Pirate Pete
Estelle strolled into the common room with boredom. Her patrol ended much quicker today as there was less spirit activity than usual. She was tense about the fact that spirits had been crashing in like hotcakes, which suddenly changed in the last couple of days that had been strangely silent. She had the rational feeling that something was happening, but she couldn't pinpoint what. She just wished it was her paranoia talking rather than anything serious.
Nevertheless, Estelle felt like she didn't know what to do with herself. As she absentmindedly watched the lions stalking some prey, Estelle's eyes swivelled to the entrance of Heights Alliance. A loud and gruff voice could be heard from the distance, which immediately put her on edge.
Watching as her classmates rushed to the windows to find out the voice's individual, Estelle eyed them warily as they turned speechless like they had no idea how to define what they were seeing. Her eyes trailed up in concern as worry and confusion rose within the classmates as nobody should have access unless they were part of UA. This man was clearly not. Estelle stayed on the couch, aware that Mr Aizawa was heading towards them.
"Estelle. We opened the school gate as he was asking for you. He said he was a ghoul?"
Estelle's eyes widened as she shot up from her chair from shock. Her mind was immediately overwhelmed with thoughts as she rushed past the students. Estelle quickly passed the entrance and stepped out onto the grass. The class followed her movements but stayed behind her, worrying that it was a dark spirit like last time.
They watched as Estelle walked forwards and froze a few metres from the male. The class mimicked her movement and prepared for an attack. The stillness of Estelle threw them for a loop. Why wasn't she engaging?
The ghoul turned around to face Estelle, and the class finally managed to get a closer look. He looked like a man rather than a beast. He was rugged, with a long beard that wasn't maintained. His clothes seemed old like he wasn't even near this era. He had a belt with a telescope, a map attached to it, and big crusty boots that looked like they had been through hell.
The muddy face gazed down at Estelle coldly for a moment until he belted out a loud and screeching laugh. "Be that mighty ye, Estelle? I can nah believe me eyes. Come here!" He roared as he moved towards the girl and enclasped her in a hug she couldn't break out of. He didn't stop there as he even lifted the girl up and swung her around like a child.
"Pete. C'mon, seriously." Estelle lamented, her previous shock leaving as her hands tried to push the beefy man away.
"Ah, classic Estelle! Where 'ave ye been!?" He questioned as he plopped the girl back onto the grass. Estelle took a moment to make sure the view wasn't swirling anymore before responding.
"Pete, how did you get here?"
"I was lost, me galleon sunk 'n I was marooned. The last thing I remember was wakin' up in some woods 'n I kept walkin'. When I heard somethin' about Estelle 'n somethin' called UA. I travelled me way here. Took me a few days it did."
Estelle's hope plummeted at that. When she had noticed him, she had been numbed from the unexpected surprise visit. Her mind was racing at the fact she might be able to go home. Her luck ran dry since he appeared to have no memory of where he was. Estelle knew he wasn't going to be a great help. He knew the sea better than the land.
"Estelle. Do you mind telling us what's going on?" Mr Aizawa communicated behind her. Estelle faced back to the class with slight embarrassment. She had completely forgotten she had an audience.
"This is Pirate Pete, the ghoul. Pete, this is the class that I'm currently staying with."
"It's nice t' meet ye. Me 'n Estelle go way back! She saved me 'n me crew from a Kraken 'n we sailed the sea's together in search fer the dragon's cabin. Saved our arses many times she did." Pete explained further.
Estelle closed her eyes in exasperation at the old man. The class watched on with dropped jaws.
"A pirate?!"
"What's a Kraken?"
"Dragon's den?"
Estelle hushed her classmates from their wondering and answered, "Pete helped me at one point when I needed a ride. That was it."
"No! Ye we be a true pirate. That wee lass ye had wit' ye could've been part o' the crew. Speakin' o' her, where be she?"
Estelle withered, gazing up at the man. "Pete, do you realise that you aren't in the spirit realm. Where were your crew when the ship sank?"
"That's why everythin' was strange! I don't like this ship, Estelle. I tried findin' a crew out here, but the scallywags are strange. I wanna get back home. Can ye show me where t' go?"
Estelle gazed at him with a heavy heart and shook her head. "No, that's why I asked you if you could remember anything. You said you woke up in the woods; how far off was it?"
"'Twas about fifty miles off if I needed t' guess!"
"Do you think we could have a look around to see if we could find anything?"
"Sure, why nah! The sea's are callin' t' me."
Estelle nodded back to Pete before turning to her class behind her, "We'll try to see if we can find anything. I'll report when I get back."
Aizawa nodded, and the class watched as Estelle and Pirate Pete soared through the air. It was an odd scene watching a smaller female carry a hunkered man in her hands.
The class remained in their dormitories since it was the weekend. They had spent their time mulling over the events that occurred earlier in the day. When Estelle said it wasn't as technologically advanced, they didn't think it was that behind! It made sense considering she got confused from time to time when she discovered something new.
"An actual Pirate! Can you believe it? And he seemed to know Estelle pretty well!" Kirishima brought up again in the evening.
"Yeah, it was a shock. Then again, Pete called himself a ghoul; I'm curious what that means," Izuku wondered back.
The Heights Alliance door opened before anyone could respond. Looking over, they found Estelle holding the door open for the new arrival. From the look on their faces, they knew that today hadn't been very successful.
"The woods all look the same! How am I supposed t' know where I docked. Don't worry, we can try again!" Pete responded as he walked in.
The class were once again taken aback by the view of the old ghoul. It just looked wrong, like he had jumped hundreds of years into the future. Their wondering was interrupted by Estelle's grunt in acknowledgement.
Mr Aizawa strolled into the room moments after; clearly, he had been waiting for them to return. "Any luck?" He asked.
"No, Pete sucks at mapping out the land. We're gonna try again tomorrow."
"Don't worry about it."
"Wha' am I supposed t' do 'til 'em. Ye could jus' scuttle me 'n 'ave it o'er wit'! I could reform in the spirit realm 'n be back wit' the crew in no time!"
Estelle stiffened from his words, her back as tense as the class had ever seen it. Her fingers twitched as she twirled around to face the man with a glower. Walking up to him, Estelle wrapped his collar in her fist and pulled him down to meet her fierce eyes. The ghoul winced from the look.
"I will not. I refuse to kill you. I don't care if you're already dead, and I sure as hell don't care if you'll reform. Don't ask me again, got it?"
The pirate gave a stiff nod in answer. Estelle's shoulders relaxed from his acceptance, and she took a step back. The room was silent for a few moments until she uttered once again. "We'll figure something out, okay? I know you don't like it here, so I'll do everything I can to get you back."
"I 'ave full faith in ye. Ye always come up wit' a plan! Jus' like that time when ye-"
"Pete."
"Oh aye, I forgot."
Turning to face the bewildered class, Estelle titled her head to Mr Aizawa. "You don't mind if he kicks around for the next few nights?"
"It's fine. We have a spare room Pete can use if he wants to be alone. Class, are you okay with this?"
The students gave their nods of agreement. Their curiosity driving them, they wondered about the unlikely relationship between the two. They were complete opposites, but it seemed like something had brought them together.
The large man gave a wide grin from their answers. The glow surrounding him only emphasised his happiness. He acted like a teddy bear, a strange personality for a pirate.
Since Estelle had missed dinner, she headed towards the dining room. The pirate at her back. As she was leaving, her eyes accidentally clashed with rubies. Turning her head away swiftly, Estelle ignored his silent avoidance of her as she made her way out of the room. Frustration bloomed in her once she was out of the space, but she couldn't pinpoint the reason why. But she knew that she would always try to do what was right, and what she did the other day was perfectly reasonable.
Behind the door, Estelle and the ghoul just exited; the class were still entirely intrigued by the new arrival and tried to follow the duo out. They were unfortunately cut off from doing so by Mr Aizawa. "Class, stay for a moment."
Turning towards their teacher questioningly, he answered their silent queries. "Don't overwhelm him; it must be a scary experience to be in a different world with only one person you know."
Thinking about it, they figured it was good that Estelle was here to help him. They wondered how it must have felt when she first arrived. There was nobody there to help her; it must have been tough. Then again, Estelle was strong. It was challenging to tell if this whole ordeal affected her. From what they could gather, the shei hassaikai situation seemed to have affected her more than anything else.
Meeting the duo by the kitchen table, the class dragged in a begrudging Bakugo and took out various snacks to seem less overbearing. Pirate Pete and Estelle were amicably chatting as they ignored the onlookers.
"So, I never asked, but. Is everything recovering well in the spirit realm?"
"It's all fine 'n dandy. It's been the most peaceful it ever has in years. We 'ave ye t' thank fer that!"
Estelle shook her head from the answer and scoffed, "Yeah, right."
"I forgot t' tell ye! Randy 'n Bill passed on a few months ago. Thar ain't a day that goes by where I don't miss those scallywags."
Estelle's spoon clattered into the bowl. "They did?"
"Aye!"
"Oh, that's good news. I'm pleased for them. May thar afterlife be buried in loot."
Pirate Pete gave a soft smile as he responded to the young girl in front of him; raising his hand up in pretend toast, he said, "Aye, May thar afterlife be buried in loot."
Estelle wasn't close with them. They were his right-hand men in his crew, but they spoke the loudest out of the bunch. Estelle found them annoying most of the time if she was honest. But whenever a ghoul she knew passed on, it always hit differently. She wasn't sure if she was just sensitive to it because she had lived with spirits and ghouls most of her life. But, it was frustrating nevertheless.
To give herself a moment to process, Estelle informed Pete that she would head upstairs to get changed and come back to retrieve him. He nodded in agreement and remained in place as she steered upstairs. The class were silent as a lamb as they craned their ears to listen to the conversation across from them. Their hearts heated from the gentle exchange between the duo; it seemed like they treated death differently.
Pirate Pete sat at the table playing with a pair of chopsticks. He looked like he couldn't figure out the purpose of them. The sight was entertaining to the class, and eventually, Shoto was the one to relieve his curiosity.
"They're chopsticks. You use them for certain types of food."
"Ye use tools t' help ye eat? How strange! Naught beats good ole hands fer the job."
The class chucked at his old school answer, and they immediately felt more at ease with the cheerful burly man in the middle of the room.
"How long have you known Estelle?"
"If I we be t' guess, 'twould be a couple o' years wit' how she looks. Don't let that fool ye! She could best anyone!"
The class grinned at the response. With Pete's rambunctious words, they could see his fondness for Estelle.
"How did you two meet?"
"Me 'n the crew be on our ship when we be attacked by a Kraken! All o' a sudden, a lass comes crashin' in wit' a sword at her back 'n beat 'im quicker than all o' us could combined. When she stopped, Estelle asked fer a ride. That was it! She 'n wee lass became a part o' the crew."
"And then I had to put up with your nonsense for a few months. What torture that was," Estelle piped up as she ambled back into the room in her jammies.
"Don't lie! We be like family fer a wee while. Ye still are!"
"Ah yes, a family full of cutthroat pirates. How delightful." Estelle retorted as she walked further into the room. The students still watching the exchange bounced their heads back and forth as they played a game of verbal volleyball.
"Ye're still the same. Ye'll never admit 'twill ye?"
"Shut up, Pete."
"Classic Estelle!"
Estelle shook her head, her lips titled from the back and forth they shared. Usually, Estelle would be annoyed that the class were prying. But it was nice to have someone familiar in her company, even for a little while. Pirate Pete was a talkative guy, but she knew she could trust him to keep his mouth shut about the critical stuff - at least, Estelle hoped she could.
"So, Estelle saved you all. And you guys became friends ever since," Izuku concluded thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't call us friends." Estelle cut in bluntly, avoiding the look from the blonde ten feet away from her.
"Baaah, Estelle doesn't do friends. But she does have-"
"Nuisances."
"Aye!" Pete loudly guffawed. Estelle shook her head with a tiny smile as his laughter rang in the background. The class chuckled at their banter; Estelle was usually tense, no matter the situation. Having someone she was already familiar with seemed to have positively affected her. She appeared more at ease with a former companion at her side.
They liked it a lot.