Yeah this isn’t really UP. It’s had convenient interruption prevents relationship progress stuff a bit too much, but otherwise their relationship feels gentle, fragile, and very beautiful. There’s a shitload of nerves on both sides, and Nekozaki’s confusing mix of responses makes sense to me.
Nekozaki is a pretty clear candidate for quadrant 4, in the bottom right.
This is a real good point, Nekozaki is quite obviously sending confusing signals to Mikoto when she's both making moves on her and then getting cold feet later. If we consider her as a person with fearful attachments, then this makes perfect sense. Also, judging from the hints dropped regarding her background, there might be solid reasons why she has developed such a social deficiency.
Overall, I very much like this development, maybe different from many readers here. It was definitely foreshadowed more than enough and makes complete sense for each character involved. Nekozaki's fear of attachment made her say something she immediately came to regret and for the story to continue, she will need to learn to deal with her emotional problems better. Mikoto is also right to be hurt, people like Nekozaki can be emotionally draining and are often the kind of people dragging you into emotionally abusive relationships, so growth will be necessary.
Having just started the series recently, I was surprised how serious it often becomes. I know Arata Iri mostly for whacky comedy (which I love), so seeing these different elements was interesting. Personally, I think she handled things well so far