Chapter 102: I'm A Stranger

**I'm A Stranger** is the one-hundred-and-second Chapter of *Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu*.

## Summary

After discovering Yamada and Ichikawa flirting in the library, Hanzawa averts her eyes with seemingly no reaction, and Ichikawa wonders if she's the type to have no interest in romance. He considers how they weren't really *doing* anything, and turns back to Yamada to begin speaking again, but Hanzawa appears next to them, and is revealed when the curtain flutters. They react with shock at her closeness, and she walks briskly away, nearly tripping over a chair on her way, and dropping the book she was holding before leaving the library. The two walk over confused, and Yamada picks up the book, noticing her name is written on it. She says she'll give it back to her, while Ichikawa thinks that things are getting bad.

Back in class, everyone is pulling scraps of paper for their seating arrangement. As Ichikawa moves his desk to the window-side back-corner of the class, he considers Hanzawa and how she's the "celebration girl's" best friend. As he parks his desk, he considers how he has a "main character's seat," and watches as Hanzawa talks with Yamada, offering to switch her seats due to having poor eyesight, and he tries to judge her character. Yamada takes her new place next to him, and Hanzawa begins nodding and going "mm-hm" continuously at him. He considers how this is the last thing they need, even though he's so happy he has to stop himself from grinning, and forces himself to act like a stranger. He turns to her, acting aloof, and saying that sitting next to Yamada Anna is "not too bad." Yamada reacts with shock, thinking it is like the start of a shoujo manga, while Andou just stares at him. The teacher begins class, and Yamada asks to see his textbook, which he tries to deny her, considering their sense of distance, but ultimately sends it her way, writing "sorry" in the corner of the page, and considering how difficult this is.

Later in the day, Yamada has left early, and Ichikawa is considering how this whole scenario could have an adverse effect on their relationship. He looks on Yamada's desk and sees that she still has Hanzawa's book, and considers bringing it to her himself. When he picks it up, he sees a piece of paper sticking out of it, and pulls it out to read.

**"Dear Hanzawa-san,**

**Sorry to write you so suddenly. My name is Yamada Anna. My handwriting's messy and might be hard to read, please forgive me. I'm writing because I think you might have misunderstood something. Ichikawa and I really are super close, but that doesn't mean we're dating. (as of April 23rd)**

**But that's now what I wanted you to know... About Ichikawa, he's actually super shy. It can sometimes be hard to see, but he's always thinking about people. Thinking way too much, even.... If you get close, he pulls away. He's just like a cat, really. We built our relationship up slowly, a little bit at a time.**

**That time and that closeness is something special and precious to me. And so... That's why you don't have to worry about any of it. If you could leave it be, I would really appreciate that. One day, I'm sure [*rest of paragraph omitted, Ichikawa stops reading here*]**

**[*omitted paragraph*]**

**I was thinking, Hanzawa-san... I'd like to learn lots about you, too. I'd love if we could be good friends!! Ah, but if you don't want to, you can ignore this... Also, throw this letter away once you've read it. If you can... be quick...**

**From Y. A."**

He concludes that reading any further would be bad, and stops.

The next morning, Yamada greets him, but immediately catches herself, looking flustered as Hanzawa and Andou look over to them. He relents, however, and says good morning back, concluding that the closeness they've built together is more precious than anything.

In the library, Ichikawa walks in on a conversation between Hanzawa and Yamada, where the former says that she wishes she knew what it was like to be in love. She asks if it's different from friendship or admiration, and asks if it's something that should be celebrated, since it's such a good thing. She also asks why the pair from last year broke up, and wonders if they did something wrong. At that moment, they notice Ichikawa walking in, and Hanzawa gets up to leave as he sits down. Yamada follows her towards the door, saying that she'll trade lines, and says she'll tell her "all about it." Hanzawa reacts with shock, and walks off flustered, saying "no thank you." As she dashes out of the room, Ichikawa tells Yamada to watch her distance with other people as well, and she asks why.

A bonus page is Ichikawa commenting on how, after this point, he occasionally comes into the library seeing an "unusual lineup of girls." In today's example, he is peering over the bookshelf looking at Yamada, Hara, and Hanzawa talking about dating.

Another bonus is Yamada's full hand-written note to Hanzawa.

## Trivia

* The book, *Deep Sea*, that Hanzawa is reading is about ocean life, is the same title she reads in With Her Eyes Half-Open, and indicates that she has an interest in that topic. Strangely, the book does not have an identical cover to the one-shot, despite having her name on it in this chapter. It is unknown if this is the same copy of the book, or a different printing with a different cover.
* Yamada's handwritten note also has various spelling mistakes and doodles. They include: A random, labeled drawing of a dog by the header. A smiley face next to Yamada's full name. Spelling mistake crossed-out on "forgive." Another smiley face next to "shy." An image of Ichikawa labeled with his name, sparkling. A picture of Moriya-sensei. "Me" is crossed out in favor of "people." Spelling mistakes crossed-out on "close," "relationship," and"slowly." A picture of a cat face next to her saying he's like a cat.