CHAPTER 15:

SERENDPITY

The next day, Futaba and Harry had persuaded Akira to leave Morgana with them for the day in Leblanc, as Akira had exams. They agreed, but Morgana wanted some fatty tuna sushi, so Harry had to go get some, though he had to ask Futaba not to play as roughly as she did with Morgana before. She had a habit of pinching his cheeks, overwhelmed by Morgana's cuteness at times, but Morgana didn't like it.

As he ate his fatty tuna, sitting with them in the attic of Leblanc, Morgana said, "You grasp the concepts behind the Metaverse pretty well, Futaba. I mean, I get why, given your mother and all, but still…it's scary."

Futaba shot Morgana a reassuring smile. "Hey, it's fine. I'm new to this schtick. You've got the empirical experience, right? More than the rest of us. We'll work together, okay? Besides, we need to figure out what happened to you and if there's a way to revert that, if you used to be human. Mom would have loved to have met you, even if it probably would've seemed like an interrogation on your end."

"Yeesh," Morgana muttered. "Still, what are you doing with that laptop?"

"A few things. I've been digging for fresh info about Madarame, but I can't find much more than what I've told you already. That being said, I'm hoping to design a program that can help us map Mementos."

"Mementos changes its configuration every time you enter or exit a level," Morgana pointed out. "Only certain areas remain the same."

"Yeah, but I can, with the right means, map the configuration of the floor we're on, as well as where any sweet loot is," Futaba said. "It may not always work, but it should prove useful, especially as you said there was some superboss Shadow that lurks around, ready to pounce on us if we linger for too long. If nothing else, it can help us escape. I think Necronomicon is helping guide my coding here."

Morgana nodded. "Well, I look forward to seeing it in action, Futaba. Though you've been quiet, Harry. You okay?"

"…I guess, as much as I can be," Harry said. Futaba reminded him so much of his friends back home, it was painful.

The supposed not-cat hopped up onto his lap. "Hey," Morgana said, gently putting a paw on Harry's arm, meeting Harry's emerald eyes with his sky-blue ones. "I can't guarantee that a way back to your timeline is in Mementos, but I want to help you. I'll be honest, I mostly joined forces with Akira and the others for selfish reasons, to find a way to regain my human body and memories. True, Kamoshida disgusted me, and giving him a Change of Heart was really satisfying. But when I heard about what happened with you helping Futaba with her Palace…I guess I felt a little ashamed, at you helping her out without a second thought. Plus, you treated me like a person pretty quickly."

"…Morgana…just because you're not human doesn't mean you're not a person," Harry said quietly. "I honestly don't know whether you were once human or not. But you're still a person. One of my first friends, he was half-Giant, and one of my teachers was a ghost. Futaba's Shadow was nice, and so were the Shadows under her command, oddly enough. You can be a bit bratty and annoying, but you're a good person, Morgana."

"Heheh…I…wow…words fail me," Morgana said. "I mean, I must have been human, but…that's actually one of the kindest things anyone has said to me. I mean, aside from the bratty and annoying part. I mean, Akira's nice enough, and Lady Ann's fine, but Ryuji…I mean, he can be great in battle, but he gets on my nerves a lot."

"And vice versa," Futaba said. "You two duke it out like salty idiots flaming each other in a chatroom about who's the worst character in Neo-Featherman. Just sayin'."

"Do you need to put it like that?" Morgana moaned.

"I could say it's a catfight, and it's not inaccurate. I mean, even if you're not a real cat, you take the form of one," Futaba snarked.

Morgana merely hissed at her in irritation, not exactly helping his case…


The next few days were relatively uneventful, save for Akira and Morgana mentioning that Ann had a stalker, as well as a new counsellor being hired for Shujin, a Dr Maruki. Akira had also reached out to Makoto, who was helping him study for the exams. Sirius had also found work, working at the Crossroads bar in Shinjuku. Sae's offer was as an unofficial consultant, unpaid, so he needed to find something else.

It was on Saturday that they had a minor breakthrough. Ann's stalker turned out to be an art student who claimed he wanted her to model for him. Yusuke Kitagawa. And Akira explained it to Harry and Futaba in Leblanc that afternoon.

As Morgana, who was smitten with Ann, sulked, Akira explained, "Shortly after we met him, his teacher turned up in a hired car, being driven around. It was none other than Madarame himself. He offered Ann a ticket to the exhibition, and offered us some as well on sufferance. I asked him to give us two more, one for each of you. Futaba, I know you're not fond of crowds, but maybe a Calming Draught can help. I told a little white lie and said you were doing an essay on Madarame for online schooling. Kitagawa seemed a little more enthusiastic about it then."

"Still sounds a bit dubious about that whole modelling thing," Futaba said, pursing her lips.

"Despite what Ryuji and Morgana think, I'm not so sure," Akira mused. "In many ways, he seems to be a bit like you, Futaba, marching to the beat of his own drum. Though you're not as clueless to social norms as he seems to be. That being said, I agree with you. Asking Ann to model for him out of the blue doesn't sit right with us. I did a quick check with the MetaNav, and Kitagawa doesn't have a presence either in Mementos or a Palace. But this could still be our in for the investigation."

Futaba nodded. "That being said, I'd like to add a proviso, if that's the case. I think we should avoid questioning Kitagawa about what it's like under Madarame."

"Any reason why?"

"…Akira, I don't like talking about what I went through when I was in the custody of my relatives, especially Uncle Youji. All I will say is that it was bad. And I had a friend years ago who was probably in a similar situation. If Kitagawa is being abused, then he may have rationalised it. He may even have a form of Stockholm Syndrome," Futaba pointed out. "It didn't happen with me, but it's still a distinct possibility. What's more, while Kitagawa may not have a Palace, he may have been complicit in what happened. I think we should do what digging we can without pissing him off, before investigating the Palace. Madarame would have to have some sort of Cognitions of his students in his Palace. How he views them is key. If we think his Palace is not due to him being evil, then we somehow contact him and offer to resolve the Palace. But if not…well, I guess we get to see how you guys dealt with Kamoshida…"


The next day, and after a Calming Draught and a number of assurances to Sojiro, Harry and Futaba joined the others on a trip to Ueno, to the crowded museum. Futaba stuck close to Harry as they approached a rather haughty boy with refined features and dark blue hair. Harry was glad that Sirius had taught him how to use the Translation Charm by now.

"Ah, you have come," what had to be Yusuke Kitagawa said to Ann, rather enthusiastically, before he looked to the others, and almost sneered when he said, "So you bothered to come."

"Real welcoming," Futaba snarked.

Akira cleared his throat gently. "This is Futaba Sakura, the girl I spoke to you about, and this is her friend and chaperone, Harry Potter."

"Ah, the girl who wished to do an essay on my teacher," Kitagawa said, giving her a courteous nod. "My apologies, Miss Sakura, but these others did not seem like aficionados of art."

Akira coughed. "I did an assignment on your teacher last year, Kitagawa, I do have some small interest in the man and his works. Especially the Sayuri. The 'Mona Lisa of 21st Century Japan', some people called it."

"Which sounds a bit like hyperbole to me," Futaba said, "but it's a nice piece of art. Real old-school. Plus, he's called the modern-day Hokusai. Katsuhika Hokusai was a pretty interesting guy, you know. Did everything from highbrow art to porn(1)."

Kitagawa emitted a brief choking noise, before he said tightly, "A crude if apt assessment, but I assure you, my teacher has done nothing so lascivious."

"Sorry, just messin' with you," Futaba said. "But I thought I'd come and see his work on display, help me gain a bit of inspiration for my assignment. Akira thought it might help. Plus, I've kinda been a bit of a recluse until recently, I need to get used to going out again."

Kitagawa pursed his lips in thought. "…Very well. Maybe you could follow myself and Miss Takamaki at a discreet distance. Perhaps if my teacher has time enough to spare, you may meet him. You'll forgive me if he cannot, though. The vagaries of fame and the media gnaw at the time we have…"


Harry found himself disliking Yusuke Kitagawa. He seemed snobbish and aloof, though he seemed to be courteous enough to Futaba, and certainly seemed to wax lyrical to Ann. It was like a toned-down version of Draco Malfoy with less racism and more snobbery and artistic ability.

However, the glimpse he got of Madarame he got seemed to belie what they knew or suspected of the man. While Harry still had a sceptical eye, if the man was truly faking his humility, he was doing a great job. The man may have had a Palace, and Nakanohara had made accusations towards him, but Futaba's Palace had shown that those with Palaces were not necessarily evil. Futaba had even idly suspected whether severe artist's block could cause a Palace to form.

After showing Ann around, Kitagawa, despite a perturbed look on his face, went over to his teacher. Eventually, said teacher came over to Harry and Futaba. He was an older man, thin, with a neatly trimmed moustache and beard, his long grey hair done up in a ponytail, dressed in a faded dark green kimono or yukata. If anything, Harry thought the man resembled Alec Guinness playing Obi-Wan Kenobi. "How do you do?" he said, in English. "I am Ichiryusai Madarame."

"I'm Harry Potter, and this is Futaba Sakura," Harry said. "Sorry, I'm new to Japan, I've only recently heard about you."

"Quite all right," Madarame said with a chuckle. "I only became famous outside of Japan recently, at least outside of artistic circles. Young Yusuke here told me that the young lady was doing an assignment on me, and braved the crowds. You're doing a great job, Miss Sakura. I believe it's an old cliché that true courage comes from confronting fear than acting without it. You do know English, yes?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so, seeing since you were with this boy, and he said he was new to Japan, so it stood to reason that you knew English," Madarame said. "Young Yusuke has many talents, but his spoken English requires some work, I'm afraid. As his guardian, I've also had to counsel him about bearding your friend. He's quite taken to her as a muse. So, what is your assignment about? Art?"

"Social studies. I've got to write a biography of an influential figure in Japan for my online schooling," Futaba said.

Madarame chuckled. "And you chose or were assigned me? My word, you do flatter an old man. You'll forgive me if I don't have time for an interview, the media often hound me for one. But I wish you the best of luck, Miss Sakura. In fact…" He fished around in his kimono, and handed her a card. "My card, with my email address. Please don't be offended if I take time to respond to your questions or refuse to answer any. I receive a number of emails every day, and…well, the art world is a more tumultuous one than you'd think, with emotions often running high without being channelled onto the canvas. But I'd be glad to help you where I can. Remember the myth of Amaterasu, who hid herself away in a cave, along with her brilliance. But brilliance is meant to shine."

With that, Madarame left. Meanwhile, Harry fished out his iPhone. "I'd better see where the others are," he muttered, only for Kitagawa to suddenly get close. "Hey, personal space!"

Kitagawa was staring at his iPhone's wallpaper. Futaba had to show him how, but eventually, Harry had used a photo he had taken of Hedwig as the wallpaper. Kitagawa eventually said, "That bird…I…where did you get such an exquisite image?"

"…I took a photo. Hedwig is an owl who sort of adopted me," Harry said.

"Oh, so the owl lives with you?" Kitagawa asked. Then, after a pause, he murmured, "Eureka!"

"…Pardon?"

"Harry Potter, was it?" Kitagawa said, his eyes alight with a surprisingly fervent fire. "When Miss Ann Takamaki accepts my offer to model for me, I beg of you, please bring your magnificent owl. I thought she would be my muse alone, but this…I see it now. Athena, proud and bold, with an owl attendant."

Harry's first instinct was to refuse. Kitagawa's demands were forceful, to say the least, and his attitude seemed haughty, imperious and pretentious. He might not have had quite the same sneering attitude as Draco Malfoy, but there was something in Kitagawa's demeanour, that he expected his so-called offers to be accepted, and refusal was never an option.

Still, he knew this could be their in to learn more about Madarame before they decided to investigate his Palace. So eventually, he said, "That's up to Ann, and keep in mind, Hedwig doesn't like being handled roughly. I'll be accompanying both of them to make sure this isn't a trick for you to do anything untoward with Ann."

"I would never do that!" Kitagawa snapped vehemently, before he subsided. "My apologies. I…do get carried away somewhat, I will admit, and I do understand a little how my intentions could be misconstrued, but my interest in Miss Takamaki is not remotely carnal, I assure you. I have been going through something of a slump of late, so I will admit, I am desperate for inspiration."

"FYI, stalking someone for artistic inspiration is not really accepted by society," Futaba said. "Just sayin'. But thanks for the tickets, Kitagawa. And for introducing me to your teacher."

"Quite all right, Miss Sakura," Kitagawa said, nodding to her. "Though I find it curious…you claim to be a newcomer to Japan, Harry Potter, and yet your Japanese is quite superb."

"High school classes and private study," Harry lied. "My spoken Japanese is fine, but my written Japanese is crap."

"Ah. Ah yes, I understand. English only has twenty-six letters, but written Japanese…well, I should take my leave. Thank you for inspiring me." And with that, Kitagawa left.

After a moment, Harry began texting the others. "We'd better regroup and reconvene. You okay, Futaba?"

"Just about," she said. "I think we'd better make like a tree and leave. I think the Calming Draught is wearing off. Besides…Madarame may have made a mistake." She showed him the card Madarame gave her. "His email address. Sometimes, that's all a hacker needs(2), mwehehehe…"

CHAPTER 15 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry and Futaba have now met Yusuke and Madarame, and now have an in with them. Time will tell if it goes the same way as in canon.

Speaking of Yusuke and canon, of the male members of the Phantom Thieves, I dislike Yusuke the most. And yes, that includes Goro Akechi, and I am well aware of the true extent of his crimes. Don't get me wrong, Akechi is a vile piece of shit who deserves a slow, painful death for what he did to Futaba alone (I reckon the developers of the game deliberately modelled his Black Mask armour after that of Griffith/Femto from Berserk), but he's also someone you love to hate. Yusuke arouses more antipathy than he does interest, IMO.

The big reason is that, while the Phantom Thieves were idiots in trying to get him to admit to Madarame's abuses, not realising that Yusuke has a form of Stockholm Syndrome, Yusuke then tries to blackmail them into having Ann pose nude for him. Yes, Yusuke has worse social graces than Futaba does, and Futaba is a hikikomori. But even he should realise that this is far from appropriate, and he makes his blackmail threat with glee. At the very least, this shows that he is becoming too much like Madarame, and honestly, I think Yusuke in the game deserved a Change of Heart at least via Mementos. I heard that the anime version just has him kick them out of the house, and he's more contrite about losing his temper, and he certainly doesn't seem to go that far in the manga (well, at least as far as the blackmail part, anyway).

Keep in mind, I feel sympathy for him once everything is said and done. But Yusuke's characterisation after Madarame's Palace doesn't interest me, which doesn't balance out the antipathy I felt towards him in other situations (unlike Goro Akechi, who is a considerably more interesting character, despite how vile he is). It says a lot that I don't use him much in my parties, and use one of Joker's Personas if I want to inflict Ice damage. Hell, I use Haru more than I use Yusuke, and I dislike her character about as much, even if it's for very different reasons (probably because she's a shallow character who, as I mentioned before, can be summed up in four words: rebellious corporate princess moeblob).

Okay, rant over.

Review-answering time! asherdragoone: She is the Hermit Confidant, which is the Persona 5 equivalent to a Social Link. Harry's ability to establish such connections has been hobbled by a certain would-be demiurge masquerading as Igor, so while that is correct, he won't be establishing Confidants/Social Links anytime soon.

XenoBlaze: I dunno the character in question. I based Hedwig's Godwin form in part on Fitoria from The Rising of the Shield Hero, in terms of personality and appearance, but there's plenty of fictional characters with a specific favourite food. Hell, there's Morgana's obsession with fatty tuna sushi in Persona 5.

Jostanos: I was deliberately vague because honestly, I can't be arsed to think about which new Personas he has.

1. Katsuhika Hokusai was an interesting guy in many regards, and, despite being active during the time of Japan's isolation from the West, actually drew some of his inspiration from European artworks. While his most famous work is The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, often considered an icon of Japanese art, he is also infamous for having painted what is often considered the first example of tentacle porn, in The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife.

2. In Underground, Clifford Stoll, who famously wrote The Cuckoo's Egg after his own trials involving a hacker, was hacked in his own turn thanks in part to him leaving his email in his book. This was done by Australian hacker 'Phoenix'. Admittedly, this was back in the 90s, and computer security has marched on since, but Futaba is a genius hacker, she probably knows a few things.