The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 43: Setting It Up

Calista was lying down on her bed, twirling a knife between her fingers mindlessly as her thoughts wandered. Yona and Hani were fast asleep in the other cot, and Captain Gi-gan was once again, nowhere to be found. 

Her ribs still hurt, but her thoughts were otherwise occupied. 

Dabbing a finger to the cut on her face, she wasn't surprised when it came away with crystallized blood. She sighed regretfully, upset with how the fight turned out. They were never supposed to be there. 

They were never supposed to know. 

This made things a lot more complicated on her side. With them there as a witness, she had no doubt in her mind that they had questions about what they saw. Even Hak didn't know what a 'blood claim' was, and she wasn't looking forward to explaining it to them. But the fact still was that they were there when they weren't supposed to be. 

She was going to have to clean it up. 

Calista had thought about what she wanted to say about the modified plan, and how to approach this to the one person who could make all the difference. 

The captain would be hard to convince, but she was sure she could do it. She ran the analysis as everyone started to head to bed, and by a long shot, there were definitely more pros than cons. 

Not to mention, she was the only one who was going to get directly hurt if they didn't succeed, so she was sure the captain would agree. That would give the other pirates and her friends enough time to slip away if they used her as a distraction. 

Unable to fall asleep, Calista tore the covers off of her body, lurching to her feet. She poked her head in the captain's other room, and requested a private audience with her. Captain Gi-gan was seated and had her elbows resting on the table, next to the plans drawn up for the infiltration.

She rubbed her temples wearily, then motioned for her to come in. Her pipe was discarded, laying flat on the paper. 

Calista thought about including Hak in on her plan, but with what happened that night at the castle, she didn't want to chance it. Besides, the more people who knew about it, the more likely it was to get sabotaged. The guilt crept in, but she held it back, trying not to second guess herself. 

It wouldn't do anyone any good if she remained indecisive, and she was already wasting precious time.

Calista shut the door, then braced herself against it. "Captain Gi-gan, I want to go undercover, before Yona and Yoon do. If Kum-ji thinks I've been dumped by my master, then he'll be more inclined to take me in, especially with these injuries. I can use that to our advantage."

The keen captain stayed silent, letting her finish with what she wanted to say. It was odd how she was still up at this hour, but Calista chalked it up to the exhausting responsibilities of the rowdy pirates that she watched over. 

So she continued, "Not to mention, I owe you for the senjusou. Without it, Yoon was sure that my hands would have never healed fully. But thanks to you, I am now able to fight for the people I love again. Thank you."

"You don't owe me a thing, girl."

After that sentimental note, Calista got down to business, brushing the captain's statement. 

That didn't go unnoticed. 

"You and I both know that you can't win a fight of this magnitude." Calista waved a hand, referring to the mercenaries Kum-ji would undoubtedly hire. "You need us to infiltrate, take it down from the inside out. Let Yona and Yoon handle the firework, and I will take care of Kum-ji."