Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
As much as the series handles the dark subject of letting supernatural ghosts coexist with humans, it does not stop the heartwarming moments from coming.
Manga
- As short of an arc it is, what really started the Ship Tease between Hanako and Yashiro is the aftermath of the so-called confession in the end of the Confession Tree Arc (Chapter 8 of the manga, episode 5 of the anime). Hanako initially is going about his teasing as always, laughing about Yashiro taking his confession seriously, but falters once he sees that Yashiro is crying. He immediately backtracks in Stunned Silence, and after Yashiro gives him a What the Hell, Hero? for giving her mixed signals, Hanako actually falters. Grabbing her hand and lowering his hat, Hanako gives his first heartfelt apology in the series.
- Chapters 9-10, where Kou's friendship with Hanako is developed. As much as he loves his brother, when Teru is threatening Hanako simply for being a violent apparition, Kou stands up against his brother for what is implied to be the first time ever, breaking away from the prayer beads that were keeping him tied up while expressing his desire to learn more about apparitions. He even vows to exorcise Hanako himself in case of any future danger, which Teru can do nothing but back down in respect.
- The entirety of Chapter 29 which was skipped over in the anime, where Yashiro kisses Hanako on the cheek. In a Callback to their time in Number 2's territory, she tells him it was a magic spell to help him feel better which is an Ironic Echo considering it is all but said that Hanako was quiet from his thinking about Yashiro's low lifespan, resulting in the both of them blushing.
- Hanako's hug to Yashiro from behind in Chapter 36 (shown also in the last episode of the anime), where he expresses how he was worried about her during her time stuck in the Hell of Mirrors. The manga and anime both sell the Ship Tease in how Hanako plays with Yashiro's hair and shown to be actively blushing the entire time.
- As a Tearjerker as the Picture Perfect Arc is, the story gives us an active view into what the world would be like if Hanako, Mitsuba, and Tsukasa were alive and attending the same school as our protagonists. Hanako gets to ask Yashiro on a real date, Mitsuba is remembered by everyone in his class and gets to be a friend to Kou as he wished he could've been, and Tsukasa gets to be a doting younger brother. It doesn't make the arc any less tragic, but the glimpses of what a world like that would've been is sweet.
- Adding onto this, the entirety of Hanako and Yashiro's final confrontation in Chapters 57-59. Yashiro is finally confronted with the fact that Hanako didn't want to keep Yashiro in Number 4's boundary forever and merely grew so attached to her that he wanted her to keep living in spite of her short lifespan. Yashiro actively understands this and references Tsuchigomori's words from the 4 PM Bookstacks arc about the moon, proceeding to ask Hanako to go with her to the moon.
