Bokura no Suki wa Warikirenai 4 *SPOILERS*
READ BOKURA NO SUKI WA WARIKIRENAI 3 SPOILERS HERE
I want to return the favour
On another day at school, Ritsu and Yui are having lunch together. Yui asks Ritsu if there's anything he would like for her to do. Ritsu asks why she is asking this.
Yui answers that she feels like Ritsu's always the one accommodating to her, so she feels bad - they are "fake dating" just because Yui wanted to hide her feelings for Hayato, her older brother.
Thinking about it for a moment, Ritsu manages to think of something for Yui to do for him.
Club Manager
They enter a classroom and find a girl waiting. Ritsu calls out to her, saying that he's brought a suitable person over. Yui thinks to herself that the girl is very pretty.
The girl's name is Urata Mitsuka, and she's the manager of the boys' volleyball club. She is also in the same class as Yui and Ritsu. Mitsuka recognizes Yui as the newly-transferred student, younger sister of Hayato. She's been looking for a substitute manager.
When Yui realizes what's going on, she says that she knows nothing about volleyball, but Mitsuka assures her that it's fine. She offers for Yui to visit the club and view the club activities before making her decision.
Volleyball Practice
Yui thinks to herself that she really wants to fulfill Ritsu's request, but volleyball practice means... that she will see Hayato.
Yui, Ritsu and Mitsuka arrive at the gym and see the volleyball club. Hayato spots them and asks Yui why she's here. Yui explains that she's here to watch and Ritsu adds that she's going to become the backup manager.
Hayato asks Ritsu if he's forcing Yui to do this and Ritsu says he isn't, because it's completely up to Yui if she wants to do it or not. Yui confirms so.
Practice is about to start, so Hayato asks Mitsuka to watch over Yui in case the ball flies towards them. Mitsuka remarks to Yui that Yui has a good relationship with her brother. Mitsuka shares that she has a younger brother, but when they're outside together, her brother ignores her. Yui wonders if that's what a normal brother-sister relationship is like.
How to be a Club Manager!
Mitsuka explains the basic tasks of being club manager - picking up balls, fetching water for the team, preparing cold compresses and bandages as needed for injuries. She says that there are also other tasks, but they are not too difficult.
Yui notices fangirls squealing and cheering for the volleyball team, in particular for Hayato and Ritsu. Mitsuka explains that part of being the club manager also includes managing the fangirls' cheering, as the cheering could affect the volleyball team's focus. Watching Ritsu and Hayato play volleyball, Yui thinks to herself that she can understand the fangirls' excitement.
Yui remarks that there must be an endless line of girls wanting to be the club manager. Mitsuka answers that there indeed have been several applicants, but they end up just trying to gain the favour of Ritsu and Hayato and neglect their duties. While Mitsuka doesn't mind if the other girls have ulterior motives, she couldn't accept that they didn't do their jobs properly and so expelled them. In the end, no one has been willing to be club manager, and Mitsuka has become disliked among the girls.
Let's be friends
Yui admits to Mitsuka that she hasn't been able to assimilate well with their classmates. Mitsuka replies that if Yui joins as club manager, she may lose all chances of making friends.
Yui feels that the way Mitsuka doesn't let outsiders affect how she feels about herself is very cool. Yui asks Mitsuka if she can become good friends with her if she joins as club manager. Mitsuka asks, "You want us to become good friends?" and Yui confirms so. Mitsuka laughs and says that Yui is strange, but after that, the two girls start calling each other by their first names.
A girlfriend's privilege
After the volleyball practice, Yui is texting Mitsuka on the phone (implying that they exchanged contacts). Mitsuka has sent Yui a video to watch and learn how to treat injuries. Yui is delighted to have made a friend in school, because she has not been able to talk to anyone apart from Ritsu.
Walking along the open corridor, Yui notices Ritsu being approached by some girls and he's telling them that he can't accept their request. The girls were asking to take a picture with Ritsu.
Watching them, Yui wonders if this is the moment she should step in as Ritsu's girlfriend to stop them. She walks towards them and calls out to Ritsu. "T-the volleyball team is looking for you."
Ritsu smiles knowingly and thanks Yui, walking towards her. The girls ask him to wait, but Ritsu tells them that he most certainly can't accept their request in front of his girlfriend.
Wasted Opportunity...?
When out of earshot from the girls, Yui apologizes to Ritsu for not saving him thoroughly enough, but Ritsu tells her that she was a big help. He remarks that those girls were giving him a headache, treating him like some sort of celebrity.
Yui answers that she doesn't fully get what the girls were thinking, but they might not have thought of treating Ritsu like a celebrity. She says that among the girls, there would surely be some who genuinely like him. She then asks if being together with her will cause him to miss out on those encounters and opportunities. Yui feels that she might not be helping Ritsu and even dragging him down.
Ritsu's Past
Ritsu says that those encounters are exactly what he's trying to avoid. He explains that after Yui moved away in the past, he wasn't able to make a single friend and was treated as if he was like air. However, after he started middle school and joined the volleyball club, his growth spurt made the girls all look at him differently. He was still the same person, yet he suddenly became popular.
Due to this experience, Ritsu thought that if everyone simply chose to judge based on looks, he might as well do the same. However, such superficial relationships would not last long.
Ritsu further shares a particular incident that affected him the most. In middle school, a girl who used to ostracize him in elementary school confessed to him. Ritsu had asked the girl, "What's this? Is this a prank?" The girl started crying and left.
Ritsu says that after that, he just found everything a nuisance. He couldn't return any of their feelings, so the more earnestly they tried to approach him, the more he felt pressured by them.
Ritsu and Yui
Looking at Ritsu expressing his complaints, Yui tells him that it's nice how he's seriously considering other people's feelings. Ritsu gets confused by her reaction and asks her if she thought that he was talking about good things, as he was just ranting earlier.
Yui smiles and agrees that he was ranting, but she says that Ritsu was basically also saying that he didn't want others to get hurt.
Ritsu looks moved by Yui's words and leans his head on her shoulder. Yui is surprised and asks if he's not feeling well. Ritsu replies that he's different now compared to when he was young, because he feels like he can finally communicate with Yui on equal footing.
Ritsu lifts his head from Yui's shoulder to face her directly. He tells her that just by staying by his side, she's helping him much more than she thinks, and asks her to understand it. He also asks for them to maintain this relationship until the time comes when either of them change their minds. Yui agrees. Ritsu then leaves to go back to volleyball practice.
Yui is happy to learn that Ritsu has the same thoughts as her.
You can practise on me
At home, Yui is watching the video that Mitsuka shared with her and is practising applying a bandage on her finger. Hayato returns home, surprising her a little.
Hayato sees that Yui is practising with the bandage and says that it must be inconvenient to do it on herself, so he offers his hand for her to practise with.
When Yui applies the bandage on Hayato's finger, her hands are trembling. She thinks to herself that she's so nervous, her hands are uncontrollably trembling. Just touching Hayato's hand is making her heart race to no end.
Being in the Volleyball Club
Hayato asks if Yui practising this means that she's decided to join as the volleyball team's club manager. She confirms so, though she says that she's not sure if she'll be of help. Hayato asks her again if Ritsu forced her into this and she denies it.
Yui says that Hayato and Ritsu were together since middle school, so she finds it interesting. Also, another big reason is that she still hasn't been able to integrate well into her class, so she wanted to at least befriend Mitsuka.
Hayato approves. However, Yui tells him that if he finds it inappropriate for a brother and sister to be in the same club, she will quit immediately. Hayato says that he doesn't. He says that he would be delighted.
Hayato pats Yui's head and smiles gently, saying that she bandaged his fingers well, and that she's suited to such roles. He then leaves to go to his room, while Yui covers her face from shyness and collapses onto the sofa.
Yui's Feelings
Yui feels as if she cannot control her heart throbbing.
She thinks to herself, 'I guess, trying to suppress it should be considered as trying to change. This is much better than being trapped in a vicious cycle of self-loathing and inaction. Ricchan, the one who's receiving the most help is me. It's because Ricchan is here that I am saved.'
New Club Manager!
On another day, at volleyball practice, Mitsuka introduces Yui to the team. The boys seem curious about Yui.
The captain introduces himself to Yui and asks to call her by her name, as Yui is now the second Yotsuya on the team (because Hayato's last name is also Yotsuya). Yui is amazed at how tall he is while giving her consent to call her Yui. The other boys also start introducing themselves to Yui, but Mitsuka chases them away so as not to overwhelm Yui.
Ritsu goes up to Yui to thank her for joining. Yui tells him that there's no need to thank her, as she wanted to try doing something for herself. Ritsu is pleased.
Hayato suddenly comes between the two of them to drag Ritsu away, sternly reminding them (Ritsu in particular) to maintain appropriate behavior. Yui acknowledges it readily. Hayato smiles at her, saying, "We'll be in your care, manager."
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