Captain Blues: Ahoy-hoy! I am back with a brand new chapter. Time to crank up so sweet melodies and set sail.
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Thirty–Six
[Opening Scene: Shibuya – Madarame's Shack – (Blue Hour)
Theme of Madarame's Shack – Troubled from Persona 3]
Yusuke was stuck.
His project for Madarame was due today, and after spending all night at his easel, he had nothing to show for it. He would have something finished by now, but that presence had ruined his previous work.
Oh, how Yusuke loathed that insidious presence.
"Do you loathe me because I ruined your precious piece, or is it because I speak the truth?" The familiar presence whispered in his ear, the lights flickering above him.
[Theme of Thy True Self: Bomb Shelter from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP Ver)]
"I do not have time for your taunts. I must think of something for Madarame to show for the exhibit," Yusuke said as he focused on the blank canvas before him.
"But you will make time for me," The voice said. The light above flickered off, and when Yusuke looked up, he saw the eerie glowing eyes of his insidious counterpart, who had his arms leaning on the canvas, causing it to bend under the weight.
"My Canvas!" Yusuke exclaimed as he grabbed the canvas and attempted to pull it, but he was too frail to free it from the pressure.
"How pathetic," The presence said with a mocking grin. "Maybe if Madarame actually fed you like a good guardian instead of leeching off your skills and leaving you a literal starving artist, you would be strong enough to free this thing."
"Enough of these games!" Yusuke exclaimed. "Who are you! Why are you here?!"
His counterpart narrowed his eyes as he replied, "You know who I am."
Yusuke was confused.
"W-What? No, I do not," Yusuke stammered out. He then shook his head and said, "I do not have time for these games. I must complete this. Please remove yourself from my canvas."
"Yusuke, are you here?" a voice asked out from downstairs.
Yusuke paled.
"Oh, look at that. The mockery of an Artist has arrived," The doppelgänger said with a gleeful expression.
Yusuke looked down with dread as the presence said, "I wonder how he will tear you down this time? Take away your allowance? Kick you out of the shack for a week? Or maybe he'll do you like Samonosuke-san."
Yusuke looked visibly sick at the name-drop of Madarame's former apprentice.
"Well, I must depart. Don't be too down in the dumps. You'll make your master more money soon enough. That is all your art is good for anyways. Lining his pockets. Ta-Ta!" His counterpart said with a wave before the lights flickered on, leaving Yusuke alone.
[Theme of Madarame's Shack – Troubled from Persona 3]
Moments later, Madarame walked into the room and said, "Yusuke. Have you finished your next piece?"
Shakily, Yusuke turned around to face his teacher and swallowed nervously. "I have nothing to show, Madarame-sensei. I am in the shadow of the Creative Block, and I am unsure how I can escape its shade," Yusuke told him.
Madarame frowned at this.
"Yusuke. You have been beneath this shadow for some time now. I am starting to fear that you are replicating the mistakes of Samonosuke," Madarame said with a disappointed tone, which caused Yusuke to flinch.
"N-No!" Yusuke exclaimed with a panicked edge in his voice. "I will have something done before your exhibit begins. I assure you."
"Relax, Yusuke," Madarame said, his tone switching into a placating one. "I believe you. I originally came to bring you your allowance, but I'll hold on to this until your work has finished. Once finished, I will give it to you then. Hopefully, this will make you more diligent in meeting your deadlines in the future."
Yusuke lowered his head.
Yusuke had truly needed his allowance to gather food as he had run out two days ago. Without his bi-weekly assistance, he would be unable to until the week after next.
If only that blasted presence had not ruined his previous work.
"I understand, Madarame-sensei," a somber Yusuke said, his shoulders slumping.
"Very good. I am off. I have a meeting with a good friend at the Wilton Hotel buffet for a morning breakfast. I would also invite you, but you have a lot of work to do, and I do not want to be distracted, so I must be off. Have a good night, Yusuke," Madarame said before he walked off, leaving Yusuke alone.
Yusuke struggled to keep his tears of anguish and fury at bay until he heard the front door close. And the moment he did, he let out a gut-wrenching yell.
Motivated by his anger and sorrow, Yusuke swiveled in his chair, threw the canvas off his easel, put another one down, and began to paint with wild and reckless abandon.
"That damned presence! I will create something magnificent, no matter what it takes now!" Yusuke exclaimed.
Two hours later, when Madarame returned, he would find Yusuke's body was slumped over, unconscious, but he had created a new piece.
[Scene Change: Shibuya – Okumura Residence (Bedroom - Morning)
Theme of Okumura Residence (Bedroom) – When The Moon's Reaching Out Stars from Persona 3]
"Take a deep breath, deep breath.
(Deep breath, deep breath)
Let it go, let it out, let it go, let it out."
Ren opened his eyes sleepily at the sound of Ryuji singing in the bed across from his.
"Take a deep breath, deep breath
(Deep breath, deep breath)
Until you feel the vibes, now touch the sky."
With bleary eyes, Ren watched as Ryuji grumbled and wrote something in his notepad then sang:
"On a Sunday morning
I touch the sky
Next morning I touched your heart
Was the start
I play my role when I rip the mic apart
Do what I got to do to place a spark
I'mma put it down
Seeking no crown anymore
From the moment I saw you, it's all gone…."
Ryuji sat the notepad down and groaned. "Damn it. I'm never going to get this right," Ryuji grumbled before he let out a sigh.
"I thought it sounded pretty good," Ren said with a tired tone, which caused Ryuji to turn him with a red face.
"You heard that?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"Of course I did. We sleep in the same room when we're staying over Haru's place," Ren said with a grin. "So, what's that about? Making a love song about Ann?"
Ryuji's blush deepened before he launched a pillow at Ren's laughing face.
"Shaddup!" Ryuji exclaimed as Ren continued to laugh. "I'm for real, dude. You can't just wake up to violence like that!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Ren said with a teasing smile. "I couldn't resist. But seriously. I thought it was sweet. Had a good flow and everything."
"For real?" Ryuji asked, albeit hesitantly.
"I swear on Arsène," Ren replied.
"Well, hell, when you swear on your Persona, I know you're serious," Ryuji said with a smile. "Well shit, thanks, man."
"I didn't know that you liked rapping," Ren said.
"Yeah. When I was younger, a pen-pal would send emails filled with rap from the United States, South Korea, and Japan. It made me love it. I mean, some of it sucked. Have you ever heard of, "You cowards don't even smoke crack" because I have, and it's funny in a horrendous way," Ryuji explained with a broad smile on his face. "But I love it as an art form. It could be violent and misogynistic, yeah. But rap could also be poetic, witty, silly, inspiring, and beautiful."
"I would have never figured," Ren said.
"Rap is in my soul, and I love it," Ryuji boasted. "I used to be more vocal about it when I younger, but now. I try to keep it on the down-low," Ryuji admitted.
"How come?" Ren asked.
Ryuji was quiet for a moment before he whispered, "My dad happened…."
[Theme of Revelation:
Living With Determination from Persona 3]
"What do you mean, your dad happened?" Ren asked him.
"Well, my dad often had mom and me on a tight leash," Ryuji said. "And with that, he would spy on us to see if we were living up to his standard."
"Tch, asshole…." Ren growled.
"Right?" Ryuji said, trying to smile. "Well, anyway, my dad found out about my love of it and tore me a new one," Ryuji admitted softly.
"Oh, Ryuji…." Ren breathed out.
"Said it was Gajin thug music and forbade me from listening to it ever again after beating my ass about it. Mom tried to stop him, but drunk people seem to have the strength of ten men, and to stop him from hurting her, I took the beating head-on and swore to never listen to it again," Ryuji said before he let out a sad chuckle. "It was just another thing he ruined…."
"Dude, I'm so sorry," Ren told him softly.
"Hey, don't sweat it," Ryuji replied, trying to shrug it off. "Besides, I found my muse again, and he's not around to ruin this for me again."
Ryuji then smiled. "That was the first time I ever got to speak my mind about this. Thanks for dealing with me and bullshit for a bit."
"For you? I'll deal with it forever," Ren said as he leaned forward and held out his fist.
Ryuji grinned and placed his fist again Ren's.
The world seemed to darken briefly before a flash of ethereal blue flames flashed before Ren and morphed into the Chariot card. The card had nine chains wrapped around it before one snapped, leaving eight more.
"I am thou... Thou art I...
Thou hast deepened the vow with Sakamoto Ryuji.
Thou shalt have our blessings when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the
Ren felt dirty that this ruined a genuine moment of friendship for him.
"Besides, you were right. I was thinking of Ann when I was jotting this down," Ryuji admitted as he pulled his fist back, his face reddening again.
Ren smiled at this. "What made you do that?" Ren asked.
Ryuji became serious, which was jarring to Ren as he had never seen Ryuji look this way. "There's another reason I hated Kamoshida so much. And why I pushed Ann away back then," Ryuji told him softly.
"Wait,…Are you saying…." Ren began.
"Yeah," Ryuji softly confirmed. "It's why I asked her out after we dealt with Kamoshida."
"I see…" Ren said. "Speaking of which, how did that date go?" Ren asked.
"We wound up rescheduling it because of what went down with you and that bald bastard and then with Sumire and you," Ryuji said. "But, we're going as soon as we wrap up this Madarame business, so we need to get on that soon."
Ren nodded and said, "And we will. And I know just how to do it."
[Scene Change: Shibuya – Okumura Residence (Living Room - Morning)
Theme of Meeting: Paulownia Mall from Persona 3]
"Alright, gang, let's begin with the meeting," Mona said. "Joker, would you like to start?"
"Why go by my codename?" Joker asked.
"And should we be doing this while Makoto is here?" Panther questioned.
"I checked on her," Lioness said with a calm smile. "She's still out cold, so if we keep this brief, we should be okay."
"You checked on her?" Panther asked.
"Of course I did. It was a long night last night for all of us," Lioness said. "Speaking of which, Joker, are you okay?"
"Not really," Joker answered. "But I'll be fine. But I owe Makoto and all of you for helping me when I wasn't emotionally or mentally there."
"You're our leader," Skull said with a smile. "Besides, you saved every single one of us in this fucking room. Of course, we're going to help you out, bro."
"Damn right," Mona chirped out.
Haru, Panther, and Lioness nodded in agreement.
Joker's eyes watered for a moment before he bowed his head and said, "Thank you…."
"Enough mushiness and back to business!" Mona exclaimed. "Since this is official business, and in case anyone is listening in, it would be safe to use our codenames," Mona explained. "I guess on the exception of Makoto since she already knows about us."
"Makes sense, really," Skull said. "I'm game."
"Same," Panther said.
Lioness nodded.
"But I don't have a codename," Haru said with a frown.
"How about you make a temporary one?" Joker suggested.
Haru tilted her head and then nodded. "Then call me, Beauty Thief!" Haru exclaimed.
The group exchanged a look. "We will for this meeting, but please workshop it for the future. We don't want to call you "Beauty Thief" as a permanent codename if you become a full-fledge thief, okay?" Mona asked.
Beauty Thief nodded.
"Alright, here is the current situation," Joker began. "We took an assignment from previous target Natsuhiko Nakanohara regarding Madarame, a famous artist who plagiarizes his work from his students. He's caused one to commit suicide and one, maybe many more, to give up their dreams after using his influence to ruin them."
"His current apprentice, Kitagawa Yusuke, is in danger, and Nakanohara requested for us to save him and change Madarame's heart," Panther continued. "As mentioned before, we met with Kitagawa-san the other day, and he wants to model both Ren and me together."
Both Lioness and Skull shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"So that means we have a way to get in with the apprentice," Beauty Thief said.
"Yeah. But the question is, how do we further this and find out more information about him and Madarame?" Mona asked.
"Well, you guys can leave that to me," Beauty Thief said with a wink before she got on her phone.
Joker, Skull, Panther, Lioness, and Mona shared glances as Beauty Thief said, "Hello, Father. Do you still have those three tickets to Madarame's exhibit for today?" Beauty Thief's eyes lit up. "Wonderful. May I use them to take myself and two friends to that exhibit? Marvelous! I'll wait for the email. Thank you so much. I hope your meeting in America goes well tomorrow. Have a good night. Goodbye."
Beauty Thief hung up the phone, and seconds later, the phone chimed. "Ta-da!" Beauty Thief exclaimed happily. "Three tickets to Madarame's exhibit," she said.
"Wow," Skull said.
"You're amazing, Beauty Thief," Lioness said, which caused Beauty Thief to flush.
"T-Thank you," she stammered out. "Anyway, Joker and Panther are involved, so of course, they will get two of the tickets, but who should get the third one? I'm not a huge fan of art, so I do not need to go."
"I'm not much of an art person either," Lioness admitted.
"And I can always sneak in with Joker," Mona said.
Everyone looked at Skull, who groaned. "Welp," Skull said. "Count on me in…."
"Marvelous," Beauty Thief said as she forwarded each electronic ticket to Joker, Skull, and Panther. "The exhibit is in an hour, so you three will want to prepare. I will have Botan drive you three there."
"Hey, don't have to do that Beauty Thief," Joker told her.
"I know. But I want to do it," Beauty Thief told him. "I'm not a full-fledge Phantom Thief, so anything I can do to help, I will do it."
Joker nodded, albeit hesitantly. "Very well. Panther, Skull, Mona, let's head out. Beauty Thief, would it be alright if we came back here later?"
"All of you are always welcome here," Beauty Thief said with a smile.
"You're the best," Skull said as he slung an arm around Beauty Thief, who giggled.
"Thank you, Skull," Beauty Thief replied.
The four thieves stood up and gave their goodbyes before leaving out the front door. But as Lioness was about to leave, Beauty Thief grabbed Lioness' wrist when she stood up. "Wait," she said.
Lioness looked at her curiously. "What's wrong, Beauty Thief?" Lioness asked curiously.
"I need your help with something," Beauty Thief told her. "Do you mind coming with me?"
Lioness smiled.
[Theme of Okumura Residence – Have a Short Rest from Persona 5]
"Sure. Where are we going?" Shiho asked.
"It's Hifumi. Her Shadow has been messing with her. Since we're both familiar with it, I figured we should talk to her and explain what's happening and see why it is happening," Haru said.
"I'm game," Shiho replied. "But afterward, you need to tell me the full story about your Shadow."
Haru closed her eyes and sighed.
Suddenly, Makoto walked out into the living room with a slight yawn, looking as if she genuinely just woke up.
"Morning," Makoto mumbled.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Shiho teased.
"Good morning, Nijiima-san," Haru said with a nod.
"That bed was like sleeping on a cloud," Makoto said as she stretched. "Is everyone else awake yet?"
"No, everyone just stepped out," Shiho answered with a small smile.
"Darn, I was hoping to see if Ren was okay," Makoto said. "Well, I don't want to overstay my welcome. I should get out of here."
"You do understand that you're welcome here, right?" Haru asked.
Makoto went to answer before she halted as a flicker of glowing yellow eyes appeared on Makoto as the two picked up the faint sounds of whispering before the glowing eyes and the whispering faded away. Shiho and Haru exchanged a look of surprise before looking back at the Student Council President.
They had both saw that.
"Actually, why don't you come with us," Shiho suggested.
"W-Wait?" Haru stammered while Makoto looked confused.
"Go where?" Makoto asked.
Shiho stepped up to Makoto and said, "I know about what's going on with you."
Makoto froze up. "W-What?" Makoto stammered.
"I went through it too, and someone else is going through it as well. And Haru-chan and I are going to talk to her about it," Shiho said.
"Wait, did Ren tell you about it?" Makoto asked, a tone of betrayal in her voice.
"No, did he know?" Shiho asked with confusion.
Makoto stared at her for a moment before she whispered, "That sounds far too genuine….How did you find out?"
"It spoke to you just now, didn't it?" Haru questioned as she stood up.
"Y-Yes…." Makoto admitted.
Haru and Shiho exchanged a look.
"I think we need to go speak to her, and then when Ren and the others come back, we all need to talk," Shiho said. "Because this is becoming too strange now."
[Scene Change: Shibuya – Café LeBlanc (Morning)
Theme of LeBlanc Café – Beneath the Mask ~Rain Ver~ from Persona 5]
"Ah, good morning. I see you brought your friends."
Ren turned around and gave a smile to Sojiro. "Hey Boss," Ren said as he sat down on the stool in front of the counter while Ann and Ryuji sat on each side of him. "You seem to be in a good mood this morning," Ren said, noticing the grin on the older man's face.
"I had a date last night that went very well," Sojiro explained. "We're going out again tonight,"
"Wow, that would certainly boost your mood," Ann said with a smile. "Hello, by the way, I am Takamaki Ann, and this is Sakamoto Ryuji."
"I recognize the both of you. From that video about Kamoshida's confession," Sojiro said. "I'm sorry you kids went through that."
"Yeah, it hella sucked, but if we hadn't gone through that, we would have never met our boy," Ryuji said as he nudged Ren, who smiled gratefully at the blond.
"It's true, Ren's one of the biggest blessings we have from the whole ordeal," Ann said with a sweet smile.
Sojiro smiled as Ren ducked his head, a blush on his face.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, who is the lucky lady?" Ren asked, trying to will his flustered expression down.
Sojiro chuckled. "Some news reporter. Uh, Ichiko Ohya, I believe."
Ren narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
Why did that name sound so familiar?
"Well, I hope you have a great time tonight," Ren said with a smile.
"Yeah, get it in there, Boss," Ryuji said with a grin.
Sojiro chuckled at this as he shook his head. "You kids want anything?"
Just then, the door to LeBlanc's opened, and a man with black shoulder-length hair, dark grey eyes, and a goatee walked inside.
The man wore rimless glasses with a narrow square frame and a black suit with a tie. Underneath his suit jacket, he wore a light turquoise long-sleeved shirt with golden buttons on each end of it, black buttons on each side of the collar, and white sneakers.
The man looked easy-going enough, but Ren was on edge.
He looked too much like that man.
"Good morning," The man said with a carefree smile and a wave.
"Morning. You're a new face around here," Sojiro said as the man sat beside Ren.
"How did you know?" The man asked curiously.
"Everyone in this blasted city has been in here at least once," Sojiro explained. "And I'm pretty good at remembering faces."
"Well, you caught me," The man said with a smile. "I'm Hasegawa Zenkichi. I'm a police inspector from Kyoto. Here to investigate mental shutdowns."
If Ren wasn't on guard before, he was now.
He exchanged a look with Ann and Ryuji, who were also on guard now.
"I'm Sakura Sojiro, and I own this place. And this is Amamiya Ren. He works for me, and these are his friends, Ann and Ryuji," Sojiro introduced.
"Nice to meet you all," Hasegawa said with a wave.
"Likewise," Ren said.
"Hey, Ren. Ryuji and I should head out so we can save our spots in line," Ann said with a knowing look to Ren and then Ryuji.
Ryuji nodded and said, "Yeah, so hurry up and get your cup of addiction. We'll meet you there."
Ann and Ryuji stood up, and with a quick farewell to Sojiro, the two blondes left, but Ren could see them standing out of sight outside of the café.
"Well, what brings you down here?" Sojiro asked.
"Well, Nijiima Sae strongly recommended this place. Best curry and coffee combo around, and I figured I'd give it a shot."
"And you'd be right," Sojiro said with a smile. "Take a look at the menu."
Ren watched as Hasegawa looked up to observe the menu and then said, "I'll take the cup of the Ethiopian Mocha Harrar, and whatever curry matches with that."
"Excellent choice," Sojiro said with a smile.
As Sojiro began to make the coffee and curry, Hasegawa turned to Ren and said, "So, what's your deal, kid?"
"Oh me?" Ren asked. "I work for Sojiro. I just came by to let him know I won't be able to work tonight due to a personal reason."
"Let me guess, girl troubles?" Hasegawa asked playfully.
"Funny enough, yeah," Ren said with a slight grin.
"Oh man, I remember having those problems," Hasegawa sighed out.
"Still do," Sojiro admitted with a chuckle.
The three stared off into the distance before the police inspector looked back at Ren. "I also see from the uniform and the clothes from your friends, you guys are from Shujin, right?" Hasegawa asked.
"Yeah," Ren answered. "I've been there about two weeks now."
"How do you like it?" The older man asked.
"I mean, It's been something," Ren admitted.
"Yeah, I heard what all went down with that Kamoshida guy. It's been all over the news," Hasegawa said with a frown on his face. "I'm sorry you all went through that."
"Well, what doesn't kill you, right?" Ren asked with a slight grin.
Hasegawa laughed at this and said, "I like you, Ren-san."
Ren had to admit that he felt more at ease with the older man despite his initial feelings. "You're not so bad yourself," Ren replied.
Hasegawa smiled.
And like with many others before, the mysterious voice appeared in Ren's head.
"I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Priest Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…."
Ren blinked as a foreign power flowed through him.
When he unlocked this ability with Ann, Igor, and Sojiro, this energy was weird but familiar. But this time, it was different, like when he did this with Shiho.
Like it wasn't there before.
How bizarre.
Sojiro placed Hasegawa's plate and coffee down, and to Ren's surprise, Sojiro put a plate and cup down in front of him as well. "Eat up," Sojiro said.
Ren nodded in thanks as he began to eat.
After a few minutes of eating in silence, a familiar song rang out.
"I tried hard, but where did we go wrong?
I hope we could... but I won't start all over again."
Ren grabbed his phone and saw that Haru was calling him. He quickly hung up the phone then texted her:
Ren: Hey, Haru. I'm in the middle of breakfast. What's up?
"Hey, I recognize that tune," Hasegawa said with a small smile. "Way of Life by Fujita Mayumi, right?"
Ren smiled. "Yeah. My mom used to love the song. She says she got it from my aunt who heard it back in Tatsumi Port Island back while she, my aunt, went to school there."
"Oh, she was a Gekkoukan student then?" Hasegawa asked.
Ren nodded.
"How interesting," The police inspector said. "That was the city that was struck hardest by the Apathy Syndrome, right?"
"Yeah," Ren confirmed. "I somewhat remember that. I remember everyone on the news was panicking. My mom says that my aunt was its last victim before it stopped completely."
Ren's shoulder's slumped as the brief image of a girl with auburn hair and red eyes appeared in his mind briefly before fading away.
He shook his head.
It's been over eight years since she's been dead—no sense in dwelling on her now.
"Ah right, I'm surprised you remember that considering you were probably seven or eight at the time," Sojiro said. "Back in 2008, when this thing was huge, everyone thought that this was airborne. And it made sense. This mysterious condition could cause the inflicted to collapse in a heap and become unable to care for themselves. We were all terrified."
"Yeah, I was a rookie cop during that time. Watching people wither away and die was, but as quickly as it appeared, it went away," Hasegawa said. "It's funny that this was brought up because it reminds me of these Mental shutdown cases."
"Now that you mention it. You have a point," Sojiro said as he leaned against the counter. "These Mental shutdowns started just like the Apathy syndrome. It was a few cases at first and then got out of control. Hopefully, they can figure out what's causing them before we see a repeat."
Ren and Hasegawa nodded before Ren's phone buzzed.
Ryuji: How long are you going to be in there?
Ren: I'm leaving now.
"Hey Boss, I'm heading out," Ren said after scarfing down the rest of his food and drink.
"Yeah, be safe out there and contact me when you arrive," Sojiro said.
"Awesome, thanks, Boss," Ren said as he stood up. He then turned to Hasegawa and said, "It was nice to meet you."
"You too, Ren. Catch you on the flip side," Hasegawa said with a grin.
Ren smiled, and after washing his cup and plate, he walked out of the door.
The second he walked outside, he turned the corner to where Ann and Ryuji waited and said, "We need to avoid that guy at all costs. I think he knows something."
Ann and Ryuji nodded.
Morgana popped up from Ren's bag and exclaimed, "Can we go now?!"
[Change Scene: Shibuya – Art Museum (Day)
Theme of Art Museum – Afternoon Break from Persona 3]
"It's so crowded," Morgana grumbled as Ann, Ren, and Ryuji walked into the museum.
"Don't stick your head out too much, Morgana," Ann chastised lightly.
"Yeah, we don't want to get our asses booted out before we find out any information," Ryuji whispered.
"Yeah, yeah," Morgana replied.
"Hey guys!" a voice called out from ahead of them. The trio looked up to see a happy Mishima walking towards them.
"Hey, Mish!" Ryuji excitedly said as Mishima stopped before them.
"I did not expect you guys to be here," Mishima said as he held a book against his chest.
"We didn't expect to see you either," Ann said happily.
"My dad took me here," Mishima said. "Had to pay a pretty penny, but I guess that's how it is when you're on an apology tour."
There was a hint of sadness that Ren caught at Mishima's voice, but it quickly faded away as the teen asked, "So, what are you guys doing here?"
"Business, I'm afraid," Ren answered.
"Oh," Mishima gasped out, his eyes widening. "That's right. I-I'm so sorry. I forgot. Do you want me to go?"
"Why?" Ren asked. "I told you already that we consider you one of us."
"I-I just thought that you were joking," Mishima said shyly. "T-That's why I went home after a few minutes. E-Everyone is usually so quick to want me to g-go away."
"Nope," Ryuji said as he slung an arm around the now flustered Mishima. "Which means that once we're done here, you're bringing your moe ass back with us. Got it?"
"O-Okay," Mishima softly replied as he poked his index fingers together.
"How grand!" A voice said, which prompted the four teens to look to the left to see a tired, paler than usual Yusuke.
"Hello, Kitagawa-san," Ann chirped.
"We meet again," Ren said.
"Yo," Ryuji said with a lazy peace sign.
"H-Hi," Mishima stammered out.
"I am surprised to see you here today after days of no contact," Yusuke began. "Nonetheless, I am ecstatic that you have come to see my sensei's grand exhibit," Yusuke told them, his eyes solely on Ann and Ren. "Have you two thought on my proposal?"
"We have," Ren said.
"Yeah, we want to learn more about it," Ann said.
"Truly wonderful. Well, let us discuss somewhere in private," Yusuke said as he began to walk ahead with Ann.
Ren quickly looked back to Mishima and Ryuji and said, "You two find Madarame and keep an eye out for anything suspicious."
"I guess we can give it a pass over, come on, my little moe," Ryuji said as he grabbed Mishima's arm and began to walk off while Ren quickly caught up to Ann and Yusuke.
Ryuji and Mishima were walking through the exhibit when the shy teen noticed an older man with long grey hair tied in a ponytail with short facial hair dressed in traditional Japanese clothes surrounded by reporters.
"R-Ryuji-kun. There h-he is," Mishima said as he tugged Ryuji's jacket sleeve.
Ryuji stopped and looked across to see what Mishima saw and said, "Hella sweet. Come on, let's listen in on what he's saying to them."
Mishima nodded, and as the two stopped to look at an art piece closer to Madarame, the two listened.
One of the reporters had brown eyes, black hair in a bob cut and red lips, and a pair of orange sunglasses on her hair.
She wore a black shirt with a motto that reads "low life fight the power," a white long-sleeved shirt under the black shirt, blue jeans, a pink fanny pack, a camera hanging from her neck, and a pair of black-and-white converse sneakers.
"Hi, Ichiko Ohya here with Shibuya Weekly. We continue to be truly surprised by your imagination. You have such an expansive style. It's hard to believe that it all stems from the same person. Where do you find the inspiration to pull all of these art styles, Madarame-san?"
"Well, it's rather difficult to explain," Madarame said as he crossed his arms in thought. "They naturally well up from within my head like abubble rising one after another in a hot spring."
Mishima watched as a wry smirk crossed Ohya's face as she asked, "Naturally, you say?"
"What's important is to distance oneself from worldly desires such as money and fame," Madarame told her. "My atelier is a modest shack, but it is more than enough to pursue true beauty."
Both Mishima and Ryuji glanced at one another.
"A shack?" Ryuji muttered.
"I see," Ohya drawled. "So the act of emptying one's mind gives rise to one's inner beauty. Interesting. Still, to think we could hear the word "Shack" coming from the great artist Ichiryusai Madarame."
Madarame chuckled and said, "You would understand if you saw it."
"Weird," Ryuji murmured. "Wasn't the world "Shack" something…."
Ryuji did not have time to finish his sentencing because many people began to swarm around the area, which caused both Ryuji and Mishima to look around. "There are too many people. Damn it, stop pushing," Ryuji growled out as he was jostled from side to side from the crowd.
"I'm getting crushed," Mishima wheezed out.
"Take my hand, Mishima! We're getting the fuck out of here," Ryuji exclaimed.
"Whoa….I had no idea that there were so many types of Japanese art," Ann cooed out while Ren and Yusuke stood behind her.
"Usually, one concentrates on their own style. However, Sensei creates all this by himself," Yusuke said.
Ren narrowed his eyes at this.
It was faint, but he could hear something in Yusuke's voice as he said this.
"Yeah, he's exceptional," Ren said.
"Yes, he truly is," Yusuke replied, his shoulders sagging subtly.
"Yusuke!" a voice shouted, which caused the three of them to turn to see Madarame. Ren noticed the brief look of fear in Yusuke's eyes before it was wiped away. "Sensei!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"Ah, the duo from the other day. Are you two enjoying my exhibit?" Madarame asked.
"I don't know how to put it into words, but it's amazing," Ann told him.
"Yeah, it's amazing how it all came from one, single person," Ren added on with a frown. "I don't know how you do it."
"Ah, I see you are sensing something from the artwork, Miss," Madarame said, his eyes focusing on Ann in a way that made Ren think of Kamoshida. "That alone is enough to give us artists satisfaction."
Madarame then turned to Yusuke and said, "I hope this becomes a wonderful piece, Yusuke."
Ren could hear something within Madarame's voice that made him tense up. It sounded normal, but there was an undercurrent of something but what?
It was then they saw a load of people coming over, saying Madarame's name. Madarame chuckled and said, "I thought I escaped. Well, if you three will excuse me, I must be off before they surround me again." Madarame then walked away, leaving the trio.
"You'd imagine artists would be difficult to approach, but he seems friendly," Ann told Yusuke while Ren continued to watch the older man's retreat.
"Indeed," Both Yusuke and Ren said in unison, which prompted the two to exchange glances. Yusuke broke off the look immediately by turning away, but Ren caught that look of shame in his eyes.
Ren watched as Ann let out a small gasp and began to walk to a painting. "Whoa…" she whispered. "This painting…" Ann whispered.
Ren and Yusuke walked to stand beside Ann while Yusuke muttered, "This painting?"
"Yeah…Look at it," Ann said. "I sense that there's this frustration coming from it. No, it's more like anger and desperation. To think such a cheerful and gentlemanly person could make such a piece."
Ren watched Yusuke subtly flinch and looked back at the painting.
"Something wrong?" Ren asked Yusuke.
"Don't mind me," Yusuke said as a glint of resignation appeared in his eyes. "There are better pieces than…this one."
But like before, the look vanished, and a mockery of a cheerful one appeared in its place. "Come now, this way!"
As Yusuke walked away, Ann and Ren exchanged a glance then looked at the painting.
"You think this is Yusuke's painting that we're looking at?" Ann asked.
"His reaction just then confirmed it," Ren said. "Madarame is not a smooth as he thinks he is."
"Hmph, Good thing that creep plagiarist didn't fool us," Ann said as she started to walk away. "Otherwise, I would have been disappointed."
Ren smirked.
"While it sucks to be jaded like this due to being around shitty adults, being jaded like this does have its benefits," Ren said as he walked beside her.
Ann smirked as she said, "Like not being starstruck by a sleazebag's mask."
Captain Blues: And that is all I wrote for this one. So, one of the things that bugged me was how susceptible it was for the teens to be tricked by Madarame for a hot minute.
So, I used their history with Kamoshida and Ren's history with his framing, to paint the thieves as jaded so they are primarily focused on catching body queues. While they are not good at this quite, they will be when Hifumi gets on the scene.
The next chapter will focus on Haru and Shiho with their own mission while the team meets back up so until then, time to set sail.