Update 05/21/16: Rewrote chapters 1-7 (grammar editting, minor changes, no major plot changes)

If you like the story, I would love to hear your feedback! If you feel inclined to, please leave comments and reviews; I always like to hear what you, the readers, think! I'm hoping you enjoy the story and look forward to seeing what happens next!

Also I'll occasionally be adding notes to the bottom of chapters for pirate lingo clarification

Warnings: Violence, gore, blood, death, torture, PTSD, potential rape, graphic sex, male x male, and general pirate goodness. If you don't like, don't read! Rin x Haru is the main pairing for this series, but there will be others on the side as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own the concept of, nor any of the characters of, Free! Iwatobi Swim Club


He couldn't remember ever seeing so much red in his entire life.

The hot air of the night burned the lungs of Haruka Nanase, blue eyes watering as smoke and ash stung them. His chest heaved with ragged coughs as his weakened body struggled beneath the massive weight of a fallen wooden pillar that had crushed him against the ground. The loud screams of a massacre continued to assault his ears, his eyes squeezing shut as if he could block out the garish sounds of metal sinking into flesh. Amongst the screams he could distinguish the familiar voices of his friends, their pained shouts ringing out as they released their dying cries. Eyes still screwed shut, he once again sunk his nails into the wood of the pillar and pushed upwards with all of his might. It was futile; no matter how much he strained his muscles, it was simply too heavy for him to lift.

Haru's arms collapsed back against the ground as he released another painful cough, hot sticky liquid coating his hands as they withdrew from the wooden surface. Through half-lidded eyes he looked at his skin, now painted a crimson color. Blood. There was... So much of it, and none of it was even his. A wrenching feeling filled his gut as he dry heaved, his stomach long since been emptied. His wet hands slipped against the pillar as he tried again and again to push it from atop his body, even if by now he knew it would never budge.

The wood had fallen across his hips, pinning him to the ground even if his legs and torso were still free to move. Through bleary eyes Haru could see various shadows dancing across the walls of the buildings, accompanied by the brilliant warm reflections of burning flames. He could feel the heat from the inferno across his exposed skin, hot enough to burn as if he were touching the flames directly.

His mouth and throat were parched, and sucking in the ashen air with another ragged breath only forced him into another painful cough. Exhaustion finally began to claim him and he let his arms fall away from the pillar to give himself a break. Haru shook his head back and forth to shake off the fine layer of soot covering his raven hair.

A sudden scream from very close by threw a chill of fear down the entire length of his spine, his head turning in time to give him a glimpse of a woman's body buckling forward to grab desperately at the sword embedded within her stomach. It lasted for only a moment before her corpse was violently booted backwards onto the bloodied ground beneath, a fine spray of blood arching upwards to paint more crimson onto the grotesque environment. Haru's blue eyes widened, reflecting his horror as he saw two men emerge from the shadows to follow the falling body, their eyes glinting with pure malevolence.

He froze in place, hoping they would take him as just another corpse killed by a fallen pillar. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case.

"Ho! Looky there. Me thinks that one be in Davy's grip," one of them pointed with his bloodied sword in Haru's direction as he lazily strolled forwards into the light of the fire.

The pirate had short but brilliantly bright red hair, almost as though his head was bathed in the same blood coating the rest of him. Glittering gold eyes, cold and merciless, contrasted the rich hue of his bronzed skin. He wore a tattered white shirt that hung loose enough to expose his toned muscles, the black breeches covering his legs held in place by a red sash tied around his waist in place of a belt. The rest of him was accessorized by heavy black boots that buckled up close to his knees, a black bandana tied around his head, and striking gold earrings. Unfortunately it was hard at first to tell what colors his clothes originally were, what with how saturated they were with... blood.

Like prey staring into the eyes of the predator about to devour it, Haru braved the chance to look directly into the eyes of the pirate as he sauntered towards his pinned victim. It was clear from just that one look that the murderer wasn't planning on showing him any mercy. The raven-haired teen struggled against the confines of the pillar as his body switched into flight mode, but per usual he was unable to move his wooden prison. His only option was to accept his fate as the pirate finally came close enough to stand above his trapped body.

"I'll make quick shark bait out of ye," the man chuckled cruelly as he raised his cutlass above his head, prepared to make quick work of taking Haru's life.

The quiet teen screwed his eyes shut and lodged his nails into the pillar in a powerfully painful grip, preparing himself for the inevitable end. Several moments passed before he noticed he could still hear chaos ringing in his ears, his heart still pounding in his heaving chest.

'I'm still... Alive?' Confused, he allowed his eyes to slowly open as he tilted his head upwards.

The other pirate that had been quietly lurking in the shadows had now joined his comrade above Haru, one of his hands secured tightly around the red-haired man's raised arm to prevent him from dealing the killing blow. An uneasy, gut-wrenching feeling pooled in the pit of Haru's stomach as he found his eyes meeting that of the second pirate whose half-lidded turquoise eyes stared at him, almost as if in recognition.

The new man was much taller than his pirate kin with equally bronzed skin and messy black hair outlining his intimidating face. The large, loosely hung shirt he wore was too bloodstained to tell what its original color was, but its buttons were popped open half way down to reveal the heavily packed muscles of his well-built body. Hanging off broad shoulders was a turquoise waistcoat, equally saturated with crimson blood and opened its entire length. Matching his outfit on his lower half were black trousers, dark brown boots that folded over at the tops, and heavy gold earrings with matching gold rings on his fingers.

He was an intimidating man to behold, pirate or not, and Haru involuntarily swallowed back a lump of fear that had begun to make its presence known.

"Nay, we be takin' this lad back to the Captain," the new man spoke with a rumbling baritone voice, his tone level and almost lazy in nature.

The red-haired pirate's face creased as he threw a look of confusion towards his comrade, but by the way his tongue remained stilled in his mouth it was clear he was the black-haired pirate's subordinate.

"Aye aye!" the redhead saluted after a moment of pause, his cutlass twisting away from Haru to wipe itself clean upon a corpse nearby before being stashed into the pirate's waistband. Haru could only watch the action with horror, eyes not daring to look into the face of the fallen man for fear of recognition.

As soon as he was finished, the red-haired man leaned down and grabbed the wooden pillar on one side of Haru, while the black-haired man lifted from the other side. Working together they were able to lift the wood enough to throw it off of Haru, freeing him in one swift movement. The previously trapped teen immediately rolled onto his bruised and aching stomach with a groan and tried to crawl away, even if he knew it was futile. It came with no surprise when the collar of his shirt was roughly grabbed at the back and hoisted upwards so that he was forced onto his feet.

The buccaneers didn't even offer him a second glance as they swiftly bound his hands behind his back, the rough rope already digging into his skin and sending sharp shoots of pain up his arms. Haru didn't have much time to think about it before his world was swathed in darkness as a heavy wool bag suddenly encased his head. The black fabric stank of blood and sweat, causing the prisoner to double over as his gut lurched and forced him to gag out another dry heave. The sound of laughter filled his ears before he was roughly shoved forwards, nearly toppling him over before he managed to find his footing and stay upright.

Haru was immediately forced to walk forwards, blindly following the directions given through rough shoves on his shoulders and arms to tell him which way to turn. His foot suddenly collided with something and he stumbled forwards onto his knees, horror in his eyes as he found himself staring directly into the deadened eyes of the town's blacksmith.

Nausea washed over him again when he realized the only thing he could see was red. It was everywhere, coating everything. However, he didn't even have the time to be sick when the bag on his head was pulled back down and he was yanked back to his feet, urged to press on and leave his dead friend behind. The roar of the town on fire was drowned out by the groaning of wooden buildings as they began to finally cave in on themselves, wood crashing down and emitting screams from people that had tried to take shelter within them. Since the bag forced him into blindness anyway, Haru tried squeezing his eyes shut again to try and drown out the screams.

He could hardly believe that just earlier that day his home had been a peaceful fishing town along the outskirts of a lagoon. Now it was a raging inferno, the last of the unlucky inhabitants slain by the pirates that had started their plunder just over an hour ago.

The town, the only thing he had ever known, was gone. Eaten up by gluttonous flames.

The black-haired teen shivered when a chill met his feet, cold water beginning to seep in through his boots. Haru's life in the town had been that of a fisherman, water and the sea always having been a part of his life. He felt more at home in the middle of the ocean, where the only thing he could see for miles was rolling waves. Yet as much as water was second nature to him, he could feel nothing but dread when he felt it underfoot. It only served as confirmation to his current situation: his friends were dead, his town was burning, and he was being captured and dragged out to sea by the very pirates responsible for the bloodshed. He could hear the familiar roar of the waves, the ocean completely oblivious to the tragedy on land.

Haru knew that if he left now... There was no going back.

"Unh!" he released a surprised grunt as he was suddenly pushed over, and for a moment he seemed to free fall through empty space until he landed ungracefully in the bottom of a wooden boat. His cheek bashed against the rough bottom, tearing his skin and causing it to bleed. Left over water that sloshed around at the bottom of the boat began to soak the bag around his head, spilling into his mouth and suffocating him. Haru welcomed the thought of drowning, but his hope was crushed when he was roughly dragged upwards into an awkward sitting position against the side of the boat.

"Quartermaster, this be the only loot from the treasury," a new voice suddenly spoke up to break the quiet tension between the two pirates and their prisoner. A loud splashing next to the boat could be heard as the newcomer wadded through the water to join them.

"That be all of it? What a sorry lookin' bounty," came the rough voice of the man with black hair before something heavy was suddenly thrown into the boat alongside Haru. The prisoner shifted his feet slightly to feel the bag that was next to him; as it shifted in the boat, he could hear coins clinking together.

"Get all hands back on deck, Seijuurou. Smartly now! We be settin' sail."

"Aye aye!" the redhead buccaneer from before shouted before dashing off through the water and back to shore once more.

Haru remained blind, but he could feel the wooden boat rock violently from side to side as the two remaining pirates joined him in the boat. Eventually they began to move out to sea, the last dying cries becoming dimmer until Haru could hear them no more.

'I'm done for,' he thought in horror, shifting himself slightly so that he could peek out through the very bottom of the water-logged bag and look over the side of the boat. Through the woven grains of the bag he could see the water beneath, glittering as it reflected the moon above. There was a small shimmer of hope that still ate at his mind, and he considered tipping the boat and taking the chance to swim to safety. But... what good would that do? Ultimately his hopes were dashed when he was suddenly yanked backwards into the boat again. This time the force threw him onto his back, pain ringing out as his skull collided with the bottom just moments before he could feel slimy sea water drenching his hair.

"Me thinks he be lookin' to sleep with the fishes!"

"Aye. Makes me feel sorry fer the lad." The laughter following the comment confirmed the man's true lack of empathy for his horror-stricken prisoner.

The two pirates continued their gruff banter, but didn't say anything directly towards Haru. Their ignorance of his presence continued, even when they arrived at their ship and began passing him from person to person in order to haul him up the rope ladder and onto the deck of the ship.

He was thrown with a violent force onto the wood of the deck where he lay frozen, arms still tied behind his back and head still covered with the grimy bag. Haru could feel the cool of the deck against his bruised cheek. He could also both feel and hear pirates running back and forth on deck, shouting at one another with garish slang. His stomach gave another gut-wrenching twist of pain when he realized he could also hear raucous laughter of merriment weaving its way from buccaneer to buccaneer over their latest conquest.

"Get ready to set sail!" someone shouted out from above Haru, who was beginning to writhe around frantically to try and get a glimpse of something going on around him. Through the bottom of the fabric that had rolled up slightly due to his movements, he caught sight of a pair of dirty black boots just seconds before one of them violently kicked him in his chest. The force sent a ragged cough of pain erupting from his raw throat, followed swiftly by a small bought of heavy coughs that wracked his body and pained his burnt lungs.

"Blimey!" an unknown voice from above him let out a cry of surprise, followed swiftly by a bellow of laughter from somewhere far off.

"Gyahahaha, trust me addled kin t' damage the Cap'n's booty!"

"Who ye be callin' addled? How was I t'know?" a rough hand suddenly grabbed the bag around Haru's head and ripped it off. A wave of fresh air was welcomed by Haru, clearing his lungs enough to stop his coughing fit. Blinking twice to adjust his eyes, the raven-haired prisoner twisted his head upwards to look at the man crouched above him.

His skin was tan like the previous two pirates he had seen, only slightly fairer in complexion. The hair on top of his head that was not covered with a strangely decorative white-and-black patterned bandana was a light red-orange, matched by golden eyes and sharp facial features that looked strangely familiar to Haru. The baggy shirt he wore was a worn-out orange with faded blotched spots, the material hanging loosely from his muscular, yet still rather gangly body. The shirt covered muddy brown breeches that were held up by a white scarf tied around his waist, hidden beneath a black belt also looped around his waist that matched his black boots. He was less accessorized than the previous men, the only jewellery he wore being a single gold hoop that dangled off of his left ear.

Of course, Haru didn't miss the splashes of blood staining his clothes.

"Ho, this lass be a beauty!" the young man whistled with a broad smile, only to be interrupted by another gruff howl of laughter.

"That be a lad, ye bilge rat," another pirate huskily laughed from off in the distance, causing the orange-haired pirate to stand up with anger flashing in his eyes. He immediately took off after whoever it was that had called him that, vanishing from Haru's vision. The commotion set the rest of the crew to laughing and hooting, many of them banging the hilts of their swords against wood to create noise.

"What be the cause of the commotion out here, me hearties?" a new voice suddenly joined the chaos and everyone immediately fell into silence. The voice sent a fresh chill down Haru's spine as he twisted his head around as much as possible, shuffling himself into a better position to see who had such command over the rowdy crew that he could draw them into silence with just his voice.

His vision was immediately filled with the sight of violent crimson eyes.


Be in Davy's grip: To be close to death, or frightened

Smartly: Quickly, but well done

Blimey: An exclamation of surprise

Addled: Mad or insane, a derogatory slang

Lass: A way to address a younger female

Lad: A way to address a younger male

Bilge rat: A derogatory slang

Hearties: Term to refer to friendship among sailors