Kushida

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Kushida Kikyou (櫛田 桔梗)
Alias(es)	“Little Angel”; “social queen”
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Class D
Occupation/Role	Student; Class D representative for the Sports Festival; Sports Festival commander 171 184
First Appearance	Chapter 10

Background / History

Kushida attended the same middle school as Horikita Suzune. There, the pressure of maintaining friendships, receiving confidences, and holding other students’ secrets led her to vent on a blog. When the blog and its contents were exposed, her class collapsed amid the fallout. She entered her new school seeking a fresh start, making Horikita—who knew her from middle school—an immediate threat in Kushida’s eyes. 10 11 161

Early in her first term, Kushida tries to befriend Horikita as a means of containing the risk that her past may be exposed. Horikita repeatedly resists these overtures, while Kushida also begins approaching Nakano Yuu to determine whether Horikita has told him her secrets. 10 11 15

A voice identifying itself as Amasawa Ichika appears in Kushida’s mind. Amasawa claims to be a future White Room student attached to Kushida’s body and predicts Kushida’s eventual expulsion. Kushida initially assumes the voice is a split personality caused by stress, but Amasawa demonstrates knowledge and academic ability beyond Kushida’s own. 20 21 22

With Amasawa’s guidance, Kushida begins presenting much stronger academic results than her entrance scores would suggest. She uses advance exam papers and her social influence to position herself as the person helping Class D survive the midterms, though the claimed source of the papers is fabricated. 47 64 65

Nakano uncovers the discrepancy between Kushida’s actual entrance scores and her later near-perfect results. After recording her railing-side outburst against Horikita, he uses the evidence and his knowledge of Amasawa to pressure Kushida into cooperation. 73 74

During the island and VIP-related exams, Kushida becomes an information-gatherer and operative around Nakano’s plans. She later takes a more public leadership role as Class D’s Sports Festival representative and commander. 113 135 171 184

Appearance

Kushida is consistently perceived as a cute, attractive girl with an angelic public image. Her blonde hair is specifically noted during the Sports Festival period. 10 92 183

• Presents herself with a gentle smile and deliberately cute mannerisms. 10 58
• Maintains an immaculate, approachable “little angel” image around classmates. 10 11
• Her outward sweetness sharply contrasts with her cold, irritable private demeanor. 19 73

Personality

Kushida wants to be trusted, needed, and liked by everyone. She treats friendship as both validation and a source of information, cultivating a broad network of classmates and students from other classes who confide secrets to her. 16 71 161

Her friendliness can be genuinely useful: she readily assists others, can comfort distressed students, and is highly responsive to classmates’ needs. However, her desire to remain “everyone’s Kushida” is exhausting, especially when different friends confide mutually hostile secrets to her. 71 113 160 161

Privately, Kushida is jealous, resentful, and highly competitive—especially toward Horikita. She fears being surpassed, excluded from recognition, or made irrelevant, which drives her to sabotage or manipulate situations that could elevate Horikita’s standing. 57 67 73 189

Despite her calculating side, Kushida is perceptive enough to recognize complex social and emotional dynamics. She can also be direct when her patience is exhausted, particularly in discussions involving Nakano’s schemes or potential threats to her classmates. 114 161

Abilities & Skills

Social Networking

Kushida possesses exceptional social ability and can rapidly establish rapport across classes.

• Is regarded as one of the most popular girls in Class D and treats even unpopular students warmly. 10 15
• Builds trust with both boys and girls, encouraging them to share personal secrets. 16 71
• Quickly mobilizes classmates for class projects, including the distribution of study materials. 64
• Received private messages from twelve students before Sports Festival physical testing even began. 176

Information Gathering

Kushida’s social network and observation make her an effective intelligence source.

• Tracks Nakano’s location through their phone connection and repeatedly checks his movements. 15 58
• Collects information from students in multiple classes, including how other classes prepare for examinations. 48
• Memorizes phone numbers after seeing them once when she considers the contact useful. 186
• Identified details suggesting that Ibuki had buried an item for communication with Ryuen’s group. 114
• Provided Nakano with information on Class C athlete Kinoshita before the Sports Festival. 194

Deception and Performance

Kushida is highly skilled at maintaining a convincing public persona.

• Conceals irritation and distress behind a sweet smile, even while communicating internally with Amasawa. 11 22
• Fabricated a story that she had obtained exam papers from third-year students, earning Class D’s gratitude. 65
• Can convincingly perform panic or innocence when it serves a strategy. 144
• Her acting is skilled enough that classmates such as Karuizawa do not recognize the gap between her public and private selves. 202

Academic Support Through Amasawa

Amasawa’s presence gives Kushida access to assistance beyond her documented entrance-level performance.

• Kushida’s recorded entrance scores were Math 84, Physics 79, Chemistry 83, Biology 76, and English 80. 64 74
• Amasawa can solve advanced problems Kushida has not studied and provide guidance during academic work. 21 22
• Kushida later displays scores in the 95–100 range, creating suspicion because they sharply exceed her prior results. 47 74
• Amasawa does not physically take over Kushida; Kushida remains in control of her body. 60 146

Observation and Athletic Improvement

Kushida notices subtle behavioral details and improves physically with Amasawa’s training guidance.

• Detected suspicious movement patterns by Kinoshita and Yajima during Horikita’s race. 199
• Her athletic ability rises to roughly Horikita’s level after apparent professional guidance and training. 194
• Is considered physically capable enough to substitute in events, though her scheduled races require stamina management. 202

Relationships

• Horikita Suzune — Former middle-school acquaintance and Kushida’s primary source of resentment; Kushida initially tries to befriend her to control the risk posed by her knowledge of Kushida’s past. 10 11 171
• Nakano Yuu — A tense, transactional connection built on mutual suspicion, leverage, and repeated cooperation. Nakano knows Kushida’s hidden nature and Amasawa’s existence, while Kushida recognizes his ability to exploit her weaknesses. 58 74 80
• Amasawa Ichika — A consciousness attached to Kushida that claims to come from two years in the future. Amasawa provides academic and strategic guidance but criticizes Kushida’s need for social validation. 20 21 170
• Wang Meiyu — Kushida’s close friend and frequent conversational partner; Wang assists Kushida in distributing exam papers to Class D. 22 64
• Karuizawa Kei — Assisted Kushida with the Class D exam-paper distribution; later recognizes Kushida as someone unlikely to refuse requests. 64 202
• Ibuki Mio — Kushida approaches the injured Ibuki with apparent concern, using empathy and questions to gather information about Ryuen’s group. 113
• Ichinose Honami — Has a good relationship with Kushida despite belonging to another class; Kushida also views Ichinose as a superior rival in popularity and appeal. 104 161

Story Role / Major Arcs

Fresh Start and Horikita Conflict

Kushida enters Class D determined to rebuild her life after middle school. Her efforts to control Horikita through friendship fail, intensifying her fear that her past will be revealed. 10 11

Amasawa’s Arrival

Amasawa’s voice destabilizes Kushida’s sense of identity while offering an avenue to academic excellence. Kushida accepts limited assistance, partly because it could allow her to surpass Horikita and preserve her reputation. 20 21 22

Midterm Exam Scheme

Driven by jealousy over the prospect of Horikita receiving Class D’s gratitude, Kushida pursues exam papers and distributes them as though she obtained them through her own connections. 57 64 65

Exposure and Coerced Cooperation

Nakano reveals Kushida’s inconsistent grades and records her private outburst against Horikita. With her façade threatened, Kushida is forced into an uneasy cooperative relationship with him while withholding details about Amasawa. 73 74 75

Island and VIP Examinations

Kushida helps investigate Ibuki, gathers intelligence, and becomes involved in Nakano’s VIP strategy. Her emotional state remains volatile whenever she believes she is being used, sidelined, or compared unfavorably with Horikita. 113 135 146

Sports Festival Leadership

Kushida represents Class D in negotiations and becomes its Sports Festival commander. Her speed at contacting students makes her essential to gathering participants’ intentions and managing point-based arrangements. 171 176 184

Notable Quotes

“I hope to become friends with everyone and have wonderful high school memories.” 71

“Everyone treats me as a friend and tells me their secrets. It makes me feel trusted and needed. It’s very fulfilling.” 161

“I don’t like Horikita, and I don’t want to see her become popular.” 57

Trivia

• Kushida’s documented entrance scores are consistently in the 70s and 80s, despite her later top-student performance. 64 74
• She prefers showering in the morning rather than at night. 19
• Her popularity is described as second only to Ichinose among the girls referenced in the early Class D narrative. 10
• Kushida’s ability to maintain simultaneous conversations is strong enough for her to socialize normally while internally speaking with Amasawa. 22