destinystrings | the emperor's omen

Who: Ideo Hazama and open!
Where: Sagittarius, generally
Summary: Ideo's a little frustrated after a certain network post went up. So, he's off to work off stress!
Warnings: Ideo being broody as usual...???

It had taken him a good ten minutes to literally pry himself from his computer in R&D. He'd left Ceu in charge of the lab, made his way through the building's fluorescent lights, and braced himself for the strong winds. The weather was predicting clouds tomorrow, and with how blustery it'd been, he could easily believe it.

He hadn't bothered to bundle himself up however, just stepped out on to the street with his lab coat flapping. If he got a cold, it'd sort of be a welcome relief- he hadn't realized how tense he'd been lately until that post. Maybe he was working too hard?

Or maybe he was just overly worried...it was sort of the season for him.

Ideo didn't really have a destination in mind; he just walked the streets with his shoulders hunched, waiting for his nerves to calm down enough that he could return to work. But he didn't realize how far he'd walked from the building...

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The exact moment Yamato brought up the network post, Ideo's entire attitude seemed to change. He found himself hunching once again, this time over his coffee, and didn't seem to be paying the same amount of attention. Apparently, he had been when he finally spoke-

"I wouldn't suspect this is 'good' and 'evil'- especially coming from him. He...knows better than that."

Ideo's head tilted towards the window again, purposefully keeping from eye contact as he continued. "I would not classify Philemon as 'good', either, of course...but that post specifically brings up something even I had not considered." He shook his head, looking back at Yamato. "You speak as if you found it pretty inane. Would it be odd if I told you the person who wrote it is seeking to eliminate everyone thinking in terms of 'good' and 'evil'?"

Yamato's interest was obviously peaked by Ideo strange behaviour, and even more so by his strange words. Who was this 'He'...? Truthfully Yamato wasn't even interested in the identity of the anonymous network person. He found their attempts to instigate discussion on such a topic painfully dull and irritating.

"Is that so? Huhn, that is something can agree with then. There is no Good and Evil, after all," Yamato said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. "So I don't find it that odd - although considering they were attempting to draw out others' opinions on it is. They said they had been looking for 'information' on the non-natives by asking..."

"He's trying to see how people will react to the truth."

It's an odd statement among his already weird behavior, but Ideo didn't seem to notice. In fact, there was an odd sort of smile on his face now.

"How many are open-minded enough to discuss them? Who believes in these lofty concepts, and will they take those feelings to the grave? We can't know about all of you- so sometimes one must get their hands dirty to determine these things." Ideo tugged at his gloves, before resting his chin on his knuckles with a laugh. "And people think it's one of the Anoli- as if they could hack in to our secure channels. It's been enlightening."

Ideo was becoming increasingly fascinating the longer Yamato talked to him. He moved and spoke oddly, and his words and tone were at odds with his cringing body language. It was a mess of contradictory behaviour...and even Yamato, with his limited social understanding, could see that.

He leaned forwards slightly, resting his elbows on the table, and unconsciously mimicked Ideo in resting his chin on his knuckles.

"You know who the anon is." It was more of a statement than a question because, duh, pretty damn obvious. "Is there a reason he had to hide his identity to ask such a question? I feel that many of the non-natives would have given their opinion whether or not the person was anonymous."

"There is a reason he's hiding, similar to why I felt I needed to when I first arrived- I feared my past would catch up with me. Only he is less fearful, and more desiring it to not interfere with what we're doing here."

Ideo pushed at the rim of his cup with a finger as a sort of idle gesture.

"Though, it is also part psychology. Give someone a nameless, faceless person, and they will feel they are being judged, watched, the like. Some even go so far as to be outright rude just because they lack a name. In that way, people are fascinating- remove an identity, and so goes their need to treat someone humanly."

Yamato snorted softly. "Of course. Isn't that how humanity always is?"

He straightened up, drumming his fingers against the table with a faint frown. "Although many people declare compassion and empathy towards their fellow man, they can only do so when reminded, or when feeling pressurised by society to do so. When interacting with someone who has no face, no identity, they forget they are human behind that disguise."

A soft laugh. "Hm, even when there is a face and name, people won't treat each other humanly unless there is a benefit from doing so. That is simply how they are."

It is clear Yamato has a very low opinion of society as a whole. He knows people would turn on one another in an instant to get ahead, or for holding different beliefs, looking different, being born different, having a different station...it was all ridiculous in his opinion. At least in his Meritocratic world, the only ones who would be treated lower than human would be the filth who are unable to keep up. That was fair, wasn't it?

"Such compassion being mass-claimed is almost offensive to the true sight of it." Ideo snorted, dropping his fidgety arms entirely and looking at Yamato dead on again. "I knew so many people who claimed to be good people- as they kicked me to the ground in their supposed superiority. Girls who said they were sweet while mocking others, boys who claimed strength as they hid behind others."

Seems, Yamato, some of your opinion is reciprocated. But oddly, he didn't outright seem eager to agree.

"...my sister is different, as was her friend. They acted out of need at first, but acted on my behalf out of genuine concern."

"..."

Yamato's expression darkened into one of brief, deep thought, before it cleared abruptly. "Yes, there are those who take the belief of altruism genuinely, but they are few and far between. A minority."

And hopelessly naive. Yamato didn't doubt Ronaldo's genuine wish for all of humanity to join hands together in ridiculous world peace, but it was a dream born from naivety and ignorance of how humans truly worked. No competition? Society would stagnate within months. That wasn't getting into the fact that it was a direct violation of what made people people.

Selfishness wasn't a pretty trait, but it was what made humans so advanced. A desperate need to have everything, to be the best.

the emperor's omen

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