Episode 6

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

Synopsis
After the confession tree and the conflict with Teru, Nene and Kou want to find out Hanako-kun's secret. They entered the fifth School Mystery, "The 4PM Bookstacks". Inside the archive lines up books of the past and future of all the people involved with the school. While looking for Hanako-kun's book, Nene stumbles upon her own book....

Funimation Description: In search of Hanako's secrets, Nene and Kou enter the fifth Wonder, the 4 O'clock Library. It's books contain the past and future of every student their school has ever had, but some knowledge comes at a price.

Plot
Both Kou and Nene are in the academy's library after school, looking through the bookshelves. Nene briefly apologizes for dragging Kou along, to which he reassures her that he is willing to go through treacherous terrain just for her. In addition, he is also interested in researching about Hanako-kun, but when Nene implies that it was because he wanted to exorcise him, but Kou hesitates. He recalls Teru telling him there are no good apparitions, and he realizes he doesn't know much about Hanako-kun, which dissuades him from exorcising just because he's an apparition.

Nene then encourages Kou that they will still be part of the same goal to learn more about Hanako-kun, which figuratively shoots an arrow into Kou's heart. Nene becomes confused by Kou's stunned behavior before witnessing a lone butterfly flying past them. The butterfly then lands on a violet book with spiderweb designs on its bind, and as Nene reaches out to touch it, a sudden explosion of dust occurs. Kou quickly rushes over, and the two now see an old door in front of them.

Nene opens the door, with Kou standing behind her, as they see a long, dimly-lit hallway with a domed ceiling, lanterns, and a multitude of cobwebs. Nene gasps in awe, while Kou notes this is another Boundary and assures that they should be cautious. While Nene realizes how dark it was, one of the Mokke holds out a lantern to her for convenience, to which she gratefully accepts. Walking through the hallway, she recalls that white books were for the living while black books are for those who have died, but no red books were found. Kou notes that Hanako-kun's book must be black.

The same butterfly then flutters near them, directing Nene's attention until she quickly follows after it, startling Kou. It finally lands on a white book, and as Nene lifts up the lantern to see it, it shows her name inscribed in the bind. Kou supports the ladder as Nene climbs up to reach the book, before averting his gaze away from her skirt. Nene notes that everything she has done at the school must be written inside the book, and she opens it to reveal herself writing a poem after experiencing the first time Hanako-kun took off his hat. Embarrassingly, she shuts the book quickly, prompting Kou to ask how was it. She stutters out a response that the rumors were true, but she resolves to learn more if she reads the future section. Turning over a page, she meets a red divider reading, future. She becomes a bit nervous at the thought of reading the future, and after she turns a page, the book starts to become red. She suddenly finds out that she will go on her first-ever date at the food stalls, causing her to create several questions until she becomes deflated when seeing her ankles were the conclusion. Recovering from her brief gloom, she turns another page to find out that she will learn about Hanako-kun's true identity. More red droplets spill onto her skirt, as she gasps when the book is now-dyed red. She still wants to learn more about Hanako-kun, and she hesitantly decides to take another peek. The red droplets now spill onto Kou's cheek, and a flurry of butterflies emerge from the puddles of water. Before they know it, a large, shadow-like creature holding a resemblance to Nene opens its mouth over her head. Kou then rescues Nene, leaving the creature to chomp on the ladder instead. Nene then becomes disturbed by the creature, and Kou attempts to attack it, before noticing his staff no longer works due to Hanako-kun's seal. The two are left discouraged, with Kou angrily calling out on Hanako-kun, until he makes a sudden appearance. The creature then spews out a flurry of butterflies, before its head is cleanly sliced by Hanako-kun's knife, ultimately defeating it.

The ominous atmosphere disappears, with Hanako-kun playfully greeting the two. He then shoves between Kou and Nene, pushing both of them to the side. When Kou becomes confused, Hanako-kun cheerfully says Nothing~ while protectively hugging Nene. A stranger comes into the scene, asking what they were doing here in a raspy voice. Nene recognizes him as their teacher, and as he kneels down to pick up a book, another shadowy creature resembling Kou appears behind him. Before it could touch him, a dark appendage strikes and slams its head down to the floor, emerging as butterflies and a dark, purple goop. The stranger's voice then turns dark and ominous, before adding to his dislike of kids. His hands then grab onto Kou and Nene, holding them up mid-air. He inquires if they had read the future, until a butterfly flutters near his face, before getting swallowed in a single gulp. Before he could continue intimidating them, Hanako-kun taps on him to stop teasing them. The stranger complies, dropping Kou and Nene due to No.7's orders.

He then retrieves his pipe from under his jacket, as Hanako-kun introduces him as Tsuchigomori, No.5 of the School Wonders and manager of the 4PM Bookstacks. Both Nene and Kou are in awe that a teacher is a School Wonder, with Tsuchigomori explaining it's important to spread your own rumors as an apparition. He also notes that some of their friends might not be human either, with Nene inquiring if that would be dangerous, until Hanako-kun states that's why they're here: to maintain the balance between supernaturals and humans.

He later states that he is the leader of the Seven Mysteries who work together to maintain order and balance. Yako leaps into the scene due to the summon of Hanako-kun, but Kou counts his finger to see that some of the facts don't match up: there are only three currently with them, and Tsuchigomori and Yako starts a chain of insults at each other. Hanako-kun grimly brandishes his knife at the two other School Wonders, telling them to work together with a grave smile, with Nene and Kou resolving that he is the leader.

However, Hanako-kun notes that there is a traitor amongst their group, where they are changing rumors with a human affiliation, similar to Nene's case. Therefore, he initiates a plan to rid of every Wonder's yorishiro before the situation gets out of hand. Tsuchigomori comments that it seems reckless, as Hanako-kun continues that he will reinstate them as Wonders again once the problem is solved. He then turns over Nene's hands in an attempt for the yorishiro to be offered, before Tsuchigomori bluntly refuses. But he obliges with giving his yorishiro without violence, but for a certain condition: that they tell him their personal secrets.

This sends Kou and Nene into bewilderment as Hanako-kun inquisitively asks what will happen if they don't tell him their secrets, to which Tsuchigomori states that he will read their embarrassing moments over the PR system as revenge. The round starts with Nene going first, revealing that she has kept an exchange diary with an imaginary boyfriend. However, Tsuchigomori scores it with 3 points, saying that she was lying. While profiling through her book, it starts with a visualization of Nene dreamily writing the time when she saw Teru addressing his speech for the school assembly. She recalls their reaction was a romantic one, before Tsuchigomori states all of that was pure delusion except for the existing school assembly. This leads to Kou unknowingly asking if she kept a secret journal with his older brother, which lands the final blow to Nene's embarrassment. It's time for Kou's turn, and he confesses that he is immensely scared of Setsuben oni masks, only receiving a Next, by Tsuchigomori. While the two are in defeat, Kou calls on Hanako-kun to reveal a secret of his own too. But when he asks if Tsuchigomori would be interested, he dismissively says he's not. However, when he says he's going to pass on this one, Nene and Kou then determinedly proclaim that they were willing to listen to his secrets. Stunned by the revelation, Hanako-kun finally admits that he has a love for donuts, especially simple, homemade ones, causing Tsuchigomori to be surprised by the predicament. Nene and Kou excitedly announced his secret, to which Tsuchigomori steadfastly berates them. But he admits that it was interesting when Yako inquires him, before calling time's up. Nene and Kou become terrified of the supposed PR punishment, but he lightheartedly says that he wouldn't do that to them. He walks over, pulling on a light switch to reveal a large tunnel behind him. He then states that only the priestess is allowed to come, to which Hanako-kun excitedly hugs Nene since he was his assistant. Kou passionately proclaims that he won't let Nene go alone, before Tsuchigomori pulls him over and covers his mouth. Tsuchigomori asks if Hanako-kun trusts him, and as Hanako-kun briefly contemplates with a grave expression, he finally pushes Nene forward, asking him to take good care of her.

The two of them walk through the dimly-lit cavern, with Tsuchigomori popping the question regarding Hanako-kun. Nene first describes some negative traits of him, with her being fed up with his misleading and treatment, but she actually appreciates his company and having rescued her many times, before she says she actually thinks of him as a friend. Tsuchigomori then says that's alright, causing Nene to imply that he was worried about him. Nene asks a question about whether it was possible to change the written future, with Tsuchigomori answering it's basically impossible to change, until he confesses that he did see the future change once. The two are met with three doors, and Tsuchigomori opens one of them to reveal a collection room filled with sparkling gems in glass cases. Nene excitedly asks which one of them was his yorishiro, until he places a small, red rock with a black seal on it, which causes Nene to critic it as filthy. He states that this rock was given to him by an ordinary human who changed his future, and he called it a genuine moon rock. He recalls that the rock was given to him after the day of the first landing on the moon, rousing hope in those who witnessed it. He states that the person wasn't good at talking with others nor had good grades, but he had a love for stars. Before Nene could get an answer to her question of how did their future change, Tsuchigomori dismisses it and tells her to hurry up. Nene then peels the seal off, causing the Boundary to break into shards.

The day is July 22nd, where a chalkboard drawing of the Apollo landing is drawn on the board. A teacher is found dabbing cotton on someone's wounds, before inquiring a young boy by the name of Yugi Amane. The boy doesn't answer as he continues to wrap bandages on his arms. He mutters that Tsuchigomori-sensei was being pushy, before saying he didn't mind the wounds on him. Tsuchigomori roughly grabs his shoulders, asking what could possibly justify all of this, before Amane quickly retorts that it's fine, saying he doesn't mind it even when there's not a reason. After this, he states that he found a moon rock, befuddling Tsuchigomori when he takes it out. Amane recalls that he found the rock when he was four, having landed in front of him, and asked his teacher for verification. He figured Tsuchigomori didn't believe it was a real moon rock, but he continues to say that they would still believe it. Running over to the chalkboard, he writes 380,000 km on the board to show the distance between the Earth and the moon. Impressed by how far his rock had travel, Tsuchigomori exasperatedly calls out his name, but Amane runs over to the windowsill to view the moon instead. Noticing his bandages had unraveled, his teacher later goes over to his medical kit to fix them again.

However, Amane asks the question of whether his teacher wanted to go to the moon. But as Tsuchigomori looks over, Amane had climbed onto the windowsill, his shoes leaning on the railing. He reaches forward, holding up his moon rock as he observes the moon in the sky. He figured the moon must be a great place, and as he leans forward, Tsuchigomori instantly rushes over to prevent him from falling. As he reaches out his hand, Amane slaps it away while crouching on the sill, before affirming if his teacher was worried about him. He asks him if he could do a favor, to which Tsuchigomori agrees, sending the boy to smile as he placed his moon rock in the palm of his teacher's hand. When Tsuchigomori wonders why he was giving him his treasure, Amane later states that the rock made him feel like he could go anywhere, but finally made up his mind that he won't go anywhere ever again.

Waking up from the memory, Nene finds herself in the infirmary bed after school, with Tsuchigomori seated beside her reading a white book. When Nene quizically asks if that was the person who changed their future, Tsuchigomori affirms that the boy's name was Yugi Amane, the former human No.7 used to be. He explains that he was given the moon rock the day after humanity went to the moon for the first time, where it made the impossible dream become a reality. Even after it roused hope in the people around him, Tsuchigomori recalls the boy who said he wouldn't go anywhere anymore. He became worried for him, or at least pretended to be, because he read that Amane was going to be a science teacher at Kamome Gakuen for his future. He lets out a brief chuckle, before sighing that he wasn't supposed to die like that when he was still a brat. He states that Yugi Amane was the only human he knew that changed his future. He leaves before saying she was still able to talk to him as her teacher. As Nene contemplates, a sound of footsteps followed, with Hanako-kun and Kou bursting through the curtains and the apparition giving her a hug for a job well done. But as Kou relentlessly hits Hanako-kun to let go of her, Nene instead goes into Hanako-kun's hold, noting that he didn't have any body heat because he was already dead. Realizing the memory of the boy at the windowsill, she becomes sullen on the fact.

Hanako-kun pats Nene's hair to reassure her, but he believes something must have happened. In the hallway, he confronts Tsuchigomori if he told her something, to which he says that he told her about his yorishiro. It later causes Hanako-kun to question what his yorishiro was, joking that it might be a kinda super-sexy book. Tsuchigomori becomes exasperated with his guess, with the boy saying he figured with a smile. It reminds Tsuchigomori of the past, saying he was still the same as ever.

Characters

 * Yashiro Nene
 * Hanako
 * Minamoto Kou
 * Tsuchigomori
 * Yako
 * Mokke