Imasara desu ga, Osananajimi o Suki ni Natte Shimaimashita - Ch. 43 - The Pride of the Lecturing Girls

[peortega1]

I would point out that if he paid a bit more attention he'd notice that Hikari wasn't seeing anyone in a romantic light (based on her rejecting anyone who confessed to her at the end of middle school) and if he had a bit more emotional maturity he'd realize she's not rejecting him because he's not good enough, she's rejecting anyone because she's not at a point in her life where she's capable of feeling romantic feelings.

Ironically this securely reforced his insecurities. If other boys of the school, who he probably saw as better than he himself, failed in his proposals to Hikari, why he would have better luck?
And again, Yuu was DISPAIRED to have a girlfriend. Is very logical he looks for other girl if he notices correctly Hikari in this moment doesn´t want to be the girlfriend of anyone.

All this is to say that Yuu's default response is to almost always assume the worst.

Of course. Other reason why he is an Expy of Yuu Izumi... and other thing both Yuu shares with all the Maruto male main characters. Low self-esteem, pessimism, always first blaming to themselves instead other people... Haruki and Tomoya had all these features, and in a worse decree.
The positive side of all these features is they will make much more easier his reconciliation with Hikari.

When Yuu failed the entrance exam to Hikari's high school he immediately jumped to the conclusion that he had no chance now to win Hikari's love

He didn´t "inmediately" jump to that conclusion. You are still ignoring the distorsion deliberately introduced by Ayami. Without her, Yuu probably would have return to his house, cry a lot in his room and, passed grief phase, think in a new approach to try to close to Hikari.
Ayami is the real reason why he decided renounce to Hikari and try to start again with this girl who seemed be the careful, loving and dominant girlfriend he always wanted. And to be fair, Kamiya/Ayami really was a good girlfriend for Yuu and the breaking up was mostly by external locus reasons.
Yes, distorsion. Even after accept being the official girlfriend of Yuu, Ayami is fully aware of how she is deliberately separating Yuu from Hikari. This is the reason why Yami self-identifies herself with Utaha and she is equally decided to make his boy to forget definitely to Hikari/Eriri.

 

[peortega1]

(despite literally living next door to Hikari and having the potential to see her every day and slowly build up a romantic relationship or at least get her to see him in a different light).

He has lived next door to Hikari during already four/five years and he didn´t reach nothing. He made several tries -or at least, this is hinted in both his chapters and Hikari chapters, so at least he thinks he really tried several times- and he failed.
Again, you are basically asking for other Kazuya simping other Chizuru, rejecting better options genuinely interested romantically and sexually in him.

 

[story645]

, I am claiming he never thought that.

During the second confession chapter, he gives it as one of the reasons he never confessed:

Hikari: "You thought I wasn’t thinking about you at all, Ta-kun?"
Yuu: "I didn’t think it was nothing, but... I wasn’t sure if it was that kind of feeling."
Hikari: "Come on! Ta-kun, seriously, you have no confidence!"
Yuu: "But it’s you, Hikari! Do you really think I'm good enough for you!?"
Hikari: "I do!"
Yuu: "That’s just you being mistaken! No one knows how amazing you are better than I do!"

her immediately recognizing him trying to hide his crush behind this catching up.

Or she just recognized he was talking about a crush b/c Yuu didn't specify & it could have also been a rivalry:

"There's someone I want to catch up to. To stand next to. And they're there."

Oh, okay, this one's serious.

"A girl?"

But also both can be true - he has a crush and he feels he needs to catch up. Yuu says as much in 17:

"Look, I might not have told you everything I feel, but what I just said... every word of it was true."

I'm saying that the exam saga would've happened regardless of him idealizing Hikari or not

Maruto has Yuu talking about "catching up to Hikari" in two confession to Hikari chapters, one of which is about the exam, & one confession to Aya chapter & thinking about it in the novella chapter about the exam. That level of repetition & constancy of context strongly implies that these feelings are intermixed w/ Yuu's romantic feelings. Which strongly implies that the reason why Maruto writes Yuu deciding his "grand romantic gesture" has to be taking the exam into her school rather than any of the myriad other options available.

 

[UdenEmpati]

We definitely went through this once already - this is where I bring up him saying the same to Yami and her immediately recognizing him trying to hide his crush behind this catching up.

Is it not possible that it can be two things? Also he obviously has a crush on Hikari; that doesn't preclude that he could also think he needs to "catch up" to her.
He himself says that he's always considered her out of his league when he finally confesses to her. Maybe that's his words, not "actions" as you keep stipulating, but I fail to see how it's not the case when Yuu himself says as much.

 

[peortega1]

By the way, after several re-reads, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Haru's... chemistry with Yuu. She spends the entire episode lecturing him, asking him questions, and ordering him around like she's his mother... and he OBEYS. RESPONDS. He generally appears submissive and receptive to her... just as he did earlier with Yami.
In this single chapter, Haru showed more initiative and assertiveness than Hikari had in the entire series, flashbacks, and extra chapters. And Haru spoke more directly, clearly, and explicitly, displaying a sense of monogamical moral that clashes with Hikari's almost polyamorous spirit —she also being the one who criticized Hikari's co-dependency on Ayami.
Haru must have begun to realize what kind of buttons Aya touched on Yuu, between what he said and what she might remember from Yami's "stories" about her sex life.
I'm starting to think she's destined to be the Megumi Katou, the Shino Kiryu, the Miyako Shikimori, of this story. Yuu's true soulmate. The Third Heroine.

 

[peortega1]

the reason why Maruto writes Yuu deciding his "grand romantic gesture" has to be taking the exam into her school rather than any of the myriad other options available.

Myriad of options you never mentioned or when you mentioned, were literally things who Yuu said or implied he was done before in middle school -like a date in an amusement park-.
Again, GennArc has right in this point, only a big change could make possible to Hikari see Yuu as a man, and that big thing ended being Ayami.

 

[GennArc]

During the second confession chapter, he gives it as one of the reasons he never confessed:

Maruto has Yuu talking about "catching up to Hikari" in two confession to Hikari chapters, one of which is about the exam, & one confession to Aya chapter & thinking about it in the novella chapter about the exam. That level of repetition & constancy of context strongly implies that these feelings are intermixed w/ Yuu's romantic feelings.

Is it not possible that it can be two things? Also he obviously has a crush on Hikari; that doesn't preclude that he could also think he needs to "catch up" to her.
He himself says that he's always considered her out of his league when he finally confesses to her. Maybe that's his words, not "actions" as you keep stipulating, but I fail to see how it's not the case when Yuu himself says as much.

I'd argue he consistently jumps to this point to hide his actual feelings. He did it with Yami in chapter 23, he did it in the first "confession" to Hikari, and we know he was masking his real feelings behind this excuse both times. So in his "real" confession he goes for the similar line to avoid talking about his heartbreaks and how he clearly saw that she didn't see him as a boy at that time.

 

[story645]

I'd argue he consistently jumps to this point to hide his actual feelings.

To himself too? B/c he uses most of the same language from 17 in his POV chapter about the exam and in his POV he fully acknowledges his feelings.

we know he was masking his real feelings behind this excuse both times.

We don't know he's masking, that's your reading of the character. What we the reader know is that in 17 Yuu says he's telling Hikari the truth, that Aya flagging that he's talking about his crush doesn't necessarily imply that he's lying, and that in 38 he doesn't need a mask because he has told Hikari that he hasn't confessed because he's misread her signals in the past and was worried about losing the friendship.

 

[peortega1]

To himself too? B/c he uses most of the same language from 17 in his POV chapter about the exam and in his POV he fully acknowledges his feelings.

Again:

(This) Doesn´t change he was right. Maybe for the wrong reason, but he was fully right in any case. Hikari doesn´t see him as a boy and was not interested on romance, period.

All this after YEARS of friendship and failed hang-outs/dates. Is very logical he takes the so direct offer Yami is making before him, instead still persecute uselessly Hikari.
Again, all you people are following the old and wasted shoujo cliché of "I will wait 10 years for you if it is neccesary", a cliché so bad even Kanokari uses deliberately. And not, we don´t want simps.

 

[GennArc]

B/c he uses most of the same language from 17 in his POV chapter about the exam and in his POV he fully acknowledges his feelings.

Quotes? I reread both chapters and didn't really find "the same language" there. I don't want to second guess, so please tell me what exactly you meant.

We don't know he's masking, that's your reading of the character.

Maybe masking was a wrong word, but that's the line he goes with every time he doesn't want to reveal all of his real feelings.

What we the reader know is -snip- that in 38 he doesn't need a mask because he has told Hikari that he hasn't confessed because he's misread her signals in the past and was worried about losing the friendship.

We don't know that. He didn't tell Hikari everything, so "he doesn't need a mask" is highly questionable. I explained already why he could've gone for that line in 38.
And I don't even bring up how that was the conversation which made Hikari go "I hate liars".

 

[peortega1]

And I don't even bring up how that was the conversation which made Hikari go "I hate liars".

I´m still thinking that was a cruel action of Hikari towards Yuu...
Over all in the context Hikari would soon discover when she notices how really mad is Yami and starts to get an idea about the shitstorm Yuu had to endure it
And yes, helps a lot who Yuu at least never said: "You are the only one" "there are not other women", so, he never really denies his feelings for Yami, he only says, and is true, he chooses Hikari over Yami
But yes, when Hikari hears Ayami say she never would have look Yuu without Yami distorsion -and doesn´t refutes her- is, for me, the moment where she starts to realize Yuu definitely told about her to Yami and Yami already knew about the non-reciprocated love of Yuu. So, he didn´t lie -at least not beyond all the thing of the "dead phone"-.

 

[story645]

And I don't even bring up how that was the conversation which made Hikari go "I hate liars".

B/c he didn't tell her about Aya, here's the context:

Yeah...
I'm sure that "thing earlier" was just a small misunderstanding.

Something tiny.

If I don't say anything, this is a happy ending...

He didn't tell Hikari everything, so "he doesn't need a mask" is highly questionable

As far as I follow, you're claiming that "Hikari is out of my league" is either him being evasive about his feelings or him giving a reason for why he hasn't confessed, but:
1) he's already confessed before he says this
2) he gave the reason of misreading signals and being worried about losing the friendship

In this conversation, what he's not telling Hikari is about Aya, but I don't follow how telling Hikari he feels out of her league is a mask for that given it's in the wider conversation of the confession.

Quotes?

In both of these, he starts w/ how's not at her level (what he needs to do to catch up/how he never beats her) and in both he's framing the exam as a competition he needs to win.

Yuu's POV:

I met Hikari—and fell in love with her...
Ever since then, I’d always wanted to stand by her side.

And yet, I didn’t put in the effort to make that happen...
Or rather, I never even seriously thought about what I’d need to do to stand beside Hikari in the first place.
[Snip]
That’s why—this time—I swore to pass the entrance exam, not with someone else’s help, but with my own strength.
Not a confession... but a victory.

Chapter 17:

"I mean, I never beat you at anything, Hikari. Not at studying, or sports, or... being with people. I was terrible at everything. In all of middle school, the only thing I ever got ahead of you in was my height."

<snip>
"That's why I wanted to beat you. At the very least, catch up to you... Sorry I never told you."

 

[peortega1]

B/c he didn't tell her about Aya, here's the context

And Hikari didn´t tell him why she was upset when he asked
He is more guilty, but Hikari definitely sinned from cowardice again here, instead asks directly for Aya, she prefered wait Yuu was able to read her mind. Haru in this chapter really asked directly for Aya-Yuu past relationship.
For certain, Hikari almost doesn´t practically do questions in her confrontation with Ayami either. Is Ayami alone who says practically everything and Hikari just limites to refutate her lies. Hikari doesn´t say practically nothing by herself, she is only with a sad face who impulses Yami to express her.
In that case, securely Yuu would have talked about Yami, even if it was under pression.