Life Will Change

Chapter 22: Art Exhibition

Begin!

~Normal POV

5/15 - Sunday

The exhibit was already packed with people by the time they arrived. They could see various different types of paintings displayed along the walls. There were even news reporters on the scene filming it all. It seemed quite a ritzy affair.

"It's so crowded, how are we supposed to find our way around?" Morgana asked.

"Dude, stay in the bag!" Ryuji commanded. "We'll get kicked out if someone sees you."

Morgana quickly dropped back into Akira's bag, right as Yusuke spotted them. He eagerly approached Ann. "You came!" He greeted, with a smile. He wasn't wearing his uniform today; instead opting for a grey striped blazer over a white and pink shirt with black pants and black ankle boots. He looked rather casually dressed for someone helping out at an art exhibition.

"Uh, yeah..." Ann replied, startled by his enthusiasm.

"And you brought your friends too..." Yusuke commented, glancing at Akira and Ryuji.

"You seemed ok with us coming yesterday." Akira said. "Did you change your mind or something?"

"Not at all." Yusuke said, politely. "I'm just rather surprised. Do try not to get in the way of the other visitors though. Come, Takamaki-san, I'll show you around. We can talk more about the picture I'd like to draw too."

Ann gave her friends a reassuring smile. "I'll meet up with you guys later." They'd already decided on the way here that Ann would do best to keep Yusuke busy while they looked for info on Madarame. She left with him to the other side of the gallery.

Ryuji groaned. "I know we gotta do this for the job, but I'm still gonna complain the whole time..."

"It won't take long," Akira assured him with a pat on the shoulder. "Just a quick pass through once, listen for any sign of trouble, pick up Ann, and we'll be on our way. Let's go."

He adjusted his bag and led the two through the exhibit. If Akira was being honest, the paintings were impressive. There was a ton of variety in the styles as well. So much so that it seemed... suspicious. Akira wasn't accustomed to the world of visual art, but he knew a bit. For one thing, artists usually had a single style they stuck to for their work. Not in the sense of tools used, but in the way the finished product looks. The paintings here were all over the place in styles. It was hard to pin down what defined a piece by Madarame if they all looked so different. The case was usually that one could identify a piece from a specific artist entirely by its appearance.

"Hey, there he is." Ryuji pointed out Madarame in the center of the gallery being interviewed by some reporter. The two stepped a bit closer to eavesdrop.

"We continue to be surprised by your imagination. You have such expansive styles, it's hard to believe that it all stems from one person. Where does all your inspiration come from?" The reporter asked.

"Well, it's rather difficult to put into words..." Madarame replied, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "They naturally well up from within my heart, like bubbles rising one after another in the spring." Akira and Ryuji shared uncertain looks at that reply while the old man continued. "What's important is to distance oneself from worldly desires such as money and fame. My atelier is a modest shack, but it is more than enough to pursue true beauty."

"A shack?" Ryuji muttered.

"What kind of successful artist would willingly live there," Akira agreed quietly.

~...

Ann wandered the gallery with Yusuke admiring the various pieces. He was very courteous and polite to her, likely trying to make up for scaring her with his persistence, keeping a respectable distance between them as they walked together.