Airi Sakura

Appearance
Airi is a teenage girl of average height with waist-length pink hair styled in low twin pigtails and swept bangs on the left side. She has gradient blue eyes and a well-endowed figure, comparable to that of Honami Ichinose. If she were as confident as Honami, her popularity could have been on the same tier. Airi is considered highly attractive, having received advances from a sales clerk and several classmates.

Airi wears red glasses, which Kiyotaka Ayanokōji later reveals to be fake. After an incident where she was assaulted, she abandoned her glasses in favor of showing her true self, but kept them nonetheless. Outside of school, Airi wears a white shirt with red sleeves and blue pants. She has also been seen wearing a rash guard swimsuit at the pool.

Personality
Airi is known for her shy and quiet demeanor, often preferring to stay in the background. This is evident when she struggles to confess that she witnessed Ken Sudō’s brawl with the students of C-Class, or when she finds it difficult to discuss the advances made on her by a sales clerk while fixing her camera. Despite her social anxiety, as seen during her nervousness around her class at the pool, she possesses an exceptional ability to read others. This was demonstrated when she detected Kikyō Kushida’s hidden malicious personality.

Airi enjoys taking self-portraits, always appearing cheerful in her photos. However, this does not stem from narcissism but rather from the praise she receives from anonymous strangers. She also shows enthusiasm in photographing Kiyotaka and admires his cool demeanor. Her digital camera is precious to her, and she was distraught when it needed repairs after a fall. Following a traumatic experience with a stalker and her subsequent rescue by Kiyotaka, she decided to reinvent herself by discarding her glasses and embracing the attention she attracts.

Despite being self-conscious about her body, as seen when she chose to wear a rash guard instead of a revealing swimsuit like other students, Airi has done several photo shoots in a bikini. Her admiration for Kiyotaka deepened due to his motivating advice and his promise to help her whenever needed. This admiration eventually turned into romantic feelings, which were evident when she nervously tried to explain their relationship to Honami.

During the school cruise, Airi was seen practicing confessing her feelings to Kiyotaka and asking him out on a date. However, his sudden arrival on the deck startled her and made her change her mind. On the Deserted Island, an incident where Kiyotaka grabbed her arm and held her tightly against his body caused her to blush out of embarrassment.

In Volume 6, Airi overcame her fear of socializing and requested to join the Ayanokōji Group. She even went out for a movie with them and became close friends withHaruka Hasebe, who understood her feelings towards Kiyotaka and teased her about it.

Despite her typically shy demeanor, Airi has made strides in becoming more assertive and self-assured, particularly in Kiyotaka’s presence. In the Second Year, Volumes 4 and 5, she chose to wear a more revealing bikini when they decided to go to the pool, a significant change from their first year. She expressed to Kiyotaka her determination to improve herself so as not to be a burden to the class. If her words come to fruition, Kiyotaka predicts that within a year, or perhaps even half of it, she will no longer be considered the least valuable student in their class.

Background
Before the attempted assault incident, Airi was a gravure idol and gained a large following on the internet through her photos. To prevent herself from being recognized, she used the alias Shizuku (雫) as her internet persona and wore fake glasses and styled her hair differently.

Plot
During the first days of school, Airi is usually seen in the background which fits as she doesn't like drawing attention to herself. She was assumed to be present at the entrance ceremony speech given by Manabu Horikita. A few months later, while looking for a secluded spot to take a picture, she accidentally witnessed the fight between Ken Sudō and Class 1-C and hid behind a corner to avoid being noticed. After the incident was made public, many students of her class began looking for possible evidence or witnesses t|lo the event while Airi hid her knowledge of the event out of fear.

Suzune Horikita had discovered that Airi was present at the fight, which later prompted Kikyō to speak with her. Airi refused to get involved and tried to leave, but was grabbed by a begging Kikyō, causing her to drop her beloved camera which afterwards wouldn't turn back on. Distraught, Airi ran off and found to her horror that the camera didn't turn on no matter how many times she tried.

Airi soon invited Kikyō and Kiyotaka to help her get it repaired. She apologized in advance, but they replied that it wasn't an issue, although Kiyotaka wondered why he was included. It was soon shown that Airi was very timid when trying to get her camera information ready, due to a pushy and flirty electronic salesman. Kiyotaka had to step in and sign the contact information for the notification of its repair instead, much to her surprise. When Kikyō stepped away for a moment, an awkward moment formed before Airi spoke up and thanked Kiyotaka for his actions as she soon asked for his advice on what to do. When asked why she wanted his input, she replied he seemed trustworthy to her as opposed to Kikyō, who she seemed wary of.

Kiyotaka simply told her to do what she felt was right and not to burden herself with the matter if she didn't want to. She blushed at his words and gazed at him until Kikyō returned and the trio parted ways for the day. That night, Airi contacted Kikyō to tell her she would be helping their side of the case.

Airi appeared at the hearing where she revealed that she was there at the day of the incident, though her nervous behavior placed doubt in her statement. However, with the memory card from her camera, she showed the picture of her around the corner with a glimpse of the fight in the background. Her testimony is considered minor as while it may have been true she was there, it was unclear of who started the fight. The hearing soon ended after the debate between the two sides and the Student Council President stated he would make a decision the next day.

After the hearing, Airi apologized to Kiyotaka, but he replied how it wasn't needed as she appeared and helped out which was all that mattered. When Manabu tried to put pressure on Airi's explanation, Kiyotaka intervened, stating his belief in her.

The next day, Airi reflected on her life of how she disliked attention, dealing with letters and messages from a crazed fan of her pictures. She goes to the class where she stared intently at Kiyotaka's desk until he appeared and they talked for some time. He thanks her for the help while promising to help her at any time she needed aid, which left her touched. Sometime after that, she walked through the school store and sensed a person following her, which caused her to try to elude them but to no avail. She quickly contacted Kiyotaka for help before her phone was knocked away and she was pinned to a wall by the electronic salesman who was also the fan who sent her letters. The Stalker scared Airi, who recalled Kiyotaka's promise, did her best to get her phone but was thrown on the ground by her crazed attacker. The stalker tried to force himself on her, but Kiyotaka arrived and took a picture of him in the act, saving Airi as a result. Kiyotaka then informed the Stalker that the cameras have already recorded his perverted actions. Desperately, the man quickly tried to escape, but Honami Ichinose arrived with the police force who quickly detained the stalker. The stalker pleaded to them stating that Airi has feelings for him, but she denied this, condemning him as a monster and told him to never come near her again as he insulted her before he broke down crying while being taken away for his actions.

Airi is told by Kiyotaka that he tracked her phone to find her as she apologized for her mess and decided to take it as a way to embrace her idol status. As a result, she discarded her glasses and revealed the real her. He then told her that if she ever needed advice or help again, then she can talk with him about it as he helped her up. She blushed and remarked on the way he looked at her as he questioned her but she shrugged it off. It is assumed after this she developed feelings for him.

Over the summer break, Airi was invited to the pool by Kiyotaka. While waiting she was asked by Kikyō if she liked pools after mentioning it was their first time hanging out. Airi responded by saying that she was there because Kiyotaka had asked her to, which was followed up by some teasing from Honami.

She changed into a rash guard explaining how she disliked showing off her body. She played volleyball but struggled, even trying to suggest rotating. However, to no avail, the game continued on, much to her dismay. When Suzune gave her speech, Airi bore witness to it looking somewhat amazed by it. Much later, she saw everyone splashing each other and tried to join in by splashing Kiyotaka, who just looked at her, causing her to sink underwater in embarrassment. During the school cruise, Airi was on the deck of the ship practicing to confess her feelings to Kiyotaka and ask him out on a date, but was startled by his sudden appearance. She frantically questioned if he heard anything, but when he said he didn't, she was relieved as he inquired on what it was. Airi then changed her mind and instead told him that she needed his help in associating with their classmates, where she was seen to be still nervous around them. He agreed to help, stating that it was nothing special, as she became elated at this, grabbing his hand out of gratitude. However, the moment between the two ceased when Kikyō appeared and Airi quickly excused herself by leaving, probably still suspicious of her.

During the survival test, she paired up with Kiyotaka and Rokusuke Kōenji in a group and traveled through the forest. While Rokusuke was swinging ahead, Kiyotaka did become concerned for how Airi was keeping up, but she simply stated she was fine and observed how fluently Rokusuke moved through the trees, but then proceeded to ditch Kiyotaka and Airi. While the remaining pair discovered the cave spot, Kiyotaka hid her and covered her mouth after she tried to move ahead, due to Kōhei Katsuragi suddenly appearing. While being held tightly by him, Airi was shown heavily blushing full red and after Kōhei and Yahiko Totsuka left, Kiyotaka let her go and apologized for his actions, but she was seen still heavily blushing and squirming on the ground much to his confusion, nervously mumbling that it was fine.

Kiyotaka asked her and Haruki Yamauchi (who has a crush on her) to come along with him to look for sticks and branches to start a campfire in the D-Class camp after he initially asked Suzune, who refused. Airi was seen staring at him blushing before and made a sound gesture, sounding happy when he invited her. Airi stated that she felt down on the school trip at first due to not having friends, but now was glad that she came, getting to know more people. Still, she stated regrettably that she wanted to have her camera so that she could take a great picture of Kiyotaka, which would hint that she probably thought that he would look good in a picture. She was also present when the group first found Mio Ibuki lying against a tree, agreeing to help her out and take her back for D-Class to decide what to do with her since C-Class had abandoned Mio.

At the final day of the survival test, she was helping Kiyotaka clean up the campsite, where she asked him how many points that he thought their class were going to get by the end of it. Kiyotaka then wondered about that and looked at Yōsuke Hirata afterward. Airi, like her other classmates, were surprised due to their victory at the special island test.

In the Cruise Ship Special Test, Airi was placed in the Cow group along with Kanji Ike, Ken Sudō, and Chiaki Matsushita, and was depressed because according to her there was no one in the group who would even remotely consider her a friend. Their group ended in possibility #4, that is, the "traitor" answered incorrectly.

During the summer vacation, Airi got a call from Kushida to meet up behind the school building because she had to talk about something important. However, upon reaching there, instead of seeing Kushida, she unexpectedly ran into Kiyotaka. After he told her that he asked Kushida to call her out for him, Airi sighed in relief and no longer felt anxious since she worried that she did something to make Kushida angry. When Airi asked why he got Kushida to help instead of asking her directly, Kiyotaka became flustered and then handed her a letter, saying that Airi would understand if she read the contents. Airi looked back and forth between him and the letter as she was trying to grasp the situation. Realizing that this situation felt like a confession, her composure was gone, and she panicked. Kiyotaka quickly added that he was asked to give her the letter from someone who wanted to stay anonymous. Hearing that the letter wasn't from Kiyotaka, she became dejected. She asked him to read the letter with her as she didn't dare read the letter alone. But to her disappointment, Kiyotaka refused because he's only a messenger, and it's his job to ask her to read the letter. Airi, who was feeling a little depressed, said she'd read it before heading back to the dorms.

Later that night, Airi sent a message to Kiyotaka that she wanted to see him before her meeting with Haruki Yamauchi at five tomorrow. However, her anxiety didn't disappear even after Kiyotaka promised Airi that he would meet her at the exact location behind the school tomorrow. She then called him, expressing her worry about how she'd answer the confession. Since she didn't know anything about Yamauchi, it was a bit scary for her. She realized that liking someone, or hating someone, actually came with a ton of responsibility, and she felt sorry because Yamauchi liked someone like her. Kiyotaka only listened quietly to what she had to say as he couldn't advise her on whether to reject or accept Yamauchi. Airi became happy after Kiyotaka said that he had never dated anyone. They chatted for a while about this and that. After some time passed, she got drowsy, and they ended the call.

The next day, Airi met Kiyotaka at the back of the school building. However, as they walked around the building, the rain suddenly poured, making their clothes soaking wet in minutes. They took shelter behind the school building. Noticing that Kiyotaka was soaked, Airi meekly handed Kiyotaka a handkerchief which was the same one he'd borrowed back on the island. Despite Kiyotaka's refusal, Airi stood on her tiptoes and wiped the excess water from his hair, telling him that she was surprisingly tough so he didn't have to worry. Kiyotaka advised her to answer based on how she felt after she wondered what she should do about Yamauchi's confession, and if it was too embarrassing, he could tell Yamauchi for her. However, Airi denied his offer as she thought that she had to do it herself. For some reason, she was overwhelmed by guilt and said that she wasn't qualified to reject someone. But Kiyotaka refuted it, saying that she had nothing to apologize for because the crush was one-sided. There was nothing strange about turning someone down if she didn't feel the same way.

The rain was still coming down hard when Kiyotaka said he should head back, but Airi grabbed his sleeve tight and pleaded him not to leave her alone as she wouldn't be able to say anything if he wasn't there. About fifteen minutes later, Yamauchi arrived; he looked suspicious towards Kiyotaka but then focused his attention on Airi after Kiyotaka said not to mind him. Yamauchi apologized for having her kept waiting and asked if she did read his letter. But before that, Airi wanted to confirm the reason Yamauchi liked her. But instead of answering, he just shouted his feelings to her, causing her to flinch. Airi then bowed deeply, her eyes slightly red as she apologized that she couldn't return his feelings. No longer able to bear the situation, she bowed once again and ran away.

Knowing that she was in danger of being expelled during the Paper Shuffle special exam due to her below-average grades, she wanted to join the Ayanokōji Group but was unable to muster up the courage to ask. But later facing her fear, she asked them to join the group and was welcomed by the members of Ayanokōji Group.

She later agreed to go out with the group for a movie, where they encountered Kei Karuizawa along with her group, in which Maya Satō was also present. When Maya Satō suddenly grabbed Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's arm, it caused her to almost scream out loud, but she calmed herself after getting assured by Kiyotaka that there wasn't anything between them. She was able to pass the exam safely along with the rest of the class.

During the holidays, Airi gifted Kiyotaka Ayanokōji a pair of plain blue gloves for Christmas which Kiyotaka liked upon wearing.

Following the Paper Shuffle special exam, Airi has been an active member of the Ayanokōji Group and has participated in its discussions regarding special exams like The Class Poll and Event Selection Exam, and has even managed to become close friends with Haruka Hasebe, a fellow member of the group. The group supports her crush on Kiyotaka but none of them realized that he was already taken.

In Volume 9, some rumors began spread in school. One of them was about Kiyotaka having a crush on Kei. Kiyotaka denied it and said it was wrong. Kiyotaka and his group met Hashimoto and Kito. Keisei said that Kiyotaka was targeted by rumors, which Airi nodded. Hashimoto smiled and said yes there a lovely little rumor about having a crush on Kei, which the usual calm and soft-spoken raised her voice and said it is not lovely at all. Kiyotaka said he suspects Hashimoto too, which Hashimoto said of course he would after all Hashimoto was the only one who saw Kiyotaka and Kei met in secret. This gave shock Ayanokoji group. Kiyotaka said there is nothing between him and Kei. Airi said she thinks Kiyotaka and Kei have been getting along well recently.

Abilities
Airi is portrayed as a cooperative student, despite her below-average academic grades. She is willing to work with her classmates, especially when grouped with people she is close to. This was demonstrated when she volunteered as one of the island reconnoiters during the first part of the special summer exam, a challenging task given her personality.

Due to her low grades, Airi joined the Ayanokōji Group during the Paper Shuffle special exam to avoid expulsion. Airi also has a low physical ability grade. During the Sports Festival’s girls 100m dash, she came in second to last for the first time, having always come in last during practice races.

Name Etymology

 * The name Airi  consists of kanjis that mean "love, affection" (愛) (ai) and "village" (里) (ri).
 * Airi's surname Sakura  consists of kanjis that mean "help, aid" (佐) (sa) and "warehouse, storehouse, barn, treasury, granary, cellar, magazine, godown, depository, elevator, storage place, repository, supply shed, grain elevator, stockpile, arsenal" (倉) (kura).

Trivia

 * Airi's dorm room number is 1106.


 * Since D-Class is for people with defective traits, Airi's defect is that she becomes nervous when interacting with her classmates.
 * This was shown that even after interacting with others she is still wary of characters like Kikyō Kushida as seen on the school's cruise ship.


 * For the 2nd Year arc, when asked about her aspirations for the next year, Airi answered   'I don't want to hold everyone back, so I want to improve myself, maybe. That kind of, thing... I think.'
 * From Airi's student database:
 * Specialties: None
 * Hobbies: Camera
 * Intimate students: Haruka Hasebe
 * Incompatible students: Ken Sudō
 * Favorite foods: Sweets
 * Dislikes: Talking