The clothes weren't there

(chapter originally by Faith on writing.com)

Ann stood in shock and horror. Her clothes, her precious clothes, were nowhere in sight! She could hear the sound of a train moving through the tunnels. Her legs trembled, and her hands moved to hide her intimate places.

"THEY'RE GONE!!!" She screamed.

Shiho strolled up behind her, infinitely less concerned over this situation. "What's gone where?"

"My clothes! My clothes! They were right here, andandand now they aren't and I'm naked in a subway and there's people coming andand nonononono!!!!" Ann wailed.

"Oh, Well, of course. Why would your clothes be there?" Shiho asked.

".....that's where I LEFT THEM!!!" Ann snapped.

"Yeah, right where anyone could take them! Fortunately I thought ahead like you asked me to and brought a bag!" Shiho practically sang as she produced a gym bag...complete with a padlock on the zipper.

"......What did you do." Ann asked in horror.

"Remember? You said you wanted me to keep you company and I volunteered to make sure nobody got fresh with you and look after your clothes?" Shiho said.

"That..! I...! Openthebag!!! They'll see me!" Ann begged.

"Ann, please calm down. You are safe." Yusuke said.

"Calm down? Calm down? I'll give you a calm down to your face!" Ann hissed.

"That made no sense."

"I'll think of good metaphors when I'm not getting humiliated, dammit!"

"As I said. Stay still. Right now I can guarantee your safety and modesty. Running away a second time will make this problematic." Yusuke said.

"If I stay here they will see me!" Ann snapped.

"In point of fact, staying there will assure they will NOT see you. Moving five feet to your left or seven feet backwards? Yes, that might provide a glimpse. But you have not left the edge of the safe zone." Yusuke said casually.

"Safe zone? SAFE ZONE??" Ann screamed. "Since when has there been a safe zone."

"As I explained from the start, I picked this specific part of this specific station because any oncoming trains arriving in the area will be coming in at just enough of an angle that neither the conductor nor passengers will see any of us so long as we stay within the safe zone."

"YOU NEVER SAID THAT!"

"Don't be absurd. Of course I did." Yusuke responded.

"Umm...actually, Yusuke-san...." Shiho piped up.

"Oh. Well, my apologies. For future reference, I have placed us-"

"I GET IT!! HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS IS A 'SAFE ZONE'??"

"....Are you certain you want a detailed explanation as to how an artist can assess details about angle and depth in an area, or is the absurdity of that question as obvious to you as it is to me?" Yusuke asked.

"Don't get smart with me! Its your fault there's a whole train about to unload on me in the first place! Your safe zone is going to be useless!"

"Perhaps." Yusuke shrugged. "But we do have a plan B, if you recall."

He held up a cell phone, the tell tale red eye already loaded on the screen.

"But...Shiho..."

"Can handle the truth if necessary. But I suspect we will not need to go that far. As I said, this time of night passengers are rare and this terminal is closed off to above ground access. I might have overestimated the subways moving through here, but there is no reason to get off at this stop. Except for some late night artwork, of course. Speaking of which, this current portrait is...decent, I suppose, but its not bringing out the qualities I was hoping for. After a break perhaps we could try a less...standoffish pose? I think this one will make the audience uncomfortable, as if the woman is accusing them of some wrongdoing. And while that will be an interesting motiff to develop, I feel we can do better...."

"Are you out of your mind? We can't just-"

"Hold that though. The train will have arrived by now. Passengers or lack thereof will be evident once the doors open..." Yusuke said, sidestepping a nude Ann to peak around the edge of his 'zone'.