futurology | text; un: saitama

[Hey, that works out, because he's in no real hurry, either. He does make it to the tree first all the same, so he meditates--hah, that's a funny joke. He actually just plops down on the ground in the shade and lays down, arms pillowing under his head. He idles there staring up at the branches and the couple of cats high up in the branches having their little cat naps, waiting.]

[ Zenyatta arrives to Saitama napping- oh, maybe not napping?? Wow, astounding.

Either way, he takes a seat next to Saitama, settling to the ground already cross-legged. ]

Greetings, Saitama.

Yo.

[He wasn't napping, but his greeting turned into a big yawn like he had been. He doesn't get up from his position or anything, though, the grass is comfy. At the tail end of his yawn, making his voice sound more languid than usual, he remarks:]

Glad you made it safely.

It was extremely perilous.

[ It obviously wasn't. ]

[He snorts again, turning eyes back up into the tree.]

I ever tell you how I got strong?

[This is going somewhere, promise.]

You did not.

I trained hard every day for a long time. Then one day I woke up and had lost all my hair, but was really strong like I am now. . . .

[Hopefully you weren't expecting a novel, or even a paragraph, Zenyatta.]

That was not much of an explanation.

[ He wasn't expecting much, and yet he's still disappointed... ]

I'm getting there.

[Gosh, aren't monks supposed to be patient.

He's silent for a bit more, thinking about what he's going to say next. He never opens up to anyone, barely admits things to himself let alone someone else, not even Genos, but Genos has his own problems. Zenyatta, at least, Saitama knows he wants to hear problems sometimes. He keeps his gaze trained on the swaying cat tail far above him.]

Animals weren't really attracted to me or anything before, but if I fed a cat a noodle it wouldn't always run away. But after, they always ran, if they even took the noodle.

[ Zenyatta pauses for a moment, noticing Saitama is being rather serious, and remains quiet while the other continues to explain. After this... seemingly, unimportant story, Zenyatta adjusts his position, shifting a little so that he too can lie down on the grass, next to Saitama. This probably isn't going to help his "try to not get more dirt inside wiring" request from Knock Out, but oh well. ]

You are concerned that animals fearing you is related to gaining your strength.

[ Not said sarcastically, but as a genuine statement. ]

Yes?

[He glances aside at him as he lays down next to him, but eyes averting back up at the question. He's not trying to sound too serious, his voice trying to remain blasé. It wasn't like he was close to tears or feeling too heavy about it, anyway, thanks to tapping down depression forcefully for years.]

Something like that...

Animals are more intune with certain aspects about humans, than even humans are aware of. These cats here, I am certain, are the same to a certain degree. They are highly sensitive to nervousness in a human, and can interpret it as a threat. At the same time, I believe they can also sense strength, and also interpret that as a threat.

[ He turns his head to "face" Saitama. ]

Maybe it is your strength. Maybe it is your tension.

But whichever it is, not an abnormal reaction.

I don't know. Maybe.

[He would like to think it was as simple as that, but, as he's speculated silently before, it may be more than that. He shrugs, turning his head to finally look at him for longer than a second.]

I was pretty much the same before.

[So Zenyatta's tension excuse doesn't make that much sense. Sure, Saitama is harrassed by issues he didn't have before the strength gain, most notably baldness, but it wasn't like he was a relaxed dude before then, either.]

Then what do you think is the cause?

[Since clearly, Saitama has his own idea on what's causing it, even if he isn't saying it. But anyone who shoots down ideas often times it's because they think they already know the answer.]

[Silent for the moment, he looks back up into the tree. The cat left... now he just watches the rustling of leaves in a breeze.

Finally, he asks a question he wouldnt be surprised if someone like Zenyatta had thought many times before:]

You ever wonder if you're even a robot anymore?

[ Ah. He gets it now.

But he doesn't give an answer yet. ]

What about me makes me a robot? Is it my body? My mind? My past?

Ah, I don't know . . .

[He tilts his head back in his arms, contemplating this question literally, which Zenyatta probably hadn't intended.]

Your electronics? I don't know, I was never good at stuff like that . . .

Too literal.

[ Zenyatta replies, and would shake his head if he was lying down. Instead he holds up his hand, flexing the fingers, and curling them into a fist back and forth. The center of his palm has a thin ring of a circle, and behind the metal is a light that illuminates that thin circle. ]

This form I have now, and the form I had taken a month ago, as a human, have proven something I always knew. True self is without form. I am myself, and it does not matter what I look like on the outside, or what might even change on the inside. I could have organs, like you do, or I could have processors and motivators, but regardless, the only me is me.

Are you still you?

[The glow attracts him from out the corner of his eyes and he looks at Zenyatta midway through his speech. It was pretty admirable how confident he always seems to be, even after what he went through while as a human.

But can going from robot to a human, even if infected but still weak by normal standards, compare to what worries him?

He stares at him for a moment, then rolls over onto his side, propping his head up on one hand to look down at Zenyatta, pushing a half-smile to his face.]

Did you like eating? When you were a human?

Oh, yes. I did. Too much...

[ It's embarrassing, actually, when he thinks about how much he liked food. He quashes the feeling of nostalgia for it right away. ]

[Sweet, Zenyatta didn't call him out on obviously changing the subject. He must have been sneakier at it than he thought. He grins widely, genuinely pleased to hear that.]

Good. Eating's one of the best things to do as a human.

[ Joke's on you Saitama for thinking he forgot. ]

I was excessive...

[Dunno, seems pretty certain Zenyatta's clearly forgotten...!!]

That's okay, that's why our stomach's expand!

[NOPE, because the more he talks about how much he overindulged, the more he wants to change the subject himself.]

You did not answer my question, on purpose.

[Two can play at this game.]

And you're changing the subject, too.

Yes, plz

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