Persona 5: Kitagawa Yusuke x Reader

Chapter 1: Desire

"Next stop, Ueno."

The speaker on the subway wakes me from my slumber. My eyes flutter awake, body still drowsy from the long and uncomfortable subway ride.  A slender finger taps my shoulder.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but realize you had a brochure for the art exhibition. Your stop is next, and I wouldn't want you to miss it."

The voice says gently. You loll your head up sleepily to meet the owner of the voice. A tall, slim and handsome young man smiles down at you. You blink for a second, then regain your composure.

"Oh! Thank you, yes I was going to see that. My grandfather has a piece there that he was excited to show me. By the way, if you recognized the brochure, does that mean you are going as well?" I ask politely.

"Yes, in fact I have some of my own work there. I was hoping to see others' reactions to my painting, and perhaps draw some inspiration from the work of my fellow artists." he beams.

"Aha, you seem very passionate! That's great for any young artist. Well good luck, umm..." I trail off.

"I'd rather not tell you, just so that hopefully you'll see my artwork and judge it without bias." He shakes my hand and bids me farewell, before we exit the subway and part ways.

After that pleasant encounter with the young artist, I felt even more pumped to visit the exhibition. When was it that art became so important to me? I smile as I recall a distant memory.

"Grandpa! What do you think of my horse? Are you proud of me yet??" my 5 year old self calls to my concentrating grandfather. He was in the middle of trying to create a piece in time for his next exhibition, and lately had been extremely stressed. However, the moment he heard my excited voice, he instantly dropped his focused expression and paint brush, and ran over to me.

"Hm? Let me see little (y/n)-chan!"

He ruffles my hair and I giggle.

"Ooh, very good! You're improving every day. And what do you mean by 'yet'? I'm always proud of you, little one. Now, how about I teach you some even better sketching techniques? I'll even throw in a lesson for drawing flowers."

Back then, my grandfather spent a lot of his time teaching me how to draw and paint. It became a great love of mine, so much that I was taking advanced art lessons alongside high school students by the end of elementary school. I was known as an art prodigy, and made my grandfather proud. To be honest, it was the time I got to spend with him that I actually loved more than art. That's why, in eighth grade when he failed to finish a piece on time because he spent too much time with me, I decided to give up on being an artist. I didn't want him to suffer because of me, but I also didn't want to compromise my time in the future with my children just to always be working on art. I wanted to put my personal connections first before my career, and pursuing art I felt would not let me do that.

Now, I'm studying at Shujin Academy, hoping to become an industrial engineer. It may not be the best high school for it, but I'll study hard, keep my place at the top of the class, and get into a good university. Sounds cliche, but my new career choice actually doesn't have anything to do with my parents, despite how it sounds. I grew a new love for woodshop just last year when I started high school, so I've recently begun to think that this kind of career would be perfect for combining my interests.

Nonetheless, I haven't completely let my affinity for the fine arts die out. I still sketch from time to time, and attend art exhibitions that display my grandfather's work. Now is one of those times.

Following the curves and turns of familiar streets I now know so well, I wind up at the Ueno Art Gallery. The paintings on the wall are all good. They are obviously sophisticated, but likely created by all art snobs who just want to make money. It's clear to a trained eye, because even unintentionally, the artist will always leave behind traces of their personality and often intent. That's why my grandfather's paintings are my favourite. They always steal the show, because everyone, even regular people can feel the overflowing passion and personality emanating from them.