"Oh goodness..." Haru wasn't quite expecting to see the museum in Ueno pleasantly alive with visitors, not entirely packed but not completely quiet.
"Ah, yes. Gazing upon the work of the masters of the past..." Yusuke looked like he had died and gone to heaven, or as if he reunited with an old friend from his past. It washes over him like the comforting arms of a mother welcoming a child home. "Let's go," he says as he took her by the hand and guided her deep into the gallery.
The warmth Haru felt in that moment the second his hand made physical contact with hers, the safety, joy and comfort, all of it made her heart skip a beat. She was confused, but let it slide because she wanted to explore the wonders of art with her friend.
Multiple paintings seemingly call soothing whispers to Yusuke in his mind, each fluttering work of masterpiece and color urging him to create his own portrait. Most portraits of attractive women on display here are so remarkably different from that of either Japan or Rome, each worshipping their own form of woman or their ideal model.
Earlier this morning, Yusuke recommended that they visit this particular museum and who was Haru to deny him the chance to go on a pleasant outing this Saturday. It's been a while since she visited museums. It is, however, the first time she's visiting with her newfound friend. She deduced this trip is solely for Yusuke searching for inspiration, and she, in return, provide advice on what he could paint, being his muse and partner.
They move on together to explore more unique paintings. It seems the further they stroll slowly, the more crowded it gets with many people visiting the gallery to admire and awe at one painting to the next. Haru keeps a close eye on Yusuke, who stares enchanted by the colors and details of every painting they gaze upon. The smile he displays sent a warmth in her chest, how happy he looks and at peace with his surroundings.
"Hm... There are twice as many people here as there are normally," Yusuke noticed. "But the noise caused by the crowd is quite pleasant, to be fair. It helps me hone my senses." He closed his eyes, allowing himself to fantasize. "If I close my eyes, it's almost as if I'm floating through space."
"The noise is relaxing to you?" Haru raised a puzzled eyebrow.
"Absolute silence is so straightforward. Don't you feel oddly stiff when confined to a soundless room and forced to face your true self? A moderate amount of noise helps me melt into the world around me." As Yusuke speaks, a dim sense of melancholy touches him as if by a needle. "I often find it refreshing back when I used to live at the atelier." The next breath he sucks in is slightly strained as his bangs conceal his eyes, hiding the emotional hurt to sulk in those memories.
"Yusuke..." Haru whispers gently. She sensed bringing up memories of his living in that useless excuse of a shack will be a problem in their quest to complete five or six paintings before two weeks are up. Her face scowled, though never having met the man nor involved in how the team first encountered Yusuke, she hates Madarame for becoming the brick wall to stop Yusuke's flow of creativity and free will to live his life with every inch of her being. Before the fluffy haired girl had the chance to say anything, he cut her off.
"What do you think of this painting, Haru?" he asked, hastily changing the subject. "Tell me, what do you see in this one?"
Haru turns her full attention to the one he pointed out a famous masterpiece done by Claude Monet - Snow at Argenteuil. Two people standing a little distant from a small town up ahead, surrounded by snow covered bare trees and a path laid out in front of them. Her imagination dives headfirst into the painting and to convey the emotion. Brown eyes examine and analyze it just for a few minutes. "Well, when I look at it... I can imagine the two people are a couple planning to go home and spend Christmas with their families. The weather doesn't look too bad, so it should be easy for them to get through without any problems. The atmosphere around them looks so tranquil and calm, a perfect day to celebrate Christmas."
"Do you see anything related to Christmas or love in this painting?"
"No, but I let my imagination tell me to make this piece have a more comforting, romantic feel to it."
"Mmm... you may be on to something." Yusuke stares at her, astounded. That is the glory of art, an individual can see a different meaning to it and create a more positive aura to it. "I truly enjoy your view on things, Haru."
Does he imagine seeing the pink hue on Haru's cheeks? It makes him grin at her adorable reaction. "But it's not like I'm an expert," she replies quickly. "I just said what my imagination tells me."
"Hehehe..." Yusuke chuckled amusingly. "That's nonsense, you have a unique eye in the aesthetics and a wonderful imagination. Although some people out there professionally declare art bad or good, not if the artist's purpose for it was pure." His eyes narrowed in an annoyed state. Though Kawanabe proved to be a good and kindhearted gentleman, there could be more important patrons familiar with the fine arts ready to throw criticism at his work if he succeeds.
Haru knew all too well where his mind is drifting to. "You're worried someone famous will insult your work if you complete all five or six pieces on time. Don't let them get to you, Yusuke. I believe in you! Besides, if they see how good the painting you made of me when I posed for you back at my place a few days ago, I have no doubt they'd definitely enjoy-"
"NO!" Yusuke came very close to unleashing his negative disappointment on that disgraceful portrait. He couldn't risk upsetting her if he blurted out his true opinion. "Uh, I mean... Not that it's bad, it's an affront to your character." He shook his head to recollect himself, then grabbed Haru by the wrist and hurriedly dragged her on.
He brings her to the next set of paintings in an attempt to distract himself from talking about his previous failure, rounding a corner where another famous masterpiece is hung - The Fields, by Kuroda Seiki. When Haru turns to look at it, a surprised squeal leaves her throat, her face darkens red and swiftly averts her gaze.
"Oh dear! Do we have to look at this one?" she mutters.
"Yes, why the sudden disinterest?"
A beautiful young woman lays in the grass in a calm, tranquil state of mind. Bare, porcelain skin and round, firm breasts exposed as she holds a tiny flower to admire its beauty. Each curve or muscle is unmistakably part of the artwork, it fascinates Yusuke deeply. He doesn't see the naked woman as he sees the woman herself, her nudity is the very essence of her being and the power of the composition.
"To me, it just looks like something Futaba discovered on a pornographer's website..." she realizes what she just said as she sensed Yusuke's baffled gaze on her, "eh, not that I've been on a porn site! Ren told me that he caught her one time and scolded her!" Face still red, Haru keeps her gaze focused on her feet.
"Ahem! I see..." Yusuke eventually clears his throat, brushing off the awkwardness. "Kuroda Seiki fought quite hard to keep nudity in art during his lifetime. It's just like how Ann and Ryuji reacted once... people found nude paintings inappropriate, and museums often covered parts of his work with cloth. Nevertheless, he encouraged his students to paint nude subjects and firmly stood by his aesthetics." He sighs, losing himself in a daydream. "Ahh, it would've been a dream to be under his training."
"Huh?" Haru's face shifts up when she felt his eyes on her.
"Haru, you're very attractive," as he says this, Yusuke made his rectangle frame with his fingers and looks at his muse through them. "You have such elegant, curly hair and the color of your eyes are alluring as well. Not to mention, you have quite the figure..." he drops the frame and places a free hand under her chin to look into her eyes, "especially in your phantom thief attire, it reveals all the natural, spiritual and physical splendor of your beauty. I truly hope you would let me paint you naked someday."
Instantly, Haru's face goes from normal shade to tomato red within seconds. Nothing but meek, timid stutters escape from her lips.
"My apologizes..." The blue haired artist notices her discomfort and awkwardly withdraws. "Forgive me for noticing, but I see you're still shy about this kind of talk. And that brings me to another question I wanted to ask you, one that I've also wanted to ask Ann for some time... Is there a reason why both of you defy the idea of posing nude? Is it embarrassment? Or is it because of Ryuji accusing me of doing things perverted, or whatever he calls it?"
"It's nothing like that, it's just..." A cloud of distress slips over Haru's features, her voice quieting. "There's a very good reason why Ann will never pose nude for a painting you want because... let's just say, Kamoshida did some terrible things which left a permanent scar on her. As for me, I understand what she's gone through because of my ex-fiancé. You saw what he was like, but there's... more to it than grabbing my wrist. But I don't want to talk about it, and I doubt Ann would tell you why now. Maybe someday you will know, just not now." The somber in her voice and her melancholy expression speaks for itself.
Whatever it was, Yusuke complies without further pestering. He only knew little of the details when Ann had described why the Phantom Thieves targeted Kamoshida. From what Haru described of her former fiancé and from what he saw of that uncouth bastard's cognition in her father's Palace, Sugimura seems to have crawled out from under the same rock as Kamoshida, a fact which makes Yusuke feel chagrined and disgusted. Regardless, he respects her decision to leave it alone and drops the subject.
"Anyway, back to our topic at hand, we need to find something that will help me create more pieces which will earn my place at the gallery before two weeks are up," Yusuke begins, "I can't simply go chasing after life experiences that may or may not stimulate my art. An artist has to be fully immersed in situations, feelings and ambiences in order to accurately depict... no, express them."
Haru seems to be pondering over something that crossed her mind. "What was the last art piece you were really proud of? And how did it make you feel?"
Though puzzled, Yusuke registers her words for a minute. Eliminating all of his previous thoughts to search for what painting he's created in the last few months. "The one Ren worked on with me, Desire and Hope. It made me feel happiness, because I wanted to yield my brush to give hope to those who see my work, to paint joy and understanding over the black sorrow of this world."
"That sounds lovely." Haru smiles in understanding.
"However, I can't reuse Desire and Hope as one of the works for the upcoming exhibition. Kawanabe definitely won't be pleased to see a rerun. I must give him something new."
"Oh! What about that other painting Ann said she liked? You know, the one you made when you invited her, Ren and Ryuji to Madarame's exhibit?"
Yusuke shrugs with a non-concerned frown. "I'm afraid the police had confiscated it to be used as evidence. But I never want to see it again!" His bitter words left Haru surprised, hurriedly explaining why he had come to despise his old piece. "It's tainted, created under Madarame's orders. If I still had it, I would give it away without regret."
"I see," Haru frowns sadly, believing she brought up a bad memory he hated discussing. "I'm sorry if I brought up something terrible."
"Don't apologize. It's all right." He reaches forward to gingerly pat her shoulder, assuring her that she meant no harm in bringing up the past.
Glad to see she didn't offend him, Haru thinks for a second. "So, anyway, if you really want to paint something new, perhaps you need to experience new things such as visiting numerous places for you to experience them and find inspiration."
That is a superb idea, as Yusuke wants to say but realizes one thing. It's impossible to conjure up specific emotions just because he needs to be able to feel them. If they don't happen, the resulting work won't be pleasantly aesthetic. Especially with the weight of the deadline on his shoulders, his lack of personal experience gnaws at him like a dog chewing a bone. Just like he had said earlier, an artist must be fully immersed in a situation or emotion in order to depict his work. The paintings in the museum beam with so many wonderous emotions, giving the general public what his own paintings could never do. Producing a positive feeling or emotional response to all who gaze upon them. Desire and Hope was a success, but it's not enough. There are times when he overhears most people smack-talk his cherished work as if the emotion he was trying to display meant nothing.
It isn't until a minute passes that Yusuke realizes he wasn't listening to what else Haru was saying until she taps his shoulder. "Hm? What did you say?" he asked.
"I said I'll do my best to help you whenever I can!" Haru proclaims firmly. "We'll get it done before the deadline is over."
"You'll continue being my model?"
"Absolutely! I've been having fun so far, and I enjoy spending time with you."
Now it's Yusuke's turn to blush. He smiles, appreciating her kindness. His eyes lit up all of a sudden. "Ah, yes. I'd like to show you one of my favorite works."
"What is it?"
"A piece that makes you see something new upon each visit is immensely rare. I look forward to viewing what I may glean from it today too. I hope you feel the same, Haru."
A few minutes later, after finding Yusuke's favorite masterpiece, yet another nude painting by Kuroda Seiki, the two of them headed for the exit.
"That painting from earlier has actually been made into a statue," Yusuke says. "This may be a mere replica, but I would like you to have it, Haru." He handed her a miniature nude statue of a beautiful woman.
"Uh, thanks?" Haru didn't want to rudely refuse this inappropriate gift, but she accepted it out of politeness. Whilst a kind person at heart, his eccentricity can make him appear odd at times.
A salesman nearby was selling a rack of DVDs, mostly documentaries about art or movies related to art. Yusuke bought himself one and, after paying for it and the nude statue as well, he and Haru left the museum, heading for one of the cafes in Ueno for lunch where they ate a nice, delicious meal of hashed beef with rice.