Mai Ogasaki was never a lucky person. From the moment she started attending high school, Mai came face to face with the most horrific things a person could see. She was humiliated, disrespected, bullied, threatened, and… pressured to believe that she was nothing more than a worthless bug. While most of this stuff was a given for someone like her, saying that “Mai Ogasaki is unlucky,” would be an undeniable fact. Even the circumstances of her birth could be described as unlucky as Mai, much like a good percentage of the world’s population, was born a micro. Barely half an inch tall, the world was never kind to the small girl, and attending a mixed-sizes high school only served to toss fuel to the fire of all the awful events that would occur during the poor girl’s life.

          As soon she entered that school, Mai would be confronted by death at every corner. The tiny spatters of blood and gore sprinkled throughout the vast hallways of this unfriendly school were all grim reminders of how unsafe the idea of this school was. And before she was able to even get used to her horrific new surroundings, life hit Mai hard in the form of her unfortunate senpai and her untimely death. Seeing her final moments filled Mai with an awful feeling of helplessness. Was there really nothing a micro student like her could do to stand up to such impossible odds? From that point on, Mai was done being helpless. Wanting to avenge her friend’s death, she decided to stand up and let her voice be heard— to make a difference, even going as far as to follow in her footsteps of her friend by becoming Hanichi’s Micro Student Body Representative… but even then, she still couldn’t catch a break.

          Taking up the position of Micro Representative was never an easy task and despite gaining the respect of many of her tiny peers, Mai found herself at odds with the hardships of micro discrimination now more than ever before. With a large target on her tiny back and no fear of letting her voice be heard, it was obvious that some wouldn’t take too kindly to her behavior. They couldn’t stand a “bug” like her, and how said bug attempted so hard to make a stand. And as luck would have it, those same people would always be there to shut her down right when she felt like she was finally being able to make a difference. Whether that be a protest, or in the midst of announcing a plan to make the school a better place, Mai was humiliated, abused, betrayed, and driven back to that awful corner of helplessness once again with the splattered bodies of those she once knew. Was she really just some bug destined to be the plaything of those bigger than her, or were things actually going change, just as Mai would tell herself often? But those doubts in her mind would soon change as a chance encounter would change her fate in a major way. On that fateful day… Mai found an ally.

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          The school bells chimed and an orange glow shined through the windows of Hanichi Public High School. The fading sound of chatter echoed throughout the schoolyard. As students leisurely headed home for the day, a young Mai Ogasaki found herself walking down the schools (relatively) vast hallways towards what she believed to be one of the safest locations for her; The Micro-Rep Support Squad’s club room. While normally she was carried by one of her larger companions, Mai was informed that she “had to head home early.” It was a slow and long walk for someone of her size, but something else had been bothering Mai more than a boring journey. Turning the corner, Mai was hit with some painful memories as she found herself in the exact same hallway where so much had gone wrong. Ignoring the sparse bloodstains that were speckled throughout the hall, this particular are held a more significant meaning to the tiny. This was the hallway in which her senpai had met her unfortunate end, as well as the place where the fellow members of the previous micro-student representative council were murdered and kidnapped.

          Regardless of how depressing it was, Mai was typically numb to this kind of stuff as it was practically a normal part of a micros school life. She felt so sad, all of sudden. She passed through this hallway all the time without feeling a thing, but for some reason… it was so much worse that day. Keeping her head down and staying close to the wall, she walked hoping to make her way through as fast as possible but she couldn’t keep those thoughts out of her head. Those memories, the screams, and trauma was still stuck with her clinging with a horrible tenacity. After a minute or two of walking, Mai found herself breaking down. Tears rolled down her face as she slowly dropped down to the floor. 

          ‘Why? Why did all of that have to happen?’ She asked herself, burying her head in her hands. So many people and she couldn’t save any of them… Was everything that happened to her just the universes way of punishing her for breaking the status quo? Was she really just some bug who’s voice meant nothing?? Her mind raced with questions, each one breaking her spirit down more than the last. All her hard work, all her humiliation, and all the suffering... was it really all for nothing? More and more tears fell down Mai’s face, hitting the floor as more and more sadness crept up on her. She didn’t want to believe it, but her mind was slowly starting to make her think that all of that was true. She couldn’t even think clearl-

          Before Mai could even finish her depressed thoughts she found herself slowly lifted off of the ground by some unknown individual. With tears clouding her vision, Mai sadly started to think that this may be the end of her. ‘A fitting end for a bug like me…’ She thought closing her eyes…

          but, contrary to the small girl’s thoughts, she soon found herself placed gently onto the person’s palm. Confused, and relieved, Mai cleared her tears to look at the person’s face. Basked in the gentle orange light of the beautiful sunset, was a tall and busty looking girl. With a caring smile on her face, she seemed like the optimal image of kindness and optimism. Her long ponytail blew in the wind as light bounced off her elegant silver hair. 

          “M-Megumi?” Mai asked wiping her tears. “I thought you went home.” She averted her gaze trying to not let her see the tears on her sad face.

          “Sorry! That was kind of a lie, I wanted to surprise you with a lift to the club! I hope you’re not upset that I lied.” Megumi apologized, smiling towards the girl. 

          “N-No, it’s fine.” She said, feigning a smile. Sitting down on her palm, Mai looked ahead as Megumi walked slowly down the empty hallway. She still couldn’t keep those negative thoughts out of her mind, but a certain person would soon change that for her.

“Hey, Mai! Do you know where we are?” She asked. And while Mai would consider herself painfully aware… Megumi had a different idea in mind.

“Huh?” Faking curiosity, she stared blankly ahead hoping to just forget about all those sad thoughts.

          “It’s where we first met each other.” She smiled while tilting her head. Hearing that surprised Mai and she looked back to see the caring expression on Megumi’s face. “I was honestly shocked, to see what happened to you that day, but despite all the awful things that happened to you… I could tell that you were strong.” She said, looking at her with a passionate expression. Mai could only stare at her, speechless as she had never heard anyone call her that before.

          “No matter what, I could tell how determined you are to get back up and keep fighting! I don’t even know what I’d do if I were in your position, hehe.” She giggled, her soothing voice and kind words breaking through her sadness. “I wasn’t always the positive person you see today… but it’s people like you who help me realize that… there will always be people who seek to fight injustice in the world and stand up for what they believe is right!” Megumi exclaimed, stopping to look at the picturesque sunset. 

          “And as long as there are people like that, I can feel happy just being… happy! Knowing that I can help them achieve their righteous goals, is really… amazing!” She laughed, once more. “So, Mai…” Megumi cleared her throat, before placing the tiny girl down on a nearby windowsill.

          “Let’s keep fighting to make this school a better place for everyone!” Megumi yelled, with a heartfelt tone of voice, and a genuine state of mind. “And as long as we keep trying our best… I know that you, along with everyone else in the club, will be able to truly change things up for the better!” She smiled gleefully, her positive energy and inspiring words finally shattering all of Mai’s sad thoughts and placing a smile of genuine happiness on her face. 

          Wiping all her tears away, and tightening her headband, Mai nodded before lightly slapping herself in the face. “I’m such an idiot!” She mumbled to herself realizing how dumb those sad thoughts were and understanding that she couldn’t give up! Not just for herself, but for everyone in the club, and all the micros in school… as well as all those sad souls who had lost their lives to the awful injustice! She had to keep trying, and she couldn’t let them die in vain!! She, with help from all those who had supported her, was gonna breakthrough that injustice, once and for all!

          “Sorry for stopping on the way, I just thought, you needed to hear that~” Megumi apologized, picking Mai up and continuing her walk to the club.

          “It’s really no problem, I really appreciate what you said to me. Though, I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

          “Hm? What for?” 

          “Don’t worry about it!” She said, scratching the back of her head. “Anyways, why did you wanna surprise me with a lift to the club?” She asked, getting comfortable on Megumi’s palm

          “Well... I think it’d be best if you see for yourself.” Megumi said as she approached the entrance to the club. “Today’s a special day after all~”

          “Huh?-” Before Mai had a chance to react to her statement, Megumi had slid open the door revealing a happy scene within the club room.

          “Pop!!” The loud banging of party poppers went off, spewing multicolored streamers and confetti all over the clubroom floor.

          “Happy Birthday, Mai!!!!” Each member of the club yelled in unison. Each one of them was dressed in colorful party hats and the club was decorated festively with banners, balloons, and streamers. And in the middle, was a delicious looking cake with a megaphone design in the frosting and the words “Happy Birthday” written out. 

          “Happy birthday, I hope you like your gift. I wanted to give it to you after we ate the cake, but I couldn’t resist.” Megumi said, pulling out a really tiny box from her pocket and setting it down in front of her. Unwrapping it, Mai found a tiny megaphone within. The simple sight of it made her unbelievably happy. And she couldn’t wait to test it out. Switching it on and bringing it close to her mouth, she took a deep breath…

          “Thank you!!!” She yelled, her voice being amplified ten-fold and more than loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Surrounded by people that cared about her, Mai took in the surroundings, and soon a tear fell down her face once more; not of sadness or grief, but of pure genuine happiness.

          Mai Ogasaki was never a lucky person… but she had her moments in which she felt truly blessed, and the day she met everyone there was undoubtedly one of those moments in which Mai Ogasaki felt like the luckiest tiny on the face of the planet.