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>if you had not been there to help her it is implied she never would have improved.
This is not implied. In Lilly's route, she travels with the newspaper club without Lilly or Hisao pushing her to do so. In Shizune's, she sticks around for a game of chess. She runs off in the end, but it was Shizune's pushing instead of the interaction itself.
>People like how Hanako depends on them, she needs them
How do you know what people like? She doesn't want to be someone Hisao feels he has to protect. She outright says this in the ending. She has her ups and downs (panic attack and city visits), but she's not made of glass.
>Yes it is about her scars. It is about how her scars inconvenience her life.
The scars are a reason behind her behavior, but they are not the focus of the story. Hanako is trying to get close to a boy and Hisao is at times outright wondering if pursuing a relationship with her is a good idea. She doesn't want his protection, but wants to be an equal ("I'm here for you too.") in their relationship. By the end, they're willing to go forward together and take things as it comes.
She was able to let someone get that close to her after years of relative isolation.
