Kounene

"I might not be very helpful...but I'm on your side, Senpai!"

- Kou to Nene in Chapter 15

Kounene is the het ship between Yashiro Nene and Minamoto Kou from the Toilet-bound Hanako-kun fandom.

Canon
The day the two met, Kou tried to exorcist Hanako. Nene protected/defended Hanako, when Kou had looked at Nene—he blushed. Kou usually blushes and sometimes stutters around Nene hinting he has feelings for her. Eventually after the ”rocky start”, Nene and Kou got along well. They’re shown hanging out together and with Hanako.

In the Misaki Stairs Arc, he and Hanako protected Nene from Yako’s giant scissors. Kou made sure Yako’s moving dolls didn’t get near Nene. In the Clock Keeper Arc, Kou had been turned older by one of the supernaturals. When Kou was turned older, he looked like Teru. Nene didn’t want to “accidentally“ fall in love with him, so she tried to avoid him. In the Picture Perfect Arc, Nene and Kou noticed their supernatural/dead friends were students. They worked together to find out why they’re students when they’re supposed to be ghosts. When they had to clean the pools, they hoped to see each other so they can continue discussing. Nene and Kou were running towards each other for a hug.

Whenever Hanako teases her, Kou is quick to defend her. Whenever Nene is insecure about her obese ankles, Kou lets Nene know she’s still cute. He is obviously shown to be supportive of Nene.

Kou once pretended to be an awful cook so he can get Nene to help him make donuts for Hanako. He got really close to Nene and barely noticed, causing Nene to blush and tell him about it before he backed away in embarassment. Kou was also seen upset when he found out about Nene’s shorten lifespan. Since then he was more protective of Nene and wanted her life to have a good fate.

After School Hanako-Kun
Teru, Kou's brother, joins Nene, Kou, Hanako and Tsuchigomori in playing the Game of Kings in Day 2. Kou becomes king and, to cheer Nene up, tries to get Teru to pin Nene against the wall. Kou says the wrong number and a Mokke again pins Nene against the wall. From this interaction, it can be seen that Kou wants Nene to be happy, even if it means his brother is the one with Nene.

In Day 21, Akane asks Kou what he likes about Nene. Kou blushes and says that there's no need to worry about it, making Akane question if Kou secretly hates Nene and thinks she's an ugly radish. Kou denies what Akane said and says that Nene is cute. Akane thinks that Kou likes her face, but Kou says that it isn't just that. Kou tells Akane that Nene's screams are really cute.

Fanon
The ship Kounene is one of the "underrated” ships in TBHK. Since Hananene and Mitsukou are the beloved ships of the fandom, this ship have as much of a following as the aforementioned. It is implied that Kou has romantic feelings for Nene when he first meets her, but it isn't often seen as of now. Both have canonical love interests, as Kou may be interested in Nene but still loves Mitsuba (whether platonic or romantic), and Nene is in love with Hanako.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Kou/Yoshiro N. tag on FanFiction.net
 * Kou/Yoshiro N. tag on FanFiction.net
 * Kou/Yoshiro N. tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

TUMGIR
 * Nene x Kou tag on Tumgir

PIXIV

WIKIS
 * on
 * on

Trivia

 * During one of the arcs, Mirai forwarded Kou's time, and his appearance having been changed for him to look older, and like Teru. Nene has feelings for Teru, so she avoided getting close to him so that she did not fall for him.
 * Kou’s type is a person with a cute smile, which fits Nene's description.

Variations

 * HanaKouNene refers to the ship between the two and Hanako
 * MitsuHanaKouNene refers to the ship between the two, Mitsuba Sousuke and Hanako
 * MitsuKouNene refers to the ship between the two and Mitsuba Sousuke
 * TsuKouNene refers to the ship between the two and Yugi Tsukasa