"Hachiman-kun, look—a girl's collapsed!" Asuna said.
"Yeah. Hold on, Asuna," Hachiman replied, stopping her as she moved toward the figure.
"Take a closer look. No cursor's showing. That must be the 'spirit' Kizmel mentioned."
"She's the spirit? You're right, no cursor," Asuna said.
"Yeah."
Kizmel had said the spirit didn't feel malicious, but they approached cautiously. The girl lay motionless before their home.
"She looks like a kid," Hachiman said.
"So small and adorable," Asuna added.
"Can't just leave her here. Let's bring her inside," Hachiman said.
"Please," Asuna agreed.
Hachiman lifted the girl, noting a faint resemblance to Asuna, and carried her inside, laying her on the bed.
"No info to go on. What do we do?" Hachiman said.
"We'll have to wait until she wakes and ask her," Asuna replied.
"Fair. I'll call Argo. Maybe Kirito too," Hachiman said.
"I'll watch her from here," Asuna said.
"Thanks."
Hachiman sent messages to Argo and Kirito, then joined Asuna by the bed.
"She kinda looks like you, Hachiman-kun," Asuna said.
"Huh? I thought she looked like you," Hachiman replied.
"No way, she's totally your spitting image."
"Come on, she's clearly your mini-me."
As they bantered, Argo and Kirito arrived.
"Trouble already, newlyweds?" Argo teased.
"Sorry for the sudden call," Hachiman said. "Take a look at her. Found her collapsed outside."
"A kid…?" Kirito said.
"Yeah. Notice anything? No cursor," Hachiman pointed out.
"No cursor? So she's neither player nor NPC…" Kirito mused.
"Any ideas? Even from the beta test?" Hachiman asked.
Both thought hard but came up blank.
"No clue," Kirito said.
"Nothing comes to mind," Argo added.
"Alright. We just came from Kizmel's, and…" Hachiman recounted their conversation about the spirit.
"A spirit, huh…" Kirito said.
"Argo, any info on a labyrinth in the Town of Beginnings?" Hachiman asked.
"I've heard rumors," Argo said. "No charge since it's unconfirmed, but you owe me if you learn anything."
"Deal. What's the rumor?" Hachiman asked.
"Just hearsay, but there's talk of a labyrinth under the Black Iron Palace," Argo said.
"Where the prison and Monument of Life are?" Kirito asked.
"Yup. Word is, the underground waterways turned into a labyrinth recently," Argo explained.
"A labyrinth that changes with the cleared floors, maybe?" Hachiman wondered.
"Hachiman-kun, she's waking up!" Asuna called.
The three rushed to the bedroom to talk to the girl. Kirito and Argo exchanged a glance upon seeing her.
"Argo, she's gotta be…" Kirito started.
"Yeah, no mistaking it…" Argo agreed.
"What? You know something?" Hachiman asked.
"She looks exactly like…" Kirito began.
"Mama!" the girl cried.
Her shout cut Kirito off. She called Asuna "Mama" and clung to her desperately. Asuna, her maternal instincts kicking in, hugged the girl and stroked her hair.
"It's okay, Mama's here. Did you have a bad dream?" Asuna soothed.
"Asuna…" Hachiman said.
Hearing his voice, the girl turned to Hachiman. "Papa!"
She ran to him, wrapping her arms around him.
"Uh, yeah. Papa's right here too," Hachiman said, swept up in the moment and adopting a fatherly tone.
"See?" Kirito said.
"What'd you figure out?" Hachiman asked.
"She looks like…" Kirito hesitated.
"She's the spitting image of you and A-chan's daughter," Argo finished.
"Huh?" Asuna said.
"What?" Hachiman echoed.
They studied the girl. Earlier, Hachiman thought she resembled Asuna, and Asuna saw Hachiman in her. It clicked—she looked like both of them.
"Our daughter? I mean, there's something familiar, but…" Hachiman muttered.
Argo grinned mischievously, noticing his hesitation. Kirito, unused to such topics, blushed.
"Sounds like you've got an idea, Hachi-bou, A-chan," Argo teased.
"Ugh…" Hachiman groaned.
Asuna stayed silent, her face red. Argo pressed further. "Last night was quite the—"
"W-what's your name?" Asuna interrupted, flustered.
"Yui!" the girl chirped.
"So your name's Yui," Hachiman said.
"Yup!" Yui nodded.
(Yui, like Yuihama. Weird coincidence, though she doesn't look like her,) Hachiman thought.
"What's Papa and Mama's names?" Yui asked.
"I'm Asuna, Yui-chan," Asuna said.
"I'm Hachiman," Hachiman added.
"Asuna-Mama! Hachiman-Papa!" Yui exclaimed.
"Just Mama and Papa are fine, Yui-chan," Asuna said.
"Okay! Mama! Papa!" Yui beamed.
Asuna had fully embraced Yui as her daughter, and Hachiman had no objections.
"Yeah, Yui, I'm your Papa," Hachiman said.
"Papa!" Yui cheered.
Hachiman lifted her high, and the trio looked undeniably like a family. Even Argo, disarmed by the sight, stopped teasing.
"They're totally a real family now," Kirito said, impressed.
"Super cute. Works for me," Argo said.
"Yeah," Hachiman agreed. "Let's hear Yui out. Yui, let's go to the living room."
"Okay, Papa!" Yui said.
They moved to the living room, where Yui turned to Kirito and Argo. "Are you Mama and Papa's friends?"
"Yup, I'm Kirito, Yui-chan," Kirito said.
"I'm Argo," Argo added.
"They're Uncle Kirito and Aunt Argo," Hachiman said.
"Yay! Uncle Kirito! Aunt Argo!" Yui cheered.
"Ugh, Hachi-bou…" Argo groaned.
"Hey, I didn't even tease you!" Kirito protested.
"Kirito's just collateral. Argo, you brought this on yourself," Hachiman said. "Alright, Yui, can you answer Papa's questions?"
"Yup!" Yui nodded.
"You were collapsed outside our house. Do you remember anything?" Hachiman asked.
"Hmm… Yui was hurting a lot at first. Then I felt something warm and cozy, so I went up. Next thing I knew, I was in bed, and Mama and Papa were there," Yui said, snuggling into Asuna.
Hachiman let Asuna comfort her and turned to Kirito and Argo. "What do you make of that?"
"It's vague, but it lines up with Kizmel's story. She was in the Town of Beginnings' labyrinth," Kirito said.
"And moving instantly like that? Definitely part of the system," Argo added.
"Her looking like you two might be because her avatar was modeled after you," Kirito suggested.
Hachiman pondered their input, then made up his mind. Options were limited.
"We'll have to check out the Town of Beginnings. Argo, any info on the labyrinth's difficulty?" he asked.
"Nothing solid. But with you, Key-bou, and me, we should manage," Argo said.
"Kirito, you in?" Hachiman asked.
"No problem," Kirito replied.
"Argo, keep digging for info," Hachiman said.
"Got it. I'll ping you if I find anything," Argo said.
"So, you two sticking around?" Hachiman asked.
Kirito and Argo exchanged a grin. "Can't interrupt family time. We'll head out," Kirito said.
"Sleep in a nice 'river' formation tonight," Argo teased.
"Shut it, Uncle and Aunt," Hachiman shot back.
They left, and Yui clung to Hachiman and Asuna. True to Argo's words, the three slept side by side in a "river" shape that night.
The next morning, Hachiman woke to find only Yui beside him. Asuna was up early, preparing breakfast and a bento.
"Yui, morning," Hachiman said.
"Mm… Morning, Papa!" Yui said.
"Morning, Yui."
"Thanks to Papa and Mama, I slept so well," Yui said.
"Good."
(She seems… more mature than yesterday. Like she's growing.)
"Yui, Mama's making breakfast. Wanna go to the living room?" Hachiman asked.
"What's breakfast?" Yui asked.
"Uh…"
(Guess Yui doesn't need food. Asuna's gonna be bummed.)
"Never mind. Let's go to Mama," Hachiman said.
They held hands and joined Asuna in the living room.
"Morning, Asuna," Hachiman said.
"Morning, Mama!" Yui added.
"Morning, you two!" Asuna replied.
"Sorry, Asuna, looks like Yui doesn't need to eat," Hachiman said.
"Oh…" Asuna said, her face falling slightly.
Hachiman gently patted her head. The three chatted while waiting for Kirito, and Asuna noticed Yui's change.
"Yui-chan, you seem like you've grown a bit," Asuna said.
"As expected of our daughter," Hachiman said.
"Yup!" Asuna agreed.
Soon, Kirito arrived.
"Morning, Uncle Kirito!" Yui greeted.
"Uh, morning, Yui," Kirito replied, still uneasy about the "uncle" title but surprised by Yui's polished greeting.
The four headed to the Black Iron Palace in the Town of Beginnings, ready to investigate.
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