meitanteiosaka:

Oh, so he wanted to switch back to Japanese? Well, that was fine with him, and Katsura-han might be interested, too. “TV an’ radio, pretty much. Mostly news. There’re a lotta fun American movies an’ programs out there, an’ I jus’ kept studyin’ ‘til I not only could understand ‘em, but recite ‘em an’ know what I was sayin’. Readin’s a different story.“ He chuckled fondly at the memory. “Picked up an Ellery Queen book at th’ library an’ fell in love. Got th’ English versions an’ didn’t stop ‘til I could understand those, too.” He dropped his chin on his hand, thinking. “Was also when I decided ta be a detective, instead’v a cop, come ta think’v it.“ Yes, that was definitely one of his, if not the most, defining moments in his childhood. He owed a lot to Ellery Queen, another reason why he defended the author duo above Conan Doyle.

"S’a tough language ta learn,” he admitted. “A lotta th’ letters don’t have a set pronunciation, so s’almost like ya have ta speak a word ‘fore ya can read it.“ Well, he learned how to speak the language before reading, so it was easy for him to match up written words with what he knew. It might work differently for other people. And it wasn’t like he had to know the pronunciation of a word, but he was a bit of a perfectionist and needed to know both definition and pronunciation. He’d had to extensively study the dictionary and memorize the International Phonetic Alphabet in order to do that, but at least his knowledge of the IPA helped with other languages.

Th-that… That was adorable. Even Hakuba couldn’t deny it. It made the smile on the foreign detective’s face decidedly fond. 

"I’m impressed,” Hakuba said, continuing on in Japanese. “That’s quite the story. You’re rather good at it, Hattori-san. You could easily be an interpreter.” He chuckled after that, because he knew very well that that was not Heiji’s chosen career path, and amended his statement. “I’m certain that it helps on cases. Being fluent in both has certainly helped me, at any rate." 

He picked up his own tea and drank from it, deciding to stop while he was ahead and let the locals converse while he listened. Bulldozing Katsura-san would undo all of the repair they’d started.

meitanteiosaka:

“Freedom, huh? Freedom’s what you make of it. It’s always there, it just depends on how much you grab.” Well, it seemed as if they were now at an impasse. Hakuba didn’t seem to want to abandon his shell – though he was doing a good job of poking his head out right now – and Heiji didn’t know what other advice to offer.

It saddened him somewhat that Hakuba felt the need to lie to his own family. To keep them from worrying? They were going to worry regardless, that’s how parents were. At least, that’s what Okan had told him when he was younger.

Meal finished, he set his chopsticks on the plate, muttering a quick ‘thanks fer th’ food,’ under his breath. “Just a warning: if you don’t find an outlet for your stress, things will get worse.“ It had happened to him, after all, and he’d learned to work with it since. Granted, Hakuba seemed to have the patience of a saint and was lasting longer than he ever did, but everyone had their breaking point. “So if you need someone to yell at, I’ll be here to yell right back.” Bad joke, but he hoped the Brit got the point. “And if you come back to Osaka, I might even give you the grand tour. There are so many great places to see here, not just the library.“

Concern about his well-being? Mention of a possible return and subsequent offer to continue to associate?  Hakuba watched Heiji for the time being, expression placid, and nodded at the appropriate times. The surprise he felt was a little overwhelming, considering how upset he’d been just a few moments ago. 

"I should very much like that, Hattori-san,” Hakuba said regarding Osaka, then laughed, voice soft and amused. “That could count as an outlet, right? Better yet if we get into an argument again and need to yell.”

Really, the offer was touching, and quite possibly the nicest thing Heiji had ever said or done to him. And, admittedly, the idea of intentionally yelling at a willing participant and reciprocant, was… tempting, joke or not. Certainly more healthy than his other outlets, as well, which he did not feel the need to mention. 

He turned back to his food and worked at it, feeling much more relaxed. 

meitanteiosaka:

The apology really went further to raising Heiji’s spirits, as well as noticing Hakuba enjoying his meal. “See? I told you the okonomiyaki here was the best!“

He took a few more bites himself, listening to Hakuba’s complaints, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, Oton used to scold me so much for being ‘troublesome,’” he replied, unable to keep from slipping the Osakan title in. “‘Oni Heizo and his rambunctious son,’ they said. I think some of them still do, actually.“ He tapped his fingers against his chin before shrugging, resuming the meal and conversation. “He kept saying my actions reflected poorly on him, and I tried so hard to make him proud by acting how I was expected to. ‘The Superintendent Supervisor’s son is such a respectable man,’” he recited with a bit more bitterness than he intended. “‘Look at how quiet and polite he is.’ It got tiring. Quickly. They all saw me as his son, and didn’t see me for me. No one respected me, and so many tried to use me. And Oton thought that was fine.“ Or he hadn’t noticed, but Heiji still felt bitter about the whole ordeal and wanted to blame someone. He stabbed at his next bite with a bit more force than necessary. Why did he feel the need to tell Hakuba all this? Even Kudo didn’t know this about him. But then, Kudo had pretty much already escaped from his father’s shadow and didn’t need this lesson.

"I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not, and the stress of it kept,” he paused for a moment to search for the right word, “accumulating. I blew up in his face, in public, and left to take my temper out on some…thing else. Wound up in the hospital because of it.“ He turned to face Hakuba, smirking slightly, though it was directed inward. “He thought I was asleep, but I heard him. He’s proud of me because I’m his son, not because of how I act. People still talk, you think I don’t know that? But that doesn’t matter. If they don’t respect either of us, they don’t deserve any respect in return. And even though Oton still tries to control me, I know he’s doing it to protect me, not because he cares about what others think. Though it’s really annoyin’ an’ I wish he’d jus’ stop,” he grumbled, slipping back into Osaka-ben. “I’m a grown man, dammit, I don’ need him ta protect me.“ Heiji shook his head, switching back to English. “The point is, he’s your dad, isn’t he? Then he shouldn’t care how you act as long as you’re happy. If he does, then he doesn’t deserve any of the respect he has. And I don’t think a Superintendent General got to where he is without deserving respect.” Unless there were bribes involved, but he didn’t want to mention that; it’d anger Hakuba and everything he’d just said would be for naught. Plus, Heiji’d met the man, and he didn’t think there was a corrupt bone in his body.

Hakuba ate while listening to Heiji, taking mental notes on the things he said, how he said them, potential motivations for such, and so on. It was invaluable information, especially as Hattori seemed reasonably passionate and happy to be discussing this particular topic. This would help him understand the Osakan, and potentially in a much more positive light, even that, yes, he was being indulged with the English. And it was appreciated. 

From what he gathered, it was clear that Hattori and himself had a lot of the same problems, but went about trying to solve the matters in entirely different ways. While Heiji and his father fought, Hakuba and his father got along reasonably well (except for the occasional awkward ignoring of elephants). Conversely, Hattori seemed to have a lot of freedom of expression and the approval/friendship of many, while Hakuba had fans and colleagues, but none who knew who he was. Not really. Just a puppet, a mask that looked good and honored the Hakuba name – despite the mixed heritage. 

But which was the better choice? Hakuba settled on ‘neither’ with a side of ‘best to err on the side of caution,’ as always. Hattori’s outlook, while understandable, was immature and spoke blatantly about his age. But, that said, Heiji was a teenage boy – the son of a man in power, held to high standards and high pressure. It made sense. But it was still immature.

Hakuba sighed. “My father cares deeply about my happiness, and I’m relatively certain that he believes that I am. It’s not his fault that I don’t tell him a great deal about my life. He’s a very busy man, and I’d hate to burden him so. But the responsibility of my happiness rests on my shoulders, not on anyone else’s, and I can’t bring myself to ‘act out’ to feel better at the expense of others.”

They were going around in circles. The half-brit pursed his lips, thoughtfully. “Not that I don’t appreciate your advice, Hattori-san, and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t at least a little bit envious of your freedom.” He took another bite, chewed, swallowed. “…And yes, to answer your question, this is wonderful. Thank you for the suggestion.”

He briefly wondered if speaking English so blatantly in the restaurant was a good idea, but at least it had stopped them from fighting. For the moment. 

meitanteiosaka:

“Ya didn’t hear a word I said, didja?” Heiji muttered, switching back to Japanese momentarily.

“Yes, Hakuba, this is my normal speaking voice.” Back to English, even though the Brit seemed slightly distracted at the moment. “Does it surprise you that much that I can speak your language? And that I insist on…what? Speaking my dialect while in Japan?“ He growled, mostly to himself, and set his chopsticks down. “Did you hear me at all? Or did all that just blow over your head? Are you surprised that I’m not as stupid as you think I am?” He was starting to get irritated again.

The irritation was noted. Hakuba frowned, brows knitting in concern and confusion. “No, I listened. Something about you doing your best? Not caring about what anyone else thinks? I don’t know. It was very much you, but, regardless…” In English, the half-brit sounded far more comfortable, natural, and confident. Not that his Japanese was bad, but there was no substitute for his native tongue. 

“Hattori-san, I never thought you were stupid. Not even once. I just never knew that you had… such mastery over the English language. I’m genuinely impressed. I don’t even think Kudou-san has quite the grasp that you do, from what I have seen in interviews and reports…" 

Then he laughed. "God, I just had no idea.”