The Young Artist and his Mentor

'What the hell is Igor? Aside from being inhuman. There's no way a normal man could exude that level of malice while being a cryptic asshole. Dead apostle maybe…? Too soon to tell.' Akira's mind was running wild with theories.

He was at school now. After waking up, he headed to school. He didn't want any repeats of his first day. Sojiro wouldn't approve. After class, he got up to leave when he was met by a fellow teen with blue hair. Mishima.

"Hey Mishima. how're you doing?"

"I'm doing great, better than ever. And that's thanks to you."

Akira nodded. "Glad our chat helped you out."

Mishima shook his head. "The talk was nice, but that's not what I mean. What I'm trying to say is…" Mishima got closer and whispered the next part. "You're one of the Phantom thieves right?"

Akira looked him in the eye, calmly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, no-" He raised his hands. "I'm not threatening you or anything!" He spoke quietly enough so only Akira could hear him. The classroom was deserted at this point, but no need to risk it. "Look check this out…" he showed him the Phantom Aficionado website.

"Okay. I've seen it." Mishima was leaning in closer; Akira gently pushed him back. "Also, personal space."

Mishima backed off, but was still excited. "People started calling it the Phansite. And guess who's behind it…?"

"America?"

"No, I did!" Mishima proudly said. "It was to allow people to reach out to you for requests. I know you guys aren't finished yet."

Akira tilted his head. "You know they are… likely not doing it for fame right?"

"I know, but…" Mishima crossed his arms and looked d "I… I want people to support them, like you do, but I know I can't. And I owe 'them' for taking him down; I'm decent when it comes to computers so I made the site. Is that so wrong?"

"Hmmm…" Akira knew the site was being used for mostly jokes because they weren't taken seriously. That would change as they went after more targets. Mishima's site would be good for that. 'Mishima's excited about us. Too excited, He might go overboard. Still, he is a supporter and, despite leaking my record… he was a victim of Kamoshida.

"Well, if you're offering to help, I'm sure they'll accept." he brought up his hand to cut off Mishima's words. "I doubt they can tell you all the details for your safety, but if you have any info you want to give them, I'll hear you out." he extended his hand.

"Great!" Mishima shook his hand. "It's a deal. I hope we can show the world that there's still justice and those that seek it!"

Akira tilted his head to the side. His mind went to a child friend of his, one who spoke of justice and championed it with his own power across the world- even if it killed him. Especially if it killed him. It took years to convince him to do so without trying to die, but it was worth it. 'Still a pain in the ass to deal with sometimes… Oh who am I kidding, the fact that he's the best cooking buddy I can think of makes up for his lacking brain cells.'

"Akira, you okay…?" Mishima asked.

"Oh sorry. Talk of justice just reminded me of an old friend."

"Oh…. What's he like?"

"More stubborn than a bull and deadly like a sword too." With that, Akira got up. "I gotta go. See ya Mishima." Akira headed to find Ann and Ryuji. When he couldn't find them, he checked his phone. He got a text from Ryuji to meet on the roof. So he went up the stairs and into the open roof. He saw Ann sitting on a seat and Ryuji standing near her.

"Glad you could make it!" Ryuji greeted him.

"We saw each other last night." Akira smiled. "Why'd you want to meet here?"

"It's better we meet where few people see us." Ryuji said. "Since Kamoshida was connected with all of us, we don't want any rumors popping up."

"He's right." Ann agreed. "Best keep our heads down, although this place is kinda…normal for a hideout."

"And that's what makes it perfect!" Ryuji said. "No one will expect it."

"I kinda have to disagree." Akira said, shaking his head. "The rooftop of a school is a typical place for students to hide away from others."

Ryuji slumped his shoulder at that. "Well, we can figure that out later. Anyone seen Morgana? We need all of us for this."

"Present!" Morgana stuck his head out from Akira's bag, before jumping out and landing on one of the desks. "I'll be staying with Joker in his home for now, so if ya need me, talk to our leader."

Ryuji grinned at that. "Great! With all of us here, we can start the meeting."

"Question!" Ann raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Takamaki?" Ryuji said, imitating a teacher. Akira smiled at them goofing off.

"What's this meeting about?" Ryuji was about to answer, when his fellow delinquent did it for him.

"It would be a pleasure to explain!" Akira spoke up, also sounding like a Professor. "Here we aim to discuss who our next target shall be. Or rather, who the phantom thieves shall target next."

"Hey! I was doing the teacher bit first, not you!" Ryuji complained.

"Mr Sakamoto, as your Senior and colleague, with a masters in Deviant Theavery and a Bachelors in Professional Deceit & Bullshit, I would ask you to save any questions for after I am done explaining." Ann laughed as Ryuji sulked, before breaking into giggles himself.

The discussion went towards who their next target was. Ann checked the site and, among the joke requests and memes, found a request for someone to change the heart of their boyfriend, who started stalking her. She explained the request and looked downcast. Akira noticed. "Is something wrong?"

"No it's just…I think I might have a… stalker…" She explained how she started feeling someone watching her on her way to her modeling job. The guys offered their support, in their own way. Ryuji's response wasn't surprising. Akira's was.

"I'll find a club or iron bar. That'll work."

"A dagger should teach him to behave."

"Guys knock it off!" Ann yelled at them. "It didn't feel like a threat, more like someone was staring. No need to resort to violence. And you!" She pointed at Akira. "You have a record, put the knife away!"

"But I don't have a knife…" He showed his empty hands. For some reason, Ann didn't believe him.

"Ok, jokes aside, we'll hold off on any violence." Ryuji said. "You just want us to wait and see?"

Ann nodded. "Yes, though I appreciate the support."

"No worries," Akira waved it off. "We'll behave."

"Great! In that case, since it's the weekend, How about we hang out tomorrow, you know, just relax as highschool students. Unless either of you have plans…?"

Akira and Ryuji answered with "Nope." and "Not me," so they agreed to hang out the next day. Akira headed home. He decided to get some shopping done; maybe stock up on medicine from the doctor, Tae.

"Hey can we get some fish on our way home?" Morgana asked, resting in his bag.

'Master.' Zealot spoke to him in his mind. 'I found the origin of the bugs.'

'Excellent.' "Yeah, I can get some." Akira said & thought. Keeping his words and thoughts separate was normal for Akira. 'Who's our culprit?'

'Futaba Sakura, the reclusive daughter of your current guardian. I caught her rushing into the Cafe an hour after you left.'

"Really?! I thought you'd fight me a bit more on this…" Morgana trailed off.

Akira shrugged. "I don't mind, but don't expect anything too expensive." 'She probably planted more bugs in my room. Describe her.'

'Long orange hair, glasses, green fur jacket, stockings, headphones. Frail and with shaking limbs; she probably rarely leaves the house. She looked scared, rushing from the house to the cafe.' Zealot added.

'Yet she moved past said fear to go to the cafe most likely put more bugs in my room… She's looking out for her father, making sure I don't hurt him… Heh, what a sweet girl…does she have any friends?'

'Unsure, though I doubt it; she doesn't go to school. Father's unknown on the record, but her mother was Wakaba Ishiki. She died 2 years ago… and according to the report, Futaba was there when she died.'

'Hmm…' Akira was in thought. She's a brilliant hacker shut in, traumatized by mother's death. She was then adopted by Sojiro, his current guardian. 'Her motive's clear as day; keep an eye on me to make sure her dad's fine…' she'd definitely have experience in the web, maybe hacked into secure systems before. 'Anything else you noticed…?

Zealot pondered it. '...Yes… At one point she referred to herself as… Alibaba.'

'An alias then.' The thief mused. 'For when she goes online. Now, how to handle this…' Talking with Sojiro was out; he doesn't trust him. Some for trying to sneak into their house to meet her. She'd panic and react poorly.

'Unless… she was the one who reached out to me.' Akira decided to put his plan into motion tomorrow, once had the time to implement it. For now, he'd head to the Clinic to get some more meds from his favorite Goth doctor. After that, a bit of browsing before heading home for the night.

_The Next day, Saturday_

The three friends and their cat went out into the city. They'd earned some time to relax after dealing with the perverted king. They spent some time hanging out, going through some stores until sitting down to eat.

Akira wasn't sure if he wanted to repeat the day. Ann and Ryuji were fine until they argued about desert. He wouldn't have thought their argument was hilarious - at some point they went from arguing about dessert, to arguing about music, to arguing about manga, and so on - if he wasn't asked to mediate it.

They passed by the batting cages next. Ryuji talked a big game, but on average, missed most of the shots. Ann was the exact opposite, and managed to bat most of the shots. Akira ended up somewhere between them in terms of hits and misses. He could've hit all of them easily, but held back, because a normal Akira Kurusu wasn't a prodigy in the batting cages, or gifted with specialized training. So Instead he just shrugged and went along with the others.

After that, they went out browsing for goods. Ann even tried on a He got some clothes as well; never knew when he might need to dress in style for an event or something. 'She looked pretty good in it - then again, with her looks, she'd make wearing rags attractive.'

"Man that was soo fun!" Ann stretched her arms up. "It feels like forever since we could just hang out like normal teens.

Ryuji shook his head. "It was more like you dragging us around to places you wanted to go.

"Hey! Next time, one of you guys can lead the group around and I-" Ann turned around. She thought she felt someone staring at her.

"You think it's the stalker?" Ryuji asked.

Ann nodded. "Might've been, but I'm not sure."

Akira looked around briefly. "I have a knife."

"Don't you dare!" Ann whispered back to the smirking delinquent. Akira denied any plans involving stabbing a stranger. He then grabbed Ryuji and ushered him forward.

"Ryuji, follow my lead." Akira shot a glance at Ann, who nodded. So did Ryuji. The two guys went ahead, now walking ahead of Ann. Ann kept her pace but noticed someone following her. She didn't feel threatened by it but it was a bit unnerving. When the stranger reached to grab her shoulder, Ryuji and Akira turned and ran back, standing between Ann and the stranger.

The stranger in question was a teen around their own age, wearing black school pants and a plain white shirt with a symbol on the shoulder, looked like a halberd head. He had smooth blue hair covering part of his face and gray eyes. He was staring at Ann, completely ignoring Akira and Ryuji, despite their efforts to look menacing.

"Hold it!" Ryuji told him. "Who do you think you are, Huh!?" the teen didn't even look away from Ann, gazing at her. He only noticed Ryuji when he stood directly between them. "You've been following our friend! Are you a stalker?"

"Please don't be rude. Also, don't make such outlandish assumptions of others." The teen said. "Would you kindly step aside?"

"Step Aside?! Are listening-" the teen was not listening as he decided to step around Ryuji and stop right in front of Ann.

"I knew it. Up close I can see it- you are perfection."

Ann just looked at him confused. "Huh?"

"The glory of it, the allure. I see the pinnacle that has yet to be!" He rambled on.

"Wait a minute, Hold up!" Ann stepped back. "What is this, who are you?"

He continued. "You are the one I have searched for, my muse. For the sake of my art, I must ask that you bear everything you are to me!"

"Whaaat!?" Ann stuttered. She then looked to Akira and Ryuji, asking for assistance. Akira met her gaze and nodded. Time to do what he does well: talk to strangers until they stop being strangers.

"Excuse me." Akira stepped between them. "I think you should introduce yourself. I can tell you're an artist with a keen eye for beauty. So I must ask… Do you intend to turn my friend's image into a painting the likes of the Mona Lisa?"

The blue haired teen blinked. "If I did… would you have a problem with it?"

"None whatsoever, so long as she's willing." Akira offered his hand. "Your name?"

"Ah. you're right, where are my manners." The teen took his hand and they shook. "My name is Yusuke Kitigawa. I'm a second year student in Kosei High's art program."

Akira grinned. "Akira Kurusu. Student of Shujin academy. These are my friends Ann and Ryuji."

Yusuke nodded and turned to Ann. "Once again I must ask to be my-"

A car drove up beside them, the honking horn catching all their attention. The side window came down to show an older man with graying hair and a grandfatherly appearance. He smiled at them. "I wondered why you left the car; your passions led you here towards inspiration."

"Master Madarame! Forgive me I was…" Yusuke looked apologetic.

Madarame waved him off. "No worries. I see you've found a promising model. We have a few minutes to spare, but we should be getting home soon."

Ann blinked, then gasped. "Wait, you mean Ichiryusai Madarame? That's your master?"

"You know this guy?" Ryuji asked, looking between Ann and the old man.

Ann turned to her fellow blond. "Yeah! He featured in a TV special from Craftmaster Empire. He's renown as a famous Japanese painter, both her and world wide."

The old man gave a serene smile. "How nice it is to meet a fan."

Akira nodded. "I hear one person compare him to Michelangelo in terms of prowess and potential. I find that to be both inaccurate and totally mistaken."

Yusuke narrowed his eyes on Akira, while his master just raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Because the original Michelangelo had a passion for art equal only to his violent temper… " Akira motioned to Madarame. "And your teacher doesn't seem the type to get angry easily: He seems more like the calm collected wise man." Madarame only smiled more at the comparison.

Yusuke thought about that and nodded. "I suppose you might have a point. I'm not as well versed in Western Renaissance artists as you seem to be, so I'll take your word for it." the young artist turned to face Ann. "Have you considered my proposal?"

"Okay just to be clear…" Ann found her voice again. "You want me to model for your painting?"

Yusuke eagerly nodded. "All that I've drawn to this point has been lacking, but from you I can sense a passion, a fire like no one else. Well… what do you say?"

"Hold up!" Ryuji yelled at him. "You're kinda pushing it, dontcha think? We literally just met you."

Akira nodded. "I think she'd make great inspiration for your art…" Ann sputtered at that but Akira ignored her. "But you're coming on a bit too strong. You've made your pitch, and I know your passion for it is true, but let's give her time to process it."

"…I suppose I was a bit intense." Yusuke relented. He then pulled out three tickets from his pocket and handed them to Ann. "Madarame will be holding an art exhibit in a few days, one that I'll be honored to assist in. You can give me an answer then. The extra two tickets are for your friends, even if only one of them will be able to appreciate the beauty of fine art." He glanced between Akira and Ryuji, the latter glaring at him.

Yusuke then got into the car with Madarame, the two driving off, leaving the trio of friends behind. Ann gives Akira the side eye. Akira merely raised an eyebrow in response. "What?"

"'Great inspiration of Art,' huh?" Ann crossed her arms. "What kinda support was that?"

"It's the kind that is positive, honest, and sincere to a fault. You're lucky to have me." Akira responded. Ryuji just laughed at them both, until Ann elbowed him lightly.

Ryuji huffed. "We expected a stalker, instead we got an artist. You had us worried for nothin Ann."

Ann scowled at him. "Oh shut it! I didn't know what to expect."

"Are you gonna accept his offer?" Akira asked. "We all know you're a model so this might be a step up from your usual gigs."

Ann shrugged. "Dunno. I'll have to think about it."

Ryuji hummed. "Ya think he'll ask you to go nude for it?"

Akira brought his hand to his chin, thinking aloud. "He did say 'bare your everything to me!' with much emphasis on 'bare,' so it is possible."

Ann frowned at them. "Shut it, both you two! He won't take it that far." She sighed. "Moving past that, we should focus on the Phansite and our next target."

Ryuji smirked and brought out his phone. "We want another big target, someone really well known and famous. That'll get our name out there."

Akira just rolled his eyes at that. 'He wants a big target, yet doesn't see the one that just passed by. Madarame's act was so fake I could see through it a mile away. I'll eat my shoe if he doesn't have a palace.' "I'm sure if we do some of the requests, we'll come across a major target. What about the guy you mentioned yesterday."

Ann nodded. "Yeah. Apparently the guy is stalking his ex. So…" She fidgeted a bit. Akira noted how this person seemed similar to the case with Kamoshida, if to a lesser degree. If Ryuji noticed it, he didn't comment on it.

Ryuji caught his fist in his hand. "Alright then! Let's go over some of the key words for his palace, I'm thinkin-"

"He doesn't have a palace, not like Kamoshida."

Morgana went on to describe the metaverse; how Palaces were unusual, the result of a truly warped perception of the world from an individual. How most people develop a communal Palace. Akira was only partially listening, more focused on the… implications of the metaverse, and how it could be understood by a magus. 'If Kamoshida's palace was an isolated occurrence, then where would everyone else's shadow manifest? It would have to be a generalized Palace. A palace of the masses. Most people use or know of the train station, so it likely resembles that to some degree. Hence why we'll enter through here. Clever cat.'

Morgana finished his explanation and looked to Ryuji. "You got all that?"

"Huh? Oh uh, yeah. Totally got it!" Ryuji did not get it but claimed otherwise.

Morgana just sighed. "Anyways, Let's all meet up here at the station tomorrow. We can deal with the Phansite request."

Ryuji wasn't sure how that would work. "How are we supposed to get to this dude's palace from the station?"

Morgana grinned. "Don't worry. I got a plan for just that."

The three went their separate ways. Akira and Morgana heading home. The transfer made a few detours to get some food and medicine from the clinic. Once finished, Akira and Morgana head home to Le'Blanc. Akira contacted Zealot during the walk. He'd made up his mind on how to deal with Sakura's daughter.

'Zealot, I've decided on how to approach the girl. Here's what I need you to do…' Zealot agreed to the plan. It worked to his advantage, and gave him options. Worst case scenario, she could deal with her. Maybe then the heir would return home, or so the Zealot hoped.