Yusuke asks to paint her naked again...sort of

"Shall I chase after her?" Yusuke asked, startling Ann as she rose to her feet.

She rounded on him, ready to scream in his face, only to find he was studiously cover his eyes. She blinked. Was he blushing? How on Earth could he be this shy after...then again he did seem focused on his work at the time. And when Yusuke became focused there was no distracting him with gestures or conversation and apparently not with the embarrassment of seeing a woman naked. Ann felt her anger deflate, despite her best efforts to stay angry. At times like these she could almost find the incredibly annoying artist...cute.

"No. If I can't catch her, you definitely won't. You barely eat enough to stay upright, let alone run after a trained athlete." Ann said sullenly, hugging herself. "Kudos to Shiho, though. Less than a year and she's gone from fighting just to walk to outrunning me even after all my fights down here. She's dedicated."

"Quite an accomplishment indeed. Perhaps she has had something to motivate her? I wonder how long she has been plotting some version of this deception?" Yusuke mused.

".....yeah. Good question." Ann fumed.

"In any case, if we both pursue surely-"

"And leave the painting here? No way!" Ann snapped, "What if someone comes along and takes it?"

"Well, there is a simple remedy to that. I will destroy it and eliminate the danger." Yusuke said.

Ann paused. "Excuse me?"

"To be frank, the entire exercise feels tainted by these events. I was entirely fooled by her performance. I believed she was simply trying to encourage you for the sake of making a beautiful work of art. As it happens, I was simply a pathetic pawn in her game to humiliate you. My sheltered life has made me a fool once again." Yusuke said, clenching the paint brush in his hands.

".....Stop it." Ann muttered. "She got both of us. And as for the painting, there's no way I stood around here for hours naked and probably will end up going HOME like this for you just to junk that portrait!"

"...Ann, I..." Yusuke paused, considering his words. "I am sorry. But I still find these events distasteful. I'm not satisfied with the outcome of the painting. I don't believe I will be able to finish it. I fear my soar mood would surely be evident in the final product if I were to try."

Ann glared at him, then huffed to herself. "Fine. Then I'll keep it."

"...I had assumed you would want as little to do with that picture as possible after tonight." Yusuke said, slightly astonished.

"Yusuke, its a good portrait and your an amazing artist. Your still an idiot! But you have talent. I don't want to waste the effort we went through tonight. So I'll keep it. End of discussion!" Ann said, still feeling exasperated yet increasingly protective of the artwork that had caused her so much embarrassment. "And like I said, I didn't go through this whole humiliating ordeal to have nothing to show for it! I need to branch out and get over my body issues. This will remind me to do that."

"....very well." Yusuke said. "Then you should give chase at once. Obviously going home naked is not..."

Ann glanced at him as Yusuke paused, lost in thought.

"Is not...?" She asked.

"No. No. Outrageous. You have endured enough embarrassment due to me already. Forget I said anything." Yusuke shook his head.

"Yusuke, if you have an idea just spit it out already!" Ann snapped.

"...there is a way to allow us to make it safely to your home without your clothes. You would still be naked, but unnoticed by any passersby." Yusuke said softly. "And you are going to hate the idea."

"....Okay. Stop being cryptic and just say it."

"I could paint you." Yusuke said.

"We just got finished doing that!" Ann said in frustration.

"No. We just completed a portrait of you. I applied paint to the canvas. I am proposing that we paint YOU." Yusuke insisted.

Ann paused. Then grew incredibly red, like a pot of water coming to a boil. "B0DY PAINT?"

"As I said, it was a foolish notion. Far too humiliating to-"

"W-would that even work? Shouldn't it be obvious I'm naked and just painted up to look like I have clothes on?" Ann asked.

"Oh, absolutely not. The darkness of night would provide sufficient cover to hide the paint. But I am Yusuke Kitagawa! I would craft an illusion upon your skin so real the light of a thousand suns would not reveal the ruse!" Yusuke boomed, then paused and cleared his throat and continued in a far milder tone. "But as I said, I have caused enough embarrassed. The necessity of would require not only a very close and intense scrutiny of your body, but would certainly require me to lay my hands on you in places I am certain you do not wish me to touch."

Ann stared at the blue haired boy in shock. Some part of her was mildly surprised she wasn't furious with him at the mere suggestion. But between the way he studiously kept his eyes off her and the meek, matter of fact way he described the idea made it clear the thought was just as embarrassing to him as it was to her. Clearly the immediate notion of crafting such a flawless illusion (!!) had given way quickly to the humiliating necessities of carrying the plan through. A soft spoken Yusuke full of self recrimination and deference was a Yusuke that was far harder to hate (let alone punch). Which only left a feeling of **** embarrassment as she pictured the same slow, studious young man who intently studied and applied his imagination to the canvas doing the same to her body, softly and single mindedly touching her private places with an unbreakable focus....Ann blushed again as the notion sent a suspicious tingle through her she very much did not want to acknowledge.

"Well, there you have it. Do you wish to pursue your friend, or...do you wish for me to paint you?" Yusuke asked.