The Nightlife (Part 3) (
Summary[]
The chapter begins with a colored comic page unrelated to the current storyline. Nene, Hanako, and Kou are inside of the girls' bathroom. Nene is holding the April 2023 issue of GFantasy in her hands, and she announces that this is the 100th chapter of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun. Hanako cheers, and Kou says they should celebrate. A Mokke sitting on top of Hanako's head overhears this.
Later, the Mokke have a gathering in what appears to be some dark, underground location, where a single lamp overhead illuminates them. One of the Mokke says that whoever appears on the opening color page is supposed to be the "main character" of the manga. The Mokke then come to the conclusion that if they take over the color page they will become the main characters. But another Mokke laments that Honorable No. 7--Hanako--will get in the way of that. This leads the Mokke to determine that they have no other choice but to kill him.
A passerby Tsukasa overhears this, and remarks with intrigue at the idea of them trying to kill his brother. This spooks the Mokke, and causes them to flee.
The opening color page celebrates Chapter 100 with an image of Tsukasa and Hanako. Hanako is wearing an outfit similar to the gakuran he normally wears, complete with what looks like his normal hat and shoes. The uniform is military-esque, with black pants similar to his standard outfit, and he's wearing black gloves. A short black cape adorned with orange-fringed epaulets sits on his shoulders, and the black jacket he wears is longer in the back, reaching his feet. On the other hand, Tsukasa is wearing a white-and-orange outfit, not all too dissimilar from his standard wear. His school cap is now white, as well as his hakama, but the kimono underneath is orange. The sleeves of his kimono are frilly at the ends, almost resembling flower petals. He's also wearing white gloves like Amane's, and a similar short white cape drapes over his shoulders, minus the epaulets.
Both of the twins are staring at the viewer while on the floor. Hanako is kneeling beside Tsukasa, his hand reaching over Tsukasa's body. Tsukasa is grabbing the arm of Amane's that's reaching over him, and his other hand is on Amane's chin, as if he were making him look at the viewer. The background is white, with various flowers on display behind them. They are mostly orange and white flowers, which appear to be orange camellias, some kind of white orchid, and the hypericum erectum flower. Orange petals and heads of orange camellia are scattered on top of the twins' bodies, particularly Tsukasa's. Torn-off wings of butterflies are scattered alongside the flowers and petals, some appearing to resemble the wings of the cabbage white butterfly. The text on the image says: "Searching for a reason to stand by your side."
Back to the actual chapter, Mitsuba and Kou are still inside of the aquarium, sitting in the tub that Mitsuba woke up in during the last chapter. Kou humorously recaps the last chapter by simply saying that he "Cried," but defends himself by blaming it on how Mitsuba suddenly fell apart and how Mitsuba asked him to exorcise him. Wiping his tears away, Kou wonders why Mitsuba would give up like this, since he was under the assumption Mitsuba wanted to live as a human. It angers him, even.
Looking over at Mitsuba, Kou notices the boy is smirking at him. With a sniffle, Kou asks what his deal is. Mitsuba informs him it's nothing--just he found it funny Kou was so lonely that he'd cry if Mitsuba left him. Kou reacts with outrage at this, yelling at Mitsuba with tears in his eyes that he "Wasn't crying" and that he "Isn't lonely." Mitsuba insults him by saying he's more of a "Super Lame Crybaby Earring" than a "Super Lame Traffic Earring," and Kou--even angrier--roughly grabs him by the scarf. Mitsuba only laughs, though, and remarks with a somber look on his face that he made the right choice deciding to see Kou at the end.
While Kou is stunned speechless, Mitsuba elaborates, saying that it would've been quicker for him to get done-in by a random supernatural, but that dying in such a way would be "Meaningless" and "No fun." Dying to Kou, on the other hand, would mean that Mitsuba would be mourned in his death, because he thinks Kou would mourn anyone he killed. As he says this, Mitsuba's hand wraps around the hand Kou is grabbing him by the scarf with, holding it in his own as Kou releases his scarf.
Kou stares at him with his mouth agape before clenching it shut. His gaze darkens, and he drops his gaze from Mitsuba. After a pause, he rhetorically asks if Mitsuba wants Kou to exorcise him that much--and then rather humorously calls him a "masochist," a pissed-off expression on his face. Mitsuba, clearly caught off-guard, repeats what Kou said in disbelief... and shouts at Kou not to accuse people of being perverts (and also asks if Kou even knows what "masochist" means.) Kou tells him to "Shut up, masochist," and as he gets up from the floor, says he will exorcise Mitsuba--but only if Mitsuba can beat him. Likewise, if Kou wins, that means Mitsuba has to do whatever he says. Their competition earlier to find the biggest fish in the aquarium was a tie, so this match will be the tiebreaker, he explains.
Switching scenes, Kou and Mitsuba are back in the main area of the aquarium. They're on the second floor, looking over a railing and watching as a bunch of skeletal supernatural fish swimming around. There's a sign clearly labelled "exit" in the background. Mitsuba remarks on how many man-eating fish there are, and Kou says there's too many for them to leave without being spotted--so they should just clear them all out on the way out. He says that this will be their competition, too: whoever defeats the most fish is the winner.
Both Mitsuba and Kou are cool with this, but Kou has one qualm. Mitsuba's been weakened after falling apart, and Kou worries the match won't be as fair because of that. He suggests that Mitsuba gets a handicap, like adding 10 points to Mitsuba's score at the end when they're tallying points. As Kou says this, however, Mitsuba's scarf lashes out to attack one of the supernatural fish. The scarf slams the fish against the wall--causing the wall to crack--and he holds the defeated fish up with his scarf as Kou's face pales. Mitsuba calls Kou a "noob," and says that the very idea of a handicap is laughable to him.
Confused, Kou says he thought Mitsuba was weak, and Mitsuba doesn't deny this. But he does tell him that he only has five minutes at full strength before he falls apart--which will be their time limit. Mitsuba confidently smirks at Kou, while Kou shoots him an uneasy smile back.
Their hands gripping the rail, Kou and Mitsuba both leap over it as Kou officially calls for the match to begin. Fish immediately begin charging at them, and Kou deflects one with his raiteijou staff. Electricity begins coursing through it, and Kou wields it like a trident to skewer three of them. As he prepares to charge at another, Mitsuba hops on Kou's head and steals his kill. Kou, dismayed, tells him such, and Mitsuba calls him a slowpoke. This pisses Kou off, and he slams raiteijou in the ground to cause a burst of electricity--one that chars several fish, and also Mitsuba himself.
Collapsed on the floor with the burnt fishies, Mitsuba questions why Kou would attack someone who's already weakened. Kou retorts by saying it shouldn't matter, because Mitsuba wants to be exorcised. Outraged, Mitsuba doesn't deny it, but tells him he doesn't want it to hurt when it happens.
Getting up--his hair a little askew--Mitsuba asks Kou how many fish he's gotten. Mitsuba says he's at twenty, which surprises Kou, who only has fifteen. Kou, unable to look him in the eyes as he's doing so, lies and tells Mitsuba that he has one hundred. Mitsuba immediately sees through his lie, saying that there weren't even that many fish there in the first place. Kou yells back, telling Mitsuba that "He won't lose," and Mitsuba tries to tell him to "Keep this fair and square...," but trails off as he notices a shadow fall over them.
The manta ray from before is back, but this time it has a much more ghastly appearance. Notably, there is a single giant, human-like eye on the underside of it, and its tail is now spiky. Kou questions if the ray was a supernatural all along, too, and Mitsuba grows quiet and contemplative. After a pause, Mitsuba says they should switch up the rules of the competition and decide the winner by whoever defeats the ray. He elaborates by saying they need a tiebreaker, and that the ray looks like a "final boss." Kou doesn't have a chance to respond before Mitsuba's already made up his mind, and yells at Mitsuba that he didn't agree to this. But Mitsuba's already chasing the ray, and a supernatural gets in Kou's way before he can run after him.
Mitsuba lands on the ray, where we can see that several more less-human eyes are on the topside of it. Clenching his hand and scarf into fists, Mitsuba apologizes before he slams the scarf into one of the eyeballs--but the ray begins flapping its wings before it can connect, causing Mitsuba to lose his balance. The penguin keychain then falls off of Mitsuba's person, and before Mitsuba can catch it, the ray's writhing tail slices it in half. As Mitsuba mourns the keychain, Kou warns him to watch out behind him, but it's too late: the ray's tail stabs Mitsuba through the foot. The ray then uses its tail to slam Mitsuba into the wall, pinning him there.
As Mitsuba hangs there helplessly, the ray charging at him, he thinks about how he wouldn't mind dying here... but he uses his scarf to slice the ray's tail, freeing him from the trap, and makes it clear that he wants Kou to do it instead. He then knocks the ray into the ceiling, where it falls to the floor defeated. Mitsuba falls, too, and Kou rushes to his side and asks if he's okay. He groans, and says that he is... before flashing Kou a peace sign, smugly informing him that he won.
As Mitsuba gloats about how strong he is, the ray begins making splurching noises. Suddenly, its wide open mouth looms over Mitsuba, giving a clear view of its rows of spiky teeth. Within the mouth there are also several human-like shapes reaching their hands out to grab Mitsuba. Turning around, Mitsuba is strangely calm as he registers what's happening, and doesn't put up a fight as the mouth and arms encroach on him. But Kou springs into action, charging in to stab the ray and electrocute it with his raiteijou.
Mitsuba is shocked, his backside hitting the floor, as Kou turns back to him with an unreadable expression on his face. Mitsuba jumps when he does so, and shuts his eyes with a wince as Kou's hand flies at him. When he opens his eyes, however, Mitsuba sees that Kou was only flashing a peace sign at him. A cheerful grin on his face, Kou tells Mitsuba he won.
The scene changes to the outside of the aquarium, where it's still nighttime. Kou kicks at a door until it flies off its hinges, and we see him carrying Mitsuba piggyback-style out of the aquarium. They bicker a little as they leave, and then they hear a rumbling noise behind them. Turning around, the two of them watch as the aquarium reveals its true form as a fish before sinking away into the ground. Kou and Mitsuba react with shock before they both decide to get moving.
Later, Mitsuba and Kou are walking down a sidewalk next to a street full of cars, similar to the road they were walking on in Chapter 98. Mitsuba asks Kou what he thinks Mitsuba should do, and Kou responds by asking Mitsuba if he still wants Kou to exorcise him, his face unreadable. Mitsuba confirms, saying that it's hard to stay in Near Shore because he doesn't have a family, someone he has a crush on, or friends. Teru shows up when Mitsuba says "family," Nene for "someone he has a crush on," and Yokoo and Satou for "friends"--all true for Kou. Unlike Kou, Mitsuba has no reason to cling to the Near Shore without any--let alone one--of those things.
Kou contemplates this for a moment, before he gets an idea: "The School Festival." He asks Mitsuba if he's ever heard of it, and that preparations for the festival begin around when the second school term starts. Mitsuba goes on to detail what he knows of it, saying that classes will host haunted houses, cafes, or put on performances like theater shows or plays, and that everyone does a dance during the closing party afterward. As Mitsuba describes this, we see a glimpse of Kamome Academy's school festival in full swing, where several students are seen in silly costumes. One is dressed like a vampire, and another is in a cat costume with a maid dress on. We also see a tiny panel of a play with a prince on one knee holding out his hand to a princess, and several little stickers representing the events--like one of a guitar, one with cafe food, a ghost, a hitodama, and some other miscellaneous food stickers.
Kou is impressed, telling Mitsuba that he knows a lot about it, and asks Mitsuba how going to the festival with him sounds. He tells him they can hang out there and he promises to hang out with him. Mitsuba reacts with shock, and Kou gets defensive, asking him what the big deal is. In an accusatory tone, Mitsuba asks Kou if he doesn't have anyone else to go with, and Kou shouts that he does, clearly annoyed. He tells Mitsuba to just shut up and do what he says, and Mitsuba half-heartedly agrees--but he's smiling as he does so.
As Kou continues to piggyback Mitsuba down the street, Mitsuba informs him that he's hungry. Kou does not respond.
Characters in order of appearance[]
- Minamoto Kou
- Mitsuba Sousuke
- Minamoto Teru (mentioned)
- Yashiro Nene (mentioned/appears in Chapter 100 celebration comic)
- Yokoo and Satou (mentioned)
- Hanako-kun (appears for the Chapter 100 celebration)
- Yugi Tsukasa (appears for the Chapter 100 celebration)
- Mokke (appears in Chapter 100 celebration comic)