I wrote this thing last year for language arts vocabulary. I had and still have an obsession with Pirates of the Carribean, so that was my influence. (Johnny Depp was amazing in there! Better than Orlando Bloom, that's for sure)I had OCs for this one, but for fun, I decided to use Aoshi and Misao, and rewrote it. If you happen to see any LeBoes and Mayuras let me know and I'll change it right away. I revised it three times, but I have horrible eyesight and may have missed something. They may seem a little OOC. Sorry if they do, but I liked the way it came out.

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A Pirate Tale

"Don't make me repeat myself, girl! Did you see him, or not?" the officer shouted.

The girl muttered something that sounded like "tyrant", but received a sharp glance from the officer. She bowed her head, midnight black hair spilling over her shoulders. She pointed left. "That way," she replied softly. "The pirate went that way."

The officers nodded and dashed down the narrow street, swords drawn, shovingany individual who happened to be in their way,out of their way. As soon as they were out of sight, she released the breath she had been holding. She slowly backed into the house and shut the door with a soft click. She turned and faced the small room with an annoyed expression. "Okay, scallywag, git," she snarled.

From the dimly lit end of the room stepped a young man. He observed the girl with cold, distant ice blue eyes. He sneered slightly, "Who do you think you are, girl? Ordering me around like that?"

The girl threw him a dirty look and crossed the room. "Someone you should be thanking for saving your life," she spat taking two mugs from a cabinet. When he didn't answer, she frowned and continued. "It was my pleasure to help you. Really! No problem at all. Anytime. I'm glad you appreciated it."

She set a mug before him and studied him. He had dark hair with bangs shadowing his face. A soft beard covered his chin and he held a haughty look upon his handsome face that seemed neither cruel nor kind. He had cold blue eyes, a prominent nose, and a thin mouth.

"Do they have post offices around here?" he asked tentatively holding up a paper. "I… gotta mail a letter…"

The girl blinked than snatched it from his hands. "Done," she said. "I'll give it to the mailman."

Before he had time to object or yell at her, she was out the door. He never had been really patient when things didn't go his way. He fisted his hands, pressed them to his mouth, and took a few deep breaths. She returned soon after he had control of his temper.

"No one read it?" he questioned.

She laughed. "Mr. Pirate," she addressed him. "In this little city, we respect other people's privacy! By the way, you spelled 'account' wrong. There's no 'k' or 'w' in it."

His fingers twitched involuntarily as he tried to regain control of his temper. "Shinomori," he whispered. She gazed stupidly at him. "My name's Shinomori Aoshi," he repeated.

Her face cracked into a smile as full of sunshine as her hair was of midnight. "I'm Misao," she seated herself across from him at the table. "So, Aoshi-sama, besides the obvious fact that you're a pirate, why are the police after you?"

"Misao doesn't sound French," he commented randomly. Now it was Misao's turn to try to control her temper. She calmly repeated her question. "Long story," he responded waving his hand. "Misao's oriental, yes? From a Japanese play where the character Misao was a hag?"

"We have the time," she pressed ignoring his last statement. "Besides, it'll take at least two days for your letter to reach its destination, three days to hijack a ship, and five days to find a crew,"

"Whatever happened to your little city's respect for privacy?" he inquired.

"Whatever happened to Casanova?" she replied with the first thing to come to mind.

That slowed him down. He sighed and reached out his hand as if he was contemplating to touch her hair, but couldn't make up his mind. "Let me start at the beginning… They came in droves, as if they knew about our plan to foray La Rochelle…."

"Captain! Advancing at this point is pointless!" Hannya, the first mate, shouted. "The king's musketeers are pouring into the area interminably. We'll be hanged if we're caught!"

I gazed out my window within my chamber and sighed. "Open the sails. Get some of the boys down into the galley just in case they open fire," I replied.

He nodded and left the room. After we had long sailed away from the mainland, I stepped out on deck to see how things were running. I was flabbergasted to see my men lying lifelessly on board with musketeers surrounding us.

"Clap him in irons," one of them stated.

I hadn't heard a sound let alone any cries for help.Another musketeer held my hands together as he wrapped and locked the cuffs around my wrists—

"Wait a minute," Misao interrupted. "What just happened? Weren't you about to lead an onslaught then had to turn back because musketeers were invading the area? How did they know you were going to plunder that town? Why didn't you hear your men calling for your help? How did those musketeers get on board your ship?"

"Shut up,"Aoshi responded calmly. "I'm still trying to figure this stuff out myself. I still don't know why I hadn't heard anything nor do I know how they got onto my ship without my notice."

"But you know how they knew you were going to loot that town?" she asked.

"Relax, I'm getting there."

—around my wrists.

"Shinomori Aoshi. You are under arrest for plotting zee assassination of King Cortez of Spain. Your attempt to start a war between Frunze and Spain iz a failure. You are to be taken to Paree for zee trial."

I blinked. "I attempted no such thing!" I yelled. "You have the wrong pirate—"

"That sounded corny. No offense," Misao interjected. "But how do I know you aren't lying to me? How do I know you weren't attempting the assassination of King Cortez? I need credence on your part."

"I'm still trying to clear myself. They offered me an amnesty but only if I agreed to work as the Duchess's bodyguard."

Misao's mouth dropped open. "They offered you an amnesty. Then why the hey did you run away from them? You could've been free not in hiding!"

"I like being a pirate,"Aoshi responded quietly. "I have more freedom than ever being one. I make my own rules and live how I like. Besides; have you ever seen the Duchess? She's hidious."

Misao shrugged. "Okay. But if you're only telling me this because you need to convince someone you're innocent— Continue."

The Musketeer opened his coat to show me his insignia. "I am zee 'ead of all zee king's musketeers. If you are az smart az zey say you are, you shall remain silent for zee rest of zee voyage." They threw me into the galley and prepared to lock the door. "Your crew. Zey lost zair skirmish to us. Zen again, zat iz no surprise. Vee sneaked aboard. No guns. Quietly." Then, they slammed the door in my face.

We arrived in Paris two days later and they brought me before King Louis VII. A court was already set up. I was to kneel before the King and Queen with the jury surrounding us. Pierre, the cabin boy, was among them —

"Ah! So he betrayed you! The cabin boy. Why? What did he gain from this?"

"He was a coward. Lived in fear. Expected everyone to be kind to him. Let him off the hook. We stole him off some island in Southern France,"

"So he turned you in so he could be pardoned and live freely?" Misao inquired.

"…. He did it for that, yes, but most of all, he did it for 8 pieces of silver,"

Misao shrugged. "Well, just remember 'Judas hanged himself with his own cloak',"

Aoshi laughed for the first time. "Clever girl," he told her. She smiled. Her bright ocean blue eyes contrasting oddly with her wine dark hair. Her smile assuaged his anger for the betrayal of the cabin boy.

"Curse ye fer breathing, slack-jawed idiot!" I screamed at him.

He looked at me apologetically then turned away. "Monsieur Pierre," the king began. "You claim that Shinomori Aoshi was plotting to assassinate the King of Spain?" Pierre nodded never meeting my eyes. "For the sole reason of starting a war between us?" Again Pierre nodded. Next, the king turned to me. "Monsieur Shinomori, what would you gain by starting a war between Spain and France?"

I shrugged. "Your Majesty, I had no intention whatsoever. I've been framed by the cabin boy."

Pierre gaped at me. "Nonsense!" the king shouted. "We've been after you for three years now. We never had much a reason to hang you before, but now—"

"So, all you want is to hang me?" I inquired. "I planned no such thing. I had no intention of planning a war. There was absolutely no profit in it for me and even if I did plan it, it was a failure."

The king open and shut his mouth several times, but no words were formed. Finally, he spoke. "Very well, Monsieur Shinomori. You shall be pardoned— on one condition. You shall give up your life of piracy and serve your time as a bodyguard for the Duchess. Do I make myself clear, Monsieur?"

"…And that very night I ran away following this morning when you found me—"

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking at the door. Misao glanced up and stepped toward the door.

"Misao! A letter just arrived for you! The man told me to tell you to meet him at the beach," the mailman panted out.

Misao nodded and took the letter from his hands. She shut the door and handed the letter to Aoshi. "You heard the mailman," she said softly.

"That was fast,"

"Word gets around. He was probably at the office and went around town searching for my name," she winked. "I'm very well known around here. Come on, then, I'll take you there." He gazed at her then nodded.

"Wait a minute. Didn't you say it'd take at least two days for my letter to reach its destination? Three days to hijack a ship? And five days to pick up a crew?" he teased lightly.

In response, she threw a cloak in his face. "Speed it up or I'm really gonna get vexed with you." He smirked and followed her out the door.

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Misao seated herself upon the sand as they awaited the ship. "Who sent you the letter?" she questioned.

"My first mate, Hannya," he answered. "No, he didn't die. He's too stubborn to."

All of a sudden, there was a loud ringing of a bell. They glanced up and saw a small ship sailing towards them. On board, a man with a strange mask over his face waved enthusiastically at them. 'First mate, perhaps,' Misao thought.

"I guess this is good-bye,"Aoshi said softly. Misao grinned at him.

"Well, if you're ever captured again, you know where to find me!"

Aoshi stared silently at her. Then he took a step forward. "Come with me," he whispered into her ear. "I can show you all of France— all of Europe—all of the world!"

Misao sighed. "It's tempting, but I'm afraid I must decline. My place is in this little city in France where everyone respects everyone else's privacy."

Aoshi bit his lip. "Okay…." She pushed him toward the water.

"Git, scallywag," she growled. He grinned and dashed toward the ship awaiting him in the water.

He bowed to her from the forecastle deck. "Until next time!" She waved and remained where she wasuntil the ship was a tiny speck off in the horizon.

"You! Girl! Did you see a ship full of pirates including Shinomori?" Officers scurried up to her panting.

She smiled once again and pointed behind her. "No ship," she replied. "They were all on foot. Their junk sunk. They went that a-way. You just missed them."

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Review please. This is probably my most favorite story that I ever wrote and felt proud of. A junk is a Chinese pirate ship, btw. I went ballistic in researching pirates and ships and crap. I researched for three years! If you've ever read Pirates by Cecila...Reeves...No. I can't remember her name... I didn't like her story all too much, but I suppose it was okay. It jumped drastically to me. I got confused.

Okay. Review! and I'll love you! j-p