personavelvetroomdr | [Closed Log] A "Heartless" Gesture

What came out of the trunk of the taxi was, bluntly, several boxes of assorted junk and tools, haphazardly thrown in with no care for organization or efficiency of space. In observance of the summer heat, his coat had been thrown over one shoulder.

"... Last chance to back out of the weirdo club. Can't promise I won't accidentally blow something up or start a fire or whatever."

Well this day had turned out to be quite eventful overall. Even through the spear-heading post he had seen on the network paired with the awful fight between Zaun and Wolf.
He could tell from the lingering conversations itself that it had turned ugly and...even if he had wished better out of Wolf he was in the end- an experience shadow weapon.

He's just glad no one died between the two of them.

That said, Kuon's request and welcoming someone into his lab made him...excited. For the better part. He couldn't stop smiling at the idea of sheltering someone else after all.

So, lo and behold, his golden eyes flickering back and forth before focusing on the approaching taxi. He was in a simple polo shirt and jeans- not wanting to go overboard in this summer heat. No presence yet.

And then.

The cascade of boxes and junk.

Maruki jumps slightly beside Kuon, making a slight eek sound before flicking his gaze at Kuon then back at...this Akechi.

"Ha! I am afraid us two are the weird pariahs out of everyone else here, Zaun-san," he chuckles lightly as he gets down on one knee to grasp at a box which threatened to spill over with contents- straightening it up before continuing with a cheery voice. "And- uh, don't worry about fires. We have fire extinguishers in every part of the lab!"

"Honestly... you can call me Crow, if you want. Zaun's only really useful around other people with my face, right?"

In spite of himself, he offered a quick- awkward little smile, towards Kuon. "But uh... hey. I know Kuon, but you're new. Boyfriend, lab partner, what's, uh. The deal with your whole... thing. Sorry in advance about the mess, I'm kind of an 'organized chaos' workshop person."

"Hahaha! We're friends, lab partners, and he's my hero," Kuon laughed heartily, charmed already by the boxes of chaotic pieces. "He took me in after Hasegawa menaced me, too. You'll fit right in, Crow."

"Boyfriend?!" He sputtered in shock, cheeks growing red by each passing moment as he looked between Kuon and Zaun- blinking at both of them. Please he's...strictly not taking this romantically in anyway. Why does everyone assume that?

"I am not...playing hero or anything," he tries to correct with his awkwardness. "If anything, I am just glad that you two trust me enough to keep you guys company and make things bearable here for as long as your stay is and-"

"Also, Dr Takuto Maruki," he holds out his hand since he can tell this Akechi wasn't raised in Japan. "But you can just call me Doc if you want, nice to meet you."

This prompted a snort, and he bumped his fist against the outstretched hand. "Relax, Doc. I'm fucking with you. Where can I put my stuff?"

He bent down to retrieve both boxes, which was an awkward endeavor at best.

Maruki chuckled promptly at the fist bump- an awkward twitch on his smile as he scratches his cheek with one hand. The fist bump well, it was a nice opening greeting already.

The moment he saw him bend down though, Takuto immediately joined in. "Oh no, no- let me," he offers as he assists with one of the other boxes- wrapping his arms around its body. "Once we are in my lab my staff will help you settle in and carry your boxes. Or Azathoth can help out- I just don't like manifesting him in public unless strictly necessary."

With that, he gets up with the box and-

Pop.

"...! Oh, that doesn't sound good.." he winces quietly at his back cracking.

Kuon laughed again at that, playfully nudging Takuto before she put her hands under the box in an attempt to take it from him.

"I can carry it, Takuto~. Rest your poor back - I've carried four monitors and a PC tower before!"

Takuto, stubborn as ever, keeps the box close. "Nope. I am not THAT old, I am just a little out of shape that's all but thank you for the offer."

"Which speaking of, I don't understand why you didn't take the shadows' help? They would all have been lined up for you," he fondly scoffs- turning away from them both with a little smile as he marched on ahead.

"Please-! Follow me," he nods ahead for both Zaun and Kuon to lead them through a small entryway past the construction metal walls which after a brief walk, opens into a gallant gate.

From here, any newcomer will be able to spot the sky-high tall building tapering above like a truly dreamlike laboratory built in glass and sheer glory- a brilliant all too well maintained garden on the side. Flowers blooming different shades of yellow under the bright summer sun.

He stepped over the threshold- and onto a walkway that rippled underneath his footsteps, throwing up multicolored flecks.

"... Huh. Just double checking, you two didn't dose me with something before I came in here, did you? Because that's new."

"Welcome to the Metaverse - the safest entry into the cognitive world is in through this laboratory," Kuon chuckled, putting her hands back into her pockets and walking with Crow with a relaxed gait. "The ripples are normal in the cognitive world. Get it? Since it's a reflection of the world as everyone sees it."

He tilted his head slightly, watching the faint ripples for a moment-

And then straightened. "So this is what you study, then. Color me intrigued."

"Oh, we'll have a whole blast going through it sometime, you'll have a hard time getting Takuto and I to shut up once we get started with our chattering!"

She laughed at that, encouraging Crow with a little nod to follow inside.

"This lab is quite a sight, too - impossibly big on the inside, and Takuto can change the layout at will. Even the shadows representing office staff are friendly, if you don't start a fight with them."

Yeah, he's a little unsure how far can his limits with his personal cognitive space go but it is a good fort for defense against threats. Or just for the sake of mediating the peace.

"Unless you break the coffee machine," he admits with a small chuckle. "Turns out they can still forward their complaints about that to me."

"Goodness me though, some of the items in your box are...truly intuitive," he admits as he looks through some of the tools. "You'll have to forgive me for asking this but I would love to compare notes with what you might possibly work on in the future. The work with the gears or the blades- hopefully I won't cut myself with it. That would be a pain."

Just like he had introduced Kuon to this space earlier, the entrance with the front doors opened seamlessly with that same automatic whoosh; revealing the main towering elevator at the center- surrounded by offices and labs circling the area in a panoramic view. In some of the offices, one could spot researchers working away through the glass.

The world kept on operating in a slightly unsettling rhythm. "Welcome to my lab, Crow-san."

It was all too clean for his tastes. Too much glass and white stone, too Academy of Science, but- not... unpleasant. Pretty, in its own way.

"The good thing about making shit out of junk is that you get pretty good with your hands. Promise if I break anything I'll fix it at least as good as it was before."

"You don't need to stress yourself over it but...that would be quite helpful. Not just a skill but for my everyday life at this point- considering I tend to break things too."

Isn't that an exaggeration.

"If you call accidentally dropping a myriad different objects from your hands because you slipped on air- breaking things."

Edited 2025-07-22 15:09 (UTC)

"Hah! You'll have to compete quite intentionally to be as clumsy as two-left-feet over here," Kuon teased, thoroughly amused. "We can probably even find a space that can hold your projects - something more like a proper work room or garage. If it doesn't exist, Takuto and Azathoth can make it exist."

She has no doubt whatsoever in his ability, after all.

"The walls and rooms here can be shifted and moved with his thoughts - that's why I trust this place to keep me far enough away from Hasegawa. That and the supernatural staff - they aren't strong enough to beat Hasegawa, but they're certainly able to slow him down, which is more than enough to get out of dodge in the meantime."

"So this is all fine and dandy, but I'm finding myself looking for the catch. Should I not be eating the food here? You're talking about casually just rewriting reality, here. Usually if someone promises you diamonds on the cheap, they're just hocking polished glass."

Maruki couldn't help but smile lightly at the question- moving forward as he approached the elevator and turned to look back at the Akechi.

"Those are the very rules I want to change," he says. "For diamonds to remain diamonds. No more betrayal. No more conditions added to one's kindness- cognitive psience makes the impossible possible after all."

"...well to be fair, the only catch would be that some areas will be inaccessible to you," he admits- looking ahead as his glasses glinted. "Its a lab based of the cognitive structure of my mind, after all- there are some places that might not mix well with you."

With that, the elevator easily parted- doors opening so that further up it will lead to the main reception and waiting hall. There's a familiar golden glint in his eye as he nods for him and Kuon to follow him inside with Zaun's box firm in his hands. "I will explain further once we are actually in the lab. Visual cues make for the best examples after all."

"Oh, and be careful with explosives around the other projects here - Takuto and I are almost done with one we're building together that should be able to handle most explosives, but the internal components that aren't shielded yet are still sensitive," Kuon chuckled, mismatching Takuto's tone entirely.

"But once she's done, she'll be able to look out for you too, if she's not watching me for the day."

"And I thought I was crazy. It's a nice thought, but people are gonna find ways to be shifty either way. Nice to know you're not planning on stabbing me in the back, though. I'll admit I'm a little curious about all this cognitive science stuff, so if it turns out you really can lend a hand... I don't mind sharing a little borrowed knowledge."

"Oh, you'll end up picking it up - when Takuto and I start chatting about it, we can't stop talking! Haha! You'll be begging for a break," Kuon laughed.

Getting stabbed in the back, huh?

Pretty cognizant of how a lot of Akechis think. If it weren't for the online public post he might have even started to wonder if this was some inside job by the other residents to sneak someone into his palace and try to oversee its details.
That's quite a chore! If anything, he would much prefer just showing off his lab up front.

"It's less about craziness than letting your imagination run wild. It's a field that delves into your perception of reality as we know it," he admits with a little chuckle. "But it's not the first time I have heard that, and I doubt it will be the last. I can sound a little strange out of context... and I swear I really try not to and you are free to tell me if I am making you uncomfortable and-"

The elevator beeps signalling that it really doesn't like being held back.

"Oh, right-" he flicked on a button and let the elevator proceed further up.

Edited 2025-07-23 21:22 (UTC)

"Honestly, you're doing me a favor. I need a space I can test my gear in without atomizing my new roomie's architecture. She's been pretty great so far, but... yknow. Dangerous and experimental tech. I'll probably ask to set up in the basement somewhere if that's possible, though if the geometry as malleable as you say that might not be an issue."

"Wherever the spot we find for you, I'd love to take a peek at how you cobble things together. I was always the sort of kid that would take something apart to figure out how it worked, I already know I'm going to be insufferably curious~"

"Yeah, I will be so honest," he says with the slightest smile at the two tech geniuses next to him. "You two could come up with something truly remarkable, given your similar backgrounds and skills. I am no tech wizz alas so I might have to be your humble student instead. Kuon's already been teaching me coding, funny enough-!"

"I am sure I can come up with a good place for you to experiment with your interests."

"If you have any preferences... I am all ears."

"I dunno Doc, how expansive are your bullshit magic powers? If I gave you a blueprint of a room could you make that a reality or is this more of a 'pick the room you like' type of deal?"

Bullshit magic powers, he says. Oh man, he really has his work cut out for him, isn't it? He will sit down with him to explain the scope of it once they have settled he supposes.

He could always tap into his cognition and get a glance at how his home looked like but something tells him he should steer clear of all that. For now.

"Well...if you want a ship or a black hole, I am afraid I won't be able to manifest that per se but- you know, I wouldn't mind a blueprint. Something comprehensible will work just fine."

"Should've done the same for you too, Kuon. Sorry about that."

"Oh, don't worry about that. The room and board here was only ever going to be temporary for me, once I found a way to defend myself," she chuckled. "Besides, we'll find somewhere much cozier to move in."

"Admittedly I'm mostly curious as to just how far you can push things. Feel free to tell me to fuck off if I'm being too nosy here. It's not every day you run into a mage who casually claims he can shape reality at will, even if it's just restricted to this little bit of it."

"The fun part is that, theoretically, anyone can learn how to manipulate cognitive reality. It is, after all, shaped by everyone's perception of the world... if you can affect everyone's mentality, you can change the landscape of the Metaverse," Kuon hummed, tapping her chin in thought. That's what EMMA was doing, after all, using Jails and Monarchs to control segments of the population until she could earn the trust broadly of the public.

"Of course, yes, Takuto is quite special. His Persona - the manifestation of his true inner self - is much more powerful than most people's. I wager it's because the conviction towards his dream is unusually high compared to any normal person's."

Once their current project is complete, he supposed they could start off with looking for a place like that. That's going to be really strange but...awfully calming now. In a way. He did quite like the idea of it.

He held himself back from spiraling about Carl Jung and his theory of the collective unconscious. For now what he needed was to make sure Crow was comfortable. He's his guest, after all-!

"I wouldn't say that for myself," he says while shaking his head- blushing a little out of embarrassment from the way how Kuon spoke of him. It made his chest feel so much more lighter but- "Everyone has a strong conviction towards their dream and work tirelessly on wanting to make it come true. It's the circumstances that deter them and I have struggled just as much."

He tilts his head to glance at Crow then back at her with the slightest bit of warmth. "The magic lies in having the right people to support us."

And the sole reason why he does what he does is to be that right person for everyone.

The doors slowly opened with the slightest whoosh and just like the first day he had brought Kuon Ichinose over, here they were- standing before the precipice of his grand lab.

Maruki walked past the threshold, turning around excitedly with the box still held in his hand. Stretched above were walls and floor painted white, natural light piercing peering from the glass roofs and stretching below as cognitions walked around in the reception area. The area was inlaid in rich gold-coloured tapestries that curled in certain corners before ending off as large surveillance cameras with a neon-blue lens mounted at the center.

"This is the front lobby," he begins cheerfully like he's showing off his favorite toy collection. "There's other floors and it might be a lot to take in at first glance."

He settles in easily and finally, his eyes glow gold again as the ground beside him melts- revealing a large tentacle slowly rising- carefully keeping the ends of its spidery digits closed so as not to intimidate the new Crow. "It's my persona, it won't hurt you," Takuto says quickly- easing his hold on the box as the tentacle rushes to support it- its appendages splaying below the box before another tentacle pokes in- grabbing a stray gear in its index.

[Closed Log] A "Heartless" Gesture

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