AN: So! I've decided to try my hand at a Sword Art Online fic. A couple notes: this is set a month after Kirito is released from the hospital. The special school hasn't been made yet. I will be calling Kirito, well, Kirito. I can't really call him anything else, it just feels too weird. Also, Minetaka is his uncle and adoptive father and Midori is his aunt and adoptive mother. We all know who Suguha is. Also, Kirito calls his aunt and uncle Mom and Dad. Anyway, hope you like it, and I hope no one is too OOC!

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO, and most likely never will.

Dicey Café

Kirito's eyes shot open as he heard a series of knocks on his bedroom door. He hurriedly sat up as he heard his cousin, Suguha, tell him, "Onii-chan, Mom and Dad say it's time to wake up! We're going on a walk after breakfast, so wear something comfortable!" Fading footsteps revealed that she had retreated from his door.

Kirito took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm his pounding heart. He had been frightened and more than a little startled by Sugu's summons. He'd been having a dream- or rather, a nightmare- about Aincrad and its monsters. Honestly, he didn't think he'd ever be able to get over what happened in SAO. At least, not until Asuna woke up.

Asuna. I have to visit her soon. He'd been visiting her hospital room every three days since he had been released from the hospital himself.

As his brain became less foggy, he got out if his warm bed. As he was dressing, his thoughts wandered to the other friends he had made in Kayaba's game, namely Klein, Agil, Silica and Lisbeth. He wondered how they were doing. He didn't know any of their real names, and therefore had been unable to get their contact information. He sighed out loud. He'd really like to see them again. Sure, his family and his old friends from school before SAO were good company, but they just couldn't relate to him about adjusting to reality after years of living in a virtual world.

Kirito stretched, pushing his distressing thoughts out of his head. Opening his door, he made his way into the kitchen to get breakfast.

Kirito sat at the table with a large amount of food on a plate before him. Inwardly, he sighed, knowing that he would only be able to finish half of it at most. His body hadn't fully adjusted to such big, rich meals yet.

After a few minutes of silent eating, a voice broke in. "So, Kazuto," his adoptive father and uncle, Minetaka, began, "how about a walk after breakfast?" His dark eyes looked at Kirito in askance.

"It'll help build up your muscle," his aunt and adoptive mother, Midori, added.

"Sounds good," Kirito replied. He put another mouthful of food into his mouth, then set his chopsticks down.

"Onii-chan, you should eat more," Suguha told him.

Meeting his cousin's gaze, he said, "Sorry, Sugu. I'm not very hungry." He smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck as he caught the attention of his parents.

"Here, I'm finished, too," Midori said. "I'll take your plate." She stood.

He handed his mostly full plate to the outstretched hand, and Midori walked back into the kitchen. She returned a short minute later.

The rest of the uneventful breakfast was spent with meaningless small talk.

The air outside was clear and crisp. Breathing deeply, Kirito felt a refreshing amount of fresh air travel into his lungs. Letting the air rush out through his mouth, he turned to his family and smiled at them.

They'd walked into the city from their house. They were surrounded by various small buildings, shops, and cafés.

Looking around from his place on the sidewalk, Minetaka glanced at his wife. She cleared her throat and stated, "Why don't we take a break and rest at a café?" She and Minetaka could tell that their nephew was tired, but just too shy to ask for a respite.

And tired he was. He was gently trembling from exertion he wasn't used to, and looked like he was forcing himself to stay upright. Even his smile looked strained.

Minetaka suggested, "Sugu, why don't you pick a place?"

Grinning, Suguha roamed her eyes around various shops and diners. After a solid thirty seconds of searching, she said, "Ooh, how about that café down there- Dicey Café!" She pointed down the road.

Kirito turned his head to see where she had picked. It was a ways down the road, but he could see it. There were two dice above a sign that said "Dicey Café." Under that, there was another, smaller sign tacked on. From this distance, though, he couldn't read it.

Together, the family meandered to the quaint brown diner, taking their time to enjoy the nice weather.

They were five feet from the café when Kirito glanced at the sign again.

"Agil's Shop."

Kirito's breath caught in his throat, and he stopped walking in surprise.

Agil's Shop?! Could it be...? Hope flared through his chest.

"Kazuto?" Midori's concerned voice broke through his thoughts.

Focusing his eyes on his family, Kirito saw that they were looking at him, confused and worried.

Shaking himself, he told them, "I'm fine, it's nothing... Let's go." Pushing ahead of them, he opened the door, causing a bell to chime. There was only one way to find out, wasn't there?

A low, male voice said, "Hello, welcome to Dicey- K... Kirito?!"

"Agil!" Kirito grinned, weariness forgotten, pure joy radiating from his face. His family looked on in confusion.

Sugu looked at the buff man. "Are you talking to Onii-chan?"

Agil smiled broadly, skirting around the bar counter. He walked up to Kirito and out his large hands on the boy's small shoulders. "It's really you!"

Kirito's smile grew wider. "It's great to see you again! I wasn't sure if I'd ever find you!"

Agil proceeded to crush the gamer in a hug. "We thought you were dead!" His eyes widened as he stepped back. Spinning on his heel, he turned toward the back of the café and yelled, "KLEIN!"

Kirito looked eagerly in the same direction to see a sandy brown-haired man's head snap up. The head bore a red bandana and a scruffy beard. Dark eyes looked at Agil in confusion, then drifted to Kirito.

Klein's jaw promptly dropped. He jumped out of his chair, knocking it over in his rush to move. Not bothering to right it, he ran up to Kirito and looked closely into the boy's face, causing him to lean back in surprise.

A familiar rough voice came out of Klein's mouth. "It really is you, Kirito! How dare you go dying on me before you bought me my meal!"

"Nice to see you too, Klein."

Klein suddenly grinned and embraced Kirito, which was returned. Laughing, they broke apart. Klein said, "Everyone will be so excited to see you!"

Kirito cocked his head. "Everyone?"

Agil grinned. "Yeah! SAO players see the sign outside and come in. This has become their official hangout!"

Klein pouted. "Agil refuses to sell us free drinks and snacks, though."

Kirito smirked, remembering how stingy the merchant could be in the game. "Yeah, that'll happen around the time you get a girlfriend, Klein."

"OI!"

Agil and Kirito laughed.

"We have a lot of catching up to do!" Agil said.

A voice broke in. "Kazuto? Who are these men?"

The voice of his uncle reminded his he hadn't come in alone. He looked on, delighted, at his family, who seemed confused as to why two strange men were chatting and hugging him. So, feeling better than he had in a while, he said, "Mom, Dad, Sugu, there are some friends I'd like you to meet..."

AN: Whew! That was harder to do than I thought it would be! I hope you all liked it, and thanks for reading to the end. Feel free to review. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but flames will be directed to the appropriate alchemist.
-Teki