Chapter Text
Kagami had lost track of days since he’d been kidnapped and brought onboard the pirates’ ship. How long had it been? Weeks? Months? By now he had stopped caring, had stopped waiting, had stopped hoping for a rescue. It was his fate to stay there, a prisoner, wasting away until he would no doubt die at sea, killed by the pirate captain’s hand.
~~~
Captain Aomine was a handsome and charming man, with enviable tanned skin and midnight-blue locks of hair. The ladies would swoon over him every time they stopped at one of their many usual pirate-safe ports, and the men would either be jealous or swooning along with the ladies.
Though his crew did rather well from pillaging merchant ships from the various local kingdoms, Captain Aomine thirsted for the true riches to be found in the Rakuzan Empire. The heart of the empire sat upon one of the most ore and mineral-abundant soils, meaning their mines constantly provided high-quality metals for their blacksmiths and pristine precious gems for their jewellers.
Though Captain Aomine could always attack a Rakuzan ship in order to obtain his prize, he knew the sacrifice would be too great: the merchant ships always travelled in pairs and were heavily armed thanks to the Royal Treasure Guard the king had put in place to protect the Empire’s most precious resource.
So Captain Aomine had had to devise another plan for getting what he wanted from the Empire.
Surely the king would give them whatever they desired for the safe return of his son, the prince and heir?
~~~
Later, Captain Aomine would kick himself for not realizing why. But it had been incredibly easy for him and his few crewmates to sneak into the Rakuzan Palace’s western wing, Aomine himself repelling down into the open window of the prince’s bedroom. Taking a moment to look around and get his bearings, he noticed how plainly the place was decorated, as if the prince had few possession he kept there. Captain Aomine was surprised by the lack of extravagance, but even more so by the size of the figure who was fast asleep in the large bed.
According to their research, the redheaded prince was said to be in his early twenties and skilled at fencing and learning foreign languages, though his fear of animals made him a terrible horseback rider. Aomine had expected some skinny prissy guy who spent his days being pampered and tutored and never dirtied his hands going outside, but this guy… not only did he seem tall, maybe as tall as Aomine even, but he was big. He had a bulk that betrayed strong muscles, and the tanned captain had to wonder what he did in his spare time to get that kind of physique.
He had to stifle a laugh at seen the guy’s weird eyebrows and the drool that was dripping from his sleeping mouth, however. He looked almost… cute, but Captain Aomine quickly shook those thoughts from his head as his crewmates finally joined him, his first mate Momoi using chloroform on a rag to ensure that the prince would stay asleep.
They then quickly bound and gagged him. The redheaded prince was easily hoisted over the shoulder of Wakamatsu, a huge barbarian who had long ago lost a duel against Aomine after challenging the captain to a fight to the death and was now indebted to him for his life being spared. The group quickly left from the window and fled from palace, quietly congratulating each other on their successful venture.
~~~
The sight of the angry prince bound and at his feet was more enjoyable than Captain Aomine was ready to admit. The redhead had a nice bruise blossoming on his cheek from being hit while trying to escape for the third time that day. Their ship was quickly sailing away from Rakuzan, so there really wasn’t anywhere for him to escape to, out in the middle of the ocean as they were. And yet, the fuming redhead persisted.
“I really can’t see what you’re hoping to achieve,” Aomine drawled as he sat sprawled in his chair before taking a juicy bite out of a green apple, taunting the prince who had not been fed as punishment for trying to escape.
“Fuck you,” the prince spat, prompting Wakamatsu to backhand him across the face.
“Well whatever, doesn’t really matter to me,” Aomine said with a grin and a shrug. “First Mate Momoi, are we ready to write that ransom letter yet?”
“We’re a safe distance from Rakuzan now Captain, so I believe we should do so without further delay,” she replied, sitting down and pulling out a stationary set.
“Perfect. Don’t forget to add that we want their best swords as well as the treasure,” reminded the blue-haired pirate before turning back to his prisoner. He stood up and pulled a small dagger from where it was hidden within his sleeve and roughly grabbed the prince by his red hair. “We’ll also need a little proof of life, don’t you think?”
The prince growled as a lock of hair was cut and tossed Momoi’s way before he was dropped back down to the floor, knees thudding painfully on the hardwood.
It only took the pink-haired woman a few minutes to finish up the letter before sealing it in an envelope along with the lock of red hair. The message was attached to the ship’s hawk, who was then launched up into the air where it circled around the ship a few times before darting away back in the direction they were sailed from.
“Now, First Mate Momoi, why don’t we go back to port and pick up Tetsu, shall we?” the captain began. The pink-haired woman broke her usual serious composure to squeal with delight and give the tanned man a quick hug, and he blushed and quickly looked away to prevent it from being seen.
“Ahem, as I was saying… Tetsu still has that big dog of his, right?” Aomine asked, smirking when he saw the prince flinch at the mention of an animal. “I think he’s just what we need to keep this brat in line. Throw him back into the prison cell, Wakamatsu! And all sails set to Touou! We’re going home, boys!”
As his crew cheered, Captain Aomine smiled and locked eyes with the prince, who was still giving him a defiant glare.
Aomine grinned. He was going to have oh-so-much fun breaking him.