The soothing chime of the school bells echoed throughout the school, signaling the end of Megumi’s first day at her new school. Though, it wasn’t exactly over just yet. After all, she still needed to speak with Mai about their plans for revitalizing and repairing the school’s micro-representative council. Normally doing something like that would be impossible on her own, but with Megumi on her side, Mai felt completely confident in starting from scratch (but it’s not like she had a choice. After that little incident in the hallway this morning, Mai was the only original member who didn’t quit/die/get kidnapped). Furthermore, thanks to Megumi’s kind and righteous involvement, Mai finally had a weapon that could completely turn the tides against micro-injustice at this school. This truly was a lucky day for her, probably the luckiest she’s ever been since, enrolling in this school. Running into Megumi and getting not one, but two new members. Maybe Mai’s good karma was finally coming to the rescue. In any case, like Mai, Megumi was extremely excited to get this show on the road. Holding Rentaro in her pocket Megumi swiftly walked into Mai's class, waving at her from the classroom door. She then went to pick her up, flawlessly and unintentionally dodging every guy who tried to approach her on the way.

      “Mai! You won't believe how relieved I am to see you!" Happily picking her up she briefly explained the events of chapter five and how worried she was. But none of that mattered anymore because seeing Mai once again brightened up her day tremendously and melted all her worries away. The feeling was mutual as Mai felt almost exactly the same.

      “Honestly, I’m just happy to see that you actually showed up.” She said smiling at her. Hearing what she had just said, made Megumi feel a little sorry for her, but that feeling only intensified her motivation to protect her. Even if they barely knew each other personally, they had more than enough motive to become the best of friends…

      Not wanting to dwell on things for too long, Mai thought it’d be best if she just introduced herself to Rentaro on the way to the faculty office. And with that established, Megumi steadily made her way there with both Rentaro and Mai in hand. Sensing the awkwardness between himself and Mai, Rentaro decided to earnestly introduce himself first. 

      “The names Rentaro Kitagawa. It's a pleasure to actually meet you for the first time!” He said with admiration in his voice, flashing his token innocent smile at her. Though it seemed as if no introductions were needed. 

      “I’m well aware of who you are…Pervtaro Scummygawa, the famous pervert from class 2-B. You have quite the reputation even among us seniors.” She said blankly, shooting a disgusted glare. Unlike many other girls, Mai was unfazed by his lady-killer smile. 

      As much as Rentaro was sought-after among normal-girls, his reputation wasn’t exactly the best when it came to girls his size. He even had a couple of degrading nicknames; Mr.Lucky Pervert Womanizer, Scummygawa, Pervtaro… just to name a few. Though he didn’t really mind, considering his ‘bad luck’ was entirely to blame. But still, getting ostracized because of simple accidents that were completely out of his control didn’t really help his self-esteem all too much. And he could already tell that Mai believed he only joined to get closer to Megumi and her melons. From this point, it was clear that Mai’s first impression of him wasn’t exactly positive. Hoping to change that impression, Megumi swiftly interjected.

      “You shouldn’t talk to people like that, Mai, it isn’t nice to judge someone off rumors, alone,” Megumi said trying to defend Rentaro, all while understanding the reason as to why he was being insulted in the first place. “Rentaro was kind enough to accept my invitation and I think you should try your best to make a good impression.” She said assertively, surprising Mai. She just couldn’t understand why Megumi would want someone like him on the team, and she hoped that it wasn’t for the reason she thought.

     “I get that you’re new here, but why would you want to recruit him of all people. What if he tries to… you know.” She whispered to her, making some weird grabbing gesture with her hands. Confused, Megumi still pushed forward hoping that Mai would accept him onto the team.

     “I get why you’re being cautious, but please, trust me. I know that Rentaro will be a good addition to the team, and I can tell that he’s genuinely willing to help!” She wholeheartedly pleaded only having a gut feeling to back her claim up. But, seeing how serious she was and how they really couldn’t afford to be picky when it came to new members, Mai reluctantly decided to unbiasedly introduce herself to Rentaro.

     “My name’s Mai Ogasaki, though I’m sure you already know that. I hope we can get along and fight together for the rights of every micro in school!” She extended her arm forward and shook hands with Rentaro. And just like that Rentaro had officially become a member of the school’s Micro Representative Council… or so he thought.

-Minutes later in the faculty office-

     “Ms. Ogasaki trust me, I sympathize with your current situation, I mean having every single member of your council simultaneously quit at the same time sounds like quite the predicament, but that does not change the fact that for a student to become a part of any student government or council, they have to be elected by their fellow student body.” The teacher said absent-mindedly filing some nondescript documents. This information came as a shock to both Rentaro and Mai, but Megumi, on the other hand, was pretty confused as to why the other two were confused. Rentaro, being confused made sense but, it was kinda weird that Mai seemed confused considering she must have gone through the same process, maybe she was just disappointed by the fact that their plan was facing yet another delay. However, as bad as this news was there was some light at the end of the tunnel. “Though, considering your current roster, getting votes shouldn’t be too hard. So, give it your all!” She smiled and gave a thumbs-up before trying to dismiss all three of them but, Megumi wasn’t ready to be dismissed just yet. She could tell how eager Mai was to get the ball rolling, and how she really couldn’t stand to wait any longer. Also, if they were planning on getting more members in the future(which they were) getting votes wasn’t exactly efficient per se. And for a person like Furyu, there was no way they’d be able to ‘campaign’ hard enough given her bad reputation. There had to be a way to overcome this problem, and luckily Megumi knew exactly what to do.

     “Ms.Shinozaki, I understand that to become official members of the council we have to be elected and obtain votes but, I was wondering if we can settle on a compromise..." Remembering a very similar experience she had back at Okisana Megumi thought to bring up an interesting prospect. "At this school, are cultural clubs and athletic teams allowed to work directly in tandem with student government organizations?" 

     "I can't see a reason as to why it wouldn't be allowed, as long as that club fulfills its basic duties… what does that have to do with your proposed compromise?" Intrigued as to what her intentions were she slowly started to realize exactly what Megumi was trying to do. “Wait, are you planning on starting a-”

     “That’s right! Together we’ll start a new club! A club devoted to fighting for the rights of every oppressed micro at this school!!” It was the perfect plan with barely any downsides. Upon starting the club they’d not only have the freedom to recruit anyone they choose, but they’d alleviate the hassle of obtaining votes every time they wanted some more personnel. And, it seemed like a lot more fun this way. Thinking back, Mai must have come to the same conclusion earlier during lunch, which must have been why she had that club creation from back then.

     “Well, if you can find one more member and an advisor then I don’t see a problem with you helping out the Ogasaki.” She gave Megumi one of the forms and excitedly saw her off. “Good luck! Give it your all.” 

     With that, they were almost ready to get this show on the road. With enthusiasm and energy, the group thought of who they wanted as a new member and who they wanted as an advisor. They already knew who the next member would be but when it came to thinking of an advisor each of them had no idea where to start. ‘Out of all the teachers at this school, who’d be the best for our club?’ They all thought.

     “We could always go back to the faculty office and ask Ms.Shinozaki,” Mai suggested but was ultimately shot down by Megumi.

     “That seems like a good idea, but something tells me that Ms.Shinozaki doesn’t like me all too much.” She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. It wasn’t exactly obvious but from how she tried to abruptly dismiss Megumi and the others not once, but twice back there, you could definitely tell that there was some kind of negative emotion being directed towards her, probably annoyance. With Ms.Shinozaki off the list, the two of them directed their attention toward Rentaro who seemed to have an idea.

     “Oooh! I’ve got one! What about we try to get a micro teacher to advise our clu-” Rentaro suggested but was ultimately shot down by Mai.

     “That’s way too risky. Hate to sound paranoid, but what if someone  like Alice learns that they’re advising our club and tries to threaten them to quit or shut down the club.” As pessimistic as it sounded Mai was completely right to think something like that, especially after what happened this morning. 

     “We should ask… um. Uh...” Megumi drew a blank, though it was completely understandable considering she was a new student. With everyone completely out of ideas, they needed a saving grace to get them out of this hole. And luckily for them that saving grace was, quite literally, just around the corner.

     “Is something the matter Ms.Shiro?” Asked someone from behind. From the sound of her voice, Megumi instantly recognized who it was. It was Megumi’s homeroom teacher Ms.Oshino. 

     “Oh, nothing really we’re just trying to figure something out.” She said with an exhausted tone. Not in the right state of mind to realize that the thing that she was looking for was staring her right in the face.

     “If you’re having trouble with something don’t be afraid to ask.” She smiled before slowly walking into the faculty office. As the rough sound of the sliding door reverberated throughout the halls, Megumi finally snapped out of her degraded state.

     ‘Wait!!!” Megumi yelled exaggeratedly reaching out to her. “There is one thingI’d like to ask about…”

     “I’m all ears!” She stared at her enthusiastically.

     “Please be the advisor of our club Ms.Oshino!!” She pleaded. From the tone of her voice and how she phrased her words, one could easily mistake this simple request for some kind of love confession. Seeing how desperate Megumi seemed, there was no way she could say no.

     “It's really nice to see how well you’re adjusting to this school. And if it’ll help you get better acclimated I’ll gladly become your advisor.” After thanking her profusely Ms.Oshino signed the club form and went back to whatever she was doing, 

     “Well, that was easier than I thought it would be…” Mai said with a confused look of disbelief on her face. As convenient as it seemed it’s not like she had any right to complain. They were one step closer, and all they needed was one more thing before they were finally ready.

“Now all we need is that last member. But, I’m guessing you two already have that figured out so would .” Without even knowing who it’d be Rentaro decided that it’d probably be best to leave it up to the two of them to settle this matter on their own, as he had plans to meet up with a friend after school.

     “You should have said so earlier. Want me to drop you off at the front gate?” Megumi asked, not wanting to keep Rentaro’s friend waiting for a plethora of reasons.

     “I’d appreciate it.” 

     Walking to the front gates Megumi could see a micro girl with bright rose-colored hair impatiently waiting for someone. That girl was none other than Rentaro’s childhood friend. And judging by her pissed off expression it was pretty easy to tell she was extremely tired of waiting.

     “Jeez, how late can you be?! Are you an idiot or something?!” She pouted. As rude as she was, it was very obvious that she was just hiding her feelings, like some kind of ‘tsundere.’ 

     “Sorry if I worried you, Ayame, but I had some important stuff to do after school.” He laughed nervously trying to make amends. Whether it was one thing or another Ayame always seemed to be needlessly harsh towards him for no particular reason. Though it wasn’t always like this. From grade school to middle they were inseparable, but once high school came around the two started to become more and more distant. Not only were they placed in different classes, but as more and more girls became infatuated with him, Ayame could never find the time she needed to hang out with her best friend. 

     “W-Worried?! Why the hell would I be worried about you?! Hmph.” She turned her head hiding her flustered face behind her twin tails.

     “Well if it’s any consolation I was worried about you. We barely hang out anymore so… I’m glad to see that you’re OK! I don’t know what I’d do if you-”

     “Sh-Shut up y-you idiot!!!” She yelled concealing the joyous smile and blush on her face. “I appreciate it…” She mumbled quietly reaching into her bag to get something. “I-I was gonna give this to you when we got to your house b-but they’d probably go bad by then.” She held out a small bag of homemade cookies (relatively they were normal size but to a non-micro person they were quite literally crumbs.)

     “Talk about nostalgia! It’s been so long since you’ve baked. What’s the occasion?” Rentaro happily grabbed the bag of cookies. As he opened the bag he was instantly hit with a heavenly aroma of pure sweetness. Combined with the nostalgia, the smell alone was enough to put Rentaro on the verge of tears. Even if Rentaro wasn’t big on sweets he’d always enjoy the taste of her cookies and this time was no different, in fact, they tasted even better. Maybe, it was the nostalgia (or maybe it was the 2 weeks of baking classes she took in preparation for this day.) 

     “D-Don’t get the wrong idea… It’s not like I wanted to make them or anything.” Looking at how happy he was to receive her gift Ayame couldn’t help but feel a warm fuzzy feeling in her hear. Not wanting to interrupt their moment Mai and Megumi left them alone to walk home with each other.

     “Are you sure we should have left them alone?” Megumi asked concerned about their safety.

     “We’d only be a burden and, that girl looked super desperate to spend some time with him.” 

     “Really? She seemed pretty stand-offish to me.” Megumi, being the romantically dense person she is, definitely didn’t understand the whole tsundere thing. Still confused the two of them went on to find Furyu who, unsurprisingly, was nowhere to be seen.

     “I guess that makes sense since she’s not in any clubs.” Mai sighed.

     “Isn’t she in the track team? I heard one of the girls in my class say she outran the captain or something.” She asked curiously, not knowing that she was completely wrong.

     “Oh right, you’re new here. Though I’ve never actually witnessed it, rumors say that Furyu is actually super athletic. I heard she was scouted by every sports team in the school. It got to a point in which she was so fed up with all the constant invitations that she challenged every sports captain to a match in their sport. If she won they would leave her alone, but if a sports captain won she’d be forced to try out. Even though it seemed like an impossible gamble in a single year Furyu ruthlessly and meticulously demolished every single sports captain in the school, well all except for two. She lost once officially to the girl’s wrestling captain, Riku Takamine, and lost technically against the captain of the track team, Chihiro Tsubasaki. And in the case of Riku, she didn’t want Furyu to join. I think she just wanted to test her strength…” Furyu’s reputation was more than that of a violent delinquent. She wasn’t just a menace to the school she was a menace to every sports team in as well. Conveniently, Mai had forgotten to mention the part in which Furyu would mercilessly shame and humiliate those who lost to her in front of the rest of their teams. This involved stuff like forcing  Sure, most of what she did was probably illegal, and needlessly cruel but, they knew what they were getting into when they accepted her challenge.

     “Wow, that’s amazing! She’s like a character straight out of a sports manga. So cool~ Wait, what do you mean by technically?” From the way she said it, it sounded like she didn’t lose.

     “Well, apparently she lost due to a supposed false start. Furyu insisted that it was a false claim but nobody believed her, which meant she was forced to join the team. Though it didn’t last long as I think they had some kind of falling out after nationals and she just quit the team.” That was pretty much the extent of her or anyone else’s knowledge of Furyu. For one reason or another she kind of went under the radar, and with every sports captain beaten there wasn’t much she could do to increase her reputation.

     “Well it’s getting pretty late, don’t you think? Since Furyu isn’t here, we should probably hold off until tomorrow.” Mai said looking at the sunset as it illuminated the sky with a burnt orange hue. 

     “Fair enough, but aren’t you frustrated that we weren’t able to do everything today?” In the grand scheme of things, Mai and Megumi were barely finished with step one. Even if things seemed slow this was merely a process of gathering momentum.

     “Megumi, things like this take time. If we rush we’ll only be setting ourselves up for failure. So, for now, let’s just take things at a moderate pace.” She smiled at her. That impatience and disappointment she was feeling finally disappeared, and Mai accepted the fact that even if they couldn’t finish things today there was always the next. What mattered was at the end of it all they were going to make a change. With that settled, Megumi finally delivered the wallet to the bully's locker (Along with with a letter) and the two of them walked home together, perfectly prepared to tackle whatever challenge that came their way…

-1 hour later-

     In a dark street lit by a single street light, we're the remnants of a street brawl. And among the sullen groans and bruises, that’s where she saw it. The true nature of the high school delinquent Furyu Mitsukabe…

     “Say a single word about anythin’ you heard, and you’re dead...”