I'M SO SORRY! I got a bit held back and such that I got sidetracked and then college slapped me in the face and a seemingly good storyline for a crossover of Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0 came out of no where...and the sudden inspiration for a prank in Defying Fate and a half of POA's Chapter 16 was written out and yet I think I might still add a two more sense into it! Ugh...I'm Sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to make you guys wait for over a month. DX Or was it longer? I know I haven't updated Defying Fate for two months...Oh, crap that's long. O_O

And sorry, the chapter isn't that long that time. :/

Thanks to Guest, Lord Destroyer, Impstar, Firehedgehog, Sn0wk1tty, Delta Marauder, AcerVentus672, TheSwordArtKid, PrincessArien (from chapter 7), EX143 (from chapter 18), 2n2kas (from chapter 24), Guest, Black Silverclaw, and Blitza for reviewing last chapter! You guys are awesome! XD

Although, before I begin this chapter, I can't help but wonder...how many of you guys actually like my OCs? I mean, I never really intended them at first, but I needed to fill in the blanks to the story. So, do they bother you? I'm just wondering...

DISCLAIMER: I only own Morgan, Suzuku, and singing Scary. XD The rest goes to their creators!

Chapter 26: The Morning Dew Children

The sun filtered through the forest canopy above them, landing softly on a pair of children. A white-haired boy leaned against a tree with his head bowed in slumber. He wore a simple silver-grey jacket with a dark blue shirt underneath. His black shorts reached right before his knees with matching boots covering a majority of his legs. Attached to his side was a short sword.

Next to him was a long, black-haired girl resting her head on his own. Her white summer dress seemed to glow in the sunlight. Her feet were bare and there wasn't a single weapon on her. Slowly, her companion stirred, blinking his bright blue eyes. The child lifted his head as he took a look around, trying to remember just what he was doing there.

"…Oh, no…did we fall asleep...?" he asked himself. He heard a small groan as the girl began to wake up, rubbing her dark eyes to wake herself up.

"…Good Morning, Mor'gan." Yui replied as she stretched. The boy, Mor'gan, gave her a bright smile, suddenly wide awake.

"Morning, Yui!" he greeted cheerfully. He leapt up to his feet and dusted himself off. He held out a hand for Yui to take. She took it without a second thought and stretched again.

"Whaaaaaa~!" she said as she yawned. She dropped her hands and smiled at Mor'gan. "What are we going to do today?"

Mor'gan placed a thoughtful hand to his lips before offering a bright smile. "Whatever comes to mind!"

._._._._._.

The sun was nice and warm on Kirito's skin as he enjoyed his little venture around their new vacation home. They just arrived yesterday and Agil managed to convince Klein that Kirito would be alright on his own. After all, the twenty-second floor of Aincrad wasn't that dangerous at all.

Kirito spent half of the morning by the lake, messing around with the water and giving Shiku a good dunk in the water. He was surprised that Shiku couldn't drown. The cat-lion would hold his own head under for ever ten minutes before poking his nose for a quick breath. Kirito figured that it had something to do with the Cardinal system. After all, there had to be a few strange things around here.

Shiku bounded in and out of Kirito's feet as he took a stroll in the forest. Kirito laughed every time he felt Shiku's soft fur brush against his ankles. If anyone were to see him at first glance, nobody would even notice that he was the Black Swordsman. In fact, he just seemed like a normal child…if it wasn't for Elucidator strapped to his back. Kirito was wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of pants, knowing that there wasn't a very strong need to be completely armed. Just his sword should suffice.

"Go and play, young children," Kirito sang as he swung a tree branch he found. "Grown up big and strong, Grandpa Sakura will always be watching over you~!"

Shiku practically danced around the ground with his tiny body as Kirito sang. It felt a bit strange since he couldn't sing in reality, so he decided not to let the moment pass him by. Surprisingly, his voice was pleasant. Well, to him. But, in reality, is was more than pleasant. It was soft and gentle, with a hint of tenderness. His voice held the purity of a child untouched of the reality of the world; something a bit unnatural for a kid his age. It could practically sweep someone off their feet and into another world without them even realizing it.

When he was younger, he always heard an old man sing the same song once everyday. Of course, he heard the old man sing other songs, but there was always one that stuck to Kirito.

So, he sang. He sang about being an old sakura tree. A tree that watched children grown up and gone through a war. He was almost at the end of the song when he heard soft cry of surprise.

Kirito cut himself off and looked in the general direction of the cry. Shiku shared a glance with him before taking off.

"Hey! Shiku!" Kirito cried as he chased after his cat-lion, abandoning his tree branch on the path. He didn't have to go far as he accidentally ran into something less than a minute later. He actually trampled over the small figure.

"Whoooaaah! Get off me!" cried a childish voice underneath Kirito.

"Ah! Sorry!" Kirito apologized as he scrambled to his feet. A small, white haired child was shaking his head as he tried to get his bearings. Kirito held out a hand to the small boy, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah…" the boy said as he took Kirito's hand. Once the boy was settled back on his own two feet, Kirito took a good look at him. The boy looked as if he was an actual player and not some random NPC. His bright blue eyes stared up at Kirito with surprise.

"Are you okay?!" said a girl's voice. Kirito watched as the boy fast walked to a black haired girl dressed in white. The girl was a bit flustered when she came out from behind a tree.

"Who are you? Is there anyone watching over you two?" Kirito asked as he placed a hand at his hip. Shiku mewed softly as he trotted up to the two children before him. The black haired girl squatted down to pet the cat-lion with a look of awe while white-haired boy tilted his head slightly.

"Uhm…I'm…I'm Morgan." the boy said with a hand at his chest. He then gestured to the girl, "And she's Yui…You're not one of those people that take care of kids in the Town of Beginnings…are you?"

"Town of…no, I'm not." Kirito said as he shook his head. "I'm Kirito. My friends and I are taking a break around the area. What about you two?"

"Ah…Well…" Morgan began, but he looked down. The little girl, Yui, picked up Shiku in her arms and smiled at Kirito.

"We're lost!" she said cheerfully. Both boys stumbled at her exclamation.

"Yui! We're not lost! We're um…we're…" Morgan trailed off again, completely at a loss of what to say.

"Lost." Kirito finished for him.

"Okay, okay….We got lost while playing a game, but we're not with the kids that live on the first floor." Morgan admitted as he rubbed his arm in nervousness. "You're not gonna send us there, are you…?"

"You don't want to?" Kazuto asked as he crossed his arms in concern. "Did they do something bad?"

"Kito." Yui said suddenly. Both boys turned to look at her as she trotted to Kirito's side with Shiku inner arms.

"Kito…?"

"Name…Cat's name?" she asked innocently. Kirito blinked once before smiling.

"Ah, he's Shiku." he told her as he petted Shiku's miniature, fluffy head. Yui's eyes lit up as if it was Christmas and hugged Shiku tighter.

"Shiu?" she asked with a cute tilt of her head.

"Eh?"

"No, Yui, it's Ski-ku." Mor'gan corrected lightly as he placed his hands on his hip. Yui gave him a slightly confused look as she continued to hug Shiku.

"Shii-u?" she tried again.

"Shii-kuuu." Morgan said as he drawled out his voice. Her face slipped into concentration as she tried once again.

"Shii-uuu!"

"….I don't think that's working, Morgan." Kirito said as he watched Morgan try to correct her once again. He couldn't help but think that Morgan and Yui were like siblings. Morgan acted like the older brother; always trying his hardest to be a good role model-ish. Yui was like the clueless, cute little sister that anyone could love.

"Shiiiii-uuuu!" Yui tried once again, causing Morgan to drop his shoulders in defeat.

"Haaah… I tried." he sighed as Yui placed Shiku on the ground. Shiku practically bounded around her and mewed playfully. For some odd reason, Kirito couldn't help but notice something familiar about her. He could've swore he met her before somewhere….but where?

"Hey, why don't we play a game?" Kirito asked as he placed a hand on his hip. For some odd reason, a weird, but fun idea popped in his head. If Morgan didn't want to go to the bottom of Aincrad, then…

Morgan gave him a blatant look. "But Yui and I just played a game of cops and robbers…"

"What about Oni? It should be fun." Kirito suggested with a smile. Yui perked up and hopped up and down in excitement.

"I do, I do!" Strangely enough, Shiku was meowing with her. Morgan looked a bit thoughtful, but he didn't really get the time to actually think as Yui pulled nicely at his sleeve. "Please, Mor'gan?"

"Mor'gan?" Kirito repeated. The expression on Morgan's face was a mixture of caution and wanting as Yui gave him a pair of puppy-like eyes.

"W-well…"

"Pleeeaaase?"

"Meow!"

Kirito couldn't help but laugh lightly as Morgan gave up with a sigh.

"Okay, fine…" Morgan said as a smile began to form on his face. Kirito could tell that the boy really did want to play. "We'll go play with Kirito-nii-san."

"Alrighty then! The rules are simple. You have to catch me and make me an Oni, okay?" Kirito said with a grin.

"Wait, what? Who's the Oni—" Morgan didn't even have the chance to finish when Kirito suddenly tapped his shoulder.

"You are!" He said. He didn't even stop as he practically swept Yui in his arms and took off with Shiku scampering after him. Morgan stood there for a moment before realization slapped him in the face.

"You just kidnapped Yui!" he cried as he hurried after Kirito, completely upset at the fact that the older boy ran off with her. All he had to go off of was Kirito's laughter mixed with Yui's. Morgan mentally sighed, but didn't dare to stop the smile on his face. Might as well make the best of it!

._._._._._.

Asuna was sitting on the couch, just going through her inventory when she heard laughter outside. Agil was busy sending a message when he, too, looked up.

"What's going on out there?" he asked Asuna. The swordswoman shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure…Here, I'll go take a look." she said as she dismissed her menu and stood up. She was only wearing a simple cream-colored sweater and a pale red skirt with knee high socks. Her feet were covered with a simple pair of flats. She debated whether or not to equip her rapier, but with the sounds of children playing outside, she decided not to. "Be right back!"

When she stepped outside, she was expecting to see a random group of kids playing around, but…She never expected to see a familiar black-haired teen running around with kids. He had a white-haired child chasing after him and a small girl riding on the back of a full-sized Shiku. Asuna stepped off the porch and stopped a few feet away from the house. Elucidator was lying innocently on the ground and she quickly came to a conclusion.

"Kirito!" Asuna called as she cupped her hand around her mouth. Kirito instinctively stopped and looked in Asuna's direction with a slightly startled expression. Asuna was about to say more until—

"Ye—GAH!"

Asuna watched with a slightly opened mouth as Kirito was practically tackled down by Shiku, the little girl laughing as the lion did so. The white-haired boy skidded to a stop and wrapped his arms around Shiku's neck, who growled contently.

"Good job, Shiku! You caught the demon!" the boy praised. Asuna couldn't help but falter a little before strolling over to them. The little girl immediately noticed her and ran over to Asuna. The swordswoman was shocked as the girl wrapped her arms around her waist and looked up to her with delight clear on her face.

"Mama!"

"Ma—Mama?!" Asuna repeated in shock. "I'm not your mama!"

"Ah! I'm sorry, Onee-san! Yui doesn't mean it!" the boy said as he unlatched himself from Shiku. The lion shook his head as Kirito managed to pulled himself halfway out from under Shiku.

"Kirito, whose kids are these?!" Asuna demanded as she instinctively placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulders. Kirito had a pained look on his face as he forced a smile.

"Can you get Shiku off of me first?" he asked, throwing a thumb back at the said lion. Shiku purred as helices Kirito's back, efficiently grossing the black swordsman. "Ew! Gross! Get off me!"

The boy seemed to shake his head in amusement as he went over to rub Shiku's face. "Good Shiku! You can get off of Onii-san now."

The lion, to Asuna's surprise, actually complied to the boy's request and puffed back into his shrunken form. Kirito was wincing as he slowly brought his legs underneath him to get up.

"Thanks, Morgan." Kirito said as the boy helped him up. Asuna felt Yui release her, but the girl caught her hand and clung to her. She couldn't help but feel a little weirded out by the fact that this girl was so attached to her.

"Hi, Asuna." Kirito greeted with a tired smile. "Is Agil and Klein inside?"

"Yeah, but first, who are these kids?" Asuna asked once again, looking between the boy and the girl. She could tell that the boy was a player since she could see his green cursor over his head, but the girl…she didn't have one.

"Ah, right! Asuna, this is Morgan," Kirito said as he gestured the boy. She found it a bit strange that the boy held Kirito's hand as he kind of hid behind him. Kirito didn't seem to mind as he gestured the girl holding her hand. "And, that's Yui. I found them while I was talking a walk in the forest."

He then addressed the children, "Morgan, Yui, this is Asuna, my best friend."

"Mama!" the girl, Yui, called her again. Asuna looked at her and knelt down to her height.

"Uhm, Yui, I'm not your Mama…" she said with an uneasy smile.

"Sorry, I don't think she means it..." the boy, Morgan, said, looking a bit nervous. Yui shook her head and pointed to Kirito.

"But, Kito's Papa and Mor'gan's my brother!" she said confidently. Kirito actually spluttered in surprise as Mor'gan faltered.

"W-wait a minute, Yui, Kirito-nii's not our dad! That's just weird!" Morgan said as he stepped away from Kirito, letting go of his hand.

"Where are their parents? Are they trapped in here by themselves?" Asuna asked as she looked to Kirito. The Black Swordsman shrugged.

"Well…" he began, but Morgan cut him off.

"I'm Yui's brother! Mama and papa…they're not here." the boy said, hesitantly. "We've been living around this floor since it was cleared. I'm really sorry, Asuna-nee-san. Yui and I can go if you want us…"

Asuna sighed as Yui shook her head and tightened her grip around her hand. She knelt down and caressed Yui's cheek with her free hand.

"Ano, Yui, I'm not your mom," she began. Yui's eyes formed a few tears and Asuna panicked slightly. "B-but! You can call me that if you want to. I wouldn't mind. I don't mind at all! But only until we find your real mama, okay?"

"Really?!" Yui asked as her eyes suddenly lit up. Asuna nodded assuredly, vaguely realizing what she had done. Bluntly put, she just became a mother. But to what, she didn't know. There wasn't a cursor over the head and neither of the boys seemed to have noticed. She looked up at Kirito who smiled.

"Besides, I can't let you kids run around here without a place to stay." Asuna said with a smile.

"Well, if Asuna says so, I guess it's okay…" Kirito said as he placed a hand on his hip. Morgan gaped at them all.

"You mean it?!"

The two teens only smiled at him, silently giving him an answer.

"I'm so glad! I have a mama again!" Yui cheered as she practically hugged Asuna. Asuna couldn't help but laugh and hug her back. Even though the girl was just as strange and bit more weird that Kirito, she figured that she could handle it somehow.

Yui pulled away from Asuna and hugged Kirito with her small arms. "And I have a Papa, too!"

Kirito laughed as he patted her head gently. "By the way, Yui, Morgan?"

"Hm?"

"Yes, Papa?"

"Why us? Why did you decide to call us your parents?" Kirito couldn't help but ask. Morgan stared at him for a moment before blinking.

"Ah…that's a…very good question. I don't know myself. I just follow my sister." Morgan said with his eyes slightly wide with hints of confusion and uncertainty. But, Yui, on the other hand, looked up at Kirito with a childish giggle.

"Papa, that's funny!" she said cheerily, thoroughly confusing the others. For some odd reason, Kirito felt a growing sense of dread as Yui stared at him with her dark eyes.

"Because you're Cardinal's son!"

SYSTEM COLABORATION AT FIFTY-NINE PERCENT.

And done! What a big twist huh? XD Please don't kill me. I still have college crap to do! And several other stories to write! I'm planning on either updating POA or Defying Fate (if you guys read Fire Emblem too) soon. And maybe Summer's Dream. Although, I may have to rethink that one...I kind of lost track as to where I was going with that one... Anyway! Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter! I had a bit of a hard time writing it since Morgan is a little hard to imagine as a cautious child. Don't worry though! He'll be back to his normal cheery, happy-go-lucky personality soon! :D

Oh and I forgot. Yui pronounces Morgan's name strangely, so there's like this hitch in the middle of his name when Yui calls him. XD

Now...as for the question in the beginning, I really am curious. Do they bother you or are they okay? I actually brought in Morgan because I ended up loving him and Amyra said that I should put him in, so... That's what happened. XD

Preview!

"Y-yo-you're a-a-a what?!" Klein stammered as he pointed a shaking finger at the two teenagers.

"Well, you see... Morgan and Yui are just kids that were by themselves." Kirito said, shyly, looking like a kicked puppy from his seat at the dining table. "They didn't want to go to the first floor, so I...I played with them to give them some company..."

"And Yui started calling us their parents..." Asuna continued, trailing off as she slowly directed her gaze downward, feeling a bit ashamed of her actions.

"We couldn't just let them be alone so..."

Kirito and Asuna shared a look of dread as Klein suddenly switched gears. "YOU DO THAT AFTER MARRIAGE!"

Later! XD

~CloudyLightning