When Drifter woke the next morning, it was to find a couple of his guildmates already up and about. They were loitering in the kitchen and porch, and he could see the questions hanging over their heads.
Suppressing a chuckle, Drifter waved off the glances sent his way when he appeared.
"It's a new day, everyone. Agil, Ran, Kizmel, divide everyone in three parties and take them to keep exploring the top floor. I'll take Yun', Kirito, Asuna, and Yui when they wake up. See if we can find more clues about her, but there's no need for everyone to stay here for that. We'll share what we learn when y'all come back, of course. Ah, and keep quiet about Yui for now, at least until Argo and Akari have had the chance to investigate some."
There were some grumbles, some of them not exactly happy about having to go back to routine so quickly, but that was all. Before long, all the Reavers bar Drifter and the three he named were out and about.
Yuna came down shortly after they left. A single shared look between them was enough for her to understand Drifter's intentions, and she settled on the couch, snuggled up with him while they waited.
They didn't have to wait long. Kirito and Asuna came down the stairs from the second floor, a bleary-eyed Yui following closely after them.
The girl was still wearing her pink dress, and Drifter smiled at her while Yuna cooed at how cute she looked.
"Good morning, Yui. How did you sleep?"
"Hm... Well!"
Drifter's gaze flickered to Kirito and Asuna, who nodded in response. Their night with Yui sharing their bed had been calm, the little girl sleeping all the way through it, just mumbling a few incomprehensible mutters now and then.
"That's great, Yui. Do you remember my name?"
Yui scrunched up her eyebrows, but eventually pouted and shook her head. Drifter just chuckled, patting her hair.
"That's fine. I'm Drifter. This is my wife, Yuna."
"Nice to meet you again, Yui."
From her spot at his side, Yuna leaned forward to grab Yui's hand.
"Dri... te? ...una?"
She couldn't quite pronounce their names, though the spearmaster got the impression it was less of a matter of it being hard, and more of Yui not being used to the words.
"Good enough. Was your night okay? Did Kirito and Asuna treat you well?"
This time Yui's expression brightened considerably, while, for some reason, both Kirito and Asuna blushed deeply.
"Hm! Papa and Mama were very nice!"
"Oh, they were? That's good. Now, Yui--"
It was about that point that Drifter's brain caught up with what Yui had said, and promptly short-circuited.
"Sorry, what?!"
Kirito and Asuna were now redder than an overripe tomato, convincing Drifter he hadn't actually heard it wrong. By his side, Yuna was all but choking on air as she gasped for breath between peals of suppressed laughter and snorts of disbelief.
Yui, meanwhile, looked wholly nonplussed about the reactions her words had wrought. She was hugging Asuna's arm and smiling.
Drifter stared wide-eyed at his vice leaders.
"It was one night! How did this happen?!"
They blushed even more at the unplanned innuendo. Asuna had buried her head on Kirito's shoulder, and the swordsman was looking everywhere but at Drifter and Yuna.
"Yesterday, we tried to teach Yui our names before going to bed. She couldn't quite get them right... And then suddenly she just called us that. We didn't have the heart to tell her off."
Drifter gaped at the couple, then burst out in uncontrollable laughter. That set Yuna off, and the two of them had to lean on each other not to collapse on the floor. Kirito and Asuna's red faces were priceless.
When they finally stopped laughing, mainly because they were feeling shortness of breath, Drifter had to wipe tears from his eyes.
"Haa... Haa... Hahaha... I didn't expect that. Not at all."
Then he looked at his friends again, and a more genuine smile took his face.
"You don't seem all that opposed to it though."
If it was possible, Kirito and Asuna flushed even deeper. But they didn't deny it either. While they were still young, and didn't plan on having children anytime soon even if they left SAO tomorrow, there was just something about having Yui there with them this morning that felt... right.
Kirito and Asuna were much more mature than normal 16-years-old. They had to be, with the position they occupied. You couldn't stare death in the face everyday and bury countless friends and still be a child.
That didn't mean they would stop being embarrassed by Yui calling them Papa and Mama, even if they didn't hate it. They just knew that their family, much like Drifter, wouldn't let that go for a while.
Still, the kind smiles and warmth in Drifter and Yuna's faces more than made up for it. Especially when the songstress leaned forward to kiss Yui on the forehead.
"In that case, Yui, you can call me Aunt Yuna. This is your Uncle Drifter."
The spearmaster raised an eyebrow, but didn't gainsay Yuna's proclamation. If Kirito and Asuna were adopting Yui - or was it the other way around? - no matter for how shortly it may be, then the girl would have an entire guild full of aunts and umcles.
Drifter didn't know how that would work out, but it was sure to be entertaining. He was particularly looking forward to the reactions of the others.
But that would be later tonight. For now, after ruffling Yui's hair, Drifter got up, pulling Yuna by her hand.
"Well, this just got a whole lot more fun than I thought it would be. Now, Yui, are you alright if we take a little trip?"
Drifter wanted to see if taking Yui to some of Aincrad's more memorable spots might jog her memory. He had already compiled a list of all known human settlements. If Yui truly was an awakened NPC like they hypothesized, those were the most likely places for her to have come from.
And on the top of that list was the Town of Beginnings. As the largest safe zone in Aincrad, it was also the one with the largest population, of both players and NPCs.
Drifter also had a secondary, slightly nefarious - depending on your point of view - intention. Yesterday, he had hoped that they might drop off Yui with Sasha at the church. He knew the kind woman wouldn't reject her, NPC or not.
That was before Yui came down calling Kirito and Asuna her parents. Now, even Drifter felt a twist in his gut at the idea of abandoning her, much less the younger couple.
Still, the frontlines were hardly a place for a child. And though Drifter wouldn't begrudge nor deny his vice leaders if they wanted to take some time off to stay with Yui at the mansion, as the leader of the Assault Team he would need them back at some point.
But that was a matter for later, and Drifter was sure a solution that made everyone happy could be found. Right now, they didn't even know yet if Yui would really stay with them. She might very well recover her memory and go back to wherever she was before.
"A trip? Can we, Papa, Mama? Can we?"
Her young face lit up at the mention of a trip, reinforcing Drifter's ideas that she knew all the words, just wasn't used to speaking them.
"That's adorable."
Yuna whispered in his ear when Yui turned to Kirito and Asuna with big, wide eyes, begging to be allowed to go on said trip. Not that they had been planning on stopping it in the first place.
"Of course, Yui. There are a lot of interesting places to see. I'm sure you are going to love it."
"Yay! Let's go, Uncle Dri-te, Aunt Una!"
The spearmaster chuckled at the mangled pronunciation of their names. It would come with time.
Followed by Yui, who walked between Kirito and Asuna holding both of their hands, he led the group to the teleporter room.
"Alright, Yui. Hold tight to your Mama and Papa, okay?"
"Okay!"
Drifter chuckled again, and was the first to step through the teleporter, calling for the Town of Beginnings.
The familiar sensation of weightlessness came and went as suddenly as it always did, and he stepped out of the teleporter with practiced ease.
A quick look around confirmed that the Town of Beginnings was bustling with activity like usual, with hundreds of people, NPCs and players alike, walking around the main plaza.
And it was that hustle that went quiet almost immediately as the first players took notice of him. Though it would be an exaggeration to say that the entire plaza fell silent, even the NPCs noticed the sudden stillness that befell many of the players.
Right. This was the first time Drifter had come to the 1st floor since his speech two months ago after the opening of the 51st floor. Actually, it was the first time he had stepped in any floor that wasn't the frontlines.
Unconsciously, his gaze grew colder. It wasn't like he held any real resentment for normal players, but seeing how many had agreed with the fool who acused frontliners of monopolizing resources would always be a sore point to him.
Shaking his head, the spearmaster ignored the onlookers and turned about when he felt the familiar heat of Yuna's fingers interlocking with his.
"Oh oh. I didn't think about that."
"About what?"
"How people will talk when they see--"
His songbird cut off as the teleporter shone and then dimmed for a third time, and Kirito and Asuna stepped out, Yui between them. Immediately, the plaza broke out in hushed whispers, and Drifter knew before the hour was over all of Aincrad would have heard of the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash walking about with a child.
To their credit, Kirito and Asuna didn't even seen to notice the attention they were attracting, or, if they had, gave no indication of such.
And Yui, bless her bright soul, was looking around in pure wonder, which elicited smiles from all four Reavers.
Ignoring the astonished looks from the other players, they left the plaza. One of the advantages of placing himself as the tyrant of the Assault Team was that nobody was keen on bothering Drifter or his companions for autographs anymore. Wherever he passed, a path opened amidst the throngs of players.
"Everyone knows you, Uncle Dri-te."
Yui was surprisingly perceptive. After her awe at the Town of Beginnings started to fade, she let go of her parents' hands and rushed a little ahead to tug at Drifter's sleeve.
"I'm a little bit famous. Your Aunt Yuna, Papa, and Mama are too."
The spearmaster scooped her up into his arms, and then placed her on his shoulders. Yui giggled happily as she gripped his head to steady herself.
Kirito and Asuna only grinned at the sight, not a shred of jealousy within them. Drifter was family.
As for Yuna, her eyes were shining so brightly that, if Drifter had seen them, he might be forced to give Yui back to her parents and drag his wife back home immediately.
"Why are you famous, Uncle Drif-te?"
"Ah, you are almost there. But that's a conversation we can have later, Yui. For now, why don't we just enjoy our trip?"
Explaining everything that was SAO, the Assault Team, his role in it, and all else to a six-year-old was not something Drifter was planning to do while wandering the streets of the Town of Beginnings.
Instead, he distracted her by pointing out all the interesting things along the way, helped by the other Reavers. The four of them subtly prodded Yui to notice if anything was familiar to her, but the girl acted like it was the first time she had ever seen any of it.
Drifter and Kirito exchanged a look, and the latter shook his head. The spearmaster sighed, then, when Yui asked what was wrong, smiled and started running down the street, forcing her to wrap her tiny hands around his chin and hold on for dear life.
Yui giggled madly the entire way.
Finally, they came across a familiar old church. And yet, for all its age, the building was in excellent state, thanks to the efforts of its caretaker, and, in no small part, to the donations Reaver's Requiem and other frontline guilds made.
The front doors were open. At this hour of the day, most of the kids would be out in the city, completing odd fetch quests. While they didn't necessarily need the cor, Sasha was a firm believer that idle hands and idle minds were a recipe for disaster.
Plus, if they were doing quests inside the safe zone, they wouldn't be out there getting killed by mobs.
The Reavers entered with the familiarity of long-time guests. A couple children who were lazing about ran up to greet them, their big eyes focused on Yui, who stared back just as curiously.
"Down you go."
Kirito plucked Yui from Drifter's shoulders and placed her on the ground, where she quickly hid behind him, peeking from around his waist.
"Yuna, Asuna! And Drifter and Kirito! How are you doing? And who is this little one?"
From her office, having heard the commotion, emerged Sasha. Her face lit up at the sight of her friends, though she too stared at Yui with interest.
Before either of the younger couple could speak up, Drifter and Yuna exchanged mischievous looks. The songstress stepped forward, a huge smile on her face.
"Why, this is Yui, Sasha. Kirito and Asuna's daughter."
Sasha blinked. Then she blinked again.
"What?"