Kushida Kikyou

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Kushida Kikyou (櫛田桔梗)
Alias(es)	“X”; “Anonymous” 212 278
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Class D; Student Council
Occupation/Role	Student; former vice class representative; Class D representative; Student Council vice president 25 44 599
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

Kikyou cultivated an “angelic” public persona from elementary school onward, gaining admiration through academics, athletics, and deliberate attentiveness toward others. Maintaining that image became increasingly difficult in middle school, where she privately recorded her resentment and negative feelings on a blog. 189 249

A classmate exposed the blog, destroying Kikyou’s reputation as the school’s popular “campus idol.” In retaliation, she publicly revealed her classmates’ secrets, contributing to the collapse of her class’s morale. She later transferred schools to escape the incident and the stigma attached to it. 189 190 249

At the start of her time in Class D, Kikyou immediately began building connections, exchanging contact information with most of the class and repeatedly attempting to befriend even students who openly rejected her, particularly Horikita Suzune. 12

Appearance

Kikyou is a fair-skinned girl with short light-brown hair, delicate and balanced features, and a distinctive dimple that appears when she smiles. Her carefully maintained, cheerful presentation makes her stand out easily among her classmates. 1

• Light-brown hair that brushes her shoulders. 1
• Curved smiling eyes and a small dimple. 1
• Usually wears a bright, gentle smile as part of her public image. 24
• Can adopt a noticeably colder expression and manner when alone or with people she trusts. 128 135

Personality

Kikyou is intensely social, image-conscious, and driven by a need to be liked. She treats rejection as a serious threat to the identity she has constructed, making her persistent in pursuing friendships and recognition even when others show clear disinterest. 12 19

Her public persona is warm, helpful, energetic, and emotionally perceptive. She can calm tense groups, make classmates feel heard, and use her popularity to mobilize people quickly. While much of this behavior is deliberate, her gentleness is not portrayed as entirely false; she is capable of real concern and commitment toward people she considers important. 25 158 213

In private, Kikyou is resentful, jealous, controlling, and highly suspicious of others’ motives. She relieves stress by cursing, kicking doors or railings, and writing down hostile thoughts. Her fixation on attention makes her especially hostile toward people whom she feels overshadow her, such as Horikita Suzune and Ichinose Honami. 23 24 105 135

Her relationship with Shimizu Akira gradually changes her priorities. Though initially willing to manipulate him for influence and information, she comes to trust him with her past, defend him from threats, and eventually place him above her own self-interest. 187 189 466

Abilities & Skills

Social Influence and Networking

Kikyou is among Class D’s most socially connected students. She quickly builds rapport, collects contacts, and uses a friendly demeanor to make herself central to class communication.

• Exchanged contact information with most of Class D shortly after enrollment. 12
• Uses her popularity to spread information and rally support. 23 25
• Secured 21 votes to become Class D’s representative. 44
• Was trusted by classmates from multiple groups during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam. 319
• Maintains close bonds with students such as Hasebe Haruka, who considers her a trusted confidante. 265 268

Persona Management and Deception

Kikyou can maintain an exceptionally convincing public identity even when angry, anxious, or plotting against someone.

• Rapidly restores her cheerful expression after private outbursts. 24
• Presents herself as a cooperative “angel” while concealing grudges and personal agendas. 53 135
• Uses emotional displays, favors, promises, and selective vulnerability to guide others’ choices. 35 38
• Her reputation is strong enough that Ryuen Kakeru’s attempt to expose her as “X” and “Anonymous” fails to gain traction. 278

Information Gathering and Leverage

Kikyou actively collects secrets, observes relationships, and looks for ways to turn information into influence.

• Probes Shimizu for information about Horikita and her relationship with the Student Council President. 66
• Used anonymous accounts during the VIP Exam and manipulated Yamauchi Haruki with a 200,000-point lure. 187 212
• Identified suspicious inconsistencies while questioning Sakura Airi, though her attempt to pressure Sakura exposed flaws in her own claim. 111
• Read Yagami Takuya’s false admiration through the disconnect between his words and body language. 397
• Recorded Yagami’s coercive attempt to recruit her against Shimizu and Ayanokouji. 466

Leadership and Class Management

Kikyou is effective at organizing people and representing Class D, though her decision-making can be shaped by her desire for approval and control.

• Served as a vice class representative alongside Hirata Yosuke. 25
• Won the subsequent election to become Class D’s representative. 44
• Proposed Horikita as leader during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam to reduce outside attention on Class D’s plans. 136
• Helped secure Class D’s second-place result and 120 Class Points during the Forest Exam. 319
• Later became a Student Council vice president and began pursuing the presidency with Kiriyama Ikuto’s support. 599

Limitations

• Her academic ability, athletic talent, and communication skills are useful, but Horikita considers her less capable than the class’s strongest strategic leaders in direct decision-making. 212 143
• Her need for recognition can make her jealous, impulsive, and vulnerable to manipulation through her reputation or past. 104 118 190
• She struggles to trust anyone besides Shimizu fully, even after being reassured that her past will remain private. 190 250

Equipment / Items

• Phone and contact network — her primary means of organizing classmates, gathering intelligence, and maintaining relationships. 12 23
• Anonymous accounts — used to contact Horikita and coordinate schemes during the VIP Exam. 187 212
• Private blog/diary — originally used to vent suppressed frustration; its exposure triggered her middle-school downfall. 189 190
• Recording devices — carries recording tools to protect herself and collect leverage, including a concealed voice recorder used against Yagami. 265 466

Relationships

• Shimizu Akira — boyfriend and the person Kikyou ultimately trusts most. Their relationship begins through mutual manipulation and bargaining, then develops into honesty, affection, and active protection of one another. 128 187 188 466
• Horikita Suzune — middle-school classmate, rival, and frequent target of Kikyou’s jealousy. Kikyou fears that Horikita may expose her past, yet the two sometimes cooperate for Class D and the Student Council. 190 212 320 323
• Hirata Yosuke — fellow vice class representative and Class D’s other major social leader. Hirata’s straightforward leadership contrasts with Kikyou’s more calculated approach. 25 53
• Hasebe Haruka — close friend and confidante who seeks Kikyou’s advice and believes strongly in her public image. 265 268
• Ichinose Honami — a social rival whom Kikyou resents for receiving attention and praise, though Kikyou also recognizes Ichinose’s influence. 128 135
• Yagami Takuya — adversary who attempts to blackmail Kikyou with knowledge of her past and recruit her against Shimizu. Kikyou counters by recording his threats. 466 473
• Kiriyama Ikuto — strategic ally recruited to assist Kikyou’s campaign for Student Council president. 599
• Shiina Hiyori — an associate who helped Kikyou develop plans connected to Student Council politics. 599

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Class D introduction and social consolidation — Kikyou establishes herself as one of Class D’s most popular students, collects contacts, and attempts to draw Horikita and Kouenji into her social network. 1 12
• Class representative election — she leverages her popularity, promises, and negotiations to win the representative position with 21 votes. 35 44
• Sudo Ken incident — Kikyou attempts to uncover evidence for Sudo’s defense, competes with Horikita for influence over the investigation, and cooperates with Shimizu for information. 111 112 120
• Uninhabited Island Special Exam — she accompanies Shimizu to gather intelligence, supports his survival role, proposes Horikita as leader, and helps organize resources around his abilities. 134 136 138
• VIP Exam and anonymous informant plot — Kikyou operates as “Anonymous,” manipulates Yamauchi and Class C, and is later identified by Horikita as the second Class D informant. Horikita chooses not to expel her because of her value to the class. 187 212
• Relationship with Shimizu — Kikyou confesses her past, becomes Shimizu’s girlfriend, and accepts his relationships with other girls despite recurring jealousy and rivalry. 188 214 384
• Conflict with Yagami — threatened with exposure, Kikyou refuses to betray Shimizu and turns Yagami’s coercion into evidence against him. 466 473
• Student Council ambition — after becoming vice president, she seeks to surpass Ichinose and Horikita by pursuing the Student Council presidency with Kiriyama’s assistance. 599

Notable Quotes

“You made a very big mistake.” 466

“Akira-kun... is the person I like most! Even I only come second.” 466

Trivia

• Kikyou’s early attempt to create incriminating fingerprint evidence against Shimizu failed because fingerprints cannot remain on ordinary uniform fabric for months. 265
• Horikita Manabu remembered Kikyou as a cheerful and popular junior from middle school, unlike Suzune, who initially failed to recognize her. 246 250
• Her interest in joining the Student Council began before she became a vice president. 320 322