Finishing what they started

“Y-yeah.” Ann answered, still a little shell shocked by the strange series of events and feelings that had transpired around her.

She gave one last look around the dark subway as Yusuke carefully packed away his supplies and wrapped the portrait away in what appeared to be a specialized container. Shiho was still nowhere to be found. Ann sighed in consternation to herself, her thoughts a mix of anger and worry for her best friend going home alone in such a potentially dangerous locale.

As it happened she needn’t have worried. As the made their way awkwardly towards the subway platform they missed the face of a raven haired girl carefully around a concrete pillar, a radiant smile on her lips and the demonic glee of a gremlin in her eyes.

The ride back on the subway was unbelievably nerve wracking. Whatever story the paint might tell Ann’s sense of touch was acutely aware she was not wearing any clothes. Yusuke had warned her not to cover up lest the illusion be spoiled. So she sat in the too bright compartment, aware the dark shadows outside the subway windows could be hiding any number of passengers waiting to get on. She couldn’t see them but she knew anyone could see her. It was terrifying and humiliating and (to her horror and bewilderment) increasingly arousing.

“Yusuke…” she said at last needing to distract herself. “What…umm…what inspired this particular push tonight? You’ve been interested in me modeling before but you haven’t been this aggressive or passionate about it since Madarame. Why the change?”

“….I suppose I hoped for one final miracle to inspire me before the end.” Yusuke shrugged.

“Ummm…the end of what?” Ann asked.

“As I have mentioned previously my scholarship depends on consistent improvement in my art. In large part I have succeeded thanks to the help of Ren and the rest of you. But one of my professors remain dissatisfied and has graded me harshly. I think she was a devotee of Madarame and somehow views me as responsible for his arrest. Ironically she is correct although she has no way of knowing it.”

“What? If you fail a class won’t that be bad for you?? Won’t you have to leave the dorms? Why didn’t you say this before??”

“I tainted my previous efforts to paint you with my desperation to produce a portrait. I had no desire to pressure you and taint this new effort as well.”

“Idiot! That’s important information!”

“It is in all honesty irrelevant. I do not believe a single portrait no matter how well received will salvage the course at this juncture.”

“….how many would it take then?” Ann whispered.

Before Yusuke could respond, both Phantom Thieves hastily fell silent as the train came to stop. To Ann's stifled panic a group of drunken business men stumbled on board, the blushes on their faces almost as bright as her own.

"Keep calm..." Yusuke whispered.

The business men chattered amongst themselves, evidently recently come from another party. Ann bit her lip, feeling a scream of mortification threatening to well up in her throat. Several of them were staring and leering at her! Had they seen through the disguise? Or were they just gawking at her seemingly clothed but skimpy top and short shorts? Either way the looks were degrading and horrifying! Ann felt tears welling up in her eyes as she pressed her legs together. She was expecting some cry of outrage or excitement declaring her nudity. And she could feel herself growing wetter by the second!!

"Keep calm." Yusuke whispered. Ann shuddered and nodded as the drunkards leered at her.

"Now why on Earth is a young lady such as yurself riding around at this time of night with barely anything on?" One of the men said, slurring his words.

"I'm afraid earlier tonight she made a ill advised wager." Yusuke said evenly. "This is the penalty of her loss."

The old men snickered as Ann pouted and blushed. It was a simple enough explanation, but it seemed to encourage the group to laugh at her predicament.

"Enough stalling! They can hardly see you in that position!" Yusuke said suddenly, pulling a shocked Ann to her feet and firmly holding both her hands behind her back.

Ann stared in wide eyed shock as the group of men leered in appreciation at her bare skin and hidden nudity. One of them started forward, his hands reaching towards the blushing girl.

"Gentlemen, you may look, but do not think to go further. It would be unfortunate for you." Yusuke said coolly, casually pulling what Ann realized was the fake Katana he used in the Metaverse. The group of drunkards exchanged glances, backed up a pace, and made no further moves towards the pair. Ann couldn't help but notice they were still staring, albeit a tad more cautiously now.

When the group shuffled off the train a few stops later, Ann wasted no time whirling around on Yusuke and raining a series of closed fisted 'bops' upon him, her eyes closed and body flushed with embarrassment. Yusuke defended himself with his hands, smiling all the while. Having been the target of Ann's unrestrained onslaught earlier in the night, the artist quickly recognized there was neither **** or rage in the barrage. She was simply embarrassed and needed an outlet.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why would you do that?? They saw my whole body! What if they saw I wasn't wearing anything!!" Ann demanded. "Why shove me up so close like that??"

"Well...all artists want their audience, whoever it might be, to have the opportunity to appreciate their works..." Yusuke explained, receiving one final 'bop' that was pointedly more forceful than the rest.

"You..." Ann muttered, glowing red. "You are such an idiot!"

"I believe you did say something to that effect several times this evening." Yusuke noted with a sly grin. "Try to relax. My artwork is flawless. It will take more than a few drunken louts to pierce the veil."

"....But what if they saw...I mean...what if...the paint dissolve in water, right?" Ann asked timidly.

"Indeed. But a little sweet on your part won't suffice to-"

"Okay, but what if, maybe, something was...going on that kind of..." Ann closed her eyes and bit her lip, trembling in shame as she parted her legs in a slight squat and broke the illusion of the tiny short shorts hiding her nether regions, unfolding her naked sex to reveal the moisture pooling between her legs.

"...I see. Yes. That might be a problem." Yusuke said, blushing himself.

"j-just hand me a towel or something and I'll-"

"No. I'm afraid an attempt on your part to clean yourself will inevitably smear the paint and reveal the ruse. Sit. I will attend to this problem."

Ann found herself coaxed into one of the seats on the subway, Yusuke directing her to pull her knees up and wide apart into a roughly 'M' shape that left her pussy spread wide open and completely exposed. Ann suppressed a sob. He was looking right at her now, staring deeply and intently into the most secret and embarrassing place on her body. If there was any part of her body she had sworn to keep to herself, here it was. The boy had officially seen every single part of her, and no doubt had burned the image into his mind with the complete and absolute eye for detail only an artist could. He had seen it all...and her humiliation was complete as her body betrayed her completely, her juices overflowing all the more as he watched.

Yusuke went to work, carefully wiping away her excitement as deftly and carefully as he would configure the slightest speck of paint on the canvas into a perfect image. Ann threw her head back and groaned in complete shame, the feeling of the towel moving across her inner regions electric and delicious. Her hips lifted off the seat slightly, consuming the strip of cloth running between them. What was happening to her was completely obvious, and Ann took only the smallest comfort in noting that Yusuke was blushing just as hard as she was.

"Annn...my apologies, but this is becoming a truly sisyphean task. Your...ahem...moistures are mutiplying every time I wipe them away."

"I...I...I can't help it, okay! T-this is all your fault!!" Ann whined.

"Be calm. I will carry on. In truth, if the epitomous greek were condemned to a task such as this rather than the bolder I believe his eternity would have been far, far more enjoyable than it-OW!" Yusuke said, once more receiving a hard bop upon his head.

A few more passes of the towel did sop up most of Ann's wetness (despite the fact that Yusuke may have given a few more passes of the towel than necessary purely to see the reaction in the naked, humiliated horny girl as he teased her). Ann sat up straight, beat red and quivering, staring out the window.

"I-idiot." She whispered.

"Yes, well..." Yusuke muttered.

"So answer the question."

"Pardon?"

"How many portraits?" Ann said, blushing and sulking in embarrassment.

"...I have no idea, Ann. My professor was, apparently, connected with Kaneshiro in some close way. She may in fact have been the mistress he alluded to living with. She has connections with the art galleries and museums of the city. I think she was fully aware of Madarame's proclivities and abuses. She profited by curating and selling his masterpieces. My masterpieces. But without his name recognition her busy has soured considerably. I believe it would take no less than a gallery of the most exceptional quality to appease her now."

"A...a...gallery? That's...that's...what? F-five portraits? Six?" Ann stuttered.

Yusuke raised an eyebrow at her agitation. "A minimum an average gallery in this city would be perhaps 30 portraits. But it isn't unreasonable to imagine 50, 100 or more. The largest gallery I have ever seen numbered approximately 2500 portraits, including dozens several stories tall."

"Twenty...five...hundred..." Ann whimpered. "Tha...that's a...obscure, out of the way gallery f-for elite clientele...right??"

"....My professor is mostly associated with national galleries. The sort that attract thousands of visitors every day, from all across the country and indeed the world." Yusuke said.

"The...world?" Ann squeeked. Her brain betrayed her by plucking out the single most awful possible memory given the context, a certain exchange in which that perverted idiot Ryuji first suggested she pose nude in order to gain entry to Madarame's shack, specifically the moment he blurted out in his loud dumbfounded voice 'Does that mean you'll be naked in front of the whole country??"

"Ann? Why the interest?" Yusuke asked.

"......"

"Ann?"

"You'd better get me home tonight." Ann snapped, glaring daggers at him. "You better make sure no one realizes I'm naked or we get into any other stupid situations! You better keep me safe until I can get some clothes on, Yusuke! You understand?"

"O-of course. You know I have every intention-"

"You'd better! If anyone else sees me like this I will NEVER do this for you again! You understand! I won't ever even consider it! Not in a million years!"

"Yes, I understand....Ummm...Forgive me, but my communication skills leave something to be desired. Are you...are you implying you will consider posing for me if we do make it back successfully?" Yusuke asked carefully.

"...N-No!...I'll just...think about it...a little..." Ann blushed, looking out the window into the dark subway. "No shut up unless you want to talk me out of it!"

Yusuke nodded. The silence stretched between them for a long time.

"....Do the dorms still bother you?" Ann said suddenly.

"I'm sorry?" Yusuke said.

"The dorms? You said they were loud and that you couldn't work in them. Something like that." Ann muttered.

"I am adapting and overcoming my earlier-"

"So yes. They still bother you." Ann snapped.

"I suppose. I am learning to endure the frustrations."

"But this professor is breathing down your neck. Even a little irritation might be the different in passing the course or not....right?" Ann asked.

"I suppose. What exactly are you-"

"My house has a lot of space. Its pretty quite. My parents are out of the country right now. You could take a bedroom and convert one of the spare rooms into a studio...you'd have more room than that cramped little space Madarame let you have."

"....I seem to recall suggesting such a living situation once before, and was rather coldly and firmly denied." Yusuke said, raising an eyebrow.

"W-well...this is an emergency, isn't it? If I decide I'll let you do that...IF I decide to...it'd make things easier, right?"

"Infinitely so. I would find inspiration hiding in every corner of the domicile frequented by such an angelic-"

"Yeah, yeah. IF I let you do it. It'd...making modeling for you easier, too."

"You mean if you decide to-"

"IF I decide to model for you." Ann muttered.

"Are you certain this is-"

"They're both TERRIBLE ideas. But getting naked in a subway and trusting my clothes to freaking Shiho were also terrible ideas, so why stop when I'm on a roll?" Ann muttered.

The train arrived at the final stop without incident. Ann tentatively stepped out into the station, sighing in relief to find no one present. Yusuke strode past her, clearly eager to put the long journey behind them.

"Yusuke." Ann said.

"Yes, Ann?" Yusuke asked.

"Thanks. Back there. Keeping those guys away from me. That was pretty smart, using the sword and all." Ann said with a smile. "I'd thank you for the towel too...but that was pretty mean. The teasing, I mean."

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean." Yusuke said with an excellent poker face.

"Uh-huh." Ann whispered. "Just be careful. Its dangerous not to finish what you start."

"That can be said about many things." Yusuke noted. "In any case, we are practically on your doorstep. I doubt anything will befall us at this stage of the-"

As they ascended to the street level, a loud crack of thunder made the pair jump, Ann's lovely breasts bouncing in terror.

"....oh....You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!!" Ann screamed, her voice rising even as the rain started to fall. "Seriously? Are the GODS trying to humiliate me now?"

"...In fairness, in their position I would probably-"

Bop. Ann gave him an exasperated look, shaking her head as the paint on her body began to smear. In spite of herself, the sheer embarrassing absurdity of the situation washed over her. With a broken smile, she began to laugh- at the rain, at the bewildered blue haired boy staring at her, and most of all at herself. As the rain began to fall in ernest, she shook her head and began to run. Yusuke followed close behind her.

The last several blocks were a mad dash. The cold rain fell on her bare skin, turn the illusion of clothes to technicolor smear over her clearly naked body. Ann felt her heart racing and her breasts and butt haphazardly bouncing in all directions as she made it for the door. With a giddy sense of trepidation she scrambled for her spare key in its hiding place, wondering if somehow it would have vanished just to make her naked nightmare complete. But it was where she expected, and the door was unlocked in what Ann assumed was a world record of speed.

“That….sucked!!” Ann announced as the pair stumbled into the apartment.

“I am-“ Yusuke began.

“Oh shut up with the apologies! I agreed to this and neither of us could have known what was going to happen tonight! I mean RAIN on top of everything else???” Ann snapped, then started giggling. “God if anyone was still out in that mess I must have looked completely rediculous!!”

“It was…quite a memorable sight…” Yusuke said slowly.

Ann cocked an eyebrow as she glanced towards him. “I can see that! You thought it was extremely memorable. Unless that’s a paintbrush in your pocket…”

“I…it…I am afraid I’m do not carry my supplies on my person.”

For once it was Ann’s turn to laugh at someone’s shame, Yusuke looking away red faced.

“Sooooo, Mr. Artiste, how long was this going on?” Ann smirked.

“Throughout most of the evening…” Yusuke admitted.

“Oh really?” Ann asked, then blinked. “Really? The whole time you were working on this…”

She carefully unwrapped the portrait.

“You had a handicap?” She giggled.

“Ann I am so-“

“Yusuke in case you didn’t notice I’m not in any position to criticize you for that anymore. And that’s not the point! You painted this amazing portrait even though you were totally distracted! That’s amazing! Even a rough sketch…you caught so many details….”

Ann stared at herself glowering back at her, hiding her nudity in the portrait and scowling at the viewer. With another giggle she mocked the pose, exaggerating the scowl to a comically absurd degree before sticking her tongue out at the portrait.

“Suck it up Lady! You had fun tonight! You learned a few things about yourself and you had a little adventure in the process! You got Shiho to smile and Yusuke to blush! And I’m case you hadn’t noticed, we have a lot to stare at! You can’t really blame them….”

Ann posed, gawking at the picture, glancing down at herself, and back at the portrait. She turned, wiggling her butt at the scowling reflection, laughing, then glancing down at herself again. To Yusuke’s shock the naked girl squeezed her breasts together, moaning softly then making a face at the disapproving portrait. Wiggling her butt teasingly at herself, Ann ran her hands up and down her body. Swaying her hips back and forth, Ann danced seductively, squeezing her wet body appreciatively. For the first time that night Ann pictured herself from the point of view of the two friends who had been so transfixed by her nudity. Blushing, she realized her arousal was back, throbbing within her more than ever as she became turned on by her own nakedness. Ann ran a finger along her inner folds, remembering with a shiver Yusuke's administrations earlier on the train. She swayed side to side, becoming more and more horny as she danced seductively in front of the artist and the scowling portrait.

"I still don't think she approves, Yusuke." Ann whispered. "She didn't want you to see any of this, you know? She didn't want you to look at these big beautiful tits- she was so scared you might notice these..." She said, playing with the erect eraser sized nipples. "Or down here..." She said, pointing at her shaven pussy with two fingers before pressing them into her aching folds and masturbating.

"No, she really doesn't approve of this at all! Sorry, past me! I know I'm being bad, teasing the poor artist...here, I'll take care of my punishment!" Ann declared, bending forward and presenting her rear end to the portrait before administering a hard slap to her lovely cheeks. With a blush the blonde girl moaned and repeated the spank to the other cheek, following up with several more until her butt was a toasty red.

“Perhaps.... perhaps I should go…” Yusuke began, blushing madly and finding it difficult to breath.

“Go where? Did you think I didn’t see that empty wallet? You spent your last cent escorting me home.” Ann whispered softly, turning to face him, her face flushed with embarrassment and arousal.

“I….I could not just leave you naked and alone in the midst of Tokyo miles from safety.” Yusuke stuttered.

“Oh Ann, what are we going to do with this boy?” Ann asked her portrait. “He strips us naked, then he sacrifices his ability to get home just to keep us safe. He wasn’t even going to mention his plan to sleep in a rainy ditch tonight. What are we going to do with this little idiot?”

Ann glanced at the bewildered blue haired boy. “The better question is what won’t we do to him…”

“Ann…” Yusuke began.

“I’m still slathered in paint thanks to you, Mr. Artiste. I’m going to need a long shower to get this muck off. The least you could do is make sure I don't miss any spots. Like I said, you need to finish what you started....”

It was a strange thing how the mask of the Persona both expressed and deepened the true nature of those who wore it. One might be inclined to write it off as growing confidence and acceptance of themselves. But there was more to the process. As the persona gained power it caused a sympathetic change in the body and mind, increasing physical and mental abilities to almost superhuman levels even in the real world. The personalities of Yusuke and Ann were one very obvious outgrowth of this. The pair were very literally fire and ice. Yusuke was quiet, introspective, aloof and eccentric. His emotions came over slowly and lingered long afterwards, whether instilling a deep sense of brooding or a sustained positivity regarding his work with the phantom thieves. Ann was a molten cauldron, displaying **** bursts of energy and excitement. Her emotions came fast and intensely, whether peaks of anger, sorrow, passion or love (and of course, embarrassment and humiliation ran just as hot as the rest). Their relationship had often clashed and been at odds because of this duality. And yet the dynamic sometimes complimented each distinct part shockingly well.

It took ten minutes to get the paint entirely off Ann’s naked body…the shower lasted two hours. Yusuke proved as talented with his lovemaking as the more literal swordplay and brush strokes he applied to his canvas. Indeed, sex might as well have been yet another art form to the high schooler. He was as calm, methodical and attentive here as behind the canvas. His hands and lips seemed to linger and examine each part of Ann’s body as if he were a blind man trying to memorize every part of her by touch. It was an incredible erotic feeling, but alas Ann lacked the willpower to endure the sweet **** of being touched and teased. But this hardly mattered, Yusuke appeared content to yield to her more energetic pace with nothing more the a lusty whisper from her.

Yin and Yang. Fire and Ice. Unyielding rigid stillness and elemental roiling combustion. Ann discovered, to her deep embarrassment and slight consternation (along with a delight she refused to admit) another expression of their Personas. Put simply, Yusuke body was proving tremendously durable and his erection was quite stubbornly persisting throughout Ann’s frantic lovemaking. On the other hand, her body how become far more sensitive and responsive than it has ever been. Her first climax came unexpected early and was followed by three more while she was still in the trembling throes of the first. She was able to hold the second wave of orgasms at bay a little longer with no small effort of will, but she still lost control all too soon. She was a blushing mess before long, embarrassed beyond words at this new level of carnal delight her public nudity seemed to have awakened in her. Fortunately, Yusuke seemed to take great awe and delight in her reactions and seemed quite happy to let her exhaust herself before returning to his slow and steady pace that teased her out of her exhaustion into a new frenzy. She was embarrassed by how utterly and completely her orgasms overtook her, and was certain in the back of her mind Carmen was laughing at her.

Finally coaxing Yusuke to his own pleasurable conclusion, the pair toweled off and moved to Ann’s bed. The disapproving portrait bore witness to their next round of lovemaking (what narcissistic glee Ann took from her doppelgängers expression she couldn’t understand…something about flaunting every chaste intention and every bare inch of skin the picture was trying to hide was simply too overpowering!). The pair tried a variety of positions, most often opting for Ann to bounce on the artists lap and gyrate her hips in a reverse cowgirl only to lower herself onto all fours and enjoy Yusukes slower pace from behind. Neither had any idea how much time passed before the pair collapsed at last into a long, satisfying sleep.