Episode 3

The third episode of the Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun anime.

Synopsis
Nene finds out from the young exorcist Minamoto Kou that Hanako-kun committed a crime in his lifetime. Her close friend Akane Aoi, who has been worrying about Nene not being in her best spirits, suddenly disappears. Her classmates, teachers, and even Aoi's mother, no matter who Nene asks do not seem to even know who Akane Aoi is.

Nene goes on to search for Aoi on her own while relying on Hanako's help. Hanako has a certain feeling this will lead to the one of the rumoured Seven Mysteries, the one that leads to another world.

The rumour of Misaki Stairs.

Funimation Description: Nene's best friend vanishes without a trace and no one else remembers she ever existed! To get her friend back, Nene is forced to call on Hanako for help and journey into a "Boundary" between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

Summary
As Nene recalls Hanako-kun saying she could make friends with murderers from their previous interaction with Kou, she notes that the expression on his face seemed like he was angry. But she deduces that it wasn't anger, but before she could finish her thoughts, Aoi calls on her. She notes that Nene has her head in the clouds lately, seeing that she didn't hear her until the third time. While the two of them tend to the classroom plants, Aoi suspects that Nene might have developed a crush on someone. Nene denies it, but she murmurs wishing it was. In order to cheer her up, Aoi decides to tell Nene about the second School Wonder, the Misaki Stairs.

The rumor goes as follows with forbidding one from stepping on the fourth step. If that rule is broken, the victim is dragged into the world of the dead and thus ripped into countless pieces. At twilight, that step is covered with a layer of blood from its past victims. Its location is at the B stairs of the art room. Aoi also recalls many students saying they have seen puddles of blood there as well. This sends Nene into a frightful stance, knowing all-well that Aoi's retellings may come true since reminiscing the Yousei-san incident. However, she denies being scared of the rumors, to which Aoi becomes glad to be able to tell more scary stories for Nene later on. While in the middle of their conversation, their teacher reminds Aoi that she had a career counseling appointment scheduled at 4:30 pm in the art room. In a hurry to meet up with him, Aoi waves goodbye to Nene before assuring her to feel better soon. As Nene feels touched by Aoi's thoughtfulness despite being uncomforted at the thought of being told more scary rumors, she notices some of the classroom plants have already started blooming.

The next school day, Nene notices that all of the classroom plants are now gone. As she looks around for whoever took them, she begins the suspect the Mokke for their mischief. As she approaches them, she realizes they didn't have any evidence on them before one of them offers a piece of candy to her. Peering her eyes over, she notices that Aoi's desk was missing before the teacher arrives for morning greeting. She inquires what had happened to the flowers over there that Aoi was taking care of. When her teacher replied out of confusion, he pointed to Yamabuki Lemon, who was in charge of taking care of them over the summer despite his carelessness. Her teacher also questions who Aoi was, saying they didn't have that student in their class. This sends Nene into a momentary trance as the students behind her begin questioning who Aoi was also. Nene dashes out of the classroom, wondering what was happening to everyone. She decides to call Aoi's phone number, only to receive no avail. She also checks with Aoi's mom to see if she knew where Aoi was, only to be answered that a person with that name didn't live here. She becomes more worried, knowing that even Aoi's mother didn't know who Aoi was, until a sudden drip of blood reminded her of the story that Aoi told her the day before. She remembers that Aoi was scheduled to go to the art room, and she decides to turn to Hanako-kun for assistance, before bumping into someone.

Dropping her phone onto the floor, she looks up to find a handsome guy politely lending out a hand to her. Placing a hand in his palm, he inquires if she was okay before she stutters out a thank you. Watching him walk away, she becomes lovestruck at what a gentleman he was. Until the school bell rang, reminding her that she needed to find Hanako-kun. A black paper crane is seen following her until it slips into her shoulder pocket. After school, the two of them are discussing in the girl's bathroom. Hanako-kun only lets out a brief, Hmm, as he was playing cards with the Mokke, only to be given an adamant response from Nene that she waited a long time for him. Hanako-kun states that was busy also, and suggests calling the police. Nene says that the situation was weird, including Aoi's missing belongings and flowers.

Characters

 * Yashiro Nene
 * Akane Aoi
 * Hyuuga Natsuhiko
 * Hanako
 * Mokke
 * Minamoto Kou
 * Akane Aoi
 * Yako