She'd known him for a few hours at most. And in their relationship, while Aya may enjoy the sex (sure), she's also using it to "bind" Yuu. That's the part that's unhealthy b/c it inhibits her ability to form a real bond w/ Yuu.
As I said, Ayami uses sex primarily as a way to control Yuu and establish herself as the dominant girlfriend in the relationship. And it's precisely being dominant that makes her enjoy sex with Yuu so much and allows her to connect with him in a way she never did with any other boy before, even before her stepfather's attempted abuse — as Yuzuka implied. That you consider this whole dominant-submissive aspect of their relationship "unhealthy" speaks volumes about your prejudices.
Again, it's not the sex itself that's unhealthy and prevents her from forming something healthier with Yuu. It's how they manage to have that sex and under what conditions, violating Japanese law. Things like the "do you want to live with me?" request stem precisely from that. From a girl who wants to escape her toxic family environment and do so in a way that doesn't end with her in a police station. This is partly why Yami feels guilty about her mother's suicide attempt, because of how she threatened to run away from home again.
Marin and Gojo don't carry nearly that burden. Furthermore, Yuu's "refusal" of the idea of living together is by no means the point where Yami decides to leave him. That comes later; nothing in the scene in chapter 28 indicates that Yami is planning to leave him, even though she certainly feels uncomfortable and upset by how Yuu (didn't) react.
It's certainly a seed, but it's obvious that Yami's change in attitude between chapters 28 and 29 only makes sense if she received a call after this point telling her that her mother attempted suicide. And as Genn told you, this was the real turning point, regardless of what Yuu did or didn't do.
Have you been on AO3? Or met a fujoshi? Teenage fangirls talk about the sex lives of fictional characters with their fangirl friends precisely b/c it's a "safe" way to discuss sexuality. Nobody thinks a girl is promiscuous if she's being a bit extra about fictional characters, they do if she's talking about her sex life in graphic detail. And Japanese culture is conservative enough where a "normal" girl is going to go out of her way to not get labeled promiscuous.
AO3 and fujoshis definitely don't represent the "normal" teenage girl, even less the "normal" Japanese teenager girl. In that case, one could talk about hypersexuality as a form of trauma response, again, considering we're talking about underage girls who go to school. Furthermore, even these fujoshis wouldn't talk so openly about the sexuality of their favorite characters with a BOY.
The fact that Marin is a gyaru who has no problem wearing revealing cosplays that leave her almost naked at public events (despite being underage) like anime conventions makes it clear that she doesn't fit the mold of conservative Japanese culture in her -real- hypersexuality. As I mentioned, Yami does conform much more to those cultural parameters, which is why she isn't very affectionate with Yuu in public and seems to go to such lengths to keep her sexual intimacy a closely guarded secret.
And yes, this is why "Aya-chan's stories" to her friends are told within that "could have happened or might not have happened" framework.
Precisely because the characters saw them together and assumed it was part of the story of how they got together
Not necessarily. Everyone in middle school knew that Yuu and Hikari were best friends and that Yuu was in love with Hikari. Seeing them together didn't even remotely imply that Yuu had passed the exam, even though the exam certainly had something to do with the chain of events that ended with Hikari and Yuu together on that date.
But also yeah, maybe Yuu's parents didn't mention it b/c it's a sore spot for their son - he failed after all. That's a different ballgame than a girlfriend he's supposedly proud enough of to tell them about her. Which what would even be the reason to hide her from Hikari if he was proud of her?
Precisely because he still loves Hikari after all, even if he's actively trying to get over her, as he himself said in chapter 38 and as confirmed in his POV omake chapters. If Yuu told his parents a PG version of his story with Yami, he undoubtedly included, as he did with Haru in chapter 43, that feeling of "we comforted each other" and "she told me she would help me forget Hikari and be able to see Hikari only as a friend".
This would explain why his parents agreed to hide this "sore spot" in Yuu's life from Hikari, perhaps with him making the excuse of "I'll tell her myself when the time is right." Add to that, as already mentioned, that Hikari probably never asked anything, nor did the topic come up on its own... with chapter 18 being, as stated, the only exception to the rule.
You are precisely the person who said Yuu tried to hide his love to Hikari herself but didn´t have problems with talk about her with other people.
But it wouldn't work to provoke Hikari unless it had some truth to it - either Aya or Hikari believing it. That's what the whole fight leading up to it shows.
Because Aya believes she can provoke Hikari by playing the role of the slut who used Yuu as a sex toy, and as we saw, this did work, with Haru. Again, Haru is the girl who everyone believes Hikari is, including Yuu and Yami.
This doesn't work with Hikari for the reason Ayami herself explains later when she sees that plan A failed. Hikari's interest in Yuu stems from the romantic-sexual experience Yami gave to him. That's why Hikari doesn't deny it and simply states that Ayami and Yuu's relationship was and is real, even though Ayami tries to reduce it to "just sex"
Yuu says he's always liked someone, which would imply continuous liking. Aya doesn't question the always, just goes to of course he's talking about Hikari.
Because of what Seki already said about the accidental two-timing, Yami knew Yuu loved her, which is why she values his public confession of love in chapter 29 so much. However, she also knew he still loved Hikari despite everything. That's why she tells us directly that the reason she's sure he's talking about Hikari is because of all the times she heard him talking about her.
Both the public confession in chapter 29 and omake 4 present a Yuu who still loves and cares for Hikari, but who loves Ayami more and actively prioritizes her above all else, including Hikari. The scene where he hides from Hikari during his search when she goes to her school demonstrates this.
And this is important because chapter 40 presents the exact opposite situation: a Yuu who chooses Hikari but still utters, "I still care about you, Yami-senpai, and I always will" —all this, again, after she said, "I got bored from you, Yuu".
Aya's excuse for ghosting is precisely b/c of the things left unresolved
Because she was wrong to believe everything was resolved in chapter 28. That's the point. Yuu's fears turned out to be true, and it was she who was wrong and who dragged him down with her. That's why Aya undergoes such a radical change between chapters 28 and 29.
And also what Yuu's maybe praising Aya for isn't Aya's cunning at coming up with a plan or Aya's resolve at following through, what Yuu is praising Aya for is her ability to bite back at people
False. What Yuu is praising is Aya's ability to defend herself and those she loves. Remember once again, he's attracted to her at first sight because he feels she's protecting him. This is why it's so important that it was Yami who let go of Yuu's hand, and not the other way around.
That's the fundamental difference between Yuu and Hikari: Hikari doesn't want or seek anyone to protect her, neither man nor woman. Hikari may be passive, but she's not submissive; she responds when she feels attacked or threatened —Yami quickly detected this. That's why the Yami-Hikari friendship is very different from the Yami-Yuu relationship, as Genn said you.
Yeah so that's a negative coping technique. One that would still allow for Yuu to communicate to Aya that Yuu sees the real her
That's the point. Yuu does manage to communicate to Yami that he sees her as she truly is. That's why, as Genn said you, she asks for his ID after that "Yami-senpai, what are we?" dialogue in his omake POV. That's why their relationship is a constant game of her playing the bad girl and him seeing through her mask, and they both know it. Chapter 26 shows this quite well.
In this way, Yami can have her cake and eat it too, in a way that Hikari only partially manages to replicate by being a enabler who forgives Yami for all her outbursts and fits of rage.
A large part of Ayami's problems in chapter 40 stem from realizing that she traumatized Yuu so much that he no longer has much desire to continue playing this kind of games with her.
This is where she clearly tells us that she realized Yuu chose Hikari over her, and above all, that Yuu wants real answers from her and is tired of playing tsundere games if she wants to get back together with him. He still loves her as a person, but he no longer trusts her, which is why he chooses Hikari, someone he can still trust despite everything.
Hikari also understands this is a coping technique but let's Aya know that it's okay for Aya to let down her mask.
Yes, that's the problem. Ayami doesn't want to take off her mask. Only with Yuu, and in the strictest intimacy, have we genuinely seen her let down her mask. She needs GUARANTEES that she's in CONTROL of the situation to be able to let down her mask. That's why Yuu acts the way he does; he realizes she needs that reassurance.
Which is what Aya does in 35.2, which also has Hikari literally reaching out her hand to Aya & taking Aya's hand.
Chapter 35.2 is precisely proof that Yami is not willing to drop the mask. She thinks Hikari can help her, but little more. Hence, Yami will continue to lash out at Hikari whenever the latter makes her angry or feels threatened, and Hikari will continue dangerously playing this game of "Aya-chan gets angry, lashes out, and then apologizes" until it all blew up in her face at the cultural festival. The attempted kiss in chapter 5 was already enough proof that Ayami is still the same and that she is not willing to drop the mask
And if you're going to talk about the hands, also consider how Yuu interlaces his fingers and squeezes Aya's hand while pressuring her to tell the truth in chapter 28. There's a reason Maruto emphasizes so much that Yami is being honest here, and that it's her mistake as a dominant girlfriend and guide, as Yuu's supposed "teacher" and "senpai", that drags them both down to the ruin.
Even if that was true, Aya explicitly doesn't think that - she thinks Yuu can't read the room and is "letting go of her" when it most counts. Yuu asks for her number cause he's generally worried about her sure. The make a good memories stuff happens after she's crashed out and finally told him some of her truth and kissed him. There's no lies to accept at that point - she's put it all on the table - and he calls her unfair b/c she's doing it now, a year after she ghosted when he's at this festival for Hikari.
False. The "good memory" line happens right BEFORE the outburst; it's from this point that Yami collapses and starts screaming. After Yuu says, "I still matter about you, Yami-senpai". This is where Yami finally connects the dots and realizes that Yuu chose Hikari over her, and that her lies had indeed succeeded in scaring off a weary Yuu, leading him to seek Hikari out as she herself had requested just moments before.
Her not thinking he's guilty doesn't mean she's not resentful - that's why she calls it the "ugliest form of grudge"
She's not resentful, she's spiteful and heartbroken. She's spiteful because Yuu wasn't masochistic enough to grovel for her the way she wanted. That's why her heartbreak makes her want Yuu to do things that Yami knows are not only irrational but also unlike the Yuu she fell in love with, things that would make her hate him. That's why she launches into that incoherent inner rant of "I want, I don't want". Spite makes Yami's thinking irrational, plunging her into despair and causing her to want Yuu to do things she knows are not only irrational but immoral, things that would make her hate him.
That's why, if my theory is correct, she orders him to shut up when she realizes he's about to say that he was indeed the stalker she wanted and that he did try to find and recover her.
If you're going to include those lines Yami says about Yuu, you should also include all the derogatory things she thinks about Hikari in chapter 41 (like the fact that Aya knows Hikari doesn't know the real Yuu and that's why she still calls him "Taa-kun", a nickname Yuu said to Hikari that he hates it a lot of times), but you don't because it doesn't suit your purposes.
