Yusuke was sitting on his lumpy futon, looking through his new anatomy book.
It was fascinating. So detailed. He was shocked that the entire book was illustrated despite being a medical textbook. He would consider the book itself a work of art.
He was very, very touched that his new friends had stopped by. He was still in shock.
BZZT.
His phone buzzed. Maybe Sensei needed something of him before he came back from his meeting. He was apparently helping maintain a charity event. Yusuke was proud.
Artists reject luxury.
His Sensei had always taught him that.
He lifted up his phone, ready to read what he needed to take care of, but—
[Alibaba] has sent a file!
[Alibaba] has sent a file!
[Alibaba]
Told you that you might need to see this. I don't know you personally. But I know what it looks like when someone is taken advantage of.
---
Yusuke's breath hitched. He instantly dismissed the message as spam.
'A scam,' he thought, shaking his head. 'Just delete it.'
But he couldn't bring himself to. He kept staring at the screen before hesitantly opening the first file.
It was a list of financial transactions. Every transaction of 1,000,000 yen or more from the past three months, and it was... long.
Yusuke swiped through it with hollow eyes.
Boats.
Cars.
Cabins.
Boathouses.
Hotel visits.
Casinos.
Large wire transfers.
He knew what he was seeing. He knew it, but refused to admit it.
He closed the file and began to breathe heavily.
The other file remained unopened. He was scared, but he knew he had to click it.
He hesitated for a moment, and his heart skipped a beat when he pressed it.
The file itself opened a livestream of a security camera in a high-end cabaret club. It was a wide-angle shot of a private booth. Inside was a group of women in skimpy clothing and a group of rosy-faced businessmen drinking alcohol.
"...Sensei?" Yusuke said softly.
Madarame was in the center of the frame, women on either side of him. He was slurring his words and drunk.
"DRINKS ON ME! We're celebrating my upcoming masterpiece! Hahaha!"
The livestream closed, but not before a loud cheer from everyone in the room.
Yusuke sat there in silence, looking emptily at his phone.
BZZT.
---
[Alibaba]
Here is a small prepaid card. Go find yourself a hotel or something. [LINK]
.
.
.
You are not alone.
---
Yusuke couldn't deny it anymore.
---
Futaba's Room
"Maybe I could have gone about that better," she mumbled. "I hope he's okay."
She remembered the time before she was with Sojiro. She hugged her knees gently and suddenly wanted to see him.
---
Ren woke up with a text message from Yusuke. He asked to meet somewhere quiet in a couple of days. He had some things to process and needed to talk with someone afterward.
"He didn't have to apologize," Morgana said as he read over Ren's shoulder on their walk in.
"He knows, but he can't help it," Ren said gently as he told Yusuke to take his time.
"We will need you to pick the lock on that door so Yusuke and Madarame both see it open," Ren said as Morgana hopped into Ren's bag.
---
"Oh, you really came!" Yoruichi said in a surprised tone.
"Why wouldn't we?" Shiho asked with a smile from the doorframe of the gym office.
This place was once terrifying to her. But since Yoruichi had completely changed and reorganized it, the room was now calming.
It smelled faintly of incense. The decorations were traditional Japanese, and she used a beautiful wooden desk that had papers neatly stacked.
"Well, Amamiya over there learned of a mutual acquaintance of ours. And well..." She trailed off and looked to the side sheepishly.
"That guy is suspicious as fuck," Ren said.
Yoruichi gave a snort. She couldn't help it. A brat less than a tenth of his age was ragging on Kisuke, and he couldn't do shit about it!
"Well, since you're here, would you like to do a few tests so I can see your natural movement patterns and center of balance to help choose a martial art to teach you?" Yoruichi said with a big smile.
---
As she gave the two tests, she almost couldn't believe it.
'These kids...' she thought with wide eyes. 'They're fuckin' talented.'
She noticed almost immediately that the way they moved was strangely in sync. Even their breathing patterns were starting to match. They were quick and dexterous. More than she expected from high school students.
What surprised her the most was the ingrained habit the two had of making the smallest movements for maximum benefit.
Plus—
'It's like they're trying to make as little noise as they can. Amamiya looks like he's using parkour to muffle sound and reduce impact.'
She couldn't help but knit her brows. These kids had those Persona things the cat had too, didn't they?
---