Chapter 90 [Itsuka Shidou’s Backstory— I]

Itsuka Shidou's first memory of ever watching on tv was with his dad. He could clearly remember his dad, saying something along the lines of 'I named you after that guy. The character on the screen was your average teenager who was thrown into a fantasy that he didn't know existed. He was then tasked to talk to spirits of sorts with the help of a crew who tells him the most optimal words he could say while conversing with a certain spirit. By the end, the agreement would be sealed with a kiss, and then it's over.

At first, Shidou didn't get why something like that was happening. He even thought at one point that everything shown on the television was real. Well, one couldn't really blame him since he was still five years old at that time, barely awake to the reality of the world. Kudos to his father though, for letting him watch a series with a harem tag even though he was just five... and not only that, he even named him after the character.

"This is a certified classic. Hundreds of years ago this was a thing. Until now, there is a lot of series with this kind of plot." His father commented at one point while they were watching together.

And then it was time for him to go to school. Oh, how memorable his first self-introduction was in front of his classmates. As soon as he said his name, every single teacher burst out laughing. It was the first time something like that occurred in the classroom. Usually, it would be the students who'd burst out laughing, wheezing as if their lungs were about to explode. But this time, it's as if an Uno reverse card was pulled out from somewhere and it was the teachers who assumed the laughing. It felt like a walk of shame as Shidou walked back to his desk and sat, pulling his hoodie over his head so no one would see his embarrassment. He overheard one of his teachers say that his dad was a 'man of culture' for naming him something like that. Frankly, he didn't know what that meant, but he knew it is a negative more than a positive comment. They wouldn't have laughed if it wasn't the former.

When he got to elementary, he became much more popular because some of the students knew the series where he got his name. By this time, Shidou was starting to look like the main protagonist of that series and he owned it, even maintaining his body so he would stay having that image. He also didn't feel bad about his appearance at all.

Middle school was the time when his superpower first manifested, giving him yet another surprise in his life. He didn't know why his superpower was quite similar to the guy in the series but at this point, he wasn't complaining. He had known a lot of people his age who didn't awaken superpowers so having one was satisfactory.

He could still remember the time when his superpower activated. There was a beautiful girl in his class, a school crush or something like that since a lot of students liked her. Because of his name, Shidou didn't really pay attention to girls because they knew the weight of his name and they judged him before they could even get to know him. One day, that beautiful girl in his class didn't attend school and a lot of guys volunteered to bring the handouts to her but the teacher knew of their ulterior motives so she chose Shidou for the job. Shidou couldn't say no though since the teacher quickly left the class after assigning the task to him.

"Now that I think about it, this is the first time I'll be going to a girl's place. Should I bring something? Nah, I'll just drop it or give it to whoever opens the door. And then I'll take my leave. That's right, it's not like she'd involve herself with me after this." Shidou told himself. Unbeknownst to him, this was also the first time he'll be talking to a girl. He never wanted to associate himself with them mostly because of his name and their false perception of him. 'It was inevitable though, and I guess the time has come for me to talk to someone,'

As he thought about those things, he found himself right by the doorstep. To his surprise, the girl's house was actually bigger than he expected. He gulped, the gravity of the situation was dawning on him. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he brought his finger towards the doorbell. He couldn't believe it, somehow, his hands were freezing up before it could even press the doorbell. 'Was it always this hard to press a doorbell?' He asked himself in bewilderment.

But then again, he realized that this was the first time he'll ever converse with a girl, and that thought made his mind implode— or at least, that' what he felt.

Ting!

Nevertheless, he managed to press the doorbell after standing there for ten whole minutes. He sighed in relief after he heard the ringing resounded throughout the house. But son after, anxiousness filled him once again after he realized that he'll finally talk to her. 'As soon as that door open—'

Squeak.

Since it was a wooden door, a large wooden door with intricate carvings, the squeaking as it opened made Shidou jump. He almost ran away after getting the urge to get away from the place. And then, time seemed to have stopped as the girl peeked from the door and walked towards him. "Ah, Shidou-san, right? Do you need anything?"

"Oh wait, sorry I called you by your first name, I got used to it since the girls talked a lot about you. Sorry," She flinched. Upon seeing what Shidou was holding though, she then remembered that their homeroom teacher messaged her about the handouts. "And sorry for the trouble," She continued.

"It's fine, Suzy... san?" Shidou scratched his head as he gave the handouts to her. He joked about calling her by her first name since she called her by his first name first. But upon saying that, Shidou felt like something clicked in his mind.

Suddenly, Suzy's expression changed and her face reddened. As their hands touched when she got the handouts from him, she flinched, but she wasn't grossed out by it. A coquettish smile formed on her face as she turned around. "T-then... see you tomorrow, Shidou," She said, removing the honorifics altogether before running back to her house and slamming the doo behind her.

"What was that about?" Shidou once again scratched his head, wondering if he did something wrong that made her act like that.

He didn't sleep a wink that night.

.....

Unbeknownst to Shidou, he was actually the most respected out of all the guys in their class. He seemed like the timid type but he never complained whenever the teacher tells him to do something. He's also proactive in helping other students carry stuff (which he does so that no one would bully him). He never would've thought that such a simple gesture to keep himself safe made him actually look better than usual. Even the girls in his class respected him and because of his good looks (ignoring his name), there were quite a number of girls who are interested in him. But what they didn't know was that all of those had to do with his constitution and the passive effects of his superpower. Why? Because this has never happened on the past years.

The next day, Suzy came up to his desk and thanked him personally, calling him by his first name once again without the honorifics (in present Japan, this gesture meant that you two are close enough to be friends) and this rocked the entire classroom. Even the girls who couldn't approach Shidou back then started scheming since they didn't want Suzy to claim him. It was your typical school romcom and before Shidou knew it, he was swept right in the middle of that storm.

"Hey, did something happen between you two yesterday?" One guy asked.

"Did you confess to her?"

"No way,"

"Did she just call him by his first name?"

In an instant, Shidou became a huge topic in the school, and not only that.

Before the end of the day, at least a dozen girls asked her out and since it was the first time for him, he didn't know how to respond to them. One of those girls was Suzy, who didn't really imply that she likes him, but she gave him a bento for lunch.

That was the first-ever case of Shidou's superpower running amok. But now, he manages to control its effect by staying silent, or by not letting his emotions get the better of him. Sometimes though, he panics, and that panic will instantly activate the full extent of his superpowers—

— just like what happened during the first round of the Inter-High Tournament.