Good Day Readers! Obviously, I do not own anything connected to the Persona series in general or Persona 5 specifically, I DO own Chiba Natsumi and Anais Ouvrard, along with Natsumi's immediate family members and the original Personas that will be showing up on occasion.

I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy.

Chapter 31: - The Artist

The final day of exams were upon us and I was busy leafing through the notes I made for the only tests we hadn't gone through yet, my lips moving soundlessly to try and impart as much information as possible before it all vanished. Ren and Ryūji were stood with me, but I was a little too busy to pay much attention until a loud yawn escaped the blonde, popping my little study bubble quite effectively. I lifted my head to give the boy a small scowl as I snapped my book closed.

"I'm so sleepy," Ryūji admitted. His eyes were drooping considerably, I was a little worried that he'd end up falling asleep standing up before the train got here. "I ended up pullin' an all-nighter once I realised today's the last day of exams," Ryūji admitted. I raised an eyebrow at those words with Morgana popping out of the bag to express his own disbelief that Ryūji had been studying. "Nah, I gave up on the exam. I was playin' some games and then before I knew it, it was morning," Ryūji revealed. That was believable, although Ren reached his hands up to massage his head.

"You're failing for sure," Ren stated. I nodded in agreement as Ryūji slumped down with a sad aura surrounding him that could have rivalled a Despair Ailment. Before we could say any more, a sleepy voice greeted us and we all turned around to look at Ann as she walked over to us, her mouth opened wide – despite the hand covering it – as a yawn escaped her. She seemed as likely to fall asleep as Ryūji was.

"Yo, look who else is yawnin'," Ryūji greeted. He seemed to have brightened up at seeing that someone else was sleepy, Ren wasn't exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed but even he seemed more well rested than either of the two blondes in front of us. I just hoped that Ann hadn't decided to pull a similar kind of stunt as Ryūji, we really don't need another person potentially failing.

"Exams are almost over, so I thought I'd make one last effort across the finish line," Ann admitted. Well thank goodness she had at least tried, but with how exhausted she seemed then I wasn't feeling great about how well she'd do, if only because of her liability to fall asleep during the actual exam. Hopefully we could find a couple of seats on the train so that Ann and Ryūji could get some actual sleep.

"Impressive, Ann-dono. You're quite different from this stupid monkey I know," Morgana admitted. That was a bit harsh, especially given the way that Kamoshida had referred to Ryūji in that terrible library, the blonde boy proceeded to turn to look at Morgana with an annoyed look upon his face which the human-turned-cat seemed oblivious to.

"Huh? Don't gimme that crap. Your brain's tiny compared to mine," Ryūji claimed. While true, that didn't seem to be too much of an issue for Morgana as he seemed quite knowledgeable about some things, especially when it came to phantom thievery. Morgana turned to look at Ryūji with an obvious curl upon his lips.

"Size is meaningless if there's nothing inside, you know," Morgana stated. Ouch, that seemed a bit of a low blow, but Ryūji predictably rose to the bait as he stopped his foot forward and seemed about ready to get into another verbal sparring match with Morgana; Ren looked like he'd given up all hope for the world while I shook my head in disbelief at their constant antagonism of each other.

"Ugh, will you please shut up!? You're gonna make me forget everything I memo-," Ann began to snap. However, she suddenly stopped talking right as I pivoted to glare behind Ann and the blonde dived behind me gripping my shoulders tightly. "Am I imagining things, Natsu-chan?" Ann asked. So, it seemed she wasn't oblivious to the individual who had been present.

"No. You're fine Ann-chan. But I missed them," I admitted. The argument was immediately shoved to the back burner as I felt warm presences appear on either side of me; I didn't look back though and kept sweeping my eyes over the congested crowd of waiting passengers, unfortunately I couldn't spot the person who had suddenly disappeared, but I still sensed their gaze upon us.

"What's wrong?" Ren asked. His tone was steady, but an undercurrent of protectiveness burned within him, I turned back to look at them and found that Morgana was draped over Ann's shoulders like some kind of fur wrap. Ryūji was scowling angrily at the crowd around us as if hoping to spot the person while Ren rubbed a hand across Ann's back in soothing rubs.

"Ann-chan's being followed. I sensed someone watching us after training the other day. But it seems he or she is following Ann-chan specifically," I admitted. Grim expressions appeared on the boys' faces as Morgana's fur started to stand on end and I swear that a deep growl was rumbling from Morgana even as he gently nudged his head over Ann's ear.

"Ann, let us know if you see or sense this punk, we'll handle it," Ryūji insisted. Ann let out a meek sound as she then clung to me and Ren, like our mere presence would protect her from this stalker. Morgana reluctantly slipped back into Ren's bag but with the train here it wasn't like he could stay on Ann's shoulders; we stepped inside and found a couple of seats for our blonde friends, but all of us were so tightly wound about Ann's stalker that neither of them proceeded to drift off.

We got off the train and continued on our way with Ryūji behind Ann to watch our backs as me and Ren remained at Ann's sides as we walked towards the escalators that would take us out of the station. Ren went on first, followed by Ann and then me and Ryūji went up. Ann fidgeted briefly before turning around to look passed the two of us behind her.

"Oh my god! That guy got off!" Ann exclaimed. She then turned around to look at Ren. "Isn't this bad?" Ann asked. Ryūji yawned which was quite the contrast to his earlier concern for Ann's situation, the blonde model turned to look at Ryūji with an annoyed expression upon her face. "Hey! At least act like you care!" Ann protested. Ryūji sighed as he leaned passed me to look directly at our fire wielder.

"We get above ground and then confront him, ain't that better than down here where it's cramped. We'd have more room then," Ryūji pointed out. That was some solid tactical sense, we'd have the advantage of a proper ambush out on the streets instead of squished down here. I'm just surprised the suggestion came from Ryūji and not Ren or Morgana; either Ryūji was smarter than he acted or our battles against the Shadows had given him this insight, either way it was good for him.

"Ryūji's right. Down here, others will get caught. Up there, not so much," Ren agreed. We proceeded to move up the escalators and out into the open air; the boys then split off and fell back to linger by the stairwell while me and Ann remained stood beside each other as we waited for Ann's stalker to show up. I can't believe someone was following Ann after she'd only just got free from Kamoshida; she didn't deserve to go through this so soon after.

"Did you take a look at Carmen?" I asked. Ann was way too tense and nervous for anyone with observational skills to not be suspicious, I needed to get her to relax enough to lure the stalker in for us to properly ambush him. Thankfully, my choice of topic worked as Ann brightened and began to talk happily about the opera. That didn't stop me from hearing footsteps and jangling coming closer to us from behind. I pivoted around and set myself in front of Ann as the boys sprinted over to join me. But the person behind us caused my eyes to widen in surprise.

Behind us was a boy – an objectively very pretty boy – about the same age as the rest of us, with dark blue hair that had a parted fringe which slightly covered his left eye, these eyes were of a grey colour. He was noticeably taller and thinner than both Ren and Ryūji. He wore a white gakuran-style shirt embroidered with a fleur-de-lis, that caused me to raise an eyebrow, fitted black pants and black loafers. A silver ring that held multiple keys was attached to his belt loop.

This was not what I had been expecting in the least, even he appeared confused as he tilted his head to the right and the edge of his fringe fell into his left eye slightly. His Will of Rebellion reminded me of Ann's, a guttering candle flame. I wasn't entirely sure what to made of this guy and so turned my gaze back to look at Ann.

"Hey… err… are you sure it's him? Or are you just that self-conscious?" Ryūji asked. I couldn't exactly blame him, the word stalker didn't seem appropriate to apply to this boy who was gazing at us with quizzical eyes, he didn't exactly give off the kind of repulsive or threatening aura I'd expect that kind of creep to give off. Instead, there was a sort of subdued calmness, an almost analytical energy coming from him; yet his eyes were definitely the ones I had felt before, they possessed a unique intensity hidden beneath the calm surface.

"I'm not tha-!" Ann began to yell. However, the boy cut her off by asking if she wanted something; this caused Ann to push passed all of us and jab a finger towards the boy. "That's my line! You were the one stalking me!" Ann accused. The boy pulled back and seemed surprised by the words Ann threw at him, but then he recovered and swept back a part of his fringe that had fallen further over his eye.

"Stalking you? That's absurd," The boy responded. Ann levelled the accusation that she'd been followed ever since the train. "That's because-," The boy began to speak. However, he was cut off by the rolling of tyres and the sharp beep of a car horn, all of us looked over to see a rather posh car ride up to the curb. I immediately went tense at seeing such an expensive thing approaching us. Fears of it being my uncle or one of his minions ran rabid through my mind until the window rolled down. Inside the car was an elderly man with long grey hair that was tied in a ponytail and he had short facial hair. He had dark eyes and from what I could see, appearing to be wearing traditional Japanese clothes.

"My goodness, I had wondered why you left the car. So, this is where your passion led. All is well that ends well," The man commented. He then began to laugh at his own words while I blinked in confusion; nevertheless, it appeared that this old man and young boy were acquainted with each other. But what had possessed the boy to leave the car and follow Ann? What was this passion that was mentioned?

"I saw you from the car… and I couldn't help myself from chasing after you," The boy admitted. He was looking at Ann with a rather intense gaze, but I felt no danger from it, there was something oddly pure about that gaze. "I didn't even notice the calls from Sensei… but thank goodness, I caught up to you," The boy added on. So, the old man must have been his teacher in some manner.

"Okay…," Ann spoke. She pulled at her hair as she said those words, Ryūji was confused as well, I proceeded to look at Ren who was scratching at his head as he stared at the boy, however his bag was writhing quite a bit which implied that Morgana was taking issue with the things that were being spoken by the boy given his own interest in Ann.

"You're the woman I've been searching for all this time! Please, won't you," The boy declared. His voice had become very passionate suddenly, Ann assumed he was about to ask her out and given the words he'd spoken I couldn't exactly fault her for thinking such a thing. "Be the model for my next art piece!?" The boy finished. I blinked my eyes in shock at his words.

'An artist. That explains so much.' I thought. His sudden desire to pursue Ann and the analytical aspect of his gaze made more sense with that facet to his character included, Ann seemed confused by this revelation if the drawn out 'okay' that escaped her lips was any indication. I didn't feel any need to continue viewing him as a threat, so proceeded to relax slightly.

"All that I've drawn till now has been lacking, but I feel a passion from you unlike anyone else," The boy admitted. I looked at the boy and then drifted my eyes over to Ann, wondering what the blonde would do with that compliment; I wonder if he was somehow able to perceive Carmen's presence within Ann, despite not possessing the eyes of a Betwixt.

"This man's highly suspicious," Morgana accused. Of course he would assume that, given his own attraction to Ann he probably would be suspicious of anyone who expressed interest in Ann, even if it was purely of the aesthetic variety. Ryūji looked uncomfortable while Ren just seemed perplexed about what to do.

"Ain't this a recruit for some shady business?" Ryūji warily asked. It would make an unfortunate amount of sense, Tokyo wasn't exactly the safest city in Japan as there was a prevalence for dangerous things to happen to students, especially if the student was an individual of reasonable attractiveness like Ann was. But the boy wasn't setting off my alarm bells, so I don't think he was that much of a threat.

"Will you cooperate with me? What do you say?" The boy ploughed forward. It was as if he hadn't heard a single thing that Ryūji said, in fact his grey eyes were solely focused upon Ann who looked to be squirming in place at having such an intense focus directed at her; I gently gripped her elbow, if she was having flashbacks to Kamoshida's leering gaze then it might help to ground her in the present.

"Hold your horses! Who're you anyways?!" Ryūji demanded. He stepped slightly in front of Ann, created a barrier between the two but still allowing them to see each other. That was a good idea as it would at least make it seem like Ryūji wasn't being intentional in his aggression towards the boy, any sort of aggressive actions could have unknown consequences, potentially dangerous consequences.

"Ryūji's right. You can't simply approach Ann out of the blue like this and ask her to be your muse without introductions. It is only polite after all," I spoke up. My cool tone drew the boy's attention unlike anything Ryūji had said before; in fact his grey eyes stayed on me for a few moments more than necessary before my words seemed to sink into his mind and he jumped slightly, as if he'd been spooked by some unseen thing.

"Oh, yes! Where are my manners? I'm a second year at Kosei High's fine arts division. My name is Kitagawa Yusuke," The boy introduced. He then proceeded to move forward and pushed Ryūji aside in an almost mindless manner, his eyes once more focused upon Ann alone. "I'm Madarame-sensei's pupil and I am being allowed residence at his place. I'm striving to become an artist," Kitagawa admitted.

"Huh!? Do you mean that Madarame? The one who was on 'Good Morning Japan' the other day?" Ann asked. This was apparently correct, but Ryūji was clueless. "He was introduced as a super-famous Japanese-style artist who's been recognised all over the world," Ann explained. However, I was more focused upon the name that had just been spoken; a sudden rush of warm air appeared at my ear.

"Isn't Madarame also the name Nakanohara's Shadow mentioned?" Ren whispered. I nodded my head to show I remembered this fact as well, I wasn't certain of how common the name was, but to hear the name after hearing it in Mementos… well it was something that snagged my attention and caused me to wonder.

"Interesting. I still say he's suspicious though," Morgana stated. Of course, Morgana still focused on the guy who was talking to Ann, but at least he had taken note of the connection between the name from Mementos and the man currently sat in the car just to our left; I wondered if we had come across our next target… our gravity seemed to be running at full steam now that the exams were almost over.

"But… didn't we hear that name at training the other day?" Ann asked. Me and Ren slightly nodded our heads, which caused the frown on her lips to become even more apparent; Ryūji looked between us with a wary gleam in his eyes as he realised the potential danger that was likely staring at us down, even if the man didn't realise it himself.

"Yusuke!" Madarame called. I looked at the old man, I couldn't always see the Shadows of Palace Rulers, likely because of some unknown Metaverse thing, but if this man was a Palace Ruler, then we needed to be wary of what he could be hiding. He might not be the same Madarame as who Nakanohara mentioned, but we couldn't be too careful.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I'll be right there!" Kitagawa answered. He focused his eyes upon Ann once more. "Madarame-sensei's exhibition will begin at the department store near the station tomorrow. I'll be there to help out on opening day. Please come by. It'd be great if you could give me your answer in regard to being a model then," Kitagawa insisted. He pulled four tickets out of his pocket and held them out to Ann, then gave Ryūji a rather dirty look. "I bet you have no interest in the fine arts, but I'll give you tickets too," Kitagawa blandly stated. He almost spat the words, Ann took the tickets and slipped them into the bag. "Well then, I hope to see you there tomorrow!" Kitagawa cheerfully admitted. He then climbed into the car which drove away.

"That guy's as easy to read as a book. You're not plannin' on goin', are ya?" Ryūji asked. He looked at Ann who was gazing at the pavement under her feet, a complicated look upon her face, I wasn't entirely sure what that expression was meant to mean but she was clearly deep in thought about this unexpected offer she'd been extended.

"I think I will," Ann admitted. Ryūji and Morgana were shocked by this revelation as I raised my eyebrow in surprise at her decision; Ann pulled out her phone and looked at it. "Crap! Look at the time! I'll see you later," Ann exclaimed. She then immediately took off towards school and I quickly followed after her.

*Persona 5 Royal*

The school day was over and with it the exams as well, honestly it felt like a thousand-pound weigh had finally been lifted from my shoulders, I could finally breath just a little easier. Currently me and my new friends were gathered within Shibuya's station having finally managed to get away from the school and the rest of the students fleeing the exams like they were infected with some kind of disease.

"Mmmmmm, it's over!" Ann celebrated. She stretched her arms into the air as she said those words, she did seem to be rather delighted by having the exams finished; not that I could blame her. The exams had been a different sort of stress to infiltrating a Palace, but stressful none the less, at least we could relax slightly… until we ended up locating our next target and then the stress would simply come back.

"It's over," Ryūji groaned. He was slumped down and had he not been leaning against one of the pillars, I suspect he might be curled up on the floor in a dejected heap. "How 'bout you two?" Ryūji asked. He lifted his head up to look at me and Ren, I glanced at the ravenette and saw he seemed completely relaxed from his slightly slouched shoulders and hands in his pockets.

"I'm not worrying about it," Ren answered. If he felt like that, then there was no need for him to be concerned about the results of the exams; it was heartening to see him being so confident. It would just increase our ability to trust in him during stressful moment, plus it was nice to see him coming out of the shell he'd locked himself within after that terrible incident.

"Exams are over. Let's refocus now that we don't have the added stress," I suggested. It was best to give Ryūji something to focus on now that he had nothing to worry about; at my words, Ryūji pushed himself out of his slumped down state – though still leant against the pillar – and seemed to have brightened slightly at my words, although there was still a frown upon his face.

"Anyways, can we stop talkin' about the exams? Like it or not, they're gonna come back graded next week," Ryūji pointed out. A fair point, we'd know the results soon enough and worrying about them wasn't much point. "Rather than focus on stuff that's over with," Ryūji commented. He was gazing at his phone as he said that.

"What are you looking at?" Ann asked. It should have been fairly obvious given how, of all of us, Ryūji was the most expressive about how much he enjoyed our activities and he had been the first to locate the website Mishima set up, but best not to make assumptions which would be something we'd need to put into practice when investigating someone in possession of a Palace.

"The usual site," Ryūji answered. He even briefly showed us his phone before turning the screen back to look at him, a dejected expression proceeded to blossom on his face. "It's no use. There ain't any useful info. The number of posts are getting' less and less too," Ryūji admitted. I suppose that made a fair amount of sense.

"Well, it has been nearly a month since our initial posting went out. People are probably losing interest or belief," Ren theorised. Even if it had only been a few days since Kamoshida confessed, things like the unusualness of the Phantom Thieves could fade easily from a person's mind; besides, our actions against Nakanohara and the Shūjin bully wouldn't be massive public knowledge like Kamoshida's Change of Heart was.

"I am not letting this end as a one-hit wonder, okay?" Morgana protested. He popped out of the bag and leaned over Ren's shoulder, his fur puffed up slightly in annoyance, not that any once could blame him; Ann moved over and delicately traced her fingers down Morgana's spine, causing him to arch into her digits and puff down slightly with a faint rumble emanating from him.

"There's no point in getting antsy though," Ann pointed out. She was right, we wouldn't be any good to the people in danger if we allowed ourselves to become high-strung over finding a target. "I know! Why don't we go eat dinner somewhere? We should have enough money from our jobs and activities," Ann suggested. That might actually help us to relax, good food was great for stuff like that, or something else that might be relaxing.

"I want sushi, then! Or domestic-raised eel!" Ryūji exclaimed. I looked over at the blonde with an unimpressed expression while Ann had a raised eyebrow as Ren massaged the bridge of his nose; those were some seriously expensive options the boy had decided to choose and it was something that baffled my brain as to why he thought we could afford that kind of stuff.

"We don't have that much money Ryūji," I deadpanned. A flower shop, a convenience store, a beef bowl shop and part-time modelling; none of those exactly raked in enough money for us to split off a large amount to go towards something like an expensive meal when we had to keep some aside for equipment and medicine.

"Oh! There are those tickets to Madarame's exhibit! Wait, that's tomorrow," Ann remembered. That was a fair point, even if we were suspicious about Madarame possibly being a Palace Ruler, the exhibit was something we'd got free tickets for so it would be rude not to use them and it would at least be something to let us possibly relax after the stressful exams.

"Don't tell me… was it love at first sight with that Yusuke guy?" Morgana worried. That was a ridiculous worry for him to have, Ann had been so angry at him for following her and then so baffled by Kitagawa's proposal to become a model that I don't think anyone could feel any kind of romantic feelings so suddenly… but then again, I'm no expert on relationships in general, let alone romantic relationships.

"It's not like that," Ann responded. She looked slightly uncomfortable as she pulled locks of her hair briefly. "When I was watching that special on TV, his artwork was pretty nice. Plus, we've got free tickets. Besides, this could be related to what we heard at training," Ann explained. It was a fair point that we needed to be concerned about, especially given the implications we got from Nakanohara.

"Madarame, was it?" Ryūji asked. We nodded our heads as a small grimace made its' way across his lips as he looked down, we needed to check out this possibility that he was a candidate for our next target, but what his distortion was, that we wouldn't be able to determine until we managed to get inside; I actually wanted us to be wrong, more so that Kitagawa wasn't suffering if he was living with that man.

"I'm curious too. But we need to remember that it could just as easily be a coincidence," Ren reminded. We definitely couldn't jump to conclusions now, the Meta-Nav wasn't something we could absolutely rely on to determine Palace Rulers due to it picking up on all distortions, only my eyes could let me see if someone was a Palace Ruler or not due to the elaborate differences between the real person and the Shadow.

"That aside, what should I do about the other three tickets? Wanna go appreciate some fine arts for once?" Ann asked. She had a smile on her face as she pulled the tickets out of her purse; I immediately held out a hand towards the ponytailed blonde, causing her blue eyes to look over at me as I allowed a smile to curve onto my lips.

"Hand one over Ann-chan. Whether he's twisted or not, that's still some good artwork. If Ouvrard gave me anything, it's an appreciation for such things," I demanded. Ann smiled brightly at my words and pulled a ticket free to slip it into my hand, I quickly put it away in a safe place as I bounced a little on my toes. "I am going to take so many photographs," I giggled. Mirai would like that, she'd have enjoyed this opportunity.

"Fine arts, huh?" Ryūji muttered. If he wasn't willing to come to the art exhibit then I'm sure we could find someone else to give the ticket to, perhaps we could ask Haru-senpai, she seemed like the kind of person who might enjoy the artwork, though I was basing this off the fact that she seemed drawn to France and she had an elegant, refined air about her.

"I suggest we all go together!" Morgana declared. He seemed to have brightened up as the topic drifted away from Kitagawa. "Appreciating the fine arts builds character. A phantom thief who can't identify an original is lame," Morgana pointed out. Reasonable, you never know when we might be required to see through illusions in the Palaces, they were creations of the mind so anything could be possible for us to deal with.

"Well, if everyone's going," Ryūji commented. He seemed slightly reluctant but moved over and plucked a ticket out of Ann's hand, the girl was beaming bright enough to put the sun to shame with her smile which caused me to laugh slightly; I was glad to see that she was smiling so much more now, freedom from Kamoshida and Shiho being safe would undoubtedly give her a buoyant sensation.

"It's settled then!" Ann cheered. She turned and pressed the other free ticket into the Ren's hand, the boy looked at it with a sheepish expression and proceeded to set it away somewhere safe, Morgana was practically rumbling like an engine as Ren rubbed at the back of his neck; I wasn't sure if he was happy or nervous about going to the exhibit.

"It could be fun," Ren admitted. Well, at least he seemed to be looking forward to the exhibit, it would be nice to have an outing with my friends that wouldn't be contaminated by the snooty arrogance of a bunch of rich people; well off people might be present but so would people of all walks of life so it was absolutely bound to be better than the Wilton Hotel.

"Just the phrase 'going to an art exhibit' sound kinda mature," Ann admitted. She was practically bouncing in place as her smile stretched from ear to ear. "Let's meet at the exhibit entrance tomorrow," Ann suggested. We all agreed to this and proceeded to split up from each other.

*Persona 5 Royal*

At home, I was currently scrolling through an article on Madarame, I wanted to see if I could put together an opinion of him. The brief meeting with him hadn't shown anything to be off settling, but that didn't mean anything, so I wanted to look for any hints. But all I was getting was praises for Madarame's skill as an artist, from multiple sources, but not much on his character. Kitagawa respected him, but he might be like Kawakami-sensei, blind to the truth. My phone buzzed, so I picked it up.

Ann: So, I keep thinking about what Nakanohara said…

Ann: Could he have been talking about the famous artist Madarame?

Natsumi: It's plausible, I can't see Shadows all the time.

Natsumi: But that doesn't mean it isn't him.

Ren: Also doesn't mean it is him.

Ryūji: Yeah, I think it is him though.

Ryūji: I mean how many Madarames can there be.

Natsumi: Not many, it sounds like an unusual name.

Natsumi: But jumping to conclusions is bad.

Ren: We also need to remember the perspective of the people closest to him.

Ann: But, if what we heard is true, Kitagawa-kun is studying under a corrupt teacher.

Ryūji: You mean a teacher who treats people like tools?

Ann: Kitagawa-kun's life is probably pretty terrible.

Natsumi: JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS!

Ren: But we should still look into it.

Ren: Better safe than sorry.

I set the object down and rubbed my temples to try and ease the headache currently thumping at my brain. Hopefully we'd get some kind of clarity tomorrow about Madarame.