To those who didn't notice, Throw Away the Suit Together had been on an unofficial hiatus since last October. It was never stated as such—every issue of Yuri Hime during this period still had it listed as coming next time—but it consistently failed to appear on publication day.
I have no idea why but I hope Keyyan has things sorted out now. I missed these two.
Ah, that explains the chapter gap, thanks for pointing that out. :-)
I'm impressed with how Keyyan handled this. Or maybe disturbed that a slap is one of the more uplifting moments. It signifies an important milestone in their relationship: Haru drawing a line in the sand that she'll expose her rawest ugliest feelings to Hinoto alone. And that's probably for the best in the long term.
This chapter has been all about Haru establishing and enforcing her first real boundary with Hii, namely, that they do not keep each other out of the loop on important life decisions. Doing so with a person you already have a very close relationship with is always intensely nerve-wracking and correspondingly messy, so all things considered, the girls did pretty well in this instance. Their next boundary should be "not lying to spare each other's feelings", and I think they've already made tentative steps to establishing it.
There's a multi-layered reference to chapter 1, when Haru said she had to take her interviews seriously and give honest answers rather than simply answering whatever her prospective employer wants to hear. More directly this applies to her misguidedly putting a wall up with Hinoto, but it also highlights her character development that she's feeling desperate enough to lie to the museum staff. She's losing something she prides about herself in the stress of it all. Or maybe that's a bit of her childishness she's learning to leave behind, as depressing as that sounds. But as dour as the end of the chapter is, her commitment to Hinoto in spite of her changes is something to keep hopeful for.
The interview highlighted to Haru the gap between her genuine self and the expected role her social environment forces upon her (which is, accidentally, the overarching theme of the story as a whole). It made her realize that her survival depends on maintaining her role-compliant facade, but also that the person she is most able to show her genuine self is Hii -- which is what finally made her confront Hii's actions.
I think, however, that a fine distinction should be made regarding the girls' "childishness", namely, between their child-like genuine selves and their child-like expectation that said genuine selves are all that they need. Adopting and fulfilling a specific role/function is, unfortunately, the only way to enjoy economic stability in the (modern, Japanese) society, but not at the cost of sacrificing one's genuine self. In that case, you end up incapable of loving yourself or another being, incapable of experiencing life in the moment, standing in awe of the night sky, and yelling at it how much you love someone. The real childishness is not in embracing genuine self over economic security, but in thinking that they are an exclusive, black-or-white kind of deal.
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