Needless to say, there are still plenty of unanswered questions here. That’s what happens when pretty much the entire cast (with two prominent exceptions) are brimming with hidden agendas in everything they do. But the boundaries of the current situation seem to be pretty clearly established. And it seems as if Hanako-kun is going back into dark matter mode, where he’s spent most of the second season (both cours). The current situation obviously can’t hold or we don’t have a story – at least not the one this series seems set up to tell. But it may be a while before things return to a semblance of Hanako-kun normalcy.

In short, this all comes down to severance (and nobody even has a real job). It’s not a term used before in the series to my recollection, but both Hanako and Teru-nii drop it here. The gist of it is Aoi’s sacrifice – by staying behind on the far shore, she fulfils the oracle’s role and thus, connections between the two worlds at the school are closed. That means the seven wonders, all apparitions, even the mokke disappear. Severance. And Hanako certainly acts as if there’s nothing he can do about it.

In a sense, one could argue Hanako-kun was cruel in telling Nene how her life was extended. In his defense when he did so he thought he was just about to wipe her memories. But the charm Sumire (who also got severed) gave Nene stopped him from doing that. Hanako-kun admits flat out that he would have liked a life with Nene – not overtly romantically (if that’s even possible) but the implication is certainly there. But that’s all moot now, as he’s in the process of shattering. His existence will go on, but not in the world Nene inhabits.

Meanwhile Teru is definitely taking the cruel-to-be-kind approach with Akane. He was right not to tell him of Aoi’s fate when they were on the other side – Akane would never have returned. Right now what Akane needs is medical attention, and Teru makes sure in direct terms that he’ll get it. He also tells his kouhai that there’s no way for him to re-use the path he used before – now that the severance has happened, it’s completely closed. As is every possible path from the school to the boundary. It’s a bitter pill for Akane, but one he has no choice but to swallow. For now…

But again, a duplicitous nature is a common bond among most of these characters, and Teru always has an ulterior motive. When he shows up, Akane in tow, to ask the very depressed Nene out on a date, you know it’s not really a date. That said he does seem genuinely interested in trying to cheer her up. Akane is  of course salty as cured ham at his beloved’s life having gone to lengthen Nene’s lifespan. But of course that’s not her fault, and she didn’t ask for it. In his own artless way Teru is clearly trying to get these two to mend fences and be a support to each other, each of them having lost their most important entity.

That ulterior motive reveals itself when the trio end their date back at the Minamoto house. Kou has been distinctly silent and mostly offscreen as all this plays out, and he’s shunted off to the kitchen as Teru explains himself and sets about seeing if Akane and Nene are fit to join him in what he plans next. That’s a rescue of Aoi, it seems – Akane correctly deduces that was why Teru gave her the protective charm. And he also deduces that even if all the paths leading through the school are closed, that doesn’t mean there might not be paths outside it. It’s not clear whether Kou overheard all this, but it seems very likely that’s what he wanted to discuss with Nene. As sure as Teru would want Kou to have no part of what comes next, Kou will do anything to make sure he is.