Disclaimer: Don't own Sword Art Online in any form, or any of it's characters.

Rating: T

Really nothing to add; enjoy

RL

November 4, 2030

Their house

She held her hands together, looking out the window at the nearby lake, smiling contently to herself.

"Mmh... uoh."

Well, about time someone got up.

"Mmm... huh, Asuna?"

"Right over here" she breathed gently, almost able to see him looking in her direction, and the doubtless surprise that she was still in her nightgown. Still, he got up gently, slowly walking around to just behind her - then he slipped his arms around her waist. She merely smiled more, leaning her head against his, swaying slightly on the spot.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he breathed.

"It's kinda serious for the morning" she breathed back, but gently.

"Mmm, playful serious, or really serious?"

"Really serious" she whispered softly. "But not a bad thing either."

"Then let's hear it" he whispered back, intentionally in her ear, which made her shiver (he knew that was a good spot for her). That and light toying with the fabric of her nightgown was his order of playful for this morning.

"Remember when we talked about our little family?" she asked, heart pounding, but loving the small attention. "How it was gonna be us and Yui in the real world someday?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"Did we ever talk about... more?"

His toying paused, but to her surprised relief, there was no actual shock... then he moved himself slightly, getting more into a position where she could see him better, but still pressed against her back. "You mean, to give Yui a little sibling, right?" he breathed, to which she slowly nodded, her cheeks red. "I don't think we did, not fully at least."

Making a sound, she put her hand over his toying wrist. "What do you think Yui's reaction would be?"

He didn't answer for a bit. "I think... it'd be one of two things" he said honestly. "One, that she'd love the idea - or two, that she wouldn't be sure about it, because she's honestly perfectly happy with just the three of us."

"You mean, that she might not like it?" she breathed, worried.

"At worst" he admitted, but then he smiled. "Yui is completely against hating anyone or anything, and I think that even then, in time, she'd grow to love her new sibling. You know, after we talk, and if she agrees."

She smiled back, making a sound as she nodded, then she kissed him lovingly - which he easily returned. "When do you think we should talk to her about this?" she whispered softly, eyes closed, just leaning against him.

"Maybe in a few days, though I vote for after our vacation" he said gently, his fingers going through hers, though the other one continued it's toying - particularly in making her shy, now working it's way under her nightgown. "But either way, we got some time."

She slowly nodded, closing her eyes, just leaning against him. As a result, she missed the grin that appeared then, his hand just below her stomach now.

"But until then-"

She squeaked loudly when his hand moved, face red and eyes snapping open, legs instinctively coming together above the knees in response.

"K-Kazuto!"

"What? Yui's still asleep-"

"And if she just walks in!? Ah!"

"My senses are still ultra-sharp; I'd sense her opening the door if nothing else."

"Shut - oh! - s-shut up!"

Luckily for them, the little girl was (surprisingly) a bit of a heavy sleeper; don't know where that came from.

/

Hospital

Later in the day

Yeah, he totally took her, and made her scream his name to high heaven.

Well, not really, because he had been playfully teasing the entire time anyway - though he'd learned that when it came to surprise 'attacks' like that, the bigger the pleasure (or maybe just chance of being exposed), the less she was pleased about it. Still, she hadn't been so mad that she'd completely forgone her usual affection later that morning, so that was something.

Beside him, Yui looked around the lobby, wrapped around his arm. "This place looks so big from the outside" she breathed. "But it seems smaller in here."

"Well, that's just because there's a lot of rooms and walls; they don't use all the space right here in this one" he said gently, bringing up the paperwork to the lobbyist. A short read-over later - and slight shock - then they quickly got things moving, at least compared to the usual. "Yeah, that's right; the Yuuki family has some influence" he thought, glad they were cutting through some of the red tape stuff.

Still beside him, Yui hummed at that, but kept looking around. "Why is everything mostly white?" she asked, looking up at him. "Much as I like that color" she added quickly.

"Well, they think it's one of the more soothing colors, Yui" he said, after a moment of thought while waiting. "And since this is where people come when they get hurt, that's what they're going for."

She made a sound, even as he led her forward. "So this is a sad place" she said, leaning closer against him, as if scared.

He instinctively picked her up ('Uh!'), sweeping her into a hug in his arms. "Hey, everyone here is skilled at healing" he said gently, "They work hard to save people who are injured. Yes, sometimes they can't help... but the number of people who recovered owe them their lives. So it's also a happy place too, okay?"

She slowly smiled, nodding, arms around his neck. "Okay, daddy" she breathed, leaning against his head, making him smile.

"Uh, excuse me-"

He looked over from his hug, as did Yui; a blonde woman had come to lead them.

"-this way, please."

"Sure" he breathed, gently putting Yui down but taking her hand, which she held onto with a little smile as they walked. It was mostly uneventful, except when he noticed the woman looking at him oddly:

"What?" he asked.

"Is she yours?"

A small glance at Yui, getting an idea, "Yeah, why?"

"Well it's just that, according to your records, you're only twenty-two, and she looks about eight or more. Forgive me, but... that adds up disturbingly" the nurse said, with an expression fairly matched to this.

"Well don't worry" he said cheerfully. "It isn't like that at all."

This had only confused her, but she couldn't get the full story, as they had arrived at the room - so, nonplussed, she allowed them in and left. And while they went through the standard waiting period, he had Yui sit on the 'bed-chair-whatever-it-was' thing, while he sat in the normal chair... and teased Yui by poking the very front of her shoes, where her toes were, to her little squeak (and pout, which he enjoyed).

A short while later, he met the doctor (name of Yuwell, or it sounded like it), and who struck him as a straightforward man.

And he was, getting straight to the point, holding up his clipboard. "So as I understand it, you and your wife have adopted Yui?"

"Yes, sir."

"And yet you have no paperwork."

"Nope" he said mildly, even blithely. "We didn't adopt her from the real world, sir."

"Are you trying to be funny?"

"Not at all, but Shouzou Yuuki is willing to pay you and your entire staff a lot to let that go" he said, with a little smirk as he offered the check. "All you need do is to give Yui a full exam, establish birth records, current records, and other such standard procedures for our needs. Are you in?"

Beside him, Yui listened with curious confusion even as the doctor tried to figure out if he was joking or not, looking between the both of them. After that, the doctor finally determined that he wasn't joking, and slowly took the check... then shock ran all throughout that straightforward manner: "Uh... I, uh- you can't be-"

"I am serious, doc" he said easily, standing beside him. "That check's yours to do with as you please for this place; all you gotta do is establish her (he gestured at Yui) records from scratch, no questions asked. Okay?"

It took him a little, but he straightened and held his clipboard up quickly, in an attempt to maintain his dignity. "Uh... full name, miss Yui?"

"Oh" she breathed, a little surprised, before she slowly leaned forward a bit. "Well... Mental Health Counseling Program 001, Codename: Yui" she breathed, a little nervous.

He expected the doc's general 'what-the-?' reaction, so he leaned in a bit. "Just go with it" he said soothingly. "I'd put it down as MHCP001:Yui if I were you - but her new full name is Yui Kirigaya, no middle name."

The doc took a little for that to register, but he quickly did so, to get it over with if nothing else. And while the doctor did that, he looked at Yui, finding her look extremely happy - and the way her eyes sparkled reminded him of Asuna. He smiled back, putting a hand on her shoulder, which she unconsciously touched with her own.

"Okay... blood type?"

"Uh-" he jolted, brought up short; Yui was just curiously confused. Maybe she knew what blood was, but likely didn't know about the different kinds, least at the small levels.

Behind him, the doctor just sighed- then told them to wait here, muttering something under his breath as he went out the door. He heard the the gist of it: that he'd likely have to get the whole arsenal of tools/equipment ready, rather than just a simple needle. Then the image of a needle being stuck in Yui's arm got into his brain.

Oh boy, he didn't think Yui had ever felt (physical) pain before...

/

Hours later

It took some doing, but she finally got the furniture in place. Panting heavily, she wiped her forehead of sweat, slowly looking around Yui's room.

Her bed was wooden-framed, yet the mattress was very soft, white with gray trimmings - it was a bit big for her, but it was large enough to suit her even when she started to grow later. A single window with curtains shone on the room, just above her bed lined against that wall, and helped illustrate the walls. Maybe they weren't wallpapered yet (it'd only been a day), but it looked great nonetheless. She and Kazuto had also gotten her a drawer to store her clothes, sorted according to what, plus a hamper - now they just needed to fully get her into the habit of changing clothes every day.

She smiled, enjoying the hard work of the room. Maybe it was still unfinished, but Yui had absolutely loved it anyway; she could still hear her squee from yesterday night. And shortly after that:

"Do we sleep the same time every night?"

"Yeah" she'd breathed, stroking her daughter's hair. "Exactly what time we go to bed varies by person, but it's important that we be consistent about it, or we mess up our body rhythms."

Yui smiled a little, slowly nodding, leaning against her. "I love you, mommy" she breathed softly, before moving slightly to look through the crook of her arm. "And you too, daddy."

Even not seeing it, she could practically hear Kazuto nod/smile from where he stood, by the bed and her but just out of reach. It'd be his turn to say goodnight tomorrow night, as they said to her.

"We love you too, Yui" she whispered lovingly, kissing her daughter on the forehead, before she gently detached them. "Goodnight" she breathed, gently helping her tuck in, her fingers lingering on her hair.

"Sweet dreams" Kazuto added gently.

Yui smiled more at their words, eyes shining, and her smile stayed as her eyes slowly closed, snuggling into the covers.

The memory made her feel warm, as did just being with Yui; she was adorable.

"It's really happening, finally" she thought happily, her hands coming together. "And maybe in a year or so, Yui will have a little sibling after awhile. I think she'll like that, just as we would..."

Knock knock

Jolted out of her thoughts, she cast one last glance at the room before she hurried down to the door, which she opened and then stopped in surprise.

"Hey" Klein greeted with his usual grin, hand raised.

"What are you doing here, Klein?" she asked, but friendly. "Last we saw you, you ran off yelling something about a party."

He chuckled, hand behind his head. "Sorry about that, but I was kinda caught off-guard" he admitted. "I didn't expect to see Yui out in the real world, much as I think it's great she's here. How old is she supposed to be though?"

"Well, her body says she's ten, but it's been five years since her body was first... grown. I don't understand all the details-" she said, a little off-put at that, "-but she'll look and stay ten until she's 'actually' ten, then things will work like normal from there."

"Wow" Klein breathed, impressed. "That's some fancy work your father did with her."

"You know about that?"

"Well, I may wormed a few details out of Kazuto last night, via begging by text" he said playfully, making her cross her arms. "But relax, it's all good! I'm glad she's here, like I said! So is everyone else; that's why we're preparing a party."

"What kind of party?"

"That's a surprise" he continued cheekily (to her grunt), before counting off on his fingers. "But really, basically everyone important we know is going to be there. Myself, Agil, Silica, Liz, Yulier, Thinker-"

"Five years, and you still haven't once tried to call them by their real names, much as I understand why" she noted faintly, sighing. "They're all going to be there?" she interrupted, surprised. "They just dropped everything?"

"Well, nothing really important, but yeah" he noted, with a little chuckle, before pulling out his phone (with the picture he'd taken yesterday of them). "The moment they saw Yui, and proved that this photo was taken in real life, they went ballistic. They insisted that we do something about it, and so here I am."

Blinking, she looked at him. "Doing what?" she asked carefully.

"Well, basically I'm the bringer-guy" he noted. "What I'm supposed to do is wait for Yui to come back with Kazuto from the hospital, then take all three of you to the party."

"Wait, how did you know that?" she asked, suspicious. "Are you spying on us?"

"Not just me; all of us" he noted slyly, glancing around the area. "I'm not saying where - it'll ruin the surprise - but I will wait, as is my boring job."

Annoyed, she promptly dragged him by the ear. "Well you're not going to wait outside on the grass!"

"Hey! Ow! Come on, the spying's only for today! I swear! AH!"

A few more hours later

"That was a lot of tests they did."

He glanced at her briefly from the driver's seat, where Yui was subconsciously holding a hand to her arm, from which they'd taken a sample of her blood.

He remembered that; she'd been a little confused about the sharp tip, but otherwise hadn't really thought it a problem. Remembering that she had been an Immortal Object for her entire virtual existence, he'd gently taken her hand + put his other hand on her shoulder, to help her first experience with real life pain. Yui had smiled at that, but quickly cried out in shock, trembling at the needle in her arm. He was really sorry that a needle had to be her first experience with pain; those weren't the best gateways to the sensation. But then again, what was?

Still, just one of many tests they did; there had also been an X-ray, and had a lot of explaining to do about the metal parts in her body (which held all her data)...

He still smiled, touching Yui's arm, getting her attention. "You okay?"

Her smile was small, but she still nodded, the hand over her needle-wound moving slightly. "Yes, daddy" she breathed softly. "I'm okay, I'm just... worried. I can be hurt now, or even worse."

"As can we all" he said, faint, but still gentle.

"And I don't like pain."

"Pretty much no one does" he agreed, before smiling a bit. "However, there is a bright side. It's another clue that this is all real; that you're here now, with Asuna and me. And we'll always protect you."

The little girl's eyes filled with tears, but happy, and she nuzzled herself against his free hand. "Daddy" she breathed softly, happy - using his fingers, he gently wiped her tears, but knew they were happy ones regardless.

/

A little after that, he'd pulled up into their driveway, stopping just outside the garage. He normally would have pulled inside as before, but Asuna's text had told him something was going on near the lake, so he was curious first. And he could always move the car later - so he turned it off and got out, Yui following after a moment. However, when he stepped away from the house (looking out at the lake), she slowly stepped to his side with a curious expression.

Somehow, he saw that even without looking, and smiled a bit. "Your mommy sent us a little message over my phone" he said mildly. "That something's going on at the lake, and we should be there. She wouldn't say more."

"A surprise?" she breathed, holding onto his arm.

He nodded, before gently leading her on - the walk was a short one, and despite looking around, he saw nothing. But then again, near the lake was a pretty big drop in land height on one side; they could easily put something below that rise, and they wouldn't see it until they got the very top and looked down. So after making sure he didn't see anything around the lake in plain sight, he smirked a bit and led Yui toward that 'cliff', though he did give her time to enjoy the lake's beauty, and the various small details she saw in the shallow areas. Let her enjoy the real world, certainly.

Then he almost got to the top, saw the arrangement and quickly ducked down, while Yui didn't entirely notice because she was still looking to the side (at the little minnows in the shallow areas). A second later though, she noticed that he'd stopped. "Hmm?"

He smiled, holding her closer. "Just be ready" he said easily - then he led her forward.

"SURPRISE!"

Yui practically jumped in the air, but not with fear; just at the sudden explosion of noise and party favors. She clung to his arm even tighter for a moment, before staring out at the scene before them.

Hung between two trees was this giant sash thing, reading 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YUI' across it in silver letters - it was momentarily hard to read thanks to all the confetti, but that soon faded. Just below the so-called cliff, everyone had set up tables back-to-back, with a really big chocolate birthday cake set with five candles. That was just the centerpiece though, surrounded by a number of (mostly) hastily-wrapped gifts, along with table settings. Gathered around the table on both sides, in little groups of their own, was every one of their friends. And he did mean basically every one of them:

Yeah, there was Asuna (who'd been home the entire time), Suguha, Silica, Lisbeth, Agil, Klein, Sinon, Recon, Yulier + Thinker, along with Sakuya, Alicia, and even Eugene. Quite a gathering of friends, most of them having kept connected, even outside of ALO and GGO - maybe not regularly so for a few of them, but enough that they were still in the know-how.

"Finally, our guest of honor is here!" came from Klein, to Asuna's little friendly-embarrassed sweat-drop.

Beside him, Yui still clung close to his arm, but she began to recognize many of them - despite or because of the similar looks, even from their virtual avatars. "Daddy?" she breathed, almost like she couldn't believe it. "This is all for me?"

"They insisted" he merely said, smiling as he comforted her. "And you deserve it."

Yui blushed a little at that, but her smile and her happy tears said it all.

A little shorter than the first two, but hopefully still works :) Now just one more to go

Also, I'm sorry if there was any longer-than-usual delay - as I worked on the next bit, I guess I kinda slipped on realizing that I hadn't updated with this one yet XD My bad