Preparing To Go Out

"Minato-san, you don't have work today, right? Would you mind going shopping with me?"

On a summer vacation morning when he had nothing special to do, he heard the words he thought he would never hear from Airi.

Sure, he didn't have a part-time job today, but she was supposed to hate going out, so he wondered what kind of wind was blowing.

In the first place, if Momose wasn't around, there'd be no reason for her to be with Minato when out in public.

She was eating her breakfast and smiling wanly, so he couldn't tell her inner thoughts.

"No, we can't."

When Minato tried to tell her no, Airi said, "I know what I'm talking about," while smiling.

"It's because you have no reason to go out with me, right? Don't worry, I've had Shiori-san set it up."

"Like what?"

"Shiori-san and Mutsura-senpai couldn't make it due to some business, so I asked Minato-san, who was available and well acquainted with me, to ward off men. What do you think?"

"…No complaints."

He couldn't say anything about the seamless reasoning and could only look at Airi with dumbfounded eyes. When in the world did they start talking about this?

She seemed to understand that Minato wouldn't approve of her just asking him out, and that they wouldn't be able to go out together unless they had a reason, so she must have filled in the outer moat first.

In the first place, he didn't know that she was keeping in touch with Momose, and since she didn't seem to be calling her even when he was home, he assumed that they hadn't exchanged contact information.

But he didn't mean to be angry or blame her, as Minato had no right to do so. In fact, he was glad that she was actively trying to get involved with others.

And if Airi wanted to go out with him, there was no option of refusing.

"Alright, let's go."

"…Are you sure you want to go?"

When Minato agreed, she looked at him with wide eyes and a surprising look on her face.

It was Airi who had made up the excuse to go out, so it was unexpected that she would react that way.

"Airi has made up a reason, and it was you who brought it up, so what are you worried about?"

"I did make up a reason, but the people around will be staring hard. Is that really okay?"

Airi looked at Minato with concern. It seemed that she was worried about the stares from the people around her.

Most of them would probably just be jealousy and covetousness towards Minato, but he could certainly imagine the amount of attention he would receive if they were alone together.

But it wasn't as if they were together for no reason, so it was up to Minato to prepare himself.

And when he weighed the cost of going out with Airi against the exhaustion of being gawked at by those around him, he was easily on her side.

"I'll just have to put up with it, won't I? It's a small price to pay."

"…Thank you very much. Um, if you really don't like it, please let me know."

The smile on her face as she thanked him was half happy and half apologetic.

He stroked her head and comforted her, telling her that he would never mind going out with Airi.

"It's not that I hate going out. Besides, there's nothing I can do about the way I look."

No matter what he did, Minato's appearance would never change. If so, today's situation would surely happen again if he and Airi were to go out together in the future.

It would be a shame to have her worry about it every time, so he smiled and told her not to worry about it, but her eyebrows were raised sadly.

"As I said before, I don't think a good face is everything. So please don't be so self-deprecating."

"…Yeah, thanks."

Minato thought that he shouldn't demean himself too much, and the soft voice that cared for him warmed his heart.

As if to change the gloomy atmosphere, he changed his thoughts and asked Airi a question.

"So, let me reconfirm, you've made sure that Momose is on the same page?"

"Yes, I've already told her about this."

"Alright, then. Let's get ready and go after lunch."

"Yes, thank you very, very much."

If he could see Airi with a smile on her face, he felt that he could bear the pain of today's gaze.

At noon, they both started to get ready for the day, but suddenly Airi called him over. Her face was a little tense, perhaps from nervousness.

As he wondered at her expression, she showed Minato a hairpin that he had bought.

"Minato-san, can you please put this hairpin on me?"

"But you don't like iris flowers, do you? You don't have to wear that."

He already knew why she didn't like iris flowers. At that time, he didn't know and gave it to her as a gift, but he had stepped on a ridiculous landmine.

When he told her that she didn't need to wear such a thing, Airi looked down sadly.

"I won't throw it away. I said I would take good care of it, didn't I? It's true that I still have mixed feelings about iris flowers, but I don't want to treat what Minato-san gave me lightly. Please don't say such things like that."

"But that's traumatic for Airi, I know it must be painful to wear something you don't like."

"So, from now on, please put this hairpin on me, Minato-san. I want to wear something with your heart in it. That way, I'll be able to love iris flowers."

"…I got it."

From the way she smiled softly, it didn't look like she was pushing herself too hard.

With determination, he took the hairpin from Airi and threaded it through her silver hair, which was as thin and beautiful as a silk thread.

After confirming that it was firmly in place, she tilted her head and asked Minato.

"How is it? Does it look good?"

"Yeah, it looks good."

When he gave her his honest opinion, Airi's face broke out in happiness.

However, he couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that he had given her something she hated as a gift.

Also, the fact that she had to always wear the hairpin made Minato feel possessive. He didn't think he could be so ugly.

When he was fed up with his own black emotions, Airi touched Minato's cheek, as if he had expressed them on his face.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Minato-san. Please don't look like that."

It seemed that Airi misunderstood Minato's concern about the iris flower he had given her.

"I felt a sense of superiority that the only accessory Airi would wear is the one I gave her, but I have no right to feel that way. …I'm really sorry."

When he told her honestly as he couldn't bear the feeling of being too disgusting and turned his head down, Airi pinched Minato's cheek with both hands and forced him to look at her.

He thought she might have hated him, but the expression on her face was soft and there was no hint of disgust in her eyes.

They continued to stare at each other. The ice blue eyes that cared for Minato were so beautiful that his heart started to beat faster, and he felt disgusted with himself for it.

"That's okay. You are the most important person to me, so you should feel superior and possessive. The only accessory I'll wear is the one you gave me, Minato-san."

When she affirmed in a soft voice that seemed to sink into Minato's heart, he couldn't help but love Airi more.

Perhaps reading Minato's inner thoughts, she wrapped both of Minato's hands in her own.

The gentleness and warmth of her hands was palpable, and Minato wondered how much she really trusted him.

She had made a defenseless comment, but this time, she couldn't pay attention to it because she was trying to comfort Minato, so instead, he expressed his gratitude.

"Thanks for comforting me. …From now on, I'll put on the hairpin properly."

"Yes, please do."

He felt regretful, but he knew that if they stayed any longer, they would run out of time for shopping, so he resignedly took his hand away.

Airi must have felt the same way, because she looked at Minato with slightly wet eyes.

"Just a little more is fine, isn't it?"

"I've been comforted enough. Now let's get ready to go."

"Yes, yes, I understand… But if it makes Minato-san feel better, I'll do it anytime."

The sweet, debauched voice almost shook Minato's resolve, but he struggled to control himself and resumed getting ready.

After finishing, he headed for the front door. Airi had opened the door and was waiting outside for Minato.

She was wearing a simple black dress that he had never seen before. Perhaps it was the dress she and Momose had gone shopping for at the beginning of the summer vacation.

Even though it was simple, it had some frills on it, and it was a perfect mix of beauty and loveliness.

Normally, it would look a little bewildering, but when it came to a beautiful girl like Airi, she could wear it without feeling uncomfortable at all.

He thought he should at least say what he thought, so he locked the door securely and looked at her.

She was shyly squirming with her cheeks dyed red, so she was probably waiting for Minato's feedback.

"It's cute and it suits you. Is that the outfit you went shopping for with Momose?"

"Thank you very much. Yes, this was requested by Minato-san at the beginning of the summer vacation. What do you think? I'm wearing what you wanted me to wear." (T/N: Chapter 39, Minato told her to get cute clothes before she went shopping with Momose. Had to stop and think for a moment when this was mentioned.)

"Don't say that like it's a joke… Well, to be honest, I'm flattered."

What man wouldn't be happy to have the girl he loves wear the clothes he wants her to wear?

When he told Airi that in a small but firm voice, her face broke into a smile.

" Fufu , so from now on, should I have Minato-san choose all my clothes?"

"…Give me a break. Come on, let's go."

"Yes~"

He wanted to refrain from picking out all her clothes because it would be too tiring.

As he forcefully cut off the conversation and walked away, Airi lined up beside him in a good mood.