Chapter 12 – “My Childhood Friend Confessed… While I Was Trapped in a Locker with the Transfer Assassin”

1: Kazuki's Monday Was Going Fine… Until It Wasn't

I had exactly 2 goals that day:

Avoid Sayuri (the maybe-assassin)

Return Lilith's cursed lunchbox that may or may not contain a tiny portal to a demon's mouth

Instead, I walked into homeroom and got hit with something more terrifying than all of the above.

"Hey, Kazuki?" said Ayaka, standing by my desk with her signature soft smile. "Can we talk after class today? Just the two of us?"

Dead silence.

Lilith stopped mid-bite of her chaos croissant™.

Sayuri blinked slowly from the back row, eyes narrowing with predator-level amusement.

Even my teacher paused, as if the universe was holding its breath.

I did what any emotionally repressed male protagonist would do.

I panicked.

"Uhh… talk? Like… with words?" I said, as if there were any other option.

She giggled. "Yes, that's generally how talking works."

"Right. Totally. I do that. I mean, yes. I talk. Often. Verbally. Loudly."

I could feel Lilith dying of secondhand cringe behind me.

2: The Confession Plan Was Set

Throughout the day, the rumor mill exploded. And by "mill," I mean Lilith on caffeine:

"Kazuki's gonna get confessed to after school!"

"Ayaka's been planning this for weeks!"

"She bought a confession bento! A BENTO, KAZUKI!"

Sayuri, sharpening her mechanical pencil menacingly, muttered, "How quaint. She's going for the food route. I respect it."

I wanted to melt into the tile floor.

Instead, I survived five periods, a failed surprise quiz, and a bizarre dream in math class involving sentient meatballs.

Then the final bell rang.

And fate punched me in the hoodie.

3: Assassin Interference Protocol: Activated

I made it to the empty classroom at 4:05 PM.

Ayaka wasn't there yet.

Just as I started to hyperventilate romantically, Sayuri appeared from a ceiling panel.

I wish I was kidding.

She dropped down like a cat made of eyeliner and sarcasm.

"Hey, hoodie boy. I need to hide."

"What? Why?!"

She pulled a vial from her sleeve. Inside: a very tiny, floating cactus.

"I accidentally cursed the principal's emotional support plant. He's crying in the staff room. I need a distraction window."

I blinked. "You… cursed a plant?"

"It was glaring at me."

"Sayuri, that was a succulent."

She didn't answer. She was already dragging me toward the janitor's locker.

4: Trapped Together (and It's Weirdly Romantic)

The locker was small.

Like, "accidentally brushing knees is inevitable" small.

Sayuri and I pressed against each other, limbs folded like we were in some suspicious anime scene that would definitely get screen-capped.

"Stop breathing so loud," she whispered.

"I'm just existing."

"Do it quieter."

We were interrupted by the creak of the door.

Ayaka's voice floated in softly, confused.

"…Kazuki? Are you here?"

Sayuri froze.

I froze.

Ayaka stepped further in.

And then—she spoke.

5: The Confession Heard Through a Locker

"I guess you're not here yet," Ayaka said softly.

"That's okay. I just wanted to get this off my chest."

Sayuri mouthed: Oh no.

I mouthed back: Oh YES.

"You probably don't remember, but back in third grade, you gave me your umbrella. Even though it meant you walked home in the rain."

"You sneezed for three days straight. But you smiled the whole time."

My heart thudded.

"You've always tried so hard to be normal, even when you're surrounded by… well, chaos."

She wasn't wrong. I had been nearly murdered by a cursed Roomba last week.

"I like you, Kazuki. I like you a lot."

Sayuri blinked.

I stared at the locker wall like it held the secrets to life.

"So… if you feel anything—just meet me behind the school after cleaning time."

The classroom door clicked shut.

She was gone.

And I was still in a locker with Sayuri.

6: The Aftermath of Everything

I stumbled out like a confused anime protagonist waking from a 1000-year slumber.

Sayuri followed, brushing dust from her jacket. "Well," she said, "that was a confession."

"You think?"

She tilted her head. "So… are you going?"

I stared at her.

Then at the door.

Then at Sayuri again.

She was biting her lip.

"You want me to go?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't care. But…"

Then she leaned in close and whispered:

"She may love you.

But I already know all your secrets.

Like the fact that you talk in your sleep. And once kissed a magical crab by accident."

And with that, she vanished.

7: Behind the School – The Most Awkward Confession Response Ever

I ran.

I actually ran.

Panting, wheezing, hoodie flapping in the wind, I found Ayaka behind the cherry blossom tree near the fence.

She turned, eyes bright.

"You came."

I doubled over. "Yeah. Just… was delayed. Circumstances. Locker-related."

She smiled. "I meant what I said. But it's okay if you're not ready."

I opened my mouth.

Then paused.

Then closed it.

Then—

"I like you too," I said. "But my life is currently a living anime with bonus tentacles and secret agents. So if you can wait for me to sort out whatever dimension I accidentally opened last week… maybe we could try?"

Ayaka blinked.

Then she hugged me.

It was warm.

Real.

Complicated.

And for once — kind of perfect.

End of Chapter 12 (Extended Edition)

✅ Call to Action:

💬 Whose team are you on — Team Ayaka (the wholesome childhood friend) or Team Sayuri (the mysterious assassin chaos girl)?

🔥 What would you do if your confession was interrupted by cursed locker entrapment?

📌 Bookmark now — because Chapter 13 – "My Stepmom Enrolled Me in a Magical Boy Beauty Pageant (and I Accidentally Won)" drops next! 💄✨👑