Volume 20

The 20th volume of the manga. It covers Chapters 98 to 102.

The Nightlife (Part 1)
Kou and Mitsuba are standing in the middle of the road at night. Mitsuba's grabbed Kou by his right hand. Surprised and confused, Kou calls out Mitsuba's name.

This confusion soon wears off, however, replaced by joy. Kou is excited to to see Mitsuba unharmed after what happened to him during the Severance, and he tells him that Mitsuba made him worried when he disappeared. He says Mitsuba was okay, though, and is about to comment on how glad that makes him, but Mitsuba cuts him off.

Mitsuba asks what he means by that, and with a black speech bubble, he tells Kou that he's not okay at all. This makes Kou a little surprised, a bead of sweat dripping down his cheek, but Mitsuba diverts his gaze, and tells him that it doesn't really matter anymore.

Changing the subject, Mitsuba asks Kou if he's busy tonight. This only deepens Kou's confusion, as Mitsuba grabs his wrist and asks him to come with him.

The scene changes, and we see Kou walking on a sidewalk as Mitsuba playfully balances on the guard rail beside it. Kou is yelling at Mitsuba, demanding that he explain what he meant when he said he wasn't okay. Mitsuba tells him to shut up, and that there are more important things to discuss. He asks Kou where he usually hangs out, making Kou yell in confusion. Mitsuba explains that he wants to do stuff he's never done before today, and jumps down from the guardrail.

Mitsuba turns around to look at Kou, and as he points to himself with a grin on his face, he tells Kou to take him somewhere. If Kou manages to satisfy him, he says he'll tell Kou whatever it is he wants to know. Kou yells in confusion again, and asks him what the hell he means by that. Mitsuba then further eggs him on by asking Kou if he's unsure if he can do it, and begins insulting him by calling him a scaredy-cat and such in typical Mitsuba fashion. After a few more mean remarks where Mitsuba compares Kou to a baby, Kou lets out an exasperated sigh, before dialing up Teru.

Teru, clearly worried, asks if Kou is alright, and tells him it's gotten late. Kou affirms his safety, and instead of telling Teru specifics, simply tells him that he ran into an acquaintance of his. Mitsuba notably looks a bit surprised by this. Kou goes on to explain that he'll be back later to clean up, and hangs up on Teru before he can delve into who this acquaintance of Kou's is.

Turning to glare at Mitsuba, Kou flat-out tells him that he doesn't think this is the time for him to be accompanying Mitsuba on a night out. Even so, Kou admits that he has a lot to ask him. Whipping his finger at him, Kou claims with dramatic flair that he'll squeeze every last drop of information out of Mitsuba and give him a good time, one good enough to die for. Mitsuba's only amused, however, and whispers under his breath about how easy that was.

Brightening up, Mitsuba asks Kou where they're going, telling him that he'd like to go somewhere cute, pretty, or fancy, or play some kind of urban game. The urban game part stands out to Kou, and he rather confidently tells Mitsuba to leave it to him. In a gag, Kou begins to play Daruma-san ga koronda, a Japanese children's game similar to Red Light, Green Light. Mitsuba rather humorously questions if he's for real right now.

Back at the Minamoto household, Teru's hand is trembling as he's texting Kou. On the phone screen, we see several messages from Teru sent to Kou, telling him he's worried and such. Teru announces aloud that Kou isn't reading his texts, lays his head on the ground near where Aoi's sitting, and asks her what to do. She comments about how worried he is, and Akane, who is sitting next to her, tells Teru to get away from Ao-chan. Tiara is leaning her weight on Akane's shoulder, announcing that she's sleepy; Fairy is dozing next to her. Across the room, Nene is sweating and wondering what's going on.

With tears in his eyes, Teru says Kou is going down a dark path. Akane comments on how annoying it is when older brothers are over-protective, and tells him not to worry. He clearly doesn't think Kou is having a night on the town with some delinquent friend of his, and tells Teru as such.

Then, Nene's phone buzzes, and she goes to check it. She announces to everyone that Kou made a group chat, and we can see her phone screen. There's a text from Kou with something that looks like a line sticker of a lion begging for help, and he's asking them all a good place to go on a night out. Aoi and Nene are looking at Nene's phone; Nene's brow is furrowed in confusion, and Aoi is gasping with her hands to her face. Akane is shocked as he stares at his own phone, too, and Teru's jaw is wide open as he gazes at his, yelling: "Night out!?"

Back to Mitsuba and Kou, the two of them are playing in a children's sandpit. Kou is making a sand castle while Mitsuba builds a tall pile of sand. He flat-out tells Kou that this isn't fun, and Kou argues that his sister would be having a ton of fun right now. Mitsuba asks how old she is, and Kou says she's 5, leading to an unimpressed pause from Mitsuba. He asks Kou if he has anything else they can do, and Kou tells him to just wait. He gets a notification on his phone, and we see text messages from Nene, Teru, Akane, and Aoi. Nene asks if he's on a date, Teru tells him he doesn't approve of this, Akane tells him to send a pic, and Aoi wishes him good luck.

More messages flood in, and Nene tells him to go to an amusement park if it's a date, and Aoi informs him that zoos are fun. Akane warns him not to get taken into custody, and Teru rather unhelpfully tells him he's lonely. Kou finds Nene's and Aoi's suggestions helpful, muttering that it's not a date though, and looks up the nearest location on his GPS. He's frustrated about how far away it is, but finds out they're closed, anyway. Mitsuba stares at him, unimpressed. Something then draws away Mitsuba's attention, and he turns to see an illuminated building in the distance. He points it out to Kou, and tells him he wants to go there, and that it's bright and looks fun.

They approach the building, which they find out to be an aquarium. The aquarium building is decorated with several fish decorations, including something that resembles the esca, or luminescent organ, of an anglerfish. Mitsuba thinks this place looks much more fun than playing in the sand, and rushes inside, ignoring Kou telling him to wait. Kou goes to buy a ticket for himself, but the one inside the ticket booth tells him it's free, and gives him a special ticket. Kou briefly wonders if there was always an aquarium here, but soon dismisses his concerns to catch up with Mitsuba. In his pocket, Kou's phone is illuminated, showing texts from Teru on the screen. They say that supernaturals come out at night, and to come home soon.

In the aquarium, Mitsuba's eyes are shining as they explore the fish tanks; he's clearly enjoying himself. He asks Kou if he's ever been to an aquarium before, and Kou tells him that he hasn't. He tells him that his school had a field trip to one once, but he got so excited about it that he got sick and couldn't go. As he explains this, we see a flashback to a young Kou, sick in his futon with his mother taking care of him. Mitsuba comments that this is both their first times, then, and Kou affirms that. There's a brief lull in their conversation, before Mitsuba challenges him to a contest to see who can find the biggest fish there. Kou accepts his challenge, telling him the loser gets a punishment, and then they both run off in separate directions to scour the aquarium.

Ten minutes later, Mitsuba shows Kou the biggest fish he found, a shark. Kou chuckles confidently, and shows Mitsuba his biggest fish, a fur seal. While it is bigger, Mitsuba is angry, and tells him a seal isn't a fish. Kou argues that they all live in the water anyway, but Mitsuba isn't okay with using such a broad definition for fish. As they bicker, a large manta ray casts its shadow on them, pulling their attention away from their argument. Together, they stare in awe at the giant manta ray, before both agreeing that it's the winner.

They then go to explore the coral reef section of the aquarium, where Kou rather amusingly compares Mitsuba to a garden eel. Next are the penguins, whose cuteness steal Kou and Mitsuba's hearts. Mitsuba tries to phase through the glass to grab one, but Kou yells and pulls him back. The two then go to the break area, where Mitsuba finds a gachapon machine. It's advertising marine life key chains, with 5 different kinds displayed on it: a super-sized penguin, a shark, a sea turtle, a tropical fish, and some silhouette of a creature with a question mark on it.

Mitsuba thinks it looks fun, and demands money from Kou to spin it. Kou relents, telling him he owes him, and Mitsuba excitedly twists the knob. His capsule comes out, and inside is an isopod key chain. Mitsuba calls it a bug, looking disturbed and disappointed. Kou tells him bugs are cool, and gives the gachapon machine a try himself. Inside his capsule is the super-sized penguin, and Mitsuba comments on how lucky he is. Kou asks if he liked the penguin, and Mitsuba confirms so. He then says he'll trade with him, giving Mitsuba the penguin and taking the isopod himself.

Staring in awe for a moment at the penguin in his hand, Mitsuba tells Kou he's creepy when he's being nice. Kou angrily tells him to give it back, and Mitsuba giggles. His face breaks out into a large smile, and he tells Kou this is really fun. With imploring eyes, he urges Kou to respond back, and Kou awkwardly agrees, a bit of blush on his cheeks. After a pause, Kou reminds Mitsuba that he hasn't forgotten his promise, and that he expects Mitsuba to explain what happened. Mitsuba begins to explain, but before he can, a great maw of spiky teeth looms above them. Kou notices it before it can chomp them, and grabs Mitsuba's hand and jumps away from it.

Kou holds up Raiteijou, protecting himself and Mitsuba as Mitsuba hides behind him. We then see their assailant, a giant anglerfish-like being with a boney tail. Its esca is spiky, and resembles the decoration on the outside of the aquarium. Skeleton fish then begin attacking the other guests, and one hits a man in a business suit. Kou and Mitsuba rush to his side, Kou telling him he'll call an ambulance, but the man erupts into a black mist. Shocked, Kou looks around him, and realizes the people here are all long-dead, just like the fish.

Disturbed, Kou grabs Mitsuba's hand, and tells him they're leaving. Mitsuba protests, but Kou won't hear him out. As they run, Kou hears a squelching noise, and turns around to see that the hand he was holding has detached itself from Mitsuba. Not just that, but it looks cruely stitched together, with some parts off-color. Several eyes are growing out of it, and a little eel-like creature making up the hand lets out a little noise.

Kou's eyes widen, clearly shocked, and Mitsuba apologizes to him. He's collapsed on the floor, and we can see more of his body. Clumps of his body are scattered on the floor, and we can see eyes and mouths popping out from his clothes. There are several holes in him, and his right leg appears almost completely detached from his body. Face sweaty, Mitsuba informs Kou that he doesn't think he can move anymore.

The Nightlife (Part 2)
The chapter starts with a flashback of a day during the Severance. We're looking through the eyes of Mitsuba, into the same room featured in the opening scene of Chapter 30⁠—a dilapidated classroom with a giant gaping hole in its floorboards. The room is filled with various toys and a single full-body mirror. Mitsuba is staring down at his hands, where eyes are growing out of his flesh and on his sweater; his body is falling apart.

Standing in the doorway is Tsukasa, who calls Mitsuba's name. He asks him if he's hungry, and plops a bloody, spider-like supernatural onto the floor in front of him. Tsukasa asks if Mitsuba can do the rest on his own after he already got him "halfway there," and Mitsuba makes upset noises. In the face of Mitsuba's reaction, Tsukasa picks up the supernatural again, asking if Mitsuba doesn't want it; Mitsuba reaches out his hand for it.

The supernatural is back on the floor, and Tsukasa is instructing Mitsuba on where the heart is. He tells him that all Mitsuba has to do is dig out the heart and eat it.

The next panel focuses on the supernatural's singular giant eye as Mitsuba cradles it in his hands, and large heartbeat sound effects litter the page. As the supernatural wheezes, Mitsuba says it's impossible, and that he won't be able to eat it—Tsukasa hums, unconvinced.

Hands dirty with a blood-like substance, Tsukasa leans in and grabs Mitsuba's face. He says that Mitsuba must think the supernatural is tasty, because Mitsuba's face is telling him so; we see Mitsuba's face, and he's smiling while holding the supernatural with swirls in his eyes.

Back to the present, Kou is shaking Mitsuba and urging him to wake up. They're inside some sort of tub in a room filled with pipes and heavy machinery; Mitsuba's body is still a mess, looking much the same as he did at the end of the last chapter.

Mitsuba asks Kou where they are, and Kou explains that they're still in the Aquarium, and that he thinks they're inside of a passageway used by the staff. He also says he was freaked out by what happened, what with the fish supernaturals appearing, the guests turning out to be supernaturals, and Mitsuba's body falling apart; as he describes this, we see flashbacks from the last chapter of what he describes. Kou begins to say that they should get out of here, but then the anglerfish supernatural appears. It's using the shining light of its esca to search for them, and Kou and Mitsuba hold their breath and hide in their tub as they wait for it to leave.

After it leaves, Kou explains in a whisper that the anglerfish has been swimming around here for a while now. He says he's been hiding here, but that it's only a matter of time until the both of them are found. Mitsuba surmises they should hurry up and leave, then, and Kou agrees—but before that, he says Mitsuba needs to explain what happened to him. When he says this, we get a better look at Mitsuba: his body is covered in eyes, and the supernatural clumps that fell off of him are wriggling around the tub and making little noises.

With a gloomy look in his eyes, Mitsuba tells Kou that it's the fault of the Severance. After he split ways with Kou, Mitsuba's body completely fell apart. Even though Tsukasa helped return him to normal, Mitsuba hasn't been able to maintain his form very well since. Kou is shocked by this, and starts yelling and asking if there's anything they could do, or if "that runt" is the only one who can cure him. Mitsuba makes a humming noise, and tells Kou that he can gain power by eating other supernaturals—so if he eats a supernatural, like the time he ate No. 3, he can stay together a while longer.

But before Kou can get too excited, Mitsuba tells him that it's no use, and no matter how much he eats he stays hungry. Even when he doesn't want to eat something, he falls apart to the point where all he can think about is how hungry he is. He kills supernaturals, eats them, and gets better for a while—he never wants to do it again, but the cycle keeps repeating. With a pained smile on his face, he say's he's gotten sick of it—then his expression falls, and as he covers his face with his sleeves, he says that he only wanted to be human: but like this, he's nothing more than a monster.

Looking worried, Kou begins to say his name, but Mitsuba cuts him off, a tiny smile on his face. We see a flashback panel of him walking up to the Minamoto household, and he tells Kou that he came there to ask him for a favor today—but that his brother may have made things quicker. Kou asks what the favor was, and Mitsuba tells him that he was going to ask if he could exorcise him. Kou's eyes blow wide open, and before he can ask him what he means by that, Mitsuba butts in and laughs it off, saying that was just a joke. He tries to brush off what he said, telling Kou that he's too weak to defeat him, anyway, and focuses the conversation back on finding a way out of the aquarium. Kou won't have it, though, and tells Mitsuba straight-up that it wasn't a joke; Mitsuba goes silent, his face falling.

We see a flashback of Kou and Mitsuba on the street earlier that night, and later of them enjoying the aquarium. Kou asks if Mitsuba was thinking about how he wanted to get exorcised and disappear while dragging Kou around all night. Kou stares hard at the isopod keychain in his hand, and scoffs at the notion that Mitsuba had only wanted to have a "night out."

As we see a flashback of Mitsuba and Kou having fun with their keychains, Kou clenches the isopod keychain in his fist, his fist trembling from the exertion. He then says this is "dumb" and starts walking away as Mitsuba calls after him in confusion, wondering where he's going. There's no response, and Mitsuba groans, giving up and saying that everything is going to be "over" soon, anyway. He takes the penguin keychain out of his pocket and stares down at it sadly.

Suddenly, Kou starts yelling, and there's a "kaboom" sound effect with several zappy, electrical noises. Mitsuba turns around in shock, only to see Kou looming over him with one of the boney supernatural fishes in his hand. He's holding his Raiteijou staff up, and asks which part of the fish Mitsuba needs to eat; Mitsuba is too shocked to respond at first, but after Kou throws the fish on the ground, he tells him he needs the heart.

Kou begins opening up the fish with Raiteijou, all while Mitsuba yells and asks him what he's doing. He manages to pry the heart out of the fish, and when he does, he holds the bloody, beating heart out towards Mitsuba and tells him to eat it. Mitsuba's eyes go swirly as he looks at it, and he swallows, but quickly shuts his eyes and looks away; he tells Kou that it's gross, and he doesn't want to eat it.

Frustrated, Kou yanks Mitsuba by his scarf, and begins shoving the heart in his face. He tells him to stop being selfish, and that eating this is supposed to make him better. Mitsuba tells him to stop, but Kou won't budge, and keeps telling him to eat it as he forces his jaws open. He yells in Mitsuba's face and tells him to open his mouth, and Mitsuba finally kicks out at him, knocking him on his backside. Mitsuba yells back, telling him to stop and asking him what got into him. Wobbly on his feet, he asks if Kou was trying to be considerate, and tells him he didn't ask for him to do that. Clutching the heart in his hand, Mitsuba is about to chuck it away somewhere, but Kou grabs him by the ankle and trips him before he can.

Pinning Mitsuba to the floor, Kou snatches the heart in his hand, and tells Mitsuba to stop messing around by asking Kou to "exorcise" him. Breathing heavily, Mitsuba asks why Kou is so mad about this, looking visibly confused. In response, Kou sticks his fingers in Mitsuba's mouth, trying to pry it open again. Mitsuba begins thrashing underneath him, making muffled grunting noises as Kou begins to speak. He's yelling and asking why it's such a big deal that Mitsuba has to eat abnormal things, and that it's not weird that Mitsuba has to keep eating all the time because Kou himself will die if he doesn't eat, too.

Finally, Mitsuba bites Kou's fingers, causing Kou to yell out in pain and jerk backwards. He pauses, and as he clutches his arm, he comments on the fact that Mitsuba bit him. Mitsuba is breathing heavily, and tells Kou that it was his fault for sticking his fingers in someone else's mouth in the first place.

We see a close-up of Kou's hand against a dark background, and blood is dripping from the gash in his fingers where Mitsuba bit him. Mitsuba's eyes are dark as he clutches his head, and he says that he was trying to hold himself back, but what Kou did made him hungry. Mitsuba immediately gasps after realizing what he said, and his face goes pale. He says this sucks, and tells Kou not to come near him again—Kou, finally processing his words, asks if Mitsuba doesn't only eat supernaturals. Mitsuba is looking away, expression hidden, and tells Kou that this is why he wanted to ask him to exorcise him.

Kou stares down, looking upset, and picks up the heart again. He asks Mitsuba why he didn't explain all of this to him from the start. He knows he's unreliable and weak, so there's no point in coming to him for advice, but he's hurt that Mitsuba would trust Tsukasa more than him with this kind of issue. Kou holds out the heart to Mitsuba, who gets angry and tells him to give it up—before he sees the tears falling down Kou's face.

Mitsuba's attitude changes immediately, becoming panicked, and Kou curls up into a ball so Mitsuba can't see him. Mitsuba asks why he's crying, and if it's because he bit him—Kou stays silent, and Mitsuba apologizes anyway. His hand reaches out to Kou, but Kou raises his arms and yells, telling Mitsuba not to look at him. Mitsuba shrinks back and tells him he won't, and Kou holds out the heart to him and once again tells him to eat it. Reluctantly, Mitsuba does, and once he's done, his body is restored. He excitedly poses for Kou, telling him to look, but Kou keeps his head down and only groans sadly in response.

Patting his head, Mitsuba asks him what's wrong, and Kou says he doesn't know—just that he got fed up with how stupid Mitsuba was and started crying. He begins insulting Mitsuba, saying he sucks and that he can't deal with him, which annoys Mitsuba. But, as he's wiping his tears away, Kou tells Mitsuba that even if he does suck and even if he is a monster, it would trouble Kou if he disappeared. Rather humorously, though, Kou comments that Mitsuba is the source of his problems—so Mitsuba disappearing would actually lead to Kou's troubles disappearing.

Kou starts saying "But..." but grows silent, unwilling to finish. A little annoyed from Kou's verbal abuse, Mitsuba jokingly asks if Kou would be lonely without him. These words surprise Kou, causing more tears to sprout from his eyes. He fixes his watery eyes on Mitsuba, who looks surprised himself. Kou's head lowers again, and as the chapter ends, he weakly denies what Mitsuba said.

The Nightlife (Part 3)
The chapter begins with a colored comic page unrelated to the current storyline. Nene, Hanako, and Kou are inside of the girls' bathroom. Nene is holding the April 2023 issue of GFantasy in her hands, and she announces that this is the 100th chapter of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun. Hanako cheers, and Kou says they should celebrate. A Mokke sitting on top of Hanako's head overhears this.

Later, the Mokke have a gathering in what appears to be some dark, underground location, where a single lamp overhead illuminates them. One of the Mokke says that whoever appears on the opening color page is supposed to be the "main character" of the manga. The Mokke then come to the conclusion that if they take over the color page they will become the main characters. But another Mokke laments that Honorable No. 7--Hanako--will get in the way of that. This leads the Mokke to determine that they have no other choice but to kill him.

A passerby Tsukasa overhears this, and remarks with intrigue at the idea of them trying to kill his brother. This spooks the Mokke, and causes them to flee.

The opening color page celebrates Chapter 100 with an image of Tsukasa and Hanako. Hanako is wearing an outfit similar to the gakuran he normally wears, complete with what looks like his normal hat and shoes. The uniform is military-esque, with black pants similar to his standard outfit, and he's wearing black gloves. A short black cape adorned with orange-fringed epaulets sits on his shoulders, and the black jacket he wears is longer in the back, reaching his feet. On the other hand, Tsukasa is wearing a white-and-orange outfit, not all too dissimilar from his standard wear. His school cap is now white, as well as his hakama, but the kimono underneath is orange. The sleeves of his kimono are frilly at the ends, almost resembling flower petals. He's also wearing white gloves like Amane's, and a similar short white cape drapes over his shoulders, minus the epaulets.

Both of the twins are staring at the viewer while on the floor. Hanako is kneeling beside Tsukasa, his hand reaching over Tsukasa's body. Tsukasa is grabbing the arm of Amane's that's reaching over him, and his other hand is on Amane's chin, as if he were making him look at the viewer. The background is white, with various flowers on display behind them. They are mostly orange and white flowers, which appear to be orange camellias, some kind of white orchid, and the hypericum erectum flower. Orange petals and heads of orange camellia are scattered on top of the twins' bodies, particularly Tsukasa's. Torn-off wings of butterflies are scattered alongside the flowers and petals, some appearing to resemble the wings of the cabbage white butterfly. The text on the image says: "Searching for a reason to stand by your side."

Back to the actual chapter, Mitsuba and Kou are still inside of the aquarium, sitting in the tub that Mitsuba woke up in during the last chapter. Kou humorously recaps the last chapter by simply saying that he "Cried," but defends himself by blaming it on how Mitsuba suddenly fell apart and how Mitsuba asked him to exorcise him. Wiping his tears away, Kou wonders why Mitsuba would give up like this, since he was under the assumption Mitsuba wanted to live as a human. It angers him, even.

Looking over at Mitsuba, Kou notices the boy is smirking at him. With a sniffle, Kou asks what his deal is. Mitsuba informs him it's nothing--just he found it funny Kou was so lonely that he'd cry if Mitsuba left him. Kou reacts with outrage at this, yelling at Mitsuba with tears in his eyes that he "Wasn't crying" and that he "Isn't lonely." Mitsuba insults him by saying he's more of a "Super Lame Crybaby Earring" than a "Super Lame Traffic Earring," and Kou--even angrier--roughly grabs him by the scarf. Mitsuba only laughs, though, and remarks with a somber look on his face that he made the right choice deciding to see Kou at the end.

While Kou is stunned speechless, Mitsuba elaborates, saying that it would've been quicker for him to get done-in by a random supernatural, but that dying in such a way would be "Meaningless" and "No fun." Dying to Kou, on the other hand, would mean that Mitsuba would be mourned in his death, because he thinks Kou would mourn anyone he killed. As he says this, Mitsuba's hand wraps around the hand Kou is grabbing him by the scarf with, holding it in his own as Kou releases his scarf.

Kou stares at him with his mouth agape before clenching it shut. His gaze darkens, and he drops his gaze from Mitsuba. After a pause, he rhetorically asks if Mitsuba wants Kou to exorcise him that much--and then rather humorously calls him a "masochist," a pissed-off expression on his face. Mitsuba, clearly caught off-guard, repeats what Kou said in disbelief... and shouts at Kou not to accuse people of being perverts (and also asks if Kou even knows what "masochist" means.) Kou tells him to "Shut up, masochist," and as he gets up from the floor, says he will exorcise Mitsuba--but only if Mitsuba can beat him. Likewise, if Kou wins, that means Mitsuba has to do whatever he says. Their competition earlier to find the biggest fish in the aquarium was a tie, so this match will be the tiebreaker, he explains.

Switching scenes, Kou and Mitsuba are back in the main area of the aquarium. They're on the second floor, looking over a railing and watching as a bunch of skeletal supernatural fish swimming around. There's a sign clearly labelled "exit" in the background. Mitsuba remarks on how many man-eating fish there are, and Kou says there's too many for them to leave without being spotted--so they should just clear them all out on the way out. He says that this will be their competition, too: whoever defeats the most fish is the winner.

Both Mitsuba and Kou are cool with this, but Kou has one qualm. Mitsuba's been weakened after falling apart, and Kou worries the match won't be as fair because of that. He suggests that Mitsuba gets a handicap, like adding 10 points to Mitsuba's score at the end when they're tallying points. As Kou says this, however, Mitsuba's scarf lashes out to attack one of the supernatural fish. The scarf slams the fish against the wall--causing the wall to crack--and he holds the defeated fish up with his scarf as Kou's face pales. Mitsuba calls Kou a "noob," and says that the very idea of a handicap is laughable to him.

Confused, Kou says he thought Mitsuba was weak, and Mitsuba doesn't deny this. But he does tell him that he only has five minutes at full strength before he falls apart--which will be their time limit. Mitsuba confidently smirks at Kou, while Kou shoots him an uneasy smile back.

Their hands gripping the rail, Kou and Mitsuba both leap over it as Kou officially calls for the match to begin. Fish immediately begin charging at them, and Kou deflects one with his raiteijou staff. Electricity begins coursing through it, and Kou wields it like a trident to skewer three of them. As he prepares to charge at another, Mitsuba hops on Kou's head and steals his kill. Kou, dismayed, tells him such, and Mitsuba calls him a slowpoke. This pisses Kou off, and he slams raiteijou in the ground to cause a burst of electricity--one that chars several fish, and also Mitsuba himself.

Collapsed on the floor with the burnt fishies, Mitsuba questions why Kou would attack someone who's already weakened. Kou retorts by saying it shouldn't matter, because Mitsuba wants to be exorcised. Outraged, Mitsuba doesn't deny it, but tells him he doesn't want it to hurt when it happens.

Getting up--his hair a little askew--Mitsuba asks Kou how many fish he's gotten. Mitsuba says he's at twenty, which surprises Kou, who only has fifteen. Kou, unable to look him in the eyes as he's doing so, lies and tells Mitsuba that he has one hundred. Mitsuba immediately sees through his lie, saying that there weren't even that many fish there in the first place. Kou yells back, telling Mitsuba that "He won't lose," and Mitsuba tries to tell him to "Keep this fair and square...," but trails off as he notices a shadow fall over them.

The manta ray from before is back, but this time it has a much more ghastly appearance. Notably, there is a single giant, human-like eye on the underside of it, and its tail is now spiky. Kou questions if the ray was a supernatural all along, too, and Mitsuba grows quiet and contemplative. After a pause, Mitsuba says they should switch up the rules of the competition and decide the winner by whoever defeats the ray. He elaborates by saying they need a tiebreaker, and that the ray looks like a "final boss." Kou doesn't have a chance to respond before Mitsuba's already made up his mind, and yells at Mitsuba that he didn't agree to this. But Mitsuba's already chasing the ray, and a supernatural gets in Kou's way before he can run after him.

Mitsuba lands on the ray, where we can see that several more less-human eyes are on the topside of it. Clenching his hand and scarf into fists, Mitsuba apologizes before he slams the scarf into one of the eyeballs--but the ray begins flapping its wings before it can connect, causing Mitsuba to lose his balance. The penguin keychain then falls off of Mitsuba's person, and before Mitsuba can catch it, the ray's writhing tail slices it in half. As Mitsuba mourns the keychain, Kou warns him to watch out behind him, but it's too late: the ray's tail stabs Mitsuba through the foot. The ray then uses its tail to slam Mitsuba into the wall, pinning him there.

As Mitsuba hangs there helplessly, the ray charging at him, he thinks about how he wouldn't mind dying here... but he uses his scarf to slice the ray's tail, freeing him from the trap, and makes it clear that he wants Kou to do it instead. He then knocks the ray into the ceiling, where it falls to the floor defeated. Mitsuba falls, too, and Kou rushes to his side and asks if he's okay. He groans, and says that he is... before flashing Kou a peace sign, smugly informing him that he won.

As Mitsuba gloats about how strong he is, the ray begins making splurching noises. Suddenly, its wide open mouth looms over Mitsuba, giving a clear view of its rows of spiky teeth. Within the mouth there are also several human-like shapes reaching their hands out to grab Mitsuba. Turning around, Mitsuba is strangely calm as he registers what's happening, and doesn't put up a fight as the mouth and arms encroach on him. But Kou springs into action, charging in to stab the ray and electrocute it with his raiteijou.

Mitsuba is shocked, his backside hitting the floor, as Kou turns back to him with an unreadable expression on his face. Mitsuba jumps when he does so, and shuts his eyes with a wince as Kou's hand flies at him. When he opens his eyes, however, Mitsuba sees that Kou was only flashing a peace sign at him. A cheerful grin on his face, Kou tells Mitsuba he won.

The scene changes to the outside of the aquarium, where it's still nighttime. Kou kicks at a door until it flies off its hinges, and we see him carrying Mitsuba piggyback-style out of the aquarium. They bicker a little as they leave, and then they hear a rumbling noise behind them. Turning around, the two of them watch as the aquarium reveals its true form as a fish before sinking away into the ground. Kou and Mitsuba react with shock before they both decide to get moving.

Later, Mitsuba and Kou are walking down a sidewalk next to a street full of cars, similar to the road they were walking on in Chapter 98. Mitsuba asks Kou what he thinks Mitsuba should do, and Kou responds by asking Mitsuba if he still wants Kou to exorcise him, his face unreadable. Mitsuba confirms, saying that it's hard to stay in Near Shore because he doesn't have a family, someone he has a crush on, or friends. Teru shows up when Mitsuba says "family," Nene for "someone he has a crush on," and Yokoo and Satou for "friends"--all true for Kou. Unlike Kou, Mitsuba has no reason to cling to the Near Shore without any--let alone one--of those things.

Kou contemplates this for a moment, before he gets an idea: "The School Festival." He asks Mitsuba if he's ever heard of it, and that preparations for the festival begin around when the second school term starts. Mitsuba goes on to detail what he knows of it, saying that classes will host haunted houses, cafes, or put on performances like theater shows or plays, and that everyone does a dance during the closing party afterward. As Mitsuba describes this, we see a glimpse of Kamome Academy's school festival in full swing, where several students are seen in silly costumes. One is dressed like a vampire, and another is in a cat costume with a maid dress on. We also see a tiny panel of a play with a prince on one knee holding out his hand to a princess, and several little stickers representing the events--like one of a guitar, one with cafe food, a ghost, a hitodama, and some other miscellaneous food stickers.

Kou is impressed, telling Mitsuba that he knows a lot about it, and asks Mitsuba how going to the festival with him sounds. He tells him they can hang out there and he promises to hang out with him. Mitsuba reacts with shock, and Kou gets defensive, asking him what the big deal is. In an accusatory tone, Mitsuba asks Kou if he doesn't have anyone else to go with, and Kou shouts that he does, clearly annoyed. He tells Mitsuba to just shut up and do what he says, and Mitsuba half-heartedly agrees--but he's smiling as he does so.

As Kou continues to piggyback Mitsuba down the street, Mitsuba informs him that he's hungry. Kou does not respond.

Omen (Part 1)
The chapter starts with a flashback the school festival from the time Yugi Tsukasa and Yugi Amane were first-years in school. The two of them are spending time in the sealed auditorium, where Amane seems to be building a clock while Tsukasa is watching people attend the festival from a window. Amane asks if Tsukasa is fine with not going to see the play, even though he helped with the preparations. Tsukasa responds by asking Amane if he wants Tsukasa to stay with him, or if he preferred him to disappear altogether.

In current day, Yashiro Nene has begun her second trimester in school, and her class is preparing for the fall festival. It's announced that Yashiro's class will be performing a musical adaptation The Wizard of Oz as their program. When a few students talk about being unfamiliar with the story, Akane Aoi summarizes the play; Dorothy is whisked away to a magical land faces many adventures while trying to return to her home, Kansas. When some students complain about the chosen play, Aoi Akane angrily reminds them that the decision was majority rule. While the class are thinking about which roles they would like to volunteer for in the play, a mysterious voice asks Yashiro what she thinks will happen in the play. Yashiro notes that Aoi will most likely be voted for a lead role, but she wants to try to audition for them herself, too. Then the voice creepily states: "Yeah, there's no way. Not after an accident like that." Confused, Yashiro turns around but sees nobody behind her,

Later, in the girl's restroom Yashiro fills Hanako in on the school festival, to which Hanako laments his inability to interact or have fun with humans and not being invited to the fireworks party during the summer. Yashiro suggests they spend the festival together with Kou. Hanako starts making very specific requests of what he wants to do during the festival, which Yashiro agrees to, but denies putting his name on the class t-shirt. The two of them decide to go to the sealed auditorium to prepare for the play, where they need to carry the costumes from last year's play to use as references. Yashiro suddenly takes one of the dresses and asks Hanako to guess what play she is referencing, after which she performs a few lines from The Wizard of Oz. When Yashiro says "I wish I could go to a wonderful place like that." Hanako responds with "Shall I take you there?". After guessing the play correctly, Hanako asks if Yashiro got the lead role. After a pasue, Yashiro admits she only got the role of Twister No. 4. When asked how she's supposed to play a role like that, Yashiro says "By twisting" and demonstrates by spinning around with Hanako until they both get light-headed and fall down. Yashiro then makes Hanako promise to come see her class's play.

When Hanako and Yashiro look up, they see a huge clock. Yashiro explains that it froze ages ago, but Hanako suddenly remembers how he used to come to the clock often when he was alive. He remembers having until the school festival was over to fix the lock and get it moving, but he can't seem to recall why he had to do it.

The chapter switches to Aoi Akane in a classroom with the festival committee, where he seems to be quite busy. Out of nowhere Natsuhiko Hyuuga appears behind Akane and recognizes him as one of the clock keepers. He suggests the two of them team up.

Omen (Part 2)
The Chapter starts with Class 1-A practicing their lines, and preparing for the upcoming School Festival. Yashiro Nene was feeling proud that she had done her part for both the School Festival, and the school play when suddenly one of the students comes to her with a request. The student apologizes and begs Yashiro to go buy some of the stuff that is needed for the School Festival. She had tried to ask others but they are all so busy, so she turned to Yashiro for help. Yashiro accepts her request but before she goes out to buy the stuff, she decides to pay Hanako a visit.

Yashiro informs Hanako that she's off to buy some things for the School Festival, but Hanako is just looking at the distance and does not respond to Yashiro's words. Yashiro muses that Hanako has been spacy lately, and that he is reminiscing about the past. Deciding to leave him alone, she leaves his comfort room, and proceeds to go to the store to buy the stuffs. But along the way, she encounters both Mitsuba Sousuke and Minamoto Kou. Kou was chasing Mitsuba around the school, and Mitsuba sees Yashiro and tells her to cover for him. Kou then comes up and asks Yashiro if she's seen Mitsuba around. Yashiro points to another direction, and he proceeds to run up in that direction.

After Kou runs in the direction Yashiro pointed at, Mitsuba comes out and asks Yashiro if he's gone. She replies, and then asks what Mitsuba did to have Kou running after him. Mitsuba says it's nothing big. All he did was that he removed a letter from the Gachinko Haunted House Experience, which was being hosted by Kou's class. The letter removed was "Ga", and the removal of the letter resulted in the name being now "Chinko Haunted House Experience" which was considered inappropriate. Yashiro asked why he did such a thing, and he replied that he was bored. Mitsuba then asks Yashiro what she was doing, and she says that she's going on a shopping spree. Mitsuba thinks it's fun, and asks Yashiro if he can come along with her. Yashiro agrees, but returns the missing "Ga" letter in exchange.

After that, both Yashiro and Mitsuba proceeded to go to the store, and both converse with one another. Yashiro was curious that Mitsuba can leave the school, and Mitsuba explains that while he can, he gets tired more easily when he's outside the school. Yashiro asks if he leaves pretty often, with Mitsuba replying that he only left once before. He explains that he went to The Aquarium with Kou, which makes Yashiro curious, as she helped Kou find a place to take someone out with. Mitsuba then asks what Yashiro is going to buy. Yashiro answers that she's going to buy the materials for the School Festival and the costumes. And then she pointed out at a craft store where she intends to buy the much-needed stuffs. Yashiro then looks suspiciously at Mitsuba, and asks if he won't be getting in the way of her shopping. Mitsuba replies that he wouldn't be doing those things to her, while making a smirk that just made her more suspicious of his intentions.

Yashiro comes inside the store and proceeds to take the various items needed, all the while Mitsuba causes mischief and a lot of ruckus. Mitsuba's antics ranged from showing weird fabrics to Yashiro, to pretending to be a lost child, to tugging Yashiro and then dropping some items by accident, to adding unrelated items into the basket, and then finally kicking Nene in the back joint, forcing her knees to almost give way. In the end, Yashiro was finished with her shopping and is looking so tired, (And feeling five times more worn out than if she was by herself), whereas Mitsuba on the other hand was feeling so refreshed, and saying that the shopping trip was so fun.

Yashiro realizes that she bought so much amounts of the stuff, that she wondered if she has the strength to carry all those things back. As an act of kindness, Mitsuba took the heavier stuffs, and then offered to carry them back to the school. With this kind of action, Yashiro wondered why he did all of those mischief to her earlier. And she pondered if even if Mitsuba told her that the reason for going out with her was because he was bored, he might have been so lonely when he was seeing everyone else have fun. This prompted her to ask Mitsuba to go on a detour, and then she went and bought some dripped cone. She gave them to Mitsuba, who said that he didn't have any money, but she says that it's ok. Since she was conversing with a ghost this entire time, a little girl called out to her mother that a girl is talking to herself. The mother tells her to not be so loud and goes away.

While resting at the park, Mitsuba asks Yashiro if she is going out with Hanako ("Honorable No. 7"), which shocks her. Mitsuba asks if she had held hands with Hanako, or if they have kissed. She was so flustered by his questions that she couldn't answer any one of them. This makes Mitsuba say that she actually did kiss Hanako, which makes her scream very loudly. Then Mitsuba calls both her and Kou as idiots. Yashiro looks around, and wonders why he said that. Mitsuba proceeds to say that they both know that they can't stay with supernaturals forever. This leads Yashiro to ask Mitsuba if something happened between him and Kou.

Mitsuba than explains the details of the last time that he went out telling Yashiro about going with Kou to The Aquarium, and how it actually sucked. He explained that The Aquarium was haunted by supernaturals, became too weak to move around (He didn't tell her about his fragmentation), and that Kou roughed him up. Then he further explained that Kou cried, and didn't do the one thing that Mitsuba asked of him to do, and that ultimately, nothing went the way he expected. But despite all that, Mitsuba admits that the entire Aquarium night out was fun, and that no matter what he did, he just can't come to bring himself to dislike Kou. Yashiro then muses if that's the reason why he pulls pranks on Kou, like what happened with the missing "Ga" letter earlier.

Mitsuba, then asks Yashiro if she's not scared of falling in love with Hanako. Yashiro replied that sometimes, she wonders on how Hanako really felt about her. After all, he did promise Yashiro that one day, he would tell her everything, but up until now, he still hasn't done that. Then Mitsuba asks if she should just ask him, with Yashiro being so shocked that she replied "No Way" several times. Then Yashiro ranted out to Mitsuba and pointed out that Hanako's life is full of sketchy subjects, like his own illness, his own wounds, and the mysterious death of his family at The Red House. Because of all that baggage, Yashiro says she has no idea on how much she's allowed to poke her nose and learn much of Hanako's past as an outsider. Then Mitsuba asks her that no matter how nosy it would be, if Yashiro is Hanako's girlfriend, then it shouldn't matter. But Yashiro spurts out that she's not officially Hanako's girlfriend. Then Mitsuba asks Yashiro what if she was Hanako's girlfriend.

Mitsuba then proceeds to tell Yashiro that if she's not in a close relationship with Hanako, it would indeed be nosy if she were to ask Hanako about his past. So Mitsuba suggests a solution to Yashiro's problem: Simply to become his girlfriend for real. If she does become Hanako's girlfriend, it would solve everything, and she will know everything about his past. In addition, Mitsuba muttered that it's almost the School Festival, so the timing could not be better for her. Mitsuba then suggests to Yashiro that she confess to Hanako and become his girlfriend. Yashiro replied that it's easy for Mitsuba to say it, all the while being shocked by how casually he says it, and then she suddenly has the idea that maybe she can do it. Her reasoning is that it's the School Festival, and it's far more lovely-dovey than the Study Camp Sleepover. And while she did confess to him earlier, it wasn't at the right place, nor at the right time to be telling him, so she decides that she has to tell him properly. Yashiro then finally makes up her mind, and decides that she should really confess to Hanako. Because if he won't be telling her more now, he might possibly tell her more if she was his girlfriend.

Her thoughts on the matter were interrupted by Mitsuba, who stopped at the school gate. Yashiro asks him what's wrong, and Mitsuba asks her if she felt that something's off. It suddenly seemed like the School Festival had already started without the both of them, shocking them both. While they were discussing among themselves on what happened, a mysterious yet familiar voice begins to describe in detail, a curse associated with the School Festival. During the festival, the flow of time becomes unstable, and bits from the past and the future get mixed with bits from the present at a moment's notice. The voice concluded by saying that just as one daydreams, the sights from before and beyond the present become visible in the present.

Yashiro turned around and looked at the person who was speaking about the incident, and she turned to face none other than Yugi Tsukasa himself (Or a figment of Tsukasa from the past, like everything else), who was wearing his school uniform from the time that he was a student at Kamome Gakuen. He gave a small smile, and then asked Nene about the Rumor of the Clock at The Sealed Auditorium.

"Did you know? They say that if that clock gets moving again, that you can travel through time, both from the past, to the future, and from the future to the past, whatever you want. You want to know more about Amane, don't you? Come play with me again...Nene-Chan."

- Yugi Tsukasa explaining the Rumor of the Clock at The Sealed Auditorium, and tempting Yashiro Nene with the offer to use its power in order to learn about Hanako's past..

After saying all that, Tsukasa, as well as the time-displaced past festival, disappeared into thin air, leaving Yashiro and Mitsuba shocked at what just happened.

While Mitsuba asked Yashiro about what he was talking about, Yashiro looked up at the Clock atop The Sealed Auditorium, and wondered if by "Clock" she meant the clock inside the auditorium. Meanwhile at The Sealed Auditorium itself, Hanako is seen looking at the stage, and the clock atop it. After that, the Chapter ends.

Features

 * This volume includes a preview of volume 21.