"Go to the underground mall in Shibuya. Ditch your bra in one of the shops."

(Chapter originally by MidnightWisher at writing.com)

“Go to Shibuya’s underground mall and ditch your bra in one of the shops.”

“You can’t be serious,” Makoto burst out, a light blush dusting her features. “There’s no way I can do that without being seen… And- and my dress is white! If I’m not wearing a bra, it’ll be noticeable.”

“Whether or not you are seen and whether or not your bralessness is noticeable, aren’t our problems. They are yours. Our problem is resolving your debt. And it would be in your best interest for this to be done without us releasing those pictures. After all, you’re a bright young woman with a promising future ahead of you, so long as we keep these pictures under wraps.” Mr. Words said. “I believe we’re being more than fair in giving you a chance to clear your debt another way, don’t you agree?”

Makoto stood quietly. Honestly, she had to admit it was better for her that they came to her with this offer rather than just releasing the pictures and being done with the whole matter. But what if these tasks were just going to keep spiraling until she’s put in a worse situation than before? She didn’t have much time to dwell on the thought before Mr. Words spoke up again, “We don’t have all day, Miss Makoto. Are you going to continue completing our tasks or would you rather we release the pictures?”

Makoto hesitated for a moment more before finding her voice. “How many more of these ‘tasks’ involve me losing articles of clothing? Because… because if your plan is to strip me completely to repay my ‘debt’…” Her blush deepened at just imagining the prospect.

“I’m going to stop you right there, before you say something you might regret, Miss Makoto,” Mr. Words said, cutting in. “If you start imagining all the what-ifs and things that could happen, you’ll just work yourself up. I can guarantee that not all the tasks we give you will involve you losing clothing. Who knows, maybe in some tasks we might even give you some clothing. But, needless to say, some of our tasks will require you to shed some clothes. Of course, it is perfectly understandable, expected really, that a respectable, upstanding young woman such as yourself is concerned about her dignity. And, although I can’t say whether or not or plans for you will involve getting you naked, I can say this: so what? Hypothetically, Miss Makoto, let’s say you do find yourself naked in public and you get caught. What would happen?”

“I… I would make up an excuse! I’d come up with something to explain why I’m naked, like that I was robbed or-“

“And what if the police got involved, then what would happen?”

“If they believed me, they would likely get me something to coverup with and have me give an official report of what happened before taking me home.”

“And if they didn’t believe you? What’s the worst that would happen then?”

“They…” Makoto’s voice caught in her throat. “They might charge a fine… or potentially detain me… They would call up my sister, and she would come pick me up.”

“And your sister might even get that kept off the record,” Mr. Words chimed in. “But even if she didn’t, how badly would that affect your future?”

“It wouldn’t change much of anything,” Makoto said, her voice merely a whisper.

“On the other hand, how much would those pictures being released affect your future?” Mr. Words’ voice said, patiently continuing to guide her answers like one would a small child.

“The school would have to perform disciplinary action…” Makoto answered quietly. “I would be suspended or potentially even expelled. Then, that would go on my record and might keep me from getting accepted to any prestigious schools… which would limit what careers I could go into… and…”

“And would tarnish your bright future.” Mr. Words finished for her. “We certainly don’t want that, now do we?”

“No…” Makoto didn’t know what else to say. They had her between a rock and a hard place.

“I’m glad to hear it, Miss Makoto. Besides, what’s a little embarrassment now compared to happy life later on?” Mr. Words said. “Now that we’ve decided that, let’s continue. Head to the underground mall in Shibuya and ditch that bra. We’ll even be so kind as to let you decide which shop you want to ditch it in. But do be quick about it, we don’t have all day. I’ll leave you to it-”

“Wait, I have one more question!” Makoto said, voice coming out rushed. She had an idea that could at least make this ‘task’ less embarrassing for her. “Can I take my bra off somewhere else first, like the bathroom or something and just drop it off in one of the shops afterwards?”

The answer came quick, “No,” Mr. Words said with a small chuckle. “That’s half the challenge after all. It might be better for you to think of this as a game, have some fun with it, and it’ll be over before you know it.” With that, the line went dead.

Makoto just stood there at a loss as her frustration with this situation grew. More and more, she wished she hadn’t have run off alone and gotten caught by Kaneshiro. After all, it was her own recklessness that got her where she was now, and that was probably what stung most about this whole situation.

“First my leggings, now my bra,” She thought out loud. “What’s next, are they going to try to take my panties?” She tried to ask it as a joke, but for some reason she didn’t think it was all that funny. Maybe it was because they actually might try to take those next? Thinking about it, Makoto felt a shiver go down her spine and dread building up in her stomach, she certainly hoped that wasn’t what was coming next. She tried to shake the thought out of her head as she started to move back out of the alley and onto the road. Honestly, she wasn’t too far from the mall, but the time it would take to get there would be both too long and not long enough for her.

As she walked, she found her eyes drifting to watch her chest. Her eyes stared so intently and harsh that they might have burned a hole in her dress if she were able. She searched for any hint of her bra through her dress, seeing if any spot of the dress was transparent enough to see through, and she wasn’t finding any. “Maybe I was wrong.” She said to herself. “Maybe it won’t be noticeable at all.” She could only hope.

All she had left to decide was which shop she would complete the task in.