((So I guess you consider this my first fic... Well first one I'm actually comfortable letting people read. Please bear with me as I try to update this.))

It was everywhere. Fire ravished all of the buildings in the small village. People screamed in utter terror as they saw their homes collapse and their families killed in the tragedies. Some were killed right on the spot by the gang of ruthless pirates raiding the once-peaceful village. Some were women... Some were children. The bravest men tried standing up to them, but had no chance. Many began to flee into the surrounding woods seeking protection from the band of pirates, but only a few actually did so... Standing at the edge of the old wooden dock was none other than the Captain of the ship, a filthy grin on his face. The feeling of gaining more territory and more power really made him happy. He felt this feeling surge through his whole body as he overlooked the chaos. It was just his luck that all of the armies were away dealing with other duties in distant lands, for he had nothing to fear. No one could stand up to them, and if any one of his crew members did happen to get harmed, it was only the careless ones who were just there for the look of power. Those men honestly meant nothing to him. As the ruthless pirate walked into the scene, he caught the gaze of the terrified citizens crying out to him for help, but he just ignored them completely. Occasionally, he would look over, acknowledge them, and continue walking on to the center of town. This city was his, and nothing was going to change that.

By the middle of the night, things had died down in the town. Most of the fires had burned out, leaving only the smoldering skeletons of what used to be lovely households laying on the cold ground. The thick smoke had cleared, revealing the bodies scattered across the landscape, their blood-stained kimonos catching the eye of anyone of the passing pirates. From what the Captain saw, all life was gone. There was no hope for the town whatsoever.

"Men! Bring whatever loot you can salvage back to the ship!" With that order, all of the Captain's men began to rummage through the remains, grabbing anything that could be used to their advantage or sold in one of the markets back home. As the men readied themselves and began bringing back their treasures to the ship, the Captain followed, that crooked grin still on his face.

At the end of the dock was his ship, The Bloody Corsair, neatly tied up alongside the small fishing boats the people in the town owned. Glancing at them, he shook his head and chuckled. Nothing could ever be as magnificent as The Bloody Corsair. It's mast strong, its wood perfect and smooth, the steering flawless, and not to mention, it had a marvelous crew on board. Everyone listened to his orders, for they knew that if they didn't, things wouldn't look too pretty for them. And they managed to get their jobs done easily, leaving little manual work for the Captain to actually do for himself besides mapping their courses and steering, which he didn't mind at all. Proudly walking up the wooden plank connecting the dock to the ship, the Captain made his way to the highest deck on board where the wheel was located.

"Men, tonight, we shall bask in our glory, for Japan now knows of our name! From now on, they shall remember us only through their darkest nightmares and only speak of us in times of chaos. We truly have done a remarkable job tonight! Now remember these words as we set sail tonight and you return to your bunks for a bit of shut eye." As the men cheered in honor of their victory, the Captain shooed them off to untie the ship from the dock, enabling them to take sail for the night. Although they had completely mutilated the town, he didn't want to risk any survivors fetching soldiers from other towns to come and destroy their fleet. On the main deck, men pulled in the heavy ropes thrown over the sides of the ship by men on the dock, ready to push off and leave the smoldering village. Other groups began to heave in the anchor nestled snugly under the gentle waves. Some of them climbed up the mast, untying ropes holding back the large sails. When the anchor was up and the boat was pushed away, wind caught the sail and began to push the large vessel forwards into the darkened sea. Tonight, they could finally relax.

After wishing some of his crew a good night, the Captain began to make his way to his quarters, finally getting to receive that long awaited slumber he had dreamed of for quite some time. Upon the time of reaching the door, the Captain's secondhand mate tapped him on the shoulder, catching his attention.

"Aye? What do you need, Nathaniel? Can't you see I'm a bit busy right at this moment?"

"Sorry, Captain."

"I told you that my name is Arthur and I would prefer if you called me that."

The stout man looked down, feeling ashamed of himself. "Sorry, Arthur. I was just wondering where we'll be headed next. I was going to set the course for tonight so we don't get too off track..."

Letting out a laugh, Arthur smiled at him. "Well... We could always start heading back West, but I doubt anyone there would really like to see me. Well I guess that's true for England... I don't know... We could head back that way. I bet everyone there's been wondering where the hell The Bloody Corsair has been and why they haven't seen us back raiding them of their loot! Set course for London this instant." With a nod, Nathaniel hurried up to the deck, a compass in hand ready to take them back to their origins. Shaking his head at the man, Arthur opened his door revealing his room he had so longed to see. For the past few nights, he had been up making sure that they truly were near Japan and there truly was a town on the coast ahead. Removing his hat from his head, Arthur let out a sigh and ran his hands through his greasy hair. It was such a relief to just relax... Slowly, the pirate slid his decorative coat off his shoulders and sat it down on his desk's chair. Sitting down with it, he looked down at his feet and began to take off his leather boots. He really needed to do this more often. But as he began to slide the second one off his foot, there was only a short period of time before he realized what had happened. Behind him came a slight rustling sound and the slight ping of metal rubbing up against a hard surface. In one swift motion, a sword had appeared before his face, just under his chin threatening to slice his neck open if need be. Around his waist was a small hand, clothed by what appeared to be some sort of naval uniform. When Arthur realized where this person had actually came from, he looked over to see a pair of deep brown eyes glaring at him, a slight hint of red visible in the iris. Sleek black hair framed the face of the cunning Japanese man as he held the pirate in his place, making sure he wasn't about to move. Showing no expression other than hate, the man remained as he was, saying absolutely nothing to the pirate.

"Hello... Friend..."