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

Chapter 27: Meridianus

A day of fun was going to begin shortly.

"I know your upset but let's try to have lots of fun today. Alright, honey?" Rinko dapped some sunscreen on her daughter's arms and face.

"He promised." The girl muttered underneath her breath. Yumeko rarely smiled when the other adults weren't around.

Rinko sighed. "He promised to make it up for it. Just think what that's going to be like." She tried to cheer up her only child.

"Fine I will." Yumeko rolled her eyes.

"That's the spirit." The mother raised her thumb in approval.

They were both standing near the amusement park's entry way. The girl wasn't wearing her cherished bell ribbon to reduce the chance of getting it lost in such a wide public space, so her tied her hair with a regular red hairband.

"He could have gone tomorrow." She complained.

Her mother agreed and placed her hand on the girl's scrawny shoulder. "I know but they were short on staff. He had no choice."

"Onee-san, Himeko-chan, look over here!" A myriad of female voices called from some feet behind the mother/daughter duo.

"Sorry we're kind of late." Suguha apologized.

They all still look like models. Yumeko observed their outfits.

"Don't worry about that now. At least you made it." Rinko replied.

"We're gonna have some fun today. Right Yumeko-chan?" Mikado smiled at her.

The kindergartner only gave silent nod of the head in response. After the conducted interview, she didn't entirely reflect on her feelings towards him yet.

"It was nice Inoue-kun to ask if he could tag along with us. Isn't that right, Yuyu?" Rinko patted her head.

"It was." Yumeko lowered her head.

Rinko apologized to the group and explained that the child's being upset is due to her husband's sudden and urgent attendence at his workplace.

"It'll be fine Himeko-chan, you still have us don't you?" Keiko crouched down to the girl's eye level. The future vet pinched her face. "Your skin is still feels soft." She kissed them both.

Yumeko hugged in response.

"We should get in line now for the tickets and maps." Shino suggested.

The group huddled as they entered the giant fairground excitingly discussing what to go on first like a bunch of middle school children.

"Ferris wheel." Asuna suggested.

"Haunted house." Suguha said.

"Roller coaster." Keiko notioned.

"Teacups." Rika spoke.

"Bumper cars." Shino desired.

"Carosel." Mikado offered.

"What do you think Yuyu?" Rinko held Yumeko close to her leg.

"I was thinking the monorail."

"That's a good idea and wherever it stops we can all start from there." The scientist praised.

I hope it's near the haunted house. Suguha happily clasped her hand together. "Let's get started then." She cheered.

They were either looking out of a window or talking and listening to each other.

"Good thing you were here Yumeko-chan. We could have spent the whole day arguing about what to go on first." Mikado laughed.

"I don't approve of unnecessary violence and they can get pretty mad." Her deadpan voice reemerged.

"So you're going to begin your aikido training next year? That's sound like hard work, but you seem like a tough person. Are you still a little upset?"

She nodded.

"I know what that feels like, my parent's worked a lot, but my experience was a little different than yours since I grew up with brothers."

Yumeko crinkled her eyebrows.

That wasn't the right thing to say... Mikado bit his lips.

Rika came up with something to ease the tension and to help forward the present conversation. She gently rubbed the girl's small shoulders, bring back some nostalgic feelings from when she was an infant. "Autumn is coming really soon. The trees will look extra pretty when photosynthesis happens. Do you know what that is Himeko-chan?" The graduate student gave a smile in help give both of the recipient some comfort.

"It's when the leaves change colour, right?"

"That's right. Good job." Rika raised her thumb in approval.

"You're as sharp as whip." Mikado smiled.

A grinning Yumeko leans closer to the armrest and stretched her legs, yawning.

"Someone's sleepy for a tough girl." The woman patted her head.

"I didn't sleep very good last night. I was too excited." Yumeko leaned in to press her mouth on her cheek.

The brainy brunette put the child on her lap.

"If your tired, I could get that quilt from your mom." The observing male offered.

"No, thank you." Yumeko groaned and holding onto Rika who got up to give the kindergartner to her older sister figure.

That very moment had brought the respective group an irreplaceable feeling of recollection in the younger female's hearts and minds.

Suguha made a witty comment of how heavy their honorary niece may have gotten.

Maybe she'll feel a little better after. Rinko sighed and watched the pleasant amusing scenery from the windows.

The group had gotten off the Ferris wheel.

"Inoue-kun, are you sure your alright?" Rinko worried about the young man using was using his girlfriend as a medical crutch to help balance him.

"I'll be fine..." He slurred his words and took a seat on a nearby bench.

"Why didn't you tell us you were afraid of heights?" Rika held onto his weakish clammy hand.

"I thought I'd be okay." Mikado groaned. Why the hell did I do this? He tried to catch a grip on her hand.

"Your obviously not." Rika scolded.

"I'm just a little dizzy." His voice was moderately unsteady and rested his head on her shoulder.

Not exactly a picture of young romance.

Rika passes him a water bottle and combed his dark brown hair slowly with her fingers.

His breathing was slow and deep.

"It was a miracle that you made it through the whole ride. We're up there for a long time." Asuna commented remembering that she, Suguha and the couple were on the same cart as Keiko, Rinko, Shino and Yumeko shared another one.

"I'll stay here and the rest of you can go to haunted house." Rika rubbed her boyfriend's back.

"Are you sure?" Keiko asked.

Rika nodded. "I'm not much in the mood anyway."

"After that we'll be having lunch." Shino informed.

"Well meet you there." Rika replied.

"I'll call later to tell you where we are." Asuna told her best friend and waved behind as the group moved on forward.

"Oh, you guys should have seen it. It was amazing." Keiko laughed. "Himeko-chan didn't get scared one bit." She patted the girl's hair.

"I don't know why I didn't." Yumeko said back.

"I'm not blaming you, but to be honest, getting scared is half the fun." The light brunette gave a friendly smile.

The girl understandably nodded.

Asuna was talking to her fiance who ended up going to work instead of spending the day with her and their friends, much to her dismay.

After going over the wedding details making the bride-to-be blush like no end. The women persuaded the kindergartner into eating more food, even from their own lunches.

When Yumeko asked the reason behind it, Suguha clarified that since she is going to start her aikido training early next year, her body should have little difficulty absorbing extra nutrients and get plenty of sleep so it wouldn't feel overworked or stressed.

Yumeko was reluctant deciding if she should eat her own full meal or just half of it. Her incorporeal friend advised via clairvoyance to only take a small spoonful from each person so her body could get used to the idea of a growing appetite and a faster metabolism as soon as her martial arts training begins in her near future.

"Are you feeling better, Inoue-kun?" Rinko asked him.

Mikado nodded. "Eating is helping a little, Koujiro-san."

Rinko smirked. "You can me onee-san like they do."

The male agreed to call her by the preferred title. "So Rika told me that you're a scientist. What do you study?"

"Electrical engineering."

"That sounds fascinating." Mikado sounded impressive.

She thanked him and turned her attention over to her daughter who was looking at an old photograph. Yumeko handed it over to her when the mother asked for it.

The women grinned fondly at the memory.

"What's that onee-san?" Shino looked curious.

Without saying a word, Rinko showed it to her. It was a picture of Yumeko an adjusted newborn in simple grey kitten costume with whiskers and a nose drawn on her face by a black marker.

"Oh I remember that." Keiko stared in awe.

"When was that?" Yumeko tilted her head.

"Your first Halloween." Rinko answered. "I was having trouble trying to come up with a costume for you so when I asked Keiko, Suguha, Asuna and Rika, they all wanted you to be dressed as a grey kitten."

"Why a grey one?"

"It was because of your hair and eye colour, but costume was much lighter." Asuna explained.

"And..." Rinko said as if she was inviting the former female high schoolers to finish her statement.

"We knew you world make one of the most beautiful kittens in world history." They all chimed expect Shino.

"Why did ask Constable-sama?" The girl wondered.

Shino gave a relaxed smile. "I didn't met them yet, but it's a nice story."

"I'd like to hear that. What about, Yumeko-chan?" Mikado gave her a warm grin.

The girl nodded slightly up and down.

Rinko took a sip of water and cleared her throat before narrating.

*Flashback starts*

Friday, October 31st, 2025 | 6:00 PM

"Oh, you look so sweet." Rinko hovered over the bassinet. "The others won't be able to keep their eyes off of you." She rocked the cradle gently and and traced the shape of a heart on her daughter's face.

At that time, Yumeko's actual age was 5 months and 29 days, while her adjusted age was only 2 months and 23 days.

Rinko fixed her posture from a bending to a standing position and straighten out her French maid costume.

"It's no wonder I'm broke. You both are costing me fortunes." Klein wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Didn't you say money isn't an object when it comes to her?" She gives him a seductive wink.

"That was before I literally turned into my costume."

"I don't think wearing cardboard sign that says broke guy would count as a costume, I guess that's what you get for having two girls in your life."

"Correction. My two incredible girls." He leans in forward and presses her lips onto hers.

Unknown to them, the unlocked front door was widened all the way without a screech, showing three familiar people standing in the open doorway. Fuko was dressed as a fair maiden, Namie was a witch and Takato was dressed up a vampire.

"Looks like the party already got started." The 13-year-old blonde male witnessed the adults locking lips.

Fuko covered his eyes while Namie covered his mouth.

Rinko opened her eyes and stopped, looking at her best friends and honorary nephew. She stood behind her boyfriend while her face was bright red in colour. "Y-you guys are here early..." She hid behind his shoulder.

"You sounded exhausted on the phone this morning, so we'd thought it would be for the best if we came early to help out." The blue haired doctor explained.

"You guys are the best. I love you." Rinko hugged the other female adults.

They sat down on the couch.

"How were your days?" The French maid cosplayer asked.

Fuko sighed. "Brutal. I had to turn down five proposals and they were all from the senior citizens ward." She rolled her eyes and laid back in her seat.

"You think that's rough? The elevator near my office broke down, so I had to take the one all the way in the next wing, just to grab coffee in three inch heels. After that it got busy, so I had to climb down the stairs to get to my car." Namie took a slightly frustrated breathe.

"Though our stories are a little weak compared to having a colicky baby screaming for hours." Fuko sympathized with the adjusting mother.

"How long has she been sleeping for?" The obstetrician asked.

"Almost two hours." Rinko yawned and wheeled the bassinet in front of the striking women, followed by the middle schooler.

"Her costume was the kids' ideas, wasn't it?" Namie stroked the false fur coating.

"I went in ALO a couple of weeks ago to celebrate one of their birthdays. When I brought up that I had no idea for the baby's costume yet, the girls suddenly said that she should be a kitten, because she is just as sweet and beautiful as one." Rinko explained.

"They're right about that." The nurse smoothed her slender fingertips over the pudgy face.

"She's been gaining a good amount of weight." The doctor noticed.

"She really is an easy baby, but the colic tells a whole different story." Rinko began preparing a milk bottle.

A high pitched wail came from the living room. "Sometimes I think its because just to catch up with all the days she couldn't cry." The mother sat back down.

When Namie gave her daughter back to her, Takato asked if he could feed his honorary cousin instead, just to give the scientist a little break, which the latter gladly accepted.

"How long does she go on for?" Namie asked.

"Well, before when it was mild, it last 4-6 hours, but since it got worse its been 6-9 hours." Rinko sniveled. "It's been so hard for her, and she hardly calms down." She sniffled.

"Oh, Koko." The doctor friend gave her a one-sided hug.

Fuko placed a pacifier into the mother's mouth and the nurse rested her head on her shoulder. "There's always darkness before the dawn."

Rinko out the item out of her mouth. "I know I'm up for both." She wiped her eyes.

The only males in the apartment glanced at each other confused.

"Kid's got a good appetite." Takato commented watching Klein burp her.

"I know its hard she'll grow out of it as soon as she's three months adjusted." Namie comforted the strained woman.

"She's right, think of this as the last Friday you'll ever have to deal with it." Fuko rubbed her hand on her shoulder a bit.

Rinko took a deep slow inhale and exhale as mind was trying to absorb the words of advice.

"Did you take her for her check up?" The blue haired doctor asked.

Rinko nodded. "She's doing alright."

Klein laid Yumeko's cheek onto his own, lightly shushing and swaying to calm the whining originating from the costume wearing infant.

"Hm, and to think had no idea to how to swaddle a sack of baking flour three months ago." The youthful nurse chuckled.

"It wouldn't have taking so long if you'd stop hitting me with that magazine roll." Klein muttered.

Namie and Rinko narrowed her eyes at her.

"What? It was an old issue. I had to do something being throwing it away."

Rinko thumped her index finger on the green haired single mother's head and turned back to the doctor. "The best part was how long she slept for during the drive back. I actually got a chance to cook and clean." The mother happily sighed.

"She was really good at the park last week when you took us out." Takato repeatedly kissed Yumeko's cheek and put her back in the bassinet.

"I hope there weren't any girls at this park." Fuko placed her hands on her waist.

"They...pushed me out of the way to get a better view." Takato slugged his shoulders.

"Aw, it's okay. I think you're still pretty cute." Klein patted his back and pulled on his face.

There was a knock on the door.

A tall man wearing the attire of a medieval knight and said the traditional holiday greeting before take first step inside.

"Today must have been quite an experience." Klein smirked.

"I made sure my ring was showing so I wouldn't get any proposals." Agil chuckled. "How's the kid doing?" The cafe owner asked.

"She's alright, the colic should be gone by next week." Klein replied.

Agil leisurely sauntered went up to the pink cradle. "Aren't you looking nice tonight, Fuzzball?" He smoothed his hand from her head to forehead.

He kindly took off the paw mittens on her hands and stroked the back of them with his index finger and applied pressure to the palms with his thumbs.

Yumeko seized both the thumbs in a firm grip with her miniature hands and squealed in delight.

Agil raised an eyebrow. "Strong grip, you're pretty tough, Fuzzball." The baby's primitive reflex made the adult male titter.

He nicely put back the mittens on her hands and removes her kitten hat with a gentle ease, exposing the mine shaft grey hair that was hidden underneath it.

With casual parental consent, the man lightly bounced the adjusted 11-week-old on his knee while giving great support and benevolence towards her head and neck muscles.

Yumeko makes soft noises in his right ear and drools as her head was cautiously laid on his shoulder and wipes it off with a soft tissue, commenting how it isn't the first time he had to do something like that. Then slowly brushes the back of her head with his thumb, nicely enjoying the of caressing the young one's soft hair. After that, he decided to give the tot a big-hearted hug and a soft-hearted kiss on her cheek and forehead, giving an inevitable, fuzzy warmth inside.

Yumeko was laying on her stomach with an ivory coloured cotton thermal blanket with light blue, ruffled sating trimmings.

Takato was paying solicitous yet affectionate attention over the right side of the small body.

The middle-schooler waved the bell rattle close to her ear.

A few minutes later, he laid on his own stomach on the left side, wrapping his arm around her back. Realizing that his blonde, fringed hair was blocking most of his sight, the 13-year-old chose to get off his stomach and lay on his side instead. Takato presses his puckered on his hand gently placed it right under the tot's visible eye. He cautiously moves closer repeating the previous action, but placed his hand on her left arm and a third, final time only he glided it over her head.

Then, he moved up front of her face, to kiss and caress both of her curled up hands in a graceful motion. His brown eyes cast a thoughtful, tender affection while looking into hers. Takato carefully cupped both his hand on her chubby face and rubbed his nose across her forehead and against her own.

"Your the best cousin in the whole world, Yuriko." The middle-schooler whispered in a hush tone as he laid the child on her back.

When the boy sat up to take a deep breathe and relieve some numbness he felt a small and rather tight hat being put on his head and a pair of loving arms wrapping around his torso and a peck on his face.

"Your the best son in the world." Fuko's words were wrapped in a glimmer of parental pride and maternal devotion.

"And lets not forget your also a great nephew." Namie patted his back.

The infant began to squeal delightfully, as if she was focusing on something she recognized.

The green haired nurse and blue haired doctor briefly exchange glances with each other and turn their smiling faces to the uncostumed figure.

"Don't worry, we didn't forget about you honey." Fuko slid her fingers down Yumeko's legs.

"Of course not, your even better than he'll ever be." Namie blew a raspberry on the plump face.

They had gotten up and left her laying her back on top of the blanket half-folded on the floor to give her some alone time to prevent over simulation as Yumeko appeared to be in a blissful resting process.

Some minutes after, shrill whining completely altered the tranquil, soft, cozy pleasantness, that had enveloped the entire living accommodation.

The domestic couple nearly jumped out of their seats with concerned looks on their faces, but were reassured by Namie that things are fine and they should relax.

Without any hurry, Fuko sat on her knees and in a motherly fashion began to stoke Yumeko's dark coloured hair for a few seconds as the she placed her pinky finger on for the infant to suck on, before swaddling her in the off-white coloured blanket with the ruffled blue trim, which was used during her stomach exercise and to sleep on. The woman stood up rocking the silent bundle settled in her arms.

With the doctor's assistance, Yumeko was re-costumed in the dark grey costume.

They both giggled while they covered the hair with the dark grey crocheted cat ear hat and covered her hands and feet with artificial paws.

The high schoolers came along an hour later.

Kazuto was dressed as a detective.

Suguha was a warrior.

Asuna's costume was a fairy princess.

Rika was a wizard.

Keiko was a dragon and also attached a pair of dragon wings on her cat, Pina. "Himeko-chan looks just as fuzzy as Pina." The cat lover adored.

"Himeko-chan gets even more gorgeous everytime we see her." Rika awed as her knuckle brushed her nominal niece's face.

The infant responded by letting out a smile and a moment of hearty laughter.

"She has such as wonderful smile." Asuna grinned.

"Her laugh is magical." Suguha praised.

"That must be a nice change compared to all of that crying, right onee-sensei?" Kazuto spoke to the mother.

"It sure is." Rinko shifted her one true love in her arms.

"So what you think, Yui-chan?" Asuna asked the AI being displayed on her cellphone screen.

"My baby looks so cute." Yui chimed.

Her in-game parents couldn't recall when or why the virtual life form started addressing their niece as such, but were happy about Yui enjoying all of the pictures that Kazuto had uploaded into his online gaming account for her.

"Pina like her too." Keiko giggled as her beloved pet on her shoulder.

"How much does she weight now, onee-san?" Asuna asked.

"I'd say about 9-10 pounds at most." The scientist clarified.

"Oh, what I relief she's catching up." Asuna added.

"Hard to believe we don't need to treat her like a newborn after next week. She's growing up fast with her adjusted age." Rika waved her hand some inches from Yumeko's face.

"It's going to be a lot of hard work for her." Keiko held on to Yumeko's paw with her thumb and forefinger, giving it a little shake.

"What do you mean?" Kazuto sounded wondrous.

His girlfriend rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You really can't be this clueless Kirito-kun." She criticized. "Her next set of milestones are going to be very different now, and she needs to much more support."

"She'll look so adorable walking and talking." Suguha fawned aloud.

"But before that has to learn to roll over and crawl." Rika patted her junior's shoulder.

A whimper came from Yumeko's mouth as the tot was resting on her mother's shoulder.

"She's already sounds stressed." Rinko circled her little loved one's back.

When the it turned into wailing, the scientist's finger carefully wiped off the tears off, laying her in the cradle with the pacifier in her mouth.

The group observed the act in quiet awe.

"That was incredible, onee-san." Rika complimented.

"It's just instinct." Rinko ruffled her dark brunette hair.

"She fell asleep in an instant." Keiko's voice was soft.

"That's like something Papa would do." Yui giggled through Asuna's cell phone speaker.

Her statement made Kazuto sightly blush.

The party went on as any other would have.

Taking advantage of the time granted, Kazuto took off the cap of a non-toxic water based black marker he bought while out shopping with his younger cousin who had no idea of this secret purchase. It would be great if Yumemi-chan stayed asleep during this. The high schooler drew on and coloured a little up-side down triangle on her nose and a set of three whiskers on both sides of her face. I was right it does make her costume better.

After taking a snapshot with his cell phone camera he turned around only to see his sisterly mentor who was raising an eyebrow at him.

"How are you enjoying yourself this evening, Kirigaya-kun?" The woman in the alluring French maid outfit questioned.

"I'm doing fine, onee-sensei. Why do you ask?" He cringed slightly.

Rinko placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you standing here instead of with your friends, and what are you holding behind your back?"

As there was no point in hiding it any longer, Kazuto sighed and showed the marker and picture.

The mother made the connections and pushed him aside. She looks inside the cradle and her body starts shaking.

"Onee-sensei, are you...okay?" The pseudo-detective asked hoping she wasn't angry.

Rinko's body went back to normal and turn to face him. Her eyes looked teary and her mouth of covered by her hand regaining her usual demeanor.

Thank goodness she was only laughing. Kazuto exhaled in relief.

"What happened onee-san? Your face looks a little red." Rika spoke up as the group of girl came closer.

"Look at her." Their nominal elder sister whispered.

A light collective gasp originated from the female bunch who then glared sharply at the boy in the detective's uniform.

Asuna pulled on his left right ear while Suguha commented that she'll never leave him while they shop together again.

Rinko put on a pair of black cat ears and paws. It was the same pair Kazuto had once wore in the hospital as the punishment for failing to complete all of his homework.

The scientist then took upon the honor of drawing the nose and whiskers on his effeminate face. "Don't you look just adorable." She murmured.

"You don't have to say it like that..." Kazuto mumbled under his breathe.

Klein was standing next to the bassinet with a damp cloth and wiped of the ink from Yumeko's face.

The fussiness was quieted down while she recieved a relaxing back massage.

Yumeko purred as she nuzzled on his chest putting back into a period of slumber.

*Flashback ends*

"That was quite charming." Mikado held the picture. "I feel a little better."

"Would you like to see some more?" Rinko held a small stack in the hands.

"No." It came from an oddly stern sounding voice of her daughter sitting next to her.

The rest excluding the couple, were sitting the car next to them.

"What was that?" Rinko questioned in disbelief.

"I said no." Yumeko gruffed and tried to yank on the pictures.

Rinko resisted, giving additional pressure to her fingertips so they wouldn't potentially fall out of the open car windows and doors.

Yumeko pulled harder, the pictures slipped out of her hands.

The couple hurriedly collected them with others and fortunately there was no wind to blow them away.

In the heat of moment, Rinko's hand lifted and slowly collided with Yumeko's cheek, leaving a red mark.

The girl sniveled, taking off her red squared glasses and wiped her forming tears.

Rinko covered her mouth. "Yuyu...I...I-" She couldn't former a proper sentence.

A bulky drop was heard when as the girl bolted out of the car, in an unstoppable motion.

Rinko's eyes peered down to the car mat and widened when she noticed a slim electronic gadget with black blank screen. She picked it up and smoothed her slender fingers across the light blue covering. Panic struck her heart like lightning hitting a tree, her hands went numb and the object fell onto her lap. A streaming tear followed.

The device was her daughter's cell phone.

Where exactly am I? Yumeko looked around the amusement park. The last thing she recalled was the slap and randomly stopped in a standing position. At least my friend is with me like always...

Her so-called friend told her that what she had done was wrong and she should apologize to her mother, as she loves her more than anything else in the world.

Yumeko agreed rubbing her fingers on the heart shaped pendant, concentrating hard on it, she could already hear the recorded words without pressing the centered emerald button.

An unknown amount of time passed.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand smoothly brushed the top of her tied-up hair and heard a familiar voice.

"I'm sorry I don't have a balloon this time." That mysterious boy voiced.

Recognizing the it was indeed the same one she heard at the mall that day, Yumeko immediately turned around to see what the boy looked like and to thank him for the gesture, but much to her disappointment, missed the opportunity, left to wonder why he did what he did that day.

In the same moment, Yumeko was wrapped around a pair of warm arms and one-of-a-kind scent.

The kindergartner atoned for her discourtesy.

Rinko apologized by saying she shouldn't have struck her 'deluxe daughter' and also should be temporarily demoted from her deluxe parent status. The girl disagreed.

Rinko called off the search and notified them they were located.

After going on the bumper cars that Shino requested and the roller coaster that Keiko wanted to go on, the group decided to take a walk.

Mikado and Rika were holding hands with their fingers intertwined.

Rika stopped, looking excited about something.

When her boyfriend asked what happened, she pointed to a nearby game booth with plush toys hanging.

One of them was a four legged fox-like creature covered in primarily in pale cream-coloured fur with pinkish feet, ears and tail. There was a pinkish bow with blue tips on the left ear and the same around its neck, which was adorned with a couple of feelers.

"I like that one." Yumeko pointed at another plushie.

It was a four legged tiger-wolf like creature with an orange pelt marked by asymmetrical, black stripes alongside diamond-shaped ears with beige insides, black eyes and nose and two fangs extending from its upper jaw. The head, muzzle and chest were covered in beige shabby fur clusters. The paws had three toes and a pinkish pad and the oversized beige tail was bent in the middle.

"Do you want any help getting it?" Mikado crouched down next to her.

Yumeko declined. "I want to win it all by myself." She puffed her chest with pride.

"Are you sure about that Himeko-chan? These games can get difficult." Shino laid her hand on the scrawny shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with getting help from others." Rika patted her head.

"I want to get it myself." Yumeko said calmly after her friend told her that was impolite to sound boastful and should remain humble.

"Alright, but if you need back-up we're here." Suguha encouraged.

The toys were on display at a game booth where the player must knock over a trio of milk bottles with balls.

Mikado went up to play first. The first throw knocked over one easily. The second one missed. When the time came to throw the final ball, it only knocked down one.

Rika tried to cheer him up by saying her could buy her preferred plushie online while they both sat on a bench nearby the booth.

Yumeko's turn came along. She threw the first ball with almost bionic strength and knocked two to the ground in a single shot. With the second try, the bottle swung back and forth until it fell on the ground.

When asked which prize she wanted, Yumeko pointed to the fantasy toy resembling a fox and handed it over to her titular aunt.

In return for the deed, Rika thanked her by giving a kiss and gentle squeeze.

"Thanks for making her happy, Yumeko-chan. You're a very thoughtful, kind and pretty little girl." Mikado patted her head.

Yumeko looked at her shoes and apologized for attitude towards him, saying that she isn't very good with people.

"So you can be friends after all." The engineering intern whispered in her ear.

"I don't believe in double relationships." She whispered back. I have to end up missing another person, right Friend? She telepathically communicated.

The group then went on to go to the carousel and the teacup ride.

As an act of gratitude towards the her action earlier, the couple went into a store and bought a smaller, puppy version of the tiger-wolf hybrid doll Yumeko gave up. It has bright orange fur with black stripes. Its abdomen, tail and fluff on top of its head were a creamy colour.

Rika passed it onto Rinko who was carrying the asleep child holding in her loving, devoted, arms as Yumeko snuggled against her shoulder.

The child had fallen asleep after getting a joint massage from the younger women in the car, reliving a a similar nostalgic feeling nearly like during her infancy. Expect this time she was told to fun at school and try to make friends of her very own.

Nevertheless, she concurred only for the sake of it.

Summer break ended and school was back in section apace with the inescapable morning sunrise.

So was her inexorable solitariness.

Thank you for reading this chapter! I didn't expect it to get THIS long [especially the flashback!]... Leave a review if you'd like!