Toumei na Yoru ni Kakeru Kimi to, Me ni Mienai Koi wo Shita Episode 4: The Not-Date

Toumei na Yoru ni Kakeru Kimi to, Me ni Mienai Koi wo Shita Episode 4

The date happens. Fuyutsuki called it that at the end of last episode, and Sorano spent the night picking out clothes for it, but he still won’t admit what it is. That tension, between what something obviously is and what Sorano will allow himself to call it, runs through the whole episode. He is doing boyfriend-level consideration while insisting to himself that he just likes talking to her.

The episode picks up right where we left off, with Narumi teasing Sorano about looking “pure” fresh out of the shower before meeting a girl. The chicken bit is exactly the kind of dumb roommate energy this show does well. Narumi calls him a chicken for not wanting to go alone, Sorano fires back with shut up shut up shut up, and the whole exchange feels like actual college guys giving each other grief. Narumi sees right through him too. When Sorano says he never said he liked Fuyutsuki, Narumi just laughs at how adorable that denial is.

What Narumi says next matters more than the teasing. When Sorano admits he does not know how to “deal with” Fuyutsuki’s eyesight issues, wondering if he should avoid talking about her eyes, pick easier routes, guide her by hand, Narumi’s response is simple: just ask her. He has been through something similar, and people tiptoeing around you does not feel great. It is the kind of practical advice that cuts through Sorano’s overthinking, and it comes from someone who actually knows what that experience is like. The show does not make a big deal out of Narumi’s past here. It just lets the line sit there, and Sorano takes it in.

Sorano’s Walls Have Doors Now

The internal monologue on the way to meet Fuyutsuki tells you everything about where Sorano is. He got called chicken so many times he got hungry for some. That is such a dumb joke, and it is exactly the kind of thing someone thinks when they are nervous and trying to calm themselves down.

Then Fuyutsuki hits him with “I’ve been waiting about two hours” and when he says that is not his fault, she deadpans “No, it most certainly is” before admitting she is teasing. Their banter has settled into something easy. She can mess with him, he can push back, and neither of them is walking on eggshells.

But Sorano is still in his own head. Walking beside her, he realizes he can watch her from the side and she would never notice. That thought leads straight into the one he has been avoiding: dating a blind person would be pretty difficult. He immediately calls himself out on how rude that is to her, then undercuts his own feelings with “I don’t think my feelings would be worth much to someone else anyway.”

That is the Sorano problem in two lines. He is self-aware enough to know when he is being unfair, but his default move is to devalue himself rather than risk anything. The invisible wall metaphor from earlier episodes has shifted. He is not keeping people out anymore. He is keeping himself in, convinced he does not measure up.

Then Fuyutsuki starts skipping.

She just starts skipping down the street, and when he asks about it, she says she bets he can skip with his eyes closed too. He laughs, and in his head admits he totally cannot. The moment is small and ridiculous and warm, and it is the kind of thing that makes Sorano’s self-deprecation feel like a habit he might actually break.

The Subway Scene Says a Lot Without Saying Much

The show does not linger on it, but the subway moment is quietly brutal. Sorano picked the route with the fewest transfers, and even with Fuyutsuki’s white cane visible, nobody offers her a seat. His internal reaction is just “It’s a cold world.” No speech, no confrontation, no dramatic music. Just a fact of life that Fuyutsuki probably deals with every day.

When he guides her to a quiet spot on the train, she thanks him for being a gentleman, then immediately teases him about leading her somewhere with nobody around. He sputters, she laughs, and the train gets “kinda hot in here.” She knows exactly what she is doing, and watching Sorano flail is genuinely funny.

The conversation about fireworks is where the episode finds its emotional center. Sorano asks why she wants to do fireworks when she cannot see them anymore, and her answer reframes the whole thing. You do not have to enjoy fireworks with your eyes. The boom, the smell of gunpowder, the crowd’s reaction, you feel them throughout your body. She suggests he try enjoying them with his eyes closed next time.

He deflects with a joke about crouching on the ground with a sparkler, and she immediately latches onto sparklers too. Her enthusiasm is not performative. She genuinely loves this stuff, and she loved it as a family tradition before she lost her sight. But she clarifies something important: she really started wanting to do fireworks only after she lost her sight. She wanted to push herself.

Sorano says “With fireworks?” and then just “Oh…” as it sinks in. She is not chasing nostalgia. She is testing herself against something that scares her, something that could hurt her, something people have already told her is too dangerous. Kotomugi’s warning from last episode hangs over this whole conversation, but Fuyutsuki is not backing down.

The Café Scene and What Sorano Is Learning

Running into Hayase at the café is a nice bit of continuity. She immediately clocks the situation, and when Fuyutsuki invites her to join the fireworks outing, the group dynamic expands naturally. Hayase notices something Sorano does not: he is grinning from ear to ear. Fuyutsuki, who cannot see it, immediately asks to feel his face, and Sorano’s flustered refusal is perfect.

The menu moment is more interesting than it looks. Sorano starts reading items off, then asks if Fuyutsuki could even drink something that big, then immediately apologizes. The apology is reflexive, and Fuyutsuki just tilts her head with a “Hmm?” She is not offended. He is the one making it awkward.

His internal monologue admits that moments like this are awkward, but the show does not treat them as disasters. They are just part of learning how to be around someone whose experience of the world is different from yours. You mess up, you apologize, you move on.

When he asks what being blind looks like for her, he prefaces it with “if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s totally fine.” She answers anyway. It is not pitch black. It is a whitish, transparent blur. The opposite of what people assume. He just says “Huh” and lets it sit there. He does not try to fix it or make it profound. He asked, she answered, and now he knows something he did not know before.

The eating thing comes up too. Fuyutsuki says she does not like to be seen when she is eating, and Sorano assumes it is a girly self-consciousness thing. She starts to correct him, then stops and says she is glad he thinks of her as girly. His internal reaction is just “Her smile is too much.” He is not rationalizing with psychology terms anymore. He is just feeling it.

The Fireworks Store Is Pure Joy

The store sequence is the most purely fun stretch of the episode. Sorano describes the shelves, and Fuyutsuki’s excitement is infectious. Thirty-shot aerial fireworks? Get those. Noisemakers that whistle and then explode? Definitely. Handheld fireworks, bamboo cannons, grass sparklers, fireball sparklers? As many different kinds as possible.

Her budget is one million yen from the “Fuyutsuki financial dynasty,” a running joke that Hayase cannot tell if she is serious about. The way Fuyutsuki delivers these lines with complete confidence, then immediately undercuts them with genuine gratitude, is just her. She is playful and sincere at the same time, and Sorano is carrying an armful of explosives for her without a second thought.

When she asks if he is okay taking all of it home, he says it is fine and suggests they might be able to use them on campus. He is already planning ahead, already assuming this is happening, already part of her fireworks project. The guy who could not commit to being a student guide is now logistics support for an unsanctioned fireworks display.

The Water Bus and What Sorano Almost Said

Fuyutsuki suggests taking the water bus home, and Sorano did not even know Tokyo had one. She rode it once a long time ago, and she wants to ride it again. He looks up the route, finds they can board nearby and land close to campus, and she thanks him for looking things up. He brushes it off, and she awards him a “level two kindness license.” The bit is silly, but it is also her way of saying she notices the things he does.

The staircase to the observation deck is narrow, and with the ship rocking, Sorano decides he needs to lead her by hand. “Gimme your hand,” he says, and she makes a small sound of surprise before taking it. On deck, she notes that his hands are really warm, and he deflects with “Whatever. Just don’t hit your legs on the steps.”

Up top, with the wind and the water and the blue sky reflecting on the surface, he describes the view for her. She thanks him for that too, and he jokes about the kindness license. Then he almost says something.

“I’m happy to spend as much time with you as you want.” He catches himself before it comes out, but he thought it. He knows he thought it. And his internal monologue immediately starts interrogating what that means. Does he want to take things further with Fuyutsuki? He is not really sure yet.

But he is sure enough to almost say it. That is new.

Where This Leaves Things

The episode ends quietly, with Fuyutsuki thanking him for the boat ride and him thanking her for coming with him. No big confession, no dramatic turn. Just two people who spent a day together and both had a good time.

The fireworks are bought. Hayase is invited. The campus might or might not allow it. Kotomugi’s warning is still out there. And Sorano is standing on a boat deck, holding a railing, next to a girl who cannot see the blue sky but can feel the wind and hear the water and knows he is grinning even when he does not realize it himself.

He still has not called her by her given name. He still will not call this a date. But he almost told her he wants to spend more time with her, and that is further than he has ever let himself go before.

The invisible wall has a door, and the door is open. He just has not walked through it yet.