MAY 20TH (FRIDAY 5/20)(AFTER SCHOOL)

Ann and I were standing in Kitagawa-kun's art room, said boy's back facing us as he arranged his supplies. Morgana was off trying to open the door while we distracted the artist.

I hope this plan works...

You look ridiculous.

Shut It, this is all we could think of in our heads!

"To think you two'd come... I assumed you were lying when you contacted me.", Kitagawa-kun said with a hint of relief in his voice.

"We apologize if it was a bit sudden.", I muttered.

"Oh, it's not a problem. But as I told you yesterday, Sensei will be returning in about twenty or thirty minutes. So um... I'm sorry if that causes anxiety on your part."

"That's why we're here today, dammit.", Ann grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Oh no, it was nothing!"

"By the way... Have you two gained some weight?", Kitagawa-kun turned to us with that question. Ann had actually wore half of her wardrobe to stall for time, while I out on every pair of socks, stockings and gloves I owned.

As much as I would like to wear more shirts and such, they will probably stretch...

"You think so? I weigh the same as always... Maybe I'm bloated today?", Ann shrugged, acting clueless.

"So, then... can you, um... get ready, here?"

"We... need to take our clothes off, right?"

"Y-Yes please..."

"Could you turn around please?", I cleared my throat and made myself look embarrassed. "It's a little bit embarrassing, with you staring..."

Not that I am not embarrassed, I just need to sell it.

Kitagawa-kun nodded quickly, turning away. Ann looked at me with a determined nod, beginning to take off the layers she had on. It was actually quite impressive she even could, with the amount of clothes she had on. I didn't dwell on it though, starting to take off my stockings slowly to take as much time as possible. Even though Ktagawa-kun had his back to us, his demeanor showed nervousness. The more Ann and I took off, the more he fidgeted. We heard him muttering something about "Doing it for art"

"Is your sensei coming soon, Kitagawa-kun?", I asked.

"I believe so..."

"I see... This place doesn't really scream "Artistic" for us, right Ann?"

"Yeah! A little atmosphere would be lovely..."

"This should be good enough...", Kitagawa-kun mumbled.

"But wouldn't a room with a lock be a bit better?", Ann suggested.

"A lock...?"

"Do we *really* have to spell it out for you, Kitagawa-kun...~?", I sighed.

I hate myself.

I could hear Ezio in the back of my head, cackling his ass off at me, but I wasn't going to stop because of a little teasing.

"But the only one with a lock is... Sensei's room..."

"And your sensei isn't home~ Why not there?"

"I can't intrude... Besides, I don't have the key..."

"Crap... Morgana, you still working on the lock...?", I whispered in the earpiece I had. I bought one for Morgana, Ann and I so that we could communicate from afar in the shack.

"Yep, just keep stalling."

"Takamaki-san, Koga-san, are you about--", Kitagawa-kun turned to us to see the heaping pile of clothes we both dropped on the floor. We had our regular uniform under everything we wore so we didn't have much left to take off. "You two were wearing all this?"

"D-Don't you think it's cold today?", Ann laughed nervously, striking a not-so-casual-but-kind-of pose.

"I suppose so? The sun is starting to set..."

"True, so the lighting might be a bit off here... A change of location would be ideal. Besides, we are going to be baring it all, so...~", I suggested with a smirk.

I want to gag.

OH HEAVENS--!! *wheeze* AHAHAHAHA!!!

Ezio, I will ram my heels into your ass if you don't shut UP!

AHAHAHAH--!!! WAIT, WAIT, IS THAT A--- *snicker* IS THAT A THREAT OR A PROM-- *wheeze*!!!

Ugh.

"True... It might make for a better picture if I can brighten my models' moods..."

"Uh-huh! That's right!", Ann nodded with a grin.

"They may even be willing to try out various expressive poses for use in a dynamic composition..."

"P-Poses...!", I stifled a gasp, but I was still a little shocked.

"Wh-What kind of poses!?", Ann asked frantically. I quickly nudged Ann's arm, urging her to get back into character with my eyes. "L-Let's gooo... I was just starting to get in the mood.", Ann said with her best sultry voice. It looked a little awkward but it was something.

"Come on, don't keep us waiting~", I giggled and led Ann out to where the locked room was. Kitagawa-kun called after us, but we ignored it. I whispered to Ann to take off any extra layers she had on like her jacket and thigh highs. I began taking off my gloves and extra clothes as well as we walked. We kept on until we were in nothing but shorts and tank tops.

Not much left to take off so we should stop.

"Please, can you just wait and--", Kitagawa-kun sputtered.

"Is this where your sensei's room is..?", I asked.

"I keep telling you, you can't...!", Kitagawa-kun urged, but I ignored him. What I saw was... Morgana still working on the damn lock.

"Wh-- are you not done!?", I whispered angrily.

"It's hard to do this... with cat paws!", Morgana huffed as he kept working.

Well, drastic situations call for drastic measures.

OH LORD--!! I AM DYING!!! AHAHAHAHAAHAHA --*strong wheeze*

"Is something the matter?", Kitagawa-kun muttered.

"Oh, yeah! Everything is just fine, but...", I cleared my throat and grabbed Ann's hand to guide us both closer to the artist. He seemed to blink in confusion. "It's just... First, can we call you Yusuke~?"

"I-I don't see why not?"

"Good~ Yusuke, what's in that room with the peacock design?"

"It's a storage area for old paintings."

"I see... Yusuke, why don't we do in there~? It has a lock and it's in the very back of the shack, so no one will see us~"

"O-Only Sensei can go in there."

"Pleeease...? We wanna be alone with you. Somewhere, quiet. You know, where we won't get interrupted.", Ann giggled.

"... Is he really going to buy that terrible act!?", Morgana said in the earpiece.

"Shut it, you're a simp anyways!", I whispered. I turned back to Yusuke with a pout. "*sigh* Why can't you get what we're trying to say? Do I have to say it out loud? It's sooo embarrassing~! Yusuke... do you not like girls like us~?", I asked with my best, yet very pathetic, girly voice while trailing a finger on Yusuke's right shoulder while Ann did the same on the left.

"N-No, that's not true..."

"Please? We can continue this... inside...~", Ann whispered.

"S-Sure... I mean, no! We can't go in there! It's locked anyways, so..."

He is so close to cracking...! Time to up the pressure.

"B-But why not~?", I whined. "You're so mean...~"

"Fine! This is too embarrassing... We're leaving!", Ann huffed.

"But..."

"Or we can just go inside..~ Come on, it'll be fun~!", I giggled.

"What do I do...?", Yusuke muttered to himself. Just then, we heard a click from the entrance and Madarame's voice call out.

"I'm home."

Crap...!

"S-Sensei!?"

"Yusuke?", Madarme called as he made his way to us. Right then, Morgana was able to unlock the door, calling for us to check. Ann and I looked inside, finding it pretty dark. Yusuke followed close behind, worried as hell. Madarame was right behind him, looking pretty pissed.

"What are you doing there!?"

"I-It's... It's not what it looks like!", I turned to Ann and nodded.

"It's exactly what it looks like!", I called out as we grabbed Yusuke and pulled him into the room."Not in there...!", Madarame yelled. The room was too dark to even see what was around us. It smelled pretty dusty and the floorboards creaked beneath me. I quickly made my way to the wall and felt for a light switch. As soon as I turned it on, I let out a quiet gasp. All around us were paintings upon paintings of Sayuri, the painting Yusuke showed us a while back.

Are these forged...!?

Looks like it. Quickly, record this discreetly.

Way ahead of you.

I had a tiny camera on my belt, so I snapped a few pics before Madarame could notice. I also began recording using the tape recorder I strapped to my back. It was hidden under my tank top, but it would pick up sound just fine.

"What the...!?", Yusuke gasped.

"Isn't this... "Sayuri"? Why are there so many of them...?", Ann muttered.

"I have no idea...", Madarame quickly came in, looking furious.

"Get out!"

"Sensei, what is the meaning of this...?"

"I suppose I can't keep quiet now that you've seen this... Truth be told... I'm in severe debt. I handmade these "Sayuri" copies and have been selling them through a special connection of mine..."

That sounds like a load of shit...

"But why...?"

"The real "Sayuri"... was stolen by one of my pupils long ago. I assume they begrudged my strictness... That moment was quite a shock for me... Since then, I've been mired in a terrible artist's block... Because of this distress, some of my pupils handed their ideas over to me from time to time..."

That doesn't sound right...

"I knew I couldn't keep that up, so I attempted to recreate the "Sayuri" a number of times. However, it resulted in nothing more than replicas... That's when someone came to buy the paintings, knowing well they weren't original... It's all my fault. I couldn't pay the price of being famous. As expectations for me rose, it reached a point where I had no choice but to keep making them... I... needed money to further your talents... I ask that you please forgive your cowardly teacher..."

"Please don't...!"

"Yeah, please.", I sassed. Madarame turned to me with a raised brow. "Something is not right here. How did you make the copies when the original "Sayuri" was stolen?"

"I... happened to find a finely detailed photograph of it in an artbook."

"So that's it? Don't people know a fake when they see one? Especially other artists buying your paintings?"

"Yeah, this sounds like a lie to me.", Ann huffed.

"What would you know!?"

"You'd be surprised, old fart.", I scoffed. Morgana then began to whisper to us, pointing at a painting covered with a thick velvet colored sheet.

"Guys! This one seems different!", Ann turned and ripped the sheet off, revealing another "Sayuri"... the *real* Sayuri. I took a sneaky picture before turning to Madarame.

"Explain this then..."

"This... This is the real "Sayuri"! But you just said a moment ago that it was stolen...!", Yusuke gasped.

"That's a replica!"

"No, it's nothing of the sort! This painting kept me going... It's the reason I made it this far... Sensei... Don't tell me..."

"It's fake... Yes, a counterfeit! I heard there was a counterfeit spreading around, so I bought it!"

"So you're telling me the actual artist behind the painting bought a counterfeit? That's pushing it.", Ann sassed.

"You're lying, Sensei... Please just tell the truth...", Yusuke pleaded. Madarame clicked his tongue in agitation.

"You too...?, he pulled out his phone and pressed a button. "I've reported you to my private security company!"

"What!?", Ann gasped.

"I had it set up to deal with some problematic paparazzi, but I never thought it'd come in so handy."

"Alright then, we'll leave... But your secrets are mine!", I turned off the recorder and grabbed both Ann and Yusuke. "Morgana, leg it!", I ran with Ann and Yusuke in tow, Morgana scurrying behind us. Madarame called after us in anger, but we ignored it. Ann grabbed her phone and took us to Madarame's distorted museum.

CHAPTER 25, END!

✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ❄︎☼︎✋︎☜︎👎︎