Iris Zero - Vol. 8 Ch. 42

[AA-A-AA]

Well, Tooru might still be pending his "friend requests," but it's not as though his friends don't see him as the same. I looked back at chapter 40, and on page 19, Hjiri says, "I'm Tooru's close friend, not Sasamori-chan's." In that chapter, he chose to be more harsh to Sasamori in defense of Tooru's feelings, who can't tell the difference between whether he sees someone platonically or romantically.

That same chapter ends with Hijri saying that "I think the time comes soon...when they'll have to realize they're just playing around, and aren't truly friends."

How ominous sounding.

 

[TheGTF]

It can be more one-sided than they're all malevolently using him. Kaya's ability as we have seen it tells who that person's list of friends, but that doesn't mean it has to be a two-way street.

Hijiri a few chapters earlier went out of his way to put pressure on Sasamori regarding the burden she puts on Toru by confessing to him and called her unqualified to think she can understand him. When Tokita called that out as unnecessary, Hijiri's retort was that while they all are a group, they're only there for specific people and their collective relationships aren't mutual- ex. Tokita is only with them because Kuga is there and will always side with her over the others push come to shove. He ended his point with declaring he's Toru's friend, not Sasamori's, and everyone's going to end up realizing they're all not really friends with each other eventually anyway.

Kaya's powers here just expands on something Hijiri implied a few chapters ago to an even harsher degree than he thought- Toru doesn't consider them to be his friends, Hijiri himself also excluded from that list. He believes he is, but Toru in his heart disagrees and to avoid trouble has allowed that delusion to continue. It's likely the same for the others- they think they've become friends with him but don't realize he won't accept it. Knowing her brother has no friends, from his perspective, is why she concludes they're nice to him and spend time with him was because he found a way to make himself useful to them. Kaya's seen her brother be bullied and loathed her entire life, for reasons she confesses here she can't really understand, so it makes sense she would only think there has to be a practical reason why people wouldn't ostracize him.

Let's be fair, they all seemed genuinely taken aback by Kaya's conclusion and she quickly apologized for it. It's right now very possible for them to have completely missed this disconnect between them without Kaya's input. Yuki's never on panel asked Toru about how he perceives them, so he hasn't lied to them about it in any way she would detect. Similarly, if he's so internalized he cannot have friends and won't allow himself any- what distress is there in him for Kuga to see if he's accepted and embraced it years before ever meeting them? He's also dodged having to attach any label to Sasamori right now, he hasn't even friendzone'd her. Hijiri has called himself Toru's only friend multiple times, but Toru's never explicitly called him a friend to the best of my memory.

 

[Chairman]

I think it's pretty clear that Tooru doesn't consider them his friends. You have to accept a friend request to get someone on your friend's list after all.

The other stuff in this chapter was just for added drama, most likely. Iris Zero is still great but its unique storytelling methods are getting easier to tell.

 

[joinedforfal]

welp, can point to a page in 41 with a particular sasamori dire reaction to gain a hint for the last page of 42

i posit that specific pedestrian crossing being the culprit of the onset of sasamori collapsing

 

[DamnedRegistration]

I see another point. Are irises always activated? If so, lil sis should have seen the gang's friendlists. She wouldn't ask them why they hang out with her brother if she saw her brother's name in their lists. She would instead notice the discrepancy and try to get her brother to accept their friendship. I see a few possibilities :
A) She didn't look at their friends list. Is that actually possible? Is it plausible?
B) They don't actually see Toru as their friend either. Kinda hard to believe.
C) To be on someone else's friends list you have to also consider them as your friend. It has to go both ways.
D) The author screwed up.

 

[Ibri]

"First, irises, by and large, are absolutely objective of anyone's feelings. [...] All other irises show the actual, objective truth." You know the lying iris wouldn't react if someone believed a false statement because it is not a lie? Objectivity does not mean it isn't dependent on how something is defined so is not actually a point against the "defined as mutually considering each other friends" theory. (Rather I think it is a point against your point that he would be in their lists then since an iris can very well be based on both parties not just the opinion of the one with the list. Though he might be on their list anyway, people with an healthy social live would have, depending on the definition, lists of decent size, if something is more than a few word long seeing it does not mean knowing its content. Since iris work as extra stuff you see not by just knowing stuff she might have not gone through their lists. But my guess is it won't go the "just an oversight" route and there will be more to it. Now I wonder whether his own involvement will make it harder for him to figure it out.)

 

[RhoninFire]

As I follow more of the arguments. I have to say some good pointers were made. I think we can safely rule out theories like Toru's sister didn't check if the other members list Toru. And the objectiveness of the Iris does indicate it won't be as simple as Toru's refusing to acknowledge the group's "friend requests".

But at the time, it also doesn't make sense to interpret everything the group has done together as hold with zero attachment or worse, a one-sided malevolent usage of Toru. We have enough chapters and actions of the characters towards Toru and between each other (including actions on behalf of Toru), that any reasonable interpretation would say they do give a shit about him.

It's been a long time, even just factoring in the words of chapter 40 (really notable line "...have to realize they're just playing around, and aren't truly friends") means re-reading it or remembering memory from months ago. But if one factor in the hints in earlier chapters and now this chapter, then they have some serious foundational issues they need to face. And it sounds like the story will go there. At the same time, the earlier chapters do seem to say they do value genuinely each other, so I strongly don't think it will it go down with something like the group only care for his skills and not him. Iris Zero doesn't pussyfoot around things, but it also doesn't just throw everything out the window for the edgiest conclusion.

Well, we'll see how this goes.

 

[Clewi]

Also about the Friend List iris there's too much unknown, maybe there's need for both side to consider themself friends for the other name appear in both lists, maybe it has to pass Tooru's sister definition of friendship just like the transplanted iris kept the brother's point of view.

@ngkn92 The plot started with Sasamori looking that he was the qualified person to help her and Yuki when younger saw that Tooru was lying.

 

[lenovoaxioo]

Ahhhhh. . an update THANKS A LOT!!!

 

[InfiniteVerisimilitude]

Meh, I'm kinda miffed it looks like the author is injecting drama. It'll either resolve into a misunderstanding which gets cleared up or, to me, if feels like something constructed.

That said, thank you very much for the translation. It is one of the nicest mangas out there so far and one which has wrung a good number of tears out of me. I am curious to see what past Sasamori is hiding. It is interesting how much is tied into siblings and relationships dating back to childhood.

 

[fuzor100]

And this arc will probably take 1 year or more to finish!

 

[OrangeAbundis]

i like all the emotion in this chapter by i came to a realization...why tf does everyone have like trench coat at the same time i doubt its regulation lmao

 

[Morsealworth]

Oh come on, there's simpler explanation: They're his harem. Yes, guys too.

 

[GodGinrai]

I'm still waiting on a resolution to chapter 40. It's like all the drama that was built up there was just forgotten... <.<

 

[frederick-san]

"Acquaintance"

 

[ngkn92]

@Clewi
Ah, you're right. I might need to re read this for once. It's a great read after all.

 

[exxp]

؟؟؟ Can anybody spoil me about what happened in last pages of this chapter

 

[Ashandai]

Man, if Sasamori's tragic backstory is anything like Sachi's from Grisaia no Kajitsu I'm gonna be pissed.

Might or might not have sobbed like a little girl during that ending.

 

[nobaka]

i suspect it's a jp wordplay thing

they don't show up on his 'friend' list because their relationship isn't 'friend'

instead, it's "buddy" or whatever, probably some word indicating closeness or trust or something. Or maybe even subordinates/pupils/etc

after all, he's been teaching them to think instead of just using irises

 

[BQB]

I think it may be possible that Toru's lil' sis is also an Iris Zero, and the bad thing about to happen is her friends coming to realize this.