Lost In Translation
The flick of the lighter cap, and the sucking inhale as Brother takes a drag off of his cigarette.
The waves rush in, foam-capped and roaring when they break against the rocks farther down the shore; receding just before they touch the toes of their shoes. Brother exhales, smoke curling out of his ring-shaped mouth into the salt air.
When he turns around, the beach and this moment will be gone, far and away to a world beyond his reach, and he'll be just Tatsuya again - little brother, Sevens washout. And something else, he's certain...if only he could remember.
Tatsuya is not ready to turn around, so he says the first thing that comes to mind: "Hey, Bro... Is it hard to become a detective?"
Brother looks at him, cigarette poised between his fingers, and the slight tilt of his head when he does causes the sun to slant against his glasses, creating a blood-red glare that blocks out his eyes. He stares out from behind this mask and says nothing, and Tatsuya believes - knows - he's calculating the risks of whatever answer is on the tip of his tongue. Always so controlled, so cautious; that's part of what makes him a great detective.
But there's Katsuya and then there's him, and Tatsuya knows which one he'd rather be. He'll do this his own way, even if he doesn't know how, or if Brother won't help him...
Tatsuya continues, more decisively this time so that Brother might take him seriously for once. "Won't Pops get upset?"
Brother scoffs like he's about to spit some scornful advice, big brother to little brother, but instead he just says, "Yeah, right."
And then - and then - the part he wants and doesn't want:
"Alright, I'll teach you the ways of a detective."
Tatsuya turns and feels the world open before him - wider than the ocean, brighter than the past.
A/n: I've mentioned how much I love the Suou brothers, right? Right. This was supposed to be a piece about the two of them, but then Tatsuya kind of sucked up all of the spotlight. ...The game's ending still makes me bawww.
(Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 2. The dialogue is taken from the game script I found at GameFAQs.)