05 - MECHA-HYDRA: RISE UP

[drakenguard]

Who: Yamato Hotsuin and YOU
Where: Virgo Ward
Summary: Yamato's upgraded. He's making a hydra out of metal cutlery this time
Warnings: You can almost track the gradual loss of sanity.

As Scorpio District is still getting cleaned up after the insanity that was The Event, Yamato had to get his 'supplies' from somewhere that was a bit more generic in terms of wares. Yes, yes, shocking that someone as serious and work-minded as Yamato would go out and do some more arts and crafts, but the thing was...

He actually enjoyed it.

It was a private joy, and no doubt if someone asked him about it he would stone cold deny it without hesitating, but he felt he could indulge in it once in a while. It wasn't like he had anything else to do in his free time (which had thankfully lessened now that he had a job with Ideo in the labs...), so he felt no guilt in wasting his time on it.

So in the Virgo ward, Yamato bought a box of metal cutlery. You heard right. Metal cutlery. He was going to try and out do his earlier project of plastic dragons, and make metal dragons. Bending the metal was a bit harder than the plastic - although it was less likely to snap - but Yamato was quite strong physically (even if he had to use magic to be so) so it wasn't anything too difficult.

Bug him, or simply interested in buying one? Feel free to approach! He is just sitting on one of the few tables outside a café, cup of coffee the only thing fuelling his busy fingers.

Comments

[drakenguard]

...

...

...

Yamato rode that awkward silence like a pro surfer.

"Nothing," he replied, his expression utterly deadpan. He bent a fork between his finger and thumb, as if it was a thin flower stem, and started to carefully twist it into place along the dragon's back, tweaking the little prongs for its mane.

"They serve no purpose. I plan to simply dispose of them once I am done."

[otakuro]

"Hm."

This was clearly an intellectual challenge Yamato was setting for him to overcome. Atsuro squints slightly as he draws closer.

"So... the act of disposing of them - since dragons are symbolic of wealth and prosperity, it must be representative of casting off worldly values. Or a sacrifice for equal power."

He was really reaching here.

[drakenguard]

Yamato lifted his gaze to give Atsuro a long, flat look.

"...you've found me out," he said, his tone complete deadpan. "Yes, this is part of a convoluted ritual - aside from the dragon, I am also in need of a willing, living sacrifice. Male, young, a possessor of high intellect..."

[otakuro]

"Uh."

Atsuro blinks for a few seconds.

"Gosh golly shucks. Don't know any folks like that. Guess I'd better like, get on my way now."

[drakenguard]

"Is that so? You seem to fit the description nicely," Yamato said, and his lips curled into a rather malicious looking grin. Uh oh, it looked like Atsuro's caught on the end of Yamato's very morbid sense of humour. "Ahaha...it would be a shame to let you go to waste."

[otakuro]

"I know, right?" Atsuro nods sagely to himself as he continues to back away. "It'd be a shame to let such amazing programming skills be lost for the sake of some silly ritual. We'd better find someone with more conventional intelligence to sacrifice. Also less attractive."

[drakenguard]

Yamato continued to chuckle lowly, his eyes narrowing in a near predatory way. "Hrhn... quality is necessary for sacrifices. Going for second best is hardly the most efficient way."

[otakuro]

"I-It's a means to an end! As long as the ritual succeeds, it doesn't matter what's on the altar! ...I mean, unless you're Christ, but I'm pretty sure I'm not in the same category here."

He was perfectly cognizant that Yamato was joking, of course, but still. The guy was creepy.

[drakenguard]

"In rituals it does matter what is on the altar," Yamato said mildly, observing Atsuro's fluster with a slight, bird-like tilt to his head. "Some wish for specific traits, and it is best to give it the best of those traits. Going for second best has a higher chance for failure, rather than success - or an accident happening."

Accidents were fun.

[otakuro]

"As much as I like being called 'the best'..." Atsuro stops backpedaling when he judges himself far enough from Yamato to have a running start.

"Seriously, why are you making those? Just for fun?"

[drakenguard]

"No."

The reply was sub-zero in tone, and Yamato's expression stiffened up in an almost eerie manner. Defences are UP.

[otakuro]

"Uh."

It appeared he had struck a nerve of some kind here. Atsuro blinks for a few moments. "...They're not for fun, but they're not for any use, either?"

[drakenguard]

"Yes," Yamato replied, and his shoulders drew up slightly, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at the almost finished metal dragon. "Why would I derive enjoyment out of something that merely wastes time? It isn't productive or useful in the slightest."

[otakuro]

((Sorry for the wait! I've been on mini-hiatus for the last few days; feel free to ignore if you'd rather drop the thread!))

This was probably the oddest conversation he'd had all week. ...This was saying something, considering the types of people who were presently in Hinoto-Ri. Atsuro blinks and nods slowly to himself as Yamato expresses his distaste for things that were less than productive.

"If, uh... you don't waste your time on things that aren't useful, why are you so good at this?"

[drakenguard]

((S'alright! I'm enjoying this thread so no dropping on this end <3))

Yamato tapped his fingers against the table, and he slowly straightened up out of his defensive posture, his chin tilted up confidently. "I just am. That is how it usually is."

[otakuro]

Atsuro sinks into a slouched posture of his own as he hears this less than satisfactory answer.

"...Is it really that hard to admit you like making dragon decorations? It's not like they're awful or anything; they're pretty neat, actually."

[drakenguard]

"To enjoy something that serves no purpose is... ridiculous," Yamato replied. "One's energies and efforts should be concentrated towards advancing and bettering themselves, not creating useless things."

[otakuro]

"I have a feeling we'd all die from stress before we reached 40 if we never did things we enjoy. It's probably counter-productive in the long run."

[drakenguard]

"..."

Well, it wasn't like JP's leaders even lived that old. They normally died at around thirty - a mix of stress and the sheer danger of their job. Yamato thought living 'til forty would be a grand achievement-

Hah. That's right. He already died. At the ripe old age of seventeen. Funny.

"I don't have to worry about that any more," Yamato said, his expression flattening a little.

[otakuro]

Whoops.

"...Oh. Right, sorry."

Atsuro is not well known for his tact and restraint, as a certain brand of chocolate drink can attest.

"Er. But! You've got all the time in the world now to do the things you've always wanted to do, right? I mean, if this is going to be your afterlife..."

[drakenguard]

"I have already come to that thought," Yamato replied. "But it just seems pointless. There is no real purpose to recreational activities, whether or not I am living on borrowed time. I do not gain satisfaction out of it."

Yamato was playing with a knife then, nimbly flicking it between his fingers as he frowned down at it. That was a lie. Yamato was doing plenty of 'recreational' activities, although they did serve a purpose. Educating Shijima to be more incompetent, teaching Shura new abilities so he could observe how humans turned demons function, working with Hazama in the labs...

They all had a tangible purpose and use. Making metal dragons? Yeah, no real...useful purpose...

[otakuro]

"If nothing else, you can sell them for some cash on the side." Atsuro shrugs. "I don't know about you, but I'm only being paid enough for food and clothes." Granted, Atsuro had a gaming and shiny tech addiction to cover with his salary, but perhaps Yamato had some secret indulgences of his own.

[drakenguard]

"I do not require extra funds."

Yamato was actually saving money, even more so now that he had a reasonably paid job. He bought...only food, and even then it was cheap takeout, or instant meals. He had three pairs of clothing to cycle through, and no hobbies that required monetary upkeep.

...it was kind of depressing, really.

"You may sell them if you are in need of money."

[otakuro]

".................."

This was getting tedious. Atsuro sighs slightly and readjusts his hat.

"Well. If you're going to throw them out, anyway... You still haven't said why you're making them, you know."

[drakenguard]

"There is no reason as to why I'm making them," Yamato replied, resuming in making the steel dragon. "Do I need a reason to make them? Not really."

A very roundabout way, despite earlier saying that recreational activities were dumb, of saying that he was doing it for fun. Needlessly complicated, Yamato.