Chapter 54: I Prayed At The Shrine

**4I Prayed At The Shrine** is the fifty-third Chapter of *Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu*.

## Summary

Kyoutarou is outside of the Ryusen-ji Shrine with his family, planning out in his head to meet up with Yamada in thirty minutes. He tries thinking of a way to work in an excuse to stay behind once his family leaves, making plans for thirty minutes of family time, and infinite time after that for Yamada. Suddenly his mother asks if that is Yamada standing next to a pole of a nearby Torii gate, causing him to angrily question how this kind of thing happens every time. Kana looks around, excited to see the real Yamada, and when she finds her, reacts in unexpected awe of her height. Considering her brother, Kana asks if Yamada has a boyfriend, and he lies, saying he doesn't know. She comments on her actions, saying how she's all dressed up, keeps checking her mirror, and is practicing her smile, like she's waiting on a crush. She pressures Kyoutarou to go talk to her, but he imagines a scenario where she hides behind a corner and peeps on them, snickering the entire time. Their bickering grabs Yamada's attention, and she looks over their way, but their parents pass by her first, and she exchanges New Year's greetings with them. Kana and Kyoutarou come closer, and the two girls greet each other, Yamada formally, and Kana in a very flustered and gross manner, making Kyoutarou cringe. Ichikawa's mother asks Yamada if she is here with her family, and she begins to say she is supposed to be here with Kyoutarou, but changes gears and asks if she can tag along with them for the visit, which she warmly agrees with. The group begins walking towards the shrine proper, and she bumps into Kyoutarou, accusing him of double-booking, to which he says he had no choice.

At the offering box, everyone throws in their coins, and begin their prayers. Yamada sees that Kyoutarou can't properly put his hands together with his injury, and so moves behind him, wrapping her arm around him and offering her other hand to help him complete his prayer properly. He can barely contain his joy, and in the sky, the deity associated with the temple, **Fudō Myōō** looks on quizzically at the strange display.

Walking back down the steps, Yamada asks Kyoutarou what he wished for. He lies, saying he wishes for these peaceful days to never change, and she judges his wish, asking if that's what he really wants. Yamada then says her goodbyes to his parents, and his mother asks her to continue to take care of her son, which he begs her to stop. She apologizes for intruding, and they depart, and as soon as they leave, Kana punches her brother in his good arm, commenting on how mature Yamada is. She comments on how even she, a communicative person, was sweating while talking to her. He considers how polite she was today, while their parents talk about getting food. Kana suddenly announces that they'll pass on the meal, and she goes hunting for Yamada, saying she wants to give her a more proper greeting. The siblings find her, now carrying several containers of fried chicken on a stick, and she greets Kyoutarou with her mouth full. She offers him some food, but notices Kana is still with him, and tries to clear her mouth. Kana suddenly invites her to their place, to which she agrees, leaving both her and Kyoutarou shocked.

* A bonus page is Kana asking Yamada why she was waiting at the shrine. She tries to deny it, but she considers how she said that she got some for Kyoutarou, and considers how she was sprucing herself up earlier. She beats her head on a telephone pole, saying their interactions are nothing but sparks.

* Another bonus is a single image of Kana's mental image of Yamada before she saw the real thing. She imagines her correctly in her school uniform and walking beside her brother as he walks with his bike, but because of the image she had of her from the phone, she lacks any context of her height, and instead views her as a few inches shorter than her brother, rather than nearly a full head taller.

## Trivia

The shrine that they visit this Chapter is the real-world Meguro Fudoson Takisenji Temple, also known as Ryusen-ji, located here.