Scythe: Yes, Ladies and gentlemen, I have decided to write a Kingdom Hearts story- but what is more; it is an AU with Pirates. I know it sounds maybe cheesy or comedic, but I assure you this is a serious fic, and I won't disappoint... hopefully... sheepish smile

Pairings: Riku/Sora, Leon/Cloud (Maybe...)

Warnings: Yaoi, duh. May be depressing at times? A little bit of OOCness somewhere along the line, I'm sure. Bear with me. You can't say I warned you, and if I hear ANY complaints in my reviews about them being OOC, I really will be pissed (I can't really threaten or anything because all I can do is type furiously at you). AU... AU... AU... did I mention that this fic, the one you're about to read, the one that you will be delving into, is AU? Good... One last thing: not the best fic to be reading if you're a Kairi lover... yeah...

Terra Currency of this time period (along with gold pieces).

Stowaway

Chapter One

Fantastic was the day indeed. The Bay of Destiny was like a spectacular array of gold and jewels as the sun beat down upon it this afternoon. To the left was a vast bout of cliff, jutting from the water towards the sky, only to be beat down by the continual flow of waves just at the tip. To the right was a stretch of beautiful, but deceiving beach and lush thickets of dense tropical forest, but even the beach came to an end with another set of cliffs. The bay was quiet, shielded from the vast outside water force by the cliffs of Mhr, but once you passed those cliffs, it was a battle of the elements. This, however, did not stop the flow of ships that seemed to be increasing with every New Year (although, this definitely meant good business for the island dwellers).

Since the thrill of exploration had taken so many, there had been a burst in traveling, thus there had been an explosion of technology, even on this relatively small island. Even though it took a full week to get from one end of the island to the other by way of horse, the island was still the smallest of its stretch, but that just lured more people, ironically. People often sought to go to places in which there might be a possibility that something could still be undiscovered.

To this, Sora, a young, growing teen of 17, had to laugh. He sat perched upon a cluster of well eroded rocks in a small bay of The Bay that only he seemed to know of... which was fantastic. Often he came to rid himself of the corruption he found in the Port in which he lived. Since the small town was on the bay, it was the largest on the island and thus, the most disgusting, in his opinion, but his parents were becoming decently wealthy off of the profits they were making by selling merchandise. His father sold fish and breads and exotic island fruits-a big hit, and his mother often made trinkets, jewelry, blankets and clothes for all seasons. As if to prove their wealth to their own son, his parents had bought him a horse for his 17th birthday, and what a beautiful horse it was. It was white, with a long, but graceful mane, and tuffs of hair that fell over its hooves from its ankles. Its body was powerful, and indeed he took wonderful care of it and, in fact, he'd gotten several frantic offers for the horse from travelers who had offered ridiculously hefty prices. Alas, Sora had become so attached to the large animal so much that he had turned down every offer without hesitation.

The boy stood, stretching his lithe, yet defined limbs out into the delicious sea breeze as a small wind picked up, coasting through his spiky, untamable brown hair. He slowly opened his eyes, revealing beautiful orbs of cerulean that fell to gaze upon the incoming ships at the port. There were only a few docked today, as many had left this morning, but Sora secretly wished that they would all stop coming. Moving to happier thoughts, Sora plastered a grin onto his face and turned towards his pride and joy, leaping off the rocks with practiced grace and walking to the powerful steed.

"Let's go, girl," said the chestnut haired boy, heaving a pouch filled with fresh fruits onto his back and jumping up onto his white beauty, but he couldn't help look back at the incoming ships... His eyes fell upon a particularly interesting looking one- one he had never seen before in style and color. It was dark, and its sails were slightly tattered. To him and his strange, island suspicions, that definitely screamed ominous, but he couldn't finish the thought, his horse becoming skittish and eager to move so he patted her neck and made a soft, clicking noise with his mouth and they were off.

It only took a little while to get back to the town with the fruits. He immediately delivered them to his parents who immediately sent him out to relay a message to a family friend on the outskirts of the town, and of course he would go deliver it, for he knew the message was about the coming of his 18th birthday. The whole island was practically invited, minus the travelers. Honestly, though, he didn't really feel like delivering it just yet. He figured he could go talk with his old friend Selphie first.

Best friends they had been from what seemed like day one. With the Terra that Sora had been saving since his eleventh birthday to buy himself a horse, he had bought Selphie one since his parents had gotten one for him. Granted, it wasn't as spectacular as his horse, but he'd bought it himself, without the help of his parents, and that, to Selphie, was more than she could ask. She almost didn't take the animal because she knew how much they cost on this island, but Sora assured her that he couldn't get a refund and that he wouldn't be able to get the money back or take care of two horses so she guiltily accepted, but it couldn't have been a better choice. She took such good care of horse, as did Sora, and soon their horses were known as the most beautiful on the island. But Sora and Selphie did not understand why the foreigners thought this way, for the girl thought her horse most beautiful for its personality and love, and Sora the same. It had nothing to do with appearance or how strong they were (which is always what travelers based their opinions on).

In addition, Sora and Selphie delighted in racing along the path on the outskirts of town, and, of course, that is exactly what the brown haired boy felt like doing. He needed to get away from this place as often as possible and his horse a little work out as well. A good run would keep it strong and healthy.

"Don't worry, girl. Even if Selphie can't come out and play, I'll still take you for a run."

"Hoist that damn anchor! Get off your lazy ass and help out around here, damn it. The Captain ain't happy with your production rate so hurry it up already, will ye?"

The other ship mate looked at him, raising a brow in disbelief. First of all, he was helping, unlike that little freeloader giving him orders, and second of all, he was standing, his arms full, so he didn't really understand the 'get off your lazy ass' part of the one-sided conversation. Rolling his eyes, the blonde mate shrugged it off and just concentrated on not punching the living daylights out of the stupid newbie of a crew member that thought he was boss.

Sure enough, that stupid man kept bellowing orders, much to his dismay, but his dismay stand corrected as an air of power suddenly washed over him. There, on the quarterdeck, stood the real brains of the ship-the first mate. His sinfully shining hair blew across his face with the sudden wind and he gently raised a hand to move the delicate silver strands from his eyes- the eyes that currently fell upon the idiot giving orders as if he owned the place. If Cloud didn't know any better, he could have said that that look could kill.

"How about you leave the orders to the Captain and me, Jeanne (1)?" Came his cold voice, far greater than that of the voice said Jeanne was using to dish out orders. Jeanne tensed and turned to look upon the face of death upon the quarter deck.

"E-excuse me...par excellence (2)... Riku sir. I just got a little excited, that's all," replied Jeanne, cowering slightly. Riku stared at him, unfaltering.

"See to it that it doesn't happen again." And with that, he turned away for some unattended business. He knew his men could dock a ship. All he had to do was give the order.

Jeanne glowered at his retreating back and gritted his teeth. One day, he would kill that snotty brat, and one day he would take the damned ship from his stupid brother, the Captain Sephiroth, and one day, everyone would listen to him.

Cloud, having seen the whole thing, just snickered and continued his task on the Port side of the ship, tying this and moving that, and, satisfied, he saw Jeanne begrudgingly start to help.

Once they were docked, the boys cheered and clasped hands, excited to finally have hit land after the three week-long journey at the roughest seas. They'd almost lost a few in the midst, which would have been terrible since they were short handed as it was, but pushing all that aside, they set out to their rooms to gather what they could of their money.

Riku stepped gracefully down from the quarterdeck, where he had just finished with his brother. Frustrated, but tolerant, he moved to the latched flat door that led to the below cabins and called for Kairi who often mopped and cooked and was basically the house-keeper of the boat. They had picked her up along the way by accident (one of the mates asked her to come with them when he was drunk), but they couldn't cast her away once they realized she was onboard with him, and she was actually making herself useful most of the time. It was generally unheard of-to have a woman on board- it was bad luck... But Riku disliked her for different reasons. He disliked her because she reminded him of his brother Sephiroth. Not only that, but she also liked to get awfully close to the first mate whenever she could, but he found her repulsive.

She was not ugly, by any means, nor smelly, but her personality reeked of underlying evil, and she was extremely obnoxious (she had a knack for showing up at the most inopportune of times).

That was all unimportant at the moment, though. Now descended, the silver haired mate called to the only female aboard the ship.

"Kairi! The Captain's got a job for you."

She emerged all too quickly and too eagerly at his voice and immediately penetrated his comfort bubble. He withdrew, making to climb the ladder back to the surface of the boat, but looked over his shoulder at the girl.

"Captain says get an inquiry of all the supplies, and then report the list to me. I'm going to send you with the crew to get the supplies. Your job- regulate and make sure we get everything we need, got it?"

"Got it, sir."

"Good." He said, thinking better of his decision to go up to the surface, and instead, he called out to the crew in their cabins. "All of you listen up. Captain wants to be off this island before dawn" Several groans of protest. "Hush, hear me out. You're all off to get supplies, but as soon as you're done you can go and do whatever the hell it is you want to do." Cheers-they were so predictable. "But if you aren't back here before dawn, we're leaving you, got it?"

"Yes sir," came the unsynchronized, none too heartfelt reply. He just laughed. They were all friends on this boat, so it wasn't as formal as many other ships that sailed. These guys were special. They were all skillful in everything they did-some better at other things than others and vise versa-and all knew exactly where they wanted to be and it was on that damn boat. Sure, their way of life wasn't the safest, or the easiest, but it sure as hell was the most profitable.

Yes, being a pirate was profitable as hell... if everything went right, of course. Tonight, they would make light of this island and set sail for the next, collecting all the booty they could until they reached their destination... Although, Riku thought, narrowing his eyes, no one knew that destination except for the Captain...

Now up on top, he was brought out of his thoughts by an obnoxiously boisterous girl. Had he been staring off into nothingness this entire time? Kairi was shoving the list into his hands and brushing their fingers together none too discreetly, but he immediately countered with a dashing smile that stunned her momentarily-enough so that he could turn and take the list to the Captain.

Within minutes he was back and gave the list to her. She giggled and bounced off.

"Scavenger hunt!" She cheered. Riku just shook his head and rubbed his temples softly; standing and looking over the port side of the boat, he watching his crew members go off into the marketplace to collect supplies. Only when they were out of sight did he leave the boat himself. He loved his crew members, but sometimes he just wanted to be alone for a little while.

He ended up cruising along through the city towards the outskirts. He liked nature a lot and found himself at quiet peace there. Given, it was no sea of water, but it still calmed him, unlike the rush and tension of the city. Despite himself, he did enjoy drinking and the entertainment the city sometimes provided, but there was nothing like a calm walk along a quiet tropical road. The sounds of the many birds and swish of the leaves rubbing together as the wind made them dance so scandalously amongst one another and the sound of hooves in the distance.

Hooves?

He was jolted out of his wonderland by the sudden sound of beautiful laughter amongst the sound of the horses running, but out of habit, he hid amongst the dense thicket of greenery not far off the path. He watched as the most stunning sight unfolded before him. It was as if time slowed when that boy came around the corner riding the purest of white horses, with the purest of laughter, and the purest of cerulean eyes that rivaled the tropical sea in color. He turned his horse, letting it prance gracefully before turning her around to once again take off. Riku suddenly felt the urge to defile and taint that disgustingly, yet magnificently pure boy with his wild brown locks and deliciously lithe body. And those eyes... gods those eyes. He could get lost in them if he wasn't careful.

As he passed, the boy's face suddenly slowly fell, his eyes locking with Riku's. His heart skipped a beat, eyes widening slightly when he realized he had been seen, but the boy kept going, although slowing slightly, turning his head around to the other side, and slowing to a stop eventually, as if he would get a better look at what he'd seen,. But exactly how had he been seen? He hadn't even noticed the other before, but as she came up to him and stopped as well, she glanced over in his direction, but she did not see him.

"What's up Sora?"

"Nothing... I... I just thought I saw something. Let's go."

Sora? Was that his name? It was cute...

Sure that they were gone, he slowly emerged from the bushes, all thoughts of seeking tranquility with nature blown clear out of his mind as he headed back to the ship in a sprint. He had to convince his brother to let them stay for a few nights and delay the plundering, he just had to! Some way or another, by force or not, he would have that boy and be satisfied.

...But his brother denied him, completely and utterly denied him. Bereft, he slowly mad his way towards the pubs to wash away his anger and sorrow.

Laughing softly, Cloud slung his arm around a stoic Leon and poked him in the ribs with his other hand, which wasn't even free, holding a pint of beer. It was obvious that he was drunk. His speech was slightly slurred, and he was giggling and clinging to Leon. Usually, the two were abrasive like no other pair, and absolutely hated each other, but even Leon was buzzed and didn't seem to mind much, a small smile gracing his face. The blond was saying something completely ridiculous that made no sense to anyone, and they all just laughed because Leon was cracking, like he always did when they drank.

Even Jeanne was pleasant when he was drunk. He was happy and carefree and actually enjoyable to be around, making great conversation and jest. And then there was Wakka and Tidus. The entire crew teased them about being lovers since they were so close-best friends at that- but there was nothing between them, and they joked along, sometimes saying things that would incriminate them of being just that, just to fuel the fire of the joke... and it was especially humorous when they were drunk.

The door to the pub slammed open, but not many looked, too drunk to care. It was Riku, looking sullen and downtrodden. Joining the group, he ordered his first beer that night and immediately came the onslaught of drunk teasing.

"Aw, Riku. Looks like someone just shot your new puppy," slurred Tidus, giggling softly after.

"Might as well have," said he, resting his cheek on his now crossed arms upon the table.

"Oh yeah?" asked Cloud, blinking a bit and tilting his head, then decided against it as it sent his head into a spin.

"Yeah..." the first mate sighed, closing his eyes.

"You only get this way when you don't get what you want," came Leon's smooth voice, earning a glare from Riku.

"You make me sound like a pompous prick."

"You can be." Leon growled. Though he loosened up when he was drunk, so did his ability to control himself.

"I'll forgive you because you're drunk." Riku said, not in the mood to deal with any degrading words or arguments. "No more drinks; sober up. We're setting sail tonight, if you don't remember, and I won't have any of you ruining our intake tonight because you're drunk off your ass." His voice lowered. "Remember, you don't come back with anything, you don't come back at all. We all agreed on that when we started this crew, and we'll finish it that way too, got it?"

"Of course," they all said, as seriously as they could in their tipsy states.

"Good," Riku finished, downing his beer and staring at the wooden table in thought while the rest of them started their conversations up again. Nothing really relevant, and nothing that he had to get angry over, like that one time where someone had slipped up and said a little too loud how much he loved being a pirate. Notwithstanding, he had to smile at the memory.

For hours they stayed in that pub, enjoying the live music and just chatting with one another until they all sobered up enough to concentrate on the task at hand.

It was time for plundering.

Sora poked his head into his house, looking for his parents, but what he found could hardly be considered as such. His parents were celebrating for some reason, and were very, very, very drunk. He just smiled sheepishly as they spotted him and, again gave him a task to perform.

"Could you go ahead and put all the merchandise away honey?" his mother said, smiling and laughing softly.

Then his father piped up, "I already put most of my stuff away, son, I think all you have left is to bring in the fruits!"

"Right, but what are you all so happy about?" He asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"Oh, some crew came and bought a huge supply of food from your father! It was really so exciting! They had the cutest little girl with them!" She was so overly peppy when she was drunk, but he loved her very much.

"She wasn't that little, darling. She must have been a little younger than Sora's age!"

They disputed this and he just shook his head, and smiled, tired of listening to their slurred speech. He brought in the fruits first, telling them he'd wrap them once he was done, but they didn't even seem to notice him.

Sighing he stepped back out into the night and nearly jumped when his horse nudged him.

"Oh! Gods, you scared me. I'm so sorry, I should have put you away first, Ashlin," he whispered to his horse. He hadn't realized how late it was until now, looking up at the stars and shaking his head. "Where did all that time go, huh? Come on then, lets get you all tucked in."

He led her to the stable out back and smiled, giving her a bunch of love and cooing in some sort of made up horse language to her before he stretched and rubbed his neck, closing the door to the stable. He stayed for a moment, just leaning against the door, realizing how terribly tired he was.

Well, the sooner he got this done, the better, then. With more effort than it should have required, he pushed himself off the door and moved quietly towards the rest of the merchandise to be put back... only to get a rude, rude awakening. He froze by the corner of the house, watching as some... some guy was grabbing all of his mother's hard work and started running! That little-! He quickly set off into a sprint after him, but that little devil was really fast, even carrying all that stuff! He was too tired, didn't have enough energy, but he kept running. He would get that stuff back for his mother, no matter what!

To his horror, the thief ran up the docks and onto a ship, but not just any ship- that blasted ship that was like an omen! So it was an omen then... He groaned and, unbelieving of himself, began to sneak around and grabbed hold of the plank, pulling himself up slowly. He had some time right? They probably wouldn't leave until after sunrise, like the rest of the other boats... Yeah, he could do this. In and out swiftly, get the stuff for his mom, no problems.

Gazing around, he spotted no one in sight and crawled onto the ship completely, setting his foot down softly onto the squeaky boards of the ship. There didn't appear to be anyone on board other than the guy that was taking his stuff down into the ship. That was good news for him. As quietly as a mouse and as brave as a lion, despite his thundering heart, he peered down into the hole in which the thief had disappeared.

That jerk.

He listened carefully, and when he decided that there was no one else but that man, he clambered down the ladder and slinked through the cabin hall, pressing himself against the walls, as if he could become one with them. The sway of the boat, although subtle and soft, still made him all the more aware that he was on a boat and that this was extremely dangerous, but that didn't deter him too much. He saw the guy now... the boy, rather, and watched as he set the stuff fin plain view-perfect-then stretched his arms and rubbed his hands together.

"That's a job well done."

Sora felt the insane urge to mock him like a child, repeating the words in a snotty, nasally tone, but he refrained, knowing his place at the moment. He waited, concealed in the shadows of clutter awaiting the small blonde's ascent up the ladder. He quickly dashed from his hiding spot and grabbed a nearby bag, shoving the stuff into it and slinging it around himself, quickly making a dash for the ladder, but when he got there, his eyes widened in terror.

There were voices-other voices that were getting closer! He panicked and quickly ran to the back of the tiny hallway, looking for a place to hide. His chest began to heave softly, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow for some place to hide, but it seemed all hope would be lost. Turning, he saw a foot on the ladder, and laughing voices as it began to descend. His heart hammered in his chest, threatening to explode, and he quickly did a second check of the shadows, desperate for any way to hide.

The voices were getting louder and, as if on cue, he spotted the only possible hiding place in the corner behind two barrels. He quickly scuffled on top of them, slipping into the corner and pulling some blankets and things over his head quickly, concealing him self.

And he waited, panting, looking at nothing in particular, just concentrating on the voices and what they were saying, the pack still over his shoulder, but he didn't notice that right now. All he could think about was being caught. He'd heard the terrible stories about what people did when they caught stowaways! Wait... He wasn't a stowaway per se. He just came to get his stuff back.

It went quiet all of a sudden and he swallowed hard, alarmed, eyes widening, waiting for anything.

Then he heard voices on deck and he sighed in relief. They'd gone back up the steps while he had been freaking out. He couldn't really tell what was being said, but it sounded angry, and he heard feet shuffling above him. What in hell was he going to do? He should have just let him take the stuff when he'd seen him get onto this boat! Gods...

Wait until they're asleep, that's it! His mind suddenly chided. It was brilliant! Once they were asleep, he could sneak off the boat and everything would be fine. They probably wouldn't notice the stuff was gone until morning, right? He sighed and leaned back, feeling a bit better. Yeah, he'd come out of this just fine.

"Set sail!" faintly.

No... No... No way... No, he hadn't heard right.

"You heard him boys! We're taking off!" came a closer voice. His heart fell to his stomach.

No! Don't set sail because I'm here! He shut his eyes tightly. Think fast, Sora! Maybe if he just came out, they'd throw him off right then and there and not really care? He'd even let them have the stuff! He remembered the stories again... gods those scared him.

Okay, okay, think, Sora, think. Um... run up to the deck and jump into the water and swim back to shore? No, he couldn't risk the undertow pulling him back out to sea... or maybe they'd just shoot him while he was swimming? But wouldn't they shoot him anyways! He covered his face with his hands trying not to whimper in dread as all the possibilities ran through his mind with no optimistic solution. No, he had to go for it, no matter what. Alright... it was now or never.

He started to rise, slowly and peaked out from under the random booty covering his head. Seeing the coast clear, he was ready to toss the blanket and stuffs back and make a dash...

...or not...

Terror filled him. The mates were already coming down the ladder and groaning about how tired they were and some even going to their cots immediately, not saying a word. He slunk back down, covering his face again as tears began to fill his eyes. Had he wasted that much time wondering what he should do, or were these sailors extremely fast at setting sail? He figured a mixture of both.

More importantly, though, was the fact that he had no clue what to do anymore. Tears slipped down his face slowly, but he remained quiet and thought of his parents and wondered when they would notice he was gone. He wondered about his horse and how he would ever get back to his home, and with these thoughts plaguing his mind, he fell into a troubled sleep, not to awaken until the next morning.

88

(1) Pronounced like John but with a soft J... shJ rather than Juh.

(2) Par excellence- basically... first mate head honcho next to Captain... aka The mate.

Scythe: So? Personally I think this is going to turn out fantastic and I can't wait to see what all of you think. If you are wondering, Tidus was the thief that stole from Sora.