Disclaimer: Don't own Sword Art Online (I or II), or any of it's characters.

Rating: T

Continuing with the awakening

April 1st, 2031

ALO

New Aincrad, Floor 1, Town of Beginnings

"Hmm, it looks very plain. I get that it's the beginner blade, but still."

"Ah, that's okay, Yui. It'll help build my skill level, which is what's really important.

Kazuto hummed, a little distance away as Yui and Strea talked about buying the latter's new weapon, given a small sum from him and Asuna (they were years-old veteran players; had plenty to burn). Right now he's waiting for Asuna to arrive, as just before Yui dived to be here, she went shopping while he'd gone to Ymir, yet bound to arrive very soon.

In the meantime, his mind went over the scan results.

The whole cursor theory seemed to be true; Strea had unconsciously taken an unused player avatar and merged with it, sorta. Still, due in part to her AI status, she had the capacity to become an object in Yui's inventory (ie her Navigation Pixie form), which Yui had done, but people were still theorizing as to how the system could have register her as both simultaneously. Thus far the answer suggested that when Strea played as a player, she registered as such, but when she's a Navigation Pixie, she registered as that - the system only got suspicious if she changed too much in a set amount of time. Surprisingly, while Strea did find the Navigation Pixie form interesting, she much preferred her 'bigger' body, especially to Yui's surprise. Though it'd still been only days; maybe she'll change her mind.

Part of him had also felt a little awkward then, as Strea's Navigation Pixie form had kept her chest, if scaled down a bit... and revealed a detail on her cleavage that he hadn't needed to know.

"Okay, need to think about something else now" Kazuto thought, a little forcefully. "There's weird, and then there's inappropriate."

"Really, Yui!?"

Huh? He zoned back, seeing Yui and Strea still talking, but the latter looked a lot more excited-

"You're thinking about using-Mmh!"

"Shh!" Yui breathed quickly, hand over her sister's mouth. "Please, Strea! It's still a secret, and I want it to be a surprise!"

Part of him flashed back to the party, thinking how Yui had surprised them all and then briefly had 'accusations' leveled at him, believing he'd been behind it... was this the same secret? However, before he could think to ask, there came the sound of the Teleportation Gate being used, and he looked to see Asuna quickly hurrying over- that got him to smile a bit.

"How did things go?" she asked, stopping just before him.

"Good, of course" he said easily. "Strea's gotten her basic Two-Handed Sword, and they're set to start hunting to raise their skill levels, us supervising."

"Mommy!"

Asuna couldn't acknowledge his statement, for she had to return the hug Yui gave her, but with a happy giggle. "It wasn't that long, Yui" she teased, while their daughter just stuck her tongue out, making him chuckle. "But glad to see you're enjoying yourself - and you still look so cute as an Imp."

Yui briefly blushed in happiness, hugging Asuna closer again, who didn't mind - and neither did he, just watching.

Then Strea slowly stepped up beside him, drawing his attention- he quickly noticed that while she's mostly happy, there were elements of longing in there. Kazuto thought it must be about the ongoing decision, about whether to become their second adopted daughter, officially, even though Yui was her sister.

Then almost immediately, those elements disappeared under Strea's genuine smile.

"Not because she's hiding that longing" he slowly realized. "But because she's simply no longer thinking about it this second."

"About ready to go?"

Asuna's question, she and Yui stepping up to them - he hummed, opening his mouth to answer.

"I want to ask one thing first."

Surprised, all of them, he looked at Strea-

-who laughed a bit. "It's simple" she assured, "I just want you guys to show off your skills sometime, to let me see how good you are."

Kazuto found himself blinking for several seconds- Asuna was about the same. Yui moved away from her mother, going over to Strea, "Why?" she asked. "Aren't you able to access ALO's records, seeing their battles? And remember from SAO?"

"I can" Strea admitted, humming. "But those were from a distance, with few close-ups - maybe there's a trick to it that I'll figure it out later, but I'd like to see it. If you two don't mind, of course."

"I-I don't really mind, but it is sudden" Asuna breathed, nonplussed (he managed to breathe "Same"). "After all, while I and Kazuto keep our skills up of course, we don't normally do so to an audience."

"Well, I was just asking" Strea added, grinning a little. "Anytime would be okay, even if it takes awhile to answer."

Well, least she's letting them think.

Yui was thinking along similar lines: "I think it's a good idea, as it'd be totally awesome" she said, having an appropriate undercurrent, giggling afterward. "But mommy and daddy need to think about it, so we should go out and get you used to battle, Strea."

"Bring it on" she said easily.

"Hehe, race you to the Teleport Gate!"

Before they could even say a word, Yui (shortly followed by Strea) ran toward the object in question, about 150 feet away. Kazuto slowly made a sound, not sure if he's exasperated or enjoying this or both, Asuna struggling with similar for a few seconds - they shared a look before they hurried after their daughter.

Clearly though, sense of timing needed to added to the list of teachings.

...

Fields outside Town of Beginnings

"Alright, now we're getting it, Strea!"

So Yui yelled, at the ready as a Dire Wolf growled, running toward her- Yui flew straight up, and the wolf skidded past before it turned, jumping twenty feet in the air after her. She was ready for that, her sword glowed a light-blue (basic Sword Skill: Horizontal), before she suddenly raced forward and slashed right past it... barely a second passed by before the wolf burst apart...

"Wow" Kazuto breathed beside her. "That brings back memories."

Asuna heard the strange tone, present beside nostalgia, and glanced at him for a moment, wondering- but mainly she kept an eye on the others.

"Strea, behind you!"

Strea had accidentally aggro'd another Dire Wolf during her test battle against a Frenzy Boar- quickly, on instinct, she activated Back Rush and smashed the wolf aside. The girl laughed before instinctively trying to move, only for the Sword Skill lock-down to occur and the Frenzy Boar striking her, sending her a short distance away. Strea quickly shook her head, seeming a little surprised at everything before the boar was taken care of by Yui, who went over to her sister. Quickly, the two of them sprang upward to fifty feet, out of the wolves + boar's jumping capability - something they'd only gotten after the New Aincrad update seven years ago - asking and talking up there.

She hummed. "Well, they're definitely improving" Asuna observed, content. "Yui's had a few days practice already, so she's too strong for these enemies anymore, but Strea will catch up."

Kazuto chuckled. "Completely" he breathed, "While we're working now, she's gonna be bonding with Strea, helping level up their skills- being able to do all that in the same session is just a bonus."

That caused her to laugh, still content as she squeezed his hand, seeing the two talking up there. "She can still bond while in the real world, such as when she's eating, maybe even reading, if Strea finds them interesting."

"That gives me a weird image though" he admitted, looking at her. "Reading from the probe would be the same as literally reading over someone's shoulder. Not to mention they might read at different speeds."

Asuna breathed out. "It is weird, but why aren't I surprised that's one of the first things you focus on?" she asked, Kazuto giving a sheepish grin before she smiled. "But either way, there's a lot to share with Strea - it'll take time, just like with Yui."

He nodded, smiling back. "And Yui's still adjusting" he breathed, before gesturing back to the girls, who were trying another session with the Dire Wolves and Frenzy Boars. "Case-in-point, Yui helping teach her sister the basics of this world, physically I mean. Not information-wise."

She agreed-

"There you guys are!"

-surprised, they looked up, finding a dragon circling around their position, a figure waving at them. As it came closer though, the voice and the figure soon made the person apparent: Alicia. "What's up?" she called cheerfully, gently coaxing her dragon to set down. "It's been awhile!"

"And now it starts" Kazuto privately breathed in an undertone; Asuna nodded a bit, even as they returned the gestures. "The date's gonna be a pain though."

No kidding...

Even as they said this, Alicia got off her dragon, who she soothed with more gestures down his muzzle - then as usual, had her hands behind her head. "I gotta say though, it was surprising to find you on Floor 1" she admitted. "Helping Yui skill-level up?"

"Well, they're more doing that on their own" Asuna answered, glancing over. "We're just supervising."

"'They?'" Alicia asked, surprised as she looked, before registering the sight of Strea talking with Yui. A few seconds later, the woman looked at Kazuto with an interested eyebrow-raise and little cat-smirk: "Did you meet another girl, Kazuto?"

He did not react at all, basically blank expression-wise-

-"It wasn't like that, Alicia" Asuna breathed, exasperated herself. "Ymir found her, and advised us of her existence - and besides, Yui was the first one to talk to her."

"Oh. Wait, why would Ymir have found her?"

"At the core, she's not an ordinary player" Kazuto breathed, arms crossed. "She's an AI. And Yui's sister."

Asuna saw the statement register, the shock that followed, followed by basic utter blankness - almost exactly the response she'd envisioned in her head, if subtly different because Alicia lowered her hands. Roughly a minute passed before she looked between them... "Is this a joke?" Alicia asked, blinking. "Because of today?"

"No."

They'd basically said that at the same time - it only increased the shock, but the laughter of Yui and Strea jolted all three of them, looking toward the source. Strea had her Two-Handed Sword slung over her shoulder, as easily as one might sling a bat while Yui had her sword sheathed, both of them smiling big as they started coming closer. "You know you were awesome, Strea" - "Maybe, but clearly you know a lot more than I do Yui, which I expected from my big sister."

Alicia jolted slightly. "Wait, 'big sister'?"

"Strea looks older, because her body settings are those of a teenager's, unlike Yui" Asuna breathed, knowing the feeling. "Mentally and technically however, she's the younger one."

...

Same time

"I may be your big sister, but that doesn't mean I know everything" Yui answered, Strea just smiling in response. She started to say something else before hearing mommy talking, something about her being the younger one, mentally and technically - she looked ahead, and jolted- Alicia?

Oh that's right! Because Strea was here now, she'd need to be introduced to everyone!

"Alicia! Hi!" she called over, waving with a smile. "I assume mommy and daddy were giving you the short version?"

"Uh... you could say that" Alicia breathed, very sheepish, her tail movements speaking for this. "But hey, did they put either of you up to this?"

Yui just shook her head, still smiling.

"Put us up to what?" Strea wondered, before Yui quickly whispered in her ear, then she let out a sound. "Oooh, trick you! Nah" Strea said quite easily, waving a hand. "I really am Yui's younger sister, Alicia, since that seems to be your name. Mental Health Counseling Program Prototype 002, Codename 'Strea'. At your service."

"Mmh-hmm" Yui added onto, quite happy. "And she can prove it too, if you'd like."

Alicia blinked again, before shaking her head (in the clearing things way), taking in a breath. "Ah, yeah, please" she said, a little more like herself (if sheepish) as she opened her inventory. "I can get behind this, sorta, but I gotta see proof first; otherwise I might have doubts and take a lot longer. There can't be any when the others find out about, or they'll be more trouble for all of you."

"No fooling" daddy breathed, not excited at that thought.

Mommy touched his shoulder, feeling similar, looking at Alicia. "You sure you're okay with this, Alicia?" she asked, a little worried. "I mean, it's so sudden - we couldn't avoid that, but still."

"It is, but it was also sudden when Yui revealed her SAO status years ago, when we were celebrating the Sleeping Knights at that party."

"And you guys handled that fairly well" daddy added, nostalgic - mommy made a sound, remembering.

"We did, though it took awhile to sink in; this is just the same" Alicia admitted. "Or I should say 'will be'."

Yui couldn't help but agree on the 'handled it well' angle, but also knew it'd been easier because they already knew she was a computer program, if mistaken for a pure Navigation Pixie. Handling a new arrival AI, also claiming to be her sister- well that was a little harder to take in, but it seemed pretty common with this family hehe. Then after that, Alicia had her and Strea pose for a few pictures, which her sister was more than curious about - first the two of them together, then Strea in her Navigation Pixie form, where she looked so cute! In fact, she remembered back, remembering mommy's first look at her Navigation Pixie form, before she smiled and said she didn't think she'd seen her any cuter than she was then.

Now she had the same feeling, hehe!

"There" Alicia breathed with a hum, cat-smiling as she looked over her camera images. "That should do the trick."

"Good" daddy breathed, before stepping forward. "Now Strea, can you copy this information directly to my computer?"

Strea hummed in thought before smiling. "I'd have to wait till it's actually on before it gets there, but sure" she answered, to which daddy chuckled, saying that's no problem - Alicia slowly held her camera out, where Strea began to tentatively interface with it's data, adding it to her program first-off.

"Don't worry, Strea" Yui assured gently. "It's a simple copy&paste function; it's easy."

Her sister simply gave that warm/happy smile - mommy and daddy had little reactions to this, as did Alicia. The latter hummed with interest, before looking at mommy and daddy. "You want my advice though?" she asked, hands behind her head again. "When the others inevitably ask 'is this a joke?', tell them to contact me, Sakuya, and Eugene."

Mommy looked a little surprised. "But, they don't know yet-"

"They will" Alicia said easily, grinning to herself. "Those two are a little late today due to a situation, but they're set to join me soon. After all, we've still promised Yui full support in helping explore ALO from this side of the virtual world."

"In other words, you're saying to stay in the real world, and handle the flood of incoming questions and comments?" daddy asked, Alicia nodding, before he sighed. "Well, it should work - waiting for an ALO party would take longer for everyone to assemble so suddenly, but they're certain to hear something if we send a message out there."

Yui was a little sadder, as she wanted mommy and daddy to stay here for a bit longer..

"Do they have to leave?" Strea asked, picking up on this, rubbing at her cheek in her Navigation Pixie form. "I want them to stay longer too."

She smiled then, tapping her sister's wings, which jolted at the touch with a lovely sound. "They'll be back soon, Strea" she assured, "I'd like it if they could stay longer too, but this is important."

/

RL

A little later

Asuna stirred, slowly pulling off her Amursphere after a few seconds - she was vaguely aware of Kazuto doing the same beside her. She waited a few more seconds as she stretched, then: "Think you can find the copied data easily?" she asked, a little off but soon getting it.

"Yeah" Kazuto breathed, standing up carefully. "Just a simple search function, and then we can copy it to an email, or perhaps a mass-text-message. Easy work..."

She looked at them then, before she touched his shoulder. "Want me to send the email when you're done?" she asked gently.

He audibly jolted, looking straight at her. "Y-You'd really do that, Asuna?"

"I know what you're feeling right now" she said easily, sitting closer. "If you send it, the others might assume and accuse you of 'picking up' another girl, and you're already grumbling inside because of Alicia's words - if it's from me though, that'll tone it down. That's what you were thinking of asking me, right?"

Kazuto slowly became sheepish. "I swear you read my mind" he breathed, but a little softer. "It's both crazy and something else."

"Thank you" she said sweetly, before smirking. "But when I do send it, going for the mass text option, you aren't gonna be silent on this, Kazuto."

Aside from the slightest eyebrow twitch, he wasn't remotely surprised. "With our friends, I don't think they'd let me be silent anyway, Asuna" he answered, moving even closer, resting his head against hers and his arm across her body. "Even if I avoided the mass-text-message, they'd give me hell when they next saw me anyway. Still, thank you."

"You're welcome" Asuna breathed softly, feeling warm- wait... "U-Uh, Kazuto?"

"Hmm?"

"Y-Your arm's a little high up."

A second went by as this registered, before he gulped a bit and his arm quickly moved downward, settling more against her midriff now. "Uh- I- sorry" he breathed quickly, embarrassed, "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Her cheeks were a little heated, but she still held him close. "It's okay" she whispered gently, "I could tell it was an accident."

"But it's still a little embarrassing" Kazuto breathed, looking at her close-up. "And I shudder to think if Yui saw that, or Strea... I'm not sure which would be worse."

Asuna agreed - Yui probably would have blushed, saying nothing on the subject before quickly moving on, but it'd still be embarrassing to have her see. Strea though, well despite her older looks, she seemed a lot more like your average child, full of energy and completely willing to try everything and anything, along with the confidence/self-assuredness/forwardness to do so quickly... with her current lack of information, such a situation might just entice her to try 'things'.

"That wouldn't end well..."

Kazuto then pulled away, even as she let go, "Well, I'd better go turn my computer on" he breathed gently.

"Yeah" she agreed. "And once from there, we'll download it onto my phone as well as yours, and I'll send the message containing them."

He gave her a little smile, which basically said 'thanks'.

/

ALO, Floor 1

"I hope the others will be okay with this" Yui worried, "After all, while we're glad to have found Strea, she did appear suddenly."

"I'm sure they'll be okay; our friendships are strong" Alicia assured, Cat Sith tail moving a bit. "Plus we've all dealt with surprising announcements before, like I said earlier."

Sitting with them, Strea hummed as she smiled, mind going through ALO's database - they'd spoken of a party where they'd revealed Yui to Alicia, along with these still-to-arrive people: Sakuya and Eugene. Calling up their profiles and such, she was surprised, finding those two (and Alicia) were leaders of several ALO races - all this time she'd been talking to a leader without knowing it! But wow, they'd made friends with these guys so easily hehe, and she spent some time looking over their pictures, as well as some video footage. Sakuya seemed a calm person, rarely losing her cool or anything like that, while Eugene seemed someone who thought things through, though he did have a little enjoyment for battle. That she certainly saw on footage of a few fights, including one that showed he'd fought Kazuto, much to her surprise.

She wondered though: should she mention how 'gifted' Sakuya is in the chest, or how distracting the white sections on Alicia's outfit were?

Mmmmhhhhhmmm... maybe not, just in case it was wrong. Yeah, that's a good reason not to, unless she learns otherwise.

"Oh!" Alicia called, standing up quickly, drawing their attention. "I see them! Coming in now!"

"Sakuya and Eugene?" Yui wondered.

Alicia gave off a 'Mmh-hmm', complete with her Cat Sith ears twitching, hands behind her head again - it seemed her own regular gesture.

Strea looked up then, seeing two figures coming toward them - it was indeed them, just as their pictures indicated, though little details were off and such. Alicia was quick to fly up to them, all three floating in mid-air as they talked, Alicia doing the explanation and everything, no doubt about her-

Oh?

She looked down, as Yui had comfortingly touched her hand.

"Don't worry" her sister said brightly. "They'll accept you; just be prepared for a bunch of questions."

Strea grinned, laughing. "I can handle them" she said, returning the hand grip until her sister let go.

"Strea, meet Sakuya and Eugene."

They both looked around, standing up as the others came closer - Alicia had her hands behind her head again, while Sakuya and Eugene had the same interest she'd seen a lot since waking up. Even still, she smiled as she 'bowed' a little, "Mental Health Counseling Program, Prototype 002; Codename: Strea" she introduced. "At your service."

"Are you gonna say that every time Strea?" Yui teased.

"Well it's true."

"Even still hehe."

That small back-and-forth (if it could be called that) got smiles on the others' faces, looks between them. "Normally, this should be a bigger shock, something that takes a long time to sink in" Sakuya spoke, quickly drawing Strea's attention. "Your arrival is still those, but this little family has adjusted quite fast - and when it comes to Kazuto and Asuna, these kinds of things just seem to happen."

"These kinds of things?" Strea asked, interested.

"She means getting themselves into unexpected trouble, good or bad" Alicia said, quite cheerful. "Our first meeting of Kazuto was when he crashed a potential war, right out of nowhere, literally. Fought Eugene here one-on-one, despite being at a disadvantage, and won."

Eugene made a sound, but more amused than annoyed. "I admit he got the better of me" he said, both Sakuya and Alicia looking at him. "But honestly, that was the element of surprise; we've had plenty of battles since then."

"Then why is your battle record with him relatively even?" Sakuya asked, eyebrow raised, but also smirking.

Eugene chose to grin. "Because he's a worthy opponent" he lightly 'retorted', arms crossed. "That should be obvious."

Oh yes, Yui mentioned Kazuto had been one of the stronger players in SAO, and since he'd kept his stats when going over to ALO, that'd been a big boost. Strea then wondered, if he was so good, why was the battle record between them even?

"Strea."

Jolted a bit, she looked at Yui, before leaning her head down (enough for her sister to whisper). "Yeah?"

"Daddy only fights full-out when things are life-or-death, when he has something to protect, something he must do at all costs" Yui whispered, with touches of proud and a little sadness. "When not like that, he fights on a lesser level of serious. The fight with Eugene they mentioned was when he fought full-out; every duel they've had since then, he hasn't."

Ooohhhhh... wow, that's so interesting!

And it made sense too, as the scattered battles she'd seen from SAO (particularly on Floor 75), along with gradual accumulation of records from here in ALO, she'd seen how good he usually was. Particularly since he'd invented the usage of 'Skill Connect' and 'Spell Blast', both skills pulled off with tremendous reflexes, and apparently had poor results when replicated by anyone else. Especially since ALO didn't have the Dual Blades skill, so while he could use both swords in movement, Sword Skills with both blades simply couldn't be replicated- or that was the intended result. Further analysis had shown him going around that, first by Skill Connect in a way, then later with the Original Sword Skill system implemented later on - he'd managed to recreate several of his Dual Blade skills with hard work, though most of them were the low-level ones, as apparently the more hits, the harder it was to create/recreate without system assistance.

The thought made her excited; it seemed a really interesting system workaround! And no doubt she could create her own too, just like Yui will probably do when she gets high skill levels!

"Woah. So you weren't kidding, Alicia; she can really turn into a Navigation Pixie."

"That's right. Though, her being a player seems a complicated system thing, Sakuya."

"Okay, so she is an AI - guess that does make her Yui's sister."

Strea came out of her thoughts, seeing the three looking over Alicia's camera, and the pictures taken of her and Yui. That caused her to smile, but part of her hoped they wouldn't need a repeat of her Navigation Pixie form; thus far she much preferred this body, as it was so much stronger in a lot of ways.

At about the same time, Sakuya came from around the others, who continued to discuss something else. "Nice to meet you, Strea" she greeted, inclining her head.

"Mmh-hmm."

"You've caused quite a stir" the woman noted, arms crossed, but entirely friendly. "Then again, I distinctively remember Kazuto doing that exact same thing before we officially met. Yui as well when she revealed her AI origins - it seems to be a family trait."

Yui laughed at the apparent memory, which was shared with Sakuya a little. "It sure does" she said happily, "Only mommy was the exception, if I remember, at least initially."

"Now I have even more reason to look over past records" Strea said, interested in this. "Still, there's so many, and no way to filter it by location because I don't know where/when/how these things took place!"

Her sister patted her arm. "That'll be later" she promised, which made her even more excited.

"Indeed" Sakuya noted. "But Strea?"

"Hmm?"

"What about your answer? About Kazuto and Asuna being your adoptive family - Yui is your sister, but them?"

Oh yeah- they'd mentioned something about Alicia/Sakuya/Eugene being the 'go to' ones for answers, but if they didn't have the answer, they're in trouble. It didn't escape her notice that Yui was looking at her now, a little worried about giving this answer so soon (especially after having told her to wait), but still wanting to know - Alicia and Eugene heard as well, as they'd stopped talking entirely.

It took her about ten seconds of thought with her processes, then she smiled, hands in front of her.

"It's only been two days" Strea breathed, but with an interesting tone. "Even with my fast processes, learning everything else, that seems a little fast. But Yui is my sister, and she clearly loves those two as her parents, and from what I've seen, they're wonderful; they could easily be mine too. In fact, I think they will be - not yet, but they will."

Yui quickly took her hand in both of hers. "Oh Strea!" she absolutely cheered, jumping in place a little, big grin on her face. "This is great! I can't wait till we tell them in person!"

"We could" Strea admitted, before laughing. "But I wonder if I could keep it a secret until I actually call them mom and dad, you know, sincerely- their surprise and happiness would be genuine that way."

"Ah, but that could take awhile!"

Even as they 'discussed' this little angle, Sakuya slowly excused herself, standing with Alicia and Eugene again (who had heard). "Well, least we have an answer to give" Eugene noted, hand behind his head, the other two women nodding. "There'll still probably be a lot of questions, but we have an angle to work off now."

/

RL

Hours later

Kazuto made a sound, flexing his fingers; mass-texting for hours could really do a number on them.

Overall though, it seems everything's going better than expected, concerning their friends' reactions to Strea. While there'd been some surprise, and some initial reactions about the date, the info that she's a backup Mental Health Counseling Program did make sense, as Yui had been separated from the system for awhile; someone/thing had to take her place, despite the ban on helping. The reactions themselves, well they seemed to be divided between relatively unfazed (as if stuff like this was to be expected, regarding him and/or their family, especially after years knowing them), wanting to know more about Strea first, or 'overreacting' to express the surprise and everything, if initially. Honestly, he had no idea how much of these emotions/lack thereof were lost in text, or if the emoticons were overdoing what they did feel, or anything; text could be difficult to convey such things.

From beside him, Asuna breathed out, brushing at her bangs. "Well, I think Agil and Sinon have accepted this" she breathed, smiling a little. "Though I admit, Agil didn't surprise me."

"Yeah" he breathed, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, the guy was married before we even met seven years ago; Yui having a sister must no doubt be sweet."

"Well of course it is" she teased, giggling even as she leaned up, stretching. "Still, Sinon has stated that when it comes to you, nothing surprises her anymore... though, I doubt that'll stop her from teasing you latter."

Kazuto couldn't help but sigh. "Well, honestly that applies to everyone; you know it will" he said, a little exasperated for the moment. "Still... Suguha and Silica seemed fine with the idea, wanting to help out Strea as well as Yui, regarding ALO. Suguha I can understand, as Yui told me that she's gotten used to the reality of being an aunt recently, so I suppose being one to two girls instead of just Yui is adjustable, give-or-take the surprise. I was surprised not to see Liz tearing into me though, even if it would be played up, with Silica seeming to feel the same."

"I got her replies, mostly" Asuna admitted, glancing down. "She seemed annoyed at how stuff like this keeps happening around you, but it didn't last long, and now she just wants to meet Strea before she does anything else. What about Klein though, seeing as you're his best friend?"

A few moments passed.

"Well, for one thing, I made sure to say Strea was Yui's sister right off the bat" Kazuto breathed, eyes closed. "Therefore, I avoided any potential 'cute girl' reactions from him-"

"But isn't he still looking for that second date?"

He nodded, looking at Asuna. "Yeah, but you know Klein; sometimes he just reacts without thinking" he answered. "Maybe one day his second date will work out if the right girl comes along. But anyway, otherwise he just seems to be going with this."

Asuna raised an eyebrow, but relented with a smile. "Here's hoping" she said airily, humming before she looked at the time, "Oh, we should probably get back: Yui's still in ALO with Strea, and it'll be about time for dinner."

The thought of dinner certainly roused him, if a little delayed due to the effort involved. "Well, we've still got a little time, in case they want to talk more" he assured.

...

ALO

Around the same time

Hehe, all these little sums sure would help - still, if Yui saw the time right, soon it'd be time for dinner. She felt simultaneously excited and a little sad, but she knew the latter was only because Strea couldn't physically join them.

"It's only been a few days though."

Beside her, Strea looked over her skill system, fingers moving in motions showcased to her. "Soon it'll be time for you to go back out there, isn't it?" she asked, but smiling. "I've read that dinner and all eating periods usually happen on a regular basis in the real world."

"Yes it is, and we do" Yui breathed gently. "Though you'll still be to talk with me."

Her sister's smile remained, even as she tapped her way through the stats. "I'd like that" she whispered, looking at her, "Though something tells me not every day is gonna be like this; you, Kazuto, Asuna, able to visit and have adventures with me here in ALO, at least for most hours of each day."

In answer, Yui touched her sister's shoulder, hoping to show her support. "I wish we could, Strea" she admitted, "Even though this is how things are, I had similar thoughts, when I was able to be with mommy and daddy again here in ALO. I wanted to be with them more, but I also knew their lives in the real world were important - they still took the time to talk with me though, or visit, even if it was just for a little every day; I loved that."

Strea smiled even more in response. "Well, even so, I'm gonna be there as much as I can."

Yui went 'Mmh-hmm', before she turned at the sound of twin logins - she quickly waved to mommy and daddy, who returned that with smiles. "I know" she said simply, once they came over. "It' time for dinner, and we're about ready. But first..."

Her sister turned then, ignoring her status and other screens for now; she head her hands in front. "Big news" Strea said, slightly teasing but mainly light. "I've decided."

Her parents glanced at each other, surprised, as if they hadn't expected an answer so soon- well, it also seemed like they'd talked things through in case she did, but still. Yui was too excited though, for she quickly stood between her mommy and daddy, taking their hands in each of hers (who despite their surprise, returned it gently)!

Strea gave her a little smile before looking back, doing her eyes-closed smile. "If nothing else, Yui is my sister, so I'm gonna be your second adopted daughter here in the virtual world" she said easily, to reactions all-around, Yui just barely containing her excitement. "Emphasis on 'be'; it'll take awhile before it's official, before I've adjusted and start acting like it, but I think it's just a matter of time."

A moment of silence, before:

"Well, in that case" daddy stated, fairly warm, "I say we dedicate today's dinner as a preemptive 'Welcome to the family' party for Strea."

"Alright! That's a great idea!" Yui cheered, literally jumping in place, giggling from excitement and happiness; she could see Strea affected (and glad) from these reactions. "Oh, but let's make it just a normal dinner, because Strea's still learning about food."

"Of course" mommy agreed, rubbing at her shoulders, but her smile was truly warm + happy. "But the spirit of it will be a full-on party, and you get to call the toasts, Yui."

"Yes! Wahoo!"

Daddy and mommy laughed at this reaction, but she was so excited that it only added to things. Strea just grinned, taking a few moments to look at these reactions before she joined in laughing too - Yui soon found her hands being pumped by her sister, but that just made things better!

...

RL

A little later

"Here's to Strea" Yui called, holding up her glass, just so happy. "My sister, and the newest future addition to the family! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Just like that, they all drank their glasses, even as Strea laughed on her shoulder via the probe. "Ah, you didn't have to go this far, Yui."

"Are you kidding?" she asked Strea, giggling. "We had to! It's not every day you get a new sister!"

"Okay, fair point."

"She definitely made a fair point" daddy noted, with his usual little smile. "None of us expected this."

"Nope" mommy breathed, warm and content, looking their way. "But for you two, your fast processes have already started to adjust, while Kazuto and I are way behind, hehe. We'll get there, but it's best that it takes time, just like you're doing, Strea."

"Of course."

Yui hummed, just so glad, even as she ate. "I hope it's not too long though" she said, smiling, "Having my sister being officially part of the family would be so great. I wonder what it'll sound like she says 'mommy' and 'daddy' too, or similar- but don't say it now Strea!"

The probe laughed. "I remember, Yui; 'don't say it unless you mean it'."

During her little reaction, she missed the brief glances between mommy and daddy, but she turned her attention to the latter's reply: "That's gonna be a little weird at first" he mused, glancing up. "I mean true, Strea is younger than you Yui, and thus she's mentally as young, but she still physically sounds and looks like a teenager. By that age, usually they switch to 'mom' and 'dad', whereas 'mommy' and 'daddy' are reserved for younger ages."

"Oh? Hmm, that's very interesting."

"Don't let this influence you though, Strea" mommy quickly added, jolting Yui, for she'd spoken just when she was going to. "That perception applies to the normal situation, where children are born from us, growing up normally and so forth. In this case, you two certainly weren't normal-" she continued, briefly playful, where Yui giggled + daddy smirked in addition. "-so feel free to call us what you want, and just be mindful of the situations, the knowledge. That's all. We'll all adjust to the rest as needed.

"Well I'll certainly try, once I've gotten there. But I think this is gonna be very useful to me in the future, hehehehe."

"Why did I just get the feeling she's gonna mess with us?" daddy asked, eyebrow raised. "In the future anyway?"

"Because she will; that's who she is" Yui stated proudly, joining her sister. "It'll be a taste of your own medicine, daddy."

Mommy couldn't hold it anymore, and just broke out laughing, along with her and Strea - luckily for them, daddy couldn't keep his amused smile down, and he was working hard not to laugh himself.

Overall, the whole getting-used-to-things angle for Strea will take a few chapters (per stage, that is), starting with 'at home' learning