The lengths Mai goes through to bring Kanami home.
In Kaoru's backstory, she didn't like Nene at first due to him being an Aradama. However, when she got hurt and was lost in the woods, that same Aradama rescued her. After that, Kaoru developed an Undying Loyalty towards the little guy.
Nene is the best example of how Aradama are capable of compassion and change. He started off as a typical Aradama but the battles he fought with the Mikos of the past allowed him to grow a heart, resulting in him settling down and living with the very people he once wanted to kill.
After Mai used all her energy to protect Sayaka from Yume, Sayaka promptly returns the favor by protecting Mai from Yume's onslaught.
Maki paying her respects to Yume. Despite their relationship seemingly appearing professional thus far, this shows that they cared for one another.
Kanami immediately jumping in and dragging Hiyori back when the latter was about to sacrifice herself to send Tagitsuhime to the Underworld, showing that she refuses to sacrifice any of her friends. By the end, the two are unconscious and holding hands.
After the Time Skip, Hiyori briefly retires from being a Toji, her goal in life having been fulfilled. However, the moment she hears that there's a noro thief going around and that her friends need some support, Hiyori wastes no time in returning to help them.
Episode 15 has Kaoru bonding with Sayaka. For all of the flak she gets from others for being a slacker and for being very apathetic in general, it shows that Kaoru is a sweet girl underneath who wants to help Sayaka learn how to relax and have some fun.
Kaoru's team immediately welcomes Sayaka to the group and appreciates her for her efforts. What makes this even more heartwarming is that Sayaka was originally brought up to be a mindless killing machine, a tool for people to use without consideration. Now, she has people who acknowledge her for her abilities and want to become friends with her.
Nene and Sayaka bonding over late-night training, which provides the page image.
Episode 17 shows that the members of the Elite Guard, despite them being antagonists for a time, really do care for each other.
Suzuka slapping Maki not because she was angry, but because she was so scared of losing her like losing Yume and Yomi.
With Princess Tagitsu having abandoned her, Yukari has returned to her normal self. Akane, who spent the first part of the show worrying that she may never reconcile with her sister, is happy to have her back.
For the majority of the show up to this point, we've heard stories of how Yukari was once an honorable warrior who deeply cared for her comrades before her Start of Darkness. In this episode, we get to see that all those stories were true, as Yukari takes the time to formally apologize to Kanami and Hiyori for causing grief to them and their mothers even knowing that she may not obtain forgiveness from them for a while. It shows that Yukari really did love her friends and refused to live in a world without them.
Maki and Suzuka talking about things and why they accepted aradama in the first place. Suzuka has a uncharacteristic pouty outburst and tells Maki she accepted aradama because she didn't want to be left behind by her. Maki assumes Suzuka is talking about someone else and admits that makes her a little jealous. Suzuka calls her dense. It really shows that they didn't just show up together all the time because they had to but because put of the four of them they were closest to each other.
Princess Takiri meeting Nene. Takiri wonders how this Aradama would willingly join the Toji and turn against his own kind, but after looking into Nene's memories, she sees why: the Toji filled him with love and compassion. This is enough for Princess Takiri for reconsider her views on humanity.
Also from Nene's memories: Nene bonding with Kaoru when she was a baby.
As Yukari and Princess Ichikishima are on the run from Princess Tagitsu's forces, Ichikishima wonders why everyone would go to such lengths to protect her. Yukari then answers that it was thanks to Ichikishima's meekness that Yukari was able to retain her sanity while she was possessed. This leads to a moment of awesome where Ichikishima becomes inspired to protect Yukari by briefly engaging Princess Tagitsu in combat. Later, she offers Hiyori to perform a Fusion Dance with her, but even then it's not out of her own interests; all she wants to do is save the person who treated her like she was someone important.
Yukari heads off to find Hiyori and help her with her new Fusion Dance which is slowly getting out of control. She has lost Kagari but she won't fail her friend's daughter.
Mai and the others comforts Kanami as she despairs over losing Hiyori and tells her that they share blame for this.
Despite how much harshly Yukina treats her, Yomi still protects her headmaster. In a flashback, it is revealed Yukina gave a lost Yomi a purpose when the girl feels she failed as a Toji.
Because of this act of loyalty, Yukina realizes that even though those she admires has abandoned her, her student who admires her wouldn't. The next episode shows a grieving Yukina preparing a funeral for Yomi and is willing to die alongside her student.
Kaoru stops to tell Hiyori that she brought a present for her. It was a mint chocolate candy bar.
After finally seeing from Yukari's perspective when she was possessed by Tagitsu and seeing how much she went through to save her, Hiyori finally forgives Yukari and wants to share some food with her.
Hiyori gets to meet the spirit of her mother for the first time. She has a lot of respect and awe towards Kagari while the latter shows a surprising maternal side even though she's technically still a teenager. What happens next is a touching scene where Kagari consoles her daughter and Hiyori gets the clarity that she needed to move on ever since her mother's death.
Hiyori's smile is adorable.
Kanami meets Minato but unlike the times they meet at some stairway, this time they meet at Kanami's house. It's there that Kanami tells her mother's spirit about all the adventures she had after that fateful battle with Tagitsu including marrying the man who will be her husband much to Minato's embarrassment since her husband was just a classmate and never thought she would marry him of all people. However, she quickly changes her reaction and smiles, understanding that it was because of that marriage leads to her daughter's birth.
