Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter 1:

Dark eyes scanned the deck of the Japanese ship. The ship and its officers were both elegant and as large as they could get, that much the scanner could deduce. After all, a son of the royal family should have the best protection.
"Yuri, come here." Yuri spun around instantly, at her master's side in a flash.
"Yes, Kiku-sama?" she asked, her normally dull black eyes lighting a bit.
"Yuri," he said gently, "I've told you countless of times not to call me that. It's embarrassing."
"As you say Kiku-sama." Yuri said, not daring to call her prince so casually. Kiku sighed, already used to this behavior. He settled for placing his hands on the railing of the ship, gazing out at the open expanse of sea.
"Isn't this amazing, Yuri? Only us and the sea. It's hard to believe the Western nations exist when we are far out here. Like Japan isn't right over the horizon."
"But they do exist Kiku-sama. We left Japan only yesterday." Yuri frowned; she would not be pleased if she had gotten false information. Kiku sighed, and ruffled Yuri's hair playfully, cut short because of her job as a bodyguard.
"Would you sing me a song, Yuri? Maybe an English one, we need to practice the language more . . ."
"What would you like me to sing, Kiku-sama?"
"Hmm . . . what about that one about that queen, the one of argyle? That one is pretty." He said, staring out at the sea, his eyes drifting closed as Yuri began to sing.
"Gentlemen it is my duty
To inform you of a beauty,
Though I'd ask of you a favor not to seek her
For a while.
Though I own she is a creature,
Of character and feature,
No words could paint a picture,
Of the queen of all Argyle!"
Yuri's pronunciation was perfect, being a kunoichi and having to sometimes spy on the English gentlemen. Kiku's English, on the other hand, could use some work. But they'd have an interpreter regardless, but Kiku would prefer to know exactly what the English were saying. He'd been sent over to England to be a dignitary after all. There had been pirate raids lately near the coast of Okinawa and the English needed to be reassured. Resting his head on his fists, Kiku thought longingly of his beautiful and peaceful Japanese residence.
Would that he be there instead . . .

~~Time Skip~~

It had been a few days since they set out from Japan. Yuri and Kiku had both adjusted well to life at sea. Kiku normally spent time inside his cabin, studying English, while Yuri helped with odd-jobs on the ship. That day, the captain had told them that they would arrive in Europe in only a few weeks, the winds and tide were on their side. When they reached Italy, they'd travel across the continent to France and from there take a ship across the English Channel. It was simple, they'd have no troubles, until . . .
"Captain, there's a ship on the horizon. It's a British vessel!"
Kiku, who happened to be on deck walking, looked to where the man in the crow's nest was pointing. Yuri, who had been tying knots with a sailor at her side looking amazed, looked as well and quickly tied off her knot before skipping to her master's side.
"We should go below deck, Kiku-sama." She said, her gut clenching at the sight of the ship. The captain agreed with her; he didn't hear of any British trading vessel in these areas.
"It would be best if you did, Your Highness." Yuri ushered Kiku into his cabin. Then she strapped on her metal arm and shin guards, tying a chest plate over her short kimono and strapping her wakizashi to her back and kunai everywhere else around her body.
"Yuri . . ." Kiku said, a bit awed, "Do you think it will come to needing that?" Yuri finished tying a metal-plated headband around her forehead.
"I certainly hope not Kiku-sama, but the feeling that came from that ship was not good. Please arm yourself." Although Kiku would not dress in the full armor, he conceded to a chest guard and a helm, holding his katana in his lap. They sat in seiza, falling into Zen meditation. Loud shouting came from above deck, and then the sound of a cannon ball being launched and a loud splashing sound as it missed their ship. Yuri and Kiku sat, still in perfect calm and began to stretch, loosening their muscles for a fight. There was more cannon ball firing, and once or twice the sound of the heavy cannon ball on wood. Unfortunately, it was their ship getting smashed. Yuri and Kiku were thrown into the wall of the cabin as the two ships crashed together. The shouts were louder as the pirates boarded their ship.
"Come, Kiku-sama, we can't let them catch us here without protection." Yuri took her master's hand and dragged him out of their rooms, towards the back of the ship. There was a loud crashing, that signified the pirates breaking through the door to get below deck. The sailors had fallen then. "Stay here Kiku-sama, I will draw them off." Yuri said, already knowing their chances of survival were slim to none. She turned, only to be caught by Kiku before she could run off.
"As if I could let my childhood friend charge off like that." he said, smiling gently, "I'm afraid you'll have to tolerate my presence."
Yuri smiled back, "Keep up then. Don't let yourself die, okay?"
"I'll cut off my pinky later." Kiku said, as they began going back the way they came. Yuri chuckled and they turned the corner, coming across their first pirates. Not expecting anyone below deck so soon, the two men were dead with a kunai in their necks before they hit the ground. Yuri ran by, stooping low to take the kunai from their throats before running on. The small weapons were expensive. They were not so lucky the next encounter, as they came across a group of seven, already digging through the cabins for plunder. One, two, three fell with a kunai in their throats before the rest came up on guard. Quickly, Yuri drew her wakizashi and sliced one across the stomach, not even reacting as his guts spilled out, filling the narrow hallway with a stinking scent. She stabbed at one, deep, but not large. He parried her next attack and she kicked at his knee, breaking it. He yelled out, no doubt drawing the attention of others. Yuri clicked her tongue, slashing his throat quickly, while drawing a kunai. One tried to get around her, to get at Kiku who was still reeling from the deaths. He got two lightning quick kicks, one in the knee and one between his legs. He dropped like a stone and Yuri's drawn kunai severed his spinal cord. The seventh made a downward slash and Yuri raised her left arm, tilting it a bit so the sword glanced off her metal guards. The force still hurt, but she forced the pain to the back of her mind. One-handed, her blade reversed in her hand, and she swung the blade behind his legs and drew it back, hamstringing him. As he fell, Yuri drew her wakizashi across the major blood vessel in his neck. She turned to check on Kiku, to make sure he wasn't hurt. He was right behind her, with her four kunai in his hands, dying his pretty white hands red.
"That was impressive Yuri. I didn't know you were so good." He said as she claimed the weapons, wiping them on her kimono.
"Of course, Kiku-sama. For you, only the best protection." Yuri said, as they came across another group. This time, it was only two but they had firearms. One shot, the bullet brushing past Yuri's arm, by then she was close enough for hand-to-hand combat. Grabbing the gun of the one who shot, she yanked it out of his hands and slammed the butt of it into his face, knocking him out, before swinging the firearm at the other's head. He blocked with his own gun, smirking down at her.
"Not bad little girl."
"Metal flowers are sprouting."
"Wha-?" The sudden pain in his stomach completed her sentence before she spoke it.
"In your stomach." When he fell, Yuri salvaged one kunai of the three she threw at him, the others having been too deeply buried in his corpse. "Kiku?"
"FREEZE." A voice shouted at her, and Yuri did, already knowing the situation. Kiku had been captured.