Enjoy!

Asuna's Room

Forty Minutes Later

After having such a delicious Dinner with the ones I love, I decided to rest for a bit in Asuna's room. With Sugu and her parents helping Asuna's family clean up the Kitchen, it felt like a good time to give my beloved her Christmas gift. Upon sitting in front of her desk, I held the small green box in my hand, feeling my heart sink a bit.

Unlike past gifts I had given her, I knew her latest one would hurt her as much as it was hurting. Fortunately, it was something that needed to be shared. Something that was irreplaceable to us and I wanted her to treasure it close to her heart.

"Oh, there you are." A familiar voice spoke.

I glanced up towards the doorway and spotted Asuna curiously staring at me. Just from looking at her beautiful eyes, I already knew what she was going to ask me. Ever since I started working at RATH, she became quite a caretaker towards me to the point where she's been monitoring my health. Since my job required me to have electrodes inside me, I made a little app for Asuna's smartphone that allows her to monitor my heart rate.

"I thought you were in the bathroom." Asuna guessed.

"I was actually." I said with a weak smile.

"Oh." The chestnut haired woman muttered.

"That goose was wonderful by the way. I complimented.

"Thanks, it took my mom and I all afternoon, but I wanted it to be a special meal for your taste." The young chef exclaimed.

"Your cooking never ceases to amaze me." Ireplied.

"Maybe we'll have Christmas Eve at your place next year." Asuna suggested.

"Maybe." I blinked.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" My girlfriend gasped.

The Lightning Flash went over to her closest and opened the door, revealing some of her fashion wear. However, it seemed as if she was looking for something as I saw her kneeling down to grab something large. She brought out a large white rectangular box with a pink bow on top and a tag that said, "To: Kirito-kun, Love: Asuna" and handed it to me.

"Merry Christmas, Kirito-kun." Asuna said with a cute blush.

I put the green box on Asuna's desk and got off of her chair, grabbing my present. With a simple tug, I tore the ribbon and opened the box, revealing what my beloved had inside for me.

"I made it myself." The Lightning Flash mentioned.

My heart began beating even faster upon seeing what was laying in front of me. It may have been an ordinary black scarf, but the fact that Asuna made it specifically for me struck my heart with her love. I was truly touched by her feelings towards me as I glanced back at her gorgeous, blushing face, knowing just how much time and devotion she had in crafting something for me to wear.

"Y-you made a scarf?" I repeated in disbelief.

"With love in every stitch!" Asuna chimed.

While I was trying to control my emotions, Asuna grabbed my gift and placed it around my neck. Her beautiful face froze me with its beauty as she was wrapping the scarf around me before grabbing my right hand, causing me to drop the white box to the floor. She then pulled me across the room where her makeup vanity dressing table with a mirror was set.

My reflection grew bigger and bigger the more I approached Asuna's mirror, showing my appearance wearing her scarf. Before I noticed, there was a specific print located on the left edge of the scarf. A print that was kind of difficult due to it hanging behind my shoulder.

"Now, stand there for one second!" Asuna ordered.

I turned my head to the left a bit and saw my eager girlfriend pulling a scarf out of her closest. She then wore it around her thin neck and happily spun back to me with a joyful grin.

"Surprise!" The Lightning Flash spoke.

"You made one for yourself?" I asked, examining the scarf around her.

"I enjoyed working on yours so much, I made a white one for myself!" My beloved exclaimed.

My heart was touched some more by those words. I knew she was into sowing, but her scarf was like seeing a mirrored version of mine. You could say I was wearing a "Scarf of Darkness" while Asuna had a "Scarf of Light", making us look like a perfect pair in the real world. Like how Light and Darkness are destined to not exist without the other, I knew I couldn't live without "The Goddess of Creation". If I was a shadow, then Asuna was my light to guide me through life.

"Well, what do you think?" Asuna asked for my opinion, turning me back to her mirror.

Before I said my opinion, I wanted to look at the print my beloved included on our scarves. I grabbed the left end of mine hanging from the back of my shoulder and examined it, gasping at the image.

"It's…."

What I saw pierced my heart. Appearing near one of the edges was some kind of custom insignia Asuna created to symbolize us. Two familiar looking swords that were different colors crossed their blades downwards, forming an "X". A cross made up of our iconic swords from SAO. My Elucidator was going downward left; which was sort of blending with the black that fabricated my scarf, but it had some trims of gray to show it a bit. Crossing the Elucidator was The Lightning Flash's "Lambent Light"; which was the rapier she used when we were in the game.

But what really hurt me was seeing what the two blades were piercing through. What was in the center made me drop the end of my scarf and lower my head in sadness.

"Kirito-kun?" I heard Asuna call out in a worried tone.

Without any words, I held my teary eyes with my right hand, trying to fight the incoming teardrops coming from them. The feeling was bound to return, but I didn't expect Asuna to bring it back out of me during Christmas. As much as I tried, I simply couldn't hide my sorrow from her as tears fell from my eyes to the hard floor of Asuna's bedroom.

"I-I'm so sorry, Asuna." I sobbed.

"I love the scarf so much,... but it… it."

Unable to finish my own reasoning to my beloved, I turned around and went back to her desk. If there was another way to express my uncontrollable sorrow, it was what I had in the small green box. I rubbed my eyes one more time before turning back to my girlfriend, trying to hold back as much sadness as I possibly could. Although, seeing Asuna beginning to tear up too didn't help calm the moment.

"It just gave me even more reasoning to give you this." I concluded, slowly handing Asuna her gift.

The chestnut haired young woman gently took the box from me and slowly opened it without words. What was inside made her eyes widen as she let out a soft gasping sound, covering her opened mouth with her left hand. Tears began to stream down her sweet face asI could hear her heart sink as low as mine.

"K-kirito-kun." Asuna sobbed.

"It's something she would have wanted you to cherish." I calmly responded.

What was in the box was what our blades were piercing on our scarves. The third and final piece to our "family crest"; which made Asuna and I feel like parents. A replica of our child's heart who fell in battle during the Inner Intelligence War. The heart of our virtual daughter, Yui.

A crystalline water droplet object sparkled like a sapphire jewel in our eyes as Asuna handed me back to me. She then frantically took off her scarf; which signaled me to give what her heart demanded. I grabbed the black piece of string that tied the crystal water droplet and wrapped it around Asuna's slender neck, snapping it in place as it rested on her precious heart.

"So treasure it as close to your heart as you can." I ordered softly.

The Lightning Flash simply lifted her daughter's heart up to her face with her right hand and got a good look at it. It may have been a necklace I found at a Jewelry store, but its beauty matched the necklace Asuna wore back in Aincrad. No matter where she goes in the real world, Yui would be with her mother in spirit.

"I… WILL!" Asuna sobbed.

As tears fell onto her new necklace, I witnessed the one thing I hated to see from my beloved. My body felt the sudden embracement of Asuna as she threw herself at me with deep sorrow. It was then that my heart sank like a rock even more by the heartbreaking sounds of her crying. Her warm arms were tightly around my waist while her precious face was laying on my chest, crying a river for our deceased child.

"I knew I shouldn't have included Yui-chan into our scarves, but my heart told me to do it for her."

"I wanted to give us something to honor her. So, I thought adding her heart would make our little crest even more special."

"I'm sorry!" Asuna muffled in my chest.

The person who really felt sorry was me. As a father, it was my duty to protect Kayaba's Ai. To keep her safe from any sort of danger, but Mutasina and her army took her away from us. She wasn't ready for war, but she chose to take part of it in order to protect us. Despite defeating Mutasina and winning "Unital Ring", our victory was a bittersweet.

"No, I'm sorry." I responded, stroking Asuna's delicate, silky hair.

"I wasn't able to protect her and Mutasina exposed my weak side." I exclaimed.

The Lightning Flash lifted her sad, soaked face towards mine, wondering what I meant. The leader of the Virtual Research Society sought out to find the darkness within my heart and succeeded. She exposed my weakness of protecting the ones I hold dear to my heart by killing my virtual daughter. Kayaba's Ai who was originally created to watch the players of SAO, but ended up making my relationship towards Asuna even more special.

Ever since I saved Asuna from Sugou in ALO, Yui's data had been stored in the core memory of my Nervegear. We were together for two years until that unfortunate day in Unital Ring two months ago. The day when the Inner Intelligence War began and deleted Yui's data from my Nervegear. Unlike a player dying in Unital Ring or any VR game, if an Ai or fluclight dies, their data cannot be recovered once it gets deleted.

"But I promise you, if we ever have a real child in the future,..."

"I'll be a much better father." I vowed.

I then wiped Asuna's left eye with my right thumb as she gave me a comforting smile, gazing at me with those watery hazel eyes of hers. She then separated her arms from my waist, calming herself by wiping the rest of her tears away.

"And I promise to be a better mother." Asuna replied, smiling down at her new necklace.

*Knock!*

*Knock!*

Our time of grieving finally came to an end as the sound of someone knocking on Asuna's doorway. The two of us awoke from our daydreaming and turned to the doorway, seeing who wanted our attention.

"Sugu?" I blinked.

"Suguha-chan!" My girlfriend repeated.

The person who was standing with a warm smile was my non-biological sister. A kind smile spread across her wholesome face, informing us that she heard some of our grieving, but also seemed she had something to share.

"I'm really sorry for disturbing you two, but some packages just arrived for you, Asuna-san." Sugu informed my girlfriend.

"Huh?" Asuna muttered.

"Your family is moving them to the Living Room if you want to check them out." She exclaimed.

"They're probably from my relatives or some Rect employees." The Lightning Flash figured.

It took Asuna a moment to decide whether or not to go check out her mysterious gifts, but she gave in since it was Christmas Eve. Her inner child was being nosy, begging to open up some presents as she made its vessel leave her bedroom. It was a common feeling people get during the holiday season, but I knew Asuna was the kind of girl who enjoyed receiving gifts. After seeing her receive that tree seedling from me on her last birthday, her curiosity didn't surprise me.

Sugu and I followed her down the stairs, also curious at what our future relative was about to get. We then went through the middle door and found everyone chilling in the Living Room. The room was fairly large to have a party as it was a rectangular room with a wide sofa that could fit five people. The sofa was located on the left side of the room, facing a gasoline powered fireplace and a big 4K television above. The family Christmas tree was directly in front of us upon entering the room as we all were gazing at the two packages.

"Ahh, there you are, Sis!" Kouichirou smiled.

"You have some surprise boxes to open up!" He exclaimed.

"What are they?" Asuna asked curiously.

"I don't know, a delivery man just came and dropped them off." The heir of Rect Progress answered.

"Well then, guess we have to open them and find out!" I offered.

"Is that okay, Mom?" The youngest member of the Yuuki family asked.

"Just those packages." Her mother allowed.

Upon gazing at her gifts, it was Asuna's choice in choosing which cardboard box to open first. Her choices were either the package that cubed shaped and the largest. Box B; which was laying closest to the tree and was half the size of the other package. Box C; which seemed like a typical box for clothes. Or Box D; which looked like a shoe box. The decision was up to my beloved.

"Guess I'll take one of the small ones first." Asuna selected.

"Then, I'll take the medium one!" I replied.

The two of us approached our boxes, examining where to open them. Fortunately, the small package seemed slightly opened, but was partly sealed by some tape. With my hands, I dug into the opened corners of the box and tore them apart, ripping the tape off the center.

"What's this?" I wondered, looking into the box.

Above a cover bubble wrap laid a tiny black hard drive on top of a small white envelope.

"I'll check it out later."

To make the unboxing faster, I took the hard drive and put it into my pocket and chose to open the tiny envelope first. Like the box, my hands tore the envelope, revealing a letter. I pulled it out and read it out loud.

To Asuna Yuuki and Kazuto Kirigaya,

Thanks for everything that you've done these past few months. You two have shown me that even hearts can be created from data and the people around them. A little birdie told me about what happened in Unital Ring and I'm truly sorry. I'm hoping these gifts refill the emptiness in your hearts.

Koujiro Rinko

P.S: i would've given these gifts sooner, but I needed time to make them as perfect as I could.

"Wait! Rinko sent us these?" Asuna replied.

"Isn't she the woman who was on TV with Alice a few months ago?" Kouichirou recalled.

"Yes and she and I also work together at RATH." I nodded.

As I said that, my mind began pondering on what Rinko had given us. She was an expert on technology like her lover and was the one who brought Alice to the real world. We would have all been trapped in the Underworld if it weren't for her and Higa's support. I owed them for saving my life and bringing Asuna to me.

"HUH!?" Asuna gasped.

My head turned to the right and found Asuna deeply confused. Her box was opened as her hazel eyes were shrinking towards the contents of her box. She then pulled out a small pack of small clothing and set it between us without saying a word. Curious as I was, I grabbed the pack for better examination, only to be as shocked as my girlfriend.

"Children's size panties?!" I gasped.

Inside the plastic packaging was a twelve pack of white panties. Twelve pairs of underwear for little girls; which had me all confused. But what made our minds boggle even harder was what Asuna pulled out next from the same box.

"A… white dress and a ribbon?" Asuna replied.

A medium sized white dress got pulled out, causing the Lightning Flash and I to freeze. Despite it being a casual white dress, it began conjuring up memories of our beloved daughter. Memories that began to make me wonder what we were receiving from Rinko.

"Why did Rinko send you two Children's…" Suguha spoke.

"Rinko couldn't have…"

"No, it's impossible!" My mind figured.

Overwhelmed with thoughts, Asuna slowly turned to me with a puzzled expression on her face. Upon seeing the white dress being pressed against her belly, I knew what the Lightning Flash was pondering on. Our minds thought as one as we began to gather the pieces to what we were getting.

"Is that everything in that box?" I asked.

"There's a purple mini-skirt and a pink sweater too.." Asuna nodded.

"A pink sweater?" I blinked.

Asuna then leaned to the right and reached out to the other small box next to her. Her right hand pulled the box that looked like a shoe box in front of her and began tearing its packaging. Like her last package, a white box revealed to everyone as she opened it. As expected from me, what was inside laid a pair of boots. A pair of red, children's sized boots that were perfect for the winter.

"What else is in the medium size one?" She wondered.

I then dug back into the medium size box and got a deeper look. Through the bubble wrap, I got a glimpse of what seemed to be the final surprise for my box. A shade of black blended with the white wrap; which shrouded whatever was hiding from my vision. I removed the cover, only to awaken the big surprise.

It was right then that I felt my heart stop for a second. In an instant, my body felt like it was going to shut down on me upon seeing what I had received. Little did I know that a new chapter of our lives was about to be written. A chapter we thought got scrapped.

"Oh my god." I whispered.

"What is it, Kirito-kun?" My future wife wondered.

"What's wrong?" Suguha called.

At first, I thought it was a dream. It was too good to be true. Asuna and I didn't deserve such a beautiful miracle to happen to us. We weren't ready to own someone.

"Mama?"

"Papa?"

However, hearing those callings made us consider the ownership. A high-pitched voice muffled from inside the medium box, causing Asuna to quickly slide into me. Our faces suddenly flushed to pale color as we dug our faces into the box. The smooth left cheek of my beloved pressed against mine as I cleared the plastic stuffings, revealing who was waiting for us.

"That voice!" Suguha gasped.

"Mama!"

"Papa!"

I never thought I would see her again. I never thought I would hear her precious voice either, but she was there. Our Ai child somehow cheated death and got brought to the real world. Back to the ones she wished to be with.

"YUI-CHAN!" Asuna and I cried with joy.

Our hearts couldn't take it anymore. Like a cat curled up in its bed, our precious daughter was staring at us with those lovely black eyes of hers. Her long dark hair covered her naked butt as she was sent without any clothes, but her overall presence overwhelmed us with excitement.

For the first time since we were together back in Unital Ring, Yui reached her left hand out to me, uncurling herself a bit. Fortunately, Asuna's excitement got the best of me as I felt my body get pushed aside by her hips, allowing her to pull Yui out instead. What I witnessed next was a sight that truly melted my heart.

The sight of a mother holding her child was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. A big smile spread on her teary, blushing face as she embraced Yui's naked body tightly in her arms. The moment was a little awkward seeing Yui's bare butt shining in the room's lighting, but seeing Asuna's sweet smile brightened my spirit up.

"I can't believe it!" Asuna cried happily.

"I miss you, Mama!"

"And Papa!" Yui said in a sobbing voice.

She then turned her head towards me and reached her left hand out. It was then that I knew she wanted to offer her love to me. She wanted to reunite with her new parents and feel their affection once again. Only this time, we were altogether in the real world.

While Asuna opened her beautiful eyes at me with tears of joy continuing to flow, I approached her and gently held our daughter's hand. A single touch of Yui's metallic hand destroyed my composure. Despite her soul housing a mechanical body like Alice, it was exactly how I imagined Yui would live in the real world. She was just as precious as she was in AR (or in a virtual world) with Asuna's hairdo and my eye color.

"It's really you!" I sobbed with joy.

"We thought we lost you forever, Yui-Chan." Asuna sobbed.

Our beloved daughter didn't respond to us. She simply wanted to savor the moment of being with her parents and I couldn't ask for anything else. I had everything a person could ask for. Asuna, the most breathtaking woman I've ever met, caressing my left cheek with her soothing right hand..However, it was Yui who I couldn't stop gazing at as my right hand was brushing her artificial long black hair repeatedly, watching her close her lovely robotic eyelids. The three of us were reunited as the family we once were back in Aincrad or Alfheim.

(Cough!)

(Cough!)

Fortunately, reality woke the three of us as someone let out a cough. My eyes to Asuna's blushing face, realizing the room was watching us. Shades of joy and affection quickly changed to embarrassment as we remembered our families were staring at us. They were watching us reunite with Yui who was standing between us completely naked.

"K-kirito-kun?" Asuna whispered.

"Yes, Asuna?" I answered, blushing like crazy.

"Can you fetch Yui some underwear for me?" My future wife ordered.

Overwhelmed by our current situation, I separated from my beloveds and tried to grab the twelve pack of panties. Fortunately, I had unexpected help from my non-biological sister who simply tore the plastic off, opening up the pack. She then dug her hand into the pack and handed me a pair of white panties with a tearful smile on her face.

"Here you go, Oni-chan!" Sugu smiled.

"Thanks, Sugu!" I nodded back.

I turned back around and saw Asuna setting our beloved daughter sideways on her family's sofa. With her skinny legs kicking in the air in front of her mother, a strange feeling began to flow within me. It was like watching a mother about to change her baby's diaper, but was waiting for her husband's assistance. An image that was becoming reality as Asuna and I were officially playing the roles of Yui's parents.

"What are you doing, Mama?" Yui wondered, moving her legs wildly in the air.

"Just hold still, Yui-chan!" Asuna commanded, holding our beloved daughter to the black couch.

"You need to have a pair of underwear." I replied, approaching the two.

With our parents watching the moment, it was time for Asuna and I to prove to them that we were ready. Prove to them that we were capable of raising a child after having over a year of experience. We took good care of Kayaba's Ai in virtual reality, but the real world was going to be even more challenging.

As our first test as actual parents, Asuna kindly had Yui pinned down to the sofa, allowing me to slip her underwear through her legs. With her skinny legs being held by my future wife, I I stretched the pair of white panties in my hands and slowly put them through her feet and legs. I then had to lift her butt a little in order to get the underwear to cover Yui's bottom as much as I could.

"There you go!" I told my beloved daughter.

"How does it feel?" Asuna asked.

Yui lifted her sweet head and responded by feeling her new panties. She wiggled her butt on the sofa for comfort and felt her underwear with her hands. Her silver colored eyes were staring down at her new body in curiosity, before glancing at us.

"I think it feels comfy." Yui commented.

Although she was possessing an android body, she was unable to feel it touch stuff like humans. She had been reborn as an android like Alice. A ghost that could express its feelings from within a mechanical vessel.

"Do you want to wear a pink sweater or a white dress?" I asked my beloved daughter.

Suguha then went up to us and presented her niece the two options. In one hand, she held the white dress while the other had the pink long sleeve sweater. Yui lifted her head and scanned her choices before choosing her outfit. However, Suguha's presence surprised her, spreading smiles on both of their faces.

"Hey, Leafa!" Yui smiled.

"Leafa?" Sugu's parents and Kouichirou repeated.

"That's my username in Alfheim Online." Sugu exclaimed.

"Ah, gotcha." Asuna's brother responded.

The others quickly acknowledged what was said as Yui chose her outfit. She pointed at Sugu's left hand; which held the white dress, causing my sister to give it to me.

"Now, we're going to put you in a sitting position." Asuna informed Yui.

"Okay, Mama!" Kayaba's Ai acknowledged.

Yui's new mother grabbed her daughter by the legs and upper torso, transferring the young child from her lying position to a sitting one. Her metallic arms wrapped around Asuna's smooth neck as she leaned back onto the leather sofa, planting her butt for a comfortable seating. Once I saw my future wife letting our daughter go, I stepped in and stretched the white dress for an easier fitting.

"I got this, Papa!" Yui offered, pushing herself off the sofa.

"Okay!" I responded.

I handed my daughter her dress as she stood barefooted on the Yuuki family's hard floor,sliding her little arms through the skirt and body. She rolled the fabric over her arms and pulled it over her head. With her body partly covered, our beloved daughter stretched the dress in order to avoid creases as Suguha stepped beside me, holding the final piece to the girl's outfit.

"Don't forget this!" My sister told Yui, handing her the ribbon.

"Thank you, Leafa!" My daughter smiled.

With a strong twist of her tiny hands, Kayaba's Ai turned her dress back around. She then slid her arms through the short sleeves, before grabbing the white ribbon Suguha held. As we watched her swing the ribbon and tie it into a bow, the more awestruck by how much she was adapting to the real world.

Our beloved daughter seemed like she had matured since the last time we were together. There were a plethora of times Yui changed outfits in the games we played, but the games themselves made changing clothes extremely easy for anyone. Any player can switch outfits with a press of a button, putting a set of armor like magic. Unlike VR, she was putting on a dress by herself; which was making Asuna and I on the verge of joyful tears.

Asuna was the one who couldn't control her emotions as I got a sweet glance of her. Tears of joy began streaming down her lovely face, showing a smile that only a mother could make. She was proud of her daughter dressing herself up as her left hand was trying to wipe the left stream of tears. Meanwhile, her right hand was busy stroking the pendant I had given to her not too long ago.

"I think… I… got it." Yui grunted.

"There!"

The white ribbon got tugged up a bit; which gave us confirmation that she did it. Yui had successfully put on a dress; which made the father inside me so proud. Unfortunately, her success came undone as the ribbon became loose again, causing it to slouch down to her feet.

"Awww…" A disappointed Yui groaned.

"Don't feel bad!" Asuna consoled our daughter.

"For your first try, you did a great job!" I replied, approaching the little girl.

"You just need to tighten it up a bit more." Her new mother exclaimed.

I lifted up the ribbon to Yui's waist, allowing her to try again. Her precious black pupils stared at mine with confusion before acknowledging what I wanted her to do. She grabbed the loose knot once again and began tying it. Just like wrapping a gift, I watched my greatest one make a loop-de-loop with both ends of her bow before pulling them tightly to her slender stomach.

"There you go!" I cheered.

"I did it, Papa!" Yui responded joyfully.

As a way to show gratitude for my assistance, Kayaba's Ai wrapped her metal arms around my neck and pulled herself for a warm embrace. Her precious face rested on my chest as she nuzzled me while I simply stared at the top of her head. I then placed my right hand behind her head and gently stroked her luxurious black hair once more.

The moment only lasted for a few seconds as we pulled away from each other. It was that moment that I got a perfect glance at the beauty of our soon to be adopted child. Her cuteness overwhelmed me; which caused me to stare at her wholesome face with joy. With each passing second seeing her precious smile, my heart heated up with love.

"You look like you never left, Yui-chan!" Suguha complimented.

"There's just one more thing to make her perfect." Asuna mentioned in a sweet voice.

I turned back to my future wife and noticed something rather unexpected coming for her. With her lovely face blindly grinning down towards Yui, she had her hands around her smooth neck. My present got unsnapped off of her neck as she slowly removed it from her chest, opening her seductive hazel eyes to the solid water droplet.

My heart skipped a beat, knowing what was about to happen. Upon seeing Asuna's left leg taking a step forward, I moved beside Yui's right side as we all watched the new mother approach the raven haired girl. With a blushing, warm smile spread on her face, the Lightning Flash slowly wrapped her hands around our daughter's little neck and gently snapped the necklace to her, making the little girl glance down at the blue water droplet hanging down to her chest.

"Yui-chan? I want you to have this." Asuna said wholesomely.

"A pendant?" Yui blinked, looking at her mother.

"Think of it as a reminder." The young chestnut haired woman mentioned.

"A reminder of the bond we share together as a family?" Our beloved daughter guessed.

Despite her guess being incorrect, Asuna and I were truly touched by Yui's words. The pendant's meaning was still there for the two of us, but Kayaba's Ai had added another symbol to the passing gift. I originally wanted Asuna to treasure it because the water droplet reassembled the ingame accessory she wore during the last few months we shared in SAO.

But witnessing the last minute made me realize that the pendant had three different meanings. Each one coming from Asuna, Yui, and I; which formed into one powerful symbol of our tiny family.

"That too!" Asuna blushingly nodded.

"What do you mean?" Yui wondered, blinking at her new mother.

I then gently grabbed Yui's right hand in response to her question, stepping in to answer it for Asuna. The most innocent face turned to me curiously, letting me see her perfection once more. She was already our breathtaking child, but the necklace hanging down from her neck made her even more perfect. It also gave me an idea of what Asuna had in mind when she gave it to her.

"I think what Asuna is trying to say is that the pendant you are now wearing is a reminder of you having a heart." I exclaimed.

"A… heart?" Our daughter wondered.

Overwhelmed by my words, Yui glanced back downward to her gift, sitting back onto the Yuuki family's black sofa. Upon gazing at the solid water droplet with her left hand gently rubbing it, I could tell that she was deep into thought. Deep within her mechanical vessel, Kayaba's Ai was searching for a feeling of having a heart; which made me take a seat next to her, stepping back in to provide some context of what happened to her in SAO.

"You see, back when the Cardinal system was about to delete your admin credentials, I hacked into the system and turned your programming into an in-game object." I explained.

"But what does that have to do with this necklace." Yui asked.

"You're wearing an exact replica of your own heart, Yui-chan." I wholesomely clarified.

Yui's eyes widened a little by the shock of her discovery. Ever since Asuna and I found her in Aincrad, she had been developing thoughts and emotions unlike most Ais. The anguish of seeing the SAO players suffering and dying tormented her by the horrific scenes. Kayaba created her in order to monitor the players, but their suffering caused her to see the game's dark side.

It wasn't until she found two players who were beginning to fall for each other. Two players who happened to be Asuna and I. The young Ai developed love and compassion from us and wished to be with us. Ever since we've found her in the forest on Floor twenty-two, we witnessed her experiencing the feels of sorrow for our deceased friends, rage towards her foes, fear of being alone, and sympathy for our misfortunes.

"What's happening to me?" Yui wondered, looking at her hands.

"I feel all… warm… and tingly inside." She exclaimed.

However, there were emotions that every parent wanted their child to feel. The most precious gift a child can give to their parent/guardian is to be appreciated by the care he/she is having from them. A feeling that Asuna wanted to tell our beloved daughter as she sat beside Yui's left side, wholesomely smiling at her with a blushing smile.

"I think what you're feeling... is love." Asuna answered sweetly.

"Huh?" Our little girl muttered, shooting her head towards her new mother.

"Love for your Mama and Papa!" The Lightning Flash clarified, placing her right hand on Yui's left shoulder.

"Welcome to our family, Yui-chan!" I replied in a caring voice, placing my right hand on Yui's right shoulder.

Yui turned her head to her left and noticed the presence of Asuna's parents. She then turned her head from side to side, scanning at the adults in front of her. Although she met them from our devices, this was the first time our parents saw Yui's true form..

"Oh, right!" I spoke.

The emotions that Asuna and I had during our reunion with our beloved daughter made us forget about our parents. We were so focused on Yui to the point where we forgot to introduce our child to our families. A wholesome smile spread on Asuna's face as she laid her left hand upon Yui's, causing her to take a deep breath.

"Everyone, Kirito-kun and I would like you all to meet our child, YuI!" She introduced our beloved daughter.

"Technically, she's our Ai child from SAO, but it's sort of a long story." I clarified.

"I… I remember all of you!" Yui blinked with a surprised look on her face.

"You do?!" Everyone replied.

Please Review and Comment!

I was considering of adding Alice and Rinko into the story, but then I felt like the chapter would be too long. Basically, I was going to provide some details of how Kirito and Asuna are going to legally adopt Yui, but I'll leave that process in time.

BTW, this story is not over yet!