Chapter 19: Yo Ho Ho, It's a Pirate's Life For Me
Katsuki Bakugou was a very cautious man.
Not paranoid, because that could potentially be worried about things that aren't threats and cause him to get isolated from potential allies. So, cautious, but not paranoid.
That's probably not how his current teammates were seeing him.
Especially considering he currently had a gun pointed at some random pirate lady.
"BAKUGOU!" Kirishima shouted. "What the fuck?!"
"What?" Katsuki asked, rhetorically. "She's obviously a pirate!"
"A pirate that hasn't even raised a weapon at us!" Melissa argued. "Look, minus the Jiros, it's still a five to one. We'll be able to stop her before she can even try anything."
The ash blond grumbled, before putting his rifle down.
Melissa looked over to the frog lady. "Sorry about him, ah, Asui-san, was it?"
"You can call me Tsu, ribbit. And it's fine. Can't trust a lot of people around these parts."
"Speaking of people, who, and what, are you exactly?" Aoyama asked.
"Ribbit, I already said, I'm Captain Tsuyu Asui, and I'm a bullywug. But when it comes to my occupation… I guess you can say that I'm an abolitionist of the marine variety."
"Abolitionist?" Kirishima asked.
"They're people who favor the abolishment of certain practices or institutions, such as capital punishment, but in her case… It's slavery," Kodai said. "She's an emancipationist."
"Got it in one, ribbit," the green-haired pirate said.
"Hold up, hold up," Katuski said, grabbing his Monster Manual, and reaching the page he was looking for. "You said you're a bullywug, right? A frog-based demi-human?"
"That's correct."
"You don't look anything like the illustration in my book."
The others took a closer look inside the manual, and yeah, Katsuki was right. The bullywug in his book was an anthropomorphic frog, while the lady in front of him looked like a human, just with light green skin, webbed hands, and a really funny-looking face.
"I dunno, that drawing kinda looks like my dad, just bald," Tsu said.
"Well, why do you look so different?" Katsuki asked.
"Do all humans look the same, ribbit?"
"She's got you there," Kirishima said.
"Not now, Shitty Hair."
"Wait, you said that you were an emancipationist?" Denki asked. When Tsu nodded, his smile increased. "That's wonderful! You can help us escape this pirate-infested island!"
"Sure thing, but I'm still technically a pirate, ribbit," the frog-like demi-human said. "According to the government, I'm just stealing the cargo of others, even if those others are also pirates."
"People aren't cargo," Kodai flatly said.
"I agree with you there, ribbit, but I still profit every time someone is freed."
"Really? How so?" Aoyama asked.
"There are several groups out there that would very much like to see the Imperial slave trade ended, ribbit. They've also posted several rewards for those who actively dismantle the trade or who free slaves. It's more than enough to send my little siblings to a good school."
"Awww, that's so sweet!" Kirishima cooed.
"Okay, you're a pirate with a good head on your shoulders and a motive to help us, whatever," Katsuki said. "The question is, how the hell do we get out of here?"
"Hmm… do any of you know how to steer a ship, ribbit?"
"Bakugou, this is Yaoyorozu, come in, Bakugou," Momo said into her walkie-talkie. "Bakugou? I'm radioing in to make sure that everything's alright. Please respond."
"Oh, hey, Yaomomo!" Kirishima's voice came through. "What's up?"
"Kirishima, where is your commanding officer?"
"Oh, he's, uh… steering a boat! Uh, yeah, we decided to head out to the open water with some locals! Bakubro can't talk right now, he's, uhh… cosplaying as a pirate! Yeah!"
The raven-haired woman squinted as she heard that. "Katsuki Bakugou. Cosplaying as a pirate? Are we talking about the same Bakugou? Bad attitude? Shouts a lot?"
"Uh, yeah! He's full of surprises today, huh? Anyways, gotta go, bye!"
"Okay…? Bye to you, too, I guess…?" Momo said, as she put down the radio. "That was weird. Still, I'm sure that they can handle whatever trouble they've gotten themselves into…"
In terms of believable lies, Kirishima got a five out of ten, in Momo's opinion.
Buuut, unless they decided to radio her for help, Momo would leave them alone.
In the meantime, she still had a lot of tanning to do.
"Hey, guys!" Awase shouted. "They're selling cotton candy on the pier!"
Actually, tanning could wait. Momo was feeling a bit peckish right now.
"You think she bought it?" Kirishima asked.
"I'd say fifty-fifty," Aoyama replied.
"OY!" Katsuki shouted at them. "WHO SAID THAT YOU COULD CHAT?! WE'VE STILL GOT A SHIP TO RUN! LOOSEN THE SAILS! HEAVE UP THE BRACES! AHAHAHA!"
"You think he's gone mad with power?" Kirishima asked.
"SOMEONE START PLAYING THE SOUNDTRACK TO TREASURE PLANET!"
Kodai nodded. "Definitely gone mad with power."
As the waves crashed against the wooden hull of the massive ship they had commandeered, Katsuki could feel the salty air hitting his face. This was fucking awesome!
"Huh, you can actually smile."
The ash blond looked over to see that Shield was addressing him.
"Who says I can't smile?" Katsuki asked.
"I never said you couldn't, it's just that… I've never seen you do it," the angel answered honestly. "Every time I've seen you, you're always scowling, or grumpy, or angry…"
"Okay, okay, I get it! Look, it just takes a lot to make me smile, okay?"
"Like steering a massive pirate ship you stole towards freedom?" she asked.
"Like knowing that a plan you actually came up with is working, and pretty soon you and your squad is going to make it out in one piece," Katsuki corrected her. "Like knowing that you'll get out of this alive and be able to come home to the people you care about…"
The explosive blond snapped out of his thoughts to see that Shield was still looking at him, but now, it was different. "You've never told any of us you have people you care for…"
"Maybe… I'll tell you about them when this is over."
Melissa smiled at that. "Yeah, that'd be nice –"
BOOM!
Suddenly, the ship stopped moving, jerking as its speed dropped to zero. The majority of its passengers fell to the wooden floor at the impact of suddenly stopping.
"Kyoka, are you all right?!" Denki asked.
"I'm fine, nothing serious," the pregnant woman answered back.
"What the hell just happened?!" Kirishima shouted.
"Oi, Asui! Did we hit a reef, or something?!" Katsuki shouted.
"Not possible, ribbit! We're still too far out to be anywhere near the shallows!"
"ROOOAAARRR!"
Before anyone could say anything else, something suddenly erupted from the water, launching themselves up towards the deck. They were massive, an anthropomorphic orca wearing a red coat with golden buttons, dark pants, leathery belt, boots, and a massive sword.
"Merde, what kind of demi-human is that?!" Aoyama gasped.
Before anyone could respond, several other regular-sized pirates emerged from the water and boarded the ship, all of them demi-humans of the aquatic variety. From anthropomorphic fish, eels and sharks, to things like octopuses, crabs, and even walruses and anemones!
"Shield?"
"Bakugou?"
"Is it just me, or did all the pirates we killed on the island seem to be exclusively… land-based races?" he asked the angel. "Like, humans, and maybe the occasional beastman?"
"No, it turns out there was a reason for that."
"Shit…"
"Itsukaaa…"
"What is it, Neito?"
"How would you feel about… a pearl necklace?"
The orange-haired woman sucked in her breath, as she looked at her boyfriend. "Neito, please tell me you didn't spend our limited funds to buy something from a gift shop."
"I, uhh…"
"Monoma, this is Yaoyorozu. Come in, Monoma."
Quickly grabbing his walkie-talkie, Neito said, "Hey, Lieutenant! What's up? Doing good? I hope so! Quick question: It's cool for us to buy souvenirs from here, right?"
"What? Yeah, sure, whatever, I guess. Look, we're heading out in an hour. I want you to gather your group and meet us at the LAVs. Can you do that, or are you… um… busy…?"
"Busy? Lieutenant Yaoyorozu, I can personally assure you that absolutely no one in my group has gotten themselves into any kinds of shenanigans," Neito said. "No kidnappings, no monsters, nothing. We've just been going around the town, and seeing the sights."
"Oh, thank God. Anyways, see you in sixty minutes. Over and out."
"See you then. Over and out."
"You never answered my question, Neito," Itsuka said.
Oh, shit.
Eijiro didn't know what to do.
Bakugou's orders were to form a kill circle, to protect the civilians. Made sense, given that they were currently surrounded from all sides by pirates. But now what?
Neither side is making the first move. The pirates have superior numbers, but we have better firepower, Eijiro analyzed. Why isn't Shield attacking? Trying to size up the boss?
"I must say, for a bunch of strangers, you are quite the pain in the tail," the killer whale of a man said. "You went through all of that trouble for one dagon? Consider me impressed."
"Kugo Sakamata…" Asui hissed.
"Oh? You know who I am? You must be an abolitionist, then."
"And you're the orcinus who went toe-to-toe with the Leviathan, and made it out alive," the bullywug said. "Have to admit, I never pegged you as an Imperial lapdog, ribbit."
"I AM NOT A…" the walking killer whale began to shout, before he calmed himself down. "We are partners. I provide the slaves, and the Empire provides me with money."
"So, what? You're a privateer?" Bakugou asked. "Don't those guys usually attack enemy merchant ships, not kidnap civilians? Then again, this is the Empire…"
"I'm simply going where the money is," the pirate captain said. "I'm a businessman."
"You're a monster, that's what you are," Denki hissed.
"Oh?" Everyone looked towards the man with the electric hair, with his comrades shocked at what he just said, and with Sakamata, curious. "And who exactly are you?"
"Denki Jiro. I'm the guy whose wife your goons kidnapped."
"Ah, yes! The financier of this little rescue operation, no doubt! Tell me, little mercenaries, how much did this… minstrel… pay you? Ah, it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, I'll double it!" the orca-looking demi-human said. "And all you have to do… is walk away."
"Go fuck yourself, Free Willy," Kodai spat.
It was at that moment Eijiro could see the red within the giant demi-human's eyes, clearly angry. "Alright, then. Men, kill anyone who resists! The rest can join the dagon as slaves –"
WHAM!
Before any of the aquatic pirates could follow their captain's orders, something jumped up towards the ship, and slammed their spear on Sakamata's huge orca head.
Something pink.
It's that girl again!
"SHITTY HAIR, FRENCHIE, OPEN FIRE! SHIELD, TAKE DOWN MOBY DICK!"
The redhead quickly snapped out of it, as he obeyed his commanding officer's orders, and began filling the pirates that were surrounding them with lead.
This was bad. This was very bad.
What was it with Eijiro and getting himself constantly into danger?! First it was the medusa, then those warrior bunnies, then the cultists, and now he was taking on an army of pirates?!
"AAAAA–"
WHAM!
As Mina slammed the sharp end of her spear down on another berserker, she watched as the other humans in Eijiro's squad made quick work of those sea-faring thugs with the help of their bizarre weapons, before using her acidic magic to kill another pirate.
"HEY, LADY!"
Mina turned to see that Eijiro was making his way towards her. If they were alone together, she would have been overjoyed, but now was not the ideal time for this.
"You don't have much time –"
"NO! I wanna know who the fuck you are!" Eijiro shouted. "I wanna know why the fuck you've been following me ever since you helped the Empire attack Musustafu! Answer me, NOW!"
"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU!"
She could see from his eyes that Eijiro was thrown for a loop. "What?"
"I care about you, Eijiro Kirishima," the tiefling told the human. "And if you care about your teammates and the bystanders caught in the crossfire, you're going to get off this ship."
Melissa grunted, as she clashed swords with Kugo Sakamata.
She knew she had the advantage, for the time being. She was faster, and capable of flight, but she had limits, and the orca man she was fighting knew that, He was doing everything in defense, hoping that Melissa would exhaust herself, and then go for the kill.
And Melissa couldn't even go all-out because the others were still on the ship. She couldn't sink them, but she needed a way to get past the pirate captain's defenses.
"SHIELD!"
"I'm a little busy right now, Kirishima!"
"Doesn't matter! I've got a plan!" the redhead shouted. "Just keep your radio on! Just keep Captain Sakamata busy, and when I shout "now," you launch yourself to the sky!"
"This is a stupid fucking plan, Shitty Hair!" Katsuki shouted.
He had no idea which part of this was more insane: The fact that Shitty Hair's nameless stalker rented her own boat to reach them, or the fact that Kirishima's plan was actually her's.
"Does it really matter at this point?!" Kirishima asked, as he threw Aoyama into the boat. "Kodai, make sure that the Jiros are as close to the boat's center of gravity as possible!"
"Got it!"
WHACK!
As Asui finished knocking out another one of the pirates who was getting too close, she jumped into the boat with everyone else. "What about your angel friend, ribbit?"
"I told her to fly away as soon as I shouted!" Kirishima explained. "Bakubro, go!"
"For the record, I think that this is a stupid plan," Katsuki grumbled, as he made a ring with one of his fingers, while extending out both of his arms. "Mea ultima exitium magicae…"
"WE'VE GOT MORE PIRATES COMING OFF THE SHIP!" Denki shouted.
Grabbing the radio, Kirishima shouted, "SHIELD, FLY AWAY! NOW!"
That was Katsuki's cue.
"EXPLOOOOOSIO!"
The last time Katsuki fired off that spell, his entire body was burned and he nearly died. But that was because last time, he was using it as a suicide attack. Now, he had shaped his hands into a funnel-based cone, and had directed his shot right towards the massive ship.
BOOOOOOOM!
On the other side of the magic spell, Katsuki was doing his best not to fall off the boat at the sheer might his hands were producing, while the rest of his squaddies were doing their best to make sure their civilian friends weren't getting whiplash from the sheer speed.
In short, Katsuki had just helped the boat temporarily turn into a rocket.
As the ash blond watched the massive pirate ship sink to the bottom of the ocean thanks to the hole he blasted into it, he could feel the boat everyone else was on was beginning to slow down. And right on time, too, considering that they had just reached the shoreline.
As the boat slowly let the tide push it towards the sand, everyone remained silent, while Kodai healed everyone's possibly shattered eardrums. Once that was done, Asui spoke up.
"You guys are crazy, ribbit. But in a good way."
Eijiro breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Melissa fly down to the shore.
"Glad to see you made it out alive," he said. "And Sakamata?"
"Food for the local krakens, along with the rest of his pirate crew," she said. "I gotta say, that plan you came up with to use Bakugou's explosion magic was as amazing as it was risky."
"Ah, it actually was the masked tiefling's idea."
"Her again? Well, I guess I should be thanking her, then. Where is she?"
"She ran off as soon as the boat hit shore. I'm sure we'll meet up with her again."
The angel said nothing, as Eijiro watched the Jiro couple thank Bakugou.
"I cannot thank you enough for what you did, Bakugou-sama!" Denki said, as he kept hugging his wife. "We are eternally in your debt! If there is anything we can do for you –"
"Actually, there is something."
Eijiro watched in curiosity as Bakugou pulled out a piece of paper, wrote something on it, and gave it to Denki. "Sell whatever you can't take with you, use the money to buy yourselves a carriage, go to the Collinus Hills, and give this paper to a lady named Nemuri Kayama."
"The Collibus Hills?" Kyoka asked. "Are you sure –?"
"Trust me, it's safe. The JSDF, I mean, the Arms of Fire, occupy that area. You can get yourselves jobs, a home. Have a life and raise your kid somewhere safe."
Both Denki and Kyoka were silent, as tears left their eyes. Eventually, the yellow-haired bard gave the ash blond a soft smile. "Thank you, Katsuki Bakugou. Thank you for everything."
Eijiro couldn't help but smile at what he was seeing. Feeling someone tapping his shoulder, however, he looked behind him to see Tsu standing there. "What's up?"
"You guys are different. And weird. I think I like you."
"I see…" the artificial redhead said, giving the bullywug a soft smile. "Well, if you ever wanna hang out with us again, we can set up a nice place for you at the Collibus Hills –"
"Let me stop you right there, ribbit," she said. "We may have stopped Sakamata and his gang, but there's still a lot of people out there that need help. And besides, I still have siblings I need to take care of. Maybe when they've graduated, then I'll consider your offer."
"Alright, just… take care of yourself, alright?" Eijiro requested.
"Of course," Tsu said, as she walked away. "See you around, ribbit."
"I honestly thought you would have been delayed." Momo is actually quite surprised when she sees that Bakugou's group made it back to the LAVs at the designated time.
"Delayed by what?" Aoyama nervously asked. "Certainly not by pirates."
"Not that we actually went up against any pirates," Kodai added.
"And certainly not to rescue a pregnant mermaid," Kirishima said.
Yeah, no, Momo wasn't buying it for one second. Bakugou and Melissa were at least smart enough to keep their mouths shut, but their teammates dug their graves.
Whatever. It was a long drive to the campsite, she had more than enough time to review all of their camera footage from their body cams on the way there.
As it turned out, they got caught.
Yeah, forgetting about the body cameras on their uniforms was a bit of a goof, but they were in a high-stress situation, so it was natural for them to commit such a mistake.
Unfortunately, Lieutenant Yaomomo found out about their little escapade, and proceeded to chew out the five of them for what they did until she eventually got tired.
Then she had Monoma do it.
After that, the group had arrived at their campground in the forest near the city outskirts, Eijiro silently watched as Bakugou set up his sleeping bag in the middle of the grassy field.
"Ugh… Shitty Hair, if you've got a question, just tell me already."
"Oh! I… uh, I guess I've been wondering about why you decided to help the Jiros. And why do you always have your nose in your book? And… maybe a few other questions."
"Rrrr… fine. I guess I can answer your questions. But only one."
"Okay, let's start small: Why did you join the JSDF in the first place?"
The ash blond gave Eijiro a funny look, before he crawled into his sleeping bag. "We'll, as far as you and the personnel files are concerned… I just like to blow things up."
"Come on, Bakugou, give Kirishima the truth," Melissa said. "I can still detect lies."
Bakugou groaned, but relented. "Ugh… my parents are both fashion designers, pretty big ones, too. Big enough that I could live comfortably for the rest of my life without lifting a finger. The problem is, I hated that. I wanted to achieve something of my own. Problem was, nothing I ever did ignited a spark in me. Sure, whatever I did I was great at, but nothing was my passion. So, I just settled at becoming a magazine model, and let my life slip out of my fingers."
Eijiro remained silent, as he listened to his friend's story.
"When I was seventeen, my folks were doing a spring magazine shoot for this "prom" thing, you know, the one the Americans throw, they even managed to rope in my girlfriend, and all the other models were like, "Does this make me look fat?" or "Do I look good in this?" Stick figures with puffy lips, I swear. I went out the back to breathe for a bit, and there must have been this gas leak next door, because the next thing I know… BOOM! No more Turkish laundromat."
Melissa snorted, as Eijiro smiled. The exaggerated hand gestures Bakugou was making were pretty amusing to watch, and even now Momo stopped to see what was going on.
"It was like a sign from God! I knew my calling. Problem is, blowing stuff up is kinda illegal without a license, so the next day, I enlist, and join the JSDF's demolition course."
"How'd your family and friends take it?" Eijiro asked.
"My dad was like, "Fine," and my mom was glad I was getting off my ass. And as for Camie… She's my wife now, with a brat on the way," Bakugou said, before his eyes suddenly turned sharp. "Which is why if it comes down to it, I won't hesitate to betray any of you for the sake of my own survival. I'll get out of this world alive, and see my kid, whatever it takes."
"Okay, that's slightly disturbing," Momo admitted.
"I dunno, I think it's kinda manly…" Eijiro said.
Even Bakugou was confused at that notion. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, you may not show it, but you care about people, given that you were willing to break the rules to save the Jiro family," Eijiro said. "Plus, that book of yours has helped us out in a bunch of scenarios, so even if you were only reading it to make sure that you made it out of here alive, the knowledge in it helped out all of us. Plus, you're a dad who actually wants to see his kid, so you're clearly not an asshole, you're just a nice guy with a rough exterior!"
"Okay… that last part raises a few questions on your part, Kirishima," Momo said.
"Yeah, I'm with the Lieutenant on that one," Bakugou said, before his eyes suddenly widened. "Shit! I almost forgot! Lieutenant, you watched all of our recordings, right?"
"No, I had a limited time, so I just skimmed them."
"Okay, well, after today's little adventure, Dunce Face left me with one last piece of info," the ash blond said. "You know that weird electric gun he had on him during the rescue?"
Momo nodded. "Yes, I did see him fire it during the recordings."
"Yeah, well, he told me where he got it from," Bakugou said. "It's a kingdom south-west from here, apparently the locals have been merging magic and science together."
That caused Momo's eyebrows to get raised. "What's this place called?"
"Dryadalis," Bakugou said. "The kingdom of the elves."
Looks like they knew where they were going next.
Author's Note: One last place to visit, and then the second arc is over!
For those wondering, yes, the big pirate captain was Gang Orca, I had him as an orcinus, just like Sadeena from Shield Hero, so basically just imagine Gang Orca in a pirate outfit and with a tail, and you're good. Side note, the cotton candy is a reference to the sweet "fluffy," from the Re: Zero world. Also, Bakugou's backstory (inspired by Vinny from Atlantis: The Lost Empire) has been revealed! Now, everyone knows why he carries around that book with him: It increases his odds of survival, and his chances of making it back home to his family. But enough about that! Now, it's time for the comments!
Shin: Yep, Tsu is a bullywug. I'm glad to see that someone understands to appreciate certain kinds of media without having to feel shameful about it. And I totally agree on not playing games that mainly involve microtransactions. Grind all the way for me! I'm also glad that you enjoyed the fact that I'm using multiple things for inspiration, so I'm pretty sure you're gonna enjoy plenty of the future chapters to come, so keep commenting!
artist_of_words: I'm glad you think I'm doing such an amazing job, especially with turning Tsu into a pirate captain (legally speaking)! I hope you stick around to see everything else I've created! Now, to answer your last question… while, yes, all of the characters who are gonna appear are from MHA, I'm not sure if everyone is gonna appear. I think the answer might be "yes" due to the fact I've written up to chapter twenty-seven at this point, so there's bound to be a bunch of new characters that show up, so I'm sure your favorite character is gonna show up… eventually.
VinHD15: I'm just as confused as you, buddy.
threeque: I don't know whether to be impressed by your previous comment due to it being blank, or just confused. Anyways, in case you're wondering, the racist antelope was from Disenchantment, so there's a good chance it was always racist, with or without magic. Denki's design was an homage to all of the fantasy-based MHA fanart out there, and you're indeed right that Bakugou decided to rescue Kyoka due to her reminding him of Camie. Also, Aoyama's line was actually a last-minute thing to add some more meat to the chapter, and I'm glad I added it, just for your reaction alone. And yeah, you should be scared for Kyoka's sake. Also, I'm glad someone figured out Asui was supposed to be Captain Jack Sparrow! Glad I managed to catch you during your actual May 4th!
JesseRoot20: That is correct! The talking fish from the last chapter was indeed Lehman from Arifureta! Good eye! Stick around, and you might see some more camoes!
And now, for the last bit of shilling…
If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules!
Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore