Chapter Text
Yusuke returns to his dorm feeling exhausted, Kaneshiros palace has proved to be a pain, and it didnt help that he was still trying to come to terms with Madarame, just thinking about the puzzles the Phantom Thieves had to go through made his head hurt, He places his keys on the nightstand and falls on top of his futon, he scrolled through his messages wondering if his new friends were still awake. His eyelids were starting to wane as he could feel his arm getting tired, but became alert when his phone buzzed
Ren: “Remember that there is a phantom thieves meeting tomorrow, this one is really important and I need everyone present”
Yusuke stares at his phone for a while, he doesn’t mind the meetings, but feels overwhelmed at the idea of going back to a palace, He sighs heavily and places his phone on the floor, finally, he falls into a deep sleep.
Bzzz… Bzzz… Bzzz…
Yusuke slowly opens his eyes and noticed his alarm going off: 12:45. Had he missed school? Quickly, he got out of bed, brushed his teeth and dashed through the door, halfway down the hall he realized he forgot his phone and lock his dorm. He returned to quickly gather his items, this time locking the door on his way out and dashes to his history class.
Once he arrived, he quietly tried to settle at his desk without the teacher noticing.
“Mr.Kitagawa, you are late, either you show up early to class or you don’t show up at all”
“I apologize for my tardiness, it will not happen again.”
His teacher returned to his lectures as Yusuke quietly settled into his desk, he heard a couple of boys whispering about Madarame’s arrest and how arrogant Yusuke was starting to become. He knew it wasn’t true, he knew that the Phantom Thieves are the only ones to know about his lack of filter and eccentric whims, and the true horrific nature of Madarame. He tried to focus on the lecture but could only grasp small bits about Egypt and it’s pyramids. Slowly, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
“Just a few more hours…” He thought to himself
School finally ended and he wanted to be at Leblanc early, he quickened his pace when suddenly a girl approached him,
“U-Um, Kitagawa-kun? I was—“
“I apologize, but I must get going.”
He walked around her making sure not to bump into her, and yet, he could hear her friends call him an asshole. None of the girls in his school have interested him, and he didn’t want to lie to them saying he was willing to court them either. He looked down at his watch, 5:30, he could reach the train station in time.
“Thanks for coming on such a short notice, but I got several messages from ‘Alibaba’ during class”
The Phantom Thieves met at their usual secluded spot at the station. Ryuji began fidgeting his feet and cursed under his breath, Ann took notice and placed her hand on his shoulder reminding him to breathe.
“What’d they say?”
Ren pulled his phone out and slowly scrolled through the messages. He could sense everyone’s distress once he was nearing the end of the thread.
“So if we don’t do what he says then he’s gonna report us to the police, effin’ hell man.” Ryuji became more frustrated.
“Futaba Sakura…?” Ann began
“Wasn’t Sakura…Boss’ last name?…” Makoto asked as she wrote small notes in her notepad.
“Yeah, but I’m not sure if he has any family”
Ren put his phone away as he leaned back onto the rails and crossed his arms, it was possible that this ‘Futaba Sakura’ could be related to Sojiro Sakura, but if not, then where would they even begin to look?
“Man, I wish I could be just as laid back as you, RenRen, this stuff is startin’ to get to me, you know.” Ryuji huffed
“Ren’s always so cool when he’s calm! That’s why he’s our leader!” Ann pumped her fist in the air trying to ease the tension that surrounded them.
Yusuke mimicked Ren’s pose when a thought suddenly came to him. “Knowing that you are under Sojiro’s care, wouldn’t he have to introduce you to other members of his family at some point?”
Ren shrugs his shoulders and slowly shook his head, “He never mentions that he's going to introduce me to someone now that he knows I'm not a real delinquent.”
The day was almost coming to an end and it felt as if they were going nowhere, the people walking up and down the halls were starting to become less and less the more time passed, they had to come up with something quick. Makoto closed her note pad and put it away in her school bag.
“The calling card was delivered to Boss’s house on such a short period of time, so it’s going to be natural to assume that ‘Futaba Sakura’ and Boss may be related.”
She could hear Ren humming in agreement, as he tried to make sense of the little information they had.
“One of the reasons for that is because Alibaba didn’t mention which ‘Futaba Sakura’, Alibaba must think that the name alone is enough for someone's heart to be stolen.”
“That makes sense.” Morgana spoke softly from within Ren’s bag, finally, the Phantom Thieves may have at least one clue that could lead them to Futaba. But she wasn’t done with her theory yet. Makoto sighed and slumped her shoulders.
“And the demands are ridiculous, “Pay me if you don’t want me to leak your identities.” Makoto furrowed her brows and crossed her arms, for a moment, she looked like Sae.
“I still don’t know how Alibaba got control of Ren’s phone and started sending these messages, however, I do know someone threatening us to pay and not leak our identities—Is a motive I could understand”
Ren stared at her for a while, “What is it your trying to say?”
“To steal someone's heart and refuse to explain why seems strange. It almost feels like we’re being mocked.”
Yusuke straightened himself and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “So we’re being tested” he exclaimed.
“Whatever the reason may be, tonight I’m going to ask Boss about Futaba, he might have an idea about what this might be about, but I ask that you guys please don’t get your hopes up”
Once the meeting concluded, everyone went their own ways, Yusuke took whatever sunlight remained to visit the art store nearby the cinema, the door bell rang upon entering and was greeted with nothing but silence. He shrugged and walked to where the paints were, hoping to buy a small bottle of orange, yet there didn’t seem to be any on display, Yusuke sighed and looked through the shelves again. He felt a sudden presence behind him towering his small thin figure.
“What are you looking for, kid?”
“Oh! You startled me Ino-san”
Yusuke looked back to see a tall robust man leaning by the shelves eating a bologna sandwich that he probably bought at the convenient store. Yusuke has taken an interest in Ino when they began talking about different art forms, the conversation then expanded to Ino explaining that he was once a street artist with an immense amount of respect.
But purposefully never mentions the rest of his life he was forced into, he began committing crimes for the Yakuza when he and some friends sprayed on the walls of their territory by accident. The Yakuza forced him to work under their name, spraying warning signs in the walls of Shibuya. When he refused, they pressured him to give them money at gun point. He was lucky to have escaped, but it resulted in him having a permanent bounty on his head if they were to see him in the streets spraying on their walls again. His eyes wandered down to where Yusuke’s hands were placed and gave a disappointing sigh.
“Sorry, we ran out of orange today. You could take some red and yellow paint to make some though.”
The boy shook his head at the older man as he pulled his wallet out, Yusuke found that he only had 1000¥ left. It was a constant struggle to save at least 3000¥ for food and other necessities for the week, however, his artistic journeys happily drained his wallet.
“Unfortunately I won’t be able to, seeing as I won’t have enough…” Ino could hear the sadness in Yusuke's voice. He was fond of the resident artist and wished to take him under his care and be a big brother to him, talking with him about his art projects and other interests he would like to partake in and what he would want to do in the future with his art career. Sadly, he can not put him in a position that will bring him harm if the Yakuza were to find him again. All he can do is support him from the side the best he can, even if it means giving him a %25 discount whenever he visited.
“Even if I do have enough; currently, I’m experiencing artists block.” Yusuke looked at the sandwich his new mentor held when all of a sudden his stomach growled, it was loud enough that it made Ino laugh to his knees.
“Gee how long have you gone without eating? C’mere I ordered an extra sandwich just for you!” Yusuke became hesitant with the sudden offer.
“Ino-san you—“ Ino patted him hard on the shoulder making Yusuke lose his balance.
“Come on it’s my treat!! And I told you to just call me Ino.” Yusuke smiled and happily followed him to his desk.