MAY 16TH (MONDAY 5/16)(MORNING)

"By the way, you seem far removed from the arts, Koga-san.", the teacher, Mr. Inui, pointed at me.

"That would be Van Gogh.", I answered.

"That's correct, well done, Koga-san."

Art has become a sort of hit-or-miss job... I could never do it.

Art is a beautiful yet abstract concept.

That reminds me, we're meeting up with the others at the train station today.

MAY 16TH (MONDAY 5/14)(AFTER SCHOOL)

After school, the crew and I were on the train, which Ryuji was not happy about.

"Phantom thieves goin' by train... This ain't any different from how I get home from school, y'know."

"We don't have any other options. And don't mention them in a busy train, Ryuji.", I sighed.

"The train is the fastest way to go. Plus, we can bring pets on here.", Ann mentioned.

"Hey, who're you calling a pet!?", Morgana hissed, poking out of Akira's bag.

"Dude, be quiet! We didn't pay the pet fare.", Ryuji whisper-yelled.

"Why didn't we pay the fare...? I got cash.", I whispered.

"Why didn't you say anything?", Akira mumbled.

"No one asked.", I simply shrugged, earning a sigh from him.

"I'm the one guiding you to your destination! You should be calling me "Master"!", Morgana kept b*tching on and on until a little girl came up to us out of nowhere.

"Ooh, kitty!", the girl cooed, her eyes almost sparkling.

"Er, shoot...!", Ann whispered.

"Is that your pet, Mister? I heard it meowing!", the girl asked Akira.

"Uh, it's a stuffed animal!", Akira smiled, avoiding the potential trouble.

"Yeah, it's just a toy. It meows when you press on its head.", Ann explained the mechanics of the "toy" to the little girl.

"You heard her, Akira. Press on its head.", Ryuji encouraged my brother with a grin on his face.

"This is ridic--", Morgana was cut off when Akira gently pressed his head. "M-Mewww..."

"Wowweeeee! Again! Again!", the girl urged, wanting to hear Morgana meow again. I took Akira's bag, pressing on Morgana's head gently.

"Purrr... Mew, meow...", Morgana started purring, which kind of creeped me out.

"Ahaha, it's so cute! I wanna hear it again!", the girl squealed.

"Dude... The cat's droolin'...", Ryuji mumbled. The train announcer called our destination soon after he said that.

"Oh, this is our stop! Well, see you later! Bye bye!", Ann waved at the girl.

"Mm-hm! Bye bye!", the girl walked away, making us all sigh in relief.

-- LATER --

As we were making our way to the residential of Shibuya, my phone buzzed to life, showing a notification from the app. I excused myself from the group and booked it to a restroom, finding an empty stall and hiding inside. I opened the app as it flashed white and teleported me somewhere familiar; the SIU Director's office. I was hidden behind one of the couches, so I didn't dare move a muscle unless I wanted to get caught. I heard the director talking to himself, so I pulled out my tape recorder to record whatever he said.

"Suguru Kamoshida... Former Olympian... Teacher at Shujin Academy... Reason for turning himself in is... a heavy conscience, huh... The human mind doesn't change that easily... let alone their natural temperament.", the director got up from his chair, walking towards the huge window in his office. "Shujin Academy... Seems doubtful... Perhaps I'll have someone look into it, just in case...", the director mumbled. My phone buzzed, signalling I had to go. I stopped the recording just as I was teleported back to the bathroom. 

Why is the SIU Director so interested in Kamoshida's case? I mean, he seems a bit too invested. And he wants someone to "Look into it"...? I wonder...

I left the bathroom, meeting up with the others and going on with our plans.

-- LATER --

We stood in front of what we found out was Madarame's home, or more accurately, shack. The house looked very old, almost falling apart. Pieces of building material was replaced with other materials just to keep the shack from falling apart.

How is this thing still standing...?

"Is... that it?", Ryuji asked.

"We're at the right address... The door plate does say "Madarame."", Ann pointed out, confirming we weren't lost.

"Uhhh... You ring the bell.", Ryuji volunteered Ann.

"Me!? The walls won't collapse when I do, will they...?", Ann mumbled.

"No one sneeze or we'll blow this house down, OK?", Morgana snickered from Akira's bag. We all walked up to the door and Ann rang the doorbell. We soon heard a familiar voice from behind the sliding doors; Kitagawa-kun.

"Who is it? Sensei is currently--"

"Um, it's Takamaki.", Ann chimed in.

"I'll be right out!", Kitagawa-kun's voice answered, hearing hurried footsteps coming from inside.

"People really do live here...", Ryuji mumbled. Kitagawa-kun opened the rickety door, clearly excited.

"Takamaki-sa--", Kitagawa-kun's expression immediately went sour when he saw the rest of us tagging along with Ann. "You three are here, as well?"

"Hey. Sorry, but we ain't here to talk about the modeling thing. There's something we gotta ask you. Is it true Madarame's plagiarizin' stuff? He's abusin' people too, yeah?", Ryuji fired the questions one after another.

He should have waited until we got Kitagawa-kun comfortable...

We can't change it now. Work with what you have.

"Are you serious?", Kitagawa-kun grumbled.

"We read about it online.", Ryuji pulled out his phone, showing the post we read before about Madarame. Kitagawa-kun stepped forward and read it.

"This...?", Kitagawa-kun began laughing slightly hysterically, then scowled. "Preposterous! Not only is the plagiarism impossible, but abuse? If he hated children so much to harm them, he would never allow pupils into his home! And I'm the one residing here and studying under him, I'm saying it's not true, so it's beyond doubt."

"You could be lying... ", I raised a brow. "You can't deny that you maybe want to protect him."

"That... That is utter rubbish. I had no family when Sensei took me in and raised me into what you see now! if you continue to ridicule the man I owe my life to, you will rue this day!", Kitagawa-kun declared.

Damn, he is really... passionate?

That is the nice way of putting it.

"...You really think that?", Just as Ann said that, Madarame walked out from the shack, looking a little concerned.

"Yusuke? What's the matter? I heard you yelling."

"These people are slandering you with baseless rumors!", Kitagawa-kun told the old man, his rage growing.

"... Forgive them, Yusuke. They must've heard some bad rumors and came in worry for their friend's safety.", Madarame said slowly, still showing a calm demeanor.

"... Understood, Sensei.", Kitagawa-kun said quietly.

"Well, even I doubt that a cranky old man like myself could be liked by everyone.", Madarame chuckled.

"That's not what we meant...", Ann mumbled.

"We? Who is w--", Akira cut me off by slapping a hand on my mouth.

I'm kicking his ass later...

"I'm sorry to have to butt in on your conversation. However, I do have neighbors around Won't you please keep it down? Now, if you'll excuse me.", Madarame turned and left us with Kitagawa-kun. I yanked Akira's hand off my mouth and glared at him, but he just shrugged and turned his attention to Kitagawa-kun.

"..... That was discourteous of me... I'm sorry. know!I think you'll be able to believe in Sensei if you saw that painting. It's his maiden work as well as his most representative piece-it's titled "Sayuri." ", Kitagawa-kun showed us a painting of a woman staring mysteriously into a blurred cloud.

I've seen this online when I tried digging into Madarame. Not gonna lie, it's beautiful, but why is there an ugly cloud on it...? It seems out of place.

""Sayuri"...?", Ann mumbled.

"This was the painting that inspired me to become an artist.", Kitagawa-kun explained.

"It's so beautiful...", Ann awed.

Except for the cloud...

"I don't know all this fine-art stuff, but even I can tell that this is impressive...", Ryuji mumbled.

"When I first saw you, I felt the same powerful emotion as when I saw this painting...", Kitagawa-kun explained to Ann, who seemed both a little sorry and
flattered.

"Me?"

"I wish to pursue beauty like this. And I believe drawing you will be part of that pursuit. I implore you seriously consider my offer. I'm sorry that you took the time to come all this way, but
I must assist Sensei today. I hope that we can discuss this further another time. If you'll excuse me, then.", Kitagawa-kun bowed and went back into the shack. The rest of us walked a ways away from the shack, waiting for someone to break the silence.

"Those two... seem like nice guys, don't they?", Ryuji asked.

"Maybe the Madarame we heard about in Mementos is a different person.", Ann sighed.

"Man, right when we thought we found a new target, too...", Ryuji grumbled.

"How's the Meta-Nav?", Morgana asked. Akira pulled out his phone and turned on the app, which was surprisingly reactive.

"Hey, the app...", Ryuji muttered.

"Was it picking up our conversation...?This display.. it means that Madarame has a Palace too, right!? But why!?", Ann asked.

" "Madarame," "plagiarism"... and then "shack," huh? These seem to be the keywords.", Morgana explained.

"For real though, what the hell's goin' on!? Does an old man like him really have a Palace...!?", Ryuji questioned.

"Looks are deceiving, Ryuji.", I muttered.

"We have the person's name and the location. All that's left is the "what"
that Madarame mistakes this shack for to enter his Palace.", Morgana pointed out.

"You mean... like how Kamoshida thought the school was his castle?", Ann asked

"That's right.Let's try saying some things. They can be random guesses.", Morgana suggested.

"It's a bit sudden, though...", Ryuji muttered.

"Let's not waste time and start guessing. How about "dungeon"?", I asked. Akira typed it in, but nothing came up.

"What about "castle"?", Ann suggested. Still nothing.

"Then, what about "prison"?", Ryuji asked. A big no. "Ugh, what a pain! "Jail"! "Warehouse"! And "guidance counselin' office"! Might as well add "farm"!", All of them were a fail. "Not a single hit...?"

"... Should we come back another time?", Morgana sighed

"A building that's related to artists. If we think from there, what would it be...?", Ann mumbled. Akira was silent, then looked like he hot an idea. I peeked as he tapped away at his phone: "MUSEUM". At that word, the Nav reacted positively, beginning navigation.

""Beginning navigation..." Whoa, really!?", Ryuji gasped. The world began to warp around us, causing distortion in my head. When the warping stopped, we were in our phantom thieves gear and standing in front of the shiniest and ugliest building on the face of the Earth.

... My eyes are going to hate me after this.