For the first time in what seemed like weeks, Sarah stepped outside the door of her hotel room. There were so many things to see and do within the confines of the small - though extremely comfortable - room, she just hadn't been able to find the time or motivation to leave. Work had been busy, or at least, far busier than she was used to. She had only been in Tokyo for a few months, and was able to stay in the core of the city on her wages and savings. She was still paid royalties for her modelling work, despite being out of the country, and had been able to pick up the odd photoshoot here in Japan as well, but even if she did nothing but sit in her hotel room and eat every day without working, she could still afford to stay in her room for another month. Such was the state of her bank account.

Of course, though modelling was her career, it was not her primary source of work. Being a Corrector supplemented her income very comfortably. It was also the reason she had moved to Tokyo and had been able to meet her new friends and comrades. They had made her feel welcome in the country, and it gave her a warm feeling. Far different from being back at home. They also happened to be the reason she was finally tasting the fresh city air. During her short stay in the city, she had worked a lot and stayed in a lot more. It hadn't been much different from her old home life, but every once in a while she had gone out with her friends like a normal young adult. They hung out quite a bit, and while Sarah couldn't always make it, she always tried to make her presence known somehow, through a message or otherwise.

Not long ago, Sarah would have been called a Hikikomori, an outcast from society. She was weird, and stayed inside with no company but herself for unreasonably long periods of time. Now, however, things were different. The network that linked all of Japan, and the whole world, had expanded and evolved, and everyone was a user. Everyone understood now. Most people still went out and socialized and went to school or work, but if you happened to be on the 'net for long periods, they weren't quite as quick to judge you as they might have been, historically.

Sarah walked, as usual, with her headphones on and her visor plugged into her headphones, looking like something out of a science fiction movie. Since the invention of MChips, headphones and other peripherals like it had become obsolete, but Sarah was fond of them for reasons that nobody could quite understand, and she wasn't very good at trying to explain. In the end it had worked in her favour, as they were her calling card. Back home even if they didn't know her name, many people would recognize her as "Headphone Girl." Here in Japan, not very many people knew of her. The only way they would know is through imported publications or through Canadian broadcasting and entertainment. The break from popularity was sort of nice. It allowed her to enjoy days like this, with her friends.

She found Ice's apartment - no, it was Soshi's apartment (she needed to remember to use people's real names) - without much issue. She was familiar enough with the layout of this part of the city, since it was only an hour's walk away from her own place. Walking aimlessly around the town was one of her hobbies. There was a lot to see and do in the city, even when you were alone with no destination in the middle of the night. The place was ritzy like her hotel, but it was a fancy place for people to live in. The look was similar, but the feel was completely different from a place where people were only supposed to stay temporarily. it was more... home-like.

A short jaunt into the building and a long trip up the elevator and the white-haired girl had arrived. It was pretty clear that she wasn't the first person to show up, and if the past was a good indicator, she may even be one of the last of the group. It had taken her the full hour to walk from home to here, and she wasn't completely on time because of that. On top of everything, she realized that she had gotten fairly wet from the long walk, and water droplets had formed all over her hair and her sweater. She shook as much off as she could so that she didn't soak everything in the place.

Still a bit shy, she knocked out of habit and courtesy as she arrived. Of course, the door had opened either way, she had proper clearance and everything, as usual, but old habits died hard, and Sarah always felt awkward speaking up. Knocking was a way to let everybody know she had arrived. She didn't say anything even after entering, but held up a small convenience store bag filled all the way to the top with candy. She had been craving something sugary and had stood staring at the store shelf for over five silent unmoving minutes trying to choose what to grab. In the end, she had bought one of everything, so there was chocolates, gummy candy, hard candies, chewing gum, and various other novelty treats for the group. Sugar was Sarah's major vice.

"Mii, Soshi, Sa-san, Yakkun, it's good to see everybody." Sarah greeted everyboy with the lazy names she knew them by. It was 'too hard' to remember anybody's name if it was longer than two syllables, and it sounded friendly to her. While she was one of the oldest members, a combination of her status as the 'new girl' and the fact that Japanese was not her first langauge or culture made her speech and nomenclature a little funny, and honorifics sometimes ended up in strange places.