They came out of nowhere, without any signs of their intentions, anything - they just opened the fire.
Iruka started to regain his consciousness. First thing he noticed was the fact that he had his hands tied. Without opening his eyes he started to move his fingers in search for( of) something he could use to free himself.
The only thing he found was his goblet, filled with water.
"Bloody, treacherous pirates..." He murmured to himself.
"Captain,sir, you're not in any place to talk" He snapped his eyes open. He knew that voice...
The first thing he saw was the sword pressed to his throat. Then he moved his gaze to the person who held this the weapon.
It was the man whom he'd met a year ago. He hadn't changed - the same mop of silver hair, same eye-patch, mask on his face and bored look in his one visible eye.
"What are you doing here ?" He hissed, but the silver-haired captor wasn't affected by this display.
"I do believe, that you know what brings me here, Captain." He answered in his usual bored tone.
But he didn't know. He could think of some reasons, but...
"I don't think so. What have I ever done to you, that you had to attack my ship, imprison or kill my crew and tie me up to the column in my own cabin." Iruka's voice was shaking with anger. He was trying to catch the goblet behind him in his fingers, maybe could use it later...
The silver-haired man just used his sword to cut Iruka's shirt open. He came closer and took in his hand the silver chain that was placed on Iruka's neck.
"Any ideas?" Iruka just shivered. He remembered very well how did hehow he came to possess that necklace - with a ruby in the shape of Mangekyo, which was - now he knew - the crest of the Uchiha family, who ruled the East Sea.
" Remember how you got it ?"
How he could possibly forget ?
"Scatter, you bloody rats! I don't want to see any of you before next week!"
"Aye, Captain !" The crew shouted and everyone went in different direction - some of them went directly to brothels, the other ones - to taverns. Iruka had no idea what to do with himself.
He wasn't interested in whores and most certainly not in getting into a drunken fight.
He decided to go "sight-seeing" - he wandered around the port and watched every single ship that came to the harbour. Some of them were the pirates ships - he could tell from the look of the crew and their actions. Some of them where royal ones - they looked mighty and their crews were more elegant than the pirate ones.
To be honest, he didn't really want to fight with any of the royals.
Hell, if he had choice he wouldn't be a pirate in the first place !
But after his parents died in a storm, he was rescued from sinking ship by the captain Sarutobi and was raised as his child. And Sarutobi was a good man, but still a pirate.
He was always telling Iruka that he would take his place as a Captain after his death. So Iruka did everything he could to become a skilled sailor and good commander. But he also knew that if he wanted to survive as a Captain he must continue Sarutobi's ways of piracy.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice when he left the harbour and started to walk down the street. And then, suddenly,he collided with something. Or rather someone.
"Not my favourite form of greeting, but it will do" He looked up. He was being pressed against a masked man with silver hair and eye-patch that covered his left eye.
"I'm sorry, sir" Iruka mumbled, but this mysterious man just smiled (Or it just looked like he was smiling, the mask made it hard to tell .)
"No problem, really..." And then they introduced masked man was called Kakashi. Iruka thought that it was a strange name, but when he said so , Kakashi just answered:
"You're not in any place to talk, you know? Your name means dolphin in a different language." When Iruka went silent, Kakashi started laughing.
And then they started walking and talking about the states of their lives. Iruka claimed that he was a sailor and, to his surprise, his new friend said the same. So they kept on talking about the seas, winds and bloody pirates.
But there was something strange about Kakashi. Every time Iruka looked him in the eye, he felt shivers going down his spine. There was something in his stare that caught Iruka. He couldn't think straight.
When he met Kakashi next evening, he really didn't want to go, he wanted to run, he was afraid of that eye...But he ended up walking with the sailor another night.
And this continued every evening.
Iruka was torn. It was his last day in the harbour- they were leaving the next morning. And he..He wanted to stay, to be still under the spell of Kakashi. They were walking again this night.
They were talking about something not very important, when Kakashi stopped walking. He looked at Iruka as if he wanted to say something...And then he took off his mask. From that moment Iruka didn't think. Being kissed by Kakashi was right, was absolutely necessary to live, was natural, so what was there to think about?
He didn't notice when they moved to some room, but why should he care? Surrendering to the silver-haired sailor was natural too. He forgot everything. He forgot that he was a pirate, he forgot that he was leaving the next morning. All that mattered was to be claimed by this man.
When the morning came, Iruka looked at his partner..Or rather lover ? And he was considering, for the first time, leaving Sarutobi and staying here. But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't, he couldn't let down the man to whom he owed his life. But...He would take some memento...He carefully took off Kakashi's necklace and put it around his own neck. He kissed the sleeping man last time, dressed and left.
Two weeks later, Sarutobi died from a wound from a fight with royal navy, and Iruka became the new Captain.
After some time he learned that the ruby on his neck was a crest of the Uchiha family - pirates who were annihilating other pirates. He couldn't believe his luck to he hated himself in those moments where he missed one silver-haired pirate.
" So, you came to reclaim what's yours? " Asked Iruka, still trying to free himself. Something dangerous flicked in Kakashi's eye after that statement.
"Exactly" He answered as he moved closer to the tied took off his mask.
"To reclaim what's mine" and he kissed Iruka. And like a year ago, Iruka was defenseless. He returned the kiss, ignoring the fact that he was being untied. He hardly noticed that they had moved to his bed.
"Shouldn't you kill me?" He asked while Kakashi was removing his shirt.
"Nah, I don't think so." Was the only answer he got. And then he just stopped caring.
When the morning came, Iruka woke up alone in his bed. He dressed and came out of his cabin. There was a fight on a deck. His men broke out of their cells and were fighting off their captors. Iruka searched for his sword.
It laid where he lost it, in front of his cabin. He joined the fight and soon the enemy escaped. He watched the retreating ship with something like regret. After talking with his crew, counting dead and wounded, he returned to his cabin.
He looked around it, but couldn't find his hat. When he was searching around the desk he noticed a piece of paper lying under...Kakashi's, or in this situation, his necklace.
The only thing that was written on paper was
'Now you're "it". Nice hat, I like it By the way - South'
Iruka smiled. He went on a deck and shouted
"Bear up for the South !"