Iris Flower

"Are you oka… Of course you're not."

"No, that's not true."

He pulled Airi's hand and let her sit down for the time being as they made their way back to the house.

He had already called Kazuma and Momose and asked them to return from the rendezvous point.

He promised to explain the situation to them later, and he would be sure to do so thoroughly.

When Minato remained silent as he didn't know how to talk to her, Airi bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, I just lost my temper and went haywire."

Minato didn't want to argue with the boy about his appearance, because he had a point.

But to be honest, it made him happy that Airi was so angry towards that boy.

"No, that's okay. Thank you for being angry for me."

"Isn't that obvious?"

Naturally, Airi's words warmed his heart, but this was no time for Minato to be happy.

Since Minato was the cause of this incident in the first place, he would have to apologize on his end.

"I'm sorry too. If you hadn't strayed, none of this would have happened."

"No. As I said before, Minato-san came to see me, so it's fine."

Airi smiled slightly, but it was an awkward smile and not very lively.

Minato hated himself for not knowing what to do in such a situation.

"Minato-san. Did you know that I'm called the Ice Doll?"

"…Yeah."

"I see… Um, I know this isn't very interesting, but will you listen to me?"

"Of course."

She was called an ice doll and had overreacted, so there might be some trauma.

Minato had tried not to ask, but if Airi wanted to talk about it, he would listen, even if it wasn't interesting.

When Minato corrected his posture, Airi began to speak in a flat voice.

"Thank you. I have mentioned that I'm half blood, haven't I?"

"Yeah, you told me on the day of the sports festival."

"Well, let's start there. I don't know my mother's face. My father said she disappeared soon after I was born. My father didn't give me any details, only that they were divorced."

It was strange that her mother was not mentioned in Airi's family members, but it was understandable if she didn't know her in the first place.

It made sense that she had spoken of her mother as if she didn't know about her after the sports festival.

"Ever since I can remember, my father told me over and over again, 'You are a doll'. My mother was probably a very energetic person. I think he didn't want to be reminded of her, so he tried to get me to do the exact opposite."

"…That's a terrible thing."

The word 'over-interference' was almost too lenient.

He criticized Koji-san's actions in the softest way possible, but he thought that being told that she was not a person by her own father from an early age was more than just a 'terrible thing'.

"Yes, it is. However, I was practically neglected. As long as I was expressionless and emotionless, he never said anything to me, and he never abused me, although he looked at me in a disapproving way. Though I was never abused, I was hit if I inconvenienced him."

"That's abusive enough."

It's a big mistake to say that it's not abuse if there are no hands involved, and it's not okay to hit someone excessively for making you do something troublesome.

Being constantly hurt by words, as Airi was, is abuse enough.

She smiled wryly at Minato's follow-up and continued talking.

"The only thing I was ordered to do was to grow my hair out. I guess my mother had short hair. I was told that I looked like my mother, so I guess he didn't want me to look like her. But I think it also means that I'll look more like a doll."

"I see, so that's why you have it long."

"Yes. I was ordered to do it at first, so I didn't take care of it and it was shabby. Then, he got angry at me for being so unsightly."

Airi laughed to herself with " Fufu ," but the coercion was too much.

Minato, who lived with her, had seen how hard it was to grow and maintain her hair.

"I didn't want him to get angry, so I did my best to take care of it. It's a way to prove that I am a doll. …It's proof of my existence in a way."

Minato thought how painful it must have been for her to groom her long silver hair day in and day out, to keep seeing the proof of her existence as a doll.

It was probably a pain that Minato couldn't even imagine.

"…But the more I cared for it, the more I became attached to it. It's ironic, isn't it? That caring for the proof that I am a doll has become my only hobby. I don't even know what I feel about my hair anymore. I don't know if it's painful to take care of it or if I'm happy to be able to do my hobby, it's a confusing feeling."

"That's why you covered it up when I first asked you if you were obsessed with your hair."

"Yes."

Airi fished the edges of her mouth to form an awkward smile.

She must have mixed up her obligations and obsessions regarding her hair.

It was not Minato's right to say anything, but her smile was so painful that he tried to speak to her, but Airi opened her mouth first.

"Like that, I used to be a doll at home as much as possible. Then, as Minato-san knows, I also became like a doll at school to keep people away."

"..."

Airi gave a fragile smile that looked as if it would disappear at any moment.

It was not a story that could be told with a smile. And moreover, Airi was the one in question.

The expression on her face made it seem as if she had no choice but to smile, and it made his heart ache so much that he couldn't speak.

"Minato-san, my name comes from Iris. That's what my father told me when I was little."

"…Iris, is that the flower on the hairpin I gave you?"

"Yes."

Although he was amused by the sudden change of subject, Minato confirmed that it was when he had first given her a gift. The expression on Airi's face at that time was quite complicated, so he remembered it well.

"Ninomiya Iris, that's just laughable, isn't it? I wish they'd come up with a better name."

Airi's eyes were stagnant as she spoke of her name in a self-mocking manner.

She must have had a good reason for hating her name.

For a moment, he wondered if he should ask her about it, but the fact that she brought it up here suggested that she wanted him to listen.

"…Do you hate your name that much?"

"I hate it, I really hate it. Did you know? The meaning of the word 'iris' changes depending on the color of the flower."

"…Sorry, I'm not familiar with the meaning of flowers."

"No, that's normal. …Among all irises, the yellow iris means 'revenge'."

He was horrified by the language of the flower, which was so disturbing. He had never imagined that such a beautiful flower could mean such a word.

However, he couldn't see the relation between the yellow iris and Airi. It was a color one wouldn't imagine from the color of her hair, which was silver, or the color of her eyes, which were blue.

"Why is it yellow? Airi's image is silver or blue."

"I have Japanese blood in my veins. What is another name for the Japanese or Asian race? …The answer is the yellow race. See, it's a yellow iris, isn't it?"

"That's absurd. That's a bit too far-fetched."

"Maybe so. But I feel this way about it. 'Airi of the yellow race, Yellow Iris' exists because of someone's desire for revenge."

"…You're wrong."

"No, it's not wrong. I am a 'doll' born out of someone's desire for revenge. Either my mother gave birth to me and abandoned me to take some kind of revenge on my father, or I was raised as a doll to take revenge on my mother for abandoning my father and make her angry. Either way, It's the same."

"…That's not true."

"People told me today that I'm an ice doll. After all, I am an emotionless, expressionless, and revenge-oriented doll. This hair, eyes, face, and emotions are all parts that make up the doll that I am."

"You're wrong!"

Minato couldn't stand to watch Airi's dry, downcast voice, so he raised his voice.

Airi's body jumped, but Minato ignored her and grabbed her by the shoulders to turn her towards him.

He looked into her blue eyes, which had tears in them, and spoke to her, hoping she would understand.

"Airi is not a doll. I know her, I know her fun smile, her mischievous smile, and her happy smile. Someone with that kind of expression can't be a doll."

"I have nothing. I'm empty."

"You can't be empty. Empty people don't look like they're about to cry."

The smiles Minato had seen in their life together were so charming that he couldn't believe she was a doll. There was no way someone who looked like she was about to cry could be empty.

As if to deny Minato's words, Airi vigorously shook her head.

"I can't talk about anything fun. All I have is my looks."

"What was it like living with me then? It's true that we never laughed like idiots, and if you say you can't talk about anything fun, I can't either. But it was all fun for me. What about you?"

It might have been different if she had remained expressionless like when they first met, but Airi had brightened up.

She wouldn't admit that she wasn't really happy behind her cheerful expression. Minato could see that Airi's expression she showed to him was not made up.

"That's…"

"And you said it was all about looks. Don't joke that a kind girl like Airi is all about looks."

"But I am a doll, so I have to–"

"Don't be ridiculous. Don't you dare make fun of someone who cares about me as a doll! I'll tell you again, you are not a doll!"

He couldn't stand to see Airi continuing to hurt herself with her own words, so he couldn't help but hug her.

The warmth of her body could be felt in Minato. There was no way someone so warm could be a doll.

At first Airi was tense, as if she didn't know what was happening, but she relaxed and surrendered her body to Minato, burying her face in his chest.

"…Minato-san, I'll borrow your chest for a bit."

"Borrow all you want."

"I don't have to be a doll, do I?"

"Yeah, you don't have to be a doll."

"Will you accept me if I'm not a doll?"

"Of course."

"Minato-san, I… I…"

"Airi, it's fine now."

"Huahh…"

As he stroked her head in sympathy, he could hear her sobbing, as if she had reached the end of her patience.

Her voice soon became louder, and she cried out to Minato, hurling her words at him. It was as if she was letting out what she had been storing up until now.

"I'm not a doll! I don't want to be one!"

"I know."

"But they want me to be a doll! There's nothing I can do about it!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell you to be one."

"Why are you all denying me? I hate it. This hair, these eyes, everything!"

"Don't say that. I like it."

"Liar! You never told me any of that stuff!"

"I'm not lying. Airi, look up at me."

Minato let go of Airi, who was crying on his chest, and looked at her.

At close range, the bright blue color of her eyes, wet with tears, widened.

"I like your clear blue eyes, your wonderful silver hair, your ever-changing smile, and your gentle personality. …I didn't tell you because you didn't seem to like being praised too much."

"That's not true…"

"Let me say it again. You are not a doll."

"Minato-san. Mi-Minato-san."

"So, it's okay to cry. Dolls don't cry, so it's a sign that Airi is a person."

"Uh-huhh–"

Airi once again pressed her head against Minato's chest and began to cry, so he stroked her head again.

He wondered how much suffering she had accepted with her small body and frozen heart as she continued to cry in Minato's arms.

She was a girl who had been taught to be a doll. However, Minato could clearly tell that this was not the case.

He hoped she could be healed, at least for now. He was glad he was able to comfort Airi.

So Minato kept stroking her, despite the fact that she had fallen asleep from crying.