Chapter 13: Date Night Events-Suguha and Yui
A/N: The first part of this chapter will overlap with the events of the previous chapter, so bear with me.
The remainder of the week blew by rather uneventfully. STO was taken off the internet, due to numerous reports saying it was too difficult for the players to succeed. The creators made a public statement, promising to fix the game, and return it to the public, when it is ready.
The tension had almost completely vanished between Asuna and Kazuto, though they knew it was still there, they both agreed it would be best to not let it get the best of them, as it did before.
Now it's Friday afternoon. Kazuto, Asuna and Suguha returned from school to be greeted by Yui, "Welcome back Mommy, Daddy and Aunt Sugu!" She said excitedly, "Can we all play that other game today? Pleeeeeaaaasssee?" She asked cutely, using big puppy dog eyes.
The trio couldn't help but chuckle at how cutesy she got whenever she really wanted something, "Sorry Yui, but your mom and I are going out tonight, so it'll just be you, grandma and aunt Sugu." Kazuto told her.
Yui made a slight pout before Suguha picked her up, "But I'd be happy to play ALfheim Online with you as soon as their gone." She told the child who smiled, "Ok!"
Yui was watching TV with Suguha while she waited for her parents to come down. She was happy that the mess in STO was over, but she was curious as to how she knew about the danger. Eventually though, she decided to just say it was nothing. Suguha glanced at her and decided to break the silence, "So, what happened back when you guys went to Asuna's? I never heard." She asked curiously.
Yui's expression quickly saddened, "She…doesn't like me…" The child explained.
Sugu reasoned that 'she' had to be Asuna's mom, and wrapped her arm around her niece, "Well it's her loss. You're a great kid, Yui. You're so nice and sweet." She said as she tickled her ribs, resulting in giggles, "And if your other grandma can't see that, then it's just too bad for her."
Yui smiled and hugged Suguha, "Thanks Aunt Sugu!"
Suguha smiled and returned the hug, "Anytime, Yui. Anytime."
Kazuto and Asuna made their way to the door when Yui ran to them from the living room. She hugged her parents, "Have fun Mommy and Daddy." She told them.
Asuna smiled, "You too. Be good for your aunt, ok?" Yui nodded happily.
Kazuto smiled, "Yeah, and be sure to watch her back in ALO." He said in a hushed tone. "I heard that!" Sugu declared, gaining a laugh from the three.
Asuna calmed herself of her laughter, "Alright well we need to get going." She said as she kissed Yui on the top of her head, "Love you, Yui."
Yui smiled warmly, "I love you Mommy." Then she went and hugged Kazuto again, "And I love you too Daddy." Kazuto smiled and hugged her back before walking with Asuna out the door.
Not long after the couple left, Suguha led Yui up to her room so they could play ALO when she realized a problem, "Wait…she's not an AI anymore, which means she'll need to create her own avatar…Didn't think of that." She turned to face Yui, "Alright, now I want you to listen to me when I say that you won't have anything to be afraid of when you dive into the game." She told her.
Yui tilted her head, "What do you mean?" She inquired.
"Well, you're going to start out on your own in the game." Sugu said in a calm tone, in an attempt not make her panic.
Yui's eyes widened slightly, "But why won't you be there?" She asked.
Sugu knelt down to look at the girl in eye level, "It's complicated, but I will be there when you finish choosing your character. I promise." Sugu assured.
Yui was a little scared, but trusted her aunt. They put on their Amusphere sets, laid side by side on Suguha's bed, and said, "Link start!"
Leafa found herself sitting in a camp in the middle of the forest. She hurriedly gripped her sword when she heard someone approaching, "Leafa?" Why didn't you tell me you were online?" Leafa relaxed when she recognized the voice to be Recon, her secret boyfriend.
Leafa stood up, "I just logged in, but I don't have time to go… uh… 'questing' with you right now." She said, blushing slightly.
Recon looked surprised, "Why not?" He asked.
"Well, you see…" She then explained the events of STO to Recon, "And almost immediately after we all logged out, Kazuto and Asuna were at each other's throats."
Recon gaped, "Seriously?!" He asked.
Leafa nodded, "I know, I couldn't believe it either." She said, "Anyways I promised Yui that we could go on a quest or two while her parents go out on a well-deserved date." She then spread her wings and started hovering in the air, "If I know my niece, then I know exactly where she's going to spawn, I gotta hurry, before she gets here. Later babe!" She then flew off at top speed. Hoping to be there before Yui builds her avatar.
Meanwhile, Yui found herself in a light blue space, she looked around, "Aunt Sugu?" She asked.
No answer.
She then saw eight pop-ups appear in front of her, "Welcome to ALfheim Online, please select your race. Gnome, Pooka, Spriggan, Salamander, Undine, Sylph, Leprechaun, Cat Sith, or Imp."
Yui was nervous, but found comfort in seeing the Spriggan and Undine forms, reminding her of her mother and father, "Mommy and Daddy…I hope you like my choice." She chose the Spriggan race.
She then saw a female Spriggan who appeared to be at the same age as Suguha, "Next, please select your appearance." Yui altered the hair style to be long, like her mother, except it was curly and wavy. Yui also toyed around with the facial features until it all but mirrored her own. Then she hit the next button.
She then was confronted with a small rectangular box, "Now speak the name you wish your avatar to be named." Yui smiled, "Yui." She said.
Yui was then transformed into the Spriggan form she had just created. She was then transported to a random place in the forest. Yui was getting nervous again, "He-hello? Anybody there?" She asked.
She then heard a familiar voice, "Yui! I'm glad I found you." Leafa said.
It wasn't until she landed, however, that she had gotten a real look at the girl in front of her. Yui had, presumably by accident, turned herself into a teenager. "Woah, Yui. You look great!" She said, knowing that Yui didn't mean to make herself look older than she is.
Yui smiled, "You really think so?" She asked happily.
Leafa couldn't hold back the giggle, "Yep, and I'm pretty sure your parents will be absolutely speechless. When we show them." She added, imagining the look on Kazuto's face when he sees his little girl in the body of a teenager, barely able to keep her laughter back.
Yui smiled, "Thanks Aunt Su- uh, I mean Aunt Leafa." She said, correcting herself.
Leafa smiled, "C'mon big girl, let's get to questing! Follow me!" She said happily, "Come to think of it, she and I haven't had any real quality time since thee after party. This'll be fun." She thought to herself.
Leafa walked with Yui to a nearby Spriggan village and turned to her, "Now I'm guessing you haven't looked at your inventory to see if you got any weapons, right?" She asked.
Yui shook her head, "Thought not. Here." Leafa traded Yui's starter weapon with a knight-fashioned short sword that was in Leafa's inventory, "I got it a while back, but it's not really my style. It's a lot stronger than the weapon you were given to start off with."
Yui smiled as she equipped it, "Thanks!" She gripped it backwards and gave it a few practice swings.
Leafa took a step back and chuckled, "Easy there, tough gal. I'd like to keep my arms on my body where they belong." She joked. Leafa and Yui walked over to a big board with quests on them, "This is a new part of the game. The job board. It tells you all the active quests and where to find them." She quickly scanned around and found one, "This should be an easy start. And it's not even that far from here. Come on."
The two arrived at the site and found a Salamander AI dressed as a lumberjack. Leafa gestured for her to go, "It's your quest, you go ahead." She said.
Yui nodded and walked up to the man, "Excuse me?" She asked.
The character looked over to her, "You two here to work?" He asked. Then a pop up appeared in front Yui (On their way to the quest, Sugu formed a team with Yui and named her leader) that asked her if she wanted to accept the quest.
Yui tapped the green check and then looked back at the man, "Yes. That's right."
The Salamander looked to his right, "Well it's about time to send the chopped wood back to the village. If you wanna get paid, then you'll help me finish today's work." He then gestured to a clearing in the woods, "Over there you'll find a good deal of wood in the area. I need you to carry it to me." Then the mission pop up appeared, which said, "Find freshly cut lumber 0/16" before disappearing.
Yui turned to Leafa, "So all we have to do is pick up wood?" Yui asked. Leafa nodded, "Yeah, not all quests are action packed. But these kind of quests are perfect for first timers. Take a close look at the clearing he pointed at."
Yui did as instructed and noticed that there were many slime monsters present and roaming the area.
"We're not gonna be able to get the wood without fighting them, fortunately, Slimes are the weakest monsters in the gaming world, so you should have no trouble handling a few of them." Leafa told her.
Yui began to look nervous, "Uh…I don't think so…" She said fearfully.
Leafa placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "It's ok. I'll be right by your side. If anything goes wrong, I'll back you up."
Yui smiled, "Thanks Aunt Leafa." Yui said as she gripped the handle of her sword, which was strapped to the back of her hip (A/N: Like Luke Fon Fabre, or Emil Castagnier from the Tales of series.), with her right hand and drew the blade. The two advanced through the first monsters, Yui leading by a few feet, as one of the slimes attacked. Yui ducked underneath the attack and slashed it with an upward slash, then turned around and killed another one with a downward slash.
Leafa watched this with a grin on her face, "Wow. You're a natural." She said. Suddenly, the number of Slimes multiplied and all charged at Yui and Leafa. Leafa drew her katana, "Leave them to me! Grab the wood and get out of the clearing! They won't follow you!" Yui nodded and sheathed her blade as she rushed to the logs. Leafa wasted no time in attacking the slimes, switching masterfully between physical and magical attacks. Eventually, however, the sheer numbers began to overwhelm her until one of them knocked her to the ground. They were just about to group strike her when a massive flurry of slashes annihilated more than half the Slimes, scaring off the rest.
Leafa looked up to see Recon, "I saw the Slimes and worried that a player might need help." He said.
Leafa stood up smiling, "Well I owe you my virtual life." She said with a slight chuckle.
Recon laughed as well, "Well if you wanna cash in now, I know about this nice little pub nearby."
Leafa smiled, but shook her head, "Tempting as that is, I'm not done playing with Yui. But hey, wanna see something shocking?" She asked. He nodded. Leafa pointed in the direction of Yui, who was standing just outside the clearing, waiting for her.
Recon was so surprised that he nearly fell backwards, and were it not for Leafa he would've, "THAT'S Yui?!" He asked in surprise.
Leafa giggled, "Yep." She answered.
"But she's tall, older, and ho-." He stopped himself, remembering the company he was with, "Holding a lot of wood." He finished.
Leafa smiled, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she didn't mean to, but here she is. I tell ya, it'll be a hoot when Kazuto and Asuna see this." She said before walking to her. Not long after walking away, she turned back to Recon, "Oh, one more thing." She said.
He looked over to her, "Yeah?"
"Nice save." She said with a sly grin.
Leafa caught up to Yui, "Sorry I took so long. Are you alright?" She asked.
Yui smiled, "Yes, thank you. What about you? Are you alright?" Yui asked.
Leafa grinned, "I'm fine, just a few injuries that have already been healed. Come on, let's cash in this quest."
Yui transferred the logs to the AI character, "Here you go sir."
The Salamander stacked the, now physical, logs. "Pretty fast work you did there. Alright here's your cut." Then a pop up appeared in front of Yui and Leafa saying "Congratulations!" Followed by the EXP and currency reward.
Then a light burst around Yui, signaling her leveling up. Leafa congratulated her and helped her allocate her skill points before returning to the mission giver. "If you want more work, head up the trail a ways. The village doctor is up there. Maybe he's got something for you both." Before walking off. Disappearing.
Leafa sighed, "Well, what do ya say? Wanna go to that quest?" She asked.
Yui shook her head, "No, I wanna do that one with Mommy and Daddy." She said.
Leafa smiled, "Sounds good. Let's go ahead and log out, sound good?" Yui nodded. And the two girls logged out.
A few feet away, a hooded figure watched, "That's twice that you've escaped me…Well it won't happen a third time. I will have my vengeance."
(A/N: I hope you've been enjoying my story up to this point. It's only going to get better-I hope- from here. Let me know what you think in a review. Thank you again for your patience during the time that I wasn't updating. I hope these early updates are making it up to you.)