The Path Unknown

10. A Celebration of Joy

  Dawn cracked as the early  morning came. The orange-pink light shone through the windows,  illuminating the room. Birds were chirping in the distance as the crisp,  morning air blew over the cabin.

  Asuna awoke early, excited for  the day of celebration. She stealthily got out of bed and made her way  to the kitchen. First, she would have to find out how many people were  coming. She opened her inbox and checked her recent messages. From  Klein: I'll be there! I will... From Agil: Yea, I'll come. Be sure  to... From Liz: Of course I'll be there! Tell her hi... From Silica:  Really?! I gotta come... A lot of them seemed to be happy for them  too. Yui was the most important thing to them and it was pretty awesome  that she was back with them. All she could do is thank Kage, this was  more than a "thank you" from him.

  She scrolled down the list, no  RSVP from Kage or Michiko. It was weird, wouldn't at least Kage want to  come? She knew Michiko was shy and very anti-social, but Kage would  manage to bring her along. They weren't dead, the messages sent. Asuna  closed the menu and put on her apron. She would have to get all of the  cooking done before the guests came. She started taking out the  ingredients and preparing them for the stew she was gonna make.

  Kirito was now up at the smell of food. Stretching his limbs, following a  yawn, he looked towards Asuna. She took her eyes off of the food and  looked towards the bedroom door, catching sight of Kirito.

  "Morning Kirito, I didn't wake you, did I?" She looked back at the cutting board.

  "No," he said, yawning again, "I smelled something good and decided to check it out for myself. What is all of this for?"

    "Do you not remember what we talked about yesterday? We're having  company over for the celebration of Yui's return! How can you forget  something like that?"

  "Oh...right..." He drew a long sigh, "I forgot and thought today was, like, Sunday...?"

    "Oh, Kirito, what am I gonna do with you?" She said putting down the  knife. "Come here, we haven't had time together in a while."

   Kirito went by Asuna and gave her a "good morning" kiss. She was right,  the two haven't had much time together since Michiko and Kage came into  the game. It felt good to be by her again. Taking the pot, Kirito  started to fill it with water for her. She would need help if she was  going to get this all done before everyone came.

  Liz, Silica,  Agil, and Klein started heading toward the cabin. Being in the woods was  nice, except to Klein. The three kept moving down the lane while Klein  stopped for a rest. He was one of the laziest people they knew, but they  didn't wait up for him. He ran down the way to catch up with him.

  "Can you believe that Yui is back?! I really hope this isn't a sick joke..." Silica said.

    "Nah, I don't think that Asuna would do that and Kirito cannot use  her name for a PM. I trust her a lot so I wouldn't think anything bad  like that." Liz replied.

  "Well, Kirito wouldn't do that either.  Yui was, after all, like their child. Would you joke about having a  child of yours coming back to life?" Agil stated.

  "I- I don't think....ugh....that he'd, do that either." Klein caught up, out of breath.

    "Are you really out of breath? How do you even fight in battles? Is  seems that you wouldn't last one second in a boss raid." Liz said,  sarcastically.

  "Hey, I'm not that lazy," He said, taking a deep breath, "nor out of shape."

    "Oh come on, you're panting in a video game that doesn't even take  physical strength to play. You're being ridiculous right now, Klein."  Agil said, picking Klein up. "Let's go before we're late guys!"