The Pink Haired Pirate: An Old Norse Saying

Rated: M for language, future mature themes, violence, gore

Warnings: Spoiler alert for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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Sakura took a deep breath and walked over the gate. The Gray Fox turned the rusty key in the lock.

"The slave driver let me know a new gladiator joined the Arena." No introductions, no formalities. Nothing. Straight to point, and Sakura knew she competed for an audience with the very guy that was standing before her, eyeing Sakura with a critical look.

"When do I get to fight?"

"Soon. You were here early, so you get to leave early. If you win, that's it."

"What happens if ... you don't win?" Sakura dared to ask. Yeah, that was out of the question. Losing was not an option at all; not if she wanted an audience with the man before her.

The Gray Fox snorted. "You'd better hope you don't." His glinting eyes landed on the crow mask, but his emotions were well clouded by a veil of coldness.

"You will be introduced with a stage name." The unasked question followed immediately. What was her stage name?

Sakura paused, a little, before raising her head. "Karasu. My name is Karasu."

"Very well then, Karasu." He spoke. "Come with me then. Your fight will start soon. Padfoot spoke of an audience with me. You'd better perform well, or you will find yourself on the bottom of the lake."

He was answered with a simple, silent nod, as she followed him through the musty stone corridors. They stopped in front of a large metal gate which led to a circular, gigantic, dirt arena. The seats were full of all kinds of people, of all kinds of races and ethnicities, wealth and social status.

In one of the highest seats was a pale man with medium-length hair tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He either resembled Marcurio in a weird way, either her mind was just playing tricks on her.

Judging by the several jeweled rings adorning his fingers and the fine, blue clothes, he must have been an aristocrat of the Imperial City. Two soldiers in steel-plate armor were poised on his left and right, as stoic bodyguards to defend their master.

A few rows down, Sakura could briefly notice a Thalmor or two. Whether they were present on official matters among the whole riff-raff of the City, or for their own entertainment, that was hard to decide. But they were very well absorbed by the fight happening in front of their own eyes.

There was a man in the front row that strongly resembled Disco from the Auction house. He announced the winner of the match, a certain 'Lucio the Undaunted', as his dead opponent was dragged away by the slave trader.

The Gray Fox looked down at her. "You will follow in a few moments. Remember, this is a deathmatch; the fight will last until your opponent is dead. You will have to choose from two kinds of weapons at the beginning of the match. You're unable to use something else."

"What about spells?"

"Spells are allowed."

Sakura nodded. The gate in front of her was slowly lifting.

"For the next match, a new Pit Dog enters the Arena, from the frozen lands of Skyrim!" The man rose up. "Meet Karasu!" The crowd started a round of applause.

Sakura sighed and walked past the gates, assuming her position across the opposite gate which opened slowly. A male Bosmer stood in front of her, solemn.

"And her opponent, Fargar of Valenwood!" The crowd cheered again.

Two men in roughspun clothing walked over.

"You have to choose a weapon, m'lady." He stated, meekly. Sakura had to choose between a scimitar and a cutlass. Interesting choices. And so did Fargar. Her hand instinctively wrapped around the handle of the cutlass and unsheathed the blade.

Sakura nodded her chin and walked closer to the middle of the arena. Fargar did the same. They seemed to have chosen the same weapon.

"Fight!"

Sakura hesitated for not a single moment, but neither did Fargar. He narrowed his eyes, meeting her blade with ferocious swings, aimed for her head. The quicker she would die, the better, in his head. Bosmers were known to be the best archers, often sniping their opponents before they had a chance to draw their weapons.

But this guy seemed rather skilled with a blade. And he was goddamn fast. The armor was subpar and less likely it could withhold a stab, but what he lacked in equipment, was compensated by raw skill.

He had no form, he had no style, and less likely he has had a teacher in the past.

With each tiny scratch and cut, the crowd cheered or booed. They could smell the blood and the sweat, like sharks awaiting a bloody prey. They went crazy, women and men alike.

Sakura briefly could see the Gray Fox, standing in the front row, crossing his arms and watching the fight with a critical look.

The man in fancy threads was the same, often whispering to one of his guards, who nodded their helmet head in agreement.

Then Sakura remembered. She had to put on a show. She not only parried but butted hard enough to push Fargar back. Sakura jumped back, putting enough distance between the two of them, and held her cutlass, readjusting her grip on the handle. She took a deep breath.

A black substance coated the blade, from the hilt to the tip of the sword, and then she vanished.

The crowd gasped. Where has she gone?

Right behind Fargar. He twitched his ear and turned just in time to block, but this time he had no time to swing. All he could do was helplessly hold his blade in a defensive manner, as flashings of black and white relentlessly pushing him back.

He tried to fight back. And right when the sword seemed to have cut right through her body and the fight was won, it felt like slashing a mental picture.

Like she has been there, but at the same time... she wasn't.

His head started to hurt. Several Karasus seemed to have shaped out of nowhere, but they were nothing. His mind was playing tricks on him.

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"Shisui-nii! You're back from the mission?" Sakura spotted the black haired teen sitting on a tree branch. He seemed focused enough not to notice her.

Sakura pouted and leaped, landing on the branch, right beside him. She poked his cheek. "Shisui!"

The boy's shoulders jumped and looked around, to see a pair of big, bluish-green eyes staring at him.

"Oh, Sakura-chan. I didn't hear you."

"I asked you if you just came back from the mission." She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes; a look which kind of resembled Uncle Madara's annoyed and disappointed face. She looked like a mini-Madara with pink hair, honestly.

"No, Sakura-chan. I did not. This is a clone, I am certainly still away on the mission." The sarcasm was heavy, but Sakura had yet to learn the sacred language of unmeaning words.

Her sole response was a strong punch to the gut, just like how Matatabi taught her. Shisui was caught off guard, so his gut received the full strength of the tiny fist. He wheezed. "W-Why the hell you did that for!?"

"So you're not a clone, after all." She put her hands on her hips, in a matter-of-fact manner, until she was grabbed in a chokehold. Shisui rubbed his fist hard against the top of her head. "Hey! Let me go!"

"You brat!"

"Stop!" Sakura flinched but giggled. He eventually let her go.

"Serves you for punching your adorable big brother!" He poked her forehead. "Have you practiced your Body Flicker like I showed you?"

Something changed on Sakura's face. "Un. But there's something I'm unable to grasp on, Shisui-nii. How do you do that cool trick? When you're using Body Flicker, it's like you're also making clones to confuse the enemy."

Shisui caught on what Sakura was describing rather quickly. "Hm. Imagine something like this, Sakura-chan." He grabbed two leaves. "You want to go for this leaf. To cut through it. But when you do, it moves so fast, you see an image of that leaf but you can't touch it. It is, after all, a trick of the eye."

"An afterimage."

"That's right." Sakura felt him tousle the top of her hair. "Do you think you're ready to learn it?"

"Think? I know I'm ready." She spoke, rather confidently. Shisui couldn't help but chuckle.

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Sakura hasn't grasped quite well on the Afterimage Clone jutsu when she was that age. She has been, after all, about 7 years old. But she practiced relentlessly after his death. She was the only one whom he passed down the secrets of his Body Flicker mastery, and she intended to live up to his name. To honor his memory.

Her mask was lifted off her face just enough so the handle of the blade was gripped between her teeth. If Zoro could do it, so could she. Then, she broke into a sprint. Her now free hands moved into a series of handseals.

Fargar's blade moved, but it touched no physical flesh of his opponent. Another flash of white and black whipped on his right side.

Tiger Dog Rat

And just as he moved, ignoring the beads of sweat that rolled down his brow and down to his chin, he stopped.

Sakura swung her jaw and the blade landed right into her hand, sheathing it clean in the torso of the Wood Elf. A few strands of blood started to spot the ground beneath their feet. Fargar fell to his knees, and Sakura removed the cutlass from his body in a rather gentle manner.

The crowd has stayed silent for a little while until the Disco-impersonator (not really but he kind of looked like so) snapped from his daze. He finally realized what has been going on.

"And we have a winner! Karasu of Skyrim!"

Sakura felt her arm being lifted. She dropped the cutlass and bowed her head, before walking through the opposite gate.

"It was a good fight. We haven't seen anything like that in a long while, sera." A Dunmeri woman was tending a desk. She has been rummaging through a few drawers and pulled out a coin purse.

Fifty gold coins.

Sakura caught the purse mid-air. "Thank you."

The elf simply smiled. "Someone is waiting for you. The Fox told me to tell you that he'll be waiting for you on top of the wall, near the gates. He usually meets his people in nice taverns, so that was kind of strange. It's not wise to keep him waiting, however."

Sakura nodded. She left soon enough after the schedule for tomorrow was explained and clarified. That was the first fight, which allowed her some leniency, being new and all. But now that she was formally registered as Karasu, a legit Arena gladiator, she'd have to fight in as many fights as possible, before the fatigue kicked in.

But the spectators usually got bored to see the same fighters over and over, so there has been a limit to even those kinds of rounds.

There was a rather definite hierarchy for all the gladiators. Especially among the solo combatants, because yes, you could join either the Serpents of Kvatch - marked by blue or the Dragons of Anvil - marked by yellow.

People could, of course, place bets and go every Sunday to see the teams battle each other to the death. It was kind of like going to a sports match... but to the death.

The first few matches between individual gladiators were held underground, to wash away the weak. Those they were too embarrassed to send in the Arena District to fight for the Emperor.

All Sakura wanted was an audience with the Gray Fox. But if you signed up to fight on your own... you couldn't back down. You had to go until the end and the big prize was an audience with the Emperor himself.

But backing down meant death which was not something she would risk at the time being.

Sakura exited the bowels of the Imperial City and looked up. A figure was waiting for her on top of the protective walls between the Waterfront and the Arboretum.

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The Motierres had dinner that evening, just like they had every other evening, but something was much more different than before. A chair was empty and Minerva had to prepare the meal alone. She hasn't paid much mind to it, she supposed that Sakura was visiting more of the city. But she has been called to dinner and there was no sign of that pink head of hers.

"Marcurio? Where's your friend?" Nobody seemed to have missed her presence until Minerva spoke the unspeakable question. His shoulders tensed immediately.

"She's gone. We argued, and she left." He replied, calmly.

Minerva's face fell. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear. But where could she have been gone... oh... I hope the Gray Fox won't get to her."

"Dear, we have talked about this..."

"Don't begin now. I know what I saw." Minerva stabbed her steak with her fork. "I just hope she found a nice inn for her to stay in."

Right. The Fox. For all they knew, she could have been best buddies with the bastard. Criminals stuck together, after all. Only the thought started to anger him more than it normally should.

Anytime now, he'd expect a good-natured comment and a smile, or a whack over his head, but none of them happened. He hasn't kicked her out. She left on her own. He was in the right for being protective of his family. For wanting no harm to happen to them. He was in the right.

But why did he feel so irritated out of a sudden?

That dinner has been the most awkward meal he has participated in his whole life, and that said something since they once had his uncle, aunt, and cousin for dinner once. They weren't bad people per se, but their uncle was high up in the Elder Council, and their aunt insulted his mother's draperies with every single occasional she got.

That dinner was a nightmare.

It wasn't a surprise that he had to summon Tora to hang out that evening. With Sakura out of the house, at least he could practice biting his thumbs for his summoning technique without making her suspicious.

"So Sakura's gone, then?"

"Yeah, Tora, she is."

The small brown cat curled in a bun on top of his desk. "I don't know what to say, I will be honest. So she knows?"

"I think she does."

"And she knows that you know...?"

"That too. That's why we argued."

Tora sighed. "I've been locked in a giant mansion for the last few years of my life so I can't say I know people that well. But after everything Chihiro has told me... she doesn't seem like truly bad guy to me. Sure, she had a different upbringing than you, but if she wanted to hurt your family, she might have done it already."

"Not to mention she has picked me up yesterday evening." Alessia had been standing in the doorway. They have been so engrossed in their conversation, they couldn't hear the door open just slightly.

"We were attacked by thieves and we fend them off. Don't you think she would have at least tried to save her 'mates'?"

"You've been attacked by thieves?" Marcurio's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"That's besides the point." Alessia walked inside and propped herself in a chair.

"I didn't kick her out, if that's what are you implying. She left on her own. Who knows what kind of mess she has gotten herself into." It was something she knew... and didn't want to drag them in the middle of everything.

Alessia sighed. "I just hope she's fine. I will keep an eye out tomorrow. Maybe she will show up. But since when did you get a cat?"

Marcurio picked Tora up. "Not long ago. This is Tora. Sakura's people have weird animal summoning contracts... and I signed one with the cats."

Tora merely lifted her paw, and Alessia couldn't resist not to pet and stroke the paw pads. "That's ... amazing."

"She doesn't speak Tamrielic. The human lady in charge gave me an amulet so I can understand and talk to them. It's a rather bothersome process, but it worked so far. Cats are mostly sent on information-gathering missions. I guess that's what they're the best at."

Tora purred in response. Oh just how she liked to be pet gently and with great care.

"Are cats supposed to even talk?"

"Summoned cats... yes. Summoned animals can generally speak."

"That's amazing..." Alessia gushed.

They were both too preoccupied with Tora to notice Alessio walk past Marcurio's room. He locked the door of his own chamber and reached inside a box under his bed. He sighed, looking to left and right, and removed the lid.

He laid down the leather cuirass on his bed and moved his fingers in a series of familiar handsigns. Just like how the Fox showed them. Like how he showed everyone else in their dysfunctional little family.

It was Ram, then Snake, then Tiger.

An almost perfect copy of Alessio appeared right next to him. He sighed and tucked the clone into bed, pulling the covers over him, as he put on his cuirass. He secured the buckles and flipped on the hood before opened the window to his room.

Soon enough, he jumped and made himself unseen.

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The Fox was already waiting for her. He was staring over the horizon, over the District, when Karasu flickered besides him. Something in him awoke during that fight. Something began to make itself clear. It was a strange feeling of deja vu, and Padfoot's report from last night was the last piece of the puzzle.

He looked down at Karasu. She wanted to say something, but the Gray Fox silenced her, raising his palm.

Sakura could only bite inside her cheek. She was supposed to say something. That what an audience meant. That she'd talk and he'd listen to what she had to say. But again, maybe this pause would help her think of how was she going to put the problem in front of the Fox.

That it was a divine mission and Nocturnal wanted her cowl back. It has been stolen from her in the first place, anyways.

That's why it has been cursed in the first place. The Cowl would slowly erase your identity from history. Your face would be erased from pictures and your name would vanish from your own birth certificate. It was the ultimate price for the perfect, untraceable thief.

"That was an impressive technique you have used during the fight." A compliment was not at all expected, she could guess.

"Thank ...you. My brother has taught me how to use it."

The Fox remained silent for a while. The little portion of uncovered skin on his face remained unmoving. They just watched over the whole District from top of the tall, protective walls that encircled the Imperial City and its main ring.

"I know."

Sakura blinked softly under her mask. "What do you mean by... 'you know'?"

The Fox turned to her again. "I know who has taught you that technique. It's the Zanzō Bunshin. I taught you that."

But... how? "What game are you playing at, Gray Fox?" Sakura took a step back, filling her fists up with chakra. "My brother has taught me before..." she paused. "But he's dead now. "If you're trying to get beneath my skin I'll..."

The Gray Fox turned around. He made no sign of hostile movements just yet. "You don't have to believe me... but you will." His right fingers hooked around the hem of the cowl. Sakura leaned her masked face forward, narrowing her eyes.

He started to lift up the gray cloth, revealing the relatively smooth surface of pale skin. The reveal reached his nose, and Sakura could feel her body becoming rigid and cold. The fury felt a few moments before turned into something else.

"I...I don't believe it..."

The Gray Fox stood before her, with the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal hanging from his right hand.

"No..." Sakura took a step back.

"Sakura... let me explain."

"Stay away from me..." She muttered, but she couldn't break their eye contact. Her eyes remained locked on his. She took another few steps back, dangerously close to the edge.

"You will fall, come back!"

"Stay the hell away from me!" Sakura slipped, but all she remembered was being knocked out even before she could plan a safe landing. She felt pain, then darkness veiling over her.

But the slumber didn't last long. Concrete was warm as a fluffy bed and her vision was no longer obstructed by the crow, porcelain mask. That thing was sitting on a wooden end table next to the bed.

It has all been a weird dream. A weird dream and nightmare combination that merged to hunt down her sanity. Right now she had to get up and meet the Gray Fox on the rooftops, then she could simply steal the damn cowl and go back to Skyrim. Screw being a tourist.

Screw Cyrodiil. All she wanted to do was go back and start her training. But no. That would have been too good to be true.

He has been standing in the doorway from the moment she has woken up. He hasn't changed at all... mainly. His face matured a little, but it still had a boyish deviousness, just like in his teens. His curly black hair reached the top of his shoulders and he never seemed to have grown out of those cute eyelashes.

The irises were black and the four-pointed pinwheel was red. The pupil was red too.

He was supposed to be blind. Eyeless.

"Who are you?" Sakura looked at him. Her face was contorted in anguish and pain. She remembered his death and it has haunted her until the very last moment.

"You know who I am, imouto." He tried, gently. He placed the cowl on top of the wooden drawer.

"No. I do not. You were supposed to be dead. Dead, you hear me?" Sakura's hand reached inside her pouch. He had to flicker away to evade the barrage of needles that turned the door into a porcupine. "Dead!"

He walked a little closer. "How long has it been...?"

Sakura's breath hitched inside her throat. "Twelve..." she choked out. "Twelve years..."

"I can explain everything, imouto."

"It's been twelve years, Shisui!" She snarled. "Twelve! Twelve years thinking that you were dead! Twelve years of pain!"

Shisui dodged senbon to left and right, and Sakura was too distraught to make any clean hits. She poured her frustration into every single needle she launched in his direction, hoping it would hit and make Shisui disappear. Wanting the imposter to pay for the sick joke she was pulling on her.

Sakura's arms fell beside her body when Shisui walked close enough. He pulled her close, allowing her head to fall on his shoulder and weep. He was not a clone and he was not a joke. He was real.

"How...? How are you real...?"

Shisui sat down and cradled his little sister to his chest. "I am real, Sakura-chan. And I am sorry."

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A/N: Done! Ugh. Again. Shorter than what I was intending to do but does it matter? Better than a long-ass chapter once a month! I really want to finish the Cyrodiil arc soon so we can get into the real deal. :3 There's a lot of shit we haven't gone through yet.

If you're wondering that I pulled the Shisui as Gray Fox idea outta my ass in the last moment, you're wrong. I spent the last months perfecting the whole shit and I'm sure as hell going to implement it after all the thinking I had to go through. It would be a shame if I didn't.

Also, it's 28th of March! Saku's birthday! Well theoretically not in the story. It's only September. I'm wondering if I should write a special chapter just for that occasion. Not related to her birthday but something special related to her. Any ideas?

Yes, Alessio is a thief, and Shisui spent a lot of time to teach his guys on how to create clones and other basic moves. Considering that the clone technique is something that 12 years old brats do to pass the exam, I guess that full-grown adults with some magical inclinations can do them as well if taught properly.

Since Alessio is a Motierre, his family is naturally spared from the madness. Again, Tobias was an asshole.

More about Shisui's backstory will follow in the next chapter. I initially wanted to implement the sequence here but... yeah. Why exhaust all my ideas in a single chapter? Everything will be included. How he survived, how he got his eyes, how he landed in Cyrodiil and how he became the Gray Fox.

It kinda dawned onto me that Shisui is around the same age as Marcurio. 27/28. If I did the math well enough.

I'm using a modified Arena system based on Oblivion. The teams renaming and the weapon choosing are my ideas, but your first opponent as a Pit Dog is a Bosmer, lol. In the game you have to wear the armor and weapons they give to you, so that was a little modified to fit here.

It's been a couple of centuries after all.

Okay, I think this is it. See you in the next chapter.

Cheers!