Is there such a thing as being Stockholm'd into becoming wingwomen? I believe Hiyama's sidekicks would fit that description. Mizushima-kun has awakened to voyeurism completely now (also if you think something someone says is lewd then your mind is in the gutter too).
Kimura's Shoujo protagonist sensibilities lead her to have a different understanding of what expressing affection scales as. In Shoujo manga a cheek kiss is often merely a gesture of thanks or friendly affection that the male love interests don't read too much into as they are also thick as bricks. Hiyama on the other hand is an affection starved lone wolf who has not had much contact with people in her life before high school. And their constant cat and mouse game (of which half was in her own mental fabrication) has made her unable to process reciprocation.
My favorite part of this chapter may well be Hiyama defaulting to her usual standoffish facade when she told Kimura to treat her nicely from now on, as if that was a high demand she believes Kimura would not follow up on. It shows how surface all her posturing has always been, although I think by now Kimura already knows that plenty.
last edited at May 10, 2023 2:25AM