What We've Missed Without You

chapter 14

*sorry for mistakes*

Airi quickly made sure Momoi was fast asleep before slowly crawling out of the king-sized bed, using the beige and laced bed sheets to climb down until her feet touched the plush carpet. Momoi was a very light sleeper and she was usually a night owl, the complete opposite of Yuuta, so Airi had to lay there until Momoi was in the middle of her sleep. Tip-toeing carefully and clutching Bonnie in her hands, Airi kept looking back to make sure her older sister was still asleep while making her way to the door of the bedroom. One of her steps lead to the floorboards underneath to squeak loudly and making Airi cringe, looking back to see that Momoi shuffled a little bit and rolled to her side. Breathing out a quick and silent sigh of relief, the lavender-eyed girl continued to tip-toe to the door and carefully crack it open, slipping through when the door was wide enough to fit her through. She made it out to the hall and carefully shut the door, silently praying to god to not let the door squeak. Airi successfully managed to close the door and power walked down the halls until she made it to the stairs. She wanted to go back to the gardens, she couldn't stop thinking about it when Laito showed her after dinner. The thousands of roses were so beautiful even in the pouring rain, Airi had a hunch that they would look even more beautiful in the night. She saw the moon out as it rained, so the wet roses must look beautiful with the moon shining on them!

Quietly, Airi's small feet pattered down the spiraling staircase. She made sure look around before entering each room, being mindful of the servants or any of the actual residents of the mansion. Eventually she was standing in front of the entrance to the gardens, grabbing the black umbrella Laito used earlier. Opening the door, she whispered gleefully to the pink rabbit in her arms.

"This is it Bonnie, we're so grown up, we're going to see the roses by ourselves! Airi wishes Mommy was here, roses are her favorite flower!" Airi struggled to open the black umbrella for a few seconds until it opened up, allowing her to step outside onto the paved walkway with her bare feet. She didn't even think to grab her shoes, but she didn't care at the moment. All Airi really wanted at that moment was to play around and admire the roses in the pouring rain as the moon was out. The pale blonde lifted the umbrella to protect her body getting pelted with rainwater and ran out, giggling as her feet splashed in the cold puddles, it was just like playing in the rain with the triplets and the quadruplets at the diner's backyard. The only difference was that there was a lot more space to allow Airi to run around.

The seven-year-old walked around the property, walking down stone steps to head to the dozen upon dozens of hedges that bordered the path around the gardens. She smiled, placing the umbrella in her arm to still cover her as she ran her hand through some of the rose-less hedges, allowing her pale hands to feel the soaked green leaves. Airi considered herself one of the few who actually spent time out of their day to appreciate nature and the outdoors; she, Harue, Fumuki, Hiroto, Kaede, and Kaoru all give respect to the nature around them, mainly because Shiori was such a free-spirited old woman who had trouble letting go of her sixties way of thinking. She helped out their mother when she was too sick to watch over them, especially last year, when Yui had to be in the hospital for months.

Flashback:

"Airi, look! A family of rabbits!" Shiori pointed to the bunch of wild coffee-colored rabbits basking in the spring sun, surrounded by a patch of green grass. Airi smiled and nodded, pointing to each rabbit. "That's the mommy rabbit, the daddy rabbit, and the baby rabbits!"

"That's right, they're here to enjoy the nature like we are." The older woman smiled softly, her long white hair tied in a loose bun flowed softly in the breeze. Airi squeezed Bonnie to her chest and looked over to one of the hundred windows of the hospital building, the staff were generous enough to let both Shiori and Airi into the private gardens to get the quadruplets to stop running around the halls of the ward. The squealing and laughter from the brunette and blonde quadruplets didn't really matter at the moment, it was normal to hear after all, Airi counted each passing day Yui was stuck in the hospital. One day, she collapsed after working too hard to try and pay off her hospital bills herself. All of her children, Shiori, and Takeru rushed her to the nearest hospital, waited in the halls for several hours until the doctors came out and let everyone to see her. Airi was too young to understand what 'anemia', 'iron deficiency', 'insomnia', or 'anorexia' but she could tell that they were all hurting her precious mother, making her lay barely awake in a cramped hospital bed never to see light for months. She heard Takeru talk about how careless Yui could be, never worrying about herself over others. Sadness washed over the pale blonde's face as she saw the closed white curtains of her mother's hospital room, Shiori sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.