Episode 7

Donuts (ドーナツ) is the seventh episode of the Toilet-bound Hanako-kun anime.

Synopsis
Nene, who witnessed glimpses of Hanako-kun's past in the 4PM Bookstacks, was once again reminded of the reality that Hanako-kun had died, and feels dejected.

Seeing how awkward things are between Hanako-kun and Nene, Kou invites her to bake Hanako-kun's favorite donuts together in an attempt to cheer them both up.

Funimation Description
Nene's relationship with Hanako becomes strained after she learns about his past. With some baking help from Kou, she tries to talk things out with Hanako over donuts, but their heart-to-heart is interrupted by a shocking intruder!

Plot
After school, Nene does her usual bathroom cleaning alongside Kou, who assisted by wiping the windows. Hanako-kun notes that Nene has been acting strange lately, to which she denies the fact while mopping the floor. He later states that her reactions were different from back then, with her calmly cleaning out of her own accord now. Aggravatingly, he grabs her face to look at him after noticing her aversion, with Kou quietly standing by.

In class, Nene recalls the memory she had seen in the 4PM Bookstacks, which revealed Hanako-kun's past and resulted in her not being able to look him in the eye anymore.

After waving goodbye to Aoi, she then tends to the practice fields while wildly hoisting her gardening scythe into the ground. Using a sickle to shave off the vegetation, she justifies her sullen facade as a normal reaction to the seemingly-real memories. She contemplates on what is the best course of action before meeting Hanako-kun for bathroom duty, until she suddenly hears Kou's voice inquiring if she was the one taking care of the school's gardens. She asks if he was here to escort her for the bathroom cleaning, but Kou later refutes by asking if she knew how to make donuts instead.

The two are later seen in the Home Economics classroom together, with Nene observing the large mess in the kitchen with an awestruck expression. Kou cheerfully reasons that he had been cooking with his older brother and kind of made a mess with unusual foodstuff. He later assures that he told Hanako-kun they weren't going to clean the bathrooms today, with Nene thanking him before stating they should start cleaning up the mess first. When she asks why he was trying to make donuts, Kou reluctantly explains that his sister was whining for donuts with a frazzled demeanor. Confused by his incoherent explanation, Nene reassures him by saying she was okay with it since she also felt awkward around Hanako-kun.

However, she stirs the batter quickly while attempting to say they didn't have a fight, before Kou goes forward to slow her pace. Referencing from the cookbook he was holding up for them, Nene wonders why he was actually good at cooking. With him standing behind her, he murmurs that it must be exhausting to see things that she wasn't able to see before. For him, he was always able to see them but the unfamiliar feeling still got to him sometimes -- to which he states that he was willing to listen to her thoughts or anything of the sort to support her. Nene murmurs his name, before embarrassingly addressing the personal space between them, which sends Kou steadfastly backing off into a fair distance. He quickly excused himself by saying it was out of habit after cooking with his little sister, and accidentally trips face-first into the disposal bags. The Mokke nonchalantly questions if he was dead after having landed in 'poison', causing Nene to giggle when Kou startlingly retorts back to them. She takes up on his offer, and goes on an explanation sequence about her experience in the 4PM Bookstacks. Kou deduces that Hanako-kun used to be a student here, until Nene falteringly mumbles that maybe she shouldn't stay friends with Hanako-kun -- due to the fact that he's dead already. She recalls his previous titles of him being an evil spirit, a School Wonder, and a murderer as well, reasoning that he must have stabbed whoever was bullying him. She quizzically laments that this was far more depressing than what she could imagine from the unpredictable apparition, which sends Hanako-kun into a brief sneeze in the other room.

But despite the circumstances, she resolves to the feeling that she doesn't want to leave him alone. She understands that she shouldn't delve in too deeply, but still has the wanting to learn more about Hanako-kun for a chance to help him. Kou also says that he has been feeling the same way, with the mixed confusion on whether he should exorcise Hanako-kun or not, and raises his hands for a high five in saying that the both of them shared the same confusion of what to do next. Accepting a high five from him, the two decided that they will continue to work something out as birds of a feather.

The donuts are freshly baked and ready to eat, with both students marveling at its glory of perfection. But before Kou could happily take a bite, he is suddenly hit in the head with a clipboard from Teru. Bringing him into a tight arm lock, Teru lightheartedly asks who was the one who bought the ingredients and if his little brother was going to eat the donuts without him. Nene dreamily answers that she was helping Kou since he was bad at cooking, until Teru puzzlingly started that Kou was a great cook before getting a donut shoved into his mouth by Kou. Wringing the Mokke away and getting Teru distracted, Kou quickly scoops several donuts into the bag and offers it to Nene. He recalls that donuts were his favorite food, and before Teru could finish lecturing him about stuffing a donut into someone's mouth, Kou steadfastly stuffs another donut into his mouth again. Nene finally understands that Kou was trying to help her and Hanako-kun by making donuts together, and happily refers to him as "Kou-kun" for the first time before leaving to see Hanako-kun. As Kou is touched by her words, Teru places his arm on top of Kou's head while munching on a donut. He states that Kou has dealt with the housekeeping at home, which resulted in Teru's inexperience in trying to help make donuts, before peering over to see a suspicious Mokke sneaking out.

The Mokke comes outside the school to where Sakura and Natsuhiko are waiting in the shade. It affirms to Sakura that it has successfully hidden Tsukasa, in crane form, inside the bag of donuts. In response, Sakura praises it and strokes its head. Natsuhiko looks towards the old school building, where Nene is about to meet Hanako-kun on the roof.

On the rooftop, Hanako-kun is surprised and delighted that Nene is giving him donuts. As Nene pours tea, Hanako-kun expresses that he is happy Nene is acting like her usual self again. Nene states seriously to Hanako-kun that despite him being a ghost, different from normal people in many ways, and a pain, she likes him, and plans to stick with him. Hanako-kun is rendered speechless from her confession, and Nene hurriedly clarifies that she likes him as a friend and that he is not her type. As Nene undoes the ribbon on bag of donuts, Hanako-kun begins to say something about how he feels about Nene. But before he can get out the words, a black paper crane flies out of the bag of donuts and stirs up heavy winds. Hanako-kun jumps protectively in front of Nene, and the two of them stare at the crane before it flies towards them, stirring up wind and smoke that knocks Hanako-kun's hat off his head. In response, Hanako-kun unsheathes his knife and slashes the paper crane into pieces. The pieces on the ground appear to be consumed by purple fire as a mysterious laughter reverberates, visibly shocking Hanako. The small fires flare up into a much larger and taller flame that emits plumes of smoke and heavy wind.

A dark kokujoudai appears in front of them, sending Hanako-kun into a shock as he recognizes who was the person in the shadows. The offender inquires if he's using that familiar knife to protect the girl behind him, before revealing himself to be a boy very familiar to Hanako-kun's appearance. He walks towards them with his hands behind his back, stating that he also has an assistant of his own as well. He then strokes Hanako-kun's cheek when he approaches them, referring him as Amane with a smile, before getting intervened by Nene's splash of tea. It causes parts of his illusion to dissipate from where the droplets hit him, and the stranger commends Nene for being not half-bad. He then grabs onto her arm, which has a small patch of scales growing. Nearing her face, he smiles and simply says farewell before disappearing into the smoke.

When Nene drops to the ground, she questions to Hanako-kun if that was the person he killed, which sent a compulsive reaction from him. After forcing her onto the ground, Nene looks up to see Hanako-kun's tearful, restrained expression as tears prick from the corners of her eyes as well. He realizes that he had been holding onto her wrists as the donuts she had made were littered in pieces, before stepping back in brief apologies. With clenched hands, he retreats behind the rooftop doors without his hat. Nene picks up the only donut that has not been affected by the incident, saying that Hanako-kun didn't come back to the bathroom for the rest of the day, as it tunes to Hanako-kun holding his knees to his chest in silence. His hat then fades from view behind Nene.

In the broadcasting room where a Keep Out sign is labeled, a boy with crimson hair is talking with a green-haired girl who is currently occupied with reading a book titled, The Seven Wonders of the School. She states to him that he wouldn't listen to her if she told him not to run off like that, with the boy conferring that the three may come after them if they find out they were changing rumors -- including President Minamoto. The girl closes her book, asking if Natsuhiko was able to protect her in case it happened. Taking her hand in his, he vows on it before getting harshly smacked with her book. While lying on the floor in defeat, he is momentarily stunned as the black shadow appears in the room, giving way to a boy instantly running over to hug the girl by the neck. Sakura comments that the clothes he was wearing were unusual, before suggesting if he was trying to match his brother. Both of his kokujoudai morphed his matching clothes into his usual attire, as the boy affirms while excitedly saying Amane was happy to see him. He then goes over to a retro radio, asking what rumor they should change today. The three start their usual routine, with Sakura introducing the rumor.

Yokoo, Satou, and Kou are seen walking in the junior high building to their lockers. Yokoo tells them about the rumor of a ghost appearing in the junior high, an evil spirit that grabs onto your sleeve while you're changing shoes. But before Yokoo could say it, a different voice answers for him. Taken aback, Yokoo hits Satou to tell him to stop, but when Satou says he didn't say anything, the two look over to see a shadow behind Kou's locker door. The two rush away in fright, leaving Kou behind to take the mysterious ghost down. He slams it to the lockers adjacent from them, before confronting it. But he stops when he notices the ghost was wearing a uniform, seemingly from the same school.

Nene is mopping the bathroom floors, while taking a glance at Hanako-kun who was dismissively playing cards with the Mokke. There is a tension of silence between the two, until it was broken by Kou bursting into the Girls' Bathroom while pulling a tied-up ghost with him. Hanako-kun asks if he's going to get rid of him then, to which Kou says he would rather search for a better way instead of exorcising.

Hanako-kun peers over with a serious gaze in his eyes, before suggesting that he could try fulfilling any lingering regrets he has. Kou excitedly takes up on the opportunity while dragging the apparition behind him, with Hanako-kun happily cheering for him with a fan. Nene inquires if they should do something with concern, with Hanako-kun saying they'll be fine. Otherwise, if anything dangerous happens, then it means extra work for him.

Kou and the apparition hide behind the stairwell from the other commuting students. Using a forceful approach, Kou blatantly removes the duct tape from the supernatural's mouth while asking if he has any regrets. He promises that he will take care of all of them in a dazzling gleam, but was taken back by the apparition's response of telling him to shut up. He angrily forms an onslaught of insults for the traffic-safety earring that Kou wears, before responding to the rough way Kou had been treating him -- immediately concluding that Kou wanted to take advantage of a cute ghost like him. With tearful features, he assumes Kou has inappropriate intentions for him by saying he wanted to take videos and have his way with him morning, day, and night.

Characters

 * Yashiro Nene
 * Hanako
 * Minamoto Kou
 * Minamoto Teru
 * Yugi Tsukasa
 * Hyuuga Natsuhiko
 * Nanamine Sakura
 * Mitsuba
 * Mokke
 * Yokoo and Satou