Extra: Mother's Day

It was the first Mother's day Tetsuya and Seijuro were spending together. However, their mother's day celebration was going to be different than the way other kids did it.

There were no handmade breakfasts, no handpicked flowers, no wishing cards, no laughs, and no smiles. Their friends excused themselves as they planned to spend the day with their own mothers, apologizing for leaving them behind. Seijuro had persuaded them that the two intended to spend the day together, and Kuroko was really thankful for it.

Seijuro had lost his mother at the age of ten to a disease no one had a clue about, not even the doctors. Losing his mother at such a tender age was surely painful, but what pained the redhead most was the effect it had on his father. Young Seijuro had lost his mother, but he felt he was going to lose his father, as well. He rarely saw him after that, and when he did, the man usually turned away, as if trying to deny the boy's existence.

Tetsuya had lost his mother at the age of twelve, only two years past, to a hit-and-run. To his horror, it happened in front of his very eyes. Haruka had gallantly, pushing him away, allowing herself to be crushed. He couldn't bare the people asking him all the time if he was coping with it. Of course he didn't, what kid could easily deal with losing the pillar of their lives? Sometimes, adults could deal with it either, and seeing his father, he decided not to show emotion anymore.

That first time of spending Mother's day together, they planned on visiting their mothers. Each held a pair of carnations in hand, tenderly holding, fearful of losing even a second petal of them.

It was surprising to discover their mothers' graves stood right next to each other. Was it coincidence or not, they could not tell at that time. Only that, when they arrived, someone was there, leaving flowers for them.

Curious as they were, they agreed with a silent nod to walk closer, and take a better look at the stranger's face.

"I wish you were both here with me right now." they heard a familiar voice. "It scares me, I was never good with others. How can I raise two sons all by myself?"

"Tetsuya reminds me of you, Haruka. He's always so calm and polite. Sometimes, I wonder why his presence diminishes with each passing day. Sometimes forget he's there, and when he stands before me, I see you in your face. One day, I almost called him Haru-chan, much like I called you. I think he's scared of me because of that."

He sat down on the ground. "And Seijuro is much like you, Shiori. He's strong-willed and stubborn, and he often stares at me, silently judging, much like you did from time to time. If I didn't know you, I'd thought you taught him to do that out of spite. But I know well you'd never do that. You were too kind for your own good sometimes. I wish that, wherever you are now, Rei and Kiku are with you. You deserve to be with the people you love."

He stood up again. "Both of you, you changed my life in the most wonderful of ways. I loved you both dearly. In different ways, yes, but you're important to me. Seijuro and Tetsuya remind me of you. Sometimes in gives me strength to go on, but others, it only brings pain." And with that, he left the opposite way he came.

The boys emerged from their hiding place, and stood in front of the graves. Both had a small bouquet of primrose, and placed a single carnation in each, accompanying the bouquets. Separately, they talked to their mothers about their lives, their friends, everything. Then, they traded places, leaving to the other's mother the other flower.

The words Seijuro addressed to Kuroko Haruka and the words Tetsuya directed to Akashi Shiori were the same.

Thank you for bringing my brother to life.

(End.)

Happy Mother's Day! Well, for almost half the world not anymore, but still. Even for me, it's a few minutes after midnight while I'm adding the finishing touches to it. I know I could write this earlier, but I wasn't even home. I made my mother breakfast and left. And I may or may not have caught a cold.

Anyways, this little special takes place in their second year in Teikou Middle school (remember that this story features a Teikou High as well) and after it was revealed to Kuroko that Akashi is his brother a few months back. (School year in Japan starts in March, or was it April?) Surprisingly, both visit their mothers' graves in Mother's day. And their father is responsible for the arrangement, but you'd probably saw that coming.

Choosing the flowers these three leave was a tough choice. And because internet is your friend, I did my research, if the results were accurate or not, I don't know. It was Japanese meaning of flowers, yeah.

Carnations (カーネーション, Kānēshon), especially the red ones, are often given to mothers on Mother's day. Primrose (桜草, Sakurasō) symbolizes desperation, and Masaomi is really desperate in various situations and in different ways each. I promise you'll see more of him.

And I think I can finally say one or two things about Rei and Kiku. Kiku is Haruka's childhood love. Rei is his sister. I may reveal more of their story another time.