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Five-year-old prince, Midoriya Izuku, was tucked into his new cloud-like mattress at the castle he and his mother moved into after she wed the King of Yuuei, Toshinori Yagi. It was like a fairy tale for the common baker, Inko. But it was a big scary change for Izuku who missed the cozy barn he used to live in and the rambunctious friends he used to play with by the sea. The castle was boring. He had to take etiquette classes and learn how to ride a horse, and there were guards and servants who followed him everywhere.
“And then the prince saved the princess from the evil gang of pirates. And the ship sank along with the prince’s treasure.” Rain pitter-pattered on the ocean his window overlooked. “But the only treasure the prince needed was the princess he had by his side.”
“Mama! Tell me more about the pirates!” Izuku leapt out of his covers.
“What about them?” Inko laughed as she tried to tuck him back in.
“Well? She was with the pirates for years before the prince saved her, right? Did the princess get along with them? Did she fight them? What was the captain like? Did she have adventures overseas with them? Did she help the captain collect more treasure? Did he do bad things to her? Did they fall in love? Why did he take her?”
“It doesn’t matter, dear. The princess got her happily ever after in the end.” Inko giggled.
“More like her boring ever after.” Izuku pouted. “I bet she had much more fun with the pirates than the prince.”
“Maybe more fun . But not more safe .” Inko kissed his head before the sound of thunder made him jolt. “It’s okay. It’s just thunder. See?” She closed the curtain and turned on his nightlight. “The castle is much safer than the scary sea.”
“I think the sea is cool,” Izuku grumbled. “I wanna be a pirate, Mama!”
“Okay my little pirate.” Inko showered his left eye with kisses, making him shriek. “I’ll gobble this so much, you’ll have to wear your eyepatch!”
“Mama! Stop! Ahahaha!” Izuku laughed and laughed. Safe .
Thirteen Years Later
Izuku ran through the halls of the castle, startling everyone he passed.
“Wait! Prince! The King—” one of his servants called but to no avail. Izuku was a young man on a mission. He burst through the castle doors.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” One of the guards tried to stop him but Izuku was fast. “YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS!”
“And it’s still early!” Izuku yelled back. He ran into town until he got to the ocean. He grabbed a small boat and rowed until he got to the lighthouse where Aizawa Shouta, the town lookout, was peeking through a telescope at the top.
“Aizawa-san!” Izuku ran up the stairs out of breath. “Aizawa-san! I’m here!”
“Midoriya,” Aizawa sighed in resignation. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be getting ready to meet your fiancé today.”
“She can wait.” Izuku giggled before sitting on the rolling chair. “I’m not special anyway. It’s the castle she wants to see. So? Anything today?”
Aizawa rummaged through his papers of correspondence from other towns before handing one to the prince.
“This obsession of yours is becoming a little concerning, you know,” he pointed out as Izuku read each line excitedly.
“Captain DynaMight and his crew struck again. This time in our small village of Musutafu.” Izuku paused, worrying his lip.
“What? Actually upset at your precious pirate this time?” Shouta questioned.
“No, it’s… that’s where me and mom are from! That means he’s close! It says here they only took storm gear and raided the boat shops. So it looks like it was more of an efficiency stop than a stop for treasure. The third one this week which means he’s probably gearing up to… nevermind.” The reluctant prince laughed nervously.
“What?” Aizawa pried.
“Nothing! Uh, welp, gotta go meet this Uraraka-san!”
“Midoriya,” Aizawa pressed further, but the prince waved him off and bolted out of the lighthouse in a hurry.
Captain DynaMight and his crew’s reign of terror throughout the seas and far lands was the most exciting thing in Izuku’s life since he was forced into royalty. The life of a pirate sounded cool and adventurous. Izuku even took up sword fighting lessons and sailing so maybe, just maybe, one day he could have a cool life too. But for now, he had to tend to his boring duties as Prince of Yuuei, and that included meeting the woman he was going to marry whom he probably would get along with but not love.
She was sweet and decent enough but Izuku couldn’t wait for the day to be over and for night to fall. Based on the news of DynaMight’s recent hauls, he had a strong suspicion he was gearing up for something big. Yes, Izuku was sure. DynaMight was preparing to rob the castle. He was preparing to rob the castle that night .
Bakugou Katsuki was a hardened man of the sea. He was feared everywhere he went. Captain DynaMight was a name he carved for himself out of blood, sweat and tears. His mother may have been King of the Pirates, but this was his ocean now. He could have anything he wanted. Anytime his ship pulled into a port, towns would try to placate him by offering anything to his satisfaction. He hardly had to loot anymore. However, King Toshinori Yagi of Yuuei royally pissed him off! He went on this whole rant to the press about how his kingdom was immune to pirates due to their ironclad navy and other stupid bullshit. He specifically said pirates like Captain DynaMight were too afraid to even enter their harbor. Well, Katsuki wasn’t having it! He wasn’t about to back down from a pathetic challenge like that.
Looting the castle was a complete success. The supposed fearsome navy was nothing compared to Katsuki’s viciousness and tenacity. And more importantly, his wit. He didn’t get this far by brute force alone.
He grinned wide as their ship sailed off to their next destination. His crew was busy collecting all the treasure and placing it in the center of the ship so they could celebrate their victory.
“Kaminari!” Ashido Mina, the boatswain, screamed at one of the crew members who was lagging behind by the docking station. “Hurry up over there!”
“I’m… sorry!” Denki heaved as he struggled to drag an ornate treasure chest across the deck. “This is… HEAVY!”
“Ei! Go help him!” She ordered the gunner, Kirishima Eijiro, to assist him.
“Be right there!” Kirishima tossed a handful of handcrafted swords made for the king into the pile and rushed to help his crewmate.
“You sure you want to destroy all this?” Todoroki Shouto, the first mate, approached Katsuki. “A lot of it we can actually use.”
“Like I need anything from that pathetic old man,” Katsuki scoffed. “Took his shit just ‘cuz I can. Now I’ll burn it to ash and show him just how worthless he and his kingdom really are!”
“Petty as always,” Shouto sighed.
“We’re almost ready!” Yaoyourozu Momo, the sailing master, hurried them over to the center with the rest of the crew. Katsuki looked proudly at his crew’s handiwork.
“You know the tradition!” he announced. “Pick one thing. We burn the rest!”
“Are you guys done yet?!” Mina scolded as Denki and Eijiro were still struggling with the treasure chest.
“You try lugging this thing!” Denki whined. “I feel like my back is gonna break!”
“Seriously.” Eijiro took a huge breath of air as they placed the chest back on the ground. “This thing has been a pain in our ass since we took it from the castle…”
“Where’d you even get it from?!” Mina questioned.
“The prince’s room! It has to be valuable!” Denki wiped the sweat off his brow. “I bet he has loads of treasure in here!”
“Are you stupid?!” Katsuki snapped. “If you woke the kid, he could have screamed and had the entire royal guard on your ass!”
“He wasn’t in there!” Denki defended himself. “He was probably spending the night in his future princess’s room,” he said while making a lewd gesture.
“Let’s just get this fucking over with.” Katsuki marched over and lifted the chest over his shoulder effortlessly. His crew really could be useless. He stomped to the center of the deck and dropped the chest on the ground causing a loud thud.
“ Oof!”
A sound squeaked from inside the chest, causing Katsuki’s eyes to widen before he turned slowly to Kaminari.
“Dunce Face…” he growled angrily. “Why did the chest just say ‘oof’?!!”
“Uhhh–” Denki panicked. “I’m not entirely sure?”
Suddenly, a banging noise drew everyone’s attention. Something or someone was trying to open the chest from the inside.
“Get your swords ready!” Shouto ordered. Everyone scrambled to get any weapon they could find as Katsuki slowly approached the chest. The lid was almost open. Everyone stared with bated breath as it was hit from the inside, opening more and more with each thwack.
Thwack
Thwack
Thwack!!!
Katsuki had enough. He pried it open and stumbled back when a young guy with lush green curls, large emerald eyes, and round freckled cheeks took a huge gasp of air before leaping out of the chest.
“Ah, I’m really here!” The guy looked around at all the swords pointed at him before meeting eyes with the bewildered captain. “IT’S YOU!!!” He beamed excitedly. “YOU’RE CAPTAIN DYNAMIGHT! I’m so happy to finally meet you! I’m one of your biggest fans! I’ve been paying attention to your escapades for years. The time you reigned terror on Shiketsu just to get away with one hundred jugs of their specialty beer stays with me in particular! I especially love how you made them dedicate their town anthem to honor you…” He babbled on and on, and the more Katsuki stared at him, the more he realized just who this guy was.
Midoriya Izuku, the crowned Prince of Yuuei. He was going to kill Kaminari.
Katsuki was stewing in anger while Izuku followed him like a little duckling around the ship as he gathered supplies.
“Please! I really think I can be an asset to your crew!” Izuku had been yapping his ear off non-stop about letting him stay on board since he popped out of the chest like the world's most annoying jack-in–the-box. “I have an extensive education, including geography with lands and countries that have yet to be publicly discovered! And believe me, they have lots of treasures I’m sure you would find–”
“SHUT YOUR DAMN TRAP!” Katsuki grabbed his face with one of his large hands, squishing his cheeks. “Listen here, Angel Face, the life of a pirate isn’t some field trip you take cause you’re bored of your pampered, perfect life! It’s blood, sweat, and tears, things you have no experience with, I’m sure. You’re fucking lucky I’m letting you take one of my paddle boats to go back to your stupidly large castle, your princess who is thrilled to marry the world’s most adorable Prince Charming, and your king, who you have now sicced on my ass!”
“But I don’t want any of that!” Izuku protested. “I wasn’t meant for it! I want a life of adventure! A life like yours! Please! Just give me a chance! I promise I’ll prove my worth!”
Katsuki shoved him back and threw the supplies he gathered into the paddle boat. “I’m sure you’ll get your rocks off cosplaying my life when you navigate this thing on your own back to the castle!”
“Come on, Captain,” Kirishima pleaded. “You’ve let some of us join for sillier reasons. Maybe we should hear him out.”
“THIS ISN’T A DAMN DEMOCRACY! If we don’t throw him off this ship, we’ll have more than just the king of Yuuei on our ass! We’ll have the king’s allies, and his enemies, all trying to get their hands on this kid to get some kind of reward! We don’t need that shit!”
“Scared of a challenge? That doesn’t sound like you,” Todoroki pointed out.
“This isn’t a challenge! This is the world’s most irritating babysitting gig that I’m not signing up for!” Katsuki snapped.
“It won’t be babysitting! I can fight!” Izuku insisted. “I’m really good at it!”
“I don’t think we should dismiss him, outright,” Yaoyorozu advised. “While yes, we will be a target, we’ll also have the upper hand. After all, what good is a dead prince? Whoever is after him will need to take him alive if they want to bargain with the king. That means they won’t be able to use their canons or even gunpowder if they want to avoid harming him.”
“So they’ll have to invade the ship themselves!” Kirishima grinned wide in realization.
“Which means we’ll have the upper hand.” Momo smirked. “No one is as skilled as we are with blades or hand to hand combat.”
“And if we bring them to their knees, we can take their ships' treasures for ourselves, huh?” Katsuki sulked at how right she was. He clicked his tongue and looked at Izuku who was watching his every move like an excited puppy. “Still, he’s no good if he can’t put his money where his mouth is. Catch, pretty boy!” He threw a sword at him.
Izuku shrieked as he tried not to drop it or catch it by the blade. Katsuki rolled his eyes when he finally got a firm grip on it.
“Dunce Face! Get over here!” he demanded.
“Yes, Sir!” Kaminari saluted stiffly and hurried over to them.
“I’ll make you a deal.” Katsuki loomed over Izuku and tilted his chin up to face him. “Defeat my men in a duel, and I’ll consider letting you stay.”
“All of them?” Izuku blinked nervously. DynaMight’s crew were notoriously vicious fighters.
“You wanna prove yourself? This is how, kid. Welcome to the life of a pirate. It’s not fair,” he lowered his hand and wrapped it around Izuku’s neck, applying more pressure with each word. “It holds you underwater and doesn’t let you come up for air,” He whispered, his face now inches from Izuku’s own, so close that the only air the prince was able to get was from Katsuki’s breath. “No matter how hard you swim.”
“F-fine.” Izuku blushed furiously and whacked his hand off his neck. “Bring it on!”
After everyone gathered their weapons and moved to the center of the ship, Izuku and Denki faced each other to begin the first duel.
“Don’t be afraid to yield, okay?” Denki said sweetly to Izuku. “I’m not gonna go easy on you, you highness, and I don’t wanna hurt you.”
Izuku nodded as he prepared his battle stance.
“And… Start!” Momo chopped her hand down and Izuku immediately dashed forward, parrying Denki’s sword and sweeping his feet with his leg to knock him to the ground. He pointed his sword at his neck and smiled sweetly.
“Do you yield? I don’t wanna hurt you either.”
Denki put his hands up and nodded and everyone stood in shock. He defeated him in three seconds.
“Next!” Izuku smirked at Katsuki.
“Tch! Caught him off guard, that’s all,” the captain grumbled. He was infuriated to see Kirishima and Mina both lose within a similar time frame. What the hell were his men doing, embarrassing him like that?
“Who’s next?” Izuku smiled excitedly at the rest of the crew, ready for his next challenge.
“I guess that would be me.” Todoroki grabbed the hilt of the sword in his sheath, but Katsuki smacked his hand away.
“No.” The embittered captain pulled out his large blade and made his way to the center. “Your next opponent is me.”
“Y-you?!” Izuku’s eyes bugged out of his head. “You said I had to defeat your men, I didn’t realize that meant you t-too.” He had heard several stories about DynaMight as a fighter. He was cold-hearted, powerful, skilled, and vicious. It was said one would have an easier time surviving a gunshot wound than a sword fight with Captain DynaMight.
“Yield, then?” Katsuki pointed his sword at him.
“N-no!” Izuku gripped his sword shakily. “If this is how I prove myself, then bring it on!”
“Places, then!” Momo ordered. The two squared off to face each other and she smiled apologetically at Izuku. “Ready? Start!”
As soon as she swung her hand down, the two dashed toward each other with equal speed and clashed their swords. Despite Katsuki’s attempts to overpower Izuku, the prince held his ground. Katsuki swung his sword down again and again, and Izuku barely managed to keep his footing as he parried each strike. The crew watched in awe as the prince actually kept up with the captain’s moves. Their battle was heated as they attacked and countered each other all over the ship. Running, jumping, striking and using everything in their resources to try and defeat the other.
“Wow,” Kirishima said breathlessly.
“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Shouto noted.
“Yeah, but that’s not what’s impressing me.” Eijiro smiled.
“Then what is?”
“Look at the captain.” The red head pointed at Katsuki who had the largest grin on his face. He swung from the mast, bringing his sword down with a powerful momentum meant to slice the prince in two. Izuku didn’t hesitate to dodge, barely managing to avoid the blade with a graceful backflip. “He’s having… fun!”
Izuku was amazed by the captain’s sheer power and technique. DynaMight truly was everything they said and more. With every swing of his sword, Izuku felt a brush with death. He wasn’t going easy on him at all. Despite his efforts, he knew he couldn’t keep up. He was on the backfoot. Always reacting, not having any time to act.
CLASH
He had to think! He had to think and he had to think quickly or he was going to lose!
CLASH
DynaMight swung at his sword over and over, pushing Izuku back until he was hanging over the railing.
“YIELD YET, PRINCESS?!”
CLASH
Izuku’s mouth dropped in realization as he remembered his sword fighting instructor, Keigo-sensei’s, advice.
“When you have an opponent that’s much stronger than you, you can still win. But only when you’re in a pinch and victory is within their reach.”
“How?” Izuku questioned.
“Easy. Someone who is about to win thinks they already have. They expect you to behave a certain way, to be scared, to struggle, to fall. Their biggest weakness? Is a great distraction.” Keigo grinned widely.
Katsuki’s comments to him all came flooding in his mind at once.
“Princess”
“Angel Face”
“Pretty Boy”
“World’s most adorable Prince Charming”
Katsuki swung his arm back and that was Izuku's chance. He leapt up and smashed their lips together before wrapping his legs around him and pulling his hair, causing the captain to stumble back in surprise and drop his sword. Izuku kept the impassioned kiss going as he twisted his head and shifted his weight in order to tackle him to the ground. He stuck his tongue in his mouth as he grabbed DynaMight’s wrists with one hand and pinned them above his head then he leaned up and pointed his sword at his neck with the other.
“Do you yield?” Izuku grinned victoriously as he wiped Katsuki’s saliva off his mouth.
“Fuck.”
“Three cheers for the newest addition to the mightiest crew in all the land!” Kirishima drunkenly raised his glass. “Prince Midoriya Izuku!”
“CHEERS!” Everyone clashed their beer jugs together, rowdily celebrating the first ever defeat they witnessed their captain suffer.
“ Former prince,” Izuku corrected, before taking a sip of his own beer. He spit it out, disgusted with the taste.
“Still got a long time before we corrupt the royal out of you, huh?” Mina teased.
“Oh, I don’t think he needs corrupting at all!” Denki cackled before smooching his hand in imitation.
“If anything, we need to save the captain from him!” Kirishima laughed.
Izuku blushed and buried his face in his hands. It’s not like he expected to assault his idol like that. He just needed a window to win. He hoped DynaMight wasn’t too mad. He looked around at the rambunctious crew and noticed the captain off by himself overlooking the waters. He snuck away from the celebration and tepidly approached him.
“Um… Captain, sir?” He swallowed the lump in his throat as Katsuki turned to face him, glaring into his soul with those striking ruby eyes.
“What do you want, perv?” The captain growled under his breath.
“I just… um… wanted to apologize!” Izuku stuttered. “And thank you for letting me stay! I know I caused you all sorts of trouble, but… I’ll prove myself worthy of serving you! I’ll be nothing but an asset!”
Katsuki clicked his tongue and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him to the stairwell leading below deck while the rest of the crew obnoxiously jeered at the sight.
“Wh-where are we going?!” Izuku questioned.
“To my sleeping quarters!” Katsuki informed him. “Don’t get too excited.”
DynaMight’s room was spacious, with a large bed that rivaled even Izuku’s. It was stylishly decorated with various treasures and weapons he acquired over his journeys. But the object he brought Izuku down to see was a rusty broken locket he had stuffed in a drawer in his desk. He threw it at the confused prince who caught it carefully and stared at it in wonder.
“Open it.” Katsuku demanded. Izuku obeyed and was shocked to see a photo of a beautiful woman who looked like Katsuki, cradling the captain in her arms.
“Is this… your mother?”
“That was all she left me,” Katsuki said sternly. “At twelve years old, she threw me overboard with barely any clothes, a day's worth of food, and that useless piece of junk. The life of adventure you want so badly? Was my hell on earth. I’m letting you stay because you proved yourself a worthy fighter. But you should go home. Ya can’t solve all your problems out here with a damn kiss!” He grumbled that last part under his breath.
“You’re right,” Izuku said as he walked closer to him, grabbing his hand and returning the locket. “My life might as well have been heaven compared to yours. But I felt like a prisoner. I wasn’t born into royalty. I was trapped into it. But fighting with you today? Was the happiest I’d been since I was five years old.”
“I almost killed you,” Katsuki scoffed.
“But you didn’t.” Izuku grinned proudly before the captain grabbed his face with one hand.
“You got lucky,” he seethed.
“The opportunity was given to me by you, DynaMight,” Izuku teased. “If you wanna beat me next time, don’t make your attraction so clear.”
“I’ll show you ‘clear’, little shit!” Katsuki smashed their lips together, running his hands through his hair and pulling it back, leading him to the bed. He tackled him and sloppily kissed his face, his chin, his neck. Izuku hungrily unbuttoned his shirt, staring at his many scars in awe.
“You sure you want my life?” Katsuki grinned. Izuku traced his hand on each one, admiring his endeavors before wrapping his arms around him and kissing him once more.
“Happily.”
Izuku and Katsuki may have been from different worlds, but their souls burned with the feeling of completeness upon being intimate with one another. They didn’t know when the king would strike and at that moment, they didn’t particularly care. Katsuki was so enraptured with Izuku, he didn’t notice the locket fall off the bed.
It broke, freeing a second picture hidden behind the one in the frame. A photo of Bakugo Mitsuki with her arm around her former first mate, a woman with green hair in a high ponytail, hoisting a beer happily in the air.