Horikita

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Horikita Suzune (堀北 鈴音)
Alias(es)	Suzune
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Class D, Advanced Nurturing High School
Occupation/Role	Student; Class D strategist and prospective leader
First Appearance	Chapter 3 (unnamed); formally named in Chapter 4 3 4

Background / History

Horikita enrolls in Class D at Advanced Nurturing High School. She leaves the class self-introductions early because she considers them inefficient, preferring only the minimum necessary social contact. Hoshino Akira later obtains her name during a tense first conversation in the shopping mall. 3 4

She is the younger sister of Student Council President Horikita Manabu. His name and reputation strongly affect her, though her feelings are rooted in admiration for the strength she sees in him rather than simple familial attachment. 9 64 99

Before enrollment, Horikita attended the same middle school as Kushida Kikyo. Kushida believes Horikita may know about the incident in which Kushida exposed her classmates' secrets, making Horikita the focus of Kushida's hostility. 63

Appearance

Horikita is a slim, graceful girl with a composed bearing and an aloof expression. Her beauty is repeatedly noted by classmates, but her cold demeanor keeps others at a distance. 3

• Long, lustrous jet-black hair falling down her back. 3
• A single three-strand braid behind her left ear. 3
• Fair, jade-like skin and thin, slightly upturned eyebrows. 3
• Deep, cold-looking eyes and tightly pressed cherry-colored lips. 3
• Often wears black stockings with her school uniform. 3

Personality

Horikita is independent, blunt, and highly intolerant of inefficiency. She initially rejects socializing for its own sake, dislikes noisy places, and has little patience for classmates she considers incapable. Her sharp tongue and distant attitude leave her with few friends. 4 54

She is intensely ambitious, with her primary objective being advancement to Class A rather than popularity or formal leadership. Although she initially believes she can achieve this through individual effort, Class D's disorder gradually forces her to recognize the importance of cooperation and the abilities of classmates such as Hirata and Kushida. 62 91

Strength is central to Horikita's values. She respects people she considers superior, including her brother and, increasingly, Hoshino. Realizing the gap between her own abilities and Hoshino's causes both self-doubt and a determination to improve. 99 101 103

Abilities & Skills

Academic Ability

Horikita is among Class D's strongest students academically.

• Earned perfect scores in every subject except English during the midterms. 32
• Deliberately scored only 50 in English after realizing the passing line was tied to the class average, helping protect Sudo from failing. 32
• Quickly analyzes exam rules, class-point consequences, and other classes' strategies. 104 110

Athletic Ability and Martial Arts

Horikita has strong physical ability by ordinary standards and states that she has martial-arts training. 62 79

• Won the girls' swimming competition, earning the 5,000-point first-place reward. 11
• Joined Hoshino in capturing strongholds during the island special exam. 89 99
• Her endurance and speed remain substantially below Hoshino's, a weakness exposed during the exam. 99 101

Deduction and Strategic Thinking

Horikita can identify inconsistencies and reassess her assumptions when confronted with new information.

• Suspected Ibuki Mio of planting Kushida's underwear in Hoshino's bag, citing Ibuki's motive, access, and lack of knowledge of Hoshino's circumstances. 106
• Investigated the camps of Classes A, B, and C to understand their special-exam strategies rather than relying solely on her initial theory. 104
• Sought Hoshino out after the island exam to understand the full distribution of results and the deals behind them. 110

Relationships

• Hoshino Akira — Classmate, frequent collaborator, and someone Horikita increasingly recognizes as stronger than herself. He aids her during the island exam; she later accepts a personal debt of one million points for the medicine he acquired. 54 99 100 111
• Ayanokoji Kiyotaka — One of the few classmates able to converse with Horikita regularly. He urges her to engage with Class D rather than attempt to rise alone. 32 62
• Horikita Manabu — Her older brother and the Student Council President. Horikita is deeply affected by his judgment and views him as an embodiment of strength. 9 64 99
• Kushida Kikyo — Classmate and former middle-school peer. Kushida fears Horikita knows about her past and directs intense resentment toward her; Horikita gradually recognizes that Kushida's public kindness is not her full nature. 63 102
• Hirata Yosuke — Classmate whose social ability and concern for others contrast with Horikita's isolation. He looks after her when she returns to camp ill. 62 102
• Sudo Ken — A classmate Horikita helps academically; she intentionally lowers her English score to improve his chance of passing. 23 32

Story Role / Major Arcs

Early Class D

Horikita establishes herself as an isolated but capable Class D student, refusing the self-introduction ritual and dismissing casual class unity. Hoshino becomes one of the first classmates to persistently engage her, while Ayanokoji becomes another of her few conversational connections. 4 9 32

During the midterms, she demonstrates both academic skill and decisive judgment by lowering her own English score to protect Sudo from the class-average passing requirement. 32

Sudo Incident and Class C Negotiation

After Class D discusses Sudo's conflict with Class C, Horikita is persuaded to take part. She concludes that Class D lacks unity and resolves to improve the class through her own efforts, then insists on accompanying Hoshino and Hirata to negotiate with Ryuen. 61 62

She later identifies Hoshino as the hidden force behind resolving Sudo's situation and attempts to recruit him as her helper in reaching Class A. Hoshino refuses her framing of the partnership, leaving their goals unresolved. 79

Island Special Exam

Horikita works with Hoshino to capture strongholds and encounters Class A students during the examination. She begins treating Hoshino as a strategic source of information, apologizing for underestimating him and showing greater interest in class-level competition. 89 90

Trying to match Hoshino's pace worsens her condition until she develops a fever. Hoshino carries her to a cabin, obtains medicine, and informs Hirata after she collapses. The experience forces Horikita to confront her physical limits and her limited contribution to Class D's efforts. 99 100 101 102

After recovering, she broadens her approach by examining rival classes' strategies and exposes Ibuki as the likely source of the underwear incident meant to disrupt Class D. 104 106

Debt to Hoshino

Horikita learns that Hoshino personally acquired the medicine through an agreement involving Ryuen rather than using Class D's exam resources. She agrees to repay the resulting one-million-point debt, formalizing the obligation with a handshake. 110 111

Notable Quotes

“Because I want to.” — insisting on joining the negotiation with Class C 62

“I will repay it.” — accepting responsibility for Hoshino's one-million-point medical debt 111

Trivia

• Horikita dislikes cafés because she finds them noisy and inconvenient for conversation. 54
• She initially treats Hoshino's use of her given name, “Suzune,” as overly familiar. 101
• Her unconscious habit when thinking is tapping her chin with one finger. 90