Klein Week 2022

Title: Eldest Wingman: Sister

Summary: There was no way in hell that he was going to just leave them here, not when it was pretty clear that neither of them had the confidence to finally get a move on and take that step. One that Klein knew could make both of them happy and if it took him running around like mad to make it all happen for them, then he was going to do it.

Because this time he wasn't their sibling, he was going to be the wingman of them both.

After all, what else would the best older brother do besides drag his siblings into tricking them into, of course, their own romances?

A.k.a Klein sets up his younger brother Kirito and step-sister Rika


AN: Still working on everything, and this is only close to half of the story, the other half isn't done yet, this is 5.7k and I'm feeling guilty so I wanted to release the half I have out ^^'

Also, I know Kirito and Klein are being called by their gamer tags, I can't seem to get my brain to write their IRL names xD ^^'


"Rika!"

"What?" The brunette hollered upstairs and Klein snickered at his step-sister, who was sitting stubbornly at the island with the lego build she had been sitting at the same island at for the past four hours. Having been distracted texting someone on her phone.

Now if only she'd actually go upstairs so he could see who exactly she was texting

"Just come here!" Kirito complained, "my headset won't start and I was gonna play ALO!"

"You're the computer whiz, figure it out!" Rika tossed back and didn't look up from her phone, "I'm busy!"

Yeah, busy texting on her phone, but not much else.

Klein snorted and purposefully looked away from her when the girl's brown eyes flickered toward him. If they weren't narrowed and it wasn't a sign she was feeling defensive, he wouldn't have looked away and would've messed with her. However, even he was afraid of the girl's temper and had been since she was about five. Or maybe since they had met because of his mother and her father.

"Rika! Go help your brother!" Midori called from where she was watching their cousin Suguha with Keiko.

Score!

"But-"

"No buts!"

"Oh come on!" Rika groaned and put her phone down before getting off of the barstool and jogging grumpily toward the stairs. "I'm not replacing your stupid headset if it's broken!"

"Why?" Kirito disagreed as Rika started going up the stairs "You practically have money coming out of your ears!"

"Because I work for it!"

"Yeah? How? Being a brainiac goddess of engineering or something?"

Klein snickered at their bickering and the moment Rika was halfway up the stairs, he hopped to his feet and snuck toward the girl's phone. Because of course, as the eldest sibling, he had to make sure his siblings were being treated right and along with that, he really did want to know who Rika spent so much time texting.

Better yet, if was the girl she was crushing on he was going to tease her relentlessly for it or try and actually get them together. His sister was seventeen this year, it was about time she followed him and actually tried dating, cause ngineering fanatic or not, she needed more than just engineering in her life.

"Well yeah! Amongst actually having a job, lazzy ass!"

"Hey! I do have one!"

"Half-assed playing video games is not a job! You don't play them professionally in VR like Shino does!"

"Yeah I do! I dueled her last week-"

"Yeah cause you of all people would get to duel GGO's best player, you're an ALO player!"

"Says the smith!"

"I'm a gunsmith! Get it right dumbass!"

"Rika, language! Kirito, she's not replacing your headset! Now both of you knock it off!"

"Yes mom…" Kirito and Rika both responded, though Rika's was more sulky than her brother's was before she finally disappeared from sight.

Which meant Klein was in the clear, especially since she hadn't locked it. Meaning he had the chance to look at her phone without fighting to unlock it.

Asuna: either of you going to any a dance the rest of this school year?

Asuna: I'm honestly afraid of my sister getting expelled for her pranks…

Rika: probably, but only cause my brother doesn't have a date so far so who knows if I'll be dragged into going so he's not harrassed by the other boys.

Rika: My school's boring and I'm not interested in any of the people there anyway.

Shino: Pretty much.

Shino: I think Kyouji's in the same boat, told him no but he won't go without me even if he has a date.

Rika: Do you want to just say you're going with me to one of mine? Then he'd stop.

Asuna: I can go with you Shinonon if you want, everyone knows we're friends

Shino: No, it's fine.

Shino: Rika goes to a different school so I don't have to go at all that way.

Rika: Sweet, give me their number if you need proof from me

Asuna: Aw, Shinonon…

Shino: Look, I'll go with you if you want to get a new dress or something but I don't want to deal with a dance any time soon.

Asuna: Deal, did you want to play VR today?

Shino: Sure.

Today

Asuna: Rika, can you convince Shino to try something on for me?

Rika: Eh? Why?

Asuna: Pleeease

Shino: Fine Asuna, Whatever. Go back to your legos Rika.

Asuna: You have to send Rika pictures!

Shino: Fine.

There were only a handful of messages for today, so this couldn't have been the contact or group she had been texting all day. Hm… Klein went to her main list of messages, so he could see who she had talked to today. Which really only consisted of the group named "Three Musketeers" and the other chat named

It looked like she had been conversing with Shino today, judging by how her app said the last message was exchanged about, four minutes ago? Interesting… Klein tapped the thead and scrolled up a bit, if only to make sure he didn't miss anything really.

Shino: I'm going to kill Asuna.

Rika: ?

Shino: I know you told her I don't like dresses after our conversation, you monster.

Rika: Uh, yeah, but I said "she's not the formal type" too, y, did I do something wrong?

Shino: Ugggghh no. Just look.

Image deleted by user.

Rika: You're right, not formal is your style, that is

Rika: I'd date you in a heartbeat, especially in clothes like that

Rika: Kinda dying here…

Shino: Sry, avoiding Asuna and grabbing a jacket.

Shino: Here

Image deleted by user

Shino: I gotta go and hide my phone from her, delete the pictures.

Shino: Last thing I need is Asuna to catch me wearing another dress and dragging me around some more.

Rika: K,

Rika: you're gorgeous Shi-Shi, always really beautiful ^^

Shino: shut up

Rika: Love you too~

Shino: I hate you -.-

Rika: I mean… we're friends and stuff?

Shino: Shut up and do your legos pinkie.

Rika: Yes honey

Shino: idiot.

Klein grinned, gotcha.

"Hey!" rapid footsteps signaled the remergence of his younger sister even before she had spoken. "What're you doing with my phone?!"

Crap!

Klein quickly lifted the device above his head before she could all but slam into him and snatch it back. Luckily she wasn't far enough away to full body tackle him to the ground and their mom was home so if she did, they were both going to be in the dog house.

Since only when it was just the three siblings did he and Rika, if she was mad enough or he was bugging her enough, wrestle like they had as kids. However, unlike when they were kids, Rika was only nine inches shorter, had a shorter frame, had been in boxing, and was more fit than he was. Meaning when she was mad, his younger sister practically turned into an angry bull.

"I'm the eldest, I had to make sure nobody's bullying you!" Klein defended himself but kept the device out of reach of her jump with his longer arms, thereby keeping it just out of her reach. "Not that you'd put up with it, but still, gotta protect my baby sister!"

"I'm only two years younger than you!" Rika growled and jumped for the phone again. "If you want someone to baby, baby the dimwit upstairs who fried his headset or the actual baby of the family!"

"You'll always be my baby sister~" Klein teased nad laughed when Rika could've had steam come out of her nose if they were in VR.

Rika reluctantly stopped jumping for it and clenched and unclenched her fists a couple times as she took a deep breath and spoke through her gritted teeth. "What did you look at."

"Just some conversations," Klein admitted if only to keep from having their mom shout at them to split up. "Nothing bad, you've got some cool friends."

"I know that," Rika responded tightly, "who were you looking at in my contacts?"

In a gesture of good faith, and because he legitimately felt bad for making her this upset, Klein lowered the phone. "Just a group with you and a couple people named Asuna and Shino and Shino's too, nothing else."

Rika'd shoulders tightened at the mentioning of how he had looked at her conversations with Shino, "what did you see."

"What?" He honestly hadn't understood her while she was clenching her jaw so hard.

"I said," Rika snapped, while her ears were going red in embarrassment, "what did you see!"

"Woah, chill out a second," Klein held a hand up in surrender and to placate her, "I'm not them, you really think I of all people would tell our parents? If you don't want anyone to know then I won't tell them."

Rika's brown eyes narrowed almost suspiciously and Klein groaned.

"Sis, you're seventeen and smarter than me and our bro combined. I'm not gonna tell you what to do. Date, sleep with a girl, mess around, whatever, cause I'm not telling. Oh I'll tease the shit out of you, cause who would I be if I didn't, but just us. Now chill," he pleaded sheepishly and rubbed at the back of his head, "you're making me feel like Sinon's glaring at me in VR."

"Fine…" Rika turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just don't tell anyone and don't mention her name in front of anyone."

He didn't exactly know why just saying her name in a tease was off limits, but once she begrudginly elaborated, it made sense.

"Asuna doesn't know."

Right, Rika's other friend who she had grown up with and went to school with till high school.

"Kinda strange, but that's cool with me," Klein shrugged through he couldn't help but tease her at least a little. "Saw she accompaniced someone dress shopping," he grinned and Rika's ears flushed even before he had finished and nudged her. "Your mystery girl pretty in the stuff chosen for her?"

"Shut up," Rika grumbled, "and go to your girlfriend's or something instead of bugging me."

"Not till I get to tease you sis," Klein grinned and handed her her phone, "so just answer my questions~"

"Fine! If only to make you leave me alone," Rika gave in, probably because she knew Klein really would stand here and tease her till she finally answered. "She's always pretty, okay? Jeez, it's none of your business what she looks like."

"Never asked that," Klein grinned slyly, "besides, I already know, she's with you in the drone things all the time and she's your friend."

"Damnit," Rika cursed and gave him a glare, "what else do you want, dumbass?"

Klein rubbed his hands together with a grin, "money, making it through life, and making sure you and Kirito don't be too nerdy for a social life, duh."

"About Shi-Shi," Rika grunted and the nickname slipped before she registered it.

Oh, this was gonna be good.


?: Hey, think you and I can talk?

Sinon: … who is this. IRL or VR?

?: IRL, one of your friends' brothers.

Sinon: I don't do personal stuff in GGO.

?: It'll be fast, and I don't got any other contact info

?: you're crazily private and you don't like people having your information.

Sinon: Fine, meet me at Liz's gunsmith. I'm done in an hour.

?: sweet

Honestly it was entertaining that an hour later, on the dot, player with a popped high collar using it to blend into the crowd outside stepped into the mentioned gunsmith shop. Liz wasn't online right now, as she was sleeping, which meant that talking to her now was going to be as best time to talk to Sinon.

Namely the girl his sister had a crush on IRL.

Said player's eyes were silver and their hair was black and longer, like she had used an alt account to keep herself hidden from the eager eyes of the other players in the game. Which was probably why he had only been able to get ahold of her because he was on her friends list thanks to Rika and Kirito.

"You've got nerve messaging me in GGO," she stated flatly and folded her collar down once she had waved a hand over the closed to. The lock engaging with a soft click before she was leaning non-chalantly against the back of the door, like it wasn't a big deal that she could get in and out of here without it's owner being online and had locking access. "Don't speak," she held a hand up to stop him from speaking when he tried. "I'm going to guess you're one of Rika's siblings and copied your data here."

"Man, you are smart," Klein laughed and when Sinon gave him a blank stare, obviously not interested in being here, he coughed into a hand and hastened to speak. "Sorry, sorry, I know you're not a talking person."

"Correct," Sinon replied blandly and crossed her arms over her chest, idly looking at her fingernails. Which really wasn't surprising since she rarely spoke in real life. Usually wearing headphones while waiting at his and Rika's school gate and looking down at her fancy phone.

"I'm her older brother, and… I've got a few questions. But hey, once they're answered I'll log off and leave you alone," Klein told her, trying his best to not be too annoying for the quiet, and rather skittish girl. He had seen her in person more than he could count with Asuna and another handful alone with Rika this year working on various drones or pieces of tech Rika needed help with. Yet despite how many times he had seen her and how many times she had been all but forced into accompanying them for dinner thanks to Keiko being excited about her since she loved her in Gun Gale, he had never seen her actually be close to anyone besides Asuna and Rika. She didn't budge when anyone tried to talk to her and during those dinners with no electronics, tuned everyone out, ignoring them on purpose with disinterest.

Rika had mentioned before apologetically that she wasn't a people person, so he knew what he was getting into asking her a personal question like this but it had to be asked.

"Fine, what is it," Sinon replied without looking up, "I'm putting up with this because-"

"You like my sister and you're both skirting around eachother," Klein finished for her and Sinon looked up, if only to give him an icy suspicious glare. "She didn't tell me," he admitted to keep Rika out of trouble, "I had been looking through her phone and she already kicked my ass for it."

"Good, she's got the power to," Sinon's tone was flat, perfectly even and like an impenetrable wall. "Now what do you want, snooping bastard."

He deserved it.

"Just two questions," Klein held up a hand, "how old are you? My sis's older than you I know that much but that's it."

"Sixteen, a year younger than her and Asuna," Sinon deadpanned and explained how she was in the same grade as Rika, "I skipped a grade, duh."

"You're badassly smart," Klein avoided teasing her. He would like to have his character back without her breaking it because he pissed her off more than the next question was going to. "Why doesn't Asuna know?"

"What do you mean?" Sinon responded at an even pace, "about your sister's crush? Cause Asuna does, she's known forever."

"Not hers, yours."

Surprise flickered in those silver eyes before they narrowed and she rolled her eyes, "maybe because I'm not as terrible as subtly as the dragon is-"

Dragon? Had to be Rika and a reference to her love for dragons.

"-and hide things much better than her-"

"Hey!" Klein cut himself off from coming to his sister's aid and cursed under his breath as Sinon flinched the tiniest amount and narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Sorry, just… protective." he shut his eyes as he finished what he was saying, "Doesn't matter though, just… tell it to me straight."

"I wasn't talking down on her," Sinon's voice had a little bit of understanding within it. "If you had let me finish, you would've heard that your sister burns much hotter than I do on the surface. Asuna knows about hers because your sister has a harder time keeping it down and hiding it all." Her voice flattened out again, "as for the full answer, probably because I'm a coward."

What?

"You, the girl who makes a living off of fighting other players in a VR game for four hours a day are… a coward?"

"The same one that's fine with jumping between buildings or running along the tops of craines," Sinon responded flatly. "GGO is a game and I'm not afraid of death, so doing risky jumps and spending so many hours within a game with a sniper or running through deathly obstacle courses isn't frightening. I've trained for what I do, so there's no fear there. Whereas with people, you can't train to know what they're going to do. I love Asuna like a sister, but she like Rika has a temper and I'm not a drama person."

"So you're afraid of her reaction?"

"Amongst other things and other people," Sinon shrugged, "there's a reason I work with machines instead of people. Machines only do what they're programmed, and humans do unexpected things, which I don't like."

He couldn't help but wonder what had made her so skittish and afraid of people when he couldn't remember a time he had seen her not be skittish outside of VR. Where she just wasn't involved and didn't react to much outside of giving Kirito in particular as much sass as possible.

"Look, I told you what you wanted, and I won't tell your sister you asked me about Asuna if you don't bother me again." Sinon sighed, "so I'm going to leave. It's nearing four am and unlike you I have to go to school in three hours."

"Shit, yeah go ahead," Klein dismissed her and tried to give the closed off sniper a friendly smile, "thanks for answering me. It's gotta be tough."

Sinon merely turned and unlocked the door. Before she paused for a second and spoke over her shoulder. "The girl Kirito's always wanting to see in VR is Asuna."

"Wait what?!"

But she was already gone.

Which was why Klein powered down his headset, yanked it off, and raced down the hall.

"Rika! Rika!" he pushed open his sister's door and barreled inside.

To be fair, the brunette was still sleeping, having been asleep for most of the evening and then some even if all she had done was visit Asuna and Shino and worked on more of her engineering projects in the shed.

And boy was she out. Sprawled on her stomach tangled up in her blankets and still soundly asleep despite having him rush inside. However,...

Because it would be hilarious to show either her or Shino, he cheekily snapped a picture and shoved his phone away.

"Hey! Wake up!" he reached over and vigorously shook her by the shoulder. "You've gotta tell me something!"

"Ack!" Rika blurrily blindly weakly pushed at him. "Get out of m' room," she groaned in a slurred voice, while obviously still mostly asleep, "m sleepin…" she murmured and went still again with a bit of a snore from her nose being pressed so hard into her pillow.

"Sleep later," Klein he whisper yelled, simply and gave her another shake. "I will tickle you sis if you don't wake up!"

Following through with his word, when Rika didn't respond and her breathing evened out into full sleep, he jammed his fingers of one hand under her arms and wiggled them. Succeeding in getting a shriek out of her that he quickly stopped by covering her mouth. "Sssh! Don't wake everyone!" He hissed her and nearly fell with how hard Rika was struggling.

Once she heard him speak however, she stopped and instead, bit his hand.

"Ow! Come on! Don't bite me!" he hissed, clutching his hand and giving her a glare, "that hurt!"

"Well you gave me a heart attack!" Rika whisper snarled back and turned around enough that she could look at him, "I was sleeping! you son of a bitch! You're lucky I didn't clock you! Especially when it's what?" She glanced over at the clock and looked even more mad, "four in the fucking morning! Now how am I'm going to go back to sleep for the last two hours?!"

"You'll be fine, I needed to ask you something!" Klein whispered back furiously, "and I tried to shake you, but you were practically dead! What did you do today?!"

"None of your business, asshat," Rika snapped back in a whisper, "what do you want so badly that you removed my ability to sleep till my alarm?!"

"I talked to Sinon-"

"Okay, I'm dreaming," Rika cut him off with a stubborn shake of her head, "there's no way in hell Shi-Shi would talk to you willingly."

"Hey! Don't go back to bed!" Klein whined and caught Rika's shoulder as she moved to turn away and lay back down, "I'm serious! She agreed to talk to me since I'm your sibling!"

Rika didn't respond for a second, seemingly frozen but Klein didn't have time to move away before it registered.

Shit.

Rika promptly tackled him. Throwing them both to the floor and Klein quickly lifting his arms up in surrender as Rika was pulling her arm back to punch him. "You did what?! What the hell did you ask her?!"

"Chill! Geez! I didn't ask her anything too personal or relating to you!" Klein swore, waving his arms. "Come on, I'm not that dumb!"

Rika gave him a suspicious look and snatched her phone from her nightstand before she was putting it on speaker and putting it back on the nightstand. "You're not getting out of here till I know you're not lying."

Oh god, please let Sinon not go back on her word about not telling Rika anything!

The call connected and sleepy, but grumpy voice spoke up. "Hello? Rika why are you awake at four am when you were dragging earlier?"

"Sorry for waking you up."

"It's fine, I hadn't dozed off yet. What's up?"

Rika shot Klein a warning glare and he quickly mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key. Since there was no way he was gonna tease her right now when she could punch him at any second. "My asshole of an older brother just woke me up," she deadpanned, "and just told me you and him met up in VR to talk."

"Mhmm," the sniper hummed casually, "he messaged me as I was editing while in VR and asked if I could meet up with him to talk."

"What did he ask you?" Rika asked Klein smiled weakly up at his sister. Because Shino was so going to give him up.

"Asked how I'm younger than you and Asuna but are in the same class," Shino didn't seem bothered by the question and didn't sound anything but tired and sleepy. "So I said I'm sixteen and he's an idiot."

"Anything else? Anything outside your comfort zone or anything? Cause I'll punch him for you," Rika told her and narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's fine," the sniper yawned and Klein tried to keep his expression level while Shino continued, "but not out of my comfort zone. Just asked if I'm fine dealing with your family and mentioned I'm intelligent since I skipped a grade. Seriously, Rika, you're overreacting, just elax. I would've shot him if he annoyed me too much."

Wait… Shino didn't rat him out? She even made up something else to make Rika believe what she was saying was true.

"You sure he didn't bother you?"

"Rika, I love you, but let it go," Shino sleepily groanedand it sounded like she flopped her head back down onto her pillow. "You're keeping me awake on a suspicion that your idiot brother wouldn't be intimidated by me in my world and VR, where I could've corrupted his character with one hand."

Rika's ears and face turned redder than a strawberry while Klein's eyes widened. Did he just hear her right?

"Is he in your room or something? You sound like you're on speaker," Shino grumbled and Rika reluctantly shot Klein a glare and got up.

"No, just forgot to transfer the call to my watch," Rika lied and took the device off of speaker, "I should let you go, you need sleep."

Klein cautiously sat up, slowly pulling himself upright without taking his eyes off of his sister.

Who looked cautiously back at him while she listened to Shino and then mumbled a bit, "love you too, sleep well." She pressed the screen and tossed it onto her bed with a groan and dropped down onto the blankets with her face in her hands. "Not, a word," she said almost.. Brokenly as she drew her knees to her chest and buried her head in them and her arms. "I don't want to hear it."

Okay… now was definitely not the time to ask her what that was all about.

"Okay," he gave in and leaned his arms on his knees, unsure what exactly she wanted him to do right now. When obviously this hadn't turned out how he had expected.

Rika had never been the type to take advice from him, she had always been a self sufficient type of person and she had her father's brains. So while Klein himself wasn't exactly dumb just average and Kirito was intelligent, Rika was in a league of her own with her father's inventor brains. Where Kirito was hacking computers, Rika was taking apart engines, leaving Klein as the average one between his two brilliant siblings.

At the same time, he knew that despite his sister's brash and confident exterior, she was sensitive and inwardly broke under the pressure without telling anyone besides her two childhood friends. Meaning, she was probably very upset with the slip ups and how he had found out that a crush was an understatement.

So he got to his feet.

Part of him wasn't surprised about this detail. Since his sister was a die hard romantic despite her lack of dating and it all made sense with how long Asuna, Shino, and Rika had been together as friends. She had known them even before she had met him and Kirito at five and had been devastated when Shino had eventually moved too, back closer to Asuna's than Rika and being the furthest away. So Rika had been alone, till they had surprised her on the weekend with bringing her to them, which started the tradition she followed still now ten years later.

The mattress sank underneath his weight and Klein leaned back on his arms. "You know, it's pretty nuts to think that you've been part of "the Three Musketeers" for what, twelve years?"

"Pretty much," Rika mumbled into her knees, but Klein didn't mind.

"The possibility of it not being just a crush didn't even come to mind," he admitted sheepishly while looking up, "but at the same time, it makes sense, you know?"

"Yeah right," Rika disagreed blandly, "as if."

"What, you think I'm kidding?" Klein snorted and shook his head, "nah. Sis this isnt the time to joke about anything, much less how you feel." He could still see the glow in the dark stars up on the ceiling placed years ago back when they were kids and Rika was learning constellations with their dad.

"So? It's still dumb to eveyrone else."

Alright, well he was going to have to explain it to her then.

"You're seventeen right? Turning eighteen in August?" when she didn't refute, he continued. "That's two years of time to spend exploring romance and you're a romantic too. Yet all you did was keep the same main duo of friends that you were actually open with and didn't once even try dating like your cool older brother, me." Klein sighed and nudged her, "you've known her since we were were tiny, little midgets being annoying and probably trying to take things apart knowing you. So why is it weird for you to feel more than a crush?"

"I'm a teenager…" Rika mumbled with the words barely audible and her arms tightened around her legs, "that's why…"

At that Klein couldn't help it, he snorted, and loudly. "Damn, the adults are leading you the wrong way, sis. If you want to date your childhood friend who literally only allows you and Asuna in, then do it. If you both feel it's not a crush, then try it, and obviously it's stuck, then if or when you two stay together throughout everything, then you can tell those idiots 'ha, look at us now!' Who cares what others deem love, afterall it's only our decision alone to decide what that means to us. I've done plenty of dating but nothing worked till I met Ashley, which you know. You two are mature enough to decide what you want and who you want for that matter." Rika's screen saved of her unlocked phone caught his eye and Klein scooped up the device.

He hadn't actually seen it last time, having been busy with her messages instead, but the image made him smile.

Since it was in VR, but he could tell who it was. It was in ALO instead of GGO, with Sinon, a Catsy, smirking freely and had just pulled Rika to her, a pink themed leprechaun with soot and coal all over her face wrapped in the glowing string of a grapple spell on an arrow. While Sinon was wiping the soot off of Rika's nose.

"Rika, seriously," he said and Rika finally looked up at him.

"What?" she still sounded rather flat, like she was tired and didn't have the energy to do this.

"Does she make you happy?"

"Of course-"

Klein placed his arm around his sister's shoulders and pulled into a side-ways hug cutting her off. "Then it doesn't matter. Crush on her, love her, be mushily smitten with her, the label doesn't matter. So just let it happen and ignore what everyone else has to say including those voices in your head."

"... okay…" Rika's voice was barely a whisper, but it was more alive than before and he was going to protect her, and that heart he knew burned bright within his sister.

Screw everyone else, he was freeing her happiness.


"Hey mom, I'm taking Rika to see Shino and Asuna after she gest out of school, that cool?"

"Yes, just make sure she gets home safe, she didn't look good this morning…"

This morning?

Wait, damnit! He had forgotten to talk to her before she left for school!

"I will," Klein promised Midori and fumbled for his phone to text said sibling.

Klein: Rika, I forgot to ask you something!

Rika: I figured, what did you need to ask me at four am?

Klein: Shino said the VR girl Kirito's constantly with and married to in the game is Asuna, that true?!

Rika: Uh yeah, she doesn't know it's him tho, neither of them do.

Rika: and it's not exactly my place to go and tell them when Shino's hiding her own feelings from Asuna.

Klein: Shino told you she told me? She promised she wouldn't! That traitor…

Rika: She only told me because I came clean and told her what happened and the slip up, so she returned the favor, plus I don't like keeping secrets and neither does she.

Rika: Shino only keeps secrets out of necessity. If she didn't tell me I'd be worried she'd think I'm about to break or something.

Rika: doesn't mean you can tell anyone tho, so keep your trap shut, bro.

Klein: I am!

Klein: I'll be picking you up from school to hang with Shino and Asuna over the weekend, you pick whose you're staying at ;)

Rika: Shut up -.-

Klein: In your dreams sis

She promptly ignored him.

Rika: I'm not sneaking out again and getting in trouble today, I've had enough of that for a while.

Klein: mom said it's fine!

Rika: …fine. I'll let them know.

Klein: Have fun, school's still overrated!

Rika: Yet you completed it by some miracle.

Rika: I have the drone at the house so pick up the case before you pick me up.

Klein: On it!

He had work to do and a certain VR player in ALO nicknamed the "Bersek Healer" to talk to.