For the last couple of chapters, I have seen the war between Hebi stans and, let's call them anti-Hebi fans, ramp up. I'm not here to change anyone's minds, I just wanna give my 2 cents on the situation. And before y'all Hebi fans jump me, I do believe she's the most interesting character in the manga and I enjoy her smug energy. So for those who say there's nothing appealing about Hebi, I personally don't understand it. She's kinda mean but not as bad as some people are saying. But I think a lot of people have gone too far the other way where Kusunoki is getting unwarranted slander.
The two main narratives I've seen from Hebi stans are that she FAR supersedes Kusunoki because Kusunoki is boring and because Hebi pushes the plot forward. I do agree that she definitely pushes the plot forward but I disagree that Kusunoki is boring. People say she's boring because, one, her personality is too flat and she's too vanilla and, two, because she's passive. I'm not going to try explain why I think her personality is actually interesting to me personally because after reading the forums, people have already made up their minds which is fine because its something subjective. But the passive argument is evidently false.
I think its only appears passive because her approach is not as explosive and in your face as Hebi's. There are multiple instances of her being proactive as of late which people fault her for not being. Like acting on romantic jealousy during Valentine's, pushing past paralysis to give Keisuke chocolate out of fear of losing him. She said yes immediately when invited to the shrine, and as of late is actively choosing to explore her feelings for Keisuke. And I know some people will say "muh its only recently, Hebi has been proactive throughout the whole story." Yes because that is how she's written, she's overconfident and goes head-first into things that intrigue her. Whereas Kusunoki is more reserved. And again we cannot ignore that she completely blocked out the idea of romance until recently.
I can see both sides, I sit somewhere in the middle, I enjoy both characters and I think people have strayed too far too either side of the spectrum but thats just me.
In regards to the chapter itself, there's definitely avenue for Kusunoki and Hebi to become "real friends" instead of an artificial friendship. Kusonoki is not as perfect as Hebi thinks she is as is evident that they both are missing a parent in their life.
Thanks for the chapter!