Not entirely new content, but I realize I should have a recap of what happened with Madarame, and this helps set up the next segment of the story.

Chapter 19

Ren motorboated his lips as he sat at his desk in his 'room' in Lablanc's attic. He tapped his pen against the paper resting on the surface of the wood, minding wandering wherever it may. It's been over a month since they began their crusade against the corrupt adults. They've even taken down a second 'bigwig' as Ryuji calls them. This one was a famous painter known as Madarame. Though, famous was an overwhelming overstatement to reality.

What the guy really was, was a pretender. He was taking in potential painters under his wing then stole their work to market it as his own. When those apprentices grew tired of his plagiarism and lies the famous painter would throw them out and tarnish their names so they may never enter the painting world. Many of Madarame's so-called 'apprentices' committed suicide because of the selfish man's influence. Those who were able to move on were forced into fields they cared nothing for and fell into bits of depression.

The real kicker to Ren, however, was when they defeated Madarame's shadow. The shadow mentioned a man in a black mask. After the Palace vanished the group discussed this amongst each other and all agreed this masked man must be the one causing all the mental shutdowns in the city. It was their first lead, but… it wasn't anything to go off of. All Ren could do was draw a picture of a black skull and stare at it for who knows how long, and that's the wrong kind of 'black mask'. Still, he felt as if he had to do something and this was all he had.

With a sigh he looked up, then froze upon meeting eye to eye with a cat. Said cat was looking deadpan right at him with stern eyes. Ren blinked. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me! What's she doing here again?!" Morgana arched his back in a hiss.

Who? Ren looked over at the maid wiping his shelves with a feather duster, or should he say, his teacher wiping the shelves with a feather duster. It was Miss Kawakami, his homeroom teacher. Turns out, she works, secretly, as a maid on the side. He found out on accident, but thinking back on it, the pink slip she almost handed him first day at Shujin must have been a pamphlet for the special service. The 'accident' (curiosity) that ended this way was when he, Ryuji, and Mishima called for a maid after Ryuji found a pink pamphlet. The maid who picked up their call was their teacher, 'Betty' was her maid name. The other two bailed once they thought they would be caught as highschoolers, so they had no clue to this rather fascinating secret. He was keeping this one though, especially as he's been calling her regularly to help with certain chores. It wasn't cheap, five-thousand yen a day, but... he can make up the difference on one good run in the metaverse.

Ren shrugged. "She's good."

"You can clean your room too, you know!"

"Nah."

"Why do you have to be so lethargic at times!"

"But we've been so busy lately. I don't have the time."

"Enough with the excuses! Are you even trying to act like a normal teen."

"You think normal teens clean their room?"

"What's the maid for then?!"

"So I don't have to clean my room."

"Ohh…. Forget it."

"Uh…" They both turned to the voice. Kawakami eyed them both as if they were mad. "Are you okay?"

Morgana and Ren looked to each other in confusion, but it quickly dawned on them. She couldn't understand Morgana. To her he was just an ordinary cat. Ren pushed his glasses up his nose. "What? Never seen a man argue with his cat before?" He reached out his hand. "High five." Morgana didn't hesitate to pat the open hand with a paw, neither of them looking away from the stunned teacher/maid.

Kawakami rolled her eyes and turned around to continue cleaning as if nothing weird was happening. With her back to them again Morgana turned to Ren once more. "But seriously, why do you keep calling her over? It has to be more than cleaning. Your hardly that kind of slob."

Rude. Ren sighed, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling.

'You can't replace what you never had,' and 'Try not to surround yourself with reminders,' the echoes that have been bouncing around in Ren's head for what felt like forever. 'You'll only end up hurting yourself.' True words. More true than he could ever admit.

Ren has tried ignoring his uncle's words, going on with his new life, his new friends. He spent some quality time with Ryuji, Ann, Morgana, and several others. Not only to build up the Arcana for more powerful Personas, but so he had a network of allies, friends. If only it were true. He's been finding that everything was reminding him of his old friends. The doctor reminded him of the nurse, the airshop owner reminded him of the blacksmith, Ann acted so much like Rise, Ryuji just has nonstop Chie vibes, Morgana is a conundrum of comparisons and contrasts to Teddie, Sojiro's coffee kept fueling the image of Dojima, and now… Yusuke.

This guy came around just as Ren was coming to terms with not being Yu. This new teenager was Madarame's 'apprentice,' but in Yusuke's case, Madarame raised the boy so it was hard to get him out of the brainwashing. It only took pulling him into the palace and seeing Madarame's true self that Yusuke accepted reality. At first, Ren thought nothing of the guy, just a deluded victim they needed to help before it was too late, but then he was brought into the group after awaking to a Persona. Then Ren found himself calling the teen… Yosuke. The dam fell and a torrent of comparisons drowned him.

The more Ren got to know the teen the more Ren wished he didn't hear. It was bad enough the guy's name was so much like Yosuke from Inaba, but there was so much to compare. Yusuke's over attachment to beauty and crafts reminded him of Kanji. Then there was his diction and fluent word choice, not to mention his lack of social understanding, that reminded Ren of Naoto. It was only then that everything came back to smack him in the face again. He was surrounding himself with people who reminded him of his old friends.

The only difference, his only saving grace, was this relationship with Kawakami. She was the only one completely different from everyone in Inaba. The only one in Inaba who comes close to her was the homeroom teacher Kashiwagi. He already made this plea before, but he's found Kawakami to be far superior to the Inaba teacher. Kawakami wasn't promiscuous, or self-loving, to a disturbing degree. This superior teacher also gave off an air of truly caring for her students, if a little subdued. If all these memories hounding him were a devastating desert, Kawakami was a refreshing river to cool his throbbing heart. Not that he'd ever admit that.

Ren looked back to Morgana and shook his head. He leaned in and whispered, "Something's wrong and she needs help. I can tell, but I just don't know what it is." With Yu's memories, he could see trouble brewing in most people. In this case, he just felt that he could help her. Despite not knowing what it was.

Morgana looked over at the maid. "Well… I guess there does seem something off. That story about her sister felt forced. And she has been helping you more at school since you started this. Might as well let you play this out."

Right. She's been letting him get away with stuff at school as a 'favor' for keeping her side-job a secret. Not only could she be fired for it, since this maid service has 'special services' her reputation would be tarnished as well. Not that he would reveal this even if she didn't offer this 'favor.' He liked her enough for his silence. As for the sister thing, she told him she needed the money because of her sister's terminal illness and yada-yada. He could spot the lie in her eyes. Whatever it was, it had to be important. Trusting her judgment, he continued to call her regardless.

A shadow loomed over him, causing him to look up to see Kawakami smile down at him. "So, Master…" She stepped back and planted herself on the couch, patting the seat next to her.

Ren got up and sat next to her, nodding for her to continue.

She beamed. "I want to provide more services for you."

"Like what?"

"I'm really good at giving massages. Meow!" She made a strange face. Her lips pursed and, somehow, she managed to get her cheeks to blush a flirtatious red. It was like a seductive duck meowing at him.

Ren could feel the contents of his stomach disagreeing with that particular 'meow.' Morgana looked offended as well, and the guy still says he's no cat.

"I'll massage you aaanywhere you like."

Ren could only blink, trying his best to come up with… words.

Kawakami stopped. The strange face vanishing as she sat back and cocked her head to the side. "Well? How was that?"

"Err…" He wasn't aroused if that's what she's asking. What the hell was 'that?'

The teacher became more bashful, looking away from him and rubbing the back of her head. "The thing is, I talked to my boss about picking up more shifts, but he said that he prioritized 'younger' women!"

Ah, now he gets it. "That's rather rude."

Kawakami's face scowled and she crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Seriously… he didn't have to say that right to my face. I mean, age has nothing to do with cleaning a room!"

Ren felt a paw smack him on the back of the head, he just ignored it and listened to his homeroom teacher.

"And I look damn good for my age, if I do say so myself. The girls in my neighborhood always tell me I'm pretty. And the latchkey kid who lives next door always asks me to tie up her hair. Thanks to that, I'm an expert with these pigtails now. See?" She played with the said pigtails for show. "So I'm damn good for-… wait, don't tell me I'm the only one who thinks this way?" She turned to him, a familiar glimmer in her eyes.

Ren tensed and tried looking away.

"Master…"

Too late.

"Would you please give me your honest opinion?"

She was even pulling the strange duck face again. Please, God make it stop.

"I look pretty good as a maid, don't I?"

Does that mean he should be aroused? Cause he still wasn't. "You look great." It's not like she was unattractive, if he had to say. She certainly had a young appeal, but she was not his type. A certain, 'Prince' Detective came to mind for that role and there was no way that special role in his heart was being replaced any time soon.

Despite these inner thoughts, Kawakami lit up both in shock and fluster. "Really?!"

What, was he supposed to say no?

She smiled, looking all the lighter, as if the world suddenly loved her. "I'm going to take your word for it!" Then she paused, a solum look rushing to her eyes. She stood up, turning her back to him and stepping away. Her voice was weak, almost on the verge of tears. "You go out of your way to request me, and all I do is sit here and vent to you. What the heck am I saying? You're my student… My double life as both a teacher and a maid is so exhausting."

She has been complaining to him about her life. About the maid business and the going ons at school. He didn't particularly mind, to him it was one way he was helping her out. A listening ear can do wonders. That is the experience he has from Yu's memories at least. The one thing that didn't depress him when he thought about it.

"Maybe I let my guard down because you know both sides of me." Kawakami raised her arms, waving them up and down like a scale. "The more I come here, the more I feel like I can relax. As a maid, I'm supposed to help my master relax… but instead, I'm the one who's being helped." She planted her face in her hands, shoulders bobbing up and down in silent laughter. "… Sorry I'm such a terrible maid."

She finally turned around to face him. "I have to confess something… I lied about the reason why I need to make more money. I don't have a sick sister… All that stuff about the fees and charges was a lie too."

Ren leaned forward, hands clutching one another as he listened. He was getting the answers he wanted. "I know."

"I can't get requested unless I make up those types of stories. See, you understand now, right? Nothing good will come from involving yourself with a terrible person like me. It's a good lesson learned. Let's just put an end to this." With a sigh she made her way to the stairs. "Thank you for using our service."

Ren stood up. "You know, I'm willing to listen to the real reason."

She stopped at the stairs, still refusing to look at him. "No. I've done enough complaining for once. Just forget about this and move on with your life. Save your money for something worthwhile." Then she continued down the stairs.

Ren shook his head, turning back to his desk and sitting down to stare at the 'black mask,' he took up the pen and began tapping the desk again. Morgana hopped up onto the desk and looked back at the stairs. "Seems like something really has her down. Any idea what?"

"Nope. She didn't even imply anything. All I got was it really bothers her. The worst thing that comes to mind is blackmail, but I can't see her doing anything worth blackmailing for. I mean… this maid service thing, sure, but that doesn't make sense."

"Yeah. She wouldn't be in this business otherwise. Maybe she has a dark past?"

"Or dark from her perspective."

"Want me to check it out?"

"No. I'll just call her again."

Morgana stiffened. "Again!? She just said not to!"

"Man, my room just gets so dirty."

The cat sagged. "Of course you'd call her again." Morgana sat down and began licking his paw. "I guess it's the best course of action. She'd be more compelled to tell you why she's doing this, especially since she isn't in a position to turn down a job. What're you going to do when she comes back?"

"Don't know. I'll improvise."

Morgana stopped his licking to appraise the boy. "You can at least pretend to plan things out. You're our leader after all."

"I practice a more Laissez-Faire style of leadership."

"That better not be French for lazy."

"It's not, sheesh." What did this non-cat think of him?