Dr Takuto Maruki

Forbidden Fruit (PSL)

2025-10-06T21:58:03Z

Thunder rolls- the sky is practicing its sound woven by white gloved hands.

Takuto Maruki sits at his desk, the cursor blinking against an unfinished research report titled "On the Stability of Desireless Cognition."

His reflection in the window looks calm. Too calm. He hates it.

He sighs, setting down his pen. Then, quietly, he opens a drawer and removes a small blood packet — one he fabricated into existence hours ago. He’s already prepared the shattered vase, the broken latch on the balcony door, the faint smell of burning cloth. Every detail measured, every 'error' intentional.

He murmurs to himself, "The human mind only grows when it's cornered... right, Akechi-kun?"

The smile he gives himself in the reflection isn't warm.

He crushes the blood pack against his temple, staggers backward, and collapses across the hardwood floor.

Moments later, reality folds to his will.

A young woman- a cognition of his own making, named Mina Kashiwara, appears at the threshold. She’s breathless, terrified, perfect. Her voice trembles as she “finds” him:

"Dr. Hito! Oh my god—someone—someone’s hurt him!"

He drifts into feigned unconsciousness as she dials emergency services.

Location: Yongen-Jaya General Hospital
Time: The morning after.

The world returns to him slowly - too slowly.

White light spills through the blinds. The smell of antiseptic bites faintly at his nose. Beneath it all, he hears the soft, distant whine of cicadas — summer's reminder that time hasn't stopped, even if everything else has.

Takuto Maruki opens his eyes.

His head throbs where he 'hit' it, the faint trace of dried blood painting one temple. For a moment, he almost forgets the cause — and then remembers: he designed this scene. Every wire and whisper of it.

He moves carefully, pressing a hand against his chest. The hospital gown rustles. On the table beside his bed sits a vase of flowers (lilies, of course — always lilies in this world), and a card signed in polite handwriting: Speedy recovery, Hito-san. – The Shibuya Police Department.

A gentle knock breaks his thoughts.

Dr. Hito?”

A uniformed officer steps in — Detective Yamada, a middle-aged man with the neatly constructed face of a cognition. The man smiles faintly; the performance continues.

"Ah... Yamada-san. Any progress?"

Yamada shakes his head, his tone apologetic but almost confused.

"No sign of forced entry. No prints, no tool marks. We recovered a calling card, but forensics says the ink has no chemical profile. It’s as if it doesn’t exist."
"So the police are calling it what? A hoax?"

“That’s just it, sir. Everyone's...confused. Nothing so brutal like this has happened in years. Our division chief thought maybe...maybe we could consult someone from outside the department. A detective who handles odd cases."

Maruki hides a smile behind his hand, feigning polite surprise.

"Oh? Someone like... Goro Akechi?"

"You know of him, Doctor?"

"Only by reputation," he says softly, eyes half-closed. "If he's willing, I’d be grateful for his insight."

The officer nods, relief clear in his expression — unaware that he was never real enough to question the convenience.

As soon as the door shuts, Maruki exhales.

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2025-02-17T23:39:22Z

TAKUTO'S NOTES

“Your fanciful quote goes here. Add something whimsical and elegant!”

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2024

September November December

2025

January February March April May June July August September October November December

2019

June July August September October November December

⌘ September 2024

❖ 01/09: Entry post » What is this place?

❖ 04/09: Post » "Anyway, there's someone here who was... changed, by another version of you. That version of you wanted to make him happy, but the problem is, now he can't comprehend anything related to cognitive psience or the cognitive world. He just sort of... 'blanks out,' and it's led to him feeling hurt and frustrated. I think he wants to be able to perceive things the way that others here do. Maybe not change completely into the person he 'used to' be, but at least be able to see and exist in those spaces, so he isn't left behind."

❖ 06/09: Thread » Maruki screams in pain and betrayal, and the whole thing is so unlike the god he's become at home that for a moment Ren doesn't recognize him. It helps. Seeing Maruki like this, as just a human being instead of a usurper deity. Adrenaline and panic still pulse through Ren's body, overwhelming most of his ability to think, but some of the haze clears from his eyes. "Don't fucking touch me," he says again. His voice shakes, but at least it's quieter this time. He grips his Evoker so tightly his fingers hurt. He has a healing Persona, of course, but he doesn't even think about calling Maria. Maruki feels less dangerous like this. ......

❖ 28/09: Thread » Weaving through this place yet again. The collective consciousness...

⌘ November 2024

❖ 23/11: Roleplay thread » "Isn't it enough that he's dead?! That he's no longer with me?!" The day of returning Corvus's tape. The day when Azathoth revealed his true colours to fight for a brother's wish. Why did it have to end like this? How is Azathoth simply creating cognitions at will? It's scary, carrying this sort of power when you can't even fathom what the creature will try to do next in order to reach its end goal. I must understand this further. I need to understand how tangible a person's inner reality is with the actual reality and if Azathoth can truly bridge the gap like this...will they end up like me? Festering from its wounds? Is this the cost?

❖ 30/11: Thread/chat » "Maruki didn't erase pain. He just papered over it. Wounds that I'd thought long scarred over were suddenly fresh in my mind, the moment I broke free. And it was the same for many others- Sumire Yoshizawa? Is one of the most incredible people I've ever known. And he wiped her away, made her believe that she was Kasumi and Sumire had died- and when she broke free of that, it was like losing Kasumi all over again. That's not healing, Doctor. It's giving your patients morphine, complete with the nearly-lethal withdrawals when the drip runs dry." A certain phoenix rises from the ashes, awaiting judgement at death's door or perhaps seeking a friend out of an enemy? Have I...always been in the wrong here? That can't be, can it? Azathoth isn't talking to me anymore which I suppose has its merits but I don't know what to do from here. If my help has only caused so many people pain, pain that feels irrational and ridiculous and stupid to reach out for- does anything matter. Did all those sleepless nights mean nothing? It's unfair. It's unfair.

❖ 30/11: Roleplay- toplevel » "My brother and I played the Persona Game when we were younger, but I didn't awaken to Helios until my investigation on the Joker killings. The same can be said for my companions, Maya Amano and Ulala Serizawa." Another adult in our midst? Nonetheless, grown to be quite the good friend. Thank you for assisting me with my rather silly request.

⌘ December 2024

❖ 4/12: network » Sometimes you gotta make a risk if you want your life to change. And change is also apart of life. Good and bad. None of them get it. They never will. They simply never will.

❖ 17/12: network » Meeting a seasoned veteran of this place leaves much to be desired but I am still glad that people are getting to live a happy life in this prison.

❖ 28/12: Toplevel [EVENT] » You’ve been given a laboratory. A chance to rebuild your ideals. And her presence. Isn’t it ironic, Doctor? When someone else extends the same treatment you so readily impose on others, you find yourself... discontent. I miss you so much, Rumi. Even in another world where nothing matters, my mind keeps going back to you. Your smile. Your laughter. The way how warm your hand feels despite being told that she's not real. That you are but a shallow reflection of the brillaint woman I once could confidentally love and cherish. Why did it have to end this way? If nothing mattered, if my research didn't matter then nothing else ever will. The cost of giving you up will be all for naught.

⌘ January 2025