"Before I accept your offer, I'd like to pay respects to your friend, even though I didn't know them." She clasped her hands together. There, at that moment Megumi could've been mistaken for some kind of goddess praying for a soul's safe passage into the afterlife. Just seeing how respectful she was only giving Mai a stronger feeling of dread for what she was about to say to her.


   "That boy, Ryu… he wasn't the only victim. This was a double murder and a kidnapping. What's worse is that it was ALL my fault!" She looked away in shame, slamming her hand against the wall.


   "If I didn't give that stupid speech those 3 would be fine!" Seeing and hearing how Mai was feeling, as well as the gruesome scene in front of her made Megumi worry tremendously for all the micro students at this school. Was it OK for normal students to just get away scot-free with stuff like this? Just the thought was enough to fill Megumi with sadness. However, this sadness only gave her more motivation to help make a change. And the first step to that was to make sure Mai was motivated to make a change alongside her.


   "Don't belittle yourself like that! Even though I just met you, I can tell that you're always trying your best to help your fellow students! So no matter what, don't ever give up!!" She smiled at her, trying to hide the fact that she was somewhat afraid of the person or people who did this.


   "You're right! And don't worry I won't give up, and with your help, I'm feeling more and more confident about our chances." She looked up at Megumi with a motivated smile appearing on her face. However, that smile slowly turned into a concerned stare, for it was painfully clear that Megumi was extremely late for class.


   "I know that you have a probable reason for being late, but we won't be able to make that change if you get kicked out for truancy..." She criticized, worried about her attendance.


   "Well, the thing is… I only approached you in the first place because I was looking for directions to my class." She scratched her head and showed Mai her schedule. After looking at it for a few seconds Mai was able to figure out where her homeroom class was.


   "I understand why you couldn't find it, you're on the completely wrong floor. Leave it to me! I'll show you how to get there. " Hearing that Megumi smiled and gently picked up Mai.


   After a couple of minutes of walking the two had finally made it to Megumi's homeroom class.


   "Hey Mai, thanks for helping me get to class but, are you sure you wanna go back on your own, after everything that's happened to you?" She asked genuinely worried about Mai's safety. However, Mai just shook her head.


   "I wouldn't be the person I am today if I'm always restlessly worried about every little thing… But, if you're that worried about me, let's exchange numbers. And if I'm ever in trouble I'll give you a call, OK? Also, let's meet up during lunch to discuss some stuff. I'll text you the meeting place." Megumi nodded and exchanged cell phone numbers.


   Waving goodbye the two ways and Megumi was ready to enter her new class. Unsurprisingly, the teacher inside was getting pretty worried about Megumi after waiting for nearly half an hour. Fed up with waiting, she slammed the door open and went to go look for her only to find Megumi and Mai waving goodbye to each other outside the door.


   "Megumi Shiro, you're late! As a new student, it's not good to be noticeably late on your first day." She looked down, saw Mai and realized what must have happened. "You got lost didn't you…” She sighed.


   “Well, in any case. Thanks for escorting Ms.Shiro to class Ogasaki, please be safe on your way back." She bowed her head and pulled Megumi into the class. Inside, the class seemed fairly average, except for a few colorful characters.


   "Introduce yourself." She stepped away from Megumi allowing her to give her introduction, and after writing her name on the board Megumi gladly stepped up to the plate.


   "My name is Megumi Shiro, It's a pleasure to meet you all. I hope that I can work together and become friends with all of you!" She smiled sweetly and bowed her head. Shortly after, the class effectively erupted with applause and cheers(mostly from the male students.)


   "She's…an Angel!!" Some of the boys yelled.


   "No dude, she's a goddess… get it? Because her name’s Megumi, and if you replace the 'U' with an 'A' it becomes Megami, which means goddess." One micro student said, which almost instantaneously silenced the entire class.


   "Really? Nobody? Anyone at all? Not even a pity laugh?" The boy waited and slowly became depressed after realizing how cringy his comment was. At that moment he was probably thinking 'well, there goes my chance at becoming friends with that girl…' however, Megumi quite appreciated the ‘clever’ pun and decided to speak up.


   "I thought it was pretty funny." She giggled, causing an uproar of laughter among the rest of the class.


   "Haha! You're right Rentaro, If you replace with the 'U' with an 'A' it does become Megami. You're so clever, haha!" The rest of the boys in class began to congratulate and applaud the boy, whose name was Rentaro. Megumi's reply to his awful pun not only saved his reputation but scored major affection points not only for Rentaro but for most of the class, as her charming giggle showed off her cuteness, unlike anything else.


   "Now everyone, calm down! Ms.Shiro, your seat will be that one over there in the back corner of the class." The teacher said causing most of the class to recoil in disbelief.


   "C'mon Teach, that seats right in front of where Furyu sits. Do you want this pure and innocent flower to get corrupted or something!" One student remarked. Megumi didn't know this yet but this Furyu person, the class was talking about was an 'interesting' individual, to say the least. It wasn't like she was weird or creepy, it was mostly because she was the absolute epitome of the classic 'high school delinquent' stereotype.


   "I think it'll be fine. Nothing can corrupt me!" She said confidently, causing yet another uproar of applause, and after taking her seat, Megumi got her textbook out and the teacher finally started to teach.



   While the class was going swimmingly, a girl vulgar looking girl walked in, rudely interrupting the lesson midway through. Her hair had been poorly dyed blonde with a thick streak of red hair dye on the left side of her head. She was tall, was a bit on the flatter side when it came to breasts, and even if it wasn't as obvious thanks to her uniform, she had a toned body. Looking closely Megumi also noticed that the girl had a bandaged attached to her face and her arm was wrapped in some guaze, which both probably came from fights, if she had to guess.


   "You're late again, Furyu Mitsukabe! Please just have a seat, you're disrupting the class." Ms.Oshino (the teacher) sighed and continued to teach.


   "Shut the hell up! I'm only here cuz I'm being forced to…" She slammed the door closed and begrudgingly walked towards her desk. When she came across Megumi, Furyu was both angered and confused.


   "Who the hell are you?" Furyu asked rudely. Now, normally Megumi would introduce herself politely, however she knew exactly how to talk to delinquents and Megumi prided herself on being able to make a good impression on nearly anyone she met.


   "Tch, What's it to ya! Expectin' me to just tell you?!" She crossed her arms and glared at her.


   "Heh, you got some good intuition. The names Furyu, by the way. Furyu Mitsukabe!" She smirked and sat down at the desk behind her.


   "Mind waking me up after class is done, girl?" She put her feet up on the desk and began to nod off completely disrespecting the teacher's lesson, however she didn't mind all too much, considering she's had to deal with her attitude on an almost daily basis.


   "Sure thing…also, it's Megumi if you're still wondering." She opened up one of her textbooks to the appropriate page. However, it's not like she needed to. As far as Megumi could tell what she was already taught this exact lesson in Okisana.



   Once the bell had rung Megumi quickly put her stuff away and began to walk to her and Mai's designated meeting spot; the hallway outside the faculty office. From what Megumi could tell that spot was pretty much one of the safest places for a tiny to be, however, she was kind of confused by why she wanted to meet out in the hall rather than a class or club room.


   On her way to the faculty office, Megumi began to get more and more disturbed by the number of bloodstains in the halls. There weren't that many, but compared to Okisana (where seeing a squished micro was just as rare as seeing a normal student's dead body in any other school.) it was truly jarring. She couldn't let what she saw break her resolve, no matter what! But, she couldn't just ignore them, given that she pretty much always had to be looking down, just in case.


   After a few minutes of walking she finally approached the home stretch, but much to her dismay Megumi just so happened to come across something truly aggravating; A tall girl with jet black-hair bullying a helpless micro.


   "Hahaha!! What a pathetic little pervert! What’s the point of even trying to sneak a peek when you're such a minuscule little bug? Here I’ll do you a favor and give you what you deserve." The girl cornered the micro, before lifting her foot and preparing to stomp on him.


   “It was an accident! I swear!” The student pleaded, and from the tone of his voice and the fact that he was literally about pass out from fear, Megumi could tell that he was 100% telling the truth, probably. Just the thought of someone being killed due to some stupid misunderstanding genuinely disgusted Megumi and even if it wasn’t an accident outright murder as punishment for such a minuscule offense just wasn’t right. She needed to intervene, but before she could, a certain rowdy girl with poorly dyed blonde hair stepped in. It was that delinquent girl from her class, Furyu Mitsukabe.  


   "Just shut the hell up! Over-sensitive sadistic b*tches like you piss me the hell off! Who the hell cares if someone sees your what's underneath your skirt? It's not like you have anything going on down there." She scoffed, glaring at the bully. Furyu then grabbed her by the collar and threw her straight to the ground. Megumi couldn't believe that someone who seemed like a 'bad to the bone' delinquent would be the type of person to stop bullying rather than partake in it.


   "Now you have two choices. Drop your wallet and get the hell outta here, or get your stupid face beaten to a pulp!" She cracked her knuckles while glaring menacingly at her. At this point, it was hard to tell who the actual bully was, however, even if Furyu wasn't exactly a hero of justice, Megumi could tell that she was somewhat of a good person deep, deep down.


   "F-Fine, just don't hurt me!" The girl desperately dropped her wallet on the floor and ran away in Megumi’s direction. As she passed, Megumi could overhear her mumbling something. It wasn’t exactly audible, but Megumi was able to make out the words ‘Just you wait…’



After taking the money from her wallet Furyu absent-mindedly tossed it in a nearby trash can and continued on her way, not even taking a second to receive the thanks of the micro she had saved. Of course, Megumi, being the good Samaritan she is, went and checked out the conditions of the micro student. From the looks of it, he just seemed to be passed out. No actual injuries. ‘Oh good he's ok…’ Megumi breathed a sigh of relief and kneeled in front of him.


   "Hey, are you alright?" She looked at him, and under closer inspection, Megumi realized that it was none other than, Rentaro from her class. And after gently tapping him he finally woke up.


   "Please don't hurt me!!.. Oh, it's you. Megumi right?. Thanks for saving me!” He smiled anxiously. “I guess I must have blacked out when that girl almost stomped on me. I'm not a pervert by the way it was a complete accident. I didn't mean to look up her skirt I swear! She just walked over me and started calling me a pervert. Please believe me!" He started to laugh nervously thinking that she wasn't going to believe him. Megumi could tell he was pretty shaken up and maybe even traumatized from the experience because he kept mumbling 'I'm not a pervert' under his breath. She needed to calm him down somehow, and that's when Megumi remembered a piece of advice from one of her most trusted female friends.


   "If you ever come across a scared little micro guy at school just let him feel your boo- I mean, heartbeat through that massive chest of yours and they'll calm right down. Guaranteed!" After never getting an opportunity to use it Megumi didn't get to see if it worked, but this was her chance to finally put it to use. From something Megumi once read she was under the belief that the sound of one's heartbeat was a relaxing and calming sound.


   Following her friend's advice, Megumi gently picked the boy up and softly pressed him against her chest. At that moment Rentaro's sudden fear of women that he developed when he was getting bullied, instantly faded away. The calm beating of her heart serenaded him away to a land of tranquility and nostalgia as Rentaro began to remember his childhood. For him, it was almost the same feeling as when his mother would coddle him whenever he was sad. This treatment was exactly what Rentaro needed to calm down and regain his confidence. After about a minute of this treatment, Megumi finally pulled away. Rentaro thought no lewd thoughts about this treatment because, much like a certain person in this story, he was also extremely dense. If Megumi were to do the same thing to Shuichi, his teenage boy hormones would have skyrocketed, however, Rentaro merely saw it as a kind gesture from a gentle soul.


   "Thank you, I appreciate it. I don't know what I would have done without you. My name's Rentaro Kitagawa, but you can call me Ren, or Rentaro, either one works." He smiled innocently and promised to be more careful around normal students, even though it wasn't his fault.


   “I appreciate the thanks, but- I wasn't the one who saved you,” Megumi said putting him back on the ground.


   “Then who did?” He asked trying to remember if anyone else was near him when he was being bullied. There wasn't anyone in the halls other than him, and Megumi so he didn’t have a clue as to the person who saved his life.


   “The one who saved you was Furyu!” Megumi said and Rentaro was expectedly shocked by the surprising information, but after a few seconds he was finally able to accept what had happened and he was honestly quite flattered to learn that someone who he thought was some violent delinquent would go out of there way to save someone-- a  micro student, no less.


   “Well, I’ll be sure to thank her, next time I see her.” He said and the two parted ways. As she left, Megumi contemplated fishing the bully’s wallet from the trash and returning it to her, just in case she had an ID, train pass, or anything else important inside.


   ‘She tried to kill someone, so this is what she deserves, however, she kinda had somewhat of a reason for doing so, and she might also be insecure about it, in which this event may have made her even more hostile towards micros.’ She thought and after contemplating it for a good minute or two Megumi, reluctantly, retrieved the wallet and decided to find out where her class was so she can leave it on her desk later. However, she wasn't just planning on giving it back, she was going to give it back to her under Rentaro’s name as a way of somewhat swaying her, potentially negative, perception of Micros. What she didn't know was that her plan was going to heavily backfire in a way she'd never expect.


   After all this commotion had subsided, Megumi finally realized that she forgot to meet with Mai, and after seeing how late she was Megumi swiftly rushed over to the agreed location. As Megumi turned the corner she saw Mai and felt a huge sense of relief that she was completely fine, she did seem a bit antsy from waiting. After everything she saw on the way, it was hard not to be worried about her.

   "Mai, I'm so glad you're OK!" She said happily, skipping towards her and gently picking her up.


   "What's up with you? You're acting like you haven't seen me in years." She laughed, a smile appearing on her face from the unusual treatment that she wasn't used to.


   "Nothing's wrong, don't worry about me. So what did you wanna talk about?" She tilted her head looking at Mai with a puzzled expression. She had a tiny clue as to what Mai was gonna say but she didn't know.


   "Together… we're going to form a brand new micro representative council to protect the rights of every micro student in this school! And to make sure our members are up to the task… we'll search every inch of this school to find righteous students like you and me, that will help reinforce the rights of every micro at this school!! That’s also why we’re outside the faculty office." She confidently pulled out club creation form and smirked, but she was so engrossed and headstrong with her ambitious idea that she hadn't realized that they were missing an extremely crucial component.


   "That's an amazing idea, but… how exactly are we gonna do something like that? And wouldn't it be best to just integrate new members to the existing council rather than create a new council? Also, I'm not sure if it's the same at this school, but at Okisana to form a new student committee or council you need to get direct approval from the principal, a faculty advisor, as well as a specified percentage of a student vote..." Megumi ran on nonchalantly for a solid three minutes, contrary to all her ramblings Megumi's face seemed extremely excited about Mai's plan.


   "W-We'll work together." She said in the spur of the moment. The sheer amount of information was beginning to overwhelm Mai, but she wasn't demotivated in the slightest.


   Trying to understand her incredibly vague remark, she concluded that they were probably going to go for a member integration plan, and thus needed to selectively recruit members that would be of great help to their cause. She then started to think about some people she knew that could benefit their cause. And after a few seconds of thinking, it finally hit her.


   "We should ask Furyu Mitsukabe to join." She smiled not realizing exactly how much of a reputation she's built up in the school. Furyu was effectively a menace to the school, who seemingly had no motive for being a delinquent. She was ruthless, mean-spirited, and rebellious and she had such an infamous reputation that even seniors were afraid to mess with her. Hearing how nonchalantly Megumi said her name, Mai began to silently question why on Earth she would ever suggest a person like her.


   "Are you insane…?" She looked up at Megumi, still completely bewildered by her outrageous suggestion. At that point Megumi was already deep in thought, trying to formulate a plan to get Furyu to join their side when another person came to mind, but she didn’t have a reason to mention them yet.


   “Oh hey, you’re the girl from this morning!” A familiar voice called out to her from behind…