Things continued on as normal for them. There wasn't really much discussion of the whole Phantom Thief business, beyond the occasional "I won't be available, have a heist to pull" and Akira being less reserved about responding to things Morgana said - meowed?

That is, until he received a text, mentioning a name he'd heard often lately.

Akira Cute-rusu: Hey, since I'm finally free, I'm letting you know we're going to investigate Madarame today. Or, sort of?
Akira Cute-rusu: We arranged to meet up with his pupil today, so we're heading right over there once school is out. I don't think the others would mind you coming along, since it's not exactly the most dangerous thing, so would you like to?

He paused for a moment, and pondered going along. He did say it wouldn't be dangerous...and it would be a nice opportunity to spend some time with him, and get some more info on exactly what it was they did. He hadn't bothered asking before, or hadn't remembered to, anyway.

Ken: ya sure! dw i wont go butting too much into all your ~official business~ and whatnot
Akira Cute-rusu: All right! We'll meet up in Shibuya.
Ken: see you theeen cutie

He couldn't help being anxious as he got ready. This was, in a way, official Phantom Thieves business. This wasn't just some silly meeting, or a group hang out, this was detective work. And he was going to play a part in it, at least somewhat. He could be important.

That thought scared him.

He managed to get himself ready and out of the house in time to wait for Akira. He couldn't help feeling a bit more closed-off as he waited, tugging his sleeves to be sure that they hid his scars every 10 seconds. Seeing that familiar mop emerge from the station eased his worries, somewhat. He hurried over so fast he nearly tripped, and took Akira's hand immediately, settling himself at his side and lacing their fingers. He gave a silent greeting to Ann and Ryuji, which they happily returned. They already seemed to like him more than he liked them.

He only picked up on bits and pieces of their conversation, focusing more on trying to look calmer than he was. The arrival at the shack was less of a blessing than he'd hoped it would be. Ann pushed the buzzer, and he bit his lip. His voice wasn't too high, right?

"Who is it?" That deep voice told him yes, yes it was. "Sensei is currently-"

"Um, it's Takamaki," Ann interrupted. She sounded just as nervous as he felt, which was somewhat reassuring.

"Ah- I'll be right out!" the voice chirped. Kennith steeled himself and squeezed Akira's hand, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He could meet a new person. This would be fine. The door slid open sooner than he had expected, and he couldn't help going wide-eyed when he saw the boy standing there. Pretty.

"Takamaki-s-" he stopped mid-word, shooting a glare towards Ryuji and Akira. "...You two are here, as well?" His gaze drifted to Kennith, and his stare nearly stopped his heart. "As well as...you. I don't remember seeing you, the other day."

Kennith froze for a moment. "I, uh- I'm his boyfriend," he explained hastily, lifting up his and Akira's linked hands. The boy nodded, seeming to find that explanation satisfactory enough. Ryuji took a step forward, seeming to push past the awkward moment.

"That aside, ah...we didn't exactly come here to talk about the modeling thing." Kennith wondered exactly what "modeling thing" was being talked about. "We needed to ask you somethin'. Is it true that Madarame is plagiarizin' other people's work? Abusin' people, too?"

As soon as the a-word left Ryuji's mouth, Kennith stiffened. The boy, however, didn't seem nearly as bothered - not in the same way, at least.

"Are you serious?"

"We read about it online." Kennith cringed at that, subtly. You never say that about this sort of thing. The boy stepped out, getting right up in Ryuji's face. He looked offended by the notion.

"This..?" The boy started laughing, as if in disbelief. "Preposterous! Not only is the plagiarism impossible, but abuse? If he hated children so much to harm them, he would never allow pupils into his home! And I'm the one residing here and studying under him. I'm saying it's not true, so it's beyond doubt."

Kennith's heart dropped when he heard those words, and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to speak up, to say something, but his throat was too tight, too dry. He almost teared up. Hearing those words from someone else's mouth hurt. He knew the tactics a victim had to use to be sure no one would find out, or else it would only get worse. He was thankful that Ryuji spoke up in his place, though he hated the harsh tone.

"You might be lyin' about it!" He wanted so badly to add on.

"That..." The boy paused, looking away. That hesitation, the shake to his voice, was something Kennith knew too well. He hated seeing someone else experience it. "...That is utter rubbish." The boy seemed to quickly regain his nerves. "I had no family when Sensei took me in and raised me into what you see now! If you continue to ridicule the man I owe my life to, you will rue this day!"

His voice was too quiet for anyone besides himself to hear as he croaked out, "You don't owe him shit." The words he had told himself for years, and yet he couldn't tell them to someone else. He felt pathetic.

"...You really think that?" Ann chided, and Kennith wanted so badly to scream at her for her tone.

"Yusuke?" Kennith felt a cold chill go down his spine when the man emerged, and his stomach turned. That tone scared him. "What's the matter? I heard you yelling."

"These people are slandering you with baseless rumors!" the boy - Yusuke, he noted - cried.

The man seemed calm, but Kennith didn't trust it. "...Forgive them, Yusuke. They must have heard some bad rumors and came in worry for their friend's safety."

The way Yusuke sighed as he looked down and responded with only a subdued, "Understood, Sensei," made his heart lurch. He didn't trust the man, who he could only assume was Madarame.

"Well, even I doubt that a cranky old man like myself could be liked by everyone," Madarame joked, and Kennith clenched his teeth.

"That's not what we meant..!" Ann protested, and Kennith desperately wanted to shout that it was certainly what he meant. He hoped he didn't look too upset.

"I'm sorry to have butt in on your conversation," Madarame said, seemingly calm. "However, I do have neighbors around. Won't you please keep it down?" The all-too-familiar condescending tone made him sick. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He felt infinitely more relaxed once Madarame left, and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"That was...discourteous of me. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be," Kennith replied immediately, which was quickly met with a glare from Ryuji, as if to say otherwise. "You were just tryin' to defend someone you...care about, hun. S'completely understandable."

"Nonetheless, I apologize for being aggressive." Yusuke paused for a moment, and lit up. "I know! I think you'll be able to believe in Sensei if you saw the painting for yourselves." This was about when he tuned out, just sort of digging his nails into his arm, running through it all over and over in his head. It was textbook, in his mind. To the others, it clearly wasn't as obvious, or else they'd speak up.

Or maybe he was imagining things? Maybe the cold chill was just from what he'd heard, combined with his own experiences, warping his perceptions? That was entirely a possibility - if people's "cognitions" were so strong that they could shape parts of another, unseen world, that could be just as dangerous as his assumptions. But he just couldn't shake that sick, shaky feeling, formed into a rock and settled deep in his gut. His worries only grew once Yusuke went back inside.

"Those two...seem like nice guys, don't they?" Ryuji pondered. Kennith couldn't keep his feelings bottled up anymore.

"Yusuke, absolutely," he added, his voice quiet unintentionally. He was almost afraid Madarame would hear him.

"Maybe...maybe the Madarame we heard about in Mementos was a different person?" Ann offered, sounding nervous herself. It took everything in Kennith not to scream.

"No." He was surprised by how forceful it came out, and slightly startled by the stares it earned him. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and leaned his head on Akira's shoulder. His voice was more choked when he spoke again. "Sorry, sorry- just...I dunno if it's my- my history, or whatever, but...he gives me a really, really bad feeling. I know I'm not...part of your whole, operation, but I don't think you should leave this be. Even if you don't wanna try changing his heart, something is wrong."

Akira nodded slightly, as if agreeing. Morgana meowed gently from where he sat, and Akira and Ann both retrieved their phones. Ryuji glanced from Kennith to Akira, as if nervous to do the same.

"He knows, it's fine," Akira said gently, and Ryuji nodded, taking out his own phone. Kennith chose not to.

A robotic voice came from the app. "Location found." Kennith's eyes widened, and he leaned to peer at Akira's screen.

"The app..." Ryuji mumbled, incredulous.

"Was it picking up on our conversation..?" Ann wondered aloud, her eyes widening subtly. "The display...that must mean Madarame has a Palace, too, right?! But why..?"

Kennith was torn between a feeling of terror, and pride. Pride in his correct assumption, but a paralyzing, freezing terror for Yusuke. He was right. That meant Yusuke was going through the same pain he had. He hated his watchful eye.

"He's an abusive shitbag, is why..." Kennith mumbled, though Morgana's simultaneous meow hid it.

"For real, though, what the hell's goin' on..? Does an old man like him really have a Palace..?" Kennith envied Ryuji's trusting nature. He moved away from Akira, his body language becoming more closed off.

"I think...I'm gonna head home," he mumbled. "Babe, jus'- text me when you can. See you." He felt shaky as he walked away, not even bothering to get a hug before he went. He just needed to process this. He ran through plan after plan after plan in his head of how to help, but each one fell short. Illogical, unsafe, illogical, not enough information, etc.

Upon returning home, he gave Stephanie his best puppy-dog eyes and opened his arms, which she knew by now meant he needed a hug, desperately. He only let go when she needed to get to her job, and even then, it was reluctant.

After a few moments of still silence, he moved to his desk, and got working on another project. Working would help. It was better than anything else he could do right now, anyway. Stephanie would kill him if he tried anything else.

-sorry this one took so long! got absorbed in other things and lost interest for a while, hoping to keep updates semi-regular!-