Co-written with miss mika namariya! We own nothing!

TW: violence

The ship was simple, but sturdy, and had room for their pack horse to travel with them. It whinnied in relief as it was put in a comfortable stall full of hay before the story forgot about it again.

Fortunately both Kuon and Kyoko found their sea legs almost immediately, probably thanks to the fact that this is a romantic comedy. However, it is also thanks to the fact that this is a romantic comedy that Chiori waited until they were several hours out at sea to say:

"By the way, did I mention that we're pirates?"

"Yeah, that makes sense." Kyoko nodded, not skipping a beat. "You never were one to let things slide without getting even. And you do like treasure."

Kuon, who was more surprised than anything that Kyoko wasn't freaking out about having led the crown prince aboard a pirate ship, stayed silent. Sir Hoppington, for his part, just hoped that he could get a cool pirate hat out of this.

(He would. Kyoko made him one that night. He looked adorable. All the pirates loved him. His image may or may not have been sewn onto their new flag.)

LINE BREAK

The crew was a rowdy bunch. Kuon felt distinctly out of place among them. Sure, he was social enough, but he had always preferred his studies or his horse to the intrigue of court. And this — well, this was just new. New, and weird.

He watched on as the crew set up for a play. Apparently, in addition to being pirates, they were thespians. He guessed that it kept them from going mad during their weeks at sea. That didn't stop the whole thing from being markedly bizarre. Chiori had definitely studied under Duke Takarada. Even if she'd dropped out of the academy, she had taken a thrill for spectacle from it. Spectacle, and the weird. As far as he could tell, the play was an erotic tale about a lonely octopus-man.

Desperate to not think about manly, lonely tentacles, he looked around for Kyoko. He had gotten spoiled on the road; he was too used to her being ever at his side. Now she was back to her tricks from the palace, hiding somewhere to surprise any attackers. He almost found himself relating to the octopus. Almost. He didn't have tentacles, after all.

In his search, he spotted Chiori, who was on the far side of the ship, watching with amusement as her crew erected the set. His eyes narrowed. There was just something off about her. Why was she so willing to grant them passage? Why had she dropped out of the academy? And most importantly, why were she and Kyoko friends after the pirate had pushed Kyoko down the stairs? He found himself walking over to her.

"What's up, O tall one?" She didn't spare him a glance.

He stared at her for a moment before saying, "I don't trust you."

Chiori looked up at him from where she was leaning against the wall. "You don't have to. You've got Kyoko on your side." She laughed. "I won't do anything to you. That girl could kick my ass even back in our academy days."

"And now?"

"Oh, I'm sure she's learned at least twelve new ways to kick my ass since we last met." She rolled her neck, letting out some nasty cracks. "Did you know she was called the Immortal Butterfly at school?"

"No," he admitted. He didn't trust her, but he was willing to listen if it meant learning more of Kyoko's backstory.

"Yeah. Immortal, because no one could ever take her down, and Butterfly because of how light she is on her feet." She smiled then, catching his eye. "Plus, it sounds kinda like a fairy, and we all know she's obsessed with those."

Oh. She didn't know about Kyoko's heritage. That made Kuon feel oddly comforted, that she had told him something that even one of her friends didn't know.

"So," she said, pushing off of the wall, "I don't have to threaten you. Kyoko can slit your throat herself if you hurt her."

Oh. "I won't."

She smiled and started walking away, throwing over her shoulder, "Good, 'cause you wouldn't survive it if you did."

LINE BREAK

There was something to be said for the sunset at sea. Kuon had to admit that much as he looked out over the waves, Sir Hoppington nestled firmly in his shirt pocket. The frog peeked out at the sea, his front feet resting on the edge of the pocket. It was certainly bigger than his pond. "Ribbit-rib."

Kuon chuckled. "I know, bud."

"Rib-rib. Roooob."

"It's beautiful." Kyoko's voice from beside him nearly made him jump out of his skin. Sir Hoppington let out a ribbit of alarm. Kyoko blinked at them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay." He should be used to that by now. "Where have you been? I feel like I've barely seen you since we boarded." Even at night. He had dreamed of sharing a bunk with her, but that had been dashed. The ship had more than enough beds, and Kyoko had been sharing the captain's quarters with Chiori. Something about wanting to catch up with her old friend. Besides, it wasn't like she'd left Kuon unprotected. Her whole team was constantly circling him… not that he knew that.

She shrugged. "Around. There's lots of places to check on a ship like this."

"Ribbit!" Sir Hoppington piped up from the prince's pocket. "Rib-roob!"

Kyoko's face melted, and she stepped closer to the pair. "I'm sorry. Have you been lonely?"

Yes, Kuon wanted to say, as she plucked the frog out of his pocket for a cuddle. I've been lonely since we got to port. But he didn't, instead living vicariously through his knight as Kyoko placed a kiss on his mucousy head. Sir Hoppington gave a froggy smile, blinking in contentment, as Kyoko transferred him back into the prince's pocket.

She smiled as well and turned back to the sea. "I can kind of understand it. Wanting to live out here, I mean."

"Yeah?" There was too much fear in that question. Did she want to stay asea? Would she resign once she'd gotten him safely to the palace, and turn to looking for adventure instead of his True Love?

"I don't know that I'd be able to handle it, though." Kyoko rested her arms on the railing, propping up her head.

"Please. You could handle anything."

She smiled at that, but there was something bittersweet around the edges. "I don't know about that." She sighed, then stretched, pulling herself up straight again. "I think I'd prefer something a little more stable. There are too many unknowns on the high sea."

"Like other ships?"

"Exactly." She focused her eyes, then, and saw what he did. "Other ships — a ship." She whipped around to face him. "Get belowdecks, now. There's a good hiding place, a false door just behind where the pack horse is stabled. I'll let you know when it's safe."

"What? No." He wasn't going to leave her up here with all these pirates. Especially not if another ship was coming toward them! There could be pirates - well, other pirates. Unfriendly pirates.

"What do you mean, no?" Of all the times for his royal stubbornness to emerge!

"I'm not leaving you up here with them-" he gestured at the swiftly approaching ship. Around them, the crew sprung into action, manning cannons and brandishing swords.

"I am your bodyguard-"

"Ribbit!"

"Who knows what they might do to you if they caught you-"

"Me? Who knows what they'd do to you!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Do you know how much ransom they could get for you?"

"Ribbit-rib!"

BOOM. The ship shook as one of the cannons fired. Sir Hoppington burrowed into Kuon's pocket.

"UGH!" Kyoko half-screeched. "Fine, let's do this the hard way."

The next thing Kuon knew, he was being lifted sideways onto Kyoko's back. How had she even gotten him sideways? Sir Hoppington let out a muffled ribbit of disapproval from his pocket, and Kyoko adjusted them as she ran so he would be less squished. She kicked open the doors to belowdecks and none-too-gently hauled him down to the aforementioned hiding place. She shoved him in there and hissed, "Stay."

Then she shut the secret panel on him, leaving him and their frog in the dark.

"Ribbit?" Sir Hoppington asked, after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, no, we're not staying down here." He thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not. You are." He waited a minute, to make sure Kyoko had left, then crawled out of his hidey-hole. He set Sir Hoppington on the pack horse's back. "I'll come get you when it's safe."

"Ribbit." Sir Hoppington placed his little foot solemnly on Kuon's hand. "Rib-rib."

Kuon nodded, and Sir Hoppington removed his foot. The two-legger grabbed his sword out of one of their packs (the pack horse watched disinterestedly as the prince rummaged around in the packs on the ground) and then ran back up onto the main deck.

It was chaos. The other ship had boarded theirs. Chiori was shouting orders while fighting - judging by the hat - the opposing ship's captain. The crew looked fiercer than he had ever seen them, swords flashing and teeth bared as they battled the opposing pirates. And Kyoko -

Kyoko was on the upper deck, dueling a brawny pirate with Princess Rosa, her beloved sword. Kuon started running towards her, but was caught up in the battle himself. He managed to disarm his opponent, flinging their weapon over the edge of the ship, and looked back up at Kyoko.

Just in time to see Princess Rosa's blade shatter.

Kyoko didn't hesitate. She kneed her opponent in the dick, making him double over, then smashed him over the head with what was left of her sword. The man crumpled to the ground, unconscious. She looked up, then, and caught Kuon's eye.

Fear and rage interplayed on her face, forming one of the hottest expressions Kuon had ever seen. She took a running leap, caught one of the ship's ropes with one hand, and swung down - kicking a pirate in the face as he snuck up on Kuon. She landed on her feet, releasing her rope, and turned to him, five feet three inches of glorious rage. "What the hell are you doing up here?"

He swallowed. Now is not the time to be turned on, Kuon. "Helping?"

Kyoko took a deep, steadying breath, then turned and punched the pirate who had been sneaking up behind her. He went down, and a few hits from Princess Rosa's pommel made sure he stayed down.

Kuon turned and put his back to her. She stood up and placed her back against his. He could feel her switching out weapons, presumably tucking what was left of Princess Rosa away for safekeeping.

"I swear, if you get hurt during this," Kyoko gritted out, as she started fighting another pirate, slashing with her daggers, "I am making you eat double portions for the rest of your life."

Kuon couldn't help but grin as he used one of his long legs to sweep an opponent's out from under them. The rest of my life. That means she'll be around that long.

"Where's Sir Hoppington?" she shouted, sinking her dagger into her opponent's arm and making him drop his sword. She snatched it up, flicking it twice to get a feel for the weight of it. Then she struck, leaving the man a twitching, weeping mass on the deck.

"Safe!" Kuon yelled back, drawing on all of his swordsmanship training to flip his opponent's sword out of his hand. It flew overboard, joining the salty depths. The pirate charged Kuon, but he was too fast; years of evading Lory and grabby court ladies had made him nimble. He leapt out of the way, and the pirate went sprawling onto the deck.

"Oh, you mean where you should be?" she bit back. She used her newly acquired sword to send a few more pirates fleeing back to their ship.

"YIELD!" came a cry, just as Kuon was about to reply. The fighting stopped, and they turned to see the opposing pirate captain on his knees before Chiori, her sword to his throat. "We yield," he repeated into the sudden silence.

Chiori's smirk was clear even from the other side of the ship.

LINE BREAK

While the others cleaned up and gathered their winnings, Kuon received a scolding. He walked contritely next to Kyoko as they went down to retrieve Sir Hoppington.

"And I can't believe you'd risk yourself like that! What were you thinking?" she demanded, swinging open the door.

Only to see a very dead pirate on the ground, with Sir Hoppington sitting in his hand. He blinked up at them. "Ribbit."

"Uh, what?" Kuon asked.

"He must've tried to get our things," Kyoko said, circling the man. "But Sir Hoppington stopped him."

"Ribbit!" He puffed up proudly.

"He - what? How?"

Kyoko crouched down and held out a hand. Sir Hoppington wiped himself off on the deceased pirate's sleeve before hopping into her palm. "You didn't know? Sir Hoppington is very poisonous when he wants to be."

Kuon just stared at them.

"Ribbit?"

"Yes, you'll get extra bugs tonight."

"Rib-rib!" he exclaimed joyfully.

"I… okay."

"Alright, I'll get him out of here." Kyoko handed Sir Hoppington off to Kuon and hoisted the corpse over her shoulder like a sack of flour. "They'll want him back, I assume." (They did.)

That night, there was much feasting for Chiori's crew. Kuon spent most of the night watching his knight, wondering what other surprises could be hiding behind those cute little eyes.