Mogu Mogu Welcome to the Labyrinth

Walking to school had never felt so different. It’s strange— it felt like you were breaking some rule. You knew for a fact that no one was batting an eye at you. Still, your brain kept tricking you into feeling gazes. 

It wasn’t even anything worth being so paranoid about. The only thing mildly suspicious about you was the small box in your school bag. Its contents weren’t even remotely alarming either. But their purpose— rather, who they were for— caused a haze of unsettlement to cloud around you.  

Green mittens. That’s what was inside. Handmade by yourself. 

You never would’ve thought that sewing would become a hobby of yours. It was something you picked up without the intent of doing something useful with the knowledge or skill. The only reason you began learning it was as an excuse to hang out with a person of interest. 

Mayu Nekoyashiki. A student at your school whom you’ve developed a crush on some time ago. Her awkward, yet caring personality caught your attention the moment she first moved to Animal Town. You only grew to love her even more when you learned of her strong passion for sewing. Her creative flow is seemingly never ending. She’s always making clothes or accessories— mostly for herself or for pets. 

You found it adorable how much she enjoys herself when looking at her creations, or how she gets so focused when sewing, that she grows unaware of everything around her. Those quirks of hers are only fragments of what you love about her. So it was no surprise how you jumped at the opportunity to spend time with her when she offered sewing lessons to anyone interested. 

Mayu’s instructions were only followed to appease her— at least in the beginning. Of course, you didn’t want to make it obvious that you weren’t actually there to learn how to sew. So everything she taught you was carefully registered into your brain. You never knew how many different kinds of stitches there were, or all the different types of fabric, or what a thimble was actually for. 

As your skills improved, so did your love for sewing. Sure, the point of participating in Mayu’s lessons was still to spend time with her. But you grew to look forward to the activities as well! So when you had finally built up the courage to confess to her, you could think of no appropriate way other than to create something just for her.

With autumn turning in for the year, and making room for winter, you decided that some mittens would be nice. You had to find some sneaky ways to get her hand size, but it was worth it! It didn’t take long for you to craft some cute gloves. 

You wanted to make more than a simple pair. They had to be unique, and match her interests. So you made them in her favorite color— light green. Bows were sewn to the back, with white pom-poms dangling from them. On the palms and fingertips, pink fabric made to look like cat paws. 

It made you proud to know that there’s no other mittens in the world that look like this. They were made especially for Mayu. You just hope that she’d accept your gift, despite whether or not she accepts your feelings with them. 

~~~~

The school day couldn’t have come and gone slower. It feels so much longer when you have something on your mind. If you hadn’t already known that, you definitely do now. 

It didn’t help that you couldn’t stop checking on the box in your bag. Even though there was no chance it could’ve vanished, your hands kept slipping back inside to feel for it. You got some weird glances for sure. 

As if the day hadn’t been hard enough, now was the difficult part— getting alone with Mayu. As you’ve learned, Mayu has an extremely protective friend, Yuki. While she doesn’t literally cling to her, she’s always in the same room. She doesn’t seem to mind Mayu having friends, but it appears that she can sense you have the intent to become more than that. So you’ve received some glares and scowls. She is considered one of the most beautiful girls in school by the guys. So maybe she’s aware of the signs of them having crushes? Either way, she definitely knows. So you had to figure out a way to lead her away from Mayu.

Luckily, you gained something else from those sewing lessons— more friends! Iroha Inukai and Satoru Toyama are close to both Mayu and Yuki, so you let them in on your plan, and asked them to distract Yuki for you. 

“Yuki, come check out Komugi! She’s out there playing soccer again!” Iroha called out, pointing to the field.

“Fine, I guess I have nothing better to do.” Yuki said with a light toss of her blonde hair. “Come on, Mayu.” Her usually cool, unamused expression changed into a puzzled one when her friend wasn’t right behind her. 

“Oh, Mayu had some things to take care of in the classroom. She said to go on without her.” Satoru explained.

You couldn’t help but smile as you watched from around the corner. They really were great friends. You’d have to find a way to thank them later.

“That’s fine. I’ll wait for her.”

Shoot. She’s more clingy than you thought. 

“No!” Satoru exclaimed, but quickly cleared his throat— lowering his voice. “I mean, she said she really would prefer it if you went without her.”

Yuki hummed, looking back in the direction of the classroom. Her eyes squinted, like a cat’s. You mentally crossed your fingers while she supposedly thought out her choices. 

“Fine. If that’s what she really wants, then I suppose I’ll go.”

All three of you sighed with relief. But Satoru and Iroha quickly gathered their composure, and led Yuki away. You shot over to the classroom at the opening. 

There, watching out the window, was Mayu. She was viewing the soccer field, smiling to herself as she witnessed the chaos that Komugi was no doubt causing. 

Knowing how easily startled she is, you knocked before speaking. She turned to you— without jumping or squeaking.

“Oh, (name)! Iroha said someone wanted to talk to me… is it you?” She wore her signature, gentle smile. Yet you could see a glint of nervousness in her eyes. It was like she was going through all the worst possible ways your conversation could go— typical Mayu. 

“Yeah, it was.” You confirmed, before pulling out your school bag. “I have something for you.” As you rummaged through it, Mayu curiously moved a few steps forward.

You retrieved the box, and held it out for her to take. With gentle hands, she hesitantly took it from your grip.

“F-for me? But what did I do?” She blushed, stuttering bashfully. 

“What do you mean?” You chuckled. “You taught all those sewing lessons. Here, open it.”

At your instruction, she undid the bow. You noticed how she took a moment to admire the ribbon. That made you glad you took the effort to choose one she would like.

After lifting the top off, she gasped. “Oh, how adorable!” She gawked, placing a hand on her cheek as she glazed down at the mittens.

She moved the box to the side, wanting to hold them in both her hands. The mittens were adored from every side, and you could hear quiet squeals with every turn. 

“They’re so soft! And they look like cat paws! You really made these for me?” She blushed harder at the question. 

“Yeah…” You took a breath, ready as you could ever be. “I wanted to thank you for teaching me how to sew. To be honest, I really only joined your lessons to hang out with you. But then I realized how fun it is to make stuff like this!” You gestured to the mittens.

Mayu’s face was three shades darker. “You—you wanted to hang out with me?!”

You nodded, holding back a chuckle at how flushed she was. “Yeah… that’s another reason why I’m here. I wanted to tell you that I like you.” 

There. Now all you had to do was wait for her response. You half expected her to either freeze up for a good amount of time, or run out of the room in a panic. Mayu ended up choosing the first option. Partly, anyway.

While she didn’t end up freezing for as long as you anticipated, she did stand still for a good moment. She clutched her mittens tightly, as if to give her comfort. The green contrasted her red face nicely. 

“I didn’t think anyone could like me this much…” She said quietly, staring down at the floor. Her voice was barely above a whisper, yet still somehow managed to be combined with a squeal.

This was, again, something you expected. It was no mystery that Mayu didn’t think very highly of herself. She has one of the lowest levels of confidence than anyone else you know. You just wished she could see herself as you did. 

“Why not? You’re great!” You slowly stepped forward, pointing to her present— the proof of both your talents. “I was able to make those because of you.” 

The mittens were shoved into her face, and you could faintly hear her squealing into them. With her eyes hidden, you allowed yourself to smirk— only a little bit. 

To add more details— and a bit for fun, you decided to push a little further. “You’re so talented… and pretty.”

Mayu tensed at the word, clearly not familiar with being referred to as such, at least in the romantic sense. Still, she peered up from her miniature hiding place— eyes shot wide. “Y-you think I’m pretty?”

“Yeah! And you’re so cute. I love how shy you get sometimes.” You admitted casually, placing your hands in your pockets.

Her face retreated back into the warm fabric. “Stop…” She muttered in a high pitched plea. She clearly couldn’t take much more. 

“Okay, I’m sorry.” You laughed.

As an act of mercy, you allowed her a few moments to cool off. Neither one of you said anything, which you couldn’t tell whether or not it was a good decision. After all, it gave more opportunity for her mind to race. Knowing her anxieties would get the best of her, you thought it best not to let it go on any further. So as yet another act of mercy, you ended the silence. 

“So, do you have an answer? I won’t be mad if you say no, I promise.” You assured her, not wanting her to feel pressured. 

At that point, Mayu’s face was fully revealed— her hands, with the mittens, resting at her waist. The redness was still prominent, but it had lightened up a bit. You patiently waited for her to meet your eyes. It took effort— eye contact was never her strong suit. But you could tell she really wanted to look at you. 

Her deep breathing was audible, which she did a few times to compose herself. For the first time during the whole confession, she smiled at you— a genuine one.

“I never would’ve thought that someone would start sewing just for me.” She said, squeezing her present lovingly. Her voice shook with anxiety, but she was happy nonetheless. “I’m so glad that you ended up liking it. And thank you so much for these.”

The whole time she spoke, her eyes would occasionally flicker to other parts of the room. Yet they would always make their way back to yours. It made you proud to see her try her best to step outside of her comfort zone. Her reaction to your confession was going way better than you could’ve ever expected. 

Her last statement took more effort. Her breathing got heavier, and her lips pursed. But she managed to deliver the message. 

“Yes, I accept!” She slumped a bit afterwards, the relief washing over her. She didn’t realize how tense she was until then. And that made two of you, seeing as you did the same.

With the boost of courage, you took strides over to her. She welcomed you with that warm smile you’ve grown to love. Her hands were equally as warm as you tenderly took one of the gloves into your own.

“Let’s try them on you. I wanna see if I got the size right.” You said. Mayu hummed in approval.

With benign fingers, you stretched the wristband over her hand. Once it was all the way on, your hold still remained. 

“It fits. And it’s so soft!” Mayu beamed. “How did you get my hand size anyway?”

“I had some help.” You laughed, guiding her over to the window. There, you could observe Komugi playing soccer with—

“Wait, where are the others?” The realization hit you like a truck. Why was only Komugi there? Where were Iroha and Satoru? And more importantly, where was Yuki?

The hairs on the back of your neck stood up from the feeling of impending dread. That only erupted into a full body shiver from the sound of footsteps thudding throughout the halls— their volume only getting greater by the second. Instinctively, your grip on Mayu’s hand tightened, as if begging her to save you from what was coming. 

“(name)? What’s wrong?” She asked, still clueless. 

“Yuki.” Was all it took to get the idea through her head. Now both your faces bore the same semblance.

You just prayed you would live long enough to go on a date with Mayu.

Dividers by @diviniyae