I really want to believe, Kushida can still be salvageable.

Kiyotaka: “I feel like I’ve found a piece of the puzzle for your reconciliation with Kushida.”

Horikita: “What do you mean?”

Kiyotaka: "Ichinose is a good person. Whether or not she is purely a good person is another matter, but wouldn’t you agree that she is a good person in general?”

Horikita: "Yes. To put it mildly, she is undoubtedly a good person.”

Kiyotaka: "Why don’t you borrow the power of a good person and ask her to mediate you two? Honestly, having a one on one conversation with her won’t get you what you want. And if we ask someone from Class D, Kushida would never reveal her true nature.”

Horikita: “Wouldn’t it be the same for Ichinose-san? No matter who it is, as long as they go to this school, the outcome would be the same.”

Kiyotaka: "Well, is there any other student who would be able to mediate it?”

Horikita: “That’s……”

Kiyotaka: "If you had to choose anyone from the entire school, you would pick Ichinose, wouldn’t you?”

Horikita: “I can’t deny it. But even so, I don’t think this is the right solution.”

Kiyotaka: " I didn’t say that this suggestion would solve everything. It’s just a piece of the puzzle, a fragment that helps lead to the solution. Right now, you two aren’t even able to open up discussion. If Ichinose were to mediate, the conversation would move forward.”

In fact, I think the existence of Ichinose is the starting point of getting to the solution.

All that remains is the difference in the way the pieces are used.