Arc 4: The Romantic Confession Gone Wrong

  Chapter 16: Love and War

  Scene 1: The Rival Gang Leader’s Daughter

  The morning started like any other—except for the ever-present feeling of impending doom hovering over Kenji Fujimura’s head.

  For the past few weeks, chaos had become the norm. Between Reina’s “reformation” mission, Takashi’s smug manipulation, and the constant rumors surrounding him, Kenji had learned to expect nonsense.

  But as he sat at his desk, listening to the morning buzz of the class, something was different today.

  The air felt charged, like the entire school was anticipating something big.

  Then, the door slid open.

  She walked in.

  Sakura Aizawa.

  The shift in the classroom was immediate. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. Chairs scraped as students subtly repositioned themselves for a better look. Someone sucked in a sharp breath.

  Kenji blinked.

  She was beautiful—too beautiful for this to be normal.

  Long, raven-black hair fell in soft waves down her back, her movements controlled and effortless. A pair of striking golden-brown eyes scanned the room with quiet confidence, as if she already owned the space.

  Her presence wasn’t just commanding. It was dangerous.

  Reina adjusted her glasses. Akari leaned forward, already skeptical.

  Then it happened.

  Sakura’s gaze landed on Kenji.

  And she smiled.

  A slow, deliberate smile.

  Kenji’s stomach dropped.

  Oh, no. No, no, no. I don’t like that.

  She strode forward with the grace of someone used to getting exactly what she wanted. The way the other students instinctively shifted to make way for her only confirmed it.

  Kenji felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

  Tetsuya, sitting behind him, muttered under his breath. “Boss. You’re about to have a problem.”

  Like hell I don’t already have enough of those.

  She reached the teacher’s desk, handing over a neatly prepared transfer document.

  “I’m Sakura Aizawa,” she announced, her voice soft but firm. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

  A ripple of whispers spread through the class.

  “Aizawa? Like, that Aizawa?!”

  “She’s Yakuza royalty!”

  “What’s she doing here?”

  Kenji’s fingers twitched.

  He already knew the answer to that question.

  She was here for him.

  Sakura turned, her golden-brown eyes locking onto his again. The look she gave him was warm. Affectionate.

  Kenji barely managed to keep from bolting out the window.

  This was bad.

  Scene 2: The Confession That Starts a War

  Lunch period was supposed to be a break. A moment of peace. A time to eat food and avoid unnecessary stress.

  Kenji Fujimura had been counting on this.

  So why—why—was he now standing in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by at least half the school, staring at Sakura Aizawa as she gazed up at him like they were in some kind of romance movie?

  The courtyard had gone silent.

  Reina stood frozen to his left, her notebook hanging limply in one hand.

  Akari, a step away from him on his right, looked two seconds from committing actual murder.

  Tetsuya? Tetsuya was at the back of the crowd, watching with the wary caution of a soldier who knew a bomb was about to go off.

  And Takashi?

  Takashi sat on a bench nearby, arms crossed, a knowing smirk playing at his lips.

  He had planned this. That smug son of a—

  Kenji exhaled slowly.

  “…I’m sorry. What?”

  Sakura’s eyes shimmered with emotion as she took a deliberate step closer.

  “I know our families are enemies…” she began, her voice strong and confident, “but I don’t care.”

  Kenji’s stomach dropped.

  No. No, no, no—

  “I love you, Ryuji.”

  Kenji’s soul left his body.

  The world stood still.

  And then—

  Chaos.

  Screams. Gasps. The sound of at least twenty students dropping their lunch trays.

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  Phones shot into the air, recording.

  Someone in the back yelled, “OH MY GOD, A YAKUZA PRINCESS JUST CONFESSED TO THE DELINQUENT KING.”

  Another voice: “THIS IS A LIVE-DRAMA. WE ARE LIVING HISTORY.”

  Kenji’s brain completely short-circuited.

  Akari snapped.

  “EXCUSE ME?!” she shrieked, stepping in front of him so fast he barely processed it.

  Sakura, still perfectly composed, tilted her head. “Yes?”

  Akari’s hands fisted at her sides. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOVE HIM?!”

  Sakura gave a soft smile. “Exactly what I said.”

  Kenji wanted the earth to swallow him whole.

  Reina, on the other hand, hadn’t moved. She was staring blankly at the scene, her fingers twitching against the edges of her notebook as if trying to make sense of what she had just witnessed.

  Meanwhile, the school was going insane.

  “She confessed in front of EVERYONE?!”

  “WHAT KIND OF SHOUJO ANIME IS THIS?!”

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS REAL LIFE.”

  “I’M POSTING THIS ON THE SCHOOL FORUM—”

  Kenji grabbed Akari’s wrist before she could lunge at Sakura. “Okay, EVERYONE CALM DOWN.”

  Akari whipped around to face him. “Oh, I AM calm, Fujimura.”

  Kenji swallowed. Oh no. The last time Akari said his last name like that, someone got hospitalized.

  Sakura, meanwhile, remained serene, as if she hadn’t just set the entire school on fire.

  “I don’t know what’s happening,” Kenji muttered to himself.

  Takashi, still watching from the sidelines, chuckled.

  Kenji shot him a glare. I KNOW YOU DID THIS, YOU SNAKE.

  Tetsuya finally spoke from the back. “Boss. We should leave.”

  Leave? Oh, Kenji would love to. He’d love nothing more.

  But the entire school was watching.

  And Sakura?

  Sakura had just declared war.

  Scene 3: The Whole School Reacts

  For exactly five seconds, the world stood still.

  Then—

  All hell broke loose.

  Students screamed. Phones flashed.

  Someone dropped a bento box in the background, but no one cared.

  Kenji barely processed the whirlwind of voices spiraling around him.

  “SAKURA JUST CONFESSED TO THE DELINQUENT KING?!”

  “DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS?!”

  “IT MEANS HE JUST STOLE A RIVAL FAMILY’S HEIRESS. THIS IS LEGENDARY.”

  “THIS IS HOW GANG WARS START.”

  Kenji’s soul physically left his body.

  He had survived brawls, police raids, and near-death experiences.

  But this?

  This was how he died.

  Akari was still yelling.

  Reina was still frozen.

  Takashi was still smirking.

  Tetsuya was already planning an escape route.

  And Sakura?

  Sakura, the absolute menace of a human being that she was, simply smiled.

  Like she hadn’t just declared war on Kenji’s entire existence.

  Kenji felt his eyelid twitch.

  “This is a misunderstanding,” he began, very, very carefully.

  Sakura tilted her head. “What’s misunderstood?”

  Kenji inhaled slowly. “Everything.”

  Sakura blinked. “That doesn’t sound right.”

  Kenji dragged a hand down his face.

  Why was this his life?

  Akari, still seething, stepped forward. “Look, lady, I don’t know what kind of romantic fantasy you’re living in, but Kenji—Fujimura—is NOT your childhood sweetheart.”

  Sakura barely spared her a glance. “You’re rather loud, aren’t you?”

  Akari’s eye twitched.

  Kenji grabbed her arm before she could actually throw hands.

  Sakura hummed, clearly unbothered, and turned back to Kenji.

  “I understand this is sudden, but I had to be honest with my feelings. You understand, don’t you, Ryuji?”

  Kenji’s entire body locked up.

  That name.

  It felt like a noose tightening around his throat.

  Reina’s sharp inhale was nearly drowned out by the chaos.

  But Kenji heard it.

  He turned, locking eyes with her for the first time since this disaster began.

  And he saw it.

  The flicker of doubt.

  The tiniest crack in her usually unshakable confidence.

  She’s questioning it.

  Kenji felt something cold settle in his chest.

  Sakura wasn’t just causing a scene.

  She was breaking the illusion.

  Takashi, still lurking in the background, looked entirely too satisfied.

  Kenji knew what was happening now.

  This wasn’t just about Sakura’s confession.

  This was another move.

  Another play in the game he didn’t even know he was a part of.

  Kenji gritted his teeth.

  He had to shut this down.

  And fast.

  Scene 4: The Aftershock Begins

  Kenji barely made it out of the courtyard alive.

  Sakura’s confession had detonated like a bomb, and the resulting fallout was every bit as catastrophic as he’d expected.

  Whispers followed him through the hallways.

  Some students stared at him in awe.

  Others in horror.

  A few gave him a respectful nod like he’d just ascended to legendary status.

  Kenji had never wanted to disappear more in his life.

  By the time he made it to the empty hallway outside the student council room, he was officially done.

  He slumped against the wall, exhaling sharply.

  "This is fine. Everything is fine. This is totally not a disaster."

  The door slammed open.

  Kenji nearly flinched.

  Reina and Akari stepped out—both looking like they were on a warpath.

  Akari was the first to speak.

  Her hands slammed down on her hips as she glared at him. “Explain.”

  Kenji groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “What do you want me to say? I don’t even know what just happened!”

  Reina crossed her arms, adjusting her glasses. “A rival Yakuza princess just declared her love for you in front of the entire school. Surely you have some kind of reaction.”

  Kenji threw up his hands. “Yeah. It’s called shock!”

  Akari leaned in, squinting. “Are you… enjoying this?”

  Kenji’s eye twitched. “What?! NO.”

  Reina huffed, flipping through her notebook, clearly irritated.

  Before she could say anything else—

  Slam!

  The council room door burst open again.

  Kenji barely had time to react before Sakura stepped forward, looking completely composed.

  And then—

  She reached out and boldly took his hand.

  Kenji short-circuited.

  “I meant what I said, Ryuji.”

  Reina visibly stiffened.

  Akari looked like she was two seconds away from flipping a table.

  Kenji yanked his hand away, heart pounding. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”

  Sakura tilted her head, smiling faintly. “Do I?”

  Before Kenji could even process that, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

  He pulled it out, eyes narrowing.

  Unknown Number:

  "Your girl just confessed to the fake you."

  Kenji felt his stomach drop.

  Somewhere across the city, the real Ryuji Sakamoto lowered his phone, a smirk playing at his lips.

  "Well. This just got interesting."

  Scene 5: The Gang’s Warning

  Kenji barely managed to escape the madness of the school day, but something still felt… off.

  The whispers had finally started dying down, but that unsettling feeling in his gut wasn’t going away.

  He first noticed them at lunch.

  A few unfamiliar men stood just outside the school gates.

  Dressed in subtle but expensive suits. Watching him.

  Not moving.

  Not approaching.

  Just waiting.

  Kenji nudged Tetsuya, who was casually eating his rice bowl like nothing was happening.

  “Hey. Tell me I’m imagining things.”

  Tetsuya didn’t even look up. “Nope.”

  Kenji groaned. “Fantastic.”

  Sakura, sitting nearby, happily hummed to herself, texting on her phone. Completely oblivious to the fact that her father’s men were practically circling Kenji like sharks.

  Kenji rubbed his temples. She was definitely texting her father.

  Tetsuya finally set down his chopsticks, his tone dropping to something more serious.

  “They’re not here to talk.”

  Kenji swallowed. “Yeah. I figured.”

  Tetsuya’s fingers tapped against the table, his gaze flicking over to the men by the gate.

  “They’re waiting for an order.”

  Kenji exhaled slowly. “And let me guess—”

  “They’re not waiting on yours.”

  Kenji clenched his jaw. Of course they weren’t.

  The message was clear.

  Sakura’s confession wasn’t just high school drama.

  The Aizawa family wasn’t ignoring it.

  They were watching.

  Waiting.

  And if Kenji made one wrong move—

  It wouldn’t just be the school talking anymore.