Arisu Sakayanagi/Relationships

Arisu is one of the most intellectual students at Advanced Nurturing High School and is highly respected for her status by teachers and students alike. Her reputation of being the leader of Class 2-A is widely known, creating an aura of both fear and admiration when anyone is in her presence. For the respectively leaders of the other classes, she acts as the benchmark and final goal for all of them to overcome. Additionally, she is commonly used as the encapsulation of a paragon student and is a common topic of comparison especially for the students at the top.

## Family

### Chairman Sakayanagi

Arisu has a close tight-knit relationship with her father Mr. Sakayanagi, who previously also serves as the chairman of Advanced Nurturing High School. However, this connection wasn't the reason she got into the Class A as it was revealed that under normal circumstances, Arisu had the capability to have complete mastery over most of the points of assessments — which was assessed to be deserving among the top ranks of the best students of her generation. She also went to visit the White Room with her father during her childhood.

## Student Council

### Manabu Horikita

Manabu Horikita, the previous Student Council president who was in charge when she first enrolled was known to have extremely high standards. When they met, he praised her grades in the recent midterms and her performance in leading Class A. This was notable, as the only other person he had ever been seen complimenting was Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, who is extremely intelligent and skilled in manipulating his academic ability in his own right.

He even praised her phenomenal holistic management of her class, such as being able to stand out from the rest of the classes in terms of class points despite only having a handful of weeks to establish her control, and personally invited her for a chat to commend her achievements.

## Class A

#### Kōhei Katsuragi

Arisu and Kōhei are often seen together, but Kōhei Katsuragi doesn´t like the way she manages the class. Their positions are often opposite on matters relating to the class, which was why their class was involved in internal conflicts, but after a while, he finally accepts that she's doing the right thing to make Class-A preserve their position. It appears that he has immense respect for Arisu as the leader in their standing as Kōhei is shown addressing her when asking for her thoughts on the matters with other classes. Despite their partnership, it is mentioned by Honami Ichinose that the two have disagreements on how to properly run things.

It seems she doesn't mind doing things behind his back or discrediting as she had Masayoshi Hashimoto make a deal with Kakeru Ryūen after discovering Kōhei had made his own agreement without notifying her. Her actions led to him being strongly criticized and disliked for his poor judgment in the class. This shows that she has no real concern for his reputation and is just using him for solidifying control in their class.

However, she considers him a valuable member of the class, so she decides to expel Yahiko Totsuka to show the whole class what happens to anyone who oppose to her causing him to fall in line. He became a subservient and obedient 'dog' to her after she expelled his one and only stalwart supporter. Additionally, she threatened to take away more things from him if he ever chooses to rebel, betray or go against her or their class ever again. She forgave his previous actions and attempts to take away power from her and now has his complete loyalty. She is also the only one who he ever voices his discontent and fears with, although sometimes Arisu stops him before he can do so.

As of Year 2 Volume 2, his loyalty towards her and their class was trialed and tested. Kakeru Ryūen eventually convinced and persuaded Kohei to join his class instead and betray his former class. Arisu has not shown much thought towards the betrayal and even hinted that she expected it to happen. As of now, they are considered enemies of one another as he is actively looking for a chance to take her down and reinstate his position as the new Class A with Ryūen's class. On the other hand, she is excited at the new possibilities it brings and the methods they would use to try to take her down, welcoming their attempts with open arms.

#### Masumi Kamuro

Kamuro is part of Sakayanagi Faction within Class A. Kamuro is Sakayanagi's right hand (Stated in Volume 6 short story).

In a short story in Volume 6, Sakayanagi can be seen teasing Kamuro. She also indicates that Kamuro is ordered to monitor Katsuragi but after he withdrew from the contest of leadership for class A Sakayanagi ordered Kamuro to monitor Ayanokoji next.

In Volume 7.5 Kamuro searches for Sakayanagi and found her having a chat with Ayanokoji at the mall, upon meeting with them Sakayanagi asked Kamuro about her thoughts about Ichinose. Sakayanagi told Kamuro that she has the same problem with Ichinose, since Kamuro's evaluation of Ichinose is high she can't believe that Ichinose would have the same problem as her. Later Sakayanagi asked Kamuro why she didn't ask anything about why Sakayanagi is discussing strategies with Ayanokoji which she find suspicious.

In Volume 9, she told Ayanokoji about how she met Sakayanagi. A week after the entrance ceremony Kamuro left a convenience store when she met with Sakayanagi. Sakayanagi accompanied her upon leaving. Sakayanagi then asked Kamuro if she shoplifted, though Kamuro denied it. Sakayanagi continued her inductive reasoning towards Kamuro's action which she could not deny anymore after she pulled out a can of beer that she had previously stolen.

Seeing how the current situation she told Sakayanagi to just report Kamuro's action to the school but Sakayanagi it and told Kamuro that Sakayanagi had grown to like Kamuro and asked her to be her first friend and that Sakayanagi will hide the shoplifting done by Kamuro in return for her do her some favors with that Sakayanagi will turn blind eye to Kamuro's shoplifting then and in future if she does it again.

Sakayangi told Kamuro that her instructions will be anything but boring and can replace the thrill Kamuro find in doing shoplifting. Later revealed by Ayanokoji in his reasoning that Kamuro was used by Sakayanagi to lure Ayanokoji to take action to save Ichinose by telling him the same problem that Kamuro and Ichinose did.

In Volume 10, she was surprised to hear and see Arisu not being confident in whether she could defeat Kiyotaka. She has a high impression of her and believes she is easily above the likes of Suzune, Ryuen, and Ichinose.

In year 2 volume 1, Arisu met up with Kamuro, and Kito in a cafe in Keyakai mall to discuss the Partner Exam. Kamuro seemed shocked by Arisu's strategy of following Ryuen's tactics, but dutifully obeyed Arisu's instructions.

### Masayoshi Hashimoto

During Volume 7, Arisu was protected by Masayoshi Hashimoto after Ryūen attempted to violently assail her after she repeated Rokusuke's embarrassing nickname for him. (e.g. "Dragon Boy") This shows that he is willing and capable of putting himself in troublesome circumstances for the sake of his leader, not condoning any harmful actions that is directed at her.

Hashimoto obediently follows all of Arisu's instructions and often calls her "princess" showing his love, admiration and respect towards her. Kiyotaka feels that Hashimoto is one of the most stalwart and significant ally of Arisu, admitting that it won’t be easy to take him down as he acts as one of the limbs supporting Arisu.

## Class C

#### Kakeru Ryūen

She appears to be familiar and aware of him when school first started. When she and Kōhei were checking out the scores of each class, they saw Class C was catching up and she knew it was due to 'his' efforts calling him persistent. They met face to face in the courtyard where they had a chance to converse. Kakeru remarked on how it looked as if she established her rule in the school very quickly. He swore to her that he will take down all the classes including hers so that he could be the one who will rule the school. She found his declaration interesting and readily accepted the challenge. Unlike his usual stoic attitude, he takes her as a very serious threat and was impressed of how in the span of days, a year 1 student like herself could already have so much control over the school and the highly reputable Class 1-A which are filled with the cream of the crop students, admitting that it isn’t a easy feat.

In Volume 7, Kakeru attempted to kick her after she repeatedly called him "Dragon Boy" - a name made by Rokusuke Kōenji, even though he warned her not to. Masayoshi Hashimoto then intervened with his hand to stop the strike, hurting himself in the process.

In Year 2 Volume 1, Class-C lead by Kakeru's leadership attempted to take each and every 1st-year student Class-A were contacting and aiming for in the (Partner Exam). Arisu saw through his surreptitious actions and devised a strategy to defeat Kakeru Ryuen using his own tricks. She then hopes and secretly prays that Ryuen doesn't self-destruct after her plans are set in motion since it won't be much fun afterward.

Arisu hopes that Ryuen is somebody worth facing off against and puts him on a similar tier as Honami Ichinose, being someone who can at least entertain her to a certain extent, though not to the extent of Kiyotaka.

## Class D

#### Kiyotaka Ayanokōji

No direct interaction was seen yet between the two in the first season of the anime.

In the light novel, at the end of Volume 5, they encountered each other, as she states she knows everything about Kiyotaka and the White Room, as well as his past. According to her, she knows him very well in fact, though he doesn't seem to recall her and was left perplexed.

In her short story, she dreamt about the sports festival and deemed Kiyotaka to be faster than Manabu in the race between the two. When she woke up from her dream, she requested Masumi to watch Kiyotaka closely, as she wondered the reason why he chose to come to this school in the first place, and his placement in D-Class no less. She noted how much he has grown since the last time she saw him and states how she will continue to look forward to their next encounter, while also expressing her desire of making him hers. She also didn't seem to mind the idea of becoming his enemy in the near future so as to create fun for the both of them.

It is later revealed in Volume 7 that Arisu had visited the White Room along with her father eight years ago and had witnessed Kiyotaka's succeeding in the training the facility put him through. However, the extent as to how much she knows about him is yet to be revealed. But since then, she has always taken a liking and attraction to him.

In Volume 7.5 Sakayanagi met Ayanokoji at Keyaki mall and they had a small chat with regards to the fallout within Class C Sakayanagi had a suspicion that Ayanokoji may be behind it. On the other hand, Ayanokoji stated to her that he knows that Sakayanagi is the daughter of the school chairman.

In Volume 9 Sakayanagi called Ayanokoji to meet up. Upon meeting each other Sakayanagi stated that she knows Ayanokoji moved behind the scenes on her attack on Ichinose and made her stand up on her own. Ayanokoji told Sakayanagi that he has also unraveled that Sakayanagi used Kamuro to lure him into taking action. Later on, Sakayanagi challenged Ayanokoji to battle her in the next exam with the condition that if Ayanokoji wins Sakayanagi will drop out. On the other hand, if Sakayanagi wins she will reveal to the school that Ayanokoji is the mastermind and lynchpin behind his class.

In her monologue in Volume 11, her heart was palpitating just from being in the same room as him. Every time she tries to steal a glance at him, her body couldn’t stop itself from being attracted and has great difficulties turning herself away. She knows she was a maiden in love and thoroughly enjoyed the newfound emotion from the bottom of her heart. It was revealed she couldn’t sleep the night before and almost overslept due to the excitement of spending time with him. She had no intention of losing their precious time together and considered it a luxury to be with him. She does not consider their path to be coincidental but one of fate and inevitability. Even if they weren’t in the same school, she was certain they were fated to meet, although it would be delayed by 3 years. As they were in the same room, she told herself she could exchange words as many times as they want at any time and gave her best regards to him before their competition began, trying her best to suppress the ever-increasing palpitation of her heart. He was the only one to have ever made her feel this way.

In Volume 11, She had a very intense Chess match with him and continuously praised his abilities throughout the match. She told him that he was the only one who has ever pushed her this far before and that she was enjoying herself immensely. In the end, she won but was mentally exhausted. She hoped that she would have lost the match and questioned Kiyotaka on whether he was holding back to which he denied it and was actually trying his best to win. In the end, the acting director was revealed to have actually aided Arisu to win the match which greatly angered her, causing her to threaten him for ruining the best memory she ever had. She then implored Kiyotaka for another match alone together to which he complied. He then won that match and it was said that at their best, each of them would have won 5 matches each, with Kiyotaka edging out slightly. Both came out with extreme amounts of respect for one another and Arisu actually wanted the extra match with him as she wanted to spend more time with him, even for a second longer. She acknowledges him and has the utmost respect for his skills. He surpasses all of her expectations and complimented him for training Horikita in chess to the point that she was able to beat Class 1-A's best chess player after herself, to which she feels like it's her loss.

It was revealed that she wanted to meet him for the longest time, like a childhood friend that one hadn’t met before and one that is dearly missed. It is revealed that she saw Kiyotaka when he was just a child in the White Room, playing chess and easily overwhelming his opponents, which caused her to take an interest in chess and get well in it as she knew and longed to face him one day. From his perspective, she was easily considered National level in it. She was saddened as she knew she had to distance herself from him due to her important role and differing classes in the school. She continues to hope and know that they will certainly cross paths again. As they went back, she apologized for being a slow walker due to her handicap but he didn’t mind. They then exchanged their future plans and talked about their daily lives joyfully.

She was happy as it was the first time they were alone and walking alongside one another. She then held his hands and told him that "people learn of warmth when they touch each other, and that’s a very precious thing. The warmth of another is by no means a bad thing. Please remember that" adding on by saying that it’s a belated message from her to him, hinting that her romantic feelings she had been hiding for years are starting to come out and becoming known to him.

So as to not have their future matches interrupted, she decided to work with Kiyotaka to get rid of the acting director and even persuaded some teachers to join her cause. She is also not above sacrificing some of her classmates to ensure Kiyotaka isn’t expelled by extraneous factors, in turn, he trusts her words that she will aid him after understanding her personality.

In a way, they are the ones who relate to each other in the deepest manner and she understands his history more than anyone else in the school and still chooses to protect him, putting herself in harm's way. They know each other's darkest secret and in a way, it can be said that only the two of them can match the other with the others being small fries. Surreptitiously, she has been protecting Kiyotaka from behind the scenes all this time and wouldn’t want to see him expelled as he was the only one who has ever given her genuine joy.

When interacting with Ichika Amasawa, Arisu's high image of Kiyotaka is further contextualized after she shares how everyone but him that was from the Whiteroom is considered a failure in her eyes. Additionally, she initiated this remark so as to keep an eye on her in case Ichika ever decides to target Kiyotaka, putting her own safety in jeopardy due to the unpredictableness of the other White Room students.

In 2nd year volume 6, Arisu visted Kiyotaka's room and brough some cake for both of them. Arisu know that she staying in home was all Kiyotaka's plan. Kiyotaka said she is a threat to his freedom. Kiyotaka gently pushed Arisu on bed and then it was not known what happened but Kiyotaka might have took pictures of her in a compromising situation in order to threaten her. Though Arisu did not have any problem with keeping this secret. Kiyotaka deleted photos and a picture of Kiyotaka and Kei appeared, Arisu said it appears Kiyotaka's relationship with Kei is going well. Arisu still could not understand why did Kiyotaka choose Kei, she said maybe because of her looks and personality, maybe because of using her or truly caring and protecting her. Later someone knocked and talked with Kiyotaka and Arisu.

In 2nd year volume 8, Arisu was walking on snow but fell, a student helped her up and said to her not push herself too much since her feets are weak which Arisu thanked for his kindness. Later Arisu called Kiyotaka to talk about a new threat. Arisu also called Kanzaki. Arisu and Kanzaki told Kiyotaka that a student named Ishigami might become a new threat as Ishigami is a genius and highly intelligent. Arisu called Ishigami and warned him not to do anything with Kiyotaka or she will never forgive him. Ishigami said he won't attack for now.

### Haruki Yamauchi

In Volume 8, their first encounter happened during the special exam of the Mixed training camp where Yamauchi was too preoccupied with chatting with his friends and didn't notice Sakayanagi shouting for him to move away which lead to them colliding with each other. Yamauchi offered to give Sakayanagi a helping hand but Sakayanagi refused and told Yamauchi there was no need for his concern. She then overheard him making a derogatory comment to his friends that Sakayanagi is cute but clumsy.

In Volume 10, Arisu convinced Haruki into telling Kikyō Kushida to amass people to vote for the removal of Kiyotaka, and told him that she would get her whole class to give their "Praise Votes" to him as protection. However, she had lied to him and had actually told her class to give their praise votes to Kiyotaka, who in turn caused his expulsion in the process. Suzune Horikita also helped by convincing her class to remove Haruki. Arisu then told her inner circle that it was all part of her plan from the beginning as an act of revenge for their prior incident, also serving to help Class D remove a burden in the process.

### Suzune Horikita

During Ryūen's confrontation of Rokusuke Kōenji, to throw him off, Arisu immediately stated that there is a possibility that "X" doesn't exist and that Suzune Horikita should be at the watchlist given that she's the one who manipulated the settings during the special summer exam at the deserted island.

She knew that Kiyotaka was using Suzune as something akin to a pawn, and admitted defeat when he was able to train his 'apprentice' to defeat hers during their class chess match. At this point, Arisu doesn’t view Suzune as much of a threat compared to the other class leaders, but she did share her wish to see her become someone worthwhile under Kiyotaka's tutelage.

In the later volumes, she recognises how Suzune has grown by leaps and bounds as a leader, wondering if Kiyotaka had played a consistent role in her growth.

## Kei Karuizawa

Arisu did not have any direct talking with Kei, but she found out that Kei is Kiyotaka's girfriend. Arisu did not know why did Kiyotaka choose Kei as his girlfriend, Arisu thought maybe he was attracted to her body and personality or He wanted to use her because of her usefulness or wanted to protect her.

## References

*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 11
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 10
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — "Arisu Sakayanagi's Everyday: Behind the Scenes of the End of Term Exams Chapter" Short Story
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 7.5
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 9
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 7
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 2nd Year Volume 1
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 5
*You-Zitsu* Light Novel — Volume 8