『 PLACE IN THE SKY 』

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

Had this always been here? Definitely not. Aika didn't remember this place from when she was a student. Maybe she wasn't the only thing that had changed while she'd been out. Whether or not it was here didn't matter. The fact was that Ai was here in this place that she never expected to come back to. It was nice that she and Mi had arrived during the summer. There were fewer students on campus and there were no classes. It gave her the chance to get accustomed to being on campus again. Nostalgia ran through her, a cold chill and a comfortable warmth at the same time.

The young woman walked under the arching aquarium. Light reflected in the water danced over her skin. It was hot outside, so she wore a summery red dress that hugged her frame until it flared out at her hips. Gold shoes shimmered on her feet. This wasn't the same Aika that had walked this campus as a teenager. It was hot outside, but it was cool under the aquarium's protection.

Since it was summer, it was no surprise that this place was empty. How often had that happened to her? Despite all the other people living on campus, she somehow always managed to find quiet places where she could be alone. Some of the most meaningful meetings of her life had happened when she thought she was alone. Ai smiled and continued walking away from the outside world. The pathway opened up to a closed-in Japanese garden. It was like something out of a fairytale. Maybe she should have brought Mi with her. The girl would have loved it here. Ai made a a mental note to remember this for later. She made her way through the garden and found an open space to sit next to the pond.

Ai wished that she had brought some food with her to feed the fish in the pond. It was another mental note for next time. She watched them swimming, occasionally bobbing up to the surface expecting food. "Sorry, my cute little friends, I'll bring something for you next time," she promised.

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

word count : 358

notes : Lyrics for thread title from Les Miserables.

A place to be alone, this was a place that she could be free from eyes. The Japanese garden reminded her of home. For it was a similar garden, from the one at her grandmothers bath house. The garden was often a place her grandmother had her work, doing tea ceremony's for guests.

Being at Spica Eri took this place as her own to continue her practice. Tea ceremony was often looked down on in Spica after all that's what Maitor was for Wearing a kimono she lay her tea set down near the koi pond. Yet she lay in the shadows to hide from any un wanted eyes. Wondering light drifted past the leaves , as a warm breeze floated through them. Eri had began her practice letting her eyes focus on her hands soft touches allowed the task to become natural.

Suddenly a shadow danced across the floor near by, appearing shed gone unnoticed she thought of sneaking out. Though she had a tendency to be curious. She watched as a young woman wondered past, red dress flowed in the breeze. Beautiful. Eri felt bad now for spying it wasn't her nature. She decided best to speak up. " Hello, I am sorry to come as a surprize but if you wish to feed them I have some food for them, usually a treat before I leave. Though I don't mind allowing you to use it. "

For once she hadn't stuttered which brought a smile to her face, though her cheeks felt a light warmth as they pinked. Her body still had a habit of betraying her bravery.

『 PLACE IN THE SKY 』

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

The voice that spoke out to her was unexpected and quiet. Ai didn't jump, but she did tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing two piercings, and looked for the source of the sound. It was a young girl - had Ai ever been that young? - with long white hair and bright eyes who sat nearby. "That would be wonderful," she responded. Ai stretched her feet out in front of her.

It was true. She couldn't remember having ever been that small and young. That time seemed like so long ago. Ah, but really, she couldn't help herself. "You have a very cute smile," she smiled back at the stranger. Straightforward with no hidden intention, her comment sounded more like stating fact than a compliment. It was true, though. The girl's small smile and the color it brought to her cheeks lit up her face. "I didn't know this was here, so I didn't think to bring any food with me. I would hate to disappoint our little friends. What brings you here?" she asked, noting the tea set. After all, this seemed like a strange place for that sort of thing. Didn't Miator have rooms for that?

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

word count : 199

notes : Edited! I hope this works better for you!

As the young woman sat she didn't seem like a student though Eri wasn't one to judge by looks and besides she new that many of the sixth years looked quite mature. Shed even gave a slight complete? To Eri. Eri couldn't help but blush a bit more ." Thank you, though I must say, you are awfully beautiful your self. As for why I am here , I practice my skills of tea ceremony here. My chosen school gives me many opportunities yet tea ceremony is not one of them. Sadly that makes practice a bit hard, this is the only place I find quite enough to do so. Now, what about your self Ms?"

Ah shed forgotten to tell her name and how she has presented the question of knowing the others name seemed slightly rude. She hoped she hadn't offended the woman. Setting down her tea pot she gave a careful bow . " My name is Eri Tenshi."

She hadn't apologized this way for quite a while, shed need to work on that before heading back to her grandmothers. Before Eri forgot she reached under the tray one of three drawers held the food for the koi carefully opening it she handed a small bag to the young woman dressed in red.

『 PLACE IN THE SKY 』

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

Ai laughed at the young girl's reaction to her compliment. She really was cute. She leaned back on one hand and waved the other in front of her face, dismissing the stranger's compliment. "I wouldn't say that about myself, but that's very nice of you," she flashed another smile. She put her free hand behind her as well and leaned back comfortably. She looked between the girl and the tea set. "I see," she began thoughtfully. "Then why didn't you go to a school that was more accepting of your interests?" She didn't really see. The surface seemed too uneven for practicing tea ceremony.

And, she was honestly curious. There was a time when the young woman would have understood and agreed with that sentiment: go to school, it doesn't matter if it fits, make yourself fit. She shifted slightly, crossing her legs at her ankles. She wasn't going to ask to which school the young girl was referring. It was fairly obvious from the context. A school that had many opportunities, but not tea ceremony. Miator embraced that tradition and Lulim allowed room for any club the students could imagine. That left Spica as the offending party.

Aika watched the girl's careful movements as she introduced herself. "Ms. Tenshi, then. That name suits you," she said. Some people's names really did suit them well. She thought about her own name and about Mi. "I'm Suzuki Aika, but you don't need to be formal with me if you don't want to. It never suited me," she laughed. She had said the same thing to her students in the past. It was true, really. Aika had grown particularly uncomfortable with formality. It reminded her a little too much of her family. That said, she still insisted on calling her students by their last names. Yes, it was a strange double-standard. Maybe there were a few habits that she had yet to break.

The young woman took the bag offered to her. "Thank you," she said cheerfully. "Would you like to feed the fish with me, since you were kind enough to have brought the food? I'm sure they'd be happy to have more company." She shook the bag of food gently in front of her.

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

word count : 374

notes : 

She pondered for a moment,why did she pick Spice, she only had one thing to really say. " I love nature, St. Spica gives me this and much more,besides I don't know what I would do with out my horse,he doesn't mind k- and um..other things . As for why I still participate in more St maitor activities is that I work at my grandmothers bath house/ inn and those skills are needed. "

That was rather close, she almost spilled her secret of having Kuma, her pet was dear and she was already on thin ice keeping him. Placing her thoughts on the woman she rushed to the next question. " ah Aika sama ! What a lovely name,please call me Eri."

She looked closer to the woman that sat across from her, she was truly something. Brave,kind, and even elegantly cool looking. Eri couldn't help but slightly admire her. Then and offer was brought up,an offer to help feed the koi. " I would love that very much, though... I feel terrible not knowing of which school you attended, transferring in so late must be tough, I am very curious on why come to the three sister schools now?"

As she waited for a response she bent her feet so that she could press so that she could stand with out the help of a tree branch. It took a lot of valence but Eri got use to it. As she stood she kindly awaited for the other to join her.

『 PLACE IN THE SKY 』

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

Hm? Aika raised an eyebrow. What an interesting explanation. Her lips curled into a smile. "That does make sense. Spica's stables are lovely and they take good care of the horses." That wasn't to say anything of the girl's interesting slip. He doesn't mind what? Maybe she should take a trip to the stables later. After all, she didn't have to go feed her 'cat' until later in the evening. She was sure that Mi would be able to keep herself entertained for the time being. The 'cat' had been curled up in front of a book when Aika had left earlier in the day. She would be like that all day. "Is your grandmother's bath house nearby? I'm sure I'll need a visit to relax soon."

In the past, Ai wouldn't have ever thought of visiting a bath house. The thought of being so exposed in front of so many people would have been horrifying. Now, she didn't mind. Once classes started, she would look for every opportunity to take a break.

The young woman also wasn't oblivious to the way the other girl quickly tried to change the subject. Everyone had a secret, even Ai. She noted the honorific behind her name and shook her head, still smiling. "Formality really doesn't suit me," she laughed. Although with the new bath house information, the use of such honorifics did make more sense. What could she say? She found language fascinating. "Miss Eri it is, then," she settled. Ai tended to speak informally enough with her students. She had to keep her boundaries somewhere. "I'm flattered that I could still be mistaken for a student," she laughed slightly, "but I'm a new teacher. Don't worry, you won't have me for any of your classes." Ai gave the girl a small wink before standing up as well. She brushed herself off and looked at the young girl.

She was so small. Taller than Mi, but still so small. Or was it that Ai was just too big to be here now? "These old bones don't work as well anymore," she laughed, patting her knees gently before looking back up. The brunette opened the bag of fish food and held it out for Eri. "Transfers in and out of this school aren't as strange as they used to be. This time of year shouldn't cause too many problems for new students, I think." She was more concerned for Mi than for herself. This did seem like a good time of year to start, she hoped. She didn't want her charge to have too much difficulty adjusting. "I did used to be a student here and let's just say that this school isn't done with me yet," she laughed again.

"That looks like a lovely tea set. Is it your grandmothers?" Ai nodded her head in the tea's direction.

Once upon a time, this sort of idle conversation with a stranger would have been out of the question. Astraea Hill, what did you have in store for her now?

♬ ♪ ♩ ♬ ♪ ♩

word count : 506

notes :