A/N: Yeesh, I had a lot less free time than I was expecting to write this out. Sorry for the late chapter, but don't worry. I plan to get the next and final chapter of Secret's Revealed out before or during tomorrow.
Secret's Revealed: Chapter 3
"Wow, so all that really happened?" Lilina asked.
"Yep." Alicia said with a sigh. "I never expected them to find out like this."
The group of Alicia, Lilina, Asuna, Shino, and Rika were all gathered at Lilina's house for a girl's hang out day. Alicia had ended up telling her friends about how her mother had discovered Luna's existence, surprising each of them.
"So what are you going to do?" Shino asked.
"Well my mom and dad finally decided it would be best for them to meet Luna before anything else." Alicia explained. "Dan's mom reached the same conclusion. They're going to be logging in to meet her tomorrow. Dan and I had to set up accounts for them and everything so they don't log in as us."
"Speaking of Dan, how's he taking all this?" Asuna asked.
"He's online with Luna right now I think." Alicia said. "I guess, like me, he figured this was going to happen eventually."
The girls nodded their heads understandingly. "So how do you think they're going to be in front of Luna?" Lilina questioned.
"I doubt they'll be mean or cold to her or anything like that. But the truth is, I don't really know what they'll think of her."
"I wouldn't worry. Luna's a great kid." Asuna assured her friend.
"So is Yui, yet look who else is keeping their AI daughter a secret from their parents." Rika teased.
"Are you kidding? That's totally different!" Asuna argued. "Do you have any idea how my mother would react if she found out about Yui? At least Alicia and Dan's parents wouldn't treat Luna like some object."
"Back to the topic at hand." Shino interrupted. "You said that Luna was becoming increasingly curious about her grandparent's. At the very least, she'll finally be able to meet them."
"I suppose so." Alicia sighed. "I didn't want to ruin Luna's first Christmas by making her wish not come true either. I just hope everything's going to go well."
"I wouldn't worry." Lilina told her friend. A smirk slowly came to her face. "Now with that out of the way, who wants to spill what they're doing for the holidays with their secret someone?"
Shino frowned at the redhead. "You suggested it. Why don't you go first?"
"And with that, you get to go first Shino." Lilina said.
"What?! How is that fair?!"
"Spill it, Asada." Rika grinned as she and the other girls curiously leaned in. "What are you and Shirou doing. You live alone after all so are you two gonna- Oof!" Rika was cut short by a jab to the gut from Shino's elbow.
"Don't be ridiculous." Shino said with a pout on her face. "If you must know, I'm spending Christmas with Shirou and his family. His mother insisted on it."
"What about your family?" Alicia asked.
"I… Well I'm going to visit my mother on the 23rd." Shino explained. "I'm bringing Shirou along with me. I think it's time she met him. I also want to talk to her and tell her about the things I've gained these past couple of years."
"Hopefully one of those things isn't weight." Lilina teased.
A red blush came to Shino's face. "Wh-What are you implying?!"
"Relax, I'm joking." Lilina told her friend. "Alright, who's next?"
"I know I'm interested to hear about Rika and Yuya." Asuna smirked, glancing to the girl in question.
Rika rolled her eyes. "Of course you are." She let out a sigh. "We're simply getting together a few days after Christmas. Yuya's still pretty shy so I'm not gonna force him to meet my whole family or anything on Christmas."
"Is that all?" Asuna asked, narrowing her eyes. "You're not gonna have a passionate night of romance?"
Rika countered with a comment of her own. "And what about you? Gonna give Kazuto a little Christmas present in the night?"
The blush from Asuna was indication enough that she was done. Alicia rolled her eyes. "Well I'm spending Christmas Eve with Dan. We're going to spend some time with Luna for a bit before going out to eat."
"Oooo, fancy." Lilina said.
Looking outside, Asuna caught sight of the sun starting to set in the afternoon sky. "It's getting late. I better start heading home."
"Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Shino agreed as she got up from the couch. "We should all probably head out."
With an end to their hang out, each of the girls waved goodbye as they went their separate ways to their houses. The soft falling snow added to their white surroundings as they each hurried home.
Ren, Himiko, and Luna walked into their house together as they escaped the cold winds outside. The three of them had been outside playing in the snow in a two on one snowball fight. With both his little sister and his daughter on the same team, Ren was utterly defeated.
"Hehe, you got your butt kicked, big bro." Himiko said with a teasing grin.
"Only cause you had Luna use her cute innocent face on me!" Ren argued.
Luna giggled happily. "You fell for it, Papa."
Ren groaned as he collapsed onto the couch. "Luna, your aunt's bad nature is rubbing off on you."
"Sounds like someone's a sore loser." Himiko smirked.
Luna ran up to her father and hugged him. "You were really strong though Papa. Aunt Clair took awhile to hit you with your speed."
Ren smiled as sat up on the couch to give Luna room to sit next to him. "Well if it wasn't for you, there was no way Aunt Clair would have won that."
"Hey, that is not true!" Himiko pouted.
A smirk came from Ren as he looked at his sister. "Are you saying your darling little niece didn't help you at all?"
Luna followed up with a frown. "Was I just a burden Aunt Clair? I tried my very best."
"I… uh…" Himiko couldn't help but feel bad at seeing Luna's face, but that feeling stopped quickly when Ren and Luna both broke out into laughter. "No fair! You're not supposed to use your cute face on me Luna!"
"Good girl Luna." Ren grinned.
"Hehehe, I love you Papa." Luna said. Suddenly, the smile on her face quickly vanished.
Ren noticed the sudden change in his daughter's expression. "What's wrong, Luna?"
"Well… it's just…" Luna paused for a moment before continuing. "How do I know you're really Papa?"
"What do you mean? Of course I'm your Papa." Ren said. "Look at me. I look the same as always, don't I?"
"But when Mama's Mama logged on, she looked just like Mama cause she was using her avatar. I didn't think about it until then, but even if I look at yours and Mama's avatars, someone else could be using them. So how am I supposed to know when you and Mama are really you and Mama?"
Ren and Himiko looked at each other. It was true that it was entirely possible for someone to log on using another's avatar if they knew their username and password. It could also be hacked, though that was far tougher to do.
Ren hugged an arm around Luna's waist. "Let me ask you something Luna. Is the only thing you know about me and your Mama what we look like?"
Luna shook her head. "No."
"Then what else do you know about us?"
"Well… I know that Papa's super smart. And that he moves around a lot in his sleep. And Mama's really good at writing. And Mama and Papa are both really nice and love me."
"There you go, Luna." Ren told her. "That's how you'll know it's us. Cause you know the type of people we are. When your grandmother logged on with your Mama's avatar, you knew something was weird right? You knew your Mama would never act that way."
"Same goes for your Papa too." Himiko said with a smile. "Nobody could be as much of a blockhead as him."
Ren frowned at his sister while Luna giggled. She hugged her father tightly. "Thank you Papa."
"Anytime, sweetheart." Ren said as he kissed Luna on the forehead. "You know another way you can tell it's us?" he asked.
"How?"
"Only your Mama and I know where you're ticklish." Ren said as he quickly moved his hand and tickled Luna's stomach.
"Hahaha, stop it Papa!" Luna laughed as she playfully swatted away her father's hand.
Himiko showed a soft smile as he watched her brother and niece play together. "Well I'm gonna log off for now. I'll see you at home, bro."
Ren and Luna waved goodbye as Himiko opened her menu and logged off. As the father and daughter sat on the couch together, Luna snuggled up next to her father. "Hay Papa, what's your Mama and Papa like?"
"My parents? Well your grandmother's a real handful." Ren explained with a small chuckle. "Don't worry though, she's got a big heart. She's going to love you."
"What about your Papa?"
Ren's expression grimaced. "I… I couldn't tell you, Luna. He left when I was very young."
"He left?" Luna asked with a tilted head. "Why?"
If anyone else had asked him this, Ren would have probably cursed his father out saying it was because he was a horrible human being with no right to call himself a parent. But he kept himself restrained for Luna's sake. "I don't know Luna. He never gave any reason. He just up and left one day without any warning."
"Do you hate him, Papa?" Luna asked.
'Without a doubt.' Ren thought right away, but once again he restrained himself. "I don't know Luna. If anything, I guess I just don't want to end up like him." he said. He held Luna close. "That's why I'll never abandon you or your mother. That's a promise."
Luna nodded her head. "I know Papa. You'd never do something like that."
As Ren hugged Luna, Ren thought to himself. How often had he done this with his father when he was younger. He had been too young to remember, but he still wondered. Had his father felt the same way he did by having his child so close? If so, why did he leave? He shook the thoughts out of his head. All that mattered was that he'd make sure to always be there for his family.
'Now I just have to hope everything goes well tomorrow.' Ren thought. He got up from the couch. "Alright Luna. Papa has to log off now. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Ok Papa." Luna said.
Ren laid Luna down on the couch and put a blanket over her as she closed her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Good night Luna. Sweet dreams."
"Good night Papa." Luna said as she quickly fell asleep.
Ren looked at his sleeping AI daughter. The innocent smile on her face. He wanted to protect that more than anything else. That's why he needed to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible tomorrow.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Next one will be the last Secret's Revealed chapter so look forward to it.
