Okay, this is the second installment. This time it's Tezuka, Kirihara, Marui, Ryoma (again) and Ryoga (Requested by Dudly-sama. XD).

Um, I'm sorry to all the readers of I Found You because I've updated Mother's Love faster and I know you've been waiting for it for quite a while. DX I'm still working on chapter 13, though, so please wait for it. X);

Much thanks to CrystalKitteN-MeW for beta-ing the first chapter and for giving ideas for this one. Much love and thanks, as well, to crassreine for being a lovely beta (the nagging was just right XD).

"A mother understands what a child does not say."

- Jewish Proverb

Tezuka Ayana was proud to say that she knew and understood her child. Even though she may not be completely in tune with him, she knew if there was something her quiet and stoic boy would want to say even if he did not utter it.

"Kunimitsu?"

"Mother, I'll drop by for dinner at 8."

Ayana allowed herself to indulge her son's voice over the phone. She knew that he was busy. She also knew that no amount of persuasion on her part would make him change his decision, and she was very thankful that he would go out of his way just to celebrate Mother's Day with her.

"All right. I'll be waiting."

Ding dong

The sound of the doorbell resonated throughout their paper walls.

It was exactly eight. Typical of her boy, she thought proudly. That was why she made sure that everything would be prepared before the decided time. She knew he'd keep his word.

"Okaeri."

"Happy Mother's Day."

Kunimitsu held out a cake and a bouquet of flowers.

It was her favorite, both the flavor and the type of flowers. They were very difficult to acquire.

She gratefully accepted the gifts, knowing full well that her son wanted her to be happy and pleased, and she definitely was.

"Thank you, Kunimitsu."

He smiled.

It was a small smile and yet it said more than the greeting, the gifts, and the gestures. She knew it showed how much her boy loved her, and it was more than enough for her to decide that today had been one of the best days of her life.

She smiled back.

XxX

Tezuka Kunimitsu was a quiet boy. That was because he knew that there were occasions where words were not needed. Unfortunately, not a lot of people shared his definition of the phrase. Often times, people did not understand his silence. They did not hear the words being said behind the uttered monosyllabic sentences, but he knew that there were some who understood that he was trying to convey so much more even with just a few phrases. He was glad to have those people. He was glad to have his mother.

And like how she understood him, he understood her as well.

"All right, I'll be waiting."

His mother's voice sounded relenting over the phone and Kunimitsu could not fight back the smile in his eyes.

He was sure that his mother knew that he had to be busy that day but he would still come and visit her. It was Mother's Day after all. Even if she did not say it, he knew that his mother would be glad to celebrate with him.

"Okaeri."

Her face was breathtakingly bright as she greeted him at the door.

He knew everything would be ready by the time that he arrived. He had always admired how his mother was always prepared and on time. That was why he had made it a habit himself to do the same.

"Thank you, Kunimitsu."

Her mother buried her nose into the bouquet as she carefully balanced the cake in her other arm.

They were her favorites, the bundled up flowers and encased dessert. He always made sure that he would be able to give them to her, no matter how difficult they were to find. It was worth it, anyway.

Because she smiled back.

And he knew that he had just made his mother's day.

His mother watched, amused, as the little toddler, Kirihara Akaya, struggled to remain seated in his chair. It had been a full thirty minutes since her son began his little act.

"Happy Mother's Day, mommy!" Akaya handed his mother a sheet of paper.

"Oh, thank you, Akaya! Hm? What's this? A card?" she asked as she took the paper filled with little crayon-drawn scribbles.

"Nonononono! It's a conduct!" he said, a little scowl (that was more of a pout, really) on his face.

"A... conduct?" she repeated.

"Yup! A deal that Akaya not be naughty today!" he clarified. "Sign here, mommy!" Chubby fingers hovered over a remarkably straight line of blue.

"Oh, you mean a contract!" She tried to suppress a giggle as she took a green crayon from the child and began signing where he was pointing to.

He nodded his head. Then, without waiting for any other reply from his mother, he went purposefully straight to the nearest chair.

And for what could possibly be the eleventh time in that thirty minutes, Akaya grunted in impatience. He kept shifting in his seat, obviously trying to be in his best behavior.

She approached him.

"Akaya, do you want to play tennis with me?" she tried. She knew how difficult it must have been for her child, being this still. Maybe a little activity would do him good. "I'll throw the balls for you."

"No!" Akaya immediately answered. Wide yet serious eyes stared into his mother's soft, worried ones.

"Why not, dear?" she asked, perplexed by his reaction.

He mumbled a few words, head now downcast.

"Louder, honey," his mother told him. "I didn't hear."

"I... I dun wanna."

"Why?"

Keeping his head down he answered, "Because I might make mess and then be naughty... then mommy be sad because I break promise..." He began sniffling. "I dun wanna be bad, I dun wanna make mommy sad, I want mommy happy... coz it mommy's day."

"Oh, honey, it's okay, it's okay..." She said a few shushing sounds, rubbing the little boy's back so that he'd feel better. "I'm sure you won't make a mess. You're a good boy, Akaya."

"B-but I might break window like last time... Or hit the doggie next door... or get ball stuck in roof..." As he listed more accidents, his wailing became more evident. "I dun wanna break the conduct and make mommy sad!"

Ripping sounds reached tiny ears making emerald eyes widen in a mix of surprise and confusion.

The 'conduct' held between his mother's delicate fingers were torn into pieces and thrown into the trashcan. The same hands then took another clean sheet of paper and began writing on it. A short moment later, she returned, squatting down so that she was at eye level with her son. She held up the piece of paper.

"Do you know what this is?" she asked.

Akaya shook his head, eyes closed and messy, curly hair flung side to side.

"This will be our new contract. I'm afraid the old one expired already."

"Expired?" he asked, eyes squinted at the neatly written words on the paper.

"It means that it can no longer be used." She gave him a smile. "That's why we'll need a new one. After all, Mother's Day still isn't finished yet. Here, honey, you have to sign here."

Akaya nodded, now eager to start a new contract. "Here mommy?" he asked, chubby fingers again hovering over a smooth, straight line. After receiving approval, he scribbled what was to be taken as his signature. "Yay! A new conduct!!"

"Do you know what it says, Akaya?" The toddler shook his head. "It says that Kirihara Akaya, that's you, is to make his mommy happy for Mother's Day by keeping her company and having fun. It also says that his mommy would never be angry with him whatever he does, because she loves him very much." She kissed him at the forehead. "So much that it doesn't matter if her boy is naughty sometimes. She loves him so much because she knows that her little boy always wants her to be happy. She's also proud of him because he's willing to do something hard just to make that come true...

"I love you Akaya."

"I love you, too, mommy," he answered back. A huge smile appeared on his face.

"Now, why don't we play some tennis?"

"Okay!"

Marui Bunta stared hungrily at the array of cakes before him.

There they were; glorious pastries found in different shapes, sizes and colors.

There was a huge white one, the top filled with candy flowers and leaves made of icing and he felt the gears of his mind stop turning. At his left, there were a dozen of small cupcakes liberally coated with tiny sweet sprinkles making his eyes tear up with their beauty. Then, a blueberry cheesecake tugged at his heartstrings from where they were innocently stationed at his right. But oh! At the lower rack! It was the sponge cake calling out his name!

He wiped his mouth, hoping that he wasn't openly salivating in front of the glass case. He remembered to chew his gum.

"Uwah..." But he couldn't keep his eyes off of them. "I should get this one... No, this one looks better! Wait, wait, I think this one would taste yummier! Look! That one's called 'Chocolate Overload'! Ooh, this one has four flavors in one! Wah! I don't know which one to choose!"

The girls behind the counter were already giggling at the 'adorable pink-headed boy' who had already spent the past hour deciding which cake to buy for Mother's Day. They had tried giving him recommendations, but he found it really, really hard to just pick one.

They all looked so good.

He lightly blushed as he heard another group squeal. Being a tensai, he realized that he was probably looking so eager at the cakes again and he decided that he should really pick a cake soon because, as much as he usually loved it, the attention was sorta, maybe, kinda—okay, it really was—embarassing.

"Argh!" He grunted and chewed some more. Oh why did there have to be so many delicious looking choices?

"U-um... Excuse me?" A voice made him look up. It was another saleslady.

"Yeah?" Chew, chew.

"I-if you want, you could just try giving your mother some flowers?" she hesitantly suggested.

"Huh? Flowers?" he repeated.

"Yes, we also sell flowers. We can make you a special one, if you'd like."

He ran his hand through his wavy hair, blowing a bubble. A few seconds passed before he gave a sigh and said with a pop of his gum, "Yeah… Okay, sure, I'll just take those then."

"All right, just wait for a moment!"

It wasn't long before he was out the door.

"Thank you for coming!"

XxX

"Happy Mother's Day!" Bunta greeted his mother with another pop of his bubblegum and he held out the bouquet to her.

"Thank you, Buntan! They're beautiful! I love these flowers!" she happily replied while giving him a hug and a kiss.

"It's nothing."

She smelled the bouquet and as she quickly grabbed the nearest vase to put the lovely flowers in, she told him, "Oh! Honey, I have something for you, too!"

She led him to the kitchen.

The bubblegum hissed at being left to half-pop on his gaping mouth, but Bunta didn't care even if it fell to the ground.

How could he when there they were oh so wonderfully and tastily perched on the dinner table; glorious pastries found in different shapes, sizes and colors.

"Knock, knock," a young Ryoga suddenly said to an even younger Ryoma.

"Who there?" the little toddler asked.

"Banana."

"Banba...Banaba...Nabana—"

"Banana."

"Hn. Baba...Nngh—Who?!"

"Haha. Knock, knock."

"... Who there?"

"Banana"

"...Who?"

"Pfft. Knock, knock."

"Who there?!"

"Banana!"

"Banana who?!"

"Knock, knock!"

"...grr... Who there?!"

"Orange!"

"...Orange who?"

"Pfft... Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

"..."

"Hahaha!!"

"...Huh?"

"Eh? Hmph. You're no fun, Chibisuke."

"Bleh!"

Rinko laughed at the scene. It was nice to see her boys interact (even though it always had to have a small squabble at some point, she thought exasperatedly) but she had to take damage control soon. "Now, now, get along you two," she said and with a drawled out 'Yes' her two sons immediately twittered down.

Not so long after, though, Ryoma had begun feeling restless. Soon, he was demanding that they play tennis outside and Ryoga, after a particularly diva-ish temper tantrum on Ryoma's part, reluctantly complied. The match was short lived, however, and by the time they return all sweaty and dirty and obviously in need of a nice, warm bath, Ryoma had begun another flailing fit and it was only when his mother agreed to give him a full bubbly, soapy, oh so terribly wet (Ryoga no squirt on Ryoma! Promise it!) bath did Ryoma later emerge as clean as he could possibly be. Then, as if his cleansing included that of his insides, Ryoma began asking for lunch and all the while refusing to eat anything that wasn't greasy, pounded meat on a bun. His mother had to run to the nearest grocery store to but the ingredients because Ryoma had a certain preference to how his burgers should be made (if Rinko wasn't too busy hammering the grinded meat, she would feel proud of her boy being able to tell her own cooking from any other processed mixture).

Ryoga, however, vividly frowned.

"Mada mada daze, Chibisuke."

"Ryoga, don't tease your brother," Rinko reprimanded.

"But he's being a brat, mom," Ryoga said, turning his head to face his mother, revealing a serious expression on his young face.

"Am not!" Ryoma shouted and banged his fists on the small, child-sized table. The dishes made a clanking noise.

"See?" Ryoga merely answered, finger pointing towards his brother, his attention not leaving the parent.

"Che!" Ryoma scowled as he crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head away from his brother.

"You're being a spoiled baby," Ryoga continued. "Not cute at all."

That was more than the short-tempered Ryoma could take. With his little fists, he attempted to hit Ryoga who was seated beside him. The tiny fist made contact with a shoulder.

It didn't hurt, not really, what with Ryoma's small and still weak body. A big boy like him wouldn't be hurt by it, but it was still enough the spark the last plug inside the already irritable Ryoga's head.

Ryoga pushed.

Ryoma fell off his chair, stood up and pushed back.

Limbs flew, trying their best to hit at least something but of course failing. It wasn't long before they were rolling on the floor.

Rinko tried her best to pull them away, but each time she took hold of one, the other would attempt to strike.

"Stop it! Stop it, Ryoga! Ryoma!" she shouted, standing in between the two youngsters. The boys stood in a fighting stance, panting. "Both of you go to your room, and no more fighting!"

The siblings obeyed and proceeded to drag their feet up to their room.

And Ryoga smiled.

XxX

"Your fault!" An angry Ryoma pointed one accusing finger at his older brother once they were in the confinement of their bedroom. He was seating himself as far away from Ryoga as possible.

"Yeah, so?" Ryoga nonchalantly replied, to which Ryoma growled, but otherwise went silent.

It didn't last for long, though.

XxX

When Rinko came up to check on her boys, she heard screaming voices, screeching from hastily moved furniture, collisions and two boys pushing and fighting. She fumed. They were supposed to stay quiet and think about what they had done—not fight all over again! That was what got them in this situation in the first place. Really, they should've known better than to start another quarrel.

She clicked her tongue and readied herself to open the door.

"If you not call me names, mommy not tell us to go up!" she could hear Ryoma scream behind the entrance.

"If you didn't stop acting like such a baby I wouldn't have had to start!"

"I am baby! Stupid, Ryoga!"

'This was going far enough, Rinko thought. She tried turning the handle.

"But that doesn't mean you have to be such a spoiled brat, making mommy work so much! Don't you get what today is? It's Mother's Day! She's not supposed to do anything hard during Mother's Day!"

The handle remained unturned as everyone grew silent.

"…I'm sorry, Chibisuke, but you wouldn't stop making orders... And I only wanted mommy to rest for today, so I fought with you." Ryoga's sniffling voice reached her ears.

"...Mommy's Day, now?"

"Yeah. If we got sent to our room, then she wouldn't have to bother with taking care of us... I… I just want mommy to be happy..."

"Mommy not happy when she tired." Rinko heard a soft thump, figuring that the her child had seated himself on the floor.

"Yeah..." Another thump. Ryoga had followed suit.

"Ryoma make mommy tired."

"Which is why I did that."

"But...Mommy not happy when we fight, too."

"...Yeah... Sorry."

"Sorry, too."

A rustle of clothing reached her ears, motherly instinct telling her that her boys had made up and were now cuddling each other. Argument forgotten.

Rinko finally released her hold on the door, her hand flying to cover her mouth, hoping to keep the sounds of her gasps and hiccups from reaching the boys' ears.

Unfortunately, the kids had noticed their mother's presence. They opened the door to reveal a tear-striken Rinko.

"M-mommy?!" both boys simultaneously said, obviously worried. Ryoma reached out to pull on her mother's skirt. Ryoga just stood there, shocked.

Even before they could do anything else, Rinko went down on her knees and enveloped her children in a hug. Her tears made their shoulders wet.

"M-mommy, I'm sorry!" Ryoga immediately said, panicked. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to fight with Ryoma! L-look, we made up now, we're not fighting anymore." His gaze kept shifting from Ryoma to his mother.

Ryoma was quick to back-up his brother, "We sorry! We no more fight. We no want mommy sad. So mommy no more cry, please."

She shook her head, burying her face deeper. "N-no...I'm not sad... I'm happy, really happy right now. Just that... You guys... When you-We... Then... Both of you... I-I just... I just love both of you, okay? I love both of you so much."

The brothers looked at each other, confusion written on their faces. Ryoga and Ryoma didn't know or understood why their mommy was crying when she wasn't sad. To them, it made no sense and they didn't know why their mommy suddenly broke down in front of their door. But she said that she was really, really happy, and for them, well, that was enough. And when they kissed her cheeks and she kissed them back, they knew that really, everything was going to be all right.

"Motherhood: All love begins and ends there."

- Robert Browning

Gelly: Yay! Done, finally! (cheers!) Now, why don't you drop a little review? Please?