Basically, going the way I did, I got the neutral ending for her my first time through, no guides. It turned out that for some reason I wasn't able to get the good ending from reloading saves, though I hadn't walked the path towards the bad ending. It didn't really matter, though - I wouldn't have immediately picked up the "agree with Lilly" option anyway.
I suppose the difference between the three endings for Hanako would be how Hisao acts when Hanako shuts herself in her room in some depression. In the bad ending, Hisao is determined to get her out of her room no matter her mood, and flatly refuses to pick up on any hints that she's getting frustrated with him not leaving. Assuming he knows better than she does. Which, of course, is what makes her blow up on him - not only does she hate that she can't get over being the fragile one, she can't even be let alone to work that through when she needs to be alone. The neutral ending has him just determined that she not be left alone and hurt - he doesn't try to force her to open up or anything, but he goes there with supper for her, and some small talk. His small talk seems to touch her the wrong way, likely because it's still sounding like pure white-knighting with her still unaware of his real feelings for her, but I never saw it like Hisao's internal monologue at the end - making it sound like their friendship will never go further. It just keeps things going the way they have been, without the big events that either the good or bad endings have while Lilly is gone. It still seems like it could get Hisao and Hanako into a relationship, just that it would take more time - though if it took longer than the school year it could have prevented it from happening at all, but between Lilly, Hisao, and Hanako herself, it probably wouldn't take that long for some move to be made, honestly. Lilly for sure seems to know how they feel for each other, and would likely encourage them to act on it. The good ending has Hisao give Hanako some distance as Lilly recommends, and then focus more on himself, also as she recommends. It's this slight distancing that he does, both for Hanako and himself, that makes Hanako worry - so she then both opens up to and awkwardly seduces him, which is what quickly gets the ball rolling on their relationship.
Hopefully the part I left unblocked isn't too much of a spoiler, so anyone who hasn't done it can still get a feel for where I'm going.
Basically, I, personally, would have acted closest to the neutral ending in that scenario, and of course led Hisao down that path. I don't think I would have pushed the idea of "we'll be here to protect you" as much as Hisao did in that ending, but I would have gone to see her as he did just to make sure she wasn't alone. Certainly wouldn't have been so aggressive about it as bad-ending Hisao. Ultimately, though, it's not really the right choice to make. By that point, Hanako makes a point of asserting that yes, she wants to be left alone, and many of Hisao's schoolmates and even his teacher have informed him that Hanako has done this before, and will come out when she is ready. And, of course, she has a therapist she sees on a regular basis when she needs to as well.
Basically - it all kind of drove home to me the idea that interfering with someone when they do not feel up to facing the world, including you, no matter how important you are to each other, is not only not the best decision, but can actually harm the relationship, whether romantic or otherwise.
It is ironic to me, because of the fact that I personally am in a depression that's somewhere in between Hisao's (early Act I, anyway, he's certainly better off as the acts go on) and Hanako's. Where, exactly, is hard to pinpoint and changes day-to-day. (Because simplicity would just be too convenient.) Despite that, I didn't realize how annoying it would feel for Hanako to have someone white-knighting her like that. Well, not white-knighting, because it's a bit stronger than just that. Probably because I don't have anyone white-knighting me like that. Of the few friends I trusted as the downward spiral started, one has given me space when I've needed it. One, who I talked to during a rather brief dark period months before, I wasn't (and am still not) talking to anymore by the time these recent events happened. And the last, someone I knew for over ten years, chose to stab me in the back after a little while. (Super helpful, and that friendship is now quite dead.)
There was, though, a brief time when I mentioned my state of mind to a co-worker, who - as far as I know - didn't mention it to anyone else. That co-worker had recently injured his leg pretty badly, and so was doing light work around the warehouse. Shortly before that he'd submitted his two weeks' notice. But for the brief period of time that we would interact during the evenings, for the brief number of days he had left, it was fairly obvious that he was acting quite differently around me since I'd opened up a little about it. I have to admit, I was annoyed by that. But that went on for uh, three days? Maybe four? So that mentality hadn't quite sunk in.
But, no. No one really likes to feel pitied. Even if what you're doing isn't simply pity - and it doesn't seem like it is from Hisao, though that could just be me projecting. What matters is that Hanako feels pitied, and hates it - not that she hints that to you unless you make her angry enough to scream it at you. And that's what I'd feel, too, which I honestly hadn't completely thought through. I mean, under most circumstances, I probably wouldn't really mind being roped into company like Shizune attempts to do to Hisao in Act I, but at some of the worse times - as Hanako is in during the time to set up which ending you get - and if my state of mind had been as obvious and well-known as hers was at that point - no, I probably really would seriously resent it instead.
It's something I wouldn't really have realized without playing through the endings, mostly because the only friend I do still trust about this has given me space, and generally only been talking about it when I initiated the conversation. Which... happened a hell of a lot for a while. I hadn't had anyone really be overbearing about it, not for long enough for me to think much of anything about it - yet if I were on that side of the scenario, I probably would have been.
It made me reflect on how I would feel in that position - and how I might change how I'd relate to someone else in that position. I don't know how important that could be, but a little more self-understanding can't really hurt, I suppose. It also made me understand my one friend's viewpoint, and why she has been so easily able to accept when I have pushed her away, something I'd wondered about a bit.
There are more things I'd kind of learned, but none of them so major or so long-winded. I did have a list of sorts when I started typing, but kinda went and lost it as I rambled on about that one point.
Ah, well.
The whole story, though, and all of its branches, are fairly powerfully emotional. I do feel slightly different, more so as I read through each different arc, though I'm not really sure how. Though the whole thing has been a part of getting back to doing some light running, which I haven't been doing for some time. I understand that's something a fair few readers have gotten into as a result of this story, too - go figure.