The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 43: Setting It Up

"No. You're too close to this." Captain Gi-gan refused automatically.

"Actually, I wasn't asking to kill him." Calista quickly reassured, wanting her open-minded for what she was about to say next. "I want to be captured for him."

Captain Gi-gan's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"He was the one who took Hani. She... She was so young." Calista's voice broke as she remembered the anguish she felt when she was caught. "I was trying to save her, but I messed up. She was the only one who escaped."

The captain was speechless at this new information. She had no idea that Hani was trafficked.

"Kum-ji's seen my old master." Calista continued, "He knows of him, but with any luck, is not aware of my status."

"How does that work, then?" Captain Gi-gan raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "If he already knows, then you're dead."

"Not necessarily." Calista shook her head, remembering the look in his eyes when she turned around. "He takes pleasure in inflicting pain on others. I believe that even if he did know, the egotistical part of him will win over whatever grudge he still has against me."

The captain contemplated her strategy. 

"If he takes me, however illegally," She tacked on with a roll of her eyes, aware of the gravity of what she was asking. "Then I'll be able to be there to protect them when Yona and Yoon set off the firework if I misbehave a bit." 

Calista's lips curled up in a cheeky smirk, but the captain was still skeptical. 

"You cannot guarantee that he would move you to the ship. If anything, your presence might deter him from overseeing the shipment, and then we wouldn't be able to draw him out."

"Let me handle it, Captain Gi-gan." Calista pushed off the door frame, coming to stand directly in front of her. "Please, entrust this to me."

After a weighted pause, the captain rose with a heavy sigh. "Is there anything else?" 

It wasn't a no, but that wasn't a confirmation either. Calista rushed forward, hands open in a pleading gesture. 

"Please." She begged. She recognized her resigned and worn body language. Captain Gi-gan wasn't confident that she was going to make it back out alive. 

And she was giving her one last chance to take back this ridiculous idea. 

"What you're asking is foolish and idiotic, girl." Came the scathing reply and Calista winced at the bite in her tone. "You weren't even going to tell them, were you?"

She shook her head timidly. Involving them would only bring more problems, and she didn't have it in her to disrupt the group dynamic. Besides, she was sure by the way they were looking at the two youngest earlier, they were rightfully more concerned with their well-being than hers.

But the captain wasn't finished. "If you get in that way, you won't be able to have your weapons."

She made a good point, but Calista just shrugged, unbothered. It wouldn't be the first battle she went into unarmed. Plus, this time, she was going knowing who her target was. Playing him like a fiddle shouldn't be too hard at all.

"I know."

Captain Gi-gan took a puff of her pipe, exhaling out the smoke before her tone went soft. "You better not throw away your life, girl. Once you and Yona came on board, you both became like daughters to me. I won't tolerate you dying, do you hear me?"

A lump caught in her throat, and she couldn't respond to such a touching declaration.

"Thank you. I don't deserve it." Calista whispered, still trying to wrap her head around it. "I promise to do all I can for me, after the others are taken care of."