Crossing The East Sea

24 Ikarashi Beach

When Shinsou dropped down upon the deck of the Kirogi, he had been in no mood to talk to anyone or explain anything to anybody. He eventually brainwashed Captain Jang and First Mate Hwang into telling the rest of the crew to leave him alone, and then brainwashed Lazy Jang into doing all of his duties for him.

Ryoko had broken down in tears when she found out what had happened to Nakajima and Kaneshiro. She had done her part while masquerading as the Supreme Leader, and the abductees were now being housed in the better cabins and treated well. Shinsou felt too tired and sad to rejoice much over the successful rescue; the most he could manage was to nod as she recounted what had happened, in between sobs.

He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. Afraid that the North Korean authorities might give chase to the Kirogi, he ordered the brainwashed captain to sail at full speed, so that they would reach international waters and Japan sooner. He then spent the remainder of the night at the bow of the ship, looking out over the dark sea. In his mind he was standing there in tribute to his fallen colleagues, to Nakajima and Kaneshiro, who had both so liked standing near the bow, and to Watanabe, who had been a resourceful companion during his time in Wonsan.

Ryoko joined him for an hour or so, and for once Shinsou felt grateful that she was there. It would have been so much harder if he'd had to return to Japan all alone. Lee had made it back to the Kirogi on time, and he tried joining them, but Ryoko sent him away, feeling that this grief was hers and Shinsou's alone to bear. To her surprise, Lee complied without hesitation, and without getting jealous.

What Ryoko didn't realise was that when Lee had reached the port earlier, he had woken up from his brainwashed state, and had seen the Supreme Leader leaving the Kirogi. When Ryoko had shortly arrived back at the ship after that in her cook's disguise, he had immediately deduced that she had been masquerading as the Leader. He had also guessed, after Shinsou had rappelled down onto the ship from the Mi-24, that he was the man he had seen outside Koryo Bar and in the warehouse. After all, Shinsou had brainwashed him on board the ship before, in a manner similar to the way the man outside Koryo Bar had.

Shinsou, unaware that Lee now knew that he and Ryoko were something more than just ship's crew, told the cat girl to get some rest after a while. He himself stood at the bow until dawn, and watched the sun slowly rise over the horizon. They had reached international waters, and the North Koreans did not appear to be pursuing the ship (he later found out that his diversion had worked – the North Koreans, intent on locating the Mi-26 headed for the Chinese border, focused on that and didn't realise till later that the Kirogi had left in the middle of the night). Encouraged by this, he wearily made his way back to his cabin, and slept.

It was late in the afternoon when he found Ryoko shaking him awake.

"Shinsou-kun, wake up!" she was hissing agitatedly, "You forgot about the ship! It's still the Kirogi! Hwang didn't change it back into the Shiramine! The Japanese Coast Guard has spotted us!"

Shinsou swore inwardly, and then jumping up, dashed off to look for Hwang. He had completely forgotten about the transformation. North Korean vessels were banned in Japanese waters, and their presence there must be making a sensation.

He found Hwang still in his brainwashed state and made him transform the ship back into the Shiramine, but it was too late.

The Coast Guard boarded the ship. They demanded an explanation from the captain about the appearance of the ship, and discovered the abductees, none of whom had passports on them. They detained the entire crew and everyone else on board, until an investigation could be carried out.

Ryoko was in trouble, for she had lost Yoshida's hairs and had transformed back to her cat self, which didn't match the photo in her passport. Shinsou managed to use the ship's satellite phone to call Fujiwara, the Director-General of the Directorate, to intercede for him and Ryoko and the abductees.