But... is it art?

116 3 26
                                    




Ryuji: Who are you? Why are you following us?

Blue-haired boy: Beautiful.

Ann: Huh?

Akito: The man asked you a question, buddy.

Blue-haired boy: I'm Yusuke Kitagawa. Second year at Kousei High, fine arts division.

Kagura: Fine arts? Where have you been my whole life?

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Kagura: Fine arts? Where have you been my whole life?

Akito: Don't start fanning out, Kagura.

Yusuke: Currently I reside within the pupil of Ichiryusai Madarame. A master painter. I strive to become a great artist.

Akito, Kagura, and Ryuji: Great artist?

Yusuke: For the last few days I've laid my eyes on her. I have been unable to avert my gaze. She has stolen my heart.

Kagura: What's up with guys and blondes these days?!

Ryuji: I take offense to that.

Kagura: Shut your trap, Sakamoto.

Akito's POV

Now my opinion on him has changed to him being a playboy. I got my eyes on her first pal. Get in line. I clench my fist but it's hidden.

Morgana: Easy there, Akito.

I let go of my fist and listen to what he says next.

Yusuke: You are the woman I've been searching for all this time. You radiate a passion that I have never felt before. Please I beg you, be my—

Ryuji: Seriously.

Ann: (stammering that we can't decipher)

Akito: Yusuke, was it? You're making Ann very uncomfortable. No one can just up and ask her to be something they're not willing to do. If you are a part of some group of perverts, I won't hesitate to resort to something I'll regret doing.

Yusuke: I want you to be the model of my next art piece!

Did this fucker ignore me?



The next day

Midterms. The line between purgatory and hell. As if Dante's Inferno taught me anything about that. And what do you know, a test question about the book. Easy, Virgil was Dante's guide through Purgatorio. I checked that answer off. The bell sounds off. Finally. No more tests for now.

Ms. Kawakami: Okay. Time's up everyone. Pass your exams to the front.

Me, Ann, Ren, and Kagura walk toward the roof. We feel as if we won the battle with the hardest psychological test. Freedom has never tasted sweeter.

I grab a can of Red Bull out of my bag and drink it. I need to refresh my brain.

Ryuji: So what do you think what we should do? A little phantom thievery.

The Mask I WearWhere stories live. Discover now