That Fancy Name of Mine

Tetsuma Sr. frowned politely at his guest as he gently dropped the plain tray of tea onto the table, a proper 40 centimetres from the edges, and keeled down, smoothing out his dark suit pants after doing so. He nodded sternly to the man in front of him. "How can I help you?"

His smiling guest sat cross legged, most likely to accommodate the unweildy duffel bag and AK47 he had resting in his lap. "Don't waste time do you, old man?"

"Of course not." He was on a very tight schedule. In just 4 hours 20 minutes and 18 seconds he needed to be at the Takashi's house to pick up their daughter. But it was also important to be polite to a potential customer and this Hiruma Youichi had called to set up a consultation. Naturally he would would be given the time allotted for that, but if they could finish earlier than that it would be preferable.

The severe looking man reached over to firmly grasp the tea pot and pour them both a steaming cup of tea. "What services do you require, Hiruma-san?" He looked quite young and perhaps a bit like a delinquent with spiked blond hair and piercings, but Tetsuma had received reliable work from clients with more unusual looks. Admittedly, however, the AK-47 was a first. "I'm sure you understand my work schedule is very rigid."

"That's no problem, kekeke! This won't take long! What I want to know is..." Without making any more movement than flipping his hands around there were suddenly two pictures held inbetween in his spindly fingers. Tetsuma nearly dropped his cup of tea as he stared at the printed faces, and then his palms and fingers burned with the heat of the tea as he gripped the porcelain too tightly, trying to keep it from slipping from his hand. "About these two! With a face like that you have to be fucking frown's father!"

The picture on the left, without a doubt, had to be Jo. He was older, more mature than when he had seen him last, but it was Jo. The severe eyebrows, the exaggerated frown, that determined look. That was his son. The boy on the right was a little harder to identify, but Tetsuma was willing to bet his licence that it was Shien.

"Actually I don't really care about the fucking frown. I already know everything I need to, but of course if you want to tell me more I won't complain! Like if he ever wet the bed and you still have pictures of it!" The young boy in front of him laughed for a moment before he plucked the picture of Shien out with his free hand, holding it closer to Tetsuma, his face doing an about turn to seriousness. "But I do need to know about this guy."

Tetsuma's eyes scanned the picture of Shien, he really had grown since the last time he had driven him. The beard certainly gave him a more aged appearance. The likeness to that neurotic boy Tetsuma had once worked for was hard to see under the cowboy get up and laid back smile. But after nearly a decade of being his chauffeur he could recognize that face anywhere. It was Shien without any doubt.

Glad though Tetsuma was that Shien was doing well there was something much more important.

His eyes darted back to the other picture, still in Hiruma's hand.

Jo. This man knew where Jo was.

"You'll tell me what I want to know, right?" In a flash of his hand the pictures had disappeared and the boy held a black notebook in his hands instead, filled to bursting, with papers sticking out haphazardly. "I'd hate to have to tell your bosses that you have run over 20 cars in your career and one poor woman's foot, kekeke!"

"They already know." Tetsuma slowly placed his tea back onto the table as Hiruma's grin turned to a frown. "I don't keep secrets from my employers. Those cars were parked on the road in illegal areas and that woman was crossing on a red light where she had no right of way. I drive strictly according to the rules of the road and anyone who does not is not my responsibility."

"Is that so?" The boy's grin returned with a vengeance and he flipped a few pages forwards in the book . "Then how about when-"

"You don't have to blackmail me, Hiruma-san." Tetsuma wasn't one to talk unnecessarily, and he certainly didn't like to interrupt a client, if Hiruma could even still be called such, but he also wasn't one to waste time. Things would go more efficiently if he cleared the air now. "I would be happy to tell you everything I know about Shien-san."

Hiruma's pointed smile looked like it would break his own face as he frantically scribbled something in his notebook and cackled loudly, looking up with ecstatic glee written all over his face. "And what do you want?"

And for some reason Tetsuma couldn't help but feel like, just for that instant in time, no matter what it was that he asked for, no matter how extravagant or impossible, he could have had it. It was a strange feeling. But in the end it was also one that didn't really matter because he knew exactly what he wanted and he knew it was something less than impossible. "Just tell me about Jo."

"Kekeke!" And with a loud zip of the duffel bag the black notebook was gone and the blonde boy was emptying a manilla folder onto the table with vigour. Cautiously Tetsuma pushed his tea to the side and away from the falling papers, but still a good 10 centimetres from the edge of the table, he didn't want anything to knock it over.

When Hiruma was done his table was filled with files and pictures haphazardly stacked onto each other.

Most of the pictures involved Jo in an American football uniform, catching the ball or running down the field. But spread among them were more casual pictures: Jo holding a test with a bright red F written on it, Jo up to his elbows in dishes as a fire raged behind him from the stove, Jo making an awkward face as he was trying to fit a too large piece of meat into his mouth while Shien leaned over, probably trying to stop him.

Then there were files. School papers, report cards, an apartment lease. Detailed stats reports of him in American football, shopping bills, registry forms for clubs and other activities. All of them printed with that familiar kanji; iron horse.

Tetsuma Sr. looked up at Hiruma as he cackled again and spread his arms out gleefully. "What do you want to know?"

A/N: Eyesheild 21 you beautiful old ass fandom you. Why am I so late to the game?

I wrote this cuz I figured, 'how would you track Kid and figure out who he was?' and the obvious answer is 'Tetsuma since that lazy bastard didn't even bother changing his name'. And thus this fic was born.

Tetsuma Sr. seemed to like his son in his two panels of screen time, so I wrote him the loving dad. Bawww. And I read he's quite the strict driver and if you get in his way illegally he WILL run you over. I kinda liked that so it's in there.

And now to finish my other horrible, questionable fics! (: