Kushida Kikyo

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Kushida Kikyo (櫛田桔梗)
Alias(es)	Kikyo
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Advanced Nurturing High School; Class D
Occupation/Role	Student
First Appearance	Chapter 5

Background / History

Kushida entered Advanced Nurturing High School presenting herself as someone determined to befriend every member of her class. She actively collected classmates’ contact information and maintained a busy social life built around accompanying friends and meeting others. 5 19

Before enrolling, she expected the school to offer a fresh start. That expectation was shattered when she found Horikita Suzune not only attending the same school, but assigned to the same class. Their shared past is not explained, though Kushida fears Horikita may know damaging information about her. 40

Appearance

Kushida is described as a beautiful, approachable-looking girl with a sweet voice and a carefully maintained friendly expression. 19 38

• Neatly trimmed bangs. 28
• Bright, expressive eyes that she uses to appear innocent or pleading. 14 30
• Often smiles warmly in public, even when privately irritated. 19 30

Personality

Kushida’s public persona is cheerful, considerate, and highly sociable. She remembers classmates’ names, offers help readily, and insists that she wants to be friends with everyone. Her popularity is second only to Hirata Yosuke’s in Class D. 5 19 30 38

Privately, she is calculating, jealous, and deeply invested in attention from others. She resents people who draw attention away from her, particularly Rias, and grows angry over Horikita gaining companions despite refusing her friendship. 19 30

Her friendliness can be performative. She strategically uses physical closeness, pleading expressions, and carefully controlled tears to influence others or portray herself as the injured party. When Shi Cheng discovers her private outburst, she responds with threats and violence rather than maintaining her public facade. 6 9 16 40

Abilities & Skills

Social Networking and Popularity

Kushida is exceptionally effective at making connections and sustaining a broad social circle.

• Approached classmates directly to exchange contact information and establish friendships. 5
• Remembers every classmate’s name, including Ayanokoji Kiyotaka despite rarely interacting with him. 30
• Her popularity and charm help her obtain cooperation from others, including upperclassmen during the exam-paper transaction. 30
• She was trusted by many classmates when she distributed purported past exam questions. 38

Emotional Manipulation

Kushida can present herself as sincere, vulnerable, or concerned when it serves her immediate goal.

• Uses hand-holding, pleading looks, and affectionate familiarity when asking Shi Cheng to help her approach Horikita. 6 14
• Controls tears without letting them fall while framing herself as hurt by Horikita’s rejection. 16
• Offered assistance to Horikita when she was exhausted, though Shi Cheng perceived an unsettling undertone in her smile. 28
• Defused Class D’s growing suspicion by urging everyone to trust one another. 42

Physical Ability

Kushida is flexible and capable of sudden aggression, though she is outmatched by Shi Cheng.

• Attempted a high kick aimed at Shi Cheng’s head after threatening him into silence. 40
• Her flexibility allowed her to perform a split-like position when Shi Cheng restrained her ankle. 40
• Was unable to overcome Shi Cheng once he reacted to her attack. 40

Relationships

• Shi Cheng — Initially recruits him to arrange meetings with Horikita and later uses closeness with him to provoke Horikita. He sees through her public persona, witnesses her private outburst, and forces a confrontation over her past and hostility toward Horikita. 6 14 39 40
• Horikita Suzune — A former acquaintance and the object of Kushida’s persistent, unwanted friendship campaign. Horikita repeatedly rejects her, while Kushida’s fixation is tied to their undisclosed past. 7 16 28 40
• Rias — A friend who wants Kushida to become her best friend. Kushida dislikes being overshadowed by Rias’ attention-drawing presence and rejects the idea of belonging exclusively to one person. 19
• Ayanokoji Kiyotaka — Assisted him in obtaining past exam questions from upperclassmen for Sudo and the others. She suspected that Horikita was the real strategist behind his plan. 30
• Sudo Ken, Yamauchi Haruki, and Ike Kanji — Publicly treats them as classmates, but privately resents Yamauchi and Ike for their insensitive conversations about girls. 30
• Kato Megumi — Their interaction is strained when Kushida’s apology to Shi Cheng appears insincere to Kato. 9

Story Role / Major Arcs

Pursuit of Horikita Suzune

Kushida asks Shi Cheng to arrange a meeting with Horikita, claiming that she wants to be friends with the entire class. She persists after Horikita’s direct rejections, declaring that she will not give up and repeatedly presenting her concern as worry over Horikita being alone. 6 7 15

She later tries to use Shi Cheng’s apparent closeness with Horikita to provoke a jealous reaction. Horikita remains indifferent, leaving Kushida frustrated and eventually unable to maintain her pleasant expression after another rejection. 14 16

Class D Examination Support

Ayanokoji enlists Kushida’s help to obtain exam questions from upperclassmen. Despite privately disliking some of the students being helped, she accepts the task and later distributes the questions to Class D as material from a third-year student. 30 38

Exposure of Her Private Persona

After the midterms, Shi Cheng finds Kushida venting alone by the sea, revealing a side of herself entirely unlike her public image. When he confronts her, she threatens him, attacks him, and reacts violently to the possibility that Horikita may know her past. 39 40

Living-Expense Incident

When Horikita’s accusations cause Class D to suspect one another over the loss of monthly points, Kushida intervenes to reassure the class and discourage further distrust. 42

Notable Quotes

“I want to become friends with the whole class, but Horikita-san is unwilling.” 6

“I will not give up.” 7

“I can't just watch Horikita-san be all alone in class; that's not right.” 19

“If you dare tell anyone, don't blame me for being ruthless.” 40

Trivia

• Kushida asks Shi Cheng to call her “Kikyo” rather than using the more distant “Kushida-san.” 14
• She considers being everyone’s friend a personal principle and rejects Rias’ invitation to become exclusive best friends. 19
• Although she claims to enjoy helping others, she has little patience for classmates whose behavior she finds disrespectful. 30