amaranthine

one.

It's rare for Airi to sleep in; usually she functions just fine on three hours of sleep. But today, on the very same day that they've scheduled the semi-annual pillar meeting, she chooses now of all times to wake up late.

She doesn't hear the clock chime; she only wakes up when it stops.

"Shit," Airi mutters, sitting bolt upright. Periwinkle sunshine pours in through the sliding panels, casting shadows off the ceiling beams and wooden carvings that dapple the ground in light, like a forest floor. Louder, "Shit!"

Beside her, her husband stirs. None too gently, she shakes him awake. "Kagaya, you have to get up. We're late."

He passes a weary hand over his eyes, blinking into wakefulness. "Airi? What time is it?"

"Late," Airi replies, already striding over to the chest of drawers and pulling out the first clothes she sees. For herself, a pale-yellow kimono, emblazoned with pale blue flowers. For Kagaya, a black kimono, and the traditional haori of the Ubuyashiki clan, white, with pink and purple flames licking up at the sleeves and the bottom hem. "I don't know how late."

"It's alright, Airi." Kagaya places a hand on her cheek. "Take a breath in."

Airi inhales, but doesn't have patience for his efforts to help her cope, so she exhales almost as quickly. "Can you manage on your own?" She asks, handing him his clothes, and tying back her own sleeves as well in one fluid movement. "I have to wake the children up."

Kagaya is already pulling off his night clothes with a brisk efficiency. "Of course."

She presses a quick kiss to his cheek, and launches herself down the warren of hallways; a quick glance at the clock tells her that it's nine thirty. The momentary sense of calm she's felt in Kagaya's presence quickly fades. The pillars will be arriving soon. Because it makes her feel the tiniest bit better, Airi curses again, and quickens her pace.

She stops at Hinaki and Nichika's room first; her eldest daughters are already awake, rolling up their futons and going through the notions of getting ready for the day. Normally, she would linger in the room with them, helping them to dress, brushing out their hair, and picking out hairpins to match their kimonos, but she doesn't have time to coddle them today. She does, however, stop to draw them into quick hugs, telling them to find Kagaya once they're done dressing.

Her next stop is Kiriya's room. Her only son is a lump under the sheets; Airi shakes his shoulder. "Kiriya, wake up. We're late."

Kiriya grunts, turns over, and goes back to sleep. Airi pauses while gathering his clothes and shakes him again. "Wake up. Pillar meeting today."

She has to pull the sheets off before Kiriya is roused enough to sit up. "What is it?" He asks, brushing his bangs off his eyes.

"Late."

Airi prays she's imagining things; the footsteps in the Japanese garden, the rash of light and bubbly laughter, but then her faithful crow, Mochi, swoops into the room, screeching in high alarm as it announces the arrival of Tanjirou Kamado, Tomioka Giyuu, and Kouchou Shinobu, abruptly dashing her hopes. Tension pinches her cheeks and drives the color from her complexion.

"Get dressed," Airi says, throwing the clothes onto Kiriya's futon, a hurricane encased in human skin. He looks marginally more awake now that Mochi is perched on his shoulder, gently tugging at his hair with its beak. "And please don't go back to sleep."

Her last stop is Kuina and Kanata's room. Her daughters are curled up in their shared futon, but Kuina pokes her head out of the sheets, hair frazzled and eyes only half open, the sheets clutched to her chest.

"Mother?" She asks groggily. She falls back onto the bed, and yanks the sheets over her forehead. "What's wrong?"

"We're late." She's been saying the same word over and over, explaining it to just about everyone in the household. For the last time, Airi throws two sets of clothes onto the sheets. All the patience is just about drained from her soul; Airi fights the urge to lock herself in her chambers with Kagaya. "Hurry, hurry."

Her children are filing into the bathroom, one after another, and Airi is momentarily comforted by the fact that they seem to be hurrying. There are more voices coming from the gardens, flowing through the cracks of the house, as the Pillars arrive one by one, bickering amongst themselves; it feels as though their house, with too many empty rooms, is momentarily filled to the brim with occupants.

"Bread and fruits for breakfast today," Airi calls, rushing back into her chambers. In her wake, she hears a chorus of affirmatives, in various states of alertness. Kiriya's drips with slightest hint of disgust; she knows of his dislike for bread, but he's much too well-mannered to refuse to eat whatever has been set out for him. "I'm sorry, but I can't prepare anything more elaborate. I'll make something better for lunch, I promise."

"That's quite alright, Airi," Kagaya says, his voice a soothing balm for her frazzled nerves. She buries her head into his chest for the briefest of moments; Kagaya smells, as always, of herbs and creams, with the faintest hint of wisteria. "I do believe I heard the children in the garden."

"Yeah, they're all here," Airi murmurs, her arms spasming briefly in resistance before she lets him go. "I'll go and see which of them murdered the other."

It tugs a laugh out of Kagaya, and the sound washes over her. "Please. I'll join you shortly."

Airi once again finds herself traversing the hallways of her home, untying her sleeves once more, and sliding a wisteria hairpin into her hair. She's amassed a collection of them over the years, but this one, with its delicate mass of purple petals, is her particular favorite; a birthday present gifted to her from Kagaya.

She pushes open the screen door to the front porch, just in time to see Sanemi crumple to the ground in a shower of blood.