Chapter 96

Fireworks Party (パーティー) is the ninety-sixth chapter of Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun by AidaIro.

Summary
In the girls' toilet of the old school building, Kou has tied up Hanako in rope and suspended him from the ceiling. He asks Nene, who is gathered in the same bathroom, if they should get started with Hanako's introspection session.

Dangling upside down as he is, Hanako is not pleased with his current state of affairs, and asks if they have to do this the day after they all returned from the boundary. Kou won't stand for his attempt to dodge the issue, however, and demands he apologize to Nene. Nene replies that Hanako already has apologized to her, but Kou, not quite as trusting as Nene, asks Hanako if that means he'll stop acting on his own to help Nene. To both Kou and Nene's exasperation, Hanako neither confirms or denies this, giving them a nonanswer.

Kou puts Hanako, who has somehow managed to wriggle out of his ropes, into a chokehold, and asks him if he truly understands the consequences of his actions. Hanako screams, before attempting to speak his case. He explains that he knows it was wrong of him to decide what to do about Nene's lifespan without consulting both of them beforehand, and that he feels bad about it. Kou and Nene both agree that it was wrong, but seem satisfied with his apology.

With that out of the way, Hanako asks Nene if she was okay after she and him split up in the boundary. Nene explains that she met Sakura, and that she told her many things. What Nene decides to tell Kou and Hanako is that Sakura told her she doesn't need to destroy the yorishiro to solve Nene's lifespan issue. This information shocks both Kou and Hanako.

Kou and Nene are both a bit surprised at Hanako's surprise, and Kou asks Hanako if he really didn't know that. Hanako grumpily tells him to shut it, and says he wouldn't have done "that stuff" if he knew that about Nene's lifespan. He think it's possible that Sakura, Tsukasa's assistant, is lying to Nene, though. Still, he doesn't see a reason why she would, especially since Tsukasa would rather Hanako destroy the yorishiro than not. Internally, Nene agrees with Hanako, and wonders whether she really should destroy the yorishiro or not. Even so, she thinks Sakura was telling the truth.

Butting in, Kou asks Hanako if he knows what Tsukasa or his pals are thinking, since Hanako is his brother. Hanako denies this, and says he hasn't understood Tsukasa for a while now. When he says this, we see a flashback to the day Tsukasa disappeared, his and Amane's fourth birthday, with a young Amane standing in the room where Tsukasa fell into the hole.

Nene is quiet at this confession, and Kou is disappointed, but says he knows what they need to do. He says they should capture one of the people close to Tsukasa and Sakura, who know stuff about Nene's lifespan, and get them to spill the beans. Nene enthusiastically supports this idea, but Hanako isn't so sure. As he and Kou argue, Nene begins to think about who she could talk to. She thinks she wouldn't be able to capture Tsukasa, and that he'd most likely capture her instead, but she figures she could try talking to Sakura or Natsuhiko at school. She notes the possibility that she could talk to Mitsuba, too.

Suddenly, Kou's phone rings. It's a phone call from Akane, who tells Kou that Teru is "done for."

At the Minamoto household, Akane is knocking hard at Teru's bedroom door, a worried Aoi beside him. He asks him when he plans on coming out of his room, and Teru dramatically laments that this is the end for him. The injuries he took while saving Aoi were apparently grievous, and he says he is going to die. Akane notes how dramatic he's being, and Aoi adds that Teru told her his body would be fine after coming back from the boundary. Aoi asks Akane if something happened to Teru, and Akane says he doesn't know, just that Kou came crying to him for help.

Making light of him, Akane explains that it's Teru and Kou's first sibling fight, and tells him he's acting like a kindergartner for holing himself up in his room like this. Teru cracks open his door, pokes Akane with his sword, and electrocutes him. Akane screams and flops to the floor, and Teru shuts the door again. Aoi asks if he's okay.

Footsteps rush up the staircase, and Kou appears, holding a plastic bag in one hand. He apologizes for calling Akane here so suddenly, and asks if there's still no hope for Teru. Akane says he seems fine to him, and asks if Kou brought what he asked for. Kou confirms, but wonders if what he got will really help, but Akane tells him not to worry. Kou then notices Aoi, and tells her Nene is downstairs, which he figures she would want to know because she told him before that she wanted to talk to Nene.

Walking down the stairs, Aoi finds Nene outside, crouched in front of Tiara. Aoi calls out to her, but struggles to say her name fully. Nene turns, wide-eyed, at the sound of her voice, and calls her name back. Aoi flinches, and turns her gaze down, stumbling over her words as she attempts to apologize. A flashback of her dropping Nene and Hanako into a pit of bugs from Chapter 64 appears.

While Aoi hesitates, Nene rushes forward to hug her. She has a big smile on her face and tears in her eyes, and she says that she's glad Aoi is back to normal. Touched, Aoi hugs her back, thanking her and saying that she's sorry.

Dusk falls, and Aoi, Nene, Akane, Kou, Tiara, and Fairy are all gathered together and lighting off fireworks. Aoi and Nene break off from the group to chat on the porch, and Aoi tells Nene about how Hanako's hakujoudai helped guide her and Kou back home after No. 6 knocked Teru and Akane out. Nene asks if Aoi was hurt at all, and Aoi denies this. She also tells Nene that she's started seeing supernaturals like Nene does, and that it's like she and Nene are matching now.

Nene is just relieved that she's okay, and Aoi notes that summer is ending soon. She asks Nene to have fun with her next semester, too, and Nene agrees.

After everyone plays around more with the fireworks, Aoi is off to the side and taking a break. Akane brings her some fireworks, and asks if she's tired. She says she's fine. He asks if she made up with Nene, and she confirms that she did. When Aoi tries to take a firework, it drops from her hand. Akane grabs her right hand and asks her to show it to him.

Aoi fidgets with her shirt as Akane inspects her hand, and he asks her if she can't move it. She confirms, and says she can't move it very well. Elaborating further, she says that her right hand lacks feeling, but only her right hand. She says that Teru told her it was because she got too close to the Far Shore. Akane asks her if she told Nene, and Aoi denies this, saying Nene has enough going on as it is. Introspectively, Aoi comments that she has something to hide now, too...

She tells Akane to keep it a secret between them and Teru for now, and Akane tells her he will find a way to heal her hand some day.

The scene shifts to Teru, who is huddled up in a blanket in his room. He's staring out the window, watching everyone have fun and play with the fireworks without him, a fact that makes him quite cranky. Still, the fireworks make him pause, and he wonders how long it's been since he last played with them. Feeling enticed, Teru opens the door to his room, figuring he can go bug them for a bit...

When he exits his room, he bumps right into Kou. He's carrying a sliced watermelon and glass on a plate, and was about to walk into Teru's room himself. The chapter ends with them looking at each other in surprise, both unclear on how to proceed with making things up between them.

Characters in order of appearance

 * Minamoto Kou
 * Yashiro Nene
 * Hanako
 * Sakura (mentioned)
 * Tsukasa (mentioned)
 * Natsuhiko (mentioned)
 * Mitsuba (mentioned)
 * Akane
 * Teru
 * Aoi
 * Tiara
 * No. 6 (mentioned/flashback)