[b]Friday, April 10th, 11:37PM - Ishikawa Residence[/b]

A tentative step. The tree next to the window of her room was still as sturdy as ever.

Mitsuki balanced on her windowsill, pale blue pajamas hanging loose in the night air, small backpack strapped to her back. In the moonlight she looked rather like an oversized bat.

She stepped again and this time her weight went with it. She moved onto the tree branch. Step after step after step fifteen feet above the ground. When she reached the trunk of the tree she clung to it. It only took a few more moments of clambering and finding well-worn footholds in the bark-

There was a crack as her foot slipped and her leg impacted heavily against the tree trunk. She did not slip all the way. She did not fall. But she clung to the tree trunk, eyes wide, until she was sure that no one in her house had stirred.

Mitsuki hurriedly navigated the rest of the tree and dropped down to the pavement.

She grinned despite herself. One mishap. And it hardly mattered. This never got old. No ropes. No ladders. No evidence that she had snuck out. It was the perfect crime and the tree was the perfect accomplice. She gave it a little pat before removing her baggy pajamas to reveal her actual clothes underneath. Then she stuffed the pajamas in her backpack. Began to head off.