/Sunday: May 15, 2016/
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDrsauZ8bU0
And 'lo, we entered the Museum of Vanity, mused Akira inwardly as he, Ryuji, and Ann walked into Madarame's art exhibit. Morgana sat quietly with his bag, keeping a careful eye out from within the zipper for anything suspicious.
Yusuke was upon them immediately. "Ah, how wonderful that you came!" Glancing over at Ryuji and Ann, he added, "I had given the tickets away as a courtesy, but I had not anticipated giving a tour to more than one person..."
"Don't worry about them. They're just here to appreciate the arts." Shooting a glance at his comrades, he added, "
Riiight?"
"Of course!" chirped Ann.
Ryuji just shrugged. (Under his breath, he muttered, "Seriously, is someone watching me...?")
Yusuke seemed pleased. "Please try not to interfere with the other visitors; I hope your horizons will be duly enlightened. Now, please, follow me," he said, gesturing for Akira to follow. "I'd like to discuss the picture I wish to draw."
Akira dutifully accompanied his guide, listening intently as Yusuke described various pieces as they passed.
I never actually saw what Yusuke showed Ann during this tour, so this is actually new for me. The sight of so many different styles—
plagiarized, stolen!—was certainly...eye-catching. During the tour, Madarame himself intervened. "Ah, the boy from yesterday. Are you enjoying the exhibit?"
"It's quite a lot of art from one man," Akira remarked, hands in his pockets. "I imagine there are many who would be excited to learn from someone of your caliber."
(
Very subtle of you...)
Madarame managed to laugh off his hidden barb. "Quite so! If you gain a sense of awe from any piece, then that alone is enough to satisfy." Glancing back at Yusuke, he said, "I look forward to the piece you'll be making, Yusuke."
As the old man moved on, Akira remarked, "He seems quite...talented."
"Sensei creates all of this by himself. He's special," swore Yusuke, before he turned to comment on another painting.
(There were subtle differences in how Yusuke spoke; even in the future, the eccentric man had always been swept away by the Passionate Seas of Art™; however, with age had come a semblance of one who
let himself be carried away with a sense of control. That sense of control was lacking, replaced by a barely subdued mania.)
A certain piece caught Akira's eye. (Little did he know, but it was a piece that had caught Ann's eye the Last Time Around™...albeit for an entirely different reason.)
Well hello there. He moved towards a watercolor canvas that looked like a morning sunrise coming over distant mountains, framed by evergreens on both sides. Although the brush strokes evoked an impression of fury and fire, it had not caught Akira's attention for
that particular reason.
This piece...was in Future Yusuke's public art portfolio...
(The Last Time Around™, Yusuke's first dedicated art exhibit had featured pieces of his which had previously debuted under Madarame's name. "Even if their impact on the average viewer will be lesser, it is important to balance the scales. After all, even though he ended up becoming a shell of a man...Madarame had pieces that were solely his own." Yusuke looked solemnly upon the canvas, scratching at his goatee. "As an artist...and only as an artist...he deserves to be recognized for the works he did create. Nothing more.")
...which means this is one of the ones Madarame originally plagiarized. "This one looks neat."
"This one...?" Yusuke sounded briefly unsure of himself.
Well, well, well. "Is something wrong? You've been raving about every other piece; is there something about this one in particular that's different?"
Yusuke faltered. "Ah. My apologies, but I'm simply...recalling Sensei's mood when he made this one. As with any artist, sometimes his passions can...carry him away."
(To revisit the metaphor, Yusuke now sounded as one who was on the verge of drowning beneath that artistic sea.) "I see."
Suddenly, Morgana's voice hissed from within his bag. "
Psst! Hey! Joker! Check your 9!"
(Yusuke frowned, looking around with confusion. "Is that a cat I hear...?")
Akira looked to his left, blinking with surprise once he realized who Morgana had seen.
Huh. I think I have an inkling as to why Ryuji feels like he's been being watched. With a calm stride, Akira approached a young woman. "Well hello, Miss President."
Makoto Niijima — face intentionally buried into an art gallery pamphlet — visibly faltered at his presence, as though dismayed she had been spotted. "Ah. Hello."
"I'm surprised you'd come to this art exhibit; you don't strike me as the artsy type." Leaning back on his heels, he added, "Then again, we
did just get through mid-terms, so I can't blame you for wanting a chance to unwind...right?"
Has she begun trailing us already?
"...yes. Right. Of course," said Makoto, taking his excuse and running with it.
Yusuke approached, looking at her critically yet stoically. "You know this girl?"
"She's my senpai at Shujin," he explained. Suddenly a cheeky idea came to mind. "Come to think of it,
she'd probably make a good model as well, don't you think?"
"M-M-Me? A model?" sputtered Makoto.
Yusuke seemed like he was going to dispute the proposition...until he framed his fingers, quietly capturing Makoto. "Hmm. A seemingly perfect replica of an ideal Japanese beauty...yet there is something seething, struggling to break out..."
Makoto stared; unsure what to make of this turn of events, she quietly turned away so that he only had a side profile of her.
"...ah, but I am already sufficiently distracted by thoughts of my upcoming picture. I must not be led astray by future prospects!" Lightly bowing at her, he asked, "Should you be amenable at a later date, I would be happy to revisit the opportunity."
"...thank you...?" murmured Makoto.
Akira grinned. "Anyhow, I believe we have a tour to continue, Kitagawa-san?"
"Ah, of course! This way." And then Yusuke was off again.
Akira, shooting Makoto a conspiratorial wink—"
Artists, am I right?"—before moving on.
("...what just happened?" Makoto mouthed to herself.)
xxxx
At the end of the day, Ryuji was rather glad to at least have an inkling as to why he'd been feeling weird. "Why would the Student Council's prez be stalking u
s?"
"We'll worry about it later," confidently said Akira. Glancing around their old 'hideout' at the Teikyu Building's accessway in Shibuya, he couldn't help but fathom just how uncaring the surrounding crowds were.
Nothing but some teenagers, hanging out and shooting the breeze; nothing worthwhile for the masses to notice, eh...? "In the meantime...I told Kitagawa-san that I would be thinking about the modelling offer some more. But he seemed rather insistent that it be complete by the end of Madarame's exhibit."
"Why?" asked Ann.
"Not sure. I'll think about asking him, now that I've got his contact info," he said, gesturing to his phone. "Anyhow...did you two get any ideas about keywords?"
Ryuji brought up the word 'shack' ("He mentioned it in an interview he was doing, and it just stuck out to me."), while Ann wondered about the location they had just been to ("There was so much art there, he could have his own museum to himself!"). However, there was still another keyword missing.
"...huh. Guess how Madarame sees this 'shack' of his isn't enough; we need to understand the concept behind it..." Morgana huffed. "This 'Nav' seems quite picky..."
Not to mention fickle. Did we even need a 'concept' as a keyword for most of the Palaces? Akira honestly couldn't recall. "...we'll pick at it over night. In the meantime, we should look at the website and come to a decision about some more Mementos missions. Something to whet our teeth on while we came to a decision about Kitagawa's sensei."
Ryuji and Ann nodded.
(How fortunate for them, that Futaba would reach out that night with a response from Nakanohara.)
