osakansax:

“I told ya ta shut it, didn’ I?” Faux pas and non intentions his foot. There was no need to be so snobbish when it came to a simple greeting! Suffice to say that thinking in that manner was not unlike the pot calling the kettle black, but that hypocrisy was currently the last thing on the Osakan’s mind, as was that hint of concern he swore he heard laced in that smug detective’s voice.

“Jus’ sit yer ass down, I’ll get it… fer all th’ trouble it’s worth,” he growled. “Had that actually connected where it was s’posed ta, would’ve hurt a lot more than it probably does now.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.”

Which is exactly why the half-Brit moved the way that he had. As he had predicted, taking the hit had done a lot more to diffuse the tension than reason would have. Still, the offer from Heiji to fetch the ice was appreciated, and Hakuba took a seat on the edge of one of the narrow beds in the motel room, furthest from the crime scene. 

“Thank you, Hattori-san. After that, if agreeable, we can get down to the business at hand." 

He took that moment to reach into his suit jacket pocket, fishing for the cream-colored, legal-sized envelope inside one of the inner pockets. After withdrawing it, he turned it over in his palms, then set it in his lap to wait.

osakansax:

“… Whatever,” he huffed in response, turning away from Hakuba with arms crossed behind his head. “I doubt my name callin’ would stop ya from cuttin’ me with that knife-tongue of yers.”

“Ah, did I hurt your feelings, Hattori-san?” Hakuba tempered the sarcastic question with an ounce or two of what sounded like genuine surprise and concern. “My apologies; that is not what I had intended. It would seem that I am particularly sensitive when it comes to use of my first name; you’ll have to forgive me for my faux pas." 

He paused, briefly, then added, "I suppose I should get some ice for that well-aimed punch of yours. You’ve got quite the arm, Hattori-san.”

osakansax:

Rage still boiled hard within his veins (though one might just wonder how much of that was his own) as he withdrew his hand and kept it at his side, though its tremble was crystal clear. Inwardly he seethed, but at least sought the mind to quell the anger to a simmer—any hotter and it’d cause a headache he (or anyone else for that matter) didn’t want. 

“…Ahou. Ya think I enjoyed that?” Though the hit connected, that smugness that remained hardly satisfied the dark-skinned Osakan. Heiji had half the mind to keep it in, but after another moment’s hesitation he drew a spit to the ground, just before Hakuba’s feet. “Civilized my ass… How ‘bout ya keep that silvered tongue back in yer throat, an’ listen ta yer own damn words fer once?”

Somehow, the detective refrained from commenting on the question of Heiji’s enjoyment and instead shrugged his shoulders, palms up defensively.

“All that I request is that you refrain from employing such insulting nicknames. ‘Hakuba’ will do, if you refuse to offer any sort of respect or formality, Hattori-san. I don’t think that’s unreasonable, do you?" 

osakansax:

“… Yeah. I guess ya’re right.”

… He’d warned the damn Brit, though, hadn’t he? So as expected from “the savage Osakan brute,” as Hakuba so well stated, he threw his clenched right hand toward the foreign detective’s face.

Said detective shifted his position to take the hit, but against his cheekbone instead of his eye. Hakuba staggered backward, grimacing, but remained on his feet. Smirking, he lifted a hand to the darkening welt on his face.

“Enjoying your little tantrum, Hattori-san? We can go back to being civilized human beings whenever you’re ready." 

osakansax:

“… Back’ff, ‘Guru, or I’ll touch yer eyeball. With my fist.”

“Ah, as predicted, it didn’t take long for you to resort to threats of violence.  But what else can be expected from the savage Osakan brute?" 

osakansax:

“Oh~? Are ya hidin’ some sort’f secret deafness problem, is that it? Do I need ta repeat that fer ya jus’ a teensy bit louder fer ya, ‘Gurusa~?”

“That… won’t be necessary, Hattori-san. I only asked in the vain hope that you would have the good sense to correct your breach in formality. How foolish of me to think that you had any manners whatsoever." 

osakansax:

“Well, well, well. Look what th’ cat’s dragged in.”

“I beg your pardon – dragged? The only thing being dragged around here is your reputation through the mud. Is that the best you’ve got, Hattori-san?”