I do not own or have any affiliations with Sword Art Online. I apologize for any spelling errors, grammatical errors or missing words that were made into the text.

Chapter 26: Regathering

Saturday, August 31st, 2030 - Early evening

The reunion had finally came along.

The engaged couple and the married with their growing child were the first of the social gathering members to make it to the cafe without being caught in the hectic city traffic.

"Happy early birthday, Asu-sama." Yumeko wished flattering the beautiful, exquisite female.

What? Did she just her a full thirty days before? How could she? Gotta think of something quick. "You know it's too bad you have to go back to school on Monday, Yumemi." Kazuto playfully stuck out his tongue.

Rinko poked his forehead until he stopped.

"Sorry, onee-sensei." He groaned.

"Thank you, Mama." The kindergartener chimed.

The mother kissed her hair and face.

"Mama...please...not here." Yumeko shyed away.

The woman chuckled. "You don't like it?"

"There's a time and place for everything." Yumeko muttered.

Rinko tousled the child's hair.

"This wasn't an easy job to do." Yumeko complained hoping her side swept braid not to loosen.

Rinko sighed and gave up.

Sometime later Suguha came long. She didn't wear the bob-cut hairstyle anymore, and now replaced it with shoulder length hair with blunt bangs. The well endowed female looked a little taller, despite wearing a pair of black ankle strap pointed flats, which was matching her short ocean blue dress and simple black cardigan. The present young adult was currently working on becoming an instructor since earning her kendo scholarship during her high school senior year and also in her third year working towards a degree in business economics. This gave Yumeko the idea of nicknaming the female "Sensei-sama." Learning that the youngster was going to begin training in aikido in the near future, Suguha mentioned the possibility of them 'sparring' together in the future.

"Hi everybody." Rika waved from the doorway. At first glance, they almost couldn't recognize the first year graduate school student. She was divinely dressed in a mainly black sweater vest with pink and grey diamonds, over a long sleeved lilac dress shirt with tight dark blue jeans and dark brown buckled high top sneakers. Over her dark pink eyes, a cyan coloured wide squared glasses framed her round, innocent freckled face and straight bra strap brunette hair . The dark blue eyed young man next to her was in a plain navy blue sweater vest over a simple light blue tie and white shirt with black slim trousers and matching black dress shoes. His dark brunette hair was gelled giving it a slicked back look. The handsome stranger bowed in front of the group and introduced himself as Inoue Mikado.

Yumeko rushed to be near the young woman's side. "Hi, Riri-sama." She hugged her legs.

Rika smiled and herself down to her knees. pressing Yumeko's cheeks before the woman held her close to her wonderful chest. "Hi, Himeko-chan."

"Nice to meet you. What's your sweet name?" Midako smiled and stretched his hand out to the token mini-moe.

Yumeko clinged to the female engineering student like a sloth holding onto a tree branch, glaring like a jungle cat at the man she had just encountered.

Mikado took his hand back. "So you're in third year kindergarten? That sounds like fun." He laughed nervously.

"It's as fun as it get." Yumeko nodded and did not make eye contact with him, as the kind of pressure she is putting herself through began to slowly pile up. "So you're the one dating my aunt?" She narrowed her mine shaft grey eyes at him.

The man gave a coy smile and nodded at the given question.

"Do you treat her right?" Yumeko asked in a hostile tone.

Mikado strached his head. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

She glared at him. "I mean with genuine affection, warmth and respect. The things that matter."

Everyone's eyes widen witnessing.

He patted her head. "Your very sharp for your age." He looks at his girlfriend. "It would have been nice to know about this interrogation session, Rika." He winked. "Didn't you say you she was quiet?"

Rika simply shrugged her shoulders after giving him a dumbfounded expression.

"That's only the beginning." Yumeko took a folded piece of paper under from the tube sock. "There's more." She took out one from the another.

Rinko couldn't believe her eyes.

Klein couldn't be more proud.

Kazuto, Suguha, Asuna and Agil were simply enjoying the show.

"Wow...precoious and prepared." Mikado sounded a bit overwhelmed.

Rika spoke out, trying to break the ice. "So Himeko-chan, have you made any friends yet?" She stroked Yumeko's shoulders side to side, a motion she used during the child's infancy when the then secondary school girls would give her a joint massage.

The cozy, tranquilizing action made Yumeko close her eyes and answered the inevitable question in a hesitated manner. "No...I haven't..."

Mikado waved to get her attention. "Can I be your friend?"

Yumeko's voice sounded vitriolic once more. "That depends on your answers."

I was hoping that one would work... Mikado skittishly cringed.

"This happening for real?" Suguha whispered to her future sister-in-law.

"I never saw this side of her either." Asuna murmured in response.

"Good luck." Kazuto spoke in a sing-song tone.

"Don't be too hard on him." Agil simpered.

"You make me so proud." Klein squeezed his step-child.

"I'm so sorry about this." Rinko bowed awkwardly and self-consciously at the newcomer.

Mikado's forehead started to moisten.

He took a seat in the back table as Yumeko chose to sit in the middle of Rika's lap.

"What did you study?" Yumeko asked the first one.

"Civil engineering. I just graduated." The interviewee replied.

Yumeko tilted her head with an innocent face. "Civil? You mean the one with buildings?"

Mikado nodded. "It also deals with designing, constructing and repairing of buildings, dams, bridges, you name it. As a matter of fact, the blueprints for a new mall were just accepted by the developers."

That sounds really hard... Maybe I should go easy on him... No! I have to focus. If I act cute, then my aunts will think I don't care about them. "That's quite impressive." Yumeko added.

Yumeko took a sip of water. "Do you have a job?"

"For now I have an upaid internship at my dad's firm."

The girl looked hesitant. "I'll just write down unemployed to save your pride." She started tapping on her phone's screen.

"Himeko-chan, an internship is still employment." Rika kindly argued.

The girl turned her head around. "But he's working and not getting paid. That's worst then not having a job."

The male burnette chuckled. "Your a very smart kid. It's okay if you put down unpaid, to be honest, I'm actually proud of it."

Yumeko gave an confused expression. "You are? Don't you ever ask for money?"

Mikado smirked. "I don't really need to. My dad paid for all those years of private schooling and my university studies. It was really my own idea, he disliked at first, but he was convinced later, since I still live with them. He treats me like any other intern."

"How did you two meet?"

"Your aunt applied for an internship, and she asked me where the office was and I ended up taking her. Thankfully she got in, I could use all the help I can get since I'm only in the middle of my own."

"You haven't done anything weird with my aunt, right?"

"You can ask that when your older." Rika replied instead of him.

"Are you going to buy a huge engagement ring?"

Rika eyes widened. "Himeko-chan...thats a pretty big decision." She stammered over her words and blushed.

Yumeko turned to face her. "But didn't you say once that you always wanted a six carat ring?"

Mikado coughs on his alcholic drink.

"I was foolish way back then..." The engineering student face colour restored to its normal colour.

"It's only been six months." The girl turned her attention back to the boyfriend. "How do you plan to propose?"

Mikado blushed and chuckled. "Well... I plan to buy the best ring money can buy. Then on that night, I'll take us both on the top of a mountain, get down on one knee, and only if she accepts, a whole bunch of fireworks in the shape of a giant heart will go off in the background."

The man smiled and winked as his respective girlfriend is blushing furiously.

However the interviewer was looking skeptical. Someone watches a lot of romantic movies. Yumeko thought. "How many kids do you plan on having?" Her voice was deadpan.

Rika nervously patted the child's head. "W-well... P-people don't have a baby as soon as they're together, Himeko-chan... T-that's decided much later on... We've been dating for three and a half months now."

Yumeko kissed Rika's cheek and told her for the last question she needed to ask it privately. Getting off Rika's comfortable lap, and went to his side, the girl showed the final question written into her cell phone's note-taking application. The question asked that the latter would want to have a daughter of his own someday. Mikado took out his own phone and wrote that he would love that as he is the youngest of three brothers and his family most consits of males, but also wrote that it was his decision, and was sorry for that.

After slew of the questions, a tired Yumeko laid down in her seat.

"Those were some very good questions that you had for me." He praised her. Mikado turned to face the others. "Are you sure she's only five?" The intern asked in a whisper.

Kazuto snickered. "I know, right? Don't worry she's really a big blob of moe."

The bell chimed as the door opened. An optimistic, dazzling young lady wearing a light brunette chunky textured ponytail, rose pink bombshell halter dress clinging onto her medium, perky bust, with black classic faux leather pumps. The woman was in her third year of working towards her bachelor's degree in veterinarian medicine in university. "Sorry, I'm late. The train had to go under some random maintenance check that took forever." She clarified.

Yumeko scampered and started to cling to her bare smooth left leg.

"Wow, Himeko-chan. You're growing up fast." Keiko smiled warmly.

"Looks like my fifteen minutes are over." Rika playfully sighed.

"Join the club." Suguha laughed.

Klein came over to pick up his smallest girl. "It's great to see you again, kid." He lightly tapped her head.

"Keiko!" The women huddled around her like older sisters, and asked commonplace queries as such.

"How was your trip?" Rinko asked.

"Are you eating right?" Suguha requested.

"Did you meet someone?" Rika joined.

The young woman took a much needed step back. "One at a time." A luminescent blush grew on her face before sitting down with all the female members like the old times, after Mikado introduced himself and shook her hand.

"Talk about bad timing. You missed an awesome interrogation session." Kazuto gave her a little embrace.

"What do you mean, Kirito-san?" Keiko seemed baffled.

The others recounted the event.

"I missed all of that?! Stupid train." Keiko moaned and crossed her arms.

"Well, your missing less than Shino-san." Suguha sighed.

"I can do it again when you bring your boyfriend, Keke-sama. When are you going to?"

Rinko covered her eyes in slight embarrassment.

"Oh, don't worry, that'll be before you bring your boyfriend, sweetie. Do you when that will be?" Keiko winked and pecked her cheek.

"That's classified..." Yumeko's voice was quiet.

"We agreed at 25-30." Klein called out from the bar counter.

"Didn't we agree until she was a black belt?" Rinko raised an eyebrow at her husband.

"I still stand by what I said." He nodded while clutching onto his half-full glass.

"So while we are still on this subject, how many hearts did you break so far, Himeko-chan?" Suguha teased the girl.

Overhearing the conversation, the three males at the bar counter choked on their drinks and snacks. The man behind the counter nearly dropped the glass he was shining.

Yumeko's face give a pink tinge then swallows hard. "You mean altogether or before my vacation?" She executed a false smirk.

"So anyone special, in particular?" Asuna giggled.

"Well...a few said that they like my hair and name..." She said in effort to forward the lie.

It was that balloon boy, wasn't it?! We thought there was still time left! Kazuto bit his lips.

"Is that so? What was your response?" Rika teased.

Yumeko ran her fingers up and down her hair, trying to furthur the lie. "I said... If they like my name, then might like my phone number a little better." The child grinned.

The room's temperoray absence of sound was soon interjected by the women's squealing.

The men however, froze up and jaws dropped.

In a manga, Kazuto's and Mikado's eyes would have been briefly replaced with blank white eyes with slapdashly-scribbled circular black borders surrounding them. At the same time, Klein's could be depictated as a group of wavy dark blue lines radiating from upward his head and shoulders, identical to a battle aura.

"I think it's about time someone had the talk..." Agil spoke in a sing-song tone.

"You aren't helping!" Klein and Kazuto spatted.

"This kid's a freaking genius..." Mikado stuttered.

Yumeko looks at them. "It was a joke. I didn't give give anyone my number. Honest."

Klein took a breath of untroubled solace. "Don't scare me like that." He sat next to them, putting his step-child in between the couple.

"That's my girl." Rinko swayed her daughter back and forth in her warm arms. "I think that's enough excitement for one night." She pressed her lips on the small forehead.

"I don't wanna sleep now." Yumeko pouted.

Klein began to slowly circle his fingers against the palm of her hand. "I still know your weakness." His whispered softly and planted a kiss on her cheek.

The child was asleep and had Klein's arm wrapped around her.

"There's the moe." Kazuto nudged Mikado.

"She's really incredible." The male brunette commented.

"You don't know the half of it." Agil patted his back.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mikado sounded puzzled.

"You still haven't told him yet?" Asuna whispered to her best friend.

The same bell sound was heard when the door opened once more.

This time, a young female adult wearing a half-white half-grey handkerchief hem tunic, black skinny jeans with a pair of dark grey ankle boots. There were subtle curls at the end of short black hair. She no longer wore her oval-shaped, half-rimmed eye wear over on her pale coloured face. The woman was in her third year of university, studying for her bachelor's degree in criminal justice in order to help her desired goal of becoming a policewoman. "Hey guys." She said calmly and came inside.

"Sinonon!" Asuna couldn't hold on to her internal glee.

Kazuto face palmed himself.

The others shushed the strawberry blonde.

"Himeko-chan is sleeping." Suguha pointed.

"Good thing, I'm not in heels then." Shino tip-toed closer to almost full table. "It's hard to believe to that six months went by without seeing each other. That's way too long to be apart." Shino continued to whisper and stroked the child's hair.

Yumeko's eyes fluttered open and directed them to the recent comer. "Hello, Constable-sama."

"Good to see you again kiddo." Shino smiled coolly.

"Did we wake you?" Suguha asked.

"No, I was just dreaming a little." Yumeko snuggled into her mother.

"It's alright if you want to go back to sleep." Klein rubbed her lower back.

"Yeah, don't you remember? We're gonna kidnap you tomorrow." Keiko smiled.

"Oh, I forgot about that." Yumeko yawned. Why didn't my friend remind me earlier?

"I knew she was gonna be cute, but this is just ridiculous." Mikado began to fawn over her.

"You should have met her as a baby." Agil added while wiping the top of the wooden bar counter.

"Yeah, she didn't talk back then." Kazuto jested.

The others glared at him.

"I'm guessing you're the mean uncle." Mikado chuckled.

"He did a few things to her." Asuna pulled on her fiance's ear.

"Really? Like what?" The intern asked curiously.

"Like when the day she was discharged, he made her cry." The almost bride started to reminisce about the past memories.

"But is was her very first one." Suguha said in her cousin's defense.

"There was this one time he drew on her face with a black marker." Asuna continued adding pressure in her fingers.

"A-Asuna, you still have my ear!" The groom-to-be pleaded for her to release it.

"Actually, it was her first Halloween and she was dressed as a kitten. The costume was a lighter shade then her hair and eyes." Keiko contributed her insight.

"So what didn't Rika tell me about earlier?" Mikado asked.

"Uh...y-you see...Himeko-chan was..." His girlfriend spoke with great difficulty.

"She was born very early." Rinko finished the statement for her.

"I see." Mikado glanced at the sleeping girl. "Was she very ill?" He uncomfortably asked.

Rinko simply nodded. "She had PDA and ROP procedures done, apnea spells and blood transfusions. There's a scar on her left foot."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. It must have been very hard." Mikado commented.

"It's my fault. I should have told you before." Rika apologized.

"It's alright. Talking about it is easier since she knows about it now." Rinko smoothed out her daughter's open braid.

Kazuto's voice was heard from the back. "I only did those things to make her smile or laugh. It's not my fault she ended up crying."

"I don't think she found that old maze game funny." The giant bartender stated.

"Who's side are you on?" Kazuto called out.

"Which ever side is funnier." Agil grinned.

"Traitor." Kazuto hoarsely groaned.

The rest night went on pleasently as a day of fun was going to begin before the next high noon.

Big thanks those who helped me with the intervewing scene! Thank you for reading the chapter. Leave a review if you want. :)