Chapter 84: I'm Okay

I'm Okay is the eighty-forth Chapter of Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu.

## Summary

Kana is at the Ichikawa Residence brushing her teeth and reacting to a phone call from her brother where he tells her that he forgot his script. She goes up the stairs berating him for not memorizing it, but saying not to worry because she'll get it to him. She opens the door to his room, and pauses, prompting him to ask what is wrong, and she nervously asks if he has anything dirty in there. He yells at her to pick up the pace, and hangs up.

Back at the classroom, Kyoutarou begins pacing and panicking. He considers telling Maeda what has happened, to put a stop to the whole thing, but when Yamada asks him what's wrong, he tries to play it off cool. She senses that he's still upset, though, and grabs him by the shoulder, and he cringes fearing that she'll tell him "you can do it," something he really doesn't want to hear, but instead catches him off-guard with a simple "don't worry." She pulls out Akita Kentarou and hands it to him, telling him to hold onto it for now, and heads back into the line, while he contemplates the keychain. Meanwhile, Kana gets lost on her scooter trying to find her brother's school.

In the auditorium, the school principal is giving his speech, while Kyoutarou considers how impossible the scenario laid out before him is. He gets up out of his chair and heads over to Maeda, who thanks him for doing the congratulatory address. Surprisingly, he has tears in his eyes and declares it is from his overwhelming happiness. Maeda grabs him by the shoulders and begins leading him towards the front, while Kyoutarou continues to consider the impossible task in front of him, and thinks back to his younger self who showed off in front of the crowd at the school, and how that version of himself is no longer there.

As Kana tries to get into the school by explaining the situation to a woman stationed outside, Kyoutarou begins hearing a voice. It tells him to not get the wrong idea, and that Yamada and Maeda wouldn't give such a task to an incompetent loser. It asks if he's really so different from back then, and as Kana runs across the campus, Kyoutarou finds himself walking towards the podium, seeing Nigorikawa sitting on top of it. He asks him who believes in him the most, asking if it's his sister, the teacher, or even Yamada, but concludes that all of those are wrong, and that instead "it's me." Kana waves the paper at him from the doorway, but he ignores her, being too focused on Nigorikawa, who metaphysically grabs him by the head, and declares "the person who loves you the most... is me!" He tells him to not take his eyes off his own, and Kyoutarou begins his speech.

*"As the day of departure arrives, the early spring sunshine feels even warmer. To all of the graduates, congratulations on your graduation today. We have learned may things from our senpai. Anxiety about being thrown into a new environment, parting with irreplaceable things. You may have a hard, difficult road ahead of you. Still, in the end... taking the first step is up to you. It's such a simple thing, but realizing it is scary. It's awful. But I'm not going to run away, because... I've already seen the light. Kh. It's in the friends, the mentors, the experiences we've gained in this school. That's why... it's okay. Never stop trying. Learn to love yourself. May all of your encounters become something you treasure."*

As Kyoutarou starts coming down the stairs, he is greeted by Maeda, who is beaming at the success of his speech. Having spent everything for the sake of it, though, Ichikawa is pale-faced and muttering about the ignorant masses that are such trash below him, before passing out. Maeda catches him and begins yelling his name.

In the nurse's office, Ichikawa looks up at the ceiling and thinks about how he's still himself. Yamada pulls back the curtain and looks at him inside, asking how he's feeling. He declares that he's fine now, and she begins to talk about the farewell address, but their discussion is cut short by the arrival of Nanjou, with the narrator declaring this "the final battle."