Disclaimer: Don't own SAO (I or II), or any of the characters.

Rating: T

An otherwise disgusting symptom soon turns things into a heartwarming moment

June 30th, 2031

RL

"Hi-ya!"

*skip-skip-splash*

Yui made a sound; yet again. "I'm not sure I can do better than that daddy" she said, if gentle - "I mean, calculating the angle and the strength is easy, but each rock is different. It's hard to make an exact estimate."

Daddy chuckled, looking out at the lake, which they were standing on the shore of - for now, it was just the two of them, since Strea was apparently preparing in ALO and mommy was finishing something up. "Well, even with calculations like that, stone-skipping is mostly a matter of skill and luck" he said, a touch mild if sincere. "The skill, either you got it or you don't. And luck... there's no telling on that one."

"Exactly" she said brightly, to his little grin. "Still, I think it's pretty fun. Not a favorite activity, but even still."

"Oh? Well then, guess we can come out here a few more times."

At that, Yui tugged on his sleeve a bit, getting his attention. "Just don't make it the only thing we do, daddy" she said, more gentle. "I said it's fun, but I wouldn't mind if you also did some fishing, or we just talked together. You know, make it more varied."

Daddy bent down a bit, making him eye-level with her, and lightly touched her head with his hand- this time, he didn't ruffle it. "Well, I'm sure even if this is all we did sometimes, you'd still appreciate spending time with me" he said, more soft. "Or Asuna. Or even both of us."

She easily felt warmer, happy as she nodded. "Don't forget about Strea, daddy" she teased, if only a little.

He chuckled a bit, ruffling her hair once in response, to her sound- she always had to adjust it after he did that. "Of course" he answered, standing back up. "I'm sure she'd love a good talk out here. Though for today, she'll get plenty of that in ALO very soon."

"I definitely can't wait for that! I wonder what Strea will ask of us too."

"Well, it'll probably be fun. Maybe a bit weird, but also fun."

"Kazuto! Yui!" came from the house-

-they both looked over; mommy was in sight, waving a hand.

"I just finished up" she called over, likely smiling. "Think we can dive into ALO now?"

"We'll be right over" daddy called back, looking at her then. "Well, looks like I was right on the money."

"You sure were" Yui said easily, before: "Race ya back, daddy!"

"Oh it's on!"

...

Daddy so let her win; the fact that she won by two seconds despite his longer legs was proof of that.

When she pouted over this, he just smiled. "Well, if I won all the time, how would you feel proud of yourself?" he asked in his usual way, if sincere - she knew his logic was sound, because parents should do that, but still she wanted to see how fast she was by comparison.

"Oh daddy" Yui breathed, letting out a breath before smiling. "I don't need you or mommy pretending to lose so that I can feel proud of myself."

"Yeah, I know, but it's still a nice change, right?"

"Come on, Kazuto" mommy called over, already laid out in her own space, Amursphere over her head- she smiled. "The three of us still have to get into ALO."

Daddy nodded. "Yes, ma'am" he said easily, moving over there as well - Yui giggled a little, before taking her own Amursphere and carefully setting it on her head. Because mommy was waiting for daddy to lay down beside her, she was the first to get into position, closing her eyes; Yui didn't really mind, knowing Strea typically first hugged her when they logged in anyway.

"Link start!"

Immediately her vision turned white, racing toward the multi-colored streaks, and going through the usual log-in procedures-

ALO

New Aincrad, Floor 22

-and then, she was standing on the wooden surface of their virtual home.

Yui smiled, just looking around for a little, glad as she always is to see this place again- recreation or not, it was her first home as part of this family. Next thing she knew though, a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind ("Wah!") and lifted her in a tight grip, complete with happy humming and everything.

"Really glad you're here, sis!"

"S-Strea!"

Laughing a little, Strea put her down, leaving Yui to turn around- true to form, her younger-but-physically-older sister was grinning happily. Even though she'd grown used to this kind of greeting, Yui still found it really 'something' that Strea's this forward, even unrestrained in most things - it was so different from the manner of which her family/friends behaved.

Interesting and enjoyable, but different.

"What, did I surprise you Yui?" Strea 'asked', still grinning.

Yui couldn't help but smile after a moment. "The surprise itself, yes. The fact that it's you doing it Strea, not really" she admitted, giggling once. "Out of all our family, you're easily the most excitable, even more than me."

Strea gave off a hum, not at all opposed to the statement- perhaps she would've said more, but then twin forms of light audibly appeared. Just like that, Strea moved in their direction, really fast too - before mommy and daddy fully registered their virtual senses, her sister had near-leapt at them for a double hug, and both reacted as she landed against them.

"Surprise!"

"Heh, dang Strea" daddy breathed after a moment, semi-grinning. "You never stop being spontaneous, do you."

Beside him, mommy took a moment, then the surprise left her expression. "I think the answer is no" she breathed, a bit gentle, "Still, Strea, do you remember what we said about giving us some warning?"

"Ah- oops, hehe."

Daddy and mommy shared a look, but smiled and held Strea back anyway-

-she also smiled, knowing that her sister just got so excited that she forgot; that happened sometimes.

"Anyway" Yui said then, walking over. "Strea, what did you have in mind for today?"

/

A little later

Outside

"You wanna ride on my back?" Kazuto asked, a bit surprised.

Not that he couldn't do it, but it wasn't a request he'd been expecting; still, it did give him deja vu, since it was (nearly) on the same wooden path where it happened before. Clearly Asuna and Yui hadn't expected it either, for they looked at each other with the same surprised expression, at least before looking back at them.

Strea nodded twice, smiling in that cute way she did. "Well, duh" she said easily, fingers near her cheek. "I've learned that kids get to do a lot of this stuff when they're really small. Sure, Yui and I aren't 'that' small, but it sounded like a really fun thing for us to try! Plus here in ALO, it's much easier to do too."

"She's got a point there, Kazuto" Asuna admitted after a moment, gentle. "With your strength stat, you can easily lift me without any struggle. Something you can't do in real life."

"I agree on the struggle part, but don't make it sound like I'm a weakling in RL, Asuna" Kazuto answered, slightly dour- she giggled, and he soon smiled. "After all, I'm still strong out there, right Yui?"

"Mmh-hmm! I have to agree with daddy on that one" Yui said, hands behind her back, a little teasing.

Asuna was a bit sheepish, one hand brushing against her own cheek "How did this tease backfire upon me so quickly?" she half-wondered, if still smiling. "Usually that happens to you."

"Hehe. Well, it's nice to be the other way around sometimes."

Strea then leaned toward him a little, nearly bouncing where she stood. "So can I, dad?" she asked, really eager. "Please?"

If he's to go out on a limb, Strea might be one step away from childlike 'begging'-

-which while accurate to her age, wouldn't go with that voice/appearance.

"Sure, sure" Kazuto said mildly, turning away and getting down on his knees. "But if I may suggest a slight change, sit on my shoulders again, like we did that one time. You'll see stuff much better that way."

"Oh, I like that too! Here I come!"

Much sooner than he'd expected, Strea had basically started climbing onto his back, keeping a good grip on his shoulders the entire time. He made a sound, thinking if this were happening in the real world, it would've been much harder... still, he did his best to keep steady, and not indulge any thoughts when her legs finally settled on either side of his head.

"All done back there?"

"Yup!"

"Then here we go!"

Strea practically squealed with delight as he stood up, not at all slow- sure, she kept a firm grip, but clearly liked it. "This really is like before" she said in excitement, leaning forward over his head - her longer hair threads were almost at his eye level, even as Strea grinned. "But it sounds like you've done it even before that, dad."

"I have, Strea" Kazuto said mildly. "I gave Asuna a ride like this back in SAO, during our honeymoon."

"Really?" Yui asked, curiously happy even as Asuna squeaked a bit, flustered. "Oh mommy, that sounds so cool! I'm sure you must have enjoyed it too."

"Uh-aha..."

"She did" he added, chuckling. "Can't deny that much."

He was pretty sure Asuna's about to squeak again, maybe stutter some little denial, but Strea's laughter interrupted any attempts. "Oooo, does that make me special, dad?" she asked in a playful way, still grinning like usual. "I seem to be the only other girl you've done this with."

Okay, now he felt sheepish...

Mouth twitching, Kazuto fought to keep his tone mild. "Thus far, I've only done this for my wife, and one of my kids, ie you Strea" he said, keeping down a small nervous sweat. "So yeah. Guess you're special."

"All I needed to hear, hehe! But that means you gotta do it for Yui one day too; can't leave her out!"

Yeah, saw that coming- good thing he wouldn't mind doing it.

Beside him now, Yui giggled as she playfully tugged his shirt sleeve once. "You heard her daddy" she said cheerfully, having a big smile. "You'll have to prove I'm special too one day."

"Why wait though?" Kazuto asked, grinning a little. "You can rid on mommy's shoulders. Sure, it's not mine, but it's the next best thing."

"Uh-uh-uh, dad-"

Strea said that even as she teasing wagged a finger in front of his nose, (probably) grinning as usual.

-"No substitutes" she stated, laughing. "I won't hear of it."

"Shouldn't Yui get to decide that?" he asked, if about to half-laugh.

Even as they had that little conversation, Asuna had a small sweat-drop, but mostly a content smile as she watched this- then she put her hand around Yui's shoulder, who had returned to her side. Just loud enough that only she could hear: "Wanna take him up on his offer anyway, Yui?" she whispered gently. "You don't have to sit on my shoulders, but you can ride on my back, just like you did with your dad in SAO."

"I'd like that a lot, mommy" she breathed, happy and content. "It's been awhile too."

Back to him: "Okay, okay, Strea" Kazuto said, if chuckling. "I promise that one of these next times, I'll offer for Yui to sit on my shoulders. What happens after that is up to her though."

"Deal" she said easily, before she seemed to twist. "Yui, did you hear- huh?"

At that, he carefully turned around himself (Strea adjusted after a moment), wondering what could have distracted her... he soon saw the answer, obviously.

"I heard you, Strea" Yui said, giggling a little even as Asuna carefully stood up, the former hanging onto her back. "But right now, I have mommy's back, which is just as great."

Asuna hummed, motioning down the path. "Shall we then, Strea?" she asked gently. "Where did you wanna go?"

After a moment, Strea seemed to let the matter go, as she made a more-subdued sound. "Well, I was thinking of going down to the lake, all of us. But before that, I finally wanna visit that forest, where you guys found Yui" she said, to their little jolts; Yui closed her eyes for a little, but her smile didn't change. "Remember dad? You did promise me."

Kazuto took a moment, registering this. "I did, yeah" he admitted, a little softer. "But I thought you would've asked Yui by now."

"...I thought about it, but it never seemed right."

Honestly, he wasn't sure he got why that was; he glanced at Asuna, wondering if she had any clue about what Strea meant. A slight shake-of-the-head was her only answer, while Yui only appeared to be half-listening - she was looking at Strea, not surprised by her statement at all, making him think maybe she knew, somehow.

That made him wonder, but guess it can wait till later.

"Well okay, if you really want, Strea" he answered gently, soft. "Shall we?"

"Yup."

...

Even after years Asuna still knew the path they'd taken in SAO, where Kazuto had scared her with a ghost story before they found Yui... mmh. Honestly, she still felt a little irritated about that part, knowing he'd done it with the intention of teasing her and 'only' that; he couldn't have planned for Yui appearing like the spirit he described, scaring her. Still, all things considered she wouldn't have traded that moment for anything - it was exactly that coincidence that allowed them to find Yui in the first place. Feeling Yui on her back, Asuna smiled as she thought of all the times they'd spent together, just the three of them, and how happy she'd been to be part of this family.

Particularly when Strea showed up, out of nowhere even, making it the four of them.

"Alright" she said gently, the others stopping. "We're here."

Still sitting on her dad's shoulders, Strea looked at her with a little surprise, then quickly looked around. "Wait, really?" she wondered, if excited. "How can you tell?"

Kazuto gave a little chuckle. "Partly memory, but also a series of little stuff we lay hidden, after Floor 22 was reclaimed" he said, mild yet gentle. "It's difficult to find normally, but with the Searching skill, it's easy."

"And because you're on his shoulders, you couldn't see that Strea" Yui teased, carefully getting down then. Still, despite the teasing edge, her voice was soft, looking over the forest for a little...

"Guess not" Strea admitted, giggling a little - her feet 'kicked' a little during that, at least before she seemed to notice her sister's emotions. "Yui? You feel recognition, but at the same time-"

"-I don't" Yui answered, hands behind her back. "It's true, Strea. I believe mommy and daddy, that I was found here, but... I don't remember when they found me, because I was unconscious. Just waking up in their little log cabin, later."

Asuna nodded, gently holding Yui at her side (who didn't mind at all). "Kazuto and I weren't surprised by that much" she said gentle, lightly working Yui's hair a bit. "When we found Yui, she did look ready to drop. And she did, despite our scared reactions at the time."

At that, Strea leaned forward into Kazuto's vision, curious- he gave a slight reaction, but otherwise smiled. "I was planning on playing with Asuna, so I told her a ghost story, which she hates" he said, a touch mild - he didn't see the small look she gave him. "By sheer luck, right when I was telling it, that's when Asuna saw Yui, who had this shimmering light that almost made her seem like a ghost."

"And then, I uh, freaked a little" Asuna added, keeping her tone even, plus a bit mild herself. "Which confused Kazuto until he saw her too. Then once he realized Yui wasn't a ghost, the rest was history."

"Really?" Strea asked, looking at Yui with a little grin. "They thought you were a ghost? Hehe, that would've been weird!"

"Hehehe, maybe Strea. But of course I wasn't!"

Kazuto then stepped closer to her/Yui, Strea still on his back (and adjusting to his walking by instinct), giving a warm smile. "No, you weren't" he said mildly, if sincere. "You were our first child, the one we never thought we'd have so soon, especially from the virtual world. We may have started as a family in that house, but here is where it all truly began."

Even before he finished, Asuna already felt so warm, fully agreeing with his words - Yui pretty much blushed in happiness, going to hug him with a big smile, which he welcomed. Strea pretty much let out a longing sigh, which summed up how they all felt right then; she hugged Kazuto too, but he didn't seem surprised, just holding her close too.

"I always love when you say things like that, daddy" Yui breathed, looking up at him - she practically had sparkles in her eyes. "Even after all this time, me and mommy really do."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Of course you know" Asuna breathed in his ear, to his jolt (and her/Yui's giggle). "But us saying it makes you do it more often."

A little sheepish chuckle, but when she looked at him, he gave her a soft, quick kiss.

Strea squealed, moving-in-place so much that Kazuto was affected- in fact, she even 'threw herself' backward to land on the ground, much to all of their surprise. Even as they registered this, Strea got back to her feet like it was nothing... wearing her usual happy grin, wrapping them all in a hug; a very strong one at that.

"Strea?" Kazuto asked, a bit thrown, mostly because of her physical actions. "What's gotten into you?"

"When I heard Yui talk about you guys-"

They jolted; her voice was surprisingly subdued, volume-wise, yet packed with a lot of emotions.

"-I felt just how much she loved you, and enjoyed being part of this family" Strea continued, eyes closed - as the seconds went on, she seemed to be radiating warmth. "Maybe I was a little jealous, but I wanted to see for myself, and I did. Now I feel the exact same way; I love you guys, so much."

If they were surprised before, it paled compared to now; Asuna could only look at Kazuto, simultaneously wondering and happy, and he had the same reactions. In fact, she's fairly sure that's the first time Strea had ever said 'I love you', to any of them - sure, it was obvious that she loved Yui as her sister, and increasingly felt that way about them, but hearing it drove the point home. Then they both jolted when Yui moved from her spot, giving her sister a big hug, with enough force to 'separate' them from each other. Strea seemed surprised at first, but her grin came back as she hugged back, at normal strength - for once, Yui didn't seem to notice.

"We love you too, Strea."

"Aww, that's so sweet, Yui!"

Seeing those two hugging made her feel warm, smiling even as she touched her hand to Kazuto's- he took it without issue, grip comforting. Without a word, they moved over to their two daughters, and wrapped them both up in the hug; neither minded at all, after this registered.

"Yeah, what Yui said; it's how we all feel" Kazuto said, a touch mild but still soft. "Though next time, I'll hope she doesn't steal our line."

"Hehe. Luckily I agree, or I would've said that he was ruining the moment" Asuna breathed, soft and playful.

In the middle of their hug, Yui looked up at her with a sheepish-happy look, but then broke away from her sister to hug her too- all with a big smile. She easily returned both, even as she saw Strea happy for them, before easily switching to hugging Kazuto, who gave a little chuckle but held her back too.

Their sweet little family.

...

Lake shore

"Hehahaha!"

"Ah! I'm gonna win, Strea!"

"Not even close!" she cheered, splashing her sister again; Yui yelped but splashed her even 'harder' with water, both of them ankle-deep in it. Sure, they were still in normal get-ups and not swimsuits - though that would've made things interesting - but still the water was cold, and this game was pretty fun!

"Looks like you two are having fun over there" dad called, briefly stalling them - he was grinning a little. "But you should know that our in-game lunch is about finished."

At the same instant, she and Yui got excited, practically giggling with excitement-

"Alright!" they called, Yui a split-second after her.

"Race ya to the table, Yui!"

"You're on!"

Dad chuckled as they passed him, easily moving out of the way, but he'll catch up - soon they saw the table, where mom was finishing the set-up. Yui passed her by an inch, and she ran even faster before Yui did the same (both of them laughing), before- before- gah, just barely lost!

"Aw man!" Strea breathed, but with a grin. "I thought my head start would overcome your slightly-higher speed stat. Guess not!"

Yui giggled again, her smile sweet. "You needed to be two feet farther ahead for it to have been enough, Strea" she answered. "Luckily I wasn't frozen with surprise."

"Lucky for you, sure."

Just then: "Come on, girls" mom said, her smile quite content. "You can race again later. Right now, it's time to start digging in."

Hehe!

"Dibs on those spicy appetizers" Strea said, easily slipping into the chair closest to them- in her eagerness, she'd already grabbed one and started nibbling on it. Focused on this, she sorta-missed how Yui and mom kept smiling at these antics, gradually sitting down themselves. "Mmh, oh yeah, this is good stuff."

"Glad to hear that, because I can't wait myself" came from dad, who came over and sat down at the remaining chair; he took an appetizer as well, grinning a little. "I wonder which of us will get the special one."

"Special one?" she and Yui asked, both curious - Strea was more excited at the implications though.

"Yup" he said easily, mild as he munched on his appetizer for a moment. "One of them is spicier than the others. Whoever eats it, can ask one reasonable thing to do today, from anyone else who eats from the pile. Meaning, likely just between you and me, Strea."

Ooohhh, that sounds pretty fun! Already she was looking at the pile, trying to see if there was any clue as to which one it could be... hmm, nothing obvious, but maybe it was subtle instead...

Yui leaned forward beside her. "I can already tell daddy planned this, right mommy?" she asked, if a small sheepish smile-

-which was shared by mom, glancing at them. "Pretty much" she admitted. "I mean, I'm still never cooking anything super-crazy like I did before, but this is only half that level. Crazy high by our standards, but manageable for these two."

"Heehee."

By then, she and dad had both eaten two of the numerous appetizers- thus far, still the same 'normal' level. "The special one, will it make us spew smoke dad?" Strea asked with a smile. "That way we'll be able to tell who ate it?"

Dad soon nodded, giving a little chuckle. "Exactly that. But I'm going to get the special one, Strea."

"Hehe, we'll see about that! I know exactly what I want to ask you to do!"

Even if she loses though, Strea knew that it wouldn't stop her for long; even if she has to ask the normal way, she'll bring it up and see if dad (and mom) can't showcase their combat skills for her. That being said though, she's so happy and warm that even if it had to wait even longer, she wouldn't be too bothered; just being with this family was so nice, so loving.

No wonder Yui had immediately taken to them, hehe, just like she'd done overtime.

Yet again, we've come to the last chapter of a multi-chapter fic - this one, along with 'Snowy', are one of the few fics where I haven't had all chapters written ahead of time, as is my custom. I can hardly imagine how long people would've had to wait between fics if I had, even if the update schedule would've been much quicker :P

Anyway, I'll take somewhat more time to write the smaller continuation I mentioned, as well as working on the movie arc for 'Yui's Heart', but I'll get there. After that though, I imagine I'll be on hiatus for SAO fics until further notice, since I have been working on this storyline for years now- it's been pretty fun and I'm proud of my work, but I don't want to burn myself out completely

^Just fair warning