So... yeah. If you wanna throw things, go for it. I'm a terrible person and I know it. I didn't make any promises - or at least, I don't remember making any... ;^^ - But I feel awful that I never updated. And this is only a repost (of a repost...). Hopefully it's better quality than before.
For those of you who are new to the party and have no clue what I'm rambling about, I'll recap: I'm Hyperpegasi, I'm a bad person, and this story is the re-worked re-posted chapter of something that I haven't updated in forever - BUT HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON! This story is also yaoi (boyxboy) so if that's not your thing, then you probably shouldn't read any farther. It's also a pirate story: There WILL be cursing. There WILL be fighting and bloodshed. Axel WILL have inappropriate intentions for Roxas in handcuffs. Whether or not Riku will allow him to act upon those intentions is debatable.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts (I know, I'm shocked too.)
Note: Italics are flashbacks, with the exception of '...' (is thoughts.)
The town that they had arrived in only last night was in turmoil. Pirates, apparently, had found the secluded cove that led to the village. Now, the town was none of their concern, some of you might say. But they headed to the point where the commotion was worst: intent on finding some sort of solution.
Riku watched his crew proudly from his perch on the town's wall. They were pillaging the town for all it was worth, but they hadn't killed anyone. Yet. He didn't want anyone to miss the grand finale.
His first mate, Axel, stood nearby; chakram at the mayor's neck.
He intended to get what he could from this town before they blasted it.
A crowd had gathered in the square, as per the captain's request. Axel had no qualms about tearing their precious mayor's neck out, and he had said as much to them. Loudly, and a tad less polite.
Many of the men were nursing broken bones and bruises, courtesy the pirate's crew. With as little fighting experience as the villagers had, there had been no chance for them.
Riku eyed the turnout critically. The town was rather sparsely populated if this was the best they could do in the way of a crowd. He smiled, though. Time to put on a show.
He stood, brushing imaginary dust from his skintight black shirt before folding his arms behind him. He turned his aquamarine eyes to the townspeople as he began his jaunty little walk across the wall.
"Hello,"
-Simple little people-
"I'll only take a second of your time. I have deal for you,"
-That's right, keep your eyes on me.-
"So hear me out:"
-Not that it's an option. Makes your blood burn, right?-
"My crew here - yes, I see you've met them? Charming little buggers, aren't they?"
-I bet you hate this, don't you? It feels like an ultimatum already and you just hate it.-
"Mm, but there's just so few of them... my crew is just a tad small, wouldn't you say?"
-Ah, there it is. I can see your little minds turning already. Is that fear? I haven't even gotten to the good part yet.-
"So we're just going to take a few of your strapping lads and put them to good use. How about it? Anyone want to be a pirate?"
-No one cares what you want.-
"Now that I think about it, actually, how about we take a couple of these lovely young ladies as well? Pirate life can be awful lonely . . ."
-No one needs you; You're worthless.-
Riku pause his speech to wink at one particularly cute girl in the crowd, who, as expected, blushed wildly and looked down.
"Not really that bad, right? Reasonable requests, I would think. In return, we'll leave the rest of you no worse off than you are now."
-Don't believe me? Clever of you.-
He listened to the angry murmurs from the crowd for a moment, before pausing mid-stride and turning to face the villagers head-on. He leaned forward, and cocked his head slightly, causing his silver hair to spill over his shoulder. He smiled pleasantly, clasping his hands together at his waist. "Of course, should you refuse, we will still take what we want, and then we will kill everyone else and burn your pretty village to the ground."
-It doesn't matter. We're going to kill you all anyway.-
He jumped from his perch, landing next to Axel. They were alone as they stood side by side, a little apart from the rest of the crew, awaiting the answer.
They weren't expecting it to come in the form of two boys, who looked like they couldn't be more than 14, pushing through the crowd to stand between the villagers and pirates. They both carried strangely shaped swords that looked like huge keys; the blonde on the left had two, both more ornate than the brunette's.
"They don't have to give you anything," The brunette declared - his furious forget-me-not blue eyes trained on Riku - thrusting the end of his strange sword into the ground in front of him.
"I hate people like you. You're manipulative and cruel!"
-I'm a pirate, boy.-
"You promised! They complied to your commands! Why did you have to kill them?"
-It's more fun to let them hope before they die. I do so love the way they scream.-
"YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! He was all I had left and you took him!"
-And I suppose you want revenge, hm?-
"...I want my brother back."
-Really? And what would you give if I could make that happen?-
"I'd give anything for _ _!"
-Then I'll make you a deal.-
"... I'll make you a deal." His blonde counterpart seemed uninterested, dual blades crossed behind his head as he looked off into the distance, letting the little brunette do the talking. "You leave this village and it's people alone, don't do anything to hurt them or cause them any more trouble, and you can take anything you want under those perimeters. And we won't kill you."
"... And if I refuse your terms?" Riku spoke with some amusement, his initial surprise at the duo's sudden appearance pushed aside. The terms were outrageous, though it was cute, but there was no way they could back up their big talk. They were just like the other villagers: Little boys with big mouths and bigger weapons- and no idea how to use either for their benefit. However, their weapons were more likely to be effective then anything the other villagers had found, and they obviously intended to put up a fight.
The blonde answered him, after a pause. "Then we will kill you and your crew." The serious, deadpan way he said it made Axel grin. It was adorable, really, the duo really thought they could beat an entire crew of bloodthirsty pirates. They had a bit of a pirate's attitude themselves.
Axel lit up as an idea struck him, and he leaned down to explain his thoughts to his slightly shorter captain in hushed tones. Riku smirked slightly, thinking it over.
The redhead straightened and smiled at the boys. The triangle tattoos under his eyes made him look more than slightly sinister in the twilight. "How old are you two, anyway? You don't look a day over 14."
The blonde's fists clenched on the grips of his intricate blades. "I'll have you know we are, in fact, 18." He glared a the redhead, ocean blue eyes burning hateful little holes in the man's skull. "Asshole," he muttered under his breath.
"Well how old are you? And what does it matter, anyway?" The brunette was now leaning against his blade's handle, expression stormy.
"A lady never reveals her age," Riku chided snidely, feigning distraction. His attention was sharp, though, as he changed the subject. "You know, I think I've forgotten the terms of your agreement." The false distress barely covered the catty undertone in his voice. "Could you repeat them for me?"
The brunette frowned a little, scrunching his nose. "You leave this village and it's people alone, don't do anything to harm or disrupt them, and you can take anything you want, and we'll let you all live."
He turned to the blonde. "That was everything, right, Rox?"
The blonde boy nodded slowly, eyeballing the pirates suspiciously.
Riku nodded to himself, forefinger tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know," He drawled, with a remarkable straight face, "You say that almost like you aren't part of this village."
The blonde seemed to have some inkling as to what was about to happen, and, bringing his Keyblades down from his shoulders, he moved to prevent the brunette from speaking.
But not fast enough.
"...That's 'cause we aren't. My brother and I are just travelers, passing through." The brunette spoke with his brows furrowed, not understanding the statement's full connotations.
-You should learn to think before speak, _ _.-
Pain. Horrible, unbearable pain. Then the screams.
Riku grinned slowly, allowing the words to sink in before dropping the bomb.
"In that case, we agree to your deal. We'll take you."
-We'll take you, then. You're both now the property of this ship and her captain. Welcome aboard the _ _, boys.-
The blonde was openly aghast.
The brunette was utterly still for a moment before he sunk weakly to the ground, blue eyes wide as he stared sightlessly at something in the distance.
'Not again. This can't be happening again!'
"W-what?" he finally stuttered out, his words a hoarse whisper.
Riku grinned wider, enunciating each word for the boys benefit. "We'll. Take. You."
The blonde was fuming as he turned to his brother, who shifted after a moment to look up at him as if asking for guidance.
"I must be going crazy, So'," The blonde snarled, "Because I thought I heard them say they'd take US."
"Twice," Axel piped in, grinning, but he was ignored.
The brothers looked at one another desperately. They had a mission! But leaving would be like signing a death warrant for the town, which they couldn't allow.
"Sorry, Rox... I messed up," 'Again.' "Didn't I?" the brunette looked despondent under his brother's livid glare.
"Yeah, So'. You did."
Seeing their distress, Riku strode forward a few steps, sweeping one arm grandly - the other resting on the hilt of his sword, Soul-eater - smiling genially. "But I'm a fair man, boys. Tell you what. If you can beat me and my first mate here, Axel, than we'll leave this town alone, and we won't take anything but the gold and booze we have already collected. How's that sound?"
The blonde perked up immediately. "Now that I can go for!"
He switched his grip so that he could offer a hand to his still seated brother.
Riku crossed the remaining distance between them, Axel close behind. "Introductions are in order, I believe. My name is Riku: Captain of the Heartless, and this, as I said, is Axel."
The brunette nodded. "I'm Sora, and this is my brother, Roxas." He glanced from the tall, defined silver haired man to the taller, lanky redhead.
"So how are we doing this?"
"Two separate one-on-one matches, I was thinking? Pick your opponent. First to hit the ground loses, to leave the match at any point before the match is decided is to forfeit: if one of you wins and one of us wins, we keep the losers. Got it memorized?" Axel said, all in one breath.
"Who chooses?" Roxas cocked his head at Axel: who was quite looking forward to winning... He really couldn't wait to have the blonde all to himself...
"Captain?" Axel turned his attention from the delectable blonde long enough to query his captain.
"They can choose." Riku's aquamarine eyes hadn't left Sora, causing the boy to fidget uncomfortably.
Eyes heavy on him: hating/judging/pitying/watching...
Sora leaned over to Roxas, who was also beginning to feel uncomfortable with the pirates' staring. "...You pick."
Roxas' answer was immediate. "Redhead."
Sora nodded, and the two moved parallel to their chosen opponents. Roxas on the left, Sora on the right. The villagers fled the square, with only a few of the braver men staying to watch the match.
"Time limit?" Sora avoided making eye contact with his opponent.
Riku smirked. He was really going to enjoy those eyes.
"Nope."
And then he attacked.
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