Persona 5 x F!Reader

Madarame's Change of Heart

        Sunday, June 5th. The Phantom Thieves group anxiously sat in your living room. Tea was sitting on your coffee table, but it was left untouched. Everyone's eyes were glued on the TV, showing Madarame and his surprise news request. Silent tears were streaming down his face. You could see Sayuri standing by his side. Madarame had personally called her earlier, asking her to attend for "specific reasons".

"I..." he shakily began. "I have committed crimes that are unbecoming of an artist." Your eyes widened. He really was going to confess, wasn't he? "Plainly put... I, um... plagiarized work." He leaned closer to the multiple mics on the table, his remorse growing borderline hysterical. "I-I... tainted this... this country's art world... and... even Sayuri!" He crumbled to the desk, his head buried in his arms as his crying grew more frantic. "H-How could I... I possibly apologize to-to everyone... for what I've done!" He let out a loud wail. You could see that Sayuri was slightly perturbed by his confession, but she tried to remain stoic as part of her job.

The news then flipped to the newscaster. "And that was from the urgent apology conference by Madarame that took place just a few moments ago," he reported. "After reporting to the association, he has agreed to the police's request to turn himself in. On top of charges of abuse to his students, Madarame is under suspicion of claiming their works as his own. Some doubt the validity that his maiden work Sayuri was stolen, believing it was used for fraud. The large-scale criminal act has caused a great shock to the art world, and after the conference, Madarame was taken to a police hospital for interrogation due to his age. However, initial psych evaluations state that he mentally sound and likely responsible for his actions. Also, a group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves posted a dubious note at Madarame's exhibit. The police will investigate their relation to this case, but for now, do not identify them as suspects."

You flicked the TV off, feeling that everyone has had their fill on what happened. It was silent for a few moments before you couldn't hold yourself back anymore. "It worked!" you squealed, giddily kicking your legs rapidly. "It really worked."

"It really did, huh?" Yusuke mumbled from beside you. A soft, relieved but proud smile was adorning his features.

"Yo, it's just like what happened with Kamoshida," Ryuji pointed out.

"And they mentioned the Phantom Thieves!" Ann exclaimed.

"Man, this is startin' to get interesting," Ryuji said, leaning back into the couch beside you. He threw his arm over the back of the couch, resting right behind your head. "If we do it right, we can change people's hearts. With this power, we might be able to do more than just gettin' back at society. It'll be a big deal."

"This'll be fun," Akira said, finally grabbing one of the cups of tea to sip on.

"Let's keep pushing on then," Ryuji said. "As for me, I hope we just keep gettin' more and more famous." You gently nudge the boy in the side with your elbow.

"Is fame all you think about?" you questioned with a pout. "I just hope we can help out as many people as possible." You silently wished, prayed, that they would find your palace. Then, maybe you could finally get away with this mental hell of back and forth with your shadow. Maybe all your bad memories would disappear.

"Something like this happening twice is massive, too," Morgana said, resting on the arm of Akira's chair. "It's too great a coincidence to occur normally."

"If we continue doing this, we'll definitely be able to give courage to everyone who needs it," said Ann. The door suddenly opened, and you all flinched. Akira quickly stuffed Morgana in his bag. Sayuri walked through the door with a sigh, shoving her shoes off at the door.