your waaaaay

@Kaarme When she first met him, she thought he was a girl. By the time he revealed he was a guy, she had already developed complicated feelings for him, so it helped her to not fear him. Now that she is aware of him as a guy, given that her mind was in a horrible state to the point she couldn't even speak due to the appearance of the source of her fear, it is perfectly possible for her to unconsciously turn him away if he were to try to make physical contact.

Oh my, when our little bun cried it almost made me tear up too...Don't lose!!! You are the best!!! Love ya!!

Yeah, not sentimental at all now, no sir...

@GodGinrai She was never afraid of him to begin with. So, she can't be "no longer afraid". There's a crucial difference between these two. It means she can't suffer a relapse as far as he is concerned. His company equals to safety in Mayu's subconsciousness, no doubt largely due to how he indeed saved her when they met for the very first time. Later on he's strongly connected to her healing process. Those are his connotations in her mind.

That being said, I do think it might be better if he asked her first if he can hug her. That way, she wouldn't be surprised by any sudden acts. But then again, sometimes surprises are also necessary.

@HYBRID_BEING They've shown multiple scenes already where Yuki thought he needed to do something to seem more manly, and then we saw that Mayu was already considering him as a guy. You're talking about her mindset quite a while ago.

@Kaarme
Well, i meant in general. Especially those "ohmygod, we held hands, next is kiss, but we are so afraid to do it, whatdowedo?" developments. I mean, i don't hate such lovable dorks, but if mangaka wants to go through all these stages, why not include a hug...

@GodGinrai
Isn't that only if she subconsciously perceives him as a guy? I think she still has to remind herself at times, that Yuuki is actually a guy.

@Kaarme Fear and its effect on the mind can often be an unstable thing. Just because she is no longer afraid of him doesn't mean that when her mind is a wreck and her fear has been exacerbated that she won't irrationally fear him, who is also a guy.

@GodGinrai Nah, she's well past suddenly being afraid of Yuuki. In fact she never was afraid of him in the first place, which is quite an important detail.

@ChristineGuinn @HYBRID_BEING It hasn't been that many chapters since Kei suddenly hugged Asuka. Probably one of Asuka's fondest memories.

I feel like hugging her could bring about the wrong result after she just ran into the source of her fear of men.

Hugs are really underused by mangakas. So much body contact is probably too much for Japanese audience to handle.

@Kaarame - Personal displays of affection are culturally frowned upon in Japan. Probably why the whole trope of "holding hands" is so big in manga. It's about as much of a "public display of affection" as you generally get.

@JumboWheat01 I don't know exactly why, but sometimes it seems to me like he would sooner hug Kei than Mayu. Though generally speaking I'm not from a hugging culture country myself, so I can understand how it might be a tall order to suddenly know to hug someone.

Hug her, you fool. HUG HER!