Thursday 12th May
"Thank God exams are over," sighed Haruto, slumping down in his seat. "That sucked."
"I'm surprised," said Yusuke, glancing up at him over his lunch. Haruto had been bringing him various bits and bobs in over the week once he realised Yusuke was never going to remember to do it himself. "You usually get top of the class in our exams."
It was true, and he'd probably gotten top of the class again, but there was no need to brag about it or anything. He was trying to keep his head down, after all.
"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean I like taking them or anything."
Yusuke chuckled, taking a bite out of his apple. "Ah, too true. Exams truly are the worst part of school."
Yusuke had been in a notably better mood since his breakdown last Thursday, hopefully because he realised Haruto was fully on his side now. And there had been no more ominous mutterings from him about how hopeless life was either, so that was something.
But he did feel he ought to bring it up…
"The exhibit's on Saturday, right?" asked Haruto. Yusuke's cheeriness immediately vanished. Ugh, he really needed to deal with Madarame soon… "Is there a particular time you'd like me to be there?"
"I will most likely spend the morning assisting Madarame with putting up the pictures," sighed Yusuke, "but the exhibit will be open to the public by the afternoon, so you could meet me there any time after one o'clock."
"I'll be there at one sharp," said Haruto, smiling at him in an attempt to cheer him up.
Yusuke smiled warmly back. "Thank you, Haruto. I can't express what a relief it will be to have you there."
"I'm always happy to help."
***
Saturday 14th May
Haruto found himself with an unusual strain of nerves as he stood in front of the gallery. It didn't help that his foot had been aching since early that morning and was showing no signs of stopping any time soon. It was probably just stress.
Haruto…
Not now, he thought back, before Arsène could complete the thought. He couldn't think about that now. He needed to focus on helping Yusuke.
He had a ticket—Yusuke had given him one on Friday. All he had to do was go in.
He took a deep breath, reminding himself that, just like in the Metaverse, fear would do him no good here. Madarame didn't know what he was. Even Yusuke didn't know what he was. He could do this.
He stepped inside.
Yusuke was waiting for him in the entrance.
"Haruto!" he cried, his face lighting up the moment he caught sight of him. "You really came."
"Of course I did," said Haruto, hurrying over to him with a smile. "I wouldn't just abandon you, would I?"
"No," said Yusuke, taking him by the shoulder and steering him inside. "You wouldn't. I'm so glad you came—would you like to see the works on display? I'd be happy to give you a tour."
"I'd like that," said Haruto. "You can tell me all about them, if you want."
Yusuke quickly caught his double meaning, and gave a small, sad smile. "I'd like that too, if you're willing to hear."
"I am."
Yusuke smiled. "Then let's go."
***
Yusuke guided him slowly all the way across the gallery, talking about each piece and the emotions they expressed; speaking of the calm, patient nature of the painting of a koi pond, and the tough, confrontational tones of a stormy piece. In Yusuke's stories the characters of his fellow, lost students came to life, and the further they got into the gallery, the more Haruto could feel Yusuke's own anger at the way they'd been treated beginning to bubble and boil up from where he'd left it hidden for so long.
Eventually they came to a painting Haruto recognised—it was the piece he knew Yusuke had been working on before he'd begun his painting of Haruto. A beautiful green landscape, but the sky was flecked with red, the brush-strokes sharp and deliberate. Even Haruto could tell how Yusuke had been feeling when he'd painting this. He'd gone silent, staring at the painting in a quiet, pensive manner.
"And this one?" prompted Haruto, gently.
"It has a… certain immaturity about it, don't you think?" asked Yusuke, barely loud enough to hear.
"I think it's beautiful," said Haruto.
"Do you?" asked Yusuke, avoiding his gaze.
"There's a certain anger about it," he said, glancing back at the picture. "But it's honest. Grounded. The shapes are clear—determined, even. Wouldn't you say?"
Yusuke took a shuddering sigh, then straightened up, and smiled wanly. "Perhaps you are right. I struggle to see the beauty in this piece myself, but if you can see it then… perhaps it does have some value."
"Ah, Yusuke."
Shit. He'd been waiting for this to happen—and he expected Yusuke had too—but did it have to happen now of all times?
He turned, and there—smiling oh so innocently at the both of them, was Madarame Ichiryusai. His Shadow-self really wasn't a bad approximation, now Haruto saw him in-person.
"Is this the young man who caught your attention a few weeks ago?" he asked, all smiles and charm. "I can certainly see the resemblance to your piece."
"This is Namikaze Haruto, Madarame-sensei," said Yusuke, deferentially. "He's a classmate of mine."
"Charmed to meet you, sir," said Haruto, assembling his best respectable-straight-A-student mask in an instant. "I was very interested to see your exhibition."
"Ah, there's no need for such formality," said Madarame, with a casual wave. "Just Madarame is fine. And I'm so happy you're taking an interest! So many young people ignore art these days—are you perhaps an aspiring artist yourself?"
Everything had been almost perfectly normal—seeming—right until Madarame asked about his potential as an art student. It lasted less than a second, but Haruto had seen it—a hungry, predatory look flashed across his face—a hint of yellow sparking in his eyes as he revealed just a fraction of his true self to the surface. Oh, this bastard was evil, alright.
"No, sensei, Haruto's just very interested in your work, that's all," said Yusuke, actually stepping in front of him slightly. Seemed he'd caught that flash too, however unconsciously. "Haruto's always been interested in art—it's part of why I asked him to model for me."
"Ah, I see," said Madarame, but his smile had grown just that bit tighter. A predator never likes to be stripped of his prey, after all. And unfortunately, Haruto was pretty sure he'd caught Yusuke's defensiveness too. That did not bode well. "Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the exhibition, Namikaze-kun. It was nice to meet one of Yusuke's friends, for once."
And with that he swept away, but the tension he'd created lingered. Yusuke was tense, prepared to spring at the slightest provocation. Haruto carefully stepped around to insert himself between Yusuke and Madarame's line of sight. He jolted slightly at the sight of Haruto.
"Come on," said Haruto, grabbing him gently by the arms. "Let's get something to drink—we've been walking around for a while now."
Yusuke took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yes, let's go. There's a café not far away."
Haruto let Yusuke take him winding away from the exhibition and into the smaller, quieter café area.
"Sit down," said Haruto, pointing to one of the free seats. "I'll order us drinks."
Yusuke nodded mutely, taking a seat at the table.
Haruto went up to the counter and ordered drinks he was fairly sure Yusuke would enjoy, before taking them back to their seat.
"Okay," he said, setting the tray down and passing Yusuke his coffee, "drink that. It's decaf so it shouldn't make you jittery or anything."
Yusuke nodded and took a long sip as Haruto sat down opposite him.
He sighed deeply as he set the cup back down.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I somewhat ruined that, didn't I?"
Haruto shook his head. "No, it's fine. I understand."
Yusuke nodded pensively. "I find myself sometimes wishing… that I were not bound up with all this."
Oh? Now that was definitely interesting.
"Others have left before you, haven't they?"
Yusuke nodded. "But they… as I understand it they have not done well for themselves, most of them. Certainly not with regard to… this line of work." He glanced pointedly around the gallery.
"Is that because of him?" asked Haruto.
"Yes."
"Are you… scared to leave?"
Yusuke blinked several times, staring down at the table. When he spoke it was so quiet Haruto almost didn't hear. "Yes."
Haruto withdrew some tissues from his pocket, sliding them across the table to Yusuke, who took them and quickly began to wipe his eyes.
But really, that had been all the confirmation Haruto needed to finally act. He couldn't go in today—that would be too suspicious, and Futaba and Sojiro had him cornered tomorrow with regard to various things he needed to do for them—but Monday. On Monday he could strike. And until then…
"I'm here for you," said Haruto. "Whenever you need anything, you can talk to me. You know that, right?"
Yusuke gave a small, tearful smile. "I do. And I truly appreciate all you've done so far. No one else has done this much for me, so I…"
His eyes began to fill with tears again, and Haruto reached over the table and gently clasped his wrist.
"It will be okay," he said, with all the conviction in his soul. "I swear it."
"Thank you, Haruto."
"It's nothing."
He would grind Madarame to dust.
It was finally time for another mental breakdown. He would free Yusuke.
He had to.