A Starry Morning, a Stumbling Night (Commission)

The afternoon had only just begun to turn orange when Mai sped through the narrow streets of the shopping district. Her maid uniform—flawless and tightly fitted with red ribbons—contrasted sharply with the beads of sweat trailing down her temple. She had to be at the Sakura Dream café by 7:00 p.m. sharp.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no! Manager’s going to kill me!” she muttered, weaving through pedestrians on the sidewalk with the kind of skill that only came from practice.

It wasn’t that she had overslept, nor had she lost track of time out of carelessness. Quite the opposite. That very afternoon, her small idol group had performed a mini-concert at a covered park near a forgotten train station. Ten people. Ten souls who clapped their hearts out and screamed her name like the world depended on it.

After the show, a few fans came over. They gave her drinks, asked for photos—even a young girl handed her a handwritten letter. Mai simply couldn’t walk away. That warmth, that spark… it was what gave everything meaning. And by staying just a little longer, by thanking each fan, signing a few things, chatting like they were old friends, time slipped away.

So there she was. Racing through the city like a pink-and-black whirlwind, beneath glowing lanterns and neon signs just beginning to wake up.

It happened in a second.
The front right wheel of her chair sunk into the edge of a loose manhole cover with a dull metallic thunk. Mai, going far too fast, had no time to react. The world tilted and spun all at once. Her arms shot out instinctively, but there was no way to stop it.

“KYAAA!!”

Momentum did the rest. Her body launched forward, inertia pulling her ahead. Her arms stretched out to break the fall, but it was no use. Her torso dipped, her skirt fluttered slightly, revealing a flash of white lace from her uniform as her legs fell limply and haphazardly, dragged along like a pair of stringless puppets.

“Ugh... not again…” she groaned, bracing herself on her elbows and turning her head to see her overturned chair a few feet away, one of the wheels slowly spinning as if mocking her.

A few people stopped to look, but no one dared to approach. Mai took a deep breath, swallowing the shame climbing up her throat, and began to crawl back toward the chair. She grabbed one leg by the thigh and repositioned it without ceremony. The other she lifted and tossed onto the footrest like someone scooping up a fallen scarf.

Once she was back in her chair—slightly disheveled, her stockings a bit askew, and her arms smudged from the damp ground—she glanced at her phone. 6:57 p.m.

“Alright, Mai. Time to charm customers with your best smile… and pretend you didn’t just kiss the pavement.”

She dusted off her apron, fixed her hair as best she could, and rolled forward once more—this time with more care, refusing to let her pride weigh her down. Because even though her idol group wasn’t famous yet, and her life had its fair share of stumbles—literally—she wasn’t going to stop smiling, or trying.

And if she had to spend the night serving coffee with cheerful “Moe moe kyun~!”s while her lifeless legs rested quietly beneath her skirt, so be it. One day, she was sure of it, someone would shout her name in a packed stadium.

But for now, ten fans were more than enough to keep fighting for.

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I took this commission as an opportunity to write a bit of Mai's story and flesh out her character a little more, since she's quite popular haha. I hope everyone enjoys it! :D