Imasara desu ga, Osananajimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimaimashita - Ch. 45 - Wandering Through The Night

[HellJester]

I mean, you're just not the 'overblown hate' kind of person that post was about. That's why it's interesting to read your opinions, unlike those that are just cursing Yami, Yuu or Hikari.

Yeah, as much as I root for Hikari, it bothers me to see people come in and disparage any of these characters, especially Yami. I just want to shake some of these people and be like "Yami doesn't have one adult in her life that she can really confide in. Her father is dead, her step father wanted to molest her (I can't remember if he succeeded and I don't want to search through the archives), her mother ignored what the step father was doing and then tried to kill herself - her teachers write her off immediately...like cut her a little bit of slack." I'm not saying forgive her just try to sympathize and understand her a bit.

You see, that's kind of the opposite of what I want from the story. When you, story645 or anyone else talk about growth, I always see words like responsibility, own the situation, apologize etc. Basically that they should all do the right thing (and in Yami's case that means to apologize, repent for her actions and gracefully step aside). And I don't want them to. I want them to clash, suffer, struggle, make more wonderful mistakes, get angry, depressed and all kinds of stuff in their pursuit of happiness that's maybe waiting at the end. And that's exactly why I prefer Yami over Hikari - the latter just seems to always do the "right thing". After chapter 36 I thought she'd finally do something unorthodox, but she still kept doing "the right thing". And I just can't find it interesting.

I'm the type of person who wants problems solved immediately lol. If I'm dealing with a problem in real life I want that problem gone pronto. So I read this manga and I'm immediately thinking what these characters need to do so the problems go away. I realize that would make this a very boring manga if all problems were solved immediately but it's hard to quiet something that's a fundamental part of me. I'm all about them doing the "right thing." Though I think there can be a little bit of middle ground. For awhile, Yami was doing the "right thing" aka going to school, making friends, talking to her mom, etc.

My issue with him is different, I think he's still an underdeveloped character. He had a short volume of his own but it didn't help much, we still don't know what he was thinking in all those situations that we saw in the manga. He doesn't really have any interesting interactions with either Hikari or Yami, aside from a few select ones.
TLDR - what he needs is more characterization, not growth.

Yes, it's a shame we don't get much from Yuu but Maruto seems to want it that way so I'll just have to be disappointed and suck it up.

 

[GennArc]

So I read this manga and I'm immediately thinking what these characters need to do so the problems go away. I realize that would make this a very boring manga if all problems were solved immediately but it's hard to quiet something that's a fundamental part of me. I'm all about them doing the "right thing."

This kind of frustration is also a fuel for good discussions I'd say, so for me this type of mentality is more than welcome.

Though I think there can be a little bit of middle ground. For awhile, Yami was doing the "right thing" aka going to school, making friends, talking to her mom, etc.

For sure. I'm not saying they should never do the "right thing", I just want to see both rights and wrongs.
Btw, I think from Yami's perspective that break-up was definitely the "right thing" to do.

but Maruto seems to want it that way

I still have hope he's saving it for later. Though I imagine some people will complain once Yuu becomes the protag.

 

[story645]

and gracefully step aside

I don't think she has to step aside to do the right thing. I think not stepping aside and being honest about her feelings would've been more "right" than the hash she made of things, but it would have also required her to be honest/ brave/vulnerable (ETA) and I acknowledge a fundementally more mature character than the one Maruto is writing. Which that's also what Hikari asked of her, that Aya be honest and not that Aya step aside. ETA: basically what I'd see as growth is Aya becoming the girl who wouldn't try to step aside but instead honestly face things head on. Eta2: to me the kiss doesn't count b/c Yuu thinks it's a good bye and she lets him, so it's still a half assed self-protective attempt where she doesn't force him to explicitly accept or reject her.

It's also not that I think Aya should never make mistakes, it's just that she keeps making the same mistakes and at a certain point I find that as boring as you find Hikari's actions. Maybe, b/c I empathize with Haru & Yuki - at some point folks like Aya just get exhausting. That also might be why I think Aya getting a happy ending w/o owning her mistakes just feels so unearned, but also yeah that's totally realistic (eta: and I guess a staple of literary fiction).

 

[GennArc]

I think not stepping aside and being honest about her feelings would've been more "right" than the hash she made of things, but it would have also required her to be honest/ brave/vulnerable (ETA) and I acknowledge a fundementally more mature character than the one Maruto is writing. Which that's also what Hikari asked of her, that Aya be honest and not that Aya step aside.

But when you bring up Hikari facing her, that's the "maturity" I don't want to see. Because when Hikari, who's just been betrayed by her best friend, goes to meet her without an ounce of malice or even ulterior motives, and all she wants is for Yami to admit she is still in love with Yuu - that's no longer a maturity in my book, that's just being a goody two-shoes. Later we read her thoughts and the only "blemish" on her perfect conduct is not willing to face Yami for now. I would be fine if her facing Yami and trying to have her be honest was her way to punish the girl, but that wasn't the case apparently. I don't want this kind of maturity.
I don't want that classic love triangle/harem situation where they are on perfect terms and entirely honest with each other while earnestly competing for Yuu either.

Also sorry in advance, I won't be able to respond for a while.

 

[story645]

I don't want that classic love triangle/harem situation where they are on perfect terms and entirely honest with each other while earnestly competing for Yuu either.

So I'm coming at this from a parallel kinda view, in that I don't want the classic shoujo childhood friend manga w/ the plucky female lead & insecure childhood friend w/ the unhinged ex.

that's no longer a maturity in my book, that's just being a goody two-shoes.

I think if Hikari was just being a goody two shoes, then she would've just forgiven Aya outright and given Aya her blessing to make a move on Yuu. ETA: I think if anything it's Yuu who is being a goody two shoes (doormat) here by insisting that Aya did nothing wrong given she ghosted him then showed up a year later and didn't explain anything, yelled at him, kissed him, then said goodbye. ETA: I mostly think Hikari's actions are the tuned to Aya version of shoving Yuu and then telling him she hates liars as both interactions are at core Hikari asking for honesty.

Also, for me the friendship between Aya and Hikari is fundementally what makes this manga interesting and also where I find Hikari relatable rather than mature. Haru, Yuki, and Aya's old friend all flag that Aya is a trainwreck, while Hikari & Yuu are both too sheltered/innocent to recognize the warning signs. Basically what you don't like about Hikari is I think why realistically someone like her (& Yuu) would even get involved w/ Aya in the first place. ETA: I think Haru says as much about Hikari.

 

[Alzu]

I think if anything it's Yuu who is being a goody two shoes (doormat) here by insisting that Aya did nothing wrong given she ghosted him then showed up a year later and didn't explain anything, yelled at him, kissed him, then said goodbye.

Yuu at this point, knows Yami is crazy and is trying to deescalate a power keg situation. I don't understand why people shit on him for that. Same reason why I don't understand why people shit on Yuu for being a "bad" boyfriend towards Yami for not forcing her be honest with him, when he knew if he did that she would blow up if she felt cornered. Which is what happen when Hikari tried to force Yami to be honest.

 

[peortega1]

When she realizes there's a history between Yuu and Yami she takes steps to go talk to her friend, a courtesy that neither Yuu nor Yami extended to her

It's refreshing to watch her attempts to change from a childhood friendship to a romance without her having to resort to flinging herself at Yuu's dick.

At least Hikari (for the most part) attempts to communicate with Yuu & Yami.g.

 

[peortega1]

When she realizes there's a history between Yuu and Yami she takes steps to go talk to her friend, a courtesy that neither Yuu nor Yami extended to her

It was about time they tried to blame Yuu again, when of the three, he's the most innocent. Even though the novel makes it clear he didn't say anything because he didn't even know Hikari and Yami knew each other. Even though the novel makes it clear he didn't know Hikari saw the kiss. Even though he dropped several hints during his confession, inviting Hikari to talk about the kiss to see if she had actually seen it.
At most, we could consider Yuu the more responsible of the two for choosing not to speak up after Yami's stolen kiss, but Hikari had plenty of opportunities to bring it up and SHE DIDN'T.

It's refreshing to watch her attempts to change from a childhood friendship to a romance without her having to resort to flinging herself at Yuu's dick.

Hikari is the exact opposite of Yami's actions, and even more harmful and nefarious. She is just as passive, if not more so, than Yuu. It is precisely her passivity and ambiguity that allowed Yami to have TWO opportunities with Yuu.
No one is saying she had to jump at Yuu's penis, but she definitely could have been much more clearer and direct with him.
And the entire ED episode is there to make it clear that Yuu wasn't looking for sex, nor did he intend to ask Hikari for sex, just as he never asked Yami for it. He was looking for romance and someone who would reciprocate his feelings, as he himself says in his omake chapters. I haven't seen such a poor understanding of the character in a long time, even with the limited characterization we do have of him. This is undoubtedly one of the few things Maruto has established as a defining characteristic of Yuu as the male protagonist.
I will not tolerate or allow Yuu to be treated like some lustful monkey.
Otherwise, no, Hikari doesn't really communicate with Yuu or try to ask him directly about his life, his past, or his romantic choices. It's always external events that motivate her to want to know more about him and ask him questions—just as happened to Yuu himself with Yami.
If Hikari would have been really open with Yuu about her own life, definitely Yuu would know the full name of the best friend of Hikari being "Ayami" and not just "Aya-chan".
The only time Hikari asks about it on her own initiative is when she asks Yuu if Seki is his ex-girlfriend. That, along with the fireworks episode, is the closest thing to Hikari actually communicating with Yuu AND THINKING ABOUT HIM INSTEAD OF HERSELF.
So far, Hikari has easily been the most selfish of the three main characters, and at the same time, the most well-intentioned and the one who has done the fewest "bad" actions. You could say she's the embodiment of the negative golden rule: "don´t do to others what you wouldn´t want them to do to you", in her passivity.
Most of the time, she'll help others who are crying out for help, but she'll never move for someone who doesn't openly express their pain, because she's too insensitive to see it—as Yuu and Yami themselves mention several times.
She'll react with compassion if Yuu or Yami cry in front of her, but without that external stimulus, she's completely incapable of even thinking about them, let alone putting them above her own selfish interests. Hikari has never sacrificed anything or anyone. And to be fair, she doesn't have to, nor did Yuu ask her to. Simply being honest with her and asking about Yami's kiss would have been more than enough.
Hikari is a girl who walks through the world blind and is incapable of seeing things even if Haru, Yuki, and Yami herself tell her directly. Even if Yuu confronts her about her lack of concern for his academic future in middle school in his omake chapter.

 

[peortega1]

Yes, it's a shame we don't get much from Yuu but Maruto seems to want it that way so I'll just have to be disappointed and suck it up.

It doesn't help that you didn't like at all what little we did get of Yuu from Maruto. Because yes, if we do get a real POV from Yuu, it will undoubtedly be like the Twilight chapters. A submissive, passive, and shy boy letting his masculine insecurities show, as can be seen in the POVs of the other male protagonists in Maruto... and of course, Yuu Izumi.
If you want to get an idea of how Yuu Takamura thinks, read Shikimori-san, which is narrated mainly from the male MC's POV. That said, I don't think you'll like it much.

It wasn't external forces. As far as we know, neither her step father nor her mother even knew she had a boyfriend. Yami made the internal decision to break up due to her perception that it's not fair she has something that she "denied" her mother from having. Which is just silly. She's not denying her mother of having a man in her life, just one particular piece of shit man who cheated and liked to molest his step daughter.

Regarding why Yami broke up with Yuu, I have a theory, as I said, that since Yami was a minor, her mother had to sign a legal permission slip for her to go on that three-day getaway to the hotel. That document undoubtedly contained her mother's contact information. The hotel called both Yami's mother and Yuu's parents to tell them that their children had been having sex for three days straight, even though Japanese law prohibits minors from having sex in respectable hotels—and in love hotels, by the way, but those are more irregular establishments that tend to turn a blind eye.
This is what triggered the suicide attempt and would explain why Yami had that strange cause-and-effect reaction

 

[peortega1]

You see, that's kind of the opposite of what I want from the story. When you, story645 or anyone else talk about growth, I always see words like responsibility, own the situation, apologize etc. Basically that they should all do the right thing (and in Yami's case that means to apologize, repent for her actions and gracefully step aside). And I don't want them to. I want them to clash, suffer, struggle, make more wonderful mistakes, get angry, depressed and all kinds of stuff in their pursuit of happiness that's maybe waiting at the end. And that's exactly why I prefer Yami over Hikari - the latter just seems to always do the "right thing". After chapter 36 I thought she'd finally do something unorthodox, but she still kept doing "the right thing". And I just can't find it interesting.

I mean, she attacked physically Yuu. That definitely was unorthodox for a "good girl" for her, and is, IMO, a big part of the reasons why she doesn´t want see Yuu now. She doesn´t want see his face crying because she is too sensible, equal as Yami, to see Yuu with his face of hurted puppy, this is hinted why her inner words in chapter 38 when she is screaming: "I hate liars", this is the reason why she gets out running from the gym. This mind-body disconnection is other thing Hikari learned from Yami.

My issue with him is different, I think he's still an underdeveloped character. He had a short volume of his own but it didn't help much, we still don't know what he was thinking in all those situations that we saw in the manga. He doesn't really have any interesting interactions with either Hikari or Yami, aside from a few select ones.

IMO his interactions with Yami were almost always interesting, but yes, this is definitely because the role reversal focus of their relationship.
See Yuu as the GIRLFRIEND of Yami definitely was so epic and refreshing for me (with so funny moments like that one of "Yami-senpai, what are we?" during the sex scene in his omake chapter dedicated to her). In fact, it is his arc as the submissive boyfriend of Yami the only one thing who makes Yuu really interesting for me.
And the fact Yami discovered this very fast, it proves she always was more interested in know the real Yuu than Hikari ever did.

 

[peortega1]

I think if anything it's Yuu who is being a goody two shoes (doormat) here by insisting that Aya did nothing wrong given she ghosted him then showed up a year later and didn't explain anything, yelled at him, kissed him, then said goodbye.

There is a more simple explanation for that. Yami is:

 

[GennArc]

I think if Hikari was just being a goody two shoes, then she would've just forgiven Aya outright and given Aya her blessing to make a move on Yuu.

Of course it's possible to come up with more idealized versions that make even less sense, but they would still just be different degrees of the same thing.

I think if anything it's Yuu who is being a goody two shoes (doormat) here by insisting that Aya did nothing wrong given she ghosted him then showed up a year later and didn't explain anything, yelled at him, kissed him, then said goodbye

Even if I were to agree that he is being a white knight by protecting her, she still did a lot more harm to Hikari, yet the latter is the one who doesn't seem to hold any malice.
But I think what you wrote is not his perspective at all. He thought that either he had done something wrong or she had just broken up with him on a whim, but then he learns there's more to it and she clearly still feels strongly about him, so instead of being hurt by her treatment he'd probably want to learn more.

Basically what you don't like about Hikari is I think why realistically someone like her (& Yuu) would even get involved w/ Aya in the first place.

What I dislike about Hikari is incompatible with the word "realistically" I'd say. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for realism in any manga, but I do like it when characters behave like humans.

IMO his interactions with Yami were almost always interesting

I'd say it's mostly the girls who make those dialogues worth reading. Usually he is just reacting to Hikari's or Yami's one-man show with just few exceptions (the most prominent being chapter 13 for Hikari and chapter 24 for Yami).

 

[story645]

Yuu at this point, knows Yami is crazy and is trying to deescalate a power keg situation.

That doesn't explain why he later tells Haru that Yami did nothing wrong.

for not forcing her be honest with him, when he knew if he did that she would blow up if she felt cornered.

There's a middle ground there, where Yuu could have more forcefully expressed interest. Instead Yuu let Yami brush it off in a way where Yami thought Yuu didn't care about her. Also Yuu's & Yami's cowardice in risking a fight ultimately is why they break up - neither is fully honest & it creates a negative feedback loop where Yami convinces herself that the best move for everyone is ghosting.

she still did a lot more harm to Hikari,

How? Yuu's the one she "caused a massive heartbreak to", she's lied to Yuu every bit as much as she's lied to Hikari, kissing Yuu in front of Hikari throws a wrench in Yuu & Hikari's relationship and Aya knows just how much they liked each other, and Hikari at least knows why Aya is ghosting. Yuu has just as many, if not more, reasons to want nothing to do w/ Aya, and that's not even including her possibly kissing him b/c she saw Hikari.

so instead of being hurt by her treatment he'd probably want to learn more.

So he could do what Hikari's doing and actually push her to learn more. Hikari also understands why Aya is doing what she's doing - says as much in her fight with Aya - but Hikari is trying to make Aya own her actions.

but I do like it when characters behave like humans.

She behaves like a human, just a very naive idealistic one. A cynical human would've gone "girl bye" the first time Aya shut her down. But also, in that way she's the same as Yuu.

 

[GennArc]

How? Yuu's the one she "caused a massive heartbreak to", she's lied to Yuu every bit as much as she's lied to Hikari

Because betrayal hurts much more. And as I said already, I think for Yuu that meeting is much more "mixed feelings" territory than "terrible experience".

kissing Yuu in front of Hikari throws a wrench in Yuu & Hikari's relationship

Umm, what threw a wrench is the fact that he was hiding the relationship and then the truth came to light after he tried to lie about it.

and Hikari at least knows why Aya is ghosting

She doesn't, she only knows that Yami's relationship with her mom is complicated.

So he could do what Hikari's doing and actually push her to learn more.

That was not the moment for it, with how Yami led the whole confrontation. The idea is that he just learnt that someone he cares about still has feelings for him, unlike what he thought. I imagine that is more reassuring than depressing, even though circumstances around it were very unfortunate.

She behaves like a human, just a very naive idealistic one.

I doubt there's a human who would just go "she just betrayed me but I don't hold it against her, I care more about how she feels and I want her to be honest about it" in that situation.

 

[hiridis]

self defend by crashing out as expected from my GOAT

 

[peortega1]

But I think what you wrote is not his perspective at all. He thought that either he had done something wrong or she had just broken up with him on a whim, but then he learns there's more to it and she clearly still feels strongly about him, so instead of being hurt by her treatment he'd probably want to learn more

I agree with you, but there's also what I mentioned before. Yuu, like Haruki and Yuu Izumi before him, will always prefer to blame himself rather than anyone else for whatever happened. Yami knows this and definitely exploited it during her mental breakdown in chapter 40. She knows she's hurting him more by making him feel guilty for "not looking for her", even though she knows what she's saying is nonsense.
Part of the conclusion Yuu drew from that whole confrontation is that "I didn't fight hard enough for Yami-senpai", and that obviously makes him feel guilty. And yes, as I said, precisely because he believed he had done something wrong, he went back to the classroom when Yami started yelling at him, when logically he should have run away. He wanted to be punished by Yami for whatever it was he had done wrong in their relationship.

I'd say it's mostly the girls who make those dialogues worth reading. Usually he is just reacting to Hikari's or Yami's one-man show with just few exceptions (the most prominent being chapter 13 for Hikari and chapter 24 for Yami).

Now, as we've already said, Yuu is by definition passive and submissive. What's interesting is precisely how he reacts in moments where Hikari and especially Yami take the initiative.
That's why it was interesting to see him as Yami's submissive boyfriend and how Yuu responds to her teasings, in interactions that make it clear that Yami is the boyfriend in the relationship, and that Yuu is aware of it, and even more so, that he enjoys it. We see his real, more "feminine" personality, and how he's attracted, as already hinted at in Hikari's chapters (as chapter 13, which you mentioned), to "cool" athletic tomboy girls.
It's this exploration of gender roles (and his efforts to establish a real emotional connection and a formal relationship with her) that makes Yuu interesting, especially when seen alongside Ayami.
That said, even in chapter 24 with Yami, we mainly see him reacting to her monologue. Even his gesture of "then I wasn't crying when we met" is a reaction to how he hears her trying not to cry, encouraging her to cry and release her emotions.
If I had to mention a chapter where Yuu actually takes the initiative with Yami and has a more interesting dialogue, it would undoubtedly be chapter 28 (especially when he expresses his fears, which we know will soon prove to be real, of being abandoned by Yami), and even his public declaration of love to Yami in chapter 29.

 

[peortega1]

It does though cause Hikari can't steal Yuu's love when she's always had it. In this narrative Aya comes across as the tragic fool for getting in the middle rather then letting it play out. Which is basically what may happen if Hikari/Yuu is the endgame. ETA: Especially if you think Hikari only noticed Yuu b/c of his relationship w/ Aya b/c then Aya sowed all the seeds of her destruction & not just the pushing Yuu away side of things.

Hikari always had the love of Yuu, but the Yuu of novel chapters 27-30 and omake chapter 4 is definitely more focused in Ayami and he definitely would have chosen Yami over Hikari, this is the meaning of the scene when he confess publicly his love for Ayami in chapter 29 in the station.
Ayami is fully aware -chapter 26 in the manga cafe- Yuu loves both her and Hikari and her goal is make Yuu forget totally Hikari and become his only one loved person.
And yes, precisely is because Aya sowed all the seeds of her destruction and how she realizes it, the reason why she collapses in chapter 40. Even after "you still matters me, Yami-senpai", she is just the second one and Yuu is definitely choosing Hikari over her, and this is entirely HER fault. It´s her who launched Yuu of return to the Hikari´s arms after made him a person who Hikari would could notice romantically.
And is realizing all this the reason why Yami loses the control and breakdowns.

That doesn't explain why he later tells Haru that Yami did nothing wrong.

This could be just because he wants Haru and Yuki helps to Yami. And for the same reason Hikari didn´t say a single word criticizing Yami with her two friends, he is not the kind of people who blames other ones before third parties involved.

She behaves like a human, just a very naive idealistic one. A cynical human would've gone "girl bye" the first time Aya shut her down. But also, in that way she's the same as Yuu.

Ironically, is probably the naive idealistic personality of Hikari the reason why she manages to guess blindly Ayami's true motivations. On one hand, like Yuu, she correctly identifies Ayami as a sensitive girl and a much better person beneath her bad rebel girl exterior. On the other hand, they both probably idealize Ayami more than she deserves.
That's why Hikari prefers a typical scenario from the shoujo manga she is such a fan, and reject the Boy´s Abyss scenary who Yami offers to her. She would much rather compete against Yuu's ex-girlfriend, who still sincerely loves him after the breaking, than against the "whore" that Ayami claims she was in the past, while Yuu was just "one of those dudes" to her.
Or, if you prefer, Hikari and Yuu understand Ayami better than she understands herself, if we follow the theory that Ayami is an unreliable narrator and that her "I'm going to corrupt this innocent child" in chapter 23 was just another tsundere move to avoid accepting that she was gradually falling in love with Yuu.

 

[peortega1]

There's a middle ground there, where Yuu could have more forcefully expressed interest. Instead Yuu let Yami brush it off in a way where Yami thought Yuu didn't care about her

This is definitely the middle ground and securely the most Yuu could pressure Yami without make her blow up as she did all those times with Hikari during their friendship:

"Yeah, about last month... I was kinda worried."

Yuu shifts his hand, fumbling a bit, and intertwines his fingers with mine.

"You know... back then, it felt like you were pushing me away. Like you were cornered or something."
"Eh? Really? Maybe you just missed me too much because we couldn't meet?"
"I'm serious... I thought something happened with your family."

The sensation of our hands entwined is a mix of ticklish, soothing, joyful... and bittersweet.

"Ah, don't worry, everything's fine now. Really."
"Are you sure? Don't lie to me, okay?"

Geez... don't say stuff like that while we're holding hands like this.

"I've never lied to you, Yuu."
"Liar."
"Okay, fair..."

For once, it's true, Yuu. Everything really is okay now.

My parents' divorce was finalized. He left without a fuss. I guess he wanted to get away from my mom... No, away from me. So yeah, everything's back to normal. It'll be just me and my mom, living happily... like before.

And yes, this is the reason why Maruto remarks Yami is genuinely being honest here and she sincerely believes all is fixed now in her house and she doesn´t have to fear nothing in the future.

neither is fully honest & it creates a negative feedback loop where Yami convinces herself that the best move for everyone is ghosting.

I mean, Hikari pushing Yami only made her ghosting even faster, if we are disposed to follow your argumentation line.

 

[story645]

she just betrayed me but I don't hold it against her, I care more about how she feels and I want her to be honest about it

Hikari does hold it against her, that's why she's refusing to go and chase Aya down even though she's worried about Aya not coming to school. But also, many chapters earlier Hikari said that if she had to make a choice between Aya and Yuu, then she'd probably choose Aya. It's still unclear which choice Hikari will make, but it was kinda foreshadowed that Hikari would at least hear Aya out.

I doubt there's a human who would just go "she just betrayed me but I don't hold it against her, I care more about how she feels and I want her to be honest about it" in that situation.

I think Yuu's reaction of "she did nothing wrong" to the ex that has messed w/ his feelings 16 ways to Sunday is equally baffling if you don't go w/ the baseline of Yuu and Hikari are painfully naive/innocent. Yuu's on the nose when he says she's being unfair b/c she's giving off a confusing mix of signals he can't read - ghost, polite hello, yelling, kiss, good bye - where he doesn't know if she likes him or not. She ghosted him but is acting like the victim and the injured party & that is such an unfair thing to do to him & no I don't think is less worse than her betrayel of Hikari. Hikari at least understands why Aya kissed Yuu, while Aya keeps leaving Yuu with more questions than answers.

She doesn't, she only knows that Yami's relationship with her mom is complicated.

Aya ditching school after the blow up w/ Hikari at school is the reasonable conclusion Hikari would come to. Especially in the context of chapters 31-35 where Hikari encourages Aya to participate in school & Aya ends up saying she wants to be w/ Hikari the next year.

 

[GennArc]

Hikari does hold it against her

When Hikari went to meet her in the classroom, she didn't; at the very least she didn't throw a single accusation and was more keen on defending Yami than she herself did.

I think Yuu's reaction of "she did nothing wrong" to the ex that has messed w/ his feelings 16 ways to Sunday is equally baffling if you don't go w/ the baseline of Yuu and Hikari are painfully naive/innocent.

It would be equally baffling if they didn't meet and didn't have that whole conversation. After that, I'd say it's not that weird.

Yuu's on the nose when he says she's being unfair b/c she's giving off a confusing mix of signals he can't read - ghost, polite hello, yelling, kiss, good bye - where he doesn't know if she likes him or not.

He is not an idiot. She just had an emotional outburst that concluded with "...and jumped into your embrace", a kiss and a tearful farewell, of course he knows she likes him.

Aya ditching school after the blow up w/ Hikari at school is the reasonable conclusion Hikari would come to. Especially in the context of chapters 31-35 where Hikari encourages Aya to participate in school & Aya ends up saying she wants to be w/ Hikari the next year.

Where's the connection with her mom's suicide attempt and the resulting ghosting?

he went back to the classroom when Yami started yelling at him, when logically he should have run away.

I don't know what kind of person runs away when someone who they still hold dear clearly has something important to say.

That said, even in chapter 24 with Yami, we mainly see him reacting to her monologue. Even his gesture of "then I wasn't crying when we met" is a reaction to how he hears her trying not to cry, encouraging her to cry and release her emotions.
If I had to mention a chapter where Yuu actually takes the initiative with Yami and has a more interesting dialogue, it would undoubtedly be chapter 28 (especially when he expresses his fears, which we know will soon prove to be real, of being abandoned by Yami), and even his public declaration of love to Yami in chapter 29.

What I liked about 24 is how he gradually grew more confident, earnestly replied to her rhetoric question and so on.
I don't find him in 28 that interesting because he was simply sharing his observations that she couldn't meet him for weeks despite previously being quite clingy and always wanting to spend more time with him. It's just natural to grow worried and it's an obvious concern to express.