Morning sunlight spilled softly into the Kurotsuki household, the cherry-blossom winds of Sakura-machi brushing through the open windows. Six-year-old Kurotsuki Tenkai sat cross-legged on his futon, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Status report, Aion," he whispered.
Aion: "Neural flow steady. Cognitive speed enhancement at 3%. Sleep cycle optimized for learning retention. Awaiting next objective."
Tenkai grinned. "Perfect. Operation 'Get Rich Before Puberty' begins today."
Aion: "Clarify parameters."Tenkai: "Become a powerful sorcerer and filthy rich."Aion: "Ambitious."
....
Meanwhile, in downtown Sakura-machi…
Akane and Masaru Kurotsuki stood inside an electronics store. Rows of chunky laptops filled the glass cases like artifacts from the future.
Masaru scratched his head. "So, we're really buying a laptop… for a six-year-old?"
Akane sighed. "He said he wants to learn programming. I thought maybe he meant Lego robots or something."
"Yeah, but this thing costs ninety thousand yen!" Masaru whined. "When I was six, I was learning to write my name!"
Akane deadpanned. "And you still sometimes forget it on forms."
Masaru pouted. "Hey—!"
A sales clerk walked over. "Sir, ma'am, may I recommend the IBM ThinkPad T23? Solid specs, durable build, and—"
Akane interrupted with a skeptical look. "Can it survive being dropped by a child pretending it's a spaceship?"
The salesman blinked. "…Possibly?"
Masaru crossed his arms. "Perfect. We'll take two."
Akane's head whipped around. "Two?"
"One for backup! You know how fast our son breaks things."
Akane sighed, muttering, "The real child is standing next to me."
...
That evening, Masaru carried the box into Tenkai's room like it was a sacred relic.
"Son! Behold your gateway to the future!"
Tenkai's eyes lit up. "A ThinkPad T23!"
Masaru blinked. "You… know what that is?"
"Of course! Pentium III processor, 256MB RAM, 20GB HDD, Windows 2000 preinstalled!"
Akane stared at her son. "Masaru, are we sure he's not… like, a reincarnated office worker or something?"
Masaru whispered back, "If he starts demanding coffee and tax deductions, I'm calling a priest."
Tenkai bowed formally. "Thank you, Mother, Father. You've given me the tools to build my empire."
Masaru chuckled nervously. "Heh. Empire, huh? Just don't take over Japan before middle school, okay?"
Aion: "Device link established. Would you like me to assist with optimization?"Tenkai: "Yes. Begin cognitive boost protocols."Aion: "Enhancing neuroplasticity… developing eidetic memory… linking logical flow and predictive pattern recognition."
Tenkai felt a tingling sensation, like thousands of tiny circuits lighting up behind his eyes.
...
Days turned into weeks.
While other kids watched cartoons, Tenkai devoured programming tutorials. Aion fed him simulated environments—future versions of IDEs and frameworks that didn't even exist yet.
He mastered C, Java, Python, HTML, PHP, and MySQL in secret, purchasing digital "knowledge packs" from the Abyss Ledger. Each one expanded his mind like a blooming universe.
In his room, the faint tapping of keys echoed deep into the night.
Aion: "Mini project complete: Browser-based game—Sakura Smash."Tenkai: "Upload it to the local bulletin board. Let's test the player response."Aion: "Done. Three downloads in one hour."Tenkai: "Progress. Step by step."
...
At dinner, Akane watched her son eat quietly while staring at his ThinkPad across the table.
"Tenkai," she said. "You've been glued to that thing for days. Are you sure you're not turning into it?"
He looked up with toast crumbs on his face. "Mom, I'm building things that make people happy!"
Masaru grinned. "Oh? Like what?"
Tenkai puffed his chest. "A website for your school! I made a digital noticeboard for Kokoro Gakuen."
Masaru nearly dropped his chopsticks. "You—what?!"
"I used your name and email so people think you're cool," Tenkai added cheerfully.
Akane blinked twice. "You made your father an influencer before influencers existed?"
Masaru stood dramatically. "My son… you've made me legendary!"
Akane facepalmed. "And unemployed, if the principal finds out."
Aion: "Incoming email: Local bakery requests web page assistance."Tenkai: "Another client, huh? Let's build them something simple but beautiful."
Akane looked at him in disbelief. "You're… freelancing? You're six!"
Tenkai smiled sweetly. "Child labor laws can't stop genius, Mom."
Masaru coughed. "Remind me to never make him angry."
.....
From 2002 to 2004, the projects evolved.
Simple Flash-based games brought joy to local kids. A chatbot translator helped tourists navigate Sakura-machi. Aion created encrypted digital identities using Masaru's credentials, funneling small freelance payments into a separate account Akane opened "for family savings."
But Tenkai knew it was his seed fund—the foundation of his coming empire.
Aion: "Estimated funds: 1.2 million yen accumulated through 41 completed commissions."Tenkai: "Not bad for a first grader."Aion: "Agreed. Your learning trajectory suggests exponential innovation potential."Tenkai: "Then let's scale. I want to learn everything—programming, marketing, design, economics, jujutsu theory."Aion: "Multi-threading the soul. An interesting approach."
Late at night, under the faint hum of the ThinkPad, Tenkai whispered:
"Power isn't just cursed energy, Aion. Its influence, knowledge… control over systems. The world runs on code, not curses. If I can master both—"
Aion: "Then you will stand above gods."
...
One quiet evening, Akane peeked into his room.
Her son sat surrounded by notebooks full of diagrams, code, and strange mathematical symbols. His ThinkPad glowed faintly, lines of code reflecting in his galaxy-like eyes.
She whispered, "Masaru, look at him. He's… really something, isn't he?"
Masaru smiled softly. "Yeah. I don't always understand what he's doing, but… when he talks about it, his eyes light up like you when you style someone's hair."
Akane chuckled. "So, he gets the passion from me, and the stubbornness from you."
Masaru nodded sagely. "No, he gets everything from you. The brains too."
Akane smirked. "You mean he didn't inherit your 'forget-my-lunch' gene?"
Masaru gasped. "You promised not to bring that up!"
Tenkai, without looking up from his laptop, said calmly, "Dad, your lunch is in the fridge."
Masaru froze. "He knew."
Akane burst out laughing.
...
Weeks later, Aion spoke as the cherry petals fell outside the window.
Aion: "Tenkai, I have optimized your sleep cycles for maximum data retention. At this pace, you will outpace the global tech curve by fifteen years."Tenkai: "Then the age of Kurotsuki begins."
He placed his hand on the warm keyboard, feeling the hum of life beneath his fingers.
"Let's build the world of tomorrow, Aion."
Aion: "Acknowledged. Logging dream sequence: 'The Binary Awakening.'"
Outside, Sakura petals swirled against the night sky, the faint glow of the ThinkPad painting the future of humanity in code and cursed energy.