osakansax:

“Well more fer ya, then. Ain’ ya jus’ so delighted ‘bout gettin’ more money?”

Heiji returned the pen back to the drawer and slipped his hands back into his pockets. “Whatever. Ya came what ya got fer, an’ I was done here ‘bout thirty minutes ago. Would’ve been on my way back’f ya didn’ come here.” Made it seem like there really wasn’t a big deal about this whole thing to him, though that was far from the truth on some matter… “Yeah it does, but ya can keep it. Got more where that came from. Do whatever ya like once that mug’f yers’s healed up.”

Carrying small ice packs like that was more of a habit nowadays, wasn’t it? What with all the knee pains he’d get sometimes, or whenever that shark of his old man decided that the daily blab out of his mouth deserved a good punch to him and it carried on the following day. 

“More money? I only mentioned that to – oh, never mind." 

Hakuba couldn’t help the compulsion to roll his eyes as he got to his feet. The very idea that he was in it for the money bothered him, and he was frustrated that it bothered him. That Hattori could so easily get under his skin, and that he hadn’t managed to keep that irritation out of his voice. So much for an almost decent interaction with the Osakan brute. 

He straightened out his suit jacket, then turned with a sniff toward the door and started walking, pace brisk and steps deliberate. There was so much that he could say, wanted to say. But no, leaving was the best option at this juncture. So instead, he called over his shoulder with as much calm neutrality as he could muster. 

"Thank you for the ice pack, Hattori-san. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

osakansax:

Heiji only responded with a huff as he grabbed for the envelope and opened it without much verbal fuss. The irritated reluctance upon his expression slowly turned into warm surprise as he read through the contents of the slightly smudged message. 

Yet as quick as it appeared, that surprise fell back behind a neutral gaze. He allowed his eyes to dart to the nearby nightstand and fished out a pen from the drawer, immediately writing on the other side of the copy paper. Despite the brutish nature Hakuba associated with the Osakan, the way he wrote was almost silent, and penmanship smoothly legible—not that the British detective would know of the latter.

As soon as he finished scribbling his message, his fingers swiftly worked to refold the paper around the picture before sliding it back into its container. Heiji wet his thumb and slid it across the open lip of the envelope to seal it. “Wipe that smirk’ff yer face. This matter ain’ hardly intriguin’.”

The Osakan detective offered the sealed envelope back to Hakuba. “Fer some guy with a big vocabulary, are ya sure ya know how ta use it?”

“My client seemed to think that it was important enough to send me out here. She pays quite the retainer for my services.”

Hakuba knew fully well what his client had requested, but decided to  allow Heiji his moment of false victory. The foreign detective retrieved the envelope from the Osakan’s hands and restored it to its place in his suit jacket, shifting then to adjust the ice pack on his cheek.

“I appreciate your cooperation and timeliness in this matter, Hattori-san, and I am pleased to hear that your case went so well tonight. That said, I suppose I should take my leave. Does this ice pack belong to you?”

osakansax:

“What business?”

He huddled himself over to the mini-fridge and opened the freezer to look for an ice pack. “In case ya haven’ noticed, I already solved th’ case. Woman, 26, cheated on by th’ victim, so she drove over here an’ stabbed th’ both’f them in th’ back. Wouldn’ve gotten caught’f she’d remembered not ta leave cigarette ashes all over th’ bathroom floor while she was tryin’ ta fix her makeup.”

When he’d located the item in question, he grabbed for it with a nearby dampened towel and walked back to Hakuba, offering it plainly. “Pretty open an’ shut case if ya ask me. I don’ see what sort’f business we have left here.”

“Oh, it has nothing to do with your deduction…”

Hakuba took the offered ice pack and towel, wrapped it, and pressed the compress against his face. This step completed, he crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward, smirking in amusement.

“Honestly, I’ve been far too busy with my own work to go around criticizing your every move. No, the business I refer to is right here in this envelope. I only used this case to find out where you might be." 

The blonde detective held the envelope up between two fingertips, waved it, then held it out to the Osakan.

"It’s from one of my clients. I think you might find it… intriguing.”

The letter inside of the envelope was not more than a magazine clipping of Heiji and a simple piece of copy paper, folded in threes, and scrawled upon with sticky, purple ink.

Meitantei Hattori-san,

Enclosed is the only photograph that I could find of you. My daughter is your biggest fan and would love to have it autographed. If there is a fee, please let Hakuba-kun know so that I may be billed for it. Miki-chan will be thirteen years old soon, I hope to give it to her for her birthday.

Thank you!

Sei

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?"