Honestly, from past chapters and honestly even still this chapter I'd group Makoto's step-sister more with Nanako and Kisaragi than with Shizuka and Saito
If Haruka gets a ghost of a chance, so should Nanako, lol
It feels like Miyazaki Shizuka kind of put in the most effort to make amends so far, and she didn't have much fault in the initial incident either. Dude tripped, and she tried to say it wasn't his fault. She choked up and got too nervous to set the record straight at first but it seems the story goes back and forth on whether she tried to talk to Makoto throughout middle school or not. But them being in different classes, I can understand the distance. And she said she didn't believe the rumors regarding Makoto and the other girls who ran afoul of him, and did at least eventually apologize, so there's also that. She's pretty nice, all things considered.
The step-mom and step-sister really just kind of. . . sided against him and never actually made any sort of amends for it. And Haruka even admits she basically did it to spite him for hanging out with Shizuka over her. Even in like chapter 2, Haruka was still behaving like it was Makoto's fault or something. And the story makes more sense if they just never really tried until now, because unlike Shizuka, Haruka and her mom have literal constant access to Makoto. They literally share a house. And this situation hasn't been cleared up in over three years? Get out of here with that.
Saito Miyu's incident feels like a freak accident essentially, and I can believe that in the confusion she actually thought something might have happened, actually. But she also seemed to come around and acknowledge her own fault in the situation, or at least the aftermath. . .
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Honestly. . . . For this and the incident with Shizuka I kind of feel like it's at least partly Makoto's fault. I said in another comment that Makoto should have like. . ACTUALLY SPOKE UP about what he was doing? First at least say ANYTHING to the other kids about how he hadn't pushed her. . And then he should have SAID HE WAS GOING TO GET HER BAND-AIDS.
[Actually he did say to the other kids that he wasn't running, but only after he ran off to get the band-aids. Another kid literally told him not to run off and to apologize. It's implied he's at least denying something but it's a little late for that. .]
And at the library incident it's literally the same exact thing. As far as the story has told us so far he has made zero effort to tell anyone that he was trying to protect Saito. . . . Well, at least with the Shizuka incident he was trying to tell his mom. Like yeah, For most of this it's everyone else that's in the wrong, but he could have literally just. . . . Not left Shizuka with out telling her or the other kids what he was doing.
But I do understand that after Shizuka's incident, and the reaction his mom and sister gave him, I do get why he didn't try very hard to get the other students off of his back, but still. . .
Anyway, this comment wasn't supposed to be about Makoto, lmfao
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Kisaragi. . . Like, I'm not gonna defend the fake confession, and also her first conversation with him after that fake confession being another confession is. . Not the most trustworthy way to handle things. But also, Makoto says she was laughing at him back then too but if we actually go back to those pages she literally wasn't, in fact she apologized to him right then and there.
This is why I think Kisaragi is better than Haruka, actually. Dumb kids will do a lot in the face of peer pressure, and she apologized on sight anyway, while Haruka was at home and didn't think to hear out her own step-brother over stupid gossip. Actually wait, it wasn't even that she believed the gossip, or maybe she did, but she get their mom on Makoto's case out of spite.
Anyway-
Nanako. . . Hasn't shown up again, yet, so I dunno what to say about her. But she also. . . her incident felt targeted, so she's probably actually bad news.
I guess if I were to rank these girls from most forgivable to least forgiveable
Shizuka and Miyu are near the top of most forgiveable
Kisaragi's a little messed up and insistent but she already apologized way back, so I dunno
Haruka and Nanako would need the most work to make amends. Haruka could have been ranked higher but she's had over three years to do something and still hasn't really even started.
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On a separate note, Makoto and Shinozuka's "Not friends" attitude is actually kind of annoying.
Like, yes. They have baggage. But they have similar baggage to each other. They should be able to legitimately bond over that without hiding behind something stupid like that. I know. . . Or rather, I'm half sure they'll get over this soon-ish but it really should not have lasted more than a couple of chapters. . .