Imasara desu ga, Osananajimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimaimashita - Ch. 41 - Everything, Falling Apart

[HellJester]

Forgive me, y'all posted a crap-ton while I was asleep and while I was at work so now begins my wall of text.

Yeah, it lools like she's trying to make people around her to stop with the bullshit. The last panels Aya taunting Hikari looks like a setup for a final bitchslap to Aya.

Now, will that happen or Hikari will break on how horrible Aya is being to her?

I think if Hikari was going to break she'd have done it by now. I think she'll continue to be resilient and work to get Aya out of her protective shell. I hope she takes the same tough route with Yuu and gets him to open up so Hikari can get the full picture.

Yes, which if he cared about Aya more than Hikari finding out would maybe be a risk worth taking. Granted, 'm also slightly baffled that he never put together that Aya chan was Yami sempai since Aya behaves much the same w/ both of them and he knows Aya goes to Hikari's school and was cutting class often enough that being held back was plausible.

This is why I want a Yuu POV so bad. I just don't understand why he does some of the things he does. Does he even know her first name? She told him her name was Yami and that's what he calls her. Does he know her last name? She's never shown him where she lives. He knows a little bit about her home life but not enough about her life in general to justify how long they "dated". I struggle to call it dating because it seems they either hung out in a manga cafe or met up in love hotels. Did she ever go to his house? I don't think she did because she acted clueless about Hikari's neighbor (Yuu) during the sleepover.

I'm also generally confused why he gave in so easily to Yami's seduction other than the hurr durr he's 15 what 15 year old boy in the throws of puberty would turn down free sex (and yes I made that argument previously but that's because I had nothing else to go on). I know the characters aren't perfect but it's hard to reconcile the whole "I loved you for 10 years" thing and I fucked the first willing girl that crossed my path thing. Did Yuu think his chance with Hikari was over forever and he decided to move on? I NEED THE YUU POV.

Is that something he should of been honest about especially knowing the results? It's one thing if he initiated the kiss but she forced herself on him. Don't really see him as a bad guy for wanting to keep secret that he was in a prior relationship.

I know it can be easy to miss but in Chapter 40 Yuu finds out that Yami and Hikari are close friends. He asks Yami about it and asks if Hikari knows about the past romance. Yami mentions Hikari doesn't know and that Yami just found out that Yuu was the boy that Hikari liked. With that knowledge, Yuu still went and confessed to Hikari. Again, I have to point out how odd this is. If I was about to ask a girl out and I found out that I used to date her best friend I feel it would be inappropriate for me not to mention this fact. I have to give the girl a chance to talk to her best friend first. Should also point out that the onus on Yuu talking to Hikari about his relationship with Yami is not 100% on him. The moment Yami found out (I believe it was months ago as she found out during the amusement park date which I think was in summer and the school festival is September/October) that the boy Hikari liked was her ex she should have told Hikari. Yuu had prior knowledge for all of 30 minutes whereas Yami had it for months.

There was no closure between them. Being friends is one thing but he was basically brushing it all under the rug because it was convenient for him now that he was going to go confess to Hikari.

Exactly why Yami lashed the fuck out. Yuu basically got his rocks off and moved on easily.

I agree but those are two pretty major faults all things considered imo and directly connect to the whole "he doesn't think of anyone around him." Hikari absolutely deserved to know that he'd gotten with Yami as soon as he knew they were friends, regardless if he knew that she knew they kissed or not.

I agree there was no closure between Yuu and Yami but I think it's less Yuu sweeping the whole thing under the rug and more that he's had a year or so to come to terms with it and he's since moved on. Yuu most likely believes Yami no longer had feelings for him which is why she ghosted him. Yami, meanwhile, still has feelings for Yuu and has been stewing about it the entire time. Yes, she's lashing out at Yuu but it's her own fault not Yuu's. I mean she just got done telling Yuu that he was boring and didn't really mean anything to her (we know she was lying about that but Yuu doesn't and Yuu has nowhere near the emotional intelligence of Hikari so he's not going to decipher Yami's rantings).

Again, without a Yuu POV I don't know how true the "he doesn't think of anyone around him" is. He's 15 and out of his depth when he was with Yami. He's 16 now and not much better. I think he's just a very very passive person with self esteem issues.

No it doesn't matter what he believes Hikari thinks whatsoever, throughout the dance she was silent and distant, totally the contrary of what she usually is. If he just asked her what happened to her, he should have avoided this situation turning so bad.

Is not that he is a pushover and dense, which yeah but that's not that bad in itself, but it looks he just thinks of himself, he went straight to confess when all the alarms were going off. That's beyond being dense, I can't believe anyone in that situation would not realize what's going on.

People give shit to Yuu for not being on point like a shoujo crush of the fmc and I think a lot of people were very hard on him for no real reason because until that point it only hurted himself, but this is not one of those situations. He fucked up and hurted everyone for selfish reasons.

I feel like a broken record but I have to point out that without a Yuu POV I have to give him some benefit of the doubt. I think him not talking to Hikari about her mood (which he did notice) was a combination of him being mind-fucked from the previous Yami encounter and his nervousness about confessing to Hikari. The confession is a culmination of 10 years of pining. I think that's really why he ignored every warning sign and bulldozed his way through.

Are seriously telling that If Yami never kissed Yuu the situation would have been the same?

Yes, if the kiss never happened it would still be a bad situation because Yuu now knows Yami and Hikari are close friends and Yami is at fault for not telling Hikari (sitting on it for months) and Yuu is at fault for not telling Hikari (sitting on it for 30 minutes). It's not the same level of fault but both Yuu and Yami suck for not talking to Hikari.

While I think you're almost completely right I disagree slightly that it was him being purely just selfish- yeah, that's 100% a part of it but I think very much a part of it is he's just a dumb teenager who assumed he was overthinking shit

He picked up that she was acting off and just...did it anyways probably because he thought he was overthinking it which lines up with his character imo didn't trust his own instincts if he had just trusted what he was thinking it could have gone completely differently

See, this is what I get for trying to comb through 8+ pages of comments that happened while I was asleep/at work. I'm typing up a wall of text and then someone comes along and concisely says what I'm thinking. How dare you!

Alright fuck it time to make my prediction what part 4 is gonna be at least partially

We're in for another flashback from Yuu's POV to show his past with Hikari more (and hopefully show what those heartbreaks that were mentioned are)

Yeah yeah i know people here hate flashbacks, and don't want more, but I honestly think we need to see more shit from Yuu's POV to flesh his character out some and showing his past with Hikari would be a great way to do it

Dude, get out of my head! I'm half contemplating just deleting everything and replacing it with "just go read what middle-the-nerd and mug3n are saying."

All that I know anymore-

God I don't want a Yuu x Yami ending PLEASE

If that happens it's right up there with the ending of Usagi Drop for me.

The problem comes from the fact that Yuu's "bad deeds" are flimsy, unfair and victim-blame-y.

Yuu is Yami's ghosted ex. Not her keeper. Yami herself is the one supposed to keep herself in line. not Yuu.

If someone is assaulted. Are gonna say their bad for not wanting to talking about it or pretend it didn't happen? Are you also gonna say that their bad for not solving the problem caused by them being assaulted?

I think everyone is so focused on what Yuu should have done when Yami ghosted him when they should really be focused on what Yuu should have done before all that. I said it earlier but why did he not insist on knowing more about Yami. He does attempt to glean more info from her but the moment she pushes back he just gives up instead of trying a second time. If he had some more information about her he might have been able to track her down when she ghosted him. It's just weird to "date" someone for so long and not really know anything about them.

Just like the whole Yami trying to whore out Hikari incident, people are really focusing on the Yami slapping Yuu and Hikari pushing Yuu to the ground incidents. Bottom line, I think the author didn't really think about it when they added those scenes. I think they were meant as a cheap method to create drama and then you're supposed to just forget about them. The author is much better served by creating drama based on what people are saying. Also, I say this tongue in cheek, if us Hikari fans were able to put aside the whoring out incident, the Yuu fans should be able to set aside the assault incidents.

I think she did it to push Hikari away/test Hikari rather than spite, but I agree that she also did it b/c she's still in love with Yuu. Which is what I think Hikari is basically saying in this chapter - Aya chose this very messed up method to communicate to Hikari (and Yuu) that Aya is still in love w/ Yuu. All the things can be true - Aya is choosing this method to give Hikari an easy out (b/c Aya is being awful) & the easy out means Hikari would be rejecting Aya for the lies rather than the real person. It's a way to have the truth out there while also evading actual vulnerability.

ETA, which yeah right, Yuu basically took the easy out here of she's being awful so he's gonna dip instead of confronting her like Hikari is. Which I don't judge him for - like if he doesn't want a relationship w/ her, he shouldn't force one for the sake of being nice. But that's also what Aya is reading in his "let's keep in touch" b/c he's not confronting her.

Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science? I don't know why I bother to type - y'all just read what story645 says in a much more concise method than lil' ol' me.

 

[GennArc]

I'm also generally confused why he gave in so easily to Yami's seduction other than the hurr durr he's 15 what 15 year old boy in the throws of puberty would turn down free sex (and yes I made that argument previously but that's because I had nothing else to go on). I know the characters aren't perfect but it's hard to reconcile the whole "I loved you for 10 years" thing and I fucked the first willing girl that crossed my path thing.

Because they both enjoyed each other's company, obviously.
Like this is before they actually slept with each other:

Yeah, it was freezing, no doubt about that...

But for some reason, I felt like my mood was keeping me warm. Like no matter how long the wind kept blowing, I'd be fine.

We called it an evaluation meeting for Yuu's failed entrance exam and other stuff, but it was really just me teasing him nonstop.
Whenever he tried to turn away from me, annoyed, I'd lean in close, catching his gaze from below or the side so he couldn't escape.

When I gave him my most mischievous grin, Yuu would glare back at me, looking just a little sulky.
But before long, he'd crack a sheepish smile, despite himself.

It was, by far, the worst night for both of us. We agreed on that.
And yet, we couldn't stop talking.

We'd catch each other's eyes and burst into laughter...

And yes, of course it was partly because he was giving up on Hikari after the failure with exams, but just as she said this chapter, he is not that type of person to go into it without any feelings involved.

 

[story645]

He knows a little bit about her home life but not enough about her life in general to justify how long they "dated". I struggle to call it dating because it seems they either hung out in a manga cafe or met up in love hotels.

Yup. Like I have argued that he should have 100% pushed Aya for more information, but to be somewhat fair to him Aya was also working overtime trying to convince Yuu that this was the FWB deal she's telling Hikari it was. Hikari's just better placed to call out Aya's lies b/c she doesn't have Yuu's crippling "Aya can't actually like me" insecurity, knows Aya a lot better b/c they've been friends for a year and they haven't sped run emotional intimacy w/ sex, and Hikari's just more mature.

Did Yuu think his chance with Hikari was over forever and he decided to move on? I NEED THE YUU POV.

He also went out on dates w/ the girls Hikari tried to set him up w/, so yeah I think he was mostly trying to move on. I think he agreed to having sex with Aya when they just met b/c he was at his lowest levels of worth and here was a girl he'd kinda befriended telling him she wanted him, but then once he slept with her he was of course gonna keep on w/ the relationship b/c he caught feelings and it was the easy/obvious next move.

Dunno also maybe on some level he also bought into the "maybe Hikari will see me as a man if I have experience?" thing, which I half expect to backfire.

Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science?

Aww thanks, but I think it's mostly that I was a teenage girl and I have been to therapy.

 

[jetslose]

i would've thought the comments section for this chapter would be a ghost town with all the yuu haters killing themselves in shame after being nuclearly blown out to an extent that would make hiroshima blush

 

[Rafalga]

Ok i might have missed something, where does it say that he didnt try getting with hikari?

I think he means Yuu didn't try to confess before getting with Yami when he was still in middle school due to the fear of being rejected. But he was correct not to do so since Hikari literally confirms this herself that she wasn't even seeing him as a man till couple of months ago and Yuu probably picked up on it during middle school. So his point is entirely moot.

This also has a direct relation with Yami's "it took him losing his virginity for you to notice" remark this chapter. Which is also more or less correct since he lost the simp puppy love attitude due to that which in turn caused Hikari to notice the difference in vibe/attitude and fall in love all of a sudden.

 

[Wyou]

A boxing match between Hikari and Yami would fix this. lets go

 

[Jackal-Lantern]

i would've thought the comments section for this chapter would be a ghost town with all the yuu haters killing themselves in shame after being nuclearly blown out to an extent that would make hiroshima blush

Yes, becaue Yuu is the primary focus and central character of this chapter...

 

[halcer]

I was waiting for this confrontation but wasn't looking forward to it

 

[story645]

i would've thought the comments section for this chapter would be a ghost town with all the yuu haters killing themselves in shame after being nuclearly blown out to an extent that would make hiroshima blush

Legit why? Mind I don't hate him, but Aya crashing out doesn't absolve Yuu of the part he played in this mess. Him finding out Yami is Aya-chan makes it worse that he's trying to get w/ Hikari w/o saying anything. And Aya basically didn't yell anything at him that she hadn't said passive aggressively while they were dating so like he's not winning best boyfriend awards either. ETA: which like "he's not a mindreader" - sure, but also while they were dating he picked up on Aya lying all the time and chose not to clear the air.

 

[Rarez]

"The problem comes from the fact that Yuu's "bad deeds" are flimsy, unfair and victim-blame-y" continues.

Yes, if the kiss never happened it would still be a bad situation because Yuu now knows Yami and Hikari are close friends and Yami is at fault for not telling Hikari (sitting on it for months) and Yuu is at fault for not telling Hikari (sitting on it for 30 minutes). It's not the same level of fault but both Yuu and Yami suck for not talking to Hikari.

So Yuu is bad for not "Saving Himself" for HIkari?

Because they weren't dating behind HIkari's back, They didn't even know about the hikari connection until ch 40.
So Hikari's would have been the problem here if she cared about that.
"Getting angry that your boyfriend/girlfriend dated somebody before you" is one thing.
"Getting angry that the person you like but not dating has dated somebody before you" is "incel-y"

 

[story645]

"Getting angry that the person you like but not dating has dated somebody before you" is "incel-y"

She's clearly mad/hurt that her beloved childhood friend, who she's sticking up for in this chapter, hid a big part of his life from her. Yuu especially has been friends long enough w/ Hikari to know how much she values honesty in her friendships, which is why he thinks he's the worst in the confession chapter.

Like so far Hikari has not made a single comment indicating she's mad/cares that Yuu has dated other people. ETA: Hell in this chapter, very explicitly what she's mad at Aya for is Aya being dishonest and not so much Aya kissing Yuu.

 

[Rarez]

how much she values honesty in her friendships,.

There's honesty and There's sharing everything. For the most part, Yuu thought she was uninvolved in that. (It's pretty lopsided how Yuu and Yami are "innocent" in that situation.)

Logically you won't be able to everything about yourself to another person regardless of how close you are.
So is everyone lying to their loved ones by not telling everything about themselves?

 

[story645]

So is everyone lying to their loved ones by not telling everything about themselves?

In this manga, people tell their friends about the important people in their lives. Hikari told Yuu all about 'Aya-chan' b/c Hikari loves Aya-chan. Hikari and Aya tell their friends about Yuu. Hell, Yuu told Hikari about his random kohai and it makes Hikari ask if that kohai is his ex-girlfriend b/c there's an expectation in their friendship that Yuu would tell her if she was.

 

[Rarez]

Hikari told Yuu all about 'Aya-chan' b/c Hikari loves Aya-chan.

"All About"? If that was true Yuu and Yami would have known that Hikari was talking about them.
But the fact it took until meeting face-to-face to realize that. Means that Hikari didn't tell everything about it.
Hell, A single picture from Hikari would have change the course of this story.

Yuu told Hikari about his random kohai and it makes Hikari ask if that kohai is his ex-girlfriend b/c there's an expectation in their friendship that Yuu would tell her if she was.

Doesn't really mean anything. It's his prerogative if he wants to about his ex/current/non girlfriend to a friend he's not dating.

 

[story645]

"All About"? If that was true Yuu and Yami would have known that Hikari was talking about them.

Yami being in the classroom and Ta-kun's real name being (the not uncommon) Yuu was all the confirmation they each needed, so sounds to me like Hikari was fairly spot on in her descriptions.

Hell, A single picture from Hikari would have change the course of this story.

Yes, that is a plot hole that bugs me b/c what teenage girl doesn't have a selfie w/ her best friend? The only thing I can think of, besides plot convenience, is that while I talk about my best friend all the time, it'd be weird to pull out her picture unless it was explicitly relevant to the conversation.

I'm also baffled that apparently Aya never came over to Hikari's house when Hikari has been to Aya's, but I mostly assume that's a function of extra curriculars and Hikari mostly being over at Yuu's.

 

[Rarez]

"The problem comes from the fact that Yuu's "bad deeds" are flimsy, unfair and victim-blame-y" continues. again.

all the confirmation they each needed

Why would they need to confirm something like that? Why would they even assume that HIkari was talking about them?
Neither Yuu or Yami are Detectives or Paranoiacs. Neither of em' would have a reason to check.

plot hole

Because that's not a plot hole. It's just because their "normal" and don't actually "talk all about" themselves. They just talk about what they'll find fun and what's directly relevant to the other.

it'd be weird to pull out her picture unless it was explicitly relevant to the conversation.

So is talking about your dating life, when talking to a person who you aren't even dating.

 

[robopiplup07]

Which I don't judge him for - like if he doesn't want a relationship w/ her, he shouldn't force one for the sake of being nice. But that's also what Aya is reading in his "let's keep in touch" b/c he's not confronting her.

This is specifically what's triggering the everloving shit out of me about him. He's not just passive, that part doesn't bother me so much, it's primarily this indecisiveness and stringing along behavior. It's like he doesn't want to cut Yami off completely because he's not sure the thing with Hikari will work out, but he's also not invested in her well-being to the point where I don't think he cares about her as a person all that much, she's mainly a girl he assumes will satiate his physical desires and give him affection for very little effort on his part. Even during their reunion, there still wasn't much concern about her well-being, he was just going through the motions. From what I've seen, I don't think Yuu knows who he likes more, or if he even understands what he's feeling. His relationship with Yami was almost entirely based on lust, and I think his feelings for Hikari are still very much puppy love and not anything substantial.

 

[Trevoga]

chapter title very fitting for the whole manga

 

[HellJester]

So Yuu is bad for not "Saving Himself" for HIkari?

Because they weren't dating behind HIkari's back, They didn't even know about the hikari connection until ch 40.
So Hikari's would have been the problem here if she cared about that.
"Getting angry that your boyfriend/girlfriend dated somebody before you" is one thing.
"Getting angry that the person you like but not dating has dated somebody before you" is "incel-y"

Are we having a reading comprehension problem? You quoted me and then asked if Yuu was bad for not saving himself for Hikari. What was quoted had nothing to do with that issue but I'll answer it nonetheless. No, Yuu is not bad for not saving himself for Hikari. No one is owed anyone's virginity.

You are correct in that Yuu and Yami did not date behind Hikari's back. Yuu was not romantically involved with Hikari at that time and Yami was not friends with Hikari. No one is disputing that.

However, you are only partially correct with your chapter 40 statement. Yuu did not know that the Aya-chan Hikari was always talking about was Yami-senpai until the classroom scene which is about 30 minutes before his confession. Yami, however, found out that Yuu was the boy Hikari had a crush on during the group text between the four girls while Hikari was on an amusement park date with Yuu (page 1 of chapter 11 which I believe occurs sometime in the summer). This means Yami has known about Yuu being Hikari's crush for a few months and stayed quiet. I believe both Yuu and Yami are guilty of not saying anything to Hikari; they just have different levels of guilt.

I'm not sure what you're getting at in your two "getting angry" statements. The anger Hikari is showing is not due to Yuu and Yami dating it's due to them lying about it. It's fucking weird to confess to someone but not mention you used to date their best friend. Do y'all just go around dating your best friends' exes willy nilly? It should at the very least warrant a conversation. "Hey dude, I'm thinking about asking out your ex, are you cool with that?" or "Hey, person I'm about to ask out, did you know I used to date your best friend? Thought you should know first so you can talk to them before deciding to go out with me."

There's honesty and There's sharing everything. For the most part, Yuu thought she was uninvolved in that. (It's pretty lopsided how Yuu and Yami are "innocent" in that situation.)

Logically you won't be able to everything about yourself to another person regardless of how close you are.
So is everyone lying to their loved ones by not telling everything about themselves?

This has to be a reading comprehension thing. You can't be serious. No one in these threads is advocating full 100% disclosure regardless of the circumstances. If Yami and Hikari didn't know each other then yes, Yuu has no obligation to mention to Hikari that he dated her. However, they are best friends. Both Yuu and Yami owe it to Hikari, THE MOMENT THEY FOUND OUT, to mention the connection. It would be weird not to. Again, are y'all out there just dating your best friend's ex without even talking to your best friend?

I'm also baffled that apparently Aya never came over to Hikari's house when Hikari has been to Aya's, but I mostly assume that's a function of extra curriculars and Hikari mostly being over at Yuu's.

Sorry, me being nitpicky. Hikari went to the apartment that Yami's stepdad had for his mistress(es) not her house. Also, during a sleepover the three girls including Yami went to Hikari's house and Yami even commented on seeing Yuu's outline next door. (Page 2 chapter 21.5)

"All About"? If that was true Yuu and Yami would have known that Hikari was talking about them.
But the fact it took until meeting face-to-face to realize that. Means that Hikari didn't tell everything about it.
Hell, A single picture from Hikari would have change the course of this story.


Doesn't really mean anything. It's his prerogative if he wants to about his ex/current/non girlfriend to a friend he's not dating.

Gonna be super nitpicky about this. Hikari telling Yuu all about her friend Aya-chan is not going to cause Yuu to figure out that Yami-senpai = Aya-chan. Yuu knows nearly NOTHING about Yami both because Yami purposefully shot down every attempt Yuu made to know her better and because Yuu gave up the instant Yami pushed back on his questions.

However, the fact that Yami reads about the girls refering to Ta-kun as Yuu instantly causes her to know Ta-kun = the boy she ghosted goes to show how much Hikari talked about Yuu that it was super easy for Yami to connect the dots.

Why would they need to confirm something like that? Why would they even assume that HIkari was talking about them?
Neither Yuu or Yami are Detectives or Paranoiacs. Neither of em' would have a reason to check.


Because that's not a plot hole. It's just because their "normal" and don't actually "talk all about" themselves. They just talk about what they'll find fun and what's directly relevant to the other.


So is talking about your dating life, when talking to a person who you aren't even dating.

Page 4 of chapter 40 has both Yuu and Yami telling each other about how much Hikari talks about the other one.

Yuu is close friends with Hikari and just found out that his ex-girlfriend is Hikari's best friend. Yami is best friends with Hikari and for a few months now just found out that her ex-boyfriend is the guy her best friend is in love with. Why wouldn't their close friend be talking to them about her other friends/love interests? Do you not talk to your friends about other friends you don't have in common? Do you not talk to your friends about your crush/lover/girlfriend/boyfriend/etc?

One of my best friends won't shut up about the people he plays D&D with or the people he meets at a networking thing he goes to every Saturday. I know their names, I know if they're married or have kids, I know a lot about them and I haven't met them before. Another of my friends and I chat about his wife and his two kids. It's 100% normal to talk to your friends about your life.

At this point I'm just going to drop it. I don't know if you're purposefully being obtuse but I don't think there's anything I or story645 can say to get you to see the light.

 

[story645]

However, the fact that Yami reads about the girls refering to Ta-kun as Yuu instantly causes her to know Ta-kun = the boy she ghosted goes to show how much Hikari talked about Yuu that it was super easy for Yami to connect the dots.

Same w/ Yuu, all it took to connect the Yami-Aya dots was running into her in the classroom, b/c up til that point he wasn't sure if Yami was even back in school.

Hikari went to the apartment that Yami's stepdad had for his mistress(es) not her house. Also, during a sleepover the three girls including Yami went to Hikari's house and Yami even commented on seeing Yuu's outline next door. (Page 2 chapter 21.5)

Thanks! that makes so much more sense/bolsters my Hikari is good for Aya argument since evidence of that is how they've brought each other into their worlds. The mistress house is more powerful since it's also Aya being open about the family drama.

Why would they even assume that HIkari was talking about them?

I agree, Yuu/Aya would have little reason to think Hikari was talking about Aya/Yuu, but Hikari was so descriptive that it was super easy for them to connect the dots. Which was addressing your claim that Hikari wasn't all that discriptive.

They just talk about what they'll find fun and what's directly relevant to the other.

Because Yuu's kohai who Hikari has never met getting a new boyfriend is of intrest or relevant to Hikari how? Pretty sure that convo exists both to tell the reader what happens to the kohai and to show that Hikari and Yuu talk about the people in their lives to each other.

It's like he doesn't want to cut Yami off completely because he's not sure the thing with Hikari will work out, but he's also not invested in her well-being to the point where I don't think he cares about her as a person all that much,

I think Yuu cares about Aya but just doesn't know how to navigate the situation. She kept deflecting when they were dating, so he probably thinks she's the sort that keeps these things close to her chest and was trying to give her space to open up at her own pace. Because that's how Yuu is - when he finally opens up about the exam to Hikari, she sits back and just lets him talk and doesn't push b/c that's what he needs. Both Yuu and Aya are very much projecting their communication preferences on the other here.

From what I've seen, I don't think Yuu knows who he likes more, or if he even understands what he's feeling.

Yeah, I kinda think the author is trying to maintain some ambiguity here to keep all romantic routes open.