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"They most certainly did not. They described the cognitive world phenomenon as it was currently happening, gave me a rough outline of how to proceed through that world... but nothing whatsoever about any gods they may have faced. They described and compared the current situation to their past endeavors, but..."

Ichinose's brows furrowed in thought, and she touched her chin. Did they withhold that because it wasn't comparable to their investigation of the Jails? If they could supposedly kill a 'god', then... maybe she really should take their threat to EMMA seriously. Perhaps if she put her own body in the line of fire it could keep them from getting to her...

...Right. She's in the middle of a conversation.

"I wonder if that means that it hasn't appeared in my timeline. Or if it has, and they didn't find it relevant to the current situation...? Or if they are hiding it from me, perhaps - it would be the only thing they haven't divulged, though, they haven't been especially dodgy with me..."

"Huh," is all Maruki can say when she stops for the first time. He scratches his chin as his brows furrow, considering all the threads and pieces of information he's got over his time spent here. "The God of Control- Yaldaboath was called upon by the masses, and from what I have heard- tidbits across Flutter and passing conversations- he tried to drive the world into chaos. The skies were red, the clouds shed bloody rain, and I was..."

He sighs and throws his hand up before gesturing down at the ground—like he was disposed of from his world to this place. Despite the infinite possibilities this place has presented him with, he also feels like he's aged half a decade in half a year.

"To be fair, the information you have received from this seems far more generous in comparison to me," he shook his head. "I had to fill in most of the blanks myself."

"And as for gods...I am not counting my world yet but in several others as you could see from the multiple network posts and the posts put up on the board- apparently I was one in some of the other worlds. Ah-! Don't even get me started with the god sealed in our moon-! There were frequent cases of other gods taking over in the past few years!"

That level of apocalyptic scenery... she definitely would have heard something like that, right? That was... hard to believe, even with everything she did grasp so far.

"You were a god? And there's a moon god - which mythology?" she asked, though with a bit of a breathlessness of someone still reeling from everything she was learning in this moment. Gods are real.

~~Her baby really could become a god and save everyone...~~

Maruki shrugs, half-heartedly almost like he doens't quite know how else to steer this conversation aside from the sheer absurdity around them. "Hey your creation became a god- er goddess..? Well in someone else's world so it shouldn't be so surprising." He has a hypothesis on the matter of how and he's still considering his steps to following through with his strategy once he's back in his world and begins implementing his research on willing subjects...he's going to keep that piece of information tucked in for now. He knows Ichinose believes in EMMA and as much as he wants to believe in Ichinose...

~~He doesn't. He is responsible for this knowledge. Ichinose is so obviously in pain herself...he can take it from her.~~

"Nyx...from what I know is an alien god-like being who answered humanity's call to complete destruction. Culturally she's known to be a Greek Goddess though if we consider cognition- its believed that every shadow that traverses this land is a piece of her. She has been sealed now...thanks to a few tragic souls who lost their lives at a really young age."

Edited 2025-04-06 15:17 (UTC)

He looks down at his hands and places his phone on his lap. "You could refer to a girl named Hamuko Arisato here. She's...one of the few who could welcome you in open arms and I wonder how much of that comes from the fact that she lost her life doing the same."

"Lost her life to stop a god... that's a rare kind of bravery indeed," Ichinose pondered aloud. Hmm... she'd have to look into whether Arisato was in close with Hasegawa or not...

"She's welcomed you with open arms?"

Maruki nods.

"I could discern that since I didn't affect her in anyway, she doesn't have any reason to be afraid- not like anyone should be I just wish to help- but I can see where they are coming from," he releases a huff and leans back in his chair.

Hamuko-san was...well in a lot of ways she reminded him of Akira-kun but there were obvious differences between them. Much of it being the fact that unlike Akira’s reserved nature, she had nothing to hide.

"It's rather cruel, isn’t it? To have the fate of the world rest on such young minds? Hamuko-san is a wonderful young woman but alas, she has to pay the price for humanity's call."

He just said that, didn't he?

He fumbles a little. "Well-! Sorry just needless rambling. I trust her anyway though I don't think she wants to visit my lab haha..."

"Teenagers are at a particularly important developmental moment, maybe - more likely to see for the first time and with great intensity the things that are wrong in the world around them, and to want to fight against it. Not yet beaten down by responsibilities yet, maybe."

It's a haphazard guess.

"That's not a trait most people have. They just want relief from their suffering."

"That is quite fascinating in itself, isn't it?"

He rebelled in little ways too by cutting off most communication with his family and doing multiple part-time jobs so he doesn't have to be too financially dependent on them.

"In a way them rebelling is also seeking relief from suffering," he argues- almost as if he isn't hearing himself. "A teenager's development stage equips them to question the status quo and hunger for change. It's one of the most powerful and, honestly, hopeful aspects of adolescence-!"

Still, what Ichinose says does stick with Maruki. For better or worse.

"...were you never a rebellious teenager, Ichinose-san?"

"Not intentionally," Ichinose chuckled, though it was completely mirthless. "Plenty of people assumed my intentions, unfortunately. I likely only 'got away' with any of it because of my stellar grades."

Maruki hums at her mirthless chuckle. A touchy subject, huh? He tilts his head and focuses on her, slipping his phone into his pocket before crossing his arms and one leg over the other.

"Frequent miscommunications, huh?"

He leans back a little in his seat, relaxing his posture like he's settling in for something meaningful, maybe even a bit long-winded. But his tone is still soft, sincere.

"As someone who occasionally excelled with 'stellar grades-' many people already had their minds about me. Certain expectations for me to match up to. Always being read like a book, only that they skipped the pages and drew their own conclusions or what favoured them." A small pause. "That can get quite lonely."

Ichinose didn't join him in sitting, instead just leaning back against the ledge of the desk. "Exactly that. I always tried my best to speak completely frankly, with no room for interpretation, but people are poetic in how much they can read between the lines. It's like they can make shapes out of the negative space."

Negative space, huh... trying to find something in the code that simply wasn't there. Some ulterior motive.

"I actually did have a rebellion, come to think of it - I had a spat of time where I simply didn't talk to people, since it was so annoying how much they wanted to read into what I was saying. Hah. That was short-lived, though, because it only made people even more suspicious of me."

Can make shapes out of negative space.
Maruki tucks the phrase away in his memory.

His fingers brush the edge of his glasses, adjusting them absently as he considers her words. In a different setting, in a different role, he might’ve jotted something like that down for reflection later. But this wasn’t a session. Ichinose didn’t want to be “handled,” and Maruki respected that. Still... he can’t help the way certain patterns leap out at him.

She tried to communicate with clarity, and people misread her. They projected meaning where there was none. So she withdrew to protect herself—and that made it worse.

A tendency exhibited in neurodivergency.

Well- it was just an observation but it would make sense, wouldn't it? The doctor is rather painfully familiar with how Japanese society and norms riddled with double meaning might affect individuals who don't process things in a typical way.

"I see," he nods as he considers his next few words. A conscious decision or... "Did they actually tell you that? That you were being suspicious for not engaging?"

"Not to my face, but people are so much worse at keeping their gossip to themselves than they think," Ichinose scoffed, gaze wandering elsewhere in the room. Her hands slid into her coat pockets, looking for something to fidget with.

"Whether it was classmates, my relatives, teachers, colleagues, partners... it's clear I've never passed for human."

Edited 2025-04-09 23:27 (UTC)

The doctor doesn't even realize that he's reached for his phone again- opening his notes app on instinct. He doesn't actually get down to typing however, just throws a swift glance at the additional note window popping up on his screen. Better to remember all this as he writes this down...or he could just refer to the CCTV footage this palace will capture either way.

His eyelids droop, concern so terribly evident in his eyes even as he offers a smile. "And that's where you drew the conclusion that you were heartless," he fiddles with his chin. "That's a terrible thing to go through- especially at such a young developing age."

He also notes the lack of mention of a parent. With the mentions of partners and almost about everyone else who may be relevant in your life one way or another, that was a key difference that needed to be noted down. Mentally.

He tilts his head in contemplation, carefully listening to her. "What is your definition of passing as a human?"

Edited 2025-04-10 22:51 (UTC)

"I don't know," Ichinose gave Maruki a wry smile, looking at the way his brows furrowed and his hands looked for... something. A distraction? Taking notes?

Whatever it was... Ichinose just shrugged. "If I did, maybe I wouldn't deeply unsettle people so often. If I smile and talk too much, I'm creepy for going on for so long. If I don't smile, keep to myself, people whisper to each other, call me a doll. I haven't ever once found that supposed sweet spot that everyone exists in."

That seemed to follow up to just as he expected.

"I somehow doubt all of us have reached that sweet spot in communication. If we did most conflicts that plague our worlds wouldn't have occured."

"People are often known to misjudge once they have a certain impression of you but that doesn't take away your humanity." He shakes his head and leans forward- eyes sparkling almost as if taking in the case in its full glory. Wonderful. "I sense quite the passionate heart from you, Ichinose-san. Despite your experiences you have sought comfort with numbers and ever growing algorithms. You created an intelligence based from your fascination with the human heart or cognition as a whole...that doesn't come from someone who doesn't have a heart. That passion comes from deep within and I am sure you will find your meaning one day-!"

The compliment had caught her off guard entirely - the way he gazed at her was so weird. No one looked at her with that intensity unless they were trying to scrutinize whether she was lying or not.

It just made her laugh. Weird! He was so weird. And all of that to insist she has a heart - ridiculous, but at least it was kind. If he was being honest, that is.

"You're odd. And that's coming from me!"

Maruki was being completely honest—and that seemed to be the running theme between them, wasn’t it? He would root for everyone here if he could, every struggling soul in this strange cognitive world... but right now, his attention was wholly on Ichinose and the laughter she let out in response to his.

It caught him off guard—in a good way. Making her laugh wasn’t what he was aiming for, but it certainly wasn’t the worst thing he could’ve done.

His expression softened immediately, the faint blaze in his eyes from moments before dimming into something gentler. Earnest. Affectionate, even. He raised his hands sheepishly, waving them in a lighthearted flutter.

“Aha—! I didn’t mean to sound odd there, really! I was just being honest—though I guess I am a little odd.” He laughs under his breath while scratching his chin a little, as if still getting used to the label and kind of proud of it.

"But hey, I’ll take that as a compliment—especially coming from you."

He leans back a little, resting his elbows loosely on the arms of the chair again, the teasing smile still tugging at his mouth.

Passion, huh? There was no fiery drive in her pursuit of coding - settling in and focusing on a task brought clarity, brought insight...

As usual, a person with a heart was seeing what they wanted to see in her.

(It was nice, though, that he wanted to see something so admirable.)

"Odd is good, if you ask me. Odd is interesting. And interesting comes in such short supply."

She was a person with a heart.
That much was obvious. She had more of a drive and life to her than most who would proclaim that they love society- his professor who sold himself to the conspiracy, the corrupt congressmen Masayoshi Shido who didn't even blink as he committed atrocities.

"Interesting, it sure is. The human mind is built upon nuances- it's just that most of us end up falling into a certain mold, that's all-!"

"Hm, say you haven't been to any of the cognitive spaces yet, have you?" He tilts his head as he places one hand on the armrest and gets up eyes darting over to her as he pockets his phone. "There are all too many odd shadows you can hold deep conversations with-! Some of them will even give you their phone number! Maybe going into the literal depths would help you understand what I mean. Like field work!"

Edited 2025-04-12 13:37 (UTC)

"Oooh, that might be fun. I've heard from a few others about these places, including one where rumors become real? That also seemed fun to test the limits of," Ichinose fiddled with her hair, watching Maruki as he got back up.

Maruki’s grin widened, his whole posture shifting with a burst of energy as he leaned back against the edge of the desk, his coat swaying lightly with the motion. There was a glint in his eye now—a spark that ignited when someone hit on a subject he’d clearly spent far too long obsessing over.

“Ohhh, I’ve had my eye on that place for a while now—!” he said, the excitement practically bubbling out of his voice. “The rumor one? It’s fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. The way mass belief warps perception and reconstructs cognition into reality? It’s like confirmation bias given its own dimension.”

He waved a hand through the air as if drawing out the threads of his own thoughts. “I’ve heard accounts—Katsuya-san mentioned it to me once, and I’ve even seen passing references back home. Apparently, there’s this persistent idea that Sumaru City was built on a spaceship.” He gave Ichinose a quick, bright look, as if to say can you believe that? “Ridiculous, right? But if everyone believes it, if they propagate that belief with enough conviction—then… doesn’t it become true, in a cognitive sense?”

He chuckled to himself, softly, in that self-amused way only someone elbow-deep in wild theorycrafting could. “It’s just like how ancient societies treated prophecy—self-fulfilling, because the mind wants meaning, and the world bends to meet it.”

He crossed one arm over his chest, tapping a finger to his chin, the other hand gesturing midair as if pacing through a mental chalkboard. “Just imagine it—a place where spoken ideas manifest. You could create healing through narrative. You could rescript trauma by confronting it in real time. Tell someone they were never abandoned, that the version of reality where they were loved is the real one—and the cognition might accept it.”

Edited 2025-04-12 20:17 (UTC)

"At least, theoretically - there may be limitations on what's believable, right? Then again... if we take the spaceship example..."

Fascinating. So fascinating...

"Katsuya, you said - do you think he'd entertain showing us around, sometime? Giving us a demonstration, maybe? It could be quite an eventful excursion!"

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lovers rank 2 UNLOCKED BABY ♪♪

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