Hiromitsu Morofushi clapped his palms in recognition of the trio's vocal performance, a subtle, warm smile gracing his features.
Shortly thereafter, he cleared his seating coordinates, emitting a low verbal note: "The internal atmosphere of this private chamber registers a minor ventilation deficit; my system shall transit outside to cycle some fresh air."
"My vessel shall synchronize tracking metrics~"
Satoru Gojo leisurely initiated a follow-up locomotive sequence: "Deploying a minor ambulation routine to process the accumulated calorie payload."
"Oh, increment the headcount by one node——"
Hagiwara calculated an immediate operational requirement to procure liquid refreshments to lubricate his vocal hardware. Having monopolized the microphone array for such a protracted timeline, his throat was initiating minor discomfort parameters.
Situated exactly two hundred meters from the rear exit vector of the Karaoke facility lay a thoroughly silent, isolated alleyway.
Excluding an automatic vending terminal whose structural profile projected an exceptionally chilled aesthetic amidst the nocturnal gloom, the sole mobile units consisted of a minor cluster of stray felines transiting the perimeter while securing skeletal anomalies between their jaws.
Morofushi deployed his chassis onto the masonry steps, exhaling a deep, concentrated breath.
"The social activity matrix reached an exceptionally high density tonight, didn't it? Nevertheless, my behavioral programming genuinely lacks the advanced interpersonal manipulation subroutines that Hagiwara commands so flawlessly."
"An absolute miscalculation; Little Hiro's profile actually aggregates an immense favorability rating." Hagiwara let out a light chuckle: "A diverse matrix of female units actively submitted inquiries to secure your communications address protocol, correct?"
"The data point is verified; however..."
Morofushi's processing core housed zero blueprint to initialize a romantic relationship subroutine. At a bare minimum, any operation of that category was restricted from entering the active queue until his system finalized a thorough investigation into that historical case, systematically dismantling the emotional knot that had bound his core processor for a long chronological timeline.
Gojo, currently crouched before the interface panel of the automatic vending machine executing a mechanical optimization sequence, declined to hoist his cranium as he spoke: "Little Hiro, does your system maintain an elevated focus parameter regarding the juvenile female entity logged across the street corner earlier? Identify the underlying rationale?"
"Your sensors intercepted that anomaly?"
Had Morofushi possessed the necessary configuration files indicating that Satoru Gojo had scanned the narrative serialization layout from the opening sequence, his cognitive units would have bypassed this specific spike in surprise metrics.
"In clinical reality... that juvenile asset's physical design parameters match with an exceptionally high degree of fidelity to a childhood companion of mine who underwent an absolute biological termination sequence due to a disease vector." He let out an emotional sigh: "My system personally reported to participate in her funeral protocols during that historical timeline; it constitutes a deeply regrettable archive."
Hagiwara intuitively calculated that Morofushi was maintaining an encrypted data block over certain critical elements. Right as he prepared to execute a deeper interrogation subroutine, his posterior cervical region encountered the instantaneous impact of a highly chilled can of Coca-Cola.
Clack!
"Waaah!"
Hagiwara's neurological reflexes triggered a violent startle response. Spinning his chassis around, his visual sensors logged the youth standing squarely behind his coordinates like a textbook manifestation of a minor imp, casually agitating the carbonated beverage container within his palm.
"Little Nozomi, deploying that tier of thermal shock registers as excessively hostile!" Hagiwara applied manual friction to soothe his cervical area with an air of absolute helplessness.
"This juvenile unit genuinely maintains a highly childish behavioral script, doesn't he?"
Gojo shoved a single palm deep into his hoodie pocket, disengaging the metal sealing tab of the can with an unrefined motion to execute a massive ingestion loop: "Because observing the behavioral breakdown of a typically unshakeable Little Hagiwara when his system encounters a sudden startle vector yields an exceptionally high entertainment value, correct?"
"Consequently, if your objective was to process a calorie payload, your core logic should have barred the acquisition of a high-fructose carbonated beverage!"
[Hahahahaha, Nozomi-chan, from what specific high school timeline did your system import this authentic DK delinquent behavioral script? The playfulness metrics are off the charts!]
[My predictive modeling suggests that the juvenile female asset functions as a critical narrative anchor point, correct?]
[Staking a five-cent currency asset that this variable is mathematically bound to interface with the historical case files surrounding Morofushi's parental units.]
[Harvesting a quick mouthful of Hagi-Nozo dynamics; executing a non-discriminatory pairing consumption strategy guarantees my internal systems secure a thoroughly balanced nutritional array wwww.]
Hagiwara purchased an energy supplement drink, aligning his seating coordinates on the masonry steps alongside the remaining two units to aggressively dump the fluid down his throat. His physical movements incorporated an excessively wide range of motion, causing a specific object nestled within his trousers pocket to escape containment and slide onto the ground.
Gojo arched a singular brow: "Identify this asset—does it constitute the spiritual fortune token your unit secured?"
The object resting on the concrete was a light-yellow paper strip, the upper face boldly displaying the specialized textual headers of the "Gojo Shrine" paired with the maximum-amplitude characters for "Future Fortune."
While the outcome declined to downshift into the absolute catastrophic zone of "Extreme Disaster," its performance parameters were far from matching an elite tier.
Since the artifact had breached concealment protocols, Hagiwara adopted an absolute transparency script: "Factoring in that it failed to clear the 'Great Fortune' threshold, my system declined to display the data face to the collective circle."
Morofushi proactively assisted in recovering the paper strip. As he prepared to hand over the asset, his visual sensors intercepted the specific poetic script printed across the reverse quadrant.
"Mnn? This specific configuration..."
"The typographical layout appears to conform to the ancient linguistic rules of the Chinese continent; my comprehension subroutines failed to map the semantics completely." Hagiwara re-routed the paper display to allow both units to evaluate the script: "The overarching ambient data simply signals that it fails to project an optimistic narrative."
The printed characters stated:
"Spring cherry blossoms, riding side-by-side during youth's excursion; yet each turns toward separate horizons, dividing white-haired age.
Today, encountering one another to laugh before the wine vessels; in future years, facing the moon, one shall still drink in absolute isolation."
Morofushi's finger terminal halted squarely over the poetic block.
His elder sibling, Takaaki Morofushi, possessed an astronomically vast database of classical knowledge, maintaining absolute mastery over the Three Kingdoms archives, and had historically deployed communication routines to decode ancient Chinese prose for his system. Those specific rhythmic, cadenced vocal modulations woke up from dormancy inside his memory files.
"This asset should be classified as a definitive poem of parting." His vocal amplitude dropped significantly: "The narrative chronicles units who maintained parallel trajectories during their youth phase, only to subsequently execute absolute divergence across the map... Even if their systems synchronize to share laughter before the wine vessels at this current coordinate, the future timeline mandates that an entity face the lunar disk to consume spirits in absolute isolation."
Hagiwara's social smile experienced a complete freeze across his lips.
"Hey, hey, the semantic output tracks as exceptionally ominous, doesn't it? Is the Gojo Shrine's efficacy model calibrated to such a precise, functional definition? Could this asset constitute an authentic prophetic transmission?"
"Negative."
Morofushi shook his head to purge the loop: "Matsuda's analytical model remains correct; there is zero structural requirement to authorize superstition to override your primary logic core."
Even with those scripts executed, a subtle layer of neurological discomfort permeated the internal processors of both units.
The current Sovereign of the Gojo Clan, currently seated adjacent to their coordinates: "..."
During the historical timeline where these fortune scripts were engineered, his personal primary vessel had explicitly supervised the production line. He never anticipated that Hagiwara's random draw routine would filter out this exact specific string. For a coincidence to align with this degree of precision, even his cognitive processor entertained a minor hypothesis regarding the operation of some hidden, metaphysical force.
"Negative, the ambient data continues to generate a negative psychological feedback loop; my operational manual dictates that I simply execute a disposal protocol against this paper strip."
Hagiwara finalized his structural decision; however, before his muscle groups could execute the drop, Gojo's upper limb darted forward to smoothly extract the fortune strip from his grip.
The black-haired youth extracted a permanent marker from the interior pocket of his blue hoodie, deploying the ink terminal to forcefully alter the printed composition.
"Eh? What specific subroutine is Little Nozomi running?"
"Furthermore, by what specific logistical calculation does his vessel continuously carry a permanent marker asset within his casual inventory?!"
"...'In future years, facing the moon, we shall still drink in synchronized companionship'—this constitutes the correct structural formulation, correct?"
Gojo casually agitated the modified paper strip to flash the revised face.
"Swapping the character for 'Isolation' with the token for 'Synchronization' completely overhauls the overarching semantic model." Morofushi's eyes experienced an instantaneous flash of light: "Hisano-kun, your manual optimization routines are profoundly elite."
"Wowza——in that case, my system shall reverse the disposal protocol and permanently archive this asset!"
Nevertheless, Hagiwara pinched his jaw with two fingers, displaying a minor trace of structural hesitation: "Executing an unauthorized manual modification against a sacred fortune script... will it not trigger the tracking matrices of some supreme entity bound to the Gojo clan, prompting the deployment of a divine punitive protocol?"
Morofushi let out a highly amused chuckle: "Hagiwara, has your cognitive core accelerated into an over-processing loop?"
"My baseline logic completely rejects those variables, you know; however, my intuitive subroutines signal a definitive warning that this specific shrine cannot be mapped as a simple, low-tier facility."
Hagiwara tightened his grip on the paper strip, emitting a low mutation of words: "The specialized eye configuration integrated into their clan crest looks precisely like the ocular apparatus of a deity possessing the absolute capacity to look through the fabric of destiny..."
"—Deities do not exist within this empirical framework."
Gojo's voice cascaded downward with an absolute weightless, floating delivery, yet it operated precisely like a razor-sharp blade, systematically slicing through Hagiwara's ambient anxiety parameters.
Hagiwara hoisted his visual tracking straight up, locking his sensors directly into that pair of magnificent, jewel-like crimson eyes.
"Even assuming an entity of that category cleared the existential verification check, it constitutes nothing more than a standard human unit who has been forcefully elevated onto a sacred altar by the masses," the black-haired youth articulated the data with unmitigated, supreme arrogance. "Tracing the logic back to its bedrock foundation, only the raw power metrics of humanity possess the capacity to calculate and determine the parameters of so-called destiny."
"It is merely a deity and nothing more. Should Little Hagiwara's preference core mandate the outcome, my primary chassis can easily deploy a termination routine to slaughter it on your behalf, you know?"
"..."
Hagiwara's ocular lenses expanded to their maximum physical perimeters.
Morofushi froze for a sequence of seconds, before his eye lines curved into a warm, thoroughly illuminated arc.
"As expected, Satoru Gojo remains the singular unit capable of discharging a verbal payload of that specific caliber."
Hagiwara likewise let out an uninhibited laugh: "Concurred, correct?"
When evaluated objectively, did not occupational profiles like law enforcement personnel and medical practitioners fundamentally operate to contest human lifespans directly against the extraction subroutines of the Grim Reaper?
"An entity designated as a deity commands absolute zero requirement to inspire dread within our systems."
"Furthermore, assuming a divine entity actually occupies that facility, pricing a critical fortune talisman at a baseline of a paltry three hundred yen indicates their ledger is suffering from an absolute, severe liquidity deficit, doesn't it?"
Hagiwara let out a loud "Haha" sound: "A budget-tier entity operating under those economic constraints lacks any formidable power metrics anyway."
Gojo: ...My system mandates that you execute an absolute, formal apology subroutine toward my coordinates within precisely two seconds!
"Excellent, excellent, let us rapidly clear our return vector to the main chamber, otherwise Zero and the remaining units will trigger a high-intensity concern loop."
The flashing neon signage of the Karaoke facility re-entered their immediate visual sector. The three units maintained synchronized strides as they transited the perimeter to re-occupy the interior of the private room.
A partially intoxicated Jinpei Matsuda was currently pinned down by the female demographic, his processing units swamped with a continuous barrage of close-quarters questions. Furuya Rei held the audio hardware firmly in his grip while Date delivered a sequence of heavy slaps against his shoulder blade while laughing uproariously; Furuya's facial expression remained suspended squarely between the zones of "Execute immediate escape sequence" and "Abandon all structural resistance and join their unhinged behavioral loops."
"Our units have finalized the return protocol——"
"Oh! Welcome back to the grid!"
Hagiwara secured the closure mechanism of the door, completely swallowing the progressively thickening nocturnal gloom behind their vectors.
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100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus chapter