Kiyotaka Ayanokōji/Relationships

Though Kiyotaka has trouble making friends, he has managed to gain some associations with some of his fellow classmates. These are the known relationships of Kiyotaka Ayanokōji who have truly interacted with him thus far.

Suzune Horikita
Suzune is the first person that Kiyotaka interacts with when entering the school. He first caught notice of her when they were on the bus after the witnessed Kikyō Kushida trying to persuade Rokusuke Kōenji to move from his seat to no avail.

They formally meet when she inquires as to why he was looking at her as he stated he saw a similarity between them in the bus incident. She tells him not to compare them as she choose not to involve herself in such trivial manner as he notes she is worse than him. They are later shocked to learned they are classmates which Suzune states was a bad coincidence after they seated next to each other.

After a few days in class, they appear to get along since they are both loners who barely associate with their classmates. It was noted by Kushida that Kiyotaka is the only one in the class that Suzune interacts with. Indeed, they appear quite close as when he notices her about to be assaulted by her brother Manabu Horikita, he quickly intervenes. When she cries out to him to stop, he notes on the sincerity in her voice which he never saw in her while she watches in awe at him nimbly avoiding her brother's attack. After her brother hints that Kiyotaka is more than he appears to be, she herself begins to inquire about him only to receive vague answers. Later on, Suzune once asked him about his spending time with Kushida with a hint of jealously in her voice to his confusion.

In Episode 6, he helps her in the case with Sudō by putting Sudō's accusers in a losing situation which would forced them to withdraw their complaint. Later, Suzune walks with him in the rain and decides to ask about his past once again and tells him if he truly wants to help her reach Class A he'd have to be honest.

He tells her he is just looking out for a friend but she disregards this pushing him to reveal his history which causes him to briefly reflect on his life. He sternly tells her that he will help her reach her goal but tells her to not inquire about his history, marking the first time he ever serious with her.

Kikyō Kushida
She was one of the first people in his class to initially interact with and befriend him. His first impression of Kikyō is of her being a bubbly sweet girl who will be extremely popular in the class. He gets along very well with having no problem in playing part in her attempts to befriend Suzune.

He was surprised to see her violent personality wondering if that's who she really was. Kikyō threatened him with the false accusation of sexual harassment by putting his hand on her breast. She told him not to tell the tell their class about her secret which he promised to not expose as she went back to her bubbly self causing him to wonder which was her real self.

In Episode 4, he is shown to be a little uneasy about her as he was surprised to see her with Suzune and has a little problem in talking with her. When Honami Ichinose inquired if they were together, Kushida stated they were not as he told himself that's probably what she thinks of him.

In Episode 5, it is shown that while he is still able to hang out with her, he still has his doubts about her due to noting of Sakura's uneasiness about her wondering if it was due to noticing Kushida is hiding something. His close association with Kushida was questioned by Suzune, she inquired as to why he is hesitant in doing a request for her but all willing with Kushida to which he can't answer.

Airi Sakura
They are classmates but he doesn't take notice of her until Episode 4 where he notices that she was the only person who didn't agree to help Kikyō Kushida out. They officially meet when he and Kushida go to talk to her for help but she doesn't want to get involve and runs off but breaks her camera. In Episode 5, she requests that he and Kushida accompany her to get the camera fixed though he did asked why heeded to come before realizing her shy personality was something the store clerk took advantage of. He helps her by telling the clerk to send him the notice for the camera as she looks on in shock but thanks him for his actions.

Afterwards while Kushida was away, she asks him what she should do about Sudō as he told it was up to her. He then asks why she wanted advice from him as she replied it was because he was scary as he was confused by it and told her that decision she makes shouldn't have to burden her. She blushes at his words and becomes flustered when Kushida returns. Because of his words, she decides to help him in his case to save Sudō from expulsion and goes to the hearing.

After the hearing, she apologizes for not working up the nerve to help out sooner but he tells her not worry. When Manabu hints that side could lying in the case, Sakura gets intimidated for a while but Kiyotaka quickly intervenes by saying he believes Sakura's word, to her relief. She seemed worried about him after Manabu tried to attack him though he avoided it.

In Episode 6, he talks with her and tells her to be at ease since she was a big help as she tries to ask him something but he had to leave for something promising to hear it later. Sakura soon made an urgent call to him, he seemed confused by the sound in her voice and attempted to call back when she suddenly hung up. When the store clerk (who previously made advances on her) attempts to force himself on her, Kiyotaka came to her aid by threatening the man with incriminating evidence. After the man is taken away by Ichinose and security, Kiyotaka expressed relief they exchange contact information which allowed him to find her quicker. He helped her up and comforted her by saying the incident was not her fault and tells her to enjoy her status of being an idol.

Ken Sudō
In Episode 2, he takes notice of Sudō when he facing Kakeru and his men before Honami Ichinose broke it up. He invited him to Suzune's study group but the latter turned it down but joined after Suzune herself persuaded him.

When the whole class passes the test, Sudō is the only one who didn't get a passing grade but Kiyotaka came to his aid by sacrificing 50,000 points so he wouldn't be expelled. Later on, a celebratory party is thrown at Kiyotaka's room where some students attend. When Kikyō hints that Kiyotaka helped Sudō out, the latter and the others stop their activities and looked to see if this was true but he casts the credit to Suzune.

In Episode 4, he decides to help stop Sudō's expulsion by enlisting aid from others and does so by finding out Sakura had evidence to prove his innocence.

In Episode 5, he is one of the few students who meet with the Student Council to help prove Sudō's innocence in the fighting incident.

In Episode 6, when Class C withdrew their complaint against Sudō, he happily informed Kiyotaka of this news. Once again, Kiyotaka hid his involvement by congratulating Sudō and giving Suzune the credit after the excited Sudō wondered if Suzune did something to help him. After the brief celebration, Sudō left for practice as Kiyotaka looked on.

Other Classmates
Besides Suzune, Kikyō and Sakura; he interacts with his other classmates as well. In episode 1, when the other students introduce themselves, he tries his best to make a good impression but has plain explanation that confuses the other students. In episode 2, Kiyotaka is down casted that everyone else made friends but he is still the same boat as he started school. In Episode 4, he appears to work well with his classmates as they all try to find evidence to prove Sudō's innocence. When Ichinose states she owed Kiyotaka, some of the male students wondered what she owed him to help.

Honami Ichinose
Kiyotaka first met Honami when she walking down the hall after Kikyō Kushida stated her goal of being friends with everyone even those from other classes. He soon watches her stop Ken Sudō from getting into a fight with some of her classmates of Class B.

In Episode 4, they meet again in where she asks Kushida if he was dating Ayanokōji but is told that is not the case. She later begs him for aid by asking him to pretend to be her boyfriend after one of her friends gave her a love letter. This shows she trusts him to an extent as she could of chosen anyone besides but needed his help the most. He refuses while she begs as she is unsure of how to answer the confession but her friend shows up. When asked what they were, Honami tried to nervously "confirm" they were a couple but Ayanokōji answered first by stating he and Honami were simply friends and leaves telling her to talk it out with that person due to the courage she mustered up. This shows he has no problems associating with her and is willing to give her advice but whether this was out of genuine concern for her is unknown.

After Honami turned down Chihiro, she thanked Kiyotaka for helping her and apologized for dragging him into her mess but he was fine with it as Honami stated she owed him for his help. She acted on her word and helped him in proving the innocence of Ken Sudō as he was confused by her act as she slyly winked at him after she stated she owed him. This gained attention from Kikyō and the other students who wondered exactly what Honami owed Kiyotaka.

In Episode 6, he requested her aid by borrowing points from her to use cameras that caused Class C to withdraw their complaints. Ichinose expressed amazement at his intelligence questioning how he was placed in Class D, but he gives her vague answer and the credit of the idea to Suzune as she smiles in response. The two later worked together in saving Airi Sakura from a crazed stalker who was attempting to force himself on her.

Arisu Sakayanagi
No direct interaction hasn't been seen yet, but she is revealed to be a childhood friend of his. It appears both of them harbors a deep feeling of intellectual understanding.

Manabu Horikita
In Episode 1, he first sees Manabu giving a speech to the students and soon wondered if he was related to Suzune after hearing they have the same last name but isn't given an answer.

In Episode 2, they have their first encounter when he found him about to assault his sister Suzune Horikita, he quickly intervenes by grabbing Manabu's hand and telling him to release Suzune but she begged him not to get involved. He complies but by stopping Manabu he earned the latter's fury, the student council president wasted no time in trying to attack him but Ayanokōji easily dodged all his strikes, to Manabu's surprise. Impressed by his skill, Manabu then questioned Ayanokōji on the fighting style he practices only to receive a vague answer before he recalled Ayanokōji as the student who scored fifties on his entrance exams. He inquired on this even hinting that Ayanokōji is hiding his intelligence on purpose but the latter shrugs this off.

They meet again in Episode 5, where they are present during a case for Ken Sudō. It is shown that Manabu has some expectations for Ayanokōji as he believed that his presence in the hearing meant that he had a strategy but his question is disregarded. Manabu attempted to attack Ayanokōji again as the latter dodges his strike and Manabu questioned as to whether he has something planned but gets a vague answer.

In Episode 6, when Class C's complaint against Sudō is withdrawn, Ayanokōji meets with Manabu in the hallway. He congratulates him on his victory but Ayanokōji once again gives Suzune all credit for the act. Glaring at Ayanokōji, Manabu asked Tachibana if they had an opening on the Student Council which she confirms. Manabu offers the position to Ayanokōji, showing that he truly sees him worthy of higher status than others. Ayanokōji turned down the offer in favor of living a normal school life as Manabu stated he accepted this decision for now.