Volume 17

The seventeenth volume of the manga.

Synopsis
Nene has managed to escape the final resting place of all the kannagi sacrificed in this town, reuniting with Kou and the boy they now know to be a younger version of Tsukasa. As the beginning of the Yugi family tragedy is finally unveiled, Kou sees a chance to put everything to rights—if they can all escape the Red House. But this cursed mansion has already made the consequences of trying to free Tsukasa from its clutches very clear...

The Red House Part 7
Picking off from the last chapter, Kou is telling Tsukasa that Yugi Amane died at 13 years old after killing his younger brother. Tsukasa and Nene are both shocked.

Kou says he will do something to ensure that it won't happen.

He claims that, because the Tsukasa they know looks identical in age to Hanako, and because the Tsukasa they are currently with is only 4 years old and says he's been stuck in the Red House for a long time, then that must mean that the older Tsukasa is a fake. He also says that Tsukasa being fake may be the very reason why Hanako killed him in the first place.

Kou says that if they return the real Tsukasa to his proper place in the timeline, then maybe Hanako won't kill his younger brother.

Nene agrees, but she and Kou both don't know how to return Tsukasa to his family. They decide to escape the Red House and ask Teru for his help.

However, Tsukasa isn't sure if he wants to go back. He thinks Amane is happier without him.

Kou claims that Amane didn't mean whatever he said, and that he must've just been heated up in the moment during an argument of some kind. He reassures Tsukasa that his older brother would be happy to see him, and Tsukasa guesses that he doesn't know as much about Amane as he thought he did. He decides he wants to go and see his older brother again.

The house then starts to shake. A pillar crashes in front of Kou and Nene, and walls start closing in and dropping in on them. Nene takes Tsukasa in her arms and runs, and Kou holds off the house for their escape and follows after them. He barely makes it out, the walls ripping a tear into his shoulder sleeve.

Nene tries to a calm a panicking Kou down by saying they're safe now, but the house continues it's pursuit. It begins to chase them through the hallways. Tsukasa silently observes that while the house is craashing pillars through the walls, they avoid touching the parts of the wall where flame-lit oil lamps were placed.

As they run, evading the pillars the house is trying to ram into them, Tsukasa asks Kou if they're going to die. Kou says no way, and tells him to think about what he'll do with his brother after getting out of here. Tsukasa thinks, before talking about how he always wanted to go to the Summer Festival with Amane. Nene is reminded of when she time-travelled to the past and met a younger Amane at said festival.

Nene sadly reflects on the fact that Tsukasa must've been so lonely, staying in this creepy house all alone for so long.

They decide to take a break in a library after it seems they have shaken off their pursuers. However, Nene comments that this looks to be a dead end, and Kou says they should go back.

Kou goes to pick up Tsukasa, but a bookshelf starts to fall on top of him. Nene pushes him out of the way, and gets crushed by the bookshelves, her leg starting to bleed. Kou tries to help her out, but more pillars start to fall on him, putting him in danger of being crushed himself. Nene yells and tries to convince him to leave without her, but Kou refuses.

Suddenly, a match of flame is dropped onto a toppled glass of spilled oil. Tsukasa dropped said match, and the house begins to catch fire. The room returns to it's previous state, and Kou helps Nene out from under the bookcase. Tsukasa comments that he noticed the house was afraid of fire, explaining his actions, and Nene and Kou both start to pet and praise him for being so smart.

They then find an opening in the walls, showing them the exit: the entrance that Kou and Nene had first entered from. They rejoice, and Kou offers a shoulder to Nene to help her walk, while finally accepting Tsukasa's request to hold hands with him. As they exit, Tsukasa says that if he makes it back home, he'll write a letter to Kou and Nene that says that he was happy they came to see him.

Outside of the Red House, Kou and Nene celebrate that they were finally able to make it out, but belatedly realize that Tsukasa isn't with them. They turn around, and realize that the Red House was completely burned down, reduced to ruins. Panicked, they call Tsukasa's name, but find nothing...

From inside of a less ruined Red House, Tsukasa watches Kou and Nene yell for him, the house crackling with fire around him. Although unheard, he says goodbye to Kou, and says that he knew how to get back home to Amane the whole time. But he thought that would ruin everything if he did so, so he never went back.

An entity in his chest, looking like a swirly dark hole, asks if Tsukasa is going to go back home now.

Tsukasa says yes, and that he's decided he's done "holding back", just like Amane was. He says he'll go back together with the entity in his chest, because Kou told him all about the parts of Amane that he didn't know about.

The fact that Amane will die at 13 years old, after killing his older brother.

Manically, Tsukasa repeats that same phrase over and over, dancing through the flames around him. There's a flashback to Amane and Tsukasa's fourth birthday party, showing the parts where Amane claims that he will go to space, and where Tsukasa asks Amane if he loves him.

Tsukasa affectionately calls Amane a weirdo, saying that despite Tsukasa granting his wish for him, Amane ruined it all by killing him. Tsukasa says he now wants to know even more about Amane.

Looking forward to how Amane will kill him, Tsukasa is enwrapped in flame, as everything goes dark.

Pizza Party
After escaping from the Red House, Nene and Kou search desperately for Tsukasa, who presumably "perished" in the fire. After some searching, the pair come across a well, which looked like it had survived the flames. Kou and Nene scream Tsukasa's name down the well, but no one answers. Nene suggests they go down there and look for him, but Kou stops her and says that they should head back to his house first. Nene is about to refuse, but is stopped by Kou crouching down in front of her, and asking her to get on. Kou piggy-back rides Nene back to his house in order to let her injured leg rest.

Once they make it home, they both explain to Teru and Akane what happened inside of the red house. As they process the new information, Teru concludes that they can cross over to the boundary through the red house, thanks to Nene and Kou. Realizing how hungry they’ve been, they all decide to order pizza, upon Minamoto Tiara request. Nene and Kou share their goals to the group. Nene wishes to rescue Aoi and knock some sense into Hanako, while Kou is intent on protecting Nene and has his own personal reasons as well. The group plans on meeting at the red house the next morning. They all contently enjoy their meal. After finishing their pizza, Nene realizes how late it’s been and excuses herself from the table to make a call. She stays on the phone with her mom for a while and starts to head back to the group. Just outside the door, Nene overhears Teru’s plan to save Aoi and end Hanako for good. Teru entrust Akane and Kou to deal with Yashiro as Nene listens in horror, wondering what to do.

To The Far Shore
At 10 Am, Kou, Teru, Nene and Akane arrive at the Red House. Kou and Nene guide the others to the well they found yesterday, which Teru confirms is a connection to the boundary. Akane questions Teru about the artifact Teru stole, which is revealed to be a severed hand. Teru explains his theory that they could cross over to the boundary by eating a small part of a supernatural to temporarily remove their existence in the near shore. Akane quickly realizes that they would have to eat the hand, which Teru says is unnecessary and reveals that they already ate some with the pizza yesterday. Akane charges at Teru in anger, but ends up tripping into the well. Nene and Kou fall into the well with Teru right behind them.

Meanwhile, Aoi notices a black hole expanding in the boundary. She discovers her body is starting to disappear due to the severance. Hanako finds Aoi and leads her to a train that goes to the far shore. On the train, Hanako informs Aoi that she’ll become a supernatural by the time they reach their destination. Aoi changes the topic to love and reveals that she hated and loved the good part of Akane. Aoi ask Hanako what he likes about Nene. Although hesitant at first, he says he likes everything about Nene.

The train suddenly stops and pans over to Nene pushing the brakes, with Kou holding back the conductor. Akane and Teru are on the roof of the train, ready to save Aoi.

To The Far Shore Part 2
Teru and Akane fend off the supernaturals on the train. While fighting, Akane suddenly feels a pain in his gut, as it pains him to be in his supernatural form. Amused by Akane's pain, Teru then gloats about him going to save Aoi, which motivates Akane continue fighting.

The scene changes to Aoi's perspective, who is hiding behind some crates on Hanako's order. She is confused on what's happening around her, ever since the train has stopped. As she tries to investigate the situation, she bumps into a supernatural. The supernatural smells the Kannagi blood on Aoi and grabs her.

Teru and Akane kick down a door and find Hanako standing in front of them. Hanako informs them that they were too late to save Aoi. Teru calls him out on his bluff and tells Akane to find Aoi, while he deals with Hanako. Teru distracts Hanako, while Akane runs out the door to find Aoi. A fight starts up between Teru and Hanako. Teru uses his powers to blast open the roof, giving him more flexibility.

Aoi is gathered around by a group of supernaturals who are prepared to eat Aoi. Just as Aoi would have been eaten, Akane stops the supernatural's time and carries Aoi out of the train carriage. Akane then in tears, hugs Aoi, feeling sheer joy that he has been reunited with her.

The scene shifts back to the fight with Teru and Hanako. Hanako is losing the fight, as he is pinned to the ground by Teru. Teru continues stabbing and zapping Hanako. He criticizes Hanako's way to extend Nene's lifespan, pointing out that there's no guarantee his plan will work out for her, as he can kill her himself. Teru is about to deal the final blow, before we see a familiar traffic saftey earring flash by. Kou blocks Teru's blade away from Hanako and yells for Nene. Nene runs in and grabs Hanako. The two of them run out the train's exit, with the final remark from Nene that they are escaping.