana said as Kusa chuckled and spoke up.
"Now, now, Morgana-sensei, no need to be so surprised. Ryuji is a very smart and capable individual when he wants to be. But I agree that this is well done on his part." Kusa said. Morgana nodded and spoke up.
"Fair enough, Kusa. That said, it must be because he doesn't trust anyone. Any unknown person may as well be an enemy." Morgana said as Ann spoke up.
"Or maybe he's just super salty from all those rumors that have been spreading about him..." Ann said as Kusa shrugged and spoke up.
"That's possible. But at the same time Ann, who even uses the word 'salty' anymore?" Kusa asked as Ren and Ryuji laughed at Kusa's point as the latter spoke up.
"Then his palace bein' so crazy had nothing to do with us?" Ryuji asked as Kusa shrugged.
"No clue, Ryuji. But I would figure it's better to assume it was at least minutely linked to us to be safe." Kusa said as Morgana nodded.
"Either way we should stay on our best behavior. It'll be harder for us to steal the Treasure if we needlessly raise the security level." Morgana said as Ann nodded and spoke up.
"We need to be careful of Kitagawa-kun this time too. I'm sure that whatever he sees will just get passed on to Madarame." Ann said as Morgana spoke up with a nod.
"That's right!" Morgana said as Ann spoke up again.
"Hey, what is Madarame's Treasure going to look like anyway? Another crown?" Ann asked as Kusa chuckled before speaking up.
"I very much doubt that, Ann. If anything, it'll probably be something art-related, most likely a painting of some sort." Kusa said after a moment as Morgana nodded.
"Agreed, Kusa. And Lady Ann, I'd doubt that. But my sixth sense will know when I see it." Morgana said as Kusa smirked and spoke up.
"Your sixth sense? Was that what made you act a fool in Kamoshida's Palace when we found his treasure, or do you always just act like a giddy little kid who found their favorite toy when you find a treasure, Morgana-sensei?" Kusa joked as Ren and Ryuji laughed at the reference to the time Morgana lost his composure. Ryuji then smirked as he spoke up.
"Good point, Kusa." Ryuji said as he turned to Morgana and kept speaking.
"Oh yeah, you go completely nuts, huh?" Ryuji asked as Ann spoke up to avoid a fight.
"Our time limit is when the exhibit ends, right? That means... June 5th." Ann said as Morgana nodded.
"We'll carry out the plan after we've sent the calling card. So our infiltration route will need to be set in stone prior, on June 2nd." Morgana said as Ann nodded before glaring at Ren and Ryuji as she spoke up, making Kusa chuckle as she spoke.
"Now listen here. We can't mess this up, NO MATTER WHAT! OKAY!?" Ann said to Ren and Ryuji who nodded as Morgana spoke up.
"Okay, this is the first job for the Phantom Crew, so let's make we do it right! Come on, it's time to get this mission started!" Morgana said as the group nodded. As they started planning out their infiltration, they knew one thing for sure.
Their second Palace was in front of them, and this was one they could NOT afford to mess up. Much like last time, the stakes were far too high for failure to even remotely be an option...
END OF CHAPTER
A/N: And there we go, another chapter done and dusted! I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting for some of the characters that appeared in this chapter to appear, but that's on me for forgetting parts of the plot of Royal I guess. That said, we're finally at the proper start of the second Palace! Next chapter, if I'm right should at least have the front half of Madarame's palace and maybe if length allows for it, another Phantom Thief awakening. That said, hopefully people are enjoying the story so far! If so feel free to leave a review and/or PM me your feedback, I appreciate the support either way. And until next update, sithlorde1988 out!