Welcome To Hashi High: A Persona 3, 4, and 5 Crossover

Bonding Over Paint

Yusuke would readily admit that the sound of graphite scratching against paper was one of the world's most soothing sounds. It reminded him of what he lived for, paint and art and all things filled with beauty. Joining the art club was natural for him, as natural as the way a brush felt in his hand.

Today wasn't too unnatural, classes had come and gone easily, leaving Yusuke with excitement for the afternoon activities. He had art club after school, his favorite day of the week, a day where he could let loose and be who he really was: an artist. Yet, as he divided his attention between the model and his paper, a nagging feeling pricked at his head.

A new person had gone missing from his old school, no doubt kidnapped by those strange cultists. It twisted his stomach into sharp knots, and before he realized it, his hand had strayed from drawing the model to drawing that normal figure of Yuuki.

Upon noticing how distracted he was, Yusuke set down his pencil with an aggravated sigh. The concern he felt for Yuuki was undeniable, considering how far away the boy was. So far from my swords that will protect him.

"Can't focus today either, huh?"

The rough voice brought him out of his thoughts. Yusuke looked over to see Tatsumi rather angrily chewing on the end of his pencil. The person on his canvas wasn't the model either, but a rather elegant sketch of what Yusuke assumed was Shirogane.

"Unfortunately it seems my hand is concerned for my muse as well." Yusuke set down his pencil and stared at the paper. He had been too busy ever since school started to really have the opportunity to draw Yuuki as much as he wanted to, and it didn't help that he was still at Shujin instead of here at Hashi. "It is hard to focus because of... reasons."

Tatsumi nodded. "I can't help being worried about Naoto, even if they can take care of themself." He tapped his pencil rhythmically against his forehead, where Yusuke noticed a criss cross of scars. He wondered what had caused that. "I just wanna punch all those cultists to make sure everyone else stays safe."

At first, Yusuke related Tatsumi to Ryuji, in their thuggish, rough, violent nature. Not that he didn't like Ryuji of course, in fact, the thief was one of his best friends. But now he had noticed little things that differentiated the two. How Tatsumi had such a liking in his heart for the arts and cute things, how protective he was for not just Shirogane but for everyone on the Investigation Team, how he felt about his interests being 'girly.' It felt strangely refreshing compared to the aggressive nature of the Phantom Thieves.

"I can understand that." Yusuke had originally thought it would be hard to talk to Tatsumi. That is, until he said he wanted to join the art club. That connection had sparked interest in Yusuke, though he still hadn't been sure how to talk until now. "I'm worried for Yuuki."

"You talkin' about Mishima? I didn't know you were close."

"I sketch him from time to time." He sat back, looking over the paper. Even with his skills, a mere sketch wasn't enough to fully capture the beauty of their informant, the spiky blue hair, the ever so slight curves, the soft features. Yusuke sighed again. "Perhaps more than time to time."

Tatsumi stood up and slung his blazer over his shoulder. "We ain't gettin' anything done today. Come on, I'll treat you." Yusuke scrambled up, quickly putting things away. The promise of food was more than enough to make his stomach rumble as he finished packing up, standing next to Tatsumi. "We can talk more on the way."

The rhythmic jingling of the keys on Yusuke's hip was another one of those sounds that he found rather beautiful. Even as they walked through Shibuya, the jingling brought him into soothing thoughts.

"You and Shirogane are rather lovely together. I would like to draw you two some time." Yusuke smiled to himself. In fact, he wanted to draw all of the other Persona users, finding each individual power to be so remarkable in its own way. He had seen glimpses of Tatsumi and Shirogane working flawlessly together, an absolute perfect unison. It reminded him of how Akira and Ryuji fought, or how Makoto and Haru did the same.

"R-really?" Tatsumi turned away, a small blush in his cheeks. "Well, I'm ok with it, but you should really ask Naoto. They're the one who isn't always up for stuff like that."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that." Yusuke fidgeted with his collar, a trait he had picked up because of his thief outfit. "You refer to Shirogane as they. Is there a reason for that?" He couldn't figure out why Tatsumi wouldn't refer to Shirogane as her.

There was a slightly defensive note in Tatsumi's voice. "Because they asked me too. Naoto doesn't feel like they fit as male or female. I respect that. Everyone else should too."

"I see." It made sense to Yusuke, how Shirogane tried to look neither male nor female, how uncomfortable they got when called he or she. And he felt respect spark through him, his desire to draw them growing even stronger. "They are lucky to have you, Tatsumi."

"Huh?!" He covered his face, the blush growing stronger. "W-well I mean, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to save them last year, and they cared for me when I was confused, and-"

"I just think, out of all the people they could have met, they met someone who obviously cares so much." Yusuke chuckled softly, smiling as he looked over at Tatsumi. "The Investigation Team is all such good friends, I would be jealous if the Thieves hadn't done the same for me."

Tatsumi brought his arms down, the pink fading from his cheeks. "I wanted to ask at least one of you about that. How did all of you become the Thieves?" He turned into the diner on Central Street, leading Yusuke up the stairs.

Yusuke didn't start talking until they had settled down in one of the seats. He took a deep breath. "It isn't quite so friendly as you, unfortunately. At first, I didn't like Akira and Ryuji. They were brash and uncouth, and they still are." He chuckled rather sadly. "I tried to have them arrested for bad mouthing my former sensei, saying he plagiarized and abused his students. It was true, of course, but I had forced myself to remain blind. They really, truly saved my life by being so persistent."

Tatsumi was tapping his fingers against the table. Yusuke noticed he always did this when he wasn't busy, and could assume that it was because he needed something to do with his hands. "That's so shitty."

"That is one way to put it, yes."

"But you're fine now. At least, you were until we found out about this cultist bullshit." Yusuke shifted his hips a bit, used to the weight of his tail hanging from his waist. He knew that the Thieves would snicker when he walked, when he shifted his body just like now as if the tail was real.

"I have another question. Hanamura is suffering, isn't he?" Yusuke had noticed a strange feeling around the brown haired boy, something he could only equate to when Haru's father had died. Something that gave them the same feeling of being rubbed the wrong way.

Tatsumi would have jumped back if there was room. "Wait! How did you know?"

Yusuke didn't respond, unsure how to explain it.

"He lost a girl he cared about last year." He settled back down, folding his hands in his lap. "It tore him up somethin' awful. Led him to do some crazy shit." Tatsumi sighed. "We all were just doing this because we knew the police couldn't do a damn thing. Yosuke was the one who really drove everyone to put our effort into the case. Because of that girl."

"I see." Yusuke kept messing with his collar. "You and the team are all such nice people, even if Akira doesn't think so."

"And you thieves aren't half bad, despite what Yu thinks."

"You can call me Yusuke, by the way. I'm used to being called that as opposed to Kitagawa."

"Tatsumi is my mother's name, so just...Kanji is fine."

"It's nice to be friends with you, Kanji."

You really aren't like Ryuji at all.