fh_trips | Osaka, Japan - Sunday Afternoon

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spring break 2021: japan

Osaka, Japan - Sunday Afternoon - Evening

Osaka might not have been a tropical paradise, but temperatures hovered around a tolerable 60 degrees Fahrenheit and the skies were clear. The city was bustling, and would remain so well into the evening; as for Team Fandom, they were guided through the streets of the city to the traditional temple lodgings of Waqoo Shitaderamachi.

Your vacation begins, folks. Enjoy.

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Hannibal raised an eyebrow at her. "Perhaps I would prefer not to." Although the fact she offered was intriguing.

"That's your choice," Seivarden replied, not quite surprised.

"And you, of course, are renowned for respecting others' choices," Hannibal answered.

Seivarden couldn't resist an amused snort at that. "I don't care about my reputation in Fandom," that wasn't true, "and anyway, I'm not going to try to force you. It was just a sincere offer. As a, well. Apology, perhaps."

She sipped her tea, looking at Hannibal.

"Oh?" This was very interesting. "An apology for what? Are you aware of your transgressions now?"

Seivarden was quickly beginning to regret this, but going back now would make things worse. Ignoring the part about transgressions, she said:

"I'm aware that you made an effort to be supportive the last time I was in Fandom. I wasn't in a state to appreciate it at the time, but I apologise for not expressing my gratitude."

She would have liked to add something about 'but you were also constantly insulting me', but it was as if she felt Breq, Mercy of Kalr and Summer observing her.

Hannibal thought about it and nodded. "That is a beginning," he acknowledged. He pulled out a chair across from Seivarden and sat. "I understand from the radio that you have changed somewhat since your time home. I am willing to entertain the idea."

He nodded to the waiter and ordered his tea in Japanese: a nice oolong, and a small plate of mochi.

"A beginning?"

Seivarden ignored the other comments, and took a sip of tea.

"You also traumatized a man I think of as my son," Hannibal reminded her. "And one apology is hardly enough to convince me of your contrition. It is, however, a beginning."

They brought his tea and mochi and he gestured at the plate. "Please, help yourself."

Seivarden was really beginning to regret this.

"I'm not trying to convince you of anything," Seivarden said, which at this point was mostly true.

She picked one from the corner of the plate. "Thank you."

"Sparkle left, didn't he?"

Well, Hannibal wouldn't be Hannibal if he made things easy.

"He did. The island became too much for him. He's not the first person to decide that. What brought you back? I had thought if you got home, we would never see you again."

"I hadn't planned to come back," Seivarden said, deciding to try to turn this into a civilised conversation if possible, now that she had anyway made the mistake of being stuck here with Hannibal.

"It's a long story, but my fleet captain sent me here on leave. Did you ever meet Breq when she was in Fandom? I didn't. I ran into her about two years ago. It turned out she was the ship I used to serve on."

"She worked for my husband when he owned the music shop," Hannibal answered. "She was a ship?" he asked curiously.

"Well, is," Seivarden said. "She's the last remaining part of the troop carrier Justice of Toren. She saved my life while on the way to shoot the Lord of the Radch, and now she has proclaimed a Republic of Two Systems separate from the Radch, where AIs are considered people."

That should hopefully be more interesting than accuse Seivarden of things she preferred to forget about herself.

"Ah, so she is an AI, then?" Hannibal asked. Because yes, that was more interesting, at least at the moment. "I knew very little about her, but I'm pleased she's considered a person now."

He sipped his tea and tried to parse the rest of it. "Who was on their way to shoot this Lord - you or her?"

"The Lord of the Radch," Seivarden said. "Anaander Mianaai. And it was Breq. Anaander had forced her to kill someone she loved very much, and then destroyed most of her. Of course, shooting one of Anaander Mianaai's bodies wouldn't make a difference in the long run, she has hundreds of them, but Breq can be quite stubborn."

Unaware, Seivarden smiled as she sipped her tea. "It's a long story, as I said, but she ended up in command of a ship, and she let me come along as one of her lieutenants. Things have been calmer for a while now, so she sent me to Fandom for a while, but obviously it's not permanent.

Seivarden was easy enough to read for someone like Hannibal, so it was obvious that she loved Breq deeply and that she was nervous about when that return was going to be.

Hannibal considered that as he sipped his tea. That kind of love spoke more of a change than Seivarden's apology did. As did her being in Fandom and not causing further trauma. It remained to be seen if she wasn't still rude, but he could perhaps give her a chance. Fandom was making him soft.

"Are you familiar with the food around here?" he asked. "Can you use chopsticks?" He nodded toward someone at a neighboring table that was eating with them.

"I've ordered a lot of Japanese food during the time I've spent in Fandom," Seivarden said. "It's similar to some types of Radchaai cuisines, so I've enjoyed it so far."

She added with a smile: "Which is hard to do without using chopsticks. Why?"

She assumed this was some kind of 'adapt to the local culture' thing.

Partly that, yes. Also partly Hannibal was a little shit.

"There's a restaurant a few blocks away; I understand their fugu is delightful, if the atmosphere leaves something to be desired. Would you care to join me? After the tea, of course."

Forgive Seivarden for being suspicious. She did her best not to let it show, instead responding with a polite smile, slipping into the role of an aristocratic Radchaai that she had become used to again during the past year, despite not being aware of it.

"I haven't heard about fugu, but I would be very pleased to, of course."

She couldn't think of an excuse.

Hannibal was quite aware of that suspicion, but he forewent a smirk and simply smiled politely instead and took a piece of the mochi, careful not to touch any others.

"You do eat sushi, I hope?" he asked. "Some Westerners are taken aback at the idea of raw fish, but if it's similar to a cuisine you're used to, perhaps you aren't." Which would be one point in her favor.

"I'm used to eating both raw and cooked fish," Seivarden said, "And as I said, I'm used to Japanese food."

She noticed the effort Hannibal put into picking up the mochi, and offered a small smile in response. It didn't lessen her suspicion, but at least she could play along.

"So is fugu a type of sushi?"

"Fugu is a type of fish," Hannibal corrected. "There are several ways to prepare it, but sushi is one. And it allows you to taste the fish more than the preparation itself."

He finished his tea and set it down, waiting politely for Seivarden to finish. "I don't recall you having any specific religious, cultural, or allergic objections to foods, is that correct?" He did attempt not to kill anybody by accident.

"It is," Seivarden said. "I only have issues with the manner in which some people eat."

In case Hannibal had forgot about how eating with bare hands was unacceptable.

Well, Seivarden hadn't given him a problem about the mochi, and had even eaten one herself, so that was improvement. Hannibal could accommodate the rest.

He nodded. "I will refrain from ordering finger foods," he promised. "Although I can of course not promise for the rest of the restaurant."

Re: Dotonbori

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Re: Dotonbori

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