1057/A Little Better Each Day

A Little Better Each Day
Date of Scene:	18 February 2016
Location:	Takashi's House
Synopsis:	Ami is still recovering at Takashi's house. At least she can walk now!
Cast of Characters:	Ami Mizuno, Takashi Agera

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Ami Mizuno has posed:
A week and a half into her recovery, and Ami remains stronger than she has been each day. By now, walking around Takashi's house is no longer much of a chore, though she still gets winded if she tries to do it for an extended period. Trips to the bathroom, bath, or kitchen are no longer terribly difficult for the bluenette, and she's no longer confining herself to the couch for extended periods. She is, however, spending a good deal of time with her computer. Takashi's stock of Coka-cola has taken a sudden sharp decline, as Ami started mainlining the stuff to her usual degree.

As Wednesday rolls around, Ami's sleep schedule is also starting to somewhat normalize. She awakens with the dawn for the first time since she's been here, and glances over at the still-sleeping Takashi. With a faint smile, Ami reaches for her phone and turns both the volume and the vibration feature off, then sets about texting Usagi.

The conversation takes quite a while, but eventually she looks back up at Takashi, then puts the phone away and sits up. Sliding out from beneath the covers, Ami tiptoes her way into the kitchen to start trying to figure out breakfast for two. Eggs, bacon, toast, and juice will do.

Takashi Agera has posed:
A combination of at least a solid year of collpasing at lab desks and computers has taught Takashi's body to grab sleep where it can, and now that he no longer lacks the tenseness of worrying that the person occupying his couch is going to randomly expire in the night, he's not just sleeping soundly, he's sleeping somewhat like a rock. He's managed to find a way to make the chair comfortable too, even if that means he's curled up a bit.

This gives Ami plenty of time to text with Usagi and get breakfast starting before the smells in the kitchen get the attention of his stomach, which convinces his brain to wake the whole system up slowly.

Takashi squints a bit, and then he's sure hse's smelling food. Which is odd, because he's not cooking. This is not a common occurance.

He mumbles something that's not really a coherient set of words and gets up, leaning into the kitchen from the side.

"Why are you cooking?" he mumbles out. It's not a complaint, just genuine curiosity. "I was gonna wake up and do that... eventually."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami is standing at the stove with a spatula in hand when he enters the kitchen. She turns, revealing that she's also wearing the apron she found in the corner. Oddly, it declares her 'Foxy' in English with a fox-tail coming off of the 'y'.

Pointing her spatula at Takashi, Ami says, "Sit down and shush. I know what I'm doing." So why does it sound like she's having to convince herself of that?

Ami turns back to the eggs, folding them over a few times to encourage their scramble. "Anyways," Ami explains as she moves over a pan to turn the bacon, "I was hungry, and you were snoring, so I thought it wouldn't hurt me to get some exercise and make my own breakfast."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi had honestly forgotten about that apron. It... more than a little bit shocks him awake for a lot of reasons, but perhaps primarily because he forgot he had the thing around. He'd gotten it for Ayana, because the fox-girl was anything but a safe cook. Seeing it on Ami is a little bit of a head trip. At least she's not asking why he had it.

"Well, if you're gonna cook breakfast I'd be a fool to say no." he says, hands coming up to try to do something about the hair that is substantially more all over the place than usual.

"Do I snore?" he asks, squinting a bit. "I must just be more tired than I thought from all this. That'll probably pass once I stop sharing so much energy with you." He hopes.

The other connotations of the situation do not escape him, but upsetting the person working over a stove who is apparently making your breakfast is universally considered a poor life choice, so for once, he holds himself in check. Not that he won't remember it later.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Just a little," Ami says without turning back around. "Kinda like a purring tiger. Not that tigers purr, but it's that same kind of rumble." She waves a hand, then pulls the toast out of the toaster and starts buttering it. Toast on plates, the eggs follow soon, and then it's just waiting for the bacon to finish.

"So was the apron your ex-girlfriend's?" Ami asks curiously as she grabs a paper towel to put the bacon on. "Because I don't see you wearing a size small, and while you're an arrogant jerk, you don't seem the type to declare yourself 'foxy'."

Takashi Agera has posed:
In many ways, that is not a question he wants to answer. In other ways, he is very grateful for the question being asked, because it saves him from making any comments on how she said he snores, given that he would like to eat some of that food in a way that doesn't involve it being turned into projectiles.

It takes him a while to weasel up an answer. "I used to have a pet fox, so someone got it for me because of that." he says, waving a hand. "You know, a gag gift sort of thing. Dunno why I didn't get rid of it."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Ah," Ami replies very quietly. Somehow, she can sense that there's more to this story, but she doesn't press it. They've both had enough of pressing one another for information, and she has her own secrets to deal with at the moment.

Pulling the bacon out of the pan, Ami turns off the stove and lets the bacon dry a bit before transfering half to each plate. Breakfast made, Ami delivers the plates to the table, then takes a seat near Takashi. "Itadakmiasu," she says quietly, before digging into the food.

Ami eats in silence for a few minutes before she finally says, "I talked to Sailor Moon this morning."

Takashi Agera has posed:
He can /tell/ she's not buying it, but he's not going to try to press an issue she's at least not investigating.

"Itadakmiasu!" Takashi says with a not-insignificant amount of enthusaism, and turnting to her. "Thank you for breakfast." he says, before digging in himself.

When she mentions talking to Sailor Moon, he quirks an eyebrow up. "Oh? What about?" he asks, between bites.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The bluenette spares Takashi a flat look. "You know what about," she tells him honestly, then quirks her lips into a half-smile before returning to the food. "Anyways, she agreed that it should be safe to tell you about myself, given I already have information on you that you don't want known, either."

Here, she raises her eyes from her food to study him thoughtfully. "So ... I guess if you still want to know, and the offer of studying Axion in exchange for this knowledge is still on thet able, I will tell you."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi leans in a bit. "I said you could study Eiszapfen." he clarifies, pointing a fork at her for a moment as though accusing her of changing the terms. "I have to keep Axion in reserve for a number of reasons, though I might be able to let you look at the AI Core, which is probably the bit you're most interested in anyways. I think that part's repaired by now. Should be, if it's talking to you."

"And yes, I think you know some things about me I'd rather you kept quiet. But I'm curious as to what you think is such a big deal that I don't already know." he admits before returning to his plate.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Eiszapfen's AI isn't that great," Ami points out to Takashi. "If I'm going to learn about artificial intelligence from your devices, it needs to be Axion. I'll settle for the AI core if you think that will give me enough." She picks up a piece of bacon and wields it a bit like a pointer, then explains, "I could just do the AI core of Axion and then Eiszapfen for general magical understanding. But my main goal is the intelligence."

She shrugs, then chomps down on the bacon. "Anyways, it's not a big deal, really. It's just that what we're fighting for is pretty global scale." Pause. "Actually with what I've learned recently, it's universal scale, which is sobering and I'm so not telling Moon that, yet. She'd freak. Anyways! The point is, I want to make this deal with you. I want to tell you. So if you'll let me have a look at the AI core, I'll tell you who I am, and answer any questions I can about what that means."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Esizapfen pings from the other room in a soft note that still gets across the point of 'how rude' in a strange way, and Takashi smiles a bit at all of that. "Well, they're both interesting in their own ways. But sure, I can let you look at the AI core. Unlike Eisz, Axion is in three bits, and the AI Core is away from the other ones. I presume the other two are still reparing from damage, which means that I can't expose the workings to you anyways right now.

"Universal scale, huh?" he asks, a bit interested. "Well, we already had that talk about understanding. Even if I do 'freak' a bit I imagine I'll maintain enough lucidity to be functional." he says with a grin.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Mmm," Ami says, "well I'm hoping I can keep coming back to study them more. I doubt I will get everything I need from studying your devices in a single day." She shrugs a little, then sits back, plate already empty.

"You weren't wrong," Ami notes quietly. "I lied because I was scared, and because I have previously revealed that I am Sailor Mercury to someone whom I shouldn't have. But unsurprisingly, your intellect allowed you to see the truth. I am Sailor Mercury, the Soldier of Justice and Wisdom."

Takashi Agera has posed:
There's a self satisfied smirk when Ami admits that his intuition was right. "I'm not usually wrong when I make declarations of such a nature. Or, wrong in generally, really." he adds as an afterthought. "That does make me feel somewhat better, though. It explains some holes."

"Well I was already on the assumption you wouldn't get everything you needed in one day, yes. But I figured I'd see you back eventually." he begins, noting that Ami has now cleared her plate of potential greasy projectiles. "After all, my house is apparently also your home." he adds with a grin.

"But yeah, let me clear off some space - actually this table's probably the best place we have to work with - we'll need a lot more room than you might think."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Just like that? No questions? Ami's brows raise a little in surprise, but she doesn't argue the point. His jab about 'home' does earn a faint roll of her eyes, but still she doesn't make any point to disagree. Instead, she takes up her plate and moves to the sink to rinse it off.

"Speaking of," she notes over the sound of running water, "Tonight, I mean to stop being such a burden. I'm going to spend the rest of the week at Makoto's house. She can watch over me and make sure I'm safe, and I will make sure she contacts you if I relapse."

Turning the water off, Ami unties the apron and hangs it back on the hook where she found it, then moves back to the table. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me, but I think we could both benefit from a little space."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi thinks on the commentary, but he decides to clarify one thing. "You know, you haven't been a burden lately. I understand wanting us to have a little space - jokes aside we have been somewhat stuck together for a while - but I have rather enjoyed having you around lately." he says as he brings his own plate in to wash it.

"Just make sure she has my number, but I honestly think you'll be fine going forward. And... really. You should text me more." he adds, as an aside.

He returns to the table and starts cleaning it off of any debris - some of which might be more dust than anything due to how often it's used - and looks over at her. "If you don't then I'm going to text you and make you blush around your friends." he half-warns.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Don't you dare," Ami replies to Takashi with a warning glare. She's not sure whether he's serious or not, but for the moment she's taking it very seriously. Stepping back, she crosses her arms and fixes that glare more fully on him.

Then she sighs and throws up her hands before walking away. "Look," Ami calls over her shoulder as she heads into the next room, "I still don't know how I feel about everything that's happened this past week and a half. My judgement is compromised, and you know it better than anyone."

"I'll be glad to share notes with you on magical research, and to help you with the Subspace problems you mentioned. I'll absolutely want to spend time taking Axion's AI core and Iceszapfen apart with you, but after today I need a break. I need to get the dark energy out of my system so that I can sort through my thoughts."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smirks. "That glare might be the first evidence I have that my energy is affecting you on some level. Unless you do that normally." he says. Then, with a huge breath. "I was joking again, Ami-chan. I do that sometimes. You will have to get at least a little bit used to that if you want to build an AI with my help."

Takashi walks back to the room, picking up Eiszapfen and the center of the three little earstuds that make up Axion. "Eis first, on that note. They're both a little bit different, but they've got the same general principles." he says, putting the little charm on the center of the table. "Eiszapfen, maintenance and repair mode, full stop." The little charm pings in response.

And then, out of the subspace hold that makes up Esizapfen, a veritable array of peices and parts comes into being on the table. It's more bits than even look like they'd possibly fit in the halberd form, and a lot of them are very arcane. "Eiszapfen is an Armed Device, which means it's really designed for getting up close and personal - but it's also still a spellcasting device, so it can do math quickly and turn my energy into the effects on reality we all know as magic." he begins.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami returns to the kitchen after grabbing her cell phone off the table by the couch. She tucks it into the breast pocket of her silk pajamas, then settles into a chair at the table as she studies the myriad components.

"So much," she mumbles, then draws the Mercury computer out of nowhere and sets it on the table. Propping it up on a little stand, Ami reaches out to tap a few keys, then smiles at Takashi and says, "So, this is going to look dorky in my pajamas, but ..."

Ami trails off, then reaches up to grasp one of the trio of earings in her left ear. "Mercury Goggles," she intones quietly, and with a little flash of light, her augmented reality goggles flash into view on her forehead. Leaning forward, she begins studying the components that make up Eiszapfen, curiously.

"It looks like it can change shape," Ami notes curiously as she studies the various parts. "Not just between the small form you keep it in and the halberd, but ... you can do more with it, can't you?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Ami coments on looking dorky, and Takashi shrugs a bit. "Looks fine to me. Maybe I just spend too much time on campus. Put a lab coat on and you look like most of the undergrads, just prettier." Takashi says, before just walking into the actual technical parts. "I'm still working out what all I can do with it, which is funny when you consider I built this one from scratch, unlike Axion." he says, looking out at the parts. "To a certain degree that's up to me, just like how my henshin armor takes the form I want it to.

"And just because it's not as artificially intelligent as Axion doesn't mean that it doesn't handle a lot of data." he says, pointing to a couple incredibly complex crystaline shapes. "If this was a supercomputer it'd make anything on the Top500 look like a hunk of junk." he says, proudly.

"The calculation required to do magic - even Belkan magic, which is more direct than mid-magic - is immense. I understand most other magcial types don't really have to do that. But for mages, the device is what translates our will into action."

"Unless your little tablet there helps you make fog or frost." he says. "I've only really worked alongside other Device users, in a direct sense."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami shakes her head faintly, denying the computer's involvement in her magic. She's too focused on study to even notice the compliment he's paid her. "It helps me formulate and analyze theories, but putting them into practice is mostly a matter of will and an understanding of jmetaphysics."

She leans forward to study some of the pieces more carefully, without touching them, then explains, "The Mercury Computer is really just an incredibly advanced computer. From what I've been able to gather, it's actually a relic of the Silver Millenium that's been brought forward."

"Functionally," Ami continues, "any computer about a thousand years from now should be the equivalent of this. The form it takes is one I decided for it. I could probably make it take the form of a microdot if I wanted to. But it's just an incredibly powerful CPU with near infinite storage space."

"So you designed this one from scratch?" Ami asks as she studies the pieces. "Where did you start?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
"Well, I patterned it off other Armed Devices I had gained access to. Scratch is a strong word. I did build the peices - again, in a sense of duplicating known parts, albiet with my own twists - but I think anyone who made a Belkan Device of thier own would be able to understand most of it. I started with what serves as the core for its energy, a Lost Logia I came into posession of called Rising Crash."

Takashi shifts some of the parts around to reveal the beating heart of it. "Don't touch it, though. It was originally aligned to heat, the polarity's been reversed and it'll chill you right to the core if you touch it with your bare hands."

"But that's what lets it store energy, and that's why I do all of the ice walls rather than just bare energy. It's closer to Mid-Childan though so I had to build some conversion equipment here and here, but... Axion is both Mid-Childan and Belkan - I built it out of the spares available to me at the time, though I've been upgrading it ever since - so I've got some history making the two systems interact."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami glances at Takashi with amusement in her expression. "You do realise cold is my element, right?" she asks him amusedly. And water, of course. "I put an iceberg in the harbor once so I could kill a witch and survive by putting myself in cry." Just a little bit of pride.

Yet for all her bluster, Ami doesn't actually touch Eiszapfen's frozen core. She does, however, study it through her augmented reality goggles, allowing the Mercury Computer to tell her as much as it can about the information stored, there.

"Fascinating," Ami admits quietly. "Impressive." From her, there are fewer words of higher praise. "I have to wonder whether the difference between a Senshi and a Device User isn't ... a matter of perspective. When I devise a new spell, it's because I have a better understanding of the metaphysics involved, and am able to simply enact it with pure will. Sailor Moon received an upgrade to her henshin device to get her new spell, which implies that our devices are somehow tied to our understanding. I can do more without a new device, but only because of my personal understanding. She can do more with one because it's more advanced and requires less understanding. Not so different from your armed device, I think?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi laughs a little bit. "So you were responsible for the sudden appearance of the iceberg in the harbor." he says, leaning over a bit. "But I still wouldn't touch it ouside of henshin, unless you're attuned to ice like I am shadow. I think I'd get punched really hard if you lost fingers to frostbite here." he says, laughing a bit.

"I'm still trying to suss out all of the differences myself. I mean, everyone who uses what we call magic is turning emotional strength into raw, visible power that affects the world around them... but in a lot of ways, everyone's methods, wavelengths, are quite different. And then there's even more complications..."

He moves some of the pieces around in space, essentially reworking how the device is. "I mean, you're the senshi of Wisdom, so understanding is paramount, but she's not, so she shouldn't need to. It's clear there's some sort of rules that work here, but they might be different for each person. It makes figuring things out difficult. But very interesting."

"Even within devices, certain people react better with a certain device than others."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I suspect my understanding isn't actually required," Ami notes as she studies the device in its new configuration. "It just enables me to do more with less." With a twitch of her lips, Ami sits back and reaches up to banish the VR goggles back into their storage realm.

"So tell me about Eiszapfen's intelligence," Ami asks, turning to regard Takashi again. "Did you create it yourself, or was it a part of the Lost Logia you mentioned? I only barely have any idea what all of these parts do, but only the gem seems like it's actuallyg ot any particular computing power."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi shrugs. "There's really no way for me to know without a lot of very invasive investigations, precisely how your power is drawn." he says, watching her study the device. "But I suspect some sort of... effort on those principles, Justice and Wisdom, is required on some level."

"The gem itself is the stacked AI sets, yes. It's a simpler one than Axion's, but it seems as though these Armed Devices are the prototypes for which the later Intelligent Devices were built - so I thought it might be interesting for you to see them like this. I had experience with the more complex forms first, I admit, but this is probably a more rational way to come around to it."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Good thing I didn't ask you to know, then, isn't it," Ami replies to Takashi crossing her arms. "Given I've already witnessed myself doing more with less through understanding, I have prety solid evidence to support my theory. Obviously I will keep gathering data, but in the absence of evidence to the contrary, I must presume that the device itself is part of the degree of power and control."

"Similarly," Ami expresses, "your device Eiszapfen is less intelligent and powerful than Axion, correct? Therefore, Axion is like an upgraded device. You even used those terms. I suspect it is similar for the Senshi. The difference is, our devices are highly attuned." Pause. "Actually that's not really so different, either."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi perks an eyebrow but doesn't really respond for a moment. Eventually, he settles on "Well, I was speaking academically. Easy to use you as an example when you're standing right here." he says, looking at her.

"Well, Eizsapfen and Axion are, to my understanding, both of the wrong type for my mentality." he admits. "I'm probably more of a bombardment mage." he says. "But I made due with what I had and Belkan devices don't really do Bombardment."