Pirate: a person who attacks and robs ships at sea.

Sakura's breathing was quick, her heart beating like a humming bird's. She couldn't believe her eyes. Making an effort to breathe more quietly, lest she be caught, she watched the scene taking place outside from her peep hole. Only small flashes of action came through, but it was enough to confirm her fears. The vultures of the sea. Pirates.

Maybe she should have expected that someone would try to loot a cargo ship, especially one that contained silks and cloth from China and spices from India. All of these items were sold at a hefty price, no doubt it would attract thieves.

The pinkette was no thief, she simply was a harmless stow-away. Rude people might call her a squatter. So maybe she took some food... And spices, but she was poor! You can't blame her, but if there was anything she wasn't, it was dirty pirate. The myth that women aboard, even secretly, cause bad luck seemed to be true. She almost felt guilty, but then remembered this totally wasn't her fault.

Seated on a pile of silks, she realized that they would check in here. Fat chance that they would leave her be. They'd probably sell her on the black market, because even though she didn't eat as well as she should, she could be considered pretty. At least that's what she had been told. With a soft, round face, doe eyes, Cupid's bow mouth and porcelain skin, she had the potential to be a knockout. With her pink hair, it made her look even more exotic. The dirt smudged on her face and body along with the rags she wore made it hard to see the underneath.

A man(?) with long blond came dashing by, possibly chasing a crew member on this ship. Another man with messy red hair followed at a slower pace. For a heart stopping moment, he back tracked and stared at the door to the room she was hiding in.

She immediately drew her face away from her peep hole, stumbling away from the door, and fell with a poof onto the silks.' Shitshitshitshitshit.' That was the only thing running over her mind, repressing all other thoughts, like how to escape. Sakura accepted to wait for her fate, and maybe she would have the chance to run and dive off the ship.

Unlike many others, she was raised in a port town, and knew how to swim. She took like a duck to water, and her clothes were light enough to not drag her around. If only she could get to port or starboard (1).

The thumps of his footsteps came ever closer, possibly signing her death certificate. A small whimper escaped her mouth, and her eyes snapped shut. She slapped a hand over her traitorous mouth, and tried to prevent the tears threatening to spill. A lone tear streaked down her cheek, cutting a trail through the grime.

Sakura burrowed further into the soft fabrics, hoping to hide, at least until he picked up the silk. His body was now blocking the light of the doorway. The doorknob jiggled and jostled, but she knew the lock wouldn't keep a pirate out for long. Her predictions came true, almost as if he heard her, the door buckled beneath his foot with a mighty crash.

Cowering in to her hiding spot, all she could do was send a prayer to The Lord for mercy from these brutes. More gunshots and screaming filtered in from the now destroyed doorway. Uproarious laughter hit her ears like a cruel drum. Now she knew why they'd called her "street rat", she was cornered like one.

It was now or never, she could run, or wait to die. The second didn't seem like an option to her. The pinkette sprang up from the precious fabrics like a hare, dodging the stunned redhead, and bounding over the smashed door. She was sure she'd never moved so fast in her life, not caring that her feet were gathering splinters. Life was definitely more important at this moment. Her arms pumped by her sides as she struggled to escape this maze of a ship.

The sound of heavy footsteps behind her made her want to throw up. There! There, she saw the light that signaled the entrance to the upper deck. Everything around her was blurring, her survival instincts zeroing in on the whiff of freedom. The unknown male seemed to be quickly gaining ground on her. Lungs burning, she could only try to pump her legs faster.

Sakura flew up the stairs like a bat out of hell. For one terrible moment, she felt his fingers brush her ankle, but she was too quick. The sun that she hadn't dared to see for weeks nearly blinded her, cause her legs to give. No! She didn't have time for this.

The sound of deep voices around her was terrifying, so she stood up, and ran around without any sense of where she was going. She had to reach a side eventually, right? Now more than one person was chasing her, and her sight was slowly coming back.

"C'mere little girl! Stop running!"

Suddenly a large, blue arm came out of nowhere to buckle around her waist like a band of steel. She started to squirm against the much taller man, writhing in his grip. "I'd stop that, little girl, before I do something you won't like." His hot breath hit her exposed ear, making her stop and shiver. Heart pounding ever faster, she felt ready to vomit.

All that was left of her struggles was a slight shivering of fear. "Let me go." She whimpered. By this time many others of his crew had gathered to look at her like she was some exotic bird. Maybe she was to them.

They all seemed to have a good laugh at her squeak when the shark-like man hoisted her over his shoulder. The girl's tiny fists beat against his broad back, hurting her hands more than him. She felt his rumbling chuckling and a squeeze on her rump. Furious, she let out an enraged squeal. They only laughed again. A sigh left her, and she flopped down like a dead fish.

"Give up lil' mousy?"

She grunted. The redhead and blond she had seen earlier trotted behind the blue behemoth, snickering at her. The blond man caught her staring, and grinned. He reached forward and tugged on a lock of her hair. "Pretty, yeah."

"Like a little doll," murmured the man with lazy eyes.

"Hold on squirt, things are gunna get bumpy. INCOMING!"

Suddenly she was flying through the air, stomach in her throat. She screamed as she was tossed overboard. Just as she was sure she was going to die, Sakura was caught by another pair of arms, apparently on a different ship. She shakily removed the hands she kept plastered to her eyes and looked at the person cradling her.

He had brightly flaming orange hair, lavender eyes that seemed to ripple, and piercings of iron all over him. His leer that was cast over her body made her want to shrivel under the heat of it.

Several thuds indicated that the rest of those ruffians had reboarded their (most likely stolen) ship. The mysterious male made it obvious he would continue to keep her in his grip as he turned around.

Sakura looked over the visible crew, all of them looking crazy and excited. Many had armfuls of chests and silks, containing unknown treasure.

"Who's this?" The pierced man asked shark-boy-wonder. Hehe. Shark-boy.

Making fun of them in her mind was the only way for her to fight back.

"Oh, she's an apology fer my messup captn'." Blue-face rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. They all took an agonizingly long look at her, now that the spotlight was hers. Her skin must've been on fire under her grime, she was sure.

"Can't see mucha her under that filth, get'er cleaned." It was spoken as a command from their apparent captain. A new man with long, tangly black hair tied low stepped forward, long rope in hand. He tied it firmly around her waist several times, picked her up along with the slack, and threw her off the starboard side.

There was no one in the water to catch her as she was plunged into the freezing ocean, screaming all the way. A few heads peered over the edge as the man with the rope tugged her to the surface. The rope was then let slack, once, twice, three times dipping her, before they began hauling her up. The rope cut uncomfortably into her gut, but she'd rather die in the ocean than go back up. Alas, she gazed longingly at the sea, Sakura had no choice.

She felt and most probably looked like a drowned rat. 'Fitting,' she thought cynically. After finally being pulled back into the ship, she flopped like a dead fish on the deck, coughing water from her poor lungs. The rope was cut from her waist from the back, and she was then rolled over for inspection.

The disgusting leering of the men had only increased, so she guessed her impromptu bath did its job. Coughing wetly, she struggled to sit up, but was once again hauled up by strong hands.

'Let's pass around the Sakura doll,' she grumped internally.

After Blondie (as she had dubbed him) put her in some semblance of standing, her chin was gripped by metal-face. He turned her face left, then right, as if examining a piece of livestock. A pleased smirk graced his mouth, liking what he saw.

"I'll keep her."

...

"WHAT?!"

Annnnnnnd... Done with with the pirate AU! Starboard and bow mean the left an right side of a ship. Any prompts or suggestions? If you review I'll make you a personal one shot request for this story! Review!