Link to transcript: starts at the end of Nameless Doll Chapter 5, where Natsume announces he and the others are leaving Shu and Mika alone, and continues to Nameless Doll, Chapter 6 ]

Description of memory:

Shu is at a department store with another boy, both of them… sort of in school uniform. Presumably the ruffles on Shu's uniform are not school uniform and the black longsleeve shirt the other boy is wearing are not uniform, but close enough.

The dark haired boy is asking Shu about his doll, and he and his doll (who speaks in a voice that is clearly Shu's falsetto, but his ventriloquism is pretty good) explain about their past. The doll says she was cast aside and left alone for long enough that she forgot her name, until Shu found her, and then he picks up telling the story.

He says they met before he encountered that accursed thing which we call puberty… when he was young, he confined himself to the estate's cellars and junk rooms, and he found her sitting in a dust-covered showcase. She interjects to say he was always being scolded and other kids bullied him, and he cuts her off, agreeing yes, he was a delicate brat, now moving on! (Please ignore Mika saying Shu is still like that, because Shu would prefer he didn't think of him that way!) His family has collected a lot of art that had been relegated to junk rooms, and during middle school he organized the collection but as a child he would always run to the cellar that contained Mademoiselle. Eventually, he began to speak to her, as she was someone who he could share his thoughts with-- thoughts he could not share with his family or any other. And gradually, she began to talk back.

Though she was nothing more than a child's imaginary friend, his parents thought he was strange and consulted with other households about it, and when children heard about it from their parents he became even more ridiculed. Amongst his unsympathetic family, only his grandfather understood him, and while the old man rarely weighed in on household matters, his grandfather used his authority this once: Shu was allowed to keep Mademoiselle, so long as he promised to love her so long as he lived.

No matter what others think, he will fulfill that vow, as she is the one who comforted him when he could do nothing but cry, and gave him the will to keep living, after all. Mika laughs, and Shu pricks up, offended. Mika says he's not laughing at Shu, but rather he's happy he entrusted him with her, and he's jealous of how much she's loved.

The girl doll responds being loved is a wonderful thing-- even when you know nothing about yourself, love can keep you going. Trapped in that cellar, she had given up-- as a doll, she could do nothing once people lost interest, just gather dust and be forgotten about. So, she wants to repay the love she was shown, and encourage them to go see the world outside, rather than shut themselves away.