Agreed. On very very strict conditions!

(chapter originally by Faith on writing.com)

Ann fists still clenched, she took in a long breath, and let it out while making a noise not unlike her tea pot letting out steam.

"I know what your doing, Shiho." Ann said at last.

"Oh?" Shiho asked, the picture of innocence.

"Would you mind telling me why your suddenly so interested in me getting naked?" Ann asked.

"Getting nude. Not naked." Yusuke corrected.

"One more word, Yusuke, and I'm definitely not doing it." Ann snapped.

Yusuke raised an eyebrow.

"You really want to know, Ann?" Shiho asked, her face suddenly serious. Ann nodded just as seriously.

Without preamble, Shiho rose to her feet. To the shock of both onlookers, she unbuttoned her shirt and pulled the garment over her head. Yusuke blinked several times in surprise, while Ann's eyes grew wide and her blush deeper. By the time Ann had thought to scramble to a stunned Yusuke and clamped a hand over his staring eyes Shiho had divested herself of her skirt and stood before them in a skimpy sports bra and panties. Blind as he now was, Yusuke had seen enough to appreciate how athletic yet shapely Shiho's body was. Thinner, less bouncy compared to Takamaki-san, but still very attractive.

"They took the stitches out awhile ago, but you can still see the scars if you know where to look." Shiho said, gesturing to her left side that had taken the brunt of the fall during her suicide attempt. "They aren't much to look at now, but in rehab you could help but notice. It wasn't easy learning how to walk again. Some days I wanted to give up altogether, you know? You remember what kept me going, Ann?"

Ann blushed intensely, for reasons that weren't entirely due to her friend standing half-naked in front of her. "Because of me."

"Because of you." Shiho said. "Brave, determined, beautiful Ann Takamaki. You inspired me to stay tough and keep trying. Your the reason I can sit here and smile over this situation. You inspired me. You saved my life. Now think about how many other girls are out there who need a reason to keep going. Yusuke says he can capture the Ann I know and show it to the whole world! If you could save even one more girl like me, isn't that worth your embarrassment?"

"Shiho..." Ann whispered, then shook her head. "I keep telling you, your wrong about me. I'm weak and selfish. Your the one who kept ME going."

Yusuke chuckled, his eyes still covered.

"Something funny, Inari?" Ann snapped, using the hated nickname Futaba had given him.

"Not really. Familiar, more than anything. Madarame took great pains to convince his disciples that their own skills were meaningless and that any talent they displayed was because of him and him alone. It has taken a great deal of effort to dissuade myself of his message. I simply find it ironic that two girls who are clearly very strong in their own right have come to recognize the strength in the other without understanding their own power." Yusuke mused.

Ann paused, trying to hold on to her anger while the turn in the conversation inspired so many melancholy feelings inside her. "Th-this isn't fair, Shiho. Y-you can't just play the 'inspire people' card on me out of nowhere. Your playing dirty!"

Shiho shrugged. "Its how I feel. One reason, anyway. I'd also like to see this masterpiece your friend was shouting about. I wanna see how a real artist shows the you I know to the world."

"Shows me to the world stark naked!"

"Nude, not-"

"SHUT UP!!"

"There is that, too. I am looking forward to watching you squirm." Shiho said happily.

"I knew it!" Ann snapped.

"But just a little! Its mostly about the other stuff! You know...all the time everybody just stayed silent and ignored Kamoshida and let him get away with turning us all into victims. I just...never want that to happen again. Like Yusuke said, this is a way to reclaim who you are...who we are! Here she is, Ann Takamaki! Unchained! Unhindered! Unclothed! Ready to take on the world without giving a damn! And the world won't stand a chance!" Shiho said, trying to mimic Yusuke's earlier spiel.

"Your still not fighting fair!" Ann pouted.

"I know." Shiho said, without a hint of apology.

"....Fine!" Ann said at last. She yanked her hand away from Yusuke's face, then stomped around his chair to stare straight into his eyes. "Listen up, you! If I'm going to do this, we're doing it my way! First off, Shiho is coming with us. I want someone observing you to make sure you don't turn into a pervert again when the clothes are off."

"When have I ever-"

"You were acting skeevy as hell when I stripped off in Madarame's place!"

"....She stripped off at Madarame's place?" Shiho asked.

"That hardly counts. You were actively trying to seduce me to get into Sensei's private collection! Even the most stoic artist would have fallen for your allure and honeyed words! So long as you do not try to take advantage of my naivete again I will be the very picture of decorum and professionalism." Yusuke said.

"Ann, don't bully the artist!" Shiho said in mock horror.

"I wasn't bull....Shiho comes with! Understand?"

"I've no objection. As long as she can sit and observe without distracting us, at least more than Ryuji could, she can do as she likes." Yusuke nodded.

"Not a very high bar to reach there." Shiho nodded. "I'll be there for moral support, too. Cheer her on from the sidelines! Oh! And I can look after her clothes. Just in case you do turn out to be skeevy after all."

"I can assure you..." Yusuke sighed at Ann's glare. "Yes, fine. No objections. She does seem to inspire more confidence in you anyway."

"Second, I get final say in what we do with the portrait! If it ends up being too lewd or embarrassing, I can have it destroyed or whatever I want. Understand?" Ann said.

"But....yes. Fine. If you can't agree that it is as magnificent as I claim it will be I'll consider it a failure anyway." Yusuke nodded.

"Okay. So...uhhh...when do we get started?" Ann asked.

"...a good question. I hadn't contemplated a proper venue. My studio? Or perhaps somewhere in the countryside? I don't know....give me a moment to ponder..."

Shiho let out an excited squee and glomped on to Ann, giving her a tight hug and a enthusiastic kiss on the cheek.

"....In the meantime..." Yusuke said. "Miss Suzui...I apologize, but could you put on some clothes? The underwear is a little too distracting."

Shiho blinked, looked down at herself, screamed, and ran behind Ann with a sudden blush.

"Don't tell me you forgot." Ann sighed.

"I...I...I got wrapped up in the conversation! Then you agreed to it, and I got excited! J-j-just shut and don't move!"

"Awww, but then I would get to see you squirm..." Ann said.

"Ann, don't you...stop walking towards him! Ann, I mean it! Don't you dare! Ann! Wait! EEEEEK!"

Yusuke mused to himself that the day was off to a very strange, but not at all unpleasant, start. Now, where to go?