Kushida

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Kushida Kikyo (櫛田)
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Class D
Occupation/Role	Student; Class D social hub, informant, and covert operative
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background & History

Kushida entered the school as an outgoing Class D student with short orange hair and an infectious smile. From the beginning, she made active efforts to speak with nearby students and integrate people into groups, though Fūki Ran noticed a scrutinizing quality behind her flawless expression 1 3.

Before enrolling, Kushida attempted to maintain harmony in her middle-school class by remembering classmates’ preferences, helping them, and trying to befriend everyone. When some classmates branded her friendliness hypocritical, she began secretly gathering their private information. She anonymously exposed several students’ secrets, triggering suspicion throughout the class; five students ultimately transferred, and the class disintegrated. Kushida later transferred schools herself 44.

The experience left her dependent on a perfect public image and a private collection of classmates’ secrets for self-protection. She continued this practice in Class D, recording its students’ secrets in a hardcover notebook 44.

Fūki discovered her hostile private nature in a surveillance blind spot behind the old school building. Fearing exposure, Kushida accepted a secret “contract” with him: she could reveal her unfiltered feelings only to him, while he gained leverage over her 11. She subsequently began visiting Dorm 129 in secret, where she vented her resentment, delivered intelligence, and gradually became dependent on Fūki’s acceptance and approval 13 14.

Appearance

Kushida is a girl with short orange hair and a consistently bright, carefully maintained smile 1.

• Her public expression is described as radiant, flawless, and socially inviting 1 3.
• Under stress, exhaustion, irritability, fear, and panic become visible behind the smile 11 12.
• During secret visits to Dorm 129, she sometimes wears inconspicuous dark clothing rather than her school uniform 12.
• After beginning to confront her past, her smile becomes less forced and more genuinely warm 45.

Personality

Public Persona

Kushida presents herself as a helpful, cheerful classmate who works to connect Class D. She participates in class activities, shares recipes during the class’s point shortage, helps manage the public fund, and supports efforts to preserve morale 2 7 17.

Her social awareness is unusually sharp. She understands classmates’ personalities, social circles, anxieties, and likely reactions, allowing her to navigate conversations naturally and influence opinion without openly appearing manipulative 16 42.

Private Self

Privately, Kushida is bitter, contemptuous, and exhausted by the pressure of making everyone like her. Her resentment toward classmates contrasts sharply with her “angel” facade, and maintaining both sides of herself leaves her frightened of exposure and of losing her identity 11 13 43.

Her relationship with Fūki gradually reveals a more complicated side: alongside venomous venting, she shows ordinary interests, curiosity, insecurity, and a need for validation. She becomes increasingly aware that her pursuit of approval and control may not reflect what she truly wants 14 15 18.

Growth

After working against Ryūen’s schemes, Kushida begins acting from genuine concern for Class D rather than simple self-protection. She eventually confesses her middle-school actions and secret notebook to Fūki, considers changing, and starts maintaining healthier boundaries instead of compulsively pleasing every classmate 42 43 44 45.

Abilities & Skills

Social Influence

Kushida’s greatest strength is her ability to form connections and steer interpersonal dynamics.

• Integrates easily into student groups and maintains Class D’s surface-level harmony 3 21.
• Uses casual conversations rather than direct arguments to influence cautious students such as Yukimura 16.
• Can shape collective perceptions by spreading carefully calibrated concerns about Class C or the Special Exam 21.
• Understands how to respond naturally around classmates without revealing covert discussions 45.

Intelligence Gathering

Her social position gives her access to information that more isolated students would miss.

• Observes classmates’ conduct, conversations, emotional reactions, and social networks 17 23 24.
• Reported Karuizawa Kei’s financial strain, secretive behavior, and eventual disclosure of past bullying trauma 24 25 27.
• Overheard Yamauchi’s contact with Class C and provided information about plans to damage Class D’s reputation 41.
• Identified the rumor campaign against Hirata and traced its connection to Ishizaki and Class C 42.

Covert Manipulation

Under Fūki’s direction, Kushida turns her social skills toward covert operations.

• Helped pass support for the class public-fund proposal by privately appealing to students’ long-term interests 16.
• Spread rumors about Class C’s attention toward Class D to promote defensive cohesion 21.
• Circulated ambiguous “insider information” to create uncertainty and raise the perceived value of information 29.
• Planted false information with Ike as part of the group’s countermeasures against Ryūen 45.

Observational Analysis

Kushida can recognize subtle behavioral shifts and provide useful interpretations.

• Monitored Horikita’s routines and detected her emerging interest in group dynamics 18.
• Noted Horikita’s focus and confused expression during a dispute involving Hirata and Karuizawa, preserving visual evidence when safe 18.
• Accurately assessed which Class D students were most susceptible to rumors targeting Hirata 42.
• Her facade can falter when her private feelings conflict with her public performance; Fūki identified a 0.4-second hesitation while she praised Sudo 15.

Equipment / Items

• Notebook of secrets — A worn hardcover notebook containing information on Class D students’ private matters, maintained as leverage for self-protection 44.
• Phone — Used to discreetly photograph Horikita’s reactions while carrying out surveillance 18.
• Limited-edition cookies — Given voluntarily to Fūki during the early stage of her growing dependence on him 14.

Relationships

• Fūki Ran — Secret confidant, controller, and later emotional support. After discovering her true nature, he assigns her intelligence tasks and holds leverage over her; she gradually relies on Dorm 129 as the only place she can be unmasked 11 13 14. Their bond later becomes more trusting after she confesses her past and seeks to change 43 44 45.
• Horikita Suzune — Initially a source of irritation and envy for Kushida, whom she is assigned to observe 17 18. They later cooperate with Fūki against Ryūen, with Kushida providing intelligence that proves her reliability 41 45 46.
• Hirata Yousuke — Fellow organizer of Class D’s public fund and social harmony efforts 17. Kushida monitors rumors meant to discredit him and helps protect his standing within the class 42.
• Karuizawa Kei — Kushida gains Kei’s trust by offering concern during her financial crisis, learns of her bullying trauma, and directs her toward Fūki’s “help” 27 28.
• Sakura Eri — Kushida provides Fūki with observations about Sakura’s abnormal behavior and later uses her social network to help protect Sakura from Class C’s attention 30 47.
• Ryūen Kakeru — An external adversary whose schemes Kushida investigates and counters through information gathering, rumor control, and false intelligence 41 42 45 46.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Class D’s Social Center

Kushida establishes herself as one of Class D’s key social figures, helping classmates connect and maintaining morale during the class’s early resource shortages 2 7.

Exposure and the Contract

Fūki witnesses her true nature in the old garden, leaving Kushida terrified of exposure. Their resulting arrangement transforms her from a class socialite into his secret informant 11 12.

Dependence and Intelligence Work

Kushida repeatedly visits Dorm 129 to vent, report on classmates, and receive assignments. She influences the public-fund debate, observes Horikita, and becomes increasingly invested in the power of guiding people from the shadows 14 16 17 18.

Karuizawa Investigation

Fūki uses Kushida to investigate Karuizawa’s financial and emotional instability. Kushida gathers fragmented evidence, learns of Kei’s bullying trauma directly, and becomes the intermediary who introduces her to Fūki 23 24 25 27 28.

Resistance Against Ryūen

Kushida joins Fūki and Horikita’s covert alliance against Class C. Her information network exposes attempts to manipulate Class D through infiltrators, rumors, and threats against vulnerable students 41 42 45 46 47.

Confronting Her Past

Overwhelmed by the strain of her facade, Kushida confides in Fūki and admits that she destroyed her middle-school class by exposing secrets. Her decision to reconsider the notebook and stop forcing universal approval marks the beginning of her personal change 43 44 45.

Notable Quotes

“I... I destroyed a whole class.” 44

“Temporarily wearing a mask to protect something important doesn't mean you've lost yourself.” 43

Trivia

• Dorm 129 becomes Kushida’s recurring private refuge, where she can drop her public persona 13 14.
• She secretly compares her relationship-based survival strategy with Horikita’s self-reliant isolation, viewing them as opposing ways of living 18.
• Fūki describes Kushida’s public role as his “eyes and ears hidden among the crowd” and a key part of his information network 20.