Dr Takuto Maruki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
takutomaruki) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
personavelvetroomdr2025-05-23 11:14 pm
takutomaruki) wrote in personavelvetroomdr2025-05-23 11:14 pm
Entry tags:
habbby bdayy (closed to hamuko, ichinose and morning)
-----> 23rd may, in maruki's apartment
It was the 23rd of May.
Maruki had been keeping an eye on the dates for weeks now. A small, red circle marked the number neatly on the calendar that sat atop his study desk, drawn in with the same meticulous care he applied to nearly everything else in his life. He’d told himself—promised himself—that he’d come up with something thoughtful for Ichinose’s birthday. Something more than the usual gestures. Something that said he’d been paying attention.
There had been a few complications, of course.
Ichinose said she had arrived in summer, and there was always the chance she’d already celebrated her birthday before meeting them—quietly, or not at all. He had tried watching her closely on the 6th, just in case. But her expression hadn’t shifted. No sign of expectation. No sulking. No joy. Nothing that screamed "this is a day for me."
Maybe he should’ve wished her a happy birthday then and there. But back then, he had been swamped—tangled in his research, consumed by the ever-growing list of patients, papers, the mess of his project. And of course, Morning.
Morning had taken priority.
It hurt him to keep the boy in the dark for so long—the Akira from another universe who was his son inadvertedly, one he never expected to meet. Every instinct told him to protect, to nurture, to give. So that’s what he’d done. The kid had already missed too much. Maruki couldn’t let him miss anything else.
So yes. Life had been full. Bursting, even.
But today was for them.
-----
He had taken Morning along with him to the lab under the pretense of needing help with a light calibration test—some throwaway excuse he knew Morning wouldn’t question too deeply. Ichinose was already there when they arrived, nose-deep in her work, and Maruki only smiled faintly before excusing himself.
“Sorry, I’ve got to run a quick errand. Won’t be long,” he said, grabbing his coat. “Just don’t let Morning fall asleep in my chair again, yeah?”
Then he slipped out, coat flaring slightly behind him, and headed straight to the place where the real work was already underway.
-----
Back at his apartment, the lights were dimmed low to hide the still-in-progress decorations. Modest balloons, two cakes waiting in the fridge. There was even a small hand-made banner hung clumsily above the kitchen archway that read: Happy Birthday!!—with the letters slightly crooked in their tape. Not his best visual work, but it had heart.
Maruki stood near the window now and occasionally peeked through the peephole of the entrance door at every small sound from the hallway, every shuffle of feet. He spotted them just a block away. Not yet. Still a little time.
He turned back into the room, brushing off his hands and checking that the candles were still tucked safely in their packaging.
"Hamu—uh, Hamuko-san?" he called out softly toward the kitchen. "They’re on their way here. Just got the text." He had messaged them that he's out to get groceries.
He moved to adjust one of the streamers that had started drooping again—tape failing, or humidity, he couldn’t tell which.
“I think this might actually work,” he murmured, almost to himself. A faint, nervous smile tugged at his lips as he looked over everything one last time. The table was set. The gifts- to an extent, the food, the soft jazz in the background.
Now all that was left was for the door to open.
And the moment of surprise to land.
It was the 23rd of May.
Maruki had been keeping an eye on the dates for weeks now. A small, red circle marked the number neatly on the calendar that sat atop his study desk, drawn in with the same meticulous care he applied to nearly everything else in his life. He’d told himself—promised himself—that he’d come up with something thoughtful for Ichinose’s birthday. Something more than the usual gestures. Something that said he’d been paying attention.
There had been a few complications, of course.
Ichinose said she had arrived in summer, and there was always the chance she’d already celebrated her birthday before meeting them—quietly, or not at all. He had tried watching her closely on the 6th, just in case. But her expression hadn’t shifted. No sign of expectation. No sulking. No joy. Nothing that screamed "this is a day for me."
Maybe he should’ve wished her a happy birthday then and there. But back then, he had been swamped—tangled in his research, consumed by the ever-growing list of patients, papers, the mess of his project. And of course, Morning.
Morning had taken priority.
It hurt him to keep the boy in the dark for so long—the Akira from another universe who was his son inadvertedly, one he never expected to meet. Every instinct told him to protect, to nurture, to give. So that’s what he’d done. The kid had already missed too much. Maruki couldn’t let him miss anything else.
So yes. Life had been full. Bursting, even.
But today was for them.
He had taken Morning along with him to the lab under the pretense of needing help with a light calibration test—some throwaway excuse he knew Morning wouldn’t question too deeply. Ichinose was already there when they arrived, nose-deep in her work, and Maruki only smiled faintly before excusing himself.
“Sorry, I’ve got to run a quick errand. Won’t be long,” he said, grabbing his coat. “Just don’t let Morning fall asleep in my chair again, yeah?”
Then he slipped out, coat flaring slightly behind him, and headed straight to the place where the real work was already underway.
Back at his apartment, the lights were dimmed low to hide the still-in-progress decorations. Modest balloons, two cakes waiting in the fridge. There was even a small hand-made banner hung clumsily above the kitchen archway that read: Happy Birthday!!—with the letters slightly crooked in their tape. Not his best visual work, but it had heart.
Maruki stood near the window now and occasionally peeked through the peephole of the entrance door at every small sound from the hallway, every shuffle of feet. He spotted them just a block away. Not yet. Still a little time.
He turned back into the room, brushing off his hands and checking that the candles were still tucked safely in their packaging.
"Hamu—uh, Hamuko-san?" he called out softly toward the kitchen. "They’re on their way here. Just got the text." He had messaged them that he's out to get groceries.
He moved to adjust one of the streamers that had started drooping again—tape failing, or humidity, he couldn’t tell which.
“I think this might actually work,” he murmured, almost to himself. A faint, nervous smile tugged at his lips as he looked over everything one last time. The table was set. The gifts- to an extent, the food, the soft jazz in the background.
Now all that was left was for the door to open.
And the moment of surprise to land.
no subject
Maruki wasn't lying...really. More like omitting out the truth for her sake and really he had gambled on the possibility of her getting annoyed by the gift too- so lo and behold! He predicted correctly...she liked solving things. The AI she created was to solve the underlying issue with humanity and its nature to draw itself towards its pain- she wanted to study it and erase it.
It was nice...to be on that wavelength. To understand that wavelength from a different lens.
"It's as they say...imagination's the limit with these types of things. I tried to do my best replicating how an actual program would work but this is as far as I could go to."
"Do you like it?" He asks, sincerely and genuinely. If he could get the okay this way, he could understand her more. He could help her achieve her true state of happiness. He's sure of it!
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"I almost want to run off with it and get started now! But heheh. I'll save it - I'll need a pleasant break from plugging away at what the apocalypse dogs want me to code."
Hmm, was that nickname derisive? She didn't really feel that spicy towards the AI, she was just doing her job - but maybe it was too affectionate for that violent asshole.
"I could probably program something and make quite a few of these that could be adjusted for the needs of any kind of plant - then we could have a bit of fun testing that. Might be a good project for Morning to plug away at with coding, too, since he's also picking it up."
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At the mention of the Hasegawas, his expression sombered. "They are giving you a hard time, huh?" Well, he's not sure he could blame any of the parties for behaving the way they did...a few more than others had to be handled with more care however.
He listened to Ichinose's plan, imagining it in a seperate scenario- "Are you suggesting a nursery?"
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She didn't care too terribly much about displacing those not-people, after all, even if she knew Takuto was kind enough to think to tip them.
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"This can be our prototype," he smiles as he gestures at the pot. "I have had a few ideas with its names but I am stuck with which one to choose out of the five..."
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And it's a nice little excuse to delay finishing the coding project for a bit, to still be 'useful' to the Hasegawas until her robot is finished and can protect her.
"Hmm... that other project, too... the cognitive framework AI, in a bot... I think the nursery might be a good way to foster a sense of nurturing and care in them pretty naturally. If mapping your brain scan actually can grant them a natural ability to empathize, that is."
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At the mention of the cognitive framework AI, she had his full attention alright-! What a fascinating project they had coined together so far and with their skills combined, the result could be just as intriguing or mind-boggling as the nature of this place. How wonderful it was to sought out a being from thought itself. The idea of it was just as convincing as he's sure it would be in execution.
That said... "Am I only the one putting my brain in a petri dish?"
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"And how would we handle the emotional asymmetry if its identity and heart are solely related to me? I mean...just as a thought experiment—
If we're really trying to model something like a 'heart,' I don’t know that empathy alone gets us there. Or at least, not my version of it." He tries to get a read of what exactly is Ichinose thinking- trying to understand her intentions.
"I don't understand why we don't need your mind."
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"And the actualization going on with Morning unfortunately make him suboptimal... though scanning his mind might still prove interesting in seeing the physical effects of a roughshod actualization compared to a properly done one."
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He looks away, expression sombering as he goes over to lean on the railing again. "I know how the physical effects look," Takuto murmurs in a resigned tone. "His mind reflects that of a child...far before the years of adolescence. I know exactly what to avoid when it comes to fuelling the artificial intelligence so no need to worry there." His glasses reflected away the dazzling lights of his neighbourhood as he adjusted them before they got too clouded for Ichinose to percieve him.
"Besides," he straightens up- forcing himself to cheer up before he gets too wrapped up in his other self's mistakes. "I have you and your brain scan to keep myself in check, don't I? Not like I am saying we have to blend everything from the start, or even scan both of us. I just think... maybe we stay open to the idea that building something whole might take more than just the soft parts."
After all, pain isn’t just something I want to erase—it’s also something I’ve spent years trying to understand. The complexity of the matter might be worth it in the long run."
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"Hmm, true... I think we have a good potential balance in our strengths as is. Maybe mixing the two scans would make for a more stable person at the end," she conceded a bit. Maruki was a bit... pie-in-the-sky, and her own problem-solving level-headedness might temper that in a new AI. "And it isn't as though I want to make a straight copy of you, either - that's not the purpose of it. Especially if you're wanting to see if we can give a permanency to the cognitive people in this place."
1/2
It isn't as serious as he's thinking of it, is it?
Takuto chuckles quietly, watching the ideas flicker behind her eyes like data loading faster than the words could keep up. She was always like this—especially when theory wrapped itself around something personal. Even now, even on her birthday.
"You know," he starts, a bit softer now, tone nudging her gently out of the circuitry in her mind, "for all the heavy stuff we're trying to build... it'd be nice if they could also just... enjoy things." He gestures off toward the skyline—past the scattered city lights, toward the distant silhouette of a ferris wheel, just barely spinning under a gradient sky.
"Like going on that rollercoaster near the bay. Or learning what it's like to get bored standing in a line." He grins sideways, boyish and nostalgic. "Maybe even arguing over what snack to get halfway through the park. Just... dumb, ordinary things."
2/2
"You always get that spark when you're deep in thought—eyes just light up. Like the work comes alive in your mouth." He shrugs. "Guess it runs in genius-types."
His grin softens at the corners.
"Anyway," he bumps his shoulder lightly against hers, "just saying: we don’t have to figure out cognition permanence tonight. Especially not on your birthday celebration." He makes an exaggerated show of mock offense. "You let me back you cake and still dove into the morals of AI framework. Did the party bore you out that much?" He's teasing, obviously. "If so I will have to arrange live concerts next time then."
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"I was thinking about that, honestly - when they're not 'on duty' keeping me safe, I'd let them roam out and about, experience things and other people."
They'd look innocuous, but be inherently suspicious because of the two people who created them... assumed dangerous, investigated, drawing attention... but if she programmed them and made them soft as a teddy bear, they'd probably get along swimmingly with at least some of them.
It'd give those apocalyptic dogs something else to monitor, to worry about, and they'd end up with a curious little AI with a propensity to be kind. Oh, that's a perfect plan.
"A good learning opportunity for them, we could see how well their plasticity is emulated, and all that - and more than anything, they'll have fun."
The bump tipped her a little, but she swayed back upright, grinning.
"I had fun! But I can only have so much fun with teenagers, you know? I would've wandered out here and rattled all my thoughts out eventually."
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Not to mention he's seen patterns with Wolf. The older one. He’s soft with young people. He had a feeling Ichinose thought the same along those lines but they can hold off on the actual scheming for later in the palace.
He glances behind him, staring off at both the teenagers while listening to Ichinose’s tangent. "Haha, yeah...I suppose so. I have always worked with teenagers and those incredibly younger to me but there is a different experience of working with those at your age group." He almost misses different opportunities where he could have maintained his friendships aside from attending the actual mixers.
"I did throw a party for the adults at the start of the year, the night before Morning’s arrival," he began as he gestured haphazardly. "You would be surprised to hear there like...five more of us? Thanks for that, Igor. Zenkichi-san is the oldest out of all of us in a mortal sense; unless you count the other immortal gods who have lived longer."
His eyes glitter as they look ahead, staring at the moon while the wind wisps. "All in all, I don't mind the company though. Even with a small party like this...its nice to see this place being so lively. And judging from how things are, you might have to end up moving some things in here as well."
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All very practical, of course. Living with proper housemates, and not as a dependent... that'll be an interesting experience.
"You'll want a guest room if you don't want kids like Hamuko-chan wandering home in the middle of the night by themselves after spending time over, too," she observed, amused a bit - she could already tell that Maruki was going to fret over her and end up banishing himself to the couch. "If she needs to stay over, you and I can share the mattress again. No funny business, just like last time."
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He taps his fingers on the railing, considering the possibilities. He's never had so many people in here before...and not to mention if Hamuko was going to stay over this long then- and there you have it.
"You make a fair point, haha. It's just- apartments are more secure, you know? No one can simply visit the place without going through the registry. There's CCTV...like a solid fort! You get what I mean." he chuckles lightly as he scratches his cheek. "I can’t let her sleep on the couch though, would it be alright if she shares the bed with you?"
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"If security is a concern, we can easily adjust a new location's security. Install our own cameras and alarm system, motion sensing lights. And with the AI there and physical, they'll be able to protect everyone inside with relative ease - since I'm planning on programming them for defensive purposes as their primary directive. It'll be even more secure than the apartment."
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The mention of the new location made him sweat a little, quietly. He tried to cover his silence with a little chuckle though it was more drawn out. And dry with the process. Cameras and alarms ringing, intruders rushing in- what if something happens to Morning and Ichinose? What if he freezes up? What if he can't pull the trigger-? What if something goes wrong and he ends up-
"I will think about it," he answers evenly- trying to reign control of the situation.
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"Plus, I don't think most of the other residents are living near Odaiba, so that already sounds like the perfect place to shop around."
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"Here, we can keep the plant aside for now," he reached forward to take the pot from her hands for a moment and set it down. "We will test MUSHI tomorrow morning."
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"So what's the plan for tonight, then? I still need a break from the kids' energy."
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"As for your other question...hmm.." He grasps his chin deep in thought. "Well it doesn't need to be anything tense. I usually just spend my hours off in research, reading books, weaving through old recipes or even fishing. Not like...we can fish here, haha but I am down to do whatever you want."
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But hmm... research, reading, recipes, fishing... Kuon mulled it over for a bit. What were her usual recreationals? ...Research and reading, yes. ...Puzzle games.
"Hmm...! You know, this little patio would be a good spot for a small table and a jigsaw puzzle, don't you think? Those are always more fun to work on with someone else."
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