Asuna gave off a yawn as she sat up in bed, stretching her arms out to wake herself up. She looked outside to see that the storm had long passed, and the sky was mostly clear. A few white clouds drifted lazily across the sky, but Asuna was sure they wouldn't bring rain anytime soon. After changing out of her nightgown and into a casual pale blue blouse and tan skirt, she headed downstairs to make herself some breakfast. Her mother and father were already out running errands, so she and Alice were by themselves.

As she entered her house's spacious kitchen to gather the ingredients for her breakfast, she paused at hearing the front door lock being opened. She paused, at first thinking it was one of the Yuuki family's maids, but she then recalled the maids were off for the summer.

She slowly approached the main family room, carrying a rolling pin with her, should the need arise to defend herself. As she turned the corner to face the intruder, she dropped her jaw. Standing there was not even her mother or father, one of the maids, or even Kazuto.

It was her older brother, Kouichirou Yuuki, carrying a large suitcase. The last time she had seen him was after the incident in old ALO, and after that he had to return to Kyoto for his next semester of college after only a few days.

"Hey, sis!" Kouichirou beamed, before he added with a bit of a snarky tone, "Surprised to see me?"

"Big brother!" Asuna said with glee in her voice, quickly setting the rolling pin down before giving her brother a warm, tight hug. "It's so great to see you! But, I thought you were still at college for another few months. What are you doing home?"

"I managed to finish everything I needed to do early, and got the remaining time off." Kouichirou replied. "What was the rolling pin for, though?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were coming." Asuna apologized, retrieving the utensil and placing it back in the kitchen. "I thought someone else had gotten in, so…my mistake."

"It's fine! Though, I thought I texted Dad last night for him to tell you that I was going to be here. That's odd…" Kouichirou said, thinking out loud, only to shrug before the two of them headed to the kitchen to finish making breakfast.

"How have you been?" Asuna asked eagerly. "I haven't heard too much from you for a while now."

"That's true. My studies really kept me occupied. I did try multiple times to find a time to text or call you, but they never worked out each time." Kouichirou sighed. "Forgive me?"

"It's okay, I'm happy you tried. And you don't need to apologize." Asuna smiled, as she seasoned the eggs that were frying on the stovetop. "Well, now that you're here, do you have any plans?"

Before Kouichirou could reply, another voice spoke up.

"Asuna? Who is this?"

Both of them turned to see Alice descend the stairs, clearly confused at seeing an unfamiliar face.

"Oh, Alice, this is my older brother, Koucihirou." Asuna said. "Kouichirou, this is Alice Zuberg. She's been living with us for a few months now."

"Nice to meet you." Kouichirou offered a hand, and Alice shook it warmly. "I've been in Kyoto attending college, so I haven't been around as much."

"I see." Alice replied. "Welcome, then."

As Alice sat down, Asuna then asked Kouichirou what had brought him back home.

"Well, I finished all my schoolwork early, and my advisor back at the University said I was in good shape to take a long break, and still graduate on time. I asked how long, and he said, get this…a month."

"A month?" Asuna was stunned. "Really? Do mom and dad know?"

"I already told them, so I decided to come back home with that time and spend it with my little sister." Kouichirou smiled, making Asuna blush. "We really didn't get much time to reconnect after SAO."

"No, we didn't." Asuna mused. "So, is there anything you'd like to do today?"

"Well, there actually is something mom asked me to tell you." Kouichirou replied, making Asuna stiffen. Upon seeing this, Kouichirou quickly clarified that it was good news. "Dad actually managed to schedule a week-long family gathering at a resort up north, and Kazuto's actually invited to come along. It won't be just us, though, there's a bunch of other family members from mom's and dad's sides coming as well."

"Wow!" Asuna said brightly. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as we're all ready." Kouichirou replied. "You should let Kazuto know what's going on. I'll handle cleaning up."

"Right." Asuna nodded. "Are you okay with staying here, Alice?"

"I'll be fine." Alice replied. "Eugeo can always accompany me if I get lonely here. Besides, you could always dive into Alfheim Online to see us, if that's possible."

"Great! I'll be right back." Asuna waved, heading back up the stairs to find her phone.

As it would turn out, it wasn't Kazuto that answered the phone when Asuna called, but rather, his uncle Minetaka. After relaying the news and Kazuto's invitation, Asuna asked Minetaka if it was possible for her boyfriend to come.

"I don't see why not, Asuna." Minetaka replied. "He's currently in the shower, so I'll let him know of this when he gets out. Do you know if you'll need a ride to this resort? We'd be more than happy to help."

"It's okay, Mr. Kir…Minetaka." Asuna corrected herself, remembering that both Minetaka and Kazuto's aunt Midori had given her permission to use their first names. "I'm certain we can accommodate any issue that comes up."

"Glad to hear it. I hope you have a good time, Asuna. Oh, and tell your father when you see him that I say hello."

"Of course. Thank you, Minetaka." Asuna nodded. "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, and rest assured we'll have Kazuto ready and over there shortly." Minetaka replied, before the call ended. Asuna, after breathing a quiet "Yes!" of excitement and relief, quickly went over to her walk-in closet to find her suitcase.

It didn't take Asuna as long as she would've thought to pack a week's set of clothes and other necessities, including her Amusphere rig. As she finished sorting everything out, and was about to zip up her suitcase, she caught a glimpse of something in her closet that made her pause.

It was a lavender, ankle-length western-style gown that Asuna was certain she had never seen before today. The gown had rose-patterned sleeves that went down to her elbows, along with a wrapped ribbon around the waist that had the same pattern woven into the fabric. There was also a match hair ribbon and flat dancing shoes nearby. The dress had a unique contour to it, as the bodice was close-fitting, but the skirt was wide-flared, poofing outwards at the waist.

"Where did this come from…" Asuna wondered out loud, until she saw a folded note lying on the shelf nearby, with her mother's handwriting on it.

Asuna,

I found this for you at a local store that sells western-style formal wear. I had wanted to give it to you personally yesterday, but my prior arrangements prevented me from doing so. Please take good care of it, will you?

Mother

Asuna smiled, taking some pride in the fact that her mother had gone out of her way to get something for her out of kindness alone. After carefully packing the dress, shoes, and ribbon into her suitcase, she soon heard a knock at her bedroom door.

"Asuna?" her boyfriend's warm, familiar voice called from the other side. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, just about!" Asuna called back, at last zipping up her suitcase. As she pulled her suitcase up and opened the door, Kazuto stood there with a warm smile. His hair was still a little damp-looking, but he was still presentable nonetheless.

"Good morning!" Asuna smiled, pecking him on the lips. "I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble."

"No, it's fine!" Kazuto replied, as he helped her carry her suitcase down the stairs. "I was a little surprised, but I'm happy to be invited along for something like this. I don't think I've met any other members of your family besides your brother."

"They mostly live in Kyoto and Miyagi, since my grandparents lived there before they passed." Asuna replied. "I can't remember the last time something like this happened. I guess it's another thing to add to our list of things we've done together for the first time."

"I suppose so…" Kazuto nodded, as they entered the main hall downstairs, Kouichirou came over and helped Kazuto load Asuna's suitcase into the Yuuki family's spacious car. Asuna immediately thanked her mother for her gift once Kazuto was out of earshot, and Kyouko gave a small but proud smile in acknowledgement.

"I'm glad you like it, Asuna." Kyouko replied. "The resort we're going to has a multitude of activities available, and I wouldn't be surprised if you and Kazuto found one that required dressing up formally that you'd enjoy doing together."

"I guess we'll see when we get there, then." Asuna nodded, and as she and her mother found their seats in the Yuuki's car, Kazuto looked over at Shouzou, who was speaking with Alice about what to do while they were gone. Then, he turned to gaze at Asuna, who seemed positively overjoyed.

After quickly zoning back in, he quickly found his own seat in the middle, as Shouzou sat in the driver's seat and started the car. Kouichirou gave a smirk at Kazuto as he headed to the back, and Asuna soon nestled her head into Kazuto's shoulder, a content smile on her face.

"Do you have everything you need?" Kyouko asked both Kazuto and Asuna, who both nodded back. "Then let's be on our way, Shouzou."

"Indeed." Shouzou replied as he pulled the car out of the driveway, while Alice waved goodbye from the front door as they departed.