Imasara desu ga, Osananajimi o Suki ni Natte Shimaimashita - Ch. 42 - The Uprising of the Nosey Girls

[UdenEmpati]

I’d be okay with it only if Hikari stopped being close friends with them. Otherwise, her character would feel kind of surreal.

that kinda echoes my getting stuck on the line from Yuki at the end of the chapter - about the level of trust being a "death knell".

The way I'm reading that - is she just saying that Yuu's lack of active concern indicates he's fully given up on his feelings this time? That's the result I get, especially with Haru's follow-up exclamation.

But it would pave the way for Hikari just ....drifting away from him, and I guess Aya as well, especially if Aya fully self-destructs and pushes everyone away independent of future whatnot with Yuu.

Maybe I just need to go to bed, though.

 

[story645]

By only asking them to continue getting along with Yami, he is effectively ignoring the damage he has caused to Hikari.

I feel like this might be as simple as her friends came to look for him, so he knows they're worried about her. It also feels like he's trying to not undermine Hikari not telling them - she's doing it out of concern for Aya so he's gonna respect that/trust her.

Yuu's lack of active concern indicates he's fully given up on his feelings this time?

I think it pulls to the ending of Yuu ending up with Aya because she "needs" him and Hikari doesn't. Which I think is the learn nothing ending with the relationship that feeds rather than challenges his insecurity.

 

[Litreara]

I feel like this might be as simple as her friends came to look for him, so he knows they're worried about her. It also feels like he's trying to not undermine Hikari not telling them - she's doing it out of concern for Aya so he's gonna respect that/trust her.

Dunno… He could’ve said something like, “Please continue getting along well with Yami-senpai, and thank you for being such a good friend to Hikari.” That way, he would show some concern for her, but he didn’t. It really feels like he assumes he doesn’t need to worry about her, either because he knows she has friends who care about her or simply because she’s Hikari. She can handle it.

 

[story645]

It really feels like he assumes he doesn’t need to worry about her, either because he knows she has friends who care about her or simply because she’s Hikari. She can handle it.

I think both. Which has more or less been his problem the whole time - Hikari is an invincible understanding saint. Right, like he saw that she was upset b/f the confession but trusted that it'd shake out ok b/c that's Hikari. Recent posts have me thinking about how he thinks Hikari is out of reach b/c all these popular guys ask her out, but never considered that he's got all these girls who want to go out with him. Like Hikari says, he doesn't give himself enough credit while elevating her & I think that's playing out here too.

I'm not betting on it but maybe we'll get growth and this will spur him to go talk to Hikari - which right, the mitigating factor with Hikari is she lives next door and isn't the giant mystery Aya is.

Which also has me thinking that a Yuu/Hikari ending is the one I I'd think find most interesting cause I think it's the hardest to land.

ETA: which also, maybe Maruto changes this chapter if it's not supposed to be public for a month.

 

[HellJester]

My thoughts are all over the place. I'll try to go in order from the chapter.

Yuu: "If you're worried about her too, I'll talk... If you're only friends with Hikari, then I can't say anything."

While I can understand that Yuu doesn't want to air Yami's dirty laundry to people who may not be her friends, the fact that he would just shut them down if they were only Hikari's friends rubs me the wrong way. It's one of several instances this chapter where Yuu shows more concern for Yami than Hikari.

Yuki: "Hey, Harucchi, doesn't this totally make Ayamin the one at fault...?"
Haru: "It might not be that simple!"

True, it's not that simple. However, the lion's share is on Yami. She's known for months now that Hikari is crushing on Yami's ex and didn't say anything. She also kissed Yuu knowing Hikari was watching. When Yuu found her in the classroom she said a bunch of heinous shit to him. It's easy for these characters to hold off on blaming it all on Yami as they're out of the loop on those things.

The water droplets from the glass dripped onto the kitchen paper where I'd written down the facts he'd told us in chronological order, causing the pen ink to smudge.

Wonder if this list of facts will make it's way to Hikari to give the part of the story she's missing. I wonder if it will make a difference.

Haru: "But, you know, it's possible even Aya didn't know until the day of the school festival!"
Yuki: "Still, when I think back on it now, Ayamin had been acting weird since around June, right?"
Haru: "Don't say that! You're not supposed to say that~!"

Yuki is more savvy than she let's on. Wonder why Haru says they're not supposed to talk about that.

Yuu: "No matter what the circumstances are, Yami-senpai didn't do anything wrong!"
Haru: "Everything gets complicated when you start talking, so just be quiet!"
Yuu: "Okay..."

Love that Haru tells Yuu to shut up. I cannot believe that Yuu is defending Yami after the heinous shit she said about him in Chapter 40. She told him she got tired of him, keeps trying to drive him away and then when he does what she asks she attacks him verbally and physically. Like wtf is going through Yuu's head to state Yami hasn't done anything wrong. He's not savvy enough to pick up Yami's subtext. He didn't do it when they dated and he didn't do it in Chapter 40. I think he 100% took everything Yami said in Chapter 40 as the gospel truth and is kicking himself for the horrible things Yami said he did to her.

What is this...? My chest feels heavy, churning with frustration.
Everyone is at fault, yet no one is truly to blame.
Even if someone asked, "What should we have done differently?", I wouldn't know how to answer. It feels like flailing helplessly in the dark.

Ok, so again, none of them know 100% that Yami knew about Yuu & Hikari back in June (they suspect something is up since Yami was acting weird since June). They also don't know that Yami purposefully kissed Yuu knowing that Hikari was watching. I wonder if they'll find out and if they'll change their tune.

Yuki: "He... was really worried about Ayamin, huh..."
Haru: "...Yeah, kinda."

Yet again, Yuu is focused more on Yami than Hikari.

Yuki: "Also, he didn't seem too worried about Hikarin, huh..."
Haru: "...He said he trusts her. They've known each other for so long."
Yuki: "But still, being trusted that much... isn't that basically the death knell for any romantic prospects?"
Haru: "Don't say that to Hikari herself!"

I think Yuu is treating Hikari like a glass child. For those of you not familiar with this term, it comes up in families that have one or more kids that are seriously, chronically ill and one or more kids that are healthy. The parents tend to focus all their attention on the ill kid(s) and ignore the healthy one(s). Their mindset is that the ill one(s) need more help and the health one(s) can fend for themselves for a bit. The parents see that the healthy kid(s), the glass child, is doing ok without them so they assume everything is ok when in reality the kid(s) could be on the verge of losing it.

Obviously, Yami needs way more help than Hikari so Yuu is mistakenly focusing all his attention on her. Unbeknownst to him, Hikari could be on the verge of losing it. In Yuu's mind, Hikari is flawless or near-flawless so he probably cannot imagine that she would need his help.

I agree with the insight at the end concerning Yuu's "I trust Hikari".
His concern sitting solely with Ayami makes some sense - she's got a bad life thing going, and leaving her to her own devices would deny her any sort of safety net or person who could help her, if even a little. But that entire sidelining of Hikari feels....important. Like, Yuu's just kinda given up, I guess?

Which also makes me think he didn't really listen to what she'd said to him. We obviously don't have his POV here, but nothing about his words or his depicted behavior shows that he's actually reflecting on what went wrong for him when Hikari pushed him down and left him in the storeroom, and while I don't want to really try and make any guesses until we know more in that regard, I can't say I'm currently confident he's going to put in that effort, after "so many heartbreaks" where Hikari is concerned (even if the majority, if not all, might be his own doing).

Maybe Hikari made the right call in pulling back and spending time by herself. She obviously shouldn't fully isolate, but staying away from Yuu and even Aya-chan might be a good choice for her, until she can fully parse everything that's transpired and decide what she wants to do about it. If her feelings persist in the romantic sense for Yuu, then she can cross that bridge when she gets there. (Though I personally think she should hold Yuu to account for his history of behavior toward her, because he absolutely needs to grow up a bit before she should spend time on him, as far as I'm concerned.)

It really does seem like Yuu fell back into the comfort zone of just giving up on Hikari. Just once I would love for him to grow a little bit as a character and not just keep doing the same old same old.

Surprised Yuu spilled everything, but I guess Hikari didn't do anything wrong so the most she'd suffer is embarrassment from her friends knowing about Yuu and Yami's past relationship. From a meta standpoint, I could see Yuu's lack of worry over Hikari as foreshadowing that he'll end up with her in the end (I can already imagine how you guys will react haha). Or maybe they'll play it straight and make them go their seperate ways. Regardless, hope it's a happy end.

I wonder if Yuu shared Yami's verbal attack and the crappy things she said about him or if he just glossed over it and focused on the kiss.

I’d be okay with it only if Hikari stopped being close friends with them. Otherwise, her character would feel kind of surreal.

Hikari is totally going to forgive both of them and get them together romantically and sacrifice herself for them. I really hope I'm wrong about that.

I think both. Which has more or less been his problem the whole time - Hikari is an invincible understanding saint. Right, like he saw that she was upset b/f the confession but trusted that it'd shake out ok b/c that's Hikari. Recent posts have me thinking about how he thinks Hikari is out of reach b/c all these popular guys ask her out, but never considered that he's got all these girls who want to go out with him. Like Hikari says, he doesn't give himself enough credit while elevating her & I think that's playing out here too.

I'm not betting on it but maybe we'll get growth and this will spur him to go talk to Hikari - which right, the mitigating factor with Hikari is she lives next door and isn't the giant mystery Aya is.

Which also has me thinking that a Yuu/Hikari ending is the one I I'd think find most interesting cause I think it's the hardest to land.

ETA: which also, maybe Maruto changes this chapter if it's not supposed to be public for a month.

I think next steps will be Haru/Yuki getting the list of facts to Hikari. Hikari will then confront Yuu and they'll have their heart to heart where hopefully Yuu will learn something. I think Hikari and Yuu will then team up to confront Yami and straighten things out and help her out of the hole she's dug herself into.

Now whether it then becomes Hikari trying to get Yuu and Yami together or Hikari and Yuu get together with a solid friendship with Yami for both of them and everyone is healed - who knows.

 

[story645]

the fact that he would just shut them down if they were only Hikari's friends rubs me the wrong way

I really don't think he's trying to though - like he later asks if Hikari has told them everything, and I really think this has more to do w/, like Hikari staying quiet, more to do w/ Aya not getting painted as the villain. Right, the friends are quick to put the bulk of the blame on her & Yuu bears almost as much responsibility.

He's not savvy enough to pick up Yami's subtext. He didn't do it when they dated and he didn't do it in Chapter 40.

I think he is though - it's one of the things I tend to criticize him for. When they're dating he flags that she's always lying, he finally (kinda) plans date after she starts to pull away, and in 40 I take his crying at the end as a hammer over his head of everything he's missed. I just think it's more that he's so insecure he doesn't really trust his instincts.

Just once I would love for him to grow a little bit as a character and not just keep doing the same old same old.

Yup, like that's why I dislike the "broken bird Aya" ending - instead of Yuu working through his insecurity, he goes for the girl who makes him feel "needed".

Hikari will then confront Yuu and they'll have their heart to heart where hopefully Yuu will learn something.

Probably, but it'll be more of Hikari taking the initiative right? Which I guess since this isn't Yuu's story he doesn't need growth...but man.

 

[GennArc]

It looks like Maruto forgot to turn off the automatic release of the novel chapter again, and chapter 43 ended up leaking. He didn’t post anything about the chapter on X, so it really seems like the release was accidental.

They don't learn from their mistakes. Just like Yuu.
Thanks for the ping.

He could’ve said something like, “Please continue getting along well with Yami-senpai, and thank you for being such a good friend to Hikari.”

This is clearly a situation which they wouldn't blame Hikari for. But them shutting off Yami was more than likely, and that's what he is trying to prevent. And this is also what

Yuu: "If you're worried about her too, I'll talk... If you're only friends with Hikari, then I can't say anything."

might be about. It's not just about whether they are friends with Yami or not, it's also about whether they are willing to accept that there is her side of things which they are unaware about.
But actually I'm surprised it didn't backfire. I thought him defending Yami would make Haru even angrier, like he is siding with the traitor or something.

When Yuu found her in the classroom she said a bunch of heinous shit to him.

she attacks him verbally and physically

Yami's verbal attack and the crappy things she said about him

I'm not even sure what you're talking about. All she said to him was "if you had tried hard and found me, I would've gotten honest with my feelings and reunite with you".
She did say some crap about him to Hikari, but he doesn't know that. And after that confrontation, he'd know she wasn't honest about it anyway.

 

[HellJester]

I'm not even sure what you're talking about. All she said to him was "if you had tried hard and found me, I would've gotten honest with my feelings and reunite with you".
She did say some crap about him to Hikari, but he doesn't know that. And after that confrontation, he'd know she wasn't honest about it anyway.

I'll reference some quotes from the translation of Chapter 40 of the novel. Granted, everything Yami said was followed up with her internal thoughts refuting what she's saying but Yuu doesn't know this. He can only operate with what's being verbally said to him.

Yuu: “I was seriously worried, you know. When you suddenly stopped contacting me a year ago…”
Yami: “Well, I got bored. Of you, Yuu.”
Yuu: “…I… I see…”
Yami: “Exactly. So drop it already.”
Yuu: “Y-yeah. Got it. Sorry.”
Yami: “…”

So here is Yami telling Yuu she grew bored of him and that's why she ghosted him. She shuts him down immediately and gives a flippant response to his heartfelt words. It's incredibly cruel. She knows he had feelings for her and to be dismissed like he was nothing after they dated for 6 months and he hadn't seen her in over a year is needlessly cruel. He's been worried about her for quite some time and she's like "ho hum, I dropped you like a bad habit."

She tells him to leave her and go find Hikari and when he does exactly what she's asked of him she begins with:

Yami: “You ignored me for an entire year... And now what? You want to part ways cleanly, like it’s some beautiful, bittersweet goodbye?”
Yuu: “Yami... senpai?”

She immediately berates him and states he's ignored her for a year (when she was the one to ghost him).

Yami: “You could’ve found me, Yuu... You knew I was going to the same school as Hikari, didn’t you?”
Yami: “Even if I blocked your calls, it wouldn’t have been hard to find me.”
Yami: “And yet... and yet... You never even tried to find me...!”
Yami: “I’ve been going to school since last September, you know?”
Yami: “If you’d skipped school just once... If you’d waited in front of the station in the morning... If you’d found me and called out to me...”
Yami: “And even if you had, I would’ve run away for sure. Even if you caught me, I would’ve pushed you away.”
Yami: “But still—if you had kept trying, if you had chased me down again and again—!”
Yami: “If you had, then in the very end, I would’ve dropped everything, let go of it all, and run straight into your arms!”

As others have pointed out in past discussions, Yuu had no way of knowing that Yami went back to school. He didn't know where she lived and she blocked his only means of getting in touch with her. (I know that later on it's shown that Yuu did make an attempt to go to her school but I'm leaving that out as at this point in time this information hasn't been revealed yet).

I won't go so far as to say her words are cruel here but they are mean. She's the one to have cut off all contact and to berate him for not trying when she herself made no attempts either is shitty.

She goes further to state that even if he had found her she'd drive him away numerous times until finally relenting. This is just toxic behavior and while I don't particularly like the way Yuu has handled things he deserves better than this.

Finally, Yami physically slaps him and tells him he doesn't know anything.

All in all, Yami is much more emotionally savvy than Yuu. She absolute knew exactly what words to say to Yuu that would fuck him up the most and play on his insecurities. She wanted to concoct whatever mean statement she could to make him hurt and she did it right before she knew he'd go to the dance with Hikari. She wanted to sabotage Hikari and Yuu.

 

[Rafalga]

@mug3n @HellJester @EchoGirl @nogoodsumbeach @story645 @lolfacesayshi @noleafclover75 @wozbond @Rafalga @fflogschampion @awtystic @ComNguoi @Schernobyl @Ochrolv @drakenation @Mangamoz @Ninoren @Dark1400 @outinthegardener @eviljackspicer @middle-the-nerd @GennArc @UdenEmpati

It looks like Maruto forgot to turn off the automatic release of the novel chapter again, and chapter 43 ended up leaking. He didn’t post anything about the chapter on X, so it really seems like the release was accidental.

Edit: The chapter has been removed.

Spoiler: Chapter 43

Episode 43: The Pride of a Preaching Girl

Early October, a weekday Friday.
Classes were over, and it should have been long past the time for club activities to begin in the evening.

Seki: "So, what's the deal with you two~?"
Haru: "...That's my line, actually?"
Yuu: "No, Seki, why did you even follow us here?"
Yuki: "Hey now~, let's all just calm down for a moment~"

...And yet, here I was, Ichigaya Haru (self-proclaimed ace of the track and field team), skipping club activities and embroiled in a massive, relationship-related showdown at a family restaurant far from school.

Note: Although there were four people present, only one of them was actually involved in the situation...

Seki "Ehh~? Well, I couldn’t just ignore the rumors about Yuu-senpai’s new fling, could I~?"
Haru(?): "I mean, calling it a fling... Well, maybe you’re not entirely wrong."
Yuki: "Anyway, you’re Seki-chan, right? So, what exactly are you to this Ta~kun here~?"
Seki: "Fufu~n, so you’re asking me that, are you~? Well, for your information, I, Seki Nadeshiko, am Yuu-senpai’s—"
Yuu: "Hey, Seki... Like I told you before, I already have someone else I like besides you..."
Seki: "...Senpai’s... failed ex who never even made it to girlfriend status..."
Yuu: "Sorry... Really, I’m sorry."
Seki: "Uwee, uweeeeh..."
Haru: "…………"
Yuki: "…………"

...Or so I thought, but it turned out that the second person involved, Ms. Seki, had just spectacularly self-destructed.

Well, how should I put it—sorry.
Not that any of this is our fault, though.

…………

…………

Early October, Friday, as dusk began to settle over the family restaurant...
From the four-seater booth where we had been sitting, across the aisle at a two-seater table.

Seki: "You know what? Honestly, I didn’t even care about Yuu-senpai that much anyway..."
Yuki: "Yeah, yeah, it must’ve been tough~, poor little Maderin Nadeko?"
Seki: "But still, but still—how do I put it? Being rejected that clearly makes me feel... frustrated, or maybe lonely!"
Yuki: "You can spill all of that to me, your big sis Yuki~. Let it all out~."
Seki: "Yuki-senpaaai...!"

There, the two girls who had left our table—Yuki and Seki—were now huddled together, holding a post-mortem reflection session on the freshly concluded case of heartbreak.

Before the intended showdown could even begin, another showdown had already ended.
What even is this...

Yuu: "...Uh, sorry about that. Thanks for mediating."
Haru: "Nah, it’s fine... I’ll let Yuki know later."

...And so, for some reason, I was now left alone at this table with this guy in front of me, Takamura Yuu, and the two of us were stuck talking—awkwardly, to say the least.

But well, no matter how awkward it felt, running away from the purpose wouldn’t get us anywhere.
Better to settle this quickly before any more unnecessary interruptions.

Haru: "So, about what we were discussing..."
Yuu: "Did you come here to yell at me?"
Haru: "That might be how it ends up. But for now, consider this just gathering information."
Yuu: "I see... So she hasn’t told you guys, Hikari."
Haru: "You think she’s the type of girl to blab about guys to everyone?"

Well, yeah, I do?
Normally, she’s totally leaky!

But if she suddenly clams up tight, not letting a single word slip, then that can only mean one thing: for Hikari, this is a serious emergency.
And there’s no way we nosy folks (not that I’d admit it) would just leave her alone.

Yuu: "See, that’s what’s so cool about Hikari..."
Haru: "...What are you smiling about?"
Yuu: "Sorry..."

And yet, this guy in front of me—Takamura Yuu, Hikari’s childhood friend—
Even though this is clearly an emergency for Hikari, he’s somehow...

Haru: "So, what's it gonna be? Talk or not talk?"
Yuu: "I might hide the parts I don't want to share. But I won't lie."
Haru: "...You're more honest than I expected. I totally thought you'd just make excuses."
Yuu: "But before that, there's something I want to confirm with you guys."

He's kinda lacking a sense of urgency, or maybe...
weirdly calm about it all...

Haru: "Something you want to confirm?"
Yuu: "Are you guys... friends with Yami-senpai... I mean, Ayami-senpai too?"
Haru: "...You're the one bringing up that name."
Yuu: "If you're worried about her too, I'll talk... If you're only friends with Hikari, then I can't say anything."

Anyway, he didn't look anything like what we expected or imagined—a high school boy panicking and flailing after being suddenly dumped by his girlfriend, whom things had been going well with.

…………

…………

Haru: "U-um... so, when you and Aya broke up, Hikari and Aya hadn't even met yet...?"
Yuu: "Yeah. Since we broke up during last year's summer break..."
Yuki: "well, you know, we didn't become friends with Ayamin until the second term, right?"
Seki: "Whoa, Yuu-senpai, you're a master of the accidental two-timing... I kinda like shady guys, you know~?"
Yuu: "Why are you still here, Seki...?"

The facts I managed to get out of Takamura Yuu...
were nothing short of shocking, piled high with one bombshell after another.

This guy, who's the same age as us, had liked Hikari since they were kids.
But he'd always "convinced himself" that Hikari wasn't interested in him at all.

Then one day, he met Aya by chance, and they became a couple, almost as if licking each other's wounds.
But due to Aya's "change of heart?" or something, they broke up in less than half a year.

And then, without realizing how these three things were connected, he caused that traffic accident during the school festival.
...At least, that's how it went with him and Hikari.

Yuki: "Hey, Harucchi, doesn't this totally make Ayamin the one at fault...?"
Haru: "It might not be that simple!"

The water droplets from the glass dripped onto the kitchen paper where I'd written down the facts he'd told us in chronological order, causing the pen ink to smudge.

That messiness felt eerily similar to our tangled-up emotions.

Haru: "But, you know, it's possible even Aya didn't know until the day of the school festival!"
Yuki: "Still, when I think back on it now, Ayamin had been acting weird since around June, right?"
Haru: "Don't say that! You're not supposed to say that~!"

Yeah...
Now that I think about it, Aya had been acting just a little off lately.

She'd suddenly gotten weirdly invested in Hikari's love life, something she'd never shown much interest in before.
And she'd never let us into her personal space before, but she started suggesting we have home parties and stuff.

Yuu: "No matter what the circumstances are, Yami-senpai didn't do anything wrong!"
Haru: "Everything gets complicated when you start talking, so just be quiet!"
Yuu: "Okay..."

So, in the end, did she choose friendship over romance?
Was she desperately trying to make that happen...?

Yuki: "Honestly, Ta~kun, it's your fault for not realizing how she felt about you~!"
Yuu: "That just stabs me right in the heart, and there's nothing I can do about it now!"
Seki: "But because of that, senpai and I were able to meet... Doesn't that mean it was fate after all~?"
Haru: "Ah~, Miss Seki, who just had her hopes completely crushed, maybe you should stay quiet for now?"

What is this...? My chest feels heavy, churning with frustration.
Everyone is at fault, yet no one is truly to blame.
Even if someone asked, "What should we have done differently?", I wouldn't know how to answer. It feels like flailing helplessly in the dark.

...Maybe this is the same sense of helplessness Aya had been feeling all along.

…………

…………

Haru: "…………"
Yuki: "…………"

Early October, Friday, inside a train as darkness had already fallen.
The determination we had on the way here was long gone—Yuki and I stood dazed, staring blankly into space.

Yuki: "He... was really worried about Ayamin, huh..."
Haru: "...Yeah, kinda."

Takamura Yuu, who saw us off to the station... right before we parted, he bowed deeply to us and said:

Yuu: "Please, continue to get along well with Yami-senpai."

Yuki: "So he's just like Hikarin, worried about Ayamin after all~"
Haru: "Well, that girl Aya is a mess who can't help herself~"

Yeah, someone who seems to carry so much darkness and feels so precarious...
If it weren't for Hikari, we'd never have gotten involved with someone like her.

But even so, after spending a year together, you can't help but develop some attachment.

Even if it was only half a year, for him, who was probably more deeply involved than any of us, the feelings must run far deeper and stronger than we could ever imagine.

But still...

Yuki: "Also, he didn't seem too worried about Hikarin, huh..."
Haru: "...He said he trusts her. They've known each other for so long."
Yuki: "But still, being trusted that much... isn't that basically the death knell for any romantic prospects?"
Haru: "Don't say that to Hikari herself!"

Early October, Friday, inside a train nearing its destination.

The two of us let out deep, heavy sighs, thinking about the future ahead—whether it would be bright or dark, we had no idea at all.

---

Insight:

Very interesting chapter… But it really rubs me the wrong way, just as it did for Haru and Yuki, that Yuu only expressed concern for Yami.

By only asking them to continue getting along with Yami, he is effectively ignoring the damage he has caused to Hikari.

His line about "trusting" her is a double-edged sword. While meant as a compliment, it’s also an excuse. He doesn’t feel the need to worry about her because he assumes she will always be okay, and maybe even that she will always be there for him.

His taken-for-granted view of Hikari exposes his emotional immaturity and perhaps even a fundamental failure to understand the full consequences of his actions.

As someone who don't actually hate any characters unlike wast majority here, it's completely understandable that he is way more concerned about Yami than Hikari. Hikari has a perfectly solid social and home environment she can fall back on. She will get over it eventually. Yuu looks like he has more or less given up and completely focused on Yami's actual well being who has none of those and a history of self destructive behavior. He doesn't want to make things worse for her with these two girls who are seemingly friends with both. That's why he asked why were they here for. Only for Hikari or both? If they were just there to shout at him on Hikari's behalf, i'm sure he would just tell them to fuck off and mind their own business. Bu he is trying to provide Ayami at least a safety net in form of friends.

If anything, it is a way more mature approach than still worrying about Hikari in a romantic light. I can easily see what he means when he goes "she will be fine". Because she will be considering she never had to deal with a rapist at home and can process her feelings in peace. But he could be awarded nobel piece prize and i'm sure most people here would still shit on him. It's fascinating to witness biases at work completely blocking any objectivity which is a massive handicap in any kind of media consumption

 

[GennArc]

So here is Yami telling Yuu she grew bored of him and that's why she ghosted him. She shuts him down immediately and gives a flippant response to his heartfelt words. It's incredibly cruel

Even if he believed her at that point, her further actions clearly told it was a lie.

She immediately berates him and states he's ignored her for a year (when she was the one to ghost him).

I won't go so far as to say her words are cruel here but they are mean. She's the one to have cut off all contact and to berate him for not trying when she herself made no attempts either is shitty.

I mean, she is definitely being unfair, but that's not what I'd call verbal attack or heinous words. That was an emotional outburst with feelings pouring out, where she shows she cared a lot and still cares deeply about him, though in a very unfair way.
Of course I'm talking about it as an observer and it might've sounded harsher for him at that moment. But instead of insults or disparagement, what he’s facing is just a stream of frustrated feelings.

She absolute knew exactly what words to say to Yuu that would fuck him up the most and play on his insecurities. She wanted to concoct whatever mean statement she could to make him hurt and she did it right before she knew he'd go to the dance with Hikari. She wanted to sabotage Hikari and Yuu.

Do you really believe this? Did it really sound like a calculated speech, which was meant to hurt him and sabotage his chances with Hikari? Just reread the chapter you're quoting, it couldn't be more transparent about how much of it was intentional.

 

[story645]

If anything, it is a way more mature approach than still worrying about Hikari in a romantic light

What about in a friend light? I think this was what @UdenEmpati was getting at. That Yuu seems to have totally missed what Hikari was mad about when she rejected him. Like yeah be more concerned about Aya b/c she's broken sure, but show some concern about Hikari b/c she's Yuu's friend who was just hurt by the two people closest to her. Which, as multiple people have said, not being worried about Hikari indicates he's still putting her on this impossible pedestal rather than seeing her as a peer.

ETA: Also folks might be empathizing w/ Hikari here, myself included, b/c they know what it feels like to be the person expected to manage while other people get all the support.

ETA2: Like yeah, Yuu's expecting that her friends are supporting her b/c they're seeking him, but her friends are flagging that he's not showing that he understands Hikari wants (needs?) his support too.

Did it really sound like a calculated speech, which was meant to hurt him and sabotage his chances with Hikari?

The first part where she's still calm and snarking about Hikari? If you read her communication style as indirect and passive aggressive, than that's a pretty standard manipulation technique to get under someone's skin and make them overthink their next step. Bait Yuu into confessing to Hikari and have Hikari see the kiss knowing you baited him and yeah it's a recipe for explosion.
Granted, I think the intended motivation here was her own self destruction via Hikari and Yuu ditching her rather than sabatoging their relationship - which is another reason I'm not thrilled if Maruto gets to Aya/Yuu through here b/c functionally it rewards Aya for her self-destructive tendencies.

 

[GennArc]

Granted, I think the intended motivation here was her own self destruction via Hikari and Yuu ditching her rather than sabatoging their relationship

There was no motivation at all. In the first part she decided to bid him farewell in a dismissive manner, and the second part is her emotions sweeping away her reason.

 

[story645]

the second part is her emotions sweeping away her reason.

If it was just that, she wouldn't double down on being horrible to Hikari afterwards.

Which it may not have been her intent, but Aya knew Hikari was planning to confess and managed to make the festival all about herself - first by showing up knowing the potential for fireworks, then by not keeping herself in check with Yuu (even though she'd managed their entire relationship), then by kissing him knowing Hikari was there, and then by being trash to Hikari instead of anything else (not even a "go talk to him, we'll talk later"). So yeah, it probably wasn't intentional but Aya's actions did contribute to sabatoging the confession.

But also Aya is calculating - she apparently successfully engineered her mother's divorce despite her mother not wanting it. Been reading all about divorce in Japan in a different manga's threads & they don't have no-fault, so it takes an awful lot to get divorced unless both folks agree to it.

 

[story645]

she wouldn't double down on being horrible to Hikari afterwards.

Which, to poke at this more, she could have just gone home but instead she's hanging around for at least half an hour in the classroom where her and Yuu talked. I think she wants to test if Hikari (or Yuu) will come find her, like she just asked Yuu why he didn't come looking for her at the place where they first met.

 

[GennArc]

If it was just that, she wouldn't double down on being horrible to Hikari afterwards.

These things are completely unrelated. She didn't even know she was going to meet Hikari afterwards nor was she planning to.

But also Aya is calculating - she apparently successfully engineered her mother's divorce despite her mother not wanting it.

Which is irrelevant in this scene because that's not what happened here.

I think she wants to test if Hikari (or Yuu) will come find her

Or maybe it was just a cathartic moment for her too, which left her in tears after bidding farewell to the boy she loved, and she wanted to stay alone with her thoughts and not just walk around?

 

[peortega1]

After reading the leaked chapter, there's one detail that confirms what many have said before:

The slow release schedule is primarily Yom's responsability as the illustrator (I start to feel why Yom sympathizes so much with Eriri). Maruto seems capable of writing these types of chapters very easily; the problem lies with Yom when it comes to illustrating them.

The chapter also seems very long, so if this draft/outline is maintained, the manga chapter will probably be at least 25 or 30 pages long. Just like the Yami vs. Yuu chapter 40.

 

[story645]

she wanted to stay alone with her thoughts and not just walk around?

When everyone was at the dance, she could have gone home w/o running into anyone. (ETA: hell she could have gone to a different classroom). She'd already run into Yuu when she wasn't planning to, there was a very non-zero chance that she'd run into someone else. And she'd just told Yuu that being looked for to Aya means that the person cares for her. And that's exactly what Hikari - who Aya knew knew where Aya was - did. (Which in 41, Aya is in the classroom and Hikari is in the hall, indicating Hikari found Aya). Eta2: which there's no surprise on Aya's face that Hikari found her in 41 and major surprise on Aya's face that Yuu did in 40.

Like I'm actually sympathetic to Aya wanting to go to the festival given her telling Hikari it was her wish, but also Aya knew the consequences.

Which is irrelevant in this scene because that's not what happened here.

It's not though b/c it speaks to Aya's personality - she's perfectly capable of thinking two steps ahead about what folks might do in reaction to her actions. Even in highly charged situations.

 

[peortega1]

You're all jumping to conclusions. I'll post my opinion in the spoiler:

Spoiler: About the new chapter

Yuu's words about Hikari are, and I'm not surprised, too ambiguous. They fit both with the fact that he was able to talk to her and open up about his relationship with Yami, and with the fact that Hikari is deliberately avoiding him and doesn't want to talk or even see him.
I think Yuu managed to talk to Hikari and tell her everything, which is why he seems so calm about her and is primarily concerned about Yami, who, based on the words of his friends, confirmed that they are worried about her disappearance.
That, or he tried to go look for Hikari at her house and she rejected him and refused to see him, or she simply runs away from home when he shows up. Like Kazusa did with Haruki in WA2 when she was planning to run away to Vienna—which was when Haruki met Kazusa's mother, Yuuko Touma.
But we know him well enough to know that he at least made some attempt to talk to Hikari. Or she went looking for him. Hell, they're neighbors. If the guy was able to act like a stalker by going to pick up Yami at her school, I definitely see him at least trying to see Hikari.
That's why he seems so calm and confident about her, whether he was able to talk to her or not. If he was able to talk to her, they've already made some kind of agreement to try and save Yami and leave in stand-by the confession, or something like that. Once again, let's not underestimate Hikari's savior complex.
And if he tried to talk to her and she rejected him, then once again, he's given up. He's rightly decided that the ball is in her court now, and he's hoping Hikari's friends will tell her all this, to see if that will help Hikari stop behaving like Eriri and want to talk to him.
Plus, he's talking to Hikari's friends, so I think that's why he seems more concerned about defending Yami. He thinks, and rightly so, that they'll always be on Hikari's side and will probably blame Yami—and well, Yami is definitely the villain in this love triangle.
And yes, this confirms why Yuu acted so strangely around Hikari during the confession. It's obvious that Yami's words reopened a lot of badly healed wounds in his heart, and the poor boy probably went to cry in a bathroom during that whole time, whether it was 30 minutes or two hours, that he spent with the "dead phone", according on his lie to Hikari.
And yes, it would be very typical of both of them to be afraid that Ayami might want to commit suicide or make some craziness, and that's why they're so worried about her. And at the same time, Yuu feels very guilty about everything that happened.
PS. It seems like Yuu left out the whole sex part, or at least tiptoed around it as much as possible, again. Which reinforces my theory about it (even if Haru and Yuki are probably already realizing that Yuu is the protagonist of Yami’s detailed sex stories). Again, he doesn’t like talking about his sexual intimacy (which fits with his shy personality, and yes, with him being an Expy of both Yuu Izumi & Haruki Kitahara), and if he hid anything about his relationship with Yami, it was undoubtedly that - and he’s right, both of them could go to jail for going ilegally into love hotels when they were underage, even more so if my theory that someone at the hotel called Yuu’s parents and Ayami’s mother when they saw them having sex in chapter 28 is true.

 

[peortega1]

My prediction based on what would rile up viewers the most is that Yami will purposely try to ruin her own image again to distance herself from her friends.

Then Hikari, Yuu and buddies will do a "We know you are still in there Yami!!" to try to save her from whatever shady shit she will try to get into to mess her life.

That is other thing who happened in Shikimori too. All the Rooftop Scene, the confrontation between Kamiya and Shikimori is basically Miyako impeded Kamiya would thought in commit suicide or, as I said, made some craziness like kiss Yuu.
And yes, all that of "You are a good person, you are not bad for love the boyfriend of the other girl" and all that.

 

[peortega1]

From a meta standpoint, I could see Yuu's lack of worry over Hikari as foreshadowing that he'll end up with her in the end (I can already imagine how you guys will react haha).

Harem ending theory confirmed again hehe
And yes, definitely would fit with the mutual savior complex of Hikari and Yuu, the idea of "Yami needs both us two".