Archive of Our Own

Soon after Yusuke joined the Phantom Thieves, Ryuji tried his best to grow closer to him. The first thing that motivated it was his concern about how Yusuke was holding up after learning so many terrible things about the man who was pretty much a father figure to him—as someone who also struggled for a long time to accept that his old man was a piece of shit, Ryuji could have an idea of how hard it was… Except he still had his mom, while Yusuke had no family left.

The second thing was Yusuke’s casual comment about how people in his school tended to avoid him. Sure, the guy could be a bit weird sometimes, but he was nice to be around once you gave him a chance. But Ryuji—the punk troublemaker of Shujin—knew most people weren’t willing to see beyond appearances. It was probably one of those cases of losers uniting again… It had gone well with Akira and Ann, so he had the feeling that, with time, Yusuke would feel at home in their team.

And, until he did, Ryuji was willing to be there for him—and Yusuke didn’t seem to mind his presence, so everything was fine.

They decided to go out to eat some ramen after school that day. One of the things that worried Ryuji the most about Yusuke was how poor his nutrition was… As if it wasn’t bad enough already, the guy had the frustrating habit of using whatever little money he had to buy new art supplies, willing to starve himself for the sake of his art.

“I told you, already…” Ryuji stared at him, annoyed. “You gotta save money for food. You can spend what’s left on your art stuff, but you need to eat if you wanna keep making art.”

“But those pastels were at such a low price…” said Yusuke. “If I didn’t buy them now, I wouldn’t afford to do so later.”

“Then you should’ve told me about it…” Ryuji sighed. “Really, man… If you want something this bad, I’ll buy it for you if I can. Just don’t spend all your money like that again, okay?”

Yusuke observed him in silence for a while. “I was wondering…”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you worry so much about me?”

Ryuji didn’t know how to respond. He knew the reasons why, of course, but it was hard to think of a way to say them without sounding like a condescending asshole.

“We’re teammates now,” said Ryuji. “We take care of each other.”

“Is that so?” Yusuke thought for a moment. “I see… Well, I can’t help you in a financial way, but I shall keep an eye on you in the Metaverse, and make sure no harm comes your way.”

“Just don’t overdo it, alright?” said Ryuji. “I’m pretty tough, so you don’t need to risk yourself because of me.”

“Very well. I’ll offer my assistance in other ways, then.”

“Sounds good.” Ryuji smiled. “Turns out you’re pretty reliable… Glad you’ve joined us, we need people like you on our team.”

Yusuke returned the smile, but an instant later, a shadow seemed to cover his face. Ryuji had noticed it before, but that day Yusuke seemed quieter than usual… It was difficult to read his composed expression, but that moment was enough confirmation for Ryuji.

“Hey, dude…” he said. “Is something wrong?”

Yusuke looked at him. “Pardon?”

“You look kinda out of it. Is something bothering you?”

“Oh…” Yusuke shook his head. “No, I simply had a bad night of sleep.”

Ryuji stared at him. “You didn’t spend the night painting again, did you?”

“I had quite an interesting idea, and I had to translate it into the canvas before it slipped away.”

Of course… Ryuji wasn’t surprised to hear it. “I get it, man, but… You need to sleep better. This kinda stuff is bad for your health.” A small pause. “And what if you pass out in the Metaverse, or something?”

“I’ll make sure to get enough rest before our next mission.”

“That ain’t the point!” Ryuji grunted to himself, taking a deep breath. “Look, you need to take better care of yourself, okay? Stuff like eating and sleeping should come first to you. I know you love your art, but you need to put your health above it. Alright?”

Yusuke didn’t answer, and Ryuji narrowed his eyes at him.

“Yusuke…”

Yusuke lowered his gaze. “Strange… My entire life, I’ve heard the opposite. That anything is worth sacrificing, as long as my art thrives.”

His words seemed to squeeze Ryuji’s heart. Madarame… How much had that man distorted Yusuke’s mind, to the point of him believing that isolation and self-neglect were natural things?

“But that ain’t right,” said Ryuji. “Madarame said a lot of bad stuff to you, and…”

He stopped. It was easy to say that Yusuke shouldn’t believe those words, but he also knew better than anyone that it wasn’t that easy. Even now, he still struggled to separate himself from the things he heard from his old man, Kamoshida, and almost everyone who saw nothing but a useless punk when they looked at him. He took a moment to try and find a better way to express it.

“I know it’s hard to let go of this stuff,” he said. “But you need to try, or it’ll keep following you around, and making you feel like shit.” A brief pause. “I’m telling you, you should put yourself in the first place, alright? If you can’t do it for your own good, then… See it as doing it for the good of your art.”

“Of my art?”

Ryuji nodded. “You want your art to be as good as it can be, right? So, you need to be feeling well and healthy for that. If you end up sick from not eating or sleeping properly, then you won’t be able to give your all to your art. But if you’re feeling well and happy, then you’ll be able to make it even better. Makes sense?”

Yusuke thought for a moment. “It does…” He looked at Ryuji. “Now that you said it, it feels quite obvious.”

“Yeah.” Ryuji chuckled. “It’s kinda hard to see these things when you have someone saying bad stuff to you all the time. But you don’t need to worry about what Madarame thinks anymore… You can do the stuff you love in a way that’s better for you.”

Yusuke didn’t answer for a long while, as if considering those words.

“Ryuji…”

“Hm?”

Again, he stayed quiet for a while. Then, finally, he nodded.

“I’ll try to follow your advice from now on.”

Ryuji smiled. “Great! So, next time you need help, just tell me, alright?”

“Very well.” Yusuke showed a faint smile. “I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it, man.”

They finished their bowls of ramen, then walked outside the restaurant.

“Man, I’m full…” said Ryuji.

“Me too.” He looked at Ryuji. “Thank you for the meal.”

“Glad to have an excuse to eat ramen.” Ryuji grinned. “You going home now?”

“Yes. I still need to finish my previous project.”

“The one you spent the night on?” Ryuji slightly furrowed his brow. “Just try not to go to sleep too late, okay?”

“I can promise to try.”

“Why is that not reassuring?”

Yusuke chose not to answer. They walked together to the train station, and Ryuji accompanied Yusuke until his stop.

“I’ll see you later, then,” said Yusuke.

“Okay. Seeya, dude.”

Ryuji watched as he disembarked, then leaned back, resting his head against the train’s wall. Sometimes, he didn’t really know how to talk to Yusuke. Maybe it would be easier if they had more things in common other than their shitty past… Of course, the guy could talk about art for hours, but Ryuji never had anything to add to that subject, and could do little but nod along, and sometimes risk asking a question—while hoping his lack of knowledge wouldn’t make him sound stupid.

Well, it wasn’t like they needed to become best friends, or anything like that… He just needed to be around and give Yusuke support until he felt more confident to open up to other people… And then, he would probably move away from him naturally, like most people did. It was slightly painful every time, but Ryuji was more than used to it by that point.

A few days later, the Phantom Thieves met in Shibuya, near the entrance to Mementos. Yuuki had found a few possible targets for them, and changing their hearts would probably take the entire day—if not more than that.

“Is everyone ready?” asked Akira.

Receiving a confirmation from everyone, he opened the app. Soon, the world distorted around them, until they were in that familiar, yet uncanny place.

“Alright,” said Akira. “Mona, can you locate our targets?”

“Just leave it to me!”

Ryuji’s attention, like everyone else’s, was on Morgana as he focused on the area ahead of them. He felt a light touch on his shoulder, and turned around, seeing that it came from Yusuke.

“Fox?” he said. “Is something…”

His words soon faded into nothing, as soon as he looked at Yusuke: despite being in the Metaverse with them, he was still wearing his school uniform. Ryuji blinked, then instinctively looked down at himself, only to see his Phantom Thief clothes there, as they should be. He looked again at Yusuke, who seemed as confused as Ryuji felt.

“Guys!” said Ryuji. “Look at this!”

“What is it, Skull?” asked Morgana, impatient. “I can’t focus if you keep…”

He went silent as soon as he looked at Yusuke, and so did the others, observing him wide-eyed.

“Fox?” said Ann. “What happened to your clothes?”

“I… don’t know.” Yusuke lowered his eyes, as if he had done something bad. “When I entered Mementos, I was already like this.”

“Shit…” Akira looked at Morgana. “Mona, is this normal?”

“No…” said Morgana. “I… don’t think it is. He stopped for a moment, thinking. Fox, try to summon your persona.”

Yusuke did as they said, and nothing happened. Slowly, the confusion on his face started to give place to concern, and then—after his fourth failed attempt to call Goemon—panic.

“I… can’t…” he muttered.

His breaths became hasty and shallow. Without thinking, Ryuji moved closer to him, placing a hand on his back.

“It’s okay.” He managed to keep his voice calm. “We just need to find out what happened, and then Goemon will come back.” He glanced at Mona. “Right?”

“I…” Morgana lowered his gaze. “I don’t know.

“Sure!” Akira said, forcing a smile. “I mean, maybe it didn’t appear because you’re tired?”

“That’s possible,” said Ann. “Between school, his art, and living on his own, I think he should be really exhausted.”

Yusuke didn’t answer. He looked at Ryuji with an unreadable expression.

“I… did as I promised,” said Yusuke. “I went to sleep early, and didn’t leave my bed until morning.” He lowered his voice. “That can’t be the reason.”

Ryuji couldn’t find a response, and the others stayed silent as well. Morgana was the first to speak.

“I didn’t know it was possible for a persona to disappear like that,” he said in a serious voice. “The only explanation I can find is if it reverted into a shadow form, but…” He looked at Yusuke, slightly hesitant. “Why would Fox suddenly have a shadow?”

The idea was enough to send a cold shiver down Ryuji’s spine. It… couldn’t be that, could it…?

“I think we should give it a day…” said Akira. “Maybe something went wrong… I mean, even things like the weather can influence Mementos, right?”

“That’s true…” said Ann. “Maybe it’s just an unlucky day for Fox.”

“Maybe…” Morgana sighed. “What should we do, then?”

Ryuji didn’t answer immediately. As much as he wanted to help his team in Mementos, that entire situation worried him, and he didn’t want to leave Yusuke alone like that.

“You guys can deal with the shadows,” he said. “I’ll take Fox back home.”

Yusuke looked at him. “You don’t need to.”

“I agree with Skull,” said Akira. “I don’t think Fox should be alone right now.” He looked at Ann, then Morgana. “Are you fine with going forward on our own?”

“You can count on me,” said Morgana.

“Me too.” Ann looked toward Ryuji and Yusuke. “Be careful on your way back, alright?”

“I should be the one saying that,” Ryuji smiled at her. “See you guys later, then.”

“See you,” said Akira.

Yusuke didn’t say a word, following Ryuji as they left Mementos, returning to the Shibuya station. Ryuji looked at him, unsure of how to touch that subject.

“Yusuke…”

“A shadow…?” muttered Yusuke, without looking at him. “How did something like this happen? I… I can’t be like…”

“Hey, hey… Calm down.” Ryuji moved closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We don’t know if Mona’s right about this. Maybe there’s another reason not even he knows about.”

“I…”

Yusuke gritted his teeth, then took a step away from Ryuji, grabbing his phone.

“Yusuke?” Ryuji followed him with his gaze. “What are you—”

Yusuke raised his phone, bringing it to his ear. “Yusuke Kitagawa.”

The answer was low, muffled, but Ryuji could still hear it: match found.

Ryuji’s heart seemed to drop. Yusuke stayed frozen in place, wide-eyed.

“It’s impossible…”

Before Ryuji could say anything, Yusuke turned around, running down the street. It took Ryuji’s mind a moment to understand what was happening, then he dashed after Yusuke.

“Wait!” he called. “Yusuke, wait!”

But Yusuke ignored him, running as if his life was on the line. Ryuji managed to cut the distance between them, reaching for Yusuke’s arm, stopping him in place.

“Yusuke, calm down!” he said. “We—”

Yusuke glared at him. “How can I stay calm?”

His loud voice caught Ryuji off-guard. Without thinking, he let go of Yusuke’s arm, but he didn’t run away again. Instead, he looked away from Ryuji, as if ashamed of himself.

“I’m… just like him,” he said in a weak voice.

“Don’t say that.”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have a palace too!”

Ryuji bit the inside of his mouth: what was he even supposed to say? Until then, the two palaces he had seen belonged to some of the worst people he had ever met… The fact that Yusuke also had one threw everything he thought he knew about those places out of the window.

“Look,” said Ryuji, “I won’t lie to you… I’ve got no idea what’s going on, but… We’ll find a way to deal with it, alright? Let’s wait for the others… Maybe Mona will—”

“No!” Yusuke grabbed Ryuji’s shoulders, staring into his eyes. “Please… They can’t know about this!”

“Yusuke?”

“Please…” Yusuke shut his eyes. “I don’t want them to know that I…” His voice slowly died down. “That I’m a horrible person…”

“Hey… You ain’t bad, okay? We don’t know what happened…” Ryuji tried to remember everything he knew about the Metaverse. “Mona said palaces are formed by desires, right? So… Maybe yours wasn’t formed by a bad one.”

“I don’t know…”

“Listen,” Ryuji said in a firm voice, making Yusuke look at him. “I’ve got no idea why this happened, but I know one thing: you ain’t a bad person. There’s no way you’d ever be like Madarame, or Kamoshida… So, if you’ve got a palace, we need to find out why, and make things right.”

“But what if you’re wrong…?” Yusuke went silent for a moment, continuing in a lower voice. “There must be a reason why people avoid me… Maybe I just couldn’t see it…”

“Yusuke, stop.” Ryuji brought his hands to Yusuke’s, which were still on his shoulders, lightly squeezing them. “Panicking now will only make things worse. Try to stay calm, alright?”

“But…”

“It’s okay… Take some deep breaths.”

Reluctantly, Yusuke did as he said, letting go of Ryuji, inhaling deeply. Ryuji gave him some time, until he seemed to relax a little bit.

“There…” He offered Yusuke a slight smile. “Better?”

“I think so…”

“Okay. Now, listen: we need to do something about this.”

Yusuke hugged his own arms. “Are you going to change my heart?”

Ryuji shook his head. “First, we need to understand why Goemon disappeared. I know you hate the idea, but… If we tell the others—”

The answer was immediate. “No.”

“Alright…” Ryuji sighed, trying to think of a different approach. “Then, are you fine with me entering it?”

“You…?”

“There’s no other way to find out what happened, is there?”

Yusuke thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t think so…”

He looked dejected, and Ryuji could see why: the thought of someone seeing his innermost feelings and desires was unpleasant, to say the least.

“Don’t worry.” He offered Yusuke a reassuring smile. “I’ll do whatever I can to help, alright?”

Yusuke didn’t respond for a while, keeping his gaze low. When he finally spoke, his voice wasn’t much louder than a mutter. “I don’t want you to see it.”

“I know. But I promise I won’t judge you, no matter what I see, okay?”

Yusuke went silent again, considering the situation. He raised his eyes, meeting Ryuji’s gaze. “Take me with you, then.”

The request caught Ryuji by surprise. “I can’t. I mean… It’s your palace. I don’t even know if you can enter it yourself.”

“We should give it a try.”

“Still… Even if you can enter it, it’s still dangerous without a persona.”

“But it’s my palace…” Yusuke insisted. “I need to see it. I need to understand what is wrong with me. If I don’t, then… It could get worse, like his. I could… become a person like him.”

Those words hit way too close to home—enough that Ryuji didn’t know how to properly respond. Before he could find the words, Yusuke took a step in his direction.

“Please, Ryuji…” he said. “Please.”

It was hard to say no to him… As much as he didn’t want to risk Yusuke getting hurt, telling him to stay behind would only cause a different kind of pain.

“Alright,” said Ryuji, finally. “We can give it a try.”

He couldn’t tell if Yusuke seemed relieved or not. Either way, Ryuji reached for his phone, opened the Metaverse app, and said Yusuke’s name.

“Any idea what your palace might be?” he asked.

“No…” Yusuke admitted. “I never considered it before.”

“Alright.” Ryuji thought for a moment. “Let’s start with the place. School?” No matches. “Too obvious, I guess.”

Creativity wasn’t his strongest point… He was still trying to come up with his next guess when Yusuke moved closer.

“Maybe… My room in the dormitory.”

That was a match.

“Good one,” said Ryuji. “Well, now the distortion…”

“Gallery,” Yusuke tried. “Museum. Painting.”

Match found. It made sense… It was Yusuke’s palace, after all.

“Looks like that’s it.” Ryuji placed his phone back in his pocket. “We know what to do now.”

“Yes,” said Yusuke. “We should return to Kosei.”

They took the train, staying silent during most of that trajectory. Ryuji wished he could comfort Yusuke, somehow, but… Was that even possible? Maybe the only thing that could comfort him in that situation was getting rid of that palace for good.

But did that mean changing Yusuke’s heart? Ryuji observed him through the corner of his eye for a while—how much would that change Yusuke? Would it simply ease his burdens, or would it affect who he was as a person? And, if his palace was so connected to his art, would his passion for it be altered as well? The more he thought about it, the more anxious he felt. He wanted to help Yusuke, of course, but what if he made things much worse?

He wished the others were there… He wasn’t good at thinking, and no matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t find the right answer to what they should do.

They left the train minutes later, walking to the dormitories of Kosei high, entering Yusuke’s room. For an entire minute, neither of them said or did anything.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” asked Ryuji.

“I am.”

“Okay.” Ryuji took his phone again, feeling his stomach turn. “Stay close to me, alright?”

Yusuke nodded, taking a step toward him, holding the sleeve of his jacket. Ryuji said the keywords, and immediately the world warped around them, sucking them into that distorted reality.

At first, nothing seemed to have changed; however, once Ryuji paid more attention to that bedroom, he noticed how out of focus everything seemed, as if he was looking at it through a slightly foggy window. He glanced at Yusuke, who seemed confused.

“Is this it…?” he asked.

“Looks pretty normal,” said Ryuji.

“Yes…” Yusuke averted his gaze. “I wonder…”

“Hm?”

Yusuke thought for a moment. “Could it be that the distortion in my heart still hasn’t fully taken place?”

He sounded so hopeful that Ryuji couldn’t deny the possibility, even if he had the feeling it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Let’s just take a look around, then,” he said. “If we’re lucky, we’ll find a way to stop it from growing.”

Yusuke nodded. They spent a minute searching the bedroom, without finding anything out of the ordinary—it was just Yusuke’s bedroom, but in a… lower resolution.

That thought was what made Ryuji notice something about the place: unlike everything else, Yusuke’s paintings were as clear as the real ones. Without thinking, Ryuji approached one of them, depicting a green field covered in wildflowers.

“Hey, Fox…” he said. “Look.”

Yusuke approached him, and Ryuji indicated the painting with a gesture.

“They look pretty good, don’t they?” he said.

Yusuke slightly furrowed his brow. “I’m glad you like my paintings, but shouldn’t we be worried about other things at the moment?”

“Ah, no…” Ryuji gestured around. “I meant compared to everything else. Like… They look pretty sharp.”

“Oh.” Yusuke looked closer at the painting. “Yes, they do.” He glanced at Ryuji. “Could this mean something?”

“No idea.”

Yusuke stayed silent for a long while, thinking. “Am I… So focused on my art that I’m losing sight of everything else?”

That was a pretty straightforward conclusion, and it made sense: Yusuke had dedicated his entire life to creating paintings for Madarame, without experiencing much of the world outside of his school and that man’s house.

“If that’s it,” said Ryuji, “then maybe trying new things unrelated to art could help… Y’know, bring other stuff back to focus. Don’t you think so?”

A small, relieved smile took Yusuke’s lips. “Maybe you’re right.”

So… Was that all? Was the solution to their problem that simple? Ryuji wanted to feel relief as well, but something still bothered him, though he couldn’t exactly tell what, or why. He stared at that painting before him. Painting… Yusuke’s distortion was supposed to be a painting, but that place was…

Something like a hunch made Ryuji raise his hand, reaching for that artwork.

“What are you doing?” asked Yusuke in a reproachful tone.

But Ryuji didn’t stop, lightly touching the surface of the canvas. A cold feeling covered his fingertips, spreading through his arm; then he was violently pulled into it.

It was so sudden that Ryuji couldn’t even try to fight back before his entire right arm was already inside the painting. “Fox!”

“Skull!”

Yusuke grabbed Ryuji’s left arm with both hands, trying to pull him out. Instead, however, the painting simply dragged both of them inside in no more than a second. For a moment, everything went white, then Ryuji fell onto a soft surface, with Yusuke by his side.

“Fox…” he said. “Are you—”

He went silent as soon as he raised his eyes. They seemed to be inside Yusuke’s painting, but not only that: it was like countless paintings were seamlessly connected to each other, forming a surreal landscape with no end in sight. A green field connected to a snowy mountain, connected to a starry sky, connected to a stormy sea… Abstract shapes floated in the air, realistic portraits turned into giant statues, all kinds of sounds and smells seemed to be merging into each other, just like those images were: grassy, flowery, salty, sweet, pungent, everything at the same time; but, stronger than all else, was the smell of fresh paint.

“Whoa…” said Ryuji. “This place…”

Yusuke stood up, looking around, wide-eyed. “So, this was made by my feelings…?”

Ryuji couldn’t answer immediately. Of course, he didn’t expect Yusuke’s palace to be anything like Madarame’s or Kamoshida’s, but still… “Man, your feelings are… really pretty.”

“But they still formed a palace.”

Yusuke lowered his eyes, seeming dejected. Ryuji could understand why: suddenly, the hope that his palace was nothing but a small need to try new things had faded completely. Ryuji stood up, moving closer to Yusuke, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey…” he said. “We’ll find a way to solve this. Just trust me.”

Yusuke simply nodded in response.

“Where should we go, though?” Ryuji looked around. “This place is huge…”

“I don’t think the sea or the mountain are valid alternatives.”

“Yeah… The woods, then?”

“Sounds like the better option.”

Ryuji agreed. He walked in front of Yusuke, making sure that he was following closely from time to time. Those trees were tall and bushy, making the place dark enough to be disquieting. The deeper they got into those woods, however, the less realistic they became. Trees gained a variety of different geometric shapes, flowers became more bright and colorful, bushes and mushrooms became larger and more common; squirrels, birds, and other small animals ran around, making little noises, as if talking to each other. Ryuji couldn’t hold back a smile.

“This reminds me of that movie… Alice in Wonderland.”

“Now that you mention it, it does…” Yusuke smiled as well. “I suppose it was quite impactful to my younger self… I wonder what other inspirations we…”

He stopped talking, and Ryuji looked at him, concerned. “Fox?”

In a moment, the light left Yusuke’s expression once again. “My apologies… I almost forgot the reason why we are here.”

Ryuji’s heart tightened. He offered Yusuke an encouraging smile. “Dude, it’s okay. We’re here to learn more about your feelings, right? So, there’s nothing wrong with—”

A movement in the corner of Ryuji’s vision made him go silent. He placed an arm in front of Yusuke to make him stop.

“Someone’s here…”

As he thought, a few steps away, watching them from behind a tree, was a person covered by an old, washed-out cloak.

“Is that…?” muttered Yusuke.

Even with the hood partially darkening its face, it was possible to see that the person was the spitting image of Yusuke—his shadow. Noticing their gazes, it narrowed its bright yellow eyes.

“Leave this place.”

Then, without another word, it disappeared from view among those trees.

“Wait!” Ryuji clicked his tongue. “Damn, he’s gone…” He looked toward Yusuke, who still stared wide-eyed at where the shadow had been. “Are you okay?”

“Yes…”

“Let’s go, then… We can still reach him.”

All they had to guide them was the faint sound of the shadow’s feet crushing the leaves and twigs on its way. For a moment, Ryuji feared they were lost, but then a distant light showed the way out.

“We’re almost out,” said Ryuji. “Just a little longer.”

Yusuke didn’t respond. Ryuji stopped running, looking in his direction: his face was red, and he seemed to be out of breath.

“Ah, my bad…” said Ryuji. “Take a minute to rest.”

Yusuke did as he said, leaning his back against a tree, taking a few deep breaths. “Is he… gone…?”

“We’ll get to him. Just try to catch your breath for now.”

Yusuke did as he said, and Ryuji waited until he looked a little better. Then, they walked the rest of the way out of those woods, greeted not by another landscape, but what seemed to be the inside of a building, with white walls covered in paintings of diverse themes and sizes.

“It looks like a museum…” said Ryuji.

“Yes…” Yusuke muttered. “A museum…”

Ah, shit… He was probably comparing himself to Madarame again.

“Not surprising, coming from an artist.” Ryuji tried to keep a casual tone. “Come, your shadow should be here, somewhere.”

Yusuke followed him in silence, keeping his head low, as if to avoid looking at his own work. Ryuji gritted his teeth: he wished he could say something, but no comforting words came to mind. Instead, he focused both his eyes and ears to trying to find any hints of where that shadow could be.

Meanwhile, he couldn’t help but look at those artworks. He had noticed it before, but Yusuke’s paintings were amazing… Ryuji knew nothing about art, but looking at them was enough to make him feel things—warmth, sadness, hope, solitude… As if those images were directly reaching his heart. It was probably because Yusuke put so much of himself into his art… As if a small part of his soul lived in each piece.

Ryuji doubted someone like Madarame, who was so focused on money and fame, would be able to do something like that… He didn’t have the same kind of love for art that Yusuke did. He was…

Ryuji’s thoughts faded as soon as they entered the next area of the museum. Like the previous ones, it was covered in paintings; however, there was one in its center that grabbed the attention with its size and shiny golden frame. Yusuke stopped beside Ryuji, all color seeming to fade from his face.

“Madarame…?”

No, that wasn’t Madarame—it was Yusuke. A giant portrait of him in expensive traditional clothes, his appearance not too different from Madarame’s shadow; he was smiling, but his expression was cold, almost cruel… Something Ryuji never thought he would see on Yusuke’s face.

The lights flickered, and slowly, all the paintings around them changed into that same image. What seemed like liquid gold leaked from the paintings, covering the walls, floor, and ceiling, until they were completely golden as well. The place stayed empty, but a deafening sound of voices filled the air, as well as the eventual flash of an invisible camera.

So talented at such a young age…

Give it a few years, and the entire world will know his name.

I wonder if they’re selling this one?

Oh, I need to add it to my collection!

Those voices kept singing him praises, louder and louder. Ryuji stared at that giant painting: that wasn’t right… Yusuke wasn’t like that. He never seemed interested in fame… It just didn’t feel right.

“I knew it…”

Saying that, Yusuke slowly fell to his knees. Ryuji crouched by his side, looking at his face.

“Fox…” he called. “Stay with me.”

“There’s no need to call me by that name anymore…” Yusuke muttered in response. “I’m… I don’t deserve to be one of you…”

He seemed about to cry. At that moment, there was nothing Ryuji wanted more than to take him away from that place, but he knew doing so at that moment would only make things worse.

“No,” he said, “you ain’t giving up yet. We’ll find a way to make things right, okay?”

“I know…” Yusuke said, not looking at him. “By changing my heart, so I don’t hurt others as he did.”

His words seemed to crush Ryuji’s heart. “You ain’t like him.”

“I am!” Yusuke stared angrily at Ryuji. “Look at this place! It’s the exact same thing he wanted… I wanted to believe that I was different from him, but deep down…” His voice cracked, and he inhaled sharply before continuing in a lower voice. “I feared this was the case… That’s why I didn’t want anyone to see it.”

Ryuji opened his mouth, but couldn’t say anything. Soon, however, a nearby voice called his attention.

“Lies…”

He looked at Yusuke, who tensed up.

“Lies… Lies… Lies…”

Ryuji gestured for Yusuke to stay put, then stood up, carefully walking toward that voice.

“Lies… Lies…”

It was shadow Yusuke. It was cutting one of those portraits with a palette knife, an infuriated expression on its face.

“Yusuke!”

Ryuji called that name without thinking. The shadow jumped, staring at him; it raised its palette knife, pointing it toward Ryuji.

“Stay away!”

Ryuji raised both arms in a gesture of peace. “Hey… What’s wrong? It’s just me…”

The shadow shook its head. “No… This is my place. You don’t have the right to invade it… It’s mine!”

Then, it turned around, running away from him, deeper into that building.

“Ah, damn…” Ryuji walked back toward the real Yusuke, who still seemed to be in shock. “Can you keep going?”

“Yes…”

Despite the answer, his mind seemed far from there. Ryuji reached for his hand, lightly squeezing it to get his attention.

“Okay,” said Ryuji, “stay close.”

Yusuke nodded, allowing Ryuji to pull him by the hand toward where the shadow had run to. Only then did Ryuji notice that it had left a black trail, like ink, on that now golden floor, showing them the way to go. They followed it, until it ended abruptly, in the middle of a room. Carefully, Ryuji approached the end of the trail, noticing that, despite it looking like the rest of the floor, there was a small door, probably leading to some kind of basement.

Ah, yes… Basements… The worst possible place in every scary game and movie he had ever seen. A bad feeling made Ryuji’s stomach turn.

“Fox…”

“Don’t call me by that name,” said Yusuke in a dry tone.

“Okay…” He thought for a moment. “Yusu, if we get into a fight, and things turn out badly… Don’t worry about me, alright? Just run away.”

His words made Yusuke stare at him. “I would never—”

“Yusu, please…” Ryuji insisted. “I’ll never forgive myself if you get hurt here.”

Yusuke stayed silent for a moment. “If something bad happens, we’ll run away together, then. I’ll carry you on my back if I need to.”

He said it in a serious voice, but the thought almost made Ryuji laugh. “I’m pretty heavy.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Okay.” A small pause. “Just be ready for anything, alright?”

Once Yusuke agreed, Ryuji opened that door. As he thought, behind it was a ladder, leading into a dark place. Ryuji shuddered: he hated dark places…

He tried to keep a confident expression when he looked at Yusuke. “I’ll go first.”

“Wait a moment…” Yusuke reached inside his pocket, taking his phone, turning the flashlight on to illuminate the way. “Does this help?”

“It does,” Ryuji chuckled. “Glad to have someone with brains here with me…”

Yusuke showed a faint smile. “Be careful on your way down.”

“You too.”

Ryuji took a deep breath, then slowly started to make his way down. Once his feet touched the ground, he took his own phone, lighting the way ahead—empty. He looked up at Yusuke’s apprehensive face.

“Seems safe, for now…” Ryuji aimed the light at the ladder. “I’ll light the way for you.”

Yusuke made his way down as well, soon standing beside Ryuji. They looked ahead, and the quiet emptiness felt more threatening than anything they had seen until then.

“Fuck, it’s dark…” Ryuji clicked his tongue, placing his phone back in his pocket, raising his bat. “Keep the flashlight on, okay?”

“Of course.”

They walked slowly, and Ryuji tried to pay attention to any possible movements or sounds. The deeper they went, the more the ground became covered by ink, until there was almost enough to cover their entire feet.

“I see something,” said Yusuke.

Ryuji followed his gaze, ready to fight. However, as they approached, it became clear that it was just an empty canvas on an easel.

No, not just one… That place was a labyrinth of white canvases of all sizes; some easels leaned against others, while some were either broken or lying on the floor. They carefully started to make their way through that maze. Long minutes seemed to pass before they finally heard something other than the sound of their feet against the ink-covered floor.

“No… Not again…”

Yusuke turned the light toward that voice. A few steps away from them was shadow Yusuke, who didn’t seem to notice their presence. It was standing before a large, half-finished landscape painting with a brush in hand. Slowly, that landscape deteriorated, giving place to another copy of that Madarame-Yusuke portrait. With an infuriated growl, shadow Yusuke crossed out its surface with black paint, then threw the brush to the side, breathing heavily.

“It shouldn’t be so hard…” It gritted its teeth, grabbing the ruined painting with both hands.“Why… Why can’t I get rid of you…?”

The familiarity of the scene was painful to watch. Carefully, Ryuji took a step in the shadow’s direction.

“Are you talking about Madarame?”

The shadow stared at him, startled. “You…!”

It stepped away from them, seeming about to run away again.

“Wait!” said Ryuji. “We just wanna talk!”

The shadow narrowed its eyes at them, annoyed. “Leave me alone!”

“Please, just talk to us!” Ryuji insisted. “We’re here to help.”

“No…” The shadow shook its head. “You’re trying to help him, not me! He’s destroying this place… He’s trying to turn me into that man. But I won’t… I won’t let you change me!”

The shadow shrieked, then disappeared into that pool of ink. In an instant, those empty canvases turned black, and from inside them came distorted limbs and heads of countless shadows.

“Shit!” Ryuji instinctively grabbed Yusuke’s wrist. “Yusu, run!”

They had a few seconds of advantage while the shadows crawled out of their prison, but it wouldn’t mean much once they started running in their direction.

“We need to hide!” said Ryuji.

Yusuke turned off the flashlight, and Ryuji’s legs threatened to freeze in place: even after all those years, something still urged him to sit down in the dark and stay quiet, so no one would notice his presence or harm him. He kept moving, while his entire body fought against the action. They felt their way among all those canvases and easels, until they found a hiding spot, crouching next to each other. Ryuji’s heart seemed about to pound out of his chest.

“I hate the dark…” he muttered, unable to hold it back.

“Me too.”

Ryuji looked at him, and despite being unable to see more than the vague shape of Yusuke’s face, something in his voice felt way too familiar to him. He reached toward Yusuke, feeling the air until he found his hand, which closed around his, holding it tightly; Ryuji shut his eyes, trying to control his breath.

They could hear the sound of countless steps and grunts approaching, but they seemed to pass by their hideout without noticing their presence. Minutes passed, and the sounds became lower, until almost disappearing.

“Are they gone?” asked Yusuke.

“I don’t know.”

They waited for a while longer, but the sounds didn’t come back.

“I’ll check it out,” said Ryuji. “You stay here.”

Carefully, he crawled out of their improvised hideout. Before he could even stand straight, however, something grabbed him by the back of his neck, throwing him forward; Ryuji fell on his stomach, feeling the ink splatter against his face. The piercing sound of an alarm echoed in the entire place, accompanied by a flashing red light. He looked over his shoulder in time to see the big shadow that caught him jumping in his direction; Ryuji rolled to the side to avoid it, quickly getting back on his feet, his fingers still firmly wrapped around his bat. He glanced around: those shadows were everywhere… They weren’t gone, just waiting for them to do exactly what Ryuji did. Now, he had no choice but to fight them.

“Stay there!” he yelled at Yusuke. “I’ll take care of them!”

Thankfully, Yusuke was smart enough to stay silent. The biggest of the shadows charged against him again, and this time Ryuji fought back, raising his bat to hit the side of its body just before its clawed hand managed to reach him. It probably wouldn’t be a difficult fight if it wasn’t for the tens of other shadows that surrounded him, attacking with erratic moves, making it difficult for Ryuji to avoid all of them.

Without anyone to watch his back, the hits and scratches came one after the other. Ryuji stood his ground, swinging his bat against those shadows, but no matter how resilient he was, those numbers proved to be too much, even for him.

“Here!”

That voice made Ryuji’s blood freeze. A few steps away, Yusuke raised his phone with the flashlight on, calling the shadows’ attention like a lighthouse.

“Here!” he repeated. “After me!”

A few of the shadows, including that big one, fell for it, grunting before dashing toward Yusuke, who ran away in the opposite direction.

“Wait…!” Ryuji tried to grab their attention, but the shadows were already too focused on their new target. “Fuck!”

He wanted to run after them, but the remaining shadows stood in his way, closing a circle around him.

“Get away from me!” Ryuji yelled. “Yusuke!”

His despair gave him the strength to swing his bat in an almost crazed way, hitting as many shadows as he could, barely paying attention to it as he called Captain Kidd, summoning a storm of electricity all around him. A sharp pain in his chest warned him that he was close to his limit, but he ignored it, hitting his enemies with his weapon and magic in a careless way, not even trying to deflect their attacks, focusing only on dealing as much damage as he could, until the last of the shadows finally faded into a black mist.

His entire body hurt. Ryuji reached inside his pocket, finding a single life stone there. It could help, but… what if Yusuke needed it? No, there was no time to hesitate: Yusuke would die if Ryuji didn’t help him, fast.

He used that life stone, and its effect was immediate, easing the pain in his body. It still hurt, but not enough to keep him from moving. Ryuji dashed after Yusuke and his pursuers, pushing and trampling over some of those easels and canvases, almost losing his balance more than once, but managing to keep moving forward. His bad leg threatened to falter, but it wasn’t enough to slow him down. He had to get to Yusuke… That was the only thing that mattered.

Ryuji pushed another easel out of his way, finally seeing them: the shadows had Yusuke cornered, the big one with its clawed hand raised, as if about to attack.

“Stay away from him!”

Ryuji jumped in the big shadow’s direction, hitting its head with his bat, making it fall to the side. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he spun around, hitting another shadow before placing himself between Yusuke and the other ones.

“Captain Kidd!”

His persona responded, casting Mazio, electrocuting that entire group of shadows. Without a break, he cast Zionga against their leader, which was trying to stand up, sending him back to the floor. Some of the shadows fell, giving Ryuji the chance to face the remaining ones with his weapon. By the time he was done, the other ones were already standing up again, giving him no time to take a breath, linking one attack with the next one, until there was only that big shadow left. Ryuji inhaled deeply, feeling a sharp pain in his body as he used Assault Dive against it, which was enough to send it off with a deafening shriek.

The moment he finally stopped, his entire body seemed to lose its strength. He fell on his knees, breathing heavily, his heart beating so fast that it hurt. His vision went out of focus for a moment, but before he could fall, Ryuji felt a hand on his back, and another on his chest, keeping him in place.

“Skull!” called Yusuke.

Ryuji looked at his concerned expression, and a wave of conflicting emotions overcame him. Without thinking, he grabbed Yusuke by the front of his shirt, staring into his eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he yelled. “You could have died!”

Yusuke averted his gaze. “I know.”

His expression made Ryuji realize what he was doing. He let go of Yusuke, turning his head away. “I told you to leave this to me…” A small pause. “Don’t you trust me?”

“I do,” said Yusuke. “But there were too many of them, and… I couldn’t watch without doing anything.”

After that initial anger faded, Ryuji was left with a strong urge to cry: that had been terrifying… If anything had happened to Yusuke, what would he even do? How was he supposed to face the others? How was he supposed to live with himself knowing that it had been his fault, for agreeing to take him into that place without his persona?

He shut his eyes tightly, taking a few breaths to try to calm himself before looking toward Yusuke. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Yusuke looked at him. “And you?”

“Nothing bad.” Ryuji shrugged. “I had a life stone, so…”

Yusuke moved closer, examining Ryuji with more attention. He reached for Ryuji’s arm, looking at a still open cut. “You’re bleeding.”

“It’s just a small cut.”

Yusuke ignored his words, reaching inside his pocket for a handkerchief, pressing it against that wound to stop the bleeding.

“I apologize for this,” Yusuke murmured.

“No reason to.” Ryuji offered him a slight smile. “And… Thanks. I said all that, but… You kinda saved my ass back there.”

“It’s alright. It was my fault, to begin with.”

Ryuji shook his head. “I know you can’t control what happens here.”

“That might be true, but it was still my shadow who caused this.” He stopped talking, his expression darkening. “My shadow…”

“Yusu…”

Yusuke lowered his eyes, staying silent for a long while.

“Aren’t you… disappointed?” he asked, finally.

“No, just worried.”

Another moment of heavy silence, before Yusuke spoke again. “I thought I was better than this.” He lowered his voice. “Better than him.”

“You are.” Ryuji placed a hand on his shoulder. “Everyone got some ugly feelings inside them… I got a bunch of them too. What matters is not letting them overcome you… Turn you into something you hate.”

“But what if that is also out of my control?”

“It ain’t.” Ryuji lightly squeezed Yusuke’s shoulder, making him raise his head, looking at him. “Madarame wasn’t bad ’cause he wanted fame or money, lots of people want that. Hell, I wish I had more money to support my mom, too.” He sighed. “What made him a bad person was how he hurt other people to get the things he wanted. And I don’t think that’s something you’d do, Yusu. No matter how much you wanted something, you wouldn’t hurt others for it.”

Yusuke seemed to consider those words. “I… suppose so.”

“That’s what makes you so different from Madarame.” Ryuji smiled. “That, and how much you love your art. I don’t care what this place made you think about yourself… Anyone who hears you talk about art can tell how important it is to you.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yeah! Ask anyone later… They’ll agree with me.”

A faint smile took Yusuke’s lips. “I see.”

Ryuji’s words seemed to bring him some peace, which was a relief. They stayed there for a while longer, mostly in silence, recovering from that previous battle.

“Let’s keep going,” said Ryuji.

Yusuke agreed. They stood up, and, this time, Yusuke was the one to reach for his hand. Ryuji didn’t question it, holding it as they slowly progressed deeper into that room, until they reached a door. They looked at each other and, after a silent agreement, Ryuji opened it.

They walked inside that small, dimly illuminated room. The walls were covered by those same portraits from before, all of them crossed out with black paint. In the middle of the room, sitting on the floor, was shadow Yusuke, with its cloak stained with black ink. It raised its head, staring coldly at them.

“Why did you come here?”

Ryuji lightly squeezed Yusuke’s hand before letting go of it, carefully approaching the shadow. “I just wanna help.”

“Help?” Shadow Yusuke scoffed. “Do you think I don’t know how you truly see me? How everyone sees me?” It lowered its gaze. “There’s no place for me out there… This… This is the only place where I can be safe.” It lowered its voice, glancing at one of those portraits. “Or so I thought…”

“Hey, that ain’t true…” Ryuji crouched by its side. “You’re safe now that Madarame ain’t around anymore.”

Shadow Yusuke shook its head. “Madarame was right… There is nothing for me out there… All I have is my art. Everything else will try to hurt me… I can’t trust anyone… I can’t…”

Its voice broke. Ryuji raised his hand, risking touching the shadow’s arm lightly, relaxing when he didn’t receive a negative reaction.

“That ain’t true,” Ryuji said in a gentle voice. “That man lied to you… He said these terrible things so you would keep painting for him. But they ain’t true… Even if you love your art, you shouldn’t live like it’s the only thing that matters.”

“You don’t understand… I have nothing else!”

“You do! I know it’s hard now, ’cause of everything you went through… But now that it’s over, there’s a lot of new stuff you can try, and new people you can meet…” Ryuji made a small pause, offering him a smile. “And there’s us. The Phantom Thieves… We’re your friends.”

“Friends?” Shadow Yusuke averted his gaze. “There is no such a thing… All there is, is people who can benefit from you in some way. They call you friend, family… And then they take everything from you, until you have nothing left to give.”

Those words were painful to hear. Ryuji glanced at the real Yusuke, who was standing a few steps behind them. “Do you… really think like that…?”

Yusuke seemed at a loss. “I… I’m not sure.”

Ryuji faced shadow Yusuke again, finding him staring cautiously at him.

“You keep calling yourself my friend…” it said. “But you’re here only because you’re a Phantom Thief… And I’m a blight that must be purged.”

“Don’t say that!” Without thinking, Ryuji raised his voice. “I just wanna understand what you’re feeling, so I can help you!”

Shadow Yusuke let out a frustrated chuckle. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m furious! I’m terrified! I’m exhausted! I…” It shut its eyes, seeming to be holding back its tears. “I don’t understand anything… I don’t know what to do.”

“Let me help you, then.”

“No!” The shadow pushed Ryuji’s hand away, jumping to its feet, stepping away from him. “Stay away from me!”

Ryuji nodded, slowly standing up without moving from where he was. “Alright. Can we at least talk for a while, then? The three of us?”

“Why?”

“So we can sort things—”

“No.” The shadow hugged its own arms. “Why do you keep pretending to care about me?”

“I ain’t pretending.”

“Do you take me for a fool? I know you don’t truly like me as a person… But now that I’m part of your group, you can’t ignore me. So… You feel like you need to help me. But I don’t want this… I don’t want your pity, or your lies!”

Those words hurt… Had Yusuke always felt that way? Every time the two of them were together, did those thoughts haunt the back of his mind?

“Alright,” said Ryuji. “I won’t lie to you, then… Truth is, I didn’t think our friendship would last long, either.”

The shadow showed a humorless smile.“See?”

“But,” Ryuji continued, “it was ’cause I thought you wouldn’t need me after you made other friends.”

The real Yusuke widened his eyes. “What?”

“We don’t really have much in common…” said Ryuji. “And I can’t always keep up with the stuff you like. Most of the time, I feel like you’re bored when you’re with me. But… I still like to be with you.”

Yusuke stayed silent for a long while, staring at him. “I… thought the same thing. That I was bothering you with my obsession with art.”

Ryuji chuckled. “If you were, why would I spend so much time with you?”

Yusuke opened his mouth, but his shadow was the one to answer. “Because you’re kind to everyone, not just me.”

“I try to be kind to the people I care about,” said Ryuji. “And you’re one of them.”

“That’s hard to believe.”

“I don’t want to doubt you…” said Yusuke. “But it’s so difficult…” He stopped for a moment seeming to struggle to find the words. “All my life, I was told to pay attention to nothing but my art. I’ve ignored other people, all so I could dedicate my entire self to improving my skills. Now that he’s gone… I don’t know how to form bonds. Whenever I try, I end up unwillingly pushing people away from me.” He shut his eyes. “And it’s painful. I’m afraid… I’m trapped.”

“I can’t do anything other than painting, so…”

“I have no choice but to dedicate my entire being to my art.” Yusuke hugged his own arms. “I know I told you I would try to change, but…”

“I can’t change.”

“This is who I am.”

“He made me like this.”

“I don’t know how to be normal anymore.”

“And now I’m becoming someone like…”

Yusuke opened his eyes, looking at Ryuji with a terrified expression. “I don’t want to be like him.”

Suddenly, all the pieces finally fell into place in Ryuji’s mind, and he finally understood why Yusuke, from all people, had a palace. He inhaled sharply, then reached toward the real Yusuke, pulling him by the hand toward shadow Yusuke, then threw his arms around both of them, hugging them tightly.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” he said in a low voice. “I get it now… We thought palaces were created only by desires, but yours… It was created by fear.”

“Fear…?”

“Yeah,” said Ryuji. “I know how that feels… That voice in your head, always telling you that you’re a bad person, and that you can’t do anything about it… You hear it so much that you just start believing it’s true. But it’s wrong!”

Ryuji stopped, unsure if he should continue. No, he needed to… For Yusuke’s sake, he couldn’t stop now.

“My old man wasn’t a good person,” he said. “He was always angry, and when he got drunk, he would hurt me and my mom. I spent most of my life thinking I had no choice but to become someone like him… That I was broken, and would stay broken until I died.”

Saying those words out loud brought a sharp pain to his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his thoughts before continuing.

“I’m always terrified I’ll hurt people like he did… When I became a Phantom Thief, I thought that was my chance to prove I could be better than him. But, even now… I’m always scared of slipping up and doing something terrible. Still… I want to believe I’m better than him. That I can be a good person… That I can help others instead of hurting them. Even if everyone says I’m just like him, and if it sometimes feels like I’m getting nowhere… I don’t wanna give up.”

He moved slightly away, so he could meet Yusuke’s gaze.

“So… I refuse to give up on you, too. I know it’s scary… And I know it’s hard. But… You can’t listen to it. You’re more than your art, and you’re nothing like Madarame… You’re a good person. And you’re my friend. I like you, Yusuke… I like spending time with you, and hearing you talk about art… I wanna know you better, and I want us to stay friends even after we both meet other people.”

“But I…”

“Just give me a chance, alright?” Ryuji added. “The others too… We all wanna know more about you, but you need to let us get close to you first.”

Yusuke lowered his gaze. “What if you hate what you see once you know me better?”

Ryuji placed a hand on Yusuke’s cheek, gently lifting his head, so he would look at him. “Can’t you trust me?”

Yusuke simply looked at him for a moment. Then, slowly, a smile took his lips.

“No…” Shadow Yusuke mumbled in a weak voice, making the other two look at it. “I don’t want to place my trust in another person again. If… If they betray me, I… I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Before Ryuji could say anything, Yusuke spoke, looking at his shadow. “I understand… But is it any better to spend my life suffocating in loneliness and guilt?”

“At least people won’t hurt us this way.”

“No.” Yusuke shook his head. “They won’t hurt us. He won’t hurt us. I want to believe this… I want to trust them.”

“You might regret it…”

“Or I might not.”

The shadow looked at him for a long while, then averted its gaze, defeated. “I hope you know what you’re doing…”

Yusuke showed a faint smile. “Can’t you trust me? One last time?”

The shadow looked at him, then at Ryuji. “Please… Don’t make me go through it all again.”

“We won’t,” said Ryuji. “And… if things get bad again, I’ll be there for you, okay?”

The shadow observed him, still cautious. “Don’t you think I’ll forget these words.”

Ryuji smiled. “I hope you won’t.”

Shadow Yusuke stared at him for a while longer, its expression slowly softening. “As I thought… I can’t understand you.”

“But it isn’t an unpleasant thing, is it?” asked Yusuke.

“No.” Shadow Yusuke smiled.“I think… I quite like it.”

Without another word, the shadow took a step back from them. Its body was covered by a bright light, changing its form into a bigger, familiar one, which floated before them.

“Goemon…” said Yusuke.

Goemon nodded, then reached its hand to Yusuke, who held it. The persona faded into light, becoming one with its user once again. Yusuke’s appearance changed into his Phantom Thief attire, and he let out a relieved sigh. He looked at Ryuji, but before either of them could say anything, the entire place started to tremble.

“Ah, crap!” said Ryuji. “Come!”

In what now felt like a natural gesture, Ryuji and Yusuke held each other’s hand, running their way out of that crumbling place. The way back seemed much longer and more maze-like than before, but they didn’t stop for a single moment, running as fast as their legs would allow them, without ever letting go of each other.

Then, before they knew it, they were back in Yusuke’s bedroom, lying next to each other on the floor, breathing heavily.

“We made it…” Ryuji sat up, then looked at Yusuke. “Yusu, are you—”

Without warning, Yusuke threw his arms around Ryuji, hugging him tightly. Is he crying? Ryuji couldn’t tell for sure.

“Hey… It’s alright.” Ryuji gently patted his back. “Everything will be fine now.”

“I know.”

Yusuke moved slightly away, looking at Ryuji’s face. He wasn’t crying… If anything, Ryuji hadn’t seen his expression look so content before. It made Ryuji smile.

“Glad to know Goemon is back,” said Ryuji.

“Me too.” Yusuke paused briefly. “I couldn’t have done it without you… You have my deepest gratitude.”

“No worries, dude.” Ryuji thought for a moment. “What are we gonna tell the others, though?”

Yusuke seemed unsure. “What do you suggest?”

“You chose to trust me, right?” Ryuji smiled. “Why don’t you do the same with them? They’ll understand if you give them a chance.”

“Will they?”

“They’re good guys, and… we all have been through a lot. But it’s still your choice… If you’d rather give it some thought, that’s fine.”

Yusuke considered it for a while, then shook his head. “If I keep these feelings to myself, I’ll be making the same mistake again.” He met Ryuji’s gaze. “I’ll talk to them. You’ll be there with me, won’t you?”

“Of course, Yusu.” Only then did Ryuji realize he was still using that nickname. “Ah, I never asked… Are you fine with…?”

“No one called me that before.” Yusuke smiled softly. “I don’t dislike it.”

“Is that so?”

Yusuke opened his mouth, but before he could answer, a small groan left his lips. He brought a hand to his head, closing his eyes.

“Hey…” said Ryuji. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel dizzy…”

“Shit… Must be ’cause of your palace.” Ryuji helped him stand, guiding him to his bed. “Here, lie down for a minute.”

Yusuke did as he said. Ryuji sat by his side, observing him, concerned.

“Are you feeling anything else?” he asked.

“I…”

A loud rumbling sound coming from Yusuke’s stomach was answer enough. Ryuji couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“My apologies…” said Yusuke.

“Nah, no need to.” Ryuji dismissed his apology with a wave of his hand. “But, y’know… Maybe you should spend the night at my home today. So I can cook you dinner, and keep an eye on you until you feel better. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine by me.”

“Good!”

After letting Yusuke rest for a few minutes, Ryuji helped him stand again.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

“I think so.”

“Just lay on me if you need, okay?”

They left the dormitory, slowly making their way to the train station. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for their train to arrive; they sat side by side, and Ryuji couldn’t help but notice how Yusuke seemed about to doze off at any minute. He placed an arm around Yusuke’s shoulder, carefully pulling him close.

“Come here…” he said. “You can use me as your pillow.”

Yusuke didn’t answer, simply leaning in Ryuji’s direction, resting his head on his shoulder. That small sign of trust was enough to make Ryuji feel warm inside.

“Anything you want for dinner tonight?” asked Ryuji.

The sound of a small laugh caught him off-guard.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“C’mon… Did I say something weird?”

Maybe it was weird that he invited Yusuke to spend the night so suddenly… Not everyone was as open to it as Akira, after all. Yusuke, however, shook his head.

“Ryuji…” he said in a low, soft voice. “Do you remember what you said before, about your fears?”

Ryuji’s stomach turned. “Ah, yeah…”

“You are the kindest person I’ve ever met,” Yusuke continued. “I may not know your father, but I can tell that you are nothing like him.”

Those words caught him by surprise. Slowly, the uneasiness in his heart faded, giving place to a sweet feeling.

“You think so?” Ryuji murmured.

“I’m sure of it.”

Those sincere words meant more to him than he could ever hope to express. So, instead, Ryuji brought his hand to Yusuke’s, who held it with no hesitation. This time, however, the fond gesture seemed to carry an entirely new meaning—a feeling that, honestly, Ryuji couldn’t wait to learn more about.