[Haigure]

“You wanted to see me, Byakko?”

“Frankly, no. You’ve gotten on my nerves far too much over the last month, but as we’re forced to work together…”

“I apologize for the inadequate milk portions.”

“THAT’S NOT THE PROBLEM AND YOU KNOW IT!”

Standing inside one of the many offices that dotted the Atlas Corp building were two very well-acquainted individuals. Two that always teetered on the edge between being good friends and mortal enemies. At least that’s what it felt like to the shorter of the two women, the taller always saw her as a close confidant.

The very displeased and terribly tiny kitten that sat behind her rather technologically advanced desk was Byakko. The technical head of all the affairs at Atlas Corp. If there was something that involved technology, she was the one you had to call. And since much of the modern world relied on tech… She was probably one of the two busiest women on the whole planet. What she wouldn’t give for a day off where she didn’t have to lift a claw.

Her coworker, the black-and-white-haired heroine known as PAWN to the public, was Hiro Fukano. Ever since she signed on to serve Atlas Corp ten years ago, the two worked side by side on many projects. And as a result, she had learned the ins and outs of the way the kitten behaved. Something she used to her advantage whenever she wanted to go above and beyond her station, something that the little kitten hated.

“I apologize. I’ll treat you to an extra big meal the next time I have the chance.” Hiro replied, bowing her head gently. She wasn’t lying either, she wasn’t one to lie unless absolutely necessary. But knowing her, she’d probably order something ahead of time to prevent Byakko the freedom of choice.

Byakko fumed slowly as she sat up straight in her chair. “Right. Anyway, I called you here for a reason that doesn’t involve your lack of respect.” She explained, clicking a simple button as a tune slowly echoed from the wrist-mounted gauntlet that the woman always wore.

Hiro raised an eyebrow as she looked down at her gauntlet, blinking and blushing a little as she read everything that displayed on the screen. “...’Cast Off’. ‘Remove your armor and fight despite shame to increase your strength in a sudden burst of power.’ You can’t be serious, Byakko.”

“I’m very serious.” The shorter kitten replied as she leapt out of her chair, somersaulting over her tech as she very nearly landed on the taller woman’s head. “I’ve been examining the technique that destroys your weapons, Desperado? I thought there might be a way for us to utilize the explosive power behind that technique and leave your base parameters at a higher state for an extended period of time.”

Hiro nodded slightly as she looked down at the kitten that barely reached up to her chest in terms of height. “But that doesn’t explain why it has to make me strip. Couldn’t you just break off the armor and leave me in the bodysuit while the fight continues?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Byakko grinned a little. This time, it was the black-and-white-haired woman’s turn to sigh. Honestly, she didn’t have a good counter against this one. She was already being exposed to rather erotic enemies, what was a bit of skin going to do to hurt her confidence?

Hiro took a deep breath as she slowly read through the description one more time. “Do you have anything we could use to test out the new tech, before we end up with another Jõtaijin incident?” She asked. If she had to use this as part of her arsenal, she didn’t want to be left unprepared. She wanted to make sure she was absolutely ready.

“You could always call that girl you’re acquainted with. She’s the only one that can match you in terms of output on a regular basis.” Byakko gave her a straight and boring answer. “Besides, based on what you’ve told me, she’s not the type to blame you if you end up in a lewd situation. And I’m not going to bother wondering why that is, because that’s a whole other can of worms that’s more suited for Genbu.”

The black-and-white-haired woman nodded a little while grimacing. If there was exactly one girl she didn’t want to involve, it was Mikai. That little ball of positivity was going to find some way to look on the positive side or unintentionally tease her about it. And bless her heart, she tried. She definitely tried. But those attempts were sometimes way too much.

Still, it was her only option. And besides, testing it out against her was a really good benchmark. If she couldn’t manage to knock Mikai down after a few minutes, then stripping naked through using Desperado as a conduit to power her body wasn’t really a good idea. And if she could… Well, then she’d just have to endure the humiliation for the future. That was the only option she had.

“Very well. I’ll make the arrangements. I’ll hope to see you there for the demonstration then, Byakko.” Hiro said as she bowed before the shorter kitty ever slightly, before smiling as a thought came to mind. “You know, she’s been waiting for a good chance to meet you. Maybe you could reward her if she ends up putting on a good show.”

“I’ll pass.” Byakko dryly replied. If there was one thing she hated above all else, it was contact from somebody she didn’t trust. And while the girl was definitely trusted by Hiro, the kitten didn’t want anything to do with the other heroine.

Hiro nodded and left the office just a scant few moments later, leaving the white kitten all by her lonesome. Totally and utterly alone in her office, just like any other common day.

And once she was absolutely sure that the white-suited heroine was gone, Byakko launched into a giggling fit. How the hell was she this easy to fool? Honestly! All it took was acting like she always did, and she couldn’t even see through that!

The truth of the matter was that Byakko was not nearly as generous as her little offer implied. No, she had ulterior motives. Motives that involved a certain woman deciding to treat her like anybody else for the longest time. And it was that lack of respect for somebody of higher standing, even if she did enjoy the company of that very same person, that drove her to plot this little scheme.

Long story short, she hadn’t uploaded an upgrade to Hiro’s gauntlet. She had uploaded the instrument to a humiliating fall…

---

The fated day had come. It was time to try out this ‘Cast Off’ function that Byakko had installed in her armor.

Aaaaand Mikai was late.

Hiro slowly pinched the bridge of her nose as she paced back and forth in the middle of Mimoto Park. She had made arrangements to make sure that the park was completely empty. She had done everything she could to ensure that she wouldn’t feel a ton of shame from going through with this. And yet, something had to just ruin everything she had planned.

Why did that girl never show up on time? More than that, why did she always show up when you didn’t call for her, and yet couldn’t get there on time when you actually did ask for her?

Still, she had to wait. At least she could enjoy herself by watching Byakko lounge around like the kitten that she was. Laying on one of the benches, letting the sun wash down on her as she splayed out with her legs and arms stretched all around.

“You’re getting real comfortable in the sun, Byakko.” Hiro said with a soft smile on her lips. If she had to wait, she could at least try to patch up their little friendship. Even if she didn’t know what made the shorter woman angry.

Byakko sighed as she rolled onto her side, slowly but surely running her finger along the bench. “I don’t get this girl. She saves several people around the city, without even making a proper contract with the city to ensure certain protections… And yet a simple meeting eludes her? How the hell did she end up on our radar…”

Ah. She was just as bored as she was. That explained a lot. Guess they both just had to wait-

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!”

The high-frequency assault of apologies echoed through the park as a certain girl came to a powerful skid, the grass being kicked up as she nearly ended up tripping from the sheer power she put into braking her acceleration and momentum.

Mikai Fushimi. The young sandy-haired heroine known as Mimoto, the same name that the city went by. And the utter dork that had partnered up with Hiro on several occasions. Finally arriving, despite the fact that they were supposed to be here an hour ago.

“I don’t think I can accept those sorries, Mikai. You clearly broke our promise.” Hiro said, looking as stern as always. Crossing her arms and closing her eyes to avoid peering straight at that positive face.

Mikai nervously laughed as she rubbed the back of her head. “W-Well, I got caught up in a bit of fun with Mom. She really wanted to play this game with me, and I just couldn’t say no!” She admitted, before looking down at the floor. “I didn’t think my mom could wipe me that hard in a fighting game… T-Thirty to zero…”

“...Alright, I’ll overlook your absence.” Even Hiro couldn’t blame somebody for getting creamed that hard in a game. “Transform, Mikai. I want to face Mimoto at full power, so we can see if this new technique has its worth.”

Mikai quickly perked up after that, posing without a moment’s hesitation. “Henshin!” She cried out as an onslaught of flames covered her body and coalesced into the shape of her lion-themed armor. “Ready when you are, Hiro!”

“Jouchaku!” Energy poured forth from Hiro’s gauntlet as her armor formed just like it always did. There was no obvious difference at the onset, not that there would be. She just needed to get it on before the real show could start.

Mimoto, the armored version of Mikai, prepared herself by getting into an appropriate stance. She even let her flames cover her fists in anticipation. What did her partner have hidden in her sleeve? What kind of cool stuff had she cooked up? Another attachment to her armor? Another weapon in that vein that didn’t act like the others? And more than that, who was that kitten off on the bench?

PAWN, Hiro assuming her heroic identity, took a deep breath as she looked down at the armor-covered gauntlet. She knew what she had to do, but she had to admit that she didn’t want to do it. Because it would just be humiliating. What did she even gain from doing it..?

...There was no reason for her to hesitate. If she hesitated in the future, the only thing she’d earn would be more tragedy. So she had to do it!

“CAST OFF!”

Mimoto shielded her eyes as Hiro suddenly started to shine so bright that she was about to be blinded from the sheer force of the light alone. That wasn’t what she had told her would happen! She told her that she’d have a cool technique that would make her stronger, not a stunning technique!

“...gure..!”

Eh?

The armored girl blinked a little as she moved her arms away, only for the sight in front of her to be so ridiculous that she was tempted to put her arms back and ignore what she just saw. Because really, this couldn’t be real.

“Haigure! What’s the matter, Mikai!?” Hiro shouted, seemingly unaware of the world around her. Or the fact that she was currently dressed in a high-cut leotard that left very little to the imagination. Seriously, thin was the cloth that dug into her crotch?

Mimoto took a step back and looked at her partner, struggling to find the right words to adequately deal with this situation. “Uhhh… Hiro? Are you feeling alright?”

“Haigure! Better than ever, Haigure!” Hiro shouted with a lot of pride. It didn’t matter that she had seemingly lost everything that embodied her heroic form, whether it was her armor, her weapons, or even her visor. The only thing she wore was that strange white leotard, and that seemed to make her happy.

And while the still-armored heroine struggled to comprehend what she was looking at, Byakko was busy laughing from her seat on the bench. Recording every moment of what was going on.

This was her master plan. Force Hiro to act like she didn’t know what was happening, like it didn’t even register as odd to her, and then have her follow a set routine that matched one of those weird fetishes that she found on the internet. Honestly, this was partly Hiro’s fault in the first place for not wiping her history!

“Hai! Gu! Re!” Hiro shouted, emphasizing every syllable and every repeated utterance of that infernal word by thrusting her flat hands down towards her crotch. Supposedly it was intended to bring one’s eyes towards the tight curve between the rest of the leotard and the little bit that dug into her crotch…

But for Mimoto, it really just confused her. “You’re absolutely sure you’re alright?” She asked, tilting her head. Honestly, she didn’t know what to believe…

“I’m extremely Haigure!” Hiro shouted in response, her cheeks flushing bright red. Just the act of doing this was enough to turn her on lots and lots. Partly because of the programming, and partly because the specific motion helped make the leotard dig into her sensitive spot.

Mimoto nodded slightly as she got back into her combat stance, the flames once again surrounding her fist. “R-Right! KIng’s Eruption!” She shouted as she dashed forward in an attempt to smother the other currently-humiliating heroine in flames.

Only for the leotard-clad woman to grab her fist between those flat hands, and smother her flame in an instant. “E-Eh?!” Mimoto cried out in surprise. This wasn’t just a big gag!?

“HAIGURE!” Hiro shouted as she slammed her hands into both sides of the younger heroine’s throat, smashing through her armor through sheer force of will and knocking her onto the ground at the same time.

Mikai’s armor dematerialized as she laid underneath that leotard-clad woman, her eyes spinning to signify her simple but effective defeat.

All while the woman continued her routine, shouting enthusiastically about ‘Haigure’ as she thrust her arms back and forth, her cheeks flushing brighter red with every passing moment.

Byakko grinned as she let the camera keep running before gently putting it on the bench and taking off. It’s not like she needed to stay around to keep recording, it was streaming the feed straight to her laptop back in her office.

The humiliating display would continue for a few more hours… And by the time that Hiro snapped back to reality, she’d realize just what she had done.

And what Byakko now had to use against her any time she was being disrespectful.