Thieves and Beggars
Chapter 1
8018
Lately I've been writing a lot of 8018. Actually, all I've been writing is 8018. I must find a way to turn that around before I end up in a rut, haha. Therefore, in this story, I am doing my best to create as many different pairings as possible so I can expand my style a little more :3 On that note, welcome to Chapter One of Thieves and Beggars! If you don't know already, it's based on Pirates of the Caribbean. It's not centered on a specific movie of the trilogy, but I'll be throwing in a few scenes here and there from all three of the movies. Which, by the way, are all EPIC. And so, we shall begin~
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.
Enjoy!
Chapter One
The king and his men
stole the queen from her bed
and bound her in her Bones.
The seas be ours
and by the powers
where we will we'll roam.
Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the colors high.
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.
The trap door opened, and the feet were dangling. Some twitched, others kicked, and the lucky few simply hung like a limp doll, being spared the slow death of suffocation by having their neck broken first, but in the end, all the feet hung that way. Limp and useless.
Dead.
Yamamoto brought the chipped rim of the dusty bottle to his lips, taking a swig of the amber liquid that sloshed in the flask. It tasted like sour milk and grass. The young man walked around the perimeter of the courtyard, emptying the bottle onto the cobblestones as he went, and watched the liquid run down the inclined ground, over the edge of the port, and into the water. The courtyard was right next to the sea. A healthy breeze wafted across the open space as the uniformed guards removed the bodies hanging from the ropes and tossed them onto the horse-drawn cart, which would bring the dead to whatever pit they dug up to toss the corpses in. If they even bothered to dig a hole, that is. Maybe they just dumped the bodies into a giant fire pit or the trench Yamamoto had passed on his way to the execution site.
A new wave of death row prisoners were being marched up the steps now. The spectators gathered around hissed and muttered curses behind their hands. Yamamoto tugged his hat down over his unruly jet black hair, an uncommon colour for people in this area. If the guards looked too closely, they might suspect him and he'd be in a pickle then. The convicts marched up to their places slowly in chains, heads hung low. There was a tall, beefy black man, two scraggly women in rags, a thin man who looked like he hadn't bathed for weeks, and—
The execution pulled up a barrel under the noose and lifted a young boy onto it. He was a scrawny little thing, perhaps only eleven or twelve years old, dressed in what might have been clean clothes, but had now been reduced to tatters. His face was thin and he looked pale, but he looked up and his startlingly green eyes met Yamamoto's. It was wrong how calm this boy was in the face of death. The whispering grew louder.
"My gods, that's a boy—"
"Disgraceful."
"They can't do that…"
"But if he's a pirate, he must hang. It's the law."
Yamamoto frowned. The boy tilted his head at him, but the executioner stepped up and pulled a bag over his head, and the green orbs vanished behind a layer of burlap. The murmurings escalated. Yamamoto's own brown eyes dropped to glance at the boy's hands, which were clutching something small and round. The fingers moved, and a flash of gold caught in the sunlight. Yamamoto risked a moment to take his hat off, bowing his head. To think a child would be caught up in such trickery as pirate business for real. This boy deserved a real salute.
Thieves and beggars.
The trap door opened.
Never shall we die.
Before the coin had fallen from the boy's limp hands onto the dirty sand below the platform, the mysterious young man in the hat had already vanished into the shadows beyond the harbor.
Clang!
"Arrgh! Kyoya! Why'd you do that?" a tall blonde man wailed, waving his arms in despair. In one of his hands he held the remains of what had once been a beautiful sword, now half of its original length. The broken blade quivered ominously on its tip on the floor, the marble tile cracked from where the point had impaled it when it fell. Across the room, a young Asian man with black hair, deep onyx eyes and a thin, heart-shaped face turned and glared in annoyance. In his hands he held two strange looking weapons; both long, collapsible metal rods with a side grip.
"If you'd held the sword properly, that obviously wouldn't have happened." He stated matter of factly, turning on his heel and smirking at his sparring partner. "You're still a herbivore, Dino. Even after a year's training abroad in France."
The blonde man called Dino pouted, walking over to pull the blade out of the ground. "And you're still mean as ever, Kyoya. Why won't you go easy on me for once? We just got back together an hour ago."
The raven snorted. "Don't call me Kyoya. You've got no right using my actual name. Actually, I don't even find you worthy enough to call me Hibari. Maybe you should call me The Almighty or something."
"Ehh? But why? We're practically family already."
"Psh. In your dreams, Cavallone."
Dino was about to make another retort when the large double doors of the drawing room opened, and a young Asian woman about twenty years old walked in. She had black hair tied into two long braids running down her back and wore a red Chinese dress. She glanced around the room and her face lit up immediately when she saw Hibari.
"Brother!" she called out, running over and tackling Hibari in a hug. Hibari grunted a little at the impact, but a small smile lifted the corner of his lips as he hugged his sister back. "I-pin. Have you been training like I told you to?" I-pin looked up and giggled.
"I have!" she said cheerfully. "I beat Dino up at least twice a day when I visited him overseas." Dino let out a splutter of indignation while Hibari looked up, smirk growing.
"I went easy on her, that's all! I can't hit my fiancée. Plus, she's your sister," Dino complained. "You'd kill me if I raised a finger against her." Hibari rolled his eyes.
"Of course I'd kill you. I still haven't given my consent for you to marry her yet anyway." The raven pointed out. Dino almost dropped his broken sword. "Whaaat?" he whined, flailing his arms. "I-pin, your brother's so mean!"
The young woman only stifled her laughter behind her hand, shaking with silent laughter. Hibari leapt over and whacked the blonde on the side of the head for being too noisy. Nobody in their right minds would ever think that the gentle girl and that monster of a man would be siblings, but if one looked closely, you could see that their eyes were the same colour, and their smiles turned up the same way. Hibari treated his sister with the utmost care, and I-pin adored her older brother.
Dino ducked under the table as Hibari sent a giant vase crashing to the floor with a powerful sweep of his arms. "That was from India, you know." Dino complained. "I wish you wouldn't beat everything up with your tonfas all the time."
"Hmph." Hibari snapped, stowing away his weapons. "Well, my sister's back from her outing, so I'm leaving. I only came to check up on her anyway."
"Wah, you're mean, Kyoya!"
Whack!
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Hibari turned and hugged I-pin once more. "Look after that idiot," he grumbled. "One good punch would finish him off in battle." I-pin shook her head and smiled. "I will, brother. Take care of yourself now."
Hibari made a noise in his throat as he grabbed his coat and was headed for the doors when I-pin's hesitant call stopped him again.
"Brother, did you find…well…did you find anything about…?"
Hibari paused with his hand on the doorknob while Dino knocked over a chair as he tried to get himself out from under the cramped space of the table.
"No." he said finally. I-pin looked down, tears gathering in her eyes. However, Hibari's next words made her look up again, a hopeful expression on her face.
"But I know how to cure myself now."
With that, the raven pulled open the door and exited one of the many rooms in the giant Cavallone mansion.
Sunset in the harbor was always a beautiful sight. However, Yamamoto was in no mood to enjoy the scenery. The hanging in the courtyard had finished hours ago, but it was only steps away from the port. After seeing so many fellow pirates die, he wasn't interested in much right now. Yamamoto flipped a coin over in his palm. It wasn't as shiny as the one in the boy's hand, but this coin was his own. It was important in its own way. It sort of represented who he was.
Yamamoto almost chuckled. Yes, it represented a pirate. Him, a pirate. If the guards caught him, he'd hang just like those unfortunate souls in the gallows a few feet away. The wind picked up, and Yamamoto had to lift his hand to yank his hat back down on his head. His sleeve dropped down on his right arm a little, exposing the few tattoos he had. There was a compass rose on the inside of his wrist, a few Chinese characters here and there, and a swallow on his forearm. Underneath it was a smeared burn mark. The scar was in the shape of a P. A pirate. Persecuted and marked like a rabid animal.
Yamamoto whistled a tuneless song to himself as he watched the boats sail in from the sea for the night. Fishermen, coast guards, the navy, they were all here, in the central port. The ocean was always a place of tranquility and calm for the dark-haired pirate at night. It gave him the chance to think and relax in the setting sun.
"Commoners aren't allowed at the dock after curfew, herbivore." A sharp voice spoke from behind him, and Yamamoto barely had a moment's notice to duck to avoid being hit in the head by a metal rod.
"Whoa!" he yelped. "Parley, mate!" The offender took no notice to his request, but continued to come after him with swift, steady blows. Yamamoto ducked and dodged, nearly breaking his arm when he raised his hand to block one of the strikes. The guy was an undoubtedly an excellent fighter, but he had quite the temper. Yamamoto jumped out of the way and his hand darted to his belt, closing around a short dagger. When his attacker struck again, the Yamamoto defended with his weapon, making the other raise an eyebrow when metal clashed on metal.
"A commoner with a weapon? Hmph. You're not a normal herbivore, are you?"
"I'm not a what?" Yamamoto questioned, frowning at the strange term his opponent was using. They backed up, and for a moment, the glow of the setting sun illuminated the other's face. He was a raven-haired young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six, with deep onyx eyes that practically radiated murder. Yamamoto sucked in his breath. Despite being in such his current situation, he coulnd't help but think that the offender was quite pretty.
"A herbivore," the raven spat. "I'll bite you to death!"
He lunged, but Yamamoto ducked, curling into a ball so that the other tripped over him and fell, face forwards, off the dock and into the water with a resounding splash. Yamamoto spun around and watched the water ripped where the raven had vanished beneath the surface. "What a guy," he mused to himself, waiting for the other to come back up and probably kill him where he stood. However, another moment passed, and Yamamoto frowned when he realized that the raven wasn't getting out of the water. Was he playing a trick? Small bubbles appeared at the top of the water, where the ripples were slowly disappearing. Something wasn't right.
And then, a very peculiar event happened.
From where the raven had fallen into the water, the surface suddenly stilled, then wallowed downwards like some magical force was sucking the liquid towards the bottom of the sea. A second later, the water exploded upwards with a giant splash and a shockwave burst forth from the moment the bubble broke, knocking Yamamoto off his feet and backwards onto the deck. The wind howled and palm trees bent double in the sudden wind. Shutters banged loudly off the walls and any untethered objects went soaring away. Yamamoto froze. What was this devilry…? Then, he remembered that the guy was still underwater.
…Damn.
Without hesitating, Yamamoto tore off his belt that held his sword and other short daggers, yanked his pistol from his boot, tossed his hat and vest onto the deck and removed his shoes before diving into the water after the raven. It was cold and the temperature immediately bit into his skin, but Yamamoto swam through the darkness and felt around for any sign of the raven. He touched solid rocks, slimy plants and sand before he jerked around underwater and his foot brushed up against a suspiciously body-shaped object. Reaching down, his hand found another hand and Yamamoto immediately grasped it tight, pulling upwards, and started kicking hard towards the surface.
When he finally came up for air, the raven was floating limply against him. Yamamoto dragged him up to the dock, climbing up the ladder on the side while he half-hauled, half-dragged the other male along with him. He lowered the body onto the wooden surface, pushing wet bangs out of the shorter man's pale face. He looked quite ill. Yamamoto checked for breathing; there was none. Desperate, he tore off the heavy, soaked jacket off the raven's thin frame and tossed it aside. Off went the vest as well. It was obvious by his attire that this guy was pretty well-off. The materials were of nice quality and the buttons were gold-plated. Yamamoto positioned himself with his hands above the raven's chest and forced downwards quickly, trying to push the water out and start the heartbeat again. Push, push, and Yamamoto leaned down to pinch the raven's nose shut as he sealed his lips over the other's freezing mouth, forcing air into the other's lungs. There were several tense moments where Yamamoto fought to save the guy's life, and then, the raven choked and spewed water up into Yamamoto's face as he leaned down again.
"Pffft! You're up," Yamamoto said, wiping his face as the shorter rolled over on his side, coughing up a large amount of seawater. "You okay there?"
The onyx eyes turned to him again, still managing to narrow and make him look positively dangerous despite looking like a half-drowned cat. "What…what's going on…?"
Yamamoto opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, the raven moved, and his saggy shirt slipped a little down his chest and a dark shape, like a tattoo, was exposed on the milky white skin. Yamamoto froze in shock for a split second before he darted forwards and grabbed the raven's shoulders.
"What the fuck are you—"
"What's that on your chest?" Yamamoto asked fiercely, shaking the raven slightly. "Let me see!"
"What—why—"
Yamamoto didn't wait for an answer. He tore the front of the garment open, the other's loud protests falling on deaf ears. The metal tonfas were at the bottom of the harbor right now. There were no weapons on this guy at the moment. The shirt was torn in half from collar to hem, revealing a smooth, pale chest with a lean, muscled torso. However, marked on the white skin, just below the collarbones, was a circle roughly the size of fist. It was etched over the skin like a burn, but it was an unnatural inky black in colour. Thin, spiderlike lines connected to each other inside of the black ring, crisscrossing in every direction, but all the ends of the lines joined together to create a strange, sinister, skull in the very center of the circle. Yamamoto stared down at the mark. This man…could he possibly be…?
A sharp blow to his face made the dark-haired pirate jerk to attention. The raven shoved him away, scrambling to his feet and yanking his torn shirt back over his chest, his anger dominating his features. But behind that rage…was a dash of fear?
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the raven shouted, yanking his vest over him. The jacket quickly followed. Yamamoto paused, staring up at the shorter man from his kneeling position on the ground.
"Your name wouldn't happen to be Hibari, would it?"
The raven froze and stared. He didn't reply, but his body language was as good as a confession. "What—?"
"You can't swim." Yamamoto cut in. "You've tried to learn, but you always sink like a rock to the bottom of the sea."
Hibari, if possible, paled even more. "How—?"
"That mark's been on you since you were born. Do you know what it is?"
Yamamoto stood up, and Hibari backed away, his eyes frightened but fierce. This stranger had just started naming everything that had basically made up his whole experience with the sea. Who was he?
"It's a curse, isn't it? A curse passed on to you from a descendant, or a relative…or your father, perhaps? Am I right?"
"No—no—"
"It's you," Yamamoto said in a strained voice, staring right into Hibari's eyes. "You're his son. You're—"
Boom.
The entire harbor shook as a canon shot came blasting out of nowhere, aimed right at the portside city. There was a deafening crash as a building was struck and crumpled down into ashes. Yamamoto spun around, staring out into the sea. Hibari scanned the horizon as well.
"What in the world—?"
"Damnmation!" Yamamoto cursed angrily, ducking as two more canon shots were fired. "It's them!"
"Who?" Hibari yelled back over the noise. The night sky was lit up by the leaping flames of the city burning down. The taller man turned and gave Hibari a grim stare. "Reborn. The captain of the Black Sun."
"A pirate."
Yamamoto raised an eyebrow at Hibari as another canon crashed into the walls. "Yes, Hibari. He's a pirate. And he's here for something."
"What?" Hibari asked urgently. The dark-haired pirate turned and gestured towards the mark on his chest.
"You."
I was so into this, I actually went and looked up some of the terms pirates used back in the day and some of the styles of clothes people wore in the era, though I don't think I did a very good job of describing it, haha ^^" Also, I'm going to watch all three of the movies sometime this week, just too refresh my memory on the misadventures of Captain Jack Sparrow and his friends~ :D So this is the first chapter! I think this story will be a little longer than my last one, One Summer's Day. I've developed an interest in writing fanfictions based on movies. Anyway, I understand that it's a bit difficult trying to express who the characters of KHR represent without actually saying it, but this time, I'll just state who they are. I'm getting lazy xD
Yamamoto- Captain Jack Sparrow
Hibari- No character
Dino- Will Turner-ish
I-pin- Elizabeth Swann
Reborn- Captain Barbosa
That's all for now! Other characters will be coming up in later chapters~ Thank you for reading! Comments are much appreciated!
-BlackStar
