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thinking abt the interpretaions ive read of this scene..kindaichi not wanting to accept tobio’s apology is abt him trying to cling onto the narrative that tobio = 1 dimensional dictator so that he doesnt have to feel bad for what he feels he did to tobio by abandoning him,
its cognitive dissonance at its finest. “if i accept his apology, that only confirms my suspicions that 1) he changed 2) he changed as soon as he got away from ME. was *i* the problem?” -> breeds more guilt from the probably already existing remorse he felt abt abandoning him
its pretty clear because he says “i feel like i lost [because kageyama said we, proving that he is capable of working with his teammates and has more nuance to his personhood than the one dimensional dictator i want him to be to preserve my own self]”
and this is pretty much called back during ballboy arc???? when he asks hinata about tobio hes expressing that he feels that lingering guilt, and at this point that cognitive dissonance has gotten too large to simply fall back on... after playing tobio in seijoh 1&2,
he can clearly see the changes in tobio and feels guilty that he “took a part” in tobio’s suffering, something that other people who werent him helped tobio grow from. kunimi says “ur still clinging onto that from middle school?” “that” = guilt for abandoning tobio.
thats why hinata telling him that he wasnt wrong is moving bc hinata essentially told him “u dont have to feel guilty.” “fighting for what u want is normal.” coming from hinata, who fought with tobio to build their new quick w/ the toss he wanted, it gives kindaichi perspective.
ive seen people say that that initial apology scene is some kind of implication that tobio was being “insincere” in his apology, and kindaichi was trying to stand up for himself against that? but thats just... not what happened *imo*. firstly tobio didnt even say anything,
before he was interrupted. how could kindaichi have known it was insincere he didnt say anything? secondly tobio as a whole character just... has never been insincere for his personal gain... like when does he lie/do things that he doesnt believe in just for gain?
thirdly if anything this apology scene shows more sincerity from tobio? he doesnt try to force his apology on kindaichi, which would actually be a sign of insincerity bc it would be “just accept it, i dont want to feel bad anymore, i dont really care about you.”
instead he gave kindaichi his space to still be angry at him and not ready to forgive him, didnt force anything to happen. and tobio was the one who initiated the whole scene anyway...... idk it just seems baseless to me to claim that this is an insincere attempt at apologizing
and seems more like... assumptions based on perceptions of his character? not to mention it kind of undermines the entire emotional growth kindaichi goes through to overcome his guilt and accept his past self for doing what he thought was right.
that’s why kunimi and kindaichi are on the last king of the court 389 spread, because “the king of the court” is painful for them too. them who coined the phrase, hurt tobio with it, and fostered guilt over it. they stand tall too bc theyve forgiven themselves.
and as a disclaimer: there was nobody that was truly wrong or right in the kitaiichi trio incident. they were all kids who didnt have the emotional intelligence to navigate such an emotionally complex situation. the adults were in the wrong.
and ofc kindaichi woudve been entitled not to accept tobio’s apology back then if he truly felt the apology was insincere. but thats just not what happened. his refusal is a reflection of his own attempts to escape guilt and a show of his cognitive dissonance.
ofc this is all my opinion we all interpret canon text differently
and ofc i dont even need to bring up the last 401 scene. the catharsis of this explicit reconciliation 
them both acknowledging “we were kids, we both made mistakes based on our feelings, and we can eachother and more importantly ourselves to move on.” Crying
them both acknowledging “we were kids, we both made mistakes based on our feelings, and we can eachother and more importantly ourselves to move on.” Crying
