Kikyo Kushida is a student in Class D at the Advanced Nurturing High School. She has short beige hair, gradient crimson eyes, an average height, and a well-endowed figure widely considered highly attractive. Her school uniform is red with gold linings and a dark red ribbon; her casual wear includes a light blue dress with a teal jacket. Her personality exhibits a stark duality. Publicly, she radiates bubbly charm and eagerness to help, striving to befriend everyone to achieve her ideal self. This persona is meticulously crafted, relying on detailed scripts for conversations to avoid revealing weaknesses. Privately, she harbors a rancorous, vindictive nature marked by narcissism, jealousy, and a compulsive need for praise. When thwarted, she unleashes temper tantrums, blackmail, and manipulation. She thrills at holding secrets, viewing them as tools for control and validation. Her ultimate goal is social dominance, seeing others primarily as stepping stones for her reputation. This duality stems from her middle school background. Craving constant attention and praise, she excelled academically and athletically. When her popularity waned, she retaliated by leaking classmates' deepest secrets online and verbally, shattering social bonds. This cemented her belief that trust is exploitable and reinforced her two-faced approach. Key relationships define her conflicts: * **Suzune Horikita**: Kushida obsessively targets Horikita, initially fearing Horikita knew her past. Her hatred stems from jealousy of Horikita's unapologetic authenticity, contrasting her own fabricated self. Despite repeated public attempts at friendship, she actively conspires with Class C to expel Horikita, viewing her as an obstacle to her ideal social life. * **Kiyotaka Ayanokoji**: Their relationship shifts from wary coexistence to intense hostility and later complex dependence. After Ayanokoji witnesses her violent outburst against Horikita, she blackmails him with fabricated evidence of sexual assault. She declares him her number one enemy for thwarting her expulsion schemes. However, after he saves her from physical assault by Ichika Amasawa, genuine fear of his abilities emerges, followed by an ambiguous romantic fixation shown through blushing and disoriented behavior. Her development follows a cycle of betrayal, exposure, and reluctant adaptation: * In Season 1, she engineers Class D's betrayal by leaking exam information to Class C's Ryuen in exchange for aid in expelling Horikita. * Later, Ayanokoji exposes her dual personality and history of betrayals to Class D. Enraged, she attempts to destroy the class by publicly revealing all entrusted secrets to entertain herself with their despair. Horikita intervenes to prevent her expulsion, arguing her social skills are vital for class advancement, leaving Kushida humiliated and temporarily reclusive. * Post-exposure, she contributes minimally to avoid debt to Horikita but gradually adopts a neutral stance. Following Ayanokoji's intervention against Ichika, her fear shifts toward reluctant reliance. By later events, she displays sporadic signs of change, including gratitude toward Ayanokoji and uneasy cooperation with Horikita during school festivals, though mutual resentment persists. Academically, she maintains average grades (e.g., B- intelligence, C+ decision-making), prioritizing social manipulation over studies. She demonstrates high cooperative skills (graded A) and acute social intelligence, leveraging her appearance and charm to manipulate others, such as coercing upperclassmen into providing test answers.