Taro: Stabilizing

The following day was a Saturday, and Taro was in his workshop putting the finishing touches on the neural link. Kokoro was seated in her wheelchair next to him. Both she and Tomomi had arrived at his house earlier than he was expecting, but to say he didn’t appreciate the company would have been a lie.

He was at his desk on his computer, making edits to the parts of the algorithm’s code that were causing the static noise overlaying with Kokoro’s voice when she spoke. All he had to do was adjust the frequency a bit, write a function to clean up the audio before transmission, and, …

“There. That should do it. I think it should work now.” Taro said, still focused on his computer. He turned to his side and found Kokoro gazing at him with those big beautiful blue eyes of hers. Her golden hair seemed a hundred times more voluminous than before, and he briefly wondered if touching it was a boundary he could cross now given the amount of physical contact they’ve already shared.

His neural link was resting on top of her head, and somehow, the metal, halo-shaped device only added to her beauty, not take from it.

“Could you go ahead and say something for me?” Taro asked. “Let’s see if the changes work as intended.”

“T, t t Taro, t t Taro.” Kokoro said in a funny sing song voice as she tested the neural link. Her voice filtering through Taro’s earbuds was crisp and clear. She really did sound amazing. Her tone was vibrant with personality, and somehow it seemed to have changed her demeanor. She smiled more, her eyes carried the same constant shine Taro remembered from the cafe, and she looked even more beautiful than before.

Marry me. Marry me now. Please, just ma…

“So, how is it? How does it sound?” Kokoro asked, snapping him back to attention.

“Ah, it’s good. You sound amazing.” Taro replied with a smile.

“Hmm.” Kokoro said as she shot him a questioning look. “I trust you, but I want to hear for myself.” Kokoro then turned her head to the side and swept her hair back, revealing her ear. Her absolutely gorgeous ear.

Taro took out one of his earbuds and reached out to place it in her ear. As he did so, Kokoro turned to face him, then rested her face against his palm. Taro was breathless for a moment, but quickly relaxed himself at the feel of her skin against his hand. Her face was soft, her skin smooth, and as she continued gazing at him with a gentle expression, Taro briefly wondered if he should move in and press his lips against hers.

It almost happened the night before, but his socially inept AI assistant ruined the moment. However, now it was just the two of them in his workshop. He could move in for another try, and nothing was going to get in their way. But he took too long.

Kokoro pulled away from his palm, and he had no other reason to keep his hand elevated.

“Thank you.” she said. “Truly. I’m about to sing for the first time in thirteen years. And it’s all because of you.”

Taro wasn’t keen on the whole idea of Kokoro placing so much weight and significance on what he had done. He was simply happy to have helped out, using the skills and knowledge he possessed. That is all he ever wanted.

“Please.” Taro said, shaking his head. “There is really no need for the repeated gratitude. I just want to help see your dreams come true. You still have to do most of the work.”

Kokoro smiled, then reached out to hold his hands in hers.

“I’m glad I have you with me.” she said, and something in Taro’s heart fluttered before settling down.

“And I’m glad I have you too.”

***

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road already, WOOT WOOT!” Tomomi said as Taro and Kokoro came into the living room. A boombox was setup in the corner, and Tomomi held a tablet in her hands that was going to be used to select the songs Kokoro was going to perform.

The girls initially had the idea to head out to karaoke with Taro, but given the strict laws against cybernetic enhancements and brain computing interfaces, Taro convinced them against it.

There was a high probability someone might report them as soon as they see Kokoro wearing the neural link, and Taro wasn’t planning on getting anyone in trouble for something he did.

So, an agreement was made. Kokoro would only utilize the neural link whenever she was indoors. Be it to communicate, or when she wanted to sing. And until Taro could better conceal the device in public, or find a way to somehow convince society his invention wasn’t a threat, the miracle of Kokoro’s ability to speak would remain hidden from the rest of the world.

And as long as she was safe and wasn’t unhappy, he didn’t mind.

As Taro went to sit on the couch beside Tomomi, Kokoro took her spot at the center of the living room. There was an everlasting smile on Kokoro’s face as she prepared to sing, and Taro knew in that moment, that was the only gratitude he would ever accept.

Seeing Kokoro happy and radiating with such excitement and energy was payment enough. He just wished he could see the same expression on his sister’s face someday, if he could tweak the neural link to reverse blindness.

“Wait. How does she hook up the thing to the boombox?” Tomomi asked, turning to face Taro.

“Oh, sorry. Can I see that real quick?”

Tomomi handed the tablet over to Taro. And with just a few clicks, the neural link was now connected to the boombox.

“It’s done.”

Tomomi took back the Tablet from Taro and reopened the music app.

“You ready Kokoro?” she asked, lifting her head up to stare at her friend in the center of the room.

“Yes.” Kokoro’s voice was smooth as it escaped the speakers of the boombox. “I’m ready.”

Tomomi hit play on the first song on the list, and the instrumental from star Airi’s hit single (Taking Over,) began to play.

And after a few seconds, Kokoro, who had been silent for almost all her life, began to sing.