The scientist could not believe what he had just heard. "John Grey…has offspring with a KANSEN?" The look on Predator's face told him that he had heard correctly. Kowalski's mind began imagining what this child could be capable of. "A KANSEN-human hybrid, a perfect amalgamation of man and weapon, the power of a KANSEN and the limitless potential of a human. Think of the possibilities! This child could be the next stage of human evolution! The next development of weapons technology! I must find this child! I have to study her! I need to know what capabilities she could possibly possess!" Kowalski thought to himself. No longer was he interested in Enterprise; he had a new fascination now, this child's potential could completely eclipse the power of Enterprise. Kowalski had to find her to find out.
Predator had a huge smile on her face, she knew this human could be useful to her "He will try to get his hands on the human commander's child, he could do our dirty work for us, and with the human navies being attacked by the META'S other Sirens have dragged from other timelines, the humans are beginning to distrust and turn on the KANSEN. If the humans destroy them, the child will be defenceless and ours for the taking." Is what Predator was thinking. In her mind her plan had no downsides for the Sirens, either this human would manage to take away the child from the Azur Lane, or the humans would Destroy all KANSEN, either way, they could get the child without any resistance.
Kowalski knew that he had to find a way to get on the base of the Azur Lane; finding John Grey's daughter was now his top priority. After some thinking, he then came up with a way "I can ask Nelson to transfer me and some of my staff there, say to him we will keep an eye on the KANSEN, tell him that we will be his people on the inside. But I also need something to use against Commander Grey, what could I use to keep him in line?" The scientist then realized what he could use against the Azur Lane commander "That's it! His child! Nobody in high command knows of her existence! But I do! If I threaten him that I will let high command know about his child, that should be more than enough to keep him on a leash." The scientist thought to himself. Both the human and Siren in the room believed they had the perfect plan to get what they wanted, however, they both wanted the same thing. This alliance would not last forever, Predator knew this, but was willing to use the scientist to achieve her goals. Should Kowalski be able to get his hands on the child and away from the Azur Lane, she would dispose of him. Predator then decided to leave the area and let the scientist think of his plan, she would be watching the upcoming events with great interest.
Back at the base of the Azur Lane, it was early in the morning, and it was peaceful; many KANSEN were asleep in the Sakura Empire building. That soon changed, however, because of a young girl running through the building with her aunt on her heels. "Get back here, Tsubaki!" Zuikaku called out to her niece. Zuikaku had been woken up by her niece jumping on her stomach and knocking the wind out of her. Once the crane recovered, she was ready to give Tsubaki a good telling off, however, before she was able to do that, the half-KANSEN had already exited Zuikaku's room. Once outside her room, Zuikaku could see Tsubaki running down the hall and knocking things over in her path. The crane knew she would have to catch the girl to put a stop to her antics, and soon, the longer it carried on, the more people who wouldn't be happy with herself.
"Is this what Shoukaku and John have to put up with?" Zuikaku pondered while chasing down her niece; this was the first time the girl behaved like this with her. As Tsubaki was running round a corner, she bumped into someone, which stopped her in her tracks. Looking up, she could see it was someone she knew—a brown-haired kitsune, with tails that Tsubaki found comforting. It was Akagi. Seeing Akagi put a smile on the girl's face, she then spoke to the aircraft carrier. "Good morning, Miss Akagi," the girl said to her. Akagi, seeing that the half-KANSEN was in a good mood, replied in a sickly-sweet tone: "Morning, Tsubaki. Have you come looking for Akagi? Akagi is very happy to see you." Tsubaki hadn't come to see Akagi; she was running from her aunt, but was happy to have bumped into the kitsune. Tsubaki could see the tails of Akagi swishing behind her, which was hypnotic to the young girl. She wanted to be wrapped up in them again and was about to ask Akagi if she could feel them like she did yesterday, however, before she could ask that question, Zuikaku had caught up to her and had just arrived from around the corner.
"That's enough young lady… You have been very badly behaved this morning," Zuikaku said to her niece as she panted and was bent over catching her breath from having to chase her niece around. The crane was about to pick up Tsubaki and take her back to her room, however when Zuikaku stood up straight she could see the reason why the half-KANSEN had stopped running, this reason only made Zuikaku's morning feel worse. Akagi saw Zuikaku had arrived, but Tsubaki was still hypnotized by the swishing of Akagi's tails, so she didn't know her aunt was behind her. Seeing the crane, the kitsune smiled sweetly at her and began to speak. "Morning Zuikaku, it is a lovely day isn't it? I've just bumped into the commander's offspring which has made my day, how has your morning been Zuikaku?" The kitsune asked. Zuikaku could tell the only reason Akagi was being friendly and polite was because her niece was here; it would be a different story if she wasn't.
Zuikaku also knew that Tsubaki had a good opinion of the kitsune from yesterday, starting an argument with her would not look good in front of her niece; so the crane knew she had to be polite as well. "My morning has been fine, thank you for asking Akagi," Zuikaku said to Akagi. The kitsune was loving the fact that the crane was having to play nice in front of the commander's daughter, she could see her fellow KANSEN was really having to force it. Tsubaki then realized her aunt was behind her, breaking out of her hypnosis she turned around to face her aunt. "Look auntie, I bumped into Miss Akagi, can I touch her tails again Auntie, please?" The girl asked her aunt. Zuikaku replied, "No Tsubaki, you have been bad this morning, you jumped on my stomach and broke some things while running around, your mother is going to know about this when I return you home." The little girl wanted to protest but knew what she did was wrong, she hurt her aunt and broken property of the Sakura Empire. Tsubaki then put her head down and started walking towards Zuikaku. When she was next to her aunt, she lifted her head back up to look towards Akagi. "Goodbye miss Akagi, hopefully I get to play with your tails next time." She said to the kitsune. "Anytime you want to play with my tails you are welcome Tsubaki." Akagi replied. Zuikaku and Tsubaki then left leaving Akagi on her own.
Footsteps were then heard behind Akagi, and a voice was heard, "What are you up to now, sister?" The voice said. Turning around, Akagi could see a white-haired kitsune much like her; this kitsune was Akagi's sister, Kaga. Akagi replied to her sister, "Whatever do you mean, Kaga? Akagi is just looking to claim what is rightfully hers." Kaga could only sigh at this answer, as she knew her sister was still chasing the commander even long after he had married Shoukaku. Kaga had tried to convince Akagi to give up but her sister didn't listen no matter what. Akagi could not accept that the commander was married to someone else other than her. "Sister, trying to manipulate the commander's child isn't going to change anything; he has chosen his partner, you need to accept that, Akagi," Kaga said. Akagi however still wouldn't listen to what her sister was saying, believing that she could still win the heart of her commander. "Kaga, Shoukaku has been a pleasant distraction for him; he will soon see that we are fated to be together; he just needs to see it," Akagi told her sister. Kaga could only sigh again, once again Akagi wouldn't listen to reason. Kaga then decided that this conversation was going to get nowhere, so she left her sister alone. While on her way to her next destination, the white-haired kitsune could only think to herself, "This will only end in heartbreak for you, sister; I hope you will see that this is pointless before it reaches that stage."
When Zuikaku returned with her niece to her room, the crane could see several KANSEN outside of it, and they did not look happy. Zuikaku could tell that they didn't appreciate being woken up by Tsubaki running amok. The crane profusely apologized to the other KANSEN for her niece's behavior and she promised them that it wouldn't happen again. The other KANSEN then left the two on their own once they heard the apology from Zuikaku. Zuikaku then went inside her room and grabbed clothes and towels for herself and Tsubaki; she was going to make sure that both of them were clean before Zuikaku took her back home to her sister and John, if they were still together, Zuikaku wanted to find out what happened last night. After the two of them bathed and changed and got a quick breakfast, Zuikaku together with Tsubaki left the Sakura Empire building and started to head to the home of her parents.
On the way there, the KANSEN was thinking to herself, "I wonder what Shoukaku found out last night; I hope that it was all just a huge misunderstanding. John has always looked like he cared for my sister, would he really throw her and Tsubaki away for the Grey Ghost? I really hope he hasn't." Zuikaku then looked towards her niece walking beside her. "It would hurt Tsubaki most of all; she's young, she wouldn't understand. If John has cheated on Shoukaku with Enterprise, she could end up hating him as she is growing up. I'm not saying he wouldn't deserve it, but I don't want Tsubaki carrying around all that bitterness and hatred; she doesn't deserve it." Zuikaku thought to herself.
Eventually, after what seemed like hours of walking, Aunt and niece arrived at the home of Shoukaku and John. Zuikaku was nervous as she approached the door; she didn't want to knock as she was dreading finding out what had happened. Tsubaki could tell Zuikaku didn't want to knock the door; her aunt was just standing in front of it. The little girl wanted to find out why Zuikaku was just standing there. "What's wrong, Auntie? Don't you want to see Mama and Papa?" Tsubaki asked the crane. Zuikaku turned to her niece and gave her a fake smile before saying, "Don't worry, Tsubaki. I'm just letting your mother and father have a few more minutes sleep. I'll give a knock soon." Tsubaki didn't believe her aunt, but she didn't mind if her parents got a few more minutes rest; she knew they were very busy people, so the little girl had no problem waiting a few more minutes to see them. Zuikaku waited a few more minutes to gather her courage, once she was ready, the crane gave a knock on the door. She then anxiously awaited one of the occupants to arrive.
After an agonizing few minutes, the front door opened, and standing there was her sister, who looked exhausted. Upon seeing the way Shoukaku looked, the crane asked, "Shoukaku, what happened? You look shattered." The White-crane didn't manage to get much sleep last night due to the events that had occurred; Shoukaku and John hadn't been asleep long when Zuikaku knocked on the door. Shoukaku, in her state, only barely managed to register what her sister said. She responded, "Morning Zuikaku, just didn't have a lot of sleep—a lot of things happened last night." Zuikaku wondered what happened and wanted to find out, but before she could ask, Tsubaki, who saw her mother shouted, "Mama!" Hearing her daughter's voice woke Shoukaku up more. When she noticed her daughter, she said, "Aww, my little baby, I've missed you." Shoukaku then got on her knees and opened her arms up to give Tsubaki a hug, which the little girl gladly accepted. Shoukaku was happy and relieved that her daughter was home; finding out what she did last night really affected the KANSEN, while she trusted her sister completely with looking after Tsubaki, she was glad her daughter was back safe and sound.
After a few minutes, Shoukaku let Tsubaki out of her arms. She then asked the half-KANSEN, "Did you enjoy the sleepover with your aunt? Were you a good girl for her?" Tsubaki, upon being asked that, put her head down; she couldn't look at her mother. Shoukaku knew by that look that Tsubaki had done something wrong, so she decided it would be best to ask Zuikaku. "Zuikaku, what happened? What has Tsubaki done?" Shoukaku asked her sister. Zuikaku then explained what the half-KANSEN did this morning. Upon finding out, Shoukaku gave her daughter a telling off. "Tsubaki, what you did to your aunt was mean. You also damaged other people's property. What do you have to say?" Shoukaku wasn't that mad that Tsubaki damaged some items in the Sakura Empire building; she was more upset that she hurt Zuikaku. Tsubaki, upon hearing her mother, lifted her head up towards Zuikaku and spoke, "Sorry auntie, I promise not to do it again." Looking at her niece, Zuikaku knew she couldn't be mad at her for long. "It's fine, Tsubaki," she said. "I accept your apology. Just please don't do that again. That hurt you know." Zuikaku told her niece.
The other thing that Zuikaku told Shoukaku was that Akagi had been around her daughter yesterday and this morning. The white-crane did not like being told this, she wanted the kitsune as far away from her daughter as possible. "What is Akagi's game?" she asked. "Can she still not move on? And who does she think she is trying to manipulate Tsubaki? I swear the next time I see her, she will get a piece of my mind." The KANSEN told herself, she would be having very strong words with Akagi the next time she bumped into her; she would also double her efforts to keep the aircraft carrier away from her daughter. The white-crane was brought out of her thoughts by footsteps from behind her, looking in that direction Shoukaku could see that her husband John was awake, and he looked just as tired as she did earlier. John seeing his wife said, "Morning Shoukaku, how are you feeling?, is Tsubaki home?" The little girl answered this question for Shoukaku by saying, "Morning papa." She then walked up and hugged her father's legs happy to see the man.
Seeing his daughter was back, John started ruffling her hair; he also noticed his sister-in-law standing next to Shoukaku. He then asked how Tsubaki was with her, to which the crane told him what she had told her sister. Looking down, he could see his daughter looking at the floor just like what she did with her mother. The half-KANSEN still felt guilty over her actions. John knew that she already received a telling off, so it would be pointless doing it again. He then brought Tsubaki outside with him and told Shoukaku, "It's best you tell her what happened last night, and explain what's going to happen." Shoukaku knew what her husband meant; she looked at her sister and told her to come with her, she didn't want Tsubaki to know what was going on.
Taking a short walk, Shoukaku led her sister somewhere where her daughter was out of earshot but still in sight, allowing her to see her with John. Zuikaku was dying to know what happened and waited for her sister to speak. Shoukaku then started to talk to Zuikaku, "Zuikaku, what I am about to tell you will come as a shock, it was for me. First let me clear things up about John, he wasn't cheating on me with Enterprise." Zuikaku was relieved to hear this, happy that her sister and her husband were still together and John wasn't looking at abandoning his family to run off with Enterprise. "Sister, I am glad to hear that, but why can't we talk in front of Tsubaki? Is it really that shocking?" The KANSEN asked her sister. The look Shoukaku had on her face told her that it was, seeing her sister look so serious, Zuikaku knew that this must have been very important. Shoukaku then took a deep breath before she started explaining everything to her sister…
When Shoukaku had finished telling Zuikaku everything, she was beyond stunned. "This has to be a joke! It can't be real! There is a META version of me here! And she's inside their house! What are you two thinking?" The crane screamed internally. She couldn't believe it, she had to see it for herself. Zuikaku then decided to run to her sisters home, Shoukaku tried to stop her, but she couldn't, Zuikaku was running too fast. Once inside, Zuikaku dashed towards the guest room with her sister behind her, telling her to stop. The crane didn't listen and went upstairs to the guest room. When the crane opened the door, she was met with a sight that chilled her to the core.
"Impossible! That's me! That's the META version of me!" Zuikaku told herself. Asleep on the bed and being treated by Vestal, was Zuikaku META...