'She's cute. She's totally my type—a tomboyish type. The type i always see in animes, she's so beautiful. She might be a bit small in the chest department, but like I said, that's not all I like about women. Big, small, or flat as long as they're beautiful, it doesn't really matter that much,' thought shido excitedly.
'Should I try to make her my girlfriend… or my fiancée as well? Dina did say she doesn't actually mind as long as she's number one in my heart. Maybe I should… but first I need to see if she finds me interesting enough. Then I'll try to shoot my shot.'
Shido kept his gaze on Sakura for a few seconds longer.
Then he shook his head slightly.
'Yeah… I'll try. But if it doesn't work, I won't force it. Just because I'm in a parallel earth and being a guy from a parallel earth doesn't mean any girl should just fall for me.'
Shido rose to his full height.
Crack.
The sound of his back rolling into place spread through the silence left by the fight.
He lifted his left hand to his neck.
Crack.
A slow rotation of his head followed once… twice… loosening the stiffness.
Then his eyes settled on Sakura.
And he finally spoke to her for the first time.
"So, if I wasn't wrong from the conversation I overheard between you and Ryuen your name is Sakura, right?" Shido asked casually.
At the sudden question, Sakura flinched.
'Why did she flinch?' Shido wondered inwardly. 'Is she scared of me? But she looks like the type who enjoys fighting strong opponents. Did I misread her?'
Sakura swallowed.
Shido couldn't tell whether it was fear or nervousness.
Either way, she finally spoke.
"Yes. My name is Sakura. Sakura Sakura… nice to meet you."
Silence followed.
Sakura kept her eyes on him, a faint blush forming on her cheeks. She waited— almost bracing herself for the usual reaction.
Her name was Sakura.
Her surname was also Sakura.
Most people laughed.
So she asked first.
"Are you… not going to make fun of my name? Or my surname? They're both the same."
Shido simply waved a hand.
"Nah. I won't do that. It's your name, after all. And to me, 'Sakura Sakura' has an interesting twist to it. It actually makes it more fun to say."
Sakura just stared at Shido.
The flush on her cheeks deepened, and she could faintly hear her own heartbeat faster and louder with every passing second.
She brought a hand to her chest and lightly clenched her uniform.
To Shido, the expression looked unexpectedly cute.
'What's wrong with this girl? he wondered.
She suddenly went quiet… just staring at me. Did she fall for my face? I know I'm good-looking, but I didn't think she was that type.'
What Shido thought wasn't entirely wrong.
For Sakura, this was the first time her heart had ever reacted like this.
It was beating so hard it confused her.
'What is this feeling? Why did my heart start racing just because he didn't make fun of my name?'
She forced herself to calm down.
It took a moment, but she managed it.
Still blushing, her voice slightly hoarse, she asked,
"And you… what's your name? It would be strange if only I said mine."
Shido blinked once, then gave a small nod.
"Oh, sorry about that. Let me introduce myself properly. I am Shido Urazaki of the Urazaki family."
He didn't say it with pride.
He didn't emphasize the family name.
He simply stated it.
Because in his mind, the Urazaki family wasn't worthy of the reputation it had.
A group of scum.
Built on ridiculous rules and disgusting traditions. There was nothing there for him to boast about.
So he spoke plainly almost humbly.
And from his tone alone, anyone could tell he wasn't proud of where he came from.
Sakura understood that much immediately.
"Looks like you're not a big fan of your own family?" Sakura asked.
Shido gave a loose shake of his head.
"Yeah… kind of. My family is messed up. Especially with something that's about to happen to me. If my guess is right, it's going to be truly disgusting."
Sakura's curiosity became obvious.
"What messed-up thing is about to happen to you?"
Shido answered as if he were talking to a childhood friend he had known for years casual, unguarded.
"You know the Twenty-Seven Great Families of the Aldai Kingdom, right? Mine is one of them. We're not at the very top, but we're not low either. Still considered within the top ten."
He paused briefly.
"But every one of those families has its own… strange traditions. Strange ceremonies. And mine isn't any different."
Sakura tilted her head slightly.
"Does that mean you have some kind of nobility?"
Shido looked at her blankly for a moment before replying.
"No. The only true royalty is the king and the royal family. There are no noble ranks like dukes or viscounts. The king doesn't allow that in this nation."
He shrugged lightly.
"Maybe other kingdoms have them. But here? They don't exist. The Great Families are just powerful subordinates to the crown."
"…Oh… I see. That's why it works," Sakura murmured absentmindedly, as if the information he had just given her had connected something in her mind.
Shido watched her for a moment before speaking again, a faint teasing note entering his voice.
"…So what about you? I've been the one answering questions this whole time, but I haven't asked anything about you. The fact that you don't even know something this basic… that means you're from a civilian background. Am I right or am I wrong?"
Sakura blinked.
"Oh—oh… uh… I forgot about that. I didn't actually mean to…"
She straightened slightly, regaining her composure.
"Well, like I said before, my name is Sakura Sakura. My family is exactly what you guessed — a civilian family. But my grandfather owns a dojo, so everything in our household revolves around martial arts."
She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then added,
"Our family's main style is kickboxing."
"Kickboxing? That's kind of hard to believe especially after seeing you use different katas from other martial arts," Shido said, the curiosity in his voice unmistakable. His eyes were fully open now, his surprise obvious.
Sakura blinked in mild surprise.
"Oh… you actually noticed that?"
A small, proud smile formed on her lips.
"Well, when I was training under my grandfather, I kept feeling like kickboxing was missing something like it had clear advantages, but also obvious gaps. So I started looking for ways to cover those weaknesses."
She shifted her weight slightly, more relaxed now.
"I began learning other martial arts… and then I took the parts that worked best for me and mixed them into my own style."
There was a quiet but blazing confidence in her eyes.
"I haven't even given it a name yet… but I will someday."
Shido heard the certainty in her voice and saw the conviction in her gaze.
He gave a small, understanding nod to himself.
"I see. That's interesting. A beautiful tomboy learning martial arts and still keeping her beauty… what an interesting contradiction."
Shido teased lightly, not expecting his words to affect her so much.
Sakura suddenly took a step back. A deep blush spread rapidly across her cheeks. She tried to open her mouth to respond, but no words came out.
Her hand moved to her chest again this time gripping tighter. Her heart was beating so fast it almost hurt.
At the same time, it felt… warm.
'He knows I'm a tomboy… and he still thinks I'm beautiful? This is the first time anyone has ever told me that.'
Silence fell over the area.
An unbearably awkward silence.
Sakura quickly realized the cause — she was the one who hadn't said anything.
Panicking slightly, she searched for a topic that wasn't about their families or themselves.
"So… what about the Iruka students?" she asked in a hurry. "You defeated their second-in-command. Their boss, William, will definitely get angry. He might come after you for revenge… or challenge you to a mock duel."
"A mock duel? I haven't heard that term before," Shido said, genuine confusion in his voice.
"Huh?"
It was the only response Sakura could manage. For a moment, her mind went completely blank.
'How does he not know what a mock duel is if he attends Douma High?'
Then a possibility formed in her head.
"Are you… a new student at Douma high school?" she asked.
Shido nodded.
"Yes. Today is actually my first day. I was supposed to enroll in the first term, but because of some issues, I only showed up now."
"Wait! This is your first day and you're already in this much trouble with Iruka High students? What exactly did you do to piss them off this badly?" Sakura asked, her tone comical as her mind struggled to imagine what Shido could have done to make Ryuen's boss send people after a single guy on his first day.
"Ah, about that… according to Ryuen, his boss—someone from my school and my class—saw me flirting with a girl he likes. Even though I don't remember actually flirting with anyone. I was just minding my own business. Maybe the girl he likes fell in love with me at first sight or something," Shido replied calmly, not noticing the strange look Sakura was giving him.
"You're telling me you flirted with a girl without realizing it… and pissed off Ryuen's boss, William, just by doing nothing? That's what you're saying?" she asked.
"I don't know if you'll believe me, but that's the truth. I didn't flirt with anyone. I was mostly focused on thinking about my fiancée… and eating the delicious bento she gave me," Shido answered once more, just as calmly.
Normally, people wouldn't casually mention having a fiancée to someone they might be trying to flirt with.
But Shido did it deliberately.
He didn't want to lie. From her personality and the way she spoke, he felt she preferred honesty.
And depending on how she reacted to the fact that he had a fiancée, he could turn the conversation in a more interesting direction.
He had seen that kind of approach used in some anime before, but it was used barely.
Sakura's expression froze.
Not the cute, flustered kind from before—this time it was a full stop, as if her thoughts had tripped over each other.
"Fiancée…?" she repeated.
The word came out quieter than she intended.
Inside her chest, the strange warmth from earlier wavered, then twisted into something she couldn't immediately name.
Shido watched her carefully.
There it is, he thought. That reaction.
Not anger. Not disappointment.
Confusion.
He tilted his head slightly. "Yeah. Is that… strange?"
Sakura opened her mouth, then closed it again.
She didn't even know what she wanted to ask first.
'You have a fiancée? Why are you telling me so casually? And why does that bother me?'
"…No," she finally said, forcing her voice back into something steady. "It's not strange. It just—"
She stopped herself.
Her fingers tightened slightly against her sleeve.
"For someone who just transferred in… you're living a pretty intense life."
Shido let out a small breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"You have no idea."
There was no pride in it.
If anything, it sounded tired.
That alone made Sakura look at him differently.
Up until now, he had felt like someone untouchable—strong, composed, overwhelming in battle.
But that one line carried weight.
The kind that didn't come from power.
"You really like her?" Sakura asked before she could stop herself.
The moment the question left her mouth, her eyes widened slightly.
'Why did I ask that?'
Shido blinked, clearly not expecting it.
Then his expression softened—not into a lovestruck smile, but into something calm and certain.
"Yeah," he said simply. "She's important to me."
There was no hesitation.
No embellishment.
Just a clean, honest answer.
For some reason, that made Sakura's chest tighten again.
But this time, she understood the feeling.
Not jealousy.
Not yet.
It was respect.
"…She must be amazing," Sakura muttered.
"She is," Shido replied immediately.
Then, after a brief pause, his tone shifted—lighter.
"But that doesn't mean I can't flirt with other beautiful girl. After all my fiance Dina did give me permission to have a harem."
Sakura looked up.
His gaze met hers directly.
Not teasing.
Not pushing.
Just open.
"I don't treat people as replacements," he continued. "If I find someone interesting, I want to know them. That's all."
The tension in Sakura's shoulders eased without her realizing it.
"…You're a weird guy," she said.
"I get that a lot."
Another small silence settled between them.
But this one wasn't awkward.
It was… comfortable.
The dust had long since settled around the battlefield. The unconscious bodies of the Iruka students were nothing more than distant background now—evidence of something that already felt finished.
Sakura shifted her stance slightly, studying him again.
Not as the monster who knocked out Ryuen in one move.
Not as the overwhelmingly strong transfer student.
But as a person.
"You know," she said slowly, "most guys in your position would have boasted. About your family. Your strength. Your fiancée."
Shido shrugged.
"Sounds exhausting."
That pulled a small, genuine laugh out of her.
The first one since the fight ended.
He watched it happen.
And for a brief moment, his usual lazy expression returned.
"…So," Sakura said, regaining a bit of her earlier energy, "you came in on your first day, got targeted by Iruka High, knocked out their second-in-command, declared war on their boss, and now you're standing here like it's just another afternoon."
"When you say it like that, it does sound a little busy," Shido admitted.
"A little?"
They shared a brief look.
Then Sakura's eyes sharpened slightly—not in hostility, but in focus.
"The way you fight…" she said quietly, almost to herself.
Shido didn't interrupt.
"You weren't relying on raw power. You were reading everything. Distance. Timing. Breathing. Even Ryuen's rhythm."
Her gaze locked onto him.
"You've fought people stronger than him before."
It wasn't a question.
Shido gave a vague, noncommittal hum.
Which, to Sakura, was as good as an answer.
That certainty from earlier returned to her mind—
'The way he moves… He knows.'
Her fingers curled slightly at her side.
'Maybe… Just maybe… He's the one who could help me.'
Her eyes stayed on him.
Not as an opponent.
Not as the overwhelming transfer student.
But as a possibility.