Please don't mind any mistakes I've made. I've probably made a couple.

Also, I'll try my best with accents, but don't expect miracles.

Enjoy~

Disclaimer: You know how that goes.

The name Arthur Kirkland was everywhere. No matter where you went or how far you got, the name always seemed to come out of nowhere, and along with it, came fear.

Of course, all the towns that were lined on the ocean always wondered if their home would be next to feel the pirate's wrath. They begged and prayed to be spared since the stories they heard all made them shake like children.

While everyone else was shaking in their boots, Alfred was ready to take the sea dog on. If he defeated Arthur, think of the glory! Everyone would call him their hero and he wouldn't have to do odd jobs just to get a loaf of bread. His brother, Mathew, also wouldn't have to worry so much about money and they both could be so much happier.

All Alfred had to do was get rid of Arthur Kirkland himself.

It took a couple weeks, but finally he was able to get on board a ship. Even though they weren't going after the infamous pirate, Alfred wasn't about to lose a small chance. Besides, if he could show how good he was, more chances would come. At least, he hoped.

"Alfred…I'm not sure about this," a nervous voice said as he looked into his brother's bright blue eyes. The older sibling just shook his head a little and gave him another goofy grin. "C'mon Mattie, we've already been through this. It's only an escort voyage."

Mathew's eyes glanced to the side a bit. "I know, but you're doing this so you can go after that pirate…"

Alfred dropped his bag and grabbed his brother gently by the shoulders. "Look, the chances of us running into him are small. Even if we are escorting the governor's grandsons, I doubt he'll be interested in something so small. What is he going to do with two idiot Italians?"

"Just be careful Alfred and don't do anything reckless."

Then a loud voice boomed over the docks, "All aboard the Hetalia!"

"There's my cue! See ya Mattie. Love ya!" The older brother said, giving the smaller of the two a quick hug before heading off for his first voyage. Mathew watched as his brother made it aboard and waved at him. He waved back, giving him a small smile while silently praying to anyone listening to keep his brother safe from any harm.

A couple days had passed since he had left Mathew on the dock. Being part of the crew was different than what he thought it would be. He was getting sick of all the orders, do this, do that. Though Alfred tried to think of it positively and tried to show off whenever he was told to do something. However, the captain, who was a big German man by the name of Ludwig, always yelled at him.

If that wasn't bad enough, the people they were escorting had always managed to give him a migraine. The older brother, who was named Lovino, had some obsession with his brother named Feliciano. Feliciano always wanted to ask him questions, and sometimes repeated his questions, as if he expected a different answer!

Why was he singled out to be the idiot's friend? Although, whenever they were even close to each other, Lovino was right there and immediately started to bitch.

Plus, Alfred swore that Ludwig had a thing for the younger Italian so sometimes it was a good thing to have him around. Less scolding from the German captain was always a good thing, right?

"Alfred! Alfred!"

Said man groaned as he tried to ignore Feliciano and concentrate mopping the deck. It was a so called punishment for 'accidentally' throwing his soup at another crew member.

"Alfred! Wanna play a card game?" Feliciano asked as he finally got to where the American was mopping. "No Feliciano, I'm busy. If I don't finish this, that German bastard will give me an even bigger migraine." The smile on the Italian's face fell a little, but it brightened straight away.

"Don't worry about it! I'll cover for you. Ludwig likes me!"

'You have no idea,' Alfred thought to himself, but then sighed and shrugged, "Alright, if you say so." The Italian jumped happily, taking the American by the arm and dragging him to a card table in his room where Lovino was also waiting. 'Why do I do this to myself?' Alfred said in his head.

More days had passed and Alfred was going insane! Where was the action! Where was the adventure he craved so much? He didn't expect too much to begin with, but this was ridiculous. There had to be something more exciting than this. Not even a storm had come across their path to cause a little excitement.

Maybe this was a bad idea…

"What's wrong Alfred? Do you want some pasta?" Feliciano asked as he saw the man slumped by the boat's railing. "No…I'm just bored out of my mind."

The Italian nodded and sat next to him with his knees on his chest. "The cooks here are so mean…they don't make pasta that often…and when they do, they ruin it!" Feliciano whined, and almost looked like he had tears in his eyes.

The American raised an eyebrow. "Is pasta all you ever think about?"

The smaller of the two smiled brightly. "Pasta is life. I find no greater joy than when I'm slurping down noodles and tomato sauce."

Alfred was standing by the door that held the Italians inside. It was late into the night and the blonde was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He held tightly onto the gun and tried to look like he was doing his job of guarding, just in case a certain German captain came to check on his love interest.

However, his eyes grew too heavy and he fell asleep, being propped up by the wall behind him, still holding onto his gun like it was a stuffed rabbit.

BOOOOM!

Alfred jumped awake at the loud sound and as the boat shook violently. He could hear curses coming from Lovino and frightened cries coming from Feliciano. He opened the door and it flew to the wall, not making a dent though. Immediately, the younger Italian clung to his arm in a panic, "Alfred, what happened!" He said through tears. Lovino also rushed angrily towards his side and was already making threats to whoever woke him up.

"I don't know. I think you two should stay-"The American wasn't able to finish as he felt something click against his head. Lovino and Feliciano closed both of their mouths, but they were already shaking as they could see a man point a pistol at the blondes head.

"Well, that was easier than I thought. You'd think these lads would put up more of a fight, right Ian?" A man with an Irish accent asked to another.

"Guess Arty was right after all. They really are morons!" Another one commented, who had a Scottish accent, laughing a bit as he did so.

They couldn't mean…Arthur Kirkland? Just the thought made Alfred's eyes widen. This…this wasn't supposed to happen! Sure, he dreamt of meeting the pirate and taking him down, but this wasn't the exact scenario he pictured. What always came to mind was a one on one battle on a sandy beach of some island in the Pacific, swords clashing and a storm brewing overhead. Then, with a swift thrust, Alfred would have pierced the black heart that belonged to the pirate and he would go down in a pained scream.

"Alright, I want no funny business from any of you. Blondie, give me your gun," the Irish man ordered. Alfred narrowed his eyes and slowly reached behind his back with the hand was holding the gun and felt it being taken away from him. Somehow, the action made him feel more vulnerable.

"Now, you're gonna put your hands on yer head and follow us like good dogs."

The American seriously wanted to kill the two men that were holding them hostage, but he was powerless at the moment. Plus, he also had two Italian brothers to care for, which were cowering beside him.

The trio was led to the deck where they could see their fellow men being tied up and be beaten to a bloody pulp. Feliciano cringed while Lovino looked away. Alfred only gritted his teeth and sent a death glare to every pirate that was invading the ship. However, it wasn't doing anything to the targets.

Then, they were brought upon the pirate ship by ropes. The pirates were scurrying across the deck doing their duties, but occasionally they looked at their hostages as they were being shoved off to the brig. All three of them were put in the same cell and the two brothers clung to Alfred. The American knew Feliciano would do something like that, but Lovino was a bit of a surprise. He supposed it showed how scared they truly were.

Alfred tried to keep himself strong, although he was a bit scared himself, he would never admit it. The blonde wanted to keep himself composed so it would be of some sort of comfort to the other two.

"Were doomed, doomed!" Feliciano cried as he clung onto Alfred's arm. "Please don't hurt me! Please, I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt me!"

"Shut up!" Lovino said, trying to be angry when he was actually just as scared as his brother. Though it didn't stop the younger one from crying and it just made Lovino complain even more.

"I'll punch you both out of you two don't shut up!" Alfred yelled, which made them both stop, except for an occasional sniffle coming from Feliciano. Then a new voice sounded that none of them recognized.

"Why are there three of them Thomas?" The voice asked in a British accent.

"Well…I guess he was 'guarding' the door and well…I guess we couldn't help ourselves," the man with the Irish accent said. The three of them looked and their eyes widened at the sight. "A-Arthur Kirkland," the young Italian said in a shaky voice.

Green eyes narrowed as he came right up against the bars of the cell. The two Italians hid behind the American, who stood firm and glared right back at the Englishmen. So, this was Arthur Kirkland, a short, big browed man with sandy blonde hair and emerald eyes.

"Well, there's no sense in keeping all three of them," the pirate said as he pulled out a shiny black pistol, pointing it straight at Alfred's head. "Cheerio then, American."