On board the Red Princess, panic had seized the wakos. They had only seen the Taewang arrive at them late and even now, their captain forbade them to prepare the cannons to fire. He ordered one of his men to raise a white flag in place of their usual wako flag and then fold the sails to stop the Princess's course. A silent question burned their lips : was he leading them to death?

Jungkook ended up explaining to them that the admiral who commanded this ship was the father of the admiral who was a prisoner of the Emperor. He was going to seek to make an ally against his father in order to win the coming battle.

Instead of being impressed by his strategy, the wakos became indignant.

"This is madness!"

"We can't ally with the Joseon Navy!"

"This admiral is going to kill us all if we don't prepare to attack right away!"

"Calm down!" Jungkook ordered. "I'm not going to wait until he's within cannon range of the Princess. I'm going to their ship to talk. If this fails, I will probably be executed for act of piracy. If I don't come back, you will be free to open fire on them and fight, or flee."

The cries of protest rose by the dozen and in the middle of them, those of Taehyung who affirmed that there was no question of letting him go alone and that he would prefer to die with him.

After a heated discussion, Jungkook ended up leaving his ship aboard a rowboat, accompanied by Taehyung; none had weapons, in order to assure their enemies that they only came to negotiate a possible alliance. Jungkook had asked Hoseok and Jimin to stay with Yoongi because if something happened, Yoongi would have to take command of the ship in his place.

When they arrived near the Taewang, the Joseon soldiers aimed their pistols at them and looked at them with hostility. They had probably never seen a wako act like he did. Taehyung stiffened at the sight of the pistols aimed at them who were completely unarmed. He clung to his oars as if they could serve as a means of defense, which was absurd.

"They're going to shoot us," he said. 

"I bet you not," Jungkook replied, indicating to him with a gesture to continue rowing towards the Great King. "They saw us coming from afar and we have already been within firing range for a few minutes but they did nothing. They only observe us."

"Yes, but until when? You don't usually bet our lives," Taehyung remarked, not reassured as he stared at the enemies looming over them from the deck of the ship. As it was he who was rowing, his back was to them and he was obliged to turn around to look at them. He felt too vulnerable.

"And you're not used to being so worried," his captain replied, crossing his arms to analyze his samurai. Even if on the surface he displayed his usual calm, his words betrayed his concern and he understood his worry. This situation was unprecedented and he himself wasn't sure of the outcome. "Maybe you shouldn't have come with me." 

"Of course I had to accompany you," Taehyung retorted. "Even if you decided to die."

Jungkook suppressed a smile: he didn't intend to die before saving Seokjin. Soon, their boat found itself parallel to the large ship, only a few meters from the hull.

"Raise your hands in the air so I can see them!" a man shouted above their heads, without any form of greeting. His uniform indicated that he was a high-ranking officer and not a simple soldier.

Jungkook motioned for Taehyung to let go of the oars and obey but he himself didn't move, keeping his arms crossed.

"You too!" the soldier ordered, irritated.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have used my cannons," Jungkook replied in the Joseon language. "I am the captain of the Red Princess and I came to speak to the captain of the Taewang, Admiral Kim. I bring news of his son, Admiral Kim Seokjin. Go tell him."

The soldier widened his eyes when he heard Seokjin's name and hurried to send men to find their admiral. They must have been the first lead they had of Seokjin's disappearance in a long time and that was precisely what Jungkook was counting on to be able to parley with the Joseon. He was ready to be patient but he didn't have to because very quickly, a man in his fifties, with a familiar look, appeared on the railing, fixed him with a piercing gaze.

Jungkook vaguely remembered seeing him from a distance once, in Eobu, but what made his face so familiar was his great resemblance to his son. Even though he had a square jaw and facial skin damaged by a lifetime spent at sea in comparison with the more graceful face of his son, he nonetheless had the same regularity of features, the same gentle eyes and the same good nature that he could not hide behind his furrowed thick brows.

Jungkook couldn't help but notice how Seokjin's father was different from his own father, always cold and cruel. Admiral Kim's expression was concerned as he looked down at the two pirates in the longboat below, as if he expected to find his son there. When he didn't see him, his expression hardened and he asked without preamble, in a loud voice that carries all the way to the small boat:

"Where is my son?"

"He's not with me," Jungkook conceded, "but I didn't lie to your men, I know where he is and I've come to offer my help in getting him back."

"Your help?" the admiral repeated. " You're a wako, so why should I believe you?" 

Jungkook recognized Seokjin's disdainful way of speaking wakos. Having a discussion might be complicated if he didn't choose his words carefully.

"It is quite restrictive to speak to you from here," he said with a pleasant air, "would you be kind enough to let us come on your ship to discuss it?"

Jungkook's polite and noble way of speaking in a language that wasn't even his own surprised the admiral who was used to much less distinguished wakos and he wondered why a wako was offering his help if it wasn't a trap. Preferring to clarify the situation and cling to one of his rare clues since Seokjin's disappearance, he ordered his vice-admiral:

"Kangdae, bring them up, I want to hear what they have to say."

Jungkook exchanged a knowing look with Taehyung while a rope ladder was thrown at them : They had successfully completed the first stage of the operation without dying. However, this did not mean that what followed would be any less dangerous.

"I'll stay behind you," Taehyung simply said, bringing their boat up to the hull of the Taewang so Jungkook could grab the rope ladder.

 As soon as they reached the deck, the Joseon soldiers armed with their pistols put them under control.

"It's useless," Jungkook warned them, speaking mainly to the admiral who was observing them from a few steps away, "we came unarmed. You are free to search us, but if you try to attack us, then we will have no choice but to defend ourselves."

On the orders of their admiral, the soldiers therefore searched them carefully and when this was done and they had found no weapon, even from the Japanese in a kimono who looked hostile and who glared at them when they searched his captain, they returned to their post, all around them. Elsewhere on the ship, the other soldiers watched the Red Princess in the distance and had their cannons ready to fire at the slightest sign of war. 

Jungkook noticed that they weren't as tense as his own men. The crew of the Taewang was a veteran crew even if a few cabin boys gave him and Taehyung worried looks. They had spent the last fifteen years hunting wakos on the eastern seas and they would have no fear in going against Kaito if their captain ordered them. Jungkook's mission was therefore to convince said captain, Admiral Kim.

"I'm listening," the admiral, staring at Jungkook. "Where's Seokjin? Or rather, start by telling me how you know I'm looking for my son."

His gaze was gentle despite the tumult in his heart and Jungkook would have preferred not to have to tell him what he was about to tell him:

"I was the first one who kidnapped Seokjin."

A heavy silence fell. The admiral suspected that wasn't the whole story, otherwise the pirate wouldn't have the audacity to come here unarmed in front of him.

"Do you know that if I decide to arrest you now, I can take you back to Joseon and hang you for piracy?" he asked nonetheless. "Were you aware of that when you came here?"

Taehyung stiffened next to him, but Jungkook put a hand on his arm to prevent him from making any movement.

"I realize that," he said. "I left behind my ship, my men and my weapons, believe me, I did not come here without measuring the consequences. But I won't accept to die until I find Seokjin."

Beomseok asked in disbelief:

"Why do you want to find him, since it was you who took him?"

"Because while I wanted to help him return home to Joseon, he was kidnapped by someone far more despicable than me. My father."

"Do you realize that what you are saying has neither head nor tail?" Kangdae asked in a irritated tone, next to his captain. He seemed ready to cut the wakos into slices at the first opportunity.

"It may be hard to believe, but it's the truth," Jungkook contradicted him, staring at the admiral and not his vice admiral because it was him he wanted to convince and it was the one of the two who had the wisdom to listen without giving in to his nerves.

He hoped that his face expressed the honesty with which he spoke because if the other thought that he was lying, it would be the end of not only him and Taehyung, but also of Seokjin, who was alone and who desperately needed to be rescued.

"Who is your father?" Beomseok asked finally.

"A wako captain you know as Usagi the Red."

"I thought it was you?" the vice-admiral replied, pointing to his ship with the red sails in the distance. "Usagi is the one who sails on a black ship with red sails!"

Yet, his admiral contradicted him.

"There's no way he's Usagi: look at him Kangdae, he must be the same age as Seokjin."

Jungkook intervened.

"It's a little more complex than just a question of age. There are two black cedar ships with red sails plying the eastern seas, just as there are two descendants of Usagi the Red who bear his name. There is me, Wakaï Usagi, who commands the Red Princess, and there is my father, Kaïto Usagi, who commands the original Usagi ship, the Red Emperor. Seokjin is on board of the Emperor. And he will remain a prisoner there until I go and get him. But for this, I need your help."

The admiral and his second exchanged a look that was difficult to decipher. The two men had spent years traveling the eastern seas and although the wakos had returned fifteen years ago, it was only recently that rumors of the return of Usagi the Red had surfaced. Admiral Kim had even learned that his son had disappeared while following a lead on Usagi the Red in Dengzhou. But simultaneously discovering that there was not one but two Usagi and that none was the original was information that they had to digest.

"If everything you say is true, Wakaï Usagi, tell me, why are you offering us this information and why are you offering us your person on a silver platter?" Beomseok asked.

Jungkook tensed.

"Because I want to save Seokjin more than I want to protect my own life. Saving him is all that matters."

Stupefaction was visible on the admiral's face, who stared at the young pirate captain with new curiosity and found no malice in his gaze.

"Why would Seokjin's life matter to you?"

"Because," Jungkook said slowly, "he is my friend, and I promised to save him. Fifteen years ago, I made this promised to him," he clarified, "but I failed and he almost died. I will not fail this time."

"Fifteen years ago?" The vice-admiral repeated. "What nonsense are you talking about again, pirate?!"

"Seokjin was just a child, he didn't know any Japanese people, let alone a wako," Seokjin's father replied, staring at Jungkook.

This contempt again in his voice. 

"With all due respect, admiral," Jungkook replied curtly, "he knew one. And perhaps he told you about him, as well as the fishermen of Eobu who judged him to be bad company for your son. Remember what they said: an orphan from Saengson, who Seokjin spent his days doing mischief with."

The admiral frowned, briefly probing his past for what the pirate was talking about. Then he remembered and his eyes lit up... before darkening almost immediately.

"It's impossible. This boy died after the pirate attack in Eobu."

"Many died due to the absence of the navy in Saengson to protect them against the wakos," Jungkook said harshly. "And Seokjin almost died too, shot by one of them. But the boy who was with him did not died. He is alive and he stands before you."

These precise details about Eobu's attack and his incompetence in protecting the slums of the city which had led to a real bloodbath shook this experienced man. He remembered only too well when he entered the Saengson district through Pleasure Street in search of survivors, and came across his seriously injured son. Despite his condition and despite the fact that he was unconscious, he kept repeating the same name until, too weak, he became completely silent, raising fears of his death. And this name was...

"Jungkook..." he whispered, as if he wasn't sure. "The boy's name was Jungkook, not Wakaï."

"It's me," Jungkook said to Beomseok. "Jungkook is the name I had when I lived in Joseon, for fear of being persecuted by the Joseon people because of their hatred for the Japanese. As no one in Eobu had ever met a Japanese person, no one recognized my accent, everyone thought I came from a place further north in Korea. It's funny when you think about it, to hate a people without even knowing a single one of their representatives."

His tone was bitter and Taehyung felt like he was losing control of his emotions. It only happened when it came to his life in Joseon.

"Captain-" he began.

But Jungkook ignored him and released what weighed on his conscience while the stunned admiral listened attentively.

"Yet, Seokjin was different. His parents and his country taught him to hate the Japanese but he cast aside his beliefs for me. He told me one day that he would never hate me, even if it was Japanese, do you realize? Against his parents' permission, he fed me when I was starving, he dressed me when I was cold, he kept me company when I was alone. My life was miserable in Joseon before meeting Seokjin. He changed everything. All I could do in return was protect him. But I failed and thought for fifteen years that he was dead. Now that I know he's alive, I'm not going to let him die again. I will finally be able to keep my promise. And I'm putting my life on the line for that."

Carried away by his emotions, he forced himself to stop, pursing his lips because his eyes were moist and his throat compressed: he had almost cried in front of all these men. He suddenly regretted not letting Taehyung stop him.

Seokjin's father was silent but he stared at him with such gentleness that Jungkook wondered how he managed to suddenly hide his hatred and contempt towards him. Was he a master of emotions, like the samurai masters?

When the admiral advanced towards him, Taehyung intervened, thinking he wanted to hit him. But Jungkook decided he deserved it after what happened to Seokjin because of him so he forced the samurai to push himself to face the Joseon. 

Yet, against all odds, the man did not hit him. He took him in his arms and hugged him affectionately.

Stunned and froze, Jungkook didn't hug him back. He felt that everyone around him was looking at them with the same feeling of amazement at the admiral's gesture. Taehyung didn't know how to react, should he tear Jungkook away from this man? But he didn't feel any danger coming from him.

"W-why?" Jungkook's stammered.

"When you disappeared, Seokjin was devastated and blamed me," the admiral whispered to him without letting him go. "He said that that night, he had planned to take you home and make you his brother, whatever his mother and I could think. But because of me, he had lost a dear friend and was never able to make him the brother he wanted."

Jungkook felt a lump forming in his throat. Seokjin had really wanted to make him part of his family. He was tempted to raise his arms and hug the man back, but he didn't. After all, he was also responsible for making Seokjin sad to the point of resenting his father. He didn't know the extent of the animosity Seokjin had towards his father or if it still existed. Was he unknowingly responsible for separating a loving father from his son?

"Since that and for fifteen years," Beomseok continued, "I have said that I had two sons in the past. One I was able to save miraculously, Seokjin, and one I unfortunately couldn't save. And his name was Jungkook."

He pulled back to look at Jungkook's stunned look and the pirate saw that the admiral's eyes were full of tears and Jungkook. 

"I feel like I found a son today," Beomseok said smiling while his tears flooded his face. 

One of his men cried behind him, moved by his captain's tears and all the men who held Jungkook and Taehyung at gunpoint lowered their weapons. 

However, Jungkook was not able to cry. He found it hard to believe what he was experiencing. It was as if he was discovering for the first time what a father's love was and he wanted to enjoy this moment but he had the odious feeling that it was a misunderstanding. He reluctantly pushed the man away.

"You are wrong about me, Admiral Kim."

"How am I wrong?" Beomseok asked kindly.

"I am a wako and it is because of me that your son's life is in danger as was already the case fifteen years ago. Do not give me your affection or you risk being disappointed," Jungkook warned him and his own words hurt him badly.

But against all odds, the admiral did not lose the gentleness of his gaze and shook his head.

"Yes, you are a wako, no one can deny it. On the other hand, I know my son too well and I don't think Seokjin would have become friends with you if you truly had the soul of a wako."

"What do you mean ?"

"I mean I know now that I don't have someone bad in front of me."

"Just because Seokjin was friends with me when he was eleven?" Jungkook asked, convinced that the man was too naive for his own good.

"Mmm, I see you have trouble believing me so tell me something : do you think Seokjin has a good soul?"

"Obviously!" Jungkook said immediately.

"Yeh, when you saw each other again, did he treat you with kindness, like when he was a child?"

Jungkook frowned, seeing where the man was going with this.

"He didn't," he conceded, "but how do you know?"

 "Because I saw him grow up and go down a very dark path after your disappearance. You know how Seokjin reacted when he found out you were dead? He filled his heart with vengeance, put all his fears aside and became a soldier. He decided that his life should be used to avenge you and kill pirates as cruelly as possible. He became someone absolutely immoral, far from the kind boy he was before. I let him do it and I even protected him because Joseon law does not accept such behavior from an admiral. I should have stopped him but I didn't know how to ease his pain. In the same way, you suffered and changed, and no one was able to stop you in the dark path you have chosen, right?" he asked, placing a hand on Jungkook's shoulder.

Behind Jungkook, Taehyung lowered his head with humility, because he recognized himself in the people who had not been able to ease his pain.

"No one could help any of you except yourselves and you suffered a lot because of that, you and Seokjin. But now that I meet you, I finally have hope that everything will change," the admiral declared with renewed hope. "Let's go save Seokjin together: it's time I reunite my two sons and lecture them both to clear their heads."

______

A/N : I was emotional while writing this chapter. Everyone needs love in this cruel world.