"Oh, my apologies," the young man said. "When my muse is sparked, it is difficult to control."
"Muse? An artist?" Ren asked.
"Did you call Ren a peerless devil?" Orihime tilted her head. "Or me?"
"Forgive me," the young man said. "I am speaking metaphorically. It's not an attack on character. It's not something I can explain. I must put it to canvas."
Shiho's eyes were narrowed.
"I don't believe that's all?"
Ann raised her brow. "What else, then?"
He framed the two girls and exclaimed, "Warrior queen and free-spirited dancer!"
?!?!
"Ah. My apologies. It happened again," the young man said flatly, yet seemingly embarrassed.
"Yusuke!" an aged voice called from a car that pulled over.
"Ah. One moment, Sensei!" he called out.
Turning to the group, he said, "My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. Please take this card and contact me if your time allows. I'd like to issue a commission to use you as models in my art."
He handed the cards to the group one at a time and then quickly ran off awkwardly, getting into the parked car and apologizing to the man within.
---
Ren's eyes narrowed into pinholes. When the aged voice appeared... that kind of shift in behavior was unnervingly familiar to him.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Fuuka. He had to find out more about this Yusuke.
---
"That guy was weird," Morgana said.
"Eh, it's just an artist thing," Ren shrugged. "Seeing things through archetypes is a rare gift... but the fact that he was so accurate..."
"Ren, you are not a devil," Shiho said seriously, the group nodding along.
"Don't look down on yourself."
The team's voices overlapped with those of every one of his Personas, as well as the voices of Captain Kidd, Carmen, Scathach, and the newly added Maria.
Ren blinked and felt a tingling sensation run up his spine and put pressure on his forehead before seemingly leaking outward. He felt more liberated and free.
A chain snapped.
"Thanks, guys."
---