Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-76.198.43.138-20180721212258/@comment-1410058-20191213215541

"It's not like a Japanese person" is a decent point - Hiyori spent a long time in America and even before that seems much more of a Tokyo type than an Iwatobi type (though precisely how long he lived in each of those two Japanese locales is kind of confusing). He's the person who "smiles too much". You don't always fake a SMILE all the time in Japan.

That said, he's just scared, I think. He really doesn't know how to express his emotions, because of his childhood (and the only other person he really hung out with is Ikuya who's not exactly Mr. Open himself). He just hides behind a smile and hopes for the best.

His actions towards Haru (and Makoto and Asahi) were taken way out of proportion. Haru's return is triggering Ikuya almost drowning again, an event that will obviously have a deep resonance for Hiyori as well. Hiyori has selfish motives in part but it's not to the point of actually wanting Ikuya to be isolated or dependent. He even talks with Natsuya who obviously has no such motives for Ikuya either. Ikuya and Haru both had plenty of opportunities to facebook each other and didn't. Sousuke is here breaking his own shoulder to manipulate Rin. Is Sousuke the devil? No, then leave Hiyori alone. He's just a guy.