diff --git a/apywire/runtime.py b/apywire/runtime.py
index 2b1f48f..ee92911 100644
--- a/apywire/runtime.py
+++ b/apywire/runtime.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 import asyncio
 import importlib
 import re
+from functools import cached_property
 from operator import itemgetter
 from typing import Awaitable, Callable, Protocol, cast, final
 
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ def __getattr__(self, name: str) -> Accessor:
             f"'{type(self).__name__}' object has no attribute '{name}'"
         )
 
-    @property
+    @cached_property
     def aio(self) -> "AioAccessor":
         """Return a wrapper object providing async accessors.
 
@@ -116,9 +117,7 @@ def aio(self) -> "AioAccessor":
         asynchronously. We use `aio` to avoid the reserved keyword
         `async` (so `wired.async` would be invalid syntax).
         """
-        if not hasattr(self, "_aio_accessor"):
-            self._aio_accessor = AioAccessor(self)
-        return self._aio_accessor
+        return AioAccessor(self)
 
     def _instantiate_attr(
         self,
diff --git a/apywire/wiring.py b/apywire/wiring.py
index d038090..e70b3dd 100644
--- a/apywire/wiring.py
+++ b/apywire/wiring.py
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ def _extract_placeholder_name(self, s: str) -> str:
         Returns:
             The placeholder name without braces
         """
-        return s[len(PLACEHOLDER_START) : -len(PLACEHOLDER_END)]
+        return s.removeprefix(PLACEHOLDER_START).removesuffix(PLACEHOLDER_END)
 
     def _resolve(self, obj: _SpecValue) -> _ResolvedValue:
         """Resolve placeholders into `_WiredRef` markers for runtime.
diff --git a/tests/test_edge_cases.py b/tests/test_edge_cases.py
index ef28b93..1be3e3e 100644
--- a/tests/test_edge_cases.py
+++ b/tests/test_edge_cases.py
@@ -195,15 +195,13 @@ def failing_maker() -> None:
 
 
 def test_wiring_aio_lazy_init() -> None:
-    """Test lazy initialization of aio property."""
+    """Test initialization of aio accessor with @cached_property."""
     from apywire import Wiring
 
     wired = Wiring({}, thread_safe=False)
-    # Access internal attribute to verify it's not there yet
-    assert not hasattr(wired, "_aio_accessor")
-    # Access property
+    # Access property (cached_property handles caching automatically)
     aio = wired.aio
-    assert hasattr(wired, "_aio_accessor")
+    # Verify same object is returned (caching works)
     assert wired.aio is aio