Aiko soon spotted Kai and his sister waiting outside and dashed out of the front door to join them. Noticing Kai staring at the sky, she, too, decided to look up. The sky really was pretty today. She wanted to jump up and take a bite out of those marshmallow-looking clouds. But this daytime sky wasn't as pretty as the night sky, in her opinion. She [i]adored[/i] stars and would often sneak out at night to get a better view of them back at the Sohma residence. Aiko slowly looked back down at Kai and Mai, refocusing her attention on them rather than the sky. [color=lightgreen]"There you are! You guys weren't trying to [i]hide[/i] from me, were you?"[/color] she teased. They started walking to the sidewalk and towards downtown. 

She twiddled her thumbs as they walked, a little bounce in her step. It was clear she was happy to be out of the house and exploring. This was a new chapter in the story of her life, one that she hoped would be very positive. Here, nobody (except for the siblings and Kazuo) had to know she's a high school drop out. Of all things she's ever done, that was the worst (in other people's opinion). What they never seemed to understand, no matter how much she tried to explain it to them, was that she and school simply didn't mix. It was like trying to combine water and vegetable oil; it would never work. 

To Aiko, school was a place of constraint. The moment she walked through it's gates, she was expected to keep her mouth shut and give every class her full attention. That was day, after day, after day. It mentally exhausted her. If she ever snuck out or was caught daydreaming, she could get in serious trouble. At the end of the day, she was nothing more than a butterfly that had it's wings clipped off as long as she was in school.

A passing biker ringed their bell twice. Aiko gave them a polite smile before looking over at Kai and Mai. [color=lightgreen]"So, what do you two think about the new place now that we've started settling in?"[/color] she asked, adopting a normal walk now that they've started approaching one of the busiest areas of the neighborhood. It was certainly less busy than any city Aiko's ever visited, which pleased her. This was the perfect medium.