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In Volume 16, Miko Ino does and says some things that don't seem to match her
rigid sense of justice and morality. In _Battle 154: Kaguya Shinomiya's
Impossible Demand: "A Cowrie a Swallow Gave Birth To," Part 2_, Miko Ino
offers alcoholic truffles to her classmates at a party, saying,

> "If you want to get drunk for real, you can have some of my whiskey-filled
> truffles."

When asked whether this is legal, Miko Ino replies with a legal loophole,

> "The Minors Prohibition Act forbids the serving of alcohol to underage kids.
> But food isn't forbidden, so it's legal. Plausible deniability. But please
> don't have too many."

Then, even worse, in _Battle 156: Miko Ino Can't Love, Part 2_ , Miko Ino
chastises Ishigami for _not_ engaging in promiscuous activities with someone
who might have been drunk (Ino might not have known this) and who was only
willing to engage in such activities out of pity for Ishigami (or rather, she
didn't want to let him down or hurt him). Miko Ino says,

> "How could you be so stupid?! I can't believe you just ran out of the room
> and abandoned Tsubame! You chose your stupid pride over... _Sigh_ You're
> beyond help. You must have hurt Tsubame's feelings. You're a man... Why
> would you get cold feet? You should have considered how she would feel if
> you rejected her."

What is the best way to understand these events? Is Miko Ino distraught and
acting out of character? Has the craziness of the student council eroded her
sense of justice? Or is this a matter of cultural difference? Are Japan's
mores so different from the ones I'm familiar with in my own culture that it
causes these events to seem strange? I suspect there is a difference in mores,
but I've seen Ino complain about illicit relationships , so I'm not sure
cultural differences can fully explain this.


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kaguya-sama-love-is-war
Has Miko Ino's morality been corrupted?


## Updated Answer

Previously, it was difficult to be sure just what was going on with Miko Ino.
An actual answer on whether she was depressed or not was subverted so many
times; particularly if it was Shirogane doing the questioning, it would turn
out Miko Ino was merely being happy-go-lucky with one of her strange hobbies,
and then some ominous foreshadowing at the end would cast doubt on how to
interpet what had just happened. But finally, in _Battle 190: The Senior
Classmate and the Junior Classmate, Part 3, and Miko Ino Can't Love, Part 5_ ,
has given a definitive answer that Miko Ino has indeed been distraught over
Ishigami dating Tsubame. At the very end, when Shirogane just gets straight to
the point (finally) and asks "Do you like Ishigami?", Ino replies with

> I... hate him. He isn't serious. He flouts rules. He's stupid. He's not my
> type at all. But when... I heard he went on a date with Tsubame... I felt a
> sharp sting in the back of my nose... And my heart hurt. Shirogane... How do
> I handle this?

Ino is crying in the panel, and this conversation definitively and explicitly
proves that Ino is indeed distraught over Ishigami dating someone else, and
that is why she has been acting so odd. Notably, it does **not** explicitly
confirm that Miko Ino is in love with Ishigami, and there could possibly be
more subversion in the future (I don't expect there to be, but it's possible),
but this is also **not** what this question is asking. This quote definitively
proves Ino is deeply distraught, for whatever reason, because of Ishigami
dating Tsubame. This answers the question, but I'm maintaining the rest of my
answer because it offers additional details I find of interest.

## Rest of the Answer

Due to my own lack of knowledge, I can't speak to the cultural differences in
play here (though I do think they're relevant), but there is textual evidence
to suggest that Miko Ino is distraught over Ishigami romantically pursuing
another girl, which is likely making Ino behave strangely.

Though Miko Ino doesn't acknowledge her feelings to herself, it is implied by
other characters and by how she secretly assists Ishigami that she probably
has romantic feelings for him. For instance, Ino seems to greatly enjoy
Ishigami waiting hand-and-foot on her while her arm is broken.

In _Battle 158: Miko Ino Can't Love Part 3_ , there are many implicit
suggestions. While talking to her friends, Miko Ino says,

> Hey, I've been wondering... How can I explain this...? I've been trying to
> figure out... How come... Ishigami came over... afterwards, and...

From the text and from the strange look in her eyes, it seems Miko is confused
about her own thoughts and feelings for Ishigami. Onondera's response is

> "Well... Now's your chance... to make Ishigami your slave. He needs an
> outlet for his guilt anyway... so it's a win-win situation for both of you."

To which Miko Ino gives an affirmative response. On the other hand, Ino's
friend Kobachi Osaragi sees trouble coming, leaving us with this ominous
statement at the end of the chapter:

> "Uh-oh. This is a bad strategy. Really bad. This is really bad. Miko is...
> going to realize it soon."

And this is said against the backdrop of a picture of Ino blushing while
holding Ishigami's hand as he helps her up the stairs.

There is some textual evidence of Ino being a bit distraught. In _Battle 154:
Kaguya Shinomiya's Impossible Demand: "A Cowrie a Swallow Gave Birth To," Part
2_, a dismayed and worried Ishigami notes,

> "Damn it. She looks desperate for male attention."

Further proof of both Ino being distraught over Ishigami courting someone else
and of her having romantic feeling for Ishigami is in the same chapter, when
she slurs these words:

> Why are you alwaysh... so mean to me? You don't talk like that to anyone
> elshe... You always, always, **always** look down on me! I hate you sho
> much! But you're nice to **other** people! Be nice to me... like you were at
> the culture festival... The way you're nice to Tsubame...

Here, she explicitly names Tsubame and indicates jealousy of the way Ishigami
treats her compared to Tsubame. This would seem to indicate that she probably
likes Ishigami herself, and that she's feeling out of sorts because of
Ishigami courting Tsubame.


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Supplement to other answer:

From the bonus chapter Ch281.1:

> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8WTvs.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8WTvs.jpg)


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