Mitsukou

"Who knows? Something important to me... Maybe?"

- Mitsuba to Kou

Mitsukou is the slash ship between Mitsuba Sousuke and Minamoto Kou from the Toilet-bound Hanako-kun fandom.

Mitsuba
Prior to the story, Sousuke and Kou were former friends and classmates in junior high. They weren't best friends, per se, but due to sitting in name order, Sousuke sat in front of Kou. They seemed to get along well and became friends fairly quickly. Sousuke ended up moving classes, however, and later died in a car accident while going out to buy potatoes for his mother's birthday curry. Sousuke reappears as an apparition, though his new look differs from that of his middle school appearance. He roams the school entrance, and reaches out to those he remembers asking if they remember him, though he looks more like a silhouette. When Sousuke reaches out to Kou, Kou grabs his hand and knocks him back into a locker, revealing Sousuke's true form. Kou didn't recognize him, but he did recognize Sousuke's middle school uniform.

At the time, Kou had made up his mind to only exorcise spirits that cause harm to others, so he had spared Sousuke and decided to help him get rid of his regrets instead. Initially, the two did not get along. Sousuke constantly lashed rude nicknames at Kou, his favorite being "Hella-lame-traffic-safety-earring boy" in which he'd refer to Kou on multiple occasions. He'd also assume Kou was trying to "do pervy things to him," resulting in Kou getting called a pervert often. In return, Kou thought Sousuke was rude and obnoxious, though he helped Sousuke rid of his regrets anyway.

At first, Sousuke refused to answer any questions that Kou had, leading to Kou threatening him to get answers. Eventually, Kou learned that there was a picture Sousuke wanted to take when he was alive, so Kou decides to help him take that picture. That was when Kou's friend, Yokoo stops by to say hello to Kou. Yokoo notices the camera Kou is holding and said it belonged to Sousuke, and gave some insight on who he was. This helped Kou remember Sousuke, and he felt bad for not recognizing him at first. Sousuke then tells Kou "I reached out to everyone who I thought was my friend, but nobody recognized me... only, I remembered them." It began to rain, so the two decided to head inside together, taking the stairs to the top floor. On the stairs, Sousuke reveals that he was bullied in elementary for being too "girly" or "cocky," so he decided to build a new persona in middle school. He was nice to everyone, but nobody noticed him. He wasn't bullied, but he didn't make any real friends. When he died, nobody seemed to notice or care. Kou then reassures Sousuke that he'll remember him as a boy who was "cocky, girly, selfish, sarcastic, had an annoying voice, obsessed with his camera, went emo sometimes, and a faker" and that he needs to be himself to make friends.

When Sousuke asks if they could have been friends if he was alive, Kou tells him that it doesn't matter if he were alive or dead, because they could still be friends. Sousuke then takes a picture of Kou, and when asked what he was shooting, Sousuke smiles brightly and responds with "Who knows? It's something important to me.. Maybe?" before changing the subject and rushing Kou to go inside. Before they enter the building, however, Sousuke stops Kou, presses his head up against his back and says "The photo will be ready tomorrow, just stay with me until then, and I think I'll be okay," to which Kou agrees, saying they should pick things up tomorrow.

When Tsukasa finds out about their friendship, he was confused to see Sousuke satisfied with just one friend and revealed that Sousuke had wished to make friends, and to be with those friends. Tsukasa had granted his wish, but "his way" - changing Mitsuba's rumors, unwillingly changing him into the "Bent-Necked Boy" - a spirit that would break one's neck if they didn't remember his name. Tsukasa attempted to get Sousuke to kill Kou, but Hanako had saved Kou before that could happen. In a less distorted form, Sousuke was left lifeless, and unable to go back to normal. This deeply affects Kou, who's left with nothing but Sousuke's camera as a memory. He swore he'd never forgive Tsukasa for what he did.



Hell of Mirrors
In the Hell Of Mirrors arc, Mitsuba appears as a completely different being with no memories of Kou. Kou is confused when he sees this Mitsuba since he had previously died in his arms, but is overall relieved and tries his best to help him out. This "new Mitsuba" was made by Tsukasa from the concoction of weak spirits that have nearly disappeared and a piece of Mitsuba's soul. This Mitsuba is a new person with no memories, and the Mitsuba that was once human is gone forever, but this doesn't discourage Kou. Instead he crouches on the railing over a steep drop and pulls the new No.3 close to him, staring at him closely (as per usual, Mitsuba accuses Kou of being "enchanted by [his] adorable visage"). Kou continues staring at him and decides to finally speak, saying, "You... don't remember me?" Taken aback, Mitsuba responds, "Who are you...?". Although the question shocks Kou, it never discourages him. He reintroduces himself, vigorously telling Mitsuba to remember his name before giving him the Gardening club Records book that had the previous Mitsuba's photos in it.

Picture Perfect
Tsukasa makes Shijima Mei, school mystery No. 4, create a fake world where Hanako, Tsukasa, and Mitsuba are alive and every other somewhat supernatural beings are normal. Unaware he was placed into a fake world, Kou wakes up and walks into class early for morning duty and is shocked to be met face to face with Mitsuba, who was wearing the male Kamone Gakuen school uniform and appeared to be completely human. Mitsuba playfully scolds Kou for being late for morning duty and whines about how mean it was to leave a cute person such as himself to do all the work while attacking him with a dry eraser. Mitsuba eventually gets into an accident when his science experiment explodes, injuring his hand. Kou rushes over to wash and bandage it, then walks him down the hallway, holding his hand, to take him to the nurses office. Mitsuba decides to tease him, declaring that he could've gone by himself, and that Kou was being a "worry-wart."

Next time Mitsuba and Kou are seen together, they're cleaning the pool together with the other students. They seem to be having a genuinely good time, playing in the hose together and such. Earlier, when Kou and Nene had spotted each other, they run excitedly towards each other as Hanako and Mitsuba looked at their friends jealously. Later, when Nene and Kou were sitting on a bench discussing the fake world over some canned beverages, Mitsuba interrupts, complaining about Kou not giving him a drink.

In chapters 47 and 48, their relationship really begins to blossom. They meet on Mei's tower, away from the other students to watch shooting stars. Kou attempts to explain that in order to leave this fake world, he'd have to kill Mitsuba. Mitsuba was upset that Kou wanted to go back - he was happy here. Mitsuba changes into his real form - his No. 3 attire - as he shows that he has the power to present the past by looking through mirrors. He claims that Kou doesn't really care about him because he's a fake, and that it's the other Mitsuba that truly matters. He smashes the window, and the blow knocks Kou back before he could deny it. Mitsuba talks about how he had fun in this fake world - cleaning the pool with everyone, making cookies - and cries when he says it'd be even more fun if it were real. Mitsuba tries telling Kou that it doesn't matter, that in this world they could pretend the original Mitsuba never even died, and that they could live happily here forever. He conclusively asks Kou to be his friend again while holding out a trembling hand. However, Kou asserts that Mitsuba will never find true happiness in a fake world, causing more tension to build. They get involved in a fight but soon after Mitsuba calms down and he admits his wishes of wanting to be alive- eventually crying out, "You're human! You could never understand how I feel!!!" With Mitsuba's hand in his grasp, Kou promptly offers to give up his life- "Then I can be with you forever." He pulls Mitsuba down with him, and two of them fall from the building until Mitsuba quickly acts to save him. Furthermore, in this arc Mitsuba even gathers some courage to protect Kou from Hanako; in past chapters he was quite intimidated and afraid of him.

Study Camp
During the school sleepover, Mitsuba shows growing concern for Kou and his behavior. Something is clearly bothering him, and so he tries to get Kou to vent to him. Before he can, Natsuhiko's screams are heard in the distance- cutting their talk short. Later on, Kou shares that he wants to become stronger like Natsuhiko and his older brother. There's a pause, and he adds, "But... I don't want want any more regrets." His gaze shifts towards Mitsuba's sleeping body.

Loss
In chapter 74, after Kou had revealed that he knows how to become a supernatural, Nene assumes it’s by dying. Kou immediately laughs and brushes it off, saying it was a “dumb conversation” before trying to leave. Concerned, Nene grabs Kou's arm and asks him if something happened; Kou's mind instantly flashes to Mitsuba’s disappearing body during the severance. He's interrupted before he has the chance to explain. Downstairs, Akane asks Kou and Nene to look for something deeply connected to Mitsuba to open a path to his boundary, which stuns Kou. "Didn't you get along with him?" Akane adds. The next day, the two set out on their journey to search for clues until they end up at Mitsuba's graveyard, where they run into his mother. They spend some time in Mitsuba's mother's home, where she reminisces her memories with him and the events leading up to his death. Kou comes to the realization that Mitsuba Sousuke really is gone, forever.

As the two are making their way back, Kou tries to cope with Mitsuba's death, calling Mitsuba an idiot for leaving to buy potatoes. When he insults Mitsuba one last time, he says it with a very pained and exhausted expression before breaking down and weeping. Nene comforts him.

The Red House
In chapter 77, while Kou is searching for Nene, he discovers that the Red House reflects his desires. Him and Tsukasa make several encounters before abruptly running into Mitsuba. This Mitsuba, another one of the Red House's illusions, tries to coax Kou by telling him how helpless and vulnerable he is, that he's "no good without [him]", "[he's] all that [he has]." Mitsuba then directly asks Kou to die and join him as a supernatural, mirroring his desires from chapter 48. Kou is taken aback by this. He's brought back to his senses when Mitsuba claims that he believes in him, slapping his hand back professing, "Mitsuba doesn't believe in someone like me...!" before running away.

Nightlife
After the firework party, Teru sends Kou out to take care of a low-level apparition. When Kou almost accidentally exorcises a cat, Mitsuba appears behind him and tells him that he is looking the wrong way. Kou is excited to see that Mitsuba is okay, and he talks about how worried he was after the severanace. Mitsuba cuts off Kou and says that he isn't okay at all, but Mitsuba quickly changes the topic by asking Kou to hang out with him. When Kou tries to ask Mitsuba what he meant, Mitsuba disregards his question and says he wants to do things he's never tried before while they hang out. Mitsuba asks Kou to take him somewhere, and if he has fun then he'll tell Kou anything he wants to know. Though Kou doesn't have time to hang out, he has a lot of questions he wants to ask Mitsuba. So, he agrees, saying that Mitsuba will have "so much fun [he'll] die!!".

After Kou's failed plan of playing the game "Red light, green light" with Mitsuba, Kou makes a groupchat with Nene, Teru, Akane, and Aoi in it to ask what a good place for a night out is. The group make the immediate assumption that Kou is out on a date with someone. While Kou makes sandcastles with an uninterested Mitsuba, Nene and Aoi text Kou places he can go for his "date". Nene reccomends an amusement park for dates, Aoi says the zoo. Kou denies that it's a date to himself while considering his options with no avail. Mitsuba points over to a lit up and sparkly building in the distance, which turned out to be an aquarium. Kou gets a free ticket in, but questions if there was always an aquarium in that area. The two go in together and Kou brushes off his suspicions of the place. After discovering it's both their first time in an aquarium, excitedly, Mitsuba and Kou immediately challenge each other to a contest to find the biggest fish, claiming that the loser will a punishment. Mitsuba finds a shark, and Kou finds a sea lion. The two bicker on whether or not a sea lion counts as a fish, but they both get distracted by a giant stingray. They both agree it's the winner.

After exploring the aquarium more, they go to the rest area with a sea creature gachapon machine. Mitsuba asks Kou for money to get a sea creature key holder from the machine, Kou begrudgingly gives him money but says that Mitsuba needs to pay him back. After inserting the money, Mitsuba wins a giant isopod key holder, that Mitsuba is pretty disappointed with. When Kou tries his luck, he wins the "super-sized" penguin key holder. Mitsuba tells Kou that he's lucky and hit the jackpot, so after Kou confirms that Mitsuba likes penguins he offers to trade key holders. Mitsuba teases Kou by saying that Kou is gross when he is being nice to him. But Mitsuba then smiles, appreciative of the gift while he tells Kou that hanging out at the aquarium has been pretty fun. Kou turns away blushing, agreeing with Mitsuba and says that he is glad Mitsuba is having fun.

While Mitsuba is about to tell Kou the truth about what happened, they are interrupted when a giant anglerfish apparition starts attacking people. Kou discovers that everyone at the aquarium are ghosts, and he tries to run with Mitsuba to get out of the aquarium. But while running away, Kou looks back to his hand to see Mitsubas hand has been detatched. Mitsuba is shown to be on the floor, falling apart with the weaker supernaturals he was made with showing through him. Mitsuba apologizes to Kou, and says that he doesn't think he can move anymore.

Kou brings Mitsuba to the employee's pathway of the aquarium and wakes him up. Kou explains how everyone turned out to be supernaturals, and he also says that him and Mitsuba need to find a way to escape. Before they escape, Kou demands that Mitsuba tells him what's going on. Mitsuba explains that the severance caused him to entirely fall apart but Tsukasa helped return him to normal. Kou asks if there's anything they can do, but Mitsuba can only get stronger by eating other supernaturals. Mitsuba admits that he's a monster when he only wanted to be human. Mitsuba also admits that he came over the Minamoto residence to be exorcised. Kou is about to ask about it, but Mitsuba plays it off as a joke and begins looking for the exit. Kou is able to tell that Mitsuba wasn't joking. He calls the situation stupid and leaves. Mitsuba cannot chase after Kou due to his weak state, so he accepts that it's the end and looks at the penguin key holder that Kou gave him.

After some explosions, Kou comes back with the heart of a supernatural, and he tells Mitsuba to eat it. Mitsuba doesn't want to eat it so Kou tries forcing Mitsuba to eat it, and the two fight. Kou puts his hand in Mitsuba's mouth in an attempt to open it, which causes Mitsuba to bite his hand. Mitsuba tells Kou to stay away from him after he admits that he doesn't only eat supernaturals. Kou asks why Mitsuba puts his faith in Tsukasa while he thinks Kou is weak and undependable.

Mitsuba yells at Kou to give it up, but he's shocked when Kou starts crying. Mitsuba apologizes if it was because he bit Kou, but Kou only hides his face and tells Mitsuba not to look at him. Mitsuba eats the supernatural heart and starts comforting Kou.

Kou starts insulting Mitsuba despite the fact that he's crying. Kou says that it doesn't matter if Mitsuba sucks or if he's a monster because it'd be trouble for him if Mitsuba was gone. Kou tries rephrasing what he said because Mitsuba being gone would mean his troubles would disappear. Mitsuba tries to tease Kou by saying Kou would be lonely without him. Kou is then in a visibly worse and miserable state. He puts his head in his arms and denies Mitsuba's claim.

Kou remains like that for a while: shaking, vulnerable, and too afraid to face Mitsuba. When he does lift his head again, he’s only met with Mitsuba snickering back at him. Mitsuba admits that Kou’s sudden show of tears was, to Kou’s horror, pretty amusing to him. After a round of bickering, name-calling (“You want to be exorcised by me that badly? You… mega masochist.”), and Kou nearly crying again, he finally agrees to exorcise Mitsuba. On one condition, though. He has to beat him at a game. Since their “find the biggest fish” competition ended in a draw, Kou calls for overtime. Now, they have to kill the most supernatural fish to win.

If Mitsuba wins, Kou has to exorcise him for good. And if Kou wins, Mitsuba must shoulder the burden of living another day, plus listen to whatever Kou tells him.

The game begins and Mitsuba kills supernaturals with ease, quickly taking on a 5-point lead. But Kou is dead set on winning. After lying about having 100 points, he and Mitsuba spot the manta ray-turned-supernatural that tied their game earlier. Mitsuba decides to revise the rules, calling the manta ray the “big boss” and declaring that whoever kills it is automatically the winner. He’s mounted on it before Kou can even protest.

Mitsuba’s penguin keychain slips away from him, and he helplessly watches the manta ray’s tail shatter it. It circles around and pierces through his foot, sending him plowing into the walls. He seriously considers letting these be his final moments.

Despite that, he whisks around and frees himself, because he’d rather share those final moments with Kou.

Ramming the ray into the ceiling, they both fall to the ground and Mitsuba declares himself the winner. However, in a matter of seconds, the seemingly lifeless supernatural creeps up on Mitsuba with its jaws wide open, ready to devour him. Kou protects him by dealing the final blow—making him the winner.

They finally break out of the aquarium and make their way back, Kou carrying Mitsuba on his back. On the way, Mitsuba explains how he has nothing to live for. Kou finds a reason for him; he promises they’ll go to the upcoming school festival together.

Omen
In Chapter 102, Mitsuba is seen running from Kou after stealing one of the signs from his class's school play. He hides behind some stage props and asks Nene to cover for him, which she does. Mitsuba ends up accompanying Nene to the craft store. Nene says that she didn't know Mitsuba could go off-campus and asks if he'd been out before. Mitsuba replies that he'd been to the aquarium with Kou once before this. Nene takes interest in this and remembers that Kou said he needed ideas for good places to take someone out and how she thought he was on a date with someone at the time.

After purchasing all the items Nene needed at the craft store, the two get ice cream afterwards. Mitsuba brings up Nene's relationship with Hanako out of the blue. Asking her how far they've gone - whether or not they've held hands or kissed yet - and then tells Nene that she and Kou are both idiots and that they should know that supernaturals and humans can't stay together forever. Nene asks Mitsuba if something happened between him and Kou, and Mitsuba starts to talk about how their night out to the aquarium went; that it was the worst. That the aquarium was haunted, that Kou got angry with him and was rough with him, mentioning that Kou cried and that he didn't even do the one thing Mitsuba wanted him to do, but then blushes and says that he still had a lot of fun and that no matter what he does he just can't bring himself to dislike Kou.

In Chapter 103, Mitsuba calls Kou a closet psychopath, and right after, Kou and Hanako suddenly appear behind Mitsuba. Mitsuba tries running away from them but Kou grabs him by his scarf. Later on, Hanako asks Nene what she was doing with Mitsuba and Mitsuba says that they were on a "date" to make Hanako jealous. It works, but for some reason, Kou is also mad, threatening to plaster Mitsuba on his class's billboard.

Twitter Events
Mitsuba makes Valentines day friendship chocolate for Kou with a secret ingredient to get along better. Those that eat the ingredient will be physically stuck together. Him and Kou sit down together on a bench to eat the chocolate, Kou smiles as he thanks Mitsuba and compliments the chocolate he made. As Mitsuba wonders what the secret ingredient was, he and Kou are pulled together. The two are inseparable and try to push each other away. Kou comments that his body is like a magnet, and Mitsuba calls Kou a pervert and calls for help.

Moments

 * As a running gag in the series, Mitsuba frequently assumes Kou is a pervert that is attracted to him because he's so cute.
 * There was a scene in the manga where the two were sitting under a tree and Kou asked if Mitsuba was into any girls when he was alive. Mitsuba said no, his reasoning being "I was way cuter than any girl!"
 * The original Mitsuba Sousuke died in Kou's arms in an emotional scene, holding his hand. Kou held onto Mitsuba's camera as a memory.
 * When Kou found Mitsuba's name in the credits of the gardening club's records, Kou carried the book with him until he found Mitsuba in the Hell Of Mirrors. He gave the book to him, and Mitsuba held onto it.
 * After seeing him go with Tsukasa, it became Kou's goal to save Mitsuba from him.
 * In the Picture Perfect arc, Yokoo and Satou tell Kou that he and Mitsuba have been great friends for a while.
 * The two had a playful "dry-eraser" battle when Mitsuba got mad at Kou for being late to morning duty.
 * Kou believed that Mitsuba made a wish to be human and Tsukasa granted it, so he angrily ordered Mitsuba to take off his uniform. Mitsuba took this the wrong way and called him a pervert. Later, Yokoo and Satou bring it up.
 * During chapter 77, child Tsukasa asked Kou if he likes Mitsuba, and in the previous chapters he had asked Kou the same question but instead with Nene (who Kou had a crush on). Tsukasa also asked Nene if she was dating Hanako back in the tea party arc.
 * In recent chapters, it is heavily implied that Kou is still considering dying to become a supernatural solely for Mitsuba's sake.
 * Morning glories are closely associated with Kou and Mitsuba and are often seen in scenes with them, as when taking pictures, morning glories are seen in the bushes and are decorated around certain panels together. In Chinese folklore, morning glories are said to be "the one day lovers meet." This references the one day Kou and Mitsuba met at the lockers, but Mitsuba was only there for one day.
 * Kou's preferred type is said to be someone with a cute smile. In most of Kou's flashbacks to his moments with Mitsuba, Mitsuba is beaming. Kou also blushes at Mitsuba in ch 98, "Nightlife (part 1)" after Mitsuba smiles at him.

Quotes
"Even if it's only in this world, be my friend, and stay by my side..."

- Mitsuba to Kou in Perfect Picture Arc

"I did think... that if Mitsuba were alive in this world... then it wouldn't be so bad. I would have been so happy."

- Kou in Perfect Picture Arc

"Want me to die? Then I can be with you forever."

- Kou to Mitsuba in Perfect Picture Arc

Fanon
Mitsukou is one of the most popular ships within its fandom, along with Hananene. Mitsukou is normally shipped alongside Hananene and oftentimes paralleled with the ship. Most fans ship Mitsukou because of their really close relationship growing in so little time, and their interactions in Perfect Picture Arc fueled the ship even more. On AO3, Mitsukou is the second most written ship in the Toilet-bound Hanako-kun tag and the most written ship for both characters, with currently over 990 works written. There is also plenty of fanart for the pairing.

Mitsukou is called "光ミツ" and "⚡☘️" among Japanese fans. In the western fandom, ship names like Sousukou and Soukou are sometimes used to refer to the ship between Kou and Sousuke before Tsukasa "remade" Mitsuba.

From July 27-August 1, 2023, hosted a poll tournament of assorted ships took place. In the first round, Mitsukou went against Renga and won with 52.3% of the votes. In the second round, Mitsukou went against Serirei and barely won with 50.6% of the votes. The second round was what drew lots of attention towards Mitsukou, and the started trending during this round. In the third round, Mitsukou went against KawoShin and won with 51.6% of the votes. In the fourth round, Mitsukou went against YumiHisu and won with 58.1% of the votes. In the fifth round, Mitsukou went against MikaYuu and won with 57% of the votes. In the sixth and final round, Mitsukou went against Killugon and won with 56.9% of the votes, meaning that Mitsukou won the entire tourney.

Throughout 4URAVITY's tourney, many fans believed that Mitsukou wouldn't win since it went up against so many iconic and popular ships. However, fans also showed lots of support and spirit for the ship and were able to convince many people to vote for Mitsukou, mostly through quote retweets. Mitsukou fans expressed how it would be funny if Mitsukou won the tournament since not many people were a part of the Toilet-bound Hanako-kun fandom, but some fans of Mitsukou's opponents insulted Mitsukou fans and even accused Mitsukou fans of using bots for the tournament.

Mitsukou won the tourney on the first day of August; Mitsukou was speculated to be on the cover of Volume 20, was released in August; and Mitsukou weeks typically took place during the month of August. Because of these Mitsukou-related events happening during August, some fans have declared August to be Mitsukou's month.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * S. Mitsuba/Kou M. tag on FanFiction.Net
 * S. Mitsuba/Kou M. tag on FanFiction.Net
 * S. Mitsuba/Kou M. tag on FanFiction.Net

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Trivia

 * Their ship is referred to with the "⚡☘️", "🧣⚡️" and "🐧⚡️" emojis.
 * Kou's Japanese voice actor, Chiba Shoya, and Mitsuba's Japanese voice actor, Kobayashi Daiki, are good friends, just like the characters they voice.
 * Mitsuba died in a traffic accident while Kou wears a traffic safety amulet earring.

Variations

 * MitSaYoKou refers to the ship between the two, Satou Yomogi and Yokoo Shun
 * MitsuHanaKou refers to the ship between the two and Hanako
 * MitsuHanaKouNene refers to the ship between the two, Hanako and Yashiro Nene
 * MitsuKouKasa refers to the ship between the two and Yugi Tsukasa
 * MitsuKouNene refers to the ship between the two and Yashiro Nene