Karuizawa

Biodata

Appearance

• Hair: Long and blond, usually worn in a high ponytail 23 39.
• Accessories: Receives a blue hair clip from Lezheng and later carries his blue Mizuhiki charm on her bag 23 43.

Personality

Karuizawa can be defensive and blunt, but her bravado falters under pressure. When confronted for knocking Morofushi Rika down, she gives a cursory apology and leaves; during Manabe’s later assault, she cries in terror and clings to Lezheng after his intervention. Fear of another attack prompts her to seek an explicit protection agreement 15 20 21.

Her admiration for Lezheng becomes strong enough to skew her judgment: when Matsushita independently suggests the same voting strategy he recommended, Karuizawa is surprised that her friend could match his idea. Around Lezheng himself, she gradually changes from nervous and hesitant to teasing, coy, and openly competitive for his attention 37 43 48.

She also stands up for friends despite her attraction to him. During the Command Tower Exam, she objects when Horikita appears to dismiss Matsushita’s chances against Lezheng 41.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Cruise Ship Conflict and Protection Agreement

Karuizawa first appears at the cruise ship’s cake shop, where Manabe Shiho confronts her for knocking Morofushi Rika down. She claims not to have seen Rika, offers an unconvincing apology, and leaves. During the subsequent deserted-island exam, Lezheng sees her crying amid a dispute between Class D’s boys and girls over a missing item 15 18.

Back aboard the ship, Manabe’s group tricks Hirata into bringing Karuizawa to the deck and leaving her alone. Manabe and Yamashita restrain her while pressuring Rika to slap her. Lezheng intervenes through his Student Council authority, records the participants’ accounts, and identifies Karuizawa as both a victim of the assault and a perpetrator in the original incident 20.

After making her apologize properly to Rika, Lezheng hears Karuizawa’s request that he become her fake boyfriend to protect her. He rejects that arrangement but offers protection in exchange for Private Points or information about Class D. They record their agreement and adopt a cover story that she is his younger cousin. He instructs her not to volunteer the claim, but to reveal it reluctantly if questioned 21.

VIP Exam and Growing Attachment

Assigned as the Rabbit Group’s VIP, Karuizawa sends Lezheng a screenshot of her notification email at 8:01. Her identity helps him verify the gojuon-order pattern behind the VIP selections. He rewards her with 250,000 Private Points for the information 22.

After returning from the cruise, Karuizawa and Hirata publicly announce an amicable breakup. She wants to tell her friends about her connection with Lezheng but initially stays silent for fear of losing his protection. By the mixed training camp, her concern is whether he would allow her to give him Valentine’s chocolates 25 32.

Valentine’s Day and the Voting Exam

Karuizawa turns down a shopping invitation to deliver handmade chocolates to Lezheng’s room. Although dissatisfied with their appearance and taste, she chooses them over buying a replacement. During the visit, she reports tensions between Hirata and Horikita, the girls’ hostility toward Horikita, and Nagumo’s approaches to Class D students 35.

Her information also informs Lezheng’s assessment of Yamauchi and Ike before the voting exam. When she asks how to vote, he recommends that her group exchange praise votes and coordinate criticism votes with those around them. She later supports giving the group’s out-of-class praise votes to Ichinose, despite initially objecting to that suggestion in private 36 37.

Public Cousin Story

Karuizawa and Lezheng stage the disclosure of their supposed family relationship. She displays the blue Mizuhiki charm he made during the Command Tower Exam, allowing Matsushita to recognize it and question her. After presenting him as her older cousin, she invites him to meet Matsushita, Sato, and Mori Nene at a dessert shop 43.

The outing is planned, but her affection is not entirely scripted: she orders banana cake because she remembers that Lezheng likes the flavor and offers him a taste. Manabe sees them together and is relieved that she did not resume bullying Karuizawa 43.

Kushida then approaches their table and hears the same family cover story, phrased as Lezheng being Karuizawa’s older brother. Karuizawa dismisses her and warns Lezheng that she does not trust her. News of their supposed relationship spreads through Class D and reaches Nagumo 44.

Second-Year Exams and Romantic Rivalry

During the Joint Written Exam, Karuizawa and her three friends secure first-year partners with academic ratings of C+ or higher. The partners agree because of the girls’ connection to Lezheng, reinforcing the apparent credibility of the cousin story 45.

Later, Karuizawa uses homework questions as a reason to spend time with Lezheng and brings him a lunch she has specially learned to make. Finding two other lunch boxes in his bag makes her worry about competition. When Ichinose receives hands-on Mizuhiki instruction while leaning against him, Karuizawa asks him to teach her in the same way 48.

Abilities & Skills

Information Gathering

Karuizawa supplies Lezheng with information drawn from her position within Class D 21 35.

• Shares her own VIP notification, helping him confirm the exam’s selection pattern 22.
• Reports classmates’ disputes and Nagumo’s offers to exchange assistance for personal secrets 35.
• Provides assessments of Yamauchi and Ike that Lezheng uses when planning for the voting exam 36.

Cooking

Karuizawa’s cooking is initially poor, but she makes food herself to express her affection 35 48.

• Makes Valentine’s chocolates despite judging both their appearance and flavor unsatisfactory 35.
• Later learns to prepare a lunch for Lezheng, though she remains unsure whether it will suit his tastes 48.

Relationships

• Lezheng Youyan — Protector and information-trading partner, later the object of her romantic affection. Their cousin relationship is a cover story, not an actual family connection; no mutual dating agreement is established in the documented events 21 43 48.
• Hirata — Former boyfriend. They announce an amicable breakup after the cruise 32.
• Matsushita Chiaki — Close friend who notices changes in Karuizawa’s behavior after the cruise and recognizes Lezheng’s charm on her bag 32 43.
• Maya Sato, Shinohara, and Mori Nene — Friends within her Class D social circle. Sato and Mori join the dessert-shop meeting with Lezheng; Shinohara mistakenly suspects Karuizawa has reunited with Hirata on Valentine’s Day 35 43.
• Manabe Shiho — Organizes the assault against her. Lezheng’s intervention and later public association with Karuizawa deter further harassment 20 43.
• Morofushi Rika — The girl Karuizawa knocks down at the cake shop. Rika is subsequently pressured into slapping her, and Karuizawa later apologizes properly 15 20 21.
• Kushida Kikyo — Classmate whom Karuizawa openly distrusts. Kushida privately resents her after learning the supposed family connection to Lezheng 44.
• Ichinose Honami — Rival for Lezheng’s attention. Karuizawa becomes visibly irritated by Ichinose’s physical closeness to him during their Mizuhiki lesson 48.

Items

• Blue hair clip — Given by Lezheng after Karuizawa buys him a soda 23.
• Mizuhiki charms — Owns a yellow knot from Matsushita and displays Lezheng’s blue competition knot on her bag during the staged relationship reveal 43.
• Valentine’s return gifts — Receives candy, a plush toy, a hair ribbon, and a hair tie from Lezheng. He chooses both hair accessories because he knows she favors a high ponytail but does not know which type she prefers 39.

Trivia

• She normally prefers matcha-flavored cake; choosing banana during the dessert outing is a deliberate gesture toward Lezheng’s tastes 43.
• By Valentine’s Day, she has not yet spent all of the Private Points Lezheng awarded her after the VIP Exam 35.