Kiyotaka Ayanokōji/Relationships

Though Kiyotaka has trouble making friends, he has managed to gain some associations with some of his fellow classmates which extends to those of other classes and even the Student Council. These are the known relationships of Kiyotaka Ayanokōji with those who have truly interacted with him thus far.

Family
Not much is known about Kiyotaka's family, but his father is said to be in charge of the White Room where Kiyotaka received his training as a child. His father is also the only member of his family to be mentioned in the series.

Kiyotaka's Father
Not much is known about the relationship that Kiyotaka has with his father, as the latter had not been seen interacting with him. During the school cruise, Kiyotaka's father contacted Sae Chabashira to tell her to expel Kiyotaka for unknown reasons. Kiyotaka did not seem surprised most likely because he caught onto his father's involvement however, he was angry when Chabashira tried to blackmail him into reaching Class A.

During the survival test, he reflected on his past once again and remembered an unknown man telling him that only fools waste their greatest talents. It is hinted that the mysterious man was his father. This was due to the fact he had a similar facial structure to him and was very familiar with him as he addressed him by his first name "Kiyotaka" rather than his last name "Ayanokōji". Also, the interaction with the man may give reason as to why Kiyotaka hides his true capabilities from others giving him motivation to do things without revealing his talent. After the survival test, Kiyotaka is told that it was indeed his father's wish to expel and stated he knows Kiyotaka will soon pick expulsion of his own will. Kiyotaka stated to Sae Chabashira that he will continue to defy his father's wish by carrying on his usual school life.

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 they 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, the two appear to get along since they are both loners who barely associate with their fellow classmates. It was noted by Kushida that Kiyotaka is the only one in the class that Suzune interacts with. For that reason, she tried asking him to help her befriend Suzune, but it failed. In response to his supposed conspiring, Suzune forced Kiyotaka to aid her in reaching Class A and though hesitant he complies after she puts pressure on his choice.

Though technically forced to help her reach her goal, they appear quite close as when he notices her about to be assaulted by her brother Manabu Horikita, he quickly intervenes on her behalf. When she cries out for 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. In response, Kiyotaka asked Suzune if she ever considered her anti-social behavior was the reason she was placed in Class D which leaves her unable to answer.

It seems after this, Horikita recognized his talents as she immediately knew Kiyotaka had a hand in giving the test scores rather than Kushida, but he doesn't give her a clear answer.

Suzune later asked him about his close association with Kushida noting he seemed more incline to help her, but is hesitant with her leaving him unable to answer and confused by her sudden change in behavior.

He helps her come back to her senses when she is scared by her brother's presence at the hearing. A day later, they work over the case with Sudō by putting Sudō's accusers in a losing situation which would force them to withdraw their complaint. Later, he gives Suzune full credit for the plan when talking with Honami Ichinose, Ken Sudō and Manabu Horikita after he is believed to be the orchestrator. He soon meets with Suzune (who spoke with Chabashira about him) and they walk in the rain where she accuses him of manipulating her and decides to ask about his motives and tells him if he truly wants to help her reach Class A he'd have to be honest.

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

Despite this little turbulence, they are shown to still be on good terms as Kiyotaka invited her to the pool where asked her to aid him in stopping the boys of their class from peeping on the girls during the summer break. Kiyotaka also tried to get her to loosen up, by having her play with the students though she also wondered why he hid his physical capabilities. Later on, she helped him stopping the other boys' plans of peeping by giving a speech to distract everyone. He thanks her and tries again to get her to shake off her strict nature by pushing her in the pool which causes her to do the same to him but this act somewhat works as it gets her to play with the other students.

Later that night, Kiyotaka sends Suzune an email which is a picture of her with the other students.

During the school survival test, they spend time together and Suzune asks Kiyotaka about his future but gets no answer. When panties are stolen, Class D goes on alert and when the girls asks for Yōsuke Hirata to keep an eye on the boys she makes sure Hirata is also watched by putting Kiyotaka on guard as well. When he asked why she did this, Suzune states she doesn't trust Hirata as he seemed secretive like him, which implied that she trusted Kiyotaka to a degree. Also Kiyotaka discovered she was sick and hiding it from the class expressing concern for her health.

After the survival test, he found Suzune injured after her fight with Ibuki and took her to a tree before she awoke. They talk where he discovered her reasons for reaching Class A and noticed she wanted allies before he implored her to withdraw from the test but she refused out of pride though she fell unconscious forcing him to carry her and have her withdraw due to her ailing health. After the test, she questioned on how the class passed the test and he tells her his plan, which leaves her in amazement at his intellect and question what drives him. He also gave her credit for the correct guessing of the other class leaders, much to her dismay.

She also caught up to him and confronted once more as he calmly stated she needed allies and noticed she finally changed. After he confirms he did everything to help her, she got flustered and blushed before begrudgingly thanking him as she stated she will see him as an ally. However, it is revealed that Kiyotaka doesn't truly acknowledge her as an ally but merely a pawn in helping him win.

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 her having no problem in playing part in her attempts to befriend Suzune.

She was surprised at how clever he was after he got the old test scores for the class and when he told her to take credit since he didn't like drawing attention. She seems to be aware of his capabilities as she asked Ayanokōji if he had anything to do with stopping Sudō's expulsion which caused everyone to stop their activities at the celebratory party but he gave Suzune the credit.

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. He also tried to stop her from asking Ichinose for help thinking it might be a prank, while Kushida seemed curious about his relationship with Ichinose after she said that she owed him a favor.

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.

During the school cruise, he talks with her and notices that her bubbly nature almost makes him forget about the more persona he saw in Episode 3. When he tries to leave, Kikyō stops him shifting back to her darker personality to make him talk with her. She inquired if he was nervous and wary being alone around her, to which he confirms, as she goes back to her other personality, and tells him that she just gets lonely when left all alone. She also appeared to want to tell him something but backs out at the last minute and simply leaves.

After the survival test, they talk and she explains that she hates Suzune because of her not having a hidden side. She also asked if he had to choose between siding with her or Suzune as he remarked he didn't know as she jokingly calls him mean. However, it is revealed that Kiyotaka doesn't acknowledge her as an ally but merely a pawn in helping him win.

Airi Sakura
They are classmates, but they don't take notice of each other until Suzune noticed that she was the only person who was reluctant to help Kikyō Kushida out as he reflected that he barely recalls her appearance. They officially meet when Kiyotaka and Kushida go to talk to her for help but she doesn't want to get involved and runs off but breaks her camera. She soon requests that he and Kushida accompany her to get it fixed though he did ask her why he had to come before realizing her shy personality was something the flirty and pushy store clerk took advantage of. He helps her by telling the clerk to send him the notice for the camera as she looks at Kiyotaka blushing, in shock, she then later 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 eyes weren't "scary" causing he to be confused by it and told her to do what she felt and that the decision she makes shouldn't have to burden her. She blushes at his words and becomes flustered when Kushida returns, as she tried to cover up her flustered face. Because of his inspiring words, she decides to help him in his case to save Sudō from expulsion and goes to the hearing and provides evidence for the incident.

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.

He would talk with her and tell 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 her 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 the police force, Kiyotaka expressed relief they exchange contact information which allowed him to find her quicker.

When she apologized for the incident, he comforted her by replying it was not her fault as she decides to reinvent herself by embracing her status as idol and discarding her glasses. He offered advice for her in any future burden she may face before helping her up while she looked at him in surprise and blushed. Facing him, she noted on the look he gave her as he was confused after she shrugs it off with a smile. This causes her to develop romantic feelings for him from her side due to their talks and his recent actions in saving her in her time of need. It appears that while Kiyotaka is unaware of her romantic affections for him, he considers her as a very sweet girl due to their close interactions and always helps her out, in most cases all the time, where he enjoys having her with him. Her romantic feelings for him and their moments, where also shown in the light novel quite a lot as well.

During summer break, it was mentioned that he invited her to the pool and she accepted. They hung out by playing volleyball with the other students, seemingly having fun though Sakura was nervous while interacting with others. Later, most of the students started splashing each other, she did the same to him but was seen nervous and slightly blushing after he looked at her causing her to apologize and sink in the pool in embarrassment.

On the cruise, he finds her alone talking to herself, trying to practice her confession for him and he stops to speak with her, surprising her, causing her to get flustered. After confirming he didn't hear her earlier words, she instead asks Kiyotaka if he could help her in socializing with their class since she still has problems properly talking with them. He agrees as she becomes elated at this grabbing his hand out of gratitude, this ceases when Kushida appears and Sakura quickly excuses herself. Kiyotaka was confused by her sudden change and looks after the leaving Sakura, wondering if she is still afraid of strangers.

During the survival test, she is paired up with him in a group and travels through the forest with him. When they discover a spot, Kiyotaka has to hide her and cover her mouth after she tries to move ahead and when Kōhei Katsuragi appears. While being held tightly by him, Sakura was shown heavily blushing full red before the coast was clear, as Kiyotaka released her. He apologized for his action but she was seen still heavily blushing and squirming on the ground, as she nervously mumbles that it was fine, much to his confusion. Kiyotaka also asked her to come along with him, to look for branches for starting a campfire, after he initially asked Suzune at first who refused, and Sakura was seen staring at him blushing before and made a sound gesture, sounding happy when he invited her, though Haruki was also seen deciding to tag along with the two of them.

Kiyotaka was also shown talking to Sakura asking her if she wanted stay in a pair with him, to which she confirmed and apologized for dragging him down in the search. He then asked her if she was afraid if people started talking to her, as she told him that she didn't really care about that. Sakura explained that she was down on the school trip due to not having friends but now was glad that she came. Sakura then looked at him in an admiring way and stated regrettably that she wanted to have her camera so that she could take a great picture of him, which hints that she probably thought that he would look good in a picture, as he was seen expressing confusion at her words.

At the final day of the survival test, she was helping Kiyotaka cleaning up the campsite, where she asked him how many points that he thought their class were going to get. Kiyotaka then wondered about that and looked at Hirata afterwards. Due to his real thoughts, it is unknown what he really thinks of her.

Kei Karuizawa
During the survival test, when Suzune selected him to serve as a guard along with Hirata to watch over the boys in the class, she notes on him being invisible to the rest of the class something he complained about but agreed with as he didn't seem lecherous. This shows that she barely acknowledges his presence in their time as classmates. Due to his real thoughts, it is unknown what he really thinks of her.

Ken Sudō
He tried to recruit Sudō in Suzune's study group but he angrily turned it down even grabbing Kiyotaka but not hurting him. Kiyotaka later noticed Sudō when he was facing Kakeru and his men before Honami Ichinose broke it up. He then stopped Sudō from escalating the brawl even further before he invited him again to Suzune's study group though Sudō 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 and was at risk of being expelled but Kiyotaka came to his aid along with Suzune by sacrificing 50,000 points so he wouldn't be expelled. Later on, a celebratory party is thrown at Kiyotaka's room where Sudō and his friends attend. When Kikyō hints that Kiyotaka helped Sudō out, the latter and the others had stop their activities and looked to see if this was true but he casts the credit to Suzune.

When Sudō is accused of attacking students of Class C, Kiyotaka decides to help in stopping Sudō's expulsion by enlisting aid from others and does so by finding out that Ichinose and Sakura had evidence to prove his innocence in the setup.

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.

When Class C withdrew their complaint against Sudō, he happily informed Kiyotaka of this news. Once again, Kiyotaka hid his involvement in the act 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.

Due to his real thoughts, it is unknown what really thinks of him or if he was simply using him as a pawn like he does to the others.

Yōsuke Hirata
They first met when Class D started to introduce themselves and Kiyotaka immediately guessed Hirata would be popular. Hirata also applauded him for at least trying to make a good impression after he messed up somewhat.

In the months after this, they barely interact but during the cruise Hirata tries to get Kiyotaka to help him get Suzune to open up and get him to socialize with the rest of the class.

During the survival test, he and Hirata work together in getting things ready for the camp. When Karuizawa's underwear is stolen, Hirata searches the boys for them and Kiyotaka thought he might be caught as when Hirata finds them on him (after Ike placed them on him) he believed it was over. However, Hirata covers for him, to the Kiyotaka's surprise. Kiyotaka soon questioned him on covering for him as Hirata reveals he knows that Kiyotaka wouldn't do such a thing. This implies he trusts him to a degree, despite barely knowing him.

After the survival test, it is revealed that Kiyotaka doesn't acknowledge Hirata as an ally but merely a pawn in helping him win.

Teruhiko Yukimura
He was briefly seen in the survival test, where he was berating the girls for depending on the usage of points. Although, their interactions haven't been seen yet, it appears Kiyotaka recognizes his intelligence as in the survival test he knew that Teruhiko would accept a logical answer, when it comes to having the girls toughen up on a simple bathroom or use points to buy an actual bathroom due to the hygiene issues.

Other Classmates
Besides Suzune, Kikyō, Sakura, Sudō and Hirata; 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 while slyly winking at him, causing Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi to jealously wonder what she owed him to help. In Episode 7, Kiyotaka agreed to be part of the group of boys who wanted to peep on girls though his real intentions were to stop them from getting their class in trouble. With Suzune's help, the plan was foiled and nobody was aware of the events as he did so subtly.

During the survival test, his lack of prominence in the class was really shown after Suzune volunteered him as a guard after underwear was stolen causing a few of them to note on how invisible he seemed to them. However, a majority agreed to put him on guard duty since he didn't lecherous like the other boys in the class.

Due to his real thoughts, it is unknown what really thinks of his classmates or if was simply using all of them to fulfill his own goals. However, it seems his actions help them out in the long run as shown in the survival test where the class wins but he covers his tracks by giving Suzune the credit.

Sae Chabashira
Is his homeroom teacher while he doesn't interact with her personally in the first episodes. After a class test, he begs her to halt the expulsion Ken Sudō offering her points having learned it was within the rules as she is amused by his offer but demands a sum that will require nearly all his points but his efforts are aided by Suzune who offers some of her own points. Chabashira was amused by their actions as it was something that never happened in the school and she relents in expelling Sudō telling the two to continue in making things interesting for her. Unknown to Kiyotaka, she has an opinion of him as she considers him the most "defective" of the class as he has extreme intelligence and talent that he keeps secret from others, but he stays in a lower class instead of higher one like he deserves.

During the school cruise, Chabashira talks to him and informs him there was an unknown man who said to expel him. She promised to protect him but only if he will start working to reach Class 1-A but he refuses to comply with this as she promised that he will be expelled which causes him to grab her by the collar in threatening manner to get her to back off and warn her not to manipulate him or else she will regret her actions. This was remarkable as he never resorted to physical threats to someone. It's currently unknown why she wants him to advance to Class A when he has no intention of trying to reach the class. Her reason might because she feels he is wasting his talents in a low class and feels he is better suited for the upper classes.

After the survival test, she summons him to the theater where she commends him on his victory over the other classes and reveals that it was his father who had made the request to expel him. Once again, he refuses her demand to advance Class A which Chabashira doesn't protest or threaten him unlike last time. Instead, she simply laughs and reveals her knowledge of his past after he states he won't do anything for her without proof. Chabashira then asks him what he plans to do now to which he vaguely answers as she smiles in amusement.

Mio Ibuki
Kiyotaka first met Mio on the school cruise where he witnesses her being knocked down by Albert Yamada after being shunned by Kakeru Ryūen. He goes to help her up but she angrily slaps away his hand telling him to stay out of her business before running off. His noticing her confrontation with Kakeru Ryūen caused him to see Class C was falling apart.

They met again the survival test where he finds hurt for unknown reasons, he even found himself stopping Haruki Yamauchi from approaching her, due to having suspicions about her, he then later says it was nothing, as they offer her help, by letting her come to their base camp. Though she refuses help from an enemy class, she accepts their offer and returns to their camp but makes it clear she isn't trying to be friendly with them.

He is later approached by Mio who asks if he believes she was responsible for the underwear theft but he says that he knows she didn't do it to her surprise. He states that while the other students in his class don't trust her, he does which causes her to thank him for having belief in her as he responds he was just being honest as she blushes. She was also seen curious, as she glanced back from behind, when Kikyō Kushida and Haruki Yamauchi commented on how, incredibly close Suzune Horikita and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji have gotten lately.

After the survival test, it is revealed that Kiyotaka knew she was a spy and he outsmarted her by using various tactics which helped his class pass the test.

Honami Ichinose
Kiyotaka first met Honami when she walking down the school store after Kikyō Kushida stated they had already become friends and 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 schoolmates in Class 1-C.

They later meet formally 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 in spite of just meeting him, she trusts him to an extent as she could have chosen anyone besides him but needed his help the most. He refuses while she begs him 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, to her surprise. He leaves telling her to talk it out with that person due to the courage she mustered up to confess and she decided to him follow his advice. This event shows he has no problems associating with her and is willing to help her but whether he truly sees her as a friend or if it was a ruse to cover 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, thinking it might be a trick. However, she swears that her intentions are good and slyly winked at him after she reminded of the debt she owed him. This display gained attention from Kikyō and the other students who wondered exactly what Honami owed Kiyotaka.

She acted on her word as she helped him get evidence for the case that may help his class in their investigation. While she aided him, Kiyotaka noticed she had no problem making physical contact with him before he saw how many points she had and seemed curious that she amassed such large points until she took back her phone leaving him to wonder about her.

He soon 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 and started questioning how he was placed in Class D, but he gives her vague answer and most of the credit of the idea to Suzune as she smiles in response probably out of consideration for his privacy. The two later worked together in saving Airi Sakura from a crazed stalker who was attempting to force himself on her. This interaction would suggest they are friends since she was willing to help him save Sakura though she had no obligation to help. They later hung out at the pool where they had fun with their classmates.

Unknown to him, while on the cruise, Ichinose spoke with her teacher about him and it appears she recognizes his intelligence and is curious as to why he hides his talents. Due to his real thoughts, it is unknown what Kiyotaka really thinks of her though he seems to consider her as a friend as they get along so well. In the survival test, he takes their class alliance into consideration on not wanting to jeopardize their collaboration.

Chie Hoshinomiya
Despite not having any interaction yet in the anime, it appears that Chie has suspicions about his intelligence as in a talk with Ichinose she recognized him as a person from Class D to watch out for the most.

Arisu Sakayanagi
No direct interaction has been seen yet between the two in the anime. During the survival test, he asked Honami Ichinose about Arisu and learned of her prominent stature in the school.

Manabu Horikita
He first sees Manabu giving a speech at the first year students' entry ceremony and soon wondered if he was related to Suzune after hearing they have the same last name but isn't given an answer.

They have their first encounter when he found him about to assault his sister Suzune Horikita, he quickly intervenes by grabbing Manabu's hand admonishing him for his actions before 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 soon questioned Ayanokōji over the fighting style that he practices only to receive a vague answer before he recalled Ayanokōji as the student who scored fifties on his entrance exams and his recent quiz. He then inquired on this even hinting that Ayanokōji is hiding his intelligence on purpose but the latter shrugs this off.

They meet again where they are present during a case for Ken Sudō. It is shown that Manabu has some expectations for Ayanokōji as he stated that he believed that Ayanokōji's presence at 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.

When Class C's complaint against Sudō is withdrawn, Ayanokōji meets with Manabu and his secretary Akane Tachibana in the hallway. He talks to him about the event before 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 secretary post of 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.

White Room
As a young child, Kiyotaka was a part of this unknown organization, which greatly contributed to his vast and extreme intellect, talents and skills. In a flashback on a Episode 10, it can be seen that he was taking an examination, that can be considered as extremely and immensely challenging, let alone, heavily advanced for a young child, proving that he had an extremely advanced upbringing, which could explain his vast and extreme intellect. However, it is unknown what his time there was like and whether he had any friends but it is shown that he gets very angry towards his past being mentioned as shown in his talk with Suzune Horikita in Episode 6, where he sternly warned her not to pry into his past ever again.

It appears from his time there, he picked up the belief of making winning everything and using people as a means to do so. This harsh upbringing would likely explain why he speaks in monotonous way to cover up his feelings.