"Gladiia...Specter...Andreana...Skadi...Chosen from the aegir population to keep the seaborn in check, possess high strength, endurance and intelligence, contain seaborn DNA that can transform them into the monsters they are fighting, they came to the surface after huge loses and have hidden their identity as the church of the deep is searching for them." As Yua was reading the information file on the abyssal hunters, she was getting more revelations and asking herself more questions.
"What happened in the future then? Did the church of the deep succeed in what they wanted to do? Did one or more of the abyssal hunters lose control and become seaborn? When did it happen? How did it happen? Did it have something to do with my father's disappearance?" Finding out about all this information, Yua realised she had potential causes of why the seaborn destroyed her timeline. Thinking that the abyssal hunters were an ally was not so clear now. While they fought seaborn, they also contained their DNA. They were all ticking time bombs. They were as much an ally as a threat.
The church of the deep was also a threat. From what Yua had read about them, they were looking to resurrect a god. "I can't let this happen! I won't let this happen!" Yua exclaimed mentally. "But how do I deal with this situation? There are too many variables to all of this." The white-haired lung knew that with all the new information she had this was a very difficult task; the abyssal hunters were allies to Rhodes Island, so looking to cause them any harm could cause a huge diplomatic incident. Yua herself could also be seen as an enemy, and attacking the church of the deep herself would be a suicide mission.
The lung really was between a rock and a hard place; every action had its reasons and its consequences. "Argh… What do I do? Who can I ask for help?" Yua thought she could ask her father, but he would raise eyebrows about why she was asking about the abyssal hunters or the church of the deep out of the blue. Doctor Kal'tsit would definitely be suspicious about her if she asked her, so she was out of the question. She also doubted many operators knew about the seaborn, so for now, Yua was out of ideas. Deciding it was best to think of an idea later, Yua went to sleep; she had a lot of paperwork to deal with tomorrow...
In her father's office, Yua was still distracted; she couldn't focus on getting her work done. She had a potential lead on who was responsible for the destruction of the future, but no current way to follow it up. This was frustrating Yua to no end. Eventually, Kal'tsit noticed that the girl was distracted. "Is something wrong, Yua?" the ancient feline asked. "Nothing is wrong, Doctor Kal'tsit," Yua replied. "Everything is fine." Kal'tsit knew differently but accepted the answer. Kal'tsit played innocent, but she had a plan to draw Yua out and discover her motives. She was just waiting for a reply to a letter she sent to a certain inquisitor.
After several hours of writing paperwork and recording battles, Yua needed to do something different. Deciding it was best to get some training done, she asked Kal'tsit for permission to leave. "Doctor Kal'tsit, would it be possible to head to the training room? I've done a lot of paperwork, and I don't want to neglect my combat training." Seeing that the girl had quite a lot done, Kal'tsit agreed, saying she would tell her father where she was when he returned if he needed her; the doctor had been in meetings all day. Yua thanked Doctor Kal'tsit and headed to the training room; she knew Hoshiguma would be there.
Arriving at the training room, Yua got changed into some training gear and headed to a different area. Once there, she spotted a green-haired oni hitting a training dummy. Yua called out to her, "Hoshiguma, I'm here for some training." Turning her head to the voice, Hoshiguma saw her protégé. "Hey Yua," she said to the girl. "Glad you're here; didn't think I would be seeing you much since you're the doctor's assistant now." The white-haired lung replied. "It's a lot of paperwork, but I've told Doctor Kal'tsit that I shouldn't neglect my training; my wound has pretty much healed now, so I should be fine." Yua replied.
Hoshiguma then told the lung, "Glad to hear it, well I've got some different training today, someone is joining us and they will be here soon, I hope you are ready as they want to see your progress." Nodding to what she was told, Yua decided to do some stretching and wait for the person Hoshiguma had told her about to arrive. After a short time, footsteps were heard, and a very familiar voice called out, "Hoshiguma, I'm here; is Yua ready?" Knowing that voice, Yua turned around and saw a blue-haired lung that she knew well. "Mother is here!" Yua thought. Hoshiguma answered, "Hey Ch'en, happy you're here; Yua is here, and she is ready, grab a weapon, and we will do some sparring." The three of them went to a rack and picked up a training sword before heading to a square used for sparring.
Yua was excited. "I get to spar with mother! I don't want to let her down! I want to show her how far I've come!" Yua remembered her training with Ch'en that she started at thirteen, as soon as she was a teenager, Ch'en told Yua that she was going to be an operator; Ch'en deep down wasn't happy about it, she didn't want her daughter on the front lines, but thanks to everyone convincing her, Ch'en realized she had no choice, it was about survival.
Once they arrived, two combatants took a side on each of the square. Hoshiguma would watch and join in later; for now, she would officiate the duel and get to see the results of Yua's training. "Alright," said Hoshiguma. "This is a friendly spar; don't go all out. I just want to see how you have progressed, Yua." Yua nodded and then faced her mother. "Good luck to you, Madam Ch'en." Ch'en replied, "And to you, Yua. Best of luck, and let's have a good duel." Both of them then brought their weapons up into position and waited for the signal to start. "Begin!" Hoshiguma shouted.
Both of them charged at each other and their training swords met; Ch'en then swung and Yua ducked the blow, she then responded with her own strike and Ch'en brought her sword up to block it. Ch'en blocked it and jumped back to gain some space, but Yua seemed to know what she would do and came at her again. Ch'en found herself having to put distance between them by dodging, but Yua kept seeming to know which direction she would go and couldn't properly counter. "Yua seems to know what I'm going to do before I do it," Ch'en thought as she was having to dodge Yua's strikes; she was really having trouble getting any offense.
Eventually, Ch'en got some space, she leapt high and decided to come down on Yua from above. But the white-haired lung dodged it perfectly. Yua then decided to use the same technique as Ch'en, and this caught Ch'en by surprise; she barely got out of the way. "That is a technique I use!" Ch'en was shocked, "How does this girl know it!?" Ch'en was getting more surprised by this girl. She knew she had to step it up, and so she did.
Ch'en started to change her offence and use different techniques, but Yua had the perfect counter every time. "This is how far I've come, mother!" Yua was desperate to show the blue-haired lung how far she had come even if the Ch'en she was sparring wasn't the one who raised her. Yua was trained by Ch'en. She knew all her techniques, so Yua knew how to counter them. She then decided to use new techniques that her mother didn't teach her and decided to use them. Ch'en was getting into this fight. She was enjoying this, and she wanted to push Yua further.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect this! There's no way Hoshiguma trained Yua in my techniques. How does she know them so well? Never mind! This is getting good! I want to see what else you can do, Yua!" The blue-haired lung was definitely impressed by her fellow lung and wanted to see what else she was capable of.
As this was going on, Hoshiguma was watching the fight, "Why does Yua fight like Ch'en? Everything that Ch'en is doing, Yua looks like she has seen it before! How was she trained! This is nothing like how I trained her!" Hoshiguma was shocked at what she was seeing, looking at how the two were fighting it looked like Ch'en was the one who trained Yua, but Ch'en had never trained anyone, Hoshiguma could not understand what she was seeing. The green-haired oni just carried on looking in awe at the two fighters.
Both combatants were still going at it; eventually, more people had arrived to see what was happening. They were also in shock over what they were witnessing. Madam Ch'en was being pushed to her limit by this new operator. Ch'en eventually realized this had to end; she decided to use her most powerful sword technique and charged at Yua, ready to end it. She swung… but she didn't connect. Yua had dodged it. Ch'en then saw Yua about to use the same technique. Ch'en was defenseless; she couldn't react in time. Yua then hit Ch'en and sent her flying across the room.
Ch'en landed a good distance away, this caused the white-haired lung to think that she had seriously injured her mother. She dropped her sword and ran over to where she had landed. "Madam Ch'en, are you okay?" she shouted as she got closer to her. Ch'en got up and responded. "I'm fine, Yua. There is no need for concern." Feeling relieved, Yua helped Ch'en off the floor by offering her a hand. Taking her hand, Ch'en stood up and looked at Yua, unable to believe what had happened; this girl had beaten her using her own technique. Before Ch'en could question her, however, she realized that their fight had attracted an audience and they were heading their way.
"You're awesome!"
"Amazing!"
"I can't believe you just did that!"
"Incredible!"
"You beat Madam Ch'en!"
Yua was receiving heaps of praise from various operators, which made the girl feel quite sheepish in front of all those people. Eventually, Hoshiguma came in front of the crowd and told them, "Alright, everyone! That's enough! Give the girl some space!" The crowd then dispersed and left the three of them alone. Hoshiguma then turned to Yua and said, "You did good, kid. Really surprised me. I didn't expect that." Yua then replied, "Well, i was taught well;I got pushed hard." Nodding to her reply, Hoshiguma then said, "Okay, Yua. Well, seeing as you did so well today, you can relax for the rest of the day. You and me will spar again another day. Wouldn't be fair since you worked so hard with Ch'en here." Ch'en then spoke up, "Indeed, you pushed me hard today, Yua. You should be proud of how you performed today."
"Thank you, mother," Yua thought. She then thanked both of them and left to head back to her room. Once Yua had left, Hoshiguma turned to Ch'en. "Are you okay, Ch'en?" she asked. Ch'en replied, "I'm fine, I'm just surprised; that girl knew my techniques and how to counter them. Even her own techniques look like mine with a few tweaks. I can't explain it." This bothered Hoshiguma as well; how did Yua know Ch'ens fighting style so well? From now on, both Hoshiguma and Ch'en knew they had to keep a very close eye on her. She had a lot of secrets to discover.
Back in her room, Yua was ecstatic; she had beaten her mother in a spar. Although this was a younger version of her mother, she had done it. She had come so far; Yua felt like she could beat anyone. Eventually, she was brought down by a knock at the door. Calming herself down, Yua went to the door and answered it. When she opened it, she was met with Vanilla. The Blacksteel operator spoke, "Good evening, operator Smokescreen, I hope you are okay." Yua replied, "I am okay, Operator Vanilla. How are you?" Vanilla responded, "I am fine, thank you. I came here to tell you… Doctor Kal'tsit wants to see you…"