Izuku Midoriya, on his fourteenth birthday, is acutely aware of three things by the afternoon.

Thing he is aware of number one: He loves his childhood friend from birth, Momo, like no one else on the planet. No one was like her, no one had her unique mixture of class and 'crass', as her parents referred to it. No one else Izuku was aware of could come from a family of rich aristocrats, with an easy future and access to any man in the village of good standing she could want… and instead ignore it all to join the village outcast in playing 'pirates and soldiers'.

Vaguely, and with a fond yet also slightly hysterical amusement, he suddenly recalled Momo always preferred to play pirate instead of soldier. He'd never had the heart to tell her women weren't even allowed on pirate ships, let alone to be pirates, although since he considered it to be a stupid rule anyways…

Not that she would listen to him anyways if he had argued.

"They are the ones that are interesting, Izuku! They get all the gold and treasure!"

"But Momo, don't you come from a r-rich family? You have gold."

Momo just pouted, crossing her arms and huffing cutely.

"But I didn't earn it Izuku! Pirates earn their treasure by fighting for it!"

Thing he was aware of number two: This was equally his fault as it was Momo's. He doesn't know why he thought attempting to sneak aboard a pirate ship, in the midst of an attack on their village, was a good idea. He ignored the logical part of his brain telling him it was because he was a lovestruck idiot trying to impress his crush by sneaking some treasure off an actual pirate ship.

In hindsight, had things gone to plan that may not have been the nicest of gifts anyways, depending on how Momo felt about pirates after the fact. Except Momo, somehow, was still in love with pirates and was currently cussing out only the current sea scum, not the entire concept.

It also probably wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't managed to get caught trying to break into the captain's quarters, and gotten himself now tied up alongside some gun powder barrels. He suspected the only reason he wasn't run through was because they weren't sure if he could be used for ransom yet or not.

He felt bad that Momo wouldn't see him again, but took solace in the fact that with the recent passing of his mother, who had been shunned by their town long ago, many accusing her of murdering his late father due to their bitter split and his beloved standing in the town, only Momo would miss him.

At least he would have taken solace in it, if it wasn't for the fact that a certain raven-haired beautiful amazing woman who Izuku wanted to curse out as a suicidal maniac despite the hypocrisy had come running onto the deck donning the garb of a fallen pirate.

Which led him to thing he is aware of number three: He and his oldest friend turned crush were very likely going to die on a pirate ship, because he was a fool and she was somewhat out of touch and also possibly a little insane. Hey, at least this particular point of certain death helped him realize how much he loved Momo though.

Being tied up to gunpowder and watching the girl you love come running to fight pirates that surely outclassed her for you had a funny way of doing that.

"Momo… just run, please…" He begged, groaning against the wood, only for her to give him an unimpressed look before she turned to the pirates who were ganging up on her, a cutlass held in her grasp as she stared them down.

"I'd listen tae the fish food, lassie. Lest ye be ready to regret it." The captain spoke. He was a stout bald man with a blue imperial coat that was no doubt plundered from an official government vessel adorning his person, flecked with enough blood that one could be forgiven for thinking its primary colour was red. "Ye got moxxy, i admire the guts it musta took fer a lil girl like ye to come running for yer friend, enough to give ye a chance to go. I warn ye though, if you dinnae take it, ye will be… shall we say, entertainment fer the night before we take our."

Momo stuck up her nose with a huff. "And are these the words of a captain, or a coward?"

"M-Momo!"

The girl ignored him, staring down her opponents with a steely gaze.

"Because as I see it, offering me a way out is not a nicety, you have attacked my home, tormented us, and taken mymost valued treasure." She said, making Izuku's cheek burn when he realized only one thing had been taken from shore as far as he was aware. Or rather one person. "So spare me the frivolities and relinquish my friend to me or pay the price. You call yourself pirates? I call you drunkards with delusions of grandeur."

"Yer a woman!" One of the others sneered, drawing his own blade higher into the air as a rage boiled in his eyes. "Ye know nothing of what it means to be a pirate. Ye couldn't last a day in the shallows, let alone on the high sea!"

"We perhaps have different ideas, but then prove me wrong." She hisses, lifting her own blade. "You have no problem cutting my life away if need be, so come on. May the best pirate win, because then surely you can't lose."

It was goading. Goading that the man fell for, letting out an enraged scream as he surged forth, much to the frustration of the captain, the angered pirate bringing his blade down, only to be intercepted by Momo's own.

In a swift movement that caught everyone off guard, she deflected the man's blade to one side and nimbly maneuvered behind him before her cutlass cleanly pierced through his throat, going in one side and coming out the other before she yanked it out and kicked his body off the ship as it began to violently flail, blood spurting from his wounds.

With a fiery look entering his eyes, the captain roared at the top of his lungs "ATTACK!" and Izuku wanted to shut his eyes tight and block out what was to come.

Yet he found himself transfixed, already stunned by Momo's dispatching of the first pirate, and now…

Now he felt his eyes slowly going wide as dinner plates. He knew Momo was fast, and nimble. He'd grew up playing with her. He never knew she was this… skilled, though. Certainly not at swordplay. Every move he was certain would lead to her death, instead was met with the sparks of colliding cutlasses.

She barely ducked and weaved around the sharp steel threatening to end her, with something almost akin to joy in her eyes, and Izuku could only watch in awe as she dodged, parried, deflected, ducked, weaved, sliced, lunged and did any other sword related synonym with skill as her body count rose.

Three pirates down.

Duck, slice, twirl into another slice across a different pirate's throat…

Five down.

Parry, lunge, dodge, slice.

Seven down…

"Ye vile wench! Ye massacred my crew!" The Captain screamed furiously, launching forward with his own broadsword, which Momo had to put her entire body weight into blocking before her foot kicked out and tripped the man up. He barely rolled out the way, his small black beetle like eyes glinting with rage, yet as he reached for his sword on the deck suddenly sharp steel went through both his wrists far faster then he had time to prepare for, and two hands hit the wooden floor attached to nothing as he let out a howl of agony. "MY HANDS! YE CUT OFF ME BLEEDIN' HANDS!"

"Yes, they do appear to be bleeding quite a bit." Momo said coldly, as Izuku stared wide eyed and stunned, unable to believe what he'd just witnessed. "Perhaps that will teach you to, in the next life, not take on someone whose wealth primarily came from having a master dueller for a father."

The man somehow pushed himself up, despite his heavily bleeding mutilated stumps giving very little help in doing so, staggering back onto a narrow platform. If he paid better attention to his surroundings, and wasn't in so much pain, perhaps he'd have realized he was on the ships plank. "Ye bloody bitch… what do ye have to say?!"

Momo snorted, amused at him still trying to assert dominance, when even he certainly had no idea how he planned to do so. Some people just didn't know when to quit. She approached him slowly, a coldness in her gaze Izuku had never seen before.

"Just one thing. You took something of mine, so now it's my turn to take something of yours." She said calmly. "Get off my ship, you disgrace to piracy!"

And with that, and a heavy boot to the chest the man was not prepared for, off the plank he went flying into the water, unable to swim with the injuries he'd sustained. Soon enough, he'd sink below, and never be seen again.

There was silence for several moments after this, before Izuku finally found his voice again.

"...Momo…. T-Thank you." Izuku spoke, and she turned to him before smiling softly as she hurried to his side and freed him of his bindings. "You were amazing… I h-had no idea you could do that."

Momo blushed. "Well, I was meaning to save the reveal until we were a little older and I could afford a boat but… this vessel would be good enough…"

"..." Izuku blinked, before he went wide eyed and gaped at her. "Momo, you can't be serious."

"Pretty please?"

"...Oh my god you're serious."

And that was how the most unconventional swashbuckling duo the high seas would ever know got their start. Years later, their kids would still refuse to believe the story, no matter how much they insisted it was true, and had the ship and riches to prove it.

Of course, whenever anyone would ask, they would always insist their greatest treasure was the same thing.

Each other. In Izuku's opinion, it was the best birthday gift he ever could of gotten.