2025-10-09: In Normal Shoes
- Log: In Normal Shoes
- Cast: Yua Ooshiro, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Sunny Day Diner, Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: October 9, 2025
- IC Date: Mnday, July 23, 2012
- Summary: A meetup during exams week by chance! Ichika and Yua have a talk--including about dreams, and what it is to be discouraged...
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua... is on leave for exams week! She's a health and physical education teacher, she'll be no help with exams -- and besides that, she'll be leaving at the end of the week to go to London.
Also, it's better if she doesn't physically exert herself. For some mysterious reason.
Yua does have reason to drop by Hirasaka, though, even when she's not working at the nearby Kasugayama. For instance... visiting the Cardboard Dragon!! One might note her distinctively black car parked nearby, and peeking in through the windows of the Sunny Day...
... yes, there she is! She's eating some almond toast and a nice salad, in her usual dancer's outfit.
(Except... she's wearing normal shoes. With good ankle support. And supportive socks. Please, someone stop the presses. How did she even walk around the city in pointe shoes before this?!)
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika is very much not on leave for exams week. Two days down, though, and she needs food or... something. Maybe Myunghon will have advice. Maybe the brightly-colored card games will restore her brain. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
But... Ichika notices the black car parked there, and looks to the Sunny Day. She spots Yua. ...With normal shoes.
Weird???
Ichika's still in uniform, at the moment. She hasn't had the energy to go home and change. So, when she walks in, she gets a few looks accordingly. Teal and white and black and midriff-baring and long-skirt and very delinquenty. Her own boots are pretty supportive.
"Uh," she says as she walks over, "Hey sensei."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Kawase-kun!" Yua exclaims, when Ichika greets her. "Oh, I'm relieved you're well! Come, come -- shall I get you something? You must be exhausted, even though it's only been two days..."
Yua thusly bustles Ichika over to the counter to order some food, and apparently she does NOT get to skip this cutscene where an adult is concerned for her wellbeing.
And so: they sit down, with snacks. "... but how are you doing, Kawase-kun?" Yua asks, with concern. "The police weren't unkind, I hope...?"
Luckily, the diner's pretty dead right now, so it's not like there's really anyone to overhear that.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ichika starts, "Oh, uh--"
SNACKS. Ichika will accept a chocolate pastry and some coffee this time--she wants the energy and a little of the sugar. It's a fancy coffee, for that matter. It's nice to get now and then.
"...The police sucked," Ichika answers when they sit down again. Nobody's going to overhear, but she still speaks quietly. "They pushed for answers and..."
She shakes her head. "Well, they let me go eventually. I'm fine."
A pause. "...Finals are hard." Pause. "You're wearing new shoes."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Fancy coffee!! Yua will treat Ichika to fancy coffee and delicious pastry. Clearly she has the money, so it's fine!!
(To be fair, she actually has a little less money for this kind of thing, given she uses her salary for it rather than her fiancee's, but she's not about to tell her student about the particulars of her financial arrangement. ... besides, part-time money goes a lot further when you don't need to use it on things like 'bills' and 'groceries'.)
"Mm..." Yua frowns, sympathetically, listening to Ichika's account. "I'm sorry," she sighs, when Ichika brushes it off. "But... I am glad they let you go."
She has to worry, sometimes, whether her students might disappear and not come back.
"They... ah?" Yua might have been about to comment on how bad exams are, except she's surprised out of it by Ichika's astuteness. "O--oh, you noticed?" She laughs, a hand to her cheek -- and she doesn't have gorgeous long nails on right now. (They're fake, but she's still worried about the chemicals.) "Just managing a bit of swelling... it's not that I've hurt myself, it's just a side effect of some medication I'm taking right now. Well, I can't exert myself too much, anyway, so it's best not to have the temptation...!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika can pay for herself, but she doesn't insist. Yua's an adult!
Still, Yua says she's sorry, and Ichika looks back at her. "Thanks," she says. "But it's not your fault. You tried to help and that guy basically bullied you into silence. ...He's a jack--" Pause. "Jerk."
They did let her go. Why? Well... That she's more worried about.
"I noticed," Ichika says, and notices--hm. No gorgeous long nails. ...Swelling in her ankles. On special medications, can't exert herself...
Is rich but not rich herself, instead having some kind of benefactor...
Ichika looks at Yua's drink, thoughtfully, and back up to Yua.
"...Sensei," she says seriously, trying to meet Yua's eye. "Are you... also on vitamins, maybe...?" She looks down at Yua's food. Almond toast, a nice salad...
"...You should make sure to get a lot of protein, too. The orange juice's good, but it's just a start."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"It's quite all right," Yua assures Ichika. "He is very much a Bottom... in the Shakespearian sense."
She just called the police a bunch of jackasses, but it might go sailing waaaay over Ichika's head.
But other things certainly do not, and Yua blinks at her, owlishly, with her one good eye. "Hmm?" She asks, and then...
"Ahahaha..."
Yua laughs, the gesture veiled behind a hand. "Is it that obvious...? Perhaps you have younger siblings... yes, I'm trying to have a baby," she confirms, smiling. "Though nothing's entirely certain, yet... don't worry, though, I'm eating plenty of protein at dinner! But my doctor told me I should be quite conservative with my diet," she explains, "because getting sick could hurt the baby. And if I put on weight at this point, apparently I could get a sugar disorder while I'm pregnant, too... but don't worry, I'm taking all my vitamins!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"...So he's into guys?" Ichika asks, tilting her head to the side. She absolutely does not get it. Shakespeare wasn't on this set of finals...
Yua gets what Ichika is putting down, though.
"Not exactly," Ichika says, though she does have a younger sibling. "...Ririka-chan's only a little younger than me." Trying to have a baby, but nothing is certain yet. "I see," Ichika says, and smiles, though there's something bittersweet in it that may be hard to understand at first. "Your doctor would know," she says. "And you do want to watch your weight. You're supposed to gain some, but not too much too soon. ...And your feet'll get worse," she says. "That part's rough. You're going to have to worry about heartburn, too. ...The way things smell is really rough..."
Ichika looks past Yua, into nothing in particular.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Er..." Yua laughs, a touch nervously. "T-that's... you see, in A Midsummer Night's Dream there is a character by the name of Nick Bottom whose head is turned into a donkey!"
Sorry, Ichika. You sat down with a teacher. You entered... the education zone.
Yua has a thing or two to learn too, though, given how Ichika's younger sister isn't much --
wait a second --
-- a little blink, easily dismissed as the rest of her confusion, and Yua remembers that the girl fighting with that Evoker does share a last name with Ichika. Anyway!
Anyway, Ichika really knows more about this than she really ought to. "Kawase-kun..." Yua starts, gently. "You sound like you're speaking from experience...?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Yua laughs, but Ichika has no idea it's relevant to her. Instead, she hears the explanation. "Oh," she says. "...Ohhhhhh." It dawns, and Yua has successfully educated Ichika! "I get it," she says.
But Ichika does want to help. ...Or maybe there's just something in her that needs to be expressed. It sort of just happens, without her really deciding whether or not to talk about it. But now that Yua starts with that gentle tone, she gets to decide whether to keep going.
"..."
"Yeah," Ichika answers, and looks down at her coffee, seeing her reflection in the dark liquid. "I am."
"It's..."
She bites her lip. "It's why they kicked me out of Sevens. Like, they won't say that, but it's why."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"But..." Yua starts, because of course she's never seen Ichika caring for a child, and a moment later she puts two and two together. "Oh!" She exclaims, with a gasp. "You poor dear...!"
Yua puts down her toast, tilting her head with concern. "I didn't mean to bring you painful memories," she says, still gentle. "I am terribly sorry... my mother lost some of her own, it can be so devastating. Shall -- shall we speak of something else...?" Though, if her mother was prone to miscarriage...
Well, that doesn't bode well for Yua, either.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Yua seems to take a moment to get it, but Ichika hears her gasp. She looks up at Yua, has to take a moment to focus her eyes to look at her properly--and then shakes her head. "No," she says. "It's OK. I want to talk about it. ...I'm really..."
"I'm really happy for you," she says. "Just... also a little jealous," she admits. "I know that's stupid. I'm in high school. I'd probably be doing even worse in school if I had a baby. But..."
She finally picks up her coffee again and takes a drink, to steady herself and give herself something to focus on for a moment.
Then she sets it down.
"The doctors told me there's no reason I can't have one later, even after... that. Later, of course. ...It's not like I'm trying, obviously. I'm careful, these days. ...I wasn't, before. He didn't want to be, and I didn't think to make him..."
"I don't really..." She hesitates, and looks back up to Yua's face. "I don't really have anyone to talk to about it," she admits. "My parents... that's hard, even though they're supportive. My sister doesn't get it. ...My friends don't have that kind of experience."
"...So I want you to tell me about it, if that's OK. I know I'm just one of your students, but..."
"And I'm sorry," she says. "About your mother. It's really hard. Really, really hard."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Ichika wants to talk about it, and Yua hums, affirmatively, in a wordless encouragement for her to speak. She's jealous, even at her age...
... and... he didn't want her to be careful.
Ichika will find that Yua is concerned, but in the manner of empathic caring rather than the judgement which might have been more common on people's faces. She nods, to her, encouraging her on; though she does feel that doubt, at the back of her mind, whether any of her students ought to be telling her sensitive things like this.
But if no one asks, she doesn't need to tell them anything! So... it's fine, right? Right...?
"It is very hard," Yua agrees, "as it must have been for you. Please, don't worry... that you are a student of mine is hardly a matter to be dismissed with 'just', as far as I'm concerned." She shakes her head, with a thin, sympathetic smile. "I would be remiss if I did not aid you."
Translated from theatre speak, that probably means she wants to help.
"So... I've had to go to a clinic, since my mother had so much trouble with her babies," Yua starts, delicately. "And because... well, in my situation... it would be rather impossible any other way." She's quite tentative with her details; perhaps Ichika can tell she's assessing how she reacts. "The embryo transfer was just a few days ago... but they say not to take a pregnancy test for a few weeks, in case there's a 'false negative'... you know, when the test says it didn't work when it really did? But I'm rather young, so I'm quite hopeful..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"It's cool," Ichika says to that concern. "I'm not with him anymore. And I know better, now. I'm 'careful'." Pause. "...Not that that stops the cops bugging me when they go through my purse," she grumbles.
She doesn't know that Yua might share her secrets... but these secrets are already known to the Powers behind Yua anyway.
"Thanks," Ichika says. "OK. Then..." She smiles back, though it's a fragile sort of expression. "I'll accept that."
She kind of gets it.
"Oh.... that makes sense," Ichika says of a clinic. "That's smart." And takes money, of course. But she knows Yua has money. Or her partner does, anyway. But... rather impossible any other...?
Ichika doesn't get it at first. She sort of tilts her head, wondering what that situation must be, but with Yua so concerned, it clicks. "...Oh," she says. Embyro transfer...
"Oh, that kind of clinic." A thoughtful nod. "...Sensei, does that mean...?" She is hesitant to ask, but doesn't seem upset, or disgusted, or overly curious. "Um, that is... It's cool if it is like that. I won't tell anyone."
She pauses. "Um, but, yeah, I see. You wouldn't want that. It'd stress you out, right? Since you really want this."
"Yeah, you're not old," Ichika agrees. In most contexts, she'd assume someone Yua's age was well into adulthood, but on this axis... "It's better, even, for you to be your age instead of mine. You're more, um... developed."
"...The morning sickness was really bad for me," she admits. "I hope it's easier for you. But it's OK, they have medicine for it, if it's bad. There's stuff you can take that's safe for the baby."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"You knew just what I was thinking," Yua says, impressed with Ichika's intuition, "but I am glad to hear you're staying away from him... that type of man really isn't any good."
That's putting it mildly! Well, it's not like Yua doesn't do that a lot.
"Er..." Yua starts, because she doesn't realise that Ichika can catch on so easily, looking paradoxically rather trapped for a moment. "I-it's... um, it's really just a complicated situation...?"
did the kids go through a gay revolution while she wasn't looking and now everyone knows about being gay and they're all down with the dandy what the fuck
"Y--yes! That's it!" She focuses on the matter of stress, instead of falling down that thought trap. "They said it's important to manage my stress... so I can't worrying all the time. So I drew up a schedule!" She declares, quite proud of herself. "Now I have specific times to do things like take my blood pressure or my temperature or my medications or anything else!"
Is that... how Yua stops worrying about something?
No wonder she's strict...
"It is better," Yua encourages her, gently. "And you'll get here, soon enough. My mom lost one before she had me, and when she lost Yukiya-kun, a few years later, she'd already picked a name... I still remember helping set his cot up, myself." Of course, she was very young, so she wasn't really much help... but she's still quite downcast, thinking of it. "But," Yua shakes her head, smiling to Ichika, "she kept trying, and had two more healthy children. Yume-chan is even around your age!" Yume goes to Seven Sisters, though...
Still, Ichika says the morning sickness was bad, and... "Oh, there is? That's a relief," Yua smiles. "I have been warned it will be quite difficult... though right now the cramps aren't all that different from what I'm used to feeling. Ah, though they say it's hard to tell from that..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Yeah," Ichika agrees. "Any guy who thinks he can control what I do with my body, or any guy who hits me... I won't be with that kind of guy anymore."
But Yua definitely doesn't seem to be reassured by Ichika saying it's OK. ...Ichika's pretty sure it's gay, though, because if it were just a matter of popping some boner pills that would be a lot cheaper than IVF. "That's cool," Ichika says. "Whatever it is, I hope it works out."
So instead--
managing stress! "Oh, wow." A schedule! "...I guess you have it all planned out, huh? That's one way of getting a handle on it."
It's kind of impressive... and a little scary.
Yua reassures her and doesn't shame her for what she wants. Ichika appreciates that a lot. "I hadn't picked a name," she admits. "...Wasn't quite there yet. If he'd have let me pick," she amends a moment later. "...But thanks, sensei. I know... I know." What does she know? She says instead, "That's cool, about your sister."
"Mm-hm," Ichika says. "They can do a lot for you. ...Sometimes it's worse than other times," Ichika asys. "But it gets better after the first trimester or so. At least, it did for me."
"Mm-hm, it's difficult. The big sign is a missed period, but that's only if you have a regular cycle to begin with. Mine were pretty bad, so it was really noticeable. They're... a little easier, now. Guess I should be grateful." She doesn't feel grateful.
"And I dunno about all the medicines you've got on, either. They might make it more different. I just... Well, you know. Did it the old fashioned way, got knocked up."
A sigh. "...I worked it out, you know. I'm pretty sure..."
"I'm pretty sure we conceived her around my birthday..."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua shakes her head. "Someone like that oughtn't claim anything you haven't given them to begin with," she agrees, which probably doesn't have any dire portents.
But -- "T--thank you..." Yua still seems a little nervous, about the whole concept, but of course she would.
... you need to be married to access a fertility clinic, and marriage is between a man and a woman.
Still, Yua has a plan. "Mmhm!" Yua hums, brightly. "Of course, I plan my day regardless... so it wasn't so difficult to add in!"
'If' he'd have let her pick, Ichika says, and Yua scowls. "That really isn't all right," she insists. "Not letting you pick your own child's name... of course, it's a conversation, but a woman has certain feelings about something like that!" She's counting Ichika as a woman and not a girl for the purposes of this conversation, it's fine. Having children is specifically women's work!
"At least it does get better... thank you for that," because Ichika is offering her insights, after all.
Still -- "You feel how you feel," Yua insists, gently. "And there's nothing wrong with that."
Yua listens to Ichika's analysis, quietly, fingers resting at her opposite wrist. "... it must make your birthday a difficult time," she says, after a brief lacuna of a pause to be sure she's finished her thought. "He took advantage of you while you were vulnerable... what a terrible situation." An awful lot of things are situations, to Yua. "Oh, you must miss her terribly..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika doesn't entirely get what Yua says there, but, "Yeah. I can't take back what I gave him, but I don't have to give him any more."
Yua is nervous, but--of course. Ichika doesn't know the ins and outs of laws about IVF, but she figures if Yua thought she could be open with it, she would be. It's just not her parents that would take issue; it's the school, society in general...
"Sucks when people can't share things important to them," she reflects distantly, but then--
"Oh. I see. That's cool. I... feel a little better when I have an idea of what I'm doing, too."
"I'm with you," Ichika agrees about how it's not right. "There wasn't much that was 'right' about how all that went..."
But, she feels how she feels. "Thanks," Ichika says. "I guess that's true. Marlowe-sensei said stuff like that..."
Her birthday. "...Kinda yeah," Ichika says. "But it would be anyway, because we spent my birthdays together for a while." She was done, at the time, and then--she shakes her head. "He's the one who made me vulnerable," she says, and thinks maybe that's a more accurate way to put it. "But I..."
Ichika briefly lets slip her heartbreak in her expression as she says, "I do. I never even got to meet her."
"...I was, um. About seventeen weeks," Ichika explains. "...Far enough that... That I had to..."
She can't quite bring herself to say it in the moment, and shakes her head. "Anyway."
"Um, I don't mean to bring you down. ...I really am happy for you. I don't... I don't want kids to be a sad thing for me."
"...It might seem weird," she says, "That I broke up with Mahiro-kun, in that... light. Since... he'd definitely make me his wife, if I wanted. When we graduate. He'd definitely give me a baby. ...I'm sure he'd love to."
"But I'm not ready. I can't go through that again. ...Not now. And I.. I'm starting to have dreams, you know...?"
"I want those things. But I want to see how far I can go myself, too. Like that reporter lady."
Then she thinks about it a moment. "...Hmmm..."
"Oh, but..."
"If you get pregnant you'll have to stop the dance lessons, right?" Ichika looks down. "....I won't get to see your baby. I'll graduate by the time you come back..."
"I mean, I hope I'll graduate, anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"I'm glad you're not in that situation any more," Yua affirms.
And she does, at least, smile at Ichika's reflection. "It does," she affirms, lightly, and perhaps offers Ichika a little more insight into what her peers are facing in the process.
Well. Maybe the future will be kinder.
Still, Yua is glad to hear that Ichika also appreciates a good binder. Esteem points!!
She frowns with concern, when Ichika comes back to Eiji, listening to her thoughts. She reframes it, though -- and perhaps it's notable that Yua didn't think to do something like that, though she does say, "That's very true." He 'made' her vulnerable... huh.
Still, Ichika didn't get to meet her daughter, and Yua's gaze is filled with sadness to hear it. "I understand," she offers, quietly, when Ichika can't quite find the words.
She understands the difference between twelve and thirteen weeks.
"It's quite all right," Yua says, "for I don't suppose you've much avenue to feel your sadness to begin with." Which explains why Ichika continues being sad, making Yua all the more glad to absolve her.
She shakes her head. "It isn't weird," she assures her. "My dream was to be... to make a home," she amends the statement just so, avoiding all pronouns in the process, "but if your dreams lie elsewhere, you must certainly pursue them. Everyone is quite pushy about starting a family early, but there's really not that much of a rush... and once you're an adult, you can go to a clinic and have your eggs frozen, you know? So that when you're ready, you can try as if you were still young." They did tell her that, at the clinic! And once she has a solution well in hand, she'll do it for herself...
"No, no, it's nothing like that," Yua assures her, shaking her head. "By the time the Olympics are over, I'll know whether the attempt worked or not! And if all has gone as I've prayed for, I'll be able to return to physical activity... so long as I'm still mindful of my limits. It won't be until later on that I'll need to take time off work to avoid exercising that much..."
Yua shakes her head, smiling to her. "And what's this hoping? Of course you'll graduate! You must think positively, Kawase-kun. You're dreadfully clever -- or I am far less subtle than I think I am, and I dread to think such a thing, so I will simply insist you've a keen head for deduction on your shoulders."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Me, too. ...The cost to get out was too high, though."
Ichika gets a little more insight. And, well.. She does reframe it--thanks to the people who have already helped her learn to do so. And so when Yua gives her that sad gaze, she knows that Yua understands.
As to feeling her sadness, well, "...I cried. A lot. I still do sometimes." She says this quietly, and sips her coffee a moment later. "But... It worried my parents so much, and... it's not like the boys I get with want to hear about it."
"That's just it though," Ichika says. "I do really want... a home. A family. ...I really want to try again. I just... I just think I shouldn't, yet. I don't feel ready, and I don't think I could..."
"I don't think I'd survive if it happened again."
Shaking her head, Ichika continues, "It's cool, though. That they can do that. I don't... I don't think I'll need something like that. I'll wait at least a few years, but... I mean, it's not like I'm getting into a university," she says. "I'm hoping to get into maybe some internships, though..."
"...I guess what I want is... I want... some independence. Something to fall back on."
But Yua reassures her about that. "Oh," she says. "Oh, cool. Then... I don't have to worry about that just yet." She smiles back--and then glances to the side, a little embarrassed. "Sensei," she starts. She definitely doesn't think of herself as clever. But, "I did work pretty hard this time," she admits. "...And yeah, I'm practicing my 'reporter's instincts'," Ichika finishes.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Mm... but it's not good to only express yourself in ways which suit other people," Yua points out, gently. "Those feelings don't go away, even if they go unseen. A thing may be hidden, but its nature won't change beneath the silk."
Silk like the fabric stretched over her right hand, maybe.
Anyway.
"It is not enough to want home and family, though," Yua shakes her head. "You must have someone you can envision who you trust to go on that journey with you. It's a good dream to have, dear -- but it is a dream you cannot embrace simply for the sake of it. If you cannot see a face in your mind when you think of how you wish to make your home a warm and welcoming harbour... it will only invite ruin to force a presence there."
It might seem a little hypocritical for her to say that when she phrased her dream the way she did, but, well. Ichika can clearly tell why she'd elide the subject of the sentence!
"Still, don't say never so easily," Yua shakes her head. "The future may surprise you, and there are many routes to Paradise, besides. Claiming your independence sounds as if it will be very positive to you," she smiles, supportively. "I admit, I have little personal experience to offer, there... but I am sure you will find your way?"
... Yua's own situation must be pretty complicated, huh.
(But... she doesn't need to fall back on anything, anyway!)
"Then I'll be worried about my secrets!" Yua assures Ichika, with cheer. "... I really think you're doing much better than you feel you are, you know? You're not a bad student, Kawase-kun... you are simply easily disheartened. And that's a reasonable reaction, after your unfair treatment... but I'm 'rooting for you'!"
She says this slang with such cheer that Ichika may not have the heart to inform her what 'rooting' means these days.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I guess not," Ichika says. "I do have some friends I can talk to, but... People my age... aren't supposed to get it. Right?"
But, Yua says it's not enough... and Ichika listens. "Yeah," she says. "That makes sense. ...That's it, I think. I'm not... ready for anybody's face to be there, yet. So I want it... but I want to find the right guy. And I'm not just going to wait around doing nothing while I do. ...Yeah."
But never say never. And yes, Ichika can tell why she'd rule it out. "Mm. I just... I've been there, where one person had the power to decide my life. And... he did. And it sucked. I don't want to be there again."
Yua's secrets! Ichika laughs. She has no idea. But, "...Mm. Easily disheartened... maybe. I've never been as smart as the rest of my family. But I--"
...
"...Thanks," she says, with a lopsided smile. "...So hey, when you have good news, totally tell me, OK? I won't be such a downer all the time."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"Most won't," Yua agrees, "but please, do not be ashamed that you do." ... she has enough shame to carry without feeling distant from her peers.
(That Yua feels bad for her does not erase her awareness that she'll carry it.)
She smiles, though, when Ichika accepts her advice. "That's right," she encourages her. "You can save yourself, too!" The fact that Yua needs someone to save her hardly means she can't encourage the next generation to be more independent... provided she can keep her from disappearing, one day.
"He betrayed your trust," Yua agrees. "It's a terrible thing." ... as if there's a situation where trusting your life to another person isn't terrible.
Ichika insists she's not as smart as the others, though... but she at least accepts it, after a moment. "I will," she assures Ichika, smiling to her. "Gods willing, our baby will be going to the Olympics with us...!"
('Our baby', she says, 'us' -- and that might be the sort of clue she could dig into, if she wanted to solve the mystery.)