Chapter 3 – The Amadeus Part 2
"Status report," Dr. Leskinen shouted aloud as a group of scientists continued to frantically work on the computers to debug the Amadeus program.
"Compiling more errors, Doctor," a scientist spared Leskinen a reply as he continued to glue his eyes on the screen.
"Same here, Leskinen," Dr. John replied with exasperation as exhaustion is beginning to become evident among the lab members. "There's going to be no fixing this thing at the rate we're going."
Leskinen frowned at the facts presented to him as his teeth gritted in frustration. All of these strange errors that were showing up in the program now were completely unheard of before. In addition, as errors can only appear when the Amadeus program is active and possesses self-awareness, the fact that both of these occurrences have not happened yet made the rapidly compiling errors all the stranger. Furthermore, errors like these can only begin to compile and add up when the newly developed A.I. is unable to accept the fact that their memories, personality, and self are all but a product of manmade digital codes. This stunning realization which causes the program itself to have an internal breakdown. This malfunction is commonly said to be akin to a real person suffering from insanity or severe trauma.
However, this was not the case for Shirou. Errors were already appearing left and right in the complex codes of his brain before the program has even been completely compiled and activated. Contrary to common understanding, this unlikely occurrence was happening while the computer is still digesting the terabytes of data.
The impossibility of the Amadeus program experiencing errors at this early of a stage could only mean one of two things. One, the machines that are running in the scientific facility already have an issue prior to compiling the data; or two, the subject's brain is so twisted and scrambled, his thoughts so complex and unreadable, that even the scientific high-tech devices are unable to decipher the neuro-patterns of Shirou's brain and put it into digital data. Both of these notions, in Leskinen's opinion, were preposterous and absurd.
First and foremost, every lab equipment in the facility are all tested and placed under maintenance on a regular basis, making the former option unthinkable. Second, Shirou is in every way a sane man, there should be no issue for the brain scanner to decipher the boy's mind.
"Get the system running immediately," Dr. Leskinen finally gave the unexpected order.
"Are you serious?" Dr. John glanced at Leskinen with an inquisitive gaze. "This may cause problems down the road."
Leskinen nodded without hesitation. "Compile the code and activate the program."
"Aye aye, sir," Dr. John rotated his chair back to the monitor as he typed out a couple lines of command on the now black and white screen. "And …" Dr. John hit the enter button with his index finger in an exaggerative manner, "compiling!"
Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief now that they no longer had to combat the berserk program.
"Is … it done?" Kurisu who had been present the entire time voiced out her thoughts.
"Ah, yes," Dr. Leskinen nodded. "I am sorry you guys couldn't get more involved," Dr. Leskinen offered a light apology towards the present Kurisu and Maho who are standing idly looking at the frantic spectacle, doing nothing.
"It's no problem, Professor Leskinen," Kurisu replied courteously.
"Why couldn't we help though?" Maho huffed with dissatisfaction as she glared at the oftentimes annoying child-like professor.
"I trust you can," Dr. Leskinen assured. "However, as you have not come in contact with this problem before, it's best to leave it in the hands of the people who have been trying to debug programs like these for a while. All these scientists here are at least as capable and efficient as you are, Maho," Dr. Leskinen grinned at the short lady when he finished.
"Just because they have a 'Ph.D.' tacked at the end of their names doesn't mean they have just as good problem-solving skills as we do," Maho muttered incoherently under her breath.
Dr. Leskinen gave a booming laugh at Maho's statement. "Never underestimate a scientist, Maho," Dr. Leskinen directed a playful wink at the unhappy girl. "There is still much to be done, perhaps you would like to prove yourself on where you excel?"
"Yes, yes," Maho mumbled with a somewhat miserable face. "I'll get the Amadeus system ready for launch and connect it to the university's main server."
"Haha, that's my girl!"
Silence reigned the entire room except for the sound of typing from the still studiously working scientists.
"What did you call me, Professor Leskinen?" Maho asked with a cold, deadly whisper while a scowl slowly inched its way up her face, ready to give the professor the infamous lecture of his life she is widely known for under the said circumstances.
"Maho-senpai," Kurisu said with a small awkward chuckle, hoping that her friend would not go too far with her soon-to-come burst of tirade.
Before Maho could begin her verbal abuse at the beloved professor of the school, a person opened the door to the off-limit scientific lab. "Ah, I thought you guys came here, anyway, here's some tea for anyone who wants some."
Turning their heads around, the conversing trio stared at the source of voice to see a softly smiling Shirou who had in his hands a tray of ornately placed cups of tea with a teapot in the middle for necessary refills.
"Shirou!" Dr. John exclaimed with glee, "What a godsend! Hand me one cup!"
Shirou smiled while handing Dr. John a cup of tea before helping to the other voices which soon followed who wanted a cup of the Japanese beverage as well.
"Pffuah," Dr. John exhaled after gulping down the aromatic contents in one go. "That sure was refreshing. Shirou, mind if you get me a refill?"
"Sure, Dr. John," Shirou replied as he hurried his way over to the scientist's side.
"S-S-Shirou …" Maho growled aloud albeit quietly as the sound of her teeth grinding upon each other could only be heard by Shirou's sensitive ears.
"Huh? Hiyajo-san, did you call me?" Shirou asked as he turned his head around away from Dr. John and looked straight at the person who addressed him.
"Do you know this place is off-limits?!" Maho finally exclaimed at Shirou. From what she knew, no one – let alone an outsider who is not from the campus – is allowed inside this room except for personnel working on the Amadeus project. But here Shirou is, walking right in without a care in the world … serving tea to all present in the tech-filled room. Simply put, the entire situation cried out ridiculous.
"Off-limits? Since when?" Shirou cocked his head in question.
"There's a big sign in front of the door that writes 'off-limits'," Maho provided the information with exasperation.
"But I don't read English," Shirou answered helplessly. "Plus, I think everyone could use some tea here."
"That's not the point …" Maho trailed off before staring at Shirou with the same intense gaze she held earlier. "And it doesn't take a genius for you to see a black and yellow sign having 'off-limits' in bold black letters to know that you shouldn't go in there!"
"Oh, is that so," Shirou chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Don't tell me you had amnesia with the most basic signs like these," Maho ended dryly as she planted a hand on her face in a miserable manner.
"Maybe?" Shirou voiced with uncertainty. "Either way," Shirou continued without missing a beat, "I'll leave right away once everyone gets their fair share of green tea. It looks like everybody is working hard, so this is the least I could do for them since you are all helping me retrieve my memories."
Maho sighed as she eyed Shirou again with dissatisfaction.
"Maho-senpai, just let it go," Kurisu said with an amused smile at her friend's behavior.
Maho audibly sighed once again, this time louder as she turned around to face her back at Shirou. "Just this once," Maho replied. "Next time remember to ask permission to come in here."
"Thank you, Hiyajo-san," Shirou said with a grin. "Would you like a cup of tea while I'm at it?"
Maho spared a glance at Shirou's offer before turning away, "No thank you, I don't like tea."
Shirou's smile broadened almost mischievously. "You can drink it for the caffeine," Shirou suggested with an upbeat tone of voice.
"I'm not sleep deprived anymore," Maho responded with a dismissive wave. "And coffee better suits my taste."
"Hmmm, in that case, maybe I should brew some coffee for you next time," Shirou contemplated aloud in the midst of the room.
Maho froze mid-step at Shirou's line of declaration. "Ah … t-that won't be necessary," Maho sputtered out, her lips stuttering with minute movement as if almost in fear.
Maho could see from the corner of her eyes that her professor Leskinen had widened his eyes in surprise at Shirou's offer before smiling with a far too jolly of an expression suited for her current predicament.
"Why not?" Shirou asked in confusion. After all, was it not always a rule of thumb to help people whenever you get the chance to do so?
"Because," Maho said a little more firmly this time, "it is not necessary!"
"That … doesn't explain anything," Shirou smiled while giving a raised eyebrow in Maho's direction.
"That's a nice man you got there, Maho," a voice suddenly spoke from behind Maho as the man slung his arm around the girl's shoulder.
"H-hey!" Maho exclaimed in surprise at the sudden contact as she tried to squirm away from the man. "D-Doctor John!" Maho protested once again at the unrelenting weight of the scientist.
Shirou softly smiled at the entire spectacle. "Kurisu, tea?" Shirou asked the red-haired girl while motioning with the teapot in his hands in her direction.
Kurisu gave a small smile at Shirou's antics. "I'm good, I've already had my fill back earlier, but thanks for the offer."
"No problem," Shirou swiftly replied as he attended to the other working personnel. To be honest, Maho thought the scientific lab which was supposed to be solely focused on the Amadeus project looked more like a restaurant with a waiter attending everybody as Shirou's actions continued to play out with upbeat enthusiasm.
"Can you get off of me now?" Maho muttered coldly as she addressed Dr. John who still had an arm wrapped around her shoulder in a leaning position, saying all this as a menacing and murderous tone is emitted out through her voice.
"Haha, don't gripe, Maho," Dr. John laughed while swiftly ignoring the dark boring holes Maho was making with her eyes at him
"Y-yo-u," Maho stuttered with uncontrollable rage that is only barely masked away by her composure as a proud researcher. "T-t-this is SEXUAL HARASSMENT, you FREAK!" Maho finally kicked Dr. John's shin violently when she couldn't take the close proximity anymore, successfully making the scientist lose his grip as Maho immediately squirmed away from his arms reach.
"No need to overreact like that," Dr. John grumbled playfully with a frown, though the twinkle in his eyes proved that he enjoyed himself by teasing the flustered Maho.
"I-I-I w-will—" Maho stuttered out as more blood rushed up her head to fuel her anger while she pointed at the culprit behind her indignation.
"Maho-senpai," Kurisu said calmly with an uneasy smile as she softly restrained Maho by grabbing her shoulders and pulling her steadily back. "I think it's time for us to leave," Kurisu said sternly before she awkwardly chuckled when all the people in the room stared at her peculiarly. Kurisu quickly acted to cover her flustered response by tugging on Maho's shoulder before she ended up towing Maho away out of the room with her, leaving a completely silent room to what it was prior.
"That was uncalled for," Dr. John muttered with a contemplating face.
"Maho can either be a chain of entertainment or a product of a headache," another scientist seated before a computer monitor screen sighed.
Dr. Leskinen laughed at the comments. "It's refreshing to see Maho like this once in a while. After all, the saying goes, 'A blooming flower shows its beauty once it's true nature is revealed'."
"Huh? That's a pretty good saying. Who said that?" Shirou suddenly asked as he gathered up the now empty teacups.
Dr. Leskinen's smile broadened as he directed a wink to Shirou while pointing at himself using his thumb. "Me!"
Everyone could only shake their head in dismay at the unexpected lousy statement.
"How long is the data compilation going to take, Professor Leskinen?" Maho asked Dr. Leskinen while Kurisu and Shirou seated nearby her on the plush sofa. It's been one hour since the entire incident came to a temporary rest as the supercomputer continued to compile the massive chunks of information.
"Couple hours at least," Dr. Leskinen replied. "There are several terabytes of data for the computer to go through, we're going to need to wait until tomorrow to see the fruition of our work."
"We're not sure will it even function correctly," Maho grumbled under her breath with her arms crossed, "let alone see the 'fruition' of our work."
"Haha," Dr. Leskinen laughed, "you're still the same old Maho I knew when you just entered college."
"More tea?" Shirou asked as he prepared to lift the teapot that is placed on the table before all that were seated on the couch.
"What's with you and tea?" Maho muttered incoherently under her breath as Kurisu directed a sympathetic smile in her senpai's direction.
"Ah, yes, Shirou!" Dr. Leskinen said eagerly as he offered his teacup in Shirou's direction so Shirou could pour the cup full of the aromatic content.
"You should cut down on the tea, professor," Maho commented as she eyed her professor who, once again, guzzled down the lukewarm tea which had been out for a while in one go.
"It's not every day you get to experience authentic Japanese beverages," Dr. Leskinen responded to his research partner. "Don't let this opportunity slip away, even if it's just for the caffeine!"
"You're … killing me," Maho ended up saying in exasperation at her professor's enthusiasm for green tea as she planted her face on the table in defeat.
"Professor," Kurisu finally broke the temporary, and what Shirou thought as the serene, silence, "do you have any idea what happened earlier?"
Dr. Leskinen shook his head while his eyes closed in thought. "Unfortunately, no. To think that the data will exhibit errors in such an early stage of development is definitely unforeseen. Theoretically speaking, the Amadeus program will only not function properly under the circumstance when the A.I. is unable to fathom that all which constitutes as themselves is all but a digitized illusion, resulting what can be best described as insanity when the program begins to compile errors rapidly because of this sudden realization. However, to think errors will begin to pop up at this stage before the Amadeus program is even activated could only mean two things: either our system has a malfunction or Shirou is potentially insane to put it lightly."
"What do you mean 'to put it lightly'?" Shirou questioned suddenly at the doctor's odd choice of words.
Dr. Leskinen placed his hand onto his chin as he continued to speak. "Even if a man is insane, the system will nevertheless decipher the scanned data. If the insanity is caused by depression or denial to list a couple of examples, we can still easily erase the memories, or more accurately, logs in this case that caused the results behind this psychological trauma. Using this method, we will be able to get a sane subject for the Amadeus project given that the A.I. is able to get past the idea of him being a mere digitized data of his original self."
"I don't agree with this method, but can't you just erase memories and recreate them to make the program believe it's been a program all along?" Shirou inquired.
Dr. Leskinen shook his head once more. "No, it is one matter to erase memories, it is an entirely new matter to recreate them. While we may have the technology and capabilities to erase specific or a range of memories, but to completely recreate or alter memories is far too difficult even with our current scientific advancements. We are still in the process of understanding what the scanned codes of a human brain even means at this point, let alone twist the codes to our likings.
"In addition," Dr. Leskinen continued, "to erase such a fundamental part on how a person perceives themselves and their personal identity will be equivalent to erasing the person himself. And that does not coincide with the goal of the Amadeus Project to achieve true artificial intelligence for the greater good of mankind."
"I see," Shirou nodded his head a couple times to express his understanding.
"Professor," Kurisu began, "you're getting off topic again. To put it simply," Kurisu continued to get back on track to her original question that led to all this conversation, "the error caused now should be impossible."
"Precisely," Dr. Leskinen replied. "Since our system protocol dictates that the Amadeus system must have a routine maintenance check before data compilation, the data should not begin self-destructing itself like it did earlier due to system malfunctions. Furthermore, even a system reboot while we were mid-compiling Shirou's neuro-codes did not improve the situation the slightest bit; therefore, we can safely conclude the problem lies within the data itself instead of our systems. However, the issue lies in the fact that the alternative explanation for the error would be saying Shirou is mentally insane, which is clearly not the case here either. Therefore, as far as I currently see it, this unforeseen phenomenon should be impossible."
"Could it be there was a problem during the brain scan we had Shirou do, causing all these troubles down the line?" Maho asked with her eyes closed in a contemplative manner.
Kurisu nodded in agreement seeing how all the previous options have been easily debunked. "As you said, Maho-senpai, Shirou did wake up far earlier than any normal subjects we have ever seen."
"Even so," Dr. Leskinen began, "did you guys see any errors when translating the information to Amadeus readable data?"
Both Kurisu and Maho shook their head in answer. When the data was left untouched, nothing seemed off with it.
"Exactly!" Dr. Leskinen beamed at the two girls in front of him. "So, we can safely conclude that Shirou's earlier than normal waking has no correlation to the rapidly piling errors in the data during the compiling process."
"Then the problem lies within the compilation itself seeing how it happened at that time," Maho reconfirmed.
Dr. Leskinen shrugged nonchalantly at Maho's conclusion. "I don't know, but we will find out tomorrow when we activate Amadeus Shirou."
"What do you mean you don't know?!" Maho yelped aloud as she barely restrained herself from leaving her seat in outrage at the unexpected comment.
"This is a situation none of us has seen before," Dr. Leskinen responded to Maho's sudden yelp. "Seeing how the events that have occurred should be impossible, it is necessary for scientists to restrain themselves from making rash conclusions despite how logical it is."
"And why is that?" Maho mumbled incoherently with unbelieving eyes at why her professor is saying or even suggesting something this outrageous and nonsensical.
"Because we are dealing with the impossible," Dr. Leskinen gave a grin as he guffawed at the end.
"So you are pretty much saying to keep an open mind then, Dr. Leskinen," Shirou jumped into the conversation as Maho and Kurisu looked at Shirou in surprise at him still being there engaged in the conversation.
"Bravo!" Dr. Leskinen broadly grinned as he attempted to do a high-five in Shirou's direction which was only met with a confused expression. Dr. Leskinen motioned for Shirou to complete the action, however, Shirou lifted his finger and ended up poking the palm of the scientist's hand with uncertainty at what was going on.
Dr. Leskinen sighed at the motion as Maho looked with disbelief at Shirou's ignorance to the simplest customs while Kurisu tried her best to muffled her amused laugh at the once in a lifetime interaction she was able to witness.
"We need to work on your knowledge of American culture," Dr. Leskinen pointed out as he stated a solemn promise to make sure Shirou is up to date and well-equipped for what the world has in store for him.
"Will it help people?" Shirou asked, hoping to understand is the knowledge relevant for the sake of others.
"You bet!" Dr. Leskinen beamed at the response as he gave Shirou a thumbs up.
Shirou nodded indifferently at the answer as he gave his tacit approval to undergo this "training" while Maho and Kurisu could only sigh at how rapidly their professor is beginning to pollute the poor innocent boy before them.
"Why are we here again?" Maho asked before slumping down in her seat as she gave a jaw-breaking yawn while drawing circles in the air, motioning the American styled kitchen they were currently in.
If Kurisu had to use any word to describe the kitchen they were currently in that had a bar styled table at the side which they were seated in front of, the word to describe it would be "immaculate".
From the shining stainless steel pan bottoms that hanged proudly on a rack hooked up to the kitchen ceiling to the seemingly gleaming granite countertop and island almost made this kitchen looked like it came out from a retail advertisement. Not to mention, the aroma emitted from the frying pan only increased the comfortable atmosphere.
"Professor Leskinen invited us both here after hearing Shirou is able to cook. Which led to him deciding we should tag along to try some culinary Japanese cuisine with him in his house served exclusively by Shirou," Kurisu swiftly answered while she pointed at the busily cooking Shirou who had a light brown apron on him.
"I know that," Maho mumbled once again, "but that's not what I meant. I mean, why are WE here?"
"I know why I'm here," Kurisu continued. "I am here to try out Shirou's handiwork. But you … I have no idea, why not you answer the question yourself seeing how you are the subject of the question."
"I am here to accompany a certain naïve obnoxious red-haired girl who has no idea how dangerous it is to go to a man's house alone at night, especially with men that have no common sense or decency to walk a girl back to her house this late at night," Maho answered with partially slurred words.
Kurisu restrained herself by scoffing at her colleague's comment as she decided on the most suitable verbal counterattack. "Are you suggesting you are capable of protecting me? Is that what you are referring to?" Kurisu asked impassively though the amused glint in her eyes made Maho scowl at Kurisu's statement once she realized that Kurisu is enjoying this conversation.
"Not everything is solved with brawns, plus, there is always strength in numbers," Maho nodded sagely.
Kurisu refrained herself from refuting that statement immediately. Sometimes having more in numbers could be more of a burden than that of a strength. But Kurisu knew Maho would have foreseen that thought already and would have thus prepared a verbal counterattack for it, therefore, it was up to her to change the direction of the conversation.
"Well, regardless, I trust at the very least Shirou would be willing to accompany us back home."
"Huh?" Maho voice her disbelief confusion at what she just heard.
"Did someone call me?" Shirou shouted over the roaring fire as he worked eagerly before the frying pan as sweat gathered on his brows due to the intense heat.
"Nothing," Kurisu answered back.
Shirou shrugged and was about to get back to work before Maho interrupted.
"No, there's something! What are you planning to do after dinner ends, Shirou?" Maho asked with a mischievous look.
"Huh?" Shirou voiced out at the sudden odd question directed at him. "Do you mean what I want to do or what I can do?" Shirou ended up asking.
"Uh, want," Maho decided.
"Well, after I get you guys back home—"
"Erk," Maho accidentally let out an involuntary voiced out surprise.
"—I might take a detour to the school and help you guys get ready for tomorrow," Shirou continued. "After that, I'll go over to the park and do some … meditating."
"Meditating?" Maho questioned with confusion as Kurisu joined her with a raised eyebrow of suspicion.
"Yeah, meditating," Shirou answered without even directing a look at the two girls he was talking to as he walked back to the cupboard and chopped some carrots and onions before placing the contents into the raging frying pan. "Then after that, I'll come back here and help clean up and organize the house before preparing for tomorrow's breakfast. If there's still time after that, I'll go back to my room and do some more … meditative training. Later, I'll cook up breakfast for Dr. Leskinen then accompany him to Victor Chondria University and see whoever needs help there."
"Uh … what?" Maho asked, completely dumbfounded at Shirou's strings of statements. "Where did sleep went in your schedule?"
"You asked me what I 'want' to do," Shirou pointed out, "not what I 'need' or 'can' do."
"I sometimes wonder are you simply a saint or a masochist?" Maho voiced her thoughts aloud.
"Maho-senpai!" Kurisu protested at Maho's non-tactful statement.
"I wouldn't call myself a saint," Shirou began, "there are much more people who have accomplished far greater deeds than I ever did. However, I would not call myself a masochist either despite some people believing the contrary. I'm just myself, a person who simply likes to help people and wants to create a world where nobody will cry, a world where everybody will be eternally happy," Shirou's hand that held the spatula then slowly came to a stop at those words as if reminiscing a memory before quickly going back to work with the same vigor he held a minute ago.
"He … didn't just said that, did he?" Maho finally asked after a momentary stunned silence as she continued to stare wide-eyed at Shirou's back.
"He sure did, Senpai," Kurisu answered slowly as she had a hard time processing her thoughts while Kurisu replayed the words Shirou sincerely said earlier.
Maho tried to say something but ended up sighing. "I don't understand him."
Those words Shirou uttered, there was such longing for it that it looks like this lifelong dream defines his entire existence. A selfless life of a saint will be the best way to describe this absurd dream despite Shirou stating the contrary.
"Shirou," Kurisu finally called out again as a question bugged her in her mind to no end. The question on how far this man is willing to go and at what lengths is he willing to pursue this impossible dream.
"Yes?" Shirou answered back as he dimmed the fire to make sure the cooking food doesn't overheat.
"If you had a father who destroyed everything and everyone you loved, "Kurisu began, "but one day asks for redemption when he is about to die, hoping you to save him. Would you save him from that death?"
"Of course," Shirou answered without hesitation. "No matter what he has done in the past, if he is sincerely hoping to seek redemption, a chance to change, I am more than willing to save him. Even if it costs my life. I will be willing to save a man's life no matter the sacrifice on my behalf."
The forgiveness and the passion he exhibits to save others regardless of their past placed both Kurisu and Maho in another series of stunned silence. The sincerity he held while saying those words indicated this was no lie nor a fancy act. It is something he is saying from the depth of his heart.
"Are you human?" Maho finally asked.
Shirou gave a chuckle at the statement. "Anatomy would say so."
"You do know you can never save all, no matter how deep your desire to save is, right?" Maho asked inquisitively.
"I feel like that's not my first time hearing this," Shirou answered. "But even knowing so, is it wrong to pursue this kind of path?"
"It's not wrong," Maho started off slowly, "it's just … twisted," Maho finally decided her choice of word to describe the man's dream in front of her. "What you're trying to achieve is the impossible."
"I know," Shirou replied once again, "but even so, the dream is beautiful enough that I am willing to pursue it despite what the world dictates as impossible."
"You're going to only end up seeing a world of disappointment and regrets, Shirou," Kurisu warned aloud, concerned for the man's somewhat warped mindset in front of her.
Shirou shook his head. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen. I'm not doing this with expectations of everything will happen in the most perfect way possible. Even if tragedies upon tragedies occur beyond my control, I will not regret for the sake of the living whom I was able to save. The goal is not to just save the majority, it is to save all. If I am able to do my very best, then I'm happy."
"I … don't get him," Maho muttered under her breath. "He's a fool."
Kurisu could only absently nod her head once Shirou turned around to put the last finishing touches on the cooking dish. Despite knowing all the setbacks and consequences towards this unrealistic dream, Shirou will nevertheless continue to pursue his ideal because of its beauty and the sheer illogical hope he held for the dream to truly become a reality.
The entire night continued with a contemplative, mulling silence as Kurisu countless times ran the words of Shirou's in her head. "The goal is not to just save the majority, it is to save ALL."
"Mmmm," Maho immediately moaned in delight as the taste buds on her tongue registered the heavenly cuisine in her mouth. Maho didn't wait for another second as she began to quickly wolf down the food one bite after another without a pause or a word of acknowledgment to Shirou.
"M-Maho-senpai?" Kurisu chuckled awkwardly at Maho's eccentric behavior. "Are you okay?"
"Mmmm, sooooo good. Less talking – Mmmm – more eating," Maho scooped a spoon full of rice with pork and gravy as she dunked the contents into her mouth without reserve, doing all this while grabbing the fork in her left hand to help herself with some more of the steamy vegetables before her.
"Is she okay?" Kurisu finally asked the other participants in the room seeing that Maho is already far too lost in her own little world to respond to her previously asked basic question.
Dr. Leskinen simply beamed at Kurisu in having the joy of sighting the rare opportunity of Maho losing her composure in this manner. Shirou just shrugged uncertainly at what drove Maho to such ecstasy as Shirou continued to eat his meal in a rhythmic pace while motioning for Kurisu to begin eating her dish of food.
"Is this safe?" Kurisu decided to ask, fearing the same fate that has befallen on her beloved friend would happen on her.
"Of course," Shirou answered as if it was obvious once he finished swallowing his bite of food before he continued. "Why isn't it?"
"Uh, you know, never mind," Kiriu gave up on reasoning with the non-concerned chef of the day here, "shouldn't have asked."
Shirou nodded in understanding as he proceeded to continue to eat his own already half eaten food while Maho began to grab for her seconds.
Gingerly taking the spoon, Kurisu dug into the moist white rice dabbed with pork juice gravy as she took a spoonful of the content while bringing the food up to her mouth. Taking her first bite of the cuisine, Kurisu's tongue immediately registered the overwhelming explosive flavors packed in the simple Japanese cuisine as she stared wide-eyed at what she is eating.
Almost unconsciously, her jaws began to set into a rhythmic frenzy motion as she can't help herself but continue to chew faster and faster to absorb the unearthly food.
"T-This is really, really good, Shirou!" Kurisu praised in between bites, doing all this without losing her pace or stamina by a fraction of a second.
"I'm glad you like it," Shirou grinned at the busily devouring Kurisu who is completely concentrated on the food before her.
"This is excellent, Shirou!" Dr. Leskinen congratulated the man he knew not too long ago. "You should cook here every day!"
"Professor!" Kurisu protested aloud at Dr. Leskinen's statement, surprising the middle-aged professor that Kurisu was still able to be in the state of mind to process what he just said while Maho continued on to her third round without acknowledging any of their existence.
"Sure!" Shirou warmly smiled at Dr. Leskinen. "I don't see why not."
"You're being way too kind, Shirou," Kurisu sighed in defeat, knowing whatever she is going to say will ultimately fall to deaf ears.
"Would you like me to bring you some too when I arrive at the university with Dr. Leskinen?" Shirou suggested innocently.
"Wha—?" Kurisu exclaimed in surprise at the sudden turn in the conversation. "Thank you, but that will no—" Kurisu stopped herself midsentence as she felt an urge of unable to finish her next few words. At that moment, the inner desires of Kurisu's and the thought of not troubling the already kind-hearted and busy Shirou clashed together with a euphoric inaudible bang.
"Okay, then it's settled," Shirou declared as he lightly hit his right fist into his left open palm. "I'll cook some extra so you and Maho can snack on it if you ever feel exhausted from work."
"U-uh," Kurisu stuttered, not sure how to respond against the statement, rarely did she ever lose her composure in this manner.
Dr. Leskinen looked at the entire situation unfold perfectly with amusement as he finally gave a booming laugh in response.
After Dr. Leskinen quieted down, a small groan could be heard from everyone's left as all the people by the kitchen veered their eyes to the direction of the noise.
"So good," Maho mumbled incoherently as her eyes drooped with exhaustion. "This kind of food should be illegal. What kind of addictive properties does this thing have?" Maho groaned again due to her overly stuffed stomach.
"I swear I'll die if I eat like this every day," Maho mumbled out again as she lips continued to move with minute movement but with no sound coming out from it.
"Uh … Shirou-san is bringing some food for us tomorrow morning," Kurisu noted to her friend.
"Huh?" Maho asked sleepily in question before her eyes snapped open, fully awake once the message was completely processed. "WHAT?!"
"Good morning, Hiyajo-san," Shirou greeted with a warm smile and an accompanying wave of his hand as Maho looked up from her pile of work and at Shirou's direction.
"S-Shirou!" Maho yelped in surprise, fearing that the man before her is going to present another one of his otherworldly dish that's on par to yesterday evening.
"You don't look too well," Shirou creased his forehead in thought. "Are you feeling alright?"
"P-Perfectly fine!" Maho stuttered out a yelp once again.
"Okay, well," Shirou paused as he grabbed something from the bag wrapped around his waist, similar to what a utility man would often wear during work, "I've got something for you."
Maho's back immediately went frozen rigid as her back straightened immediately at his words. The only word that popped up in Maho's mind was the word "food". Food that is so good that it is undeniable and can reduce the most self-disciplined man into a ravaging glutton. Maho had been on the receiving end of this curse disguised as a blessing when she overloaded her stomach and ate beyond what her body told her to while her tongue tempted her otherwise.
If Shirou were to offer Maho something now even though she had already eaten breakfast, Maho wasn't sure does she have the necessary willpower to ward off the addictive cuisine … especially that rice with the thin slices of pork and that heavenly gravy that is evenly spread throughout the moist absorbent rice. Maho quickly shook her head profusely from side to side to scatter her chain of thoughts away before she looked straight at Shirou again who was eyeing her strangely.
"W-What is it?" Maho asked, tongue-struck and not positive on what to say in the awkward predicament.
"Here," Shirou ended up saying, ignoring the weird reaction he inadvertently incited from Maho as he handed her a large black external hard drive.
"Huh? What's this for?" Maho asked, her previous nervousness and dread now completely washed away as she looked in confusion on why Shirou handed her an external hard drive.
"Dr. Leskinen told me to hand this to you," Shirou explained. "Something about Amadeus and research data."
Maho nodded in understanding. "I get it. Thanks."
"No problem," Shirou answered as he turned his back to face Maho. "I'm going to get some work done, see you at lunch."
"R-Right …" Maho trailed off uncertainly at the statement. It seems like the incoming trial and temptation of Shirou's food was not nearly over yet to her half-hearted disappointment.
Maho then turned her rotated chair forward toward the desktop computer once Shirou left the room as she proceeded to plug the hard drive into the USB port of the lab desktop.
The file explorer quickly popped open onto the screen once the drive was plugged in, displaying a number of folders in it with a notepad file on the top of the page with a name of "_READ_ME".
Double-clicking the file, Maho was quickly able to pinpoint the speech style as none other than Dr. Leskinen himself writing this message.
"Dear Maho!
Here is Amadeus Shirou in the hard drive, part of it anyway. Enjoy activating it as part of the team!
Your best and favorite professor,
Dr. Leskinen."
Maho sighed at the message before gazing seriously at the written message. There was absolutely no way for a true artificial intelligence to fit in a simple hard drive. There was simply too much data to fit in one at this point. Hence why personnel working on the Amadeus project will normally use a designated server to log into the Amadeus program and utilize the A.I. for experimentation purposes. However, to think Dr. Leskinen would provide her a hard drive filled with a part of Shirou's digitized self is nothing short of odd. Especially since he specifically designated her as the person to activate the program on the entire team's behalf, which should normally be done through the standard login method via the university's servers.
To put it simply, what Dr. Leskinen had done here is beyond the collective gain of the Amadeus project but to the degree of personal wants. This file is clearly obtained and copied without the permission of the other staff members in the lab. Although Maho was not entirely sure why Dr. Leskinen made such a risky and illegal move, Maho was still more than willing to find out the answer.
Double-clicking in the folder labeled as "Amadeus", Maho then scrolled all the way down to the number of folders and files before arriving at a file that wrote "Amadeus Application". Double-clicking the application, a window quickly appeared as it prompted the user to type in their username and password.
Typing in the necessary credentials as the application verified the authentications, the Amadeus program quickly let Maho into the application.
Nothing was heard for a moment as silence met the entire space while Maho eyed curiously at the pitch black screen. Suddenly, static filled the room as Maho was forced to cover her ears at the high pitch noise that was produced.
Maho was about to force quit the application before silence reigned the room once again while the speakers made minimal noise.
"I-I-I—" more static covered the words that were all of the sudden produced through the speakers.
Listening intently, Maho leaned closer to the screen and the two sets of speakers beside it.
"I – a-am the b-bone of m-my sword."
What? That was all Maho could think as the static grew louder before completely ceasing as the speakers once again grew silent.
Finally, as if an oppressive aura entered the room while the curtains swayed unsteadily, the speakers voiced out once again, this time with perfect clarity while the screen glitched with uncertainty.
"I am the bone of my sword."
Maho widened her eyes as fear lumped in her throat while her heart dropped to her stomach at the unknown nauseating oppressive aura that is spoken through the voice. That tone of speech which spoke of tremendous and unfathomable power uttered out those words as if it were a part of his identity. The words that give people hope yet despair alike. There was no doubting it, this was the voice of none other than the innocent, kind-hearted Emiya Shirou.
Gathering up her courage, Maho finally uttered out the words that she had been desperately trying to get out of her tied up tongue towards the artificial intelligence, "S-S-Shirou?"
Thank you for reading! – SteelBlades333
Next month's update: Fate Blade Zero – Chapter 12 (site chapter 14) – [The Tohsaka Residence]