Sword Art Online: Double Adventures

Episode: Strea - Chapter 1: A Surprise Delivery

~ Kirigaya Household | December 2nd, 2040 ~

It is a sunny day over the city of Tokyo, Japan as we start the day in the household of Kazuto and Asuna Kirigaya, a happy married couple and their two daughters, Yui and Yuna. We start off in front of the front door as Kazuto is seen exiting, carrying a backpack over his shoulder and bared a smile on his face. At his side was Asuna.

"Don't be too long, okay Kazuto? You just have to bring that one thing to Agil and then you're coming back, right?" Asuna asked. Kazuto nodded.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. I won't be long. You girls just hold down the fort for me." he said. Just then, Kazuto felt a tug at his pant leg and looked down, seeing his now five year old daughter Yuna looking up at him.

"Don't worry Yuna. I'll be back. Dad's just making a quick errand, okay?" he asked, rubbing the child's head. Yuna lightly nodded.

"Okay daddy." she said. Afterwards, he gaze Asuna a cheek kiss before heading out. As he left and Asuna closed the door behind him, she looked back to Yui, standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Is he gone?" she asked. Asuna nodded.

"Yep. Now that he is….girls? Time to decorate the cake." she said. Both Yuna and Yui cheered and hurried into the kitchen. Asuna chuckled and followed after them. As she passes by, we notice a framed picture on the wall, showing a family photo with Asuna, Yui and Yuna seated next to Kazuto. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Asuna opened the fridge door and reached deep in the back, pulling out what appeared to be a cake, covered in wrapping foil. She removed the foil before setting it down on the kitchen table. Yui and Yuna dragged a chair over and each sat at Asuna's side.

"So mommy, what was this cake for again?" Yuna asked. Asuna glanced to her daughter and smiled.

"Its to surprise daddy with. Today's the anniversary of when we first met and I wanted to surprise him." she explained. Yui smiled, knowing she was talking about their meeting in SAO. Yuna's eyes returned to the cake as Asuna picked up a frosting tube.

"Okay girls. So what should we put on it? We got to make it extra special for daddy." Asuna asked.

~ Meanwhile… ~

As the girls continued talking on about decorating the surprise cake, we return to Kazuto, riding his motorcycle to the door of Dicey Cafe. After parking his bike alongside the wall, he went inside and noticed Andrew working at the counter. Andrew soon caught glance at Kazuto and smirked.

"Well, well…if it ain't Kirito. What EVER brings you in today little man?" he asked. Kazuto smirked.

"You know what it is Agil. I'm checking to see if you got my little "errand" taken cared of." he asked, leaning against the counter. Andrew chuckled and reached down below the shelf, taking out a small jewelry box and situated it on the counter.

"Yep. That friend of mine was able to find you exactly what you were looking for Kirito. Don't worry. The tab was on me." he said. Kazuto smiled as he opened the box, seeing a light gold chain necklace laying comfortably within. He lightly picked it up and glanced at it shimmering against the reflective light, imagining Asuna wearing it.

"Man. And here I thought you forgot about your little "SAO" anniversary." Andrew said while polishing a glass. Kazuto slipped the necklace back in its case before pocketing it in his backpack.

"You'd think I would. But I have a mind like a steel trap. I'd never forget the day we all got stuck in SAO. That was pretty much the day after it went live. So, how's it hard to forget?" he asked. Andrew chuckled.

"I hear that. If it weren't for SAO, I probably wouldn't have you to call a bud, right?" he asked "Anyway, like I said, don't worry about paying me back for the necklace. Consider it a gift from one friend to the other. I bet Asuna will love it." Kazuto nodded.

"Thanks a lot Agil." he said. Afterwards, he bid his friend goodbye and headed back outside, hopping back on his bike and driving off.

~ Meanwhile… ~

Returning to the Kirigaya home, we find Asuna putting the finishing touches on the surprise cake. The cake itself was already covered by white frosting. Reaching for the red frosting tube, Asuna began to doodle something on top, a large heart.

"There we go. Perfect." she said. Yui and Yuna both looked at the cake, smiling from cheek to cheek.

"It looks wonderful mommy. I know daddy will love it!" Yui giggled. Asuna smiled.

"It's not done yet Yui. Now we got to put a few last touches on it." she said. She returned once again into the fridge and took out a small box of miniature strawberries and set them down alongside.

"You two want to help me put the strawberries on top?" she asked. The girls both nodded and they all shared a group chuckle. Shortly after, Asuna had heard the doorbell outside ringing.

"Hmm? Coming!" she called. Leaving the cake, Asuna headed for the door and noticed a postman standing at the door.

"Miss Kirigaya? I have a package for you. If you can, I just need a signature." he said. Asuna nodded and signed her name on the virtual pad in his hand. Once it was complete, the postman handed Asuna a padded envelope addressed to Kazuto. Afterwards, he tipped his hat and walked off. Feeling curious, Asuna flipped over the envelope, seeing the return address was from the Technology Bureau.

"From Kikouka? Oh god. What does he want this time?" she thought, closing the door behind her. Just as she did, she heard another knock at the door. Asuna turned back, seeing Kazuto when she opened the door.

"Yo….Asuna. Why'd you close the door on me?" he asked. Asuna lightly gasped, flustered a bit.

"O-Oh! Kirito! I-I'm sorry. I must not have seen you pull up." she replied. As they walked in, Kazuto shut the door behind him.

"Well, I just got back a little while ago and I saw you with the postman. Did something come for us?" he asked. Asuna nodded, handing the envelope to him. Kazuto read the return address and sighed.

"Oh great. Its from the bureau again. Man. Hasn't that guy pestered me ENOUGH as it is?" he groaned. But deciding it must be serious, Kazuto opened the envelope and fished out the contents, finding a small USB chip taped to a folded letter.

"What is it?" she asked. Opening the letter, Kazuto read it slowly and aloud to her.

Dear Kirito,

This is your old pal, Kikuoka Seiirou, and I wanted to share a bit of surprising news with you and Asuna. While we were looking over the items recovered from Akihiko Kayaba's left over files from the SAO incident, we uncovered a most interesting piece of tech from his belongings. It appeared to be a separate program he had intended to incorporate into SAO but, for reasons we'll never understand, he decided to cut it from the final product. It appears to be another AI program, similar to your daughter Yui. If I had to guess, it is most likely a core program for another mental health program that was meant to work alongside Yui.

I've sent over the AI program to you, thinking you could maybe use it the best out of all of us. All I can tell you is that, while digging through the files, we noticed it was codenamed….Strea. This isn't a major deal or anything, like with the GGO incident, but I'm asking if you and Asuna can maybe try and communicate with this AI and see if you can understand why Kayaba cut it from SAO. Just e-mail me your report when you can.

Kikuoka Seijirou

Kazuto glanced down at the chip on the paper and peeled off the tape. He then plucked the chip and held it between his fingertips.

"So…this is supposed to be another AI….like Yui? Another mental health council program?" Kazuto muttered. Asuna glanced at the chip and then to Kazuto.

"What are we going to do….Kazuto?" she asked. Kazuto lightly shrugged.

"Dunno. I'll ask my friend for some help. You know? The guy who let us use the android frame Yui's currently using? Maybe he's got another spare lying around that we can use this one with." he said. He tossed the envelope in the nearby garbage pail before slipping the chip into his pocket.

"I guess this means….we'll have another addition to our family." Asuna said, smiling afterwards. Kazuto chuckled lightly.

"Yeah. Perhaps…." he replied. Just then, Kazuto heard the pounding footsteps of a child and looked behind Asuna, seeing Yuna rushing over and grabbing hold of his arm.

"Daddy! Daddy! C'mon! We have a surprise for you! Hurry up!" she called. Kazuto stumbled at first, being pulled along by his daughter.

"Whoa! Whoa! Okay….don't yank my arm out of its socket." Kazuto mocked. Asuna continued to watch before lightly smiling.

"If Kirito's having trouble handling two little bundles like Yui and Yuna….I wonder how he'll fair with this NEW addition?" she thought.

TO BE CONTINUED…