The three of them - four with Morgana secure in Akira's bag - made their way into the exhibit. When they got there, an ecstatic Yusuke greeted them. Well, he greeted Akira and Ann enthusiastically; He . The feeling was mutual.
Ryuji yawned at the pictures around them. He couldn't understand what the hype was about a bunch of paintings. 'How can you even tell them apart from other works anyways?
Yusuke met them shortly after they arrived. He spoke with Akira and Ann, but ignored him. 'Fine, be that way, punk!' he then convinced Ann
"Why we letting wannabe Picaso show Ann around?" Ryuji grumbled to his bud.
Akira just smirked. "Because Yusuke wants her as his model - that's our in, to figuring out the truth of Madarame. Between her and my own wit, we'll get the info we need out of him."
Ryuji shrugged. He didn't really like the artist at all, so he'd probably end up yelling at him. "Sure. you're the mastermind."
Akira slung his arm around Ryuji's shoulder. "And you're my best bud, the guy I want with me in a fight."
From there, the two of them walked around the exhibit. They observed a few of the exhibits. Well, Akira examined them, while Ryuji just glanced at them. He knew other people liked it, but he didn't see the appeal of art that much like them. "A well, guess art's just not for me. Although, maybe I just haven't found a type that interests me. You think they could make art out of anyth-"
He turned to Akira only to see him gone.
'Where'd he go?!' Ryuji thought as he glanced around. Akira mentioned going after a certain piece but that could be anywhere in this exhibit!
He scrambled around, trying to spot him, but he couldn't make out his face in the crowds or among any of the other exhibits. He kept searching, but
"Hey you!" Ryuji turned to the voice. The speaker was a young girl around his age and height with long dark brown hair bordering on red tied in a ponytail. He could've sworn he'd seen her from somewhere, probably from school.
Ryuji blinked. "Uh… Who's your sister?"
The red head scowled. "None of your business."
"The Hell?" That made no sense! "How the hell am I supposed to answer yes or no if I don't know who you're talkin about?!"
The girl just kept glaring at him. She was being stubborn… something he knew about fairly well.
What would Akira do? 'He'd probably figure out who she is, what she wants and how to help within a few seconds. I can't do that, so I'll do something else.'
Ryuji sighed; screw it, he'd be blunt. "Look, I can tell something's bothering you…" the redhead scowled at that but Ryuji pressed on. "But it's probably none of my business. I'd like to help, but I don't know who you are or what you want. Before that, let's start over."
Ryuji extended his hand. "My name's Sakamoto Ryuji. I'm a second year student at Fujin. What's your name?"
The redhead looked him over, before letting out a resigned sigh herself. "I'm Yoshizowa Kasumi, a first year student at Fujin. I'm here looking for my twin sister, Sumire."
Ryuji snapped his fingers; he knew he recognized her from somewhere! "You two were the transfers who had the gymnastic scholarships right?" Kasumi nodded, "That's awesome. Nice to meet you."
Kasumi blinked, as if recognizing him. "...You're the guy who got the track team disbanded."
"No way, that is not what happened…" Ryuji wasn't gonna let that stand. "The track team disbanded because Kamoshida was an asshole, who worked us until someone snapped. He just used that as an excuse to cancel our team."
"And you're the guy who snapped." Kasumi retorted.
Ryuji sighed. "Sure, I did snap, but he didn't have to disband the team, or break my leg… he did both just to make himself feel better. You remember his confession, you know what kind of person he really was."
Kasumi mulled on that for a minute. "...Alright, I can't argue with that. I never liked the way he looked at me or Sumire either."
"I believe that." Ryuji knew exactly what kind of asshole Kamoshida was. "Either way, I don't know where your sister is. Sorry."
Kasumi sighed but waved it off. She seemed less agitated than before. "It's fine. Thanks for hearing me out." She walked away to keep looking. Ryuji just sighed and resumed looking around for Akira.
Ryuji met up with Akira again, and the two of them listened to a talk by Madarame.
'Where is He!?' Ryuji couldn't find his friend in the crowd. Then the people started coming in, more and more. As he got swept in the mob, and got elbowed in the gut by some lady thrice his age, he never saw Akira.
_After the Exhibit_
"Dude, What the hell!" Ryuji confronted Akira on how he totally ditched him during the exhibit. After he met Kasumi and they chatted for a bit, he kept looking for his friend. He found him near an area where Madarame was speaking. He wanted to call him out, but saved it for later, and focused on Madarame's speech. After that, they were swarmed by a crowd and separated. Again.
"Sorry, Sorry!" Akira pleaded. "I wanted to keep an eye on Yusuke and Ann."
"Then you should've brought me along. "
"Yeaah… wouldn't work. You're not that subtle."
By now, the friends were at the subway station, Akira leaning against the wall while Ryuji sat on the ground. He was chewing out Akira for ditching him. Who does that!?
Ryuji sighed and pulled out his phone. He was scrolling through the Phansite and looking at posts, looking for one post in particular. It made him think back to what they learned about Madarame in Mementos.
"Hey!" Ann called out as she approached them, looking annoyed. "Did you two have to ditch me? Yusuke went on for hours about Madarame's works."
Ryuji looked a bit sheepish at that. Given he just chewed out Akira for the exact same thing, he . "Sorry 'bout that, but hear me out. I realized something from hearing Madarame's speech."
He kept scrolling through blogs until he finally found the entry he was looking for. "Listen to this… 'A Master of the Japanese Arts is Plagiarizing his pupil's works. Only his Public Face is shown on TV.' That's gotta be Madarame. It didn't click before, but hearing Shack and Madarame reminded me of the post."
The post went on to describe how Madarame - it refers to him without his name but he's pretty sure it's him - treats his students like slaves and then takes their works for his own. The post was most likely made by a former student of his. Ryuji explained it could be Yusuke's post, but Akira shot that theory down.
"I doubt it was Yusuke; he was too faithful to his master to squeal like that. I bet it was a former student of Madarame's."
"Um…" Ann remembered something from her time with Yusuke at the exhibit. "When we were going through the art pieces, Kitagawa seemed down around some of them, like he was conflicted about something. Could that be related to it?"
Akira hummed at that. "If one of those works was made by Yusuke, and published under Madarame's name, then that would make sense. He could have been conflicted about that and about his choice to keep quiet."
They agreed that Madarame was suspicious, but needed to know more. They looked up the location of his shack and headed out to investigate.
_Madarame's Shack_
Ryuji's plan would have been to barge into Yusuke and ask him directly. His best friend shut that idea down quickly; Akira didn't think Yusuke would answer them if they did come clean about their questions. Instead, he gently recommended they try a different approach. A more 'fun' approach… in Akira's own words.
The group found the address to Madarame's shack. When they approached the door, Yusuke greeted them . Ryuji watched as Akira got to work with his words. He claimed to be curious about Yusuke's own art style, and wanted to discuss a commission work specifically from him. Yusuke looked conflicted on that point, but Akira convinced him to consider it if Akira spoke with Madarame for his so would also help Madarame's image as a successful teacher.
Between Yusuke's desire for Ann as a model and Akira's proposal, Yusuke gladly welcomed them into the Shack without issue.
Once again, Yusuke ignored Ryuji. Ryuji was a bit miffed but let it slide; they needed answers from him. Akira and Ann were the best people to get those answers, so he kept his cool.
It did leave him free to hear in on their conversations. Apparently, Yusuke was taken in by Madarame after his mother died. He was inspired by the Sayuri to become a painter.
Ann did eventually agree to be his model… five seconds before Yusuke explained he wanted her for a nude model. Ryuji bust a gut in laughter at that. Akira just grinned at that, being proven right.
Ann just politely declined. Yusuke seemed dejected at that, but moved on. He also agreed to consider the matter with Akira's commission.
After they left, Akira turned to the false Blonde. "So… what do you think?"
Ryuji sighed. "...I'm not sure anymore. The texts and shadows indicate Madarame, but Kitagawa made it clear he was a decent guy. I can't tell if Madarame would even have a Palace."
Akira nodded and took out his phone. After opening up the metaverse app, he typed in Madarame: the result was, 'Candidate found.' "Here's our confirmation."
"Seriously? He does!?" Ryuji shook his head. "How the hell did that happen? Is he a good guy or a fraud? Which is it?!"
"He's a guy with a palace that we can explore to find out more." Akira retorted. "If a Palace is a representation of the heart, then where better to see what kind of mind he truly is?"
"Joker's point is right on. We have the name, and His shack is the location, now we just need the distortion." Morgana suggested they consider what the Distortion could be.
Akira snapped his fingers, having a thought. "The old man's an artist. Artists make works that other people see and enjoy. Where would that naturally happen?"
Ryuji's eyes widened at that. "You mean like an exhibit like the one we went to earlier?"
Ann gasped. "Or a museum!" that got a response from the Metanav. They agreed to explore it the next night. Ryuji wanted to go right then and there, but Akira said he needed to check something first. They agreed to check out the palace the next day.
The group made their way to the train station, and from there separated to their homes. Ann headed back to her parent's house while Akira and Morgana went back to Le'Blanc.
At an intersection a few blocks away from his house, he was met by a familiar girl in a ponytail. Kasumi stood with her brown eyes fixated on him.
"Kasumi. What are you doing here?"
She seemed worried about something. "I came to warn you."
Ryuji raised an eyebrow at that. "Um, that's kinda vague. If this is a joke then its not-"
"Akira Kurusu." Kasumi cut in. by her tone and stern look, she was being serious. "He's dangerous. You need to cut ties with him. He's dangerous and will get you killed."
It took a minute for him to register exactly what she said. When that happened, his cheerful expression shifted to a stern one to match her own. "What does that mean?"
Kasumi was unbothered. "Exactly what you think."
Ryuji scowled at her. Didn't matter how cute she was, no one was gonna talk shit about his bud. "You don't know him, so keep whatever gripe you got with him to yourself. And you don't know me if you think I'd ever agree-"
Kasumi cut him off in a strained, more impactful voice. "You will stay away from Akira Kurusu in school. You won't involve yourself with him or anyone he is associated with."
Ryuji didn't think much of the slight headache he got, and just gave her his reply.
_Kasumi_
She wasn't sure why she bothered with warning the blond delinquent, going so far as to try and hypnotize him to stay away from Kurusu. Maybe she wanted to thank him for standing up to Kamoshida. Maybe she just thought he was cute and didn't want him to get dragged into the moonlit world's business. From what little she knew of him, he was too good a person to die like that. The moonlit world would eat him alive.
If he stood with Kurusu, he most certainly would get involved.
"Are you going to stay away from Kurusu?" She was confident the hypnosis would work, but she wanted to be sure.
"No." Ryuji's response made her reel back in shock.
"What?" Kasumi's only response to that. Ryuji went on.
"I'm not the brightest guy around, but I know who my friends are. I know they've got my back and . So what if he's got a record? He already explained how he got it, and I believe him."
"That's not-" Ryuji brushed past her and left. Leaving her to stew in her thoughts.
"Think I'd rather avoid you instead. Hope you don't mind that!" His sarcasm was clear. He was annoyed with her and wanted nothing to do with her.
Kasumi sighed and headed home, calm but dejected. 'Why didn't the hypnosis work?! He's not a magus! Did Kurusu do something to him?'
Setting Sakamoto's reaction aside, she was left with a bad feeling in her gut… all centered around the heir apparent of the most dangerous Magi alliance in Japan. 'Or would he be 'former' heir now? Not even father was sure of his current standing with the Kurosai. The clan doesn't have any long history to it but what little history it does makes it clear to steer clear of them.' Sure they only came into existence in the last century, but they still established themselves as the major
Mainly because they managed to bribe, threaten or outright wipe out any other prominent magi clan or organization in Japan.
She could only hope Sumire would listen to her and stay as far away as possible from him… and also track her down to make damn certain of it. She frowned at the thought. She'd heard a few horror stories of magi who run afoul of the Clan.
Her sour mood had nothing to do with the fact that she was basically rejected by a cute guy she was trying to help. Nothing at all.
There are a lot of P5 stories that cover the same material. For this one, I decided on a less trodden angle… focusing on the perspective of Ryuji. Good for some subplots down the line.
Also included Kasumi, whom you can tell is alive. And a magus. And doesn't like our protagonist. At all. Look forward to the Palace next.