Airi Sakura

Airi Sakura is a student of Class 1-D and a former gravure idol.

Appearance
Airi is a teenage girl of average height with butt-length pink hair that is tied in twin pigtails with bangs swept to the left side, gradient blue eyes, a very well-endowed figure and she is considered highly attractive to have advances being made on her by a sales clerk and a few of her classmates.

She wears red glasses which are later revealed to be fake by Kiyotaka Ayanokōji. Following an incident where she was assaulted, she abandoned them in favor of showing her real self but still kept them.

When outside of school, she wears a white shirt with red sleeves and blue pants. She has also been seen wearing a rash guard swimsuit when at the pool.

Personality
Airi has a shy and quiet tone to herself as she mostly tends to stay in the background, which was best shown when she couldn't muster the courage to state that she witnessed Ken Sudō's brawl with the students of C-Class, or when she couldn't bring herself to talk to the sale's clerk who was making advances on her while fixing her camera. She also has problems properly socializing with people, as shown when she was nervous being around her class at the pool. She can become suspicious towards certain students, such as Kikyō Kushida when she was trying to be friendly with her.

She appears to enjoy taking pictures of herself, mainly, as she looks cheerful in every photo she is in, though she showed enthusiasm in wanting to take a picture of Kiyotaka as well. She is quite attached to her digital camera and was distraught when it needed repairs, and being damaged due to a fall. After her terrible experience with a stalker and her rescue by Kiyotaka, she decided to reinvent herself by discarding her glasses and embrace the attention she draws. She is also somewhat self-conscious about her body, as seen when she chose not to wear a revealing swimsuit despite doing photo several shoots in a bikini, and rather wear a rash guard.

She developed an admiration for Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, due to his advice inspiring her to do more than she would have done. This may have deepened as she was touched when he promised to help her whenever she needed him, and acted true his word by coming to her rescue after a crazed stalker tried to assault her. This can be seen, when she heavily blushes when he looks at her and later, she developed romantic feelings towards him. These romantic feelings for him were brought up when she nervously tried to explain their relationship to Honami Ichinose, who playfully teased her.

During the school cruise, Airi was seen practicing confessing her feelings to Kiyotaka and asking him out on a date, before being startled by his sudden arrival on the deck, and changing her mind, stating that she had wanted his help for something else instead. On the Deserted Island, near a cave, Kiyotaka grabbed her by the arm, then placed his hand on her mouth, and held her tightly against his body, to hide them from view of some Class-A students, causing her to heavily blush a full red colour, and after he let go of her, she fell to the ground, still blushing as she nervously mumbled that she was fine, having Kiyotaka wonder if she was truly alright. She was later asked by Kiyotaka to come along with him to find branches to start a campfire after he had initially asked Suzune, who refused, and Airi was seen staring at him while blushing and sounding happy when he invited her.

Airi was also shown to have wanted to stay paired up with him, saying that she was sad on the school trip at first due to not having friends, but then, she was glad that she had come. She then stated regrettably that she wanted to have her camera so that she could take a picture of him, which would hint that she probably thought that he would look good in a picture.

Background
Before the attempted assault incident, Airi used to be a gravure idol. Through her photos, Airi gained a large number of internet followers

To prevent herself from being recognised as a gravure idol, Airi used the alias Shizuku (雫) for her internet figure. She also wore fake glasses and tied her hair differently to avoid being recognized.

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 to 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.

Abilities
Although Airi has a below average assessment grade in this expertise, she still proceeds to cooperate with her class at moderation as long as she is grouped with the people she's close with. This was clearly portrayed when she volunteers as one of the island reconnoiter – a relatively hard and challenging task given with her personality – during the first part of the special summer exam.

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" (倉) (kura).

Trivia

 * 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, she answered  'I don't want to hold everyone back, so I want to improve myself, maybe. That kind of, thing... I think.'