Asuna's p.o.v.
I woke up and looked around the room. Kazuto was sleeping behind me with his arms around my waist, holding me in a hug. I looked over at the clock. It was 8:00. We'd slept in a lot today. I stirred and turned over in Kazuto's arms. He was still asleep. I put my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. His eyes fluttered open and focused on me.
"Good morning, Beautiful.", he said after a moment.
"Good morning, Handsome.", I replied.
Kazuto smiled and let me go, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. I sat up with him and stretched my arms above my head.
"What do you want for breakfast?", I asked.
"Let's just do cereal today. I'm not in the mood to have to clean up the kitchen too much.", he said.
"Ok.", I said. I swung my legs off the bed and stood up. I was super cheerful this morning. It might have had to do with the fact that I was going shopping today, but it also could have been the pillow fight from last night.
I stretched my legs, then grabbed my phone off the dresser. I opened the bedroom door and made my way down the hall to the kitchen. Everything from our board game and pillow fight was still out. I smiled at the thought of it, then walked into the kitchen. I got down the cereal and a couple of bowls, then got out some spoons. I set them all on the table, then poured myself some cheerios.
Kazuto walked into the kitchen. He looked wide awake, just like me, despite just having woken up. I patted the seat next to me, signaling for him to sit down next to me.
"What has you so happy this morning?", Kazuto asked.
"I don't know, but I feel really good. I just hope that nothing ruins my mood.", I answered.
Kazuto poured himself some cereal, then began eating. I got up and poured us each a glass of juice, then set them down in front of us. Kazuto smiled at me as I set it down, then took my seat again. I continued eating my cheerios until I'd finished the bowl. When I was done, I took the bowl to the sink and rinsed it off, then loaded it into the half full dishwasher. Kazuto followed close behind me.
"I'm gonna go clean up the living room. After that, I'm getting a shower, and then I'm going to start getting ready for my shopping trip.", I said.
"OK. I'll help you with the living room", Kazuto said.
We picked up the throw pillows and put them back on the couch, then gathered up all the cards from Candy Land and put them back in the box. I took the box to the pantry closet and reached up to put it back on the shelf. I couldn't quite reach it. Kazuto came to help me, pushing the box up into its place. I smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek again.
Kazuto blushed and smiled back. We walked out of the pantry closet and into the dining room where we put away the cereal. When we'd cleaned up everything, I went back into the bedroom to find something to wear. I pulled out a pink tank top with a gray cardigan, then looked around in the closet until I found my pink, grey, and tan polka dotted skirt. I laid it out on the bed with my top, then dug through my shoes and got out my pink flats.
I set the outfit down on the bed, shoes on the floor, then walked out the door and went to the bathroom to get a shower.
~~
I walked back into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel. Kazuto was still in the living room, so I was alone. I quickly changed into the outfit I'd laid out. I'd decided not to wash my hair, since I'd washed it last night, so I just had to brush it and fix it up.
I sat down at the dresser, deciding to do my makeup first. This didn't take long, since I usually only wore the basics. When I finished my makeup, I took my hair out of the messy bun I'd thrown it up in for my shower. My hairbrush was sitting on the dresser in front of me. I grabbed it and began brushing out my messy locks.
I put my hair up in my usual updo, then took a good look at myself in the mirror. I got up and looked at myself from all angles. I don't know what I was expecting, but I noticed that my waist had expanded ever so slightly. You wouldn't have even noticed it if you weren't looking for it. I smiled and put my hand on the tiny bump. I wasn't more than two, maybe three weeks along, but it was definitely there.
Kazuto walked in behind me. I quickly moved my hand. It wasn't like it was that embarrassing, but I still didn't want to be caught doing that.
"I made plans with Agil and Shinichi. We're going to go to Shinichi's and play some football. I didn't even know that he played.", Kazuto said.
"Ok. What time are you going?", I asked.
"Same time as you. Right after lunch.", he said.
I nodded and pulled my shirt down a little, covering the waistband of my skirt. Kazuto pulled out a pair of black sports shorts and an old t shirt. While he was changing, I checked through my phone for texts, emails, and missed calls. There was nothing. Not even a spam email. I turned it back off, then stuck it in my purse. It was only 9:00. I had a full 4 hours before I had to be anywhere. I laid back on the bed spread eagle.
"What's up?", Kazuto asked, plopping down beside me.
"Nothing. Just waiting for 1:00 to roll around.", I said.
"Nothing to do, huh? We could go watch another HP movie.", Kazuto suggested.
"Ok. Might as well, since we have four hours. Those things are, what, two and a half hours long?", I said.
"Pretty close. Let's go.", Kazuto said.
We got up and walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch, once we got there. This time, I grabbed the remote and cued up the movie. I was about to hit play when the doorbell rang. Kazuto got up to answer it. He opened the door and Kim stood there.
"Hey, Kim.", he said.
"Hi, Kazuto. Umm, listen. So, Josh is out of town for a little while and I have to run and take Jaxon and the little ones to baseball. The problem is that I can't be there for both of their practices. Is it possible that you or Asuna could come and help me. I just need you to sit there and watch them until I get done at Jaxon's practice.", she said.
I stood up and walked over to the door. Kazuto moved over to let me stand next to him.
"Hey, Kim. I'd be happy to babysit for a little while.", I said.
"I'll come with her.", Kazuto said.
"Thank you so much. I owe you one. Ok, so they're ready, I just have to get them in the car. Do you guys want to ride with us, or do you want to follow behind us?", Kim asked.
"We can follow.", I said.
"Ok, well I'll be just a second.", she said.
I left the door and went into the bedroom to retrieve my purse. I had bandages, Ibuprofen, and Neosporin in case one of the boys got hurt. I really had it for myself, since I was clumsy, but it could be used for them as well. I retrieved Kazuto's phone and wallet, then went back to the living room to turn off the tv. Once I was done, I met Kazuto back at the door.
"You ready? I've gotta go get my phone and wallet, hold on.", he said.
"I have them. They're in my purse.", I said.
"Oh, ok. Well, let's go, then.", Kazuto said.
I hit the automatic lock button on the door. The lights turned off and the door locked. We shut the door, then headed down to the car. Kim and the boys were already getting into the van next to us. Davis was just about to climb in.
"Hi, Mrs. Asuna. Are you gonna come see our practice?", Davis asked. He had a lisp that made his speech the cutest thing on Earth.
"Yeah. We get to come watch you practice. Are you gonna do great?", I asked, bending down to eye level with him.
"Yeah! I'm gonna hit a homerun!", Davis said.
I giggled.
"Awesome! What about you, Caden? Are you gonna do great at practice?", I asked, addressing the little blond with thick glasses, which magnified his already enormous eyes.
"No, I'm gonna do ok.", he said.
Kazuto and I both laughed.
"Why not great?", Kazuto asked.
"I don't want to. I just wanna do ok.", Caden said.
I laughed and tousled his hair.
"Ok, then you do as ok as you can.", I said smiling.
Caden nodded, then got in the van, buckling himself in his carseat.
"The things that come out of his mouth, I have no idea where they come from.", Kim said laughing.
I laughed, then got into my car. We'd decided to take mine, since Kazuto's needed gas. Kazuto discussed directions with Kim, then went around and got into the car. I buckled up, knowing he'd want to watch me do it. He was really protective, but I thought it was cute.
"Ok, let's go.", Kazuto said, buckling his own seat belt, then pulling out and following Kim out of the parking lot.
When we got to the field, there were seven other cars, but I didn't see the black truck that the coach drove.
The other kids on the team were all on the field, playing catch with each other. Kazuto and I got out and joined Kim on the outskirts of the field.
"I don't see the coach. He texted us all yesterday and told us we had practice.", Kim said.
Kazuto looked around.
"What about the assistant coach?", Kazuto asked.
"There isn't one.", Kim said.
Kim walked over to a group of parents and began talking. In a minute, she came back.
"The coach hasn't said anything about the practice. They've been waiting for 10 minutes.", she said.
"Well, I could help them. I know how to play baseball, so I could help them out.", Kazuto suggested.
"I'm fine with it. You'll have to ask their parents, though.", she said.
Kazuto nodded and walked over to the group of parents that were standing together. He greeted them and began talking. They all listened. A couple of them nodded and called their kids over. They began talking to the children, then Kazuto bent down and addressed the kids as well. When he was done, they went back to playing catch and Kazuto walked back over to me and Kim.
"They're ok with it, so I'm gonna go help them.", he said.
"Ok, well I have to take Jaxon to his practice. You guys have fun.", she said.
I waved goodby to her and Jaxon, then leaned back against the hood of my car. Kazuto had gotten all the kids into a line and they were running bases and warming up. I smiled as I watched Caden run the bases. He reminded me of one of those cartoon turtles. He just went along at his own pace, getting distracted by the smallest of things.
I sat and cheered each one of the kids on as they ran the bases. Eventually, I went and stood at second base and gave them each high fives as they passed it. I knew all of their names from the last time I was here. Davis had made sure that I knew everybody.
"Ok, guys, we're gonna start batting practice, ok?", Kazuto called to all the kids.
They all ran to the dugout and grabbed a helmet and a bat. There were two girls on the tee ball team, Brayley and Brooklyn. Brooklyn had a neon pink helmet and Brayley had a glittery purple one with a matching bat. Caden had his bat and helmet at the front of the line. He looked back, then grabbed both girls by the arms and pulled them to the front of the line. I couldn't resist laughing, and neither could any of the other parents.
"Good job, Caden! Way to be a gentleman.", I said, patting him on the back.
He smiled his cute smile back at me and then watched as Brayley went up to the home plate and took her stance. She was standing on the plate and had a strange way of holding the bat. I walked over to help Kazuto adjust her. He didn't want to touch her.
"Here, Brayley. I need you to scoot your feet back, then spread them a little, there you go. Now, get your elbow up, no the other one. Yeah. Now, your hands need to be at the top of the tape on your bat, and you need to almost tap yourself on the back of the head with the bat. There you go. Now, only turn your head, and look over there at the pitcher's mound. That big pile of dirt right there.", Kazuto instructed. I helped her adjust her stance as she listened and followed instruction.
Kazuto walked back to the pitcher's mound and held up one of three balls. He swung it, counting to three with each swing, then tossed it gently. Brayley swung and hit the ball. It didn't go far, but she still got really excited when she made contact.
"I hit it! Did you see? I hit it! I've never hit the ball before!", she said.
''I did see. You did really good. Now, let's see if we can do it again.", Kazuto said.
Brayley got back into position, with a few minor adjustments from me, then Kazuto threw the ball again and she hit it even further. She got just as excited as the first time and the line of kids behind us had started to cheer for her. Caden was cheering the hardest and even ran up and gave her a hug. That was all I needed. I shipped them, now.
"If you can do that one more time, you will be a perfect batter!", Kazuto said, holding up the last ball.
Brayley took her stance and got ready. Kazuto threw the ball and she hit it with almost no trouble. She broke out in a victory dance and started humming a tune that I recognized from a Disney movie.
"Great job, Brayley!", Caden shouted from the line.
We went through the line, teaching each kid to bat. Caden was the only one who had trouble. He had the stance ok, but he would hit the ball so softly like, he was afraid to hurt it. Finally, he decided that he didn't want to bat anymore and gave the position to the next kid in line.
By the end of the practice, most of the kids were batting like champs. They all celebrated and cheered whenever somebody did something well. Over the course of the practice, Caden hugged Brayley three times. I was suppressing a giggle each time.
Finally, Kim showed up with Jaxon and the practice ended. Caden and Davis both ran over to Kim and hugged her legs. She smiled and hugged them back. Kazuto walked up behind me and hugged me, his arms around my waist and one hand on my stomach. He rested his head on my shoulder and kissed my cheek. My smile brightened and I leaned my head on his.
"Good job, Babe.", I said.
"Thanks for helping.", he said.
"My pleasure.", I replied.
"Well, it's almost lunch time and I'm starving. You wanna go by Chick fil A on the way home?", Kazuto asked.
"When don't I want to go to Chick fil A?", I said, answering his question with a question of my own.
Kazuto let go, keeping an arm around my waist, then we walked up to where Kim was standing. Caden and Davis were talking animatedly about the practice and how they hit the ball. Kim was congratulating them and smiling. She saw us coming and stopped talking to the boys.
"Thank you guys so much for helping me out. I don't know how to repay you.", she said.
"There's no need. We had a lot of fun doing this.", Kazuto said.
"Are you sure? I would feel horrible not at least taking you guys to lunch.", she said.
"Well, you could do that.", Kazuto said.
I elbowed him lightly. Kim just laughed.
"Where do you want to go?" Kim asked.
"We were gonna go to Chick Fil A.", I said.
"Yes! That's perfect.", she said.
Kim addressed the boys next, who were running around the car and playing. Davis was peeking around the headlights, while Caden was creeping up behind him.
"Boys, go get in the car.", Kim said.
They both looked at her and then ran for the car door. Davis got in first, then Caden. Within minutes, both were buckled and ready to go.
"Ok, I'll see you guys in a minute.", Kim said.
"Ok.", Kazuto and I said in unison.
Kim got into her van and Kazuto and I got into our car. This time, Kim followed us to Chick fil A. We parked and got out, and for once, finding that it wasn't crowded. We walked through the parking lot and into the building. I sat down at a table that seated 8.
"Alright, do you know what you want?", Kazuto asked me.
"Can you just get me 16 nuggets?", I asked.
"Sauce?", Kazuto said.
"Barbecue.", I replied.
"What about a drink?", Kazuto asked.
"Just water.", I said.
He nodded and went up and got in line to order. In a moment, Kim and the kids join me at the table. The boys were still wearing their hats from practice. They ran up to me and each hugged me. I smiled and hugged them back. they only came up to my hips.
"What was that for?", I asked.
"Thank you for helping us practice!", Davis said.
"You're welcome! I had fun doing it.", I replied.
Kim laughed and sat down in front of me. Each one of the boys, other than Jaxon, took a seat on either side of me. Jaxon sat on one side of Kim. Kazuto came back with our receipt and took a seat on the other side of Kim, diagonal from me.
"They don't have orders that big, so I just got two 8 piece boxes.", he said.
"Did you guys get nuggets?", Kim asked.
"She got nuggets. I just got a sandwich.", Kazuto said.
"You got 16? I don't think I could eat that many. Well, I could, but I wouldn't be able to eat like you and look like you.", she said.
I thought about what she said for a minute. It struck me. We hadn't told them, yet. She was talking about my figure.
"Well, I can't do that either. Normally, I don't eat that much. I've been eating more lately, but that's due to the fact that I'm pregnant.", I said, blushing a little.
"Aww, well congratulations!", Kim said.
"Thanks.", Kazuto and I said.
Caden piped up.
"What does that mean?", he asked.
I looked at him and smiled.
"It means that I'm going to have a baby.", I said.
"Oh.", he said.
"Can I meet him when he gets here?", Davis asked.
"Sure, if it's a boy.", Kazuto said.
"Oh. Well, when can I meet him?", he said.
"In a few months. It will take him a while to get here.", I said.
Davis nodded in understanding and to my surprise, didn't ask anymore questions. Just then, our number was called and Kazuto got up and went to go get it. He came back carrying the tray and set my nuggets and sauce down in front of me. Kim stood up, taking her wallet out of her purse.
"I'm going to go order. Jaxon, you want nuggets?", Kim asked.
"Yes, and fries.", he said shortly.
Kim nodded and walked off, her short red hair bouncing slightly as she walked. Kim wasn't what you could call thin, but she wasn't large. She had short, spiky red hair with long bangs, which she clipped to the side, and liked to wear denim capris pants with a colorful top. Her husband, Josh, was tall with black hair and blue eyes. He wasn't thin, but he wasn't out of shape, either. I looked at Davis and Jaxon. Where did they get their blond hair?
I looked back at Kim and studied her hair. I saw it. She had blond roots that needed to be recolored. My attention was torn away from Kim as I felt a little hand touch my shoulder. I looked over to see that Davis had stood up in the chair and was looking at me, doing a silly little dance and laughing. I laughed and then put my hands on his shoulders.
"I don't think you should do that. You're momma wouldn't like it. I don't want you to get in trouble, so let's sit down in the chair. This way, you won't fall and get hurt or get in trouble with mom.", I said, pushing him down into the seat gently.
"But, I don't wanna sit down.", he said.
"I understand, but you need to. We don't stand in the chair.", I said.
Davis pouted and huffed, but he sat down and crossed his arms, leaning back with a sour look on his face. He was muttering under his breath and looking at his knees. At least he wasn't standing in the chair anymore. I let him pout, not wanting to make matters worse, causing him to scream. Kim came back and sat down.
"What's wrong with Davis?", she asked.
"Oh. Umm, I just asked him to sit down in the chair. He was being funny, but I didn't want him to fall, so I asked him to sit down.", I said.
"Ah. Ok. That sounds about right.", Kim said, paying no attention to the sour-faced blond haired boy to my right.
"You don't have to wait on us. Go ahead and eat your food.", Kim said.
I looked at my food and realized that I hadn't touched it. I opened the box and then peeled back the top of my sauce packet. The nuggets were still hot and steaming. They were delicious. I dipped one in my barbecue sauce and took a bite. I loved Chick Fil A's nuggets more than any other chicken dish I'd ever eaten. I swallowed my food, then looked back at Kim.
"How long have you lived here?", I asked.
"Josh and I have been here for the past few years. Since Jaxon could crawl, so I'd say about seven years.", she said.
"Oh, so you guys were here for the VRMMO incident.", I said.
"Yeah. I remember Josh going out to buy the game, but coming back saying that the guy right in front of him had bought the very last copy. I can't help but think of how close we were to experiencing the same thing that all those other people did.", she said.
"Asuna and I were both victims of it. We managed to beat the game, though.", Kazuto said.
"Yeah, I remember you telling me because I kept thinking about how you guys actually managed to make it in that world without going crazy. Then, you told me that that was how you met and I thought it was like the cutest story ever.", she said.
"It's a cute story, but the only problem with it is that we don't have any memories of how we met from the real world. There are places that the game was modeled after, but that's as close as we can get. The first place we actually met was in an amphitheater. That was a place made by the game designers that had no real base in the real world.", I said.
"Oh. That's hard. Josh and I met in high school, so this was back when Harry Potter was still really popular. It's still a popular thing, but in school, I would see at least one HP reference every day.", Kim said.
"Oh, cool! I read the books, and Kazuto and I are working on watching through the movies. We are on the third one.", I said.
"That's the one that doesn't follow the book like the first two did. The first ones were filmed by a different director, who wanted it all to be just like the book. The third one and past that are filmed by directors who don't care as much.", Kim said.
"Oh. Are they still good?", I asked.
"Yeah, they're great, they're just not as much like the book.", Kim amended.
I nodded. Kim's number was called and she got up to go get her food. I looked back down at Davis, who had gone back to his usual happy self. He was looking at Kazuto as he ate his sandwich. Kazuto noticed and swallowed.
"Hey, Davis. You wanna see something cool?", Kazuto said.
Both Caden and Davis leaned in closer and nodded. Kazuto reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He brought out a one dollar bill, then showed Caden and Davis. I knew what he was about to do.
"I'm gonna turn it upside down by folding it.", Kazuto said.
He began folding it, halving it 4 or five times. I watched as he discreetly turned the bill over, then began unfolding it. Sure enough, the bill was upside down. Davis and Caden both looked dumbstruck.
"Hey, how'd you do that?", Davis asked.
"Is that a magic trick?", Caden asked.
"Yup. I folded it, then it flipped itself over.", Kazuto said.
"Wow. Can you do it again?", Davis said.
"How about this one.", Kazuto said.
He took out a couple of paper clips from his pocket. Why he had them I had no idea. He folded the bill into an S shape, then attached the paper clips on each side of the bill. Finally, he took each end of the bill and snapped it, sending the paper clips into the air. They landed on the table, linked together. I smiled as all three little boys, including Jaxon, stared in amazement. Davis picked up the paper clips and tried to pull them apart, to no avail. They were just linked, but he didn't know how to get them apart.
Kim walked back up to the table and set her tray down. As she did, I picked up my water and took a sip. Kim passed out the food and then sat down, getting out her own food. As the boys ate their food, Kim, Kazuto, and I talked, mostly concerning the missing coach at practice. Kim had texted him three times, but couldn't get ahold of him. We all decided that he'd had something come up or his phone died, or he simply forgot and got busy doing other things.
After we'd all eaten, it was almost 1:00. I recalled my plans with all the girls today. I had finished all of my food and was ready to go, along with everybody else. Davis, Caden, and Jaxon had all been busy playing with their toys, which came with their food. They each had a little toy cow that was a water gun. They were currently empty, but I figured they would probably be filled up later that day.
Kazuto and I said our goodbyes to Kim and her family, then got in the car. We got in the car and drove back home. Kazuto was going to take his own car and fill it up with gas, since we were both going to separate places. I got out of the car to go around to the driver's side. I was about to get in when Kazuto caught me and pulled me close to him.
"Be careful today. I'm gonna miss you.", he said.
"I will, but you be careful, too. No injuries. I love you.", I said.
"I love you, too.", Kazuto replied, kissing me sweetly on the lips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whew! That took forever! I'm exhausted. I hope you guys aren't missing sleep just to read my book. The internet will be here tomorrow. I'll tell you what. If you go to sleep now, I will publish a new chapter on Monday afternoon. If not, then you'll have to wait until Thursday. SLEEP< MY MINIONS!!! GAIN STRENGTH AND BECOME UNSTOPPABLE! WE SHALL RULE THE WORLD!!!!
This is the kind of thing you get from pulling a late nighter. Anyway, have a good week, get plenty of sleep, and please don't forget to vote and comment. I'm still taking suggestions on the gender and name of the future kirisuna baby. Please let me know what you think. BTW, Finley is a strong consideration of mine for a girl. I might go with that, but maybe not. I also really like a few of the boy names. LOL, maybe I'll do both. WHO KNOWS!?!?!?!
Ok, I've weirded you all out plenty for the night. I'll talk to you in the next chapter.
-Scarlet