CHAPTER 1 - First Encounter

Katsuki's head spun. The UA All Might was just attacked by another pirate clan, and while they ultimately won the war, they lost Shindo, Mineta and Monoma, their Chief Sailor and his two Sailing Mates. While most of the crew knew the process of hauling sails, coiling ropes and making them fast, there was no sugar-coating it. Without Shindo and Monoma, they were screwed. Nobody else knew how to convert an ordered coarse into "sail lingo."

The UA was currently anchored on the rocky cliffs beneath a very small, remote tropical island. Katsuki, or more accurately Captain Bakugou, was at a loss. While he knew a bit more about sailing than the rest of the crew, his real expertise was at the helm. He could navigate the winds, waves and stars better than anyone else, and could steer the ship as if it were an extension of his own body. He couldn't leave his post at the wheel even if he would be of any real use at the sails.

Currently, his Kirishima, Shinsou and Denki were out looking for food, while the rest of his crew, Sero, Mina, and Momo were working on repairing damages from the attack. His deployed hunting crew had left the ship three hours ago, and Katsuki was beginning to get worried. Hair for Brains and the Idiot Blond weren't known to be the sharpest knives in the drawer, and Emo Boy didn't seem to care about his own life or anyone else's.

"Oi, Pinky. I'm going out." He called out, picking up a bow and some rope in case he stumbled across any game himself. "Gonna see what those three idiots are up to."

"Got it, Cap't. I'll relay to the the others."

As he jumped off the side of the UA and onto the soft, white sand of the beach, Katsuki looked up the steep cliff full of tall tropical trees that he saw his crew members disappear into. A quiet "For fuck's sake…" mumbled out from his lips as he began the uphill climb.

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A content sigh escaped Izuku's lips as he bit into one of the lush papayas Uraraka had picked for them earlier. Todoroki was eating as well, sitting next to the greenette on the side of their small sailboat. After finding a deep delta hidden far from their settlement on the island, the three have enjoyed nothing more than some early morning sailing. It was forbidden for any clan member to go past the cliff, so the delta was almost like a gift from god himself, allowing them to sail freely in the early hours of dawn.

Uraraka had been orphaned before she could talk, and Todoroki's father was the chief of the clan. His mother died when he was a toddler, and with his father constantly busy, he had to mostly look out for himself too. Endeavor was also physically abusive, even now, hence the scar that permanently marked the left side of Todoroki's face. Izuku never had a father, but only 5 years ago, when Izuku was 15, his mother passed away from starvation. It had been an extremely rough year that took the lives of many clan members who were insistent that their starving children survive, at any cost. As Uraraka and Izuku, and basically Todoroki, were all orphans, they learned to stick together and formed a friendship stronger than blood bonds.

The three now sat with their bare toes gliding through the water, legs dangling off the side of their rather small but very legitimate sailboat. Their clan had taught them to sail as children, though only for when they were forced to abandon the island. As the sailboats were left untouched ever since, it wasn't hard for them to sneak one into the delta.

"Deku, you didn't tell me you knew how to do donuts! Not fair!" Uraraka complained loudly. "You came here and practiced without us didn't you!"

"N-no I didn't!" Izuku blushed, his skin turning rosy pink beneath his dark freckles. "I just tried something new and it ended up happening!" He tugged nervously at his canvas hand wraps; a deeply ingrained habit.

"Sailing just comes naturally to you, doesn't it." Todoroki smirked slightly at the darkening of Izuku's blush.

"Wha—no! Stop it guys, it was really just luck!" Izuku curled in on himself, trying to hide his face behind his papaya slice. "I-I'll show you how I did it…"

"Really?! Then let's do it!" Uraraka said, jumping out into the water. "Right after we get some more food. We've been sailing for hours and the clan is going to be pissed if we come back all hungry." Hearing no complaints from her friends, Uraraka came up with a new idea. "Let's split up and have a contest. Whoever finds the most food before sunrise wins."

"Good idea!" Izuku chimed in. "Then we can bring it all back and have a feast!"

"Why not." Todoroki agreed.

"Alright, then let's meet back here in 2 hours!" Uraraka shouted, already heading out into the forest.

Izuku grabbed a few ropes from the sailboat, and slung them around his shoulder, tying them loosely. "When we come back, you can show me that cool sideways maneuver you've been working on, Todoroki!"

"I don't know if you can handle it, Midoriya, it takes a bit of muscle…"

"What do you mean? If you can do it, I'm sure I can!" Izuku pouted.

"If you say so." Todoroki chuckled. Oh, how much he enjoyed teasing the little cinnamon roll.

"You know I have my own ways of doing things, even without as much muscle."

"Sure, sure." Todoroki tried to contain his laughter at Izuku's scrunched up face as he ruffled the green mop of of curls. "We'd better get going if we're gonna keep up with Ochaco. She can spot a piece of food from a mile away."

"I'm already leaving! See you later!" Izuku called over his shoulder as he drew his knife out of the knife holder strapped to his ripped cargo pants. As per the customs of his tribe, Izuku was shirtless, donning the tattoos of the hunting tribe; intricate patterns of dark lines and triangles marked the pale skin of his forearms and side abdominals. The forearm tattoos continued all the way to his fingertips, but were mostly covered by the canvas straps all knifemen wrapped their hands with, for grip. While sailing was his main expertise, and he couldn't hold a candle to Todoroki's skills with a bow, the tribe was excellent at making good hunters, and Izuku wasn't bad at handling a knife. If he got a good location, he'd definitely beat the others.

Izuku crept through the lush forest, well-trained and experienced eyes peeled for any sign of game. His head jerked to the side as he heard a branch snap, and he crouched down low to the ground, moving quietly toward to hid behind a bush. He spotted the rabbit about 6 feet away from the immense rainforest tree he was next to. Quietly and with skilled movements, he soundlessly moved towards the game. It wasn't too far away, so he figured he'd have a better chance of catching it if he threw the knife, rather than his typical jump-and-kill method. Drawing his arm back and aiming carefully, he threw the knife, hitting the rabbit and killing it instantly. It was a big one. Izuku grinned as he came out from behind the tree, tied up the game using one of his smaller ropes, and clipped it to his cargo pants, securing it tightly. Cleaning off his knife, Izuku re-entered hunter-mode, and snuck deeper into the forest as he tightened his hand wraps.

After sneaking for several minutes, Izuku heard the clear sound of human footsteps. Todoroki and Uraraka both went different ways…and this is far too early for anyone from the clan to be hunting…

Crouching low, Izuku approached the location of the footsteps, and his green eyes widened at the sight that met him. A tall, blond man, appearing to be a similar age as Izuku himself, stood with one booted foot propped up on a boulder. He was shirtless beneath an orange cape with white fur at the the top and bottom, with orange arm bands and a myriad of scars and tattoos across his arms at upper body. Unlike Izuku's side and forearm tattoos, the stranger's markings were on his shoulders, upper arms and chest. Izuku moved slightly to hide himself better behind the tree.

Is this, a foreigner? A pirate? Is he lost, or looking for someone? What in the world is going on?!" Izuku was completely confused by the appearance of such an interesting, breathtaking figure. A murmur that sounded like, "Fucking shitty hair…" broke Izuku's entranced stare before the foreigner continued to walk up the hill, failing to notice the boy trailing behind him.

After a while of following the caped stranger, Izuku noticed him crouch down to pick something up. He inspected the object very closely, but Izuku could not see it from his point of view. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him as he trekked slowly around the tree, finding a new vantage point. He leaned in slowly from behind his new tree, trying to get a glimpse at what was capturing the blond's attention, before hearing a sound that indicated the grave mistake he had just made.

The hissing sound of a poisonous jungle snake reverberated from the ground beneath Izuku's feet. Well-trained to the protocol of encountering the dangerous reptiles, he slowly inched backward, out of its range of attack. It wasn't long before Izuku realized he was going to have to choose whether to stay hidden from the mysterious stranger, or risk losing his life in one of the more excruciating manners. His eyes darted quickly between the two threats as he crept backwards.

Sure enough, the green-haired hunter had just made it out of the serpent's domain when his movements were enough to make the blond's head snap in his direction. Crimson red eyes met wide, forest-green. "Who the f–!?"

Before thinking twice, Izuku took off as fast as he could. Clambering through the thick tropical forest, he jumped over the vines and fallen logs of the territory he knew like the back of his hand. Glancing over his shoulder, Izuku saw the blond bolting after him, a maniac grin on his face as he drew his bow.

"You think you can sneak up on me, piece of shit?!" He roared from behind. Well, clearly he isn't friendly.

A small panicked noise escaped Izuku's throat as he ran. Looking back was pointless; the blond was fast. While the green hunter was confident in his abilities to outrun his angered pursuer, the bow worried him. He couldn't outrun an arrow. His lead would be pointless the second the stranger aimed. There was no other choice – he had to hide or fight.

Izuku used his teeth to rip at his right hand wrap, tearing off the canvas and quickly giving himself a strong rope to use to his advantage. He looked around for an escape; a method of using his momentum to turn around quickly and disappear from view.

"Just try to outrun me, little boy!" The blond laughed sadistically. An arrow shot out, landing in a tree a few inches to the right of Izuku's bare foot.

Green eyes zeroed in on a low-hanging branch up ahead and to the right. Prepping his loose hand wrap, Izuku darted to the side, out of Katsuki's view. The pirate swerved in the same direction, but in just that instant, his prey was gone.

Or so he thought.

Before the pirate's momentum could allow him to slow down, Izuku swung around into Katsuki's back from the other side of the tree, using his hand wrap as a tether to the tree branch. With all his body weight, as well as his momentum from running, he kicked Katsuki from the back. It wasn't enough to knock him over, but it stunned him, making him lose his balance and place his bow hand on the ground.

Izuku swooped in, immediately using the opportunity to snatch the pirate's bow out of his grasp.

"You little shit!" Was the last thing Izuku heard before he took off again, hearing the most obscene words shouted at him from behind. And his plan would've worked too…if it weren't for the fact that the bow was much, much heavier than anything the tribe used. Weighed down by the surprisingly heavy mass, and being chased by an extremely angry, now empty-handed pirate was not a good combination.

After about a minute of running, Izuku felt the weight of a thousand men slam into his back as Katsuki tackled him to the ground. "Ah!" The freckled greenette shouted in both pain and fear as he was driven into the ground.

"Gotcha now, filthy thief!" Katsuki growled, pinning Izuku face-down to the ground. He grabbed the conveniently loose strip of canvas trailing off Izuku's dominate hand, leaning into the boy to tie his arms up.

Realizing the foreigner's idea, Izuku immediately struggled as hard as he could, punching and kicking anything he could reach, while simultaneously thrashing his hips around to try and flip onto his back. After a good deal of grunting and panicked noises, Izuku felt his fist collide with something that made the stranger yell, "Shit!" and loosen his grip. The smaller boy pushed him backwards, just enough to wiggle free and start to get on his knees.

But it was hopeless. After hearing a roar of pure anger and frustration, Izuku felt an iron grip latch around his ankle, forcing him to face-plant directly into the ground. He let out a cry of pain as he was dragged back underneath the pirate by the ankle, struggling the entire time. He had just managed to flip onto his back, and was about to kick out with his free leg before it was grabbed as well. The foreigner immediately straddled him, using his knees to hold down Izuku's legs and pinning both of his arms down on either side of his head. Furious, scarlet-red eyes were mere inches away from Izuku's, blazing with the fire of victory as the small hunter was rendered completely immobile.

No words were said as the two boys panted heavily from the strenuous events of the chase. Both were glistening with sweat, their hair partly stuck to their foreheads. After a few minutes of defiant staring, the crushing effect of Katsuki's weight made Izuku's limbs go limp, and he stopped struggling; admitting defeat. The pirate smirked, taking the opportunity to slowly drag his eyes down Izuku's body, sizing up his prey.

Izuku's hyper-alert green eyes stayed trained on the caped stranger, trying to sense some sort of goal or intention. When they started trailing down his body, Izuku froze. He held his breath as he was examined, a light blush contrasted the dark freckles and tattoos on his white skin.

The blush deepened considerably when the foreigner's eyes came back up to meet his own again, and a mischievous tongue flicked out to moisten his smirking lips.

"A scrawny brat like you tried to jump me?"

At Izuku's silent glare, Katsuki leaned into the boy's forearms, and brought them up above his head so that he could pin both of them down with one arm. "Or perhaps…do you have friends?" When he suddenly felt the pirate's other hand trail down his thigh slowly, Izuku whimpered and squirmed, his eyes widening.

The hunter's heart started pounding, his exposed stomach rising and falling as his breathing picked up.

Fear overtook his mind as he was unsure of the foreigner's intentions. As the large hand wandered downwards, it squeezed his thigh lightly, making Izuku bite his lip. The pirate chuckled, and seemed to be drinking up his reactions. His deadly smirk widened and he leaned down so his lips were right next to Izuku's freckled ear. He whispered, making goosebumps spring up along the greenette's arms.

"Nah, yer all alone."

At this, Izuku gathered up his courage and called out as loud as he could, "Todoroki! Todoroki help––ah!"

He was immediately cut off by his own hunting knife, which he realized was likely what the stranger was going for the entire time as it was strapped to the outside of his thigh. He whimpered pitifully as he tilted his head back, up and away from the blade.

"So he speaks!" Katsuki teased. "You and yer friends mess with my men?"

Unable to move his head, Izuku stammered. "N-no!" Tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Then why the fuck were you stalking me like a piece of game?"

"I-I wasn't, I don't know!" The greenette pinched his eyes shut, forcing a tear to trail down his face. He was so cute that even Katsuki felt a pang of sympathy. He frowned. Is this green fucker crying right now?

"The way you used that branch to fuckin' attack me. Yer people got sailors?"